(Cassie's POV) [Two weeks ago]
Since I received my aspect after the first nightmare, I've been forced to see visions every night as I sleep.
During these visions, I've learned quite a lot about the people around me, about what's going to happen in the future, and what's already happened in the past.
But something felt a little different today.
As I slipped into oblivion, the darkness that usually blanketed my vision began to clear.
And as my "eyes" began to sputter awake, I became privy to the picture-esque scene before me.
The sky was painted in hues of deep azure and sunset orange, with tiny pearls of platinum light dotting its seemingly endless expanse.
Below the tapestry of dusk lay a diverse yet shockingly vast field of flowers, each floret glowing with an ethereal light that lit up the area in a myriad of kaleidoscopic colors.
Smack dead in the center of this otherworldly field was a manor that radiated an ancient feeling, as if its very walls carried the weight of generations.
It was a stunning visage by all means, probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
I've grown used to seeing incredibly cryptic yet equally twisted omens that foretold grim futures every night, so this sudden shift in tone was a jarring but welcome change.
Soon, though, my vision shift, the field and manor fragmenting like shattered glass before reforming into a new scene.
I was now inside a room, albeit a cozy one.
It looked like a homely dining room.
The walls were lined with aged wooden cabinets, big windows with scarlet curtains positioned around the room.
In the center of the room was a rectangular table, big enough for about four people.
On the wooden table was a bubbling pot of stewed meat, a dish of scalloped potatoes, and an expensive-looking bottle of wine.
I was still gathering my bearings when a door to my left swung open, and two entities walked into the room.
One of them I recognized.
A pair of purple jewel-like eyes gleamed beautifully, framed by a mess of silky wheat blonde hair.
But as I looked a little closer, I noticed that this version of Audun was different from the one I was familiar with... perhaps a little older?
He was taller, standing at a height similar to Neph, and there was a small yet noticeable scar marring the corner of his mouth, not to mention his entire demenour was different...
Well, it was warmer to say the least.
He had a blindly bright smile on his face, his eyes dripping with affection and amusement as he carried a mug of what looked like hot cocoa and a simple wine glass.
Surprisingly, though, Audun's mature yet lethally alluring form was the less noticeable presence walking into the room.
I turned my attention to "it".
Clinging to the swordsman's back like a koala was "nothing".
A black "nothingness", a "void", a pitch black hole in the shape of a person.
As the "nothingness" rode on Audun's back, space bent around "it" as the world tried, but failed, to fill the human-sized gap "it" created.
I could only watch in genuine bafflement as Audun placed the cup of hot cocoa and wine glass on the wooden table before drawing out a chair, gingerly setting the nothingness down on its plush cushion.
The nothingness sank into the chair, laying what I assumed to be its head on the table in what appeared to be exhaustion.
Sauntering over to the cabinets lining the walls, Audun belted out a laugh, his voice echoing in the cozy room as he grabbed a pair of plates and elegant-looking silverware.
He walked back over to the table, placing a plate and a set of utensils in front of the "nothingness".
As he did so, the "nothingness" seemed to perk up, "its" body language indicating that it was... happy?
The "nothingness" energetically started plopping helpings of the stewed meat and scalloped potatoes as Audun watched "it" with this... sickeningly loving look in his eyes.
I could feel my chest getting tight as an instinctive jealousy washed over me, the disgustingly happy scene reminding me of my own crippling singleness.
This was certainly the cruelest form of torture that my aspect has subjected me to.
Watching a literal void and a vogue model play the role of newlyweds was a special kind of depressing, the kind that made you want to strangle yourself and wallow in despair.
Unfortunately, I was forced to observe this nightmare despite desperately wishing to look away.
Audun uncorked the bottle of wine on the table with a wave of his hand, the bottle pouring out its contents into the wine glass in his grasp by itself.
"So, how was your day?"
"!*@#&*^*&@^#*&!^@"
"Hah~ tiring, huh? I guess I gotta ask Neph to give you another day off-"
"@!#(&!@(#&(*&(!))@*"
"Ok, ok, I understand you've got plans... but it gets lonely sometimes, y'know?"
