The Penacony Grand Theater stood in silence. The golden shimmer of its dome, which once symbolized sweet dreams, now seemed chilling to the
The Penacony Grand Theater stood in silence. The golden shimmer of its dome, which once symbolized sweet dreams, now seemed chilling to the bone.
Daziel, Firefly, and Black Swan stepped into the vast, deathly still space.
Inside the theater, the air was stagnant, filled with an indescribable oppression.
The audience seats below the stage were empty, as if time itself had stopped here, the silence so profound it was unnerving.
On the stage, two rows of puppets stood like statues, their postures stiff and varied.
They hung their heads, like a troupe of forgotten puppets slumbering in a corner.
Firefly furrowed her delicate brow, a flicker of unease in her eyes. She lowered her voice, whispering with a faint tremor.
"These puppets… they feel very strange."
Black Swan's eyes narrowed slightly, her deep pupils reflecting the cold outlines of the puppets. She seemed to have perceived some deeper meaning, letting out a soft laugh, her tone laced with understanding and sarcasm.
"Derived from 'Order,' and not 'Harmony,' are they? How could 'Harmony' tolerate the existence of something that so defies its own nature?"
Black Swan's question was more of a commentary on Sunday's methods.
Daziel stared at the silent puppets, the aura emanating from him as heavy as lead.
They were wrapped in a suffocating sense of oppression.
It was the dead calm before a storm.
Suddenly, a faint "click" abruptly shattered the theater's silence.
The sound was slight, yet it was infinitely amplified in the empty space, strangely sharp and piercing.
Immediately after, all the puppets, as if pulled by the same invisible string, raised their heads in unison.
The movement was perfectly synchronized, so precise it was horrifying, devoid of any sign of life.
Their faces turned precisely toward Daziel and the others.
Their empty eye sockets, as if holding some bizarre focus, locked onto them.
Firefly's heart clenched, and she subconsciously gripped the corner of Daziel's clothes.
Her fingertips were icy, the chill passing through the fabric, clearly conveying the deep unease and fear in her heart.
The puppets began to make a sound. It was not singing, but a strange, low chant. The voices intertwined, forming a sound wave that made one's scalp tingle.
[He gifted meaning to all in the world!]
[All things in heaven and earth were made!]
[He rested from all the work of creation!]
The waves of praise rose and fell, yet they held no sense of divinity, only a bone-deep chill.
The voices seemed to come from an abyss, the murmurs of countless twisted souls.
[However, the multitude cried out to the One:]
["You defined all people with 'Order'!"]
["Yet you made us know we are but your puppets!"]
The singing grew higher, carrying an unsettling, fanatical extremism.
Firefly's breathing quickened, a strange panic fluttering in her chest.
This song seemed to invade her very soul, making her feel an inescapable sense of bondage.
[Therefore, on that day, the multitude will unite as one!]
[And cast the god into destruction!]
The twisted final note faded, and the theater returned to a dead silence once more.
Only the empty gazes of the puppets remained stubbornly locked on Daziel's group, unwavering.
Daziel's expression was as grim as iron. He took a deep breath, his voice low and powerful.
"You two, hold onto your transformation devices if you have them, draw your cards if you need to. This is going to be a tough fight."
Just then, a figure appeared silently in the center of the stage.
The brilliant lights converged on him, enveloping him in a blinding halo.
It was Sunday.
He wore an elegant and proper smile, like a host who had been waiting for a long time to welcome his honored guests.
"The Harmony Grand Ceremony is about to begin…"
His voice was gentle, yet it contained an unshakeable and powerful will, like a cold and majestic command.
"It would be such a shame if the prelude of 'Harmony' lacked your participation."
He bowed slightly, his movements standard and graceful, conveying a deliberate sense of distance.
"Please allow me to welcome you all once again. Welcome to the Penacony Grand Theater. This is the core of the sweet dream, the place where the power of the 'Stellaron' converges."
"It is the absolute stage for the Harmony Grand Ceremony…"
Sunday paused, the smile on his face deepening, but it did not reach his eyes.
His eyes were as cold as a bottomless pit, without a trace of warmth.
"The land of deathmatches!"
Daziel snorted coldly, a strong sense of revulsion welling up within him, unmoved by Sunday's hypocritical welcome.
"More words are useless."
He called back, his tone carrying undisguised disdain.
"I will never agree with the paradise of ecstasy you seek to build."
