The In-between

The stars were water. Or maybe the water was stars.

It was hard to tell in this place, where up and down didn't mean anything and Flare Nacht floated in silence, limbs slack, breath slow. No weight. No pain. Just… stillness. As if the

universe had paused to let him drift.

An ocean stretched forever beneath him—or maybe it was above—waves glittering like shattered constellations, rippling with light that shimmered in time with some heartbeat that wasn't his own. Galaxies spun like whirlpools. Nebulae bloomed like deep-sea anemones. A vast hush cloaked the expanse, and in that hush, for the first time in weeks, Flare felt the cold slip of something unfamiliar.

Peace.

Until a voice stirred the dark.

"There you are…"

Soft. Male. Older. Wrapped in the ease of someone who'd been looking for a long time and had finally found what he sought. Flare's brow furrowed. He twisted slowly in the liquid starlight, eyes narrowing.

"You were hard to find," the voice continued. "The corruption wrapped itself around your soul, dimmed your light. Even I had to squint."

A shape coalesced in the distance. A figure walked across the cosmos like it was solid ground. Bare feet pattered softly on the surface of galaxies, shirt flapping in an invisible breeze. He looked… completely out of place. A scraggly beard, sunglasses, hemp necklaces and bracelets, and a vivid blue Hawaiian shirt printed with yellow hibiscus.

The figure stopped a few paces from Flare and gave a toothy grin.

"Hey there, kid."

Flare's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He touched his throat, eyes wide.

"Oh. Right. That'll come back in a second," the man said, waving lazily. "First dream's always a little stiff. Just let it settle. You'll feel it."

And he did. Like breath returning to lungs that had never forgotten how to breathe.

Flare exhaled and finally managed, voice hoarse but steady, "You're that old dude from the compound… gonna tell me your name this time?"

The man's smile softened. "Name's Demi."

Flare's head cocked sideways like a curious dog, "…That's it?"

"That's all you need. For now."

Flare blinked. "What is this place and what do you mean it was hard to find me, you already came to see me in the med-bay?"

"That was just a piece of me I sent ahead, helped me narrow in on you, I'm technically still not there yet, but I can speak with you clearly now, and this is a place between," Demi said, turning and gesturing to the swirling cosmos like he was showing off a museum exhibit. "Where you go when your body sleeps but your soul stirs. Normally,

folks don't get to see this part. But you're not normal, are you?"

Flare said nothing. The silence stretched.

"I'm your guide, Flare. I've always been. Since before time had a name. Since before stories had endings."

Flare's brows drew together. "Why now?"

Demi's smile faded just a touch. "Because you're at the edge of your time limit Flare. The corruption in the cosmos has made things very difficult for me, and inhibited you. Because your story is getting loud. And because, if you don't start moving soon…"

He trailed off, looking not at Flare,

but into the stars beyond him.

"…then your story will end. Sooner than you think."

It wasn't a threat. Not even a warning, really. Just a statement of fact, carried by the hush of the cosmos. Flare swallowed hard.

"And if I say no to this 'journey'?"

Demi turned back to him, that worn but

knowing look in his eyes.

"Then you'll still matter," he said. "You'll still love your wife. You'll still fight for your daughter. You'll still bleed and ache and break for the people you swore to protect. But you'll lose. In the end. Because this story? It's bigger than you, Flare Nacht."

The man crouched, now eye to eye with

him. His sunglasses reflected the stars.

"And somewhere, something has been

watching. Waiting. And it's getting close, close to waking entirely, it's seal began to dissipate the day you were born, just as it always has.".

"Then… answer me me this", Flare spoke quietly, as if fearing the answer that could come. "I've been wondering for my entire life, even more so lately. Is the corruption my fault? Did it come with me when I was born?"

Demi exhaled slowly, measuring what he would say, "It came with your birth, from where though… even I couldn't say. But I can give you this solace. It was not caused by you. Any reason I could give would be speculation, but I do have a guess…"

Flare wanted to ask what he meant—wanted to scream it—but the stars started to dissolve. The weightless peace shattered like glass. His body became heavy again, wrapped in warmth and cotton, and—

He woke up.

Morning broke over the Slayer compound in quiet gold. Thin shafts of light filtered through the window blinds, painting soft stripes across the stone floor. The compound was still. The world outside had yet to stir.

Inside their room, warmth lingered—radiating from the quiet hush of breath and body and trust. A haven carved from the bones of a war-bound fortress. Here, for a little while, it was enough to simply be.

Flare stirred first.

He blinked, eyes catching the dust motes dancing in the angled sunbeams. His breath came out steady, not strained. No stiffness. No pain gnawing through his ribs. No bandaging taut across half his torso. He flexed a hand — no tremble.

