Brie's face lit up with so much joy and she began crying. "Of course I'll marry you!" she exclaimed, as she allowed him to put the ring on her left ring finger.
Sora stood up and gave her a kiss.
"CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!" Levi yelled.
Celeste tripped over Sasha, who knocked Sera over and Jubelle fell from the bushes. The entire sight was hysterical and Brie and Sora burst into laughter.
"How long have you been spying on us this time?" Sora asked.
"You know, just for the personal stuff," Sasha joked.
"She's kidding. We left you alone for the date. When we saw you two get up to walk around the corner, we all made it over to the bushes. Sorry for telling everyone, Sora, but I figured they'd love to know," Levi said with a large smile.
"I'm glad you let them know, and I'm glad you all are so genuinely happy for us. It means a lot to me. You know, I'm always worried each one of you think I'm playing favorites or trea–"
Sasha cut him off, "Totally playing favorites."
"100% Brie is his favorite," Sera joked.
"The lovebirds have always been each other's favorites," Jubelle said with a laugh.
"Thanks everyone, seriously, I mean it." Sora said as he flashed their seal mark on all of their hands.
Everyone appreciated the gesture.
"You ruined my make-up!" Brie said as she gave Sora a friendly nudge.
"What are you talking about? Your make up looks perfect." Sora said. He pulled out his cell phone and took a picture of her. He showed her the picture.
"But how?" Brie asked.
"Last time you ordered make-up I made sure it was water resistant. I still don't understand why you don't just create your own account!" Sora said while laughing.
*****
The group finally made their way inside and celebrated Sora's birthday and their engagement.
[Congratulations Sora, you have completed your goal: Propose to your Queen. Reward: Instantly level up to level 100.
Level 100 reached: Goal completed: Learn about the secret powers of your eyes.
Your right Amethyst eye allows you to freeze time, currently, for two seconds. You can move freely and those you designate can move freely in this space. However, you have just unlocked this skill, so I would not overdo it.
Your left Aquamarine eye allows you to cast any illusion you would like. Simply look at an ally or enemy, imagine what you'd like them to see, and they will see and experience whatever illusion you desire. Use caution when using this skill and do not use this skill with your right eye until you have leveled these skills up.]
'Finally!' Sora thought, unable to contain his joy. 'Brie's dream and vision where I froze the battlefield makes so much more sense now. The illusion magic is really cool too. I wonder how much stress this will cause on my body.'
"Ok, I know we're engaged, but why are you suddenly so happy again?" Brie asked Sora. She always knew exactly how he was feeling.
"My eyes! I've finally unlocked my eyes!" Sora excitedly announced.
"Well, go on then, what do they do," Levi said with excitement.
"My right one can freeze time and my left one casts illusion magic. I want to try it but I also don't want to cause anyone pain or freeze time for too long and push my limits," Sora exclaimed.
"You know the illusion doesn't have to be something bad, right?" Brie asked. "You could always try it out on me. Put me somewhere where I'm really happy and see what happens."
"System, how do I activate my eye skills?"
[To activate your right eye, use Eye of Chronos, to activate your left eye, use Eye of Leonheart.]
"Celeste, please make sure I don't go too far. If I do, snap me out of it, ok?" Sora asked.
"Of course," she said with a smile.
He looked Brie in the eye and said, "Eye of Leonheart," and imagined his illusion.
Brie sat in a trance, staring off into the distance with a plain, robotic smile. She was hugging her parents. They were so proud of her. She felt so loved. She had finally reached SSS rank and dropping out of school was the best decision she ever made… according to her parents.
Sora's eye began to bleed and Celeste quickly spoke to him telepathically.
"Sora! Enough!"
Sora finally stopped and the horror on everyone's faces showed the severity of the situation. The only calm person was Brie, who grabbed a handkerchief from the end table and gently wiped the blood from his eye.
She kissed him on the forehead and said, "It was absolutely beautiful. I couldn't move and I didn't want it to end." She gave him a warm hug, which made Sora feel much better. The party finally relaxed.
"Thanks Celeste, I owe you one. Why couldn't I stop?" Sora asked.
"Probably because it's a new spell and you don't know how. This isn't regular magic, Sora. This is magic only known to the gods. You're casting god magic now. Let's treat this with the utmost caution, ok?" Celeste said with a kind smile.
"Hey system, why didn't you stop me, like you did with the emergency protocols?"
[This was also my first time experiencing you casting god magic. I will try to prevent you from going too far in the future.]
"How are you able to cast all of your spells so effortlessly, though?" Sora asked Celeste.
