Welcome to the climax of the arc. Chapter 120 aka the end of Arc 3 will be uploaded on Thursday. I will also announce what I have to say.
Thank you to OdeToAKite, Michael, JewBot9000, Jonathan Newman, Kolonji Francois, Samuel Ochoa, taw, Nasior and Morgan for always being patient and supporting in what I do.
----------------------------------------------------
Music playing: Fashion - Britney Mason
Ivy looked much different than her usual form. She was as tall as Seraphina now and had the look of a CEO. A coat clipped around her neck with white long sleeves and black slacks. She was applying makeup in her room, and Being was…amused to say the least.
She poured herself a cup of tea with a floating teapot and sipped,
"I understand the need to listen to music while changing, but you know, you have powers relative to mine. You could snap your fingers and have everything on you. Isn't that more efficient?"
Ivy adjusted her coat, "And act all godly? Please. I would much rather do the work. Besides, it's not always that I have to go back to Earth."
Being sighed, "Look. Why do you need to go back there? Is it about the pink-haired girl? She's not a threat to us, Earth, or even to you. And seriously, why the need for a formal getup?"
Ivy twirled her handbag as if fishing for compliments, "Don't I look cute?"
Being raised an eyebrow, and her tone was more sarcastic,
"Uh huh. Seriously, do you need to go back to Earth? Are you even sure your powers are detecting her right?"
Ivy pouted at her and flipped her off, "I am offended you think my powers are wrong. Secondly, I am going back there to just have a little coffee with this girl. She seems very interested in MY ARIC."
Being put away her tea, "Sometimes, I can't tell if you're acting possessive or you're actually possessive. Which is bad if it was the latter, since you know, you're one of the pillars here."
Ivy tore through a hole in space and put on her sunglasses, "Well, whatever you think of me, please make sure Nathan doesn't fuck things up. He knows about the girl as well and knows that I–"
Being pushed, she and Ivy were sucked in. The music faded away as Ivy cursed at her and Being simply sipped her tea,
"Speaking of him, I need to sort out his sibling. I don't know how they got into contact with Theodore, but I am guessing Nathaniel is playing fate behind me again."
Being cracked her knuckles, "Maybe, I need to put him in that time capsule."
—------------------------------------------------------
Ivy walked through the streets of Cologne, Germany. To the average person, she looked like the most typical successful CEO. It also helped (or didn't) that she had a couple of bodyguards around her.
Why would I need bodyguards? The question is, why not!
She chuckled, and her bodyguards simply breathed out heavily. Ivy has been their CEO for 10 years now and owns the cosmetic industry in Germany. To them, Ivy or on Earth, Vivian, had always been there.
Ivy sat down at a coffee table and signed them to go wait at a distance. The bodyguards obliged and stood 20 feet away. A pink-haired lady dressed in a cute sundress with sunglasses on appeared in front of her, and the guards were confused about how she got past them.
"I thought you wouldn't meet me," Ivy said with a snarky tone.
She put down her sun hat and clasped her fingers together, "And why wouldn't I, Miss Ivy? I mean, it's rare to see you in this body rather than your clone doing the work for you."
She waved her hand at her, "Yeah, yeah. I'm cutting to the chase. Why are you inside my man?"
"Your man?" She repeated before smiling and placing her hand near her cheek,
"Ahh, Aric. Does it even matter? I haven't committed a crime, have I?"
Ivy looked a little annoyed, "Minus the fact that you're indirectly challenging my authority by guiding him, I'd say showing him those visions without him pressing the button is quite the disturbance."
'Aphrodite' gestured at a waiter and ordered a cup of coffee and frappe. She looked at Ivy with a smile,
"Would you rather him find out he's a mistake? That being in that world is the reason why so many catastrophes are bound to happen? All I did was take the original vision and trim it a little. I didn't want his past self telling him that he shouldn't exist."
She shrugged, "He's already been through enough turmoil, Ivy, don't you think?. He barely moved on from his ex-wife, he misses his kids, and he survived two death encounters. I haven't even mentioned the pain he endured under Seraphina before they got their shit together."
Ivy wanted to be angry at her, but couldn't. The waiter came back with a frappe for Ivy and the coffee for 'Aphrodite.'
"Danke." They both said.
Ivy sipped on her frappe and felt herself calming down a little,
"That's not for you to decide," Ivy muttered.
'Aphrodite' looked at her with one eyebrow raised, "Really? Then."
She snapped her fingers and the entire surrounding changed into the Royal City. The bodyguards were unaware as these two appeared to be at the table and talking, but Ivy and 'Aphrodite' were in another timeline.
The Royal City was destroyed, along with every leader and noble, dead. The Narxuia school of magic was destroyed, and people were being executed publicly. King William was next in line to die, and Seraphina was watching him with a cold look.
