Author's Notes:

The first section is in present tense. Yes, this is intentional.

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Magic burns in his blood, fire in his veins. Cheers erupt from the audience. Behind him, Kurogane reaches out, grabbing for his arm. The scent of blood flows into his nostrils, a spicy, overwhelming smell. More magic. An old spell, one he casts without a conscious thought, and suddenly he is weightless, rising to the destroyed chessboard that once made up the arena floor.

Syaoran glances at him, shock in his eyes. Another ripple of magic, stronger than the first. Syaoran shoots backwards, bloodied back streaking against the floor.

Reaching down. His hand closing over Syaoran's forgotten sword. Not in control. Not even aware, really, just watching. Shapes and colors flickering across his eyelids, like images flashing by too fast to be processed. Holding the sword now. His hand, but not his hand. Moving. Feeling the pull of muscles enhanced by magic. Strong magic, though not as strong as it once was . . .

And Sakura's eyes, glazing over as she absorbs two feathers into her body. Sakura's eyes, green as emeralds, becoming opaque. Dull now, like dusty marbles—why are they so dull?—and he can't feel his body anymore, can't resist as some tiny, tiny part of him screams in horror, the kind of horror that echoes in his mind like the wails of the dead, and he can't stop, can't stop, can't stop—

Stillness. Not on the battlefield, but in his mind. Something spreading, taking over. A dark magic, propelling his hand.

He doesn't feel it when the blade slides in. There is no resistance, no sound of shredding fabric, no answering moan of pain. Just stillness. Silence. Just for a moment, the twin vortexes of magic cease their constant rotation.

Fai realizes he has never understood silence. Not true silence. But now he does. There's one instant, one moment where he can feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, and it stretches on for an infinite amount of time, ringing through his body like the phantom chime of bells.

Then the world floods back and Fai screams.

"Sakura!" The name tore from Syaoran's throat as he watched his sword slide into Sakura's heart. It was the only word he could manage, the only word that snapped to his mind as he saw the blood running down the hilt. Shock rattled through his body, slamming into his chest and knocking all the air out of his lungs.

Below, Kurogane shouted something about not pulling the sword out. Of course, Syaoran thought distantly. You can't pull something out of a puncture wound. If you do, there's nothing to stop the bleeding.

Fai ripped the sword out of Sakura's chest, spattering blood everywhere. Too numb to stand, Syaoran slumped where he sat, staring. Did Sakura just die?

He frowned, not comprehending. Sakura couldn't die. That was ridiculous. Yes, they'd all paid grievous prices to make it this far, but they'd survived. Even when his clone had lost his heart in Tokyo, they'd survived. Why would it be different now?

"Someday, you'll meet her again, and everything will be exactly as it should be," she'd said when she'd visited him in the hospital after he'd spent sixteen hours being tortured. "That's all I can say about this now."

Had she known this would happen? She had magic, just as her original had. He'd always suspected pieces of that magic had been returned to her as she'd regained her feathers. Did that mean, then, that she'd foreseen this?

Had this been the future she'd tried to change? Or had she averted a future even more horrific?

Fai's sudden scream shredded through his musings. Sparks of magic slithered across the arena floor, like living electricity. Instinctively, Syaoran shied away, shielding his eyes. Fai's scream reached a peak, his magic growing in intensity, filling the room like an immense, black pressure. He's not in control, Syaoran realized. He's going to kill everyone.

He tried to approach, bracing himself as waves of magic battered his body. It felt like walking into a hurricane, with Fai in the eye of the storm.

Another wave of magic slammed into him, throwing him back. Dazed, he righted himself, crawling forward. The air around Fai sizzled, wavering like a heat mirage. And he wouldn't stop screaming.

The next wave knocked him back half a foot. Part of his mind rebelled, commanding him to get away before the magic ripped him apart He forced himself to keep crawling forward, though he didn't know how he could stop the magician once he reached the center of the maelstrom. As he crept closer, he sensed someone standing behind him. An instant later, a firm hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to his feet. He staggered, leaning toward the figure for support.

Kurogane's arm enfolded him, shielding him from the storm. He looked up, barely breathing, his body ringing with pain, into the man's eyes. His voice shook. "K-Kurogane-san . . ."

"I know. Don't look."

"But I—"

"Don't look!" Kurogane shifted, shielding him from the rampant waves of magic. Protecting him. Numb, Syaoran sank into his arms, pressing his face against the man's chest and closing his eyes.

This is it. We're going to die. He's going to protect me until the storm wipes him out, and then I'll be gone, too. I should tell him . . . I should tell him the truth. His fingers curled around the ninja's shirt. The roar of magic swept away all other sounds, even Fai's screams. It would be a miracle if Kurogane even heard him over the din. But he said the words anyway. "I love you."

Kurogane's body went rigid, his embrace tightening until his hold was almost painful. Panic shot through Syaoran's veins. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.

"You what?"

His breath caught, ice sliding down his back as the ninja took him by the shoulders and shook him. Syaoran blinked. "I . . . I'm in love with you." The rumbling of the arena seemed to ease a little as he said the words. "I've been in love with you for a while now. I . . ." Why is it so quiet? he wondered, peering over the ninja's shoulder. The waves of magic had settled, their impact lessening. And as he took in the scene before him, he realized why. "Look!"

Letting out a snarl, Kurogane turned. His eyes popped wide open as he took in the scene.

"I made it in time," Sakura whispered. Her body looked almost translucent, as if she was made of mist rather than flesh and blood. And as Syaoran saw her physical body floating toward one of the cyclones of magic, he understood. She split her body from her soul. But how? Why?

"It's all right," Sakura's spirit continued, resting one ethereal hand over Fai's knuckles. "My life is not yet lost. I still exist." She reached forward, her arms circling the magician's shoulders. "Never forget—now we can change the future."

That's what she's been trying to do this whole time, Syaoran realized. Meeting with Eagle, distancing herself from all of us, splitting her soul and her body . . . All of this, to change the future. The complexity of it all threw him for a moment. He'd known Sakura was intelligent—they all were, in different ways—but this scheme transcended simple strategy. She'd gone against the flow of time, against destiny itself, to change the future.

And apparently, she'd succeeded.

She turned to him, an apology in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice growing soft. For the first time since she'd appeared, Syaoran realized her body was becoming more translucent, fading with every second. "Please take care of Fai-san until we meet again."

He reached out, as if to grab her hand. Her spirit drew back, pulled into the vortex hovering above their heads. It swallowed her up, closing around her as her spirit and her body disappeared into separate worlds.

Syaoran was so preoccupied with watching her go that he almost didn't notice when Fai lifted the sword to his throat.