When the Stars Go Silent
Two forms of heartbeat. A strange sensation, as if passing through dozens of dimensional barriers. Hestia watched the entire process with wide eyes. Once she crossed beyond the darkness and reached yet another layer of it, the headache that had been plaguing her vanished completely, leaving her mind clearer than before. Her sharpening senses told her exactly what was happening. She was being pulled out of her body, drawn somewhere else.
'Ugh...!'
She struggled with everything she had to break free, but whatever held her showed no intention of letting go. Instead, the pressure only grew stronger, gripping her tighter.
'Please...!!!'
Despite her desperate will, nothing changed. All she could do was cross the space filled with darkness and commit everything she saw to memory.
It was stars. Countless stars, each possessing its own will, breathed and lived within an immeasurably vast expanse of darkness. Though she had never seen this sight before, Hestia possessed some knowledge of this space. The universe. A resting place for stars, a boundless dimension that cradled countless living spirits. Furthermore, it was a place where one could clearly sense the presence of gods without even crossing into the higher realms.
Hestia's golden eyes took in the entire universe. Beyond the starlight, in some distant corner of the cosmos, she could faintly feel the wills of the gods. At the same time, her transcendent talent instinctively awakened the method to wield will. Just as she gained this unexpected realization and tried to struggle free once more by moving her will—
'......?'
The intangible force pulling her suddenly disappeared. She came to a halt in the middle of the cosmic space, and in her confusion, she looked around. Yet only empty darkness and faint starlight shone from every direction. She remained suspended in the still cosmic void.
'I need to return to my body somehow...!'
Maintaining as much composure as possible, Hestia closed her eyes and focused her consciousness. In the complete darkness, she wandered, relying solely on her senses pushed to their absolute limit. Though the vast history accumulated in the universe tried to hinder her, Hestia eventually found the thread most firmly connected to herself. The moment she discovered the way back and opened her eyes with a faint sense of relief—
'What is this...?'
One by one, the stars began to lose their light. Hestia felt an even more ominous premonition than when she had been dragged by the intangible force, and her eyes chased after the remaining light. But with only a slight time difference, the starlight faded away without exception.
In that instant, a chill ran through her entire body, and her nerves stood on end. A terrifying fear she had never experienced before seized her heart tightly.
"Where are you?"
A true darkness, darker than darkness itself, had arrived. It was not merely because the stars had lost their light. Her instincts had shut down all her senses on their own. As if she must never look upon this darkness.
Yet despite the sensory shutdown, the chilling aura and fear did not subside. Her heart began to beat faster and faster, while her breathing grew slower. She could not remember how to breathe, nor how to think. She desperately tried to hold onto her fading consciousness, but it all felt meaningless.
Just like this. Complete... rest...
- Thump!
At that moment, the sound of her heartbeat, which she thought had stopped, caught her fading consciousness. Along with a familiar sensation, her vision returned. The blocked senses began to release one by one. Like bursting from deep underwater to the surface, her consciousness cleared in an instant.
Just as the defenseless Hestia was about to stare directly into the darkness, something unknown gently covered her eyes. It also softly wrapped around her trembling ears. With it came a 'genuine' sense of relief and comfort.
'Ah...'
Hestia surrendered to the drowsiness washing over her and drifted into a deep dream.
* * *
A mysterious space where beautiful stars floated freely. In this vast place commonly called the universe, I gently stroked the head of the sleeping Hestia, my expression more relaxed than before. I made sure not to let her head touch the hard floor—though the ground was invisible, it existed—by resting it on my lap. The so-called lap pillow position. I worried that Hestia might be disgusted if she woke up and saw herself like this, but... well, I could think about that later.
That aside, I had done something regrettable to Hestia. The place she had been drawn into, as if entranced by something, was the Planetarium. It referred to a kind of research facility built to observe the space beyond the sky that mortals could not see with the naked eye. This location served a similar purpose, but what it observed was no ordinary celestial body. Stars were traces of the gods. Observing stars in the Planetarium was no different from observing the gods themselves. If they noticed, they would have raged, asking what right a mere Pope had to spy on them—but that would never happen. Not only was it designed to evade even the gods' eyes, but this Planetarium was not, strictly speaking, built to observe stars in the first place.
The sky did not contain only traces of the gods. Farther away lurked threats that even the gods were wary of. Powerful beings known as Outer Gods. The very culprits who had corrupted Arie before Elisha's regression, and the ones who had infused the cross necklace with malevolent energy. This Planetarium was originally a facility created to monitor the Outer Gods. When activated, stars would not be visible because there was no need to monitor gods who could only be sensed through starlight. Though its purpose had been fulfilled, it still functioned normally, so I had intended to give Hestia, who might one day have to face the Outer Gods alongside Elisha, a brief experience. However, that casual intention had led to carelessness.
In the Planetarium I designed, one could evade the eyes of gods and Outer Gods, but that did not mean one would be unaffected by them. Of course, it was intricately designed so that ordinary beings could not exert even the slightest influence, but if the target was truly dangerous...
It would be no surprise if the observing mortal's mind wavered. Hestia had unfortunately encountered that dangerous something. I had not seen it myself, but it must have been dangerous enough to ensnare even her, the Hero. If I had known beforehand, I would not have activated the Planetarium. I felt sorry for having caused her distress through my negligence.
"Rest well, Hero."
I gently caressed the face of the soundly sleeping girl and cast a light suggestion.
[I hope this does not become a trauma...]
[I hope she is not consumed by fear...]
* * *
At the hazy boundary of the mind where dreams and reality blurred, Hestia surrendered herself to a strange sensation, as if floating on a calm sea. A warmth and coziness she had never felt before tried to pull her deeper into the dream. But Hestia was the Hero. With her innate mental fortitude, she broke free from the temptation of comfort and pulled herself out of the dream.
"Ugh..."
The moment she regained consciousness, a sharp pain shot through both eyes. Though it felt as if dozens of needles were stabbing into them, Hestia barely endured it and slowly lifted her eyelids. The first thing her now-clearer golden eyes captured was none other than her precious friend.
"You're awake?"
"......"
"Sleeping in a place like this... You must have been quite tired."
"......Yes. I'm sorry."
Hestia hid her flustered expression and tried to rise carefully, pretending nothing was wrong. But the moment her eyes met his, which held a gentle smile, her face immediately began to burn. Turning her head sharply away, Hestia took a secret deep breath and recalled what had just happened.
Right. The structures had suddenly started rotating, and she had been pulled somewhere. She remembered seeing something dangerous. And somehow, she seemed to have returned to her body, but...
How had she ended up resting on his lap?
Hestia carefully placed her hand over her chest.
- Thump! Thump!
A heartbeat more intense and rapid than anything she had ever felt. Though she had walked side by side with him or been pressed close enough to embrace, this was the first time her heart had raced so madly.
'What on earth... is making my chest ache so much?'
Her mind grew even more confused by this unfamiliar emotion she was experiencing for the first time.