Before Read

Hello. Here is CupiGest.

Fist of all, please donate to the Nifty Archive so you can continue to enjoy this stories: https:/www.donate.nifty.org/donate

Second, this story as, in fact, a kind of fanfiction of two other stories:

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/cupid-inc/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/saint-valentino/

Both stories inspired me to do a fic, re-imagined how a magical girl(Mahō shōjo) or, in this case, magical boy. The original author, Zuke, give me permission to publish that story, so check he work too.

This story is a mere work of fiction. Any resemblance with real life is mere coincidence.

This work is for adult audience only. If you are underage or are offended by this type of content, please do not read.

This story will show underage characters having sexual interactions with each other. If this content is type of content offend you or is illegal in o region, please not read.

Notes from chapter

Happy days and great sadness.

The last few weeks have been strange. Greatly strange. Vic's parents were absent...because they were going on dates. Vic had never felt so lonely and yet, he was happy about it.

The happiness of his parents, rediscovering the love between them, made Vic happy too. He never really cared about his parents' relationship, but seeing them happy made him very happy.

For a moment, Vic realized that his parents were more absent than average. The idea that they were ignoring him, so they could enjoy themselves normally would be revolting to most children and people. But for Vic that was... the youth he never had.

On the occasions he saw his parents, they were happy and glad that Vic was alive. Even if only for a short time, that show of affection was all Vic had wanted for a long time. Better than that, they stopped picking on Vic about how he should dress or behave. He could say goodbye to those uncomfortable Christian clothes. When he was not naked or wearing only his underwear, he wore cargo shorts and a pink tank top. Since receiving his powers, clothes seemed so restrictive to him, so anything was baggy on his legs and arms was a relief.

With no parents to clean the house, but his life happiness renewed, Victor has learned to do the housework, making a lot of mistakes in the process, of course. It was then that his parents realized how his romantic escapades caused them to neglect their son. Vic didn't want them to stop loving each other, however.

That week, they transferred Vic from one school to another. In the end, there was no point in sending his son to a place where he went, and would be humiliated. Until school started, they said they would do whatever he wanted. Being so reclusive and deprived of common amusements took all of Vic's gusto away. He didn't even have a preference for a favorite movie, for example.

The best he could ask for was a cake. A cake that he helped to make. Instead of going to church service they had... a small party of 3 people, 4 if count Custard, which obviously was a secret. It was his favorite cake, which he could eat as much as he wanted, leaving it to his parents, of course. Before celebrating, they prayed. For the first time in a long time, praying didn't feel like penance. In fact, he felt his faith giving him clarity.

Even though he was only 12 years old, he knew that these would be the happiest weeks of his life. Something that might never be repeated.

That night, with his parents asleep, he took a piece of cake to Custard. Vic had to do something for him. Staying in his room for so long must not have been good for him.

"Congratulations Vic."

"It's not my birthday."

"But you deserve it. You made your parents become better people."

"Magic did."

"But who made it happen?"

"I don't know. It was very reckless. Actions have consequences and..."

"VIC." Custard spoke self and good-naturally. "My master once taught me that we all make mistakes, and we all weaken because of our faults. The key is not to do that all the time and to learn from your mistakes. Have no shame in having been more selfish in wanting to make things better for your parents, they are your parents. The important thing is not to let it happen again."

Custard resembled a teacher. He was being strict without being indigestible. It was obvious that Victor was going to overdo it sometimes, he was just getting started. But Custard didn't want to push him. He had been impressed with what Vic was capable of.

"Honestly, I don't think what you did to your parents was selfish. But if you think you overreacted or put your benefit ahead, learn and don't let it happen."

"Thank you. Did you like the cake? I helped make it."

"It looks great. It's been a while since I've eaten well like this."

"Don't they serve food in the sanctuary?"

"I practice Fasting. It's part of my training, to abstain from the senses and the lusts of the flesh. Obviously it's not time for that."

