Matthias stepped forward to offer his congratulations and then paused while staring at Darius.

That was no good. Hector knew exactly how little Darius wanted his identity as the son of Volithur to become spread around. It was hard not to know when Darius explicitly described his frustrations that complete strangers would think they have some connection to him.

Hector moved past the stalled level eight owner of the building to clasp hands with Darius, whose expression of exultation had given way to grave concern when faced with the full attention of Matthias. "Congratulations, D! You made it!" Hector then waved to Matthias. "Hey, this is my good friend 'D' from the tournament on Tian. You met him in passing once, but I don't think you were ever formally introduced."

Matthias unfroze. "It's a pleasure to meet you, D. Sorry for my odd reaction. For a moment you looked like someone I used to know."

Darius dipped his head. "No problem, Matthias. I like your building."

Then Hector offered his hand to Mick. "Congratulations to you as well, Mick. You're catching up to me."

Mick accepted the handshake, his smile growing wider. "If you say so, Hector. Everyone knows I'm just a hollow spear. It does feel good to advance, though."

Hector then turned to introduce Matthias to Mick. The two already knew each other, but Matthias took the opportunity to offer congratulations. While that was happening, Darius managed to sneak away, offering a nod of thanks to Hector in parting.

He noticed as Riley queued up to congratulate Mick and felt a stab of guilt. Stepping into the affairs of other people felt inherently wrong to him, yet he had turned both Riley and Darius into personal projects. So far he'd managed to remain uninvolved in whatever drama was building. Yet he wondered how much of his non-interference stance was driven by motivated reasoning, his belief in self-determination emphasized as an excuse to avoid awkward social situations.

He honestly did not understand what was happening between Darius and Riley. The two of them might reluctantly coexist for his sake. They could just as plausibly have some sort of awkward romantic tension. Hector didn't know. He preferred not speculating on such matters. If they did have some nascent affection brewing and neither was brave enough to act on it, what did it matter? Crushes came and went. His own guilt over Jasmine may linger a bit, but he no longer felt any emotional attachment to her. The crush never became anything real. Similarly, his attraction to Esther might never turn into more. He was savvy enough to realize the woman had many admirers, of which he was only one. The odds were not stacked in his favor there.

But Darius was bothered by Mick. So Hector would make sure Riley knew as much.

"Hey, Riley? Can we talk real quick?"

She turned to him, all smiles. Within the new environment of Tian Tower, she had blossomed. Her path wasn't one of power like his own, but rather seeking the normalcy she'd never known. A simple job that she could be good at, a solid circle of friends, and the ability to eat wherever she wanted. In some ways, his work with her could be considered complete. She'd been saved from the circumstances that held her back. In another way, he didn't think he could walk away at this point.

"Darius is worried about Mick's intentions with you," Hector finally said.

Riley tilted her head in a curious expression like a dog. "Why?"

"I don't know. He thinks Mick might have bad intentions."

After a few seconds of confusion, Riley shrugged. "He wants to have sex with me. Is that what Darius is worried about? I'm not worried, Hector. The girls used to say how every woman got paid for sex. Some were honest about it and some had to be creative. I'm going to make Mick take me to fancy restaurants. Two good dates before sex." She nodded as if she'd made a solid point.

And now Hector was the one feeling concern for his young friend. "I don't think there is anything wrong about thinking that way, Riley, but do you think you might be selling yourself a little short?"

"Why? How many dates do you think I could get out of him?"

He blinked. "Selling might have been the wrong word to use there. What I'm trying to say is that you might want to think about having a real relationship instead of something transactional. You're a good woman, Riley, and a lot of men would be happy to have you."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Why do you always act like I'm the naive one and then say things like that? When girls retired from the house, sometimes they would get a boyfriend or get married or work out an arrangement. Always to old men or ugly men or bad men. Most guys don't want prostitutes for more than a night or two, Hector."

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"You're not that any more, Riley."

Her too-bright smile faded, became slightly sad. Somehow he knew that she wasn't sad for herself, but that she had to disillusion some innocent soul. Like she was explaining to a child that Santa Klaus wasn't real. "That's not how it works, Hector."

"Riley, you're not damage goods because of your past."

