Serum - C188 (Patreon)

Dirk’s Domain kept him perfectly hidden. As a perfect Domain, it could be active at all times and would drain none of his energy. If anything, it supplemented him, providing vast benefits for free. There was no reason he shouldn’t have it active almost all the time, especially while working. 

Despite her now having a Key Artifact, Ava was unable to realize he was there. However, that wasn’t for lack of power. Dirk still remembered a particular detail about the Rangifer, Ava’s race. 

They carried a power of the mind. To some extent, Ava could read minds. She could certainly feel the emotions of others, sensing their state of mind. That let to a lot of social anxiety while she was younger. Dirk still remembered when they went to what was basically preschool together. She could barely talk to anyone, and even though she eventually latched onto him, she hardly ever talked to him. 

His training had brought her out of her shell. Power and skill built confidence. 

This was all to say that Dirk still had to be careful. Bloodlines were important for all the beastkin and Ava’s power of the mind was almost certainly heavily enhanced by the Key Artifact of Water. That was why he utilized a few tactics that would keep him at a plenty safe distance. 

Ava didn’t live in the Rangifer Citadel. She lived within the district and fairly close to the very center. 

She was flanked by several people when she left too. Their destination was a large mansion. None of them spoke while out in the open, but as soon as they crossed the gate into the estate, they started chattering. 

Dirk’s attention fell on the most powerful individual in her entourage. It was a Tier 8 Ranfiger with a heavy earth elemental affinity. He looked relatively old and as many Rangifer did, kept himself prim and proper. His antlers were especially striking, rising almost a foot above his head. Dirk couldn’t imagine dealing with such a nuissance. 

As for Ava’s antlers, they had grown but not so upwards. Instead, they wrapped around her head very similar to a crown, the structure floating just above her skill. There were a myriad of spikes that flared upward around it too, and despite being a completely natural formation, they were rather artistic in a way. It certainly made her look royal. 

Perhaps the Key Artifact had its influence. Perhaps Miss Record had interfered as well. There was no longer any reason she couldn’t, and since Ava was close to Dirk, she was the perfect person to be used. There was no question about their relationship, at least in regard to it being good or bad. That meant there was no chance of the Key Artifact being used against Dirk or by extension, Miss Record. 

They were all on the same side, so to say. 

That Tier 8 earth mange spoke up. 

“Avalon, is it wise to antagonize the Strigiform? We want them on our side, and commanding them may push them away.”

“If the Strigiform are so loose with their alleigances then I don’t want them on my side anyway. They may be pissed but they’ll follow along. They just need some motivation to fight, is all.”

“Well, fighting isn’t their specialty…”

The mage scratched his chin before another spoke. 

It was a man, not nearly as old as the Tier 8 but still sitting at low Tier 7. He looked to be in his late 20s, making him quite talented if he’s reached such a height so quickly. 

Dirk noticed a glint in his eye when he looked at Ava. 

“Avalon, will you lead us in this next fight?”

“Of course.”

She responded as if it were obvious, making the man smile. 

“I can’t wait to enter the battlefield with you. I was thinking, would you like to spar sometime tomorrow?”

“I don’t know if I can, Tones. Maybe if I get some free time.”

“I understand. At least let me assist you with some of the other logistical matters. Should I come find you tonight?”

“Sure.”

Ava nodded, making him beam. 

They entered the mansion, Dirk slinking in right with them. After a few more conversations and after Ava had given out a couple more directions, they all dispersed. 

It was getting late in the night and Dirk had heard most of what he needed to. 

It seemed Ava was a figurehead in the Unity Civil War. The Church was naturally the antagonist and soon they’d be having some big battles in order to procure one last ally in the fight against the Carnivora and Varanus. 

It just so happened that Dirk was good at fighting these kinds of wars. He decided to make himself known in order to help. 

Of course, he would do that anyway, but now he had even more reason to talk to Ava. 

At some point, Ava retreated to her bedroom. Dirk barely managed to sneak in right before Ava could close the door. 

It didn’t go unnoticed though. Despite using his Void Walking, or perhaps because of that, Ava managed to pick him out. He could feel her awareness of his mind. 

He could eject her awareness, but he decided not to. 

