Thank you to OdeToAKite, Michael, JewBot9000, Jonathan Newman, Kolonji Francois, Samuel Ochoa, taw, Nasior and Morgan for always being patient and supporting in what I do.
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It's cold.
Water touched his skin, and he felt a freezing sensation.
I can feel the water surrounding me. The air feels…
Aric sniffed and could tell he was near an ocean. It carried the smell of salt, but strangely enough, seaweed as well.
Familiar. Did I pass out while making the car?
He stood up from the seabed and found the water barely reaching above his ankles. The sky was dark, and two moons were shining directly over him.
He rubbed his eyes and felt uncomfortable in his clingy soaked clothes. Once again, a strange occurrence happened where the salt didn't irritate his eyes.
That's strange. I did that so the pain would wake me up, but…I can't feel pain. Where even am I?
A strange figure was on the horizon. It was only a silhouette, but when it spoke, its voice carried like a ripple through the vast ocean.
You're Aric Lawson, right?
Aric knew squinting his eyes wouldn't do much despite his human nature screaming at him to do so. But Aric knew, this humanoid figure wasn't…human.
And even if it was, it wasn't completely human. Like a doppelgänger or a mimic.
"Even if I am, what do you want? Why am I here in this endless ocean?"
The hum from the figure echoed loudly. It put up its hand to its cheek as if it were wondering the same thing.
Personally, I have no idea. Nobody is supposed to be here.
I have been here for…let's say, far longer than that planet you were on.
Aric exhaled slowly. No point in arguing. He walked forward, the water never rising, his feet never sinking.
"So, I'm guessing I can't exactly die to escape this place?"
Its voice sounded intrigued,
How interesting. The first thing you think of when coming here…is to find an escape by suicide? You didn't even bother to try to find an exit like any normal human.
You tried to find a spot to drown yourself and were surprised you couldn't.
How peculiar.
Aric's feet were just floating in the vast ocean, but he couldn't sink, no matter how heavy he made himself. Aric figured this place was in his head, and it had to mean something for him to go back to the present.
You see, for the people who end up here are usually sinners. Bad people.
The figure shrugged,
But for you…I was given no instructions. Usually, I would torment them and make them repent for their bad deeds, but I was told to greet you and test you.
Aric's left eyebrow was raised, "What test?"
Hmmm. Answer me this. When you entered this world, what were your original goals? Before you changed them to just survival, of course.
What were you hoping for in that world?
Aric felt rather challenged and couldn't put it into words immediately. He was in deep thought, and perhaps, he annoyed the figure for thinking too long, as it gave an annoyed look. Still, Aric finally answered,
"I wanted to live the life of the protagonist that I read. Go on adventures, maybe get hitched to the girl of my dreams. I honestly just wanted to have fun and chill."
He gestured his arms while talking to it,
"When I woke up to Seraphina, I thought, 'Sweet! I am already living the life I already want.' Maybe I could even fall in love with her since she's so hot and totally my type. Every day and night, I have to physically control myself when I see her. Like my bodily functions and all that."
"Maybe I thought I would have sweet powers, be respected by everyone, and live a laid-back life with no worries. I would have no regrets and die happily with her. Or even if I didn't have any of that, I wanted to just have a small home with a nice garden and sustain myself, you know? Maybe do a few good deeds and live a peaceful life."
"But…"
Aric put his hands down, and the figure nodded its head in understanding,
But what you got was a mission that seemed impossible. Every day you thought about escaping her, but didn't. You took it as punishment for being a failure of a husband and father on Earth.
You chose every day to subject yourself to fixing everything by yourself, even if it cost your mental and emotional well-being. Before telling her you were reborn, you contemplated just giving up every night.
Am I right?
Aric didn't answer, and the figure appeared closer to Aric now.
Silence is admission, you know that?
Its face was black, but when it spoke next, it took the tone of someone feminine. Aric attributed the voice to Aphrodite.
You have a naughty imagination, Aric. But I digress, you took it upon yourself to find some meaning. Repentance or even salvation, but truthfully, I don't care.
You answered the question, so here is the message you were given.
