A pillar of blinding light was the last image burned into Luki's retinas before the world shattered, followed by the agonizing severing of his divine bond. But before his mind could process the void left by Hestia's departure, an excruciating pain struck his entire body.
Luki collapsed, convulsing wildly as his strength drained away. It felt as though his soul was being hollowed out, reducing him from a proud adventurer back to a powerless mortal. The physical shock of the deactivating Falna was too much for his nervous system, and darkness swiftly knocked him unconscious.
What followed was a strange sequence of near-sensations.
His brain had shut down, leaving him incapable of thought, yet his special sensory perception remained faintly active. Through the fog, a faint impression formed: a figure materialized, doing something to a smaller figure nearby. Moments later, Luki felt himself being lifted and deposited somewhere else.
Even without the Falna, his unique senses fought to keep him tethered to reality.
He perceived a large group surrounding him. Then, someone else picked him up, separating him from that smaller figure as the crowd split apart. He was carried to a new location, only for another formidable group to intercept them. Before long, an immense crowd gathered around his position.And then, it appeared.
A leading figure stepped forward, radiating a distinct wavelength that bled into his dormant senses. It was a terrifying paradox of emotion—a mixture of overwhelming love, crisp freshness, maternal sweetness, intense sensuality, burning passion, dangerous obsessiveness, and the heavy scent of blood.This presence made something emanate from deep within herself. It was a power Luki could neither understand nor directly feel, yet it left ripples in the world as it expanded completely outside his normal scope of sensation.
Then, that unseen force brushed against him.It felt as if a colossal bolt of lightning had struck his spine. His entire body woke up in a single, painful instant. The sudden surge of forced consciousness made his lungs expand rapidly, forcing a ragged breath. Caught off guard, Luki lost his balance and slipped off the back of his carrier.
He tumbled onto the stone pavement, coughing and disoriented, his three eyes blinking open into a blurred world.
"Cough! Cough...!"
Luki tried to push himself up, his eyes slowly focusing.
"What happened?" he asked, wheezing.
Luki looked around and finally realized the situation. He was surrounded by a massive crowd of adventurers and gods. Coincidentally, he was the absolute center of attention. What a great way to wake up.
"Luki-kun~ You are awake!" a feminine voice called out.
Luki shifted his gaze to see who it was, already knowing by the silhouette.
Freya was standing there, looking at him with an expression that was almost glowing. No... she was actually glowing. A genuinely joyful smile reached her eyes; she looked almost like a child.
Luki gave her a flat, deadpan look, already losing his patience just by seeing her. She was not good news.
"What the fuck is happening here?" he muttered.
Luki could clearly see how much she reacted when his face changed into that deadpan look. She hid it perfectly, keeping her genuine happiness on the outside, but her inside was reacting in a way Luki could only describe as preparing to fuck.
Yeah, she was definitely not good news.
"Luki-kun," another female voice called.
"Oh, Loki-sama, long time no see," Luki said, turning to her. "I presume this is the moment you explain the situation to me."
"Long story short, we tried to hide you, she showed up, the whole city found out, and now we are fighting over your custody, so to speak," Loki said bluntly.
Her direct words made it seem like she was being sloppy and just wanted to get it over with, but Luki could see that she was nervous.
Hearing the reason, Luki remembered one of the many conversations he had with Hestia before she... became temporarily unavailable for a long time. They already knew something like this would happen and had prepared for it in a way. But seeing it first-hand, Luki thought that maybe they hadn't prepared all that well.
'Man, I just want to teleport out of here. Just spend half an hour doing nothing with the excuse of clearing my head and putting the brakes on this whole situation. But I guess without the Falna, I can't use that magic... Now that I think about it, I should have checked my Falna before this mess started, just to know the proper chant. Up until today, I've only been doing this by instinct.'
Luki felt several figures approaching. Two from one side, and Freya from the other.
"Luki Bryan, we meet again," an old god said. He was someone Luki recognized from a few months ago—Ouranos.
"Beautiful day, Luki-kun! A pleasure to officially meet you," Hermes said, stepping forward, taking Luki's hand, and shaking it without any ceremony.
"What's up? Ouranos-sama and... Hermes-sama," Luki said.
He just looked at the two of them, completely out of patience. He had a massive headache and wasn't about to waste any more energy on this situation.
"Luki-kun?" Freya's voice echoed right behind him.
