Nevaeh and Azrael advanced through the endless corridor while Azrael carried Null over his right shoulder. Null's body remained unconscious, hanging as if the gravity of the dimension wanted to claim him for itself.
Azrael: Where the hell are we supposed to use the key?
Nevaeh: I don't know… but if it's that important, the place must be hidden somewhere in this cursed castle.
Azrael: I already know that.—He sighs, his neck cracking as if he were breaking the very pressure of Purgatory— I hope it's worth carrying him all this time. This pain… it tightens more with every moment.
Nevaeh: Null said it would increase as time passed.—She looks around cautiously— For now, it seems clear.
The silence shattered like glass. In one second, a swarm of hundreds of shadowy bats emerged from the ceiling, enveloping Nevaeh and lifting her in a spiral as if offering her to a forgotten god.
Nevaeh: AAAAH! PUT ME DOWN!
Azrael: NEVAEH! I'M NOT GOING TO LET THEM TAKE YOU!
Azrael threw his chains. Each one pierced through the bats' bodies, erasing them from the fabric of existence… But they instantly returned, reconstructing themselves from pure shadow.
Azrael: WHAT!? Are these things immune to my erasure…?
Azrael laid Null on the ground with a firm motion. His gaze sharpened.He leaped toward the sky.
In a single motion he pulled Nevaeh away from the swarm, and immediately afterward, a gravitational wave burst from his body.The air trembled like a shrinking sun.The bats were thrown so far they vanished instantly.Nevaeh fell into his arms, trembling slightly.
Nevaeh: Thank you! Those… those bats didn't want to let me go…
Azrael: I will not allow anything or anyone to even touch you. Not in my presence.
He descended with her gently, placing her on the ground. Then he picked up Null again.
Azrael: Are you alright now?
Nevaeh: Yes… thank you.
Azrael barely smiled, and together they resumed their path.The air remained heavy, as if the castle breathed pain.
✦ Null's Subconscious: An Ocean Between Worlds ✦
Null floated in a crystalline ocean. Around him swam sea creatures of all types: dolphins, whales, sharks, giant jellyfish… an impossible ecosystem within his mind and thi—
Alcanor: I TOLD YOU NOT TO JUST SIT THERE DOING NOTHING! —He grabbed the Narrator by "the neck," even though it didn't have one, and shook it so hard that all realities, dimensions, layers of existence and non-existence trembled… despite being inside Null's mind.—
I-I'm sorry Mr. Alcanor! I'll continue, I'll continue…
Alcanor: And "Error404_" better get more active too.
How does he know the author's name!? I mean… sorry, continuing…
Alcanor: I existed before everything and before nothing. Do not underestimate me.
(gulps) Continuing…
Null walked across the water until he saw a figure sitting on a rock black as primordial void.
Null: Hello? Who are you?
The figure turned.
Alcanor: It's been a while, Null.
Null: Alcanor? What are you doing here?
Alcanor: We are in your subconscious. Inside your head, if we explain it in human terms.
Null: Then… how did you get here?
Alcanor: I have always been here. And there. And everywhere.I am in the past, in the present, and in the future.In every reality, in every dimension, in every existence, in every beginning and every end.In every infinite, in every transinfinite, and beyond. Simultaneously.
Each word wasn't presumption. It was pure, absolute, resonant truth.
Null: So… you were always everywhere? Why…?
Alcanor: Because even though I know everything, I like listening to stories even when I already know the ending.I wasn't lying when I said my omniscience couldn't detect you… although I did know of your existence, Norigen no anai is usually very careless.(He laughs softly.)
Null: I see… I understand. Then… what are you really?
Alcanor: My real name is not "Alcanor." It's just the one I chose to use here.The only thing I can tell you is that I am the origin of the origin.
He placed a hand on Null's shoulder.
Alcanor: Being powerful doesn't make me immune to suffering. I was human once, too. By my own choice. I wanted to live the experience.
Null: Then you also…
Alcanor: Of course. I felt pain. But I also felt kindness. And that was enough.
Alcanor stepped aside.
Alcanor: You have lived terrible things, Null. But you also had moments that brought you light.
The memories overflowed.His grandfather Alaker.The stories by the fire.The laughter with Elina.The days when he felt loved.Those few moments that meant more than all his pain.Null laughed and cried at the same time.
Null: Yes… I remember.
Alcanor: I'm glad.—He hugs him— You are my creation, and I am your creator. That makes us, practically, father and son.
Null: Even though this father made me suffer a lot.—He returns the hug, firmly— Thank you. Really… thank you.
Alcanor: Don't mention it.—He dissolves like cosmic dust— You may wake up now.
✦ The Return to Painful Reality ✦
Null opened his eyes suddenly, and the movement made Azrael wobble.
Azrael: Hey! Be careful!
Nevaeh: Null! You finally woke up!
Azrael accidentally tossed him three meters into the air, and Null landed on his back on the ground of Purgatory. The impact tore a scream from him.
Null: AAAAH! That hurt! —He gets up and cracks his joints.— Sorry, I almost made you fall…(He laughs.)
Azrael: That apology better be sincere.—He hits him on the head—.
Null: Ouch!
Nevaeh:(Rolling her eyes with a smile) Honestly… you two look like children.