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Akari was cold, an almost restful kind of cold. Yet her body ached, and as she forced open her eyes, a foggy haze lingered above her. The sky was dark and flickering like that of the Astralux's, but the ground was covered in snow while pillars of dark ice were littered about. "Where am I?" she said aloud as she stood and dusted snow from her legs, and she then saw the dried blood on her shirt.
She remembered. She, Luna, Seira, and Ginka had been summoned into battle with yet another Daemonia, but upon arriving in the Astralux, she hadn't heard anything, not even a Daemonia's voice. But then…
Shivering, Akari shook her head. She had to find the others first. She held out her hand, imagining her Elemental Tarot card and the flames that would transform her into her Tenebrae Mode.
But nothing happened.
"I… can't transform?" she exclaimed, staring at her hands. This was the Astralux, wasn't it? But even outside the Astralux she could transform, so why not now?
Something like a phantom flew above her, startling her. She ducked near one of the icy pillars, hoping to stay out of sight. Was that the Daemonia? But if so, how was she supposed to fight it?
"You can't transform," said a familiar voice male Akari had never wanted to hear again. "This is a space only for Daemonia."
Akari turned her head, and in the place of her reflection in the ice was Cerebrum.
"Do you remember the dummy cards the Tendo sisters gave Meltina and Priscilla in case they encountered their Diablos counterparts?" Etia asked.
Akari, standing before Etia's office desk in their newly-rebuilt headquarters, nodded.
Etia folded her fingers. "That was inspired by her father's research. He wanted to create artificial Elemental Tarot users to fight in our place. He researched both the Elemental Tarot and the Daemonia's Diablos Tarot, and unfortunately he became possessed by a Daemonia. Thus when you were conceived, so was Cerebrum as the manifestation of your Diablos counterpart."
"I see," Akari said, lowering her gaze. She had already guessed most of the truth after seeing Cerebrum's own Diablos card when she fought him. "What happened to my father's research?"
"Most of it was locked away after his death, but since the Cerebrum incident, many members of Sephiro Fiore want to reexamine his work."
"But then…" Akari remembered how the Leguzario hadn't wanted her to know the truth of her heritage, and she wondered if she would have to become involved in the infighting between factions. While she had yet to tell her friends, Etia had told her that many other members of Sephiro Fiore knew she was half-Daemonia. "Why are you telling me all this now?"
"Because you'll be leaving Japan shortly and we won't see each other for a while." Etia stood and touched Akari's shoulder. "It's important for you to know the truth, as other Elemental Tarot users will be interested in you because of that."
Despite herself, Akari managed a smile. "Thank you, Etia-san."
Etia also smiled. "You'll be leaving tomorrow, so you should finish packing."
Akari nodded and stood, and as she left Etia's office, she spotted Luna waiting for her. Luna smiled, and Akari's cheeks grew warm. Since that incident with Cerebrum, she'd noticed Luna watching her more often, and she couldn't keep her eyes from Luna either. Something had changed between them, but she wasn't sure entirely what.
But most importantly, Luna was alive and beside her, and thus her heart was at ease for now.
It was supposed to be simple, but no Daemonia mission was ever truly simple, Luna knew. The four of them - her, Akari, Seira, and Ginka - arrived in the desolate Astralux, and whether it was Japan or Germany, it was always the same.
They walked cautiously for a while, weapons drawn, and soon enough they came upon their target. The Daemonia in question glowed like a star, and specks of light revolved around it as if they were planets. While Daemonia took many bizarre forms, Luna had never seen one that resembled a solar system of all things.
"Is this it?" Akari said, taking a step forward. "I can't hear its voice…"
The Daemonia flared brightly, forcing Luna and the others to shield their eyes, but when Akari screamed, Luna's blood ran cold. Risking a glance, Luna saw that a ribbon of light had seized Akari and was pulled her closer. "Akari-san!" she yelled, chasing after Akari, but she was too late. In the blink of an eye, Akari had been absorbed into the sphere as the Daemonia vanished.
"What kinda Daemonia was that?" Ginka cried, her voice uncharacteristically trembling with anger. "That definitely wasn't normal…!"
"Akari-san… Akari-san!" Luna tried to dash forward; she had to save Akari. She and Akari had made a promise. She had something important to confess and she didn't want to break any more promises. Something dark shimmered within her, like the howling of a wolf, but Seira seized her arm, and she remembered herself in time.
"We have to stay calm," Seira said firmly. "We should return and locate the Daemonia first. It's too dangerous to search the Astralux blindly."
Tears stung at Luna's eyes. "But Akari-san—!"
