The crimson moon still hung above the battlefield like an omen that refused to fade.
Everything burned beneath its glow.
The station was collapsing piece by piece, drifting into fragments of metal and fire while war raged across its broken corridors.
And at the center of it all—
Marley stood frozen between two worlds.
Her heart.
And reality.
Vivian hovered before her, surrounded by corrupted energy that twisted the air itself. Her once-familiar face now carried something —even wrong. Her crimson eyes burned with hatred that did not belong to her.
"I know what you are," Vivian said coldly.
Her voice trembled—but not with fear.
With conviction.
"You think I don't remember?"
Marley stepped forward slowly.
"Vivian… please listen to me."
A faint, broken smile appeared on Vivian's face.
"Listen?"
Her energy flared violently.
"You want me to listen like I listened when my parents died?"
The entire battlefield shook.
Marley's breath caught.
"What…?"
Vivian's expression twisted with pain and rage.
"I remember everything."
The corrupted chains around her body tightened.
"I remember the night they died."
Her voice lowered.
"And I remember who opened the gate."
Marley's eyes widened.
"No… that's not true…"
Vivian's gaze sharpened like a blade.
"It was you, Grandmother."
Silence shattered everything.
Even the war around them felt distant for a moment.
Marley shook her head desperately.
"No… Vivian, I would never—"
But Vivian interrupted her.
"You destroyed my family."
"You destroyed my world."
Her voice broke slightly—
but the hatred remained.
"Do you understand what hell I lived in after that?"
Marley's hands trembled.
"I love you…"
Her voice was soft.
Desperate.
"I love you, Vivian."
For a brief second—
something flickered inside Vivian's eyes.
Something human.
But it vanished instantly.
"Stop lying."
Behind Marley—
Violet stepped forward, her voice sharp and shaking with fury.
"Marley, she's not your granddaughter anymore!"
She pointed upward.
"Look at her! That's not Vivian!"
The crimson moon chains behind Violet writhed violently.
"She's a weapon! A vessel! A demon!"
Violet's voice cracked with grief.
"She's with them!"
Her chains surged forward instantly—
aimed to pierce Vivian's heart.
"NO!" Marley screamed.
She moved faster than thought.
She threw herself in front of Vivian.
The chains stopped just inches away.
Violet froze.
"Move, Marley!"
"No." Marley's voice was final.
Tears ran down her face.
"This is my granddaughter."
"She's all I have left."
Vivian stared at her silently.
Then whispered:
"Pathetic."
And struck.
Marley barely blocked the attack, but the force sent her crashing backward through shattered metal.
"MARLEY!" someone shouted.
Violet's rage exploded.
"She's going to kill you!"
But Marley stood again.
Blood on her face.
Trembling.
"I don't care."
Violet's eyes widened.
Marley turned toward her.
"Violet… I know what you see."
She breathed heavily.
"But I also know what I feel."
She stepped forward again.
"She is there."
Her voice broke.
"Somewhere inside her."
Vivian's expression twisted violently.
"You don't get to decide that!"
She unleashed a wave of destruction.
The battlefield shattered beneath it.
And in that moment—
Lexia's sacrifice echoed inside everyone.
Zack clenched his fists so hard blood dripped from his palms.
"She's not alone," he whispered coldly.
Alfred nodded once.
"No one is anymore."
Violet hesitated.
Then slowly lowered her chains.
"…If she turns on us," she said quietly, "I won't hesitate."
Marley didn't respond.
She only walked forward.
Step by step.
Toward Vivian.
Toward her granddaughter.
"Vivian…"
She reached out her hand.
"Please come back to me."
For a moment—
the world stopped.
Even the crimson moon dimmed slightly.
Vivian's eyes flickered again.
Pain.
Memory.
A child's laughter.
Then—
darkness surged violently.
"No."
Her voice became monstrous.
"I AM NOT YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER."
She lunged.
Marley closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"I'm sorry…"
Then—
the blade struck.
Silence.
Vivian's body froze.
The corrupted energy around her shattered violently.
Her eyes widened slightly.
The darkness inside her began cracking like glass.
Marley stood behind her—
hand trembling—
the strike having pierced straight through her neck.
But Vivian did not fall immediately.
She slowly turned her head.
"…Grandmother…"
Her voice was no longer corrupted.
Just broken.
Marley's eyes filled with tears instantly.
"Yes… I'm here."
Vivian's body trembled.
The chains around her dissolved.
"I… remember…"
Her knees weakened.
And for the first time—
she smiled faintly.
A real smile.
"I was… wrong…"
The Demon King's influence screamed inside her mind one final time—
then shattered.
Vivian's body began dissolving into light.
"Thank you…"
She whispered softly.
Then—
she collapsed into Marley's arms.
And disappeared.
Only silence remained.
The battlefield stopped completely.
Even the war itself hesitated.
And deep within Marley's hands—
a glowing heart remained.
Still beating.
Dark.
Ancient.
The sixth element.
Alfred stared at it slowly.
"…The final key."
Zack's voice came low and cold.
"Now we can close the gate."
Violet looked away.
Not speaking.
Just breathing heavily.
And Marley—
stood silently holding the last piece of her granddaughter.
As the crimson moon above them began to crack.