[Plot] Cimmerian [Complete]

[Marmadue]

"Ah… I do admit the situation at hand is quite, ah, unfair. I apologize for that, and ah, if we could change the current predicament, I would love nothing more. Unfortunately, such modification is beyond our capabilities," Marmadue rubbed the back of his helmet, his gaze down. The young girl didn't really seem to trust them. Not that he really could blame her, everything that was happening must have seemed so crazy to an outsider! He really couldn't bear the thought of having her wander off on her own, though, so they had to do their best to keep her with them until they managed to get back…

It didn't take long for the smell to make their destination very apparent, the closer they got to the dark tunnels. The shiver that ran down the Yuke's spine could have honestly either been caused by that or the dread he felt as he peered into the darkness. It was going to be tight and damp, surely the ideal place for some kind of a monster waiting in ambush to take care of them easily. Marmadue started to feel his feathers stand as his hands trembled and his legs started to object to walking into the death trap, but he forced himself to stay in the group, within the formation. Stealthy approach was out of the way, with how much noise the water underneath them was making. The further in they went, the less light managed to make its way in. They'd be stuck in the darkness like this – and he couldn't see in the dark!

Something he would have asked about, but Asuka had her own questions to ask first.
"Ah, yes. T-That is to say, there is ah, no royalty of any kind hidden within. I-I believe," the Yuke started with a stammer, knowing very well that the girl would have liked an explanation of some sort,
"I never did introduce myself. I am called Marmadue, and we are, ah, refugees from other worlds, arriving here very much like you did. We are many, but the reason for this excursion is the ah, beast I mentioned earlier. To protect ourselves and this world, we must seek out–"

That was as far as Marmadue managed to get before a new sound in the midst of their splashing footsteps and the dripping droplets of water. Something… Was rising out of the water. A tall, humanoid shape. A monster. And it wasn't alone. A gasp escaped the Yuke's mouth as he took a step back instinctively. Everything in him told him to run, to escape, but he couldn't. They had to stick together. That was how he could survive.

Unfortunately, Asuka also seemed to be rather frightened, but her reaction was to seek protection from their frontline fighter! Clearly the worst possible place for her to be, with how close the monsters could get to her!
"A-Ah, young miss! Fall back!" He called out, hoping that she could hear him, hoping that she was listening. She couldn't stay there, or she would be in danger! Marmadue's fingers started to sparkle with pale blue energy as his magic coursed through him, enveloping Axel's body with a translucent shell of protection that would hopefully take the brunt of the claws from the shadowy monsters before they reached his flesh. He was the only thing between them and the girl, after all, so it was possible he might have to shield her. With his body…
"W-Would it be bold to assume that light would be of use?!"

[Axel]

He had a couple answers for the new girl, as she seemed adamant on distrusting them. Obviously she'd probably been conditioned to lead a very lonely, safeguarded type of life, and he wasn't going to pry. Lea also had some answers to the questions she posed, but Marmadue was doing fine to cover those bases. And with the rise of the battle scene, all unnecessary chatter fell by the wayside. It was time to focus on how they would win.

"!!" Asuka clung to his leg. It was an uncomfortable proximity in its own right, but when his fighting style depended on fluidity, she had just grounded him. Now he couldn't just jerk out of the way to dodge the black shadow diving for him. That bright teal gaze snapped from Asuka back up to the foe, and he raised the chakram from his side in a quick slicing motion at the creature. That one went flying as Marmadue's protective barrier came up, and just in time for two more shadows to dive at him. Their claws swiped at his side and his leg, scraping against the protective magic from their healer. He was thankful for the Yuke's intuitive spell casting.

One of the Heartless turned its attention to Asuka, and before it could attack her, he'd brought his chakram down to act as a shield between her and the foe. His right hand was still out and open, and in a moment his faithful weapon returned to his palm. He used it to fight off the second attacker. Damn, this was a terrible situation for him: Lea was no good in a tank fight.

"Get to Marmadue!" he commanded her, not aggressively, although it might have seemed that way in the heat of the battle. His mind was already working on how to keep everyone safe. To keep everybody safe, he had to have room to play into his strengths.

His eyes turned back to the enemies on the battlefield, counting several heartless, still. But something immediately unnerved him: he'd lost sight of the big one.

[Era]

Heartless... So she was right. No matter how she'd tried to dismiss it moments ago, she couldn't fool the lingering nagging of her intuition.

