Eous raced around the halls, landing as many attacks as he could while trying to breach the stadium with Evelyn tailing behind him.

The sheer amount of forces he had to incapacitate to protect the spectators among the crowd proved challenging when his Ether output was dropped to 35%.

He could only rely on his inherent strength and speed, but with how prepared the men were for a fight, blitzing them was the best course of action.

Eous slammed his palm into a Fugue enforcer's throat, dragging his body along the wall before pulling him back in front to truck through the incoming crowd of Odeum security guards.

Evelyn looked out at the stage as Eous handled the frontlines, seeing Astra slowly be overwhelmed by the Fugue forces down below.

She grit her teeth in fear and turned to Eous, knowing he was far more capable.

"Eous!" She shouted.

Eous roared, tearing through all the men and lunging forward as Evelyn lashed out her wire to latch onto his waist.

Hitching a ride as he burst through all their offense in a flurry of punches and kicks, trading blows with batons, machetes, and bullets. He leapt onto the wall, racing along it as Evelyn spun and kicked through the lingering forces as the two spot a Fugue enforcer getting an ambush ready on Astra from behind.

Pulling forth all his power, Eous disappeared before Evelyn's eyes.

She hadn't even felt her body move, but she suddenly saw the perfect vantage point against the man ambushing Astra.

"Miss Yao!"

Eous tackled the Fugue enforcer swinging down at Astra from her front.

Evelyn lashed her wire around and held back the second man's punch from colliding with the back of Astra's head, zipping down with a dive kick into the man's jaw.

"Sorry, we're late!" Evelyn landed and looked over Astra to see if she was hurt.

Astra's eyes sparkled seeing the two come to her rescue, her passion in overdrive as the stage began to rotate and coil gracefully at her tune.

Eous stood on his feet and wiped his head of the blood as Astra and Evelyn stepped up beside him.

"Are you okay?" Astra asked with a smile.

"Long as you keep singing? Never better." Eous took a deep breath and stood up, feeling mentally rejuvenated by her presence.

"Then let's captivate the world!"

Eous flushed with Ether as Astra Yao slammed down her mic and resumed her illustrious song.

Evelyn and Eous raced around, vaulting on and off each other to take down the enforcers of both conglomerates as they rushed the three. From mere security personnel to hired mercenaries and assault gunners, Eous and Evelyn moved faster than their enemies could keep up to make sure that the show went on.

Eous swept the leg of a Brute Enforcer, spinning on his back to kick them into the air for Evelyn to snatch them in her wire and send them flying off stage.

She kicked the firearm out of Fugue enforcer's hand and followed with another kick that sent him stumbling over to Eous.

Eous uppercut the man before seeing a beam of Ether send him flying away too. He turned and saw Astra send him a wink as she sung and danced.

Despite his injuries of taking on everyone's burden, Eous crouched down before blitzing around in a lash of electricity that stunned all of the remaining forces into submission before Evelyn followed his lead, sending lashes of flames across their body and them into a daze.

Astra spun around before raising her mic high. With a slam, a massive pool of Ether erupted below them and sent them soaring off stage in a blast of sparkles.

"Eous, Evelyn! The timer is connected to explosives!" Belle announced.

"Explosives...?" Astra muttered in disbelief.

"Has Fugue completely lost it?! Starloop Tower is cruising right now— if it explodes, even their own people won't make it out alive!" Evelyn shouted in horror, but it brought her to a different realization. "That must mean Fugue is just the scapegoat..."

"So their target isn't just me... but all the audience here as well!" Astra whispered in horror.

"The thrusters! The explosive device must be connected to Starloop's thrusters!" Evelyn deduced.

"Wise is already working on disarming the detonation device." Belle relayed.

"Is it doable, Belle...?" Astra asked with hope.

"Yeah! As long as it's software, there's always a way to crack it. The control room has the blueprints for all the thrusters and pipelines— we can do it!"

"Not sure if we have enough time here, though!" A nervous Wise shouted amidst the tension.

A hoarse laugh caught the three's attention, bringing their gaze up to Lady de Winter as she landed atop the stage.

"Having the desire to live is such an enviable thing..." Tessa muttered with a hollow look in her eyes.

"Lady de Winter, why are you here?" Astra questioned.

"You already know the answer— why bother asking. I'm here because it's my duty as Joran's widow. As the family of the deceased, I must hear the screams of the murderers with my own ears and see their repentance with my own eyes before I can go, wouldn't you agree?"

"Like hell! You think just because you suffered, the rest of the world has to? The innocents brought together by your husband's love?!" Eous shouted in frustration.

"Murderers? I thought... Joran's death was his own decision...?" Astra wondered.

Lady de Winter began cackling into the air upon her question. "Suicide? What a convenient excuse. All they have to say is he committed suicide and the murderers walk free and carry on with their own lives without a shred of guilt! And then they dump all the grief and pain onto the victim! If Odeum and Fugue hadn't dragged Joran into endless contract disputes over their so-called profits... Would he have been forced to leave the stage he loved so dearly in his final years?!"

