If nihilism was correct and no actions had meaning, then Nia Fae seriously wondered why the woman currently holding her hand was even making the effort.

The streets they were hasting through were well-kept and of wondrous design. Above them, islands floated, tethered to a giant obelisk with chains of mana. All of the people that build those structures must have thought they were working for something meaningful as well.

Nia wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near those chains. Not because she would destroy them, but because she could. Trust was the usual issue she encountered. People usually wanted her far away from everything they cared about. The ones that could see her that was. Which was just about everyone in this city. Actually, it was everyone. The normal people couldn’t see her.

To be more exact, their minds chose not to.

“Do we have to run this quickly?” Nia wondered as they hastened through the streets of Abyssal Rome. Her voice was almost completely devoid of emotion. Not because she didn’t feel anything, she just didn’t express herself very often.

For why that was, Nia didn’t have an answer. Straining her voice in such ways always felt so… inefficient.

She turned her head. She was wondering where that alleyway may lead to or if there was a kitten nearby that wanted to be pat. Surely, a dog was somewhere that wouldn’t mind playing tag with her for a bit.

Animals weren’t as closed in mind to things they couldn’t comprehend.

They stopped for a moment, and the girl whirled around. The singular braid her brown hair, a copper shimmer to it, was worked into flew just by Nia’s nose. “I feel that I have the obligation to remind you that you have an 11-day time deficit that runs contrary to our agreed exchange of favours, Nia,” spoke the woman before dragging Nia further down the road, never letting go of her arm.

The duo attracted more than a few gazes. Nia didn’t like that, even though she was used to it. It was the stark contrast between reality, where no one could see her, and the Abyss, were everyone was watching her. They saw her as something that didn’t belong, an outcast, a pariah, because she was different.

Because her soul was empty.

“But, Lydia,” Nia spoke up, “there was a cat.”

“A cat brought you to Aachen?!” Lydia blurted out, her tone beyond flabbergasted. “You know that I had to hire 16 people to get you here? Not to track you, that was easy, but to keep an eye on you all the time. Now you reveal to me that it was because of a cat?”

“No, it was several cats… they all wanted to play,” the blank answered. She didn’t quite get what Lydia was upset about.

She was here now, wasn’t she?

A good question actually, she better check. She stopped dead in her tracks, and Lydia was forced to stop with her. “What is it?” Lydia asked, and Nia put her hands-on Lydia’s face. Her snow white, slender fingers framed the woman’s confused face. Without any warning whatsoever, Nia kissed the princess on the mouth.

Lydia struggled and broke free.

“What the hell, Nia?!” the princess wanted to know, looking around. Lucky for them that the princess had chosen to take a shortcut through a dark alleyway.

“I just wanted to make sure I am not Fading,” the blank answered.

“If you were Fading, I could tell,” Lydia pointed out and grabbed her by the arm again.

That was valid, if Nia was fading, Lydia would have been able to see her vanish. It could have been too late by that point though.

“I doubt Nihilism is correct,” Nia said as she kept walking after Lydia. The white dress that she wore fluttered. It was as white as her skin, like a snowy mountaintop. Clear, white, devoid of all other influences of colour and shade. Some would call it plain, others would call it beautiful, most would call it strange. She wore it because she liked it and because the non-existent cloth didn’t get in the way, even though it reached down to her naked feet.

“What do you mean by that now?” Lydia entertained the talk while she was feverishly checking her watch.

“If everything is senseless, why try?” the blank blonde wondered.

“I doubt there is inherent meaning to anything,” Lydia offered her a thought, “but this is very meaningful to me, so I will summon all I have in my arsenal to see it done the way I prefer.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Nia said now keeping up with Lydia without the need to be dragged. The colosseum wasn’t far away now. There was a sense of urgency to it. She would get to try and find some turtle to feed later. Nia raised a hand as she, fleet on her bare feet, walked besides Lydia. The cold winter air raced through her fingers.

The cold did not translate to her exposed skin. It stayed outside, did not mingle with the woman only half in this world.

Steps that were like a fairy in a field of flowers, Nia flew over the pavement with wondrous elegance. A dancer would have been envious of the certainty with which her soles took each step, a human would have looked at her and thought:

‘This girl does not belong here’

“Nia!” Lydia called her out as Nia slipped away. She looked at her hands, slightly translucent. She readjusted how much of her was in this world and was found solidified a mere moment later. “I am still here, Lydia,” she assured her friend.

