Chapter Five
The room was silent except for the faint ticking of a clock.
Marinette sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers curled tightly around the velvet box in her hands. The moonlight from her small attic window cast fractured shadows across her face.
Her breath was uneven. She had already made her choice, even if her heart still begged her to turn back.
With trembling fingers, she opened the box. The pair of black earrings lay inside, polished to a mirror-like shine that seemed to absorb the light.
Something inside her stirred—a pull, cold and magnetic. She put them on.
A flash. A rush of heat. The whisper of a thousand voices—all at once, and yet none at all. Shadows poured into her like water into an empty vessel.
When the light faded, she stood there… changed. Her suit was black and red, sleek and dangerous, a predator's second skin. Her yo-yo hung at her hip, not as a toy, but as a weapon.
She didn't think. She moved.
The window creaked open and she stepped onto the slanted roof, the wind biting her cheeks.
Then she ran—leaping from rooftop to rooftop, her boots striking tiles like the beat of a drum. The city lay stretched beneath her, sleeping and unknowing.
A song slipped past her lips—soft at first, then stronger.
It wasn't joyful; it was a lament, a blade wrapped in velvet. The words spoke of chains and cages, of the weight of the world crushing her ribs, of the fire she would set to burn it all down.
"If the world will not lift me… then let it burn with me."
Her voice carried with the wind until she reached the high arch of the Pont de l'Alma bridge. There, she stopped, boots balanced on the stone railing.
Below, two figures clashed in a burst of light and shadow—one cloaked in deep blue with butterfly-like wings etched into his coat, the other darting with feline agility, wielding a long extending staff.
She crouched slightly, eyes narrowing. She had never seen them before. But they were… like her.
A sharp pain pricked her temples.
"Retrieve the Butterfly Miraculous."
The voice was deep, commanding—a blade's edge wrapped in silk.
"Do this, and I will grant you power beyond your imagination."
She gritted her teeth, one hand clutching her head. "Who—?"
"The Supreme," the voice answered, smooth and cold. "Endless Lucky Charms… at your command. You will crush anything that stands in your way. But fail me… and your suffering will be eternal."
Her breath quickened. She looked back at the fight. The one with the staff—the "cat"—fought like the world bent around him. People probably adored him. People probably saw him as a hero.
The thought boiled something deep inside her. Easy for him, she thought bitterly. He hasn't had to crawl through the dirt just to breathe.
Her grip on the yo-yo tightened.
She launched forward, striking the Butterfly figure from the side. He staggered, barely catching himself.
His gaze locked on hers, puzzled. "You… You're working for the Supreme too? Why follow that path?"
She scoffed. "Why do you care? You don't know me. You don't know anything about what I've had to do to survive."
Her words hit like thrown knives. She lunged again, her yo-yo whipping forward. He blocked, but the force shoved him back—hard enough that he tumbled onto his back, his miraculous glinting in the moonlight.
"Hey!"
A voice cut through the night. A girl with glasses—Alya—stood nearby, fists clenched. "Leave him alone, you villains!"
The cat smirked lazily. "Cute. She thinks she's helping." He swung his staff, sending Alya stumbling back. "Run along, little civilian."
Betterfly, seizing the moment, darted to Alya's side and pulled her to safety.
The cat's smirk vanished, replaced by a sharp glare aimed at Marinette. "You should have taken it while we had the chance."
She fired back without hesitation. "Maybe if you weren't too busy showing off, we would've!"
Before either could spit another insult, a shadowy ripple passed overhead—a Kamiko—its form a warped, twisted creature of darkness.
The cat didn't hesitate. "Cataclysm!" His claws tore through it, obliterating the Kamiko in an instant.
Marinette's eyes narrowed. "Careful. You almost got us Kamikized too. Calm down."
The Supreme's voice sliced through the air, sharper this time. "Enough. Retrieve the Butterfly Miraculous. Or you will suffer a fate worse than death."
The cat's eyes flickered dangerously as he leaned close to her. "Stay out of my way… or you'll be the first one the Supreme takes out."
Before she could reply, he vaulted away with his staff, vanishing into the maze of rooftops.
The first gold light of sunrise began to touch the horizon. Marinette stood alone, her jaw tight. "Arrogant cat…" she muttered before firing her yo-yo and swinging away toward home.
From the shadow of a nearby rooftop, another figure watched. Her amber eyes gleamed with amusement. Lyla, adorned with the sleek plumage of the Peacock Miraculous, tilted her head and smiled.
"Things," she murmured, "just got interesting."