LIVIA'S POV
I gave Leo a soft nod then I refocused again, this time I kept my status window open to catch any detail. I didn't want to miss anything.
[Status Window]
Name: Olivia Reed
True Name: None
Gifts: None
Innate Abilities: [Hyperfocus]
Flaws: [Obsessive]
Class: None
[You have 7150 new messages from The goddess who follows the rules. Do you wish to read them Y/N]
'Seven thousand one hundred and fifty already?! A few minutes ago there were a few hundred... Ugh... this hurts, I shouldn't have procrastinated. I could've at least read the first ten.'
I pressed Yes, and a list of messages appeared. The interface looked almost exactly like an online mailbox; sender, different subjects and the message body.
'Just like email.'
I decided to quick-scroll through the subjects. I wasn't going to read all of that.
As I went down, the subjects started to change. At first, the titles were elaborate and grandiloquent. Then, little by little, they started to become more direct and desperate. By the end of them they were basically spam.
[To the dearest mortal who might follow the rules, a friendly advice from the Goddess Who Follows the Rules]
[Advice to the dearest mortal who might follow the rules in relation to other inferior proposals]
[A grand announcement regarding exclusivity. No need to heed others inferior proposals when the Goddess who follows the rules is beside you]
[A small reminder to the dearest mortal who might follow the rules to please review previous messages]
[Friendly reminder to Olivia Reed to not disregard the divine notices from the Goddess Who Follows the Rules]
[Important reminder for Olivia Reed to kindly read the past messages]
[Olivia, this is important, please read my messages]
[Livia, please read my messages]
[Livia, please read me]
[Stop ignoring me]
[Livia???]
[Livia?...]
[Liv?...]
[...Iv?]
[...]
[.]
I stopped for a moment and rubbed my eyes with my hands.
'Haha, weird. I must've read that wrong,' I thought, scrolling up and down again, just scanning the subjects without opening any of the messages.
'No way! She's a fucking creep!!! A total psycho!!!' I screamed to myself, holding my hands on my head. 'What's wrong with her?!'
I lifted my gaze, searching for Leo. When our eyes met, I saw hers wide open, her eyebrows raised in noticeable surprise.
'Oh no, please don't tell me you also have your own psycho stalker, Leo.'
Leo opened her mouth for a second then she closed it, she repeated the same movement a couple more times before finally speaking.
"Sorry, I was just... remembering something. Anyway, um... I checked a few past messages I hadn't read from some goddesses. They, uh... looked kinda needy, if you ask me. What about you, Liv?" she said.
Leo's voice was higher pitched and the words tumbled out too quickly from her mouth. I noticed the slow fluctuations, small shifts that I had noticed earlier. It was not the first time she spoke like that, and honestly I didn't care, or to be precise, my mind couldn't even conceive the fact of second intentions. I liked her too much to even have the thought of doubting Leo's words.
"Em, it's the same for me. I have a few... thousands," I whispered.
Leo didn't appear surprised at first. Her reaction came a few seconds later, like she forgot about making it.
"Damn. Is it from the same goddess, right? Well that almost confirms your theory, Livia." she said
I was still a bit shocked. A part of me was happy that I was right, but another part was disturbed by the goddess's desperate behavior, like she was obsessed with me.
'Oh my god, I'm having the chills now. Well... at least I know for sure that she's the one who really wants to make a contract. I suppose it should be easy to get favorable terms.'
I took a deep breath and slowly the world around me started to move slower. Little by little the different sounds of the ambience started to sound lower, like they were underwater. Every distraction started to fade, and my mind started to feel clearer.
[Hyperfocus has activated]
'For every gift, there is a flaw. We should at least know what the gift and flaw do first. Then based on that I need to know if they are predetermined or not.' I moved my gaze towards the only source of dim light, at the other extreme of the cave, towards Milaine.
'Now that I think about it, is it possible to have more than one gift? I should have asked her earlier. She really looks like she has more than one. But if that's the case then she should have the same amount of flaws.' As I looked at Milaine, she moved her face in slow motion. We met eyes.
