Gravity fluctuation (31)
Whoooosh—!
A fierce wind blew. I leapt out from the floating debris, watching as the Maker collapsed in real time. Thanks to the ongoing gravity fluctuation, I wasn't immediately plummeting straight down.
As my senses expanded, my perception of time began to slow. The movement of tiny things brushing past my body seemed to drag by.
Cystus let out a roar, swinging black smoke around. The Maker, which had gone wild and then frozen in place, was devoured by the explosion that erupted inside it. Carry, who had Nadia with her, flew over and pushed me out of the way.
In that extremely slowed-down flow of time, just before the rapidly advancing black smoke reached me, something hard touched my back. And with that as the trigger, time snapped back to normal.
Bang!
No matter the gravity fluctuation, I couldn't defy the speed at which I was moving and tumbled in a mess. I had squeezed out my last bit of strength, so even stopping mid-roll was hard.
In the end, I only stopped because I slammed my head into the door on the opposite side. For a moment, I really understood what it meant to have your head spinning. Just then, a voice filled with relief rang out—it was Roxy, who had successfully hijacked the armed shuttle.
He must have had a fierce firefight; blood streamed from his forehead as he shouted, full of exhilaration.
"Got it! I got it, my friend!"
"Go! As far as you can!"
I hurriedly checked Nadia's condition. She wasn't wounded badly enough to require immediate treatment. She was a mess, but still treatable.
"Roger! Hold on tight! For real—"
Even without further instructions from me, Roxy seemed keenly aware of the danger. He never took his eyes off the ground, even as brilliant, blinding light erupted around us.
The self-destruct nuclear weapon on the Reformist's ship detonated. The aftershock was anything but gentle; the shuttle's maximum thrust still wasn't enough to safely escape. Explosions are supposed to be a single, intense instant.
But the blast filling my vision now was different. Instead of ending, the energy radiating from the center only grew stronger, the explosion holding its shape—in fact, it was getting bigger and bigger, much larger than the Maker.
... Whooom!
The aftermath wind crashed into us late, and a second shockwave flared outwards in red-tinted concentric circles, smashing into the shuttle. It was so powerful even Roxy struggled to keep control.
"Urgh...!"
The hull shook violently up and down, spinning as well. Had it not been for Roxy, I would have been swept up by the shockwave from the explosion, just like the pureblood supremacist ships now tumbling down or simply erased, as the Maker had been.
Large military ships were caught by the close-range blast, unable to avoid it and being swallowed up. Watching them burn from the edges and then instantly vaporize was a terrifying sight.
—What the hell, what is that!
"Nuclear explosion!"
—I'm not asking what it is! Why did it suddenly go off?
"I set it off!"
—What? Are you cra—fzzzt...!
Licorice's transmission cut out abruptly. As the explosion's aftermath quickly spread, communications became unreliable. Still, it seemed a temporary glitch; they should recover soon.
I had managed to relay all urgent information. I could only pray that Albatross and Griffin made it out safely. I made the best decision I could.
I knew it was a reckless act. Still, if I hadn't made a bold decision, I—not just me, but all of us—would've been picked off one by one by the pureblood supremacists and destroyed.
Amid the gut-turning turbulence, I yanked out the blood-soaked safety belt and latched it to my suit. The black smoke had scraped up my suit so badly that it was barely functioning, but it was better than nothing.
Carry fastened Nadia's belt. I'd never been so grateful for the sound of a buckle clicking shut. Only when I saw it was secure could I finally let out a breath I'd been holding.
Boom—!
The shuttle desperately accelerated. Now that the Maker was dead, I could feel the gravity fluctuation fading. The pressure on my body increased; it was heavy, but it felt more natural this way.
Gravity returned. And not just for our shuttle—every piece of floating debris and ground chunk hanging in the air started to drop as they lost buoyancy and sought their original positions.
Some debris was swallowed, buried in the mushroom-shaped black cloud of death, while other chunks scattered like shrapnel from a grenade, and still more smashed down murderously onto the surface. Even the ground peeled away like old leather, turning everything into even greater chaos.
The surviving pureblood supremacist forces began a hurried retreat, heading off in the opposite direction from us. They were retreating so frantically, they seemed unlikely to chase us down.
I was truly relieved. In this state, if they had pursued us, I couldn't guarantee our lives.
'... Maybe I can relax a little.'
My body had already exceeded its limits. Even if I wanted to hold out, I couldn't control my body anymore. I tried to endure until we reached a safe place, but my eyelids drooped shut.
My senses dulled, my vision darkened. My consciousness sank in an instant. The knot of awareness unraveled almost at the same time.
***
I opened my eyes with a soft blink. Even as I saw, it took a moment to register. My brain wasn't fully awake. The first thing I felt was heaviness.
