Lea felt desperate when she saw Autumn, Spring and Summer leave the courtyard. She really wanted to beg them to stay, but her stupid character settings didn't allow her to do that.
[I'm scared, Dwyl. Why is Sun here? Didn't I change the original story by rejecting Moon?]
[Dwyl: Why are you scared? Even if you die, we'll just go to the next world. And isn't Sun being here a good thing? If you want to convince Sun to leave her husband alone, now's your chance.]
Lea didn't feel any comfort in Dwyl's words. She had never died before! Surely, it would be a painful experience, something to not look forward too.
[I know I said I wanted Sun to back off, but I haven't thought of a plan yet. How am I to convince her of something like that? In the plot she shows a lot of love towards her husband, she only punished Winter after all. Secondly, I hadn't seen Sun yet. Now that I do, I can see I'm no match for her. She's standing several feet away and I already feel my power dwindling. She's way too hot for me to handle.]
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Lea asked.
"My husband, Moon."
Sun drew nearer to where Winter was. Such a conversation was better held in close proximity and she didn't really care if Winter felt uncomfortable because of it. Sun felt like even though it seemed like her husband was the one at fault, Winter must have done something to gain the attention of Moon, even if it wasn't done on purpose. Sun wanted to hear what Winter had to say for herself – not because it made a difference, but because she at least wanted to make it appear to other gods like she handled the situation reasonably.
Lea tried to distance herself from Sun, but the goddess didn't let her. Every time she backed away, Sun moved forward even closer. Sun was obviously torturing her! The heat felt very unpleasant.
"What about him?" Lea asked.
"He seems to be very angry at you." Sun found Winters retreating attitude very amusing. She had forgotten how much fun it was to tease someone.
Lea sneered. "Is that so? Did he tell you why?"
"He did, but I didn't get a lot of details."
Lea stayed silent. She didn't want to say something she'd regret, especially not knowing what that lying bastard said to his wife. Who knows what Moon told Sun. Lea was dying of nervousness.
"Tell me, did you seduce my husband just to dump him when he finally took the bait? Or were you an innocent victim of his advances?"
Sun let her finger slide over Winter's cheek. The places she touched were slightly melting. It would be so easy for Sun to make Winter disappear forever. That would be what her husband wanted, she thought. Honestly she wanted it as well. It didn't matter to Sun if Winter was an evil little seductress, or an innocent person. The thing that counted was her husband liking Winter. Sun didn't need someone like that to stand in her way. It would be best to destroy such a thing, but she couldn't do that just yet. First of all, Moon would be way too pleased. She needed to punish him one way or another, refusing to grant his request was the easiest way. Secondly, Sun needed to get more information. She needed to know if her husband did this before, so if that was the case she could hunt those husband stealers down one by one. That would probably make Moon think twice before he cheated again, and if he didn't heed her warning, he shall meet the same fate.
Lea trembled all over. She had never felt killing intent before in her life, but now she finally understood what that was all about. Sun's voice sounded like a blazing fire! Combined with Sun's burning finger that seemed to scar her face, she really felt frightened.
Sun was surprised by Winter's reaction. She had thought Winter was a ruthless person like herself, who wouldn't flinch even when facing total destruction of existence – the only thing gods and goddesses were truly afraid of. But how come Winter acted like some damsel in distress? She would've thought she was threatening the wrong person, if it weren't for Winter's unique appearance.
[Dwyl: You're going OOC!]
[I don't care! It hurts like hell. You never told me I would be able to feel pain! At least shield me from that.]
Lea couldn't hold her tears anymore. Small snowflakes fell from her eyes and pooled on the ground. This distracted her attention from the pain for a tiny moment. 'This body is really abnormal,' she thought, before Sun grabbed her chin and made Lea look her in the eye.
"Stop this pathetic act right away and answer the question! Don't think you can fool me." Although Sun said this she wasn't sure if it was an act. Winter was never the kind to manipulate or pretend. She always straight up told what she thought. It confused Sun immensely.
"I'm sorry, Sun," Lea sobbed. "I didn't mean to make Moon fall in love with me, or make him angry! I just thought his appearance complemented mine. I didn't see the harm with being in each other's company."
Sun tried to ignore Winter's sniffles and concentrate on the meaning of the words. It was a very hard thing to do, but when she did she didn't like it one bit. "Are you saying you found him attractive?"
Lea's eyes widened. That's not what she meant at all! Damn it, she's only making this worse. "No! Please don't misunderstand. He was like a pretty jewel, enhancing my beauty!"
[Can we go to the next world, already? I'm done with this one!]
[Dwyl: Huh? But you haven't matched Moon with another god yet.]
[Forget about that. I want to leave before Sun kills me.]
[Dwyl: No. I'm just starting to enjoy this world. See it as your punishment for going out of character. Each time you OOC, I get to do something I want.]
[This is so unfair! You already get to choose which world we go to next.]
[Dwyl: How is that unfair? We had an agreement, so just deal with it.]
"So you're saying you were treating my lovely Moon like a mere object?" This was even severer than trying to seduce him! Sun had thought Moon had made this humiliation up, so that she would take action. Now that Sun knew he hadn't, her anger towards Moon lessened a bit, but Sun's anger towards Winter increased. Merely killing this disgusting goddess isn't enough. Sun had to make her suffer!
Lea whimpered. Was there a hole somewhere she could crawl in?
"I… I won't do it again! Sun, I swear! Please spare me. As soon as I realized your husbands feelings I distanced myself. I didn't want to come in between you!"
Sun's fury didn't diminish hearing those words. Instead her rage only grew. Sun's grip on Winter's chin increased. "That just means that you used my husband like some toy. As soon as he asked you something in return, you threw him away. Do you even see him as a person? It doesn't matter if you didn't try to steal my husband, your crime is much greater than that!"
"Stop," Lea cried. "You're hurting me." Sun's fingers seemed to melt her skin. It felt like soon Lea's whole face would be disfigured!
For some reason Lea's cry of pain made Sun regain her senses a bit. It seemed like she let control over her powers slip a little bit too much. She didn't want to accidentally kill Winter, that would be too easy for her. No, Sun had to make sure her punishment would fit the crime.
Sun let go of Winter's face. "I apologize, I couldn't constrain myself."
Lea let out a sigh of relief. Even though her face still tingled a bit, most of the pain was gone. Did Sun finally calm down?
Sun watched how Winter rubbed her sore chin. Her facial expression seemed surprisingly innocent. "Do you realize your wrongdoings?" Sun asked.
Lea nodded immediately.
"To be sure, I want you to tell me your misdeeds."
Lea felt fearful. "I… I treated Moon like an object that could be thrown away."
Sun gave her a small smile. "Why is that wrong?"
"Because he is a person, not a toy."
"Moon is not just any other person," Sun added. "He's special. My husband, a god. Not just your average replaceable human. This makes your crime even worse."
Lea nodded. "I understand. I won't do it again."
"Saying you're sorry is not enough."
Lea eyed Sun, she didn't seem happy with Lea acknowledging her mistakes. "What else can I do?" Lea asked frantically.
"You're going to come with me," Sun stated. This was an order, not a request.
"But… but you are too warm. Your presence is draining my powers! I can't go with you."
Sun narrowed her eyes at Winter. Did she really think Sun would care? "It's either coming with me or ceasing to exist right this minute."
Lea gulped. Sun was serious. "I'll come."
"Good," Sun said satisfied. She grabbed Winter's arm and teleported them to Sun's palace.