The Side Character Turned Villainess

She tilted her head slightly, "Just what do you think I am?"

I looked at her closely, "Are you a god? A demon? A freak of nature?!"

She shrugged, "To be honest, I'm not quite sure myself."

"Are you the one who brought me back here?"

"No. You were the one who wanted to come back. I merely helped."

"Haah? You helped? Just who the hell are you?!"

Her head bowed at these words as she held her hands closer to herself. Her voice seemed a bit sad, "Do you really not know?"

She wore a worn out pale pink dress, a bonnet and veil that covered her face, and even her voice sounded like a squeak. There was only one person she could be. Then again, it could all just be a trick. I studied her figure closely, "Are you really the original Seri?"

She gave a slight nod.

I turned away from her, "Oh... Well sh*t."

I crouched down and held my head which throbbed by the impossible truths before me. Has my entire life just been one big lie? Has any of it ever been real? Could it be that my death as Leia truly was the end and everything after that was just one long dream?

I groaned, "Just what exactly is all this?! Is it even real? Am I in heaven? Or am I stuck in hell?"

"What do you believe?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, "I'm not even sure..."

When I become the new Seri, I was able to get all the things I had ever wanted. I got parents who actually cared for me, even if it was a bit bumpy at first. I even got my little brother back. I received friends who chose to save my life instead of taking it. All the things I have ever wanted, I received. In theory, that would be seem like heaven.

However, that was all forcibly taken from me.

If that was the case, wouldn't it not actually be heaven? Could it be that I was being punished for being such a terrible person? I'm sure I deserved this... However, what if that world was real? Even if I deserved to be punished, the people I left behind didn't. Just how will Dante react to me disappearing? Millie? William? By punishing me, aren't they being punished as well?

We grew silent once more as we stared off the edge of the cliff. Looking at the miserable body beneath us, neither one of us knew exactly what to say. When I glanced at her, I realized that the original Seri must have also suffered since I took over her body.

As we watched my lifeless body below us, I spoke hesitantly. "Sorry for... Taking over your life and stuff..."

She shook her head, "Mmn. It's okay. It wasn't much of a life anyways."

"You aren't angry?"

"Why would I be? I was the one who forced you into my body."

Well I wasn't expecting that.

"What does that even mean?!"

"I had been alone for far too long... I was always searching for another... Another like me." She turned to my corpse below, "Then I found you. When I heard your wish, it made me stop. I realized that the two of us were a lot alike. I thought that, if anyone could make my wish come true. It had to be you."

"Your wish?"

She sighed, "But that doesn't matter now... It's impossible to have you help me make my wish come true..."

"Why?"

She looked at me behind her veil, "Because you are dead."

"...What?"

"You cannot fight against fate. When you took control of my body, you were predestined to die under Dante's sword. Although the events were changed, the outcome was not."

My head felt like it was swirling from all the information I was taking in. She must be lying. I don't believe her.

"I-I'm dead? Again?"

"Yes."

A bit my lip, "And... The others?"

She responded calmly, "They haven't noticed yet. It's not like your world where you are hooked up to a machine that records if you are breathing or not. There they must rely on more traditional methods."

I looked at her in disbelief, "How can you know all of that if you are truly the original Seri?"

The original Seri shouldn't know about these kinds of machines. She didn't live in an advanced world.

"When you entered my body, I also saw all of your memories. I was always there. Watching. I thought that I would be able to communicate with you. However, I could never speak to you no matter how much I tried. I could only watch as you controlled my body."

"So you saw everything that I did in your body?"

"I did."

My face paled, "So... When Dante and I..."

She nodded and responded in her soft voice, "I saw every bit. At first I wanted to look away... But... Well..." She paused and cleared her throat, "Anyway. I was clapping for you, but I don't think you heard me."

"Well that's extremely embarrassing..." I cleared my throat and faced her while trying to hide my shame, "I feel like I have to apologize for that... You must feel upset that I started dating your killer..."

"Our killer."

I frowned, "Right..."

She continued unabashed, "I don't really mind though. The Dante who killed me wasn't the same Dante whom you are accustomed to. The Dante I knew was completely out of touch with the world. He never cared about a single person or thing. He would kill and feel absolutely nothing." She looked at me, "But you managed to stop him from becoming that. I'm not even sure how you managed to convince him not to turn his back on the world, but you did."

I touched my cheek shyly, "Well... I'm not sure if I did all of that..."

"You did. It gave me hope that you would be able to change fate." She sighed, "Yet. In the end it was only hope. You still died just as fate intended. There's no hope for me to save Mary now..."

"Mary?"

Why is she bringing up Mary?

I looked at her closely, "That dream in the flower garden... Did you show me that?"

She gave a single nod, "That was the only way I could communicate with you. I was about to show you the truth, however you woke up before I had the chance."

"And what about Mary? You just mentioned that you wanted to save her."

The original Seri sighed and began to walk down the road away from me, "It doesn't matter anymore. One can't deny fate."

I turned to her, "That's bullsh*t! Fate isn't something predestined. You are the one in charge of it. Not some otherworldly force!"

She turned to me with a gentle aura. She held out her hand, "It doesn't matter anymore. It's time for us to move on."

Behind her, the road began to shine with a brightening light. I felt myself step backwards in fear.

"No! I don't want to move on!"

"You must Leia. You can't stay here."

Tears began to roll down my cheek as I stared at that blinding light. My voice shook, "No! I want to go back to Dante! I want to beg for his forgiveness. I never had the chance to tell him... I must tell him that I... I..."

I have to tell him that I love him.

I bit down hard on my lips, yet I felt no pain. The original Seri looked at me with pity, but there was nothing for her to do.

"Leia. If you stay here, you will be stuck. Just as I was. You will wait for eternity, but nothing will ever change for you. The world will move on without you and you will be forced to watch it. However, you won't be seen nor heard by anyone. It is a fate worse than death."

I didn't stop myself from crying, "I don't care. Dante is back there and I can't leave him. I can't let him feel the guilt of knowing he is the one responsible for my death. That would destroy him."

She spoke calmly, "How do you even know that it was even real? How do you even know that the time you spent with Dante was anything other than a dream?"

I don't but...

I retorted back sharply, "How do you even know that what happens next will be any better?!"

"I just do. And I know you feel it too."

I tightened my fists, "Well I don't care. I'm not leaving Dante."

"Even if he left you first?"

Her assertion stabbed daggers into my heart. I unconsciously held my chest where I felt the pain was.

I took a deep breath, "I don't care about that. Even though everyone is going to leave me, it doesn't mean I will have to leave them. I will always be there for them. Waiting. Waiting for the moment that they may need me. And if they never do, then that's okay too."

A gentle smile crossed my face, "As long as they are happy. Then I can be happy as well..."

The original Seri stood across from me without moving. She watched me closely before responding, "Is that your final decision?"

I nodded, "It is."

"Very well. Then I suppose, this is it."

"However."

She paused.

I smiled smugly at her, "I'm not going to bow down to anyone, including fate. I'm going back to Dante and I'm not going to let anyone stop me. I'm motherf*cking Leia and not even a god can prevent me from getting what I want!"

I turned away from the light and started sprinting down the dark road.

I don't care if the world with Dante was real or fake. I don't care if it was a dream or if it was heaven or hell. There was one thing I knew for sure.

Dante was there and I wouldn't stop until I could be in his arms once again.

Even if I had to challenge fate. Even if I had to challenge the creator of this universe. I loved Dante with everything I had and no one was ever going to take that away from me.

The original Seri smiled under her veil as she watched me run into the darkness unafraid. "If anyone can, I'm sure it would be you."