Void in Radiance

Aihana opened her eyes, and instead of fear or total surrender, her gaze sparked with defiance. Her hands clenched into fists, her body still slightly weak, yet her heart burned with resolve.

“No… I won’t obey so easily,” she whispered, her voice bold, trembling just slightly. “I won’t… let you separate me from him! Akihiro is here… somewhere… and I will not leave him!”

Hinako paused, her expression calm, though for a moment her eyes cut like icy blades. “My daughter, understand this: the Earth requires balance. Your love for him could alter the course of the future, imperiling all that I have safeguarded across the centuries. This is why you are here—to learn strength beyond desire, to master what your heart cannot yet comprehend.”

Aihana tried to rise, her legs shaking, but her defiance outweighed her fatigue. “No! If love is what threatens Earth… then I will find a way to keep it—and to protect the planet! I will not be your puppet!”

Hinako made a subtle motion with her hand, creating a halo of light around Aihana, attempting to push her back. But Aihana did not yield. Her energy, though weaker than Hinako’s, radiated determination, her will a fire that refused to be extinguished.

“You are stubborn,” Hinako admitted quietly, her voice threaded with both gravitas and respect. “Yet stubbornness alone shall not suffice. You must grasp the nature of power necessary to safeguard the Earth.”

Aihana stared at her, heart racing. “I will never forget him. I will never forget what is right. I will learn what I must—but not to be controlled… to become stronger, to protect him and everything I hold dear!”

In that moment, it was clear: Aihana was no longer merely a student granted power—she had become a rebel, willing to fight for her love and convictions, even if it meant opposing the mother who had shaped her destiny.

Days passed, one after another, each marked by golden sunrises and soft light filtering through crystalline treetops. Aihana sat at the edge of a shimmering lake, legs dipped in the cold water, eyes lost in the distance.

Hinako gave her space—“time to gather herself,” she said—but the peace became a cage for Aihana. In the first days, she tried to breathe, to quiet her thoughts. Soon, emotions she could not suppress began to rise:

Sadness, suffocating, recalling Akihiro.

Anger, at having her love taken.

And loneliness, so deep it seemed the kingdom itself fell silent with each breath.

Each evening she gazed at the sky—hovering above Earth. “Akihiro…” she whispered. “Do you still feel me?” No answer came. Only the calm water mirrored her tear-streaked eyes.

On Earth

At A-Academy, Akihiro stood with his parents before the great portal that once connected dimensions. Now the portal lay cold, sealed.

“I test it every day,” he murmured, hands trembling. “Every night… and always the same—silence.”

The king placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, eyes stern yet carrying hidden pain. “Hinako’s will is absolute. None may breach her walls without her consent.”

The queen spoke softer, almost mournful: “I know it wounds you, Akihiro. But sometimes… hearts must endure trials to rediscover themselves.”

Akihiro turned away, jaw tight. “I will not simply wait.” His gaze was firm, almost celestial in its chill. “If the doors will not open… I shall forge them myself.”

For now, there was no path. Every attempt at connection was cut off. Every energy signal he sent shattered to nothing.

Earth was calm. Hinako’s kingdom unreachable.

Yet between them, in silence, an invisible thread smoldered—thin, almost nonexistent, yet still present.

Days turned to weeks. Earth remained quiet, too quiet. But beneath the surface, something brewed.

Akihiro withdrew from others. Rooms were silent as he sat by the window, gazing at the sky. His eyes were empty, hands clasped, wings slightly spread as if ready to take flight—yet to where?

Every thought returned to her.

Every memory, every smile.

Her warmth, her laughter during training, her kiss, her touch. Now… nothing.

His power began to wane. His aura, once radiant and strong, grew dim, as if his heart were slowly extinguishing.

The king and queen watched, worried, knowing—no words could mend a heart beating in emptiness.

In Hinako’s Realm

The day was silent, almost unnaturally perfect. The sky glowed in soft light, flowers hummed gentle melodies to the wind—but at the heart of this peace, unrest ruled.

Aihana sat on the stone platform by the lake, eyes fixed on the reflection of the sky. Her hands rested in her lap, fingers still, expression blank.

No tears. No words. Just… emptiness.

Hinako stepped closer, her gaze gentle, almost sorrowful.

“My daughter,” she said, her tone regal and measured, “I perceive the burden upon you. You must understand—the love you harbor… is not the path ordained. It would be your ruin—and the ruin of the world entrusted to your protection.”

