No one's POV

Tione and Argana's ship had already made its way well out to sea. This far away from the coast, nothing but the gleam of the cliff-top lighthouse could reach them. And atop that boat, a similar scene to the one deep within the bowels of Tiona's sea cave was currently taking place, Amazons whooping in virulent passion as the sounds of fist on skin reverberated throughout the deck.

Tione: Gnnngh!

Tione aimed a kick for Argana's head, but the other woman blocked it with her arm before jumping out of reach. Argana cocked her head to the side curiously.

Argana: You're movement's faster than yesterday...Why is that, Tione?

And it was true—Tione's strikes were hitting with much greater precision than they had the day prior. The increased speed and accuracy enabled her to actually fight on par with her opponent.

Tione: Isn't it just you getting slower?

Tione snapped back, though not before she cursed internally. Tione and Tiona had leveled up only a mere day before they came to Melen. Neither one of them had been able to fully come to terms with their new boosted abilities. There was still a bit of a gap between their bodies and minds, which, though slight, could prove fatal in a match against another top-tier adventurer.

Her fight with Tiona back in the abandoned warehouse had been to rectify exactly this. Just as Aiz had gone up against that giant swarm of monsters immediately after her own level-up, Tione, too, had "adjusted" herself—the sister vs. sister practice duel let her put her new abilities into practice. She'd been able to rein in the stampeding horse that was her own body. She wasn't going to be defeated this time. And she assumed it would be the same for Tiona, now able to hold her own against Bache.

Tione(mind): Still...she's got the advantage when it comes to sheer power...

Argana and Bache, too, might have leveled up only a short while ago, but it was still a longer period of time than Tione and Tiona had. Ability-wise, at least, they'd always be ahead. She also hadn't been able to sense any openings in the other woman's moves, at least nothing like some of the ones she'd seen in Finn and the others. Which meant everything was going to come down to technique and strategy. Victory would fall to the one who craved it the most.

Argana: Ah, is that so? I've gotten slower have I?

Argana laughed—a remarkable feat considering she was currently locked in a duel to the death. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

Argana: In that case, I'll have to hurry up and become stronger.

Tione:...!!

Brimming with an almost tangible thirst for blood, Argana sprinted forward. Tione rose to meet her, kicking her leg up to block the incoming attack. Argana's fists flew at her, from the left, from the right, like deadly sickles slicing through the air.

Her nails were long, like a monster's claws, and her attacks were all the more snakelike when she didn't have her hands curled into their ironlike fists. Tione quickly crouched in order to evade the relentless blows as the close- range duel of fist on fist continued.

Argana: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Finally, you're back to the old you!

Tione: Just shut up and fight already!

It wouldn't do Tione any good to remain on the defensive in a fight against someone like Argana, who had killed so many of her own kin. There was no one in the world who'd be able to endure this woman's monstrous attacks for long. At some point, she herself would need to attack.

The two Amazons whaled on each other, spurred on by burgeoning waves of fury and rage. They were like crazed bulls in an arena; each strike soliciting a return barrage; one hit turned into two. It was almost as if the battles they'd waged so long ago in that stone training room were returning to life before their eyes, only fiercer, more savage.

Amazons: H​u​u​u​u​u​u​u​u​u​u​w​w​w​w​w​w​w​w​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​o​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​a​r​r​r​r​r​g​g​g​g​h​h​!​!

Their attacks were as sharp as razor blades, their techniques swift and sure enough to elicit gasps of astonishment. And as the other Amazons watched this duel of the fates unfold, they let out bellowing roars. The sheer power erupting from their lungs was enough to change the minds of any monsters thinking of approaching the ship.

The light of the magic-stone lanterns on deck trembled.

Tione: Gnngh?!

Argana's claws grazed Tione's cheek, drawing blood. The Amazon curled her long tongue upward to lick at the drops that had splattered on her own cheek.

Tione: You...you snake!!

Tione exploded, all the thoughts of her youth, those memories of anger and pain rushing up through her. Not even realizing she'd activated her Berserker skill, she let her fist fly with the weight of every one of those poignant memories behind it.

Argana: Your blood is as delicious as I always thought it would be...

Tione: You're sick!!

Argana: I've wanted to drink it for so long...so long, Tione. Down to the very... last...drop.

She murmured, dodging Tione's attack as her eyes lit up with the fiery passion of a woman in love. Tione would have backed away in disgust if she could. Argana's eyes were more reptilian than ever. Her ex-teacher's claws bit into her again, her arms this time, and she was quick to lap up the red blood.

Tione: This fucking snake woman!!

