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High up on the mountain peak, the hot spring bubbled peacefully under the night sky. A few minutes passed in silence. Lune waded gracefully through the rising steam.

She closed the distance between them and leaned her arms against the rocky edge right next to Solomon, staring openly at his face.

She tilted her head back to look at the glowing celestial body hanging above them. "There is a very old legend about the moon," Lune whispered, letting her emerald eyes catch the starlight. "Have you ever heard of it?"

"The moon carries countless myths and folktales across the realms," Solomon replied, keeping his gaze fixed on the ripples in the pool. "I would have no idea which specific story you are talking about."

"In the Lumiere Dynasty, the elders pass down a very specific romantic fable," Lune explained, her voice carrying a poetic cadence. "They say if a man and a woman share the steaming waters of a mountain spring on a freezing night, and they bathe together under the unobstructed glow of a perfect full moon, the heavens will recognize their bond."

"The celestial light weaves their fates into a single thread, guaranteeing they will stay together forever."

Solomon looked up at the glowing sphere illuminating the dark clouds. "The moon truly is beautiful tonight."

Lune smiled, her cheeks flushing a brilliant shade of pink. "My name translates to ’moon’ in the ancient tongue. Tell me, Solomon. Do you love Lune?"

The question hung in the humid environment. Solomon looked down at his reflection in the water. He shifted his gaze back up to the starry sky, and finally met her hopeful emerald eyes. He carefully weighed his next words, knowing exactly what she was trying to do.

"I understand exactly what you are asking me," Solomon answered, his tone carrying a profound sadness. "I am simply not ready to be in a relationship right now."

The bright smile faded from Lune’s lips. A flash of hurt crossed her features. "Why not? Are you worried about my royal status or my family background? You absolutely should not care about any of that. We are not rushing into a marriage or anything permanent right away. We can take things at a comfortable pace."

Solomon shook his head and offered a painful, forced smile. "I am genuinely afraid of love."

He leaned back against the wet stones, staring at his scarred knuckles. "Love is the ultimate weakness. Caring deeply for someone makes you entirely vulnerable. The moment you let someone into your heart, you hand the universe a blade to stab you with."

"On the battlefield, hesitation gets you killed. If I know someone I love is in danger, I will compromise my footing. I will abandon my guard to protect them."

He looked back into her eyes. "I have already suffered it once with my previous girlfriend and I am not ready to go through it again. I only know how to endure violence and protect myself from external threats. Opening my heart means letting someone possess the power to destroy me from the inside. I cannot afford to give anyone that kind of leverage over my mind."

Solomon stared at the steam rising from the water. His mind drifted back to the fifteen agonizing years he had spent trapped inside the mental void with the Undead Paladin.

He had lived through the ancient knight’s memories. He had felt the Paladin’s crushing despair firsthand.

’The Paladin stood at the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship,’ Solomon thought, his chest tightening. ’He wielded enough raw power to slay an angel with a single strike. Yet, all that martial supremacy meant absolutely nothing when his wife and daughter were placed in harm’s way. The greatest warrior in the kingdom had fallen to his knees, completely stripped of his pride, begging the heavens to spare his family.’

No one else knew the tragic history of the Eden royal family, but the lesson had scarred Solomon’s psyche permanently. He had felt the agony the paladin had felt. He had lived through and he still carried it deep down in his heart.

Even though it wasn’t his own pain and suffering, he didn’t want to feel like that, ever again.

"It does not matter how strong I become," Solomon continued, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "If the people I love are placed in danger and I cannot reach them in time, all my power becomes completely useless. I would be forced into an impossible corner, made to choose who lives and who dies."

"Love forces you to compromise your own survival for someone else. I refuse to get involved with those kinds of attachments until I reach the absolute apex of strength, until I am powerful enough to protect everything without fail."

Lune listened to his explanation in complete silence. She remained perfectly still until he finished his grim monologue. Then, her emerald eyes hardened into a fierce glare.

She was not angry because he had rejected her romantic advances. She was furious at his flawed, entirely selfish reasoning.

"How do you think the woman in love feels about that?" Lune demanded, her voice cutting sharply through the humid air. "Do you honestly believe you are the only person who carries those fears? Do you think the woman does not experience the exact same paralyzing vulnerability?"

She splashed the water with her good hand, leaning closer to his face. "Love is not a burden placed solely upon the man’s shoulders. The choice to love is mutual. It requires equal sharing of the risks, the fears, and the consequences. Why do you automatically assume you are the only one who has to be afraid of loss?"

Lune pointed a wet finger at his chest. "How do you think I feel every single time you recklessly throw yourself into life-and-death battles against cultists and monsters? I have to sit back and watch you risk your life, completely terrified that you might not come back! Yet I choose to accept that vulnerability because caring about you is worth the fear!"

She shook her head, her wet golden hair clinging to her shoulders. "You are using strength as a convenient excuse to hide from your own emotions. You are a coward, Solomon."

Solomon clamped his mouth shut. The brutal reality check slammed into his mind, entirely dismantling his rigid defensive logic. He had absolutely no counterargument against her valid points. He remained completely quiet, staring down at his reflection in the rippling water.

Lune let out a frustrated sigh. She pushed herself away from the rocky edge, climbed out of the hot spring, and grabbed her towel. Wrapping the fabric tightly around her body, she gathered her dress and walked away into the dark forest without looking back.

A minute later, the dark magic of the Null Orbs finally expired. The bronze owl’s crystal eye flared back to life, resuming the live broadcast.

The translucent blue interface instantly exploded with frantic messages from his viewers.

[1Fizzy: WE ARE BACK!]

[GoonLord: WHAT HAPPENED?!]

[James_hayes: bro looks devastated.]

[Fatal_Beauty: wait where is Lune?]

[Mezz_3863: Solo Man why are you sitting alone?]

[Brerell: he looks like he just lost a boss fight.]

[Foodball: chat what did we miss?!]

Solomon sat alone in the corner of the steaming pool. He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead against his arms.

"She left," Solomon muttered to the camera lens, his voice entirely devoid of its usual arrogant spark.

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