The air became cold but, swirling flames of rage was surrounding the cold place. Zeran held Ru's hand and gripped her tightly. He brought out his hand, as if he was trying to protect his Goddess Ru, while he was glaring at his own mother, since he remembered that his mother tried to kill him before. As for Ru, she felt amazed of Zeran's chivalrous and daring action for her, making her to blush a bit. Soon, he says to Arseia with his searing eyes,
"Are you here to kill me again?!"
"Or even kill all of us here?".
As he let out those heavy words, the atmosphere became colder and intense vibes had beaten throughout the place. Though, Arseia just closed her eyes and sighed. Then, she opened her eyes again and said like she was shocked mother for some reason, turning the frozen air to cease,
"Geez...settle down Zen..."
"There'll be no bloodshed going on here..."
"And is this how you see your caring mother with all her heart? Geez...".
The air became giddy. She pointed her finger at him and continues to say,
"I'm here to tell both of you what's really going on between LIGHT GODDESS...ANGEHIME and DARK GODDESS RUHIME..."
"But first...you should ask dark Goddess Ruhime's side of things..."
"So Mai...".
Arseia stopped pointing at him. Mai nodded, as she understood Arseia's statements. Sooner or later, Mai and Arseia left the room, leaving Zeran and Ru to be in their own space again. The frozen icicles were gone and the burning aura of Zeran was released, as he looked dumbfounded over his mother's words, turning him to scratch his head. Though, Ru already knew what Arseia meant, making her to say in her thoughts,
("I guess it's time to tell him...").
Ru twisted herself and went in front of him such as she was a daring ballerina. She was holding both of Zeran's hands, making Zeran to blush, while he was mesmerized by her. Ru looked down and sighed. Then, she said, while she was looking at him direct in the eye,
"I guess this time has come Zera...".
Zeran was dumbstruck and he says,
"Hm? What do you mean Ru?".
She let go of his hands and walked a few paces away from him. The whole place became stagnant, as deafening silence seeped into the air through her sudden change of action. Soon, she turned her face to the side, while her golden eyes were glancing at him. Then, she let out her words filled with heavyness of a falling anchor,
"Do you want to know why, I'm making you do this?".
Zeran replies,
"Eh? Well it's just to get back your precious and treasured artifacts right?".
As she heard his out of the blue compliments, her face became flustered such as she was a steaming pot poured with flattery. She let her lips touch her fingers like she was an embarassed timid lady in addition to her reaction. Though, her thoughts were already floating in cloud nine and she was kinda feeling turned on,
("Precious and treasured?!")
("Awwww...he does really know how to push my buttons...")
("Even in this kind of situation...").
Zeran tried to tilt his head since, he was noticing that there was something strange about her. Somehow, she didn't want him to notice that she was feeling flustered, so she shrugged-off her sudden reaction and she said with a forced composure,
"Ahem...yet not only that..."
"But it is also due to my ideal of...".
Then, she twisted herself again. She depicted a pose like she was a grand demon queen proving her grand schemes, while she was holding her chest with a daring proud evil look on her face and said that would strike fear to anyone's eyes,
"IDEAL EVIL EXCHANGE...".
As she let out those strong words, the atmosphere became still. Zeran was witnessing the true form of the dark Goddess Ru with her floating and swaying tail adding intensity into the air. Though, he wasn't afraid unlike any normal person would react upon hearing the dark Goddess's plan, instead he tried to recall her words, since he was dumbfounded yet again,
"Ideal...evil...exchange?"
"What does that even mean?!".
She replies,
"It's what you call reaping out the SWELLING darkness and letting out a newer seed of either light or dark to grow...".
Then, he mumbles in his thoughts,
("Okay...I kinda understood that...somehow...").
Though, he had another question that popped out of his mind, since he noticed that it was quite unusual for a dark Goddess to do a light Goddess's duty. Thereon, he asks her with a problematic look,
"But why would a dark Goddess like you do that?".
She knacked out a sarcastic smile, as she heard his retort. Then, she sat down on her bed and crossed her legs. She plucked out a piece from the bunch of shiny grapes beside her. She looked at the piece of the plucked out grapes such as it was a luxurious pearl to her sight. Afterwards, she said to him with deep interest in her look,
"Let's just say, I want to see another opportunity to grow, whether he/she chooses light or darkness..."
"It may seem it'll only end in an endless cycle but it's not, due to some circumstances we have taken..."
"You see...letting the long darkness swell too much would cause an imbalance unto the world..."
"As you can see with the mayor and that weapons merchant..."
"But that is the role of the Light Goddess to get rid of that right?".
She sighed and she continued her profused way of explaining,
"Yet instead, she had just turned a blind eye, just to achieve her own ideals using them and letting the darkness from them to swell even further..."
"In which it would cause severe damage on the other innocent lives too..."
"So I had to do it but, in a dark Goddess's way by reaping them out through you, my dear Zera...".
After Ru was finished with her explanation, she swallowed the the piece of grapes in one whole. As Zeran heard her whole statement, he went in front of her and held her hands. His face looked very much amazed by her statements, making him to say with an excited look on his face and there was a fleeting aura of radiance in his expression,
"Wow...that's outstanding Ru..."
