"Calm down, Belle."
Wise spoke up. Honestly, letting off some steam was probably good for her. He didn't think his little sister had the ability to settle scores with Zane anyway.
These two... who knew how they ended up as sworn enemies?
When exactly had it started? He couldn't even remember.
After soothing Belle, Wise—now in charge of the mission—led the three members of Section 6 closer to the hollow.
Soon, the trio and Bangboo had approached within a hundred meters of it. For some reason, the surrounding area felt eerily empty. Only the ruins of collapsed buildings remained, and the hollow floated prominently in the air above them.
"What should we do now?"
Tsukishiro Yanagi turned to Eous beside her and asked softly.
Originally, they had only planned to observe the hollow to see if there were any anomalies—especially since Zane had been missing for so long. But from the look of things, they could probably push a bit further.
"According to Fairy's scans, this hollow appears to contain a fairly large inner space. It's similar to an ordinary hollow, but with some clear differences."
Eous's body carried Wise's steady voice. He then directed Eous to look toward the three of them and said,
"In a moment, I'll pilot Eous into the hollow. You three stay outside and monitor the situation. If anything unexpected happens, I'm counting on you to handle it."
Hollows were always Phaethon's territory.
But this one was unlike any they had entered before, and its danger was undeniable. Still, since it belonged to Zane, there wasn't too much to worry about.
"Understood."
Tsukishiro Yanagi nodded. She didn't say anything more and simply placed her trust in Wise.
"You just focus on scouting the inside of the hollow. Leave the rest to us."
Harumasa spoke earnestly from the side.
"Exactly!"
Soukaku slung her large banner over her shoulder and patted her small chest with a confident grin that said, Leave it to me.
As Eous entered the hollow, the three members of Section 6 hid themselves around its perimeter.
Inside the video store, darkness filled Wise's vision. With his senses synced to Eous, he couldn't see anything.
Even so, he stayed calm and waited quietly.
As Eous continued forward, a faint glimmer gradually appeared ahead, spreading outward little by little—white, blue, red, purple…
The colors intertwined and rapidly expanded as Eous advanced, soon enveloping everything. They filled the space completely, flowing around like strands of silk.
The dazzling scene was almost disorienting. Sitting in his chair, Wise raised a hand to his forehead, giving a slight shake to steady himself before focusing his gaze ahead.
"This..."
He didn't move recklessly, observing everything before him with a serious expression.
"This is incredible... Is this really still a hollow?"
Wise could feel his entire body suspended in midair, moving as though he were swimming through water.
The scene before him truly resembled an ocean—a vast sea of color.
An ocean made entirely of Ether energy.
"But aside from these colors... there's nothing else here?"
Wise was puzzled. Though this space differed from a normal hollow—likely because it was a compressed form—the difference didn't seem all that dramatic.
He guided Eous forward again, "swimming" through the space. As her short arms and legs moved, the colors flowed backward, shifting like gentle waves.
Just when Wise thought he'd find nothing more, a strange ripple suddenly appeared ahead to his right.
Within the sea of color, a vortex formed, sending out rings of shimmering ripples.
From within it, a tiny ice-blue fish swam out—crystal clear, delicate, and full of life.
"What is this..."
The little fish swam closer to Eous, not retreating or reacting—just gliding freely through the vibrant water.
"Life?"
"It looks like... some kind of unconscious creation."
Wise lifted one of Eous's small hands, intending to gently touch the fish.
But before he could make contact, it darted away in a flash, disappearing from sight.
Seeing this, Wise felt a pang of regret. He had finally found something unusual, only to scare it off.
As he was lamenting, a sudden change occurred.
Large vortexes began appearing one after another, and from within them, countless creatures of different colors and shapes emerged, swimming aimlessly through the glowing sea.