Becoming A God In Another World With My Crush

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘❦✾❦∘∙⊱⋅•-

There's was silence as Xander tried to process Eli's words, but before he could even think of what to say Iris snapped. 

"No." Her voice was sharp, cutting through the stillness like a blade. "Fuck no! This is...this is absolutely ridiculous!" 

She stood abruptly, chair scraping against the wooden floor and her fists clenched tightly at her sides. 

"I am not doing this. I am not going to go off fighting some ancient tyrant with stupid magic stones and a magic sword. I have a life! I have school! I have people waiting for me back home! I can't with this bullshit!" 

Xander watched her pace the small cottage like a caged animal, her movements restless and angry. 

"My mom and dad are going to lose it when they realize I'm missing. Nia...my little sister, my baby sister...she's gonna wonder why I didn't come home! My friends, my teachers, my entire life! I...I can't just throw it away because some mystical prophecy says we're supposed to be here!" 

Eli remained still, watching her with calm patience and Xander exhaled, standing up carefully, ignoring the soreness in his legs. "Iris—" 

"We can't risk ours life for a world we don't even know and don't care about." Her voice shook slightly, but her glare stayed sharp. "This is insane. This is not our fight." 

Xander stepped closer, lowering his voice slightly. "I know. I get it." 

Iris turned toward him, emotions twisting, equal parts rage and desperation, like she was waiting for someone to agree with her, to tell her she was right, that they could go home. 

But Xander wasn't going to lie to her. 

"We're stuck," he said, voice quieter. "I don't like it either, but freaking out isn't going to magically teleport us back." 

She hated that answer. 

Xander could see it in the way her shoulders tensed, in the sharp breath she sucked in like she was trying not to scream. 

Eli finally spoke his tone even and steady, as if her anger didn't faze him in the slightest. 

"You cannot leave." 

Iris's hands balled into fists again. 

Xander sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're really just gonna say that again? No explanation? No workaround? Just 'You cannot leave'?" 

Eli met his gaze. "It is the truth." 

Xander groaned. Iris let out a shaky breath, anger simmering just beneath the surface. She turned sharply toward Xander, her glare cutting through the room like a blade. 

"This is your fault." 

Xander froze, blinking at her in stunned confusion. "Wait, what?" 

"If you had just looked both ways before crossing that damn street, if you had just walked away when you saw Sam and me arguing, none of this would have happened!" Her voice rose, shaking with anger, frustration, and fear. 

Xander opened his mouth, but no words came out. 

Because she was right. 

The weight of her accusation settled fast, sinking into his stomach like lead. 

If he had just left instead of rushing in like some kind of hero, if he had just paid attention, been smarter, faster, anything, they wouldn't be here, stranded in a world that wasn't theirs, trapped in a prophecy they had never even asked for. 

He wanted to argue. He wanted to tell her it wasn't really his fault, that there was no way he could have predicted this. 

But the words refused to come. 

Because some part of him knew. 

She was right. 

"Iris…" His voice was quieter now, apologetic, hesitant, but she was already done listening. 

She shook her head, jaw clenched tight, eyes burning with something almost betrayed. Without another word, she spun on her heel and stormed out, the door slammed behind her. 

Xander stared at the door like he could undo the last five minutes by sheer force of will. he exhaled as pressed his fingertips into his temples. 

"Yeah. Okay. That… could have gone better." 

Eli sighed, watching Xander with quiet understanding. 

"I do not blame either of you for your frustration," he said. "You were pulled into this world without warning, given a fate you do not remember. But I must tell you the truth there is no path home unless the Beast King is defeated and the balance is restored." 

Xander exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "Right. Great. So what you're telling me is we have to fight an all-powerful, centuries-old tyrant before we even think about going home. That's it? That's the only way?" 

Eli nodded. "That is the way of things. The Kaelhi cannot travel until he fulfils his destiny." 

Xander's gut twisted as he stared at the door she had slammed moments ago. 

Eli's voice remained calm, unwavering. "And when the time comes, you will have a choice. You may ascend to the Heavenly Realm, as is your true destiny. Or you may return to your own world." 

Xander let out a sharp breath, shaking his head. "Yeah, easy choice. I don't care about being some god in this universe. I'll go home." 

Eli studied him for a long moment, his expression hard to decipher...Xander wasn't even trying too. 

