Kai turned off his computer after another long night of gaming and crawled between his sheets, kicking an empty pizza box off his bed and sinking into his pillow with a deep sigh.
It had been a week since his breakup—a week he spent doing nothing but playing video games and eating pizza, like he had before Vira showed up at his window.
Curled up with the blanket and staring at the ceiling, he tried to fall asleep but failed. He had almost nodded off on his keyboard just a minute ago, but now that he was in bed, without the distraction of the game running on his monitor, his mind had room to wander. And, much to his dismay, wander it did, replaying—as it had done for the past week—the memory of his last night with Maria, over and over, tormenting him with thoughts of all the things he should have said and done to keep her with him.
It was pointless; there was no way to change the past, and no answer he could come up with would improve the present.
He was alone—his heart broken, his bed cold, his soul empty.
I just want to be loved, like everybody else… is that too much to ask? He thought, tossing and turning in his bed for what felt like hours.
Then, a bright light sparked to life within his room, disrupting his thoughts, and he rose to sit, his eyes squinting at the blinding glow. His computer monitor was on, despite the fact that he had turned off his PC, and silhouetted by its light was a woman sitting in his chair.
"Vira?" he asked, struggling to spot the woman's features in the dark.
"You can call me that if you want," the woman said, her voice low and sensual.
A chill went down his spine, his heart racing. "Who… who are you?"
The woman rose from the chair, her silhouette cutting a fine hourglass figure. "Me?" She put her knee on the side of the bed and began prowling toward him on all fours, more of her features becoming visible as she drew near. Her skin was a pale shade of violet, her ears pointy like Vira's, and her full lips were curled in a mischievous smile. On her inviting cleavage, between her breasts, was a strange mark, like an arrowhead, pointing down. "I am…" she whispered in his ear. "The woman of your dreams."
He roused from his sleep in alarm, gasping for breath, and sweating. A dream, he told himself as he scanned the room. It was just a dream. His computer was off, as it should have been, and there's no one in his room but him. He was alone… alone…
Getting up to wash his face, he began to wonder what frightened him so much about the strange woman. Sure, she seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but so did Vira when he first met her, and she didn't scare him at all… then again, Vira didn't wear a sexy leotard or look at him with such hunger in her eyes.
He returned to his bed and tried to catch a few more hours of sleep, but failing that, he got up and turned on his computer, starting another long gaming session.
***
She appeared to him again the night after, sitting on his bed, running her fingers through his dark hair.
He startled and drew away from her, his heart racing as it had the first time; only now he wasn't sure if it was out of fear or excitement.
"I'm sorry," she frowned. "I didn't mean to scare you…"
"No, I-I'm not scared."
"Would you like me to leave?" She got up.
"No!" he yelled, then blinked, surprised at the intensity of his response. "I am just… I don't understand what you are… what you're doing here…"
She smiled. "I already told you… I am the woman of your dreams."
"Right, but, ah…" he stammered. "What does that mean?"
She sat back down and warily reached her hand toward him. He didn't shy away this time, leaning into her touch, letting her caress his cheek. "It means I love you, Kai Holloway." Her lips drew closer to his.
"Love me?" He let out a short, nervous laugh. "You don't even know me."
"Exactly," she said, and he felt her breath on his skin. "That's what makes my love for you so… pure. I love you without reservations." Her slender fingers combed through his hair to the back of his head, then pulled him toward her for a kiss.
Her lips were soft and sweet, and her body moved with passion, pressing her curves against him. That's how strong my love is, he heard her voice, even though their lips were locked. No matter who you are, or what you do—I will always love you.
He lost himself in the moment, and when he regained his senses, she was naked under him, and he was breathing heavily, leaning over her.
"In return," she said, her amber eyes glinting in the gloomy night. "I only ask one thing…"
"Yeah?" he breathed.
"I want to be loved, too," her voice cracked, her eyes tearing up as she took his hands and interlaced her fingers with his. "Will you love me, Kai?"
"Yes," the word left his mouth before he had time to think, and when he did take time to think, all he thought was—she is so beautiful, how could I not love her?
She smiled, blinking tears of joy from her eyes. "Thank you, Kai," she breathed out a relieved chuckle. "I am so happy."
"Me too," he laughed.
Her legs coiled around him, and he pressed himself into her, surrendering to pleasure and desire.
When he woke up the next day, the Omen of Death was marked on his hand.
***
For the next couple of weeks, Kai lived happily, playing games and eating pizza by day, and by night… making love to the woman of his dreams. She was perfect in every way, knowing exactly what he liked and what he wanted without him having to say anything, as if reading his thoughts.
Often, he found himself thinking about her during the day, wanting to talk to her, to be with her, to know more about her.
"The more we know about each other, the less pure our love will become," she said one night, lying on his chest as he combed his fingers through her long, dark hair.
"But we promised to love each other, no matter what… whether you tell me more about yourself or not, it shouldn't change anything."
