The cat-man hastily pressed a wooden object into Reed's hand. It was about the length and width of a bookmark. Looking at it, Reed found writing.

"Please, come speak with me again when you're free, Astralitar. I would be honored if you would tell me about your motorcycle," the catman urged.

Reed grinned. "I'll look you up," he assured, and mounted his bike. Bella's familiar weight tugged at his ear. Turning, Reed broke through the fence and tore through the pasture. His altered suspension wasn't enough to save his ass from going off-road. He stood slightly to keep from rattling his teeth out as he easily left persuit in the dust. Hitting a hill, he caught air.

Changing his core from bike to a paraglider, Reed caught an updraft and angled toward the city again.

"You'd think they would want me to come back. Not chase me off like this," Reed said.

Bella laughed. "You're nothing like the other Astralitars. They wouldn't have run away in the first place. They also would've surrendered long before this."

"How the hell did they win against the Demon Lord if they gave up so easily?" Reed asked, but then thought back to all the shonen-anime heroes he knew of. They usually never questioned who their allies were. Although lately that trend had been shifting towards more angsty stories and distrustful protagonists.

"You should go to that tall building over there," Bella said, interrupting Reed's thoughts.

Ahead, there was a large white building that was decorated with depictions of a man and woman holding the same staff, the top of which turned into branches of a tree.

"That the church?" Reed asked, angling toward the courtyard inside the large building's walls.

"Astrellium," Bella said.

Reed circled once, then recalled his core as he passed over a clear area. Dropping like a rock, Reed crossed his arms on his chest as he plummeted back-first. He turned his core into a crash mat just before hitting the ground. Rolling out of it, Reed called his core back and tossed his hair over his shoulder. "This thing is so useful," he shook his wrist.

"There's a core here you can take," Bella said.

"Great!"

"Head to the right. Those big doors over there," Bella told him.

There were people dressed in blue and white robes standing around the courtyard, gawking as Reed confidently walked across the courtyard and into some kind of prayer room. There were multiple people kneeling to pray to the giant statue of the man and woman facing each other, holding up a tree-staff. At their feet was a large collection of objects. The altar held everything from food to bottles that looked like wine, candles, knick-knacks, and coins. Nothing stood out to Reed as a core, but the altar had that particular tingling feeling, and he suddenly felt very hungry.

"You can have it," Bella told him. "As the Astralitar, everything on that altar is yours."

"Gonna get a big head you keep telling me things like that," Reed said as he strode down the aisle to the altar.

"It's their fault for offering insufficient Sacrifices," Bella said.

Reaching the altar, Reed looked over the offerings. A few of them had a dirty feeling. He picked up a stone carving of a horse and got an image of a father begging for his child's health. "Do they get anything out of me accepting these things?" Reed asked.

"Their prayer gets heard. It's up to Freya and Freyr to answer."

The carving disappeared, absorbed into Reed's fingers. The hunger he felt eased slightly, but the more he fed it, the more he knew small things like this weren't going to fill the yawning chasm. "And how much can I burden them with answering?" Reed asked.

"They're Gods. They'll honor it."

Reed selected a few more things. He closed his eyes, bombarded with the grief of a family over the loss of someone dear, followed by a desperate plea for a swift recovery for a man with a broken leg. Beggars had put their hard-earned coins on the altar in hopes that it would come back to them in abundance. A young woman who had lost her baby wanted another to ease the grief. A woman whose husband beat her regularly hoped she would be saved from the marriage she was trapped in.

He grabbed the sealed bottle that looked like alcohol next. This was not a job his fragile psyche could handle sober.

"Reed!" Bella objected, flying off his ear to stop him. She gripped the top of the bottle, trying to pull it away from him. "You're not supposed to drink it!"

"Lay off," he told her firmly. This offering was from a merchant who wanted to get a good supply contract. They were new to the business and desperately needed a break. Reed took a swig, despite Bella's attempts to stop him. Beyond the tingle of Intention, it was good stuff.

Reed grabbed something that looked like little round cakes and took a bite to help absorb the alcohol. A mother wanted her daughter's marriage to be one filled with love and respect. Reed wasn't sure that was something the gods could do anything about, but he also wished the newlyweds happiness.

Bella floated back, arms folded, frowning at him in displeasure.

"Look, I told you that y'all got lucky I'm not talking to mailboxes crazy, but I never said I wasn't damaged. Y'all the ones who picked a homeless guy living under a bridge." He took another swig of the brandy and ate another cake. "Yer star-walker being a bit of a drunk ain't so bad considering what you could've landed." A thought occurred to him, causing him to chuckle. "Now if you'd hit Bob. Whoo..."

"I'm afraid to ask," Bella sighed, relenting.

"He thought he was a dog." Reed turned to lean back against the altar, looking out at the horrified people kneeling in prayer.

A familiar man in white and blue robes was rushing across the courtyard as fast as he could. That Reed hadn't been stopped long before this was shocking. He supposed the common folk didn't have the guts to stand up to someone doing something taboo. The priests hovering nearby had recognized Bella and were whispering to each other.

"Stop right there, you scoundrel!" Baltaz shouted from the door, out of breath. "How dare you—" the words died on his lips as he recognized Reed.

Reed gestured with the bottle. "Nice to see you, too, Baltaz."