Not caught by surprise since he "saw" her approaching, Luki turned around and looked at her.
"Freya-sama. I think this is the first time we meet, a pleasure," Luki said, offering his hand.
Slap!
Abruptly, Freya grabbed his hand and shook it multiple times with pure enthusiasm. She looked directly into his eyes almost with devotion, completely mesmerized by him.
Luki, on the other hand, remained entirely blank.
"Hey! Stay away from him! Rrrrgh!" Loki intervened, pushing Freya away from him. She stood in front of Luki, snarling like a cornered dog.
"Oh, my Luki, I am so happy we are seeing each other. Now we can finally be together, forever," Freya said, completely ignoring Loki.
'…Ok… I could fix her,' Luki thought, a dry note of dark humor breaking through his exhaustion. 'But whatever the fuck is wrong with her, is honestly way hotter.'
"Woah, woah, hold your horses, you hag!" Loki barked, stepping into the space between them. "The kid is going to choose which Familia he joins. Didn't you say so yourself? And don't you dare think about using your charm on him!"
"Exactly," Hermes chimed in with a sharp grin. "As a very wise goddess once said just a few moments ago, we shouldn't force our divine desires onto helpless mortals. Your words, Lady Freya."
Ouranos took a silent step forward. Now, Luki was completely boxed in by three major deities, with Freya looking like an obsessed fan ready to pounce on him at any second.
What a beautiful mess.
Luki tilted his head to the side, his expression entirely dead. He looked past the divine blockade, locking his eyes directly onto the courtyard of a nearby residence. Without a shred of energy, his lips silently moved, spelling out the words: H-e-l-p m-e.
Hephaestus, who was the direct target of his silent plea, let out a bizarre choke. The sudden development caught her completely off guard.
To be fair, everyone was reeling. Just a moment ago, the atmosphere was a ticking time bomb ready to plunge Orario into a bloody civil war. Luki's absolute, unbothered detachment was a massive bucket of cold water dumped over the entire battlefield.
Looking like a deer caught in headlights, Hephaestus accidentally let her massive war hammer slip, clattering loudly onto the stone floor. She quickly raised both arms, frantically shooing him away with her hands. Shoo, shoo! Go away!
Luki slowly shook his head in absolute denial.
Hephaestus nodded vigorously in return. She pointed right at him, slammed her fist into her open palm in a universal screw you gesture, wagged her index finger to signal that he was not her problem, and then flipped him the bird. Deal with it yourself.
Yeah, gods could be incredibly childish when they wanted to.
Luki's eyebrow twitched, his face darkening. What a wonderful ally he had. There would definitely be payback for this later.
"Do I really have to do this right now?" Luki complained, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Can't this wait? Just give me like an hour. Let me wash my face or something."
"No~!" Freya denied energetically, her eyes practically shining. "I want you to make your choice right now! Preferably me. It will make things so much easier for everyone, Luki-kun."
Luki let out a heavy, defeated sigh, clutching his temples as the throbbing headache behind his eyes grew even worse.
"Why the hell are you even so obsessed with me in the first place?" Luki asked, narrowing his eyes at Freya. "Aren't you supposed to only like pure souls?! Go take Bell. Do you know her? I am absolutely sure you would love her."
"Hey! Are you out of your mind?!" Loki shrieked, instantly jumping into the air. "Don't bring my Bell-chan into this!"
"Better her than me," Luki shot back instantly.
"Is this how you repay me after everything I've done for you?!" Loki barked, her face twisting in outrage. "You ungrateful brat! How the hell did Hestia even fall for you?"
"What's wrong? Jealous?" Luki smirked slightly. "If you want a piece of this, I don't really mind. She already gave me the green light anyway, and I've already messed up enough."
"You what, kid?!" Loki spluttered, her face turning bright red as she pointed an accusing finger at him. "Listen here! I like women, got it?! Women with big, juicy breasts! I would never, ever do anything like that with an ugly brat like you!"
"Your loss. You don't know what you're missing," Luki muttered, casually shrugging his shoulders.
"Grrrrrr..." Loki growled, her teeth grinding together so loudly it echoed in the quiet street. Her fists clenched white, visibly holding herself back from punching him straight into the pavement.
Yeah, the tense atmosphere had completely throw out the window.
Freya watched the interaction between the two of them—like a cheap comedy—and gently brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She let out a graceful, melodious laugh, like she always do.
