Null caught her before gravity could.
Her weight fell into his arms without resistance.
Completely unconscious.
Completely defenseless.
For a moment, the battlefield felt impossibly small.
Scorched earth.
Shattered stone.
Residual warmth from divine judgment still humming faintly in the air.
And in the center of it—
Her.
He lowered himself slowly to one knee, cradling her as though the world itself might fracture if he moved too roughly.
"Sora…"
No response.
Her breathing was shallow.
Her skin pale from mana depletion.
Her lashes rested against her cheeks with disarming softness.
Null stared at her face for several long seconds.
Then—
A soft chuckle escaped him.
Low. Quiet. Almost disbelieving.
"Wow…"
His fingers brushed through her smooth white hair, strands slipping between his fingers like silk.
"She trusts me this much…?"
He adjusted her slightly in his arms, careful—gentle.
"To just… drop her guard completely."
Another soft laugh.
"At first impression, she didn't seem like the type."
His thumb lingered lightly against her temple.
"But… I suppose everyone has their moments."
The battlefield wind whispered around them.
And then—
He blinked.
"…Hm?"
The burn along her collarbone.
The fracture lines in her arm where mana backlash had torn through muscle.
The faint lacerations along her side—
They were closing.
Slowly.
But unmistakably.
Flesh knitting.
Color returning.
Breathing stabilizing.
Null's eyes widened.
"…Wow."
He leaned in slightly, fascinated.
"She doesn't have an ounce of her innate mana left after that battle."
He could feel it.
Her core was hollowed.
Empty.
Drained to nothing.
"And yet…"
His gaze sharpened.
"Her abilities are still functioning."
A slow exhale left him.
"Amazing."
A calm voice responded inside his mind.
[Objection.]
Null didn't flinch.
"Fantasy Omniscience-san."
[Unique Abilities (/Sacred Gifts) do not require mana to passively function upon the user.]
Null's expression shifted—interest sharpening.
"…Explain."
—
[Unique Abilities are not spells.]
[They are not techniques.]
[They are not energy-driven phenomena.]
[They are conceptual laws embedded into an individual's existence.]
Null's gaze lowered to Sora again.
"A law."
[Yes.]
[A personal law of reality.]
[Bound to the individual.]
[Possessing authority to rewrite reality in accordance with its defined principle.]
He smiled faintly.
"So that's what I've been watching this entire time."
—
[Unlike conventional abilities, Unique Abilities do not require mana, stamina, or any external resource to function.]
[Their activation is not governed by energy expenditure.]
[It is governed by will.]
Null's eyes sharpened.
"As long as the user retains conscious intent…"
[No ordinary seal can suppress it.]
[No suppression field.]
[No anti-magic effect.]
[No physical restraint.]
[None of these can prevent activation.]
His fingers stilled briefly in her hair.
"Unless."
[Unless a conceptual-level restriction interferes directly with the underlying principle of the ability itself.]
"A law that suppresses a law."
[Correct.]
A faint breath escaped Null.
"That's absurd."
[It is absolute.]
—
He glanced at her healing arm.
"She's unconscious."
"And yet it's still working."
[Passive State.]
Null tilted his head slightly.
"Define it properly."
—
[Unique Abilities operate in two states.]
—
[Active State.]
[When the user channels mana, aura, divine power, or any form of energy—]
[The Unique Ability does not consume that energy.]
Null's brow lifted.
"It doesn't?"
[No.]
[It uses the energy as a medium.]
[Energy becomes a carrier.]
[A bridge.]
"It extends its authority outward."
[Correct.]
[In Active State, the ability actively attempts to rewrite external reality according to:]
[1. Its intrinsic conceptual function.]
[2. The user's conscious will.]
Null looked over the scarred battlefield.
"She wasn't burning mana."
"She was projecting her truth."
[Affirmative.]
[Energy allowed her conceptual authority to impose its principle onto the surrounding world.]
He exhaled slowly.
"So that's why the forest obeyed."
[Yes.]
—
"And now?"
He looked back down at her.
"She has no mana left."
[Passive State.]
[When no mana or energy is being used, the Unique Ability does not become inactive.]
[It shifts to internal operation.]
Null's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Internal."
[It continuously rewrites and stabilizes the user's existential framework.]
[In this state, the ability:]
[Reinforces the body.]
[Reinforces the soul.]
[Reinforces existence.]
