Enduring Cherry Blossom

Buzzy doesn't let up, "Shut up and listen to her! we're running out of options!" Her voice roars over her own gunfire. her gaze momentarily shifts to the discarded Eshi now beside her before it shifts back to Yui. Buzzy lets out a frustrated growl, "Absolutely ridiculous! Pick yourself up! we're following her! Cover her all the way up! Dont let up for a second do you hear me!" The small girls commands are immediately followed by the loud hum of her wings as she picks herself up off of the ground and lays down covering fire for Yui even as she pushes up, Swinging from one side to another like a pendulum to find cover further ahead.

Desiree let out a sigh of relief once the gorilla was taken care of. Then she nervously chuckled when Seine mentions her loss of bladder control.

"If this battle gets written, let's omit that part, shall we?"

Then she nodded at the plan for battle, spitting out the blood forming in her mouth and aiming the gun she was holding. She was scared, but she was able to push through it once more.

"One last time, we ride!"

Kaylee Brown wrote:An outraged below flooded your mind, paralyzing you in pain, deafening you, as the Red Dragon telepathically screamed, its voice rattling your bones.

The towering walls of red light that shot into the heavens, flickered and started to dim.

The relief lasted for but a moment. Blinded by rage, the Red Dragon turned its gaze down at Christabels Eishi. The Chinese Dragon was violently kicked in the gut with the force of a moving freight train, by a giant bony, red leg. And as the Eishi was sent flying dozens of meters into the air, the Red Dragon leveled its oversized flintlock and released three shots into the Eishi. The force of the bullets ripping chunks out of its body, sending the Chinese Dragon arcing over the battlefield and crashing violently into a pile of jagged debris.

"Mister Dragon!" Christabel called out, rushing between cover over to where the Chinese Dragon landed.

"Fuck em up, Yui!" Megan gasps through her radio

"What the hell happened!?" Braxton demanded, looking down at the white-haired Eishi, who only stared helplessly back in shock:

"...she closed my contract!"

An incessant barrage of enemy fire riddled the air, covering the debris field around you in a near uniform blanket. All you could see was a mass of black earth with jagged pieces of metal sticking out at dangerous angles, just barely high enough to duck behind. The sky was covered by such a thick cover of ash, it plunged the area into a pseudo-night, with the color of explosions and small arms fire reflecting off of the clouds in large orange blurs.

And some 500 meters away now, a giant red crystal glowed. A fireball burned inside it with such intensity, it felt like it contained the force of the sun, it spun wildly inside, making the crystal shake and gradually crack under pressure. Fresh fissures were opening up in its surface each second.











The Crystal soon faded from view as the Red Dragon belowed in outrage and raised it flintlock, discharging shots at you, one after another. The slugs landed heavily, like the shells of a tank, raising huge clouds of fire and ash into the air, shaking the ground and making your teeth rattle.

Yui was charging right into that, with nothing protecting her but a kevlar vest.

A pair of 10-meter tall Eishi burst out of the enemy barrice, their features resembling an ugly mix of a bear, with the face of a worthog. Broken fangs dripped with saliva as their mad eyes tracked Yui, zeroing in on her in a pincer attack.

Braxton and Lily rushed after the girl followed shortly by her white-haired Eishi, who just barely managed to snap her fingers in Yui's direction. encasing the girl in spectral armor, before a burst of machine gun fire caught Yui right in the side of her chest, sending her violently crashing into a pile of debris.

Emitting a small muffled yelp, Yui stumbled, crawled and broke into a zig-zagging sprint again, taking more enemy small arms fire that struck her spectral armor all over. It snapped and shattered like glass, just as the girl raised her Tar-21 and released a controlled burst, blasting one soldier in the eye and nicking another ones shoulder, before the white-haired Eishi fumbled her fingers and just barely managed to create another spectral armor around the girl, a split second before an enemy bullet struck Yui right in the forehead.

The armor absorbing the impact, Yui didn't even slow down as she continued charging right at the enemy barricade.

"HAVE YOU GONE PSYCHOTIC, SLOW DOWN!! ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE!?
Lily yelled at the top of her lungs, running beside Buzzy at full sprint and spraying the enemy barricade with incessant gunfire.

"Take care of Polly!" Yui yelled back and hurled something behind her. Lily caught the object mid-run and fumbled with it, almost dropping it in the dirt, before noticing what it was - a blue colored pendant with a bright blue flame inside. Realizing what she was holding, Lily slowed down, staring at it in shock.