She kept a neutral face, but as my brain processed everything at a different pace, I noticed the muscles of her face moving a bit, the white strands of her hair glowing just a bit lighter.
'Looks like her emotions are related to her glowing hair... she looks... annoyed. Maybe it's part of her flaw.'
I returned my gaze towards Leo, her eyes were sharp, looking at Milaine. Then when she noticed my gaze her eyes relaxed a bit and a small smile drew on her lips.
'I wonder what goddesses messaged Leo. Based on what they chose us? Is it because of compatibility? Or is it the opposite? Or something else?'
I relaxed my body. Then as I ordered my thoughts and the questions I wanted to ask, I finally opened my mouth.
"Goddess who follows the rules, are you there?" I whispered.
This time the system didn't ask me anything, I supposed because now it was the goddess who had to press 'Yes'. Immediately after I spoke, a white screen with golden ornaments appeared in front of me.
[Yes. I'm here, Livia.]
'Wow, immediate response. Okay, I guess here goes nothing.' I took a moment before I whispered again.
"I would like to know what your gift is and what the flaw that comes with it is," I said, waiting for an answer.
Nothing, there was silence. I frowned at the window.
'She's hiding it. That means the flaw must be serious... maybe at the same level as the gift. That or perhaps she can't say it...'
My eyes narrowed as I glanced at the name of the goddess. 'Follows the rules?' Something clicked inside my brain.
"You can't tell me because of the 'rules'?" I asked. An immediate response with another message.
[Yes, I must follow the rules.]
'Mhmm, so she is restricted? Judging by the titles of the subjects she should be very talkative, but she's intentionally keeping her answers short. Following the rules. Rules... maybe she's referring to the moderator?'
I remembered the image of the magma lady that first appeared when we arrived here in Vulkris. A chill ran down my spine as I recalled the ghost of the little child who had died instantly from the dripping lava.
I gulped a bit, and raised my gaze to the window again.
'Better to ask with caution then. She can't respond to direct questions? Or just about things related to the gifts? I need to ask.'
"What do you mean by rules?" I mumbled.
[I can't answer that, it's against the rules]
'Of course...'
"Do other gods also have to follow the rules or just you?" I asked with caution, trying to understand what my cards were here.
This time the answer was not immediate, it took a few seconds before it arrived.
[There are rules that we must follow, and there are rules I must follow]
'So two types of rules. I need to confirm it.'
I searched for Leo. She was looking between me and the direction of the white window.
'She can't see it, right?' I cut the chain of thought, shaking my head.
"Leo, can you ask one of the goddesses that sent you a message if they can tell you what their gifts and flaws are?" I asked a bit in a hurry.
"Uh, sure, give me a sec," she said.
After that, Leo mumbled the same question I did, she looked towards a certain direction close to her. Then she frowned.
"They say that they can't," she said with a hint of disgust in her tone.
"Thanks," I said, returning to look at my white window.
'So asking about the gifts should be against the rules. The rules of the game. So the other rules may be some kind of code that she follows.'
'I guess the only way to find out is to ask and see what she can answer.'
"Why are you, em, so intense with me? Why did you choose me?" I said with a hint of nervousness in my voice.
This time the response was immediate.
[I didn't choose you, I'm just following the rules]
'What? What does it mean? I don't get it...'
This time I closed my eyes and slowly the already muffled sounds became fully silent. I focused only on the meaning of her words.
'She said she didn't choose me and just followed the rules. That sounds like she is not even free in the first place. Follows the rules... follows the rules...'
I felt again another déjà vu.
'Wait, déjà vu... like I already lived this. Again...free…rules…'
In the darkness of my mind a word came that made everything connect. The ultimate rule.
'Fate'
I opened my eyes again, fixed on the white screen.
'It's the Goddess of Fate.'
[Hyperfocus has finished]
Something about that thought sent chills through my body. Suddenly the desperate goddess that kept spamming me felt huge, intimidating, threatening.
