《Kitsune of the Blue Sun》


 Prologue

    Prologue


    Deep in a forest located somewhere in Scandinavia, a lone woman sat in a cave, notebooks scattered all around her in neat piles. Along with the normal sounds one could hear in a forest was the sounds of pen writing on paper. It was clear that she was here for a long time. The clicking sound of a pen closing followed shortly after by the snapping sound of a closed notebook could be heard. The woman neatly ced the now full notebook on top of a pile before she let out a long, tired sigh. She moved some of the piles over andid back while resting an arm over her eyes.


    ¡°*Sigh* I knew it¡¯d be a lot of work, but I¡¯m so d that I found the ce from those rumors. Once I finish transcribing all of these old runes then I can finally make it big in the archaeological world.¡±


    Yes, this lone woman was an amateur archaeologist with a focus on old Norse mythology. She had followed rumors from one of her frequent info gathering spots and she immediately rushed to gather the proper equipment and supplies necessary to make it to her current location. This ended up wiping out nearly all of the money she had saved up over years of hard work, but with this discovery she would assuredly make it big.


    It took her nearly three weeks of searching, but she managed to find the cave deep in a very old forest and when sheid her eyes on it, she nearly wept with joy. Setting up camp at the entrance, she pulled out several piles of small notebooks and immediately started to transcribe every rune she could possibly make out in the stone. This endeavor has been going for nearly ten days and she had only managed to transcribe a third of the runes.


    ¡°Ugh. I wish I¡¯d known that it¡¯d take this long to do or I would have scrounged up enough money to buy more supplies and maybe hire an guide. I mean, there¡¯s no point in doing this if I end up dying of starvation on the way back to civilization. Though if this ce has rumors circting about it, then someone will probably show up sooner orter¡­I hope.¡±


    Another tired sigh escaped from the woman¡¯s lips before she moved her arm and stood up. She stretched and audible popping sounds could be hearding from her back, arms, and neck.


    ¡°Time to take a break.¡±


    She started making her way deeper into the cave as she had done many times over the days she¡¯d been here. She looked at the walls, carved from roof to floor in runes whose purpose was a mystery to her. When she made it to the deepest part of the cave, she sat on the elevated rock in the center and shone her shlight on the walls. Being deeper in the cave, the runes carved everywhere were in better condition than the ones at the mouth of the cave, but time had still done them the disservice of eroding some ces here and there. Popping a small ration she had pulled from her pocket into her mouth, she stared intently at the walls.


    ¡°If only I could make out what this said, then I¡¯d be able to figure out what this ce was.¡±


    After finishing her ration, she stood up and walked over to the wall and, though she knew she shouldn¡¯t do so, ran her hand down the carved rock, tracing the etchings to see if she could find meaning in it. She brought her hand to her chin and closed her eyes as she feel deep into thought. She started to pace as she racked her brain when suddenly the ground shook.


    ¡°An earthquake? I didn¡¯t think Scandinavia got earthquakes this big?¡±


    Plumes of dust fell from the cave¡¯s roof and she heard rocks start to fall. She turned to the entrance just in time to see the faint light from outside wink out as it was covered in rocks that fell.


    ¡°*Sigh* Way to go, me. Now you¡¯re trapped in an ancient Norse cave for who knows how long. Oh well, might as well start moving rocks if I can.¡±


    She started to move to the entrance when something caught her attention. Some of the runes had started to glow. It was faint, almost nonexistent, but there. She quickly moved over to see if she was just imagining things when the glow became brighter and started to spread to the rest of the runed in the cave. When every rune was lit up, the glow started to turn from a white color, to one of an almost poisonous green.


    ¡°These look like Seidr runes. But there are a mix of normal ones as well. Just what was this ce?¡±


    As she stood in awe of what was happening around her, she suddenly came to a realization.


    ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t good. Forget about magic being real for a minute, this is very obviously bad.¡±


    The woman started to move to the entrance so she could try to move the rocks that fell out of the way before whatever was supposed to happen here happened, but it was toote. Vertigo of unimaginable levels assailed her and she lost her bnce, falling sideways and just barely managing to catch herself from hitting her head on the raised stone b in the center of the room.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    She dragged herself onto the stone beforeying on her back. This set of motions made the spinning she was feeling worse. As she tried her best to not vomit, she tried to focus on one point. That point she looked at happened to be the runes she was running her fingers over just minutes before. They were a beautiful shining gold color.


    ¡°Heh. The runes for Asgard, huh.¡±


    She moved her gaze to another set of runes close by and saw that they started to shine in a different color as well. This time it was a darker shade of green than the rest of the room.


    ¡°Vanaheim.¡±


    The dizziness from before was fading and she could now move just enough to look for other differently shining runes.


    ¡°Svartalfheim, Alfheim, Muspellheim, Niflheim, Jotunheim, Helheim. I guess that makes the stone in the middle Midgard.¡±


    The woman tried to stand, but stumbled. Her hand brushed against the runes spelling Asgard and the runes went dark. The runes all around the room started to do the same but before the gold glow couldpletely take over the room something happened. The sound of cracking stone and shattering ss resounded in the room. The woman felt something start to drip from her nose, ears and eyes. When she wiped a hand across her face, it came back red. She silently fell to her knees.


    ¡°Heh. *cough* Guess I¡¯m going to die anyway. At least thest thing I got to see in my life was actual magic.¡±


    With those as her final words, her consciousness faded.

 Chapter 1- Fated Ones and Reincarnation

    Chapter 1- Fated Ones and Reincarnation


    [MC POV]


    She came to with a start. She felt like she wasying on a soft bed that was ced under an unending blue sky. She felt like she could stare at this sky forever, but something nagged at her.


    ¡°I could stare at this sky forever, but why are there two suns? One is normal, but what¡¯s with the blue one?¡±


    {You think one sun is normal? How very strange.}


    The beautiful voice of a woman came from somewhere behind me. I sat up in the bed I wasying on and turned around to face whoever spoke with a jolt. The second my eyesid on the origin of the voice, I was stunned.


    Sitting in an elegant chair sat a woman. She was tall and had ck hair that fell to her ankles. The end of her ck hair was a vibrant orange that seemed to flicker like mes. She had a well featured face with glowing orange-gold eyes and four red marks, two on each cheek. She hadrge breasts that seemed like they would spill out of her kimono-like clothes. Breasts aside, she was lean, but I could tell she had no useless fat on her body. Her long legs were crossed in an elegant manner. But the most eye-catching things about this beautiful woman were the fox ears that adorned her head and the nine tails that sprouted from her back. They were the same ck as her hair with the same fiery orange at the tips. All in all, she was the most beautiful woman I had everid my eyes upon.


    Seeing me staring at her so intently, the woman smiled. This smile sent my reasoning flying and before I could even process what was happening, I was wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug.


    {Hehehe. My, my, quite bold for our first meeting, my Fated One. Not that I mind. }


    ¡®Fated One?¡¯


    Those two words echoed around in my head and they were all I could think about.


    ¡°Fated One?¡±


    Saying it out loud, I felt something inside me click. Staring into the eyes of this woman I was still hugging, I knew. We were meant to be together.


    ¡°My Fated One.¡±


    {Hehehehehe. It seems like you instinctually feel the connection between us, even if you don¡¯t really understand what it means.}


    ¡°Then can you tell me? But before that, what is your name? Where am I? What happened to me in that cave? Do you want children? Wait, that¡¯s not possible since we¡¯re both women. Eh, not like I ever wanted children in the first ce. Too much trouble.¡±


    {Slow down. I can only answer so many things at once, and we don¡¯t have that much time.}


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    {I understand your feelings but listen to me. To start off, my name is Amaterasu.}


    ¡°Like the Japanese Goddess of the sun?¡±


    {I don¡¯t know what a Japanese is, but I am a sun goddess. My other Authorities are Life and Magic.}


    ¡°¡­So, my Fated One is a goddess¡­I don¡¯t know how to react to that.¡±


    {Anyway, the ce you are right now is my home in the Divine Domain of this world. It¡¯s a ce where all the other gods and goddesses live while we maintain this world. As for what happened in that cave you were in, to put it bluntly, you died.}


    ¡°I figured as much, but I guess the reality of all of this still hasn¡¯t set in yet. But if I¡¯m dead, how am I talking to you? And since you said that you don¡¯t know what Japanese is, this means that this is most likely another world than what I know, right?¡±


    {In reverse order, correct, this is not the world that you know, but a different one altogether. The reason you are able to talk to me is that, when you died, your soul was thrown into the Sea of Chaos for various reasons that I¡¯m not too sure about, but I have been told by someone important that something like this, while rare, has happened before. Anyway, your soul was brought to this world through our connection as Fated Ones. I found you lying on the ground in horrible condition and brought you here to help you recover using my Authority over Life.}


    ¡°Then I thank you for saving me, Amaterasu.¡±


    {Think nothing of it, my Fated One.}


    ¡°Can you exin that to me?¡±


    {It means that our souls are bound by Fate.}


    ¡°Can you simplify that more?¡±


    {In mortal terms, we are soul mates.}


    ¡°Ah¡­AH! I mean, I figured that was the case, but still, to hear it confirmed is so much better!¡±


    {So, you have no problems that I am a woman as well?}


    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯ve always been a lesbian, so this works out perfectly.¡±


    {Good.}


    The smile on Amaterasu¡¯s face widened more. As I was lost in staring at that beautiful smile, I started to feel tired.


    {We¡¯re running out of time. Long story short, you are going to be reincarnated in this world. That way you be part of it and be a goddess one day.}


    ¡°That answers my next question then.¡±


    {I¡¯m now going to give you my Divine Protection. Before you ask, it¡¯s something that will be very beneficial to you in your mortal life. It also acts as something akin to a wedding ring, so with that we will be recognized as a couple.}


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? I¡¯m ready to receive anything and everything from you.¡±


    {Hehehe. We¡¯re going to get along so very well.}


    Amaterasu¡¯s eyes glowed even brighter than they already were, and I felt some sort of power enter my soul. It was warm and gave me a sense offort. This warm feeling also sped up the tired feeling.


    {It seems our time is up. I¡¯ll talk to you again when your body and soul bes ustomed to my Divine Protection.}


    ¡°Ah. I never even got to tell you my name¡­Oh, I can¡¯t even remember it.¡±


    {It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll learn your new name when you are reborn. I¡¯ll be watching over you, so be at peace.}


    Those were thest words I heard as my consciousness drifted away once more.


    [Amaterasu POV]


    I smiled at my Fated One as she was fading away from my home. This moment was supposed to be peaceful, but just as she was about topletely disappear, a shining door opened up in front of the bed and one of the people I didn¡¯t want to show up appeared. Before I could even say anything, raised his hand and the soul of my Fated One shed beforepletely disappearing.


    {PHOBOS!!!! WHAT DID YOU DO??!!!!!!!!!}


    ¡°Lady Amatera-¡±


    Before he could even finish my name, I was in front of him and punching him in the face. Every time my fist moved back he tried to speak but was interrupted by another punch. This continued for an unknown amount of time before I decided I¡¯d let him speak.


    ¡°Have you had your fill of violence, my fairdy?¡±


    {Not nearly. I need to know what you did to her and why. NOW! Only then will I decide if I use you as a punching bag for the rest of eternity.}


    ¡°If I said what I did was for the sake of the world, what would you do?¡±


    I punched him in the face again.


    ¡°I see, well facts are facts, what I did was for the world.¡±


    {You have two seconds before I punch you again. What. Did. You. Do?}


    ¡°While I could still interfere with her soul, I used my Authority of Fate to make it so she is the one to acquire the Authority of Death. Then, I used my Authority of Time to speed the process up a little and had her acquire said Authority of Death as well as her Authority of the Sun that she gets as your Fated One.¡±


    I was dumbfounded. So dumbfounded that I let go of Phobos¡¯s cor.


    {You¡­YOU ABSOLUTE IMBICIL!!!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HER SOUL IF YOU GIVE IT TWO AUTHROITIES IN ITS CURRENT STATE?!}


    ¡°I am well aware. That is why I made arrangements beforehand and why I was nearly toote to do this.¡±


    {What kind or arrangements?}


    ¡°The two Authorities will be sealed until her body and soul are strong enough to handle them. The caveat is that the effects of your Divine Protection are also weakened.¡±


    {¡­What?}


    I could feel tears falling down my cheeks.


    {What? What does that mean?}


    ¡°Rx, my vixen friend, it is not gone, only weakened. You will still be able to speak with her once that timees.¡±


    {Then what was weakened? You know, right?}


    ¡°Yes. Our friendly God of Chaos told me what would happen when I put this n in motion so I could ry it to you. First off, the effects that deal with your Sun Authority arepletely intact due to her having Authority over the other Sun. The aspects rted to Magic, her mana that would have been infinite is now lessened, though it remains a high amount more than even sages of ages past. As for the Life aspect, it is gonepletely due to the Authority of Death.¡±


    {Then I need to make sure that she survives. I will temporarily bless her mother.}


    ¡°Do just that. I shall now take my leave. I bid you good day.¡±


    Just before Phobos left, I grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face me.


    {One day when she meets you, you are going to allow her to punch you as I did. AND, if this has any negative effect on her physically, I¡¯ll cash in every favor I have to get you sealed away for 1000 years.}


    His usually carefree face turned serious at this moment.


    ¡°Worry not, while she won¡¯t have an easy time in the beginning, things will work out. She will never hate you, and if she suffers for any reason in these first five years, I will personally take any and all me. I may like this theatre we call the mortal world, but I hate tragedy. I assure you that she will make it to your side as a Goddess one day.¡±


    He then shook off my grip and left. I sat there in silence as a million and one thoughts rushed through my mind.

 Chapter 2- Complications Already

    Chapter 2- Complications Already


    [MC¡¯s POV]


    Darkness. That¡¯s all there was for I don¡¯t know how long. My consciousness was hazy and I couldn¡¯t tell if I was dreaming or if I was awake. Thest clear thing I remember was talking with Amaterasu then falling asleep or something after being told I was going to be reincarnated. I also somewhat remember a strange feeling power just before everything went dark, but it¡¯s hazy.


    At some point in time, my consciousness started clearing up. The ce I was at was dark, wet, somewhat red, and swelteringly hot. The heat, however, wasn¡¯t ufortable, quite the opposite in fact. I tried moving since I was cramped in this tiny space, but it was extremely hard. It was then that the pressure increased. It was extremely ufortable, and it felt like it was pushing me somewhere even more cramped. At that point I cked out once more.


    I once again regained consciousness when I heard the loud screaming. It was shrill and high-pitched, clearly a woman¡¯s voice. It also wasn¡¯t pleasant, though screaming usually wasn¡¯t. It sounded pained. There were also other voices, but the screaming overpowered all of them.


    ¡®Ugh. It¡¯s so loud and feels like someone is shoving a spike into my ears. And can someone ease this pressure already? It¡¯s starting to hurt.¡¯


    It was like my prayers were answered as, soon enough, the pressure started to rapidly ease and I felt air on my skin. The screaming remained, but it wasbored. When I tried opening my eyes to see, the light blinded me to a degree that I thought my eyes would melt out of my skull. The pain from that and the sound made me unconsciously cry out.


    ¡°UGHYAAAA!!!¡±


    The sound that came from my mouth stunned me for an instant when my thoughts cleared up a little more.


    ¡®Right, reincarnation usually means starting out as a baby. Guess this is what being born feels like. Gotta say, I don¡¯t like it.¡¯


    As I continued to try and open my eyes and crying out in pain every time I failed, I heard the screaming quiet down enough for me to make out what the other voices around me were saying, putting the fact that I understood them at all forter.


    ¡°Midwife, is Leticia alright!?¡± (Man)


    ¡°Yes, milord, though just barely. Your child¡¯s body heat is unnaturally high, so much so that it basically burnt everything on the way out. It¡¯s a miracle that they both survived, the Goddess of Life mush be smiling down on your family.¡±


    ¡°Can she be healed?¡± (Man)


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already done what I can, but you should get one of the royal healers here to do a more intensive healing job. As for your newborn daughter, breastfeeding is out of the question, so you¡¯ll need to figure out something else.¡±


    ¡®I was wondering why I wasn¡¯t being picked up. Guess I¡¯m too hot to handle.¡¯


    ¡°Why is her body heat so high? I can feel it from here and I¡¯m on the other side of the room.¡± (Man)


    ¡°That I¡¯m not too sure about. It might have something to do with her magic attributes and mana being unstable or maybe some other reason. I¡¯m just a midwife, I don¡¯t have all the answers when ites to babies.¡±


    ¡°Tch. I hope this is something that can be remedied in the future.¡± (Man)


    I then heard the sound of a bell being rung and a door opening quickly.


    ¡°Go and send a message to the royal healers and one of the court mages asking for them toe here. Also, send word out for a maid that has high fire resistance or something. The sooner the better.¡± (Man)


    ¡°Yes, milord.¡±


    The sound of an old man¡¯s voice followed by the door closing could be heard. Then the sound of footstepsing closer to me echoed in the room.


    ¡°Ugh. It¡¯s like summer in here. Midwife open a window or something.¡± (Man)


    I tried opening my eyes one more time and was relieved that there was no burning feeling. The first thing I saw was a stern-faced man with dull grey eyes and hair that was a dull silver. He had fox ears on his head and a scowl on his face as he staired down at me.


    ¡°What horrible eyes.¡± (Man)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her eyes milord?¡±


    ¡°Get over here and see for yourself.¡± (Man)


    The midwife did just that and as soon as she saw me she took a step backwards with a look of shock mixed with horror.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a child whose sclera were pitch ck.¡±


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the irises being the same blue and the silver tail being the same as mine, I¡¯d think she wasn¡¯t my child. Is this some form of curse?¡± (Man)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Things of this nature are out of my scope of knowledge.¡±


    ¡°Tch. Clean it up and move it away from Leticia. I have things that need to be done before the healers and mages get here.¡± (Man)


    ¡°Lord Fafnir, will you not at least name the child?¡±


    ¡°Not until it proves it¡¯s worth to our house.¡± (Man)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡®¡­Wow.¡¯


    ¡°*<em>sigh</em>* I¡¯m sorry, little one, it seems that even though you were just born, you will have a hard time.¡±


    [Amaterasu POV]


    I¡¯ve been watching over my Fated One¡¯s mother and I¡¯vee to the conclusion that Phobos needs more punching.


    {She had to be born it that country out of all of them. WHY!!!???}


    The country my Fated One was born in is the most istionist country in this world. This is enforced to a ridiculous degree that anyone that tried to leave is killed.


    {I need to get her out of there.}


    I thought of ways that I could aplish this and decided that the easiest one was to get my Apostle to help her.


    {Fia.}


    A ming doorway appeared next to me and my Apostle of the Sun, Fiametta walked through.


    ¡°You called, Lady Amaterasu?¡±


    {I need you to go to Falheim and get my Fated One out of there.}


    ¡°¡­Lady Amaterasu, that is a hard task, even for me. Even if I start in the closest country, it¡¯ll take me a few years to get there.¡±


    {I realize that, but I still need you to do this all the same. I will not let her waste away there until she ascends naturally.}


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t refusing, just letting you know not to get too impatient. I¡¯ll head out now and start preparing.¡±


    {Thank you, Fia.}


    ¡°Can you give me the name of your Fated One so I know who to look for?¡±


    {She hasn¡¯t been given one, but the family she was born into is the Fafnir duke family.}


    ¡°¡­I understand. I¡¯ll get there as fast as I can.¡±


    With those parting words, Fiametta left my home and I returned to watching over my Fated One.


    {If my bad feeling is correct, I should start thinking of a name to give you.}

 Chapter 3- One Week Later

    Chapter 3- One Week Later


    [MC POV]


    It¡¯s been a week since I was reborn and I have to say, I really hate it here. I¡¯m kept in a room with no windows, a crib, a chair, and a mirror. I can¡¯t do anything but stare at the roof since I¡¯m a literal baby that can¡¯t even control its own body. And the only person that evenes in here is the maid that was found to take care of me.


    It wasn¡¯t too bad in the beginning since several people came here to presumably check on my health and other things like figure out what was with my eyes or why my body acts like a space heater. On that day I also learned a few things. One was that my mother would live and that her wounds that she suffered while giving birth to me were, while bad, fixable with healing magic, except one. Unfortunately, she will never be able to bear another child. Another thing is that I¡¯m not cursed, my eyes are just naturally like this. Also, the running theory for why I¡¯m so hot is due to my mana being unstable and one of my magic affinities. That was all I could learn at that time before my baby body forced me to sleep.


    Back in the present, I was doing what I¡¯ve been doing for this past week, staring at the roof while I count faded spots for the hundredth time. Just as I was starting to doze off due to the boredom, the door to my room opened and the elderly human maid walked in.


    ¡°Hello, young miss, it¡¯s time for your dinner.¡±


    The maid moved over to me and picked me up before sitting in the chair.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re so warm, young miss. It does my old bones good.¡±


    ¡°Gooo.¡±


    ¡°Kekeke. Let¡¯s get you fed now. There is something important happening today, so the sooner we get this done, the better.¡±


    Now this was some wee news. I¡¯m finally getting to see a ce that isn¡¯t just four walls. I mean, with how things are set up, I can¡¯t even see myself in the mirror, I just know there is one.


    My internal rant aside, I happily started sucking away on the bottle the maid held to my mouth while she hummed a little song. Once I was done and the maid pped me on the back to make me burp, I was wrapped in a very thin nket and carried out of the room.


    I looked around at as much as I possibly could while we went to wherever we were going. For the most part everything here was made of a polished dark wood with silver or gold trimmings. There were very cushy looking carpets on the floor, and overall the ce gave off the feeling of opulence. As we passed by a big staircase I saw two paintings of a man and a woman. The man was the same stern-faced person that I saw on the day I was reborn. The other one was of a woman that while beautiful, was no where near the perfection of Amaterasu.


    Shortly after passing by those stairs we stopped in front of a door. The maid holding me knocked gently and waited for whoever was inside to give permission to enter. When permission was granted, the door was opened slowly and we both slipped inside.


    The room we were now in was a bedroom. It was highly decorated, unlike mine, with a big bed in the center. On that bedy the woman that was the inspiration for that portrait outside, my mother. She had pale blue hair, electric blue eyes that conveyed a deep tiredness. Fox ears adorned her head and in herp was a fox tail that looked like it had seen better days.


    ¡®I¡¯m d my tail is fluffier than that. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if I couldn¡¯t hug it like a pillow to help me sleep.¡¯


    Yes, both my parents were kitsune, so naturally that would make me one as well. But that¡¯s beside the point at the moment. My mother looked absolutely exhausted and her eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying. When she looked at the two of us, I could see a small amount of fear and arger amount of loathing in her tired expression.


    ¡°Maid, why did you bring that here?¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Lady Leticia, I assumed that you would want to see and hold your daughter for the first time now that the healers said you are healthy again.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want that thing anywhere near me.¡±


    ¡®¡­¡¯


    Her words of rejection stung my little baby heart.


    ¡°Mydy-¡±


    ¡°Take it away!¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Yes, mdy.¡±


    The maid carrying me turned around and we left the room. On the way back to my own, the maid started to whisper to me.


    ¡°Young miss, please don¡¯t lose hope. I¡¯m sure she wille around one day.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure why the maid was telling me this since, as far as she knew, I was a newborn that had no concept of anything, but I doubted her words. The look that my mother gave me spoke more than any words could. I doubted that this was just the usual case of postnatal depression.


    ¡°Aaaabuuu.¡±


    ¡°Kekeke. Young miss, you are so cute.¡±


    We arrived back at my room, but instead of cing me back in the crib, the maid moved the mirror near the chair and sat down while looking into it with me in her arms. This was actually the fist time I saw myself in the mirror, and I was a little surprised at what I saw.


    I was, obviously, a baby. Tiny body, tiny hands and feet, fat, useless legs, fat head. What really caught my attention was my tail, ears, hair, and especially my eyes. While I knew I had silver colored hair since that was the color of my tail, I didn¡¯t realize that the tips of my ears were a pretty electric blue. The very end if my currently short hair was the same, leaving only the tip of my tail to start getting the same at some point probably. My eyes, on the other hand, were even more striking. The irises were the electric blue like my mothers, but unlike the dullness of hers, mine seemed to faintly glow. This fact was only entuated by the fact that the parts of my eyes that, on a normal person, would be white were pitch ck.


    ¡®Why do people look afraid of me when they see this? I know it¡¯s a bit conceited, but I like the way this looks.¡¯


    As I started at my reflection in the mirror, the rocking motion the maid was doing made me start to drift off to sleep.

 Chapter 4- Three Years Later

    Chapter 4- Three Years Later


    [MC POV]


    More time has passed and I¡¯ve just turned three. Not that much has changed in this time. I still basically live in my prison cell of a room, though I¡¯ve been allowed to roam around a small amount as long as I¡¯m apanied by my maid whose name is Saki. Since that day three years ago I haven¡¯t seen my mother again, much less my father. I know that they both exist since I overhear other servants talk about them, but for the most part it¡¯s like I don¡¯t even exist to them. Another thing is, excluding Saki, the other servants avoid me like a gue and I have to sit beside my door if I ever want to overhear what they say when they think no one is listening.


    I was sitting in the small chair that Saki had procured for me some time ago while staring into the mirror and brushing my tail. I was prepared for another boring day of just sitting there doing nothing when my door opened and someone other than Saki entered. Imagine my surprise that my father shows his face to me for the first time since I was born.


    ¡°Girl, stand up.¡±


    I decided to humor him since his tone and expression said that he wouldn¡¯t ept anything butpliance.


    ¡°Hmm. You are now three, correct girl?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± (MC)


    ¡°It¡¯s yes sir.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, I am three years old as of two days ago.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Good. You will be moved to a more appropriate room today and you will start undergoing training in the ways of nobility andbat tomorrow. If you do well and show decent results, you will be given a name and epted as part of the Fafnir family.¡±


    ¡°May I ask something?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°Why have I been basically ignored this entire time?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Why would I interact with something that has no purpose? You are now at an age where you can gain a purpose, so I¡¯m gracing you with an opportunity.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± (MC)


    My father turned to leave the room but stopped just as he was about to walk through the door.


    ¡°Also, I expect you to learn to read by the end of the week else you will fall behind in your studies. Get the maid to teach you until a tutor is found.¡±


    With that he mmed the door shut. I moved to the door and put my ear to it so I could see when he was far enough away for me to talk out loud to myself.


    ¡°Mongrel. Me, have no purpose? What else am I supposed to do when I can¡¯t do anything by myself? And it shouldn¡¯t matter anyway since I¡¯m your daughter. Also, what do you mean I startbat and nobility training tomorrow? I¡¯m literally three! The only thing good toe from this is that I get a new room. Hopefully it¡¯ll have windows.¡±


    I sat back down in my chair while I grumbled to myself. After some time, Saki came into the room with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Saki!¡± (MC)


    ¡°Kukuku. Hello young miss. Have you hard the news?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°That I¡¯m getting a new room today?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Indeed. And I¡¯m happy that Lord Lucius has finallye to see you. No child should have to go without knowing their father¡¯s face.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°He didn¡¯t stay long. Only told me that I apparently start training tomorrow and that I need to learn to read by the end of the week.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Then we should get to it. Come and I¡¯ll show you to your new room.¡± (Saki)


    We left the old room and walked to the ce with the big staircase. We ascended the stairs and walked down a long hallway before stopping in front of an ornately carved wooden door. Saki opened it and we both walked inside. My first impression was that it was a stereotypical noble¡¯s room. It had two big windows, a bed with a canopy, arge wooden desk, and a full length mirror. The other thing that stood out was that every wall was covered in bookshelves, making this ce more like a study than a bedroom.


    The first thing I did after walking into the room was run up to one of the windows. It was my first time seeing outside and to say the I was mesmerized would be an understatement. Outside the window was a sprawling city made mostly of white stone. In the distance a giant castle towered over everything. Instead of roads, there were water channels that reminded me of Venice in my old world. That wasn¡¯t to say there were no ces for people to walk, but those ces from what I could see, weren¡¯t very wide so at most two people could walk shoulder to shoulder.


    ¡°Pretty.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Kukuku. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you smile like that, young miss. You should do it more, then maybe more of the servants will approach you.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°Mm.¡± (MC)


    After taking in the view of the city, I turned my sight up to the sky. I could see both suns hanging there, looking down on everything.


    ¡®Amaterasu.¡¯


    ¡°Young miss, why do you look so sad? Are you not happy with your new room?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± (MC)


    I looked up at the suns one more time before moving over and jumping up onto the bed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a lot better than the old one, I¡¯m just not sure how I¡¯m supposed to learn to read in a week. It seems rushed.¡± (MC)


    ¡°We just have to try our best, young miss. And if we only have a week, then we should get started now.¡± (Saki)


    She walked over to one of the many shelves and picked out a book before walking back over to me and sitting down. I looked at the book in herp and tried to read the cover, but it just looked like squiggly lines if gibberish.


    ¡°What does it say?¡± (MC)


    ¡°This is a storybook, young miss. I¡¯ll read it to you slowly so you can see how words are spelled. If that doesn¡¯t work, then we can try something different.¡± (Saki)


    I just nodded my head and Saki started reading. The book had many small stories in it, but I noticed that all of them took ce in this country and extoled how great of a ce it was. Regardless of that, we spent the rest of the day doing this. By the time night fell, my head was hurting from trying to figure these things out.


    ¡°I believe we should call it a night here, young miss.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°But I didn¡¯t make any progress, Saki.¡± (MC)


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, you are smart for your age, but these things take time. I will try to think of an easier way to help.¡± (Saki)


    I nodded my head and hugged Saki. She started to gently pat my head before she stood up.


    ¡°Sleep now, young miss, you have a big day tomorrow.¡± (Saki)


    Saki then left my new room.


    ¡°*Sigh* I¡¯m d Saki is trying to help, but there are easier ways to do this. Maybe I can subtly hint at one or something. Anyway, I need to sleep this headache off.¡±


    I moved under the nkets of the bed and hugged my tail before falling asleep.


    [Amaterasu POV]


    {Damnable mortals, what do you mean she has no purpose?! She¡¯s more important than all of youbined!}


    I wanted to break something. It¡¯s so infuriating only being able to watch and get petty little revenges here and there.


    {Treating her like she doesn¡¯t exist for years, then randomly deciding that you will train her to do something. All because I made you infertile for treating her badly. Just adopt¡­no, that would make things worse for her¡­damn it! Fia, please hurry.}


    As I was monologuing, I watched her face as she finally got to see the outside world. The sparkling in her eyes was adorable. When she looked up at the sky and the suns, her sad face nearly broke my heart.


    ¡°Amaterasu.¡±


    {I know. I want nothing more than to take you away from there, but I can¡¯t. They hold no true dedication to me, so I can¡¯t send Fia there to get you quickly. Please don¡¯t think I¡¯m just leaving you there to rot.}


    After that I watched as she and her good maid attempted to read and eventually her lonely look as she went to sleep. Seeing this, I couldn¡¯t help but get fed up with things that were out of both of our control and decided to figure out what other kind of curses I could get away with.


    {I¡¯ve already made all her so-called father infertile and her so-called mother can¡¯t have children anymore, so what else can I do? I won¡¯t take away your magic since that will hamper my Fated One, not that that will stop me from doing so when she gets out of there. Hmmmmm. Oh! It¡¯s just barely under my Life Authority, but enjoy having bad smelling fungus growing on your upper lip.}

 Chapter 5- Training Starts and the Return of the Chaos Realm

    Chapter 5- Training Starts and the Return of the Chaos Realm


    [MC POV]


    I was enjoying a dream where me and Amaterasu were having a cup of tea while chatting about random things when I was suddenly sshed in the face.


    ¡°Grrrr.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Shut up, get dressed, ande with me girl. It¡¯s time your training started.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°Good morning to you too, <em>father</em>.¡± (MC)


    He just red at me before walking out the door. Since I was now wide awake, I decided I wouldply for now and quickly got dressed in something that was easy to move around in that was so very lovingly provided for me in the closet. When I left my room, my <em>father</em> was standing next to the door. He silently started to walk away, and I followed. The ce I was led to was arge atrium full ofrge nts and many small, artificial streams.


    ¡°I will exin the specifics of this training once, so listen carefully girl. You are lucky enough to be born into the prestigious Fafnir Duke Family of the glorious country of Falheim. Our glorious country is known for its powerful military and for good reason. We were the first to discover Soul Weapons. The Fafnir family has always produced children that possess powerful Soul Weapons, and you, will be no different. Once you are properly trained and reach the age of five, you will have the honor of joining the Soul Corps of the military where you will serve for the betterment of Falheim for 20 years before returning to the family and producing the next generation.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°Who will I fight?¡± (MC)


    ¡°I will answer you, but do not interrupt again. You will fight the rebellious scum that want to overthrow this country¡¯s leaders. They believe that we should open the borders and interact with the plebians of other countries. Absolute orcwash! Our glorious country has no need of those barbarians!¡± He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. ¡°Continuing, your training will consist of stamina building, muscle training, mana control, and resistance to pain. You mustplete all of the regimen before midday. Afterwards, you will bathe and go see your mother to start nobility training. Since this is the first day, I will give you the privilege of asking questions.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°What are Soul Weapons?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Things only the most noble of beings can use. They are a weapon manifested from the soul. Unbreakable, sharper, they possess abilities ordinary weapons simply cannot replicate. For example¡­¡± (Lucius)


    He took a stance and a silver rapier with an impractically ornate handguard appeared in his hand. He waved it in front of him and several copies of the rapier appeared floating around him like a shield. He took a fencing stance and stabbed forward and the floating rapiers began to rotate around the arm holding the main sword. All the ded hit the point in the air he stabbed and the points all converged on the same spot. He went back into a neutral stance and then the rapier in his hand disappeared.


