My Friends

Returning to MTG had its weird set of stares and people running off. Some people came closing in on Sky's position, but Lucas and I fended them off and let him walk peacefully back to the A-Ranking building.

It was entertaining to watch some of Sky's friends watch him walk back in, as they dropped what they were doing and began to stare like he was an anomaly.

"SKY!" Belle shouted from the window of the A-Ranking ability. Utilizing her ability, Belle opened the window and summoned a slide of ice to reach the bottom floor. After sliding her way down to Sky, she threw her arms around him in a hug that tackled him to the ground.

"Belle! How's your arm?! Are you okay?!" Sky asked. There he went again, caring about everybody other than himself.

"You idiot! I'm sorry I put you through that!" Belle said, crying on Sky's shoulder. What a bipolar girl... I chuckled a little bit as I could see Alexia using the same slide Belle did.

Sky got back to his feet and was soon tackled once more by Alexia, who said almost the same thing as Belle did. I laughed even harder this time around. Even Illya laughed as well, but that turned off the happiness in my brain.

If she planned to ruin all of this, how could she genuinely laugh?

"The A-Team is back together! Look at us go!" Shike wrapped his arms around everybody's neck, including Illya's, and they were all stuck in a smile that seemed like it would never fade away.

"Boo is going to be so happy to see her rival back!" Alexia said to everybody.

"I wonder how they all are... let's go find out!" Sky said. I let him run off with his friends as I walked back to Zach's office.

Exactly as I thought. The glass was cleaned and replaced by the time we made it back. Illya was getting even more sloppy with cleaning up her mistakes... I wanted to know what her plan was, but nothing came to mind. How much longer would I be stuck and powerless? Maybe this is all a test... it's a test to see my mental dexterity. That was a likely possibility, as Illya seemed to know I was sentient.

"What's next? You'll be the Headmaster of both MTG and HTG?" Lucas asked me.

"It's possible. Hey, Lucas, answer something for me really quick." I demanded from him. He nodded with his arms crossed. I pulled golden strands out of my chest and walked toward him.

"Do you understand what's happening right now? Do you know what happens if I hit you with these?" I asked him.

"Well, if they're golden strands, I would slowly die. If they're regular strands, I would be rewritten and my biological body would be replaced." He told me.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" I asked him again.

"My biological body would be overwritten by your strands and I would no longer be Lucas." He said again.

"That has never been true... what the hell are you talking about...?" I asked him with a confused stare.

"Wait a minute." I acted like I was thinking of another question, but burst toward Lucas with a hand full of strands and slammed them into his chest.

Lucas shot back and hit the floor, sliding on it for a bit before rubbing his head and looking at his hands.

"Are you awake now?" I asked him for the final time. Lucas turned past his hands and looked up to me while nodding.

"What the hell... hey... what is this? Where am I?" He asked me. So, he was written to act like he knew what I was talking about. And that thing he told me, about his biological body being overwritten... it was fake, just as I assumed.

Because nobody in The First Trial is using their biological body.

"You're finally on the same page. It's about time. Listen, are you aware of the inconsistencies now?! Do you know what's going on?!" I asked him.

Lucas nodded, but I was still skeptical. Not because I didn't trust him, but because Illya is putting more and more thought into the people around me and how they perceive this world.

"Let me hit you with golden strands. You won't care, will you?" I asked Lucas again, tearing them out of my chest and walking toward him with an open hand.

"I think that would kill me... but I trust you," Lucas said, opening both of his arms to let me strike. I got as close as possible to striking him without hitting him to see if he would move.

And he didn't budge an inch.

"So, you are awake now. Listen, we have to make a plan against Illya. She's controlling this world and I fear that if she figures out we're now sentient again, she'll kill us both and rip Sky from our hands, and have her way with him. We need to find a way to get him out of this world and help him realize this is all fake." I explained to Lucas. He nodded instantly, seemingly trusting me once more.

"You're right. So, how should we go about this? Can we push her agenda further by doing something? How can we speed this up and find a way around it? If she has no control of the pacing of her plans, she'll be overwhelmed and overthink it, right?" Lucas asked me.

"Precisely... but I don't know what's going to happen next. What event will be the turning point for Sky and this world." I told him. I silently thought of a way to figure it out, thinking about every single possible outcome in Sky learning the truth, becoming a Deity, and killing Illya himself.

"What about sending him back into Rubeki territory? If I remember correctly when that creepy black-haired guy made The First Trial, he said it was Deity training. Is this what this is? The First Trial?" Lucas asked me. So, he was pretty smart as well. I expected nothing less of my husband.

"Exactly that. How would Sky ascend to a Deity with events in this world... what is the ultimate test?" I asked Lucas, hoping he would help me think.

"You know that one thing where only three Deities can exist at once? If you're one of them, and Illya is the other, who is the last?" Lucas asked me.

I paused and didn't move for a moment, only staring at the ground in total shock.

The Three Deities! How could I have forgotten?!

"You're right! Let's see... there's Illya, and me... and..." I paused again.

Lucas and I both looked at each other for the last time before saying her name together.

"Providence"