Hmmm… what better way than this… Razeal suddenly raised himself off the bed more like jolted up with a stretched, relaxed motion, and an actual happy smile on his face.

A genuine one. Rare enough to look unnatural on him.

In his right hand, the black sword rested inside its new sheath sleek, dark, beautiful.

Yeah… he had somehow convinced Tongue to make him a proper sheath for the sword too. And now it hung in his grip like some forbidden treasure wrapped in shadows.

He was just about to move his legs off the weird jelly-soft bed when he felt it.

A presence.

Instantly, like a beast sensing an intruder, Razeal's muscles tensed. His eyes narrowed sharply, crimson pupils thinning like blades as he turned his head toward the corner of the room. Every instinct flared predatory, alert, ready.

Then he saw who it was.

His guard dropped… instantly.

His tension faded. A slow smirk curled onto his lips.

"Ohhh… who we have in here." He leaned back slightly, almost amused. "So now you're getting inside someone's bedroom without even asking permission? Is that what gods do?"

His voice dripped with sarcasm. He didn't even try to hide how uninterested he was.

Riven stood in the corner, arms crossed, expression unreadable at first then shifting into confusion.

"And I thought you were gonna attack or freak out when you saw me here," Riven said, stepping away from the wall. "What happened to you? Huh? First time I'm seeing you smile like this… It's weird for me. Very weird."

He wasn't wrong. Riven had probably been standing there… watching Razeal sleep like some disappointed father. Or some stalker with god-level patience. Who knows how long he'd been there.

But Razeal? He'd just been lying there sleeping peacefully.. first there wasn't something in his hand but then a sword appeared in his hand suddenly just before he woke up.. Well riven took it too that he sensed him finally and preparing.. which in itself was confusing enough but he ignored it for now.

"Oh, did something good happened." Razeal didn't answer the other point; he simply moved forward, still smiling. "I mean you are here. So tell me, what good news did you brought?" As he spoke, he casually got off the bed unbothered, relaxed while subtly sliding the small green star Tongue had given him into pocket of his plants.Smooth, unnoticeable. His movements didn't hint at anything suspicious.

Then he carefully began securing the sword onto the belt at his waist, adjusting the angle, the tightness, testing how it hung. All while almost pretending Riven wasn't there.

Riven didn't notice anything. Not the hidden star. Not the strange shift in Razeal's energy. Not even the new sword..

He was too irritated.

"And why," Riven said, sounding personally offended, "would I bring you good news? I mean.. yeah, I'm your best friend, but still… I definitely don't like what you do. Since you don't listen to your best friend's advice. Or what's best for you."

He shook his head, clicking his tongue.

Razeal was still adjusting his belt, still not looking up.

"Because," Razeal finally replied, tone light, "you don't come when things are going well for you. You only show up when something bad happened to your plans. Since you came to me, that means whatever happened went wrong because of me. Which means it's good news for me."

He paused, looked up, and smirked wider.

"Because I love when something goes wrong for you."

Riven went silent. Completely.

Razeal lifted his head all the way and finally looked at him directly eyes glowing faintly, expression full of mischief.

"So spit it out now already," Razeal said dramatically, spreading his arms a little. "I can't wait. I'm very, very excited."

Riven's jaw tightened. "You bastard…"

He took a step forward then another now standing directly in front of Razeal, faces just inches apart.

"What did you do?" he hissed. "First you saved Nancy from her glorious fate AND THEN YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO TELL HER ABOUT IT TOO!"

Riven's voice cracked in outrage.

"You even sent her to me! Knowing I can't lie!"

His expression twisted in irritation, humiliation, and frustration. He looked like a man whose carefully crafted house of cards had just been kicked across the floor.

Razeal just blinked. And then grinned.

"I enjoyed every bit of it," Razeal said calmly, savoring every word like fine wine. "And looking at your ugly expressions now? It's making my day. Believe me nothing makes me happier than ruining your plans."

Riven's jaw trembled with anger.

"Don't laugh, you bastard!" He grabbed the collar of his own coat, almost wanting to tear something apart. "It's all your fault! I got a slap on my face because of her. A slap. In front of her! Do you have any idea ANY IDEA.. how humiliating that is?!"

He threw his hands up dramatically.

"What exactly do you want?! To ruin the whole world?! You crazy maniac!"