In the meantime Vic had become naked. He was no longer ashamed of Custard. In fact, Custard had explained a lot about the erotes in those weeks.

They were magical beings no doubt, but they were more physical and organic than Vic imagined. They were not spiritual beings, like the biblical angels and demons. Likewise, they were unique living beings, with flesh and DNA and subject to evolution, a Homo Erotis, so to speak.

They aged very little, most of them looked 12, 13 years old. Depending on the position, 16 or very young adults. Their bodies were made for pleasure. The idea of highly excited and sexually active angelic children was quite outrageous to Vic.

That is why the sanctuary existed, a place where they could live their lives and give in to the desires of their bodies without judgment. A last escape valve where they could not judge them. Vic respected this. As outrageous as it might be for someone so young to have sex, they were not human, and it would be a lie if Victor himself did not have his own carnal desires. Carnal desires that he had always repressed, and even now, he saw no reason to bring them up.

Custard could see that aspect in Victor. Normally, he would love to make those desires manifest in Vic. He admittedly thought he was very cute. But it was wrong. As much as he was a human before and not exactly a rabbit, that should be classified as something very bizarre, plus he couldn't remember his age. He thought he was young, but if he was an adult, the responsibility was greater. Everything had to come from Vic's consent, rules of the academy that he would never forget, even under penalty.

Custard admitted that Vic took it well. This was quite surprising, he did not resemble an academy candidate at first, nor someone who was chosen by the academy. Normally they would be freaking out or traumatized by the idea.

Vic, however, accepted everything. Custard had this memory at the academy. Troubled kids, orphans, saved from horrible situations or exploited. They wanted to understand the circumstances of why people did things to them or how they let themselves get into bad situations, and in the process they rediscovered the desires of the flesh and the body. He felt that Vic was not very different from that, but he had no interest only in the flesh. He wanted to understand love.

When he thought about, even Custard didn't know the answer. He never asked an erote, he just served them.

He felt powerless.

But seeing Victor, being able to be happy and going after these answers gave him a warmth in his heart. The same kind of warmth when he became interested in magic and began to study with his master.

They decided to sleep. Vic had plans for the next day.

-//-

Vic's parents had gone out, to work this time. Vic would use this to do something he should have done long ago. A few days ago, while on patrol, he found a node, as he called cases or people that needed his attention, that he spent days thinking about how he was going to intervene.

A young couple, whose man was being possessive. Vic felt that this feeling was the same as when he got a new toy, it was not genuine love. If she didn't intervene, the man would probably do something very bad to his girlfriend.

The most obvious answer would be to give him love. However, if there was no love on his part from the beginning, there was no point in continuing the relationship. Separating them could be worse. It could bring out the worst in him. Custard didn't have much experience with straight relationships to give good advice. This surprised Vic. Although erotes were gods of love, they had desire for the same gender with each other.

An erote certainly knew how to assess the situation much better. Vic didn't. So the best he could do is keep an eye on them, to prevent the worst from happening.

Luckily or unluckily the new couple lived near their new school, so Vic had an excuse to go to that area. In fact, that's how he found out about the situation to begin with.

Victor was sitting on a bench in the square, one of those with a chess table. The man was working nearby. And he was emanating energy similar to what his parents emitted, but much less intense. Vic felt like he was looking at a time bomb about to explode, although he did not feel the fear.

Vic was feeling too good to remain inert, although he admitted that he was just wiping ice. If he knew how to redirect this negative energy. What to plant to make everyone well. If it was like this all the time, it would be almost impossible to get the job done.

"What are you doing here?"

Vic was startled. It was Berto.

"Berto... a got it. Skipping class?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I... I'm just looking the area. After what happened, they're going to transfer me to school nearby."

"Why there?"

"I don't know. It's close to home, I know the way, it's not so different from the previous one... it's funny. I never thought much about school... but the thought of moving makes me... anxious? No... Maybe not. I'm sorry. I know you don't want to see me around at school."

