Hey guys, Aidka's here!
There was a small mistake in the last chapter. In some parts of the chapter, I called Iris's father 'duke'. I don't know where that came from, perhaps I was a bit sleepy and that slipped in the chapter. Anyway, Iris's father is not a duke. I already corrected it.
...
The chat with my father-in-law was more successful than I thought. To be honest, I did not think he would be so cooperative.
… I must say, I'm a bit disappointed. I was in the mood of slap some faces and show my power before making him bend his knees.
Sigh, what can I do? Not all my fathers-in-law have to be assholes.
Due to that, though, I'm with a lot of free time right now.
What should I do? Should I go to Clarice, Lluvia, and Nana? Or perhaps return to my mansion and have a giant orgy?
Thinking about it, now that I'm here I should visit Iris and give her the good news. I'm sure she will happy and perhaps I will be able to enjoy a nice night with her.
Having decided in my course of action, I got ready to step across space and go to her room.
But suddenly, my expression changed.
All of sudden, I felt a strange fluctuation in the laws of the world.
I recognize this fluctuation very clearly. After all, it's something I spent a lot of effort to learn to recognize.
This is the fluctuation caused when fate is strongly manipulated.
And I know only one person with such abilities over fate.
Ysnay.
Thinking about it, I have not seen her recently.
Closing my eyes, I used my senses to search for her aura.
A few seconds later, I found her.
Without hesitation, I stepped across space, appearing in the peak of a mountain thousands of kilometers away.
In front of me, a goddess-like woman was seated on the ground, gazing at the stars with a complicated expression.
"… So you came, huh. As expected, you felt it. I thought I had hidden it very well this time."
I snorted. "I have suffered a lot due to your control over fate. Thus, I'm very sensitive to it right now."
Ysnay turned towards me and smiled.
"Can you sit beside me? It has been a long while since the last time we gazed at the stars like this."
I hesitated slightly, but in the end, I nodded.
When I sat down beside her, Ysnay's smile turned brighter and she leaned her head on my shoulder.
"… This is nice." She said with a happy expression. "How I wish to be with you like this forever."
I fell silent. Both Ysnay and I knew that was almost impossible.
In the end, she had already lost her opportunity long ago.
With a sigh, I decided to go straight to the grain.
"… What are you plotting, Ysnay?"
Ysnay looked at me and pouted. "Am I someone who only knows how to plot against others in your eyes?"
I did not reply, but my answer was evident in my eyes.
Ysnay's expression became listless. She then gazed at the stars again with a bitter smile.
"… Willian, I love you. I truly do. I love you so much, even more than my own life."
"And that is precisely the reason I know you are plotting something. You know you don't have any opportunity, Ysnay. That is impossible. Thus, you will definitively do something in the end. You will struggle one last time to grab that fleeting last chance."
Ysnay smiled sorrowfully.
"You know me too well… Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I'm truly plotting something."
"… I will not tolerate you injuring any of my loved ones. If you do it, I'll do everything in my power to destroy you completely, even if I have to sacrifice myself for that end."
Ysnay chuckled softly. She then raised her hand and caressed my cheek gently.
"You don't need to worry, Willian. As I told you, I love you more than anything in this world. How can I even think of injuring you? As for your loved ones… The last thing I want is to gain more of your hatred."
I looked at Ysnay's face and noticed that her eyes were full of sincerity.
They were completely clear and transparent, like a lake. I felt I could see right through all her thoughts.
However, I knew that was nothing more than an illusion.
As a master of fate, nobody is a better liar than Ysnay.
If she wants to lie to me, I will be unable to discover it.
That is the reason I can't trust her in the slightest.
Aware of my thoughts, Ysnay's expression turned sad.
"… Truly, I don't seem to have any opportunity."
"You didn't."
"But I don't want to give up yet. Right now, you are closer to your goal than ever. This lifetime is my last opportunity to make you open your heart to me again. And… I think I still have a chance."
"Is it so?" I could not help but chuckle softly.
Ysnay did not mind my chuckle. Instead, she returned to gaze at the stars.
"Soon, you will ask for my help." She affirmed.
"… You seem very confident."
"I am. Because I know you better than anyone. In this universe, I'm confident nobody knows you better than me."
I didn't reply to Ysnay and instead gazed at the stars as well.
… There are several reasons that made Immortals so lonely.
They are innately distrustful.
They are insanely powerful.
They are irrationally stubborn.
And they are incredibly old.
Thus, Immortals are lonely.
They are innately distrustful, so they can trust other immortals who possess the strength to fight and perhaps kill them.
They are insanely powerful, so their power becomes a barrier that pushes away those weaker than them.
They are incredibly stubborn, so when two Immortals meet, their ideals or goals will most likely eventually clash.
And they are vastly old, so they can't relate with mortals, whose entire lives are just a fraction of theirs.
I'm a very special case. Every time I reincarnate, I erase all the feeling-related memories of my previous life. Thus, I reincarnate as a blank slate in terms of feelings and can relate a bit more with mortals.
But even that has a limit.
Thus, generally, Immortals only trust one kind of person.
Those who grow with them, those who were always with them, who overcame many obstacles with them, finally achieving immortality together with them.
And Ysnay and I once were like that.
In one of my reincarnations, I gave my everything to her. I loved her, taught her, protected her, and guided her.
Finally, one day, she managed to achieve Immortality just like me.
Back then, I thought I had achieved my dream. I thought we could be a happy couple, wandering eternally through the infinite dimensions.
It was the happiest day of my life in hundreds of lifetimes.
… Until when she stabbed a dagger in my heart that same night, just because she could not allow the existence of someone her fate could not manipulate.
Because her ambition did not allow her to be below someone else.
Since then, I have been unable to trust her again.
Because Immortals are stubborn.
Because immortals seldomly change.
Because she betrayed me once, and I'll always live guarding against her betraying me again.
… Hehe, in fact, right now, she is trying to pull a fast one on me.
That night, I remained seated beside Ysnay, with her head on my shoulder as we gazed at the stars.
But no matter how close our bodies were, our hearts could not be further apart.