Bursts of enemy fire were cutting the air right next to Buzzy's head, missing her by sheer inches as she darted left and right unpredictably in her flight. You could feel the heat of the bullets zipping so close to you, you could smell gunpowder. Raising your rifle you zeroed in on the enemy, until a soldier's head appeared in your ACOG scope and you squeezed the trigger, your bullet hitting him right in his night-vision goggle lens, piercing it and going straight through his eye, releasing a mist of blood, before he crumbled down.

You moved your gun and found another target, and another, sniping them off with cold efficiency, piercing their heads one by one.

The two Eishi bears finally made it to Yui. Aiming to catch her in a pincer attack, one from the left, one from the right. They circled and pounced, Yui noticing them too late, releasing a burst of gunfire into one's chest, to be uselessly absorbed into its hide.

A moment later you heard the sound of a heavy engine and spinning wheels and a military hum-vee bounced off a ramp-like piece of debris and flew through the air for 3 meters, bouncing heavily off the ground and landing just 20 meters away from the bears.

Desiree spinned her minigun, zeroing in on the farthest bear and unleasing a deafening spray of gunfire right at its head. The burst flew over Yui's head, who ducked and dived under a broken piece of debris, as the burst hit the bear on the side of his neck, almost beheading him. A fountain of orange blood sprayed out, as the near severed head dangled on a piece of flesh, making the bear gargle and collapse violently into the rubble, impaling himself on a piece of jagged debris.

The second bear began turning around and took a swipe at the passing hum-vee, aiming to splatter Desiree with its massive claws, but at the last second, a giant spectral wolf burst out of the rubble and tore into the bears throat, violently thrashing its head left and right, ripping the wound open, before Desiree opened fire again, blowing a hole in the bears stomack the size of a basketball.

Gargling and vomitting blood, the bear collapsed, its eyes rolled into the back of its skull as Seine tore out his trachea.

Yui watched for a moment, before briefly making eye contact with you, nodding, and charging right at the Red Dragon again.

The scaly monster bellowed, percieving her as a threat. A 10 meter long flaming sword in one hand, a giant flintlock in the other, the Dragon aimed his gun right at the girl. One bullet, would be enough to pulverize her, one bullet would turn her into red mist.





"Enough time for an encore, I think," the Conductor released a crazed grin and adjusted his glasses, as he appearing just over a piece of debris besides Megan and hurled a gust of blue magic at her center of mass. The spell mending bone and re-attaching torn muscles, healing you rapidly for +40 HP.

His other hand was grasping a rather eerie looking device.





The Chinese Dragon was spitting out blood, lying impaled in three places when Christabel found him. The ancient creature roared, gritted its teeth and wrenched itself clear of the spikes, leaving behind giant gaping holes that bled profusely

"Get on my back." The Chinese Dragon exhaled through the pain, locked eyes with you, before scooping you up in its clawed paw and placing you just behind its head, as it zig-zagged and darted right at the Red Dragon.

"Phew, just in time..." Desiree sighs as the man-bear-pigs get taken down.

Then she looks up, seeing the main target standing there, ready for battle.
"If I had not wet myself before..." She says.

She checks how much bullets there were left, and aimed the gun at a critical spot. "Keep it moving, please!"

Buzzy glares at the dragon, "You think theres a pentagram for random out here Finkah?"

Buzzy, with some wishful thinking, casts random. Hoping to drop something very large onto the enormous dragon and daze it.

"I want to set off all the munitions and explosives in my Mallet Space and hit that bastard with it point blank, how close do I need to get?" Megan asks as she aims and fires the charging spell at the Dragon, then starts to move forward in order to get closer.

Checking the electronic bullet counter, Desiree noticed she had roughly 430 rounds left. Enough to last for maybe 120 more seconds of consistent fire. The hum-vee lurched roughly forward as Denis floored the gas pedal, heading straight for the Dragon beside Yui, followed quickly by a transparent gold-tinted wolf.

The hum-vee veered left and right, shaking violently as Denis tried dodging the horribly jagged piles of debris, metal poles sticking out that could easily impale the both of you, so aiming a good shot at the Dragon was more than difficult. You briefly struggled with a dilemma, weighing if it was better to save ammo for when you get your aim perfectly, or just spray the Dragon to get his attention.

Your decision was taken away as the Dragon zeroed his flintlock clearly on Yui, no amount of debris would protect her from it. Pressing the trigger to its max, you unleashed a death-burst of minigun fire in the Dragons' general direction, trying desperately to hit his wrist holding the flintlock. The minigun's bursts were slowly making you deaf, but you could still feel the Dragon's outraged below, as a spray of concentrated fire slashed across his forearm, severing his muscles and ligaments, forcing the flintlock to uselessly hang from his fingertips.


