With fire surging forth, the blade stretched for an immeasurable distance.
So fine, in the void it was nearly invisible to the naked eye.
But the brilliance it traced—bright enough to be seen across light-years.
Those who witnessed it did not know what it was. They thought it just another anomaly, one of countless celestial illusions scattered across the galaxy.
Such flares, such dazzling bursts, were not rare.
But this light—this light meant that once again, life had escaped from the calamity that had swept the galaxy.
Hoshigaki Sora swung his blade.
The booster flared brighter than at any moment before, flames bursting from it with boundless force.
That colossal thrust let the sword, spanning light-years, rest in his hand as lightly as air.
It carved a perfect circle of light across the galaxy.
The sword passed—and a nearby planet split clean in two.
Titanironia, existing in states of information, evaded the strike. She re-manifested at the planet's far side.
But even so, a scar ran straight through her body.
She was shocked. Yet she would not surrender.
Though her godflesh was breaking, though her power waned, she still pressed on.
!!!
Her body vanished, and in the blink of an eye she reappeared before the sword-weary Sora!
[I too will use everything—to fulfill my wish!]
Sora's eyes widened.
More shocking was her condition.
Once over ten meters tall—now, before him, only half her left side remained.
The other half burned, dissolving in white-gold flame.
Yet even so, her form loomed, blotting him out.
At this moment, she was at her most dangerous.
Her hand became crystalline lances, gleaming like gems but radiating only death.
These were stingers that once punctured even Qlipoth's walls. Weapons used once in the Wars of the AEONS, never forgotten.
Why only once? Because Qlipoth "cheated."
Said it was turn-based combat—she stabbed once—he answered with three hammers.
So the crystalline stingers, little known, were still feared.
And now, they were aimed at his heart.
Sora's flames could not block them. And after stretching his senses to track her information-state, he was too slow.
She had chosen the moment perfectly. He could not defend.
It was decided. Both might fall together.
The stinger closed in, a finger's width from his chest—enough to erase him utterly from the galaxy.
"Not so fast!!"
"If you want to strike Sora—you'll have to get through us first!"
"We've hated you for a long time—everyone, attack!!"
Countless voices broke the silence.
Before Sora could react, silver-lit figures streaked past him, slamming into Titanironia's remaining body.
The stinger stopped, still hovering a breath from his heart.
But the gap was now unbridgeable.
She was driven back, battered away by the surge.
And then—relentless blows.
Fist after fist. Kick after kick.
One fell back, another replaced her. No words, yet perfect rhythm.
Strike upon strike rained down.
Titanironia's mind blurred.
Every blow carried a weight—caring for companions. Foolish, irrational, but real.
They dare—against me?
Even incomplete, she was still a god. These clones, born of her, could be stripped of flame with a thought.
Yet they still threw themselves at her.
This alone declared Sora's creed—declared his victory.
[…Defeated.]
She resigned herself to burning, consumed by white fire.
But then—the blows ceased.
She opened her eyes.
The Iron Cavalry fell from the sky, now wielding weapons, not fists.
Each left a scar upon her body.
The count of wounds soared.
What had been only a handful carved by Sora was now hundreds, thousands—covering her form in cracks.
And at the last, she saw him.
The Shining General, rising again to end it.
[So… it's you, in the end?]
Strangely, relief touched her heart.
And then—familiar sound.
'[FIREFLY SWORD VICTORY!]'
This time not a slash—
But white flames coiled around his right leg.
The Iron Cavalry's light flowed into him.
Each bond added to his power, until even time and space bent.
'[RIDER KICK!]'
BOOM!
His burning white foot crashed into Titanironia's broken form.
The shockwave tore through space.
Flames raced along every scar the Cavalry had left, spreading across her body.
The two fell from the heavens—crashing down like a meteor.
CRASH!
The wreckage piled on the ground was blasted aside.
And the two halves of the planet—shoved together once more.
DOOOOM!
The sound of the planet fusing again rang like a bell, proclaiming the end of a god.
Sora rose, gazing at Titanironia.
She no longer moved.
White fire wrapped her form, hiding her face.
It was done. The AEON of Propagation would not wreak chaos again.
And in the end, she was embraced by the companions she longed for.
Perhaps, she would no longer feel alone.
"…Rest well."
Sora whispered.
The fire spread, devouring her remains.
He turned upward—companions awaited.
But weariness struck. His vision blurred.
He slumped atop her body, [Driver] fading, and finally fell into unconsciousness.
And in his last moments, he too felt it—companions crowding around him, just as they had surrounded her.
,,,
"Hey. Hey!"
!!!
The voice roused him.
He looked up—at a woman shining in white.
Her face, like the others, but unforgettable.
His foe. Titanironia.
"…What are you doing?"
Sora's eyes sharpened, glancing around.
And froze.
The world was a nebula, dreamlike, unreal.
Only the two of them stood here.
"…Where is this?"
"This is the path I must leave upon. The place between Paths." Her voice calm.
"And me…?"
"Maybe you were caught up with me. Who knows?" She shrugged.
But she caught his suspicion.
"Losing means losing. I wouldn't stoop to tricks." She rolled her eyes. "In time, I'll send you back."
"…In time?"
"Yes. Because before that, you must answer me."
Her gaze locked on him.
"Why do you fight?"
During resonance with Hotaru, she had seen memories. She had seen him.
And so—her question.
This man—why? For what reason did he fight, risking even collapse of his body?
"I fought for companions, betrayed and abandoned, and so I chose my path. But you? I want to know."
"You fought me. Prevented my ascension. For what?"
Her eyes were calm—but within them, expectation.
"Do you wish to be a hero? Loved, praised, exalted?"
She remembered the so-called heroes of her lost nation. Celebrated, followed everywhere.
The image overlapped with him, standing among the Iron Cavalry.
"…No." Sora shook his head. "The moment someone wants to be a hero—they've lost the right to be one."
Her brows furrowed.
"Then… is it just because you found them beautiful? You risked yourself for their faces?"
She had seen countless men throw themselves away for beauty, across ages of war with the swarm.
And her own visage, born of Propagation's resonance with fate, had been flawless—so too the clones.
"…I don't think that's it either."
Sora grimaced. Somehow, she was making him sound… lecherous.
"Then why?"
The reason for fighting…
Sora thought. Then smiled faintly.
"…Maybe I don't have one."
She blinked.
"Helping others doesn't need a reason. When I see someone suffering, lost—I want to reach out. That's all."
He laughed softly.
"Isn't that enough? To find joy in helping others? That's what I was told since I was a kid."
"They lent me strength. They helped me live through this place. So I just wanted to use it for something."
"So simple. Why make it complicated? Thinking too much is exhausting. I'm too lazy for that."