The rebuilt slums were a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Even after literally all was lost, the slums were rebuilt to be part of a better world. Of course, it was actually the ones in power that allowed it to be so. People thought that power was the currency of a post-StarFall world, when in reality it was currency that was the currency of the world. It was how it was before, how it currently was, and how it would forever be. Without them, the slums would be little more than a mass grave with an assortment of eager grave robbers. But the indomitable human spirit shone through after the rich people gave their blessings.

  Not that Arden cared for the specifics. It didn’t matter to him. What did matter was that in this new cradle of humanity, he and Vera found a hotel with vacancy.

  In a stark contrast to the lively party taking place a few streets away, the hotel was quiet and quaint. Comfortable. It offered salvation to those tired after a long journey, which applied to both Arden and Vera.

  When they entered the lobby, Arden believed that the soft music playing here was the exact same as the music playing at Savish’s restaurant. But no, it must have just been a similar playlist.

  The atmosphere was like that of the municipal building, except it had much more life to it, despite the lobby being nearly devoid of life. Clean but worn furniture dotted the lobby, though all of it was currently unused.

  Arden stifled a yawn as Vera began talking to the receptionist, a woman who looked to be in her 40s or 50s. She seemed confused about the attire being worn by her new guests, as one wore light armor, and the other was very clearly wearing women's clothes. Regardless of her inner thoughts, she did her best as a customer representative.

  “Good evening, ma’am. What can I help you with?”

  “Hi,” Vera began. “We saw the sign outside that said you have rooms.”

  The woman nodded her head and typed something into a computer.

  “Yes ma’am. We have one room available, as the rest have all been booked. A single queen sized bed. Is that alright?”

  Arden and Vera glanced at each other. Vera asked the question with her eyes and Arden replied in kind.

  “Does it have a shower?” Vera asked.

  “Yes it does.”

  “We’ll take it,” Arden and Vera said in unison.

  Vera took out an ID with Cirai’s photo on it and paid for the room with what Cirai had left on her account. Arden rubbed his tired bloodshot eyes as a smile crept on to his face.

  The receptionist looked at them and blinked slowly as the payment went through. She couldn’t believe the shamelessness of the pair in front of her, using someone else’s ID. She gave them the key to the room anyway, as she wasn’t paid enough to take risks like confronting criminals.

  On the third floor, Vera opened the door and she entered, followed behind by Arden who flipped the light switch. Their room was small, but served its function as a rest stop.

  A single bed sat in the corner a meter from the wall with a window. In front of the bed was a small dresser with a television mounted to the wall above it. Next to the front door, there was another that led to the bathroom which consisted of a single toilet, a shower bath combo, and toiletries.

  “You get what you pay for I guess,” Vera muttered.

  “You say that, but this is better than how I’ve lived for a while. It has more stuff than your place as well.”

  Vera thought about it for a moment and ceded the point.

  “True. I got dibs on the first shower. That alright?”

  “That’s fine by me.”

  “Oh, and before I forget.”

  Vera opened her Status’ inventory and took out several sets of clothes and laid them out on the dresser. Arden looked at them. They looked like they would fit him perfectly.

  “When I'm in the shower, leave your clothes on the toilet. I’ll wear them once I’m out. You can have these,” she said, patting the clothes on the dresser.

  “Where did you get these?”

  She looked away from Arden.

  “I came across them in the trial. They should fit you, though.”

  Vera sauntered into the bathroom and swung the door shut. She then reopened it just hair and spoke through the crack.

  “No peeking, okay?” she said with a teasing tone.

  Arden shook his head and chuckled when she closed the door again. When he heard the shower start running he started talking to himself and began to strip.

  “No peeking, she says. Come in and leave your clothes on the toilet, she says.”

  He folded up the clothes Vera would soon be wearing and went to his clothes. As he put them on, he noted Vera’s reaction to his question. He only saw it for a moment when she turned away from him, but Vera looked hurt.