Without missing a beat, the Dragon spun, slashing the air with his flaming red sword in your direction and a wave red fire flew into the path of the hum-vee. It was too wide an attack, it covered the path in front of you for a good 15 meters meters in length, creating a wall of fire right in your path.

Denis couldn't break in time, he couldn't veer to the side either. The hum-vee lurched to the left and flew into the wall of scarlet flame that rose up from the ground. A massive explosion of crimson flame blasted the hum-vee from below, sending it toppling end over end into the debris field up front.

You just barely managed to collect yourself into a ball, duck and hold firm to anything your hands could grab, it was all you could do to stay inside the back of the vehicle, as it rolled twice and flew right into a pile of metal spikes sticking out of a pile of debris.

The hum-vee was stuck at a 45 degree angle, only its left wheels touching the ground, the right side suspended in mid air. There was no way it would drive again. Screaming for Denis to get out of the car, you ducked toward the small window toward the drivers seat and your eyes widened in horror. A metal piece of debris had embedded itself inside Denis' skull. The boy's eyes were closed, a trickle of blood coming down from his lip.

He died instantly, there was no way to survive a trauma that large.




It took Buzzy a moment to find the right pentagram, seconds, precious seconds that seemed to be slipping right through your fingers. With Heightened Senses active, you finally felt it, some 15 meters away. Dashing like mad across the ravaged planes of the city you launched yourself at the ground and skidded the last 3 meters, as the Dragon raised its sword for another attack, its eyes locked on Yui.

"Burn in hell, bastard." Finkah's cold voice rang in your head, as your eyes locked onto the target. Your palm touched the ground and a massive Level 4 Pentagram lit up all around you. The sky itself came apart, tearing a portal into another world, an orange, dark world, from which a crane began to emerge, then another, then a whole building attached to them and you finally recognized what had come through the portal.


An ancient, decommissioned, oceanic drilling rig, the kind that were popular several millennia back. It emerged out of the portal upside down, its jagged rusted cranes sticking out like spikes, hanging precariously over the Dragons head. The creature raised its eyes at it and its crimson pupils dilated. Dropping down on one knee, it summoned a teal colored shield right over its head and took cover behind it, but it wasn't enough.


The oil rig dropped on it like a pile of debris, breaking apart and setting of a series of massive explosions that rocked the teal shield until it shattered and a cascade of rusting cranes, metal piles and buildings rained down on the Dragons head, engulfing him in searing flame for several seconds. His form became a dark silhouette, burning inside a blazing pyre, as it writhed and twisted in place.

Its massive paw snapped and the skies opened again, releasing a downpour the likes of which you've never seen. Rain fell from the sky with such massive drops of water, they collided with earth like hail, knocking huge chunks of debris aside in every direction. It didn't last long, but the freak rain lasted long enough to put out the fire that raged over the Dragon.

Megan wrote:"I want to set off all the munitions and explosives in my Mallet Space and hit that bastard with it point blank, how close do I need to get?"

"Very." The Conductor replied with a crazed smile "Close enough to see the white in his eyes... I suspect we won't survive the maneuver." He adjusted his glasses and looked right at you "Shall we?"
The smile never leaving his lips.


Discharging another metal spike right into the Dragons' head, whipping it back and making the creature bellow, you dashed forward across the battlefield at peak speed. Only 300 meters remained to him. You might reach him about the same time as Yui.



Seemingly fueled by rage alone, the monster shook off the damage, its tissues mending so freakishly fast, his wounds were healing as fast as they were inflicted, no matter how deep the burns went. Its eyes locked onto Yui again, it raised its giant sword. The muscles on his arms bulged. You realized he was putting his entire strength in that attack. It wasn't something that could be deflected. This was the end.


Shrieking at the top of its lungs, the Dragon swung its 10 meter long sword, bringing it down over Yui's head and it collided, with Braxton. Turning into a colossal orange Guerilla the size of a building, with razor spikes on his back, Brax bellowed, hurling himself into the line of fire, spit flying from his outraged mouth as he took the hit for Yui, the impact deflecting the blade and sending the boy flying 20 meters off to the side, right into the side of the building that exploded and came crashing down right on top of him.

The red blade carved the ground, setting it on fire, just 7 meters away from Yui, deflected. The Dragon's eyes flashed and it rose the blade for another attack, aiming to slash at her, over and over, as the girl sprinted right at him.

The Dragon's hand rose a second time and struck, landing on Seine, that threw herself in the way. The wolf took the hit, the blade sending her hurling in the opposite direction for dozens of meters away, the mournful howl weighed heavily on you, as she flew into a pile of jagged debris, leaving behind a trail of orange blood. Too much blood, as the blade was deflected from Yui again.


