The Oracle and her summoned Healer Hero’s conversation, continued…

Lady Mezalune smiles at me, her jagged teeth gleaming like pearls. It’s only been ten seconds – probably less – but our silence feels… thunderous.

Gosh. Good grief! Is she trying to build suspense? Or maybe she’s thinking carefully about how to phrase her question. I dunno. She can be quite the enigma!

“Hmph! Okay! My question for you is...” Lady Mezalune finally says, her voice light but measured. She pauses again for effect. “Well… it’s less of a question and more of something for you to chew on – ‘food for thought’, as some scholarly mortals might say!”

“Uh… okay?” I reply, offering my most polite smile. “Sure, hit me with it.”

“I have to ask you, Little Miss Hero – can you let go of Little Miss Anna, if it comes to that, to fulfil your Prophecy? If it has to be done?”

“What do you mean, ‘let go’ of Anna?”

“Oho! I’m glad you asked!” Lady Mezalune grins and nods, clearly delighted with herself. “Little Miss Iris told me what you told her about events in your previous timeline… and I have to wonder… if Little Miss Anna willingly gave up her life for yours…”

“No matter what, I’ll keep Anna safe,” I interject, feeling the words burn my throat. “I don’t ever want to feel what I felt in Arcadia again—holding her like that in my arms. As she… y’know. Never again, my Lady. Never.”

Lady Mezalune tilts her head curiously as I catch my breath. It feels like someone just punched me right in my stomach, knocking all the wind outta me.

“Because you care about her, Little Miss?”

“I do,” I say quietly. “Like you said before – I care.”

“You care for her – that much is true! But what if protecting her means sacrificing everyone else? Letting it all burn! Would you do that? You care about them too, don’t you?”

Her words feel like a needle slipping beneath my skin. I lower my gaze, chewing on my answer as the weight of her question settles over me. Because, well… she’s right. As a Hero, countless lives and fates are tied to mine – or at least it feels that way.

Lady Mezalune’s smile softens as she leans in, her tiny hands resting lightly on my shoulders. Her touch is slightly cold – a reminder of her sacrifice to protect Eris in her time of need.

“My Lady…” I say, my voice hoarse. “I…”

“I can’t pretend to know what it feels like to lose someone close to you…” Lady Mezalune whispers softly, lowering her head. “In all my centuries of living in this world, I’ve never been close to anyone the way you or Little Miss Iris have been. Immortality has its costs in a world of mortals, I’m afraid.”

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“It sucks,” I state, scowling as I look away. “You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with it.”

“Hmph! And you’re lucky you do! Oh! To love, be loved, and to have loved…” Lady Mezalune answers, her voice quiet but firm as I clench my jaw. “You feel like there’s a hole in your heart, don’t you? Even now, even with Anna here by your side, alive and well.”

“Yeah. I don’t know why.”

It’s true – I don’t. I can’t explain it – not in words, anyway. I do what I do because it feels right. Always has. It’s like some instinct carved deep into me, my north star guiding every decision. For better or worse, it is what it is.

But even so... Some nights, lying in bed when everything’s dark and quiet – when it’s just me and my thoughts – I feel… empty. It’s like something’s missing. Like something’s… gone. Just a little, of course. And yet, it eats at me.

“It’s because you’ve made Anna your everything… for better or worse!” Lady Mezalune declares authoritatively, puffing out her chest with an air of certainty as my gaze returns to her. “Every thought, every choice you’ve made leading up to this very moment as we speak… a self-imposed penance for what you believe was your sin, your failure, in the last timeline!”

“Shit. You think so?”

“I do! Because you think you let her die for your sake, you’ve been doubling down – trying to make up for it however you can!”

Lady Mezalune’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. She’s not wrong. I swore to myself – and Lady Iris – that I’d be stronger and better this time, powerful enough of a Healer to protect Anna and fulfil my Prophecy as a summoned Hero. She’s my Paladin... my anchor in these troubled waters… but just how far am I willing to go to keep her safe? How far will I have to go? If the world pushes back… if things change because I’m here again, altering fate itself…

“I just don’t wanna fuck things up again,” I mutter solemnly as I meet Lady Mezalune’s gaze with quiet resolve. “I want to do right by everyone – Anna, Lady Iris, Eris, you... all the people who believe in me. I wasn’t strong enough before, but I am now. I’ll be the Hero everyone needs me to be. No matter what.”

“Is that so, my Little Miss? If that’s what you believe in…” Lady Mezalune answers happily, her grin spreading wide as she nods enthusiastically. “Do what you must to make sure it’s so! But also consider this…”

She pauses momentarily, her tone turning softer and more contemplative.

“Letting go doesn’t necessarily mean losing her.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“In the last timeline, Little Miss Anna gave her life for yours,” Lady Mezalune explains. “She used Divine Intervention, sacrificing the chance to love you so that you might live to fulfil your Prophecy and save the world! And therein lies my question for you, Little Miss Hero – would you be willing to do the same for her? Even if it means giving up the chance to love her forever?”

“I…”

Her words twist like a knife deep in my chest. And uh… good grief. I’m tongue-tied once again. But why? I want so damn badly to say yes – I want to say I’d do it without hesitation, just as Anna did for me before. But if I gave up my life for hers… I’d lose the chance to be with her, happily ever after… and it’s a fate no different from letting her die, and…”

Fucking hell. I know what the right thing to do oughta be. So why the fuck am I hesitating?

“Don’t worry—you don’t have to answer me now! Just think about it for the rest of today, along with all we’ve discussed thus far!” Lady Mezalune exclaims playfully, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Let it guide your heart and strengthen your resolve to become the Hero you want to be!”

I nod slowly. She’s right – I need time alone to think. While Anna and Eris are out, I should find a quiet place to sit with these thoughts and sort through the tangled mess of my heart.

“Take your time, Little Miss!” Lady Mezalune adds, giving me one last bright, toothy grin. “Whatever you decide... I know in my heart… in my heart of hearts, you’ll do the right thing. Because that’s what a Hero does!”