The crowd went into a frenzy. Black flags fluttered left and right as the fans of Black Moon cheered and screamed their lungs out. Flyers and flags flew all around the stadium and the atmosphere was festive.

“Yay! Papa won!” Eva jumped in joy. She then looked at Sophie with sparkling eyes before shouting even louder. “Papa was so cool! And that red uncle was so cool too!”

Sophie lightly chuckled. She looked at her daughter before landing her hand. “Come, let’s go to papa. He is waiting for us.”

Eva nodded happily and took her mother’s hand. Sophie verbalized a command in her mind. Access restricted area. Code name: BlackMoon. Sponsor: Dawn’s Resonance.

A cold metallic voice responded in her head. Access granted. Welcome, Sophie of the Crimson Desert.

The pair of mother and daughter disintegrated into shiny particles before disappearing. They teleported to a hallway. It was dark, illuminated only by the dim light of the torches on the walls. 

“Mama, this place is scary…” Eva’s previously cheerful demeanor died down. She fidgeted in her place. Lips trembling, she latched on her mother’s lap, too scared to stay alone in the dark damp corridor.

Sophie crouched to the level of her daughter before caressing her hair. “I’m sorry. It’s scary, isn’t it? I always told Mark that their aesthetics were not the most pleasant. But… Oh, well.” Sophie lifted Eva from below her armpits before putting her in a princess carry. “Here, Mama will carry you.” Sophie’s smile turned into a grin before she leaned in and went for a belly rub. 

“Hahaha, Mama! Stop it!” Eva continued laughing even as she shouted and flailed around, making Sophie giggle in return. She then looked at Eva in her eyes and smiled. “See, no more scary place, right?”

The couple laughed all the way as they walked through the corridor. Barely one minute of walking and they reached an inconspicuous room. Sophie put down her daughter before saying.

“Papa is in that room. I’ll go and talk to him. You stay patiently here and be a good girl, ok—”

“What do you mean he is out?!!!”

Before Sophie could even finish her words, a scream from inside the room shook her. She recognized her husband’s voice. Sophie’s eyes opened in surprise at the sudden outburst, she looked at the door before focusing back on her daughter. She smiled and then said with a soft voice.

“Eva, can you stay here? Mama will be right back.”

She walked with hurried steps and opened the door, a frown covering her face. There she saw two men staring at each other. One was slim and tall, black hair covering his head. The other was plump with an orange mustache and his hair was cut short.

“Shade,” Shesmu’s eyes were sprouting fire as he stared at the man in front of him. “What in all hell is going on here?! This type of trashy jokes you know I despise. Cain is going to retire by the end of this fucking year, why in the fuck would you fire him now?!!”

Shade, the overweight man darted his eyes away from Shesmu before muttering. “Shes, this is really out of my control—”

“Oh you can’t be serious. Are you telling me, Cain, the man that started this whole schtick with us, the one that stayed with the guild through thick and thin for ten years—you’re telling me that man is going to be fired? Are you fucking kidding me?!” Shesmu could no longer hold back. His teeth were grinding. He clenched his fist so hard blood dripped out. His eyes never once looked away from the shuddering Shade, who was fidgeting on his shoes and looking away at the ground.

Mustering up more courage, Shade clenched his fist and looked at Shesmu in the eyes. “Shesmu. This is a higherup decision. It’s Dawn that made it! Cain just doesn’t follow the narratives. We already talked about this so many—”

“He brings wins!” Shesmu’s face couldn’t stop contorting. He slammed the table next to him, breaking every utensil on his way, and grabbed Shade from his collar then lifted him from the ground. Shesmu looked at him straight in the eyes and shouted at the top of his lungs. “He brings championships, that’s what he brings!”

Shesmu’s teeth stopped grinding, his furrowed eyebrows relaxed. He looked away from Shade for the first time since the start of this conversation before saying in a soft voice. “Honestly, I can’t believe it. After everything, we went through...”