A third lash, and Chris' Chinese Dragon flew in the way, deflecting the strike away with its body. The impact sent both Chris and her Eishi flying off to the side from the height of at least 20 meters, but not before Chris' Eishi managed to hurl a Blinding curse right into the Dragon's maw, that was immediately struck by minigun fire, as Desiree managed to zero in on her target once more.


Blinded and taking rounds right in its face, the Dragon released a blood curling scream that stunned you, making your blood curl as it covered its face with both hands and a breath of scarlet flame began escaping its clenched jaws, preparing to fire. Its head tracking Yui, just barely.


A quick Silence spell flew right into his chest, moments after another Scanning wave washed over the battlefield, revealing everyone and their positions to the crimson monster. The crimson flames vanished from the Dragon's maw, dispelled.

It raised its flintlock. The first shot landed right in the hum-vee, detonating like a tank's shell, sending the girl flying 15 meters back into a pile of jagged debris, breaking a dozen bones in her body. Then it moved, toward Yui.



"OVER HERE YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" Lily's deranged shriek echoed over the battlefield, as the girl climbed atop a broken building, her hands pulled back and collected together as a ball of gold magic fiercely spinned in her palms. Level 3 Silence.


"NO LILY, DON'T COOK THAT!" Harvie's horrified scream echoed somewhere beside you, but Lily only gritted her teeth and scowled harder, staring right at the Dragon:


"FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER, I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!" The golden ball began spinning harder inside the palms of her hands.

The Dragon leveled its flintlock and pulled the trigger.

Lily screamed in defiance and outrage, she continued to scream, closing her eyes, right up to the moment the slug collided with her head on, smearing her across the rocks of Sideris. There was nothing left after the slug had exploded, only a long crimson trail, left over the charred ruins.



"God damn it!" Harvie fell on his knees, slamming the ground, as tears welled in his eyes, his arms too broken to lift again.

A moment ticked by, and Megan emerged on top of a metal beam that stuck out of the ground at a 45 degree angle, its highest point hanging some 10 meters above ground. She was dangerously close to the Dragon, so close it could swipe her away with its paw. Another Scan washed over you, revealing your position to him.


The Dragon's blind face turned in your direction, just as you ripped open the Mallet Space and the Conductor hurled an explosive inside. The next second such a powerful blast emerged, it struck the Dragon right in the chest, like a directional vortex of fire. It continued to burn its way through its clothes, then its skin, then its muscle and bone, leaving behind a hole you could drive a car through, before the monster ducked out of the way and veered off from the line of fire.

Its flintlock rose and the barrel of its massive gun came up right in front of Megan's face. This was the end. You remembered the red smear that was left behind after Lily, and realized this was the last conscious thought you'd ever have.

You saw the monsters paw begin pulling the trigger. Its blind eyes opened, and suddenly widened in shock.




Yui finally reached him, sliding across the jagged terrain and ripping apart her armor, clothing and skin, her white-fox mask falling beside her, she slid the last 3 meters up to the monster and her tiny palm came in physical contact with his giant metal boot.



"Through powerful magic your future revealed.
By my will alone, this Contract is Sealed." The girls voice rang quiet, and yet you felt it palpably in your head.





"YOU FUCKING WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE!"



The Red Dragon tore at its own flesh as the entire battlefield shook with an earth-quake the likes of which you haven't felt in your life. It wasn't just the ground shaking, it was your consciousness as well, as you saw the scaly creature rapidly turning into a smeared crimson blur, that began shrinking in size, quicker and quicker with each passing second.



""YOU DARE!?"


The Dragon's voice rocked your mind, as Yui shrieked in pain, writhing on her back on the ground, her whole body contorting as if her insides were on fire. Convulsing in horrible agony, she bent and twisted on the ground, her limbs bending at terrible angles, as the Dragon's form began turning transparent, blurred, it was flowing into her body, being sucked inside, faster and more fierce with each passing second.



"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU FUCKING WHORE!"


The monster's voice collided with your mind one last time, before the entire 25 meter tall creature was absorbed into the tiny girl's body.

The earth-quake stopped for only a moment. A loaded silence fell over the battlefield, as Yui stopped screaming and began rising up from the ground on shaking legs. Her face ashen, smeared with tears and blood that trickled down from her opened forehead. Black circles surrounded her sunken, blood shot eyes as she slowly looked down and her finger tips and began screaming, louder and more horrifying than before.

Her fingers were starting to whither away right in front of you, filling with gangrene, infection and pus. Her nails falling out, rot setting in, as if she was a corpse. The veins bulged hard on her neck, turning black, as if a disease was spreading from her heart, up to her head. She was rotting from inside out, withering away in seconds. The skin on her cheeks began turning ashen, rotting and dead, peeling off in huge chunks.

