Zane wakes up in Akali's realm again. He stretches and sits on the bench, patiently waiting for his system to greet him again. She appears, eating mystery Airheads, and sits down next to him.
"No hello?" Zane teases.
Akali doesn't respond, her body lies on his lap as she expects a statement from Zane.
"Thanks for the help back there," he sighs. "If it weren't for that upgrade, I'd probably be a goner."
Akali snickers, causing her to choke on her food. She looks up at Zane in admiration as she smiles, radiating the realm in the process. Zane looks down at her and pokes her forehead, not wanting to admit his power up.
"You know damn well that was your feat," Akali scoffs. "When will you ever accept your victories?"
"When I know, they happened with my strength," he replies instantly. "Power up near the end of the battle doesn't count, you know?"
"Potato, potáto goofball,"
Akali gets up and displays his new stats. Zane sits up in shock as he looks at all of his improvements.
[Attack Speed +50]
[Dexterity +100]
[Magic Potency +200]
[Ability Tree, Dagger: Completed]
[You have 25 new abilities]
[You now have 7 new ability slots]
[Would you like to check them out?]
Zane presses the ability tree and roots start to manifest in a nearby area. Roots turn to tree bark in a vivid motion. The tree shines in front of Zane, making him cover his eyes. Akali looks at Zane and walks in front of him. She puts her arms out and takes in the environmental upgrade.
"This is it, Zane," Akali chuckles. "Your destiny is placed on you."
Zane wakes up in a cold sweat, scaring Lumina. He tries to get out of bed but is annoyed to see his arm in a cast. He sits up, noticing Astelia's condition.
"How is she," Zane asks, stroking Astelia's forehead. "Will she be okay soon?"
Lumina sighs as she pours a cup of mana into her, making her drink it slowly. After she applies the daily medicine, she sits down on the bed.
"Well, both of you were in comas," Lumina groans. "Caring for you two was frankly a pain in the ass."
Zane laughs in embarrassment as he lays back. He notices he can see with two eyes again, but it's blurry on his left eye. He looks to Lumina, who is still caring for Astelia.
"So, I'm half blind now?"
"No shit Sherlock," Lumina responds without hesitation. "You thought using a shitload of magic would've healed your eye?"
Zane laughs at Lumina's sarcasm and gets up. He walks to her and puts a baseball cap on her head.
"Thanks," he sighs. "Probably would've collapsed there if it wasn't for you."
"Yeah yeah."
She blushes as he walks away, snickering at Zane's emotional ineptitude. She leaves Astelia to rest, and she puts on modest clothes. She looks at herself in the mirror, her grey shirt matching her baby blue blouse. Lumina slides on some slippers and goes out to buy some groceries.
Zane exits the bathroom and hears a subtle knock on the door.
"Who is it?" he shouts to no answer.
He opens the door to see one of the maids staring back at him. The maid's dark purple eyes strike something suspicious within Zane, making him back up. She walks up to Zane, her breathing starting to become more restless. She jumps onto Zane and pins him down, not being able to contain her excitement.
"You're also with my master, aren't you?" She shivers. "You're the one I'm destined to be with right?"
Her eyes stab daggers into Zane's soul, causing a black hand to force herself off of Zane. He gasps for air and tries to calm down to no avail. The maid takes off her uniform, revealing dual-wielding swords. Dark energy surrounds both individuals as she gets ready to strike. Before she attacks, gravity pulls them to another location.
They both walk through the pathway of Darkness as the Goddess of Darkness laughs hysterically. Zane sighs as he sees the empty throne ahead.
"You should've told me this," Zane groans. "She almost killed me before she even introduced herself!"
"Calm down, Zanie," The Goddess of Darkness commands. "She probably asked questions alluring to her identity, right? To be honest, I'm dumbfounded you didn't tell by the color of her eyes."
Zane looks at the kneeling girl. As she looks at him, her eyes glow the same purple undertone his eyes did. He sighs and does push-ups to calm himself down, humoring the Goddess. Darkness manifests, showing the queen's majestic purple dress as she lays back on her throne.
"Welp," The Goddess of Darkness stretches. "Introduce yourself, Dona. The stage is yours now."
She stands up and stretches, trying to appeal herself to Zane. She blushes and smiles as she faces him.
"I-I'm Dona," she stutters. "I'm sorry for attacking you suddenly. I go feral when I get the whiff of dark magic. I'm the Hero of Darkness, n-nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Zane reaches out his hand to shake. "Thanks for at least explaining that to me."
The Goddess of Darkness snickers as she looks at the two Heroes. Dona sighs in annoyance, side-eying the Goddess.
"She's my daughter, Dona Morte," she sighs. "She's an odd one, but I still adore her as my own."
"So," Zane takes a deep breath. "You gave birth to the fucking Grim Reaper?"
The Goddess slaps Zane, sending him back three hundred meters. He gets up slowly, trying to recover.
"You knew my arm was still healing, why would you continue to do that!"
The Goddess sighs angrily. Gravity pulls Zane forward to her. Her eyes glow light purple as a black hole comes to life on the ground. The Goddess of Light watches from the other side, sighing at Zane's ineptitude.
'Don't talk bad about your future bride, Zanie,' her voice echoes. 'She won't relent until the energy you share combines into one.'