The Nascent Moon and the Sleeping Legacy

In the forest, while the battles intensified...

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡FROOOOOMMMMM-CRASH-KRRRRRRR...!!!!!!!!!)

Trapped inside the isolated dimensional space bounded by the natural multilayer barrier, the ground of the sealed forest finished collapsing completely.

(¡¡¡VROOOOOOOOOMMMMM-BRRRRRRR-CHHHHJJJJJJJ!!!)

And in the sky, forced to surface after the slash that had split the terrain in half, the core of the Great Earth Spirit, Eldora-Gideon, unleashed a colossal force of attraction that began to devour the reality of that domain.

(¡¡¡SCHRRAAAKK-SHHWWWWUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!)

As a result, from the tectonic layers of the confined space to the remains of the burning woods, trillions of tons of stone, boiling magma, and dried riverbeds were uprooted, rising violently toward the firmament in an ascending, unstoppable maelstrom.

(¡¡¡¡KRA-TA-KRAAAAK-VUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!)

Consequently, high in the firmament, the matter began to compress with a terrifying density.

(¡¡¡TRUUUUUMMMM-BZZZZZZ-CHHHHHKKKKK!!!)

Because of that, rock crashed against rock in a continuous impact that shook the barrier, molding at dizzying speed a gigantic sphere of earth that threatened to devour everything; like a small nascent moon whose mass never stopped growing.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SHWIIIING-FWOOOOOOSH...!!!!!!!!!!)

However, in the midst of the cataclysm rising into the heights, the silhouette of a silvery gleam ascended toward the firmament...

(¡¡¡TAP-SWIISH-CLANK-CLANK-CLANK~!!!)

And weaving hyperbolic leaps between the mountain-sized blocks shooting into the void, the little silver Valkyrie, Silver, catapulted herself directly toward the surface of the forming celestial mass.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SSSHING-KRAK-ZRAAK-FSSSS~!!!!!!!!)

As she advanced, her metallic boots struck with a dry crunch against the living crust of the satellite, and immediately she began sliding across the constantly expanding stone.

"Royal style..."

Defying the gravitational pull of the earth colossus, Silver became a trail of pure silver.

(¡¡¡¡SSSHING-KRAK-ZRAAK-VOID-VOID...!!!!)

Yet as the attracting mass gathered more and more debris impacting around her, and the knight princess slashed, tore, and pressed forward without losing a single millisecond of momentum...

"...."

... Something inside her continued to shift.

(¡¡¡VZZZZZ-SHING-SHING-SHING-KRUNCH~!!!)

Her greatsword, imbued with gray flames, sliced through the stone crests that sought to bury her as the sphere grew in size.

(... Fight... I must continue...)

Every fragment of the forest that gravity dragged toward the living mass was utilized by Silver as a new springboard.

(... It is so fun... Yet it is so boring...)

She bounced off rocks in mid-air, ran at impossible angles along vertical basalt walls, and carved furrows of void straight through the surface of the moon itself.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZRAAAAAAAKISH—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM...!!!!!!!!)

Rock walls hundreds of meters tall rose to crush her, yet the edge of her weapon simply divided them in two, leaving fissures that the Valkyrie crossed in a blink, scaling without truce upon the very earth that tried to swallow her toward the epicenter.

(Is my heart beating...? Do I have a heart...?)

Yet despite that...

"Ascending Cascade!!"

Even as the sky creaked with power.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡BRRRRRRRR-KRAAAAAK-CLASH-BOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Even as the forming satellite devoured entire mountains of landmass every second, turning into a monster of living stone and unbridled magnetism.

"... This is."

Even as Silver ascended in a demoniac zigzag at dizzying speed, closing the distance.

(¡¡¡TAP-TAP-SHWIIISH-CLANK-CLANK...!!!)

... That which filled her thoughts.

(... Aaaahh... I... I am so happy...)

Was such a simple emotion.

"¡Ahahahaha!"

At that moment, upon the ascending crust of that nascent moon, the little silver Valkyrie pressed forward in a frenzy of speed.