The girl screamed, horribly, miserably, in indescribable agony, closing her eyes and grabbing hold of her face, her hands trembling. You couldn't get that scream out of your head, you couldn't make it stop, you couldn't delete the images out of your mind, as you watched the girl slowly die right in front of you.


"YUI!" Vasily screamed at the top of his lungs, covering his mouth as tears welled in his eyes: "There's no way, SHE CAN'T CONTAIN HIM!"


Yui screamed, horribly, pitifully, as if her skin was on fire. Tears fell down her rotting face, as her shaking hands lowered, fumbling with the zipper on her coat. Something fell out, as she tried reaching for it, an object, that slipping through her fingers and fell to the ground.











The dull red gem at the heart of the medallion lit up. Yui screamed, and pressed her rotting hand against the Mana Crystal. A flash of brilliant light.

Your consciousness faded.









----------------------------------------------------------------------------------











Teal.

Or was it blue.

You weren't sure, as you laid on your back, staring up the sky.
It was so featureless, so uniform in its color, you blinked a few times, trying to figure out if it wasn't an illusion.

No clouds, no sun, no stars. Just an endless, limitless teal, everywhere you looked. Was this what it was like to die? Was this what people saw in their last seconds, as their consciousness faded away? Or was this what came after?

You swallowed and felt the dry blood in your mouth, felt your palms reaching out and touching the jagged, warm asphalt below, felt the rough terrain under your shoulder-blades. Felt your muscles aching just slightly, the old wounds and bruises healing, but painfully slow.

Were you really dead? You shouldn't feel pain if you're dead, you decided. You shouldn't feel your bruises either.


Sitting up slowly, trying to minimize a wave of vertigo that began washing over you, you looked around.
A patch of the battlefield was around you, a relatively small patch, maybe a hundred meters in length. The asphalt was warm to the touch, glassed and rough. It was the only part you recognized. Because apart from the ground, everything was teal. A solid, unseeable, teal.


It took you several moments more to imagine it having a sort of, spherical shape, this endless teal all around you. And another moment to notice other people nearby.


Megan, Buzzy, Chris, Desiree and their Eishi, equally bruised, disoriented and confused.
Braxton was here as well, and a white-haired Eishi, and Harvie, and Vas,

And Yui.


She stood a bit far, wearing that same, timid and cheerful smile she always had. Her hands shyly collected in front of her, lowered down. Her school uniform singed in a few places.
There was something off about her, about her smile. You didn't realize what at first, until you noticed she was transparent.

Her legs, her feet rather, were gone, nowhere in sight. She seemed to be hovering in mid air, as a small ghostly light shined below her, coming from a simple wooden medallion that laid just below.


"Yui?" Braxton called, unsure, his eyes locked on her, only on her. He took a step forward, stumbled, reached out to her shoulder and his hand passed right through her. His eyes widened in horror.

Yui released a small, timid smile:


"...hey guys," she rose her hand shyly to you and waved.

Desiree groaned in pain as the pain began to settle in, with all the physical trauma she took this day. She weakly got up, and once she got her bearings, she looked around.

There were some faces there, good. But the faces that were missing were what stood out the most to her...

".... They're gone... No..."

Then she spotted Yui, first glad to see her, until she realized those missing feet were fog.
"No... Not you too..." She says weakly.
Soft sobs come escape her lips, before she broke down in tears.
"WHY?! WHY?! Why is everybody dieing?! WHY?!"
She collected herself a little, and asked. "D-Did we... Did we at least pull it off?!"

Buzzy stares up at the teal. She squints, trying to make out anything before giving up. She lets in a shuttering breath, "Oh...." she sniffs, "That pit in my stomach... It tells me I still live." She says, her voice filling in a deep emotional dread, "Those who gave their lives to make sure we made it out..." she slowly rolls over onto her side with a groan, before her eyes flick from person to person. She covers her mouth with one hand before...

"E-excuse me..."

Buzzy hurls. She lifts herself onto her elbows and curls as she dry heaves, "HoW aRe We aLIve!?" She wails, "Why are you a ghost!?" She pushes herself up onto her knees with one hand, her hair a complete mess by now, "What did you do?!"

"You've gone full angel," Megan let's out a pained laugh as she pulls her self to her feet, stumbles forward a few steps and falls back onto her knees. Silent tears fall from her eyes as she stares, dumbfounded, at Yui.

Megan wrote:"You've gone full angel," Megan let's out a pained laugh as she pulls her self to her feet

"You think so?" Yui released a small, bittersweet giggle. She tried hard not to let tears well in her eyes as she smiled.

