"Amane, regarding what is going on…I have a favor to ask of you. Would you help father out?"
Chen started speaking, but then he noticed the pair looking at them. He imdiately quietened down and looked at where lissa and Kristia were hiding.
He was about to go out and expose the pair when Amane held her hand up and signaled for Chen to continue.
'Are you sure?'
Chen mouthed back hesitantly, but Amane only smiled and shook her head. It was okay if other people heard what they were talking about. Amane did not intend to co back here.
"Father and you left us behind, and it did not take long for the consequences that 'The Law' spoke of to co into existence. We tried to slow down things as much as possible, but we couldn't handle it ourselves."
Chen inford, and Amane sighed. She was beginning to get a clear idea of what was happening.
"I see. I am beginning to understand what happened here. No wonder Kori disappeared suddenly one day. It was because she did not have a choice. Also, how long are you both going to listen in on us? It will not help you even if you eavesdrop on us."
Amane warned, and the pair quickly ca out with a sheepish grin. They both looked guilty, but only because they had been caught during their exploitation.
"Amane, what are you planning? I know that we have only known each other briefly, but…"
lissa looked worried. She looked hopeful, and her eyes shined as she considered keeping Amane near her.
"Chen, I have decided what to do. I will go and confront Kori. It doesn't seem like anything will be resolved if I run away."
Amane could draw the confrontation out and drag things over a long ti. But she had a feeling that things would still end up like this by the end.
Kori was impatient, so she might take offence to be kept waiting.
"Looks like you finally made your decision. Now, follow , and I will take you to the upper heaven."
Chen turned his back to Amane and continued walking. Amane was also about to follow when her instincts told her she needed to look out. She turned back to see lissa's angry expression before she attacked Chen.
Luckily, Chen managed to get out of that attack's way in ti, but lissa did not look ready to give up.
"lissa, what's wrong? Hey! What the hell are you doing? lissa, co back to your senses."
Kristia tried to make lissa rember where she was. But nothing was getting past lissa's senses.
There could only be one reason for a beast to behave like this - lissa had imprinted on her.
"Ugh! This could turn out to be quite troubleso. Kristia, keep a hold on lissa, and I will take care of her now. Also, brace yourself."
Amane warned Kristia before she smacked lissa in the gut. lissa went down, but she did not go out alone. Kristia felt the impact in his gut and almost lost consciousness as well.
'W-What monstrous strength! Fuck! I can still feel my guts ringing.'
"You managed to endure it quite well. Your iron stomach will help you deal with many problems in the future. I have high hopes for you in negotiations."
Kristia gave a grim smile at Amane's words. This was not sothing Amane should be bragging about in front of him.
"Tsk, should I be saying thank you? Man, it hurts a lot. Could you not have been gentler?"
Kristia asked, but he already knew the answer to this question. This much force was the bare minimum to knock out lissa. Thankfully, the half-human female had already been knocked out.
Her calm face looked serene, and Kristia wanted to keep looking at her.
"Well, I am sure you understand why I knocked lissa out. The next few days will be tough for her since I will disappear from the public eye. So, I hope that you take good care of lissa for ."
Amane asked, and Kristia had a weird feeling that he was dealing with sothing troubleso.
So, he decided to look away and not ask any questions.
"Hump! I would have cared for lissa even if you had not asked to."
Kristia puffed his chest and held it out. He looked toward Amane, and she had a serene expression. Her eyes sparkled, and Kristia unconsciously leaned more into her before catching himself in ti.
And even though Amane noticed this, she did not say anything. She ignored it, allowing Kristia to save his dignity.
"Chen, let's head out. We are already late to et Kori. Knowing her, she must be waiting for us without saying a thing."
Amane reminded Chen, and he just smiled a weary smile.
"You are right. Father is weird like that, and I often have difficulty reading her. I will open the gate now."
The portal opened, and Amane quickly walked through it. She did hear lissa waking up and her cry of anguish. But Amane did not have enough heart to look back.
'I am sorry, lissa. But I am not soone who can give you what you need. Finding soone who loves you for who you are will be better. Or perhaps it will be better for you to look around yourself than to chase after .'
Kristia was still holding on tightly to lissa to hold her back. But his hold was tender and filled with love. They would make a decent couple and had Amane's blessing.
"We are here, the upper heavens. This place has changed a lot since you were last here, right?"
Chen asked, and Amane looked around the ruins of the upper heaven.
All the buildings and structures had collapsed, leaving only a limited infrastructure intact. The amount of Flora and fauna left intact was the bare minimum of what was required.
But the most disturbing thing in the upper heaven was the lack of strong energy. This place looked barren and impossible to recover.
"Father sucked the life out of this place when she took the throne. She was too enraged and out of control. So please ignore it if you see anything that you do not like. There is no longer anything we can do to save this place."
Chen sounded apologetic as he likely considered this place important to Amane.
She had never fit into the upper heaven, but it had been ho. To see it be destroyed to this degree was heart-wrenching.
"This is fine. I don't care for this place as much as you think. We should hurry up and et Kori. I can tell that she has sensed already."
Amane could feel the energy leading her inside. Kori was begging for Amane to co and find her.
And Amane was weak for the people she knew and liked. She could not deny Kori's request.
"I see. So, Father is asking for you to head toward her. Then, this should be the end of everything. I need to tell you in case we never et after this, Amane."
"Thank you for being a mother when I had none and raising to be a person. I am saying this on behalf of everyone you ever adopted - thank you."
Chen's words were heartfelt, and he looked away in embarrassnt when he said these words.
Since Chen was not outspoken, these words must have taken considerable courage and willpower to muster up. It ward Amane's heart to hear these words.
"Well, we are family after all. So, there is no need for you to feel indebted to . If you truly want to do sothing for , then keep a healthy al prepared for when I return."
Amane smiled as wide as she could at that mont. She wanted to erase any doubts Chen might have about her. And even though Chen did not believe Amane's assurance, he smiled wide.
"I understand. When you return, I will ask the chefs to prepare your favourite. Is there anything I need to avoid?"
Chen asked as he watched Amane walk away from him.
"Just flavour it strongly. Strong enough to make even Kori flinch when she tried to eat it. If you succeed, I will reward you with sothing you want."
"Oh, and Chen. I know that I was the one who asked you to stop the apocalypses project, but I want you to start it again. We will need a vessel to contain the rift soon. I hope you know what I an."
Amane waved before disappearing into the only intact building in the upper heaven.
It felt heavy and restrictive inside that building. Rift magic covered every corner, making it impossible for anything to escape its grasp.
Such a situation made breathing harder for Amane, but she was used to the rift's restrictive atmosphere. She quickly walked past the barrier and toward the inner room.
"I have co here to pick the princess up. Kori, it's ti for you to leave your job."
Amane broke the door down and looked toward Kori.
Kori's body was slumped against the gigantic chair, and her breath was labored. She looked as if she was dying, but the look in her eyes was different.
This was not Kori but the void.
"You are a little too late. Your beloved could not last; the world is too unstable for to step down. There is nothing you can do…"
The void replied while looking at Amane. It sounded certain, but Amane knew that there was one thing she could do.
"Oh! But there is sothing I can still do. Will you make a bet with and reverse the ti? I am sure that I can prevent all this."
Amane proposed, and the void smiled a wide smile.
'Ah, it's the exact words and the sa actions. The outco will be the sa this ti as well.'
"A bet? Sure, I will take it. If you think you can prevent all this next ti, you are more than welco to try."
"No, this is not what I ant."
Reviews
All reviews (0)