“Oh, good, I would’ve been a little upset if you used Sinfeast’s tears. While it is funny to have the tears of a bastard god in a vial, I wouldn’t want that to be my whole schtick,” Zarian said.

“No, no. I have another purpose for those tears.”

“Cool, cool. So, uh, you okay?”

“No, I’m not. You have left me imbalanced and forced into a position of deep contemplation. I suppose Lovewar will be happy about this. Your sister, however…”

“How is Ariana?” Zarian rolled the ring around in his hand.

“I will say this. Be prepared for the wrath of The Dragoness. She is quite upset.”

“Anything else?”

“I will not say.”

Zarian nodded. He’d figured he wouldn’t get too much out of Luciana regarding his little sister. He appreciated the warning, at least.

After Bianca had flashed Ariana’s projection two weeks ago, Zarian guessed his evil little sister would concoct some sort of revenge. That might come at the cost of others getting hurt.

He looked down at the ring. Then he slipped it on the ring finger of his left. The symbolic thing tightened snugly with a tiny bite into his skin.

Just like that, he felt Luciana’s presence hanging closely around him, and she probably felt closer to him. He listened to the goddess make a windy and troubled sigh, as if the little status symbol weighed on her as well.

“I was not meant to be free from you like this,” Luciana said. “I feel strangely at a loss. Adrift. How do I even do less evil and achieve this balance of yours when the Dark Era is in full swing?”

Zarian chuckled. “Small and actionable steps. I read that in Reiki’s library.”

Luciana seemed to fall into thoughtful silence. Then an image flickered into Zarian’s mind – a pair of dark, luscious, and full lips that shifted from a frown to a smirk.

“Despite everything, we are truly husband and wife. And we have a daughter. I hope you’ll take good care of us, dear.”

Zarian gulped. I did say that, didn’t I?

Para flapped the cloak from behind him. Yes, you did.

A few hours later, Zarian made his way out of the broken husk of Castle Grimrock.

He found Naomi’s spatial satchel where she’d dropped it. He found the warlock’s treasury and ransacked it, pouring riches into Para’s pocket dimension that he would dump into the coffers at Ride-or-Die Village later.

Then he exited Castle Grimrock through the front. He walked out the toothy gate when he heard a gravelly noise similar to a mountain falling apart.

Zarian kept going as Castle Grimrock and most of its floors collapsed along with the damaged cavern spaces below. A nearby mountain peak collapsed as well.

When the ground fell out from under him, he flew using Aura Mastery, his cloak fluttering behind him.

He crossed over the field where dead aberrations remained, pointed his ring hand, and sucked up Shadowfell Tears. The oily and corruptive substance lunged from the ground like a waterfall in reverse. It seemed to blot out most of the basin like a major oil tanker had spilled everywhere.

The clean up didn’t take long. It was quite soothing to do as Castle Grimrock kept collapsing behind him.

Once Zarian had the corruptive substance cleansed away, he looked down at the marriage ring and nodded in satisfaction. Luciana’s presence was acting distant and less noticeable right now, as if she was watching him from afar.

She was definitely the stalker type.

He figured she would come around later when she wanted his attention for something. Until then, he and Para left an old chapter of their lives behind forever.

“What will become of us after this?” Para asked plainly from the cloak.

“I’m not sure,” Zarian said. “Maybe we’ll become Master Rankers.”

“I was thinking about that. What will happen if we become Master Rankers?”

“Nothing much until the tournament. I don’t intend to ascend until that is done with.”

“What of our enemies? What about Ruvaria’s family and the backlash of her joining the freedom alignment? What about the Carrowmore Barons? What would the Evil Gods think after we conquered the Grimrock Hell Gate? And what about the Star System overall?”

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“Sorry, Para, but I can only answer all of that with the truth. And the truth is I don’t really care right now. You’re going to be active while I’m resting, and I hope you’ll be fine with that. You’ll have Foodie around, at least. But other than that … I just can’t think about any more heavy stuff. I’m tired.”

“Ah, yes, I see. Thank you for listening still and being honest.”

“No, thank you for thinking about stuff like this when I can’t. Even I have my limits.”

“I will continue thinking then.”

They returned to the others, arriving just in time for their celebratory feast in the ruined courtyard on a mountain top.

The stars were out in their full splendor. The fire from the ovens crackled warmly. Foodie stood off to the side while Zarian, Hannah, and Gilbert sat at a table and ate a feast worthy of the gods.

Naomi slept on a nearby bed roll, and Bianca sat in the background, towering over everyone. The monster princess had piles of well seasoned and seared meat stacked on a large platter in front of her. She had a whole cauldron of delicious soup to go along with it.

Zarian, Hannah, and Gilbert had smaller portions of the same. Foodie had also put out racks of lightly cooked beast bodies for feeding Para. The bestial meals had Foodie’s seasoning and magic touch that made them filling and tasty for the Parasite Cloak +3.