Desiree wrote:She collected herself a little, and asked. "D-Did we... Did we at least pull it off?!"

"Mm." Yui nodded with a bittersweet smile "The Echelon 'Enduring Cherry Blossom' completed its mission. Congratulations. It was an honor to be your Class Rep, even if for a day."

She bowed her head slightly "The Dragon never managed to utilize his Category 6 Pentagram. Whatever it does, whatever it was supposed to do, we never gave him a chance to unleash it on Kepler." The girl looked off somewhere to the side, into the un-seeable teal:

"And with no spell to use it on, all that Mana inside the Crystal will reach critical mass, it will explode in a few seconds. It won't be long now." Her smile grew mournful:


"...everything in a 500 kilometer radius will be gone... there won't be grass, or farms, or mountains here... the ocean will take over... but I suspect there is no one left alive there, after the initial explosion that wiped out Sideris. The Golden City is gone, and the Academy...

They'll have to re-draw the maps after this." the girl closed her eyes.

Buzzy wrote:pushes herself up onto her knees with one hand, her hair a complete mess by now, "What did you do?!"

"The only thing I could." Yui smiled to you, only her smile was a little said:

"When I realized we couldn't complete our mission as we intended, I... forced a Contract onto the Dragon... against his will." her expression grew darker, more sad as her brow furrowed slightly:

"You're... not supposed to do that... you're not supposed to force a Contract on Eishi. If you try... their immune system kicks in. It starts viewing you as a foreign invader and tries killing you. Its part of their involuntary nervous system, they can't even control it.

At that point, it becomes a contest of will. Whoever wins, dominates the other completely. It is a desecration of everything our Academy stood for."


She released a sad smile again. You realized her legs had disappeared all the way up to her knees now. She was fading:

"I knew I couldn't defeat him, even before I linked our souls together. But I figured I'd still have a couple of seconds left, before he devours my soul. A couple of seconds, during which, I'd have full access to his powers, and him stuck in my soul."

Yui looked off to the side again and placed her transparent hand against the teal surface.

"...so I used his power to create several layers of Level 5 Shields around you, just enough to protect you from the Crystals explosion... and then I locked myself and him, inside an Eishi Seal." her eyes fell down to the simple Medallion that glowed under her, a Medallion you recall seeing inside the artifact room in the Academy's Forbidden Section, and you recalled Yui swiping something from the artifacts case, as soon as you left Boreas.


Vasily's expression became bitter and pained, the boy stared at her, biting back tears and you caught a feeling that he saw her do it. He saw her swiping the artifact and hadn't said anything, hadn't argued with her. A decision he regretted horribly now.


"Locking an Eishi inside a Seal... it's not instant... it takes time, especially with an ancient like him," Yui sadly smiled to you: "If the Dragon knew what I was up to, if he saw the Medallion, he'd never let me go near him. He'd never give me the chance to finish the seal.

This was the only way. I had to link his soul to mine, even if for a few seconds, so I would have the time to seal us both, in the Medallion."

Half of her lower torso was gone now, and you realized she was turning into a kind of white mist that slowly drifted below, absorbed into the Medallions gem.



"No... NO!" Braxton desperately rushed toward her again, trying to grab her in panic, pull her back, but his arms passed right through her again. His eyes widened in horror, as a bitter, horrid expression washed over him: "You're just going to... stay locked in there forever? ...Its-... not fair..."


"Brax..." Yui smiled sadly, her hand faintly rose to his cheek.

Harvie looked away, turned away so you couldn't see the tears that streamed down his cheeks. His shoulders shuddered, he couldn't hold back anymore.


"Yui... d-don't go... I'll-" Braxton mumbled haphazardly, his eyes locked on Yui, only on Yui: "...I'll do whatever you want, I'll-... I'll find a way!-" His eyes caught a renewed focus and he blinked the tears away, as he tried to grab for Yui's shoulders reassuringly:

"I'll find a way to get you out of there! I'll... I'll break the Medallion! I'll get you out of there safely, I swear-"



"Brax." Yui's eyes hardened just slightly, but her smile remained, as her ghostly hand gently touched the boys cheek:
"...You can't."

Her gaze softened again and she tried to ruffle his hair, but her hand passed right through:
"...I can't survive outside the Medallion, anymore.
If you break the Seal, I'll die. The Dragon will devour my soul and unleash himself upon our world again.

You can't open the Seal. You must never open the Seal. Promise me Brax!" Her gaze stared firmly at him.



