Here it is guys, a new part! Not very long, but it's new and I'm happy. Thanks for everyone who waited.
Masterpost linked here for anyone who wants to re-read.
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*** Soul transfer 25% complete. ***
As the words formed in front of me, I felt a sudden surge of dark power from deep within my soul. It crackled just beneath my skin, an incredible, immeasurable force. I could feel it, knew it was there with a deep certainty I couldn’t explain. But while I could sense the enormity of it, I couldn’t touch it, couldn’t reach it or use it in any way. I stared down at my hand in frustration, wishing I understood what “soul transfer” meant, and how it was connected to this power within me.
“Umm… are you okay?”
A soft voice broke me from my reverie. I glanced up to see Liam staring at me with a look of concern. “If this is a bad time, I can come back later…” He was still extending a hand down to me to help me to stand.
How long have I been sitting here, staring at my hand, like a crazy person?
“Sorry.” I took Liam’s offered hand, sucking in a shocked breath once I did so. There was a sudden connection when our hands touched. Something deep within my soul that had felt empty and alone had filled the moment my hand touched his, like a puzzle piece clicking into place. The connection was strange to me, but at the same time achingly familiar. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the shock, and used his help to stand next to him. I was somewhat surprised to realize how tall he was, his thinner frame disguising his height. I tilted my head back, my eyes meeting his own quietly amused gaze.
“Sorry.” I repeated. “I’m just a little confused and lost.”
“Ah. No worries about that! You’re in good company, I happen to specialize in being lost and confused.” He answered with a smile.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I’m Bel.”
“I know.”
I sighed with relief. “Good, I wasn’t sure, since we looked so different when we last saw each other!”
“You knew that was me?” He blurted out, obviously surprised. “How?”
I tilted my head. “You have the same name? We had coffee? You were the assassin who wasn’t a cat?”
“Ah… Yes! The assassin world. That’s definitely the time I was thinking of, and not any other lower realm.” Nodding enthusiastically, he avoided my curious look, but didn’t step away from our close position.
It was then I realized, somewhat uncomfortably, that I had not let go of his hand after taking it to stand up. With a regret I couldn’t quite explain, I released him, my hand feeling immediately empty and cold. Besides that, I felt a deep fatigue slowly settling in, an unexplainable tiredness as if my energy was slowly being sapped away. It had started from the moment I woke up here, and slowly became more noticeable over time. I looked over at Liam, who seemed unaffected by any similar exhaustion.
There’s something so familiar about him, I feel it even more so than I did in the assassin world. Which reminds me…
BAM!
“Ouch!” Liam rubbed his upper arm where I softly punched him. He looked down at me, confused. “What was that for?”
Avoiding his puppy dog eyes, I forced myself to scowl and explain. “THAT’s for poisoning yourself, you jerk!”
“Oh. That.”
“YEAH THAT! Do you know how hard I cried when I realized what you did? Just casually drinking poison and sneaking off to an alley to die?”
“I’m sorry, I…” He stuttered as he rushed to explain himself. “I didn’t think…”
“Didn’t think what?”
“Didn’t think it would matter.” His voice was neutral, almost carefree, which made the certainty of his words even worse. He truly didn’t think there was anyone who minded that he died in that world. “I’m the villain, Bel. I had to die if that lower realm world was to avoid being destroyed. I didn’t want you to feel sad or guilty, and that seemed the best way.” He paused. “Wait… why did you cry? Weren’t you happy the world was saved?”
I shook my head, resisting the urge to knock some sense into this man. “I cried because I thought you were dead! I thought I would never see you again!”
“You wanted to see me again?” His excited tone threw me off.
“Well… yes, but you’re missing the point!”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.”
“Do you even know why are you apologizing?”
“Because I made you sad when I drank poison and died in the lower realm. So I’ll try my best not to drink poison ever again.” He paused. “Is that right?”
I rubbed my forehead. “Not just poison, Liam, try not to get hurt at all.”
“That would be difficult.” He now had a solemn expression on. “Villains have to have a bad ending for the story to end happily.”
The villain? I felt a dull burning ache in my heart at his words, a memory just beyond reach.
“Why do you think you’re the villain?”
He shrugged. “It’s my role.”
“I don’t think you’re a villain. Villains don’t drink poison to protect a world from being destroyed.”
“I never said I was good at being a villain.”
I sighed at his amused words, and gave up trying to convince Liam for now. Turning away from him, I finally took a good look at my surroundings. The sense of fatigue was growing stronger, I felt dead on my feet, but curiosity overcame the tiredness as I examined my new location.
“Where are we?”
It was a forest, somewhat similar to the one that surrounded the castle in the Higher Realm, but a dark and twisted version. The sunlight around us was a muted, almost grayish light, piercing through the rotting branches, barely reaching the ground that was mixed dirt and dying grass. The trees pierced through the earth, tangled dark wood fighting each other for the slightest hint of light and air. The shadows were just a bit too dark, not matching the objects casting them.
“Is this still the higher realm?”
“…No. I’ve never seen that place, but I heard it’s beautiful. This place is different.” Liam looked around dully.
“It’s not a lower realm though, there’s no story or mission prompt. So where is it?”
“It a separate realm, with a specific purpose.” He was now staring at his feet, avoiding eye contact.
“What purpose?”
“It’s a cage, Bel.” His blue eyes met mine, and I could see the deep sadness within it. “And you can’t stay here.”
I was shocked at that. “You want me to leave?”
“What?!” He almost fell in shock at my words, stumbling over his words as he tried to explain. “No, that’s not what I mean at all! I would love for you to stay! Nothing would make me happier than if you could live here… I mean…” He seemed to realize what he was saying, and flushed with embarrassment. “It’s this place that’s the problem… watch:”
He reached out and touched a tree branch, which fell to pieces in his hand.
“This place destroys life, slowly draining the energy from everything in it until only death remains. Nothing good can survive here.”
That explains the tiredness I felt. For a moment I remembered Adonis showing me a blood red door. What had he called it? “A higher realm like ours. But a place of pure evil.” He told me something similar at the time, that nothing good could survive there. Looks like I managed to explore the scary portal in the end. But if what they are saying is true…
“What about you, Liam? How can you live here if it’s so dangerous?
“I told you.” He shrugged. “This world is a cage. And I’m the monster it’s meant to hold.”
“You’re not…” I wanted to protest his words, but I stopped at the look in his eyes. Changing tactics, I asked instead: “So how do we escape this cage?”
“I don’t know.” He frowned. “How did you get here?”
I thought about my last memory before I woke up, and then cursed loudly. “That IDIOT!”
“…I’m sorry?”
“Not you! That jerk who drugged me and tossed me in here!” My stomach growled. “And he did it before I could even eat BREAKFAST! He couldn’t wait until I had a chance to eat?” I shook my head sadly. “That’s almost as much of a crime as the kidnapping itself!”
The tree Liam’s hand had been resting on snapped like a twig, falling to the ground with a loud crash. Ignoring the carnage, he turned towards me, his face grim. “Who did this to you?”
“The kidnapping? He calls himself Adonis, I, however, have much more descriptive and fun colorful names for him.”
“Adonis…” Liam thought the name over for a moment. “Blonde fellow? Acts as if he’s the most important person in the universe?”
“That’s him!”
Liam growled under his breath. It was difficult to make out words, but I barely made out “Should have bit him harder.”
I raised an eyebrow at that, “You BIT him?”
“In another world. Wish I could snapped his neck, or at least ripped a limb off, rather than just take a bite...” He stopped, seemingly realizing what he just said, and looked over at me with an embarrassed expression. “Not that I’m normally biting people!”
I waved a hand at his distressed expression. “Don’t worry, I’d bite a few limbs off of the guy if I could right now. Especially with how hungry I am.” I laughed bitterly. “He better HOPE I get some food in me before I see him again!”
“Well, if Adonis the Great and Full of Himself was the one who put you here, then we have a bit of a problem. He’s the only one that I know of who has been able to open the portal to here.”
“Not that I want to go back anyways.”
“I told you, this place will kill you if you stay.” He shook his head at that. “First, we need to figure out food. Follow me.” He started walking deeper into the forest. I had to trot to keep up with his longer stride at first, but he quickly slowed down to allow me to walk at a regular pace. Even that was tiring, but I pushed forward. I looked at the forest, wondering what there would be to scavenge in such a dead place. Deciding to ask Liam, I tugged at his hand, noticing idly his ears turning red at the brief contact.
“What kind of food do you normally eat here?”
Liam blinked, seeming almost confused by the question. “There’s a few beasts… kind of. They should be edible for humans.”
“Okay. Cooked meat doesn’t sound too bad.”
“…Yes… cooked…because that’s how normal humans eat. I eat it like that too.”
Eyeing his dodgy appearance, I decided not to ask.
After a few minutes of walking, during which I became progressively more winded, we finally came to a large cave.
“Here’s my home!” Liam smiled proudly as we entered. “I carved it myself!” He proceeded to show me the fairly spacious cave with roughly made, mostly empty rooms, boasting about the thickness of the walls and the special rocks he had collected along the way.
I smiled at his boasting, the stared at the enormous claw marks in the carved stone walls, and silently looked away.
He pushed a roughly made stool close to me. “Here, have a seat.”
“Thank you!” I sat down, breathing heavily. “I’m beat!”
Liam’s expression was concerned as he watched me rest. “This place is already draining you, Bel. I’m worried what will happen if you stay here too long.”
“I’m fine!” I waved a hand tiredly. “Just need to catch my breath.”
He wasn’t reassured. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Maybe I’m just out of shape, have you thought about that?”
“Sure, that’s it.” Liam laughed quietly, almost seemingly in spite of himself. “Either way, while you rest, I’ll get you some food.”
“I’ll help…” I stood up, but my legs gave out beneath me and I started to fall. Liam, surprised, caught me, lifting me up in a careful hold. Silently, he moved deeper into the cave, entering one of the carved rooms. A single cot sat on a dirt floor, and he gently laid me down on it.
“Umm, thanks.” I looked up at Liam and paused saw an embarrassed expression, his eyes avoiding my own as he turned away.
“Rest here. I’ll bring you food.” He muttered quietly. “Cooked meat. Cooked.” He seemed to be reminding himself as he hurried out of the room, leaving me alone with just my thoughts and the sound of a rumbling, empty stomach.
I stared at the empty room for a few seconds, and then laughed. “What a cute villain.”
*** Soul transfer 28% complete. ***
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“Where are we?”
I looked up at the stranger who called himself Liam. His face was indifferent, his dark blue eyes cold as he shook his head slowly. “This isn’t a place for you. That’s all that matters. You should leave.”
“I can’t leave.” My voice cracked into a soft sob as I failed to hold back tears. “I’ve been betrayed, I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“You can do what you like, but you shouldn’t stay here.” He tried to laugh, but the sound couldn’t really be a laugh, it was far too sad and bitter of a sound to be called something so cheerful. “Otherwise, you’ll die, just like everything else.”
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“Bel, wake up.”
I blinked, the vision in my dream fading away as Liam’s face came into view.
I thought about the scene I had seen, similar to my recent interaction with Liam, but different. It felt real, like a memory. I’ve been here before. I’ve met Liam before in this place. It’s the same… but different.
But what is different? If I had to pin down what had changed from what I had remembered, it was Liam and I. The “me” in that memory was far more devastated by Adonis’s betrayal. I on the other hand, was more pissed than sad, wanting to save my mental energy towards plotting my revenge rather than mourning the friendship.
Anyone who is willing to stab me in the back doesn’t deserve my tears.
The Liam in my memory was different too. He was harsher, colder. The current Liam’s eyes were gentler, filled with a deep strength that hadn’t been there before.
We were both stronger, but it was more than that. There was a connection between us, not present in the brief memory of him from before. Something had changed in us. Something that had happened to bring us here again. I had a feeling that as the “soul transfer” continued I would learn more. If only I could figure out what made it increase!
“Bel, are you okay?”
I smiled at Liam, trying to reassure him. “I’m awake.”
“Good! So I made you some food…” He held out some charred meat that had been roughly cut up into bite sized chunks. It did not look very appetizing.
“I’m sorry.” He noticed me looking the food over and put his head down. “It’s my first time cooking it like this.”
I tried not to wonder how he usually ate meat if he didn’t cook it and took the burnt food from his hands. “Thanks, I’m starving!”
I ate it slowly, surprised at the not-terrible taste. Finishing the portion, I gave Liam a thumbs up. “It’s good!”
“Really?” He lit up with excitement. “I’ll keep working on my cooking and make it even better!”
Support spouse. The thought came and went, the words seeming strange and familiar at the same time.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to track down some fruit on the edge of this realm that are still alive and edible.” He said with a grin as I continued to eat. “That should at least keep you going until that Adonis the Jerkwad can come back to save you.”
I put down the meat in my hand. “I mean it Liam, I’m not going with him.”
“But you’ll die here.”
I didn’t hesitate, meeting his dark blue gaze with my own. “I’d rather that then agree to his broken idea of fate.”
The word fate seemed to twist within Liam, and for the first time I saw rage instead of amusement deep within his eyes. “Fate.” He spat the word out like a curse.: “… So you want to stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Look you see we should talk about this before you say no…” I paused. “Did you just say ‘yes’?”
“I actually said ‘okay’ but essentially yes.”
“But… but…”
He was grinning again. “Did you want me to say ‘no’’? Or did you want to finish convincing me? Because I can pretend to say no if you want to say your piece.”
“Aren’t you worried I’ll get hurt?”
He pointed at me. “You don’t want to be under Adonis the Asshat’s control, under the control of fate.” His finger pointed at himself. “I happen to really really like having you around.” He shrugged. “So I guess we’ll just have to come up with a way to help you survive here.”
“Just like that?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
I grinned. “Then it’s settled. I’m staying with you AND not dying!”
*** Soul transfer 29% complete. ***
Eyeing the silent glowing words in the air, and curious about their meaning, I went back to eating the meat, which seemed to taste even better than before.
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After eating I fell asleep again, feeling drained. This time I didn’t dream, but when I woke up, I still felt tired. Liam wasn’t kidding when he said this place would drain my energy from me.
…
Where is Liam?
Looking around, I saw that Liam, who had been by my side since I first woke up in this realm, was gone. I felt momentarily lost, and a bit lonely. Shaking my head in mild frustration, I forced myself to stand, bracing a hand against a claw marked wall.
Bel… you’ve been just fine being alone in the higher realm before this. In fact, you used to be excited when you could ditch Adonis the Buttface and spend time by yourself! How can you be so affected by just a few minutes without Liam?
…
…
… as the uncomfortable silence stretched on, I twiddled my thumbs, feeling a strange urge to juggle.
BAM!
A loud noise sounded out from a different part of the cave. “Thank goodness for that!” I didn’t even care if it was a deadly monster that broke into the cave, it was better than sitting bored and silent. I walked out, holding onto the wall for support, my feet shuffling oddly as I forced them to move. Taking short pauses to catch my breath, I continued to go slowly to the source of the noise. When I exited the room into the large open common space of the cave, however, I stopped, this time due to shock rather than exhaustion.
A glowing portal had opened in the air. It was similar to the ones in the higher realm, but different in several ways. The edges glowed a blood red, and the whole space gave off a malicious energy. As I watched, the tear in space closed, leaving only the feeling of unease behind.
And on the floor beneath where the portal had hovered, lay Liam.
“Liam!” I stumbled forward, half kneeling, half falling towards him. He was curled in a ball, his clothing damp with sweat. His face was paler than it had been, his face drawn in a silent mask of pain.
What had he gone through in a lower realm? I knew from experience that injuries from the lower realms didn’t follow you to the higher realms.
But the pain did.
Before I could investigate further, Liam turned over onto his back, his blue eyes still showing pain… but triumph as well.
“I got it!”
“You got what?” I asked. “Beaten up?”
“No! … I mean yes I did but that’s not the point!” he laughed. “I tricked Dumbo into slipping up and telling me what we need!”
“Dumbo… you mean Adonis?”
“That’s what I said, Adonis the Great and Mighty Dumbo.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, having to sit down as even kneeling became too much. “So what did he tell you?”
“You don’t belong here… your very nature makes this realm reject you. Just as my nature, my energy allows me to live here trapped but fine. Which means you just need a different energy to survive in this world! One that won’t be sapped away. And who happens to possess an energy that this realm doesn’t feed off of?” His grin widened.
“You?”
“Yep!” He stood up, muttered “excuse me” and picked me up again, carrying me back to the cot in the other room.
“Wait! So if that’s the case why are you taking me back to bed? Can you just give me the energy? Also how do I get your energy? Do we have to do it on the bed?”
Liam turned a bright red. “No, it’s not what you think! I’m just letting you rest while I go prepare stuff…” He very quickly but gently set me down and rushed out of the room, as if afraid to hear anything else from me.
“Ummm…”I was asking in earnest, but my words seemed to make Liam misunderstand. Thinking for a moment, I groaned and covered my face in my hands, feeling the heat radiating off it “Stupid Bel.”
After what seemed like an eternity Liam returned with a cup. Still slightly embarrassed, I took it from him, looking at the liquid inside.
It was gold.
“What is this?”
“This?” He seemed confused by the question. “It’s blood.”
“No, it’s not.”
“What do you mean?”
“The blood of what? A magical creature?”
Liam laughed uncomfortably. “No, just my blood.”
“Why is it gold?”
He hesitated at that. “Normal blood is a gold color. That’s what regular human blood looks like. Yep. That’s it.”
“No… it’s red.”
“Maybe you’re confused?” He flinched at my expression. “Maybe everyone has gold blood and it just seemed red at the time? Because of bad lighting?”
I watched him bend his head uncomfortably, looking almost scared that I would ask further. My heart ached.
“Sure, Liam. It’s just normal, human blood.” I smiled as I saw him sigh with relief out of the corner of my eye. “Now what do I do with it?”
“You drink it. Thus, the cup.” Seeing my blanching expression, he continued to explain. “You see, it’s how to transfer some of my energy to you. It won’t fix everything, but it will help with the worst of it. I promise it won’t hurt you!”
I believed him. “Thank you, Liam.” I tipped it back and drank it. It was warm, but strangely sweet.
Yeah, definitely not “normal human blood” even if the color didn’t make it obvious.
As I drank it, I felt a good portion of energy return to me. I was still a little tired, but at least I should be able to walk without falling or passing out. I stood up, turning around, and gave Liam a hug. “Thank you!”
He stiffened in shock, but reached out to hug me back before stepping away, blushing. “S-sure… anytime…”
We smiled at each other, and for the first time that I could remember, for the first time since I had woken up in the higher realm, I felt at peace.
my friend Hantwan is a New Orleans local visual artist and has started rolling out merch accompanying his visual novel, and he gave me the honor of modeling the Oni Sweatshirt he just put out. it is super comfy and!! the back has a QR code on it you can scan to learn more of the lore about the character.
if you want to check it out and support, the link is below!
Next part. A little shorter, but I think part 30 or 31 may be the end of the official story, not counting any side parts. Wish me luck!
Masterpost linked here
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“Adonis is here.”
As I processed his words, I watched the glowing words: “Soul transfer 59% complete.“ fade away. Once they disappeared, I felt a surge in the strange dark power with me. I looked down at my hands, seeing a barely visible power coiling around them.
Finally, I broke past 49%! And I can sense this power better than before. It’s definitely growing, whatever it is... even if I can't use it still. Hopefully this become something useful!
“Bel? Are you okay?” Liam’s questions broke me from my thoughts, and I looked back at him, the brief flash of dark power fading back into nothingness.
“I’m okay. So Adonis is here? Already?” At the grim news, I rubbed my hands together in excitement. “FINALLY! It’s time to unleash my super secret trap!”
“Your trap?” Liam rubbed his shoulder, likely still feeling the pain from his gunshot wound from the lower realm. “Is this what you’ve been sneaking off lately to set up?”
“Yep!” I grabbed Liam’s hand and pulled him over to a carefully marked cleared area just far enough away from the cave to protect it. It may not be much, but it’s Liam’s home… my home. I’d rather Adonis stay far, far away from it.
Liam was staring down at our clasped hands with an absentminded smile, and didn’t seem to pay attention to our direction. Looking around once we stopped, he was clearly confused. “Why are we stopping here?”
“This is where we want him to find us.” I said with a confident grin.
At my words, Liam gripped my hand tightly, as if afraid that I would be taken away. His anxiety was almost palpable.
I tried to reassure him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Nothing good can ever stay here, Bel.” His eyes were filled with a sadness close to despair. “No matter how much I’ve tried to prevent it, everything here eventually withers and dies.”