"She's strong, remember?" Ginka said, flashing her familiar smile. "So we have to believe in her. This isn't the first time she's been so reckless, you know."
Seira relaxed her grip on Luna's arm. "We saved her once before, and we can do it again."
Luna inhaled a deep breath. She was still scared, but Seira and Ginka were right. Akari was strong and so were they, and Luna wanted to believe in all of them. "Wait for us, Akari-san," she said softly, like a gentle prayer. "We'll save you soon, I promise."
As Akari explored and hid, this frozen space seemed endless. The sky above looked like glass, both cracked and scratched, and through the cracks dark snow fell. That phantom lurked above, an ever-changing, ill-defined shape, and the dark light it emitted was like a grotesque parody of a searchlight. It was the hunter and Akari the prey, and still she couldn't transform.
"It's futile, you know," said Cerebrum's reflection in an icy pillar Akari hid behind. "Like I said, this is a space only for Daemonia, and you're half-Daemonia. That you still have your human form is simply because human beings are all one step away from becoming Daemonia."
Akari knelt, eying the broken sky above, and her hand brushed against the rough snow on the ground. "How are you still here?" she whispered, fearful of being overheard. "I… I killed you…"
Cerebrum's reflection shrugged, his blue eyes mocking and cold. "Perhaps, but I'm still your Diablos counterpart. A part of me will always exist inside you." His smirk grew wider. "You've grown quite infamous among the other Daemonia."
The phantom's light passed, and Akari inhaled a deep breath and dashed toward another pillar of ice. If she couldn't transform, then she just had to find a way to escape or wait for the others to find her. As long as she was alive, the others would come for her. She believed in them.
"That was rather rude." Again Cerebrum's reflection appeared in the ice in place of Akari's own. "The girl born of both Daemonia and the Elemental Tarot, the one and only 'avatar.' If you had given yourself to me, we could've created a new world for Daemonia, but instead, the Daemonia have deemed you a traitor."
Akari's fingers balled into fists. She couldn't let Cerebrum rile her, she told herself. "I will never join you," she hissed.
Cerebrum grinned darkly. "And here I was, kind enough to keep my word and restore Luna to her weak human self."
"She's not—!" Akari nearly yelled, but she slapped her hand over her mouth and flattened herself against the ice pillar, and that twisted searchlight just barely missed her.
"Oh, that's right." Cerebrum's voice was low, as if he was whispering in Akari's ear. "You made a promise with Luna, didn't you?"
Sephiro Fiore's base in Munich provided a much-needed sense of familiarity among the whirlwind of introductions and adjusting to new time zones, and one particular night, Akari stood outside on the balcony of the dorm room she shared with Luna, Seira, and Ginka, staring at the city that lay below. Red roofs were a common sight, and beyond the skyline lay the Alps. Munich was rather different from Nagataki, and almost… well, she couldn't say "quaint," as Munich was still one of the largest cities in Germany. Maybe it was just the feeling of knowing that Bavaria had been the birthplace of the "fairytale king," Ludwig II.
"Oh, you're still awake too?" Luna asked as she came beside Akari.
An awkward laugh slipped from Akari's lips. "I'm still adjusting to this whole new time zone." She glanced over her shoulder and into the dorm room and saw Seira and Ginka sleeping soundly. "At least they're doing well."
Luna smiled faintly. "Everyone handles changes in time zones differently."
Akari watched Luna out of the corner of her eye, and silence fell over them. They hadn't spoken much of Akari's time in the Clessidra or Luna's transformation into a Daemonia-wolf hybrid. Yet Luna's smile had grown more sincere, and Akari found herself longing for more of Luna's gaze. She gulped; she still hadn't told Luna and the others she was half-Daemonia, and she knew she had to tell them sooner rather than later.
(But what if Luna became frightened of her?)
"Akari-san." Luna laid her gloved hand over Akari's. "Why don't we explore Munich together tomorrow? I know a little German, and it might help you adjust."
"That sounds nice." Akari smiled, her heart pounding against her chest. This was her chance. "And… I have something I need to tell you too."
Luna's eyes went wide, but only for an instant. "Really? Well, so do I. It's a promise, then."
Akari nodded. "Yes, I promise." She doubted she would get any sleep tonight, but she had to be brave. She would keep this promise, and as Fuyuna had told her, she would listen too. And after that…
In the chill of the night air, Akari's cheeks burned, and as Luna watched her, she almost understood why.
"Daemonia are like viruses, and thus capable of evolution," said Irmgard Samsa, wielder of the Hermit card. She was a stern woman, with dark hair and thin-rimmed glasses, and her lab coat reached her ankles. "So it's not too surprising to hear about the strange Daemonia you encountered."