Ouranos and Hermes shared a brief, silent look, and both let out a quiet sigh of relief. Whatever was happening right now, it was a good thing. At the very least, Freya wasn't out for blood like she had been just moments ago.
"You wanted to know why I want you so badly..." Freya said, her laughter fading into a soft purr as she called his attention back.
"Yeah, I mean, sure. Go ahead," Luki muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Fufufu~ It is actually quite simple," Freya said melodiously, making a calculated, dramatic pause. "But I must request a bit of privacy first, if you all do not mind. And please do not worry, I will not use my 'charm' on him."
"You what, you witch?! If you think for a single second tha-" Loki snapped.
"Go ahead," Ouranos interrupted, his deep voice cutting through the argument.
"What did you just say, you old fossil?!" Loki turned on him, incredulous.
"Relax, Loki. Everything is going to be fine. The kid can take it," Hermes assured her, completely nonchalant.
"Have you both lost your minds?!" Loki yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Ouranos. "A mortal cannot resist her natural charm! Much less if she actually wants to use it! It would practically be mind control! How would that even count as 'joining a Familia of his own free will' under your rules?!"
"Loki, open your eyes... None of us are currently protecting the boy," Ouranos rumbled.
"What...?" Loki froze.
"You said it yourself, Loki. Mortals can't resist Lady Freya's natural charm," Hermes explained, a sharp grin on his face. "Yet, she hasn't suppressed it for a single second since she got here. We haven't extended our protection to Luki-kun either, you included. And in case you haven't noticed, the kid looks perfectly normal to me."
Loki's eyes widened in genuine surprise. It wasn't just her; across the avenue and on the surrounding rooftops, the other gods—reduced to mere spectators—gasped as the realization hit them.
Loki slowly snapped her gaze back to Luki. He was just standing there, staring back at her with absolute tranquility. Then she looked at Freya, who was smiling softly, her eyes entirely fixed on the boy.
Now that she actually stopped to think about it, it was true. Because Luki had been unconscious until a moment ago, nobody had thought to shield his mind. Logically, the second he opened his eyes, he should have been drooling at Freya's feet like a helpless puppy. Instead, he was still throwing out sarcastic jokes and arguing naturally.
Loki's racing heart finally calmed down. The situation wasn't as completely hopeless as she had feared. Even if the absolute worst happened today, as long as Luki didn't lose his mind to her charm, they could always find a way to save him later.
"Fine... go ahead," Loki grumbled, crossing her arms and pointing two fingers directly at Freya's eyes. "But I am watching you."
Freya merely offered a polite, graceful smile in response, then turned her full attention back to Luki.
Suddenly, Luki felt the heavy air around them shift violently. It was as if an invisible dome was rapidly manifesting, dropping down from above to encase them. But it didn't stop there.
The light distorted, a dense smoke billowed out of nowhere, and within seconds, their entire surroundings were completely sealed away from the outside world.
Luki's three eyes widened as he looked around in confusion. He wasn't necessarily caught off guard by the dome itself—he had expected something like that—the real shock was that he could no longer see or sense anything beyond it. The thick wall had completely sealed off and blinded his sixth sense.
"Luki-kun, I believe I need to clarify a few things," Freya said, her voice echoing softly within the enclosed space, drawing his attention back.
Luki remained silent. He calmly slipped his hands into his pockets, standing his ground and simply letting her continue.
"I have never necessarily been looking for pure souls. What I truly want is my true love," Freya confessed, her voice dropping into a melodious, almost vulnerable register. "My fated one. Someone who can entirely resist my charm and love me for who I truly am. But... that is impossible."
Freya slightly lowered her head. For a fleeting moment, the grand, untouchable mask of the Goddess of Beauty cracked, revealing a deep, ancient melancholy. It wasn't just a performance to garner sympathy; it was true feelings.
"As the Goddess of Love and Beauty, even with my divine powers sealed to the absolute limit, I still constantly exude a supernatural charm," she continued, looking up at him with a bittersweet smile. "It simply forces everyone around me to look at me, to love me, and to worship me. But that slavish devotion... it is not what I want."
She took a slow step closer, her eyes locked onto his. "I want love. I want the genuine feeling of finding a true match. I want the journey of courtship, the random encounters, the silly arguments, the passion slowly growing over time, and the eventual confession of feelings. I want a normal life. I want to feel truly alive, just like the other gods who descended to this world. It is just that my specific desires are a bit more... particular."
