At the same time,
Inside of Eriol's "mind"...
-...I can feel the chaos energy disappearing. But...-Eriol said in a thoughtful voice, as he was sitting inside the chaos sphere. -...Not fully...-He quietly mumbled, starting to get anxious. -...Did something go wrong...?
He asked aloud...
...
Was it too much for Sakura-san...?
Was everyone's magical power not enough...?
Did everyone exhaust all their magic and died in...?
...
No!
They won't die that easily!
...
He would have felt it if they did,
Even in the state that he was currently in...
...
...
But, if they failed,
Then they were low on magic...
...
Which made them easy targets!
-I can't just sit around here and do nothing! -Eriol yelled in determination, as he readied to try breaking the sphere that surround him. It should have been weaker now, right...? What if it still...? -This is not the time for such thinking! -He reprimanded himself. -I have to at least try...I am not a damsel in distress!
He determinately said while trying to break the sphere from the inside...
...
Which didn't seem to be working...
-This sphere is blocking my magic and physical attacks don't work on it...! -He thought aloud, getting more and more disheartened by the second. -...It also blocks long range communication, so I can't discuss this matter with Clow…-He sighed sadly, feeling pretty useless. -...And seeing those state affair documents he is currently sighing, doesn't help the situation in any way! He could have searched for a book on breaking from powerful magical possession...-He mumbled in annoyance, before sighing again. -...But, books about possession are very rare by themselves. Finding a book on powerful magical possession could take ages...Even with dimension hopping...And even if more of us got split up...And we could all communicate mentally like bees in a beehive...-It would have been interesting to see more of "Clow"s and "Eriol"s running around the place. And maybe some more "Fujitaka"s. That could have been a really successful prank and they all could do some amusing things together...-...But that would have left everyone else in different states of shock...-Especially the guardians...Especially the moon guardians...-...Yue would probably have a concussion...Or something similar...-He sighed deeply. -...Like this whole situation is not bad enough for his mental wellbeing. Thought, I don't think Ruby Moon fares any better...Just, slightly differently. She is more lively, after all...And didn't experience the things that Yue had experienced...
Eriol thought out loud,
Wishing that he could do something...
...
Anything at all...
...
Sitting around and doing nothing,
Talking to himself because there was no one else to talk to...
...
...
It started to get very boring,
And he knew little about the situation outside...
...
He wondered if it was better if he was the one to go to Clow country...
...
But then he would have been the one to oversee a country,
Sigh all those hoards of documents that just seems to multiply,
And try to right the whole multiversal mess they unintentionally made...
...
...
At least then he wouldn't have been sitting "ducks" inside of a dark sphere for who knows how long,
While his body was operated against his will by omnicidal maniacs who made others' lives hell...!
...
...
"There is no coincidence in the world."
...
That's right,
Maybe it was actually...
...
-...The hope card...? -Eriol wondered aloud, as he noticed the sudden presence of the card inside of his "mind space". -Why are you...?
She shouldn't need to enter this place in order to use her powers,
And why was he suddenly hearing "Efisio Cross - A sacrifice to save you" play...?
-I don't hate you. I never truly did. -She suddenly said in a reassuring voice. -Not even when I was sealed under the manor and left forgotten for so long.
She said while smiling warmly,
Which Eriol couldn't see from his position...
...
He was confused by her reply...
...
Why was she saying this...?
Why was she saying this now...?
...
*Moreover,
The cards heard his discussion with Sakura-san...
...
Why would she...?
...
Unless...
-...Y-you...! Y-you are actually going to...?! -He said aloud, as his eyes widened in horror at the realization. She couldn't have...T-there was no way...! -STOP IT YOU FOOL! -He desperately yelled, as he felt the hope card start to use her own magical essence in order to dispel the chaos energy which enveloped him. -I-I FORBID YOU FROM KILLING YOURSELF! YOU HEAR ME?! STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS THIS INSTANT! STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! STOP THIS NOW!
He yelled as he started to bang and punch the chaos sphere surrounding himself,
Just as a pink-golden light started to envelop the whole place...
...
*He knew that it was futile,
But he couldn't just watch it happen!
He couldn't let her sacrifice herself for him!
...
H-he couldn't...!
...
-...Thank you for creating me...-The hope card suddenly said in a warm and grateful voice, as the light was becoming brighter and brighter. -...Thank you for giving me a chance to meet everyone and to become their friend...
