The sky was blue.
Just... blue. With clouds. Fluffy ones.
Aurelion stared at them from his position on the newly rebuilt eastern wall of Central City. He had been standing there for three hours. It was the most productive thing he'd done all week.
He sighed.
Three months had passed since the Demon King's death. Three months of peace. Three months of rebuilding. Three months of absolutely nothing trying to kill him.
He was going stir-crazy.
Below him, the city bustled with activity. Cranes lifted steel beams. Workers laid fresh stone. Children ran through the streets without looking over their shoulders. Street vendors sold food that wasn't rationed. People smiled.
It was odd.
"It's been three months," a voice said behind him. "You're still standing in the same spot."
Aurelion didn't turn. "I'm thinking."
"Quit thinking so much"
Ami appeared beside him, her arms crossed, her eyebrow raised. She looked different than she had during the war—softer, somehow. Her hair was longer. Her armor had been replaced by a simple jacket and trousers. She looked like a normal person.
It was unsettling.
"You should try living," she said. "It's actually pretty nice. I recommend it."
"I am living."
"You're standing on a wall staring at clouds."
"Clouds are important. They control the weather."
Ami stared at him. "That's the worst excuse I've ever heard."
"It's not an excuse. It's meteorology."
She shook her head. "Valeris is looking for you. Something about a ceremony. Some city official wants to give you a key to the city or something."
Aurelion finally turned. "A key? To the city? I don't need a key to the city. I can fly."
"Then go tell them that. They've been waiting for two hours."
He sighed again. "Fine."
He didn't move.
"Aurelion."
"I'm moving."
"You're not moving."
"I'm moving in my mind."
"That's not how moving works."
He sighed a third time. "I'm aware."
The ceremony was held in the central plaza. The same plaza where Valeris had rallied the troops before the assault. Now it was filled with civilians—happy, smiling, well-fed civilians.
They cheered when he walked in.
Aurelion's eye twitched.
He was led to a stage where a rotund man in an expensive suit was waiting. He had a golden key on a velvet cushion. It was very shiny.
"Hero of humanity! The Demon King Slayer!" the man announced, his voice booming through the speakers. "We are honored to present you with this key to the city!"
Aurelion looked at the key. Then at the man. Then at the cheering crowd.
"Thanks," he said. "I'll put it next to my other keys."
The crowd laughed. The man laughed. Even Ami laughed.
Aurelion didn't laugh.
He took the key, shook the man's hand, and tried not to think about how absurd this all was. Three months ago, he had been fighting a demon king in the ruins of a collapsing fortress. Now he was accepting a key to a city that he could literally fly over.
He looked at the crowd. They were happy. They were safe. They were alive.
Why did it feel so wrong?
Later that day, Aurelion sat in his quarters.
They were nice quarters. Spacious. Well-furnished. A bed that didn't have bloodstains on it. A window that looked out over the rebuilt city.
He hated it.
He had spent years in cramped tents, ruined buildings, and the occasional cave. He had slept on the ground more times than he could count. He had eaten ration bars and whatever he could scavenge.
Now he had a bed. A real bed. With pillows.
It made him uncomfortable.
A knock on the door.
"Come in."
Ami entered, holding a datapad. She was smiling. It was suspicious.
"I found something for you," she said.
"I don't want it."
"You don't even know what it is."
"It's another ceremony, isn't it? Or a parade. Or an award. Or a—"
"It's a job."
Aurelion blinked. "A job?"
"A job." She handed him the datapad. "Valeris has been getting requests. People want you to help with rebuilding efforts. Training new hunters. Consulting on defense planning. That sort of thing."
He looked at the list. It was long. Very long.
"Rebuilding the eastern bridge," he read. "Training the new hunter recruits. Demonology consultation. Public speaking appearances. Guest lecturing at the academy." He looked up. "I don't know how to do any of these things."
"Then learn."
"I don't want to learn."
"Then be bored."
He stared at her. "You're enjoying this."
"I'm enjoying watching you struggle with peace," she admitted. "It's very entertaining."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
He sighed. "No. I don't."
He looked at the datapad again. The list of tasks was endless. He could spend the rest of his life doing any of them.
But none of them mattered.
He had killed the Demon King. He had ended the war. He had given humanity a chance to rebuild.
So why did he feel like he was waiting for something?
He put down the datapad.
"I'll think about it," he said.
Ami nodded. "That's all I ask."
She left.
Aurelion stared at the ceiling.
The peace was supposed to feel good. It was supposed to feel like victory.
Instead, it felt like he was holding his breath.
The sun was setting when he finally left his quarters.
He walked through the streets, watching the city come alive with evening activity. Restaurants were full. Children played in the squares. Couples walked hand in hand.
He passed a group of young hunters in training. They were laughing, joking, practicing their forms. They had never known real war. They had grown up in a world where the demons were already defeated.
They looked at him with awe.
"Hey, it's Kade!" one of them shouted. "The Demon King Slayer!"
Aurelion forced a smile. "Hey."
"Can you teach us something? Anything?"
He looked at their eager faces. They wanted to learn. They wanted to be heroes.
He remembered being like that. Once.
"Sure," he said. "Watch."
He drew his sword—a simple blade, nothing like the weapons he had wielded before. He moved through a basic form, showing them how to shift their weight, how to find the openings in an opponent's guard.
They watched, enraptured.
When he finished, they cheered.
"Amazing!"
"Can you teach us more?"
"Tomorrow," he said. "I'll teach you tomorrow."
He walked away.
He didn't come back tomorrow.
The evening was quiet.
Aurelion stood on the eastern wall again, looking out at the horizon. The sun had set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple.
The clouds were still fluffy.
He thought about the Demon King. About his final words. About the war that he had won but couldn't shake.
He thought about the feeling that something was still out there. Something waiting.
He sighed.
"I need a hobby," he muttered. "Something peaceful. Something that doesn't involve killing."
He considered his options.
Gardening? Too slow.
Cooking? Too complicated.
Painting? He couldn't paint.
He thought about it for another hour.
He still couldn't think of anything.
"I'll figure it out tomorrow," he said.
He didn't.