It was time for him to attend the mixer at the Dawn Plaza. He dressed up in a nice, clean three-piece navy suit. After adjusting his tie, he looked at himself in the mirror. Looking at his face, he could not find a single feature that looked like Rius. But despite not finding any similarities to their appearances, somewhere deep down inside him, there was a voice saying to not doubt himself.

He grabbed his phone and checked for any messages. Looks like his cousin was already there. Soren just sighed before leaving his penthouse, taking his red, luxury car. 

This was something he should be used too, however, after a hundred times, he was still not entirely comfortable with going to such events. But for the sake of Linus, he was willing to suck it up and attend. When he arrived, he had the valet take his car to be parked over in the VIP section. Upon entering the grand plaza, he went up to the second floor where the main event was being held. When the doors opened to the banquet hall, flashing lights, music and the aroma of sweat invaded his nose.

As soon as the doors opened, those who saw him rushed over to greet him. Keeping a polite, business-like smile, he greeted all who came his way.

Soren did not feel like mingling thus he kept to himself in the corner of the large hall that was filled with celebrities of all kinds. Many women approached him, but he’d immediately turn them down, whether it was to a drink or to get out of this mixer to go do something more fun. But he politely declined all requests. 

The night dragged on. Soren was getting restless. He wanted to leave, thus he did after saying a few words to Linus. When he left, he did not go straight back to his penthouse, instead went to the nearby man-made lake downtown. As he walked alongside the lake, feeling the gentle breeze brush against his skin; he felt more at ease. He remembered that in the dream, Rius and Iris had a beautiful tiny cottage in the middle of a lake. Thinking about the dream brought forth a rush of emotions. Brushing them off, he finally returned and went to sleep. That night, he had a dreamless night. 

And the night after that, and the night after that. Throughout those days he went on with his usual schedule, however, he felt like something was missing, something very important. But he couldn’t tell what it was exactly. His demeanor became dull and sluggish. Even Linus became extremely worried but did not know what to do.

On the fourth night, halfway through his dreamless night, he woke up, restless. He got up immediately and ran down stairs to his working studio. He took out a large chunk of clay and began molding it. He finally knew what it was that he was missing!

Although he knew he was out of his mind, he wanted to see her again. He wanted to see Iris Lovett again! Carving into the clay, he thought about her face; her flaming red hair, her body; her calamity form. His heart was wrenched in pain when he remembered how Iris died. Using his tools, he was sure to remember the details from his dream; the way her hair flowed, the love in her eyes, the smile upon her lips; the touch of her skin.

After the sculpture was done, Soren moved frantically with no wasted movements. He quickly pulled a large, plain canvas up behind the sculpture and grabbed his painting supplies. He mixed his colors and began painting. He remembered everything so vividly as the colors came to life on the canvas. His breathing pace quickened, as if he had just made a huge discovery. Soren had a feeling that if he did not finish this piece at that moment, this feeling was something that was never going to come again!

***

When the piece was finally done, Soren panted softly as he walked backwards to get the full view of his creation. The sun was already up in the sky, pouring through the windows behind the sculpture and canvas backdrop. Soren’s eyes trembled at this sight. It was Iris in her calamity form with her golden wings unfurled beautifully behind her. The backdrop canvas that he created was the mana manifestation of her hundred wings in the sky. In her hands, was a slumbering man. Iris was leaning down, giving that slumbering man the softest yet most loving kiss on the forehead, her expression holding traces of sadness and contentment.

Soren’s breath trembled as the supplies in his hand fell out. It was unclear what he was feeling at that moment, but one thing was for sure, he did not notice the tears rolling down his cheeks. Instead, looking at the creation, he felt sheer bliss and exhilaration. Although it was completed for the most part, Soren would still have to go and do some more touch-ups on the sculpture, such as cleaning the rough edges and adding more detail. But as of right now, he was content.

*knock, knock*

“... Soren? I’m coming in. You didn’t answer your phone so Gramps-,” his voice stopped as soon as he saw what was in front of him. The terrifying yet majestic form of the young girl with a man in her arms. Although the sculpture was not painted, the background canvas was enough to give it life. The life size Iris was standing on a mountain of rock with her wings and three halo rings behind her. It was so life like that Linus sucked in his breath sharply.

He silently walked up to Soren, who was still staring at his sculpture, lost in his thoughts. Linus then looked back to the sculpture; despite the appearance of the girl, Linus could feel the love she held for the man in her arms. There was so much love and warmth that he wanted to cry for some strange reason. To him, this was somewhat of a tragic display of affection, as if it was going to be their last before being separated forever.

He glanced back to Soren, whose tears were no longer falling.

“...What’s this called?”

Only after a long while did Soren answer, “A Calamity’s Love.”