The Butterfly Effect: I Refuse This Ending

I woke up in the morning.

Something was wrong with the weight distribution of the bed.

I turned my head.

Lina.

She was on top of the covers, fully dressed, curled on her side with both hands tucked under her cheek, sleeping with the complete absence of self-consciousness.

My cultivation notes were on the floor beside the bed, several pages spread open.

Did she come here to study?

Apparently she had also come here to sleep, though I doubted that had been part of the plan.

I looked at her again.

Her face was like a child’s.

There was a faint red at the edges of her cheeks.

I looked out from the window early in the morning.

I had a class in an hour. And now this.

I sat up carefully.

She did not wake up.

"Wake up sleepy head."

"...Hello, wake up."

"Nn...?"

"Mnn..." she mumbled sleepily.

I crouched down.

Then I sat on the bed and looked at her.

"Lina,"

Nothing.

"Lina."

"...Huh?"

She pulled her hands closer to her face.

"You are in the wrong room,"

...

Her one eye opened. Then the other. She looked at me.

"Wh.."

The red deepened .

She sat up very quickly.

"I..." she started.

"My notes are on the desk,"

She looked at the desk. Then at the door.

"I came to study,".

"I did not mean to..."

"Yeah, I know."

She pressed both hands against her face, which I had learned was what she did when the composure was taking longer than usual to arrive.

I waited.

"I am going to my room," she said, from behind her hands.

"Probably a good idea,"

She stood, collected the notes from the floor. And set them on the desk in a neat stack, picked up her bag, and crossed to the door.

At the door she stopped.

Did not turn around.

"Did you sleep," she said.

"Yes,"

"Good,"

She went through the door and pulled it shut behind her.

Then I got up and finished getting ready.

The corridor outside my room was empty.

I had the door half open and my bag over one shoulder when the smoke appeared.

Luna stepped out.

Bunny ears. Still. The gods had apparently not voted for a change since the last time I had seen her..

"Long time no see,"

"Three months,"

"Long time,"

"It’s time for the monthly spin,"

"Oh Yeah but here."

I looked at the corridor. Empty in both directions.

"Here,"

"You have a class in fifty minutes, Here is fine."

She produced the wheel.

She straightened her bunny ears with two fingers, adjusted her cuffs, and cleared her throat with the dignity.

"Round and round the wheel goes..."

"You can skip the song," I said.

She looked at me!

"I never skip the song," she said.

"I know, I said you could, not that you would."

She looked at me for another moment. Then she continued from the beginning.

"Round and round the wheel goes, where it stops, nobody knows~!"

The wheel spun.

Colors blurring, prizes running together.

The wheel stopped.

Luna looked at the result.

"Congratulations, You have won Sovereign’s Instinct."

"What is that, and why sovereign’s isn’t it’s different genre?"

"A passive ability, It does not enhance any particular skill or affinity. It operates at the level of perception and decision specifically, pattern recognition under pressure. The ability to read a situation correctly when the information available is incomplete."

I thought about that.

"That is useful,".

"Yes, It is."

"Why does it sound like you were not expecting me to win it?"

"The gods vote on gacha outcomes," she said. "This one was not unanimous."

[God of Thunder has sent a super chat.]

[Amount: 100 PS.]

[Message: You are welcome.]

I stared at the notification.

[He changed his vote at the last moment,]

[God of Thunder has sent another super chat.]

[Amount: 50 PS.]

[Message: I like you better than I used to.]

"That is not reassuring,"

"I don’t want another Reinhardt." I muttered.

"Is there anything else," .

"No, Just the spin."

"Then I have a class."

"Kael."

"The things you are building here, The people. Be careful with them."

"I am always careful,"

"No." She turned to face me properly. "You always want to be strategic. You plan around people. You account for them. You make good decisions."

"That is not the same as being careful with them. Careful means knowing the difference between a person and a variable."

The smoke appeared around her.

"The eastern tower, You know what is in it."

"Yes,"

"Are you going to tell me."

"When it is time, It is not time yet."

"That is not an answer."

"It is the answer I have for you right now." She straightened her ears one final time. "Go to your class. Pay attention. Hiratsuka is going to do something today that you will want to have seen coming."

The smoke closed around her.

The corridor was empty again.

I stood in it for a moment.

Be careful with them.

I thought about Lina going through the door for a moment.

I picked up my bag.

And walked to the end of the corridor.

Down the stairs and through the entrance.

Out into the academy grounds. Other students moving across the grounds

I walked toward the main building.

The morning bell rang.

Classes had started.

****

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Kael Ardyn

Title: Young Duke of House Ardyn

Level: 12

Class: [NONE: Pending Classification]

Stat Grade

Strength→ C+

Dexterity →B

Agility→ B

Endurance→ C+

Magic→ B

Mana Heart: Silver→ High Tier (Approaching Gold threshold)

Mana Veins: Active→ Full Integration

Active Abilities: Fireball / Wind Blade / Basic Mana Pulse / Hell’s Fire / Gale Vortex / Remis

Movement Arts: Aether Step / Crushing Gravity / Vector Authority

Blood Arts: Sanguine Pulse / Crimson Veil

Passive Abilities: Infinity Mana Breathing (Mastered) / Pain Resistance / All Elements Affinity

Aspects: Ether Authority →Full Integration

Divine Skills: Sovereign’s Instinct (Newly Acquired), Villain Halo → Mastered

Traits: Mana Veins (Active) Dual Affinity (Fire / All Elements)

Domain: Source Unknown

[Title Effects] Young Duke →Reputation weight increased in all noble interactions.

[GIFT SECTION]

Source Gift

Goddess of Love Ether Authority

God of Thunder Sovereign’s Instinct

[Current Active Gifts: 2]

[POWER STONES: 3247]