The ceremony went great for all of us.

The whole thing was broadcasted not only to the residents of Ethora, but also to every other world and universe.

The residents that happened to be in the vicinity of the HDJ got to see all of us in person. All of the other heroes at the HDJ got to see us too.

But before the ceremony started, Iron Bolt gave me some all black new clothes to wear, since my old ones were basically destroyed. After I changed, the celebration began.

Iron Bolt hosted the ceremony, and introduced and honored all of us. He even gave us all Hero Pins for saving the universes.

"And now, for the final event of our hero ceremony~. Our worlds have been saved by all of these brave souls. They each put in the work to save us all. They even saved the main one responsible for this whole conundrum"

Everyone looked to Xinyi, and he apologized for his mistakes.

"Even if this was all his doing, he managed to help save a life, a life that saved all of ours"

Iron Bolt smiled at Xinyi.

"Step forward Renjun"

He ordered, and I immediately did.

He cleared his throat, and began to speak again.

"Once given a purpose, his powers began to surface, and helped him win many fights in his journey thus far. And with the help of his friends and family, he's come this far. They've all shaped him into the man and hero he is now, standing before you all. Born a Nephalem child, and molded into our one and only Nephalem hero. He has sacrificed his own life to save so many others, and has lived to tell the story. On behalf of myself and everyone else watching, we thank you"

I didn't expect it, but he suddenly put a black robe over my shoulders and clipped it in the front.

He lightly ruffled my hair, and cleared his throat again before speaking.

"The time has come to present to you all a new era of heroes. Ladies, gentlemen, people of all species. I happily present to you, Huang Renjun, Ethora's shining new number one hero~!"

He happily presented me to everyone, and fireworks immediately lit up the sky above us.

Everyone immediately clapped and cheered for me, and some even threw plushies and flowers.

All of the others cheered me on and congratulated me as well. Fasa and Niha were the first ones to attack me with hugs.

"We knew you could do it Renjun~!"

"Great job becoming the new number one hero~"

They both congratulated me.

I remember that day a couple years back when they encouraged me about becoming the number hero. I just never thought that it was possible...

All of the others came and hugged me too, and Suko planted a huge kiss on my lips.

"That concludes this ceremony! I give my sincere thanks to all of you that could make it here today! It's been a true pleasure serving you all, and I hope to see you all out there, wherever it may be!"

Iron Bolt announced, and everyone in the audience began leaving to return home.

The broadcast ended as well after a while.

"Alrighty~. If you guys want to stay a little longer, there's a reception a few floors down in the bar~"

Iron Bolt informed us, dashing to the elevator.

"The seven of you can head to the bar. The rest of us will head home and prepare a little something for you all~"

Taeyong eagerly announced.

"Are you sure you all don't wanna join us??"

"Don't worry Injunie~. A few of us know from experience how wild the reception parties can get. You'll definitely need someone to give you a ride home afterwards. Just call any of us when you're all ready to come home, and we'll come get you guys~"

Johnny smiled.

We made sure they all left safely before meeting Iron Bolt at the elevator. He eagerly chose our destination and we descended to the reception party.

-

"I like the vibe of this place"

Jeno smiled, immediately heading to the bar.

The rest of us sat down at a booth that could fit all seven of us.

"I'll go order your drinks and munchies with Jeno. We'll bring them back here when they're ready"

Iron Bolt smiled, heading to the bar.

After a few minutes, Iron Bolt came back with Kung Pao Chicken and Shrimp Skewers for all of us. After setting them down, he bid us farewell before going off to party with the other heroes.

Then, Jeno came back, with what seemed like the same type of drink for all of us.

Luckily, we're all of age to drink. Jisung became of age last year.

"What's this Jeno???"

"It's called a Long Island Iced Tea. Iron Bolt recommended it to me. He said it has a real kick to it"

"What's so great about it? It just looks like an ordinary iced tea"

Chenle examined it.

"That's what I thought too, but it has a little secret. Apparently, it's a mix of vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and just a small bit of cola! And the recipe for it originated on Earth, so it has to be pretty wild in my opinion"

Mark got curious and immediately tried it, but seemed confused.

"It doesn't really taste like it though??? But it's still really good!"

"That's exactly what Iron Bolt told me it was like the first time he tried it! It didn't really taste like it's components at first, but the more he drank it, the more it started to kick in"

"I guess we'll all have to be the judge of that then"

Jisung concluded.

Without further ado, we all began to enjoy our food, and our drinks.

-

1 Hour Later

-

The more the seven boys drank, the drunker they became.

All of their cheeks grew bright red within a matter of minutes, and they soon began slurring on their words. Though they spoke mostly nonsense, they were somehow still able to understand each other.