  “I guess I’m not the only one to have a rough trial,” he muttered.

  With the folded clothes in hand, he approached the bathroom door. He heard the sound of the running water and what sounded like humming.

  “I'm coming in,” he announced.

  He pushed the door open and placed the folded clothes on the toilet.

  “They’re folded and ready for you, Vera.”

  “Got it!” she called out over the sound of the shower.

  Arden left as quickly as he came. He wasn’t nervous from being in the same room as a beautiful showering woman, but he also didn’t feel completely calm either.

  He sat on the floor and leaned against the bed, not wanting to dirty it before he and Vera shared it. He was still picking pieces of table and dinner out of his chest from time to time. No way he was going to lay in that bed until he was cleaned of all impurities. It wasn’t just dinner he was covered in either. He had a week of viscera caked onto him from the trial, and while most of it was on the assassin’s robes, there was still some that leaked through.

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  He sighed and looked up at the bathroom door.

  “We’ve really come a long way, haven’t we?”

  He yawned and opened his Status, looking over the changes. He wasn’t even absorbing the words he was reading. He must have read the same line at least six times before he moved on to the next.

  He rubbed his eyes and gave another yawn.

  “So tired.”

  After staring into space for what could have been only a minute or an hour, Vera emerged from the bathroom wearing his clothes toweling her hair. She gave him a relaxed smile and he returned a tired one. She sat down on the bed next to where Arden was leaning and groaned in satisfaction.

  Arden reluctantly stood up and made his way over to the shower and shut the door behind him. As he turned on the water after undressing, he heard Vera speaking to him from just beyond the door.

  “Don’t fall asleep in there!”

  “No promises!”

  Arden stepped into the shower naked as the hot water cascaded down his body. With shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, he scrubbed for what felt like hours. He just needed to wipe away all of the grime. It needed to be gone.

  But how could he clean himself of the blood of billions? With that much blood on his hands, he would never be clean. The memory of the godly whisper haunted him.

  “The blood of billions is on your hands, meddler.”

  “Shut up,” he told himself. “Ignore it. You’re home now.”

  He tried to follow his own advice, but couldn't. He couldn’t get the words out of his head. Even when he tried rationalizing it as a fake world, the guilt ate away at him. Whether or not the world was real wasn’t an issue. It still felt real, as did the people inside of it.

  And Arden was responsible for ending the world.

  The words of the higher being still rang in his head for the duration of the shower. By the time he finished cleaning himself, he felt hollow. He threw on the new clothes after drying himself and left the bathroom. He shuffled to the bed and gave Vera a weak greeting and a smile.

  She returned it, but froze when she saw his eyes. There was unbridled agony and regret hidden behind them. She immediately sat up straight and stared at him with worry.

  “Arden, are you alright?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be? I’m just tired.”

  “Your eyes are so red that they’re almost purple. When was the last time you slept?”

  “Uhh,” Arden thought back with a hazy filter in his mind. “A week ago?”

  “A week?” she whispered. “As a mundane? How did you survive?”

  Arden put on a fake smile and ignored the question.

  “Vera, I'm fine,” he said, ignoring the question. “It was tough, but I made it out in one piece.”

  He walked over to the switch and turned the lights off. The room, while dark, was not completely empty of light. Dim light from the outside shone through the window giving Arden and Vera the ability to see, if only a little bit.

  Vera pulled the covers over herself and slid to the side of the bed closest to the window to give Arden enough space.

  Arden laid down next to Vera and immediately felt the effects of the bed. As he fast approached the wall of sleep, he started reflexively curling up facing Vera. His eyes shut, and he heard Vera speak.

  “I'm not going to pretend to know what you had to go through in your trial. I don't need you to tell me about it either. I just want you to know that it's over.”

  Arden felt Vera press her body against his from beneath the covers. It didn't feel like a seduction tactic. It only felt comforting.

  “You're not alone anymore. You came back. To me. You don't have to suffer alone. You can share it with me.”

