Chapter 81 - Arc 11 - The God/dess and the Mortal - Part 3

Laura was sitting on her bed, massaging her foot. She had just come back from work.

She was still bothered by what Ashley said last night.

“I know she was joking, but...”

With complex feelings, she looked down.

"I need to clear something. It's not just her joke. There is something I have been feeling. There is something I need to know."

She stopped massaging her foot and rested her head on her knee.

“What if she is saying the truth?”

She thought back to what she knows about Nazar.

“It is true that I don’t know much about his life here but I still know him better than most of them… Don’t I?”

She closed her eyes.

“I know his fears. His strengths. I know what makes him happy and what makes him angry. Is that not enough...?”

Laura wondered…

“What about me?”

What does he know about her?

“But does he know my fears? What makes me happy? What makes me angry?”

“Yes, I do know that.”

Hearing a voice, she opened her eyes.

“You hate being left behind, which is why you forced yourself into studying so much and got a PhD by the age of 21. You worked hard and finished with it so you can be ahead.”

Looking up, she saw a man with white hair and red eyes with a gentle smile on his face.

“Your fear being rejected by others. You fear that you will be hated by others. You fear that you will die without accomplishing anything. You fear that you will be left alone. You fear that your family will reject you if they found out what happened to them in the original timeline and that you are dating me.”

Nazar felt very bad that she is going through anything bad because of him.

But he ignored that for now.

“Being with friends, your family, and me… It makes you happy. Seeing those around you smiling makes you happy. Seeing your friends succeed makes you happy. You don’t want to be left behind but you also don’t want others to be left behind, right?”

Laura just stared at him as she wrapped her arms around her knees.

“Seeing people being reckless angers you. And--”

“That’s enough.”

“Okay.”

Nazar stopped talking as his smile wavered.

“That’s enough...” she said in a trembling voice. “I get it. I really do...”

She buried her head in her knees.

“But...”

She looked at Nazar in the eyes.

“Do you love me?”

Nazar froze in his place momentarily.

“Is there even love between us? Or is it just make-believe?”

“I don’t understand… But let me show you.”

Nazar sat on the floor in front of her.

In front of Laura, many spherical energies appeared.

“These are emotion--”

“I have seen those before.”

“I see...”

Those spherical energies vanished.

“I know our emotions were both messed around with at the beginning which is why we fell in "love". But!”

"But would we have been the same without those manipulations?"

Nazar finished her sentence, so she nodded in confirmation.

"I am not going to lie to you. I really won't. So, no. It would have been different."

She was expecting that answer but even then, she hugged her body tightly as she felt pain within.

"If it wasn't for those manipulation, we probably would have never seen each other after I disbanded that superhumans group. It would have been the end for us."

"............What would you have done if you loved me but I didn't feel the same?"

Nazar inhaled sharply.

"I would have done nothing."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to be happy at the expense of someone else's happiness."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

It was an answer she was expecting but even then, she was surprised.

Looking at Nazar in his eyes, she didn't see any hint of malice. He wasn't lying.

"I would probably have ignored your feelings too if you were the one who loved me and I didn't, haha."

Nazar forced a laugh.

"What if we had met without you knowing me or without me remembering the other timeline in my dreams… What would you have done?"

"If I did develop feelings for you, then I would have told you how I felt - as I did a few ye-- a while ago."

He hid the fact that he was away from ten years for now.

"But if I didn't, nothing would have happened…"

"I see."

With complex feelings, she buried her head into her knees again.

She wasn't sure how to feel about all of this.

Sucking in a breath, Laura asked a question she tried to forget about.

"Why…"

A question she never wanted to know the answer to.

"Me?"

Nazar's eyes widened slightly.

"You could have had an angel. Or a god. Or a demon. Or an alien. Or anyone. So… Why me?"

Why her? Nazar asked himself deep down.

"I am just a human. I will be dead in a matter of years. And then… Why not someone who will be beside you for a long time? Why not someone whom you don't have to be careful with? Always be worried that you will break her? Always be worried that something bad will happen to her because of me? So!"

With a serious tone, she continued.

"Why me? Why just a weak and normal human?"

"Because I love you."

She raised her head and looked at Nazar with wide eyes.

"Is that not enough of a reason?"

"..."

"Do I need some complicated reasons to say why I chose you over others? Because I have got a lot."

Nazar sounded very serious.

"They are immature, power-hungry, doesn't understand other people, they don't care about emotions, they think everything is related to power, and more. I can't stand most of these pathetic power-hungry people."

Nazar took a deep breath before continuing.

"And most wouldn't have cared about me emotionally. Hell, most wouldn't have looked my way if I didn't have powers, let alone be in a relationship with me."

He stood up.

"And I didn't choose you. We both chose each other. You have no idea how lucky I am to have you in my life.”

