Page 35 of Broken Obsession
Yarrow just hadn’t anticipated that the contract also had clauses within it that benefited Ares and his plans.
“Hold on!” Yarrow panicked.
Eden’s hand snapped out just as Ares reached for the door, latching onto his wrist. “Wait.”
Ares quirked a brow.
“Is this part of the game you were talking about?” Eden searched his expression, but Ares knew he had that locked down.
“No,” he said. “We made that agreement last night. This was already in the works long before then. It’s not my fault you and Yarrow don’t know how to read. I’d expected more from the creator of Vanity at least, considering the material he used as inspiration for his world.”
“What do you mean?” Eden frowned.
“The mythos?” Ares was a bit let down that he didn’t know, though he’d alluded to as much during their brief talk already. “Seriously? It never came up in conversation? Yarrow drew inspiration fromThe Gods of Light. The game is set up so that the player acts as the god of the story. Each decision the player makes builds their affinity with one of four main love interests.”
“I know how the game is played, asshole,” Eden lost patience. “Get to the point.”
“I am. Each of the love interests stands for a different divine companion. Whoever Player holds the highest affinity with is the one who determines which version of Player the gamer gets. Player’s expressions and choices alter based on which god the player is portraying. That’s why there are different story branches based on affinity levels. It’s not just because the personalities of the LI’s are different, it’s because the Player’s personality will be slightly different as well. Those companions are identified by the nicknames Player refers to them. Ransom is Starling, for example. While we have descriptions for the gods, there’ve never been any set defining features for their companions, which is why Yarrow needed you and your friends to model for the parts.”
“The companions have only ever been depicted in their animal forms,” Yarrow mumbled.
“You don’t have to defend yourself. I like your approach. All I’m saying is, with how often mythology is woven into your story throughout the game, I expected you to be a bigger reader, yet you couldn’t even be bothered to read the contract.”
Yarrow opened his mouth, but Eden beat him to it.
“I didn’t realize there was that connection.” His fingers tightened ever so slightly on Ares’ wrist. “Whose companion is the starling?”
The corner of his mouth tipped upward. “The God of Creation.”
Eden dropped his hand.
“What’s wrong?” Ares asked.
“You’re basically telling me I’m not just competing with Ransom,” Eden whispered, not wanting Yarrow to overhear, “but also this starling character from a story written a million years ago?”
“There’s no competition. You are them.”
“I’m me.”
They were going to have to find a way to move past this aversion Eden had to being compared to beings Ares already associated him with. It didn’t mean he didn’t see Eden, it just meant he made greater connections to him, that was all. There was no Ransom without Eden. No Starling without Eden.
At the end of the day, Eden was the central piece.
“Starling belongs with Creation,” Ares stated. “Belongs to him.” When Eden gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head, Ares grunted. “If that’s the case, I’ll be on my way.”
Quickly, Eden stepped into his path, squeezing in the small space between Ares and the door. It was tight enough that their chests brushed, and the voice actor shivered tellingly before seemingly getting hold of himself. He cleared his throatand stated firmly, “I’ll do it. I’ll take the job. I’ll go with you to Aeternus.”
“Eden—” Yarrow rounded his desk, but Eden gave a sharp shake of his head.
“This is too good an opportunity for me to turn down,” he said. “I promise I won’t let it affect my work with Astral Realms, but I can’t walk away from this chance.”
“Listen to me, I get where you’re coming from, but…Look, I’ll be frank, I don’t trust you, Mr. Major. I don’t think your intentions are pure.”
“I never said they were,” Ares quipped, grinning when Yarrow cursed behind him and Eden’s eyes widened slightly.
“That’s an admission of guilt,” Yarrow stated. “Eden, you heard him. Don’t worry about breaking the contract, I can afford to pay the penalty. And if you want a job in teaching, I can get you one. I have connections.”
“I’m happy the two of you aren’t as close as I feared,” Ares interrupted, his words meant for Eden. “If you were, he would have known teaching was something you’d been considering for a while now, isn’t that right?”