Natsuki's soft voice broke the silence. Her voice carried a heavy weight that felt hollowed out by distance.
"I always imagined we'd be reading for the same exams together, you know?" she murmured. "Since it's finals and all that. This is the first time I've studied entirely on my own in a long time."
Damon adjusted his grip on the stone railing. "I can still help if you want."
Natsuki chuckled, a faint, breathy sound across the telepathic link. "Regardless of how you want to frame it, D, we both know you've very likely got bigger stuff going on than your Earth girlfriend's exams."
Damon sighed, turning around to lean his back against the cool stone. He crossed his arms as he looked back toward the empty, massive space of his room."I wish you didn't talk like that, you know? I told you I'd always put you first. If you need my help, just ask."
There was a brief pause between them. On Earth, Natsuki's lips curved into a genuine smile. "I don't need your help," she admitted softly. "I just want it. It'd feel a whole lot nicer if you helped."
As Damon's expression softened, she continued as her voice turned slightly more serious. "But don't lie to me. You have got stuff to figure out… right?"
Damon went quiet. He turned back around, resting both forearms heavily against the stone balcony, his gaze drifting out toward the sparkling bodies of water stretching far beneath the palace grounds.
"Yeah," he finally admitted.
"What are you thinking about?"
"A way to fix the problem fast," Damon said, his mind flashing back to the mechanical body of the robot he fought while holding Princess Alya's lifeless body. "So I can pay my girlfriend an uninterrupted visit. The thing is... I'm not even sure what the problem is exactly."
On Earth, Natsuki's voice dipped into a low whisper. "Problem..?"
"Yeah. What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" she echoed, her words softening into a bittersweet whisper. She spoke out loud now.
"You're so used to problems now, aren't you? Your mind doesn't even register them as something wrong anymore—they're just things you have to deal with. I mean, obviously you know they're bad, but... I guess it's just me. I haven't gotten used to your world yet."
She paused, and on Eternum, Damon swallowed hard with his eyes dropping to his feet.
"Lately," Natsuki continued, her voice trembling slightly, "I've been feeling like there's just... there's an endless trail of barriers between us. Things we have to break down—well, things you have to fix. And it's separating us. Why are there always problems, Damon?"
A sudden gust of wind swept over the peaks of Woewyn, snapping the heavy curtains of Damon's room. He took a slow breath, letting the silence stretch as the wind died down to a whisper of nature.
"I've been asking myself the same question ever since Mom faked her death," Damon said quietly.
"When she finally told me why... I felt stupid for being mad at her. The reason was so much bigger than me, yet I'm somehow the solution to stopping it. You might be right, Natsu. Recently, I haven't thought about how absurd it is to live in a world like this anymore. The good and the bad are just... in excess here. So, I guess I'm getting used to it."
They both fell silent. On Earth, Natsuki's mouth opened slightly to speak, but she clamped it shut, her shoulders dropping as a wave of quiet resignation crossed her face.
Her eyes looked a bit dull, like his problems were weighing on her.
Damon tried to lighten the mood by offering a self-belittling shrug in a humorous way, "It's better than being lost here, right?"
Across the vast expanse of everything, the gentle lap of the ocean waves echoed faintly through the Shard of Luminaris.
In Eternum, at a further distance from Damon, a group of birds with wings made a noise as they flew across the moonlit sky. Their shadows moved over the royal gardens.
Natsuki closed her eyes for a brief second and took a deep breath of the cool air in her bedroom. 'I shouldn't have brought it up,' she thought, almost scolding herself. 'I was actually hoping he'd settle in fine. And… just… be okay. Now, I've made him think about stuff like that. I need to take his mind off it.'
She opened her eyes, her tone shifting into something lighter, laced with curious intrigue. "Hey, D. Can I see through your eyes?"
Damon blinked, pulled out of his dark thoughts. "Hm? What do you mean?"
"The first time you gave me the Shard of Luminaris, I was able to see myself through your eyes," Natsuki explained, leaning her weight against her railing. "I think I can do it again. So... will you let me see your world? Through your eyes?"
