『—All life must meet its end. It is an inevitability. A law of providence that every living soul challenges, yet none have ever overcome.』
Ascending to the rank of Grand, Aia emanates a transcendent radiance. Clad in shifting flickers of light, she walks forward slowly to face her foe.
『Rikka! Mash! Are you okay? What happened? My monitor just blew out over here!』
"Y-Yes! …The King of Heroes, he…"
『Gil? What about Gil?! Don't tell me—』
Rikka cuts off Romani's panicked voice.
[He became… a Princess…]
『EH?!』
[Lemegeton… That power, that form. Have you reached the same state of omnipotence as we?]
『…』
[But this is a disappointment! To possess such power, such a form! To have attained a soul, only to reach such a pathetic conclusion! Is this what we looked forward to?!]
Goetia's voice seethes with indignation.
[Do not speak of "ends" in our presence! If you cannot overturn our expectations, our collective decree…]
『I cannot. I have no intention of denying you, nor do I wish to defeat you with logic.』
[…What?]
It is true. This form, this soul… it was not born to deny or to judge.
『Death is inevitable; it is an immutable truth. However—it is never truly "the end."』
She speaks as one who cherishes all things, accepting and embracing everything with profound tolerance.
『Death is a ritual—a passing of hope and the future to those who follow. It is never "nothingness."』
Aia speaks softly, her voice carrying a calm authority.
『There is no life in this world that does not die, just as there is no life that ends without meaning. Every living thing leaves a testament of its existence within the world, entrusting its wishes to tomorrow, fulfilling the mandate heaven bestowed upon it. —Nothing has ever died and truly become "naught." Every soul possesses value and meaning.』
Death is not despair. Death is not worthlessness.
『Death is not something to be shunned, despised, or erased… It is something to be acknowledged, accepted, and held as a source of peace. It is the "meaning" granted to all life. It is the sublime "color" of existence that allows one to entrust the future to the next and connect one's own life to what follows.』
[Death… possesses value? Meaning?! What… what absurdity is this…]
『Goetia. King of Demon Gods, you who grieve for death more than anyone, you who question the nature of life more than anyone—yet, even with omnipotence, could not find the answer.』
Aia watches Goetia's sorrow in silence. She closes her eyes and makes her declaration.
『Now, I shall show you my answer. First of the Evils of Humanity—Beast of Grief and Compassion. To your three-thousand-year achievement, I offer the culmination of my own refinement—』
She rises slowly into the air. In her hand, she takes the Sword of Rupture. Lifting the platinum-on-gold blade high, the Grand Princess chants the meaning of her existence.
The answer she reached at the end of her long journey—
『—I reveal my Truth here and now.』
A seven-colored wind begins to howl from the blade of Ea, spiraling upward.
（—…）
The Sovereign Beast watches her silhouette in silent pride. The one and only Princess who changed him—he watches her finest hour with a heart full of wordless emotion.
"This is…!"
[Wow…!]
The world fills with color. Vivid, brilliant hues—colors that govern all phenomena—begin to overwrite the tragedy and despair. The two girls gasp in wonder.
[—! No… Lemegeton! You…!]
Goetia finally understands.
The meaning of Aia's Grand status. The reason she attained this form.
[You would make such a choice?! Such a decree! You would cast it down for us?! You would cast aside the throne of omnipotence? The pinnacle of Heroic Spirits? You would throw it all away, here and now?!]
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