Shesmu eased his grab on Shade’s collar, setting the latter free. Shade fell on the ground and coughed, gasping for breath. 

“Shesmu, I’m as mad as you are. This is wrong! I know. But even if I’m not the one to fire him, they’ll just fire me and bring someone else to do it. My hands are tied.”

“Stop.” Sophie’s voice cut in like a sharp knife through the conversation. Both Shesmu and Shade turned their heads in response to her.

“What is going on?” She asked. But her voice was lower than usual. It was cold, as cold as her eyes as she observed Shade’s every movement. She locked her eyes with his, making him shudder.

Shade gulped. He sat up then walked towards Sophie trying to explain his position. “Sophie, look, I’m really sorry. Due to circumstances outside my control—”

“Enough.” Sophie cut in. “Get out of here.” Her eyes never broke contact, and her voice was always low. But behind it was a commanding tone that could not be disobeyed.

Shade, flustered, couldn’t help but step back. He staggered before complying and leaving the room.

Shesmu looked at Sophie, his eyes lost, his arms low and his hands open. They walked towards each other with staggering steps before falling into an embrace.

Hot tears streamed down Shesmu’s cheeks. His vision clouded and his throat hoarse. He felt Sophie’s touch on his face. She caressed him and cleaned the tears out of his eyes. Her emerald green eyes stared into his soul, beckoning him to share his suffering. “Mark, what happened?”

“Cain, no—Allan, Dawn decided they no longer need him…” He paused, as if to process the same words that left his mouth. “And for what?” He asked with a self-deprecating laugh. “Just because he didn’t scream some cringy speech before he battles like the rest of us bastards do, he is fired! Allan! Allan who was here since the beginning of this goddamn guild!”

Sophie was shocked. Her eyes widened and her fist tightened. However, she quickly grabbed hold of herself and didn’t fall to panic. She hugged Shesmu harder than she ever did before. Her warmth, her love, her everything, he received it all. 

“Sophie…” So he bawled, his speech interrupted by his hiccups. He cried, he screamed at the top of his lungs. He screamed at his own weakness, unable to even defend his best friend. He screamed at the skies and the gods and damned them all, for they destroyed what he worked so hard to build. He screamed and kept screaming, for his innards were crumbling, and they would continue to do so until he is but a hollow husk. 

“Papa!” This voice he knew. The voice of a child, his own. He opened his eyes but the sight was too blurry, so he couldn’t see. He cleared up his tears, and there she was, Eva, shocked and unable to understand what happened in front of her. 

Shesmu smiled. Years of acting in front of crowds of millions let him mask his sorrow. He couldn’t show his weakness to his daughter, that he could never do.

“Eva? What are you standing there in a daze for? Come and give papa a hug!”

Seeing Shesmu’s jovial attitude, Eva lost all her reservation and jumped in for a hug. 

“Ah, there you go. That’s more like it.”

Eva chuckled in Shesmu’s arm before asking, “But papa, why were you crying?”

Shesmu looked at Eva and gave her a questioning look. He then pinched her cheeks and played around with them.

“Smelly girl, who do you think is crying, huh? See this smile on papa’s face, give me your best one too!”

Eva smiled even as Shesmu was pulling at her cheeks. Her teeth showed themselves in full splendor. 

“Like this?...” 

“Pfft.” Shesmu couldn’t help but chuckle. Eva’s face when she tried talking while he was pulling at her cheeks was hilarious even for the pained Shesmu. 

“So, you got to watch the game. Did you have fun?”

Eva beamed a bright smile at her father's question. “Yeah! It was really fun! The way papa fought with his sword was so cool! You just went vroooom!! And the black magician lost. Red uncle was also sooo cool! He just went Vraaaah!! And then he became a big fire dragon! He then did Booom! Boom! Boom! And the other dragon went Ahh! And then it lost!”

While the smile stayed engraved on his face, Shesmu’s eyes showed complex emotions.

