The Light Within

4E 201 | Early Sun's Dusk | Sixty Days Since Arrival

The workshop became a storm of bronze.

Katana detonated clusters of spheres. Mei shattered spiders with the frozen weight of her chain. Tsukihana used Fourth Moon: Silent Tide to cut a path through the swarm.

Fatigue arrived before victory.

Katana's left shoulder dropped. Mei's chain arcs grew heavier. Tsukihana's swollen wrist struggled to hold alignment.

They unleashed everything they had and only staggered the Colossi.

The frost hammer came down.

Tsukihana shoved Katana and Mei clear.

The blow struck her and sent her through a stone wall.

Her katana spun across the workshop. Air left her lungs. Blood ran from her scalp. The machines, voices, and red lights dissolved into a narrow tunnel of darkness.

A memory waited there.

Snow beneath a moon. Her master kneeling before a younger Tsukihana, two fingers pressed against the center of her chest.

"When darkness consumes everything around you, find the light within and burst forth your inner self."

She had called it corny.

He had laughed. "Remember it anyway."

Across the workshop, her fallen sword trembled.

Crimson light pulsed along the blade.

Something opened inside her.

The katana lifted and flew into her hand.

Cold breath left her lips.

In the next instant Tsukihana stood upright, blood on her face, red energy flowing around her body.

Katana whispered her name.

Mei went silent.