In a familiar room, Riruru's eyes fluttered open as the enticing aroma of something delicious filled the air. She felt weary, but a surge of energy coursed through her body, making her feel more powerful than ever.
The most perplexing aspect, however, was the golden fragment within her body. It had grown in size! How was that even possible? She remembered it had weakened after she sacrificed her life force to become human.
Confusion flickered in her alert eyes as she scanned the room, her gaze settling on the figure in the kitchen across from the bed.
Skyler was cooking, his sleeves rolled up to show his forearms, his expression focused as he expertly chopped vegetables.
The rhythmic clatter of the knife hitting against the cutting board filled the air.
As he turned toward the stove, Riruru slipped under the blanket. She didn't know how her core had grown powerful, but now that it had, she was ready to use its energy to transform into a human! Still, she knew that due to her inexperience, it wouldn't be easy to maintain that form for long.
She closed her eyes, and a familiar light flashed under the blanket.
Skyler turned his gaze toward the bed.
"Hmm?"
The spoon he was using to stir-fry the cut vegetables fell as he saw Riruru peek out from the blanket in her human form.
Perhaps she understood that being naked as a human was not acceptable. This time, she made sure to properly wrap her body in the blanket before getting off the bed.
Her legs shook, but rather than attempting to walk toward him, she started levitating.
It came naturally to her now that she had surpassed 10-star and was an Epic-tier.
Skyler instinctively moved his face back when Riruru's floating figure arrived above the table between them, and she suddenly leaned her face forward, blinking.
With a startled face, he pressed a finger to her forehead to quickly stop her before his heart became louder than it already was.
The air crackled with tension, but then he chided her with a soft, amused voice.
"Stop floating and sit down at a chair."
Riruru titled her head.
"Sit down...?"
Skyler saw her innocent eyes, a low hiss escaping him. He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into a chair at the table.
"Here!"
He moved to pick up the spoon he had dropped earlier and wash it in the tap.
"Anyway, I brought vegetables and other necessities from the ground floor since the elderly couple there said they only cook for the students at the set times for the meals. I'm almost done. Let's eat together."
He knew she couldn't understand him, but he spoke to her anyway, hoping she would pick up the words. Moreover, he could see she was somewhat grasping the language.
Quickly finishing up, he placed the stir-fry vegetables, steamed noodles, and a small bowl of dipping sauce on the table. Then, he grabbed a juice bottle from the freezer.
Skyler grabbed two plates and forks. He couldn't find any glasses, so he just grabbed cups for juice and settled down opposite her. He placed her utensils before her.
"Let's eat..."
He stopped, remembering how the process of eating like a human would be new to her.
"Should I feed you? You ate very little when you were a snake and only ate meat. Would you be able to eat all this?"
Skyler sighed when he noticed she wasn't even looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the food on the table. He picked up his fork with a hum, ready to assist her, but he was surprised when she also picked it up.
Riruru looked up and locked eyes with him, and he was stunned when, for the first time, her voice flowed smoothly as she spoke.
"I know how to eat. I remember."
He could only watch as she tried to handle the fork. It felt as if she were trying to mimic him. After a few tries, she finally managed to grasp it properly. Quickly, she glanced at him for approval, and his lips curled upward.
"Amazing, good job."
He stood up and moved behind her. She froze when he grabbed her long hair and gathered it behind her back so it wouldn't trouble her. Then, he returned to his seat.
"Now follow me, okay?"
Skyler started eating, and although Riruru was clumsy at first and he had to help her, she quickly learned how to manage it.
He chuckled because the way her ruby-like red eyes sparkled with delight made it clear that she enjoyed what she was eating.
While they were eating, he absentmindedly pulled out the ordinary-looking book that he had gotten from the library that morning. No matter from which angle he looked at it, the name on its cover looked unremarkable.
"Fate of Eldoria. What a cringe name. I can already guess the plot – some hero saving Eldoria with their friends. Or maybe it holds some real historical events about Eldoria? It's been a while since I read a novel."
He set his fork aside and opened the book, his eyes landing on the first page. The story began with a fifteen-year-old boy fleeing his home to escape his abusive father.
Skyler's gaze drifted down the page as he poured himself juice. Yet, as the filled cup touched his lips, he choked on his breath because he read the young boy's name.
He coughed violently. Even Riruru was startled. However, he assured her with a wave of his hand, his face ashen.
"I am fine... I am fine..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"It must be a coincidence, right?"
Skyler glanced at the book in his hand. At the end of the first page, the protagonist's name was introduced. It was so, so eerily familiar that he had to double check.
"Max? I never thought this name was so common nowadays."
He fought against the rising dread, quickly flipping to the second page. But as he read more, his face started to lose color. At the end of the second page, the protagonist's appearance was described to the readers, and Skyler's heart hammered in his chest.
"Golden eyes... and smooth black hair speckled with white? No way..."
He read through the page, flipping to the next and then the next. His foot tapped the floor restlessly. Skyler was so engrossed in reading that he failed to notice how Riruru finished her food and quietly dragged his plate toward her. Well, if he didn't want to eat, she should help him finish, right?
His eyes widened in disbelief as familiar names from the real world, names he knew, appeared one after another in the story. He paused, his breath catching in his throat, when he read the name 'Jenny Ironhart'.
"I don't want to believe this... I really don't. But this is the truth. Someone knows that before this timeline, another existed and they have compiled it into a book."
He swallowed, flipping another page.
"This book is written from Max's point of view, meaning this story is what I failed to become a part of in the forgotten timeline, because I ended up in the Spirit Realm."
Skyler didn't stop reading. Riruru watched him silently after she was done eating. But soon, her eyelids fluttered closed, and she drifted off to sleep. He instinctively reached out to hold her head as it slumped forward.
Carefully placing the ordinary book, which now seemed very extraordinary in his eyes, back into his storage ring, he hurriedly stood up and approached Riruru.
Bending down, he lifted her into his arms. Then, with careful steps, carried her to the bed and laid her down. Worry flickered in his gaze as he ensured she was comfortable.
"She's been sleeping a lot recently. I didn't question when I felt that her aura had grown stronger because I recalled a few images of how it happened. I just hope she isn't sick..."
Casting one last glance at her, he went to clean the table where they both had eaten, thinking about how he has to buy clothes, shoes, and other necessary items for her.
After washing the dishes, he quickly sat down at the table and pulled out the book from his storage ring to continue reading.
Heavy silence enveloped the dimly lit room, broken only by the rustle of turning pages.
Skyler's lips twitched when his name was mentioned in the story. Yet, a single, stark sentence summed up his destiny.
"Is that all? Really? My name appeared in the story just to announce my death?"
He slammed his hand on the table.
"How is this fair? They didn't even mention my handsome appearance! Wow, just wow. This is pure discrimination if nothing else!"
He gritted his teeth and was even more furious as he read how his death did only one thing: bring Max closer to his sister.
"Damn it! I died in a single paragraph as a mere cannon fodder, and they're flirting?"