The chaos of the battle faded, replaced by the beating rhythm of my heart and the pulsing agony from my fresh head wound. The world tilted and swayed as if I was standing on a ship in stormy waters. My sneakers, now scuffed and splattered with the grime of battle, shuffled over the debris-strewn floor as I found a second wind and quickly sprinted towards Twilight Aster.
Midnight Blossom was already by her side, cradling her fallen comrade gently. Her silver eyes, filled with concern, darted to me for a brief moment. There was an unsaid acknowledgement between us.
With a fluid grace that exaggerated her worry, Dawn Lily moved beside me, casting a radiant golden glow over the devastated hall as she raised her bow. Voltage and Arsenal engaged the Juggernaut even as the Moth chittered and clicked in anticipation. But right now, that moth might as well have been a world away.
“New girl! Blossom! Take care of Aster,” Dawn Lily shouted as her bow transformed into a segmented longstaff with an ornate water lily emblem at the center. With a powerful vault, she launched herself at the moth, meeting it mid-air. Her staff burst in a flare of golden light as she parried a strike from its tail.
Midnight Blossom pulled out a purple crystal nearly identical to the one Twilight Aster had given me earlier to sustain her own energy.
“[Astral Mending],” she whispered, as the crystal began to pulse in tandem with her silver aura. Connecting it to Twilight Aster’s chest, it began to glow fiercely, attempting to harmonize with the magical girl’s own fading purple aura.
But the connection was severed almost instantly by a jagged blue energy that wormed its way through Twilight Aster’s form, disrupting the healing process. Her body writhed as she screamed in agony, and a sudden eruption of chaotic, electric blue energy surged out from her form. It twisted and writhed, a violent storm in stark contrast to the gentle silver hue of the aura being poured into her.
My [Aura Sight] kicked in, letting me glimpse the wild maelstrom that was the corrupting blue energy inside her. There were patterns, like circuitry, intricately woven and pulsating as if it was alive. The chaotic blue energy looked like it was consuming her aura and life force.
“Aster’s skill isn’t working!” Midnight Blossom cried, her voice a mix of despair and frustration. "I can't mend the damage! That... that energy is interfering!"
"Let me help!" I announced, my hands glowing with a soft orange light as I pressed them on Twilight Aster's heaving chest. I reached out with my own aura, instinctively activating Luminary Conversion to try and purge the chaotic energy. My mind knew what to do in a sense. I had to create a bridge between Blossom with Aster's disrupted aura.
The Juggernaut’s deafening roar echoed, shaking the hall, and I could hear the sharp clang of metal and the fierce electric buzz of Voltage's lightning against the clangs of Dawn Lily’s crash in the background. But my focus was solely on Twilight Aster.
Handling this energy wasn’t like what I’d dealt with in the wolf-like creatures earlier. The energy coursing through Twilight Aster was fiercer, wilder. Every time I tried to close in, it seemed to resist and repel me, as if it were a sentient force, fighting to claim Aster for itself. The energy bit into my hands, sending sharp jolts of pain up my arms. But I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, refusing to relent.
My vision became a swirling vortex of oranges and blues. It felt like I was being sucked into a whirlpool, struggling to stay afloat. With every ounce of my strength, I tried to stabilize Twilight Aster's aura, but the chaotic blue energy was overpowering, relentless.
“Hold on, girl," Midnight Blossom’s voice had a hint of desperation. “Cmon. Stay with us!”
Every ounce of my newfound power, every skill point I had accumulated, felt futile against the storm of energy. I could feel it, the strength being sapped from my limbs, the sweat dripping from my brow, the agony in my chest.
I paused as I sucked in a breath of air.
With a moment of inspiration, I decided to direct my will into upgrading my abilities. I had twenty-one skill points, and taking my Luminary Conversion skill to rank 3 through the System would cost 9 points.
I felt it. My [Luminary Conversion] skill surged in strength. Every fiber of my being resonated with this newfound potential, a stronger conduit to process and convert the overwhelming chaotic energy. I could feel the energy patterns more acutely, and they responded to my touch with less resistance.
But it still wasn’t enough.
This maelstrom of blue, chaotic energy was ferocious, fighting my influence with every twist and turn. I needed more.
