“You do not look like the kind of man who would keep such a thing. You look too soft,” Mary Sue said.

Tyreceus was hurt. He knew his entire life that his presence wasn’t what one would call exciting or even memorable, but he had kept his promise to Aeris, taking care of the objects and Ace. He knew he was already exposed, so he just decided to tell the truth.

“My mother gave it to me,” he told Mary Sue. “I had no idea what they were when she gave them, I, I just needed to keep them safe.”

Mary Sue’s eyes glowed gold and she did not believe him.

“Who is your mother,” Mary Sue asked.

Tyreceus looked away. Ace grabbed his hand and glared at Mary Sue.

“Don’t be mean,” Ace shouted. Mary Sue relaxed as she realized that there was nothing a small man and his small child could do to her.

“I am sorry,” she said. “This war has made me tense.”

“There’s a war,” Ace shouted. “Since when!?”

The adults ignored him and continued with the conversation.

“Who is your mother,” Mary Sue repeated.

Tyreceus, for the first time in his life, would have to admit out loud who his mother was, and he knew that Mary Sue would not believe him. He did not believe it, nor did he like the fact.

His mother was the Empress of the Regal Empire, the same Empire that had killed his wife and son, and had destroyed his home. He tried to think of a lie, but he knew that it would make less sense than the truth.

“Her name is Aeris Aeronwyn des Regalis, Mother Empress of the Regal Empire and its Holy Territories,” he said.

Tyreceus said the entire name, long used to her introduction after his many years on Ionadis. Mary Sue noticed as well, how he monotonously said the entire name, quickly, a muscle memory, and knew that he was possibly telling the truth.

“A prince is out here, on Methuselah, of all places,” Mary Sue jeered. “This is not even a planet in the Empire. Why would you be here if it was true?”

Ace listened intently to the new information, confusing him as well.

“That is why I am here,” Tyreceus explained. “I want nothing to do with that place.” He started to sob again and Ace hugged him, his turn now to console his father.

“They have taken everything from me,” Tyreceus screamed. He continued to cry, and his voice cracked as he had finally had enough. “They took my father! They took my family! You think I want to be there!”

Mary Sue froze up, as the small man screamed at her, sweaty and angry, his long hair shaking along with him, as his long braid had come loose from the days of sleeping outside.

“I, I-m sorry,” she whispered. “It just makes no sense.”

“You can find them yourself,” Tyreceus screamed. “I would not lie. I am tired of it. So tired of it all.” He held onto Ace, expecting her to kill them, or take them hostage. His eyes glowed black and Mary Jane was surprised.

Only Ionadian astrals had that color, and for a moment she wanted to believe he spoke the truth.

“I’ll look for it,” she huffed. “However the moment I find out you’re lying I’ll take those tickets back.”

Tyreceus grimaced, but she was lying. She wouldn’t take them, and the faster they were out of her hair the better.

Mary Sue threw the rocks to the side, not worrying to be careful like before when she was looking for Ace underneath the rubble. She searched diligently, the prospect of what he said to be true.

She wanted to find the Sword of Vengeance for herself, so she would forever be the strongest woman in the seventh realm.

It didn’t take her very long to find it. Her passive ability of luck made her, of course, lucky enough to find the sword. It was old and rusty, and when she picked it up, she suddenly became irrationally angry.

Angry that she was the strongest person that anyone had ever known, but she was delegated to a simple search and rescue task because the Union didn’t want to officially support Methuselah in the war.

Angry that when she returned home, she had to lie to her boring husband about her affair. Angry that she no longer helped anyone, and was now in a foreign land, holding a rusty sword, surrounded by rubble and corpses.

You are possibly the most powerful creature that has held me, the sword mumbled. Who are you? Take me with you, away from this weak man.

Mary Sue stared at the sword, and for the first time, she was no longer bored. Life was always boring when you were lucky. Everything worked out, somehow, some way. She had long given up fighting it, and had just accepted this was what her life was meant to be.

A parody of heroism, a shadow of true bravery.

She quickly put the sword back into its scabbard and was now excited. Mary Sue knew with the other two celestial objects she would be more god than woman, and no longer would she be confined to her mundane life.

Unas did not like this. Mary Sue could sense that he did not like this. Mary Sue quickly walked over to Tyreceus and Ace and put on her best smile to try and get more information out of them.

“So sorry,” she cooed. “You were right all along.”

Tyreceus glared and Ace pouted, wondering what else she wanted from them.

“Where is Invictus,” Ace shouted. “You have Unas!”

“You, you know their names,” Mary Sue said in surprise.

“I like them both, but the watch is mean. He makes fun of me.”

Mary Sue was too excited to contain her smile, which just confused Tyreceus and Ace. A war was unfolding, and here she was, smiling, surrounded by death. Mary Sue now wanted to make sure she could worm her way into Tyreceus’ life.

He was a man of noble birth, and with his pedigree she hoped to rise as high as possible in her career, gaining even more money and power than ever before. Mary Sue had no good intentions. She had long lost any fantasy of truly helping people with her powers, and was satisfied with simply trying to make as much money as possible.

Suddenly her hand burnt. She screamed and dropped the sword.

“What is happening!?”

Tyreceus picked up the sword, and he listened intently. No longer could Mary Sue hear Unas, as he had cut her off.

“He doesn’t like you,” Tyreceus said coolly. “He thinks you’re a grifter.”

“I am not,” Mary Sue screamed. “I saved both of you!”

“That is true….,” Tyreceus admitted.

But he did not truly believe her. Unas quickly told him about all her thoughts and plans, and Tyreceus's eyes flitted around quickly, conversing with Unas in his mind. Mary Sue knew that he knew, and was now afraid of what would happen next, worrying that Tyreceus would kill her.

