CHAPTER LVII

Joy to the World

"Uh," Leon said. "This wasn't what I was expecting when we opened that door."

"I don't think any of us expected this," Perseus said.

The group looked around in astonishment. They were no longer in the castle representing Lilly's inner Labyrinth. They were in the streets of a small town. The atmosphere was festive. Every building was adorned with holiday lights and decorations. Light snow fell, but the weather was quite pleasant. It was a strange combination.

"Where are we?" Ingrid said, inspecting the vibrant commercial district.

Echo held out a hand to catch a snowflake. She turned to Athena. "Do you recognize this place?" she asked.

"No, but, uh," she began, pointing to her partner's clothing.

"Our armor's gone," Xanthus said, "but we're all still in our Labyrinth clothing."

"No doubt about it," Penny said. "We are still in the Labyrinth."

"Yes, I'm detecting the ambient EP in the atmosphere as well. Still, what a drastic change in environment."

"We've seen crazier in other Labyrinth cores," Ingrid said.

"Maybe so," Yuan began, "but this is the first time the door has disappeared on us."

Everyone looked back. As Yuan had said, the door they had walked through was gone. They were in the middle of a thoroughfare. Surrounding them was the hustle and bustle of small town life.

"Whoa!" Leon yelled, dodging a car that had almost hit him. It screeched to a halt.

"I'm sorry there, young man!" the driver yelled as he stepped out of his vehicle. "I didn't see you hop out into the road!"

"No worries, man, I'm fast on my feet."

The group watched as the man apologized again before getting back into his car and driving off.

"That kinda was our fault for appearing in the middle of the road like that," Ingrid said. "Still, don't you guys think that was kinda weird?"

"You mean the way he was behaving?" Xanthus said.

She nodded.

"I sort of just assumed that was how people in small towns behaved."

"I'm from a small town myself," Yuan said. "And even that was far too non-confrontational."

"Borderline creepy, to be honest," Athena said.

The group headed through the commercial district, closely investigating their surroundings. There was something strange about the air here. Things seemed too happy.

"Hey," Leon mumbled. "We are in a Labyrinth, aren't we?"

"Judging from our clothing, yes," Yuan said. "Perseus?"

"The Rune of Atonement is awake," he said. "It's not looking for anything in particular, though. Kinda weirding me out, too, not gonna lie."

"I sense absolutely zero danger here," Echo said. "If we really are in a Labyrinth, this is the first one like it."

"Mom! Mom! Can we get this for my sister?"

"Oh, wow, this shop is open on Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah! Look, it's the last one they have! Let's get it before they close!"

"Holy crap," Leon said. "Tomorrow's Christmas."

"Yeah," Athena said. "Maybe that's why everybody's so damn happy."

The group continued to inspect the town, wandering from the shopping centers to the parks and recreational areas. Even the residential zones were festive.

"I've never seen a Labyrinth so happy," Xanthus said, looking around at the children, none of whom were crying, not even the toddlers. A few infants cried here and there, but it didn't last long.

"It's like a perfect world," Ingrid said. "Seriously, though, are we really in a Labyrinth?"

"Yup," Penny said.

"You're still getting the same readings, senpai?" Xanthus said.

She nodded.

"This place is more like a real town than a Labyrinth," Athena said. "Where are all the Corrupted and Creatures of Shadow? Or hell, Shades and stuff? I mean, all of these people are real."

"I agree," Leon said. "This has gotta be a real town, but then that doesn't explain why we're in Labyrinth clothing."

Athena looked over at Ivory, who hadn't said a word since they stepped through the door in the castle. "Something on your mind?" she said.

Ivory glanced at her. "I wasn't sure of it until now," she mumbled.

"Sure of what?" Leon said.

"Of where we are." She held out a hand, catching a snowflake. "Because it never snows in this town."

The group stared at her for a moment, trying to decipher what she was talking about.

"Wait a minute," Echo said, the realization dawning on her. "You don't mean that we're in..."

"Oasis," Penny said. "Lilly's hometown."