    ¡°Unfortunately, Soul Weapons only manifest at the age of five, so until then you will be trained in the basics of several weapons that have appeared in the Fafnir family in the past.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t have a Soul Weapon?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Then you are useless to this family and be sent into solitude until you are of age, then you will be brought back to fulfill your purpose as a woman.¡± (Lucius)


    I couldrgely ignore all of the annoying and tant attempts at indoctrination, but the misogyny made me angry. I will NEVER be anything like what he wants or expects. I have a goddess to marry after all. I did my best to contain the anger and not let it show on my face and decided that it would probably be best to y along as the good little girl until I was strong enough to get out of here. As I was reining in my emotions, I felt the grass under my feet change. I looked down and saw that it was starting to die due to heat. I looked up at the man in front of me and saw that he was sweating buckets.


    ¡®I guess things get hotter along with strong emotions. Good to know.¡¯


    My <em>father</em> loosened his cor a bit before speaking again.


    ¡°No more questions. You will start running until you copse, then your stamina will be replenished with healing magic before you resume with muscle training. You will train until you copse once more and you will repeat this until otherwise told. After that you will be taught how to properly control your mana. After thates pain resistance, things will start small as to not permanently damage that body of yours, but the intensity will ramp up the older you get. Once you join the military, you will undergo training to resist physical and mental torture, but that is, unfortunately, still a while into the future. I will leave your nobility training to your mother.¡± (Lucius)


    He then made a motion with his hand and a knight looking person came forward. He was so silent that I didn¡¯t even know he was here. He knelt on one knee before my <em>father.</em>


    <em></em>


    ¡°Milord.¡±


    ¡°You will supervise the girl¡¯s training. Do whatever you have to, to make sure shepletes it every day, just don¡¯t kill her or cause any unheble damage.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°Yes, milord. Your will be done.¡±


    ¡°Girl, if you manage to persist in this and your nobility training until you manifest your Soul Weapon, you will be named.¡± (Lucius)


    With that, he left me and the knight alone. Once he was no longer here, I looked back at the knight.


    ¡°He is gone, right?¡±


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°*<em>sigh* </em>Young miss, before we begin, I would like to say this¡­I apologize. This training will not be easy and is meant to break you. I need you to at least y along with it for both of our sakes.¡±


    ¡°Why would you do that for me?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Miss Saki. Over thest three years she has gone around to most of us that work here and asked for us to treat you nicely when this time came. Many of the knights under your father¡¯s employ ignored her, but several of us younger knights sympathize with both her efforts and your circumstances. Me for example, I was rejected from my family because they called my Soul Weapon weak. I was only employed here due to the Fafnir family¡¯s one redeeming quality, their eptance of any Soul Weapon. I still don¡¯t have a name.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I call you?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Whatever you want to. Most of the knights just call me kid, though I don¡¯t think that¡¯d be very fittinging from you.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you Mister Knight.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Hehe. Alright. Now, let¡¯s get this training underway.¡± (Mister Knight)


    I nodded my head and immediately started running around the atrium.


    [Several Hours Later]


    The suns in the sky were just reaching their apex and I was sprawled out on the grass breathing heavily. All around the atrium you could see the effects of my training. There was a ring of dead grass where I spent time running. Severalrger spots where I was when I had to do several exercises for building muscle and meditating to try and control my mana and a giant burnt spot where I had to go through pain resistance training. Mister Knight wasying in one of the streams with most of his armor strewn about.


    ¡°Young miss, I highly rmend you work on you mana control outside of training hours. The heat is too much.¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°Really? I actually find it a little chilly.¡± (MC)


    ¡°HOW IN THE WORLD IS THIS CONIDERED CHILLY!? IT¡¯S HOTTER THAN A GREENHOUSE IN SUMMERTIME IN HERE!¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°Hehehehehe.¡± (MC)


    Mister Knightid there for a few more minutes before getting up and reluctantly putting his armor back on. He then walked over to me and restored my stamina with healing magic just enough that the training would still have at least a small effect. As soon as I sat up, an old man came into the atrium.


    ¡°Child, it is time for your nobility training. Follow.¡±


    My somewhat joyful mood immediately disappeared and I begrudgingly got up and followed behind the old man. I did notice Mister Knight giving me a reassuring thumbs up, and that booted my morale a little bit.


    I was led through several hallways to arge bathroom where two maids stood on either side of the door. The old man nodded to the two of them and I was whisked into the room rather roughly. There I experienced probably the most ufortable bath I¡¯ve ever had before being dressed in a super restricting dress and for some stupid reason a corset. I mean, there is no point in wearing this, but it was forced on me all the same.


    I was now standing in front of arge set of wooden doors, the two maids from earlier standing on either side of me. They slowly opened the doors and not so gently pushed me inside before mming them shut once more. I didn¡¯t fail to notice how they attempted to shut the door on my tail either. Turning my attention back to the room I was in, I saw a woman that I¡¯d only seen once standing in the center.


    She had a cold look in her eyes and she lookedpletely haggard. Her hair was dull and dry looking, her tail had poorly concealed patches of shedding spots, and she looked overall sickly.


    ¡°<em>Mother.</em>¡± (MC)


    ¡°<em>Girl.</em>¡± (Leticia)


    We stared at each other for several seconds before she turned away. She cleared her throat and started speaking.


    ¡°I will be training you in all things nobility. The way to sit, stand, speak, even breathe. You will learn everything I did when I was your age in the castle and you will not utter a singleint. Once I am satisfied with your progress in these three areas for the day, you will go on to learn dancing, sewing, etiquette, table manners, and at least one musical instrument. I do not expect you to master all of this before you are enlisted into the military, but you WILL be expected to maintain what you learn here every day going forward.¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (MC)


    ¡°Now, get over here and we will begin.¡± (Leticia)


    I moved to where I was told to stand and that is when the true torture began. For the rest of the day it was nothing but strenuous nagging as I was forced into ufortable position after ufortable position until the banshee of a <em>mother </em>was satisfied. I won¡¯t go into detail on how many scorch marks were left in the room or how many times my <em>mother </em>nearly fainted due to heat by the time we were done for the day. How in the name of all that is good in the world do you expect a three year old to do this!? Anyway, by the time I made it to my room, I fell face first on my bed,pletely ignoring Saki holding a trey with my dinner on it.


    ¡°I see today was difficult, young miss.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°The first part was manageable, but the second part not so much.¡± (MC)


    ¡°I see. But it is to be expected from your mother. She is a princess of this country, so it only makes sense that she¡¯d be strict when ites to proper noble behavior.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°Eh? She¡¯s a princess?¡± (MC)


    ¡°More specifically the fifth princess, but yes.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°¡­¡± (MC)


    ¡°Kukuku. Anyway, young miss, please eat and rest well.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°I will.¡± (MC)


    I sluggishly sat up and Saki ced the trey of food in front of me. As I was eating, Saki shakily sat in the chair next to the bed.


    ¡°Saki, thank you.¡± (MC)


    ¡°For what, young miss?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°For getting at least some of the knights to be nice. The one in charge of mybat training told me you spoke to them in an attempt to go easy on me.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Kukuku. It¡¯s only natural, young miss. I don¡¯t have much time left and I wanted to at least make sure you won¡¯t bepletely neglected by the people here.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°Huh!?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not long for this world. I know this is sudden, especially to you, young miss, but it is the truth. I know you are very smart and I know that you would notice sooner orter, so I thought to just tell you.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°Please no.¡± (MC)


    I felt tears starting to fall from my eyes and promptly evaporate.


    ¡°Do not cry, young miss. It is the fate of us mortals.¡± (Saki)


    ¡°No. I need you Saki. You are the one of the only things that keeps me sane here¡­ I know, I¡¯ll pray to Amaterasu and see if she can do something.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Kukuku. It warms my heart to see you care for me that much. But I am old, young miss. Old and tired, and not just my body, but I feel it in my soul.¡± (Saki)


    I stared at Saki for a moment and I thought I saw a dim, whitish-gray flicker in the center of her chest. I rubbed my eyes and the flickering light was no longer there.


    ¡°Is something wrong young miss?¡± (Saki)


    I shook my head and replied.


    ¡°No¡­it¡¯s nothing.¡± (MC)


    I continued to eat my dinner in silence and when I was done I leaned back on my bed.


    ¡°Hey Saki.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Yes, young miss?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°I had an idea today.¡± (MC)


    ¡°And what was that idea, young miss?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°I still need to learn to read, and figured, if I knew what each letter looked like and what sound they made when spoken, I¡¯d be able to read them.¡± (MC)


    ¡°That¡¯s a splendid idea, young miss. How about this, while you train tomorrow, I will write the letters out and then we can study them before you go to sleep?¡± (Saki)


    ¡°Let¡¯s do that.¡± (MC)


    That was thest thing I said before drifting off to sleep that night.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto, something is definitely wrong with that world.


    I know, that¡¯s why I gave that world¡¯s God of Time and Fate permission to do what he did.


    Order: And why did you set up that little one in a family like that? That seems a bit cruel, even for you.


    Believe it or not, that family was one of the better ones when I weaved her Fate.


    Order: You know very well how quickly mortals change, so you should have foreseen this.


    Order, the time I set all of this up was just before Astraea was born. I wasn¡¯t really paying too much attention to fix any problems that cropped up, I had more important things to take care of.


    Order: Alright.


    And besides, things are going to work out in the end. Though I do look forward to when Luna meets her here.


    Order: I¡¯m more excited to see if you¡¯ll let her do something as the Abyss of Fluff.


    Hehehe. Just wait and see.


    Order: Hehehe.

 Chapter 6- Age Five

    Chapter 6- Age Five


    [MC POV]


    Over the next two years, my training became harder and harder. My <em>mother¡¯s </em>nobility training became worse until I unconsciously started holding myself in the way she wanted. What made it worse was that six months after it all started, Saki passed away. I didn¡¯t even get a day to grieve for her before they whisked her body away and I was forced to double down on training. On Mister Knight¡¯s part, he was sympathetic and eased my training up for a while, though we still had to at least keep the illusion of me bing more and more broken by it. I didn¡¯t have to act like it when it came to nobility training, though I still got back at all the abuse in my own ways. I also ended up befriending a main named Emma. She was one of the maids that took care of me after Saki died. At first she didn¡¯t really seem to like me all that much, but over time we got a little closer. Today I woke up early, as usual, and got ready to go to training. Just before I opened my door to go my <em>father </em>walked in.


    ¡°Girl, today is the day we finally check your magic affinities and you manifest your soul weapon. Strip andy on the bed.¡± (Lucius)


    I begrudgingly did as I was told and ady wearing silver robes walked in. She was carrying arge box that she ced on the desk before opening it. Inside the box was a silver-blue crystal looking ball and a wiry tripod thing. She silently set the tripod over my prone body and ced the crystal ball in the center of it.


    ¡°Little girl, touch the two silver prongs and inject some mana into them.¡±


    I ced my hands on the silver prongs and put some mana into them. That caused the ball to shoot a beam into my chest and I felt something click in my head. A small list of things popped up in my head.


    Name: None


    Sex: Female


    Race: Kitsune


    Status: Normal


    Magic Affinities: Sr, Death(Sealed), Illusion


    Soul Weapon: Sealed


    Divine Protection: Amaterasu¡¯s Divine Protection(weakened)


    Authorities: Sun(Blue)(sealed), Death(sealed)


    Titles: Fated One of Amaterasu


    A simr list also popped up in the crystal ball, but it was different that what I was seeing.


    Name: None


    Sex: Female


    Race: Kitsune


    Status: Normal


    Magic Affinities: Sr, Illusion


    Thedy quickly wrote down what was shown in the crystal ball before the light inside it vanished. She quickly disassembled the whole thing, packed it up, and left the room. This whole time my <em>father </em>was staring at the paper he was handed with an increasingly frustrated look on his face. While he was like that I quickly dressed myself.


    ¡°What a disgrace. WHAT AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE!¡± (Lucius)


    He walked over and punched a wall, causing some of the books to fall to the ground and a hole to appear.


    <em>¡°Girl!¡± </em>(Lucius)


    He was practically snarling at me at this point.


    <em>¡°Collect whatever things you call yours. MAID!¡± </em>(Lucius)


    Emma came right into the room after his angered shout.


    ¡°Milord?¡± (Emma)


    <em>¡°Make sure this girl gets everything, she¡¯s leaving before noon.¡± </em>(Lucius)


    With that statement, he left the room. Emma and I stared at his retreating figure until he mmed the door. We listened to make sure he was gone before speaking again.


    ¡°What went wrong, young miss?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Whatever that orb thing said made him angry. I assume he thinks I don¡¯t have a Soul Weapon.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Hmm. So then he¡¯s sending you away until you be of age. I thought that was only a threat used to scare people, not an actual thing.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised that these <em>people</em> would do this, though I am surprised it¡¯s going to happen today.¡± (MC)


    ¡°I have no power to stop them, but is there anything you would like me to do in retaliation, young miss? If anything, me and Mister Knight are on your side.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Well, I doubt I¡¯ll be able to see Mister Knight before I¡¯m gone today, so I¡¯ll give you a letter to give himter. As for retaliation, I wouldn¡¯t mind if you gave that mongrel of a thing that birthed me a pleasant trip down some stairs.¡± (MC)


    The two of us smiled evilly at that and snickered.


    ¡°Can do, young miss. The first opportunity I get.¡± (Emma)


    I nodded my head and started writing a quick letter for Mister Knight before moving on to packing the small amount of clothes I had in a case and gave Emma the letter. Once that was done, all that remained for me to do was wait.


    ¡°Emma, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll see you and Mister Knight again after this, but I want at least the two of you to get out of here. I have a strong feeling that things will start to turn really bad when I¡¯m finally out of here.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get that retaliation for you done then we¡¯ll slip away like we were never here, young miss. I do hope to see you again one day.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely see each other again.¡± (MC)


    I gave Emma a quick hug and let go just as the door swung open.


    <em>¡°Girl. Follow.¡± </em>(Lucius)


    I grabbed my case and followed behind. I was led to the front of the mansion where the old butler took the case from me. I was rather forcefully grabbed on the arm and basically dragged down the small steps to a gond. I was pushed into it and the sperm donor looked at the ferryman.


    ¡°Take this thing to the gate of the city. Give this to the driver of the Fafnir family carriage.¡± (Lucius)


    He handed over a letter to the ferryman before giving me onest re and walking off. The ferryman put the letter away in a pocket and silently started moving the gond. While looking around at the city that I was seeing for the first time close up, I felt something in my being click.


    [Emma POV]


    As soon as the young miss was led away, I immediately went to find Mister Knight. It didn¡¯t take too long to find him since he was waiting in the atrium.


    ¡°Emma? Is the young miss noting today?¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°You idiot, it¡¯s her fifth birthday.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­!!! Did she manifest a Soul Weapon!?¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°No.¡± (Emma)


    Mister Knight fell to his knees.


    ¡°No¡­nonononononononono! NO!¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°Calm down. She was already led away, but she did write you a letter.¡± (Emma)


    I took out and handed him the letter the young miss wrote. He grabbed it and started reading it in a panic. While he read, his panic rapidly diminished and tears started to fall from his eyes.


    ¡°Young miss.¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°What did it say?¡± (Emma)


    He took a deep breath to get his emotions in check before speaking again.


    ¡°She said that, while the, in her words, orb showed one thing, the status she saw said more. She does have a Soul Weapon, but it is sealed. This is just her way of getting out of here. Also¡­¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°Also what?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°She gave me a name.¡± (Mister Knight)


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t keep me in suspense, what is it?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m no longer kid or Mister Knight. From today onward I am Sigurd.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I like it. Now, I¡¯d suggest you get your things. Young miss said that as soon as she was gone, things would probably start getting worse around here. And don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t know what I mean.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yeah. I know, and you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll go get the few others that are decent and didn¡¯t do anything to antagonize young miss and get out of here. What about you?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I have something to do first, then I¡¯m doing the same, though I¡¯ll be alone.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Then how about you join up with us? It¡¯ll be more noticeable, but power in numbers.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on your offer. I say we get out of here tonight.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I agree.¡± (Sigurd)


    He got up again and the two of us headed in opposite directions.


    [MC POV]


    I was thrown off for a second by what this feeling was when I looked up and saw that the suns were at their apex.


    {MY FATED ONE!}


    ¡®AMATERASU!!!¡¯


    {We can talkter, for now listen to me. Keep doing what you have been for now. I have someone that is going to get you out of here. Her name is Fiametta and she is trustworthy¡­Oh, and happy birthday, my Fated One.}


    I was silent. I could feel the temperature around me increase, making the gond start to burn a little and the water under it to start boiling. The ferryman, for his part, acted like nothing was happening, but that wasn¡¯t important.


    ¡®Amaterasu¡­¡¯ (MC)


    {I know, my Fated One, I know. There are a lot of things you want to say, but please keep it in until you are out of the city. <em>They</em> still have eyes on you.}


    ¡®Ok¡­but there are a lot of things I want to say.¡¯


    {I know. Also, when you are finally out of there, I have a present for you, so please look forward to it.}


    I smiled just a little bit and I silently ruminated on what Amaterasu was saying while the gond made its way through the canals of the city. A good hourter we finally arrived at arge gate. Several small piers were set up with very fancy carriages lined up side by side. The ferryman walked over to one of the fanciest carriages and handed the note over to the person standing next to it. The coachperson simply read the note, folded up, and put it in their pocket. They then picked up my case and put it in the box on the back of the carriage. I walked over and was helped inside.


    I looked out the window and saw the two people nod before the ferryman got back on hid gond and left. The coachperson got onto the seat in front and opened the little window behind them.


    ¡°Just stay quiet for a little longer. I¡¯ll let you know when we¡¯re no longer being watched. Oh, the name¡¯s Fiametta, just call me Fia. Nice to meet you, miss Fated One.¡± (Fiametta)


    I smiled and the carriage started to leave the city.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto.


    I know, Order, but leave it to Amaterasu. She has ns for what to do.


    Order: Fine, but I need you to tell me one thing.


    Hmm?


    Order: Will it be satisfying what is going to happen to them?


    In my opinion, yes. Hehehe. Though that maid¡¯s n is also fun.


    Order: She should survive so she can face Amaterasu¡¯s punishment.


    Naturally.


    Order: Good.

 Chapter 7- Name

    Chapter 7- Name


    The carriage sped along a road while I was inside trying not to puke from motion sickness. It had been several hours since we left the city, but I was told that I should still keep quiet. By the time the suns were starting to set, the carriage started to slow down before stopping.


    ¡°*Sigh* This is far enough. Miss Fated One, stay in there, I¡¯ll take care of our stalkers, then we can talk.¡± (Fia)


    I simply nodded my head and saw Fia move from the coachman¡¯s seat. I moved to the window on the door and moved the curtain out of the way. There I saw Fia stop walking and three people in light armor with the Fafnir family crest.


    ¡°Who are you? You are not the one that is supposed to drive this carriage.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see the point in exining to people that aren¡¯t going to leave this ce alive. Just know that my Goddess has a bone to pick with all of you, and I¡¯m the one that will be doling out the punishment. Now, the time for talk is over.¡± (Fia)


    All three people took a stance and shining weapons manifested out of nowhere. One person had something that looked like a zweihandr, one had an axe, and one had a halberd. Seeing this, Fia scoffed.


    ¡°Oh please. I get that this ce is really behind in a lot of things, but it¡¯s almost insulting that you think that this is enough to be considered powerful.¡± (Fia)


    Fia did something and the area around her and the other three started to catch fire. Therge embers that came from the fires then started to change shape into birds that flew around, waiting for Fia¡¯s order to attack. The heat I could feel from the area, even inside the carriage, was actually quitefortable, though the three that were confronting her obviously didn¡¯t share the sentiment.


    ¡°T-this heat.¡±


    ¡°Oh? If you can¡¯t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen.¡± (Fia)


    Those words must have been some sort of signal since the fire birds flew into one of the people. The second it touched him, his entire body caught fire. I expected to hear screams of pain and to smell the smell of cooking flesh, but I didn¡¯t. The man just silently fell to the ground. The fire coating his body the reformed into the bird it was before and started to fly around again. For a second, I thought I saw some kind of ck thing leave the corpse, but I put it to the back of my mind as a trick of the light.


    Being enraged by hisrade¡¯s death, one of the now two enemies ran towards Fia and swung his axe at her. She dodged it easily and tapped him on the shoulder as he passed her. She then moved back, kicked him in the chest, and he flew back to his starting position.


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Fia)


    Fia smirked and snapped her fingers. The guy she kicked then exploded. Seeing this I nearly puked again. When I managed to regain myposure, I saw the final enemy¡¯s terrified face looking at Fia like she was a monster. I shouldmend him at least a little, because instead of running away, he ran toward her with a warcry. As soon as he swung his Soul Weapon at her, it wavered and disappeared before it hit her.


    ¡°Wha!?¡±


    ¡°You see, Soul Weapons have the potential to be very powerful, but you need to have a strong will to coincide with it. A weak will leads to a cowardly soul. The more cowardly the soul, the higher the chance your Soul Weapon will fail you in your most dire time of need.¡± (Fia)


    Grabbing the man¡¯s arm, Fia tossed him back and spears of me sprouted from the ground, piercing him and killing him instantly. Once the final enemy was dead, Fia quickly gathered the bodies, or whatever was left of them, together and started to burn them. I sat back in my seat with wide eyes at what just happened.


    {Are you ok, my Fated One?}


    ¡°It¡¯s just the first time I¡¯ve seen people killed.¡± (MC)


    {I know that this will make me sound unfeeling, but you need to get used to it. This may have been the first time you¡¯ve seen this, it will most certainly not be thest. And in the future, it will be by your hand at times.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (MC)


    ¡°Goddess, give her some time to digest what she saw before talking about things like that. She¡¯s only five, after all.¡± (Fia)


    Fia had entered the carriage while I was deep in thought.


    {I¡¯ll keep that advice in mind.}


    ¡°Good. Now¡­Miss Fated One, let¡¯s all have a nice, long chat. You and my Goddess have a lot of catching up to do, and I¡¯d like to get to know you as well.¡± (Fia)


    Fia¡¯s words finally managed to shake me from the thoughts about what I just witnessed for the time and I focused on now. I don¡¯t know what it was, the realization that I was now free of that ce, the fact that Amaterasu and I were able to speak again, or a mix of the two, but all the things that I¡¯ve been bottling up for the past five years started to break free. The temperature around us fluctuated from warm, to hot, to nearly zing, and back to warm in rapid session. Tears fell from my eyes to promptly evaporate.


    ¡°*Sniff* Why? Why was I born here? Why did I have to be born to a bunch of people like <em>THAT!?</em> Why did it take so long for you to get here!? Why didn¡¯t you do something to keep Saki alive!? Why didn¡¯t you do SOMETHING!? Do you know how hard it was to basically be treated like I don¡¯t exist!? To have the one person that I consider an actual mother die and not even be allowed to grieve or give her a proper funeral!? To be harassed and abused in the form of <em>nobility training</em> every day for two years!? Of the three people I could actually trust in that ce, one died, and the other two are forced to treat me like filth in front of other people. Even if I know that they don¡¯t mean it, it still hurts. And what about the others there!? They looked at me all the time like I was some sort of abomination! All because my eyes! AND, I DON¡¯T EVEN HAVE A NAME! It¡¯s so, so hard to act like it doesn¡¯t bother me! Constantly being called girl in the coldest and derogatory way!¡± (MC)


    As I sobbed and let out all of my grievances, I could hear the sounds of Amaterasu crying and I felt someone grab my arm and pull me into a hug.


    ¡°Let it out. Let it all out. Things haven¡¯t been easy for you, we both understand that. Let it all out and the two of us will exin things as best we can. Some will sound like excuses to you, and you may even hold a grudge against us for that, but it is true all the same.¡± (Fia)


    I continued to cry, and cry, and cry. Before long, I fell asleep. When I woke up next, the suns were in the sky again and the carriage was moving.


    {My Fated One¡­I¡¯m sorry.}


    That was the first thing I heard from Amaterasu sincest night.


    ¡°I don¡¯t me you, at least I don¡¯t think I do. It¡¯s hard knowing that there are reasons, and probably good ones, for why it took so long to get here, but having your body make your emotions unstable and amplifying certain ones to an extent, both negative and positive.¡± (MC)


    {Your Sr magic affinity also ys a small role. As a higher form of fire magic affinity, it will amplify certain emotions. Add that to the fact that, even now, your body has more mana than you can consciously control, and it makes sense that you can¡¯t really control your emotions like you want to.}


    ¡°There is also the fact that you actually feel safe for the first time since being born. The vignce that you¡¯ve unconsciously held for the longest time can finally be loosened, so you have even less control.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Mmm¡­So, can we continue what we were supposed to talk aboutst night?¡± (MC)


    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll start. For one, Goddess Amaterasu was never NOT worried about you. The day you were born, she summoned me to the Divine Domain and asked me to immediatelye to get you out of this country. Problem is, the people here don¡¯t really hold any true faith in my Goddess, so I couldn¡¯t appear in a temple or shrine dedicated to her. Add that to the fact that this country is ridiculously istionist AND an ind country, and it takes time to get here in a reasonable fashion.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­So, it¡¯s going to take a few years to get out of here then?¡± (MC)


    ¡°No. It¡¯ll be way faster getting out than it is getting in. What took me so long was the secrecy part of getting here. I had to make sure I went as undetected as possible, and there are a lot of cities and towns that I had to pass through or by to get here. But, with this carriage and the note that that¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Sperm donor.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Yes, the note that your sperm donor gave us, we can basically get to the border in a straight line. It¡¯ll take about a month, but still faster than getting to this point. Getting past the border to the onlynd-based route out of here will be a whole other kind of ordeal, but we¡¯ll take care of it when we get there.¡± (Fia)


    {On my side, I didn¡¯t sit back and just watch as Fia made her way here. I cursed all the people that ever did something bad to you or hurt you in any way, with the exception of that knight person and maid you befriended, with petty little curses. I¡¯ve also made that sperm donor, as you call him, infertile. That particr curse will also spread to anyone he adopts into the family in an attempt to keep it going. I also made it so that the mongrel that carried and birthed you never fully recovered. That¡¯s why she always looked sickly and why she could hardly handle the paltry heat you produce. As for why you were born into that family, it¡¯s a lot harder to exin in a simple way. If you want the most basic of exnations, then it was simply the body your soul was mostpatible with.}


    ¡°What about Saki?¡± (MC)


    {¡­That is¡­*Sigh* I¡¯ll just tell you bluntly, I couldn¡¯t do any more. I already extended her life longer than her soul could handle, if I did any more, either her soul would have broken, she would have gone mad, or I would be overstepping my bounds in interfering in the mortal world. She was originally going to die while you were still an infant, but I couldn¡¯t let you be left to be taken care of someone that would treat you horribly.}


    ¡°¡­So, that¡¯s what she meant when she said her soul felt tired.¡± (MC)


    I was satisfied with the exnations I was given and I sat in silence as I ruminated on everything I was told. A few hourster, I had my thoughts all sorted.


    ¡°Amaterasu.¡± (MC)


    {Yes?}


    ¡°Thank you¡­for what you did for Saki in the beginning, as well as sending Fia¡­¡­¡± (MC)


    {There is no need for thanks. It was only natural that I¡¯d do everything I could to keep you protected and, hopefully, happy. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t do more. But now that you are free of that ce and we can speak with one another, I can finally start on the second part.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (MC)


    ¡°Goddess Amaterasu.¡± (Fia)


    {Before I let you continue, Fia, will you please drop the formal act?}


    ¡°¡­*Sigh* I was trying to keep a noble image, you know. I want to make a good impression on your Fated One after all.¡± (Fia)


    {I got that, but you¡¯d have to drop the act eventually. It¡¯d be to mentally taxing on you if you upheld it for the rest of eternity.}


    ¡°True¡­Screw it. Miss Fated One, please take good care of Rasu. She may seem like she¡¯s got it all figured out, but she¡¯s just a hot-headed person whose more punch first, talk after. Also, I would like to ask for your help to dissuade her when shees up with dumb ideas.¡± (Fia)


    {Oi!}


    ¡°Hehehehehehahahahahahahahahaha! You two get along so well, I¡¯m jealous!¡± (MC)


    ¡°Hehe. Oh! Rasu, I think it¡¯s about time.¡± (Fia)


    {You¡¯re right. My Fated One, I think it¡¯s about time you got a name.}


    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling.


    ¡°I¡¯d love one.¡± (MC)


    {Before that, I have a request.}


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± (MC)


    {Will youe up with a family name for us? If I give you a name, you might end up with the family name of those mongrels. I want to avoid that, and I¡¯m sure you feel the same.}


    ¡°Very much so. Hmmmm. I got it, though I hope you don¡¯t mind the name being from something in my previous life that I liked.¡± (MC)


    {I don¡¯t mind at all.}


    ¡°Then, our family name will be Okami.¡± (MC)


    {¡­That name feels¡­familiar for some reason.}


    ¡°Ignore that, what is my name?¡± (MC)


    {Hehehe. I came up with it five years ago, I just couldn¡¯t call you by it until you were safe. From now unto eternity, your name will be Keeno.}


    ¡°Keeno¡­Keeno Okami¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I couldn¡¯t stop the wide smile from spreading across my face.


    ¡°I love it. I absolutely love it.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Keeno Okami, future Goddess of the Sun and Death. I like it.


    I agree.


    Astraea: Mama? Papa? Who is that?


    Someone that we¡¯ll be watching for a while.


    Astraea: But what about Luna and Tama? And Aunty Atmos?


    ¡­


    Order: They¡¯ll stille to visit, so don¡¯t worry.


    Astraea: OK. Oh! Oh! Papa!


    Hmm?


    Astraea: Can Evelyne over soon?


    Sure.


    Astraea: YAY!

 Side Chapter 1- Consequences

    Side Chapter 1- Consequences


    [Emma POV]


    A few hours after the young miss was taken away, I had collected everything I needed and brought it to the ce I would meet up with the knights that were getting out of here. It wasn¡¯t much, just a chest with a few sets of clothes. Once that was done, I went back to my usual routine, minus the things I¡¯d do with young miss.


    Something that really annoyed me about this was the fact that everything felt¡­normal. Like the lord of the house didn¡¯t just send his one and only daughter into solitude for a good portion of her life. This really nailed down just how little most of the people here cared for young miss. I mean, it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t notice it before, but after spending almost two years of serving her every day, it didn¡¯t feel right to me.


    ¡®I¡¯m feeling really uneasy about this. We might need to get out of here earlier than nned.¡¯


    I decided to follow my gut feeling and stopped what I was doing to go and find Sigurd. As I made my way to the ce he was most likely to be, I saw the opportunity to dole out young miss¡¯s retaliation. Lady Leticia was walking towards me from the other direction and at this pace we would meet right at the top of a staircase.


    ¡°Maid.¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Yes, mdy?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Where is the pest?¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Pest mdy?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Ugh. The girl that ruined my life!¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Ah. The young miss was sent into solitude at noon today, mdy.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­Keh. Kehe. Kekekekekahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha! That little pest doesn¡¯t have a Soul Weapon!? This¡­this is hrious! Serves her right. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡± (Leticia)


    I felt the anger inside me rise exponentially.


    ¡®She is your daughter, why are you happy about this? I know what she¡¯s had to do for your so called nobility training, but I honestly thought half of it was just because that was the way you were raised as a princess, not because you hold a grudge that deep.¡¯


    I took a step past her and started making my way down the stairs.


    ¡°Were do you think you are going, maid? I need you to do some things.¡± (Leticia)


    She reached out and grabbed my arm. I stared at her with a cold, emotionless expression and pulled my arm back. She wasn¡¯t expecting me to do that and lost her bnce. She started to tumble down the stairs. She attempted to grab me, but I avoided her. When she reached the bottom, she was still alive, but just barely conscious. As I passed by her, I red down at her and spoke.


    ¡°The young miss deserved better. You¡¯ve spent years ming her for things that were out of her control, and now you¡¯re happy that she¡¯s been sent off to solitude. I¡¯m honestly surprised you¡¯ve managed to live like this for so long without drawing the ire of a god or goddess.¡± (Emma)


    Once my words were finished, she passed out and I walked away, still fuming. It didn¡¯t take long after that for me to find Sigurd and a few of the other knights.


    ¡°Emma?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°We need to leave now.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°So, it¡¯s not just us that are getting that bad feeling? Alright, lets get the stuff and go. I know a person in a town two weeks ride from here that will be able to set us up for a while. All we need to do is get there.¡± (Sigurd)


    The other knights nodded and left, leaving me and Sigurd alone.


    ¡°Emma, what else happened?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Thedy of the house had an idental stumble down some stairs. She¡¯s alive, but seeing as she knows I was there and did nothing to help her, my head will be on the chopping block. Literally.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Was that the retaliation the young miss wanted?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Ok. Let¡¯s go and get our stuff and go. That bad feeling is getting worse the longer we stand here.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Emma)


    We quickly went and retrieved our things and met up with the others at the small gond dock at the back of the mansion. We ced our stuff in them and quietly sailed away.


    [Lucius POV]


    I was sitting behind the desk in my office, a several bottles of alcohol, both full and empty, were strewn about. I was just looking out the window and ruminating on that disgrace that was born from me and Leticia. Remembering the status page I was given this morning, rage overtook me and I threw the ss I was drinking from through the window.


