Helios had probably never been so grateful that coffins were closed and didn't reveal their contents.
The anger toward his father still burned fiercely within him — hot and unyielding, like a smoldering fire that simply refused to die out. Had he seen that man's resting face… he probably would have disfigured it until nothing but a hideous, pitiful grimace remained.
Dante took his hand as the coffin of Helios's father was carried to the grave by two guards. His fingers trembled just like Helios's. In that light, almost imperceptible pressure lay all the anger Dante was struggling to contain — an anger that touched Helios like a familiar flame.
Helios leaned against his lover, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Dante's fury was what made him feel completely calm.
Carefully, the guards lowered the coffin. Helios watched the process with cold indifference. If it had been up to him, they could have just tipped the thing over the edge — without care, without honor, without the slightest gesture of respect. Even if the coffin had ended up standing upright in the grave, his father's head pointing downward — he would have deserved it. And more.
It wasn't the first time Helios wondered why he was burying his father at all. If it had been up to him, he would have left the body in the forest so the animals could make use of it. Only because of Thomas had he suppressed that thought.
Well, at least in his mind, he could let his imagination run free.
He was glad to be getting this closure.
Over the past two days, he had only taken care of what was absolutely necessary, while Thomas had handled all the important arrangements. Helios had planned to do a bit more after a day of rest, but Dante hadn't let him out of bed, and Thomas had — more or less subtly — reminded him that even immortals needed recovery.
So Helios had let Thomas handle everything while Dante distracted him in his own way.
Not that Helios had any complaints — quite the opposite. He had thoroughly enjoyed it.
The result was a completely relaxed and rejuvenated Helios Vale.
He felt ready for whatever lay ahead. Whatever challenges awaited him, he knew that with Dante and Thomas by his side, he could face them all.
Even though the shadows of the past week still haunted his dreams, and he could barely fight off the sudden tightness in his chest whenever he closed his eyes.
His only real comfort was knowing that he didn't have to endure the pain and fear alone. Dante was struggling with it too.
But whenever the memories stole their breath away, they found peace and solace in each other's arms.
Helios had no doubt that, despite everything that had happened, their shared future would truly be a beautiful one.
Above all, now he was finally free.
Free from the chain his father had wrapped around his life all those years. Nothing and no one could threaten him anymore. For the first time in a very long while, his future truly belonged to him.
When his father's coffin was finally lowered into the ground, he walked over to the one that held his mother's remains. He had ordered every lily to be removed from the family grave. He could no longer stand the sight of that flower, nor could he bear its scent. Gently, he ran his hand over the white-lacquered wood.
Instead, he had laid his mother to rest on a bed of forget-me-nots.
He placed a wild bouquet on the coffin. He had picked every flower he could still find in the garden during this cold season. As a child, his mother had often woven wreaths from such flowers while they sat together in the grass. He remembered her laughter, the wind in her hair, the warmth of her hands.
He couldn't weave a wreath himself, but he was more than capable of picking flowers and tying them into a bouquet.
The guards carefully carried the coffin to the grave, and Helios watched in silence as they lowered it into the earth. The cemetery gardener began to fill the pit, and the dull sound of falling soil echoed within him — like the final end of a long, painful chapter.
At last you can rest, Mother...
A soft smile crossed his lips.
He had done it.
For all those years, he had steadfastly refused to bring his mother back to life. He couldn't even count how many times he had fought with his father over it. But what he could say with pride was that he had never once given in.
At last, he could bury her remains. At last, no empty coffin lay beneath her gravestone.
And his father finally had what he'd always wished for —eternity with his beloved wife. Even if it wasn't quite the situation he had imagined.
Besides, Helios would never join them.
He intended to enjoy his eternal life with Dante.
He had already made a secret list of things he wanted to do — kept only in his mind so Dante wouldn't accidentally stumble upon it.
It would be a shame to tell him everything right away. Where would be the fun in that?
Helios stretched extensively once the funeral was over. There were still a few tasks to take care of before he could move on to the enjoyable part of life.
His gaze met Dante's. He took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"Shall we go?"
Dante nodded. "Not that I really feel like it," he sighed. "Are you sure about Spider?"
Helios pulled a face, clearly annoyed. "I promised him. Besides, there's nothing I can do about it now."
