The Stargazing Witch & The Dungeon Planet
Chapter 102: Time to Go Home (Arc 3 – Puppets On Starlight Strings END)

Chapter 102: Time to Go Home (Arc 3 – Puppets On Starlight Strings END)

“You are a hard woman to find.”

Being found wasn’t something I expected, let alone that someone was directly looking for me.

“Eh, thanks, I guess. Was trying to sleep, but it is hard to tell how successful that was.” I kept the conversation light-hearted with my reply.

Nina asked, “Did you need help getting up?”

There was so little room in this tight crawl space I doubted a hand would help much.

“I can manage. Just what is the date?”

“Four days after you know what.”

“I know? What could I possibly know?” I replied.

(“ Don’t be shy, you have a friend now? ”)

Do not start joking around now. You still have a lot to answer for… I just need to distract myself from the pain for a moment.

“...I can’t say this was the interaction I expected from meeting you for the first time.” 

“Blame the blood–” And soul “–loss, I’m extremely delirious at this point.” I groaned as I got up. “Can you lead the way? Not sure how you got in here.”

“I can, but first, do you need me to patch you up?” Nina asked, her hand already glowing a soft white light.

“No, I’m stable. Anything else can happen when I am in a proper seat.” My hand grabbed the ceiling. “But thank you for the offer, Nina.”

It wasn’t an instant recognition. I knew I heard the voice before, but that included a lot of people. However, after seeing the eyes in the darkness and the outline of her face, I recognised her. Nina Clarword, I looked up multiple videos of her when searching for options for Mella’s treatment. I wanted to be sure I would recognise her when she appeared on Earth; of course, that plan went out the window quickly after that occurred.

“So you did recognise me.”

“I’ve got good dark vision.”

We slowly exited the in-between space of the segment, and once I was finally out, I stood up and stretched my limbs out. The pain was technically bearable–as I wasn’t literally dying from it–but it had increased greatly compared to when I was sitting down. 

The exit was a service tunnel, not the one I entered from, but it was likely connected.

After my stretching routine, I said. “I’m surprised you were able to find me; well, the fact you were looking for me might be a bigger surprise.” My brain was too worn out to think of the reasons why she could possibly be looking for me. All I did know was that this was to my advantage; her healing abilities might be able to help. Not completely; all the soul damage was likely unrecoverable with healing magic, but for the physical injuries while they were repaired, a specialist fixed my help greatly. However, I wanted to wait a moment before asking, as I had no idea how much pain that would cause me.

In the bright tunnel, I could properly see Nina. She was wearing proper combat gear with a grey colour and white accents. Her face was visible, and her long blond hair was tied up.

She then gave me a surprising answer. “Well, I have been looking for you for nearly a year now.”

A year?

My brain might’ve only been partially working, but hearing that jump started it.

“Is Mel–”

“Mella is okay. She is healed, going back to school, and misses you deeply.” Said Nina.

I leant back on the wall, smiling and relieved.

Thank the stars…

I knew that Mella had likely been healed… when that was more wishful thinking. After Dominous Hood’s commander tore a hole to Earth that day, I knew the chances of Mella being healed directly by Nina had greatly decreased if she hadn’t been healed by when the portal opened. If she hadn't, I had hoped she at least got proper surgery and prosthetics in the time apart.

“Thank you, Nina…” I thanked her, hearing that brought a sense of relief to me that I very much needed.

“No need. It is what I live for.” Replied Nina. Healers like her were weird people.

After my relief finished washing me, I asked. “What now?”

“Well, do you want to go home?” Looking into her eyes, I had a feeling no wasn’t an answer. Her determination was very visible in her eyes and concerned smile.

“Yes… that would be nice.” I had no reason to disagree. 

After all the random events that plagued me in the last week that I had no prior knowledge of, this was by far the nicest and most welcomed one.

She explained that we were going to her ship that had been parked not too far away and that once we got on, we would be headed straight to Metous.

I asked if I had to present any information to anyone on our trip, which Nina explained wouldn’t be necessary. I figured she understood my current circumstances well. 

The hallway we traversed through was empty, but soon we made it back above the surface, and Nina activated her helmet to cover her face to hide her features.

Back on the destroyed surface, I looked around to see the kilometres of destruction. “I’m surprised you found me; I could’ve been anywhere in space.”

She was honest, “I had help.”

Oh?

My thoughts shifted to one planet.

(“ I didn’t ask her ”)

I figured that. That doesn’t mean you didn’t indirectly do something.

If Espr did, I would have something to say thank it for.

(“ I didn’t. Are you sure you should trust her then? ”)

Well, has everything she said been true so far?

(“ Yes ”)

Good enough for me at the moment.

“Well, thank you to those who helped as well." I had no plans of questioning what the help was at the moment. It could’ve just been the best tracker in the universe or something more unknown. I couldn’t be fucked asking at the moment.

We walked to the ship, which was close to the hatch to our exit. It was a medium-sized vessel that had multiple rooms, and we entered through the open door and made our way to a lounge room with a window view. 

There was a crew on the ship already, and the pilot got the signal from Nina and began to take off.

Soon we were flying off the ground, and I could see through the window what was left of the first segment. 

It was a disaster.

Most of the buildings that littered the segment outside of the tower had been destroyed, and craters were left that dug into the metal sheets. The massive tower had only a few holes in it, which was impressive considering how tall it was.

Nearly painter-like stains were spread across the segment as if it were a canvas and it was painted with burns of fire and lightning; rubble; rust; melted metals; acids; etc.

Looking at it one could only wonder how many people were caught in the crossfire.

However, reconstruction had already begun. Large vessels were dropping new buildings on the segment that were being located and fused into the layer. Cleanup machinery was removing the rumble and reusing it to rebuild the damaged floor. Support vessels surrounded the outside of the segment, repairing the outer wall, and the connectors between the segments were visible as we flew further out.

I had to ask, “Are you sure you shouldn’t be down there helping?”

Nina paused, likely expecting this question. “I’ve already provided my aid; there is no one left in critical positions that needs my help.”

“I still think you should be down there.” Everything that was spoken and written about Nina basically pointed to being someone who would go out of their way to help the injured if she could see them.

“Normally I would, but there are other people that need my help at the moment.” Nina's eyes glazed across the station. “You are correct. It does hurt my soul seeing all those lives in pain, but I’ve gone around already, so no one else will be dying from injuries inflicted upon them.”

My gaze looked up to the stars. “I guess you have been busy then.”

“Once I learned you weren’t moving, it gave me the confidence to go around and offer my aid.”

“I am glad my laziness helped you save a few lives.”

“It was more than a few, and you saved a number yourself.” Said Nina, confident in her answer. She likely didn’t know exactly what I did, but considering my state when found, not a hard guess.

…

Maybe.

Nina left the room to allow Ceella a moment alone.

All the permission had already been accounted for, so it was going to be a trip with no interruption to Metous.

This trip had been a lot, and the amount of mana recovery items she consumed had made her feel sick. She had been in disguise, running around the segments, using her skills to track anyone who was hurt and dying. 

Though many people had died before she arrived, there was nothing she could do to bring them back.

Nina received a message from the staff from her personal clinic on Metous.

NCFM4 – ([ The patient is now in stable condition. ])

It’s the wrong one…

There was one person she wanted to save, and once again, that was the person that didn’t make it.

([ Understood. Ensure they are locked up for questioning. ]) – Nina