    ¡°Disgrace¡­How could a disgrace be born from the Fafnir family? So much waisted time raising that girl. If only Leticia could give birth again, or even one of my mistresses. But none of them, even after all these years...¡±


    I picked up and opened another bottle.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s time I considered adopting a son.¡±


    I continued to drink when I felt something was wrong. I walked over to the window and looked outside. The canals that surrounded the mansion were boiling and the heating from the sun felt concentrated on the mansion.


    ¡°It¡¯s just like that pest never left.¡±


    It was then that the old butler burst into the room.


    ¡°Milord!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Lady Leticia! She¡¯s been injured!¡±


    I dropped the alcohol I was holding and ran out the room. The butler followed and told me she had been moved to the bedroom. I sprinted there to make sure she was fine. I didn¡¯t want to have to exin to the king why one of his daughters was dead the same day I sent away the disgrace born from her. When I got there, I saw Leticiaying in the bed, her head, arm, and both legs wrapped in bandages. The one on her head had a small red stain as well.


    ¡°Milord, we have already called for healers.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    I walked over to the bed and knelt beside it. I sat there silently for a while when the healers came into the room. I was told to move aside so that they could start working. When I stood up, my vision swam and I started to cough. When I pulled my hand from my face, it was covered in blood. The butler tried to catch me as I was falling, but before he could he started to have a coughing fit as well. The healers lookedpletely shocked and were panicking. The lead healer then spoke up.


    ¡°Lock down the mansion and keep everyone inside. No one leaves until I say otherwise.¡±


    ¡°H-healer, what is going on?¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°You are under a curse. A very powerful one meant to make you suffer as much as possible while making sure you remain alive.¡±


    ¡°Wh-who would dare curse us!? *cough cough*¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Lord Fafnir. Is there anyone that you have made an enemy of recently?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°What about your daughter? Where is she, I need to make sure she isn¡¯t affected, a curse like this will kill a child.¡±


    ¡°I have no daughter. That disgrace was sent to solitude.¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°That might have been a mistake.¡±


    ¡°You dare question my decisions?¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°No, but your daughter was strange at birth, yes? Larger than normal reserves of mana, body heat high enough to permanently injure her mother, eyes with ck sclera. Do you really think she was normal?¡±


    ¡°Are you saying she is the cause of this?¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°It¡¯s the only thing I can think of.¡±


    After another fit of coughing, I started to think. There should be no possible way for that disgrace to curse me seeing as she didn¡¯t reach the point in training where she learned to use magic yet. Then I realized it, there were only two people here that could possibly do this. The maid assigned to her and the one that was in charge of her training.


    ¡°Cough COUGH!* Healer¡­get my knightmander here. Now! *cough*¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°N-¡±


    ¡°DO IT!¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The healer left the room and returned several minutester with the knightmander behind him. The knightmander also looked horrible.


    ¡°Milord, several of the knights are missing. *cough* And we can¡¯t get out to go chase them due to the canals boiling. If we try-*cough*-we¡¯ll be cooked alive.¡± (KC)


    ¡°Then how did the healers get in here?¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°When we got here they weren¡¯t like that¡­Did you trap us here knowing something like this would happen?¡± (H)


    ¡°No. *COUGH* This is their fault. I should have just sent that disgrace to the Dead Zone and the ones that were nice to her along with her. Knight-*cough cough cough cough*mander, figure out a way to get a message out to THOSE PEOPLE. Tell them to hunt down and force the disgrace to lift the curse before bringing me her head.¡± (Lucius)


    The moment those words left my mouth, all those present except the healer fell unconscious. As my consciousness was leaving me, I saw the healer rush over to the closest person and try to heal them.


    ¡°H-heal..er.¡± (Lucius)


    He looked at me and backed away, fear present in his eyes.


    ¡°Th-this is no ordinary curse¡­it¡¯s Divine Retribution.¡± (H)


    That was thest thing I heard before the ck void and never-ending nightmare began.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: I can understand them getting sick is somehow rted to her Life Authority, but thea and nightmares? Where did thate from?


    Her Magic Authority. Watching all of this made me angry too, so I allowed her to let loose with it a little bit when she is normally not be allowed to go that far.


    Order: Well, it¡¯s satisfying. How long is it going tost?


    They¡¯ll be kept alive until Keenoes back here in the future. That¡¯ll be when the fun truly begins. Oh, I can¡¯t wait.


    Order: I haven¡¯t seen you have that smile in a long time.


    Hehehe.

 Chapter 8- Missing Information

    Chapter 8- Missing Information


    [Keeno POV]


    Over the course of the rest of that day, I just kept repeating my new name over and over. This, in turn, made Amaterasu happy and Fia tough at the two of us and our antics. We spent several days traveling down the poorly maintained road. I told the two of them about things from my previous life. They were quite interested in the stories of Norse mythology I told them about.


    {So let me get this straight, there is this god, and he¡¯s immune to all threats, physical and magical, but he touches a nt, and he can be killed? And when he does die, the end of the world starts?}


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why not just lock him away forever then? Or fix the mistake by getting the nt added to the enchantment?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I wasn¡¯t alive when it was made, or happened, I don¡¯t know anymore. I died to runic magic, so, for all I know, this actually happened. No point in asking about it either since I can¡¯t go back and figure it out.¡± (Keeno)


    After telling that story, I took a break. I looked outside the tiny window that was behind Fia. While there was just more open road in front of us, I notices something. In the center of Fia¡¯s chest was a grey-white light covered in gold. I rubbed my eyes to see if I was just imagining it, but it was still there.


    ¡°Um.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What is it, Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I can see this light in your chest. It¡¯s a mix of grey and white and covered in gold. And it¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve seen something like this, minus the gold part.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ah, so you¡¯re starting to see souls.}


    ¡°Huh? Souls? Why can I¡­wait, is it that?¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh? Did you figure it out?}


    ¡°Well, before all this happened, I had this crystal ball do something and show me some information about me. I saw one thing while the ball had way less.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah, say status in your mind.¡± (Fia)


    I did as she said and the list came up again.


    Name: Keeno Okami


    Sex: Female


    Race: Kitsune


    Status: Normal


    Magic Affinities: Sr, Death(Sealed), Illusion


    Soul Weapon: Sealed


    Divine Protection: Amaterasu¡¯s Divine Protection(weakened)


    Authorities: Sun(Blue)(sealed), Death(sealed)


    Titles: Fated One of Amaterasu


    ¡°So, is the reason I¡¯m seeing souls because of this Death Authority? Even if it¡¯s sealed?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes. Due to a certain idiot¡¯s arbitrary decision, you¡¯ve been given your Authorities too early. It¡¯s also why my Divine Protection is weakened. We can still talk, thankfully, and I¡¯m hoping that we¡¯ll be able to see each other soon as well. We just need to see.}


    ¡°Huh? We can see each other again so soon!?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hopefully. We just need to wait for the day when the suns ovep. It happens every month.}


    ¡°Like a full moon?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s a full moon? Is it like a Lunar Alignment?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°A what now?¡± (Keeno)


    {You did notice the three moons, right?}


    ¡°NO! I don¡¯t usually look at the sky at night. Don¡¯t have the energy to stay awake long enough to. And I didn¡¯t notice the suns did that either since the atrium that I always trained in let only the light through but didn¡¯t let me see outside.¡± (Keeno)


    {Anyway, we will just have to wait and see. Getting back to it, the Death Authority is what is letting you see souls. With the way you described it, all you can see is the color and can¡¯t interact with them. I can see them too, but it¡¯s different for me. I think it¡¯s because you are supposed to judge them to see who get¡¯s reincarnated and who needs to be purified before they are sent on to me.}


    ¡°¡­Hold on, if I¡¯m going to be the Goddess of Death and in charge of all of that, how is it being handled right now?¡± (Keeno)


    {Mostly Death spirits and me. I¡¯m doing what I can and have been since forever, but since it¡¯s not exactly my purview, it¡¯s slow going.}


    ¡°Rasu, before we get into all the divine stuff, let me ask this. Keeno, how much of the world do you know about?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Um, that this country is the originator of Soul Weapons, it ims to be the greatest country in the world, and basically a lot more stuff that is probably false and just used to indoctrinate people.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I know it¡¯s not a lot, but it¡¯s not like I had much to read. A room full of books and they can all be summarized as, Falheim is the greatest ce in the world and everywhere else is for lesser beings.¡± (Keeno)


    {Fia, is there a reason this country needs to exist?}


    ¡°It has a Dead Zone.¡± (Fia)


    {Tch. To think me putting one of those here woulde back to bite me.}


    ¡°Um.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sorry Keeno, but we need to get you caught up on a lot of stuff.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have time. Also, and this is way off topic, but when can I use magic? Even during training Sigurd wouldn¡¯t teach me how to do it.¡± (Keeno)


    {You need to grow more. You¡¯re at the point where it¡¯s safer to just practice mana control. I¡¯ll let you know when it¡¯ll be safe for you to start actually practicing.}


    My ears drooped in disappointment.


    ¡°Fine.¡± (Keeno)


    {Guh.}


    ¡°Keeno, stop trying to make Rasu feel bad and teach you earlier.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. You sly little fox.}


    ¡°Hey, we¡¯reing up on a town.¡± (Fia)


    My yful smile died at those words.


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a habit from that stupid nobility training.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ama?}


    ¡°If Fia can have a nickname for you, then why can¡¯t I?¡± (Keeno)


    {I thought you¡¯d just call me Rasu like Fia does.}


    ¡°Nope. It¡¯s a nickname that only I can use. Fia and your other friends can call you Rasu as much as they want, but I get to call you Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, I¡¯m sorry, but you need to act like you aren¡¯t enjoying yourself. Once we¡¯re out of this town we can go back to normal.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    I stopped talking and assumed a convincing appearance just as we reached the town.


    Chaos Realm:


    Wee, Luna, Tamamo.


    Luna: Hey, it¡¯s been a while.


    Tamamo: A while indeed.


    Order: It hasn¡¯t been that long, unless you mean the two of you being here, then yes.


    Luna: I see you¡¯ve moved on from watching me all the time.


    Can¡¯t be helped, what with you and Tamamo doing things we don¡¯t want to watch half the time now.


    Luna: Anyway, mind giving us the rundown?


    *some timeter*


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: How dare people who possess fluff act like that. They are undeserving.


    Hate to burst your very reasonable bubble, but I can¡¯t let you go there. I can let you interact with Keeno and Amaterasu when they show up here, but that¡¯s it.


    Tamamo: We know, but we can still have opinions.


    Fair.

 Chapter 9- A Town and Destination Plans

    Chapter 9- A Town and Destination ns


    [Keeno POV]


    The closer we got to the town, the more details I could make out. There was a wall made of stone surrounding the town, though I could still see the roofs of buildings behind it. When we got to the gate, we stopped as two guards approached us.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a rare sight to see a carriage from the esteemed Fafnir family. What¡¯s the asion?¡±


    ¡°Solitude.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Pffffft. Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha! So even a family as important as the Fafnir¡¯s can produce a bad egg, eh. That¡¯ll teach them to be so uptight about their ¡®unblemished history.¡¯¡±


    ¡°While I agree with the sentiment, can you please hurry, if I don¡¯t get back by the end on the month, it¡¯ll cost me my head.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I hear ya, just gotta check the inside. Lot of rebels been showing up in recent years.¡±


    ¡°Just hurry.¡± (Fia)


    The guard that was talking with Fia opened the carriage door and looked inside. He didn¡¯t meet my gaze at first and just took a quick nce around. When his eyes finally met mine, he froze up for a second before backing off rather quickly. He told his partner everything was clear and they quickly went back to the gate. When the carriage was inside the town and far enough away that the guards wouldn¡¯t hear us anymore, I spoke up.


    ¡°So am I just going to have to go through the rest of my life with people being afraid of me because of my eyes? I mean, I¡¯m already kind of used to it, but it still annoys me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Keeno. While your eyes may have been a small part of it, he was more nervous about gaining your ire. The way you are holding yourself gives the impression you are a royal, and the people here are taught to respect royals above all else. Even with the prior knowledge of you being sent to solitude, it was an instinctual reaction on his part. He even quietly apologized when he passed by me.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Why a royal? I had nobility training, not royal training.¡± (Keeno)


    {The one that taught you was the one that gave birth to you. She is a princess, so it follows that she only knows how royals were trained to act. Call what that training was whatever name you want, royal training, nobility training, it was all just an excuse to abuse you.}


    ¡°She¡¯s still a princess? I thought once a princess marries outside the royal family, she drops out of the line of session.¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯splicated and I don¡¯t really feel like exining the whole drama of this country¡¯s royal court.}


    ¡°And I don¡¯t want to hear it, I was just a bit shocked by that revtion. Though now I¡¯m a bit curious about why none of the royal family ever came to at least see me.¡± (Keeno)


    {Because most of them don¡¯t care. They are all just as vain and narcissistic as your sperm donor. Well, there are one or two decent ones, but they aren¡¯t important since they have no chance of changing anything here.}


    ¡°This is a riveting conversation, but I need to ask, do you want to stop in this town for the night, or move on?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I say move on. The sooner we get out of this country, the better. Plus it would contradict the story you told the guards about getting back by the end of the month.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I just wanted to make sure. Sleeping in a carriage all the time isn¡¯t the mostfortable thing, especially for someone as young as you are, so I thought I¡¯d at least give the option.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Thanks for caring about me like that, but I still think we should make as much distance every day as possible.¡± (Keeno)


    {If you are worried about them sending people after you, don¡¯t. I¡¯ve taken care of them in a way that they won¡¯t be able to do that.}


    ¡°I just want to get out of the country. Just being here feels constricting to me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Got it.¡± (Fia)


    The conversation ended there and I decided to peek outside. The town was simple. Stone houses, thatched roofs, people walking about here and there. Completely generic. I moved back from the window andid down on the seat. I closed my eyes and shortly after that, I fell asleep. When I woke up next, it was dusk. I touched my head with my hand and felt the cold sweat.


    {Nightmare?}


    ¡°Yeah. One where all of this was just a dream and I was still stuck there. Only Emma and Sigurd were gone and I was all alone.¡± (Keeno)


    Before I realized what was happening, I was pulled into a hug and my head was being patted. I was too upied with my own thoughts that I didn¡¯t notice that the carriage wasn¡¯t moving and Fia was sitting next to me.


    ¡°I know that this would probably be bettering from Rasu, but since I¡¯m the only one physically here, we just have to make due.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Fia¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. Just calm down, take a deep breath, and rx. Neither I nor Rasu are going anywhere.¡± (Fia)


    I did as she said and started to calm down. When I finally managed to and looked up, I noticed that Fia had taken her disguise hat off, so I could get a better look at her face. Her hair was a reddish-orange mix and things that looked like feathers were mixed in here and there. The way it was styled made it look like she also had horns, but it was just more feather like bits. Her eyes were also red with some orange in them. Her face had a somewhat stern look that contradicted with her personality. All in all, she was beautiful.


    ¡°You are very pretty, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thank you, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Are those feathers in your hair, or does it just look like that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They¡¯re real feathers. I¡¯m not human, I¡¯m a phoenix.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool.¡± (Keeno)


    At that point I started to doze off again.


    [Fia POV]


    When Keeno went back to sleep, Rasu spoke up.


    {I¡¯m so jealous.}


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. I know the second she sees you in person again, she¡¯s going to jump onto you and never want to let go.¡±


    I started to pat Keeno¡¯s head while she slept. She shuffled around a bit at that but didn¡¯t wake up.


    ¡°Hey Rasu.¡±


    {Hmm?}


    ¡°Which country should I bring her to when we get out of here?¡±


    {Solheim.}


    ¡°Alright. But why there?¡±


    {Well, taking into consideration that you want to take care of Keeno at least until she is considered an adult, that ce would make the most sense. No Dead Zone, always snowing so the heat she produces won¡¯t make other people ufortable, and very open so that when you start helping her practice with magic and her Soul Weapon, you won¡¯t have to worry about inconveniencing people.}


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll head there.¡±


    I looked down at Keeno again and smiled.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always wanted to act like a big sister. This is the perfect opportunity to do so.¡±


    {Well, I guess Keeno thinks the same thing since you also got the Okami name. Though it helps that I think of you as family as well.}


    ¡°Heh. I¡¯m looking forward to the things she¡¯ll do.¡±


    {Same.}


    With the end of the conversation, I drifted off to sleep as well.


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: Luna, what is your opinion?


    Luna: About Keeno?


    Tamamo: Yes.


    Luna: She has ideal Fluff. She could do more to take care of her tail, but with everything going on in her life, I don¡¯t me her for not focusing on it more.


    Tamamo: Payto.


    I already know what you are going to ask. No, I cannot let Luna bless Keeno and Amaterasu from here.


    Luna: Then what about if I bless them when they show up here as well?


    As long as you aren¡¯t in their world, then I see no point in stopping you. You¡¯d be in neutral territory after all.


    Order: Stop trying to act coy you big goof.


    Aww.


    Luna: Fufufu.


    Tamamo: Ufufufu.

 Chapter 10- Escape

    Chapter 10- Escape


    [Keeno POV]


    Time passed slowly as we made our way across Falheim. Each of us took turns telling stories about things. Fia talked about several of her adventures. Ama spoke about funny things she¡¯s seen mortals do, and I spoke about more mythology that I knew. When we weren¡¯t doing this, it was due to us passing through a town. Every town we passed through, I noticed something. The presence of knights or other military personnel increased.


    ¡°I get that this ce is istionist, you¡¯ve both told me that much, but isn¡¯t this a bit much?¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, this ce will kill anyone that tries to leave. It¡¯s been like this so long that there are some people that don¡¯t even know other countries exist.}


    ¡°¡­But, and I am by no means very knowledgeable out stuff like this, but I just can¡¯t figure out how being like this is sustainable. All it¡¯ll take is one gue or war and the country is ruined beyond repair.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°War is one thing, but there is no reason to worry about things like gues or natural disasters.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Eh? That shouldn¡¯t be possib¡­magic?¡± (Keeno)


    {Moreplicated than that.}


    ¡°Rasu, care to tell her the story? Or at least a simplified version of it?¡± (Fia)


    {Might as well. But first, the main reason for no gues and natural disasters is the Dead Zones.}


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the two of you mention that a few times, but I never found a good way to ask about it.¡± (Keeno)


    {They are eight ces around the world where I ced artifacts of Divinity to help purify souls and keep undead from overrunning the world. See, a long time ago the world went through something the God of Chaos calls a Fiend Season. Foregoing the exnation of that for all of thatter, it¡¯s a time where creatures of unspeakable horror spawn and their sole purpose is to destroy the world. Seeing as the world was still young at that point and gods and goddesses were still being born regrly, the world was unstable. The God of Chaos gave me and a few others permission to descend and finish off the Fiends and their King. But it was only after arge amount of mortals died. Since there wasn¡¯t and still technically isn¡¯t a God of Death, it was left up to me and the Death Spirits to keep the souls of the dead moving in the natural cycle. So I got further permission to set up Dead Zones where all the mortals that died then and all the way to now are sent.}


    ¡°This allows the Death Spirits to judge the souls and Rasu can purify them.¡± (Fia)


    {Yes, but it is a slow process. Especially since mortals have this weird obsession with dying in droves all the time, and for increasingly stupid reasons. Anyway, until now it¡¯s been slow, but our work is able to keep ahead of the death rate. Without you ascending, Keeno, we should be to the point where the Dead Zones can be removed in a short 10,000 years. Naturally, you ascending at some point in these 10,000 years and the work will speed up tremendously. But I¡¯m not saying to rush.}


    ¡°I see¡­And I¡¯m guessing some people believe that ruling a ce with a Dead Zone gives them some kind of divine right?¡± (Keeno)


    {Unfortunately. We gods don¡¯t care who rules where as long as they aren¡¯t destroying the world. But they get so arrogant and read too much into things that it can be annoying to watch them. The amount of times I¡¯ve seen mortals im that I blessed them or that they call their kings my partner or that their rulers are me in mortal form is rather infuriating.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Calm down Keeno. There is no one alive like that currently.¡± (Fia)


    {Fia is right. Thest time something like that happened was 100,000 years ago. Since then, people have been more obsessed with the moons or stars.}


    ¡°Fine, but I reserve the right to smite anyone that thinks of my Ama like that in the future.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯ll be in the same boat, miss Kitsune of the Blue Sun.¡± (Fia)


    {Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll smite the people that think of my Keeno that way.}


    ¡°*Sigh* Guess all I can do is pray for the souls of those people.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Why, it would still be us dealing with them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Oh yeah. Guess they really are screwed. Oh well.¡± (Fia)


    {Hehehe. But back to the topic again. The rulers of this country, thinking that they are divinely ordained, have grown addicted to the feeling of control they have over the citizens of the country. They revel in the fact that keeping the people ignorant of the outside world makes them see the rulers as gods or at the very least Apostles.}


    ¡°*Sigh* I guess people don¡¯t change, no matter the world. But it makes sense. People don¡¯t like giving up things that give themfort or makes them feel superior. This just gives me all the more reason to want out of here all the sooner.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understandable. Speaking of which, we¡¯re a few days ride from where we need to abandon the carriage.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Finally.¡± (Keeno)


    After that conversation, not much else happened. A few more days passed and Fia and I were hiding in a shallow forest. Looking out of it, we could see a stretch of emptynd and a fortress. If you squinted, you could see two more fortresses on the horizon.


    ¡°This is thend bridge connecting Falheim to the rest of the continent. There are three forts that watch over the border and they are responsible for making sure nobody enters or leaves. Regr patrols by heavily armored knights. Not easy for normal people to do anything.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then how are we going to get by them?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We¡¯re not normal people.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then what is the n?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to carry you and run as fast as I can. But I¡¯m going to need your help with the setup. If we did what I just said by itself, we¡¯d make it, but we¡¯d end up being chased afterward, or at least there is a possibility of that happening. Keeno, I need you to produce more heat than you have before. After that I can manipte the heat to make patrolling knights pass out and mirages for those watching from the forts.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯d love to do that, but I can¡¯t consciously make more heat yet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have a way to help with that as well.¡± (Fia)


    She picked me up in a princess carry.


    ¡°Rasu, you¡¯re up.¡± (Fia)


    {Keeeeeeennnnoooooooo.}


    I started to get a bad feeling when Ama used a very sweet voice and made it sound like she was whispering directly in my ear.


    {You know how I¡¯ve been watching over you, right?}


    ¡°Y-yes.¡± (Keeno)


    {Every day and night, during most of your activities. For example, your practice writing the letters of this world.}


    My bad feeling grew worse and I could feel my face start burning. The surrounding temperature was also rising at a rapid pace.


    {My favorite line was: ¡°Amaterasu, my love for you burns so bright it could light up the darkest abyss for all eternity.¡±}


    My head exploded in embarrassment. If I could see in third person, I guarantee I¡¯d see smokeing from my head. It was a miracle that the surroundings didn¡¯t catch fire due to the heat.


    ¡°Good going Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    On Fia¡¯s back two ming wings sprouted, and she took a sprinting stance. A secondter the world around me started to blur.


    [Border Guard POV]


    It was yet another boring day of watching over the edge of the world. I never understood why we needed to do this, but it¡¯s what my father and his father did, so I followed along. It started out normal, but around noon it started to get really hot, like summer came early. As the heat increased, my glorious mustache started to itch. I then thought I saw a sh in a nearby forest, but when I rubbed my eyes, nothing was there.


    ¡°Hey Helgi, it¡¯s gotten real¡­OI HELGI, YOUR MUSTACHE IS ON FIRE!¡±


    ¡°WHAT!?¡±


    I started to panic until another one of my guardmates threw a bucket of water in my face. When I got a brief look at my reflection in a puddle before it evaporated, my immacte mustache was burnt to cinders. I fell to my knees.


    [Keeno POV]


    After about an hour of running, Fia started to slow down. We very easily made it past the forts and saw only one group of knights who fainted the second we passed by them. When Fia finally came to a stop and put me down, we both started tough.


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Fia, that was so much fun!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know right. I haven¡¯t been able to run like that in a long time.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°But now I¡¯m curious. Couldn¡¯t you have just flown us out of the country?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be very discreet. I mean, it¡¯d be hard to miss a giant burning bird in the sky, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, people hardly ever look up, so I¡¯d give it a 50/50 chance.¡± (Keeno)


    {Pffft.}


    ¡°Ama, we need to have a word as well.¡±


    {Keeno, wait, before-}


    ¡°NO! You will forget every single one of those embarrassing poems and songs I wrote!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They were cute though. You have a real talent for poetry, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You know about them too!?¡± (Keeno)


    {Naturally. I told Fia everything.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How about we keep moving? If something catches fire here, those guards mighte and investigate.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Where even are we?¡± (Keeno)


    {Thank goodness she epts changes in topic quickly.}


    ¡°I heard that, and we will continue thister, but making sure we¡¯repletely safees first.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We¡¯re in a No-man¡¯snd between Falheim and Nidavellir.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Dwarves?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯srgely known as a dwarf country, yes. How did you know?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It¡¯s another name for the Realm of the Dwarves from my old world.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Anyway, we get there first and then we find use a Gate to Solheim. There we can rx for a bit.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. Lead the way, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Onward!¡± (Fia)


    {Hooray!}


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I don¡¯t know if I should be offended by some of the things said here.


    Tamamo: Same. I feel that moon and stars bit was aimed at us.


    How could it be? You two are not known in that world in any capacity. Also, Luna, that thing in your tail has split into two. Mind letting one live here?


    Luna: Sure, I guess.


    *Payto pulls out an <em>orb </em>and the entity in Luna¡¯s tail flies over andtched onto it*


    MOFU!


    *The Mofutched onto the <em>orb*</em>


    Order: Cute. Maybe Astraea can raise it?


    That was the goal.


    Luna: Speaking of Astraea, where is she?


    Order: Taking a nap with Evelyn. They should be waking up soon.


    Tamamo: Fun. It¡¯s always a pleasure to see Astraea and Evelyn.


    Luna: Yep.

 Chapter 11- Rainy Day Rest

    Chapter 11- Rainy Day Rest


    [Keeno POV]


    We spent three days traversing the No-Man¡¯s-Land. Most of the time we walked through either fields or forests. And I have to say, it is not fun walking through forests in the body of a child. My legs are too short and the terrain drained my stamina way too fast for my liking. I ended up being carried by Fia a lot of the way. Today we were sitting in a cave we found along the way because it started to rain. Even then I was a bit nervous about stepping foot in a cave again, but the displeasure of getting soaked won over the fear of being in a cave.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of funny, isn¡¯t it? How not wanting to get wet wins over the trauma of entering a cave, which, I remind you, killed me in myst life.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, getting your tail wet and not having any proper way of drying it is one of the worst feelings ever, so it makes sense to me.}


    ¡°The heat I produce would be enough to dry my tail and body quickly though.¡± (Keeno)


    {Doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s the feeling of your tail getting wet and staying that way with no input of your own that¡¯s the worst part.}


    ¡°¡­Enlightenment!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, stop giving her weird viewpoints.¡± (Fia)


    {It¡¯s not weird if it¡¯s the truth!}


    Iughed at the whole interaction. It had been a long time since I felt this kind of peace. Even back with Saki and then with Emma, we always had to keep some form of distance. Same with Sigurd. And while it was like this a few times while we traveled to get out, there was still this looming sense of caution. Now though, we could rx a little more. I walked over and sat in Fia¡¯sp while looking out at the rain falling outside.


    ¡°Mmmm. Warm.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ama. When we see each other again, I¡¯ll hug you and not let go until I¡¯m literally torn from your grasp.¡± (Keeno)


    {eptable.}


    We sat in silence again, the sound of the rain a pleasant white noise that made me sleepy.


    ¡°Hey Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What is the ce we are going to like? What was it called, Solheim?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Snowy, open, peaceful. Just a perfect ce for you to grow and a perfect environment for practicing your magic since things there don¡¯t easily burn. Also, no Dead Zone.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I thought Dead Zones were a good thing though? Not counting how easily they lead to mortal corruption.¡± (Keeno)


    {They are, but I¡¯m worried about something to do with them. Since you have the Authority of Death, even in a sealed state, the undead trapped inside might be attracted to you instinctually. Also, there is no telling what else that Authority can do still sealed, like how you can see the color of souls. If there is some sort of empathic ability to hear thements of the souls of the departed, it might negatively affect you. I don¡¯t want to take any chances until I know you are strong enough physically and mentally to be able to handle it.}


    Ama¡¯s overwhelming thoughts about keeping me safe made me feel all warm inside. Even if, to normal people, this would seem overprotective, I reveled in the feeling of being wanted and loved to such an extent.


    ¡°Keeno, calm down, it¡¯s getting hot in here. I normally wouldn¡¯t mind it, but with the rain, it¡¯s going to get humid and neither you nor I will like that experience very much.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Sorry, I was just really happy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I get it. Rasu has that effect on people, though I guess for the two of you, it¡¯s even more effective.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Fia¡­is nice¡­as¡­¡­¡± (Keeno)


    The atmosphere finally got to me, and I drifted off to sleep. The next time I woke up, the rain had stopped. I was still in Fia¡¯sp, but she was leaning against the wall of the cave, also asleep.


    ¡°Hey Ama.¡±


    {Yes?}


    ¡°Hehe. I just wanted to hear your voice. I didn¡¯t realize how much I would miss hearing it, even if to us, it felt like an hour at most since we met. It¡¯s hard to exin, but when I first saw you, it was like my soul wasplete. Like I had been waiting to meet you and that was the sole purpose of my life until that point. The feeling of tion was overwhelming, and then I wasn¡¯t there anymore. After that and five more years of it, I just want to hear you speak.¡±


    {All you need do is ask. I¡¯ll talk with you about whatever you want. If that¡¯s not enough, I¡¯ll sing to you, though I¡¯m not very good at it. If that still isn¡¯t enough, then I¡¯m sure we could figure something out.}


    ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡±


    I was watching the nature outside the cave while chatting about anything and everything with Ama. When Fia started waking up, I got to experience something interesting.


    ¡°Keeeenoooooo. Soooo warm. Let Big Sis Fiametta pamper you.¡± (Fia)


    I was then pulled into Fia¡¯s arms and treated like a body pillow. She kept rubbing her cheek on my hair and she kept squeezing me.


    ¡°F-Fia! C-c-can¡¯t breathe! Ama h-help!¡± (Keeno)


    {FIAMETTA I COMPELL YOU TO RELAESAE MY FATED ONE!}


    ¡°¡­Rasu, why are you yelling?¡± (Fia)


    {Before that, let Keeno go.}


    ¡°Eh? AH! IMSOSORRYKEENO!¡± (Fia)


    Fia released me just as the world around me was turning dark.


    ¡°*GASP*¡± (Keeno)


    {Fia¡­}


    ¡°I¡¯m so so so so so sorry.¡± (Fia)


    I couldn¡¯t answer as I was too busy breathing as much air as I possibly could. Once I was sure I was no longer in danger of suffocating, I sat up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s a good idea for me to sleep in yourp anymore.¡± (Keeno)


    Fia sat there hugging her knees and tears in the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll never sleep again.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I moved over and patted Fia on the head.


    ¡°There, there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*sniff* Keeno, are you sure you are mentally older than five? This is so cute that it doesn¡¯t seem like you are.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I take offense to that. I will have you know that mentally, I am now 29!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You really didn¡¯t live too long back in your old world.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hey, back there we were lucky if we lived to see 100. And even then most of the people that made it there couldn¡¯t do much due to being that old.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s so sad. Even humans in this world live to at least 200 naturally. Though that is more to do with the Dead Zones than anything else.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And even without being immortal like you are now, you¡¯d live to at least 500 since you are a kitsune.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m immortal?¡± (Keeno)


    {Not in the true sense, just in the longevity sense. And we don¡¯t know if the Authority of Death will keep you from dying, but I don¡¯t want to test that out.}


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Anyway, I think we should wait until morning before continuing on. If we do that and don¡¯t get dyed again, we should arrive in Nidavellir before the day of Sr Convergence.¡± (Fia)


    {I¡¯m looking forward to that day. I hope Keeno will be able toe to me.}


    ¡°I hope so as well.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: The more I watch them, the more I want to bless them with my Fluff Blessing.


    You¡¯ll be able to meet them in person soon.


    Tamamo: That will be a fun time.


    Luna: Indeed.


    Astraea: PAPA!


    Hey, my little kit. Hello Evelyn.


    Evelyn: *waves*


    Order: Evelyn, did your mothere with you?


    Evelyn: Which one?


    Order: In-chan.


    Crisis: Naturally! Evelyn told me there was something interesting going on here and I couldn¡¯t miss out. Also, hello Luna, Tamamo.


    Luna: Hey.


    Tamamo: Hello.


    Watch yourself Crisis. No bringing more insanity than needed yet.


    Crisis: I like that yet part.

 Chapter 12- Arriving at a City

    Chapter 12- Arriving at a City


    [Keeno POV]


    Two more weeks have passed. Fia told me that we crossed into Nidavellir a week ago and now it was just us needing to make it to a city. To me it felt like we¡¯d never find one, at least until yesterday when we found the first sign of civilization. It was a surprisingly well-maintained road made of stone bricks.


    ¡°Good, just need to find andmark and I can figure out where we are and the closest city.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, do you just have some kind of mental map or something? How do you know all of this?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve just lived a long time. And before you ask, no, I have not explored the whole world. A lot of it, yes, but not all. Falheim, for example. Rasu had to guide me several times since she gets a bird¡¯s eye view.¡± (Fia)


    {Doesn¡¯t that mean Ama can help us here as well?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmmm. Go left on this road and you¡¯ll end up at a city by sunsset.}


    ¡°Then we better hurry, cities don¡¯t normally let people in after dark unless it¡¯s an emergency.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then how about we do the thing we did to get past the border?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We can, but don¡¯t you want to mentally prepare yourself? This is the first real time you¡¯ll be in a city. I¡¯m not going to count the times we resupplied in Falheim since you pretty much never left the carriage.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s get to walking.¡± (Keeno)


    And so, we walked. There wasn¡¯t much on the road, though I could see signs of regr travel on it. A few hourster, the city could be seen in the distance. I was half excited, and half nervous.


