Chapter 280: Intent [1]

Chapter 280: Intent [1]



The lights turned off, and the curtains closed.

11

Aoife stood behind the stage with her eyes closed. She had poured everything she had into the performance and was mentally exhausted.

She couldn't see the audience, but it felt as though thousands of eyes were still lingering over her body.

'How did it go? Was my acting okay...?'

The silence that took over the theater made her nervous.

Immersed in her role, she didn't pay attention to the audience's reaction. All she did was act.

Act as if this was the last time she was ever going to act.

|| ||

Just as her heart started to sink, she heard a small clap coming from behind the curtains. Clap!

It was subtle, but within the silence, it echoed loudly.

Another soon followed that clap, and before Aoife knew it, the entire audience was clapping. Clap, clap, clap-!

Soon, the claps became so loud that Aoife could hardly hear a thing, but she didn't mind it. Standing where she was, she basked in the sounds. Or more like, she was frozen.

'This is for me...?'

She couldn't believe it at all.

"Get up. The second play is going to start soon."

It was only when she heard a familiar voice that she snapped out of it. Turning her head, she saw Julien standing next to her with his eyes fixed on her.

He didn't seem to be at all fazed by what was happening behind the curtains.

In fact, he didn't seem to care at all.

Staring at him, Aoife's mouth opened for a short second before she closed it and bitterly sighed.

'That's right, he's always been like this.'

Helping herself up, she looked up at him.

"You managed to do your part well."

"...I was lucky."

"Perhaps... but it was good. I don't think they would've clapped this hard had it not been for the last act."

".....'

He stood in silence for a brief moment before he eventually nodded.

"Thank you."

"Eh?"

Aoife's mouth hung open for a brief second.

Of all the things she expected him to say, this was the last thing she expected him to say.

But as if he wasn't done, he continued,

"I've always known you were great."

With a subtle and almost imperceptible smile, he turned around,

"...Maybe at the next award ceremony, you won't stop at just one vote."

Following his words, he turned around and headed to the changing rooms. Aoife stood dumbly on her spot, her eyes tracing his back.

His words continued to echo in her ears, and it wasn't long before her eyes closed.

"Haa."

With a long and tired sigh, she rubbed her forehead.

"This guy..."

A low laugh escaped her lips.

"....Since when was he this nice?"

He was becoming softer.

***

At the same time, in a different area.

Clap, clap, clap-!

Hearing the roars of the audience, Olga stood and watched with pursed lips. Her expression was stoic, with little to no emotions displayed on her face.

It was hard to read her expression.

Despite that, everyone could feel an invisible wall surrounding her. It stopped anyone from approaching her.

Even as the minutes passed, the claps never ceased.

They continued to rage on, and the more they continued, the thicker the walls surrounding

her became.

"Hooo."

Eventually, she took a deep breath.

That seemed to be enough to calm her down.

As she calmed down, she thought back on the play.

"It was not bad."

.... It was a little different from the play that she had been shown, but the essence was the

same. In all honesty, it was a tad bit better than she had expected.

"Her acting improved, and Julien pulled it well as well. Not bad. I guess I can work with them

again in the future."

With that being said, she was still sure that her play was better.

And when her thoughts paused there, she managed to relax as her head turned.

"Arjen, what did you th-eh?"

To her surprise and shock, she realized that she was standing by herself. Previously, Arjen had

been with her.

"Tsk."

Her thoughts were broken by the subtle click of a tongue.

Turning her head, her gaze paused on Theron who was staring at a small communication

device with an annoyed frown. He appeared quite annoyed by whatever he saw.

"Hm?"

As if noticing her stare, his head turned and their gazes met.

Elysia didn't look away and simply smiled at him.

Theron's face contorted, but he soon looked away from her and shifted his attention back to

the main stage.

Propping her hand over the armrest of the chair, Elysia leaned her head against her hand as

she twirled her hair.

'How interesting...'

***

The room was quiet.

I sat alone in the changing room, slowly embracing the silence that was surrounding me.

"...."

I started to ponder over the new emotion that I had unlocked.

'Love.'

"So, it's like that..."

At first, I struggled to understand why I had never been able to unlock the emotion, given that

I had experienced love before. Not in a romantic way, but in a familial way with my brother.

'How is it possible that I don't understand love with all that I did for my brother?'

I had never dwelled deeply on the thought, but it lingered in the back of my mind here and

there.

But it was only now that I understood.

"It wasn't enough."

He was the only one that I had affection for.

Not my previous parents, any other person, or... myself.

He was my only source of love, and it became awfully clear that this was far from enough for

me to unlock 'love'.

.....I didn't understand it.

But now, I have a better idea of it.

Lowering my head, I stared at my hands and then at the mirror in front of me. I looked at my

own reflection.

In the past, I used to loathe the sight that greeted me.

The unfamiliar features, the handsome looks, and even the skinny and worn-out appearance

that I once had during my cancer.

...During the play, I understood what was holding me back.

"The fact that I loathe myself."

But this was my past self.

Looking at the mirror, I didn't feel any hints of disgust with what I was seeing. Rather, I was

okay with what I was seeing.

No longer did I feel like I needed to return to my old body.

...I was fine staying in this body, so long as I saw my brother.

"Could this count as me appreciating myself?"

The thought made me laugh a little, but this was the truth. With everything that had

happened to me, I no longer loathed the sight of myself.

I was no longer disgusted with me.

...And it was that realization that made me unlock 'Love'.

"Hoo."

I took a deep breath and stared at the new spell that I acquired. It was merely at the beginner

level, but it was there.

I could see it.

I could...

"Uh?"

As I blinked, I suddenly noticed the color slowly dissipating from the room. It shrank from the

edges of my vision, gradually moving toward the center until my entire world turned gray.

||

"....!"

I sat in shock, unable to understand what was going on, and it was a certain voice that brought

me out of the shock.

"....Intent."

Delilah appeared out of thin air, her perfect figure materializing before my eyes.

Her expression was stoic, but I noticed a subtle trembling in her pupils as she stood before

me.

As I was wondering what she meant, she spoke,

"That's the first step to unlocking a domain."