Chapter 37 - A Veyara
A heavy silence stretched across the Eternium Sanctum.
The emerald -haired being stood frozen in place, her glowing eyes wide with unspoken emotions. Her celestial dress shimmered, tiny threads of light rippling across the fabric as if mirroring her inner turmoil.
She parted her lips slightly, as if to speak—
But no words came.
Zar raised a brow. He had expected many things—a sharp response, maybe even a divine-level scolding—but instead, she just... stood there. Stunned. Almost vulnerable.
The energy around her wavered. The very essence of her being, once perfectly composed, now flickered with uncertainty. It wasn't fear. It wasn't discomfort.
It was something else entirely.
Then, it hit him.
She had spent her entire existence in slumber within Elythros, untouched by the passage of time.
She had never spoken to anyone. Never made a decision. Never even experienced the simplest concept of interaction.
Everything was new to her.
And now, she stood before him, no longer a mere presence within Elythros, but a being of flesh and will—experiencing, for the first time, the weight of existence outside her eternal sleep.
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides, gripping the fabric of her dress as though grounding herself. The glow in her eyes flickered. She wasn't angry. If anything, she looked—
Shy.
Zar smirked, crossing his arms.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
Her shoulders tensed. She opened her mouth again—
Nothing.
The silence stretched long enough for the System to chime in.
[Wow. You actually broke the consciousness of the multiverse. Congratulations, Zar. This might be your worst achievement yet.]
Zar chuckled, rubbing his chin. "Well, I suppose that depends. If saying a few words was enough to cause a meltdown, maybe she really does need a reset."
The being blinked, her expression shifting from stunned silence to something dangerously close to a pout. The cosmic glow in her eyes flared just slightly, and Zar swore he could feel the weight of the entire multiverse pressing down on him for a brief second.
Yeah. She wasn't as defenseless as she looked.
Sensing the tension, Zar sighed dramatically. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's not my fault she's acting like she just had an existential crisis."
[Oh, no, by all means, let's blame her. The ancient, reality-defining entity who was literally born from the essence of the cosmos itself. Clearly, she's the one acting weird. Not you. Not the guy who casually walked up to her and threw her entire existence into question.]
Zar rolled his eyes. "Oh? But you're the one who turned it into something ridiculous. I was being serious, and you turned it into a spectacle."
He smirked, stepping forward slightly.
"Now, watch as I unleash the full force of my skills."
A pause.
The System's voice turned flat.
[Oh no. Ohhh, no. Wait. What skills? You don't have skills. You have an overinflated ego and a terrible sense of timing.]
Zar's smirk widened. "Well, it was also thanks to your lessons."
A sudden chill crawled down his spine.
[...Why did that sound sarcastic?]
Zar coughed into his fist, ignoring the way the System's tone darkened with irritation. Instead, he snapped his attention back to the silent figure, his smirk returning as he tilted his head.
"Well, lady, you still haven't answered my question." His voice was smooth, laced with just the right amount of amusement. "Can I have your name?"
Her fingers twitched against the fabric of her dress.
For the first time, she spoke.
Her voice was soft—like a whisper carried through the stars, gentle yet echoing with the vastness of existence itself.
"...My name...?"
Zar leaned in slightly, his expression unwavering. "That's right. Or do you need more time to process?"
She looked at him—really looked at him.
And then, barely above a whisper—
"...Astraia."
Zar smiled.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful—"
[ABSOLUTELY NOT.]
Zar blinked. "...No?"
[NO. Just no. Shut it down. We are not doing this. I refuse to be part of whatever this is.]
Zar raised a brow. "I was just saying her name."
[Oh, please. You oozed romantic tension just now. You were two seconds away from writing poetry about her existence. I felt it. I hated it. And by the way she isn't a goddess]
Zar chuckled under his breath, glancing at Astraia with renewed interest. "Alright, alright. Relax. If she's not a goddess, then what exactly is she?"
The System's response was immediate.
[A Veyara.]
Zar let the word settle in his mind.
Veyara.
It wasn't a title. It wasn't something bestowed upon her.
It was what she was.
A being beyond gods, beyond celestial orders—a Veyara.
Zar continues. "A beautiful name for a beautiful Veyara"
Her breath hitched. Her eyes widened once more, and this time, the glow in them shimmered wildly. The edges of her cosmic dress rippled like a galaxy reacting to the shift of time itself.
Zar's smirk deepened.
And in the back of his mind, the System groaned.
[OH, FOR THE LOVE OF—ZAR, STOP FLIRTING WITH THE HER. I AM NOT READY TO BE REDUCED TO A THIRD-WHEEL SIDE CHARACTER IN YOUR INTERDIMENSIONAL LOVE STORY.]