The Aetherway
Pull/Push
Zero opens her eyes.
Above her, a vortex spins slowly, threads curling in spirals and loops, weaving in and out of one another, vanishing into unseen depths.
Their golden surfaces glimmer faintly as they move, casting the only light in the darkness.
The threads descend in gentle arcs, forming a delicate shell around her weightless form. She hovers at the center of it all, untouched by floor or edge.
They sway with a slow rhythm, rising and falling like breath. Before long, she finds herself breathing with them.
Drifting before her restless eyes, strands of her own silvery hair wind around her body until she seems cocooned within her own shimmering hair.
What is this place?
Like the simple act of wondering had stirred something, a muffled giggle echoes from beyond the threads.
「eh〜！？ look who finally woke up〜！！」
Zero slowly turns her head, eyes following the sound.
The threads part slightly. A nose pokes through first, followed by curious eyes peering through the gaps. Then the rest of a girl’s face emerges from the golden tangle. Her lips curling up.
「i thought baby Zero-chan went beauty sleep mode 4ever ne〜」
The girl propels herself through the tapestry from above. To Zero, she appears suspended upside down, her head leading the way as she slips between the glowing strands. Her shoulders emerge from the golden curtain, followed by the rest of her upper body as she drifts closer.
A pair of long golden braids trail behind her, winding through the luminous threads so naturally that, at a glance, they seem part of the weave itself.
The visitor idly wove a hand through the golden threads. The strands rippled and twitched, their patterns shifting like disturbed water.
「this thread cocoon ne〜！！」 she said, one eyebrow arched.
「and、surprise・・・ u made it urself〜！？」
Her clothes are unlike anything Zero has seen—strange, alien, yet uncannily familiar. The threads around them ripple subtly, reacting to the newcomer’s presence, alive with quiet, mesmerizing motion.
“…My name is… Zero?” The words left her dry lips uncertainly. Her eyes remained distant as she lifted a hand to block the threads’ radiant glow.
「mhm、mhm〜」
The girl dove further from the weave above. As her legs emerged a dull thunk echoed through the void.
She had swum headfirst into a floating book.
「・・・ara〜？」
Plucking the book from the air, she gave the open page a quick glance. A mischievous giggle bubbled up.
「fufufu〜」
The book snapped shut.
Holding it against her side, she kicked off through the threads and began circling Zero, her twin braids trailing behind her like golden streamers.
「eeeh〜！？ Zero-chan hiding 4 sooo long ne〜 i almost forgot ur voice、can u believe it〜！？」 A soft chuckle escaped her.
Then she drifted forward until there was barely any space left between them.
Her nose nearly brushed Zero’s. Warm breath tickled her face as the girl peered into her eyes, searching for something hidden deep within them.
Zero tried to meet her gaze.
She couldn’t.
「aww〜 poor stubborn baby〜」 she murmured, tilting her head. 「tell me ne〜 Zero-chan wanna leave？ or maybe〜 u hope Lady Thread will untangle this 4 u〜？」
Zero curls inward, turning away from Lady Thread.
The reaction ripples through her hair. Silver strands gather around her at once, pulling closer, wrapping tighter and tighter around her frame.
Behind Zero floated a messy stack of books. Though there was no floor, no shelf, and no ground in sight, the pile remained perfectly balanced upon an invisible surface.
Lady Thread swam over and returned the book to the pile.
The stack tilted dangerously.
Then, after a moment of consideration, decided not to fall over.
Zero slowly pulls herself upright.
One hand presses against the invisible floor. Then the other.
Every motion seems to demand an immense effort. Gradually, painfully, inch by inch.
At last, she settles onto her heels, and her long silver hair pools around her on the invisible floor.
A lone cylindrical horn pierced her head diagonally. One pointed tip jutted from the upper right side of her skull; the other emerged lower on the left, level with her ear.
Clank.
Her horn rotated a few degrees around its center, one tip rising while the other fell.
Clank.
It rotated once more in a jerky motion, each degree won with visible resistance, before settling still like an old gear choked by rust.