"But, like you just said, Ivory," Ingrid began, "it never snows here. Even though it's surrounded by permafrost."

Ivory nodded. "It's why I didn't recognize it at first. There were familiar streets and shops here and there, but I attributed it to déjà vu. This is Oasis, just west of Atlas, a mere two hour drive away. I know because I was always here visiting Aunt Weiss and Lilly growing up."

"The core of her Labyrinth is her hometown?" Leon said.

"Um," Xanthus began as his glasses filled with projections of data, "not quite. Senpai, I wanna confirm something with you."

"What is it, Xan-chan?" Penny said.

"As far as we know, the real world and the Labyrinth are separated, right? Because we have to cross over through a rift in order to be in one or the other."

"Correct."

"Considering all of the theories crafted by Dr. Hillphire, Dr. Cherenkov, and Ariadne, would it be possible for an overlap of the two worlds?"

She stood in thought, sifting through all that she knew about the Labyrinth. "I don't think there's anything that would preclude that possibility." She paused. "Hang on a minute."

They watched as she performed scans on their surroundings.

"Xan-chan, I'm assuming you've already run these diagnostics," she said.

He nodded. "I'm sending data over to you right now."

The others stood in awe as they exchanged information through the air.

"They both come with Bluetooth," Echo mumbled, to which Athena and Leon began chuckling together. "Oh! Uh! That's not what I—"

"Excuse me," Penny said, turning to her as she threw her fists on her hips.

"It's Wi-Fi," Xanthus said dryly, exchanging high-fives with Penny.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it," Penny said, sifting through the data. "We're not so much in a Labyrinth."

"We're in the real world," Xanthus said.

"With a Labyrinth overlay."

"Hang on," Ingrid said. "You mean, like, the Labyrinth is in the real world?"

"Something like that," Xanthus said. "More like, we're in the real Oasis, but the Labyrinth is superimposed on the reality."

"Both worlds exist at once in this town," Penny said.

Leon turned to Ivory. "Do you know how to get to her house?"

She faced him. "My cousin's house, you mean."

He nodded.

"We usually took a shuttle there, but yes, I can navigate for us."

They watched as she drew out her Winter Maiden power and began floating in the air. She levitated about three stories up, turning a number of times before facing west for a few moments, and then floated back down to the group.

"Dude, none of us can fly like that," Athena said.

Ivory smirked at her. "Do I sense envy in that tone?"

"Keep dreaming, Ice Queen 2.0."

"Aunt Weiss's house is this way, just outside of town."

The group marched through the streets of Oasis. Everywhere they looked, there wasn't a single unhappy soul in sight. It was as though someone had flipped a switch and made sadness impossible. Only the infants seemed to be capable of crying, and even then, that would not last for long. Parents and siblings alike would tend to the crying immediately and it would soon cease.

"Hey," Echo said, moving closer to Athena.

"Hmm?" Athena said.

"I've been thinking about something. Isn't this kinda, well, the world we've been fighting for?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Like, with every Labyrinth we've gone through, our goal was to get rid of whatever trauma the persons suffered from, right?"

"I think I see what you're getting at. It's as though this whole town is filled with people we've rescued from Labyrinths."

She nodded. "And yet, we're in the middle of a Labyrinth, according to both Xan-chan and Penny."

"What's your Semblance telling you?"

"Nothing at all. No white noise, no buzzing, nothing. According to my Semblance, there is no danger in this entire town."

"Earlier, we were the danger to the castle. Now, there's no danger at all."

She nodded. "I don't know what to make of it either. My whole life, my Semblance has been completely straightforward, but now it's just, like, open to interpretation."

Athena smiled.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. It's just that your Semblance seems to have followed the same path as your life. Until you came to Beacon, your life was pretty simple and straightforward. And then we all get involved in Labyrinth business, and nothing was ever simple ever again."

"Until now."

"I wonder if it really is that simple," Perseus said as he caught up to them. "The people here are happy, that's perfectly clear. But I wonder what the cost is."

"Their house is at the end of this dirt road," Ivory said, leading the way to the edge of Oasis.

