"You're welcome,"
"And thank you."
For a brief second, the world seemed brighter, even as the sun dipped toward the horizon. She tucked a lock of her white hair behind her ear, her eyes glistening as she continued to cup my cheek.
But the moment was cut short.
"Kyle?"
I turned sharply, only to find my older sister standing a few steps behind me, her boyfriend beside her.
When I looked back, Anathasia had already composed herself. Her prim, effortless grace slipping neatly back into place as she let her hands fall behind her back.
"Rose," she said calmly. "What brings you here?"
"We were about to head to that new hangout place," my sister replied. "The one about thirty minutes away."
Rose glanced at me, then at her boyfriend, before nodding.
"When did you two get back?"
"Just yesterday," I said, smiling at the both of them. "Though… you were at Kian's place and stayed over, right?"
"And—my bad. I forgot to tell you we were coming home."
Rose let out a soft, melodic laugh, waving it off.
"That's fine."
Then, without warning, she stepped right up to Anathasia and tugged at her cheeks.
"So soft…! What kind of skincare routine are you using??"
She grabbed Anathasia's left hand mid-squeal, then froze.
Her eyes widened.
"A ring?"
"Sis, she's uncomfortable…" I cut in immediately, gently prying my sister away from Anathasia.
My girlfriend offered an awkward smile before retreating behind me.
Rose paused, then stepped back with an apologetic grin.
"Sorry, sorry~ it's just…" She looked Anathasia over again. "She's absolutely gorgeous…! She wasn't like this as a child though??"
…Right. The fake memories. Anathasia had planted those the day she descended about a year and a month ago.
I shook my head, clearing my throat, but Rose was already talking again.
"Also—what was that ring?? Are you two engaged now? I don't think I even heard you were dating—"
"Ah, we are," Anathasia cut in smoothly, smiling. "We've been together for almost a year."
Rose froze.
Slowly, she turned to Kian, who stared back at us with widened eyes.
Then she snapped her head back, grabbed my shoulders, and started shaking me.
Well, she tried to. She was still shorter than me, even if she was older, so I barely budged.
"How. Come. I. Never. Heard. About. This!?"
"College was busy… alright?" I groaned. "And you're always busy working as well, I didn't wanna bother you…"
Rose paused, then immediately let go, hands raised.
"Fair enough," she nodded, folding her arms over her chest. "Now speaking of college—how's it going for the two of you?"
She raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing us both.
"I mean…" I started. "We became Dean's Listers in our first year's second semester, at least…?"
I glanced at Anathasia. She looked back, then subtly pointed a finger at herself.
[Just nod… anything to prove what I'm saying so we can get outta this situation.]
She seemed to get it, giving me a small thumbs up.
"Thankfully, yes," Anathasia said. "Our GPAs qualified with a 1.2 average."
"So yeah…" she added, offering Rose and Kian a wry smile.
"As she said," I nodded, internally giving Anathasia a thumbs up.
[Nice going.]
*[I wanna go somewhere quiet already…] she replied.
[Once we're done dealing with Rose, sure.]
"I think you and Kian should head out soon," I said aloud. "People are starting to crowd the place, y'know? Dinner's gonna start in a few hours."
Rose perked up, glancing behind me as people began drifting toward the new hangout spot down the street.
"You're right…" she murmured.
She turned to Kian, intertwining their fingers, then looked back at me.
"We'll get going then."
But as Rose brushed past me, she leaned in slightly.
"We'll continue this conversation later."
Her tone was… unsettling.
Was she pissed that I didn't say anything about my status…?
"Well… that aside—"
"Hey…" someone suddenly tugged on my arm.
When I glanced to my side, Anathasia was staring intensely while pointing toward a couple standing under a tree not too far from the road.
"What the hell?" she asked, incredulous.
"…Yeah… of course…" I murmured flatly, forcing myself to look away.
"PDA happens," I said after a beat. "Especially during occasions like Christmas or whatever. It's even worse during Valentine's, actually."
I shook my head as a jacket suddenly manifested over my shirt.
