“Maxwell, what are you saying?!”

Maxwell grumbled as he held my shoulders. His hands were cold… and familiar. It… It scared me because he’s supposed to be gone…

“You were careless and overconfident. That’s all it takes to lose your life.”

 

 

“You’re lying! I wouldn’t have died that easily! I’ve trained my entire life to live… are you saying that it’s over?!”

“Calm down, Feodora.”

“I can’t! Janova and Yuu Yuu are still battling that monster! I'm not ready to die! I'm not ready yet, Maxwell!"

“Enough!”

His booming voice caused me to stop mid-sentence. The days of my training all came back to me at once as I fell into attention. The man before me… was, no doubt, my mentor.

"You went against my creed. You allowed your feelings to overshadow your will to live, and that's why you sit in this dark hole of purgatory."

Maxwell let go of me, and his presence was fading.

“I am disappointed in you, Feodora.”

“M-Maxwell?”

“I gave my life up for you… and this is how you repay me?”

He turned around and began walking into the darkness. He was so far away by the time I moved that I could barely see him.

"Wait! Wait, don't leave me again!"

I ran and ran, but no matter how far I went… he was escaping me.

 

 

"I just… Maxwell, you don't understand!"

I screamed at him as I ran fast.

“When I met Yuu Yuu! When I met Yuuna Vesper for the first time, my loneliness stopped!"

I confessed.

"I know what you taught me! You told me to stay alone, stay within the shadows, and don't associate myself with others!"

I began speeding up as I raced after him in this black purgatory. But no matter how fast I ran, his backline was vanishing.

“But I yearn for companionship, Maxwell! Yuuna Vesper gave me that! And then meeting Janova too! I never felt so happy before, even during my days with you!"

 

I stopped…

It was then that I realized…

That there was no reason to follow Maxwell any longer.

“If you can’t accept my feelings to love someone… then I guess you aren’t the man I thought I knew, Maxwell.”

 

 

My eyes turned that horrible purple as I glared at his back.

“I will never regret loving Yuu Yuu and Janova! So, you can be disappointed in me! You can leave me for all eternity in this hell Maxwell…."

I closed my eyes and reached into my heart.

“But If I could do it again, I would go against your creed time and time again. I would do it because I love Yuu Yuu, the timid loner and Janova, the goddess of chaos!”

 

He turned around to my surprise. I wasn't chasing Maxwell anymore, and he wasn't approaching me. I could barely make out his mask from this distance, but something told me he was giving me a look of disapproval. As I focused in closer to his cold eyes…

 

“What the?”

My eyes opened wide as I saw something…

That shouldn’t be…

 

“You’re not Maxwell.”

His green eyes shined. However, the Maxwell I knew didn't have green eyes. He had those cold blue that drew me in. Suddenly, this overwhelming hot sensation came over my body. I didn’t know what it was…

Because I’ve only experienced it as a cold water sensation.

"I'm in a pocket reality!"

 

---

 

I broke out, and my body was being held by force. I looked down at the battlefield below. I was trapped on the inner edge of the dome that Elizera made. My body was pushed against the weed spell and I couldn’t get free. I was far above them, watching everything play out from up high. But something was distorting me because Yuu Yuu couldn’t see me.

“What the hell?!”

I watched what was happening below, mortified. Elizera had a blade inside my body. No, it wasn’t my body… but a version of me within this pocket reality. I broke out of a pocket reality only to fall into yet another... pocket reality. Janova was on the ground too. Her head… was nearly severed. It took me a bit to realize that Yuu Yuu was screaming in rage at Elizera.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

Yuu Yuu held her head in her hands in a sorry attempt to control her emotions. Spells were firing at Elizera, but they were ineffective as the Radiant approached Yuu Yuu. It was too unrealistic that all the massive spells were deflecting from Elizera.

 

 

Like a light flashed through my head... I understood what was happening. 

“Yuu Yuu! It’s fake! It’s all fake! That Elizera is fake!”

I couldn't understand what was going on. I couldn't move as I was trapped in the weeds, within this pocket reality. I couldn’t understand why Yuu Yuu couldn’t hear me. I was in the same space as her. Both Yuu Yuu and I were inside of Elizera’s weed spell yet she couldn’t hear me or see me.

“Yuu Yuu can’t hear me...”

I tried to free myself, but I didn't know what was capturing me. I gasped as these bright white eyes stared at me warmly when I looked over my shoulder. It was an elderly woman in a black nun’s uniform. She has glistening sky blue hair and scars around her face. I... had no idea who this could be until she spoke.

And when she did... my heart sank.

“Mother knows what’s best for her child, Feodora.”

 

 

My mouth opened as I was face to face with…. Mother. I looked away and spotted Janova captured in the air like me. She was captured in the same way as me as and was viewing the horrible events below us. Yuu Yuu couldn’t see Janova and me struggling. This trick... made her believe that we were the corpse on the ground.

