The gymnasium chandeliers pulsed like captured supernovas. Lynette's thrift-store gown shimmered with Isolde's thorn embroidery, constricting when Caelum asked her to waltz. "The first Spiritborn and I danced this in 1348 Florence," he murmured. "She dissolved mid-verse."
Amberleigh crashed through stained glass windows riding a pack of quantum-entangled coyotes. "Encore!" She hurled a black hole grenade that froze dancers in temporal stasis.
Ancient Timeline - 1348 Florence
Elspeth coughed blood roses onto her carnelian ballgown. "Make it beautiful," she wheezed as Caelum spun her through the death rattle waltz. Their final dip coincided with the last villager's plague scream.
When dawn came, only her skeleton remained in his arms – still clutching the poisoned communion wafer meant for Isolde.
Modern Timeline - Black Hole Aftermath
Lynette tore her dress's bodice, revealing Isolde's sigil glowing at the event horizon's edge. "You want paradoxes?" She plunged her hand into the singularity, retrieving a 14th-century Florentine death certificate – Caelum's name listed as "Plague Bringer."
The black hole collapsed into Amberleigh's corsage. "Oops," she giggled, "looks like great-great-great-grandma's diary was right about you, Professor."