CRASH!

“I’m sorry! Please spare my life!” a soldier kneels in front of the queen in cowardice.

The queen stands up, shouting at him, “You are telling you still could not get hold of some of those people of the Alive World because something invisible is killing them off?”

“Yes…Your Highness…”

“Can’t you even fix this problem by yourself? Time is wasting even more with this hold mess. We are ruling over both worlds now, why can’t we ever be at the top of the world by now?”

She turns around, screaming out loud in anger as she slashes her katana all over the place, “God damn it! Why the Ancient Queens always look down upon me!?”

She turns back toward the soldier, pointing her blade toward him, “If you did not fix this, you and your family will never see the sunlight ever again, you hear me? Now go!”

The soldier quickly escapes from there.

The queen moves toward the balcony, looking at the ruined world, “The end is nigh, and still these people wanted to fend off something inevitable. Why?”

She turns sad, “Danee…where are you?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Somewhere in a room, a bed is shown, with something underneath the blanket.

It then moves forward, showing Jiyeon’s body, panting in exhaustion.

She looks all over her surrounding, “I…I’ve returned?”

“Of course you are!” Zero enters the room happily, putting a tray of food on a desk near the bed, “We have gone through a great length to revive you back into your body. Now you can finish off what you’ve started.”

“Why are you still here then?”

“To give you this,” he puts a letter near the tray, “Eat first before even reading it. Your mind will hurt yourself.”

Jiyeon sighs, taking the soup and sips it gently.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Somewhere else, QBS and their escorts are walking through a dessert, with so many things are seen nearly buried around them.

Boram looks at each of them, muttering, “Is this all the stuff from our world?”

Jonghyuk quietly responds, “Yes.”

“This is terrible. Is there any people here too?”

Soyeon then wonders something, “Come to think of it, how did people actually survive the fall?”

Qri mutters, “How did we survive?”

“Because we are the chosen queens?”

The conversation turns to an end because nobody actually cared about that right now. It is so hot there to the boiling point where Gyuri suddenly shouts, “Wah, we have been walking for days without even seeing an oasis!”

Jonghyuk responds, “Shouting won’t help us find one.”

The sand around them suddenly explodes, with Army coming out of it, ready to strike them.

“Not now!” Boram shouts in furious, with everyone don their available suits and arms themselves as they enter a fight.

Somewhere a bit further from the scene, a figure in a robe is looking at the fight.

The fight is so exahsuting.

Boram eventually trips and is about to be attacked by one, but black smokes appear around those people, choking them to death.

Everyone just startled but they just shrug, keep on going.

Qri has her eyes on a figure, but the sunshine makes her eyes blink, missing the figure.

The figure is hiding from the group’s sight, now showing her face as Danee.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In a ruined city, a large group of Army is seen enjoying themselves, killing people as much as they can see.

For each they managed to saved, they either torture them or immediately kill them off.

But in a flash, they are all dead, leaving those who survived escape from there.

Hwayoung, wearing her battle suit, is seen walking through the empty road, looking at all the dead bodies.

Kyu approaches her, “How long are you going to do all this?”

“Is saving people a sin?”

“No, but you are forcing yourself a bit too much.”

“I’m not even a human, how did I even have a limit in anything?”

She then disappears from his sight as he sighs, “What is wrong with you, Hwayoung?”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danee is seen lying on the sand, far away from the QBS.

Her eyes are now pointing at the starry sky.

Her mind is clouded by her own thought.

IS there such thing as forgiveness in this cruel world?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danee and Jiyeon are facing off against each other. The girl of light is now defenseless, having no weapon with her.

With a swift move, Danee moves straight toward her sister, stabs her right at the chest.

She startled by this.

‘Why aren’t you moving away? You could have dodged!’

Jiyeon slowly whispers, “If I ever move, will you able to forgive all my sins?”

‘I…I… don’t know…”

Jiyeon pulls her toward herself, hugging her tightly, “It’s okay if you are not. I know I will do that if you are the one who do such…”

‘Why?’

“Because you are my sister…”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sister…family…forgiveness…love…

She has no idea what are those words really means. She did not been raised that way before.

How strong bonds can be, and how good it will be?

She would like to know that.

Danee takes a peek at the camp.

All of them still able to smile, even in this vast desert in the cold night.

She would like to feel those feelings…

Will she ever be accepted by them, even after killing their own friend?

