‘It’s… so beautiful,’ Aki gasped in childlike wonder.

Ren could only nod along, an expression of awe on her beautiful face.

I looked at Lilyth seeking answers, but all I saw on her face was confusion. No. It was disbelief.

‘How?’ she simply asked.

‘What is it?’ I asked. ‘Where are we?’

The answer came in the form of notification.

Leaving Zone: The Deep Corridors

Entering Zone: Space Station Kappa-3

Difficulty: N/A

Description: Congratulations on making it through the Deep Corridors. Your path has been locked in now. Proceed when ready.

Notice: This is a safe zone. You can rest here without worry.

No… it can't be…

‘We’re in space?’ Aki asked my unvoiced question. ‘Then is that a…’

‘A gas giant with a planetary ring system,’ Lilyth explained, absentmindedly. ‘Those are massive rocks forever orbiting it, though it is possible they might form a moon someday. Though… I doubt it. Remember where we are.’

‘It’s fake then, isn't it?’ Ren asked, bitterly.

‘I am afraid so.’ Lilyth confirmed, melancholy in her voice.

‘Why make it then? Why create something so… so… beautiful if it is just a mirage.’

‘That might be on me,’ Lilyth shook her head. ‘I am the fun police here. If I didn't say anything you wouldn't have known.

I waved her apology away.

‘Don’t know about the others, but I’d rather know the hard truth than live a lie.’

Aki and Ren nodded their agreement, though they both looked immensely disappointed.

We started exploring our new shelter. As we discovered, there were six main areas on the station: The room with the entrance, now called “the office”, three sleeping chambers with four beds each, a mess hall, bathrooms, a place filled with all sorts of strange devices Lilyth called “the control room” and the observation room - an unfurnished chamber where the only feature was a massive window pointed at the gas giant. We found the exit, a metal door, labelled as such, in something Lilyth called “the airlock”. Alas, there was no food on the station, but there was functional plumbing meaning we could both shower and drink to our hearts' content. This was especially important in the case of Ren, as she didn't have one of those Neverending Canteens, so the water supply was an ever-increasing worry of ours in the dungeon. Now, at least, that problem was partially solved.

Lilyth's point about the place being fake was reinforced when we didn’t find any machinery required for life support. This was something she had to point out because none of us would have ever noticed that on our own. This was made even weirder when she said that we shouldn’t have been able to walk there. There was no gravity in space. Artificial gravity was something, at best, only theoretical without magic.

‘That being said, I would strongly advise against testing the hull integrity,’ she stressed. ‘Explosive decompression is not a nice way to go. A quick one though.’

It was weird to know the place was fake but to treat the dangers as real, but the grim spectre of gruesome death was a powerful argument.

Once we were done exploring, Lilyth examined the machines in the control room a bit closer, but, to my pleasant surprise, decided not to fuck around with any of them.

‘The buttons aren’t labelled in any script I know, and I know better than to mess around with possibly vital machinery.’

‘Who are you and what have you done with Lilyth?’ I asked, not for the first time.

She looked mildly annoyed by my comment.

I really need to cut back on giving her shit. As Aki proved with the grenade…

‘I agree that I am out of my depth with magic, but we are pretty much in my playground here,’ Lilyth countered.

None of us had an answer to that. I just remembered the explosion. And the sight of Aki playing with the device…

I shuddered.

We decided to spend the night on the space station. The few hours of sleep we got in the other safe zone weren't even nearly enough to keep us going much longer. Well… that and the fact we were all almost out of mana and had no potions left. A night’s rest wouldn't be nearly enough to refill my and Lilyth's pools, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

As it would be easier for us to defend ourselves if the message about this being a safe zone turned out to be untrue, we chose to sleep all in a single bedroom. There were enough beds for all of us there, but neither was wide enough to fit more than one person.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

To my distress, when I woke up in the middle of the night due to a nightmare, I discovered that Lilyth was missing from the bed she chose for herself. I found her sitting in the observation room just looking at the planet below. The majesty of it was truly breathtaking. Still… my jelly shouldn't have snuck off here alone.

‘There you are,’ I began, trying to control my tone. ‘I was getting worried.’

‘Couldn’t sleep,’ she said. ‘Should have let you know, I guess.’

‘I am here now,’ I smiled and sat next to her.

She absentmindedly took my hand into hers, making my heart beat stronger.

‘You know, Caei,’ she sighed. ‘My entire life I dreamed about going to space. First, I got ripped away from the planet with the technology to do that. Not that I could ever afford it, but the potential was there. Still, I did get to visit another planet and have sex with two hot alien chicks, so I thought it wasn’t that bad. Then I learned about the universe Sav spent a few years in… and I thought maybe we could visit it… fly around on a spaceship. You know… had hope of fulfilling that dream again. This died due to Kojiro. So now… all I have is a view of a planet that may not exist out of a window from a fake space station.’

