As Bastion finalized his classes for the semester, Seraphina sat silently across from him, staring at the list of available courses with unfocused eyes. Her posture was still, her fingers resting idly on the table, as if the parchment before her were written in another language.
"What's wrong?" Bastion asked, having noticed how listless she looked.
Seraphina didn't answer at first. When she did, her voice was barely above a whisper.
"I don't know what I'm doing anymore," she said, her tone flat and empty.
Bastion stood from his chair, walked over, and gently scooped her into his arms. He carried her to the couch and sat down with her in his lap, letting her rest her head against his chest without saying another word.
After a tense silence, Seraphina finally spoke.
"Ever since I was born into this world, the game was all I ever thought about," she began. "At first, I just wanted to run from the Demon Lord and everything connected to the game. That was my plan until I grew up with Cyrus and decided I wanted to save him."
She paused, her eyes distant.
"After I saved him, I finally had enough confidence in myself. I thought maybe I could face the game, maybe even defeat the Demon Lord. That goal kept me going. But now that it's over, I feel like I've lost my purpose."
She curled up, leaning more heavily against Bastion before continuing.
"I started thinking about myself, what I want, what I want to do, how I should live my life, but I came up blank. Then I thought about who I was back on Earth and realized I was just going through the motions, distracting myself with stories that let me pretend I was really living. I was content to avoid my problems until the day I died."
"I died, went on an adventure, and now I have no idea what to do next. Should I become an adventurer? A wizard? Keep going with alchemy? I don't know. I never really thought about who I was as a person because I was always too busy running from everything. Looking at that list of classes filled with complicated magic theories made me realize I don't actually want to learn any of it."
Bastion simply listened, realizing he was in far over his head. He had never sat down with someone he loved to talk through deep emotional struggles. His ex-wife had always kept things bottled up. He had been no different. In the end, that silence had driven them apart.
Now, sitting here with Seraphina, facing something he had never truly dealt with himself, he felt a quiet panic building inside. He searched his memories for something helpful, anything that might guide him.
He remembered that sometimes women just wanted someone to listen without trying to fix everything. But this felt different.
An existential crisis was not just a passing phase for someone like Seraphina. Not in a world where long life was the norm.
A normal person might be able to coast through a century of life without purpose. But at Rank 2, with a lifespan of five thousand years, that kind of emptiness could become unbearable. Left unchecked, it would eventually destroy them.
He couldn't let that happen, but he also couldn't make the decision for her.
Bastion held her a little tighter, resting his chin gently on the top of her head.
"You don't have to have it all figured out right now," he said softly. "You've been carrying the weight of the world for so long. Maybe it's okay to stop and just breathe for a while."
He glanced at the discarded class list on the table.
"We'll figure it out together. Not what you're supposed to be, but what you want to be. And if you don't know yet, that's okay too. I'm not going anywhere."
"What am I going to do about my final semester? It feels like a waste not to take the same classes you're taking. And what about choosing a class for Rank 1? Or even Rank 2? What if I make the wrong choice and regret it for the rest of my life?" she said.
"The classes you take this semester don't matter that much since Lilia and I will have you covered. Your Rank 1 and Rank 2 classes are important, but not as important as the skills you gain from them. Once you reach those ranks, as long as your abilities don't conflict, you can always round out your skill set using skill books for the ones you actually want.
"That still doesn't tell me what I'm supposed to do now. I've been looking, but nothing interests me. What if I stay like this forever?" she said, her voice starting to spiral.
Bastion considered her words. If she had nothing to hold on to or work toward, then he would give her something that might help her find her answer along the way.
"How about we talk about our future?" he said gently. "Maybe that will help you decide."
"I guess we never really finalized what we would do after graduation. Shouldn't we be discussing this with the others?" Seraphina asked.
"Elyra will follow my lead no matter where it takes her. Lilia will be happy as long as she has enough magic books and we visit the Magic Empire eventually. So it's fine if we decide, just the two of us. Tell me what you think."