No response. Aihana did not even move.

Hinako advanced further. “Hear me… You are—”

Then suddenly, Aihana opened her eyes.

Her pupils glimmered—not warm and bright as before, but cold.

“What am I?” her voice came slowly, broken, as if from two places at once. “You have taken everything that kept me alive. My home. My love. My freedom.”

Hinako stepped back, surprised by the raw energy rising from the girl—a wild, furious force shaking the ground.

“Aihana, compose yourself,” Hinako said firmly, raising a hand to soothe. “This is not your true power—it comes from anguish…”

“From the anguish you created!”

When Hinako moved closer to gently grasp her shoulder, it happened.

A surge of energy burst from Aihana, as strong as a lightning strike.

The air cracked, light exploded.

Hinako was thrown back across the grassy platform, landing near a stone pillar. The light dissipated—and Aihana stood on fractured ground, breathing heavily, her hair lifting in an unseen wind.

Energy swirled around her in strange patterns.

Hinako rose slowly, shock and sorrow in her eyes.

“No… it cannot be…” she whispered.

Aihana merely stared, cold, her sadness transmuted into emptiness.

“Leave me be, mother,” she said softly. “I wish to be no longer… I wish to be nothing.”

With every breath she took, Hinako’s realm darkened.

Something had awakened.

The air saturated, the once-bright sky pulsed with dark waves of light, as if the dimension itself fractured.

Aihana’s energy did not relent—it grew wilder, uncontrollable, like a storm feeding on itself.

Hinako stood before her, dress torn from the energy burst, hair disheveled, eyes full of realization.

“No… this is not your power…” she whispered.

Aihana trembled.

Her hands shook, sparks of radiant light tearing through the space.

Hinako gritted her teeth. Her divine aura expanded to contain the blast, but Aihana’s energy exceeded her realm.

“If she remains here, she will fracture the very core of the kingdom,” Hinako realized, voice trembling.

“I have no choice…”

With trembling hands, she created a spinning circle of light around Aihana.

“Forgive me, daughter,” she said, voice heavy with sorrow. “I did not wish to harm you…”

The air shattered.

Hinako sent herself and Aihana to Earth.

On Earth

The sky darkened, starless. The ground cracked, trees lost their color, water turned gray.

Akihiro was summoned by Queen Hinako.

With the Guardians, Captains, and the king and queen, he advanced toward the field where Aihana stood.

Hinako observed from a distance.

Akihiro looked at Aihana, fear and disbelief surging through him. Aihana’s dreams were coming true—she had been dreaming only of herself. And now, she stood before him, her unleashed power threatening to destroy the world.

“Akihiro! Aihana’s dreams…!” Rei shouted.

Akihiro nodded.

In the middle of the meadow stood Aihana—silent, unmoving, wings spread in radiance so bright that everyone shielded their eyes.

Her eyes were empty.

No anger. No hatred. Just void.

Everything that was once Aihana—laughter, warmth, love—now burned in a ferocious blaze of uncontrolled power.

Akihiro stepped forward, hands trembling, heart breaking.

“Aihana… please… it’s me. Akihiro.”

Aihana did not respond.

The light around her flickered, tearing energy from the earth. The field beneath her turned to ash.

“We must stop her!” Daichi shouted, wings spread in defense.

“If she continues, Earth itself will collapse!”

The angelic king and queen watched with pain.

“There is no time,” the king said slowly. “If we do not end this now, all shall be lost.”

The queen nodded silently. “Aihana must… disappear.”

“NO!” Akihiro’s voice thundered.

He turned to his parents, eyes full of tears.

“If you kill her, you destroy all that is good in this world! Leave this to me!”

With outstretched hands, he slowly approached Aihana, though the energy pushed him back.

His wings strained under the pressure, yet he did not falter.

“Aihana, I sense you… you are still there…”

But Aihana did not hear him. The surge of energy returned, stronger than before—the ground split, the sky opened, and a river of light washed over all.

Hinako stepped forward, wrapped in the blinding aura of creation.

Her eyes were full of tears, her voice firm.

“Stop, all of you!”

With light, she covered the Earth.

“I made a mistake.”

Before Aihana could unleash the destructive energy that would consume everything, Hinako raised her hands to the sky. Her voice rang across dimensions:

“Let time reverse. Let the world be cleansed. Let the prophecy be forgotten.”

Earth blazed in white light.

Energy froze everything in the instant.

And then… all disappeared.