Chapter 149 - Fatal Point

As Myrrh surged forward, her butterfly wings erupted in a blaze of green fire, scattering shimmering embers that drifted across the battlefield like fragments of emerald starlight. She soared with unyielding resolve, her trajectory fixed on the towering Cosmic Goddess, who stood silently as if awaiting the inevitable clash.

Without warning, the Cosmic Goddess stirred. Her mannequin-like face, which I had always believed to be hollow and lifeless, suddenly awakened. From the smooth pale mask, two immense golden eyes snapped open, their radiant glow piercing through the void. Within each iris swirled an endless galaxy, rotating in eternal motion, as though the entire cosmos had been imprisoned in her gaze.

“AAAAAAAAAH!” The Cosmic Goddess sang, her voice echoing like a divine hymn across the heavens. 

From her back, clusters of miniature galaxies blossomed, expanding outward in luminous arcs. These galaxies burst apart, hurling forth showers of newborn stars that blazed like suns torn from creation itself.

The stars streaked across the skies with the fury of meteors, each one trailing golden fire as they locked onto Myrrh’s path. In moments, the heavens were saturated with their radiant onslaught, leaving no room to slip through. Escape was no longer possible.

A chill ran through me. If I did nothing, Myrrh would be consumed in the storm. I thrust my arm forward, circuits along my skin igniting with sky-blue light, and activated the WMD Series. My voice tore from my throat as I invoked its name.

“Shadow Curtain, Activate!”

A translucent veil of shifting shadows enveloped Myrrh’s Frame Unit, its flickering surface glinting like black glass touched by starlight. The stars collided against the barrier one after another, detonating in violent bursts of light. Each impact gave birth to a miniature supernova, tearing apart the sky with blinding brilliance, yet the Shadow Curtain held firm.

[Shadow Curtain: 30 seconds]

[Shadow Curtain: 0 seconds]

The veil shattered, dispersing into fading sparks.

[Shadow Curtain Deactivated]

“What?” I muttered, staring at the flickering WEEB HUD. The Shadow Curtain’s duration had been completely drained in a single strike. A cold realization hit me. If the Goddess could erase my defenses that easily, then this battle was going to be far more difficult than I imagined.

Through the roaring storm of supernovae, a silhouette emerged. From the fires and smoke, Myrrh’s Frame Unit pushed forward, its armor scorched and molten in places, plates of metal glowing faintly as if still smoldering from the heat. Yet even with her machine battered and weakened, her determination burned brighter than ever. She pressed on, reckless and fearless, eyes fixed on the towering divinity before us.

“Graaaaaaah!” Myrrh roared, raising both Uranium Blades. The edges shimmered with a faint nuclear radiance as she drew them into a ready stance, preparing to carve through the impossible.

I snapped my hand forward, voice breaking into the chaos. “Particle Accelerator, Activate!”

In that instant, her Frame Unit blazed with a pinkish-red aura. Energy wrapped around her body like molten light, condensing and crackling before propelling her forward in a burst that shattered the air itself. She became a crimson streak, surging faster than thought, and with a single motion she unleashed a devastating cross-slash across the Goddess’s chest.

The impact ignited reality. A blinding detonation tore through the sky, shaking the heavens with a nuclear flare.

“AAAAAAAAAAAH*NLFD!)$!” 

The Cosmic Goddess cried, her voice breaking into an inhuman shriek that twisted into incomprehensible noise. The sound rattled in my skull, as if her very scream was not meant for mortal ears.

When the glare finally faded, I saw it. The mannequin-like porcelain body of the Goddess was marred for the first time. A jagged X-shaped crack now stretched across her massive chest, proof that even something so godlike could bleed under our assault.

“Keep it up, Myrrh!” I pumped my fists, exhilaration flooding my veins. “We’re doing damage!”

“Got it!” she shouted back, her blades flashing with renewed vigor.

But before she could press her advantage, the Goddess’s fury erupted. With a roar that shook the very stars, she raised both of her colossal arms. Her golden galaxy eyes locked on Myrrh, swirling faster and faster, threatening to consume her whole.

“BEGONE!”

The Cosmic Goddess brought her colossal arms down, and reality itself split apart. Two enormous rifts tore open in the fabric of existence, each one birthing a ravenous black hole. The air warped and bent around them, as if the universe was being folded inward. 

Everything nearby began to collapse into their pull, from shattered stone to fragments of light itself, and even the emerald flames trailing from Myrrh’s wings were drawn helplessly into the void.

“Gah!” Myrrh cried out, her Frame Unit groaning under the strain. The armor plates bent and shrieked as she was caught between the two gravitational maelstroms. Her body stretched against the pull, like a rope fraying in the deadliest tug-of-war imaginable.

