The knocking noise pervaded through the empty room causing Null to groggily rub his eyes and yawn as he crawled out of the bed.
With each step he took, he felt the weight of his body grounding him on the creaky wooden floor.
He turned the doorknob single handedly like he did when leaving his old room except this time, he was greeted by the sight of a pitch black silhouette.
'What the-'
He wiped his eyes again and marveled at the vibrant indigo color coming from its center.
"Oh my goodness! Is that you Null?" Ava stared at the young boy that now stood just a few centimeters taller than her.
Her strange silhouette moved as she did, jolting in shock of his new appearance.
'Huh? What is this?' Null was confused.
He heard a tuned-out warble of her voice that went through one ear and out the other not giving him a chance to make sense of what was happening around him.
He stepped back into the room that he had remembered practicing his powers in as he felt at the cheap hotel sheets. The soul numbing experience he went through had slowly resurfaced in his mind.
'So it was true! He wasn't lying. I can go find them and save her. I can do it!'
The murky figure at the door reached an arm out and made a shrill noise that brought Null's attention back to it.
.....
Ever since he parted with the creator, Null was in a state of shock and exhilaration.
"My final message to you, null one: Go find your companions reborn flames alit, your journey begins when you commit. Across the cosmos discover the meaning of it all, for when the truth is discovered, the True Creator shall fall. Love and loss leave a lone soul destroyed. In the end, even fate will eventually be rendered null and void."
'What the fuck is this dude spouting about null and void,' Null wasn't looking forward to waking up as a banana.
"At least turn me back before you leave!"
His shout reached the fading figure, "You should enjoy your new body," he turned and yelled back, "That creep will never know what hit him. Haha!"
He disappeared, leaving his signature echoing laughter as Null was beginning to wake up on the ship.
'Yikes. Takes one to know one,' Null commented.
....
Back in the hotel, Null was once more enamored by the vibrant glow of the indigo object before him.
It was so mesmerizing that Null could not help himself but to reach out for it.
As he did so, he felt a warm sensation from the luminous particles swarming towards the object he was within his clutches.
The sensation rippled through Null's hand as it was sucked into the vortex that he could see through his own torso.
He felt a wave of pleasure wash over him as he felt himself actively growing in strength and size.
Null felt a rush like never before, it consumed him along with the growing vortex. He wanted more of what he had just tasted, so he walked out of the door with a loud creak.
More of the glowing objects surround him to which he smiled evilly.
Before he could even move, one of them sprang at him by its own volition to which Null met with a graceful sidestep.
He made sure to snatch the glowing object with an aggressive swipe as he was once again treated to the delightful boost in strength.
He instantly became addicted to the feeling as he got as he dipped his hands into the soft heat and devoured the different hues around him.
'More.'
He walked out of the hotel into the bright world outside. The air was so clear as it filled his lungs along with the swirling vortex within him.
More spiritual energy than he could ever absorb flooded the beast as it grew alongside Null ever so slightly.
He produced his propulsive energy and flew into the sky. It was as if he was seeing the world in a new light; beneath him was a whole mass of varying glows.
Some were brighter than others, some were dimming as the seconds passed. He peered towards a certain direction where the brightest glows lit the ground and decided to pursue them.
The only thought on his mind was that he would use this method to reach the level he needed to beat the time limit imposed on him; he would save Sophina and show her this vibrant world she deserved to be in.
They would be together, and he would have the strength to protect her from anything out there.
Oh, how he wanted for nothing more than to feel the same warmth he felt that day that seemed so long ago.
But that would have to wait; he could only sate his desire through the strength-enhancing glowing objects before him.
He was able to relive that moment over and over again like an endless playback of the best moment of his life.
It was all so vibrant as he let the feeling override his ability to deliberate.
And so, he swept the area of its lights completely with thoughts of going out to consume the rest of the glowing objects elsewhere, when suddenly a fierce shine entered his peripheral vision.
He was caught by surprise at the sight of the abnormally large object that burned in an earthy yellow.
As it stood before him, the dark figure around it produces a loud hissing screech that made Null clutch his ears.
A searing pain shook Null out of his transitory insanity as he heard a guttural yell that made him flinch.
"YOU HORRID MONSTER, PREPARE TO MEET YOUR END!"
It was as if a veil had been lifted off of him; Null rubbed his eyes and yawned as if he had just woken up from a vibrant dream.
But as he did so, the unsettling feeling of a hot liquid smeared over his left eye and a metallic stench filled his nostrils.
His soul trembled as he held his hand in front of his face to confirm his fears, or rather to reaffirm himself that he would never do what it was he thought he did.