Soulbound Ch 12: The Place He Could Call Home, Time To Leave The Planet!

(Scott)

I looked around again, trying to make sense of the place I was in—this deep, warm, oddly peaceful cavern of soft pink walls, pulsing gently with some kind of slow rhythm. Everything shimmered with a slick sheen, like the air itself was humid with life. It was weird to say, but it didn't feel threatening. It felt... safe. Strange, considering I was literally floating inside a giant woman. A goddess? A cosmic being? My girlfriend? All of the above?

She called this her Soul Cavern, no a Soul Chamber I think. A weird name, sure, but also kind of poetic. It stretched so far I couldn't see the end of it. Honestly, you could fit an entire city in here. No, not even exaggerating—maybe five cities. With suburbs. I turned to glance at my physical body floating in the distance, suspended in that glowing liquid and cradled by the pink folds like some cosmic spa treatment. I looked so calm... peaceful even. Which was insane, because I couldn't remember the last time I felt that relaxed. Maybe when I was five and didn't know what bills were.

"Are you alright?" Kaida's voice rumbled through the space like a warm breeze wrapped in thunder.

I shook my head clear of the haze. "Yeah, I'm good. Just... still getting used to this whole... floaty ghost version of myself." I looked down at my hands, blue and slightly translucent like I was made out of sapphire smoke. "Still feels like I'm gonna accidentally phase through something and vanish into the void."

Kaida giggled. It echoed all around me, like her laugh had its own gravitational pull. "Don't worry, sweaty. I'll make you a new body later."

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

"It's one of the few gifts we Aetherions gain when our soulbound is found," she said, sounding proud. "When the merge is complete, I'll shape you a new body. One that suits who you are now. Who you're becoming."

My mouth opened, closed, then opened again. "That's... actually kind of awesome, thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," she said warmly. "It's just one of the many ways I'll show you how much I love you."

There it was again—that gentle, no-nonsense way she dropped huge, soul-shaking statements like they were simple truths. And the worst part? They didn't even freak me out. Not coming from her. I wasn't used to this kind of affection. Honestly, any time people got too mushy around me, I usually made a joke or ran in the opposite direction. But with Kaida, it just... felt right. Like it had always been there, waiting to be found.

"So," I said, drifting a little closer to my body without thinking, "now that we're together—what happens next?"

"I have to leave this planet soon," she said, her voice softening. "And you'll have to come with me."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... figured that was coming. You're kind of... huge." I laughed awkwardly. She did say that her true form was bigger than the galaxy, so yea made sense.

Kaida chuckled again. "Yes, well, I did mention I was on the larger side of my kind."

That was putting it mildly. I could still remember the way her silhouette towered over the ocean, blotting out clouds. And to think—that was just her trying to fit into a galaxy.

"Leaving Veridia," I muttered. The thought hit me harder than expected. "So... I'm never gonna visit my mom's grave again."

A silence passed between us, just long enough to ache. Kaida didn't interrupt. She let the weight of that sit with me.

"I didn't really talk to my dad much," I said, quieter now. "But still. It's weird thinking I'll never see him again."

Then she said something that flipped the entire conversation on its head: "You don't have to say goodbye to Veridia."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"I intend to take the planet with me," she said like it was no big deal.

"...You can do that?"

Another light laugh. "There are rules and regulations, of course. But if a planet is unclaimed, it can be relocated."

I didn't really get what she meant by unclaimed, I would have to ask later.

"You should rest," she added. "The journey will be long, and I need to begin preparing."

I blinked slowly. Now that she mentioned it, I was tired. Weird, since I didn't even have a physical body. But the exhaustion was creeping in like fog.

"I thought I'd feel like a ghost or something," I mumbled. "But this... this is nice."

"You're in the one place you should always feel comfortable," she said gently. "You're home, Scott. With me."

That hit harder than I expected.

I let myself drift closer to my sleeping body, hovering beside it. My soul—whatever that looked like—lay down next to my physical form. It looked like I was curled into a peaceful nap, like nothing could touch me.

And in that moment, nothing could.

Just as my eyes began to close, I heard her voice one last time.

"Have a sweet dream, baby."

I smiled as sleep took me.

She really was something else.

***

(Kaida)

I let my hand drift down and gently pat the curve of my lower belly, right where I could feel the warm pulse of him—my sweet little soulbound. Safe, nestled deep in my Soul Cavern, resting like he belonged there. Which, of course, he did. Everything felt... complete. I couldn't stop smiling.

"Alright," I whispered to myself, fingers splaying across my skin. "Time to get moving."

I took a slow, deep breath, letting the air hum through my core. My legs were still dipped in the ocean, that soft tickle of water swirling around me. I reached behind and gave my bottom a few casual swipes, wiping away the lingering cling of the sea. It always stuck in the weirdest places—ugh, part of being this big, I guess. Still, the water felt good, but I couldn't linger. Not when everything was finally in place.

As I straightened up, my spine unfurling like a starborn ribbon, I spotted a few of those tiny human flying crafts zipping about in the sky. They were keeping their distance this time, though. Smart. Maybe they finally realized that attacking a being like myself wasn't the greatest idea. One of them seemed to be just watching, hovering still like it knew better now. Good. Progress.

I exhaled again, slower this time. A long, deep breath that started in my chest and echoed out through my limbs. I let my shoulders roll back, relaxed my hips, and gave myself over to the sensation building in my core.

Then, it began.

The shift started as a warm glow in my veins. That familiar light pulsing under my skin, sparkling like living starlight. My body responded, humming with energy, the growth a slow, delicious swell that spread through every inch of me. I arched ever so slightly, my arms lifting as the stars themselves seemed to reach back toward me. The moan that escaped my lips wasn't exactly intentional—it just... felt good. Like stretching after being curled up too long, only magnified by cosmic proportions.

The ocean fell away beneath me, fast. My legs rose through clouds, through sky, through ozone. The wind howled, but I barely heard it. Everything else was too quiet—peaceful. The kind of peace that comes with knowing everything is as it should be.

The curve of the planet slipped beneath my feet as I continued to rise, past the edges of the atmosphere and into the vast black canvas of space. I hovered just above the world now, bathed in its pale blue light, the gentle spinning sphere casting shadows across my legs and waist. Earth—no, Veridia, as the Aetherion designation went. Soon, it would be tethered. It would belong with me.

I looked down, one hand resting once again on the spot where Scott was, his tiny presence still glowing in my Soul Cavern. He was dreaming now. I could feel it—soft, hazy waves of warmth that made my chest feel too small to hold everything I felt.

"Planet Veridia," I said aloud, my voice rippling through space like a song. "It's time to go."