    ¡°Before we get there, we need to go over a few things. One, while I¡¯ll be able to get in no problem, I¡¯ll need to be your guarantor. Two, never leave my side. Three, and this is something you might not like, but keep up the noble act. That way people won¡¯t approach us as easily and the guards are less likely to question what we say and do.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Just because I hate the process I went through to acquire the habit doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know it won¡¯t be useful. Though when we¡¯re alone I¡¯m going to avoid acting like that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯spletely reasonable. Honestly, it makes me happy that I get to know the real Keeno and not the princess Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Why do I feel like that is going to stick as a title?¡± (Keeno)


    {I quite like it. Though it doesn¡¯t really do you justice since you have a higher position than any royalty.}


    After another few hours, we finally made it to the city just as they were about to close the gates. When the guard saw us approaching, he got a slightly annoyed expression, but when he saw me, he stiffened up.


    ¡°Cutting it close, mdies.¡±


    ¡°Apologies for that. We would have gotten here earlier, but we were dyed.¡± (Fia)


    Fia shed a card at the guard and his already stiff expression stiffened even more and I could see him start sweating, and it wasn¡¯t just because it got hotter near me.


    ¡°Pleasee inside.¡±


    Fia nodded and we entered the city.


    ¡°If you are on a special quest, I can send word to the guild.¡±


    ¡°No need, though an inn rmendation would be nice. We haven¡¯t slept in a proper bed in almost two months.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°A ce fitting your and the young miss¡¯s status in near the guild called Cerulean.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, let¡¯s go, Lady Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Lead the way.¡± (Keeno)


    As I passed by the guard, I nced over to him. When our eyes met, he bowed his head in what I think was either fear or respect, I couldn¡¯t decide. I walked closer to Fia and looked around a little. The street was nearly empty with the exception of people here and there closing up shops or stalls. After about five minutes we arrived at arge za with a building that looked like a clich¨¦ Viking longhouse being the centerpiece.


    ¡°That big building is a branch of what is collectively called The Guild. In the past there were several different guilds that had adventurers, merchants, craftsmen, alchemists, and so on, but after the Fiend Season, they allbined into a single entity. I¡¯ll exin more about it when you are older and are able to join. For now, let¡¯s fine the inn.¡± (Fia)


    It didn¡¯t take long to find the inn we were told about. True to the name, the ce waspletely blue, reminiscent of my sun. When we entered therge door, we were greeted by a lovely smell and some light music. A prettydy was standing behind a desk and smiling at us.


    ¡°Wee to Cerulean, how may we help you?¡±


    ¡°A single room, and preferably something to eat brought to us there.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Please provide proof of identity and three Gold upfront.¡±


    Fia pulled out the same card from earlier and three shiny golden coins. The reception person didn¡¯t even flinch and just nodded her head. She wrote something down in a big book and walked from behind the desk.


    ¡°Please follow me to your room. Something to eat will be brought to you shortly. If there is anything else you need from us, either ring the bell in the room ore and ask me.¡±


    We followed thedy up two flights of stairs and down a hallway. She stopped in front of an ornately carved door. When she opened it, we entered inside.


    ¡°Please enjoy your stay Madame Fiametta. You as well, small child.¡±


    With that, the receptionist shut the door and left. I walked over and sat down on the big bed and almost sunk into the cushy surface.


    ¡°This is even better than a bed in my previous life, much less any that I¡¯ve had in this one.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. How about we take a bath before our food gets here? I, for one, could really use one.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ve been trying my best to not think about it, but my tail could use a good washing.¡± (Keeno)


    We both walked into the bathroom. We spent a good while in there washing up. Once we were out and dressed on clean clothes, courtesy of Fia¡¯s fancy storage ring thing, we found two trays of hot food sitting on the small table. We sat down and immediately started to eat. Between mouthfuls of tasty food, I spoke.


    ¡°No offence, Fia, but this is so much better that anything we¡¯ve eaten before here.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehe. Even Keeno thinks your cooking is just barely eptable.}


    ¡°OI! At least she ate what I made, unlike a certain Sun Goddess that almost retches when she even smells my cooking.¡± (Fia)


    {Well maybe next time you cook, try not making something with so much onion and garlic that it¡¯d cause the entire vampire race to go extinct.}


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll be the one that will start cooking for us when we finally settle down¡­I need to learn to cook.¡± (Keeno)


    {HA!}


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, Ama, Fia is by no means the worst cook who I¡¯ve had the displeasure of eating their cooking. Like that one time where I honestly believe they were trying to poison me. I mean, how do you make food glow purple, and be both over and under cooked, to the point it was nearly sentient?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Tch.}


    ¡°What did you just try to do?¡± (Fia)


    {I tried to see if I had any good curses for that person, but I don¡¯t. At least not one that won¡¯t drag innocent people into it as well.}


    ¡°Do the fungus thing again.¡± (Fia)


    {Oh yeah, I forgot about that one¡­And done.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at us like that, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    {Please don¡¯t, we¡¯re just taking out our frustration on deserving people.}


    ¡°Yeah, so why don¡¯t I get any input?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    {¡­What do you want to happen? If I can do it I¡¯ll let you know.}


    ¡°A case of sunburn that gets to the point of king, but then gets worse again. Bonus if it gets the person in trouble by ruining anything they cook.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    {Fia, we should really consult Keeno about stuff like this. Her idea in genius.}


    ¡°I agree. A fresh perspective is always good, and her being someone with memories from another world will further increase the ideas.¡± (Fia)


    {Hail Goddess Keeno! Master of interesting curse ideas!}


    ¡°HAIL!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehehehehehe. Praise me more!¡± (Keeno)


    Fia moved over and started patting my head. The temperature in the room increased a small amount due to my joy.


    {Hehe.}


    I was about to ask what Ama wasughing at when I yawned. It was only then that I realized just how tired I was.


    ¡°Ugh. I feel like I could sleep for a year or twenty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, you just might. You may not have really noticed it, but you don¡¯t have a normal perception of time.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Please wake me up, I don¡¯t actually want to sleep that long.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sure thing. Feel free to go to sleep first.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Mm.¡± (Keeno)


    I slipped under the covers of the big bed and almost immediately fell asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Crisis:¡­


    Order: In-chan, I know what you¡¯re thinking and no, it¡¯s already been taken care of. There is no point in you getting involved.


    Order is right. There will be enough when Atmoses back and Phobos shows up.


    Crisis: Good. I may be insane, but I don¡¯t like it when someone messes with someone as far as forcing their Fate on them as early as that. Hehehehehehe. Atmos and I are going to have so much fun tormenting him.


    Luna: Count me in too. Please don¡¯t stop me, Tamamo.


    Tamamo: Even I want to join, so why would I stop any of you?


    Order: Payto, I think we messed up telling them about Phobos.


    Eh, they would have learned about him when Amaterasu showed up.


    Order: ¡­Fair point.

 Chapter 13- Solar Convergence

    Chapter 13- Sr Convergence


    [Keeno POV]


    The next time I woke up, I wasn¡¯tying in the bed I fell asleep in. Instead, I wasying in nine extremely fluffy ck tails.


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡°Ama!?¡±


    I jumped up and wrapped my arms around her to make sure she was real. When I actually felt the sensation of hugging her and her hugging me back, tears spilled from my eyes before evaporating.


    ¡°AMA!!!¡±


    {My precious Keeno, it¡¯s been too long.}


    I hugged her tighter and tighter, not wanting to let go.


    ¡°Ama¡­¡±


    She just smiled at me as she hugged me with her arms and tails. It took a bit, but I finally calmed down enough to speak more than just her name, though I never let go of her, thinking that if I did, this amazing dream would end.


    {Keeno, this isn¡¯t a dream, it¡¯s Sr Convergence. We have the whole day together.}


    ¡°I told you that I wouldn¡¯t let go until I¡¯m forced back, and I¡¯m keeping my word.¡±


    {Hehehe.}


    Ama started to pat my head. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed her caresses.


    ¡°Ama, I didn¡¯t realize just how much I actually missed seeing you until now. It feels like a pit in my heart.¡±


    {I understand your feelings, Keeno. Though I have the better part of this, being able to see you from here, I know it¡¯s hard on you. That¡¯s why we need to make the most of it every time we meet here on Sr Convergence. For today, I have a schedule for us.}


    ¡°What are we doing first?¡±


    {I¡¯m going to make sure your tail is perfect. After that, we have several hours of snuggling together. And that¡¯s as far as I could think.}


    ¡°¡­I approve. Though I feel like you would have already nned everything we did in the five years we haven¡¯t seen each other.¡±


    {There was no time for that. I had to watch over you all the time to make sure nothing happened.}


    I smiled again and buried my face in one of her fluffy tails. She moved them in front of her and before I could take my face out of it, I felt the sensation of a brush on my tail. I unintentionally let out a kind of purring sound.


    {Hehe.}


    ¡°Ama, this feels even better than when Saki or Emma did this.¡±


    {Well, they are both human, so they don¡¯t really understand the best way to do this. I, however, have nine tails to tend to, so if I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing, then no one does.}


    ¡°Fair¡­Come to think of it, is there a way for me to get more tails?¡±


    {Living long enough is the surefire way. As for others, I don¡¯t know.}


    ¡°Then, if I do find a way to get more aside from age, will I need to hide them all the time?¡±


    {Not really. Though it was before the Fiend Season, there were a few mortal kitsune that managed to live long enough to get at least three tails. You could just use the excuse that you are from one of those old bloodlines and were born with more than one.}


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t kitsune live that long now? I¡¯d think that since dying isn¡¯t very good at the moment, people living really long lives would be ideal.¡±


    {Yes, you¡¯d think that, but the lifespans of mortals is still rtively short and it was only shortened after the Fiend Season. It has recovered a bit since then, but it¡¯s still only a third of what it was in the beginning. It also doesn¡¯t help that mortals love finding ways to die stupidly. But enough of this, we only have so long together, and I don¡¯t want to waste it talking about things we can talk about at any time.}


    I shut my mouth and made myselffortable as Ama continued to brush my tail. When she was finally done, she conjured a big bed and hopped onto it. I untangled myself from her tails and moved to another, morefortable position to hug her. This time I was also able to stare into her eyes.


    ¡°Ama, you are so pretty. I hope I get to be half as pretty as you are.¡±


    {While I hate the ones that gave birth to you in this world, I do have to admit that they looked pleasant, so I believe you have nothing to worry about in that department. All you need is time and you¡¯ll turn into a stunning beauty that will turn all the heads, both male and female alike.}


    ¡°Meh. The only person¡¯s head I want turned in my direction is yours, so I could do without that happening.¡±


    {You little flirt.}


    ¡°It may be flirting, but it¡¯s also a true statement. Just like how I only act like this when I¡¯m alone with you or Fia.¡±


    {You¡¯ll be such a heartbreaker in the future.}


    ¡°Those future suitors can get over it. Anyway, is there anything you want to talk about that isn¡¯t to do with the world or my future? Any just random fun things?¡±


    {Hmmm. I can¡¯t think of anything now. I¡¯m just too happy that you are here that my mind keeps going nk.}


    ¡°Same. Though I wouldn¡¯t mind taking a nap right now. That may just make our time together feel shorter, but if I¡¯m beingpletely honest, I feel the safest I have in a while here and now. It has nothing to do with Fia not being enough or anything, but I think it has to do with us still being somewhat near Falheim.¡±


    {A nap is fine. I honestly think you need it. As for not feeling safe in the mortal world where you are, I think it¡¯s understandable seeing as you still have a mortal mindset. Give it a few hundred years and you¡¯ll start seeing things differently. And before you think of saying you won¡¯t, you will, there is no avoiding it. It happens to everyone that bes an Apostle unless they were already a part of a super long lived or immortal race.}


    ¡°Hmmm. Just which races are like that?¡±


    {The light and dark elves, who are different from normal elves. The angels, demons, and fallen. Certain subraces of beastkin, like the turtles. And the giants.}


    ¡°So angels, demons, and fallen have a feud?¡±


    {Not really, it¡¯s more a friendly rivalry. They like to try and outdo each other in everything, but stop just short of making actual grudges¡­for the most part.}


    ¡°Then how do angels be fallen?¡±


    {Save that question for another time, Keeno. We have a nap to take, remember.}


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡±


    I hugged Ama tighter again and quickly started to fall asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Oh boy.


    Luna: THEY ARE DOING IT COMPLETELY WRONG!!!!!


    Order: I had a feeling this was going to happen.


    Tamamo: It can¡¯t be helped.


    Luna: She didn¡¯t even focus on the worst spots on Keeno¡¯s tail! She brushed it too softly, so no deep tangles got fixed, and she stopped too early! This is unforgivable!


    Tamamo: Luna, calm down. That just means we need to teach them when the show up here.


    Luna: You¡¯re right, Tamamo. I just need to calm down, and start preparing a full lecture on proper fluff grooming.


    Tamamo: I¡¯ll help.


    *rumbling noises*


    Order: What was that?


    *Sigh* I¡¯ll be back.

 Chapter 14- To Solheim

    Chapter 14- To Solheim


    [Keeno POV]


    When I woke up next, I was still wrapped in arms. I felt a wide smile form on my face until I turned around. Instead of Ama¡¯s face, it was Fia¡¯s.


    ¡°¡­You know, I understand the reason for why, but it still hurts when you look at me with so much disappointment.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Well sorry. It¡¯s not like I was expecting waking up in my Fated One¡¯s arms. Nope, totally not the case¡­You aren¡¯t going to squeeze me to almost death again, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Fia)


    Fia slowly started to tighten her embrace.


    ¡°F-Fia!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Fia)


    She then started to gently hug me.


    ¡°No, Keeno, I won¡¯t do that again. By the way, you are soft and huggable and the perfect temperature. I could hug you all day and not get tired of it.¡± (Fia)


    {Fia, she¡¯s mine.}


    ¡°I know, but is there a rule where big sisters can¡¯t hug their little sisters? Just call it some familial bonding or something.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­Fine. Oh, and I totally agree on the Keeno being super huggable part.}


    ¡°I¡¯M NOT A PLUSHIE!¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    {I know, I¡¯ll reach out to some of my god friends.}


    ¡°Get me at least 20.¡± (Fia)


    {Weak Fia. That number is too low.}


    ¡°Yeah, but until I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t burn them all when she sees me hugging one and gets all embarrassed, I¡¯ll ask for more.¡± (Fia)


    {A fair argument.}


    ¡°You know I can hear both of you, right?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡°And?¡±}


    ¡°¡­I want at least one of you and Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    {That can be arranged.}


    ¡°Yay.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Future plushies aside, I have news on the n going forward.¡± (Fia)


    Fia sat up, pulling me with her. She then started ying around with my hair while speaking.


    ¡°While you two were busy catching up and whatever else you were doing, I went to The Guild and asked if they or any city close to here had a Gate to Solheim. We lucked out and there is one here.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Can I ask what a Gate is?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Teleportation Gate. Get¡¯s us from one ce to another in an instant.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°How convenient.¡± (Keeno)


    In my head, several thoughts started popping up. Can we use these regrly? Won¡¯t that make peoplezy with how easy it is to get from one ce to another instantly? And more. Seeing the look on my face, Fia spoke up again.


    ¡°I know what you are thinking, Keeno, and no, not everyone can use them. People who have the same rank in the Guild as I do get five free trips a year while anyone under that rank or unaffiliated with the Guild have to pay exorbitant prices, and even then, it also depends on the country. Anyway, I was able to reserve a trip for the two of us for today. Once we get to Solheim. I¡¯ll meet with a friend of mine to get us a ce to stay. After we settle down, we¡¯ll figure out what we¡¯re going to do from then on. Sound good to you?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Yep. I¡¯m so very ready to not feel like I¡¯m on the run.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get up, eat, and get to it. The earlier we get there, the faster we¡¯ll be able to settle down¡­probably.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded my head and tried to get out of the bed but was stopped when Fia hugged me again.


    ¡°¡­Fia, we can¡¯t do anything if you don¡¯t let me go.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know, but you are just so warm. Makes me want to go back to sleep.¡± (Fia)


    {Fiametta, stop enjoying my Fated One more than I¡¯ve been able to.}


    ¡°Ugh, fine.¡± (Fia)


    She, reluctantly, let go of me, but not before patting my head. I got out of the bed and started to get dressed for the day. Fia was doing the same when she must have gotten a thought since she turned to me.


    ¡°Keeno, why do you let me and Rasu treat you like a child? I mean, you technically are, but mentally speaking you aren¡¯t.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Who in their right mind would deny being spoiled by pretty women like the two of you? And to be 100% clear, I mean thatpletely tonically for Fia. I¡¯d also like to add that I will probably only ever ept stuff like this from the two of you, even if I manage to make friends in the future.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Look at that, Fia, she thinks we¡¯re pretty.}


    ¡°I heard.¡± (Fia)


    Fia was smiling and I assumed Ama was doing the same. After we finished getting dressed, we left our room and went downstairs. We sat in the dining room and ordered something to eat. It was a good breakfast and once we were done, we left. The receptionistdy from the other day bade us a good day and we made out way to the Guild. We stopped in front of therge wooden double doors.


    ¡°Keeno, stick close to me. The part of the Guild we¡¯re going to is the adventurer part, and they are all good people, for the most part, but that doesn¡¯t mean some won¡¯t attempt to cause trouble. I don¡¯t expect anything will happen due to your demeanor, but just in case, stick close.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded my head, and she slowly opened the doors. They made a heavy creaking sound and slowly closed themselves once we were inside. I was surprised at what it was like inside, though my expression didn¡¯t show it. The building felt a lot bigger inside that it looked. In the middle of the room was a long table separated into two by a giant firepit in the center. In the middle by the walls were staircases down. There were a lot of people sitting, standing, floating, on and around the table. Some were drinking, some were eating, others were just chatting.


    ¡°The first floor of every Guild building is like this. It¡¯s where all memberse to rx, gather information, look for party members, and more. The floor we¡¯re headed to is the second.¡± (Fia)


    We started to walk towards one of the staircases and descended. We passed by a few people who, when they saw us, quickly got out of the way. Once we arrived at the second floor, we walked down a short hallway to a long room full of metal pirs. Fia led me to one that was at the far end of the room. There, a person wearing what I think was a sort of uniform greeted us.


    ¡°Miss Fiametta, the Eternal me, you and your charge have arrived just in time. The preparations have just finished and you can use the Gate at any time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. Here is the payment for her usage.¡± (Fia)


    Fia handed over a pouch to the person standing by the pir. She nced inside the bag before nodding her head.


    ¡°Payment confirmed. Please have a safe trip in Solheim.¡±


    Fia then grabbed my hand and we stepped into the center of the pirs. The space between them seemed to ripple a little and then the scenery outside of them changed.


    Chaos Realm:


    *Some ce in the Sea of Chaos*


    Evil God: KUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I FINALLY MANAGED TO GET TO ANOTHER LAYER! It¡¯s time to find the world that is here and take over its pantheon.


    *Sigh* Yet another evil storm god. Why can¡¯t it ever be something interesting like a sea god or maybe someone with more ambitions that just ¡°Imma take over this pantheon cause hurr-durr I wanna be seen as important.¡±


    EG: Tch. Get out of here, God of Chaos, this is none of your business.


    Can¡¯t do that, I¡¯m afraid. Now, I¡¯ll give you one chance, go back to the world you are supposed to be at, or face the consequences of bing an evil god.


    EG: I REFUSE!!! I¡¯m never going back to that boring ce full of noting but peace and tranquility.


    *Bigger sigh* Then, as God of Chaos and Destruction, I deem you an evil god. I strip you of your divinity and immortality and sentence you to true death.


    *My hand punctures his chest and his soul shatters.* *POP*


    ¡­¡­*Sigh* Why do they always pop like that? Is it some form of retribution or final act of defiance? And why does it always have to be so hard to not get covered in the blood?

 Chapter 15- Meeting with the Guild Master

    Chapter 15- Meeting with the Guild Master


    [Keeno POV]


    It wasn¡¯t too different than the previous room, just that it was made of a different material and was room was overall shorter. We stepped out of the ring of metal pirs and were greeted by a person in the same uniform as the person that greeted us.


    ¡°Wee the Solheim Miss Fiametta, the Eternal me. Wee to you as well, tiny child. Please follow me, the Guild master is waiting for you.¡±


    This person had the same professional tone as thest one, to the point that it was almost creepy. It was hard to tell in the dim lighting of the room, but I think they even looked the same.


    {They are homunculi made by alchemists. It¡¯s a somewhat recent thing made in thest 500 years, so they are still far from true sentience. They also can only live near the ce they were made, so they are all basically confined to the Guild.}


    ¡®That¡¯s kind of sad.¡¯


    {I agree, but until alchemists figure out why they can¡¯t survive outside the Guild, then it¡¯s for the best.}


    I nodded my head in agreement with Ama¡¯s words as we followed the homunculus. It led us to a different hallway from the one we just left and to a set of double doors. It knocked on them and a minuteter a voice called for us to enter. The homunculus opened the door and motioned us to go in. It then shut the door behind us. I took a quick nce around the room.


    It was full of bookshelves with lots of books, some sort of boxes, and what looked like files bound with leather neatly lined up. There were also other shelves with assorted trinkets and random stuff. By the back wall was arge desk with a person sitting behind it. I couldn¡¯t see the person since they were facing away from us in the chair looking out of a window.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Randal. Or would you prefer I use your full title, Guild master Randal the Illuminous?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hoho. There¡¯s no need for that, Miss Fiametta, the Eternal me. Though I was surprised when I received a message yesterday from Nidavellir saying that you would be showing up with a child.¡± (Randal)


    The person in the chair slowly turned to face us. He looked like a kindly old mad with a long braided white beard. On his face sat round sses apanied by a weing smile. Above his head floated a glowing silver halo and at his back several small shards of light floated. He looked at both me and Fia kindly as he sat back in his chair.


    ¡°Please sit and tell me what the asion is for you toe here.¡± (Randal)


    Fia nodded her head and we both moved over to a set of seats beside a lit firece. The Guild master moved over and sat on the side opposite us.


    ¡°To get straight to the point, I would like to request you help in getting a ce for the two of us to live here in Solheim.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I can arrange that for you easily. Though I would like to ask some things. First of all being, when did you adopt a noble child?¡± (Randal)


    It was then that I noticed that I messed up and forgot to introduce myself. I stood from my seat and, while I wasn¡¯t wearing the proper clothes for it, curtsied.


    ¡°A pleasure to meet you, Guild master Randal. My name is Okami. While I understand that it is rude, I would appreciate it if you refrained from asking too much about my reasons for apanying Lady Fiametta. I will, of course, leave exining things that need to be exined to her, but would nheless prefer my personal matters remain personal.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hoho. Quite the good manners from one so young. I shall acquiesce with your request and only ask what I need to know, Miss Okami.¡± (Randal)


    I curtsied one more time before sitting down beside Fia again. I half expected Ama to ask me something, but she waspletely silent. I nced toward Fia, but she shook her head just enough for me to see. I tacitly understood what she was conveying.


    ¡°As Okami said, we¡¯d prefer it if you don¡¯t ask much. But I can tell you that I n on looking after her until shees of age, then she will be free to do whatever. Due to her special circumstances, as I¡¯m sure you can feel, it was decided that wee to Solheim so that it won¡¯t inconvenience people too much.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I understand, Miss Fiametta. I¡¯ll ask a few of the people from the merchant floor for any ces that are avable. In the meantime, do you know where you are staying?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Are there any reserve rooms in the Guild free? If not we¡¯ll find an inn.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°There are a few. I¡¯ll ask one of the homunculi to prepare one for the two of you. Is there anything else you needed from me, my old friend?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Not really¡­Actually, can we get Okami a Guild card early, or is that too much?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Depends, how old is she? She looks about five, but her demeanor shows maturity beyond her years.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°I am five.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then, unfortunately, I can¡¯t get her a Guild card yet. If she were 10, I¡¯d be able to do something, but she¡¯s too young for the card to properly record her information.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine then.¡± (Fia)


    With that conversation finished, the room fell silent. Fia and Randal sat there staring at one another like they were having some kind of mental conversation before they both rxed in their seats.


    ¡°*Sigh* With all the formal stuff out of the way, how have you been, Randal? How¡¯s the wife?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good, Fiametta. As for Ciel, she¡¯s fine, gotten more strict about my working habits, but good all the same. What about you? Have you finally managed to find a lover? And what about that one special quest you were always going on about, did you manage toplete it?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°In order, not yet, and yes. Though I managed to finish it a really long time ago. I even told you about it before.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Oh? You did? I must be forgetting things in my old age.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°You? Getting old? You need to work on your jokes, you¡¯re only about 350 or so.¡± (Fia)


    The two of them continued to jovially converse as I just sat there, not knowing what to do. This continued on for almost half an hour before I they remembered I was there.


    ¡°Ah, where did my manners go? Little Miss Okami must be very confused about what to do.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Sorry, Okami. Randal, how about we both take a day to catch up properly once the two of us get settled?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°A fine idea, Fiametta. I¡¯ve told the one that brought the two of you here to lead you to your temporary lodging room. I¡¯ll have the other request sorted by tomorrow noon, so please rx for now. And Miss Okami, wee to Solheim.¡± (Randal)


    We all stood up and bade farewell. When we left the room, the homunculus was waiting for us. It led us down two flights of stairs and down a hallway to a room. We went inside and shut the door after the homunculus left.


    {Finally. Sorry for not talking a lot, Keeno. Angels have a racial ability to hear all telepathic conversations, even between a God and their Apostles, so to keep it from him, I had to stay quiet.}


    ¡°So he was an angel. I had a feeling that was the case, but I wasn¡¯tpletely sure.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why¡¯d you give him your family name and not your first name?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It may be childish to you, but I only want the people close to me calling me Keeno. So, until I fully trust someone, everyone will know me simply as Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    {Considering what you¡¯ve been through until now, I think it makes sense.}


    ¡°Yep. Keeno is the name Rasu gave you, so it¡¯s really special to you. Not wanting anyone you hardly know call you the name your Fated One gave you ispletely understandable.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Now, should we talk about the future?¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s probably a good time to do so.}


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s get it out of the way.¡± (Fia)


    Chaos Realm:


    *I return home after dealing with the Evil God*


    Order: PAYTO!? WHAT HAPPENED!?


    Calm down, Order. It¡¯s not my blood.


    Order: Doesn¡¯t matter! What happened!?


    Another idiotic storm god entered anotheryer of the Sea of Chaos and tried to go and take over thatyer¡¯s world¡¯s pantheon, or at least that was his n. I did what I usually have to and as usual, he went pop.


    Order: Next time exin where you are going, you just left and thene back covered in blood. It¡¯s not good for my heart.


    Yeah, sorry. Let me go get cleaned up and I¡¯ll do whatever you want me to to make it up to you.


    Order: Alright, but please, don¡¯t scare me like that again.


    Understood.

 Chapter 16- Plans for the Future

    Chapter 16- ns for the Future


    [Keeno POV]


    I was sitting in Fia¡¯sp on the bed as she yed with my hair. We were discussing what our future ns were.


    ¡°So, to sum it up, once we get settled in our own ce here, I¡¯ll start training to control my mana and body heat as well as actually reasonable physical training. I¡¯ll continue this until I manifest my Soul Weapon which is when you¡¯ll start teaching me magic. After that it¡¯s whatever regimen that is suitable for me until I¡¯m an adult. At that time, I¡¯m free to do whatever until I ascend.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. So, we have 13 years until that point.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, adulthood is 18 years old in this world?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s about the point when kitsune are considered fully grown adults. However, you¡¯ll be able to get a Guild card at 10 and be allowed to do simple quests like gathering or basic tasks around the city. We also have to get you caught up on some semnce ofmon sense that isn¡¯t tainted by the outdated information you have now.¡± (Fia)


    {Of course, it¡¯ll only be enough to get you by in daily life since some aspects of it won¡¯t apply to you. Oh, and to add to that, I¡¯m going to teach you about controlling your Authorities. You can¡¯t use them to their full potential since they are sealed, but we CAN figure out what you can do with them even in that state and go from there. I can help you most with your Sun Authority, but Death is something you¡¯ll need to feel your way through with just basic things all Authorities share.}


    ¡°And finally, we¡¯re going to try and get you used to people a little more. Going forward your previous royal training will be useful, but neither me nor Rasu want you to go through life in the mortal world with the only two people you actually trust being me and Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    {Don¡¯t get her wrong, Keeno. Fia is ecstatic that she is the only person you currently trust with your life and brags about it to me while you sleep, but she won¡¯t be around you forever. She does have things she¡¯ll eventually need to get back to, so I want you to make at least one true friend before you are 18.}


    ¡°Rasu, why did you have to share that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I kind of already knew that Fia. I am your hug pillow, so I do hear what you say sometimes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    Fia started to blush at our teasing. It was then that two questions came to mind.


    ¡°While I¡¯m fine with everything we decided, I have two questions. The first is, how are we going to train my control over my body heat? And the second is, once I get old enough and Fia sets off to wherever, will I see you again?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Starting with the second question, of course. I¡¯d never just up and leave my little sister forever. We may not see each other much, but we¡¯ll always be able to meet on Sr Convergence, if Rasu lets me up there, and depending on where you go in your travels, we¡¯ll probably meet up if Fate is on our side.¡± (Fia)


    {He owes me and Keeno, so it¡¯s just about when really.}


    ¡°Wait what?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll tell you in detailter.}


    I nodded.


    ¡°As for your first question, I have an idea, but I¡¯m going to need to find the things I need to start that training.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t have any more questions, so what do we do now? Do we just stay in here for the rest of the day or do we go and look around outside?¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s actually gotten prettyte, so I¡¯d suggest going to sleep. You have time to rx and explore at your leisure, so take it slow while you still can.}


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Don¡¯t sound so disappointed, Keeno. Like Rasu said, we have some time to actually look aroundter, for now we should sleep.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    We started to get ready to go to bed when something else popped into my head.


    ¡°By the way, what¡¯s up with the Eternal me thing?¡± (Keeno)


    Fia stopped moving. I looked over to her to see that she was blushing again.


    {It¡¯s her Adventurer title. She got it way back when the Guilds were still separate. Ites from the fact that when she uses her Soul Weapon, it produces fire that never goes out. If you decide to travel the world one day, you might want to visit the ce that earned her the title.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Is it really that embarrassing, Fia? I think it¡¯s kind of cool.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s nice and all that you think it¡¯s cool, but please don¡¯t call me by the title. You are the only two I don¡¯t want calling me that.¡± (Fia)


    Besides the obvious embarrassment, there was another emotion inside her voice that I couldn¡¯t quite make out. Seeing that Fia really didn¡¯t want to keep this convo going, I dropped the subject. We finished getting ready for bed and promptly went to sleep. The next day we mostly spent time rxing while we waited for news from the Guild master. When noon came around, the homunculus from yesterday knocked on the door. It told us that the Guild master and someone from the merchant part of the Guild were waiting for us.


    We made our way to the Guild master¡¯s office again and met with him and another person. There, Fia took the lead and after a while of discussion, she decided on a few ces that were suitable for us to live. After a little more preliminary deliberation, she narrowed it down to two ces after getting as much information about them as she could without actually just going there in person.


    ¡°Alright, all that¡¯s left to do is check out these two ces and decide. Can I ask that you lead us there?¡± (Fia)


    The merchant nodded and started to organize the papers before the three of us stood up and left the room. We walked us some stairs and out of the heavy wooden doors of the guild. When we got outside, even my royal training couldn¡¯t help me hide my shock at the outside. Amon looking city, from my brief experience, covered in pure white snow. While I wasn¡¯t sure how cold it was, I could tell that it was significantly colder than anywhere else I¡¯ve been, not that it mattered that much. I regained myposure and Fia and I started to follow the merchant.


    Chaos Realm:


    Amaterasu: ¡­Where am I?


    Oh, hello Amaterasu.


    Amaterasu: God of Chaos?


    Just call me Payto. This is Order, my wife. This is our home, and you¡¯ve been invited to visit whenever you feel like it.


    Amaterasu: That¡¯s nice and all, but why am I being stared down by a ten-tailed kitsune that I¡¯ve never met before?


    Order: That¡¯s Luna, someone that was in a simr situation to Keeno. She became a Goddess in her world and has been watching your world every so often with us.


    She also has some choice words for you and Keeno, so you should prepare yourself.


    Amaterasu: What?


    Luna: Sit.


    Amaterasu: *shivering due to the pure Authority as she sits*


    Luna: Pay attention, I will now give you a full course on the proper way to care for Fluff after seeing the pure disgrace you¡¯ve shown. Listen carefully because I don¡¯t want to repeat myself.


    Amaterasu: Y-yes ma¡¯am!


    Order: Where¡¯s Atmos when you need her? She¡¯d get a kick out of this.


    Indeed.

 Chapter 17- A New Home

    Chapter 17- A New Home


    [Keeno POV]


    I observed the snowy city while we made our way to the two ces we had to choose from to live. Most of the buildings were made of stone or wood and all of them hadrge chimneys that had smokeing out of them. It was actually quite the pretty ce, like it was taken from a movie or video game. While the buildings were interesting, I spent most of the walk observing the people.


    There were a variety of different races here ranging from humans, what I think were dark elves, beastkin, dwarves, and more, though I didn¡¯t see any angels. In regards to the beastkin, most of them had features that I recognized from animals that lived in cold climates like snow leopards, wolves, lynxes, and there were a few other kitsune. Naturally, I wasn¡¯t the only one observing. The people that we passed by also looked at me and Fia. Some of them smiled at us, others just nced in our direction before turning their attention back to whatever they were doing. A few made weird faces when they looked at me, but it wasn¡¯t anything that I wasn¡¯t already used to.


