By the time I woke up, it was dark outside. It felt good to wear normal clothes after being in my armour for so long. Granted, my armor was super comfortable and all that time only felt like a day for me, but it was nice to have a change of pace. Kesstel’s barrier was still in place, so it was quiet. Quiet enough to pay attention to the item the Orc King dropped.

I sat cross-legged in my bed area, staring at the familiar, intricate circlet in my hands. It was the exact same one that every ruler in Vapria wore.

“How did the Orc King drop this?” I asked Goddess. “King Terra was wearing it when he turned into a Blood Mist.”

I don’t know, Goddess answered back. Technically, it should have been that Katharian that acquired it when he killed the Blood Mist form of my young King Terra. There was a slight bitter tone to her words. And acceptance. As much as it hurts my heart to see this circlet, I’m glad that you are the one who has it. You are, after all, the last of my children. It only stands to reason that you wear it. It’s not only the symbol of my ruler, it’s also the symbol of the leader of my Warriors. Which you are.

My lips curled in mocking amusement. “Well, I’m the only Warrior of Mist.”

She chuckled. That too.

Gently, I rubbed my fingers along the smooth white gold lines of the circlet, feeling the bands of metal that bent and twisted around each other then circled my finger around the fingernail sized diamond in the middle where it would rest between the brows. The diamond was clear, but the middle swirled, like there was mist trapped inside the stone. Just like my kindjal.

I concentrated on the circlet, and a title bar popped up. [Her Supremacy: The symbol of kings, the chosen official of her Holiness. Significantly improves MP. +40 Magic.]

“Her Will, Her Defiance, Her Supremacy,” I slowly said the names of my kindjal, my armor, and now my circlet. “A matching set?”

Yes. You would have gotten the circlet when you got the other items, but I didn’t have it. Her Will is an extension of me, so it returned to me when my people fell. Her Resistance was created anew for you when I merged the System into your body. Because the armor was created by me, the kindjal won’t cut it. It took so much effort making armor with my depleted strength, I couldn’t remake a circlet. After some time, I concluded it was better to simply improve ourselves, instead of clinging to past relics, so I abandoned the idea of recreating the circlet. She paused. But I am glad it was returned. I’m glad you have it now.

Still, I didn’t know how I felt about walking around with a crown on my head. There were hundreds of people who were better at being in the spotlight. Miranda, for one, who proudly showed off her circlets. Yes, multiple. They matched so well with her different outfits that it was obvious they were made together.

I just hoped that people didn’t think I was trying to one-up her when I showed up with this. I definitely wasn’t princess material, but I couldn’t not wear my circlet. Not only was it important to Goddess and who I was now, it was too good of an item to leave rotting in my Items Bag.

I felt Kesstel’s presence and instinctively put away the circlet, like I was hiding a big secret.

A second later, he softly knocked on the door beside my bed.

“Come in,” I called.

He opened the door and came in. After the door shut, he stopped and examined me. “You only slept for eight hours. You can sleep longer.”

I smiled and shook my head. “I’m good.”

He nodded then sat on the side of my bed. A moment later, he flopped onto his side and threw an arm over my legs as he half curled his body around mine. “They’ve decided not to look for the Las Vegas Portal until morning. Even though everyone here has good eyesight, they don’t want to put themselves at an accidental disadvantage.”

The weight of his arm around me felt so natural. Funny, not too long ago, just being near this guy set my nerves on fire. I leaned back after the wall behind me and shifted to a more comfortable position. “That makes sense.” Gently, I slid my fingers over the grooves that defined the muscles in his arm. “When you collapsed a Portal, it caused a world-wide Gate Surge. But everything was normal when I came out.”

“Nothing happened. I thought the parasite would throw a temper tantrum, but I was disappointed.”

I wrinkled my nose. What a casual way to describe such a terrible thing. A giant planet looming over us, ready to eat the planet we were standing on, was nothing like a toddler. “I’m not. Gate Surges are bad — especially worldwide ones.”

