Eternal Saṃsāra: The Wanderer of Worlds

Chapter 24: The Battle of Moralities

Note - Sorry for no updates yesterday, had a 6h long travel on bus. Died. Anyway, speed-run goal since it's Sunday. If we reach 300 stones in the next 60 minutes, I'll post a new chapter right away. 

If we somehow don't reach the number, which I am sure we would, the 24h goal is 700 stones. Good luck!

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What do you think a girl would do, if she was making out with you in the bed, and all of a sudden another girl came out from under the blanket?

…I rubbed my swollen cheek as I thought over that question, sitting on a couch in the living room between the same two ladies.

"So you two aren't dating, really?" asked Tsubasa, making me shrug.

"Hmm, let's see."

"Even though you are in her house right now, Aqua?" She gave me a glare.

I really wanted to point out that I just kissed her too, and since we are not going out, that means I and Mem-Cho aren't necessarily going out either. But I doubt she'll react nicely if I do argue.

Thankfully, Mem-Cho explained in my stead. "I don't understand what's up with your powers, but it looks like you forgot. You were the one who brought the two of them here. They were injured, and you told me… we should sleep with Aqua naked to heal him."

"Oh. Huh?" Tsubasa blinked, nervous. "No, never mind that, what do you mean two of them? Isn't it just Aqua?"

"Aqua's sister, I think her name's Ruby, is here too," Mem-Cho said. "She lost her eyes, you know? Aqua healed her somehow, I don't know. She's in another room, sleeping."

Tsubasa began to look really confused now. I sighed and grabbed her by the chin. The aggressiveness I used caught her off guard, but I ignored it since I was talking to the Hanekawa inside her now.

"Aunty Kitty, explain to her already. Or can you not communicate with her?" I said, glaring into her eyes, Tsubasa looked like she was having a bad dream.

Then, she paused. Tsubasa trembled and blinked, letting out a small gasp. I let go of her, that woman must be doing her job right now.

I turned to Mem-Cho, "Thank you. I wouldn't have been surprised if you didn't help, but you really did."

She smiled. "You sounded more serious than ever, dummy. I couldn't just not help you, not after I joined your faction or whatever."

"It's a Sect, we are calling it a Sect." I said, and she just shrugged in response. She didn't care.

"What happened, anyway? Also, I didn't know your sister was a mage like you."

"She's a mage, but she's not like me. I'm a martial artist in general, as in a battle mage I guess, while she's a witch-type mage." I said. "Yesterday, we coincidentally came across two avatars of Gods, and the fight was the result of it."

"Oh," Mem-Cho took the words in. "They must have been strong if they injured you two like that."

"They're dead," I said. "One of them was taken care of by the cat girl, and another by me. Really should have let the cat girl take care of both of them, honestly. But I got… a bit angry when I saw what state Ruby was in."

Mem-Cho stared at me for a moment. I'm not sure if she was judging me, regretting letting a killer in her house even. Probably not, from what I've observed of her. Though even if she was, it didn't matter – she'll know how the world works soon herself.

I turned back to Tsubasa. Her expression was odd, a mixture of many emotions. Our eyes met and she broke out of a daze, quickly clearing her throat.

"A-are you all right, Aqua-kun? I just got… my memories from last night." She looked at me, concerned. "Did the healing help?"

Tsubasa's words brought my attention to the reality of the situation. The healing… without it, the damage would have been a lot greater, but that didn't mean there was no damage at all.

From my estimation, I'd have been pushed back to Low Gold rank if I didn't receive such a thorough healing in time. Now, I was still in True Gold, just barely. Earlier, I was almost ready for my next advancement, but now I was pushed back to what should be years of progress for many people.

Not an issue. As long as I'm alive, there is nothing to regret. I said it would have been better to let Black Hanekawa fight the Aztec man, but who knew if she'd have been careful enough to not hurt Ruby? It was a situation where I had to act, and I did. The amount of loss I've taken can be considered a win if anything. 

Plus, there were boons from this too. Not me particularly, but my disciple's growth was as important as my own.

"I am fine," I nodded at Tsubasa. "I should be asking you that, instead. Are you…"

She hesitated, sighing. "I… I don't know. It's so sudden. My mother… she's… No, I'll need some time. Everything is sudden. Here I thought you, Ruby, and I were close, but the two of you hid such a secret from me."

She looked hurt. I felt hurt seeing her hurt. We never really bothered to tell her, and in truth, there wasn't any reason to or not to, so neither party can be blamed.

"Tsubasa, I…" I put a hand under her ear, gently grabbing her neck, and she relaxed.

"It's alright," she said with a thin smile. "You did save me from my mother, so it's not as if our relationship is entirely fake. We all have one or two secrets; I guess…"

It may seem she sounded understanding, but really, she just sounded sad. She was taking a jab at her 'secret' love for me that she never made 'clear', according to my nonexistent reply to it.

I needed to calm her down. I felt bad, but at the same time, I knew I wanted her now. Strange how a night can change people. But having her as my girlfriend will be… let's say complicated, starting with the fact that her mother lives in her body.

Though I knew a solution to that.

"..."

Dammit.

Harem route isn't the way.

Don't do it. Stay in control.

It's better to stay with one girl, I thought. A large part of me screamed, [Why? It is the only way for us, anyway. Ultimately, in the end, we'll head to that route anyway. For we are too old and have fallen in love too many times for our hearts to hold only one girl at this point.]

