"What is he talking about?" Ava asked.
"I— "
"Tell her..." her father said. "Tell her that the cosmos would never let you inside a realm when you have your divinity with you."
"Is it true?" Ava asked.
In response, Matthew nodded without saying a word.
"Why would you do that?" Ava asked calmly. Despite her raging heart, she tried to ask questions, to hear his explanation.
"Tell her," her father said.
"Will you shut your mouth?" Matthew said. "You know nothing."
"Oh, I know enough," Ava’s father snorted. "You were too rash... you descended into a body of a shifter yet you weren’t able to find the relic that would complete you. I know that you have been looking for that since you merge into this current body. I know that you were forced to ascend to your divinity because you were dying. And I also know that once you have half of your divinity, you cannot be near someone who isn’t as powerful as you or they will die."
"Is this true?"
"Why do you think gods cannot descend to any worlds?" her father continued. "It was because they physically cannot do something like that."
"Why?" Ava asked the silent Matthew. "Why would you do something so careless?"
"It was because he was dying," her father said. "Am I right?"
"Dying?" Ava widened her eyes. "What is he talking about?"
"The Shaman just died," Matthew said. "I cannot just tell you that this body cannot handle my divinity when you just lost your mentor."
"So you— so you chose to ascend instead?" Ava asked. "What about me?"
"If we do everything right, you will be able to come with me."
"What are you talking about?" Ava asked. Matthew had been abnormally silent since the Shaman died. She thought this was because he just wanted to give her the space to mourn. Matthew is an extremely mature man, he wouldn’t pressure her to share anything that she didn’t want to. Then now....
It was revealed that it was because Matthew is actually dying?
"Just like all other worlders, we cannot stay inside a human’s body for too long. It wouldn’t work. A human’s body is limitless, but it cannot house divinity. Not even the strongest Lycan’s body can support a divinity," Matthew explained.
"When did it start?" Ava asked.
"When— you became the owner of this plane."
"That was weeks ago!"
"It was."
"Are you planning to tell me anything?" Ava asked.
"Of course I am. However, I cannot— "
"Why did it happen?" Ava asked. There should be some sort of trigger, some sort of reason for it to start. Like a switch or something.
"It was because he attempted to go inside the core of this plane," her father answered. "If my guess is right, this happened when he tried to breach the core where you claimed the inheritance of the previous owner of this plane. The curse was made out of the blood of thousands of witches. Even the body of the strongest Lycan cannot withstand that."
Ava bit her lower lip. Disbelief flashed in her eyes. How could he hide something so huge from her? How could he do something like that?
"I didn’t want to— "
"Shut up," Ava said. "You didn’t trust me to know, and that’s the— "
"I know you will find a way to help me," Matthew said. "I know you will put yourself in danger to help me."
"As I should!"
"See?" Matthew scoffed. "Don’t you understand it? I don’t want you to put yourself in any danger because of me."
"But I am your mate!"
"Mate or not, you shouldn’t put yourself in any danger because of me!" Matthew’s chest raised and fell. Then he suddenly snapped his finger. Everyone around them disappeared, including Ava’s father.
"You would do the same for me," Ava said.
"That’s different."
"What’s so different about that?" Ava asked. "You claimed that you— you care for me and yet you actually do something that you knew would hurt me without even telling me! I don’t understand. Did you think I wasn’t powerful enough? Did you think I wasn’t knowledgeable enough? Matthew, I was trying my best — to create a world with you. I knew you were special, that you were some sort of deity. And I didn’t ask anything.... I didn’t ask anything about your or your past." Ava said.
"That’s because I trusted you. I trust that one of these days, you will tell me about it. That you would open up and tell me the secrets that you hold. But instead you— " Ava bit her lower lips, hot tears suddenly fell from her eyes. She took a deep breath as Matthew stared at her, unable to utter a single word.
"I didn’t want to lose you," Matthew said.
"You will never lose me. That will never happen."
"It happened before," Matthew said. "I wouldn’t let it happen again."
"So, you just remove all the options that I have without even telling me. Now, you are supposed to endanger your life by fighting an unknown, powerful entity and risk informing the other deities of their presence. Once they knew about you, they would never allow you to come back to me, Matthew."
"That— "
"I might be dumb, but I understand something. Even Gods have greed. They would never allow the people who worship them to worship a new god." Ava said. "They will take you away from me and I will be left alone. Without you."
"That is better than you dying, Eve."
"I am not Eve."
"Yes, you are."Matthew slowly reached out and tried to touch her cheek, but she quickly move her face away, avoiding his touch.
"This is my battle," Ava said. "You are not— going to intervene."
"If you become a guardian, you will be bound by rules. You cannot become like them." Matthew said.
Her words made Ava frown. "Who told you that I am going to become a guardian?" she asked.
"I— "
"Do not intervene, Matthew," Ava warned. "This is my fight."
With that, Ava suddenly disappeared from where she was standing. Seeing this, Matthew’s face turned ugly.
"You son of a— " Matthew didn’t hold back. He created a ball of fire and threw it towards his left, where Ava’s father used to stand. Then he snapped his finger. The other people who vanished earlier appeared just in time as his ball of fire hit Ava’s father.
Or at least about to hit Ava’s father.
"Fighting in a place like this would only cause devastation," Ava’s father uttered.
"Why did you have to reveal so much, Abdiel?" Matthew asked. "She wasn’t supposed to know."
"She wasn’t supposed to know that it was you who killed her in the past," Abdiel or Ava’s father snorted. "You were lucky. I had my reservations."
"You— " Matthew narrowed. "It seems that you have made your research."
"Not everything can be hidden forever," Abdiel said. "It was you who do not understand things. If she becomes a guardian, she would be limited by our laws. Despite being a god, she won’t be able to do anything about the laws of the cosmos. But you just had to let her go," Abdiel said.
"Your soul is corrupted. She needed to be tied up by the cosmos or she will become what she was in the past!" Abdiel added.
"Corrupted or not, she is mine. You have no business in mine!"
"She is a guardian. She is my daughter and therefore my business."
Matthew narrowed at him.
"You knew very well what will happen to corrupted gods, Matthew. You have to tell her everything from the past so she won’t make the same mistakes again. Saving a realm is not only stupid. It would cost her dearly and they will notice her. Once that happens, they are going to haunt her and punished her. This time... killing her might not be enough to save her."
Matthew clenched his jaws.
Soon, he too vanished from where he was standing leaving Ava’s father alone with the others. However, not long after they were gone, a smirk appeared on Ava’s father’s lips.
........
She recalled everything that had happened to her since she was born, the very moment that she first opened her eyes.
One might think that is an impressive feat. Not her.
Growing up, she recalled the needles, the pain, and the absence of affection.
Growing up, she recalled everything.
"You cannot kill them," someone suddenly said, just as she was about to squash a bus full of humans. She looked back and smiled as she raised her hand. She wasn’t just going to flatten the bus just as she had been planning earlier, she was going to destroy it to smithereens.
Humans... does not deserve happiness. They do not deserve a happy life with parents and siblings and a happy home.
No. Just like her, humans needed to suffer.
She was born without a name and a parent. At a young age, she understood no one would show her love or understanding. And that all she needed in this world is to live long enough to be able to do what she wanted to do to the people who had been harming her since she was but a baby.
However, just as she was about to destroy the bus, an unknown force suddenly stopped her from doing what she wanted.
She squinted at the woman standing in front of the bus. Then she smiled.
"These people have families," Ava Woods said. "Don’t kill any more people. I will come with you." Ava said, determination flashing in her eyes.
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