Leo carefully wrapped the white gauze around Null's head, securing the final knot. Most of Null's face and forehead were now covered in bandages.
Null touched the wrap on his head, wincing slightly. "What is this?"
"Nothing," Leo answered, pulling back. "Just think of it as a healing spell without magic."
Before Null could respond, the wooden door clicked open. The man in the yellow suit stepped inside, carrying Lana's unconscious body as she floated mid-air behind him.
The moment Null's eyes locked onto his sister, his expression twisted into pure fury. Ignoring his shattered ribs and broken bones, Null lunged forward and grabbed the Creator tightly by his crisp collar! He didn't care who or what this entity was—he only demanded answers.
"What did you do to my sister?!" Null snarled.
The Creator didn't flinch. His face remained cold, unbothered, and entirely calm. "I just saved her from death."
"How?! Explain to me!"
The Creator let out a sharp sigh. "Remember the woman who wanted to scoop out your sister's beautiful eyes? She almost succeeded. If I hadn't stepped in, your sister would be lying in the dirt right now without her eyes—or a face to show her caring brother."
Null's grip loosened. The weight of the Creator's words hit him hard, and his hands slowly slid off the man's lapels. "But... why bring her here? I wanted to keep her away from all this mess!"
The Creator brushed off his collar with a flick of his wrist. "Because simply staying with you has already made her part of the virus. That is why she was invited as well."
"Why?!" Null pressed on. "You only need me and Leo!"
Irritation flashed through the Creator's eyes, though his tone remained perfectly polite. "Fine. If you insist, I will leave her behind. But in exchange, I will take back what I gave her—her life."
Null froze. He had nothing left to say.
"If you have no more foolish objections," the Creator said coldly, "then clear the way and let me in."
Null swallowed his pride and stepped aside. Tch.
The Creator walked past them, placing Lana gently onto one of the soft beds. He turned toward the front door, closing it firmly before tapping the wood three times with his knuckle.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
BOOM!
A low rumble echoed through the floorboards. Suddenly, the entire room lurched, pulling violently upward as if being dragged into the sky!
Null held onto a nearby table to steady himself. "What is happening?!"
"We are ascending to our realm," the Creator replied smoothly.
"If this isn't magic, how is it even possible?" Null asked, inspecting the shaking walls.
"Think of it as this entire room being tied to a heavy rope, and someone up above is pulling us up."
Leo looked around the windowless room, his eyes wide. "Are we going to heaven?"
The Creator scoffed. "No. Heaven exists on an entirely different plane. Our consciousness as Creators is far too low to reach such a level. And please... do not start asking endless questions like your friend here. He is already more than enough."
The Creator pointed toward a tall wooden bookshelf against the wall. "Every book on those shelves contains stories from your original world. Go read them and stay quiet."
The dismissive comment felt like a blade pricking Leo's pride.
Null turned to the Creator. "How long is it going to take to reach your realm?"
"Hours," the Creator answered. "Or maybe days."
Leo gasped. "What?! What do you mean days?!"
The Creator glared at Null. "You can blame your friend for that. It is his fault for being born as a magic nullifier. If he weren't here disrupting the ambient energy, I could have snapped my fingers and transported us instantly."
Leo's temper flared. "Hey! You can't blame him for how he was born!"
"Didn't I tell you to stay quiet?!" the Creator snapped, his tone sharpening.
"Why you—!" Leo stepped forward, ready to argue, but Null quickly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Leo," Null said quietly, his eyes fixed on the floor. "He's right. But... today, we are going to put an end to all of this."
Leo looked at Null's resolute face and stopped. He desperately wanted to chew the Creator out, but seeing Null's determination, he forced himself to swallow his anger.
To kill the agonizing time, Leo walked over to the bookshelf. At first, he assumed it would be filled with dull history textbooks from their old world. But as he scanned the titles, his eyes widened—they were all popular light novels!
One specific title caught his eye: Borrowed Light.
It had been Leo's absolute favorite novel in his past life. Back in his old world, the author had only published three volumes before he died. But here, sitting on the shelf, were seven full volumes!
A spark of excitement lit up in Leo's chest. He pulled the books down, sat on the edge of the second bed, and began reading voraciously.
...
Time trickled by in the moving room.
The Creator stood silently by the sealed door like a statue. Null stood beside the bed, watching over his sister as she slept. Leo remained buried in his novel, completely lost in the story.
Suddenly, a soft groan broke the silence.
Lana's eyelids fluttered open. She blinked against the warm overhead lights, sitting up slowly. The moment her gaze fell upon Null's heavily bandaged face, her eyes widened in shock.
"B-Brother?!" Lana gasped. "What happened to you?!"
Null smiled gently, stepping closer. "It's nothing, Lana. What about you? How are you feeling?"
"I... I feel completely fine," Lana said, rubbing her head. She looked around the strange, windowless apartment, her eyes landing on the tall man in yellow standing by the door. "Where are we? Who is he?"
"He's the one who saved you," Null explained softly.
Lana frowned, looking confused. "Saved me? From who?"
"From Nine," Null answered grimly.
Lana immediately shook her head. "No! She wasn't dangerous at all! Actually... she was really nice, and she's—"