For a moonless night, it was quite noisy. It wasn't chaotic, but rather rhythmic in its own way, the loud noise coming from only one or two sources, like the heavy rain pounding on both the roof and the ground, and the sound of the television in the living room setting the beat to nature's confusing music, in a strangely comforting way.
Outside, the sound of thunder could occasionally be heard, and lightning flashed across the cloudy sky like serpents.
As it was the fall season transitioning into winter, the rain came with a sharp drop in temperature, making the weather perfect for staying home under the blankets, watching TV, and starting some popcorn or hot chocolate.
Ikki looked at the dark clouds covering the night sky through his bedroom window. While gazing at the clouds, he had a feeling that this rain was the prelude to something bad.
Taking a deep breath to calm the bad feeling that was like a hand squeezing his heart, he closed the curtains of his window and looked at the clock.
It was 20:34; he had a few minutes before meeting Artemis. Walking to stand in front of the mirror, he took a look at his reflection.
He had tied his dark hair into a ponytail with a black ribbon and put on casual clothes for cold weather: black sweatpants and a white shirt with a black winter jacket with white fur on the inside.
Around his neck was a gold necklace with a dragon pendant his friend had given him as a birthday present, and on his wrist was his shield in the form of a watch, along with the ring that was his sword on his ring finger.
Obviously, he needed to look a little more polished than usual, considering he was going to confess his feelings to the girl he loved.
After looking at his reflection and nodding in satisfaction, he left his room and went to the living room where his mother was watching TV.
"Well, dressed like that. Are you going out with a girl?" his mother asked as soon as she saw him entering the room.
She looked at him with a teasing expression.
"I'm going out with Artemis tonight," Ikki said nervously.
Sophia looked at her son with mild surprise.
She knew the two had been seeing each other for the past few weeks; her son, who was genuinely happy about it, had told her about their meetings with a smile on his face.
"Again? And here I thought I could have some quality time with my dear son."
She pouted at the end of her words.
"Don't worry, Mom. We'll have all the time in the world after tonight."
Ikki said with a slight smile as he looked at his mother, who stopped pouting and looked a little strange.
"So, are you going to tell her?"
"About what?"
"About your feelings…"
His mother seemed worried about this.
"Yes, it has to end one way or another," Ikki said with a hidden lethargy in his smile.
"I see." Sophia sighed and spoke optimistically. "I'll wait for the good news when she accepts to be your girlfriend. I want her to come see me, okay?"
She really believed in it but was prepared to comfort her son if the worst happened. It was the only thing she could do.
Looking at his mother and hearing her words, Ikki couldn't help but smile briefly. He looked closely at her, and a trace of uncertainty intensified in his heart.
"Okay, Mom. This time I'll bring the daughter-in-law you always wanted," he said with as much confidence as he could gather.
"I trust your abilities," Sophia said with a beautiful smile.
"Don't worry, I won't take too long this time. I'll be back before dinner," Ikki said with a slight smile.
After saying this, he walked toward the door of the house. Before leaving, his mother's words entered his ears.
"Take care, Ikki. Know that I love you and always will."
He stopped and looked at his mother, who had a bright smile on her face. He looked closely at her, while the uncomfortable feeling in his heart slowly intensified.
"Why this all of a sudden?"
"I just felt like saying it, and I did. Can't I?" His mother pouted, upset.
"Of course, you can."
"Then, you won't say you love me too? How cruel you are…"
"You're being dramatic. I'm going now, wish me luck."
Ikki rolled his eyes and left the house.
As soon as he closed the door behind him, he used his [Teleportation] magic to vanish from New York.
He appeared at the edge of a cliff in South America, the place he had arranged to meet the Goddess of the Moon.
It was magnificent.
The surroundings smelled heavily of floral scents and nature, and from the top of the cliff where he stood, he could see the ocean and the coastline of a city on the horizon.
He walked on the jade-green grass and sat at the edge, listening to the waves crashing against the rocks below. His eyes moved to the night sky, which was like a theater where the stars were the secondary characters, and the moon was the main character.
"I see someone arrived early," a familiar, beautiful voice entered his ears.