Then, almost instinctively, she reaches toward the scattered books nearby.
「hunny〜 getting busy again ne〜？」 Lady Thread asked.
Zero shuffled closer to the pile, the movement still awkward, but easier than before. She shifted off her heels, settling onto her butt with her legs folded comfortably before her. A yawn escaped, half-hidden behind her hand.
Lady Thread watched for a moment.
「hmm〜 how u sorting this time〜？」
Zero falls silent.
Her fingers brush the spine of a nearby book.
Her brow furrows. Her eyes drift upward.
“…By the frequency of the word…”
Then she looks back down at the books.
“…fire.”
The golden threads surrounding them shiver.
Their gentle sway erupts into a storm of tiny vibrations, like a passing signal racing through the weave, before gradually settling.
Zero’s eyes follow the disturbance.
For a moment, something flickers across her face.
Her gaze darts toward Lady Thread.
Then she immediately looks away, lowering her eyes to the books like she had revealed more than she intended.
「eeeeeh〜」
Across the pile of books, Lady Thread now stood upon the invisible floor.
She leaned over with her hands tucked behind her back, one leg stretched out behind her and the other bent slightly, her long golden braids stretched across the unseen floor in loose arcs.
Before her, an unseen shelf supported a collection of clay figurines.
Lady Thread examined them one by one.
「u sorted this before already ne〜？」 she continued.
“Now it’s reverse order,” Zero replied flatly.
「simple simple ne〜 u only need ２ stack them in a new pile〜！」
Zero pauses.
She looks down at the books in her lap.
Then at the pile.
Then at the empty space beside it.
Her shoulders sink slightly.
“…I suppose.”
Lady Thread glances back at Zero with an innocent smile.
Then her attention drifts to the figurines once more. She sways from side to side as she examines them.
「aa〜！？」
She suddenly points at one.
「this one・・・ looks like u ne〜！？」
Zero says nothing.
A book slides from one pile to another.
Lady Thread chuckles.
She points to a second figurine.
「aa〜 wait wait〜 this is me ne〜？」
Another pause.
A second book changes piles.
「ohhh〜 this one is new new ne〜？ when did u make it〜？」 Lady Thread continued.
Zero remained focused on her books.
「oho〜！」
Lady Thread lifted a small clay figurine from the shelf.
She turned it over in her hands. Her eyes widened dramatically.
「could him be・・・！！？」
Lady Thread gasped.
She pressed the figurine against her cheek.
「aa〜 no wonder he’s on top〜！」
A faint blush spread across her face.
「omg〜 he’s sooo cool ne・・・」
She sighed dreamily.
「that kira kira light・・・ unforgettable energy fr fr〜」
She peeked at Zero from the corner of one eye.
「he feels soooo・・・」
Eyes narrowed.
「・・・real, ne〜？♡」 she whispered.
Zero bolts upright.
Books tumble from her lap, scattering across the invisible floor.
Her fists clench.
Three strides carry her across the invisible floor, her long silver hair trailing behind.
「eh〜！？」
Zero snatches the figurine from her hand. She twists her arm back, stretching it as far as she can, then immediately throws it.
The figurine disappears through a hole torn in the surrounding threads.
Zero pivots and marches back to the pile.
She sits.
Opens a book.
Does not look up.
Lady Thread stares at the spot where the figurine disappeared.
One hand rises to cover her mouth.
Her shoulders shake. Her face reddens.
The corners of her lips twist upward as she fights to maintain a straight face.
Silence.
Thok.
A book moves.
「ara ara〜」
Swimming through the air with graceful strokes, Lady Thread drifts toward the hole in the threads, her legs kicking softly.
She slips an arm into the opening up to the shoulder, feeling around blindly.
「where did it go・・・？」
For a moment, only the golden weave stirs around her arm.
Then her eyes light up.
「aa〜！」
She withdraws her hand, the figurine clutched between her fingers.
「found u〜」
She brushes a speck of dust from its shoulder.
