The Venerable of Dreams once more greeted me with a cocky smile, as she had been waiting for me this entire time. This time she wasn't alone. A few days ago Belle, the little dream spirit had begun manifesting inside of here as well, most of the time she just helps me train my soul, but she seems to want to develop a relationship with her creator, the venerable. She probably wants a motherly figure; she had always felt alone in the inheritance after all. The bad thing is that the Venerable is not a corny woman, she really cant deal with something as Belle's desire for love and comfort from her "mother".
"You're here again, fufu~ Want more soul torture this time around?" She asked maliciously, as the little belle at her side, looking like a miniature version of her with a slight resemblance, tried to imitate her mother.
"So you're here, Drake! Fufu…" She laughed, and then quickly stopped, looking back at the Venerable. "Did I do it alright mom?"
"D-Don't call me mother! I-I am not your mother, little spirit." Sighed the Venerable, her beautiful and mature figure of a woman at her peak contrasted with the little fox girl at her side.
"Oh…" Belle sighed, as she seemed sad.
"Hey, do you have to be so mean with her?" I sighed. "She has lived thousands of years in solitude, maybe you can be happy with that but you made her this way and then left her all this time. We have been trying to be a family for her but you're her creator. Take responsibility."
"R-Responsibility?!" Asked the Venerable. "She's a spirit I created! She's completely autonomous, and just as you said, she has lived a long life, why can't she simply get this strange idea out of her head?"
"P-Please don't discuss for me, I am sorry…" Belle sighed, as she walked a few steps away from the Venerable. I quickly went to her side and hugged her, embracing her in my arms and carrying her like a daughter.
"You're really an awful old woman!" I said. "You've lived an entire life here completely alone and you've never missed interactions with people? Have you ever considered making bonds with others more than just companions that fight together?"
"Unlike you I am not a corny lizard! I do value emotions and all of that, but I am not interested in building such relationships…" Sighed the Venerable. "I once had a family in my world… I still love them and miss them… I've lost too many people in this world. Lives here are too fleeting… I don't want to form any more of such useless relationships that only end in meaningless sorrow."
"Sigh…"
She's really something else. I guess that's a Venerable for you, has lived so long they think family relationships are useless. But… there's something else within her mind and her heart. Probably the desire to meet her family again has never left her, and even now, it still a big motivation that had kept her growing stronger all her life.
"Drake please don't fight with my creator… It is alright…" Said Belle while she contained her little tears. "I am very happy to have you with me as well, everyone is nice outside… I-I guess I shouldn't had really tried this… I should simply appreciate all of you instead of seeking her… love."
"No, it is alright, Belle. I think it is completely justifiable and normal for you to seek the love of your mother. It is something normal that all people do." I said. "You don't have to give up, melt this old woman's heart one day and show her that there's something more than grieving about death and wishing to go back to her original world."
"W-What nonsense are you telling my spirit now, Drake?!" Asked the venerable angrily. "Sigh… Not only you ruined my inheritance but you're now meddling with my life when I have never done this to your family either! I am keeping myself far away from even interacting with them… Well, I am dead anyways, but still."
"You talk about not wanting relationships and more, but you get incredibly melodramatic sometimes. Can't you just open your heart?" I sighed. "Or are you going to tell me the only thing you're currently interested in is reviving and having sex?"
"T-That's… don't say it out loud in front of Belle!" Sighed the vixen. "I merely want to get things done with and return to my world, Zipangu. I want to meet my family again, my mother, father, my grandparents… my little sister… I don't want to meddle with this world anymore. Don't you understand?"
"You now are talking as if you were me a few months ago…" I sighed. "Well, you forced me into this entire situation, but for you its not even a thing to question? So you force others to meddle with this world and get as involved with the whole venerable and fate drama, but you stay away from it because "you don't want to get involved"? What sort of nonsense are you talking about?"
"T-This is… shut up!" Said the venerable, crossing her arms and giving me her back. "If you came here to just annoy me with your stupidity, you're free to leave… Bring that spirit outside as well."
"Sigh… You're really stubborn." I sighed, giving up for the moment. I noticed my Belle getting slightly sad, but I really couldn't do much for her now. She really desired love and comfort from her creator and mother, but she simply didn't wanted to give any of that to her. The only thing she can do is work hard. Eventually, the venerable might open up a bit… or maybe not.
"Drake, you should know that no Venerable think the way you do… Eventually, we all give up and conclude that our only true goal is strength and to stand above everybody else. Our true path to freedom is through such a mean."
"If that's the case, then I will never take such a Title." I said. "I prefer to die than to forbid everything that makes me who I am…"
"…"
