I hadn’t blinked for about a minute and my eyes were beginning to hurt, so I blinked a few times before rubbing my eyelids.

I was in one of the offices of the local police station and sitting next to me was a petrified Isaac who had witnessed everything that happened from behind the kitchen counter.

I couldn’t focus on anything.

Not the blaring lights above nor the office walls.

One thing was clear, however.

Aun.

Her face.

Her voice.

I didn’t know whether to take comfort in that or to curse her bringing chaos into my otherwise mundane life.

I bit my teeth as Frank’s face flashed in my mind.

It was her fault.

She did this.

“S-Simbi?”

I turned to Isaac.

I looked into his quaking eyes and saw nothing but fear.

“What the in the world was that?” He wheezed.

He, Tina and I had been questioned but the police asserted that what we had seen was a mass hallucination caused by a gas leak from the kitchen.

“I… don’t know.” I admitted.

A police officer then entered the office.

He silently gestured that we follow him out of the office before leading us to the lobby where a wide eyed Tina stood.

We walked up to her and while she turned to me with a questioning glance, all I could do was lower my gaze in a shame that I knew did not belong to me.

The three of us were then made to fill in some paperwork and while suspicion was initially placed on us for Frank’s death, the circumstances were ruled far too bizarre and warranted further examination.

And so Frank’s body was taken away.

One thing that perplexed the three of us was the fact that no one acknowledged the fact that Frank had somehow developed bestial features.

We exchanged anxious glances and it looked like Isaac was on the verge of tears.

We were finally allowed to leave and we stood in the parking lot for a moment or two of contemplative silent beneath the starry night sky.

“Poor Frank.” Tina softly lamented prompting Isaac and I to hum in condolence.

“Simbi?”

I turned to Tina whose lips trembled.

“Just who was that woman?”

I bit my teeth before taking a deep breath and explaining everything I experienced since I first saw her.

The issue, which sat atop countless others, was that Aun seemingly disappeared just as the police rushed into the office.

“I thought maybe I was losing my marbles so I didn’t say anything but…”

“It would have helped if you did.” Isaac scoffed but I ignored his remark and instead wondered where Aun was.

My hope was that she had left to never return but that was probably wishful thinking.

“So… what do we do now?” Isaac asked.

“What else can we do? Find jobs elsewhere and try to move on.” I sighed but this made Tina’s face twist.

“That’s too cold, Simbi! Or did Frank mean so little to you?”

My jaws clenched.

“What should we do, then?”

“Well, we all need jobs now, right? And I have a bit of money saved… if I get a loan, I could buy the business and continue Frank’s legacy.”

“Why would you go that far?” I frowned.

“It wasn’t right.” Tina whimpered.

“I know what I saw and that’s not how he was supposed to leave us. I just wanna do him right by him in this world so he can rest peacefully in the next.” She added while clasping her hands.

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“And besides, it’s not like you have much of a choice, bucket boy.” Isaac snarled.

“You’re on board with this?” I winced.

“Yeah and I find your reluctance mighty suspicious. As far as I see it, this is all your fault-“

“But-“

“I don’t wanna hear it from you. That woman isn’t around for me to blame and I gotta point a finger and someone, right?”

My face twisted in frustration.

But…

They were right.

For the most part.

There was a cruel injustice in how Frank died.

And… the least I could do was try and help.

“Alright. I’ll do what I can do help.” I sighed and this made Tina warmly smile.

“Good. I’ll contact Aunt Lucy and, after offering her my condolences, we’ll take the necessary steps for the handover.” She nodded.

“I’ll see what I can do on my end. I know a few suppliers well. I’ll let them know We’ll be a potential customer soon and see how it goes.” Isaac droned.

“Alright! Lets do this! For Frank!” Tina cheered.

“For Frank.” Isaac and I replied.

We then parted ways and I made my way back to my apartment.

I entered my home and, almost as if to meet my expectations, Aun was inside, sitting idly by my bed, wearing nothing but my shirt.

I knew I hadn’t seen the last of her and while part of me was amused by the fact that I was right, the rest of me was terrified.

I chose to temporarily ignore her.

I hopped into the shower and changed into some fresh clothes before making two servings of food for dinner, one of which I offered to Aun who accepted it wordlessly.

We ate in silence and, after finishing our meals, I washed the dishes and tidied up before returning to Aun’s side on the bed where I took an extended breath.

“What now?”

“Mmm?” Aun softly sounded.

“What are you going to do now? Unless you simply plan on sticking to me like some parasite.” I laughed.

“I… in order to save myself, I must travel to the Temple of Beginnings at the foot of the Fountain of Cause.”

