The school’s weekend festival at the local park was supposed to be a celebration—a way for Konone to help Mahiru reintegrate into a world of laughter and bright colors. The air smelled of candied apples and popcorn, and the distant sound of a carousel’s calliope music filled the air.
"See? Everything is normal," Yui said, holding up a giant stick of blue cotton candy. "No rifts, no monsters, just a lot of sugar!"
Mahiru tried to smile, but her eyes kept darting toward the shadows under the trees. Every loud pop of a balloon made her shoulders jump. She felt like a glass statue in a room full of hammers.
"I... I think I should go back," Mahiru murmured, clutching the hem of her sweater. "The noise... it sounds like—"
Before she could finish, the upbeat music of the carousel distorted. The cheerful melody slowed down, deepening into a guttural, groaning bass. The brightly painted wooden horses began to melt, their eyes glowing with a sickening violet light.
"VOID BREACH: THE NIGHTMARE CAROUSEL!"
The ground erupted as the ride tore itself free from its foundations, growing into a massive, rotating whirlwind of jagged wood and rusted iron. The "horses" detached, turning into shadow-beasts that lunged at the screaming crowd.
"Mahiru, stay behind us!" Konone shouted, pulling out her Heart Card.
But Mahiru didn't move. She couldn't.
As the monster let out a piercing, metallic shriek, a memory slammed into Mahiru’s mind. It was the same sound the Void-rifts made when she was Blazing Arcana. In her mind, the park disappeared. She was back in the darkness, the King’s voice whispering: “Look at the chaos you’ve caused. Look at the masterpiece of destruction.”
"No... no, please..." Mahiru fell to her knees, covering her ears.
"Mahiru!" Yui cried, but a shadow-beast lunged at her, forcing her to transform.
"Blazing Heart! Crystallize!"
Konone transformed a split second later, her fire flaring up to intercept a falling piece of debris. But the Nightmare Carousel was feeding. It didn't eat physical objects; it drank the fear radiating from the park. And Mahiru’s terror was like a beacon—a massive, unrefined source of energy that the monster was gorging on.
"It’s getting bigger!" Yui shouted, her ice walls cracking under the monster’s sheer weight. "Konone, the fear! It’s coming from Mahiru!"
Konone looked back and saw her friend curled in a ball on the grass, shaking violently. The golden Card of Lightning in Mahiru's pocket was sparking wildly, but it wasn't a hero's spark—it was the frantic, uncontrolled discharge of someone drowning in their own trauma.
"Mahiru, look at me!" Konone yelled over the roar of the monster.
But Mahiru was gone, lost in a storm of her own making. To her, the thunder wasn't a power to be used—it was the sound of the world ending all over again. And as the Nightmare Carousel raised a massive, rusted hoof to crush the girl on the ground, the sky above the park turned a bruised, electric purple.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbkia44T7cL
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