Chapter 207 At Home

Chapter 207 At Home


Blanche turned over... then turned over again.

The bed wasn't uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. Especially because it wasn't hers. Soft, memory-foam, clean sheets, a gigantic mattress.

But it was no use: she didn't feel comfortable in the Oswalds' guest room. And Helena's words occupied her entire mind.

That story obsessed her.

There were too many similarities... and that game.

That damn game.

Yet Helena had been able to talk about it without being struck down on the spot.

So only the players couldn't say anything about it.

But then... how had Helena learned this "tale"? From a God himself?

Six o'clock in the morning finally came.

The number appeared on the clock like a sentence.

Blanche had completely lost track of time. She had spent hours waiting, thinking, turning the same questions over and over in her mind until exhaustion took hold. The entire night had stretched into a succession of endless minutes, and now that dawn was approaching, the deadline suddenly felt terribly close.

Then Phénix finally showed up.

Blanche practically leapt to her feet.

She crossed the room without even taking the time to think and threw herself into his arms the moment she reached him.

"Finally..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

She buried her face against him and breathed deeply, as though his scent alone were enough to chase away everything that had been twisting her stomach for hours.

Phénix immediately wrapped his arms around her and brought her back to the bed, holding her gently. With her head resting against his chest, she snuggled against him.

The fear of the unknown, which had been kept at bay until now by action and anticipation, returned with a dull intensity.

The deadline was drawing to an end.

And Blanche still had no idea what awaited her afterward.

She felt exhausted.

Her nap had allowed her to hold out this long, but it had only postponed the inevitable. Her eyelids were heavy, her muscles were begging for rest, and her mind could no longer properly organize her thoughts.

She was so tired that she didn't even immediately notice an obvious detail.

Phénix was still in human form.

She never slept with him in this form.

And yet, in that moment, it no longer mattered.

He was there.

That was all that mattered.

Phénix ran a hand through her hair and held her tighter.

"Sleep."

Just one word.

But his voice had changed.

Deeper.

Softer, too.

Blanche wanted to answer, to protest that she couldn't sleep now, that she still had too many things to think about.

No sound made it past her lips.

Her eyes closed.

A few minutes later, she sank into a deep sleep.

A true sleep, heavy and restorative, free for a few hours from the fear, questions, and anxiety gnawing at her mind.

Phénix remained motionless beside her.

He had used one of his incubus abilities to induce her sleep.

An exceptionally effective ability...

But also one that consumed a considerable amount of energy.

He knew it.

And, above all, he knew he might pay dearly for it.

Yet when he finally felt Blanche's breathing become steady, he regretted nothing.

She needed to sleep.

So he would stay there, watching her sleep, dressed in Wiwi's shirt.

Even if it cost him some of his strength.

He was going to have to recharge... and find a fuck buddy soon.

\---

Blanche woke up in an immense open plain beneath a clear sky.

She remained still for a few seconds, still groggy from sleep, before becoming aware of the cool grass beneath her back. A few blades tickled her neck and bare arms, while a gentle breeze made the vegetation around her ripple.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Two suns hung in the sky.

One was slightly higher than the other, their light blending into a golden gradient that bathed the plain in a gentle warmth. Not a single cloud disturbed the vast blue expanse above her.

Blanche took a deep breath.

The air was pure.

Fresh.

Lightly scented by the wildflowers growing here and there among the grass.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

She could hear the steady rustling of the breeze, the whisper of plants brushing against one another, a few unseen birds in the distance...

Nothing else.

No screams.

No spells.

No battles.

No slamming doors, furious vampires, Drakions, demons, or professors who were far too complicated.

Just the wind.

And her.

A smile slowly appeared on her lips.

For the first time in a long while, Blanche felt good.

Really good.

An unfamiliar sensation, almost forgotten.

She felt as though she had arrived somewhere she had always been meant to be.

Home.

She sat up slightly and gazed at the vast expanse around her.

The plain seemed endless.

Low hills stretched across the horizon, covered in grass and flowers. Farther away, a few silhouettes of trees formed a dark line, but no buildings, roads, or traces of civilization broke the impression of perfect solitude.

The weather was pleasant.

Neither too hot nor too cold.

Just the perfect temperature that made her want to stay outside without ever checking the time.

Blanche lay back down.

She could have stayed there for hours.

Maybe even all day.

Far from everything.

Far from the turmoil.

Far from the responsibilities that seemed to be piling up around her at an alarming rate.

She could almost forget that she was inside a game.

Almost.

Because there was that damn blue window.

Still there.

Suspended in her field of vision like an intrusion into this moment of peace.

A cold, luminous reminder of reality.

Objectives.

Statistics.

Time.

And everything waiting for her.

Blanche sighed.

She wished she could close it permanently.

For once, she wanted to stop being a player.

Stop being a princess.

Stop being a Drakion.

Stop being responsible for anyone.

Simply be a young woman lying in an immense meadow beneath two suns.

She closed her eyes.

Just a few more seconds.

Just a few seconds of peace before getting back to the action.

She fell asleep and woke only a few moments later, perfectly rested.

She finally deigned to look at the game window.

\---

Fourteenth Level: Discovery — Part 4/5.

Objective: Find five animals.

Time: No limit.

Mission Reward: TBD.

\---

Blanche burst out laughing. How did players all over the world manage not to get sick of these damn objectives?