Maybe she has the answer…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Queen 7 is seen sitting on top of a skyscraper, looking at the ruined city of Seoul in there, once her own home.

“Hwayoung.”

Her head turns around, looking at Jiyeon, standing a bit far from her.

“She’s dead,” Queen 7 stands up, looking straight at her.”

“Then, who am I looking at right now?”

“I’m not Hwayoung. She has been dead ever since her last battle.”

The woman in suit takes out a USB, putting it into the slot as a portal appears behind her. Her suit is then thrown into the portal, revealing herself as Hwayoung.

Jiyeon mutters in wonder, “The transformation is reversed…”

“True.”

“Then, who are you, really?”

‘Hwayoung’ walks forward, “I am what a garb without a wearer, living as a hollow shell and uses a dead body as a mean to live.”

“How?”

“Because of her own hatred.”

“Hatred? I don’t understand.”

“She hates you more than anyone else in this world.”

“But… we are friends…”

“Classmates aren’t friends. They are just decorations.”

“I still don’t get it…”

‘Hwayoung’ moves her right palm onto her chest, shines at the spot, showing nine different symbols around her, “A message from her heart. She would like you to hear everything she has been keeping for years.”

“What could that be?”

She pulls out her USB, getting back her suit. But then her suit cracks, getting golden vest and pads, “You will have to find out.”

“Ancient Possession?” Jiyeon turns into Queen 1, wielding her sword as she also gets the vest.

The two clash.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“ARRGHH!”

BOOM!

Soldiers enter the throne room, and each is startled with the scene appears in their lines of sight.

The whole room is in ruin, with craters everywhere.

The queen is standing alone in the room, looking exhausted.

One of them steps forward, “Your Majesty, what is with all these chaos?”

She turns toward them, giving death glares, “I…I can’t wait anymore…”

Fear strikes deep inside their mind.

“I have gone through a huge length, finding and even convincing my sister with words; something that isn’t even my own style of work, and combining both worlds into one, still I have to wait for those tiaras to be mine? How long did I have to wait for such?”

“But… we are merely searching for them all…”

“I don’t want reports! What I want is results!”

“We are still…”

“SHUT UP!”

Silenced.

“All of you are so useless! I will go and search for them myself, even if my life is on the line!”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“That was just an expression, dammit! It is far too early for me to even die yet!”

She takes out her white jacket, walking out of there.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The fight between the two is still on.

‘Hwayoung’ swings her blade across, but a huge pillar of light deflects the attack. Still, Jiyeon is hit by an attack from behind, turning to her back, seeing she is there.

“Wills of Ryu Hwayoung. Number One; Wrath!”

Jiyeon is slashed from the back again, this time something fills her mind.

A vision is seen in front of her eyes.

Hwayoung is seen stabbing a book with nails. A voice is heard from outside of her room.

“Good job, Hyoyoung! Number one in your school? That is simply amazing! We are so proud to have you as our daughter!”

Her eyes turn toward her sides, seeing a piece of paper with the marks of 100. The name on the paper is ‘Ryu Hyoyoung’ but the name is on a paper that is put on top of the paper.

Jiyeon is back to the fight.

“Number Two; Humility!”

She is slashed again, receiving another vision.

Hwayoung is seen working on works, with so many books are seen nearby her.

Hyoyoung appears beside her, putting more books on the books, “Here is the work from another classes! Do this all, and they will give me my money.”

She simply laughs, walk away from there as Hwayoung just look at her, before working back on the works.

Snapped back at the reality, Jiyeon shields herself against an attack with her light-based rapier.

But somehow she is hurt again.

“Number Three; Obedience!”

Hwayoung just shakes her head toward some people, with Hyoyoung in it.

“Are you sure you didn’t take my money?” one girl seems pissed.

Hwayoung keeps on shaking as they walk away in anger, “Who the stole it then?”

Hyoyoung just smirks, “I told you my sister isn’t that bad of a woman.”

She winks at her as Hwayoung looks away, looking sad. Behind her, her hands is keeping some money in her fists.

Jiyeon manages to dodge an attack and clash her blades with ‘Hwayoung’.

What are those visions mean? What message is she giving to her?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is morning.

Boram yawns, stretching her arms as she looks around the place.

Oh no, where is Soyeon?

It couldn’t be that…

She quickly steps out of her tent, looking outside of the place.

“I know it!” she screams in her whispers.

From her point of view, she sees Soyeon is speaking to Jonghyuk somewhere at the edge of the camp.

