16 - Change or No Change

Lucian tried reading again, making sure he hadn't made a mistake. But the sentence hadn't changed… in a little less than 10 minutes, he would still be fighting against Ava.

Lucian didn't act just yet. He knew he could change her name if he wanted to, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe it wasn't the worst idea in the world.

'She really likes me, right? So, if she fights against me, would she even attack?'

That was Lucian's mindset. From how Ava had acted in the past, that would most likely be how she would be acting. However, there was no way for Lucian to make sure of that… well, there was. He could simply ask her.

'Should I? Hm, well, it's not like she will suspect anything. From her point of view, I've been staring at blank pages for almost one hour. She might even be worried about me considering my actions…'

Realizing that Ava wouldn't doubt a thing, he looked away from the [Chrono Book], directly staring at Ava.

"Y-Yes?"

She was all red from Lucian's sudden movement, not expecting him to turn his head.

'Ahhh! So embarrassing!'

Her mind was in a state of panic; she had just been staring at Lucian's face for the past hour, and she was sure that Lucian had caught on, causing that reaction.

'Even better,' Lucian thought, seeing her reaction.

He wasn't sure of the reason that she had reacted so strongly, but he went along with it. It made things easier for him either way.

"Uh… Ava, let's say we were… like… both selected to fight against each other, what would you do?"

"Why are you saying that? You want us to fight? Why would we fight?"

A bunch of questions came out of her mouth at the speed of light, and Lucian immediately became overwhelmed.

Lucian didn't know how to calm her down when he suddenly got an idea. He raised his hand and slowly brought it closer to Ava's head, then slowly patted her head, resulting in her closing her mouth right away.

'I don't know why she likes this so much… but it works.'

"Don't panic. Everything will be fine. This is just a hypothetical question, I could have asked Alex, but… he seems a little busy right now."

Ava seemed to regain her calm as she rubbed her head against Lucian's hand. "If we fought, then… I would let you win… I-I don't think I could hurt you, Luci."

She stared at Lucian with her beautiful eyes. Even Lucian had to admit she looked very cute at the moment. However, that behavior couldn't trick him. Lucian had seen what had happened when he had offered to kill Bob, Bobby, and Trevor. She had lost herself, becoming a completely different person.

'I don't think she's acting, though… Whatever, at least I know she won't attack me.'

Lucian became a little more relaxed when he heard she wouldn't hurt him if they were chosen.

'Let's see how the fight will go.'

Lucian looked again at the [Chrono Book], wanting to see what would happen in their fight. However, something strange was happening. The letters which were on the page… kept moving around as if meaning that the future was constantly moving. Ever since he had opened that book, it was the first time that something like this had happened.

It was acting like it wanted to hide the future from Lucian for some strange reason.

'It's not like I can fix it, either way…'

***

A few minutes later, Lucian was patiently waiting for Ariel to come back and choose him and Ava for the next fight.

The [Chrono Book] still hadn't fixed itself. However, Lucian looked confident. Even without the future information, he knew Ava wouldn't hurt him… That was all that mattered.

*Tap!*

*Tap!*

'Oh, finally… she's coming.'

A couple of footsteps could be heard from the Coliseum hallway, and Lucian was now able to recognize the owner of those footsteps instantly. It was Ariel, and she was coming to announce the next fight.

She didn't utter a word since everyone in the waiting room knew what would happen next.

She closed her eyes and pointed her arms in random directions… and without much surprise, Lucian was pointed, and Ava was pointed.

'Seems like the [Chrono Book] really works, huh?'

Lucian was still a little doubtful if it worked or not. But from what had just occurred, it seemed that it worked perfectly since around 10 minutes had passed, and Ariel had selected them.

'All right, time to act shocked…'

However, before Lucian even managed to move, Ava had thrown herself in Lucian's arms, practically crying.

"L-Luci, we got selected… But why… how…" Ava clearly had some difficulty talking, and Lucian knew he had to take over.

He slowly caressed her head. "Ava… we don't have a choice. Let's go, we can't make the others wait."

The tears coming out of her eyes slowly stopped, and her eyes became hollow. Lucian couldn't see her right now, but she was giving one hell of a glare toward Ariel.

'Who does this bitch thinks she is, picking Lucian to go against me? Did she do it on purpose?'

Ava slowly stood up, and Lucian followed right behind her.

Ava kept eyeing Ariel, who had a big smile on her face while being stared down like that. She wasn't showing the slightest discomfort, which made sense considering her strength.

A few moments later, they arrived at the end of the hallway.

"Well, good luck to you two! May the best win!"

*Swoosh!*

'And… she's gone.'

Lucian wasn't surprised by teleportation anymore. It was basically a daily routine now.

'Let's hope that Ava doesn't become too crazy in there and goes back to normal,' Lucian thought as he looked at the dullness in her eyes.

"You remember what you said earlier about fighting me, right?"

Lucian's voice seemed to bring her back as her eyes became lively once again.

"O-Of course!"