Tyreceus would not. Unlike Mary Sue, he wasn’t an opportunist, and he simply glared at her.

“Never would I think the day would arrive so quickly that someone would want to use my lineage for their own gain,” Tyreceus sighed. “An hour after I have told you, and already you have plans for fame using my family name.”

Mary Sue was embarrassed, not because of shame, but because she got caught. She decided that she could still find a way out of this, getting at least some of what she wanted.

“Hate me all you want,” she boomed. “But I saved your child. And if you listen to me I can protect you from the Empire.”

Tyreceus scoffed. His hair lit ablaze and Ace jumped back.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said.“What is the catch? Tell me what you want.”

His voice was now much deeper, gravel in his throat, and almost demonic in nature. Mary Sue was afraid. She had not felt fear in a long time. The last time she was afraid was when she accidentally fell asleep while holding her baby, twelve years ago. Thankfully she was sitting on the ground.

She looked to the ground and felt the heat exuding off of him, his eyes no longer pale blue but red and terrifying.
“Come work for us. It’s a mutual benefit.” Tyreceus breathed heavily, angry, and skeptical.

“You gain nothing from this,” he growled. “Liar.”

“I do,” Mary Sue shouted. “My boss would raise my rank if you came. If you work for the Union, you can fight those who killed your family.”

Unas cackled in laughter, and Tyreceus grits his teeth as the sound of a madman echoed inside his head.

What a joyous day, Unas howled. We can finally kill those who have destroyed you and me.

Tyreceus didn’t want to go with her. But he remembered that he could not get the watch or Invictus. He looked around the neighborhood, now flattened and destroyed, and his son, covered in dirt, his hair filthy and his clothes torn.

“How do I know your boss won’t just sell me out,” Tyreceus asked.

“He won’t,” Mary Sue sighed. “He just wants money. You’re his path to more money is all.”

Tyreceus quickly understood what kind of person her boss was, and he calmed down. His hair returned, wavy and brown, and he sighed.

“Get me Invictus first, and then we can talk,” he commanded.

Unas laughed, enjoying how Mary Sue’s pride was damaged.

The bitch is a liar, he roared. The whore!

Tyreceus could not enjoy Unas’ snide comments, as again he was too loud, and his headache turned into a migraine. The sun was setting, and Mary Jane found Invictus in the rubble that was once the kitchen. It was a glowing blanket, emanating a soft white light.

“Hi,” Invictus shouted.

Mary Sue jerked her head as she saw a small child wave at her.

“This, this is Invictus,” she stammered. “A child?”

Invictus pouted and waved his shield in the air.

“I am very strong,” he insisted. “Ace tells me every day!”

Mary Sue rolled her eyes and quickly returned the blanket to Ace, who was delighted to have his best friend back. They hugged, and Mary Sue then realized something strange.

“How is he a child,” she whispered. “The celestials are almost as old as time itself.”

Tyreceus looked at her, a deer caught in the headlights, and started to stammer. “H-he was made,” Tyreceus admitted. “It just happened.”

Mary Sue now was never going to let them leave without knowing everything. Everything had shifted now that her spot in the food chain had shifted, as she was now no longer the strongest being.

She could not handle the thought of being outdone by a mere child.

Unas cackled, enjoying the look of defeat on her face, and Invictus started giving his own two cents, blathering on about something no one understood.

“They talk too much,” Tyreceus whispered to himself. “I’m so tired.”

Mary Sue went off again to find the watch, but Tyreceus stopped her.

“Don’t touch it,” he warned her from afar.

“Pfft,” Mary Sue snickered.

She went through the rubble, and of course quickly found it, lucky as she always was. She was about to touch it when she hesitated. She remembered that Tyreceus had never lied to her, and now she worried that something worse than burning her hand might happen.

The watch giggled and Mary Sue made a face of disgust.

We are Infiniti, they declared. You cannot touch us. You smell of sin.

Mary Sue simply closed her eyes, for an entire minute. She counted the seconds, trying to calm herself so she would not kill the next person she laid eyes upon.

She went back and brought Tyreceus and Ace to the watch.

“I refuse to touch that thing,” Mary Sue said. “It’s creepy.”

Mary Sue then shivered. She felt like someone was breathing down her neck. She turned, but no one was there. In her ear, she heard loud, heavy breathing and moaning.

“Stop that,” she trembled. “Stop.”

Infiniti stopped, pleased that he could torture another soul.

Tyreceus quickly put the watch around his wrist. It was happy to see him, Tyreceus, not so much. Infiniti then began to harass Ace, as he was jealous that someone other than himself was cared for by Tyreceus.

Tyreceus tried to drown out the sounds of complaints all around him, and Mary Sue simply stared at what looked like to her was a man in deep pain, and a child yelling at a watch to shut up, believing that she might be in hell.

She returned to her supply bag and got out a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down her phone number and handed it to Tyreceus. “When you leave here and land in the 7th realm, call me,” she said. “I kept my end of the bargain. You should as well.”

“I will,” Tyreceus promised.

Mary Sue didn’t care if he called or not. She knew the moment he arrived in the seventh realm she would hunt him down and offer him on a silver platter to Maximillian. Mary Sue ran off, and then made a sudden leap into the air, off into the sky, and disappeared.

“Whoa,” Ace whispered. “She’s cool.”

“She’s okay,” Tyreceus mumbled.

“I wanna do that! I wanna be like her.”

Tyreceus prayed that he would do anything else other than become like Mary Sue.

Ace would grow up to have the same job as her, and Tyreceus would forever hate her.