A friend, that was the simple thing she wanted for being part of this.

Was she just being used? Maybe. Nia couldn’t muster enough emotion to care. With her powers, being used was a common occurrence. If Lydia betrayed their agreement, then Nia had lost nothing but time.

Time was valuable to those that had a purpose for it only. There was no purpose to Nia, no thing she wanted urgently, no people she wanted to see, no item that picked up her desire. There was nothing that she wanted that she couldn’t have.

Except for memories she could share.

“Will you please follow my lead?” Lydia shouted again, standing next to a side entrance to the colosseum and an annoyed employee.

“Are we late?” Nia wondered, looking up the sky.

 “Yes,” the princess told her, “we ARE late.”

“But the fight is scheduled to start at 4 PM,” Nia tilted her head in confusion. “It is 15:58.”

“Yes, exactly, our arrival is way overdue, now get over here.”

Nia walked over, always watching that her feet landed on the little gap between two tiles of stone. Disappointment filled her when the carpet inside was a constant red. Then there was stone again. Stairs, a corner, some more stairs, the world stretched, but that wasn’t all that unusual.

It was warm now, different but equally incapable of reaching below her surface.

Finally, Nia arrived atop a platform and looked up. She expected many things to see there but not someone she had encountered before. “Hello,” she said and raised her hand in a simple greeting. The brown-haired guy that looked back seemed more surprised to see her here than she was to see him.

“What the…?” he looked at her in a peculiar fashion, like he was trying to see something he normally could not. He furrowed his eyebrows when it didn’t work. “Still can’t do it with you…”

“What?” a pink-haired girl to his right wondered; “Did ya manage to fail at Observe?”

That sounded incorrect. Not only grammatically, but also the way she pronounced it. Observe, as if it was something beyond the simple act of looking at something. “My name is Nia Fae,” the blonde blank told her and extended her hand. She was used to this greeting

The man was of average looks. That went for his face. His body was fit, if slender. He carried himself in a proud manner, standing tall and with confidence. The way he inspected her was interesting, like she was a riddle to be solved.

Her peculiar hair was surely the center of his attention. It had quite the volume at the top, something that she barely tamed by combing it backwards, making it look like a field of golden crop swaying under a heavy breeze.

A Nevr’est on the other side had taken a liking to this hairstyle, so she kept it.

The rest of her platinum blond hair she had bound together close the back of her head and it fell downwards as a thick strand that reached her legs. It swayed lightly, as the Nevr’est played with the long strand like a kitten played with a string, the movements reverberating in her physical form, weakened.

He stared into her blue eyes, and she tilted her head. “Do you find me attractive or what does this prolonged silence mean?” she asked.

“Yes, he fucking does,” a girl, sickly pale and with white hair that became azure blue at neck length, spat out. She did not sound pleased. “He will ram his fuckstick into everything that has a nice face.”

“Thana, don’t ya be so snappy,” the pink-haired one said. Nia felt beyond confused, and she tilted her head quizzically.

“Ehem,” the man, the only one on the platform as Nia now noted, cleared his throat. “My name is John Newman,” he put an arm around the pink-haired’s hip. “This is my girlfriend, Jane Hollmey.”

“Most people call me Rave,” she pointed out.

The thereby named John pointed at the rest of the gathered people, introducing them one after the other. “This here is Momo, she is my familiar, you could say.”

“Artificial Spirits aren’t THAT rare, just tell her what I am, for sky’s sake… and just so we are clear I meant to say sky, not heaven, I have no interest in the metaphorical dwelling place of the piteous,” the girl with white hair said. Hers was a monochrome appearance. The only part of her body that wasn’t black or white were her very pink lips.

“And that over there is Thana,” John pointed at the sick looking cursing one.

“I don’t like you,” Thana growled, causing everyone else to raise an eyebrow.

“What’s up with you?” John wondered about the small bundle of power. She was radiating magic and the world bled more into her.

Nia did not want to get punched by her.

“I do not like new people,” Thana hissed.

“You were just fine with Nathalia strolling along though,” Momo pointed out.

“Because Nathalia is the tits,” the voice of the smaller person was all over the place, sometimes calm and collected, sometimes angry and hysteric, but never steady. “This bitch is weird, I don’t like weird.”

