How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 404: Little Secrets Interlude

With the brightest light came the deepest darkness.

That was the common notion—an age-old truth whispered among mortals as they tried to make sense of the world.

A concept born not from divine revelation, but from simple observation: light cast shadows, and brilliance invited obscurity.

It was a comforting duality, a balance people clung to.

But the truth was far colder… and far older.

Darkness had always been there.

Long before mortals. Long before stars. Long before time had even drawn its first breath.

In the beginning, when the void was vast and formless, darkness wasnʼt just present—it was everything.

It was the canvas upon which existence itself would be painted.

The absence before the presence.

The stillness before the first sound.

When the one who first imagined all things wove the threads of reality, darkness was the loom upon which that tapestry stretched.

Yes, mortals had discovered a fragment of truth… but only a fragment.

Because paradox was just as foundational as fact.

For as much as the universe began steeped in darkness, it was also light that revealed it. Light that emerged not afterward, but alongside.

Simultaneously.

And when She—She who would come to bear the role of darkness incarnate—was born, so too was Her twin: the light.

One to cloak, one to reveal.

One to end, one to begin.

They were opposites in every imaginable way… and yet, in truth, they were the same.

Two halves of a singular whole.

They knew each other utterly, as only twin flames forged from the same divine spark could.

They had no need for words.

No room for secrets. For what could be hidden from one who shares the same origin, the same essence?

There were differences, of course.

Nuances that defined their roles in the grand weave of creation.

One whispered in shadows, the other sang in radiance.

One watched in silence, the other guided in warmth.

But even these contrasts were merely expressions of a shared foundation.

They were paradox made manifest—contradictions that worked in harmony, defying logic, defying expectation.

From the moment their existence began, they had never truly been apart.

So, when mortals spoke of secrecy, of rivalry between light and dark… they were missing the point entirely.

Between the two primordial goddesses, there had never been a secret.

Because how could you hide from yourself?

That was why, when Erebil first heard the word ”secret” fall from Rileyʼs lips—specifically, a secret kept by her sister—her initial reaction was to scoff.

The idea struck her as laughable.

How could there be secrets between them?

Between two beings born from the same breath of creation, bound by the same divine essence, mirrors to one anotherʼs eternal truths?

Rileyʼs words, at the time, seemed insignificant.

Almost adorable, in a fragile, mortal way—like a child telling nonsense stories to escape the looming fate of death he had with the enemy before him…

She had agreed to his bargain not out of belief, but out of whimsy.

A flicker of curiosity. An indulgent gesture toward a mortal child who had, against all odds, caught her interest.

It wasnʼt the claim of some forbidden knowledge that moved her—it was Riley himself.

And yet… time passed.

And with it, so did her certainty.

No matter how many times she reached into the shared current between her and her sister—no matter how she bent the rules of her dominion or unraveled the folds of divine memory—the truth Riley hinted at remained elusive.

Untouched. Unseen. Hidden.

A secret, not shared.

And that—was impossible.

Or at least, it should have been.

They were one and the same, were they not?

Two faces of the same coin.

If her sister knew, then by all laws of their nature… she should know as well.

But she didnʼt.

And slowly, the ridiculous began to take root as something profound.

At first, she had found the notion amusing.

Then puzzling.

Then intoxicatingly intriguing.

To think there was something—anything—in the world she did not know, did not understand…

It made her cold immortal blood stir with something she hadnʼt felt in eons.

Excitement.

A secret… something hidden from her.

In her endless realm of shadow and void, where all was known, all was watched, and all had already played out in predictable silence—this was new.

It was thrilling.

Perhaps Riley had merely lied.

That was the logical explanation.

Perhaps his ”secret” was just a bluff, a desperate ploy from a clever little mortal trying to win time or favor.

That would explain the void, the lack of resonance in her soul.

If there were no secret to begin with, then there would be nothing for her to uncover from her other half.

Yes, that was certainly a possibility.

And yet… she knew better.

She had looked into his eyes.

She had felt his soul quake when he spoke those words—not with fear, but with conviction.

Even in the face of her overwhelming presence, Riley had not trembled in deception.

He had spoken truth.

And in doing so, he had done what no being—god, mortal, or otherwise—had ever managed before.

He gave Erebil something she thought she would never encounter again.

Mystery.

...

”What secrets about my sister have you brought me, little light~?”

That voice—velvet-smooth yet razor-edged—curled into my ears like a purr laced with threat.

I froze.

Shit…

Why is she so interested?

I had thought this would be easy.

Toss her a few half-truths—stuff I knew from the game, maybe some obscure lore entries or NPC monologues no one bothered to click through except for me—and that would be it.

Bargain fulfilled.

Favor returned.

Clean break.

But looking at her now… this wasnʼt some playful question.

It wasnʼt idle curiosity.

This was genuine intrigue—the kind of fascination that could either keep me alive or burn me to ash depending on how long it held her attention.

She leaned forward ever so slightly, crimson eyes gleaming like embers behind a curtain of dark silk hair, her predatory smile never fading. Like a cat watching a bird hop closer of its own accord.

I knew I had a place in her favor—sheʼd made that much clear.

She didnʼt kill me when she could have.

Back during the whole White Queen incident, she had given me a fragment of her blessing—an act that shouldʼve ended the moment I won.

But instead, she went further.

She healed my soul, unasked, unearned.

There was care in her actions, however dangerous her intentions might be…

Still, this was Erebil.

A primordial goddess.

She didnʼt give anything for free, hence the bargain I did with her…

If I said the wrong thing now—if I even slipped up with the tone of my voice—it might be enough to tip the balance from ”fascinating toy” to ”disappointing trinket.”

I gulped. Quietly.