「such a waste ne・・・」
Her smile widens.
「if Zero-chan doesn’t want it・・・」
She cradles it dramatically against her chest.
「・・・then may i keep it 4 myself〜？」
Her long glittering nails, trace lazily along the figurine’s form.
「mmm〜 such a hottie ne〜♡」
A blur.
The doll vanishes from her hands.
Zero is already halfway back to the invisible display.
Without a word or glance, she slams the figurine back into its place among the collection.
The entire row shakes.
The figurine stands.
Wavers.
Stands.
…
Tok.
It tips over onto its side.
Lady Thread stares at the fallen figurine.
Her grin widens.
Then she giggles.
「・・・kawaii ne〜」
Eventually, her attention returns to the glowing tear in the threads.
Though there was no wall, she leaned against one anyway.
Arms crossed. Legs crossed.
Something moved. At the edge of her vision.
It was Zero.
An open book rested in her hands, but her eyes fixed on the light.
Within the tear, a shifting silhouette.
Unaware it was being watched.
Lady Thread tilted her head.
「if u keep staring like that・・・ threads might get bored n just leave〜！！」
The light from the opening flickered across their eyes, like a distant projection cast upon them.
Zero remained silent.
“I feel safe here,” she murmured at last.
「safe〜？」
Lady Thread’s voice softened. Almost mournful.
「hunny・・・the threads aren’t holding u・・・they’re locking u away、ne〜」
Clank.
The book in her hands remained open to the same page.
Zero’s fingers tightened around it.
The pages crinkled softly.
She said nothing.
Clank. Clank.
「u keep building walls、ne・・・」 Lady Thread teased.
Her eyes drifted toward the glowing opening.
「but・・・u still peeking through the cracks〜！！」
Zero’s voice came smaller this time.
“Maybe I just like to know where the danger is.”
「u say that・・・」 she murmured.
「but・・・zero-chan still flinch when they leave、ne〜！？ 」
Zero’s gaze flickered toward the tear.
Then down through the invisible floor, where golden threads drifted in endless currents below.
Her lips part to speak.
Then close again in silence.
Clank. Clank.
“I’d rather be safe than risk…"
Her hand drifted to her neck.
Fingers curled lightly around it.
“…being strangled by entanglements.”
Then Zero slowly turned.
For the first time since waking, she met Lady Thread’s gaze.
Her brows knit faintly.
Her lips pressed together.
A quiet worry in her eyes. Earnest.
Lady Thread froze.
For a moment, she simply stared.
Not because of what Zero had said.
But because she had said it at all.
Clank. Clank. Clank.
Lady Thread didn’t answer.
Around them, the golden threads drifted in slow, silent currents.
Zero’s breath caught.
She took a step back.
Lady Thread’s eyes followed her.
One of the threads brushed against Zero’s arm.
She flinched.
As though struck.
Her hand flew to the spot.
Then she froze.
Completely still.
Her head dropped toward her chest with a sudden jerk.
Silence.
“Warning: Signal Overload.”
The words emerged flatly.
Zero slowly raised her head.
Her eyes had become distant once more.
Vacant. Unfocused.
“Initializing Defense Protocol.”
Pages flipped beneath Zero’s fingers.
Faster and faster.
Her eyes raced across the book.
Left. Right. Left. Right.
Around them, the golden threads grew unstable, twisting and rippling like a star’s magnetosphere.
A harsh electric guitar screech echoed.
Zero’s body shook.
Her silver hair trembled around her.
Slowly, her face turned upward.
Lady Thread covered her ears, jaw clenched tight. One eye squeezed shut, the other barely open.
Her hair whipped with the unstable threads, as if caught in a sudden storm.
「yabai・・・！！」
Books flew.
Figurines followed.
They drifted upward into the thread vortex, rotating in wide circular paths.
The air shifted cold.
Lady Thread shivered.
She braced herself.
The light flickered hard.
The noise rose.
Then suddenly stopped.
The pages fell still.
Zero collapsed.