    Eventually, we made it to our first destination. It was a somewhatrge building that looked kind of like a cabin made of stone and wood in equal measure. It had a small yard in front of it that was covered in a lot of snow. It seemed like a cozy ce. We went inside and walked around seeing what was what and where was where. It was nice, though, if I had to have aint about it, it would be that it was close to a noisy part of the city. After looking over the ce fully, we left to go and see the other ce. It took a lot longer to get there than the first ce, but it was worth it.


    If thest ce was a cabin, then the second one would be a lodge. It was in a somewhat secluded part of the city, in my opinion, and had a lot of space around it. Most of the building was made of wood, though there were stone sections that looked like they were added at different times. The inside was roomy and inviting. Fia and I looked around practically every inch of the ce before we started discussing our choice.


    ¡°I think I¡¯d prefer this one.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m of the same opinion. There is a lot more space here and it¡¯s secluded enough that, unless they go out of their way to do so, people won¡¯t visit very often. As a bonus, it¡¯s also near one of the exits to the city, so we cane and go for training easier than the other ce.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then we¡¯re calling this one our home?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. I¡¯ll go finalize what needs to be finalized with the merchant.¡± (Fia)


    Fia went over to the merchant that was showing us the two ces and started talking. They both moved over to a table that was here and sat down. Fia started signing several papers before handing over arge sack of what I assumed was money. The merchant left after that.


    ¡°So, now we just go and find ces that sell furnishings that we still need and some other basic stuff and we¡¯ll be officially moved in. I have to say, it feels nice, being in a ce that I can eventually call home.¡± (Keeno)


    {I agree. I¡¯m happy that you finally have a ce, besides with me, that you can truly rest at. You no longer need to sleep with your guard up. And you no longer have people that are going to abuse you for no other reason than petty resentment or indoctrination to the country.}


    ¡°You know, it¡¯s also been a while since I¡¯ve had a ce that I can return to like this. It¡¯s a good feeling, to be honest.¡± (Fia)


    The three of us chatted happily as we went around the lodge again to see what all we needed to get. For the most part, it was just beds, some carpets, a few more chairs, and some other basic household things. Once wepiled the full list, we left the lodge to find the shops that sold those things. This task took a surprisingly long time to do, but we managed to buy what we needed and return just as the suns were setting. Fia and I were now sitting together in one of our new chairs while watching the fire in the firece.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just contemting. I¡¯m excited that I¡¯m finally, truly free from Falheim and that soon, I¡¯m going to do more than just be basically tortured every day.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I can promise you that the training I¡¯m going to put you through will be far from what you¡¯ve had so far. It will be based off of what I¡¯ve seen you are capable of and will respect your limits. Speaking of training, how long do you want to wait before starting?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I feel like a week maybe a week and a half before we start.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Oh, and what do you think of pets?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What kind are we talking about here?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not sure yet, but something that hatches from an egg is what I¡¯m thinking.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Hold on, are you implying what I think you are?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If you mean getting you to learn how to consciously control how much heat you produce by giving you an egg that you have to take care of without cooking it, then yes. That way, if you fail, we get food, if you seed, you get a pet.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Unless it¡¯s different in this world, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how eggs work.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, she¡¯s not thinking about a normal egg. She¡¯s thinking of monster eggs. They arepletely different things and work inpletely different ways.}


    ¡°Ok, because what I was thinking about is actually kind of traumatizing.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I already said my training wasn¡¯t going to be like thest kind you went through. I obviously wouldn¡¯t do something that would end up traumatizing you any more than you already are.¡± (Fia)


    I giggled at Fia¡¯s words before yawning.


    ¡°Shall we head to bed?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Yeah. As much as I¡¯d like to keep chatting, I have to listen to my body¡¯s call to sleep. *sigh* Being in a five-year-old body can be so annoying sometimes.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, but you are cute like that, so isn¡¯t it fine?}


    ¡°I agree with Rasu. You are the perfect size to hug while sleeping. It¡¯s going to be a sad day when I can¡¯t use you as my hug pillow.¡± (Fia)


    {Absolutely Fia. She¡¯s adorable. Like the other day during Sr Convergence when she fell asleep in my arms. She wrapped her tail around one of my arms and grabbed one of my tails and hugged it like it was the greatest thing in all existence.}


    I could feel the heat around me start to rise in tune with my embarrassment.


    ¡°AH! The return of Keeno the Tomato!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I AM NOT A TOMATO!!!¡± (Keeno)


    I hopped out of Fia¡¯sp and went to the room I imed for myself. I hopped onto my new bed and grumbled to myself as I tried to go to sleep.


    {You know, storming off doesn¡¯t really work when I¡¯m technically a voice in your head.}


    ¡°HMPH!¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Good night, Keeno.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: When did I say you were allowed to leave?


    Amaterasu: But my Fated One!


    Luna: ¡­Fair point. Now, let us resume the lessons. What is the most basic of basics of Fluff care?


    Amaterasu: Treat Fluff with utmost devotion and it will never let you down.


    Luna: Correct. Now, I will teach you the proper techniques to use when ites to brushing your tails. This is EXTREMELY important, so pay attention as if your life depends on it.


    Amaterasu: Yes Ma¡¯am!


    This is almost as entertaining as watching Keeno write poetry.


    Order: I agree.


    Tamamo: Well, you both know how Luna is about fluff.


    Luna: Tamamo,e over here please, I¡¯d like you to help in the demonstration.


    Tamamo: Coming.

 Chapter 18- Training Starts and a New Friend?

    Chapter 18- Training Starts and a New Friend?


    [Keeno POV]


    Fia and I quickly got used to our new home and before I knew it, a week and a half passed. Like we decided the night we moved in, I was going to restart my training today. I was currently standing behind our home while Fia was in front of me.


    ¡°Alright, to begin with, we need to get your conscious control of your heat. Before moving on to the eggs, we¡¯ll make sure you can stand or sit on the ground without melting the snow.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, what you¡¯re telling me to do is basically just go y in the snow?¡± (Keeno)


    Fia said nothing and just smiled.


    {¡­Hehehehe. Fia, I absolutely love you right now.}


    ¡°Go on, if you can¡¯t control this, then you won¡¯t get pets and when we get to magic it¡¯ll be a lot harder to learn.¡± (Fia)


    While still a little worried about Fia¡¯s smile and Ama¡¯sughing I turned to the deep piles of snow that were everywhere behind the lodge. The moment my eyesnded on the big piles, my entire being yelled at me. I started to run and then I jumped as high as I could into the air before crashing headfirst into the snow pile, or whatever was left of it.


    ¡°Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe.¡± (Fia)


    {AAAAAHHHHHHH! IT WAS SO CUTE!!!!}


    Just hearing their words andughter, I blushed and the snow all around me started to melt rapidly. When all the snow around me was gone, I red at Fia.


    ¡°FIAMETTA!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Now, now, hehe, don¡¯t get all angry at me. What better way to learn to control your heat than making you embarrassed?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    While I was still embarrassed, her words did make some sense. As I was about to get up from the soggy ground, I thought I heard the sound of a snapping twig or somethinging from a bit away from us. I turned in that direction but didn¡¯t see anything, so I just shrugged the thought from my mind. I eyed another deep pile of snow that hadn¡¯t melted yet and just stared at it. The urge to jump headfirst into it started to take over again, but I forced it down. I slowly approached the snow pile, but the second I was too close, it started to rapidly melt.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised she¡¯s still going for it.¡± (Fia)


    {Well, it really is good training. I still think the egg thing is good, but this will at least get her to the point where she can start to get a general feel for control.}


    ¡°K-¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Call me Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Okami, keep doing this for a while. I¡¯m going to head to the Guild and buy some monster eggs forter training.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Ok.¡± (Keeno)


    Several minutes after Fia left, I called out.


    ¡°You know that I can hear you, right!?¡± (Keeno)


    A sound of surprise came from some of the bushes a bit away from where I was trying to train. About a minuteter, a little girl came out from the bushes. She was a snow leopard beastkin with long grey and silver hair that went to just above the back of her knees, grey eyes that had a naturally sleepy look to them, and her bushy tail was held in her arms, and she seemed to be chewing on it a little. When she looked into my eyes she seemed to start trembling and took a small step back.


    ¡°Well, what¡¯s your name?¡± (Keeno)


    The girl spoke softly and I couldn¡¯t really make out what she said since it was muffled by her tail.


    ¡°Stop chewing on your tail, I can¡¯t understand you.¡± (Keeno)


    She reluctantly moved her tail from her mouth and spoke a little louder.


    ¡°M-my name is Pram.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ok, Pram. What are you doing, spying on me like that? Oh, and my name is Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I-I heard th-that you moved here a b-bit ago and was wondering i-if you wanted to y with me?¡± (Pram)


    I was actually taken aback by this. While she seemed a little unsettled by me, she still managed to voice her question.


    {Befriend this girl, Keeno. If you do, she¡¯ll stick with you for life. My intuition is telling me so.}


    ¡°Well, Pram. What do you want to y?¡± (Keeno)


    At my question, her ears started to twitch happily, and she dropped her tail. She ran closer to me and grabbed my hands in hers.


    ¡°You¡¯ll really y with me!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I won¡¯t if you don¡¯t tell me what you want to y. I mean, we can¡¯t really do anything if we have no idea what to do.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then, then I¡¯ll make a big pile of snow and you have to jump in it! Then, you make a big one and I¡¯ll jump in it!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°But if I try that, it¡¯ll just melt.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then we just need to make the piles really big. As big as a mountain!¡± (Pram)


    I cracked a small smile at her enthusiasm.


    ¡°Ok, then let¡¯s get to making that snow mountain.¡± (Keeno)


    She nodded energetically and moved away from me to where there was more snow. She crouched down and started to push snow into a pile in a childishly cute manner.


    {This is adorable, Keeno. Not as adorable as you losing to your instincts and diving into the snow, but adorable nheless.}


    I nodded my head at Ama¡¯s words while ignoring the part about me.


    ¡°Okami,e on!¡± (Pram)


    I smiled another small smile and walked over to Pram. As I did so, I tried to concentrate on not melting the snow, and though it wasn¡¯t much, I think it was melting a little slower.


    ¡®Well, it¡¯s a start¡­I think.¡¯


    Time passed as Pram and I tried to pile up enough snow to build her snow mountain. Pram got tired of failing, so she pouted and sat on the ground with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Okami, why isn¡¯t it working?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because I¡¯m too hot, literally.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well stop it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    She looked over at me since I didn¡¯t say anything and I guess she looked into my eyes again. Though instead of backing away like I expected her to, she tilted her head and leaned closer to me.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you scared of my eyes before?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. But you yed with me, so that means you aren¡¯t scary now.¡± (Pram)


    {Ah, the simpleness of a mortal child.}


    I internally nodded at Ama¡¯s words and Pram leaned in even closer as she stared into my eyes.


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami warm. Like the sunshine.¡± (Pram)


    She then wrapped her arms around me and before I could even process what was going on, she was asleep.


    ¡®¡­I have no idea what just happened.¡¯


    {Like I said, the simpleness of a mortal child.}


    <em>¡®Well, well, well. I leave for just about two hours, and I see that you have a friend.¡¯</em> (Fia)


    I looked at Fia and mouthed words so I didn¡¯t wake Pram up.


    ¡°You need to teach me how to talk telepathically like that.¡± (Keeno)


    <em>¡®Just say the words in your head like you do for Rasu and I can hear them. You won¡¯t actually be using telepathy, but it¡¯ll be simr since I¡¯ll just listen to your thoughts.¡¯</em> (Fia)


    ¡®Like this?¡¯ (Keeno)


    Fia nodded.


    ¡®Anyway, this child appeared a little bit after you left and wanted to y with me, so I obliged. I didn¡¯t stop trying to control my heat though, though I don¡¯t think I made much progress.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Well, as someone with a simr constitution, I think you actually made a lot of progress. At least for your age. It¡¯s far from being considered perfect, but it¡¯s a start.}


    <em>¡®And that¡¯s all we can ask for.¡± </em>(Fia)


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: I¡¯m back!


    ¡­


    Order: She didn¡¯t yell extremely loud for once.


    Same, it must be about to Chaos Quake.


    Atmos: I¡¯m capable of learning¡­eventually.


    Tamamo: Then I¡¯ll give you a proper introductionter. For now, just watch Luna as she lectures and examines the neer.


    Atmos: Don¡¯t mind if I do.

 Chapter 19- Progress and Beast Companions

    Chapter 19- Progress and Beast Companions


    [Keeno POV]


    Over the course of the next few months, I had slowly progressed in controlling how much heat my body naturally produced. I am now at the point where I canfortably jump headfirst into piles of snow and not melt them. This means that when Prames over, we can actually y together instead of just trying to pile up snow for us to jump in and having it melt the second I get near it. Speaking of Pram, she¡¯s been growing more attached to me the more time we spend together. Of course, that¡¯s a natural thing that happens with kids, but it seems like I¡¯m the only person her age that is actually willing to y with her regrly.


    I did ask her why that was the case, but she isn¡¯t really sure of it herself. It took a bit of questioning about a lot of things, but I was able to piece together a convincing reason to why she¡¯s in the situation she is. Prames from a family of very good healers and so, to follow in her family¡¯s footsteps, she¡¯s been taught a lot about the body, the most efficient ways to heal someone with minimal mana cost, the positive and negative effects of healing magic, and so on. This being the case, most kids, not being the brightest, don¡¯t consider her any fun since her abilities aren¡¯t super shy and exciting.


    It doesn¡¯t help that her Soul Weapon is different than what most people have apparently. Her Soul Weapon is in the form of a bell and, ording to Ama and Fia, is highly attuned to support magic like buffs and debuffs. This doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t use healing magic, just that she can be considered average at it. It¡¯s a good thing her family isn¡¯t like the things that gave birth to me since they still ept and support Pram. Anyway, since I¡¯m her only real friend, shees over any time she has an abundance of free time. We y together which aids in my training since I don¡¯t want Pram to be upset that we can¡¯t y with the snow.


    Today was turning out to be the same as it has been for thest few months, in that I was sitting on top of a big pile of snow that wasn¡¯t melting while Fia looked at me with somewhat appraising eyes.


    ¡°I believe it¡¯s time to move onto the monster eggs. This training is going to be different than what I was originally nning, but we¡¯ll still make it work.¡± Fia said as she handed me two eggs. ¡°Keeno, I want you to produce enough heat to incubate these two eggs, but not enough to cook them. If you can manage that until they are close to hatching, I¡¯ll teach you how to use mana. That way you can make the monsters in the eggs contracted to you.¡±


    I took the two eggs from Fia¡¯s hands and sat back down.


    ¡°How long does it take to do that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It depends. These eggs are from a monster called a steelfeather raven. If all goes well, then it¡¯ll take a few hours a day for a year or two.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded my head as I tried to contain my excitement. Finally, a chance to learn how to use mana. The surroundings started to get warmer, but I reigned it in just before it got too hot. I hugged the eggs to my chest and closed my eyes so I could focus more.


    ¡°Rasu, it¡¯s now your turn to amp it up.¡± (Fia)


    {Very well. We¡¯re now going to try and get you to maintain your control while it¡¯s my job to try and get you to lose that control.}


    Just like that one time, Ama¡¯s voice sounded like it was speaking in a whisper directly into my ears. Ama then started going over things that made my emotions go all over the ce. I tried my best to keep everything under control, but I could tell I was slipping bit by bit.


    ¡°You can do it, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    Fia¡¯s encouragement motivated me to concentrate even more on what my goal was. This process was repeated every day for another two years until one day, the eggs started to shake in my arms.


    ¡°Fia, they¡¯re starting to hatch I think.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Remember what I said to do, focus on your mana and move it into the eggs. That way the contract will be made.¡± (Fia)


    I closed my eyes and focused inside myself. Fia taught me about a month ago how to start circting mana. I found the source in my body and started to draw some out, leading it from that point, down my arms, through my hands, and into the two eggs. When I felt my mana get sucked into the eggs, they started to shake even more. After what felt like hours, but was most likely only a few minutes, cracks formed on the eggs. The shells started falling from the creature¡¯s inside and soon, I was holding two young ravens in my arms.


    They looked around at everything before they started to try and eat the eggs that they hatched from. I moved my arms to let them do their thing while Ama started speaking.


    {Know what you¡¯re going to name them?}


    ¡°Yep.¡± I pointed to the one on the left. ¡°This one¡¯s name is Huginn.¡± I then pointed to the one on the right. ¡°And this one is Muninn.¡±


    ¡°Interesting names.¡± (Fia)


    I was about to exin the names and where they came from when Pram suddenly arrived.


    ¡°OKAMI!!!!¡± (Pram)


    She was running up to me and about to jump at me to hug me when she saw Huginn and Muninn. She slid to a stop and stared at them with shining eyes.


    ¡°Lunch?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, my pets.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Cute. Tasty looking, but cute.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hello Pram. Is it time for the two of you to y today?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hello, Miss Fiametta. If it¡¯s not too much trouble, or does Okami have to take care of the not lunch?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ll watch over the birds, you two go and y.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°YAY!¡± (Pram)


    Fia walked over and gently took Huginn and Muninn from myp and shooed me away.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Congrattions, Amaterasu, you have learned all I can teach you about Fluff. As a reward, I shall give you the Blessing of Fluff and several plushies of Keeno.


    Amaterasu: Thank you, Oh Abyssal Fluff. I shall be forever grateful.


    Atmos: Hey, how long until Keeno is brought here? I want to see her reaction to all of this.


    Soon. She¡¯ll be able to show up here when she¡¯s 10. Also, when did Luna turn you into a tanuki?


    Atmos: A while ago.


    Order: The fluff looks good on you.


    *Astraea wakes up from napping in my tails*


    Astraea: Atmos!!!


    *Astraea jumps and hugs Atmos¡¯s tail*


    Atmos: ¡­I¡­This is fine¡­


    Hehehe.


    Luna: *Sigh* Now, I shall prepare for Keeno¡¯s lessons. I¡¯ll have to make them more detailed, yet condensed since she won¡¯t be able to spend as much time here as Amaterasu.

 Chapter 20- Soul Weapon

    Chapter 20- Soul Weapon


    [Keeno POV]


    Another three years passed in the blink of an eye. My training progressed from heat control to mana control, and some physical exercise. Huginn and Muninn grew from tiny ravens to fully grown ones quickly and now they were about the size of hawks from my old world. The two of them are very smart and I¡¯ve started to have a sort of understanding with them to the point where it¡¯s almost like telepathy. Pram has also been keeping up with the training her family gives her, so she has had less and less free time as the years pass.


    It is now a few days past my 10<sup>th</sup> birthday and while I¡¯d like to say things are fine, they aren¡¯t. Starting the day after my birthday I started to feel a strange, hot feeling in my chest. At first it wasn¡¯t anything that I thought I should mention to Fia or Ama, as the days went on, it got progressively worse. Today was the fifth day since this started and the burning feeling was so bad that I thought my chest was about to explode.


    {Keeno! What¡¯s wrong!?}


    ¡°A-Ama, my chest¡­it feels like it¡¯s going¡­to explode.¡± (Keeno)


    {Fia! Wake up!}


    Fia nearly jumped out of bed at Ama¡¯s panicked yelling. She was about to ask what was up when she saw me with a pained expression on my face and my hands wing at my chest like I was trying to rip it open.


    {Get her outside now! Keeno, hold on a little longer.}


    Fia picked me up and started running outside out home to the back yard.


    ¡°Ama¡­what¡¯s wrong¡­with me?¡± (Keeno)


    {Your Soul Weapon is trying to manifest, but you are subconsciously blocking it from doing so. How long have you been keeping this feeling from us?}


    ¡°Today¡­is the¡­¡­fifth day¡­I¡­didn¡¯t think¡­it was going to¡­get this bad.¡± (Keeno)


    {*Sigh* Keeno, I love you so much, but that was a stupid thing to do. Why didn¡¯t you tell us that your soul was literally on fire?}


    ¡°I¡­didn¡¯t¡­know it was. I can¡¯t¡­see my¡­¡­own soul yet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Will this hurt her in any way, Rasu?¡± (Fia)


    {No, though she¡¯ll be extremely tired for a while after this.}


    We made it to the door to the back yard and Huginn and Muninn tried to fly over to me, but I managed to ry to them to stay back for now. They flew back to their perch, but I could tell that they were worried. Fia then nearly kicked the door off the frame and jumped outside.


    {Fia,y her on the ground over there. Keeno, I need you to listen to me.}


    I nodded my head weakly as Fia ced me on the cold snowy ground that was gradually starting to warm up.


    {Concentrate inside yourself, like when you practice your mana control, only instead of focusing on your mana, focus on the very core of your being. If what you said is true and from what I can see, then it should be the hottest part that you can feel. After that, just like with mana, make the heat flow to your hands. After that, your Soul Weapon will manifest, and you¡¯ll feel better.}


    I nodded and then did as she said. I did my best to ignore the burning pain and focused on the heat until I found the source. It took me several minutes, but I managed to take control of the heat, and, like river rapids, it flowed down my arms to my hands. It was then that changes started to happen.


    Starting from just below my elbow, ck chains started to wrap around both of my arms, stopping at just above my wrists. When the chains stopped forming, things started to form in my hands. Twin swords, the same ck color as the chains formed from the handles. They fit perfectly in my hands, as I would expect from weapons from my own soul. From the handles branched out two crossguards in the shape of a wide V before the des formed. The des slowly appeared until they reached a length that spanned from my elbow to my fingertips. Once the swords fully formed, the ends of the chains hanging from my wrists attached themselves to the bottom of the hilts. Finally, a thin film of blue mes coated the edges of the sword des.


    {How pretty. What is the name for your Soul Weapon?}


    Before I could ask what Ama meant by that, a name appeared in my mind.


    ¡°Cerulean Sundes.¡± (Keeno)


    {A fitting name.}


    I then looked up at Fia and noticed something else. Her soul, which I only ever saw if I really tried, was way clearer. I looked around the area and saw several souls of small animals that lived in the trees near our home.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I can see souls much better now. It¡¯s no longer just a flicker.¡± (Keeno)


    {Interesting. Let me see¡­¡­Oh! It seems that, with you manifesting your Soul Weapon, some of the things my Divine Protection have started to work. Fia, I think with this, it¡¯s time to start magic training in earnest.}


    ¡°I agree, but what abilities have started working?¡± (Fia)


    {Her sr magic will be more potent the three hours around noon, she doesn¡¯t need to chant to use spells. Although it¡¯s redundant since it¡¯s a part of her Sun Authority, she is immune to fire¡­and I think that¡¯s about it.}


    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll need to get her to learn actual magic first, then we can see just how potent it will be in those three hours.¡± Fia then turned back to me. ¡°Keeno, how well do you think you can use your Soul Weapon? Just by manifesting it, you should know at least enough to not hurt yourself when you use it, but it¡¯s different for everybody.¡±


    ¡°Um.¡± (Keeno)


    I stood up from the ce I was sitting and motioned for Fia to move a bit away from me. Once she was a good distance, I let one of my swords fall as I grabbed onto the chain. I then started to swing it around, a trail of cerulean mesing off of it, making it look like an electric blue ring of fire on my side. The more I swung it, the hotter it got until the de and chain also started glowing blue. Once it gained enough momentum, I pivoted on my feet and the sword and chain swung around horizontally, sending out a wave of blue fire that scorched a small area around me and left small sparks on the grass that managed to survive the wave.


    ¡°That¡¯s about all I know to do. Well, I think I can do that with both at the same time, but I feel like that will just burn more than just the small area around me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Um, Fia?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, do you think the mes from these will also be affected by your Divine Protection?¡± (Fia)


    {Maybe a little, but these are more tied to her Authorities, so, the more ess she gets to those, the stronger they will get. Of course, this is not taking into consideration how strong she gets with them naturally, so train her like you were nning, and when her Authorities¡¯ seals weaken and eventually disappear, it will be like a boost on top of the strength that¡¯s already there.}


    ¡°Got it.¡± (Fia)


    I started to walk back over to Fia when the suns started to peek over the horizon. The second my sun rose high enough, my Soul Weapon started to hum a bit, like they were yearning to see the source of their fire. I turned to face the suns and held my des aloft. As they bathed in the light, it felt like a piece of me was finallyplete.


    ¡°Get ready, Keeno. With this, you truly start on your path to ascension.¡± (Fia)


    {I look forward to seeing what you¡¯ll aplish, my darling Fated One.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: ¡­Where?


    Amaterasu: KEENO!!!


    Keeno: AMA!!!


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Atmos: Yes, you two act the same way.


    Indeed.


    Order: It¡¯s almost like a mirror.


    Keeno: Who are all of you?


    Amaterasu: In order from most important to least, that is Payto: God of Chaos, his wife, Order: Goddess of Order, Master Luna: Abyss of Fluff, her wife, Tamamo: Moon Goddess, and Atmos.


    Atmos: OI! I¡¯M A GODDESS OF FATE!


    And Mischief.


    Order: And Baking.


    Keeno: Why are you calling that one master?


    Amaterasu: Because she taught me the true meaning of Fluff. Haven¡¯t you noticed how my tails and hair have been so much better since our first Sr Convergence together?


    Keeno: I mean, I did notice that, but I didn¡¯t think someone was teaching you.


    Luna: Oh, it¡¯s not just her, I¡¯ll be teaching you as well, but first, let¡¯s get to know each other a bit seeing as we¡¯re in somewhat of the same situation, being reincarnated and all.


    Keeno: Eh!? You too!?


    Luna: Yep. I¡¯ll tell you my story since I get to watch yours.


    Tamamo: And I¡¯ll fill you in on the parts that she¡¯s going to embellish.


    Or, I can just let¡­


    Order: Not now, let them do it their way.


    Got it.

 Chapter 21- Getting a Guild Card

    Chapter 21- Getting a Guild Card


    [Keeno POV]


    A few minutester I stopped holding my Soul Weapon up to the suns. I was going to ask Ama and Fia how I was supposed to put my Soul Weapon away, but just the thought entering my head caused the swords and chains to disappear like they were never there.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how I do that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    I looked up at Fia. She was smiling at me and she seemed to be holding in someughter. I pouted grumpily at her.


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Why don¡¯t we keep with the momentum of this and go and get you your guild card today? I know you¡¯ve been wanting to get it since your tenth birthday.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Sounds fine to me.¡± (Keeno)


    Fia nodded at me and turned to go back inside. When I was sure she wasn¡¯t looking at me, I pumped my fist in triumph.


    {You¡¯re cute, Keeno. Makes me want to just pull you into a hug and never let go.}


    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t mind, if that could be arranged.¡¯


    {¡­I¡­}


    ¡°Hehehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    While enjoying the flustered Ama noises, I followed Fia inside. The two of us got dressed for the day, then I fed Huginn and Muninn. After they finished eating, they pped their wings andnded on each of my shoulders.


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Squaq! Caw, caw, squak!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Yes, you two, I¡¯m absolutely fine. A bit tired, but not enough to hamper anything.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°CAW!!¡±¡± (Huginn and Muninn)


    ¡°I get it! Stop always doing that in my ears!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mischievous little birds, aren¡¯t they?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Nah. They are just worried about me¡­I think.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn frantically bobbed its head while Muninn used on of its wings and tried to pat my head with it.


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re teaching them weird things.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°LIES AND SLANDER! And besides, Pram is the one that taught them how to pat people¡¯s heads. She likes doing that.¡± (Keeno)


    {I know it¡¯s not the case, but it sometimes feels like it¡¯s the other way around and she enjoys receiving pats more.}


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that.¡± (Keeno)


    We all chuckled at that and then left our home. As soon as we stepped out of the door, a thought came to me.


    ¡°Guild cards are like that orb thing that showed me that status thing, right? Does that mean that I¡¯ll have to somehow hide my Title of Ama¡¯s Fated One and her Divine Protection and the other things that mortals shouldn¡¯t normally have?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not really. To put it in a somewhat easy to understand way, the information on a guild card only gives the basic information on the surface of one¡¯s soul. Your Divine Protection, Fated One Title, and Authorities are things that reside in the core of your soul, so something like a Guild card won¡¯t be able to pick up on them.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°But Guild cards have a Title section, don¡¯t they?¡± (Keeno)


    {Titles are a weird thing, Keeno. Nobody, not even us gods really know the most intricate working of them. We do know, however, that there are three types. The first and rarest type is like the Fated One Title. It resides in the deepest part of your soul and usually have effects that hold a lot of power or potential, like how you having the Title of being my Fated One will allow you to be a goddess.}


    ¡°Then there are Titles with weaker effects and settle on the surface of the soul. These Titles are things like monster ying titles that make you more intimidating to monsters of the same type as the yer Title.¡± (Fia)


    {Then there is the third type. Thesee about when enough people, or people deemed important enough, give them to someone. For example, if you were in a rural vige and singlehandedly saved it from destruction by monsters or something, the people would probably call you a hero, and if enough of them call you that and actually believe it, you¡¯d get the Title Hero of Rural Vige.}


    ¡°The second and third types can appear on Guild cards while the first type doesn¡¯t. So, you have no need to worry about those two things bing public knowledge. Of course, whoever helps make the card will learn your full name, but I don¡¯t think that will be a problem since you can just hide the name Keeno after the fact.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Keeno)


    Just as soon as we finished this conversation, we entered onto a busy street. Since it was still early, the people that roamed about were mostly shop owners or people getting things to eat before heading off to work. A few waved at us in greeting and Fia waved back while I gave a small nod of greeting. I¡¯ve grown used to the people of the city over the years we¡¯ve lived here, but my ¡®princess personality,¡¯ as Fia calls it, has be such an unbreakable habit for me that it¡¯s impossible for me to not act this way unless I¡¯m alone with people I trust absolutely.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Keeno. I¡¯ve known Randal for a long time, you can at least let him know your name.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Ok. I mean, there isn¡¯t really any meaning in hiding my name aside from me just wanting only people really close to me to know it. It doesn¡¯t help keep any secret and it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll be hunted down if it spreads. But I¡¯m gonna try to keep it hidden for as long as I can. I feel entitled to at least this much.¡± (Keeno)


    {You are entitled to so much more, but I think this much is fine.}


    ¡°I agree with Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    It was then that we finally reached the doors to the Guild Hall. We went inside and got several nces from people that were here. Just like on the way here, several people waved to us in greeting, and we responded in kind. We made our way to the staircase and descended. Once we made it to the second floor, we went to one of the homunculi that were going about their business and Fia asked it to let Randal know we were here. It bowed in acknowledgement and left. Several minutester it returned and said that Guild Master Randal was waiting for us. When we got to his office door, we were let inside and found Randal sitting on one of the seats while drinking a cup of this world¡¯s version of coffee.


    ¡°A fine morning, my friends. Wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°It is indeed.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I agree. It has been quite the fortuitous morning.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°As eloquent as always, Little Miss Okami. I¡¯d very much like it if you¡¯d rx more when we meet. I¡¯ve heard rumors that you are almost apletely different person when with Little Pram.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°While I do trust you, Sir Randal, it¡¯s be an ingrained habit. Please don¡¯t think I¡¯m being rude by showing you such formality in the times we meet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Then I can only hope that one day you¡¯ll find me good enoughpany to get around this habit. Now, I assume you¡¯ve bothe here today for something more than just a peaceful chat?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Like you promised five years ago, we¡¯re here to get her Guild card.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s what it is. It¡¯s hard to believe that five years have passed already. Oh, how time slips by.¡± (Randal)


    Randal stood from his seat and went over to his desk. There, he opened a drawer and pulled out a silvery card and some kind of big needle. He then approached me and ced both of them in front of me. Huginn and Muninn eyed the shiny objects with a lot of interest.


    ¡°You may not take them, my feathered friends.¡± (Keeno)


    They both ruffled their feathers in dejection.


    ¡°Such an interesting thing, these two. Are they truly normal steelfeather ravens?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not too sure about that anymore myself. I know normal ones are smart, but these two seem a bit too smart.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Ho ho. If even you are unsure, then they MUST be special. But enough about them, I¡¯ll exin what needs to be done. Miss Okami, all you need do is draw blood from the ce closest to your soul with this needle, then let the blood drip onto the card. Worry not, for I shall excuse myself while you do this.¡± (Randal)


    I nodded my head and Randal left the room.


    ¡°Want me to help you? Some people really struggle doing this.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I got it.¡± (Keeno)


    I stood from the seat I was sitting on and removed my shirt. I then picked up the needle and stabbed myself in the chest. It stung a bit, but not enough to really leave any lingering pain of difort. About three seconds after I did this, the needle went from silver to red. I removed it from my chest and tapped it onto the silver card. The card shone for a minute before changing color. It went from pure silver to a mix of blue, ck, and grey. I then put my shirt back on and we called Randal toe back into the room. He sat back down on his seat and picked up my new Guild card.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­Oh ho. So, Okami is your family name, and your actual name is Keeno. And Death magic is quite rare. As for why it¡¯s blue when you have no water affinity is strange. Also, I¡¯ve never heard of a Soul Weapon with such an interesting name. Do you mind if I see it?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Before any of that, I would like to request you keep my first name to yourself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, Little Miss Okami. I won¡¯t pry.¡± (Randal)


    I nodded my thanks to him then nced at Fia. She nodded to me, and I moved my shoulders a little, signaling Huginn and Muninn to move off of them for a bit. Once they moved, conveniently next to something shiny, I opened my hands and wished for my Soul Weapon to appear. This time instead of the gradual manifestation, it was practically immediate. Randal looked at the two swords connected to chains with a serious look on his face.


