"Mana sponge?" A asked looking around the room.


    "He is referring to me." Ikaris sighed and poured at Sol for using such a term. "More specifically, the baby."


    "Is there something wrong with her?" All three women approached Ikaris basically brushing sol to the side like a dirty rag and surrounding her.


    "Are you hurt?"


    "Is the baby okay?"


    "What happened?"


    "H-hold on, one question at a time!" Ikaris looked at them consecutively as the questions of concern came at her faster than she could answer.


    "Hold on you three, they''re both doing fine for now, but going forward that might not be the case we have what could be a temporary or even permanent solution, but..." Sol paused and folded his arms taking control of the atmosphere again.


    "I''m not sure, when ites to mana on a whole I''ve studied quite a lot butpared to you A who are a natural mage, or even you Dina who constantly studies her mana I''m a bitcking, the knowledge that ckmes with being godyer is vastly acessible but until I knkw exactly what im dealing with I cant jumo to any conclusions, not when it''s their safety on the line, so I needed a second or even third opinion."


    "Okay, then what''s the issue exactly?" Dina calmed down and sat next to Ikaris as A took her other side while Sara as usual stood next to him.


    "The baby started eating away my divine mana, it is not hurting her though but I am worried because of the amount she is taking and I fear she might start taking higher quantities as time passes." Ikaris spoke up.


    "How much does a baby need to take for you to get worried?" A queried.


    "At present she is taking about as much as a sexond tier mage." Sol answered, using the Arkadian unit of measurement as a reference to get his point across faster.


    "That''s crazy to take that much a day, what the heck is cooking inside of that belly of yours?" Dina looked back at Ikaris shocked.


    "Not daily, Dina." Ikaris smiled at her sheepishly. "She is taking that amount every few seconds, over thest two days she has taken enough of my mana to feed her core that she is of simr capacity to A." She exined and saw Sara grab her mouth in shock while Dina and A went ck-jawed.


    "How on earth?" A barely rested her hand on Ikaris''s babu bump and tried scanning, but just like Sol had before the moment she realised how different the pathways had be inside of Ikaris she did a double take and a tivated her sensory abilities trying to look deeper. "This is incredible...!" She whispered, causing Dina to do the same.


    "Hum, the good news at least is that she''s not just taking Ikaris''s mana, I tried earlier and she took my mana without any issues as well, but it seems she''s only interested in divine mana right now, the problemes with how much we can ess to give to her when she wants to and whether we''ll have to take Ikaris back to A to ensure she doesn''t suddenly get drainedter down the line."


    "What about your Godyer mana then, from your exnations if divine mana is equivalent to air then your Godyer mana byparison is as heavy as metal, if you could provide her even a small amount she would be satisfied probably indefinitely." Dina looked up from Ikaris as well as A.


    "That is the same conclusion I came to, but he is troubled by the risks." Ikaris sighed. "And rightfully so."


    "I have no idea what that would do, whether it would help or harm her or even worse, I think it''s too risky, but I''m notpletely shutting the idea down." Sol added and they both nodded in understanding.


    "What if you thinned the potency of your Godyer mana and increased the quantity?" Sara pitched in.


    "That would defeat the purpose of less equals more." A argued that suggestion and the maid hummed and took on a thinking posture.


    "Not to mention these are twopletely different manapositions, right now Ikaris''s mana is between the two that''s why I''m not putting it off the table, but byparison less than a percent of her mana has been modified to mine, with such a small amount it''s still a huge risk."


    "I say we at least try, sitting here and talking about it yields no result at all." Ikaris tapped the desk impatiently, and Sol nced at her and then at his lovers. "After being away from A this long the idea of returning right now is... Haunting." She lowered her gaze.


    "A is under a purge to rid it of the demonic mana as well as erase all surface evidence of the previous civilization, to return now would be to face it all again... I do not feel like I am ready to face them." She looked at Sol pleadingly and saw the expression he had been holding go through several emotions as he realised what she was saying.


    The estimated time was ten years for aplete pirge, it was by now at most five or six years into a purge considering the differences in time between there, Arkadia, Earth, and Origin, each of different sizes and fluctuations.


    "I understand." Sol nodded and then looked to Dina and A again. "So we vote to use my powers as a substitute?" He asked, and they both nced at each other and nodded at him.