[Alters the user's nature at a fundamental level.]
He watched as the last of the shallow wounds faded.
"But it cannot affect external reality."
[Correct.]
[Without energy as a bridge, its influence is limited to the user.]
A long silence settled.
Wind moving gently through broken branches.
Ash drifting.
Null's fingers resumed their slow, absent-minded motion through her hair.
"So…"
He murmured.
"A Unique Ability is a personal law of reality."
[Yes.]
"With energy…"
"It affects the world."
[Correct.]
"Without energy…"
"It only affects the user."
[Correct.]
He smiled faintly.
"And it never actually stops."
[It is always functioning.]
His gaze softened.
"Unique abilities are really outrageous cheat powers."
There was no fear in his voice.
Only quiet admiration.
Even unconscious.
Even drained.
Even broken by backlash.
Her existence itself was being renovated and stabilized by the passive activation of her everlasting vitalis.
Null adjusted her gently, securing her weight against him more firmly.
"You pushed yourself too far."
His voice dropped to a near whisper.
"But…"
Another faint chuckle.
"If you're going to entrust your unconscious body to me like this…"
A faint smile curved his lips again.
"…I'll take responsibility for it."
He rose slowly, cradling her fully now.
Above them, the sky had returned to calm.
The battlefield scarred.
But intact.
And in his arms—
Slept not a saintess.
Not merely a warrior.
But a living, breathing conceptual law of existence—
Rewriting herself,
Even now.
****
Sora regained consciousness gradually.
Not with panic.
Not with confusion.
But with awareness.
The first sensation she registered was stability.
Her internal mana circuits—restored.
Her damaged meridians—fully repaired.
Her heartbeat—steady.
Her existence—harmonized.
Passive restoration complete.
Then—
Warmth.
Firm arms beneath her.
A steady heartbeat that was not her own.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Null was still holding her.
Not awkwardly.
Not stiff.
But carefully.
As though she were something fragile.
"…You're awake."
His voice wasn't teasing this time.
It was soft.
Relieved.
Sora blinked once, processing.
She shifted slightly, testing her body.
No pain.
No instability.
Her Unique Ability had already finished reconstructing her internal framework.
She pushed herself upright from his arms with composed precision.
"I have recovered."
Of course she had.
Null exhaled through his nose.
"Yeah. I can see that."
She avoided looking at him.
"…You did not need to continue holding me after stabilization."
"Oh?"
He leaned back on his hands casually.
"You weren't exactly giving me updates while unconscious."
A faint pause.
Her fingers tightened slightly at her side.
"I calculated no threat."
"Mm."
"That is the reason."
He tilted his head, studying her.
"Right."
She finally glanced at him—
And immediately looked away.
Because he was smiling.
Not smug.
Not mocking.
Just amused.
Softly.
"You really dropped everything, you know."
"I was unconscious."
"That's my point."
Silence.
Wind drifted across the scarred earth.
Her ears tinted faintly pink.
"I trusted your presence."
There it was.
Unintentional.
Honest.
He blinked.
"…You what?"
"…From a tactical standpoint."
He burst out laughing.
She shot him a glare.
"You are unnecessarily expressive."
"And you're unnecessarily formal when you're embarrassed."
"I am not—"
She stopped.
Because she was.
The faint flush deepened.
He stood and extended a hand toward her.
"Come on."
She looked at it for half a second.
Then took it.
Her grip was firm.
Warm.
He pulled her up easily.
They stood there facing each other for a brief, suspended moment—
A faint flush crept higher across her cheeks.
She turned away.
"Let us return."
—
By the time they reached the outer roads of Lumeris—
The world had returned to normal.
The city of Lumeris shimmered beneath afternoon light.
White stone streets.
Tall crystalline lampposts.
Silver-veined architecture reflecting the sun in soft brilliance.
Merchants calling.
Children running.
They walked side by side along the sidewalk.
And something—
Was different.
The distance between them was appropriate.
Measured.
Proper.
But the air itself felt—
Tight.
Charged.
Passing pedestrians slowed slightly as they crossed paths.
Glances lingered.
Not because of divine aura.
Not because of visible power.
But because of that strange, palpable tension between them.
Whenever their eyes met—
Sora would freeze for half a fraction of a second.
Then—
Look away.
A faint flush rising again.
Controlled.
But visible.
Null, meanwhile—
Chuckled.