Another equally large part screamed, [It's a modern world, and we are always around famous people. Harem is going to be hard, if not impossible. The girl will leave us one by one, as they'll feel wronged.]

My moralities struggled. Another reply came that even if this was a modern world, harem was a widely accepted term in the devil world. Then another reply from the opposite side. It continued for a while. But sadly, the one who told me to control had a single mistake, it had provided a weak point in the beginning. 

The next large part of mine, no, the largest part of mine, the part that thought of itself as the Venerable One, laughed. [Why are we having a skit in our head again? What is this? How is building a harem going to be hard? Impossible, even? Remind me, who are we again? Since when did we fall so low that women will leave us? Pathetic, has this soft world made us weak? The Honored One does not care about difficulty or mortality, he does what he wishes.]

Haah. There you go. I really didn't like the personalities in my memories clashing, because there was always only one winner. My empathy from a moment earlier vanished, and the calculating side of my brain flared.

My hand that was under her ear, around the back of her head, held her tighter and pulled her towards me. She gasped, and that gap in her mouth allowed me to push my tongue inside her. She moaned, unsure what to do, as I held her tight and pressed her down on the couch. Tsubaki moaned as I kissed her, my left hand squeezing her breasts to make her moan like a slut in heat.

When I finally pulled back the kiss minutes later, she was panting and looking at me with a frown, even as she was blushing. 

Her eyes trembled slightly as she said, "So many secrets, Aqua. I never knew you could kiss so well. I didn't know you could be this aggressive, either."

"You don't know many things, love. Maybe you'll know starting from now on."

She smiled, noting the change in my earlier expression. "I didn't know you could be this harsh, either. So many secrets, really. Who can change their personality this quickly? Kiss me again."

I leaned down and kissed her again, and she whimpered in return. This time around, we were forced to cancel the kiss not by choice.

"Uhm," Mem-Cho said. "C-can't you two go back to the bedroom!?"

I got up and turned to her, she was still on the same couch as us but had her back turned on us. I grabbed her waist and made her turn around, her eyes widened when I lifted her short figure up in the air and kissed her. 

I heard a shocked gasp come from behind me, but Tsubasa didn't run away. So I kissed Mem-Cho and then I put her down, looking back at Tsubasa. She bit her lips, staring at me with dagger-like eyes, much like her mother last night.

"You're such a heartbreaker," she said. "Kiss me again."

I leaned down and kissed her again too, as Mem-Cho sat back in silence, her face red.

The three of us knew this wouldn't just end here, something more would happen. None of us cared, no, maybe we looked forward to it. Yet, fate decided to be annoying, as once again, we were forced to cancel the kiss not by choice.

"...Onii-Chan?" We all heard a dry voice, and raising my head I found myself facing my twin standing near a bedroom door.

Her eyes, red like always, had a brighter glint in them than before. She stared at the scene with deadpan silence as the glint grew stronger.

A small part of me yelled to grab Ruby too, but many of my other parts beat that part out of commission as I stopped.

* * *

Tsubasa sat beside me while covering her face with her hands, while Mem-Cho had made a run for it with the excuse of brewing tea. Ruby sat on a couch opposite me, wearing a white tee and short jeans, with her arms resting by her side and both of her eyes glinting like stars.

"You healed my eyes?" She asked, trying to ignore the scene she had walked into just earlier. "Things look… sharper. Clearer, and I can see the mana in the air better."

"Mhm."

I walked over to her and placed a hand on her head. The use of Reverse Soul Reflection told me all I needed to do.

"It grants you some basic eye powers, but the main ability is called [Kagemimic]. It allows your eyes to track and perfectly replicate any movement. Not bad, this will help your idol career."

I read the description out loud, "By locking onto a target's motion with your gaze, you can capture the intricate details of their movements. This means you can predict their movements, but more importantly, mimic them with exceptional accuracy. This ability is not limited to just physical actions; it also extends to combat techniques, dance routines, and even intricate skills like crafting or playing musical instruments. Kagemimic grants you the ability to learn and apply new abilities quickly, making you a master of adaptation and mimicry."

"Oh," she blinked. "I am at 5th Circle now, by the way. How?"

"The eyes must have made you stronger," I said; she gave me a strange look. "What?"

"You… feel weaker, though. Why?"

"Oh. I pushed myself. Had to make some sacrifices to win the battle."

I was a little surprised when, after staring at me for a bit longer, Ruby threw her arms around my waist and hugged me. She was sitting and I was standing in front of her, as she hugged me tightly.

"Ruby?"

"Sorry…"

It wasn't her fault, but it didn't take me even a second why she thought it was. She was weak, it was a fact. She was weak for someone trained by me. 

But then some might argue I myself was pretty weak for being… well, myself. How could I have let some God's Avatar come and mess with me? If it was the God himself, then sure, but that was just his Avatar. My memories that had taken a hit from the Order of the Crimson Abyss have healed a lot, but I still didn't have all my knowledge. But that wasn't an excuse, how could mere Avatars force me to take such measures? I had to grow faster.

I patted her head, "It's alright since all's well in the end. You got better eyes and you are also stronger now, nobody took any permanent injury so it's fine."

We stayed like that for a bit, as soon music began to play. Mem-Cho returned with tea and played light music, "Snowman" by Sia spread through the room, as we held each other close.

A few minutes later, I sat beside her and both of us took a cup of tea from the table ahead. Mem-Cho and Tsubasa sat on the couch opposite ours, and I took some time to introduce everyone to everyone properly.

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