At the same time Lea had sprung into action, Era had done the same. She had been unsure of herself since she lost her connection to her bladed weapons. But they were in the middle of a battle: uncertainty was not a luxury she could afford right now. Especially not since there were people who could be harmed if she did not proactively decide to take her stand.

The light within her had begun to transform her heart long ago. It was a slow process, but she could feel how it grew, changing her, distancing her from the shadows she'd tapped into. It was time to let go of what she had known, and be ready to fully embrace something new: the Light. She closed her eyes for just a moment.

Her mind flashed back to Traverse Town. Years ago now, when Rook trusted her to protect them: when he passed his magic into her. She remembered the feeling of that sensation: it was warm. Against the cooling shadow magic she was used to, this magic seemed to burn. The warmth of it had been naturally opposed to the shadows lingering in her heart, and its sheer presence began to eat away at the taint of darkness from the inside: she couldn't describe how she knew that, she just did. She could feel it. And, bracing herself for that sort of feeling, she began to focus on the Light. She was ready.

She concentrated into summoning up the magic inside of her, the one that was naturally trying to line up with her heart. It was working! The growing potency was concentrated in her hand. It only took a moment. Confident frost blue eyes snapped open as the light magic began to cause her wrist to glow. The golden radiance moved up her forearm as a ball of pure energy welled in the palm of her hand.

A second ago, Marmadue had asked if Light Magic would do anything to help. "On it!" Era confirmed. She wasn't sure if it was any more effective at battling the darkness than the spells she was used to: this was all new to her. But she was sure she was going to fight with this magic to the best of her ability.

Her hand burned with the thick concentration of light. She accepted it as a part of the magic, and turned her attention on what to do with it: what would be the best thing for them, on the battlefield right now? Axel was handling the front line: so Era would see fit to focus on protecting Asuka and Marmadue. She wasn't sure why, but she felt that the best thing she could do was clear the ground beneath these two survivors. She closed the gap between them coming within a few feet of the two of them, and slamming her palm onto the ground, sending an immediate pool of light around them for a short time. One of the Heartless that was rapidly heading for the two of them was it by the pool, and it looked like the blast had dazed it.

Her hands began to glow as she summoned up more magic, ready to blast that thing if someone didn't get to it first.

[dialgaism]

Asuka was getting scared, she had never seen a creature like this, didn't know what exactly this thing was or it even was a bad thing which is why she clung to Axel's leg. She didn't like hurting innocent creatures, but from what she could see there wasn't any doubt that they were violent. Shifting her weight she moved to the other side as soon as the first heartless came to get her.

Knowing she was in a bad situation she tried clinging to Axel's back jumping into it, maybe this way he also had better breathing room for his attacks, she didn't notice the Heartless coming to get her until it was too late. That being said, she wasn't ready for what happened next. In her experience, no one helped others out of the kindness of their heart. Everyone had an agenda, unless Axel's agenda was to make her a tool she couldn't really figure out what he wanted. She was surprised, this whole world surprised her.

Asuka looked back, trying to find a way out. She was being a burden for everyone with how she was. Or maybe she should fight? Maybe she should just break the promise she made and try to protect the people here. Of course that would've been too much wishful thinking.

What happened next, she doubted anyone would've predicted or guess what caused it since Asuka didn't know what happened. At first she felt warm glow around her, it felt... nice as if she was being protected. But it quickly turned sour, it kept getting warmer and warmer until the point that it felt like acid. Screaming her eyes out she let go of Axel and started to fall, before she hit the ground a big explosion occured with Asuka in the center. The explosion caused Asuka to go flying backwards, tumbling on the ground smoking. Unfortunately she wasn't unconscious but the pain impeded her to move. She couldn't scream, couldn't speak. She was simply laying in the ground, hopefully nothing would try to come and get her while she was in a state like this.

[Marmadue]

Marmadue could feel the monster's strike against the armor he had put around Lea. Well, perhaps he couldn't exactly say he could feel it as it did not hurt, but he certainly felt something. Perhaps the force, perhaps something else, but it was a stark reminder of how serious the situation they were in was. Serious and dangerous. Unconsciously, his hands had started to shake – and they didn't want to stop. For a moment, the Yuke even felt like perhaps he was starting to lose spell if he couldn't regain his focus, but trying to concentrate on that instead of everything that was going on around him was easier said than done!

