Fractal Plane: Beyond Public Eyes

Chapter 15 - Super Nullity

1

Running up the stairs that seemingly stretched infinitely, Kazuki finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. With each heavy step on the cascading path, the red light in the distance came closer and closer.

"We're almost there, Kimura. You ready?"

"U-um!"

He got his reply in the form of a trembling voice, but he was sure of her resolve. After the talk that they had, there was no more doubting her determination.

The urge to throw herself in harm's way just to atone was something that Kazuki related with to an extent. He still did not know too much about this girl, but he knew what kind of emotional stress the sense of responsibility and guilt brought people. Such was enough to make anyone do stupid things, and he figured that what Kimura was trying to do was not the worst that could have happened.

In a way, he admitted that a sense of admiration for her was born.

That, along with their talk at the beach not so long ago, allowed him to finally warm up to the girl that he once found nothing but annoying.

Just as she would not dare sit back and watch the giant Nullity wreck havoc, the same went for him and letting Kimura fight this battle for Hikari and the others by herself.

They're fighting this battle together, and he would have it no other way.

"Let's go, Kimura!"

They finally approached the light, and with one final leap, Kazuki threw himself forward and right into the light.

He had fully expected himself to be engulfed by the light and find his way in some other dimension. That did not happen, and what his eyes first saw was the wall of red, lined with some currents in motion, giving the impression of a blanket of auroras linked together.

On second thought, jumping in immediately was an incredibly stupid move.

Kazuki realized that a bit too late. Only when he found his feet touching nothing but empty air did that sink in. He fought the urge to scream as he fell straight down.

Luckily for him, he did not find himself falling into a bottomless abyss, and it took only a few seconds for him to find himself flat on the hard ground.

"Ow, that hurt."

He blinked repeatedly. His fall must have been a couple of meters. Not too high up, but it was nonetheless a risky fall. Had he not been physically enhanced due to being an Awakener, a careless landing would have been dangerous. Before he can think of his predicament any further, his thoughts were cut off by hearing a high-pitched scream coming from above him.

"Kyaaaaaaaa!"

Oh crap.

Kazuki had no time to react before he found himself staring at an incoming object that came in quick enough that there was no time to dodge.

He yelped in pain, but the shout merely came out as a muffled sound. His face had taken the full brunt of the force, and the impact admittedly hurt him more than his own fall.

"Whew! I thought I was done for. That's a surprisingly soft landing."

"E-excuse me..."

"Huh? Arata? Hiyaaaa!"

Kimura quickly leapt off from her seated position, much to Kazuki's relief.

Kazuki, on the other hand, shook his head vigorously to clear everything up before stopping himself at the sight of the girl's face.