“Who’s there?!”

“Whoah, girl.”

Dirk smiled right as he was attacked. Ava instantly formed some lances of water. However, they were so compressed that they looked like dark ice, inflowing and containing atrocious power. 

Three of them flew past and Dirk shattered through one. However, it was all water under Ava’s control, and within her Domain, she could do anything. Those lances simply reformed and came charging right back at him. 

He rapidly felt suffocated as water mana filled the atmosphere and pushed everything else out. Dirk couldn’t actually recover his mana, aside from his dark mana since it came straight from his Source Mana. 

Deciding that too much of a commotion would be caused, Dirk suddenly stopped in his tracks. The lances flew past him, Ava not having expected him to come to an instantaneous standstill. 

She reacted quickly and halted her attacks, though not before a dozen more lances were primed for launch. 

She looked at him, and then Dirk realized he was still covered in his armor. 

He had Obsidus stand down, despite the blob’s unwillingness to leave its master undefended against such a threat. 

Ava took two seconds to look at Dirk’s face before her eyes widened. 

“Dirk?!”

“Shh, they’ll hear you.”

“Oh my god, Dirk!”

Dirk smiled as she launched straight toward him. Shockingly, her body seemed to deform into pure water, reforming after having crossed the distance with rapid speeds. 

She dove into his chest, still being over a head shorter than him. She had gotten taller, but not too much. She was shorter than Pandora. 

“Oh my god, oh my god! Dirk what are you doing here?!”

“Haha, it’s good to see you too.”

He chuckled while she moved from a hug to patting him down, as if she couldn’t believe he existed. She wasn’t sure what to do. 

Dirk was all smiles, though the lingering sadness caused by the fact that he couldn’t actually see Ava was still there. 

Nonetheless, he could already tell how much she had changed. She looked weathered, but still youthful. The upcoming civil conflicts had taken their toll, especially since she had managed to make herself a figurehead by attaining the Key Artifact. Still, it was precisely because of the Key Artifact that she was able to maintain herself. It certainly eased her burden greatly, knowing she could survive upcoming fights. 

She had a couple physical changes too besides the growth of her antlers. For one, her eyes were now a shimmering crystal blue, no doubt a byproduct of the Key Artifact. Her hair was also short now, and very blue like her eyes. It was a bit shaggy and unkempt, but that was more of a charming fashion choice rather than a result of neglect.

Dirk’s hands ended up intertwined with Ava’s after she started grabbing around his arms.

“I thought I’d stop by, check on an old friend.”

“Well you certainly picked a conflicting time to do that. Have you noticed what’s going on?”

“After looking around the city and sitting in on your meeting earlier, I’ve gotten a pretty good gist.”

“You were there for that?”

“I think you forget that hiding is one of my specialties.”

“Hoho, that’s right, how forgetful of me. It’s not like you disappeared halfway through the academy or anything.”

She giggled a bit before pulling his hands. 

“Come here! We have a lot to talk about. Tell me why you’re here first though.”

“Did I not say that I was coming to see an old friend?”

“Is that really the only reason?”

She titled her head after the two sat down on the bed, Ava getting comfortable as the two sat right in front of each other. 

Dirk nodded. 

“Yup. I came here just for you.”

“Oh yeah? Why did you need to see me? Got something to tell me?”

“I do. A couple things, actually.”

“Could one of those things be what I’m thinking about?”

“Maybe.”

Dirk smiled while Ava’s voice fell, her grin getting wider and her words more alluding. She seemed to enjoy that he was here for exactly what she wanted him to be here for. 

However, Dirk knew that things were a bit more complicated than what she was thinking. That’s why his smile faded at some point, Ava’s quickly following. She could probably glimpse some things from his state of mind, especially since he was letting her. 

She let him speak first though. 

“I’ve got some things to tell you, including what could be considered my biggest secret. You’ll need to know if I’m going to explain anything else.”

“Okay… I’m listening.”

“Well, I’ll preface by saying that my mother knows about this. And now I’ll put it simply. I’m from another world.”

“...”

Ava silently digested that, probably not completely understanding what that was supposed to mean at first. 

They had known each other since they were little, so Dirk could understand her confusion. 