"Can't they at least get a room?" she muttered, a cardigan appearing over her clothes as she straightened it. "Kissing in public? Really?"
My expression flattened.
"Should you really be saying that…?" I glanced at her. "You used my lap as a pillow whenever we sat on a bench outside last year."
Anathasia froze mid-motion.
Her hands stiffened.
"…That's different."
"Right…" I chuckled, reaching over to pat her head before continuing toward the quiet place she wanted to go.
—
After a little over ten minutes, and more than a few strange looks from people we passed, we reached a clearing not too far from the road. It stretched far like open plains, coconut trees lining the edges where the land began to slope.
There were no lights to pollute the view. Just the open sky above us.
For a moment, my eyes wandered.
The same clearing where my friends and I used to fly kites and play games as a kid. At least until I was eight.
A dry laugh slipped out.
"This place doesn't look like it changed a bit," I muttered.
Behind me, Anathasia finished buttoning her cardigan and stared up at the sky.
"Well," she said flatly. "Looks like we have company."
I raised a brow.
"What—"
The explosion tore through the field.
The air rippled violently as shockwaves blasted outward, the ground shaking while rock and dust were flung into the air.
"That," Anathasia sighed, stepping forward as she stared at the silhouette standing behind the settling smoke in the center of the crater.
"Seriously… you've been silent since last year. Why now?"
"Cartho… Cartholina? Or whatever your name is."
"It's Carthanalenia," a woman's voice snapped back as the smoke slowly cleared.
I squinted.
She reminds me of Rania… just more intense. And way more aggressive.
I leaned closer to Anathasia.
"Who's that?"
"Carthanalenia," she replied with a shrug. "She's supposed to be maintaining this Reality."
"…And who gave her that long-ass name?"
There was a brief pause.
Anathasia looked away, smiling awkwardly.
"Maybe me. Maybe not."
I glanced back at the woman now walking toward us, hardly subtle with her power, the air around her warping into mirages as reality itself seemed to twist in her wake.
"Mother—!" she suddenly called out. "When will you begin to lighten my responsibilities? An entire civilization was erased merely for threatening to invade this planet! Were you even aware of that?!"
!? Mother?
I stiffened and slowly turned to Anathasia.
She was already shaking her head violently, arms crossed into an X.
"I am NOT married… yet, and nor do I have a child," she said immediately. "She's more like… a girl I took in a few billion years ago and appointed as this universe's Reality Supreme."
My expression flattened even further.
"Stop looking at me like that, oi…" she muttered before turning back toward the woman.
"And this person—!"
The girl turned to me. Then, all at once, the anger drained from her face. She stopped in her tracks.
"That…" Carthanalenia hesitated. "He's…"
Her gaze shifted to Anathasia, who responded with a small nod.
Carthanalenia looked back at me, then suddenly vanished.
Before I could even react, she was already in front of me, arms wrapped tightly around my torso as she broke down sobbing.
"You're here…" she choked out.
I glanced helplessly at Anathasia, who stood beside me with her arms folded.
Not understanding what was happening, I stayed still until Carthanalenia finally stopped crying—
—which took at least thirty minutes before she pulled away.
"My deepest apologies…" she said quietly, lowering her head. "That was unbecoming of me as this universe's god…"
I shook my head gently. I still didn't understand any of this.
"It's fine… but are you okay?"
Carthanalenia straightened.
"I very much am, father."
I froze.
"…Excuse me?"
She tilted her head, genuinely confused. An expression eerily similar to Anathasia's.
"Yes…?"
"What do you mean by 'father'…?"
She paused, then glanced toward Anathasia, who was now poking at a plant leaf beside her, before turning back to me.
"You are the Stillness, correct?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yes, and…?"
"Mother said—"
"Please stop calling me that," Anathasia cut in.
Carthanalenia cleared her throat.
"As I was saying… mother—"
"I said stop."
"—told me a story when I was young," Carthanalenia continued anyway, steamrolling right over her.
"A story about a being that could stand next to another that is too far, too complete, and too full for anything to stand beside it without losing itself…"
"The tale of Fullness and Stillness."