"You and Sia not blood related." She pointed out.
"We are not."
"You don't think of her as a sister." Sarah narrowed her eyes and said.
"Well, No. I think of Maya as my little sister. I want to kick Kyle sometimes for making her sad. But Sia…She's like…I don't know, our bond is unique." Varian said slowly and in the back of his mind, he realized where this was going.
"Even though your memories of her are still incomplete, you are willing to risk your life for her." Sarah crossed her arms and looked at him with a pensive look.
"Yes."
"Would you like to spend your entire life with her?" At this point, Sarah was biting her lip as she glared at Varian resentfully.
"…Yes. She went through a lot because of me. I want to keep her happy." Varian could hear the jealousy in Sarah's voice, but he answered her question truthfully.
After what Sia went through, his heart ached for her suffering. Even though he failed in his first promise 'Protect You', he wanted to uphold it for the rest of his life.
"What about me?" Sarah looked at him with red eyes, her voice trembling.
"Of course, I want to see you happy." Varian was honest again.
Bang!
Honesty caused him to be blasted away and being crashed onto the wall.
Of course, Sarah didn't put in any strength, but…
"Why are you punching me?" Varian asked with a confused expression.
"You just confessed that you like her." Sarah stood up and yelled.
"Wait, what? Don't put words into my mouth. How is that liking her?" Varian was dumbfounded.
"Y-You…are just dense as a black hole." Sarah didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"…My memory is incomplete. How the hell would I know?" Varian felt like he was a victim.
Truth be told, his past's emotions towards Sia was evolving all the time.
Initially, he only treated her as a distant relative, then a close relative, then a friend, and then someone closer until they reached a stage where he was willing to risk his life for her.
Did he love her in the past? Maybe.
Would that affect him now? He didn't know.
But regardless of the feelings, keeping her safe and happy was a must. Varian wasn't going to compromise on this.
And Sarah knew it too. "My intuition is telling me that you like her, even if you don't know it yourself."
"…." Varian wanted to flip the table. The fuck with your intuition!
"So, who are you picking?" Sarah walked in front of him and looked into his eyes.
Even though she looked like she was giving a choice, her aura was threatening to break out at any moment.
Varian knew that if he said something that displeased her, she'd really beat him up on the spot.
Sigh.
"Haaa~" Varian took a deep breath. He looked at her Sarah again and this time, he saw her true self.
Despite the angry expression she put on, she was shivering.
She was scared. Afraid of losing him again.
She almost lost him to Vanish Dungeon. Then she thought she lost him to the assassinations.
Now, she was afraid she'd lose him. This time…to her best friend.
Varian rubbed his forehead and cursed the heavens' will
Why the fuck are you putting me in this troubling situation? Isn't my life hard enough already?
You fucking sadist! I hope your house is full of demonic spiders!
But now, he needed to do what he must do.
"Varian, deci—umph!"
Sarah couldn't utter a word as Varian suddenly pulled her into his embrace.
Even though her mind was in chaos…even though she wanted to argue…even though she wanted to make sure she wouldn't lose him…she didn't speak.
"Don't worry too much, Sarah." Varian patted her head.
"I don't know what I feel towards her. She isn't even willing to talk to me right now.
I need to find her and repay her…she had been through too much. She's the reason Enigma protected me…she kept me safe all this time or I would've been killed by Xanders long ago.
And…even if she did nothing, she's important to me." Varian said and with each word, Sarah hugged him tightly.
Varian stroke her back lightly in an attempt to console her.
She was feeling insecure and he hoped she could feel his sincerity.
"I can't abandon her, Sarah. I can't do it." His voice was low, but determined. Recalling his memories with Sia, he closed his eyes in pain.
If he left her after everything she did for him…and probably still doing for him, then he'd despise himself.
Even after going through so much pain under Roxanna, what was Sia's condition to join Shadow Guardians?
Let Enigma make an agreement to prevent Xanders from harming him!
And not just that, she also asked Enigma to appear during his entrance test and she urged Enigma to retaliate after he was thrown into Vanish Dungeon.
Despite doing everything for him, she never asked anything in return. She did it without his knowledge and if he didn't find out, she'd have done it forever.
If this didn't explain her sacrifice, he didn't know what would.
As Varian's face distorted in rage recalling her pain, he felt a pair of soft hands caressing his cheeks and opened his eyes to see Sarah staring at him.
The nervousness she previously was now reduced and she looked more stable.
"…I'm sorry, I was rushing things. You're right, you shouldn't abandon her. In fact, if you do, I'd hate you." Sarah said slowly.
"Uh." Varian patted her head lightly.
"I'll be honest…once you meet her, I'm afraid I'll lose you to her." Sarah bit her lip and confessed her fear.
Varian liked this quality of Sarah very much. Even if embarrassed her, she was at times very honest and brave enough to say what she was feeling.
"Don't worry too much. It'll be alright." Varian patted her head.
"Hey, I'm not a kid." Sarah protested but didn't dodge. She was clearly enjoying it.
…sometimes, she was not so honest.
"Haha. We can think about Sia after I meet her."
Sarah was silent for a moment before nodding begrudgingly. "Yeah, we'll just think about her issue later."
Like all humans, they decided to bury the problem until it exploded.
"I have one more confession to make. I can't tell you more, but I am a bit special." Varian teleported away from Sarah and snapped his fingers.
Boom!
Bang!
Zap!
The floor cracked under his kick, the space fluctuated mildly, lightning danced around his arms, his mental force picked the paintings and floated them, another mental force showed illusions, and finally, Varian's feet turned into roots.
The powers of six divine paths were displayed in full glory for her to witness.
Sarah opened her mouth in shock.