Argh, that man is so suspicious! What did he want with her? Why are they acting so…cute together…? No, they are not cute at all! NEVER!

Qri is seen beside her, muttering, “What is wrong with you?”

“GRAHH! Qri, when are you here?”

“You didn’t notice me when I approach you from the side just now.”

“Owh…”

Qri sees the scene as well, looking at Boram and the scene few times before saying, “I once felt such jealousy before.”

“What jealousy? What are you talking about?”

“The man I loved is quite a man, so he is bound to have girls all over the place.”

“Are you implying that I liked that Jonghyuk dude? Tough luck, but he’s not my style!”

“I’m not talking about him.”

Silenced.

Boram looks at her for a while, “You… you don’t think I swing that way, right?”

“I did not say anything,” Qri walks away from there, prompting her to shout at the cold woman, “I am not a homo!”

“You are?”

Boram gasps, looking at Soyeon, who is now standing right behind her. Jonghyuk is still at the same spot, watching all over the place.

She starts to panic, “I…I am not such woman! I love man!”

Soyeon just look at her, dumbfounded.

“I told you, I’m not a lesbian! That Qri just imply me of such!”

Silenced.

“You don’t think of me as such, right?”

Soyeon is about to speak but Jonghyuk’s voice is heard, “Look out!”

Boram sees what’s up first.

She pushes Soyeon away, putting both her palm onto the ground, creating a huge earth wall in front of them, covering them from sands.

The camp is now surrounded with Army.

The queen is seen walking toward them, smiling.

She throws black knives toward them, but icy knives appear deflecting each.

Qri arrives, joining the two.

The queen takes out her blade ready to strike in her white suit, “Your tiaras will all be mine!”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jiyeon and ‘Hwayoung’ are still fighting against each other, clashing their weapons while using their unlimited powers to the fullest of it.

As the two keeps deflecting each attacks, Jiyeon senses something and raises her rapier at her back, protecting an attack from behind.

Her head carefully looks at the back, seeing another ‘Hwayoung’ right behind her.

“You even create a time paradox with your powers?” Jiyeon grits her teeth, turning her attention back to the front.

Gone.

Of course.

SLASH!

She feels a pain at the back. So, the girl in front of her is the girl-behind-her’s past. Nice trick.

“Number Four; Desire!”

Another vision.

She knows this scene. This is from the first year of her finally returning home, whereas nobody else felt her own gap of time.

The class is decorating for the school festival. They have agreed to turn the place into a small café.

Jiyeon sees herself helping some of her friend hanging up banners and decorations on the walls and windows. She remembers how hard she tries to regain back her own life.

Wow, she just realized that the only reason why she is the only one climbing the stairs is not because she is the only of the girls that is strong enough to lift some of those stuff, but because all the male students refuse to do such and having fun trying to take a peek under her skirt. It seems all girls but her realized the situation, tries their best not to let some of the boys to get their chances.

CRASH!

“Owh, ! I am so sorry!”

The real Jiyeon turns toward one scene, looking at Kyu just stepped one of the boys’ cellphones. She thinks she knows why he did such.

Kyu is then moving toward some group of girls, helping to decorate their sign to be put above the front door.

Hwayoung is there as well, diligently cutting some papers for the shapes.

Kyu sees it, “Wow, you are such a good cutter!”

Hwayoung startles a bit, nearly slips the scissors as he quickly grabs it with his hand at the blade side.

Blood.

The girls there gasp as Hwayoung is horrified, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Are YOU okay?”

She did not answer, just smiling. She feels a bit embarrassed.

Back to the reality, Jiyeon turns around and slashes her several times.

Feeling something, she creates walls around her, but got hit from down below.

“Number Five; Lust!”

Wait, what?

Another vision enters her brain.

Owh, not that night…

It was the night where all the classmates of hers decide to have fun and stay for a night, and then decide to mess things up by having a treasure hunt.

There are two teams in there; one will search for certain stuff and the other one will find the one who search.

Hwayoung is seen walking around the place. Jiyeon remembers how she ended up being in the same team as Kyu and her, doing the searching thing.

On the way in one class, Hwayoung suddenly hits a desk, creating a huge sound.

She looks at the windows, seeing lights flashes nearby. They probably heard of the noise and decide to check them out.

She is about to escape, but something pulls her under the teacher’s desk.

“Shh…”

Kyu pulls her to his side, hiding as the door opens up.

