Chapter 83 : Learning to fly in the void

After the meeting with Yuki, Nairo, and Grafay, we all went home. Sally went straight to her house. As for Salomé and me, we returned to our home.

It was night. Sakolomé stood alone in his room, standing near the window. The dimness swallowed the walls, letting through only a few moonlit reflections. In his hands, he clutched Melinda's little teddy bear — that old toy he still refused to let go. He missed her. This object, simple as it was, had the strange power to soothe him. As if a part of her still watched over him through this worn fabric.

The tension was growing. Day after day. It swelled like a choppy sea before the storm. When it reached its peak, there would be no room for hesitation. It would be war. And there would be only one winner.

Sakolomé lowered his eyes to the teddy bear, thoughtful.

"I never thought we'd come to this one day... According to Grafay, some members of the Eradication group are far more powerful than him. Just thinking about it gives me cold sweats."

He sighed and went to sit on the edge of the bed. His gaze slid toward the night sky, as if seeking answers there.

— What do we do now...? he murmured.

And if Father were still alive... what would have happened?

I can't talk about it with Mother. Nor with Bakuzan. Things could get worse.

A soft knock suddenly sounded at the door. He straightened slightly, coming out of his thoughts.

— You may come in...

The handle turned slowly. The door opened, revealing Salomé. She entered without a word, head bowed, as if crushed by an invisible weight.

She approached him without speaking. Her silence already said a lot.

— Salomé? Do you have something to tell me? he asked gently.

She nodded timidly.

— I'm listening.

In an almost imperceptible voice, she whispered:

— I want to become stronger...

Sakolomé frowned, not quite understanding.

— Huh? What did you say?

This time, Salomé suddenly raised her head. Her eyes shone with a flame he had never seen before.

— I want us to train! Harder than ever! I want to become stronger, big brother!

Sakolomé froze. He stared at her, surprised. Her gaze, once hesitant, now overflowed with raw determination.

Salomé's fists trembled slightly. But her voice was firm:

— I want to be strong enough to protect you all. I want to be able to destroy that association that wants to take everything from me. Even if this training breaks me, I accept it. I refuse to remain weak. Not yet. Never again.

A long silence followed.

Sakolomé slowly closed his eyes, lowered his head a little. Then he murmured:

— Me too... I want to become stronger, Salomé.

She widened her eyes, caught off guard.

— I'm not up to it yet either, he said. But I have a proposal for you...

He raised his head and plunged his gaze into hers.

— From now on, you will train at the same level as me. No more level 9. You go straight to level 70. It will be grueling... but we will progress together. Prepare yourself, Salomé.

Salomé's eyes widened. She knew what that meant: the demands would be enormous. But she did not falter. She clenched her fists, her gaze hardened.

— I will do it. I will give it my all.

A faint smile appeared on Sakolomé's lips.

— Very well. Then we will start tomorrow.

The next morning, a gentle wind caressed the deserted meadow. The grass swayed like a green sea under the azure sky.

Sakolomé stood upright, arms crossed, dressed in a black tank top and matching jogging pants. His sneakers sank slightly into the soft earth. His red eyes scanned the horizon with silent intensity, while his brown hair danced freely in the breeze.

Facing him, Salomé prepared herself. Her violet hair floated around her determined face, and her yellow eyes never left her brother, eager but watchful. She wore a white tank top, black jogging pants with purple patterns, and the same sneakers as during training — worn but symbolic.

A brief silence settled, filled only by the rustling of the wind. Then Sakolomé looked up at the sky.

— Tell me, Salomé... how far can you fly?

She blinked, surprised by the question.

— Uh... I don't really know... I'd say... just above the ground, not very far from the earth's surface.

Sakolomé smiled, calm, almost amused.

— Perfect. So today, we're going to go beyond that.

We're going to learn to fly in outer space.

Far from Earth. Toward the Sun. Maybe even beyond.

Salomé's eyes widened, frozen.

— What?! Wait, but... that's impossible!

There's no air out there! And then, it's... it's total vacuum! How do you want to fly where there's nothing at all?!

Sakolomé approached slowly, each step weighed, measured, as if already sinking into another world.

— That's exactly why we're going, he said calmly.

Outer space is just a limit... for those who still rely on normal laws.

But we, we're going to move away from the logic of the body.

You will learn to fly not with your energy... but with your will.

He stretched out his hand toward the sky, palm open.

— This world wants to make you believe there are ceilings.

Space wants to make you believe there are borders.

But those are just illusions. If your mind is free, your body will follow.

You want to become strong? Then take a step into the impossible.

Salomé swallowed. The sky suddenly seemed immense, frightening... but also alluring. A cold fear crept inside her — the fear of failing. But behind it, something stronger rumbled: a thirst for surpassing herself.

She clenched her fists.

— And if I fail...? she murmured.

— Then you will fall, Sakolomé answered without hesitation.

But we always rise higher when we fall into the void.

You are no longer one of those who stay on the ground. You asked for level 70 training, Salomé.

Now, we stop being afraid. We transcend.

He stepped back a few paces, then propelled himself sharply into the sky. His body sliced through the air, then rose higher and higher, far beyond the clouds. In seconds, he was nothing but a distant black dot.

Salomé stood speechless.

— He... he really left...

She took a deep breath, raising her head toward the vastness.

— Come on... I can do this... I will do this!

Focusing her energy, she jumped and rose into the air. The wind whipped her face, her heart pounding wildly. She passed the clouds. The atmosphere grew thinner... colder... almost nonexistent.

Then suddenly, silence. Absolute. The void.

Her ears buzzed. Her body trembled. No more air. No more ground. Just her. And infinity.

