When Sakolomi opened his eyes, the world around him seemed filtered through a veil of mist.
He was lying in a vast hall suspended between sky and abyss, bathed in an unreal white light.
The first faces he saw were those of Shylty, Kai, and Salomi.
They immediately questioned him — about what he had seen, about what he carried within him.
Sakolomi, with a shifty gaze, lied.
— Nothing... I noticed nothing.
That was not entirely true.
But Saiko had clearly told him to remain silent until their meeting with Mü Thanatos.
So he kept quiet.
Later, as he resumed walking, Sakolomi met the vacant gaze of the Myophoric creature he had faced.
It seemed calm, almost docile, as if all hostility had left it.
— Can I ask... what's your name? asked Sakolomi, a hesitant smile on his lips.
The creature tilted its head slightly:
— I have no name. None of us do, unless one is given to us.
— Huh? No name?
Shylty, standing behind him, approached with a slight smile.
— It's true. Myophores are rare, and even rarer are those who receive a personal identity.
She placed a hand on Sakolomi's shoulder.
— You can give it one, if you want.
Sakolomi turned, surprised:
— Seriously?
Kai, arms crossed, snickered behind them:
— Tsk... Sakolomi's terrible at naming things anyway.
The words landed like a blow.
Salomi burst out laughing, adding mercilessly:
— That's true! He even named a demon Shushu! Who does that?
Sakolomi's face froze, flushed with shame.
— You're just jealous, that's all... he muttered, averting his eyes.
Even Shylty let out a small discreet laugh.
The moment had something strangely comforting.
Sakolomi sighed, then looked again at the Myophore:
— Hm... I wonder what I could call you.
He observed the void spreading beyond the suspended windows. An idea crossed his mind, but before speaking, he turned to Shylty:
— Protective goddess... spirits in a mortal world, isn't that dangerous? I mean, a Myophore outside its function... it's almost a paradox. It seems only a tool, not a being.
Shylty crossed her arms, her gaze softening.
— You're right. Normally, Myophores exist only through their role.
But there has already been one... different. An anomaly.
She paused, her tone more serious:
— A Myophore who took a liking to life.
Sakolomi raised an eyebrow.
— A living Myophore?
— Yes.
A thin smile passed on Shylty's lips.
— It was your father, Niyus, who faced her once. A meeting that changed many things...
Sakolomi and Salomi exchanged astonished looks.
— Niyus?!
Shylty slowly nodded.
— Yes. Her name was Shaï-Thaêl.
She took a few steps, eyes fixed on the void as if speaking through the memories of the world itself.
— Unlike the Myophore you see there... Shaï-Thaêl fully existed. She took on the ego of the priest she possessed. That's what made her alive.
She turned to Sakolomi, her tone serious:
— Myophores are spirits of the void. They have neither emotions, desires, nor their own consciousness. What they show is only an imitation, a simulation of feelings to interact with those who summon or possess them. But Shaï-Thaêl... she had real emotions.
She forged an identity by borrowing the ego of her host — and that man permitted it. Without that, she would never have become what she is.
Shylty glanced at the deviant Myophore, still silent.
— This one is different. He is empty of everything, detached from his source, but he keeps the void in his heart. Paradoxically, it is this absence that gives him the chance to become.
She placed two fingers on her temple, as if searching for something.
— Wait... yes... found it.
A snap of fingers.
The air fractured, and in a wave of pale light appeared a familiar silhouette.
A Myophore — like the one who had faced Sakolomi — materialized.
Her skin was pale white, streaked with fine luminous cords. Black fur covered her arms and hips.
But she was smaller, softer, almost fragile.
She slowly opened her eyes, her voice hesitant:
— Where... where am I?
— You were summoned by me, Shaï-Thaêl, replied Shylty in a clear voice.
Tell me... do you remember the mission that the Abyfage entrusted to you when granting your freedom?
Shaï-Thaêl furrowed her brow, then repeated in a distant voice, as if quoting an engraved memory:
"Your role will now be this:
You will prevent any host from willingly giving themselves to their Myophore.
