She bashes her head right into Iancu's and says, "YOU'RE NOT ORB YOU FOOL! And you'll never be like him, no matter how much you try to be, none of us ever will, because just like he always says, we're all different in our own amazing ways. Iancu, you're kind to everyone in your own way, always trying to make sure everyone is included and goading them into talking when they feel like they can't bring themselves to. I have been able to speak and say so much on my mind thanks to you. You're annoying, you're mean, you're an asshole, and super lame a lot of the time, but Iancu, you are always in your own way, looking out for everyone. If Orb is someone who grabs your hand from the front, leading you forward, then you're a hand pushing others from the back, sending them forward. Both are amazing, so don't go underestimating yourself, and stand up."
Iancu's eyes fall squarely on the girl in front of him, and he soon drops his head to the floor and wipes the tears from his eyes before saying, "That was really pathetic of me."
"Don't worry your like that a lot," Suzuka says, holding out her hand.
Grabbing it and lifting himself up, he says, "But I don't feel like being like that today, so let's solve this!"
"RIGHT!"
Looking forward, they both see a man shoot up and say, "What's going on!"
Iancu's eyes are soon drawn to the canon on his arm, and he says, "Wait, aren't you that Nightmare that just attacked me! Why do you look like that?"
Confused, he says, "I don't know what's going on! My mind felt like I was completely possessed by the will to just burn down everyone with a cute face, for getting all the girls, while I end up alone."
"THAT'S WHY YOU ATTACKED ME!" Calming himself, Iancu says, "But no, what's important is that he returned to normal. Was it due to being hit hard? No, I have hit Nightmare harder than what Suzuka unleashed to no avail."
"I think it was a spiritual tether. My Gozen battle arts."
"Doesn't that fighting style require you to send spirit energy into one's body causes an explosive reaction when it interacts with their own spirit energy?"
"Yes, and that's why it never works on Nightmares, because you all have no spirit energy. But I definitely felt a reaction take place when I did it, as my spirit energy came into contact with hypercondensed balls of spirit energy."
Stopping for a moment to think, Iancu says, "It has never made sense to me how spirit energy fades when a Nightmare becomes cursed. It literally derives itself from the soul, and we must have a soul in some form. Even if its shape has been changed, it doesn't make sense how our spirit energy has faded. So maybe when we become cursed, our souls actually change form."
"Change form?"
"Like our abilities are supernatural, so maybe our souls take on specialised forms that alter our biology, like forming specialised cells or masses that cause our bodies to become cursed. On low levels it can barely be perceived, but everyone around us has become even more cursed than before, so maybe the specialised form our soul takes now is large enough for it to actually count as spirit energy in some form, and that would mean."
"My Gozen battle arts can forcefully cause those masses to explode, undoing their effects."
"Right! That means you can undo this, Suzuka, and with all your spirt energ-, Wait, where are your tails? I swear you had more earlier."
"I used them up earlier when I was trying to protect Cyrus. I will probably run out of spirit energy before saving everyone."
"Can't you absorb more?"
"I can't, the spirit energy that people leak in the area is being absorbed by Angra. I can't even hear anyone's thoughts or feel their emotions either."
"WHO?"
"The giant spirit bunny!"
"WHAT? IS NOW THE TIME FOR LIES!"
"I AM NOT LYING YOU IDIOT!"
They both stare and growl at each other as their newfound bond begins breaking down, but as an idea crosses her mind, and she says, "Iancu, your legacy allows you to control forces, right?"
"Yeah."
"So can't you use it to affect spirit energy?"
"What? Does spirit energy even count as a force? Wait, it can change shape, so it must be some kind of force, and your tails are made out of it. But I can control something I can't perceive. To be honest, I sometimes even doubt its existence."
"I see, so let's try and figure it out."
Suzuka places her tails around Iancu and says, "Feel it. This is spirit energy given physical form, try and affect it."
Iancu activates his legacy and tries to affect it, but it is to no avail. "I can't do this. I barely understand the principles behind spirit energy. To me, it's complete nonsense."
"Then stop approaching it from a scientific view, and look at it through the lens of emotions. It literally is just a manifestation of me in a sense. So close your eyes and try to understand me."
"I doubt this will work, but whatever!"
Φ Closing my eyes, I grab onto Suzuka's tail and try to feel it. Right now, her tail feels no different than any random animal's tail, but the more I touch it, the calmer my body feels; it's similar to co-regulation between a parent and a child, yet I just can't understand why.
I don't feel any extra heat, rhythm, or comfort from touching it than I would anything else, but I can be assured that it is affecting my body in a strange way. Dammit, I just can't figure this out.
