"You… for so reason, you seem to repel it. Instead of being drawn to like everyone else, you actually… despise ," she said with a chuckle. I wasn't sure she was entirely sane anymore.
"Then… why did you let almost kill you?" I asked, trying to make sense of her behavior.
"As I said, it was just to verify sothing," she replied cryptically.
"Verify what—?"
"You want sothing from , don't you?" she interrupted, her eyes narrowing. Her words made freeze.
Seems she's already figured it out.
"And what makes you say that?" I asked cautiously, probing for her reasoning.
"Co on now. You keep insisting you could kill , but your actions say otherwise. It's obvious—you want sothing I have," she said with an unsettling calmness.
No wonder she wasn't scared. Not even a hint of fear crossed her face, despite being the one with the upper hand.
It was infuriating.
No matter how powerful she was, one swing of my frost sword infused with ether would be enough to end her. Yet she didn't even consider the possibility.
What made it worse was the fact that I couldn't force her to comply with my terms. She was far stronger than , and there were limits to what I could do.
Breaking her ntally might be an option, but pain wouldn't work. After all…
SHE'S A FUCKING MASOCHIST!
"Is it food?" she asked suddenly, her tone sharp.
I neither admitted nor denied it.
"And why do you think that?" I countered.
"Because I've seen what hunger can drive people to do. The lengths they'll go to," she said with a small, knowing smile. "I'll give you what you want—but on one condition," she added.
"What condition?"
"Tell how you're able to repel my ability. I need to know," she said, her voice tinged with desperation.
I stared at her silently for a mont before answering. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any such ability to repel things," I replied honestly. I wasn't in the mood for lying.
Her brows furrowed, frustration flashing across her face. "But… how?" she muttered.
The ice began to crack, and I felt my frost energy wane. My ether reserves were nearly depleted, leaving vulnerable.
I was at her rcy now.
I could kill her—right here, right now—but that would leave trapped in this dinsion. Wherever here even was.
"Fine. Then how about this?" she said suddenly, her voice trembling with desperation. "I'll use a relic on you. Just once."
"What relic?" I asked warily.
Her lips pressed together, hesitation flickering across her face.
"I can't agree to sothing that might harm . What does this relic do?" I pressed, trying to assess the danger.
"It… it halts all flows of mana," she admitted.
"…And what happens after that?"
"I just want to know if whatever helps you repel my ability will still work once your mana is sealed," she confessed.
I regarded her skeptically.
"Don't worry," she said quickly, sensing my hesitation. "I'll remove it the mont nothing happens. You'll be fine, I promise."
"Why… why are you trying to find a solution?" I asked, genuinely curious.
I thought she said she had begun to enjoy it.
So why was she now trying to find a way to stop its effect on people?
"I… I don't even understand myself sotis," she sighed. "Just like how you're talking to right now on your own, without any influence. I just… I just want that sotis. I feel like all the care and love I get are fake—and they are fake. So, I don't know. Sotis, I just want this…" She gestured vaguely. "The way you are right now—real, not fake, not forced. You don't even like , which is… actually a first," she added with a bitter laugh.
"Perhaps that's how everyone else would be without this… ability. Maybe I wouldn't be this popular or this loved, but at least it wouldn't be fake. If soone eventually showed care, it would be true—not sothing they were blinded into doing," she finished.
I could only stare at her.
Strange.
She had everything, yet she despised her life.
I had nothing, and I despised mine too.
So what would give soone true satisfaction? What would make soone feel complete?
"Wait… that girl who was with you," she said suddenly. "She was able to repel it too, wasn't she? Or… could it have been because you were in contact with her? No… that doesn't make sense. Even now, you're still repelling it."
Her words made my thoughts drift to Lily.
Strangely enough, when Lily was with , I felt happy.
She beca a shoulder I could lean on, and I, likewise, beca one for her. We ca from completely different worlds, each carrying our own pain and traumas.
It really does hurt, knowing she's gone. I guess you only truly value what you have once you lose it.
"Why… are you crying?" her voice broke through my thoughts, and I realized my cheeks were wet.
Ah.
"It's nothing… Fine, let's do it," I said abruptly, breaking the ice.
She stared at for a mont before speaking. "Don't tell you're sympathizing with ," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You wish," I replied flatly.