"I never knew you had that amazing ideal..."
"Two birds in one stone!".
Ru was widely surprised and she blushed like a red tomato once again. As the two were holding each others hands, the air of sweet passion began to swell. Though, Ru looked stranged by his sudden trust in her, making her to say,
"Wait...you truly believe on what I just said?".
He responds,
"Well yeah...and your eyes and tone are all telling the truth...".
She was witnessing Zeran's optimistic smile filled with determination. It seemed she truly can't believe upon the sudden words she had heard from him, so she replies back with an awkward smile, trying to scare his pants off,
"I'm still the DARK GODDESS you know...".
Zeran replies back with straightforward words,
"Then, I'll be someone who supports you..."
"A DARK HERO...".
Her heart was truly touched, as she heard his words filled with pride and conviction, while she was noticing that he was looking at her. Ru felt the fleeting emotions of blissful hearts that were entwining her whole body, such as they were soothing petals in the breeze. Somehow, she didin't want him to see her embarrassing nature from the within, so she closed her eyes and stood up in front of him and held his cheek with her flawless hand. Not only that, she grinned a devious smile and said filled with sinistry, proving her status as the tempting dark Goddess,
"Ara? and if I tell you to kill someone...would you do it for me?".
Zeran replies,
"Yes, absolutely...except Mai and mom though...".
She was in her thoughts, as she heard his energetic words,
("That's a good thing...but still...I'm worried...for those other people...").
Afterwards, she released her hold on him. She clasped her hands and proved a pose of a charming female guide who was done with her explanation. Then she says,
"And that's that...time to call them back...".
Ru called unto Mai and Arseia a little while later. The two entered her room once again. Thereon, Arseia says to Zeran,
"I guess now you know her side Noah..."
"And yes, everything she had said was all true..."
"Now here's the other side...".
She revealed the orbal detector out of nowhere, using her divine powers of a Goddess. It had the same readings as before that Mai had seen recently. Zeran noticed that there was something awry going on by just taking a sudden glance at the orbal detector. Ru had the same reaction too, so she was worried in her thoughts,
("Okay...this is bad...really bad...Ange...").
Sooner or later Zeran said with a weird smile,
"Ange's light gone nuts, right?"
"And Ru's creating newer paths of light and dark...".
Arseia replies,
"You are correct on that..."
"Apparently a lot of people are too faithful for the light Goddess but, they are still doing evil and atrocious deeds using the light of her name..."
"While, she just ignores them to whatsoever ideals she have..."
"As for Ru...she's like cleaning up the swelling mess yet, it's not enough..."
"So now, we three need to meet up with Ange and tell her what's really going on...".
He felt stranged, as he heard his mother's grave words, that would mean he had already understood what she meant, turning him to feel being left out along the sudden breeze,
"Uhhhh...three? Does that mean...".
Arseia looked at him and responds,
"Yes...you'll be staying here..."
"I'm sure Angehime would open up to us Goddesses and not having a DARK HERO around...".
While, she was pointing her finger on top of his forehead, proving something out with a paralyzing glare in her eyes. In turn, Zeran was convinced in his thoughts,
("Da*n...she heard that?").
Thereupon, he just agreed to his mother's words. Sometime soon, the four of them were at Ru's living room. Ru, Mai and Arseia were ready to depart, while Zeran has to stay for the meantime. Arseia gave her smartphone to Zeran, in case everything was settled with light Goddess Ange. Ru felt sorry for him, so she held his hand and told him that her moving plush doll will keep him company. The Ru plush doll emerged and flapped out its short arms. There was a long entwining passionate air around the two loving couple, as their eyes stared into each others hearts. Their faces were blushing in red rosy petals filled with licorice in the inside. Though, Arseia broke up their romantic air indirectly by revering a commanding expression. In turn, the Zeran and Ru snapped out of their lovely trance. Later on, Mai, Arseia and Ru left the area. Zeran waved a goodbye, as they were gone. He lied down on the sofa and fiddled with Arseia's smartphone. He noticed that his mother was still on a healthy relationship with his father, as they were exchanging private messages on fixed intervals. Afterwards, he was getting kinda bored, so he moved to the kitchen and he was witnessing that the Ru plush doll was managing and taking care of the kitchen. Thereon, he said to himself that the plush doll was acting like Ru's extension without her weird way of talking. Sooner or later, he took a short nap at the sofa, while the smartphone was placed on the glass table. He was soothed in his deep sleep, as he was dreaming that Ru was feeding him delicious ice cream like she was an adorable sweetheart. Suddenly, the smartphone vibrated and rang, so his dream bubble popped and made him to rise from his slumber. He grabbed the smartphone and answered the call and he says,
"Hello?".
For some reason, there was a strong distortion of silence. Soon enough, he heard a voice from the phone, although it wasn't the voice of his mother, or Mai or his beloved Ru yet instead, it was the serious and monotone voice of Angehime, making him to sweat, while he was feeling very cold and tense,
"Hello there, former hero Zeran Noah Aether...".
In turn, Zeran replies with his widely shocked eyes,
"Ange?!"
"D-don't tell me...".