The Oracle Paths

"I'm sorry, Jake. I don't think we can stay together."

Jake turned eerily calm and expressionless upon hearing her apology, followed by an surprising declaration. Brushing off Lucia's tender touch on his cheek with unemotional resolve, he said flatly,

"I hope you realize what you're saying, Lucia. Because once we're done, there's no turning back."

He couldn't help but feel a glimmer of anger. She had been so bold, nearly forceful, pushing him to face his emotions and insecurities, and now, as he was barely getting used to the idea, she wanted to call it quits?

Lucia's face filled with panic as she watched his warmth turn icy, aware that it wasn't like him. Seeing him so hurt and cold towards her was a first, and her chest tightened, aware that one misstep could erase her from his heart forever.

"It... it's not what you think." Lucia stammered, struggling to mend the situation, but the more she tried to explain, the more her eyes welled up with tears.

Jake let her struggle with her emotions as she fumbled for words, and then, without warning, he pulled her into a tight embrace. She could barely breathe, let alone speak.

"I know what you meant." He murmured gently, stroking her hair. "But it doesn't suit you, Lucia. I didn't know you were one to admit defeat so easily."

"I-I didn't say I was giving up!" Lucia blurted out, shoving him away forcefully, only to regret it. "It's just..."

"Just what?" Jake echoed.

"It's just that... I know it will take time. A lot of time... Maybe my condition will never change." She admitted in a barely audible voice, staring down at her toes, her face a mask of sorrow.

Dismissing the idea of trying to comfort her, or reason with her, Jake suddenly blurted out,

"Lucia, do you want to kill me, right now? Do you hate me? Is that why you want to end things? Don't lie to me."

From her earlier actions towards Saros, he'd wrongly concluded that the Corrupted's hostility and hatred didn't apply to him, given his own high level of corruption. But he seemed to have been mistaken. His paradoxical condition, both one of their own and an enemy from the opposite side.

Jake too had been wrestling with conflicting feelings towards his close ones ever since he mutated after devouring Ruby. Unlike Lucia and other Corrupted, his mental attributes were ridiculously high compared to peers who had experienced the same number of Ordeals.

Thanks to that, along with his bloodline's adaptability trait, it was undeniably easier for him to distinguish and control himself. Truth be told, this didn't only apply to the Corruption, but also to the expected side effects of his Soul Class that weren't as overt and alienating as the previous ones.

It wasn't that he didn't suffer from these detrimental effects, but like his urge to crush objects from a distance, they hadn't reached a threshold where they would stop him from being himself. This was his normal, but he had to admit that for others, their reality was far different.

Jake calmly observed Lucia's reaction as she searched for words, catching the flickering glimmer of hatred and the distinct killing intent that had burned in her eyes when he'd asked if she wanted to kill him.

Lucia seemed to be battling herself, her face scrunching up, her brows furrowing as if she was concentrating with all her might to push away dreadful thoughts.

Seeing her suffer like this, Jake felt bad and was about to tell her she didn't need to answer when, out of the blue, Lucia asserted,

"I still love you. That won't change. But..."

"But?"

"But I also want to kill you. I can't lie about my feelings. And right now, I want to kill you more. If we stay together, or if our relationship goes further, I fear I'll lose control. I don't want to hurt you..."

Jake looked at her with a peculiar expression, halfway between shock and flattery at how charming she could be while looking so embarrassed and sad as she uttered such ridiculous words.

After a few seconds of silence, Lucia glanced up curiously, only to find Jake bursting into laughter, her beautiful golden eyes widening in disbelief.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Watching Jake double over, laughing uncontrollably until his stomach cramped, Lucia was left dumbfounded, her brain unable to process what was happening.

Yet, as he continued to laugh relentlessly, utterly ignoring her, a different kind of irritation began to well up inside her.

Frustrated, she stomped her foot on the ground and, her face turning bright red, she yelled,

"Damn it, Jake! If you don't tell me what's so funny right now, I'm going to lose it!"

Jake's laughter caught in his throat as he noticed the change in Lucia's tone and mood. Despite her ultimatum, he still chuckled a bit more before regaining control. When he finally felt composed enough to respond without bursting into laughter again, Jake uttered with an air of grave seriousness,

"Lucia, the thought of you accidentally killing me is what's hilarious here," Jake began, his tone touched with dry amusement. "I didn't want to dent your ego, but under the circumstances, I'm going to lay it bare. Unless you unleash your Myrmidian Sword, pouring all your True Will and Aura of Victory into a single strike, you've got no shot at killing me. If you don't obliterate my body and soul in one go, I'll be back on my feet before you can blink. And if you could do that, which is yet to be proven, you'd need your brain speed and reaction time to be thousands of times greater than they currently are to even have the slimmest chance of catching me off-guard. Otherwise, I'll see your attack coming from a mile away, and have a countermeasure in place before the thought's even fully formed in your mind. The gap between us is just that wide."

The Nexus room suddenly felt heavy with tension. Not only Lucia, but even Hade, Ulfar, and the other disciples eavesdropping on their conversation with feigned nonchalance, wore sour expressions as if they had just swallowed a wasp.

The poor guys were probably reassessing their entire lives, wondering at what point they had royally screwed up. It was particularly humiliating for Hade, who was the oldest, as well as Epsilom and Drakon who held the same rank of Oracle Knight as him.

Although they were grateful to have been saved, their goodwill towards him had likely plummeted. Judging from the way they were grinding their teeth, it was evident, especially in the case of Drakon, from whose nostrils smoke could practically be seen billowing out.

"No hard feelings, guys." Jake smirked unapologetically as he scanned the crowd of sneaky eavesdroppers. "That's why I've spent the last few hours busting my hump to clean up your messes and wipe your asses."

Jake's gaze then returned to Lucia, looking her eyes to gauge her reaction. Had his jab hit home or made things worse? But seeing her cutely clench her fists and teeth, her face screaming defiance, he knew that the obsessively competitive Lucia, who couldn't stand losing, was back in full swing.

For a fleeting moment, Jake thought she might explode or even attack him when she abruptly grabbed his throat with both hands, bringing her face close to his.

But when her lips met his and a triumphant giggle echoed in his ears, he realized Lucia's intentions were entirely different.

When their lips finally parted, Jake noticed not only the playful smirk on her bewitching lips that could lead a saint astray but also the disbelief that his neck hadn't even reddened despite her squeezing it with all her might.

"See? Told you." Jake smirked back, gently catching her forearms, as if encouraging her to try again as much as she wanted.

Lucia huffed, quickly releasing his throat as if it was a hot iron, before coughing and clearing her throat, avoiding his eyes.

"Cough... Well, since you're so sure I can't kill you," she began, her voice tinged with annoyance, "I suppose I have no choice but to challenge you and see if you're as 'resilient' as you claim to be."

"By all means, do," Jake replied, his grin turning provocative.

"...In bed, of course," Lucia added, her smirk taking on a seductive edge that mirrored his. "Otherwise, it's no fun."