"First Movement: Star Song's Soothing Arpeggio."

The sound of an orchestral string overture washed over me, the notes clear and melodic as the arrow released, arcing through the air out of sight.

I could only gape as Celestial Sonata's blue eyes snapped open again, a confident smirk on her lips.

The Magical Girl's outfit flared, the ribbons and folds of her dress twirling around her form as the golden aura surrounding grew. Her magical energy flowed out, washing over the area in a powerful wave that caused the grass to ripple in the wind. The sound of a string orchestra backed by a faint percussion section began to emanate from the girl in front of me, and I couldn't help but stare in wonder.

Her smirk widened, and she held out a hand, stretching her bow arm into a sideways pose. Her dress suddenly shifted, glittering and refracting the light as it cascaded around her.

"I must say," Celestial Sonata spoke up with a sudden serious expression, slowly walking out of the canopy of trees. "These things are turning out to be a real dampener on the mood. I'm going to go and show that thing a piece of my mind."

She froze in place, ears twitching briefly before turning around. "You take care of your fallen companion, my dear, intrepid new friend," she commanded sharply. "His heart beats yet."

Coyote! Crap!

I snapped out of my stupor, dashing away from Sonata and towards Coyote's fallen mech in a blur.

The cockpit had three massive holes, and the mech was smoking and sparking like crazy. A small fire had started, and I knew I didn't have much time.

I climbed over the wreckage, peering through the glass shards and debris to see a tuft of scruffy, spiky pink hair.

"Rai-chan, is there enough energy here for you to hijack and get the cockpit open? Because we need to pull him out," I whispered.

"Barely enough to move the hatch, but I can open it a crack. It looks like it's about to blow or burn up, so hurry!"

I scrambled forward, getting my drone's arms underneath the shattered remains of the cockpit, forcing it up a couple of inches. Sparks flew, and I felt a sudden jolt of panic as the metallic screeching intensified.

However, it was enough. I shoved forward, tearing the hatch open with all the strength I could pull from the drone. The wires and shrapnel started popping and fizzing, and I could barely grab Coyote and pull him out of the hatch.

"Come on, man," I whispered, pulling his body up and over my shoulder.

My vision was starting to blur again, and I could feel my mechanical body starting to lag and freeze up. I gritted my teeth, pushing on as we hobbled away from the smoldering mech.

As we shuffled away from the mech, Celestial Sonata continued to walk forward ahead of us, the sound of pianos and violins descending into a simmering, quiet tension with a steady rhythm. Her long, pink hair fluttered in the wind, and her blue eyes flashed, narrowing as she approached the Beast of Liminality.

The creature rose up, its shadow cloaking the ground as it raised a single crystal spear. A cello briefly thrummed in the air, the notes deep and low as the Beast hesitated, taken off-guard by Celestial Sonata's overwhelming presence.

I stumbled as I managed to reach the edge of the clearing, leaning back against a tree with Coyote in my arms.

"Ikki, the first aid kit on your belt," Rai-chan reminded me, her tone urgent.

"O-oh, right," I muttered, fumbling at my waistline.

His eyes fluttered, and he squirmed weakly as he looked up at me through one eye before his droopy eyelids closed again. His tanned features were marred by a massive purple bruise and black eye on the side of his head, and his pink, spiky hair was obscured by his helmet. A sickeningly large wound was dripping blood from his midsection, and his breathing was shallow and ragged.

"He lucked out," Rai-chan informed me, calming my instant panic. "The Beast's claws missed his vital organs and any major arteries. You need to stop the bleeding stat, but he'll live if we can get him proper medical treatment soon."

"I'll do my best," I murmured, cramming the first aid spray over his wound.

I felt a jolt as the medigel did its magic, my hands shaking as I steadied myself and began working through some emergency treatment.

The arrow Celestial Sonata shot earlier had frozen in the sky over the chaos beast, vibrating and shaking the air as a rainbow of colors distorted and morphed through its magic. She held up a single hand as the tempo of a lone violin accelerated and snapped her fingers.

With a deafening boom, the arrow exploded in a dazzling display of light and sound, and a shower of music-note-shaped particles rained down on the Chaos Beast. The creature roared in pain, its form warping and twisting, and it leaped back toward the orange vortex that had narrowed into a single pillar.

Celestial Sonata pressed forward, her golden aura shimmering around her as she dismissed her bow.

The Beast of Liminality snarled, planting itself as its form distorted and split into three. Its image flickered and shook, creating shadows of itself. It summoned a spray of small portals with small crystal daggers, each aimed at a different point around Celestial Sonata. The daggers rapidly streamed towards her in a relentless barrage.

The magical girl calmly blinked, and with a wave of her wrist, the golden light surrounding her erupted in a flurry of blades.