“Yeah, uncle red is really cool…” For a second, he broke his act and sadness emanated from his voice. “Much, much cooler than papa…”

Shesmu felt Eva’s grab on his arm. He looked at her in the eyes and her resolute look and pouting cheeks surprised him.

“That’s not true at all! Uncle red is cool, but papa is also cool! Papa is the coolest in the world!”

She then grabbed an imaginary sword and started slashing at the air. “You defeat bad guys like this, Vroom! And Booom! And the bad guys go Ahhh! And then they explode!”

Eva’s roleplaying made Shesmu chuckle, for real this time. He brought her closer to him before carrying her in his arms. Shesmu then looked at Sophie. She didn’t say a word ever since Eva showed up. Shesmu knew that she knew that he was acting, and he was grateful. He was grateful that she stayed silent, because it would have been hard even for him to act, if she did talk. 

“Sophie, tomorrow, I’ll call in a meeting. The whole team will be there.”

Sophie’s lips formed a tender smile, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“Papa,” Eva yawned. “Can you continue the story of the blacksmith and the king? You said you’ll tell me but you keep forgetting!”

Hearing his daughter’s tired voice, Shesmu knew that it was time to log out.

“Sure thing sweetie, let’s log out and I’ll tell you the story.”

Hearing a tale that was most familiar to her ears, Sophie couldn’t help but blurt out.

“You were telling her the questline of Kaleh? Now, isn’t that sweet.”

Shesmu acknowledged Sophie’s comment with his eyes, before focusing his attention back on Eva.

“Let’s log out. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

* * *

The trio simultaneously glowed in a myriad of colors before dissipating into tiny particles. 

Shesmu’s eyes opened within a capsule.  He was naked, his body submerged in a light brown fluid. Being in that liquid gave him a sense of peace, alone with his darkness.  He could scream if he wanted, cry and lash out at the world, and the noise cancellers would make no one the wiser. Yet , he didn’t. Despite most of his interaction with his daughter being an act, it healed him..  At least enough so that he didn’t focus on the pain, but on the future. 

In his mind he issued the command for the capsule to open which swiftly obliged. The room was dimly lit. It was no use to waste energy on light when its only use was to host his VR capsule. He sat up, put his ready-made clothes on, and exited the room. 

He entered the hallway and from the corner of his eyes, he could see his wife walking up the stairs to the master bedroom. Usually, he would trail after her, but tonight, he needed to take a detour. Right in front of the gaming room was a pink door. Stickers of many different characters were stuck onto it. However, the biggest sticker of all had one name written in bold all over it: Eva.

Shesmu opened it, and was greeted by a mountain of toys. From princess dolls to plushies of magical cats and bears, there wasn’t one single spot in the room where he could take a step without stepping on something.

“Eva, how many times have I told you to put your toys back in the drawer when you finish playing with them? Honestly, all it takes is one command, how can you be so lazy?” Shesmu’s tone was a mix of reprimand and bemusement.

Muffled noises sounded out from below the mountain of plushies. Cats and wolves flew in all directions as Eva swam up the hundreds of toys and finally regained her breath.

“Papa, I’m sowwy… I just, kinda, forgot…”

Looking at Eva’s puffed face atop the mountains of toys, Shesmu couldn’t help but laugh softly. He freed her from the clutch of the little devils and carried her in his arms.

“It’s okay, sweetie. Let’s clean up this mess, okay?”

“Okay,” Eva replied. “Melon-chan! Can you clean up this mess, please?”

‘Hai! I’ll do it just for you~’

A cute, squeaky voice sounded out from the depth of Shesmu’s mind. The pink room turned neon orange. The lower parts of all four walls opened like doors of a closet. The myriad of plushies, dolls, and toys gravitated towards the openings like metal to a magnet. Within ten seconds the messy room turned clean.

“And that’s a job well done. See? Doesn’t take much effort to go from a zoo to a civilized society. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if a monkey jumped from one of those corners.” While in the midst of his lecture, Shesmu felt the weight on his shoulder increase. He looked at Eva and saw her leaning on his shoulder, using it as a pillow to sleep on.

