Sensing a presence always left a heavy feeling in Nova’s body. The more people he detected in the Realm of Desires, the heavier his body became. He could see who was in this world if he closed his eyes while feeling the extra weight. If someone would leave, his body would become lighter. That was how his body was feeling right now. He no longer felt Arcturus’s presence in this realm. This meant he was free to return to his own realm.
The Realm of Desires worked in mysterious ways; the realm added in new areas whenever someone entered. They become permanent when a contract is formed. Nova’s eyes were glued to the red door in front of him. Because Arcturus had formed a contract, the door in this field of aster flowers became permanent. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the flower field, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
He opened the door to the house and entered. The sight of the knocked over cups caught his eyes. When he had fallen unconscious, he was taken back outside of the house, but he could not be seen. Only two people were allowed in the Contract Room. Everyone else would be taken outside. In Nova’s case, he would become invisible. All he could do was watch everything that had unfolded through his closed eyes.
Because he was Souhait’s vessel, he could see everything Souhait did by closing his eyes. Everything that had transpired in the Contract Room burned fresh in his mind. Because he was a vessel, he saw everything through Souhait’s perspective. He recalled Arcturus’s many expressions and his willingness to form a contract. The way his brown eyes glistened with determination shook him to his core.
His legs became weak as he sat down. His thoughts were filled with Arcturus. He felt his entire face heating up as he recalled the first time he had seen him. It had been a while since he saw an actual human being, so he was glad to have some company. What he didn’t expect was his guest having very attractive features that gave him an overall handsome face. He placed his hands on his cheeks; he was burning up. His heartbeat increased. He couldn’t control himself as he let out an internal scream.
OH MY GOODNESS, ARCTURUS IS SO HANDSOME! Is this what having a type feels like? Is this what love at first sight feels like? I always thought someone as old as me couldn’t fall in love, but here I am, falling for someone I’ve only interacted with for a few hours.
There was an excitement he felt within him that he had never felt before. It was a nice feeling. He felt as if it was a sign that good fortune was upon him.
He then heard chuckling. In front of Nova, Souhait appeared. Nova’s eyes were glued to the majestic serpentine creature across from him. Nova and Souhait were two souls sharing one body. While unable to meet each other physically, they were able to compromise by being able to meet each other in this realm. Souhait had always been there for him for a very long time; Nova considered him both family and his dearest companion. They had an unbreakable bond stronger than gravity. He trusted him the most; in turn, Souhait trusted him the most. Their relationship happened to be an indescribable one; it was something more than platonic, but stronger than romantic.
His chuckles resonated in his ears. The excitement he felt quickly became shielded as he wanted to protect it. He became annoyed.
“Don’t laugh!”
“It is rare for you to behave this way. I find it cute.”
Nova became worried. “Am I the type that easily falls for someone’s looks?”
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“How would I know? You have never fallen in love before.”
“Right? Why is it that I am feeling this way all of a sudden?”
“Maybe your bad luck is causing this. Your luck is always bad.”
“But, love should be a good thing, not an unfortunate one!”
The excitement he had bottled up was replaced with uneasiness. His heart sank. He felt uncertain now. “Souhait, did we make the right choice? Was it okay for us to grant Arcturus’s wish? Are you okay with this?”
“All we can do is see how it goes. If Arcturus gives poor results, I will end his life. If he betrays us, I will kill him.” Nova sensed a heavy pressure on him as Souhait spoke in a cold, serious tone. He gulped because he knew Souhait would adhere to his own words.
“If Arcturus heard you say this, he’d be sad. He idolizes you a lot.”
“All he has to do is adhere to the conditions and he will be fine. I do not think he will betray us, but you may never know. Humans are conniving by default.”
Nova sighed. “You really ought to stop being so distrustful of others. If you keep doubting people and distance yourself, nothing will change; we’ll still be alone and unable to complete our goal.”
The word ‘goal’ caused Nova to look at the palm of his right hand, where his contract mark was. In the language of flowers, the aster flower had several meanings; the one he liked the most was faith. Having faith meant being able to trust. Like Souhait, he also had a distrustful view towards humans, but he wanted to have faith in them. He needed to have faith in order to complete their goal.
He placed his hand to his chest. “Souhait, will we be able to complete our goal this time around? Every time we form a contract with someone, they always die and the contract becomes revoked. I always pinned the blame on my misfortune and lost faith as the years went by. Meeting Arcturus gives me this feeling of courage that I’ve never experienced before. Just by looking into his eyes, I can feel that we can complete our goal this time.”
“If you believe so, then I will believe it too.”
Nova could tell Souhait was still skeptical of Arcturus, but he knew Souhait well. Souhait was always looking out for him. They shared the same body, so Nova knew that if Nova made a decision, Souhait would go along with it. He felt blessed to have Souhait in his life.
Nova stood up. He wanted to stay and chat with Souhait for a bit longer, but he knew he had to awaken. He needed to see Arcturus and how his wish was affecting the world now. The power of a contract activated only when Nova awakened.
He took a few steps away from the chair and a few steps towards the door before he stopped. Hesitation came to him when his eyes and hand paused on the doorknob. Doubt overwrote his thoughts. A recollection of his behavior towards Arcturus came back to him. He wasn’t on his worst behavior at that time, but that wasn’t his real self. This true self was gloomy and boring; he frowned more often than he smiled. The cheerful and rather mischievous personality he had shown to Arcturus was actually Souhait channeling his personality into Nova in order to give Nova a good first impression.
He worried about whether Arcturus would like seeing his true self. He worried if he should keep the same farce in order to not break Arcturus’s hopes. He already knew Arcturus wasn’t that sort of person from viewing his memories, but he also knew humans were complex. He worried about the day that Arcturus would tell him he preferred Souhait over him.
“Everything will be fine.” Souhait remarked. Even without saying anything, Souhait knew what Nova was feeling; they shared the same body, so Souhait could feel all of Nova’s emotions and read his thoughts.
If Souhait said everything would be fine, he knew it would be fine. His own worries started easing up; he took a deep breath. He then opened the door. Instead of a field of aster flowers, a black abyss had greeted him. He took a step forward and he found himself falling. He wasn’t worried. He took in the fall as he closed his eyes, hoping to wake up into reality.