Ikki turned around and watched Artemis walking toward him. Seeing her and knowing what he had to do, his heart beat faster. Declaring his love for someone wasn't an easy task.
It involved a lot of feeling, a lot of inspiration, and sometimes, a lot of courage.
Even though he had been mentally preparing himself during the past few days.
So, after a second, he responded.
"Yeah, I came early to watch the night sky. You know, one of my favorite things to do."
Artemis sat beside him and looked at the horizon. She spoke with a slight smile on her lips.
"Yeah, I never get tired of driving my chariot at night. And this place is really beautiful, I can understand why you came so early."
Saying this, she turned to him and asked.
"So, about what you wanted to talk about? You said it was very important and couldn't wait."
The question froze Ikki's heart for a moment. It was time, right?! He took a deep breath and, looking into her silver eyes that stared at him with a certain curiosity, decided to start speaking.
"Do you remember how we met?"
Hearing his question, the Goddess of the Moon felt her heart race. She spoke with a smile on her lips.
"How could I forget? I never imagined that in the middle of my stupid action, I would be saved by an extremely powerful boy who got rid of the monsters and healed me. The worst part is that I never expected him to become my best friend so quickly."
Ikki smiled slightly at the Goddess's words and spoke.
"And I never expected I would become friends with the biggest man-hater on the planet. I think destiny is a little strange, isn't it?"
"Yeah, not even we Gods can say what's really going on in the minds of the Fates." Artemis sighed and said.
"That's the harshness of reality and also the beauty of destiny. In this world, everyone is the main character, but they are also secondary characters. Maybe our apparent union has some meaning in the will of the three Fates, but even if that's true, I don't care. I'm grateful to have met you, that's what matters to me," Ikki said with a smile, he held Artemis's hand, which turned slightly red.
The Goddess's mind was filled with various thoughts. Part of her thought the same, and another part cursed destiny for making them meet.
In the end, she simply said.
"I feel the same."
The two fell into a brief silence, before Ikki took a deep breath, pulled her hand, and got her attention.
The two looked deeply into each other's eyes.
Looking into Artemis's silver eyes, he spoke in a tone full of sincerity.
"We've been through so much together lately… I don't know when it happened, but I ended up falling in love with you. I know I'm not the same without you. I love who I am when I'm by your side, and I want to keep discovering every day the strength of this feeling that has taken over my soul. I think it's not too early to say: I love you, Artemis!"
His words shocked Artemis in an indescribable way. They sent her into a horrible internal turmoil, her heart almost jumped out of her chest from how fast it was beating.
I love you...
These simple three words were the only thing clear in her mind.
Before she could recover from her inner turmoil, Ikki squeezed her hand and got a little closer, then spoke softly.
"I love you like I've never loved anyone before. It's not a rule or a prison. It's something gentle like a tear that flows amidst the longing for your absence, which I keep clinging to. And when I'm with you, the only thing left is joy. My laughter is so happy with you. I can't resist the impact of your presence on my racing heart because it's always like the first time I saw you with my eyes."
His words were so beautiful and took her out of her inner mess. Artemis felt an immense urge to cry, a terrible feeling rose inside her heart, and she bit her red lips. In fact, traces of crimson red blood began to seep out.
She couldn't be with him. As much as she wanted to, she feared it would end up like Orion, feared that she would lose everything she had spent centuries building in her life.
There were too many reasons why she couldn't ignore it. It was because of them that she chose to make a decision she knew would hurt him.
"Ikki…"
The name escaped her lips softly and almost inaudibly.
"Knowing your stubbornness, I know you will follow through with this delusion that everything will end the way you think. When you haven't even lived to have that certainty, I pity you, Artemis..."
Afrodite's words snapped in her mind, causing a part of her to hesitate in speaking about how the two couldn't be together, contrary to her desires.
But before she could say or do anything, Ikki stopped her, speaking with conviction.
"I know you're a Virgin Goddess, someone who can't have this kind of relationship with a man. Whether it's because of some responsibility I don't know or your own values, none of that matters to me. I have no fear of the consequences of feeling what I feel for you. Loving you takes away my fears and makes me feel like a bird flying through the vast sky without worries."