“Hey, hey, weren’t we supposed to tell the story of the king and the blacksmith?” His words were soft, afraid to wake up his princess from her sleep. 

“Well, maybe another time…”  Carefully he placed her on the bed and covered her with a sky blue blanket.

“L—love you… papa.” Her barely discernible mumbling warmed Shesmu’s heart, bringing a smile to his face. 

“Love you too, sweetie.” He kissed Eva goodnight on the forehead before switching off the light. Leaving his daughter’s room, he climbed up the stairs and entered the master bedroom.

Sophie was still in her underwear, in the middle slipping into her pajamas. She was beautiful, her dark brown hair reaching to her waist. She looked back at Shesmu and smiled.

“So, did she like the tale of Kaleh?”

“She didn’t get the chance to. I was barely at the start and she was already off to neverland.”

Sophie chuckled at the response. She was already done putting on her clothes and slid into the bed. Shesmu quickly followed suit.

“You know, Eva had lots of fun today. She kept watching you guys, mouth open, for the whole day. It’s as if she saw real-life heroes battling in front of her.”

Shesmu smiled. Even though his heart still clenched in pain, his smile remained. Which father wouldn’t smile at the thought of his daughter? He looked at Sophie before leaning in and playing with the strands of her hair with his hand.

“She too will become one.”

“You are her hero. Strong, untouchable and unbeatable.” Her hand caressed Shesmu’s face gently and her eyes glistened with a thousand emotions. Her fingers then traced their way from his neck and into his torso, pointing at his heart. “But I know that down here, you’re hurt…”

Shesmu leaned in closer, his hands reached in farther, holding onto her back. Their legs coiled around one another, searching for warmth. Their breaths intertwined, and their eyes connected.

“Sophie, it’s hard. Allan—Allan has been there for me since before I can even remember. He was always there, in the background, protecting me. He was my guardian angel. He was there when I knew nothing, when I had nothing to offer, and he guided me. He was there when we were at the top of our glory, and my confidants were conspiring to betray me. He was protecting me. Without Allan, there is no BlackMoon.”

Sophie stayed silent. She knew that Shesmu wasn’t finished. .

“Sophie, you know why I called the meeting tomorrow?” Shesmu’s voice was soft, breathy, and full of affection.

Sophie pinched his forehead and chuckled. “Silly you, for how long do you think we’ve been married? Of course I know…” Sophie’s voice was soft like the summer breeze. Shesmu could no longer hold his instincts and deeply kissed her. 

“Tomorrow, you’re going to protect him. Like he always protected you.” Her finger ran up Shesmu’s chest slowly, and back to his neck. She leaned in, her breath tickling his ear.

“Tomorrow, you’re going to gather everyone, all of our friends, and do the one thing you should have done long ago. Disband the team.”

Her words hit him like a backdrop. There was no need for a response because she was right. Shesmu will disband the team and start a new journey. But the only thing he could focus on now was her. Her beautiful face, her small upturned nose, her emerald eyes, and long, silky hair. She was breathtaking, even more than when he first proposed to her, eight years ago.

Their lips met, brushing softly, delicate like flaps of the butterfly’s wings. He inhaled deeply. It was just long enough that he could inhale her own breath. Her sweet, sweet breath. He hungrily went for more. His hand gripped the back of her head firmly, afraid to let go. His tongue dug deeper searching for treasure in the deep, dark sea. But here she was, his treasure.

Sophie chuckled. Her deep, kind voice soothing his heart. But she didn’t say anything. Words were unnecessary. They both knew exactly what the other felt. That’s precisely why Shesmu couldn’t help but fall head over heels over her all over again.

And as such, they continued. Cuddled, hugged and kissed until they could no more. By the end, when their eyelashes were too heavy to bear, their hands reached out for each other, and their fingers intertwined one last time.