Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

When the call came for Andre’s soul to be brought to the mortal world for a final conversation with his family, Elenaria was the first to be alerted, as without her permission, no soul could leave the expanse of Stellaris. But she wasn’t the only one paying attention to the call, as a god far into the distance reached out with its hands for a moment, passing over her seat of power.

’What was that?’ The presence retreated as quickly as it had arrived, having done nothing but check her status and that of the soul cradled in her hand. Although at a loss for words, she did come to a conclusion before sending Andre’s soul down to the conduit’s vessel.

"The mystery Creator, it has to be. But what does he want, and why now for Andre of all folks? Or was it me? A warning for breaking the rules?" Neither here nor there, she had only theories of what could be the reason behind his unexpected browsing.

While she mused over the reasoning behind it all, down on Atlaris, Stellaria’s surroundings had begun to glow with a gentle tone of moonlight. The chair, the pots, the flowers, and even the ingredients for the ritual–everything was floating in the air with her as the epicenter of the controlled chaos.

Helga’s mouth dried as the air started to taste familiar. The reek of one’s clothes after a long battle, or in her husband’s case, another mission with his soldiers right at the city’s borders, filtered through her nostrils and filled her lungs. Swallowing hard, she could taste the lips of the man she once loved.

"Andre?" She murmured as the socceress opened her eyes, now glowing moonlight-silver.

Approaching the old woman with care, Helga kept her daughters gripped by her hands. Dragging them along, she was of two minds. Hoping this would work while at the same time hoping that it wouldn’t. The mystery, however, didn’t last long.

"Helga?" Spoke the socceress, but the voice wasn’t hers.

The valkyrie’s body froze at the familiar tone, and her grip on her daughter’s hands let go entirely. As her own hands fell to the sides, she reached forward with her hand but stopped halfway.

"It is you..." A trembling sigh escaped through her lips.

Looking around with a dull expression, Andre’s soul soaked in what it saw. His daughters and his wife, standing before him. Realizing that it wasn’t just a mirage, he too couldn’t help but smile back.

"I love you," he said, looking at his daughters.

"W-we love you too!" Tearing up at his voice, Tatiyana and Stella both rushed up to him and hugged him from both sides. Squeezing the old woman’s body with their father’s soul housed within, they hissed and cried and spoke as one mind. "Please! Please come back!"

With a gentle hand, he brushed their hair. Smiling and hugging them back while lifting his head to slowly meet Helga’s gaze.

"You look tired."

"I-I am..."

"I’ve been watching over you all." Andre’s daughters pulled away from his grip and looked up at him as he spoke. "All of you. You need to let go of me; our daughters are the future, but you needn’t hold them so tight that they can’t breathe."

Helga’s body jerked forward and stopped. Words of retaliation lingered on her tongue, but she already knew that her actions were crippling her daughter’s abilities for a long time.

"And you need to rest soon."

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

But neither had to say another word, for her immortality had spoken enough. Getting rid of it and living a normal life, nothing could bring her greater comfort, and that’s what her late husband wanted her to have.

"Andre, I’m sorry about what happened." Gathering her courage, Helga finally spoke her mind and rushed forward. Standing right in front of him, she drew a long breath and just held it. "If I hadn’t gone with you on that mission–"

"Stop." His eyebrows narrowed, and his gaze shifted to his daughters. The light in Andre’s gaze was also getting lighter by the second. "How long has it been since your mother smiled?"

"A long time?" Said the twins, their heads lifting up.

As Andre followed their gaze, he smiled at the Valkyrie and said.

"You were always so grumpy before we got married. Always complaining, always talking about how annoying you found my company. And yet, on the day of our wedding, you smiled for the portrait. Arms wide with a bouquet in hand, and since then I’d only ever seen you smile, Helga. Why did you stop? Just because I am gone?"

"Yes..."

Reaching for her face, Andre cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"The past is over; there is no reason to live in it. I loved every moment of my life with you, and I’d be a monster to wish you misery while I’m gone." Smiling at her with his thumbs stretching the ends of her lips, he added. "Besides, I’ve heard my replacement’s better in bed; is he really?"

Turning red, Helga’s eyes darted to her daughters, who seemed just as surprised as she was. When her gaze returned to Andre, he was laughing a quiet laugh–a faint reflection of his true self staring at her from the inside of Stellaria’s eyes.

"Andre!"

"I love you, Helga. I always will, no matter what happens. No matter what life you choose." Letting go of her face, Andre stretched his arms towards his daughters. Scooping them up in a hug, he leaned into their ears and whispered. "Look after your mother for me, okay? Deep down, she’d be a bigger crybaby than you two."

"D-dad, don’t go! Please stay!" Gripping him tightly, Stella buried her face into the nook of his neck.

"Y-yeah...Please! There must be a way, right?!" Tatiyana begged, looking up at him through her teary eyes.

Shaking his head, however, he let go of their bodies.

"I would love to stay, but I can’t." For once, the glow in Andre’s eyes was gone completely. No smile, no shine, just the cold touch of reality as he said his final piece. "Just wave at the stars, sweetheart; I’ll be there waving back."

And thus concluded the ritual; Andre was gone, and it was time for his family to finally live in the present and not the past.

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