At once.
Like a doll with its strings cut.
Thok.
Then the objects fell.
Dropping from the air like sudden rain.
Zero lay motionless upon the invisible floor.
Knees bent awkwardly beneath her.
Silver hair fanned around her in every direction.
Silence.
Lady Thread approached gently.
She drifted toward Zero, sideways and weightless, like a swimmer moving through deep water.
「・・・hunny・・・」
Her voice softened.
「u okie〜？」
Suddenly, like a power failure, the room went dark.
Stillness.
Skulls bubbled from within Zero.
Small. Glowing.
Fluid. Rotating.
They rose.
They fell.
They rose again.
Then they sank back into her.
And were gone.
The threads awaken with a faint glow.
Zero remained.
But something had changed.
The shape behind her shifted.
Slowly.
Spines pushed through her skin.
The growth began to rise.
Lifting itself from the floor.
A round, cactus-like form inflated around her body.
Then it became still.
Her voice came out muffled.
“…hug me.”
Lady Thread let out a tiny giggle.
It wavered halfway through, unsure whether to become laughter or tears.
She brushed them away quickly and moved closer.
One hand cupped beside her ear as she leaned toward the spined shell covering Zero’s face.
「eeeeh〜？」
“Please…”
「but・・・if i do that・・・i will get hurt 2、ne〜？」
The sorrow arrived all at once.
Tears formed beneath her closed eyes and drifted upward, carried away by unseen currents. Their faint shimmer vanished into the endless weave above.
The cocoon trembled.
Quiet sobs echoed from within, vibrating softly through the silken walls.
For a long while, Zero said nothing.
Lady Thread settled onto her side, arms folded beneath her head like a pillow.
For a moment, she simply watched the golden vortex overhead, its countless threads spiraling through the darkness.
A small smile touched her lips.
「Cactus-chan・・・」
「u still soft inside、ne〜？」
She spoke so quietly.
「it’s okay 2 cry、ne〜 sweetie Zero-chan〜」 she murmurs.
「cry as much as u need〜」
For a long while, neither of them spoke.
The cocoon trembled with each sob.
The golden threads hummed softly around it, carrying the sound away.
Then Lady Thread’s voice came again.
Quieter this time.
Softer.
「u’re really trying ur best 2 love urself、right〜！？ 」
Zero froze.
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
The needles slowly receded.
Zero squeezed her eyes shut.
“No…”
She clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head.
The cocoon trembled around her.
Its rhythm faltered.
“No…”
Her voice cracked.
Zero drew a sharp breath.
Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.
Her horn continued to turn.
Now it spun relentlessly.
Her heartbeat followed.
The threads carried each pulse outward.
Around them, the darkness retreated.
The weave brightened.
The books.
The figurines.
The endless threads.
Lady Thread smiled.
She looked upon the world around her.
Then, slowly, she stood.
She took a few steps.
The threads parted before her, opening into a tunnel of strands.
Then she looked back.
「ur gonna be alright、ne〜 zero-chan・・・？」
The threads swayed softly around her.
「・・・i’m glad ur awake。」
Zero pushes herself up, sitting back on her legs.
She extends a hand.
“Wait…!!”
Her voice is low. Hesitant.
“Let’s say I want…” She swallows hard. “…W-what do I need to do?”
Lady Thread’s expression softens into something almost fond.
「we’ve danced this b４、ne〜！？」
She sighed, a faint smile.
「it’s suuuuuuper simple、right〜！？ ２ unravel this mess・・・all u gotta do・・・」
She leans forward, her braids drifting among the golden threads.
「is pull a thread〜」
She nods.
Slowly, she turns toward the opening.
「but only u can do it、ne〜 nobody else can pull ４ u〜」
「aa〜！」
She looks back once more.
Threads closing around her face.
「Zero-chan〜 listen close、okay〜・・・」
「・・・once u pull a thread・・・」
Her eyes widen.
「smth on the other side・・・」
Her grin grows.
「・・・pulls u back〜。」
