『 Jiwoo's POV 』

Jini was thrown back from the stone, but before she could hit the wall of the volcano, Jungwon created a cloud-like cushion that caught her just in time.

From the flames emerged a girl. She was stunning—easily taller than me, though still shorter than everyone else. Her face was serious, but to me, it looked like she was trying not to smile.

“Hi!” Kyujin greeted awkwardly after a few tense moments.

“Bae! I thought we were invisible!” Sullyoon whisper-shouted at Bae, stealing a glance at Yuna.

Before Bae or Yuna could answer, Enya spoke for them.

“This volcano is teeming with magic,” she said coldly. “It has nullified whatever cheap trick you insolent people used to cross into my realm unnoticed.”

"First of all—ouch! Calling us insolent is a little rude," Bae responded, hands on her hips. "And second, we're just here for the stone. No one has to get hurt."

That only made things worse.

“You want the stone?” Enya scoffed, eyes burning with fury. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon. Now, tell me—how do all ten of you want to die?”

Ten? But there are twelve of us. Oh, right. She can’t see Edlynne or Kai.

Yuna glanced desperately at them for help. The rest of us did too. I, for one, was shocked—this was probably the first time Yuna had ever looked at Kai without pure hatred in her eyes.

Edlynne looked calm, while Kai… was practically smiling to himself.

"Keep talking to her," Kai said, amused. "Say random, stupid stuff. She’ll break soon."

“What sort of discussion are you having with each other that makes you keep looking at an empty wall?” Enya demanded, her tone sharp.

“Just considering the best way to die,” Ni-ki said casually. “I mean, you asked, so I figured I should make it poetic.”

“…What?” Enya blinked.

Catching on to his game, I added, “Yeah. You seem really bored here, so if you're going to kill us, why not make it interesting?”

For the first time, Enya looked conflicted—somewhere between exasperated and confused.

"Or," Jungwon cut in after Huening Kai whispered something to him, "you could just give us the stone and be free of this realm. Isn't that what you really want?"

“I do. You have no idea how much I want to leave this hellhole,” Enya admitted, her façade finally cracking. “But I can’t leave. And I can’t give you the stone.”

"Why not? If it's Cadmodeus you're scared of, don't worry. We’ll defeat him too," Ni-ki said confidently.

Enya let out a humorless laugh. "That old man? No. It's the realm and its people I'm worried about. Without the stone, all life in this realm will cease to exist—including me. The magic from the stone keeps this place alive, and I'm not endangering anyone for selfish reasons like my boredom or my hatred for Cadmodeus."

A tense silence fell over us.

Then Enya sighed. "I'm sorry, but the next few moments are going to be very painful."

Lava erupted around us.

Well. We’re doomed.

『 Sunoo’s POV 』

I was freaking out.

Enya turned out to be very, very murderous. She hurled a fireball straight at Sunghoon, but he blocked it with a shield of ice, stunning her.

She quickly changed targets, this time aiming for Sullyoon—who immediately transformed into a fairy and soared upwards. Any burns she had suffered healed instantly.

Meanwhile, I was stuck. Lava surrounded me on all sides.

And then, as expected, fire. Fire everywhere. We were all suffering burns.

"It's just the first realm, and we're already out of options," I muttered. "We're going to die."

"Guys, we have to use the spell!" Yuna suddenly yelled.

Kyujin and I exchanged glances—we understood.

“ENYA! STOP!” Kyujin shouted. “We have a solution!”

Enya narrowed her eyes. “Is this some kind of trick?”

“No,” Yuna said. “You said the magic from the stone keeps this realm alive. We have a way to recreate that magic.”

“…And if it doesn’t work?” Enya asked.

"You can kill us all," I said flatly. "No complaints."

Enya raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “That seems fair. Now, tell me what you have in mind.”

Yuna began explaining the spell while Sullyoon worked on healing our burns. That girl was insanely powerful.

“…But there’s a catch,” Yuna concluded. “I’ll need a living host to transfer the magic to.”

"Wait, what? Why?" I asked. "We're recreating a stone, which is non-living. Why would we need a person for that?"

"The stone has a mind or soul of its own. I can't recreate that. The closest thing I can do is transfer the magic to a living being—someone with a mind and soul," Yuna explained.

“Good luck finding an idiot willing to do that,” I said.

"Bro, it's going to be a joint effort," Yuna deadpanned, gesturing to me, herself, and Kyujin.

“Right…” I sighed. “But seriously, who in their right mind would agree to this?”

“I don’t know, but—”

“I don’t mind,” Jini suddenly spoke up.

“What?” Kyujin turned to her, wide-eyed. “Jini, that’s insane! If you do this, you’ll have to stay here. We need you to come with us on this quest.”

"But I don't have a choice," Jini reasoned. "Like Sunoo said, finding someone willing to do this is impossible."

"But—"

"I'll do it."

All eyes snapped to Enya.

“You… will?” Yuna asked cautiously.

Enya nodded, smiling for the first time. “You all seem like good people. And besides, I’m a fire entity. I can handle it.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Yuna asked, glancing between Enya and Jini—who suddenly seemed like best friends.

“Yes,” Enya affirmed without hesitation.

“Alright then,” Yuna said. “Kyujin, Sunoo—you’re obviously with me. Jini, you too.”

“What about the rest of us?” Sunghoon asked.

“Talk with Edlynne and Kai about the next realm,” Kyujin suggested.

“You’re heading to the Realm of Dragons next?” Enya asked.

“Yeah, but let’s deal with this huge task before we think about anything else,” I said.

“Fair point,” Enya replied.

"Alright then. Everyone out," Yuna ordered.

“Wow, so harsh,” Sullyoon joked as the others left the volcano, leaving just me, Jini, Kyujin, Enya, and Yuna behind.

“This is an unexpected turn of events,” Enya mused.

“It certainly is,” Jini agreed.

Meanwhile, Yuna flipped open her book and began instructing Kyujin. Then she turned to me.

Well…

Let the spell-casting commence.

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Okay, I absolutely enjoy writing from Ni-ki and Sunoo's POVs like I've turned them into such fun characters lol

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