Damon's mouth parted slightly in surprise. He looked down at his own hands, then turned his gaze back to the sprawling alien horizon. The scars beneath his shirt glowed faintly through it, with a warmth that seemed to mirror his shifting mood.
His hesitation gave way, and a small smile finally took the edge off his jaw. "Yeah. Sure, Natsuki," he murmured.
On Earth, Natsuki smiled back, her chest swelling with a quiet relief. 'He's smiling… that's good.'
She closed her eyes tight, focusing her awareness on the warmth of the crystal against her skin. On Eternum, Damon mirrored her, letting his eyelids fall shut. When he opened them again, the connection locked into place.
Suddenly, Natsuki's mind was filled with the amazing and breathtaking expanse of Eternum. Even though she was standing on a regular balcony in Japan, she was looking out from Damon's exact spot.
Woewyn's night sky didn't look real; it was a messy combination of deep violet and midnight blue. So many star constellations packed the sky, they looked so close one could practically see them pulse.
Two massive, foreign moons hung high in the atmosphere, and they were flanked by faint silhouettes of hovering sister planets. The architecture of the capital below was staggering.
Spires and massive castles built by perfect architects shot up into the dark. Though they didn't look built, they looked like they'd grown themselves naturally, and some with veins of glowing gold.
"Let me give you a full view," Damon whispered.
Damon's feet left the stone floor. He drifted off the balcony, sinking a few meters into the open air, just hanging out there in the dark sky. Then he spun around, giving her a slow, full view of everything.
Natsuki could now see beyond the palace; she could see the beauty of the people.
On Earth, Natsuki let out a breathless, awed whisper. "Whoa…"
"It's… beautiful," she continued, her mind racing as she absorbed the sheer scale of it. "Does your world grow itself? It looks even better than the last time I was here, remember? During your festival."
Damon's smile widened. "Do you like it?"
"Do I like it…? I find it hard to believe it's even real. Wait—look down and to the left! Just past your blind spot! What are those?!"
Damon chuckled, turning his head to scan the horizon where she indicated, trying to follow her sudden excitement. "What? What are what?"
"Far over there! How can your eyes even see that far? Now that you're looking right at them—what are those fish? They're glowing in the water!"
Damon let out a light, unburdened laugh. "Oh, those? They're bioluminescent creatures. There are entire forests like that outside the kingdom, too."
To give her a better look, Damon drifted slightly lower, coasting down toward the massive, pristine lake inside the palace grounds. He turned invisible to avoid the attention of guards patrolling the place. He hovered just above the surface, showing her the creature up close.
The fish cut through the dark currents like streaks of silver, leaving ripples of neon blue behind them.
"I wonder if Earth could ever be like this if we just let nature evolve," Natsuki whispered, completely captivated. "It must feel nice living in a place like this, right?"
Damon kept his eyes on the water, but his thoughts were entirely on her. "It's alright. But, in my eyes, you look a lot better. So it's nicer to be with you instead."
Back on her balcony in Japan, a light breeze brushed past as Natsuki's cheeks warmed. She glanced down at her casual clothes, fingers tapping the cold railing as a soft giggle slipped out. "You really know how to make a girl's heart flutter," she teased, her voice vibrating with affection. "You and your sweet tongue."
Damon smiled for a second, but his face grew softly serious again, "Natsuki, I… I wanted to apologise for something."
"What—What is it?" Natsuki asked curiously.
Before he could answer, a sudden burst of loud voices erupted from a lower sector outside Damon's palace; a chaotic combo of shouts that made it impossible to tell if it was just a rowdy celebration or the beginning of a dangerous conflict.
Damon ignored the noise and focused entirely on the girl in his mind.
"I know you'll say it's okay, but you should still know I really am sorry. For not being there when you need me most. I know you're gonna say I have more important stuff to worry about... but for the past year, you've been the only unchanging, stable thing in my life."
A familiar, cocky smirk came back to his face. "Except for the fact that you've been getting hotter lately."
They both burst out laughing, breaking the lingering tension.
"Well, I'm not the only one," Natsuki shot back playfully. "I think you're the one rubbing off on me."
