"I'VE already sealed a piece of Neoma de Moonasterio's soul with the Eternal Fla."
Yoan bowed politely as a greeting to Serafina– the World itself.
[Sotis she's called the World Tree, too. But the Cosmic Tree is more famous than her, so people would just often refer to Lady Serafina as the 'World.']
"Thank you, Lady Serafina."
Serafina stopped knitting and looked at him with a disapproving look. "You're expressing your gratitude and yet why do I feel like your disdain? I gave Neoma what both of you had wished for."
"Please don't pretend that you did us for our sake, Lady Serafina," he said indifferently. "After I retrieved Neoma's body from the dark ocean, we realized that the residues of her Lunacy remained a threat even when she was already gone."
It was hard for him to talk about Neoma using the past tense, but he had to continue and act tough in front of everyone.
"Crimson, the God of Wrath, isn't exactly a Soul Beast. Hence, we can assu that he's still living inside Neoma's soul," Yoan continued. "Neoma's anger and hatred for the world didn't subside even after she was gone. Crimson seed like he was planning to use Neoma's Lunacy to revive her."
Yoan didn't want Neoma to die, but he also knew she didn't want to be revived.
Not in a world without her baby.
Moreover…
"If Neoma got revived while her Lunacy was at its strongest due to Crimson's influence, then she might really end the world this ti," Yoan continued. "And that's exactly why you "rewarded" Neoma. You just want her to calm down for the sake of the world."
Yoan had always known Neoma was a monster.
[And I an that in the best way possible.]
Neoma lived a "normal" life without using her Mana or divine power for eighteen years. She only got to learn to do so after she was revived.
[Her Soul Beast wasn't even normal.]
And yet, Neoma learned everything she needed to beco a savior in a short amount of ti.
She won the war against Helstor and Callisto de Luca.
[Hence, it's no surprise that Neoma remains a threat to the world even after she is gone.]
"You're too jaded to see the good in people, aren't you?" Serafina asked in a sad voice. "Will you not believe that I gave Neoma a reward simply because she deserves it?"
"If that's truly the case, then I'm grateful."
The World laughed while shaking his head. "How's the deal?"
"You know I already sealed the deal with the Ancient Devil."
"I'm talking about the deal you made with the Goddess of Life and the God of Death to revive your child with Neoma de Moonasterio."
"It's done," Yoan said. "Neoma's child, the sa one that she created in this tiline, would be reborn if ever she decided to have a baby in the next tiline."
"You asked the Goddess of Life and the God of Death to revive Neoma's child in the next tiline even if she ended up with another man by then. Why did you do that?"
"I plan to only watch and guide Neoma from afar in the next tiline. Moreover, there's no guarantee that Neoma will fall in love with once again since her mories of would be sealed."
After all, his deal with the Ancient Devil was tricky.
[I can't have Neoma rember our history before I accomplish my goals for the next tiline.]
"Now I understand why Neoma said you never say the things she wanted to hear from you, and you do things she doesn't need you to do for her."
He flinched.
To be honest, he knew that he loved Neoma.
[And I really do.]
But Yoan wasn't good at expressing his feelings.
[Moreover, if I let my feelings take over, then I might end up wanting to lock up Neoma so she wouldn't leave my side. Hence, in order to suppress my obsessive and possessive feelings towards her, I find myself trying to stay away from her as much as possible.]
Of course, now all of that sounded nothing more than a pathetic excuse.
"In the next tiline, I will make sure Neoma will grow up loved and protected," Yoan promised to himself. "But that doesn't an I won't make it up to the Neoma of this tiline. So please send a piece of my soul to where Neoma and our baby is."
"Of course, I will do that," Serafina said, smiling sadly at him. "After all, from this mont on, you will shoulder half of the bad karma points that Neoma de Moonasterio has accumulated, Yoan Solfrid."
***
NEOMA was supposed to be upset with Yoan.
But looking at her man while their baby was in his arms, she realized that she didn't care anymore.
She was aware that she was already dead.
That this was nothing more than an "endless" dream.
"Neoma, look," Yoan said in a hushed yet excited voice. "I finally managed to make our baby sleep."
'Our baby.'
Those words were music to her ears.
Yoan was a careful person so he would often refer to their child as Neoma's baby.
It wasn't because he didn't want to be responsible of them, but because he knew how possessive Neoma was with her baby. Hence, he didn't want to overstep his boundaries.
"Yoan."
"Hmm?"
"I chose you as my baby's father," Neoma said firmly. "You don't have to walk on eggshells around ."