“So do you want me to go back with Fart Sniffer McGee?”
He let out an involuntary snort at the silly, insulting name. “No I didn’t say that! I just…”
“Well, perhaps you should…”
A new voice spoke out as Adonis walked out from between the trees, standing in the small clearing in front of us. Seeing me, he smiled, a cocky expression. “Hello, Bel! Looks like your tamed monster recognizes reality better than you. Isn’t it time you admit it too?”
“There’s only one monster here," I said with a polite, distant smile. " And it’s not Liam.”
Adonis frowned. “Don’t deflect, Bel. The truth remains.”
“Truth?”
“What this villain said is correct: Nothing good can survive here. You don’t… you can’t belong here… you belong in the Higher Real. Even this beast knows it. You belong with me!”
“So you knew we were talking about you?” I turned to Liam, chuckling, “Look at him, so readily accepting of the new name Fart Sniffer McGee.”
“Very self-aware.” Liam nodded solemnly.
“Personal growth.” We both applauded politely.
He didn't seem amused at our antics. “SHUT UP!”
“Ooh, I don’t think he likes it.”
Liam shrugged. “We can think of others.”
“Ooh! A new one every day!” We threw out a few, each one more childish and ridiculous than the last. Once we reached “Captain Bum Nugget” however, Adonis finally snapped.
“I SAID SHUT UP!” He took a step forward with a threatening gesture, and I let out a shout of victory.
“FINALLY, YOU HIT THE MARK!” I quickly pulled a rope on the ground, and a net holding a load of large smelly... material... fell. Adonis was quickly covered head to toe, and was knocked to the ground by the weight of the net and its contents.
“…”
“…”
There was stunned silence, but it was quickly broken by my laughter. “That’s what you get! Did you really think you could waltz right into OUR realm without consequences?! Enjoy being smelly!”
I looked over at Liam, expecting him to agree with me… but instead he was staring at the… material… coating Adonis with a horrified expression. He then sat down on a nearby stump and slowly put his head in his hands.
“Bel…” He sighed as he spoke. “Do you know what that is?”
“It’s feces!” I answered cheerfully. “I assume from some sort of large beast, although I’ve never seen anything in this realm big enough to make poop like this! It took forever to collect it and set up this trap.” I thought for a moment. “It’s strange though, this has weird flecks in it, almost like tiny jewels… such an odd thing. Do you know which animal…?” I trailed off as I saw Liam’s shoulders shaking. Is he crying?
Liam finally lifted his head, laughing uncontrollably, his face bright red. After a long moment, he finally said “Bel, it’s very creative revenge, but… next time, why don’t we work together to plan it, okay?” His tone seemed resigned.
“…Sure.” I hadn’t expected such a big reaction from him, but quickly agreed.
Adonis finally recovered from his shock. “Bel, it’s time to go home.” His voice was low and intense, but the intimidation factor was incredibly dialed down by his feces-covered appearance.
“I AM home, Adonis.” I grabbed Liam’s hand again. “I’m staying here with Liam. In fact… we’ve just agreed to get married!”
Adonis lunged forward, but we took a huge step back, avoiding him.
“Cut the crap, Bel!”
“Ooh… poor choice of words!” I tried to high five Liam, who hesitated for a long moment, and then finally gave me one with another sigh.
Adonis was undisturbed. “Joke all you like. You can’t change reality with quips and funny words.” His face was distorted by a snarl. “I don’t know how you’re still alive, but even if you’ve found a temporary measure, it won’t last forever. You are a heroine. THE heroine. Your very nature rejects and is rejected by this realm. The longer you stay, the weaker you become. Even if you force yourself to remain here, then the realm itself will begin to destabilize and fade.”
His words struck like a blow. “You’re lying.” I whispered, wishing I believed my own words.
Adonis chuckled grimly. “I don’t lie, Bel. You and I don’t agree at all on a lot of things, but you know me well enough to know I don’t lie.”
“That doesn’t mean you tell all of the truth.” Liam finally spoke up, glaring.
Adonis didn’t back down. “Shut up, Monster.”
“Stop calling him that!”
“Silly, innocent, Bel.” Adonis laughed at my outburst. “What do you think Liam is?”
“Shut up.” I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
“I already told you: I don’t lie. I call Liam a monster because that’s exactly what he is.” He grinned. “ A literal monster. Don’t believe me? Just ask him.”
I felt Liam shaking beside me and gripped his hand tighter. I knew Liam wasn’t human, but I don’t want to learn the truth from Adonis. Which means I have one option left:
“Yeah, I know.” I rolled my eyes, and stated nonchalantly. “Liam told me a while ago.”
Bluffing.
Adonis was taken aback by my confidence, but soon his eyes narrowed, studying me. “You don’t know. He wouldn’t tell you!”
“Think what you want.” I shrugged. “But I’ve been here a while… since you kidnapped me and dumped me here, by the way… and it would be impossible for Liam to hide his true self for this long.”
“You…”
“I know everything.” I lied, knowing almost nothing. “And I don’t care. I’m staying with him anyways.”
Adonis was silent for a long moment, looking at us both, his gaze dropped, focusing on our clasped hands.
“FINE.” He turned around, and I tried not to chuckle as he trailed poop on the ground.
But his next words stilled any desire to laugh.
“This place will either kill you or destroy itself. The end will come sooner than you expect. If you don’t care about all the countless lower realms and all their innocent inhabits out there that you are condemning to destruction by staying here, then at least care about your own well being, or your friend’s, as he needs this place to stay alive. If it fades... well, you know. I’ll come back to collect you once you’ve come to your senses.” He shook his head, and I felt a growing sense of dread. “Give up, Bel. You must accept your fate.”
He was gone, and Liam and I were left alone.
I let go of Liam’s hand, stepping away, and he reached out as if to catch me, his hand pausing mid-motion, his face pale.
His terrified eyes met mine. “Bel… I can explain.” Liam’s voice was hoarse, his eyes red, his hand still in the air, shaking. “Please… I’ll tell you everything. Just… just don’t hate me, please…not you too.”
My heart broke at his pain. I reached out, grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. “I don’t hate you.” I could feel his entire body trembling. “Not even a little.”
He stepped backwards, a small nervous smile on his face. “You say that now but… You don’t know my secret yet.”
“No matter WHAT you are, Liam. You are you. And that’s all that matters.” I held a finger against his lips as he started to speak again. “That being said. Why don’t you tell me in the morning? You and I are both tired, and I don’t really feel like hearing your biggest secret after Adonis the Poop King threatened us. Tell me in the morning, IF you really want me to know."
Liam’s smile grew, his whole expression lighter. “The morning then, I’ll tell you for sure.”
We separated to get some sleep.
_____________________
Fragments of worlds flashed through my dreams, one after the next, so quickly I couldn’t grasp what was happening. The few scenes it lingered on made me wish it hadn’t.
…
He was on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound. The growls of zombies could be heard in the distance. My eyes were blurred with tears.
All I could see was blood, too much blood.
“Liam.” His name escaped my lips.
“Sorry, I have to go first.”
More blood.
“Next time, let’s get married? “
…
Before I could respond I was in a new world, facing him once more. He was larger, more muscular, but too pale. Laying on a bed. Two small puncture wounds were visible on his neck.
“Liam… wake up.”
My hand, shaking, tried to check a pulse, hoping, praying to find it.
There was only the stillness of death.
…
World after world, flipping through too fast to remember. Finally, it stilled once more.
“Why do you always die, Liam?” I was crying once more.
He laughed a sad sound, but I couldn’t see him. His voice was above me. “That’s the fate of a villain, Bel. That’s the fate of a monster. I was never meant to be happy. I was only ever meant to be sacrificed for others’ happiness.” He faded away to nothing, and I was alone in the dark.
“Liam.”
*** YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE***
The blue words hung there, threateningly, and I backed away. The words followed, leaving me unable to run away even if I wanted to.
_____________________
“LIAM!”
I woke up in a cold sweat, struggling to sense what was real and what wasn’t. Breathing deeply, I pushed myself up, getting out of the bed, moving towards the center of our cave.
I wanted to find Liam.
I searched all the rooms, however, and he wasn’t there.
Panicking a bit, I walked out of the cave.
Thud.
Something small and white fell from the sky and landed at my feet. I looked closer. It appeared to be a white dove. Its neck broken. Blood pooled underneath it, almost staining my feet.
“What…?” Where did the dove come from, how had it survived in this realm? Why did it die?
As I watched on in horror, the blood moved and formed into words:
YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE,
I ran away. I was no longer sure if I was still trapped within the dream or if reality itself had gone insane. Nothing else mattered but my goal:
I needed to see Liam.
“Liam!” I called out again, seeing some traces along the ground and following the trail. I could hear movement up ahead, and Liam’s voice, talking seemingly to himself. The voice was familiar and not at the same time, spoken with a deep harsh tone.
“Okay, I just have to be calm, Bel said she doesn’t care what I am…. NO!… this is stupid, I should run away… but I can’t run away, that would mean leaving Bel behind… Maybe, I could take her with me? … YEAH! ... But wait... that defeats the purpose of running away to keep her from finding out what I am!”
I heard a loud growl and a thud. The sounds didn’t seem human. I slowed down, getting a glimpse of an enormous dark something beyond the trees in a large clearing ahead as his voice continued.
“Okay, just tell her the truth, and explain all the benefits… free heating source... free rides flying in the sky… umm… something else… Come on, Liam! Think, think!”
More crashes sounded out, and I hesitated to move into the clearing. What will I find?
I thought of my dream, of Liam in many forms dying in front of me. I thought of the bloody message scrawled out in front of the cave. I can’t back away now.
“Liam!” I called out, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “I’m here! Can I come into the clearing?”
I didn’t want to force him, especially hearing his anxious rants.
Liam let out a shriek, the sound mixed with a strange inhuman growl. “BEL?! Umm… so...you want to come into the clearing… I’m a little indisposed at the moment…”
“Liam.” My voice was soft now, but in the dead silence of the forest, I knew he could hear me. “I want to see you. I won’t run away.”
“…” The silence dragged on and on. Just as I was about to give up and walk away…
“You can come.” He sounded scared, resigned, but at the same time, determined.
“Are you sure…?”
“I’m sure.”
I took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Immediately I looked up, tilting my head back all the way upwards just to see his face. He was large, not quite as large as the ancient beast from previous the lower realm. If then he had been the size of a mountain, now he was the size of a three story house.
He was darker than the night sky above him, with shining scales interlocking in a tight armor.
Spikes rose up in a long row, bristling, protecting his back.
Large wings, with stretched leathery skin flapped nervously behind him.
A long winding neck, leading upward.
Teeth, enormous and deadly, protruded from an elongated scaly jaw.
And looking straight at me, unblinking, were his eyes, the vertical slit pupil set within a wonderful, familiar dark blue. The face seemed unsuited for showing emotion, yet I could see everything he felt within the depths of his eyes.
Nervousness.
Excitement.
Caring.
It WAS Liam.
Liam was a dragon.
I hesitated for a moment, and in that silence, I saw the fear bloom brightly within his eyes. His head tucked in, hiding underneath his wings.
“Liam… you’re a dragon?” I phrased it as a question, but he could be nothing else. “Wow, that’s really cool!”
"Really?" Slowly, his eyes peeked out from his wings. “You’re not just saying that?” It felt strange to hear Liam’s voice coming from this form, but it was the familiar sound that reassured me as well.
“Nope! I think you look very strong and awesome!” I reached out a hand and moved forward, Liam stuck out his head close, allowing me to touch the side of his face. The black shiny scales seemed softer to the touch than I had expected, the surface cool against my palm.
“You really don’t care? Even though I’m a monster?”
“I’d rather be in the company of a dragon like you than the kind of monster that Adonis is.” I shrugged. “I guess that says a lot about me.”
“Thank you, Bel.” His voice was filled with relief, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I settled in, asking, “Have you always been a dragon? Or did you start out human?”
"Always." Liam crouched down, keeping his head low towards the ground so I didn’t have to bend my neck to see him. “This is what I am. I’ve been like this since I was old enough to remember anything.”
“Were you always here, in this realm?”
Liam let out an angry growl. “No. I came from a different realm. One where dragons and humans existed together. I was young… very young, when I was taken away. Dragons tend to be solitary creatures, but typically they protect their young until they reach adulthood.” He sighed. “My parents, however, died right after my birth, killed in a large battle with humans. After that, I was being raised by my grandfather. He was amazing! He taught me what it meant to be a dragon.”
“Your grandfather raised you?” Is he…” I trailed off, unable to finish the question.
“Dead.” Liam’s voice was flat. "The System came to collect me. My grandfather tried to stop it… he was destroyed, along with my entire realm.” Two golden tears dropped from the dragon’s eyes. “I couldn’t save him, I couldn’t save anyone.”
“The System?”
“I don’t know what it is. It appeared as bright blue words written across the sky when I saw it. It’s what makes the portals… what creates the missions we see in the lower realms. It controls seemingly everything but at the same time seems to be interested in nothing. I don’t know if it’s a god or the devil or something else entirely… but I watched its power as it destroyed my realm.”
Bright blue words? Shuddering, I thought of the counter that only I could see. Is that the system too? I reached out, trying to hug the enormous dragon head. “I’m sorry Liam.”
“It told me I was born to be the ultimate villain, and that all others would derive their fate from me.” He sighed. “It said that the classic story was that of a hero, a princess, and the monster that kidnaps the princess. My fate was to separate them, and then be destroyed to allow for a happy ending.” He looked down at me. “Then I woke up here, alone except the occasional creature that tries to survive… they never do, not for long. This world slowly destroys them. Of course, most nights, portals would open up and drag me in.”
“Liam…”
“You saw my mission last time. They’re all like that. Lose everything, get severely injured… die. Every single one of them. The story of the lower realms can’t be complete unless there is a satisfyingly bad end to the villain.”
“Did you always follow the mission?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Not at first. Especially when I was still very young, I struggled against it, tried to avoid it. I would run and hide and stay away. But then the lower realm would be destroyed, I would wake up here and the next world would open up shortly. Finally, I started to complete the mission as quickly as possible, so I could just go back home, and no one else would get hurt.”
I wished I couldn’t imagine it, but I could. I had been to countless lower realms with Adonis. How many of them had Liam been there, dying, getting hurt, just so that he could stop suffering and come back here? How many times has he chosen to die painfully, rather than let a lower realm be destroyed? I remembered him drinking the poison when we first met, his nonchalant expression at his upcoming demise.
“Bel, don’t cry.”
“I’m not…” My voice paused, as I reached up and felt tears running down my face. “I…”
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.”
“It’s NOT okay!”
“It’s my fate.”
“SCREW FATE!”
*** Soul transfer 73% complete. ***
I ignored the words, feeling slightly sick sight of the glowing blue letters. If this is the system, this… thing… kidnapped Liam and forced him into this never-ending hell. I can’t trust anything it says.
Liam laughed, his eyes happy. “Yeah, screw fate.”
I touched his face again. “I will protect you. I won’t let fate, or the System, or even Adonis win. We’ll find a way for me to stay here, and then find a way to avoid our fates AND save the lower realms.”
“…”
“What you don’t believe me?”
He blinked. “You still want to stay here?”
“Yeah… aren’t we getting married? Typically married people stay in the same realm of existence.”
“YOU STILL WANT TO MARRY ME?”
“Of course! Didn't I already ask you in the last lower realm? Out of the two people I’ve met in the higher realms, you are definitely the best husband material.”
“I’m a dragon.”
“And the other choice is Adonis.”
“… Fair.” He chuckled. “I believe you, but promise me: if we do anything to go against fate… let’s do it together.”
“Deal. Now let’s head back.”
“First, you’ll need blood.” He raised a claw, and bit it, dripping golden drops into a small bowl. He then was covered in a black smoke, and a much smaller, much more human Liam emerged and picked up the bowl, walking towards me with a smile. “Here you go.”
“….”
“Bel?”
“…”
“Umm….”
I finally forced out. “LIAM, YOU ARE NAKED!”
“Shoot!” He shoved the bowl into my hands and grabbed pants that had been neatly folded nearby, his face bright red. “Sorry, I forgot.” He paused and looked down at himself. “Everything I have should be normal for a human, right?”
“Liam… It’s fine… yes, you’re normal.” I coughed as he grinned with relief. “There’s nothing wrong, I just… was surprised.” I turned away and drank my bowl of blood, waiting until the sounds of changing had stopped to turn back towards him. He took the bowl and wiped it clean, and then held out his hand for mine.
As we held hands, he laughed again. “Sorry, I forgot you get shocked when I get naked suddenly.”
“This is the first time this has happened, though?”
He paused at my words, his eyes confused. “No… it’s happened before. You were an elf…” He shook his head, as if to clear it. “I can’t remember clearly.”
“Maybe you were flashing some other person?” I raised an eyebrow.
“No, I’m certain it was you.” Was his firm answer.
“Okay, sure… so, Liam?”
“Yes?”
“I have a very important question.”
“What’s that?”
“Was it YOUR poop that I dropped on top of Adonis?”
“…”
“…”
“Liam?”
“OH LOOK AT THE TIME! Let’s go home!” And with that, Liam dragged me out of the clearing and back to our cave, with me laughing the entire way.
_____________________
When we arrived, we came across the dead dove once more. Liam stopped in his tracks, staring down at it silently.
“Actually, this was part of why I was looking for you in the first place. It just flew down out of nowhere, and killed itself here.” I stared at the words written in coagulated blood. “Who would do this?”
“The System.” He spit the words out like a curse.
“Why doves… I thought it spoke in blue glowing letters?”
Liam was still staring down at the dove, and for a moment, I could see the dragon he was behind his human appearing eyes. “Doves have meaning.”
“Meaning?”
“Often a messenger of the divine, or for all-powerful beings… they are also seen as a symbol of peace. So to have one come from the heavens and kill itself, for the message to be written in blood….
“It’s a declaration of war.” I shuddered. “It wants to force us to accept our fate. Me to go back to the Higher Realm and play heroine with Adonis… you…”
“To suffer and die in an endless sacrifice for the happy ending.”
I squeezed his hand. “Neither is going to happen.”
He didn’t look away from the bloody message. “I hope you’re right.”
____________________
Days passed.
Adonis, unfortunately, had not lied. Over time, Liam’s blood became less and less effective. I stayed in bed for most of the day, only able to do brief outings into the forest before having to rest once more. Liam grew increasingly frantic, increasing the dose and would have tried to drain himself dry if I hadn’t stopped him.
But I wasn’t the only one affected.
The edges of the realm were starting to fade into darkness. It took a while for us to realize, but when we came up to the nothingness, the emptiness where forest had once been, I was forced to confront the truth: I was dying. The realm was dying. I couldn’t stay.
But Liam couldn’t leave, except for the lower realms.
The portals became much less frequent, but I went with him each time. We tried to find ways to fix the worlds that completed both our missions, I tried my best to protect Liam from getting hurt.
We did not see Adonis again. He seemed to be biding his time.
Or he was so mad at Operation: Poop Trap that he is spending some time away from us. Either way, not too sad about it.
Finally, one day came. I couldn’t get out of bed at all. Liam stayed by my side, feeding me meat and mixed vegetables he had cooked. His cooking skills were fantastic now, but my failing body could barely appreciate it. I tried my best to eat, anyways, hoping not to worry him.
“Tell me what to do, Bel.” He whispered, feeding me another bite with a roughly carved spoon. “I don’t want to send you back there… but I can’t watch you die.”
“What if I would rather die than go back?” I asked. “Would you knock me out and send me anyways?”
Liam hung his head. “No. I won’t force you. I know better than most what its like to live with no choices. I can't send you into the same existence. If you choose to die...” His eyes filled with tears. “I’ll choose to go with you.”
“No…”
“That’s MY choice, Bel.”
I sighed. “Well, let’s try to avoid that ending then.” I started coughing, unable to take another bite. Liam out away the food with a solemn expression.
“Do you have a plan?”
“I’ve fixed countless broken stories. I always have a plan.” I tried to grin, but was too tired to maintain it for long. “I just need to make it to the next lower realm.”
I thought of the glowing blue counter I could see, and the dark power that even now hovered around my fingertips.
Hopefully this works. Everything depends on finding the right type of lower realm. I don’t have much time left, so I really hope the next one will have what I need. For both of our sakes.
After the discussion we fell silent, but stayed side by side, enjoying being together. A deeply uncertain future faced us, but at least one thing was true:
We were facing it together.
_____________________
That night, a new portal opened up. Liam, carrying me, stepped up to the red-rimmed glowing opening.
