[WARNING: SYSTEM ERROR. MANA SURGE FAR EXCEEDING HOST BASE CAPACITY DETECTED. UNSTABLE AURA FLOW. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE EXPUNGEMENT OF EXTRA CAPACITY. FAILURE TO COMPLY MAY RESULT IN IRREPARABLE DAMAGE TO SELF AND SURROUNDINGS.]

[MANA INFLOW ORIGIN DETECTED. SUBJECT: MARY RUSSO. MKC WITNESS PROTECTION REGISTRATION CONFIRMED. TRUE NAME: ▛▜▟▛. SUBJECT IS AN OMEGA CLASS 10 USER OF SHADOW AND AURA MANIPULATION.]

[RECOMMENDATION: FORCE EMERGENCY DREAM SHIFT. SUBJECT: SIENNA RUSSO. REGISTERED CODENAME: LUX. ENABLING HIGHER ECHLON DIMENSIONAL ACCESS...]

[EPHEMERAL DREAM SHIFT INITIATED. PLEASE HOLD FOR PROCESSING.]

I nearly fell to my knees as I finished conjuring the Nightingale's Nocturne. The air vibrated with the force of my attack as the Shadow Art coalesced with my mother's Mana. I had poured a humongous amount of power into the Nightingale's Nocturne, determined to seize the opportunity to intervene.

I felt my body jerk and twist as something changed within me, an immense power surging through me and manifesting in a bright aura that illuminated the surrounding area. My mother's power flowed through me, growing stronger by the moment as the magic spiraled out of control.

"Deep breaths, Sienna," Aunt Jinny's disembodied voice echoed in my mind. "Focus on the present, on the here and now. Regain control of your power."

I followed her advice, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths, focusing on the warmth of my aura and the fluttering sensations of my energy as it coursed through my body. Only an instant had passed, but it felt like time was once again stretching from my perspective. Slowly, the surging energy calmed, stabilizing to a manageable level.

In my mind's eye I saw the iridescent, pink silhouette of a girl with long, slender limbs and a perfect, beautiful figure that made me just the slightest bit of subconscious envy floating in a void.

She cupped my hands in hers, her eyes filled with concern. "Sienna, are you alright?" she asked. "Stay with me."

"I...I don't know," I replied, feeling disoriented and dizzy. "What's happening to me?"

"It's your mother's signature magic. Her Talent — Nocturnal Reverie Bond. It lets her support another's dreams in a sense," the girl said softly. "You'll be alright, honey."

The dreamlike void was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The girl seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite place her face. She smiled warmly, gesturing at the space around us.

"We're in Dream Space," she said. "It's a place where our thoughts and emotions take form. The crux of your personal Talent is to interface with it."

I furrowed my brow. "Why? What's happening to me?"

"I have been with you your entire life, and now it's time for me to ease your burden," she explained.

"I've been with you?" I felt confused, but I could feel a strong, comforting energy radiating from the girl.

She paused as if searching for words, then started again in a soft voice and a giggle. "Hehe. I'm not surprised you don't recognize me even if we just spoke to each other, but it's expected. I was a stuffed cat and we weren't speaking soul to soul like this, after all."

Oh.

Aunt Jinny embraced me, and wrapped me in a tight hug. I felt the overwhelming, surging mana flowing through me and the dizziness slowly started to erode away. Holding me close, she whispered in my ear. "I haven't been the best guardian angel, Sienna. But right here, right now, I'm here for you. Just... promise me something?"

I pulled back slightly from the embrace, looking at the girl with a mixture of confusion and curiosity as the arms remained around me. "What is it?" I asked.

"Promise me that you'll never give up, no matter how hard things get," she said. "Promise me that you'll always fight for what's right, no matter how difficult the battle seems. Promise me that you won't let anyone use you for evil."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at her, seeing the same determination I felt reflected back at me from the silhouette. "I promise," I said, my voice choked with emotion. "I won't give up. I'll keep fighting, no matter what."

The iridescent silhouette seemed to smile at me. "Good. And... one more thing. You... I... You might have a half-sister out there around your age who needs your help. Find her, support each other, and don't let anyone keep you apart."

I opened my mouth to respond, shock filling me. "My... my sister?" I asked.

But before she could reply, a bright light enveloped us both, filling the dreamscape. I felt an intense wave of energy surge through my body, an agony so powerful that I instinctively curled up in pain, unable to comprehend what was happening despite my best efforts.

