CHAPTER 111: BEARER IN DENIAL

[Leif’s POV—ThorenVald Estate, Night Still Burning]

The words hung in the air long after the light faded.

"...That’s you, Master."

For a full ten seconds, I didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe.

Then I laughed—too loudly, too fast, the kind of laugh people make when they’ve just been told they’re secretly a god and are trying very hard not to pass out.

"Ha. Funny. Very funny. You must’ve gotten your divine circuits crossed, shiny. I’m not a—what was it?—’bearer of the Seraph King.’ I’m barely the bearer of my own sanity."

Luminael pulsed once. A slow, unimpressed glow. "You jest, but denial will not change truth, Master."

"Yeah, and dramatic lighting won’t make your voice less terrifying," I shot back, rubbing my temples. "So let’s just agree I’m not divine royalty and call it a night."

I glanced at Alvar, expecting his usual smirk, the teasing remark that’d pull me back from whatever nonsense this was.

But he wasn’t smiling.

His face was pale—too pale—and there was something in his eyes I’d never seen before.

Fear.

Real, quiet fear.

"Alvar?" I asked slowly. "You... look like you’ve seen a ghost."

He didn’t answer right away. His gaze flicked to Luminael, then to me, then back to Luminael again, like he was trying to solve a very cursed puzzle.

After a moment, he dragged a hand through his hair and exhaled."So... this sword can talk too?"

"Yeah," I muttered, deadpan. "I’ve apparently collected another telepathy subscription. Buy one, get one free."

Alvar’s eye twitched. "Wonderful. Just what we needed."

Before I could retort, Luminael suddenly screamed inside my skull: "WHAT?!?! MASTER—HAVE YOU BETRAYED ME?!?"

The sheer volume rattled my teeth.

"Betrayed?" I hissed back, clutching my head. "I’ve known you for five minutes!"

"AND YET YOU SPEAK OF ANOTHER TELEPATHY PARTNER!"

I stared at the sword, dumbfounded.

"...Wow. I think I’m witnessing an actual miracle. A jealous sword."

Luminael gasped—gasped—like I’d slapped him with a holy scripture.

"I AM NOT JEALOUS! I—I SIMPLY DEMAND LOYALTY! MY MASTER SHOULD HAVE EYES ONLY FOR ME!"

I blinked.

"...Are you asking me to be sword-monogamous?"

A beat of silence.

"MONO—WHAT, MASTER?!"

I rubbed my face. "SWORD. MONOGAMY. You know... loyalty to one talking object at a time?"

Luminael’s gem glimmered indignantly.

"I DO NOT SHARE MY MASTER’S SOUL-CHANNEL WITH OTHER BEASTS!"

"He is a Dragon and I’m not cheating on you," I snapped. "We’re not even dating. You’re literally a sword."

"A DIVINE sword!" it corrected loudly. "THE HEART OF EONS DOES NOT ACCEPT SHARED CUSTODY!"

I stared at him. "...Are you... negotiating custody over my brain?"

"YES!"

Alvar furrowed his brow. "...Leif, why is your sword shining like that?"

"I don’t know!" I yelled back, hands in the air. "It came preloaded like this! I didn’t pick the settings!"

In my head, Luminael huffed, glowing brighter.

"AS MY MASTER, YOU MUST OFFER UNDIVIDED LOYALTY AND DAILY ATTENTION! POLISH ME! PRAISE ME! FEED ME—"

"Feed you?" My voice cracked in horror. "What does a sword eat?"

"REGULAR COMPLIMENTS! AND YOU MUST PROTECT MY HONOR!"

What.The.Hell.

I squeezed my eyes shut and hissed internally, You are a sword. You don’t have honor. Or a bedtime.

"I SHALL ACCEPT ONLY THE FINEST OF SHEATHS!"

Alvar rubbed his forehead. "...Leif, are you having a mental breakdown in front of your new pet metal?"

Luminael bristled in my skull.

"I AM NOT JUST METAL! I AM LUMINAEL—DESTROYER OF—"

I cut him off out loud. "Okay, okay! Fine! You’re shiny and... pointy. Happy?"

The sword shivered like I’d whispered poetry directly into its hilt.

"...Acceptable."

Alvar stared at me, dead flat. "...Did you just flirt with a sword?"

I dragged a hand over my face. "I hate my life."

For a heartbeat, nothing moved. Only the crackle of the fireplace. Only our breaths. Only the faint golden pulse from the hilt on the table.

And Alvar just... looked at me.

Then—

"Pft—" Alvar’s lips twitched.

"Pfft—" It spread, like a crack in a dam, until he suddenly broke. "Hah—HAHAHAHA! Oh—gods, Leif—!"

