The kingdom was still frozen in fear as Cid and Shiki walked away from the shattered summoning hall.
Cid looked around awkwardly.
"So uh where are we going?"
Shiki didn't answer at first.
She simply walked each step causing the ground to ripple like liquid night.
Finally, she spoke.
"There is a place where fate cannot reach us."
Cid raised an eyebrow. "That sounds… dramatic."
"It is."
She almost smirked. Almost.
Without warning, Shiki stopped.
Then she lifted a finger.
A soft white line appeared in the air thin as a hair, brighter than a star.
With a gentle motion, she cut it.
Reality split open like paper.
Behind it was a horizonless voidscape purple storms, drifting stars, and swirling darkness that glowed from within.
Cid stared, wide-eyed.
"That's… not a portal. You literally sliced open the universe."
Shiki glanced back at him.
"This realm is my home. The Null Expanse."
Cid stepped forward without hesitation.
Shiki blinked.
Most beings hesitated.
Most went mad.
Most died.
But Cid walked through calmly, hands in pockets, as if entering someone's bedroom.
"You're not affected by void insanity?" she asked quietly, following after him.
"Nope. Pretty cool place, actually."
Her heart fluttered again.
Annoying.
Unexpected.
Dangerous.
For both of them.
They walked across floating platforms made of solidified night.
Shiki kept glancing at Cid, studying him, analyzing him, trying to find a weakness.
She found none.
Instead, something else happened.
A pulse of energy burst from Cid's chest a quiet shockwave that rippled across the void.
The realm responded to him.
Stars changed color.
Nebulas trembled.
The void winds formed a spiral around him like a guardian cloak.
Shiki stopped in her tracks.
Impossible."
Cid looked at her, confused. "What's wrong?"
"You are synchronizing with the Null Expanse."
"Is that good?"
"It is something no one no god, no demon, no world has ever done."
She stepped closer, her voice soft but intense.
"This realm recognizes you.
It accepts you.
Do you understand what that means, Cid.
Cid scratched his head. "I'm guessing something big?"
Shiki nodded slowly.
"You are not just an outsider to fate.
You are a natural born anomaly.
A being that even the void itself cannot reject."
Her fingers brushed his hand barely a touch, soft as breath.
Cid felt warmth radiate from her.
Shiki felt something terrifying:
Her heart beating twice.
Shiki exhaled.
"Cid I want to make something clear."
Cid blinked. "Okay.
She took one step closer, shadows and stars swirling around her like a cosmic mantle.
"I am feared by gods.
I am hated by fate.
I am hunted by reality itself."
She touched his chest lightly.
"And yet… you make me feel something no realm can cut."
Cid swallowed hard. "Shiki what are you trying to say?"
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"If you stay with me, our lives will become entangled.
Our destinies will merge.
And I will not let anyone god or fate take you from me."
Cid's face turned red.
"Are you… claiming me?"
Shiki's lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile.
"I am saying that you are the first person I wish to protect
and the first person I cannot kill even if I tried."
Cid rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean I don't mind staying with you."
Shiki froze.
Then looked away quickly, hiding a blush behind void shadows.
"…Good. Then it's decided."
Suddenly, the void trembled violently.
A massive surge of golden light tore through the sky.
Cid flinched. "What was that?"
Shiki's eyes narrowed.
"A Celestial Executioner. The gods already sent a hunter."
She stepped beside Cid, her aura exploding into swirling darkness.
"Cid."
"Yeah?"
"This will be your first real battle."
Cid grinned.
"Then let's make it amazing."
Shiki looked at him really looked and felt something warm settle inside her chest.
Perhaps.
this impossible boy.
was exactly what she had waited an eternity for.