The Final Reaping

Location: Outskirts of Warsaw – Abyssal Rift Site

The mission was supposed to be routine—contain a newly opening Rift, eliminate any leaking Abyss units, and secure the breach zone. But as the Octagon arrived at the coordinates, the air felt wrong.

The grass surrounding the Rift had wilted into black sludge. Trees had decayed mid-bloom. The very air shimmered with pulses of warped light and ruptured sound, as if time itself stuttered around them.

"That Rift... it's humming," Sylvia said, tightening her grip on Orisha. "Like it's singing back."

"It's not a normal Abyss signature," Eun-Ha whispered, divine aura gently flaring. "This place remembers pain."

Hikari stepped forward, her cloak brushing the corrupted earth. Her hand hovered over Sanguira.

"It's waiting for me."

Cyg stood beside her, gunblade drawn, scanning the treeline.

"We do this together."

But the moment the words left his mouth, the Rift convulsed.

A shriek echoed out—not from a throat, but from the air itself. The sky split open, and out stepped a being of ethereal malice and twisted beauty.

Tall, feminine in outline, draped in writhing black silks that hissed and bled shadow. Where her face should've been was a veil of cracked porcelain. Her hands bore curved sickles that shimmered like glass.

Codename: Liliveth, Abyssal Reaper – Rank 0

She was not a king.

She was a priestess of slaughter.

"Hikari Synthesis Twenty-Six," the creature intoned in a voice like a thousand whispers. "Bearer of Sanguira. The Blade of Ending. You were meant for us."

"No," Hikari said, stepping forward as her scythe extended, glowing faint red. "I was meant to end you."

The Battle

The fight exploded into chaos.

Liliveth's attacks were surreal—time-lagged scythe slashes, illusions that became real, cuts that appeared before the blade even moved. Julius, Sylvia, Charlotte, and Mia worked to break the layered dimensional shields surrounding her, while Cyg and Eun-Ha coordinated air control and defense.

But in the heart of it, the true duel was Hikari's.

Their scythes clashed in flashes of black and crimson light, ghostly petals erupting in the wake of each strike.

Liliveth hissed.

"You wield that Artifact like a candle wields the sun."

"Maybe," Hikari panted, deflecting a slash. "But I don't need to be the sun."

She closed her eyes.

"I only need to shine for them."

Suddenly, her entire body began to glow.

Divine Assimilation: Sanguira – Requiem Bloom

Her cloak unraveled into petals. Her armor shifted—becoming more elegant, flowing with ethereal red cloth. Sanguira transformed into a two-handed crimson scythe laced with roses of light and shadow.

"Reap."

Hikari's next movements blurred—impossibly fast, elegantly sharp.

Liliveth screamed.

"You were supposed to belong to the Abyss!"

"I chose my heart. I chose my family."

One final sweep, and the Reaper shattered into dust and memory.

Aftermath

The Rift slowly closed, the ground calming, light returning.

Hikari collapsed to her knees.

Mia rushed to her side, hugging her.

"You did it…"

"I'm still here," Hikari murmured, eyes glazed with tears. "I'm still… me."

Cyg knelt before her.

He didn't speak.

He simply cupped her cheek.

"You came back."

She leaned into his hand, whispering:

"Because I had someone waiting."

Location: Gaia HQ – Later That Night

Under the pale moonlight, the rooftop was quiet.

Hikari stood alone, gazing upward, fingers wrapped around the locket Mia had once given her.

"I'm not broken," she whispered. "I'm blooming. At last."

Cyg walked up beside her.

"You're glowing."

"So are you," she said with a small laugh.

He extended his hand again.

She took it.