Starlight Blaze

Destruction V: Awakening

Fire.

Fire coursed through Maya's veins, her very soul, as she was enveloped in flames of every imaginable color. Planets, stars, and comets rained down on her. The black galaxy erupted into flames, planets destroyed in the blaze. Hundreds of female voices echoed in her ears: "Starlit Prism Power! Wake up!"

The Planet Mars.

Galaxies, universes, destroyed by fire.

"For the Honor of Mars, Warrior of Destruction! Guardian of Fire!"

"Maya..." A godlike voice whispered in her ear.

Maya felt her heart pound against her chest as if trying to break free, glowing like a spotlight, like moonlight.

In a flash, beyond the fire and destruction, there was a serene goddess standing on the surface of a lotus-studded lake at midnight. Her skin was as pale and glowing as the moon above, and her long hair flowed endlessly like the black midnight sky.

"Maya..."

Maya yelped, clutching her chest, feeling something crystalline emerge from within.

The goddess looked over her shoulder, and she was so beautiful it hurt. Her face was slender and heart-shaped, with bright eyes twinkling like stars, bearing a sad, serene smile. A golden chandrakor mark adorned her forehead.

"Will you fight for justice? For peace?"

The voice echoed intently within Maya as her eyes grew heavy. She let her arms fall to her sides, and the crystalline energy within her took form—a delicate, heart-shaped diamond, clearer than any she had ever seen.

"Starlit Prism Power..." Maya whispered, taking the diamond in her hands and holding it to her lips. "Wake up!"

In that moment, Maya died and was reborn within a fraction of a minute. It was as if she inhabited a completely different body. The flames dispersed, and Maya found herself back in the debris of the entrance hall of the Gale Corporation building. The monster shivered away from her, its red eye looking at her in...fear?

And then she saw her. The goddess in the window, standing in all her glory amid the debris, exuding heat, light, and pure godly energy as if she herself were made of fire. She had knee-length hair of red, orange, and gold that flowed like flames in a hearth. She wore a golden, above-knee frock that sparkled and glowed softly like candlelight, beneath a waistcoat blazer of red embroidered with orange. Its half sleeves and waist ends were shaped like fire, and the blazer itself sparked like fire embers. Her platform boots followed the same motif as the coat, and she wore arm-length black arm warmers with white sparkles. The coat was open at her chest and joined at her lowest rib with flame-like ends, and the diamond heart crystal was embedded in her chest. Her hair was mostly loose, except for a small bun at the back of her head, and she wore a golden crown studded with fiery red embers, with the centerpiece being a red Mars symbol [♂].

Her eyes were scarlet red with bursts of gold and orange, as if an explosion had been captured in her irises. She had the same bangs as Maya, the same raised partings, thin strands on both sides... only longer. The same eye shape and eyebrows as Maya, the same nose, the same face...

Wait... that goddess... was Maya!

Maya was the goddess!

"W-What happened to me?!?" Maya exclaimed, stumbling around like a newborn deer. Her knees buckled as she trembled. "What the hell is going on?!"

Just then, a familiar growl condensed cold sweat on her forehead again. She gulped and looked up to meet those red eyes once more, as black saliva dripped from the beast's massive rows of teeth. Maya couldn't believe she'd almost forgotten about the demon that had nearly killed her. Maybe it was her foggy mind and trembling limbs, but she could have sworn the monster looked smaller, more disheveled. Its head was held lower, and its body shuddered. Was it because of the huge burst of energy her transformation had caused? But then, she saw her ethereal reflection in the beast's eye and knew she was still... nothing but food.