He heard the sound of rain.
He felt like someone who had been buried alive for centuries and had just clawed his way out from under the earth. His entire body ached. His eyes fluttered open but they weren't glowing. They were dulled and unfocused. Even that took effort. He was in his bedroom. The window was slightly ajar and the scent of fresh rain mingled with the subtle perfume of flowers placed at the far corner but he couldn't move. His body felt sluggish, like it had merged with the bed. He'd stayed in one position for so long that his limbs didn't remember they could bend.
He looked up. Dozens of holographic system notifications were floating above his bed. He scoffed.
"Seriously? I nearly die and this thing still wants me to read?"
He was about to wave them away when something shifted beside him. He tilted his head slightly and saw her.
Narisva Starisnova was sleeping on a chair beside his bed, her head nestled in her arms, her long starry hair trailing over the mattress. Her back was curled uncomfortably and the chair clearly wasn't meant for sleeping but she hadn't moved. Then her body stirred. Her form trembled as if she was glitching.
Her arms twitched. Her hair shimmered between solid and intangible. Her form distorted like a broken hologram, static dancing at the edge of her figure. And when she lifted her face, her eyes weren't their usual cocky starlit amusement. They were void.
He immediately understood.
Ever since Narisva became Divine, her Spatial Manipulation was linked to her emotions. Her control over space was anchored to her emotional state and when she was overwhelmed, the glitching started. She couldn't hold herself together. That's what he was seeing. That's what had happened to her the moment they found him.
She blinked. Her void-like eyes scanned the room and then fell on him. They changed instantly. As soon as she saw his face, those eyes burst into stars again. Brilliant constellations flickered into existence. But this time, those stars were soaked in tears.
"Nari?"
She didn't say anything. She didn't hesitate. She simply threw herself at him. Her arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Her face was buried in his neck. Her entire body trembled as she cried.
Narisva was crying. Narisva Starisnova, the cocky, fearless, insufferably smug Divine, was crying. He had never seen her cry before..
His arms, shaking and barely functional, lifted slowly and wrapped around her back. He held her close as if letting go would mean losing her to the void she'd nearly collapsed into.
"Hey, shhh… I'm here. "I'm okay. I'm sorry Nari…"
His voice cracked.
She lifted her tear-streaked face. Her voice was shaking and filled with such grief, rage and relief that he couldn't believe this was the same person.
"A month, Veneri. You don't have a heart, you weren't breathing and your soul… I couldn't feel your soul, Veneri. You were gone."
"I'm sorry."
But he didn't look sorry. He had that smug little smirk tugging at his lips. The one that always meant he was proud of himself. Narisva noticed. Her tears were still falling but her expression changed.
"You son of a—"
She started punching his chest hard enough to sting. She hit him again and again. Her face twisted in frustration and grief and anger all at once.
"You IDIOT! YOU FUCKING IDIOT! You almost died—"
He started laughing. Even as her fists hit his chest, even as she trembled and sobbed and cursed him, he laughed. It was a hoarse, painful and broken laugh, but it was genuine.
"It hurts, you know," he said with a wheeze.
She froze. She immediately stopped. Her eyes went wide, and she gently touched his chest where she'd been hitting him.
"I—I'm sorry I didn't—"
She began frantically, but he shook his head.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'd rather feel pain and be alive than leave you again…"
This time, she hugged him tighter. She buried her face into his shoulder and stayed there. He stroked her hair, ignoring the burning in his bones and the way his soul still felt like glass held together by threads.
"I knew it'd put me in a coma. I knew it would hurt. But I didn't think… I didn't think I'd almost shatter for real."
"Why didn't you wait for us? Why didn't you let us help you?"
"Because I needed to do this alone. This wasn't a battle. It was a rebirth. And if I failed, I didn't want any of you to see me break."
Her fingers tightened around his arm.
"You did break. And we still saw it."
"I know."
Silence lingered for a long while. The sound of rain filled the void. He finally sighed, eyes drifting up to the now-flickering holographic notifications still hovering above.
"So… a month, huh?"
"Thirty days," she repeated bitterly.
"Guess I really outdid myself this time. When this happens I usually take a year or so."
Narisva looked up at him, her expression softer now. She studied his face for a long moment. Then she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his.
"You ever do this again without telling me, I will personally throw you into a black hole, Veneri."
"That's fair."