(¡¡¡TAP-TAP-SHWIIISH-CLANK-CLANK!!!)

And then, right in the center of her chest... something inside her began to stir more and more.

(¡DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK...!)

An accelerated, deep, and resonant heartbeat vibrated within her armor.

"More!"

Silver did not understand why, nor did she stop to think about it, but a warm, electrifying sensation surged through every joint of her body...

"... It's not enough... I still want more... Much more...!"

And involuntarily, a clear and captivating laugh, laced with a pure and overflowing thirst for battle, escaped her lips.

(¡¡¡¡FSHHHHH-VRRRRRRRRR-ZASH-ZASH!!!!)

And in reaction to that emotion, her gray flames responded instantly to that inner spark, flaring up with a wild static that danced along the edge of her weapons.

"Make it even bigger!"

To her, in the midst of that suffocating cataclysm, the world had simply transformed into a wonderful stage.

(¡¡¡¡BRRRR-KRAK-SHHHTT-ZOCK-BOOM!!!!)

And even as thousands of mineral thorns and colossal jaws of basalt erupted violently from the moving terrain, snapping shut from every angle to crush her...

"¡¡I feel so alive!!"

In response, she merely celebrated.

(¡¡¡SLAAAASSSSSHHH~!!!)

With an improbable lightness that seemed to mock the massive gravitational pull of the satellite, she executed a reverse flip in mid-air, planted her boot on the tip of a stone crest seeking to impale her, and, laughing with wide delight, delivered three continuous slashes imbued with ash-colored fire.

(¡¡¡VZZZZZ-SHING-SHING-SHING-VOID-VOID...!!!)

The rock formations failed to even graze her.

(¡¡¡TAP-SWIISH-CLANK-CLANK-CLANK~!!!)

The cohesion of the basalt dissolved on the spot, turning into a rain of inert dust that the Valkyrie used as an invisible springboard to project herself even higher.

(¡¡DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK...!!)

In turn, the pulse in her chest kept beating at a frantic rhythm.

"This is... This feeling I feel is...!"

Every block of stone that tried to crush her was met with an even bolder maneuver, a more precise slash, and a burst of laughter that echoed above the roaring earth.

(¡¡CHOCK-KLING-KLING-VROOOM!!)

Hurling her saw-shield in an elliptical trajectory that shattered an entire hillside before her, Silver used the ricochet to catapult herself in a vertical spin toward the clouds of debris.

"Yes! Try to crush me with everything you've got!"

With her electric blue eyes glowing with unbridled momentum, Silver kept scaling the crust of the growing moon, devouring the distance step by step to directly face the heart of the Great Spirit.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SHWIIIING-FWOOOOOOSH—ZRAAAAK!!!!!!!!!!)

However, at the same time...

(...—Oh, keep your guard up, Princess!—)

... Forgotten memories began to surface.

(...—A true knight of the realm does not falter before the tide, they become the storm!—)

Upon the convulsing crust of that nascent satellite, Silver ascended in a progression of elegance, speed, and lethality.

"Royal Style: Rising Tide!"

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed like a distant, rusted whisper in her mind, dissolving instantly amidst the crackle of her gray flames.

(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡FSHHHHH-VRRRRRRRRR-ZASH-ZASH...!!!!!!!!!!)

And without realizing it, a radiant, wild smile broadened across the Valkyrie's face.

(...—Sword up, little one! Don't drop your guard just because the rain is on your heels... Follow the rhythm of my steps!—)

The image of large hands adjusting the posture of her tiny fingers on a wooden hilt crossed her mind like a warm spark.

(¡¡¡DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK...!!!)

She did not know who the man with the deep voice was, nor why those words suddenly echoed, but the feel of polished wood and shared laughter beneath a shed while rain poured down felt as real as the strike of her current blade.

(¡¡¡¡BRRRR-KRAK-SHHHTT-ZOCK-BOOM~!!!!)

Even as dozens of colossal basalt arms sprouted from the moving terrain, attempting to snap shut over her like the jaws of a hungry beast.