She stretched her arm and opened her hands. An orb levitated between them, and 'Aphrodite' pushed it toward him.
Aric. When you receive this message, remember my words. You're the ******* of this world.
One word was distorted, and Aric asked her to repeat herself. But when he asked again, his heart started to hurt as the orb entered his body.
Be brave, Aric. Only you can challenge them.
Aric now sank into the abyss of the ocean in just a second and desperately fought to stay alive. 'Aphrodite' looked at him, but the waves of the ocean blurred her disfigured face. Aric ran out of oxygen after fighting for minutes and was transported to a vision.
A vision where he was crying.
Ashes, smoke, and buildings burning down. Children were carried by their mothers as they ran in tears and fear. Fathers and knights fighting for their lives against hordes of soldiers and monsters.
Aric was not in control as he looked around with his tears streaming uncontrollably. He couldn't even move his body. He was a spectator in this burning world.
Wherever he looked, there was chaos and destruction. The place looked different. Aric could tell this place was wealthy. But what didn't make sense to him was Evelyn refusing to fight anyone.
She stood frozen as she gazed into the distance. Aric tried to follow her gaze and stood frozen when he saw the sight.
Penelope was pierced through the stomach by Seraphina. Penelope looked furious and determined, while Seraphina's eyes appeared cold and hollow.
Her dress was pure black, and her powers enveloped Penelope. Penelope screamed her heart out and looked behind as if she could see Aric,
"ARIC! THE KEY TO WINNING IS-"
Penelope's words were cut off and echoed for a while as he was brought back to the present. He panted like a dog, and his face was drenched in sweat. He couldn't lift his head, but his view was blocked by mountains.
"What…the…shouldn't I be...with...?"
He heard a chuckle, and a face emerged from those mountains,
"I would like to answer you, but you were whimpering a lot in your sleep. Are you okay, Aric?"
Aric's face immediately shifted from panic to embarrassment. He moved his eyes and saw he was lying down on Seraphina's thighs, and the mountains he saw were her boobs.
[Well.] Ivy said while looking at him with a cheeky smile, [You are finally getting your isekai treatment.]
KACHAK!
[Keeping this moment for, 'I love getting my head crushed by big juicy thighs.']
Shut up, Ivy, NOT NOW!
"Ummm…" Aric said while looking at her, "Did…you hear me scream?"
She nodded while her hair draped all over, "Pretty much. What did you dream about?"
The moment when Seraphina pierced through Penelope still played in his head. Ivy watched the clip and dropped her chips all over the floor. For Aric, he was fighting in his mind to convince himself that the Seraphina he saw was not the same as the one he had witnessed.
I absolutely cannot tell her. I haven't been able to debrief this with Ivy yet. I don't want to create panic for something I'm not even sure is going to happen. Yeah? I shouldn't mention anything to Seraphina for now…..
"Helloooo, Narxuia to Aric?"
"Actually…I…it's nothing. I just had snakes all over me, and you know, woke up when I saw their fangs engulfing me."
Seraphina raised an eyebrow and touched his cheeks while raising her thigh,
"You're lying. I can tell. What did you see? Is it one of those prophecy dreams again?"
Aric's eyes moved rapidly as he contemplated. Ivy changed her outfit into a serious one with full black attire and snapped her fingers to create a clone of herself,
[I'm leaving you for a while, Aric. I need to deal with something. She's a perfect replica of me, so she will help you as I would and even act like I do. I need to go now.]
Oh now you leave me great.
He sighed internally, Jesus, why does she know me so well? Well I guess I have no choice but to do the right thing and be honest with her.
Aric raised his head and adjusted himself to sit straight,
"It might sound crazy what I'm about to say…"
Seraphina rubbed her thighs slightly and looked at him with a concerned expression,
"I'm listening."
Aric began to speak, "I…saw something. A wealthy place. It seems like Onastin, but if it were fully recovered. I saw dead people and everyone running around to save themselves. I saw soldiers; they looked like they were from the royal capital. I don't know why they were attacking the people, but they were. They were also working with monsters. I saw goblins, demons, and even orcs."
