The Quantum Sea was not a real ocean.
Naturally, it wasn't made of water or any other liquid.
What humans could perceive of it was only an illusion—pure nothingness.
An endless darkness stretched in every direction, devoid of light.
No sound, no shadow, nothing but a silence so absolute it resembled death itself.
In that abyss drifted a girl as delicate as a porcelain doll.
Her shoulder-length black hair shimmered faintly with a bluish sheen, soft and lustrous.
Her skin was flawless, pale as fresh snow, glowing faintly.
Her eyes, as blue as the sea, should have sparkled with warmth and tenderness.
But now, they held only emptiness and despair.
Her thin shoulders trembled, her small frame shivering in the void.
When her trembling hands opened a blue diary, the shaking eased, if only a little.
There exists a punishment—no, an execution—that few could even imagine.
To be trapped in absolute darkness and silence, cut off from all sensation.
For an ordinary person, such torment would be unendurable.
Left in such a state long enough, the mind would shatter.
Sanity itself could not survive.
And this girl—Seele Vollerei had already drifted through this abyss of nothingness for years.
The only reason Seele had not lost herself was because of this diary, filled with happy memories of her days in the orphanage with everyone she loved.
And there was one more reason.
The most important one.
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[Don't worry, Seele. We'll find a way out of here.]
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A gentle voice echoed in her mind, bringing a spark of light back into her eyes.
"A-another me…" she whispered.
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[Do you remember the fairy tales Mama used to tell us?]
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Whenever Seele's consciousness began to falter, the other personality within her would speak up, pulling her thoughts away from the endless darkness, distracting her from the crushing loneliness.
Sometimes, that other self—Black Seele (Veliona) would even seize control of their body, forcing Seele into deep sleep, enduring the eternal void alone so that the gentler Seele wouldn't have to.
Though they shared the same body and heart, Veliona, born from Seele's natural stigmata, had a far greater resistance to this endless silence.
Even so, she wasn't immune.
For any intelligent life, the despair of such an existence was real harm.
To withstand it completely would take… nothing less than falling into Father's embrace.
"Seele remembers…"
Clasping her hands over her chest, the despair and emptiness on her delicate face began to fade.
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[That's right.]
[The princess who slept in the depths of the dark sea was awakened by a white knight who descended from the sky, carrying her back to the real world… and they lived happily ever after.]
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Veliona's voice was gentle, laced with affection and comfort, trying her best to soothe Seele's fraying emotions.
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[Hang in there, Seele! Maybe any moment now, a white knight will descend from the heavens to rescue you!]
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"Does a white knight really exist?" For just a second, Seele's expression softened with hope—but it quickly dimmed again. "Can Seele… really be saved?"
Veliona didn't believe in childish fairy tales.
Yet now, she too longed—truly longed—for a white knight to appear.
She herself would never beg or pray for salvation, even in the face of death.
That simply wasn't in her nature.
But if it was Seele trapped in despair… then it was different.
Her stigmata, inherited from the research of Dr. Mei, one of the greatest scientists of the Previous Era, carried within it advanced knowledge, technology, and even fragments of the Herrscher of Death's memories.
It was from those fragments that Veliona had been born.
And yet, even with all that, after drifting for years in the absolute void of the Quantum Sea, even she had accumulated unbearable despair.
For Seele, it was far worse—an unimaginable torture.
Veliona shuddered to think of what Seele might become if this continued.
She could hear Seele's desperate cries for help, even if the girl herself never spoke them aloud.
She often teased Seele for being a coward in front of others—but this time, Seele had been unimaginably strong.
Veliona had tried, again and again, while Seele slept.
She had poured out all her strength, but even then, she couldn't tear open a path from the Quantum Sea to the outside world.
If this continued, Seele's mind would shatter. Veliona would never allow that.
'Someone—anyone—please… save Seele!'
"…It seems Seele's condition is even more serious than I thought."
A soft murmur rang out, a clear boyish voice echoing through the dead, silent void like thunder.
Seele's despair vanished in an instant.
Her once-dull eyes widened, suddenly alight with brilliance.
Her face was filled with shock, with disbelief—and then with overwhelming joy.
"Is… is someone there?" she asked, her voice trembling like a dream.
And in the next moment, light surged into the darkness like a rising tide, illuminating the void in a single breath.
Seele instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes.
Through the narrow gaps between her fingers, she could just barely make out two unfamiliar figures, their silhouettes haloed by a radiant light—as if the glow itself was celebrating their arrival.
"Seele-chan, I've come to save you."
Nagami deliberately softened his tone, his voice calm yet reassuring.
Only then did he allow himself a quiet sigh of relief.
By using the Herrscher of Sentience's power, he could sense Seele's fragile mental state.
If he had been any later, she might have been left with lasting scars on her spirit.
The moment Veliona heard that voice, her emotions spiked wildly.
Against all reason, a "prince on a white horse" had really descended from the heavens…
But she was no naïve little girl.
After the initial shock passed, she quickly steadied her thoughts, scrutinizing the boy and the girl at Seele's side with sharp suspicion.
His words made it clear he had come to rescue Seele, but Veliona—who had accompanied her other self through endless years of solitude—had never once seen him before.
She couldn't afford to simply trust.
And yet, no matter how cautious she tried to remain, hope still swelled uncontrollably in her chest—the possibility that he might actually lead them out of the Quantum Sea.
"Eh? B-Big brother… do you know Seele?"
Her voice was soft, tinged with both innocence and fragility.
Seele's small, delicate frame quivered as excitement surged through her, too overwhelming to contain.
"Mhm. I've often heard Bronya talk about Seele." Nagami's smile was gentle as he looked at the girl before him—like a stray kitten abandoned in the dark. "Seele is the most precious treasure in the world…"
"No matter which Seele."
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[This person… what is he?]
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Inside the shared mental space, Veliona's eyes widened in shock. In that instant, she saw the boy's six-pointed star eyes turning slowly, and realized—he was looking directly at her.
His gaze carried warmth, a kind of tenderness she had never experienced before, not once since the moment she had been "born."
For the first time, her vigilance faltered.
Ever since Seele's natural Stigma had awakened, Veliona had been there—protecting that timid "coward," occasionally borrowing her body to punish the bastards who bullied her.
Not even Bronya knew of her existence.
To everyone else, she was nothing but "Seele."
She had never minded that. In fact, it even made her happy.
But Nagami was different.
He wasn't just acknowledging Seele.
He was acknowledging her.
He had recognized her as Seele, and for the first time, she felt a gentleness that belonged solely to her, independent of her other self.
And then, he said those words…
A strange, unfamiliar emotion began to stir within Veliona, welling up from deep inside.
And as it resonated with the delicate feelings already blooming in Seele's own heart, the emotion grew—twice as fast.
"Bronya…! Big brother, you know Bronya?!"
Unlike her darker counterpart, Seele's entire focus had latched onto that single, longed-for name.
Her lovely little face lit up with pure joy, her smile radiant.
But Nagami's next words froze that smile instantly—on Seele's lips, and even on Veliona's.
"Mhm. My name is Nagami. From a certain perspective, you could even call me… your brother-in-law."
[TL Note- ….. welp time to die]