LIVIA'S POV - 3 HOURS BEFORE THE AWAKENING
"I want you to help me find my husband. I want you to help me find my Leo," Milaine said.
A chill ran down my spine, followed by a sickening sense of déjà vu. The way Milaine said those words—how her eyes softened, how her voice cracked just a fraction—reminded me of something.
She reminded me of myself.
Milly was like me. Different, yes, but the core was the same. I immediately confirmed this fact when I focused my attention on one of the sub-flaws emerging from her Gift.
[Immortal]
...
...
└ [Zealot]
You like few things in life, and the ones you like, you like them A LOT. Your obsession has long ago shifted into devotion and hardened into a weapon.
You perceive your chosen ones as infallible, almost divine. Anyone who opposes, threatens, or even disrespects them is an enemy.
Morality and reason no longer apply to your actions when it concerns them. You will burn the world down to keep them safe, and you will feel righteous while doing it.
Current Obsessions:
Dami Shepherd Leo Shepherd Olivia "Livia" Reed (The 350th)
—
"Your husband?" I asked, still troubled by everything I had just seen. Half my brain was still trying to process the information on the screen, and the other half was trying to keep a conversation.
Milaine sat next to me and placed her hand on my back. She didn't use her flame this time.. We leaned against each other's shoulders. It helped ease the trembling a little.
"Yeah. We were supposed to meet here, in this cave. Sometimes we don't find each other right away, but it's usually just a minor setback. But... I'm starting to doubt." Milaine stopped, her voice dropping lower. "At first I tried to push it down, but the more we diverged, the more I was sure about it. This time may be the one."
'The one?'
The concept of traveling to the past to 'change' things had always seemed like high fantasy to me. It wasn't that I couldn't conceive of it, but before arriving in this place—before reading Milaine's status—it seemed like just fiction.
However, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made. Especially considering what happened with 'that Goddess'.
"The Goddess of Fate," I slipped.
Milaine stiffened. She pulled her body away from mine slightly to look at me.
[The Goddess Who Dislikes Gods is watching you]
Milaine seemed to move her fingers, tapping 'something' in the air before she spoke again.
[The Goddess Who Dislikes Gods has confirmed that no other Gods are watching]
"Yes, she's one of the reasons. In the past, your goddess and mine…" She made a face of pure disgust as she said that last word before continuing. "They didn't get along particularly well. However, Fate always stayed on the sidelines. She never interfered directly. Until now."
I hugged my legs and hid my face between my knees, thinking. In a bizarre way, that could explain why 'she' was so insistent on me accepting her Gifts.
Not to mention that specific quote at the end of Milaine's status window. It was nothing but a confirmation of her point.
I raised my head just enough to peek at Milly out of the corner of my eye. I activated [Truthsight] again, but this time I ignored the description of her Gift and focused solely on the bottom section.
[Changing Flame]
…
...
└ You have returned 499 times.
[Truthsight has revealed hidden information]
This is the 501st time that time has reverted since the fall of The Goddess of Change.
I sighed and returned my gaze to the darkness between my legs. My head hurt.
[Hyperfocus is evolving]
'Goddess of change… that must be Milly's patron…I should tell her about the mismatch in the numbers, right?.. Yeah, I'll tell her...'
I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.
"Originally, you would only have had one Gift: Augury. And... Well, I'm not saying it's bad that you have more. In fact, it's good that you managed to obtain them without..."
Milaine trailed off.
"Without?" I asked, puzzled by the sudden silence, lifting my head.
"Flaws," she finished, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Soon, the Ruler will awaken. That's not something that was meant to happen, not until the last week of the year."
I looked at Milaine. Her expression grew serious.
"Before that happens, we need to meet with another group. Those people… they are not exactly 'good people'. They are more like me… and well, Eleonora I guess. But they have what we lack, Fire Resistance will not be enough from what'll come."
"Is it because of the type of gifts they have?" I asked
"Exactly! And they lack a healer, so we'll merge easily." she added.
"Do you really think your Leo is there? Milly I don't want to be pessimistic, but maybe he—"
"He's alive," Milaine cutted me off, her voice firm and dangerous, and her hair glowing a bit. "I know it, Livia."
"O-okey…" I said, looking away from her intense gaze. "About the Ruler… What exactly is it?" I added trying to calm the atmosphere.
Luckily it worked. Milaine relaxed and spoke with her voice calm again.
"Do you remember when you watched that documentary explaining Norse Mythology?"
"Em, yeah. Big myths from—wait, how do you know I watched that?"
"When we aren't in danger, you like to talk a lot." A hint of a smile formed on her face before she continued. "Surt is the Ruler of Vulkris."
"Surt? That name sounds familiar. Very familiar," I said.