    ¡°Quite remarkable. These are some of the most unique Soul Weapons I¡¯ve seen in my many years walking this world. And, if you don¡¯t mind aparison, they somewhat resemble Miss Fiametta¡¯s Soul Weapon. Not in shape, but, if I had to put a word to it, quality.¡± (Randal)


    I made my Soul Weapon vanish again and Randal ced the Guild card back on the table and slid it over to me. I picked it up and looked at it.


    Name: Keeno Okami


    Sex: Female


    Race: Kitsune


    Status: Normal


    Magic Affinities: Sr, Death, Illusion


    Soul Weapon: Cerulean Sundes


    I put it away in a pocket after reading it over and making a mental note to ask how to hide things on itter. Fia then took over the conversation and spoke with Randal mostly about the past, but closer to the end of the conversation, they moved onto what I could and couldn¡¯t do with my Guild card.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: So tired. Fia really talks a lot when she¡¯s with friends.


    Luna: That conversation was definitely boring to sit through. But at least Huginn and Muninn were there to help distract you for a while. It¡¯s a shame they can¡¯te here yet.


    OI! Who said you could decide they will eventually!?


    Order: They won¡¯t?


    ¡­I never said that, I just asked why Luna was making arbitrary decisions in our home.


    Order: Don¡¯t be like that. She just took into consideration how flexible you keep rules in here and made an observation.


    ¡­Am I really that loose with the rules in what I allow into our home?


    Luna: Pretty much.


    ¡­¡­


    Order: Hehehe. No need to look so down, I, for one, know you¡¯re only like that when ites to your close friends, so it¡¯s fine. You know I¡¯d step in to mediate things if they start to get out of hand.


    *Nods head in agreement*


    Yeah, you¡¯re right.


    Keeno: ¡­Wow you¡¯re good at that. Though I don¡¯t get why you wanted them to start getting all flirty.


    Luna: It was a teaching moment for you, Keeno. This is just another form of intangible Fluff.


    Keeno: I see. Very interesting.

 Chapter 22- Keeno Okami the Snowfire Princess

    Chapter 22- Keeno Okami the Snowfire Princess


    [Keeno POV]


    Fia and Randal¡¯s conversation dragged on for what felt like forever, but eventually they got back on track with the actual topic.


    ¡°Apologies, Little Miss Okami. Where were we on today¡¯s main topic?¡± (Randal)


    ¡°What a Guild card can be used for.¡± (Keeno)


    I pulled my Guild card back out of my pocket and ced it on the table.


    ¡°For starters, the main thing is identification. You can get in and out of pretty much any city orrge town by showing it. It also has a function that keeps track of how much money you currently have saved away with the Guild. For more specifics, depending on which part or parts of the Guild you affiliate yourself with, it has sub-functions. Since you will most likely sign up as an adventurer soon, I¡¯ll use that as an example. The Guild card will notify you of any emergency quest that happens in the Guild nearest your current location.¡± (Randal)


    It was an impressive amount of things, but it also made me curious.


    ¡°How does all this work?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Randal)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    I looked at both of them, but they refused to match my gaze.


    ¡°Neither of you know?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°More like we never questioned it.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°While I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the case with Miss Fiametta, Guild cards have been around since before I was even born, and they¡¯ve been such a normal thing in my life that I just ept it as part of the world.¡± (Randal)


    Fia sent me a discreet sign that this wasn¡¯t a conversation that should be continued right now, so I decided to try and change the subject. Luckily, Huginn and Muninn stepped in to distract all of us. The two of them finally couldn¡¯t hold back and flew up to Randal¡¯s halo. Just before they could touch it, Fia hopped up and grabbed them.


    ¡°I deeply apologize for that!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ho ho ho. No harm was done, so it¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like I can feel anything through this annoying ring above me head anyway.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°While he is fine with it, some angels aren¡¯t, so it¡¯s best if you teach these two not to do that in the future.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I understand. Huginn, Muninn, I¡¯ll make sure to educate the two of you thoroughlyter.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Squawk!¡± (Muninn)


    With that out of the way and the Guild card conversation concluded, I picked my card back up and was about to put it away when I noticed something that I didn¡¯t before. In the title section, that I assumed would be nk since Fia and Ama reassured me that the Fated One title wouldn¡¯t be seen, was a title that read Snowfire Princess.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Keeno? Why¡¯d you freeze up like that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Why do I have a title called Snowfire Princess?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡°Pfffft!¡±}


    ¡°Hoh.¡± (Randal)


    Ignoring that even Ama seemed amused by this, I doubled down on my questioning.


    ¡°What is this about, and why am I only now learning about it? And how long has this been a thing?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ahahahahahahhaha!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hohohohhohohohhohohohohohohohohohoho.¡± (Randal)


    Since they weren¡¯t answering my questions and it seemed like they were both getting a kick out of it, I decided that I should get them to focus on the matter at hand. I let my heat control slip and the room instantly became hotter. Then, I felt something in my soul yearning to be let out, so I summoned my Cerulean Sundes, and the heat in the room increased even more. It was so hot in the room that the ends of Randal¡¯s beard started to smoke.


    ¡°M-miss Okami, please calm down. I¡¯d very much like my beard to stay unburnt.¡± (Randal)


    ¡°Then, Sir Randal, Miss Fiametta, one of you better start answering my questions. I for one, am feeling quite chilly at the moment, so I may decide to turn up the heat a little bit more.¡± (Keeno)


    Randal¡¯s face broke out into a panicked expression and he started to stammer, though his words were practically nonsense. It seemed like he took a lot of pride in his beard and didn¡¯t wish for it to vanish in a plume of fire and ash. Since whatever noises he was making weren¡¯t helping the situation, Fia spoke up.


    ¡°It¡¯s something that several of the adventurers started calling you about three years ago when you started milling about on your days off from training. The title caught on with other people from the Guild, and it spread from there to the rest of the city. Now, most people call you that, though it¡¯s surprising that you¡¯ve never heard people call you that before. We assumed you knew and just didn¡¯t care about it.¡± (Fia)


    I mulled over her answer for a few seconds before putting my Soul Weapon away and reducing the heat from scorching to mildly toasty.


    ¡°I find that answer¡­eptable¡­for now.¡± (Keeno)


    Randal¡¯s face became visibly rxed once the heat was reduced and his beard was no longer in any form of fiery danger. I then stood up and Huginn and Muninn squirmed their way out of Fia¡¯s arms and flew to my shoulders.


    ¡°Continue your chat if you want, Miss Fiametta, I¡¯m going home and seeing if Lady Pram is free¡­Muninn, stay here and report to meter if these two say anything I will find¡­unsatisfactory about me. Or if they startughing again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Squawk, squawk, caw!!¡± (Muninn)


    Muninn pped its wings once more andnded on Fia¡¯s head before staring at both her and Randal in turn. I nodded in satisfaction and left the room. Making my way out of the Guild, I passed several people who started to whisper. Now that I knew people started calling me by some embarrassing title, I could hear it every time they spoke it. Every time that happened, I made the temperature rise a little bit around those people, just enough to make them slightly ufortable. Once I was far enough outside the Guild, Ama started to speak again.


    {For the record, Keeno, I also assumed you knew about it and didn¡¯t care.}


    ¡®Thing is, Ama, I actually kind of like the title, but I feel like if I didn¡¯t start setting a precedent that I don¡¯t like being arbitrarily called something, then I fear for what the future will bring.¡¯


    {I hate to break it to you Keeno, but as a goddess, things like that are going to happen to you too many times to count, so you¡¯d better get used to it. I mean that with all the love andpassion I can muster, but still, it¡¯s a fact that it will happen.}


    ¡®¡­*sigh* I guess you¡¯re right. But I¡¯m still going to at least try to mitigate it for a while, while I still can.¡¯


    {Fine then. While I still believe you should just let it go, I¡¯ll still support you in your decision.}


    ¡®Thanks, Ama.¡¯


    Chaos Realm:


    Snowfire Princess really is a fitting title.


    Order: Mm-hmm. Snow and Princessing from how she acts, and fire due to how warm it is near her at all times. An actual fitting title for someone. I always thought adventurers had horrible naming sense.


    Luna: I can¡¯t say anything since I agree on the horrible naming sense part.


    Tamamo: Agreed. None of us can name anything well. Except maybe Atmos.


    Order: Honestly, I pictured her to be one of the worst at naming things.


    Tamamo: Nope. That¡¯s why Grey picks up the ck in that department.


    Figures.

 Chapter 23- Magic

    Chapter 23- Magic


    [Keeno POV]


    When I made it back home, I found Pram sitting in front of the door. Before I could even say hello to her, she jumped up when she heard me approach and grabbed me into a tight hug.


    ¡°OKAMI!!!¡± (Pram)


    While wincing a little at her yelling, I moved one of my hands and started patting her head while Huginn was attempting to regain its bnce.


    ¡°Hello to you too, Pram. What did we talk about when ites to you yelling like that when we see each other?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not to do it so loud.¡± (Pram)


    She let me go, grabbed her tail, and hid her face behind it. I chuckled at that.


    ¡°No need to do that, I¡¯m not mad.¡± (Keeno)


    She slowly moved her tail away and then a look of confusion crossed her face.


    ¡°Where¡¯s¡­Hug-¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Muninn?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Keeping watch over Fia. Now, let¡¯s go to the back, I want to show you something.¡± (Keeno)


    A look of intrigue and excitement bloomed on Pram¡¯s face when I said that, and we both quickly ran to the back of the lodge. We both sat down on two tree stumps that we¡¯ve used as chairs for a long time now and Pram looked at me.


    ¡°What are you gonna show me? Is it fun? Is it a new game we can y?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not a new game, but I did manage to manifest my Soul Weapon.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°YAY! Whatisitwhatisitwhatisit!?¡± (Pram)


    I once again made my Soul Weapon appear and stars immediately appeared in Pram¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Ooooooooooooooooo! I wanna touch it, it looks so warm!¡± (Pram)


    She then tried to reach out and touch my swords, but I made them vanish just before she managed to.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what they can do to someone, so I don¡¯t want you touching them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Aww. Wait, does this mean you will finally get to learn magic as well? Have you tried it yet? Can I see it?¡± (Pram)


    {Guess now is as good a time as ever. Since Fia isn¡¯t here, it falls to me to teach you the what¡¯s and the how¡¯s.}


    ¡®I¡¯m all ears, Ama.¡¯


    {Since it¡¯ll be easier to stop you from gaining a dependence on chants, I¡¯ll just start you on chantless magic. Do understand that only people I either bless or, in your case, give my Divine Protection, can use chantless magic. By using it you will stand out a little bit, but with you already being you, it won¡¯t matter in the long run. Anyway, we¡¯ll start with your Sr magic, since it is the one that will be easiest for me to exin to you, and for you to understand.}


    ¡°Okami? Why are you just sitting there looking into space? Can you use magic or not yet?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hang on Pram. I¡¯m trying to figure it out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oki.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehehe, cute. *Clears throat* Back to it then. For you, Keeno, an image should be good. Imagine a ball of fire, and then make your mana build the image. After that it alles down to control of your mana. Your illusion magic will work the same, though that will need a perfectly clear image to work. As for Death magic, I have no idea since it is theplete opposite of my Life magic.}


    I nodded my head and closed my eyes. I did my best to picture a ball of fire that looked like a smaller version of my sun. When I opened my eyes, a ball of blue fire was floating in front of me.


    ¡°How pretty.¡± (Pram)


    I nodded my head and the two of us got lost in staring at the magic fire. Even Huginn was mesmerized, though that could have also just been because it likes shiny things.


    {Oh, this will be fun. It¡¯s time to teach you everything I know about Sr magic. I will have you so proficient in it that you can erase all of Falheim with a snap of the finger! Keeno, I want you to condense that ball of fire to as small as you can make it, then make it float around you slowly. Once you get used to that, increase the speed. Eventually we¡¯ll have you add more, speed them up, and add things that will distract you. Like most of your past training with Fia, it¡¯s all about control and how much you have of it.}


    ¡®Isn¡¯t it too easy? I expected this to be way harder with the way Fia always talks about it.¡¯


    {Well, when I have you rapidly changing the shape of the fireballs while moving multiple of them all at varying speed while also doing my best to distract you, I doubt you¡¯ll find it easy. And besides, this is just the start and the most basic of basic spells. It can get way moreplicated.}


    ¡°Okami, how did you do that? You are supposed to say words for magic to work.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m a bit special. I¡¯ll tell you the secret someday.¡± (Keeno)


    I was content to sit there and practice control like Ama wanted, but I got another idea that would aplish the same thing. I stood up from my stump and looked at Pram.


    ¡°I got an idea, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Uh huh.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to move the fireball, and you have to try to catch it. I don¡¯t mean actually touch it since I don¡¯t want to hurt you, so I¡¯ll make it disappear when I know you are about to catch it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That sounds so fun! Let¡¯s start now, Okami!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehehehe. Ok, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand¡­GO!¡± (Keeno)


    I started to move the tiny fireball around as fast as I could and Pram ran after it. Since I was still extremely new to magic, Pram easily ¡®caught¡¯ the ball. We continued to y like this until Pram was tired out and sat down beforeying her head in myp and falling asleep. I was tired as well since concentrating on magic like I was is very taxing on the mind.


    {¡­One day I will im my rightful spot, on Keeno¡¯sp, so enjoy it while you can, Pram.}


    ¡®Ama¡­no need to be jealous. Hehe. Pram is my friend, not my Fated One. Let her have this since you have¡­everything else¡­I just wish¡­¡­my body¡­was¡­older.¡¯


    {Oh Keeno, don¡¯t think that, we may not be able to do adult things, but you are still cute and the perfect size to cuddle. If you stayed that small forever, I wouldn¡¯t care if we couldn¡¯t do anything else as long as it was you that I¡¯m spending time with.}


    ¡®Mmm. But being small¡­¡­¡­is inconvenient.¡¯


    {Hahaha. Anyway, it¡¯s fine to fall asleep now, Fia and Muninn are almost back.}


    I was pretty much already asleep at that point, so with that statement, the final strand of consciousness slipped.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: And now I¡¯m here.


    Luna: No rest for the fluffy after all.


    Keeno: That¡¯s fair. But I need to ask, how much more do I need to learn?


    Luna: We¡¯ve only breached the surface of it. We¡¯ve covered most of the theoretical aspects of Fluff, so we¡¯ll soon get to the practical part.


    Keeno: Yes!


    Luna: Also, want me to teach you how to cook while we¡¯re at it? If you end up going on a journey, you¡¯ll need to learn since, unless you start out with a decent windfall, then eating out will be unsustainable when you can just hunt something and eat it in the field.


    Keeno: Depends, how good at cooking are you?


    Luna: Fufufu. That¡¯s for me to know, and you to find out.

 Chapter 24- Solar Convergence 2-Fluffy Boogaloo

    Chapter 24- Sr Convergence 2-Fluffy Boogaloo


    [Keeno POV]


    A year has passed since my Soul Weapon manifested and I spent a lot of that time training on how to use it as well as my magic. Fia and Ama have been really hammering it into my head that control is extremely important, to the point where it¡¯s something that they made sure to say at least once a day. I was at the point where I could confidently control seven condensed fireballs simultaneously, making them move around me, each at varying speeds, while making them into different shapes and moving them in different directions.


    Huginn and Muninn also grew a little more and their previous pure ck feathers gained a silvery sheen and the feathers at the edges of their wings grew very sharp. On Pram¡¯s side of things, she has moved on to helping her family in healing small injuries that peoplee to them to heal. But even then, she still makes time toe see me, and I do the same for her. Today was a day that she wouldn¡¯te over, but that works in my favor since it was a special day. Just as the suns were rising above the horizon, one could see that it was just a single sun instead of the usual two. I smiled as my vision faded to ck.


    {Hehehe. Wee back, my beloved Keeno.}


    I reopened my eyes to see Ama¡¯s beautiful ming orange eyes looking directly into mine. The smile on her face contained the warmth of the sun and I couldn¡¯t help but feel my heart skip a beat. If it wasn¡¯t for this child body that still couldn¡¯t really feel anything, I¡¯d probably jump her and start kissing her like she was water in a desert and I was dehydrated.


    {Keeno, I can see the disappointment in your eyes, what¡¯s wrong?}


    ¡°I¡¯m annoyed by my body. My mind and soul know what I want, but my body is holding me back and it¡¯s frustrating.¡±


    {I see. Well, there isn¡¯t anything I can do about that, but like I¡¯ve said before, this is just a short period in your life. And besides, this doesn¡¯t stop us from cuddling together, and I know how much you like that.}


    ¡°Yes, I do very much like that, but I think it¡¯s more I just really enjoy being close to you. Your warmth, smell, presence, Fluff, all of you. It feels like I¡¯m being driven insane, and I love that feeling. It makes me want to keep you all to myself, even going as far as keeping Fia away from you, but I know I shouldn¡¯t do that. I love Fia too much to keep her away. She¡¯s like the big sister I¡¯ve never had in either of my lives. And Pram is cute and a good friend, so I¡¯ll make sure she is happy.¡±


    {Careful Keeno, you¡¯ll make me jealous, talking about other women like that.}


    ¡°Hehehe. The thing is, Ama, I only LOVE you, I may love those two as something simr to family, but that is different that the LOVE I feel for you. I am yours, and yours alone, just as you are mine, and mine alone. And I won¡¯tpromise on that.¡±


    Ama¡¯s smile grew wider, and she pulled me into a tight hug.


    {Honestly, what did I do to deserve such a perfect Fated One? I feel the same as you, Keeno. Though what youck in the power to do, I have in spades, but like you, I won¡¯t keep you ALL to myself. I want you to have friends to rely on and people you can actually call family.}


    I barely heard Ama¡¯s words as I was too upied reveling in her embrace. The feeling of closeness that I only got once a month with her was something that I enjoyed to the fullest and I wasn¡¯t going to let simple words distract me from it. Several hours passed as we enjoyed simply being together as we watched whatever scenery Ama had her home have today. This time, it was a quaint little hamlet with a small stream running through it, the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the trees in small beams and a light mist hanging around. While sitting there, a thought popped into my head.


    ¡°Hey Ama, do you have a Soul Weapon?¡±


    {Naturally. Want to see it?}


    I nodded my head. She smiled and I moved from my ce on herp. She stood up and walked a little away from me. When she was far enough, she extended her arm and a spear I think was called a naginata appeared. Its long handle was a copper color and ended in a gilded de that was veiled in a thin film of orange mes. The heat in the area increased the instant it appeared and when Ama moved it, it was like¡­the best way I can describe it is that everywhere became filled with more life. I could also faintly see waves of magicing off of it like a heat haze.


    {Hehehe. I like that expression, Keeno.}


    ¡°It¡¯s so pretty. And it fits you so well.¡±


    {That¡¯s kind of the whole point of a Soul Weapon.}


    ¡°I get that, but still.¡±


    I stood up from my spot and I summoned my own Soul Weapon. I approached Ama and when I got close enough, my Cerulean Sundes started to audibly hum. Ama¡¯s naginata started to do the same.


    ¡°Um, is this a bad thing?¡±


    {I don¡¯t think so. I think that the Concept of Life in my naginata and the Concept of Death in your swords are just reacting to one another. I mean, one can¡¯t exist without the other, so it makes sense that they would have some kind of reaction.}


    ¡°I never thought of it that way, but at least it¡¯s better than them repelling each other.¡±


    {Why would they do that? Opposites attract, don¡¯t they?}


    ¡°True¡­How do you know that?¡±


    {Keeno, just because this is a world of magic doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t know maism. Alchemists, cksmiths, and several other crafting professions know many things your previous world called science.}


    I felt my face go red with embarrassment. I started to stammer and try to think of an excuse for identally implying Ama wasn¡¯t smart in that way.


    {It¡¯s ok, Keeno. I know you didn¡¯t mean any offence, and even if you did, I wouldn¡¯t hold it against you.}


    While I calmed myself down, the humming of our Soul Weapons stopped. I tilted my head in confusion.


    {Seems the resonance is over.}


    ¡°Did that actually do something special?¡±


    {No. I think our Soul Weapons were just acknowledging each other.}


    ¡°Are they sentient?¡±


    {Nope, but they are technically a part of our souls, so us being Fated Ones as well as the contradicting Concepts that make up part of them caused some resonance. Um¡­think of it like when we first saw each other. We both immediately knew that we were meant to be together, our Soul Weapons were just doing something simr.}


    ¡°I get what you are trying to say, but also not, so let¡¯s just drop the topic.¡±


    {Alright.}


    With that out of the way, an interesting idea popped into my head.


    ¡°Hey Ama, want to spar with our Soul Weapons?¡±


    {Sure, but what brought this on?}


    ¡°Just thought it would be interesting. As you know, I¡¯ve wanted to do this with Fia as well, but she never agrees.¡±


    {Well, her Soul Weapon does produce ever-burning mes. It¡¯s honestly better she doesn¡¯t use it as much as possible.}


    ¡°I get that, but she could at least show it to me.¡±


    {Just give her time, Keeno. Now, how about that sparring match?}


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to it.¡±


    Ama and I walked away from each other until we were a good bit apart from one another.


    {I¡¯ll say this now, but I¡¯m going to hold back to at least your level, Keeno.}


    ¡°I know, it wouldn¡¯t really be a sparring match if you went all out. I wouldn¡¯t be able to do literally anything against you.¡±


    We both chuckled at that and then fell silent. We stood facing each other for about a minute when I made the first move. Iunched into a sprint towards Ama before stomping down hard on the ground a little in front of her. Using my heel as a pivot, I let go of the hilts of my swords and they extended until I caught the chains again. As the momentum from my sprint moved into the pivot, my des flew through the air in a horizontal arc, two electric blue arcs of fire trailing behind them.


    When they almost reached the point where Ama was, she jumped back to dodge them before moving forward again, putting her naginata in the spot where my des would go, causing them and the chains to wrap around the shaft of her naginata. She then pulled hard towards herself. Since my bnce was practically nonexistentbined with her higher strength, I was pulled off my feet and I flew in her direction. Realizing this, she unsummoned her Soul Weapon and caught me in a hug when I reached her.


    {Sorry about that Keeno, I didn¡¯t realize you were that light.}


    ¡°Mmmmmph-mmmhhmmmmhmmmm.¡±


    {I get that you¡¯ve been eating more than you usually have, but that doesn¡¯t mean anything. Remember, lifespans in this world are a lot longer than you are used to, so a mortal body matures slower. You won¡¯t hit a growth spurt for another few years at most.}


    ¡°Hmph!¡±


    {No need to get depressed about that. Now, what do you say to another round?}


    I, reluctantly, let Ama let me out of her embrace as I walked back to the spot I started at.


    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s my goal tond at least one hit on you before the end of the day.¡±


    {I like the enthusiasm, Keeno. But just because of that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to willingly let that happen.}


    ¡°Fine by me, it wouldn¡¯t feel satisfying if you did.¡±


    Like that, we spent the rest of this Sr Convergence sparring with our Soul Weapons.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Makes me wonder, do we also have Soul Weapons?


    Tamamo: I¡¯ve tried seeing for myself, but I¡¯ve had no luck.


    Then allow me to shed light on this. You don¡¯t. It¡¯s a thing that is unique to Keeno¡¯s world. Just like yours has the Abyss of Fluff, Keeno¡¯s has Soul Weapons.


    Order: Not to mention that souls in your world are fundamentally different due to being from a differentyer of the Sea of Chaos.


    Luna: I see. It¡¯s a bit of a shame, but I¡¯m not gonna lose sleep over it.


    Tamamo: Like either of us sleep anyway.


    Luna: True.

 Chapter 25- Intentions

    Chapter 25- Intentions


    [Keeno POV]


    We had stopped our sparring session about half an hour before the suns set. Unlike Ama, I was out of breath and barely holding myself on my feet. The moment I started to copse, Ama basically teleported next to me and caught me.


    ¡°So tired.¡±


    {Hehe. Just rest, Keeno. I¡¯ll tell Fia to give you the day off, so feel free to fall asleep.}


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    My eyes immediately felt heavy, and I was quickly falling asleep.


    ¡°I love you, Ama¡­I had fun today.¡±


    {I love you as well, Keeno. Until next you wake.}


    That was thest thing I heard before traveling to thend of dreams.


    [Fia POV]


    When I got back to the bedroom after taking a bath, I found Keeno was back, and she looked absolutely exhausted. Even then, she had an extremely happy smile on her face which made me chuckle.


    ¡°Hey Rasu, what did the two of you do to tire her out this much?¡±


    {For a lot of the day the two of us sparred with our Soul Weapons.}


    ¡°I see. How¡¯d she do?¡±


    {Decent. She has some of the theory down and she puts it into action well, though she¡¯s still na?ve. She needs more experience in deadly situations, but those wille in time. I think keeping her on the training you have her on will be fine, though I¡¯d also suggest adding some actual sparring to it. We also need to get her used to pressure and bloodlust so that she doesn¡¯t get stunned by it in the future.}


    ¡°All in good time, Rasu. I was nning on doing that when she was a little older. I mean, she should be a little used to it from her prior <em>training, </em>but not to the point where she¡¯d be able to stand toe to toe with some of the powerhouses out there.¡±


    {Or what she wants to do, the ces she wants to go are dangerous.}


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    {Well, she has some sort of idea on what she wants to do when she finally bes independent. I only know about it because she sometimes talks about it through our connection in her sleep.}


    ¡°I get that, but what is it she wants to do?¡±


    {She wants to dismantle the Dead Zones. With all the information we¡¯ve given her about them, she thinks she may be able to absorb the Divinity at their cores.}


    ¡°¡­Does she really understand what that mean? I mean, fully understand the implications? If she does that, she¡¯ll be considered this world¡¯s most evil of beings.¡±


    {I don¡¯t think she does, that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t brought it up with her yet. I don¡¯t know how to approach the subject.}


    ¡°How about you leave it to me? I¡¯ll think of a way to get her to understand, but only when she broaches the subject herself.¡±


    I started to climb into the bed for the night when Rasu had one more thing to say.


    {Oh, and I told Keeno I¡¯d get you to give her the next day off from training. She deserves it for how well she did.}


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    [Keeno POV]


    When I woke up again, my entire body was sore.


    ¡°Amaaaaaaaaaa. Everything hurts.¡±


    {Good morning to you too, Keeno.}


    ¡°You¡¯re too rough, Ama.¡±


    {Hehehehehehe. You¡¯re the one who asked for it, so I just obliged.}


    ¡°Can the two of you stop flirting and acting like you didn¡¯t just spar yesterday this early in the morning.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Booooo!¡± (Keeno)


    {Booooo!}


    ¡°Ugh! The two of you being in sync like that is too much!¡± (Fia)


    {¡°We can¡¯t help it Fia. It¡¯s just how we are. It¡¯s better to get used to it since you¡¯re stuck with us for all eternity.¡±}


    ¡°It¡¯s too early for this.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Well you should get you some coffee.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mph.¡± (Fia)


    Fia begrudgingly got up and left the room.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with her?¡±


    {You were a bit punchy in your sleep.}


    ¡°¡­Guess I need to apologize.¡±


    {She¡¯ll be fine. Anyway, what do you n on doing today?}


    ¡°Well, when I can move and it doesn¡¯t cause pain, I might go and see Pram. Change it up a bit and whatnot. Mess with her brother maybe.¡±


    {Poor child. You know he likes you, right?}


    ¡°Yeah. Honestly, I don¡¯t really know how to get that to stop. Aside from showing no interest, I can¡¯t really force a child to just stop having a crush on me. At least not without ruining my image or my rtionship with Pram or her family.¡±


    {Then I guess just keep showing no interest until his interest passes onto someone else.}


    ¡°I agree, though I do feel a bit bad for him. I mean, his childish attempts are endearing, ineffective, but endearing.¡±


    At this point, Fia came back into the room.


    ¡°Want some coffee, Little Miss Snowfire Princess?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Might as well.¡± (Keeno)


    I tried to sit up, and managed it, but not without feeling like I was swimming through cement. Slowly I climbed out of the bed and, after moving around a bit to get the soreness and stiffness out of my system, walked over to Fia.


    ¡°Sorry for being all punchy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not like it hurt.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Then don¡¯t be such a grump!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe. So, you¡¯re going over to see Pram today?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then have fun.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded to her words and went to get me my own coffee. On the way Huginn and Muninn flew over to me cawing happily. As I drank my coffee, I looked out the window and watched the suns rise slowly. Today, my sun was the first toe up, followed shortly by Ama¡¯s.


    Chaos Realm(Astraea Edition):


    Astraea: Evelyn!


    Evelyn: Astraea!


    Astraea: Today, we shall have a wonderous tea party. And you are the special guest.


    Evelyn: Who else ising?


    Astraea: Me.


    Evelyn: Is this one of those date things mom is always talking about?


    Astraea: I don¡¯t know, I just want some fun, alone time with you.


    Evelyn: YAY!


    Astraea: Hehehehehehe.


    *Time passes as, with parental help, a tea party is set up*


    Astraea: Madame Evelyn, how are you enjoying your tea?


    Evelyn: Very much, Madame Astraea. It¡¯s quite the delicious brew.


    Astraea: Indeed. It goes well with the snacks.


    Evelyn: Indeed, indeed.


    Astraea: ¡­


    Evelyn: ¡­


    Both: Hehehehehehehehehe.

 Chapter 26- Going to See Pram

    Chapter 26- Going to See Pram


    [Keeno POV]


    After a little while of drinking coffee and watching the suns, I went to the bathroom to take a quick bath. Once that was done and I got dressed for the day, I was ready to go see Pram. Just as I was about to leave, Fia called out to me.


    ¡°Keeno, do your best to not lead Pram¡¯s brother on too much.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I ever try to. I deny him any and every time he tries to flirt or whatever you call what he does to try to get me to fall for him.¡± (Keeno)


    {I-}


    ¡°Rasu, no offence, but don¡¯t say anything. Your perspective is of no use here since you have no experience in being a mortal.¡± (Fia)


    {I was just going to say smack him till he stops.}


    ¡°And that¡¯s not how it works. Sure, if Keeno does that enough, he¡¯ll stop, but he¡¯ll also probablye to either fear, hate, or¡­be something else¡­anyway, that is not the answer. In my opinion, the way Keeno is going about it is the correct way. Once he realizes that she holds no interest in him in any other way than friendship, if even that, he¡¯ll move on.¡± (Fia)


    {Ugh. Mortal feelings are so difficult to maneuver.}


    ¡°Um, but if that¡¯s the case, then what is love? Is it not also a mortal feeling?¡± (Keeno)


    {Love is more than that. It¡¯s just the way gods and mortals go about it that¡¯s different. Gods are straightforward with it every time. It¡¯s mortals that make it allplicated and refuse to just state that they love someone from the start. In that respect, you have more of a god¡¯s perspective, Keeno. Though our connection as Fated Ones helps with that.}


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to wax philosophical, you two. Keeno, go on.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯m going. Huginn, Muninn, you twoing with me, or staying with Fia?¡± (Keeno)


    They looked at one another and flew over to my shoulders.


    ¡°¡°CAW!!¡±¡± (Huginn and Muninn)


    ¡°Again with doing that in my ears. Don¡¯t make me let Pram <em>y </em>with the two of you again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°caw.¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°squak.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Hehehehe.¡± (Fia)


    I left home and started making my way over to Pram¡¯s. She didn¡¯t live too far away from us, but it was a big enough distance that we couldn¡¯t be called neighbors. Passing by a few people that were leaving their homes, I greeted them with my usual nods. After a bit I finally made it to Pram¡¯s home.


    It was a big ce, even bigger than mine and Fia¡¯s. There was the main house, and what I always called the clinic, though it looked almost like a church than anything. As I approached, I saw that Pram and her mother were walking over to the clinic. I sped up my pace and when I was close enough, Pram turned to me after hearing my approach.


    ¡°Okami!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hello Pram. I decided toe see you today instead of the other way around.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Good morning, Okami.¡± (Mill)


    ¡°Good morning to you as well, Miss Mill. Is Pram free, or does she have training today?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She¡¯s free today. Ashe is too.¡± (Mill)


    ¡°Oh¡­great.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, he really has no chance, huh?¡± (Mill)


    ¡°Unfortunately for him, none at all. My circumstances aside, Pram would have a better chance than Ashe ever did. And even then, my circumstances AND wants mean Pram has no chance either. However, that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t want to be friends, just no romance between any of us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I had a feeling that was the case, but I just needed confirmation. Now, run along Pram, Okami came all this way to y with you, so you shouldn¡¯t keep her waiting.¡± (Mill)


    ¡°Oki, mama. Let¡¯s go, Okami.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Have a good day, Miss Mill.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The two of you as well.¡± (Mill)


    Pram and I walked over to her back yard.


    ¡°Okami¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Will you be going somewhere one day? Your talk with mama made it sound like it.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled and started to chuckle before moving closer to Pram and patting her on the head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Pram, even if I did go somewhere, I¡¯d be taking you with me.¡± (Keeno)


    She looked at me with shining eyes.


    ¡°Really!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep. I can¡¯t just leave my best friend behind, now can I?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nope! You are never allowed to leave me behind. If you do, I¡¯ll¡­I¡¯ll¡­¡­hunt you down and pull on your tail!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehehehehehehe. I really don¡¯t want that, so I guess I¡¯ll just have to keep you.¡± (Keeno)


    With all that settled, Pram and I started to y one of her many games where we had to chase Huginn and Muninn. Thissted for almost two hours before the inevitable happened.


