[A Brief Moment Earlier]
~Ciara… can you hear me?~
Ciara and her friends powerlessly lay on the ground, all of them rendered immobile by a mere sleight of Legris' hand.
In the face of such a powerful adversary, they stood no chance.
'H-how can I still hear your thoughts? Legris said he eliminated you.' Ciara's thoughts trailed.
Her mind was a mess, same as her body, but she struggled to maintain her connection with the voice in her head.
The voice of her Constellation.
"Legris knows a lot, but he does not know everything. Constellations can not die as long as their Tree exist. What he destroyed were our physical embodiments… our avatars."
As long as an Aether Tree remained, the Constellations could not perish.
'T-then you can return to stop him… right?!' Ciara's thoughts beamed.
~Unfortunately, we can not. Our physical forms have been permanently erased from this reality. We can only interfere in ways like this… as invisible forces.~
And the best way to do so was through their Hosts.
'What now, then? The branches… everything is being destroyed…'
There was nothing they could do about it.
~You have to stop him, Ciara. You have to stand and do something!~
Ciara knew all that was at stake.
She knew fully well that everything would cease to exist if she remained down.
But what exactly could she do? She couldn't rise, and even if she did, it wouldn't be enough to change all that Legris was about to do.
As she was having these thoughts, her eyes went to Jerry and his paralyzed form.
His eyes were also looking at her.
They seemed empty and hollow, but Ciara could see that they were trying to tell her something.
They were telling her "I believe in you!"
And that was all the motivation she needed.
'I have to try!'
Using her Original Magic, she connected to Aloe's mind and enabled her to use her own Original Magic to empower everyone.
Once that was settled, and she was once again brimming with energy, she found her resolve to do the impossible.
Amidst the confusion and desperation of everyone, she stepped forward.
"I'll stop this… even if I die!"
Of course, she did not want to die. However, the resolve to achieve this even if it cost her everything was what she needed to achieve this.
"[Primeval Magic: Gran Aegis Brahma]"
In that instant, all of reality halted.
The [Connection] Ciara shared with Aquarius, and the [Connection] that Aquarius shared with the entirety of reality fully merged.
The result was profound.
'I am… connected to everything…' Ciara's thoughts echoed as she viewed the world from the lens of every living and entity.
It was too much… it was impossible… but she did so anyway!
'I… I am everything!'
And so, as the End began, Ciara found herself connected to every single thing that would experience sheer extinction.
She could feel them all. Speak to them all. Control them all.
"Magic… all your Magic…!" She yelled.
Instantly, every single entity who could and could not use Magic awakened at that very moment.
The Inepts found the connection between the power within their Souls and their ordinary bodies.
The little ones Awakened on the spot, and the elderly were invigorated in their bodies.
Every single entity within the branches—so long as they possessed a mind—were connected to her.
"Grand Primeval Magic…" Ciara collected all their power.
All their energy converged into one.
And she uttered the words that shattered the last of the barriers that existed between the individual branches, practically merging them into one.
One Magic.
"[… Call Of Aether]"
The wave of concentrated Mana, Miasma, Chi, Ki, and all other kinds of energy gathered and charged at the [Seed Of The End].
The combined power they shared was akin to Aether herself acting.
And the result was as expected.
~VWWUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSHHHHH!!!~
The seed was demolished—absolutely consumed by the sheer amount of Aether that washed through it.
It was no longer the End.
It never was.
*********
"Amazing… simply fascinating!" Legris clapped his hand as he witnessed all of this happen within the fraction of a moment.
The darkness that filled the Constellation Realm remained, and only the deep glow of his malevolent eyes served as light for him.
As for Ciara and her comrades, they glowed with Aether.
"You actually reached out to all of them… impressive."
Of course, Legris understood that this was only possible because they were in the Constellation Realm, and Ciara had used Aquarius' power for the most part to achieve this result.
"You were also powered by the combined energy of your comrades."
All of that culminated into her success.
"Even at that, it's still impressive you pulled it off." Legris commented, genuinely impressed.
"You were always a talented one. Whether it's under Neron's tutelage or mine, or none of us… you would have always ended up a force to be reckoned with."
However, that was as far as his praise went.
"Aloe Vida used her Magic to absorb so much light that it slowed down the time within the Aether Tree itself. Your allies provided you with so much power necessary for the destruction of the seed…"
As he broke it down, Legris already noticed Ciara's pale expression.
"I'm surprised you can still use the powers of your Constellation despite their absence. I guess those shards within you aren't for decoration."
Legris took a step forward, the entire realm trembling under his presence.
"But… all of that aside…"
His grin widened more than ever as he took her another step.
"… You seem tired. All of you."
True to his words, they were all exhausted. They had all used their abilities to the max in stopping just one of Legris' attacks.
"I doubt you'd be able to stop a second round." Legris raised his hand slowly.
His malevolent smile caused everyone to shiver.
For them, it had taken almost everything to ensure he could not destroy their worlds.n(-O1n
However, for Legris, it didn't take him any effort to try again.
"What will you do now?"
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