But he had to. Asuka seemed to be petrified – by fear, perhaps. Not that Marmadue could blame her, as he was feeling like he was in a similar situation. All he could do was to try to calm his breathing and keep focusing. Lea was keeping the monsters at bay, and Era… Light had been something the Yuke had asked for, but for him, all he had needed was light so he could see. That Era had managed to produce a spell that was protecting them – at least considering the reaction of the Heartless that had come close to the circle of light underneath them – and lighting up their surroundings somewhat, he had gotten more than he had asked for. Being able to see and being protected… That helped Marmadue feel at ease. Still tense, yes, but it was easier to focus on what he was doing when he knew everything around him was going well. Maybe they could do this. Maybe he could do this. The flow of magic felt more stable.

A scream made all that come to a sudden stop, the Yuke taken aback and the glow around his hands coming to an end. While the aura around Lea was still there, it would only linger a moment before it too would be gone. A sudden explosion made Marmadue try to protect himself with his arms, but aside from the shockwave that washed over him – alongside with the water that had now turned into rain that soaked him – no other debris had been flown around. No, the only thing that had flown was… The girl.

Such a violent reaction that could have left him quite confused if he hadn't heard of a similar thing happening to another person Marmadue knew. He hadn't exactly seen it with his own eyes, but… But could it be? The Yuke's eyes flicked from one spot to another frantically before he dashed over to Asuka. A bright light enveloped one of his hands, which he held up like a torch to bring some light to the tunnel.
"A-Ah, Miss Era! P-Please cease for a moment!" He called out as he knelt next to Asuka, gently prodding her so that her head would not be in the water. Was this one of those strange cases of magic rejection? The timing and placement seemed to suggest that. But was it just Light magic? Was it all magic? Could he try to heal? So many questions and he lacked the answers. If he were to lack even the smallest piece of information he had, Marmadue surely would have tried to heal the girl without further questions. But now, he was apprehensive and unsure.
"M-Miss Asuka? Can you hear me? Are you awake?"

[Axel]

Suddenly an explosion erupted right behind him. The protection spell was a godsend in that moment, as his back would have taken damage if not for that. It was still enough to send him forward, and he stumbled to regain his balance, and then spun around to see what happened. "Damn it!" he cursed, still trying to process what had caused that. These Heartless weren't known for casting offensive spells. Obviously Asuka was looking terrible: so whatever happened, happened to her. What had caused her to react so badly?

He trusted his comrades to take care of Asuka. The best thing he could do was nullify the threat as quickly as possible. It would be easier to figure out what to do about their mission once the immediate threat had been taken care of.

As he was turning his attention back to the battlefield, immediately there was a hard pressure on his leg. The large Neoshadow he'd been waiting for had bolted up from beneath him, latching onto him as it shot upward. With the right amount of momentum it had easily caused the redhead to go airborne.

He was quick to weasel out of the Heartless' hold, planting his feet on the creature and pushing off, he threw both flame-covered weapons into the enemy, blasting it hard. He took the opportunity to land on the ground and, figuring he had its attention, he darted off, just far enough away that the party wouldn't get hurt by his haphazard fighting style.

[Era]

Her protection had backfired! Oh, that was not how this was supposed to go down...

The light magic began to die, beautifully glimmering as it did so. Era had tried to help extinguish the energy more quickly, trying to pull the magic back into her palm. She hoped that would hasten how quickly it faded. And as soon as she had she absorbed the magic, watching the last of the light glisten and fade out, she turned around, unleashing a wave of light to cut the heartless that was still stunned.

Frost blue eyes shot from Asuka to Marmadue, then to Lorena: the capable ranger was doing well to hold her own. Era's vision then turned to two more Heartless, both of them were scrambling for the doctor and the injured girl.

Era's light magic was still burning brightly. She shot one bolt after another of bright magic at the two shadows that were headed for Asuka and Marmadue. "How is she looking?" she questioned, feeling a hot sting as a set of claws swept across her back. She spun around, smacking her right hand on the head of the offending shadow and pumping light magic into it. The creature vaporized into wisps of black dust.

Looking up from that one it appeared that, at least for a few seconds, their immediate vicinity was cleared, save for the Neoshadow that was following after Lea. She took the chance and fired off a few shots of light magic at the thing. This new vein of magic was both powerful and exhausting. She felt invigorated in the midst of the battle, but Era could feel her energy slowly draining. She couldn't keep this up indefinitely. But she'd be able to manage for awhile, fully confident she could do her part to protect her companions.

