The Veilwalker

Alexander revealed a slight smile upon seeing Julia's antics. He knew that was going to be Julia's response to his note. With Julia already on her way over, Alex refocused on what he was doing.

While he didn't actually fall asleep, as it was physically impossible for him to do so without stripping himself of every ounce of his godly senses, he did close his eyes with Julia in his arms.

Preparing breakfast for her was but a minor inconvenience he could have done with a snap of his fingers. But this was a camping getaway, where he wanted to do things normally.

Unfortunately for him, Julia slept through the entire morning. Left with nothing to do, he stepped outside the cottage, where a clear path led through the coniferous plants towards a cold lake about one hundred meters away.

With gentle steps and a clear purpose in mind, Alexander made his way towards the lake. The plants and ground were covered in snow, but the sun was out, casting its warm light across the landscape.

Reaching the lakeside, Alexander stood with his hands in his jacket pocket, admiring the still, mirror-like surface of the lake that covered more than forty hectares of land space. To the far edges of the lake, away from the side where Alexander stood, were rock formations that walled in the lake, serving as natural barriers.

A few meters to Alexander's left side was a small fishing boat built from wood with a plastic undercoating. It had more than enough room for four people, but only two oars. A bit more to his left, farther away from the lake shore, was a small cabin with fishing necessities if needed — keyword being 'if'.

Taking the boat for fishing was the obvious thing to do. He rowed until he was several tens of meters from the shore, and conjured everything he needed to start his fishing. And from the moment he began till the time Julia woke up, Alexander had caught a total of six fish, all of impressive sizes.

Julia spotted Alexander long before reaching the lakeshore. Her beloved had his back to her, his attention focused on what he was doing. With an excited grin, Julia took flight, swiftly closing in on Alexander while staying a few tens of centimetres above the surface.

Miraculously, her flight path did not disturb the water in any way or form. The surface remained calm and unshaken all the way. Reaching Alexander, Julia opened her arms, planning to hug him from behind and cling to him like a koala.

"Huh?"

Unfortunately for her, the unexpected happened, leaving her in a state of confusion that quickly transitioned into mock annoyance. Julia was frozen in place, a little more than an arm's length away from Alex.

"Alexander…" A menacing drawl escaped Julia as she demanded an explanation, her eyes staring daggers at Alex's back. "You'd better break this stasis before I get my hands on you."

"..."

No response came, instantly breaking the little bit of calm she carried. Like a child throwing a tantrum for not getting her way, Julia wiggled and tried to break the stasis to no avail, making a mess of her neatly done hair.

"Huu…" She let out a sigh after achieving no results from her struggles. Though she managed to float upright, taking a sitting posture with one leg crossed over the other, her arms folded across her chest next. "What are you trying to achieve here, Alexander? You'd better have a good explanation."

Alexander did not immediately respond, feeling Julia's intense gaze on his back. With deliberate slowness that drove Julia to the brink, he looked over his right shoulder, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You almost scared the fish away."

"What…?" Julia couldn't believe her ears, her eyes widening to express her shock. "You stopped me because the fish would have been scared away?" She repeated to be sure she heard right.

"Indeed." Alexander nodded matter-of-factly, turning his attention back to the fishing rod. "Fishes are easily scared away. It took a lot of patience to get what I currently have in the container."

"Why you…" Julia gnashed her teeth in frustration, wishing to sink her teeth into Alex's flesh and tear a good chunk away. She couldn't believe Alexander would do this to her. "Let me go…!"

In that moment, Julia forgot to hold her flight, and Alexander took that as his cue, taking away the restrictions that held her in place. Taken off guard, a shriek escaped Julia as she fell into the lake with a splash.

The abrupt temperature change was instantaneous, leaving the Knight princess bewildered. But more shocking than the fact that she fell into the lake was the fact that Alexander was the one responsible for it.

With a bit of movement, she rose to the surface, where Alexander was looking over his shoulder at her with a knowing smile on his face. She had just taken a bath, changed her clothes and done her hair.

Ah... someone was going to pay.

