Chapter 6:

Cecilia never imagined she’d die in her second life.

Not like this.

Not while the world around her collapsed into a storm of static and fractured space.

But…

She glanced down at Sirin, cradled tightly in her arms. The girl’s tiny hands clutched her shirt with trembling fingers, holding on as if letting go would mean vanishing with the chaos behind them.

Cecilia’s breath caught in her throat.

She couldn’t let that happen.

Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she steadied herself. Then, with renewed focus, she opened them—sharp and determined.

She won’t give up.

Not yet. Not until every last shred of hope was gone.

The thought of throwing Sirin to safety and accepting the void herself flickered in her mind—but the very idea twisted her heart.

She couldn’t do it.

She wouldn’t let Sirin be alone again.

Maybe it was selfishness.

Maybe it was love.

Or maybe… it was the deep, instinctive bond a parent feels—the unshakable desire to protect their child, no matter the cost.

A faint smile crept onto her lips despite the dread pounding in her chest.

Her legs burned. Her lungs screamed. But her heart blazed like fire.

The collapsing world surged behind her with a roar that didn’t belong to this reality—a sound like a thousand voices whispering and a thunderstorm crashing all at once.

Still, she ran.

Eyes locked on the shimmering glass exit that flickered like a mirage at the end of the corridor.

Closer...

It’s getting closer.

For a moment, she doubted herself. Was it an illusion? A cruel trick of this fractured world?

But no—this time, she felt it.

The exit was closer.

She could feel the distance shrinking, step by step.

Her eyes widened. A glimmer of hope flickered in them like a spark in the dark.

And deep in her clothes pocket, the ring she had bought earlier—the delicate silver one adorned with the white flower—began to glow.

Faint at first, like a whisper in the dark.

Then brighter… glow.

Cecilia didn’t notice it yet she too focused on pushing forward. On surviving.

She ran.

And ran.

The exit was right there—so close she could see the sunlight glinting off the glass, distorted through the warping air. Her legs screamed in protest, her lungs burned with every breath, but she didn’t stop.

Almost there… just a little more...

But then—

A sudden, violent crack beneath her feet.

Cecilia's eyes widened.

The floor just ahead of her shattered like brittle glass, collapsing into a vast, yawning void—an endless abyss of darkness that stretched far beyond comprehension. The path to the exit was gone.

She skidded to a halt, inches from the drop, her shoes teetering on the fractured edge. Pebbles tumbled into the dark and vanished without a sound.

No...!

She took a shaky step back, clutching Sirin closer to her chest. The girl's trembling body pressed tightly against her, face buried in her shoulder.

Behind them, the distorted world surged—reality breaking apart with a hungry roar, glitching fragments of space folding in on themselves. The collapse was catching up.

Cecilia turned toward the exit again. The distance between her and freedom was no more than a leap—but across the void?

Her eyes hardened.

She inhaled deeply, held it for a second, and whispered, “Hold on tight to Mom, okay?”

Sirin gave a faint nod, her fingers digging into Cecilia’s clothes.

Cecilia took another step back, bracing herself.

One chance.

Just one.

She exhaled sharply—then sprinted forward with everything she had.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

The ground crumbled beneath her final step, but she was already in the air—soaring through the broken air like a bullet. Arms wrapped protectively around Sirin, her clothes fluttering behind.

After all Cecilia was once the strongest Valkyrie of her era..............Cecilia launched herself forward with all the strength her body still remembered.

She crashed through the glass door with a thunderous shatter—

CRASH!

Glass rained around them like diamonds. A sharp sting across her arm, a gasp from Sirin—but they landed.

Solid ground.

Outside.

Real.

She lay there for a moment, gasping, staring up at the ceiling of the mall entrance. The chaos was gone. No glitches. No collapsing space. Just... quiet.

Cecilia slowly turned her head to glance behind.

Nothing.

No signs of what had just happened. The mall was whole again, as if none of it had ever been real.

A trick of the mind?

A cruel hallucination?

Or something far worse?

Shoppers were beginning to gather, their faces etched with concern. Some stepped closer, murmuring questions.

“What happened?”

“Are you alright?”