[dialgaism]

Asuka's ears were ringing but she could see that they weren't having the best of time. Her head hurt, she couldn't feel her legs, it felt as though her throat was still burning with acid. Let's just say it wasn't a nice experience. The only thing she hoped for was that Axel didn't get hurt a long with her.

Worst past was that she couldn't figure out what exactly had caused her to react like that, what even could cause a reaction like that. As far as she knew every explosion would've pushed her backwards, but this seemed to concentrate on her and then expand. She couldn't think much as she was jumping back and forth from unconsciousness. She could feel the strange creatures around her, feel the emptiness inside them... it was very creepy to say the least.

Fortunately she was able to hear Marmaduke calling out to her, even though she could still hear the ringing it had lessened. She tried getting up a few times but couldn't. "I'm not dead..." She coughed a few times. "Sorry... I don't know what happened. Protect your friends, I'll be fine back here." Asuka grimaced when she tried to move "Shiiitttt."

[Marmadue]

She responded. A part of Marmadue could ease up – that meant she was still alive, and that, well, she wasn't unconscious. That helped, but unfortunately, Asuka did not seem to know what had happened any better than him. He certainly had hoped the girl could shed some light to the situation, as the Yuke had been quite lost as to what to do, but he was going to have no such luck. What would he even dare to do?! Could he risk doing anything? There was a slight tremble to the hand that was currently lit up with magic. Could all magic be dangerous, if brought too close to her? Oh, they didn't have the time to figure everything out! They didn't have the luxury of experimenting! Asuka was in pain and incapacitated, Lea had run off, and the Heartless…

The Heartless! For a moment, Marmadue had even forgotten about them! His gaze quickly shot up, but luckily Era was there to get between them and the monsters, flashes of magic quickly taking care of them. She seemed to be worried about their newest member as well, quite understandable. However, she didn't seem to be able to notice the shadow behind her.
"Ah, Miss Era, be-" That was as far as he got before the monster sunk its claws into Era, his voice stopping in his throat. He should have reacted faster. He could have done something. While the girl was able to keep going and vanquish her foe, he had been too careless, as well. It was feeling as if everything was slowly falling apart.

Marmadue's arm wrapped around Asuka squeezed just a little tighter as he started to gently try to pull her upper body further from the water, supporting her against his own body. She couldn't move on her own, but maybe if him moving her didn't hurt her too much, they could… Do something!
"N-Nonsense, young miss. Y-You are not in any form to be left unattended," the Yuke chastised Asuka's idea, his gaze momentarily dropping to look at her before returning to Era. They had a moment to gather their thoughts, but not too long. The largest shadow still remained.

Luckily, at least there was one person he knew he could heal without worry…

"…Miss Era. I do not think she can move with her own strength," he started, still sounding – and looking – rather unsure,
"We cannot leave her, and, ah, there is the possibility that I could trigger another such reaction were I to try channel my magic through her. As long as I cannot outrule such fate, I ah, hesitate to attempt it. I do not know if she were to survive another one in her condition," Marmadue shook his head. If he couldn't heal her, he couldn't make her situation better. But the risk was too great! They had to come up with something else.
"Ah… We lack the time and safety for mundane treatments. W-We must… Ah… I," more hesitation. He was lost. There still was such a dangerous Heartless loose in their midst. But wasn't he getting a bit ahead of himself?
"…Ah. I apologize. You require healing too, do you not?"

[Era]

Era gave another glance to their surroundings, then turned her attention back to Marmadue, taking in his thoughts. There was a certain resolve in her eyes. "Don't worry about me, I've had worse. Patch me up when the fighting's done. For now it looks like this area is safe. I'm going to go help finish off the last of them, and then we can focus on getting her medical attention. Holler if you've got trouble. I'll be right back."

She took off toward Lea, summoning more magic into her radiant hands. The light magic danced beautifully in refracting pirhouettes mid-way up her arms, glowing brightly as she readied her next attack. She was going to help finish this fight.

[Axel]

Coiling through the air, the chakrams landed two more successful blows before returning to their master. Lea had clutched them just in time to blink away from a sweeping attack.