With a bright flash of orange light, I felt a burst of energy sprout through my back. I glanced back to realize four wings had sprouted from my back. They seemed to be made of some glowing light that emanated from my body, and they fluttered with a life of their own.

The girl's silhouette embraced me tightly once more. I felt the pain of the energy surging through me cease as it ran through her. I numbly realized that the energy was corroding her away.

I started to tear up. Tears streamed down my face as I looked up to her and cried.

[CALCULATING EPHEMERAL SUBJECT LEVEL UPGRADE. SUBJECT: SIENNA RUSSO. REGISTERED CODENAME: "LUX". TEMPORARY AURA CAP: LEVEL 140 DESIGNATED. GRANTING EXTRA ACCESS FOR SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS.]

[ABILITY ASCENSIONS GRANTED. NOTIFICATIONS EXCEED SUBJECT'S SYSTEM LINK LIMIT.]

[CONDITIONS SET. TRIGGER ACTIVATED. CONTINUING DREAM SHIFT.]

"You... you're fading away," I whispered, looking up at her blank face.

I started to tear up. Tears streamed down my face as I looked up to her and cried.

She tilted her head, stroking my hair. "It's okay. Really..." she whispered. "At least I can be here to guide you a bit."

The two of us spun in space as the dream shift continued, the void around us filled with a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. Through it all, the girl held me tight, leading me through the chaos with a calm, reassuring energy.

She whispered one final thing before she faded away.

"I'm proud of you too, Sienna."

She smiled one final time before fading away with the breeze, leaving me standing in the dreamscape alone, surrounded by a newfound strength and power fueled by mana.

My vision blurred as tears rolled down my cheeks. I wanted to thank the girl for being there for me, even if it had been only briefly, but she was gone. The iridescent pink silhouette swirled away into the distance, but a single pink light remained behind, hovering in the air like a star guiding me along a path. I reached out to it, and my hand passed through the light effortlessly.

The warm, luminescent glow of the wings enveloped me, casting beautiful patterns of light and shadow. I briefly opened my eyes, and watched the dilapidated buildings surrounding us fade into non-existence even as Nightingale’s Nocturne activated, enveloping the burning city streets with darkness.

Closing my eyes again, I could feel the energy coursing through me intensify. I reached out with my senses, and it felt as though every part of my being was resonating. I was a symphony of both light and shadow swirling in a perfect harmony.

I was suddenly aware of my entire body, like I was having an out of body experience.

 

The wind started to flow around me. A soft gust of wind flowed through me, almost playing with my short brunette hair. The wind caused it to ripple and flow like a river of silk, and as the gentle breeze caressed it, the strands began to elongate and change, shift from their deep, earthy brown to a radiant shade of strawberry blonde.

This new mane flowed down to my waist, waves cascading like red, molten gold interspersed with rivulets of shimmering copper. I snapped my eyes open, and my eyes, once a simple hazel, began to whirl with a dance of gold and crimson red light, mirroring the fire of determination that had been lit inside me. I felt the gentle nudge of a red ribbon being formed, tying into my hair in an identical shape to Nightingale Eclipse's.

My gaze lowered to the red hoodie I wore. I had picked it up, thrown to the wayside in an empty overrun Shelter Albert had been in earlier. The fabric felt like an embrace, wrapping me in memories of laughter, shared secrets, and countless adventures we embarked upon. Now, as the wind continued to swirl around me, the hoodie began to transform, mirroring the metamorphosis happening within me. It started at the hood, which reshaped and extended, forming a flowing, ruffled collar that cascaded down my back. The fabric of the hoodie reformed and flowed around me before tightening around my torso, becoming a beautifully embroidered, Southern European style ruffled dress. The fiery hues of red were complemented by subtle copper and gold inlays.

I spun around as the magic flowed around me, and felt the fabric from my dress billow out as my entire body glowed with a dance of orange, gold, black, and pink. As the transformation continued, the dark hues of the night merged into the design. Swirls of darkness, reminiscent of my mother's night theme, wrapped around my arms and legs.

These tendrils of shadow didn't seem to inhibit or diminish the brilliance of my transformation but rather added depth, a balance to the searing light. They wrapped around me lovingly, a reminder of a mother’s embrace. As they settled, delicate patterns reminiscent of the night sky appeared on my dress, glimmering stars against the velvety shadow.

