Sobs and songs echoed around Sora, surrounding him like three-dimensional stereo.
He looked around—nothing but darkness. Not even a flicker of movement.
Only scattered flames lit fragments of the scene before him.
Ruined buildings of an ancient style stood half-collapsed, traces of old technology glimmering faintly amid the wreckage. But whatever beauty they once held had long been erased by war—leaving only desolation.
And it wasn't just the buildings. Even the ground bore the scars of endless battles.
Crumbling walls, heaps of bones, and countless corpses sprawled across the earth painted a vision of hell.
"Where is this place?" Sora wondered, his first thought tinged with confusion.
"Am I dreaming?" came his second—because nothing he'd ever seen in the universe looked like this.
The sky was pitch-black, neither star nor sun in sight. It was as if the entire world had been swallowed by a black hole, stripped of even the faintest glimmer of light.
Yet black holes were supposed to be silent.
So why were there sounds here?
He held his breath, straining to listen.
Glug… glug…
At first, it was faint. But with each passing second, it grew louder—heavier—until it thundered in his ears like something alive.
That wet, churning noise sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"Why does this sound like… something being digested?"
Just the thought made his stomach clench. The noises grew so intense that the surrounding ruins began to tremble.
And then, the tiny flames scattered—racing away in panic, fleeing from something unseen.
Sora tried to follow their path, to turn his head—but his body refused to move.
Sigh… "This really is like a nightmare…"
He exhaled quietly, a deep weariness settling over him. His consciousness grew heavier, his connection to his body fading.
Just before the darkness consumed him, he thought he saw it—a massive hand, made entirely of roaring orange fire, reaching straight for him.
A nightmare indeed.
With that last thought, Sora drifted into deeper sleep.
"Hey, you stupid idiot—wake up already!"
An impatient voice pierced the haze, dragging Sora back to consciousness.
When he didn't respond, the voice began grumbling in annoyance.
"I really don't get it. This form doesn't even need sleep, and yet he insists on hogging a room like some mortal."
Titania stood at his bedside, arms crossed, staring down at him. "Zero leadership awareness whatsoever!"
She gave a firm nod to herself, satisfied with the assessment—and, of course, with how superior she clearly was by comparison.
Unlike this hopeless excuse for a leader, Titania was diligent.
When Sora slept, she studied.
When Sora wasted time experimenting with how spirits could eat, she studied even harder.
Sure, she'd never had any formal education. Everything she knew, she had taught herself.
But Titania was confident: sooner or later, she would surpass this lazy fool and prove who was truly fit to lead.
"Hehehe~ Sora, you idiot. Someday you'll see who's the smarter one!"
She could already picture it—Sora kneeling in defeat, face streaked with tears.
"Ohhh, Titania-sama, I was wrong! I never should've challenged you! Forgive meeee!"
Imagining that pitiful scene, Titania grinned in satisfaction.
Of course, her motivation for studying "those boring culture lessons" definitely wasn't because Sora had called her illiterate. Absolutely not.
She chuckled smugly twice, basking in her imaginary triumph—until reality caught up, and she noticed the bed in front of her was empty.
"Huh?! Where'd he go?!"
Sora had vanished.
She hadn't sensed him leaving, not even a flicker of movement. Yet his body—and spirit—were gone.
Panicking, Titania searched everywhere: under the bed, inside the wardrobe, even inside the teapot. Nothing.
Maybe he'd turned invisible in spirit form?
Titania immediately shifted into her Memoria body—but even then, she couldn't detect him anywhere.
Then, just as she frowned in deep concentration, the bathroom door opened.
Sora stepped out, towel in hand, looking freshly washed.
Titania blinked, then groaned in exasperation.
"You're already a spirit—why do you keep doing things only living people do?"
Bathing, eating—those were things for the living. Spirits couldn't get dirty, nor could Memoria bodies.
And yet Sora did both. Every single day.
"Because those things are proof that I exist," Sora said simply.
Eating, washing—mundane habits of life. But they were also rituals. Proof that you were still here, still human, ready to start another day.
Titania didn't argue, but she didn't agree either. As a deity, she had no reason to imitate mortal routines.
"Besides," Sora added with a faint smile, "after doing them, both body and spirit carry an infectious fragrance."
"…Fragrance?" Titania tilted her head, suddenly intrigued. "Such a thing exists?"
She fell silent, deep in thought. Maybe she should try it sometime?
Of course, Sora didn't explain that the "fragrance" he meant was called confidence.
Once he'd finished his morning routine, Sora turned to her. "So, what brings you here?"
"Today's the day your consciousness returns to your physical body, remember?" Titania said, smirking. "Naturally, I came to remind you."
Her tone carried a hint of glee. When Sora was a spirit, he was slippery—hard to control.
But once he was bound again to his physical form? Subduing him would be a breeze.
She couldn't understand why he'd willingly take on that weakness—but she did care deeply about it.
In fact, she cared even more than Sora did himself.
Titania's words jolted Sora fully awake.
"It's already that day, huh?" Sora murmured, suddenly realizing what Titania meant.
His current existence was thanks to the residual power left by little Takeru—a fragile spiritual state detached from his physical body.
After the grand "duel" and the formation of the Federation of Hope, both he and Titania had been officially named its dual leaders by the planetary representatives. Of course, Sora knew that the title carried more symbolism than authority.
