**Gaia’s POV**

The echoes of battle still rang in my ears long after the last howl faded. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the bloodied plain where Rose Heart had claimed victory. My body ached from head to toe—the silver poison’s remnants, the relentless clashes, the sheer exhaustion of fighting with everything I had. Yet as I stood there in human form, blood drying on my skin and leathers torn in places, a strange energy thrummed through me. Selene purred ...