Trailing black laces danced around my form like fluttering shadows at the tips and ends. They intertwined with the golden embroidery, creating a dance between light and darkness. My mother’s influence in my origin was clear, as the shadows of her power mingled with the light of mine. The hem of the dress shifted and molded into layered ruffles, each layer transitioning from deep crimson to the blackest of nights at the tips.

As I took a step forward, the dress shimmered, reflecting the ambient light, making it seem as though I was both the beacon of hope and shadowed by the mysterious night.

My shoes had become delicate copper red slippers, with patterns of intertwining golden lights and shadows cascading across the red ribbons along the top. My fingers brushed against arm-length gloves made of fine lace, alternating between shades of gold and black. The wind continued to twist around me, and as I raised my right hand, I felt a tug at my neck.

A pink heart locket appeared on my neck, sitting delicately against my chest. It glowed with the same intensity as my eyes, reflecting the powerful energy surging through me. Grasping it in my hand I could sense an intense warmth radiating from within this token of love and courage; an eternal reminder of what was gained from facing one’s fears with tenacity and hope.

The transformation was complete, and I stood there, stunned, taking in my new form. I felt different, more powerful. The red ribbon in my hair fluttered in the wind as I lifted my head and scanned the area, the aura of my power casting a warm glow around me.

I looked up, my vision focused on Red Masque, who seemed to have been thrown off balance by the sudden eruption of power and light from my body. The intimidating aura he always carried seemed to falter for just a moment. But it was a moment enough.

I felt a song in my heart, a rhythm that felt almost second nature to me. It was like I could hear the heartbeats of every living thing around me, from the tiny insects to the great trees and the beating heart of the very earth beneath me. And in that moment, a number of thoughts ran through my head.

Red Masque knew my mother. I was certain of it. The picture was beginning to form together in my head.

My mother was the notorious Dark Magical Girl Nightingale Eclipse, long thought to be dead. She was on the same supervillain team as Red Masque, fifteen years ago. He saw her as family, but for some reason, he wanted to kill me.

And he nearly did so until my mother had healed me from several states away.

Nightingale's Nocturne filled the air, dark shadows dancing around me with a haunting noise that almost sounded like a symphony. The shadows pulsated in time to the music, radiating an eerie darkness even as the light from my body pushed back against it. I couldn't help but feel like I was in some sort of poetic ballet, each step a dance between light and dark..

"This... It can't be," Red Masque whispered, his eyes wide with shock. "No, no. That's impossible."

 

Beneath Red Masque's cold, professional demeanor, I could feel a deep sense of pain and loss. Something had shattered in him, and I wondered whether it was because of my mother's apparent death or something else entirely.

I saw something else: someone who had once been a lost, confused, and scared boy, unsure of his place in the world as he sought out a surrogate family with psychopaths. A storm that lurked within his aura, like a dense storm cloud.

My mother's face appeared in my mind, and I felt a pang of sadness. What kind of life had she lived, hiding her true identity from everyone, even her own daughter? Living in abject poverty, too traumatized to let anyone get too close to her. And yet, she had found a way to still love and care for me, even if it meant being apart from me most of the time to wallow in her own traumas.

Darkness swept over the area as my attack reached its climax. The very fabric of reality seemed to bend and warp, as if the world itself was being torn apart. It was a display of power that I wasn't fully prepared for.

I could feel the complexity of the magic immediately, as well as the rapid drain it had on mana. I wasn't a skilled user of it by any stretch, borrowing its power. But with my mother's Mana infused in me, I could make use of it to survive and put up a fight.

Red Masque regained his bearings, tossing Dawn Lily directly into the wall of darkness with one hand as dozens of shadowy tendrils shot out to reach for him.

I reacted instantly, controlling the shadows around her to cushion her fall, pulling her out of the Nocturne just as Red Masque charged towards me with his dagger. At the very least, I would give her a precious minute to regain her bearings before she had to fight again.

I barely had time to blink before a barrage of knives flew at me. I acted on instinct, raising my barrier and blocking most of them, but some managed to break through the shadows and lodge themselves in the walls behind me. Without a word, Red Masque followed behind the knives with a burst of red energy.

But I was ready for him this time.

"Shadow Dance! Luminary Mirage: Ethereal Moonlit Dance!"

