The Nightmare Carousel let out a sound like grinding tectonic plates. Its massive, rusted iron hoof hung suspended in the air, a shadow of jagged metal and violet energy looming directly over the trembling Mahiru.
"Blazing Heart! Ignite!"
Konone lunged. She didn't have time for a tactical approach. She threw her entire body into a flaming shoulder-check, slamming into the monster’s leg just as it began its descent. The impact sent a shockwave of heat through the park, but the monster barely budged. It was too dense, engorged by the sheer volume of Mahiru’s spiraling panic.
"Yui! Now!" Konone gritted her teeth, her feet digging deep furrows into the grass as she struggled to hold back the weight.
"Glacial Fortress!" Yui screamed. She thrust her rapier into the ground, summoning a thick dome of crystalline ice around Mahiru.
The iron hoof slammed down onto the dome. CRACK. The ice held, but a web of fractures immediately raced across the surface. Yui gasped, her knees buckling from the feedback. "Konone... I can't... it’s too heavy! It’s literally feeding on her!"
Mahiru looked up through the cracked ice. Her vision was blurred by tears and the static of her own trauma. She saw Konone’s fire flickering—not because she was weak, but because she was exhausting her life force to keep the monster from stepping an inch closer to Mahiru. She saw the blood from the wounds Koko had given Konone earlier starting to seep through her armor.
Stop it, Mahiru thought, her breath hitching. I’m the one who caused this. I’m the discord.
"Don't look at it, Mahiru!" Konone roared, her voice strained to the breaking point. She looked back over her shoulder, her violet eyes burning with a fierce, stubborn love. "Look at me! This isn't the Void! This is just a monster, and we're going to win! But I need you to stand up!"
"I... I can't..." Mahiru sobbed. "I'm a monster too..."
"You are not a monster!" Konone took a hit from the carousel’s rotating arm, spinning back but immediately planting her feet again. "A monster wouldn't be this afraid of hurting people! You're the bravest person I know because you’re fighting yourself every single second!"
Konone took another blow to the chest, her armor sparking. She coughed, but her gaze never left Mahiru’s. "If you want to say sorry for the past... then save the people in the present! Give them the light, Mahiru! Be the spark!"
Mahiru watched as a piece of the monster’s rusted metal sliced through Konone’s gauntlet. She saw Yui’s ice dome finally shatter into a thousand pieces.
The fear didn't disappear, but something else rose to meet it. It was a memory—not of the King, but of a young Konone holding her hand in a field of flowers, telling her that the stars only shine because of the dark.
Mahiru’s hand moved. Her fingers, no longer shaking with fear but with a desperate, burgeoning resolve, reached into her pocket. She gripped the Card of Lightning.
"No more," Mahiru whispered, her voice gaining a sharp, electric edge. "No more shadows."
The card didn't just glow; it roared. A bolt of pure, golden lightning shot from the park and hit the clouds, signaling that the storm had finally found its true master.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9lpDAHy7X
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