[ERROR: The next rank for your chosen skill requires 21 skill points.]
I slumped, wavering against the storm. Twilight Aster’s lifeless form in Midnight Blossom's arms seemed to be a premonition of what would become of Kaleidoscope City if we didn’t stop this menace. All those people... counting on me. I’d promised her. I’d promised Twilight Aster she’d come home with us.
And just like that, I felt it.
A sensation like breaking through the surface after being trapped underwater for too long. A raging torrent of emotions, a storm of anger, determination, and desperation. The very core of my being cried out in defiance, refusing to be overwhelmed by the chaos. The pulsing energy inside me felt warmer, more resolute, intertwining with the currents in a dance of dominance.
“I’m… not letting you go!” I shouted. Each word was a declaration, a promise.
My vision tinged orange, purple, silver. The world blurred as my focus became singular. The swirling chaos became discernible patterns, clear and vivid to my aura sight.
Midnight Blossom glanced my way, her silver eyes widening in shock. “The heck...?”
Ignoring her, I channeled every ounce of my newfound power, resonating with Twilight Aster’s dwindling aura. My body surged with new potential, glowing more fiercely, challenging the chaos head-on, converting it, consuming it, one strand at a time.
Every tendril of the chaotic energy I touched recoiled, before being subdued, cleansed, and redirected. To calm the storm, I had to become the storm.
I saw it. For the briefest moment, behind my mind’s eye, I glimpsed behind the malevolent energies that’d invaded our world.
An amoral, all-consuming sentience. It was the beginning and the end. It was everything and nothing.
But it didn’t matter. It wouldn’t stop me for this singular purpose. I held hope in my heart and I wouldn’t let it go for anything.
I felt a tremendous burst of warmth envelop me, reaching the very depths of my soul. My hands shone with an iridescent hue, a blend of orange, heavy pink, and a vibrant gold. It was as if my heart, the very essence of who I was, was being laid bare, translating my very emotions into raw, tangible energy.
[...]
My senses sharpened, and the world around me came into crystal clear focus. The malevolent energy that had seemed insurmountable before was now clear as day to me, with a perceivable ebb and flow.
And then, my world closed in.
I saw her. I saw Twilight Aster.
We were in a liminal space, suspended between the brutal reality of the Refuge and an infinite expanse of nothing represented by blue. Within this place, time held no meaning.
Twilight Aster, her usually poised demeanor replaced with a look of VULNERABLE resignation. She looked at me with a deep, knowing sadness, before her eyes snapped wide with panic.
"Sienna," she whispered. "You shouldn’t be here, it's too dangerous!"
"I made a promise!" I shouted back, tears stinging my eyes. "I said we'd make it out together! I won’t let you fall here, not after everything!" My hands reached out, almost instinctively.
The blue energy crept closer, threatening to swallow us both. The shimmering tendrils of ethereal vines curled around her, expanding and staving off the all-consuming blue.
Twilight Aster looked back, her eyes slowly turning despondent. "Sienna, you need to leave. If you stay here... you'll be consumed as well!" She snapped her arms up, pushing me away with a burst of purple energy. I scowled as I saw her grow distant from me in my mind’s eye.
"To hell with that!" I screamed, lunging forward with a desperate fervor. Each step felt like pushing through viscous sludge, but my resolve wouldn’t waver. The world around us seemed to pulse with our combined energies, two auras intertwining, kindlings of orange and purple, fighting the consuming void.
"Sienna! Leave! Save yourself! Please!" Twilight Aster's voice was a hoarse whisper, but the pleading tone was evident. She was fighting with everything she had, not for her own sake, but for mine. “Please. Just, grant me this. I said if I didn’t make it, I… I.”
"No," I growled, tears streaming down my face. "I won't let you down. Not now, not ever! Look, it might’ve been only a day, but—"
Twilight Aster’s eyes widened with disbelief, pain, and something deeper. They weren’t quite memories, but ideas and concepts flashed between us in a moment. A girl who had her family taken from her at a young age. One who had to grow up far too quickly. The oldest sister of three. Then two. A model student. Self-made. Self-sacrificing. A leader for those who counted on her.
Someone who was tired. Someone who loved her younger siblings like nobody else. Grief.