"Are you sure you want to come?" He asked in a worried tone.
"I'm sure. Once we're inside, I'll try to find you as soon as I can."
"Focus on being safe, first."
I smiled, resting a pale hand against his face. "I'll find a way for us to escape fate, Liam. I promise. The key to it is in this realm." It has to be.
His arms tightened around me. "As long as we're together."
"Together." I agreed.
He stepped into the portal quickly. As always, we were separated immediately after crossing the portal and fell into darkness.
I woke up, confused, looking all around me.
I was in water. Fish swam all around me, sunlight filtering through the waves and bouncing around them. Coral littered the ground, seaweed waving nearby, an intricate underwater garden. It was beautiful. A paradise.
And that’s when I realized I was breathing underwater.
Hmm… that’s not normal. I looked down at my arms. They seemed human enough, my hair coiling around my body. At least I’m not a fish or a sea monster. I thought, looking at the rest of me.
New part! This is the mermaid lower world. We will have one last part after this to end the story, and then a few side parts. I'm so excited guys, I'm so close!
Masterpost linked here
_________________________
Before I could spend too much time processing my new aquatic form, I felt ripples in the water from an impact above me. Looking up, a body had fallen into the water, slowly sinking into the depths. I glanced around, the ship this human had fallen from was already heading out of sight. Was this an accident or did someone throw them over? Shrugging my shoulders at the question, I swam up towards the drowning human. Might as well do my good deed for the day. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it will be Liam!
I hadn’t gotten the story mission yet, so I had to be careful as I progressed until I knew more about the world around me. I grabbed the human, recognizing it to be a human male, and dragged his body towards the shore. There was what appeared to be a deserted beach nearby, and this seemed as good as any place to dump him.
Ugh! This dude is HEAVY out of the water!
With more awkward splashing and thrashing around than I would admit to, I finally dumped my human burden onto the sandy beach. Once he was safely on the ground and not crushing my poor mermaid back and arms, I sat down on the beach and studied him. Fortunately, although I was aquatic in nature, I appeared to be able to breath oxygen. I did feel a bit dry and uncomfortable being only half covered by water. Knowing I shouldn't stay out long, I carefully looked over the human.
Hmm… he should probably not be face first in the sand with his butt in the air. That seems to be more likely to suffocate him than save him. Oops.
With that, I flipped him over onto his back, brushing the wet sand from his nose and mouth with a few quick swipes in hopes that he wouldn’t breathe it in. He was a young man, with even, well-proportioned features, albeit somewhat obscured by clumps dirt and sand. His hair color was difficult to distinguish underneath the mud, but seemed to be a light brown or blond.
My heart sank. Probably not Liam then. He usually had dark or black hair when he entered stories. Said it was the Systems way of “identifying” him as the villain.
Still, probably should wake him up and see his eyes, just to be sure, Better safe than sorry.
I reached out and grabbed a nearby piece of driftwood, and poked him randomly. He didn’t stir at first, and I sighed with impatience, fighting the urge to swing the stick or at least poke harder.Finally, my aggressive stick poking seemed to do the job, and the human woke up.
His eyes fluttered open, and focused on me.
They were grey.
I groaned with disappointment, dropping my poking stick. Not Liam for sure. Suddenly, I felt a deep sense of longing and attraction from somewhere within me, but not from me. It was the feelings of this character. Obviously, someone she might have fallen in love with at first sight. I pushed the feelings away. They were not helpful.
I turned back to the ocean, preparing to swim away. As I did so, however, the man spoke up.
“Wait!”
The desperation in his voice made me turn around.
“You saved me! Who are you?” He studied my face intently.
I shook my head. I didn’t know if I could speak, Didn’t mermaids sing? But I wasn’t gonna figure that out in front of this stranger. I didn’t want to give him anything to work with.
“Please, let me repay you, kind lady! I will give you anything you desire, even…” He paused with a slight redness tinging his cheeks. “...up to half my kingdom.”
UGH! HE’S A PRINCE! 100% THE HERO OF THE STORY! RUN AWAY! ABORT! ABORT! I shook my head faster and sank into the water. Fortunately, this guy didn’t seem to be possessed by Adonis. Just more like a run-of-the-mill hero-type character.
I wasn’t interested.
“Please! Let me repay you!” He reached out and grabbed my arms, which were still sore from carrying his heavy body onto the shore. Frustrated, I shoved his hand off my arm.
He blushed again at the contact and tried to put his hand in mine. Is he mentally ill? I threw it off with disgust.
“What do you want? Marriage?” I shook my head adamantly at his question.
“Really? Are you sure? I’m a princ….” He stopped as I chucked a sea shell at his head and turned back towards the sea. “WAIT, what about money!
I stopped for a moment. He grinned triumphantly at attracting my attention.
“I can give you lots of money!”
Money could be useful...this character probably doesn't have much human currency. I looked over his drenched form with disdain, though. Doesn’t look like he has much on him right now.
Of course, when he checked his pockets, he came up empty and gave an embarrassed grin. “Sorry, I must have lost all the money I had on me in the ocean.”
Typical male lead. Useless. I rolled my eyes and decided to leave again. Fortunately, my mermaid tail was still in the water, and the broke prince hadn’t seemed to notice that I wasn’t human yet.
“WAIT! If you follow me to my castle, I’ll give you more gold than you could ever spend in a lifetime!” He shouted.
Bad deal. I shook my head and sank further into the water.
That was when the prince made the mistake of grabbing my arm a second time.
“I don’t know where you are trying to run off to, but I can promise that you will be much richer and happier if you come home with ME!”
THUD
Without changing my expression, I bashed him in the head with my nearby poking stick. He fell backwards, clutching his head with a groan. I hit him again, and then a third time for good measure, until he seemed to be unconscious if not just stunned.
“Idiot.” The voice slipped out before I could control it. My voice was light, ethereal, a pleasant musical sound.
The unconscious idiot stirred slightly at my voice but did not wake. I just hoped he didn’t remember anything about this encounter.
I could be lucky, right?
I swam away.
As I did so, the system’s message appeared in the water in front of me.
FINALLY! Hopefully with memories I can find Liam!
**** NEW WORLD: A Mermaid’s Tale ****
This is a dramatic retelling of the fairy tale involving a mermaid and her beloved prince.
Called it! Prince is the hero! I said silently to the water, but no one was around to congratulate my accomplishment.
Similar to the fairy tale, this story features a young mermaid saving and falling in love with a young prince. She then makes a deal with a sea witch to become human, with the price of the change being her voice. She is also told that if she marries the prince and has true love’s kiss within 1 year, then she would become fully human, and regain her voice. If she failed to do so, however, she would dissolve into nothing but water and air.
Bad deal, girl. I shook my head in disgust.
In this author’s version, the prince’s kingdom was beset by the constant threat of a large army of pirates, led by the Pirate King. The mermaid, who had successfully reached a relationship with the prince with a plan to be married soon, heard news of an upcoming attack for her friends in the sea. Recognizing the danger to her beloved prince and his territory, she snuck aboard the Pirate King’s ship, trying to convince nearby sea life to attack the boat and sink it. However, instead she was captured by the pirates, and while she was gone, the prince met and married another woman. At that moment, the mermaid died, her body dissolving back into the sea, never to see her loved one again. The author, after receiving backlash from the audience, tried to compensate for the bad ending of the heroine by attempting to shift to the perspective of the prince. The second half of the story focused on his new romance and marriage, as well as his fight and revenge on the villainous Pirate King. This was met with very poor reception from the readers. The story was therefore abandoned.
What on earth did I just read? That’s even worse than the original story!
The author’s main regret is the tragic end of the mermaid. Your mission is to allow the mermaid to survive.
**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****
YES? NO?
Does the mermaid still have to become human? I asked silently.
The mermaid must still sacrifice her voice and be magically changed to become human. You cannot change this plot point.
But the only way to survive the spell is to marry the prince. I thought of the weirdly possessive man whose life I had just saved and shuddered. No thank you.
The mermaid must survive. The words were cold, logical and blunt.
I thought about it carefully. I had to find a way to undergo the witch’s spell and survive. After a few moments of silence, I grinned.
I had a plan.
*** Soul transfer 80% complete. ***
I selected “yes" and received the mermaid’s memories. It was just as awful as I expected. Poor girl had loved the prince unconditionally and risked her life multiple times just to be near him and keep him safe. And her repayment? He married another woman two weeks after she disappeared. Her disappointment was a knife to the gut, and constant wrenching deep within my soul.
Don’t worry, my new friend. We’ll give your story a good ending. No prince required.
I felt her resentment fade quietly at my encouragement, and gathered my resolve. It was time to begin.
Following the memories I had, I swam to a deep, dark corner of the ocean. Where there was no life but scavengers, and the sunlight was smothered on its way down. Only the ghostly glow from bio luminescent aquatic plant life illuminated the path to where the sea witch dwelled.
I paused at the door, hesitating. Liam wouldn’t happen to be the Sea Witch… right? Trying to wrap my head around the thought, I entered the cave.
It was a place of dark magic.
A large caldron sat in the middle, the contents within a writhing mass of bubbles. Skulls of various creatures decorated the walls, alongside different jars of eyes and scales. The whole cave glowed with an eerie green light, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find the source.
And at the center of everything… was the sea witch.
A young, beautiful woman, with dark green hair floating in curled rings around her, carefully measured ingredients and mixed them into her pot. Her many tentacles all performed different tasks, including grabbing ingredients, stabling the cauldron, and stirring with a long spoon. She looked up as I entered, her bright red eyes lighting up with excitement at the new prey.
Not Liam, then. This made my plan both easier and harder. I still needed the witch to help me become human, and find the other villain of the story.
The pirate king.
“What brings you here, curious little fish?” The Sea Witch asked with an evil grin.
I matched her evil grin with an even more villainous one.
“I’m here to make a deal.”
_________________________
It took six months. Six months to achieve my goal, and set my plan in motion.
I awkwardly tightened the badly sewn dress around my body, and stepped further out onto the beach. My homemade sandals weren’t great, but protected my newly formed human feet well enough. I wiggled my toes, trying to get used to the sensation of not having a tail anymore.
Alright, now to find my Liam.
I snuck into the port city. The area was bustling with life, filled with merchants, performers, restaurants. Everywhere the eye could see there was something for sale. People crowded the streets, talking, laughing… after the silence of the ocean, the noise was almost deafening.
I smiled and walked forward, enjoying the chaos.
My smile stopped, however, as I overheard a nearby conversation.
“The prince has doubled the reward again.” A middle-aged woman said to a vendor, rolling her eyes as she counted out coins to pay for her goods.
“Again? That’s up to ten thousand gold now! All for one mysterious girl?” The merchant shook his head. “The prince has lost his mind.”
“Oh it’s fine… He’s young and in love! Besides.” She raised her eyebrows. “Sound like the girl is quite the charmer by the description.”
Please no. I had a bad feeling. There’s no way he remembered me from our last encounter… right? All I had done was call him an idiot and bash his head with a stick until he was knocked unconscious…. So it can’t be me.
I walked away, heading over to a nearby wall where different notices and warrants were posted.
And there I saw it.
_________________________
WANTED!
MYSTERIOUS GIRL!
Hair as gold as sunlight, eyes as green as the sea during a storm.
VERY STRONG. CARRIES A STICK!
Capture alive and unharmed.
REWARD 10,000 gold.
_________________________
My gaze hesitated on the words, “carries a stick.”
Well, crap. That’s what I get for doing good deeds. Should have just let the prince drown. I read the poster again, frowning.
And what’s with the stupidly poetic description followed by the words “carries a stick” in all caps? I sighed, mentally exhausted. Definitely better to avoid him.
I turned around, moving in the opposite direction of the palace.
THUD
A bird flew down into the street, dying on the cobblestone by my homemade shoes. A broken neck, covered with pure white feathers. A dove. Blood trickled out, starting to pool in specific patterns, but I walked away before the message could form.
I already knew what it would say anyways.
And I would not accept my fate.
As I made my way through the city, I began hearing murmurs about pirates.
“They lay ashore on the port at the outskirts of town!” One woman, bouncing an infant in her arms, told another.
“How terrifying!”
“Hardly, the last few months they haven’t been terrorizing anyone at all! All they do is quickly get supplies and head out to sea again. Rumor is that they are looking for something.”
“Something out on the ocean?” The woman asked with a confused look. “Whatever could they find out there?”
The other woman whispered back “I heard the Pirate King is obsessed with finding mermaids.”
Both women laughed, but I turned towards the outskirts of town, grinning. Pirate King? Stopped terrorizing people around 6 months ago? Obsessed with looking for mermaids?
DEFINITELY LIAM!
I followed the rumors towards the outskirts of town. It took me a while, but I came across a large ship grounded on an abandoned stretch of beach. I got closer, too excited at the prospect of seeing Liam that I hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t alone.
“HEY!” Two pirates jumped out, grabbing me. I struggled briefly, and then stopped, once I realized they were dragging me towards the pirate ship, which was where I wanted to go anyways.
One of the pirates, sporting about half his teeth and a fancy eye patch, leered at me. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing all the way out here?”
I shrugged silently.
“Ooh, a quiet one, huh?” The other, a fat bald pirate, chuckled grimly. “We’ll see how brave you are when you are facing the captain!”
Eyepatch hesitated. “…Enty? I thought the captain said we weren’t supposed to kidnap people anymore?”
“She practically kidnapped herself!” The Enty replied. “Surely Captain will understand?”
“I don’t know… He’s scarier now.”
“…yeah…” Both men turned pale and silent. I wondered briefly if my Liam was really the terrifying Pirate King they were talking about. Only one way to find out I guess.
Finally, we were aboard the pirate ship. Men were scurrying everywhere, carrying out tasks, keeping their heads down. There was an uneasy atmosphere on the deck, fear permeating everything.
The fat pirate, still holding my arm, cleared his throat nervously, and shouted to the closed door on the center of the ship. “CAPTAIN, WE GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU!”
I raised an eyebrow at the wording, but stood compliantly, waiting. Hoping I was right.
“DID YOU FIND A MERMAID?!” A rough voice called out from the Captain’s quarters.
The pirate flinched. “No, Captain, It’s a woman!”
“A woman? Who cares if you found a woman?! Send her away!” The voice was obviously disinterested.
“But she wandered onto our ship!” Eyepatch argued, joining in.
“So she’s a lost woman? Great. Send her home!”
“But she’s beautiful, Captain, don’t you want to look?” Enty added on in a wheedling tone.
“What does her being beautiful have to do with me? You want me to go congratulate her on her genetics and lifestyle factors that went into allowing her to be conventionally attractive? DO you think this is a beauty contest or a pirate ship?! NOW GO SEND THE RANDOM LOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN HOME AND FIND ME A MERMAID!”
The two pirates looked at me with a frown.
“He’s not interested.”
“Where are we even supposed to find a mermaid, anyways?”
“Who knows?!” Eyepatch shrugged. “I guess we got to send this one back. Captain’s orders.”
They started to drag me away, but I was done playing prisoner. I slipped out of their grip, grabbing one of their swords as I spun away.
“HEY, GIVE THAT BACK!” Enty shouted, patting his large belt as he realized I had taken his weapon.
“Yeah, girly, we’re trying to send you back!”
I shook my head vigorously. I didn’t want to go back.
“CAPTAIN, the woman doesn’t want to leave! She stole my sword!”
“THEN STEAL IT BACK! YOU’RE PIRATES!”
Eyepatch drew his sword and stepped closer, but I struck first, knocking his wrist with the flat of my blade and causing him to drop his weapon. I grabbed it as well.
“CAPTAIN! Now she has my sword too!”
“DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?!!” As the captain’s voice shouted out in disgust, the door slammed open. I looked over, and got my first look at the villainous Pirate King.
He was tall. His head brushed the top of the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the space. He had long dark hair and beard, both decorated with several intricate braids. He wore a black frock coat and vest, with long boots and a pirate hat.
His eyes were dark blue.
Initially he charged out, his face furious and impatient. But then he saw me, freezing in place.
“Captain?” Eyepatch asked warily. “You okay?”
I waved cheerfully, setting down my swords. Just in time, as Liam the villainous Pirate King rushed forward and hugged me, lifting me off of the ground. He buried his face in my shoulder, and I felt a small amount of moisture from tears wet the fabric there.
“Bel.” He whispered. “I was so worried that something had happened to you.”
I patted him on the shoulder, comforting him. He looked up, seeming to realize that his entire crew was staring at him. “GO BACK TO WORK!” He started walking towards his quarters, still carrying me.
“I thought you didn’t care about beautiful women, Captain?” Enty ventured to question him, letting out a squeak of dismay as Liam glared at him.
“Bel is NOT a beautiful woman!” He paused, realizing what he said, and looking at me as I silently laughed at his words. “I mean, yes, she IS beautiful. But she’s not a woman.”
The pirates stared at me in confusion.
“I mean she’s not human!” Liam snapped and added. “Never mind. She’s Miss Bel to all of you! And she’s now a part of our crew, so you louts know what that means?”
“WE PROTECT OUR CREW MATES WITH OUR LIVES!” They shouted in unison. Liam nodded with approval.
“Exactly. You two will be rewarded for finding Bel. Everyone else, get this ship out to sea! I’ll be in my quarters.”
He carried me through the doorway, closing it with his foot behind us. Once we were alone, he set me down, looking me over from head to toe.
“I’m so glad you’re safe! It’s been six months, Bel! I thought something went wrong. All I could do was look for you.” He paused, staring down at my legs. “You’re human… but that means…?”
I spread my hands out silently and gave a wry grin.
“You had to give up your voice.” He reached out a shaking hand, and patted my head. “I’m sorry, Bel.”
Smiling reassuringly, I reached out and hugged him. He hugged me back tightly, letting out a shaking breath.
Once we let go, I walked over to his desk, grabbing paper, quill and ink. While he watched intently, I wrote on the paper.
I missed you, Liam.
“I missed you too! But Bel…” He hesitated. “If you were turned into a human by the witch, does that mean you have to marry the prince? I know he’s been looking for you too.”
I am getting married…
I was still writing, but as Liam read over my shoulder, his face fell. “Oh…. I suppose you have to so you don’t die…. I understand. I want you to live and be happy.” He had turned away as he spoke. Frustrated, I tapped his shoulder and pointed back to the paper where I had finished the sentence.
I am getting married to you!
Liam’s eyes widened, and a bright smile formed on his face, before quickly hiding again. “What about the witch’s spell?”
Slowly, I wrote out what I had done over the last six months, and what my plan was. Liam reading all this with an increasingly astonished expression, let out the loud, villainous laugh that I couldn’t.
“I should have known when I couldn’t find you for all that time! Brilliant!” He grabbed my hands. “Bel, I’ll arrange everything! My crew and I will put together the best wedding you have ever seen!”
I pulled my hands out with a serious expression, and went back to the paper.
If we get married here, you have to understand something. Making sure he was paying attention, I continued to write. Even though it’s a lower realm. even though we aren’t in our regular bodies. It still counts. If you marry me in this realm, It is Liam marrying Bel. Not the Pirate King and the mermaid. We are married no matter what realm we travel to.
Liam read it carefully, and then reached forward and hugged me again. “Of course, Bel. This is you and me. You’ll be the wife of a dragon, and no matter what world it is, I will always find a way to your side.” He pulled back slightly, so I could see the truth in his eyes as he continued. “I love you, Bel.”
I put my hand on my heart, and then on his. I wasn’t writing, but he knew exactly what I meant.
I love you too.
_________________________
A few months passed. We traveled around with the crew, going on a few adventures. We searched for and found buried treasure. We fought with rival pirate gangs. We also attacked a few ships, stealing the gold and jewels from them. And if they all happened to be from the royal fleet, well… I mean, the prince DID promise me money for saving him. Between Liam and I, we were able to subdue any resistance, often making off with the treasure without a single shot fired. Liam’s reputation became even more wild , now with the added rumors of the evil silent Pirate Queen who fought at his side. We were preparing for a large pirate wedding, and nothing could make me happier.
Not that everything was perfect, however. Two things definitely caused a wrinkle in our happy couple pirate life.
First: the doves. Every morning a dove would throw itself to the ground at my feet, its blood spilling out the same message: You must accept your fate. The system was angry at my defiance of the story, and the ominous messengers came and died each day. At first, this caused a huge stir among the pirate crew, and there were murmurs about how having a woman on the ship was “unlucky.” After the first few battles, however, and they saw how much I contributed with my skills with the sword, their view of me changed for the better. That along with Liam’s explanation that the doves were the product of an evil witch’s curse, the pirates quickly accepted it as the new normal. Every morning Enty would rush over and quickly sweep the bird away, the deck clean before I could blink.