My mother's Mana flowed through me, giving me the speed and reflexes to dodge his attacks with difficulty. She had fought a younger, weaker, and less experienced version of Red Masque countless times, but the impression still remained with her.

I combined Nightingale Whisper's Shadow Dance with my Luminary Mirage, moving with grace and speed that Red Masque would definitely need time to read properly. Shadows danced around me, obscuring me as I moved. The light bent around me, confusing Red Masque as he tried to track my movements."

"Where the lights glow brightest, the shadows grow deepest," my voice echoed through the street as I poured pure mana into my hands. It felt like molten lava, coursing through my veins and infusing me with power.

 

"Harmonization Art: Blade of Illumination!"

And before I knew it, I had a sword made of bright, orange, flaming light, swirling with shadows in my hands.

"You fight like her," he spat, his eyes narrowing in anger. "But you'll never be her. Nightingale Eclipse was on an entirely different level. A true legend. You're just a weak imitation."

"I don't want to be her," I replied, ducking under another swipe of his knives. "At this point, I just want everyone still alive to get a good night's sleep and hot meal."

"You're naïve," he growled, aiming another blow at me. "You don't understand the world. You don't know what's coming!"

"So tell me!" I shouted, firing a volley of feathered shadow bolts at him with a swing of my sword. He swiped at them in a blur, making them disintegrate into nothingness.

"Tell me what's coming! I want to understand! I want to help! I want to stop it!" I shouted, slamming the ground and throwing up more shadowy tendrils to reach for Red Masque.

"You can't help!" Red Masque roared, lunging forward with his dagger. I dodged to the side, my heart pounding in my chest.

He was still far faster and more skilled than me, even after the transformation had multiplied my physical abilities several-fold, and it was only borrowed instinct and raw power keeping me alive and out of harm's way.

"There's no forestalling what's coming, save for your death. And even if I fail tonight. It is better you do not know."

Red Masque's words filled me with deep fear and foreboding. What could be so terrible that there was no stopping it? And why was he so convinced that my death was the only way to prevent it?

"Luminary Bolt: Rapid Fire!" I shouted, raising one hand and unleashing a barrage of bright, crackling energy bolts at Red Masque. He deftly dodged and weaved between them, his movements fluid and graceful like a dancer.

"Nocturnal Beam: Silent Night!" I called out, using my other hand to fire a crescent wave of dark energy toward him. He barely managed to avoid it, leaping out of the way with a snarl of frustration.

I could feel the overwhelming supply of mana within me surging through my body. It was like an endless well of power that I could draw upon, and I knew that I could keep going for at least half an hour if I needed to.

But Red Masque was a lethal assassin. He would only need one opening to end my life. Even with my temporary transformation, I still knew deep down that I was outmatched. I needed to think of another way to stop him.

Dawn Lily stirred within the shadows, groaning as she slowly rose to her feet. I couldn't see her, but I could feel her through the shadows, and it gave me a measure of comfort to know she was still with me.

Red Masque's movements were too swift for me to keep track of, and his knives seemed to be everywhere at once. He took advantage of my moment of hesitation by launching a new attack, throwing knives at me from many angles.

"Luminary Barrier: Celestial Guardian Dome!" I shouted, throwing up a rapid fire burst of barriers that I would ordinarily struggle with.

But with my mother's magic fueling my own, the barriers were stronger than ever before, and they held against Red Masque's relentless assault. Regardless, I knew I had to think fast before he could read my sudden bag of tricks and land a killing blow. Regardless of how dense my aura had become — at least ten-fold in HP if I had to guess, my intuition told me that one solid hit from one of his deadlier skills would lay me out in an instant.

I felt out, feeling an aura within the shadows. I concentrated, triggering a resonance effect within Nightingale's Nocturne. I felt Dawn Lily jerk in surprise as our auras synced, and she was given full vision within the dark construct.

I fired another barrage of Luminary Bolts at Red Masque, aiming low as I signaled to Dawn Lily with my hand. She tensed up in response, before nodding her head from behind the curtain of shadows.

Perfect.

Once again, Red Masque dodged my attack and lunged over them towards me with his knives in hand.

"Now!" I shouted.

Then, Dawn Lily draw her bow and took aim from the shadows. Red Masque had no idea what was coming for him.

