Infinite loop

Chapter 5

“I just healed my wound and cleaned the mess. What’s so wrong with that?” He asked.

“No. But it happened too fast. Just how fast was it?” Selene asked.

“Not much. I am probably out of practice. It would instantly heal the moment I cut it. But it was left alone for a long time. So I lost my edge.” He let out a wry smile and said.

“I am amazed at how you can say such things with that straight face. You really are a blockhead.” Selene said.

“Enough fooling around. Let’s go. But before that erase her memory.” He said to Selene.

“What? Don’t you want her to know that you are alive?”(s)

“No. She’ll be deemed mad if she tells anyone. So it’s better for her to stay out of this. Also I am not her brother any more. I have died twice. So I am a different person.”

Mizuki was trying to understand the current situation. She was fidgeting. But she asked,

“Are you my brother?”

“No. I am a different person. I have been reborn twice. So I am a completely different person. You shouldn’t think about it too much. Just pretend that you were having a nightmare.” He said to her.

However she was persistent. She didn’t let go of that easily.

“Give up, Akatsuki. A girl won’t back down like that.” Selene told him. He was sighing.

“What to do? I cannot stay here any longer. She would find me here.” Akatsuki said with a troubled look. He was clearly avoiding someone or something.

Having caught this Aisha asked,

“Are you hiding from someone? For you to hide from someone, he must be pretty strong.”

“No. I am indeed hiding. But I wouldn’t hide from a man. I am hiding from a woman. She is as persistent as you girls. So it’s a little troublesome.”

“Hooo.” Aisha said with a sharp look. She was clearly staring a hole through him. Belle and Leah were also like that.

“Someone even you find troublesome. Who is that?” Selene asked curiously.

“A goddess. She is the goddess of light, Lugh.”

Selene just stood there. She didn’t move or say anything after hearing that name. Aisha shook her and tried to snap her out.

“Who is the goddess of light? Is she dangerous or something?”

“No. She’s not dangerous. But her personality is troublesome. She always confronts me like I am the bad guy and that she’ll slay me. It’s troublesome to fight her every time.” He was really irritated when talking about her.

“How did she find you? Weren’t you grounded?” Selene asked frantically.

“You know light and darkness are intertwined. And void is the source of darkness. So she found me out when I took control of the void.” He said. His voice was just so listless. Like he didn’t even care about life.

“It’s getting late. So let’s go.” He said.

But Mizuki still didn’t let them leave. So he sighed and snapped his fingers.

A bright light shone and everyone closed their eyes.

The next moment they found themselves in that same grass plains. Aisha and the girls were relieved to be back. But someone else was with them. It was Mizuki. She was also there standing with them.

“Where are we?” She asked while keeping her cool. She was most definitely surprised. But she tried to stay calm and asked.

“You were a little too persistent. So I brought you here as well. It’s the world I live in and they are from.” He explained.

Mizuki nodded. She took it extremely well. Akatsuki was getting ready for her to faint or to cause a ruckus.

“It’s quite uncomfortable to stand here. Let’s go to my place.” He suggested and opened his hole. They all went down in the hole and he opened his door. Mizuki also followed them.

His house was same as usual. An underground base. Everyone except Mizuki had seem it before. But she took it quite well.

“You guys stay here. I will be back.” Akatsuki said and disappeared in the dark void.

“Let me go.” That was the first thing they heard from the void that was opened.

They thought whose it was. It was female voice.

Soon after Akatsuki came with a girl. It was like he kidnapped her.

“How dare you? Who are you?” That girl was clearly shaking in fear but had a haughty personality.

“Just shut up. I’ll send you back after I am done.” He said and looked at Selene.

“Don’t look at me. You expect me to erase her memories,right?” She said.

“Yeah. She saw me. She ran away. But she thought it was a dream or she was seeing things. So she is rejecting reality. It’s bad. So it’s better if we do the deed now.” He had a criminal look on his face.

“Now now. Don’t be like that? I can’t abuse my authority as a goddess. I won’t erase her memories. So take her back from where you picked her from.” Selene said with a cold look.

