Chapter LVI: The Finality (3)

Previously

At least, this meant that the cause of her recent slump in productivity was definitely because of Willow, and therefore, their little argument back in the forest.

Was she actually in the wrong? No, that couldn't be. No matter how one looked at it, she was the one in the right, the one who was genuinely trying to help her disciple and he'd acted like she had killed his parents in front of him. Yeah, she was absolutely sure she wasn't in the wrong but maybe by thinking that, she was in the wrong?

Ivanka had lived life long enough that she knew it wasn't always about winning or being the one in the right but still. Ivanka stopped pondering when she realized she was just standing in front of Willow's door like a creep.

She scratched her head and let out a silent groan before giving a defeated sigh. This wasn't like her. She needed to get a hold of herself. Their little argument has gone for long enough.

She looked outside the window. It was evening, approaching dusk quickly. If she wanted to cure the stone in her heart, she needed to finish this quickly, before she took over.With that, her hands reached for the doorknob but to her surprise, the person on the other side was the one who opened the door first and the fresh smell of maple wafted into her nose.

An adorable, little head poked out before his beautiful, starry blue eyes looked up to her silvery ones. "Ivanka?"

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An adorable, little head poked out before his beautiful, starry blue eyes looked up to her silvery ones. "Ivanka?"

His face then stretched into an excited smile and the stone disappeared. "Come in, come in! I was just about to get you. You won't believe what I just discovered."

His excitement must have infected her since she couldn't help the little smirk adorning her lips when he turned his back, beckoning her inside. She finally knew the feelings she held in her heart and instead of rejecting it or outright calling it blasphemy as she felt like the most stupid woman in the world for not noticing that the answer to her own feelings was right there in front of her. How could she not have noticed it?

She only had a question to herself. When did she start to feel that way?

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Willow's POV

"Ivanka?" I looked up at the menacing elven goddess. Why was she standing outside of my room? Did she have something to say? I was well-versed in the matters of stoicness from Ivanka so I could tell that she did indeed look like she wanted to say something but hesitated to say it.

But, whatever she had to say would have to wait. Excitement bubbled within my chest, making me feel all warm inside when I remembered I'd finally fixed my problem after a whole week of tests and theories. It took quite a long while, perhaps days or was it weeks, I didn't know since I was holed up inside my room after morning sessions, my mind filled with solutions for my problem before they were thrown away due to the rise of new questions.

I was even on the verge of giving up and relenting my Anger or chaotic divinity as Ivanka had called it, to her and simply focus on the path of martial arts to get stronger. That was before I had an epiphany while thinking about mitosis and meiosis, fusion and fission that I realized I could have easily solved my issue a long time ago.

I noticed Ivanka looking outside the window and I saw that it was nearly evening, meaning I would have to tell her and discuss my recent breakthrough with her quickly unless I wanted to get raped by her other one. I beckoned her inside with the enthusiasm of a child trying to show his parents something as she must have realized how excited I was and shared a small smile.

I sat her down on my bed and went to find something, my hands trashing about the mess my room had gotten after days of all nighters.

"So," She started. "What have you found?"

I had my back turned to her, cursing inwardly at how I should have managed my books and articles better instead of just throwing them about. "Yes. .er, after that. .um, argument we had, I was pondering over it—Oh, where is it?"

". . .I assume you have reached an answer?" Ivanka said, her voice bubbling behind me. "To whether you will surrender your path to martial arts or your. . Anger. What are you looking for?"

"Don't mind me," I said. I thought I had found my book but it turned out to be a simple history book. I threw it away. Where did I keep that book again? "I thought over your question and my answer still stays the same. I don't want to let either of them go."

I could hear her dissatisfied grumble. "But!" I said and before she could say something, I finally found my book, the book I had written my thoughts and answers in. "I've found a way to possess them both."

I wiped off the ink smudges on the book and took out the thin slip of paper hidden in the middle of the pages before looking it over and smiling in satisfaction. I gave Ivanka the paper. "Here. That's the answer I've come to."

She sighed but still took the paper slip into her hands and read it over, her features still the same. As her eyes traveled down the contents of the paper, I caught the gradual sparkle of surprise and then, amusement in her eyes.

She put down the paper and looked at me. "You want to fuse both of them?"

"Not just fuse," I told her. "It'll be like a trade between them. My chi will be used as fuel to provide energy for my Anger and my Anger will provide it's chaotic divine energy in return to use as a power source instead of chi for the activation of my martial arts."

"And what if your Anger grows greedier? What if the symbiotic relationship breaks?" She said, "Most importantly, would you really allow the chi you cried over to be eaten, to feed them purposely to their demise?"

I shook my head. "This time, they won't just be fed into Anger."

She didn't seem like she understood. I continued to explain. "Well, we both know that any form of energy that passes Anger comes back out into the world purer and cleaner than before, right?"

She nodded. "Well yes, it may be of chaotic nature but it still bears divinity and therefore, purity."

"Exactly," I said. "The only problem with that is the unbearably painful process for the little energy particles. So what if I found a method to bypass the pain and gained the merits only instead?"

Ivanka's lips parted slightly in surprise. "That's not possible. We tried that back at the mountains and we only triggered Anger's. . wrath instead. It took me quite a while to restrain it and bring you back out."

I nodded. "That was because we had provoked Anger's gluttony by feeding it a lot of chi at once. I tried out the alternative and found out that by simply feeding it a low dosage, Anger won't really awaken and the chi can go through the process sneakily and pain-free, as if tiptoeing beside a sleeping dragon with a bag full of the dragon's stolen gold."

She went quiet for the moment after my grand explanation and had her eyes closed with her back straight, a habit of hers when she engaged in a deep thought by herself.

She opened her eyes. "Alright."

"Really?"

"Yes," Ivanka said. "I went over your theory in my head. It's at least worth a try. If, however, it fails. . "

"If it fails?"

She just gave me a look. I nodded. "I understand. I'll do what must be done by then. But that will never happen since it will work. I just know it."

"Fine," Ivanka said. "But if we're going to test this out, we'll do it tomorrow. It's getting late. Get your rest for now. You look like you need it."

My eyebags sighed in relief from her words. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." I slumped onto my bed like a fish flopping into the sea. "Night." Then, I was out like a light, just barely catching the proud-looking smile on Ivanka's face as her legs left the room.