Our hands touched, and I felt the warmth of her body against mine.
"By the way, before we begin, I really want to talk about something."
"I really love you..."
Wait, what do you mean by—
"As my sister, of course."
She had us in the first half, not gonna lie.
And I felt heat rising as our bodies pressed together.
"You were the one who asked for this, Kairi."
"I-I-I know but... it feels lewd."
Our chests touched, too. No—technically, it’s hers against mine.
Anyway, Selene’s feels... soft.
They’re supple. Quite bouncy. The texture—smooth and—
"Pervert." She shot a glare at me.
A death stare.
"No, you got the wrong idea."
"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes nonchalantly.
She’s definitely not gonna listen, is she?
"I don’t know what to convince you other than the fact we have done something much worse than this childish thing such as hugging and holding hands."
"Uh-huh."
Now, she just sounds like a broken record...
I mean, I’m aware that the kiss had a purpose. But the same for this one too.
"Don’t be so dishonest, my dear Kairi. Just say that you’re enjoying it. I won’t mind. Your headboard also is something else."
Ugh...
I felt as if my chest was stabbed by a dagger by the time she said that.
"Please, stop calling mine with that, also no nickname."
"You know I will keep going anyway."
"Ugh, never mind. You are impossible."
She ignored what I said, instead dwelling onto another topic.
"Kairi, what if it turns out the side-effect will be that I’m going to sleep?"
"No, don’t. If you do, I will have to kiss you."
She let out a faint smile. "Please, do it."
No, it’s actually meant to be metaphorical
I deep down still couldn’t believe, the affection I held for Selene, both as an accomplice or, perhaps, a sister.
"What do you mean by perhaps?"
"No, not your business. If you don’t like my cringy thoughts, do not peek."
"Okay. Anyway, I was serious."
She looked into my eyes with her grave expression.
Kairi, if I actually fall asleep because of the side effect—"
I cut in. "I won’t let you. I’ll wake you up with a kiss."
Her smile softened. "And if you doze off?"
I pressed my forehead to hers. "Then I’ll wake you up... however I have to."
She laughed quietly, a sound so easy it made my chest tighten.
"You really would kiss me, wouldn’t you? Expected from Kairi my little princess."
Okay, since when I’m her little princess?
I closed my eyes, feeling the steady beat of her heart against mine.
"Always," I whispered.
Selene’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
"Good," she said, voice low.
"Because so would I. If I were you, I would do the same thing."
I chuckled, holding my breathe that is about to burst out of happiness.
"So, what are you waiting for? Do it."
"Wait, the kiss or?"
"No, the transcription process."
"Right."
As our hands intertwined to each other, I murmured a spell.
"Transcription... Memory Projection."
"Just say it inside your heart next time. You are not a shounen protagonist."
Now, you did break the wall...
Who would expect Selene, out of all magicians, to know a shounen reference?
My concentration was gone by the time she called me out for uttering the spell quietly.
"You pissed me off, did you know that?"
"That’s supposed to be my line. You stole it."
GGGGRRRR...
No, I couldn’t stand her cockiness at all! She’s so full of herself!
"I am not being cocky, just condescendingly polite."
That’s exactly what it means by being cocky.
"Okay, can we start now? These people can’t wait?"
"Well, let them be. I enjoy holding hands like this. These autonomous sensory meridian response I received from these static information overwhelmed me to the core of my inner psyche."
Ah yes, her vocabulary indeed has been updated...
Selenepedia was on it again, and she actually added all of these to her own thesaurus.
And those were stolen from my very own library! Unbelievable!
"How freaky. So, who is the true pervert now?
"Still you. At least, I never get aroused from licking a slug for experience."
Stop right there!
You know what, I was inspired from an anime scene whereas this dude, who is apparently a manga artist, licking a spider for full-experience. I am not going to tell the name considering it should be damn obvious if you already watched it.
"Ho-ho-ho, I see."
Oh no, she got that reference! It’s the end of the world! It’s so over!