"Big as a planet, full of lava and rock, carries a giant sword that cuts planets, caused Ragnarök. Does that ring a bell?" she asked.
I started to hyperventilate. Suddenly, the world around me felt infinitely small. I looked at Milaine with tears stinging my eyes.
"Please, Milly, don't be cruel... How are we supposed to survive something like that?" I whined, shaking her arm.
"If it's any consolation, the time we have to stay here might be reduced to a week. I don't think the planet can hold out much longer than that," she said, maintaining a calm expression that I found terrifying.
"Milly…" I said crying again.
She grabbed my hand gently but firmly.
"Livia, I know it sounds hard. I know you are thinking about a lot of things. Okey? I know."
She placed her free hand on my head and caressed it.
"I need you to hold a bit longer. Can you do that, Livia? After that you'll be with Eleonora, no more lava, no more sandworm, no more sulfur, no more of that. Just nice food, and comfy beds, okay?" she said with a reassuring soft smile.
For a moment I swear that Truthsight told me it was a lie, but the sentiment was eclipsed by the warmth of the flame and 'something' inside me.
I didn't like when she used her flame, not now that I knew what it made her—the pain that caused her—but the warmth really helped me with the headache and everything else, I didn't want it off.
It reminds me of Leo.
[You are being affected by your Flaw: Minor Kink — Mommy Kink]
[Your Obsession is evolving]
"A-are you really sure we'll just hold on for a week?" I said with snot in my nose.
She used her index finger to clean my tears and burn the snot with her thumb.
"Probably two, worst case a month. But that 's it." she said gently.
I nodded and calmed my breathing a bit. I looked at some point in the tunnel—where Leo was before returning to Milaine.
"O-okey, what do I do?"
Milained nodded in return.
"I know where they are, but if they move—and they'll move. I'll need you to guide us with Augury. We should at least have twenty four hours before the ruler wakes up."
"O-okey.."
"Keep your questions short and precise, and ask every minute. Do we move North? Do we move South? Do we stop? Do we jump? Do we fight? That type of question. That's the best way to use Augury in its current state."
"W-what if I fucked up? I mean, by logic, things tend to entropy, what if the gift starts to fail? What if I use it and in the exact moment I receive the answer the answer is not the answer anymore?"
Milaine shook her head.
"Livia, you're the smartest person I know. If I had to bet my life on your judgment, I'd do it." she took a moment before to speak "If I'm being honest, when you told me about your gift, Golden Rule, I was scared."
"Scared? Of me??"
"Yeah… remember the examples in the gift description you told me?"
The description of my Gifts, and the last message that Goddess left, was something my brain was also running in the back of my mind. But since I didn't find logic in there until now, I just saved it for later .
"The queen used it to kill a phoenix and prevent it from returning…" I slipped.
"Yeah, that's the one. For a moment, I was scared that you'd use it to kill me."
"KILL YOU???"
"I know... It's just... this time is different, you—" she intentionally cut her words. "I'll tell you about that other day"
"The point is, I doubted, okay? And now I'm betting on this. On this timeline." She paused for a moment. "I know you like Eleonora. I don't mind, I support that. But I need you to trust in me. Just as I'm betting on you, I want you to bet on me. Can you do that?"
"Em, okey…" I answered.
She smiled and nodded, before adding.
"When we found the other survivors, I need you to follow two rules, can you do that?"
"Rules?" I asked, feeling something weird inside.
[Your Obsession is resonating]
"First: There is a woman with short dark blue hair. She's the leader, her name is Lysandra. Don't let her touch you, by any means. She'll mess with your head. Got it?
"Got it," I replied.
Second: Don't let Eleonora fight with Leo. He can be a bit... hard, the first time you meet him."
"H-how do I know? I mean, what does he look like?"
Milaine's expression softened immediately, and a goofy smile that I never saw formed on her face as she began to speak.
"He is tall, a few inches taller than me. Short brown hair, green eyes, broad shoulders, a short and well-groomed beard. You can't go wrong, he stands out."
Something really familiar came to me when she described him.
"You know... you two never get along. I mean, not in a bad way. He has a very explosive personality, and I know you don't feel comfortable with guys... so don't worry, I'll make sure to keep him on a leash. He won't bother you, I promise. He also—"
I stared at a point in the distance of the cave as I heard Milaine's voice sharing information about 'her husband'. She started adding extra details about his manners, mixing in past anecdotes.
At the moment, she spoke about her daughter she really started to talk. And at the same time, my mind started to process a lot of things at full speed, and the headache returned.
[Hyperfocus has activated]
Just as she kept talking and the world around me became slower. I started to connect some dots.
The more I heard, the heavier my chest felt. A million connections were firing in my mind. At some point, I really started to lose track of things, so I took out my smartphone and started recording her voice note while furiously typing everything into the notepad.