"You'll have to see him every day," Dante pointed out with a snort. "Damn, he's already getting on my nerves."
Helios chuckled. "I know exactly what you mean."
___
When Helios arrived at the company, he was greeted respectfully by the staff.
He put on his professional smile, returned every greeting politely, and immediately made his way to the elevator. Dante and Thomas stayed close by his side, while three guards — whose names he hadn't bothered to remember — followed behind them.
They would have to prove themselves before he considered it worth the effort.
"The people will expect an explanation for what happened at the gala last week," Thomas said quietly without looking at him. Outwardly, he sounded calm, but Helios knew every nuance of his voice. He sounded tense.
Helios exhaled slowly. "I know."
He hadn't read a single newspaper article about the incident — no reports, no commentary, no speculation. He had no interest in seeing what strangers thought they knew.
And yet, he couldn't miss the way the employees looked at him: alert, curious, uncertain. Some with genuine concern. Others with so much respect it almost made him laugh.
Respect, or fear — the line between them was thin.
"Arrange a press conference," Helios said at last. "The sooner I get it over with, the better."
"As you wish," Thomas replied.
The elevator doors opened with a soft chime. Together, they walked down the long hallway toward the office of the company's top executive — his office now. There was plenty of work to do, and no way left to postpone anything.
It felt strangely surreal to wear a suit again. After everything that had happened, the fabric felt heavier on his skin than usual — almost like armor he had donned. Each step echoed dully across the marble floor, and every pair of eyes that flicked up to him followed his movements with tension. The staff greeted him with exaggerated politeness, as if any wrong word could suddenly become dangerous.
He mentally added it to his already long to-do list.
That was something else he would have to take care of.
They entered the office.
"Thomas?" Helios said, wasting no time.
"What can I do for you, sir?" the old butler asked.
"I want this room completely renovated. As soon as possible."
"Of course."
The moment Helios stepped into the office, he felt the muscles in his neck tense. Every corner reminded him of his father — the heavy, dark furniture, the scent of polished wood and expensive liquor, the wall full of framed memories in which his father celebrated himself.
Helios slowly walked through the room, and on his way to the desk, he turned over every single photo that showed his father. The scraping sound of the frames against the wood was almost satisfying.
Then he sank into the chair. Comfortable — unfortunately. It would have been easier to hate it if it had been uncomfortable.
"Are there any more facilities like the ones we already shut down, Thomas?" Helios asked, beginning to go through the documents on the desk — folders, files, reports.
"Master Vale had two other secret projects still running," Thomas said calmly.
Helios's mouth twisted. "Of course he did," he sighed. "I want every piece of information on those facilities. They'll be shut down just like the others. I'm not carrying his corpses around with me."
"Understood. I'll take care of it immediately."
Helios looked up and gave Thomas a brief, genuine smile. "Thank you."
Thomas gave a slight bow. "How about a cup of coffee?"
"Gladly," Helios said. "When is my guest arriving?"
"He should be here any moment."
"Perfect. Let him in as soon as he arrives."
"Of course," Thomas said, turning to leave. At the door, he paused, resting one hand lightly on the frame as if inspecting the room one last time. "It seems," he said dryly, "your guest is already here."
Helios counted silently to ten.
"Let him in."
"As if I'd wait for your invitation!" Spider pushed past Thomas without the slightest respect for personal space and stepped into the office. "Sorry, old man, gotta squeeze through here!"
Thomas's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, but he said nothing.
Helios interlaced his fingers, rested his chin on them, and raised an eyebrow as he regarded Spider critically.
"Wow," he said slowly, his tone laced with open amusement. "I never thought a suit would actually look good on you. It's almost creepy seeing you look this normal in daylight."
Without waiting for an invitation, Spider perched himself on the edge of Helios's desk, letting his legs swing as he leaned forward provocatively. "You're even more radiant in daylight than you are at night, darling," he purred with a teasing grin. Then he frowned, leaned closer still, and examined Helios as though studying a rare specimen. "Seriously, Helios — does your skin ever actually see sunlight? Or do you just reflect it?"
"When things here are settled, my skin will be seeing plenty of sunlight," Helios said dismissively. "More than you'll like, I'm sure."