By the time she returned back to my world, she definitely was going to watch it.
"Of course. Anyway, stop playing around."
"Yeah, right."
We’ve had been talking about this while still holding hands and her soft, supple, and bouncy chest still pressed into mine.
"No need to describe it in-details, you absolute pervert."
She said while seemed flustered.
"Too bad. Let’s do it real quick."
She nodded quickly. After a seemingly endless conversation, we are going to do it.
Transcription... Memory Projection. Selene Eryndell Veylith.
There was a glow in my hands as the memory begun to flow into her.
And as I looked at her, it concerned me as she looked frowned and terrified.
She looks... getting hurt. Will she still be okay?
"Are you okay?"
"Mhm. I probably can endure this memory of yours. No need to worry."
She said that while I definitely knew it was the opposite.
"I keep wondering whether you indeed are a human being at this point."
"What, do you think I’m a monster?"
"No, you are my little angel."
"This is not the right time for a joke, you know."
"I know,"
I murmured, the weight of Helena’s impending choice pressing down on me.
Each flicker in the glowing light of my hands wasn’t just a visual; it was a step closer to a moment I was desperate to rewrite.
Selene wasn’t just a passive observer; she was my anchor, my living, breathing backup against the tide of a horrific memory. Her distress wasn’t just empathy; it was the mirrored agony of potentially witnessing a catastrophic failure.
"Just tell me if it gets to be too much,"
I urged, my voice carrying a tremor that had less to do with the memory itself, but rather the terrifying possibility of being in vain.
Our fingers intertwined tighte, a silent plea for strength, for both our sakes.
Selene’s grip was vise-like, her knuckles stark white against her skin.
"I will," she choked out, her voice raw with an emotion that transcended simple empathy.
Her eyes, usually sparkling with wit, were now wide with a dawning horror, reflecting the very abyss I was forcing her to peer into.
Witnessing her pain twisted a knife in my gut; the guilt of subjecting her to this was now compounded by the fear that even this sacrifice might not be enough.
The glow intensified, each pulse a stark reminder of the dwindling time. The memory wasn’t just unfolding; it was a relentless march towards a precipice. I could almost feel the desperation radiating from the phantom Helena within the memory, the chilling resolve to end her own existence in a cataclysmic burst of Mytheia.
A strangled sob escaped Selene’s lips, and her entire body trembled.
This wasn’t just witnessing pain; it felt like she was experiencing the suffocating despair that led Helena to the edge.
"Selene?" I whispered, my voice thick with rising panic. "Are you sure you can—"
"Keep going, damn it! No need to worry about me!"
She snapped, her voice surprisingly fierce despite the tears welling in her eyes.
Her eyes looked swollen, holding back from tears.
Never have I had seen her like this.
"I need to see it. I need to understand. Every single horrifying detail. I was the one who agreed to this. So please, just for this once, let me help you carrying this burden."
There was a raw urgency in her demand, a sense that she understood the gravity of the situation, that witnessing this was a necessary pain, even when she cried deep down.
In that moment, the playful facade Selene often wore shattered completely, revealing a core of steel and unwavering loyalty. Her determination wasn’t just about enduring a painful memory; it was about standing alongside me in the face of impending tragedy, willing to bear any burden to help me prevent it.
A profound sense of gratitude washed over me, eclipsing the guilt.
I nodded, my throat tight with emotion.
"Thank you, Selene."
She didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on some unseen horror within the memory.
The air crackled with unspoken tension, the weight of Helena’s impending choice hanging heavy between us. This wasn’t just a memory transfer; it was a desperate race against time, a shared plunge into the heart of despair, fueled by the fragile hope of preventing a devastating end.
Suddenly, Selene recoiled, her eyes snapping open, wide and unfocused.
She gasped for air, her chest heaving as if she’d been submerged in a dark abyss.
Her grip on my hand loosened momentarily, then clenched again with a desperate, almost panicked strength.
No, Kairi. She can’t. She can’t endure this...