Two perfectly symmetrical stone hands crossed gently, like a compassionate deity grieving for all living beings.
At this very moment, it gazed quietly toward the distant galaxy—toward the scene it had personally orchestrated.
There, the old and new Propagation had already begun their frontal collision shortly after meeting.
[Though many twists emerged along the way, at last, this scene still unfolded as intended.]
HOOH silently watched the distant battle, heart calm.
Without notice, it had guided countless beings, weaving innumerable peculiar coincidences.
Under those coincidences, every possible path had converged toward this singular scenario.
Yet, in reaching this outcome, many unforeseen complications had appeared—even some so shocking they'd left HOOH momentarily stunned.
The newborn AEON of Propagation abandoned propagation itself, forcing HOOH to suddenly redirect the swarm and lure forth the Crimson Dragon.
The rapid deaths of Deceiver and Diabolical Swarm Kings had forced HOOH to have the swarm devour planets, continually strengthening itself.
Even then, the scales had continued to tilt unfavorably. Thus, during battle, a few stray meteorites had subtly shifted trajectory, propelled into nearly impossible angles by residual energy waves.
Without such manipulations, the Starcrusher Swarm King could never have withstood Titania.
No matter how inexperienced, Titania was still the newborn AEON of Propagation.
If she unleashed her full might, quickly ascending to godhood, the Starcrusher Swarm King would instantly be transformed into her clone.
Therefore, the Starcrusher Swarm King had consumed the other Swarm Kings, temporarily wielding the strength of TAZZYRONTH.
Now, with the powers of old and new Propagation balanced against each other, a dynamic equilibrium had finally emerged.
[From here, it all depends on you two.]
Their battle would destroy everything around them. The new Propagation would lose the companions she cared for, finally pushed to truly embrace propagation. The Starcrusher Swarm King, after defeating her, would be consumed by its fellow insects.
Two races, eternally opposed, would emerge, locked in conflict across the galaxy.
All was predetermined. HOOH would continue silently adjusting until that future became reality.
[Now, no one can interfere with this result…]
HOOH's gaze moved briefly toward its old friend. Yet that mocking mask showed no signs of intervening.
But even if that AEON took action, what could it possibly change?
Even channeling all its might into the insects, that energy would instantly vanish amid the clash of the two Propagation AEONs.
Yet if it chose not to act, everything would unfold exactly as foreseen.
This starfield was already enveloped in HOOH's power. All those beings capable of influencing the outcome were far beyond this region.
Only an AEON could affect an AEON's fate.
Right now, the only AEON capable of altering this outcome, AHA, was closely watched by HOOH. And no other AEONs had stretched their hands into this place.
In other words, nothing here could interrupt what was already set in motion.
HOOH embedded itself deeply within the universe's fundamental laws, repeatedly verifying its predictions. Even the Intelligentsia Guild's greatest minds would fail to find a way to disrupt this scenario.
The situation was unstoppable, the stage set fully ablaze.
[Equilibrium…]
...
Ksssh—!
Sparks burst along the blades in Titania's hands.
She deflected a crimson-gold beam, sending it sideways. A nearby planet instantly exploded into cosmic dust.
Titania ignored this side effect, seizing the opening to swing her blades again!
Yet the Starcrusher Swarm King showed speed utterly at odds with its massive body. Its silver-white wings vibrated at incredible frequencies, surpassing even Titania's speed!
Its mantis-like forelimbs rose instantly, slashing at Titania viciously.
Yet Titania showed no hesitation facing this rapid, deadly strike!
Just as the insect's forelimbs nearly touched her, Titania shifted into Memoria, causing its attack to pass harmlessly through empty space.
Simultaneously, her twin swords slashed fiercely onto the Swarm King's raised limbs.
Clang—!
A devastating energy shockwave erupted the moment their blades met, radiating violently in all directions.
The planet that had just been shattered was again struck by this wave, its debris instantly pulverized into drifting dust.
That wasn't the extent of damage. The countless insects orbiting the Swarm King exploded into bloody mist as the energy passed through them.
Even ships far away felt the devastating impact, their hulls seriously damaged. Ship after ship limped back to the temporary camp, desperately seeking repairs.
"Everyone, withdraw immediately from Commander Titania's vicinity!"
Witnessing this, the fleet command issued instant orders.
That place had become forbidden ground—just the physical clash of these two beings had rendered it deadly to ordinary life.
"Not bad—but at this level, you'll never defeat me."
Titania refused to retreat, continuously pressing against the Starcrusher Swarm King. Once she let any distance open up, its absurd speed would give it the upper hand.
Though Titania's battle experience was limited, she'd suffered enough from Sora's speed to know better.
She had to keep the Starcrusher Swarm King trapped here, close enough to strike.
The Swarm King also fully understood its advantage!
Unfortunately for it, Titania had already saturated the area with dense Memoria. Within this space, she could instantly teleport and strike endlessly without exhaustion.
If the Swarm King showed even a slight lapse in focus, Titania could pierce it viciously with Crystal Pincers.
"I'll crush you here—and let Sora see clearly just how much stronger I am than him!"
