Previously...

We stepped out onto the stone floor of the cavern, and a thousand heads and eyes turned our way. A sea of lower-level demons poured from a golden doorway that split open the universe beyond.

"Well, fuck," Yusuke groaned.

There was no time for argument or tactical conversation. Woden's feet touched the floor only a second before he let out a bark of laughter, rolled his shoulders, and just… shifted. I could feel it in the air better than I could describe it, the rush of a smell like deep and mossy woods as he charged into the army that stood between us and our goal.

"Leave some for the rest of us!" Yusuke yelled, diving in after Woden to clear a path to the Door.

I wanted to laugh, so eager they were to get in a good fight, but through the glimmering light of the open Door, a crashing screech split the air around my brain in two.

It was Magnolia who cried out first, clutching at her head at the same moment I fell to my knees. The shuttle fell from my fingers, dangling in the open air from its length of cord.

I couldn't hear her cry out with noise, exactly, because the cacophonous immensity of the chorus of agony in my head blocked out my ability to hear anything else. But, with all things Magnolia, her cry was intensified by her powers and I could feel it on my skin. That left me surrounded by painful sensation within and without and no way to escape.

It only lasted maybe five or ten seconds, but for a few minutes, it topped the list of the most painful experiences of my life. It shut off, like turning off a light switch or closing a door, and my brain stumbled to realign my senses.

"-ou alright? June?" The strain and panic of Kazuma's voice broke through first.

I blinked rapidly, rubbing my eyes to clear a pinkish fog. "Why is pink?" I asked. "I see pink."

Kurama examined my face. "Burst blood vessels; an effect of Maggie's close proximity, I'm afraid. It should clear up in a few days."

The ringing in my ears, too, probably. The ringing wasn't just in my head, though, it was coming from all around me; chaos all around me.

As I struggled to regain my senses, the larger part of our group had formed a tight circle around Magnolia and myself, fighting back the demons that wanted to rip us apart. From what I could see they didn't pose a great threat individually, but there were just so many. Woden and Yusuke had returned, and I could only guess it was due to our sudden incapacitation.

Beside me, standing carefully with Kurama's assistance, Magnolia provided the explanation I had not been able to provide. "The barrier; It's calling - calling for help."

"How the hell does the barrier call for help?" Yusuke asked, sending a yellow demon flying with a punch to the face. "Isn't it just a big mushy fence of energy? And it sure didn't call out for help when Sensui was punching holes in it!"

"This is different, I think; I-" Magnolia stopped speaking with a sharp hiss of breath, and the air around her trembled. Her gaze leveled, her expression calmed, and I saw the true meaning of Death in her eyes.

Fearfully, curiously, I followed her gaze. I saw, across the field of low-level demons falling to Yusuke's spirit gun and Kazuma's sword, a golden man and a fair-haired woman. They stood close to the wall I'd first seen the glowing Door - the access to the barrier's dimension. They just closed the Door we need to open, I thought.

Not affected by the call of the barrier, Aria's reflexes were quick to react when Maggie tried to charge at her old enemy, completely indifferent to the roaring, groaning sea of lower-level demons in her way. "Maggie, focus! We're not here to fight them, we're here to get June through her portal!"

My Raven snarled at Aria, her eyes foggy with black sooty color.

"Maggie!" Aria barked, more commanding than before, stopping just short of shaking her friend to snap her out of it.

I looked out through the milling army, some daring to go up against Yusuke and Woden, but not enough hesitating. I tried to spot Mishka or Yasuo but they'd vanished. Were they coming closer? Were they running?

Magnolia screwed her eyes shut, pressing at them with the palms of her hands. "Yeah," she agreed, "yeah, you're right."

"Great, great, now could you three get a move on!?" Yusuke yelled, shooting down a demon that leaped towards Aria. "Because this is really getting old!"

"After you," Aria allowed, giving the two War Gods permission to lose themselves in the fray. Just like Woden, Yusuke shifted ever-so-slightly, but it led to this cascading set of motions and emotions in the air. What looked at first like sprays of blood on his skin looked more like tattoos on second glance, but I didn't get a good chance to look.

Kazuma took my hand to help me stand but did not let go after I'd found my balance. "Come on," he encouraged, "we'll go together."

"U menya ne bylo by drugogo puti," I said, trying to convince my tired body to stay standing. I'd lost my connection to Blue when I'd fallen and would need to summon her again. I didn't want to take the time for introspection and see if I had the energy left to do that without running completely empty. We were here now, and it was clear that it was now or never.

Moving towards the far wall of the cavern flanked by warriors pushing back against waves of violence - streams of golden light, bullets, and vines flying through the air, indescribable sights and sounds - was like walking ever-forward through the barrel of a storm-powered wave rushing towards the shore.

It required a staccato pace, largely led by Kazuma who could sense much better than I when the best moment to move forward would be. He hefted his spirit sword in the hand not clasping mine so tightly but used it very little. His entire focus seemed to be my guide for the short distance across the cavern.