"That's not how men think, Hector."

"Not all men are like that," he began.

"Hector, I couldn't get you in bed with me even though you were already paying for it. That's how it is. The good ones don't want a girl like me." She cupped his cheek with one hand. "I knew all this stuff a long time ago, so I'm not sad about it. That's just how things are. I'm really happy I get to live here with you and Darius. That's enough for me."

Riley's smile reappeared like it was never gone and she ran over to Mick like she was an innocent thing caught up in simple joy. For the first time, Hector truly understood that she was nothing like the face she showed the world. His dear friend harbored a deep cynicism. Worse, Hector didn't know that she was wrong to think the way she did. He'd eventually overcome his concerns about being seen in a brothel, but he never seriously entertained the idea of being with any of the girls who worked there.

Because he was better than that. Hector wanted to believe that his objections were pure, that he didn't want to sully an intimate act by paying for it. But he had to admit, even if only to himself, that he did regard those type of women less highly. Not out of some concern that they had too many partners and worried about how he might compare – he was too old to obsess over such paltry concerns. His objection, at its root, was exactly what Riley just demonstrated to him with her cavalier attitude to her situation. Being constantly demeaned could cause a person to internalize attitudes. And Riley most definitely had problematic views on intimacy.

Riley was broken. It was a different way than how Darius was broken. Less self lethal. But it was no less real. Hector's shoulders drooped as he realized he had no idea how to handle this latest revelation. He still didn't have any idea about how to convince Darius not to embark upon his suicide mission and now he had another psychological puzzle to solve. Except people weren't puzzles. They were individuals with the right to control their own lives. He wasn't comfortable manipulating them even if he did so with their best intentions at heart.

"Don't tell me you're sad you didn't advance," Esther said as she bumped shoulders with him. "You're doing the smart thing by building your overall strength instead of rushing to the next level."

"I'm not sad for myself," Hector said.

Esther squinted at him. "Who is there to be sad for? Life is good in Tian Tower."

He almost unloaded his burdens at that moment. But whether or not he carried them, those secrets were not his to share. "It's not something I should talk about. I just wish I knew better how to help the people around me."

"Oh my, I did not take you for a martyr, Hector. A little bit of a white knight complex maybe, but not a martyr. Maybe I should explain what I mean by white knight. Colloquialisms don't always translate right."

"We have the same phrase where I'm from," Hector said.

"Good. Then just accept that it's not your responsibility to go around doing good and fighting evil. You're just a guy. By all means be nice and kind, but you have my permission to prioritize your advancement and your happiness. No one else is going to take care of you, after all."

Hector rolled his eyes. "I have permission to be selfish, do I?"

"Come on, Hector. You don't owe anything to the universe. It's a harsh place that we make our way in. There is a nice community here with people you can call your friends, but otherwise your heroics are quite misguided."

"You fight in the Aes Reconquest, don't you?"

Esther shrugged. "It pays well and it isn't that dangerous for our kind. Plus it is phenomenal aura training to resist miasma clouds. Way better than getting squeezed by a domain in our basement. In half a year, I plan to return to Aes with others from the building. You should come with us. Just don't expect any of us to have pure motivations. We're mercenary about it."

"Yeah. I'll join you." Hector nodded in acceptance. That would actually be great. He had begun feeling like the dungeon runs were nothing but cash grabs on his part. The truth was, even if he sought out monsters in the dungeon, his contributions would still be nothing more than a rounding error in the grand scheme. Aes might be different. The world was fallen and humanity wanted it back. He could feel good about being a part of that effort.

"Good! Keep improving your aura and domain. And maybe buy more products from the cafe."

Hector laughed. "There's always an ulterior motive with you."

"You'll be so much happier after I corrupt you to be more like me." Esther playfully bumped shoulders with him again and sauntered off with a sway of her hips that he watched for longer than he thought socially appropriate.

Then he shook his head to reboot his brain and took an elevator back to his private floor. He settled in to cultivate in front of a window in a communal area and went to it. Hours flew by as he tamed chaos into cosmic energy.

The sun had almost set when something unexpected happened.

UNIVERSAL ALERT

Emergency on Eden.

Massive monster invasion on the Alfar home world.

See news for more information.

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