“I am happy to hear that… But sometimes I feel like I am being left behind. I really am happy with you around. I really am.”

She paused before continuing.

“It’s just sometimes, you feel so far away. Hanging around with angels, aliens and others… The distance between us is too much. You are a literal...”

She cut off her sentence.

“And you are with me, just a human.”

“...I see,” Nazar said with conflicted feelings.

Nazar told Rina before she died that he will not find his happiness at the expense of someone else’s.

But!

(I am not going to...) He thought to himself.

“Then I am sorry that I made you feel that way. I am sorry that I made this distance between us. So!”

He clenched his fist.

“Let’s reduce that distance.”

Surprised, she froze in her place momentarily.

(I am not going to let this end! At least not before I try my best to fix it.)

“Let’s make sure that there is no distance between us.”

“...”

“I love you. I am the happiest when I am around you. I have never felt some of these emotions with anyone else. I haven’t felt this comfortable with most people in my life.”

Laura's eyes teared up for some reasons.

“So, what if I am a-- a God?” He forced those words out. “So, what if you are a human? Does it matter as long as you are happy? As long as both of us are happy?”

He placed his hand on her shoulder.

“So, give me another chance… Let’s reduce the distance.”

He smiled stiffly.

“Of course, if that’s what you want.”

“Of course, I do.”

“Then…?”

“We both knew it was going to be temporary… I am going back to Italy, remember?”

Nazar stared at her blankly.

“Long-distance relationships are hard...”

“So?”

She looked up at him with a face full of confusion and sadness.

“What do you…?”

“Are you stupid?”

Nazar laughed.

“So, what if you are going back to your country? So, what if it's in a different place… You are forgetting something.”

Nazar smiled proudly.

“I have...”

Laura realised what he meant too late. She realised the solution to a problem too late. If only she had thought a bit about it, this whole situation would have been avoided.

The space around them warped.

“Powers, remember?”

Floating above the city, Laura gasped.

Nazar wrapped his arm around her.

“I have the power to do everything. I know, I hate it. I hate these powers but...”

He smiled widely.

“Sometimes they can be very useful.”

She looked down and got scared. So, she hugged him tightly as she looked away.

“Hm?”

He suddenly noticed her crying.

“It’s okay, let it all out.”

(She has been here for more than five years, made many friends and a lot of memories. Once she goes back, she will be away from her friends and this place. I am not sure I can understand but she must be going through a lot.)

“I will listen to everything you have to say. So, don’t hold back.”

Floating above the city, Nazar and Laura talked.

Many hours later, in the middle of the night, she was sleeping in her bed and Nazar was sitting on the floor.

However, he wasn't here at the same time.

His soul was out of his body and hovering above it.

(The distance between us, huh?)

In the last 10 years on planet Eir, he was so close to giving up. Just living there. It was the most normal life he had - despite that place being extremely weird.

But then in his mind, a few pictures flashed. Emma's, Laura's, his mother's, brother's and a few others.

(I hope I get the chance to get rid of it. I hope there won't be a distance between us. I hope you don't have to think that lowly of yourself. Because in this universe…)

Their images allowed him to find determination and look for a way out. He failed, but he didn't give up.

(Even a human can challenge a God.)

This place isn't normal either.

With the right numbers and knowing how to mess with those numbers, the weakest could challenge the strongest.

This place was made like this.

Pretend it's a game. You are the weakest player but you have cheat codes, and with those, you can challenge the strongest players.

This ultraverse is a massive game board.

That's how it was made by the Supreme One - for his own entertainment.

The power balance is all over the place in this place. Some species are capable of destroying universes while some are capable of destroying just ants.

(So, you don't have to worry, Laura…)

Magic used to be different. Not anyone could use any spell.

Spells were needed to be said out loud in order to activate magic.

Every magician had access to basic spells such as teleportation and shields.

But more complex spells like energy manipulation and matter manipulation were rare. Acquiring one rare spell could have cost someone billions of dollars - when converted. And to use that spell, the spell would get turned into energy and they will consume that - after memorising it.

If someone else wanted to use the magic, the user would have to turn it back into a paper and give it to someone else. However, they would no longer be able to use it.

That's how magic operated by thousands of years.

But with the introduction of Chochica Empire, the universe of magic changed. They mass-produced spells and made it so that anyone could use any spell and it wasn't exclusive to just one person. In a short while, the world of magic changed drastically. Anyone can use magic and spells are easy to find and learn.

That's how the magic side of this universe grew.

A numberless form of power that betrays the laws set by the creator - the Supreme One.

(At the end of the day, we are all on the same level.)

Nazar hates it when beings like Archangel Michael call humans weak. He knows they are not weak.

But!

(I still look down on them too, don't I?)

