Chef in the Apocalypse

"Kyaa!"

A scream rang out within the cavern as Lianna turned around to see Jayce’s gaze firmly focused on her, albeit hazily. She blushed red from embarrassment, looking like a pitiful maiden who had just been ogled by an older man.

The scream woke Jayce up from his haze, causing him to sit up quickly in response. His mind felt jumbled and his eyelids heavy as he tried to decipher what had just happened. He remembered thinking that he had reached heaven, seeing the delightful body undressing in front of him, yet his ears were assaulted not long after.

"Lianna? Are we dead?" He managed to say after a few moments.

Lianna blinked a few times, unsure of how to respond to such a question. "Um, no we’re alive. When I woke up you were unconscious on the floor behind me." she responded eventually.

At these words, Jayce’s scrambled brain suddenly began to piece together the fragments. He remembered everything that had happened from entering the tree, to Lianna’s betrayal and the desperate fight with the Draconic Panthers. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The fight with Lianna was the most vivid. When he remembered the name which floated above the head of the vine monstrosity, he felt a wave of disgust from within. Dryad... In his previous life it had possessed one of the top players and drove them to kill many humans before its host was killed.

If he remembered correctly, it was a high level druid. It seemed that the Dryad’s wood affinity had greater control over classes which used a similar attribute, which was probably why Lianna had been so easily affected despite her high level and stats.

However, possession could only account for so much of the blame that he put on Lianna. He calmed his emotions, slowly turning his gaze onto her, yet he still noticed that she had not fully dressed. "Ahem. Would you mind putting on some clothes?"

Lianna’s eyebrow twitched, ’That’s what I was trying to do!’ she screamed in her heart. Jayce turned his head without needing additional prompting, allowing her to quickly don a sundress which she had taken out of her inventory earlier.

"Okay, sorry I’m now dressed." She said, feeling a little embarrassed.

Jayce merely turned around once more, his face lacking any emotion as he asked, "What is the last thing that you remember before waking up in this cavern?" He gazed intently at her face, even going so far as to activate his analyze ability to detect any falsehoods.

Seeing the fierce gaze of Jayce, she felt a pang in her heart for no apparent reason, almost choking on her breath because of the pain. Her swollen eyes began to feel moist, yet she did not know why. However, she steeled herself, planning on telling the truth to the man she loved.

"I-I remember feeling a pull from the giant tree which only seemed to grow stronger as we walked inside the entrance." She paused, thinking deeply before continuing, "Then I remember we discussed which tunnel to enter. I wanted to enter the right, and you wanted to enter the left tunnel."

Jayce nodded, yet he did not say a word.

"A-And then... All I remember is running away crying my eyes out." Lianna said after a moment, feeling at odds with everything. She tried her best to remember something, anything else, however she could not.

There was an eerie silence that stretched out through the cave as Jayce continued to stare at her intensely. Lianna felt a shiver run down her spine as it felt like he was looking into her very soul, leaving nothing unturned.

She had never seen Jayce look at her this way, it was as if he was not the man that she knew. Like he was a higher life form gazing at her from his throne up above, she felt insignificant and humbled, yet she felt a certain vulnerability beneath those blue eyes.

Lianna had the sudden urge to protect the man in front of her despite his overwhelming strength, as outrageous as it sounded. It was as if there was a pure and innocent version of him hidden deep within that wanted someone to rely on, to hold dear with all of its heart.

The raw emotion she felt within those eyes forced tears to fall from her own unconsciously. She could feel the hurt and mistrust, the fear and self-loathing which deeply affected him. She felt all of those emotions that he chose to bottle up in order to not burden others.

’Is this what Jackie meant back then?’ she thought inwardly, remembering the conversation about needing to be a real woman in order to share her man’s burdens.

In that moment it was like a switch had flipped inside her, filling her with resolution. Lianna wiped her tears away, stood up tall and faced Jayce’s deep gaze, not shying away or feeling embarrassed. She would show him that she was a capable woman, someone fit to be his woman.

After a few tense moments, Jayce retracted his gaze, satisfied that she was not lying about anything. Were it not for him having information from his previous life, he would have never known that the Dryad had possessed Lianna and he would have shut her out of his personal life.

’This is for the best.’ he said inwardly. However, it would take a while before he would consider opening up his heart once again after feeling such pain. Even if it wasn’t Lianna’s fault.

Lianna sensed the mixed emotions within Jayce’s gaze as he looked away, and she could feel him shutting down a little. She took a deep breath before asking, "What did I do?"

Jayce merely brushed it off, waving his hand dismissively "Nothing, don’t worry about it." In the next moment he smiled, yet it did not reach his eyes.

She frowned deeply, not liking the response. Lianna moved closer, grabbing his hands together with hers and bringing it to her heart. "Jayce. I feel a deep sadness when I look at you, it’s like my mind knows that I’ve done something wrong, yet I have no memory. Please tell me what I’ve done."

Jayce was startled by the sudden actions of the fairy-like woman. This was not something that she would usually do, she was usually more reserved especially in front of him. Yet when his eyes met hers, he saw the deep resolution within them, telling him that she could take whatever he had to say.

He let out a deep sigh, resigning himself to what would come next.