Seraphina took her time before finally speaking.
"I know you will have to take over the dukedom before we can decide anything else," she began. "Eventually, I will have to give you a child to inherit the title, but that can wait until we're ready to leave."
"We don't even know if we will be allowed to leave," Bastion replied. "Father was too eager to throw the title at me. I don't even know the specifics of what taking over the dukedom would entail."
"Can't we just leave after graduating?" she asked.
"And do what? Level up until we hit a wall? Run into a rogue Rank 3 and end up enslaved?" Bastion replied. "We need resources and security before we even think about leaving. Remember what the professor said. True freedom begins at Rank 3. That means we either need to become Rank 3 ourselves or have enough power to make any Rank 3 think twice before messing with us."
He looked at her seriously.
"All of us need to be at least Rank 2 before we can safely leave the kingdom. That alone would take at least a century of hard work for me and the other girls. You're already Rank 2, so you have time on your hands, Seraphina."
"Time I don't know how to spend," she replied quietly.
"Well… let's say we eventually make it out of the kingdom, no matter how long it takes. What would you want to do then?" Bastion asked.
"I want to travel. See the world. There are a million kingdoms on the continent, but I bet we'd get bored after the first ten. So we need a goal, something to keep us moving."
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"That would have to be the Magic Empire. I don't know about you, but settling down in the north or west would be a nightmare. We'd need to be Rank 4 before we even think about it. As for the south, there's too much death. I enjoy adventure, but too much of it would just wear me out."
"What about Central? It's closer, and you'd have more access to alchemy knowledge."
"That's a terrible idea," she replied immediately. "I'm an alchemist for the money, not because I enjoy it. I'd rather be as far from Central as possible so my potions sell better."
Seraphina's eyes widened slowly before she lit up with sudden realization.
"They should have TVs, right? With all the heroes that passed through, there's probably anime, manga, and games too, right?"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Maybe being a consumer really was her true calling.
Bastion smiled at her enthusiasm. But unless they had thousands of years of content, she would eventually need to find something more fulfilling.
Still, she had a point. The Magic Empire likely had technology that Earth could only dream of. They would just have to see for themselves when the time came.
"With that in mind, what do you think you need to work on to get there?" Bastion asked.
"Money. So much money," Seraphina said with a groan. "I bet their luxuries are ridiculously expensive. With our lifespans, we'll need to stockpile a fortune just to live comfortably. And we need to be strong too. I don't know what kind of society the Magic Empire has, but I'd bet it's built around strength and ability."
She sighed and continued, "I have to stop relying on potions in combat. They cost too much to waste like that. It made sense when I was up against the Demon Lord, but now that I need to save money, I have to learn how to fight without them. Based on my stats, I'm clearly suited for magic, so my next class should follow that path."
"Are you sure? You could try being an archer or even a gunner."
"Yes. I prefer fighting from a distance and avoiding intense physical activity."
"That's good. Now you can focus. What else?"
"I also need another production class to improve my potion quality. The better they are, the more I can sell them for. What do you think?"
"You don't have a preference for the type of production class?" Bastion asked. "Because working on something that bores you for centuries sounds like a nightmare."
"I…"
"How about this," Bastion said gently. "Spend the semester trying out all the basic production courses. I'm sure you'll find something more interesting than alchemy if you give yourself the chance."
Seraphina considered it for a moment and nodded. "Alright. I'll give it a try. It's better than wasting time on more magic theory. At least now I know I'm not cut out to be a great wizard. A mage, definitely. A sorcerer, if my talents allow it. But a wizard? Not a chance. Too much math."
"That's good enough," Bastion said with a soft chuckle, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"Thanks, Bastion," she whispered, wrapping her arms around him and resting her forehead against his.
"Anytime," he murmured, leaning in.
Their lips met in a tender kiss, slow and passionate.
When they finally pulled apart, Seraphina rested against him for a moment longer before slipping from his lap and returning to the table. With quiet determination, she picked up her quill and made the first mark toward a future she could truly call her own.
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