Without a single telegraph or sound, she fired an arrow of pure light - a sunbeam arrow from her bow that raced through the darkness towards its target.

Red Masque somehow managed to halt mid jump and flipped back in surprise, narrowly dodging the arrow as it flew past him and struck the wall on the other side of the street with an ear-splitting boom.

The surprise attack was enough for me to jump in with one last move while Red Masque was still distracted. My mana pooled together in a brilliant orange and midnight blue mist mist that coiled around me like a snake before condensing rapidly seeping through the darkness beneath me.

 

"Shadow Art: Nightingale's Lamentation!"

 

The shadows beneath Red Masque surged upwards, coiling into the shape of a giant corvid the size of a city block. With a cry, I commanded it to attack Red Masque with all my willpower.

The Nightingale's Nocturne was a powerful Art, one that preyed on the deepest fears and doubts of its victims. It was Nightingale Eclipse's signature move and the one that made her infamous. She had created numerous attacks over the years she was active, but its primary use case was the most terrifying of them all.

Red Masque faltered for a moment as the Nightingale's Lamentation took hold of him. Shadows clutched at him, dragging him down into a pit of despair and hopelessness. The shadows whispered dark nothings in his ears, echoing his greatest fears and doubts back to him as he sank underneath the darkness.

"Lux..." Dawn Lily whispered, rushing to my side. "How... is this? What is this ability?"

I turned to her, causing her to jerk back in surprise. I was certain my eyes were aflame with the power of my mother's magic. "Nightingale's Nocturne."

 

The color drained out of Dawn Lily's face. She took a step back, her hands trembling as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. She clearly recognized it.

 

"What?! You're not talking about that Nightingale's Nocturne are you? How can you be using it? And wait, you've only been on the job for two days, right?! You've unlocked a full transformation?!! That's got to be a new record. Not even Arcadia Vox achieved a full shift that quickly."

I shook my head. I didn't exactly want to disclose a blood relation to the infamous Dark Magical Girl. "It's complicated, and I have a strong feeling that neither are here to stay. But right now, we need to focus on him."

I whipped my head back toward Red Masque's direction as a red light illuminated from within the shadows.

The ground exploded beneath him as he burst out of the pit of shadows, his eyes now glowing with an intense blue light.

"You think you can defeat me with my own memories?" he spat, his eyes blazing with a fierce intensity. "You think you can make me cower with my own regrets? They are nothing compared to what's coming. Nothing."

Red Masque's voice had risen in anger and mania, and his knives were once again aimed at me.

"Nightingale Eclipse herself has subjected me to the Lamentation numerous times and failed to break me. Do you truly think you can succeed where she failed?"

I took a deep breath, my hand tightening around the hilt of my sword. "I don't need to break you," I said firmly, my voice strong and steady. "I just need to stop you."

 

He slammed one hand onto the ground, before shouting "Survival Art: Pauper’s Resolve!”

 

The ground beneath him cracked and erupted with an explosion of red energy, forming a defensive dome around him. Suddenly, the world of shadows I had layered around us started to morph and recede, retreating back to their original state.

"I have created dozens of abilities specifically for countering Nightingale Eclipse," Red Masque continued, his voice full of icy resolve. "And not even she would find me an easy foe today. You think to best me with a fraction of her abilities and experience? You are sorely mistaken."

In a matter of seconds, Nightingale's Nocturne receded, revealing the plain, burning streets of Kaleidoscope City.

"Dawn Lily, what level are you?" I asked.

Dawn Lily hesitated before answering, her eyes darting around as she tried to gauge the situation. "I'm level 194," she replied, whispering into my ear.

Even with the power I borrowed from my mother, I was still a considerable margin weaker than her on paper. Red Masque had run through Midnight Blossom team in minutes, and the two of us alone were likely no match for him.

Before I could react, Red Masque charged at us again.

"Assassination Art: Scarlet Rain!" he shouted as he dashed forward with incredible speed.

In an instant, he was upon us, leaving a trail of red afterimages in his wake. I barely had time to react, but I quickly activated one of my spells to create a barrier around me and Dawn Lily.

Red Masque's knives clashed against the barrier with a high-pitched metallic screech, sending sparks flying in all directions as red thorns bombarded it from all around. I felt the ground shake beneath me as he pressed forward, his knives cutting through the air with deadly precision.