Something inside of me ached when listening to this.

To have all your hopes and dreams completely dashed… it’s not fair….

‘It’s a beautiful view,’ I said the only words of comfort I could think of.

They sounded hollow even to me.

‘That it is,’ Lilyth agreed.

Then why does it matter that it’s not real? You still got to experience what you wanted. That… that is as real as it gets.’

‘I guess you are right,’ she finally conceded, moved a bit closer and lay her head on my shoulder. ‘I’m glad you are here to experience this with me. That makes it more… more… fun.’

We sat there for a moment in silence, just basking in the majesty of space.

‘You know… ‘she began in a sad tone. ‘Ren was right about the whole “not being built for this” thing. At least as far as I am concerned.’

My stomach sank at that.

Here it comes. The rejection.

‘But she was also wrong. Just because I wasn’t originally built for that, doesn't mean I couldn't grow into it.’

What?

‘Don’t think I haven't noticed the looks you’ve been giving me lately when you thought I wasn’t looking. And… I must admit I have been untrue towards you, Caeileera of the Sanguine. You see… There was massive turmoil inside of me as far as you and Aki were concerned and I was happy I didn't have to choose between the two of you. But… that was the easy and lazy option because it didn't resolve the conflict inside of me. And… then Ren happened… at that point, I was developing serious feelings towards Aki. So I thought… maybe Caei will choose Ren and…’

‘... The issue would solve itself?’ I asked bitterly.

‘Yes. This is why I have been untrue towards you. Instead of confronting the feelings towards you that were slowly budding inside of me… I chose the coward's way out. So… back then… in Julbar… when forced to choose I would have chosen Aki. Now… I would have fought for you tooth and nail. So… let me say this openly: I love you, Caeileera of the Sanguine. I feel safe with you. I can let go with you and be myself…’

She got up and knelt on one knee before me.

‘Back then… in that inn… I only proposed to Aki. To you… it was us both. So, Caeileera of the Sanguine… will you forgive me for being untrue to you and become my wife?’

My only answer was leaping towards her and kissing her. It was enough of an answer. For both of us.

I have never been this happy before.

By the time we got back to Aki and Ren, they were both up. They raised their eyebrows upon seeing us walk in holding hands but said nothing. It could have been also how ruffled our clothes looked, sleeping on them would do that. Sex under the gaze of the gas giant was an amazing experience, as was cuddling and talking afterwards. I was also able to give Lilyth's belly, and the rest of her body, the love and care they deserved, and I was looking forward to the next time.

We ended up promising ourselves with Lilyth that after we got back to Mer-Cas, just the two of us would go to Lin-Vyme to see the monastery as a bit of an extended date.

To think that two months ago I would roll my eyes at that. I have changed, haven't I?

‘You are chipper today,’ Aki noted while we were washing up after breakfast.

‘Some quality time with a loved one will do that for you,’ I answered mysteriously.

‘Is Lilyth…’

‘Surprisingly, yes. Not sure whether she is fine now or… it’s the… danger.’

Aki’s expression got cloudy at that.

‘It will take a while, won’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ I agreed. ‘Not sure if she will ever be fully okay.’

Aki nodded solemnly.

‘Still… I am happy she finds solace with you. I’ve noticed you have a good effect on her. I just… just…’

She began to weep.

‘I just don’t know how to help her.’

I took her into my arms.

‘There there, Aki,’ I cooed. ‘It’s going to be fine. I don’t know how to help her either. I’m just… there for her. You are too. That's all we can do. Be there when she needs us.’

Aki hugged me back.

‘It’s just if I didn't a-ask…’

‘But you did. And she agreed. And if you didn't, Lilyth would likely volunteer. You know how our jelly is.’

‘I know… but still…’

‘Have you talked with her about it?’

Aki began sobbing harder.

‘I’m a-af-afraid. W-what… wh-what if she… s-she… says she h-hates me b-b…’

‘She won’t. And she doesn't. I can go with you if you want. To provide support.’

Aki brightened at that.

‘Will you?’

‘Of course… I love you, Aki. I will do anything to help you.’

I helped Aki clean up and insisted we go and settle that issue immediately. The poor girl shouldn't carry this much guilt. The pain that showed on Lilyth's face when we brought that up… She simply took Aki into her hands and said softly:

‘I would never blame you for that. Or hate you.’

‘R-really?’

‘Really.’

My job there was done, so I decided to give them some privacy and went to talk with Ren.