Eous' biggest issue was her disregard for those who did lift Joran up despite those hard times— people like Astra who were inspired by his legacy.

"He watched helplessly as music drifted further and further away from him, as if sealed in a silent vacuum, slowly suffocating and losing all his brilliance...! I must thank Odeum and Fugue. If not for their endless conflict and unwavering resolve to destroy each other, I could've never pulled this off. After all, what could someone like me, abandoned and left alone in this world, possibly achieve?"

"Goddamnit, woman, can you shut the fuck up?!" Eous yelled in a rage.

"I don't have time for your woe-is-me spiel about the world's injustices when you take it out on everyone instead of those responsible! You don't have the right to complain about those injustices when you've become the very thing you claim to take your husband's life and will!"

"You don't get to chastise me, boy, you haven't lived the life I have! You didn't watch as he was thrown into the abyss from all the hateful eyes and criticism, all the way up until his death until this poor excuse of a puppet came along and stole his voice!" Lady de Winter snapped.

"If you gave half a damn about his legacy you would have saw to it that his impact remained despite his absence! Fretting over the loss and not the future he paved is what spiraled you into this mess!"

"No! No! You, all of you, are murderers! It was all of you, all of you who drove Joran de Winter to his death! My most beautiful dream, my most precious resonance, my true love...! If I can't have him anymore... no one can. Allow me to give you all a proper welcome..." Lady de Winter smiled down at them.

"3."

Eous' eyes widened in horror.

"2."

His siblings were here.

"1."

He had to give everything.

"Welcome to my late husband's funeral." Lady de Winter announced with a hollow smile.

Eous Ionized and disappeared from sight before the base of Starloop Tower's thrusters exploded. In an immediate tremor, the arena began to tilt and rock over in disarray.

Astra and Evelyn nearly slid off of the stage until Astra grit her teeth and sung to power the thrusters as best she could despite the damaged engine.

"I'll use my singing," the arena had steadied itself with the help of an outside force. "To protect everyone!"

Eous crashed back inside the arena after seeing the arena stabilized, his body scorching from the explosion below. He panted as Lady de Winter clapped her hands at his commitment.

"How rude of you..." She backed off a bit before a massive mech slid down the support pillars of the arena until it tried to stomp down at Eous. "It's not over yet!"

Eous slid back and rolled to his feet in a daze, watching as the armed mech loomed over him stoically.

Its stomp sent out an EMP that rendered the harmonic thrusters useless for the time being.

"No! The Harmonic Core!" Evelyn cried in horror.

The Starloop began to drop again, but Eous couldn't decided between protecting Astra and Evelyn, or sacrificing his body to try and keep the arena afloat as it plummet down to New Eridu.

"Starloop has lost all its power! What do we do?!" Belle cried.

"The only song fit for a funeral... is a requiem for the dead!" Lady de Winter announced from above.

The mechs machine guns didn't give Eous time to decide.

"ASTRA, RUN!" He yelled before being riddled with bullets in a raze of lead.

The horrid cries of the citizens screaming all around them sent Astra into a panic attack. She began to hyperventilate as Evelyn rushed her away from the fight and to the safety of the edge of the stage.

Eous raced around, slamming his fist through every rocket unleashed from the raging mech to make sure that the innocent weren't harmed in its terror.

With every defensive play, he'd take far more damage than he could handle outside of the Hollow. He didn't want to Ionize and send people further into a panic, but if he didn't end this soon, the world would be hit by a massive meteor for his shortcoming.

He had to be quick. His siblings were present, and he wouldn't let a single hair on their head be harmed.

Eous weaved through the wave of bullets headed his way, sliding under the mech and tearing at its left leg. It staggered around, firing off rockets in an array he couldn't calculate for.

Eous pushed his body to the limit and charged up lashes of Ice Fire and firing them at the projectiles.

They all burst into a warm blue flame instead, before Eous was kicked into the air. He turned his body and kicked down at the mech with a splash of crystals that clogged its rocket launchers.

Eous crossed his arms and began blocking a barrage of bullets again but his arms were being tore up beyond repair, watching his blood splatter across the floor.

With a flip backwards, he dodged another stomp and lunged forward with blue and red electricity crackling from his fist.

With a swift uppercut, he sent it into a daze, making all its artillery malfunction.

Eous roared and coiled his body in Fox Fire until a watery aura shrouded him. With a thrust upward, the mech was enveloped in cuts and lacerations before a sudden barrage of his fists and tails began caving in the steel hull of its chassis.

With a final uppercut, it was sent flying into the air with an explosion, allowing Eous to crash against the stage in exhaustion.

That was his human limit.

Lady de Winter clicked her tongue seeing the Terror Raptor defeated, pulling out a pistol and aiming it at his still head.