I dropped a barrier as Dawn Lily let loose a volley of arrows in close range. Red Masque dodged and weaved through the arrows with ease, his movements lightning fast. He was like a blur, so quick that it was almost impossible to follow his movements.

I gritted my teeth, trying to come up with a plan. Red Masque was too strong for us to face head-on, but we couldn't keep running from him forever. I needed to find a weakness, a vulnerability that we could exploit.

As if sensing my thoughts, Red Masque suddenly launched himself into the air and kicked off the side of a nearby building. No, there were four of them. Solid images formed as he sent four copies of himself hurtling toward us with his knives raised. He was moving so fast that it was hard to see him clearly, but I could tell that he was aiming for Dawn Lily.

"Assassination Art: Crimson Moonlight Waltz!"

"Get down!" I yelled to Dawn Lily, and we both dove to the ground just as Red Masque's knives sliced through the air above us, piercing directly through my barriers.

As I picked myself up, I saw that Red Masque had landed on the other side of the street, his face twisted in rage. He was breathing heavily, his eyes briefly glowing with an intense blue light.

He looked like he was about to charge at us again, but something seemed to stop him. He hesitated for a moment, grabbing at his head. I narrowed, staring at his eyes as they flashed blue in the night.

 

Could it be?

 

He was known for his cold blue eyes, but I swear they had been brown when he chased me down the street earlier.

I reached out in that brief window with Hopeful Heart Alchemy, feeling my aura resonate with his. His soul was... cloaked, like it was shrouded in a thick thundercloud that obscured any clear readings. This was the first time I had encountered something like this, and it was unnerving. But it was something I instinctively knew I could grasp onto.

"Luminary Conversion: Hopeful Heart Alchemy!" I shouted, peeling away at the fog that masked Red Mask's soul.

 

The fog resisted my attempt, rippling and pushing back against me before settling again. I growled in frustration, pouring more of my energy into cracking the cloak that protected Red Masque's aura.

But as I tried, he clutched his head briefly, before palming three knives in his hand and threw them at me with lightning speed. I barely had time to react, raising a barrier just in time to deflect the knives. I stared into his eyes and what I saw made me stop dead in my tracks. His eyes flash brown - was it a trick of the light?

"Shadow Art: Padfoot's Miasma!" I shouted, covering the streets once again with darkness. I grabbed Dawn Lily's hand, and quickly ducked down an alley and left a dozen Luminary Mirages behind as Red Masque's senses were obfuscated up the road.

We ran away from Refuge Zeta, our breaths coming in ragged gasps as we zoomed through the streets in a blur of orange and golden light. I didn't know how far we had gotten when I finally collapsed against the wall of a nearby building, my heart pounding with adrenaline.

"Lux!" one of Albert's drones spoke up flying by my ear. "Good news and bad news."

 

I glared at the drone. "What's the bad news?" I asked through gritted teeth, knowing that whatever it was couldn't be good.

"The bad news is that... it seems every zombie and giant baddy across the city is on the way here."

I cursed under my breath. That was definitely bad news. "And what's the good news?"

"Every Knight in the city is fighting their way here as well, and the situation in nearby cities has cleared enough for the air force to be deployed," Albert's drone reported. "They're coming to back you up. Also, I had help with Techtron when he tried to jump me just now, so I'm not dead. I guess. Made a new friend in the process."

I breathed a sigh of relief at the news that more Knights were coming and the news of Albert's safety. We needed all the help we could get if we were going to take down Red Masque. But the fact that the zombies and other monsters were on our way was definitely bad news. We had to move quickly and decisively if we were going to survive the oncoming onslaught.

Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke over the drone as well. "Guess it's time to make my entrance. Yo, Sparkle Princess!"

"Black Star?" I said, surprised to hear from him.

"Yeah, I see you're really living up to the name nowadays. So uh, cat's probably out the bag at this point. You've probably figured out I lied a bit about just being Red Masque's apprentice as a lackey's son. Technically that's true, but yeah. The dude's my brother. I was a happy mistake from my dad."

I sighed as I heard those words. It made sense, given their similar powers and fighting style, but it also made things much more complicated.

"Well, I don't know if you've heard, but your brother's pretty dead set on murdering the crap out of her," Dawn Lily said dryly as we huddled up, trying to keep her voice steady. "Is there anything you can do to help?"

