"Oh, good, you’re finally awake."
Ophelia feebly opened her eyes to a dark forest canopy.
’What...? Where...?’
Mias, the boy who’d been by her side during her entire fight, was sitting beside her on a tree stump, stoking a fire.
"You should probably stay lying down."
In his left hand was a stick with a skinned beast at the end. It looked almost like a rabbit, or at least that’s what it looked like in the dark.
Ophelia looked down at her body only to find herself under a thick blanket of tangible smoke.
She could feel her muscles sundered and ligants torn, overworked and destroyed.
Yet she could feel no pain.
Not yet, at least.
Ophelia, still dazed, let her head fall back down and stared up toward the starless sky hidden behind the leaves.
’I... I lost.’
Tears swelled in the corners of her eyes and slid to the ground.
Leila, Diligence, had told Ophelia that she could help her get to Lust, but whether she’d succeed in her slaughter was sothing Leila had said there was a slim chance of.
Of course, this didn’t an her destined path of vengeance was over, but it did an it was going to take an arduous detour.
’In fact... we should probably get out of here soon.’
Even in this imdiate failure, Leila had told her the steps that would lead to her desired conclusion.
But, right now?
Ophelia continued to cry.
For even if she succeeded in the future, she failed today.
She failed to get revenge for Laertes.
Furthermore, she’d cast her brethren toward their demise, using them as re fodder. Sacrifices of battle.
Ophelia raised her mangled arm from under the blanket of smoke and wiped her eyes while Mias studied her with an interested expression.
Ophelia dropped her arm to her side, and the pain began to assault her all at once. She grunted and bore it.
Then, grimacing, her head turned to the boy next to her.
"Your eyes..."
The boy gave a light smile back, his eyes looking almost human. There was now a light gray circle outlining an onyx iris. Though it was unmoving, as if it was constantly staring at one spot.
"It takes a bit of effort, but if I use the moisture in the air, I can create this effect. But it also takes concentration to maintain and move. I only had it like this in case humans happened upon us."
Ophelia, facing the ultimate pain and despair, laughed hoarsely as she looked over the boy’s flawless skin, long hair, and firm eyes.
"He really is pretty..."
Why was the world so kind to so and cruel to others?
After all...
’What did this boy do for his body to end up like this?’
Mias’s eyes narrowed, then he leaned in a little closer.
"What was that? I didn’t quite catch it?"
Ophelia lightly laughed as she attempted to activate her Aether, only to find it still nearly fully depleted.
’How long has it been?’
Ophelia closed her wet eyes and took in a deep breath.
"I asked what you were cooking."
Mias looked toward the stick in his hand.
"Ah, this? I found it wandering around, but I’m not entirely sure what it is. Though I have discerned that it’s edible. Unfortunately, as knowledgeable as I am... I am terrible at cooking as I don’t have taste receptors. So, it may be a bit bland."
Mias, after inspecting the charred at, tore a strip off and knelt at Ophelia’s side.
Ophelia was slightly repulsed, but the empty pit that was her stomach resisted her dismay.
She accepted the strip as Mias sat her up and fed it to her, then followed it with a smoky cup filled with water.
’How does this even work?’
Ophelia didn’t know how the water wasn’t falling through the smoke, but she didn’t particularly care; she’d rather quench her thirst.
After gulping it down, she looked toward Mias and gave him a cultivated lift of the lips.
Her disguise fooled nobody, not Mias, not herself. Her dejection at her failure was palpable. Yet...
Mias stated plainly.
"You don’t seem too upset you failed."
’As pretty as he is... doesn’t he know when to let a girl rest?’
Ophelia let out a wry chuckle after swallowing another piece of the dry at.
"It was a failure I’d been prepared for."
Mias laughed, then with an uncharacteristic expression of gloom, asked:
"I assu the oracle told you of this outco?"
Ophelia closed her eyes and thought back to the days she spent alongside Leila.
"Of course. Had you not already discerned that much yourself?"
Mias reeled back a little as he was stripping off another piece of at, his arm still hoisting Ophelia up.
"Not hiding it any longer?"
Ophelia reopened her eyes and leaned her head back on Mias’s arm. She was closer than she’d ever been before to the ghostly boy.
She could also feel just how broken his body and soul were.
"Why would I? You most certainly have figured it out by now. Plus, they said it was okay to reveal it now. But, still, I won’t tell you anything about them. And, no, I am not the oracle."
Mias brought his head down and inspected a nasty gash on Ophelia’s arm.
"Hmm. I have to ask... even if sure of failure, why did you try to fight? Why not run away?"
Ophelia laughed:
"Hope... I guess. Perhaps this was the only future that awaited , yet the oracle deliberately withheld the certainty. Keeping hope alive that I may claim victory now. Who knows the reason? Maybe they wanted to fight Lust? Maybe they wanted to experience a devastating loss? Maybe sothing else? Either way, victory or loss in my fight, your master should have received my ssage clearly."
Mias studied Ophelia’s face.
"This oracle has thoroughly impressed ... I’m certain they knew whether you’d win or lose."
Ophelia’s fake smile grew as she said:
"Your praise only makes more trusting of them."
Ophelia paused, then drew her face close to Mias’s and whispered:
"Well, if you have that much faith in the oracle... then we should probably get out of here before Greed arrives."
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