He wanted to wake up. Phainon refused to believe that this nightmare was real. Around him, his friends disappeared like shadows, one by one. This endless series of losses tore my heart into thousands of sharp fragments.

Perhaps an excessive weight was placed on his shoulders, an unbearable burden, or he was cursed by fate itself. He did not know the truth of his existence, did not understand the meaning of this endless cycle, so he desperately clung to a fictional world where his comrades still remained, where the happy faces of the inhabitants of Amphoreus lit up everything around, where you were.

But this illusory world, alas, was fragile, full of cracks and flaws, and one disaster steadily followed another. The death of his friends at the hands of Flame Reaver, the ruthless attack on the Eternal Holy City of Okhema - all this fell on him like a snowball. He could not even imagine that such a thing could become a reality, that these nightmarish events would come to life.

Phainon didn't even think that you, like Professor Anaxa, who gave up his coreflame and disappeared into thin air like a ghost, did the same thing. You sacrificed your existence, sacrificed everything you had for humanity. Phainon was barely making ends meet, trying not to lose his mind and survive the loss of all the people close to his heart, but your self-sacrifice was the last, bitterest drop that overflowed the cup. It seemed to him that just a short time ago you were standing in front of him, with the same smile that made his heart beat faster, and then.. then you turned into sand and slipped irrevocably from under his fingers.

It's been more than three days since your loss, but he still couldn't comprehend what had happened. All that's left of you is a small reminder, a memory of the past, an ornament that looks like a hairpin that you so carefully wore in your hair. At the last moment, overcome with despair, he managed to pick it up, greedily grabbing the last thread, wanting to leave at least a tiny reminder that you once existed.

Phainon tried to hold on, to support Trailblazer, and the entire Astral Express team, who had arrived from far away, from other planets, and certainly did not expect that their mission would become so difficult and dangerous, and that they would have to face such terrible events. He tried to appear strong, but inside everything was crumbling. That's why, after saying goodbye to Dan Heng and Trailblazer, whose faces were full of sympathy, and expressing his deepest gratitude for their support, he slowly headed off, trying to escape. You can't escape from yourself.

Eventually, having overcome the obstacle, he turned another corner, hiding from unnecessary eyes. The guy stopped at one of the next tiny gardens that bloomed on every corner of Okhema. He clutched your jewelry convulsively to his chest, feeling a lump rise in his throat, and his eyes burned from treacherously welling tears. The bitterness of loss overwhelmed him from within, causing his body to tremble in uncontrollable convulsions. He was choking on sobs bursting from his chest. His face distorted, his eyes filled with a cloudy haze, and tears rolled down his cheeks like hail.

He didn't know if you could hear his prayers, but he couldn't hold back his words, rather talking to himself. He knew from Aglaea that a part of you could remain trapped in your jewelry, so he was afraid to let it out of his hands even for a moment, continuing to mumble incoherently apologies. You gave everything for the scorching sun of salvation to rise.

"I-I couldn't save you, I'm so sorry..*