Titania's attacks became increasingly ferocious, the blades weaving densely through space, forming an impenetrable net of deadly light.
Even the Swarm King would suffer severe damage if struck head-on.
Yet faced with Titania's furious assault, the Starcrusher Swarm King was far from helpless.
The golden patterns on its abdomen glowed brightly again, followed immediately by an enormous solar storm erupting from its body!
Boom!
A blinding golden tempest exploded outward, instantly forcing Titania thousands of kilometers back, while simultaneously dispelling the dense Memoria around it.
[Your strength has increased significantly compared to before…]
The Starcrusher Swarm King sensed clearly that Titania had never shown such overwhelming power in their earlier clashes.
If she'd possessed this strength before, combining forces with Sora, even the Starcrusher Swarm King might've had to flee helplessly.
But previously, Titania had merely acted as support during their battle, barely a threat alone.
Thus, the Swarm King concluded decisively:
[Your true body must be nearby.]
Titania's dramatic power increase was unquestionably linked to her main body's proximity. No other explanation fit the situation.
"Tch, 'true body' this, 'true body' that—none of that matters. All you need to know is you're going to die by my hand!"
Though secretly startled that the Swarm King had deduced the truth, Titania stubbornly refused to acknowledge it aloud. Indeed, the closer she was to Tartaro, the greater her power grew—but there was no way she'd admit such a vulnerability mid-battle.
Killing this bastard first was far more important than clarifying anything!
Titania's eyes sharpened once more as Tartaro surged yet another wave of energy into her body.
Her twin blades flashed coldly. Moving faster than lightning, her figure sent ripples of cosmic dust outward in shockwaves.
The blades danced, their icy gleam shooting toward the Starcrusher Swarm King!
The Starcrusher refused to yield; its silvery wings trembled violently, harnessing Diabolical's speed to perfection.
Both blurred through the starry void, colliding endlessly—two streams of silver-white and azure brilliance clashing fiercely.
The Starcrusher attempted to evade Titania's strikes, spewing bursts of energy from its mouth at the shimmering silver-blue shadow chasing close behind.
Yet Titania, with agile reflexes and her Memoria-based body—able to disperse at will—effortlessly avoided each distant strike, relentlessly closing the gap.
Every time the Starcrusher tried to gain distance, Titania teleported instantly, leaving no chance for it to breathe.
Their battle, gradually, drifted beyond the initial battlefield, toward the area where the swarm clashed with the refugee ships.
Insects caught along their path burst into blood mist as before—but this time, countless ships exploded into fireworks as well.
No signals could penetrate this swarm-covered region. Those ships, Titania suddenly realized, were piloted not by avatars—but by real, living humans.
When those ships became flames, the people within could never survive the void.
Noticing this, Titania instinctively slowed down.
Yet in the very instant she hesitated, the Starcrusher's speed surged, leaving only an afterimage as its blades swung toward her!
The Starcrusher would never waste such a perfect opening—Titania's brief distraction was the precise moment to strike!
A flash of silver sliced across the void; Titania's body split cleanly in two, dissolving rapidly into Memoria.
The Starcrusher opened its massive jaws and swallowed her bisected form whole.
Immediately afterward, countless missiles and energy beams poured in, striking its enormous body.
"You ugly bug! What did you do to our Commander Titania?!" came furious roars from the nearby ships, unleashing everything they had.
Far in the distance, a massive Star-Destroyer Battleship finished charging and fired a devastating planetary-scale cannon.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
Endless explosions engulfed the Starcrusher's form, smoke and debris temporarily obscuring its silhouette.
Yet as the smoke dissipated, the Starcrusher stood unscathed.
Its body's toughness had long surpassed anything human weapons could scratch—aside from Titania's Crystal Pincers, nothing here posed the slightest threat.
[These worms' attacks don't even qualify as an itch.]
But the bombardment wasn't entirely meaningless. Countless fragments drifted around the Starcrusher's body, swiftly morphing into new insects with deep-blue shells.
The passive splitting skill of the Starcrusher:
[CARAPACE OF NURTURED DISASTER]
As long as its main body remained intact, all debris shed from it transformed instantly into new insects.
Not only had the barrage failed to harm it—it had only made the swarm stronger.
Titania reformed herself through Tartaro's energy, frustration clearly etched upon her face as she stared ahead.
"All of you, fall back! This place is my battlefield with this oversized bug!"
Ordering everyone away, she again rushed forward, clashing violently with the Starcrusher.
Her twin blades blurred into streaks of deadly light, clanging harshly against its forelimbs, producing ear-piercing metallic echoes.
[Why would you care about these worms' lives?]
"Shut up! Today is your funeral!" Titania roared angrily, her attacks intensifying.
The golden markings on the Starcrusher flared brighter, releasing a powerful energy burst that momentarily pushed Titania away.
As Titania reformed herself at the solar storm's edge, she saw the Starcrusher opening its back, hurling a planet-sized energy orb straight at her.
[OVUM OF COLLAPSED STAR]
The Starcrusher had previously shattered entire stars with this move.