Her eyes were blank as if a void. It made Aisha and co scared. They thought that Akatsuki was okay.

But Akatsuki was also scared of her eyes. Like he can’t go against her. However Mizuki was surprisingly brave. She didn’t flinch.

“Ok. I will. But stop threatening me. You know how scared I am.” Akatsuki said with a cowering tone. His face showed that he was scared. But his voice was shaking like crazy.

Just what did this goddess do? Everyone was thinking that but then someone raised an arm.

“So what is happening here? I don’t know anyone here. But I see Mizuki here and an Akatsuki look alike. So what is happening?” That girl asked everyone.

She was not bothered in the least. She asked like it was completely normal.

“Well I am not a look alike. I am the Akatsuki. But you are surprisingly calm here, Momoko. But it’s good that you didn’t run away like last time.” He calmly said.

However the moment she heard this her face changed. Her face showed signs of fear and disbelief. All of them looked at how her face changed.

“Well anyway. I will drop you back home. Be thankful. Also don’t tell anyone what you saw here. They’ll call you mad if you tell them I’m alive.” He explained.

But she was looking at the girls. She kinda had a blank stare and wasn’t listening.

Selene decided to do something about this situation. So she stopped him.

“Go outside and play for a while. We girls have somethings to talk.”(s)

“Ahh. But shouldn’t we send her back?”(a)

“No. I’ll talk to her. You go outside or go to your void.” Selene clearly said.

Akatsuki left sighing. He was someone who was obedient to a fault. So he left immediately.

After he left, Aisha asked,

“What do you want to talk things about?”

“About that girl,don’t you think her eyes are somewhat different? Like she was hoping that he would be alive.”(s)

Aisha looked at Selene who was standing a little away from them. Her eyes were teary. But she managed to stop her tears.

“Yeah. Maybe she was regretting about what happened?”(a)

“But why is she here?” Mizuki asked.

“Your brother died because of her. So maybe he tried to scare her.” Selene put her hand on her head and said.

Mizuki was taken aback. She was shocked. So shocked that she couldn’t speak.

“What is with that? How can my brother die because of her? He died in a train accident.” She was crying when she said that.

“But her actions led him. Because of what she did.” Selene told her. Her voice was filled with pity.

“Can anyone please explain where am I?” Momoko who was standing away from them said.

“Well where to begin? So much has happened. But I should start from after his death.” Selene said and was thinking about what to say.

“After his death the first time I didn’t know who sent him. He was reborn in this world during the war with the demons.” Selene stopped.

“The war? That war in the fairy tale?” Aisha asked.

That war 4000 years ago became a sort of legend or more like a fairy tale. So everyone knows of this as a fairy tale.

“His life after that was not peaceful. Humans were fighting against the demons. But the demons were far stronger than the humans. So when he became of age, he was forced to join the army. He became a soldier against his will and died in the war. It was ironic because he died only 3 days before the war ended.” Selene let out a sigh.

Her expression was sullen as she explained. His life was certainly not an easy one. Aisha and co tried to fathom the hardships he went through.

Mizuki and Momoko were listening but had a hard time understanding. Because they got suddenly pushed into a world of magic.

Selene was glaring at Momoko. She clearly had hostility.

“You are the one aren’t you?” Selene asked.

But not with her polite voice. She had clear hostility.

“What do you mean?” Momoko asked. But she was getting worked up.

“The one who framed him. You did that didn’t you?” Selene asked frankly.

She didn’t say it in a roundabout way. She just asked it.

“I didn’t. It was a simple misunderstanding.” Momoko denied firmly. She understood what she meant.

“How can it be a misunderstanding? You clearly framed him that he tried to rape you.” (S)

“No. It was someone else who spread the rumor. I did nothing.” Momoko was still denying it.

Selene just glared at her. She was still suspicious of her. Mizuki was sitting there watching.

“My brother was framed?” She said. Her voice had disbelief. She was completely shocked.

“Yeah. He never did anything. He was just framed and then murdered. But he still won’t do anything.” Selene clicked her tongue.

She was angry that something like that happened to him. But was also angry at him for not doing anything.