Chapter 1256 To Save Everyone  

'This… this feels…'

Ciara felt a bliss unlike any other.

It felt like she was surrounded by cool waters, washing her from within and without.

Her entire self was submerged in primeval seas of endless abundance. It poured everywhere, permeating through every fabric of her existence.

Until finally…

"I see it. I see everything!"

… She was able to reach the precipice.

Ciara was able to perceive everything within the Constellation Realm—the worlds within, and those who occupied it.

She watched as her friends struggled against an adversary they could never defeat.

She observed the imminent danger they all experienced.

Watching all of this, Ciara had only one thought.

'I have to save them!'

But how?

It was too early for Ciara to use Primeval Magic, but she had long passed the territory of her Original Technique.

As a result, she found a place at the center.

And she spoke.

"[Pseudo-Primeval Magic: Aegir]"

Once she uttered those words, a tidal wave of energy flowed from within her, like a bottomless sea that consumed all.

It flowed past the dimensional barriers without any resistance in the slightest, rushing forth through the worlds that she desired.

These waves were invisible currents of Aether, merely rushing forth as she willed… a representation of her all-encompassing nature.

Finally, after drowning the worlds in her deep waters, Ciara only had to make the thought.

'Come to me…'

And 'they' obeyed.

~VWUUUUUUSSSHHHHHHH!!!~

********

"H-huh? Where am I? Where are we?"

"I could have sworn we were about to be consumed by that blast!"

"How did this happen?"

"Everyone else… is here…?!" "What's up with you guys? You look awful!"

"H-how did you all arrive?!"

The commotion was vivid, and the combined tension emanating from the various people in the room was palpable.

Right now, all the surviving members of the team found themselves in a separate, blank dimension

Kuzon, Edward, and Aloe stared at themselves in shock.

They already knew of their fates, yet surprisingly… they weren't dead yet.

Serah, Maria, Aurora, Beruel, and Ana also have one another equally stunned reactions.

They too should have died, yet here they were…

Jerry watched the appearance of all of these people, as well as his sudden disappearance from the realm he and Ciara previously occupied and his reappearance into this new one.

… A dimension without Legris.

Then, there was one more person.

"What's going on here? You all looked so worn out and beat up?" Lemi asked in genuine confusion.

Unlike everyone else, she had not witnessed or experienced Legris' invasion and what transpired as a result.

Of course, she would be surprised.

All her friends and acquaintances looked immensely anxious or exhausted.

Some of them even had lost limbs.

Amidst all this chaos, only one possibility manifested in Lemi's innocent mind.

"Were the trials that difficult?"

No one answered her, though a few stole her short glances. They were all trying to figure out the same thing:

How they had suddenly been transported to safety… and whether Legris was anywhere in proximity!

Then….

~WHUUUSH!~

… The last of them showed up, her skin pale as she freefalled from a terrifying height.

Her brunette hair danced with the invisible winds as her usually open eyes were closed. Her body had lost all sense of coordination, and it was clear that she was unconscious.

"C-Ciara!" Jerry screamed, his eyes instantly recognizing the falling girl.

"I got her!" Lemi yelled, swiftly making her way to the sky in a single stride.

Teleporting back and forth took only a second, and she returned to the surface with Ciara's body resting on her two arms.

"She's unconscious." Lemi whispered. "She also seems really drained. It doesn't seem like she's in any fatal danger, though."

The reason she knew so much in such a short period was due to her [Original Technique: Absolute Domain], Spellcraft in disguise.

Of course, Lemi did not know of the latter.

At least… not yet.

"I-I see. This is all because of me. Because I encouraged her so much…" Jerry muttered to himself as Ciara was placed right beside his own laid down body. He still had not recovered, so he maintained his mostly paralyzed state.

"I must have pushed herself so much… to save everyone."

Even though most of the people present were confused about what happened, Jerry knew it within himself.

It was Ciara who saved everyone!

"Looking at everyone, they're in pretty bad shape. I don't know exactly what happened, but you shouldn't blame yourself too much." Lemi smiled at Jerry, patting his head a little.

Even though Lemi looked about his age, or even younger, she was still hundreds of years old.

"Your friend will be fine. You will too. Just rest a little, okay?"

Jerry didn't know what caused Lemi to suddenly change her personality, but her soothing words caused him to leak out a small smile amidst his pain and guilt.

"T-thank y—"

"But you have to tell me about what happened here! I'm dying of curiosity. Is this really about the Trials? Everyone seems so distraught!"

Jerry found his smile quickly fading away.

Of course, Lemi wouldn't change! There was no way she was being so nice and considerate just for the sake of it.

"W-well, it's a long story, but… we actually—"

~VWUUUUUUUUM~

Before Jerry could complete his sentence, something suddenly manifested in the blank realm.

… Something ominous.

Like a black stain on a pure white surface, dying the world in darkness, a cluster of space appeared.

And from within that space emerged the malefactor that everyone feared.

"Hi, everyone. Did you really think you could escape me?"

Legris Damien stood before all of them with a smile so broad that it extended dangerously close to his eyes.

Before anyone could even say anything or offer any form of resistance, several black stains manifested around them, specifically above.

"You can try to run."

"Try to hide."

"But in the end…"

"… I will always win."

Now a multitude above the helpless ones, towering them in both numbers and height, Legris looked down on everyone.

A grim reality faced them, inescapable… downright inevitable.

"Shall we continue from where we left off?"

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading, everyone!

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