    ¡°Pram! Where are you!?¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°¡°Ugh.¡±¡±(Pram and Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Caw!¡±¡± (Huginn and Muninn)


    Pram¡¯s brother, Ashe, turned the corner around their home and froze up when he saw me here. He was a tall boy, especially for his age, with the same silver-grey hair as Pram and the rest of their family. His tail was a little shorter and way less fluffy than Pram¡¯s. His face was well featured, and his somewhat stern grey eyes would lead to many girls falling for him one day. To his credit, he was a good-looking guy, but that didn¡¯t mean anything to me.


    ¡°O-Okami¡­¡± (Ashe)


    He flusteredly patted himself down in an attempt to make himself presentable or something before looking back at us.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to see you, Okami. To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence today?¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°Stop imitating an adult, Ashe. And I¡¯m here because Pram is here. There is no rule saying I cannote and see my best friend. Now, leave, you are interrupting our game.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, brother. Go away!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Come on, Pram. Let me join you.¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°Were you noting here looking for Pram for a different reason? Speak it and leave.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Oh yeah. Pram, dad was asking if you were going to help out today, but I see that isn¡¯t the case.¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m busy with Okami, so go away.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­*sigh*See youter, Okami.¡± (Ashe)


    He left, though I did notice how his ears, shoulders, and tail slumped. Several minutester, Pram turned to me and pouted.


    ¡°Dumb Ashe. Okami is my friend, not yours.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, where were we before we were interrupted?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We were chasing lunch one and two.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Caw!?¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caw caw!?¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°They said that their names aren¡¯t lunch one and two.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know, but calling them that makes chasing them so much more fun.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I can¡¯t deny that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Caw!!!¡±¡± (Huginn and Muninn)


    The two of them started to fly from us faster and we leapt after them.


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: You know, they almost remind me of how you and Soleil were.


    Luna: I can see that, though I don¡¯t think Pram sees Keeno as a sister. It¡¯d be cute if she did, but this is also cute.


    Tamamo: True.


    Order: ¡­


    What¡¯s wrong, Order?


    Order: I¡¯m getting a feeling. Are Astraea and Evelyn still here?


    Yeah, I just helped them set up a tea party. That¡¯ll keep them busy for a few days.


    Order: Hmmm.

 Chapter 27- 16 Years Old and Resolve for the Future Journey

    Chapter 27- 16 Years Old and Resolve for the Future Journey


    [Keeno POV]


    Several more years have passed and I¡¯m now 16. The time practically flew by as I trained, had fun with Pram, and trained some more. Other than that, nothing else really happened. I did hit a growth spurt and, ording to Ama and Fia, I now looked like a young princess.


    I was now almost the same height as Fia. I let my hair grow out to the point where I had to wear it in a high ponytail, and even then, it reached my thighs. The blue tips of my tail, ears, and hair had be a little deeper in blue, which stood out even more against the white-silver color. My irises actually started to faintly glow, and the sclera of my eyes became an even deeper ck, increasing the intimidating impression I gave to people who didn¡¯t already know or have gotten used to me. To both mine and Ama¡¯s satisfaction my chest has filled out, so, while still smaller than hers, I am well on my way to rivaling her. Another change is that, while still controble, my body heat increased more, so I¡¯m back to constantly radiating afortable warmth.


    When I turned 15, I was allowed to sign up at the adventurer branch of the guild and on some days when I wasn¡¯t training or having fun with Pram, I¡¯d do some small quests inside the city. During this time, I also really thought about what I wanted to do once Fia went back to whatever it is she did before picking me up. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do, but I needed more information and I wanted to hear Ama and Fia¡¯s opinions.


    When I came to that decision, I made my way back home after finishing another misceneous quest for the Guild. When I got there, I saw Pram standing by the door with her hand raised as she was just about to knock.


    These past few years Pram had also grown a lot. She kept her long, silver-grey hair at a length that ended just above her knees. She had a naturally sleepy look on her face, though that disappeared when she was around people she liked. This came about when she started to try and imitate my public persona, so now when the two of us went around town, we became known as the Snowfire Princess and the Duchess of Ice. Her tail had grown a little longer and even fluffier, though it still fell short to mine and Ama¡¯s. When I called out to her, she spun around and the sleepy look in her facepletely disappeared.


    ¡°Okami, it¡¯s good to see you. I was just about to knock and see if you wanted to do something today.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We can, but there is something I need to talk about. I want you to join in as well.¡± (Keeno)


    She nodded her head and the two of us went inside. I told Pram to go sit in the lounge while I went to find Fia. It didn¡¯t take me long to do that as she was in the kitchen cutting up some meat while Huginn and Muninn watched her with rapt attention.


    ¡°Fia, we need to talk.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll meet you in the lounge in a minute.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded my head and left.


    {Keeno, are you going to tell Pram everything?}


    ¡®nning on it. I feel it¡¯s about time I let her call me by my first name. I don¡¯t like keeping things from her.¡¯


    {Honestly, it¡¯s about time you did this. She¡¯s been able to keep a secret for a while now, so I¡¯m surprised you waited until now.}


    ¡®To be honest, I think I fell into afortable situation where I didn¡¯t want things to change, but now, I think it¡¯s time I start to break that stagnation a bit.¡¯


    {Makes sense.}


    When I made it to the lounge, I found Pram sitting in front of a now lit firece.


    ¡°I know the two of you are almost unnaturally warm, but you should at least light this. If not for its intended effect, at least for the atmosphere.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I have no rebuttal for that. Anyway, Fia will join us in a minute. So, in the meantime, how have you been? It¡¯s been a bit since west were able to meet up.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good. Just a lot of training. Several people are nearing the end of their life, so we¡¯ve been easing their pain. Apparently my Soul Weapon¡¯s sound providesfort to their minds.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I see. Mind if I stop by at some point soon, there are some things I want to see.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That should be fine.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°How¡¯s Ashe been?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Still failing to seduce his new love interest. Though at this point I think she is just messing with him since she clearly likes him as well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°She¡¯s poking fun at his denseness eh? That¡¯s funny.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It is entertaining to watch.¡± (Pram)


    At this point in our conversation, Fia entered the room with Huginn and Muninn riding on her shoulders. When they saw me, they pped their wings and flew over to me beforending on my tail which was sitting in myp. I chuckled at them and started to scratch them on the neck where they liked it.


    ¡°So, Okami, what is it you wanted to talk about?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°First off, Fia, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m going to tell Pram today. After that, I¡¯m going to need you and Ama¡¯s opinion.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°My entire story up to now. But first thing¡¯s first, Pram, feel free to call me Keeno. It¡¯s my first name, Okami is my family name.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno¡­how fitting.¡± (Pram)


    Pram started to smile.


    ¡°Thank you for trusting me with telling me your full name, Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled back at her before continuing.


    ¡°Now, on to the rest of the story.¡± (Keeno)


    Over the next hour or two, I recounted my story. Once I was finished, Pram had a expression with many mixed emotions.


    ¡°There are many things I want to say, but I¡¯m honestly mostly angry. How dare those <em>people </em>treat you like that!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m surprised that¡¯s the first thing you mention. I expected you to be surprised about my rtionship with Amaterasu.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I always felt you were special, so my first thought with that was: ¡®I see, so that¡¯s why she feels so special. Good to know.¡¯¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pfft. Ahahahahaha! I won this bet, Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    {Tch.}


    ¡°Was that the Goddess¡¯s voice just now?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes. How¡¯d you do that, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s my doing. I learned a way to get divine level telepathy to be shared to a small amount of people from Randal. It takes a lot of concentration and mana to do, but it should be fine for this discussion.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°How convenient. Anyway, with the first part done, now it¡¯s time for the real discussion. Fia, Ama, I think I know what I want to do when Ie of age.¡± (Keeno)


    {We¡¯re listening.}


    ¡°I think I want to dismantle the Dead Zones. It¡¯s just a feeling, but I think I can absorb the Divinity there. If I do that, I think it¡¯ll slowly unseal my Authorities and make your job easier, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Keeno¡­¡± (Fia)


    Ama¡¯s silence and Fia¡¯s expression were hard to describe.


    ¡°Keeno, we want you to know that, while we do support you in what you want to do, you need to know the implications of your words. While nothing will really change in countries with no Dead Zone like Solheim, you will be considered one of the most evil of beings in countries with one. Those countries all came to rely on the Dead Zones to an unhealthy degree. They¡¯ve be so reliant on them that, if you take them away, they may even implode on themselves.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {On my side of this, I still think you should go for it. Countries rise and fall all the time, so it¡¯s of no real sentiment to me.}


    ¡°I feel the same as Rasu, though the way I see it, those countries have be TOO used to the benefits of the Dead Zones. But that¡¯s just because we¡¯re old enough to have seen, and in my case participated, in the fall of a few countries.¡± (Fia)


    {Don¡¯t get us wrong, Keeno, like we said, we will support you in whatever you choose to do, but we want to make sure you fully understand and if you can handle being called an Evil of Humanity.}


    I closed my eyes and was silent for a while as I mulled over all of this. I knew that my n would most likely not end well for some ces, but I didn¡¯t think it would be that bad. Thinking about it deeper, doubts started to bloom, but at the same rate, some resolve did too.


    ¡°I¡­I think I can handle it. I mean, I will be the Goddess of Death, so doesn¡¯t that kind of already arbitrarily color me in an evil light? I mean, nobody likes death.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If I may, I¡¯d like to add my input.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Feel free.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, even I know that there are only eight Dead Zones around the world, so wouldn¡¯t that only mean eight ces would consider you evil? I know that most people here that know you like you and wouldn¡¯t care even if you were actually a supreme evil. Isn¡¯t it just a matter of perspective?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s na?ve, Pram. The world is much bigger than just this one city. The countries with Dead Zones are much bigger than Solheim and have way more people living there. Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean EVERY person will think that, but the people who only learn through hearsay, people who don¡¯t care and just feel what therge majority feel, and especially the leaders of those countries WILL think that way. With just them, people that stay undecided or on Keeno¡¯s side while in those countries will be rare.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± (Pram)


    {Oh, I have an idea. Fia, you were just going to go back to monitoring the Dead Zones, Falheim excluded, when Keeno became independent, right? Why not start gathering allies for Keeno for when she gets to those countries? Since Keeno will likely want to travel there on foot and explore the world a bit, you can still help her out, even without actively being with her.}


    ¡°¡­That sounds like a good idea. It will be a bit hard in some ces, but not impossible.¡± (Fia)


    {How about you, Keeno? Do you like that idea?}


    ¡°I do.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then with our part said, you¡¯ll continue with this n of action?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯re going to need to double down on your training. I¡¯m going to make sure you are fully prepared for this endeavor.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Um, Keeno¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Can Ie with you?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you before, haven¡¯t I? If I go somewhere, I¡¯m taking you with me no matter what. Of course, we¡¯ll have to let your parents know that you areing with me, but that¡¯s a future us problem. And if they still deny it, then I simply have to kidnap you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ok, then I¡¯ll double down on my training too. You are probably going to need a good healer to keep you safe, after all.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not that reckless, am I?¡± (Keeno)


    {You kind of are, not that I can say anything. Like me, you are the type to make the first move in a fight, to the detriment of your own safety sometimes.}


    ¡°It¡¯s strategically viable. If you strike first and take the opponent out before they realize it, then you don¡¯t have to worry about anything else.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Keeno, that¡¯s the same kind of mentality were, if you need to do something stealthily, you just get rid of any potential witness first beforepleting the objective.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s also a viable strategy. No one can notice if there is no one TO notice.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, I me you for this.¡± (Fia)


    {HEY! I didn¡¯t teach her any of this!}


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t do anything to fix it either.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­}


    Fia then turned back to me, or more specifically Huginn and Muninn.


    ¡°You two, I expect you to keep Keeno and Pram safe when they finally set out. Be their eyes in the sky and their silent assassins if need be.¡± (Fia)


    The two of them ruffled their feathers in some sort of bird speak that Fia understood. She nodded her head satisfied before standing up again.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and start making a new training schedule for you, Keeno. Go and do whatever it was you were going to do with Pram now, because you won¡¯t have much free time for the next two years.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Pram)


    We stood up and left the lodge.


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: ¡­This is so exciting. It¡¯s so much fun not really knowing what is going to happen.


    Speak for yourself.


    Atmos: I am. You should try it one day.


    I am. I have other friends among Gods of Chaos who I sometimes peek into their Seas of Chaos.


    Order: Oh, like that Crimson person? Or the Envious vampire?


    Yep.


    Atmos: Hmm. Oh, when will Keeno¡¯s world¡¯s God of Fate show up here?


    Whenever he gets around to it. I think at the moment he¡¯s too busy avoiding Amaterasu and Keeno to show up.


    Order: Doesn¡¯t Keeno barely even know he exists?


    Yeah, but Amaterasu does tell her to smack him every time hees up, so that¡¯s likely to be the first thing that happens when Keeno meets him. Anyway, I¡¯m kind of excited to see what¡¯s about to happen.


    Order and Atmos: Oh?

 Chapter 28- Purification

    Chapter 28- Purification


    [Keeno POV]


    Approaching Pram¡¯s home, we noticed a gloomy feel around the clinic. Pram¡¯s expression darkened and she started to run toward the clinic. I followed quickly behind her, and we entered the building. We found Miss Mill and Ashe standing beside the bed of an old human man.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It¡¯s nearly his time. Pram, ring your bell for a while.¡± (Mill)


    Pram shut her mouth tightly and manifested her Soul Weapon. It was a bluish-green bell about the size of a softball. When she rang it, it made a delicate yet solemn tone. The old manying in the bed became visibly more rxed and he started to breathe slower. He opened his eyes one more time and looked at the people that surrounded him. When his eyes met mine, they widened a little more before his expression turned serene. He stopped staring at me and closed his eyes for the final time. As he took hisst breath, I saw his soul leave his body and float over to me before it started to orbit me.


    ¡®Ama, what¡¯s happening right now?¡¯


    {Go outside and get out of sight. Then summon your Soul Weapon.}


    I did as she said and left the clinic. I walked around to the back of the building and summoned one of my swords. The faintly glowing grey orb seemed to be more energetic, and it flew to the edge of the sword. The second it touched the mes, the grey seemed to start burning away until the soul became a pure white and fading away. At the same time, I started to feel a bit fatigued.


    ¡®Ama, what just happened, and why do I feel so tired now?¡¯


    I slowly made my way over to a box that was ced by the clinic and sat down on top of it. I leaned back against the wall and unsummoned my Soul Weapon.


    {You just purified that soul, Keeno¡­I¡­you shouldn¡¯t be able to do that yet.}


    Ama fell into a confused silence before speaking up again.


    {Keeno, go home as soon as you can. We need to discuss this, it might change up our ns for your training in the future.}


    I nodded my head and sat there for a few more minutes before feeling better. I got up and made my way home. When I arrived and walked inside, I went to the closestfy chair and basically fell into it. Hearing that, Fia came into the room from her study.


    ¡°What happened?¡± (Fia)


    {Someone died and their soul started to follow Keeno, she summoned her Soul Weapon and when the soul touched it, it was purified.}


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m d we found this out now. I have to change up the training ns now.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What exactly does any of this mean?¡± (Keeno)


    {In short, that soul you purified has gone back into the cycle. Your Soul Weapons burnt away and purified any corruption the soul had, and in record time. I guess even in its sealed state, the Authority of Death is working as it should. Now, tell us what happened after that Keeno, all I saw was that you almost fell over.}


    ¡°Well, when that soul disappeared after the grey was burnt away, it felt like my mana was used and I felt like I had just finished running all day.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, purifying souls consumes your mana and stamina. Rasu, can you tell the state of Keeno¡¯s soul, or does that only work when you are in person?¡± (Fia)


    {It works better in person, but if I put my full concentration on our connection, then I think I can get a glimpse.}


    ¡°Then please do so.¡± (Fia)


    Ama went silent again and after a few minutes I felt our connection start to grow hot. If I wasn¡¯t already sitting down, I would have fallen to my knees. My senses were being overwhelmed with the feeling of Ama being everywhere around me and it was throwing my body into overdrive to try and replicate what she was doing. After what felt like hours, the feeling went away.


    ¡°*Gasp!* Wh-what was that? It¡­it felt like Ama was everywhere. We¡­we were so close to one another. He. Hehe. Hehehehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, I don¡¯t think you should do that again unless absolutely necessary. I know I¡¯m the one who asked you to do it, but seeing as it put Keeno in this type of state means that she can¡¯t handle this yet either.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­I agree. Even if it onlysted a minute, her soul was trying to match mine, but I did notice something else. While we knew her Authorities were there in a sealed state and that they gave her two of her magic affinities, they are more closely connected than even I realized. Aside from her illusion magic, when she uses Sr or Death magic, she¡¯s basically using the smallest piece of her Authorities she can while they are sealed.}


    ¡°I see. Then we need to focus on control even more?¡± (Fia)


    {Yeah. I don¡¯t know what you had nned, Fia, but scrap it all and put most of the focus on control. Keep the other things she needs to learn as much as possible, but control NEEDS to be the priority.}


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Fia)


    By this point, I had mostly recovered from my daze and decided to ask what they were talking about.


    {Hmmmm. To put it in simple terms, your Sr and Death magic are so closely connected to your Authorities of the Sun and Death that they¡¯ve basically mixed. So instead of using those affinities, you are using the part of your Authorities that you can, granted, it¡¯s basically nothing at all, though it¡¯s more powerful than normal magic, but still, it¡¯s the Authorities all the same. So when you use magic, or your Soul Weapons as catalysts or to purify souls, you are putting pressure on your soul. This, in turn, is refining it and making it stronger.}


    ¡°And since that is the case, your power will only continue to grow as you live and use your magic. This means that you will need to master control over your mana, magic, Soul Weapons, and Authorities if you want to be able to do anythingbat or magic rted and not evaporate your mana and stamina faster than water in a desert in the middle of summer.¡± (Fia)


    {Not to mention that, with what that soul did earlier, if we don¡¯t help teach you how to control all of this, you will be almost instantly incapacitated when you step even a toe into a Dead Zone. Obviously, we don¡¯t want that to happen, so the training Fia was going to give you is now off the table and a new n needs to be made. We¡¯ll handleing up with it, so you just rest.}


    ¡°Alright. Honestly, I¡¯m kind of wiped out right now, so I think I¡¯ll just head to bed.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You do that. If Prames over again and asks what happened, I¡¯ll let her know.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Keeno)


    I slowly got up from my seat and made my way to bed.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: ¡­Really?


    Luna: No rest for the fluffy, Keeno. It¡¯s time to learn how to cook.


    Keeno: ¡­*sigh*


    Tamamo: Now, now, you know that not many can match Luna¡¯s cooking.


    Keeno: Yeah, after trying itst time I want to eat more, but can I not just sleep tonight?


    Luna: Like I said, no rest for the fluffy. You will wake up feeling refreshed, but I need to make sure you know how to cook, because seeing what you and Fiametta eat when you don¡¯t go out is honestly unbearable now.


    Tamamo: And I enjoy seeing Luna in a teaching setting.


    Keeno: See, I have no problem learning to cook from you, but will I even remember it when I wake up, and even if I do, it will just devolve into the two of you flirting.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: Now, to get to work.


    Keeno: ¡­*sigh*

 Chapter 29- Fia鈥檚 Final Test

    Chapter 29- Fia¡¯s Final Test


    [Keeno POV]


    The day after the soul purification incident, I started on my training once again. It was intense, but considering what I wanted to do in the future, it was necessary. Most of my days for the next two years were filled with training of one sort or another, ranging from magic, to swordsmansip, to my Authorities. I also discovered I was getting better at cooking, though I didn¡¯t know how. Anyway, when I wasn¡¯t training mybat skills, I was doing my best to increase the number of souls I could purify before bingpletely wiped out. It helped that I also purified souls of animals and some monsters that I hunted, though it didn¡¯t apply to insects, cementing the fact that they are soulless beings.


    During Sr Convergence, Ama and I spent equal amounts of time sparring and cuddling, though nothing farther than hugs or naps, much to my increasing frustration. Today was the first Sr Convergence since I turned 18, and it was a special one at that. Today Fia was joining me and Ama and was going to spar with me with her Soul Weapon so she could see if I was ready enough to go out into the world. Ama made her home into arge open fieldplete with lots of dry, tall grass that was perfect for burning. It was also justing around to midday, so my magic would be its most potent. I was standing on one side facing Fia with my Soul Weapons at the ready.


    {Fia, don¡¯t hesitate, you know this in one of the only ces that your mes can be snuffed out.}


    Fia nodded her head and held her hand out in front of her. Shortly after that, the shaft of a spear or staff appeared on a burst of golden mes. The butt extended until it reached the ground and the other end went just a bit past Fia¡¯s head. Near the top a circr ring appeared with a shining golden me appearing in the center. Above that ring the de of a spear became visible ending in a very sharp point. On either side of the spearhead were two spikes that looked kind of like a crossguard. While her Soul Weapon didn¡¯t give off the same amount of heat mine or Ama¡¯s did, the temperature around Fia still noticeable increased and the grass around her started to smoke. She swept her Soul Weapon to the side and got into a stance.


    ¡°Ever-burning mes aside, you have a very pretty Soul Weapon, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thanks. Now, let¡¯s see what all the training you¡¯ve done up till now has done.¡± (Fia)


    We both smirked and jumped toward each other. When I was in range of the full length of my chains, I threw one of my swords toward Fia who dodged out of the way. The sword pierced the ground, catching the surrounding grass on fire, and I used that to pull myself in Fia¡¯s direction even faster. Ibined the speed from that while also boosting myself by propelling forward using some fire on the bottom of my feet.


    Seeing that, Fia used her spear as a pole vault just as I passed by where she would have been. I maneuvered myself in a way to preserve my momentum and was about to swing both swords when I found that Fia was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Keeno, what did I teach you about being aware of your surroundings? Even above you.¡± (Fia)


    I looked up and saw Fia floating there with wings of golden mes sprouting from her back. She then waved her spear in front of her and the golden me in the ring shone brighter. Several ming arrows formed in the trail left behind by the spear and aimed at me. I quickly started to move while simultaneously swinging my swords around the grass to get as much to start burning as possible. It was catching fast, but not fast enough for smoke to hide me before Fia started shooting the fire arrows at me. I managed to stay just barely ahead of the explosions the arrows caused when I decided to counterattack with my own fire arrows.


    Several cerulean arrows formed and, through the smoke that had started to get thick, shot toward Fia who still hadn¡¯t left her spot in the sky. To Fia¡¯s credit, her movements were something to be admired.


    ¡°OI! Are you trying to kill me!? Why were those infused with death magic!?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehe. Gotta keep you on your toes! And besides, it works as the perfect distraction.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Crap.¡± (Fia)


    I had run to a tree nearby and used one of my sword¡¯s chains as a grapple tounch myself in the air using the smoke as cover with some added illusion magic. My other chain wrapped around the shaft of her Soul Weapon and pulled. We both approached each other, though I had the advantage due to being the cause of the movement. Just as I was about to strike, Fia unsummoned and resummoned her Soul Weapon and flipped around me, grabbing my hair and swinging me around a few times before throwing me to the ground hard. When I made impact, all the air was knocked out of me and my vision swam with dark spots.


    I recovered quickly, but not before Fia finished making her next move. Her spear was covered in golden mes and she held it in a way that looked like she was going to throw it. Knowing that I wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge that, I started to focus on channeling my mana. When all I could see of Fia was a small shadow being overtaken by bright golden mes, she made a throwing motion and the ming spear flew toward me.


    I kept my calm and channeled all my focused mana into my sword¡¯s chains. I flung both of them forward as far as they would go and the instant I did so the chains started to burn blue. I sidestepped and swung in an attempt to get them to wrap around Fia¡¯s attack and managed it, barely. Pushing my will into the mes, I tried to take over Fia¡¯s attack and make it my own. The gold started to be eaten away and turn blue, but it was too slow and the spear was just about to make contact with me when Ama stepped forward.


    She caught the mes with one hand they vanished like they never existed. The same was the case with all the golden mes burning on the grass and trees. Fianded and walked over to us.


    {Fiametta, you were too rough. If I didn¡¯t heal her the same instant, you would have broken Keeno¡¯s back when you threw her to the ground.}


    ¡°Sorry, I actually panicked a bit there since her attacks were all infused with Death.¡± (Fia)


    {Keeno!}


    ¡°I know. The fire arrows were on purpose, but the other times not so much. I¡¯m still working on keeping the Authorities separate once I mix them in the heat of battle.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s worrying, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    {I agree. I guess I need to double down on that when training you in that area. Now, what¡¯s the verdict, Fia?}


    ¡°Other than that Authority training which is going to take more time, I pass you on everything else, Keeno. I officially clear you to journey forth into the world.¡± (Fia)


    A sense of aplishment filled my chest.


    ¡°Yay! I¡¯m free to roam about as I please!¡± (Keeno)


    I was so excited that, in the heat of the moment I jumped at Ama and pulled her into a tight hug. Over these past two years I had grown some more and now Ama and I were the same height. She hugged me back with one arm while using her other hand to pat my head.


    ¡°Hehehe. Congrattions Keeno, you deserve it.¡± (Fia)


    I let go of Ama and pulled Fia into a hug as well. She hugged me back and while we were in this embrace, the full weight of this situation hit me. My hug for Fia tightened even more.


    ¡°Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It just hit me, but this also means we¡¯re going our separate ways¡­I-I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m fully ready for that.¡± (Keeno)


    Though I couldn¡¯t see her face, I knew Fia started to smile as her arms tightened around me. We stayed like that for several minutes before separating. She looked me right in the eyes with her usual warm, sisterly smile.


    ¡°Keeno, life is full of goodbyes, some permanent, some not, especially for immortal beings like us. BUT, for us, this isn¡¯t thest time we meet. Sure, we¡¯re going our separate ways soon, but we¡¯ll see each other again, it¡¯ll only be a matter of time. You still have so much to see and do. Friends to meet, enemies to make, adventures to go on. Don¡¯t let this small thing stop you at the starting point. And hey, even if we don¡¯t see each other again on your journey, I¡¯ll still see you after you ascend officially. Yes, it¡¯ll be hard not seeing me all day, every day, but you have Huginn, Muninn, and Pram to keep youpany.¡± (Fia)


    {Don¡¯t forget me.}


    I chuckled at Ama¡¯s input and wiped a tear from my eye.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ve taken up too much of your time on this Sr Convergence. I¡¯m heading back to take care of some preparations, feel free to release some of that pent up frustration as you can.¡± (Fia)


    My face flushed tomato red as Fiaughed and left through a shining door. I nced over to Ama who was simrly red. We stood there is silence for several minutes before we turned to face each other. The redness hadpletely vanished from Ama¡¯s face, though her ears continued to twitch nervously. This scene,pared to her usual confident attitude made something in my head snap.


    ¡°Ama¡­¡±


    I could feel my heart race and my breathing became uneven. I walked up to Ama and wrapped my arms around her neck. I pulled her closer to me until our foreheads rested against the other¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯ve wanted this for so, so long. I¡¯ve gone over so many different scenarios in my head ranging from wholesome to borderline degenerate, but I can¡¯t recall any of them right now. All I can think about is wanting to do this right here.¡±


    I didn¡¯t hesitate and brought my lips to Ama¡¯s. It was like a fire was lit inside me and like time had stopped for everything but the two of us. All that mattered was me and Ama. I savored our first kiss. I tried my best to convey all my feelings of love, longing, and gratitude for her in this one gesture. I don¡¯t know how long it was, but Ama soon broke out of her stupor and wrapped her arms around me. She started reciprocating the kiss. The fire inside me turned from a small ze, to a raging inferno, until it reached a critical point and I felt like my body was a true embodiment of the sun.


    Unbeknownst to the two of us, our feelings in this moment caused us to lose all control of our naturally produced heat as well as, in Ama¡¯s case, her Sr Authority. And seeing as her sun was at the forefront of this Sr Convergence, the temperature in the mortal world began to rise at a rapid pace. On our side, ourbined heat started to turn the area around us into a scorched wastnd, going so far as to even turn some ces into ss. When we finally separated and took a look at our surroundings, we were shocked.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {¡­}


    ¡°If just one kiss was enough to do this, what¡¯s going to happen when we finally get to sleep together?¡±


    {Armageddon?}


    ¡°¡­Meh.¡±


    {Pffft. Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!}


    ¡°Hehehehehahahahahahahahahahaha!¡±


    {Ahhhh. Keeno, I love you and your reactions so much. I mean, your reaction to the two of us possible causing the end of the world due to suns is ¡®meh.¡¯ You are just the best.}


    ¡°I try. Sure, I¡¯d feel bad for some people, but aside from them, I just can¡¯t help it. Right now, all that matters to me is kissing you, because that one wasn¡¯t enough. I have 18 years of pent up feelings to get through, and though I¡¯d love to go all the way, I don¡¯t think we have the time for that, as much as it annoys me to say that.¡±


    {Hahahahahahahahahaha. I know how you feel, so let¡¯s continue, because you aren¡¯t the only one that has so many pent up feelings.}


    We brought our lips together again and we kept kissing until I was forced out of the Divine Domain.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    ¡­


    Astraea: ¡­I¡­I want to do that with Evelyn.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Order: Astraea, while I understand, please don¡¯t say things like that in front of your father.


    Astraea: But mama! It¡¯s no fair! Luna and Tama do that all the time! And so do you and Papa! Howe I can¡¯t!?


    Luna: Wait, how?


    Tamamo: Not now Luna. Let¡¯s just leave them alone for now.


    Luna: Ok.


    Astraea: I want to do that with Evelyn!


    Order: Astraea, calm down. Payto, help me out here.


    Astraea, you really want to kiss Evelyn like Amaterasu and Keeno?


    Astraea: Yeah!


    *sigh* Just make sure she consents to it, then just go for it. You are getting mature enough that neither I nor your mother can stop you, so as long as the two of you want it, the do what you want. Just remember that if it progresses farther than that, set up the barrier like we taught you.


    Order: ¡­You are taking this very well.


    I knew it wasing sooner orter, so I just decided that when Astraea finally grew old enough to actually feel these things, I¡¯d support her decisions. Not like I¡¯d stop her and her Fated One from being intimate, that¡¯d just be creepy.


    Order: Fair.


    Astraea: I¡¯m going to call Evelyn over.

 Chapter 30- While the Fox is away, the Phoenix and Leopard will Talk

    Chapter 30- While the Fox is away, the Phoenix and Leopard will Talk


    [Pram POV]


    Today had started out as a normal day. I was just going about helping my family in the clinic since Keeno and Fia wouldn¡¯t be avable. It was about two hours after noon, and I was sitting outside taking a break from the clinic when something started happening. I felt dripping. I was confused since it wasn¡¯t snow, but water. Though I knew what rain was due to Keeno telling me about it, I¡¯d never actually experienced it since all we ever got was snow here. Anyway, I looked around and before long I felt another difference. It was warm, like when I¡¯m around Keeno warm, and it was getting warmer.


    All the snow around me was starting to melt fast and I was getting ufortable in my usual severalyers of clothes. At this point Ashe and his wife came out to see what was up since I assumed everyone inside could also feel something was off.


    ¡°Pram, what¡¯s going on out here? Why is it so hot?¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°Brother, why would I know?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Anyway,e over here, the snow in the tree is about to fall on you.¡± (Ashe)


    I looked up and sure enough the snow above me was about to fall through the branches. I jumped out of the way just as it started falling.


    ¡°That would have been unpleasant. Thanks, brother.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No problem. Still, I wonder what¡¯s going on.¡± (Ashe)


    I nodded my head in agreement with his question. We then turned to go back inside when I heard footstepsing toward us. I turned in the direction of the footsteps and saw Miss Fiametta.


    ¡°I thought you were busy today?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I finished with my stuff, though Okami isn¡¯t. Anyway, Pram, are you free?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I can be.¡± (Pram)


    I looked over to Ashe and he nodded and went inside again.


    ¡°Pram, I need to talk to you, soe with me.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded and we went over to her and Keeno¡¯s home. We sat in the lounge while Huginn and Muninn were sleeping on their perch.


    ¡°Before we get to what you want to talk about, do you know why it¡¯s getting progressively hotter today?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Rasu and Keeno are having some ¡®fun¡¯, so Rasu¡¯s heightened mood is probably causing her Sun Authority to literally heat up. It¡¯ll go back to normal by tomorrow.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehehe. No need to be so embarrassed, Pram.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I-I¡¯m not embarrassed my best friend is climbing the stairs to adulthood or anything. Why would I be? It¡¯s not like¡­*ahem* Anyway, Miss Fiametta, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving soon, and Keeno probably will shortly after. I¡¯m letting you know now so that you can get your own affairs in order so you can join her.¡± (Fia)


    My mind went nk.


    ¡°Leave?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. Explore the world, eradicate the Dead Zones, probably smack around her birth givers a bit, make more friends. And I know she said she was taking you with her, and that thought process was only made more into fact with Rasu constantly telling her to do so.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s just¡­leaving everything behind¡­it¡¯s hard to imagine.¡± (Pram)


    Miss Fiametta got up from her seat and walked over to me. She ced her hand on my head and started patting me.


    ¡°I get it, Pram. You¡¯d be leaving everything you¡¯ve ever known behind. It¡¯s a hard thing for people to do, and trust me, I¡¯ve had to do it plenty of times. But you need to remember, and this is something your family will also tell you, this will always be your home and it will still be here when you get back. I know you are one of the people that are able to ovee this small hurdle and live a more exciting life. And besides, with Keeno around, you¡¯ll have a lot of excitement.¡± (Fia)


    I remained silent for several minutes as Miss Fiametta continued to pat my head. When she stopped and I looked up at her, she was smiling at me.


