A Certain Divine Visionary

The Power of the Monado

The roof of the abandoned lab

"Hey, where'd he go?" Touma looks around, tensing up. An orange rift hovers at the eastern edge of the roof, a walking distance from the party.

"Don't worry. He's gone." Shulk stares into the sky where Zanza once stood. He tries to keep his voice from breaking as he asks, "How is Mikoto?"

Misaka's fight with the Monado and Zanza has left her paralyzed and unconscious. The bright blue sparks of her ability and the Monado's are still clashing, and her face is contorted in pain.

"Not good. She has a pulse, but she's out completely," Kuroko reports with an ache in her voice. "The symptoms are like what happened during the tug of war. We need to get her out."

"Zanza must be preparing," Shulk mutters to himself dreadfully. "He must be getting ready for a counterattack."

"Preparing? Shulk, I thought you won!" Kuroko shouts. "You unlocked that power that could hurt him, didn't you? We can't fight him! You're our only hope!"

Shulk averts his eyes like he was just slapped across the face. He starts to mutter himself quietly, such that no one else can hear. "Hope..? No, I...I can't..."

Misaki, a bit away from the group, notices Shulk's pained expression.

The sound of a blaring alarm diverts Kuroko's attention. She reactively looks over the edge of the roof. An ambulance bearing the Anti-Skill emblem is inbound to the lab.

"There's an Anti-Skill van on the way!" Kuroko calls before blipping away. "Sit tight, I'll be back!"

Shulk tries hard to peek at Misaka, but his eyes are forced shut.

I caused this, didn't I?

"Touma, can you take Mikoto downstairs?" Shulk requests solemnly. "I'll catch up in a bit."

"Sure." Touma carries Misaka across the roof. He flusters a tiny bit but makes his way to the stairs.

Shulk tries to force a smile, but it breaks down. He walks to the edge of the roof and sits down. Misaki follows suit and takes the vacant space next to Shulk.

"You wanna talk about it?" Misaki asks.

"Why do I have to be the one? Their hope? After all that my friends did to defeat him, I have to do it all over again." Shulk croaks desperately. He places his face into his hands, inhaling deeply.

"The Monado is—"

"So many died to defeat him once, and now I have to fight him alone!" Shulk agonizes.

"Shut up!"

Shulk flinches and turns his head to the sudden loud voice. Misaki is clenching her fists and glaring at him.

"You aren't alone!" she frustratedly denies.

"But even with the people we have, Zanza would be done with us in seconds...The Monado isn't strong enough."

Within herself, Misaki sorts through the thousands of memories that are not hers and finds what she is looking for.

"'The Monado is not simply a unique weapon. It is the light within each and every person in this world.' That sounds familiar?"

"Vanea..."

"You're not like Zanza. He used the sword to destroy, right? You use the world's power to protect."

"Does it matter? All the sacrifices people made were pointless with Zanza is still alive."

"Who cares if you think they were pointless? You can't give up now, or those sacrifices those people made would actually become pointless! It's your choice to fight back again!"