[Continuation—]
For a moment, time didn't just freeze— it shattered. Sound died. Thought vanished. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Valkyrie stood rooted to the spot, unable to move, unable to breathe— stunned into stillness. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs like it wanted to escape, louder than the roaring arena surrounding them.
Two voices had collided in one impossible moment.
Two hands reached out to her.
Two destinies tugged at her from opposite sides.
Sky and Bulb.
"Can you be my partner?" — the question lingered to her like a Thunderball.
She never saw it coming. Sky? Maybe— sure. Sky was predictable, steady, annoyingly confident sometimes, and strategic. But Bulb? Bulb? Asking her that in front of everyone? Had he temporarily lost his gaddamn mind? Did he forget where they stood? Did he forget what separated them? Did he forget the Book of Hope even existed?
He was a Devil— Hell's blood in human flesh.
