Shattered Remnants of a Dream

78. A Human Creation

Sweat poured down her tired face as Eden blocked another staggering blast. Both she and Madeleine commanded a staggering amount of psynergy, and neither had yet to show any signs of wear. Madeleine leapt on to the offensive again, transforming into Bruce's body and attempting to use his massive arms to knock Eden away. She dodged past them, then shot a swift kick into Madeleine's behind, knocking her off her feet.

"I know what you're doing," Madeleine growled to Eden, "and it's infuriating. You feel sorry for me, so you're trying to wait for me to tire out, since you don't want to kill me."

"You don't seem like a bad person," Eden said. "Why would I want to kill you?"

"You're spitting in the face of your comrades," Madeleine said with a smirk. "They gave it their all in those battles, and for what? Just so you could stand up here and act all innocent?"

"Why do people have to kill each other?!" Eden argued. "What's the point?! It doesn't make you feel better! It doesn't solve anything!"

"The real question is: why not?" Madeleine retorted. "When an insect annoys you, you smash it! When you see a mistake, you erase it! That's what it means to be human, isn't it?"

The crowd exploded with cheers, applauding Madeleine's rebuttal.

"Would you look at that!" Trunculo's voice rose above the noise. "It seems as if Madeleine has just gained herself a whole crowd of fans! Will this sudden popularity lead her to victory? Only time will tell..."

"What is Eden doing out there?!" Vance fumed from the waiting room.

Averyl chuckled. "You're very worried about her, aren't you?"

"Shut up. Madeleine doesn't have any other special tricks beside shapeshifting, right? If that's so, then Eden should be able to finish this easily! She just has to go all-out, and..."

"Indeed," Averyl said. "If only she wasn't so stubborn."

Outside, Madeleine grit her teeth and shot another massive orb of psynergy toward Eden. Pink death engulfed the arena, demolishing the platform and the grass below it.

But Eden dodged the blow, blazing with power. This is more than just a physical battle. I want to open her eyes...

"I won't stop shooting until you fall!" Madeleine screeched. "Die, Eden!"

A pink volley came rippling down toward the Daughter, who ran through it, feeling each blast disintegrate as it touched her barrier. With every step, Eden pulled out more citrus psynergy from within and rekindled her flame.

Then, she reached Madeleine. Before the Dark Zodiac could respond, Eden wrapped her arms around the little girl, embracing her.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Madeleine screamed.

"I don't know," Eden whispered, "but it feels right."

"No!" Madeleine shouted, then quickly transformed into a fly and flew out of Eden's grasp.

The Daughter retaliated by letting raw orange psynergy surge out from her – far more than anything a small animal could possibly withstand. Panicking, Madeleine transformed back into the 9-year-old girl and shielded herself with pink psynergy.

The wave of orange psynergy crashed into Madeleine's makeshift shield, shattering it. In such close range, Eden could have easily pummeled the little girl with all the psynergy that coated her body. Instead, Eden finished what she had started and embraced Madeleine once more. Propelled by her own power, Eden spun off the platform, and the two women fell into the grass.