Alea couldn't do anything.
When they merged, their memories merged as well. Just as Zara experienced her life, she was instilled with the same feelings for Damien that Zara had.
So she could understand her sister's feelings.
However, she couldn't support her actions.
It was troubling sharing the same body with someone who couldn't get their thoughts in order, and Zara's overwhelming emotions made it hard to seize back control.
Plus, there was another problem.
They were now one being.
If Zara was caged away for her own safety and saw her mental state deteriorate further, those effects would rebound and injure them both.
So how could Alea help her sister?
It was impossible.
She had to vent these emotions somehow, and there was nobody who could set her on the right path.
Or at least, that was how it was.
Until that day.
It was only a week before the final war was supposed to start. The meeting between the high executives had just come to an end, and within the same day, Rose found their location through the vast information network she'd set up over time.
When the three women visited at once, Alea already knew something special was happening.
But when they shared the news they'd just learned and assured its veracity, her excitement peaked.
Zara's mind was engulfed in darkness.
If one looked into it, they'd find a sea of blackness, in which Zara sat in fetal position, hiding away from the world.
What controlled her was her desire to kill and her desire to die.
But those words cut through the darkness.
"Damien is alive."
Those words that she'd been praying to hear for years finally graced her ears, and even the slight hope that it was true brought her into the light.
She heard the whole story from the girls.
She cut contact with them and disappeared because she didn't want to be near warmth. If she felt warmth, she was afraid she'd forget her rage.
However, the girls never lost track of her. They had always been silently watching over her to make sure her recklessness never truly led her to death.
Now that the time had come to share the good news, they came instantly and made sure Zara would be back in her right mind.
And for the first time in almost five years, Zara and Alea returned to their original harmony.
The girls filled them in on the plans made earlier that day, and understanding Zara's state because they experienced it before they came here, they left her alone.
Zara and Alea took this time to find a secluded place so they could finally talk again.
"..."
"..."
It was silent at first.
Alea didn't know how to start the conversation. She didn't know what to say to her sister now.
She could feel the overflowing happiness coming from her other half, and while she felt happiness as well, her personal feelings towards Damien weren't the same as Zara's.
Alea had a time when she was obsessed with him.
There was a "scent" coming from him that made him undeniably attractive, and if he even touched her, her body would react strangely.
But that scent wasn't a matter of her own emotions. Rather, it was a rebound from Damien's connection with Zara.
Once that truth was revealed, she started to feel a bit uncomfortable about him. It wasn't anything he did, since he always tried his best to reject her without abandoning her. She was just embarrassed when she thought about how she acted in the past.
So when she thought about Damien, he felt more estranged than he was to most others.
She was glad he survived, and she thought it was a shame when he died, but because she couldn't empathize with Zara's connection to him, she didn't know how to start a conversation about him.
However, there was no need for her to do so.
"...I'm sorry."
Zara spoke first.
"I was too rash. I can't do anything but apologize."
She wasn't necessarily sorry for her actions. She would have done so regardless. But she was definitely apologetic for dragging Alea into her mess.
"It's fine."
Alea thought she'd be angry, but she surprisingly wasn't.
Rather, she was happy for her sister. She was just relieved that her mental state wasn't so negative anymore.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked.
Zara hesitated for a moment.
"I…didn't know what emotions were before I met him."
She had to share this story even though Alea already knew it.
"I was just a cub, terrified and distrusting of the world. Because of him, I was able to obtain freedom, become strong, and grow into an actual person. It would have been impossible if not for him."
"When I saw him build relationships with other people, I felt strange. When I came to learn that that emotion was jealousy, I became curious about why I felt that way, and slowly, I began to understand emotions."
"The one called love more than anything else. That feeling, I don't think I'll ever be able to feel it for anyone but him."
"Not even me?"
"It's different."
Alea smiled internally.
She understood well.
Zara wasn't talking about romantic love. No, with the relationship they'd had since young, if Zara felt romantic feelings towards Damien, it would be rather strange and uncomfortable.
He was her support system. He was like a father, a brother, and even a mother to her. She never knew what "family" truly meant until she met him. Even the wolf pack that raised her before the First Dungeon's wyvern started covering her was just a group she stayed with.
When she met Damien, her entire life changed.
At some point, he became her entire reason for existence.
She tried several times to change that.
It wasn't just once or twice. She always wanted to learn to live for herself, because that was what Damien wanted for her too.
He always pushed her to strive for happiness without him, so that she could always live happily even in the instance where he wasn't there.
But what was the problem?
No matter what she did, she always found that she couldn't find happiness unless he was at least somewhat involved in her life.
The world was a scary place. It was a cold place. When he went to No Return Pass and the Abyss, Zara lived so he would be proud of her when he was back.
When he died, what was there to look forward to?
It was unhealthy in a sense, but that was her happiness. That was how she wanted to live.
Even Alea's presence didn't change that.
She was finally able to find herself again when she learned of his survival.
'Haa, this girl…'
Alea sighed in acceptance. There was really nothing she could do.
'At this point, there's only one solution. That bastard better not die no matter what. If nothing else, then for my sister's sake.'
For now, there was no point stressing about it.
Zara was able to put her story out into the world, and she was able to get those feelings off of her chest.
She cried, she celebrated, and she regained her sense of self.
So she was finally ready.
"They said the final battle will be in 2 weeks, right?" She said.
Upon getting Alea's confirmation, she made a decision for the both of them, one that Alea was fully accepting of.
"Let's participate properly this time. Instead of charging recklessly, we'll do something he can look forward to when he comes back."
As Damien expected, telling them through a third party was the best choice.
Each and every one of them was invigorated by the news, and in preparation for the future to come where they could reunite, they did their best while prioritizing their lives.
The day of the final battle was approaching.
And as the involved parties gathered, the air in Grand Heavens Boundary was suffocating.
This was it.
Not just the last stand of the universe or the Nox, but the end of this cycle that had destroyed universe after universe for billions of years.