A sharp light flashed in Daziel's eyes, stabbing straight at Sunday's prophet-like gaze.
"On Edo Star, there's a ninja manga. There's a character in it named Obito. You're quite a bit like him…"
"Both of you vainly attempt to create a false world of illusion, thinking that in doing so, everyone can achieve happiness."
Hearing this, Sunday's brow twitched almost imperceptibly, as if surprised by the comparison.
"What a strange thing to say." He said with a half-smile, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"So many people have made comparisons today. Someone even said I was like some… General Jin? I've never even heard of him."
He whispered softly, as if to himself, but his voice carried clearly to everyone's ears.
"Clearly, I am just following my own beliefs."
The corner of Daziel's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, feeling a trace of impatience at Sunday's evasive response.
"It's not wrong to say you're like him."
"He also built a nation isolated from the world, playing his own games, severely disconnected from the other powers in the universe…"
His words carried a complete negation and mockery of Sunday's ideals.
Sunday's gaze turned colder, and the elegant smile on his face faded slightly.
"Regardless, we are all walking on the path we believe to be right."
His voice returned to calm but was even more resolute, as unshakeable as a boulder.
"On this point, whether it's you, or me… or the Obito and General Jin you speak of…"
"There is no essential difference."
Sunday opened his arms, as if to embrace the entire theater, to embrace the "Order" he was about to realize.
"Since that is the case, let us use our respective Paths to show the universe a truly righteous way!"
The moment his voice fell, the entire stage began to shake violently.
The ground rumbled deeply and split open, forming a massive fissure.
A colossal puppet slowly rose from the crack.
It held a giant conductor's baton, its posture solemn and majestic.
Its metallic body reflected a cold luster, exceptionally dazzling under the theater lights.
Every one of its joints exuded a terrifying precision, as if born for some ultimate form of control.
The puppet's face bore some resemblance to Sunday.
But it was colder, more imposing, like a merciless god looking down on all living beings.
Sunday's voice no longer came from his own body but, with a metallic quality and supreme authority, emanated from the mouth of the giant puppet.
"Now, I grant you all the right to look directly at the sun!"
The giant puppet raised its baton high, pointing at the theater's dome as if to pierce the void.
"Upon these one hundred and seven thousand, three hundred and thirty-six tombstones!"
That number was the souls of the dead of the Dream Master's crows, the total number of souls of the Oak Family, now being used by Sunday as the cornerstone of his "Order."
"The almighty strings of Harmony! For my use—"
His voice suddenly rose, shaking one's soul, like rolling thunder.
"The Tuner of the Grand Chorus!"
He declared, like a divine proclamation, with a will that could not be defied.
"Chorus, Dominicus!"
The deathly silent theater was abruptly awakened by an extremely crisp metallic crash.
An intricately patterned Aether Coin flipped rapidly between Daziel's slender fingertips, reflecting a sharp silver light that seemed to crack the stagnant air.
Phantylia's mountainously colossal figure, exuding a suffocating dual aura of Propagation and Destruction, descended with a thunderous presence.
Her magnificent yet indifferent compound eyes merely glanced over, and Dominicus's giant metal frame seemed to freeze for an instant. Her gaze held only pure scrutiny and the indifference of looking down upon an ant.
"We should have just started fighting directly. I'm not good at trash-talking, how could I possibly persuade this Bone-and-Iron Obito with words…"
A smirk touched Daziel's lips, tinged with impatience.
The baseball bat spun in his palm, a blur of motion, before finally pointing towards the cold colossus in the center of the stage, his fighting spirit palpable.
Firefly's wrist flicked. A small transformation device suddenly bloomed with a light more brilliant than a newborn star.
The expression on her face, in the instant that light shone, switched from a maiden's gentleness to a warrior's cold decisiveness, her eyes sharp.
"Sam, in position!"
Particles of crimson, blood-like fiery energy, as if alive, rapidly enveloped and reconstructed Firefly's petite body. A silver-white Sam mech, gleaming with metallic luster and filled with explosive power, stood proudly on the stage!
The mech's engine let out a low, powerful hum, like a waking beast's roar. A scorching heatwave erupted from Sam, spreading madly in all directions. The air in its path twisted violently from the high temperature, blurring one's vision.
Black Swan's slender fingertips flicked. Several tarot cards with faintly glowing edges, as if given life, silently materialized, dancing nimbly between her fingers.