“To explain a bit more, I was reincarnated in a way. The world that I’m from is called Earth. There, I lived a short life. I was about 18 years old before I was killed, if it could be called being killed. Either way, I was reborn in the body of a baby, a baby known as Dirk Strider. Despite that, I retained all memory of my previous life. I even received a couple Traits and Skills that mirrored some of the abilities of my past life.”

“...Okay…”

Ava muttered, her eyes drifting while she processed things. 

At some point she finally seemed to grasp the implications. 

“So, even when you were a baby and a young child just starting school, you had the memories of a full grown adult?”

“Pretty much.”

“...I suppose that explains why you trained all the time, and didn’t act your age. And your skills… did they come from your past life?”

“Yes.”

“...What did you do?”

She asked, Dirk going on to explain his profession on Earth. 

That of a supersoldier, raised in a black program from the time he was but a child, warped into a living weapon and augmented with all manner of artificial technology to turn him into a one man army, a strategic weapon by his lonesome. 

Dirk tried to spare some details, but at the same time, he wanted her to understand the things he had gone through. Not for sympathy, but to hopefully make her realize that he wasn’t normal, in a sense. He was hoping that perhaps his weirdness would offset some of the weirdness of the situation overall. 

“That’s… horrible.”

She muttered after her head had fallen a bit. She looked a bit downtrodden.

“I don’t know how people could do something like that to children.”

“When there are so many, the most powerful people in the world have no qualms doing whatever they want. There are no consequences for them anyway, and the children they raise know no better, or are brainwashed to comply anyway. Honestly, it was more of a natural consequence of the situation.”

“That doesn’t change how horrifying it is to raise children into killing machines.”

“I guess…”

Dirk shrugged. This wasn’t the point of why he was telling her this anyway. 

“Either way, I was the damn best. Though I also didn’t know any better, so when I came to this world and experienced the family life, I had been… confused. I guess that’s one of the reason that I trained so much. I was weak and that was a very bad thing to be.”

“You were a child.”

“That didn’t matter to me, especially not at the time. I’m sure you remember but I was very socially inept back then. The shock of everything that had happened including the death of what could be considered my father had left me rather dazed. Even after I had come to this world, I don’t think I had reall been… present.”

Dirk scratched his head. After so many years had passed, he noticed that his memory of his earliest years as a child were blurry at best. Perhaps they just hadn’t been important to him, or were monotonously mind numbing, so he didn’t care to remember. Either way, He couldn’t recall much from that time, especially the first days. It was like a normal person’s memory of their childhood years. They faded and became fragments at best. 

It was primarily his academy years that he remembered with great clarity. Still, simply combining both his ages would put him at 36 years old. 

Ava was just 18 if Dirk remembered her birthday right, making her half his mental age. There was a reason he refused to do anything with her. Even now he would wait until doing anything more serious, but she was at least an adult now. He could tell her these things and she would make her own decisions. 

Dirk fluttered his fingers in the air, some Anima swirling around them like ribbons. 

“I was about this old when I died in my past life. That means mentally I’m double my current age. I hope that clears up why I didn’t want to be intimate with you back then.”

“...Yes, I suppose it makes sense. But… I don’t believe there’s much to worry about.”

Ava lifted her head. 

“Dirk, you weren’t raised normally. You were twisted by very evil people to become something you never should have had to become. I’d hardly call that a life, and I’d hardly say that it carries any bearing on your supposed mental age. You were right in saying that you were socially inept. You couldn’t even make friends at the academy, so you were like a child by those standards even when you were entering your teenage years.”

“Thanks.”

Dirk smirked a bit, making Ava smile wryly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just that… I’m not really concerned. I mean, it’s definitely a weird situation, but it wasn’t your fault. I’d say this is your first real life. I’ll take that.”

“Well I can’t say that I’m not glad you think that way. The story isn’t over though. What I’m gonna tell you next is the main reason I’ve come now. I’ll try and keep it simple, as much as I loathe having to face this situation head on.”

Dirk rubbed his face, preemptively feeling a wave of guilt. 

“That woman that threw me through the portal.”

“Yes?”

“Well, she’s come to this world too.”

“...”