The second obstacle to our happiness was the prince. He never stopped looking for me, increasing the reward to such a ridiculous amount that even I was tempted to turn myself in for the reward. It very much restricted my activities in the towns, so Liam and I often hung back whenever we came into port. It was mildly annoying, but not overly so.
Then came the day we ran into the prince.
It technically was our fault. We DID capture his ship, looking for gold. When Liam and I had subdued all the sailors on board, the crew had searched the inner rooms and came out with a tied up, angry looking prince. As he was set down on the deck with his men, his eyes looked around, until they landed on me.
Oh no.
“IT’s YOU!” He tried to stand up, but was held down by pirates on either side. “My love, I’ve finally found you!”
Love?
“Love?” The pirates looked confused.
“Love?” Liam said, his voice calm, but somehow communicating a threat.
“You saved my life, and stole my heart!” The prince continued, not looking over at the increasingly dour looking pirate king holding a sword. “I have searched the world for you, my love! Come back with me and let’s get married!”
I shook my head no.
“…” The prince seemed confused. “I don’t think you understood, dear. I’m proposing, Follow me and go home!”
I shook my head and gestured at Liam. He nodded in understanding and spoke up. “She says ‘No.’ She also says to stop calling her dear and love because she doesn’t like you.” I smiled at him. Over the time we spent, we had adapted a few different sign languages that we had learned in different lower realms to communicate, teaching the pirate crew as well so I could talk to them. My communication with Liam was always the smoothest, however. He seemed to have some deeper connection to my soul, some level of understanding that went beyond the need for words. He often acted as my translator when no one else knew what I was trying to say.
“She didn’t say that!” The prince retorted.
“Yes she did.” He looked at me. “She also says you smell bad and you are ugly.” I grinned and nodded.
“Why doesn’t she just tell me then?”
“She can’t talk.”
“YES SHE CAN!” He shouted. “I heard her say something to me!”
I raised an eyebrow, obviously questioning.
The prince blushed. “You called me an idiot, remember?”
I rolled my eyes. I thought he was unconscious for that part.
Liam stepped in. “Well she can’t talk now. Not that it matters. We will be taking your treasure and leaving.”
“NO!” The prince shouted. “She loves me! She saved my life!”
I gestured, and Liam translated. “She says she only saved you because she was afraid your corpse would pollute the ocean. She has less feeling for you than she does for the poop bucket on the ship, because at least the poop bucket is useful.”
The prince was silent for a few moments, as if something was broken within him. “No.” He whispered, his voice developing into a shout. “NO! SHE IS MINE! WE ARE MEANT TO LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER!”
I shuddered. Even if Adonis wasn’t here, the heroes of these worlds had his shadow. They felt like him, sounded like him. It really made me want to punch him.
I moved my hands. Liam watched with a smile and then spoke. “She says she will have a happily ever after, but as the Pirate Queen. She says she’s going to marry me.” He grinned. “We’re going to get married and grow old together and have six eggs… I mean human children.”
I paused. I hadn’t said anything about children or eggs. Did dragons lay eggs?? Could Liam and I even have children? If Liam and I had children in the higher realm did that mean I would have to LAY EGGS? My mind raced, and I very much ignored the prince and Liam. Finally, I came to the conclusion internally that Liam and I would have to have a very long talk about the future and possibility of progeny… and about relevant biology apparently. But we could have that talk when we back on our ship. I looked back up, trying to figure out what had happened while I was spacing out. The prince appeared to be near tears and was screaming obscenities, and Liam was simply taunting him with an evil grin.
I patted his shoulder. He looked over at me and his smile became more genuine. “Time to go?” I nodded.
He held my hand and looked back over at the prince. “Just so you know. She doesn’t belong to you. She doesn’t belong to me either. If you keep bothering her, she’ll crush you into dust. And I’ll help!” He looked proud of himself. I couldn’t help but smile, and leaned over to kiss him.
The pirates whistled loudly and the prince seemed even more angry. Liam, now red, picked me up and swung back over to the pirate ship. He ran back into the inner quarters and closed the door. Setting me down, he faced me, his red face slowly returning to normal. “Bel. Can we kiss more now?”
I laughed silently, and complied, the prince forgotten.
_________________________
It was our wedding day.
The pirates went all out. We got married on an island that had been taken over by our crew. Large festive banners decorated everywhere. A brightly dressed group of pirates played instruments, the soft, romantic music strangely out of place for the violent, aggressive looking musicians. Large crews of pirates gathered to watch the ceremony, all waving flags and streamers as if they were spectating a fight, rather than attending a wedding.
I stood at the start of the aisle, wearing a long dress of woven golden threads. I held a bright bouquet, and kept a sword strapped to my side. Liam, dressed in his finest pirate coat, stood nervously at the front next to a terrified, kidnapped priest. His hair had been cut short and his beard shaved. His men teased him, but he told me privately that he wanted to look a little more like the Liam of the Higher Realm.
Our eyes met, and in the familiar dark blue I saw love and reassurance.
I stepped forward.
_________________________
“DID YOU HEAR THAT GUYS? I’M GETTING MARRIED!” Liam hugged me as a ragged crew cheered. They discussed the use of explosive balloons as decorations with great excitement.
_________________________
A strange memory filled my mind. The same Liam, the same love.
*** Soul transfer 85% complete. ***
I continued to walk.
_________________________
We were on the upper deck of the academy, the fight with the HIVE looming over us. A group of young women and my father cheered on. Liam, knelt before me, proposing.
_________________________
Another world, another marriage, the same Liam.
*** Soul transfer 90% complete. ***
I reached Liam, and we held each other’s hands, smiling. The priest overcame his terror and began his speech, talking about love, commitment, devotion to one another.
“Do you, Liam, take this woman as your wife.” He didn’t use Liam’s character name, by his design. This wasn’t the Pirate King marrying a mermaid.
This was us.
“I do.” Liam answered without hesitation.
_________________________
Liam and I stood before each other, a pair of elves surrounded by fairies and other creatures. We spoke our wedding vows, our voices filled with love.
_________________________
Different bodies, different voices, the same souls.
*** Soul transfer 95% complete. ***
“Do you, Bel, take this man as your husband?” The priest asked, looking at me.
I looked at Liam, who stared nervously back at me.
I still didn't have all my memories.
I didn't know why it seemed as though I had met him before, countless times.
But I knew the answer to the priest's question.
I couldn’t speak out loud, but I nodded and signed my response.
Yes. Forever.
Liam leaned forward with a smile and kissed me. “I love you, Bel. My wife.”
I responded back silently. I love you too.
*** Soul transfer 99% complete. ***
We were married. Whether this was the first, the second or the hundredth time.
“BEL!” An angry voice shouted out, and an army descended upon the wedding,
Hundreds and hundreds of soldiers, all wearing the royal colors, flooded in, holding up weapons. The pirates closed, in, trying to protect us, but we were split up by an overwhelming larger force. And at their head, with a grim smile on his face, was the prince.
But he wasn’t the same prince... not anymore.
Adonis had taken over.
“Bel!” His eyes were filled with a cold, possessive light. “It’s time to stop playing pretend. Come with me.”
I shook my head no.
“Don’t lie to yourself anymore, Bel. The fact that you can’t speak should be your biggest clue that your silly little ‘marriage’ isn’t true love. It means nothing.” His expression was triumphant. “How were you supposed to get rid of the witch’s curse? You needed to get married and share true love’s kiss.” He pointed at Liam, who stood protectively beside me. “You can’t have a true love with that monster, Bel. He’s just a worthless beast whose only purpose in life is to be stepped on by the heroes on their way to live a happily ever after.”
I shook my head again, my face angry.
“Then why aren’t you fully turned human, voice and all, Bel? Why wasn’t his wedding and his kiss enough to break the curse? You need your true love. You need a hero.”
He stepped closer, until he was within reach, and held out his hand for me to take. I ignored it.
“You. Need. Me.” He reached out this time and grabbed my face. “Accept your fate, Bel. We were meant to be.”
I smiled at him. I’ve warned him before not to grab my face. Seems like he didn't learn his lesson.
“No.”
My voice, strange to hear after months of silence, spoke now in melodious refusal.
Adonis’s eyes widened in shock, “You…?” He was then struck by an invisible force, and thrown fifty feet away, collapsing on the ground.
I stepped forward, raising my hands. “You said a lot of wrong things, Adonis… in fact, EVERYTHING you said was completely and utterly incorrect. But fortunately for you, I’m here to set the record straight. You said that marrying Liam was worthless, that he couldn’t break the witch’s curse.” I looked over at Liam with a smile. “Two wrong things there: Marrying the love of my life? Never worthless. The other wrong thing?” I laughed, a loud, full villainess laugh. It felt good to hear it again.
“I was never under a witch’s curse.”
From my hands, clouds of dark magic spring, It spread everywhere, until the island was filled with it. All of the royal soldiers and pirates were picked up and placed on their respective ships, and the ships pushed out to sea. At the same time, the magic wrapped around Adonis, binding him and lifting him in the air to hang in front of us. The silence was deafening. It was just Adonis, Liam and me.
“I AM a sea witch.”
Six months earlier, when I had approached the Sea Witch, she had offered me the same deal she offered the mermaid in the story. Instead, I showed her my still weak dark powers, and offered to help her get revenge on an ex-boyfriend in exchange for her teaching me magic. She had happily obliged.
“I used my OWN magic to turn myself human. Of course, I still had to give up something, and I gave up my voice, as requested by the story. But I was never required to marry the prince. To marry anyone, actually. I just needed to decide my own future and accomplish it with my own efforts. I chose to become the Pirate Queen, and accomplishing that today, I was made fully human. Although still a witch, obviously.”
Adonis struggled against his magical bonds, his face pale. “You… can’t… do… this.”
“I can and I have, Adonis. I am not the heroine you so foolishly have put all your hopes on. If anything, I fit the role of villain much more naturally.”
He looked over at Liam with difficulty. “Your mission… doomed.”
Liam shrugged, walking easily through the flow of dark magic to stand right beside me. “My mission was easy enough, I had to be utterly defeated, along with my whole pirate horde.” He gestured around. “I’ve been defeated by the sea witch it appears. Oops. How sad for me.”
I nodded sympathetically. “Tragic.”
“I’ll never recover.” He smiled. “I guess I’ll just have to be a minion to the sea witch now.”
“How about a husband?”
“Even better!”
Adonis grew increasingly angrier. “YOU CAN’T! YOU ARE RUINING EVERYTHING!”
“Am I?” I held Liam’s hand, “I think I’ve really found a better path.” As my power surged within me, I saw a new message finally scrawl across the sky.
*** Soul transfer 100% complete. ***
I laughed again.
“In fact, I think I’ve finally got all the pieces back together.” I took full control of my power, and shouted towards the sky.
“DID YOU HEAR THAT, SYSTEM?! I DID IT! THE LAST STORY, THE STORY OF THE HIGHER REALM, IS COMPLETE! I CHOSE THE SAME ENDING, SYSTEM! COME OUT AND FACE ME!”
…
…
There was only silence.
“Nothing to say, huh? Well, if you won’t come to me…” My power reached out and tore the fabric of reality. “...We’ll come to you.”
We were transported out of the lower realm, and into a world of pure white. Not another lower realm. Not the higher realms. A new place. A place beyond the realms.
“Are you sure about this, Bel?” Liam asked quietly, still holding my hand.
“I’m sure. We’ll take it on, Liam. Our fate, the rules that have bound us, everything.” I looked around with a confident smile. “And we will win.”
Liam agreed as we stood side by side, ready to take on the System.
A few days passed, and although it couldn’t be said that I grew stronger in this realm, at least I wasn’t any weaker. Every morning Liam would bring me a cup of his blood, and I would drink it silently, pretending not to notice the strange color and taste.
Despite the need for blood to keep me alive, the days were surprisingly fun. Liam and I would go out each morning and explore the forest. We would find more rocks for his collection, and the rare patches of fruits or edible plants that had survived in this life-stealing realm. We spent the time talking, learning about each other.
“You know I actually like this forest quite a bit.” He said one day as we walked, his hands idly picking dying leaves from the branches as we passed by.
The confession caught me off guard. “I thought you called this place your cage.” A cage for a monster, in fact, which Liam is the furthest thing from.
“Well that’s not the forest’s fault! It might seem a bit lifeless and dull at first, but the close you watch it, the more things you can discover!” He grinned, the expression bringing a warmth in my heart. “There’s the stubborn trees and flowers that survive, the occasional crow and insect! Sometimes when I’m fly… when I’m running through the forest, I see so many different types of life I can’t even count them! There’s something new to find every day!”
Soo.…Liam can fly, right? He definitely said fly.
I didn’t say anything to him about it, though. He clearly was hiding something about himself. He was just as clearly extremely bad at keeping secrets. But I never pressed him. I just hoped that when he felt comfortable enough, he would tell me. Watching him laugh and talk about exploring his realm… his cage... and finding the beauty in it made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. What a wonderful person…or whatever it is that he is.
I watched him continue to explore with an excited look, unable to hold back a smile myself.
No matter what Liam really is, nothing could be worse than the company I was keeping in the higher realm. I forcibly turned my thoughts away as they drifted towards Adonis and his betrayal. No use wasting any time or energy on him.
Looking ahead, my eyes widened in shocked delight as a I spotted a familiar object.
“Are those apples?!”
Liam rushed ahead, still much stronger than I was even with his blood, and examined the fruit closely. Finally, he picked one with a broad smile. “It is! I didn’t even know there were any apples in this world! See I told you! Something new every day! Let’s take a break!”
He cleaned off a tree stump and helped me sit down, before leaning on a tree nearby. I pointed at the fruit in his hand, unable to contain my excitement. “Can I have one too?” I had eaten nothing but meat for the past few days, and although Liam’s cooking had improved by leaps and bounds, I was still craving something else.
“Of course, no need to ask! This one is for you!” Liam pulled a knife from his belt and began peeling the apple. His actions were neat and efficient, with the ease of familiarity. It took only a few moments, and then the freshly peeled fruit was passed over to me.
I held it in my hands, confused. “Liam… How did you know I like peeled apples?”
Liam grabbed another fruit, preparing to peel that one as well. “You told me.” He seemed unconcerned.
“No… I didn’t.” I thought back to our conversations over the past few days. Apples had never come up.
Or had it?
_________________________
“Why the hatred for the apple peel?” The young man seemed genuinely curious from his tone of voice as he handed me a freshly peeled fruit.
_________________________
A brief memory, flashed before my eyes.
“No… you did… I think.” Liam’s hands paused and his brow furrowed, something deep within his eyes seemed to flicker and grow.
Silence stretched between us.
Unnerved, I tried to stand up. At the quick movement, I felt lightheaded, almost falling to ground. Liam rushed forward, the apple in his hands dropping to the ground, and caught me, hugging me tightly in his arms. His eyes stared into mine, with only a short space between them.
His eyes were so familiar. I could feel it, even if the memory was just out of reach.
My hand brushed his face, tracing his eyes.
“Who are you, Liam?” I whispered. “How did I know you before I met you? How do you remember things about me I’ve never said?”
Liam turned bright red, but his hands tightened around me, refusing to let me fall. “I’m sorry Bel. I don’t know the answers to your questions.” He gently set me back down on the stump.
“I don’t really even know who I am, other than what others have told me. I’m a villain. I’m a monster.”
He picked up the fallen apple from the ground, cleaning it on his shirt.
“But even if I don’t know much… I know what you are, Bel.”
I watched his actions, curious. “What am I?”
He smiled, then turned and walked back to the tree to pick more apples to take home.
“You are a treasure.”
I didn’t know what he meant or how to respond to that, so I sat in silence until he came back to help me up. Together we went back to the cave. Back home.
*** Soul transfer 37% complete. ***
_________________________
After the apple incident more days passed. Without Liam’s blood I knew I would be close to death. But together, we had found our own little peace in this barren world. I was happy, happier than I had ever been in the months in the higher realms traveling with Adonis. Our forced, stifling partnership had been my only social interaction for so long, that I had become resigned to it, considered it normal. Now, I was slowly getting used to being around someone who actually listened to me… cared about me. It was frighteningly addictive, this caring. I wouldn’t, I couldn’t go back to the higher realm, even beyond the desire to spite Adonis and his stupid fate.
But as happy as I was, there were lingering concerns:
First, was the knowledge that Adonis would come back. As much as I hoped never to see him again, I knew it was the inevitable outcome. He had sent me here, yes, but not to die. I wasn’t sure yet what his plan was, but I knew it was going to involve his eventual return.
Not being willing to sit around moping about, I quickly began planning about how to “welcome him” when he did. A few mornings I left into the forest on my own to set up the surprise. Liam was a little concerned when he saw me sneaking around, but I persuaded him it would be worth the wait. I let out an evil laugh as I did so, and strangely enough, the sound seem to reassure him.
The laugh also prompted another change in the glowing blue counter that followed me.
*** Soul transfer 49% complete. ***
The counter was the second concern. It had gone up steadily over the time I had been in this realm, with no clear indicator for the source of its growth. I did think that Liam’s presence might be a catalyst given how slowly it had grown over the time I had been in the higher realm, but I couldn’t quite figure out what about him or my interactions with him was driving it upwards.
Even more infuriating, since the counter had hit 49 percent, it once again was stuck and hadn’t moved. I had grown used to it slowly ticking upwards throughout the day, but now 2 days had passed and it didn’t budge. Any experiments to recreate moments that had led to prior growth ended in failure. I found this incredibly frustrating, wishing I could find whoever was responsible for putting this counter in my head and beat them to a pulp. As that didn’t appear to be a viable option, however, I finally decided to ignore it again.
There was one last thing that kept my time in this realm from being truly happy:
Every night, Liam was forced into a lower realm.
It took me a while to realize it was happening so regularly. I had seen him fall out of the portal when I first arrived, but had heard no similar sounds since. He would say goodnight to me with a bright smile, close the door to my room, and when I woke up in the morning, he had breakfast ready with the same happy demeanor. He never gave any indication that something was wrong, or that he had suffered in any way, and so I continued forward in blissful ignorance.
Until last night.
I had gone to bed, and Liam and wished me goodnight and closed the door like usual. A few minutes later, however, I had a strange feeling that something was wrong. Unable to shake my uneasiness, I stood back up and opened the door. From a different room I could hear the clinking of metal and a muffled grunt of pain. Following the noise, I opened a different door, to a room I hadn’t explored before, not since he had expanded his cave during one of my solo wanderings. As the door swung open, I felt my heart drop.
Liam was in chains.
A glowing portal, similar to the one I had seen him fall from before, hovered before him. Metal chains had extended out from the edges of the portal, wrapping themselves around Liam’s arms and legs. He looked defeated but not surprised by his binding, fighting it uselessly. Slowly the chains started to retract, pulling him into the portal.
“Liam!” I tried to run forward but struggled to move as quickly as I wanted. Liam looked up at my shout, his face shocked for a moment before giving me a sad smile.
“Don’t worry, Bel. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No!” I cried out, reaching out just as the portal closed around him. My fist slammed on the bare wall that was left behind.
BAM!
I felt uncontrolled rage. The sight of him in chains… his sad resignation… I couldn’t bear it. I thought about Liam calling himself a monster.
BAM! The skin of my hand broke under the force as I slammed it again. Red blood stained my fingers, dripping down onto the ground, the bright red color quickly dulling and turning greyish as the world absorbed the energy from it. For a moment in my mind, I saw the bright gold blood Liam gave me each day, his insistence that it was “normal, human blood.”
There’s still so much I don’t know about him.
I sat on the floor, staring at my bloody hands. I prayed silently, desperately, that his words were correct, and that he would be back in the morning. Until then, I could do nothing but wait.
It was a long night.
_________________________
After what felt like countless hours, the portal opened up again. Liam dropped down onto the ground onto his back, his hands holding his head, his whole body shaking with pain. It was too similar to the incident that happened the night I arrived.
“Liam!” I hugged him tightly, ignoring his shocked yelp as he was yanked into my arms.
“Bel?” He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and then sat next to me on the floor. “Have you been waiting here to whole night?”
“…” I hugged him tighter. Liam hesitated, then slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
“Bel… are you okay?”
I buried my face against his chest. “I was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Scared you weren’t coming back.”
“…” I could feel him freeze in shock at my words, and then a happy chuckle echoed in his chest. “Of course I came back, Bel! You’re here waiting for me. Nothing could stop me from returning to you.”
