As Null looked up at his old friend, he knew that something was off.
"What? Not keen on giving a warm welcome back?"
If only he knew how glad he was in that moment, Null would have leapt to give the figure a big hug.
"I'm just tired."
"Haha! Well too bad for you I've got some explaining to do. Shall I?"
With a wave of his hand, Null sat back and listened.
"What that guy was telling you earlier was true. The boundaries of It's mind are the end."
Null kept listening since he had long grown accustomed to being filled in on others' wild storytelling.
"I had seen it; the blank emptiness in which he resides in. And I know why he does so."
The spirit paused before continuing, "He's been forced to remain in a space disconnected from the universe."
The shock of such a statement hit Null deeply.
"So that's his problem! What drove him to make such a crooked deal with me when he's stuck in a situation like that?"
"It turns out that you have exactly what he needs to solve his little issue: The Cosmic Authority."
Null was once again hit with a feeling of shock, "I remember that creator guy mentioning something about that. What exactly is it and what's it got to do with me?"
"It has everything to do with the fact that you now possess the only ability capable of freeing It from its current circumstance."
Null was skeptical about such a prospect, but the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
'It seems like there's more to this power of mine than I realized.'
"Thinking back on it, it seems like that must have been the reason I lost her," Null's face went downcast at the thought of the dastardly time limit.
"Yes," Ego couldn't help but feel bad for his friend, "And if you successfully reach It's realm it won't be a simple capture-and-release."
'Looks like the situation is beyond what I could've ever imagined, Null grew concerned for the future in store for him.
"So what! I've still got you and those two here with me. Once we get to the location of the first flame who's to say we won't figure something out by then."
"Haha. That's the spirit," Ego was fully on board with him, "But first, aren't you missing something?"
That vast emptiness from before had not exactly faded, so Null of course knew what was being asked of him.
"What exactly did you do with that structure? How come I can't feel it anymore?"
It wasn't as if he was distrustful, but the unsettling feeling he had would not go away.
"About that... I'm not too sure myself!"
The ditzy Ego sure did know how to make a mess of things.
"Does that mean you have the Cosmic Authority now? To begin with what even is that structure?"
"Hey, this is all new to me too y'know," Ego truly had no way to explain the intricacies behind the cosmic whatnots.
"Whatever it is, it seems to be related to your Cosmic Authority, maybe even the crux of your powers."
As he said this, Ego could sense the grandiose perplexity of the cosmic structure and its convoluted style.
"First things first, go back to the real world and sort things out with your partners. I'll be here working to figure out this doohickey."
"Roger that," Null said to which he promptly returned to the ship.
With his eyes rolling back and his stiff smile receding, Null rubbed his aching face and sought his companions out.
"Anything happen while I was out," he asked the two who were continuing a game.
"Nothing but that creepy stuff you had going on. You gonna explain what that was or are we just gonna have to get used to seeing you like that?"
Theef was still worried about the bothersome events up till now and he wanted reassurance.
"Turns out there's nothing to be worried about when it comes to those matters anymore. I got it mostly figured out."
"The enlightened truly know how to get things done, huh," the pauper played a card as he spoke.
The time was nigh to work towards figuring out more about his abilities.
To begin with, he tried summoning a bit of the vortex's strength to fill itself with spiritual energy.
'Well, that still works," Null was thankful he still had some capabilities, "Next let's see if I can do something with it."
He then reached his arm out to one of the many bottles of ale at Theef's feet attempting to bring it to him with the yellow energy.
Only, there was not the slightest change to the pure nature of the spiritual energy in his vortex space.
'Seems like there was something about that structure after all,' Null went through each of his discovered energies without any luck.
It seemed like the only advantages he still had lied in his powerful spirit— kudos to the domineering vortex that was Void.
'Guess I need to focus on cultivation and other means to raise my strength until Ego's done figuring out the structure's secrets.'
From then on, the trio began working on improving their individual strengths.
For Null, he began the path of cultivation with some added information from his companions on what little they knew. This included rudimental knowledge of the meridians and other bodily anatomy benefiting from the effects of cultivation.
Theef began familiarizing himself with the gained abilities he received from each treasure he devoured. His amassed wealth being converted into a series of various powers and mutations when triggered by his chimera form.
Lastly, the pauper would fine tune his control over his universal rule until he achieved a greater level of mastery. It was already a grand feat to have reached the level he currently possessed, but how far the rules went was known only by the most powerful existences.
With that, the crew settled into their new schedules they would be committing to over the course of the next three years on their trip to uncover the mystery behind the first periwinkle flame.