Luna, Seira, and Ginka stared at the projection of Irmgard's computer monitor. She had a grand laboratory, and while she knew much about Daemonia, she had made it very clear that she did not conduct experiments with live Daemonia.
"Based on what you've told me, I've surmised that this particular Daemonia has created a space within itself and drew your friend Akari into that space," she continued, and she tapped on the coordinates near the upper-right corner of the projection. "The Daemonia in question is located at this point in the Astralux. Strangely, it hasn't attacked anyone yet, so it may have been targeting Akari specifically."
"But why would it…" Seira began to ask, but then her eyes went wide. "No, of course…!"
Luna and Ginka shifted uncomfortably. Before rescuing Akari from Cerebrum, Ginka had told Luna and Seira that Akari was half-Daemonia, having obtained that knowledge while "on the other side" with her Diablos counterpart. Luna knew that Akari struggled with that side of herself and wanted to reassure Akari that none of them thought less of her, but each time Luna tried, the words wouldn't come. Yet she knew it was unfair that she and the others knew Akari's darkest secret while Akari herself feared revealing that secret.
Irmgard crossed her arms over her chest. "That is oddly intelligent for a Daemonia. Perhaps it's another failed experiment by the Leguzario." Upon seeing the stricken expressions on the younger girls' faces, she chuckled darkly. "Since the Cerebrum incident, certain truths have come to light. You can rest assured there will be consequences."
"Then it's even more important that we save Akari!" Ginka exclaimed.
"That's the difficult part." Irmgard let out a heavy sigh. "If the space Akari is trapped in was created by a Daemonia, then there's a chance only Daemonia may enter. It's the antithesis to us Elemental Tarot users."
Luna folded her hands over her chest. The mention of Cerebrum's name had stirred something dark within her, and the marks on her hands burned. She had made a promise to Akari; she had to apologize for learning Akari's secret and be honest about her feelings. She had to be brave. "I'll do it," she said firmly.
Seira and Ginka jolted, but Irmgard calmly stepped toward Luna, and she was rather tall. "Luna Tsukuyomi," she said, her expression unreadable. "I know a little of your family, and… how the powers of the Moon card have manifested in previous wielders, to put it mildly. The Leguzario has always been suspicious of you, and that… transformation didn't help. But the Elemental Tarot and Daemonia are just two sides of the same coin, so if you can utilize that power Cerebrum forced upon you, you may be able to save your friend."
Seira touched Luna's shoulder, her eyes full of worry. "But will you be able to become human again?"
Luna inhaled a deep breath, and she could feel that wolf monster inside her crying out. "I have to try, for Akari-san's sake."
"If you say you can do it, we'll believe in you!" Ginka said with a wink. "Just remember, we got your back too!"
"Well then, are you ready?" Irmgard asked, adjusting her glasses. "We don't have much time left."
"Yes!" the three girls exclaimed together.
A faint smile came upon Irmgard's lips. "Viel Glück, Frauleins."
Akari didn't know how long she'd been trapped, and she was growing exhausted and hungry. Every so often, while avoiding the phantom Daemonia's searchlight, she tried to transform, but as with before, nothing happened.
And Cerebrum's reflections on the pillars of ice continued to taunt her.
"I know you want to tell Luna that you're half-Daemonia," he sneered, and when Akari glared at him, he added, "I'm a part of you, so of course I know all your thoughts."
Akari said nothing, only leaning against an icy pillar for support to catch her breath, and the coolness was almost refreshing against her sweat-soaked skin. If she kept running like this, she was going to collapse, but if she stopped, that floating Daemonia would catch her. She chewed her lip; why was she so useless without her Elemental Tarot powers?
Again Cerebrum's reflection appeared beside her. "Do you truly believe Luna will accept you after you tell her the truth? Or Seira and Ginka? After all, Daemonia are the enemy. Remember how willing Seira was to kill when Luna became a Daemonia?"
"Only because you made her that way," Akari said, her voice rising. "You tricked all of us!"
A hateful laugh fell from Cerebrum's lips. "Did Luna ever tell you how I tricked you? I took your form and because she loves you, she did whatever I asked. Now she can never be certain if she's with you or me. But she's not wrong - we're two sides of the same coin, after all."
Akari dashed forward without thinking, Cerebrum's mocking words ringing in her ears. He didn't understand anything - Luna was strong, and whenever she looked at Akari, more than ever Akari wanted to bare her heart. She made a promise because she trusted Luna. She would tell Luna the truth and then listen to what Luna had to tell her. If she kept telling herself that, then she would make it out of here alive.
