Edited by: ASaltedFish
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"Let's get started…" Ellery took out the crystal orb and, once again, put his spiritual energy into it.
That familiar feeling of his spiritual power being sucked out of him came around, but this time, he was able to keep himself from falling into a dazed state. He controlled the flow of spiritual power and made sure he was in control the entire time.
When he was down to the last 10% of his spiritual power, he cut off the connection and let the crystal orb process his energy.
It was enough energy for the orb, so it released a blinding light before finally creating an arrow that pointed southwest. The arrow was opaque, showing that the Beast God was close to this planet, but there were no indications that it was on this planet.
Emperor Eliane mentioned the crystal orb would flicker to let them know they were on the right planet, but that hadn't happened yet.
"Finally, we are a step closer to meeting the Beast God!" Akimitsu cheered while wanting to rush back to the spacecraft so they could quickly leave.
Edros, the more level-headed one out of the two, opened the map on his terminal and looked at the planets southwest from MPE23.
The map showed there were only three planets in this general direction. One was a resource planet, one was in the neighboring galaxy, and finally, there was an uninhabited planet infested with Ineks. It was often used as a training ground for new recruits to keep the population of the Ineks at bay.
Thankfully, the levels of the Ineks were low, so the military could quickly sweep through this planet within a couple of days.
"The Beast God really picked an isolated planet to rest on…" Ellery looked at the map Edros displayed and gave a sigh.
Well, if he was a God, he too would pick an isolated place when he wanted to rest so no one would come and bother him and his lover right? After thinking about it like that, he felt it was understandable.
"Since we know where to go, let's stop by the resource planet MPE56 before landing on MPE60," Akimitsu suggested. It would also give them time to send scouts to MPE60 to see the planet's situation.
Usually, they would go with the scouts to check the planet, but they were in a hurry to find the Beast God, so letting the quickest members of the First Fleet go there first would be more advantageous for them.
The supplies were needed because they used up a lot of fuel and food for the thousands of people in their spacecraft, so going to resource planets was non-negotiable. They were also actively using their mechas, so their fuel consumption was high.
"Then let's do that," Edros agreed with Akimitsu. He went into his mecha first without wasting any time, leaving Akimitsu and Ellery to themselves.
Akimitsu felt that his best friend was too kind, but he worried about him. What would happen if Aster could not get his own body? He wondered if Edros worried about that too or if he had faith in the Beast God who could make miracles happen.
Ellery saw that he was thinking and looking in Edros' direction. He tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "Let's go, Akimitsu…"
"Ah, sorry." Akimitsu easily picked Ellery up and jumped into his opened mecha.
Once he made sure Ellery was secured into his seat, Akimitsu turned on the mecha. He hesitated for a second before finally saying what was on his mind. "If Aster can't get his own body, what will happen to his potential relationship with Edros?"
"Even though Edros is my boss, he's also my best friend. I was worried about him before we met the two of you. He would have died in the next couple of years if he could not find someone compatible with him. Since he has met Aster and likes him a lot, I now worry about his happiness."
Ellery patiently listened to Akimitsu before finally saying. "I know you care about Edros, but I also worry about your happiness. If, and I emphasize the hypothetical, Aster cannot get his own body, I would want you to think of yourself as well and choose to be with me instead of letting Edros become our lover so he could be with Aster."
"It's selfish for me to say this, but this is my body, and I should be able to decide who I get to be with… Aster and I decided that if we could not separate, he would let me have majority control of our body. He doesn't want to take over my life. Actually, he felt so guilty for occupying my body in the beginning that he wanted to disappear instead."
"Ellery…" Akimitsu felt his voice getting stuck in his throat. He didn't know what to say.
"That's why, don't think of the what ifs. We should hope that we can separate our souls so that we can be with who we want to be with. If the Beast God says they can't help us, we shouldn't give up. We can find another way to make it work."
Ellery was right. Even if they were nervous and worried, as long as they had faith, they could make it work – even if Aster could not get his own body.
"I understand, Ellery… Thank you for easing my worries. Regardless of what happens, I will be by your side."
After their heart-to-heart, they made their way back to the spacecraft. Akimitsu hugged Ellery before going to find Edros.
Ellery went back to his room and then sat down on his bed. He sighed and finally felt his anxiety catching up to him.
He had always been confident, but with so many unknowns happening to him, like dying and then being reborn, Aster's presence, and finally finding his brother, he felt anxious and helpless.
Would it be a lot easier if he just disappeared? He was supposed to be dead anyway, so why was he given a second chance?
[Ellery, if you think you should be dead because you died before, then I should also be dead too.] Aster couldn't help but interrupt Ellery's thoughts. [To me, it's easy to see why you would go through a rebirth. You had a lot of regrets, like marrying the wrong person and not being able to find your brother. Now that you have changed your circumstances, you can say your rebirth was worth it.]
[As for me, we do not know why I am in your body, so I should be the one to disappear if anything. I don't have a clear purpose in this life. You could say I came here to save Edros, but that's a bit far-fetched in my opinion. People's purposes are not tied to other people. It's something we have to find for ourselves.]
'You make a good point…'
[That's right. Don't ever say that you should just disappear instead. I will get angry if you say it again.]
'I am sorry, Aster. I won't say that again. I am happy that we are both here. I will help you look for your purpose. You came to this galaxy for a reason, so we should find it for you.'
[Thank you, Ellery. I hope for the day I have my own body so that I can comfort you when you are anxious, scared, or helpless. I want to be a shoulder for you to lean on.]
'Aster… you say the cutest things.'
[Cu-cute?! I was being serious!]
'I find you to be the cutest when you are serious. You are so nice and say the sweetest things to me; it makes me want to hug you and pinch your cheeks.'
[I… I am going to go! If you're still feeling sad, let me know. I am going to take some deep breaths to calm down.] After that, Aster ran away, leaving Ellery to laugh at his swift retreat.
"And the cutie disappears once again. What are you going to do when you have your own body?" Even though Aster didn't reply to him, this conversation made Ellery feel better.
Plus, he liked to tease Aster, which made his anxiety disappear as quickly as it came.
Ellery got off his bed and walked over to the vanity that was holding Aster's rocks they had all collected. He picked up the one he found on planet MPE23, where they had the mini vacation.
They found a green glass-like rock at the beach. It was probably glass polished by the waves crashing against the shore for decades, but it was still beautiful.
Ellery rubbed the rock-shaped glass, which was cold at first but quickly warmed up from his touch.
At first, he didn't understand Aster's and Edros' obsession with rocks and crystals, but when he picked them out for himself, he felt a bit of joy knowing that the rocks he chose held memories from where they had been. He could remember where they had been when he picked up this rock and what he was feeling at that time.
After gifting it to Aster, now Aster would hold on to those memories for him, cherishing them even if he forgot.
"Aster… No matter what, I will make sure we will both be happy, even if we can't separate your soul from my body."
Even if he felt a bit selfish, he would never give up, even if he had to beg the Beast God with his soul as collateral.