If it doesn’t return, it was never meant to be…

The table went dead quiet, but Leonardo knew it would only last a moment. And as predicted, the girls burst in an outcry of complaints Leo couldn’t distinguish.

“Silence,” Mrs. Wisler spoke, and the room was quiet once more. She looked at him directly, frowning with a disapproving look. “You should’ve consulted with us before making any decisions, Leonardo.”

“And what would you have us do instead?” he spoke back. “Try to go behind a god’s back? He already played us for fools. We thought he had no power once we pleaded to Aizen-Myo, but it turns out he did have one more card to play. He has us at a standstill and with the clock still ticking behind us. Aizen-Myo, the goddess in which we decided to put all our trust in, assures me her brother might have a rigid set of beliefs, but he’s no liar. He’ll do as he says, and the price he asks for is a joke. I’m the only one who loses something, and I won’t miss it.”

“You’re the one lying, Leo,” Lucia said, frowning just like her mother. “You don’t want to let go of your Gift. You can’t hide that from me.”

Leo closed his eyes and stopped himself from clicking his tongue, forcing a poker face in a weak attempt to fool Lucia’s Gift. “I’ve always thought it was useful, yes, but I don’t need it. I let go of it, every single one of us is free, you get to keep your Gifts. The only better outcome would’ve been one where everything goes as planned, we gain everything and lose nothing. But could we realistically expect that when dealing with beings beyond our understanding?”

“…”

Silence filled the room once more. Leo still had the Gifts granted to him, and so he could still read the people around him to some extent. They knew he was speaking the truth. None of them could come up with a better solution. In fact, they were slowly starting to realize that protesting further would further strengthen Leo’s fear. Did it bother them that he was losing the powers that made him ‘a monster in bed’? They were questioning themselves, and Leo didn’t dare look anymore.

“The final ritual,” Mrs. Wisler spoke softly. “It is to take the book to the place where the original ritual took place, is it not? Or did Ragaraja ask for something else?”

Leo shook his head. “It is precisely that. The highest point in the island, correct? There are no roads that lead there. I’ll have to go on a hike. Fortunately, I’ll still have my gift on the way up, so it’ll be no problem,” he said, trying to keep a lighthearted tone.

It would be a hard trek for anyone else. The island had gone through natural changes over the many years, with rocks collapsing and foliage growing. Nevertheless, Leo was confident he could pull it off.

“I’ll be leaving in an hour. It would be dangerous to try coming back down when it gets dark, so it’s better if we get this over with as soon as possible.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Mrs. Wisler sighed. “You lot better stay here. I don’t want you separated when the curse is gone, just in case there are some unexpected side effects.” No one answered, but no one complained, either. “Victoria, Reiko, don’t feel **** to stay here. As you can see, the mood is a little heavy today.”

Victoria nodded. “Still, I’ll be back to check on you all later. Is that alright?”

“Of course, dear.”

Leo stood up from the table and walked alone to his room, leaving the heavy silence behind. He checked his drawers for some comfortable clothes to wear on his way up the mountain. It wasn’t like he was going to have to climb up a vertical slope, but it would still be a long way up. And an even more difficult way down, considering he’d be doing it without his Gift.

He had to take several big breaths to keep himself focused. His hands still shook, but he was thankful no one objected much more. He didn’t want to think about what it meant. He didn’t have the luxury to question himself, to let anything shake up his resolve. His mind was made up, the deal struck, but he was a single step away from starting to regret it. He just had to keep telling himself it was the right thing to do.

It would be a nice restart. A chance to do things properly this time. No cheats, in a manner of speaking. A chance to prove that he wasn’t hardworking just because he didn’t get tired. Hell, he was almost looking forward to it.

A knock on his door almost made him jump, but before he could guess and worry who it was, Reiko announced herself.

“Leo? Can I come in?”

Wow. Just hearing her voice brought a smile to his face. “Of course.”

Reiko opened the door slowly and closed it behind herself in the same matter. She walked up to him with a small smile. “Do you mind if I go with you?”

“All the way up? It’s too much.”

“Just until the foot of the mountain, then,” she insisted. “Please?”

The innocent look in her eyes made it impossible for him to tell her no. Not like he had a reason to, anyway. “Then sure,” he answered.

“Thanks.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I’ll go home and change shoes. Don’t leave without me, okay?”

“I’ll wait outside your house.”

Reiko left the house, and after an hour, so did Leo. He did as he promised and waited for her to come out of her house, now with comfortable running shoes. They got on their way, a comfortable silence between them that lasted halfway through the walk.

“Leo?” she spoke.

“Hm?”

“Are you really okay with losing your Gift?”

“…I guess I’m not,” he admitted with a weak chuckle.

“Is it as I think, then? You believe the others will leave you?”

“…Yeah. Do you think I’m not trusting them enough?”

Reiko’s head hung low. “I can’t say. I wish I could. Even I think you losing it is a shame.”

“Right? Would’ve been nice to be able to keep it, but it’s fine this way.”

