Osho’s eyes slowly opened.
It took him a moment to remember where he was, and when he did, he blinked when he saw a pair of purple eyes looking down at him.
"... Hi." Those were the first words that came out of his mouth, and Ellie smirked.
"Aw, is our resident Beast Evolver tired?" She teased and leaned back as Osho sat up.
Gale who was already awake started annoying Sugil for no apparent reason, and the two of them continued their conflict in another part of the room as Ellie sat in the bed
"So, did everything go well?" She asked and Osho nodded before silently letting himself flop over, his head landing on her lap. She seemed to understand the assignment as she started stroking his hair.
The two of them were silent for a while as they just stayed like that, comfortable with the silence.
Eventually, though, Ellie spoke.
"You have something to say?" She spoke softly, and Osho shifted a bit in her lap, but she made no move to rush him and simply continued stroking his hair.
After a long internal debate, he spoke.
"I suppose I can start with this..." Hearing that, Ellie immediately perked up, though, her movements didn’t stop.
Osho took a few deep breaths, and Ellie said quickly.
"I won’t get mad, I promise." She said gently, and Osho closed his eyes before opening them, seemingly determined.
"Hooo~. Here goes." He looked up slightly, and when he saw her face, his gaze softened a little. Then he sighed and scratched his cheek with a wry smile.
"So... I’m kinda sorta part of a cult." He dropped it once.
Ellie’s hand froze, but then she continued her stroking.
"Care to elaborate?" She enquired, and Osho sighed.
"Yeah, alright." He seemed to consider his next words, then he spoke.
"I’m part of the Estrella Cult. It has existed since before Mana descended on the world. Before you ask, no, we aren’t bad guys. Granted, some questionable things get done sometimes, but we aren’t seeking for the end of humanity or anything like that. Heck, we even help sometimes." He explained, allowing Ellie to know that they weren’t maniacs or anything like that.
"... Okay, so what DO you guys want?" She asked with a raised brow but she seemed more curious than anything.
’She doesn’t seem immediately disgusted. That’s a good sign.’ He thought before replying.
"Ascendance through the stars." He answered, and Ellie tilted her head.
"How does that work?" She asked again.
"Well, it’s pretty complicated, but we believe that since the materials that make up our bodies came from stars, then they are our ’true’ state, so to speak. The doctrine we are taught is that one must follow the stars and be guided by them to ascend. That’s a crude explanation, but that’s the gist of it." Osho explained.
"Oh, well that doesn’t sound so bad," Ellie said with surprise, and Osho shrugged.
"Yeah. We don’t do like mass sacrifices or anything like that." He said.
"Hm. But even then, this cult can’t be simple, considering... well, you." She said pointedly, and Osho sighed.
"That’s correct. We have quite the influence. We also have a lot of strange methods that deviate quite a bit from the norm." He confirmed.
"Is that why you have your ability?" Ellie asked, thinking she already knew the answer, but Osho shook his head.
"Nope. And before you ask, I genuinely don’t know where it came from." He explained, and he was being honest. He knew he got his ability after he transmigrated, and that was about it. He had no idea if the cult had anything to do with it or if it was simply a foregone conclusion whenever someone transmigrates. But if that’s the case, how often do people transmigrate?
The answer? Osho didn’t know, which is why he never spent time trying to figure it out.
"So, what? Are you some hidden child of heaven? Or is your position not important enough for you to be looked at? Is your reason for doing all this to get the cult to notice you and make you some sort of inner disciple or whatever?" Ellie asked casually, but Osho could tell that she was genuinely intrigued.
"I guess you can say I’m pretty important within it." The two of them fell silent for a moment, then Ellie asked again.
"So... I’m sorry, it’s just hard to wrap my head around." Ellie shook her head.
"You never seemed like the religious type, and hearing that you’re actually a part of this whole... thing. Well, you can’t blame me for being surprised, can you?" She sighed, and Osho smiled sadly.