Razeal blinked slowly, almost lazily, as he listened to Riven's frustrated rant. Even after all that dramatic complaining, Razeal's smile didn't fade not even a little. If anything, it got bigger.

Obviously. Riven was a fucking hypocrite, and Razeal knew it better than anyone.

"Telling me I ruined Nancy's fate…" Razeal thought, amusement tingling in his chest.

Nancy's "real fate" was to be raped… then kill herself from the pain and trauma. If anything, what he did wasn't ruining anything he changed it, gave her another path. A path where she could at least choose how her life goes instead of being crushed under some divine joke of destiny.

And Riven wanted to call that "ruining fate"?

Idiot.

Still, the hypocrisy wasn't even the funniest part.

"She slapped you?" Razeal repeated out loud.

And then.. A genuine laugh broke out of him, real, full, and clean. Not the sarcastic type he usually gave. More like something hit him so unexpectedly hard that it just escaped.

"And you let her slap.. You?" Razeal stared at him with wide eyes, as if Riven had just told him he got hit by a truck.

"That… that is VERY surprising to me," Razeal said, chuckling again. His shoulders even shook a little from how funny he found it.

A supreme god.. ONE of the three highest beings in existence.. getting slapped by a teenage girl?

What could possibly be more entertaining than that?

Razeal would have paid money to see that.

Gold? Diamonds? Souls? Anything.

It was a crime against comedy that he missed that moment.

Riven clenched his jaw as if swallowing broken glass.

"I had to," he said, through gritted teeth. "I'm not a heartless monster. She has a sad fate. She's just a poor child with heavy and sacred duty on her shoulders. I just wasn't able to.. "

He cut himself off, sighing deeply, rubbing his forehead.

For a moment, he even looked regretful.

Razeal blinked.

Then his grin widened, slow and bright.

"Ohhhh? Now that's what I call a god." He clapped once, sharply. "Come on nowww, can I give you one slap too? Believe me, I've had a MUCH harder life than her till now. I definitely deserve thousands. Let me. I'll be really thankful. Ohhh, your benevolent and kind Riven.. let me, let me."

Razeal reached out his right hand excitedly, practically leaning forward with the eagerness of a child begging for candy.

Riven's soul left his body.

"Don't." He stepped back instantly.. one sharp, disgusted step looking at Razeal as if one more inch closer and he'd murder him out of pure principle.

His expression screamed "absolutely fucking not."

"Whyyyy not?" Razeal stepped closer anyway, eyebrows rising innocently. "Let me naaa. Aren't we friends? You let her but not me? I literally have more dignified duty and worse fate than her. I should get priority!"

Those innocent puppy eyes did NOT fit his face, yet somehow that made it worse.

Riven lifted one hand in a strict STOP motion.

"No." His voice dropped an octave flat, serious, absolute. "Don't play with me, Razeal. I didn't come for jokes today. I came for serious talk."

Razeal exhaled dramatically and dropped the act.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He lifted both hands in surrender, stepping back. "Fine. You're lucky I'm in a good mood. I don't want to ruin it."

He returned to adjusting the sword on his waist, still looking amused, still replaying the mental image of Riven getting slapped.

Then he looked up with an expression of pure teasing curiosity.

"Well before that, how about you tell me WHY she slapped you? Let me guess.. you told her she should've let them rape her, right?"

He chuckled darkly as he said it.. because knowing Riven, that absolutely sounded like the kind of thing he'd say while calling himself "neutral."

Riven stared at him, expression flat.

He sighed.

Heavily.

As if Razeal's entire personality caused him physical pain.

"You're not being serious with me at all," Riven muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "But fine. I'll answer."

He took a breath.

"Well, yes.. I did say that." Then he shook his head. "But no. She didn't slap me for that. She slapped me after she clarified that you aren't a rapist."

Razeal blinked.

Then he blinked again, eyebrows slowly rising.

"Ohhh.. And she believed it?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "Wow. Now that is shocking."

He leaned back slightly as a grin curled onto his lips.

"Seems like it's more about your bad luck starting, Riven. People believing something good about me? Now that's a fucking miracle."

Razeal laughed lightly, shaking his head. Even he knew how absurd that sounded... Him?

Being seen in a good light?

That wasn't miracle level. That was "rewrite the entire universe laws" level.

Riven clicked his tongue.

"She had her doubts even before," he said.

"She was the one who asked me if you did that or not. So maybe you told her something that made her question it."