Reiko moved closer to him and kept walking next to him while holding his arm. “I can speak for myself, at least. I’m staying with you. I love you for more than just the sex, and you should know that by now.”

Leo smiled. That made his chest feel a lot lighter. “Thank you. I’m a broken record at this point, but I’ll say it again. I don’t deserve you.”

She giggled. “That’s my line. And, well… It’s not like we won’t be able to do it anymore.”

“Yeah. That said, I’ll wait until my Gift is actually gone to say how my stamina feels. It’d be terrible if it leaves me all weak and barely able to move.” He blinked at the realization. “If I don’t come back by the evening, send a search team.”

“R-Right!” Reiko nodded.

Reiko followed him until they reached the end up the road, further up the mountain that Victoria’s gym and around the area where he built Aizen-Myo’s shrine.

“I’ll go on my own from here,” he told her. “Thanks for coming. Being with you always helps me relax.”

His girlfriend smiled and leaned closer, pressing her lips against his. She pulled away with a quick lick of his lips and a teasing grin. “I’ll be waiting, okay? Be careful, on the way up and down.”

“Extra careful.”

The hike was long, but not particularly difficult. There were only a few steep spots to climb over, but for the most part walking did the job. Still, it was difficult terrain with all the plants, roots, rocks and uneven ground. Thankfully, it didn’t look like the way down would be all that terrible.

Leo knew he was at the right place when he found a crumbling temple at the very top. It was like Mrs. Wisler had told her, the place was still there. Stone walls half broken, wooden pillars brought down by rain and wind, roof tiles broken and scattered on the floor, and everything surrounded by thick foliage that barely let any sunlight in. By the time he made it there, it was already noon. This was supposed to be the place it all started, but Leo didn’t feel like pondering on the meaning of it all. All he knew was that it had gone for too long, and that it would stop today.

The ritual was so in name only. There was nothing Leo had to do but set the Book of Eros on a small pedestal under the shrine. Or to be more precise, he had already performed the ritual. Every night for about six months he gathered the energy necessary for it. Now it was all up to the gods.

The Book of Eros began to glow in its crimson light. It opened itself and it started to quickly flip through all its pages, like assaulted by a violent gust. Then, Leo began to feel lightheaded, his vision blurred, and his legs began to give in, forcing him to sit down.

“Rude and disrespectful, but I suppose that is expected of humankind. To go behind my back and turn to Aizen-Myo for aid against me… If anything, the resourcefulness of the woman who crafted the artifact is to be praised. However, it would be remiss of me not to thank you for building a shrine for my sister and praying to her during the festivities. If there is an outcome for which I am glad, is that.”

The deep voice of a mature man resonated in Leo’s ears. There was mist all around, but he couldn’t be sure if it was real or his mind playing tricks on him. The mist began to move and flow, slowly shaping a vague silhouette of a big man full of muscle, sitting on the ground across from Leo with his legs and arms crossed.

“Regardless, I did as I said I would. I watched you, boy. I watched you struggling. I watched you doubting yourself. I watched you reaffirming your own believes. I watched you finding your path. I watched you bringing people together and aid them in their own search.”

He felt like he wanted to speak, but couldn’t. It was almost like the moment he formed a thought, the words to express it escaped him. He felt sleepy, an incredibly rare occurrence.

“Do you understand why I asked you to forgo your Gift while not asking the same of the others?”

To that, at least, Leo could shake his head.

“Good. If you had, it would have lost its meaning. But now, at the final hour, I shall explain.

“You, Leonardo, are the only one of your generation of Gifted who lacked a desire beyond carnal pleasure. Of them, one wishes for the adrenaline and thrill brought by combat; one wished to find something that would let her passion burn and challenge her limits; one wishes to hone her craft and be recognized for it and it alone; two wish to form true bonds after finding themselves unable to; but you, Leonardo, wished for nothing. The cravings for that which I took from you brought your people together, and though I yet stand by the belief that the desires of the flesh are something to be cast away, I cannot deny that they were your guide in finding your own desire. It is a wish I cannot bring myself to demean, for it is truly beautiful. You, Leonardo, wish for family. And so I resolved to strip you from the Gift your blood passed down and of those obtained through repulsive, arcane arts. For love sustained through carnal pleasure is no love at all and is doomed to fade with the inevitable passage of time. In return, I bless you, yours, and your offspring with good health and fortune. You will continue to struggle, and let that final blessing be my proof to you and your family that I respect and accept your collective resolve.

“Farewell, Leonardo. May you find happiness in hardship.”

The mist began to disperse, Leo’s head began to clear and his body felt like his own again. At the pedestal, he saw the Book of Eros up in flames. Its ashes flying through the wind and any embers extinguishing before they could touch the ground.

He took in a deep breath and rubbed his eyes with one hand. Somehow, he felt like crying.

Author's Note: Chapters up to 178 up on my Patreon. There is still the epilogue left, plus an afterword. Thank you for following this story this far. We still have a little more to go.