Damon chuckled lightly and paused.
The high wind brushed his face, tossing his hair and tugging at his coat. He closed his eyes, letting the moment steady him as he threaded his hand through his hair backwards, before he spoke with quiet certainty.
"I'll make it up to you, Natsuki. It might take a while… but I will make it up to you."
Natsuki didn't exactly smile this time. Instead, an expression of profound hope and deep satisfaction settled over her features. "You just have to be with me, Damon. I don't… I don't want much except us. Just us, with no interruptions."
She paused, a mischievous glint entering her eyes. "Though... I also wouldn't mind if you gave me a few of Woewyn's supplements. You know, to get stronger."
Damon's jaw practically dropped. "Oh, like what? Steroids? You want to be a muscle mommy now? I didn't know you were into that."
"What?! No! I don't want to be that muscular!"
Damon laughed loudly, the sound echoing over the palace lake. "Oh, so what then? HGH? Peptides?"
"No! You know exactly what I mean, idiot!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Damon laughed, shaking his head. "I'll get you some, if I can 'cause they might be too much for your body. What are you doing now?"
Natsuki turned around, climbing back inside her bedroom and pulling the thick blankets of her bed over her shoulders, though she still held the shard necklace in her palm.
"I'm preparing to go to sleep," she said as she took out her earpiece.
Damon frowned. "Huh? It's only past 8 PM, right? I thought I told you the time on Earth and Eternum had already aligned?"
"Yeah, you did. But that's no reason not to sleep early," Natsuki explained, adjusting her pillow. "I want to get nine hours of sleep, but there's no way to do it without breaking up the cycle because I have to wake up in the middle of the night to study. So I have to sleep. Okay?"
Damons expression softened into an admiring smile. "Of course."
"Why are you smiling?" Natsuki asked.
"Well, it's just… I admire how much you work to achieve your dreams. It's inspiring, " Damon said, smiling at Natsuki.
Natsuki giggled, burying her face slightly in her pillow. "Well, I'm glad I can inspire you, Prince Damon Vale."
"I know you want to be a lawyer, " Damon said, his tone turning wry. "I've been having a lot of thoughts lately. So... Will you defend me in court?"
Natsuki smirked. "Better hope I can't make it to the basketball leagues because that's the way I'll end up being your lawyer."
"Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask you something I almost forgot, " Damon said, snapping his fingers.
"What's that? Is it about Daiki? He hasn't called in a while. That's because he enlisted in the US Army, you know?" Natsuki asked.
Damons eyes widened in shock. "Wow… He's in the army now? That's…" Damon let out a disbelieving laugh. "That's great. He's actually facing his fears. I was literally just about to ask if you've spoken to him."
Natsuki laughed along with him. "That's what I told him when he broke the news. He told me he's only joining because you fought a demon. He's your friend, so he doesn't want to be left behind."
Damon shook his head with arrogance. "Sorry to say. Even if he trained for his entire lifespan, he wouldn't be as strong as me."
"What a brutal way to crush a guy's dreams," Natsuki sighed dramatically. "I won't soften the blow when I tell him you said that."
"Please don't. I kinda miss pissing him off, " Damon said.
"Yeah," Natsuki whispered, her voice growing heavy with nostalgia. "Me too."
A comfortable, quiet pause settled between them.
Natsuki shifted on her side, staring at the shard in her hand that glowed softly.
She heard her little brother—Haruto— run past her door.
Her eyes brightened slightly. She asked, "Is that what you wanted to ask me?"
"Natsuki, remember during the Christmas holidays? I told you about cores, right? Eterna cores?" Damon asked.
Natsuki turned over in her bed, her brow furrowing as she dug through her memory. "Yeah. If I remember correctly, you said every living thing has a core, including me. To share a core from one person to another, there's gotta be a strong positive emotional connection. Oh. You also said humans could die from taking animal cores if their bodies can't adapt fast enough, and stuff like that. Right?"
"Mmhm. Is that all you can remember? If you tell me one thing, I'll get you a gift, " Damon said.
