Dawn and Mirror reached for the Divine Position Core floating in midair at the same time.
The sting in their fingertips had not fully faded. It was the mental wound left by their tampered memories.
The images forced into their minds and the venomous words clung like a disease eating into their bones. Even knowing they were false could not erase the scars they had left.
Just as their fingertips were about to touch the Divine Position Core, both stopped at once. For a moment, their movements went rigid.
They looked at each other, and each saw an emotion too tangled to name on the other's face.
Guilt. Lingering fear. And a trace of unfamiliarity neither had noticed before.
Season Star had forcibly welded their tainted bond back together with Bloodline Resonance, but the cracks remained.
"What are you hesitating for?"
Season Star's voice held no emotion, yet it cut through their fragile pretense like a scalpel.
"Are you afraid of its power? Or of yourselves?"
Dawn's Adam's apple bobbed. He said nothing.
Mirror bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes.
"The God of Forgetting's power was built on Erasure. He erased memories, then understanding, and finally existence itself." Season Star continued her analysis. "But you defeated him not because your wills were unshakable. Your very existence was a fatal loophole in his law."
"Your bloodline cannot be 'forgotten.' It is a constant physical fact, not a piece of memory data that can be rewritten."
"And now that loophole is right in front of you."
Season Star raised her hand and pointed at the gray Divine Position Core.
"You don't need to absorb it. You need to crack it. Use your bloodline as a key to open the lock called 'forgetfulness,' then take what's inside for yourselves."
Dawn took