Dozens of translucent circles and music notes materialized in the air in a heartbeat, scattering and slicing through the portals and daggers in a ferocious whirlwind.

I peered out from behind the tree as Celestial Sonata paused for a moment, her expression calm and placid as she stared down the Beast. Coyote twitched in my arms, and I grit my teeth, knowing we were useless here.

The Beast stomped its feet, and its form wavered and rippled before surging forward, a pair of sickly purple sickles formed in its clawed hands. It roared, and with a flash of golden light, the two engaged, their auras colliding in a storm of raw power and fury.

Suddenly, the ground ruptured and split apart underneath them, and a column of purple energy poured up from the earth, twisting and swirling in a torrent.

Celestial Sonata barely reacted, summoning a blade made of golden light in her left hand as she pushed forward, fighting against the energy pouring up from the ground. She parried and danced, sweeping forward with a leap and driving her right knee deep into the creature's chest.

The Beast staggered, its aura dimming for a moment as it collapsed to the ground. Celestial Sonata didn't miss a beat, spinning in the air and bringing her sword down in a swift slice.

But the creature disappeared in a flash of purple and reappeared several yards away. Celestial Sonata quickly regained her posture, her dress shimmering in the wind. She cracked a smile, and a violin slowly increased in volume as a handful of small, round portals appeared around her.

The Beast glared at her, trembling with rage and frustration. It gathered its strength, shooting up into the air and launching a barrage of spear-like streaks of darkness down on the magical girl from the portals.

But Celestial Sonata continued to calmly step forward, raising her right hand with two fingers.

"Magnum Opus: Absolute Hope Field!"

The music emitting from her body surged with her shout, and the massive field of golden light collapsed tightly around her form in a tight bubble wrapped around her body. The beast's spears slammed into the newly formed bubble, dissipating into a shower of sparkling confetti as they struck.

Celestial Sonata laughed, the sound of a full string orchestra rising in volume as her dress flashed and glittered.

She dashed forward, her movements so quick that they were almost invisible, and slashed out at the monster's throat. The Beast wrenched back, barely avoiding the strike, and unleashed a maelstrom of attacks, its form flickering in and out of view as it danced around Celestial Sonata.

Celestial Sonata simply closed her eyes and spun in place, her magic flowing in a wave as it countered the onslaught. Her dance was hypnotic and mesmerizing, and as I watched the battle, I was completely transfixed.

Suddenly, I saw my HUD pop open, and a string of hexadecimal codes flash across my vision.

"Unbelievable," Rai-chan muttered. "The spell jammer effect from our destroyed mech should affect them both, but she still has such perfect control over her mana in spite of the surrounding conditions."

The Beast of Liminality backed away, its aura dimming as it frantically shot out a pair of glowing crystal daggers from a portal behind Celestial Sonata. The pair of daggers exploded in a blast of purple and gold as it splashed harmlessly against her field, causing it to flicker for a moment.

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Celestial Sonata grinned, the music swelling as she brought her sword up. She deflected a burst of energy blasts from the creature with her blade, weaving and bobbing as she pressed forward.

"That technique of hers is ludicrous. Just completely ludicrous," Rai-chan commented in awe. "She's wrapped all the hopes and dreams of the people who placed their faith in her with her Signature Motif to displace herself into Imaginary Space."

"Uh, English please, Rai-chan?" I muttered, pulling out a knife to cut Coyote's uniform off.

"Okay, so remember that crazy world you slipped into briefly earlier? The demesne you associate with your dreams of your mother?" Rai-chan began. "That was a pocket realm within the Sea of Imagination. Imaginary Space is a shorthand for describing the realm of dreams, ideas, and phenomena that most humans have access to — including psychics, mages, Magical Girls, and other forms of supernatural power."

"So Celestial Sonata has slipped into that? But didn't you say it was impossible and dangerous for a human—"

"Yep, but she hasn't entirely left her body so it isn't that dangerous," Rai-chan explained. "It's publicly known that her Signature Motif allows her to sense and manipulate energy waves around her within a certain range. By displacing herself into Imaginary Space, she renders herself functionally invulnerable against anything save for another Magical Girl in her weight class. Or..."

We watched as Celestial Sonata ducked and rolled, playfully avoiding a shimmering, distorted vortex of purple and black that erupted from the ground beneath her. She kicked back, her dress fluttering in the wind as she landed a few yards away from the chaos beast before weaving around it and pressing her relentless assault.

"Modern Terran magical theory was partially formed with the understanding that an Emperor-class beast's Authority tends to break all the rules, and is rooted more in the abstract Imaginary Space than reality. In the same vein, a Magical Girl's luminal aura is rooted in the Sea of Imagination as well. Only an Imperatore's Authority or a sufficiently powerful Magical Girl would be able to pierce her Absolute Hope Field. That technique of hers is just completely ridiculous. Absolutely absurd."