A strange feeling of discomfort washed over her. It started out slight but grew and grew, and to Tione's horror, she saw the wounds on her arm grow, and more and more blood flowed from the split skin to sate her opponent's snakelike tongue. She sent an enraged fist flying in Argana's direction, but the other Amazon was already long gone. More and more of her attacks were missing.

Tione(mind): Wait a minute. There's no way...!!

Just as Tione's power was growing with the help of her Berserker skill, so, too, was her opponent's—.

Argana: You're too slow, Tione.

Tione: !!

Argana nimbly sidestepped her punch, disappearing from her field of vision. Before suddenly wrapping herself around her back, limbs sliding around her like a snake curling around its prey. There was a hiss in her ear, then Argana's incisors sank into Tione's neck.

Tione: Grrrrrrrraaaaaaahhhhhh?!

Her nerves burned with a fiery pain. She could actually feel her skin and flesh tearing and hear her blood being sucked out. Then came Argana's tongue, groping inside her like some kind of parasitic centipede, triggering a violent revulsion that sent goose bumps down her whole body. She tumbled to the floor of the deck as Argana quickly rose to her feet, on the defensive once again.

Tione: This bitch...!

Tione hissed as she staggered back to her feet, trying to suppress the blood pouring freely from the fresh holes in her neck. Argana merely narrowed her eyes, tongue sliding over and savoring her bloodstained lips.

It was a sight Tione had seen far too many times back in Telskyura—the aberrant warrior mercilessly draining the blood of her opponents as they screamed in vain. Body trembling in pain and anger, Tione reaffirmed her resolve.

Tione: You became stronger after drinking my blood, didn't you...?! So how you get your power! From the blood of your opponents...!

Argana sneered. Tione was right on the money.

Argana: You've noticed, have you?

Tione: Is it the same magic as Bache's...?!

Argana: It's a curse. It's known as Kalima. As you've already guessed, it allows me to strengthen my abilities through the blood of others blessed with the power of the Falna.

Tione:...?!

Argana: Kali refers to it as 'Blood Drain.' Only she and Bache know about it... and considering I never used it during your training, it's no surprise you never noticed it, either.

Kalima. Blood Drain. A curse. As each of the words passed Argana's lips, connections began forming in Tione's memories.

She'd always assumed Argana's bloodsucking attacks, and even that nickname, Kalima, had simply been a show of force used to strike fear in her opponents. But looking back now, it had a legitimate purpose. And it was why that annoying name had come to be used as her own alias to boot. Everything made sense.
The impact of this revelation was enough to throw Tione for a momentary loop.

Tione: Is there no end to how strong it can make you...? How...how is that even fair?!

Argana: Of course not. Break the curse, and my abilities return to normal. Also, a piddling splash of blood would do no good. It needs to be an ample amount, like the mouthful I took from you earlier.

Tione:...Then, the sacrifice?

Argana: My endurance. It drops significantly.

Tione(mind): Just tell all your deepest secrets, why don't you?!

Tione couldn't help but think even as she remained in awe of the information being revealed.

A secret technique that, upon fulfilling its requirements, would grant its user a truly limitless increase in their Status in exchange for a sharp drop in endurance? Curses were rare enough as it was among magic users, but this one in particular had to be the rarest of the rare. A skill known only to Argana. A blood sacrifice. There wasn't a more perfect skill for the powerful yet despicable warrior.

Argana: You remember, don't you, Tione? When you asked me whether I felt anything about killing my own brethren?

Argana asked, Tione's breath ragged opposite her.

Argana: I feel elation. By feasting on their flesh, I grow stronger. They're not gone—they're inside me! They get to live forever, cheating death as they propel me to the highest of plateaus, the strongest warrior in all the world!

The Telskyuran monster was shouting now as she offered up her prayers of gratitude to the many souls she'd consumed.

Argana: They have no reason to mourn! Their blood shall become mine, and we'll live together...forever!!

The snake laughed, childlike joy bubbling up and out from her lungs. Her eyes sparkled, her mind truly convinced that she was nothing short of a savior to the victims who'd died at her hands.

Argana: And Kali...Kali is waiting, too. She's waiting for me to become the strongest in all the land. Which is why...I'll be feasting on your flesh soon, Tione.

Tione: Like hell, you monster...!!

Tione shouted back, her teeth bared in anger. All around them, the other Amazons swallowed hard in fear.

(Elsewhere)

Bache: From the moment I saw you in the lake...I knew it was fate.

Meanwhile, a similarly violent duel was taking place down in the cave by the sea. Bache's and Tiona's strikes swung at each other back and forth in the middle of their arena of stone, as Kali and the other Amazons spectated from above. Like Tione and Argana, they, too, wielded nothing but their bare fists and feet.