Jisung and Chenle had passed out only a few glasses in. Jeno ended up drinking the most out of the all, and he soon regretted it. Soon after drinking his tenth glass, he ran and burst through the bar doors, throwing up as soon as he got outside.

When he finally did return to the others, he passed out as soon as he sat down. Despite seeing what Jeno just went through, Jaemin continued drinking his sixth glass. Mark and Donghyuck continued talking gibberish amongst themselves, and laughed at almost everything they said to each other.

Even though Renjun wasn't in his right mind and completely drunk as well, he managed to call Johnny, and he almost immediately picked up.

"What's up Renjun?"

The older questioned.

"Johnnyyyyyy~~~~. Can you pweeeeeaaasssee come get ussssshh~~~~????"

Johnny wasn't nearly as surprised to hear the drunken tone in Renjun's voice.

"I'm on my way. All of you stay where you are until I come, okay?"

"Okaaaayyyyy Johnnyyyyyyyyy~~~~"

Renjun thought he hung up the phone afterwards, but because he didn't, Johnny was able to continue listening to the gibberish coming from him, Mark, and Donghyuck.

After almost thirty minutes, Johnny arrived on the ship with Lucas, Taeyong, and Jungwoo to help him.

Johnny carried both Chenle and Jisung, while Lucas carried Jeno back to the ship. Jungwoo carefully and patiently led Mark and Donghyuck back to the ship, but Taeyong had a little trouble.

Though he managed to get the now sleepy Renjun on his back, Jaemin refused to leave his Long Island Iced Tea behind. Taeyong eventually had to make a compromise with him. Jaemin agreed to hold Taeyong's hand and leave with them, as long as he got to bring his drink with him.

With those terms, they all got in the ship and headed home. They decided that they would continue their at-home celebration another day, seeing that the Dreamies were in no condition to celebrate with them.

Luckily for Taeyong, Jaemin fell asleep as soon as he finished his drink. Now it'd be easier to take care of him later. And Mark and Donghyuck talked themselves to sleep after only a few minutes. Donghyuck looked exceedingly comfortable sleeping on Mark's lap, while Mark rested his head on Jungwoo's shoulder.

Renjun eventually fell asleep in Taeyong's arms. Taeyong entertained him by speaking the same gibberish that he was, until he ultimately fell asleep.

After returning home, they immediately got the seven boys cleaned up and put them to bed. After making sure all of the Dreamies were comfortable, as well as making sure they had buckets on the sides of their beds for potential midnight sickness, they finally left them all to sleep peacefully.

A few hours after they left Renjun's room, Suko quietly walked into his room, to make sure he was alright. Renjun was squirming in his sleep, and seemed very uncomfortable.

After turning on the light, she gently sat him up, accidentally causing him to wake up, and gently sat the bucket in his lap just in case.

After a few minutes with nothing happening, Renjun finally threw up into the bucket. Suko then carefully, but quickly, led him to the bathroom. Thankfully, they made it to a toilet before the bucket got filled up.

Doyoung heard the commotion and literally hopped to the bathroom to help them. Doyoung agreed to clean out the bucket while Suko stayed with Renjun.

After what seemed like forever, Renjun finally stopped, and Suko helped him brush his teeth to clean out his mouth. Doyoung came back and informed them that he returned the bucket to his room just in case, and they left the bathroom.

As Suko helped him walk back to his room, Renjun began to shiver and fell to his knees. Suko carefully picked him up, and carefully rushed him back to his room.

She then gently tucked him in, and he soon stopped shivering. She gently kissed him on the forehead, before walking to the door.

"W-Wait, Suko..."

Renjun spoke, stopping her from leaving.

She immediately walked over, returning to his side.

"What's wrong Renjunie?"

"...P-Please stay with me. I-It's so cold without you..."

Suko only smiled and nodded, before getting into bed with him.

Renjun immediately rested his head on her chest and cuddled up close to her, while she made sure he was warm and comfortable. After feeling him relax completely, she gently rubbed his back to help him fall asleep. Hearing the sound of her steady heartbeat only made him more sleepy.

Before he completely fell asleep, he leaned up and planted a small kiss on her lips and muttered a silent, "Thank you".

She continued rubbing his back until he fell asleep, and soon dozed off with him. Taeyong quietly opened the door soon after. He had been checking on the Dreamies one by one, since most of them had woken up sick.

He was happy to hear from Doyoung that Suko helped Renjun, and he was especially happy to see that she had soothed him back to sleep.

He smiled before closing the door, and quietly walked back to his room.

"Goodnight kids"