“She certainly looks out of place,” Rave wondered.

Nia looked at the floor; however powerful they got, they never chan-

“I like it tho. Fitting in is for losers,” the pink haired girl continued and tapped over. Her wild hair was a whole chaos that Nia could not quite make sense of. “Cool hair you have there, Nia.”

“Thank you?” the blonde was confused by the positive greeting she was getting. Also, her hand had never been shook and still hovered in the air. She felt a bit awkward.

“Yeah, nice to meet you,” John, seeing the awkwardness, finally took her hand. “We are a bunch of misfits here… although I wonder what you were doing in that flower shop.” He was pleasantly warm. Magic prickled over his skin only to be negated by her touch. Stopping that took no effort. It was a simple aftereffect of Lydia’s wish to shield them both from inquiring spells.

The one called John probably could use that ‘Observe’ thing on her now. She had nothing to hide.

“Wait, you have met her before?” Lydia asked.

“Yes, remember when we went to meet Jane at the airport?” John told her. “I thought I was lucky when I spied a flower shop that was still open on the way there, met this girl inside.”

“He needed a pretty flower,” Nia confirmed.

“Okay… so, Nia, you broke into a flower shop again?” Lydia sighed.

“Wait… broke into?” John, confused, looked from Nia to Lydia and back.

“Normal people can’t see her, because she is empty to this world,” the princess explained- “So little miss ‘I get lost chasing cats’ here has taken on the bad habit of going wherever she wants.”

“The flowers were pretty. I wanted to look at them;” Nia explained, voice as hollow as ever. “I harmed nobody.”

“I stole a flower…” John realized. “…Ah well, it was just a flow-aaaah.” The man was suddenly and very strongly hugged by the girl named Thana, who looked at Nia with scary eyes. Very scary eyes. Nia almost moved a muscle in her face.

“You are making me jealous, you bitch. Stop making me jealous,” she demanded.

Nia’s face stayed blank, but on the inside she was screaming. “How would I go about that?” she inquired, trying to find a way to please that angry girl. The question just made the annoyed one growl some more.

“Ignore Thana; she barks, sometimes she bites, but she doesn’t kill,” Lydia’s assurance did all but assure Nia. In fact, she now was afraid her hand would get bitten if she offered it to be shaken again.

Only a twitch of her lips betrayed Nia’s slight unhappiness with this situation. Was this what having a friend entailed? Weird conversations?

“We have more important things to deal with,” Lydia continued as people in the background started cheering for a man screaming into a microphone.