He reappeared in time to see a burst of light make impact with the Heartless and fade in a sparkling wisp. A jade green gaze turned to Era and he gave her an affirming nod to his new battle buddy. "Let's finish this!" there was vigor in his words. He tightened his grip on his chakrams, coating them in flames before hurling both of them into the heartless.

His attacks were backed by a simultaneous surge of light magic, and together they were able to quell the threat. As the heartless faded away in shadowy streams, the atmosphere immediately seemed to lighten up. There was no longer the pressure of lingering darkness. The only shadows that seemed present now were the natural, non-threatening variety.

[Xion]

Every reprieve was fleeting, however calming it may be. Though the group had quelled the threat before them, a sudden rumble shook the sewer itself, reverberating through the stones themselves, some rubble falling from the ceiling. There was a moment to catch one's breath, to think it a fluke, that the danger was over, before the wall before them burst in a shower of brick and mortar, a section of the wall quite literally knocked out of the way as a large Heartless clambered through the newly formed hole, a lion's face on the shield it held before its large frame. Around the Defender, more Shadows, acting as retinue to the noble beast, and it made to charge at the party, rearing up for an attack of some sort, one that surely couldn't be avoided.

For those sharp of ear, they would catch footsteps, and then everything in the tunnel would seem to be so much more. The size of it wider, every sound amplified, a drip of water on a still pond, rippling out, and something flickered into existence before the Heartless, a hooded figure with Keyblade in hand, which blocked the rush, stopping the Heartless in its tracks and pushing it back with a burst of protective magic, and a strong breeze. Distance was put between the group and the Heartless, and the Echo faded. The Heartless scattered back went to stand, but a cry from behind them was the only precursor to it being knocked to the side by the true form of the Echo wielder.

A powerful swing of the Keyblade sent the Defender crashing into the wall, and the figure landed before the party, Keyblade enveloping in light. Her hood fell as her feet touched the ground, and the Heartless shied back from the intensity of the magic she was about to unleash.

"Stay back!"

With another dash forward, Xion let loose her Event Horizon, one single sweep of her blade sending pure light through the tunnel, ripping the Shadows to shreds. The Defender caught its footing and caught the magic on its shield, but she was too quick for it, and as it fought the light, she had ran up to it, her blade finding purchase in its side. The being shone internally with light, and then dissipated into shadow, freeing the heart that had been stolen.

The light faded from her weapon, and Xion fell to one knee, catching her breath. Traversing the Realm of Darkness again was enough of a toll, but her magic was at its limit. She reached into her belt, taking her last Ether, and crushed it in her hand. Magic once again returned to her, but she stayed down as she spoke, not having looked to the party yet.

"We need.... To hurry. I know where the Keyhole is, and I think we can save us all."

[dialgaism]

Asuka breathed heavily as she was picked up by marmadue. Her wounds were bad but not life threatening, it would take a few hours to heal them. She coughed a bit as she leaned against the man and heard him speak. "For a bird you sound hella elegant." Asuka giggled. Moving a bit forward. She did look a marmadue a bit confused as soon as he continued to speak. "Magic?" She questioned "Is that what you guys are calling the skills that caused me to somehow blow up?" Asuka shook her head with a short laugh. "You guys are starting to sound like crazy people." But in reality she couldn't exactly be on her own at the moment and, whether they were bunkers or not, she didn't exactly have an option. Asuka smiled, patting Marmadue in the head. "Don't worry about treatment, give me a couple of hours and I'll be fine, been hurt a lot worse."

She did notice something interesting, the skills they were using had some sort of elemental properties to them. Were they a more advanced version of abnorms? In reality it was an interesting thought but she made sure to make a mental note to not attack them until she had more information. Rather not risk anything stupid but only if it came to it, so far they seemed pretty friendly but it'd be best to be sure. She thought she would be able to take them worst came to worst, that is until the new girl came along. Great, someone new. Her weapon was probably the most weird thing she has ever seen, it looked like some sort of key. At first she thought "Keyhole?" Asuka looked at marmadue for answers and simply sighed "Yep, must've landed in some sort of crazy dimension.

[Marmadue]

"Ah," was all Marmadue managed to get out of his before Era dashed off to aid Lea with eradicating the rest of the monsters, light burning in her hands. So fearless – unlike him. There was that moment of tenseness where he realized that if something were to sneak up on them right now, when they were so defenseless… Well, it wouldn't end well. His gaze stayed on the fight for a while, until he heard Asuka speak up.
"A-A bird?" His words were filled with confusion. Which part of him looked like a bird? Never ever had anyone referred to him as such!
"I-I am a Yuke, young miss," came the quick – if a bit timid – follow-up. Having to make such a correction had forced his mind to ease up a bit, realize that currently, it seemed like they were in no danger. Lea and Era were doing fine. They could do it.

