SHADOWS IN THE HEART

Dust and the smell of burning ozone filled the air. They were all panting, exhausted, their bodies on edge after the last failed assault against Karen. In front of them, the traitor remained unperturbed, and behind her, Noelia hung motionless from her golden chains, a cruel reminder of their defeat.

— Is that all they have? — Karen's voice was a cold, soul-crushing whisper. — The desperation of pathetic insects.

With one last angry breath, they looked at each other. A spark of final determination was born in their eyes. Without need for words, they charged together for the last time. Asimil's green fire, Ikel's flaming fists, Mitsu's sword, Luce's swift strikes and a desperate power booster from Lyra joined in a final attack.

Karen didn't even flinch. With an almost bored gesture, she deflected the combined attack and an invisible force crushed them to the ground, making them swallow dirt and suffering.

— Pathetic — she repeated, and this time, a sinister smile tugged at her lips. — But if you so desperately want a chance to save her... you must first survive my lackeys. —

She raised her arms. The air ripped with a sound of shattering glass. Portals of pure darkness opened in the ground and sky. From them emerged the nightmare: creatures of the Void of all sizes, from shadow-skinned humanoids to colossal beasts. The battlefield was transformed into an inferno.

In the midst of the chaos, while dodging a giant claw, Asimil saw something. A dark, pulsating light emanated from the center of the ruins and the other defensive towers on the horizon. 

— Look! — he managed to shout. — It's not just here! It's everywhere! It's...! —

His warning was cut off by the onslaught of a beast. They were being swept away. Luce was a fury of gold and black, a whirlwind of kicks and punches keeping the smaller minions at bay, but she was clearly outnumbered. Lyra, her face pale with exertion, maintained a barrier of light around the most injured, but it cracked with each blow.

— Analysis: Our chances of survival have dropped to a statistically insignificant 0.7% — said Lyra with her usual calm, which made it all the more frightening. — I suggest panic. —

Suddenly, a blast of pink energy fell from the sky like a meteor. The impact pulverized a dozen creatures instantly. As the dust settled, a figure rose in the center of the crater.

She was a girl with vibrant pink hair, tied in a long ponytail and wielded a huge halberd that glowed with sonic energy.

— Wh-Who...? — Ikel stammered. Impossible... — Mitsu muttered, his eyes wide open. That gun...! The Pink Requiem! —

The newcomer, Mio, paid no attention to them. Her cold gaze was fixed on the horde. With a fluid motion, she swung her halberd.—  Resounding Spear! —

A wave of pink sonic force expanded, disintegrating the Void creatures. Within seconds, the field was cleared.

Karen, for the first time, showed irritation. — One more annoying fly? — She erected a shield of dark energy. —

The battle between the two became an impossible whirlwind to follow. Luce watched, gaping at Mio's prowess. Lyra, frowning, analyzed the new power in play. — Their attacks aren't mana-based — she muttered. — They emit a sonic frequency that destabilizes the integrity of the user. Fascinating. —

But while all eyes were on the epic fight, no one saw the real battle taking place.

Chained, Noelia's body shuddered. Inside her mind, she stood in a black void, facing a dark version of herself. 

— Are you still fighting? — the shadow whispered, its voice was poisoned silk. — It's exhausting, isn't it? —

— Shut up. You're not real. — Noelia replied, her fists clenched.

— No? — The shadow laughed, a mirthless sound. — I am the truth you refuse to admit. The one who remembers the helplessness you felt when Gray vanished. The one who knows you built yourself this ice fortress so no one would see how shaky you were inside. —

— It was... to survive — Noelia managed to say, her voice breaking.

— That's crawling! — the shadow spat. — And you're still doing it. Look at you. Waiting to be saved. And who are your saviors? A boy who trembles before his own shadow and his two new friends who pay more attention to him than to this battle. —

The shadow gestured, and Asimil's image appeared in the void. He looked weak, confused.  — You had that recurring nightmare — the shadow continued, its voice a sweet poison. — That of the hero of the emerald and black flame, the one with the ring, dying in front of you. And in your desperation, you projected that ghost onto this novice. You thought he was the answer. You thought that if you made him a hero, you could somehow rewrite the past. —

— It's not true! — Noelia cried, tears starting to run down her cheeks. — He...he's brave. He faces his fears. I saw him beat Mitsu! He's stronger than he looks! —

— Strong? Or did he just give you the attention you now have to share? — The shadow approached, her crimson eyes blazing. — Tell me, Elemental Queen, how does it feel to watch the healer analyze him as a fascinating specimen? Or how the fighter makes him laugh with an ease you never had? It's not jealousy you feel, Noelia. It's the humiliation of being... second choice again. —

Every word was a knife twisted in her deepest wounds. The shadow did not lie; it distorted the truth to make it more painful. Her fondness for Asimil was not pity, but was it tinged by her brother's shadow? Yes. Did it hurt to see him connect with others? More than she would ever admit.

— The Void does not offer you this confusion — the shadow's voice became hypnotic. — It offers you power. The power for no one to ever touch you again. The power for the world to feel a fraction of our pain. You will no longer be the victim. You will be the storm. —

She extended a hand toward Noelia. It wasn't a claw, it was her hand. — Stop fighting yourself. I am you. The part of you that decided that surviving wasn't enough. The part that wants to win. —

Noelia looked at the outstretched hand. She looked at the echoes of her past, the image of Asimil laughing with Luce, her own lonely frustration. The shadow voice whispered the final temptation: — Are you not tired of being afraid, Noelia? Tired of waiting for a hero who does not exist? Take power and become your own savior. —

At that moment, heartbroken and her mind in a whirlwind of pain, pride and confusion, Noelia's resistance broke. She no longer knew what the right thing to do was. She didn't know who to trust. She didn't know if she was fighting for a memory, for an impossible, or out of simple wounded pride.

She closed her eyes, a single crystalline tear rolling down her cheek.

And she stretched her hand forward, without looking, not knowing whether she was seeking the dark power offered to her... or reaching out, one last time, for the hand of a hero who existed only in his dreams.