He shrugged. “That is true.” But he didn’t sound like he cared all that much. “I actually came back to ask about something else.” He leaned up on an elbow, so that our faces were almost level. “Who did you bring back from the Portal with you?”

So he really could feel Goddess. “How do you know?”

“I can’t feel it all the time,” Kesstel said, frowning, “but I can feel a presence around you occasionally. I thought it was a mistake at first, but there’s definitely something attached to you. Whatever it is, it automatically triggered my attack mode when you first appeared.” There was no reasoning in his tone. He wasn’t going to let me out of this conversation.

I’m going to tell him, I informed Goddess. At this point, there isn’t a reason not to.

He is still a parasitic Boss, Goddess argued.

As soon as she spoke, the blue in Kesstel’s eyes sharpened like diamond blades. His fingers resting on my hips flexed and released before he hurt me. “That. What is that?”

I trust him. I reached out and brushed at the bleach blond hair that fell on his forehead, using soft actions to relax him. “You’ve noticed that I get stronger when I kill a monster,” I started.

He somewhat relaxed his body and stared at me with undivided attention. “Yes.”

“Well, there’s been someone helping me get stronger. She — not ‘it’ — is the spirit of the world the Warriors of Mist came from. Every time I destroy an energy crystal, she purifies the energy in it and uses the energy to make me stronger.” The whole time I spoke, I kept waiting for my voice to suddenly cut out, but it never happened. It felt so good to finally talk about it, like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was surprised that Goddess let me tell him. I had a feeling she wouldn’t let me talk to anyone else about her, but at least I could tell Kesstel. “When I went to the remnant of that world, she came back with me. Apparently you can feel it when she talks to me.”

His eyes flared in surprise. “You’ve been possessed by a spirit of a world?”

I paused. “Ah, yes. I guess that’s technically true. I never thought about it that way, but she is attached to me.” I frowned, trying to think of the right way to explain it.

He scowled and sat up. “I don’t like this. Having another being inside a body is dangerous.”

I could say the same thing about him, Goddess responded in my mind. There’s no saying when this Katharian Boss will lose his mind.

Kesstel frowned. “I take it she just spoke?”

I winced. God, having them argue with each other when they can’t even communicate was complicated. And I didn’t want to be the translator. “Ah, yes.” I lifted my hands, trying to use them to get my point across. “But the fact is, she’s not going to hurt me. And she’s not actually possessing me. The System that’s helping me get stronger is a part of her. So I’m more like an anchor for her soul, instead of a body she’s using.” Did that sound any better?

No, Goddess added unhelpfully.

“Whether or not you like it, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s attached to me and that she’s the reason I’m stronger. She’s the one who’s taught me how to be a Warrior of Mist and everything else I know about fighting. I need her and she needs me.” I stated. “What’s done is done.”

Kesstel didn’t look impressed either. “Bringing her over here was probably not the best idea. I don’t know how the parasite will react to another world’s soul here. If I had an automatic reaction, I’m sure the parasite will too.”

I shook my head. “There wasn’t much of a choice. She needed to move, before she was destroyed. Just like you.”

He paused, thinking about my last words. Then he shook his head, obviously still not pleased. “She didn’t have to possess you, though. She could have attached her soul to a rock, after all that’s what she used to be attached to. A planet-sized rock.”

A rock! Goddess shrieked in my head. My Vapria — a rock?!

I pressed a hand to my suddenly aching head. “Kesstel, try to be a little nicer. She did just lose her planet. She’s also the reason you can go back to normal when you touch me. Her power is purifying the energy inside you, so you’re benefiting from her too. And besides, I like this configuration.” I took a breath and tried to take control of the conversation. “Anyway! Goddess is going to help us find and defeat the parasitic planet. Even if you two don’t like each other, you both have the same goals and we’re going to work together regardless.”

Kesstel scowled. “She doesn't like me?” There was a challenge in his tone, almost like he was asking, what was there not to like?

I rolled my eyes and poked his knee next to mine. “Who likes being bad-mouthed like what you just did? Not to mention, there's the whole Blood Mist thing. Honestly, it’s complicated between you two and it puts me in an awkward situation because you're both important to me. And I need both of your help to save Earth. Please get along.”

