"It will all be okay. You're safe, and I will do all I can to protect you." He promised for the third time since entering the new galaxy. It was a much warmer galaxy than the last; unique colors decorated the cosmos in large clouds.

This one hasn't seen the wipe-out of another outside force completely taking control of planet after planet, of species after species. It was brutal.

He never felt so powerless, holding the almost fading body in his arms. Of the one shifter that changed his ways, he owed her, probably more than she realized.

That is why he pushed his own energy to the limit, he had to. He had to find some way to repay her, to help her live on.

He didn't know where he was going, or which planet could sustain them. He drifted along, not needing air to survive.

The ones he managed to seek out held no life and were too toxic to visit. Their kind needed other life forms in order to survive and grow.

As it was, this desolate galaxy was draining them both of their life energy. They were barely able to feed on each other's lives.

He looked down at the shifter in his arms. Her form only kept shrinking; a steady lightness unraveled from the small body to reveal a tiny source of energy in the shape of a crystal. It beat sporadically, desperately trying to gather whatever source of energy it could. It was saddening to watch.

She had sustained too much damage, had done too much to try to save them . . .

As if sensing what was going on, her voice whispered out a single note that struck him. It seemed to be all she could hold on to at the moment.

"Beccan."

He felt weak every time she said it, and it was all he himself could hold on to. Like a delicate open heart to him, he wanted to hold it close and never let go.

He could sacrifice himself; he could give her his life so she could live on - perhaps find a new world to reside in.

His white form sparked at preparing to transfer his own life. He wouldn't be coming back from this; he wouldn't ever be able to see her again. Such thoughts made his form ripple, but he tried to hold it together. He had to, for her. She was his all.

Protect her, was the vow that he made. He would never go back on it.

Before he could indeed perform the transfer, a brighter white light surrounded them. The light was strong and blinded most of his vision, but he still kept on the lookout for any danger.

His life was not his anymore. It was tied to another.

I have seen all that you have done.

The voice that spoke surrounded them like the light. It spoke in volumes that stilled him to his very core. He had never been so completely absorbed by a voice before in his life.

He felt like bowing to the power encompassing that voice, no matter how gentle it sounded.

I have prepared a place where you both will reside and be sustained.

He was confused by this, how did this voice know of their situation? How did this voice find them in the vast universe?

I am God.

God? The supreme almighty being that the Fayetalles worshipped? But why would this God talk with him?

I want to save you, will you let me in?

The gushing mercy and grace spilled around him like a miasma, filling him rapidly, and he felt it in his entire being.

He was being healed.

Yes, was the resounding answer pouring out of him and then he saw a winged messenger appear before him.

He knew it was not the God that spoke, but a creature under God.

The faceless light being held out a hand, and he felt the rightness of taking the contact.

You will be reborn on Earth. You are both needed there.

There was a sense of purpose for him, for what he didn't know.

But he had to make sure that she would be okay . . . even if they were separated.

I will be with her, as I am with you.

That assurance was what he needed. It's what allowed him to give himself unto this God and allow the course to take place.

He watched as her small form grew even tinier, and then the light erupted and swallowed them up.

I will find you again, he could only promise, Cecelia.

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