Aelin and Fae began to dash at each other, their weapons held tightly in their hands as their auras blasted them to their full potential. A final fight to the death. The women swung their weapons, the sword and scythe clashing against one another as their auras were shot out constantly. A color of gold and purple roamed around the dome.
Aelin pushed harder however, knocking Fae back with raw strength. Though Fae quickly jumped back, raising her hand towards her as multiple shadows arose from the ground, zooming towards Aelin. But that wouldn't stop Aelin at all.
Aelin's golden eyes glowed brightly, holding Chronos tightly as she blitzed through the shadows within seconds. With the help of her now full manipulation of time, she was capable of blitzing the shadows within seconds from the eyes of a human.
Continuing to zoom after her, Fae quickly swung her scythe as though the range of her slashes extended. Cutting and slicing the ground as she sent the slashwaves towards Aelin, for the attempt of the slashwaves to knock her back by the impact.
The clocks on Chronos began to shift counterclock-wise before stopping as Aelin had quickly stopped time. Charging her aura up into both her raw strength and sword before swinging it. Roaring as it shattered the slashwaves altogether before time resumed.
Fae's eyes widened, never seeing such power before. Yet this ability was familiar. As if she's had a memory… no. Not her memory. Someone else's memory. But in a desperate attempt to knock Aelin back into her place, her teeth clenched in anger before jumping up into the air, spinning her scythe.
"I refuse to let you defeat me after getting gifted with those stupid powers of yours!" she growled.
Aelin looked up, noticing Fae had summoned a pair of shadow hands to try and stop her. Aelin's eyes slanted as she got into a crouching stance. Looking straight at the ground before she stabbed Chronos into the dark stone.
"Surely I was gifted the day I was supposed to die…" Aelin responded, her eyes closed.
"But I was born with them… and I refuse to use them for chaos and evil!" her eyes opened, widening in anger as a massive golden barrier would extend across the domain, almost recoloring the domain as half of the domain was now gradient between purple and gold. Once the golden barrier had spread and hit the shadow arms, it had extinguished them. Leaving Fae in complete shock.
What is this power… I know this power… Chronos! The Grand Authority of Time… But I don't recognize this power boost.. That dumb girl… who are you?!
Fae would quickly land, raising her scythe as it was ready and aimed at Aelin, who had rose up from her knees and gotten into stance with Chronos. With the final attempt, the two quickly dashed towards one another, equalizing in both speed and strength, raising their weapons one last time…
Shing.
There the two stood at a short distance. Facing away from each other. Though they both stood still, Aelin closed her eyes, turning her head as Fae suddenly fell to her knees before laying on the ground on her stomach.
"You never hit me… you missed on purpose." Aelin whispered, turning to Fae.
"Even as we had seen each other as enemies now…" Fae answered, her voice raspy as if she was trying to get ahold of her breath before continuing. "No soul or entity… could ever force me to kill you entirely."
Aelin's eyes widened a bit, quickly approaching Fae. "So you do remember… our childhood?"
"Of course I did… it was the last thing I clinged onto… yet I still regret the day I had betrayed you… for what I thought was freedom… I was never gifted with it."
Aelin's teeth gripped, not wanting to show her regret. Yet, Fae gently raised her hand before holding Aelin's.
"But now that you have won… you have freed me. I beg of you, Aelin… finish it off to free me."
Aelin shook her head before her expression faded, keeping a straight face. Now knowing that Fae has been forced to live through pain throughout all this time, not even time could save Fae at this moment. Setting her free was the best choice.
Aelin pulled her hand away from Fae, standing up as she slowly raised Chronos.
"Farewell… Fae. I will hold you in my heart."
. . .
Zale, finally being able to get up after feeling numbed in her state from the shadowed spikes, a shadow towered over her as she noticed Aelin approaching.
"Aelin!" she shouted, opening her arms as they caught each other in a sweet hug.
"It's finally over…" Aelin mumbled.
Zale sighed in relief as the domain began to break. Revealing the outside world of reality instead of pure silence. Though Zale's eyebrows suddenly lifted as she felt weight suddenly increasing on her body. Confused, she quickly looked up at Aelin. Whose eyes were now closed. Though breathing just fine, Aelin had gone unconscious.
"I— Aelin—" she gulped.
Once the domain was fully broken, all cops and security of ROSS slid in, worried of Aelin and Zale as even Atsuji and Amore ran in. Finally, it was over… for now.
. . .
Aelin slowly opened her eyes, waking up to the sun shining through her eyelids a bit as she groaned. Covering her face with her elbow, she slowly got up as her blurred vision began to clear. There, she took shape as she found herself in a familiar place. Xiu-Lan's residence.
… Eh? She thought.
Getting off the couch, she would slowly stand up, keeping her balance steady and at ease as she would slowly walk outside. Hearing voices of laughter and cheer, glasses gently clinging and even the delicious aroma of food. Stepping outside into the backyard, she could see Xiu-Lan and the rest, enjoying a lovely evening dinner at the benches. Smiling softly, she approached them.