Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss-Chapter 230: A Night Of What Ifs

The fire crackled softly, sending faint golden light flickering across the campsite. The light was high enough for them to see by, but low enough to not attract any form of wild beasts.

It was well past midnight and the others, Thorn, Elias, and Valen, were asleep.

Thorn snored faintly, occasionally muttering nonsense. The sound of the gibberish drifted through the camp, mingling with the sound of the crickets.

Elias, who was wrapped tightly in his cloak, barely moved, and Valen somehow made sleeping look like meditating. He was sitting up, his head bowed, and his sword laying across his lap, ready for anything that could happen during his sleep.

As for Ren and Lilith, they were taking the first watch of the night, sitting a few paces from the fire, their shoulders close and their expressions solemn.

Neither spoke at first.

The silence between them was companionable, but tense, as if they were both waiting for the other to say something they weren't ready to say.

Eventually, Ren broke the quiet.

"The Chained Man." He murmured, the name tasting wrong on his tongue.

Lilith's eyes flicked to his. She nodded. "You've never mentioned him before. Was he in that game? In Eternal Souls?"

Ren shook his head slowly. "No. Not even once. Neither was this 'Three' Vesper mentioned. I don't recognize any of it. And that's…" He trailed off.

Lilith frowned, arms folded across her knees. "That's… strange. You've predicted most of what's happened up until now. Even if things don't go the same way again, it should at least be recognizable. But you don't know the Three."

"Yeah." Ren let his eyes drift to the stars above them. "I knew my presence would change a lot of the way things were supposed to go."

"Life is a collection of the decisions of billions of people, all at the same time, changing everyone else's move. And that was why I thought it was normal when the barbarians attacked House Ross."

"That was the first major thing that never happened in the game. I thought that was just my presence changing the world. Like the butterfly effect. But now? This feels different."

Lilith's voice was soft. "What if it wasn't an accident? What if you weren't summoned? What if someone brought you here on purpose?"

The idea made something cold settle in Ren's chest. He let out a low laugh, but there was no humor in it.

"That's the scary part, isn't it? It makes too much sense. The Chained Man… he's pulling strings, right? Who says someone isn't pulling strings to counter him. Someone who pulled mine too."

Lilith didn't reply. Her hand played with the herm of her tunic, her eyes staring forward in thought.

"What if…" Ren looked at her. "What if I'm a puppet? What if none of my choices matter and have been predestined?"

Lilith met his gaze, her expression fierce. "No." She snarled.

"Even if you were summoned, even if someone brought you here… every choice you've made since has been your own. You chose to protect your family. You chose to trust me. That matters."

He smiled faintly. "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a long while. The fire popped now and then. A night bird called somewhere in the distance.

"Still," Ren said at last, "Vesper said the Three have been here for decades. Why start now? Why trigger the Calamities now? What were they waiting for?"

Lilith stared at the flames. "Maybe something changed. Maybe they had to prepare a lot before they could start. Or maybe… maybe your arrival was the change."

Ren thought about that. If the Chained Man had waited years, decades even, maybe he'd needed a catalyst. Maybe Ren was that catalyst. And if that was true, what else was he unwittingly unlocking just by being here?

His thoughts turned darker. What if Eternal Souls was never just a game? What if it was a summoning device? And by completing the game, I consented to being consented?

He thought about it. What if someone designed the game just to bring him here?

He finally spoke aloud. "What if I'm not actually the first to be summoned? What if I'm just the first to make it this far?"

He refused to believe he was the only one to have completed Eternal Souls. He wasn't. Right?

The idea sat between them in the silence.

Finally, Lilith reached for his hand. He let her take it.

"We'll figure it out." She said. "Together."

Her grip was firm. Warm. Real. Ren squeezed her fingers and managed a smile.

"Yeah. Together."

They let the thoughts drift away after that, though neither of them truly stopped thinking about it. Instead, they shifted to more immediate problems.

"Edenhold." Ren said. "Even with all our power, we can't just walk in."

"We could try teleporting." Lilith suggested. "But you'd have to leave a beacon inside the city first." fгeewebnovёl.com

Ren shook his head. "That's the problem. Getting in first."

Lilith leaned back slightly, her silver hair catching the firelight. "How about we blend in?"

Ren tilted his head. "You're thinking infiltration?"

"Yes. We use the Chosen cloaks. We draw out a patrol, take their place. Get into the city under false pretenses."

Ren mulled it over. "We'll need to sell it. Create a disturbance outside the city. Something that draws the Chosen far enough away so no one connects the replacement."

Lilith grinned. "That's the easy part. I can pull them with a single explosion."

"You're confident." Ren said.

She gave him a look. "I'm glad you're trusting me."

"I always have."

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked away. "Still. Thank you."

Ren rested his free hand over hers. "If we're walking into the lion's den, I'd rather walk with you."

Their eyes met again.

Lilith's voice was low when she spoke again. "Then let's set the fire, and walk through the smoke."

They sat like that until the fire burned low and the stars began to fade.

Together.