Natsuki let out an amused laugh. "Seriously? You sound like my dad talking to my brother right now."
"I always knew I was older than you, " Damon said.
"No, you're not. I'm your senpai," Natsuki said. Natsuki's face took on a look of determination as she concentrated. "I think I remember. Yeah. You said that to take out someone's core, you have to make your hand glow in your power thing. That... Even if you... What was it again? Right! You said that if a normal sword stabbed someone, nothing would happen to their core. But if something like your Eterna itself, then yeah. It destroys it."
Damons eyebrows shot up. "Wow. You actually remember all of that."
Natsuki let out a yawn, her eyelids fluttering. "What kind of girl would forget the lore of her boyfriend's fantasy world? What about cores?"
Damons expression turned calculating. "There's this girl. She's a princess of a kingdom."
Natsuki's internal alarm immediately went off. "Okay… is your mom forcing you to marry her?"
Damon scoffed loudly.
"As if. Anyway, many people here have gifts. My gift is being able to control my muscle spasms when I endure a Purge. Her gift is the ability to inhabit the core of any living being if she wants to. That's why she has the core of the ten kings of her kingdom."
Natsuki's eyes shifted deeper in concentration. "Wow… she must be very powerful then."
"Nah. Not really. There's a seal on her core to stop her from dying of purges from accessing the power," Damon said with a hand on his chin.
"Now her parents—the King and Queen—weren't helping us in the war against Gamishi until I forced their hand.. Let's assume they're still completely useless allies, and my mom is the only ruler on Eternum actually fighting. Assuming you had their daughters' core, knowing she has the power of ten kings bonded to her own, what would you do with it?" Damon asked.
Natsuki paused. The sheer weight of the question seemed to shake the last remnants of sleep from her mind. She adjusted her pillow, sitting up in her bed.
"Hmm… That's… hard," she muttered, thinking it through like the future lawyer she was. "Well, at that point, my ultimate aim would be to force the King and Queen of that kingdom to join our war, right?"
"Yes," Damon confirmed, hanging on her every word.
"Well… I'd destroy her daughter's core. Simple, " Natsuki said.
Damons eyes widened in shock. He stopped floating, his feet touching down hard on his balcony floor. "Whoa! Why would you—wait? Ohhh…"
"Exactly," Natsuki said with a voice. "You said she's a girl with the core of ten kings, and you said emotional fallouts break seals. So... I mean, c'mon. That girl probably walks on eggshells every day of her life. Destroying her core would be a relief for her, right? Then I'd keep her as a hostage. How long before someone dies without their core?"
"One day…" Damon breathed, stunned by her mind.
"Hmm... I know what I'd do. It's a bit foggy in my head, " Natsuki continued, narrowing her eyes. "I'd keep her as a hostage, take an animal core, and force her parents to sign a contract within the twenty-four-hour limit. Once they sign, I'd implant the animal core into the princess. She'd probably thank me for lifting her burden even though her mom and pops are definitely going to hate me."
Damon stared blankly for a second, then burst into a laugh.
Natsuki pouted through the connection. "Did I answer well? Was... That good?" Her voice carried a fear of failure.
"Yeah. You did great, actually," Damon said, his voice dropping into a register of adoration. "I mean, it's a bit on the bad side to destroy something so valuable, but you prioritised the princess instead. Though... It's not why I love you."
"Hm? What… what are you saying, D?" Natsuki asked.
Damon took his hands out of his pockets, running a hand through his hair as he looked out over his kingdom. "You just... You answered differently. Uniquely your way. If I'd asked any person in the kingdom, no one I know would have given me an answer like that. That's why I love you, Natsuki. You're just… completely different."
Natsuki's heart skipped a beat. A soft, radiant smile spread across her face as she sank back beneath her covers, pulling the duvet up to her chin.
The room around her was completely dark, now illuminated by the faint silver moonlight cutting through her window.
She closed her eyes, her voice dropping into a sleepy whisper. "I love you too... My Dawn."
Damon felt the warmth bloom in his chest. "Dawn… my nickname."
"You always blush when I call you that, " she murmured, her breathing slowing down.