"It shouldn't, but it does," she sighed with a smile. "People can't always control how they feel about each other, and fall in and out of love whether they want to or not."
He considered it for a long moment, searching for holes in the logic, but couldn't find any. "You can at least tell me your name."
She turned her head to face him, her chin leaning on his chest. "I'm the woman of your dreams, Kai, you can call me whatever you want."
"Well, I wanna call you," he booped her nose. "By your real name."
She grunted in feigned annoyance and averted her gaze, blushing, her pointy ears drooping slightly, as they often did whenever she got embarrassed.
He stared at her expectantly.
"Hexaphalia," she pouted.
"Sorry, what?"
"My name… it's Hexaphalia."
Kai snorted.
"Don't laugh," she slapped his chest.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect your name to be so… unique," he couldn't keep the smile off his face.
She rolled away, turning her back on him. "You see? This is exactly why I let men choose whatever name they want, to save myself the embarrassment."
"Come on, I was only teasing…" he said, then frowned. "Wait, what do you mean by 'men'? Are you spending time with others, like you do with me?"
She got up from the bed, wincing and groaning in frustration. "I shouldn't have said that… but now I have, and everything is ruined!"
"Ruined?" Kai sat up.
"The purity of our love has been tarnished—don't you get it? No matter how I answer your question about the… 'other men,' you'll never love me like you did before."
He lowered his head, ashamed to admit that she was right, that his jealousy and insecurity had already begun twisting his stomach into knots at the thought of her being with others. "You're right," he got up from the bed and stood before her. "I should have listened to you." He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "I promise, I won't ask you any more questions."
She turned away. "I fear it might be too late… The damage is done, and there is no way to repair it."
His heart sank. He couldn't lose her; she wasn't even real, just a dream, but she was better than nothing, and he couldn't go back to that crippling loneliness. "No, it isn't, not on my end," he gently nudged her chin, bringing her attention back to him. "Maybe things can't go back to how they were before," he cupped her face. "But I made a promise to love you no matter what, and I intend to keep it."
"Are you sure?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
He nodded. "I love you, Hexaphalia." He kissed her passionately, then, as they parted, he added with a smirk: "Even though your name is very, very silly."
"Shut up," she chuckled, slapping his chest, which caused him to chuckle too, and he pulled her into his embrace. They stayed that way for a while, hugging, enjoying each other's warmth, with her chin over his shoulder and her pointy ears poking at the back of his neck.
"Kai…" she said, taking a step back to look at him. "What if I told you there's a way for us to be together… in the flesh?"
"I…" he blinked. "How?"
"It's difficult to explain, but… if it were possible, would you want to—"
"Yes, of course I'd want to."
"Even though it means leaving behind your current life? Your apartment, your friends—"
"Believe me, I won't be leaving behind much," he scoffed. "I'd rather be with you… as long as the 'other men' won't be there."
She giggled. "Don't worry, it'll be just you and me."
"You and me," he echoed, his hand tracing her outline, from her neck to her shoulder, down her arm, his lustful eyes devouring her naked, purple-hued skin. "And a bed."
She giggled again. "Yes. You, me, and a bed to fool around in, to our hearts' content."
"For the rest of our lives."
"Forever after," she said, and the words sobered him for a moment.
Wasn't Vira supposed to help him with that? Finding true love? Living Happily Ever After? But where was she now? Gone.
She failed.
And Hexaphalia was right here, offering him all he had ever wanted. Love—passionate, complete, pure, and everlasting. Vira's supposed 'true love' couldn't even be compared with that; her love had rules and conditions. It demanded things from him—to work out, to diet, to get a job, to change his wardrobe and get a haircut, to be kind and confident, and do all the other things he was supposed to do before he could become someone 'worthy of true love'.
To hell with that! He thought.
Hexaphalia… beautiful, wondrous Hexaphalia… she loved him as he was, or better yet, she didn't care who he was. If only he had met her before Vira, he could have saved himself so much pain and heartache. Their love might not be true, but it was pure, and Kai decided it was all the better for it.
"How?" he asked. "How can I meet you outside of my dreams?"
"There's a tram I need you to take at around eight or nine in the morning. You will know which one once you get to the station."
"Okay… what then?"
"I'll guide you when you get there."
"Guide me? How?"
"I'll be with you, Kai, as I have been since we exchanged our vows." She took his marked hand and placed it over her chest, between her breasts, covering her tattoo—the symbol on the back of his hand, matching the one beneath.
Vows. His lips parted as he heard the word.
His promise to love her, her promise to love him. Yes, he supposed they were vows. I am no longer Oathless, he smiled at the thought.
She stood on the tips of her toes, pressing her soft curves against him, locking her lips with his, and his arms went around her hungrily, pulling her even closer.
"Let us make the most of what's left of tonight," she said. "Tomorrow, we start our new life together."
They fell back into the bed, with her on top of him, his heart racing, his head pounding.
Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow, my misery and loneliness end. Tomorrow begins… my Happily Ever After.