“You don’t happen to be Erza’s son, right?”
Zach averted his gaze and said, “Of course not. Who is that?”
“Wait… if you are her son, that means…” The Sea Goddess circled around Zach and inspected his body from all sides.
“You are ‘his’ son?!” she exclaimed.
Zach averted his face this time and said, “Who are you talking about?”
“This reaction… you are just like him!” she shouted.
‘Curse you, father! Why do I always run into your acquaintances!’ Zach exclaimed inwardly.
“No wonder you have Erza’s powers! And you… “The Sea Goddess sighed and uttered, “Now the more I look at your face, the more I remember him.”
“Then don’t look.” Zach shrugged his shoulders and said, “And Erza is not my mother, nor do I have her powers. She lost her powers before I was born.”
“I am aware that she has lost her powers. I was there with her when that happened. But you certainly have a fragment of her powers,” she stated. “But I don’t see your father’s powers inside you. Why is that?”
“I guess I have to tell you,” Zach sighed. He didn’t want to tell her because she said she loved his father. So if he told her about his death, she would be more devastated than she already was.
While Zach may not care about others, he respected his father’s acquaintances because they had helped his father.
“What’s wrong? What happened to your tongue?” she asked.
“Father is… dead…”
Zach could feel the water around him getting warm and cold at the same time. That was the Sea Goddess’ emotions.
“No way… that’s impossible! He can’t die! He promised me that he would wait for me at our promised location. So… I see…” The Sea goddess lowered her head in realization. “So that’s why he didn’t come to check up on me even though I am one year late.”
“I am sorry you had to know this way,” Zach said in a disdainful tone. “There are still many who are unaware about this.”
“So what was I even waiting for all those years? What was the purpose of my life? I was so excited to see him again. As the day of my retirement got near, I was happy. I wanted to see him. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to…’
The Sea Goddess chuckled bitterly and uttered, “So this is what I get after I fulfilled my duty? Where is my happiness? What did I do to deserve this?”
Zach could feel the sadness in the Sea Goddess’ voice. It reminded him of Aquarius’ sad face.
“I am sorry. I know you are not in the mood, and I know this is selfish of me. But I am not letting Aquarius become the Sea Goddess,” Zach asserted with a serious look on his face.
“Erza stole my love from me. I had the chance to be with him, but she forced me to stay here. She gave me false hope.” The Sea Goddess looked into Zach’s eyes and said, “Now I will do the same to you.”
“….!”
“I will take my revenge. Just as your mother stole my love from me, I will steal your love from you. I will make Aquarius the next Sea Goddess and let you suffer. Then you will understand my pain and despair,” she asserted with her voice full of rage and anger.
“…”
She stared into Zach’s eyes without any fear, and Zach stared back into her eyes. It was as though they were having a staring contest, but the winner was already decided, and there was no prize for it.
SIGH!
The Sea Goddess sighed and said, “I am kidding. I am no monster. I am not heartless like your mother.”
“…”
“Besides, you don’t even love Aquarius yet. If I trap her here, she will be the one in pain, more than you.”
Zach raised his brows and asked, “So you are not going to make Aquarius the next Sea Goddess?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not in my hand to decide who will become the next Sea Goddess, but it’s in my hand to decide when.” After a brief pause, the Sea Goddess continued, “I give you one year. You can do whatever you want with Aquarius. After that, she must become the next Sea Goddess.”
“What’s the point of giving her one year if she knows that her time is limited?” Zach wondered with an emotionless face.
“If I was given even one day with your father, I would have been happy. I am sure Aquarius thinks the same.”
“I guess one year is better than nothing.” Zach nodded at the Sea Goddess and said, “Thank you, umm…”
“Heh!” The Sea Goddess chuckled and said, “There is no need to mention my name. It’s better if you don’t know it.”
“As you wish.”
“What’s your name? Son of Erza?” she asked.
“It’s Zach,” Zach responded in a calm voice.
“After a moment of silence, the Sea Goddess said, “That’s not your real name, is it?”
“… it’s not…”
“What’s your real name? I just want to know what name your father gave you.”
“It’s Zǟ̵̩͋ƈ̸͚̽ɦ̷̼̔. It pronounces the same as Zach, so I have always been called that,” Zach said with a distant smile on his face. “Only my father called me by my real name.”
“Hmph. That’s a good name, indeed. I am impressed that for once he came up with a good name,” she said. “He always sucked at naming.”
“Now… Can I leave? How do I go back…?” Zach asked with an awkward smile on his face.
“Just close your eyes, and you will be out of this place,” the Sea Goddess replied.
Zach did as the Sea Goddess said, and the next time he opened his eyes, he found himself in Aquarius’ arms.
She was hugging him while crying. Her naked wet body, pale and soft skin, silky wet hair, and otherworldly breasts. Aquarius had submitted her body and soul to Zach.
***
Total players in the game- 902725
0 new players logged in.
44 players died.
===
Author’s Note- If anyone is wondering why the Sea Goddess could recognize Zach as Erza’s son but Aria couldn’t. The answer is simple: The Sea Goddess has met Erza’s reincarnation, while Aria hasn’t.
I will post an extra chapter after 3 hours for reaching the 150 golden tickets goal!