---
Fizz floated beside him. "I'm starting to think I backed the right doom ball master. You might actually make it through this world."
"That's the idea," John said dryly.
Fizz gave a tiny whistle. "I mean, sure, you're still fashionably tragic with your haircut and you smell like bark, but damn… that was impressive. You curved a black hole, slapped a beetle, and gave it the cosmic flush."
John smiled a little. "Cosmic flush?"
"Yeah! Like flushing a toilet, but with space. I'm writing that one down. Maybe we can use it as a name for your move."
"No, thank you." John replied.
As the day passed, they crossed two more ridges, a river, and a narrow mountain pass. The weather remained steady, and John noticed how much easier it was to walk with the core inside him stabilized. His stamina had grown. The black hole no longer tugged at his soul with every step. Instead it was more like a companion now, quiet and steady, waiting for his will to guide it.