Luki remained dead silent, his mind processing her words as he weighed the sheer weight of her divine curse.
"I presume that in this case, people with pure souls are just more likely to resist your charm," Luki reasoned. "Like the virtue of innocence against the sin of lust."
"Exactly that," Freya said melodiously. "Pure souls haven't been stained by the vicissitudes of mortal life, so until they are, they are incredibly difficult to seduce with my charm. So logically, my true love could only be someone like that... Not to mention, dark souls are just ugly."
"I see..."
A heavy silence stretched between them as they simply stared at each other.
"You... you don't feel any sympathy for me, do you?" Freya asked softly.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Normally, when I tell my story—of course, not in such a direct manner—people usually feel sorry for me," Freya murmured. "They want to hug me, comfort me, and tell me everything will be alright. I naturally cause that reaction in people."
"Cool. But no, I don't really care about your 'suffering'."
"And why is that?"
"It's pretty simple. You surpassed that pity," Luki said bluntly.
"What do you mean?"
"You really are a pitiful existence. Someone who can have absolutely everything except true love. Until recently, I hadn't experienced love either, but even I know how important it is for a person. You are doomed to live a life surrounded by a forged, fake love, and that does make me feel a bit bad for you."
Freya didn't react, simply letting him speak. She had already spent an eternity living with this curse and wasn't about to break down in tears just because someone explained her reality out loud.
"But you can't use that as an excuse for your actions," Luki continued, his eyes narrowing. "From what I know, you have a reputation for 'nurturing' talents—pushing them to the edge of the cliff, breaking them, just to watch them rise up stronger. But what gives you the right to do that? You probably ruined god knows how many lives for a purely selfish reason."
"All is fair in love and war," Freya countered smoothly. "Coincidentally, I happen to be the goddess of both."
"And I'm a guy who couldn't care less about any of that shit," Luki snapped. "I don't want to get involved with a person like you. If you could do me a favor, drop this barrier. I want to go home."
"NO!"
Suddenly, Freya rushed forward and threw herself into his arms. She pressed her hands against his chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt as she gently rested her head against his neck.
"Please don't go. I need you. You are my true love! I can't live without you!" she pleaded, her voice turning thin, soft, and desperate as she squeezed her eyes shut, tears threatening to spill.
Luki just stood there. He didn't raise his arms to hug her back, nor did he feel any emotion from the display. He simply looked down at her with pure judgment.
"Lady, are those tears even real?" he muttered, bringing his hand up to firmly push her away from him.
Freya resisted weakly—a mere pretense, given she was vastly stronger than him and couldn't be moved if she truly wanted to stay.
"Please, believe me. I love you," she begged, clasping her hands together as she looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Stay with me. I will make you happy. I will give you anything—money, power, status, magic grimoires, even other women. Just give me a small space in your heart."
But Luki wasn't buying any of it.
"Are those tears real?" he asked once more, keeping his gaze locked entirely on her eyes.
Freya's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Then, her desperate expression vanished, replaced by a resigned, sharp smile.
"For a moment I forgot... you aren't like the others," she said in her normal tone, casually wiping her eyes as her posture shifted, erasing the act completely. "I'm sorry about that. Force of habit."
"Is that how you seduced the others before me?"
"You really don't hold back with your words, Luki-kun. You wound a lady's heart," she purred. "But no. No one has ever reached the point of rejecting me even once for me to resort to this."
"Sorry if I'm being insensitive, but it's been a long day," Luki grumbled. "I presume the others swore eternal love to you on the very first encounter, so you just used them to satisfy yourself and threw them away the next day."
"I understand. You must be irritated that your Hestia was taken from you, and now you have to deal with the machinations of an idiot goddess," Freya reasoned calmly. "And yes, that is essentially how it happened. That is why my Familia is so powerful."
"Something like that. Try having your soul ripped apart while you watch your love leave, unable to even say goodbye. But I guess you'll never feel anything like that."
"...Words have power, Luki-kun. More than you think," she whispered softly, but she didn't react harshly or threaten him back.
Her quiet response made Luki pause.
