Chương 21: Pizza

Lia burst through the spatial rift, her body tumbling violently across the barren earth as momentum carried her forward. She rolled desperately to the left just as a massive column of superheated fire roared through the spatial rift behind her. The huge amount of energy destabilized the rift, causing it to snap shut with a sound like thunder, leaving her gasping and alone. Coughing violently, she spat out ash and blood as acrid smoke filled her lungs.

Her sect robes were singed and torn, purple eyes watering from the residual heat that had nearly claimed her life. As her vision cleared and the ringing in her ears subsided, Lia slowly pushed herself to her feet, wincing at the fresh burns along her arms. The sight that greeted her was both familiar and beyond weird. She stood once again on the ancient battlefield where Lia's soul had died. Somewhere near where Tim's soul fragment had first taken residence in Lia's corpse.

The same purple twilight sky stretched overhead, crackling with unnatural lightning that cast everything in an eerie, shifting glow. The air tasted of copper and ozone, thick with the spiritual residue of battles and countless deaths.

"Fuck," Lia muttered, Tim's rough personality bleeding through her exhaustion as she stumbled toward a large boulder. Her legs shook with each step, the adrenaline finally wearing off and leaving her feeling hollow and drained. She collapsed against the cool stone, her back sliding down until she was sitting in the purple-tinted dirt. Everything hurt!

Her meridians felt like they'd been scoured with sandpaper from the massive qi expenditure, her burns throbbed with each heartbeat, and her soul ached with grief over Ami's death. With trembling hands, Lia began to strip off her ruined sect robes. The beautiful fabric was now charred black in places, torn and bloodstained from her desperate flight.

As she peeled the singed material away from her skin, she hissed at the fresh burns along her arms and shoulders where the explosion had followed her through the spatial rift and seared her. Naked under the alien sky, Lia retrieved the self refilling water jug from her storage ring. The first splash of cold water against her burns made her gasp and curse again.

"Fucking bitch," Tim and Lia swore at the same time, causing Riku to jump beside Tim on his couch. Tim's vocabulary definitely didn't match Lia's usual refined speech. But as she continued washing, sluicing away the ash, sweat, and blood, the pain began to dull. Lia fished a healing pill from her ring. It was one of only three remaining pills and she swallowed it with a swig of water. The bitter taste made her eyes water, but within moments she could feel the spiritual medicine beginning its work.

The burns cooled and the raw edges of her wounds started to close. From her rather empty storage ring, she pulled out a spare set of robes. These were nightgown robes of thin silky fabric, but they would be much nicer on her burns than the usual harsh Flowing Water Sect robes. As she dressed, her hands shook with pain. Finally clothed and somewhat clean, Lia sank back against the boulder with a shuddering sigh. The healing pill was slowly mending her body, but she was spent.

The image of Ami's terrified face, the sound of her choking on her own blood, the casual cruelty of her murder. It all played on repeat behind her closed eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the empty battlefield.

"I am sorry I failed you, Ami," she sobbed as her body overwhelmed her. Tim finally opened his eyes, blinking slowly as he returned to full awareness of his Earth body. The transition felt jarring, going from the alien battlefield's purple twilight to the warm afternoon sunlight streaming through his apartment windows. Riku, who had been sitting beside him on the couch for the past hour, immediately looked up at his face with desperate hope for reassurance.

Her usual confidence was completely gone, replaced by worry and fear. Dark circles under her eyes suggested she'd been crying while he was concentrating completely on Lia. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Tim?" she whispered, her voice small and uncertain.

"Are you... is everything okay? You were out for so long, and you were shaking and screaming in grief." She stopped herself, hands twisting nervously in her lap as she searched his expression for any sign that the crisis had passed. The cocky, flirtatious student who had been tormenting him all week was nowhere to be seen. This was just a scared eighteen year old girl who had watched her teacher go through the most traumatic event of his life.

Tim sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair as he tried to process everything that had happened. The grief over Ami's death, the terror of fleeing the Beast King, the disorientation of crossing between worlds it all hit him at once.

"Lia is alive," he said quietly, his voice hoarse.

"Barely, but alive." Riku's shoulders sagged with relief, and fresh tears started forming in her eyes.

"I was so scared. You weren't responding to anything, and I didn't know what was happening over there, and" Her voice cracked.

"I thought I might lose you too." The vulnerability in her admission caught Tim off guard. For all their complicated dynamics and teasing games, in this moment she was just a frightened kid who had realized that their fantasy adventure was more of a horror story. Tim leaned in and wrapped his arms around her in a massive hug, pulling her against his chest without hesitation. Riku, who had been trying so hard to be strong and supportive while he was unconscious, finally caved.

The moment his arms closed around her, all the fear and stress she'd been holding back came pouring out. She buried her face against his shoulder and sobbed. It was a series of deep, wrenching cries that shook her entire small frame.

"I'm sorry," she gasped between sobs.

"I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

"Shh," Tim murmured, one hand stroking her hair as she fell apart in his arms.

"It's not your fault. None of this is your fault." His own voice was thick with emotion as the reality of what they'd survived truly hit him.

"We're just kids playing in a world where gods casually commit genocide." She clung to him like a lifeline, her tears soaking through his shirt as the full weight of their situation crashed down on both of them. The cultivation world wasn't some exciting adventure. It was a nightmare realm where innocent people like Ami died for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I was so scared you weren't going to wake up," she whispered, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

"I didn't know what I would do if you died over there." Tim held her tighter, his own eyes burning with unshed tears as images of Ami's murder replayed in his mind.

"I'm here," he said softly, patting her head gently.

"Since we're here, let's order pizza and watch some crazy Japanese TV," Tim said, his voice still shaky but trying to inject some normalcy back into the moment.

"It's one of my favorite parts of this amazing country." Riku pulled back slightly from the hug, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Her mascara had run, leaving dark streaks down her cheeks, but she managed a watery smile at his suggestion.

"Pizza sounds perfect," she sniffled.

"And maybe something completely mindless on TV. I don't think I can handle anything with violence right now." Tim nodded, understanding completely. After witnessing Ami's brutal murder and barely escaping a literal monster apocalypse, the idea of watching cheerful Japanese variety shows felt like exactly what they both needed. He reached for his phone to call for delivery, grateful for the mundane normalcy of choosing toppings and giving his address.

Riku curled up beside him on the couch, not quite ready to let go of the physical comfort of being close to someone who understood.

"What about that cooking show where they make tiny food with tiny utensils?" she suggested, her voice still thick from crying but gaining a bit of its usual warmth.

"Perfect," Tim agreed, scrolling through channels.

"Nothing more soothing than watching someone make tiny cakes for two hours." As he found the show and they settled in to wait for food, both of them enjoyed the comfort of each other. Tim couldn't help himself.

"Riku," he asked.

"Yes?" she said, resting her head on his arm.

"This is one hell of an elaborate ploy to get into my apartment." Despite everything they'd just been through, Riku let out a small laugh, the first genuine one she'd managed since the crisis began. She tilted her head to look up at him with a mischievous glint returning to her eyes.

"Sorry, sensei," she said with exaggerated innocence, though her tone carried that familiar flirtatious edge.

"You caught me. I orchestrated an intergalactic war just so I could cry on your couch and eat pizza with you."

"Next time just ask," Tim replied dryly.

"I would have said yes to pizza without the near-death experience."