Free Web NovelChapter 306: Progress
"I finished making Esther..." I say, showing Esther an exact copy of me lying on top of a table. After we sorted things out in the bath, we decided to talk and be more open with each other, and we learned more about what each of us feels and about our respective problems.
With that, we opted for a fragile but functional "truce," so now, a few days after that strange bath we took together, I’ve finished creating an exact copy of my body that will share my consciousness.
Meaning, in theory, there will be two Evelyns in the world, with the same powers, memories, and even shared experiences. Everything I see or feel, this extra body will see and feel, and everything this extra body sees and feels, I will also see and feel.
It’s as if I split myself into two that are still connected — something I learned from Nerina. In fact, Esther seemed quite furious that I learned so many new things from Nerina.
"It looks impressive. Her scent, and the feel of her magic, it’s completely different from the marionettes you normally make..." she says, taking the hand of the extra body, which is still inactive.
’I feel the touch...’ Esther touches the extra body with such care. It’s strange seeing her try to be careful. I wonder what Saluvia said to Esther that’s making her be so "gentle."
Esther has even been accompanying me on walks, and has been taking more care of me during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, always staying by my side.
"W-Well Esther, just like you asked, I won’t leave the kingdom... but I need to be in the war, s-so I’ll send this body. That’s fine, right?" I say, somewhat bothered. It feels like a prison, but I really don’t have much to complain about. I prefer her being gentle with me.
Although it’s hard to act like nothing happened. I’m trying very hard to fake normalcy. freewёbnoνel.com
"She even has horns, wings, and a tail like you... she’s so perfectly made that I can’t really tell which of the two is the correct one..." She grabs the extra body’s chest and squeezes.
"S-She’s identical to me, and she is me, so there’s no ’correct’ Evelyn. We’re both Evelyn. There’s just no baby growing inside that Evelyn on the table — that’s the only difference..." From what I’ve noticed, the baby is "trapped" exclusively to this body I’m in. If I switch bodies, the baby stays here, so I have to be careful.
’I wonder... was all of this my curse’s fault?’ I don’t know to what extent fate’s hatred for me can influence my life. The theoretical reality is that my curse should only be inconvenient, causing small events of bad luck.
Like walking and stubbing my toe on a table, or getting hit by a door, tripping on the floor, or accidentally knocking something over and breaking it. However, there’s the famous "butterfly effect," where small events generate absurd things.
That’s why maybe this whole chaotic situation was my curse’s fault, which got me captured by Nerina, and then this mess and intense turbulence happened in my relationship — though I have no proof.
"I understand..." Esther looks at my belly, which makes me shrink back, and then she looks into my eyes with sadness.
"Evelyn, I’ve decided on our daughter’s name, in case the baby is a girl, and I thought that if it’s a boy, you could decide. Would you like to hear it? We can try another if you don’t like it."
"O-Of course!" I get a little excited.
"I thought of Kali Persephone Ashcroft... and before you refuse, I can explain why I made this choice... with the truth of the world... some strange knowledge came to me that I don’t fully understand."
"I don’t know how much of this is real, or culturally an error... but what I do know is... first, about the name Persephone... apparently it’s the name of a goddess, linked to spring. She was initially very gentle and innocent, but became an impartial and punitive being to maintain order when she became queen of the underworld."
"From the fragments I have, she married a king or god of the underworld or something like that, after being kidnapped. It fits our situation well, doesn’t it? You were so gentle before, and now I’ve turned you... a girl who is confused at the very least, so as not to insult you."
"As for Kali, she’s apparently also a goddess, being associated with time, the end of times, and death. My knowledge also describes her as a figure linked to disorder, sexuality, and violence, and, in later traditions, even to a kind of paradoxical motherly love..." When Esther says this, I’m not sure what to say.
Nor about where she knows these things from, since they’re deities from the modern world. Maybe the only thing I could think of is a DLC from the game that had a deity-themed skin pack, but that DLC had no lore, so it’s surprising to see that even the game’s DLC influenced Esther’s knowledge.
"It sounds cool, but why is the more negative association her main name?" When I ask this, Esther averts her gaze, and I see that she didn’t choose this out of love or even because she really liked the name.
"I don’t think I liked very much how a large part of the name consists of bad associations... but the choice is annoyingly good." Strangely, the name fits both of us and our situation.
"It can be that one if it’s a girl. As much as it’s not a lovely name like I was hoping for, it’s better than you choosing something terrible just out of pure spite..."
"Yes, I’m sorry, but I can’t feel as much affection for something I don’t want as you might like. This was the best I could manage that wasn’t a curse in some language you don’t know." She’s brutally honest, and it really frustrates my spirits.
"Please don’t have that attitude when the baby is born. I would feel really bad if our baby suffered because you don’t treat her well. I’m not asking you to love her, because I have serious doubts about whether you’re capable of that, but be polite and avoid saying so many bad things..."
"I’ll do what I can, Evelyn... now let’s set this aside. Activate that extra body of yours already. I have some things to verify." When Esther simply dodges the subject, I let out a sigh, using magic to connect the body to me.
"Wait, Evelyn. How will I know if the one with me is the real one?"
"O-Only I have a core... if the body doesn’t have it, then it’s not me... b-besides, I wouldn’t deceive you..." The other body stands up, and immediately I feel strange. All my senses become duplicated.
Smells, sounds, sight, and even current memories. I gain two types of memories — the memories of what I’m seeing now, and the memories of what my other body is seeing. The sensation is so disorienting that when I try to walk with my other body, the body I’m in trips and is caught by Esther.
"I still... need to practice a little to control it..." When I say this, both of my bodies speak, which makes Esther look at both of us.
"You should be more careful. Lie down. It’ll be easier if only one body can actually move." She grabs my hand, pulling me and carefully throwing me onto the bed, while lying on top of me, gripping and pressing down on my body.
What initially seemed like kindness changes when she places her ear above my chest, as if trying to make sure the core is in this body and not the other.
"My nails are getting kind of long... want to help me take care of them?" I ask, trying to lighten the situation a bit while attempting to move my other body. The sensation is strange, like being a baby trying to learn how to walk.
"...I would normally refuse, but I’m curious about what makes you take so long with your beauty routines." She doesn’t say no — a novelty considering she normally didn’t want to participate in the past.
"I’ll describe how you can help me. In the meantime, I’ll try to move the other body." When I say this, my voice comes out through the other body, while the body I’m actually in and really wanting to speak says nothing.
’V-Very difficult...’ I take a deep breath, trying to calm down and maintain control. It’s not that complicated. I just need some time and practice.
"Sure, what do I need to do?" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"Get my things from the bottom drawer..." When I ask this, she gets off me.
"Esther... if I were a bee, would you still love me?"
"If you were a bee, I would lock you in a jar, isolated from everything, and never let you be a single second away from me."
"...And if I were a puddle of water?"
"I would drink you completely, so we could become one." She answers my questions with even more absurd responses while returning to me with a manicure kit I created that I use to take care of my nails.
"Esther, do you love me, or are you just satisfied with a meal that never ends?" I ask an uncomfortable question.
"Devouring you is a bonus. It’s true that my genuine love for you emerged around the time I started experiencing your body, but I already liked you before I started eating pieces of you."
"My interest arose much earlier. Anyway, I’ve figured it out — you ask these questions where any answer I give will leave you unsatisfied, so I’ll give the answers of what I would want in those situations."
"...Don’t touch my nails anymore. I’ll do them myself." She makes an indignant face when I refuse to let her handle my nails after I was the one who had asked for it before.
"...Haaa... as you wish, Evelyn. As you wish."