There was only one weapon, Bache's Velgas, which came at Tiona like a deadly storm in her flurry of attacks. With each sweep of the poisonous crystal of purplish-black light coating her right hand, the ground below let out a monstrous phwooooooooooom and a plume of smoke, its surface now stained the same color as her hand.

There was no way for Tiona to defend against this type of magic attack, and she found herself unable to do anything but evade the incoming strikes again and again.

Bache: I hated Kali at first...for letting the two of you leave. You were supposed to be mine to kill...and yet you got away.

Tione:...!

Bache: Argana felt the same.

Bache continued, stoic. The only thing that betrayed her true emotions was the sheer ferocity behind her attacks. As she attacked, Tiona attempted to use the same combat techniques she'd instilled in her so many years ago to send her own Velgas flying back at her.

Bache: It is our destiny... To kill each other like this.

Tiona: Geez, Bache. I didn't even know you had that many words in you!

Bache: Yes. I do have a tendency to talk more when I get excited.

Bache responded, though none of the excitement she mentioned was revealed on her face. Tiona couldn't help but feel glad that Lefiya wasn't present. Their conversation was a mix of Amazonian language and Koine, the differing languages enough to make her head spin. And what was worse, she felt like Bache was already gaining on her. Her opponent's strikes were simply too powerful.

Tiona(mind): My body's actually doing what I want it to do thanks to that warm-up fight with Tione, but...that magic is somethin' else!

She couldn't even get close to the other Amazon. Her head flashed with memories of the past, of her fellow brethren writhing in pain from a mere graze from Bache's Velgas. As a young girl, the sight of that coolheaded warrior woman calmly exterminating her prey had been enough to traumatize her for life.

Tiona(mind): Yikes! Thinking's not gonna do me any good here! I don't have Tione and the others to back me up!

It was a thought very unbecoming to an adventurer who had to be ready with a plan at all times when Dungeon crawling—before effectively turning off her brain and simply darting forward.

Tiona: Me, though? I was always pleased as punch, you know? How you'd read books to me and sometimes even wipe me down after our training sessions?

Bache: I only did those on a whim.

Tiona flew at her, even with the threat of Bache's venomous fist looming in front of her. There was no way she'd be able to dodge every one of the incoming punches, and in due course, one of the magic-infused strikes grazed the side of her body. Pain flared up across her skin in an instant, a strange odor mixing with the rising smoke. With the hit, Bache's defense rose, as well.

Tiona: Hngh!

Bache: ?!

Bache's eyes narrowed, and she aimed a strike straight toward Tiona's chest. Though Tiona was able to block the direct attack with her left arm, it screamed with the sting of Bache's Velgas. The rippling pain of her skin melting before her eyes was enough to make her realize she couldn't keep this up for long.

From atop her vantage point, Kali watched everything with a thin smile, reveling in the way Tiona refused to back down despite repeated hits from Bache's Velgas.

Kali: Status resistance, hmm? No doubt something she picked up in Orario. But how long will she be able to keep it up? The venom of those Dungeon monsters doesn't hold a candle to my Bache's.

Not once during their training back in Telskyura had Bache used her magic on Tiona. But it was not out of kindness. No, Bache used her magic only when she was sure that she was going to take down her prey. Never would she allow her opponent to take countermeasures or develop a resistance to her venom.
It had to be a sure kill.

Tiona: It might even be stronger than Poison Vermis's Extreme Poison.

Colder than the venom of any monster writhing and squirming down in the Dungeon. Tiona felt that chill pass through her now, but at the same time, something warm was forming inside her.

It was her Berserk skill, the same as her sister's. A skill that boosted her attack power the more damage she took. Feeling the power surging within her, she gave up on petty tricks and simply launched everything she had straight at the woman in front of her.

Tiona: But if your right hand is dangerous, I'll take it on directly!

Bache: !!

Bache's eyes widened for the first time at the unexpected assault. The attack sailed toward her like a river breaking through a dam, and she flung up her Velgas to ward it off, but Tiona paid it no heed. As it carved through her shoulder, it only increased her power, and she drove her head straight into her opponent's body with all the force her skill could lend her.

Bache: Hnnguh?!

The plump roundness of Bache's chest took the full brunt of the attack, and her legs crumpled beneath her. Tiona took that opportunity to spin around into a powerful roundhouse kick even as her charred shoulder wailed in pain.

Tiona(mind): Tione's favorite kick!!

Tiona: How's that? The flesh cutting skill which Tione uses a lot, uh... Whatever the name was!