-------
The soft clinking of a spoon tapping porcelain was the only sound in the room, apart from the subtle hissing of the rain still gracing the windows.
Vastarael leaned back into the elevated pillows behind him. His movements were sluggish. His muscles had refused to obey him when he first woke up and even now, lifting his hand felt like lifting an entire continent. Whatever had happened during the Integration wasn't just a coma. It had redefined his being. So when Narisva insisted on feeding him herself, he didn't fight it.
"Open."
Her voice still not fully back to its usual smug lilt. She sounded like someone who hadn't slept properly in weeks, and maybe she hadn't. He parted his lips as the spoon approached, and she gently placed it in. The taste was… sweet with a strange silky texture that clung to the tongue. Crimson porridge was Spheraphase's signature take on grain meals.
He never understood why food here came in such bizarre colors. Crimson grains, multicolored fruits and oddly enough, meat, bread, milk and honey was the only thing that remained "normal."
"Still weird that porridge is the color of fresh blood," Vastarael muttered after swallowing.
Narisva gave a faint smirk, her first in a while. "Says the guy who eats black apples and purple potatoes like it's nothing."
"Ouch."
The next spoonful came. He winced. He rasped, leaning his head back as if that would help cool his tongue.
"Ow Ow Nari, that's hot! That's divine-hot! That's not porridge, that's molten soup—!"
Narisva immediately drew back with wide eyes and blew hard on the spoon.
"Sorry! I didn't realize your body was still that sensitive."
"It's Inexpelcae, everything is divine-level here. That porridge probably has divine punishment just to make people sweat."
She laughed. It was light, melodic and deeply needed. He smiled despite the pain. Narisva gently swirled the next spoonful to cool it before leaning in. She teased, though her voice still held a gentleness that betrayed how close she'd been to breaking.
"Don't worry. I'll make it worth the pain. Who knew that you would actually burn your tongue from simple porridge?"
They remained in silence for a bit. She fed him slowly. She paused once more, the spoon halfway between them, then revealed.
"The others are out training."
"Mmh," Vastarael murmured, licking porridge off his lip.
"They'll be back by evening. I told Elyonari and Adelasta that I'd stay behind. Told them they need the practice more."
"You sure about that?"
Narisva shrugged. "My test is more about control and balance. It's not like I need to swim in a volcano or fight sea monsters. Besides, being here… this is where I needed to be."
He watched her carefully. Her expression had softened. Not her usual flirty grin or smug little smile. Her eyes were like galaxies again but subdued. She stirred the porridge idly for a moment before whispering.
"Adelasta's not okay."
Narisva's eyes didn't meet his.
"She's always been the cold one but the nights when it was her turn to take care of you, I walked in at one point and saw her just… standing there, staring at you like she didn't know if you were real."
Vastarael's lips pressed into a thin line.
"She doesn't cry but her expression broke. She just stood there, trying not to give I'm to her tears."
He looked away. Guilt clawed at him.
"What did you do? Because not even Phaenora could tell. And we all know she knows everything."
"She came here?"
Narisva shook her head. "She's been sending us holographic texts and messages saying you're alive. That your vitals were present in he system and that we should be patient."
He sighed through his nose.
"I know where she is."
Narisva blinked. "What?"
"She told me not to say anything. So… I won't."
Narisva narrowed her eyes at him but didn't push. She simply fed him another spoonful. this time properly cooled. He swallowed without complaint.
"You all worried so much."
"Of course we did, you moron. You died. At least, you looked like it."
He closed his eyes briefly, letting the warmth of the porridge settle in his stomach.
"You didn't need to stay."
"Shut up," she said immediately with no bite in her tone. "Don't say dumb things."
He chuckled weakly. She set the bowl down and leaned closer, her face mere inches from his now.
"I stayed because you always stay. You're the glue that holds my madness together, Veneri. You think anyone else could have handled someone as crazy and messed up as me, or someone who killed her family in the lost brutal way and annihilated 47,000 people out of rage? You're my anchor. So yeah. I stayed."
His eyes closed again. He felt her lips brush against his. She pulled away before she licked her lips from the porridge in his lips.
"Thank you,"
Narisva smiled faintly. "Now shut up and finish your porridge dummy."
He smiled, leaning weakly into her hand as she cupped his cheek.
"I'm glad you're here, Narisva."
"Yeah. So am I."