Recalling what I knew of Erebil—from the game, from everything thatʼs happened until now—she wasnʼt a goddess who killed on a whim.

She wasnʼt the kind to throw away something she found amusing.

But the key word there was amusing.

That was the only lifeline I had right now.

As long as I could keep her entertained… keep her guessing… maybe, just maybe, I could make it out of this conversation with my soul still intact.

[Note: Presence of Divine Light is waiting patiently within your soul.]

[Soul Corridor access is now open—User may permit connection!]

[Incoming Message: Divine Light requests entry into the vessel.]

[MY CHILD, LET ME IN!]

[DONʼT TELL HER ANYTHING, PLEASE!!!]

[MY CHILD?!]

[I—I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!]

[LET THIS MOTHER HELP YOU WITH YOUR SITUATION! I SWEAR, I CAN HANDLE MY SISTER!]

[PLEASE, I-I CAN TAKE CARE OF THIS—JUST NOT… T-THAT! YOU PROMISED ME!]

[YOU SAID IT WOULD BE OUR SECRET, SO PLEASE—!!!]

…Well, yes… in some sense that was the case…

But there were always certain… inconsistencies with our ”promise” from the start, werenʼt there?

[W-Wha?! No! There werenʼt—there was not!]

…Wait.

You can hear my thoughts?

How?

[Of course I can! Your soul is more closely bound to mine than to any other being in existence!!!]

...Thatʼs comforting.

And a little terrifying.

I had thought she would be more connected with Emilia than me though…. did the sudden influx of divinity within me help me resonate with her more…?

If so, it would be a bit more troublesome returning to the academy…

[Th-thatʼs why—please! Let me in, right now! Young man, I promise I can take care of my sister! Just grant me access!]

Youʼre really bad at lying, dear goddess.

[I—IʼM NOT LYING!!!]

Sheʼs really bad at this…

You know better than anyone else what kind of being your sister is.

There was no knowing what sort of thing sheʼll do if I didnʼt fulfill my end of the bargain.

[T-Thatʼs… not fair…]

Besides… Iʼm not planning on telling her everything.

Just a taste.

A breadcrumb or two.

Enough to satisfy her curiosity without spilling the whole truth.

Keep her entertained, keep her guessing.

And letʼs be honest… sheʼs bound to find out eventually.

You two are connected, right?

Twinned by creation.

What you keep, she feels.

What you feel, she senses.

Sheʼll know something exists whether I speak or not.

Or at least thatʼs wat I recall in the lore descriptions about the two goddesses.

So rather than stall the inevitable… I might as well be the one guiding how she learns it.

[But… but our secret… you promised!]

I did.

And I meant it.

Though… with a slight alteration to the definition of ”secret.”

The truth is, Erebil was always bound to discover it eventually—even if I chose to do absolutely nothing.

After all, there was only so much the goddess Eris could conceal from her sister.

Their bond wasnʼt something so easily severed or hidden—not when they were two sides of the same primordial coin.

The only reason Eris hadnʼt been exposed yet… was because she had been hiding her memories—no, burying them—deep within my soul corridor this entire time.

Layered beneath illusions, she masked them using my own memories.

When I shared a piece of myself with her, she used that to cleanly overwrite and reset—fabricating false sequences of thought, isolating her divine essence frame by frame, like cutting a reel of film just before the light hits the lens.

And I—

I let her.

Not because I intended to weaponize it.

Not because I knew it would come to this.

But maybe... maybe because some part of me wanted to share something real with her, even if it wasnʼt mine to begin with.

And to be honest I just didnʼt know what to share to her that day when I woke up in her realm…

I didnʼt think Iʼd be using that moment—the tenderness of our connection, the fragility of her curiosity—for this.

Yet here I was.

And although I felt slightly bad about it…

This was, honestly, the best way to make use of that situation.

Right?

[Sniff…! Sniff…!]

Hey donʼt cry…

”Little light~ Iʼm waiting~”

The words dripped like velvet honey into the void.

Her voice rang out across the darkness of her domain, laced with amusement and something far more dangerous beneath—curiosity sharpened into a blade.

I could feel her gaze now—luminous and endless.

”The goddess of light, Eris… is in love with… Edward…” I said slowly.

”Huh…?”

Erebil tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly in confusion.

Before a long silence followed.

”.....”

”.....”

”She even says she wishes heʼd bind her up in bed like—”

BZZZT!!

A crackle of divine lightning shot through my spine like Iʼd just licked a socket with my soul.

”Ghk—!”

I stiffened, my body locking up as a golden spark fizzled through the air, my throat seizing before I could say another syllable.

Erebil, in front of me, wore perhaps the most baffled expression I had ever seen on a cosmic entity—brows furrowed, one eye twitching, lips parted as though struggling to form words that made sense of what sheʼd just heard.

ʼEdward. The most handsome, devilish butler alive.ʼ

Or, well, ”alive” in the game world Eris had created based on the fragments of my past life.

He was a fan-favorite character—debonair, sharp-tongued, always dressed in an immaculate black suit with a cravat that never wrinkled.

He was also the final romance route in an R-18 dating sim game targeted for female players...

For reference the only reason, I finished that game completely was because of general Lisa..

Yes. Thatʼs right.

The greatest secret of the goddess of primordial light and creation—

Was that she had been using the memories of my past life… to play dating sims.

Specifically, R-18 dating sims.

And not just play them—roleplay, fantasize, emotionally invest.

I had caught her once reenacting a confession scene… voice acting included.

For context the goddess had done all this in the short while back when I entered her realm....

Erebil blinked slowly.

The silence between us stretched like the yawning edge of a black hole.

”…Young light,” she finally said, her voice deadpan but wavering at the edges, ”Would you care… to explain that again?”

… Please forgive me dear goddess…

I truly promise to make it up to you…