"Say," I muttered, rubbing my temple as I stared at the woman crumpled in the distance.
"What's happening to Roselia?"
My eyes shifted to Anathasia beside me, who was idly playing with the ends of my hair.
She paused for a second.
Then glanced toward Roselia, looking like a blue speck from where we stood.
"Mental breakdown."
"...What's that supposed to mean?" My expression flattened. "She looks like she's hyperventilating."
Anathasia nodded, crossing her arms. Though one hand still lazily held onto a few strands of my hair.
"Mental breakdown," she repeated. "Like I said."
I gave her a look.
"You're not even going to try explaining, are you?"
With a quiet sigh, I turned my gaze back toward Roselia.
She hadn't moved.
Just crumpled there in the middle of the plains.
As for the village-
People had stopped running. They stood frozen, staring out toward where the army had been just minutes ago. Children who had buried their faces in their mothers' skirts slowly lifted their heads.
The chaos faded.
Replaced by quiet.
Then-
Another wave of cries broke out as Anathasia and I began descending the hill.
Relief this time.
I let out a small breath, a faint smile tugging at my lips as we made our way toward Roselia.
The voices from the village grew more distant the closer we got.
I glanced at Anathasia. She gave a small nod before taking a step forward.
Her translucent-like form slowly solidified, shifting from something unseen into something real.
"Roselia," she called.
Her voice was calm, almost quiet.
But it carried.
Roselia slowly lifted her head.
Her breath came uneven, sweat trailing down her face.
And her eyes locked onto us. Anathasia met her gaze, calm as ever. Silent. Composed.
A moment passed before she finally spoke.
"I'm not going to punish you," she said. "We're not the same person. I won't pretend otherwise."
A pause.
"But there's a limit to how far you can go just to get what you want, Roselia."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Dragging two nations into this... just to prove a point?"
"That's excessive."
Roselia's face crumpled.
Almost instantly, she looked away.
"I just wanted Rania to understand..." she murmured, her fingers digging into the soil beneath her.
Anathasia's voice didn't waver.
"By breaking her?"
"Is that what you wanted?"
Roselia's head snapped up.
Tears streamed freely down her face.
"Yes!" she shot back.
"That's the only way she'll understand!"
"That's the only way we can ever see eye to eye!"
Anathasia flinched, just slightly.
Her eye twitched.
"You wouldn't understand..." Roselia continued, her voice shaking. "You never could."
Her hand lifted-
Pointing straight at me.
I blinked, caught off guard.
"You have him," she said.
Her voice cracked.
"Someone chose you."
Her lips trembled as she met Anathasia's eyes again.
"Someone chose you, Anathasia Veridielle Augthoria."
Her expression twisted into something bitter.
"Good for you."
A hollow smile formed on her lips.
"You were alone for who knows how long..."
"And yet-you still got what you always wanted."
Her fingers tightened against her chest, fabric wrinkling under her grip as she fought back a sob.
"Someone who chose you."
Her breath hitched.
"And what about me?"
"I've done everything... everything just to have something like that."
"And you're telling me to just wait?"
"To let things happen?"
A broken laugh slipped from her lips.
"I may be an Outer God now..."
Her voice dropped.
"But I was human, Anathasia."
"I was human."
Her gaze faltered.
"I don't have that same stillness you do..."
"I don't have that kind of patience."
She shook her head slowly, looking away.
"You can't expect me to just accept things the way they are."
"Not everyone who tries... who follows whatever invisible rules this world runs on..."
Her voice weakened.
"...gets what they want in the end."
The next second-
Anathasia moved.
She stepped forward, grabbing Roselia by the collar of her kimono and yanking her up.
Her hand rose. Before I could even process it-
SLAP.
The sound cut clean through the silence.
My eyes widened.
Strands of Anathasia's white hair fell forward like a curtain as Roselia's head snapped to the side.
A red handprint bloomed across her cheek.
