Villain Retirement

Chapter 1174: Chapter 1174: I Need Your Help

Riley’s penthouse had never been quieter than it was now.

How could it not be, when Aerith’Ross was sprawled out on the couch, watching TV like she belonged there?

"Ha!" Aerith’Ross pointed at the screen, laughing with her mouth full of snacks. Crumbs scattered onto the floor as she chewed, completely unbothered. She even had her feet up on the couch—maybe the worst part of it all was that Lucy and Enel were laughing with her.

From the kitchen, Renna watched in silence, holding a knife even though she wasn’t cutting anything.

"Can you put that down if you’re not going to help?" Liza, her mother, nudged her aside. "You’re blocking the counter. Get the chicken from the freezer and thaw it if you’re just going to stand there."

Renna didn’t move. Instead, she turned toward Karina, who sat at the counter eating cereal like none of this was a problem.

"Why is everyone acting like this is fine?" Renna’s voice was quiet but sharp. "We’re all here. We could kill her before she even knew what happened—Big Sister Karina, I know you want to kill her too."

Karina blinked at her, then frowned. "No...?"

Renna stared at her. "What do you mean ’no’?" Her face didn’t usually show much emotion, but there was a hint of surprise now. "She killed the future version of you. Beheaded you. Paraded your head around. How are you not furious?"

"That’s not a word," Karina said, pointing her spoon at Renna. "And she didn’t behead me, technically. She beheaded future me. And according to Grandma, it’s way more complicated than we thought. That reality might not even be real. Could’ve been made by a future Paige or something. Honestly? I don’t get it."

"Still," Renna leaned in, voice lower, "you should at least be angry."

Karina sighed. "I get it. She tore off your arm, after all. But aren’t you tired of fighting? This isn’t Dragon Sphere Z."

Renna squinted. "Dragon Sphere Z? Is that a place?"

"No, it’s an old show. It—never mind. It was, like, six hundred years ago," Karina muttered.

Renna tilted her head slightly. "And what does that have to do with anything?"

Karina shrugged. "The adults are used to this stuff. You probably never saw Dad in his younger years. If you had, you’d be sitting here eating cereal with me right now."

Renna’s eyes flicked toward Karina’s bowl, and then at the open cereal box on the counter. Her expression darkened.

"...That’s my cornflakes. Why are you eating it?"

Karina didn’t even pause. She scooped up another bite and waved her spoon. "Don’t worry about it."

Renna’s fingers twitched. "I asked why you are eating it."

Karina just shook her head. "For someone who can teleport anywhere in the universe and create pocket dimensions, you should be a little more generous."

Renna stared, unblinking. "What does that have to do with you eating my cereal?"

"Exactly." Karina lifted her bowl and walked off, passing Katrina with a lazy nod.

Renna stood there, still holding the knife. The TV droned on in the background, laugh tracks mixing with Aerith’Ross’s real laughter.

The penthouse was quiet. But somehow, that made it worse.

"Aunt Katrina, she ate my cereal." Renna wasted no time calling for backup as Katrina arrived.

Katrina barely looked up as she chuckled. "You’ll get used to it, sweetie. That’s just what happens when you have a lot of siblings now. Did you know your mother and I had twelve?"

"Fifteen," Liza corrected without missing a beat.

Katrina finally looked up. "What? How?"

Liza glanced at her, unimpressed. "What do you mean, how? You didn’t have fifteen siblings?"

"No..." Katrina frowned, "You mean we don’t have the same number of siblings? Does that mean we might have had a variant with more siblings out there?"

"Now that you mention it..."

And just like that, the two got caught up in their own conversation, drifting away from the original topic.

Renna, however, was already turning her attention back to Aerith’Ross—only to find her standing right in front of her.

Renna vanished in an instant, teleporting outside to the patio. Aerith’Ross just sighed and stepped outside, taking her time as she followed.

"Relax, kid," Aerith’Ross muttered, shaking her head. "Everything’s different now. That portal inside the house? The one connected to the future? I don’t even know what’s happening anymore."

"Nothing has changed." Renna’s hair started floating, her glare sharp. "And don’t call me kid. I’m your older sister."

"Okay," Aerith’Ross said with a shrug. "But you’re still wrong. Everything’s different. I thought I was sent to the past to stop all the horrible things that happened to me—or to the world. But now? Now I don’t even think I exist."

Renna narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Aerith’Ross exhaled, looking away. "What if my whole reality was just something Jennifer—future Paige Pearson—made up? What if none of it was real? What even is real anymore?"

Renna folded her arms. "Are you looking for sympathy? Because my mother was also created by Paige."

Aerith’Ross scoffed. "No, I don’t care about that. I’m saying—why does any of this matter now? Have you been to the Outerverse? Have you seen the Tower? Have you met the Paige that lives there?"

Renna didn’t answer. She just shook her head, slowly.

"Good. Don’t." Aerith’Ross sighed again. "It’s insane, you know? You, me—hell, most of the people in that penthouse—we shouldn’t even exist in this world..."

Aerith’Ross walked to the edge of the balcony, eyes drifting to the city below. The skyline was still scarred from past destruction, but life continued. People moved on.

"...And yet, here we are. We exist among them. And we could end all of them in an instant."

"Coexistence has always been a constant in the universe, Aerith Jr."

Aerith’Ross whipped around. "Aerith Jr.—I’m gonna let that slide." She pointed at Renna before continuing. "And for someone preaching co-existence, you are very aggressive."

"Some don’t deserve to co-exist."

"So you say. But I’m not done. Beings like us exist—but so do people like Paige Pearson. And Dad. Paige can create an entire universe with a whole story already written. And Dad? He could do the same if he wanted to. Or he could just snap his fingers and erase everything. That’s not normal."

Renna studied her. "What are you trying to say?"

Aerith’Ross hesitated, glancing back toward the penthouse. "That fate is playing with us."

Renna frowned. "You’ve been talking to Enel."

"You’ve heard what he’s been saying, right?" Aerith’Ross turned to face her fully now. "That there are people watching us?"

Renna nodded. "The people from the future."

"No." Aerith’Ross met her gaze. "Something else. Something beyond that. Watching us."

She looked up, scanning the sky like she expected to see something looking back at her. "I bet they’re watching us right now. It—"

She stopped.

A massive portal tore open behind Renna, crackling with a violent energy that caused her skin to crackle.

Aerith’Ross raised an eyebrow. "If this is because of the arm thing, just cut mine off and call it even." She held her hand out to Renna, completely unbothered.

Renna ignored her. She was already backing away from the portal, her usual calm shaken.

"...This isn’t my doing, Aerith Jr."

Aerith’Ross stiffened. "What?"

"That is not my portal."

And as soon as Aerith’Ross heard that, she immediately started backing up too. The two of them slowly edged back toward the penthouse.

Then they stopped.

Their way back was blocked.

They turned—only to find two Primordials standing behind them.

Death. And Elementia.

Renna and Aerith’Ross exchanged a look. Neither of them hesitated. They bolted for the penthouse.

"Mother!"

"Diana Ross! Grandma! You need to see this!"

As they called for the others, Death and Elementia stepped forward, stopping just as a silhouette emerged from the portal.

A foot came through first. Smooth. Impossibly perfect. Then the rest of her followed.

Her white hair spilled out behind her, stretching farther than it should have been possible, swallowing the entire sky.

Her eyes were just as white, blank and unreadable. But the Primordials knew she was staring at them.

And then, after a moment that felt like forever—

"I am Fate," the primordial goddess of the other dimension spoke.

"And I need your help."