Her entire body whirled to drive the kick straight at Bache's face. It happened in an instant before a loud sound emerge. The dull sound of flesh on flesh, bone on bone, echoed throughout the cavern, hushing the exuberant cries of the surrounding Amazons. Silence settled over the crowd. Kali, too, said nothing as she looked down at the two warriors, her legs still crossed beneath her.

Tiona: ?! Oooow!!! Why's my right hand hurting as well?!

Then, just when it seemed the silence was liable to carve through their very eardrums... Tiona's eyes dilated in shock. It wasn't because Bache had somehow gotten her left hand up just in time to block the incoming kick. No, it was at the purplish-black tangle of light that now enveloped her entire body.

Tiona: What...?

She gasped as she heard her right foot begin to thrum with an unnerving phroooooom.

Tiona(mind): What the...hell?

Kali: You didn't know, did you...?

But the voice wasn't from Bache, who was currently directing her gaze toward Tiona in cold silence, but from Kali up above them.

Kali: When Bache reached Level Six, her Velgas leveled up, too. In both power and scope.

It was the blessing that came with every level-up. The increase that was applied to not only one's abilities but one's magic power, as well. Though Bache had only ever been able to enchant her right hand with her Velgas before, now she was able to enchant her whole body, the same as Aiz and Asuna did with their Airiel and Aqua Current.

Even now, Bache's bewitching copper skin seemed awash in an almost electrifying purplish-black light, turning her entire body into a glowing insect shell.

Tiona: Gnnngah, hot, hot, hottt   ?!

Tiona screeched, forced to retreat as the stretched seconds sped forward to catch up with reality. Her leg had turned an unsettling color, now seemingly devoid of strength. Bache, however, paid this no mind, already racing toward her in merciless pursuit.

Bache: My magic may not be strong enough to act as armor, but it's plenty strong enough to enhance the pain and suffering of my opponents.

Tiona: Eek! Unngah?!

Bache: Why don't you attack? If you just stand there like a bump on a log, I'll take you out with ease.

Tiona stumbled backward as Bache advanced, her every ominously glowing limb attacking from all sides. Even before, the Amazon's uncanny strength was enough to crush a person whole, but now with the added power of her Velgas covering her entire form, she could easily rend even a sturdy-bodied first-tier adventurer limb from limb. Bones cracking, skin prickling with a searing pain, Tiona spat blood from between her teeth.

Tiona(mind): What gives, huh? How'm I supposed to beat this lady?!

She couldn't let herself get hit. She couldn't do the hitting. Which meant...she was gonna die long before she'd have any chance of taking Bache down—. Despair began to gnaw away at her heart like little worms as the view in front of her became ever more clouded with incoming strikes.

Bache: Have I broken your spirit, Tiona?

Tiona: Hu—g​g​g​n​n​n​n​n​n​n​n​w​w​w​w​u​u​u​a​a​a​a​A​A​A​A​A​R​R​R​R​R​G​G​G​H​H​H​!​!

Bache's hand grabbed ahold of Tiona's face and lifted her. She couldn't see, coughing up smoke and muck as her face sizzled beneath Bache's fingers. She screamed. Grappling desperately at the fingers digging into her skin, she attempted to pull away the other woman's grip, but the powerful vise was simply too strong. Bache began to squeeze, slowly crushing her head like a ripe berry.

Bache: Tiona...do you know why it is that I trained you so diligently?

Tiona:......!!

Bache's icy voice filled her ears, her world shrouded in light—blackish, purplish, venomous light.

Bache: It was for this very day. The day when I could fight against you in all your glory...and feast upon your flesh.

Tiona: ?!

Bache: I've been preparing myself since the moment we first met. Yes, you would grow strong...so strong...and through that strength, I, too, would reach a new plateau—by killing you.

She would level up. That's what she was referring to. The ritualistic act where lower-world denizens would break free of the container of their Statuses and reach new heights in their abilities. By felling Tiona now that her strength had matured, by feasting on her, Bache would accomplish a true feat, propelling her to that coveted next level.

Bache: Not once have I ever thought of Argana as a sister. In my eyes, she's nothing but a predator.

A momentary glint of fear flashed across her steely eyes.

Bache: A predator I refuse to let consume me. I...don't want to die.

They were just like Tiona and Tione. Since the moment she was born, Bache had been plagued by a monster— her sister.

This was the reason for Bache's reticence, for her paucity of emotion. She didn't want to die. Even letting the words pass her lips sent tendrils of irrepressible fear squirming throughout her entire body.