"You say this now," he said carefully, "but when the time comes, you may think differently." 

Xander frowned, arms crossing instinctively. "I won't." 

Eli tilted his head slightly, like he had seen this conversation play out many times before. 

"There is no shame in returning," Eli admitted, tone softer than before. "The Kaelhi has spent ages drifting between realms. It is in his nature to be a wanderer. To leave." 

Xander glanced toward the door again, the weight of Iris's words pressing into him harder than he cared to admit. 

Eli shifted, leaning forward slightly. "But understand this, the Kaelhi is not meant to return unchanged." 

Xander scoffed. "Right. So what, I'm supposed to save the world and have some kind of spiritual awakening along the way?" 

Eli did not react to the sarcasm. "You may choose to leave once balance is restored. But you will not be the same person who entered this realm." 

Xander groaned, rubbing his temple. "Cool. Love that. Really... looking forward to it." 

Eli stood slowly, as if sensing the conversation had reached its limit. 

"You should rest," he said. "Tomorrow, your path begins." 

Xander pushed himself up from his chair, his muscles aching with exhaustion, but he barely noticed. His mind raced as he stepped toward the door, his heart pounding in sync with every heavy footstep he took. 

Eli didn't stop him. He didn't say a word, didn't try to call him back. He simply watched as Xander reached the door and pulled it open. 

The cool morning air hit him immediately, a sharp contrast to the warmth inside the cottage. The sky was painted in deep hues of violet and navy, streaks of clouds drifting lazily past the twin moons overhead. 

Iris stood a few feet away, arms crossed, staring out into the vast, unfamiliar landscape as if searching for something...anything, that could prove Eli wrong. That could prove she had a way home. 

Xander stepped toward her, slow and careful, as if approaching a wounded animal. 

"Iris." 

She stiffened but didn't turn. 

Xander hesitated, shifting on his feet before sighing. "Look, I—" He swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know you're mad. And you have every right to be. I screwed up." 

Silence stretched between them. 

Xander sighed, letting his gaze drop to the ground. "You're right. If I had just… done things differently, we wouldn't be here." 

Iris let out a sharp breath, shaking her head. "Damn right, we wouldn't." 

Finally, she turned toward him, her face unreadable, eyes flickering between anger and something else, something raw. 

"What do we even do, Xander?" Her voice was quieter now, but no less tense. "How the hell are we supposed to survive in a place like this? We barely survived the Hydra." 

Xander met her gaze, and for the first time since they arrived in this realm, he felt the weight of it all settle fully onto his shoulders. 

"I...don't know," he admitted. "But we're here. And we don't have a choice." 

Iris clenched her jaw but didn't argue. 

They stood there, two strangers in a world they never asked to be in, staring out at a future neither of them could predict. 

'How did we even get to this point?'

Xander stood there, watching Iris wrestle with emotions that seemed too tangled to sort through.

Iris exhaled, running a hand through her dark hair as she looked away. For a moment, it seemed like she wouldn't say anything at all. But then, after a tense pause, her voice broke through the quiet. 

"I...um, I shouldn't have blamed you," she muttered. "It wasn't fair." 

Xander blinked. He hadn't expected her to say it, not this soon, at least. 

Iris shook her head, arms folding over her chest, her voice quieter this time. "I just… I don't know how to deal with this. I feel like everything's going out of control, and I took it out on you." 

She let out a shaky breath, but her voice caught at the end, cracking slightly. Xander saw the way her shoulders tensed, how her face twitched, like she was fighting something inside her. 

Her eyes filled with tears, her breath hitching as she pressed her palms against her face, trying and failing to hold them back. 

Xander froze, not sure what to do, not sure what to say. 

Iris shook her head again, her voice muffled against her hands. "I just want to go home." 

Her shoulders shuddered, a quiet sob breaking through. "I don't care about prophecies or magic swords or ancient beast kings. I want my family, my life. I wasn't built for this." 

Xander felt something twist in his chest at that. He didn't have an answer for her. He didn't know what to say to make it better. Because he wanted the same thing. 

He would have hugged her, give her a shoulder to cry on...but he wasn't sure if she would lean into him or push him away calling him a creep. So instead, he just stood there beside her. Silent, because, for now, that was all he could do.