Pandora looked straight for a couple seconds before her face became flat.

“Who is she now?”

“Pandora Vanadis, the princess of the Dark Kingdom, daughter of the Vampire Queen. The two of us found each other when my family and I had gone to the Dark Kingdom as envoys during the Advent of the Dark Dragon. It was the last place I had expected to see her but we reunited and ended up directly causing the War Cataclysma.”

“How the hell did you cause War Cataclysma?”

“Is was mainly my fault. A dark god was eyeing my soul and the Dark Dragon Primordial found out. Apparently it broke their treaty or something and they took it as an opportunity to trigger the war.”

“...”

Ava’s face twisted a bit.

“I can’t believe something so simple triggered the most devastating outbreak of monster tides to ever grace history. We lost a dozen cities and hundreds of thousands of people because of that outbreak…”

“The other countries aren’t much better, from what I know. Though, it seems Horizon has been secretly strengthening themselves so they were able to reduce the brunt of the impact. The Haven was also heavily fortified so they didn’t suffer too much. The Dark Kingdom took a nasty hit, not that Pandora was concerned. How’s your family, by the way?”

“They’re fine. We’ve been in the capital all this time. So, what exactly does Pandora have to do with all this?”

She shifted back on topic, making Dirk click his tongue. 

“Well, after we reunited, we were given a task by the Light Dragon Primordial, otherwise known as the Record. She asked us to go and retrieve the Key Artifacts.”

“...You mean the one I have?”

Ava asked while bringing out that flowing blue crystal, Dirk nodded. 

“Yes, that’s the Key Artifact of Water. We’ve also found the Key Artifact of Earth, a major reason why we’re kind of hated by the Haven now.”

“So you pissed off the dwarves…”

“Majorly. After that though, we had gone to the Otherworld in order to find the Key Artifact of Air around the World Tree. Turns out the elves are genocidal freaks now. Anyway, I was there for around 8 months before I managed to get sent here by a friend.”

“And you came to tell me something. What was so important that you had to stray from your mission to tell me?”

Ava asked, and Dirk had a faint suspicion that she knew what he was about to say.

So he sighed and spit it out. 

“Ava, I love you. But I think I’m in love with Pandora as well. The reason why I had to tell you this now was because if I didn’t, Pandora and I would probably take the next step in our relationship and I couldn’t do that before seeing you… and figuring out how you felt about this.”

Dirk spoke directly. There was really no way around it even though saying these words felt like he was going to the furthest reaches beyond his comfort zone. He never thought that he’d actually ever conceive these words before, let alone use them. 

Yes here he was, hoping that this wouldn’t ruin everything between him and Ava. Despite his senses and instincts, this was a leap of faith. Mo amount of prophetic instincts could dampen his nerves. 

His vision took in every one of her little details, from the twitch of her lips to the flush of her face. 

She brushed some of her hair back. At least she didn’t look pissed. 

“I… I think I love you too… but I have obligations here…”

“I’m not going anywhere without you.”

Dirk said that like a declaration. Suddenly, he knew exactly what she needed. 

“Even if I have to stay here and sort this mess out with you, you’ll be by my side.”

“Are you sure? Even when there’s another? You don’t need me…”

“No, I want you.”

Dirk’s hand raised and his fingers combed through some of the hair around her ear. He smiled when she leaned into it, just slightly. 

“I want you, and in that way I need you. Unless you won’t have me, I’ll do everything in my power to have you. I won’t accept anything less. So tell me…”

Dirk pulled her a bit closer. He could feel her shallow breath on his face. 

“Will you have me?”

“...Yes.”

“Then there’s nothing more to say.”

Dirk leaned forward, Ava meeting him so they could lock lips just a bit sooner. 

Their fingers intertwined and their kisses were shallow. They took a minute to feel each other, truly, for the first time. 

Then it became deeper, smoother, their bodies shifting so it would become that much easier. 

And then, for a moment, they separated, Dirk on top of Ava. 

She stared back up at him, her breath hot. 

“Fuck I’ve wanted this.”

She dove right back in, Dirk’s response mute as they tumbled around a bit more. 

They might not be going all the way, but Dirk was glad that he was finally able to take this step with her.