Chapter 12: “Why Did You Come Back to Me?”

The villa was too quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet, either. This was the kind that makes you aware of your own breathing, like you’re trespassing in a holy place you didn’t mean to enter.

I sat on the couch again, staring at the fire. It flickered, hungry and restless—just like the woman who owned it. Thalira moved silently in the next room. I heard the soft clink of glass, the whisper of fabric, and then her voice:

“You didn’t have to come back.”

She walked in carrying two steaming cups, wearing… gods help me… not armor this time. Just a silk robe, crimson and barely tied, clinging in all the wrong—or right—places. The firelight painted shadows on her skin, and suddenly, breathing felt like a side quest I wasn’t prepared for.

I looked away so hard my neck almost snapped. “Yeah, well… I had nothing better to do. No friends. No future. Figured I’d come bother you.”

Her laugh was low and warm, curling around me like smoke. “You’ve always been like this. Deflecting with words.”

“Better than deflecting with swords,” I muttered.

She handed me a cup. Our fingers brushed. My brain did the equivalent of a blue screen.

“Drink,” she said.

I sipped. It was some kind of herbal tea, but the taste didn’t matter because the system chose that exact moment to pop up like an uninvited pervert.

---

[Affinity with Thalira: +25]

Emotional Bond Detected!

“Warning: The following route may induce uncontrollable heat. Proceed… or don’t. Coward.”

---

I glared at the text in my mind. “You shut up,” I hissed under my breath.

“What?” Thalira tilted her head.

“Nothing. Just… talking to myself.”

She gave me a look that said ‘You’ve always been weird’ and then sat beside me. Not across. Not at a safe diplomatic distance. Beside me. Our knees brushed. My soul left my body and filed a harassment complaint.

“You’ve grown,” she said softly, eyes studying my face like she was memorizing it. “Stronger. Sharper. But… your eyes are still the same.”

“I guess trauma doesn’t change eye color,” I muttered.

Her lips curved. “Still hiding behind words.”

“And you’re still impossible to read.”

That made her laugh again—soft, bittersweet. She looked at the fire for a long time before speaking.

“Why did you come back to me, Kira?”

The question hit harder than a dragon’s tail.

“I didn’t… plan to,” I admitted. “I just… saw you. And suddenly, it felt like—like something I’d lost came back.”

Silence. Then, her hand—warm, steady—rested on mine.

“You were a lonely boy,” she said. “Crying in the ruins. I wanted to save you. But I couldn’t stay. They wouldn’t let me.”

“They?” I asked.

“The temple. The court. Everyone who thought men should stay weak so women could keep ruling Gaianthra. They said you’d ‘interfere’ with prophecy.”

My laugh was hollow. “Guess they were right. I’m a walking interference.”

Her fingers tightened slightly. “No. You’re something else entirely.”

---

Flash.

A lullaby hummed softly. Arms cradling me. The scent of ash and roses. Her voice whispering, “Sleep, Kira. I’m here.”

The memory cracked open like an old chest, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

“You used to sing to me,” I said.

She blinked. “You remember?”

“Barely. Just… warmth. When everything else burned.”

Her eyes shimmered in the firelight. “I wanted to give you something safe, even if it was only for a little while.”

---

The silence after that wasn’t awkward. It was heavy. Full. Like a dam about to break.

She shifted closer. Too close. I felt the silk of her robe brush my arm, the faint scent of smoke and spice on her skin. Her hair spilled across my shoulder like a crimson waterfall.

My brain screamed. My body… didn’t listen.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “For leaving you alone.”

“Not your fault,” I said, voice rougher than I liked. “The world decided that for us.”

“But I still think of you,” she murmured, and before I could process that, her head rested lightly against my shoulder.

Cue every alarm in my system—and the system itself joining in.

---

[System Alert: Physical Proximity Detected!]

Affinity Surge: +10

“Warning: Silk Robe Status—Loose. Viewer Discretion Advised.”

---

I almost choked on air. Seras snickered in my mind like the worst wingwoman ever. “Oh, Master… you’re blushing. How cute.”

“Shut. Up,” I shot back mentally.

Thalira didn’t notice—or pretended not to. Her hand brushed mine again. Her robe slipped slightly at the shoulder, revealing a curve of skin that made every moral fiber in me start a riot.

I stared at the fire. Because staring anywhere else was hazardous to mental health.

“You’re warm,” she said softly.

“You’re literally sitting next to a fireplace.”

She laughed. “Always the same.”

We stayed like that. Her leaning on me. My brain short-circuiting. The system humming like a smug voyeur.

Nothing happened.

Nothing… physical.

But the way her fingers lingered on mine, the way her breath ghosted against my neck—it felt more intimate than anything I’d ever known.

---

When the fire burned low, she finally stood. Her robe swayed, and I swear the universe slowed down just to spite me.

“You should rest,” she said gently. “Tomorrow… we’ll talk about the Molten Pass.”

“Right,” I croaked like an idiot.

She smiled softly—the kind of smile that makes you want to believe in second chances. Then she vanished into the shadows of the hall.

The door closed behind her with a whisper.

---

I collapsed back on the couch, staring at the ceiling like it owed me answers.

The system, of course, had none. Just another obnoxious pop-up:

---

[Route Progress: 42% — “Ashes That Glow”]

Memory Core Progress: 2/3

Bonus Affinity: “A Mother’s Lullaby”

Passive Unlock: Heat Resistance +15%

“You resisted temptation… barely. How noble. Or pathetic. We can’t tell.”

---

Seras slid from the shadows, her serpent eyes gleaming. “You smell like her,” she teased. “Are you going to claim her, Master?”

I groaned. “Go coil yourself.”

She purred. “I only coil around you.”

Perfect. Now I had two problems: a jealous serpent goddess and feelings I had no business having.

Because if this keeps up…

I’m not sure which will burn me first.