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It was just one short sentence, but the girl on the other end let out a startled gasp, as if she'd just been jolted upright from her chair.
"Oh my God! I was already mentally prepared for you not to contact me for an entire year, no, maybe two!"
Before Arthur could even respond, Lily's voice followed, tight with emotion:
"Tell me, where are you right now?"
"At home," Arthur said simply.
"I'll be right back."
Lily hung up immediately.
Arthur blinked at the dial tone. Right back?
What was he supposed to do then? Just sit here and wait until tomorrow morning?
Even at the fastest, it would still take her until tomorrow. He had finally stolen a brief, precious moment of leisure, if tomorrow came, he probably wouldn't have any free time again.
So Arthur decided to indulge himself, just this once!
His figure flickered and vanished from the living room. When he reappeared, he was already inside a bustling university campus.
Across the quad, a young girl was running, paint still staining her hands, her face alight with bright, pure excitement. She ran wild and carefree!
Watching that girl, watching Lily, Arthur felt the softest, most vulnerable part of his heart clench once more.
Lily.
Every time he saw this girl, every time he got close to her, Arthur felt an uncontrollable gravitational pull, an urge to fall completely into her orbit and never leave.
"Love, once it begins, grows deeper without reason…"
Arthur suddenly recalled that ancient saying, and realized just how profoundly, painfully true it was.
A second later, he was standing right in front of her.
Her eyes widened in shock. Unable to stop her momentum, she crashed straight into Arthur's chest, and once she was there, she locked her arms around him and refused to move!
This infuriating man!
She gripped his shirt tightly, holding him like an anchor. For this boyfriend who vanished at random times into cosmic wars, there was truly nothing she could do but cling.
She knew he was busy, he really was. Always handling some grand, impossible threat.
Yet deep inside, that uneasy feeling never faded. She was terrified he'd stop wanting her someday, terrified that once he left, he'd never come back.
There were times she wished she could just melt into him, that way, no matter where he went, she could follow. Her eyes would become his eyes, to see every scene he saw. Her body would become his body, to bear all the wounds he suffered.
Worry, fear, longing, and love, all tangled into a suffocating knot.
No one could imagine what went through the heart of an ordinary girl, sitting on campus painting, silently enduring those endless waves of terror and emotional pain, all just to withstand it long enough to see him again.
She leaned against him. He held her close, burying his face in her hair.
After a long while, the girl closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she found herself in the familiar living room at home.
"What's going on?" Lily looked around, bewildered by the sudden shift.
"I've been improving lately," Arthur said with a faint smile. "Broke through a few limitations."
"Who asked about that…?" Lily glanced at the still-damp patches on the floor and chuckled. "You cleaned the place? Good boy."
Arthur rubbed his cheek, embarrassed by the praise but quietly proud of his domestic effort.
"When do you want dinner?" Lily asked, instantly switching to practical mode. "Roujiamo's no problem, but I think the stuff in the fridge's gone bad. We'll need to go out and buy fresh ingredients."
"No problem," Arthur nodded.
Going grocery shopping wasn't as easy as it sounded. Different eating habits meant the local supermarkets didn't always have what they needed.
Lily, having lived here for years, guided Arthur through the city streets. After several hours of running around, a welcome, ordinary change from fighting gods, they finally got everything they needed.
Of course, it wasn't just ingredients for roujiamo. They'd stocked up on supplies for the next several days.
Back home, after answering that he was officially present, Arthur was promptly chased out of the kitchen by Lily. Helpless, he could only sit in the living room and watch TV.
As he watched some meaningless sitcom, he couldn't help reflecting, how could he manage to clean up an entire sentient planet, yet fail to handle one little girl cooking in his own kitchen?
"Sure enough, cosmic power does have its limits…"
Arthur stretched lazily, watching Lily bustling around in the kitchen. At this moment, he should have been feeling nothing but pure, unadulterated happiness.
Yet his mind drifted, to Natasha.
He thought of her quiet, resolute determination.
The spaceship's AI had recorded everything from that day. Arthur had secretly rewatched the video file countless times. In that moment, the woman's calm, tinged with quiet, profound despair, was like a stone thrown into a tranquil lake.
The ripples it created… would never fade, no matter what he did.
"What… am I supposed to do?"
Arthur stared up at the ceiling, lost once again.
On the battlefield, he could charge forward without hesitation.
But here, no matter which direction he turned, it felt like every path was a dead end.
He loved Lily. Truly, deeply loved her. What she gave him was something no one else ever could.
The entire world saw him as a superhero, a celestial guardian, a power beyond measure, only this girl saw him simply as her boyfriend. She was burning herself in her own way; that pain, perhaps only she truly understood. Arthur could feel it. That's why he treated her so carefully, so gently.
Did he love Natasha?
Arthur didn't know. But… maybe, just maybe, he did.
He couldn't say for sure. He really couldn't.
Yet the soul's cry, the tears that came no matter how hard he tried to suppress them, and that deep sense of lifelong regret, all of it silently told him: He was not as heartless toward Natasha as he'd like to believe.
Lily on his left. Natasha on his right. And above his head, "Sister La", Hela, was still holding a cosmic noose, ready to throw it at him at any moment.
Standing between them, Arthur felt completely lost.
Perhaps he was the happiest man in the world, and yet, at the same time, the most pitiful one.
"What even is my life anymore?"
Arthur gave a wry smile and closed his eyes. This kind of emotional mess… was something he was utterly terrible at handling.
What finally woke him was the smell of meat and warm bread.
When he opened his eyes, a freshly made roujiamo was right in front of him. Lily's eyes curved like two bright crescent moons as she smiled.
"Smells good, doesn't it?"
Arthur swallowed hard, his stomach instantly overriding all cosmic and emotional concerns.
"Nope. Not hungry at all," he mumbled, reaching for the sandwich.
Obviously, not convincing in the slightest.
Roujiamo. And a bowl of steaming lamb paomo.
As the delicious aroma filled the air, Arthur's troubles momentarily faded. He devoted himself entirely to the feast before him.
Lily watched him quietly. Then, to her surprise, a silent tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
She quickly wiped it away, said nothing, and sat down beside him, instantly snatching a piece of lamb.
"Leave one for me, you big glutton."
(End of Chapter)