Hikari and Lila arrived at the Weeping Cathedral, the once-beating heart of Lirael's domain. Now, it lay buried deep within this warped nightmare, a hollowed-out monument to grief and lost hope. Amanda's memories, her sense of self, were being rewritten—distorted into something unrecognizable, swallowed by false visions.
The cathedral loomed before them, its towering spires blackened like charred bones clawing at the sky, twisted fingers reaching for salvation that would never come. The air was thick, suffocating, as if the very atmosphere rebelled against the existence of light. The stained glass windows—once vibrant—were now warped and cracked, reflecting only a hollow emptiness. From deep within, the bell tolled sporadically, each chime vibrating through the very marrow of their bones. It wasn't a sound of welcome. It wasn't a warning. It was a dirge—a cry from time itself, begging the world to stop.
Silence reigned. Not peaceful, but oppressive, stretching out like a suffocating fog. The only break in the stillness was the distant, fragile wails of Echoes—the remnants of souls long since devoured by despair. They wandered the cathedral's halls, whispering fragmented regrets in hollow voices, their words carrying no warmth, only grief. Some of them bore familiar faces, twisted and warped, shadows of people Amanda once knew. They reached out, not in love, but in sorrow, calling her name in ways that were neither comforting nor human.
Hikari swallowed hard.
Just a week ago, something like this would have felt impossible—abstract, something born from a child's nightmare. But now? She was standing in it.
She took a slow breath, steadying herself as her aura flared to life, a cyan glow pulsing around her body. Then, she exhaled, her gaze sharpening.
"You ready, Lila?"
Lila gave a small nod, her expression unwavering. "Yeah. Once we find the true core of Lirael, this whole thing ends. We save Amanda."
No more words were needed. The two girls stepped forward, the great doors yawning open to swallow them whole.
Deep within the cathedral's corridors, the Despair Loop reigned. It wasn't just a place—it was a force, a curse, twisting reality into an unending cycle of suffering. This was where Amanda's subconscious was trapped, spiraling through the worst moments of her life—over and over, without escape.
Her family's tragic deaths.
The isolation.
The guilt.
Each time, the cycle replayed, but slightly altered. Faces morphed into horrors. Words of comfort became venomous accusations. Every iteration was worse than the last, twisting the knife deeper, pulling her further into the abyss. Time lost meaning. Reality crumbled.
Hikari gritted her teeth, her fists clenching. "Shit, how the hell are we supposed to find her through all of this!?"
Lila's voice cut through the rising panic. "Hikari, breathe. Don't let this place get to you. That's exactly what Lirael wants—don't give her the satisfaction."
Hikari rolled her eyes but took a breath. As she did, the suffocating loop shattered for a brief moment—her vision sharpening, piercing through the illusion.
That was when she saw it.
A darkness unlike anything else in the domain. Dense. Oppressive. Suffocating. It wasn't just grief—it was pure void, so consuming that for a moment, she felt as if she were staring into the face of death itself.
Then, a voice.
"Someone…"
A whisper. Small. Fractured. Desperate.
"…please help me…"
Hikari's breath hitched. "What?"
"…is it really my fault? Am I truly the reason everyone is dead? Should I… have ever been born?"
Her heart pounded as she slowly turned—
A small girl stood behind her.
Snow-white hair.
Haunting silver eyes, sclera as black as the abyss.
Skin so pale it seemed to hover between life and death.
A small, fragile frame, swallowed by an oversized sweater.
A presence blurred, flickering—as if reality itself struggled to contain her existence.
Hikari didn't need to ask.
She already knew.
Amanda Fujimoto.
Hikari lunged to grab Amanda, but it was just an illusion. She stopped herself, her eyes narrowing in realization. "I must've telepathically connected to Amanda's mind… but now I can feel and sense her emotions…"
Lila's voice broke through. "Hikari, are you okay!?"
