Where the Goddess Aquilonyan’s light shines, there is no place for darkness. 

“Nyarh!” 

Clang!

Clenching your first, you crush the chains to bits. With the Realm of Purification suppressing Nightingale’s demonic powers, those chains are just as brittle as glass. The girl just stands there like a stone statue, staring at your angelic wings. Her left eye quickly changes from red to blue, then back to red, flickering repeatedly. It’s working! She is trying to gain back control of her body! You can feel it!   

However,your mana is leaving your body at an insane speed. This holy spell is eating too much mana! The most you can hold on is 10 seconds. If Nightingale is unable to defeat her evil self in that 10 seconds, then you are truly doomed. So, jumping forward, you grab her arm. 

“Nightingale!” you scream her name at the top of your lungs, hoping that your voice can reach her. “You can do it nya!!!”

Her arms suddenly twitch. Her face is sweating. And then, from her left eye… blood starts dripping down from it.

Oh no, it doesn’t look good!  

Five seconds already, yet her body is still reacting weirdly! 

You have come a long way, used all your cards, and got to this point. Victory is almost there. All that's left to do is to believe in Nightingale, that she will be able to overcome her demonic side. But… why are you having this feeling… the feeling of something going wrong?

“Don’t tell me… it’s not enough nya!?”. 

You are blasting the Goddess’s light at the maximum intensity that you are able to! True, you have copied the Goddess’s authority to drive away any evil. But, Nekomimi Love Bond only allows you to use a weaker version of that ability. Seems like you are not strong enough to exorcize the demon possessing Nightingale yet!

“Come on nya!” you grunt.

Three seconds left. Yet still no good sign. Your hope is dwindling. Your heart is scared. 

What to do now?

What can you possibly do now?

In desperate times come desperate measures. For some reason, you suddenly remember about that time when you and Lizz used your own pee as holy water to protect yourselves from the Corruptors. It worked like a charm. So, for some reason, you think that your other body fluid, the saliva, may have that property too. 

Hence, unable to maintain the Realm of Purification any longer, you lean forward, betting your own life on this final move. Well, if this doesn’t work and you die, you will at least die in a happy way. Totally no regrets.

So, you kiss her. 

However, the moment your lips touch, your mind goes blank. 

---

“Ah… where am I nya…”

You thought you were ded, but apparently, you are still alive, somehow. On your skin,you can feel the wind breezes, nice and cool. A slightly sweet, floral scent enters your nostrils. Then, you open your eyes, see the Great Merton lake with millions and millions of glowing Nightingale’s waltz flowers surround you, blooming majestically. The water is still and clear, acting as a giant mirror reflecting the majestic starry sky. Constellations are shining and moving. Faraway at the skyline, a gigantic full moon touches its own reflection on the water surface..

“What… is this place nya?” you exclaim, cannot help admiring the scenery..It’s so pretty, yet so calm, and peaceful. 

And faraway, a particular person is waiting for you.

Ah! There she is! Nightingale! 

Standing on the water and wearing a casual blue dress, the short, curly, white hair catgirl is waiting for you. You step on the water, find out that you are able to walk on it too. Thus, slowly, you approach her.

Looking around, it’s like the lake is a reflection of the sky. There are millions of stars in the sky, and there are millions of flowers blooming. In the sky, no star can ever be as bright and beautiful as the moon, and down here, no flower can be comparable to the dazzling Nightingale. No matter how many times you look at her and admire her beauty, your heart still skips a couple of beats when gazed by those mesmerizing eyes. She has blue eyes now, the signature eyes of a DeahWhizkersz. Her heterochromia eyes are gone.  While the bad Nightingale gives out a dangerous vibe, this Nightingale is the embodiment of peace and everything pure.

So, if you can see her like this, then does it mean…

You succeeded!?

“Hi,” the girl bows and greets you, “I’m Nightingale.” 

Oh my, her voice is so tender and soft. It’s like a cool wind breeze, yet making your heart melt.

“Oh, hi, I’m Felicia, nya…”

You smile and bow back, having realized that while you and her have met a few times, you haven’t introduced yourself to her properly yet. Now, you think about it, even though you and Nightingale are both DeathWhizerksz catgirls, you two indeed have many differences. Nightingale is calm and rarely shows any emotion on her face. Yet you, you are quite jolly, cheerful, and hyperactive even. Lizz was right, you are quite the odd one, aren’t you? 

“So, where are we nya?” you ask, having realized that this is not the real Great Merton Lake. The lake is currently still polluted. There’s no way its water can be this clear.

“We are inside my consciousness.” Nightingale replies.