"Iancu, I am scared," I hear Suzuka say.
My eyes open for a second, but before they can gaze on anything, I feel her hands over my eye sockets. "My curse fills me with fear, Iancu. Because I know that one day I will go insane. I try to fight against it, I try to avoid it, but I have a fear that no matter how hard I try, or what Orb says, I will not be able to stop it. Right now, there is a random monster flying about absorbing all of the spirit energy, and controlling souls like I am capable of, and my mind is going crazy with ideas. Inside of him, I can feel that whatever sense of self that was once there has been completely drowned out by the flood of emotions and thoughts that make up his existence, like he has been completely overwritten by other intentions and wills. Will it happen to me one day, will all the rage, hate, selfishness and foolishness in the heart of all those I meet overtake me and turn me into a monster that carries out all of their wills on everyone I meet for my own selfish dominance over them? It makes me sick, it makes me scared, it makes me want to die, and it makes me hate myself even more for allowing my parents to die over an existence like my own, when they could have had another child and lived wonderful lives. Iancu, I am so scared, because I am a weakling, a crybaby, and a selfish brat."
Her words force a weight upon my heart. The struggles this girl deals with every day are unknown to me. She has never really shown how much it affected her and fought through it. Suzuka, you're not weak, selfish, or anything that you think you are. You're brave, warm, and kind; that is who you are and your soul.
From my hand, I feel a surge of energy, and looking down, I see the tail I am holding grow bigger and bigger, causing me to say, "I did it."
The sight of the tail attracts a series of Nightmares towards us, and Suzuka turn some of the tai's spirit energy into her own before smashing her fist into them whilst saying, "Spiritual tether," reverting them to normal.
Φ Falling down, she runs back over to Iancu and slams her fingers into his forehead and says, "Good job, now forget everything I just told you, or I will blow up your brain, got that!"
Iancu spits in her eyes, and as she rolls on the floor, he says, "What are you even on about? I wasn't even listening to you. Now stop wasting time and let's finish this."
Standing up, Suzuka says, "I am going to get you back for that later." And together they both head off, rushing in and around the church, smashing and returning people to normal.
And outside the church with the soldiers, Abbán stands as a man behind him, speaks into his ears, causing him to say, "Suzuka and Iancu have found a way to undo this? Those two really are something. I guess I need to work harder."
Facing forward, he stares at one of the generals of Blamator Taga, whose form has barely changed. The golden sphere that makes up the centre of his body has a series of purple cracks throughout, and around it's the a giant silver flame roars out, forming the rest of his humanoid body.
Smashing his fist into the ground and fusing the very earth into a giant fist, he says, "Work harder? As if something like that will even allow you to hurt me in the slightest."
He swings his fist, which is large enough to smash the front of the church forward, and Abbán, with his rubbery limbs, jumps forward and says, "Ionsú Uisce!" And from his shield, with his legacy acting on it, a giant amount of water emerges, forming into a large rectangular block that absorbs the force of the blow.
Yet still pushing his fist forward, Taga says, "Let's see how sturdy you truly are!"
Flames burst right into his arm, setting it ablaze, and forcing Abbán backwards, so he says, "Diúltú Uisce," and soon the arm explodes along with his water shield.
The leftover mass of the buildings becomes Taga's body, replacing the flames around it. "You rejected the force from my punch you have absorbed so far to dodge my fist, smart. But it must be draining on your legacy to constantly make shields to defend everyone, isn't it?"
Flying up into the air using his flames as a booster, Taga holds his hands up and shoots his flames downwards, touching a series of objects all around the city. The flames reform each of them into a giant ball of mass that is set ablaze. They all fly into the sky beside him, and Taga says, "Now let's see how much you can handle!"
The masses fly down towards Abbán, and turning his head to the soldiers around him, whose hands shake in fear of the strikes coming towards them. Slamming his shield into the ground, he says, "Your people are fighting with their lives on the line, so please for them. Dodge."
Grabbing his shield, he uses his rubbery body to lunge forward and smash into one mass after the next. He bounces up each as the soldiers beneath him, full of courage at his actions, all move to dodge.
He continues to move from mass to mass till he appears in front of Taga and says, "Slais Uisce!" And swings his blade shield downwards, releasing all the form he has absorbed right into Taga, knocking him far away into the city.
And as he falls, Abbán manifest two dragonfly wings across his back and soars forward, holding his shield out and crashing right into Taga. Holding Taga down, Abbán says, "Your arrogance will be your undoing. Right now, everyone is willing to put their lives on the line to defend their people, and no matter what action you take, they will fight back."
With a furious smile moving across his face, Taga says, "As if I will ever fear the trash that lives within this country!"