"Aunt Lily, are you planning to take daddy away?" asked Daisy.
Both Rose and I spat our food. What is Daisy trying to do by asking that? She is making things awkward between us.
"Daisy! What are you asking?! Don't be rude to aunt Lily," shouted Rose as she knocked her head.
"I was just curious, mommy. Lily likes daddy, right? She's beautiful and daddy likes beautiful women. I'm just worried she might take daddy away," she retaliated.
"I'm not going to take your dad away, Daisy. You don't have to worry about that," said Lily as she petted Daisy's head.
"Really? Even if daddy jumps on you, are you going to push him away?" she asked.
It was at this point I walked up to Daisy, placed both of my fist against her head and pushed it together tightly. Daisy started screaming in pain and asked for forgiveness.
"You were begging to be walloped, weren't you? You were being disrespectful to your father by saying that he is going to cheat," I smacked the top of her head which left a bump.
"Daisy, what you said was not something nice. Apologise to both aunt Lily and your father," warned Rose.
"Sorry aunt Lily and daddy," said Daisy with a sad look.
"Goodness, what made you ask these kinds of questions? Have some faith in your father a little. He won't abandon us, am I right, Zen?" she glared at me.
"What are you glaring at me for? I literally didn't even do anything wrong. If anyone is at fault for making her like this, it should be you for telling her that it is fine for me to marry Lily and she should be happy about it," I frowned at her.
"W.. what? I never told her this. Never. Who did you hear it from?" she sounded surprised.
"Don't play dumb. She told me about what you told her before just today. Didn't you, Daisy?" I turned to look at her.
"What are you talking about, daddy?" it was her turn to look confused.
"Didn't we talked about this earlier today when I carried you on my shoulders before we had your evening snacks?" I asked her.
"We didn't talk about this, daddy. We just went for some walk when you said you were tired and wanted to sit down. That was why we sat down for some snacks," she replied.
"W.. what? Are you sure? Was that what happened today?" I clarified with her.
She nodded her head with an "Em". Rose and Lily looked at each other with a worried look. They must be worried that I am losing it. As though my curse is not bad enough, now I am hallucinating. Oh gosh, is this going to be the end of me? Dying due to some unknown cause?
"Zen, you told me you were fine this afternoon. Why didn't you tell me you had this?" asked Lily.
"Are.. you saying that this is because of you resurrecting me? One of the side effects?" I asked her.
"I… don't know, Zen. There had never been anyone else," she answered.
"What do you mean by that?" I questioned her.
"Alright, enough questions. You need some rest, Zen. Let's finish up so we can get back to our room," said Rose.
"I'm fine. No reason to rush our meal. I'm just fed-up that Moi might be messing with my head," I blurted out.
"Huh? You too?" said Rose.
"Um, we'll talk later about this," I told her.
"Moi is my best friend! She visits me every night to play with me," smiled Daisy.
"W.. what?!" Rose and I shouted at the same time.
"Umm.. sorry but who is Moi exactly?" asked Lily.
I looked at Rose and she was also struggling to figure out a way to explain. How do we explain a being that we don't even understand?
"She's… a little girl that we have met during our journey back from the City Of Lilies Dahlee. We… still don't know who or what she really is, to be honest," I shrugged.
"In my dream she's a beautiful lady that brings me on all sorts of adventures," said Daisy with a cheerful tone.
"Daisy dear, mommy is going to ask you more about Moi later, alright?" asked Rose to Daisy.
"Sorry to pull you in on our family issues, Lily. We should had spent more time asking about you instead," I told Lily.
"Oh, it's alright. When the both of you told me that everything were going great, I assumed things were fine. But as it turns out, things were worse than I thought," she chuckled.
"No no.. things were relatively great. Really, there were a few things we literally just knew moments ago, which we will need to sort out later. You don't need to worry about it, Lily," said Rose with an awkward smile.
"Then I guess I shouldn't take more of your time then. I should take my leave now. It was fun meeting you all again. I hope it won't take another 5 years to our next meet-up. I promise to visit you more often in the West," said Lily as she stood up.
"Oh, you're leaving? See you soon," said Rose.
"I doubt it will be soon as I have my trainings to get to. It was a pleasure to see you three once again. Farewell you three," waved Lily as she headed out the tavern's main door.
"Bai bai~" waved Daisy in response.
"She doesn't know that we will travelling together, does she?" I asked Rose after she left the premise.
"I guess she will know sooner or later," she chuckled.
***
We were back in our room now. What a difficult talk we had to convince Daisy that she will be under Peter's care until we figure out what is causing the monster attacks on the city. It was certainly heartbreaking seeing her cry and hugging Rose, refusing to let her go. A lot of explaining and convincing were needed until she eventually gave in. Her mood was certainly sour after the talk that we decided to ask her about Moi some other time instead. I hate leaving her alone but Rose insisted to come along on the investigation. Her sixth sense was telling her to follow me along and she was having none of it. I was not planning to talk her out of it as I felt that I needed her help. Whoever is controlling these monsters is definitely a powerful being, capable of attacking both East and West at the same time is no easy feat.
