𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑺𝑻𝒀 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑺 ⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐕𝐈 - 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐒

ZENIN ESHIMA'S WORDS TURNED INTO DISTANT WHISPERS AS MIKAZUKI ABANDONED THE CONVERSATION, the embers of the girl's speech soon turning to bitter ashes in her mouth. The sorceress didn't look back, gathering the hem of her skirt and diving back into the crowded ballroom. She could feel all eyes on her as she crossed the waxed floor of the room, the glowing lights of the chandelier casting shadows on the ground while the train of her dress swallowed the brightness before turning it into faded starlight. It was a haunting sight, like watching a ghost pass by in the mere flicker of a second before dissolving back into nothingness.

Mikazuki's heels clacked against the marble floors, her breaths ragged while she followed her grandmother's shadow through the horde of guests. Kinzoku Himari had quickly disappeared, her small fragile figure easily melting into the crowd. If the heiress had solely relied on her eyes to find her, she would have failed her task. Instead, Mikazuki summoned the tendrils of her Eternity, allowing it to roam through the floors disguised as golden cracks that ran through the ground, open veins filled with sunlight streams.

She could hear people wishing her happy birthday as she passed, but Mikazuki ignored the well-wishing sorcerers, ducking behind the columns ornated with warped gold before she finally abandoned the great hall. Endless voices soon turned into quiet chatter, which in turn melted into soft and hushed tones before silence reigned. By the time Mikazuki made it to the large oak doors of the main house, she leaned on the frame, taking a large lungful of fresh air as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Even with the fairy lights dangling from the trees, the garden was submerged in pitch black.

Still, the sorceress steeled herself, pushing the doubts forming in her mind away as she strode purposefully through the Kinzoku Gardens. The stars watched as Mikazuki approached the chapel with each step, her gown mirroring the heavens above. Somehow, this made her feel safe, as if the stars themselves watched out for her. Maybe it's Keisuke. She thought briefly, his kind smile flashing through her mind before she pushed it down too.

This sky, the one she was able to gaze at and filled with stardust – the same one she'd looked up to in Argentina – was her protector. She was never able to see any of the stars when she was living in Tokyo, but now the great expanse looked back at her, a smile made of stars and comets greeting her as she turned into vengeance in the cover of the night.

Mikazuki shook her head and cut across the gardens, dress brushing the stray hydrangeas that had grown by the pond and leaving stardust on her wake. The woman didn't pause at the entrance of the chapel, opting to push the door opens and step directly into the room without much preamble. Himari was sitting on a stone bench, head facing the wall while she had discarded her heavy fox-fur scarf across the floor tiles. Himari didn't flinch, not even as she felt the sudden weight of Mikazuki's gaze carving a hole in her back nor when the sound of her ragged breathing echoed in the still silence.

The Kinzoku heiress stepped onto the room, her soul becoming weary at the magic that gathered at her feet, matching her every step. Mikazuki was familiar with the place – it was where she had stood ten years ago, being judged for a crime she did not commit. It was also where Keisuke's body had been taken after his death, where he had laid on the table while she chatted with an old acquaintance. Somehow, this place felt holly. A place of worship, even when no cross sat at the altar, a mosaic spread on the wall instead. The grey-haired woman took a deep breath, making her way towards the bench as her heels clacked against the floor, sound ricocheting off the golden walls before rising towards the ceiling and out of the skylight that had been carved at the top.

None of the memories in this place were kind, but Mikazuki wasn't about to let it stop her. Instead, the sorceress stood directly behind her grandmother, hands resting on the woman's shoulders, the weight threatening despite the delicate way her fingers dug onto her skin.