"How do you know I study there now?"

"I didn't know. You just told me."

Berto became irritated. Since when did Victor know how to play on the green? By the way, he looked so different. He dressed more comfortable. He seemed happy, concentrating on something else. Berto didn't like this. Berto was only effeminate and grimace at school. In private, he was a normal, well-behaved boy. That humiliation took away his allowance, almost sent him to a conversion camp, which by sheer luck his parents could not afford, and took away all his privacy.

He hated Victor. Victor didn't deserve happiness. Why was he happy? Why did he wish for his happiness? That was unforgivable.

He left. And Vic was left only to cry when Berto walked away. Hatred. Pure and refined. That was how Berto felt about Vic. His parents never apologized to him. He felt that if he brought the subject back up, they would be furious, and it would open their wounds.

But if he didn't, it would be selfish. He had to try.

The man disappeared. In the distraction with Berto, Vic lost him. That would be the end for today.

He didn't know how he was going to talk about Berto to his parents. He didn't even know if he wanted to get involved with Berto again. But he had to. Berto was also a victim of his parents' prejudice. This had to be solved.

He returned home. Custard was reading a Bible and was not liking what he read.

"Don't you have anything better to read?"

"It's not like my parents buy books for me. That's all they have."

"It's time you learn to have tastes, because I'll go crazy if I read psalms again. It's the only part of the Bible that I see any value in. Sorry... I've had some pretty bad experiences with Christians."

"Were they like me?"

"No, you, you were much better... I'm sorry, I don't even remember the details. Why... you are crying. Why?"

Victor talked about his node and the meeting with Berto. He explained the situation he was in and his doubts. He needed to know what to do with the node and with Berto. Custard fortunately had an answer.

"Well... really, Berto needs an apology coming from your parents. You are alone in this, but you can't just do nothing about his hatred. What I will talk about now applies to him and to the node. The first step in being able to help a person, and if that person wants to be helped."

"That... that was accurate. Thank you Custard."

He kissed Custard on the cheek. He couldn't help but turn red. Vic was too cute. And he ran off.

Victor knew how to solve the node. He almost ran out of the room.

"You can only help those who want help. So I was on the wrong side. I need to make the suggestion to the girl."

He convinced Custard to go with him. As much as he hated pretending to be a plush, he had to get out of that house sometimes. Vic was excited about doing the right thing and wanted to see it.

On his way to the girl's work, he passed the square again. There, he had a very unpleasant sight.

Praetor was there, trying to play chess by himself. And to make matters worse, he had already collected corrupted love from the couple. Victor didn't know the long-term consequences of that effect.

"Look at you. I've been waiting for you."

"Praetor. Still being alive?"

"Do you really think you can kill a former prefect of the Praetorian Guard... ouch." He groaned in pain as he tried to give a Roman salute.

"Well, Well, I see your chest hasn't healed yet. Haven't you been beaten enough already?"

"You idiot. You think I won't kill you?"

He tried to make a serious posture, but he comically squirmed in pain. His back was sore. Vic would never appreciate other people suffering, even from an enemy, but it was comical to see that, this warrior was hurt because of him. It gave him a sense of security.

"Listen Praetor I can tell you're not well, why don't you let go of that cursed energy and leave?"

"Well, well, doesn't cupid want the couple to be together? I'm guaranteeing it."

"Look, you suck, so if you don't mind, can you get out of my face?"

"Cheeky. You won't get away with it." He pulled something out of his armor. Vic stood at attention and already had the watch in hand. It looked like a marble, but made of wood. No, it was a bead, it was relatively large, he noticed the holes where the wire ran through.

Custard was mesmerized by that bead and not for good reason. He looked in shock. Vic was too snobbish, he knew it was serious.

"Okay, Praetor. What's that bead?"

"A little something to balance the game. The strengthening process is far from functional, but the materialization process, is stable enough to use. It just needs substrate."

"Materialize what?"

