As soon as my consciousness fully awakened and returned, finding myself back inside Aiona's body once more, I immediately flinched violently at the sight that greeted me. That unnatural abomination called Jarun was positioned right in front of my—Aiona's—eyes, uncomfortably close. He was in the middle of saying something, his lips moving as he spoke.
His unsettling golden eyes never left Aiona's silver ones for even a moment. It felt deeply as if he could somehow see completely through her—even penetrating deep enough to perceive me, the intruder who was hiding beneath Aiona's skin and consciousness. The sensation was profoundly disturbing.
"...Did you give it some serious thought?" His voice finally registered properly in my ears, breaking through my initial disorientation. "My proposal from last week?"
Aiona, who was now seated on an elaborate sofa that was ornately plated in gleaming gold—typical of her taste for luxury—just scoffed dismissively at his question.
"No matter how great and powerful a being I might be, no matter what abilities I possess, I fundamentally cannot defy the cosmic laws that govern all existence," Aiona stated firmly, her voice carrying absolute conviction. "If I am fated to bond with only one single soul in the whole vast existence of infinite universes—if that is my destined path—then that's simply how it is and must be. And I have absolutely no say in changing that, no matter what I might want. The bond chooses, not me."
As she spoke, she found her eyes drifting to the ornate jar positioned on the low table in front of her. A distinctly fruity, heavily fermented smell emerged strongly from that container, clearly indicating that it contained potent alcohol. Even just the concentrated smell of the wine seemed to make Aiona feel noticeably weak and affected. Her cheeks flushed and burned hot with the alcohol's effects, and she felt increasingly dizzy and disoriented.
She shook her head, trying to clear it, somewhat disoriented but attempting to focus properly on the dangerous man sitting across from her.
"Then what exactly does that cosmic truth make me, dear Aiona?" Jarun asked, leaning forward intensely. "What am I in this grand design? I am living, breathing proof that even the supposedly infallible cosmic law can make terrible mistakes. That oh-so-great, supposedly omnipotent cosmic law—my father—fell deeply and irrationally in love with a mere mortal human woman. He took on a human form specifically to be with her, and he laid with her intimately, giving birth to me—a complete abomination that should never have existed."
His voice grew more bitter. "And because of his selfish sins and his inability to control his desires, the innocent woman he claimed to love ceased to exist entirely. Her soul was violently dissolved into countless tiny fragments, scattered across reality, never to be whole again. He lost her forever and ever, for all eternity. Even though he was literally the creator of everything that exists, even though he had infinite power, he couldn't do anything to keep the only being he had ever truly loved with him. His own greediness, his inability to accept limits, killed her. Destroyed her completely."
Jarun paused in his bitter speech, grabbed the jar of wine roughly, and poured the fragrant liquid straight down his throat in one long swallow, as if desperately trying to flush something foul and painful from his stomach and memory.
"But you didn't actually need me to recount all of that tragic history to you," he said, setting the now completely empty jar back down on the low table between them with a heavy thud. "After all, you were personally present through all of those events. You witnessed everything firsthand."
His golden eyes fixed on her with accusation. "You warned my poor mother explicitly not to swallow more than she could safely chew, not to reach for things beyond mortal grasp. And you begged my dear father—the cosmic law itself—not to harm your dear friend, to leave her alone. But did either of them listen to your wise counsel? No, of course not. They were too consumed by their feelings."
He leaned back, his expression hardening. "So why on earth should you feel obligated to obey the laws and rules set by that stubborn old fool when he himself clearly doesn't know right from wrong? When he couldn't even follow his own rules? Why should his mistakes bind you?"
Well, his argument was surprisingly logical and compelling when stated that way. And this shocking new information absolutely blew my mind, recontextualizing everything I thought I knew.
Jarun was an entity born from the union between the cosmic law itself—the fundamental force governing all reality—and a mortal human woman who couldn't survive that connection. No wonder he possessed the casual ability to turn day into night with a mere snap of his fingers. That kind of reality-warping power made perfect sense now.
And I could finally remember clearly where I had felt that same familiar, wrong feeling before. It had been back in Kami, where I had personally met the cosmic law itself inhabiting a human vessel—disguised as the enigmatic high priest of Kami who had observed my struggles.