"That's not fair!..." Braxton sobbed, tears streamed down his cheeks as his body was rocked by quiet sobbing, his eyes growing wild, more desperate and pitiful by the second, it was hard to look at
"You're just going to be stuck there in limbo forever? It should've been me who-..." he covered his eyes for a moment as he loudly sobbed:
"...its not fair!"


"Its what I want." Yui said soothingly and guiltily smiled "I'm sorry... it was the only way I could think of, to save you."


"Yui..." Braxton sobbed, then suddenly realized, the girl's expression was fading. Desperately trying to grab for her, his hands found only air. Cursing himself for closing his eyes even for a second, he rose up, trying to reach her, hold her still, even if for a moment. His eyes were looking only at her.


Yui gingerly smiled and tears finally streamed down her cheeks, as she looked at you, and gave you her brightest smile:

"I need you guys to do something for me. Promise me, okay?" she nodded, suppressing a sob:

"...I want you to live.


For me. For all those who got us this far, all those, who aren't with us anymore. Make their sacrifice mean something, by living.

I want you to live." she wiped her eyes gingerly with her sleeve, looked at you and beamed, waving her hand:



"Goodbye you guys."


She turned into a brilliant white haze that swirled around and slowly flew into the Medallion's gem that lit up in response.


"YU-" Braxton yelled at the top of his lungs, before a colossal explosion rocked the dome, making the ground shake.



It felt strange, you knew the Mana Crystal was just outside, but a few meters away, but its explosion seemed so distant now, so detached from your world, it felt as if it was happening to somebody else, hundreds of miles away.

Braxton was sobbing, sitting helplessly on his knees before the Medallion, that glowed faintly in the ensuing twilight. And when the dome finally melted away, the first rays of the sun fell on your face.




It was a beautiful day, clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. The air smelled of fresh ocean salt. The waves peacefully rocking back and forth, against the small patch of scorched land that you sat on. The sun felt pleasantly warm on your cheek, the wind ruffled your hair, washing away the smells of fire and ash.

You didn't recognize the landscape.
There were no cities, or mountains, or forests, just crystal clear ocean, that stretched into the horizon everywhere you could see, and a few stray boulders and rocks popping out, no taller than a meter in height, much like the patch of land you were sitting on, the waves gently washing against the edges.

Buzzy watches as Braxton tries his best to keep Yui here. Buzzy knew the inevitable though, all she could really do was watch. The girl sighs, "Finka... You still here? I believe our contract is complete but... I'd still like you to teach me..." she stares off at the empty ocean where the acadamy once was, "Seems schools out forever." She lets out a depressed sigh, "Man what I'd give to be in class learning some stupid beginner spell right now..."

Megan give Yui a final salute and then moves over to Braxton. Kneeling beside him she places an arm around him and brings him into a hug. She doesn't say anything, but simply tries to help burden Braxton's pain.

"Goodbye..."Escapes her lips between sobs.

Once the new view settled in, Desiree took in the view of peace, then lowered her head. "We won, at what cost..."

She got up, scouring whatever materials there were. Not even seeing those, she just settled on one thing.
"A-Anything got something to... Carve a rock with? I-I want... I want to... Make a grave for them... For our fallen friends..."

"So this is how it all happened..." Christabel said to herself as she slowly pulled herself up off the ground, brushing a bit of dust off of her clothes.

She turned to the Chinese dragon. "Thank you, Mister Dragon. Thank you."

Christabel wrote:"So this is how it all happened..." Christabel said to herself as she slowly pulled herself up off the ground, brushing a bit of dust off of her clothes.

She turned to the Chinese dragon. "Thank you, Mister Dragon. Thank you."

"Thank you, Chris." The Chinese Dragon's voice echoed softly in your mind "You are the one who set me free by redemption. Thank you." and you pictured the giant beast bowing its head, somewhere deep in your mind.

Buzzy wrote:"Finka... You still here? I believe our contract is complete but... I'd still like you to teach me..."

"I will remain by your side. Its a promise." Finkah manifested on the graying rocks beside you. His tattered cloak billowed in the wind behind him, ruffling his hair, as he stared with a heavy gaze at the horizon. You had a feeling he never thought he'd see another sunrise on Kepler again. The soft rays of the sun fell on his scaly face and he raised his palm, shielding his eyes.

Desiree wrote:She got up, scouring whatever materials there were. Not even seeing those, she just settled on one thing.
"A-Anything got something to... Carve a rock with? I-I want... I want to... Make a grave for them... For our fallen friends..."

