The moment the shield shattered, more fireballs came roaring down on them.
Selene hit the ground hard. Rin lunged to catch her, but Selene pushed her hand away, gentle yet firm, trying to gather herself.
Akari stepped forward. The shattered ice had already melted around them, and she pulled the water up with a sharp motion. The liquid rose, swirling, reshaping itself into two massive hands gripping both her arms. With a strained cry, she slammed them forward, swatting fireball after fireball out of the air.
Rin stared, stunned.
Akari? That Akari? The sister who always acted weak?
Her mouth hung open for a heartbeat before she snapped out of it. She hurried toward Selene, who was now back on her feet, silently watching Rin.
"Selene, are you okay? You lost control, are you fine?" Rin asked, reaching out again.
Selene stepped away. This time Rin felt the distance like a slap.
"Did I do something wrong, Selene?"
"No. No, Kisaragi, you didn't do anything wrong… that you are aware of." Selene drew a slow breath, brushing a strand of hair aside. "Just don't touch me when I'm concentrating. You exhaust me."
Rin blinked. "Wow," she muttered under her breath before raising her voice. "What do you mean by that?"
Akari cut in, panting as the water hands dissolved.
"I don't think we can stop whatever is happening right now. The fire's spreading, and I'm getting steam. We need to find somewhere safe."
The heat flared.
Fireballs rained from the sky like burning stars.
The forest burst into flames.
The air trembled.
Both Rin and Akari turned to Selene.
Selene simply exhaled and snapped her fingers.
Rin expected ice.
Instead, the world froze.
Flames stopped mid-fall.
Heat halted mid-breath.
Even Akari stopped, frozen in place.
Everything stilled except Rin and Selene.
Rin spun slowly, her eyes widening. "You can stop time? All this time I thought your powers were just freezing things and invisibility. How… how did you even learn this?"
Selene didn't answer the question. "Come on, Kisaragi. My power won't hold long. Let's leave. I want nothing to do with mortals or whatever reason they became Hellbound. By the time we get to the castle, everything will return to the way it was."
Rin stared at her.
"Eh!? Sorry, did you just say you want to abandon everything and hide in your crystal castle? What about them? What about the people?!"
Selene's smile didn't even flicker. Calm. Cold.
"They are not my problem. Mortals are doomed to die. They were created to die. It is not my place to fix their mistakes."
Rin's chest tightened. Her voice dropped.
"You really don't care about anyone, do you? By tomorrow the whole place might burn down and it still won't bother you."
Selene's silence was sharper than blades.
Rin let out a small, humorless laugh. "Sometimes, no, every time, I wonder why the cold villainess wants me. Why you say you love me. Because the last time I read your character profile, you were just a cold heartless bi**h."
Cracks spidered through the frozen world.
Selene's time stop spell was shaking.
"I'm not leaving," Rin said. Her voice didn't waver. "I don't know what's happening, but I'll find a way to help. I'm staying. No matter what."
"Kisaragi," Selene warned softly, "let's go. Don't make me repeat this."
"Oh really? And what will happen if you do, huh?" Rin stepped closer. "Kill me? Freeze me? Stab me? I will come back in a minute. Cut me into tiny pieces? I will regenerate. So there is nothing—"
Her breath snapped.
Something tore through her chest.
A wet sound.
A choke.
Blood spilled from her lips as she stared down at the hole in her body.
Selene stood yards away. She hadn't touched Rin.
But Rin's heart floated in Selene's hand.
Rin collapsed. Selene's smile disappeared like melting frost.
"It seems being sweet is not what you desire, Kisaragi" Selene whispered. "Alright then… we will try the opposite."
---
When Rin woke up, she recognized the ceiling immediately. The cold scent, the faint glow of crystal walls, she was in Selene's castle.
But she wasn't in Selene's room.
"So she really didn't give me a choice, huh…" Rin muttered. She pushed herself up, wobbling a bit, and walked to the door.
The moment she opened it—
Someone was already outside.
Selene. Sitting on the ground. Legs folded, eyes closed. As if she were meditating or waiting for Rin to try exactly this.
Rin tried to tiptoe past her, stepping lightly into the corridor.
"You won't be able to leave, Kisaragi. Go back to your room."
Rin jumped. Selene was suddenly standing in front of her.
"You people need to stop doing that!" Rin pressed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her racing heart. "You could have just used your telekinesis to drag me instead of ripping my heart out. That was painful."
"You didn't give me any choice," Selene said calmly. "Go back to your room."
"My room?" Rin frowned. "I thought we were going to stay in the same room."
"You love rooms to yourself. That is where you will stay from now on." Selene turned slightly. "And routines are shared in this house. When Ice gets back, he will tell you how."
"Routines… huh. Where is Ice anyway?"
"When he returns, you may ask him." Selene turned as if to leave. "I will be going now. See you later, Kisaragi."
Rin's breath caught. The memories hit her like fire all over again.
"Wait, the fireballs, Akari, you stopping time. Tell me something good happened, right? Tell me you did something."
"No."
Rin rushed in front of her. "You should've just left me there. At least then you'd have time to find another candidate for playing your fiancee, because I won't anymore. Something bad might happen to them!"
"Then let it."
"My main characters could die!"
"Saving you is my priority," Selene said simply. "You are more important to me than any mortals. They will find a way to save themselves. And if they can't, that is on them. Kisaragi, end this topic. Go to your room."
Rin shook her head. "I'm not a child. Stop treating me like one. I will save them."
"You are one," Selene replied. "How old are you? Fifteen?"
"Nineteen, actually, if I was in my real world." Rin crossed her arms. "But that doesn't matter. Something is happening in Kaida. And you can stop it. Do something, and maybe people might stop calling you Ice Queen. Maybe they'll stop fearing you."
"Kisaragi," Selene said softly, "what makes you think I want to play hero? I don't care about anyone else because they don't know who I am. They don't know what I actually am. They see me as what I am not."
They kept talking. Rin pushing forward. Selene refusing to bend.
Then Rin inhaled and made her final move.
"Okay okay… let me say this. If you help me save Kaida, then you win. We will get married whenever you want. I will marry you, Selene Kurosuki."
Selene blinked once. "That is not enough. I want you to love me. I want to be your first love."
Rin stared at her. If this was the only way…
She raised a brow, forcing the words out. "I love you Selene. Is that enough?"
"No. You are not saying it genuinely."
"Well you're forcing it out of my mouth," Rin muttered.
"I don't want the words," Selene said. "I want the assurance inside you. I want you to feel me. I want to be the one you think of every single time. I want your heart to beat for me."
"Okay, well… my heart beats for myself. And thinking of you every single time is not healthy." Rin crouched down, almost like proposing. "But please, let's go and find out what is happening in Kaida right now and save the day. Then later we can talk about it on our fourth date, Selene."
Selene froze.
The moment Rin said fourth date, something in her softened. Her eyes wavered.
Selene sighed. "Very well. Let's go save your characters."
Rin grinned and jumped to her feet. "Okay! Let's go!"
"Heads up," Selene said. "No mortals can defeat Hellbound. They can only die by a queen's hand."
"Okay then, you're a queen. Easy, right?" Rin said.
"It will be… except for the fact that one of them is your character."
Rin froze.
"What does that mean?"