They just stay like that, cramped under that bed.

The door is heard closing, but Kyu mutters, “Let’s stay here for a while, okay?”

She nods slowly.

Her hearts beating.

Snapped back to the reality, Jiyeon is a bit dumbfounded.

Hwayoung has such feeling on Kyu? Why didn’t she ever see this one before?

She then feels a punch right on her face.

“Number Six; Envy!”

A vision.

The school is already over.

Hwayoung is seen walking as fast as she could, approaching Kyu.

He notices her, “Hey, what is it?”

“Walking home with me?”

His smile turns faint, looking at Jiyeon, who is packing her bag.

He looks back at her, “I’m sorry but not today. Jiyeon and I…we have to buy something big. Well, she has to buy something big. I am helping carrying it out for her.”

Jiyeon returns to the real world, landing on a floor.

Now she understands it. Hwayoung thinks of such about her and Kyu. It’s all a misunderstanding.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

The fight between the Rebels and the Army is getting intense.

But what’s worse is with the fight between QBS and the queen.

Using the power of darkness, she easily overpowers the three women.

Both Qri and Boram throws their elements toward her, hoping to reach the queen, but a wall of darkness appears in front of her, pushing the two away from her.

The wall disappears as Soyeon sees this chance and screams at her, using her sound wave to throws her off balance.

The three charge in to get to her.

But her dark rapier sticks into the sand, enabling her to spins her body and kicks the three.

She then runs toward Soyeon, about to strike her.

But Boram appears between them, shielding the two from the attack, “Nobody hurt my Soyeon!”

“Nobody but me!” the queen presses her attack with a block of darkness pressing down onto a newly created earth dome that surrounded both Boram and Soyeon.

She keeps on pressing as the dome starts to crack.

Seeing this, the queen raises her block upward before hitting it downward with a powerful momentum. But a black smoke halts the movement.

Danee is seen clashing blades with her, pushing her blade away with her own blade.

“D-Danee?”

The queen feels a bit startled, as the shaman girl hits her with her stick, pushes her away, disposing the block.

The dome disappears, as Boram and Soyeon see their reinforcement.

Soyeon mutters, “Aren’t you…”

Danee has her attention toward the queen as she mutters in sadness, “You are helping them? The one allied themselves with the one who separated you and your sister, even killing her?”

‘No, I’m the one who killed her. I’m at guilt.’

Danee did not speak, but her minds mutter words, as the queen heard the words, “But…”

‘You just try to use me to kill my own sister, and I would not allowed of such act!”

“Hyomin-eonnie will be saddened. She will want you to fulfill her vengeance.”

‘No, eonnie did not want such. I’ve already met her.’

“She’s dead!”

‘And I control the dead.’

The queen grits her teeth, angered. She points her rapier toward her, “You…! Fine, you want to join them, right? But try fighting me first!”

The two clashes their blades a lot of times, even using their personal weapons to fend off against each other.

A blade is about to hit Danee, but another blade deflects it. It came from a red-haired Hyomin, covered in black smoke.

“Nobody hurt my sister.”

Danee and red Hyomin raise their blades, with both hitting the queen at the same time, making the queen unable to fight back, even losing her rapier in the process.

Red Hyomin then disappears into the shaman girl’s right fist as she punches the queen right at her chest, forcing her to revert back to her human form.

She quickly runs away, shouting at them, “Have fun dying, you ! Soon those tiaras will be mine eventually!”

She and the army escapes from there.

Danee turns around, looking at the three.

Qri mutters, “You killed Hwayoung.”

She flinches.

Danee is about to walk away, but Soyeon grabs her right hand, “You want to join us? That’s why you have been following us from the beginning, right?”

The girl startled, looking at her as she smiles at her, “I guess we need all help we can get to fight the queen. She is getting stronger day by day.”

Danee slowly carves a smile on her face.

Is this what forgiveness felt when received?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The two’s fight is still on and it is taking to the next level.

Their surrounding is now filled with white, floating objects.

The two keep jumping around, tries to hit each other.

“Number Seven; Bonds!” ‘Hwayoung’ shouts, smashing her knife right onto Jiyeon’s right shoulder.

A vision.

It’s on the Christmas Eve, during the dinner.

Hwayoung gets her first time trying Jiyeon’s exotic gourmet foods. The first she tries is what the chef called as phoenix’s meat.

Having the meat entering her esophagus through her tongue, she swallows it slowy.

