Chapter 15: Perfection, Will and Calculation - One Last Lesson [Part 3]
『Name: Sakura Kanami』
『Age: 19』
『Lumen: 0』
『Titles: Nebula, Trailblazer』
『Affiliation: None』
『Traits / characteristics: Enhanced adaptation, universal communication, axis, Eternium manipulation, superhuman traits』
『Origin: Terra』
『Classification: Layer 1, Floor 1』
*BAM!*
A shockwave rippled through the ethereal library as Sakura's fist slammed against Scheherazade's barrier.
"Good to see you're not neglecting your body," Scheherazade smirked. "A sharp mind in a fragile shell is a dull sword."
[Fall back]
Despite Axis's warning, Sakura reacted a moment too late. The barrier pulsed with a repulsion blast, hurling her across the vast space and slamming her into a bookshelf with a crack.
"This setting is far too beautiful to wreck," Scheherazade sighed, twirling her hand.
Reality rippled.
Before Sakura could respond, the floor beneath her vanished, and suddenly—
She was falling.
"We're falling?!" Sakura shrieked as the clouds whipped past her.
"Focus, little one." Scheherazade's voice echoed beside her—before she fired a beam of emerald light directly at her student.
[Tactical Sync: ON]
Sakura summoned a barrier just in time. The beam crashed into her shield, blasting her backward but not injuring her.
"Take this!" she shouted, conjuring multiple fireballs midair and hurling them upward.
BOOMM!
Flames erupted in a burst of brilliance—but Scheherazade had vanished.
"Damn it, where—?"
"I'm here, sweetheart."
Before Sakura could turn, a fist crashed into her chest.
BAM!
She plummeted toward the earth.
[Thought Acceleration: ON]
"I think we're in trouble, cause I can't fly."
[Be creative. Eternium has unlimited possibilities]
"Ehhhh~" As she watched the ground get closer and closer, she desperately tried to think of something.
'Well, that should work.'
Suddenly, her feet caught fire, acting like rocket boosters. She abruptly stopped falling as she struggled to regain control.
"...That's actually kinda cool!"
[Now shoot]
BOOM!
Sakura rocketed back into the sky with flaming feet, spiraling toward Scheherazade. With a burst of speed, she twisted and launched a blazing kick.
Scheherazade grinned. "Well now, someone's learning."
She dodged gracefully, but the residual explosion from Sakura's attack lit up the sky.
Scheherazade retaliated with another beam, but Sakura was faster this time.
"Not today, Sensei."
When Scheherazade glanced down—she was floating above a trap.
A field of glowing fireballs erupted below.
Scheherazade launched upward, dodging the blast. But that's exactly what Sakura had planned.
[Now]
Sakura unleashed another volley of fireballs, catching her airborne master mid-flight.
BOOM!
...
Scheherazade's body crashed to the ground, apparently unconscious.
"She's down!" Sakura pumped her fist. "I did it!"
She hadn't imagined that she would win like this.
'Well, it looks like I've gotten a lot stronger.'
Concerns about her Sensei only began then.
"Sensei, are you all right?" She asked as she approached.
[Sakura, wait the Tower message didn't appear-]
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, dear." Suddenly, a voice appeared behind her.
"Eh-" Scheherazade grabbed Sakura's leg before she even had time to react.
"I've already taught you during your training: Never let your guard down," She said as she threw Sakura to the ground.
*BOOM!*
The ground shattered on impact, and Sakura's mind almost blacked out.
'How is this possible? I'm sure I saw her body- Wait, A clone?'
Before she could regroup, dozens of energy beams rained from above.
She summoned a shield, but it cracked under pressure.
'Damn it! I can't hold it!'
She activated her flame propulsion again, escaping with mere seconds to spare.
Cough Cough
Smoke escaped her lips. Her arms were bleeding—beams had cut through her defenses.
"Aaghh!" An excruciating pain came.
'Damn it!'
[Concentrate, you haven't used everything you have yet. She won't be defeated with simple tricks... her power is too ethereal for us to understand. We need to do something-]
"Hitting her is impossible...."
[...]
[Make it possible then]
"What..."
[Hyper-Focus activated]
[Isn't that what stories are all about? Making the impossible real?]
Sakura's lips twitched.
"…Heh. That's true."
Her eyes gleamed—no longer with desperation, but with clarity.
"All I need... is a single moment."
BOOMM!
Sakura blasted off again, confidence radiating like starlight.
"There's no point in you trying, Little one. This story has already been scripted, and you can't change it." Scheherazade fired several energy beams at Sakura as she tried to get closer.
*BOOMM!*
The beams destroyed everything in their path, but Sakura was no longer there.
Suddenly, Scheherazade felt a blow coming from behind.
'Her speed has increased.' She thought as she hurriedly used teleportation to avoid the blow.
Sakura followed Scheherazade, initiating an exchange of blows.
*Bam!* *Bam!*
An aerial battle began. Sparks of Eternium clashed like lightning bolts. Sakura was relentless, her momentum fueled by belief.
She dodged a retaliatory beam and countered with a leg ignited in roaring fire.
BAM!
Scheherazade's shield caught the blow but cracked the under sheer force.
Then—BOOM!
The explosion lit the sky like a second sunrise.
…
'Did I get it right?' Sakura thought after landing.
Scheherazade fell back, her barrier crumbling.
"Impressive," she admitted. "Truly impressive."
But the ground beneath Sakura trembled.
The blow was enough to destroy Scheherazade's shield, but it still wasn't enough to hit her.
'I have a bad feeling about this.' Sakura looked around after feeling an uneasy sensation.
"Now, let's see how you do in Round 2." Scheherazade flashed a sinister smile as she opened a dark book.
[Be on the alert, she's about to-]
Before Axis could finish, the world shattered. Sakura fell into a spiraling abyss, crashing into an endless black sea.
Darkness shrouded the sky above her. No stars. No moon. Only silence.
When she hit the water, her limbs stopped responding. Cold numbness spread.
Even Axis's voice was gone.
She sank.
...
...
'So this... is how it ends?'
'I always thought it would end like this. Drowning in the guilt I never let go of. End this miserable anguish that was taking over my soul. But...'
Her eyes rose to the sky.
A single faint light shimmered above the clouds.
'Why… now... do I feel so much like... living again?'
Her hand reached upward, trembling, toward the smallest, most distant star.
But her consciousness began to disappear…