Chapter Eighty-Two: The World as We Know It II
1388 Words
For those reading this on 17/04/2022, please ensure you read the last paragraph of the last chapter. I realised that I clipped it too soon.
*
There was a pause in her sentence, one too long for me to await its natural end.
“Well…explain. How do you intend to do so?”
“With the mana level I have left, I can take you back to your world ten minutes before the accident. I am sorry that I do not have more. I would have let you go back to being a ten-year-old there.”
“No, that’s…ten minutes is more than enough.”
She had my full attention now, whether she knew that or not.
“But in exchange-,”
She drawled for a moment too long.
‘What the hell is it with her and dramatic poses?’
“In exchange, what?”
“In exchange, you have to die. You have to kill me, kill my body, if you prefer that phrasing.”
Truthfully, being suicidal to escape the repetitiveness of the world already suited me. I was content with dying purposelessly, but now…
‘This…is more than enough to make me work towards my end. By gods, Aran is more than enough!’
“Kill you?”
I asked to try and downplay whatever emotion she expected me to harbour.
“The world…has unlimited chances to ‘correct itself’ as long as my body is alive. That is why you must kill it. Only then can I leave this space, and you can go home.”
My heart stilled for a moment too long, but I neither said nor did anything to confirm that the conditions suited me.
For a reason beyond me, I felt…hesitant.
What about my child? What about Breca? What of Clay?
What happens to them?
I pondered the questions as though I had not fully considered them before, as though this was the moment the seriousness of the matter hit me fully.
‘Gods, can I really give birth just to abandon it?’
Isn’t this the equivalent of being asked to choose between Aran and-?
I bit my lip to still my train of thought. I should consider that later, not now.
“Why didn’t you do that yourself?”
I asked.
“You seem to know enough about your body to realise the means by which a nymph dies, so why did you not do it yourself.”
She startled, as though the question had caught her completely off guard.
“Hah…you are too sharp for your own good.”
She let out a sigh.
“I thought my proposal would overwhelm you into forgetting your priorities, at least for as long as I am before you. Will you permit me to answer that next time we meet?”
“No. I want all the cards on the table before I make a decision. This isn’t easy for me as well, I am with child.”
“Hm…”
It was no confirmation, but her expression did soften.
“Étienne’s memory, or rather the chosen’s memory, is tied to the antagonist’s advantage. I have lived for far…far, far too long.”
Her voice trembled.
“I have lost too much compared to what I have gained. Though I suppose the generality of that means nothing to you. If his advantage is tied with mine, he will know that I am a nymph. He will know what I want and what I will do to get it.”
“You say that as though your life is only tied to his.”
“Perhaps you could say I realised what you did much too late.”
“You- you love him?”
Her gaze softened.
“I- I thought my death was my fault because my manners were too bold, because I spoke too honestly, so the first time I was sentenced to death, I thought my rebirth was my opportunity to make amends with the one I love. It took a godawful long time to realise that I-, that he-.”
She paused, then took a deep breath.
“Anyway, it is not him that I keep looking for with my rebirth, but Roe.”
‘Is there a character called Roe? Have I not met them, or are they an extra?’
“Roe?”
“The name of my daughter with Étienne.”
‘Daughter…? This was not in the…but is the game really the best source of information?’
“What happ-”
The question was barely out of my mouth before she responded.
“Must you ask me that despite knowing the nature of Étienne? Is it not obvious?”
‘Gods…did he really k-, I mean, could he?’
“You mean to say that you had already birthed a girl? Then why didn’t you-”
“A nymph does not die immediately they birth their heir. A nymph’s power is tremendous, so they need at least three to six years of steady absorption. You grow weaker while they, your heir, grow stronger.”
“Then eventually you turn into a tree?”
“Yes, technically ‘you’ will be the one turning into a tree…but semantics.”
She shrugged, then floated to the space before me and waved her hand.
“Speaking of, you should visit mother’s grave while in the capital. There should be a book that can help you get more situated with your body. In any case, if the connection is cut before three-quarters of your powers are transferred to your heir, then…all is for nought. You will need to birth another heir.”
‘So does that mean she did not want to make a replacement for Roe? Is that why she switched-’
“We are running out of time.”
Four screens appeared where she waved her hand.
Three of them had no thumbnail or preview, they merely portrayed grey static. The one that did, however, gave no sound.
The only thing I noticed was the blonde of Regina’s hair.
“This is the only one I have access to.”
She said then, without seeking further consent, played the video…or at least it seemed that way.
The second she pressed play, the video, like the other three, turned into an endless sea of static.
She looked so keen that I dared not interrupt.
So patiently, I watched her watch the…static?
After around five minutes ended, she turned to me.
“Okay, have you marked the key events?”
“key events?”
She stared at me blankly.
“Did…did you not see the contents of the video?”
“Contents? There was merely static from the moment you pressed play.”
The space began to tremble violently. I could no longer hold my standing position.
“For f**k’s sake! That was a clip of the changed future!!”
“What?”
“Oh, my- f**k! Why do you think I called you here?”
“Did I get a good ending?”
I asked, steading my frame rather, trying to.
“There will never be a good ending for us; you know that. Listen, Regina and Mitchelle will…..and then that will cause….”
“I can’t hear you.”
Her voice grew more distant the more she spoke, despite her standing right beside me.
“Then finally, the first prince…Lundossa…to…the elven prince...Regina-,”
“I can’t hear you!!”
“…if that child….taken….you….your execution!”
“Arusei! I ca-!”
*
I jolted awake in a pool of my sweat, completely disoriented, so much so that the room I was in felt foreign for the next few seconds.
I turned to the crystal clock.
‘4:47 a.m’
‘ What the hell was that? And what the f**k was she saying??’
‘Execution? Child?’
‘is Rheyes going to…’
I buried my head in my hands to steady my racing mind.
‘God…where the hell are you? Why didn’t you bless this…?’
I bit my lip until I tasted iron, then forced myself to take a deep breath.
Low conversational tones sounded from the other side of the door.
“One female, Breca.”
I closed my eyes to channel the plants in the next room to gauge the situation.
“Tagen…the knights and…The first prince?”
“What the hell?”
- Writer