However, she smiled and changed her aim to Astra, who was rushing to his aid and disregarding the pools of blood along the stage.

Evelyn rushed after her before seeing the glint in the distance. Her eyes widened before lunging forward as the shot rung out.

She had closed her eyes to brace for impact, but all she could feel was Eous fall into her arms with widened eyes.

Astra and Evelyn looked down and saw a hole shot straight through his chest.

"You fool! You're the people's only hope and here you are throwing your life away for this naive, useless puppet! Does your idiocy know no bounds?!" Lady de Winter screamed.

Eous rolled off of Evelyn and clawed at his chest in disbelief.

He didn't think. He just did what he knew best. Protect.

This couldn't be his end.

Belle.

Wise.

They were waiting on him, praying on him to save the day. He'd killed the likes of which a bullet would never even dent, so he couldn't let that be his sorry excuse for an end.

He could faintly hear Wise and Belle shouting in his ear to get up. That they believed in him. There was still time.

He could still save everyone.

He stood up and staggered forward until he faced Lady de Winter.

"Wanna try that again?" He taunted, spitting out the blood building up in his mouth.

"Eous!" Belle and Wise cried in relief, wiping their eyes of the tears. "Starloop is falling faster than ever before— even if Astra can get the remaining thrusters to work, they might not generate enough power to keep us afloat!"

Lady de Winter began laughing up a storm as her eyes watered in delight. "Do you hear that? If Joran's spirit is out there, he's finally answered my wish! FALL! FALL! Starloop will shatter and the false dream will plunge into oblivion!"

Lady de Winter tossed her pistol aside and let the tremble of the arena carry her into the panicking crowd.

Eous panted, looking around in horror. He wasn't sure if he could do it, but he'd try. He had to.

He turned to Evelyn and Astra and smiled. "Thank you for inviting us, Astra, Evelyn. It was nice to meet you... you've given me a great birthday."

Astra weakly reached out before seeing his body suddenly coil with Ether before erupting in Ionization, a bright flash of light attracting everyone's attention.

Evelyn and Astra looked up in awe in shock at the Ethereal form. Despite the dark, menacing figure, they could still see Eous' charm and charisma through the soft gaze of his eyes.

"Be seeing you..."

Eous disappeared in a burst of speed, leaving everyone to watch him trail outside and dip under the arena.

There was no way to prepare for the force he would be hit with.

Eous burst upward against Starloop but he was nearly knocked unconscious from the unimaginable weight of the building slamming right into his neck, shoulders, and back.

Eous bucked back against the weight and called upon every fraction of power he was blessed with

A blessing.

That's what it was.

He had come to love his powers, his body, this world.

He'd give his all to make sure that everything he'd grown to love would live on, even if it meant he'd lose it all himself.

His body began to glow as a raging pool of Ether began to boil within his chest, continuing his push against the massive arena with a cry of fear he didn't realize was trapped within himself.

Eous closed his eyes and pushed on as the faint cries of his siblings rung through his ears.

"EOU— J— ust hang o— little longer— PLEASE!" He couldn't hear through the wind.

The tears in his eyes evaporated as his body continued to flare and bubble with Ether in hopes that he could save them all.

Their cries fell on deaf ears until it was the very reason he had come along that graced them once more.

Her voice. He could hear it.

Astra's song transcended through space and time just like Joran's, sending pulses of Ether to the remaining thrusters in hopes of alleviating Eous of the burden he carried.

The speed of Starloop began to slow, but it wasn't enough— he wasn't sure if it'd be enough to save them.

As the thrusters began to burn and blaze more and more as the audience joined in, Eous held onto his consciousness longer with gritted teeth hearing even Belle, Wise, and Eve join in.

They were doing everything they could to help, so he could only hold on as asked.

Around New Eridu, the world looked up at the glowing sparkle of the arena above. From every quarter to every street, they watched the hope and faith of the people lift everyone higher.

The Cunning Hares stopped their meal seeing a familiar glow.

Victoria Housekeeping glanced out of their window to spot the same.

Qingyi slowly stopped talking over her communicator to show Zhu Yuan the resemblant figure in the sky.

Section Six glanced outside their office despite the overtime to watch as Starloop began to slow down just before it could crash into the tower's Atrium.

With mere seconds before it could collide, a massive burst of Ether exploded from below, allowing it to shift all momentum into a soft landing right back where it had been before.

As Astra held her final note, they could all feel the arena land with no more resistance.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, waving around their glow sticks as they bellowed praise to the superstar.

Astra bowed reluctantly as a tear fell from her eye.

He had done it.

Eous stood there as pure energy, holding the stadium on his shoulders in silent triumph and despair.

However, as helicopters circled around the tower in search of the bright beam that had clashed against Starloop's descent, only to find a silhouette of Ether whisking away into the night.

Eous was nowhere to be found.