Smoke.

Crackling flames.

Smothering miasma.

Silence.

The stench of blood.

It was all overwhelming to Lily as she kept walking behind Vonder and Night, trying to keep pace with them.

What was all this? There was no way it was just a program anymore, this was beyond the current known limits of The Reflection.

Perhaps she had known that all along though, perhaps she simply didn’t wish to admit that was the case.

“Are you alright? You’re beyond pale…” Aida’s worried voice snapped Lily back to reality, the fairy had now been flying in front of her.

Everyone stopped to look at Lily, their eyes clearly filled with concern now, even little Eileen was now by her side to make sure she didn’t fall.

“I’m fine… really.” she calmly states, trying to keep her breathing even in the meantime. “I think this is all just getting to me…”

“Just take it easy, Night and I will take care of the ones holding the spell in place.” Vonder replies assuredly, looking forward once more. “You can take it easy, the Miasma is beginning to lift already as well, Morgan is probably taking care of it.”

“Using that strange absorption magic again?” Eileen asks curiously, now holding onto Lily’s hand with a semi tight grip.

“Yeah, he’s a strange one that uses those dark and vile spells but you have nothing to worry about.” Night replies with a smile. “He’s a good guy deep down, just a bit… eccentric.”

“He’s scary is what he is.” Eileen replies, the memory of what occurred replaying in her mind. “He’s too scary for his own good-”

Just as Eileen says this a massive way of magic washes over them, enough to feel like being hit by a brick wall.

The force is too much for Lily, causing her to quickly fall to her knees and struggle to get even a single breath in.

Her vision was fading fast, every last ounce of strength being sapped away from her as she struggled to look up.

To her horror it seemed everyone was in the same boat as her, all of her companions either passed out or barely staying conscious.

“Six… what is happening?” she barely utters above a whisper, now falling to the ground entirely.

“Someone is letting their presence be known.” he replies in a tired notion, though still painfully clear to her. “You won’t survive at this rate… none of you will, you’ll have to let me take over again… and I'll need to use more power than I have to shield the city from this.”

“So?” Lily weakly asks, unsure why he was even bothering telling her at this point.

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“Meaning we’ll meld further than we have before, your mind and soul could be affected greatly! You could lose your very being if we aren’t careful!” he snaps back, not liking the idea in the slightest.

“I don’t care… just do it…” she weakly replies while closing her eyes. “I don’t want to die… and I don’t want anyone else to be in pain… because of me…”

“I understand.” Six’s voice came through clearly and calmly as her mind faded.

Amidst the darkness a cold and soothing sensation swept over her, drawing her deeper and deeper into the darkness as if falling into a bottomless ocean.

Yet amidst that darkness she felt safe, for she knew she wasn’t alone.

All she needed to do was open her eyes and there would be countless stars, all shining brightly in the endless dark.

Six’s stars, his memories and emotions, all shining brightly for her.

To her it was a sign that everything would be alright.

That she could simply rest and regain her strength for the battles ahead.

…

….

……

“Looks like she finally showed herself.” Shade says with an amused smirk as he feels the immense energy wash over him. “How’re you feeling kid?” he asks while looking back at Wynn.

The child looks up at him confused, “I’m fine, why?”

A slight look of shock forms on his face before he hides it with a small chuckle. “You really are strange, you know that?” calmly he draws his sword and begins walking forward. “Just wait here, the main event is about to start.” without waiting for Wynn’s response he dashes forward, leaving the poor kid confused as to what to even do.

Standing in the field among the bodies of the recently slain army was a strange looking woman who stood over six feet tall.

She wore a long flowing black cloak that had azure blue markings upon it that looked like a spider’s web.

Barely peeking out of the hood was a mixture of black and white hairs, as if her hair color was split down the middle.

The closer Shade got to her the denser the mana got, at this point it could kill even a practiced mage if they weren’t careful.

“So, you must be Phantasia, or am I mistaken?” Shade remarks as he starts walking up to her, not bothering to step over the bodies along the way.

The woman does not bother to look back at him, only keeping her attention focused on the city ahead of her.

“You know it’s rude to ignore someone, it's ruder yet to try and murder an entire city with just your presence alone.” Shade taunts while resting his sword on his shoulder. “What, too scared to face the king and queen in actual combat?”

The woman still does not look away, but does raise her hand, extending it out to the side, as if waiting for Shade to take it.

Her fingers appear icy blue, as if they’d lost all warmth years ago.

She does not move further.

Seeing no other options Shade hesitantly takes her hand, his armor instantly turning freezing cold, enough so that frost was forming on it.

Despite this something in him couldn’t let go of her, as if entranced by her.

Slowly she looked over at him, her face seemed to blur and distort, becoming a swirling mass of colors that bled into darkness.

The longer he stared into the darkness the more lost he felt, as if being drawn further and further in.

Then, in one swift movement she brought him into an embrace, her cold voice whispering a single word into his ear.

A word so foreign to him that his mind failed to understand it in the slightest… and then it happened.

In an instant his mind was set ablaze, information pouring in at such a rapid rate it felt like he was witnessing entire lifetimes in less than a second.

Secrets no one should know, horrid truths, the death of the universe, creation itself, all was unfolding before him and burning away his mind.

It was something no man could withstand, an information overload so great that even the gods would be driven to madness.

Shade couldn’t even scream in pain as it happened, his body was frozen stiff, eyes wide, blood pouring from his nose as his mind was destroyed, burning away until nothing remained.

Then, when all was said and done, she lowered him to the ground gently, as if he’d break from the subtlest nudge.

This is how Phantasia killed, this was how she would set them free, by letting them see the truth.

Slowly she turned back to the city, focusing on it once more, stopping only when mad laughter filled her ears.

“I see! I see it all now!” Shade laughed like a madman as he sat up, catching Phantasia off guard and making her take a step back.

His once cold and dead body now rising up from the piles of the dead, an unrelenting madness in his eyes that spoke a thousand words with only a glance.

This was a man who had already broken through the barrier before, glimpsing the infinite would do nothing now.

For this was no longer a man, nor even a god, this was an impossibility, the dead denied the grave.

Shade stood up, wiping away any blood he had spilled with a crazed look on his face.

Quietly he pointed his blade at Phantasia.

“Now, show me what you can really do… Witch of Eternity!”