Romance RP

(Ooohh I like this twist.  ^^)

Alex wrapped his arms around Nerine and gently replied, "Please calm down, darling.  We should hear her out."

He looked to the shapeshifter and said, "I don't understand.  I thought you told us that your father was a soldier in the gods' army?"

(Thanks. XD)

The shapeshifter replied, "You didn't hear well. I was talking about my deceased husband back then. My father is the king of the devils' world, her and Lycoris' very father."

She paused then said, "It's not something that I want known. Not many knew or know about this, that's why I am not surprised by your reaction. The king married my mother secretly before your mother, Nerine, but they had to break the marriage because she was a god and it was against the devils' rules to marry non-devils."

Alex scratched the back of his head and replied, "Sorry about that.  I did get confused.  But I don't understand why that would be a rule in the devils' world.  It seems a bit silly to me."

The shapeshifter replied with a bored tone, "It applied to heirs only. Of course, as they didn't want their heirs to give birth to gods or maybe even humans later on to rule their world.

She sat back in the chair and crossing her arms, she continued, "I answered your question, didn't I? No more about it."

Nerine shook her head frantically and replied, "You expect us to believe you? You just claim that my father happens to be your father and we happen to be sisters and you expect me to buy it? I told you, stop speaking of such madness."

She turned to Alex and frantically asked, "You don't believe this woman, right, Alex?"

Alex looked to Nerine and slowly replied, "It might make sense."

Although he wished to say more, he figured that it would be better to wait until it was just the two of them.  Turning back to the shapeshifter, he asked,

"So this is how you know about Lycoris' powers?  Because the devils' king knew about them?"

Nerine wanted to protest but as Alex resumed talking to the shapeshifter, she remained silent. The shapeshifter nodded and replied,

"My father, naturally, knew all the details about the powers. I was quite close to him, and he trusted me with even the most secret information. He told me all about it. That's why, even though I didn't grow up in this world, I want to save it. Because my father wanted it, and sacrificed so many things to ensure it happens. I don't want his sacrifices wasted. I want his goal fulfilled."

Alex looked thoughtful and replied, "So the king told you that Lycoris was born solely for this purpose?  To bring life back to the devils' world?"

Even if that were the case, the thought of sacrificing a life disturbed Alex although he did his best to remain calm.

The shapeshifter nodded and replied, "Yes. It's an old curse that only Lycoris' soul could break. You definitely know of the troubles Lycoris' mother had when she was still a baby in her womb. If she had been a normal child, they would have let her die and not go through the trouble of merging her with Nerine. But she wasn't, and the king wouldn't let her die, so he had no choice. He often told me that to him, Lycoris was never his daughter, only the soul that he would sacrifice to save his world from dying."

Alex felt like crying upon hearing such cold words about the king although he did his best to stay calm.  Quietly, he asked,

"And how did my darling's mom feel about all of this?"

The shapeshifter replied, "She had no choice, you know? Even if it was her own daughter, she had to obey her husband and follow what her duty told her. She was the queen and her priority was the devils' world and nothing else. She wasn't happy about it but there was nothing she could do."

Nerine was silent all the time and although she felt like denying everything, it all made sense.

Alex nodded and replied, "I see."

With another question in mind, he then asked, "Are Lycoris' powers the only way to save this world?  Is there any other way?  I do wonder what makes her powers unique from those of other magic users."

The shapeshifter nodded and replied, "I thought you'd ask that."

She took a breath and said, "Like I said before, they were put into her solely for this reason. It's an old curse-they said an ancient goddess fell in love with a devil but he refused her. In jealous rage, she cursed the whole devils' land, that one day, the powers that held it would run out and it would wither and die.

Fortunately, the devil she had fallen in love with was a powerful sorcerer, and gathering his own powers with all the powers of the strongest sorcerers in the devils' world, powers enough to restore a dead world, he cast a spell so that when that time is near, those great powers would be woven into a devil's soul, and they would be sacrificed to restore life to the world. The soul would be the source of life, and the powers would keep it running forever."

Alex nodded, disappointed that there couldn't be another way to save the devils' world.  He replied,

"Lycoris would sacrifice her life if it was for a good purpose and this clearly is.  She does need to know so she can make this decision for herself."