Hikari snapped out of her focus, her hand still extended as if to grasp the illusion. "I'm fine. But… I think I might have an idea where Amanda is." Her eyes scanned the space, searching. Then, her gaze locked onto something above, a cloud of despair hanging just above that same child. "I can use this as a tracking device. I can literally see Amanda's emotions."
Hikari levitated into the air, using her telekinesis to lift herself. She pulled Lila up with her, her mind already racing. "Let's go!" With a surge of energy, she streaked through the cathedral, a cyan blur of psionic power.
△▼△▼△▼△
Amanda was trapped within the Despair Loop, an endless cycle of torment and sorrow that wrapped around her like a suffocating shadow. The world around her shifted like a fevered dream, pulling her into recurring scenes from her past. At first, it felt familiar—her family, the warmth of their presence, the illusion of safety. But cracks always began to form. The light in their eyes dimmed, their smiles faltered, and their words twisted into whispers of blame and regret.
As the scenes broke apart, Amanda could feel the sharp sting of realization: something was wrong. Yet, before she could make sense of it, the world collapsed again, and the cycle began anew—each recreation darker, more suffocating than the last.
With every loop, the walls of her subconscious unraveled. The streets of her childhood home warped into labyrinthine corridors, doorways leading to nowhere, and people who once felt real turned into fragmented, shifting shadows. In every reflection—whether in cracked glass or distorted puddles—her own face stared back at her, but not quite. Sometimes it was her, and sometimes it was a stranger.
And then, every toll of the Dirge's Bell, that haunting sound, echoed in her mind, stripping her of her will. It dulled her thoughts and chipped away at her resistance. With each toll, she felt herself slipping toward the Void at the Core—a place where Lirael's insidious influence tightened its grip. She could feel herself becoming more and more like the Forgotten Echoes, the souls who'd surrendered to despair, fading into oblivion. If she stayed too long, she would become like them—lost, forgotten, and erased from existence.
But, beneath the crushing weight of grief, something remained. A flicker. A tiny, fragile spark. Somewhere deep inside, Amanda fought. She could feel it—this suffering wasn't all she was. But the only way out was to face the truth: her losses were real. But they didn't define her. If she failed, she would fade into the endless hallways of the Cathedral—a lost soul, mourning a life she could no longer remember.
And then, just as her resolve faltered, a cyan streak of energy pierced through the loop and slammed into the ground fifteen meters away. Hikari touched down, dropping Lila on the floor with a swift motion.
"There!" Hikari shouted, her gaze fixed on Amanda.
Lila, eyes wide with urgency, dashed forward—but before she could reach her, Lirael appeared, stepping into their path.
"Persistent, aren't you?" Lirael's voice was dripping with dark amusement. "Do you really think you can save this Half-Horseman? She's nothing but a power source for me."
Hikari gritted her teeth, the air around her crackling with tension. "Shut your mouth. Tell me what your full plan for Amanda is."
Lirael smiled, cruel and satisfied. "Fine, since you're both so eager to die, I'll tell you—or better yet, I'll show you."
Lirael snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the world around them distorted. They were transported to a dimly lit, decayed cathedral deep in Long Island City. The air was thick with the stench of rot and death, the walls adorned with shattered stained glass that seemed to bleed shadows.
Lirael stood before Amanda, her presence both comforting and suffocating. Amanda clutched her arms tightly, her small frame trembling as visions of her past flickered in the air like dying embers.
Amanda's voice cracked with uncertainty. "I… I don't want to feel this anymore. It hurts too much…"
Lirael's tone was gentle, like a lullaby woven with dark promises. "I know, child. That's why I'm here. No one else understands your pain, do they?"
Amanda's voice trembled, uncertainty clouding her thoughts. "They… they say they want to help, but they always leave. Or they lie."
Lirael's smile deepened, a soft, knowing expression. "Because they fear you. They don't see what I see. They don't hear the cries of the dead like we do."