"You can try to find a thousand definitions for love in the dictionary. No concept or word will come close to the real feeling I have for you. It's just thinking of you that everything changes."
His gaze softened.
"Just thinking of you, and life gains color, the sadness disappears, and there's only space for joy, hope, love. Your smile is like a ray of the moon that I love so much, your presence is a true gift. I love you more than words could ever say."
Pouring out his most sincere feelings in these words, he sighed and, fearing the response, looked toward the horizon.
"That's what I wanted to say to you."
He had said it!
Artemis wore an unreadable expression on her face. Strangely, she was very calm, despite her heart floating with happiness and love, amid a mix of different emotions, but her logic prevailed this time in the face of all the adversities thrown by her heart.
She knew what she had to do and knew exactly how to do it.
"If you're going to follow through with this delusion, please, be kind with your words and reject him in the best way you can. He doesn't deserve a traumatic memory from the girl who truly loves him." Afrodite's voice guided her to the right path.
"Now I understand why you told me those words. So, you already knew it would end like this. Didn't you, Afrodite?" As she thought about it, she took a deep breath, stepped back a little, and let go of the boy she loved's hand. Then, she spoke slowly.
"Unfortunately, I can't say I feel the same way about you, Ikki. I saw you as my best friend, but that's it... I'm sorry."
Ikki, who had turned his eyes toward her when he felt her let go of his hand and step away, merely smiled faintly at her words. He had already expected a response like that. But it was hard to hide the pain in his smile. His deep sapphire eyes looked directly at the Goddess as he felt his heart being torn apart.
Meanwhile, his silvery eyes looked silently into his.
In truth, it seemed there was an extremely complicated emotion flowing within them.
Now, even as he realized she was looking at him, Artemis didn't dare to face him directly. Instead, she gently diverted her gaze. A bitter feeling surged in her heart. However, she suppressed her emotions strongly before speaking promptly.
"Don't get me wrong. You're an amazing boy, and I'm sure any girl would be lucky to have your love. But I can't have this human emotion..."
Turning her eyes back to the boy, she watched him return his gaze to the horizon.
A long time passed before he suddenly inhaled deeply, before the expression on his face turned lonely and oppressed. His voice was a bit hoarse as he said: "I understand, I guess that's it then..."
"We can still be friends, how about it?" Artemis shuddered slightly and said with hopeful eyes.
Ikki gave a faint smile. Meanwhile, there was lethargy in his smile that couldn't be hidden. Soon, an indifferent expression appeared on his face as he said: "Unfortunately, I can't continue being your friend. Good luck in your life."
After he spoke, he stood up and turned to leave the place.
Artemis shuddered seeing him in that state. Bitterness and regret surged in her heart; she opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, chose silence. In fact, it was more like the words wouldn't come out.
She felt she had made the wrong decision.
After taking a few steps, Ikki stopped and turned toward her. With a calm and indifferent voice, he bid her farewell.
"Goodbye, Lady Artemis."
After that, he didn't linger. His body moved before he transformed into a beam of light and flew quickly out of the cliff.
Her beautiful silver eyes were a bit distracted as she looked at the boy, who was disappearing into the horizon. She stood up and looked toward the horizon, lifting her beautiful face before using a voice, which was only audible to her, and murmured to herself.
"I lied to you... You conquered my heart, and since then it's completely yours. You took a piece of me, but you also gave me a piece of you. You gave me the most beautiful heart, the most passionate love. Thank you for choosing me. You make me the happiest person in the world! But my selfish decision did this to you, I'm sorry... I deserve to be hated."
Feeling the cold ocean breeze blowing against her face and hearing the waves crashing against the rocks below the cliff, a tear fell down her right cheek.
"I love you. Even denying it. Even letting you go. Even not asking you to stay. Even being far away, I love you. And I do love you..."
After saying this, she vanished with a silver glow.
As if her chariot in the sky sensed her mood, it darkened and released an extreme sense of oppression. To the mortals who were walking and going about their own futile tasks, it seemed as if the moon was crying.