“What if you found a way to escape this cage? Wouldn’t you take it?”
“Only if I’m bringing you out with me.” One hand slowly rubbed my back as he spoke, a soft, comforting motion. “It’s not really freedom if I’m leaving you behind.”
Finally, after a long while, I backed out of his embrace, ignoring his sad puppy eyes as we moved apart. “What happened tonight? Did you get pulled into a lower realm?”
Liam nodded silently.
“I’ve seen this twice already, on both nights that I left my room. Does this happen to you every night? Have I just been completely clueless and left you to suffer alone?” I felt my eyes fill with tears but held them back.
He panicked, “No it’s not that bad, it’s not every night!” He paused, seeing my silent stare, and slowly admitted. “Okay, so it’s most nights, but still, there’s nothing wrong with you sleeping while I’m in the lower realm. You’re weak from this place sapping your energy, it’s better that you rest so you can do what you want at other times.”
“What about you? How could you be getting enough sleep?”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine!” He waved a hand. “I hibernate every few months for a day or so… I mean…" He blanched. "... I sleep a normal human amount…”
“Right... Liam, I want to go with you next time.” I interrupted his ramblings on normal human sleep. “Don’t do this alone.”
“…” Liam fell silent, looking uncomfortable.
“Don’t worry, I’m used to traveling the lower realms, I can watch your back!”
“No I know. You are extremely capable.”
I met his gaze. “So why do you look so concerned?”
“… I don’t get assigned very good roles to play in these worlds.” His hands wrung together his eyes not meeting my own. “Sometimes weak, sometimes powerful, rarely beautiful, often grotesque.” He hesitated again. “Always evil.”
“Just because you’re assigned the villain role doesn’t make you evil.” I laughed bitterly. “You’ve already seen what the so called ‘hero’ is capable of. I don’t care what character they force you to be. I’ll be there to protect YOU.”
At my words, a smile slowly spread across his face. “Okay then. Let’s go together next time.”
_________________________
The next night, we waited for the portal, hand in hand.
“We’ll have to move quickly once it arrives.”
I nodded in agreement, and then had a thought. “What about the chains?”
“Those only come out if I try to avoid entering the portal.” His voice was calm, but I winced at the memory of him being dragged into the lower realm. It’s okay. I’ll protect him this time.
Before I could say anything further, the portal appeared, hovering in the center of the room.
“Let’s go!” Liam grabbed my hand and rushed forward. I closed my eyes, leapt through the portal, and then in the darkness between worlds immediately lost the sensation of his hand within mine.
“Liam!” I reached out, but I could feel nothing, see nothing, hear only the sound of my own ragged breaths.
And then the darkness cleared.
_________________________
Splash!
Someone threw wine in my face. The smell of alcohol overwhelmed my senses, and I felt the room temperature liquid run down my neck and soak my dress.
What a great way to start off. The sarcastic thought quickly came and went as I sighed,wiping my hand across my face. I could now see that I was in a crowded room of well-dressed strangers. The woman who was the likely wine-throwing culprit, stood in front me with a gloating smirk. She was clutching an empty glass in one hand and a man’s arm in the other. The man with her was watching me with disdain, his expression ruining otherwise classically handsome looks.
“Oops, my mistake.” The woman shrugged and gave a fake laugh. “My hand slipped.”
The man beside her smiled with approval at her action, chuckling at the site of me. “Looks like red is your color.”
Hmm… No idea what kind of story this is, but one thing IS for sure…
I grinned, and punched the woman in her face.
I’m gonna make sure they regret trying to humiliate this lady. I could still feel my character’s deep sadness and sense of betrayal. Whoever these two were, they weren’t good people.
The woman fell backwards from the blow, clutching her face. I watched her fall with a smile, all while speaking in a monotone voice. “Oops, my hand slipped, my bad, teehee.”
Stating the word “teehee” out loud particularly seemed to enrage her, which only encouraged me further.
“El, don’t be childish!” The man snapped, only to break off with a shriek as I kicked out his knee, knocking him to the ground on his back besides the woman.
“Oh no. Look what totally happened by accident.” I continued blandly, while stepping carefully on his crotch. “I’m just so clumsy you see, and it gets so much worse whenever I’m confronted by stupid.”
“You Bit…AHHHH!” The man broke out in another cry as my stiletto came down again.
“Bitahh?” I shrugged. “Haven’t heard that one before. Perhaps you meant, ‘awesome’? I would have also accepted ‘terrifying’.”
He gasped for air, his eyes filled with rage. “Pretend all you like, I’ll never love you!”
I felt a stab of pain in my chest, a holdover from the character I had become, but all they saw from me was a broad grin. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
I walked away, leaving a stunned, silent crowd behind me. As I hurried away, a phone in my pocket went off. I grabbed it, pulling up the familiar text.
**** NEW WORLD: Love is Torture ****
This is a dramatic romance story featuring the bright and innocent young Ella and her husband, the rich, handsome, dark and broody Cameron.
“Oh, you got to be kidding me!” I nearly threw my phone. “I’m married?!”
This dark tale of lies and misunderstandings focuses on the forced marriage between the two leads. Cameron, under the false impression that his younger sister was murdered by a rival in business, dedicates his life to revenge. Forcing the man’s daughter, Ella, to marry him to save her father, he spends his energy trying to break her spirit, hoping her pain would hurt the one who killed his family. He insulted her, humiliating her both publicly and privately. He brought his mistresses to public events, encouraging them to bully her as well.
“So Cameron is the villain, right?” I groaned. “Why did you say he was the lead?”
Little did he know that his sister was not dead, but had in fact suffered amnesia and was living quietly in a small town nearby. In fact, Ella was the kind stranger who saved her life. His deep misunderstanding of her, however, causes a large amount of drama as he fights his growing attraction to her.
“Gross.”
The first book was met with mixed reviews, as most of the readers struggled to support such an abusive male lead. As the story continued, and more and more controversy circled around it, the author abandoned the whole series in disgust, leaving the world unstable.
The Author’s regret was not being able to bring a happy ending to the heroine of the story, leaving her trapped in an abusive relationship and facing a dark future. Your mission is to give the heroine a happy ending.
**** DO YOU ACCEPT THIS MISSION? ****
YES? NO?
“…Does the ending have to involve a relationship with Cameron?”
NO.
“Great!” I tapped the "Yes" button with a grin and found a corner to sit down in as I slowly accepted the memories of this poor character.
“Oh dear, this was worse than I thought.” I muttered.
Ella, the poor girl, had been so very innocent. She had no thought but to save her father, whose business had been crushed by the mis-aimed revenge of a madman. After the marriage, she resolved to make the best of the situation, trying to get to know the handsome man who had become her husband.
Her efforts only brought her pain.
Fortunately, he avoided touching her at all costs, which limited any physical abuse. But the constant insults, tearing down her appearance, her talent for art, her speech. Any perceived flaw was trotted out and exposed for all to see, breaking her heart each time. He flaunted his affairs in front of her, shattering her dream of any loving, committed relationship, frequently and vulgarly comparing his conquests to her which only further spiraled her self-confidence.
I frowned as the memories moved forward in my mind. I hate drama romance leads the most.
This party actually marked a turning point in their relationship. After having wine dumped on her by Cameron’s mistress, she had cried and gone upstairs to change. There, a triumphant and intoxicated Cameron had forced her mid-change against a wall, kissing her. He had soon left, disgusted himself for succumbing to his attraction to her, This was the first time they had had physical contact, and from then on Cameron had found himself more and more drawn to Ella, and she felt trapped, unable to refuse his advances, hoping to protect her father.
I leaned over, puking into a trashcan.
Ella’s memories all too clear about her suffering. After emptying my stomach, I stood back up, wiping my mouth with a shaking hand. I should have crushed his genitals harder. I was so relieved at having derailed the plot.
Now to go derail it further....And then I need to find Liam.
Following Ella’s memories, I went straight to the home she shared with Cameron, only changing my clothes once I was back in my own room with a locked door. Grimly, I put on loose, comfortable clothing, and packed a bag with Ella’s original belongings in it. I ignored the expensive, shiny jewelry on the dresser, leaving behind anything that could be traced to Cameron’s money.
I also made a phone call to one of Ella’s father’s old lawyers, who agreed quickly to bring the requested paperwork to the house within the hour.
And then, packed, dressed and papers ready to go, I sat on the couch with a hot cup of coffee, and I waited for my hero to arrive.
SLAM!
Cameron rushed into the house, his face red with rage. Seeing me sitting calmly he paused, as if confused, but then stepped closer with his fist raised threateningly.
“I’ll make you regret what you did tonight!”
I smiled. “Actually, unless you want my knee in your crotch and my hot coffee in your face, I suggest you sit down and talk to me like a big boy sociopath.”
“…” He didn’t seem able to process my words, but in his shock he sat down on the chair across from me so I counted it as a win.
“Good job!” I applauded briefly. “Now, onto the important stuff.” I tossed the partially signed paperwork onto the table. “Divorce.”
“No.” His voice was an unrecognizable growl. “You’re mine! You are stuck with me. You have to pay for your father’s sins.”
I sighed. “Okay, Mr. Broody McPsychopath, as much as I’ve NOT enjoyed playing house with you, listening to your abuse, and watching your affairs, I’ve got more important things to do.”
“I AM the most important thing to you! You OWE me!”
I tossed another paper onto the table, this one with a photo and an info sheet. “ I heavily disagree with that statement, however, I also would prefer you not stalking me in a pitiful attempt at misguided revenge. So take a look:”
He picked up the paper. “What is…” His eyes widened in shock as he recognized his sister.
“She’s not dead. I saw a picture of her on your desk today, and recognized her as a person I helped out of a car accident several years ago." I made a reason for my sudden knowledge of the plot with ease. "She had amnesia, and settled in a nearby town. The info is written there.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I know this is foreign, but what I’m doing is called COMMUNICATION. It’s where we talk clearly about things to avoid stupid and painful misunderstandings.” I pointed at him. “First: you forced this marriage to punish my father, under the foolish impression that he arranged for your sister’s death. Two: Your sister is alive and well, and even a cursory investigation into the car accident will help you find the actual people responsible for the accident. And finally…” I pointed my finger at myself. “I only married you to protect my father, and thus with this misunderstanding resolved would like to be free of you.”
“…” He seemed overwhelmed by the concept of not having misunderstandings. I nodded sympathetically and sipped my coffee, giving him time.
“You won’t leave.”
“Pardon?” I asked, confused.
“You can’t resist me. I’ve felt your eyes following me,” He smirked. “Even if I divorce you, you’ll be back and begging for more within a week.”
“Hmmm… Okay. Let’s totally go with that delusion, and have you sign the divorce papers to prove me wrong.”
He reached out, now overly confident, his pen hovering over the paper. “Are you sure, Princess? This is your last chance to have a claim. After this you’re just like any other woman to me.”
I struggled to keep a straight face. “You mean less to me than the house plant that I killed, and that was made of plastic. I think I’ll take my chances.”
He signed the paper, shaking his head with a smug look and a light chuckle. “Here.” He passed it off, trying to brush my fingers with his but I took the papers with kitchen tongs I had brought instead. No accidental physical contact for gross jerks! ”I’ll see you in a few weeks when you come to beg me to take you back.”
“Sounds good, buddy.” I stood up and waved, taking my signed divorce papers happily. “And don’t forget to leave cookies and milk out for Santa while you’re at it. He’s about as likely to visit you as I am!”
I walked out, with a hearty, evil laugh, the sound familiar and comfortable.
And now… I have a villain to find.
_________________________
I found Ella’s car and drove out of the long private drive from Cameron’s mansion. As I traveled, my phone rang. I quickly answered, whistling cheerfully.
“Ella!” My character’s father’s voice rang out, clearly worried. “What happened? I’ve heard all kind of rumors…”
“Oh hi Dad!” I called out cheerfully. “Great timing! I just lost some weight! A whole load of abusive, nasty annoying dead weight.”
“What?”
“I divorced the dirtbag! Aren’t you proud of me?!”
“YOU DIVORCED CAMERON?! It can’t be official, right?!”
“Already uploaded the signed paperwork to our lawyer! Should be submitted any minute now and I’m a free woman.” I thanked my lucky stars for the unrealistic insta-divorce setting in this world, which was great for generating quick drama that a years-long court heavy process wouldn’t.
“GO BACK AND QUICKLY TELL HIM YOU ARE SORRY!” Ella’s father yelled, panicked. “Hurry, he might still take you back!”
“Oh, dad, I’m so sorry…”
“You should be…”
“I didn’t realize you were in the throes of dementia.” I sighed dramatically. “I guess age catches up with us all! Don’t worry Pops, I know a few great nursing homes where the staff are nice, the colors bright and the food soft and easily consumed without teeth.”
“ELLA!”
“It’s okay!” I interrupted, speaking slowly and loudly. “I’ll take good care of you!”
“Stop being ridiculous!”
“I’m not the one talking nonsense, old man." My tone was now serious. "Cameron is a psychopath, abusive, piece of trash. If you had any mental capacity left, you would be absolutely cheering at the news that your daughter was free of him.”
“What about my business?”
“If you can’t run your business without your daughter’s marriage to protect you, then you are better off leaving the business world and moving to the nursing home. And I’m happy to help you do that.” I paused and then added with emphasis. “Anytime. Just try me.”
I then hung up, betting internally on whether or not he would come to his senses.
_________________________
I headed over to a club on the fringe of the city, called “Fortress.” From my character’s memories, I knew I would find the villain there.
A mysterious club owner who rarely showed his face, the club was a front for his secret criminal organization. His group has clashed several times with Cameron’s, leading to a growing feud between the two men. At the end of the first book, close to the end of Ella’s memories, the villain had kidnapped Ella to try to force Cameron into giving up on a business, only to be shot and killed by Cameron in the rescue attempt.
Most likely, Liam had become the club owner/crime boss villain of the story.
I parked in front of the non-de script club, and knocked on the front door.
A very large muscular man opened the door, a deep scowl on his face. “We’re closed.”
“I’m a friend of the owner.”
“Sure you are, lady.” He tried to close the door, and I shoved my shoe in the way, glad I wore boots.
“Trust me, if you call him, he will definitely want to see me. Just tell him Bel is looking for him.”
With much more convincing, I finally managed to enter the club. TO my dismay, Liam wasn’t there. I sat awkwardly on the couch in the VIP lounge, snacking on peanuts, waiting patiently.
I could here the men in the background arguing.
“How could you bring her here?”
“She says she knows the Boss!”
“I thought the Boss hated women.”
“The Boss hates everyone.”
“True… should I get rid of her? I already called him!”
“I think…”
The door slammed open, and a panting disheveled man in a suit came tumbling in. In one hand he held a large baseball bat, the other clutching a cell phone. I studied the man carefully, taking note of his dark hair, a face covered in scars, including a long diagonal slice across one eye. His eyes however, were a familiar blue.
I jumped up, and threw myself into the man’s arms. “Liam!”
_________________________
After Liam calmed down, we found a quiet place to talk.
“Are you okay?” Liam asked, quietly clutching my hands in his.
“I’m fine.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “I was so worried! When I got here, I saw the story… saw what was going to happen to you at the party… and I rushed over.”
I thought of the baseball bat he was carrying. “What were you planning to do when you got there?”
“Education.” Was his firm answer.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that.
“But when I got there, it was just a bunch of crowds of gossiping people, and a really loud woman who kept screaming about how she was going to kill someone. That’s when I got the call you were here.” His hands squeezed my own. “I’m so relieved you are okay!”
I explained to him my actions so far, which caused him to laugh and congratulate me on my quick divorce.
I added, “Fortunately, I didn’t feel Adonis’s presence in this world.”
“Yeah, he’s been less frequent about coming into the lower realms since pushing you into my realm.”
I thought about that. “Wait, so are you in every lower realm I’ve visited?”
“I don’t know for sure." Liam shrugged. "I get set to a different realm every night. Sometime Adonis is there, sometimes both of you, plenty of times it’s just been me.”
I had a strange realization as I thought back to the last world I had gone to, the two kingdoms realm. Remembering the familiar feeling I had gotten from the kingdom-destroying beast... “Liam… you wouldn’t happened to have been a large monster before, would you?”
“WHAT?! I have no idea what you are talking about!” He turned pale and panicked at the question, avoiding eye contact.
“Really? In the lower realm where I was the princess? Didn’t you help me take over the world?”
Liam grabbed his chest and let out a sigh of relief, “Oh THAT’s what you meant!” He nodded. “Yes that was me.”
“…” I once again knew I was missing something, but felt too awkward to keep pushing. Instead, I explained to him the mission given to me, to have a happy ending.
Liam offered to hand over all of his underground criminal organization resources to my disposal. “What do you want to do?”
The question caught me off guard. I'm still not used to having someone ask me what I wanted to do, instead of trying to force me to follow a plan or some predetermined fate.
I smiled at him. “I think the best revenge for a woman who was humiliated by her ex-husband to get revenge on her father, and who was sacrificed by said father to save his own business… is to become more rich and powerful than both of them.”
"Sounds good." Liam nodded. "Let's go to work!"
And so, we got to work.
_________________________
I had lived in more than enough lower realms that centered around business, and was fairly comfortable with how to build a company up, (especially in the cheat worlds of romance novels where rich, handsome men who somehow spend zero time on their company abound). With Liam donating some starting capital, I was able to grow a business over the next year that became the talk of the town. Soon I pushed my father’s business into a corner, and began a forced acquisition. His horrified and bewildered expression once he realized it was me in charge of the mysterious rival company, gave me a nice warm feeling inside and prompted another villainous laugh.
As for Cameron…
He had reunited with his sister, and through the magical medical treatment available in the novel, gotten her memories back. He had tried to contact me twice that I knew of. Once after finding her, and another a week later. I blocked his number and ignored all other attempts. Taking advantage of his distraction, I snatched up a large portion of the big deals from his company, using the memories of Ella and the previous story of this world to be able to pinpoint which ones to target.
I was quickly becoming the richest person in the world, and my mission progress bar was slowly up-trending.
In between becoming a rival CEO to destroy my father and the male lead, I spent the rest of my free time with Liam. It became the norm for us to spend time together every day. We always found time for something, whether it was eating a meal, going for a walk, watching a movie, or just sitting next to each other while we dealt with the paperwork of our respective business empires. We told jokes and laughed, plotted and schemed against the male lead and my insufferably self-righteous father, and overall continued the comfortable existence that we had lived in the woods of Liam’s realm.
One night, we both fell asleep on the couch at “Fortress,” me holding a laptop, him clutching a remote and a bowl of popcorn. The next morning, I woke up and looked over to see his scarred, strange but still familiar face. I had a sudden urge to reach out and touch him. If I had woken up in this world, and the man I had been married to was Liam instead of Cameron… I would have been happy to just stay married.
The realization of that thought hit me hard, and I stood up, confused.
Do I have feelings for Liam?
He was a strange person, much like me. A mysterious existence with too many secrets. One I knew very little about. But he was also kind, gentle and caring person. Someone who I wanted to protect with everything I have, and who I trusted to protect my back no matter what.
Liam woke up, seeing my staring. “What are you looking at. Do I have something on my face?”
“…” I hesitated unsure of what to say, but after taking a deep breath, blurted out: “Liam… let’s get married!” I looked away, filled with horror once I realized what I had just said, but at the same time, felt no desire to take it back. Why not? What better happy ending for Ella on top of being rich and powerful than being in a nice healthy relationship with someone wonderful?
“…” The silence stretched on. I finally worked up the nerve to look over to Liam only to see wide eyes filled with shock, and a bright red face.
“Bel…” He finally said with an embarrassed look. “Before I give you an answer, I need to tell you something: We talked about your mission in this world, to save and stabilize it… but you never asked about what MY mission was.”
“You have a mission too?” I asked, distracted and mildly confused as to why this was relevant to my sudden marriage proposal. “What is it?”
“It’s…”
Before he could answer, a man burst into the room. Behind him in the club, the sounds of fighting and shouting could be heard. The man stood before us with a vicious grin, holding out an outstretched arm.
He was holding a gun.
“Cameron what on earth do you think you are doing?!” I shouted, standing up. Liam got up next to me, his hand grabbing mine.
The look in Cameron’s eyes was feral. “I’m saving my wife from this villain!” He snarled, pointing the gun at Liam.
I stepped in front of Liam. “First of all, that’s ex wife to you! Second of all, why would I need saving from Liam?”
“He kidnapped you! I know everything, Ella! He built up a rival corporation to compete with me and your father…”
“No that was me…”
“He even forcibly acquired your father’s company!”