Kesstel pursed his lips. “I don’t like the idea of being spied on when I’m with you.”

I don’t have a reason to trust him alone with you, Goddess said back. You’re the last person I have left. Everything I have, I’m betting on you. I can’t comfortably leave you vulnerable to a Boss.

I’ve already killed a Boss, I reasoned back. It’s not like I’m powerless.

Yes, you killed one Boss. But truthfully, this Katharian is stronger than that disgusting creature. I can’t even tell how strong he is. Even though you're an S, I don’t have confidence that you can handle him in a fight, Goddess explained.

I frowned. One of the things I wanted most was to stand on equal ground with Kesstel. Proof that I had the right to be at his side. I thought I finally achieved that, but now it suddenly felt so far away. If Goddess couldn’t tell how strong he was, how many more steps would I have to take to get there?

“You said,” Kesstel muttered, “we were both important to you. But who is more important? That Goddess or me?” For once, he wasn’t looking at my face. Instead, he stared at a spot just past my left shoulder.

I blinked in surprise at his sulky expression. Not in a million years did I think I’d ever see that almost youthful expression on his face. “Huh? I mean, you’re both important in different ways, so I don’t even know how to answer that question.”

He shook his head. “But who’s more important?”

His insistence baffled me. “Why?”

He reached out and snagged my hand, holding on like he was afraid I was going to float away if he let go. “Because you are my everything.” He finally met my eyes. Even though he was still scowling slightly, his eyes were earnest and his ears were pink on the top. “But I’m not your everything. I have to share you with your family, Miss Emma, and Miss Wilks. Even though I understand and try not to get in the way, it makes me … insecure.” His mouth twitched, like he was swallowing a fly for admitting it. “The only time I feel like you’re focused wholly on me is when we’re alone. And now I find that even that can’t happen.”

I stared at him, completely at a loss on what to say. But since he was baring his soul, it was only fair that I did too. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.” I tapped my fingers on my thigh, wondering what to say. “I guess, I also feel a little insecure. I sometimes wonder … how you actually feel about me. If I’m your ‘everything’ by choice, or if that’s a condition that happened because the energy I get from Goddess enables you to actually feel emotions. Like you don’t really like me, but you imprinted on me because I was the only option.”

It was something that had been on my mind a lot, as soon as I noticed that our relationship was getting closer and closer. Especially since I was more than halfway … in love with this man. But it was scary, thinking that I was falling for an illusion created by something he couldn’t control. I couldn’t think of anything more pitiful, and I didn’t want to be that person.

Suddenly, I couldn’t look into his face. I didn’t want to see the moment when he realized that what I said was true.

His fingers brushed through my loose hair, tucking it behind my ear so it didn’t block my face. “It’s true that right now I can only feel emotions around you. But I have met many people before this condition happened and I’ve met many people since. And I’ve never felt like this for any of them. I can’t even say exactly what it is about you that draws me. Just everything about you is wonderful, from your bravery to your absolute loyalty to your loved ones, and it just feels right when we’re together.”

My heart stuttered to a stop then pounded a million miles per hour, and a blush burned my cheeks.

His finger hooked under my chin and tilted my face up so I could look into his intense blue eyes. “One thing I know is, my feelings aren’t forced. If I wasn’t naturally attracted to you, I would have always treated you like a friend. I wouldn’t be going in circles in my mind, wanting to be closer but worried about frightening you away.”

His thumb brushed across my lips, soft as a butterfly. “It took me so long to love someone, I just want to be selfish and hide you away so no one will take you away from me. But I’m trying to hold back because I know I can’t do that. I just want, whenever we are alone, for you to concentrate only on me. I want to be the only one in your eyes, if only for a moment.”

He leaned down and gently rubbed his lips on mine.

My mind exploded into fireworks. All my attention was focused on his warm lips. The feel of his large hand cradling my head. The feel of his heart pounding his chest under my palm. I barely even heard him when he whispered, “Please?” against my lips.

“Yes,” I responded and kissed him back.

*****