"Sorry for not telling you anything earlier. I guess... I was just scared that your opinion of me would change." He huffed. "I see that worry was pointless. So, I’ll be a bit more liberal." He saw Ellie let out a slightly relieved sigh.
"That’s good... I... I don’t want you to feel like you can’t trust me with your secrets." She shook her head.
"I can imagine that your refusal to tell me anything but still wanting to tell me weighed down on you a lot." She sighed. "I want you to know that I’m here for you, alright? I understand that sometimes you don’t mean to keep things a secret and just act out. But for the times where you have something that’s a burden on you, I’m willing to listen, alright? Even if I don’t have any solutions, I promise I’ll listen." She leaned down and kissed his forehead before smiling.
"Besides, you don’t have to tell me everything now. Move at your own pace, alright? If you ever need to vent or are tired of keeping something to your chest, just come my way. Just... make sure I’m not being mind controlled or anything." She joked, and Osho chuckled.
"I’ll hold you to that. And hey, if you ever do get mind controlled, I’ll be the one to stop you." He smiled back.
"Massive red flags." She snickered before asking.
"Right, so. What about how you dealt with the Abyssal Scrounger? Did the cukt have anything to do with that?" Osho paused, then he nodded.
"Certain members go through a ritual that strengthens their souls when they are babies." He explained.
"So you DO perform rituals?" Ellie asked pointedly.
"Not the way you aren’t thinking." He said firmly.
"Like I said, we have a lot of strange methods that differ from the norm. But they rarely involve anything that’s morally questionable." He explained.
"Oh? Rarely, not never. So what are the morally questionable things?" She smirked, but once more, she seemed genuinely interested.
Osho hesitated, and Ellie quickly spoke.
"You don’t need to say anything! I was just teasing."
Osho visibly relaxed at that.
The two of them were silent for a moment more, then Osho asked.
"Also, what College did you decide to pick?" At this, Ellie just shrugged.
"I’m going wherever you’re going." She answered curtly.
"I- Huh?" He stared at her with surprise.
She giggled at that and tapped his nose.
"Dummy, I’ve already committed myself to you. I’ll follow you wherever you go." She leaned down and kissed him on the lips gently before retreating.
"Besides, the others plan on doing the same." She explained, and Osho seemed genuinely surprised.
"Your decision makes sense. But why are they also following me?" He asked, and she stared at him like he was an idiot.
"Oh I don’t know, maybe because your reckless behavior not only saved their lives during the entrance exam, but you also helped evolve their beasts far beyond their initial potential, making their futures much brighter than before. Like, it’s not as if you completely changed the course of their futures, and they don’t seek to follow you to repay the favor as well as be the first ones to receive any more unorthodox but broken benefits from you, right?" The sarcasm was almost visible, and Osho scratched his head.
"I guess you have a point there..." He mumbled.
"Still..." Ellie rolled her eyes at his hesitation and pinched his nose, causing him to yelp.
"Look, Osho, it’s not complicated. They are happy being close to you, and they want to follow you. It’s as simple as that, and certainly not something you need to hurt your brain over. Geez." She scolded him and let go of his nose which he quickly held while staring at her with indignation.
She just giggled again.
Osho snorted and tried to grab her nose, but she moved out of the way before he could.
Osho frowned and got off her lap as he tried again, but she evaded him once more.
With a huff, he quickly grabbed her waist and pinned her into the bed before climbing on top of her.
"Hey! Let me go!" She said while struggling.
"Nah, you started it." Osho snorted and grabbed her hands, pinning them against the bed.
The two of them locked eyes, which is also when they realized just how compromising their position was.
"Hey... got off." She said softly while looking away, and Osho quickly complied while forcing a cough, happy his skin color made it hard to tell if he was blushing or not.
That’s when a knock sounded on the door.
"Are the two of you done? Mrs Jane wants to have a talk with us?" Sam said from behind the door.
"Coming." Osho replied quickly before sighing and looked at Ellie who had sat up.
"Ready to go?" He asked while holding out his hand. She nodded and took it.
Their beasts also stopped their mock battle and flew to their sides.
With a shared nod, they approached the door.