"But doesn't that chaos beast use an Authority too? Like that weird purple dimension-warping and time-slowing thing?"

"Yes, but that doesn't seem to extend to the crystal projectiles it's so fond of," Rai-chan concluded sagely. "Although the creature is using the Authority of Liminality to open these portals, the spears themselves seem to be constructs made of pure chaos energy. While the creature seems to have the ability to create portals and warp time and space, it seems to rely on secondary, more conventional methods to attack. Celestial Sonata seems to have a strong intuition for the attacks she would be vulnerable to."

The wreckage of the mech I'd piloted was scattered in the field where Celestial Sonata had launched the beast. I could see some visible distortion around its exposed chaos core engine, and the core was sparking and fizzing visibly in the exposed engine.

I grimaced as I finished cutting off Coyote's shirt and began applying first aid to the wound underneath.

"If I had to describe what Celestial Sonata is doing right now with her mana," Rai-chan continued, "It would be like she's threading a needle and sewing a hundred threads a second without a sewing machine while blindfolded in the middle of a hurricane. And she's playing the piano and singing while doing it. You simply can't fathom the level of control and focus she's exhibiting right now by maintaining that Absolute Hope Field of hers through the engine's disruption. It's something that's just so unbelievably impressive and mind-boggling that I can't believe we're witnessing it live. She's relying on pure fundamentals of magic and luminal manipulation, and there's no way anyone could ever be expected to utilize a technique like that Absolute Hope Field of hers practically in battle."

"Woah," I breathed, noticing her turn up the pace even more. She sprouted golden wings of pure energy from her back, and her golden blade shimmered as she traced her left hand through the air. The Beast suddenly swung wildly, sending a wave of distorted purple energy out in front of it with its right hand.

The wave expanded outward, flickering as it met Celestial Sonata's growing aura. She simply folded her wings, ducking under it and leaping back into the air.

"So, an Emperor's Authority can really pierce through her ability?" I couldn't help but ask. "That sounds, um, pretty bad."

"Indeed, but the chaos beast is only using it with crude, improvised techniques. If it could actually access the full capabilities of the Imperatore of Liminatity, this would be a very different battle. However, there is no doubt that maintaining her focus in the current conditions is straining her mental and physical capacity."

I narrowed my eyes, noticing the visible strain as a clarinet and harp flitted through the air, subtly overlaying with the violin and cello playing in the background. Her rhythm was slightly off, and her movements were slowing down.

"Still," Rai-chan noted. "The overloaded engine is visibly impairing the Beast of Liminality more than her, and I imagine it won't be long before she's able to pin the creature down."

I nodded, settling down Coyote on the ground as I finished cleaning his wound from our hiding spot.

"What's with the music, though?" I asked, walking out to watch the battle in awe.

"Every Magical Girl has a Signature Motif," Rai-chan began. "I guess you might call it a personal signature superpower or theme based on their talent and origin. For example, Radiant Rhiannon, the current consensus strongest Magical Girl in the world, has a Signature Motif tied to the concept of Sovereignty and Bounty. She can impose a limited number of rules at a time on fate, destiny, and probability, affecting the surrounding area and forcefully 'rigging' probabilities to some degree. Then, she can reap these 'boons' or blessings like a grain crop. Her power has been particularly effective in rescuing impoverished regions from droughts, famine, or devastating natural disasters."

"Oh," I murmured. "I think I get it. So Celestial Sonata's special ability has something to do with music?"

"Most Magical Girls' Signature Motifs have something to do with their unique personalities or personal interests," Rai-chan explained. "But Celestial Sonata's Signature is on file as the ability to manipulate energy waves and their properties. She also has been noted to be a generational talent when it comes to utilizing her luminal aura — the field of energy that typically surrounds a Magical Girl. An individual Magical Girl's luminal aura is the source of their supernatural strength, and it is known to wax and wane with the positive and negative emotions they inspire respectively."

Rai-chan paused for a moment as Celestial Sonata conjured a pair of golden discs and threw them, flashing and twirling as she danced around the Beast.

"Celestial Sonata is a music idol one of the most famous rising stars of the Magical Girl community. Her affinity for weaponizing sound waves and her lumina has earned her Motif the nickname 'Symphonie Estelle' amongst her fans and the broader community." Rai-chan continued to explain. "So from my personal observation, she utilizes the music as a form of echolocation to map and sense the area around her and enhance her accuracy and predictive skills."

"And if a Magical Girl's lumina is tied to the emotions she can invoke in people..." I began, feeling myself suddenly understand. "Does that apply to the individual Magical Girl's emotions as well?"