He bent slightly, laughter shaking through his chest.

I stared at him, deadpan. "My life is collapsing into a cosmic joke, and you’re laughing."

He wheezed, trying to breathe. "I—just—your face—!"

"My face is suffering," I huffed. "Your love of life is having a crisis."

"LOVE OF LIFE?!"

Before I could escape the embarrassment, he stepped forward and cupped my cheeks with both hands, tilting my face up.

His smile gentled. "Why are you this cute?" he murmured. "How do you calm me down just by being... you?"

Heat shot straight to my ears. "Well... I was born like that, I guess."

Smooth. Very smooth. I mentally slapped myself.

He leaned closer, eyes hooded with something warm and dangerous. His forehead rested against mine.

"I can’t get enough of you, Leif," he whispered. "Every day with you feels... new."

Oh no.

Blushing intensity increasing. My Rainbow baby is waking up.

He tilted my chin and brushed the softest kiss across my forehead—slow and reverent. My heartbeat dropped into my stomach.

He leaned down, lips lowering toward mine—And then—

"WHAT IN THE COSMIC HELL?! WHY IS A MAN KISSING MY MASTER?!"

Luminael’s voice detonated inside my skull like divine thunder. I jerked so hard I nearly headbutted Alvar.

"OW—!?"

Alvar froze. "...Leif?"

I hissed mentally, Would you STOP screaming directly into my neurons?!

Luminael’s psychic voice screeched: "MASTER, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! MY HONOR IS BEING COMPROMISED!"

Your honor?!

My honor?!

OUR honor?!

WHICH honor was even being referenced at this point?!

THERE IS ONLY ONE HONOR—MY MASTER’S VIRTUE!"*

I sputtered internally. What virtue?!

"THE SACRED PURITY OF—"

That was it.

I snatched Luminael off the table so fast the air WHISTLED, grabbed the hilt like I was holding a screaming toddler, and leveled a death-glare straight into the glowing jewel.

I didn’t speak.

I projected.

Silent, invisible laser-beam, soul-melting eye contact.

"Luminael," I whispered, voice low and deadly, "if you finish that sentence, I swear on every god listening, I will personally march you back into that cursed forest and bury you so deep, the worms will have to FILL OUT PAPERWORK to reach you."

Luminael went mute so fast the telepathic channel might’ve died.

...

...

Then—

"...Y-yes, Master." He sounded like a chastised toaster.

Alvar blinked slowly. "...Did you just threaten the divine sword?"

"I had no choice," I muttered.

"MASTER—YOUR SACR—"

I turned my head and gave Luminael that look again—the quiet, murderous, shut-your-holy-mouth glare.

Luminael immediately dimmed to a faint guilt-glow. "...sorry."

Alvar snorted, a smirk curling up his mouth. "Stars. Threatening ancient relics. I swear you collect problems like jewelry."

"Occupational hazard," I sighed.

His gaze slid toward the blade’s cracked edge. "Anyway... this crack. Do we need someone to repair it?"

Luminael shrieked inside my skull: "NOPE! I AM PERFECT! PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL! NOTHING TO FIX HERE—"

"Yes we do," I cut in loudly. "I’m not keeping a broken sword strapped to my waist. That’s how tragic backstories are born."

Luminael’s glow wilted. "...I suddenly require professional assistance."

Alvar nodded like he’d been waiting for that admission. "Good. The dwarves are the best metalsmiths. Let them handle it."

I ran a tired hand through my hair. "I’ll call Daren to my office tomorrow. He can take it to the forges."

"Smart." Alvar leaned in, brushing a thumb under my tired eyes. "Now, You should rest. You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," I groaned. "Mentally, physically... spiritually, probably."

"I STILL DO NOT APPROVE THIS RELATIONSHIP!" Luminael blared.

My eyelid twitched.

"Say that again," I whispered, "and I will personally march into the woods, dig a hole, and tuck you in with a bedtime story made of dirt."

Luminael dimmed so fast the room went darker. "...understood."

Alvar watched, amused and baffled. "An annoying sword, hm?"

"A highly dramatic, purity-policing, approval-demanding headache," I mumbled, sliding under the blankets.

Luminael gave one last pathetic mental ping: "...Do I get a pillow?"

"NO," I hissed into the dark.

Silence.

Finally.

The fire crackled. Alvar’s warm presence settled beside me. The sword sulked quietly on the table, glowing like an angry night-light. And somewhere in the back of my mind, a whisper older than time stirred.

I buried my face in the pillow. "What an annoying sword..."

And the night swallowed the rest of my grumbling.