She couldn't fall for Cerebrum's lies. She believed in Luna, Seira, and Ginka.
The phantom above let out an unstable screech, startling Akari, and she just barely avoided being caught by its gaze. She ducked into another row of ice pillars, but her legs trembled painfully as she slumped to the ground. Her chest burned from exhaustion while her breathing grew heavy.
"You're in love with Luna," said Cerebrum's reflection behind Akari. "But she won't be able to return your feelings once you tell her you're half-Daemonia." He let out an exaggerated sigh. "If only you had become a Daemonia with her, then you two could've been together forever!"
Akari tensed; she remembered Luna saying that while a Daemonia, but she had also held back, giving Akari time to escape. "Luna didn't really want that," she muttered. "I heard her human heart."
Cerebrum's expression darkened. "Because she was weak. If not for me, she'd be dead. Maybe I should've left her—"
"Shut up!" Akari screamed, shooting to her feet. "You don't know anything! Luna is the strongest person I know!"
Cerebrum's smirk grew wider, and as light engulfed Akari, that phantom screeched again, an unnatural howl that shook her to her very bones. Her blood ran cold; that Daemonia had finally found her.
"You can't escape now," Cerebrum said, and his reflection vanished.
The phantom dived for Akari, and she took off running, ignoring the painful exhaustion in her legs. The Daemonia kept screaming, its twisted voice echoing in Akari's mind, but she didn't look back. She had to put as much distance between it and herself as possible. After that, she didn't know what she would do.
Pillars of ice erupted from the ground alongside Akari, and she almost froze when she recognized the reflections: Daemonia she had killed with her own heads, and their dying words echoed in her ears. But no, she couldn't stop. She kept running, those voices of the damned surrounding her.
Murderer… murderer… How many times must you kill us…?
A larger pillar emerged before Akari, knocking her to the ground. She let out a painful grunt as she scrambled to her feet, but that phantom Daemonia had caught up to her. It was shrouded in white and began to take a humanoid shape.
"If you join us," it said in Cerebrum's voice, "all will be forgiven."
Akari stood firm, even as her heart raced. She had nowhere left to run. "I refuse," she said.
The Daemonia's hands shot out, cold fingers locking around Akari's throat. "Then your sentence is death," it spat, squeezing tightly.
Thanks to Irmgard's precise guidance, the three girls found the strange Daemonia soon enough. It had grown larger and still resembled a distorted star with light specks like planets revolving around it. "This Daemonia seems kinda full of itself," Ginka said as she summoned her shield.
"That arrogance just makes it even more dangerous." Seira turned toward Luna. "Remember what we discussed. Ginka and I will try to break open the Daemonia from the outside. Just… come back alive, okay?"
Luna nodded. "Thank you, Seira-san, Ginka-san." She locked her gaze on the Daemonia, and as Ginka dropped her shields for just a moment, she charged forward.
As she pierced into the Daemonia's light, familiar pain filled her. Her hands and feet grew wider as her body convulsed, that burning pain ripping beastly screams from her throat. A desire for destruction welled within her. Destroy. She wanted to destroy everything, to break this world and start anew.
"What a fool," echoed a distant male voice. "Don't you remember you can't regain your humanity without me?"
The wolf once known as "Luna Tsukuyomi" howled, the marks of the red moon burning her claws. In the icy fog, she dashed forward on all fours, following a faint scent of fire. She was searching for something, wasn't she? Something precious…
An image of a monstrous plant appeared before the wolf girl, and she growled with fangs bared. Yet the plant monster only reached out with a ghostly, transparent vine. Please save Akari, said a female voice in the wolf girl's mind.
Luna remembered. She wanted to save Akari. Destruction filled her heart, but her love was stronger still. Letting out another beastly howl, she followed the scent of the true sun.
Akari couldn't breathe. The phantom Daemonia's fingers tightened around her throat, choking her. Her chest burned, lungs screaming for air, and she tried to pry the Daemonia's hands from her throat, but its strength was too much. Voices of other Daemonia flew all around her, jeering and mocking her.
"You're no savior," the Daemonia said with Cerebrum's voice. "You're just a traitor, a murderer."
"No… matter what…" Akari forced out, blood pounding in her ears. "I won't… fail…"
The Daemonia said nothing, its grip tightening around Akari's throat.
As black tinted her vision, Akari's arms fell limply to her sides. If only she could transform, then…
A flash of green struck the Daemonia, and Akari could suddenly breathe again. Air filled her aching lungs as she coughed harshly, clutching her bruised throat. Something like a wolf mauled the phantom Daemonia, and fear filled her as she realized that "wolf" was Luna. But how was Luna a Daemonia again? Who had transformed her?
