The library was no longer a place of learning; it had become a frozen graveyard of knowledge. Massive, obsidian-colored roots from the Void Oak snaked around the bookshelves, crushing them into splinters, while a supernatural blizzard swirled in the confined space.
At the center of the storm, two colors clashed: a desperate, flickering red and a cold, merciless violet.
CLANG!
Konone parried another strike from the dark rapier, her flaming gauntlets hissing as they met the black ice. Blazing Arcana: Ice didn't fight like the Yui Konone knew. There were no clumsy openings, no hesitant pauses, and no cheerful battle cries. She was a machine of absolute zero, her movements precise and lethal.
"Yui, stop! This isn't you!" Konone shouted, her voice cracking. She dodged a jagged shard of ice that sliced through the air where her shoulder had been a second before.
Yui didn't blink. Her vacant white eyes remained fixed on Konone’s chest. "Yui is gone," the hollow voice echoed. "There is only the peace of the frost. Why do you struggle, Konone? You have no world left to save. You are just a relic of a dead sun."
"That’s a lie!" Konone roared, but she didn't strike back. She only blocked. She couldn't bring herself to ignite her fist against Yui’s face. "The world is right here! You showed it to me! You showed me the school, the milk, the smiles!"
"A distraction," Yui whispered. She lunged, her rapier glowing with a sickly purple light. "Arcana Art: Glacial Piercing!"
A dozen spikes of black ice erupted from the floor. Konone leaped back, but a branch from the Void Oak caught her ankle, tripping her. She hit the ground hard, the cold of the floor seeping through her armor.
Above her, Mahiru stood on a gnarled limb of the tree monster, looking down with a mix of triumph and something that looked almost like pity.
"See, Konone? This is the true nature of your 'Hope,'" Mahiru called out over the howling wind. "It is fragile. It is a burden. Look at how much stronger she is now that she doesn't care about you. Strike her, Yui! End her mourning!"
Yui stood over the fallen Konone, the tip of the dark rapier hovering inches from Konone’s throat. The black ice dripped with a liquid shadow that hissed as it hit the floor.
"End... mourning..." Yui repeated, her voice flickering. For a split second, the milky white in her eyes seemed to ripple, a tiny spark of cyan trying to push through.
"Do it!" Mahiru commanded, her violet eyes flashing. "Silence the fire forever!"
Konone looked up at her partner. She didn't raise her shield. She didn't prime her flames. Instead, she reached out her hand—not to fight, but to touch.
"Yui," Konone said softly, her voice steady despite the blizzard. "If you want to kill me, look at me first. Look at the friend you gave a home to. If the Void is so much better... then why are you crying?"
A single tear, frozen into a tiny crystal of black salt, rolled down Yui’s cheek. The dark rapier trembled. The entire library seemed to hold its breath as the Fire and the Frost stood at the edge of the abyss.53Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOX7SsRqqmx
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