MCSM: A World Unwound [OLD]

~Chapter Fifteen~ (Finale)

*internal screaminf*

It's only been like two weeks since I updated wow

Also if there's a bunch of typos, it might be because my cat walked all over my keyboard SEVERAL TIMES and I don't know if i managed to backspace all the autocorrected nonsense. Just a heads-up.

And uh

*cough*

As it says in the title...this is the finale. And because of that I should've put more effort into it but did I no

*claps hands* Let's just get right back into it, shall we?

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Aranna landed in a heap on the floor, her jump having taken her too far. She got up, wincing as the floor scraped against her injuries.

Looking upwards, she noticed that this room had no roof. But unlike the room at the front of the castle that had caved in, this seemed to be intentional. Like an over-exaggerated skylight.

She turned around, wondering why the remaining Authors hadn't entered the room, and jumped slightly. The other girls were frozen midstride in the hall behind her. Whatever had let her slip into the gap in time hadn't affected them.

Rush was the closest, her foot only an inch from the threshold, her face contorted and right arm outstretched as though she could use only her will to push herself forward. Without completely knowing why, Aranna reached out and touched the other girl's hand.

As soon as her fingers made contact, the cat-eared girl fell forward, joining her in the central room of the castle, the room out of time.

"Frickin-what the hell." Rush mumbled, standing up. The loss of momentum while in midstride was disconcerting, to say the least.

"What-what happened?"

"I dunno. As soon as I made it in here, time just...stopped. You only unfroze after I touched you." Aranna informed her, walking over and unfreezing Star, who toppled over with a shout of surprise.

She quickly unfroze the other five girls, and they joined the other three in the room after getting their bearings.

"How did that even happen? Time is frozen?" Minty asked, wide-eyed.

"Only for us, I guess. Who knows how long it'll last, though." Athena pointed out. Rush wasn't paying attention. She had been drawn, once again, by the light coming for the other end of the room.

"The relic? That's the thing that'll unlock our Author powers?" Dawson guessed quietly. "Has to be." Rush replied, taking a step towards it.

None of the eight remaining girls could see what the object actually was; it emitted a golden glow that practically blinded them. Nonetheless, the moved closer to it, step by step, covering their eyes.

"Do you feel that? The floor is almost pulsing. I told you this place was bizarre." Kendall commented. Rush nodded. "I feel it too. Pretty creepy, if you ask me." She finished with a grin.

Myst shook her head. "No. No, stop. That is not something to be happy about. You're nuts." Rush just shrugged in response.

The floor design was concentric circles in different colors, each band taking them a step closer to their goal. And with each step the ground seemed to vibrate even more, pulsing with power waiting to be released.

In the center of the room was a podium, a pillar that seemed to be made of nothing but light. Athena reached it first and extended her hand, eyes streaming as she grasped the only object that could save them now.