Baltaz cleared his throat and straightened as he walked at a slower pace. "Astralitar. You've come back."

"Passing through," Reed corrected, mouth full. He lifted the bottle and took a swig.

"You must return to the palace. The Di'alletta must be chosen."

"Fuck that," Reed said and reached back for another cake. "Y'all got that kid killed, begged the gods for a replacement, offered trash as Sacrifice, and didn't expect consequences?"

The witnesses to this exchange gasped.

Baltaz looked around, flushing red. "Please, Astralitar—"

"No," Reed interrupted. "I ain't goin' anywhere with you." He took a swig from the bottle as he looked out across the people kneeling and extra priests lurking along the sides of the room. Reed plugged the brandy he was drinking. He'd only had half of it, but that had taken the edge off. Reaching back, he picked up another object from the altar, considered the prayer associated with it, and accepted the Sacrifice.

Baltaz got his courage and strode closer. "Astralitar, you're not supposed to take these."

Bella flew in, intercepting the high priest. "As Their Avatar, the Astralitar has the right to accept Sacrifices on their behalf."

"Again, it's your fault," Reed put in, taking something else. "If you hadn't offered trash to summon me, then I wouldn't be so fucking hungry." He grinned. "You know the gods go through a lot of effort to pick who they bring here to help y'all. They picked me because they knew I was going to make you miserable." He flicked his gaze toward the people gathered. "You, those squabbling princesses, and their greedy parents. Everyone involved in getting Dylan killed. Y'all fucked around. I'm your find out." He polished off the last of the cakes, took another swig from the bottle, and pushed off the altar he was irreverently leaning against.

"Please," the high priest begged, hands clasped and tears in his eyes. "We can't defeat the Demon Lord without a Di'alletta!"

"I already charmed her," Reed dismissed. "If she were gonna do shit, she'd have already been back here tearing the place apart."

Baltaz blinked in shock, realizing that Reed was right. Or maybe some other thought occurred to him. Whatever was going through his head, Reed didn't really care, because there was something on Baltaz that was calling to him. It felt like someone was in his ear, whispering That chain on his neck. Take it.

The high priest had no idea what was coming as Reed stopped in front of him, reached out, and grasped the large medallion hanging from his neck. The tingle on it was like nothing Reed had felt thus far.

Eyes widening, Baltaz gripped the chain. "No—" he gasped.

The medallion disappeared, turning into sparkles that Reed absorbed. This filled a good portion of his yawning emptiness. Only when Baltaz collapsed to his knees did Reed realize he was wearing a sinister grin.

**

Striding into the parlor, Meg'ante still had blood on her face and darkening eyes from her interaction with the Astralitar. Despite that, she was grinning.

"What are you so happy about? You didn't capture him," Saffron pointed out, attempting to pop whatever bubble Meg'ante had going.

Meg'ante ignored her.

"Oh," Snow gasped. "Please, let me heal that," she offered, hurrying over to the giantess.

Taking a seat on the couch, Meg'ante said, "Just cure the bleeding, leave the break."

Amel'issa snorted. "That wasn't a proper fight, though. You can't claim that as a Wedding Scar."

"No, but he got me fairly," Meg'ante said.

The glow of Snow's healing spell faded, and she lowered her hands. As requested, she'd stopped the bleeding, but the bruising and lumpy nose remained.

"Where is he now?" Meg'ante asked, carefully probing her nose.

"He's in line to get into the city," Snow said. "I have my bird watching him."

"Wow his steed moves fast," Amel'issa said. "I really want to take a good look at it." She sighed, leaning against the back of the couch behind Meg'ante's shoulder.

Meg'ante shook her head. "Faster than a horse. And I don't understand how he's got that kind of stamina."

Saffron glanced over to see Meg'ante blushing at her own accidental inuendo. "He's the Astralitar. He has as much stamina as the sacrifices we gave him," she reminded.

Snow looked away with a frown. "Honestly, that shouldn't be much," she pointed out.

"We needed someone who would just choose and then sit behind while we took care of things." Saffron snapped her fan closed. "There was no reason to give anything more than necessary."

"Except we've angered the gods," Snow raised her voice.

"They won't give up on our world," Saffron retorted. "We just have to put things back the way they're supposed to be and everything will be fine."

Snow had the nerve to scowl at Saffron. Surprised, but unfazed by the Shaman Princess, Saffron turned away to the bell pull. Within moments, a servant appeared. "Send in Mia't," she ordered.

Moments later, the woman appeared. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"I want a team of soldiers sent to the Astrallium with a core suppressor. I also need our outfits for that game Dylan had us play."

Amel'issa shot upright with a gasp. "That again?" she demanded, tail puffing.

"Yes. The Astralitar is a boy. He'll fall to simple seduction."

"Dylan didn't," Snow pointed out.

"He didn't get the chance. The Demon Lord intervened. He was going to choose me, but she killed him," Saffron said.

"I won't do this," Snow said, folding her arms.

"You're just afraid you won't win," Saffron challenged. "But fine. Don't participate."

Shaking her head, Snow said, "This isn't going to impress him. He's just going to make a fool of you."

"How would you know?" Saffron demanded. "Because you've been watching him through your bird?"

Snow flushed and lowered her gaze.

Good. She should know her place.