Weakness

"You went to the Forbidden Area?! Are you crazy?!"

"W-Well, Butter was-"

Lu grabbed Vita's shoulders tighter and stressed his words, "You went there!"

The sudden outburst made the dome tremble, which made Vita scream in fear before clinging to Lu even closer while whining. 

"Ahhh! Brotherrr, me went but me sorryy! Don't make lil Vii fall! Me just went to catch my new friend!"

"Friend…?"

Taking pity over Vita, Lu tried to calm down and stabilized the wind dome while asking her and acting as calm as possible. 

Vita nodded and started to explain to him about Butter and how she followed her around while taking a casual stroll. 

She explained to him from the moment that Butter had appeared, how she found herself to be enchanted and followed her helplessly just because she wanted her around. 

She then explained the fear and suffocation she felt when she was near the Forbidden Area, and of course, she did not forget to tell him why she followed Butter there. 

Lastly, she hugged him tightly while telling him about the bodies of their friends, how she ended up choking on her breath while running past them. 

However, Vita stopped before mentioning the god she met. For some reason, she felt like she did not want anyone to know about him. 

Especially because she could not explain her feelings towards him or their reasons, not to mention, how his behavior was quite shocking and confusing several times. 

Lu fell silent after hearing the story and started massaging his head, feeling the incoming headache he was about to face. 

'Not only she went to the Forbidden Area… She even survived, and now… She is telling me about those friends' bodies… And the possibility…'

Lu felt utterly speechless about his own thoughts, and as if to spite him, Vita decided to confirm his worries. 

"Me wanna go… And help our friends…?"

"No."

Lu immediately refused without even thinking so long about it. It was a taboo to go to the Forbidden Areas. Not that he cared about rules or such, but he knew why these places were forbidden. 

Those places that were filled with death and toxins were dangerous for any living being. Although Vita had returned, who knows if she had already suffered some side effects? 

The amount of injuries and hurt she had to go through was not little as well. 

He could not and did not want to allow his sister to go through that again, especially for the dead. 

He carefully made her look at him before continuing his words. 

"Look, Vii, I know you love them. But they died. It is the cycle, they died because they were supposed to. You do not need to try to save everyone."

"But, they're my friends…"

Lu shook his head and gently brushed a few strands of hair off Vita's face, then spoke softly, trying to convince her. 

"Everyone had a time, you know? A time where they will need to say goodbye to this world. Of course, our friends, and even you and me, are included."

Lu was speaking as softly as possible while making Sure that Vita could feel his thumping heart, a sign that he was alive. 

Vita, feeling his heart, remembered the scene again and cried, "N-nu! But-!"

"No buts, Vii. You may never come back again if you try!"

"That doesn't mean me can't! Me can bring the dead back, why me can't use my power like me wanna?!"

Vita whined and pouted before turning her face away from Lu. She could not understand why he was so worried about her. She could even bring back the dead, what was so worrying then? 

Her brother seemed to sense her questions and took her hand gently before making a long scratch across her palm. 

"Kya! W-Why–??"

"It hurts, right?" Lu asked calmly, and patiently waited for the answer. 

"Y-yeah?"

Vita answered a bit hesitantly, and Lu's next words made her speechless. 

"Heal it. Help yourself, sister."

"..."

"Yes. You cannot."

Lu sighed heavily and wrapped her bleeding palm carefully with a clean cloth. 

"Yeah, Vii. You are powerful, but not for yourself. You can't save yourself if death decides to engulf you."

Vii dejectedly hid in her brother's arms, opting for silence to be her only response. 

Her brother was right, she was just that weak in protecting herself. 

However, that did not mean she had completely given up. If anything, her determination grew stronger and stronger. 

Her heart was trembling in fear, she did not want to be discovered, but somehow she was still delving into those matters more than how she should be. 

It was a high risk no reward situation, but she could only hope that no one was going to know. 

"Hai, brother…"

'... And sorry.'

For not being so obedient, and for planning to go there alone anyway. 

Lu looked at her deeply before sighing inwardly and slowly putting them back on the dome's floor, then letting the dome lower itself carefully. 

"I won't tell anyone about this, so you need to be careful. Rian or Dad surely would not let it slide."

Vita nodded obediently and thought about it deeply, 'Yes. Me can't tell em, they gonna be mad at me and Rian Nanny gonna be disappointed in me.'

Eventually they touched the ground and Lu helped Vita to carefully get off while handing her the Iced Fruits. 

"Woah… They are still cold???" 

Vita took it and ate some berries, her eyes shone with amazement after realizing it was still cold and tasty.

"I simply used my wind Element to keep it cool, no worries about it. Simple, ya know?"

Vita jumped and pecked Lu's cheek before running away fast while leaving him stunned, "Thanks, brother!"

Lu stood there frozen for a good half a day before shaking his head and laughing softly, he took his own Iced Fruits and champed on some then shivered. 

"I understand that Vii got extra sweet berries cuz she asked, but why is mine just so sour…?"