“Still me…”
Cameron kept talking, as if he hadn’t heard me. “And I know that he’s been preventing you from contacting me, or answering my phone calls.”
“No… I blocked you. And I didn’t want to see you.”
“It’s okay!” He smiled at me, but the expression sent chills up my spine. “I’m going to make things right, by getting rid of this snake first.”
I held my arms out. “You’ll have to go through me.”
“Bel.” Liam whispered.
“What is it Liam? I’m kind of busy.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“For what…?” I broke off into a horrified gasp as he stepped around me, distancing himself and moving into a clear line of site from Cameron.
BANG!
Liam fell to the floor.
I saw red.
Grabbing the baseball bat, I swung it as hard as I could at the man’s offending hand.
CRACK!
I felt his wrist break from the blow. He let out a scream of pain, looking up at me with a confused expression. “Why are you doing this, Ella? I’m saving you! I love you!”
I glared at him, kicked his gun away, and swung the bat again, hitting his chest. He fell to the floor with a grunt.
“Love? You call your madness and selfishness love?”
Crack! I broke his other arm.
“No, you’re just a petulant child, whose mad because he thinks that other kids might play with his toy.” I smiled coldly. “Well guess what?”
I kicked his chest, knocking him onto his back. “I’m not your toy. And just like you don’t really love me, I don’t love you.” I put my foot in “crotch stomping” position.
“And I’ll make you pay for killing the man I lo…”
“Bel!” Liam’s weak voice called out, interrupting my rant. I dropped my bat, causing it to hit Cameron’s face as he let out another groan of pain and rushed to Liam’s side.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded, showing the clear wound on the muscle of his shoulder. Just a few inches to the left and the bullet would have… I shook my head, and hugged him, trying to avoid the injured arm.
“Why would you step out like that?”
“I tried to tell you... my mission.” He held up a cell phone, and to my surprise, I saw an interface very similar to mine.
100% complete.
**** You have finished the mission! ****
I stared at the words. “Your mission was to get shot?”
His smile was faint and bitter. “That’s the villain’s job. To create conflict and then to get defeated. My ending was liked by the readers. They didn’t want it to change.”
“Is every world like this?” I was horrified.
“Pretty much.” His expression became happier. “But on the bright side, since I’ve been shot, but didn’t die, I can answer your question!” He blushed, but pushed forward with a whisper. “Yes.”
“Yes?” I was confused, and then realized what he was saying, and coughed, trying to cover up my embarrassment. “Well then, I guess we have a wedding to plan.”
“Bel?”
A strange voice called out. I looked over to the bruised and beaten Cameron, who was staring at me with an incredulous look… and with contained rage.
I knew that look.
“Adonis.” I said quietly, positioning myself in front of Liam to protect him. "Welcome to the party."
“Why are you here? Did you get dragged through the villain’s portal?” He shook his head. “Even if you try to escape, you can’t. I’m your only salvation. Only the hero can save the princess from the monster.”
“I think you and I have very different definitions of the word ‘monster’.” My phone chirped and I looked down to see a notification that the latest deal had gone through, officially making me the richest and most powerful person in this small world. Between that, and an upcoming happy wedding… I waited a moment, and sure enough:
100% complete.
**** You have finished the mission! ****
My mission was complete as well.
Adonis try to scramble to his feet. “Wait, Bel, what have you done?”
“Fixed the world again. Without you. The usual.” I tilted my head, staring at him with a cold smile. “Don’t try to come after me again, Adonis. You won’t like what will happen to you.”
“Bel!”
The portal opened, swallowing Liam and I both.
“BEL! I AM COMING FOR YOU!”
I waved cheerfully, and Liam flipped him off as we disappeared.
“YOU HEAR ME?! I AM COMING FOR YOU!”
We were back in the villain’s realm. Immediately I felt tired, as the drain of the world set back in. I leaned against Liam shoulder, which was fortunately no longer injured and gave him a grin.
“So… when’s the wedding?
*** Soul transfer 59% complete. ***
Liam stared at me, shocked. But before he could answer, he stopped in his tracks, and seemed to sense something. “As much as I would love nothing more than to talk about this, Bel, we’ll have to save it for another time.”
“Stella… the Chosen One meant to save the world… took the forbidden dark magic artifact?” I rubbed my forehead. “What is she thinking?”
“Well obviously she isn’t the savior that the prophecies have made her out to be.” K’llean laughed bitterly. “They got a lot of things wrong now, didn’t they?”
Ignoring him, I threw on a cape over my sleeping clothes, grabbed some boots and headed towards the village center. Liam and K’llean trailed behind me silently, keeping a good distance between them.
As I reached the back room where the artifact had been kept, I paused in the doorway, staring at the empty pedestal where the amulet had rested.
Why would Stella take it and run off? Isn’t it the Dark Lord who is supposed to want the amulet? How far off course is this story?!
“K’llean.” I turned slowly to face the elf, who couldn’t meet my eye. “Did you plan this?”
His face paled, and he backed away from me a few steps. “Belaire, I…”
“After your plan to force me to form a life oath with you, to exile Liam or join him with someone else… Did you plan this next? As a way to force me to bond to protect everyone?”
“NO! I wouldn’t put the forest at risk like that…”
I grabbed his arm, stopping him from backing away further. “Then why do you look so guilty?”
“It’s not... I mean...” He trailed off staring that the ground.“Because…”
“Because what?!”
“BECAUSE IT’S MY FAULT!!” The words burst from him as he finally met my gaze, the pain in his eyes shocking me into releasing his arm. “I was supposed to make sure no outsiders could enter… but in the end… I left her alone next to an unguarded room.” He looked over to the empty pedestal where the amulet had sat and groaned. “I failed in my duties, practically handing over something that could destroy our home. I ran away.”
I shook my head. “Why…?”
“If I had stayed in here any longer, I would have taken the artifact instead.” He whispered, crouching down, covering his face in his hands. “It spoke to me in my head, offering me everything I ever wanted: home… a family…” he looked up, guilt distorting his features. “…you.”
“So you ran.”
“And put us all at risk.” He stayed crouched down, seeming too tired to stand again.
K’llean… Stella… these characters are broken. I sighed as I stared down at the desolate elf. Is it all my fault? Did I change the story too much?
But… it’s not like I can just sacrifice myself for them like the original story called for.
“Get up.” My words were cold, but K’llean almost seemed relieved as he jumped to his feet.
“Belaire…”
I interrupted him. “Gather the best warriors you’ve got. We’ll track down Stella before she can do anything bad with the amulet.
“Priestess, bad news!”
Dangit! Curse my foreshadowing mouth!
I looked over, surprised to see Violet the fairy, waving her hands anxiously as she called out to me. I reached out to her, and she landed on my shoulder collapsing and trying to catch her breath.
“Violet, what’s going on?”
“The Dark forces are rising deep in the forest.” Her small hands clutched by hair, trembling as she spoke. “The monsters are gathering.”
I felt my stomach drop. “how many?”
“Too many to count!” Purple colored tears dripped from her eyes. “They destroyed our flowers!”
“And they’re on their way here.” Prince Henry walked in behind her, his face grim. “My men have confirmed it. A shadow monster horde. Larger than anything we have ever seen.”
“Stella?”
He winced at the name. “She’s… leading them. Her magic has converted to dark magic now, but it’s much more powerful than it ever was in the past.”
To my surprise he fell to his knees in front of me, bowing his head in shame.
“I’m sorry, Priestess. We brought the enemy right through your doors, claiming her to be the savior. I ignored her willful and selfish ways, spoiled her shamelessly, always thinking she was the one spoke of in the prophecies that would save us all.” His head slowly raised. “But I was wrong.”
I grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. “We all make our own choices, prince. And we will all face our own consequences for them. I won’t hold you accountable for her mistakes.”
“Thank you.” A small smile flitted across his features. “I almost wish you were from another world. You are definitely someone I could trust with the fate of us all…”
…
I felt my smile stiffen in place as I turned towards Liam who winked at me, frowning back at him. Ignoring him as he broke into laughter, I finally met K’llean’s uncomfortable stare.
“Gather all the warriors, as well as everyone who can use magic.”
“Will we be able to defeat them?” He asked quietly.
“The horde? Definitely. Stella? It depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“Depends on just how much magic that amulet gave her.”
Taking a deep breath, I headed back towards my home.
“Where are you going?” Liam caught up with me.
“Changing clothes. I refuse to die in my pajamas.”
“…How about not dying at all?!”
I grinned, touching his face. “Of course. I haven’t kept my promise to marry you yet.”
“Belaire.” His voice was serious, catching my attention, forcing me to a halt. He seemed to be struggling to find the words to say, reaching over to pull me into a tight hug. “What if we’re not strong enough to beat them?”
“I’ll find a way.”
“But a life oath would multiply your strength ten times.” My face was pressed against his chest so I couldn’t see his expression, but his voice sounded near tears. “I can’t…”
“Liam.” I pulled back from his hug, reaching out to hold his face between my hands. His eyes widened at the short distance between us. “I won’t betray you.”
“But…”
“No buts.” I leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips. “Stay by my side.”
“Okay.” Nodding with a helpless smile, we headed back to change.
Despite my confident words however, I felt a growing sense of dread. My mission was to push back the darkness without sacrificing the life of the priestess. It would have been fine if it was the original Dark Lord from the stories, but this was the Chosen One. She had already been powerful before encountering the dark artifact. If I wasn’t strong enough to take on Stella and the amulet alone…
You can’t escape your fate.
I shivered, feeling cold despite the summer’s warmth.
___________________________
“They’re coming.”
I stood at the main gate of the Elven Village, K’llean, Liam and Prince Henry at my side. Behind us were all the elven warriors, the rest of Stella’s party, as well as a few human guards that had come on the prince’s Request. We numbered less than a hundred, a pitiful few compared to the force we were facing.
I smiled at Liam. “Let’s move forward. I’ll keep a ward around the village, while everyone who can fight can try to take out as many monsters as possible.
“Wait.” Prince Henry frowned. “Why not just stay behind your ward if it’s so effective?”
“First, I don’t have infinite magic, and shadow monsters don’t tire like normal creatures. They would still be here long after my ward is down. Second, although it is a very powerful defense, I don’t know how much stronger Stella has gotten.” I gestured to the dark, shadowy forms in the distance. “She’s doing us the favor of sending her army in first, so we need to take the opportunity. If I have to face her and the monsters together…”
The prince grimaced, nodding his head. “Great, just great.”
“Regretting joining with us yet?”
“Give me a minute, I’m trying to find a suitably diplomatic answer.”
I laughed and walked forward, pulling Liam beside me. K’llean called out an order to the warriors behind us, and the elves marched behind, brandishing their weapons. I caught him glancing at me in the corner of my eye, and seeing my attention, he looked away uncomfortably.
“Don’t get hurt.” Mumbling softly, he drew his large sword, checking it over carefully.
“Same.” I closed my eyes briefly, finding my magic source and bringing it to reality. A light-filled dome surrounded the village, closing in behind the warriors that stepped forward. I opened my hand, and a sword made of light magic formed in it. Ready for battle, I watched, my heart racing as the twisted army approached.
One of the lead monsters, a seven foot long centipede-like creature with bright red eyes and large fangs, lifted its head up to the sky and let out a terrifying scream. The surrounding monsters, more than I could count, roared back, and then charged towards our small force.
The fight for survival had begun.
___________________________
I leapt forward, blade raised, slicing off the head of the centipede before slipping between the first line of creatures. Every step I was avoiding an attack, each movement a close brush with death. I struck left and right, leaving most of my technique behind. The monsters were so tightly crowded that even wild swings had a large effect. With each attack of my blade, light magic moved out in waves, burning and destroying the creatures around me.
To my right I could see K’llean, swinging his sword with both hands, taking out multiple creatures at a time with ease. The harsh training he had undergone, working tirelessly day and night to get stronger shined brightly, his movements flawless as he attacked in every direction. He coated his sword in light magic, occasionally sending out beams of it to assist some of the elven warriors who looked overrun.
Even in battle he’s still looking out for them.
Liam hung back, avoiding getting in the way of our light magic attacks. His bow drawn he shot arrows made of dark magic into the crowds. The arrows disintegrated each of the bodies it passed through, a wholly deadly force. It seems like as long as the dark magic is strong enough, it is definitely deadly even to shadow creatures, same element or not.
ROAR!
The angry cry of the creature in front of me brought my attention back to my own fight. Slowly, as I danced in between the monsters, I slipped into a comfortable mentality, one I hadn’t used since coming to this world. This was the me after Liam’s death in the zombie apocalypse. A warrior. Something that only existed to destroy all the monsters around me. I gave myself over to it, fighting on instinct, rampaging through their ranks.
I lost track of the hours, continuing to fight.
“She’s coming!” Violet’s whisper in my ear broke my daze, I sent out a wave of light magic, clearing enough space for our remaining fighters to fall back. As we gathered at the edge of my ward, I took gauge of our losses, feeling a pang as I realized that a quarter of our warriors were gone.
This wouldn’t have happened if I had formed a life oath. I wouldn’t have had to reserve my magic in fear of fighting Stella.
Selfish. Cruel.
Pushing these thoughts back, I had K’llean bring the fighters within the ward and turned back to see the situation.
Hundreds of shadow monster corpses littered the ground, splintered and broken. With my last magical attack the main wave had broken, the monsters fleeing back to hide behind their master who was walking slowly towards us.
Stella.
She looked the same but different. Dark mist surrounded her, moving restlessly along the ground, killing every plant it touched. Her body seemed unreal, as if the edges of her form were pushing against the air, breaking the reality around us. Her eyes glowed a bright red, the light in them pulsing in time to the glowing black jewel hanging around her neck.
She came to a stop a 50 yards away, speaking normally but her voice echoed in my ear as if she were right beside me.
“Belaire. I bet you weren’t expecting me...”
“Hey Stella. Going for a walk?” I smiled as I greeted her nonchalantly. “That’s great! Good for the health, you know, get outside, and breathe in that fresh smell of the rotting corpses of your evil minions.”
“YOU…!” Stella’s face distorted with rage, but I interrupted her swiftly.
“By the way, love the new look! The glowing red eyes really suit you!” I glanced down, grimacing. “Can’t say the same about your accessories, though, your taste in jewelry is just awful.”
“…”
“…”
Prince Henry sighed. “Please don’t antagonize the new Dark Lord before the final battle priestess.”
“What? I’m complimenting her!”
Stella couldn’t stay silent at that. “Shut up! I won’t let you annoy me this time around, elf!”
“Really?” I tilted my head quizzically. “Cause it sure seems like I’m annoying you.”
“SHUT UP!”
Prince Henry turned to Liam. “Can’t you rein her in a little?”
He shook his head. “No. I like her like this.”
“Don’t bother with them, Henry.” K’llean exited the ward after helping the last of the injured across. Ignoring Stella, he came to stand on the other side of me, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying for years to correct their bad attitudes without success. Something small like the end of the world wouldn’t be near enough to set them right.”
“Ah, I’ll bow to your superior experience then.”
I shrugged at Liam. “Why are they acting like we’re the strange ones?”
“Beats me.”
“STOP IGNORING ME!” Stella’s voice was inhuman, a monstrous roar that echoed through the forest. Her power soared. The skies started turning dark as all the surrounding areas filled with dark magic.
Ooh, that struck a nerve. Looks like becoming the new Dark Lord didn’t rid her of her inferiority complex.
I made sure Liam was out of the way, and then enlarged my ward to protect all of us, pouring as much of my magic as I could into it.
“You think you can beat me now?” Stella laughed excitedly. “You have no idea!” Her magic continued to grow, the trees and grass between us and her completely died as the space condensed with darkness. I felt the pressure against my ward, it bent inwards against the pressure.
The dome of my magic glowed brightly, but I could no longer see beyond it, everything outside my ward was filled with darkness.
She’s… a lot stronger than I was hoping she’d be.
A hand wrapped in dark magic could be seen just outside my ward, the fist coming down to strike it with a large ringing noise. I felt a stabbing pain in my head at the blow, forcing myself to stay focused, to strengthen the ward.
Stella’s eyes shone through the darkness as she stood just outside my protective spell.
“Do you know what wish the amulet granted me?” Her whisper traveled across the space louder than a shout. “My greatest desire was to be strong enough to utterly destroy you.” Her fist slammed against the ward again. I swayed in place.
Crap.
BAM! Her fist struck the ward again, fine cracks appearing at the blow. I hastily repaired them.
Is this really it?
BAM!
All those years of work, of getting stronger, of slowly feeding my life force to grow my magic, and she can be twice as strong with a WISH?!”
BAM!”
I felt a strong rage building within me; a frustration against the world that only gave benefits to the heroine, evil or no.
I hate main characters.
BAM!
“Belaire.” Liam’s pained cry distracted me for a moment. I could barely see through a red haze that was filling my vision, I felt something warm dripping from my nose. I reached up to wipe it with my hand, and it came away bloody.
“You can’t beat her.” His voice was filled with agony, as if he were the one Stella was attacking with her fist.
BAM!
“I can handle it.” I struggled to talk, blood spitting out with the words. My head was splitting, the pain increasing with every blow.
I have to save everyone from the Dark Lord to finish the mission. If I fail…I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I felt in my heart that it would be worse than death.
But the mission also states I can’t sacrifice my life like the previous priestess did. Given how powerful Stella is now, it would take every ounce of life force I have to beat her.
Is there really no way?
“Belaire.” K’llean sighed stepping in front of me, his face hazy in my blood stained vision. “She’s too strong.”
BAM!
Blood was dripping constantly on the ground, I pressed my hands against my head as if to hold it in.
“Please.” He begged. “Please, form a life oath with me.”
“No.”
“It’s okay if you don’t love me. But if you can’t combine your magic, you’re going to die!”
“…” I shook my head, having a hard time speaking any more.
BAM!
“PLEASE!” He grabbed my face, his tear-filled eyes the only thing I could see. “Don’t throw your life away! Even if you form the life oath, I’ll let you go with him! I won’t bind you to me, just don’t die!”
All nice sounding words. But he was wrong. A life oath would bind our souls together. For me to leave him would mean tearing his or my soul, like the priestess had suffered in the original story. There was no simple way to untangle a life oath.
But the harsh truth was I didn’t have enough magic to win.
“I could try.” Liam’s defeated tone made my stomach drop, even as I struggled to hold on to my ward. “If I fuel my magic with all of my life energy, I might have enough to win. “
“Don’t you dare!” I snapped, trying to focus through the pain. “I won’t lose you again!”
The look on Liam’s face as he died in my arms in the zombie world was imprinted on my brain, unable to be removed. I missed my chance in the last world. I can’t let him sacrifice himself for me again.
BAM!
“Belaire, please. It’s the only way to save us all.”
Is it?
I felt like everything had slowed to a standstill around me.
Is this the only way? A life bond with K’llean? Is this some sort of twisted destiny I can’t avoid?
Is this my fate?
___________________________
I walked down a path, silk cloth rustling as I moved. The garden around me was beautiful, teeming with life, the heavy scent of flowers hanging in the air.
“Mistress! Please slow down!” A voice called behind me, but I didn’t turn back.
“I can’t! He’s waiting for me!” My voice was filled with anticipation, excitement.
With love.
“MISTRESS!”
A white blur rushed past me, landing with a crash at my feet. I paused, my feet slowing coming to a stop as I stared down with confusion and growing horror.
A dove?
It had dived into the ground in front of me, landing head first on the stone path. Its neck was bent at a severe angle, clearly broken, its form was still.
Why?
From the ruined mess of flesh that had been its head, blood pooled, far more than could ever be contained within the body of such a small creature. The red liquid condensed, forming letters at my feet.
YOU MUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE
“No.” I was whispering, my head pounding, my vision tunneling.
“MISTRESS!” I head one last scream behind me, before I felt my whole body descend into darkness.
___________________________
“No.”
I spoke out loud, blinking back a memory that had overwhelmed my senses, coming and leaving without warning. “I won’t accept my fate.”
K’llean was crying now, trying to heal me even as I continued to sway on my feet. “Belaire… I know you love him, but magical attributes are an integral part of magic. It cannot be changed.”
Wait.
It can’t be changed?
Isn’t that what we said about the amount of magic? That we are born with a fixed final amount? But I proved that wrong. The priestess proved it wrong in the original story.
Magic can be changed.
It just comes at a price.
I looked up at the sky, laughing with relief.
“Liam.” I called out softly, immediately feeling his hand grasping mine.