A moment of silence passed.

Then another.

“What?” I eventually winced from pure confusion.

“Perhaps I should start from the beginning. My name is Aun and I am what you would consider a being from a higher plane of existence. One unbound by the constraints of physicality, – the Reverie Plane. Born of a vast coalescence of Dew, I ruled over the region of space known as Laniakea. Such is the duty of that befalls those with the title of Ging. Laniakea is a large territory so I naturally delegated sections of it to a council of beings I trusted. Well… I thought I could trust them but mere days ago, I was attacked in my palace but, thanks to the pity of some, my conscious self was able to escape in this vessel. A doll made for my temporary use.” Aun explained and I could feel a headache of confusion approaching as I digested her words.

“So… a coup… like you said.”

Aun nodded.

“And remind me again why you need me and can’t go bother someone else?” I raised a brow.

“I could find someone else although it is uncertain whether they’d be able to withstand my presence and help me get to where I need to go.” Aun blinked. Temporarily robbing the world of the ethereal light of her eyes.

“And what makes you think I’ll help you? What’s in it for me?” I frowned.

“I… what is it that you desire? If I can grant your wish, I will do so and if I cannot, I will aid you tirelessly until it comes true.”

A look of pleading crept onto Aun’s usually lifeless face.

I thought about.

What I wanted.

Not power, no.

And I doubted Aun had any money.

This led to me questioning just what she was capable of.

And so I asked.

“I can create illusions, I am capable using telekinesis to change the physical world and I can change my appearance just to name a few.” Aun listed.

“Oh? So is this not your true form?”

“This is the appearance of this vessel. My true body is millions of light years across and I think your brain would pop if you tried looking at all of it.”

“Oh? Could you give me a hint, for curiosity’s sake?”

Aun’s eyes narrowed briefly.

She then took a deep breath and what followed were bright blue and purple flames that erupted from her body.

Within her flame, we’re what appeared to be countless stars, some of which grouped together to form constellations and even galaxies.

Her eyes had also disappeared as flames rose from their sockets.

This flame rose to form her hair as well.

“Each star represents one of the many that are visible in your night sky, each of which exists in Laniakea. In me.”

My eyes widened.

“Yes. Laniakea and I are one and the same.”

I sat frozen for another moment before nodding.

This prompted Aun to return to her more human like state.

I returned my thoughts to how she could possibly compensate for using me.

I thought back to Frank and to what Tina said.

It’s not that I didn’t want to do anything for Frank or anything.

It just seemed as though moving on would be best for everyone.

Lest we linger in the past.

I thought back to Frank’s expression of pure horror and torment.

This led me to turn my own horrified eyes to Aun.

“Could you rebuilt Frank’s restaurant?” I asked while biting my thumb.

“I cannot turn back the arrow of time but I can reconstruct it to a near new state if you want.”

“Yeah- but that’ll have to wait until Tina finishes things on her end. Also, that is the first of things I will demand as payment for the loss of Frank’s life. If you’re gonna use me, then I’m gonna use you too.”

“Alright.” Aun nodded.

“Good. Now back to what you want to do. You said there was somewhere you needed to go.”

“Yes, the Temple of Beginnings.”

“And that at the what of what again?”

“The foot of the Fountain of Cause – the very center of the cosmos.”

“And just how does one get there in a realistic amount of time?” I raised a brow.

“Ah- the only means to do so is actually on this world. It lies in a temple on an island off the coast.”

“And why can’t you go there yourself?”

“Again, you are my Tether. If I move too far away from you, I will rise back to the Reverie Plane where Norma and her agents surely await.” Aun explained.

“So… we’ll both have to go to that temple.”

She remained silent.

“Mmm… alright. If it’s just off the coast, I’ll see what I can do to help but that’s a goal we can work towards. A more immediate issue would be your presence as it is. If it’s enough to kill people then I’d rather you never leave my apartment.”

Aun shook her head.

“It wasn’t my presence alone that caused Frank's transformation. I was wary enough to show only you my ethereal form. Norma, on the other hand, forcefully projected herself onto this plane and this was far too much for Frank’s mind to bare so his mind and body twisted as they struggled to cope.”

“I see. Oh- why did you force me to eat your eye-“

I was interrupted by a series pf knocks at my door.

My brows furrowed and I shot Aun a questioning glance but I deflated with a sigh upon seeing that she wasn’t there.

And so, with a defeated expression, I stumbled onto my feet and dragged them to the door.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“We’re agents Fìrinn and Mamaki from the Ministry of Defense. We’d like to question you about the events that transpired in the last twenty four hours.”