"Hmm?"
"Are you mad at me?" she suddenly asked, looking into his eyes.
"I’m not at all," he responded seriously, and that did help take away the doubt in her eyes.
"Did I do anything to make you feel that way?" he asked, watching as she nodded.
"Yes. I thought you wanted some space from me," she said, looking down, only for her face to be drawn back to him.
"I’m not," he said, and she smiled sweetly.
Her hands reached for his face as she gave him a long kiss so melting that her hands slid off his face and trailed down to his neck, only for her fingers to brush against what seemed like a bump on his skin.
She pulled back gently from the kiss, her eyes moving to his neck, and there she found something that made her eyebrows furrow.
"Your neck. Is this a... bite mark?" she asked, her brows creasing as her fingers brushed against it.
They were two dots, currently sealed but never fully healed, and unconsciously, the sight of them made her heart beat faster and faster.
A reason she couldn’t explain.
"They are," Ryuk responded, and she followed up.
"They seem... fresh? Where did you get them from?" she said, looking into his eyes, and he studied her expression before leaning closer to her ear, whispering,
"A woman."
BAAAADUUUUMP!
BAAADUUUUUMP!
BAAADUUUUUMP!
The second those words were mentioned, they both could hear the sound of a heartbeat skyrocketing uncontrollably, and it was hers.
Morgaine’s eyes widened in shock, her knees turning weak, but just as they quivered, she was picked up by him, having her sit on his lap.
"I...I don’t think... that’s true," she said, and he nodded slowly.
"But it is."
"Stop it! Stop tormenting me!" she screamed out, finally losing it, only for laughter to ring through the air as Ryuk couldn’t hold it back any longer and burst out laughing.
Morgaine’s face had turned steamy red, not from anger or embarrassment but from pure jealousy, with her body quivering beyond her control.
"You know, I have to agree that you look even cuter when jealous," he said evilly, as she scoffed, folding both arms together.
"Shut up, dickhead!" she muttered, but now, there was a mountain in her heart that refused to leave, prompting her to ask:
"Tell me the truth. How did you get the bite mark..." she asked, seriously...and worriedly.
"It’s a long story," he said, shooing it off with a shrug.
"Will it take 3 years to fully narrate?" she asked, as he blinked twice.
"Huh?"
"Even if it takes up to 3 years to narrate, I still want to hear it."
Noticing the focused glare in her eyes, he could see this wasn’t a topic he could just shoo off, and in the end, he could only quickly summarize everything:
How he had taken the mission from Officer Rhys, the team, his adventure with Orrelith, and how they had eventually come in contact with Odette.
How she had eventually let him leave, and up until their time together yesterday.
He left out nothing important, nor did he keep any secret about it.
All Morgaine did was look into his eyes, even after he finished the explanation.
"What did you see her as?" she asked him, watching him squint his brows, but then he replied.
"She’s strong. The strongest person I have ever known up until now."
"I did almost everything I could in the fight, yet still lost, and deep in my heart, I know if I had tried everything, I would have still failed to defeat her."
"What’s more, she doesn’t even seem to be trying that hard," he said, watching Morgaine’s brow crease.
"Are you mad that my undefeatable image got broken?" he teased, and she shook her head.
"No, I’m not. In one way or another, there is always someone out there who is better, perhaps just less known."
"Hmm,"
"I knew when you just started cultivating, back in the Fallen Genius Arising on Endearth, and there was a time I could defeat you with a serious punch, you know."
"But now, I don’t even know how strong you really are, or what your true cultivation level is."
"Knowing well I’m not the best when it comes to cultivation potential is what I have learned from being around you, so I know there’s no true invincibility," she said, something that quite surprised him.
He had expected her to tease him for his loss or be dumbfounded at it, but she had agreed to it. A hundred times better than him admitting it.
"I think this woman, Odette..." she said, suddenly sitting upright around his waist.
Her two other legs floated in the air behind him, her body pressing softly against his.
"Hmm?" Ryuk hummed, and she continued.
"I think you... Admire her," Morgaine said, watching Ryuk raise an eyebrow.
"Really?" he said with an eyebrow raised, but then his jaw was held by Morgaine as she gave him a focused stare.
"I’m not joking."
"Why do you think that?"
"The way you described it." Morgaine responded, continuing, "Up until now, I think every fight you have given your all to, you always managed to win, in one way or another."
"It might have created this invincibility belief of yours."
"Not the arrogant, dumb, invincible feeling of those ’heavenly genius,’ but more like a feeling of ’If I fight as hard as I can, and give it everything, I won’t lose.’" She said, a notion Ryuk really couldn’t argue against.
That belief was similar to the one he had of fate.
"But your fight with her, when you gave everything and still ended up losing, and knowing well she didn’t even seem to be trying her best at all—"
"As much as you don’t think it’s true, I think you’ve since held her up in awe."
"You’re amazed by her strength. Up until the point where you didn’t even try to deny her at all when she requested your blood."
"And you being so headstrong about defeating her in a fair fight... perhaps only then would you feel you’re enough."
"Maybe only then will you be able to tell her no."
"Your relationship after the fight started like that of a defeated captive, bound to every will of their winner."
"Even after the dynamics of the relationship changed, and you got to do what you want without her having much hold on your life—"
"Still, your belief of being a captive didn’t change. And your mentality is still: one day, when I’m strong enough and defeat her fair and square, then I can tell her no."