Spider gave him a disbelieving look. "Hey, if you're heading out on another adventure, I'm coming with you!"
"I most certainly won't be going on any more adventures like that," Helios said firmly. "I'll be glad when all of this is finally behind me."
"Too bad. I was hoping for a little action," Spider yawned.
"Forget it," Helios shot back, his expression turning curious. "So? Did everything go smoothly?"
Spider grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks to you, I'm a free man. The organization couldn't get rid of me fast enough once they heard the Immortal Man had bought me."
"So that's what they're calling me now? I expected something more creative," Helios muttered.
"Well, they're working on it," Spider replied with a shrug. "The underworld's in chaos over the whole thing. Plenty of people want to find out if you're really immortal." He idly examined his fingernails, then lifted his gaze again, eyeing Helios with a mix of curiosity and greed. "You're sure you can't reproduce the formula?"
For a heartbeat, Helios said nothing.
Then he shook his head firmly. "No, I can't. I can't even say for certain what exactly caused my immortality in the first place — and unfortunately, our dear Patient Zero here doesn't offer any clues about eternal life either."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Besides, we'd need at least one vial of Ambrosia — and unfortunately, there's none left. Without the material or the formula, there's nothing I can do."
Spider cursed under his breath.
"I really would've liked to become immortal."
I would never have made you immortal, Helios thought.
"By the way, Spider…" he began casually, "who said you were a free man?"
Spider stared at him, wide-eyed and surprised. "Excuse me?"
Helios's gaze sharpened. "You may no longer belong to the organization, but now you belong to me."
"But my wish—!"
Helios stood, moving toward him slowly. Every motion was controlled, dangerously calm. He leaned in until only a hand's breadth separated them.
"Your wish was to be free," he said softly, almost gently. "But I paid a small fortune to buy your worthless assassin ass out of captivity."
"Uh, Helios?"
Helios grabbed him by the chin, tilting his head upward, and smiled — sickly sweet, dangerously so. "I'm going to work you to death, as long as your ass belongs to me."
Spider stared at him, appalled. "Oh no, no way!" he protested. "I've seen what people look like after you've nearly worked them to death!"
"Don't worry, Spider. You're resilient," Helios replied coolly. "You'll manage."
Behind him, he heard Dante chuckle, trying — and failing — to hide his laughter behind a discreet cough.
"At least let me be your bodyguard!" Spider pleaded in despair. "These hands aren't made for paperwork!"
"Aren't you even curious what your job will be?" Helios asked with a grin. "Because I have a feeling you're going to love your new assignment."
Spider groaned. "I'm not sure I want to know. You know I'm great at killing and—"
A knock at the door interrupted him. Helios glanced at Dante and gave him a nod. Dante went to open the door to let in their second guest.
"Looks like our second guest has arrived," Helios said with a satisfied grin.
He sat back down in his chair. Everything was going exactly his way. Who would've thought that teasing Spider could be this entertaining?
The door opened, and in came a still rather pale Theo. He seemed to have lost weight, and his entire posture, as always, radiated uncertainty.
"Theo! So good to see you again!" Helios said with a calculated smile.
Theo looked at him with genuine joy on his face. He truly seemed to believe that Helios was honestly happy about his presence.
If only he knew…
"Helios! I–I'm so glad to be back!" Theo stammered.
Spider eyed him with interest.
"Still looks pretty wrecked," he muttered under his breath.
Helios's only response was a silent grin.
At Helios's gesture, Theo stepped closer and took a seat in the chair across from the desk.
"You really feel ready to resume your work here?" Helios asked, just to be sure.
Theo nodded eagerly. "Absolutely! I'm bored out of my mind at home — I just want to work for you again!"
Helios's smile darkened ever so slightly — barely noticeable, but Spider caught it and smirked knowingly.
"Good," Helios said finally, leaning back in his chair. "Because you're going to be the new deputy director of the company."
Theo instantly went pale. "W–What?"
"You'll run the company when I'm not around," Helios explained, speaking as if to a small child. "But don't worry — my new secretary will be right there to assist you."
Helios gestured toward Spider.
"This is Spider, my new confidant. As I mentioned, he'll help you manage the company in my absence. On top of that, he'll support you with your regular duties. After all, I'm very interested in making sure you don't collapse again," Helios said with a sugar-sweet smile.