"@#(*@!&#!@#(*&@#!(*@&"
"Step out of my realm..? After the shit storm I caused last time I descended, I'm pretty sure the supremes will round up their armies and hunt me down as soon as I show up."
"@!#(*&!@#(*&@!#!(*@&#)(#$"
"Not really, the supremes themselves aren't an issue. I'm just worried that I'll attract another cursed abomination if I start blindly activating my authorities."
"@!#(*&!@#(*&#(&$!(*#&(*#&$(*@#&$(*@&#!@#(*&@#"
"Oh god, not you too! Look, I love you, but that comet was a spur-of-the-moment thing! I'm never doing that again, especially not after you guys started calling me the meteor merchant!"
"@!#(*&!@#(*&@#(*!@"
"You-"
"@!#(*&@!#(*&!@#(*&!@#(*&@!#"
"You know you can do it too, right? All you have to do is form you're 6th circle."
"!@(#*&!@(*#*&#(#&$!(*#@$&!@#"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa- let's not be rash. I helped you become a ##### to unshackle you from fate, not so you could wage chemical warfare on Song's army-"
I had been listening closely to Audun's chaotic conversation with the "nothingness", trying my best to follow along.
This vision was clearly happening in the far, far future, and there were plenty of nuggets of information, but that last statement took me by surprise.
'Unshakled from fate...?'
'Audun... can unshackle people from fate?!'
"@#)*!@#)(*!@#)*!@#)(!@*#"
"No, no, that's a fair point. The blood thing was a bit much, even by my standards. I'll teach you a couple of 5th circle spells you can use to get a bit of revenge."
"@!#(*&*!@#*)!@*#)&#(*@#&$(*"
"Aw, I love you too~"
"!@#)!@*#)(*@!#)(*)("
"Yes, yes, I love you more than Sun- huh?"
There was a lull in the conversation as Audun froze, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
"Honey, quick question, how far did you see into the future when you still had visions?"
"@#)!@*#)!@#*)!@(*#!@#)(*!@)#*!@)($*)(#*%)(@*#$)@#(*$!@)(&*!#$(*!@#)!(@*#!)@#($*!@#)!(@*#%!@#)(*"
"Ah, ok. Thanks..."
"@!#(*!@&#(!*@&#"
"Nope, it's nothing serious. Someone you're pretty familiar with is watching us."
"@!#*!@*#)*!@#)!(@#*"
"Pffft, no, Sunny isn't peeping again. It's someone else."
His eyes began to glow with a powerful celestial light, and to my absolute shock, his shining pupils landed on my figure.
Eight pearls of platinum radiance blinked into existence, the blinding stars forming a constellation behind the swordsman.
Audun's mouth melted into an amused smile, the beautiful star languidly bringing a finger to his mouth in a hushing gesture.
"Sorry to interrupt your viewing experience, but I can't be leaking too many spoilers, y'know?"
The Audun in my vision took a delicate sip from his wine glass and raised a hand.
"I'm just trying to have dinner with my fiancé, I hope you understand, Mrs. Cassia~"
His expression contorted into a mischievous grin, and with a deafening snap of his fingers, I was blinded by a sudden flash of platinum light, overwhelmed by the sound of shattering glass.
My vision crumbled to dust, a blanket of darkness being thrust over my eyes as I was forced awake.
The searing pain in my eyes and the dull ache in my head were one thing, but the overwhelming implications of that vision completely shattered whatever schemes or plans I had come up with.
Unshackling someone from fate, cutting off my vision with a snap of his fingers, battling supremes and fighting cursed abominations, dropping meteors- That... was he being serious?
Wait, wait, wait.
Not just that-
He has a fiancée??
He's engaged???
To that "Thing"????
And he-
He called me Mrs. Cassia.
Not miss, missus.
Oh.
Oh-
-----------------------------------------
(Audun's POV) [Present Day]
After hesitantly asking me to talk, Cassie stilled, standing quietly in front of Sunny's doorway.