But Cecilia held up a hand—palm outward—silently asking them to stay back.

She pushed herself up slowly, cradling Sirin, who still clung tightly to her.

“It’s okay now,” Cecilia whispered gently, brushing a hand through Sirin’s golden hair. “Sirin can open her eyes. We’re safe.”

“Mm…” Sirin mumbled softly, peeking out before quietly burying her face back into Cecilia’s stomach.

--------------

A few moments passed.

The warmth of home wrapped around Cecilia and Sirin like a fragile comfort. The door had closed behind them, and now silence filled the space—thick and heavy.

Cecilia sank into the couch, her body weighed down by exhaustion far beyond the physical. Her chest rose and fell with slow, heavy breaths. She'd faced death before many times, in many forms like almost drown in the pool but today had felt... different. it was like straight out from movie scene...

Too close.

Her gaze shifted toward the bedroom.

There, Sirin sat quietly on the edge of the bed. Her tiny hands clutched the edge of the blanket, her legs tucked beneath her, unmoving. She hadn’t said a word since they got back.

Cecilia’s heart clenched.

She could only imagine what kind of scar that twisted, collapsing space might leave on a child’s mind. Fear. Confusion. Helplessness.

She stood and walked toward the bed with soft, deliberate steps. Sitting down beside Sirin, Cecilia gently reached out and wrapped an arm around her.

“Sit, dear… Mom is here,” she whispered.

The warmth of her voice, the presence of her embrace—after a few minutes of quiet comfort, Sirin’s body relaxed. Her breathing evened out, and soon, she drifted off into sleep.

Cecilia stared at her for a long while, brushing a few strands of hair from her forehead. Finally, she let out a breath of relief.

She’s alright... at least for now.

Standing carefully, Cecilia pulled the blanket up over Sirin and kissed her forehead softly.

“Goodnight, sweetie,” she murmured, her voice gentle and filled with affection.

She stepped away from the bed, flicked the lights off with a soft click, and quietly closed the door behind her.

Now alone in the dim hallway, Cecilia’s expression changed—serious, troubled.

Himeko… she must know something. There’s no way this is just a coincidence.

Without another word, Cecilia turned and heading to himeko house.

Behind the closed door, the room was silent.

Until—

Sirin opened her eyes again.

Golden irises glimmered faintly in the dark, her expression unreadable. Her small hands gripped the blanket tightly, knuckles pale.

She had only pretended to sleep. She didn’t want her mother to worry.

But now, alone with her thoughts, her voice trembled.

“Why…?” she whispered, barely louder than breath. “Why does the world keep trying to take everything away from me again? Why…?”

Her lips quivered.

“…Why?”

A tear rolled silently down her cheek as she stared into the dark.

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Anti-Entropy Base — Research Laboratory

The soft hum of machines echoed through the high-tech lab, a place glowing with floating transparent screens and walls lined with powerful quantum computers. Amid the flickering lights and quiet tapping of keys, Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein worked with focused precision, their eyes darting across streams of rapidly updating data.

Both women sat at opposite ends of a long workstation, fingers flying over custom keyboards as holographic projections hovered before them.

A sudden click of a door opening drew their attention—just slightly.

A tall man with a composed aura and a cane in hand stepped into the lab. His brown hair was neatly combed, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. It was Welt Yang, the current Sovereign of Anti-Entropy.

“Einstein. Tesla,” Welt began in his calm, composed tone, “have you located the source of the signal?”

“Hold that thought, Joachim,” Einstein replied quickly, her eyes never leaving the screen. “We’re almost done decrypting the last layer.”

“Yeah, yeah, give us thirty more seconds,” Tesla added, leaning in as lines of code glowed on her display.

Moments passed.

Then—with a soft beep—the systems flashed green.

“There,” Tesla said, crossing her arms. “Pinpointed.”

Einstein swiped the projection to a larger screen in the center of the lab. “The signal originated from the Sea of Quanta. More specifically—this individual world bubble.” She tapped on a pulsating marker in the floating image of a fragmented dimension.

Tesla said. “You’re gonna want to call your buddy Siegfried for this one.”

Einstein turned to Welt. “This world bubble’s signature matches something familiar. We believe that it relate to Cecilia Schariac.”

