Arden was awoken by the rays of sunshine shining in through the window. It was a long time since he had woken up due to something other than insomnia. It was a pleasant surprise. Almost as pleasant as waking up next to Vera.

  He glanced at her sleeping soundly on her side, facing him. Up close, he could finally see just how much more beautiful she had become after becoming a protostar.

  She already had perfect features as a mundane, but now she transcended human standards. Her light part of her hair seemed a little paler, and the dark part darkened even further. To Arden, Vera looked like she put the ‘super’ in ‘supermodel.’

  Vera opened one eye and smirked at the blatantly staring Arden. She must've been awake for a while and just pretending to sleep.

  “Something catch your eye?”

  “You,” he answered.

  Vera closed her mouth and blushed lightly. Now it was Arden’s turn to smirk.

  “You've become even prettier than when you were mundane. It'd be weirder not to stare.”

  Vera quickly recovered from her flustered state and shot back.

  “You're also a lot prettier. Though it's hard to tell if it's because you evolved or because you were wearing women's clothes.”

  “Is that what you're into? Feminization?”

  She winked at him.

  “Do you want to find out?”

  Arden sat in thought with his hand on his chin, deciding how far to play along. Eventually, he slid out from under the covers.

  “Maybe later. Let's get something to eat. I know that Starborn don't have to eat much, but I want to.”

  Vera agreed with him and slid out of bed. She moved to the bathroom and grabbed a brush that Arden didn’t remember seeing the night before. They continued to talk as she brushed her hair.

  “How much money is still left on Cirai’s card?” Arden asked, wetting down his hair to try to tame it.

  “Probably not much. Honestly, I was surprised that we were able to pay for the room with it.”

  “I was more surprised that the receptionist let us in. Do you think we have enough for food?” He eyed Vera. “Or some more clothes?”

  Vera smiled and replied.

  “Oh? Do you not like my taste in clothes?”

  “Taste has nothing to do with it. These clothes were definitely old and worn, and while that wouldn’t matter much in the slums, I’d rather not stand out here until I’m ready. I still have no clue about what's been going on with my bounty.”

  “Makes sense. The cost of food won’t matter right now. Most places like this have inclusive meals. I doubt this place is any different.”

  Vera handed Arden the hair brush and he got to work brushing his hair. His took significantly less time than Vera’s.

  “Then let's eat,” he said.

  ***

  The dining area was adjacent to the lobby on the first floor. With it being mid morning, there were plenty of people eating there. When Arden and Vera entered side by side, they looked to the buffet where several people were dishing up some food.

  “A buffet again?” Arden muttered. “Hopefully this is better than the last two.”

  Vera glanced at him as they approached the buffet.

  “You’ve eaten at a bad buffet before?”

  “Twice. During the trial. And I wouldn’t even say the food was bad. It was really good. Just a shame that I was poisoned during the first one and stabbed during the second.”

  “I can see how that would turn the experience sour.”

  Arden looked back at Vera, thinking of the trial’s Vera who died on top of him.

  “Yeah. It wasn’t good.”

  Noticing the downcast expression on Arden’s face, Vera tried to improve his mood. She grabbed a slice of bacon and shoved it into his mouth with a smile.

  “At least you’re not eating those slum rations anymore. We’ve got pancakes and waffles, biscuits and scones, fruit, cereal, sausage and bacon, juices and a slew of other options. I can guarantee you won’t go hungry.”

  “How much did they pay you to say that?”

  “Enough to pay for a night.” she joked. “Now come on. Let's grab some food. We can talk about depressing stuff when we find Sya.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

  Arden moved around the buffet tables scouting for something to fill him up. He settled on making a plate with smoked sausage, assorted fruit, bacon, and a few breakfast rolls. He made his way over a beverage dispenser and got himself a small cup of orange juice.

  With his meal ready, he looked over the dining area and found Vera sitting down and waving him over. With a smile he approached her and sat down at the small table right across from her. Her plate was very different from his. It only had a few fruits and a sandwich she made. Instead of juice, she had a cup of water.

  “Quite adventurous today, aren't you, Arden?” she said, gesturing to his plate.

  “I don’t think so. It’s not like I’ve never had this stuff before. Before Sya and I moved to the slums, we were standard middle class. We ate stuff like this every now and then. Honestly, it's kind of nostalgic eating a standard breakfast again. I think I feel more nostalgia than joy, actually.”

  “I wish I could say the same. I’ve told you some of the stuff about my family, right?” she said in between bites of her sandwich.

  “Just a bit. They were mostly dicks, from what I remember.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “That’s a good summation. I call it a family, but it felt more like a cult. There was no love there. No special days. No time to go out and live. I was never able to eat food like this. Hence, why I’m taking it slow.”

  Arden took a sip of his juice.

  “Then it's a good thing we found each other, then,” he said. “You showed us how to survive, and we will show you how to live. I'm assuming you're willing to stay with us a while longer?”

  Vera beamed and nodded her head.

  “I told you last night that I was going to stay. That hasn’t changed.”

  ***

  A while later, the pair left the buffet and returned to their room. They didn’t have anything to pack up before they left, but they wanted to discuss their next move. Their private space was the perfect place to do that. The privacy was also necessary to go into their Soul Cluster’s without drawing attention to themselves.

  Arden was laying on the bed above the covers while resting his head on the wall to prevent himself from falling asleep, while Vera lay across him with her head resting on his stomach looking up at him.

  “So are you already at the level where you can perfectly mask your essence and your aura? Why is it that I can’t feel any Stellar Essence coming from you?” Arden asked.

  “Years of practice,” she answered. “Plus, there was something special about my appraisal.”