The energy gathered on the bead. It was thrown upwards with a certain smoothness and the sphere of energy grew and grew until it hatched into a humanoid form. It looked like a very large chess piece, the horse. It was almost two meters long... by two meters.

Vic noticed it easily. Unlike Praetor, people noticed the thing, he knew this because they came out screaming and running. Vic also felt the pressure.

"Spectral calling. A mundane object combined with negative feelings, using celestial star power as a base. Soon, it will be used to empower the Misitos."

"Misitos? Is that what you call yourselves?"

"And it will be the last thing you ever see. Hateful specter, you know what to do."

Before he turned, Vic felt something covering his mouth and fell to the ground. He found himself bound and gagged by metal wires.

"A trap I ordered from a friend. Do you really think I will let you do that again?"

Normally a person would panic. However, Vic knew this was a possibility. He had experienced his powers in those weeks.

Vic glowed and emitted a pinkish aura. Those bonds had loosened. He was in his erote warrior form again.

"But how?"

"Do you think I need the watch or the gestures to transform me?"

"Then why..."

"Why not? Did you know it's ugly to interrupt the hero's presentation?" He stood in posture. "Now, let's see if this specter is all that."

At the first blow, however, he was thrown far away. If his skin wasn't as hard as stone, he probably would have been blown away. Unlike Praetor, that thing was at a much harder pace to keep up with.

Less energy was used to create it, but it was much more stable, and therefore much more accurate. Seeing that fighting in close quarters was not going to help, he went to the back. Vic needed a strategy to break the specter's stance.

The specter wasn't going to let that happen. He held out his hands, palms out toward Vic. Chess pawns, the size of bowling pins, fly out at a good cadence. To protect himself, Vic could only put his arms in front of his body, defending himself.

The pawns broke as they hit him, pushing him backwards. He couldn't take the impact. He broke his guard and took some pawn projects to the body. Likewise, he flew off, destroying one of the chess tables in the process.

Vic was only not dead thanks to his power, but it was undeniable, it hurt and not a little. Maybe he shouldn't have been so confident. Now it was too late to complain, he had to defeat that enemy.

Praetor didn't seem to have much patience in finishing the job. As much as he wanted to finish off the cupid boy, the specter was so functional that if he did it right, it could be the impetus they needed to finish off the erotes. He couldn't let that chance slip away.

"Right Esper-knigth. Let's take some hateful and sinful vitamins. After you're in your prime, the cupid project will dream you never got involved in this. Let's see... there."

Vic managed to get down on his knees to look. They were heading for the public restrooms in the park.

"Everyone knows what you do in those bathrooms... look at that... so young and already sating your own lust. Drinking baby batter too soon, huh?"

"What's he talking about? Not that one!"

Vic got cold-blooded. It was Berto. He was walking back to the square, distracted, until he raised his head, probably because of the noise. When he saw the specter, he was in shock. He wanted to run, but his legs failed him, he stumbled and fell.

Praetor was ecstatic. And not for nothing, Vic could see. Berto was emitting negative energy of love. He knew Berto had hate, but that was ridiculous. He had to do something.

Praetor knew he wasn't seen, so Berto didn't hear the comment, but Vic could hear it.

"It's been a few millennia, I never expected sluts like this to still exist. After I get this wonderful energy, I will make more appropriate use of his body. Esper-knight, knock him out."

As the specter prepared to hit Berto, Vic regained his strength and managed to run. He stood between the monster and Berto, on his back, covering Berto. Praetor was furious. This made the monster hit much harder, several times.

In the process, he embraced Berto. He was lost without understanding how there was a barrier between him and the creature. It was then that it happened.

Berto started to look. The chubby, pink-haired face. And a strange warrior next to the thing. Mostly, he understood that the boy in pink was getting it for him.

"Who, who are...who are you?"

Vic realized this... was he being seen now? Why... and Berto... didn't recognize him? Was this possible? He knew that his physical appearance changed, but not so much. An ordinary person would surely solve the riddle, and a suspicious and skeptical person would never deny that they were his double.

