Leander walked to Armaros, who was sulking next to Ebony.

"Armaros, I need to show you something," Leander pulled out the hourglass, which was no longer smocking.

"It is alive now?" Armaros exclaimed, hands reaching for the fake dungeon core. "Wait, what have you done?"

Armaros could feel the link between the dungeon core and Leander. It was almost like there was a piece of Leander inside the dungeon core.

"I am now like you," Leander informed him, an unsure smile on his face. "And I want to tell you that, while we can't afford to bury the dust, this way, we are still honoring the dead dungeon cores."

"Honoring them, how?" Armaros was clutching the hourglass in his hands. Leander deserved for Armaros to smash it. He was abusing the dust of the dead dungeon cores, just as he had intended to, before.

"Well, I am sure the dungeon cores would still want to create things, even if they are dead now," Leander's eyes went to the hourglass. Armaros was clutching at it too hard. Was he going to smash it? Surely, he was not considering such a thing? Leander knew that Armaros loved him. He had to believe that.

"Would you have used human corpses for fertilizer, if they were proven to be the best one on hand?" Armaros yelled. His eyes were narrowed, the brown looking almost red in the light of the setting sun. "No, right? But, dungeon cores are not humans and don't deserve consideration. I am so glad I have this to look forward to, after I die."

Armaros rose the hourglass high and snorted. He handed it back to Leander and made a couple of steps towards Ebony.

"Where are you going?" Leander was right behind him. He would not live with the regret of his greatest mistake, being, letting his lover go. It was eating at Alklair, and it would eat at him, too.

"Away. I will find a nice, quiet, spot and become an actual dungeon, Leander," Armaros was stopped by two beefy arms wrapping around him. He struggled against the hold, but Leander was not letting go.

"When I met you, I didn't believe in myself. Not even a little," Leander began softly. He had not told anyone that, before.

Morris was so happy that Leander did not think that the berserker could possibly understand his insecurities.

Dorian was no stranger to struggling, but he was not one to ever lose hope, even when faced with hardship. So, he, too, wouldn't have understood.

Jean would have mocked him in the beginning, back when he was the great Jean Firebolt, S ranked archer of the Firebolts. Now, he would have done something worse. He would have pitied him and piled sweet nothings on Leander.

No, the only one who could understand this was Armaros. Everything had begun with him and Leander wanted the hamster dungeon core to be by his side even in their twilight years, long after Morris, Dorian and Jean departed from this world. 

"I started exercising, but I constantly thought about stopping. People mocked me as I walked in place, telling me I should hit a gym and do real exercises," Armaros stopped struggling. He had never thought that. But, then, he only had Leander's memories to judge the world by and the little time he had as a human, himself.

"What you did was wrong," Armaros argued weakly, but he turned around so that he could face Leander. "And I won't forgive you for a long time."

"I will earn my forgiveness, but, let me continue. I need to tell you how special you are to me. How world changing," Armaros blushed at that. People have mocked him in the lab. Calling him the livestock dungeon, as they took his calm, trusting, children to the butcher.

Armaros's eyes become misty as he remembered all the cows and pigs, he had created that had to be made fully grown, being robbed of a childhood, and that, had not lived for even an hour.

"Armaros," the sound of Leander's voice brought Armaros back from his regrets. "When I took you off the pedestal, you took my memories, but you gave me my confidence. Something I never had before. I am sorry for giving you over the researchers. Nothing I ever do will ever wash away the pain that was caused to you, but, I hope you don't leave my ungrateful, fat, ass because..."

Armaros stopped Leander from speaking further by kissing him gently. Leander had taken everything from him, when they met the first time. And, then, had given him everything and more once they were reunited. And Armaros had not forgotten that.

"You are ungrateful, true," Armaros spoke once he broke off the kiss and pressed their foreheads together. "But I love you all the same. I think what I have is called Stockholm syndrome."

Leander giggled at the last one and nuzzled their noses together.

"I don't deserve you," he murmured, and it was Armaros's time to giggle.

"I like men with confidence, so, if you keep sprouting things like that, I will leave your ass and prance off to the sunset with Jean, Morris and Dorian," Armaros teased and Leander's eyes widened.

"Anything but that, my cute hamster. I will bury myself in paperwork without the four of you," Leander joked. They heard footsteps and turned around to see Morris, Dorian and Jean waiting uncertainly to the side.

"Group hug," Armaros demanded, and the three came and joined the hug pile.

"Say, Armaros, will you snuggle with me instead of Leander tonight?" Morris teased, eyebrows wiggling.

"No, he is the softest. When that changes, maybe," Leander sighed. Ah, what he was going to lose once he lost all the fat. But, it would be worth it. Because, then, he would be able to do more than kissing with his lovers, without almost dying of shame every time they tugged at his clothes.

"Aw, don't you love me, angel?" Morris faked hurt in his voice. Armaros poked his tongue at him. They all laughed, being watched by Norrix from the sidelines. With a thought, the vampire released the compulsion on the guild master. There were greener pastures which were free, there was no need to separate those lovebirds, and he did not share.