"So? What are you thinking about this late at night?" Will leapt up onto the roof of the villa their party was staying outside of Virve, where Grace was seated looking out into the night and the ocean.

"I brought drinks," he said with a chuckle when he saw her questioning gaze. He pulled out of wine made from a local fruit variety and poured it into two cups. "It's funny, before we came to this world we always had to sneak drinks, and now it's like everywhere we go they're practically begging us to drink."

Grace silently took a glass and downed half of it in one go. "Times change," She said softly. "A lot more is different now than just our access to alcohol."

"True, true." Will sniffed his glass then took a swallow and sighed happily. "But I think it's important to have some things to hold onto, no? Just because we're in a new place, doesn't mean we're different people."

Grace sighed and put down her cup that was now nearly empty. "It's not like you to be so roundabout, Will. Have I really worried you all all that much?"

Will tapped his glass, looking down. "I'm not sure how much I can speak for the others, but seeing you still so tense while everyone else is winding down has been grating on me a bit. I wish…" He sighed and looked out at the view. "I wish you'd open up a little more, to me at least, if no one else." He looked back to her, searching for signs of her response.

Grace finished the wine in her cup, then exhaled, tipping her head backwards to look up at the stars. "I'm sorry, Will. I really am. Ever since we entered this place, I've felt like the whole world is resting on my shoulders. And I know there's Max and Aaron as well as everyone else, it's just, I've never been the kind of person to rely on others, you know?"

"Maybe that's the real reason I drove all you guys to leave Aaron's party, maybe I just…couldn't bear sharing the limelight." One of her hands tightened around her thigh as she spoke.

"Eh? So what? So you wanted a little glory? Isn't that the same for all of us?" Will scratched his chin, looking at Grace.

"Isn't that the reason we all decided to fight rather than backing down? Because we wanted to be someone grand, because we liked it when they called us heroes, because we didn't want to let the people of this world down?"

"But Leticia and Almara aren't like that!" Grace immediately protested. "Not to mention Kelichi. Isn't that why we're taking a break while the rest of the parties are still hard at the grindstone? Isn't it because most of us don't really want to fight all that badly?"

"Grace, grace," Will put his hands out. "You're putting too much on yourself. Do you think our friends would follow you if they didn't want to? This is their decision. So what if they aren't as hungry or desperate for it as you or Aaron are? We're here because we're your friends, and we want to support you, don't take the responsibility for that decision away from us."

"But," Grace bit her lip, turning back out towards the city. She deliberated for a long moment before finally saying. "I feel guilty, guilty for not doing enough for the war, and guilty for pushing you guys too hard. I don't really know…where to find myself between those two things."

"Don't worry about it so much, we're—ahh!" Will had started to rub Grace's back to comfort her, only to suddenly pull his hand back as if in pain.

"Will?" She looked at him concerned

"Ah!" He choked out, his magic starting to run haywire as a chaotic aura started to roll of him.

"Will! What's happening? Oh my god…Kelichi!! Everyone!!" She started yelling to the rest of her party in the house, as she watched Will start spasming, his mana pouring off of him in hot waves of power.

Finally as she was growing more and more desperate, sigil rose from his body like a leaf, glowing with golden power for a moment before it burned out, rapidly turning to ash as it dissipated on the breeze. Then Will collapsed into unconsciousness.

***

Three gods sat in an opulent viewing room, munching on divine pastries, which they may or may not have stolen the recipe for from Earth, as they watched the quiet moment under the stars unfold between Will and Grace.

"Ah, it's a shame Ceren's not here, it'd be fun watching his reactions as his kid falls more and more in love with one of his biggest rivals." Verena, the Queen of Spirits mused.

"Rival?" Morpha, Goddess of Flame, snorted. "That poor excuse for a demigod should be grateful for even having a spot amongst our game. If Grace wasn't obviously the dominant partner in the relationship, I'd never even consider allowing her anywhere near his little prodigy."

"Speaking of, why is he not here?" Draugner mused, pouring himself a glass of whiskey he'd grown fond of since he briefly visited Scotland.

"Said something about business at his city, how should I know? These demigods, they only have so many incarnations to run around for things," Morpha grumbled. "And besides why are you here Draugner? Isn't your kid in another group?"

"I'm the maker of the system, dear Morpha, I have a little hand in all of these children's affairs." He gave her a demure smile, before something happening on screen suddenly stole all of their attention.

"What the hell's happening, is that…?" Draugner trailed off, the fingers of one of his incarnations suddenly curling around a keyboard in his soulscape, ready to recall his fragment at a moment's notice. I've lost one fragment already, I'll be damned if I lose another.

But his tension eased a moment later when he seemed to realize Will wasn't going to die.

"Oh, thank god," he sighed. "We'll have to tell little Ceren that—" He froze, looking at the horrified expressions of his companions. "What? Did something happen?"

Verena turned to him, her expression dark. "Ceren just perished."

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