Soulbound Ch 14: End Of The Long Travel, The Exit To Beyond!

(Scott)

I woke up again.

What was this, the sixth time now? Seventh? I'd lost count. I didn't even feel tired anymore—I felt bored. Like, capital "B" bored. You'd think being nestled inside the cosmic womb of a massive galaxy-sized woman would keep a guy entertained, but nope. Turns out, after about five naps, even floating in a glowing pink cavern starts to lose its charm.

Before I could let out a sigh, Kaida's voice echoed all around me—soft, rich, and way too amused for how bored I felt.

"You're awake."

"Yeah," I muttered, rubbing my translucent ghost-face. "Again."

"Getting tired from sleeping too much?"

"Yes!" I said, louder than I meant to. "I feel like a cat stuck in a loop. Sleep. Float. Think. Repeat."

She giggled, and the whole cavern rumbled around me like a warm, pink thunderstorm. I was getting used to her voice coming from every direction, but it still caught me off guard sometimes.

"We're almost at the very edge of your galaxy," she said, her tone softening. "Do you want to take a look?"

I blinked. "How?"

"Use my eyes," she said, like it was the most casual thing in the world.

"Wait, what?"

"You've done it before," she said. "When you asked about my interdimensional bag and my spatial gate. You were seeing through my eyes, Scott. You're deep inside my body—you couldn't have seen it with your own."

I thought back. She was right. I hadn't really thought about how I saw those things. I just... did.

"I wasn't trying or anything," I said. "I just sorta saw what you were doing."

Another laugh from Kaida, and the pink walls pulsed gently around me.

"That's the amazing part," she said. "You weren't even trying. Most inner beings like you take months, even years, to connect with an Aetherion's body like that. And here you are, just vibing your way into my senses without even knowing it."

"So what, I'm a prodigy now?" I smirked.

"You might be," she teased. "Try it now. Focus. Choose my eyes."

I took a breath. Well... I didn't have lungs anymore, but I did the soul-equivalent of a breath—mental inhale, I guess. I closed my eyes (or... soul-eyes?) and tried to focus on Kaida. On what she was seeing.

At first, nothing.

Then—light.

It started like a flicker. A spark. And suddenly, I was seeing something far beyond anything I could have imagined. Stars. Thousands of them. No—millions. I was surrounded by this deep, endless black canvas, freckled with brilliant points of light, and all around me was this swirling, colorful mist like ribbons of neon mist weaving between the stars.

"Whoa..." I whispered. My voice didn't echo this time—it just slipped out in quiet awe.

"There it is," Kaida said with a smile in her tone. "Welcome to the wider universe."

She twirled—at least, I think she did. The stars spun gently around me, and the perspective shifted as if I were on the tip of a slow-spinning needle. Galaxies far away danced like fireflies. Planets dotted the void in the distance like tiny marbles lost in the dark.

It was... a lot.

"I'm seeing this through you?" I asked.

"Mhm," she hummed. "We're connected now, remember? You're still learning, but the bond's growing fast. It's kind of adorable, honestly."

"I can't even wrap my head around how big this all is," I said. "And you said we're still just at the edge of my galaxy?"

"That's right," she said. "Your galaxy's just one of billions, Scott. And it's one of the smaller ones, too."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "No offense, but you're kind of ruining every space documentary I've ever watched."

"Oh, I plan to ruin a lot more," she said playfully.

She kept floating, twirling slowly, giving me all kinds of beautiful angles of the universe. The silence of it all—the sheer vastness—was kind of humbling. I felt like a grain of sand in an ocean made of stars. But at the same time... I wasn't scared. I wasn't alone.

I was inside the one being in existence who could cradle that entire ocean in her hands—and she loved me.

It was weird. It was wild. And somehow, it felt like home.

***

(Kaida)

The stars thinned around me as I pushed forward, gliding effortlessly through the velvet dark. The void was calm here—quiet, endless. A hush only broken by the distant shimmer of ancient stars and the soft hum of cosmic energy rippling along my skin. After all this travel, all the naps and soft conversations with my sweet one, I could finally see it.

Home.

A smile tugged at my lips.

There it was—the exit.

It shimmered like a multicolored veil stretched taut across space, rippling in and out of phase with reality. Ethereal and beautiful, it looked like a living aurora suspended in time. I slowed a bit, just to admire it. No matter how many centuries I lived, I never got tired of this moment—crossing that final threshold into the Aetherion realm. The place where our kind truly belonged. The cradle of giants. The throne of eternity.

My fingers twitched, excited.

Scott was quiet now, fast asleep inside me, his tiny soul curled up in peace. I didn't want to wake him just yet. He'd earned that rest. Soon, he'd get to see all this with his own eyes—my eyes—but for now, this crossing was mine to make.

I leaned forward and pushed.

The veil touched my skin like cool silk, but that lasted all of a heartbeat.

Then came the force—fast and overwhelming.

My body jerked forward as a rush of pressure slammed into me like a tidal wave of light and energy. Every nerve sparked with heat. My hair whipped around my face, crackling with violet electricity. Space around me bent and screamed as I passed through, the veil stretching to accommodate my size, my shape, my very presence.

I let out a breath that burned with stardust.

"Finally," I whispered, grinning wide. My body pulsed, glowing gold as I slipped fully through.

"It's time."