SORA

Miroslava and I chase the illusion of Pride around the ravine, avoiding blows of lightning from her axe while at the same time retaliating with our own attacks. As Miroslava flashes in and out of darkness, she gets closer and closer to the illusion each time, only narrowly missing it until she finally manages to land several hits with her chain scythe in a row. And when I notice her pained expression, I finally realize why she said we're the ones who have to fight Pride and Evory and Isabella are the ones who have to fight Humility.

Miroslava has accepted her faults and her weaknesses and has admitted to her mistakes, and she refuses to take blame for anything she isn't responsible for. She's swallowed her pride by admitting she isn't perfect, and by doing so, she's allowed to wound the illusion of Pride. Between the four of us, Miroslava and I's fault is more Pride than Humility and Evory and Isabella tend to be so selfless that they may not realize how it affects those around them, nor do they notice how it robs them of their desires. Although, I think they've both started to realize that a long time ago and have been trying to change it, especially Evory has after her accident.

I run towards the illusion and I meet Miroslava's eyes as she swings her scythe around the illusion to pull it backwards, and in that moment I know. I lean slightly forwards as I hold my longsword back before I race forwards, kicking up ground when I start off. I shout as flames envelop my blade and I close my eyes, letting myself realize that I can't handle everything by myself, letting myself realize that it's okay to need help, and I swing my longsword in a long sweep, my flames fanning out in a sharp hit that makes the illusion spark with electricity as it glows and transforms back into half of the orb. Miroslava catches the orb out of the air and nods to me, proud of my realizations.

"You're a Chronos," I say suddenly, my eyes locking onto Miroslava's, and her eyebrows raise slightly at my words. "Aren't you? All this time, I had no idea what to think of you, but I put your words and your actions together, and now I know. Back when I was a kid, my dad used to read stories to me. I never thought they were real, of course, but when I became an Aria I realized just how many of them were true. You're one of the three siblings who created the Sins and the Virtues with The Oracle. The Chronos siblings themselves are immortal beings who control different parts of time and protect them in order to keep the balance in the world, which is why you're able to show me pieces of the past. You watch over the past, don't you?"

"Well," Miroslava hums and places her hands behind her back, tossing the orb around. "Where did this come from all of a sudden?"

"I'm...actually not sure," my expression falters slightly. "It's just like everything suddenly clicked into place."

"Well," Miroslava sighs. "You're not necessarily wrong. My brother reigns over future while I watch over past."

"Then..." I trail off, my breath hitching. "Mariposa..."

"Mariposa was my sister, and she was supposed to watch over present, yes..." Miroslava glances away for a few moments, her expression slipping into a frown.

"If Mariposa no longer looks over it, then..." I meet Miroslava's eyes, "who does?"

"When you kill a Chronos, our abilities transfer to you," Miroslava explains briefly. "Although we're immortal, we're able to be killed just like the Sins and Virtues. Sins and Virtues are able to kill us, as are other Chronos or Nightmare creatures. Whoever was after Mariposa intended for me to be the one to die, not her. If we die by a Nightmare creature, our abilities transfer to someone who is worthy, much like the Sins and Virtues. In any case, because Mariposa was murdered, her assailant was the one who received her abilities."

"Who exactly was that, if you don't mind me asking? And...I'm really sorry," I frown.

"It's...yeah," Miroslava glances away and refuses to say that it's fine, because we both know that would be a lie. "Back then, there weren't nearly as many people on the planet, and the Nightmare creatures weren't yet released like they were when Wrath accidentally opened the gateway. But there was still greed, and there were still evil beings. There always will be, unfortunately. At the time, it was rare for anyone to be an Aria if they weren't a Sin or a Virtue. Because of this, there was a man desperate for power in order to save his family. He thought if he could rearrange pieces of the past, he could keep them from falling ill. He didn't know that it's impossible to physically change what has already happened. And so, he sought to take my powers, but...he gained Mariposa's instead. After that, he went into hiding for as long as anyone could remember."

"If Carmin were to get to him..." My breath hitches and Miroslava's expression turns knowingly grim, showing that she's already considered this possibility.

"Come on, we should hurry back to Evory and Isabella. We can continue this conversation later," Miroslava says and I nod in agreement.

Miroslava and I run back in the direction we came from, looking out for Evory and Isabella in the process. Once we get back to them, we find that they've also already gotten their half of the orb and they smile knowingly at us. Miroslava and Evory reconnect the orb while Isabella smiles softly at me.

"Congratulations, you have been deemed worthy of the runestone of Pride and Humility. Shall you abuse it, however, it will mean the end of you," the voices say ominously before the fog around the ravine fades away and everything seemingly returns to normal.

"Perhaps we should return to Nikita and the others," Evory suggests.

All in agreement, we head back to the castle to find Gambit and Darius waiting for us near the entrance, both of them smiling when we finally come into sight. However, I notice Gambit's smile falter slightly and my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"You guys are okay, it seems. I'm gl--" Darius starts, but Evory cuts him off by running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck in a hug, making him stumble backwards slightly.

"I'm really sorry," Evory says quietly and Darius's breath hitches. "I didn't know you blamed yourself. Please don't. I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. I'm so, so sorry."

Darius smiles sadly and hugs her in return, lowering his head to hide his face in the crook of her shoulder.

"I can only try," he says, squeezing her tighter, "but I will for you."

"Gambit, what's wrong?" I ask as my eyes flicker over from Darius and Evory to her, noticing she still seems bothered by something.

"Perhaps you should come see for yourself," Gambit sighs and motions for us to follow after her, Isabella, Miroslava, Evory, and I exchanging confused looks with each other while Darius walks beside Evory once we go after Gambit.

We follow Gambit back inside the castle only to be led into what seems to be a medical room filled with a few beds, medical supplies, cabinets lined with alchemical items, and a silver table lined with medical tools. Around one of the beds, I notice Clea, Sekai, Akari, and Kit are standing in a circle, Nikita's shock of blonde hair visible from the bed itself as she's sitting on the edge of it. My eyes flicker over to the silver table as I pass by and I notice the bowl that has water and a blood soaked shirt resting in it, my eyes flickering back to the bed as I draw nearer and a sense of unease fills me. 

My breath hitches in my throat when I finally reach the edge of the bed and Akari and Clea step aside while Nikita glances over her shoulder at me, her eyes knowing, and my eyes flicker between her and the figure lying in the bed with white bandages wrapped around their torso, their chest rising and falling slowly as they rest unconscious.

"Kaito Kamekawa," I breathe out, finally finding my words. "What happened to you?"

"It seems he finally found himself," Akari says softly, "and it nearly killed him in the process."

Silently, Nikita stands up from the bed and locks eyes with me before she reaches around her neck and unclasps her necklace, placing the runestone of Pride and Humility in my hands before she closes my fingers around it, making my eye brows raise in surprise.

"Thank you," Nikita says softly, her eyes kind and genuine, before she turns to the others. "Isabella, would you mind watching over Kaito for a bit? You may all stay here for as long as you'd like, but I fear Aria may be here soon, so you should prepare to take your leave."

"What about you?" Clea asks. "You can't just stay here."

"Who said I would be staying here? Kaito isn't the only one who found something he's been looking for for a long time," Nikita raises a brow before she smiles and Clea's eyebrows raise in surprise, a small knowing smile forming on her face as Nikita walks off.

While the others talk amongst themselves, Miroslava taps me on the shoulder and I glance back at her, meeting her knowing gaze.

"Now, shall we?" Miroslava raises a brow and I nod, following after her to continue our earlier conversation.