From the church spire, Phantasia could see the park Shelley had been in sitting on the edge of the town, watching over the ruins before it. She had spent the remainder of the day reflecting on the things she had experienced over the weekend, and speaking with Queen Thetis about them.

“I never fully understood humans,” admitted the Queen, “They can be so abstract, so illogical. That is their strength, though. Unlike us faeries, who are limited to our elements, humans can think in a whole spectrum of ways.”

Phantasia stood atop the spire and surveyed the landscape – the school she would soon return to; the industrial complex where the World’s End sat buried beneath the lifeless dirt; the gallery, nestled behind the shops and streets that had been so busy during the day; and then all the other places she had never explored. One in particular stood out to her now – a luxurious mansion to the far north of town, sitting atop a grassy hill. From its midst rose the beginnings of a tower, its scaffolding reaching high above everything else. Once complete, it would dominate the town’s skyline.

“Humans do not just bring darkness,” the Queen had told her, when Phantasia asked how the humans managed to attack the demon, “Darkness is, after all, just the energies around us that have been weakened by negative emotions. To undo that damage takes an equally strong positive force. Sadly, that sort of power is not nearly as common. Humans are more inclined towards negativity because it is easier that way.”

Phantasia had seen that positive power used by Godhand, a cause that reaped negative consequences. Similarly, she had felt darkness flow forth from her new friends, who were anything but evil! It was a complicated situation that even the cleverest faerie of all couldn’t explain.

“Humans are humans,” Queen Thetis had said with a chuckle, a sign of the effect they had had on a naturally stoic water elemental, “I believe you can find a path in their world. If you want to fight, them I believe you can fight. You are a faerie, and all faeries have an element, something that empowers them. Maybe for you, that element is something we cannot touch…”

As she stood overlooking the world, Phantasia thought of her friends and of the dangers they faced, and the dangers they would face in the future. She thought of Kaori and Shelley and their tears of sadness, and then their tears of joy. Somewhere deep inside, she could feel it pulsating: the power she sought, the power that would help her protect her friends…

~ What is Phantasia’s power? ~
~ Next: Phantasia’s identity revealed?! ~

Chapter 9
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