But she did not panic.

This is where I must fly. Not with my body... but with my will.

The infinite blackness surrounded them. Distant stars twinkled without warmth, silent witnesses to a merciless immensity.

Salomé floated, motionless, at the edge of panic.

Sakolomé, meanwhile, moved slowly through the void, his black, compact body outlined by the light of a distant star. His red eyes, impassive, observed his sister left behind. He stopped, then calmly declared:

— The real fight can begin here.

Salomé tried to move, but her body remained frozen, floating like an empty shell.

She could neither advance nor breathe properly. Her whole being screamed that this place was unnatural.

There was no air. No ground. No landmarks. Just nothingness.

But strangely... she was not suffocating. It was as if her body had been prepared for this environment. But her mind was still struggling.

— Big brother... I'm... I'm scared!! she shouted, her voice trembling through the energy transmission they shared.

Sakolomé slowly returned to her, each movement seeming calculated, fluid, perfectly controlled.

— It's normal to be afraid, Salomé, he said in a calm voice. You have just entered a world that does not yet belong to you.

Here, there is no up, no down, no air to support you... The void envelops you, judges you. It is silent, cold, indifferent.

But it is not your enemy. It is your ignorance.

He closed his eyes. Around him, an invisible wave began to pulse softly. His energy vibrated, creating a subtle field, a directed pressure.

— I don't possess mana, he said opening his eyes again. My energy is purely physical, raw, instinctive.

But I have shaped it like an internal oscillation field, making it vibrate at a high frequency around me.

This creates a directional micro-pressure, a thrust. In other words, I don't fly... I project myself continuously, creating impulses in the void.

It's like swimming in nothingness with my own beats of force. It's slow. It's demanding. But it's possible.

He stopped, fixed Salomé with his gaze.

— You, you are different.

A silence. Then he added:

— You have mana. And that is a huge advantage. Mana is a form of spiritual energy: it is alive, intelligent. It can not only strengthen your physical energy, but also guide it.

Mana doesn't need air or support: it responds to your intention, your imagination, your will to exist where nothing lives.

You don't need to create physical pressure. You can simply define a direction, give shape to your mental trajectory... and mana will take care of the rest.

He came closer, stretched out a hand without touching.

— Breathe mentally. Feel your mana. Don't try to move... try to want to exist there, in that place you fix your gaze on. Mana will do the rest.

Day 1

Salomé still floated, arms slightly open, trying to concentrate her mana around her as Sakolomé had explained.

But nothing moved forward. The mana reacted to her emotions but had not yet found direction.

— Focus, Salomé, Sakolomé said gently. You don't need to force. Mana can't be commanded, it must be listened to. Feel your existence... then assert it in the void.

She closed her eyes, felt a shiver run down her spine.

Her mana quivered, dispersed briefly around her like a violet glow... then faded.

— That's already good. It moved this time, Sakolomé said. You haven't moved yet, but your mana has started to respond. Tomorrow, it will obey better.

Day 2

The void was still vast, but Salomé began to fear it less.

She had gotten used to the sensation of weightlessness, and her attempts at movement were less panicked.

Her mana swirled gently around her legs and back, like an aura ready to take shape.

She stretched out her arms, aimed a mental direction... and moved. A brief, clumsy push, a few meters.

— You just flew, Sakolomé said, arms crossed, a slight smile on his lips.

— Seriously?!

— Seriously. You just learned to walk in infinity.

She burst out laughing, floating while slowly spinning.

Days 3 to 4

Progress was slow but steady.

Salomé learned to form around her a "wing" of mana, a structure that hugged her back and legs like invisible wings.

But each attempt quickly tired her.

— You waste too much mana. Channel it, don't overflow, Sakolomé advised.

— I'm trying! she replied, focused. It's like holding back a river with leaves...

But with each try, her movements became smoother. She had stopped panicking, and sometimes even played with the currents of her own magic, creating small luminous ripples.

Day 5

She flew for real.

This time, she managed to trace a circular path around Sakolomé. He watched her with an expert eye, noting the increasing finesse of her movements.

— You created a stable form. Your thrusts are cleaner, less random.

— I figured something out, she said, breathless. It's not the mana that makes me fly... it's my insistent intention to be elsewhere. It's like I redraw my position with mana.

— Exactly. Mana is your trace. You don't need to force it, you just have to engrave your will into it.

She made a clumsy spin and crashed into her brother. They both laughed.

Day 6

That day, she stayed alone floating for more than two hours, focused.

She sculpted her mana in silence, firming it up. She learned to do less to do better.

Sakolomé watched from afar. He noted that her magical flows were no longer chaotic: they formed sheets, veils, lines. It was raw art, not yet refined, but powerful.

— You are ready for the ignition, he said silently.

Day 7

Then it happened.

Salomé, eyes closed, concentrated all her mana in her back. A purple light pulsed, exploded... and she disappeared in a silent bang.

A wave of mana spread, resonated in space. Salomé sliced through the void like a comet, leaving behind a vibrating trail. She twirled, spiraled down, did a perfect loop, then rose again.

— Yooooouuupiii! she shouted into the spatial silence, speaking via the energy transmission.

— Big brother!! Look! Look at me flying!

I am a space bird!

She twirled like a stellar dancer, free, light, powerful.

Sakolomé tried to follow her, using his energy as usual, but she was too fast for him, she released too much mana.

— I can't keep up with you, he said calmly.

— Haha! I passed you! You saw that, right?! I'm a rocket!!

— No. You are much more than that.

She spun around, tracing a luminous heart with her mana.

She was no longer afraid.

She was born for this space.