Tragic stories. That was the real way of the world.
Happy endings? They probably never existed. Even in stories that claimed to have them, they usually stopped when the guy got the girl, or the evil empire was finally slain. Did they ever get into the aftermath?
Did they ever talk about the arguments the new couple had when he left the toilet seat up and she fell into the water in the middle of the night?
Did they ever talk about the difficulty the world without this evil empire faced when the main characters now had to somehow build a new republic while dealing with the scars of the old one?
If time was infinite, and the road ahead of it just as long, was there ever truly a happy ending awaiting?
Priya found herself laughing more nowadays, enjoying the ways of the apocalypse, getting used to killing, and maiming, and living on the edge of life and death—even having sex with the man she loved in the broken-down office of a grocery store that was probably not even five minutes away from its next Turned attack…
Why was that? It was because that was the part of the story she had always liked the most. It was what she had grown used to in her life. It was difficult for her to not see the cruelty in everything she came across.
Wasn't that just how the world worked? Wasn't that just the natural state of things? The way it always was?
The apocalypse was just a huge microcosm of that exact thing. It was just the world showing off the fangs it had hidden in plain sight all along—the joke at the end of the darkness, the blackened humor the moon looked down on them with every night.
Now it just wasn't so hidden anymore… and this was the part of the story where the hero and heroine would climb the mountain, slaying one threat after another… hand in hand…
This wasn't where the story was allowed to stop.
That frustration inside of her right now—it was only the most natural state of things. But it was also the fuel in her.
This bitch… she really wanted to slit her throat.
Zarek deserved so much more than this. So much more than this hardship.
If it was just her, maybe she would be able to enjoy that journey, that pain. But if she had to just sit idly by, waiting as her man ran his own life into the ground while protecting her, she felt like she would rather die.
But lashing out now… it would simply be stupid.
"We will take the Trial of Fire."
Sona's head snapped back from what she was doing. Priya's tone wasn't nearly as hushed as Belladoll's. She was speaking for everyone to hear, making sure that what she was saying wasn't misconstrued as anything else.
Belladoll blinked, her head leaning back as she looked at Priya.
She had memories of this woman, but regardless of the life she met Priya in, it had always been quite late into her journey. It always took time for Jiade to bring the Angels together and build a foundation of things properly, so it was only natural that the young Belladoll only ever met a well-established Priya.
No matter what life it was she met Priya in, it was always the same. The grace of an Empress and the arrogance of a Goddess. She always seemed to have a broad heart, but Belladoll knew exactly how ruthlessly cold it could be.
Remembering the mission to get the Time Fractal, Belladoll felt a shiver down to the depths of her soul.
She had died on that mission.
But this Priya and that one weren't the same at all. This should be a young Priya. This should be a Priya that hadn't grown into her own yet, a Priya that was just as clueless about things as Belladoll had always been.
Belladoll, at the start of the apocalypse, had always been fearful, had always been hesitant. It took a very long time before she began to grow more confident in her abilities.
This wasn't right.
The Priya of right now shouldn't be able to look at her with these eyes. She should still be looking down at the ground, she should still lack confidence, she should still be praying, hoping, wishing for Zarek to take care of everything for her.
No. Zarek must have given her the Time Fractal already. Were they wrong? They had to be. That was the only explanation.
Belladoll didn't even believe herself. If Priya had her memories, it wouldn't be Belladoll or Crux who were the most dangerous people here—it would be Priya.
There would be no need to hide her abilities. That monster would be able to clear this Dream Godsfall Tear all on his own. With Zarek on top of that, there was no way Jiade would even dare to send them here on her own.
It was because they were sure that Zarek wouldn't do this so early that they were acting as they were.
Zarek was feared for amorphous reasons none of them could quite put into words. None of his stats were overwhelming, none of his abilities were off the charts, and though he had managed to get himself a powerful Skill—let alone the fact he didn't get it in this life because of Jiade—who didn't have powerful Skills when you reached a certain level?
Priya, however… Her Talent was simply broken, and their synergy made them all the more ridiculous.
She was one of the few of Earth feared not just for her individual strength, but for the potential she had to still continue growing.
A Priya with her memories, supported by the Ashborn Demon—well… if it wasn't for the fact those memories might very well ruin everything between them, Jiade would never take such a risk.
But that was a different Priya. Belladoll was sure of it.
That Priya and this one couldn't possibly be the same.
So why was that gaze so…
Belladoll shrieked, slapping Priya so hard that her cheek deformed and her bones fractured.
Priya was sent flying, sprawling across the ground and landing completely unconscious.