Inside one of the Moonlight Sect’s rooms, Lyra sat at the front in meditation. Her eyes were closed, her breathing steady.
Maya and Cipher sat together a short distance away, observing her.
"You didn’t answer my question," Maya said quietly.
"Hmm?" Cipher turned to look at her.
"Are you and her really just friends?"
Lyra’s face twitched slightly, though her eyes remained closed.
Cipher sighed. "I suppose saying ’just friends’ was an understatement. Lyra and I have a very deep connection."
"How deep?" Maya pressed.
He looked around, as if searching for the right words. "She’s the closest person to me."
A faint redness appeared on Lyra’s face before disappearing almost instantly.
Cipher smiled at Maya. "Why do you keep asking about this? Are you jealous?"
"I’m not jealous!" she said quickly.
"Mmhmm," he said, clearly unconvinced. "Well, my teammates are also very close to me, of course."
She nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer.
He decided to change the subject. "What about your Saintess class? Have you found out anything about it yet?"
Maya shook her head. "No. I still don’t really understand how it happened."
"It’s okay," he reassured her. "Just tell me if you discover anything. Especially if voices start appearing in your head claiming to be a god."
She nodded. "Alright."
The two continued talking casually. About the sect. About the upcoming war. About their other teammates. About what they should do next.
Lyra’s face began twitching in annoyance.
They kept talking.
The twitching intensified.
Still, they continued, completely oblivious.
Finally, she snapped.
"Will you two leave already!" she shouted.
Cipher and Maya jumped to their feet.
"Alright, alright, we’re going," Cipher said, holding up his hands.
The two made their way toward the door. Just before they could exit, Lyra’s voice called out.
"You stay." She said, gesturing toward Maya.
Maya froze. She turned around slowly.
Cipher glanced between the two women, then shrugged and left, closing the door behind him.
The room fell silent.
The two women stared at each other.
Maya began fidgeting under Lyra’s intense gaze. Her eyes started letting out a soft golden glow.
Suddenly, she found herself slammed to the ground, Lyra hovering above her.
"Not so fast," Lyra spoke as her body let out a pulsing aura that seemed to diffuse Maya’s magic completely.
Lyra looked into her eyes. The golden glow had disappeared, but her irises had turned naturally golden now. And within them, one could see clock faces - the right one moving clockwise, the left moving counterclockwise.
"Where do I start?" Lyra mused. "Why don’t you begin by telling me what exactly you are?"
Maya’s expression shifted to confusion. "Lyra, what are you talking about? Get off me, you’re hurting me."
She squirmed beneath Lyra’s grip.
"I know you’re jealous of me and Cipher’s relationship, but you don’t have to go this far!"
"Oh? Still playing dumb." Lyra brought her hand close to Maya’s face, energy crackling at her fingertips.
"Cipher!!!" Maya screamed.
Lyra merely smiled. "That’s smart. But unfortunately, no one will hear you."
It was then that Maya noticed the room was covered in a thick mana barrier. No sound would escape.
Her expression twisted, all pretense of innocence vanishing.
"Get off me, you bitch," she spat. Her eyes began glowing intensely, the clocks within them speeding up dramatically.
But Lyra’s own eyes lit up blue. A pulse of energy escaped from her, shutting off Maya’s mana completely.
"It seems you’re not the Time God," Lyra observed calmly. "You can’t control your power all that well."
She leaned closer.
"With my mind realm back, I can easily decipher this little trick with just a glance."
Maya gritted her teeth but didn’t speak.
"Why don’t you tell me who you really are?" Lyra asked. "And why you’re targeting Cipher."
Maya glared up at her.
"I won’t tell anything to the millennia-old hag trying to get with my brother."
"Get... what?" Lyra’s face flushed red.
Maya just scoffed. "I will never approve of you."
Her eyes let out a huge blinding light, forcing Lyra to shield her face.
When the light finally calmed, Maya lay beneath her, changed. The right eye still had the clockwise clock face, but the left one had returned to normal.
She looked around in confusion, then at Lyra hovering above her.
Then at their position.
Maya’s face turned bright red. She looked to the side, avoiding eye contact.
"Umm... I know I kept asking Cipher about you, but I didn’t mean it in that way," she stammered. "I’m really not into girls."
"What into girls?" Lyra sputtered. "Stop saying weird things!"
She quickly got up, stepping away from Maya.
Maya glanced at her uncertainly.
"What are you waiting for? Leave!" Lyra said, her face still flushed.
Maya scrambled to her feet and hurried out of the room.
Lyra watched her leave until she was completely gone.
"Multiple personalities?" she wondered aloud.
She had noticed this girl was having mental fluctuations on the same level as Cipher - which was already insane, as it was almost comparable to her own. But now, after confronting her, that secondary presence seemed to have disappeared completely.
"She learns fast," Lyra noted.
She sighed.
Well, no matter. The other personality didn’t seem to have any ill intent toward Cipher. Still, she needed to keep an eye on Maya to find out her relation to the God of Time.
After that confrontation, the other presence had retreated completely. And exploring the spiritual sea of someone with mental fortitude almost on par with Cipher’s would be dangerous.
She sighed again.
What had she gotten herself into?
She missed staying inside Cipher and not having to worry about anything.
She then caught what she had just thought and shook her head vigorously.
What am I even thinking about?
...
Cipher leaned against a wall, watching the chaos unfold across the Moonlight Sect.
Disciples ran everywhere, carrying supplies, reinforcing formations, sharpening weapons. They really were preparing for war.
He remembered his own world’s war back then...
Disciples passing by him paused to bow their heads. "Senior Brother," they greeted.
He nodded in acknowledgment.
At that moment, he received a message through voice transmission.
[Be careful around that Maya girl. She might be dangerous.]
It was Lyra.
Cipher nodded slightly. He was already being careful. He considered every Saintess dangerous.
Still, Maya had been his teammate. He supposed he was having a hard time seeing her as a threat. Maybe he had let his guard down too much around her.
At that moment, Maya arrived.
She grabbed his arm and leaned close to his ear, speaking in a conspiratorial tone.
"That Lyra girl is dangerous," she whispered urgently. "You need to be careful around her."
She pulled back slightly.
"Though I suppose it should be fine for you since you’re not a girl," she thought.
She looked at him.
Then she kept looking.
Then again, Cipher did look a little too cute. And he was a bit on the shorter end for a man. His body was also rather slender. If he put on a wig and a dress...
She suddenly covered her face with both hands, her ears turning red.
He stared at her, wondering what kind of thoughts she was having.
She uncovered her face abruptly.
"Anyway! You must be careful around her!" she shouted, then turned and ran away.
He just watched her departing figure.
"Whats up with her?"
He then looked back toward the room they had just left.
What the hell just happened in those few seconds?