Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

"When I first met you, you were already like this—like you could do anything. So you took everything onto yourself, forcing yourself to bear so many things that were never meant to be yours."

"Honestly, the way you are now is really pretty awful."

"Though, in this state, you do have a kind of indescribable coolness to you, and a certain unique charm worth praising. I don't particularly hate it either."

"But I still prefer you when you're relaxed—when you genuinely cared about everything around you, always pulling me along to do things that still make me happy when I think back on them."

Gripping the other girl's hand tightly, her legs clamped around that pitch-black, ice-cold armor. As scenes like a life flashing before her eyes unfolded before them, Chris murmured her final words.

"So, if you can, could you promise me that you'll be happy... Ah, come to think of it, you lost your hearing a long time ago, didn't you?"

Only at the end did Chris remember that the girl before her had lost her hearing at some unknown point.

"What a shame. I wanted you to hear it, my..."

She still wanted to say something, but the corrosion had already reached her throat. Her final words never left her lips.

And so, the last Gear User also lost all signs of life, turning into powdered ruby fragments upon the black-and-red blade.

Raye could feel it.

Even though her world was silent, she could still feel the blazing, shining emotion coming from the girl before her.

"Chris..."

Raye opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but stopped midway because she ultimately did not know what to say.

What else could she say? The outcome was already like this.

The surroundings were utterly safe. There were no