The snow seemed to get heavier as they approached the tiny house off in the horizon. Out here, with no other buildings or trees nearby, the fields bordering the dirt road showed pure, endless white as far as the eye could see.

"Was the snow out there always a foot thick?" Yuan said.

"Huh," Ingrid said. "I wanna say 'yes'."

"I'm not sure of that either," Echo said. "Labyrinth shenanigans?"

"That's the likeliest culprit," Xanthus said. He glanced over at Perseus, who was looking at the back of his left hand. The Rune of Atonement's eye was open, looking ahead of the group, but without any of the harshness of the previous incidents.

"Strange," Perseus mumbled. "It's interested in what's going on, but only out of pure curiosity. That's the feeling I get from it, anyway."

"So, it's not gonna go and pass judgment and stuff right now?" Athena said.

"No. Of course, it's a Primal Rune, so I can't really be sure of what it's thinking—assuming it even thinks anything—but the sensation I'm picking up is mild curiosity."

The house of Lilly Schnee's childhood was modest in size, just enough room for a mother and her daughter. It was far enough away from the town of Oasis that they received almost no traffic out here, but near enough to be part of the community. Today, though, there seemed to be activity going on at the house. The interior was festive, accompanying the snowmen constructed out on the front yard and across the street.

But the stereotypical winter wonderland was accompanied by the most atypical sight. The garden to the side of the house continued to exist in its own bubble of temperate climate, without a single snowflake anywhere near the flowers, which shouldn't be capable of surviving this weather.

"That is officially completely abnormal," Ingrid said, pointing to the flower beds.

"You know," Echo said, "I only just realized this. Are any of you super cold right now?"

"Now that you mention it, no," Xanthus said. "I thought maybe it had to do with our magic, but even now, I'm reading the ambient temperature at around seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit." He turned to Penny, who nodded in affirmation.

"Snow shouldn't exist at this temperature," Yuan said. "And yet, we're surrounded by a snowfield."

The front door swung open and they were all met with a face covered in surprise, followed shortly by the warmest smile they'd ever seen. It was back. After years of having been snowbound, Lilly's smile had returned to her face.

"Lilly?" Leon muttered.

"Hey, guys," she said, standing on the small porch. She was dressed in winter clothing, a white and dark blue dress with navy blue and white boots that rose up to her knees. The look was topped by a white and dark blue pea coat that she left unbuttoned and a dark blue bow tied up in her snow-white hair.

"Hello, cousin," Ivory said, stepping forward. "It seems you've rummaged through Aunt Weiss's wardrobe."

Lilly twirled a few times, looking at her own clothing. "It's cute, isn't it?"

"It is."

"But, uh, your uniform."

"Yes, I've been meaning to change out of it. I'm not sure I want to be dressed as an SS officer any longer than I need to."

"Say no more!"

The entire group stared in shock as Ivory's outfit changed right before their eyes. She was now in clothing similar to what Lilly wore, only with blue-grays in place of the dark blues.

"Dude!" Athena and Ingrid yelled together.

"H-How did you do that?" Ingrid said. "I mean, that was you, right, Lilly?"

Lilly nodded.

"You did this once before," Ivory said. "Back during my first time meeting Lilith. You even changed my hair color back from blonde to white."

"It used to be much harder back then," Lilly said. "There's a lot I can do now. Did you guys enjoy your stay in the city?"

"The city?" Yuan said.

"Mm-hmm. You must've seen all the changes I made to Oasis."

"What did you just say?" Athena said.

"Changes?" Xanthus said. "What do you mean?"

"She's talking about the people," Echo said. "How happy everyone is. Not just that, the fact that snow is falling in spring weather, the flower bed that's completely snow-free, and I'm guessing the castle was your doing, too?"

"Castle?" Lilly said.

"She's probably talking about our Labyrinth."

The group turned to Lilith, who was tending to a flower in the garden. It was a small, fuzzy white flower surrounded by similar blooms. She reached down with a pair of pruning shears, cutting a blossom loose and walking over to Lilly, putting it in her hair behind her ear.