He looked to Nerine and added, "I know you're upset, darling, but is there anything you wish to ask?"

Nerine frowned and shook her head, clearly not wanting to even talk with the shapeshifter anymore. The shapeshifter didn't care very much, but then she quietly said,

"There's another way...but my father didn't often speak of it because he said it was almost impossible, and I might agree. But I might as well say it. It was said that a powerful miracle of true love could break the curse.  A man who truly loved Lycoris and was ready to go to the extremes, even sacrificing himself, could save her and restore the world without giving her up. Sounds a bit corny and vague, I know. I don't even know what that miracle needs to be. That's why I don't intend to depend on it."

(Ahh interesting.  I think Ryan would really sacrifice himself to save Lycoris.  XD)

Alex nodded and replied, "I see."

Although he still loved and cared for Lycoris very much, he couldn't abandon Nerine, especially after the news that just hit them.  He turned back to the shapeshifter and said,

"I guess that's it for now but if we have more questions, can we ask them later?"

(Yup, I think so too. XD That miracle is a happy ending, though, since it would save them both and the devils' world. XD)

The shapeshifter nodded and replied, "Fair enough."

Frowning her eyebrows a bit, she replied, "Now it's my turn. You said you'll help me get to Lycoris but it hasn't been easy even when I kidnapped you two. It could be my imagination but they sure are stalling even though your lives are at risk, or at least they think so."

(Yup, I agree.  XD)

Alex looked thoughtful and replied, "Perhaps.  My darling and I were teleported back here when you found out about Ryan's deception.  Can you tell us what happened afterwards since we weren't there and all?"

The shapeshifter nodded and replied,

"It turned out that the powers weren't there even though Lycoris was, or at least I think she was. When I confronted the human, he claimed that he moved the powers elsewhere although something seemed off. After all, would he really hand her over completely powerless and think I'd let her go so easily once I find out that she had nothing?"

Alex looked deep in thought and replied, "I don't know Ryan all that well but it could have been possible for him to transfer Lycoris' powers elsewhere.  I didn't even think it was possible to transfer powers in the first place.  But wouldn't that have killed her?  I believe that was why the chancellor decided not to transfer Lycoris' powers to the generators in the gods' world since that would have ended up killing her.  Then again, maybe Ryan had figured out a way to do so while keeping Lycoris alive."

The shapeshifter frowned a bit and replied, "Perhaps although it's highly unlikely. Like I already mentioned, her soul is woven into the powers. Taking them away means taking away her soul.

And wouldn't it have been strange that he was giving her away without any powers right into the danger? I mean, let's say he did take away the powers somehow and then handed her over. Did he think I'd give her back if I found no powers in her? Let alone the captain. He would have killed her in a rage. The human wouldn't be so dumb, would he?"

Alex replied, "Ryan did have a plan although I can't guess as to what it was.  Of course, now he has to bring you those powers in exchange for our release so I don't think he can deceive you again.  It would only anger you more, right?"

He paused and then asked, "Have you considered telling Ryan all of this?  He doesn't know the truth about Lycoris' powers."

The shapeshifter frowned and replied, "Of course not. I can't trust that human after the trick he tried to pull off. I can't tell if he would care at all about the devils' world. Furthermore, like I said, as more people know, the chance of the captain finding out increases and I can't risk that happening."

She paused and said, "You'll have to think with me here. Right now, all I am doing is waiting for that human to lay another trap for me. I doubt he's actually planning to hand me over any powers. He doesn't seem to be the type who gives up easily."

Alex replied, "Well, I think that's because he believes that you are working with the captain and want Lycoris' powers for malicious purposes.  He doesn't know the truth.  But if you think that he can't be reasoned with, then we need to communicate with Lycoris somehow.  But all attempts have failed so far."

The shapeshifter groaned angrily and replied, "I know that. He's protecting her really well; I'll give him that much credit."

She was silent for a moment then said, "If I claimed that one of you is dead, would that make them hand over the powers for the other?"

Alex looked thoughtful and replied, "Lycoris might surrender herself over but Ryan is another matter."

Remembering what had happened when Ryan got angry at Nerine when the latter initially refused to help save Lycoris, Alex added,

"Ryan does have a temper and he might think that if one of us is dead, he may retaliate."