(...—If your mother catches us playing swords at this hour, we'll both be sleeping in the stable...—)

Despite that, Silver did not even slow down.

(...—Come on, just one more practice before it gets dark...—)

Bouncing off the tip of the first rock knuckle that tried to crush her, she executed a spiral of horizontal slashes that reduced the limbs to a drizzle of ash-colored dust.

"... Yes... I can still keep going...!"

The mischievous laughter of a secret game, the smell of freshly cut grass at dusk, and the warmth of home ignited in the deep memory of her soul.

"¡Ahahahaha! Yes! Faster!"

Just as fire is fanned by the wind, the impact of falling meteorites around her and the thunder of breaking earth brought back the sensations of her childhood, overlaying those distant memories of her training onto the pure movement of the present.

(¡¡¡BA-DUMP~!!!)

Her heart beat at an unbridled pace.

(...—Do you see how your feet don't feel heavy when you know where you're going?—)

The gravity of the nascent moon tried to drag her down, but the knight princess used the very rocks that the gravitational pull added to the sphere as an infinite path of springboards toward the top.

(...—The sword is merely an extension of your joy, my little princess...—)

Hurling her saw-shield in a parabolic trajectory, the weapon severed five replicas of Eldora-Gideon emerging from the surface before they could complete their formation.

"Ugh... I don't understand..."

Immediately after, Silver caught her shield in mid-air, planted her boots on a mountain block ascending toward the center of the satellite, and launched herself toward the summit in a blur of silver and ash-colored fire.

"I am happy... So... Why...?"

However... As she climbed higher and higher...

"Why am I crying...?"

Debris and compacted rock shot into the sky of the sealed space, but Silver no longer saw the basalt or the lava.

(...—The reason for your name... Well... A pure name for such a cold night. Look at that moon, little one... White and eternal, just as you will be one day...—)

The feeling of snowflakes falling upon her young cheeks intertwined with the icy wind of the heights.

"... Higher... Higher..."

A child's laughter heavy with wild euphoria, paired with an inexplicable, bitter weeping that welled up from the root of her soul, intertwined into a whisper...

(¡DUM-DUM-PAK... DUM-DUM-PAK...!)

To the beat of that emotional storm, the gray, spectral flames altered their behavior.

(...—I won't leave you... Even if your body shatters, even if the darkness devours you...—)

They no longer sputtered chaotically or exploded with violence; instead, they clung to the surface of her dress-armor in a soft, dense, and perfectly distributed coating, enveloping every contour of her body in a contained, serene flow as fluid as a protective shield of pure energy.

(...—I promise you I won't abandon you...—)

The agonizing whisper of a broken voice pierced the shadows of her deep memory.

"..."

Blurry images of a chained existence—of an era when she was nothing more than a shattered suit of black armor, covered in cracks and steeped in constant pain—surfaced for a fraction of a second before dissolving into the ash-colored fire that shielded her.

"... Royal... Style..."

With one final, mighty push, Silver sliced through the highest crest of the nascent moon.

(...—Forgive me... There is nothing more I can do for you...—)

The force of her speed launched her beyond the landmass, completely surpassing the summit of the forming satellite to hover suspended at the highest point of the confined firmament.

"... You're wrong."

Floating above the moon that sought to devour the forest, Silver raised her eyes toward the starry sky peeking through the layers of the barrier.

(...—All I have left is to pray...—)

And there, with a pinpoint clarity that cut through centuries, the image of a face overlaid itself against the stars.

(...—... Pray with everything I have left so that one day you may be freed...—)

Nothing but the image of a decrepit old man, his face carved by time and scars, watching her with a smile as his strength drained away...

(...—This is... The last thing I can do for you... My little one...—)

... And at that moment, at long last, the memory of a legacy... After countless years...

(...—Princess...—)

Had returned.

(¡¡¡¡¡DUM... DUM... DUM...!!!!!)

Suspended at the highest peak of the sky, enveloped in the silvery glow of her steady flames with tears tracing her face, Silver tightened her grip on the hilt of her greatsword, feeling a latent promise...

"Father..."

... Awaken.