"Our favorite flower!" Lilly said before skipping to the garden. "I'm gonna get you one, too! So we can match our whole outfit!"

Lilith smiled at her before turning to the group. "We had nothing to do with whatever Labyrinth you had to get through before you ended up here in Oasis. We were aware of certain things in bits and pieces, but that zone was outside of our control."

"It sounds like there's a story here," Athena said.

"Yup. How long would you say has passed since you last saw me—er, well, us?"

"A few hours?" Echo said.

Lilith chuckled before turning to Lilly, who tucked an edelweiss blossom behind her other ear.

"We're mirrors!" Lilly said.

"You mean mirrored," Lilith said dryly.

"Same difference!"

She rolled her eyes. "A few hours, huh?" she replied to Echo's statement.

"Oh, it's been way longer than that!" Lilly said.

"What do you mean?" Xanthus said. "How long has it been for you since you last saw the rest of us?"

Both girl and Wraith tilted their heads in the same direction as they looked up and put the same finger to the same side of their chins.

"And I thought Leon and Athena were twinners," Ingrid said.

"Three weeks?" Lilly said, turning to Lilith.

"That sounds about right," she said.

"Wha?" Leon said. "That's impossible!"

"So is snow in seventy-degree weather," Athena said.

"But, wait," Yuan began, "you mean you have control over this Labyrinth?"

Lilly and Lilith exchanged glances.

"You wanna explain it to them?" Lilly said. "Cuz I'm honestly not sure I understand it myself."

Lilith sighed and shook her head. "I swear to god you are so brain-dead," she said.

"Why are you always so mean to me?" Lilly whined, stamping her foot in the snow.

"So, anyway," Lilith began, "you know how the Greater Daemons have a bit of control over some regions of the Labyrinth?"

"Ariadne did mention them building a castle," Xanthus said, "according to Ivory's experiences with them."

"Well, we figured out that we could do the same thing."

"Whoa," Ingrid said.

"Mm-hmm. Not a hundred percent sure why Oasis, but I'm guessing it's cuz we grew up here. Sorta like the place is our territory. We're able to influence reality here to a degree."

"You're the ones literally controlling the weather?" Perseus said.

"Not just the weather," Xanthus said. "This is climate-level manipulation."

"Yeah, but that was the easy part," Lilith continued. "Altering the physical world is no big deal. You saw what Lilly did to Ivory's clothing. The hard part was what we did to the fabric of reality itself."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Ivory said.

"I think she's referring to the people in town," Echo said. "Remember how idyllic everything was?"

"Is it really that hard to make people happy?" Ingrid said.

Lilith smiled. "You think all we did was make everybody happy, huh?"

"You mean, that's not what you did?" Leon said.

"Holy crap," Xanthus said, his eyes wide open as he read all sorts of data on his glasses. "No. There's no way. It's impossible. You couldn't have actually altered the fabric of reality on this level."

"The hell are you talking about?" Athena said.

Xanthus swallowed a lump in his throat. "I-If I'm reading all of this data correctly, they haven't just made everyone here happy. They've made them literally incapable of sadness."

"Huh?" Leon said.

"Spot on, although I should elaborate a little," Lilith said. "Lilly and I figured out how to remove the concept of pain from the town."

The group was dumbfounded. They each knew what her statement meant, but wrapping their minds around the idea was a lot more difficult. After all, they were human beings who lived in a world in which pain affected every day of their lives. It was impossible for them to even fathom a world in which the very concept of pain did not exist.

"Could you...explain that a little bit?" Athena said. "Because, like, I'm trying to understand what that means, well, I have a pretty good idea of what it means, but still, I'm thinking there's some shit that can get really broken if you take away people's ability to even experience pain."

"That's the reason it was so difficult," Lilith said. "We had to be extremely careful how we implemented it. It's why it took three whole weeks to get it done. After all, just taking pain away opens up a whole new can of worms. Physical pain is a useful thing. If you burn your hand, you move it so it doesn't end up medium-rare. Any unpleasant experience causes us to avoid that source of unpleasantness, because it might be a source of injury. We had to be careful not to interfere with what is essentially a product of millions of years of biological evolution. What we did do away with, though, is the concept of emotional and spiritual suffering."