Spider straightened up, hopped down from the edge of the desk, and slowly circled Theo. He looked him up and down as though inspecting a new toy, then draped an arm over Theo's shoulders.
"My dear Theo," he purred with a devilish grin, "I'm sure we're going to get along wonderfully."
Theo visibly flinched and shot Helios a panicked look, as if begging him for help.
But Helios's smile was every bit as diabolical as that of his new "secretary."
"I hope he can take some of the weight off your shoulders," Helios said mildly. "Let me know if you need anything."
He pulled Theo along with him, the latter stumbling behind — half reluctant, half dazed.
"You have to show me everything and explain it all, my dear Theo!" Spider chattered as they headed toward the door. "After all, I'm new here, and I'd hate to blow something up — accidentally, of course!"
"W–What? What's that supposed to mean?!" Theo's voice echoed from the hallway just before the door closed behind them with a soft thud.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Dante sighed quietly beside Helios.
"Do you really think this is going to work out?"
"If we ever want to enjoy a bit of alone time, it had better," Helios replied calmly, sinking back into his chair.
Dante shook his head in disbelief. "Damn it, I still can't believe you actually did that. We'll have to put up with him every single day!"
Helios's lips twitched. "Spider will have his hands full with Theo. I'm quite certain they'll keep each other busy."
"You've thought this through pretty well, haven't you?" Dante said as he leaned down toward Helios.
Helios's gaze sparkled with self-satisfaction. "Of course. I love it when plans work. And I don't want the company to descend into chaos the moment I'm not here. After all, my father's legacy will keep us rich for a very, very long time."
Helios gently brushed his hand against Dante's cheek.
"Are you sure you still want to be my bodyguard? There's so much more you could do. You could do whatever you want, Dante."
Dante looked at him affectionately.
"I'm sure I'll find one hobby or another," he said with a soft smile. "But I won't trust anyone else with your protection. Maybe Spider — maybe — but otherwise, I don't really trust anyone."
Helios closed the distance between them and pressed a kiss to Dante's lips.
"With such a strong guardian at my side, I don't have to fear anyone or anything," Helios murmured against his mouth.
"I'll do my best to keep all evil far from you," Dante replied with a confident grin. Then he kissed Helios's forehead and straightened up. "I'll help Thomas with the coffee. Try not to set anything on fire in the meantime."
Helios nodded. "See you in a bit. I'll go through these documents while you're gone."
"Don't cut yourself on the paper!" Dante called as he left the office.
"Yeah, yeah," Helios snorted in amusement as Dante disappeared through the door.
For a moment, the room was silent. Helios sighed, then let his gaze wander across the desk. "All right then, let's get to it."
He reached for the top document in the stack and began to read. The first pages were nothing but formalities — numbers, approvals, reports. All painfully mundane. When he reached the signature field, he realized there wasn't a pen in sight.
"Of course not," he muttered.
He pushed his chair back and opened the top drawer. Paper, ink, seals — but no pen. Then his eyes caught on the intricate carvings etched into the dark wood of the desk. The floral patterns looked odd… or rather, one of the flowers did.
"What the…?" Helios leaned forward and touched one of the carved blossoms. The wood gave slightly beneath his fingers — a pressure mechanism.
He pressed harder. A soft click! sounded, and a narrow panel on the side of the desk popped open. Helios hesitated for only a moment before reaching inside — and pulling out a single, carefully folded document.
He unfolded it.
A short, disbelieving laugh escaped him.
"Of course," he whispered. "Of course you hid it here."
He was holding the formula for Ambrosia in his hands! It didn't surprise him that his father had kept the most important recipe close by. Though, admittedly, this was the last place he would have expected to find it.
Should he show it to Dante?
Helios hesitated for a heartbeat, then read through the entire document again, line by line, committing every word to memory. After that, he tore the paper into countless tiny shreds and tossed them into the wastebasket.
In good spirits, he closed the secret panel and returned to his work.
He had memorized the formula, but he was nowhere near ready to start working on a cure. He wanted to enjoy his time with Dante and pursue his new dreams.
He could always revisit the idea someday — if they ever grew weary of living.
But that day was still a very, very long way off.