"What, Embers, look, like?" Madison asked with an inquisitive tilt of the head when she and Daz had reached the garden rooftop of Castle Crowthorne.

"Do you mean the astral projections that represent how they manifested inside of me?" Daz asked back, thinking on how Mu had displayed his Embers to him some time ago.

Madison nodded. "Mmm. Am, curious."

Daz held his chin. "I don't really mind. I've never really checked before but I confess that I am a little bit curious too... Will you show me yours once I've shown you mine?"

Madison blushed a bit, apparently amused at his words before replying, "Mmm, will."

Daz smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I'll start with the Ember of Love. It was the first one I gained naturally."

He willed the Ember into existence and behind him appeared a large astral projection of himself.

This Daz was staring at a distant horizon with a look of longing on his face though a deep and powerful affection was hidden behind his lifeless eyes.

Madison was confused. "Have, Ember, of, Love, Also. Mine, different."

Daz was a bit surprised, though upon thinking on it he could only see that making nothing but sense.

'She's the person who taught me what love is, after all... I should have asked her what Embers she got earlier after earning the Ember of Edges. To be fair, that was only a week ago and I've been beyond busy with training my Ember of Digging and being New Earth's high king. Still...' he thought regretfully.

Daz dismissed the projection and summoned the one for the aforementioned Ember of Digging.

Again, a large version of himself appeared over his back but this Daz was holding Hamson in its usual root-slayer form as he constantly dug into a thick and coarse clump of dirt.

Madison would have giggled if her esper power didn't prevent her from doing so. "So, Daz, like. Wonder, if, all, ordinary?"

Daz shrugged. "Mu's were very obscure but as you said, I'm a pretty normal and boring guy, so yeah, they're probably all pretty mundane."

Madison pouted with her eyes. "Didn't, say, boring!"

"Haha," Daz chuckled before bringing up the next Ember to display; the Ember of Endurance.

This time, the astral projection didn't show a variant of Daz. Instead, a large wall made of diamonds was summoned behind him and many attacks repeatedly hit the wall only to be rendered useless as not a scratch remained on the crystal bulwark.

"Interesting," Daz mumbled upon gazing at his own understanding of the Ember of Endurance. "Not what I expected. It's kind of cool, isn't it?"

Madison nodded. "Very, cool. Like, Rimmy. Also, very, flat."

"Well, it is a wall," Daz replied as he glanced at his soon-to-be-wife. "Only two left now."

He showed off the visual representation of his aura of majesty. Castle Crowthorne's throne appeared behind him, though, strangely, it was vacant.

Madison squinted her eyes. "Why, empty?"

Daz shrugged. "Probably because I don't think there's anything kingly about me beyond the fact that I am the king. As in, the one with majesty is the one upon the throne, not necessarily me."

"Hmm... New, Ember, now?" Madison responded.

Daz nodded. He then connected with his new source of power and expelled it from his body, showing its visual manifestation.

The Ember of Empathy took the form of Daz sitting in a dimly lit room as he chiselled away at a hammer-shaped tombstone. This version of him had a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

This utterly shocked Madison. "Daz, cry? Impossible..."

He felt a bit bitter hearing that but he understood her reasoning. After all, he hadn't cried once in his life until this morning.

"I wouldn't say impossible. Maybe I'll get all emotional during our wedding? Who can say..." he suggested mysteriously.

That made Madison's eyes light up. "I, definitely, cry."

She then seemed to ponder over something before assaulting Daz with a very unexpected question. "Want, children?"

He froze but only for a few fractions of a second. His stats didn't allow him to remain befuddled for too long.

He approached Madison who was sitting with her back against the large oak which was the centrepiece of the rooftop garden. He slid down next to her, letting her shoulder lean into his.

"Before, I'd have said 'Absolutely not. The world doesn't need more Hamilio blood'. Now though... I realize that's a childish view. We have the means to safely deliver a child born with or without an esper bloodline, related to my father or not... Blood does not make the man, as proven by me and Rose," Daz said calmly.

Madison's eyes lit up. "Really, mean, that?"

He nodded at her so she immediately followed up with another question. "Is, possible! Can, get, pregnant, so, if, want..."

"I have looked into that a bit as well. Our species are incompatible with one another as far as insemination is considered but the system is vast. Medicine exists that can, in simple terms, guarantee a pregnancy. We would have to choose if the child would be born as a reaper, a wingless angel, or a human... We're also still not sure what happens to children born into this changed world. At least, not yet," he continued.

Madison nodded as she pressed her head against him softly. "Mmm. No, system, link, right?"

