"You are… Zach's master…?" Aurora asked with a baffled look on her face.
'Why am I meeting…seeing… Zach's master?' Aurora wondered.
[You must be thinking why you are seeing me, or why am I here, right?] the woman asked with a smile on her face.
"Wait. You said your name is Lyda, and I had the skill with the same name. So why did Zach didn't recognize you?" Aurora asked with a judging look on his face. "Unless you are lying and trying to fool me into thinking that you are an ally."
[Ahaha! You are a clever girl. I am glad that Zach chose you to have his heart. It's safe with you,] the woman said.
'Why do I feel like the more I talk with this woman, the more confused I will get? She is making me crazy!'
[Let me answer your question. I go by various names over the generations, but my true name is Lyda. But Zach knows me by the name 'Lida', so the pronunciation is different. Well, to be honest, he should have recognized the name regardless of how it's pronounced. But I guess he would have never expected to hear my name through you.]
"Are you truly Zach's master?" Aurora asked with a knowing look on her face. She didn't feel any hospitality from the woman, but she still wasn't entirely sure about it, so she kept her distance from her.
[Come on. Come closer to me.]
"First, tell me who you are. I mean… What are you? You have a horn… are you a demon…?" Aurora asked hesitantly with a confused look on her face.
[Hmm. I don't belong to any races. In fact, I am not a being in the first place. This is just a form I have manifested to live among the others. But… well… I am dead anyway,] the woman chuckled.
"Huh?" Aurora couldn't get any more confused than she already was.
[I have been watching you from Zach's eyes, and you are… someone important to him. However, the connection between you and me wasn't strong. But when you drank his essence, I was able to store my fragment inside you. And I am glad that I did. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened…] the woman uttered in a low voice.
"Wait… you said you were watching… does that mean…" Aurora's face flushed a little as she muttered, "You saw everything…?"
The woman scoffed softly and said, [There is no need to be embarrassed. Those moments are precious, and it's the sign of love.]
"Wait… you said our connection wasn't strong before. But This is my first time meeting you. And the voice I heard in the dungeon was before I met Zach. This is not making any sense…" Aurora muttered with a puzzled look on his face, seemingly trying to comprehend everything the woman was saying.
[I am sorry for dropping all these bombs on you. I can see you are confused, but it's not about me. It's about you. So come here and let me grant you my blessings so it could help you in this battle,] the woman uttered.
"Why would you want to do that? What do you want in return?"
[You are an important existence to Zach and the key to his awakening. If anything were to happen to you, the annihilation would begin.]
After a brief pause, the woman continued, [While it is something inevitable, now is not the correct time. That's why…] the woman gazed deep into Aurora's green eyes and said, [You need to survive, for yourself and for him.]
"I…"
[I know there are a lot of things you don't understand, and it's a long story. I don't want to bore you, especially when there is a war going on outside. So I will keep it short.]
"…"
[…]
"…"
They both stared at each other without speaking a word.
After a brief silence, the woman uttered, [Do you love Zach?]
Aurora quietly nodded without saying anything.
[What can you do for him? How far can you go for him?] the woman asked.
"I can do anything."
[Good, I like your dedication to being with him. The stronger your dedication is, the longer you will survive.]
"I still don't trust you…"
SIGH!
The woman sighed and uttered, [Being clever is nice, but being over smart is not. Or what do you humans say nowadays? Smartass peeps are annoying!]
"…!"
[You kind of reminds me of Zach's father's first wife— Zach's mother,] the woman scoffed out loud.
"You mean.. Erza…?" Aurora asked with a curious look on her face.
[No.] The woman shook her head and continued, [Erza was his… second… no, the third wife.]
"… harem…?"
The woman tried to shrug her shoulders, but her body was aching, so she shrugged her head and uttered, [You know, Zach never got along with his father because he never made time for his wives or children. He had huge responsibilities on his shoulders, so I don't blame him. But Zach is dumb. So he hated him and the idea of the harem.]
"…!"
[Now look at the irony; he himself has a nice harem of beautiful girls fawning all over him. It's honestly hilarious. I am sure he now understands his father a little bit.]
'She knows a lot about him. So she should be telling the truth, right? I do remember Zach being all awkward around the girls before. Maybe this was the reason?' Aurora wondered.
[Now, if you are convinced—]
"Wait…" Aurora interrupted the woman and said, "You said Zach's father's first wife is Zach's mother. But it's not Erza. So… does that mean Aria is not Zach's aunt?"
[It depends on how you see it. Aria is a higher goddess who created the humans with Erza. So in a way, they are the mothers of all humans. Besides, even if Zach was Erza's child, that wouldn't have made Aria his aunt because Aria and Erza are not even related in the first place. They are simply created at the same time, with magic.]
"…so.. Zach was exaggerating?"
[He always does that.] The woman spread her hands and said, [Now, Come to me and take my blessings.]
Aurora reluctantly walked over to the woman and stood in front of her.
[Close your eyes, my child.]
'Now that I am standing close to her, I can see how beautiful she is. I can't fathom how gorgeous she would have looked when her body was normal.'
The woman placed her hand on Arua's head and muttered something in a celestial language.
When Aurora opened her eyes again, she was back in Gods' Impact.
[Congratulations! You have acquired Lyda's Blessing!]
***
Total players in the game- 1,489,576
0 new players logged in.
0 players died.
====
Author's Note- Any guess why the death count is zero?
Thanks, @Sean_Conner_0136, for the gift!