"I can try to reason with him," Black Star replied hesitantly. "But he's not exactly the type to listen to reason. Always had a screw or two loose up top, even if he cares for me. We had a falling out right before I met you yesterday, too."

I could sense a hesitation in Black Star's voice. He sounded unsure about what he should do next, which made sense given the complicated nature of his relationship with Red Masque.

"I have a weird question. What color are his his eyes?" I asked.

"Blue," Black Star replied, sounding confused by my question. "Why do you ask?"

I paused for a moment, thinking.

"Something's off about him. He hesitated for a moment before attacking us just now. And his aura feels like a zombie infectee's," I explained to Black Star, feeling a sense of unease settle in my stomach. "I tried to break through the cloak over his aura, and his eyes flashed brown, but it resisted me. It's like he's not entirely himself. I think I can break through if I can keep him in my line of sight and close by long enough."

 

Black Star was silent for a moment before he spoke up again. "Look, he's been a BPD-fueled psycho asshole my entire life, but this is different. I think you might be right. He never hesitates to 'do what he has to' - whatever that means, and his eyes are always blue. If something's off with him, it could mean that there's something or someone controlling him. Controlling him my entire life, even. Before all of this started."

 

I could hear the urgency in Black Star's voice, and it was clear he realized the gravity of the situation. If something or someone had been controlling Red Masque this entire time, it meant that there might be a way to save him and end this peacefully. But time was running out, and we had a horde of zombies and monsters headed our way.

"Albert, what's the status on Twilight Aster? Did you get her somewhere safe from the battle inside Refuge Zeta?"

It'd only been about half an hour since we stormed out of Refuge Zeta with a massive monster on our heels. Twilight Aster had been injured in the battle and carried up toward the fourth floor of the overrun refuge. Then, Red Masque had killed it in one hit before turning his knives on me.

"I managed to get Twilight Aster to a wing clear of zombies, but she's in pretty bad shape," Albert replied through his drone. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I lost track of her when Techtron and I realized you guys were about to throw down. I don't know if she's still safe. All the zombies stopped moving when Red Masque took out the Juggernaut though."

I gritted my teeth, feeling a sense of frustration and anger at the situation.

"It's Lux now, is it? My leg isn't exactly in the best shape right now, but it's walkable and I can try to make it down there," Black Star said hastily, his tone filled with urgency. "If there's even a chance that something's been controlling Red Masque and giving him his mood swings, we need to figure out a way to help him. He's my brother, and I couldn't live with myself if I had the chance to free him."

I nodded, feeling grateful for Black Star's offer of help. We needed all the extra hands we could get if we were going to make it out of this alive.

"Okay. Be careful," I warned him, feeling a sense of concern for his safety. "We'll lure Red Masque back towards Refuge Zeta's entrance and try to work from there."

"I'm on my way," Black Star intoned over the drone.

As if on cue, a red light flashed in the distsance, and Dawn Lily immediately slammed her quarterstaff on the ground. "Solar Art: Ascending Sun Lilies!”

We were launched into the air and onto a roof as a a dozen crescent moon-shaped red lights whizzed past where we were a fraction of a second earlier. I stumbled as we landed on the roof, quickly regaining my balance.

Looking up, I saw Red Masque sailing through the air, a split second away from landing on the roof, his knives at the ready. He was glaring at us like a madman through the mask, his blue eyes glinting in the firelight. I could feel his aura pulsing with dark energy, and I knew we were in for a tough fight.

But we weren't alone. Behind us, we could hear the zombies and monsters chasing us, their roars echoing through the night air. Off in the distance, I saw a building-sized, antelope-like creature like the one that'd chased Black Star and I yesterday quickly approaching.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up," Dawn Lily breathed out beside me.

I set my jaw. I knew it would take everything we had if we wanted to survive the night. I looked toward the direction of Refuge Zeta — it was about ten blocks away, and it wouldn't take us long to get there.

Dawn Lily and I shared a curt nod before we jumped off the roof and back down to the street. We sprinted towards Refuge Zeta, our feet pounding against the pavement as explosions from Red Masque's attacks echoed in our wake.

"Let's go!" I shouted, summoning a surge of energy from within me and exploding to the side toward Refuge Zeta.

I knew that Red Masque was right behind us, but I kept running, spurred on by the knowledge that if we could make it to the refuge then maybe — just maybe — we would be able to save him and end this nightmare once and for all.