If nihilism was correct and no actions had meaning, then Nia Fae seriously wondered why the woman currently holding her hand was even making the effort. The streets they were hasting through were well-kept and of wondrous design. Above them, islands floated, tethered to a giant obelisk with chains of mana. All of the people that build those structures must have thought they were working for something meaningful as well. Nia wouldn't be allowed anywhere near those chains. Not because she would destroy them, but because she could. Trust was the usual issue she encountered. People usually wanted her far away from everything they cared about. The ones that could see her that was. Which was just about everyone in this city. Actually, it was everyone. The normal people couldn't see her. To be more exact, their minds chose not to. Do we have to run this quickly? Nia wondered as they hastened through the streets of Abyssal Rome. Her voice was almost completely devoid of emotion. Not because she didn't feel anything, she just didn't express herself very often. For why that was, Nia didn't have an answer. Straining her voice in such ways always felt so inefficient. She turned her head. She was wondering where that alleyway may lead to or if there was a kitten nearby that wanted to be pat. Surely, a dog was somewhere that wouldn't mind playing tag with her for a bit. Animals weren't as closed in mind to things they couldn't comprehend. They stopped for a moment, and the girl whirled around. The singular braid her brown hair, a copper shimmer to it, was worked into flew just by Nia's nose. I feel that I have the obligation to remind you that you have an 11-day time deficit that runs contrary to our agreed exchange of favours, Nia, spoke the woman before dragging Nia further down the road, never letting go of her arm. The duo attracted more than a few gazes. Nia didn't like that, even though she was used to it. It was the stark contrast between reality, where no one could see her, and the Abyss, were everyone was watching her. They saw her as something that didn't belong, an outcast, a pariah, because she was different. Because her soul was empty. But, Lydia, Nia spoke up, there was a cat. A cat brought you to Aachen?! Lydia blurted out, her tone beyond flabbergasted. You know that I had to hire 16 people to get you here? Not to track you, that was easy, but to keep an eye on you all the time. Now you reveal to me that it was because of a cat? No, it was several cats they all wanted to play, the blank answered. She didn't quite get what Lydia was upset about. She was here now, wasn't she? A good question actually, she better check. She stopped dead in her tracks, and Lydia was forced to stop with her. What is it? Lydia asked, and Nia put her hands-on Lydia's face. Her snow white, slender fingers framed the woman's confused face. Without any warning whatsoever, Nia kissed the princess on the mouth. Lydia struggled and broke free. What the hell, Nia?! the princess wanted to know, looking around. Lucky for them that the princess had chosen to take a shortcut through a dark alleyway. I just wanted to make sure I am not Fading, the blank answered. If you were Fading, I could tell, Lydia pointed out and grabbed her by the arm again. That was valid, if Nia was fading, Lydia would have been able to see her vanish. It could have been too late by that point though. I doubt Nihilism is correct, Nia said as she kept walking after Lydia. The white dress that she wore fluttered. It was as white as her skin, like a snowy mountaintop. Clear, white, devoid of all other influences of colour and shade. Some would call it plain, others would call it beautiful, most would call it strange. She wore it because she liked it and because the non-existent cloth didn't get in the way, even though it reached down to her naked feet. What do you mean by that now? Lydia entertained the talk while she was feverishly checking her watch. If everything is senseless, why try? the blank blonde wondered. I doubt there is inherent meaning to anything, Lydia offered her a thought, but this is very meaningful to me, so I will summon all I have in my arsenal to see it done the way I prefer. That sounds wonderful, Nia said now keeping up with Lydia without the need to be dragged. The colosseum wasn't far away now. There was a sense of urgency to it. She would get to try and find some turtle to feed later. Nia raised a hand as she, fleet on her bare feet, walked besides Lydia. The cold winter air raced through her fingers. The cold did not translate to her exposed skin. It stayed outside, did not mingle with the woman only half in this world. Steps that were like a fairy in a field of flowers, Nia flew over the pavement with wondrous elegance. A dancer would have been envious of the certainty with which her soles took each step, a human would have looked at her and thought: This girl does not belong here' Nia! Lydia called her out as Nia slipped away. She looked at her hands, slightly translucent. She readjusted how much of her was in this world and was found solidified a mere moment later. I am still here, Lydia, she assured her friend. A friend, that was the simple thing she wanted for being part of this. Was she just being used? Maybe. Nia couldn't muster enough emotion to care. With her powers, being used was a common occurrence. If Lydia betrayed their agreement, then Nia had lost nothing but time. Time was valuable to those that had a purpose for it only. There was no purpose to Nia, no thing she wanted urgently, no people she wanted to see, no item that picked up her desire. There was nothing that she wanted that she couldn't have. Except for memories she could share. Will you please follow my lead? Lydia shouted again, standing next to a side entrance to the colosseum and an annoyed employee. Are we late? Nia wondered, looking up the sky. Yes, the princess told her, we ARE late. But the fight is scheduled to start at 4 PM, Nia tilted her head in confusion. It is 15:58. Yes, exactly, our arrival is way overdue, now get over here. Nia walked over, always watching that her feet landed on the little gap between two tiles of stone. Disappointment filled her when the carpet inside was a constant red. Then there was stone again. Stairs, a