"I'm sure you've seen this future, Ivy. But this is what happens if Aric learns about the true vision and runs away. Seraphina fully embraces her darkness and becomes the tyrant that Narxuia doesn't deserve."
SNAP
"Knowing that she became a tyrant, Aric tries to subdue her but ultimately fails and dies to her sword."
Aric lay motionless on the ground while Seraphina looked at him with emotionless eyes. Strangely enough, she was crying despite her lack of emotions.
"But you already knew that, Ivy. You know the pros and cons of him watching that, and I know you're willing to gamble on his goodwill and on yourself so that you can convince him to stay. But…"
She snapped her fingers, and every timeline shown was Aric dead and Seraphina becoming a tyrant.
"I have not found a single timeline where Aric wins. Millions of possibilities and not a single one I found where Aric could even kill her, let alone stop this."
She snapped her fingers again, and they were both back at the coffee shop, sipping their drinks as if nothing had happened.
Ivy maintained her calm attitude, but something in the air suggested that she was angry,
"I understand your concern, but I assure you, Aric will put an end to this. He WILL get his happy ending and NOBODY will die. And even if he were to die, I would stop that from happening. I know that there is no feasible way for him to beat her yet but that doesn't stop me from guiding him to a new timeline."
'Aphrodite' swallowed her drink and looked at her with a concerned look,
"Sooner or later, the bubble will pop. Right now, it's smooth sailing, but who's to say that it won't change? That one day, your choice or his will inevitably start the cycle. The cycle where nobody wins. Everything that was planned for him is useless. This new path…is something none of you understand, or if you do, you're being ignorant about it. Seraphina's untapped potential is greater than anyone else's. Unless we solve the root of the cause, every future ends this way."
She manifested a screen between them, but to the rest of the world, there was no such thing. She swiped each timeline rapidly. Every timeline ends with Seraphina being a tyrant and ultimately leading the world to its end with Theodore in the background,
"Every single one of these timelines includes you, Ivy. I have searched countless timelines, trying to find where you're not included, but that's not possible. You are always there."
Ivy's forehead started to have a visible vein,
"You may be her sister, but I can see why she doesn't call you by name anymore. You're really annoying, you know that? I know how to deal with this, and I sure as hell DO NOT need your concern over this. Go fix something else."
'Aphrodite's lips shuddered, and she looked away. She was hurt by her words but decided to swallow them and answer back,
"I am…only saying this because I have seen months of preparations go down the drain. I've witnessed so many timelines where nothing solved the root of the problem. All because of a system that prevents us from helping. We are…powerful and we should use that power to help the people, but because of these…rules, our hands are tied, all because of what? Some hypothetical law that says the more we interfere, the more things will change?"
She turned her face back to face her, "What kind of reasoning is that? What's the use of becoming a god then? To just watch your people suffer? To just watch the end of humanity all for the sake of the greater good? I wanted to meet you because you're one of the few people I know who'd break these kinds of laws. Who finds a way to say 'fuck you' to my sister. Who ultimately loves humanity so much that you would sacrifice yourself to save them."
She grabbed Ivy's hand gently, and Ivy looked down at her hand,
"If you don't do something about it, you will have to start back from zero. You need to do something that could alter the fate of the world and change it. Something that changes the fundamentals of the story."
Ivy pondered it while staring at her hand. She removed her hand from hers and looked at her. She smiled with her eyes closed,
"Don't worry, Pandora. My plans will outrun fate. You can watch it all with your authority, okay?"
She stood up with her frappe, "Thank you for the frappe, by the way. It's already been paid in full."
Ivy walked away hastily while her bodyguard rushed over to her. Ivy looked worried,
Not a single victory, huh. I knew that, but I didn't think she'd use her authority to that extent. Millions of timelines and not a single time I won?
Just who is Theodore getting help from? Nathaniel? But he's not that smart…I know he is in contact with Callista, but surely even she's not that smart to outsmart Aric thousands of times, let alone millions.
A guard opened the door for her as she entered her Maybach, and her driver drove off. The guards noticed her distressed,
"Ms Vivian, are you okay?" Jacob said.
Ivy looked at him and sighed, "I'm fine, Jacob. I just heard some very spicy gossip from Miss Ely just now. Please, don't worry about me. Oh, and Emery?"
Emery looked at his rear-view mirror, "Yes, Ms Vivian?"
"Can you please prepare a flight to Hungary? I have some important business over there."
He nodded, "Of course, when would you like to go?"
Ivy looked a little concerned, "Now, preferably."
Emery raised his eyebrow and simply chuckled, "You're making an old man work overtime today. I am getting paid for this, right?"
"Yes." She said with a heavy breath, "I'll pay triple, just get me to Hungary."