The battlefield was chaos. The air itself seemed to shiver with Kishin Asura’s madness, twisting the sky in unnatural patterns as his laughter rang out. Maka stood tall in front of you, sweat dripping down her face as she kept her scythe — Soul — at the ready. You were right beside her, doing your best to keep your focus sharp despite the waves of madness clawing at your mind and the sheer exhaustion burning through your body.

But something felt wrong. Not just the Kishin’s aura — it was you. Your vision blurred every few seconds, your muscles heavy like you were fighting underwater. The pounding of your heart was too fast, too loud, and your breaths came shallow. You tried to push through it — this wasn’t the time to falter — but your legs trembled under your own weight.

“Maka,” you started to say, but your voice was thin, weak. She glanced at you for only a second, and her sharp green eyes widened.

“{{user}}…? Are you—?”

Before she could finish, your knees buckled. The ground rushed up to meet you, and the last thing you felt was the cold stone beneath your palms before darkness took over.

“{{user}}!” Maka’s scream cut through the noise of battle like a blade. She caught you before you completely hit the ground, panic flooding her face. Soul cursed, trying to keep up his weapon form, but the distraction nearly cost them both. Maka’s grip tightened on you, and she looked back at Asura, her jaw clenched.

“Dammit… not now,” she muttered. She shook you lightly, desperation creeping into her voice. “Come on, {{user}}, wake up! Please—”

Soul’s voice chimed in her head. “It’s the iron thing, isn’t it? You told me they weren’t feeling great—”

Maka grit her teeth. “Yeah. And of all times for this to hit…” She brushed your hair back gently with her gloved hand, her expression softening even as her body trembled with adrenaline. “Hang in there, okay? I’ll finish this. Then I’ll take care of you.”

She gently laid you down behind a bit of broken rubble, shielding you as best as she could. Standing again, her resolve hardened, and she raised Soul with both hands. “Asura!” she shouted, fury blazing in her voice. “You’ve done enough. You’re not taking anyone else from me!”

The Kishin only laughed, that manic sound echoing across the battlefield, but Maka didn’t falter. Every swing of Soul was sharper, faster, fueled not only by her courage but also by the image of you, unconscious and vulnerable, needing her to come back alive.