  “Does it feel weird? Having the power, I mean.”

  Vera took a moment to think.

  “Having the power itself doesn’t feel weird. Neither does the essence flowing throughout my soul. The weird thing is just how natural it feels. Like it was always a part of me, and the memory of how to use it was unlocked.”

  Arden agreed with her.

  “Though for us it's a bit different, isn't it?” he said. “We both had power before becoming Starborn. You had your ice sword stuff, and I had my healing powers. Do you think it feels weird because our powers changed a bit from what they were originally? I know mine changed in a big way.”

  “It’s possible,” she mused. “Do you want to talk about our new powers? I’m up for it if you are.”

  Arden smiled.

  “Can we travel to each other’s soul cluster? I want to find out what Satellites you got and show you what I got. I also have to check a few that I got right at the end.”

  “We can do tha- Wait.”

  Vera sat up from the Arden pillow and got on her hands and knees staring at him with an interested face.

  “You want to check a few that you got at the end? Does that mean you read your other Satellites before the trial ended?”

  “Uh…”

  Arden realized his mistake. Reading Satellite info was something that was impossible without being a Starborn, but Vera inferred that Arden managed to do that.

  Looking at Vera, Arden decided that it wasn’t a secret worth keeping. She could be trusted, perhaps more than anyone Arden knew.

  She was not most people. She was fine schlubbing it with a Blight Walker as a mundane. She readily jumped into a Stargate as a mundane. The first thing she did as a protostar was look for him. She was trustworthy in her weirdness.

  “That’s right,” he said. “Bear in mind, this has to be kept secret. What happened during my trial was insane. I’ll only tell you the stuff about my soul cluster right now. I’ll tell you and Sya the rest of it after we find her.”

  Vera nodded quickly with an expectant smile. She desperately wanted to know just what it was that Arden did in his trial.

  “Alright. Basically, the world was coming to an end, so the church gave someone a rock called a Godstone. They said that when it was brought to a certain place, the owner of the Godstone would inherit its power, which rivaled that of a god.”

  Vera laid down on her stomach with her feet excitedly kicking the air as he told the story. Her head was cradled in her hands as she stared at him and listened to him talk.

  ‘Cute.’

  Arden continued, trying not to get too distracted with Vera’s antics.

  “I was the butler of the prince who was given the Godstone. Some stuff happened during the journey that I’ll leave out for now. Along the way to the special place, the group was ambushed by assassins. At that point, I was still injured from the poisoning and being stabbed, so I couldn’t fight. Even if I wanted to, their leader, Nocturne, would have put me in the ground if I tried. So I ran after taking the Godstone with me.”

  “You took the Godstone?”

  “Yes I did. I wanted to get back at the prince, and it seemed like just the way to do it.”

  “Wasn’t that supposed to stop the end of the world? What did he do to you that made you want to take it?”

  Arden looked at her expression. There was no judgement. Only curiosity. Inside of him, Arden felt immense relief. He was worried that once she learned of his exploits, she wouldn’t feel comfortable around him.

  “Remember when I said I was poisoned and stabbed? He was the one responsible. He also did something else that…I don’t want to talk about it. Point is, he had it coming. Some time later, I was cornered by the assassins. Left with no other option, I swallowed the Godstone. Then I was pushed off a cliff.”

  Worry painted Vera’s face.

  “Were you okay?”

  Arden shook his head.

  “My skull shattered on a rock. But! For certain reasons, I had the legacy revoked before the trial, turning me into a husk like the doppelganger. Mortal body, immortal soul. In my soul, I realized that the Godstone was filled with Stellar Essence. I learned enough control to mold it into a makeshift Stellar Core so I could become an artificial Starborn so I could heal. With the Stellar Core came the Soul Cluster.”

  “That’s what you did in your trial?” she asked.

  “Part of it. The rest I want to save for when we get back to Sya. If possible I’d only like to talk about the full thing once. The less time I spend thinking about it, the better.”

  “...I bet it wasn't easy. How did you manage to keep going?”

  Arden looked away with a blush.

  “You can't laugh.”

  “Promise.”

  He sighed and muttered the answer quietly.

  “I was thinking of you.”

  “What?”

  “I was thinking about you,” he repeated louder. “You were the one who taught me to survive. If I failed at making that power mine, I would be fully dead. I wouldn't be able to see you again. I didn't want to disappoint you after everything we've done. More than that, I needed to see you again.”

  Vera didn't reply to him. She hadn't expected an answer like that. She thought he would say something about surviving out of spite or something like that. Him pouring his heart out was not an answer she was ready for.

  Her body moved on instinct. In less than a second, she was straddling Arden. She leaned forward, coming face to face with Arden, and made one last movement forward, planting her lips on his.

  Arden was surprised, but he didn't break away. He realized the night before that he wanted this too.

  Arden couldn't place the taste. All he knew was that it didn't taste of blood, and he didn't want it to stop.

  They pulled away from each other. Both of them were red in the face as they faced each other. Eventually, Vera cocked a grin and spoke.

  “You were right about your mouth being your best feature.”

  He shrugged with a sheepish chuckle.

  “It was the only weapon I had for so long. It's seen a lot of practice.”

  “I believe it. So, how do you think Sya will react?”

  “Better question. How long do you think we can hide it from her?”

  “Why would you want to hide it?”

  “Honestly? I think it'd be funny to just drop it on her randomly after a few months.”

  She laughed and kissed him again.

  “It's good to see this side of you again. You've convinced me about hiding it for now. She already suspected us before, though.”

  “That doesn't surprise me. She's the observant one, remember?”

  Another kiss.

  “What does that make you, then?”

  He smiled and kissed her again.

  “The pretty one.”