"I guess you were wrong about Lily, Rose," I said.
"Huh? In what sense?" she asked while being confused.
"You said that she will not find someone else when I'm still alive, but she told me she had a partner now," I answered.
"P.. partner? Are you sure? She never said a thing about it when we spoke," she frowned.
"Well, that was what she told me," I sighed.
"Run me through what happened. I need more context here," she scratched her head.
"Nah.. I've already told Peter and I don't wish to retell it again. It was a painful experience for me," I sighed.
"Zen, onii-chan~ Tell me about it and I'll do the thing that we talked about. It's strange that Lily would hurt you in any shape or form. I wish to know what happened," said Rose.
"Y.. you sure? You're not just saying that to get my hopes up, are you?" I asked in eagerness.
"Yes, so spill it already. I'm dying with anticipation here," she nagged.
I told her what happened after she had beaten me in the tournament to our interactions thereafter. Her words still stung my heart when her sudden outburst told me to stop following her. Or perhaps when she told me that she had a partner of her own. Either way, I just don't wish to retell the story again if I can help it.
"No wonder she felt so down during our fight. So it was because of you," she squinted.
"A.. are you saying it's my fault? What did I even do wrong?" I asked with a sad tone.
"Zen.. you need to remember. Lily loves you, probably as much as me. While I get to indulge in your love, she does not because you refused to accept her. The more time you spend with her, the more she longs to be with you. I know you are horrible at detecting behaviours but just try not to forget that. Lily is just trying to push you away so as to not get hurt again because of you," she sighed.
"Soo.. it was a lie that she have a partner?" I clarified.
"Does it matter? You don't want to marry her either way, so wouldn't it be better if she actually has a partner of her own. Now get on the bed and strip. I don't wanna end up hurting my knees," she shooed me.
"Yes ma'am," I obliged as I hopped on the bed.
***
"The things you make your wife do just for your pleasure," said Kirin.
It was the familiar grassy land where Kirin and Byakko resides to meet me in my dream world. And as usual, Byakko was sitting on his favourite spot atop a flat rock.
"Hey, I didn't force her or anything. She offered to do it in the first place," I retaliated.
"You could had rejected her offer," answered Byakko.
"Why would I? It feels special when she does it. And it's not like she does it often anyway," I shrugged.
"What a selfish host to think of your own pleasure over your own wife," squinted Kirin.
"Did you two summoned me just to judge and torment me?" I folded my arms together.
"No. We are here to warn you about the dangers ahead. Your previous endeavours had you angering a Cosmic Being. We do not know which but it is certainly one of the old ones. Not a relatively new God that just started out," warned Kirin.
"Old ones? New Gods? You never told me that they were young or old Gods before. Did they give birth to new Gods or something?" I asked with curiosity.
"Hmm.. let's just say that Gods are created from beliefs, emotions or faith. When there are many beings that share the same values or emotions, it gives birth to new Gods. The old ones are those that had already existed for centuries due to common emotions or beliefs," Byakko explained.
"Do you know their identities? How many Cosmic Beings are there out there? The Goddess of Divinity? The Imperatrix of Mortal? Are these actually real Cosmic entities?" I asked them.
"We… can never be certain that these beings exist as we can never enter the Ethereal. All we feel is their emotions of the Gods overflowing from the Ethereal or the birth of a new God. That is all we are allowed to know sadly," sighed Kirin.
"So we don't even know which one I angered. Great. But why though? Is it because I angered Son and their flock? That is the only thing I can think of. I do not believe that the Imperatrix of Mortal who is supposed to be the God of humans would be angered when I didn't even do any harm them on them. And I'll be extremely disappointed if she is really helping them," I recalled what had happened previously.
"We do not have the answer for you. All we can say is that you need to be careful on your next adventure. You do not want to anger another Cosmic being," warned Kirin.
"Quite the party you have here," said a voice behind me.
I turned quickly and was surprised by who it was. Should I really say surprised when she had been appearing in my dreams twice now? But.. this should be a secret meeting between my two legendary items and the celestial beings that reside in it. How can she be here?
"M.. Moi? What are you doing here? And how?!" I asked.
"Well, I overheard there was a party so I thought I'll stop by," she chuckled.
"Moi.. I don't want to be rude or even turn you as my enemy. But leave Daisy alone. That is the only warning that I am giving you. She has done nothing to you," I pointed at her.
Moi was intrigued by me and stared at me with a smile. She walked towards Byakko who seems to be afraid of her. What is going on? A celestial being is afraid of a little girl? For real?
"Do you mind if I sit on you? You have nice soft fur that is comfortable to sit on," she asked him while hugging her teddy.