Another Mother held Janova tight. I could see a spell around her, likely distorting her from Yuu Yuu’s view. It was then I realized that Mother was the one stopping our voices from getting to Yuu Yuu.

This wasn’t Elizera’s spell.... it was Mother’s. 

“Shh, let’s watch as our lovely child fulfills her destiny, Feodora.”

The old bag chided. 

“No! No! I won’t let you take over Yuu Yuu!”

I tried my best to call out to her. This pocket reality sensation was vastly different than Yuu Yuu or Janova’s. I wasn’t sure if Yuu Yuu or even Janova could have realized they were put within one.

Elizera rushed my pink bunny, but Yuu Yuu evaded and struck her with a massive water spell. I could see the Radiant getting irritated as she attempted to strike her down. Yuu Yuu was holding her own for a bit, but she wasn't the kind of fighter like Janova and I were.

“Die! Die!”

Yuu Yuu screamed.

“You failed! Because of your selfishness, both Feodora and Janova are dead!”

Suddenly, she sped to Yuu Yuu, grabbed her by the neck, and slammed her to the ground. Yuu Yuu shrieked as her back slammed against the dirt. Her eyes rolled up as she struggled to get out of that monster's grasp. I began fighting harder to get to her, but it was useless. I was trapped on the edge of this dome and she couldn’t see me.

 

 

“Why would you want this to happen to Yuu Yuu?! Don’t you love her at all, Mother?!”

I tried to appeal to this entity behind me. Mother's warm breath whispered into my ear. It was scary because I felt safe as she spoke softly. It was as if I wanted to listen to her voice... give her all my worries and... let Mother do what she wanted.

"Yuuna is special, Feodora. Don't you think it's selfish to not let her become someone who will do what's suitable for this world?"

My mind… felt as though it was being overloaded with doubt. My heart sank… I… couldn’t think straight. My mind wouldn’t come up with solutions and slowly I was feeling like... Mother was right.

“No! You’re a Trickster, Mother!”

I understood what was happening. Mother had always been here in this battle with us. This was Elizera’s trick. She used her weed spell to entrap us in the battle area... but by doing that Elizera gave us a false sense of security. We believed it was a 3 on 1 battle... when in actuality, it was a 3 on 2 and Mother hid herself for this very moment. 

This trick was going to work... if I didn’t break free.

But this Mother woman was even making me doubt my feelings. I had to fight her brainwashing and manipulation if I wanted to save Yuu Yuu.

“Ahh!”

My pink bunny began screaming. I turned to see the spectrum beginning to flow within Yuu Yuu. It was a mirror of what happened in their past at the Steeble Lake. However, Yuu Yuu was older and struggling with all kinds of spells striking at Elizera. But the spells weren’t affecting her and I knew that this person that Yuu Yuu was facing... was a pocket reality version Mother made.

Mother made her this way... so Yuu Yuu could feel like it’s hopeless.

“That Elizera is fake! She can't be killed in this pocket reality Yuu Yuu! Realize where you are! Wake up!”

I pleaded with Yuu Yuu, but it was useless.

I turned to Janova, who turned to me. She was screaming something with tears in her eyes. Trapped like me, there was nothing we could do. As I focused on her lips, Janova was saying to me...

“I’m sorry, Feo.”

My heart sank as I turned to the battlefield below. Yuu Yuu was screaming as Elizera assaulted her, attempting to make her go crazy.

"Because of your weakness, you couldn't keep them alive! You're too weak to kill me, Yuuna!"

Elizera mocked.

“No! That’s not true! They aren’t dead, Elizera!”

Yuu Yuu attempted to create a pocket reality, one where Janova and I were standing around Yuu Yuu. It was a sad attempt to escape from reality. However Mother reached out one hand and shattered it before she could escape. 

“What the?!”

Yuu Yuu was confused, not understanding why her pocket reality was taken away from her. The only conclusion she could make was that... Elizera was doing it.

"Those bodies to the side of you are the girls you love! They will never speak again. Don't you see?! You lost. They're gone forever because you chose to fight me!"

“No! You’re lying!”

“Open your eyes and see reality, Yuuna Vesper! No matter how much you fight and try to escape from reality… I’ll keep breaking it!”

The snake lied to her as the spectrum flow became intense. The world began to shake.

"Even if you run… and hide in reality… I will find you and show you the truth!"

Elizera forced Yuu Yuu to look at my dead body. To... look at the severed head of Janova too.

"I will make you face this truth!”

Elizera cackled.

“It’s not true! It’s not true!”

Yuu Yuu fought, but I could see her will dying. There was no way she could know that she was within a pocket reality when it felt so different from her own.

"You can bring them back to life forever, though, Yuuna."

The devil said as a massive spectrum began feeding into Yuu Yuu.

“Don’t! Don’t listen to her, Yuu Yuu!”

