Kyle had always felt there was something off about this girl.
The way she had been so eager to meet him. The way she never seemed to mind being physically close to him in the arena, despite always keeping a respectful distance from her boyfriend, the one person who actually had the right to be that intimate with her.
Something about her behavior never sat right with him.
Still, he had kept those thoughts to himself.
Until now, she had never crossed the line. Nothing she did was blatant enough for him to confront her or judge her outright.
But showing up inside his home uninvited and casually sitting on the windowsill of his bedroom?
That was more than enough.
At this point, calling her a weirdo would be putting it lightly.
No.
She was a criminal.
Breaking into someone’s home and violating their privacy was unquestionably a crime.
’But how did she get past the security?’
Blake had chosen this apartment specifically because of its security measures. Back then, Kyle had been the target of a Special-ranked Nightwalker, so the building had been one of the few places he considered safe.
Then how was she sitting here without triggering a single alarm?
"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked, his body tense as he kept Aquilla at the ready.
Maya remained perfectly calm, as though she didn’t even realize how serious the situation was.
She slowly hopped down from the windowsill and stood upright.
Meeting his gaze, she smiled softly.
"I didn’t have much time left... so I decided to spend it with you."
Kyle frowned.
What was she talking about?
"Maya... in case you don’t know, I have a girlfriend. And I don’t even like you enough to be happy that you’re here."
Her smile faltered.
"How can you say that?" she asked quietly. "You once told me that talking to me always calmed you down."
Kyle could only stare at her in disbelief.
Was this girl mentally unstable or something?
They had met for the first time that very afternoon. There was no way he had ever said anything like that to her.
Then what on earth was she talking about?
"Look, Maya... Adam is a dear brother of mine. If he found out you were here alone with me, things would get messy."
What man would tolerate his girlfriend being alone in another man’s house, especially at this hour?
And then there was Amanda.
She certainly wouldn’t be happy if she found out about this either.
Maya let out a quiet sigh.
"I’m a little sad that you didn’t recognize me. But... this might help."
She slowly raised a hand.
Kyle’s muscles tightened as he prepared to fire an arrow at her.
"Huh?"
...only to realize Aquilla was no longer in his grasp.
Instead, the golden bow had appeared in Maya’s hand.
Then, inside his mind, Aquilla’s childish voice echoed excitedly.
{Mama! Mama! Mama!}
Kyle’s eyes widened.
The pieces finally fell into place.
Until now, no one else had been able to touch Aquilla. Yet Maya had summoned the bow into her hand with nothing more than a thought.
And the way Aquilla had reacted to her now...
It was the same as the first time Maya had appeared before him.
"Ethara?" he called out, his voice filled with both disbelief and astonishment.
The woman smiled faintly.
"We finally meet, Kyle."
"..."
He was speechless.
The person he had been suspecting was a lunatic all this time was actually someone he had known for the past seven months.
No wonder she had seemed so eager to meet him.
"But how?" he asked. "How are you here?"
Meeting Tyr had already confirmed his suspicion that his viewers were all deities who, for obvious reasons, couldn’t simply descend and meet him in person.
"Ah... so you’re using the same method as WarHorse. Maya is your apostle or something similar?"
Ethara nodded with a gentle smile.
"Indeed. This child was blessed by me some time ago. She recently met the one who shares the same bloodline as you. The young man seemed quite eager to get close to her, so I saw it as an opportunity to finally meet you."
Kyle blinked in surprise.
"Wait... so that’s why you kept stopping him from touching you? Don’t tell me the real Maya doesn’t have feelings for Adam."
That would definitely break the guy’s heart.
It was obvious Adam was completely smitten with Maya.
Ethara let out a soft sigh.
"I’ll leave those feelings for the child herself to sort out. For now, let us enjoy the little time we have together."
Kyle smiled, his shoulders finally relaxing as he nodded before gesturing toward the bed.
Ethara sat down with her usual elegance, her posture perfectly straight as she quietly looked around the room.
"I liked your previous home better, though this one is nice as well."
Kyle chuckled.
"That place was tiny."
"But you loved it," Ethara replied, her tone carrying quiet certainty.
Kyle rubbed the back of his head.
"I mean... it was the first place I ever lived in on my own. So of course it means a lot to me." He let out a small sigh before smiling. "But this place is nice too. I like living here."
Ethara gave a faint hum, the corners of her lips lifting ever so slightly.
"How has life been, Kyle? Some time ago, it was painful to watch you force yourself to smile and act cheerful whenever you spoke with us."
Kyle’s shoulders drooped.
"So you noticed, huh?" He let out a bitter laugh. "You’re right. Back then, I was just dragging myself through life until One-Eyed gave me that gift."
Awakening Genesis had become the turning point that completely changed the course of his life.
He no longer had to rely on his family for everything.
For the first time, he could clearly see a future for himself.
Amanda had returned to his life.
And he had found a few friends he could truly trust.
"And then there are all of you." Kyle smiled warmly. "You, especially, Ethara. You’ve always been such a supportive viewer. Your words really inspired me."
His smile softened.
"Ethara... thank you for being there for me."
The smile on Ethara’s face slowly disappeared.
Her eyes widened slightly as she stared at him in silence.
Kyle blinked awkwardly.
The atmosphere had suddenly become strangely tense.
What was with this mood?
A moment later, Ethara spoke.
"Kyle... I want to tell you my real name."
Kyle nodded.
"Sure."
Ethara was more or less just her online name, much like WarHorse’s.
However, instead of answering, she rose to her feet and slowly walked toward him.
"Not like this..." she whispered as she leaned closer.
Kyle instinctively tried to lean back.
"E-Ethara... h-huh?"
Yet his body refused to move.
It felt as though he had been frozen to the chair.
She drew closer with every passing second, her face inches from his, her lips dangerously near his own.
Then, much to his relief, she gently pressed her forehead against his.
In the very next instant...
Everything turned white.
°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. Mind dropping a comment or maybe a review?