    "Fine, but I want to be sure we absolutely need to use it at all, so I''m waiting an additional month to see how much she actually takes from Ikaris." He dered, and everyone unanimously agreed with that decision, being hasty could lead toplications. "Until then Ikaris, you tell me if there''s even a slight change, keep mepletely informed."


    "I will, love." She smiled and pulled her blouse over her exposed belly. "Mana consumptiones at the cost of cravings though, and currently we are both a little hungry." She chuckled.


    "I was preparing lunch, it will be ready in ankther few minutes, Sir and Ladies, please pardon me." Sara bowed and hurried out of the study.


    "She wants divine mana only."  Sol waved his hands conjuring raw mana in the atmosphere around them like a fog and watched as Ikaris''s body slowly absorbed it causing her to giggle again at the ticklish sensations.


    "That''s amazing." Dina mused. "Would my divine mana work, I mean it''s not as potent and not nearly as much, but it is still divine mana, right?" She looked at Sol for permission and he nodded and made a gesture with his fingers.


    "Try a tiny bit."


    ***


    The estate was quiet, the afternoon sun hidden above a lightly cloudy sky with signs of rain in the near future, but all that peace was suddenly disturbed when the entire back half of the estate exploded outwards, sending shrapnel as far as a hundred metres away.


    "Is everyone okay!?" Sol asked, his shirt and pants were torn up and his hair was glowing bright gold along with his iris as he held on to Ikaris in a loose hug with a shield cast around them as her body continued to expell golden mana which he absorbed.


    "Safe!" Dina shouted from across the destroyed mansion, standing and brushing herself off as a small shield was disced from around her.


    "I am alive!" A called from the side, slowly standing from beneath a hill of books after she had hit the shelves, and Sara emerged from his shadows holding her heart.


    A month had passed and as they had nned Sol tried giving the child a small dose of Godyer mana, she didn''t reject it, but at the same time that small dosage was a bit much and as soon as she was satisfied she expelled the remainder out of Ikaris violently which was what resulted in the explosion.


    "Ikaris?" Sol asked pulling away from her and looking at the bubble he had trapped them both in, seeing his mana swirl around before eventually subsiding several secondster. "Are you okay, is she-"


    He stopped when she chuckled and looked up at him.


    "To have your mana flow into me like that, it feels different from all the other times you have done the same, usually I feel warmth and pleasure, but your mana today felt like the universe was looking back at me, what was that?" She asked, and Sol released a deep sigh and hugged her head to his shoulder.


    "That was too dangerous."


    But it worked." Ikaris raised her head and smiled at him. "She is full and resting, my mana is not being taken anymore." She chuckled. "You might have gone overboard a little but she safe and sated and she has yet to make a peep."


    "Sess?" A approached. "That is-"


    "No..." Sol''s eyes narrowed and his Godyer mana erupted from his body while Ikaris darted around looking for the threat which had caused everyone and everything in the entire universe toe to a standstill.


    "What''s going on?" Dina asked, looking around as well, both Sol and Ikaris looked at each other and then at her. "Why is everything frozen, master, did you do this?"


    "You''re able to move?"


    "One of thest skills I got from Arkadia was the ability to perceive time maniption... what''s happening?"


    Sol took a deep breath and raised his head causing them both to do the same after not even realising the entity casually descending from above.


    "I never expected I would be back this soon, Godyer, but your actions today will have terrible consequences in the future; HE might have been out of line in his approach but he was only trying to prevent an irreversible event." She made mentiom of what LIGHT had almost done.


    "What are you doing here..." Sol''s eyes burned with the desire to protect everyone as he extended his hands and they were all dragged behind him, Ikaris in shock, Dina in confusion, and both A and Sara frozen in time along with everything else.


    "What is that?" Ikaris asked unable to sense the being as it stood before them while Sol held out his hands defensively.


    "Hello, Ikaris, Dina and-"


    "Not them, you''re talking to me, keep those eyes on me, what do you want..." He stared into her bright red eyes which although set in a passive stare still felt like a threatening re. "...Lumi?"


    "Do not worry, I mean no harm, I have onlye with a warning, Godyer; to start, this fabricated peace you have built is about toe to an abrupt end."