I tried to speak but my lips closed just as they opened. I searched for Leo and instinctively held her arm. She noticed the change in my body language, she looked at me, her face also looked a bit tense and I noticed a drop of sweat falling from her.
But she forced a smile at me and said with a tone that was not casual but tense.
"Everything fine, Livia?" she said.
I took a long moment before answering Leo.
"Yeah... I-I just em," I tried to speak but I couldn't think of anything really at that moment.
Another message appeared in front of me.
[Did you finally understand it, Livia?]
The new message felt totally different, something way bigger than before, even when there was nothing different in it.
'She knows I know.'
The realization made me grab Leo's arm tighter. For a moment, I couldn't think of anything else, not until Leo spoke.
"I think I have a bad memory, how many messages did the spammer goddess send you?" her voice tried to force a joke. At first I looked at Leo, for the first time with my eyebrows raised, not understanding how she couldn't get the situation we were in.
But then I understood. 'Right, she doesn't know what I'm thinking.' I felt guilty for a moment, I forgot that obvious fact, Leo couldn't read my mind. I was so used to her always saying the right words at the right moments.
Just as I thought that, I noticed something in what Leo said: spammer goddess
'Spammer... right. Even if she is the Goddess of Fate. She's still desperate.'
The sudden thought made my confidence return and my body relax. I let go of Leo's arm and returned to the white screen.
"Yes, I understand. The ultimate rule is fate, right?" I said.
[Correct]
"Then what if I reject you?" I said, hoping to be correct.
This time there was silence. It took almost a full minute before the answer arrived.
[Y-you wouldn't do that, right?]
'I knew it!'
Even if she was the goddess of fate, the only reason for her to search for me so desperately was because something was affecting fate. Something was wrong with it.
I could guess that she needed me for something related to that, and the gift would be also related to fate. With that in mind I started to make my plan in action.
"Why should I care?" I said, this time with a bit of arrogance.
Another long silence. I was a bit nervous but tried to keep my facade of arrogance.
'Come on, come on, take the bait, please take the bait.'
Then as I started to feel the tension was winning over me, the message arrived.
[M-my gift is specially designed for you]
'Oh my god, it's working. Okay, you are doing good, Livia, just keep it cool. Let's try pressuring her a bit more.'
"Please be more specific, if you are not really serious about this I should just close the window," I said, smiling, faking my tone. I was surprised how naturally the words came out.
[T-the gift I want to give you has been divided into three different gifts. I made it this way based on your type of personality and the tendency you have...]
'Tendency??? Look who's speaking! And three gifts? That also means three flaws too. It's way better to have just one gift and one flaw.'
I started to get way ahead of myself, but I couldn't help it. I felt an unknown satisfaction by playing the position of power, 'the villain role', and it didn't help that the goddess was being so submissive.
"Three gifts? That means three flaws. Are you trying to scam me?" I hissed.
[...no...]
"At least the flaws are small, right? Right?" I said with an entitled tone.
I felt a tap on my arm. I looked at the source, then I saw Leo. Her face was a bit worried as she looked at me.
"Hey Liv, take it easy, okay?" She said with a soft voice.
My body tensed a bit, noticing that I was getting carried away by the character. A hint of shame covered my face when I met Leo's gaze.
"S-sorry," I muttered.
'Ugh... She must think I'm a manipulative bitch now. Great job Livia.'
Before I could keep feeling self-pity, the next message from the goddess arrived.
[S-sorry, I can't tell you about that. Please, understand. I divided the gift based on what is the best for you]
Suddenly I felt angry. I let my emotions carry me away.
"What do you think you know about me?" I said with noticeable indignation in my tone.
"Liv—" Leo's words were cut when another message arrived.
[I know everything about you, Livia. I know your father betrayed your mother, but she forgave him. I know you have a dream of opening your own law firm. And I know about your fear of men, because one of your ex-classmates tried to rape you]
I kept my eyes locked on the white message. I stopped thinking. Everything went silent immediately. My whole body froze. A knot formed in my throat, making it difficult to breathe.
I started to shake. The memories that I had buried away when I was in my first year of high school emerged vividly again.
