Back in the cold shadows of the penthouse, the rhythmic ticking of the King’s influence finally began to stutter. As the Void King poured his concentration into the siege of the city, the hypnotic tether on Koko’s mind frayed.
Tick... tick... tack.
Koko’s eyes snapped open. The milky white haze evaporated, replaced by a searing, sharp emerald green. She gasped, her lungs burning as if she had been underwater for an eternity. For a moment, she just stood there, her body trembling with the sudden return of her own will.
"What... what did I..."
Her gaze fell upon her empty hands. The realization hit her like a physical blow—the memory of handing over her card, the cold touch of the King, and the betrayal of her own heart. But then her eyes shifted to the floor near the fireplace.
"Zephyr!"
Koko scrambled across the floor, her knees hitting the marble with a dull thud. She scooped up the tiny emerald fairy. Zephyr’s wings were cracked, looking like shards of broken glass, and his usual vibrant glow was a mere flicker, a fading ember in the dark.
"Zephyr, wake up! I’m sorry... I’m so sorry!" Koko’s voice broke, tears finally spilling over. She pressed the tiny, cold form against her cheek. "I let him in. I let my anger break us."
The fairy’s eyes opened a sliver. A faint, wheezing spark of green light escaped his chest. "Koko-sama... you're... you're back..."
"I'm here. I’ve got you."
A massive explosion shook the building, shattering the floor-to-ceiling windows. The roar of the Shadow-Beasts and the screams of the city flooded the room. Koko looked out at the skyline. The sky was a nightmare of violet, and she could see the distant flickers of red, blue, and gold fire. Her friends were dying out there because she had surrendered.
Koko stood up, clutching Zephyr to her chest. She didn't have her card. She didn't have her magic. She looked at her right hand—the scarred, trembling hand that had ended her dreams of the piano.
She tightened her grip until her knuckles turned white. The tremor didn't stop, but she forced it into a fist.
"I can't play the piano," Koko whispered, her voice hardening into a cold, lethal iron. "And I might not be the conductor anymore. But I am still the President."
She didn't take the elevator. She turned and sprinted toward the shattered balcony. Without the Card of Speed, every step was heavy, every breath was a struggle, but she didn't slow down. She leaped from the railing, sliding down the side of the sloped roof and catching a fire escape, her hands burning as she swung herself toward the street.
She wasn't running toward a rhythm. She was running toward her friends. She was running to take back the beat that had been stolen.
At the foot of the tower, Konone looked up through the smoke, her armor cracked and her flames flickering out. She saw a lone figure in a tattered school blazer sprinting through the gray shadows, carrying a fading light in her arms.
"Koko?" Konone breathed, hope flaring in her chest.
The President didn't answer. She just kept running, a girl with broken hands and a broken heart, heading straight into the eye of the storm to face the King who thought she was finished.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj3xzZxkj3f
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