Despite a bit of soreness in her muscles when she woke up the next day, Thera couldn’t deny that going to the beach had ended up being a lot more fun than she’d expected. Even if she never managed to fully get the hang of swimming, it was something she’d be willing to do again and despite how childish the following activity had seemed at first glance, making sandcastles had been an entertaining way to pass the time, especially as a crowd had gathered to see what Ben had made.

When an awakened craftsman did something, they tended to go all out and that was clear when she thought back to the sand fortress he’d put together, featuring towers and spires and gates and moats, creating a final structure that stood almost as tall as she did by the end. Something like that was sure to draw eyes, and by a certain point, she’d stopped to watch as well, enjoying the look on his face as he created something for his own enjoyment instead of beating himself down to create all he could for the war effort.

He already seemed less tired than he had before they’d left to enjoy just a bit of time off, a success given that was the goal of the whole vacation, and she gave him a bright smile over breakfast as they ate at a cafe they’d found in their wanderings that morning.

“Feeling good?” He asked her, not knowing that her smile was from getting to see him looking so bright.

“Of course, so what should we do today?”

“Hmm, I have an idea for a couple of days from now but nothing for today. How about you? There must be something you want to do on this big wide world?”

Something I want to do, huh?

It was her vacation too, it wasn’t unreasonable that Ben would want her to try and make some choices herself, but there was nothing that really came to mind. She was content to just wander around some new places to see what they had to offer, but it wasn’t fair to leave all of the decision-making to him, so instead she said the first thing to pop into her head.

“We did talk about checking out that art gallery we passed yesterday, right? Why don’t we try that?”

“Sure, that works for me, I’d love to see what a place that only just got on the gate network managed to put together.”

With the idea set, the two finished their meal and left for their new destination as they strolled through the city, both of them feeling excited.

Even if Thera didn’t make any herself, she enjoyed looking at art. It was interesting to see how different people would see and interpret the world and how that translated to the things they’d create. Even if she wasn’t always going to understand it, part of the joy came from trying to and she was prepared to enjoy whatever they were about to see with that same open mind by the time they arrived, lining up for the day to buy tickets.

“This reminds me, I really should try to rent out an art gallery for a day sometime,” Ben muttered. “I just keep getting more and more money but there’s really not much I want to spend it on. Might as well enjoy something like that, right?”

“Ha, well it’s a bit late to be worrying about something like that today. If you really want to, we can try to book something for the end of our vacation, okay?”

“Sure, sounds like a plan.”

They continued to talk and joke about what Ben could possibly do with his absurd fortune as they waited, only stopping once they got to the front of the line where a member of the gallery staff told them not only a bit about the museum, but also let them know that there was a special exhibition on featuring the works of a famous healer the city had once been home to, all available to been seen for a small extra cost.

That had obviously caught his interest so without a second thought he made sure to buy tickets for that as well before the two went into the gallery proper, slowly wandering the halls to enjoy all of the art on display.

Thera took her time, trying to really appreciate it and read each little plaque next to each painting to gain some context to what the artist might have been thinking when making it, but she didn’t feel like she was getting anywhere near as much from each piece as Ben, who despite the speeds he could think at was getting lost in everything he saw, taking in each brushstroke and looking captivated, even as a hint of some indescribable feeling touched his eyes.

“You okay?” Thera asked him, taking his hand as she did.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. This is all great and it’s beautiful, but it just has me thinking a bit about the past.”

He’d told her before that his dream in the past had been to make a living as a proper artist but dying had clearly changed that. Was it any surprise that looking at the art surrounding them might make him reminisce about that lost future?

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“There’s no reason you couldn’t get any of your works into a gallery,” Thera suggested. “You’re a great artist Ben, places like this across the world would be happy to fight tooth and nail to be able to say they display the works of an awakened craftsman.”

“Ha, well thanks. Maybe I’ll try in the future but it’s not exactly a priority now, I was just thinking about if I’d even have the skill to get this far if I was still on Earth. I’ve been able to grow a lot here, there’s no guarantee I’d be doing just as well in a world without the system.”