It was Friday, the last day before winter break. I was with my friends, Abi and Rose. We were going to my house after school, we had already planned to spend the weekend there.
On the way to my house, we ran into a group of six guys, older than us. I never knew who they were. But I only recognized one of them, a guy from our class who had confessed to me a couple of days before. I rejected him.
I remember the way he smiled, that creepy disgusting smile when he noticed that it was just me and my friends. They attacked us, pushing us into the snow, and they tried to tear our clothes off, like fucking animals. I remember how they threatened to break our faces if we screamed.
We were crying, we were terrified. We thought the worst. At that moment, I didn't think and just acted by instinct.
I screamed with everything I had, asking for help, even when they started to hit me and tried to close my mouth. I never stopped screaming, and thanks to that the neighbors of the area came running to save us.
After that day the guy from our class was expelled, I never knew what happened to him or the other men. But, after that I had nightmares every day, I developed a fear towards men.
I couldn't go to school for two months. I couldn't even look a man in the eyes without wanting to run away.
With the years and therapy, I managed to deal with my fear. But I couldn't like guys anymore, that was the moment when I started to like girls.
As the memory flooded in, I started to hyperventilate, I felt sick, everything started spinning around me. When I was about to scream I felt her, Leo.
She caught me. I buried my face in her neck, clinging, trying to breathe. She embraced me, holding me tight.
"I'm here, Livia, I'm here," she whispered, her beautiful voice soft and steady.
I clenched my fists against her back, gripping her shirt. At that moment, Eleonora was my anchor. I needed her, and she was there.
After a few long minutes, I finally pulled back from Leo's embrace. She was clenching her teeth with anger. When she noticed that I was looking at her she changed her expression, forcing a smile but biting her lips.
'Ah, shit. She doesn't even know why I'm crying. She must think I'm crazy now. Another astonishing point, Olivia.'
I quickly tried to clean my tears but I stopped when Leo's arms embraced me again. I let my face burrow against her body, she was my safe place.
"Livia... I don't know what the goddess told you. But I just want to tell you that whatever it was, she doesn't know shit about you. Okay? You are strong."
I cried again, her words warmed my heart and gave me strength. For some reason, Leo always knew what to tell me, even when I was not sharing, she always knew. A simple thought appeared in my mind.
'Maybe, you are my fate.'
"Thanks, Leo," I mumbled, my voice hoarse and low. "Thank you."
This time I cleaned my tears and looked with determination at the white window that had been silent. I took a deep breath before speaking.
"I don't want your gift," I said, my voice was firm and certain.
[Wait! It was not what it looked like! I was STATING past events! It was not my intention to—]
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the message. I didn't even want to finish reading it. This time I moved my hand, selecting all the messages and deleting them.
[WAIT, LIVIA PLEASE! NEGOTIATE, PLEASE!]
I stopped for a moment, looking with my eyes for something similar to a block button as I said.
"Fine, no flaws. You give me that or I'm blocking you," I said.
[I-I can't... it's against the rules...]
"Then goodbye." I closed the message and eliminated it in the inbox.
Then when I finally found the option similar to the block button, a new notification appeared before I pressed it.
[This time... I would not be able to follow you. Please, I beg you. This time make them follow the rules. I'm letting the rest to you, Livia]
Then another flood of notifications appeared in front of me.
[The goddess who follows the rules, is breaking the rules. A sanction is being applied]
[The true name of the goddess who follows the rules has been revealed to other gods.]
[The goddess who follows the rules has been expelled from the games]
[The moderator of Vulkris, Fuel, has been notified.]
[The Host has been notified.]
—
[You have received a True Name.]
[You have received a New Class]
[You have received a Gift]
[You have received a Gift]
[You have received a Gift]
—
[Status Window]
Name: Olivia Reed
True Name: The Seeker of the True Rule
Gifts: [Augury] [Truthsight] [Golden Rule]
Innate Abilities: [Hyperfocus]
Flaws: [Obsessive] [Minor OCD x3]
Class: [Seer]
***