Noticing that Dominique had fallen asleep, Mira gently laid her on the bed, pulled the sheets over her body, and gave her head a few pats before getting up and looking at Elenei and Rhydian.
"Elenei, you should prepare yourself for your Nirvana. We'll do that either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Rhydian, you stay here and protect Dominique," Mira paused and looked at Maria, "As for you. Why don't you lead me to your room so we can talk in private?"
Elenei nodded excitedly while Rhydian immediately laid down and fell asleep.
Maria nodded meekly as a blush crept up on her neck before getting up and gently pulling Mira along with her.
Soon, the two of them entered Maria's room, where the two of them stood in silence for a few minutes.
"...I know you've been growing feelings for me, Maria. Although I don't know if you see me as a possible romantic partner, I know you seem to have strong feelings toward me." Mira paused when she noticed Maria tense up.
"I…" Maria was about to say something, but Mira put a finger over her mouth to prevent her from saying anything and continued.
"You may have noticed that my personality or, I guess, my emotional range has changed. I'm still the same Mira you've always known. I've just come to a few realizations over the time we've been separated. Well, that's what eons alone can do to a person."
Maria was confused by that last sentence, but she stayed quiet and decided to let Mira finish talking before she opened her mouth.
"Let me give you some background first. Do you remember that inheritance I got two years ago?" Maria nodded, so Mira continued, "Well, there's a lot more to that inheritance than you can imagine. Hell, even I don't know everything about it. However, one of the functions of the inheritance is that it's actually linked to my existence and is currently resting in my Soul Sea. You might not think this is important, but I assure you it is."
"The inheritance is much more than just resources and techniques. No, it has literally everything in existence, or at least so it claims. However, I don't have free access to all those items, resources, techniques, and stuff. I have to go through trials in order to unlock them. If I fail these trials then… actually I'm not quite sure what happens but I can assure you nothing good happens."
"Anyways, I have to go through trials in order to get access to these items, techniques, etc. So, during these last two years, I underwent four trials. However, these trials are insanely long. While only a few months may pass in the outside world, thousands of years or even longer could have passed in the trial world. That's exactly what happened to me. While you may have only experienced a few years, I've gone through countless."
"During all that, I've had a lot of time to reflect. Well, some of the trials were also geared towards me reflecting on my life so far, but let's forget about that. Over the years, I've had a lot of time to reflect on my previous lives, my current life, and what I want for the future."
"I guess you could say my current state is a result of my reflection. My past is still haunting me as there's someone strong, someone most likely in the Immortal Realm, who's trying to force me to become his slave, or in his words, concubine. However, I now have a certain level of protection from that person, at least for now. So I won't have to worry about him corrupting your mind or the minds of those around me… Hopefully… I'll have to discuss this further with the person who considers himself the Guardian of my inheritance, but from what I understand, he won't let that person do anything to us directly until we reach a certain level of strength-"
"You're right, Mira! I won't let that bastard mess with you, Maria, Dominque, or anyone close to you! Now, go fuck Maria's brains out already!"
Both Maria and Mira heard an archaic voice appear in their minds, and while Maria was stunned, Mira felt a few veins on her forehead burst. She took a few deep breaths to calm her raging emotions and began talking again.
"-Anyways, now that I have some form of control over my life and the foreseeable future, I can now finally ask myself what I want with my life. Do I only want power? Do I want a family? Do I want to explore the pleasures that life has to offer now that I have some freedom? Maybe I can start a Sect? Or maybe I can just give up on my revenge and live out a peaceful life with someone I love?"
"That's when I came to understand a bit more about myself. I want power! I want enough power to slaughter all my enemies! I want to be so strong that nobody can tell me what to do! I want to be able to destroy worlds with a flick of my fingers! I want to be immortal and invincible! Only then will I feel comfortable experiencing what this Realm and other Realms offer!"
Maria did her best to prevent her expression from changing, but she truly couldn't hide her feelings. She felt delighted that Mira was willing to confide in her about her ambitions, but she also felt incredibly bitter and depressed that Mira wanted power over everything else.
