Gloomy Wasteland

The two sorceresses find themselves standing in a landscape ripped straight from the Eclipse, a barren and blood-drenched plain beneath a darkened sun. Torn rags flutter from sticks jammed into the mud, and a black mountain sits far off on the horizon. Schierke wants to press on at once. When Farnese frets that such an enormous expanse could take forever to cross, Schierke reminds her that distance means nothing here, since a dream bends to intention and whatever they seek will surface the instant they resolve to find it.

Before long they come across a chained black hound straining to drag a falcon-marked coffin across the waste. The rag-topped sticks around them twist into bat-like creatures armed with spears and swarm the dog. Schierke answers with fire while Farnese lashes out with conjured snakes, driving the attackers back. Studying the hound up close confirms Schierke's hunch: it is missing a foreleg and an eye and carries the Brand of Sacrifice on its neck, marking it as a stand-in for Guts.

Suspicious of the coffin as well, Schierke insists on opening it despite the hound's protest. Inside lies a battered, badly broken doll bearing the brand and Casca's likeness, an image of her regressed mind. Tucked within the doll they spot a tiny, helpless figure resembling Casca, innocent and childlike. Unsure where to head next, the pair are steered by Danan, who appears as cherry blossom petals drifting on the wind. They accept her direction, and Schierke invites the hound to travel with them, recognizing that it too wants Casca made whole.

This installment marked the return of the manga to monthly serialization.