Smiles appear on her face, looking at the two, “I love it!”

“See!?” Jiyeon looks at Kyu angrily, “I told you she would love it!”

Kyu just mutters, “Maybe she just has peculiar tastes.”

“No cockatrice meat for you!”

“What!? No!”

The two argue as Hwayoung just chuckles. The situation feels great and lively.

The fight goes on, but the last attack actually hurt her.

Seeing this chance, ‘Hwayoung’ strikes another one right on her back, “Number Eight; Despair!”

This time, Hwayoung is seen lying on a black floor with all of the surrounding feels black.

She remembers how she saved Jiyeon from Danee and then she wakes up, just to find that she is now in that hollow place.

Is she dead already?

No! This cannot happen!

She has too many regrets right now! She still did not tell her sister how much she needs to stop trying to impress their parents expectations! She still did not confess to Kyu on her feelings for him! And she still want to say thanks to Jiyeon for making her feel like having a family.

What should she do? Is it too late for her?

Jiyeon starts tearing up. She has no idea how hurt Hwayoung is.

At that moment, she no longer feels the need to fight.

‘Hwayoung’ is on top of her, pointing her butcher knife toward the ex-queen, “Number Nine; Hope.”

She disappears, re-appearing far on above the cloud. Queen 7 then uses the gravity, moving straight toward Jiyeon and struck her right on her chest, pushing both down onto the ground.

Closing her eyes, Jiyeon sees one last vision.

Hwayoung stands up in that darkness, putting both palms together. She focuses her energies, releasing some grey particles out of her.

She has this weird theory that if she were to keep her powers into her lifeless body, she will be able to reanimate the body and thus able to use her time manipulation ability to send one of her teammates her message.

But what will be the cost?

The darkness around the place disappears gradually as soon as the last of the grey particles exit her body.

Hwayoung soon wakes up, finding herself near a beach.

Where is she?

“Hey, she’s awake!”

Her attention shifts toward a group of people. Her eyes widen, seeing Jiyeon and her sister is among the crowd.

The girl with Jiyeon’s face looks at her, “Wow, Hyoyoung, she look exactly like you.”

The one with her sister’s face mutters, “You’re right. Her face is a bit similar to mine.”

One man speaks to her, “Tell me, what’s your name?”

She slowly responds, “Hwa…Young…”

Jiyeon whispers, “Hwayoung… Hyoyoung… wow, it’s like she is your long lost twin!”

She then sees a man with Kyu’s face walking toward her, “Hwayoung, huh? How did you ended up washed up at the sea?”

She shakes her head.

“Amnesia?”

“Probably.”

Hyoyoung just mutters, “Well, whatever it is, we feels good that you are still alive. Hey, we are having a picnic, would you like to join us?”

“Great idea!” Jiyeon cheerfully responds, “We could add her to our group! A new family member!”

“Family…” Hwayoung mutters.

Hyoyoung looks at her, “So?”

She nods.

Happily, Jiyeon and Hyoyoung help her stand up as they bring her to their picnic site.

At the site, Kyu whispers to her when nobody is looking, “No question. You are in a different world. Welcome to Bridge SLVR.”

Different world? No wonder it looks different.

Hwayoung looks at the sea, wishing that one day she could return to her home. But now she will stay here for a while.

Jiyeon opens up her eyes, breathing heavily.

Queen 7 is looking at her, “That’s all.”

The girl is silenced by this. So…Hwayoung is still alive somewhere else? Then, she wishes her a tons of luck.

Nearby, Zero and Kyu are looking at them.

Kyu mutters, “She’s okay then?”

Zero just nods, “A warrior of her own now.”

“So everything is ready, then?”

He nods again, turning at him, “It’s your turn now.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Back at the castle, the queen is looking at the outside on her balcony, whispering, “Foolish ladies. They have no idea what they are up to.”

She turns toward the sky, looking at huge meteors coming out of the cloud.

Somewhere else, everyone is looking at the same phenomenon.

Jiyeon mutters, “It is time…”

 

End

Next: T-aranger has finally gathered around as Kyu is preparing a ritual of reuniting all nine powers of tiara. The Army on the other hand is trying to disturb the ritual, having their own thoughts. The final battle begins between the Rebels and the Kingdom. Wait…Jiyeon…is stabbed by the queen? The conclusion is here!

Yes, finally! Tell me, whose story you want me to do next after this story ends? The lists of the story is at the foreword of Hero Bank.