This still wasn’t the full extent of Foodie’s cooking prowess, since she had to cook under a time crunch, but it was all incredible anyway.

Every bite of meat was scrumptious, juicy, hearty, and filling. The soup felt like it warmed Zarian’s belly and his soul, nourishing him in ways that he hadn’t felt before.

By the time he started eating, he felt lost in another world that nearly blinded him to everything else going on. Foodie’s cooking was just that amazing.

Foodie, his daughter, was godsend.

Saving her was a gift that would keep on giving in many wonderful ways.

I will protect her and see her grow into the goddess she deserves to be, Zarian vowed deep in his heart.

By the time they finished eating, Bianca fell asleep next. She settled against a thick column, her knees hugged to her chest with all her arms and her golden wings. All the lights covering her face and body dimmed as she snoozed.

Gilbert crashed face first at the dining table. He snored like a rumbling truck engine, which was nothing new.

Hannah stumbled slightly out of her seat. She placed a hand on Zarian’s shoulder, squeezed it, then slunk off. She dropped into a bed roll that Foodie had placed down for her.

Then the Dark Lord, his cloak, and his new daughter remained the last to stay up.

“I see my cooking has satisfied you all,” said the little goblin. “I’m glad.”

“More than satisfied. It was beyond the heavens and hells. Transformative. Soulful. I can tell you really put as much as you can into it. Thank you, Daughter.”

Zarian stood from the table. He swaggered over drunkenly even though he’d only sipped on one alcoholic drink. He rubbed his hand over Foodie’s hair.

He watched her lean into his hand and smile up at him, breaking his heart with her adorableness.

“You didn’t have to do this, either,” Zarian said, his voice cracking a little. “You’ve been through a lot.”

“Mother helped me. Shadowfell, I mean. The pain and tragedy were terrible. Jack … was terrible. But I’ve survived. I will grow stronger. And I’m gaining great rewards for enduring all of that. I have a powerful father who won’t abandon me, and a goddess mother who’ll turn my tragedy into power for me.”

Zarian tried not to cry. It was a hard fought battle. Somehow, he held it in and remained strong as a father should.

“Well, I can’t wait for you to see Ride-or-Die Village. The other kiddos are going to be amazed by you. You’re like another princess. The Princess Cook.”

“Ohhh. Princess Cook Foodie? I never thought I’d be a princess.” Foodie’s smile grew. She shook about a little, as if she was going to act more like a goblin. But she held it in.

Zarian chuckled. He would try to trigger her silly goblin side later. For now, he looked her over for the umpteenth time.

Amazingly, she looked strong and healthy. Emotionally and mentally, she was bouncing back fast.

Zarian wasn’t sure if Foodie’s impeccable attitude was because of stats, Foodie being a goblin, or because she really believed having a new father and mother should make everything better. Maybe it was a combination of all of that, since stats didn’t always protect people from their traumas or personal debuffs.

Either way, they were all walking away from this as far different from before. And thankfully, it seemed like all positives.

Zarian did a quick check with his summons. Spiders and skeletons covered all angles around their current mountain camp. They even had flying spiders in the sky.

Hannah’s golems did round-a-clock patrols, too, especially the twenty-four destruction-ready golems. Those little flying balls were the fiercest of Hannah’s smart constructs. They had powerful runes integrated into their enchantments that Hannah gained from the Hell Gate, making each one overpowered out here.

Then there was Para, who could stay awake forever.

Enough said. Everything was covered.

Satisfied, Zarian released Loner’s bones from the pocket dimension.

The black skeleton expert reassembled himself quickly. There were obvious cracks running across his ribs from having taken a nasty hit from a hell orc. With enough aura and time, he should return to being alright.

“Welcome back to the living, Loner,” Zarian said.

Loner nodded stoically. He turned and looked down at Foodie.

“Hello, I’m Princess Cook Foodie, Daughter of the Dark Lord and Shadowfell Goddess,” the little goblin said seriously.

Loner slowly turned toward Zarian. The goblin skeleton’s eye sockets seemed to judge him.

Zarian beamed a big and cheesy smile. He clapped Loner on his bony shoulder. “Thanks for being our babysitter.”

Luciana’s presence flickered closer with a soft chuckle. Then she faded away as Foodie’s ears perked up in Wonder.

“Mother?” Foodie asked.

Shadowfell didn’t respond.

Loner’s empty eye sockets judged even harder in the Dark Lord’s direction. Then the goblin skeleton turned slightly and noticed the ring on Zarian’s left hand.

The Dark Lord smiled harder. He clapped Loner’s shoulder again. He patted Foodie on the head once more. Then he went over to his bed roll and fell like a corpse.

Finally, it was lights out for the Dark Lord.