I, for one, needed sex, sleep, and sustenance. In that order.

I was banking on the fact that I would still need to eat food after my rebirth, because that was a soul deep bond too… right?

Shadow was first through the doorway into the library, and I was second, both of us grinding to a halt. “What in the hell?” I muttered.

Beings were everywhere, standing no more than a few feet from the door, filling the space between the shelves and even pushed right back into the middle of the library.

As our pack crowded in behind us, equally as confused, I was about to start stressing that something else had gone wrong in our absence. Until the room burst into loud applause, everyone shouting and calling to us.

“Thank you!”

“Long live the gods!”

“Our saviors.”

The many beings from all the different worlds heaped praise on us as their cheers continued.

“How did they know?” Angel asked, close behind me.

Gaster pushed his way to the front then, wanting to be the first to greet us personally. “The entire Solaris System knew that our fate hung in the balance,” he said, nodding his head respectfully to us. “The Great Council arrived to prepare us for what might be left if you all didn’t win.”

I’d never heard of the Great Council, but it sounded fancy.

“We’ve been waiting for you to walk through the door,” someone shouted from back in the group. The rumble told me it was a Brolder inhabitant. “And if you didn’t, we knew that all hope was lost.”

Cheers rose up again, and it was clear that they were settling in for a night of revelry to celebrate our victory.

Shadow held his hands up, and I was pretty sure he was the only being who could have shut them up so quickly. “We’ll have a grand feast in the dining hall later tonight,” he called loud enough for all to hear. “Bring your friends and families, for we have much to celebrate.”

“The balance remains,” Reece added.

This time, the noise was deafening, allowing none of us to get a word in, but my spirits lifted with it. As Gaster hugged me tightly, there was even more joy in my heart, and it was maybe at that moment I finally recognized that we’d won.

We had beat the freaking Nexus Goddess. I hadn’t let that sink in until now, as I’d been too filled with grief and pain. But with Angel back at my side, I could allow the joy to take hold.

This was finally the life I’d always dreamed of, not that bullshit in Torma Dannie had tried to sell me. Speaking of…

“We need to deal with Torma,” I said to Shadow, deciding that I was ready to let that part of my life go for good. “Before we can celebrate, that’s the final thorn in my side.”