On the faces of the cards, the indescribable, twisted patterns seemed to come alive, slowly flowing, emitting a deep, mysterious, and unsettling aura that both invited exploration and chilled one to the bone.
"The threads of fate are already clearly visible."
A faint smile played on Black Swan's lips, but her deep eyes flashed with a sharp, cold light of insight, locked firmly on Dominicus.
The giant metal baton in Dominicus's hand now rose slightly, issuing the first cold, emotionless command.
"Echoes of the old dream…"
Its voice, like grinding metal, echoed in the empty, silent theater. Each syllable seemed to carry a strange magic, bewitching the heart, threatening to drag the listener into the deepest, most illusory dream.
On the stage, the puppets, originally stiff as statues, moved in response to the command. They all opened their supposedly silent mouths, letting out waves of sharp, piercing, and utterly twisted sound.
That sound wave was no ordinary noise. It layered upon itself, like an overwhelming, invisible tide, not just battering the eardrums but directly penetrating flesh and blood, crashing violently against the depths of the soul, causing splitting headaches and unbearable anxiety.
"Just some mind-bewitching parlor tricks."
Phantylia's voice, carrying a hint of laziness and disdain, rang out as she flicked a finger.
In an instant, a boundless gust of wind, invisible to the naked eye, howled from her hand, its force so fierce it seemed capable of tearing the sky apart!
The formless gale met the incoming wave of sound with perfect precision, instantly tearing it apart, shredding it to pieces!
The fierce airflow whipped back, sending the puppets that had just been screeching into a disarray, their formation collapsing like leaves in a storm.
The next moment, Phantylia casually waved the fan in her hand. The gesture seemed nonchalant, yet it carried a pure, ultimate aura of destruction that chilled the heart, as if she intended to turn everything before her to dust.
Simultaneously, the thrusters on the Sam mech's shoulders erupted with dazzling crimson flames, letting out a deafening roar!
"DHGDR - Supernova Overload!"
Sam's magnetic and firm male voice came through the mech's speakers, every word burning with a fiery, soaring battle intent.
The silver metal legs were instantly coated in a visible layer of molten flow, hot enough to melt anything, carrying a world-destroying power as it brutally kicked towards Dominicus's torso!
Each earth-shattering impact produced a deafening, eardrum-splitting metallic boom in the theater. Sparks flew, and the shockwaves were visible to the naked eye.
Daziel's figure was as fast as a phantom, weaving nimbly between the slow-moving puppets. The baseball bat in his hand was a whirlwind, creating sharp whooshes as it cut through the air.
Every one of his swings landed with precision and ruthlessness on the puppets' fragile joints, producing sickening cracking sounds.
"My power has certainly increased a lot since devouring Phantylia's heart."
A cold smirk played on Daziel's lips. He ducked, deftly avoiding a twisted sound wave that snuck up from the side, and swung his bat backhandedly, viciously striking a puppet's waist.
Crack!
The puppet flew into the air, beginning to disintegrate uncontrollably mid-flight. Metal parts and shattered wooden structures scattered, finally landing with a "clatter" as a pile of lifeless debris.
The baton in Dominicus's hand now waved more rapidly, attempting to mobilize more puppets to form an effective attack formation.
"Tuning—Myriad Phenomena!"
However, before its command was fully issued, the black lotuses birthed by Phantylia, glowing with an eerie light, had already quietly bloomed at all the critical nodes of its massive body.
Bloom.
Those lotuses, beautiful at first glance like flowers of death blooming from the abyss, hid a terrifying killing intent.
The moment they bloomed, they began to divide and multiply crazily—this was the power of Propagation!
A tide of destructive energy, as dark as ink, surged towards Dominicus from all directions, seeking to completely engulf and assimilate it!
Dominicus's once-fluid movements became noticeably sluggish and stiff under the corrosion of the black energy tide. Fine but constantly spreading cracks began to appear on its metal surface, as if it could collapse at any moment.
The Sam mech's firepower also reached its peak at this moment!
"DHGDR - Secondary Combustion, Full Salvo!"
Firefly's voice was calm and decisive. Countless miniature missiles, glowing with a dangerous red light, howled from hidden launch ports on the Sam mech's shoulders and all over its body, forming an impenetrable curtain of steel that completely covered Dominicus's massive frame!