Damons face burned hot in the Eternum night. "No, I don't."
Natsuki let out an exhausted giggle. "Yeah, you do."
Damon reflexively raised a hand, covering his face lightly in the privacy of his balcony.
"Don't cover it, Damon," Natsuki whispered, her consciousness beginning to drift. "You look nice like that. It's like… when you blush like that, to me, it feels the same way you feel when you see the sun break through after a heavy rain, you know? It looks good. And cute."
Damon stared forward with eyes watching the blue light of the bioluminescent fish dancing in the dark currents below. The crimson colour on his cheeks deepened.
"Goodnight, Damon. I love you," she breathed.
"Yeah. I love you too. Goodnight, Natsuki."
"Use my nickname."
Damon chuckled softly. His voice was gentle. "Goodnight, my Sun. Sleep well. I'll talk to you later."
Natsuki smiled, and the shard's connection slowly faded.
On Earth, Natsuki curled up to the warmth of her bed and moved her duvet over her head. She held the Shard of Luminaris tightly and spoke words that were barely a whisper.
'It's good to see he's settling nicely. But I wish he were beside me right now. Come home soon, D.'
On Eternum, Damon lay on his bed, and he let out a groan.
"Ughhh…"
He rolled onto his back and stared at the gold-lined chandelier.
'I miss her so much, even though we just spoke.' He thought as his chest ached in a hollow bitterness.
'I haven't held her in so long, and it's all my fault[1]. What am I even doing on Eternum? Just waiting for Gamishi to attack? What if it's already too late? If he attacked right now... he'd kill me, and that's not even a joke. I'm not even strong enough to fight him and haven't even moved yet, then there's the situation with Kagarth. His not moving yet gives me time to train, yet the longer I take, the longer Natsuki has to wait.'
Damon exhaled a ragged breath. 'You were right, Natsuki. It feels like there's always something... always some form of… bullshit, stopping us from seeing each other. I finally thought I'd be able to focus on training to fight Gamishi, and now Kagarth wants to attack?'
He paused his thoughts as his eyes narrowed in exhaustion. 'Is it really too much to ask... to just leave us alone? I wish I could—'
CRACK.
An explosion detonated inside Damon's chest, and he inhaled sharply in agony like a drowning victim.
Every cell in his body seemed instantly to catch fire. The suddenness was catastrophic, without warning, build-up, or mercy. His eyes snapped wide, and his pupils shrank. A violent pulse of Eterna ripped through his nervous system.
"AGHH—! URGH—!"
A raw scream was torn from Damon's throat. His spine arched off the bed. Every cell felt like it'd caught fire. His veins erupted into a neon-blue glow. It felt like his blood was lava, and it scorched him internally.
Through the agony, he noticed Daichi shift.
Damon clamped a hand over his mouth and buried his violent surge of muffled screams.
With a brutal effort of raw willpower, he dragged his convulsing body off the bed, and he hit the floor with a loud thud, which he tried to silence. He crawled to the bathroom, panicking, and locked the door as his muscles contracted savagely.
Then his muscles in. The muscles on his bicep, crawling down to his entire arm began to grow grotesquely. Damon forced them back to normal with a groan amidst his pain and began breathing heavily.
He ripped the earpods from his ears, cutting the music mid-beat, and let them drop to the floor beside him.
Trapped in the room, his bones felt like they were splintering and being forced back together without care for his consent, without waiting or build-up. Damon slammed his fist into the tile and used the impact to anchor his consciousness.
Sweat ran down his face, and blood spilled from his mouth. He clamped his teeth together.
Fighting the torture, he forced his Eterna inward as he desperately pushed the wild energy back into his core. Slowly, he managed to push himself up onto one knee. His chest heaved, subtle tears blurred his vision, and he gasped for air against the quiet bathroom floor.
He rested his forehead on his forearm against the wall and breathed heavily. He opened the door slightly to check Daichi; the hound was still in sleep.
He sat, resting his back on the wall and almost slamming the back of his head to it.
"Seriously… a freaking purge.
[1] It's only been a few days 😅😅