Is this Goodbye?

I can't believe it myself—having teammates and doing fun stuff. I can't believe this is happening. I'm reincarnated as a little elf in this world and have faced countless hardships and dangers. But when I met them, everything changed. It's only been a short while, yet we've already struggled together, fought side by side, eaten together, and laughed together.

This is a life I never had in Japan. For a loner, pathetic girl like me, this kind of interaction felt impossible.

Retto is a brave knight and incredibly strong. He can be reckless and a little rude sometimes, but deep down, he's a good person. Kuroe has the most adorable personality, and watching her antics always makes me laugh. Lumina is like her guardian, a dependable big sister figure.

I wonder... if I had met these three back in Japan, would we have been friends? I imagine the three of us having a blast in our youth. Lumina would be my wise and responsible senior, Kuroe my bubbly and energetic junior. Retto? He'd probably be the hot-headed captain of the soccer club or an honor student with a secret love for arcade games. We'd hang out after school, eating crepes and checking out cute clothes in the shopping district.

But that's just a fantasy. My reality is here, with them, in this dangerous yet exciting world. And right now, we are just… living.

"I caught something!" Kuroe cheered, nearly tumbling into the lake as she held onto her fishing rod with all her might.

Retto, sitting nearby with his sword resting on his shoulder, smirked. "Are you sure that's not just the wind playing tricks on you?"

"No! Look! It's huge!" Kuroe yelped, struggling against the force pulling her line.

Lumina sighed and rolled up her sleeves. "Here, let me help—"

Before she could finish, Kuroe was yanked forward, dragging both herself and Lumina into the water with a loud splash.

I couldn't hold back my laughter as they surfaced, soaked and gasping.

"Pfft—You two look like drowned kittens!" I giggled.

Retto, for once, laughed too. "Guess you did catch something. A bath!"

Kuroe pouted. "Mayu! Help me out here!"

Still laughing, I reached out to pull her up—only for her to mischievously tug me in with her. The cold water hit me like a shock, but when I surfaced and saw their smiling faces, I didn't mind at all.

After we dried off, we continued our journey. The deeper we went into the dungeon, the stronger the monsters became. But strangely enough, it no longer felt terrifying. We fought side by side, covering each other's backs. Retto's blade clashed with monstrous fangs, Kuroe's daggers danced through the air, and Lumina's magic illuminated the darkness, keeping us safe. And me? I was no longer just running away. I was fighting, too.

As we took a break, Retto glanced at me. "You're smiling so wide it reaches your ears. What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," I replied, tucking a strand of damp hair behind my ear. "Just… this isn't so bad."

Starting a new life in this world… isn't a bad thing.

Then, in an instant, everything turned white.

The entire dungeon became blindingly bright. My vision blurred, my mind barely processing what was happening. All I could see were Retto, Kuroe, and Lumina—faces frozen in a mixture of shock and confusion.

What's going on?

A deafening hum filled the air, and then—

A beam of light came crashing down, striking the crystal dungeon with terrifying force. It drilled deeper and deeper, shattering the walls into fragments of glowing dust. Monsters disintegrated before they could even cry out. The ground beneath us cracked violently.

Then, silence.

I tried to move, but my body felt weightless. I reached out, but my fingers met only air.

The light grew stronger. My ears rang. The last thing I saw before everything faded was their faces—Retto reaching out, Kuroe's eyes wide with fear, Lumina's mouth forming words I couldn't hear.

And then—

Nothing.

I woke up with a sharp gasp, my body trembling. The warmth of the campfire was gone. The sound of my companions breathing nearby—gone.

Panic gripped my chest as I sat up, my heart hammering. I was alone.

No, no, no—where is everyone?

The dungeon was nowhere to be seen. Instead, I was in a vast, open space filled with nothing but endless white. It stretched in every direction, without walls, without a ceiling, without a floor.

I stood up, my legs wobbling. "Retto? Kuroe? Lumina?" My voice echoed into the void.

No response.

I swallowed hard. Had I died? Was this the afterlife? No, that couldn't be it—I could still feel my body, my heartbeat, the soft fabric of my clothes. I was still alive.

Then where am I?

I turned around, trying to find something—anything—that could tell me where I was. But there was nothing. Just white. Endless white.

And then…

A voice.

"You do not belong here."

I spun around, my breath hitching. "Who's there?!"

No one answered.

Then, like ink spreading across a blank canvas, shadows began to form. A towering figure emerged from the whiteness, its face obscured, its presence suffocating.

"Why have you come?" it asked, its voice deep, emotionless.

I took a step back. "I-I don't know. I was with my friends and then—"

"You are not meant to exist in this world."

My blood ran cold. "What... do you mean?"

The figure remained silent, but I felt its gaze pierce through me, as if unraveling my very existence.

A chill crept up my spine.

Why was I brought to this world? Who summoned me here? And why now, of all times, was I being told I didn't belong?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized—I never questioned it before. I had simply accepted my new reality, accepted the battles, the struggles, the friendships. But what if…

What if I was never meant to be here at all?

"Mayu!"

A voice called out to me—a familiar, desperate voice. I turned just in time to see Retto reaching through the white void, his hand inches from mine.

"Grab on!"

Without hesitation, I reached for him, my fingers brushing against his—

And then, the world shattered around me.

Blackness swallowed everything.