Explosions followed one after another, continuous and unending. Massive fireballs erupted on Dominicus's body, soaring into the sky, dyeing the entire stage crimson. The air filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and burning metal.
"SGFE - Molten Heart, Penetrate!"
The Sam mech's leg suddenly erupted with a light brighter than the sun. A beam of incandescent white energy, concentrated to the extreme and incomparably thick, howled forth with the terrifying power to pierce through anything!
The beam accurately struck the core of Dominicus's chest, splashing out large swathes of molten metal, making a terrifying "sizzling" sound and leaving a bottomless, charred hole.
Under the stormy joint assault from Phantylia and the Sam mech, Dominicus was forced back step by step, its huge metal body teetering, as if it would fall apart in the next second.
The so-called "Echoes of the Old Dream" sound wave attacks it had issued earlier now seemed so pale and powerless before Phantylia's destructive "Blooming" and the Sam mech's world-ending artillery, like the feeble cries of a child.
Daziel's baseball bat swung out again. With a crisp crack, he sent the head of the last puppet trying to resist flying like a baseball, tracing a parabola through the air before disappearing from sight.
He shook his slightly numb wrist and turned his gaze to the still calm and composed Black Swan nearby, unable to resist speaking, his tone laced with a bit of teasing and dissatisfaction.
"I say, aren't you being a bit too leisurely?"
"Just flipping those few tarot cards back and forth. Are you enjoying the show while we fight for our lives, preparing to write a review for the Garden of Recollection?"
Hearing this, Black Swan let out a low chuckle, the sound ethereal and pleasant, yet carrying a strange undertone.
The few tarot cards at her fingertips continued to flip unhurriedly, the light on their faces flowing erratically.
In an instant, the space around Black Swan seemed to ripple with invisible waves, and blurry, twisted illusions appeared, bizarre and fantastical, as if connected to some indescribable, mysterious other dimension.
"My dear Master Daziel, I'm not just watching a show,"
Black Swan's voice was tinged with an elegant tease. "I am merely preparing the most magnificent and unforgettable stage effects for the final curtain call of this grand performance."
Before her words had faded, several deep, dark beams of light, as if they could devour light itself, shot out from the tarot cards between her fingers. Like living vipers, they accurately wrapped around several of Dominicus's key joints, further restricting its ability to move.
"You see, isn't this very useful? At the very least, its struggles won't be so unsightly now."
Black Swan raised her chin slightly, her tone carrying a perfectly measured hint of pride.
Daziel smacked his lips, a clear look of disapproval in his eyes.
"That's it? Not that impressive."
He was reminded of that classic joke about the DoT team—
Doesn't anyone else think playing a DoT team is weird? There's that woman in a veil frantically throwing cards at people, and she even uses a magic circle to summon an indescribable giant purple crystal hand, like some evil medieval witch crazily cursing the enemy…
And that other woman in sunglasses with a gun and a knife is clearly a badass too, firing bullets like they're free while spinning around like crazy, constantly muttering something about saying goodbye, but several turns later the monster still isn't dead…
The damage isn't even that high, I have no idea what those two are doing. The more I play, the weirder it feels.
Looking at it now, the real-life performance seemed to be about the same as in the game.
Better do it myself…
With that thought, Daziel flexed his wrists, producing a "crack-crack" sound of popping joints. His gaze locked back onto Dominicus, preparing to deliver the final blow to this stubborn hunk of metal, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"It seems this so-called 'philosophical embryo' isn't all that much. It's supposed to be a prototype of an Aeon, but in a fight, it's at best at the level of a slightly stronger Emanator. Though it also claims to wield the power of two Paths, compared to Phantylia's current form, it's not just a little bit weaker."
At this moment, the black lotuses birthed by Phantylia were blooming more and more profusely, almost completely submerging Dominicus's massive body, the thick aura of destruction filling the entire theater.
The Sam mech had also re-accumulated a vast amount of energy. The molten heart in its chest once again glowed with a terrifying light, preparing for the next, even more powerful strike.
Victory seemed to be within their grasp, as easy as taking something from a pocket.
Just as the scales of victory were about to tip completely, the giant metal head of Dominicus suddenly snapped up!
From within its originally empty and lifeless giant eye sockets, two horrifying crimson lights, like the fires of hell that could make one's very soul tremble, suddenly erupted!
"The time has come, creation shall be reborn from the divine remains—"
A powerful note, completely different from any of its previous attacks, filled with supreme authority and absolute will, erupted from its already damaged mouth!
