Chapter 185: Consult

"Your mind is not in this fight."

That’s what Ren told Lily after their match ended up with his victory.

Ren didn’t even try. Lily’s moves were filled with flaws that aren’t usually there. Her eyes were blank as if her mind were on a different plane, and he’s just fighting a puppet.

Lily didn’t react at first when she heard this accusation. She didn’t because it was the truth. And she feels a little bit ashamed and apologetic towards him. She did, after all, send the invite first. Even messaging him directly for the first time.

"I’m sorry. Let’s go again. I’ll focus this time," she said, refraining from making excuses and choosing to correct her mistake instead.

"No, I don’t think that’s going to work." Ren sat down and rested his chin on his fists.

This made Lily frown.

"You want to use me as a distraction; I get it. And I don’t blame you, really. Hell, a large part of the idea of the VR World is to escape reality sometimes because life can be a little bit much at times."

"But in your case—today specifically—the things you’re trying to escape from clearly followed you here."

"Your mind is not at peace. That makes your intent unstable and thoughts distracted; that causes your chakra flow to be unstable and your moves sloppy."

"Usually, when the problem reaches this far, the move is not to run away faster from it. It’s to turn around and confront it since they already caught up to you."

"This means that you either stop this today and fix your problems your own way, if you have them, or you start talking. You’re already taking advantage of me; you might as well go all the way. A different perspective might also help."

Lily groaned softly.

She sounded like she didn’t hear what he said but couldn’t deny that his words were the truth.

He wasn’t wrong. She came here to fight him until she drops, until she’s so exhausted that she’d fall asleep within the VR capsule, not thinking about how cruel life has been for her these past few months.

But it was clear that it wouldn’t work like that. He was right, again. Her problems caught up and followed her here, in this sanctuary where she thought she’d be safe from them.

She didn’t like it at all. She didn’t want to confront it. She wanted to run away or to completely forget about it. Maybe if she ignores the problem long enough, it’ll go away on its own.

But that’s not how it works. Deep down, she knows that too.

"Never thought you could talk that much," she told him after getting up and hugging her thighs.

It’s true. She never thought Marek to be a talkative person. He seemed to her like a man of few words. So him saying that much just now really surprised her a bit.

"Only when necessary or if I feel like it," Ren shrugged. "So? What’s it going to be? Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to face your problems on your own?"

Lily was silent for a bit.

To be honest, she’s deliberating whether Marek—or more specifically, the person behind this online avatar—was trustworthy or not.

She never had a confidant. Aside from Sieg, she never had someone whom she could call a friend. Everybody who tried to get close to her either did so for their own agenda or was working for someone else.

This isn’t her trust issues talking. She just knows that they do. She can’t explain it either.

Outside of those people, others just distance themselves away from her because of her status and this unapproachable aura she constantly exudes.

She had always been alone. Only her thoughts were her company. She’s never been close to anyone. Not even her own father, who’s the only family she fully recognizes at this point.

Lily can’t get a read on [Marek]. Maybe because this is the VR world and she’s only talking to an avatar, but she genuinely couldn’t tell if she could trust him or not.

"My dad’s sick," she started, deciding to risk it anyway.

She was really lonely, and she had nobody to talk to. She never knew what it was like to confide in someone, but now, the chance presented itself, and she couldn’t help but want to trust someone right now.

"Hm, what kind of sickness are we talking about?" Ren asked, his voice gentle and disarming.

"His health had been deeply affected for a long time," Lily admitted. "The doctors told me that he had this old injury that should’ve killed him, but he miraculously survived."

"That survival had a price. It basically ended any hopes of him making any martial progress ever again. He wasn’t crippled; he could still use chakra, still fight, and was still strong enough to lead the family. But he can’t advance anymore."

"Aside from that, his injuries will flare up once every three months. He’d feel weak and have a fever for an entire week when that happens. But my dad’s a workaholic. He’s basically the linchpin of the whole family."

"If it weren’t for him, there would be infighting by now. The others are just afraid of him personally making a move; that’s why they’re keeping themselves in check."

"But recently, his health deteriorated even more." Lily sighed, and she sounded genuinely sad right now.

"The worst occurred when I was taken to the Sky Archon Trial Grounds. He was so worried that he basically didn’t sleep since I disappeared. He nearly combed the entire city looking for me."

"That’s where it all went downhill."

"And just a few months ago, he collapsed during a family meeting. His body couldn’t take it anymore. He’d been in a coma for a whole month before he woke up. And even now, he’s still really weak."

"His state agitated the troublemakers of the family." Lily’s voice turned somber. "For all I know, they’re practically eagerly waiting for him to finally kick the bucket so that they could begin their chaos."

"I’m completely beside myself. I’ve got no allies in the family aside from my dad. And I’m afraid I can’t escape the city. I have no doubts that I’m involved in their plans, and my ending won’t be good."

"I don’t know what else to do." Lily buried her face between her thighs as she admitted this.

It felt liberating to confide in someone, but it also reminded her of how serious her situation was and how difficult it is to find a solution...if there’s even one.

Ren stayed silent for a bit.

He knew that Lily didn’t tell him everything. Aside from the state of her father, there’s also her little crush on the ’hero.’

That guy has made his comeback. He’s got his confidence back and is no longer shy to return his affection towards Aria.

Lily probably didn’t know this, but the reason why Sieg was treating her coldly was because the youth of the Heartveil family were also Sieg’s bullies—a few amongst the many.

It’s a misunderstanding. Sieg thinks that Lily did nothing to stop her family from bullying him while pretending to be friendly with him. He thinks that the friendship they had was all a lie just so that Lily could keep her pure and aloof reputation.

In truth, Lily has no idea. She doesn’t even talk to anybody from her family. She doesn’t trust any of them, and for a good reason, because they couldn’t be trusted. Except her father, of course.

The canon described in detail how many of her ’cousins’ literally and openly salivated over her body. Hell, even her clan uncles had their eye on her. They’ve been wanting to do so many stomach-curdling things to her that would make even the most heinous criminal blush.

Sieg was her only solace, but now, even he couldn’t care less about her. His attention was completely occupied by Aria.

When she said that she’s completely by herself, that’s not an exaggeration. That’s the truth. Especially since, right now, her father couldn’t do much to protect her when he’s fighting for his life.

The original timeline was very cruel to her. A lot of people accused the author of bullying Lily too much.

Believe it or not, this was just the beginning of Lily’s suffering. She would encounter so much more than this; she will be tested by life again and again in its attempts to completely break her.

Her misery was something that not even Sieg would be able to survive. And the fact that she managed to remain alive and ’sane’ by the time of the final confrontation was nothing short of a miracle.

It’s because of this that many people have a soft spot towards her, including Ren himself. And it’s why a lot of people hated Sieg for mistreating her so much.

"Can you tell me exactly what kind of injury your father had during his youth? Where did it come from? How did it happen? The sorts, you know? The more detail the better."