I've always loved the cold. There's a beauty in wintertime that's always felt so ethereal. For so long, I was the closest thing to otherworldly I'd ever found. It was nice to feel as if I had some kind of company. But, I could never ignore the hollowness of the season. Once you get on in years, the magic and love fades. It's depressing. I thought about all the winters I'd lived through; All the Christmases and hard storms. I should be home, in the castle, cuddling Ricky near the fire. Kissing his beautiful lips that smell of peppermint tea and running my hands down his perfect skin, up into his raven hair. Instead, I'm trekking through another fucking forest. There's no animals nearby, no people, just snow and birch trees. Like I said, depressing.

This forest hadn't been like the others. It wasn't lush or overgrown, and the terrain wasn't erratic in elevation. In fact, I could actually see the horizon from ground level. There was even a well traveled path we could walk, and it led straight to the demon lord's doorstep. I don't know if you've noticed, but they're not exactly the most welcoming people. Yet, this one appeared to have an open door policy. There was no formalities or guards, and no one batted an eyelash when we walked right in. I'm sure some of that came from Ezra's presence, but we've been in plenty of places where the demon lord in charge knew us and we were still treated unkindly.

A large bearded man in corpse paint hollered our way as we passed him. "Back already?!"

Ezra shrugged, "Hard to stay away, I guess. I need to talk to Mother about something again. Kind of the same thing as before, actually."

He nodded his head towards the hall in front of us. "Up the hill." He said, "She's been actin' weird since yesterday. Something about the monument."

Ezra thanked him, then continued onward. He was more rigid than normal. Clearly bothered, but I'm way too clueless about all of this to understand why. I could make my guesses. The monument they mentioned, it could've been the place I saw in my dream, and it may be acting bizarre because of my dream. It can't be that easy, can it? Nothing around here is ever that fucking easy. This world isn't a stranger to clichés, though. I've figured that much out.

After walking through the main hall, Ezra stopped before two detailed iron doors. "This is as far as I go. She'll want to talk to you alone."

"Alone?" I looked at him as if he grew a second head. "You want me to talk to a demon lord alone?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? What's the big deal, anyways? You're alone with the Master constantly, and you've been alone with Ville a ton of times."

"It's different and you know it." I sighed, "Fine, but if I get killed, it's on you to resurrect me."

He rolled his eyes, "She's not going to hurt you."

If you say so, Ezra. She trained him for years, so I suppose he knows what he's talking about. I pushed open the door and found myself outside again. There were pillars and lanterns about, and other buildings in the distance, indicating this area to still be apart of the temple. Dusk had settled enough that the stars had become visible and the sky a soft shade of the night. I hesitantly followed the stone brick path carved out before me. Shortly after, I reached a set of stone steps scaling up the side of a hill. Presumably "the hill" that was referred to earlier.

These are... thee steps, aren't they? Oh, fuck me. I know I should be relieved that the answer came this quickly and I was finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, but I'm worn the fuck out. I'm ready for this whole adventure to be over. Atop the steps, I had found the monument of light orbs I'd seen in my dreams. They were beautiful and magical, like tiny moons. Each hovered above a pedestal. The pedestals were aligned in a perfect circle, and at the center stood a statuesque woman in a flowing white gown. The most elegant blond hair cascaded down her back.

As her kind tend to do, she immediately knew I was there. She began to turn around to face me. Unfortunately, it seemed a formal greeting wasn't meant to be. The last thing I saw was her shocked expression before a flash of light jumped in front of my eyes. It slammed into me like a damn freight train and sent me flying back down the stairs. I must've hit my head, but I'm pretty sure I blacked out before that happened.

When I came back around, I got the sense I hadn't been out long. I was still outside, laid out on the ground not far from the monument. The resident demon lord was leaned over me. She held my face like a loving mother, radiating the same warmth of one. Suppose that's where the "Mother" pseudonym came from.

I groaned, "I am really, really sick of being knocked unconscious and waking up in random places."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting her to be so... Spirited." She said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Sorry, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Come. Let's walk together." She rose to her feet, offering me a hand. As I placed mine in hers, she noted the sigil burned into my skin. "My name is Maria. You must be Chris. Ezra told me about you."

"Good things, I hope." I responded, "He's inside. He came with me... But you probably knew that already."

"You'd be right about that. And, don't worry. It was all good things. He told me about your mission. He knows I'm a sucker for a good love story." Maria offered me her arm. I walked with her, allowing her to lead us. Her energy was unmistakably maternal. She possessed a great love in her heart, but it wasn't erotic or romantic like Ville's. "Coming on this journey with Ville's endorsement, you must've known what to expect if you got this far. You may know, we don't choose our power source. It chooses us."

"Ville told me. He also said something about how the Sanctuary of Amadeus had been lost for centuries before Ricky came along."

