At the border, the issue becomes clear. The boundary between our realm and the void isn't solid anymore. It ripples, and through the translucent sections, we can see... things. Moving. Feeding.
"Parasites," Mikaere says grimly. "Dimensional parasites. They're eating at the boundaries."
"Since when?" Yorika asks, already shifting into tactical mode.
"The fluctuations started three days ago. But this..." He gestures to the visible creatures. "This is new."
They're wrong to look at. Not quite there, not quite not there. They exist in the spaces between existence, feeding on the energy that separates one reality from another.
"They're drawn to something," I observe. Through the boundary, more gather, pressing against the thinning barrier.
"You," Päivi's voice comes from pages that suddenly swirl around us. "Both of you. Your bond, void and light intertwined, it's like a beacon to them. They feed on contradiction, on things that shouldn't exist together but do."
"So we're bait," Yorika says flatly.
"The most appetizing bait in eighteen dimensions," Päivi confirms.
"Wonderful."
After reinforcing the boundary, temporarily, we return to find Päivi in my study, hovering over Yorika's reorganization work.
"This system," she says without preamble, "is infinitely superior to the emotional resonance nonsense."
"Thank you?" Yorika says.
"I'm implementing it in the library. With modifications. Your alphabetization is pedestrian, but the categorical framework has merit." She disperses partially then reforms. "I've also been researching your mark. It's evolving."
"Evolving how?"
"Growing stronger. The souls' gift wasn't static. It's adaptive. Learning from you, from him, from the bond." She manifests a book that writes itself as she speaks. "In a few months, perhaps a year, you'll be able to channel significant void energy. Enough to fight these parasites directly."
"They're going to be a problem," Yorika states.
"More than that. If they breach through, they'll unravel the realm from the inside out. You'll need to hunt them."
"Hunt things that barely exist?"
"Welcome to your new purpose."
The words hang heavy for a moment before Päivi seems to realize she's shown actual concern. She disperses immediately, leaving only "I'll have more data tomorrow" hanging in the air.
That evening, I find Yorika in the study again, but she's not reading. She's staring at nothing, that thousand-yard look soldiers get.
"Where are you?" I ask softly.
She blinks, focuses on me. "Thinking about Melara."
I wait. Sometimes she needs to talk about her sister. Sometimes she needs silence.
"She would have loved this," Yorika says finally. "A realm that breaks physics. Shadow beings. Dimensional parasites that exist between existence. She always believed reality was just a rough draft, too restrictive for what she wanted to create."
"You saved her," I remind her gently.
"I freed her. There's a difference." She turns to look at me fully. "For three years, hunting you was my purpose. Then saving her was my purpose. Then stopping the Collector. Now..."
"Now?"
"Now I need to find a new purpose." She stands, walks over to where I'm sitting. "Maybe it's this. Protecting reality itself from things that would unravel it. Not for vengeance but because we're the only ones who can."
