23 CHAPTER 23: How are you feeling hero? (1/2)
Sometime soon, Mai and Ru were now at the luminous rocky caverns. They were sitting at the ground comfortably. The floor beneath them was glittered in gem-like particles scattered along the vast place. The rocky walls were tinged with fragments of prismatic sapphire crystals. Stalacites and stalagmites of frozen glass below and above. Pristine radiant butterflies of gold and violet were flutterring around in moderate numbers. The two dazzling maidens turned to look at the shallow underwater lake reflecting its pure crystalline water nearby. Moreover, Zeran was unconciously floating at the great center of the subterranean spring. There were glowing lavander chains shackled upon his whole body. Not only that, it seemed there was an icy mist that was surrounding around him with its mystical touch although, it's color was blending with the violet energy from the chains, turning it to look-like some kind of occultist ritual that was being held. Mai noticed that Ru's expression was deepened with great concern and a very heartwarming smile was at Ru's face, revering of immense happiness, while Ru was looking at the waters. Mai was subtly shocked since, this is the first time she had seen Ru filled with great happiness, so Mai tries to open up a conversation in order to break-off her sudden tensions that was coursing throughout her skin,
”So how's he feeling?”.
Ru replies, while she was still looking at the floating Zeran at the serene waters,
”He's recovering now...”.
A little while later, Ru masked her evangelistic smile and swapped it with her usual teasing sinister smile. She shifted her face to Mai and Ru said with great emphasis with added sarcasm in her tone,
”Also Mai...I'm sure you still LOVE him don't you?”
”Besides he's the ONE who saved you from them...”
”If I remember that GODDESS SCANDAL correctly...”.
The air became still afterwards. Mai felt irritated as she heard that from her sort-of close friend, turning Mai's face to be filled with intense frustration. Not only that, her eyes revealed an intense rage too. Soon, Mai got up and said with utter defiance in her tone, as she looked at Ru with a cold stare,
”Tch...”
”I'll be leaving now...”
”And tell Zen or Zera or Zeran, whatever you cal him...that when we'll meet again...”
”We're enemies...”
”Since I'm the queen's protector now...”
”And no longer a Goddess...nor your friend...Ru...”
”Since I want to become a hero that'll save this world...better than he or they was...”
”I'm determined to crush anyone who gets in my way...”.
Though, in her thoughts it seemed it was anchored in much more of her hidden ambitions,
(”This is the only way for me to become strong...”).
Ru responds,
”I see...”
”I'll tell him that...”.
Mai left the luminous place, leaving Ru with the slumbering and regenerating Zeran at the lake later on. The frozen feeling in the air had ceased and Ru's heavy burdened feeling was gone. She revealed her fox features in an enchanting magical sparkle. Her foxy tail was so fluffy and riddened in starlight brilliance. Her ears were twitching along with her slithering tail. Soon enough, she sighed and said, puzzling down Mai's defiance in her words, as Ru was looking the sleeping Zeran,
”You still deny your true feelings for him huh...Mai...”
”How about you Zera...how do you feel about Mai?”.
Though, Zeran wasn't able to hear Ru's statement due to his unconscious state although, he was in a deep trance yet again, isolating him from the outside world. His trance set him back to Ru's fragment of her own memory. Thereupon, he was witnessing Ru in her own pretty bedroom laddened in entrancing lavander and abyss black. More than that, he noticed that Ru was lying down on her bed and she was holding her phone talking to someone. Sooner or later, he overhears the voice of a serious mid-pitched woman from her smartphone,
”The next chosen hero is up...”
”You already know what to do Ru...”.
As Ru heard that, her face looked irritated and disturbed. She changed her position and sat on her bed immediately. Then, she said with an annoyed tone to her phone,
”Alright alright...geez...”
”You don't have to tell me that over and over again...ANGE...”.
She called-off her phone and rolled back to her own bed afterwards. Her face had suddenly changed to a depressed look. Her expression wasn't very Goddessly nor oozing of a sinister woman yet instead, such as a pitiful maiden that was feeling the thorns wrapped around her body throughout her whole life. A little while later, she pondered through her sorrowful self and expresses,
”So this is my life huh...”
”Testing heroes and our world endlessly...”
”While she gets them...and have FUN with them instead...”
”While I get just these measly points...and feel this endless pain in my heart getting killed by them...”.
She threw-off her phone a few distances on her bed. She let her slim arm cover her eyes but, crystal tears were leaking and falling upon her pale cheeks. The chilling dense air was wrapping around her. Her frown of grave sadness binded with great throns of sufferring was shown upon her near covered face, depicting such as a Goddess of darkness could also be saddened and become so human-like. Thereupon, she tries to utter her words with intense expressiveness and doubts, as her tears were still falling,
”Why did I even choose to be a Dark Goddess...”
”Why...”.
While, Zeran had been witnessing the depressed and suffering Ru through her past experiences that she had mustered and brought up, he felt some kind of pity for the dark Goddess, since he was seeing another side of her that was hidden in plain hindsight. He felt that he wanted to hug and embrace the crying Ru but, he already knew that this vision he had been seeing was nothing but, a sychronized trance of his unconscious self and Ru's memory fragment, turning him to express his concerned feelings for her in his thoughts instead,
(”Ru...”)
(”So this is what she had been feeling all throughout her life...”)
(”I kinda pity her now honestly...”).
A little while later, he arose from his deep slumber and snapped out of his trance and the next thing he noticed was, his head was on her comfy lap. As Ru felt that Zeran's warmth and consciousness came back, her smile oozed of great happiness and gratitude for his utter revival from his abyssal sleep, that was somehow so unique to see from an evil Goddess. Fleeting hearts coursed inside of her, making her to feel a sense of sensual calmness. Soon, she spoke with her soothing voice to Zeran while her tail was whiffing of joy,
”How are you feeling now Zera?”.
He noticed that her tail looked unussually happy for some reason, making him to express a weirded-out look again and leaned his body upwards. In his inner-self he was feeling quite cozy and warm being comforted by the dark Goddess Ru although, in order for her to not notice his creeped-out look, He replies in a very complacent way with added humor after,
”I feel better now...”
”I thought I was a goner hahaha...”.
That sudden moment, Ru hugged him very tightly, making his shackles to chime upon hitting each other. Zeran felt more and more warm sensations coursing throughout his body, while he was wearing a shocked expression. Then, Ru slipped her mouth, that sounded very serious,