"Most are, but there are some we find on accident. Take the monument here for example." She detached her arm from mine to gesture behind us. "I found it when I was a young girl. I used to play in these woods growing up. Back then, I had no idea what it was, but once I felt that kind of power, I realized it. I built this temple around it, to protect it until her vessel arrived."

"You're implying that's not your power source?" I asked.

"It's not. We were always friends and she helped to protect the temple, but she was never mine. Sometimes I doubted if a demon lord deserving of her would ever come along." She shifted her gaze from the monument to me. "But here you are."

Maria then continued walking, as if she hadn't just dropped a bombshell on me. I rushed after her, "Wait, wait! You're saying I'm actually..."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" She asked.

"Well, I was kind of a dick to the Father." I said.

"Only in the name of love." Maria stopped and turned back to me. "Can't you feel her power in you?"

"I don't feel that much different, to be honest with you."

"Hm," She grinned, "Maybe you've already become accustom to it. Ezra said you and Ricky were close. Her name is Selene, by the way, but she's more formally known as the Monument of the Moon."

"Meaning..."

"Meaning, you're now the God of the Moon. Don't worry. I won't let any harm come to her." She raised her head, her soulful eyes observing the night sky. She took in a deep breath as a gust blew over us, tugging at her curls. "I don't know why you're still standing here with me. You have everything you need." Maria glanced me out of the corner of her eye. "Go."

It seemed so damn simple when she said it. Just... Go. It took a second to fully sink in, but once it did, I bolted. The joy that overtook me was childlike. It was... That exactly kind of winter magic I thought I'd lost touch with. The shadow dimension leaped after me like an overexcited puppy. When it pulled me back, pulled me down into it's darkness, I no longer felt like I was sinking. I was floating. The little bit of fear I'd harbored for it in the back of my mind was gone. I always thought this was my domain, but only know could I realize I was wrong. There was so much about it I hadn't truly touched or seen.

To plummet into the dimension's deep end and take on my bat form—a feat that took every bit of my power to accomplish and nearly killed me in the past—was nothing now. The smoke that wrapped my body in this form had changed. It now glittered as if it was made of the night sky itself. As I flew up, I could feel the moon's power dancing along my skin. I was farther above the ground than I ever have been and once I had Ricky back, I knew I was never coming back down.

I went home, as fast as I fucking could. Maria would undoubtedly tell Ezra I'd left. He and Yuu would forgive me for leaving ahead of them. They don't exactly complain about getting alone time. That wasn't my focus, none of it was. All that had happened, what I'd now become, it didn't even matter. All that mattered was getting home to Ricky. My love, I'm coming home. I'm finally fucking coming home.

—

This world is so big and beautiful. As I darted through the night, I passed over such remarkable places. From up here, Khar'Zul looked as peaceful as Shimane. You wouldn't know how blood soaked their soil was. It was nice to see more of this realm, but I'll be happy to get back to Ville's palace of love. And once we have a chance to catch our breath, we're returning to the castle. It's where my family belongs.

What was once an insane mission had become a flight I finished in one night. I wasn't even tired when I got back to Ville's. Dawn was just breaking, coating the sky in the most romantic shades of oranges and purples. After my feet hit solid ground, I returned to my default state. I could sense Ricky's soul. He was so close. I hurried through the halls until I found him sat in a window, watching the horizon. As the light graced his skin, I could see the green glimmer of his tattoos had disappeared. The coldness in his eyes had returned, and the black of his hair had become truly black again.

Ricky wouldn't turn to face me initially. He continued to state outside, the ghost of a smirk playing at his lips. "You're an asshole." He lifted his hand, revealing my sigil burned into it. "Do you know what this is? It's a destiny bond." His brilliant smile stretched across his face as he started to laugh. "I'm stuck with you for eternity now! You fucking asshole!"

I reflected his smile, "Okay... But I'm your asshole."

"Oh, you-" He jumped to his feet, throwing his arms around my neck. "Just shut up and kiss me."

That I can do. I wrapped him up in my embrace as tightly as I could. I'm never letting go, ever again. So, destiny bond, huh? Well, I'm not sure if I believe in destinies, but if you told me this was my entire future, I'd be inclined to agree.

As we parted from each other, Ricky gave me a quick up and down. "So, what was it? God of Blood? That'd be fitting for you. God of Venom? Or maybe God of Cheesiness."

"The Moon, actually." I replied, "Which I think makes the most sense, all things considered."

"What'd you mean by that?" He asked.

"Well, you're the God of Shadows, right? The moon has two sides. The light side, and the dark side. You're my dark side, my other half. Without you, there is no moon."

Ricky stared up at me in silence. He then rested his head against my chest, muttering, "Still think the cheese is a better fit. Point in case."

I laughed and continued to hold him close. I'm sure this situation has left us with a lot of housecleaning, but we can worry about that another day. For now, all I want, all I need, is my beauty asleep beside me.