HAVEN || SATORU GOJO

XXXIII

RIEKA SAT ATOP THE MAN as the warm delicate golden sun seeped through the crevice of their drapes, shining into the cerulean blue eyes. ethereal twin orbs of incandescent radiance, unfathomable power and even more unfettered confidence.

"Your soul?" Rieka had mused at the man's question.

She stopped looking at people's souls. Sometimes .. she just wanted to believe in ignorance and deluge in bliss.

Rieka's eyes exuded a golden hue as she took a long look.

It was like a mirror vast expanse of a clear, azure sky on a perfect summer day holding whispers of secrets of the universe that sprawled the empyreans.

But there was something that had changed.

Constellations in the sky. Celestial works of art, scattered across the vast expanse of the night sky like shimmering diamonds on an ebony velvet canvas.

Arrangements of stars that captivated and guided humanity, each constellation telling its own story. Stars, like luminescent sparks, begin to emerge, one by one, creating an enchanting spectacle.

His promise, his dedication .. it was from his soul.

At the center of it all .. was a pond where a singular lotus flower stood amongst the sky of stars and the floor of reflections.

"I'm not sure if this was there before or I just missed it."

"What is it?" The alabaster haired male was worried one of his lustful desires had shown itself. To be honest .. he wasn't quite sure how souls worked either .. or at least the way Rieka saw them.

It was hard when he couldn't see it as well.

"There's a lotus flower. It's starting to bloom." Rieka muttered.

Gojo chuckled, gently grabbing the woman's wrist as she tore her eyes away from within his being. "That's been there."

He just knew. It had to have been.

Rieka raised a brow. "How do you know?"

But then again, somehow, the male knew almost everything.

Part of Rieka's name, Rie, meant blessing, just like Megumi's. The other half meant summer flower.

She was the lotus flower who grew her roots in murky waters, filth and sin in its entirety, blooming despite it all. His blessing that he had met that one summer all too long ago.

The flower he watched nurture itself and slowly but surely began to open.

"I just do~" He mused, placing a precious kiss against her lips.

Rieka let out a faint grunt of annoyance, knowing if she were to question him it would lead to nowhere .. but now was a good time to bring up the topic while she had the chance.

"So Satoru .. your birthday gift."

He hummed. It was always intriguing to see what Rieka thought of every year. At the end .. the last people who remembered his birthday were Rieka and Suguru.