You will intervene.
You will divert their will.
We do not want your case repeated."
She looked up at Shylty, a shadow in her eyes.
— The Abyfage charged me to prevent others from becoming like me.
Shylty nodded, then gestured toward the deviant Myophore.
— Here is the one you must watch over.
He no longer has any link with the Abyfage... he is autonomous, but empty.
Help him understand what it means to live.
Shaï-Thaêl's gaze settled on the creature. Her pupils widened in shock.
She approached slowly, her hand trembling slightly.
— Detached... from the Source? That's... that's impossible... How can such a thing exist?
— Don't worry, replied Shylty calmly.
He will not disappear. In truth, he has become stronger than the Abyfage itself.
Shaï-Thaêl froze.
A long silence followed, heavy with almost sacred tension.
Shylty finally broke the calm.
— This is your role now: watch over him, teach him what life is, and maybe he will learn from you what the void is.
Shaï-Thaêl nodded slowly, then turned her head toward Sakolomi and Salomi.
Her eyes took on a reddish tint, almost benevolent.
— You two... your scent reminds me of someone.
Shylty answered before they could react:
— It makes sense. They are children of Niyus.
Shaï-Thaêl's eyes widened.
— What?! Niyus... had children?
She approached them, fascinated.
Her fine fingers almost brushed Sakolomi's face, then Salomi's.
— You resemble him... but your souls are different.
Salomi stepped back slightly, troubled.
— Your appearance is... disconcerting.
Shaï-Thaêl let out a small, crystal-clear laugh.
— I know. But don't worry... despite all that we are, we are not your enemies.
Sakolomi silently observed Shaï-Thaêl and the deviant Myophore.
Something about them intrigued him deeply — this contrast between the void they embodied and the almost human fragility of their gestures.
A slight smile appeared on his lips.
— Could it be possible... that I adopt you?
No sooner had he finished speaking than a sharp noise rang out.
PAF!
Shylty's hand had just struck his head.
— Ouch! Why?! he cried, holding his skull.
Shylty, a vein throbbing on her throat, stared at him with a dismayed look.
— Do you really think void spirits are pets?!
Sakolomi tried a clumsy justification:
— But... that's not what I meant, I just wanted to—
— Silence! she snapped.
The group erupted in laughter.
Salomi literally collapsed on the ground, doubled over.
Shaï-Thaêl, amused, covered her mouth with a hand while even the deviant Myophore — until then frozen in his spectral silence — gave a faint, almost involuntary smile.
This moment of suspended humanity seemed to briefly tear the veil of the void surrounding these entities.
And, against all odds, Shaï-Thaêl finally declared:
— Well... why not? I'd like to be "adopted" by you.
The deviant Myophore, in turn, lifted his pale gaze toward Sakolomi.
— Me too. Consider it a debt... for our fight.
Sakolomi stood stunned for a moment before showing a straightforward smile.
— Then it's decided. You, you will be called... Maurice.
A long silence fell.
Kai, astonished, pointed at the creature:
— Wait, wait... it's called Maurice?!
Shaï-Thaêl burst out laughing.
— "Maurice"?! Oh by the Abyfages, that's awful!
Salomi, doubled over laughing, added between breaths:
— Big brother, really, we need to sign you up for naming classes!
Even Shylty, exasperated, ran a hand over her face.
— That name... doesn't suit the creature at all...
Sakolomi, red with shame but unshaken, crossed his arms.
— You just don't understand the genius of the name, that's all. Maurice is noble, it's... calming!
— It's ridiculous, yes, Kai sighed.
But Sakolomi was not discouraged.
Under the shifting light of dusk, he looked at his new companions — the laughing Myophore, the other with empty eyes, and his own, half-smiling.
An idea then sprouted in his mind.
— When all this is over... he murmured thoughtfully, I will create a world for them. A place all their own.
Shylty tilted her head slightly, intrigued.
— An imaginary world?
Sakolomi nodded.
— Yes. A world where even the void can dream.
And in his gaze, something invisible — a new warmth — seemed to ignite.