"Our relationship really isn't that complicated," Elyonari said, sighing with a playful smile. "Veneri's… honestly too romantic for that. He listens, he shares, he braids my hair when I'm annoyed, and he gives me head pats when I'm grumpy. At least, back in Erna Isles."
Vastarael blinked. "I do not—"
"You literally pat my head when I'm grumpy," she smirked, flicking his forehead. "But the only thing we're all worried about is that you'll do some crazy self-sacrifice thing again. You've done it before. And if you even try it again…"
"You'll knock me out."
"Exactly."
A light laugh echoed around the room, softening the weight of the earlier talks.
"Anyway, you two—" she pointed lazily with a finger toward Eldrigan and Peroncerea, then Xander and Farrynelle, "—have a lot of time to figure yourselves out. Especially since we're heading to the Islands of Inexpelcae. That means you have space to think. And if any of you fall into an argument, you better come to us."
"Us?" Peroncerea wondered.
Elyonari smirked, gesturing to herself, Narisva, and Adelasta.
"Or Veneri. He's oddly good at relationship repair. Probably because he's always on the verge of destroying himself and we have to intervene."
"That's not fair," Vastarael grunted, slumping slightly.
"It is," Adelasta deadpanned from behind a book.
Vastarael rolled his eyes but lifted a hand and pointed toward Xander and Eldrigan.
"Look. If either of you have an argument with your beloveds, come to me. Trust me. The only arguments I ever get into with mine are when I almost die. Like literally dying because I gave my soul to protect everyone give years ago. That sort of thing."
Narisva hummed. "You did do that. Idiot."
"I got better."
Adelasta stood, brushing nonexistent dust from her dark robes. Her expression shifted back to seriousness.
"Alright. With that little romantic detour resolved, let's get back to business. The trip begins tomorrow morning."
Vastarael groaned but stood as well.
"Yeah, I know. It'll take us at least a week to get to the Inexpelcae Isles. Best case scenario that is."
"Worst case?" Eldrigan asked.
"Storms. Sea monsters. Waves. Things that even we, the Seventh Enlightenment can't brute force. So all of you need to sleep. Rest while you can. Xander, Eldrigan, take tonight. Talk to your women properly. Settle things. Farrynelle and Peroncerea, same goes for you."
He glanced toward the twins.
"Natalis, Denisia, you're the only ones still single, so you can stay awake and do whatever you want."
The twins smirked mischievously.
"We could join your little beloved group," Natalis teased, fluttering her lashes dramatically.
Denisia chimed in with a fake innocent smile. "I mean, if you need more love and affection—"
"No," Vastarael said immediately, raising a hand like a brick wall. "Absolutely not. Not now. Not ever."
The room went silent for a beat before bursting into laughter.
"I see you both as friends and that's exactly what it'll stay as. I don't care what timeline we're in, what cosmic paradox shows up, or if the universe itself rewrites fate. It's not happening."
"Aww," Denisia pouted. "He didn't even hesitate."
"Brutal," Natalis said, pretending to wipe a tear.
Narisva laughed, leaning into the wall, her new scythe resting beside her.
"I think you just broke their hearts, Veneri."
"They'll live," he said, heading toward the massive stairway.
"And you?" Elyonari asked, watching him go.
He glanced back over his shoulder with a small, genuine smile.
"I'm going to sleep too. I know Divines don't need it… but peace of mind isn't something you can force. And tonight, I want that peace."
He paused at the top of the stairs, looking down at all of them one last time before vanishing into the hallway's darkness.
"You should all want that too. We leave at sunrise."
------
Mystic lights floated near the ceiling like soft fireflies, bathing the room in gentle blues and silvers. Vastarael sat on the edge of his bed, slowly untying his hair from the messy ponytail it had been in all day. Strands of moonlight bounced off his curls and for once, his face looked genuinely exhausted. Not physically though. His Divine body never tired the way mortals did. But mentally? He felt like a cracked sapphire, polished on the outside but still fracturing on the inside from carrying too much weight for too long.
After all, he still wasn't healed from the blessing thing. His physical self was but his mental state wasn't.
He pulled the navy-blue covers over his lap and lay down fully on the oversized bed, staring up at the ceiling glyphs that glowed faintly above. His arms tucked behind his head, he let out a soft sigh.
"Could I ask all three of them to sleep on the same bed one day? Nah. They'd rather kill me first."
With a single clap of his hands, the mystic lights dimmed and blinked out one by one, until only moonlight remained, casting silver across the side of his jaw and neck. Then came the sound of the door creaking open. He didn't even move his head. He just listened. The bed dipped gently beside him. He felt the soft press of a shoulder, the shift of weight as someone settled in next to him..
He scoffed, his eyes still closed. "Missed me that much, huh?"
Adelasta didn't hesitate. "I did."
He opened his eyes and looked at her sideways. She was curled on her side, facing him, in one of his long shirts, probably something she had for a long time. Her hair was tied up lazily, strands falling into her eyes. She looked both exhausted and peaceful.
"I spent days watching you spoil the other two and I got none of it. Do you know how irritating that is?"
He chuckled again, turning onto his side to face her. "You did gatekeep me from them for five years."
"You literally died in moon and disappeared. It's not fair. But still…"
He reached over and pulled her into his chest.
"Well, I'm back now. You can get all the cuddles you want. Just… don't stab Elyonari in her sleep.."
He snorted, brushing a hand through her hair slowly, his fingers gently detangling the strands that curled over her ears. "
After a minute of quiet, she murmured, "I think you saved two relationships tonight."
"I didn't save anything. I stabilized what was already working. Now they just need to handle the rest."
"You were being annoying again though. The whole 'you'll all get bored of each other' thing? Seriously?"
"I wasn't wrong. It's just uncomfortable truth. They'll come to terms with it eventually."
Adelasta didn't respond to that. She just tightened her arms around his waist.
"You're warm. Which is weird… since you don't have a heart. Literally."
"Yeah… the Life Primordial tried to restore it, remember? I told her no. It felt… wrong."
"Why?"
Vastarael exhaled slowly, as if gathering the words.
"Because it was earned. The trial in the Obsidian Runic Spire wasn't something I passed by sheer skill. I lost everything to come out of there alive like my right arm, my heart and parts of my soul. I fought monsters that made even Divines scream. I walked out of that trial without a heartbeat, and I chose to keep it that way."
"Does it hurt?"
"No. It just reminds me."
He shifted slightly and tapped his smooth, blue prosthetic arm that one would think it was a real arm painted in a sapphire color.
"And this? I know it doesn't look like it, but it feels like a scar. If I had it restored to something perfect, I'd forget. I don't want to forget."
Adelasta closed her eyes again, frowning slightly. "You're weird."
"You didn't complain when I used this arm to braid your hair last week."
She scoffed. "I was wondering why it was so perfect. It didn't even tangle once."
"Exactly."
"Still weird."
"You love it."
"I do," she murmured.
The silence fell between them again. Adelasta shifted a little, as if trying to find a more comfortable position but then noticed something.
"Veneri?"
There was no reply.
She looked up and sure enough, Vastarael's eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady.
"You fell asleep again before I could finish talking?" She whispered indignantly.
Still no reply. She sighed, her shoulders deflating.
"Unbelievable."
Still, she adjusted her position slightly and pulled the covers over both of them. Her cheek pressed against his chest and her fingers curled around the front of his shirt.
"Goodnight, my love," she whispered.
Then, with a small sigh and the barest smile… she let herself fall asleep in his arms.