For the past month, since the Federation's founding, Sora had indulged in what he considered a well-earned vacation.
He hadn't extracted any new powers. He hadn't fought anyone. He hadn't even run into any bizarre cosmic disasters.
For once, life had been peaceful.
Every day, gourmet dishes from faraway worlds were sent his way. Every day brought something new, strange, and delightful.
It was, without a doubt, the most comfortable month of his life—enough to wash away years of exhaustion lodged deep in his soul.
And today was the day he had decided to return to his physical body.
That was fast, he thought wistfully. Too fast.
Still, endless leisure dulled the mind. He couldn't keep lazing around forever.
No matter how reluctant he felt, it was time to go back.
With a small nod, he motioned to Titania, who immediately followed. Naturally—she wouldn't miss the chance to witness her rival shackling himself again to a "weak mortal shell."
In an instant, the two intangible figures crossed the skies, arriving at the Federation's research facility.
A small crowd was already there, waiting.
The Iron Cavalry were chatting quietly, swapping stories of their brief downtime. Robin stood nearby, serene as ever.
Jobs was talking to his daughter, Fenille—until both she and Hotaru stiffened, eyes darting to the door.
"They're here," Hotaru said.
The room fell silent as Sora and Titania materialized, their spiritual forms solidifying into visible shapes. After exchanging brief greetings, they got straight to business.
Jobs stepped forward, half-grinning. "Your body's been kept under maximum security in a state-of-the-art life-support capsule. Though, honestly, with your constitution, just sticking you under the sun probably would've done the trick."
Sora laughed softly. His solar-based physiology was hardly a secret anymore.
It still baffled researchers: according to every test, Sora was human—yet he could absorb stellar radiation like a walking photosynthetic reactor.
"Even those plantlike followers of the Abundance can't do that," one scientist had once muttered.
Of course, no one bothered trying to make sense of it anymore. After all—this was the same man who'd literally kicked apart an AEON. Logic had long stopped applying.
Jokes aside, it was time.
Though he'd never personally experienced a soul returning to flesh before, Sora felt a curious excitement rising within him. It was like going home after a long journey.
But the moment Jobs activated the life-support capsule—the entire room froze.
"What… is this?"
"This can't be right…"
A stunned silence fell. Even Sora's voice failed him.
Because the capsule before them was empty.
Not just the body—there wasn't even a scrap of fabric left behind.
"This is impossible!" Unkyō cried, rushing to the console. "I personally confirmed your body was intact just yesterday!"
Her fingers flew over the controls, pulling up the latest records.
According to the logs, Sora's body had been safely inside the capsule only a few hours ago—and then it vanished, without a trace.
"Sora's body has been stolen!" Hotaru barked, instantly on alert. "Seal the entire planet at once!"
Her reaction was swift and precise—but before she could issue the command, Jobs raised a hand.
"That won't be necessary," he said evenly. "The only people capable of opening this capsule are already here in this room."
The capsule had been protected with the Federation's most advanced security. Only a handful of trusted individuals had been granted access—each of them standing here now.
Jobs began listing the names one by one:
"Hotaru, Unkyō, Shunji, Robin… and Titania."
He himself had deliberately excluded his own name, busy as he was with Federation duties.
Which meant—one of them had stolen Sora's body.
"What?! It was one of the commanders?!"
The Iron Cavalry erupted in disbelief.
Why would any of them want to steal Sora's body? The air buzzed with confusion.
"Enough," Sora said sharply. His calm but commanding tone cut through the noise. "I'll question each of you myself."
He turned first to Hotaru.
"Sora, you know me," she said evenly. "These past few days, I've been patrolling the outer systems. And besides—if I wanted you, I'd just come for your spirit directly. No need to bother with your body."
The crowd murmured at her blunt honesty.
Next was Unkyō, who adjusted her glasses, a faint blush creeping up her face.
"Sora, you're well aware I've been… occupied writing lately. And I prefer to remain… passive."
Whispers rippled through the room.
"So she really is the author of Romance of Armored Hearts!?"
"It was surprisingly good!"
Sora resisted the urge to sigh and moved on.
"Shunji."
Arms crossed, Shunji gave a huff. "You should know I've been busy managing our video channels. Someone has to deal with that annoying 'God-Among-Gods' hater."
Sora nodded understandingly. He knew about their broadcasts—and about that one particularly persistent troll.
"Sorry for the trouble," he said kindly.
Beside him, Titania suddenly looked away, whistling under her breath.
Finally, everyone's gaze shifted to Robin.
Her expression didn't change, but the feathers at her ears flared into a dazzling rainbow of colors.
"Sora, until my wings return to their original shade, I can't even approach your physical body."
The multicolored glow was so bright it made everyone's eyes water, but her logic checked out—Robin hadn't come near Sora for weeks.
That left only one possible suspect.
When Titania looked back up, she froze—because every single pair of eyes in the room was now trained directly on her.
"Y-y-y-you… What's with those looks? You suspect me?!"
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T/N: new volume!!! also uhh YAY a month long vacation! but NOOO! his body... his smexy smexy body... also i made it so that uhhh all iron cavalry girls uses japanese honorifics, while other people don't!