Titania sensed the overwhelming power within the orb, and as she prepared to dodge, she hesitated, noticing behind her a line of ships directly in the path of destruction.
Halfway through turning away, she suddenly stiffened. Facing an attack tens of thousands of times her own size, Titania chose to confront it directly.
"Stop joking around!"
Titania channeled her full power; a towering Crystal Rampart, strong enough to withstand the Ovum's impact, emerged instantly.
BOOM—!!
Brilliant blue energy crashed against the Rampart, instantly throwing the nearby magnetic fields into chaos.
This isn't funny at all! Those idiots aren't worth protecting like this!
Her heart raged.
She didn't have to take the Ovum head-on—she could easily teleport away.
Yet her body stubbornly defied her commands, forcibly holding ground…
"It must be Sora's stupid air infecting me during his resurrection. Otherwise, I'd never be dumb enough to stay here!"
The [Ovum of Collapsed Star] came and went swiftly, leaving the Rampart unscathed.
But the Starcrusher wasn't a mere clone limited to two attacks—it now wielded the combined power of four Swarm Kings!
At the very moment Titania relaxed slightly, a scorching ray erupted, instantly devouring her form again:
[STELLAR RAY TORRENT]
The blinding, endless ray surged through space, vaporizing Titania instantly and continuing to blaze across the void.
The Crystal Rampart cracked and shattered, marking the disappearance of its creator.
"Commander Titania!" panicked voices rang out from the ships.
But soon, an irritated voice cut sharply through:
"Stop mourning and get out of here!" Titania's form coalesced again. "You're all just dragging me down—now scram!"
[I find it fascinating that you'd care about such insignificant worms.] The Starcrusher appeared again, clearly perplexed by Titania's choices.
[These creatures serve no purpose in battle—mere liabilities. Only someone as foolish as you would protect them.]
"Shut your mouth, you damned ugly bastard!" Titania was thoroughly annoyed, losing any desire for pretense.
And who said only I'd protect these idiots?
Once that idiot Sora revives, he'll surely protect them too!
Until then, she simply didn't want her believers hurt before their duel.
"Just die already!" Titania no longer hesitated, her form bathed in starlight, descending like a war-goddess.
Her blades crashed furiously against the Starcrusher's limbs.
But soon, Titania noticed the Starcrusher had stopped dodging entirely, instead willingly trading blows at close range.
Precisely what she wanted—this kept the battle safely contained, away from those morons getting involved.
"Then let's fight to the death here!" Her attacks sharpened fiercely.
[Of course. I intend to fight you here.] The Starcrusher's calm statement made Titania pause. Why the sudden change?
Because the Starcrusher had discovered something critical.
[The energy signature within you closely matches a nearby planet—your true body must be there.] Its tone turned icy. [Have you forgotten? All this time, I haven't used my duplicates.]
Titania froze.
No duplicates—unless it didn't want to—or… it already had.
She urgently scanned for its duplicates, finding nothing—then saw them clearly, standing atop the distant star fueling Sora's resurrection, absorbing its energy.
In that moment, two blinding red-golden beams erupted, shooting toward Tartaro and the temporary camp!
[Now, what will you choose?] taunted the Starcrusher.
Protect your true body—or those insignificant worms? Let me see your decision.
The fiery beams tore through space, racing toward her precious places: Tartaro and the camp full of fools calling her "Commander Titania."
Two places holding things she despised. She should let them both burn—but her body betrayed her again.
Endless Memoria erupted from Tartaro, forming two vast Crystal Ramparts.
"I refuse to choose!"
She'd pick neither—she'd save both with her strength alone!
BOOOM!
Energy exploded violently as Titania blocked two [Stellar Ray Torrents] simultaneously.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her desperate roar echoed across space, everyone witnessing her struggle.
Yet, suddenly, silver-white streaks shattered her focus, the Starcrusher's claws obliterating her form once more. The Ramparts cracked heavily.
[I never promised not to attack you.]
The beams intensified again as the Starcrusher whispered:
[You and these worms will become offerings to my fallen comrades.]
Ramparts shattered. Titania could no longer hold both.
In the end, even she couldn't protect everyone—just like that idiot Sora…
"You idiot, still lying there. Pathetic…"
"Saving everyone was too hard for you after all, huh?"
A familiar voice resonated within her soul. She glanced back. Sora still lay unmoving.
Hallucination?
"Hey, where are you looking?"
Titania looked up. A radiant figure stood before her, easily blocking the beam with one outstretched hand.
In front of the camp, a familiar white figure did the same.
"S-Sora?!"
"Who else?" he teased. "Looks like your brain messed up your memories too."
Both beams fizzled harmlessly, blocked entirely by Sora's shining form.
A familiar white robe enveloped him, feathers descending gently through space as he announced:
'[MUGEN SHINKA]'
"[Henshin]!"
'[CHOKAIGAN! MUGEN!]'
'[KEEP GOING! GO, GO, GO! GO, GO, GO! GO, GO, GO! GOTTA! GHOST!]'
A seven-colored horn shone brilliantly.
"The possibilities of life are infinite!"