Villain Retirement

Chapter 1194: A Love Story of Selfishness, Tragedy, and Selflessness

"How is it your fault, Paige?"

There was silence after that, and Paige remained completely still as she rested on Riley's lap. Her lips parted, but no words came, and she just smiled at Riley. She then looked away, watching the empty garden move around them as she took in a long and very deep breath and didn't let go of it.

The silence lingered on.

A second.

A minute.

Perhaps it even reached an hour, but Paige finally let her breath go and turned her focus back to Riley. She still seemed hesitant to say something, but she forced herself to do so.

"Because… my story is a love story that shouldn't be."

Paige gently lifted her hand, placing her palm on Riley's cheek as she looked him in the eyes once more. And from her eyes, Riley seemed to see an entire whole story that was waiting to be told, but didn't want to.

"The last part that you saw, where you were holding me—it may have just been a glimpse, but that lasted another eternity, and in that eternity…" Paige closed her eyes,

"...I fell in love with you."

"Oh."

"As I closed the curtain to my universe and my life. In that brief eternity when both our universes overlapped, in that brief eternity when you held me in the palm of your hand, I fell in love with you…

…and I took you here with me so that we could spend another eternity together. Cosmic beings have a weird way of thinking, it would seem."

"How would you know that you fell in love with me in that moment, Paige?" Riley blinked, "You were only a wisp again."

"Because I am in love with you now, Riley." Paige softly chuckled while shaking her head, looking at Riley as if he had just asked something so obvious, "I also confirmed it with Nothing—I am the one who forced both of us here."

"Nothing? I have not had the pleasure to meet him again, Paige."

"...And you never will again."

Paige stood up from the sofa, sighing as she paced around the empty garden.

"Nothing is the creator of this universe, Riley—and the reason you visit him again and again when you die is because essentially, Nothing lives in the primordial domain, the empty canvas before the existence of this universe."

"And how would you know this?"

"I died, duh."

Paige waved Riley off as if what she just said was common knowledge.

"I died and also went to his domain, and that was when we both realized what was truly wrong in this world. My, and your very essence gravitates toward the cosmic origin point, but Nothing is already there, and there can not be two. And therefore… you are spit back out since the universe does not know what to do with you. Honestly, I feel really bad for Nothing."

"..."

"Lazy explanation, right?"

"Yes."

"The truth usually is," Paige shrugged as she leaped back to the sofa, bouncing on it before lifting up her legs and crossing them, before leaning on Riley and resting her head on his shoulder.

Riley waited for her to say something else, but she kept quiet—and she stayed like that for an entire minute before taking in a long, very deep breath and whispering,

"You need to go, Riley."

She stared at the empty garden, her eyes reflecting moments that weren't there—moments of her and Riley that hadn't happened… and yet they were a memory for her,

"You need to go away and never come back."

"I was already planning that."

"No, you weren't," Paige closed her eyes, "You were going to leave, and then come back again. You need to really leave. We both do. For real, this time—go far away where I would have trouble reaching you. Well, I'd probably still visit you before this universe ends… but never again after that. I'll go in the opposite direction. Because if we happen to meet, then everything would just repeat itself. We… I need to fix this. And I'm really…"

Paige's lips and eyebrows started to tremble, and she needed to suck in her breath to compose herself.

"I'm really sorry, Riley. I am sorry that I would, and I have fallen in love with you… and I'll see you one last time in the twilight."

And with those words, everything turned dark… and Riley found himself back on Earth—floating right beside the balcony of his penthouse.

Hannah was there inside, hugging and talking merrily with the entire family.

Everyone he knew was there. Everyone who was still alive. And everyone who will continue to live without him.

Riley was about to descend down the balcony, but he stopped before he even got close.

It was time to go now, and truly leave everything behind. Riley looked at his palms again, his thumbs rubbing the creases and lines they held.

And for some reason, he laughed by himself before shaking his head and then looking back at his family, who were just meters away from him.

And without saying a word, he closed his eyes and slowly flew up. Up, up away into the sky.

He closed his eyes and let himself drift away just like that. He thought, for sure, that his eyes would forever remain closed until it was time to open them again.

But it didn't even last a second, as he felt a familiar touch holding him. Not holding him back… but joining him into the darkness of the sun.

"Hannah?"

"Well…" It was Hannah, who was now firmly holding his hand as they continued to fly into the expanse of space, "...Did you really think I was going to just let you go by yourself?"

"I need to, Hannah…" Riley shook his head as he stopped flying up, "...This is the punishment for everything that I have done—to be alone for eternity."

"You already tried to do that before, and look how it ended up—you keep coming back," Hannah sighed as she also held Riley's other hand, "Fuck it. You keep coming back… because of me."

"I am?"

"Yes," Hannah smiled at him, "So, I thought… we've been together for two years. Might as well live through our vows, and 'til death do us part."

"Oh."

"So… where are we going?"