In Retrospect...

Nova "woke up" in a place of pure darkness.

Or at least it seemed to be so.

「...Where am I? This is… new.」[Nova]

He stood up and felt his body.

「...I'm… not hurt? What is this…?」[Nova]

He put his hands forward but realized he couldn't even see them.

「...It's so dark.」[Nova]

He looked around for any sign of something- anything.

『...Reischneid? Asmodasiah? Sir Fluffles?!』[Nova]

He shouted into the dark void, hoping for some kind of response.

『...No good.』[Nova]

He walked around, but it felt like he was walking on air- there wasn't even solid ground there.

『...Maybe…? Blessed Flame Rebirth...』[Nova]

Unexpectedly, a blue flame popped up in front of him, pulsing.

It was a small flame, yet it brightly lit up his surroundings, making everything around him a pure, unwavering blue.

『It's bright..』[Nova]

Just as he said that, the light dimmed down, but the flame remained the same.

『...It became dimmer? This entire place is so weird… There isn't even ground-』[Nova]

Without missing a beat, Nova's signature Area appeared right below him, acting as a substitute for a floor.

He stared in shock for two reasons.

『...I can control this place..?』[Nova]

The other reason was…

『...WHY AM I NAKED?!』[Nova]

He didn't even have a single piece of fabric on him.

『...I need to calm down… Where am I, and how do I get out of here…?』[Nova]

He sat down on the floor, piecing things together.

『...I was fighting Nezha… Wait… am I dead?! Is this the afterlife?!』[Nova]

He suddenly stood up and began to panic.

『....No… Wouldn't the afterlife be a lot more fun and colorfu-?』[Nova]

Right on time, tens of Blessed Flame Rebirths appeared above him, one at a time.

Nova stared up in awe.

『...Amazing...』[Nova]

Then, without further ado, they exploded one at a time, turning into various lights of many colors.

The blue flames first began to turn into matching blue lights that left glitter raining down on him.

『...This is…?』[Nova]

Then, red lights began to appear from the flames as well.

Then green.

Then yellow- orange, purple, and all the many shades and colors in between found their way above Nova's head.

Nova had a bittersweet smile and a conflicted look on his face.

『...I was kidding about making the afterlife colorful...』[Nova]

He watched in awe before suddenly looking up at the sky with a hopeful expression.

『...Area.』[Nova]

A thin blanket of darkness draped itself over the ceiling, only serving to make the contrast of the lights even stronger.

『...This is… the same!』[Nova]

He looked up at the sky with a smile before sitting down.

『...Will I ever…?』[Nova]

He stopped himself from finishing and started to notice something.

No mana was being consumed by all of these different things- in fact, he didn't even sense mana near him.

『...This place is...』[Nova]

He slowly sat down again.

『Right. My body was saturated in mana after absorbing all of that mana… in hindsight, I should have just let the Stardrops go to waste.』[Nova]

He laid down, looking straight up at the ceiling that resembled the night sky.

『This happened a few days ago too… I remember… there was that weird guy that looked like me.』[Nova]

An image of Nova with blank white eyes flashed into his mind.

『...Ezekiel? That had to be some kind of weird dream...』[Nova]

Nova felt a weight off his chest.

『...It's not often I get the chance to talk to myself like this, but I need to do it more often...』[Nova]

He scratched his hair, slightly irritated.

『Now that I look back it all of it, these last few weeks have been insane. From The Brown to Remnants… How the hell did I put up with all of this until now...』[Nova]

He put his arms at his sides and just breathed in.

『I feel like I'm way too nosy for my own good… Also, I just seem to get roped into all these crazy things...』[Nova]

He got up and shrugged.

『...Welp! Can't fix stupid! Yudola is finally dealt with, and I hope Nian...』[Nova]

He laughed at his self-deprecating joke before getting a concerned look on his face.

『...I hope everyone else is alright. I think Nian will help me, but...』[Nova]

He sighed and just accepted that he would have to learn more before having any other opinions on her involvement with the Cardinal Sins.

He closed his eyes and decided that he would sleep.

As he drifted off to sleep, a brilliant azure orb with multiple swirling lights appeared in his mind.

「...What is that…? It looks like a Stardrop...」[Nova]

It swirled about before he felt his body experiencing the sensation of falling.

「Am I falling?! What is going on?!」[Nova]

Not long after, his body began to lock up, with his eyes and limbs going first.

Brown and beige light began to flood through the gaps in his eyelids, with the azure orb fading away.

「This is...」[Nova]

His eyes were suddenly freed from the paralysis, causing them to force themselves wide open.

「...A new ability?!」[Nova]