Chapter 215: Chapter 215

After a round of back-and-forth teasing, Belle pulled Osho to one of the couches, her soft skin like clouds against his.

When they sat, her hair almost seemed to swallow the piece of furniture, but Osho still sat on it without any hesitation. He knew she didn't mind.

Sure enough, as soon as he sat, he felt several strands curl around him like tiny hands embracing him. It was one of her ways of showing affection, one he didn't mind.

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, not awkward, just basking in the presence of one another quietly.

After a while, though, Osho spoke.

"So... You said you wanted to see me?" He finally said as he looked at her curiously. She'd made her intention to meet up known while he was still in Stellaris, so this wasn't a chance encounter. However, she didn't tell him what she wanted to speak about, so Osho was curious.

"Hm," She rested her chin on her palm. "It's been years. Can't I just see you?" She asked teasingly, and Osho averted his gaze.

"... You know that's not it." He mumbled. In truth, if she wanted to see him for the sake of seeing him, he wouldn't mind one bit. But he knew her, and while she didn't seem as imposing as what one would expect from the Celestial Star, she still wasn't someone who did things without a reason.

"Hehe," She chuckled. "You're right, though." She stared at him for a few seconds before asking. Official source ıs NoveIꜰire.net

"How's your adhd?" The question made Osho pause, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face. Seeing this, she sighed.

"Are you still caught up on that?" She leaned forward, her expression becoming serious. "Osho, look at me. That wasn't your fault. No matter how long you spend blaming yourself, that was a situation completely out of your control. Nothing you could have done would have changed the result. And frankly, pretending like you don't have a condition won't change the result either. You know this." She scolded him gently.

"I... I know," He scrubbed a hand across his face. "You've heard this before... but I just can't help but think that I could have at least done something." Hearing this, Belle shook her head.

"Osho, I will say it as many times as you need to hear it. It wasn't your fault, okay?" She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes.

Osho wanted to retort, but when he saw her gaze, as well as the genuine concern in her eyes, he could only swallow the words and nod slightly.

"Better," Belle slowly leaned back. "I won't press you on it. But remember, you can talk to me." When she finished, there was a brief silence again, then Belle spoke.

"You've been doing a lot recently." She pointed out.

"Oh... Yeah. I've been busy." He shrugged, not sure how to respond to that.

"That's an understatement. From what I've been hearing, you're quite the prodigy within the science field, hm?" She scoffed at his attempts to downplay his achievements.

"I'm still improving." Osho still tried to be modest, and Belle gave him a blank stare before reaching forward and flicking his forehead faster than he could react.

"ACK!" His hand immediately flew to his head as he bit back a curse.

"That's what you get for trying to be modest for no reason. Impostor Syndrome doesn't look good on you." She shook her head, and Osho stared at her indignantly.

"Aren't you the one who told me not to be needlessly arrogant?" He retorted, but she just gave him an unamused stare.

"Yeah. But that doesn't turn into acting like all your achievements aren't worth mentioning." She sighed, then she said slowly.

"... You're also tired." This made Osho blink.

"Well, I did just come back from a pretty stressful meeting. Or two." He rubbed the spot she'd hit, the pain rapidly fading.

"That's not what I mean," She shook her head. "It's like you discovered something unbearably heavy, and its weight is starting to get to you. So now, you're at that stage of urgency to get rid of it as quickly as possible, which is making you even more tired." Her words caused Osho to freeze up, and he fought the urge to gulp.

'Damn, I forgot how perceptive she is.' He cursed inwardly when he realized he'd been seen through.

His reaction made her shake her head.

"I watched you grow up. It's not hard to see these things," She leaned back. "That said, I've also been there, so it's easy to recognize it in others." This made Osho purse his lips.

"It's not as bad as you think." He said quietly.

"Oh?" She raised a brow. "Let me guess. Whenever you discover something, you make some offhand statement to make it seem like it isn't as bad or significant as it truly is. But shortly after, you start losing your mind over it, and you only just barely manage to keep yourself from spiraling and try to bury it in the depths of your psyche." Osho's brows furrowed.

"Only, burying them doesn't stop them from being there. You keep thinking about them, and they keep piling up. You convince yourself it's fine, that there's no need to tell anyone yet, or worrying over it at the moment is pointless as 'you'll cross that bridge when you get there'," She sighed. "Only for you to realize the futility of such a notion. Not just that, but you become keenly aware of the fact that, quite frankly, those situations may not truly be as far away as you thought, and they, in fact, could spawn on your head at any given moment, which breeds that sense of urgency that's almost impossible to ignore." She smiled slightly.

"You had that realization not too long ago, didn't you. And knowing you, you finally said, 'Imma commit', and decided to start facing the issues the way you knew how," She crossed her legs. "All the while not telling those around you. Those you trust. Because you think that revealing to them such information would only be harmful to them in the long-run, and that you're the only one who can deal with it due to your unique set of abilities, even when, technically, such information is just as, if not more harmful to you, due to the sinking realization that if you're unable to resolve whatever the problem is with said unique skills, it will technically be your fault," She stared at him. "Am I right?"

Belle stared at him for a few seconds before sighing, reaching forward, and ruffling his hair.

"You're a good person. More than the rest of us, that's for sure." She huffed fondly.

"... I hate it when you read me like that." Osho finally mumbled, sounding dejected.

"Aw, is someone mad that their facade isn't good enough to fool everyone?" She snickered, and Osho glared at her.

"Seriously, that's... ugh." He threw his hands up, and Belle was openly laughing now.

"Hahaha! Stars, you're adorable."

It was moments like that when Osho thanked the universe for his dark skin. Otherwise, his face would be bright red at the moment.

Soon, though, Belle regained her composure.

"Hah. Just know that you can always come and talk to me if you ever need someone to listen or understand," Her smile turned teasing. "But knowing you, you might just forget I exist after a few days." Osho looked at her in alarm.

"Yeah yeah, object permanence. I get it. It's not that you don't care, but if you aren't immediately seeing me, your brain just filters my existence to the back of your chaotic mind to focus on what's in front of you. I find that trait a bit enviable, if I'm being honest. It'd be nice to go out and do whatever without the things I care about tying me down all the time." She sighed.

"... It's not that simple." Osho sighed.

"Yeah, I know. I wouldn't understand." Belle exhaled, then her expression turned uncharacteristically solemn.

Osho noticed and immediately perked up.

Suddenly, her hair seemed to meld into the couch itself, the strands almost merging with the furniture and becoming imprinted on it.

It didn't stop there, though.

They stretched to the floor, then to the walls, all the way to the ceiling, until there was no part of the apartment that wasn't covered in them.

As soon as the strands converged, Osho shuddered as he felt a strange resonance of Mana through the air, and he was suddenly aware that his Mana sense ended where the strands did, and he was completely cut off from the outside world.

Belle faced him, her Indigo eyes now glowing faintly, making her resemble an ethereal ghost or fairy.

"Now, to discuss what I actually called you here. So please pay attention, little brother."