Chapter 535: Woke Up
Chapter 535: Woke Up
“Mmm…” Zafira groaned slightly, reopening her eyes.
She was met with a large chandelier overhead, as well as Rael sitting not too far off to the side. Outside, it was dark, almost as if she had slept for a long time.
Rael spotted her lingering gaze not long after and tilted his head with a smile.
“You were a little tired, weren’t you?”
“…” Zafira’s expression softened. Yet, as she gathered her thoughts, she soon reached the part that had made her pass out.
“Who was that kid?”
“Did you forget?” Rael’s expression cracked slightly.
She nodded, and so he continued.
“Uhh… He’s not my biological kid. Found him on a shelf as an egg and took him in… It wasn’t anything like what you’re thinking. It’s like a bird seeing the first person upon opening their eyes as family. The woman you saw, the redhead… the child calls her mama. I’m pretty sure he’ll start calling you mama as well very soon.”
“I see…” Zafira heard him out. “I overreacted.”
“I would’ve overreacted too if you had come home with an unknown child.” Rael chuckled, scooting closer. He brushed her hair behind her ear, then put a hand on her cheek.
“I promise that one day I’ll let you experience how it feels to have your own child call you mama.”
Zafira’s eyes widened at his statement. Her cheeks flushed, but instead of turning away, she leaned in and delivered a kiss on his lips.
Rael obviously returned the kiss with interest. Sleeping with her just yet was off the table… kind of. He would not initiate it, but if she were to make a move, he would obviously reciprocate.
However, that didn’t seem to be the case, as so far, the two stuck to deep kisses and a little bit of touching. It wasn’t anything too grand, but Rael accepted this kind of affection and warmth with a smile on his face.
And so, after making out for a couple of minutes without interruption, the two parted. Zafira’s expression was still flushed. Even Rael was slightly flustered now.
Even after so many years had passed, he thought he got over her charms. He didn’t. Not even close.
“You know, I’m not letting you leave again.” Zafira placed her hand over his. She stared into his eyes and continued. “After sleeping, I vaguely remember what happened. We separated when you went to the Memory Record. You said we would meet again soon… but I can’t remember what happened to cause my memory to disappear.”
“That…” Rael’s eyes darted around before he finally decided to tell her the truth. “Do you still remember Solenne?”
“Solenne? I think so.” Zafira pouted. “You talked about her quite a lot after we were done with our nightly duties. I thought you were trying to make me jealous, but then you told me about the prophecy and what you had seen when you invaded that strong individual’s mind. So in short, I remember her very well.”
Rael nodded. “The prophecy came true, in a way. At least, partially.”
He went ahead and explained to her what he had experienced during that time, especially how he had to deal with Solenne when she had just descended here.
It was a tough fight. He lost, obviously. But right after that, he had managed to invade her mind and sit around there for quite some time, only to find out later that she was aware of his presence all this time.
Yet she didn’t react. That was the one thing he couldn’t understand, or rather, he refused to understand.
Nonetheless, with Zafira caught up to date, silence descended.
He could see that angry expression on Zafira’s face grow. She was angry at Solenne and what she had done to make them separate. Moreover, she was angry at herself for not being there to help him.
Rael didn’t blame her. He didn’t even come close to blaming anyone he cared for. He knew that, in the end, the circumstances that led to that event were something he couldn’t control.
He was too weak, and he had no way to ward off strong people from doing whatever they pleased with him.
But of course, after coming back from the Depths and after initiating the first punch to Solenne by destroying the Silver City, Rael was determined not to repeat his past mistakes.
Especially the vision he had seen in this Prophetic Realm.
It wouldn’t come true.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that alone,” Zafira replied, lowering her head and clenching her fists. “I feel like an idiot. There I was, training and having a fun time. All the while, you—”
“Let me stop you there,” Rael interjected, placing a finger over her lips. “You’re not responsible for anything that has happened to me. But hey, don’t you think it’s about time you told me what happened on your side? Training with Anubis and the Colorless Goddess doesn’t sound like a very uninteresting time.”
Zafira raised her head to meet his eyes, then sighed.
“Lilith and I asked Anubis to contact the Colorless Goddess. After that, we went from world to world, killing monsters and liberating those worlds.”
Rael tilted his head. “Liberating?”
She nodded. “The Colorless Goddess feeds off balance, or that’s what she said. The worlds we liberated were filled with demons and all sorts of monsters that disrupted the natural order. Basically… we went around killing the strongest monsters to give the humans and other species a chance to thrive.”
“How noble.” Rael chuckled, rubbing her hand instinctively. “Though, the two times I checked in on you, you were training. Is that…?”
“We train for twelve hours a day… we liberate worlds for eight hours a day, we eat for one, and then sleep for three,” Zafira replied, exhausted. “That’s why I passed out earlier… though the child reveal might’ve played a part in that too.”
The corner of Rael’s lips twitched, but he didn’t comment on it.
It seemed like, despite what happened, she had gotten a good deal of training. She had also grown more powerful, incomparably so.
But in the end, she was still the very same Zafira he knew… He just wasn’t the same Rael she knew, however.
After all, he had spent seventy-four years alone. His exchanges with the people of the Silver City only made him realize something had changed, he just wasn’t sure what.
Nonetheless, that wasn’t important now. The two were together, and since Zafira was wide awake and the others he had coerced into stepping out and getting a snack elsewhere, the two now had so much time to spend together.
And of course, sex wasn’t the only way to spend time together.
Rael rose from the bean bag and twirled on his heels dramatically, extending his hand toward her in a heroic fashion before getting down on one knee.
Sure, it was corny, but…
“Zafira, do you want to go on a date?”