Shuo wasn't dead, but he was barely clinging to life.
He lay rigid on the rubble, his face as white as crumpled paper, without a trace of color.
Half a piece of candy slowly dissolved in his mouth, sweetness spreading across his tongue, but he didn't have the strength to swallow. He simply held it there, dazed and motionless.
Hand Princess Big crouched beside him. Transparent liquid dripped from the pale purple eye in their palm, landing cool against Shuo's cheek.
"It's sweet... eat it..."
They murmured softly, their voice thick with tears, but Shuo didn't react at all.
Hand Princess Small slowly crawled over and crouched beside them, staring at Shuo and shedding transparent droplets too.
Hand Princess Three hopped over gently, deliberately holding back their strength so they didn't leave even the slightest crater, and stared fixedly at Shuo as well.
Hand Princess Four floated extremely low, almost touching his face, their eye unblinking.
Hand Princess Five slowly shuffled over, all thirteen eyes on their belly fixed on Shuo.
The smaller fragments crowded over too-ears, noses, little toes-surrounding Shuo, all shedding droplets and repeating the same words over and over: "It's sweet... eat it..."
In the distance, the Ten-Tails still lay in the huge crater, every eye on its body tightly shut. Yet the ink-black substance inside it kept seeping out, spreading little by little, like poison, like something alive, lying quietly in wait as though waiting for some opportunity.
Kaguya walked over and stood behind the cluster of fragments, looking down at Shuo's pale face, at the half-eaten candy in his mouth, at the fragments all over the ground shedding tears. She remained silent for a long time, so long that even the wind stopped.
She crouched down, gently took Shuo's chin, and removed the half-dissolved candy