My feet felt firm even in this intangible space, digging in as if they could find purchase in this place that wasn't a place. "You've been there for everyone! You’ve been there for me. Guided me along. You came with me to help with my stupid suicide mission to save the people here. Now let me be there for you! As your friend!”
The void's blue tendrils inched closer, growing more monstrous with each passing second. It threatened to drown us, its cold, numbing presence pressing down from all sides.
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Every word I spoke seemed to bolster the power between us, the orange of my aura enveloping Twilight Aster, creating a shield against the encroaching blue.
The void's tendrils inched closer, growing more monstrous with each passing second. It threatened to drown us, its cold, numbing presence pressing down from all sides. I faltered again, reaching the very brink of my limits. The pain was unimaginable, like every nerve in my body was on fire. The blue tendrils were everywhere, seeping through every little crack in my defense, gnawing at my spirit. I felt my vision blur as they dug in, wrapping me and dragging me away from Twilight Aster, into the depths.
At the end of the day, it wasn’t enough. I had failed, once again. Even with this newfound power, I was a nobody. What was I thinking?
I was on the verge of giving up, of letting the maelstrom overpower me, when an image filled my mind.
I saw Albert, his usually cheerful face filled with terror. Little Abby’s innocent eyes clouded with tears, and the countless faces of those in Refuge Zeta. I could hear their whispers of hope, their desperate pleas, the weight of their expectations pressing down on me. The brave firefighters and civilians we’d left behind at the fire station. Jacob and his family.
Would I just leave them to their own fates?
No, of course I wouldn’t.
Because, most things that are worth doing are difficult. The people around me had taught me that.
[...]
[Notification: Luminary Conversion has Limit Broken! New Luminary Art obtained — Luminary Conversion: Hopeful Heart Alchemy. Remaining skill points: 0]
My senses sharpened, and the world around me came into crystal clear focus. The malevolent energy that had seemed insurmountable before was now clear as day to me, with a perceivable ebb and flow.
“Luminary Art: Hopeful Heart Alchemy!”
Time seemed to stand still as the force resonated from my beating heart. With a sudden burst of renewed energy, the orange aura of my art enveloped Twilight Aster, dispelling the chaotic blue tendrils that had threatened to consume her. Every ounce of despair and fear was replaced with determination and hope, like an immovable wall of love challenging an unstoppable force. The endless void halted, pushed back by a tide of luminous orange energy that radiated from my very core.
In this place of no-place, the earnest power of my heart and spirit became a tangible force. I could feel it
The blue tendrils too recoiled, disintegrating under the onslaught.
Twilight Aster's hand, previously limp and distant, twitched as she stared wide-eyed. Then, in a surge of renewed determination, she jumped forward, reaching out to me. I lunged in response, locking fingers with hers. We pulled each other closer, our combined energy building in intensity. The blue void wailed in rage, receding rapidly, driven back by the sheer force of our combined willpower. Our wills clashed against the expanse’s, deadlocked in another stalemate.
Suddenly, another surge of power cascaded from behind me as a hole was opened in the previously insurmountable maelstrom.
I felt it before I saw it — the gentle, soothing touch of another. Harsh, but kind. Coarse, but graceful underneath. Indifferent on the surface, but caring.
From behind us, a soft silver glow began to envelop the space. Another will had entered the liminal space as well.
A familiar, resonating contralto voice echoed through the vastness, pulling my attention away from the encroaching doom. "Really? Making a dramatic stand in here? Do you think you're in some sort of action anime?" Midnight blossom grumbled, rolling her silver eyes as she flipped her hair.
However, her actions belied her words. Her silver eyes were fierce and focused and no longer carrying the grumpy exterior that’d made a first impression on me. She had the determined look of someone driven to save a loved one by any means. With a spinning flourish, Midnight Blossom channeled her energy into her hands, the soft silver glow intensifying into a brilliant beacon, pushing against the blue tide.
The Astral Mending Crystal in her hand flared up with a bright luminescence, channeling a surge of swirling energy into the space.
The very fabric of the liminal realm seemed to pulse, responding to the trio of auras that now battled the encroaching darkness. An inky, midnight blue and silver energy from Blossom weaved with my fiery orange and Twilight Aster's dimming light, creating a tapestry of hope and defiance.