I fought with Mother, but she wouldn’t let go. Janova was trying too, but she was stuck just like me.

“A level 3 chaos user… can make a perfect reality though. One where the people you love aren’t dead. One… that isn’t like your level 2 reality Yuu Yuu. It… can’t be broken.”

Yuu Yuu opened her eyes. She looked into the sky and began screaming.

“You’ll be strong enough to kill me and anyone else who dares to destroy your fantasy. You… will be so detached from reality that you will be insane…."

Elizera began laughing maniacally.

“But what a blissful insanity it would be!”

"I'll... be able to bring them back?"

Yuu Yuu said meekly. 

It was then that I heard it…

 

 

The snap was so strong and loud. Strings began wrapping around the world we were in. The weeds began to break as Yuu Yuu’s body began to glow a vibrant silver. Yuu Yuu held her head and kicked Elizera off. The pocket reality broke around us, and I began to fall. Janova grabbed me and kept me in the sky. All the spectrum was flowing within her, and there was no stopping it. The true Elizera was on the ground with a spear impaled in her. Blood was pouring from her wound and it appeared to be fatal.

“Hah… good job, Mother.”

 

 

Elizera chuckled.

Yuu Yuu began floating above the hole we were in. The sky turned a bright silver that reflected across the land. Clouds stopped moving, and the world below had a bright hue. We landed next to Elizera, bloodied from Yuu Yuu’s massive spell that did hit before we were taken into the pocket reality.

 

 

Janova got on her knees, held Elizera’s neck, and began choking her.

“You bitch! You doomed us all! What truth could be worth Yuu Yuu becoming this monster?!”

Strings speared all over the land. They tied into places as white beasts began rising around the Ancient Ruins. Yuu Yuu was still screaming, and her wails reached across the land. I watched as the world around us began to faze into what Yuu Yuu desired.

" --------------- "

Elizera spoke, but I couldn't understand her words. It was like something was preventing the language from coming out of her body.

"Heh… Even in my death, the truth of the world isn't allowed to be said in this realm. Well… at least I will be able to see what I've created."

Janova squeezed her neck. I heard the popping and cracking of her bones as the goddess of chaos… finally began to kill her enemy. Elizera’s eyes rolled behind her back as she crawled at Janova.

“You killed my Yuu Yuu! You destroyed her mind! Killing you is the least I can do… for her.”

“G-….eed…. oo….ehh…."

 

 

I watched as the life faded from her eyes as she struggled to say her final words. As the blood poured from her stomach thanks to Yuu Yuu’s massive spell… Elizera, the mass murderer, was killed by Yuu Yuu and Janova.

Eventually, the fighting stopped as the Radiant's body went limp. Janova sighed as tears rolled down her cheek. I put my hand on her shoulder, causing Janova to look at me with determination.

“What are we going to do?!”

Janova looked at me, then back at the sky. A white castle began to form in the heavens. White beasts were created as Yuu Yuu screamed and cried for help. She wasn't consciously making choices anymore. Nothing that was happening was her will. Yuu Yuu… our pink bunny was insane.

“The only way I was stopped in the past… was when I was killed, Feo.”

With tears in her eyes, she faced me.

“I don’t think I can kill my Yuu Yuu.”

Jade ran to the bottom of the hole alongside Abigail. We faced them as they approached us. Jade looked at Elizera’s body, closed her eyes, and looked away.

“What happened?!

Abigail demanded answers. Above us, the white palace was still forming. It was so large that I'm sure it could be seen for thousands of miles.

 

 

“Mother was here, and she tricked us long enough for Yuu Yuu to be… forced into becoming the goddess of chaos.”

I was disgusted as I… announced our failure. Suddenly, the world began to shake. Bright strings grabbed Elizera’s body and brought her body towards the heavens.

“What the hell?!”

Jade said as she began running up out of the massive hole. Janova and I followed alongside Abigail. Elizera’s body was brought to the heavens by white strings as we watched it vanish in the white palace above in the clouds.

“What is that place, Jade?!”

I asked as we raced up the underground crater. Eventually, we reached the place where Jade and Abigail battled with Vert and Claudia.

“That is the Chaos Palace. Janova had the same palace when she went berserk in the past. That palace… caused the deaths of millions."

“What are we going to do?”

I whispered.

I turned to the side and was faced with another disturbing sight.

On the ground, dead in a pool of her own blood, was…

 

Claudia.

 

 

“Claudia’s dead?! What happened, Jade?!”

Claudia died... and took all her secrets with her.

I demanded answers. However, Jade gritted her teeth and turned away.

“If we live, I’ll explain what happened to Claudia later, Feodora!”

The knight turned to Janova and me.

“As it stands, if we want to prevent lots of people from dying, we need to get into the Chaos Palace before it's finished forming…."

 

Jade sighed, turned back to us, and said with force.

“We need to infiltrate the Chaos Palace and kill Yuuna before it’s too late!”