With each breath, my body felt burdened. Maybe my arms were pinned down—probably from fractures or cracked bones that needed immobilization.
Then I noticed the ceiling. It wasn't unfamiliar. It was Albatross's cabin ceiling.
'... I survived.'
For a long while, I simply stared up at the ceiling. Since the room was dark, it was clearly late, and since there was no commotion, it seemed safe for the moment.
I thought about going back to sleep, but my body was too uncomfortable. Lots of lingering pain, and a fierce thirst—I might shrivel up and die like this.
'... Water.'
I glanced sideways. Someone must have been there; one side of the bed was indented. I guessed it was the person taking care of me.
I was grateful, but that's not what I needed. I desperately wanted water. Rolling my eyes a bit more, I found it—on the bed on the other side.
'... A little far.'
My throat was too parched to call out, and I couldn't ask by gesture, so I was a bit stuck. But only for a moment; a good idea struck me. I had a new power now, didn't I?
I wasn't healed enough to use much of it. But if I concentrated, I thought I could at least bring the water bottle over.
'Alright. ... Here goes.'
I twitched my finger. I was pretty tense. It was the first time I'd tried using it with full awareness. Honestly, it still didn't feel real.
If I hadn't vividly remembered what happened before I blacked out, I'd have been bewildered about how I'd gotten such a supernatural power, maybe even thinking I'd gone schizophrenic.
Clatter. Invisible force knocked the water bottle. It was only a light nudge, but it felt so strange; psychokinesis—the ability called telekinesis, now belonged to me.
The water bottle soon floated in midair. It quivered; if my focus slipped even a bit, I'd drop it. My body was a mess, so controlling it steadily was impossible.
The bottle drifted steadily closer, passing the halfway mark—just then, the door opened and Celestia cautiously entered. She locked eyes with the bottle floating in the air.
"... Huh?"
Celestia froze, flustered by the sudden poltergeist act on a quiet night. She dropped what she was holding with a start. I, too, lost my concentration, and the psychokinesis snapped at once.
Clang—. The bottle hit the ground, spilling water, and rolled away. Celestia's gaze tracked it, then slowly rose to meet mine. The bottle bumped to a stop.
A silence hung between Celestia and me. She blinked in disbelief, perhaps thinking she was so tired she'd imagined it.
It worked out in my favor. I had no intention of hiding my ability, and she could easily bring another bottle if this one spilled.
As I was thinking that, Celestia realized I was awake. Instantly, she closed the distance, making me reflexively flinch.
"Hyun-woo! You're awake? Anything uncomfortable? Anywhere that seriously hurts? Tell me right away. I already gave you the maximum dose, but the painkillers might be wearing off—I'll check and add more if needed...!"
"..."
"Yes?"
As I parted my lips, Celestia instantly fell silent and listened closely. With much effort, I managed to make a sound.
"... Water. Please give me water."
"Ah, yes! I have water, just wait a moment!"
Finally my request got through. Celestia said she'd already brought some and pulled a bottle from her waist. She opened it quickly and carefully sat me up.
Celestia almost cradled me as she held the bottle to my lips.
"I'll tilt it for you. Drink slowly. If you need more, just say so."
Any embarrassment only lasted a second. The moment moisture touched my parched lips, that feeling vanished.
Water slowly trickled down my throat, soothing my dry, tight chest and making me feel alive again. One bottle wasn't enough—I finished three right there, and only then felt satisfied. My dry lips revived with life-giving moisture.
"... Phew."
"... Are you alright now? Need more painkillers?"
"I'm fine now. Thanks to you, I'm alive. If you hadn't come, I might have ended up a mummy."
Celestia's expression looked so bad that I forced a joke. It didn't work very well. Her mood remained gloomy.
'Hmm...'
I smiled awkwardly—and understandably so. Now that my thirst was quenched, my head was clearing, and all the things I'd pushed to future-me started floating back one by one.
A shock just as great as manifesting supernatural powers—realizing that within me was Ian, Celestia's brother.
When I saw him in a vision, I wasn't in my right mind, so I hadn't asked or confirmed. But he mentioned his sister and that who I was depended on my own thoughts—so he was almost certainly Ian Myosotis. Plus, the pureblood supremacists's leader tried to mockingly assign me the name "Ian".
But I couldn't say I was Ian for sure. Physically, this body wasn't his—it was mine.
Rather than sharing a body, it was 'something' like a soul, mind, or spirit that resided within me. If I explained it wrong, I'd risk being labeled crazy, so I stayed silent.
I still hadn't sorted it all out in my mind. Even as time passed, there was no guarantee I'd ever sort it out. Honestly, I had no idea how to face Celestia.