It was a truth he always wanted to forget.

He calls himself a human. He pretends he is one.

But he cannot help looking down on them sometimes.

(I know it was the influence of the other personalities… But those were me at the end of the day.)

He felt guilty because of that.

Every event or emotion leads to a change in his life. And that spawned a new personality within him.

Before Emily destroyed them, he had hundreds of personalities there. Some of them were similar to this Nazar but some were very different.

"I guess I should have killed them myself a long time-- Oh."

Laura groaned as she scratched her face.

Nazar’s soul went back to his body.

“Hm, is something wrong?”

“Uh... Hm. Nah, nothing. Just can’t really sleep.”

“Oh…”

She stood up and sat down before her.

“Sorry.”

“Hm?”

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Thanks for the hug, but why are you sorry?”

“I don't know what really came over me… It’s pathetic that I acted like that just because of a joke Ashley said. And because I had this--”

“It wasn’t stupid at all. It’s something which I didn’t know. I should have known what was bothering you. But I didn’t know.”

“I see...”

“Since you can’t go back to sleep and it’s very early in the night...”

“Hm?”

“I have a present for you.”

“You and present?”

They stopped hugging and she sat in front of him.

“Close your eyes.”

Smiling, she said, “Okay.”

She closed her eyes.

Nazar waved his hand, and a necklace appeared in it.

The necklace had a shiny golden chain, with three cyan coloured jewels connected to me.

The necklace resembled a normal necklace of gold and diamond but it was not made from the same material. It was made from something else.

Usaium. That’s what the jewels were made from.

The chain was made from a combination of dark matter, antimatter, matter and the Void.

“It’s going to look similar but...”

He tied the necklace around her neck.

He rejected Aarin's suggestion of getting her a necklace but he is still giving her a necklace.

“Trust me, it’s very different.”

With a smile that also showed a sign of confusion, she said, “Oh?”

She touched the necklace and opened her eyes.

“Ah. You still have it?”

In the original timeline, he gave her the same necklace on her birthday. It was the day Emily and the Nameless One destroyed time beginning at the end.

“Of course, I do. Last time it ended badly… But I was hoping I would get another chance to put this around your neck.”

Laura leaned close and kissed him on the lips.

“Despite the same looks, it’s somewhat different. I made changes to it.”

“Oh?”

“Last time it was just a necklace but now…?”

Nazar touched the necklace and it started to glow in the darkroom.

“Woah! It’s beautiful.”

“Wanna hear what else it can do?”

“Sure,” she replied as she looked down at the beautiful jewel on her neck.

“It has some abilities. Mixed in my power with magical and other powers.”

Looking up to him with a confused look on her face, she said, “Why?”

“It has limited healing, gets rid of tiredness, gets rid of bad dreams, immunity to curse inducement and curse manipulation, immunity to fate manipulation, immunity to emotional manipulation, and a few more abilities like that.”

“Huh?” She blurted out. “Why? That’s too powerful.”

(I have to be careful. Fate and curses… they are common here. And I am sure the Ultimate Nullification barrier around you is protecting you… but I need to be extra careful.)

On the surface, Nazar laughed.

“I gave this to every special lady in my life. So, I had to give you one. But unlike you, they don’t know about it, haha.”

“Special ladies,” she narrowed her eyes. “You better mean just Emma.”

“And my mom and Aria.”

“That little girl? Who then grew up?”

Nazar nodded.

“These days, she seems a little distant, though.”

“Oh...”

“Forget that, since the night is young, let’s go somewhere.”

She stared at him blankly in the darkroom illuminated by the beautiful colours of the jewels.

“You are going back soon, right? And no longer have to go to work, so let’s go."

"Oh, you wanna show me around now? Just before I am leaving?"

Nazar shrugged.

"I know a good restaurant that’s still open. Of course, you can--”

“Yes. Let’s go,” she replied enthusiastically, breaking off his sentence. “I am going to get ready, so look away.”

“Uh… Okay.”

Nazar closed his eyes as she changed her clothes.

Hearing the rustling noise, Nazar smiled.

“You know this is...”

“Don’t say it,” she said frantically as she blushed.

“Somewhat arousing.”

She threw her t-shirt at his face.

He sniffed her shirt.

“Oh, that smells just like you.”

He burst into laughter.

“Why are you a pervert sometimes?”

“What can I say, except blame you?”

She laughed.

“Okay, I am done. Let’s go.”

Nazar opened his eyes as he stood up.

“I hope it isn’t a chicken wings place.”

Looking away, with a nervous smile, he said, “I-it’s not.”

“Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Don’t worry we will go to a pizza place or a pasta place too.”

She kicked the back of his leg.

“Nice stereotyping.”

“I am sorry,” he said as he laughed.

"Hmph."

Holding her hand, the space around them warped.