Slowly-
Roselia brought a hand up, touching the spot where she'd been struck.
Then she looked back at Anathasia.
Still gripping her.
Still standing over her.
"I'm tired of hearing your self-pitying words..."
Roselia blinked.
Once.
Twice.
The tears... stopped.
"You suffered," Anathasia continued, her voice lower now. Sharper.
"I know that."
"I understand that all too well."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"But don't you dare use that to justify what you've done."
"I won't let you undermine everything I've built... just because you were wronged."
Slowly, she let go.
Roselia staggered slightly as Anathasia stepped back.
For a moment, she just stared down at her.
"Maybe I was a flawed Creator."
"An imperfect God... for allowing you to go through all of that."
Roselia's eyes widened slightly.
A hand still pressed against her cheek.
Anathasia dusted her hands off lightly.
Then-
Stepped forward again.
"But tell me something."
Her gaze hardened.
"If everything was perfect..."
"...then what's the point of existence?"
"What's the point of you... or anything else?"
She leaned in slightly.
Close enough that Roselia couldn't look away.
"Everyone suffers, Roselia."
After a brief pause, she added quietly,
"You know that."
She slowly pulled back, taking a sharp breath before glancing at me.
I gave her a small nod.
She nodded back, then turned to Roselia again.
"If you want to mend things with Rania..."
She gestured vaguely behind me.
I turned, and sure enough, Rania had already materialized a few steps away, her expression conflicted.
"Talk to her," Anathasia continued as Rania walked past me.
"You're only pushing her further away with your actions."
Roselia didn't respond.
Her eyes just shifted toward Rania as she approached.
When Rania stopped in front of her, Roselia visibly stiffened. Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to say something-
But nothing came out.
Just a faint whisper.
"Ra...nia..."
Anathasia let out a small breath and turned away, walking back toward me.
"Let's go home," she said, reaching for my hand. She glanced back at them briefly over her shoulder.
"Rania," she called.
Rania looked at us from where she stood in front of Roselia.
"Talk it out with her," Anathasia added.
"You don't have to fix her. Just listen-and don't let her make excuses."
Rania gave a small nod.
A second later, Anathasia and I began to fade from view.
"Roselia-"
That was the last thing I heard before we reappeared back home.
Right in the middle of our living room.
Lena and Fran were already there, sitting on the couch. The moment we showed up, Fran's face lit up instantly.
"Mom! Dad!"
She jumped up and ran straight at us, throwing her arms around both of us.
We staggered slightly from the impact.
"You're home...!"
Anathasia's expression softened almost immediately as she patted Fran's head.
"Mhm... we're home."
"Mom," Lena suddenly spoke up from near the couch. Her gaze drifted toward me, then back to Anathasia.
"Dad's authority... it's..."
"Unstoppable? Beyond description?"
Anathasia gently pinched Fran's cheek before letting her go.
"Dad-!"
Fran immediately turned to me instead, wrapping her arms tightly around my body.
"Your dad's authority isn't meant to end fights," Anathasia continued, watching as Fran rubbed her cheek against my chest while we sat down on the couch.
"It's meant to *invalidate* the entire premise of concepts... while also being the blank canvas for creation."
She looked at Lena, idly twirling a strand of her white hair around her finger.
"A load-bearing constant... in short."
A brief pause.
"While I'm the one who writes on that blank canvas."
I continued stroking Fran's hair when Anathasia suddenly leaned against my shoulder.
"You could say our authorities just happened to complement each other well."
Lena fell silent, looking down as she rubbed her chin gently, her eyes settling on the chess set on the table.
After a moment, she raised her head, her gaze meeting ours.
"So... the reason everyone respects Mom and Dad so much-even Big Sis Rania and Aunt Roselia..."
She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Including Uncle Kagariel... they all have to act proper around you two..."
"...it's not just because of Mom, but also because of Dad?"
Anathasia smiled, snapping her fingers as she crossed her legs.
"That's right."