"Yes. Woman have given birth since New Earth was founded but no status, no skills, no class... nothing. The system is also silent on the topic. I think I do want to have a child with you just... not now. Is that an okay answer for you?" Daz asked.

The response that met him was a set of lips locking with his as Madison swivelled her body to straddle him. "Mmm. Daz, so, caring. Not, like, before. Better."

"I've always cared about you, but yes, I was less skilled in verbalising it and showing it," Daz replied as his hands found purchase on her hips. "However, regardless of the wonderful mood you've set up here, you said you'd show me your Embers after I showed you mine, didn't you?"

A playful look entered Madison's eyes. "Can, wait."

Daz didn't know if Madison had been trying extra hard since she knew he wasn't in the best of spirits after Sandy's funeral, or perhaps the setting of being on the exposed rooftop of the castle had ignited something within him.

Regardless, he could say with confidence that he'd never felt so much pleasure before.

'Did she get some skills to help with sex or something?' he wondered. 'I hope so. That's a better explanation than me awakening to exhibitionism.'

Madison had, thankfully, after all of the 'fun' showed her Embers to him. As the 42nd person in the world to gain insight into an Ember - the Ember of Edges, she had been gifted three entry-level Embers just as Daz, Mu, Crusher and Lindsey had.

Surprisingly, she had some overlap with him. One of her chosen Embers had been Daz's naturally gained one, the Ember of Love.

It made sense to him upon thinking on it considering her unending love for both him and his sister, Rose. Honestly, he was surprised he was the one to gain that Ember naturally, not her.

Another shock was her second free Ember - the Ember of Expression. Madison was unable to show any emotion on her face, only being left to use her body and eyes to express herself.

This was the price she had chosen to pay as a child after awakening to the esper power of Alteration.

Daz and Madison discussed it for a short while and concluded that she must have gained insight into the Ember since she was an incredibly expressive person with her eyes, and, despite her speech impediment, she never minced her words or failed to tell others how she felt.

'Not all Embers are straightforward,' Daz concluded.

Madison's final Ember was the Ember of Swinging. Thankfully, it had nothing to with being unfaithful but was wholly related to her sword arts, much like her Ember of Edges, Mu's Ember of Sweeping, and Daz's Ember of Digging.

All four astral projections for each Ember was simply a differing version of Madison. The Ember of Edges had her looking sharp and unapproachable.

The Ember of Love showed her with a radiant smile of benevolence on her face. This blew Daz away a bit but at the same time, it felt a bit like a painting, so it didn't truly stun him to see Madison's facial expression change like that.

The projection of Madison birthed from the Ember of Expression was similar to the Ember of Love in that her face was constantly changing. One moment, it was happy, the next, sad.

Anger, loneliness, longing and lust also made themselves known on her countenance, much to her dismay since Daz had more ammunition with which to tease her.

And finally, the Ember of Swinging's projection was a depiction of Madison bringing her sword up and over her head and then down to be level with her stomach over and over again.

Unlike Daz's own and the projections Mu had shown him, he felt Madison's were very simple and clear.

"Ready to help me try out my new Ember then, Maddy?" Daz asked his dreary-eyed soon-to-be-wife.

Shaking her head a little to wake herself up, Madison stood up and dusted off her buttoned-up shirt and her jeans before nodded.

She'd been snoozing with her head on his lap for a good while now after their 'fun' and displaying her Embers to him. "Mmm, try, on, me."

Daz, too, got up and nodded. He raised a hand and placed it atop Madison's soft head of golden hair. He then closed his eyes and focused.

Not a moment later, a trail of energy flowed through his body and into Madison's. Daz removed his hand and looked to Madison.

The process had been very simple, he felt, which explained why Mu and Master Soralo were such experts when it came to Embers that interacted with other people's emotions.

Madison was frowning pretty heavily with her eyes as she stared right back at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked in concern.

Madison leaned forward and held her chin as she scrutinised Daz's face. She even got on her tip-toes to match his height with hers and she cocked her head from left to right.

"Daz, feel, weird... Gloomy? Don't, like." she concluded with a confident nod.

It didn't take Daz much thinking to understand what was going on. "I can only assume I boosted your empathy. You can likely understand what I'm feeling emotionally a bit more clearly. Mu is always going on about how much I'm suffering, so me feeling more... gloomy? Yeah, that sounds about right."

Madison shook her head. "Don't, like," she restated before hugging him. "Make, stop?"