Amanda flinched as ghostly whispers echoed around her. Faces of the lost shimmered in the darkness—her family, her friends—all blaming her.
Amanda's voice wavered. "I… I didn't mean to… I didn't want any of this…"
Lirael's fingers brushed Amanda's shoulder, cold and final. "And yet, it is yours to bear. But you don't have to suffer alone. Let me guide you."
Step 1: Breaking Amanda's Will
Lirael's voice was soothing, but there was no comfort in her words. "You've seen it, haven't you? How they look at you? How they whisper? They fear you, Amanda. They don't want to help—they want to be rid of you."
Amanda's lips parted, the words barely a whisper. "No…"
Lirael's smile was sharp, and her words slid under Amanda's skin like poison. "They'll betray you, just like before. Just like everyone else. But I won't. I'll never abandon you."
The shadows pulsed, feeding on Amanda's doubt. Her fists clenched, nails digging into her palms.
Lirael leaned in, whispering into her ear, "You blame yourself for their deaths. Good. Hold onto that. Let it fuel you. If you suffer enough, if you atone enough, maybe—just maybe—you can make it right."
Amanda's breath hitched, trembling as she whispered, "How?"
Lirael's eyes gleamed with malice. "By creating a world where the dead never leave. Where the living can never forget. A world where grief is eternal."
Step 2: Expanding the Curse
Outside, Long Island City began to shift, as if the very fabric of reality was bending under Lirael's will. The dead walked again, their faces twisted and hollowed. A mother cradled a child who wasn't there. A man searched endlessly for his wife, her body long decayed. The city was a stage for an endless funeral, a nightmare that wouldn't end.
Lirael's voice echoed in Amanda's mind. "Do you see it? The mourning that never ends? The love that never fades? This is your gift to the world. No more goodbyes. No more forgetting."
Amanda's gaze was hollow, torn between empathy and guilt. "But they're suffering…"
Lirael's smile deepened, her voice smooth and persuasive. "Suffering is proof of love. If they forget, if they move on—what was the point of their pain?"
The whispers of the dead rose around Amanda, louder now, drowning out reason. Her heart beat faster, her chest tightening.
Step 3: The Final Ritual – The Birth of the Eternal Dirge
Amanda's voice was soft, resigned. "What… what happens now?"
Lirael's smile was cold, victorious. "Now, you accept it. Become what you were meant to be—the heart of this world of sorrow. No longer a child, no longer a girl burdened by grief. But something greater. Something eternal."
Amanda's voice trembled, a final, desperate whisper. "And… and you?"
Lirael's laughter was soft, almost tender, but the weight of it was crushing. "Oh, my dear child… I will ascend. Your sorrow will sustain me, and I will exist beyond this fragile flesh. Together, we will weave a world where hope is but a distant memory."
Amanda's mind shattered as she whispered, "No hope…"
Lirael's triumph was complete, her voice carrying the finality of doom. "Yes. No hope. Only truth. Only despair."
The city shuddered, the curse deepening. Amanda, at last, began to fade into something no longer human, her existence consumed by the weight of endless grief.
Hikari's pulse thundered in her ears, drowning out the distorted hum of Lirael's whispered manipulations. The air crackled with raw tension, thick with grief and ancient power. Her hands trembled at her sides, but her eyes were sharp, focused. She could feel the weight of Amanda's despair clinging to the very atmosphere, suffocating the space around them. But Hikari wasn't just here to witness—it was time to act.
A flash of cyan surged through her chest, her heartbeat skipping as her mind ignited, tapping into the surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins. The familiar rush of power hit her like a wave, and with it came the cold realization: she was losing herself. But this time, there would be no hesitation.
"Not today," Hikari muttered under her breath. Her voice barely echoed through the distorted space—too muffled by the oppressive fog of Lirael's influence.
In a heartbeat, the pressure around her intensified, like hands pulling at her thoughts, twisting them into jagged shapes. Do you really think you can save her? Lirael's voice slid through her mind, sweet and suffocating. The words bloomed with the scent of decay.