Bache knew. Even if she were to escape the confines of Telskyura, her other half, the other being with whom she shared her talents and abilities, would follow her to the ends of the earth. That bothersome bond of blood would always draw them together. Back when Kali had stepped in to keep her sister from killing her, Bache had learned there was only one truth she could cling to.

Bache: Strength. I needed to be strong. I needed a power that couldn't be stolen from me.

Combining her fear of death with her insatiable thirst for life, she'd fostered the fighting spirit inside her. And from the amalgam of survival and fighting instincts, a new warrior, in her purest form, was born. She coveted strength, craved it as a coldhearted, inhuman warrior.

Bache: I will kill you and your sister...I will kill Argana...and then I will become the most powerful warrior in the whole world.

The Poison Queen hissed, as Kali watched over her with intrigue and love.

Tiona: !!

Tiona willed up every ounce of strength she could muster, even as the poison continued to scald her face. Swinging her leg upward in a mighty kick, she somehow managed to make contact with Bache, who released the confining grip on her head. Around and around she spun, not even caring about the burn the contact had left on her leg, focusing only on putting distance between herself and her attacker.

Tiona: Hah...hah...?!

Her whole face felt like it was on fire; pain and a strange sense of intoxication ravaged her being. The venom was strong. Like a fever, it washed over her body, and beads of sweat developed across her skin. Even the globules of blood she coughed up from her mouth had begun to take on a blackish hue.

Down on all fours, she supported herself with shaking arms, and the excruciating pain was enough that a tear fell from her eye and ran down the length of her cheek. Inside, she could feel a crack working its way through her heart—the callous confession of the woman she'd once regarded as her second sister hit where it hurt the most.

Tiona(mind): It hurts. It hurts so bad! I can't do this anymore!!

Tiona: Tio...ne...

Tiona(mind): Tione   Tione!! Help me, Tione!! It hurts too much! I don't wanna fight anymore! I don't wanna fight   .

Tiona's consciousness lost itself somewhere along the line between past and present as poison consumed her body and cracks spread across her heart. Deep inside the dark reaches of her soul, Little Tiona was crying. She didn't wanna fight. She didn't wanna fight.

Tiona: !!

The Amazons roared, Tiona no longer able to move as her chest heaved up and down.

Amazons: On your feet! Kill her!

Bache turned her cold, ruthless eyes toward the girl on the ground, and the writhing blob of light around her hand let out an audible crackle as it flashed. And then she started toward her, slowly, as Kali watched from above.

(Elsewhere)

Tiona: Gngh...ah?!

With a loud thud, Tione flew backward, breaking through a nearby barrel and colliding with the side of the ship. Her body was already a bloody mess. Blood poured like rivers from her open wounds and mouth, her skin littered with swollen bruises and sores. The spectating Amazons let out excited whoops and hollers as Argana approached.

Argana: Have you had enough yet, Tione?

Tione:...!

Argana ran her arm across her cheek, licking at the mixture of blood— some of it Tione's, some of it her own. Her body, too, looked decidedly worse for wear, and her garments, dragon-scale belt included, were tattered and ragged.

Argana: Though you've lost your edge as a warrior...you've lasted longer than I thought you would. I must admit that you've grown stronger. You're not that sad waste of flesh that you were so many years ago.

Her voice sounded so far away. It buzzed in her ears. Damn you, Tione cursed the woman in her head. But she'd lost too much blood. It was hard to think. Her mind was hazy and slipping in and out of consciousness. She let herself slide down the side of the ship, her head starting to droop.

Argana: I'd never given much thought to you so-called adventurers...but now I've actually started to look forward to it. That Hero in particular. I'll be interested to see just how strong he is.

Argana was saying something. Prattling on about something.

Argama: Ah, but first things first. You'll allow me to eat you now, won't you? I suppose if Bache has been defeated...heh...then I'll just have to kill
Tiona, too.

—In that moment, something snapped. There came a resounding crack, the likes of which she'd never heard before, and her vision went red with flames. Her head rolled upward, the entirety of her being exploded with a fiery heat—and then she was off.

Tione:...

Argana didn't even have time to react. Nor to evade the incoming fist. Tione pushed herself off the side of the ship, spraying splinters of wood as
she sent her fist into the side of Argana's jaw.

Argana: Wha—?!

The Amazon went flying. Now it was her turn to sail through the air, breaking through barrels to slam painfully into the opposite wall.  Blood dribbled down from between her lips as she looked up in shock at the crimson snake of fury now staring her down.

Tione: I'll kill you...!!

