Daniel looked around, squinting at the endless stretch of open water beneath his feet. The portal shimmer behind them faded out with a soft whoomp.
"Hm," he said thoughtfully. "The portal location is… somewhat concerning."
Elizabeth tightened her grip around his neck, still in a perfect princess carry. "Concerning?" she repeated, looking down at the water far, far below. "We're standing on the sea."
Evelyn, clinging to his back, promptly bonked him on the head. "Can't. You. Control it?" she snapped. "We almost became shark food."
Daniel winced slightly. "Ow. And no."
"No?" Evelyn echoed.
"No," he said again, entirely unapologetic. Until he recovered all the fragments in this world, the portal exits were random. There was nothing he could do about it.
Evelyn looked around at the endless sea, then back at him. "Then what exactly are we supposed to do now?"
Daniel hummed, as if considering the view rather than the problem. "I was thinking," he said lightly, "of enjoying the moment. Beautiful scenery, beauty in my arms, beauty on my back. It's rare—very rare."
Elizabeth stared at him. "Couldn't you have picked any other moment?"
"No," Daniel replied without hesitation. "You two haven't let me touch you for a month. You know how frustrating that is. So naturally, I'm taking advantage of this."
Evelyn and Elizabeth exchanged a glance.
…He really did look frustrated.
Painfully so.
And honestly, how could he not be? He was a young man in the prime of his youth, with two beautiful women as his lovers—yet unable to touch. Anyone in his place would be frustrated.
"So," he said solemnly, as if making a heroic vow, "I will stand on this water until I get satisfied."
Evelyn and Elizabeth exchanged a long, tired look.
Both sighed at the exact same time.
Then—very deliberately—each leaned in close, one to either side of his head, and whispered something into his ears.
Daniel froze.
For half a second, his brain stopped functioning.
Then—
"YEAHOOOO—!"
The sea exploded behind them.
A blur shot forward across the sea, slicing through waves at bullet speed. Spray rose in towering walls as Daniel ran—no, launched himself—over the surface, Elizabeth held securely in a princess carry, Evelyn gripping his shoulders from behind.
Dark, shimmering death energy wrapped around all three of them, shielding their bodies from the sheer violence of the speed.
To anyone watching from afar, it would've looked like a living comet skimming the ocean.
Elizabeth clutched his collar, half-laughing, half-screaming as wind tore past them. Evelyn narrowed her eyes, holding on tightly, already regretting how motivating her words had been.
Daniel, meanwhile, had never looked more focused in his life.
What had they said?
Well… nothing magical. Nothing divine.
Just the sort of promise every man dreams of.
And suddenly, finding a bedroom had become his highest priority.
As he ran, Daniel suddenly jumped.
Not forward—up.
For a heartbeat, there was nothing beneath his foot but open sky. Then—
Step.
The air hardened under his sole, compressing into an invisible platform. It cracked like glass under pressure, releasing a shockwave as he pushed off it.
Step. Step. Step.
Daniel grinned, adrenaline flooding his veins. He hadn't planned this. He hadn't trained it.
He was improvising—forcing his power outward, shaping raw energy into momentary footholds in the air, each one forming just long enough to be used before shattering behind him.
Platforms bloomed and broke in rapid succession beneath his feet.
The ocean dropped away as the sky became his road.
Wind howled past them as he ran on air, leaping higher with every step, launching himself forward like a living missile.
Death energy flared around his legs, stabilizing his body, reinforcing his muscles so they wouldn't tear themselves apart from the strain.
As Daniel sprinted through the air, Elizabeth's eyes suddenly widened.
"There—" she said, leaning forward. "That's Port Royal."
Daniel followed her gaze. Far ahead, the familiar coastline was coming into view—the harbor, the rooftops, the green hills beyond.
"Yes," Daniel said, satisfied. "And more importantly… it has bedrooms."
Evelyn and Elizabeth both looked at him at the same time.
That really was all he could think about.
***
In the Governor's Mansion,
Governor Swann sat in the garden with a porcelain cup of tea balanced carefully in his hand. The afternoon sun was warm, the air calm—too calm for a man whose daughter had disappeared, returned, and then vanished again into things he still didn't fully understand.
He sighed heavily. "It has been a month," he muttered to himself. "Where has my dear daughter gone now…"
He lifted his teacup for another sip.
Then paused.
Something moved in the sky.
"Hm?" Swann squinted upward. "That bird is flying rather low…"
The dot grew larger.
And larger.
His eyes narrowed. "That's a very strange-looking bird."
A few seconds later, his expression changed completely.
"…That is not a bird."
The dot rapidly expanded into a very clear, very fast, very human-shaped object coming straight toward the mansion garden.
Governor Swann's teacup slipped from his fingers.
It shattered on the stone path.
"My word," he whispered. "They're coming at me."
And at very high speed.
The wind hit the garden first.
Governor Swann barely had time to step back before something landed in the middle of his rose bushes with a solid thoom, stone cracking slightly underfoot.
Daniel straightened calmly, as if he hadn't just arrived from the sky.
Elizabeth slipped down from his arms at once. "Father!"
Governor Swann froze.
For half a second, his mind refused to process what he was seeing.
"Elizabeth?" he said hoarsely. "Elizabeth!"
She crossed the distance in a heartbeat, skirts gathered in her hands as she reached him.
Afterward, Elizabeth explained everything that had happened over the past month—where she had been, what she had seen, and who Daniel truly was.
Governor Swann fainted halfway through.
They revived him.
Then Elizabeth, hesitating only a moment, admitted that she loved Daniel.
Governor Swann fainted again.
This time, it wasn't exhaustion or stress—it was sheer shock at the realization that he had somehow acquired a god as a prospective son-in-law.
***
That night, one of the rooms glowed softly in the lamplight.
Elizabeth and Evelyn sat on the bed in their nightdresses, the atmosphere charged with nerves and anticipation. The quiet felt heavier than any noise.
Daniel stood near the foot of the bed, arms crossed, looking far too pleased with himself.
"My dream came true," he announced proudly.
Before either of them could react, he flopped onto the bed between them.
"Daniel—!" Elizabeth gasped.
Evelyn shrieked, half-laughing, half-shoving him. "You absolute menace—!"
The mattress bounced. Pillows were knocked aside. There was a flurry of movement, protests, and flustered laughter.
Outside the room, a dark, subtle veil of energy spread across the doorway like a soundless curtain.
No sound escaped.
And inside the room, amid tangled blankets, muffled laughter, and indignant protests, Daniel smiled to himself.
*****
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