That sound could no longer be called a simple sound wave attack. It was more like a judgment of rules from a higher plane! An absolute will that sought to bring everything under its control!
Piercing, shrill, every syllable contained the terrifying power to tear space and shatter souls!
The entire Penacony Grand Theater began to tremble violently, uncontrollably, under this powerful note that contained the true meaning of "Order"!
On the dome, the soft golden light that once symbolized sweet dreams now flickered wildly like a candle in the wind, bright and dim, as if it could be completely extinguished at any moment, plunging the entire world into eternal darkness.
"Daziel, watch out!"
The Sam mech piloted by Firefly suddenly let out a sharp and urgent warning, its voice filled with unprecedented anxiety and fear!
That powerful note, containing the rules of "Order" and utterly destructive, was aimed not at Phantylia or Sam, who were posing a huge threat to it, but straight at Daziel, who stood further back and seemed less of a threat!
The speed was so fast it had already surpassed the limits of vision, leaving no time to make any effective evasive maneuvers!
Daziel's pupils contracted to the size of a pinprick in that instant. A bone-chilling shadow of death, like an invisible giant hand, instantly gripped him tight, making his whole body freeze in terror!
In the nick of time!
A crimson meteor, at a speed that surpassed all limits, burning its very self with resolve, tore through the air. With a tragic and unstoppable momentum, it brazenly blocked the path in front of Daziel!
It was Sam! It was Firefly!
"Firefly—!"
Daziel's eyes were about to split, instantly filling with crimson blood vessels. He let out a heart-wrenching, soul-tearing roar filled with despair and rage!
The destructive powerful note of "Order," without the slightest pause, viciously and precisely struck the not-so-thick chest of the Sam mech!
BOOM—!!!!
A terrifying explosion, as if it would completely overturn all of Penacony and shatter the very heavens, suddenly erupted!
A blinding, pure white light, bright enough to sear the eyes, instantly engulfed everything on the stage like a bursting flood. Everyone's vision was filled with a blinding whiteness. They could see nothing, hear nothing, only the continuous, terrifying ringing in their ears.
The light, after a long and agonizing moment, finally began to slowly dissipate.
In the center of the stage, the silver-white Sam mech knelt on one knee in an extremely humiliating posture. On its once shining metallic chest armor, there was now a gigantic, terrifying hole with jagged edges!
At the edge of the hole, dangerous blue electric sparks still flickered, making a "zzt-zzt" sound. Through the huge wound, one could clearly see the broken, twisted, and charred complex structures and wiring inside the mech.
The Sam mech's movements became incredibly sluggish and stiff, as if every small action would exhaust all its energy. The huge steel body seemed on the verge of complete disintegration and collapse at any moment.
"Cough… cough cough…!"
A few extremely suppressed, pain-filled, violent coughs came intermittently from the Sam mech's damaged cockpit. Each syllable was like a heavy hammer, viciously striking Daziel's heart.
Daziel's once-clear eyes were instantly dyed completely red. An uncontrollable, rationality-burning, violent rage, like a volcanic eruption, shot straight to the top of his head!
"You… are… dead!"
Daziel's voice was as hoarse as if it had been sanded down, each word squeezed from between his teeth, carrying a chilling, bone-deep killing intent!
The baseball bat in his hand, his long-time companion, suddenly gathered an unprecedented, purely terrifying power!
It was the most primal rage from the depths of his soul! It was the destructive fury that erupted from having something cherished destroyed!
Daziel took a sudden step forward. The hard stage floor cracked under his feet, and spiderweb-like fissures spread wildly in all directions!
"Sayonara Home Run!!!"
The baseball bat, with a sharp whistle that tore the air and even distorted light, carrying all of Daziel's rage, all his killing intent, all his power, viciously and mercilessly swung towards Dominicus's giant metal head!
Phantylia also seemed to clearly sense the monstrous rage almost overflowing from Daziel. Her attacks, at this moment, also became more violent, more fierce, without any reservation!
Countless black lotuses, glowing with an eerie light, bloomed on Dominicus's massive body at the same instant!
Pure destructive energy, like an out-of-control black tsunami, raged wildly, tearing at Dominicus's sturdy metal body, making a sickening "creak-creak" sound.
Dominicus let out a metallic wail filled with unwillingness and pain.