Suddenly, she manifested mana cuffs.
"Cuffs? Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
She avoided my gaze.
"Just get it over with," I said, stretching out my hands. I was already devoid of ether, so it wasn't like I could resist anyway.
She stepped forward, placing the relic onto my wrists. It locked into place automatically. In an instant, I felt a strange sensation, as if so vital connection had been severed.
One minute.
Two.
Three.
We just stared at each other.
"Are you… feeling anything?" she asked, frowning.
"Like what?" I replied.
"I don't know exactly," she admitted. "I've never felt it myself, but soone once said it's an overwhelming need to protect . Do you feel anything like that?"
"I do feel a need, but it's definitely not to protect you," I said flatly.
Her frown deepened.
"You know… you still haven't told why you hate so much," she said, her tone softer now. "Even back at the guild, from the mont you laid eyes on , I could feel it—that disgust. Why? You're the only person I know who isn't affected by my ability. I just want to understand."
I looked at her for a long mont.
"I'll be honest with you. I don't like you. There's no grand reason for it. I just don't. Now take this damn thing off. It's obvious nothing is going to happen," I said, my voice cold.
She stared deeply into my eyes, and for the first ti, I saw it—sadness. She was holding sothing back, her emotions just barely contained.
"Is it because of my character… or is there so other reason you're not telling ?" she asked, her voice quieter, almost pleading.
"What do you want to say? And why does my opinion even mat—"
"It does!" she interrupted, her face a myriad of emotions.
How had the conversation shifted so quickly?
"It doesn't. My disliking you doesn't an you're not a lovable person. Not everybody will like you, so stop being so persistent," I said, urging her to remove the cuffs. I really didn't have ti for this. Staying in this dinsion any longer made feel powerless.
"No, it does matter," she said, her arms at her sides as she clenched her fists. "After all, that's how everyone will probably see soday if I lose this ability." She looked down at her palms, her voice trembling slightly.
Well, it seed she wasn't as much of a bitch as I'd originally thought.
This was probably the reason she never reciprocated Leo's feelings. She must've thought his emotions were fake—tied only to her ability—and that if she ever lost it, he'd stop feeling that way instantly.
"Just stop. We had a deal. Your problems aren't my problems," I said flatly. For a mont, that dark feeling clouded my emotions, and the sight of her tears seed to vanish from my mind.
At that mont, I didn't care if she was in pain. All I saw was a heroine standing before . A potential enemy.
She stepped forward and unlocked the cuffs. With a wave of her hand, the world regained its color, and we were back in the forest.
"My ring," she said, holding out her hand.
I threw it to her, though not without so reluctance. "Here."
In exchange, she tossed another ring from sowhere.
"Alright," I muttered, inspecting it instantly. Inside, I found a massive stock of supplies.
Without a word, she turned and began walking away. But for so reason, it didn't feel right. This wasn't the best way to leave things between us. So, I called out, "Cilla."
She stopped in her tracks, her shoulders stiffening.
"I don't like you," I admitted, "but I don't hate you either. You're getting it all wrong. Maybe you think that because I'm not influenced by your ability, I'm giving the 'true' reaction of anyone who wouldn't be. But that's not how it works. Just because I don't like you doesn't an everyone will hate you without your ability. And even if they did… you could make them love you."
She turned slightly, her expression unreadable, so I pressed on.
"Opinions aren't fixed. They're flexible. You just have to make people see who you really are—not the mask you always put on. Show them who Priscilla is inside. I don't think anyone could hate you if they saw that. You just need to be… truthful. You're beautiful person, Priscilla. You don't even have to try that hard, and they'll be yours."
I finished my speech, surprising even myself. That was, without a doubt, the longest stream of BS I'd ever spouted. It's like I said before—aside from a ssed-up sleep schedule and an even more ssed-up life, the only thing I specialize in is BS.
"…"
She stared at with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape.
And then, suddenly, the most genuine smile I'd ever seen claid her lips. It was beautiful—real, unguarded.
"Thank you—" she began, but her words were cut off as the ground trembled violently beneath us.
"Cilla!"
I turned to see Leo rushing toward us, sword in hand and fury etched into his face.
"Leo, stop!" she yelled, trying to intercept him.
But before anything could happen, a bright light engulfed us, and we vanished.
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