Ah, of course! Only inside her inner world can there be so many Ngihtingale’s waltz flowers! From Eva’s story, you know that the girl adores these. And not to mention, this must be the place where she came to train everyday back then! 

“This place is beautiful nya!” you tell Nightingale. “You must love these flowers very much! You never harm these nya!” 

Everyone says that DeathWhizkersz are incapable of love. This really shows that the people are wrong!

However, “I don’t know,” Nightingale replies. “I just don’t like hurting the lake lilies. They are innocent.”

“Eh?” You are very confused. “Just because of that nya?”

“Yeah… and this thing called love… sorry, I don’t really understand.”

“Nyarggh!”  you pull your hair in disbelief. You are speechless. You don’t know what else to say, so you just make a long sigh.

“Anyways, Felicia,” Nightingale continues.“Can you help me one last time?” 

“Of course!” you reply without any hesitation. You never refuse any catgirl asking for help! 

But… you wonder, why did she say… “one last time”?

Without any further explanation, Nightingale then creates an ice sword, a really big two handed sword, and gives it to you. You receive the sword with a lot of questions popping up inside your head. Touching it, you immediately have an uneasy feeling.

Suddenly, the sky turns darker. Black clouds come, hiding away the stars. A heavy mist fills the atmosphere, and before you know it, Nightingale’s pupils are now as red as blood. Her demonic aura once again makes your skin crawl. 

With this, you already know what Nightingale is asking you to do.

“No…” you take a step back, shaking, still holding the sword in your hands. “No, I can’t do this nya…” 

You are in disbelief. You thought that you had won, but no. This is the worst outcome. You drop the sword onto the water surface, but it does not sink. 

“Felicia, this is the only way,” the girl then says, with a cold face, still void of emotion. “Here,” she then places her hand on her left chest, “if you stab me here, you will be able to kill me. Everything will end. You will live.”

“No, I refuse nya!” You shout at the top of your lungs, and take some more steps back.

But… you know what? She is right. If you don’t kill her now, then you will be the one who dies. Then, who knows what else can happen? Lizz can be in danger, Cleo can be in danger too!

There is nothing you can do now.

Absolutely.

Nothing..

“Felicia… we don’t have much time…” Nightingale presses on. “I can’t do this myself, so you must do it.” 

Ah, she just spoke your name, but this time, the word feels like a thousand knives stabbing deep into your chest. You can’t breathe.

Yet, you have to make a decision now. 

“I… refuse…”

“I… refuse…”

You say, repeatedly.

…

“I… refuse… nya…”

But then, slowly, you pick up the sword. Tears are now streaming down your eyes. Sometimes, you just can’t save everyone. This is not a fairytale, and a happy ending doesn’t always happen. You understand this.

So, “thank you,” Nightingale closes her eyes, ready for her end to come.

And you…

Are you gonna do it?

…

Nah, don’t be silly!

That moment of doubt, you feel ashamed just by having that weak moment just now! 

“Enough! Stupid sword nyaa!”

You shout and break the sword in two, then throw the pieces a hundred meters away! 

Nightingale hears the sound and opens her eyes. “Why?” she asks. Her face shows disbelief.

Ah, why?

You wonder, how many times does this world have to put you into that same situation? 

First, it was with Lizz. Now, it was with Nightingale. Two times already, with the same question!  

Will you let a catgirl die so that you can live?

And of course, there can only be one answer!

Like hell you will! 

So, “I don’t know, I just don’t like hurting you nya. You are innocent, nya.” You reply with a smile.

“I… don’t understand.” Nightingale then says.

Ah, of course she doesn’t understand. Based on what she said earlier, she doesn’t know what love is. Being a DeathWhizkersz catgirl means that her emotions are numbed.

However, even if she doesn’t understand love, you know that there is still one thing that she can for sure wrap her head around.

So, picking up a flower, you give it to her.

“Lake lily?” Nightingale looks at the flower and asks. The town people already call this Nightingale’s waltz, but it seems like she prefers its previous name.

“Yes,” you reply. “Nightingale, my feelings for you are the same as yours towards these flowers, nya. And that’s why… I cannot hurt you nya…”

So, basically... that is equivalent to saying that you love her. 

Suddenly, as you finish that sentence, lightning flashes and thunder echoes through the sky. For some reason, Nightingale collapses. 

“What… is this…?” she hugs her chest. "I am... a lake lily?"

Ahhh.... you don't really know if she gets it or not, but seems like she does. 

You immediately run towards her to see if she is okay. However, before you can touch her, time is up, your consciousness returns to reality.

---