Longing.
Ash said softly, "The Firefly Splendor Princess granted me the authority of Longing. It allows me to connect with all of you—to be happy because you're happy, to grieve because you're sad... The Shadow Swords that can only hurt you can hurt me too."
"So..." He turned to look at Felix and Daedalus. "Stay close to me."
At first, Felix still did not know what he meant to do, but when Ash flew toward Diya, she could not help crying out and tried to reach out and grab him!
No one was more terrified than the Witch. Never in her life had she wanted to get away from Ash more than she did now. "Don't come near me! Get away! Go away!"
But the Witch was still chased into a corner and pulled into Ash's arms. Her chin rested on Ash's shoulder, and she watched helplessly as the Shadow Swords pierced into Ash's back. Her hair color grew even messier and dirtier, like countless buckets of paint mixed together. Watching the four Shadow Swords run through Ash's body, she let out a sob, and huge tears began to fall. Her trembling voice had already blurred beyond telling how many parts were speaking at once. "It looks so painful..."
"It's fine." Ash pushed her away and looked at the Black-and-White Shadow Sword and Seven-Colored Shadow Sword piercing through his chest. The voice he spoke in sounded like a groan squeezed from the deepest folds of his soul. "It's not really that painful, actually. It's just a little... chilly."
Ash's body was trembling, limp and dejected like a puppy that had just been fished out of the sea. The pain brought by the Black-and-White Shadow Sword was boundless darkness. Every sound became incomparably distant, all color dimmed and vanished, and only