"well i think i did say something about it.. i cant remember clearly.." Razeal said nodding his head, his tone carrying that dry sarcasm that always lived somewhere under his voice. He sounded like he was teasing, but there was this faint undercurrent of actual surprise flickering in his eyes, even if he tried very hard to hide it. The idea that someone slapped Riven because of him was… honestly the most entertaining thing he had heard today.

"So what did she say?.." Razeal asked, laughing lightly, looking at Riven with that mocking spark in his crimson eyes, the kind that always, always irritated the god more than anything.

"She called me disgusting.." and well even went to tell.. about this to your mother.. which ofcourse i stopped her from... You are ruining everything.." riven replied with that deadpan expression, like he was tired not physically but cosmically, spiritually like Razeal existing was a personal inconvenience to the universe itself.

"Ohh.. ohhh.." Razeal was actually surprised at that. Truly. But he kept his expression smooth, not showing even a flicker of shock, just letting a small amused smile appear on his face. "Well.. ofcourse you be stopping her.. I mean only thing you good at is hiding the truth.. selfish god.. And not like she would've beleived.. well maybe she could've afterall she trusts everyone except her own son." Razeal said, his voice dripping sarcasm like honey turned into poison.

"And here i thought you'll be happy that finally someone believed in you.. But you definitely don't have any good or excited expressions i thought you will have.." Riven said, clearly irritated that Razeal wasn't reacting in the way he expected. He was probably waiting for some dramatic heartbreak or emotional breakdown. Instead he got… nothing.

"Well.. doesn't really concern me.. does it.. But heyy i am very happy about you getting slapped and.. being told what you actually are.." Razeal said, completely shameless and completely proud about it.

"Yeah yeah whatever.." riven just shook his head to the side, annoyed but trying to push past it, because clearly he hadn't come here to have a slap-discussion. Still though, he looked at Razeal for some seconds, studying him quietly, trying to understand the shift he could sense in him. Something felt different less tense, less angry, less… chaotic? Riven wasn't sure. He frowned, then sighed, choosing to finally say the thing he originally came for.

"Why are you bringing problems for whole world.. Will you stop?... because of you everything is now going.. the wrong way it was supposed to be.." riven said, sounding frustrated, as if he was dealing with someone who casually bent destiny into pretzel shapes for fun.

"Love it.. Just love it.. even though i haven't really done anything special to ruin your plan yet.." Razeal said with a shrug, enjoying every second of Riven's misery. He looked like a cat who was watching someone's expensive vase balance at the edge of a table and knew it would fall soon.

"You don't know what you did?.. Because of you not only is.. all the main people here and there.. First of all you.. you literally took holy promise from Areon.. do you know how important that was?..for the destiny?.. Handed him dragon heart before it was supposed to be.. fought with sylva.. slightly changing her personality.. which is too before that to should to be happen.. And worst of all.. Everything is going wrong.. Literally came.. just from... Selena and celestia fighting right now.. Selena is onto her way to tell nova.. that she lied that day... to reveal all the truth.. everything is going bad.. you changing whole corse of flow of fate.. and believe me its not a good thing.." riven said.

His voice grew heavier with each word, almost like he was listing crimes against the universe itself, like Razeal had personally slapped destiny across the face and kicked prophecy in the ribs.

"And why should that matter to me?.." Razeal asked casually, though inside his mind something tightened for a moment. The idea of Selena revealing anything… actually surprised him. But he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he made a sarcastic expression, lips twisting into a chuckle. "Guess she's finally feeling some shame now..."

"She always did felt guilty and know that.. She do care's for you.. and maybe you should realise that too whatever you are doing stop doing this because.. everything have consequences.. i know you still care for her.. And because of that she might be going into Danger.. going to your crazy sister she might get killed.." riven said, sounding unusually serious.

"I don't really care.. You don't know anything about me.. And also.. You are naive if you think nova will kill her.. She might be crazy to everyone else.. But she isn't to selena she is.. like a sister to selena.. since childhood.. You fucking around if you think she will kill her.. she literally choose her over me you think she will kill her just because she knew she lied?" Razeal chuckled as he said, shaking his head like Riven was being ridiculous.

"Then you don't know your sister.. she can kill her.. maybe selena does matter to her.. but she won't let her go.. Nova loves you.. More then anything.. believe me.." Riven said, and this time his tone wasn't mocking or irritated. It was serious. Too serious. Like he was warning him about something that wasn't a possibility but a certainty.

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