Hikaru's eyes glazed over, but deep inside, she saw everything.
She saw the battlefield in its smallest details—the shattered probability fragments, the glow of Brush's aura, Mia Rika bracing behind him, Jaki Onna's bottle raised, ready to strike.
And she saw herself. Her own blade, trembling in her hands as it hovered inches from Brush's chest.
Tears welled up in her eyes. They weren't entirely her tears—they were a mixture of her fear, frustration, and the part of her mind still fighting against Blackmail's control.
She wanted to scream, to run, to throw herself away rather than hurt him. But her body moved as if it had a mind of its own, guided by the dark tendrils twisting her will.
"I… won't… let this… happen…," she whispered through clenched teeth, her voice barely audible over the chaos, almost lost beneath Blackmail's sinister whispers.
Brush saw her hesitation in the smallest twitch of her fingers. His heart clenched. "Hikaru! I know you're still there!"
Mia Rika's tails flared, and Jaki Onna's stance tightened. The protective bubble of their determination glimmered around Brush, a shield against the impending strike.
But for Hikaru, the world had narrowed to a single point: the man she loved, the Chosen One, standing just beyond her grasp… and the darkness forcing her to betray him.
Her tears streaked down her face as she fought with everything she had left. Her eyes, still shining with the flicker of her true self, pleaded silently: Please… hold on…
Blackmail's voice hissed like ice through her mind. "He is yours to destroy. You will obey."
And yet, behind the glazed eyes, the love, loyalty, and pain of Hikaru burned hotter than any chains.