"No more sadness," Lilly began, "no more anger, no more hate. We took away pain itself. After all, pain is what drives people to madness. It's the root cause of everything in the real world that makes a Labyrinth spawn in the World of Shadow."

"Wait a minute," Yuan said. "You said you removed the concept of pain. How does that not apply to us, then?"

"Same reason your clothes are like that," Lilith said.

"Right," Xanthus said. "Our Wraith-Knight power affords us protection against the ambient magic of the Labyrinth. The people residing here, they're completely subject to the laws of this world, but we exist outside of it."

"Yup. But that's also why we were kinda sorta maybe drawing you guys here. It took me and Lilly three whole weeks of nonstop fine tuning with Oasis. But the only reason we were able to do it so quickly is because the town is in the middle of our Domain."

"Domain?" Leon said.

"This space we inhabit," Xanthus said. "This is her Domain, where she has control over time and space, over reality itself."

"Only to an extent," Lilith said. "We aren't gods. Otherwise the change would be unnoticeable, since to everybody else, the world would have always been one without pain. Hell, you wouldn't have ever known a life where pain existed. The very concept would be foreign to you."

"You don't plan on stopping here, do you?" Perseus said.

"Of course not. We plan to extend this new paradigm to all of Remnant."

"And that's why we wanted to invite you in," Lilly said.

"To help you," Athena said.

Lilly nodded. "We've seen the power your Wraith-Knights give you. Even now, you're unaffected by our new world. With each successive awakening, you all grew in strength, both as a collective and as individuals. Just like when you fought only an hour ago, Leon."

"You were watching?" he said.

She nodded.

"So, you saw...everything?"

She smiled at him, giving him a single, gentle nod. It wasn't lost on her, nor Lilith, the tension that had just spawned in the air, specifically emanating from her younger cousin.

"How would we even be able to help you, though?" Ingrid said.

"We'll walk you through that after you accept," Lilith said. "Of course, this has to be voluntary. You have to be absolutely willing to create this new reality with us. Any break in the consensus will cause reality to spring back to its original state."

"How long do you think it would take?" Perseus said.

"Ten years tops. With all of our power put together, a mere decade away from our families for an eternity of peace."

"An end to suffering," Yuan said.

"Hang on a minute," Xanthus said, more animated than normal. "If you have this level of control over this reality and everything in it, if you have the power to change the climate, to alter the world on a conceptual level and remove pain, what else could you do?"

Lilly smiled at him. There was no need for her to answer what he was already thinking. His eyes widened as he turned to Penny, who had been silent since they arrived at the house. No one had realized before since she was hiding it from them, but by now, her fists were balled and tears fell freely to the ground.

"You've noticed, haven't you?" Lilly said with a smile.

"Of course I have," Penny sobbed. "I couldn't believe it at first. I thought my sensors were just malfunctioning, but..."

"But it turned out you didn't even have sensors to begin with," Leon said. "Not anymore."

She nodded.

"Holy..." Ingrid said. "You're...human?"

The group stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

"I can confirm it," Xanthus said, scanning her with his Wraith-Knight's power. "Penny's...completely organic. From head to toe."

"This is the power I possess in my Domain," Lilly said.

"The Labyrinth," Athena said. "Your inner world."

She nodded.

"Wait a minute," Yuan began, his own emotions beginning to swell. "That means..."

"Mm-hmm," Lilly said, smiling and squeezing out a few tears.

"You can..."

"Yes, I can, Yuan."

He couldn't finish his thought, but Ingrid was already thinking the same thing.

"Kuroyuri," she mumbled. "You could really bring all those people back?"

Lilly nodded. "Only with your help, though. And not just that, Ingrid. All that pain your family was put through, it'll all go away. No more nightmares, no more broken wings. Your mom and dad would be back to their strong, happy selves. And your sisters would enjoy their youths."