“Timesphere, Rift Generator, Activate!” I shouted, thrusting both arms forward. Blue circuits flared to life beneath my skin, spreading across my arms like streams of living light. The air shimmered as my power surged.

At once, the flow of time fractured. Around Myrrh, seconds slowed to a crawl, reduced to a fraction of their pace. Space itself rippled, and a glowing dimensional rift opened in front of her, its spiraling maw offering the faintest hope of escape.

Seeing her chance, Myrrh roared and ignited every thruster on her Frame Unit. Flames burst from her elbows, legs, and back, the sheer force propelling her against the pull of the black holes as she clawed her way toward the rift.

“Aaaaaaargh!” Her scream shook through the comms, raw and desperate.

But the Goddess’s golden eyes ignited once more. Energy swelled within them, each iris burning with the power of a solar flare. In a flash, twin beams of golden light erupted, lancing across the battlefield.

“Get out of there, Myrrh!” I shouted, my voice cracking.

Even with time slowed, the black holes refused to release her. And the beams—traveling at the very speed of light—were merciless. They struck her before she could fully reach the rift.

The world erupted. A violent explosion swallowed her, flames consuming her Frame Unit. Armor shattered into molten fragments, arms and legs disintegrating as they were hurled into the void. The machine’s head was reduced to slag, its limbs torn apart like paper in a storm.

But fate offered one cruel mercy. The main core was spared total destruction, its damage only partial. The remaining torso of the Frame Unit tumbled across the battlefield, sparks trailing in its wake, before finally crashing against the stone.

With a burst of failing energy, the cockpit cracked open, and Myrrh’s true body was thrown free.

“Gah…” Her voice was weak as she collapsed on the ground. Her white plugsuit was torn to ribbons, hanging from her in tatters and exposing pale, battered skin beneath. She lay sprawled in the dust, fragile and human once more, in stark contrast to the godlike machine she had just lost.

“Myrrh!” I cried, my voice breaking as I slammed the comms. “Agent Steve! Let me fetch her!”

“Got it! But do it fast! We have to get out of here!” Agent Steve’s synthetic voice crackled through the SHOTA radio, sharp and urgent.

“Of course!” I barked back.

The aerial drone I rode dipped sharply, cutting through smoke and falling debris as it descended toward the crash site. My heart pounded harder with every meter. Then I saw her.

Myrrh lay amid the rubble, her body streaked with blood. Her white plugsuit clung to her in tatters, crimson blossoming across the fabric, yet her eyes still shimmered with life. She pushed herself unsteadily to her feet, clutching her injured left arm. When she spotted me, those weary eyes lit up, burning with fragile hope.

“Zaft!” Myrrh cried, her voice trembling yet fierce.

“Myrrh! Take my hand!” I shouted, stretching my arm toward her as the drone closed the distance.

Fifty meters. My pulse thundered.

Five meters. Her arm reached up to me.

One meter. Our fingertips brushed, so close I could almost feel her warmth.

“Zaft…” Myrrh whispered, her lips curling into a smile. Despite the blood, despite the pain, it was the most beautiful smile I had ever seen.

“Myrrh…” I breathed, my own lips curving into a smile that mirrored hers. In that instant, nothing else existed.

I tightened my grip to pull her from the kill zone...

...but the world shifted.

A violent rush of air tore past us. A sound, sharp and merciless, cut through the battlefield like the scythe of an executioner. And then, as if fate itself had paused its breath, time seemed to stop for both of us.

A golden laser tore through the air, faster than thought.

Blood splattered across Myrrh’s face, warm and sudden. Her eyes widened, pupils trembling as scarlet streaked down her cheeks, mingling with her tears. For a heartbeat she froze, staring at the crimson staining her skin, before her voice broke apart in despair.

“No… no…” she whispered, the word shattering into sobs.

Agony erupted in my chest, sharp and unbearable, as if my very core had been split open. My breath hitched, wet and ragged. I raised my hand in disbelief, staring at the blood that drenched my palm. More spilled freely from my lips, hot and metallic, spilling down my chin. Even my vision blurred into a haze of scarlet, the world itself painted in blood.

I turned my gaze toward her. Myrrh stood before me, trembling, her hands outstretched as though she could hold me together. Even as my lifeblood stained her face, she remained radiant. Her beauty did not fade in that moment; if anything, it burned brighter, framed by grief and desperation.

Summoning the last of my strength, I gave her a faint, fragile smile. It was all I had left to give.

Darkness closed in, swallowing everything.

But even as the world slipped away, I still heard her. Her voice tore through the void, raw and desperate, clinging to me with all her heart.

“ZAFT!”