Nova’s senses were dimmed the further he fell into the dark ocean. It felt like he was trapped in an endless, eternal prison. Fear captured him. Failure scared him. Loneliness terrified him. He didn’t want people to be shrouded with their negative emotions, but it couldn’t be helped. Darkness and light coexisted with each other; positive and negative emotions were the same. The Realm of Desires was a sensitive world where it would be contaminated as soon as strong negative emotions were to become disarray.

How can we reach Sayaka in order to grant her wish? Souhait asked.

Is it even possible? Nova remarked. The more he fell into the void, the more apathetic he became.

Do not succumb into the darkness.

I can’t. It’s pulling me in.

Stay strong.

I can’t…

No matter how much he wanted to encourage himself to keep going, he couldn’t. It was difficult to fight back when Sayaka’s guilt and despair was affecting this world and him.

He felt a force pulling his arm out, making it look like he was reaching out for something. He wasn’t in control; this was Souhait’s doing. Because they both shared his body, it allowed Souhait to take control of it as he pleased.

Nova gasped when he felt this force; sudden hope came to him. Souhait was doing his best to help Nova fight; they needed each other. Nova needed to be strong. He did not want to let Souhait down.

Thank you.

We are in this together. Always and forever.

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Always and forever.

Nova used all of his power to shift his body around so that he was heading up towards where he had fallen from. Sayaka’s emotions were very strong; they kept pushing him back when he kept pushing forth. It was a battle between Nova and the force. He reached his hand out; he needed to see Sayaka.

A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his own. Nova’s eyes widened at his sudden rescuer. A boy with snow white hair and pale blue eyes graced his presence. He was dressed in casual modern clothes befitting a young teenage boy. What caught Nova’s eyes the most was his lopped rabbit ears.

“You’re Kori.”

Kori’s grip on his hand tightened. “You’re the wish-granting lavender dragon. You are someone full of power, yet here you are being weak. Are you sure you’re capable?”

Kori’s words stung, frustrating Nova. He was right. While Nova was a powerful person, he still had many weaknesses. He never knew there would be a day where he’d be lectured by a man-made creation.

“I’m fully capable. I just need people to show them off to.”

“If you say so. So, lavender dragon, how are we going to get out of here?”

“This is still a part of her memory.” Nova remarked. “All we need to do is to move onto the next memory, but that is a gamble.”

“How so?”

“It is the memory of the moment Sayaka died. Given her vulnerable state, it could spiral her out of control even more or it could calm her down if she accepts it. If you are willing to take that risk, we can stop her.”

Nova looked Kori straight in the eye. He wanted to know the sort of drive a man-made creation had. Was Kori someone with agency? Was he someone with a lack of it?

“Please. I want to help her. She’s the one who gave me a soul, after all. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have met Arcturus and experienced these emotions I am feeling right now.”

Nova wondered if the Realm of Desires had allowed Shifties to bring out their true emotions. However, he knew Kori’s feelings and words were all genuine; he could sense his sincerity from his voice. They both had a common goal, so Nova knew to trust him.

Nova released his hand from Kori’s and then reached it out above. The third feather came out from his hand, basked in light. The radiance was so powerful that the environment started changing. Buildings sprouted out from below like trees. Soon, the black sky remained, but their surroundings became brighter as a myriad of colorful lights surrounded them.