Chapter 70: Easier Than I Thought That it Would Be…

(Ria’s POV)

My head was killing me… Checking my Status once more, I found that I was down to only a few million HP by now. It wouldn’t take longer for me to actually die. True immortality is rare.

Higher beings are considered immortal, primarily because of how strong they are. If it wasn’t for that strength, they would be as vulnerable as the mortals. Lia’s immortality is the real deal, though.

And for other higher beings, even if their HP hits zero, it wouldn’t matter. Just as long as their soul remained, they would show up again, eventually. Such as what happened with Fetichia and Yemi, but in a far better way, usually only taking day or months. They would retain their power and memories as well.

Current Ria: “Why do you look like me?” She asked.

Finally waking up fully, I saw that I was tied to a tree, and Ria was pointing her weapon at me. Rather than hide, she seemed to have realized that I was injured. And she waited for me to be vulnerable. How like me…

Ria: “Believe it or not, but I am you. Not in a metaphorical sense, either.” I answer.

Current Ria: “So you say, but your power far outweighs mine. I am actually far more interested in how you got such power, me.” She replied.

Ria: “Would you like to dance around, or shall I just give you my memories?” I propose.

Current Ria: “Your memories? How far back are you talking about?” She replied.

Ria: “Everything. I am you, and you are me. With my memories, you will understand everything.” I answer.

Current Ria: “…You might be me, but how can I trust that you won’t trick me in some way?” She said with a serious tone.

Damn, me… This cautiousness was always a sore point of mine. It kept me safe, sure. And it did so most of the time. But it caused me to always maintain a distance from everyone.

Ria: “As you can see, I am about to die. The Will of Existence wishes to erase me, and it is about to succeed in doing so.” I reply.

Current Ria: “…”

Ria: “Celia kept me anchored to this timeline, but she was kidnapped. Now, with her gone, my time is limited. You only have one chance at saving her, and that is combining with me.” I add.

Current Ria: “She was kidnapped? With your power, how was that even possible?” She said with a raised eyebrow.

Ria: “You see, The Will is pulling the strings in Celia’s life. That much we’re certain of now. For a reason that we do not yet understand, we met Sava, and she kidnapped Celia.” I answer.

Current Ria: “…”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Time was ticking, and the point where I was going to be erased inched closer, and closer. After thinking about it for a while, Ria eventually agreed to receive my memories.

She didn’t agree with combining, but I was willing to take this once step at a time, even if I was in the process of slowly dying and being erased. Ria released her binding magic on me, too. Putting my hand on her head, I used up my remaining MP to give her everything…

An Hour Later.

Ria cursed at me, over and over again, berating me for what I did, saying how wrong I was to do so. I understood. Celia had already saved this me. This me wouldn’t make the same mistakes that I did.

Current Ria: “Will you or I remain?” She asked.

Ria: “We should both remain. My soul is currently far too weak to fully overtake yours, and yours isn’t strong enough to take over mine, either.” I answer with a confident tone.

Current Ria: “Do you love Celia?” She asked with a serious expression on her face.

Ah, so that’s what I looked like when making such a face, huh? To think that Celia would love someone that could put on such a scary-looking expression…

Ria: “Having my memories, I am sure that you know the answer to that question of yours. Regardless, I do love Celia. I will even admit to loving her more than Amelie.” I answer with a smile.

Current Ria: “If we combine, we must never hurt our family again. If you swear this, then I will combine with you. Even if I will be lost in the process.” She proposed.

Ria: “I will never fail them again, I swear it upon my very soul. Together, we will ensure that my mistakes will not be repeated.” I reply.

Current Ria: “…”

Ria: “You, the one who Celia saved so early, are far more emotionally mature. You, the one who hasn’t truly hurt Celia, or made any mistakes in this life. In a sense, you are the missing half that I needed to ground myself.” I added.

Current Ria: “Tell me now, will I remain? And will you remain as well? Both need to exist, Ria. If one of us is gone, Celia will lose her mind, you know that.” She repeated.

Ria: “…”

Fuck… I knew that I should have been selective with the memories, but I didn’t have the MP needed to do so. Now, she is very much aware that I am lying. I will be lost, and only she will remain…

Even if I wanted to be selective with them, it would have been pointless. I gave her all my memories, as if I didn’t, they would have been lost along with me once I combined with her.

God: “This won’t count as a favor. Rather, I shall do it as an apology for getting you three to fight Sava.” She said, popping out of nowhere, as per her usual actions.

Taking both of our hands before either of us could react, I was soon combined into Ria. It felt… odd. I have no real grasp of time, but it felt like a million years had passed, and no time had passed at all. What a contradiction…

An Unknown Amount of Time Later.

Zia: “I’ll be Zia, you be Ria, okay?” She proposed.

Ria: “I guess that works… Are you truly fine with that, though?” I ask in reply.

Zia: “I am. It’ll be very fun to teach Celia to scream my name in pleasure and not use yours. I am sure that the contradiction that she will experience will be amazing to witness.” She happily replied.

Ria: “…”

Zia: “When everything calms down, we should play a game like that with Celia.” She suggested.

Ria: “What kind of game?” I reply.

Zia: “Oh, just a game to see if Celia can tell which one of us is pleasuring her, I mean.” She clarified.

Ria: “…”

Even the fixed Ria is still me, I guess… Is this what Celia feels like when she would talk to Ruina? I’ll admit, it is kinda weird to have another person permanently in your mind. Let alone another version of yourself…

God: “Ah, it worked, huh? Amazing!” She said with a happy smile.

Ria: “You say that as if you weren’t sure that it would work…” I say with a sigh.

God: “I wasn’t sure it would work at all! I just still needed to try. I owe that much to you, after all.” She said with a shrug.

Ria: “…”

God: “Now that you’ve both properly combined, the Will doesn’t have an excuse to erase you anymore. For now, you must rest. This process was very taxing on both your body and soul.” She suggested before snapping her fingers.

I wanted to go search for Celia right away, and so did Zia. But once God snapped her fingers, trying to stay awake was an absolutely losing game. Abusing her powers, God easily made me and Zia fall asleep. Hopefully, we will not be sleeping for a long time…