With his attention focused, mine took the opportunity to wander. I felt like there were pieces missing from this fight; it felt too straightforward, too easy, so unlike all of the hundreds of steps that had led to this final battle.

Where are Mishka and Yasuo, I wondered. I hadn't seen them since they'd closed the Door. The Spider's absence also left a bitter taste on my tongue. Somehow, in some way that we weren't able to see yet, this was a trap.

"Kazuma!" I yelled over the clamor of explosions and death-cries of falling demons.

"Duck!" He replied, pulling me closer, some blade narrowly missing cleaving my skull in two, striking out with the spirit sword to protect me.

"Kazuma, something is wrong," I insisted, "Yasuo, Mishka-"

"-wouldn't just run, I know," he finished for me. "I don't like it either. Careful-" I tripped over a fresh corpse, but corrected my stumble slowly and with a lot of assistance from Kazuma.

I was exhausted, and I wasn't even the one fighting. My feet dragged along the ground like cast-iron weights, and it was becoming a great effort to breathe steadily. A dry rasp had settled in my chest and was robbing me of breath by inches.

"Made it!" Aria declared. Two clear steps forward and Kazuma let go of my hand, letting me lift my head and reach for the smooth stone wall.

To the touch, it felt like any other slab of stone, but as my fingers skimmed the surface, Magnolia and Aria stepping beside me and doing the same, I felt a tingle in my fingers. "Yes," I agreed, "this is it."

"This isn't right," Yusuke yelled, "they're pulling back!"

He was right. For the entire length of the cavern, they'd all but thrown their bodies down as cavern fodder, but now the remaining demons had pulled back. A clear semi-circle of space, littered with dead bodies, stood between them and us.

But why?

"You should focus," Magnolia said. "What do we need to do?"

Three things you will need to Weave the World.

The bronze shuttle nearly burned the skin under my shirt, so demanding and insistent was Blue's intent. I turned to face the stone again, running my hand over the stone, searching for a place that felt right.

First: the Lion whose tears fall across rivers.

"Aria first - glow, send the light to... here," I tapped the wall, indicating where I wanted her to focus.

"Got it." She stepped back from the wall and held up a hand, splaying her fingers wide. At the center of her palm a match was lit; a tiny dancing light. The light grew and grew, stronger than staring into the focused beam of a lighthouse; casting yellow and red rays in piercing blades of dawn.

Next: the Raven whose cry summons the world.

I looked to my Raven. "Magnolia, now you; your Song must bend the light."

She nodded, stepping back to stand beside Aria, raising her hand as a dark mirror image of my Lion. Magnolia Verdandi's raised hand shimmered and shook the world around her, bending Aria's glow into a rippling stream.

I stepped back, brushing against Kazuma as the river flowed through the air and crashed against the stone wall. I felt a rush of air as a pinhole through the universe punched through, like an inhalation from some great monster just opening its mouth to yawn.

I gasped a little as the golden frame widened, stretching and spinning like pulling taffy on a candy hook. My heart rate sped up until it nearly sang in my chest; an eager fear propelling me on adrenaline alone. I could see a flicker of blue light, of woven energies; the barrier.

Last: the Star whose light will guide you home.

I reached for Kazuma's hand to steady myself. His fingers wove between mine and he gave an encouraging squeeze.

I didn't need to hold the shuttle; I could feel Blue waiting with rapt attention for the command. Come, I called, we Weave the World.

I felt it take root in my soul and emerge into being. It hurt me, and I struggled to remain standing. Her light filled me inside and out, taking the place of the last of me that had remained.

"We'll hold it open for you!" Aria called. "Take Kuwabara and Yusuke, Woden can-"

There was an explosion, or at least something that sounded like one, and I heard someone scream in pain. Bright white light mixed in with Aria's gold, poisoning my Door. Smoke filled the air, blocking out my sight and choking my already tired lungs.

Something heavy plowed into me, and I lost hold of Kazuma's hand as I stumbled forward. I lost my footing and a hand reached out through the Door - from the other side, from the space between spaces - and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me through.

The ripples of golden light feeding the Door were cut off, pulling away from me as I moved through the rapidly-closing hole in the universe.

"June!" I heard Kazuma cry, but the rest of his call was cut off with a shrieking snap of wind the Door closed behind me.

A/N: This chapter is 95.7% exposition, which I despise. I'm not entirely happy with it but hey, it's done. We're also approaching the end of our story, tying up loose ends that I've dropped here and there throughout all parts of all three stories, so there's lots and lots of work for me to do to give everyone a satisfying end; Aria fans, Maggie fans, and June fans.

Here's what's left:

32 - The Sacrifice, the Change, and the Shield
33 - Event Horizon
34 - Doppelganger
35 - The Gift
36 - Epilogue

Bonus points if you can figure out what's coming in the aforementioned chapters from these titles! Post your guess, and if you're right you get a sneak peek of the content in a DM (the Epilogue doesn't count don't be That Guy)

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