Ingrid bit her lip.

"Xanthus, you wouldn't have to hurt so much anymore either," Lilly continued. "And you'd be able to find the courage to tell you-know-who how you really feel. And Perseus, that burden you bear, it wouldn't even be there anymore. Or at least it wouldn't be so heavy. Echo, you'd never have to think about those things anymore. You know what I'm talking about. Athena, that pressure on your shoulders would be gone, along with that guilt you carry that you've never told anyone about. And Leon, you'd be free from your own insecurities, the kind that keeps you from being able to say your true feelings out loud. And you, Ivory, you wouldn't—"

"No," Ivory said sternly.

"H-Huh?"

"I can't accept it."

"But—"

Ivory stepped forward, separating herself from the rest of her group. "Lilly. I think your heart is in the right place. But this is not the way to go about fixing what you believe to be a problem."

"Ivory?" Leon said, but he remained with the others.

Ivory looked to the side, suppressing her own emotions. She understood the implications behind this world Lilly dreamed up. But she could not stand for it.

"This world you want to create," Ivory continued, "it may come from a good place, but it would do more harm than good."

"I...don't understand," Lilly said. "Don't you want to free people from their pain, too? It's why you've been going through the Labyrinth with—"

"Not like that. You're no longer doing what we did with the Labyrinths, freeing people from their unsolvable trauma. You're going to eliminate the very concept of pain from the universe. And I cannot abide by that."

"Why not? This world is unfair, Ivory! Forget all the uncontrollable stuff. The pain that drives people to do terrible things, that wouldn't exist anymore either!"

Ivory stared her dead in the eye. "And what of me?"

"Especially you, Ivory!"

"No. I refuse. I will never take the easy way out."

Leon and Ingrid exchanged glances.

"Easy way out?" Leon mumbled.

"She's talking about their past," Echo said quietly. "Don't you remember? How Ivory treated Lilly growing up."

"I do not deserve such mercy," Ivory said, balling her fists, barely containing her emotions.

"But—"

"No, Lilly. You may think you're doing me a favor, but you are not. I must atone for my sins. Not only against you, but against God." She shut her eyes, forcing out tears. "You are the purest among us, so pure that you are willing to give up your very humanity to take away everyone's pain. And yet I was the devil which tormented you in your childhood. I must never forget that!"

Lilly could believe neither her eyes nor her ears. Ivory stood before her, fists balled, eyes squeezed shut, tears streaming down her face. The only emotion she had ever witnessed from her younger cousin was the disdain she presented not only to her, but to everyone else around her. But today, she was baring everything to her.

"I must never forget what I did to you," Ivory continued. "If you take away this emptiness in my heart, this ache I feel every single moment of my life, it would erase the reason itself." She looked her straight in the eye. "Do you understand, cousin? Do you understand why I must continue to suffer this?"

Lilly slowly shook her head. "No, I don't," she said. But that was a lie. She understood perfectly why Ivory felt the way she did. Nevertheless, Lilly was determined to erase that pain. That emptiness Ivory felt, Lilly could see it in her eyes daily, and that gnawed at her soul unlike anything else they had encountered in the Labyrinths.

Ivory let out a quick, but heavy sigh. "Then, there is no other option," she said as she reached for Elfenbein.

"What the hell?" Echo muttered.

"Ivory!" Leon yelled.

"Ivory, what are you doing?" Ingrid said.

"I'm..." she began, drawing Elfenbein slowly, "...I'm fighting for my right—no, my duty to feel pain, to continue to carry this cross on my back." Her vision flooded with tears as she lost all control over her emotions. "Because I refuse to discard how much you mean to me, Lilly, how much I regret this past I can never be rid of!"

"Ivory," Lilly mumbled, her own eyes clouded with tears.

"Will you not unsheathe Myrtenaster?" Ivory said. "Will you not defend your own vision?"

"Of course she is," Lilith said, breaking her silence. "Well, in a manner of speaking." She turned to Lilly, whose conviction found its way back to her. "You remember what we talked about, right?"

Lilly nodded.

