Becoming A God In Another World With My Crush-Chapter 51: Call A Damn Therapist

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The cold of the manor floor pressed against his back as Xander stirred from unconsciousness, blinking slowly against Alyhana’s orb of light above him. The field of flowers was gone and with them, Elina’s voice faded like an echo in the back of his mind.

"Thank you."

God, his head ached and his limb felt numb...for a few seconds, he forgot where he was.

"Xander!"

Alyhana dropped to her knees beside him, her voice shaking as both hands hovered just above his chest, she looked terrified as she was pale and wide-eyed.

"Are you okay? Can you breathe? Does anything feel broken—do you feel cursed or possessed or—?"

"I’m fine," Xander muttered, squinting up at her face.

"Your eyes went white, nerd." Iris said equally scared shitless. "White! Then you collapsed and stopped breathing, I thought this was the end of you for real."

"Iris relax," he croaked, dragging a hand over his face. "I said I’m fine."

"You say that while covered in blood," she deadpanned. "Which is hilarious. But not very convincing."

She crouched beside him, brushing off dust and crumbled debris off his jacket with rough, fussing hands. Then she squinted at his pupils like she wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t been replaced by a clone.

Alyhana was still leaning over him anxiously, her hands flickering softly with healing magic as she checked his chest, then his ribs, then his forehead. "Your heartbeat’s fast. And your breathing’s shallow. You were out for almost ten whole minutes—do you remember what happened?"

He pushed himself up onto one elbow with a quiet grunt, wincing slightly at the soreness in his side.

"I remember enough," he said after a pause.

Iris narrowed her eyes. "What do you remember?"

He gave her a flat look. "Just...stuff."

She swatted his arm.

"Ow!"

"Idiot."

Alyhana gave a tiny sigh of relief, like just seeing them bicker again had put her heart slightly more at ease.

Xander sat up with Iris supporting him as he scanned the room, "So...the monster’s gone, isn’t it?"

Alyhana looked up from where she was still kneeling beside him, her expression twisting with slight confusion as she nodded slowly.

"The ghost," he clarified, his voice still low and still a little rough. "What happened to it?"

Alyhana sat back on her heels and shook her head slowly. "It disappeared. The second you touched it... it just... left."

Xander raised an eyebrow. "It didn’t put up a fight?"

Alyhana nodded, her voice was quieter now, more thoughtful. "I’ve never seen a spirit leave like that before. Even peaceful ones put up some kind of resistance. That one... it just vanished. Like it made the decision on its own."

There was a pause as Xander glanced at the spot the monster was once pinned to.

"It was like... it chose to let go." Alyhana continued.

Xander’s jaw tightened, just slightly. He didn’t say anything right away, but the look on his face darkened.

"She didn’t need to be forced," he murmured under his breath, almost too soft to hear. "She just needed someone to understand."

Alyhana turned toward him but he didn’t elaborate any further.

Iris looked between the two of them and shrugged, "I’m just glad we’re not dead."

One by one, they stood with Xander flexing his fingers once, testing the feeling in his arm. Alyhana brushed the dust off her skirt absently and Iris glanced up at the ceiling as she rolled her aching shoulder.

Then finally, Iris spoke, her voice breaking the silence with that familiar, slightly-too-loud tone of hers.

"...So. Is it over? Like... actually over? Or are we gonna walk out of here and get jump-scared by it outta nowhere?"

Alyhana turned slowly, her eyes scanning the space like she was trying to sense something the rest of them couldn’t feel. Her fingers twitched at her side like she was still ready to summon a shield just in case.

"I think..." she started, her voice uncertain. "I think so. I mean...I don’t feel the presence anymore. That pressure I felt when we first stepped inside? It’s gone now."

She looked around the room again, then let out a breath she’d clearly been holding in. "It’s gone. The magic’s gone. Whatever was binding the ghost this place, whatever was clinging to it... it’s not here anymore."

Iris raised both eyebrows. "I’m so fucking happy right now."

But Alyhana didn’t smile. She just stood there frowning slightly, she turned to Xander with her brows furrowed. "But... I didn’t exorcise it. Not properly, I didn’t even get close to finishing the spell for its true form... I’ve never heard of a ghost leaving the place it’s clinging to willingly."

Xander didn’t say anything while Alyhana watched him carefully. "Did you... do something?"

"...It doesn’t matter," he said at last, voice quiet. "She’s gone."

And that was all he gave them.

Iris crossed her arms slowly, her eyes narrowing just slightly as she studied Xander’s face. She tilted her head to the side like she was sizing him up, but her voice when she finally spoke was softer than usual.

"You spoke to her, didn’t you?"

"...Yeah."

He didn’t bother to explain, didn’t describe the field, or the way Elina cried, or how her voice had cracked when she said "You never came." He didn’t mention the flowers, or the sky, or the way she thanked him before everything faded.

Alyhana opened her mouth slightly, like she was going to ask more — but Iris gently bumped her shoulder.

They exchanged a look a quiet one.

And then Iris sighed, brushing her bangs out of her face and glancing back at Xander with a crooked smirk that barely reached her eyes.

"You’re such a weirdo, you know that?" she said, nudging him lightly with her foot. "Guess that means you’re okay."

Xander huffed under his breath — maybe a laugh, maybe not and shook his head slightly.

"Define ’okay.’"

He was literally beyond traumatized.

No therapist could ever fix him.

Iris rolled her eyes, "Come on, spooky boy. Let’s get out of this hell house before someone’s ancestor somehow pops out to say hi."

He didn’t have to be told twice, he just adjusted the strap across his shoulder, settled his grip on the sword still hanging loosely at his back, and exhaled like it hurt to be back inside his own body again.

"Yeah, let’s go," he said simply, his voice quieter than usual but no less firm. "We still haven’t found the Veylith Crystal."

Alyhana blinked, worry still knitted in the corners of her expression as she stepped beside him.

"Are you sure you’re ready?" she asked gently. "You don’t have to push yourself just because the ghost is gone. You’ve been through a lot. We all have."

He glanced at her briefly and gave a small nod that didn’t quite match the exhaustion in his shoulders.

"I know, but..." he said, though the words didn’t carry much weight. "We need to keep going."

Alyhana didn’t argue, but she watched him a little longer than necessary like she wanted to reach out again but wasn’t sure if she was allowed to anymore.

Iris stood a few steps behind, arms crossed, watching them both.

"Alright," she said after a moment, her tone lighter than the air around them. "The sooner we get the all the Veylith, the better and we can say goodbye to this madness."

"Don’t jinx it," Xander muttered under his breath with a smirk. "We might still die for real at some point."

"Can’t you just let me be happy for once, you dumb nerd?"