“You would,” Thera told him without a hint of doubt. “Maybe it would take longer, but there’s no way you’d be growing as fast as you are now if you couldn’t manage well without it.”

“Ha, you know exactly what to say,” He told her with a smile, leaning down to kiss her cheek and not caring for the other visitors around. “Maybe I’ll make some time to do a bit more painting and drawing when we’re back home. Of course, I’ll need some help from my lovely muse.”

“As long as you don’t sell them to my mom behind my back then sure.”

“Would I ever?”

“To stay firmly in her good books, yes.”

“Hey, your parents love me,” He laughed. “I don’t need to do anything to stay on their good side, I’ve already won that.”

True.

Thera really couldn’t imagine her parents liking anyone as much as they’d like Ben. Not just because he was her partner and had managed to bring her walls down, helping her make friends and come into the world in the process. They had both seen firsthand how hard he was willing to work for her. From making her braces and staves to helping finally free her of her charm, the chances of anyone else looking nearly as good in their eyes were going to be nil.

And my eyes too.

Feeling that bit of positivity coursing through her, she slipped her arm through his as they continued through the gallery, enjoying all it had to offer until they wound up at the end of the main exhibit, leaving them with only the special one left as they both showed their tickets and entered while Ben quickly scanned the pamphlet they’d been given.

Unlike most of the rest they’d seen, the new exhibit was filled with statues of all sorts, showing the maker’s skill as they walked through the early works to later ones, showing as they slowly changed from creating small animals to eventually capturing the different races of the world.

“Apparently, none of this was found till after the artist died,” Ben told her, his eyes gleaming at all he had to see. “Found piled up in her basement, can you believe that? This work is incredible. She really captured the feeling of life with every bit of it. God, now I’m so glad I enchanted the gate here. With stuff this good, it’s great that her name and fame will be able to spread a little, even if it’s in death.”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Hmm? You okay, Thera?”

“Uh, I think this is just speaking to me a bit less than it is you, I’m fine.”

Something about the exhibit around her was bothering her to no end, scratching at her mind as she looked at it all. Every bit of art she was seeing was impressive, she couldn’t deny it, but she couldn’t make herself like it the way she had some of the other works she’d seen and could only tell herself that it probably just wasn’t for her as they kept going through, listening to Ben talk as they did.

“She really managed to capture a level of life in each statue too. With everything here just talking about her work as a healer, it does make me wonder if she had any earth magic too. Would definitely help with doing some of the finer details.”

Earth…? Oh god.

Thera froze in place as he said it, feeling her heart pound as she stopped to really stare at one of the statues before her, taking every detail in with all of the senses she possessed.

“Ben, I’m going to do something and if I’m wrong we might get into a bit of trouble but I need you to back me up here.”

“Okay, what?” He could hear how serious she’d suddenly become and wasn’t going to stop her, all he needed to know was what to do which she appreciated.

“Just make sure nobody stops me.”

Without another word she crossed the boundary that divided her from the statue, hearing a shout from the staff but ignored it as she focused entirely on what was before her, trusting Ben would handle things for her as she placed her hands on the stone cheeks before her.

By all accounts, she was staring into the stone eye of a cyclops that had been produced under the hands of an expert artisan, but she believed there was more to it than just that and moved her mana to see if she was right, feeling thousands of points leaving her all at once as seconds ticked by without a change.

For the briefest of moments, it did make her question if she was wrong, if she’d been too on edge and was about to have to have a very awkward talk with both some city guards as well as the museum staff, but she kept trying, only taking her hands away the moment she felt her mana snap into place, ending with something far worse than simply getting kicked out of the city as notifications filled her head.

Despite the levels, there was no joy in them, instead only sinking horror as she looked at all of the other statues that filled the room before directing her attention back to the cyclops in front of her, unpetrified and very much alive, free of the curse that had been placed on it centuries prior.