The wolf girl Luna bit and clawed the Daemonia viciously, the Daemonia's bloodcurdling screams echoing in Akari's ears. Her fangs tore the Daemonia's flesh, dark blood staining the snowy ground, and she didn't stop until the Daemonia stopped moving entirely, and as its body became human again, this enclosed space began to crack.
Yet Akari's attention was focused on Luna's wolf form. "Luna-chan?" she said carefully, her voice hoarse.
Luna's wolf ears twitched as her body froze, her eyes wide and wild. "Oh, Akari-san, I…"
"What happened?" Akari asked, taking a step closer. "Did someone turn you—?"
"No!" Luna screamed, her large claws digging into the quaking ground. "This space is only for Daemonia, so I… But it hurts… it hurts so much…!"
"Luna-chan…" Akari tried to reach out for Luna, but instead Luna swiped wildly with her sharp claws.
"Stay back!" Tears ran down Luna's cheeks. "It's just like before… I can't control myself, so please…!"
"I won't leave without you!" Akari yelled as she seized Luna's face between her hands, and vaguely she was aware of the sky breaking above her and Luna. "You're stronger than this! I know it!"
Luna laid her heavy, shaking claws on Akari's shoulders. "I'm scared… I just want to destroy everything, but…" She shook her head, her eyes flashing red. "But if I can at least save you…!"
"Then destroy your fear!" Akari blurted out without thinking, and she knew there was more she had to say, to confess. "Luna-chan, I have Daemonia blood too, but my heart's still human, and so is yours!"
Something like resignation crossed Luna's feral face, and tenderly she touched Akari's face, sharp claws brushing against soft flesh. "Akari-san…?" she breathed.
"Whether you're human or Daemonia, I want to listen to your heart, Luna-chan," Akari said, and whether out of desperation or recklessness she pressed her lips against Luna's.
This artificial space fell apart, and within the floating darkness Akari held Luna tightly. Luna's wolf features began to fade, and soon enough she was human again. "I do all this to save you, and you end up saving me again," she said with a faint chuckle.
"You are strong too," Akari said, threading her fingers through Luna's hair. "Don't ever forget that."
Eventually the darkness faded, revealing Seira and Ginka, and they both embraced Akari and Luna tightly.
By the time Akari was cleared to leave the infirmary, night had fallen, so much to her disappointment she wasn't able to see Munich with Luna today. Irmgard had questioned her endlessly about her time inside that Daemonia, and then promised Akari she would share any more information she found about other experimental Daemonia. As such, Akari hadn't any time to speak with Luna and the others.
As she made her way back to the dormitories, she found Luna staring out a window, her skin glowing in the light of the full moon, and as Akari approached, she smiled softly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I already knew you were half-Daemonia."
"Ginka told you and Seira, right?" Akari said as she also stared out the window, at the stars above the Alps. "I kept agonizing about it, over and over, and now… well, it feels a little anti-climactic."
Luna brushed her fingers along the frame of the window, and Akari noticed how they trembled. "Was that what you wanted to tell me today?"
Akari felt her cheeks flush. "And I really was looking forward to spending the day with you in Munich too."
"Well, we're spending a month here, so we'll have another chance."
"Irmgard-san says she's grateful we're staying that long." Akari tried to smile. "She wants my help in exposing the shadier members of the Leguzario and their unethical experiments."
"Are you scared?" Luna asked as she laid her gloved hand over Akari's. "She also said that other members of Sephiro Fiore know that you're half-Daemonia too."
Akari shook her head, letting her fingers curl around Luna's. "I know some people won't accept that I'm half-Daemonia, but as you, Seira, and Ginka can, that's enough for me."
"Yes, I'll always believe in you." Luna's smile grew brighter. "You know, in this city, there's a park called the Englischer Garten, and it even has a Japanese-styled teahouse. Maybe we can visit tomorrow."
"It's a promise." Yet Akari felt her blush deepen at Luna's gaze so intent on her. "Wait, there was something you wanted to tell me too, wasn't there?"
"Haven't you figured it out?" Luna touched Akari's cheek. "Even if you are half-Daemonia, that doesn't change how I feel about you. Akari-san, I love you."
Akari's heart began to race as she remembered the desperate kiss she'd shared with Luna in the Astralux. Something so simple, yet so significant. "You really are strong, Luna-chan," she said softly.
Luna's blush was soft in the moonlight, and she pressed her lips against Akari's.