At this Eriol's eyes widened in shock,
As he momently stopped banging on the sphere walls...
...
He had trouble registering what he was hearing...
...
She was thanking him...
...
And...
...
It sounded like a goodbye...
...
-...Tell the mistress, Yue, Kereberos and my card friends...-The hope card said, as the place became so bright that you couldn't see anything. -...That I had... Lots and lots...Of fun...Every single...Day...!
...
A few seconds later the light was gone,
As Eriol was quietly sitting on the "ground",
And looking at a spot before him in anguish...
...
The place where he felt the hope card moments before,
And which magical presence has now completely disappeared...
...
"...The hope card...", He heard Clow's shocked and anguished voice in his head, "...She is..."
-...Gone...-Eriol quietly and sadly whispered, as he was on the verge of tears. -...Forever...
...
The hope card...
...
She...
-...Y-you stupid idiot...! -Eriol said in a shaky voice, as he started to cry. -...W-why didn't you listen to me...! W-why did you sacrifice yourself...?! -He asked aloud, as he cried heavily. -...A-and after I forgot about you for so long...W-while worrying about the other cards...Y-you still...!
"...I-I...I was the one who sealed her underground…", He heard Clow sadly mumble, "...Y-yet, she still..."
...
He couldn't agree more...
...
They were not just simple cards,
That you could replace wherever you wished to...
...
They were children, friends and companions,
With their own personalities, likes and dislikes...
...
*He and Sakura-san could attest on that...
...
Windy is gentle and demure,
Watery is unusually aggressive and violent,
Fiery is violent and arrogant with a trickster personality,
Earthy is violent but calmer than Fiery...
...
Mirror is mischievous yet gentle,
All thanks to Sakura-san's brother...
...
Twin is mischievous and feisty...
...
Jump is feisty and...Not very bright...
...
Time and Return are calculating...
...
Flower is ditsy and frivolous...
...
Light and Dark are twins,
Always staying together...
...
Shield is protective,
While Sword is violent...
...
Sweet tries to make everything sweeter...
...
...
...
And the Nothing card...
...
*Even the name sounded wrong now...
...
She must have been so lonely,
Having been sealed under the manor for so long...
...
*Completely forgotten...
...
After becoming the hope card thanks to Sakura-san,
She was finally able to make friends...
...
...
And now,
She is gone...
...
And it's all because of him...
...
It was making him feel horrible,
He was feeling disgusted with himself...
...
A feeling he didn't think he could ever forget...
Back in the real world,
The darkness spell was finally broken,
And everyone were free from it's heinous clutches...
...
But no one was celebrating...
...
It was eerily silent...
...
As Sakura, Yue and Kero slowly and unsteadily stood up,
Shocked at the sudden disappearance of a familiar presence...
-...The chaos energy is gone...And it seems like the dark spell was broken...B-but...-Sakura said in a quiet voice, sounding sadder by the second. -...T-the Hope card...She...She...-She said in anguish, as she started crying. -...B-because I didn't have enough magic...-She said while weakly dropping to the ground, in a sitting position. -...B-because I couldn't dispel the chaos energy by myself...She...
She was gone...
...
That was a fact Sakura couldn't quite believe...
…
A fact she didn't want to believe...
...
But, she couldn't feel the card's presence anymore...
...
...
The cards,
She didn't see them as tools...
...
They were her friends...
...
From the very beginning,
She could see that they weren't just pieces of paper...
...
They had their own personalities, feelings and emotions...
...
*It was no wonder that Clow-san let Yue-san judge the right person for them,
And later Eriol-kun helped her in making the right situations to change them...
...
And even if her first meeting with most of them was rocky,
Even if they didn't get along at first...
...
They gradually became friends...
...
As she experienced her highs and lows together with them...
...
As she caught them,
As she transformed them,
As she used their powers in different ways...
...
...
She knew that no matter what happens,
They will always be ready to help her,
Just as she would be ready to help them...
...
…
...
But now...
...
One of her dear friends was gone...
...
Because she wasn't strong enough...
...
Because she couldn't save everyone,
Even with her friends' magic flowing through her...
...
...
Her dear friend,
Disappeared forever...
...
Because she wasn't...
...
Strong enough...
...
...
How could she meet Yue-san's and Kero-chan's gazes...?
...
How can she meet the other cards' gazes...?
...
...
How can she meet Clow-san's and Eriol-kun's gazes…?