A sigh unconsciously built in my chest as I watched the oracle squirm meekly beneath my gaze.
"...You wanted to talk, right? Fine. Let's go."
Cassie nodded, quietly leading me across the hall to her room.
She opened the door and gestured inside, inviting me in.
I raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing her expression for a moment, but stepped inside without complaint.
Taking a quick moment to scan the room, I immediately noticed the glaring lack of furniture, the only thing in the room being a narrow cot in the corner.
Hearing the door click shut, I turned around, "locking" eyes with Cassie as she leaned tentatively against the wood entrance.
Her expression morphed into something complex.
"Audun, this conversation shouldn't be heard by anyone else."
I nodded, though she wouldn't have known, and encased the room in a shell of starlight, blocking any sounds from leaving the room.
"Done."
"Thanks."
Cassie bit her lip, an odd mix of nervousness and curiosity spreading across her features.
We fell into an awkward silence, neither of us uttering a word.
I was still caught somewhere between trying to respect her privacy and desperately wanting to know why she had spent an entire week deliberately avoiding me, a question developing in my mind.
But before I could say anything, Cassie broke the silence.
"I need your help."
It was a direct request.
I couldn't help but raise a brow.
"You avoided me for an entire week, and now you're just... asking for my help?"
Cassie fell back into silence, a slightly guilty look spreading across her face.
A sigh broke free of my lips as a helpless smile formed on my face.
"Hah~ I'm just kidding. What do you need?"
The oracle let out an exhalation of what I assumed to be relief.
Cassie's eyes took on a steely glint, her expression tightening.
"I need your help to change the future, to change the outcome of my visions."
I blinked, caught slightly off guard by the suddenness of her declaration, and a dumb noise escaped my mouth.
"...Huh?"
She hesitated, a tentative question flowing off her tongue.
"Audun, do you believe in fate?"
My brow furrowed.
"Is this some kind of philosophical-."
Cassie let out a chuckle.
"No, no, it's not."
She paused, her demenour shifting.
"The grim reality of fate... The development of events beyond your control... The predeterminedness of the future..."
A sad smile spread across her face.
"There's nothing more real to me than fate. Nothing more real than my own powerlessness in the face of a future tragedy."
I listened to her words carefully.
"It's pretty ironic, the person the spell robbed of their sight was gifted an aspect that only allowed them to watch, a power that only allowed them to observe the unfolding events."
A self-deprecatory smile unfolded across her face.
"I'm an unwilling spectator, an observer of a tragically grand performance."
Cassie shook her head.
"As an outsider, one cursed with nothing other than knowledge, I don't have the strength to play a role in this twisted play."
Her usually aimless sapphire blue eyes were trained firmly on my figure.
"But."
She pointed a finger at me.
"You."
"You have the strength to change things."
The smile on her face morphed into something different, into something more complex.
"I've seen it. You can rewrite the script. You can change the ending, I saw-"
Her eyes seemed to shine as she declared confidently:
"You can help me shatter fate."
_____________________________________________________________
(A/N: I think I might've lobotomized myself.
I finished writing 6 out of the 9 essays I had to do, but throughout the whole thing, I couldn't help but think about LTG'ing myself.
I had work earlier today, too, and with my hefty to-do list, I literally had no time to write, hence why this chapter is coming out at like 1 in the morning.
It might not be feasible for me to drop a chapter tomorrow, cuz I have to tutor some kids, go to an ortho appointment, and then rush to my godmother's birthday dinner after, but I'll still try my best.
Worst-case scenario, I just drop two chapters sometime next week.
Though with how busy I am now, It'll lwk be tuff asl.
I digress.
Anyway, if you guys appreciate the grind, I hope you drop a supportive comment or a nice review.
P.S., I should probably thank all of the people sending me power stones.
I never actually asked for them cuz I genuinely don't know what they do, but considering I only have two power stones to my name, and I don't know how to get more, they're probably pretty valuable, right?
Well, regardless, I appreciate all you guys give me.
Sorry again for making you wait, and I'll see you probably on Monday, but maybe tomorrow if things pan out well!)