Tione's fist was clenched in rage, her body stained a brilliant red, her own blood dyeing her skin. She was furious. A pure, unadulterated enmity churned through her veins, stronger than any she'd ever felt before, stronger than when she'd been pelted with blows, stronger than when she'd had her own blood sucked from her body and the shame had been seared into her memory. And as all that ire flowed through her like flames licking at her skin, she roared.

Tione: If you kill her, I'll kill you!!

Argana:...!!

The sheer force of all that furor was enough to steal the breath of every Amazon on board. Not even Tione herself knew what had caused it. It was a livid inferno the likes of which she'd never felt before. But she didn't have to understand it to let her mouth run away from her.

Tione: Lay one finger on her. I dare you!! You'll rue the day you were born!!!!

As Tione screamed, she began to realize just where her shouts were coming from. Oh, how she hated that stupid smile. But oh, how she needed it. She always had. And she'd always do whatever it took. She had a duty to fulfill. Because that stupid idiot was her other half—her one and only little sister.

Tione: You shall not touch even a single one of her hair!!

She would protect her. She would protect her Tiona. She had to keep her safe. Because they only had each other. She protected her when the other Amazons targeted her in the arena. When she fell asleep first next to her. She'd always quietly protected her—the dazzling sun that shone its light on her life. And she wasn't about to stop now.

Argana: You two are...really a different breed of Amazon.

Argana mused. The fact that the sisters had been able to retain their bond even in the cutthroat world of Telskyura was a miracle, indeed. She smiled.

Argana: You love each other, don't you?

Tiona: What?!

Argana: Since you seem to be in the dark, I guess I'll go ahead and tell you. It's been so long, after all.

Argana rose to her feet, that same amused smile still playing on her lips.

Aragana: Tiona has always been protecting you.

Tione: What did you say? The fuck are you talking about?

Tione for once was unable to comprehend what Argana meant but the Amazon snake continue to sneered.

Argana: Telskyura's rites. Did you kill any of your roommates other than Seldas?

Tione:...!

Argana: Since that day, Tiona always took your place in killing your roommates. She always volunteered. You were always protected by Tiona.

(Flashback)

On the day Tiona saw her sister crying, reduced to tears after having killed Seldas, a feeling took root inside Tiona.

She needed to protect her. It wasn't because she empathized with her. But simply because it seemed natural to do so. She was her other half, after all. Just like she didn't need a reason to protect herself, she didn't need a reason to protect her sister.

And so, from that day, Tiona began killing the other girls in their room. Or, perhaps more concisely, she volunteered to fight them in the rites. Whenever Tione was scheduled to fight against one of their own roommates, Tiona would go to Kali and request that she be switched in for her sister. It was her way of protecting her sister's heart, haggard and broken as it was from Argana's training.

But there was still the anxiety Tione always felt as the days for her rites grew near. Tiona didn't like that, either. And so she went to Kali again. And agreed to do whatever Kali asked so long as her wish was fulfilled. She killed all of them. In a single long night of rite after rite after rite, she piled their bodies high. Tione never even noticed.

It was that one bond she had with her sister that let her simply be Tiona Hyrute rather than a warrior of Telskyura. Perhaps if she'd never seen Tione crying in her room that one night, she, too, would have turned out just like Argana and Bache—an Amazon who filled the hole in her heart with nothing but ceaseless fighting. She would have become a true berserker, mercilessly slaughtering her opponents, awash in their blood yet radiating a pure and innocent smile all the while.

Tiona knew all this. She understood the paper-thin line she'd tread. And that her sister's presence had been the one thing someone as stupid as her could hold onto. Tione was the moon.

She lit the way forward through the darkness when neither of them knew where to go. She was always there next to her in her moonlike tranquility when it came time to sleep. Tiona had always liked Tione the best at night. It was the one time the restless, angry girl of the day could settle down. She held her so, so close, a cradle of the moon, rocking her to sleep.

Tiona couldn't sleep unless she was next to Tione.

Little Tiona: Tione, Tione.

Little Tiona was crying.

Little Tiona: I can't get up.

She liked to fight, but she didn't like to kill. She'd wept salty wet tears beneath her mask upon killing their final roommate. It hurt so badly. So badly her whole body and heart ached.

Little Tiona: Tione, save me.

Where was she to hit her on the head, call her stupid, and tug her hand? She rubbed at her chest, looking down into the darkness, into the deep, deep pool of her heart to where Little Tiona continued to cry. Closing her eyes, she reopened them to see her—Tione, standing above her.

Little Tione: Don't lose, Tiona.

That's what she'd told her just a short while ago when the two had separated. She saw her sister's back, framed in the light of the moon above. Standing behind her younger self, she bent down to pick up the book lying at her feet. Then handed it to the weeping girl in front of her.

