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A step forward.
It was cold. Not a trickle of water in sight, yet the sound of unseen droplets fell in rhythm with Mona's footsteps.
Another step forward.
An endless tunnel of astral void.
Another step forward.
A curious phenomenon indeed, but Mona's focus refused to wane.
Kokomi...
Mona felt weightless, yet at the same time could not stray from the path before her.
Kokomi, where are you?
-
She had to be somewhere, beneath the sludgy corruption that had marred her skin, that had clawed at her sanctity. Scales etched in blood and abyssal pits for eyes may have overtaken her form, but Mona knew a heart such as hers was not so easily lost.
Speed and agility were her strengths. They had allowed her to escape the hands yhat tried to stop her, a feeble attempt to pull her from plunging head first into the depths of Kokomi's explosion of an abyssal domain.
Even the echoing shouts of desperation from the fabled traveller could not stop her.
She was fatigued and bloodied. The initial storm of battle had pushed her to the ground and brought her to the brink of her limits. In a way, this was much like the eye of the storm. Whilst Kokomi's corruption had no doubt continued it's onslaught of havoc across the islands, her inner space was mostly empty, save for the stretch of stars that dotted her realm. A part of Mona wanted to believe that the stars in Kokomi's realm pointed to none other than her, but the astrologist in her knew the marks of the abyss all too well.
Just a little more.
An ocean-dyed glow pooled at her feet. It grew to resemble the pseudo-jellyfish of Watatsumi's cliffs. It multiplied, lighting the way to a lit silhouette that could only belong to the priestess herself. She was so close, just within her reach yet so far they just couldn’t connect. Mona’s hand shot forward, dragging ripples through the starry ether that surrounded her. Rash movement amidst the unknown was not wise, but this could have been her last chance.
If her beloved was beyond saving, then maybe she could at least say goodbye.
And then she was there, floating down like a leaf in the wind, like a blossom that had parted ways with it's branch. It was Kokomi in her divine glory, the gentle glow of her vision pulsing waves of relief through Mona's body.
Oh, the stars, she was being healed.
Her wounds had closed and the throbs of pain fell silent. Perhaps this might have been Kokomi's final act of kindness, perhaps this would be the last time Mona would feel the ebbing waves of her hydromancy.
It only made the unavoidable outcome wrack her soul with an even more devastating breed of grief.
Tears fell from Mona's eyes, glowing like diamonds under the light of Kokomi's projection. Her softened hand reached to wipe them with her thumb, and in secrecy, Kokomi coveted them as an embodiment of Mona's love.
Mona could barely speak, her sobs only briefly stilling to press a kiss to the inside of Kokomi's palm. They were on their knees now, intertwining their fingers as she broke down in yearning. A yearning for more time - time they both knew would ever be enough.
A crack in the plane breaks the moment, spreading its roots through the realm.
Ah, the others outside must have succeeded…
The light of Kokomi's vision began to fade as reality began to piece itself back together.
"I love you, Mona"
"I love you too"
The two held each other in a final act of devotion, Mona's cheeks falling perfectly into the cups of Kokomi's hands. This would be a memory and an oath, a sort of something to dilute the pain of what had led them there. A silver lining to the blood and grit that they had so horribly failed to escape from.
The cracks continued to spread, the sight of a bloodied and broken traveller finally starting to seep through.
Lips met lips.
A flash of light and the world seemed to still, time bending its laws to grant the lovers one last kiss.