"Uhh.. be my guest?" Byakko submitted to her.
Kirin was also speechless as he seems to be afraid of her as well. Two celestial beings afraid of her? Who the hell is she?
"Moi," I asked again.
"You never knew, did you? Zen Hawthorn?" she asked as she rested herself on Byakko's body.
"What about exactly?" I asked back.
"The reason as to why I appeared in your dream twice," she smirked.
"No. I do not. I am a dense person as many had told me. I hope you can shed some light on what you are trying to convey to me," I answered.
"Baku… was a vessel.. of a Cosmic Being. And both you and Rose had defeated it. Did you think the Cosmic Being would allow you to roam freely after disposing its vessel?" she questioned me.
"W.. what? A.. vessel of a Cosmic Being?" I turned towards Kirin and Byakko who started to sweat upon hearing those words.
"I am surprised that the both of you are unaware of this seeing that the two of you are one of the oldest Celestial Beings out there. Allow me to explain then," sighed Moi.
"Listen very carefully. A Cosmic Being cannot step into the realm of reality. Even a Celestial Being can only exist as a spiritual being or as an object. This is the rule set by all the Cosmic Beings. Should any Cosmic Beings choose to break this rule, well, let's just say that all hell will break loose as Gods will be fighting against one another. Which would basically mean the destruction of this world as well," she explained.
"So, what do Cosmic Beings do in their own time? They play games with one another. All the realms are their playground to participate in. They can choose two beings to do their biddings in each realm. One is a vessel, who executes the demands of their God, while the other is a champion, who is chosen by their God to spread their names, and gaining more followers to do their biddings. Champions usually receives direct blessings or powers from their God as rewards. Both are very dangerous individuals that is not to be trifled with. Remember that," she continued.
"Okay… so Baku was a vessel of a Cosmic Being. So you visited us in our dreams to protect us? But how come you're not affected by it? How does this relate to you and Daisy?" I questioned her.
"Your microsleep is due to the side effects of defeating Baku. You and Rose were experiencing them without even knowing. 'I' was there to wake you up. As for Daisy, well, she was the one who came looking for me to be honest," she chuckled.
"Woah, hold up. So microsleep is due to us slaying Baku since sleep was his weapon. But, why microsleep? It feels harmless, isn't it? And what are you trying to say? Daisy was in the city where we left her. How could she even find you? I'm just so confused right now," I rubbed my forehead.
"One thing at a time, Mister Zen. Microsleep is actually more dangerous than you think. Imagine falling asleep in the middle of combat, that pretty much spells defeat. And besides, I was the one who woke you up. Who knows what would had happened if I did not. Perhaps you might had been stuck in the dream world forever," she started rolling on Byakko's furs.
"As for your daughter, well, she is more powerful than you think. She have a deep connection to the Ethereal and she has a strong spiritual essence. Be warned though, if she is careless, the Cosmic Beings might not be fond of her using the Ethereal as a way to communicate with other individuals. She misses both of you when you were in the Northern continent. Which was how she met me, seeing that I was the closest to both of you at that point in time. Aren't I right, boys?" she smirked at Kirin and Byakko who curled their lips.
"You two.. knew about Daisy's powers? Why didn't any of you said anything?" I stared at them with upmost surprise.
"Just say we did, would you had believed us? She visited this place when she was just a baby. You had no idea how nervous we were when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. We were afraid that your kid was some Cosmic entity in the making but luckily she was not. So far, we know she can visit us outside of the Ethereal but not inside. But she was never afraid with either of us. Even now, she still visited us once a while. You had no idea the number of times she rode on Kirin who happily took her for a ride," laughed Byakko.
"H.. hey! She rode on you too. I recall someone letting her sleep on your fur and did not dared to move a muscle so as to not disturb her," shouted Kirin.
"As you can see, Mister Zen, I was not lying to you," Moi smiled.
"Assuming what you told me is real, and seeing that you were not affected by Baku's side effect, then what 'are' you? Are you a vessel yourself? Why help us in the first place?" I questioned.
"You'll know sooner or later, Mister Zen. Let's just say I grew fond of you and your family. The both of you were willing to help the City Of Lilies Dahlee despite having the option to walk away. A noble act, despite knowing you might end up dying. And I enjoying the things that you had showed me so far," she smirked.
"Enough chit-chat. I am here for a reason and it is two-fold. Firstly, I am here to make sure that you no longer suffer microsleep. Where you are going, it would be certain death of you. Secondly, there are two things you need to know," she raised up two fingers.
"Do remember this when you wake up. You must remember these, Mister Zen. First of all, you must protect Rose at all cost. She must live no matter what," she started walking closer to me while still hugging her teddy.
She placed her index finger on my forehead. She was floating mid-air at this point.
"And lastly, FEAR THE NEW BLOOD," her voice grew deeper as I was thrown out of the dream world in an instant.