LIVIA'S POV
I felt a slow-paced breathing from my pillow. I slowly opened my eyes when I felt a small, very distant vibration in the ground. I looked to my side where my head was resting. A huge mountain covered my view. 'A mountain?... Wait, that's not a mountain, that's Leo...' I kept admiring the view, resting my head on Eleonora's shoulder as I slowly started to fully wake up.
I stretched my arms a bit as I noticed the cave. 'It's the second time I've woken up here... So it's not a dream after all,' I thought as I opened my status window.
[Status Window]
Name: Olivia Reed
True Name: None
Gifts: None
Innate Abilities: [Hyperfocus]
Flaws: [Obsessive]
Class: None
[Hyperfocus]
You are very good at analyzing things that you like.
You can easily understand almost anything that catches your attention at first glance. You are good at noticing the hidden patterns, mysteries and different theorems in order to understand concepts, situations or people.
What an ordinary person will take a week to comprehend, it will take you an hour.
[Obsessive]
You like few things in life, and the ones you like, you like them A LOT.
You tend to ignore things that are not related to the things you like, and spend a huge amount of time thinking about the things that you like.
You have an unhealthy aversion to being separated from the things you like, leading you to act recklessly in order to keep close to that.
'Why does it say it like that? It almost makes me sound like I'm crazy,' I pouted at the screen and scrolled down, looking at the thing that really interested me the most.
[You have 7 new notifications]
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to give you a Gift. Do you accept it? Y/N"
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? Y/N"
"The Goddess who does not believe in friendships is interested in you"
"The Goddess who follows the rules is arguing with The Goddess who does not believe in friendship"
"A considerable amount of other Gods started to show interest in you..."
"The Goddess who follows the rules is arguing with an unknown number of Gods"
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? Y/N"
I kept looking at the messages that kept arriving from time to time. 'I don't know what to do... Why are there so many? Should I really pick one?' I kept sitting beside a sleeping Leo as I remembered the past discussion she had with Milaine.
'Can we really survive this place for a whole year?' I crossed my arms around my knees as I leaned again toward Leo's shoulder.
'Leo said that nothing is free... and Milaine said it's worth the price,' I thought as I looked at the sleeping woman who was using Leo's tablecloth. 'She looks a bit older than me, but younger than Leo. Maybe she's a college student?' As I thought, I noticed something. A purple book was in front of Leo's crossed legs.
It was not the first time I saw it. The first time was when I opened the tablecloth to use it like a blanket for Leo. 'Was she reading it?' I moved my head a little to look at the book closer. 'Looks like an encyclopedia... mmm, not really. Maybe a diary? Is it Leo's diary? Is that the reason why she tried to keep it safe in the tablecloth?'
I moved a bit closer, my gaze shifting past Leo's thighs toward her other belongings. 'But why are there two? The other book was green and had ornaments similar to the purple one. Maybe I should take a closer look...'
As I was starting to stand up, I jumped a little from fright when I noticed a slight tremor in the sand of the ground. Milaine was already awake and looking at me. She didn't appear to be altered by the tremor. "Livia, come here for a sec," she whispered and made a gesture for me to come closer.
'Well, if Leo is still sleeping, and she is so calm, I guess it's nothing, right?' I lied to myself in hopes of calming the growing anxiety. 'Besides, why does she call me Livia? Just because Leo uses my nickname doesn't mean that she can,' I thought as I started to walk slowly to her. "Y-yes? Something is wrong? Do we move?" I asked in a low tone.
Milaine pointed to the place next to her. "Not yet," she said as she cleaned her eyes a bit. I sat down.
"Then? Is it because Leo is sleeping? I was keeping watch for her, so don't worry," I lied, making a soft expression.
Milaine stopped her movements for a moment, then looked at me. "No, it's not because Eleonora is sleeping," she said, keeping a poker face.
'She keeps calling her Eleonora,' I thought as I tried to keep a neutral expression matching hers. "If it is not the tremors and is not Leo, then?" I asked with concern.
She tried to keep her stoic face, but I noticed a bit of movement in her eyebrows. "Have you thought about what I told you? The gifts of the gods?" she asked.
"A little..." I answered as another notification popped up in front of me.
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? Y/N"
"Livia, I'm being serious about this. You won't survive if you don't have a gift. Things will only get worse and worse from here," she said as I noticed her tone of voice rising a bit, just a bit.
She was right, I knew it. I wasn't brave and quick like Leo. I panicked when I saw the beetles, and if it weren't for Leo, I'd still be outside in the fire rain back with the crowd. Milaine already had a gift, something that could save our lives. Her arguments were solid, and I started to doubt if I would be able to follow them.
"But... is it really like that? We just get superpowers for nothing?" I asked, remembering what Leo said. Nothing is free in this world.
Milaine bit her lips before speaking again. "It's not a big price if it keeps you alive," she said.
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? Y/N"
'She really wants to tell me something...' I thought before speaking again. "I don't know yet... I want to ask Leo first."
Milaine clicked her tongue. "Why do you keep calling her Leo?" I noticed a hint of anger that took me by surprise.
"I-I could ask the same. Why do you call me Livia?" I asked with disbelief. 'Ah, I finally told her that.'
Milaine opened her mouth then closed it. After a long sigh, she spoke again. "Sorry, I'm stressed," she said.
I felt déjà vu.
Milaine closed her eyes and placed her hands over her eyes, then spoke again. This time, a bit more gesticulation was visible on her face. "Listen, I know I sound weird. I know. But just give it a chance, okay? I have pretty good Instincts, it's part of my gift. I really, really think that your gift is something good, even necessary for our survival."
Another déjà vu. 'What is this feeling? I think I'm missing something. Why does this feel so familiar?' Suddenly a tremor started to make the cave tremble.
I looked at the floor of the cave as Milaine's blonde hair started to glow again and change to platinum.
Before I noticed, we had already stood up. She started putting away the tablecloth. Her platinum hair illuminated the darkness of the cave, emanating a constant glow like a humming. 'She's really glowing, like a flame...'
"I'll wake up Eleonora." She stopped for a second, then looked at me with a noticeable sad expression. "Think about what I told you, Olivia," she said. This time she said my name.
"The Goddess who follows the rules would like to send you a private message. Do you accept it? Y/N"
This time I looked at the message in silence. As I heard Leo was already talking with Milaine, I just pressed the button: "Yes."
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
"The Goddess who follows the rules has sent you a message"
.....