"If we're going to make this vision of yours a reality—"

"Ours," Lilly interrupted her.

Lilith smiled. "If we're gonna make our dream come true, we have to keep your hands clean, untainted." She reached for her side, drawing Myrtenaster, before turning to Ivory. "Lilly may be the one imposing this new order upon this reality, but I am its enforcer."

"And I will be the defender of our world," Ivory said resolutely. "Even if I am its sole protector."

"This won't be like before."

"It certainly won't." She allowed the power of the Winter Maiden to show through her eyes.

"That's not what I mean," Lilith said. "You know this isn't personal anymore, don't you?" She chuckled to herself. "Hell, all that shit you did to me growing up, that's...so petty. Compared to what we're trying to do now, I mean. This is bigger than any one of us, bigger than any grudge I may have had against you. Soon, even that grudge will cease to exist."

Ivory tightened her grip on Elfenbein as she sensed hostile intent from her elder cousin's Wraith.

"Well, then," Lilith began, "shall we?"

The rest of the group watched in awe as both Lilith and Ivory opened up three dozen glyphs and rune circles, each one firing at the other simultaneously. The blast kicked up enough debris that no one could tell what exactly was happening inside the cloud. The clanging of metal against metal and the occasional magical attack made it clear how the battle was going, though.

None of the youngsters could pay close attention to the battle anyway, not with so many things crossing their minds. Every single one battled within themselves as they faced the prospect of being rid of their burdens once and for all. Lilly had the power within this small world to exert her own will. It would take time to spread that across the world, costing her days in the sunlight. But with their help, with the help of their Wraith-Knight power, they could ensure that this new world order would be rapid and she wouldn't be stuck in the Labyrinth completely alone.

Lilith and Ivory may have been evenly matched thanks to the Winter Maiden power the younger cousin now possessed, but Lilith still held the upper hand when it came to raw firepower. Ivory gasped as Myrtenaster transformed into Caliburn, but instead of the black version Lilith usually ended up conjuring, she now held its light half, the one which shone with the brilliance of the dawn.

The tide of battle shifted rapidly in Lilith's favor. The sheer might of Caliburn's signature attack, the Sacred Flame, was simply too powerful for even Ivory's full strength to withstand. She eventually found herself tumbling across the street as her defensive glyphs shattered and her aura broke. Lilith was on top of her before she could recover. But there was no malice in Lilith's grip on the younger of the two. Ivory could only sense warmth and gentleness from her cousin's Wraith.

"For me, it was three weeks ago," Lilith said. "But I know for you it's only been a few hours."

Ivory wavered for a moment. She knew exactly what Lilith was talking about, that instant she had wrapped her arms around her, quelling the Wrath that had threatened to take her over. At the same time Lilly had been roaming around her budding Labyrinth, Lilith had counseled her in the real world, steering her away from a path she would never have recovered from.

"This isn't just about our past anymore," Lilith continued. "Lilly and I swore that we would do whatever the hell we could to take away that pain from your heart."

Ivory gritted her teeth.

"I can't even imagine what it's like to lose people you grew up with—"

"I don't wanna hear any of it!" Ivory yelled.

"Why? Why won't you let us take it all away?"

"Because I deserve all of it! This ache I feel in my heart, not just from losing all of my childhood friends, but from the grave sin I committed against you and Lilly, I cannot be allowed any relief from it!"

"Goddammit, Ivory. You're wrong about this new world we're trying to create!"

"No, you're wrong," Ivory said resolutely. "A world without pain isn't paradise. It's hell itself."

Lilith sighed. "I didn't want it to come to this. Like I said, bygones are bygones. But I'm this new world's enforcer, and you're someone who has the power to interfere with the new world. Unfortunately, I haven't exactly made a jail cell just yet, but I'll figure something out. By the time you wake up, the world will be different and you'll be in a place where you can't do any harm. And who knows? Maybe you'll come around by then."

Lilith brought up her fist, opening up her hand and projecting a rune in the air. "This is good night for now," she said, but before she could cast the sleeping spell, something tackled her to the ground, scuffling with her for a moment before facing off with her.