So, I'd wanted to meet her only after I had my thoughts straight. But here I was, unprepared.
Celestia thought her brother was dead. I remembered how much she suffered after learning that, her breakdown and sobbing in despair still vivid.
And now, for me to say that brother was actually me, or part of me—I just couldn't do it. It would feel like deception.
The only thing of Ian's I had seen was a vision—none of his real memories had resurfaced.
One thing was for sure: I had no intention of becoming a replacement for Ian. And Celestia wouldn't want that either.
So maybe it was best to maintain things as they were now. It was an avoidance-based decision, but it was the only one I had.
Celestia let her head rest on me. In a weak voice, she spoke.
"Seriously, Hyun-woo, you almost became a mummy. You lost so much blood... Even stopping the bleeding was hard. If I hadn't gotten enough biocells, you..."
She trailed off, but her meaning was clear. I would definitely have died. The black smoke Cystus wielded was the ultimate killing ability.
"But I'm alive, right?"
"..."
I shrugged as I spoke, and Celestia looked like she had more to say. Her expression was sinking fast, so I hurriedly changed the topic—something told me if I didn't, nothing good would happen.
"So, how is everyone else? You weren't taking care of everyone alone, were you?"
"No one's unharmed, but no one was as bad as you, so don't worry. Everyone else is sleeping—they reached their limits. I was the only one with enough stamina left to go around checking everyone."
Celestia let out a small sigh, as if reluctantly letting me change the subject, then started explaining things I'd be curious about.
Nadia was sleeping soundly in the next room; if anything happened, Carry, who's always on hand, would let us know right away.
We were now hiding in the ice mountains of an undeveloped area. The Beta Series were maintaining airtight security, so we'd know immediately if there were signs of intrusion.
The pureblood supremacists had used ramming tactics with their ships, and had attempted boarding actions, resulting in many injuries. Albatross and Griffin had both sustained significant damage.
We'd dealt with the immediate emergency, but in this state, our operational capacity was greatly reduced. At daybreak, repair work would have to begin at once. We might even need to mine supplies ourselves.
"Things aren't looking great."
"There's no pursuit, at least. They took heavy losses, too."
Celestia, gauging my complexion, suggested that I should hear the more detailed stories at the morning meeting and spared further explanation. She said I should focus on resting now, and tucked me back into bed.
"Don't do anything reckless—just rest as much as you can. That's how you recover quickly."
"Okay."
"... But Hyun-woo, can I ask just one thing?"
Celestia hesitated, her gaze shifting. I immediately guessed what she wanted to ask—about the water bottle floating in midair.
"You really did awaken a supernatural power, right? And it's psychokinesis?"
"Oh, yes. The nuclear explosion happened thanks to that, too. I just nudged the facility a bit, and it collapsed and triggered the blast. I wasn't trying to hide it—it's the first time I could use it myself."
"I see. That's a relief... truly, I mean it."
Celestia's face suddenly seemed free of hesitation, colored by joy. Psychokinesis awakening in me was certainly a good thing, but she was perhaps a little too happy about it.
I could sense her gaze had subtly changed, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
Celestia said for real this time to get some rest, and gently pulled her hand over my brow. Her warm touch was so calming that, as if all my previous sleeplessness was a lie, I quickly drifted off.
***
While Hyun-woo slept, someone watched over him quietly. Celestia checked that he was really asleep. Only when sure did she murmur softly to herself.
"It's confusing. With each new piece of evidence, I think more and more that my brother is really him, but I'm afraid to say it out loud in case it's not true."
Celestia took Hyun-woo's sleeping hand. Squeezing gently, as if to transmit her longing, though she resisted the urge to grasp tightly. Instead, she simply recalled the feeling of having him in her arms earlier.
"I don't want to believe my brother is dead. It's alright if you can't remember—if you find out anything, tell me. I'll believe you right away, that's all it takes."
Celestia knew she shouldn't hope for an answer, yet she did. Why confide in him while he slept? Surely it was because she didn't want to break what they had now—or was too afraid to do so.
When Hyun-woo said he could use psychokinesis, Celestia couldn't hide her happiness. She managed to control her face, but her thumping heart was impossible to trap. She realized they now shared one more thing in common.
Her heart was beating so loudly she worried he'd notice—but thankfully, Hyun-woo hadn't.
"I know I shouldn't. I do. ... Sorry."
As everyone slept, the night let her be a little selfish—the only time this coward could summon real courage.
Unlike before, Celestia resolved not to leave any trace behind. Soon, only the soft sounds of breathing remained between the two, and the remnants of spilled water seeped to the other side.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Celestia giving hickies again...
【(⩌‸⩌ )】