When I finished writing, I couldn't stop thinking about one person. The person Milaine spoke like she knew as herself—Leo, her husband.
[Hyperfocus has finished]
"How?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
"How what, Livia?" she asked back.
I looked at her. She offered a soft smile—a tired, happy one.
'How come you haven't noticed yet, Milaine?'
That's what I wanted to say, but I couldn't. For me, it was obvious.
The moment Milaine described what her 'husband' looked like, his personality, his way of slur, adding how they always met in this cave... and how, this time, Eleonora was here instead of him.
I already knew the answer.
Eleonora—Leo—is Milaine 's husband.
Everything clicked so easily: Leo being a 'masculine girl'. Wearing boxers instead of panties. Not using a bra. Her confusion regarding the symptoms of her period. Even the 'nickname' that I found strange because it didn't match what I thought was her 'name'.
'Leo'. Of course it didn't suit 'Eleonora'. It wasn't a nickname. It was her name—his name.
I grabbed my hair tightly and covered my face in shame.
I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw myself into the lava and end it all. I hated this. I hated everything related to this place, I hated the heat, I hated the gods, and I hated myself.
Across the messy strands of hair I looked hopelessly at a bubbling lava pit in the distance.
"I'm a home wrecker," I muttered, biting my lip hard enough to taste my blood, holding back tears.
"Livia?" Milaine called me.
I wanted to die. Really die.
But even with that feeling crushing my lungs, there was one thing I wanted to do more than anything. One thing that eclipsed the shame.
I wanted to hug Leo.
I don't know why I didn't care about her being a man in the past. I knew I should panic, fear, or even feel repulsion—given my history. But no. I didn't feel any of that.
She was my hero. She saved me. When she could have ditched me in the crowd, she didn't. When the beetle attacked us, she stood her ground. Even when, back there, I thought about abandoning her to save myself... she didn't abandon me. That was Leo.
The next thing I felt was—powerlessness.
[Your Obsession is evolving]
Powerlessness for being stuck here. Powerlessness for Milaine's pain. Powerlessness against the absurd situation I found myself in. Powerlessness for not being able to change anything.
"Livia?" Milaine called again.
I shook my head and forced a fake smile at Milaine.
"Nothing... I'm just tired," I lied.
'Honesty 'is my new mantra? Fuck that. I'm a fucking liar. Why do I lie? I don't know. Because it makes me feel safe.'
"You should rest, Livia, I already bombarded you with a lot of info." Milaine said, worry in her voice.
I rubbed my face again, wiping away the tears.
"N-No, it's my turn to stand guard," I rasped, forcing myself to say the words. When the only thing I wanted was to see Leo.
"You are the one who should rest, Milly."
She looked at me with concern, but before she could speak, her mouth snapped shut. Her eyes went sharp and she turned her head toward the section where the ceiling was open to the sky.
"Fobeas," she muttered, turning to me. "Wait with Eleonora. I'll take care of the explorer"
Milaine stood up and started to walk.
"Wait!" I stood up too and grabbed her arm. "Don't go. Can't we just hide? From... whatever a Fobeas is?" I asked.
Milaine looked at her arm. A few drops of blood fell from it; my nails were pressing too hard.
"Ah! S-sorry!" I yanked my hand away quickly.
Milaine looked at me, a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Don't worry. I'll be back in a minute. Rest, Livia."
Without adding more, she left toward the direction of the open ceiling.
'Fuck!'
I clasped my hands together, staring at her blood on my fingers.
'I cannot tell her. She'll collapse. What am I supposed to say? 'Sorry Milly, I have been making out with your husband and since now she's a woman you won't be able to have your daughter anymore, sorry!' FUCK NO!
Worst case scenario Milaine had a mental breakdown and killed herself.
'No. I don't want that. I cannot let that happen. I need to fix this'
[All your Minor OCDs have evolved and merged with your Obsession]
'I'll tell her... but first I need to think. Yeah... first, I need Leo...'_
I stood up and moved my body as fast as I could. At that moment, I just needed to be with Leo.
After a few seconds of running, I saw her.
She was sleeping, her head thrown back against the wall, legs crossed. On top of them, a green book lay open.
When I reached her, I knelt down and crawled to her. I slapped the book out of my way—it was a distraction—and sat on Leo's lap.
I wrapped my arms around her and threw my body against her breasts. I kept myself clung to her, just breathing against her neck, inhaling her smell, my mouth trembling.
In that moment, the constant pain I was feeling in my head and my heart finally started to fade.
There were no more worries. Just my Leo.
'I'll fix... everything. I'll make everyone happy... I just need this...'
[Hyperfocus has evolved to Fractal]
[Obsession has evolved to Devotion]
[The number of Obsessions has increased to 2]
***