“Yes?”
“If I told you there was a way to save everyone, AND stay by my side, but that it would cost you almost everything, would you do it?”
His hand tightened on my own, as he answered without hesitation. “Even if you want my life, its yours.”
BAM!
“I won’t take everything.” I turned around, pushing away K’llean’s hand that was applying healing magic and grabbed Liam’s face, bringing it close to my own. “But we’re not going to live long after this.”
“Belaire!” At K’llean’s shout I turned to look at him
“Get ready to protect the village, my magic won’t work well for wards in a few moments.”
“You…”
“I’m sorry, K’llean.” I smiled. “I’m not a heroine. I’m actually pretty selfish.”
Before he could answer I looked back at Liam and kissed him deeply.
The ward around us disappeared, but K’llean immediately replaced it, his face turning bright white at the strain. He was powerful, but nowhere near my level.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOUR STRUGGLES ARE MEANINGLESS!” Stella screamed as she attacked again. “I AM THE CHOSEN ONE!”
BAM!
We didn’t have much time.
I drew Liam’s magic towards me, our kiss dampening my gasp of pain as I felt it burning even as it just came near my soul. The light and dark attiributes were truly opposites, repelling each other even before they could touch.
But magic could be changed.
I drew from my life force, feeling it quickly drain from me.
Deep inside I felt a panic, an emotion not mine but from the priestess’ remnant.
I’m not sacrificing myself, Priestess. At least not my whole life.
Before I drew too much, I began pulling life energy from Liam as well. The power within me was bursting at the seems, and I applied it to my magic without hesitation.
One of us had to change to combine. We both needed to be light or dark.
I started changing my magic to dark.
As I used the energy to change the magic within me, I felt the light that shined deep within my soul turn black. My hair which was always a golden blond, turned black at the roots, the color slowly taking over the long locks hanging down my back. It was painful, deeply painful. Not just losing my life force but the changing of something so integral to my existence was pure agony.
Which is why I changed my magic and not Liam’s
Besides, dark magic is a better fit for a villainess like me.
As my magic changed attributes, I quickly began forming a life oath with Liam, our thoughts integrating with each other, saying the words of the oath silently between us.
I trust you with my life, my heart, my magic.
I will walk hand and hand and face all danger with you.
I promise to stay by your side forever, until there is nothing left but dust.
As the last of our magic combined, I whispered out loud. “I love you.”
The life oath was complete.
___________________________
As the magic combined, just as they said, the amount was ten times or more my natural source. Reaching for the unfamiliar dark magic, I stepped outside the barrier, smiling at Stella.
“Hey, Chosen One.”
Her dark magic crumbled around her, being overwhelmed by a much stronger force.
“Turns out you aren’t so special after all.” As her magic was crushed, I lifted her up into the air, separating the amulet from her.
I can give you everything you wanted.
I heard the faintest of whispers from the artifact, before using my dark magic to crush it to pieces. After not being able to leave even the smallest scratch on it when I had tried to destroy it months ago with light magic, the dark magic easily consumed it, seemingly breaking it down from the inside.
“NOOOOOOOO!” I wasn’t sure if it was Stella or the amulet that screamed in pain and anger, but I didn’t care. I walked closer to the heroine, my magic holding her in place. Leaning forward, I whispered in her ear.
“You’re not the only world traveling girl around. And I’m a lot meaner.”
Before she could respond, I reared my arm back and punched her in the face. She fell to the ground unconscious.
I heard cheering behind me, but I ignored it as I placed my hand against her head, using my powers to burn up all traces of her magic. When it was done, I leaned back with a sigh.
“You’re not going to kill her?”
“Too easy.” I grinned. “The thing she hated most was being unimportant. And now she’s completely powerless.” I stood up, cleaning my hands. “You can have her. Imprison her, cast her out in exile. I don’t care. Just don’t kill her.”
It wasn’t that I was against killing. I had already done plenty of that. But I wasn’t sure what would happen to a story world whose heroine was killed early, even a broken one like her.
Turning around, I stumbled a bit, the loss of life energy and the depletion of my magic making me feel drained. An equally tired but happy looking Liam placed his arm around my waist, supporting me.
“Thanks.” I smiled at him, feeling the comfortable bond of his soul against mine.
Liam placed his forehead against mine. “Anytime.”
“… I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
I sighed. “I had to use up the majority of our life force. We’ll only be able to live another five or ten years.” Compared to the centuries that the life expectancy of elves normally ran, it was a blink of an eye, but Liam just shrugged, unconcerned.
“Better five years as your husband than hundreds without you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Noted.”
“…” An awkward silence fell as we reached K’llean, who was staring at me with a lost expression.
Finally I smiled sadly at him. “Sorry, K’llean, I won’t be able to be the priestess anymore.”
K’llean stared at my newly darkened hair, nodding slowly.
“Liam and I will get married, and then I think we’ll travel around…”
“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” A loud shout interrupted us, as the elder of the village came out of hiding, glaring at me. “I don’t know how you CORRUPTED your magic, but you will fix it immediately!”
I chuckled. “Sorry, can’t. Even if it wouldn’t literally kill me to change it again, I’m already bonded to Liam here.”
“YOU BLASPHEME YOUR HOLY ROLE!”
“You’re welcome, by the way, for saving the village… and the world.” I shrugged. “But I’m not your priestess anymore, and I don’t feel like sticking around and waiting for you to figure out how to use my newly upgraded magic for your own benefit.”
“You can’t leave! You made oaths to stay and lead us!”
K’llean laughed, but it was a deeply sad sound. “She can leave anytime she wants. Her oath was to stay, lead, guide and protect us for as long as the light magic shines within her.” He smiled at the elder, gesturing at my changed appearance. “As you can well see… it no longer shines. So she’s free.”
“YOU…”
“Just shut up.” Sighing with frustration, K’llean applied magic over the elder’s mouth, as I had done multiple times in the past. I nodded with approval, giving him an awkward smile
“Thanks…”
“Don’t thank me.” He interrupted, no longer meeting my gaze. “You would rather risk everything, giving up the majority of your life span, than choose me.”
“…” I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. He was speaking the truth.
His eyes finally met mine, but the pain in them was hard to watch. “It’s better if you both leave sooner than later. The village won’t forgive what you’ve done.”
“… Will you?”
“Forgive you?” He gave a helpless smile, looking up at the sky. “I honestly don’t know.”
“Then I’ll say goodbye, K’llean. I’m glad you were my friend.”
I took Liam’s hand and we walked towards Prince Henry, but behind us I heard a soft whisper.
“Live well, my friends.”
I felt a deep sense of relief and gratefulness. The last of the Priestess’ remaining emotions. I had saved her people, and found my own happiness. I smiled, feeling the last remnant of her faded away.
“Rest in peace, Priestess.”
In front of me formed bright blue words.
100% complete.
**** You have finished the mission! ****
Stay in this world?
YES/NO
I smiled, and for the first time in response to this question, said “Yes.”
Granted.
You will be transported to the next world at the end of your character’s natural life.
I was almost knocked over as Liam knocked into me, grabbing and holding me tightly to his chest, his face desperate.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked confused. “I don’t know. I just felt for a moment that you might leave me, and I was terrified to let you go.”
I grinned, kissing him. “Don’t worry. I’m here to stay.”
___________________________
We lived for eight years together as husband and wife.
Although the life oath was more intimate than any title, Liam insisted that we hold a ceremony in the capital of the human territory. Prince Henry helped him plan it out, and since I was the technical savior of the world, it turned into a rather large party.
Looking at the lavish decorations, the happy faces and magical lights floating in the air like balloons, I felt something within me relax.
I wish the Blood Wolves could have seen this party. Although they would have complained about the lack of explosive balloons and weapons.
The fairies had shown up, dancing in the air and drinking too much wine. Violet became a purple blur as she whizzed over our heads, shouting “Congratulations!”
K’llean was invited, but he never came.
___________________________
After the wedding, Liam and I traveled the world. Exploring dungeons, riding desert creatures, diving into the deepest of the dwarves mines, we tried it all, hand in hand.
One night, as we slept under the stars, a thought occurred to me, and I asked him.
“What do you think you would have done if we never met?”
Liam frowned, holding me tightly against his chest. “We did meet though. We’re married. No take backs!”
“No, I just mean, hypothetically, if you and I never met, what do you think you would have done?” I leaned into his embrace, patting his head comfortingly. It wasn’t as soft as his fur in his wolf form, but I did still like touching his hair.
“It… wouldn’t have ended well.” Liam sighed. “I was already on the brink of completely losing myself. I spent more time as beast than elf. If I hadn’t met you… I think I would have left to get stronger, and eventually come back to destroy them… maybe destroy everything.”
“So if you had run into the woods and say, found the amulet…”
“I would have immediately taken the power it offered.” Liam nuzzled my shoulder. “I’m not a good person, Belaire. Do you regret it?”
Did I marry the original Dark Lord?
I shrugged. “I’m not a good person either, so I think we’re even.”
___________________________
After six years, we ran into Stella again. It was on the streets of an outer human town. We had come back from a monster slaying quest, and had just turned in our spoils for a good profit. As I skipped next to him, happily counting our coins and discussing the lavish meal we would buy with it, I heard an angry shout.
“YOU SHOULD ALL FEAR ME!”
Liam eyes met my own.
“Is that…?” I hesitantly asked.
We both looked over. A disheveled young woman with wide eyes rushed towards a random pedestrian.
“I AM THE CHOSEN ONE! THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!” She shook her head, confused. “No…. wait… I’m the DARK LORD! I will destroy you all!”
I stared at her, feeling conflicted.
What are the odds that we’d run into her?I shook my head. Nevermind, she’s the heroine, she runs into everyone.
I hadn’t liked her, in either the original story or this lifetime. But there was no escaping that I had changed her life.
Stella sat down, glaring at the ground. “If it weren’t for that stupid elf priestess, I would be living wonderfully. They’d be pampering me, protecting me... IT’S ALL HER FAULT! I’m going to kill her! Tear her to pieces!”
Well… not gonna lie… that makes me feel a bit better.
Liam was uncomfortably silent for a few moments. “Do you want me to kill her?”
I kissed his cheek, pulling him away. “Thanks for the thought, but she’s not a threat anymore.”
We left her behind, and never saw her again.
___________________________
Years passed, we lived each day side-by-side, happy to be in each other’s company. But all things come to an end, and as we came close to the eight year mark after the defeat of the Dark Lord, I could feel the life energy within me running out.
“Liam.” I held his hand. “I want to go back to the forest.”
He stared at me quietly for a few moments, and then smiled. “Of course.”
When we entered the village, I noticed a few differences. The area was bustling, filled with activity. There were more people from other races, traces of multiple types of magic being used. I walked further in, hand in hand with Liam, staring around in excitement.
“Belaire?” A familiar voice called out, and we both turned to see K’llean standing off to the side, watching us with a complicated expression. Despite the passage of time, he hadn’t aged much, other than a gentle maturity in his eyes.
“K’llean.” I smiled tiredly at him. “We’re home.”
He brought us to a large home in the center or town, one that hadn’t existed when we left eight years ago.
“Is this yours?”
K’llean smiled. “Yeah, it’s mine.”
“How’d you get such nice place?”
“Well…” Before he could answer fully, the door slammed open and a young warrior elf barged in.
“Elder, that brat the advance class is causing trouble again, can you come yell at him? You’re the only one he’s scared of.” He then noticed Liam’s and my presence. “Oh, sorry, didn’t know you had guests… dark magic elves?”
K’llean rubbed his forehead. “T’nial…”
“Do you know Belaire and Liam?” The young elf was too excited to notice K’llean’s warning tone. “They had dark magic too! They saved the world, you know, and they’re from our village!”
“T’NIAL!”
“What? Come on Teach, you act like you don’t talk about them all the time.”
Liam and I grinned. Seeing our expressions, K’llean frowned walking to the door.
“Out. Now.”
“But…”
“Or do you want to take over training the youngest class?”
“I’m heading out now!” With a cheerful wave, T’nial ran out, leaving a slightly awkward silence behind.
“Elder?”
“You talk about us?”
Liam and I asked different questions at the same time.
He sighed in response. “Yes I am the new village elder since the last one died three years ago. No I don’t talk about you all the time.”
We sat down, and K’llean made us some tea. As he poured, he asked quietly. “So what brings you two back? I thought you weren’t planning to come back.”
I leaned back in my chair, smiling at Liam. “We came back to die.”
CRASH!
K’llean’s hands faltered as I spoke, dropping the cup onto the floor, which shattered into multiple pieces. He blinked, staring down at the mess in confusion, and then looked up at me again.
“What did you say?”
“Our life energy is running out.”
“… “ He grabbed another cup, starting to pour tea again. “How long?
“A week, at most.”
He sat down hard, putting his head in his hands. “You really know how to break news, huh?”
“What do you mean? I’m super sensitive!”
Liam started to chuckle, a sound that he quickly disguised as coughs. I glared at him, causing both K’llean and Liam both lose it and laugh loudly.
After things had calmed down, K’llean sighed. “You two haven’t changed.” Pausing he added. “No… you’re happier than you ever were here.”
“You’ve done well too.” I grinned. “The village is so exciting now.”
“Just a few small changes.” He shrugged. “If we stay mired in our past, we’ll never move forward.”
“…K’llean?”
“Yes?”
“Can we stay here until the end?”
“…” There was a long, tense silence before he finally grinned. “Until the very end.”
There were tears in his eyes, but we all ignored them.
___________________________
A week passed quickly. I spent time walking the forest with Liam and K’llean, visiting our old training spots, seeing all the new changes with a smile. We argued constantly over trivial memories, none of us mentioned the fights that had truly torn us apart.
My energy ran out first, which didn’t surprise me as I had originally taken more from myself than from Liam. As I rested in bed, feeling the remainder of my life fade. K’llean sat down to say his goodbyes.
He reached out and held my hand. “I‘ll always love you, you know.”
I smiled at him. “I know. I love you too.”
“… just not in the way I wanted.”
“No. But you’re family, whether you want it or not.”
He laughed, gripping my hand as if he was afraid to lose it. “No, I want it.” Taking a deep breath, he added. “I’m sorry, that I tried to force you two apart.”
“It’s okay, fortunately you’re terrible at being the villain.”
“Fortunately.”
“…”
“… Did I ever have a chance?”
I sighed quietly. “No. It was always him.”
“Well… at least you’re honest.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, his eyes closed to hide his tears. “I’ll go get your husband before he thinks you’re running off with me.”
“K’llean.”
He paused, looking back at me. In his eyes I still saw the shadow of the arrogant boy declaring that he was the strongest elf and would protect everyone. “Yes, Belaire?”
“Live well. Be happy, please.”
“Hmm…” He leaned his head against the doorframe, forcing a smile. “I was fortunate enough in this lifetime to love you. How can I not live well?”
He left, and Liam came by. Skipping the chair by the bed entirely, He laid down next to me, gathering me in his arms.
“Liam, sorry, I have to go first.”
“… You should be sorry. Next time don’t divide things so unevenly.”
We hugged silently for a few minutes, before I finally spoke up, my voice soft.
“I’m scared.”
“Don’t be, I’m here.”
“What if I can’t find you in the next world?”
He paused at that. “Even if you don’t, I’ll find you.”
“But you never remember me.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll love you each time we meet.”
I leaned close, kissing his cheek. “Good. Next time, you chase me, courting you is exhausting.”
“I’ll listen, wife.” Liam smiled. “I’ll definitely chase you next time.”
“Don’t forget your promise.” I tucked my head against his chest. “See you in the next world.”
He hugged me tightly. “See you soon.”
I closed my eyes, and in the darkness, bright blue words formed.
CHARACTER LIFE AT END.
TRANSPORTING TO NEXT WORLD…
I felt the brief nothingness between worlds, and almost instantly arrived in the next one. Surprised, I realized I was still lying down, but the soft bed beneath me had been replaced by a hard flat surface.
I opened my eyes, but saw nothing but darkness. Trying to sit up, I immediately hit my head on something hard.
“OUCH!” the sound as I yelled with pain was muffled. Concerned, I reached around, realizing the confined space I was in, Just big enough to hold my body laying flat. As I felt the velvet inner lining around me, I came to a grim realization:
I was in a coffin.
“SON OF A…”
___________________________
K’llean sat up as he saw Liam enter the room, dried tears on his face.
“Is she…”
Liam nodded. “She’s gone.”
He let out a breath he felt he’d been holding all day.
She was gone.
Ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest, he looked up at the dark haired elf. “How much longer until you…?”
Liam shrugged nonchalantly, sitting lazily down on the chair in front of him. “I’ll go in a little bit. No use staying here without her. But you looked like you wanted to talk first.”
K’llean’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you so different?” The change after Belaire had passed was striking. He looked the same, his form unchanged, but his eyes…
They were suddenly filled with a sense of deep wisdom, of strong power…
Of horrifying sadness.
Liam smiled. “I only get to remember things at the very end. Kind of a middle finger to me from the universe as I realize just how futile our goal is.” He shook his head. “But you don’t need to know all that. Why don’t you ask the questions you really want to know the answer to?”
“…”
“Come on, don’t be shy, I’m in a bad mood right now, so I’m much more likely to tell you the unpleasant truth than a sweet lie.”
“…Why did she never even consider me?” K’llean threw up his hands. “We met when we were kids, for crying out loud! I know I was little annoying…”
“Very annoying.”
“I know I was very annoying, but I matured, grew strong. I always stayed by her side, supported her, helped her… but she never even thought about loving me the way she did you.” He leaned back with a groan. “I just don’t know why.”
“Well, leaving out the complex discussion of my amnesiac wife being the woman you fell in love with, and how you’re lucky you struck out… the easy explanation is that you already had your chance, and you blew it.”
“I what?”
Liam looked up in the sky, seemingly silently conversing with something. “You owe me.” He muttered out loud, before opening his clenched hand to reveal a small red object. ”Ooh, a red pill, very sci-fi.” He tossed it to K’llean, who caught it, looking at it uncertainly.
“What is….”
“Swallow it.” Liam spread out his hands. “It will give you memories that you never should have had. Of this world as it was before my wife fixed it for you.”
Feeling a deep sense of dread, K’llean lifted the pill to his mouth and swallowed it. Immediately it felt that his head was splitting open and he fell to the ground, gagging.
“Oh you can’t throw it up. Knowledge, once you gain it, is yours forever.” He grinned. “Serves you right.”
K’llean blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the completely different lifetime of memories that he had acquired. “I… married her?”
“Well, not really her. You did grow up with the Priestess. You married her. You betrayed her, and watched her die to save you and your lover.” Liam’s gaze was cold. “Now do you understand? You never had a chance because you already wasted it.”
“No… this isn’t right. Belaire… she never would have taken things so calmly… I could never turn my back on her.”
“On Belaire… no. On the priestess… definitely. You see, in the original, you grew up thinking you were the greatest. And the priestess always just agreed. You were an entitled, selfish brat who had everything, including affection, handed to you, and you thought it was what you were owed.”
“What I was owed…” K’llean winced. “It makes me sound like Stella.”
“Exactly, which is honestly why it’s surprising you hit it off with her so well. I assume it was some main character magic forcing the issue, at least partly.” He leaned forward. “At the end of the day, I don’t think you really loved the Priestess. I think you were fond of her. You saw her as a friend, as a companion. But, she was never as important to you as your happiness.”
“I…”
“My wife on the other hand… She ran circles around you!” He laughed. “No matter how hard you tried, you could never be stronger than her. She worked harder, cared more, and did it all without ever looking your way. You learned from her how to care for others, how to put everyone else before yourself. But you never lost that desire… the desire for family, for that perfect happiness that you sensed was within reach but could never touch.”
Liam stood up. “You went a bit crazy back then… but all protagonists do when the world that used to revolve around them suddenly grows bigger. It seems that you’ve become a good person despite it all, and I applaud you for it.” He started walking back to the room where Belaire had rested.
“Where are you going?”
“To follow my wife. She’s gone to the next world without me, and I can’t let her down.”
K’llean stood up. “What if… what if I followed her… tried to win her over this time?”
“You could.” Liam laughed. “But you wouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“It costs too much.”
“I’m willing to pay any price!”
Liam shook his head. “You know, you’re better than that other asshole that half-heartedly follows her now. I actually thought you might be him for a quick minute… but you’re too messy in front of her. That guy always has to be the perfect hero, because he thinks that’s what she wants. He refused to sacrifice anything really, so he can’t follow her carefully, he just depends on that damned protagonist luck of his.”
“What are you…?”
