Chapter 169: House building III
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When they reached Dawn House, Sekhmet directed the servants to bring the cart into the inner courtyard, away from the street. Elena was waiting, of course.
Elena’s eyes moved over the materials like a general inspecting supplies.
"Good," she said.
Then her gaze snapped to Auri. "Do not let her wander where servants gossip."
Auri bowed slightly. "Yes," she said.
Bat Bat appeared at the edge of the courtyard, holding a writing board like it was a dead animal she had been forced to carry.
Her eyes widened when she saw Auri.
Then she widened more when she saw the cart.
Then she widened even more when she realized there were many new things that looked fun to climb.
Bat Bat marched toward Sekhmet, face full of accusation.
"Master," Bat Bat said, "master buy wood and not buy jam."
Sekhmet stared at her. "You did not learn letters yet," he replied.
Bat Bat gasped. "Bat Bat learned one letter," she declared proudly.
Elena’s voice cut in calmly. "She learned how to draw a line," Elena said. "She calls it a letter."
Bat Bat pointed at Elena. "Elena is jealous," she insisted.
Sekhmet decided this argument was not worth his time. He opened the void land inside the courtyard.
The tear appeared, and the air shifted again, making servants flinch even if they tried to hide it. Elena did not flinch. Elena only narrowed her eyes like she was evaluating whether the void land needed cleaning.
Sekhmet directed the porters.
One by one, they carried materials into the void.
Timber disappeared into darkness.
Stone blocks vanished.
Canvas rolled into the other world.
Jars. Nails. Rope. Stove. Everything went in.
Auri moved with them, guiding, helping, her hands steady, her eyes sharp.
Mira watched carefully, but she did not ask questions.
She only wrote notes quietly, recording what had been purchased and what had been delivered. Mira understood something important: you could survive in Null by learning when silence was safer than curiosity.
When the last load was moved, Sekhmet stepped through the tear.
Auri followed immediately.
He did not bring Mira inside. Not yet. Mira was useful, but the void land was too close to his core secrets, and Mira had a revenge she refused to name. That meant hidden enemies. Hidden enemies did not get invited into your private kingdom.
The void land greeted them with the same dim emptiness as before, but now the emptiness was crowded with supplies piled like treasure.
Bats fluttered around the stacks, curious.
The rare bats perched above, watching.
Ghouls stood nearby, stiff and hungry, but no longer starving.
Auri stepped forward and raised her voice slightly, commanding.
"Work," she said.
The bats reacted first, not because they understood the word, but because they understood her authority. They began lifting small items, dragging rope, carrying nails in clusters like ants.
The ghouls moved next.
They were not intelligent, but they were strong, and strength could become labor if directed.
Number three and number four stepped forward, lifting beams with awkward coordination. They moved like bodies that did not fully remember how to be human, but they moved.
Sekhmet watched in silence.
He could see the start of something.
Not a palace.
Not yet.
But a base.
Auri turned to him, eyes bright with purpose.
"Master," she asked softly, "where should the house be?"
Sekhmet scanned the void terrain.
There was a slight rise near the center, stable ground, less shadow drift. That would work.
"Here," he said, pointing.
Auri nodded and immediately began directing the build.
Canvas was laid as ground cover.
Timber was positioned.
The rope was tied.
The rare bats helped in strange ways, their claws cutting rope cleanly, their wings pushing airflow to clear dust. Sekhmet watched and felt a flicker of satisfaction. Those bats were growing. They were not merely decorations anymore.
Time moved fast inside the void land because Sekhmet’s mind measured it constantly.
Thirty minutes.
He could not waste them.
He joined the work briefly, using blood control to hold beams steady in the air like invisible hands, allowing Auri and the ghouls to secure them.
Blood threads stretched, firm, precise, and Auri stared at them for a heartbeat, her eyes widening slightly at the control.
She did not speak.
She did not ask.
She simply accepted the help like someone who understood that asking questions here could lead to answers that changed everything.
A simple frame took shape.
Not perfect.
Not beautiful.
But functional.
A single-room structure with a slanted roof. Enough for Auri to sleep, store supplies, and feel like she was not living inside a cave forever.
Sekhmet stepped back and studied it.
Auri stood in front of it, breathing slightly harder, not from exhaustion but from the satisfaction of creating something with her own hands.
"It is small," Auri said quietly.
"It is a start," Sekhmet replied.
Auri nodded, then looked at the ghouls.
"Feeding," she said, voice firm, and she looked at Sekhmet as if asking permission.
Sekhmet understood. He reached into the blood packs and handed one to her.
"Daily," he said. "Do not let them rot again."
Auri bowed slightly. "Yes," she replied.
Then Sekhmet felt the pull of the void limit.
It was subtle, like pressure behind the eyes.
A reminder.
He turned to Auri.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we will bring more. Furniture. More materials. More structure."
Auri’s eyes brightened again. "Yes, master," she replied.
Sekhmet looked at the bats, then the rare bats, then the ghouls.
"Good job," he said simply.
The bats fluttered as if they understood.
The ghouls bowed awkwardly.
The rare bats remained still, but their eyes glowed with disciplined attention.
Sekhmet stepped toward the tear. He left Auri inside. He returned to Dawn House.
The courtyard air felt heavier after the void’s emptiness, like stepping from a silent room into a crowded street.
Mira was waiting near the cart area, notebook still in hand.
She bowed slightly when Sekhmet returned.
"Inventory complete," she said. "All materials accounted for. Costs recorded."