Softly.
Every time.
Amused.
"You're unusually quiet, miss saintess."
"I am reflecting."
"On what?"
"…Nothing of consequence."
He hummed.
"Is it about the part where you seemed pretty comfortable unconscious in my arms."
Her composure cracked—
She stopped walking.
He took two more steps before noticing and turning back.
She was staring at him now.
Cheeks pink.
Eyes steady—but not cold.
"You are enjoying this."
"Maybe."
"That is immature."
"And you collapsing dramatically wasn't?"
"I did not collapse dramatically."
"You absolutely did."
"That was a temporary lapse due to mana depletion."
"So you're saying if it happens again—"
"It will not."
Immediate.
Sharp.
He laughed again.
And the nearby couple walking past them exchanged a knowing glance.
Even strangers could feel it now—
The awkwardness.
The restrained awareness.
The unspoken memory of closeness neither of them was addressing directly.
They resumed walking.
Steps synchronized unconsciously.
Not awkward in a clumsy way—
But fragile.
Unspoken.
When they reached a quieter stretch of road, she spoke again, more softly.
"…Thank you."
He looked at her.
"For what?"
"For catching me."
It was simple.
Direct.
No divine composure.
Just honest.
He chuckled lightly.
"You really think I'd let you hit the ground?"
Her lips curved faintly—
Almost a smile.
Then she noticed.
And suppressed it instantly.
They reached an transit plaza near the Sanctum perimeter.
Once again, The teleportation sigil beneath them lit.
The same structured light.
The same layered geometry.
Returning the way they had left.
Sora stepped into position beside him.
Close.
Close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed.
The sigil activated.
Light rose around them—
And they reappeared at the inner gates of the Divine Sanctum.
The sacred courtyard greeted them.
White marble.
Sacred banners fluttering.
Radiant guards stationed in polished formation.
The moment they materialized, Sora's posture shifted subtly.
Composed.
Radiant.
Saint-like once more.
But—
As they walked up the Sanctum steps together—
Their hands brushed.
Just briefly.
Accidentally.
She stiffened.
He glanced at her.
"…Careful."
"I am perfectly capable of maintaining balance."
"Didn't say you weren't."
She didn't respond.
Their hands separated almost immediately.
But the warmth lingered.
They had barely ascended halfway up the Sanctum's marble steps when a familiar presence made itself known.
Not loud.
Not imposing.
Simply… waiting.
"I was beginning to wonder if the two of you intended to return before nightfall."
At the top of the marble ascent stood Elder Priest Ozag.
Robes of layered ivory and gold draped from his thin frame. His age showed in the silver of his brows and the lines at the corner of his eyes—but his posture remained straight, dignified.
Waiting.
Observing.
Sora immediately shifted.
The faint flush from moments earlier vanished.
Her spine straightened.
Her expression cooled.
"Elder Ozag."
She inclined her head with precise respect.
Null gave a casual two-finger salute.
"Waiting for us?"
Ozag's eyes moved between them once.
Slow.
Perceptive.
"I had expected your return within this window."
His gaze lingered a fraction longer on Sora.
"How about your mission?."
"It has been resolved," Sora replied calmly.
"Good."
"You are unharmed?" he asked.
"I am fully stabilized."
Null resisted the urge to comment on how "fully stabilized" had included collapsing unconscious in his arms.
Barely.
Ozag studied her for another moment, then gave a small nod.
A pause
Then—
His tone shifted.
"Her Holiness has requested your presence upon arrival."
A beat of silence.
Even the wind through the courtyard seemed to quiet.
"The Pope?" Null asked lightly.
Ozag's gaze slid to him again.
"Yes."
No need to say her name. They both knew.
Sora did not hesitate.
"I understand."
Sora inclined her head once more.
"I will meet my master at once."
Ozag stepped aside.
"May the Light remain in clarity."
Then she began walking.
Null followed.
—
Right before the grand doors of the seat of radiance—
Their hands brushed again.
This time—
She did not pull away instantly.
Just half a breath.
Then—
She straightened.
"Compose yourself," she said quietly.
He leaned slightly closer.
"I am perfectly composed."
"You are smirking."
"Am I?"
She did not answer.
The doors to the Seat of Radiance began to open.
Light poured outward.
Formal.
Sacred.
Awaiting them.
And whatever Her Holiness intended to say next.