He had more important things to worry about. He grabbed Berto and ran out of there.

They hid behind the restroom building. Vic back was sore.

"Who, who are you?"

"I'm here to help."

"That's what you want, but who are you?" Berto was startled, of course.

"Can you see me? How?"

"I... all I could see was that monster. Then I started to see you. You and that... gladiator?"

"Praetorian guard, apparently. Right. Stay here. I'll distract him. After he and monster forget about you, run out."

"How, like that? You got your ass kicked."

"I can do it. I just need to figure out a way to unbalance the spectrum."

"Specter? Is that what they call the monster? Why does he want to kill me?"

"He doesn't. He wants... your love." Vic would not speak that Berto had more than corrupted love. He had hate in his heart. He couldn't let that one out at that moment. Furthermore, he was there to help, not to judge.

"My love?"

"It feeds, and is made of love, spoiled by doubt and fear. I'm sorry."

"I'm... sorry."

"Don't apologize. Everybody has doubts and fear when it comes to love, I guess. You wouldn't be human if you didn't, I guess."

"You guess? You're a newbie... whatever it is you do?"

"That's right, but don't worry, as long as I'm around, no one will use other people's love. I won't let them."

Berto couldn't have found it more impressive. That fat, weird boy... was so... pure. In a way he never imagined. Even in the face of certain defeat, he wanted to do good. Berto felt he couldn't let it go.

He tried to say something, but he couldn't. He had to. He didn't say thank you enough. Tried to hold him from behind. In the process, both of them fall. Vic was a little irritated, but understood that Berto must have been emotional.

The next thing he knew, they were both on the ground. Berto had fallen to his crotch, with his face in it. A rather embarrassing accident. But what followed, not so much.

Berto stood up, staring at the piece that covered Vic's intimacy. He wanted to take it off. Before he could put them down, however, Vic stopped him.

"This is no time for that, and I want some distance from that kind of reward." He spoke a little irritated.

"I, I just..."

"That's okay... but there are other ways to show that being happy for someone." Vic stood up and helped him to his feet. "Even... haven't you had enough fun today? I mean... before you were attacked in the square you were in those bathrooms, weren't you?"

Berto turned red with embarrassment. It was true.

"Listen. Just go away, okay? As soon as the chance comes."

Before he could leave, Berto spoke to Vic.

"Am I going to see you again?"

"Maybe. Given the circumstances of when I show up, I hope not. But I get your point... I wouldn't mind seeing you again. You are a beautiful boy."

"Your name?"

"I don't have one."

"Can I call you... what are you anyway?"

"Me? I don't even know exactly... but I represent the god of love. Now. If you don't mind. I need to defeat that thing."

It was. The specter and Praetor had already surrounded them. Time is certainly relative. It seemed they had talked for at least 10 minutes without being interrupted.

At the mere sight of Vic, The Specter repeated the pawn firing blow. Vic simply ran in circles. He could dodge easily, but he couldn't see an opening.

Berto watched the fight. That warrior... was he a cupid? No, he had no wings, and although his clothes looked Greek, he himself was not. Was that warrior fighting for love? The more he thought about it, the more he found it fascinating.

He remembered that this was his cue to run away. But he couldn't. The thought of that pink-haired boy hurting himself was too horrible for Berto. He had to stay there. He had to see. He wanted to help, but he had the feeling that there was nothing he could do.

Vic realized that Berto didn't run away. He had nothing to do. He had to defeat that thing. In a second of distraction, he was hit and fell again. The specter came closer, probably to execute him.

He stood upright. He couldn't look weak.

"No. Come on, you can do it." Berto was cheering, not speaking.

Vic felt that. He felt that Berto wanted him to be well... it was painful under the circumstances. However, it was comforting... he had to get it. He needed to open distance. He needed to gain distance... attack from a distance...

"Wait a minute." Victor thought "Doesn't the cupid have a bow?"