Little Tiona: Try to hold out just a bit longer, okay?

Tiona: Tione's doing her best, too.

Littke Tiona: Do you want to go back?

Tiona: Yeah. But I probably going to lose... This is painful...

Little Tiona: Then Smile.

She laughed, her smile as bright and gleaming as the sun. Little Tiona placed her hand on the book's cover, blinking curiously. She flipped through its pages, and after several hundred of the paper sheets had gone by, she came to a stop on the hero of the legend—and instantly brightened.

Tiona: No matter how much I'm made fun of. No matter how much they laugh at me. I would curve my lips. If I don't neither the spirits nor the Goddess of Fate would smile on me.

The two heroes she loves. Argonaut and Flash. Argonaut, a person who is known as a fool and would always smile and laugh like her. And Flash, a person who is known for his unwavering will and determination to stand up no matter how much he was scorn.

Little Tiona: Argonaut...

Tiona: Flash...

The two Tionas, the young girl and the warrior, looked at each other and smiled, then took each other's hands.

(Present)

Tiona: Ngh!!

Tiona's eyes shot open with a powerful snap. Her consciousness was suddenly as sharp as a tack, and she sprang instantly to her feet.

Bache: !

Bache gave a start, then leaped backward. As she eyed the rejuvenated girl suspiciously, the Amazonian spectators above let out resounding cries of adulation. Kali mused, smiling beneath her mask.

Kali: Hoh-hoh. So you're back on your feet. What's your plan, then, hmm? Doesn't look to me like you're doing so hot. You sure you can still fight?

Indeed, smoke continued to rise from Tiona's body where Bache's Velgas had seared the skin. Tiona brought an arm up to wipe at her poison-smeared face—perhaps Kali's words had reached her?—then she formed both her hands into fists before gearing up for a mighty yell.

Tiona: It doesn't hurt at all! Not one bit!!

Bache's eyes grew round in surprise.

Tiona: And your words don't hurt me, either. Not one bit!!

Now it was Kali's turn to open her mouth with surprise.

Tiona: I can still fight. I can keep doin' this forever!!

Not a single Amazon moved, all of them as still as statues.

Tiona: You think I'd lose to the likes of you?!

And then Tiona's smile deepened. She squeezed her fists tighter, readying herself for combat as if her skin wasn't currently covered in poison and giving off smoke. She'd just figured out the one tactic she could use against Bache's Velgas. She just had to ignore it—to tough it out. It was the plan of a girl whose head didn't quite function the way others' did and a culmination of all her thickheaded stupidity.

Kali: Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!! What is that?! Is that your pride talking?!

With a start, the tiny, cherubic goddess watching over them let out a great, gulping guffaw, breaking the silence like water bursting through a dam. Holding both hands to her stomach, she flapped her feet in the air, practically tumbling straight off her perch. Down below, Bache's expression never faltered. Even as her goddess's laughter echoed throughout the cavern, she only narrowed her eyes.

Bache:...My Velgas isn't something you can just ignore.

Tiona: 'Course! It actually hurts like hell!

Bache: Well, then—

But Tiona interrupted before she could finish.

Tiona: But it's not gonna keep me from standing back up and smilin'!

Bache's eyes widened for a second time.

Tiona: It doesn't matter how much it hurts, how much my heart aches, how much I wanna cry—I'll just keep on standing and smilin'!

Bache: Her breath is red...? No... It's coming from her whole body...?!

True to her words, a giant smile was currently plastered across her face. It was a smile from cheek to cheek and which was completely out of place considering her current state.

—What was it that had separated Tiona and Tione into light and dark back in Telskyura? Yes, it had been that book, the epic. She could still remember losing herself among the pages of that story as Bache read it aloud to her. She could still remember the very first time she'd laughed so hard she couldn't stop at the ridiculous dialogue of the story's hero. And she could still remember the burst of courage those words had given her.

Tiona: I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed...so yeah! Maybe this is the only thing I can do!

Maybe that beautiful story had been the one place she could run when the days tried to drive her into the ground. Maybe it was only through that legendary epic that she'd been able to console herself after what she'd done. Of all the things that story may have given her, the one that Tiona was most sure of—was her smile.

Tiona: But you can bet I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna keep on standing and smiling!

If she just kept on smiling, then maybe, maybe Tione would smile, too. If someone like Tiona wasn't even able to smile, then there was no way that faded world of blood and ash they lived in was ever going to change.

So she smiled. Because of that epic, even when it was just the two of them in that cold world, Tiona could light up the sky with her expression of joy. And finally, she'd been able to make Tione smile, too.

