—

A few weeks has passed since they last talked and Nikos received an urgent message telling him to come to the abandoned garden.

He quickly slipped from the other henchmen and used a warp stone to go to the place.

Once he warped in, he immediately saw Blithe's back, crouching on the ground.

“Um, Your Highness?”

Blithe suddenly turned around with a huge smile on her face.

Nikos took a step back. He was so shocked to see such a strong emotion on her face He was so used to her only showing mild expression after developing emotions.

“Nikos! Look!” she stood up and revealed a white rabbit in her hands.

“U-huh… A rabbit…” Nikos was unsettled with her chirpy demeanor. “You got a pet?”

Blithe held a finger up. “Not just any pet, but a pet that—”

She created two black holes and shoved the rabbit in one of them.

Before Nikos could react, the rabbit went out of the black hole intact.

“—survived traveling through my black holes!” Blithe excitedly said.

“I even tested it in faraway places!” she said as she demonstrated entering a black hole with the rabbit in tow, and coming back still intact.

“I finally did it!” Blithe grinned.

Nikos’ mouth hung open. He didn't get a chance to react with how fast Blithe was demonstrating her power excitedly.

He laughed. “Hahaha! You're really like a kid!”

Blithe paused. “What?”

“Oh, I mean it in a good way!” he wiped a tear in the corner of his eye.

“I’m glad you're finally experiencing joy,” he said as he reigned his laughter in.

Blithe stopped grinning and calmly composed herself. “Thank you.”

“Well anyway, you know what this means, don't you?” Blithe looked at him expectantly.

“Huh?” Nikos froze.

“It's your turn to pass through the black hole! You agreed, remember?” Blithe smiled at him.

He forgot.

“Here, here, here!” Blithe excitedly pushed him to one spot and waved her hand.

A black hole the size of Nikos, more or less, appeared in front of them.

She placed her left hand on his left shoulder and grabbed his right wrist with her other hand.

“C’mon, let's go!” she excitedly tried to push him towards the black hole.

Nikos’ feet stayed planted on the ground.

“Nikos?” Blithe tried to push him with her again.

Nikos’ lips trembled. “C-Can’t I have some time to prepare?”

Blithe tilted her head. “Won’t it be better to just get it over with?”

She let go of his hand and raised her right hand. “I promise, I tested on other bigger animals! I’m sure it will be just fine when you pass through it!”

He looked at her and smiled shakingly. He thought back to the rabbit from earlier, but he also remembered the sight of that henchman who was pulled apart by one of her black holes.

“I-I…” he looked away and grimaced.

“Ah, well, I suppose there's time to prepare,” Blithe understood his hesitation and let him go. The black hole closed.

“I apologize,” Blithe fidgeted her hands and looked down, her cheerful mood immediately taking a turn downward. “I got… I looked forward to putting it into action too much.”

Nikos looked at her again.

He understood her. The excitement that she finally achieved success was obvious. And it was a very crucial step in their plans as well.

He also understood the risks and sacrifices to make their plans a reality.

Trust was the very first step.

He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and looked at her.

Placing his hands on her shoulders. “Just… give me a moment.”

“But after that, I’ll need your support. Please go through the black hole with me,” he chuckled nervously.

Blithe looked at him and nodded eagerly. “Of course!”

“Alright… Alright… Phew…” Nikos shook his body to psyche himself up.

Blithe watched him as he jumped up and down until he stopped.

He turned to look at her. “Let's do this.”

Blithe nodded and conjured a black hole again. She went behind him and held his shoulders.

“Let's do this.”

She gently squeezed his shoulders, not only to assure him but also to assure herself.

They slowly walked forward.

Nikos closed his eyes as they neared the black hole and resigned to whatever his fate will be.

…

They continued to walk forward, not one uttering a word to each other.

Nikos furrowed his eyebrows.

“Uh, Your Highness? Have we… passed through already? H-How long are we going to walk?”

He heard a quiet squeal from her behind him after stopping.

“Open your eyes!”

Nikos slowly opened one eye and immediately opened the other when he saw what was in front of him.

“I found this uninhabited star system while reviewing the map. It doesn't have any stars living in it but you can see the other star clusters from here,” Blithe said.

Nikos gazed at the sea in front of him. He then looked up to the sky.

It was dark but unlike the Dark Empire, it was illuminated by countless stars and heavenly bodies in the skies.

SWISH.

The sound and feeling of waves hitting his feet snapped him out of his daze. He looked down and saw the water retreating from him, the sand crunching below his feet as he stepped back.

“It worked, Nikos,” Blithe whispered with barely concealed excitement.

Nikos turned his head to look at her grinning face.

“It did. This changes everything, Your Highness,” Nikos nodded slowly as a smile appeared on his face.

Blithe vigorously nodded, giddy from the success of transporting a person alive.

“It worked. It worked,” Blithe whispered to herself. “I can help now…”

“IT WORKED!!!” Blithe ran towards the sea with her arms up.

“Hey, be care—!”

“Whoa!” Blithe stumbled on her heels from the coarse sand but regained her balance immediately.

Nikos hissed and grimaced.

“I’m okay!” she continued to run towards the sea and spun around.

Nikos sighed. “Be careful!”

Blithe didn't reply. She just jumped and kicked the water with her feet.

Nikos watched her celebrate, the night light from the sky illuminating her face.

The surroundings were filled with her triumphant laughter.

His face softened as he committed this scene to his memory.

He hoped that there will come a time where they will all be free to experience joy like this in the future.