It was as if time stopped. The next thing he knew, Victor was staring into the void. Everything around him was gone, the park, the specter, Praetor, Berto. It was just him and... another him?

No. It was ethereal, not physical... but it looked like him transformed.

"Then one more." The form spoke.

"The voice that taught me how to transform myself. What are you?"

"You are a smart boy. I know you can think the answer."

He seemed taller and by his voice... he must have been someone in his late 20s. But I couldn't define anything of his appearance, physical size, color, or race.

"I have an idea. Should I worry?"

"Yes. There is a reason why the avatar of Eros, the god of love, has these powers, boy. When a human champion is chosen, it's because Eros can't get any more soldiers among the erotes. And when the situation reaches this level... it's because even they can't handle the threat. You are a young boy. Give up."

"I can't. Not now, with a monster made and an innocent in danger."

"Well... in theory it ends when you want it to. Absolute consent. In practice... you're going to be involved in this until there's no turning back. Do you really want that? Do you really think being a soldier?"

"No. What I want is... to understand love."

This took the entity by surprise.

"It's either selfishness or cluelessness. But I never had full love. From friends, from parents. But still... I can't say I suffer. I wanted to understand if love is a thing."

"Love is a painful and murderous feeling. You don't want to understand that."

"Maybe that's true. But that said... I need to. I won't admit it to anyone, but... I'm a Christian, even considering that at the moment, I have the powers of a pagan god. Obviously my prayers have never been answered... until all this."

"Do you think our Lord has placed these powers in your life?"

"That's the thing. I believe in free will, that is, I don't believe in fate. I had the chance of a lifetime, I can't let it go. I need to use that power in the best way possible. That's what would make Our Lord happy."

"And what would that be?"

"I want to do what is right. I want to do good, no matter how much I suffer. I have been given a power that many would kill to have, power to really change things, that would not leave everything in the hand of a few. I never had love... so I want everyone to have what I never had."

He knew that Vic was not making any sense. But he could feel it. He just had a selfless desire to do good, a child's curiosity to understand love. It wasn't fair to him to have to fight that fight. But... doing good for the sake of doing good... was a vanishing virtue.

"Victor Paixão isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember the words I taught you to transform?"

"Yes."

"They are false. It is incomplete and flawed, not to achieve complete transformation, limiting power. One last protective measure. Pay attention to the right words. That only works once."

He recited the correct prayer.

"If I recite that... do I release the rest of the power?"

"Yes, but it will only get a little stronger. Your opponents won't even notice. However, you escape from this mess. A path of suffering awaits you, Victor Paixão."

It disappeared. And that emptiness, slowly, gave space to the environment where it left. A path of suffering. That was suspicious. However, Vic had the powers, he had the means. Before everything returned, Vic prayed, silently the words.

"Gods of love, grant power to me, the brave one, who accepted this mission. CHANCE MY HEART!!!"

The blow that the specter was about to strike was repelled. A pink aura glowed in Vic. Now he was in full transformation.

Physically, nothing had changed, but the clothes had changed a bit. His shoulders were protected with rounded shoulder pads, made of the same material as his arms and legs, and a metal plate covered his heart.

"No, not again. He has transformed into a complete warrior." Praetor spoke up. "But his power has not increased."

He didn't answer, he just showed off his new prop, a bow. Praetor was not startled. He asked the specter to use the projectile pawns again. Meanwhile, Vic prepared to shoot with the bow. He had never done this before, but he didn't need to. All he needed was an arrow, made of energy.

When the Specter fired, Vic did too, Vic's projectile was loud, but did no damage. Praetor didn't realize the real goal until it was too late. Vic landed a direct, hard punch on the Specter.

Processing what happened, Praetor understood when he saw that the pawn projectiles were lying on the ground.

"That noise. It was the air shifting. That arrow was not meant to destroy, it made a column of vacuum between him and the Spectre. The projectiles lost acceleration."