"Aster!" Midnight Blossom called out with a harsh voice with an undertone of tenderness. "Did you think I'd let you give up this easily? You still owe me for totaling my bike! And you, Rookie, I don’t know you, but you've got a lot of nerve diving headfirst into this mess. Sheesh.”
I felt a flush of embarrassment, but before I could respond, the liminal space shook and vibrated, reacting to the overwhelming amount of magical energy. The three of us, with our linked powers, stood united against the void.
And bit by bit, it began to recede, the wild blue maelstrom ebbing away. Our combined might was a beacon in the consuming dark, driving it back and repairing the fragmented aura that was Twilight Aster.
“Si…enna!”
Then, it shattered like glass.
My eyes snapped open, the searing brightness of the liminal space replaced by the shadowy confines of Refuge Zeta's main hall. The chaotic blue energy was no more, replaced by a glowing orange hue that emanated from my heart, purifying the area around us. The pain that had threatened to overwhelm me was gone. Reality snapped back into focus.
Gasping for air, I found myself back in the Refuge, still leaning over Twilight Aster, hands resting on her chest. Midnight Blossom was beside me, her silver eyes reflecting admiration and the hint of a smirk on her lips.
Twilight Aster's body began to heal; the ghastly, bloody hole in her torso closed, and her cuts and bruises began to fade.
The chaotic energy that once threatened to consume everything was now a gentle wave of golden orange light, radiating from where my hands touched Twilight Aster.
Midnight Blossom pulled back in relief. "That was… something," she breathed, looking between me and Twilight Aster. Her silver eyes then softened, “I’ll be damned. You did it. We actually saved her.”
Twilight Aster groaned, slowly coming to. “Sienna…? Blossom?” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open.
“We’re here,” I replied, choking back tears of relief. I squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“Sienna!” a drone flew down Albert's face on a screen, buzzed down beside us. “Sienna, are you alright?”
His face displayed a mixture of relief and concern. But I knew that look all too well. It was the look he wore when something was genuinely wrong.
“Albert! What’s the situation?!” I shouted back, mentally preparing myself for whatever he had to say.
“We’ve got incoming! We’ve got a report from Red Masque outside. The monsters around the city went apeshit and have started heading this way. We’re trying to use these drones, but they’ve found us up in the command center. We’re pinned down too!”
Before I could even process the gravity of that information, a colossal force smashed down behind us. The once radiant and hopeful figure of Dawn Lily was knocked aside, sending her skidding across the ground. A shadow loomed over us, and before I knew it, the massive moth was upon us again.
Midnight Blossom reacted instantly. She jumped forward in a flash, and her sleek crescent moon sickles materialized in her hands as she intercepted the moth’s prehensile tongue with lamprey teeth.
The world around me descended into chaos.
The moth, its wings beating at a furious pace, honed its focus on us. A blur of grays and blacks, and a tail that seemed to come out of nowhere again, like the barb of a stingray. Adrenaline surged, and everything became a shade sharper, a bit clearer, yet time seemed to drag.
The beast’s tail came shooting out at us, and a sharp instinct to dodge gripped me. But I was anchored by Twilight Aster. Still recovering. Still vulnerable. The sudden shift in adrenaline masked the momentary confusion that had started to form in my head.
What was I doing? What could I do? The tail neared, and for a split second, everything felt like an eternity. The roaring din of battle became faint echoes in the backdrop. I could see the glint of the tail, the malicious intent in its motion.
Then, a strange sensation spread from my core.
A surge of energy—a force alien to me—flooded my senses. A foreign strength hummed in harmony and resonated with mine. No, not alien or unfamiliar.
I felt it before. Just now. It’d been helping me in that space between our minds.
Luminary Art...
[...]
With a motion that felt both unfamiliar and reflexive, I swung. The sharp arcs of the weapons in my hands intersected with the incoming tail, deflecting it off course with a screeching sound of metal against chitin. A shower of sparks flew, and the moth recoiled, giving us a momentary reprieve.
Weapons?
The weight of something cold and metallic had suddenly appeared in my hands. It felt right, but also uncanny, as if I’d known it forever and yet only just discovered it. It was a sensation that reminded me of the staff I’d summoned when I’d followed Albert back into our reality.