  She threw her arm around Arden, and started pulling him closer to her.

  “You don't have to hide your suffering. Let me know it hurts. I want to be able to help you. It hurts seeing you like this.”

  Tears started falling from Arden’s eyes as she spoke the comforting words.

  “Whatever you did, I will accept. And I will always accept you.”

  Arden silently sobbed into Vera's body

  “When you got out of the shower, it looked like your soul was crushed. I've never seen someone in that much pain before. But you don't have to go through it alone. I'm here now, and I want to see you back to your old feisty self. So, just let it all out, and get some sleep. I'll be here the entire time.”

  Vera held Arden as he cried into her. She gently stroked his head and continued to comfort him.

  After a long time, Arden was all out of tears and energy. He went still in Vera's embrace and drifted away to sleep, as his choking sobs turned into rhythmic breathing. Vera smiled sweetly at the resting Arden. It was nice to see him again, and it was even better to see him finally unwind and get some rest.

  She could tell that whatever Arden did in the trial took its toll on him. While the physical scars disappeared after evolving, the mental scars remained. She vowed that she would help Arden get better. It was the least she could do after everything that happened. She owed it to him.

  “Sleep well, Arden,” she whispered, bringing her head closer to his and closing her eyes. “You deserve it. We all do.”

  ***

  Arden was in an ocean of blood. An endless horizon of red was spread before him. Within moments, he was sinking under the crimson tide. He struggled to reemerge and catch his breath but it was futile.

  The deeper he sank, the less resistance he was able to muster. It was like his limbs were being weighed down. Not weighed down, pulled down. Arden could make out numerous dark shapes beneath him reaching out to grab him and pull him further.

  Panic set in when the dark shapes took on the forms of people he recognized, only drenched in blood with inky black eyes and mouths. Aldren the Helios Saint, Nux Valtorin and his family. Bellum. The servants Hecas, Tench, Vili, and Merik. The healer Barnos. Nocturne, Loris, and other assassins of the Setting Sun.

  Their mouths moved in unison, and although Arden couldn’t hear the words, he was able to understand regardless.

  “You did this,” they said.

  Arden closed his eyes and tried to get away. His legs flailed around trying to break free of the hold of the blood creatures. His arms reached out above him, trying to grab hold of anything to prevent him being dragged deeper down.

  But it wasn't enough.

  The power of the things holding him suddenly surged, and he was dragged to the depths.

  Now, Arden couldn’t see anything. It was too dark. The weight of the billions of gallons of blood weighed down on him. The pressure was too much for him.

  The creatures were gone, but Arden could still hear them.

  “You did this.”

  “You deserve this.”

  “You need to suffer.”

  The tirade continued for what felt like hours. By the end of it, Arden was ready to admit that they were right. He was responsible for the death of a world. Billions were dead because of his decisions.

  ‘They call me a killer. A monster. I am both of those things.’

  A warm glow started to shine from around Arden and made the blood start disappearing. The blood manifestations recoiled in pain when the light struck them. When he felt the light, Arden felt empowered.

  Comforted.

  The light felt like a gentle embrace.

  Vera’s words came to mind. He wasn’t alone anymore. He had someone who would be on his side.

  The words of his villainy continued from the dying bloody wraiths. As they were dying, they wanted Arden to feel the pain he caused them.

  “Evil!”

  “So what?” he said, emboldened even if only a little bit. “I never wanted to be a good person. I just wanted to live. And I did what I had to to come back alive.”

  He felt the sensation of a hand on his head. A comforting presence.

  “I have someone who believes in me. I won’t stop. But I also won’t forget. I am responsible for what happened. I did this. But I won’t let it define me or break me.”

  The phantoms vanished, as did the blood. Arden looked up and saw himself staring at the ceiling of the hotel. He saw a sleeping Vera still holding on to him, like she said she would, radiating a comforting heat.

  Arden smiled as he drifted off to sleep again. This time, there were no nightmares. Just a long dream.