Through that whole terrible ordeal I had gone through back in Kami—the trial, the accusations, the danger—that entity hadn't interfered even once. He hadn't meddled even a bit in the events, despite having infinite power to change outcomes. But that knowing, assumed smile he'd worn constantly on his face had been more than enough to clearly communicate that he was greatly entertained by my struggle and suffering. To him, it had all been an amusing performance to observe.
Aiona's dry, bitter laugh suddenly brought my wandering attention back sharply into the present moment.
"Well, what exactly can I do about any of it?" she said with resignation. "Even if I genuinely wanted to defy the cosmic law and its rules—even if I had that desire—the simple truth is that I feel absolutely nothing romantic for you, Jarun. Nothing at all beyond basic affection."
She met his eyes directly. "I do feel genuine affection toward you, that's absolutely true. But that's only because you're my dear friend's son, her precious child. Her whole world that she entrusted to me. But that's the complete extent of it. I can't do anything else for you beyond that. I cannot fulfill whatever desires you feel for me. That's simply impossible, no matter how much you might wish otherwise."
Even though the heavy fragrance of wine had mostly dissolved into the air by now and drifted away through the ventilation, the dizziness and disorientation Aiona felt from its effects didn't dissolve or fade immediately. She rubbed her temples with her fingers, trying to ease the throbbing headache and clear her clouded thoughts.
Jarun stood up abruptly from his seat. He walked several agitated steps further away from her, then turned around sharply and paced back toward her position, clearly wrestling with strong emotions.
"Then I feel genuinely wronged by fate," he said, his voice carrying real pain beneath the anger. "I did not ask for these overwhelming feelings either, you know. I had no choice in falling in love with you. It simply happened to me. I fell desperately and deeply in love, completely beyond my control. That's just the way it is—I cannot change my heart any more than you can change yours."
He spread his hands. "And I honestly don't think I'm asking for very much from you, all things considered. I don't want or expect a child from you—I know that's impossible anyway. One of my many legitimate royal-blooded half-brothers could easily take the throne after me. Since I'm merely a bastard with not even a single drop of actual royal blood flowing in my veins anyway, my claim means nothing."
His voice grew more pleading, more vulnerable. "I just want to live peacefully with you until the end of our time on this earth, Aiona. That's genuinely all I'm asking for. You don't have to give me anything that you don't feel comfortable giving—not your body, not declarations of love, nothing you don't freely offer. I promise you that with complete sincerity. Just let me be near you. Please come with me, agree to share your life with me."
He extended both his arms outward in an open, welcoming gesture—as if asking Aiona to come settle herself between them, to accept his embrace and his offer.
His normally fierce, predatory golden eyes had softened dramatically, becoming almost gentle and vulnerable. The transformation was so complete it made me genuinely wonder if the earlier menace had just been an illusion, a mask he wore.
In response to his heartfelt confession and plea, Aiona simply heaved a long, weary sigh heavy with regret and finality.
"You are asking for the absolutely impossible," she stated quietly but firmly. "I'm sorry, but my answer is no. It will always be no."
With that definitive answer delivered, everything in the room went completely dead silent. It felt like life itself had been suddenly sucked out of the world, leaving only emptiness. Those softened, vulnerable golden eyes of Jarun suddenly transformed, turning sharp and menacing once more. The gentleness vanished as if it had never existed.
"I see. So that's how it is, then," he said, his voice now cold and flat. He slowly dropped his extended hands down to his sides and started walking deliberately toward the door to leave.
And then he stopped in his tracks for just a second, pausing with his hand on the door.
"So that insignificant sailor on his very first voyage—that's your fated mate?" he asked with a dark, knowing chuckle that sent chills down my spine. "How interesting."
At those seemingly casual words, Aiona shot up from her seat, standing abruptly. She shook uncontrollably, her entire body trembling with barely contained rage brewing violently in her heart. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"Don't you dare—" she started to say, her voice rising with fury and fear combined.
But before she could possibly finish her threatening words or warning, that terrible man just laughed in an infuriatingly assuming way. With a casual gesture of his hand, the doors flew open by themselves. And then he simply walked off calmly into the dark night beyond, disappearing into the shadows.
Aiona stood there alone, still trembling with impotent rage and growing fear. Because she understood the unspoken threat in his words. He knew about Hunter now. And that knowledge in the hands of someone so powerful and unstable was terrifyingly dangerous.