Page 48 of Pisces Rising

His fists, wrapped in the sun’s fabric, hammered relentlessly, each blow a desperate attempt to shatter the barrier that Dark Gemini conjured.

As Pisces wavered on the edge of the abyss, Aries’ anguish peaked, his form glowing so intensely that the surrounding darkness recoiled.

But Pisces knew there was no other way. Dark Gemini now had them all trapped in that hellish realm. She’d spent centuries there, perfecting her power and growing darker with each passing moment. If Pisces didn’t do something now, stop Dark Gemini and extinguish her power in this realm, they were all destined to perish there.

Pisces met Aries’ gaze through the shimmering wall of force, a sad smile curving her lips. "This is the only way. The only way to end this, once and for all."

She turned to face Dark Gemini, determination blazing in her eyes. The warnings and cries of the other Zodiacs melded with the sounds of cosmic battle. Pisces looked up, knowing what she had to do to stop this before it destroyed them all.

With her last dredge of strength, she hurled herself toward Dark Gemini. Their bodies collided, and Pisces dragged the dark twin with her into the black hole as it collapsed inward, delivering them both to its obliterating finality.

As the darkness swallowed her, Pisces heard Aries’ final, desperate cry—a sound of pure, shattered anguish that echoed through the fractured cosmos.

Then there was only silence...and the infinite, all-consuming void.

Chapter

Thirty-Nine

Pisces opened her eyes to find herself lying on the soft sand of a familiar beach. For a disorienting moment, she wondered if some cruel cosmic trick forced her to relive her original arrival on this planet in an endless loop. A knot of dread formed in her stomach at the thought of being trapped in a never-ending cycle.

But as the fog of confusion lifted, her memories came crashing back in full force. She remembered the unbearable loss of the Cerulean Tear's power to the sinister force that had shattered reality itself. She recalled the harrowing battle that followed, facing off against Gemini's fractured light and dark halves in the distorted mirror realm. And finally, she remembered her last, desperate act—hurling herself and Gemini into the swirling void of a black hole.

Pisces slowly rose to her feet, newfound strength and ancient wisdom coursing through her veins. She felt the immense, almost overwhelming weight of countless eons and infinite rebirths flowing through her very being. Imbued with the eternal truth that she had lived a thousand lifetimes as the primordial cosmic mother, living, dying, and being reborn over and over into new existences, Pisces knew she was now whole and complete once more.

Her soul and the Cerulean Tear's infinite energies resonated within her, its power restored to her control. Pisces was almost giddy with the sensation of such unbounded cosmic might at her command. But just as quickly, her elation turned to cold dread as she fully took in her surroundings.

The earth below her feet remained pristine and unharmed, showing no signs of the cataclysmic scorching Dark Gemini had inflicted. If such world-shattering devastation had been averted, just another one of Dark Gemini’s illusions, could it be that the others...Her eyes turned skyward, surveying the glittering tapestry of the cosmos above. Had the rest of them failed to escape the mirror realm? Panic gripped her heart. "Aries!" she called out in a voice brimming with desperation. "Leo! Capricorn! Can any of you hear me? Where are you?"

A faint groaning reached her ears, and she spun toward the noise to find its source—Gemini herself lying crumpled mere yards away. Pisces rushed over and knelt beside her fallen friend, reaching out to offer what comfort and healing she could muster. As Gemini's eyes fluttered open, Pisces knew with certainty that her true friend was in front of her. She managed a relieved smile. "It's alright, you're safe now. That awful place is behind us."

Once Gemini had recovered enough strength to rise, the pair joined hands, concentrating their shared cosmic energies. In a blinding flash, they transcended the physical realm, transporting themselves back among the stars toward their sanctum of Star Castle. They had to learn the fate of their missing comrades, no matter how terrible the truth might be.

As Star Castle's crystalline spires came into view, Pisces sent one final impassioned plea out into the vastness in a voice that echoed across galaxies: "Zodiacs! I call you all to return and be known! We must gather once more!"

Pisces and Gemini rematerialized in a blinding flash, the celestial stronghold of Star Castle materializing around them. The majestic spires and towers shimmered as if constructed from solid stardust, the walls glittering with the light of a million galaxies. Cosmic energies swirled and danced throughout the ethereal citadel.

"Hello?" Pisces called out, her voice echoing down the seemingly empty halls. At first, the grand chambers were alarmingly silent. A knot of dread formed in her gut. "Are we...the only ones who made it out?"

Gemini let out a choked sob. "Oh my gods, Pisces. I've doomed you all with my dark self's actions!" She sank to her knees, overcome with guilt and remorse.

Pisces knelt beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't lose hope yet, Gemini. We have to keep faith."

Just then, faint, familiar voices reached their ears. Pisces' head whipped around at the sound. "That way!" They raced through the winding corridors and, rounding a corner, found the rest of the Zodiacs gathering in the central chamber. Gasps and cries of joy rang out as Pisces and Gemini were spotted. The pair were instantly swarmed, everyone embracing them fiercely.

"You're alive! We feared the worst!" Capricorn bellowed, squeezing them tight.

Even Scorpio kissed Pisces' hand, a look of admiration gracing his features. "You have my fealty, noble Pisces. Your sacrifice allowed us to persevere."

Pisces smiled at her reunited companions, overjoyed but perplexed as well. "How did you escape that nightmarish realm? And..." Her gaze swept over the crowd, a pit forming in her stomach. "Where is Aries?"

“We hoped he was with you,” Leo said, his bright eyes dimming.

A heavy silence fell over the Zodiacs. Scorpio finally nodded solemnly. "When I deduced the dark truth of Gemini's fractured spirit, I began making contingencies and asked Capricorn to see that we had an escape should our first strategy fail."

Capricorn nodded. “I found a second fracture in the fabric of the realm and used my power to decay the edges, preventing it from closing as quickly as the others.”

Scorpio smiled obligingly. “It provided a temporary passage, allowing us to flee the collapsing realm just in time."