Snow carefully walked over, taking light steps. She stopped in front of him, towering over him silently. Her mind wasn’t in turmoil. Instead, she was at peace.

What can she do but wait? Wait, and believe that the Dairen would come back.

One Second. Two second. The time dragged on.

Everyone else held their breath, anticipating for the worse. Nobody wanted to go through the hell that Dairen had put them through, especially when they were still exhausted and tattered.

“Dairen?” Snow spoke. Her voice was clear command.

Dairen stirred. His eyes blinked a few times. His body's color started to revert to his cream color while the horn was still present. No more was the soft-looking young man but instead had a sharper look. His eyes opened.

Bright red was still present, while his black hair swayed above his eyes. Anyone who caught the sight of his eyes let in a sharp breath except Snow.

A bright smile quickly formed on Snow’s lips.

It was an odd sight to see a powerful light presence in front of a demonic entity that spewed a heavy air of darkness around them. Mostly because it was a rarity to see such a powerful company in one vicinity, such light and dark powers in the same area, harmonizing, brought a strange sense of peace.

“Snow?” Dairen's voice cracked. His lips were chapped.

Mike let out a large sigh that he held in for a while. His shoulder slightly collapsed in front.

Dairen pushed himself up into a sitting position. He then rubbed his head a few times. “I feel like I got hit with a sledgehammer," he groaned.

“Buddy, you got hit with more than a sledgehammer.” Mike chuckled. He reached over and smacked Dairen’s back a few times.

Dairen yelped. He then glared at Mike for the painful slap.

"My bad," Mike raised his hand, apologizing.

Rolling his shoulder a few times, Dairen stretched. A yawn followed after as he smacked his lips.

Eventually, Dairen noticed that many people were surrounding him, anxiously watching him for his next move.

Curious, he glanced around. “Is something the matter?” He asked, a bit confused.

“Nothing too big.” Mike chuckled, glad to see his friend back to sanity.

“Right….why not just cover the whole incident, will you?” Levian rolled his eyes, crossing his hand in front of him.

“I was getting to that.” Mike gripped his fist.

“Did something happen?” Dairen asked.

Mike's shoulder slumped. He cleared his throat and pulled back his hair, ready to say what was necessary.

But before Mike could say anything, Snow came over and hugged Dairen.

In surprise, Dairen was unsure what to do with his hands. He didn’t understand why Snow was so emotional. Usually, she was cold and serious, barely speaking unless necessary. It threw him completely off guard, but eventually, her warmth warmed him. His hand tapped her shoulder a few times, which he realized how small it was.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Snow surrounded herself in Dairen’s embrace. She could feel him hesitating initially, but eventually, his arm came around her and squeezed her gently. The last bit of worry was washed away, and she was grateful that he had come back to his senses.

Her hand rubbed his back, patting it a few times. She took in a deep breath to take in the hug, allowing herself to feel his presence. When she was done, she pushed away.

There was a slight hesitation in Dairen’s hug. He held her in place as if he didn’t want to let go.

It took a moment for them to break apart. Snow coughed, her cheeks a bit rosy. She couldn’t quite meet him eye to eye.

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Just being you.”

Snow was confused by why he had said that. She never thought she had changed.

“Why so suddenly?”

Dairen tilted his head up at her. The sharpness in his features and eyes became warm, giving him back the same Dairen that she knew. He didn't answer her question.

“Dairen.” Mike coughed, getting Dairen’s attention. Snow and Dairen pulled apart.

“Yes?”

“Are you a demon prince?”

“A what?

“You turned into a demon, bud.”

“I did?” Dairen's eyes became wide. He then stood up so quickly that he almost fell back.

“Yes.”

Dairen waved his hand in front of him. Snow noticed that all the players did the same thing, bringing up some windows that she could not see. His expression changed from seriousness to shock. He couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Holy cow, I am.” Dairen opened and closed his lips. “When?”

“You don’t remember?”

“No…”

“Well, to cut to the chase, the Pope was a demon.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Dairen sighed.

“Wait, you knew?”

“No, but I had a feeling that he was. There was something wrong with him when I was near him. I just couldn’t put my fingers on what it was that was bothering me.”

“What are you going to do now? Are you going to compete for the Demon King position?” Mike asked.

Dairen was extensively looking at his screen. His face darkened even more. Then he finally spoke, “Yes.”

“What?!” Both Levian and Mike yelled out in surprise.

“I told you he would do it.” Levian sighed. He gave up trying to persuade Dairen and Snow.

“Shut up, Levian.” Mike snapped back. They were glaring at each other.

“Guys. Guys.” Snow raised his hand to stop the two from bickering. “Let’s hear his reason why.”

“Fine.” Both of them said at once.

Mike leaned over toward Snow, “Can I kill him now?”

“No.” Snow bluntly stated. She was getting tired of their bitter back and forth. In all honesty, she wanted to smack both of them a few times whenever they fought, but she held herself back.

“Fine,” Mike said with a bit of reluctance. He crossed his arms, shifting in his feet.

“So, you were saying?” Snow redirected her words back to Dairen. She wanted to know why he would go through all this trouble to be the Demon King. There was too much at stake.

“The reason...I just want to.”

Snow cocked her head. “No other reason?”

“Well, I want to figure out what’s going on and why I was given this quest and job.” Dairen scratched his chin. “If what Levian said is true and the Demon King has some correlation to the end of the world that he keeps chirping about, then why not find out more and stop it.”

“But you could be the cause,” Levian said.

Dairen didn’t pay him any mind. He continued with what he was saying, “If I become king. No.” He shook his head. “When I am king, I’ll stop whatever they have planned.” He assured them.

“That is easier said than done, but I’ll believe you do it.” Snow said with reassurance. She knew that there wasn’t much she could do as of right now. “Let’s get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow. We might find something more about this dungeon.”

“Yea, I do need a nap.” Mike yawned, stretching.

“I’ll watch out for the night.” Dairen raised his hand, offering his service. “I had enough sleep apparently, and I don’t need more as of now.”

“I’ll keep watch as well.” Levian had spoken up.

“If you insist.” Dairen shrugged.

Snow walked back toward her little space. Taking the blanket, she sat down and covered herself. Mike had made himself comfortable next to her.

Darien and Levian both got up and started walking around the place.

“Hopefully, they will be alright.” Mike yawned again. Which Snow yawned after. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Dairen beat the crap out of Levian in the next few hours.”

Snow snorted. “I wouldn’t either.”

“Well, I’m going to get a shut-eye. Good night, Snow.” Mike leaned against the wall.

"Good night." Leaning back, Snow fidgeted before she made herself comfortable.

At first, she tried to go to sleep.

Her mind was racing with thoughts of the possibility of the future. The constant chatter continued to drag on and on, becoming worse and worse. Until finally, she sighed.

There was no point in overthinking about the many possibilities of what-ifs as it would only become a spiraling death of negative thoughts that took her nowhere but her darkness. A darkness that she continued to compound over time and become a defining thought that brought her mood down.

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath.

“Everything is going to be alright.” Snow said softly underneath her breath. “Everything is going to be alright.” She repeated it, using it as a mantra to help her lull her mind to sleep.