"Bingo," Rai-chan replied. "Their abilities and effectiveness are directly linked to the emotions and inspiration they can elicit from people. But most of all, themselves. A Magical Girl can still function at a high level in a state of depression or despair, but their true strength will be dampened considerably."

"Gotcha," I muttered. "So in other words..."

I stroked my chin out of reflex, wondering if I was too off base with my guess.

"Celestial Sonata runs around with a literal Theme Music Power-Up. That's pretty cool," I concluded.

"That's not the exact term I would have used, but..." Rai-chan trailed off as the battle escalated.

The Beast of Liminality leaped into the air, slamming a pair of distorted sickles down into the ground. A fountain of sickly purple energy erupted from the impact point, spraying up in an arc around it as the creature landed.

But Celestial Sonata was faster. She leaped up, wings flashing as she spun mid-air, and threw a pair of spinning golden energy bolts towards the ground. The bolts slammed into the ground below the Beast and then expanded into a massive golden web, trapping it in place.

The chaos beast snarled, struggling against the energy net, which was sizzling and sparking as it fought to tear apart the bonds holding it.

Celestial Sonata huffed, dropping to one knee as she drew her bow and notched an arrow. Her golden aura flared up again, and the music swelled around us.

"She can't keep up her Absolute Hope Field any longer," Rai-chan explained. "It's a miracle she even kept it up this long."

Celestial Sonata took a deep breath, her hands shaking slightly as she steadied her aim.

The Beast roared, throwing a barrage of crystal spears towards her. But Celestial Sonata simply smiled, and with a snap of her fingers, her wings flapped and vanished, as well as the crystal spears her opponent had created.

"Checkmate!" Celestial Sonata shouted, firing the arrow.

It sailed through the air, its trajectory completely uninterrupted as it sailed directly at the trapped Chaos Beast's chest. But it twisted at the last second, catching it in the leg.

"Something's wrong," I whispered, feeling a sense of dread in my gut.

"Ikki? What is it?" Rai-chan asked. "Wait..."

But I didn't answer, my eyes widening as I felt a sudden chill down my spine.

The Chaos Beast roared, its body distorting and twisting in a disturbing, warping motion. It let out a horrible shriek, its form flickering and shifting.

And then, I realized what had happened. My eyes landed on my mech's wreckage and the fizzing, sparking core that sat at its center.

Only, it wasn't sparking or fizzing anymore.

"The core's burned out!" Rai-chan and I shouted at the same time, panic rising in my throat.

I began to sprint toward the nearby battle, feeling an instinctive drive. I didn't know what was causing it, but I knew I had to get closer.

The chaos beast's aura had changed, and its purple energy had turned a sickly, pitch black. Celestial Sonata narrowed her eyes warily, raising her bow in preparation for a final attack.

But the beast disappeared in a flash, reappearing right in front of Celestial Sonata with its claws outstretched.

The Magical Girl gasped, her eyes widening as she leaped backward in an attempt to dodge. But she had been caught momentarily exhausted and off guard, and its claws sliced through her aura, tearing a massive gash in her side.

"No!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the plains.

The Beast of Liminality followed up immediately with a barrage of four crystal spears for the killing blow, but Celestial Sonata rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding its attack. She coughed, clutching her side as blood dripped from it.

She raised her bow to counter-attack and then...

The world froze.

A strange, distorted static noise filled the air as the world around us turned monochrome grey. I could only gape in horror as the Beast of Liminality stood triumphant, its sickly purple aura growing brighter and more intense as it stared down Celestial Sonata. I stood there, frozen in time, unable to help, unable to even move.

The creature's aura grew so bright that it was almost blinding, and a deep, bone-chilling roar erupted from its throat.

I strained against its ability, struggling to move and do anything.

My entire body ached, and my head pounded as I strained every nerve and fiber of my being to move. The milliseconds passed like hours, and I could feel my heart beating out of my chest as I tried to focus on breaking free.

The Beast of Liminality slowly limped at Celestial Sonata as if it was savoring every moment of its victory. The Magical Girl was frozen in place, her expression serious as she raised her bow where the chaos beast had been moments before.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I continued to strain, feeling my phantom muscles burn with exertion as the beast raised a crystal spear like a javelin, aiming it at Celestial Sonata.

'Come on! Move!' I thought desperately. 'What can I do here?!'

I stopped for a second, remembering the last time something like this had occurred.

I centered my mind again.

The image of a gentle autumn breeze fluttering through a forest flashed through my mind, and I felt a sudden rush of energy.

I reached out again for my family on that hillside, their smiles and laughter ringing through my mind.

And then, with a jolt, I felt my fingers twitch.