Midnight Blossom, taken aback, stared at me, then at the weapons now manifest in my hands. “Where did you...?” she began, astonishment evident in her voice.
But there was no time. The moth, undeterred, retaliated with renewed fury.
My body moved on its own, bringing my hands forward, revealing a pair of sickles, shaped like a crescent with a sheen of orange light on its edges.
Without a conscious thought, I parried the tail.
The impact was sharp and resonant, vibrating up my arms, but I held on. The weight in my hands, the force of the sickles, they weren't mine, but somehow they felt right. It lashed again and again, and I deflected each swing.
The moth’s tail recoiled from the forceful parries, the surprise evident in its body language.
Gasping, I took a step back. The haze of adrenaline began to clear, my hands shaking slightly from the exertion. My mind raced. How did I summon those? What was happening? But as I tried to piece it together, the situation seemed to unravel even faster.
As the tail whipped down again, and again, I met it with the blade of the sickle, the resulting clash sending shockwaves throughout the hall. The tail recoiled, and I landed on the ground, panting heavily but unscathed with Twilight Aster under one arm.
The moth hissed, the sound resembling metal being dragged across concrete, and Midnight Blossom took the opportunity to jump onto its mouth and rush up its back. She stabbed down both of her sickles, and the moth thrashed and screeched, trying to throw her off.
But through it all, my mind felt clear for the first time since this all began. My fingers closed tightly around the hilt of the sickles, feeling their cool, comforting weight as I gently set Twilight Aster down.
Midnight Blossom managed to pin down one of the moth's wings with a long, complicated weave of chains, causing the creature to falter. "Get ‘em, newbie!" she shouted.
I didn’t need to be told twice. Channeling the energy that resonated within me, I lunged.
I blinked in surprise as I felt myself tapping a power I was unfamiliar with, in a burst of silver, pink, and orange light that seemed to enhance my speed. I swung up, driving both sickles deep into the moth's thorax.
It let out a deafening, agonized scream and convulsed violently. Then, I dragged the sickles down and executed a front flip that felt almost habitual, slicing off one its eyes at the stalks before finally collapsing. With a furious shriek, it blew itself back with its wings, sending both Midnight Blossom and me sailing through the air.
We landed side by side in a low, crouching stance as the moth hissed and chittered.
A near-silence on our side of the room followed, the atmosphere thick with tension. Twilight Aster was on the floor, breathing but weak. Midnight Blossom stood protectively by her side, while Dawn Lily picked herself up, shaking off the impact. Albert's face, still on the screen, was wide-eyed, processing the events that had just unfolded.
“I… I did that?” I whispered, a sense of wonder and disbelief filling me as I finally regained my bearings.
“Seems so,” Midnight Blossom said, her usual grumpy tone replaced with a hint of pride. “Man, where did Twilight Aster find this one? Looks like you've got some hidden depths. Now, sharpen up and straighten up that sloppy stance if you’re going to rip off my damned aesthetic."
Then it hit me. My gaze drifted down to the sickles in my hands, and the realization of what just transpired washed over me.
I...summoned these, somehow. And moved just like Midnight Blossom.
These sickles were nearly identical to the pair in Midnight Blossom’s hands, tinted by an orange sheen on the blades.
The moth unleashed a ghastly snarl, before quickly launching itself into the air. Its single remaining eyestalk glowed menacingly, before it shrieked as it did downstairs. It was calling for reinforcements again. The Juggernaut roared as well, backhanding an electrified Voltage away from its head. Its roar sent head-rattling waves through the Refuge that amplified the moth’s shriek.
Gathering herself, Midnight Blossom dropped into a fighting stance that I mirrored. Her silver eyes were filled with a playful spark. "Well, aren't they a downright ghoulish pair? Now, let’s show these things what we’re made of, girls.”
Taking a deep breath, I gripped the handles tighter and clumsily tried to mirror Midnight Blossom’s.
“You’ve got it! It’s time to show them the meaning of teamwork and friendship!” Dawn Lily chimed in, stepping between us with her bow drawn.
The connection with Midnight Blossom and Twilight Aster, the resonance of our auras… I wasn’t sure what it meant, but right now, I couldn’t think too much about it.
For now, I had a feeling it was the edge we needed.