He wondered if he was being a bit too brutal and unfair to her. After all, in a way, she hadn't actually done anything to him yet—not that he knew of, at least. From what he could deduce, aside from clear threats and forcing a situation that could have easily escalated into a bloodbath, she hadn't had the chance to follow through with kidnapping him, so nothing had technically happened to him directly.
Luki decided to tone down his hostility a bit. There was no point in staying completely on edge like this.
He let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just..."
Freya's eyes widened slightly, genuinely surprised that he was apologizing to her, sensing absolutely no falsehood behind his words.
"It's just... is there no way you can leave me alone? I really don't feel anything for you."
"I ask the same of you. Is there no way you can fall in love with me?"
"The way you are right now? No. I don't think it's possible to love someone like you—someone who expects something in return but doesn't actually put any effort into it."
"What... what did you just say?" Freya whispered, the words visibly hitting a raw nerve.
She took a sharp step forward.
"Do you have any idea how much I've tried?!" Freya barked, taking a sharp step forward.
"Look-"
"Do you have any idea how long I've searched for someone?!" she interrupted, her voice rising to a pitch Luki had never heard from her before.
"I'm sorry-"
"Do you have the absolute slightest idea how much I've suffered for this?!" Freya snapped, throwing her arms wide in absolute frustration, a rare and messy display of raw emotion completely outside her usual divine elegance. "How many people I truly thought were the ones?! How many times I was disappointed in the end, and yet I still kept persisting?!"
She aggressively stepped into his personal space, jabbing her index finger hard into his chest. "Do you have any concept of how many times I lay in bed, unable to sleep, wondering that one of them could have been him?! That I might have accidentally killed my true love before he even had a chance to blossom?!"
Her breathing was ragged now, her flawless composure entirely shattered. "So I am deeply sorry if I don't care about other people's lives anymore! Because this little goddess right here is absolutely sick of having hope for something she realized long ago will never happen, yet she simply refuses to give up!"
Luki stared down at her, refusing to back away from her pointing finger. "Did you ever, by any chance, stop to wonder if the problem is actually you? That this sick, obsessive search for love is exactly the reason why you haven't found it until now?"
"Do you think I've never thought that?!" Freya yelled back, her eyes flashing with a mix of fury and deep-seated pain. "Do you think I haven't tried?! Well, let me tell you, I did try, and it didn't work! It's not the same thing! True love only happens when both sides love each other for who they truly are! Someone shouldn't have to change who they are just to get someone else's recognition!"
"I couldn't disagree more," Luki countered, his voice dropping into a firm, uncompromising tone. "Loving someone means you decide to share your life with that person. You can't just expect to stay exactly the same as before and think everything will magically work out. There are new responsibilities. If it weren't for Hestia, I probably would have thrown my life away in the Dungeon by now, chasing a childish dream without even realizing I wanted to do it. But I can't. My life belongs to her too. I have no choice but to give up on my selfish desires for her sake."
Freya let out a bitter, mocking scoff. "Are you seriously trying to lecture the Goddess of Love on how love works?"
"Yes, I am," Luki said, his three eyes locking onto hers. "And I think I'm right in this case."
The words hung heavily in the air. The two of them stood frozen, staring intensely at one another in absolute silence. But this time, the atmosphere was completely different. For the very first time since they met, they were finally looking at each other for who they truly were, without any masks.
Luki saw a woman who was young and breathtakingly beautiful, but at the same time, completely exhausted. She was a fierce creature who had spent millennia waging war against existence itself, and she carried too many invisible scars from it.
Freya, on the other hand, blocked out the blinding brilliance of his unique soul. For the first time, she looked strictly at the shell of flesh standing before her. She saw a mortal boy who had already witnessed far too much for his age. A boy who couldn't care less about her, her divine status or her ancient problems.
At last, both of them let out a heavy, resigned sigh, as if collectively deciding to wipe the slate clean.
"Look, Freya... can I call you that?" Luki asked, breaking the quiet.
"Of course, darling," she replied smoothly, slipping right back into her flawless, elegant persona.
"Great. Freya, I know you aren't going to give up on m-"
"No," she interrupted, her tone sharp with absolute certainty. "You are entirely different from any other man I have ever encountered. It can only be you."
"While I, on the other hand, am absolutely not willing to love someone like you."
"No. I believe you have already made that quite clear," she mused.
"So, how about we make a truce?" Luki proposed.
"A truce? What do you mean?"
"Let's... try. To see if it can work."