"I…even saw two dragons on the horizon; they looked like they were going to continue the onslaught."
Seraphina's eyes widened and she was speechless yet attentive.
"F…For the first time, I didn't see myself anymore. I don't know what it means since usually, with these dreams, I would see myself as a third person. An observer, if you will, but…this time, I was just looking like…some sort of god. It was like…as if I were omnipotent."
He started to sweat again, "And, I saw, something…really bad. It feels like it's impossible to occur. I know this person so…well, and there's just no way it would happen. But it did, I smelt blood in the air. The sulfur and the magic was heavy on the nose as well. Something is wrong with my vision."
Seraphina extended her hand to his hands while her tendrils rubbed his back,
"Aric, what did you see? It's okay. Even if you have a panic attack, I'm here. Even if you stutter your words, I will piece them together for you. Be honest with me.
He looked at her hands as he couldn't look at her anymore,
"I…saw you…k-k-ki-kil-"
"Kill?" Seraphina corrected.
"Yes. I saw you kill…Penelope."
Seraphina's face immediately shifted to disbelief, and the colour drained from her face.
"What?"
Aric continued despite the sweat dripping onto her hand, "You killed her by piercing her with your tendrils. Your powers. And, while she was still struggling and fighting back, you looked hollow. You looked cold. You appeared…so distant. wearing all black, and your eyes, it was as if they changed to red."
"It felt like you didn't care anymore. You were destroying Onastin, Seraphina. You killed…Penelope and maybe so many more that I failed to see."
His mouth began to tremble, "It feels…scary seeing you like that."
Seraphina sat in shock. Her eyes wide, pupils trembling as if she were trying to process what she just heard.
Silence
The only sound they could hear was the quiet breeze brushing through the grass.
"I…" Her voice cracked, "I killed her?"
Aric nodded slowly. "I saw it clearly. You… looked different. Hollow. They looked like they belonged to someone who lost everything."
Her hands started to tremble slightly before she pulled them back. She stared at her shaky hands,
"Th…These hands tore through Penelope? I..I don't understand? Why would I do something so horrid? Ho… How could I commit such an atrocity?"
Aric reached out instinctively, taking her hands in his. They were cold and Aric steeled himself despite his own feelings,
"Hey, Hey look at me."
"I can't!"
"Sera, look at me please."
She complied reluctantly with her eyes glistening. He locked his eyes onto hers,
"That wasn't you." he said firmly. "Despite how absurdly real my dreams have been, it doesn't mean anything yet. You're not the cold Seraphina I saw. Not the you sitting here with me. I don't know what that vision means, but I know the real you wouldn't do that."
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"I've seen you protect strangers and I know how much you care about your own people." Aric continued.
"Risk your life for people who used to hate you. You've carried the weight of everyone's pain without breaking. Whatever that vision was… It's not destiny. It's something we still can stop. Just like how we won in Ashwick."
Seraphina's tendrils flickered faintly behind her, curling in on themselves like frightened snakes. She exhaled shakily and rested her forehead against his chest,
"...You don't understand how scared I am." she murmured.
"Of becoming something I hate. You think I'm strong because I am composed or calm but I've always known that somewhere inside me… there's something dark. Something that doesn't forget. Something I don't understand. I'm scared that one day, I won't be able to save anyone. I'm scared of that."
Aric squeezed her hands tighter.
"Then we will fight it together and even if you become that cold, I'll stop you, no matter what it takes."
She gave a faint, broken laugh, "But what if it's worse than what happened at Ashwick? I don't know why I turned out that way, Aric but your vision has not been wrong. I like Penelope a lot and the fact I…could kill her is...frightening. The way your hand shakes and how you sweat when talking about it, makes it seems you truly lived in that moment as if you went through it first hand."
She pulled her head away and looked at him with glassy eyes,
"I don't know what's coming or who's going to attack Onastin or even if your dream will come true," she said quietly, "but if I ever… If I ever lose myself like that, promise me you'll stop me."
Aric hesitated for a long moment. The promise she was asking for felt heavier than anything he'd carried. He knew that stopping her would be impossible in his current state but, he nodded anyways,
"I promise." he whispered.