Weird.

He slowly pulled the blanket aside and sat up, expecting at least a dull throb. But there was nothing. Not even a tightness. Just warmth in his muscles. Stillness in his bones. He stood and rolled his shoulders

experimentally. No crunch. No tug.

Then he stretched, arms raised, spine extended, and it felt… good.

Like his body wasn't just healed. Like it was tuned.

Stronger. Clearer. Brighter.

The way the air moved across his skin. The way the floor felt under his feet. The sounds outside the window — birds, wind, a creak

in the rafters — all a little crisper than he remembered. Nothing dramatic. Just enough to feel wrong. But in a way that felt right.

From the bed, a sleepy groan.

Jessael's voice was muffled, slurred with sleep. "You're up early…"

Flare turned. She was curled beneath the blankets, one hand reaching across the empty space he'd left.

"Couldn't sleep," he murmured.

"Mm. Didn't seem like a nightmare. You were… calm."

She pushed herself up slightly, the blanket falling to her lap. Her curls were tangled, her glasses forgotten on the nightstand. Still, her eyes were sharp — catching everything.

"Wait." She blinked and narrowed her gaze. "You're walking."

He blinked at her.

"I mean—walking like you aren't recovering from being turned into blood pulp by an exploding Ashen. You should still be sore. Bruised. Broken. You—Flare, you're not even limping."

He frowned, glancing down at himself. "I know. I… noticed."

"You healed this fast?"

"I guess." Flare shrugged, feeling oddly sheepish.

"That's not normal, even for a slayer, you should still be in pain for like a week and a half."

He didn't answer.

She pushed the blanket back and stood, padding toward him barefoot. Her eyes picked him apart like a scanner, like she could read muscle strain and tendon resistance with a look. Then she poked him—lightly—in the side, right where the breaks in his ribs had been.

He didn't flinch.

She tried again. "That was the area that cracked."

"Doesn't hurt."

She stepped back, arms folding. "Flare."

He met her eyes. "I had a dream."

"…One of those dreams?"

He gave a slow nod.

Jess's posture shifted. Calm, but alert. "Tell me."

Flare moved toward the window and looked out. The sun wasn't high yet, but the light was sharp. Almost too sharp.

"It was… space. But it felt like water. An endless ocean, but made of stars. Like I was floating in a sea of galaxies."

She waited.

"There was a man. Middle-aged, scruffy beard. Hawaiian shirt. Sunglasses. Walked across the stars like it was nothing. Said his name was Demi."

Her brow furrowed. "That's the same one who visited you in the medbay."

"Yeah. Said he was my guide. That he'd been looking for me for a long time. That the corruption made it hard to find me."

Jess stepped beside him. "And what does he want?"

"He says he'll guide me on a journey. If I accept it."

"And if you don't?"

Flare's jaw clenched slightly. "Then my story ends. Soon."

Jess inhaled through her nose, slow and careful. "And do you think it was just a dream?"

He didn't answer.

"There's one more thing", Flare felt his throat tighten at the thought, "He told me the corruption… the Ashen aren't my fault, that it came from somewhere else".

Flare felt a shift in his shoulders, like a burden had been lifted, a weight he carried for so long it almost felt abnormal for it to be gone. But he was glad for it.

"You've waited a long time for that answer… it's about damn time it was answered for you."

Flare smiled gently, let out a shakey breath and turned to hold Jess for a moment.

The light shifted again. Wind rattled the glass

gently, like something brushing against the edge of reality.

"I don't think I was asleep when I got stronger," Flare finally said, changing the subject. "I think it started while I was unconscious. But that dream — it wasn't a dream. Not really."

Jess didn't look at him right away. Instead, she stared out at the compound grounds, voice steady.

"Whatever this Demi is… if he really is some kind of guide… you think he did this? To your body?"

"Maybe. I can't know anything for certain right now, not until I get more answers."

Jess leaned back, arching a brow.

"I didn't feel changed," Flare added quickly. "Not like when we bond to core essence. Not like enhancement. Just… like something's waking up."

Jess reached out and touched his hand. Her fingers wrapped around his palm with quiet firmness.

"Then we find out what it means. Together."

He nodded.

And deep in the corner of his thoughts, Flare felt something flicker — not a voice, not words, just a presence. Waiting.

Swelling

And somewhere—far from the compound, far from Earth—a man in a Hawaiian shirt sat cross-legged atop a chunk of hurtling asteroid, humming to himself, sunglasses glinting as he peered into the sea of stars.

"Almost time," he whispered to no one at all.

"Almost."