The Moonlight Thrones and Bronya's combined strike tore the enormous veil over the church to pieces in an instant.
"Success!"
Kiana hadn't even had time to exhale when Bronya's small frame collapsed to the ground.
"Bronya-nee!" Seele darted forward, panic in her voice as she checked Bronya over. Conjuring six Moonlight Thrones out of nothing — something no preceding Reason Herrscher had ever pulled off — had come at a terrible price. Bronya had utterly exhausted herself; her body and mind were nearly spent.
Seele felt the faintness in Bronya's chest, like a candle guttering. "Big sister… Bronya-nee…"
"Hold on, Bronya-nee," Kiana and the others gathered round, frantic.
"What do we do—Bronya-nee's going to die?!"
"Don't say that, Rosalia!"
"Is there nothing we can do?"
They hovered helplessly beside Bronya as her expression wandered between pain and vacancy. Then, out of the blue, Black-Seele spoke up.
"Tch… Seele, let me do it."
"You—do you have a way to save Bronya-nee?"
"Look right next to you. You've got something that can save her."
Seele followed Black-Seele's finger and her breath caught—the Black Abyss White Bloom was planted in the ground between them.
"The Black Abyss White Bloom?!"
Viewers in the stream brightened at once.
Of course—wasn't the Bloom supposed to be able to save lives?
The chat exploded with speculation and half-joked conspiracy theories: Did Otto leave the flower on purpose? Was this part of his plan? Was he really letting the heroes use it? Some hugged to the idea that maybe Otto hadn't been completely callous after all; others shouted that he was far too complicated to forgive.
On the battlefield, Kiana and the girls felt a thread of hope. But none of them knew how to use the Bloom's power.
"I think… maybe I actually do know how to use it," Black-Seele said slowly, eyes narrowing. "The closer I get to that weapon, the more familiar it feels. My power resonates with it. I can sense its unique force."
Seele hesitated, then said softly, "But please—let me help you."
Black-Seele blinked in confusion. "Now is not the time—"
"No!" Seele hurried on. "I mean—maybe you do know how to use it, but you aren't sure what price it demands. You might not know whether your strength alone will be enough to save Bronya-nee. So let me join you. Let us do this together."
Black-Seele fell silent for a long beat, then gave a dry sigh. "…Fine. I'll show you how I call on its power. You must follow my steps closely—feel the force, and help it flow into Bronya."
"Okay. I'll do it—I'll do my best."
"Then I entrust it to you, the other me."
The chat went nuts at the sight: Black meets White, Bloom resonates with Seele, fans spouted heady leaps of theory about wormholes and Herrscher cores and Otto's motives. But in the end the immediate question mattered more—would it work?
Seele guided Black-Seele through the ritual. Under their hands the Black Abyss White Bloom hummed, and a gentle, strange light flowed out. The girls channeled it into Bronya's wasted body. The Bloom's power worked like a balm—warm, hungry, and ancient—pouring life back into the drained machinery of the little commander. Bronya's eyes fluttered open.
"Seele…"
"Bronya-nee!"
Seele exploded with relief, only to see Bronya fall back into sleep after a single second. She was far from out of danger, but she was no longer at death's door.
"That's… good. Bronya-nee's going to be fine."
Seele pressed her face into the other girl, grateful tears half-formed. "Thank you, Seele."
Silence. And then—no answer. Black-Seele didn't reply.
A hush fell over the in-game world. The ambient female vocal line in the soundtrack cut off as if the choir had been snuffed. Viewers' stomachs sank; the moment felt ominous. The chat flooded with expletives and cries: Is Black-Seele gone? Did we just lose her? People braced for a permanent, tragic cut—but then Black-Seele's voice came back, slow, slightly teasing.
"Tch… shut up. I'm fine."
Seele sagged in relief. "Ah—thank goodness… you scared me."
Black-Seele's tone softened unexpectedly. "This Black Abyss White Bloom consumes—what should I call it? Life energy, maybe? The cost is not quite what I imagined."
She paused, then the familiar bratty glint returned. "But hey… weren't you pretty anxious just now?"
Seele blinked and nodded without hesitation. "Of course I was! You can't scare me like that again."
Black-Seele looked at her, mock-offended. "…You just admitted it? How am I supposed to reply to that?"
"Did you hear that, Seele?" someone teased in the chat aloud, and the two personalities fell into an affectionate, fussy exchange that pulled the tension out of the scene.
"I—fine, fine. I will be obedient, Seele. From now on I will—"
The live chat swarmed with relief and delights: fans sobbed and laughed—You scared us, author! Don't kill off Black-Seele! People praised the sweetness of Black-Seele doting on Seele. The stream's atmosphere shifted from dread to warm affection in seconds. Many viewers confessed they wanted a second-personality like Black-Seele in real life—spoiling, protective, and petulant in the best way.
Eden—watching with Elysia—couldn't help but smile. The near-disaster had become a little sugar-coated, a tiny, perfect "sweet" note in the middle of the chaos. Elysia, suddenly playful, slipped an arm through Eden's and said with a grin:
"You know, Eden—our relationship is a bit like Seele's."
"Uh? How's that?" Eden asked, suspicious.
"Simple: I'm Black-Seele. I'll always spoil you," Elysia declared, all innocence.
Eden smiled and didn't contradict her. The chat, predictably, argued the other way, insisting Eden was the one who doted on Elysia. But the mood had lightened; laughter and affectionate teasing filled the feed.
For the party inside the ruined town, Bronya's recovery bought them the breathing room they needed. The Black Abyss White Bloom's price had been high, but not fatal; Bronya had shrugged off death's edge. And for a fleeting moment—after the thunder and the terror—there was warmth: two parts of one soul, bickering and caring, keeping each other afloat.
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