Tiona: So long as I'm smiling, I don't care about all that bad stuff!

Tiona had a favorite story among all those poems. It was the story of Argonaut and Flash. An ordinary boy who dreamed of becoming a hero. And an ordinary boy who had been struck by lightning. A farcical story that had left her drowning in tears of mirth.

Tiona: Oh, I will smile. No matter how much I may be made the fool, no matter how many times the derisive laughter of others may scorn me, I shall curve these lips upward. If not, how should the spirit smile? How should the goddess of fate smile?

—Smile. Just like the fairy-tale hero who had so encouraged her. Just like the characters in that beautiful story. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much she might suffer, no matter how much she had to fake it. She would simply smile. Smile for that bright tomorrow she knew awaited.

She wasn't trying to play hero. She was merely doing everything she could do—and for someone like her, someone who wasn't as smart, wasn't as clever, that was fine enough!!

Tiona: I will smile...! For all those who can't!! And if I have to smile forever before you'll smile back, then that's what I'll do!

(Elsewhere)

Tione: That's bullshit...!

Tione hissed with a clench of her fists, doing her best to mask the tumult of emotions in her heart. Tiona had killed even more of their sisters back in Telskyura?

But it all made sense. When Tione's eyes and heart had grown worn and tattered, Tiona had been the one to smile for her.

Tiona: That girl, Aiz. She reminds me a lot of you way back when.

And then Aiz and Asuna had come along. And Tiona began to smile for them, just like she'd always done for Tione. Tione finally realized the reason behind that smile—that idiot sister of hers was always protecting her from the shadows.

Tione: That asshole...Thinking she can be a hero to me...?!

Tiona might have been taken in by those stories of hero-hood, but she wasn't waiting for a hero to come save her. No, she had to be the hero. Because she had another part of her that needed protection. So her simpleminded sister had kept on smiling.

Until the day she could make Tione smile. Tione had always thought she'd been the one supporting and protecting Tiona. But in reality, Tiona had been the one defending and upholding her.

And it had been the same for Tiona. Backs together, the two sisters had always protected each other.

Tione: What do you think I am? Some princess waiting for her hero to come? I'd rather eat shit and die!!

Tiona wasn't coming. And even if she did, Tione was only going to give her an earful—with her fist. She was the only one who could take out the opponent standing before her now. Take her out—and protect her Tiona.

Tione: I'm gonna fucking kill you, Argana!

Argana: What a wonderful look that is in your eyes, Tione...Finally, you've become a warrior again.

Argana mused. Tingling pinpricks worked their way up her spine at the way Tione's gaze bored into her. Tione ignored her comment, opening her mouth as a red-stained puff of air passed her lips.

(Elsewhere)

Bache:...You haven't changed, Tiona.

Bache murmured, taking in the sight of the smiling girl before her.

Bache: You always were the biggest idiot in Telskyura...the craziest animal.

No matter what kind of dilemma she'd found herself in, no matter how tight a corner she'd found herself in, that grin of hers had never vanished. She was always, always smiling.

With that brilliant, innocent, virulent smile pasted on her face, she wrested victory from her enemies. With that one smile, she'd overcome everything the world had tried to throw at her.

Kali: What were you expectin'? Of course she hasn't changed! Even Tione may have changed over the years, but this girl'll always be the same stupid idiot!!

Kali howled giddily before bringing her laughter-induced convulsions to an abrupt stop. She slowly pulled herself back up to a sitting position, grin widening as she glanced down at the two warriors below.

Kali: This is great! I knew I liked you better than Tione!

Kali exclaimed, almost as though trying to draw a sympathetic response from her immortal kin. Tiona smirked. Having made the self-encouraging assertion that she felt no pain, she let her lips part just slightly. Revealing a solid red puff of air.

Tiona(mind): This is it.

Bache's face tightened at the sight. Tiona's breath was red. And not just metaphorically, either, but truly red —the heat inside her was great enough to stain the very air she was breathing. It was Tiona's rare skill, Intense Heat.

Its effects activated before her Berserk ability finished, providing her a massive boost in ability if her status entered critical. It had the same activation requirements as Tione's own attack-boosting skill, Backdraft. So long as the two sisters had these skills, no matter how dire their situation, the further they were pushed, the higher their combat power would rise.

The Hyrute sisters were most dangerous when they were cornered.

—From atop that boat.
—From within that cave by the sea.

The two rites reached their climaxes at the exact same time. Around both of them, Amazons stomped their feet in unison, letting out ever more deafening cries of war, one atop another atop another.

Kali: My future of war...let's see how it plays out.

Kali's voice melted into the darkness. Then the decisive battles began.