“You’d probably be willing to give up your life, your future, even your memories… But what about the village?”
“…”
“What about those kids out there that you’re teaching magic to? What if the cost was all of them as well?”
“…” K’llean hung his head, surprised when Liam patted him on the shoulder.
“It’s okay. That’s why you’re a hero.” His body started being covered in a black fog. “And why I’m a villain.”
Now in wolf form, the familiar dark blue eyes seemed to be laughing as he disappeared into the room next door.
Stunned, K’llean followed after him, only to see the two lying side by side, no longer breathing.
“You both keep calling yourself villains.” He muttered to himself. “Why can’t I believe it?”
___________________________
Seven hundred years later…
K’llean found the old cave, the one where Liam, Belaire and him used to practice in. His bones creaked as he laid down, looking at the familiar patterns on the stone ceiling.
“I lived a long life, Belaire. I was happy enough I think. Are you proud?”
There was no answer.
He laughed softly, tears forming in his eyes. “I miss you, you know. Even after all these years.”
He rested in silence, counting his breaths, only to be shocked by the formation of bright blue words in front of him. He reached out to touch them, but his hand passed right through them.
“Magic?” He whispered, staring at the words.
Do you plan to reject your fate and follow?
“Follow?” His breath caught. “You mean see Belaire again?”
Yes.
Part of him wanted to shout “yes.” But he remembered that conversation with Liam all those years ago.
“What would it cost?” he asked instead
Paragraph after paragraph filled out in front of him, which he read with increasing horror.
“Liam, you bastard.” He finally whispered. “No wonder you call yourself a villain.”
He sighed, leaning back and covering his eyes with a hand.
Do you plan to reject your fate and follow?
K’llean laughed bitterly to himself. “No.”
You were right, Liam. I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice that much.
The words disappeared, never to be seen again.
As his breathing slowed, K’llean hummed a old childhood song to himself, dreaming of a day in the forest, when a young elf girl with bright green eyes saved his life with a confident smile.
The story continues. At least one more part in the zombie world before moving on to the next one.
Part 1 / Part 2 Linked here. (If I get to 5 pts or so I’ll make a master post)
Enjoy!
_____________________________
“Why’d they let YOU in?”
An angry shout stopped us in our tracks as we reached the center of the camp.
I paused, smiling. Ah, the nostalgic smell of unnecessary internal strife. NOW it feels like a proper post apocalyptic story. I raised a hand in greeting. “Hey there, kind and pleasant person, I’m Blaire!”
“Don’t pretend like we’re friends! You shouldn’t be here!” The angry young man stepped closer, allowing me to get a better look at his face. His copper colored hair framed sharp, angular features, his brown eyes practically burning with rage as he tried his best to stare a hole through me.
He seems familiar.
Searching my character’s memories, I was finally able to place him. Jason, the hero’s best friend, who had gone to high school with my character. Before I could celebrate placing his identity, however, I felt a surge of deep terror flood through me. My heart beat wildly in my chest, a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. I frowned, pushing back the feeling that weren’t my own, but those from my character.
It’s rare for emotions from the character to be this strong, even in the last world I was able to easily put away any feelings of the character I’ve taken over. Why is she so scared? I don’t see anything in her memories that would warrant her being frightened of Jason. And why is he so antagonistic towards me?
As I stood there, trying to comb through what information my character knew about him, he had continued to rant. “Eric, what were you thinking accepting people like her?!”
Eric sent Hannah away with a smile, before turning towards his friend with a tired expression. “They have extra supplies and skills, both of which we’re in desperate need of.”
“We don’t need HER!”
As they argued, Liam walked up to me, pulling an apple from his bag. “Want a snack?”
“Sure, these idiots might take a while, I’d hate to get hypoglycemic while they argue.” Before I could say anything further, he pulled out a knife and silently started cutting the peel off.
“What are you doing?”
“Peeling the apple for you.”
“Why?”
“…” He paused, looking honestly confused. “I’m not sure, but I feel like this would make you happy.”
I couldn’t help but shake my head in amazement. “I love apples, but I can’t stand the peel. How did you know?”
“Really?” He grinned, continuing to peel. “My support husband instincts must be kicking in.”
“You’re very… optimistic.”
“Thanks!”
I sighed. “Don’t get attached, Liam. It won’t end well.” I thought of the heart wrenching pain I had felt when pressing “No” in the last world. That was just after 4 weeks. If I have to stay here years…
“It’s okay. I already count myself fortunate being your lackey.” His smile was bright, but his attention to the apple never wavered. “As long as you live well. I think I could die happy.”
I shuddered. The habit was just too strong. A character casually mentioning dying in a story…such a red flag. “Try not to die. Happy or otherwise.”
“Yes ma’am.” He saluted, his silly expression making me feel less tense.
“Blaire! I’m talking to you!” Jason had finished arguing with Eric while Liam and I chatted and was obviously still furious.
I felt the same edge of fear from the character at the sight of him again, and pushed it back down with irritation.
“That must be so exhausting to be so angry all the time.” I muttered quietly as I watched him approach.
Liam nodded. “No kidding. I think I’ll need a nap just from watching him perform.”
Jason stopped just a few feet away, sneering. “I don’t know what lies you sold Eric earlier, but don’t’ forget, I know the real you! You’re a rich brat without any skills! You’re deadweight to any group, just a worthless bit….ARGH!” He flew backwards as a mostly-peeled apple struck him in the mouth, splitting his lip.
“Oops. Sorry did that hit you?” Liam watched him coldly, not sounding sorry at all. “My hands get slippery when I hear pure stupid.”
“Is that why people around you tend to get hit with flying projectiles often?
“It’s a curse…” He paused, then looked mortified. “THAT WAS MY LAST APPLE!”
“It’s okay.”
“WHY DIDN’T I USE A STONE?” He groaned into his hands. “That idiot wasn’t worth losing your snack! Now you’re going to go hungry!”
“I’m fine…” I tried to comfort him, but he had already pulled out a walkie-talkie and was growling instructions in some sort of code.
Jason, on the other hand, was now pointing in shock at Liam. “You! You’re William the destroyer!”
“…” I glanced over at the man who was still panicking over his lack of snack options to offer me.
“What’s the leader of the Blood Wolves doing here?” Jason was now looking nervous, clambering to his feet and keeping a good distance from us both
Liam ignored him, continuing to talk on his walkie talkie. Shaking my head, I stepped in between him. “He’s with me. Do you really want to argue now about whether or not we should be here?”
“But… but…”
“Jason!” Eric had returned, a grim look on his face. “I told you to leave them alone. We’ll go out hunting for supplies tomorrow, they can prove their worth then.”
Jason’s expression showed his clear unwillingness, but he slowly nodded. “Sure.” Glancing towards me, he sneered. “Then I guess tomorrow we’ll see just how useless you are.”
“Did I step on your dog or something? Seriously, try to reign in the hostility there, buddy.” With that, I turned and walked towards the empty tent Eric had pointed out earlier.
Despite my casual tone and outer appearance, my hands were clenched at my sides, the fingernails digging into my palms to keep my hands from shaking. My back was soaked with sweat, an uncontrollable reaction from the character I had become.
What is going on? It had been a long timesince I had been unable to fully control my character’s emotions like this. I swallowed uncomfortably. The sensation was unpleasant, a sense of incongruity between body and soul that I couldn’t quite overcome. It reminded me too much of the first mission I had undergone, the worst time of my life that I could still remember.
Waking up without memories, with no idea of who I was or why I was there, thrust into a romantic drama where my mission was to fulfill the role of a foolish, calculating villainous side character. Overwhelmed by intense love for the male lead and mind-numbing hatred for his heroine, I lost myself in despair. Later, I would learn to maintain my sense of identity. Even if I didn’t know who I was, I at least knew who I wasn’t.
And I wasn’t this character. A spoiled, angry young woman who thought the world revolved around her.
So why can’t I remember clearly? Not just Jason, even the events surrounding my character’s kidnapping and death were vague.
Something’s wrong with this world.
Sitting down with a sigh, I pulled out my phone.
“Let’s see how helpful this new ‘character description’ function is.” I typed in Jason’s name. After a moment to process, the phone’s screen filled with text.
Jason, the hero’s best friend and this world’s hopeless secondary male lead. In the story, he is shown to be in love with Hannah, but hides his feelings for fear of hurting his friends. He often supports her from behind, helping the hero rescue her during her frequent misadventures and kidnappings. Despite his devoted acts, Hannah remains blissfully unaware of his feelings, and treats him as a friend.
Nothing to explain why my character is scared of him. I grinned maliciously as I re-read the part about his unrequited love. “No wonder he’s so high strung. If he were nicer I might even feel sorry for him.”
Unable to control my curiosity, I typed in a second name.
“William.”
Character unknown.
“Hmm. Let’s try ‘Liam.’”
Character unknown.
“Blood Wolves.”
The most notorious and highly skilled gang in this story’s world, they often sell their services as mercenaries, and are considered a major power in the post-apocalyptic society.
I stared at the screen, even more confused. Such an important group, but the leader isn’t mentioned? Who is Liam?
But no matter how much I searched, there were no answers.
_____________________________
Shortly later, Liam called me out. The smell of freshly cooked food hastened my steps, and I sat at a table across from Hannah, ignoring her wide-eyed look of fear at my approach.
“The others are checking the perimeter. Here, I made you dinner!” Liam placed a bowl in front of both of us with a proud grin. It was filled with a stew, with vegetables and chicken. Hannah stared at the food suspiciously, although I didn’t see anything wrong with the food. Carefully, I lifted a spoonful up to my mouth, my eyes widening with shock.
“It’s delicious!” I took another few bites before pausing. “Where did you get the ingredients?”
Liam sat down next to me, peeling an apple with an affectionate grin. “My friends happened to have gathered some extra supplies and brought them over.”
“… You sent the Blood Wolves on a snack run?”
“What were they supposed to do? Let you go hungry?” He raised an eyebrow. “They wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I don’t know how you manage to sound so supportive and yet so… ominous at the same time.”
“It’s one of my many talents, I’m so glad you noticed!”
Hannah watched our exchange back and forth, before looking down at the food once more. She seemed very hungry, but she still hadn’t made any moves towards eating.
“You should try it, it tastes really good!” As I coaxed the girl sitting across from me, I saw Liam beaming with pride.
“…” She stared silently at us both for a long few moments before nodding and taking a bite, her hands shaking and almost spilling the stew from her spoon. As she swallowed the food however, her eyes filled with tears.
Why do all the heroine’s I meet cry so easily? Maybe the problem is with me? Do I just not cry enough?
“It tastes so good!” She ate quickly, blinking to keep back the tears that were threatening to spill over.
Oh… so… happy tears? That’s refreshing. I patted her on the shoulder gently. “Not had a lot of hot meals lately, huh?”
Hannah nodded at my sympathetic words. “Yeah, Eric and James are too busy with security and supply runs. And I…” Her words trailed off.
Why hello there, mission opportunity!I rejoiced inwardly but kept a gentle look on my face. “You what?”
“I’m weak… I can’t fight. I can’t even cook.” She looked up at me her eyes still wet with unshed tears. “I wish I could be scary like you…”
… Scary?
Liam laughed at my dumbfounded expression, quickly silencing himself as I turned to glare at him. Looking back over at Hannah, I tried to smile comfortingly, the expression stiffening as a look of terror flashed across her face.
“You want to be a well-rounded useful person? I can help you.” Not like I have a choice.
“Really?” Hannah clasped her hands together in front of her. She still looked frightened, but excitement was clearly pushing back her fear. “I really want to be helpful!”
“Really. Just come watch me tomorrow during the outing. I’ll show you what I can do. From there, we’ll come up with a plan.”
She now was smiling brightly, giving off the impression of a small, adorable animal that should be protected. “I promise I’ll work hard, Boss!”
She trusts me so quickly… no wonder she kept getting kidnapped.
“Wait... Did you just call me Boss…?”
“One day, I pray I can be just as terrifying as you!” Hannah cheered excitedly.
“…”
I feel like her motivation has gone in a weird direction.
As I struggled on how to answer her, Liam nodded solemnly. “It’s good to have goals, but you shouldn’t aim too high.” He handed me the freshly peeled apple, and continued. “No one’s as terrifying as your Boss. But with hard work and effort, one day, you can reach ‘lackey status’ like me!”
“Really?”
“Yeah!” The two high-fived as I watched on silently, feeling tired.
“… I’m going to bed.”
_____________________________
The next morning, we all headed out, running into a group of zombies, almost immediately. We halted a good distance away to discuss a plan.
“Will it be okay?” Hannah’s face looked extremely nervous as she looked at the zombies in the distance.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!” Jason smiled at Hannah, his eyes full of tender emotion. “I promise, as long as I have breath in my body, no zombie will get near you.”
I still felt a small thread of fear running through me as I looked at him, but fortunately, it was much easier to control now. I rolled my eyes at his words. Didn’t the character summary say hehides his feelings? How is this subtle at all?
Eric stared at his friend silently for a moment, and then patted Hannah’s head with a sigh. “Make sure to stay away from the fight.” Loading up a handgun, he glanced over at me. “Are you coming?”
“Ha, bet you’re gonna run and hide, huh?” Jason glared at me, his face looking extremely punchable, forcing me to hold back.
I sighed, admiring my self –restraint. “I’ll take the ten on the right.”
“There’s only fifteen!”
“Yeah, so we’ll split it by skill.” I turned back and grinned. “Ten for me, four for Eric and one for you.”
Pulling out my sword, I headed over, ignoring his stuttered complaints.
GRRRR.
The closest of the zombies was reaching out towards my head, several fingers missing from its hands, its half rotten jaw open, ready to bite.
I lopped it head off, knocking the body away from me.
IT SMELLS SO BAD!!! I had only been able to wash in cold water from a basin. I still desperately missed hot showers.
“Go Boss!”
“Yeah! Kill the zombies! You’re the best!”
Shouts from behind me caught my attention. After killing several more zombies I glanced over, giving out a loud sigh at the sight.
Liam and Hannah cheered off to the side, jumping up and down with excitement.
“Zombies don’t stand a chance against her!”
“Yeah! They’re toast!”
… I’m just going to ignore them for now.
In the corner of my eye I saw Jason struggling to defeat his first zombie, waving a metal bat but missing several passes. He backed up, putting some distance between him and his foe, and turned to stare longingly at Hannah for a few moments, before looking over to glare at me as he realized who she was cheering for. I smiled and winked, watching with interest as his face turned even redder with rage.
Feeling an undeniable urge to taunt, I called out to him as I continued to decapitate zombies.
“Don’t lose focus, little Jason! Or do you need me to help you with your one zombie too?”
“SHUT UP!”
“Try not to bully him, please.” Eric called out as he calmly dodged attacks, occasional shots ringing out. Each was a perfect headshot, as expected of the hero of an action novel. “Jason is sensitive to criticism.”
I nodded, kicking a zombie head into the air and batting it away with my sword, watching it sail away with interest. “Sorry, I’ll try harder to support his emotional well being.”
“Thanks!”
Having finished off our respective zombies, Eric and I high fived before heading back towards the rest of the group.
“Guys… I’m still fighting here!” Jason’s helpless cries caused me to pause.
I glanced at Eric “Will he be okay?”
“Yeah, he’s just milking it so Hannah will pay more attention to him.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
Eric shrugged. “Not really, but he doesn’t step over the line and extra hands are necessary, so I just ignore it.”
Is this a… reasonable male lead? Could it be possible?
“Okay, then.” I raised a hand, not turning around. “Good luck Jason, we believe in you!”
Eric grinned and called out behind him. “See you back in camp, buddy!”
“Boss!” Hannah ran up with a grin. “That was amazing!”
Liam stepped closer, handing me a thermos with hot tea. “I told you she was awesome! She saved my life, you know.”
I ignored him, turning my attention to Hannah. Time to make some progress on this mission. “Did what you see today inspire you?”
“Yeah!”
“Do you want to be helpful?”
“Yeah!”
Getting excited, I pumped a fist into the air. “You want to be strong and fight along side me?!”
“…” Hannah stared at me in shock. “What? No. Fight zombies? It’s scary… and kind of gross.”
I looked at her silently. “I… thought you were inspired?”
“Yeah! But not like that.” She nodded firmly. “I realized I was too eager when I wanted to be as terrifying as you…”
“HEY!”
“So I’ve decided.” She grinned. “I’m going to be a professional lackey, just like Liam!”
“…”
“…”
Eric and I sighed in unison.
Liam smiled, patting Hannah on the shoulder. “Now don’t look down on us weak and vulnerable support spouses!”
“You’re not even weak…and we’re not married...”
“We may depend on our stronger counterparts to protect our lives, but we can keep everything running smoothly so you don’t have to worry about anything else.” He looked at me expectantly. “How is your tea?”
Giving up on arguing, I sipped it, and paused, shocked. “It’s… amazing. How did you even make hot tea out here?”
“It’s a trade secret.” Hannah and Liam gave each other a thumbs up, as Hannah handed Liam a thermos, which he drank from silently.
We headed back to camp.
“I feel like we’re forgetting something.” I muttered as I sipped my tea.
“GUYS? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!! I’m STILL FIGHTING!” Jason’s angry shriek pierced the air, but no one turned around.
“I know what it is!” Liam grinned, cleaning one of my hands with a warm towel before handing me a freshly peeled apple. “Here, snack!”
“HANNAH? ERIC? ANYONE?”
I nodded, taking a bite. “That must have been it.”
_____________________________
A few days passed.
I tried again to convince Hannah to train to fight, thinking that combat skills would be the fastest way to change her status as kidnappable dead weight. After much convincing, she agreed to start training with me.
Unfortunately, the results were not what I had hoped for.
“OWW!” Hannah laid on the ground, staring up at me sadly. “I’m dying.”
“All I did was have you hold my sword. We haven’t even started fighting yet.”
“It hurts.”
“How did you even hurt yourself?” I stared at the small cut on her leg in consternation. “You only had the sword for fifteen seconds?”
Needless to say, the sword was confiscated. Strengthening exercises were meant with similar outcomes.
“How’s it going?” Liam brought me a bowl of hot soup, as I stared in disbelief at the figure attempting to do a pushup in front of me.
I pulled out my phone, glancing at the mission screen. The first completion bar for Hannah’s mission had been stuck at 10% since we started. “Not good. This is still her first push up.”
“Well, everyone takes a different amount of time…”
“We’ve been out here four hours.”
“Oh… how’s the soup?”
I sighed, taking time to try it. “It’s amazing. I’m still convinced you might be magic to be able to cook like this in the apocalypse.”
“This is just the beginning of my skills!”
I drank the soup quietly, staring at Liam while thinking.
“What is it?” He grinned. “You think I’m handsome and finally want to upgrade me from lackey to support spouse?”
“Who are you?”
My question was whispered, but he still heard it, a look of helplessness spreading across his face. This wasn’t the first time I had asked him this.
“I’ve told you everything, Blaire. I swear I’m not hiding anything from you.”
“You’ve told me everything you’ve remembered.” I corrected him quietly, turning away. Focusing my attention back on Hannah, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged. “This isn’t going to work.”
“You said you’re trying to make her a well-rounded, useful person, right?” Liam finally spoke up, his expression thoughtful. “You might be pushing her in the wrong direction. There are many different ways to help out, fighting is just one of them.”
“Yeah… but that’s what I’m good at.” I rubbed my head. “If I have to teach her other skills, I might not be able to.”
I had memories from multiple story worlds, but most of them required me to act as a brain dead villain, not staying long. Only a few provided practical skills such as the assassin guild story. A sense of frustration filled me.
“I can teach her cooking, supply management, and basic book-keeping.” Liam watched me, seemingly worried. “And you can teach her your special skill.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Negotiation.” He grinned. “It’s amazing to watch you reduce that idiot Jason to an apoplectic fit every time you argue.”
I thought it over, a small return smile forming on my face. “I guess I have developed some good interpersonal skills. I once helped my brother overcome an obsession with behavior modification training.”
“You have a brother?” He asked, his eyes widening.
“In a different life.” I felt a pang of loneliness for the time I had spent in the previous world. I wondered if Adam was doing well. Looking back at Liam, I reached over and patted him on the head.
“I’m glad you’re here.” That I got to see you again. Even if you look different. Even if you don’t remember me.
Liam froze with shock at my touch for a few moments, before his face lit up with delight. “I’m glad I’m here too!”
I looked back down at Hannah, who still hadn’t completed her first push up. “Let’s go with your plan.”
Scratching the plan to make the heroine a one woman army, it was time to make her into an overpowered support character.