Welt’s expression froze for a brief second. His fingers tightened slightly around his cane. Without saying a word, he pulled out his phone and dialed.

Somewhere 

The phone on a coffee table buzzed. Siegfried Kaslana, currently lounging in casual clothes, glanced at it while sipping coffee. His free hand flipped through a magazine.

“What is it, Welt? I’m enjoying my vacation here.”

Welt’s voice came sharp and serious from the other side.“It’s about your wife.”

A crash.

“—Wait, WHAT?! You could’ve led with that!! I’m on my way!!” Siegfried shouted. the thunderous sound of chairs toppling and possibly a flower vase shattering.

“Dad?!” a voice called out in confusion.

“Kiana, move—I need my coat!”

“Stinky dad, why are you yelling?!” shouted Kiana.

“Where are you going?” asked Bianka, looking at man that is suppose to be her father...

Back at Anti-Entropy Base – Research Laboratory

The heavy sound of boots echoed through the sterile halls of Anti-Entropy's main facility. Siegfried Kaslana stormed into the lab, his expression unreadable—but his clenched fists and hurried steps betrayed a storm of emotions beneath the surface.

Inside, the lab was alive with glowing monitors, rotating projections of dimensional maps, and the steady hum of machinery. Welt Yang stood near the central console, facing the incoming storm that was Siegfried.

"So you're saying," Siegfried began sharply, walking up to Welt, "that this world bubble… contains the ring I gave to Cecilia? That’s what you found?"

Welt adjusted his glasses and nodded, but with caution. “Yes, but—let me clarify. We haven’t confirmed if it truly belongs to her or if it’s a remnant echo.”

Before Welt could continue, Dr. Tesla interrupted, spinning her floating hologram display toward them.

“No, Welt, let’s not sugarcoat it. The signal did come from that world bubble. More specifically, from the ring. That ring sent a distress signal from within the bubble.”

Siegfried’s heart pounded. He could feel something he hadn’t in a long time—hope.

He remembered that day all too vividly: the missile, the explosion, and the eerie silence that followed. Neither Cecilia’s body, nor the Herrscher’s, was ever recovered. That uncertainty had gnawed at him for years.

And now, the ring he had custom-made—the same one he gave her on their wedding day, spending nearly a million dollars just to embed a specialized quantum transmitter—was finally responding.

"See, Cecilia," he thought bitterly, "I didn’t waste our money after all."

He swallowed hard, a lump in his throat. "Even if I can only… bring back her body, at least I’ll see her again."

A long sigh broke the silence. Tesla gave him a sharp look, arms crossed.“Judging by that stupid face of yours, you’re planning to go, aren’t you?”

Before Siegfried could respond, a soft voice came from behind.

“Teacher Welt… What did you mean by ‘my mother’?” asked Kiana, stepping forward.

Welt turned slowly, eyes meeting the now fully grown Herrscher of finality, standing tall and composed. She had inherited both her parents’ strength—and their burdens.

Not far from her, Bianca quietly pulled out a photo from her coat. She stared at the image of her mother.

Einstein tapped a few keys, projecting the dimensional coordinates in mid-air. “We might be able to send someone in… but we don’t have the 2nd Divine Key of Infinity here. Without it, we can’t safely reach that world bubble. Your best chance is to speak with the current head of Schicksal.”

“But before we go any further—” Einstein continued, only to glance toward the lab’s doors, where Siegfried had already vanished.

Outside, Siegfried was already on a call.“Theresa, I need access to the Divine Key. Now.”

Back in the lab, the silence was broken by Kiana’s firm voice.

“Doctor… Could you give me the coordinates?”

Tesla and Einstein exchanged glances, uncertain. Their eyes turned toward Welt, waiting for his judgment.

Welt looked at Kiana. Her gaze didn’t waver. She wasn’t the same child he once knew. This was a woman who had stood at the edge of the world—and chose to save it.

“If you go there,” Welt asked slowly, “what are you planning to do?”

Kiana held his gaze. “I want to see for myself.”

Welt closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. “Tesla, Einstein—give her the coordinates.”

(A/n: Ziggy i didn't lie)