Starlight Dream

Chapter 56

"Damn, we've really gotten into a bad mess this time," Arisu said, craning her neck to talk over her shoulder.

"Isn't that always the case?" Her partner said wryly, appearing from nowhere. Arisu kept her eyes closed, gathering her power. Behind her eyelids, she glimpsed brief flashes as Seina fought with their vampiric foe. While valiant, Arisu feared it wouldn't be enough. Seina was still too green and inexperienced.

"Don't worry about Kiyojiro and Botan. I left them somewhere safe," Charity said.

"Another one of your schemes? Are you planning something?" The Wicked Queen asked, peeking open her eyes. Her partner had always taken the long view, using time streams centuries ahead for one plan or another. Arisu, however, only peeked minutes at most in the future. She hated knowing what was going to happen. It made fights dull. It sometimes made Arisu consider her gift a real bother.

Her partner only smiled in response, a twinkle in her eye. Arisu smiled back, despite the desperate nature of their situation.

"Gah!" Seina howled in pain, Arisu grimaced as her new friend took a nasty blow with the vampire's trademark sword. Kaguya had sliced her in half, blood pooling in floating bubbles as the two sides separated.

"Fine. We don't have a choice. We need to join now." While Seina would be fine, it'd take time to reconstitute herself. Arisu stretched out her hand, ready for what would likely be their last battle. This would probably destroy them both, but the Wicked Queen and her partner didn't do half-measures. If this destroyed them, so be it.

"You know me, Arisu," Charity replied. "It'd fight through hell and back with you, always. We're a team, whatever the cost."

"Thanks, sister." Damn, was her voice breaking up? Now wasn't the time for sentimentality. With a clap, they clasped hands.

With a glow, Charity's body changed form. In her place, Arisu held a small golden key.

"So you're doing it, eh?" Kaguya said, drawn by the spectacle. Nothing slipped past her old friend's notice. She watched, cloaked in her cowl of darkness, curious what would happen next. "I predict only a .0005 percent chance you won't just implode into dust."

"I don't care about fate, destiny, or odds," Arisu said, inserting the key into her brooch. "I make my own. That's my power, to change defeat to victory!"

"Love Change! Fate Crush! The fool too stupid to realize she can't win!" Power enveloped her in wisps of rainbow light. Already, she felt the transformation go horribly wrong, pain wracking her body as her own power tore her atoms to shreds. But Arisu only smirked, accepting the pain wholeheartedly. She welcomed it as penance for her foolishness and inability to kill a friend. She would never make that mistake again. This time, she'd finish what she started. The Wicked Queen embraced the pain, using it as an anchor.

The rainbow light cleared, revealing Arisu's new form. Her dress had expanded outward, becoming more frilly with pink ribbons across flowing hair. The reds of her dress switched to a blinding white, devoid of any corruption. A golden crown embedded with purple-colored jewels sat perched on her head, ordaining Arisu as the queen she was. Hanging behind her was a golden halo, framing the Wicked Queen in golden, radiant light, shining like a brilliant star.

"Of course," Kaguya said, both amused and annoyed. "No matter how hopeless the timeline, you find a way to thrive."

"Amazing," Seina said, a grimace on her face. Tears gathered at her eyelids, overwhelmed by the shock and pain of getting cut in half. "Such majesty."

"Pull yourself together, Seina. You're not finished." Arisu said, a smirk twisting the side of her mouth. "You've barely tapped into your power."

"Huh?" Seina blinked in confusion. But Arisu didn't elaborate, the cosmos trembling as Kaguya blocked the Wicked Queen's sudden incoming punch.