Footsteps padded lightly down the marble stairs.
"You're talking about me again, aren't you?"
All heads turned.
Vastarael appeared at the doorway, Narisva at his side, her double-bladed starry scythe still held in one hand, humming like a girl skipping down a garden path. He wore a simple oversized hoodie now, and his golden-and-sapphire eyes gleamed as if the moonlight followed only him. He only wore a long sleeved white robe. He spoke with a slight stretch of his arms before dropping onto the long circular couch beside Elyonari.
"I don't think too much about any of it, honestly. Legacy, bloodlines, whatever. I've literally been asleep on the cracked moon for 7,700 years. Technically, I'm probably the oldest person in this room but… I'm still nowhere near mature enough to have kids."
He wrapped his legs casually around Elyonari's as he sat behind her and began to braid her silver hair with care. Elyonari didn't even flinch. She leaned slightly back into him, letting his fingers weave her hair. She looked peaceful, even with the room watching. Then Vastarael's gaze flicked up, right at Farrynelle and Peroncerea.
"You two are gonna get bored of your partners one day."
One could hear a pin drop.
Peroncerea blinked. "Excuse me?"
Farrynelle narrowed her eyes. "What the hell did you just say?"
"Don't worry, it's not an insult. It's a truth no one likes to admit. Time changes people. Feelings evolve. And you're both immortal now. Don't act like one person will be enough to fill every part of your heart forever."
Farrynelle crossed her arms. "I'm perfectly happy with Xander."
"Same," Peroncerea added, eyes sharp.
"Sure," Vastarael said lazily, finishing another braid strand and beginning the next. "But are you complete?"
Before they could fire back, he turned to Xander.
"Xander. You happy with her?"
Xander raised a brow but nodded. "Yeah. She's amazing. It's fun. We're good."
Vastarael tilted his head slightly. "You ever thought about someone else? Anyone? Ever?"
Xander hesitated.
"…I've thought about it. But Farry wouldn't allow it."
Farrynelle clicked her tongue at him but didn't say a word. Then Vastarael turned to Eldrigan.
"And you? You happy with Peroncerea?"
Eldrigan leaned back in his seat, casual. "Completely. I don't want a second one."
"That's cute. But… it's not the truth."
Eldrigan's brow furrowed. Vastarael's smile widened as he looked toward Adelasta, who was already slowly standing up like a silent agreement had passed between them. She walked toward Eldrigan, who suddenly looked like a deer spotting headlights.
"Wait, Adelasta, what are you—?"
She didn't stop. Her pace was slow but confident, like a predator stalking prey. Eldrigan stood still at first, then started backing away.
He hit the wall. She closed the distance. Eldrigan's breathing became shallow. She leaned in, only inches between them. His hand twitched. And then, as fast as she came close, she stepped away with a sly smile, returning to her seat.
But the truth had already been revealed.
Everyone could feel his heartbeat and way the divine energies in the room shifted. He had felt something.
"You see," Vastarael said, resting his chin on Elyonari's head, "your hearts already know. You're just waiting for your minds to catch up. You're both still denying it, but you're already attracted to my women."
Xander looked away. Eldrigan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Don't be ashamed. Love is a chaotic thing. And I have the Divinity of Love, remember? You can lie to me, but you can't lie to it. I know. Narisva, Adelasta and Elyonari are more beautiful than you realize. Believe me, I know."
Farrynelle scoffed. "So you're saying we're all gonna fall for you eventually?"
"Oh, no," Vastarael chuckled. "That's not what I'm saying."
He looked directly at Farrynelle.
"I'm saying… you already did. Just a little. Enough that when Phaenora showed up back in Erna Isles years ago and got all flirty with me, you got jealous, remember?"
Farrynelle's lips parted, stunned by his words.
"You and Xander weren't together yet. You didn't say anything but I saw it. That slight flicker in your eyes. You fell for my looks, if only briefly. And that's normal. I mean, look at me."
He opened his arms dramatically. Everyone groaned.
"Not in a narcissistic way I'm just saying I understand how love and attraction works. I'm not stupid. I know people admire me. I don't abuse it. But I do see it."
Peroncerea's face was unreadable, but her eyes were darting.
"You've all forgotten something. I didn't ask for this. I didn't ask to be the last Aeterium. I didn't ask to carry the burden of an entire race. But I got it anyway. So yeah, I'll have multiple women not because I'm a player. Because the gods literally assigned me the role of a legacy-bearer."
He looked around.
"And if any of you ever find yourself confused or torn, I won't judge you. Because love isn't about ownership. It's about connection. And time always exposes that."
Then, as if the whole conversation didn't even happen, he gently kissed the top of Elyonari's head and said;
"Done. Triple braid."
