Hidden Under Our Noses

--Dani's Perspective--

[TARGET KILLED: SYSTEM MISSION: COMPLETE]

[SYSTEM CORRUPTION: MAXIMUM +4]

I panted heavily, as my stamina had completely drained itself. I couldn't even lift myself up, and everything was ringing in my ears as I felt my left arm tingle.

It felt like millions of spiders were crawling up and down after my fight with Austin and Amy, and when I turned my head, Illya's disheveled, brown hair was strewn about on the floor.

The bridge we fought upon was brought to ruin, with only one platform staying stable and standing after everything was said and done.

Even Illya was panting heavily, asking me if I was still alive.

"Still... good..." I said, wiping my forehead of any sweat.

When I put my left arm up to the darkened Sky from the Eclipse ongoing, I could see what damage had been done.

It was like a black glove encapsulated my entire forearm. Weird, intricate patterns like arrowheads pointed forward on the top of my arm, leading into the White Stone on my left hand. On the opposite end, arrowheads appeared as well, with swirling colors and black strands still emanating from my skin. It solidified after a few seconds and became a permanent tattoo on my skin.

Shit...

"Well... that was the full extent of... Miss Ali's Incarnation, wasn't it?" I asked Illya. It took a second for her to respond, but she managed without taking a deep breath this time around.

"No... that was never apart of it... Ali's Incarnation was to manipulate Gravity, I'm afraid you've invented your own Incarnation, Goddess of Wrath," Illya told me.

Slowly but surely, my body felt less numb, and I could sit up while still feeling dazed from the exertion of power.

"My own... Incarnation...? What shall I call you...?" I watched the tattoo on my arm appear darkened by the covered sun, and then turned back to Illya.

"That's not for me to decide... I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to regenerate my arm, or walk for a long time. Can you please carry me?" Illya asked me.

I nodded, crouching down to her level, and trying to put both of my arms underneath her to lift her up. Of course, I didn't have any strength, and fell onto my back right after.

"I got nothing... I want to ask you something. Why do both Sky and my left arms constantly change like that? Why the left side, over the right?" I asked Illya. She blankly blinked at the sky before taking another deep breath.

"Because your White Stone is the source of it all. It starts from the left, and moves to the opposite side," She said.

"DANI! ILLYA!" Alexia's voice in the distance stopped the conversation between Illya and I, and we turned over to see her and Fudo running over. Fudo had an intricately complex weapon on his hip, and Alexia arrived up on the bridge with golden strands wrapping all around us.

"What happened?! Are you two okay?!" She asked. She slid beside Illya specifically while Fudo walked over to me with the weapon.

"We're fine... count Austin and Amy both out of the fight. They're dead, for good," Illya said. She looked over at me after she declared their final moments, and chuckled while smiling at the floor.

"You really have surpassed me... and I assume that's how it will be from here on out. Very impressive, Dani," Illya said. I noticed that was the first time she used my name in a while and nodded at her compliment.

"I couldn't have done it without you. You've proved your worth to me... you may have killed the people we loved, our friends, our family... but you're good in my book now, for good," I told her. It was how I was truly feeling, and in that moment, I declared the final moments of our long-lasting battle.

"There is a question I wanted to ask you... Illya... this fight with Quake was very down playable compared to our fight with you. Abilities were surging, our instincts were firing off... was that your doing? Did you force us to develop so we could stand a chance against Quake?" Alexia asked. It was a very inquisitive question that I hadn't even considered.

"It was the Incarnation of Transfer. I gave you a level-playing field. Something you could use to battle me, and the reason you were that powerful wasn't even because of me. That was Sky's ability. The Incarnation of Transfer can do a lot of amazing things, and that's why it played out so differently," Illya explained to me. So, it seemed she had plans for us before we even knew about it.

This Incarnation of Transfer... such a complex, yet powerful ability.

"Oh, Sky can't absorb those Incarnations! We evaporated both of them... is that a good thing? Doesn't he need them to become more powerful?" I asked Illya in surprise, looking back at the ashes of Austin and Amy.

"They aren't powerful enough to absorb. It's fine, Zeka was the one Incarnation we needed above all else, and if we can get The Masked Girl's Incarnation, that might prove useful too," Illya commented.

"That reminds me... I guess you might not have learned her identity. Cynthia Asterio, Sky's Sister," Alexia explained to Illya.

Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the ground, she stopped tracing her fingers in the rubble of pebbles and dust underneath her and looked toward me.

"Dani..." She muttered. She stopped moving completely and started to freak me out.

"W-What? Who is Cynthia?" I asked. I might've forgotten everything that has happened, but Alexia explained that it was Sky's sister. Another Pure Blood Asterio.

"Why is that a problem? Sky can just take her on, can't he? Where is she?" I asked Alexia and Fudo. I knew I couldn't make any more attacks, but we still had able-bodied people who could surely fight her.

"Does she have the Eye of Providence? Was a Pure Blood Asterio given that Eye?!" Illya shouted out this time, her voice increasing in worry.

"Yes! Geez, what is the problem?!" Alexia returned the volume, and Illya laid out on the floor with her arms up and body spread out.

"What's the problem? Imagine Sky with the Eye of Providence... nothing could hit him... could it? Cynthia's power is rapidly expanding and it was happening right under our noses," Illya explained to us.