Mira felt her fluctuating emotions but didn't mention them and instead kept talking.
"However, do you know what I realized after living through countless millennia alone?"
Maria perked up at that question and shook her head, signaling Mira to continue.
"I learned a few things, actually. I learned that the longer I stayed alive, the less I valued power. Now, that's not to say that I wouldn't stop pursuing it. I would never give up on that, not until I reached my absolute peak. I just realized that when you live for countless years, the less you actually use the power you've gained. Instead, you start valuing relationships and other things more and more."
"During all those years alone, I came to a realization. I don't want to go through this journey alone. I want someone or maybe multiple people to accompany me on this long and treacherous journey. This kind of stuff might not mean too much to the current me as I can grow in cultivation and strength relatively quickly, but I know that'll it'll mean much more to me when meditation sessions end up being hundreds or even thousands of years long."
When Mira reached this point, a light blush appeared on her face, and she said in a softer voice, "What I'm trying to say is that I want you to join me on this long journey. I want you to be that special someone that I can rely on, that can keep me grounded, and that I can enjoy eternity with. I know it's a selfish request, as eternity is a long time, but that's just how I feel. Take all the time you need-"
"NOO! I mean, yes!! I'll do it! Let's do it! Let's be girlfriends!"
"G-G-Girlfriends??"
"Of course! That's what you were asking me, right? You wanted to be my wife, right?!"
"Wife?!?!"
"Right! The person you have sex with and make babies with! At least, that's what my Mom said when I asked her what it means to be someone's wife!"
"B-babies?! SEX?! M-Maria, aren't you getting a little too ahead-"
"NO!! I'm not! We might be at that stage right now, but that's the kind of relationship I want to have with you! One where we both love each other and want to start a family with one another. Isn't that what you want as well?"
"Ah? Well, yes, but it's too soon to try starting a family. First of all, we're too weak, and I have an enemy that would do anything to make my life a living hell, so having a child is definitely a no. Secondly, I don't even know how it's possible for us to have children. Maybe there's an alchemic pill or so-"
"YESS!! I'LL START RESEARCHING IT IMMEDIATELY!"
"Anyways, no family. At least, not until I deal with my personal matters."
"But we can still have sex, right? My Mom said it feels amazing."
"Well… I guess? Wait! Why are you asking your mom all of these things?"
"Who else am I going to ask? Celaine is away, and how is a ghost (Sage Aila) supposed to teach me anything?"
"I…I see. I guess that makes sense."
"Right?! Now, let's go consummate our relationship to celebrate this occasion! I really want to know what this thing called sex feels like."
"Ummm… Maria, do you even know what sex is?"
"Hmm? Of course! It's where two people sleep in the same bed and touch each other!"
Mira facepalmed when she heard Maria's answer and spent the next few minutes explaining what sex was. When Mira was done with her explanation, Maria's entire face was bright red, and she really felt like finding a hole to bury herself in right now. She also decided that the next time she sees her mother, she'll be sure to give her a good beating for creating this misunderstanding.
Things were quiet for a while until Mira opened her mouth and said something she immediately regretted.
"Ummm… Maria, there's something I feel like I need to tell you before we start this relationship. In one of my trials, I actually had sex with one of the women in there."
"........what….?"
***
Mira proceeded to spend the next half an hour clearing up the misunderstanding by saying that it wasn't a real person and it was basically just an illusion. She also said she wasn't in the right state of mind then as all of her thoughts and emotions were out of whack.
She also explained that she might not be as emotionally stable as she is right now if she didn't go through that experience.
Maria was still a bit irritated, but she understood that they weren't in any sort of romantic relationship at that point, and she knew that Mira wasn't lying to her about her emotions being all chaotic.
The room turned silent as Maria sat on Mira's lap, but suddenly Mira swiftly turned Maria around, so they were facing each other.
The two stared into each other's eyes for a while until Mira slowly closed the distance.
Their hearts began speeding up, and when their noses touched, they closed their eyes.
Slowly, their lips touched…
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 357: Mira Confesses!