"I've been a goddess since birth and I've been alive for a long time, Sora. It took practice, dedication, and I was in Paradise. After Athena created me, I was given a god and goddess who looked over me like parents would on Exteria. They helped me hone my craft as well. As time passes, it's like your current skills. It just takes significantly more time with any type of god magic.
"Let's not worry about all of that for now. I know Wrath kicked our asses in the Monolith, but that was so long ago! We've added 3 more party members, Brie is SS, we have a kick-ass party and a very strong alliance," Levi boasted, in his over-zealous tone.
"I think you two should take a picture and announce your engagement!" Celeste said cheerfully.
Celeste took a photo with Brie showing off her new ring and within minutes, the party heard a news station on one of their televisions in the living room.
"Breaking news! The King and Queen have just announced their engagement," a new woman exclaimed.
Sasha turned the television off.
"Well Sora, what do you want to do next?" She asked.
"Take a vacation?" Sora joked with an awkward laugh.
"Let's check in with the people of Sorbella and see how they are doing. Then we should either visit the humans, the vampires or the Uthra. What do you all think?"
The party deliberated for over an hour before they realized how late it was.
"Well, we can figure that out later. It's already past midnight. We should all get some rest," Leila said with a giant yawn.
"That's a good point. Thanks for an awesome birthday everyone! I appreciate it," Sora said with a smile.
"No problem. You two lovebirds go enjoy your new status as engaged alone and keep us out of it!" Sasha joked as she covered her ears.
Sora and Brie blushed. Sora definitely never thought of losing his virginity.
******
Brie hopped in the shower and Sora changed into his usual nighttime attire. He laid in bed and drifted off to sleep.
"Congratulations, my son." Aphrodite said as she appeared in front of Sora.
"Thanks Mom. How's Dad?" he asked.
"He's doing well. Be careful with those eyes of yours and make sure you protect Brie and your party. I'm so proud of you. Please continue on this path and everything will be just fine–" she said as she faded away.
Sora started tossing and turning in his sleep. Eventually, he started screaming. Brie quickly turned off the shower, put on a towel and ran into their bedroom.
She managed to wrap the towel tightly enough around herself to get on top of him. She gently laid there, listening to the very faint breathing of her soon-to-be husband.
Sora jolted awake after witnessing Brie die at the hand of Azazel in his dream.
"Hey, glad you're ok. Was it your mom or your dad?" Brie asked calmly. She quickly noticed something wasn't normal, as Sora looked terrified.
"Hey, hey, it's ok, it was just a dream. Remember what your Mom told me? They can't control the dreams you have, they can only meet with us in our dream space so whatever you saw– it was just a dream."
"You're right, it was just a dream. I love you Brie. I'm sorry, I always fall asleep when you take a shower," Sora whispered.
Brie hopped off him, ran into the bathroom and threw on pajamas. 'Fuck the bra and underwear tonight, something's wrong with him.' she thought.
She raced back out and cuddled him tightly.
"Do you mind telling me what you saw that has you so spooked?" Brie asked.
"I really don't want to–" Sora said.
"Sora, we're going to get married. Remember when I told you about all my dreams when I met your mom? I also saw myself in my wedding dress." Brie said while she blushed. "I don't want there to be secrets between us. So please, just tell me."
"Awe, thanks for not telling me before. That's cute though. I honestly just don't want to tell you because it involves you and it's horrible."
Brie already knew that much. She guessed that by the look of fear on his face when he woke up and how his facial expressions instantly relaxed when he saw her. It didn't hide the lingering fear in his eyes, though.
"Please, just tell me. I can handle it, I promise." Brie pleaded.
Sora began to cry, "I saw…saw you… die."
Brie hugged him tightly, so that he couldn't see her face. She too shed a tear, but reminded herself to stay strong for Sora.
She finally gathered the courage to look him in the eyes and said, "Sora, it was just a dream. You wouldn't let anything like that happen to me."
Sora finally relaxed, as he could feel Brie's warm skin underneath her pajamas. He gave a passionate kiss and they laid together and fell fast asleep.
*****
Deep in Obsidian Hallow, Azazel let out a deep laugh.
"Oh Pride, I have some information you might like to hear."
"You summoned, my Lord."
"Our new King and Queen are engaged. It's all over the news. I think it's time you paid them a visit. If they struggled with Wrath, certainly you shouldn't be a problem for them?"
"As you wish. What are my orders?"
"Send a message. Present him a choice. Attempt to kill two, but make sure one is the bride-to-be. Leave the others. Let Sora feel the pain of losing someone he loves so dearly."
"When and where?"
"Be ready. It will happen soon. Time to see if Sora truly doesn't have a favorite amongst his party." Azazel said with an evil laugh.