She beamed.
Vastarael, still lounging behind Elyonari, gently hugged her from behind. His cheek rested on her shoulder, his fingers lazily drawing circles on her arm as he stared at Eldrigan.
"You know, you're actually in the same situation I am."
Eldrigan blinked. "...What?"
"You're the child of an Outer God, remember? Knowing how deities work, you being with a Demoness like Peroncerea isn't going to cut it for your mother. She'll come knocking eventually."
Eldrigan groaned and let his head fall back on the couch. "You didn't have to remind me of that."
Peroncerea straightened slowly, one brow raised, her tone colder all of a sudden.
"Wait. What do you mean by that?"
Eldrigan looked at her, conflicted. It wasn't guilt he felt. It was inevitability.
"I'm Half Eldritch and we're rare. Outer Gods don't have kids. They make them. They take pieces of themselves, soul fragments, bits of Divinity, twist them together into a form. That's not how I was born. I was born through gestation the same way my little sister was."
Peroncerea's face turned stony.
"My mother… she's a literal Outer Goddess. She follows Outer God Law to the letter. And sooner or later, she'll find another Outer God to merge me with, to keep the bloodline… stable. She won't accept me being with a Demoness long-term. Not even a high-ranking one."
Vastarael didn't even flinch.
"She'll kill you, won't she?"
"Yeah," Eldrigan said, "without hesitation if I refuse to take an Outer God as my wife."
The silence that followed felt heavy, especially with Peroncerea now staring at the floor, her fists clenched but saying nothing. Then Vastarael turned to Xander, and the gleam in his golden-sapphire eyes returned.
"But you… You won't be pulled apart by your bloodline, Xander. You'll be pulled by desire."
"What does that even mean?"
"I mean," Vastarael leaned forward, "you're not like Eldrigan or me. You weren't born with the burden of legacy. But you will be tested by what you want. And I can already tell. It's going to happen."
Xander crossed his arms. "I don't want anyone else. Farry's more than enough."
"Oh really? Let me prove it."
He reached into his Divinity, summoned his of Love Divinity and flicked it in Xander's direction. It didn't hit him. It didn't need to. It fluttered in the air like a tuning fork for truth.
Natalis and Denisia both turned toward it immediately. Their eyes shimmered faintly, their shared Divine Sight active.
"Oh," Natalis said quietly, a hand rising to her chest.
Denisia nodded solemnly. "He's telling the truth… but…"
"But his desire isn't fixed," Narisva completed from across the room, her voice low and neutral. "He believes he wants no one else… but give it time."
Farrynelle shot her a glare and Narisva met it, unbothered.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not trying to sabotage you. But if even I can feel it with no Divinity of Love, then it's obvious."
Xander's mouth opened slightly. "But I… I love her."
"No one's doubting that," Vastarael said gently. "But love and desire aren't the same thing. One anchors you. The other tests you."
And then he turned his eyes on Farrynelle..
"Tell me, Nelle… if Xander wasn't a warrior, would you have loved him?"
Farrynelle's lips parted and then closed.
Vastarael tilted his head. "Exactly."
"I—"
Vastarael lifted a hand, halting her as he shook his finger.
"It's fine. You don't need to justify it. But your mother had five husbands, right? She trained you herself. She knew that power attracts power. And that a partner needs to match what we embody."
Farrynelle stayed still, her eyes dark with emotion.
"Which means, you didn't just fall in love with Xander. You fell in love with the image of him. The warrior, the protector, the force."
Peroncerea shook her head. "You're making it sound like none of us know what love even is."
"On the contrary, I think you're all learning. And that's good. But don't rush into thinking you understand what forever means when forever hasn't even started for you yet."
Everyone sat quiet for a while, reflecting.
It was Natalis who finally broke the silence.
"So what do we do?"
Vastarael looked at her, his smile returning with a warm flicker.
"You slow down. Stop thinking every decision has to be permanent. Let yourselves grow. Immortality isn't a prize. It's a process."
He turned back to Elyonari, still braiding her hair with the kind of care that could only be called meditative.
"What about you?" He asked her gently. "Do you want marriage?"
Elyonari shook her head with a soft smile.
"Not now. Maybe not for centuries. Elves don't rush into things like that. We have time. Too much of it, sometimes. But… I'm not saying I'll never marry. Just not now."
Narisva nodded. "Same here. I love you. But I'm not about to slap a ring on it just because we can. I've already committed to you more than most mortals would in ten lifetimes. But I want to live, love, and breathe first."
Vastarael leaned back, exhaling as if relieved.
"Thank the stars… you all have some sense left."
Eldrigan chuckled. "And you think you do?"
"I know I don't. But I'm surrounded by powerful women. They'll keep me in check."