Ch22: It’s Okay! P5

Chapter 22: It's Okay! P5

~22.5~

*****

"So, you fought against three of the most powerful beings in existence, and all of them wanted to kill you?" Alethea said.

Alfia nodded. "That's right. They failed, but the cost of victory was my body. I could not defeat them and keep them alive with my power alone." She turned to Eve. "I'm sorry. I could not win without Divine Overdrive. Zane or Zaldin alone wouldn't be so much trouble, but both at the same time as Zalen was too much. With only half my power..."

Kye was still processing what Alfia had just told them. "Why did he call you 'Elysia'? Who is Zaldin? And who is Zalen?"

Elysia, the projection, answered, "Zaldin is our biological father, just as Xera is our biological mother."

"Xera?" She looked at Eve.

"Eve is part of a title, not a name," she said. "The Primordial is the title. Eve is the female version, and Adam is the male version. Zalen held his position before me and was Adam the Primordial."

"Then Xera is..."

"My name."

"And Alfia?"

Alfia shook her head. "Surely you've figured it out by now, Eli. Why I have always felt so familiar to you."

The projection explained, "Alfia and we are one soul. Elysia Athas holds half of the soul of Elysia the Creator, and Alfia Athas holds the other half."

*****

After everything calmed down, Eve prepared to return everyone to the dining room. Alfia, being a bodiless soul, could not enter the world and had to stay behind. When it was just the four of them, Elysia said her goodbyes and disappeared, her projection no longer needed. Kye was a little saddened to see her go, but gained much from the experience.

It feels strange to be thankful to myself. She said she's only a projection of my sealed memories. Are those memories that important? There's something that we don't see, that much is clear. She glanced around at her family. They must not know either. They look just as confused. Meaning, it was something that happened before they met me originally.

She grimaced as she thought about it. But what could have even happened? Was it something between her and me?

As Kye looked around, her eyes met Eve's, and the goddess shook her head, silently answering her, "No."

A straight answer? Well, if it's not that... then why do the others seem so surprised? Sure, they were surprised by my projection suddenly appearing like that, but they were more surprised by what she... "I"... said. Alfia and I are not sisters, but one person. But I have some few memories of my childhood. Alfia was grown. There must be more to it.

"Love?"

Kye met Alethea's eyes and saw a clear look of worry in them. "Hmm?"

"Are you... okay?"

"Huh? I'm fine. What's up?"

Alethea raised an eyebrow. "Of everyone here, should you not be the most shocked? You... your own self appeared! That's... impossible!"

"Apparently not. I dunno how that happened." Kye eyed Eve again. "But somebody does." Eve hesitated, but Kye kept going. "And that's okay. We don't necessarily need to know." Kye walked over and hugged Eve. "It's okay."

"Huh?" Eve mumbled. "Elysia?"

"Mmm."

Everyone looked on in either shock or awe as Kye hugged Eve. "I don't know what happened to cause the original me to split my soul into two halves, but I feel as though I should hug you."

With tears rolling down her cheek, Eve returned the embrace. "It's been a long time since the last time you did this."

When Kye pulled away, she smiled at Eve. "Would it really be a bad thing for me to remember? It doesn't make sense."

"Eli," Alfia said.

"Fia?"

"We need to talk soon, just the two of us. The sealed memories will have to be unsealed eventually, so we should start preparing for it."

Kye nodded. "Sure. Give me a little bit to absorb what I learned today and I'll come back, okay?"

Alfia smiled. "Of course. Love you, Eli."

"Love you, Fia."

Eve smiled, snapped her fingers, and her own appearance changed back to Evelyn's. The group was suddenly back in the dining room. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't make sense, but that's how it has to be."

Kye sighed and returned to her seat. "At least come around more often. If you're going to live in Atlantis, and more than that, if you're going to be family, then come around like family. Your name is Evelyn Barrett. We're only a few generations apart, and lifespans in this world are quite long."

"Yeah, what she said!" Alethea argued. "We have a good relationship with some of the founders, and my mom is the head of the empire, even!"

Eve glanced around and received a mix of nods and smiles. Adele added, "Why not? You're a royal here. How'd that even happen, by the way? You just so happened to take a break here of all places? At a specific time that-"

"Hey, it's my job to be overanalytical!" Michelle said. She eyed Eve. "Well? Come on, admit it. You peered into the future and knew we'd all end up here, and wanted to establish yourself ahead of time so that you'd have a believable excuse to interact with us."

Eve smiled and answered, "Remember how you said that I hardly ever enter a world or interact with any of you?"

"Well, that sounds like bait if I've ever heard it."

She shrugged. "Since you are all being so welcoming, I'll tell you something."

"Uh, huh..."

"I've entered every single world each of you have entered and interacted with you in each world at least once. Sometimes, I was more than one person at a time!" Even Michelle was shocked into silence. Evelyn took a sip of her tea before adding on the last bit with an amused grin. "Do you think you can figure out who the other me is in this world?"

*****

Revision: 2024-8-7