"Yo-You really did it..." Julia's breath came in heavy, angry pants. "You really did it...!"

Julia roared as she kicked against the water, swiftly reaching the boat and capsizing it with everything in it. Alex was going to get wet, even if it were the last thing she did on this date.

Unfortunately for her, Alexander saw it coming the moment she emerged from the lake. As soon as Julia moved, he spatially sent the container with his hard-earned fish to the lakeshore and floated about a metre above the lake, near the capsized boat.

"Get in here!"

Julia was not happy that Alexander jumped out of the boat. She leapt out of the water and tackled Alexander with a spear attack. Luckily for her, Alexander stayed in place, taking the tackle like a man.

The lovers ended up splashing water everywhere, further disturbing the tranquil lake as Julia pulled Alexander under. They tossed and turned in the water for some time before resurfacing.

Julia's earlier frustration was now gone, replaced with a radiant smile. What was meant to be a quiet breakfast beside Alexander had turned into a cold swim, as the two lovers laughed and splashed water at each other, each trying to outdo the other.

"You jerk!" The Knight princess raised her hand to block off the water coming her way, as she was getting overwhelmed by Alex's rapid slaps. "Take it easy on a woman!"

"In what universe does that make sense?" Alexander shot back, unrelenting in his defence assaults. "I'm not the one who started this fight, you know?"

"Look who's talking? If you hadn't stopped me earlier, none of this would be happening...!" Julia spun around and shot out of the lake, taking to the sky.

Back in the lake, Alex looked on as Julia reached a few tens of meters and shot back down like a missile, heading straight for him. With a grin on his face, Alexander waited until Julia was close enough before leaping out of the water.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alex asked amusingly, watching as Julia turned around beneath the lake. "If that is your attempt at catching me, then you'd have to try harder."

"Hmph!"

Julia snorted as soon as her head broke the surface of the lake, shooting out of the water and heading towards Alexander again. Since water wasn't going to do the trick, Julia had one last card to play.

But no matter how agile she was, she could not get her hands on Alexander, as he would keep a certain distance from her, not leaving the bounds of the lake. Sometimes, he would purposely allow her to get close, with just an inch of space left to make contact.

Julia's frustration kept growing until it reached a boiling point. While she enjoyed the chase, she raged over the fact that she couldn't get back at Alexander the way she wanted.

Knowing Julia was about to explode, Alexander let himself be caught where he floated. When he did, Julia wasted no time and clung to him as she had initially intended. But a vow was a vow, and Julia was not afraid to take out her frustration on Alexander.

The Knight princess reached for one of Alexander's hands and sank her teeth in, achieving her little revenge. She looked up at Alex, only to see him smiling at her lovingly. Moreover, his other hand moved to affectionately caress her on the head.

"Hmph! You're such a cheat. You should seal your powers, too."

Julia let go of the hand, not finding the satisfaction she craved. Her frustrations didn't last long, thanks to the caresses she received from Alexander. Soon, her pouting expression was replaced with a satisfied smile as she nestled into Alex's embrace.

"But I do have most of my powers sealed." Alexander chuckled softly, subtly draining the water from their clothes and body.

"Like you can deceive me." Julia was not buying it.

Even if what Alexander said was true, he remained fundamentally different from the person he was before becoming a god.

There was no reason to argue over this issue, so Alex let it be. Slowly, he floated towards the lakeshore with Julia glued to him, continually stroking her hair. "You haven't had your breakfast yet, Julia."

"It's already noon." Julia replied without opening her eyes. "Besides, eating is not all that necessary for beings at our level."

"What about clinging to me like this?" Alexander asked once he touched down at the lakeshore. "You don't intend to stay like this the entire day, do you?"

Julia pulled back slightly, wrapping her arms around Alexander's neck. She looked directly into his eyes and smiled mischievously.

"I have a better idea, you know?" Her eyes glanced down at his lips and then returned to his eyes, her intent clear as day. "I spent last night sleeping. We can make up for lost time."

"You don't say..." Alex swallowed and then leaned forward, taking Julia's lips with his.