"Gotcha. Love Punch."

Just as before, Vic threw a punch so fast that it went through the specter, opening an end-to-end hole in it, which exploded. This time, there was nothing left. Only one piece, the knight.

Praetor wanted to say something, but Vic already had him in his sights with another arrow. He appeared.

Vic knelt down tiredly. That was exhausting. Berto came to meet him.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be. Just a minute."

He finally did what he wanted to do before that mess. He put the suggestion into the corrupted energy, purifying it. As it dissipated, Berto spoke again.

"What do you..."

"I put an idea into this unresolved love. So the couple from whom love was stolen will know how to decide. It was dangerous to have stuck around." Vic stared at Berto with some anger, yet then smiled. The bow turned into energy and this went into Vic's right gauntlet, the top of whose palm was the hands of a clock. "But it all worked out fine."

"So, am I going to see you again?"

"Like I said, if you see me again then I'll be struggling, so I don't want that to happen. But if it didn't... I would love it. You are a beautiful boy."

She kissed Berto's cheek, and he blushed. He had forgotten the last time someone had given him a gentle kiss.

Vic got as far away from the park as he could. Far enough away, he reversed the transformation. Luckily for him, this eased the pain. He wanted to cry. Berto didn't recognize him... but he was happy that he was all right. Custard met him, sad. He had run away before. Vic was not angry, helpless as Custard was, he understood. They returned home.

They locked themselves in the room. Vic was getting tired and Custard still seemed down. He decided to strike up a conversation. He had something to talk about.

"Custard. Can you explain to me why you seemed so shocked?"

"Yeah, it's personal."

"No more secrets, have you forgotten? Listen... why don't I tell you mine, then you tell me yours?"

Victor talked about Berto. About how he saved him and didn't even recognize him. About the voice that taught him how to use his powers. Custard felt pretty useless. He didn't know if it was the amnesia or ignorance. He never expected the avatar of Eros to be a warrior. At first, he thought it was just self-defense.

Well, Custard had to say something.

"I had no idea. The powers of the Eros avatar are far more mysterious than I expected. About not being recognized, I can only think of one thing. Berto hates you. He doesn't expect anything from you. You are not even remotely someone he expects to be a hero. So... if he doesn't expect it, he doesn't see the obvious. You would be surprised at the effort people make not to see the obvious."

That hurt Victor. Berto did not want Vic to be a hero. Not could he complain.

It was Custard's turn to speak. He would probably say it was complicated. But Vic had what it took to break the ice. When he defeated the specter by crossing him, he retrieved the bead. He showed it to Custard.

"That bead is what stumped you, wasn't it? Do you want to talk about it?"

"That bead... that bead is part of a rosary. The Rosary of Stars, a powerful artifact for studying the stars, created by a very important erote, a member of the personal guard of the god Eros."

"I see. Are you feeling sorry for him?"

"No. He... he's my master. He's the one who taught me everything I know. So if the Misitos are with the rosary pieces, it just means that."

"No. Not exactly. Hope is the last thing that dies. It was a tough fight. It doesn't mean the worst happened."

Custard wanted to believe the comfort of those words, yet Eros' personal guard was as powerful if not more so than Victor. A strong warrior like that is not defeated unless he fights to kill.

"Custard... how many of those are there?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well... then there's only one thing left. Set up that rosary again. Bead for bead."

"But..."

"No buts. Custard, you are my friend. And if the Misitos get the beads, you'll know what they can do."

"Victor... thank you." Custard was crying. Vic couldn't resist and hugged him too. They had both had a tough day.

"Victor. What about the node?"

"I do my thing. That was the easiest part today."

"What about Berto? Did you plant a suggestion on him?"

"No."

"No? Victor, that much hatred will be deadly for him. He could be in danger or worse, put someone else in danger."

"Suggesting something with my power will only increase his hatred. He wants to feel hate from me."

"But..."

"Custard. It's like you said. You can only help, who wants help."