Yoan blushed when he probably realized that she saw right through him.
"I just feel like I still don't deserve to be this child's father."
"Well, we have all the ti in this world," she said. "In this world, all we have to worry about is our small family."
Yoan fell silent for a mont, then he smiled and nodded. "You're right, Neoma. Thank you for the reminder."
"I actually have a lot of things I wanted to ask," Neoma confessed. "I want to know what the Ancient Devil asked you in return of turning back ti. I want to know how our baby was revived. I want to know how long this "endless" dream would last. But I decided to forget about everything related to the outside world. This may sound selfish, but since we're only a piece of our previous selves' souls, I believe we're no longer responsible for what would happen to the 'us' outside."
She'd like to think that the Neoma and the Yoan of the outside world were different people from them.
"I agree with you, Neoma," Yoan said, nodding in agreent. "I promised myself that this piece of my soul would belong to you and our baby. No one and nothing mattered more than our family."
Neoma knew that this world wasn't really a real world.
However, she'd take it.
[This is my life now.]
'Life.'
That sounded nice.
Neoma smiled and Yoan, then she looked at their baby boy. "Vitu."
"Vitu?" Yoan asked curiously. "That ans 'life' in the ancient language. It has a nice ring to it."
"Right? Our child gives life," she said, her face probably lighting up. "What do you think of naming our baby 'Vitu?'"
"I like it."
Neoma's smile grew wide, then she turned to their baby and lightly poked his chubby cheek with her finger. "Vitu, do you like your na?"
As if as a response, their baby smiled.
And then Vitu finally opened his bright red eyes.
A god.
Their baby was born a god.
Even so, Neoma and Yoan just looked at each other and smiled.
[It's okay. It doesn't matter. Vitu is our child and that's all that matters.]
In this world, they could raise their child as normal as they could.
"Greetings, Vitu," Neoma said when she turned to their child again. "I'm Neoma and I'm your mother."
"I'm Yoan and I'm your father," Yoan said, smiling at their baby. "It's nice to et you, Vitu. Your mother and I are very happy to have you as our son."
Vitu, their little bundle of joy, giggled as if they were greeting them.
That was when it hit Neoma and Yoan.
[This is our own happy ending.]
***
NEOMA fell to the floor, her body exhausted, after seeing how Neoma of the first tiline's life ended.
It felt like watching a tragic movie.
The ending was bittersweet.
[So, they lived inside this world as a family.]
The current Neoma wouldn't have been satisfied with that kind of life.
But for Neoma of the first tiline, that was the best ending that she could get.
"Do you finally rember everything now, Mother?"
'Mother' and not 'Mommy.'
Neoma raised her head to see Vitu, her teenage son, squatting down in front of her to et her eye level.
"I'm not real," Vitu said playfully while smiling at her. "I only exist in this world. I'm nothing but a beautiful dream created– aw!"
The boy yelled when Neoma pinched his cheek a little too hard.
Pfft.
"You were hurt, so that ans you're real," Neoma said before letting go of her son's cheek. "So what if you only exist in this world? Don't invalidate the life that Giant Neoma and Commander Yoan created for you. You are their son, and you'll be my son later."
Vitu looked confused, then he blinked. "How are you still sane, Mother? The Eternal Fla was so sure that you'd lose your mind once your mories returned."
"Well, I almost lost it when I saw how you died and how Neoma dealt with your death," she admitted. "However, Giant Neoma still got her happy ending in the end. How can I be mad when I saw her smile that bright while looking at you and Yoan."
"I didn't expect you'd be calm and rational in this situation, Mother."
"Son, I know I have a bad reputation for being a crazy bitch," she said. She wanted to avoid cursing in front of her son. But what could she do? Swearing cos naturally to her. "But I also know that I don't have the luxury to lose my mind at the mont. If I want to et you again, then I have to get out of here with my mind intact."
"You… want to be your son in this lifeti as well, Mother?"
Aww.
Vitu looked like he was about to burst out crying.
The child was probably touched.
"Of course, I want you to be my son again," Neoma said, then she cupped Vitu's face between her hands. "Ruto and I will definitely conceive you in this tiline, son."
Vitu's face turned red. "Mother, that's too much information."
She just laughed it off. "Anyways, I'll deal with the Eternal Fla now."
"Have you figured out how to control it now, Mother?"
"Yeah," Neoma said, nodding. "I'll scream for help."
Vitu looked visibly confused. "Help from who?"
***
Hi! Do the italics and bold fonts show up/work now when you're reading this in the app? Thank you in advance for your answers.
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