Hikari's lips curled into a thin, defiant smile. She would not bend.
Shut up.
She wasn't just thinking it—feeling it. Her psychic signature cracked through the fog of lies like a shard of glass, sharper than it had ever been before. With a flick of her wrist, her mind sent ripples through the fabric of the reality Lirael had woven. Psionic Conduction burst from her, spiraling outward like a psychic shockwave. It was a ripple—a whisper at first—but it was enough to pull at the edges of the illusion.
Lirael's eyes flashed, the sharpness of the gaze a fleeting glimpse of something raw beneath the layers of her control. "You're so very persistent, aren't you?"
Hikari didn't respond. She was already inside Amanda's mind.
The shift was immediate—sharp, like stepping through a door from a nightmare into a storm. Time twisted. Reality folded. She was in Amanda's thoughts, real thoughts, not the subconscious recesses that would have been easier to navigate. This was the battlefield—the heart of the war.
Amanda stood before her, but not as she had been moments before. The girl was now something warped—eyes empty, her form flickering like a candle nearing the end of its wick. Her hands trembled, fingers curling into fists that bled with self-inflicted guilt. Every thread of her being vibrated with Lirael's whispering tendrils, urging her to believe the lies.
"Please… don't let me fade." Amanda's voice cracked like old stone, the plea barely audible amidst the crushing weight of her despair.
Hikari reached for her, but the pull of the Adrenaline Boost hit her with such force that her senses flared like an open flame. She could feel her body thrumming, vibrating with dangerous power. 300 times stronger, she reminded herself, but the thought barely registered. All she could see now was Amanda's face—the real one—and the cracks running down the center of it.
"You're not alone," Hikari's voice came, soft but layered with a weight that was not entirely her own. A ghost of something larger than herself, something ancient and consuming, that now ran in her blood. She stretched her hand out. "Amanda, you've been lied to. Let me show you."
The surge of psychic energy blazed outward, shattering the illusion. The cathedral—shifting with the screams of the lost—broke apart like shattered glass, crumbling into dust. But even as the world began to fragment, Amanda's sorrow wasn't enough to fade with it.
Lirael's laughter echoed, but it was no longer sure of itself. "You think you can stop me? You think you can win this battle for her soul?"
Hikari's laugh cut through the tension—sharp, cutting, like the crack of thunder through silence. "You don't get it, do you?" The psionic currents from her mind intensified, a sharp surge of reality-warping force. "You're not her nightmare anymore."
Amanda's eyes met hers—a flicker of clarity beneath the overwhelming sorrow. Her voice was a whisper against the psionic storm, but it held a sliver of defiance, trembling but real. "I… I don't have to forget them… do I?"
"No," Hikari said, her words echoing with the weight of her power. "No, you don't. This isn't your burden to carry. It's not your fault."
The tension was unbearable, a fraying thread that threatened to snap under the strain of their wills. Amanda's form wavered, but Hikari was relentless. A mental flood surged through the girl's mind, not a violent force, but a promise—a pull toward something better, toward light, toward truth. She wrapped her mind around Amanda's, using the Adrenaline Boost to forge a bond, the psychic force of her will now a tether between them.
Lirael's grasp tightened, but it faltered.
You're not alone, Hikari repeated, pulling Amanda from the depths of her torment. She couldn't quite see her face—just the outline, flickering like a reflection in broken glass—but it didn't matter. Hikari knew.
Amanda had already begun to pull herself free.
And with that, the storm in Hikari's mind surged, crackling with power. The reality around them shattered entirely, breaking apart like an ancient spell undone. But as the world began to tear itself apart, Hikari felt the cost settling in. The Boost had spent her far past the brink—her thoughts scattered like fragments of glass.
It would end soon. She would pay for this moment of power. But for now, it didn't matter. Amanda was free.
To be continued…