"Athena!" Leon yelled.

Ivory coughed before standing up next to her old rival. "Was that a deliberate attempt to save me," she began, "or were you just itching to get a solid hit on her?"

"Both," Athena said.

Ivory was surprised by the lack of any doubt in her voice and her posture.

"Sorry, Lilith. I hate to sucker punch you like that, but I gave it some thought. I can't tolerate your world either."

"Why are you telling me that?" Lilith said, dusting herself off.

Athena and Ivory exchanged glances before realizing what she meant. The former turned to Lilly, who was watching the battle helplessly, her long, silver hair and blue and white winter dress billowing with the wind.

"Hey, bestie," Athena said, but Lilly said nothing in return. Athena sighed heavily. "I know you can't understand what's going on in our heads. We kinda get you, though. I mean, we all started doing Labyrinth work purely because of you. We realized we could do good in the world, like you were doing, and we went and did it, too." She paused for a moment. "But I can't accept this new world either."

"Why not?" Lilly said, her voice almost a whisper.

"All of that crap you wanna take away from me," Athena began, "while I appreciate the gesture—and love you so much for it—I just can't discard a part of what makes me who I am. I am Athena Rose-Arc because of all the good and all the bad. And besides, compared to what other people have gone through, my issues ain't so terrible." She chuckled to herself. "Also, what kind of weak ass would I be if I had to rely on you to take my pain away?"

Ivory couldn't help her own chuckle.

"So, there you have it," Athena said as she prepared to attack. "Ivory, I know you probably can't stomach the idea of facing your cousin, so you keep Lilith busy while I get to Lilly."

"What are you planning?" Ivory said, tightening her grip on Elfenbein.

"Lilly," Athena said, squaring away with her rival team leader. "I hate the idea of raising my spear against you, but I have to, if it means protecting Remnant, if it means saving the world I love so much."

"But I'm trying to save the world, too," Lilly said quietly.

"Maybe I'm wrong for opposing you. Who knows? But I feel it in my bones. Something about this just doesn't feel right."

Lilly looked away from Athena. She had no intention of defending against the onslaught sure to come from the Golden Girl of Vale, the shield-bearer of Remnant, but before she could even plan out her next move, something crashed right into Athena's shield, which she had brought up just in the nick of time.

"Penny?" Athena yelled.

"Senpai!" Xanthus cried out, taking a step forward.

Penny's face was twisted with anguish and regret as she faced off against Athena and Ivory. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I'm so sorry."

"Penny," Ivory said.

"I know," she sobbed, "I know why you two are fighting back. And...believe me, I wish I could stand alongside you guys like we always have, but..." She walked to Lilith, standing beside her between Lilly and the others. "I can't...I just can't..."

"Penny," Lilly said, running to her and holding her arm. "It's okay."

"No, Lilly," she said. "It's not okay. Not yet. Not until..."

She nodded. "Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about him. It's just that..."

"I know. I'm in your world and he isn't. That's why...that's why I'm gonna fight for you. So that your dream can come true."

"Step back, me," Lilith said, to which Lilly obliged. "Remember, you can't get your hands dirty."

"I know," Lilly said, clasping her hands in front of her chest as she prepared herself for what was to come.

"You're gonna need a weapon, senpai," Lilith said.

"I can't form Aequitas and Veritas without the nanomachines," Penny said.

"That's fine. I can lend you one of my weapons."

Penny watched wide-eyed as Lilith held up a hand, summoning a brightly adorned spear in her hand. She recognized the weapon as the one Bedivere had wielded against Leon at the front gate into that otherworldly castle.

"Rhongomyniad served Kameloth well," Lilith said. "It should do the same for you."

Penny admired the spear for a moment before turning to the other two. "Athena, Ivory," she began in tears.

"You don't have to explain yourself," Athena said.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm not. We're both fighting for what we believe in right now."

"That's the greatest tragedy of all, isn't it?" Lilith said before commencing the battle with a swing from Caliburn, sending a wave of golden fire in their direction.