"...we'll make a gravestone for them." Harvie quietly said, staring at the horizon. He had his back to you and you suspected it was because he didn't want anyone to notice his expression, his tears:

"...but it won't be this sorry thing, in the middle of nowhere. It will be... the biggest stone of black rock we can find, and we'll etch their names into it in white! And it will stand where everyone can see it! So everyone will know their names!" His fists clenched furiously, as his shoulders shuddered, his head hunched:

"So no one... will ever forget, what they did for this world..." he broke down, his sobs growing audible, his silhouette accented by the rising sun.

Megan wrote:Megan give Yui a final salute and then moves over to Braxton. Kneeling beside him she places an arm around him and brings him into a hug. She doesn't say anything, but simply tries to help burden Braxton's pain.

"...I loved her!" Braxton smashed his fist into the ground, bruising his arm, as he gritted his teeth, eyes closed shut "I LOVED HER!" he screamed bitterly, tears streaming down his cheeks, before Megan pulled him into a hug.


Harvie looked over his shoulder at them, briefly, before turning away, looking back at the sun, as it reflected off the surface of the ocean:
"...come on man... there wasn't a guy in school, who wasn't in love with her."


"IT'S NOT FAIR!" Braxton bitterly screamed, clutching blindly to Megan "I should've realized-... I should've stopped her! It should've been me!"

Harvie hunched a little and wrapped himself in his arms.

Breaking free from Megan grasp after a moment, Braxton pitifully crawled up to the simple, wooden Medallion, lying on the warm rocks, took hold of it, stared into its brilliant red gem, and clutched it to his heart, inconsolably sobbing.


"...you tricked me... Katsura Yui..." the white-haired Eishi quietly said, the woman sat on the rocks, hugging her knees with an empty expression "...you said we'll stay together until the end.."

"...I'm not gonna stop, you know." Harvie finally straightened up, let the sun wash over his face, then looked over his shoulder at you: "...I'm not gonna stop, searching for a way to get her out of that thing."

"You can't." The white-haired Eishi said simply, her expression vacant "Don't let her sacrifice go to waste."

Harvie looked away, his fists clenched, as he scowled at the horizon.


Vasily stood nearby. He didn't speak. Nor did he looked at the Medallion or others. His gaze was drawn to a small, singed object on the ground. Slowly, he crouched down, gingerly picking it up, before rising back up again.

It was Yui's mask. A silly thing she bought at the market, the one she wore into battle. A white mask of a fox, with red eyes, angry eyebrows and red paint all over, created in the traditional Japanese art-style of the 16th century.

The boy straightened up and turned it in his hand, this way and that.
His expression completely unreadable.








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The video feed paused, with Vasily's silhouette still holding the mask, accented by the rays of the sun. The figures in the video that seemed almost life-like a moment ago, became perfectly still, as the 'Pause' button, appeared on the screen, before it flash to black, and text began to display.












The aforementioned video file has been digitally reconstructed using several Memory Orbs, Data-pad records, security camera footage, satellite imagery, signal and electronic intelligence, as well as second witness accounts.

Further reliable intel is scarce, as most records were lost during the Chimeran War, however strong indications suggest all remaining members of echelon 'Enduring Cherry Blossom' have survived the Great Impact, which ended roughly 3 decades after the fall of Sideris.

Operation 'Cherry Blossom' has been well recorded at the time and studied in military academies across the world, as one of the most daring and successful military operations in human history. After action-reports suggest the echelon 'Enduring Cherry Blossom' became one of the most elite special forces units in the Interstellar Alliance, even after the nation had fallen to the Chimeran invasion and the country essentially ceased to exist.

Foreign intelligence reports suggest that most, if not all surviving members of 'Enduring Cherry Blossom' rebranded themselves into a spec-ops unit named 'Shadows of Katsura Yui'.
They are believed to have been instrumental in the evacuation of the civilian populace of 'Bishamonten Technologies' and their subsequent migration to 'Trafalgar Wilds', as they raced to escape the Chimeran threat.


Most, if not all members of 'Shadows of Katsura Yui', are believed to have been the founding members of the 'Katsura Clan', a new nation established in the Trafalgar Wilds, following the end of the Great Impact. Second witness accounts suggest they became self proclaimed stewards or wardens of the aforementioned Medallion. An artifact the existence of which they denied, and hid carefully, in an attempt to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.


The ultimate fate of the 'Shadows of Katsura Yui' is unknown, as all records of them have been lost, after the end of the Great Impact. However, the Katsura Clan has survived for roughly 2 millennia, before its demise in the year 2023 (Post Impact) and their special forces teams dubbed:
'The Shadows of Katsura' are still recognized across the world as one of the most elite military units in modern warfare.



The aforementioned video file has been classified as 'Top Secret' by the Hyacinth Systems Security.
Unauthorized duplication or distribution of the file will be prosecuted as a grade 3 violation.