"Let go! Let go right now!"
"Nope~"
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Are you some octopus monster?!"
"Oh, sure, I'm definitely an octopus—or maybe even a paramecium. And I ain't letting go."
As Sirin regained her strength, their usual tug-of-war resumed. Once again, Sirin desperately tried to pry off the clingy Kiana, contorting her face into bizarre comical expressions, but Kiana remained unfazed.
Just as both were expecting another uneventful day to conclude without change, their private mental domain welcomed an unexpected visitor after a long hiatus.
"Having fun?"
Zeke suddenly appeared beside them, rubbing his chin curiously.
"!!!" ×2
In unison, their familiar voices resonated with contrasting emotions - Kiana's filled with delight and Sirin's gripped by fear.
"How did you get here?!" × 2
They both exclaimed simultaneously, yet the sentiments behind their words were starkly opposite.
Finally, Kiana released her grip on Sirin's waist, collapsing limply onto the ground. With trembling hands, she reached out to Zeke, weakly pleading,
"Zeke, I'm so tired... Hug me, please~"
Kiana's voice was feeble.
Exploiting cuteness for sympathy deserved a rebuke, but seeing her genuinely exhausted stirred Zeke's concern.
He knelt down, enveloping Kiana in his arms, gently touching her temples with a tender look in his eyes.
Mental energy has distinct characteristics; thus, Zeke couldn't effortlessly replenish Kiana's depleted vitality. However, he could provide some relief by performing a soothing massage-like technique to alleviate her mental fatigue.
After a moment, Kiana's expression, which seemed close to collapsing from exhaustion, visibly softened. Her dull eyes regained a spark of life. She then leaned affectionately against Zeke's chest and softly asked,
"What brings you here, Zeke? Didn't we agree to handle this ourselves?"
"There must be limits; you two have been dragging it out too long," Zeke murmured gently as he caressed Kiana's face.
Sirin occupying half of Kiana's mental domain posed both a burden and a latent risk for her. Zeke had eventually devised a practical solution—abandoning the Void ability altogether and simply erasing Sirin from Kiana's mind. Since Kiana had acquired the Herrscher of Flame Core and mastered the Sword Goddess, her consciousness strength was incomparable to before, making the loss of one Herrscher of the Void Core no longer unbearable.
However, after experiencing a series of events, Kiana developed empathy towards Sirin and would never allow Zeke to employ such drastic measures.
As a result, Zeke found himself truly helpless against the stubborn Sirin, ultimately opting to let her be and maintain the initial truce between her and Kiana.
Thus, Zeke eagerly welcomed Cecilia's intention to resolve Sirin's emotional conflicts and mend the issues between Kiana and Sirin.
But there must be limits. Cecilia lacked understanding of mental domains; she couldn't fully grasp how immense a strain it placed on Kiana to open her mental domain daily to accommodate another consciousness while simultaneously suppressing Sirin's resistance.
If this continued, Zeke wasn't sure if Sirin's issue could be resolved, but he knew for certain that problems would arise for Kiana.
This girl would always put on a brave face for her mother, no matter how much she suffered, never wanting to worry Cecilia or refuse her.
Zeke pondered these concerns with a sigh, reflecting on his oversight. He should have intervened earlier instead of succumbing helplessly to this silly brat's pleading and charm!
"Sorry, did I make Zeke worry again?" Kiana heard Zeke's sigh and playfully stuck out her tongue from within his embrace.
Rolling his eyes, Zeke lightly smacked Kiana's soft and round behind, exasperatedly asking,
"What do you think?"
"Eh hehe! Well, there's nothing you can do now; I've already clung onto you. You'll just have to bear with worrying about me!"
"Thick-skinned and shameless!" Zeke felt a toothache at Kiana's unabashed audacity, yet unable to counter her, he gave her another playful swat.
"Aiya! Stop it, I'm already feeling awful. Can't you be gentler?"
"...Fine."
Despite maintaining a stern expression, Zeke relented and hugged Kiana tightly.
As they embraced and conversed, Sirin, left unnoticed on the sidelines, gulped nervously and discreetly opened a space tunnel.
I need to slip away now! Things will get even more complicated once that guy arrives!
Sirin cautiously turned around and darted towards the space tunnel.
"Bang!"
"Zzzt—"
Just as they were about to enter the space tunnel, Sirin felt like she hit a glass wall. Her surprised face pressed against the invisible barrier, contorting comically before sliding down.
"Aaah! What do you think you're doing, bastard?!"
Sirin jumped up and down furiously, completely losing her queenly poise, consumed by hysterical rage.
This couple was driving her insane!
Zeke cradled Kiana securely, unfazed by Sirin's outburst, and calmly said, "Have a good chat; we won't harm you."
As Zeke's casual words echoed, Cecilia appeared in their space while he vanished with Kiana.
The silence stretched, creating a tense standoff between the peculiar mother-daughter duo. After a moment of mutual gaze, relief washed over Cecilia's features, and she smiled warmly.
A tense silence filled the air.
After exchanging glances for a moment, this peculiar mother-daughter pair revealed their unique bond. Cecilia broke it with a relieved smile.
"It's been a while, Sirin."
"Ahhh! Stay away from me!"
By the time Sirin realized her predicament, she had already retreated to the corner of Zeke's confined space, surrounded by multiple Lances of Subspace, poised defensively as if facing her natural predator.
Her expression then contorted.
Damn! What kind of reaction is this?!
Sirin mentally roared, blaming those two bastards for pushing her too far and exhausting all her rationality.
Cecilia remained standing, inadvertently rubbing her chin. Although puzzled by her daughter cowering in the corner, she displayed understanding towards her long-lost child, clapping appreciatively:
"Bravo, bravo!"
Indeed, as a mother, even when faced with her daughter's peculiar behavior, one must not easily bruise her self-esteem—that was Cecilia's belief.
Meanwhile, Sirin's face shifted rapidly through shades of pale, dark, and green. After a series of grimaces, she managed to squeeze out a single word between clenched teeth:
"F**k!"
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha!"
"So even Sirin has her day now! Oh boy, this is killing me, killing me with laughter!"
Outside the rectangular space, Zeke cradled Kiana in his arms, hidden from sight and sound to those within. Kiana wrapped her arms around Zeke's neck, giggling uncontrollably as she squirmed in his embrace like an excited puppy.
Zeke's lips curved up, tightening his grip to prevent Kiana from slipping out of his hold. He said gently,
"Calm down; you might fall."
"Okayyyy~"
Despite Zeke's intervention being evident in the progress made, Kiana couldn't help but beam widely at the unfolding scene.