[BL] I Didn't Sign Up For This-Chapter 64: In Which The Prophecy Gets Worse (Of Course It Does)

Chapter 64: In Which The Prophecy Gets Worse (Of Course It Does)

We spent the rest of the day watching Henrik prepare for limbo.

It was meticulous, obsessive work. He drew protection circles, crafted anchor charms from materials I couldn’t identify, tested wards against things I couldn’t see. Mara assisted, pulling out supplies from hidden caches around the safehouse.

By evening, I was exhausted just watching them.

"This is a lot of preparation," I said, as Henrik inscribed yet another protective symbol onto what looked like a simple bracelet.

"Limbo doesn’t tolerate shortcuts," he said without looking up. "Every safeguard matters, every protection could mean the difference between making it back or being lost forever."

"Comforting..."

"I’m just trying to keep us alive."

Azryth had been quiet most of the day, watching the preparations with an expression I couldn’t read, and I felt his unease growing.

When dinner came, courtesy of Mara’s surprisingly well-stocked emergency supplies, we all gathered in what had been a dining room.

"We should discuss the prophecy," Azryth said abruptly.

Everyone stopped eating.

"The prophecy," Mara repeated. "The one about Riven being able to seal gates or tear them open?"

"Yes." Azryth set down his fork. "There’s a detail I haven’t shared with you and Henrik yet. One that’s relevant given what we’re about to attempt."

I felt anxiety spike through the binding, whatever he was about to say, it worried him.

"Go on," Mara said.

Azryth looked at me first, checking if I was okay with this. I nodded.

"The prophecy isn’t just about actions," he said. "It’s about the nature of our bond, the choice between sealing gates or tearing them open isn’t purely tactical... it’s tied to whether our connection remains... stable."

"How stable?" Henrik asked.

"Emotionally stable," Azryth clarified. "The binding we share is unprecedented, our combination creates something the prophecy calls a ’gate key.’ We have the power to fundamentally alter the barriers between realms."

"We knew that part," Mara said.

"What you didn’t know is that the gate key isn’t neutral. It responds to the bond’s integrity." He paused. "If our bond remains true.. if we continue to trust each other, to..." He glanced at me. "To love each other, the gates can be sealed, permanently, stronger than any warden magic alone could achieve."

"And if the bond wavers?" Henrik asked, though his expression suggested he’d already guessed the answer.

"If the bond breaks, if one of us stops trusting the other, if love turns to resentment or fear or doubt..." Azryth’s jaw tightened. "The gates don’t just open, they tear violently and catastrophically, the realms merge in chaos, and there’s no controlling the result."

Silence.

"You’re saying," Mara said slowly, dropping her spoon on the plate, "that if you two have a bad breakup, the world ends."

"Essentially," I confirmed.

"That’s the most fucked up prophecy I’ve ever heard."

"It gets worse," Azryth said, glancing at me apologetically even though I’d heard this part before. "The tearing isn’t just triggered by deliberate betrayal. Strong negative emotions are enough, if we stop loving each other, if the bond deteriorates naturally over time, if we grow to resent this binding..it triggers the gate tear automatically."

"So you have to stay in love," Henrik said flatly. "Forever, or reality collapses."

"Yes," I said.

"Wow. This is too deadly for a love story," Mara said.

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"How long have you known this?" Mara asked, looking at me.

"A few weeks. Azryth told me after finding out himself." I grabbed his hand. "Although, I had to ’make’ him tell me."

"And you’re okay with it?" Henrik asked.

"I have no choice but to be okay with it," I said. "I mean, what can I do? Not loving him isn’t an option, so I just deal with the fact that our relationship has apocalyptic stakes."

Mara was staring at both of us like we’d lost our minds. "You two are insane."

"We’ve established that," Azryth said dryly.

"The reason I’m bringing this up now," he continued, "is because limbo will test us, it feeds on doubt, on fear, on negative emotions. It will try to break bonds, to create rifts between people."

"You’re worried it’ll trigger the prophecy," Mara said.

"I’m worried it’ll show us things that make us doubt each other," Azryth corrected. "Limbo has a way of manifesting your worst fears, your deepest insecurities. If we see things in there, if we’re shown futures where we hurt each other, where the bond fails..."

"It could become self-fulfilling," Henrik finished. "The prophecy triggers because you start doubting, which causes the doubt to grow, which triggers the gates."

"Exactly," Azryth said. "Which is why we need to go in prepared, knowing what limbo will try to do."

"You’ve been to limbo before," Mara said to Azryth. "What did you see?"

He was quiet for a long moment. "My worst fear at the time..." His voice was tight. "Just know that Limbo knew exactly what would hurt most."

And he was still planning to go back there.. for me, for us. I reached for his hand, and stroked slightly.

"We need more safeguards," Mara said. "Beyond just physical protection, we need mental protections, ways to ground yourselves if limbo starts showing you things."

"The binding itself is a safeguard," Henrik said. "As long as they can feel each other through it, as long as that connection stays strong, limbo can’t fully separate them."

"But it can create doubt," Azryth said. "It can show us things that make us question each other. Make us afraid."

"Then we don’t believe what we see," I said. "We talked about this already, we trust each other more than we trust whatever limbo shows us."

"That’s the theory," Henrik said. "In practice, when you’re experiencing the illusion, it’s much harder to maintain that perspective."

"Then we remind each other," I said. "Through the binding, through touch, through whatever means necessary. We ground each other in reality."

Mara was looking between us. "You’ve really thought this through."

"We have to," I corrected. "Because the alternative is letting fear win, and I’m not doing that."

Through the binding, I felt Azryth’s love mixing with gratitude, he’d been worried about telling Mara and Henrik, worried they’d think we were too unstable, too risky.

"You two are either going to save the world or destroy it spectacularly," Mara said.

"Why not both?" I said.

"Please don’t do both."

"No promises."

Henrik had been taking notes throughout this conversation. "I can create emotional anchor charms, objects tied to positive memories, to your bond. If limbo starts showing you things, the anchors might help ground you in truth."

"Do it," Azryth said. "Every protection helps."

"We have two days," Mara said. "We use them to prepare mentally and emotionally and make sure you’re both in the best headspace possible before attempting this."

"And if we see things there, let’s remember what we just decided," Azryth said, squeezing my hand. "That we trust each other more than we trust what we see. That the bond is stronger than any illusion. And we hold onto that, no matter what."

I felt his absolute conviction through the binding

"Okay," I said. "Don’t worry, Azryth, we can do this."

"Yeah.. we can do it."

He pulled me closer, his arm around my shoulders.

I rested my head on his shoulder, and breathed in his scent.

The prophecy hung over us, love or lose everything, stay true or watch reality tear itself apart.

No pressure.

Just the fate of all existence depending on whether two people could keep loving each other despite everything trying to pull them apart.