It tried to resist, tried to gather its strength again, but Daziel's hate-filled strike, infused with endless rage and destructive will, had already descended upon its head like the Grim Reaper's scythe!
CRACK—!
The baseball bat and Dominicus's giant metal head collided with an earth-shattering, violent impact!
It produced a terrifying, scalp-numbing, teeth-grinding cracking sound!
The unimaginable great force was transmitted through the baseball bat, causing Dominicus's massive body, as if struck head-on by a battering ram, to jolt backward violently!
Fine cracks, like a spreading spiderweb, rapidly spread from the point of impact on its head throughout its entire body!
Inch by inch, they cracked, piece by piece, they peeled! The speed at which the cracks spread was shocking to behold!
The baton that Dominicus had held high finally drooped powerlessly, crashing heavily onto the stage with a dull thud. The light representing "Order" on its body also faded rapidly like an extinguished candle flame, until it was completely gone.
Amidst a series of shrill and desperate metallic wails, Dominicus's enormous body began to uncontrollably disintegrate.
Huge metal components, like building blocks that had lost their support, continuously peeled off and fell from its body, crashing heavily onto the ruined stage, stirring up clouds of thick dust and the pungent smell of scorched metal.
Daziel's crimson eyes didn't even spare a glance at the behemoth that was gradually disintegrating into a pile of scrap metal.
His body reacted faster than his mind. He spun around abruptly and, like an arrow released from a bow, shot towards the crimson Sam mech, which was still half-kneeling on the ground, teetering on the verge of collapse.
"Firefly! Firefly!!"
Daziel's voice carried an unprecedented panic, fear, and despair that he himself had not noticed, every syllable trembling violently.
The Sam mech's once-solid outer armor, now like a shattered eggshell, began to peel off and detach piece by piece, revealing the more fragile structure within.
Firefly's petite and delicate figure gradually became visible within the broken armor. Like a puppet with its strings cut, she fell powerlessly from the cockpit, landing heavily on the cold, hard stage floor.
On the abdomen of her combat suit, a shockingly bright crimson bloodstain was spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye. The vivid red, under the pale lights, was so jarring it seemed to freeze Daziel's very soul.
Daziel practically threw himself to Firefly's side. His hands trembled violently from extreme fear. Carefully, yet with an unshakeable determination, he gently helped the blood-soaked Firefly up and gathered her into his arms.
"Firefly… Firefly… are… are you okay? Answer me!"
Daziel's voice was terribly hoarse, each word as if soaked in concentrated sulfuric acid, carrying a heart-piercing pain and unspeakable panic.
Firefly's face was as pale as the purest snow, without a single trace of color. Her forehead was covered in a fine cold sweat, matting a few strands of hair to her cheeks.
With great difficulty, using all her strength, she slowly opened her beautiful eyes, which had already lost their light. Her blurry vision struggled to focus on Daziel's face, a face etched with anxiety, pain, and fear.
A faint smile, extremely weak yet tinged with a sense of relief, was painstakingly pulled onto Firefly's lips.
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, as light as a feather, as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment, yet it was incomparably clear, every word reaching Daziel's ears without fail.
"That's… great… Daziel… you're… okay…"
Each word was like a red-hot, poisoned dagger, viciously and mercilessly stabbing into Daziel's already battered heart, the pain so intense he could barely breathe.
After saying this, Firefly's small hand, which had been tightly clutching Daziel's sleeve as if grasping the last straw of life, suddenly went limp.
That hand, carrying the last trace of residual warmth, slowly slid from Daziel's sleeve and finally dropped powerlessly onto the cold, hard stage floor, making a faint, almost inaudible thud.
Her eyes, like stars that had lost all their light, slowly, and forever, closed.
Daziel's heart, in that instant, felt as if it had been viciously seized by a giant, invisible hand, and then, abruptly, stopped beating.
The color drained from his face in a flash, turning a deathly gray, like a withered tree that had lost all life.
"Firefly…?"
Daziel gently shook the girl in his arms, who had already lost all signs of life, his voice carrying a disbelieving, bone-deep tremble and confusion.
"Firefly! Wake up! Open your eyes and look at me! Don't sleep! I'm begging you, don't sleep!"
The only answer he received was the deathly, suffocating silence of the theater.
And in the distance, from the mountain-like pile of Dominicus's wreckage, the cold metal still unwillingly smoked with smoldering embers.
__
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