Right in the feels... I'm going to need to give that orphan his own spinoff series...

Valkyria felt a sudden pang in her chest, as Jake's words echoed in her mind. She looked down and saw that her aura was still active, its brilliant light still shining in the midst of the ruined city. She realized that Jake was right; she couldn't keep pushing herself like this. She had to find a way to turn off her aura before it was too late.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on her inner self. She felt the energy within her shift and change, and she knew that she had succeeded in turning off her aura. The pain in her chest slowly subsided, and she opened her eyes to find that the world had returned to normal, with the ruined buildings around her now just that: ruined.

Valkyria surveyed the damage, feeling a sense of guilt and regret wash over her. She had been so focused on taking down Jake that she had lost sight of the consequences of their battle. Innocent lives had been lost, homes destroyed, and families torn apart.

She sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face. "What have I done?" she whispered to herself, the weight of her actions settling heavily on her shoulders. She had always prided herself on her control and discipline, but now she had let her emotions get the better of her.

As she sat there, lost in thought, she heard a faint voice calling out to her. She turned to see a small boy, no more than seven or eight years old, standing a few feet away from her. He was holding a teddy bear, and his face was streaked with tears.

Valkyria wiped away her tears and stood up, her heart heavy. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone."

The boy looked up at her with wide, trusting eyes as only a child can. "It's okay," he said. "I forgive you."

Valkyria stared down at the child, her ears twitching as the sounds of moaning, groaning, screaming, and dying echoed from the destroyed city district around her.

"I..." She swallowed, backing away from the child's innocent face, "I'm sorry!"

She turned and ran, tears nearly blinding her as rain began to pour out of the night sky. She leapt from building to building, racing to get out of the city of Arvandor.

She cleared the city wall in one bound, a flash of silver against the darkening sky of storm clouds as she headed back to the abandoned farms.

She had to find Jake, confront him, ask him why he'd done this to her, maybe beg him to release her from her oath of service to him maybe just break it all together. Her emotions were so confused and swirling inside her that she felt she could hardly breathe.