Between Waking and Wonder
It began with silence.
Not the peaceful kind — the kind that feels like the world has forgotten to breathe.
I sat cross-legged in the garden, eyes closed, flame steady on my palm. Professor Vastel had called it "reflective meditation."Ayaka called it "boring."Kuroha called it "an opportunity for internal chaos."
He wasn't wrong.
The Nihility Fire pulsed inside me — rhythmic, hypnotic. My breathing slowed until it matched the flicker of its light. Then something clicked—like a lock opening in my skull.
And suddenly, I wasn't in the garden anymore.
The First Projection
I floated.
Not falling, not flying — drifting, as if gravity had politely excused itself.Below me stretched an ocean of mirrors. Each one shimmered with memories — mine, Ayaka's, even strangers'. A thousand Lumiels looked back, all slightly wrong.
"Fantastic," I muttered. "Even my dreams have impostors."
"You're not dreaming."
Kuroha's voice echoed everywhere and nowhere. I turned — and found him walking on the mirrored surface as if it were water. His body glowed faintly gold, eyes blazing brighter than ever.
"You've crossed the threshold," he said. "The Astral Plane. The space where reflections sleep."
I blinked. "I was meditating for five minutes. How am I outside my body already?"
"Efficiency."
Echo Spirits
Shapes drifted around us — transparent silhouettes moving like smoke.Some were humanoid, some animal, all whispering fragments of forgotten lives.
Ayaka would have loved this, I thought.Then one of the shades brushed against me — and my vision flared.
I saw her face — Ayaka, laughing under fireworks — and then it was gone.The spirits carried memories. Every touch was a glimpse, every breath a story.
"Don't stay too long," Kuroha warned. "The longer you drift, the weaker your tether."
"My what?"
"The thread tying you to your body. If it snaps, you stay here permanently. Very inconvenient."
"Helpful tip, thanks."
The Sea of Glass
The sky — if you could call it that — rippled like molten silver. Islands of thought floated overhead, formed from emotions. One looked suspiciously like Daniel's wallet.
Curiosity won over caution. I tried to move toward it — and the mirrors tilted, responding to intent instead of physics.
"Focus," Kuroha said. "Where you think, you go."
"Then how do I go home?"
"Think about Ayaka shouting at you to wake up. Works for me."
The Calling Light
Just as I was about to test that theory, the ocean of mirrors below us brightened.A red glow spread through the depths — the same crimson pattern as the Red Code.
Fragment signature detected.The words weren't spoken. They appeared inside my mind, familiar, divine, and cold.
Kuroha's ears flattened. "That's Odin's data pulse. This place remembers him."
I swallowed. "Then we're not alone here."
The Voice Beneath
The sea split open — revealing a vast eye beneath the glass.A god's reflection, staring upward through eternity.
Child of Nihility, it whispered. Your soul is wandering through my error. Tread lightly, or become part of it.
Every mirror trembled. My Soulflame flickered; the Nihility Fire pushed back instinctively.
"Hey," I said, forcing a smile I didn't feel. "If this is a dream, can we schedule the existential dread for later?"
The voice faded, leaving only stillness.
Kuroha stepped beside me. "The Astral Plane is alive — and it remembers gods who broke it."
"Good," I said. "I've been meaning to leave a better impression."
Return
I closed my eyes, thinking of the garden — Ayaka's voice teasing, Kuroha's sarcastic lessons, the taste of candied fruit from the festival.The world folded inward — mirrors turning to light, light to breath.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back.Ayaka knelt beside me, eyes wide. "You stopped breathing for a full minute!"
I smiled weakly. "Multitasking."
Kuroha shimmered from shadow, tails twitching. > "Next time, take me consciously. The plane reacts better when invited."
"Noted."
Ayaka crossed her arms. "You found another way to almost die, didn't you?"
"Define almost," I said.
She sighed, but her tails flicked in relief. "Next time, I'm going with you."
Closing Scene
That night, as I lay staring at the ceiling, the mirrors in my room glowed faintly.A single symbol burned across the glass — an eye surrounded by flame.
Return soon, the voice whispered. We have much to remember.
I sighed. "Apparently, enlightenment has no weekends."
Kuroha's voice purred from the shadows.
"Welcome to higher consciousness. No refunds."