Freya's face lit up instantly, that genuine, childlike smile from earlier threatening to rush back. "You mean that-"
"No!" Luki snapped, putting his hand up to cut her off before her mind could wander.
Freya calmed down, realizing she had jumped the gun. Truthfully, she was being incredibly emotional and transparent right now. She couldn't understand why, but she had never acted this raw with anyone before. It was entirely out of character for the Queen of Orario.
"Let's find a middle ground. If the problem here is love and actual feelings, then let's try to nurture them. Who knows, maybe something will actually grow from it. But we do it without you controlling things from the shadows, without pushing me to the limit, none of that shit. We do it the right way. The normal way."
"Uhm..." Freya paused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "My experience so far proves that my methods are the most effective to bring out the true power of a soul, and consequently, increase its resistance to my hypnotic charms."
She looked at him, her smile turning a bit amused. "But considering none of that has worked on you so far... and you are quite different from any other boy..."
She let out a soft hum. "Then yes. I am willing to try a more... normal approach. What do you propose?"
"A date."
"Where?"
"At the fountain in the plaza right in front of Babel."
"When?"
"In one week. Eleven o'clock sharp."
"Great."
"Great?" Luki repeated.
"Great," Freya confirmed.
"Yeah. Great then."
An incredibly awkward silence settled into the dome. Luki genuinely had no idea what else to say, while Freya simply dissected him with her eyes. She stared at him as if she could read every single ripple of his soul—which, honestly, she could.
"Now I think I finally understand why Hestia likes you so much," Freya remarked softly.
"Excuse me?"
"Luki Bryan, you are truly... unprecedented," she said, her voice dripping with genuine amusement. "You possess a unique talent for bringing out the absolute worst in a goddess."
"I'll... take that as a compliment."
"It is merely a fact," Freya purred, taking a slow step toward him. "I almost fear for Loki and the others who have to interact with you."
Her slippers clicked softly against the stone, the sound echoing in the sealed environment.
Freya completely invaded Luki's personal space, stepping so close he could feel the radiating warmth of her body. She reached up, placing a soft hand against his cheek and gently tilting his face downward. Though they were roughly the same height, he stood slightly taller.
She quietly caressed his cheek for a long moment, staring deep into his eyes. Luki didn't move; he just stood still and allowed her to do it.
Then, she leaned in, pressing her lips firmly against his.
Both of them closed their eyes, letting the moment stretch out. It wasn't a fierce, lustful kiss, and there was no tongue involved. Yet, their lips pressed and molded against each other with a strange, heavy intensity, as if they were quietly trying to consume one another.
Smack.
Freya slowly pulled back, a dangerous, victorious smirk playing on her lips. "I will consider that an advance payment, to calm my fire. And to serve as a small demonstration of what you could eventually have."
Luki blinked, completely unbothered. "That's harassment."
"You didn't resist."
"Pedophile."
"Are you calling me old, Luki-kun?"
"I'm calling myself young," Luki grumbled, rubbing his lips with the back of his hand. "I think for an elf, I'm practically a newborn. Though I've never really seen myself as one... Actually, scratch that, I don't even know if I'm legally an elf right now."
"No, you are definitely not. Not that you ever truly were," Freya observed, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "Your soul has the distinct characteristics of a human. Reincarnation gone wrong? Perhaps the interference of another deity?"
"The correct term would be transmigration," Luki corrected dryly. "Since I didn't actually die. I just woke up inside this body one day."
"How incredibly open of you," Freya noted, genuinely intrigued. "Did you tell Hestia about this?"
"It's not a secret, because I honestly don't care. What difference does it make?" Luki shrugged. "And no, she doesn't know. She never asked."
"I see..."
Freya gracefully turned around, walking toward the outer edge of the thick barrier. But right before she dissolved the dome to face the roaring crowd outside, she looked back over her shoulder one last time.
"I will withdraw my forces, and I will no longer interfere with your life," Freya promised. "Not that I had much of a chance to do so anyway. You have already been unfortunate enough on your own without my help."
"Does that apply to Horn too?" Luki called out.
"Her name is Syr Flova now," Freya replied, her tone light and casual. "And yes. I will no longer use her for that. We are playing fair now, aren't we?"
She took a decisive step forward, her breathtaking figure instantly vanishing into the fog as the dome began to slowly crumble away. Her final words echoed softly, meant for his ears alone.
"Until next week, darling~"