"Uh, sure. I should be able to though I think the boost would go away with time. It's a bit different to Mu's Embers which can forcefully extract certain feelings, after all," Daz said as he gently placed a palm against Madison's back while she embraced him.

He put some of his Ember energy into her and quickly located the strands of empathy that were mingling with her very being. Daz slowly coaxed them out and then merged them back into his own body.

The process had left him sweating and gave him a light headache, only going to show how much effort and concentration it had taken.

"That was a bit harder than I thought it would be. I might be able to permanently extract people's empathy this way. I dunno though if it would be everlasting or not and I'd rather not find out," Daz said. "It doesn't sound very useful since empathy is a good trait generally, unlike suffering, loneliness or fear."

Madison enjoyed the warmth of being in Daz's arms for a little bit longer before she pulled away from him. "Any, other, abilities?"

"Hmm... I think my own empathy is passively enhanced? It is very hard to tell since on a whole, empathy is relatively new to me and the Ember is still very weak. Only time will tell, really," Daz answered as honestly as he could.

Madison played with her hair a bit as she thought. "Any, other, Ember, test?"

"Not really. I've pretty much gone through the wringer with the other four already. Mu is really enthusiastic about everything Ember related and even Crusher has helped me from time to time," Daz explained with a passive shrug.

Madison pouted with her eyes. "Never, spend, time, me. Now, on, only, me, when, Embers. Okay? Need, Us, time. Need, Daz, energy."

"I have my own brand of energy now?" Daz asked with a short laugh.

Madison nodded enthusiastically. "Mmm. Very, useful. Recharges, me."

"Is that so?" Daz found the whole concept very amusing. "Does Madison energy exist?"

She flung her arms open in an affectionate gesture and responded, "Mmm, full, stock. Price, is, hug."

Daz shook his head and chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear, "You can be really adorable sometimes, y'know? I wish I could have seen this more clearly before the world came to a proverbial end."

"Better, late, never," Madison answered. "Oh. I, have, something, show. Want, see?"

The two separated again and Daz nodded. "Of course. I'm happy to see anything you want to show me."

He could feel the slightest of hints that Madison was both nervous and excited, which helped prove his theory that his empathy was being boosted by his newest Ember.

He didn't think he'd have picked up on these emotions before today, though he could be wrong.

Madison utilised some of her Ember energy and the next moment, the faintest of smiles crossed her lips.

Daz felt his heart stop and his eyes opened wide as he stared in shock at Madison. In all of the 15-years he'd known her, this was the first time he'd seen her lips curl upwards like that.

It was completely different from the astral projection of her Ember of Love. Something about this smile felt... inherently forbidden and radiant all at once to the reaper.

A few seconds passed before the Ember energy spreading throughout Madison's body disappeared and her smile faded, returning her face to its usually cold and icy look.

"Well?" she asked the still shell-shocked Daz. "What, think?"

She saw that the man she loved was just motionlessly staring at her so she felt a bit anxious about his eventual response. "Um... Ember, of, Expression, helps, lift, Alteration, restrictions... Can, move, face, muscles..."

At that, Daz snapped out of his seemingly enchanted state. "I will never forget that smile for as long as I live. In fact, I think it may have been the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I... I need to make a statue of it right now to capture this moment. You don't mind if I leave, do you? In fact, come with me to my workshop."

Daz grabbed her wrist softly and walked off, pulling her behind him.

A warm feeling encapsulated Madison's chest. 'Rose said he'd be stunned... I'm so happy he wasn't freaked out or anything... She was right when she said I was being stupid...'

Madison was happy. A lot had gone wrong in the past few days, but even ignoring the tragedy caused by the Truthians and the effect Sandy's death was having on the man she loved, she felt that both of them were growing distant as of late.

She knew he was incredibly busy being the high king and that even though he couldn't find time for her outside of a few shared evenings a month, he still loved her deeply. As shown by his proposal in Korea.

Still, it hurt her to not be with him so frequently. Before the apocalypse, they were only away from one another for a few weeks at most when she went to get trained in her swordsmanship.

After she'd returned to California when the system arrived though, she rarely got to see him.

Madison was beyond happy that she had now found a way to close the growing distance. Gaining an Ember was perhaps her proudest achievement to date. Well, just below Rose. A parent's pride knew no bounds, after all.

On thinking about it, she was also very satisfied at being able to slowly convince Daz that having a child or two may not actually be a bad idea.

That thought made her blush so she stayed silent as she let Daz lead her through the castle.

A lot of pain was hidden beneath both of their respective shells, but at least for right now, they were both ignoring the plights of the world and their own burdens to have some wholesome fun.