But still, the young girl in his arms was probably more relaxed than him – or perhaps she was in some state of shock? The Yuke's gaze was examining her. She seemed lucid enough, able to hold a conversation. Considering how new and confusing everything was for her, it certainly was a miracle she was holding up so well!
"Ah, I, I see that you ah, are not very familiar with magic?" Marmadue tilted his head. Well, yes, she had just said as much. A world without magic… It seemed even something like that existed out there somewhere. But she had just witnessed it with her own eyes, right? His hand was currently glowing with bright light, pure magic, to provide them illumination in the darkness. Surely she no longer could think that they were strange, talking about magic?
"…That would be the ah, simplest way to refer to the phenomena, yes. Magic. To make one's immaterial inner energy to ah, manipulate the physical world, bring forth something material," he spoke. Hardly the best place for explanations, but perhaps it would help Asuka come to some sort of an understanding and worry less about… Well, everything.

Honestly, the most unbelievable thing here was to think that according to her own words, the girl had suffered worse, as she told him, while stroking the Yuke's helmet. Surely not? Hopefully not…

There had been a silence that had fallen to the darkened tunnels, now free of Heartless after the pair of fighters had taken care of them. A moment of calm… That was soon disturbed by a strange rumbling. Marmadue prepared for the worst, his arm tightening around Asuka – but his idea of the worst was far from reality. No, reality was much crueler, as something large burst through one of the tunnel walls. A monster. A Heartless. A very, very large one – and it didn't come alone! A squeal of pure terror came out of the Yuke as he attempted to scurry away, though as he was still holding onto the girl, he did not manage to move an inch. His feathers stood up on their ends as he stared at the monstrosity, the beat of his heart growing louder and louder until it was almost deafening. The magic that kept his hand glowing stopped. This was too much! He couldn't handle this!

At first, Marmadue didn't even notice the flicker, the appearance of a person between them and the Heartless, the panic having dulled him. It wasn't until the beast had been pushed back before he realized that someone was actually fighting the thing – and from the looks of it, actually managing to hold their own against it! Petrified and slack-jawed, the Yuke didn't even make a peep as he stared at the fight, stunned from the many frantic thoughts currently going through his mind. A small frame, a hood… A key…

At the very least, he managed to shield his eyes from the magical blast that grew brighter and brighter as it was unleashed, bathing the sewer tunnels in light.

Another stretch of silence fell. It was hard to truly feel calm, considering how fast the last one had come to an end. Slowly, Marmadue lowered his shaky hand, the puzzle pieces slowly falling in the right spots.
"M… Miss Xion! You have returned?" He called out, recognizing a familiar face. Well, voice, in this case. Perhaps a part of his voice had been filled with hope, though another part with questions. Had the team returned already? That would have been a good timing! Asuka, of course, was understandably confused.
"Ah, yes. It… I cannot say I quite understand it myself, but it is what we have been searching for. It, ah, may very well be our salvation," the Yuke looked down as he explain, though he gave a quick glance to his surroundings before looking back at the girl. He wanted nothing more than to leave these horrible tunnels.
"D-Do you ah, believe your legs are able to carry you, miss…?"

[Era]

Lea had the large Heartless pinned beneath the chakram that sank into its throat. Era had used another blast of light to finish it off while it was pinned. Well, one more out of the way... Her heart pounded, her breathing heavy and she habitually wiped her brow before her ears picked up the sound of someone running at the party.

She whipped around in time to see Marmadue bringing Asuka closer toward them. His distress was visible, prompting her to rush between him and whatever the newcomer had just told them to stay away from. If anything happened, she wanted to be his offensive shield. Suddenly a bright flash enveloped the area: bright enough to make her own light magic seem dim. She squinted, tossing up her still-glowing arms to guard her eyes against the enshrouding glare. Her next thought was on Asuka: had this wave of magic reached her, too? Was Marmadue able to guard against it? Era was mostly an offensive fighter, and therefore didn't know much in the way of guardian magic, so in this sort of instance she couldn't really offer much help.