corner, some more stairs, the world stretched, but that wasn't all that unusual. It was warm now, different but equally incapable of reaching below her surface. Finally, Nia arrived atop a platform and looked up. She expected many things to see there but not someone she had encountered before. Hello, she said and raised her hand in a simple greeting. The brown-haired guy that looked back seemed more surprised to see her here than she was to see him. What the? he looked at her in a peculiar fashion, like he was trying to see something he normally could not. He furrowed his eyebrows when it didn't work. Still can't do it with you What? a pink-haired girl to his right wondered; Did ya manage to fail at Observe? That sounded incorrect. Not only grammatically, but also the way she pronounced it. Observe, as if it was something beyond the simple act of looking at something. My name is Nia Fae, the blonde blank told her and extended her hand. She was used to this greeting The man was of average looks. That went for his face. His body was fit, if slender. He carried himself in a proud manner, standing tall and with confidence. The way he inspected her was interesting, like she was a riddle to be solved. Her peculiar hair was surely the center of his attention. It had quite the volume at the top, something that she barely tamed by combing it backwards, making it look like a field of golden crop swaying under a heavy breeze. A Nevr'est on the other side had taken a liking to this hairstyle, so she kept it. The rest of her platinum blond hair she had bound together close the back of her head and it fell downwards as a thick strand that reached her legs. It swayed lightly, as the Nevr'est played with the long strand like a kitten played with a string, the movements reverberating in her physical form, weakened. He stared into her blue eyes, and she tilted her head. Do you find me attractive or what does this prolonged silence mean? she asked. Yes, he fucking does, a girl, sickly pale and with white hair that became azure blue at neck length, spat out. She did not sound pleased. He will ram his fuckstick into everything that has a nice face. Thana, don't ya be so snappy, the pink-haired one said. Nia felt beyond confused, and she tilted her head quizzically. Ehem, the man, the only one on the platform as Nia now noted, cleared his throat. My name is John Newman, he put an arm around the pink-haired's hip. This is my girlfriend, Jane Hollmey. Most people call me Rave, she pointed out. The thereby named John pointed at the rest of the gathered people, introducing them one after the other. This here is Momo, she is my familiar, you could say. Artificial Spirits aren't THAT rare, just tell her what I am, for sky's sake and just so we are clear I meant to say sky, not heaven, I have no interest in the metaphorical dwelling place of the piteous, the girl with white hair said. Hers was a monochrome appearance. The only part of her body that wasn't black or white were her very pink lips. And that over there is Thana, John pointed at the sick looking cursing one. I don't like you, Thana growled, causing everyone else to raise an eyebrow. What's up with you? John wondered about the small bundle of power. She was radiating magic and the world bled more into her. Nia did not want to get punched by her. I do not like new people, Thana hissed. You were just fine with Nathalia strolling along though, Momo pointed out. Because Nathalia is the tits, the voice of the smaller person was all over the place, sometimes calm and collected, sometimes angry and hysteric, but never steady. This bitch is weird, I don't like weird. She certainly looks out of place, Rave wondered. Nia looked at the floor; however powerful they got, they never chan- I like it tho. Fitting in is for losers, the pink haired girl continued and tapped over. Her wild hair was a whole chaos that Nia could not quite make sense of. Cool hair you have there, Nia. Thank you? the blonde was confused by the positive greeting she was getting. Also, her hand had never been shook and still hovered in the air. She felt a bit awkward. Yeah, nice to meet you, John, seeing the awkwardness, finally took her hand. We are a bunch of misfits here although I wonder what you were doing in that flower shop. He was pleasantly warm. Magic prickled over his skin only to be negated by her touch. Stopping that took no effort. It was a simple aftereffect of Lydia's wish to shield them both from inquiring spells. The one called John probably could use that Observe' thing on her now. She had nothing to hide. Wait, you have met her before? Lydia asked. Yes, remember when we went to meet Jane at the airport? John told her. I thought I was lucky when I spied a flower shop that was still open on the way there, met this girl inside. He needed a pretty flower, Nia confirmed. Okay so, Nia, you broke into a flower shop again? Lydia sighed. Wait broke into? John, confused, looked from Nia to Lydia and back. Normal people can't see her, because she is empty to this world, the princess explained- So little miss I get lost chasing cats' here has taken on the bad habit of going wherever she wants. The flowers were pretty. I wanted to look at them; Nia explained, voice as hollow as ever. I harmed nobody. I stole a flower John realized. Ah well, it was just a flow-aaaah. The man was suddenly and very strongly hugged by the girl named Thana, who looked at Nia with scary eyes. Very scary eyes. Nia almost moved a muscle in her face. You are making me jealous, you bitch. Stop making me jealous, she demanded. Nia's face stayed blank, but on the inside she was screaming. How would I go about that? she inquired, trying to find a way to please that angry girl. The question just made the annoyed one growl some more. Ignore Thana; she barks, sometimes she bites, but she doesn't kill, Lydia's assurance did all but assure Nia. In fact, she now was afraid her hand would get bitten if she offered it to be shaken again. Only a twitch of her lips betrayed Nia's slight unhappiness with this situation. Was this what having a friend entailed? Weird conversations? We have more important things to deal with, Lydia continued as people in the background started cheering for a man screaming into a microphone.