Ep. 5 - Modest Pleasures

**Modest Pleasures** is the fifth episode of Eros Conquers All. It was uploaded on February 25th, 2022.

## Plot

In the back of a van packed with volunteers from the St. Catherine Foundation, Eros dreams about his dagger. He startles awake and wonders why he would dream about such a thing. The van arrives at the House of Light Children's Oncology and Medical Center, where Eros and the other volunteers begin preparing for their day.

Rue gazes out of a window at House of Light before turning around and peering through a cracked door at Mr. Cruz as he listlessly holds a doll in his hands. A flashback reveals that the doll was a birthday gift for Mia, who deeply cherished the toy. Nash enters the room and asks Mr. Cruz to sign some final papers, bringing him back to the present. Nash informs him that Mia's final operation was paid for in full by the St. Catherine Foundation. Mr. Cruz thanks Nash and signs the papers given to him. Hazy black dialogue bubbles reveal that Mia has passed away from her illness, and that she was beloved by all of the hospital's staff. Mr. Cruz gets up to leave, but is interrupted when Nash asks if there's anything else that can be done for him. Mr. Cruz refuses and thanks Nash for caring for Mia before leaving.

On his way out of the hospital, Mr. Cruz is confronted by Rue, who tells him that his heart is heavy and that she can take his sadness away. Because Rue seems to be around Mia's age, he agrees, thinking that Rue is merely playing pretend. Rue cheers and asks for Mr. Cruz's hand, upon which she places a sticker. Rue then performs a humorous ritual to scare away his sadness. Rue playfully asks where his sadness has gone, but as Mr. Cruz tries to respond, Rue manifests a glowing iridescent orb from his torso and asks how he feels. He cannot decide if he feels happy or empty, and ends up telling Rue that he is hungry. Rue responds that it's bad to skip meals. Mr. Cruz then gives Rue the doll that belonged to his daughter, saying that she would be happy for Rue to have it. He waves goodbye and leaves the hospital. Rue admires the doll for a moment before opening her fist to reveal a glowing hard candy similar to the orb she manifested from Mr. Cruz. She pops it into her mouth and chews on it while running down the hallway, noting that she still feels hungry.

Inside a dead god's domain, Cairn waits to meet Belial. As he approaches, Cairn notes that he is late. Belial apologizes and gives the excuse that the meeting location was difficult to find. Cairn explains that they are in the domain of a dead god and that they can talk privately, but that no one would be able to find Belial if he wandered off and got lost. Cairn asks if Belial has Eros' dagger, which he affirms. Cairn then asks how Belial found it, but he dodges the question, brushing it off as a trade secret. However, he admits that it was more difficult to find the dagger than other objects he has procured and sold. Cairn promises to fairly compensate him for his labor, but Belial refuses payment of any kind. Cairn becomes cross, insisting that she doesn't accept favors, until Belial insists that giving Cairn the dagger is actually a favor to himself and not her. He unveils the dagger and offers it to her, asserting that nothing would satisfy him more than seeing Cairn achieve her goals with it. Cairn takes the dagger and notes that it is warm before it begins to emit several streams of sparkling gold energy. Cairn warns Belial that she does not trust him and that she will eliminate him if he interferes with her plans, though Belial reassures her that he would never do so. Cairn then states that Eros will soon be hers, and that it is time for him to face his fate.

## Characters

*Characters are listed in order of appearance*

* Eros
* Rue
* Mr. Cruz
* Mia
* Nash
* Cairn
* Belial

## Notable Locations

* House of Light Children's Oncology and Medical Center

## Trivia

* *Modest Pleasures* serves as Rue's debut episode.