Chapter 1: Death of the Stars
One by one the stars went out, snuffed out by a darkness so thick that it seemed so close to smothering even the lights beneath the starless sky, and Nozomi could do nothing but watch. The Palmier Kingdom was all aflame, its burning houses a thousand torches in the dark, but even those fires seemed too dim as the utter blackness of the sky drank all the colors from the world. They too faded away one by one as the buildings began to collapse, leaving only ruins behind.
A sickening smell of ash and smoke went deep into Nozomi's nose when she breathed, until she could feel nothing else. Far away, she still heard the fire crackling, mocking her for her failure. The exhaustion made the fairy on her hands seem so heavy, but she could not leave Coco behind. He was the only fairy she had found in the ruins of the kingdom. Unconscious, hurt, but alive.
She looked up again, hoping to see a flimsy sparkle, a star that dared defy the darkness, but the sky was now only a canvas where too much black ink had spilled, nothing to do but watch it engulf everything in its path. With nothing else to do, Cure Dream turned the other way, and began to run.
From what, she did not know, but she could hear something chasing after her. Heavy footsteps, booming behind her, following her endlessly. She ran across the barren land, through clouds of brown dust. Under her feet was only dry, fissured stone, without the slightest sign that there had ever been a living thing there. But Nozomi knew that just one day ago, this place had been a forest of lush greens, of all sorts of plants that Nozomi never thought existed. Just one week before, she and Komachi had walked there together, on their way to the Palmier Kingdom. The others could not come; Rin was needed at the Trump Kingdom, Lemonade at Majorland, and Aqua had been given a secret mission from Cure Mirage. She wondered where they were now, and hoped they had better luck than Komachi.
Mint had stayed behind so that Dream could escape with the prince of the Palmier Kingdom. Reluctantly, Nozomi left her behind, but now she wished she hadn't. She should have stayed there to fight. But now, she knew, it was too late to turn back. She had to find the other Precure, wherever they were. If there were any of them left.
Nozomi didn't dare to look behind her, to see what horrors pursued her. Nightmare was behind her, she knew, but it wasn't only Nightmare that attacked the Palmier Kingdom this time. Under the night's veil, someone had opened the gates for Nightmare, for Eternal, for the Desert Apostles. Whey they were suddenly working together, no one could tell, but it seemed to be like this all over the world. They had gotten messages from Cures Marine, Sword, White and Muse, all of them asking for help, all of them attacked by many enemies all at once. As the hours passed by and Dream and Mint tried to keep the invaders at bay, the news they got from other lands became worse.
The Heart Tree has burned down. Verone Academy has fallen. We lost contact with Cure Tender. The Trump Kingdom lies in ruins. Send help, please. Please…
There was no help coming, even Nozomi could tell, not for her, and not for anyone. One by one the stars went out as one by one the Starlight Flames were extinguished. One by one the realms fell.
Nozomi ran through the night with no stars to guide her. She did not know where she was going, and only followed the wind. Soon, she could not hear her pursuers anymore, and silence fell over the world. Coco hadn't awakened yet, and the little strength she had left was beginning to fail her, and she could barely hold on to him. Still, Nozomi did not give up, and kept him close until the night was over.
The sun rose red, a bleeding wound in the sky. It brought no comfort nor solace, burning so brightly that it hurt Nozomi's eyes. Hungry and weary, she sat down, for a moment, to rest, gently placing the unconscious fairy on the ground next to her. Hours before, her legs hurt, but now she didn't even feel them anymore. Her belly rumbled and ached, its emptiness almost too uncomfortable to bear. Her mouth was dry and her lips were cracked, painful to the touch. On instinct, she reached for her bag, but she didn't have it.