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go tell everyone that I n on following Keeno and get ready.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Good, but I think you should stay here at least until night. It¡¯s getting hotter than you are used to, even being around Keeno, so you may want to stay inside for the time being. While we¡¯re at it, I¡¯ll give you some things that you¡¯ll need eventually since both Keeno and I have been preparing for this time toe for a while now.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°The two of you even have things for me?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Like Keeno has said before many times, she¡¯s going to take you with her, even if it means kidnapping you. Naturally, she¡¯d have things like sets of clothes for non-Solheim weather and some basic equipment prepared for you just in case.¡± (Fia)


    I didn¡¯t know what to say. I wasn¡¯t really too surprised since I knew Keeno well enough to know she was serious about taking me with her, but I was still a bit taken aback at just how prepared she was.


    ¡°Hehehe. Pram, this is normal for a person like Keeno. Even if it was for less time than she spent here, she was born in a ce that forced her to always n for things like this. It got ingrained in her mind unconsciously to prepare for escape at any moment.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmm. Miss Fiametta, how much longer are you staying here?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°A few days to a week at most. If I¡¯m going to make sure Keeno will have allies in countries with Dead Zones, I need to leave as early as possible.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What about Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That is up to her. I know she probably won¡¯t leave before me, but I don¡¯t expect her to stay longer than a month. She¡¯s been a bit overexcited to start seeing the world atrge and I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be able to sit still much longer.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Alright, then I also have time to get things in order¡­Hehe. Now I¡¯m kind of excited. I wonder what ces that aren¡¯t constantly covered in snow are like?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehe. There¡¯s the normal Pram. Now, enough of this serious talk, want to make a bet?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What kind of bet?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°How much snow is going to be melted by the end of the day.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmmm. I say all of it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°All the way, eh? Then I think that a good three quarters of it will be gone, but thest bit will be stubborn. Hear that Huginn, Muninn? We¡¯ll be counting on the two of you to report the result of the bet.¡± (Fia)


    Muninn continued to sleep while Huginn let out an annoyed sounding squawk.


    ¡°OI! I know for a fact Keeno didn¡¯t raise the two of you to talk like that. Take it back or I¡¯ll feed you to Pram.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Squawk caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°What have I told you about calling me a spicy chicken!? I¡¯ll show you chicken!¡± (Fia)


    Miss Fiametta jumped up and ran over to Huginn who pped its wings, and it flew around to avoid Miss Fiametta. I silently watched the two of them run and fly around for a bit before Huginn was finally caught.


    ¡°CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Shush you.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Spicy chicken. Go preen yourself outside for a bit, see who¡¯s spicy then.¡± (Fia)


    She approached a window and opened it before tossing Huginn outside. I felt the wave of heate inside before Miss Fiametta shut the window again.


    ¡°*Phew* It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve felt some serious, summer-like heat. Since this is probably a worldwide event, I feel bad for those people that live that desert.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, will this be a normal thing that happens every month now?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Probably not. It¡¯s only like this since it¡¯s their first time letting loose all the pent up desires they have, after this will be way less noticeable.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehe. If I¡¯m going to miss one thing about this, it¡¯s making you and Keeno into tomatoes when I say something to embarrass you.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Why would that be the thing you miss!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because it¡¯s the privilege of the big sister to embarrass her little sister and her little sister¡¯s closest friend.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That makes no sense!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehehehehehe.¡± (Fia)


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Well, I knew it was happening, but will that massive heat wave cause any trouble to that world?


    Not really. The Sun Spirits are actually handling it was better than I expected. I¡¯d be more worried about Huginn.


    Order: It¡¯s getting what it deserves. It¡¯s rude calling ady something she doesn¡¯t like.


    I agree. Sure, I found it funny, but calling her that twice was too far.


    Order: Agreed.

 Chapter 31- Amaterasu鈥檚 Proposition

    Chapter 31- Amaterasu¡¯s Proposition


    [Keeno POV]


    The rest of my time spent with Ama was honestly a blur since all that either of us cared about was the feeling of our lips on one another¡¯s. By the time I regained my awareness of myself, I wasying in my bed.


    ¡°Ama, how long have I been in a daze?¡±


    {Less than five minutes. Stupid time limit keeping the two of us away from going any further.}


    ¡°I agree, but we just need to manage with the hand we are dealt.¡±


    I got up from my bed and stretched. I walked over to the window and immediately felt the very pleasant heat.


    ¡°Ama, it¡¯s kind of hot down here.¡±


    {Hmm.}


    Ama went silent for a few minutes.


    {Keeno, we might actually cause Armageddon when we sleep with each other. The Sun Spirits were able to avert any actual damage this might have done, but the heat both of our suns are putting out is nearly enough to damage the world. And all of this is just because we kissed for the first time.}


    ¡°I¡¯m not worried. When that timees, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to keep your mind enough to prevent that from happening.¡±


    {Hehehe. Now I have to do that since you have so much faith in me.}


    I chuckled at Ama¡¯s words and would have happily continued chatting with her, but I was interrupted by my stomach growling.


    {Someone¡¯s hungry.}


    ¡°That¡¯s upsetting, I don¡¯t want to lose the taste of your lips.¡±


    {Keeno, go and eat, my lips will always be there for you to taste again.}


    ¡°Says the one that doesn¡¯t need to eat.¡±


    {Hehehehehehe.}


    I quickly changed my clothes and left my room. I made it to the kitchen and whipped up a light snack before walking to the lounge. There I found Fia and Pram chatting about something.


    ¡°Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°KEENO!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Wee back. So, did the two of you have fun?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°We did, though we didn¡¯t go all the way. All we did was kiss.¡± (Keeno)


    At those words, Pram¡¯s face became tomato red and Fia chuckled a little before full realization of what I said hit her.


    ¡°Wait, it got that hot outside due to the two of you only kissing!?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, we know, Ama is going to work on it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°For the sake of the world I hope so!¡± (Fia)


    Fia was yelling so loud that both Pram and I had to cover our ears and Muninn nearly fell from its perch. That was when I noticed it.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Huginn?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Crap.¡± (Fia)


    Fia jumped up from her seat and ran over to one of the windows, practically threw it open, and looked around frantically. She then reached out and grabbed something and pulled it inside.


    ¡°Come on,e on¡­*sigh* Still alive.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Did you just¡­Did you just pull Huginn inside? Where you trying to cook it!?¡± (Keeno)


    I ran over to Fia¡¯s side and grabbed Huginn out of her arms. I then moved over to Pram and knelt down next to her.


    ¡°Pram! Help!¡± (Keeno)


    Pram held her hands over Huginn.


    ¡°Oh, light of healing and Life, grant this poor soul your blessing as you restore what was lost.¡± (Pram)


    A soft greenish-white light appeared on Pram¡¯s hands, and it covered Huginn. About a minuteter, it started stirring.


    ¡°C-caw?¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°HUGINN!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Careful, Keeno, you don¡¯t want to crush it with a hug.¡± (Pram)


    I loosened my hug on Huginn before turning and ring at Fia.


    ¡°Fiametta, exin.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fiametta)


    ¡°It started when we made a joke of a bet and Miss Fiametta asked Huginn and Muninn to help keep track of it. Muninn kept sleeping and Huginn decided to call Miss Fiametta and spicy chicken. She got mad at that, they chased each other, and when Huginn was caught, she threw it outside and promptly forgot about it. Though I feel I share some of the me since I forgot as well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to forget, I just lost track of time while we were talking.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s a bad habit you have, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW!!!!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Yes, Huginn, I¡¯ll make it up to you before I leave. How does some really fancy meat sound?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°C-caw, caw caw, squawk caw.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll have it done tomorrow.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°When did you learn such shady merchant-like tactics?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw squawk!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, howe I¡¯m the only one here that still doesn¡¯t understand them?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Dunno.¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry, Pram. It¡¯ll happen eventually. Just give it more time.}


    ¡°And where did you go, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {I was getting my sun back to normal.}


    ¡°Ah. What do I need to do?¡± (Keeno)


    {The Sun Spirits for your sun have it managed.}


    ¡°Rasu¡­¡± (Fia)


    {I know, Fia, I¡¯m going to work on it.}


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Fia)


    It was then that Pram let out a small yawn.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s time for me to head home. Oh, but before I do, Keeno, Miss Fiametta told me about the things you got for me for our journey. Thank you for that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Think nothing of it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, speaking of journey. Rasu, shall I call this mission aplished?¡± (Fia)


    {Huh?...Oh! *Ahem* My Apostle of the Sun, Fiametta Okami, I dere your missionplete. I also have a new one for you to begin at your leisure.}


    ¡°I listen and obey, Oh, Goddess, Mine.¡± (Fia)


    {Go to the countries with Dead Zones and find people willing to be my Fated One¡¯s allies in her journey to dismantle the Dead Zones.}


    ¡°Your Will be done, Oh, Goddess, Mine.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {Ah! Hehehe. Pram Kan, I, Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun, Life, and Magic offer you a Trial. Seed and I shall appoint you as Apostle of Life.}


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Eh?...Um? What is the Trial?¡± (Pram)


    {Go, journey with my Fated One, Keeno Okami, and dismantle the Dead Zones. I shall dere the Trialplete after you dismantle all of them.}


    ¡°Um, um¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ama, what is this about!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, are you sure?¡± (Fia)


    {Yes, I¡¯m sure, Fia. And Keeno, I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a while now. While I know you wanted to ask Pram to be your Apostle, she doesn¡¯t have any affinity that matches your Authorities. However, her healing magic is attuned to my Life Authority. I just figured I¡¯d get things going while we were being all serious about the uing journey.}


    ¡°¡­I see. Well, Pram, are you going to decide now, or think it over for a bit?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rasu, this is a lot to put on a child¡¯s shoulders.¡± (Fia)


    {Calm down, Fia. This Trial isn¡¯t as intense as yours was, and she doesn¡¯t have to do it alone, as I stated in the deration.}


    ¡°Well obviously! There aren¡¯t any Fiends around for her Trial to be as intense as mine! Rasu, you realize that she still has her family, what will the immortality do to her when she outlives all of them? Did you think of that?¡± (Fia)


    {Is that a problem?}


    ¡°For mortals it is.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­I see¡­}


    ¡°Um¡­I¡­I ept the Trial.¡± (Pram)


    Fia was shocked at Pram¡¯s words and quickly turned to face her.


    ¡°Pram!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Miss Fiametta, I understand your concern, but I still ept the Trial. I mean, think about it, I¡¯ll be the Apostle of Life, and I¡¯m the best and closest friend of the Goddess of Death. Wouldn¡¯t it be easy to either keep my family alive forever, either in their bodies or as souls?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Pffft!¡± (Keeno)


    {Heh. Haha. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!}


    ¡°¡­Does it really work like that?¡± (Fia)


    {If either I or Keeno says so.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    Fia¡¯s face gradually turned red as she got embarrassed over just how worked up she was over this subject.


    ¡°Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.¡± (Fia)


    I held my hand up and Pram reciprocated,pleting the ritual know as ¡®high-five.¡¯ She then yawned again.


    ¡°I really should head home.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Meh, just stay the night. It¡¯s not like you haven¡¯t before.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Is that fine, Miss Fiametta?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Come on, Pram, get ready for bed and I¡¯ll help brush your tail.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll brush yours as well and you can tell me what it¡¯s like kissing.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oki.¡± (Keeno)


    We left the still embarrassed Fia to get ready for bed.


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: ¡­


    What¡¯s up with you?


    Atmos: I have a bad feeling. What¡¯s this worlds God of Fate named again?


    Phobos.


    Atmos: May his¡­nope, that won¡¯t work either.


    Wait, is your Authority working on this world?


    Atmos: No, it¡¯s just my intuition. Phobos is going to make the same mistake I did early on with Luna and Tamamo.


    Order: What mistake?


    Atmos: Let me regale you with the tail of that time.

 Chapter 32- Fia鈥檚 Goodbye

    Chapter 32- Fia¡¯s Goodbye


    [Keeno POV]


    I woke up the next morning just as the suns started to rise above the horizon and cast their light on freshly fallen snow. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I looked out my window.


    ¡°¡­Still sleepy.¡±


    {Then go back to sleep.}


    ¡°¡­Too boring¡­food.¡±


    I, unhappily, got up from my bed, threw on whatever I hadying around, and left my room. I slowly made my way to the kitchen and, after several minutes had a fresh cup of coffee steaming in my hands.


    ¡°Hot coffee¡­bliss.¡±


    {And in three, two, one.}


    ¡°Keeno¡­coffee¡­please.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Made.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mm.¡± (Fia)


    Fia sat down in front of me, hunched over another cup of coffee.


    {The two of you are so simr, I¡¯m kind of jealous.}


    ¡°Ama¡­all mine¡­no need for jealousy.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe.}


    Fia and I both nursed our coffee as we usually did in the morning as we stared out the window. I finally truly woke up a few minutes after finishing my coffee.


    ¡°¡­This may be a problem in the future. If I can¡¯t actually wake uppletely, then I fear for mine and Pram¡¯s safety while traveling.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. You are only ever really like this when you have thefort of your own home. You aren¡¯t like this when I¡¯ve supervised you during camp out quests from the Guild.¡± (Fia)


    {She¡¯s right, Keeno. As much as it pains me to say it, when you camp out, you return to how you would sleep when you two were escaping Falheim.}


    ¡°Hmm. Guess things like that never truly go away.¡± (Keeno)


    We were about to continue the conversation when a sleepy Pram entered the kitchen. She was still walking around in her pajamas and she was nibbling on her tail. She slumped down in a chair while staring out into space, not really seeing anything.


    ¡°Cold again¡­find Keeno for warmth¡­fluffy tail.¡± (Pram)


    I chuckled at Pram and Fia did the same, though she also sounded a bit forlorn.


    ¡°I really am going to miss this. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve actually felt at home somewhere.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Says the one who keeps saying this is a part of life and that you¡¯re used to it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just because all of that is true doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t miss it.¡± (Fia)


    {By the way, Fia, where are you heading first?}


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to head to Vanir. It may not be the closest to Solheim, but it will be the easiest to get some allies for Keeno. Especially since there is one family there that owes me.¡± (Fia)


    {Ah. Those wolves, eh? Good idea. And when are you leaving?}


    ¡°Most likely today. I got all my preparations finished way faster than I thought I would, so it¡¯s best I get going.¡± (Fia)


    I almost dropped my cup. Even if I was prepared for it, it still came as a shock to me that Fia was leaving so soon.


    ¡°That reminds me, I have something for you, Keeno. I¡¯ll go get it real quick.¡± (Fia)


    Fia got up and left the kitchen.


    ¡°Keeno? What¡¯s wrong? And how did I end up in here?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You walked in here, Pram. You¡¯ve been sitting there for several minutes. Also, Fia is leaving today.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I see¡­Should I give the two of you some time to yourselves?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You being here is fine.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram nodded her head and I sunk into my thoughts. I was never good at things like this, even in my previous life. Before I could sink into some unhappy thoughts, Fia returned carrying a small box in her hand. She ced it on the table and slid it over to me. I stopped it and opened the lid. Inside was a silver ring simr to the one she always wore.


    ¡°Is this?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. It¡¯s a storage ring. Did you think I¡¯d let you go it alone without one?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°A little. I kind of expected to go about getting one the normal way, though I¡¯m notining.¡± (Keeno)


    I took the ring out of the box and slid it on my right-hand index finger. I then channeled some mana into it and it resized itself to fit perfectly. I put a little more mana into it and a list popped up in my head. I wasn¡¯t expecting there to be anything inside, but when I saw there was, my eyes went wide.


    ¡°F-Fia, isn¡¯t this a bit much?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not at all. Honestly, I hope you never have to use them, but they will be there just in case you need them.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What is it?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Phoenix feathers. Three of them.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram¡¯s eyes also went wide.


    ¡°A-aren¡¯t those something only rulers of big kingdoms have? Don¡¯t they have the power to revive the dead?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes and no. They can¡¯t revive the dead, they have enough healing power to put someone in a state just before death and that onlysts a short time so someone can help the injured person to someone with better healing. As for the rulers having them, I¡¯ve only given them to like, three, and that was so long ago that the feathers have lost their healing properties and are now only pretty decoration.¡± (Fia)


    I couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore and tears welled up in my eyes. I jumped up from my seat and pulled Fia into a tight hug. I heard her chuckle a bit and she hugged me back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Keeno, like I¡¯ve said before, this isn¡¯t thest time we¡¯ll ever see each other. This is just a temporary parting.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I know¡­I know, I¡¯m just not good with partings like this¡­Fia, stay safe. If you somehow end up dead, I¡¯m going to bring you back to life and smack you on the head.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t kill me off so easily! I¡¯ll have you know that, as a phoenix, I¡¯ll just revive!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    Fia and I kept hugging for a little longer before we let go.


    ¡°Alright, since Fia is leaving today, I¡¯m going to make a feast of a breakfast. Pram, get ready to help me, Fia, go get Huginn and Muninn, and don¡¯t forget your promise to Huginn.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, yes, ma¡¯am!¡± (Fia)


    {What about me?}


    ¡°Ama, be the hottest moral support ever!¡± (Keeno)


    {Easy! I¡¯ll be so hot, you¡¯ll end up naked with only an apron!}


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that for youter!¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes!}


    Like that, I started to make a big breakfast feast for Fia¡¯s parting party.


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: Luna.


    Luna: Yes, I¡¯ll do that for youter.


    Tamamo: Good. In return, I¡¯ll wear one of those button up, long sleeve shirts.


    Luna: Yes!


    Order: ¡­


    ¡­


    Luna and Tamamo: Don¡¯t judge us.


    Payto and Order: Why would we?


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Everyone: Hahahahahahaha!

 Chapter 33- Preparations before the Start of the Journey

    Chapter 33- Preparations before the Start of the Journey


    [Keeno POV]


    When I was done making breakfast, we had gone through almost half of our pantry. I had made so many dishes, though most of it was meat, ranging from this world¡¯s version of bacon, to sausages, to eggs, to omelets, to biscuits, and more.


    ¡°Hahaha. I really outdid myself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You really did. How am I going to be able to move after eating all of this?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care. Now, we eat.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram and I started to pile our tes with meat.


    ¡°HEY! I want some of that too!¡± (Fia)


    We all enjoyed the food, apanied by fun conversation. However, as all fun things do, the party came to an end all too soon. After cleaning everything up, Fia and I stood outside the front door.


    ¡°Keeno, these past years have been amazingly fun and something I will never forget. I want you to take care, keep Huginn and Muninn out of trouble, protect Pram, and all those other things.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°And you remember that this is always your home. I know we¡¯ve talked about what to do with this ce after we both leave, but still. If you ever need a break from traveling,e back here. I¡¯ll do the same, when I¡¯m able to freely use the Gates.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Fia)


    Fia smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back. We stayed like that for several minutes before reluctantly parting. Fia brought her hand to my head and ruffled my hair.


    ¡°See you around, little sis.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Same to you, big sis.¡± (Keeno)


    With a bright smile, Fia turned around and walked away. I stared at her back as she went until I could no longer see her. I then turned around and walked back inside. Huginn and Muninn flew over andnded on my shoulders before rubbing their heads on my neck.


    ¡°Hehe. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    I went to the lounge and slumped into a chair. Pram soon came into the room from behind me and sat across from me.


    ¡°You good?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I will be, yeah.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    We sat in silence for a minute when Ama spoke up.


    {So, Pram, how are you with survival skills, traveling, andbat?}


    ¡°I¡¯ve learned at least how to camp out, though it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve done so. I know most medicinal and poisonous nts, and I¡¯m aplete amateur atbat.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Then how about we get you a mace? No real skill needed to use it, just swing it and use the heavy end to hit an enemy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I realize fighting is going to happen, but are you sure you want me to fight as well? I¡¯m a healer after all.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°There will be times when I won¡¯t be able to help you. Things change quickly in a fight, so I want you to at least be able to defend yourself. Alright, I have a n now.¡± (Keeno)


    {Do enlighten us, Keeno.}


    ¡°We spend some time here getting Pram used to both camping out and fighting, then when we all agree she is able to fend for herself to a good extent, we head out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sounds like a n. Just please bear with me in the beginning.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Take as much time as you need. We¡¯re not in any real hurry, though personally I¡¯d like to leave before the year is over.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I won¡¯t waste that much time.¡± (Pram)


    {Then it¡¯s settled. First things first, find Pram a weapon for all her bludgeoning needs.}


    ¡°Yep. Then we get her signed up with the adventurer part of the Guild and take a few quests that will keep us out for a few days. Pram, let¡¯s go tell your family and get started.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Pram)


    We got up and left. After making our way to Pram¡¯s home, we entered the clinic. We found Pram¡¯s mom sitting at a desk in the back of one of the rooms putting several leaves into a mortar.


    ¡°I¡¯m back mom, and I¡¯ve brought Okami.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Wee back. And it¡¯s good to see you again, Okami.¡± (Mill)


    ¡°Mom, we need to talk.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh? Is it about how you want to travel the world with Okami?¡± (Mill)


    ¡°How did you know?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m have eyes, Pram. I¡¯ve always known you¡¯d want to follow Okami, even if she left Solheim. I won¡¯t stop you and I actually encourage it. Though, and this is words for you as well, Okami, I want you to stay safe. Some ces aren¡¯t as nice as Solheim. Don¡¯t follow bad men or women to shady ces. And, and this is most important, next time youe back here, bring someone I can dote on, be it a boy or girlfriend.¡± (Mill)


    I burst intoughter and Pram¡¯s face turned tomato red.


    ¡°MOM!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hahahaha. You two have fun and go, let me deal with your father and brother.¡± (Mill)


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of her, Miss Mill. We¡¯ll still be here for a while to get Pram used to camping out and traveling in general.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that, Okami. Same to you, little birds, keep those two safe.¡± (Mill)


    Huginn and Muninn ruffled their feathers in agreement.


    ¡°Good. Oh, doe and say goodbye when the two of you finally leave. I¡¯ll have some things to give to Pram.¡± (Mill)


    We both nodded and left for the Guild. Outside the clinic, Pram spoke up.


    ¡°That went better than I expected it too.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I expected Ashe to burst into the room and start trying to convince you to stay before being dragged away by the ear by his wife.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She would have gone with the tail.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s how you get him to stop doing things¡­Did we bully him too much?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nah. He yed along more than you realize.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Funny, all I really remember was us pulling pranks on him when we weren¡¯t too busy ying with each other or when he was trying to flirt with me in a childish way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You realize we¡¯re both terrible at hiding things like pranks, right? He noticed them every single time but let himself get caught.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­He has earned my respect.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued to chat about random things as we made our way to the Guild.


    Chaos Realm:


    Amaterasu: ¡­I have an annoying premonition.


    Atmos: Same. Though mine is more along the lines of I¡¯ve been in the situation before.


    Well, all I will say is Phobos isn¡¯t going to make the best first impression on Keeno.


    Amaterasu: Ok, I¡¯m going to go seal him real quick. Then he won¡¯t be able to do anything.


    Please don¡¯t. Your world still needs him unsealed for the moment.


    Amaterasu: Then let me know the instant he isn¡¯t required.


    Atmos: So, the birth of a new istion room is about to happen. How fun.


    And this time, it¡¯ll most likely work as intended.

 Chapter 34- Pram鈥檚 Training and an Interruption

    Chapter 34- Pram¡¯s Training and an Interruption


    [Keeno POV]


    The easiest part of Pram¡¯s pre-journey training was getting her Guild card registered in the adventurer branch and getting her a mace. Turns out, there are several different kinds of bludgeoning tools avable for several different purposes. They ranged from hammers to morning stars, to ils, to cudgels. There was even something that looked suspiciously like a steel baseball bat and one that was just a big rock on a stick. Although I didn¡¯t need one, I bought the baseball bat looking weapon while Pram got an iron cudgel that was heavy enough for her to do some damage, but light enough that she wouldn¡¯t get tired from just carrying it around.


    After getting all of the prerequisite shopping and quest epting done, we left the city and went to the forest nearby. Most of the quests we picked up were ones for gathering nts and exterminating small monster dens. I had been making good use of the storage ring Fia gifted me, so it looked like we were traveling extremely light. The usual gate guard waved both of us through after we exined we¡¯d be back in a few days and we were off.


    It took some time, but we finally made it to the forest. We traversed to the ce I usually went when I came here and I immediately started to set up a small base near my usual campfire spot.


    ¡°So, this is where you usually go when you trained and hunted out here? It isn¡¯t as deep into the forest as I imagined it would be.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°This is just one of the spots I frequent. Speaking of, Huginn, Muninn, you know what to do.¡± (Keeno)


    The two steelfeather ravens ruffled their feathers and took off from my shoulders. They both flew in opposite directions and disappeared into the trees.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be back in a bit to report on anything interesting or of note.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see, so is this the part where I refresh my memory on setting up camp?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We can do that another time, I want you to take some practice swings with your cudgel. Get used to the weight, maybe smack a few things with it. I¡¯m not really sure how you use something like this, so what could it hurt?¡± (Keeno)


    {A lot of things actually. While I didn¡¯t mention it earlier since I think a weapon like this fits Pram, they can be somewhat unwieldy when not used to it.}


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be careful, and if I hurt myself, I¡¯ll just heal myself.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Speaking of healing, Ama, isn¡¯t it about time you let Pram use chantless magic?¡± (Keeno)


    {She already can. One of the perks of being a potential Apostle of mine is chantless magic and the ability to speak with me like this. Of course, if she fails the Trial, refused it in the first ce, or gives up, then she¡¯ll lose these perks.}


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask why I could still hear you even though Miss Fiametta isn¡¯t here anymore.¡± (Pram)


    {I thought I exined this already? Anyway, Keeno can teach you to process for chantless magic while you two are out here.}


    ¡°Ama, you are the literal Goddess of Magic.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, but did you consider I want to see what you look like teaching? Let me have my fantasies, Keeno!}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehe. I think I know what you just imagined.}


    ¡°Would you two please stop flirting!? I¡¯m right here!¡± (Pram)


    {¡°No offence, but you are going to have to get used to it.¡±}


    ¡°¡­So, this is what Miss Fiametta was talking about. *sigh*¡± (Pram)


    Pram just heaved an exasperated sigh and turned to start her training. Like that almost a month of us going back and forth from the city and the forest to get Pram used to a life of travel andbat. At first she wasn¡¯t very proficient with her cudgel, but after being put in several somewhat dangerous situations with bigger animals and one or two bears she got a shaky handle on her weapon. Today was our rest day before we made our final preparations to leave Solheim. Pram went back to her home to say her farewells to her family while I was sitting on my bed waiting for the suns to rise so I could finally get to see Ama again. The second the first ray of light breached the horizon, briefly lost consciousness. When I came to, I saw Ama standing in front of me, and to say her wardrobe, orck there of, made me nearly lose any reasoning I had.


    {Well? Why are you still dressed? We only have a day, Keeno, we need to make the most of it.}


    Those words blew thest bit of reasoning I had away. I practically ripped my clothes off and leapt at Ama, pushing her down on a conveniently ced bed as my lips met hers. Just as we were about topletely lose ourselves in passion, we heard someone appear behind us.


    ¡°Amaterasu, I havee to make a request.¡± (???)


    Before I even realized what I was doing, I was behind the stranger with my Soul Weapons manifested, one against his neck, the other poised to kill a certain other part. When I spoke, my voice was full of so much venom, you¡¯d think I was the snake who kept Loki imprisoned. I could also tell the temperature in the area was steadily increasing.


    ¡°Who are you and why are you here? Answer me now, and I¡¯ll make sure your death is only moderately painful.¡± (Keeno)


    Once more, before I could even process what happened, the mystery man was gone and I was falling forward. Ama caught me and red at the intruder.


    {Phobos, you have a total of two seconds before I burn you to a crisp for interrupting me and Keeno. What do you want?}


    ¡°I came to ask you for two favors. One, to release your punishment on the family named Fafnir, and two give a message to your Fated One that I¡¯d like to speak with her. But, seeing as she is present today, I shall ask her in person.¡± (Phobos)


    I couldn¡¯t believe what I was hearing. He actually spoke all of that within the time limit Ama gave him AND I perfectly understood what he said somehow. It was then that the reality of the situation finally sunk in, and I hurriedly looked around for something to cover myself with only to find Ama was using her tails to cover us both. I then looked back at the intruder, Phobos.


    He was a tall man with orange hair, a well maintained, short-cut beard, and glowing amber eyes. He was dressed in a very strange outfit that reminded me of Victorian-era noble attire minus the funny neck-ring thing. He also held arge book in one hand with a working hourss in the cover.


    ¡°Miss Keeno, up-anding Goddess of the Blue Sun and Death, I humbly request you change course from Falheim to Vanir in your quest to dismantle the Dead Zones. Naturally, I don¡¯t mean this as never go there, just not to go there first.¡± (Phobos)


    I was again taken aback at his brazenness. The audacity of asking me something after what he did. Before I even had the chance to chew him out for anything, Ama spoke to me in my mind.


    <em>{Keeno, I¡¯m going to project some illusory clothes on you. Just get him talking.}</em>


    <em></em>


    I slightly nodded my head to Ama and red at Phobos.


    ¡°And why, exactly, should I do as you ask? You certainly didn¡¯t make a good first impression, so I have no reason to trust or listen to you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Quite true, my new vulpine friend. Then allow me to expand upon the reasoning for this request.¡± He started to make exaggerated gestures like he was exining something to actors in a y. ¡°For you see! One of the greatest tragic stories of this world is taking ce, with you, little vixen, being a leading actor! I call this small tale in the tapestry of history the ¡®Fall of the Falheim Dragon.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Dragon? ...Ah! Because the name Fafnir?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Forsooth! I was intrigued by the stories you told the gracious Amaterasu and her Apostle, so I asked a certain someone more details on the stories you told. s, we stray from the topic. If you and Amaterasu¡¯s aspiring second Apostle head there now, those you wish to reunite with will meet a terrible fate and will fail to rise to the lofty positions the world needs them to reach.¡± (Phobos)


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying if I return to Falheim now, Sigurd and Emma will die?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That is correct. And not just them, but the whole of the rebels. Ah! Such an inspiring story, though tragic for the would-be heroes. A story where the viins triumph! But! Nobody likes a story with such an ending when the viins are so viinous and victorious! So, I ask once more, change your course to Vanir,nd of rain and wolves!¡± (Phobos)


    {Phobos, before Keeno agrees to this, you remember our own agreement, yes?}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Phobos)


    {Keeno, Phobos has kindly agreed to let you punch and/or kick him in the face. I suggest you do so now to alleviate any frustration with him. Of course, I have new frustrations I¡¯d like to dole out as well, but this is more important.}


    I smiled a very ¡®sweet¡¯ smile and moved out of Ama¡¯s tails, now freshly adorned in illusory clothes. I ran as fast as I could up to Phobos before pivoting on one foot and bringing my heel with all of my momentum up and hitting him in the jaw. Sadly, this only caused his head to turn, but I didn¡¯t let it bother me as I doled out several more punches and kicks until I was out of breath. I moved back over to Ama and pulled her tails around me again.


    ¡°*ahem* Now that the previous agreement has been upheld, may I have your reply, Fair Keeno?¡± (Phobos)


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll agree to your request, but only because I want Sigurd and Emma to live.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Stupendous! And the dazzling Amaterasu?¡± (Phobos)


    {Why should I?}


    ¡°Would you not like seeing fools make even bigger fools of themselves?¡± (Phobos)


    {¡­Tch. Fine. But it better be worth it.}


    ¡°Their ends shall be glorious and long deserved.¡± Phobos turned around to leave but stopped and looked back over his shoulder. ¡°I thank you, family Okami. Your agreement here shall lead to the best oue for all individuals involved and the world atrge.¡± (Phobos)


    He then vanished.


    ¡°¡­Well, that ruined the mood.¡±


    {He IS known as the mood-killer.}


    ¡°I should have stabbed him.¡±


    {It wouldn¡¯t have mattered. You can¡¯t really scratch him yet.}


    ¡°Tch. And what was with all that over the top everything?¡±


    {He takes his ywright act too seriously. And despite what he said about tragedy and how it was great, he actually hates it.}


    ¡°So, he¡¯s a dramatic hypocrite?¡±


    {Sometimes. He mostly just cares about the betterment of the world as a whole, and since his Authorities are what they are, he acts like that to mitigate the killjoy attitude he¡¯d used to have.}


    ¡°Sounds so interesting.¡±


    My voice was dripping with sarcasm.


    ¡°So¡­what do we do now that we don¡¯t feel like doing anything steamy?¡±


    {*sigh* I don¡¯t mind just sitting like this for a while. No talking, just being close. You need a break after all.}


    ¡°Hehe. Guess I can¡¯t hide anything from you, huh?¡±


    {Nope. I know you¡¯re still stressed that you¡¯re practically on your own, so just rx in my arms and tails.}


    I nodded my head and leaned further into Ama¡¯s embrace.


    Chaos Realm:


    *sigh*


    Order: Payto, you know whates next.


    Yep. Just let me get Phobos here so he gets the same treatment. *snap*


    Phobos: Eh? God of Chaos? Why am I here?


    You saw things that you shouldn¡¯t have, same with me. It¡¯s time to pay the piper.


    Phobos: I still fail to understand? Wha¡­Ah. I see¡­*sigh* My title of mood-killer happened again, didn¡¯t it?


    Yep. Now, face forward, stare at the silver tube Order is holding, and don¡¯t blink. It¡¯s adjusted so that you remember the conversation and agreements, but not the actual event you witnessed. Order, whenever you¡¯re ready.


    Order: *sh*


    ¡­


    Phobos: ¡­


    Order: Good.

 Side Chapter 2- Delusions

    Side Chapter 2- Delusions


    [Lucius POV]


    I had lost all concept of time. My life had be never-ending darkness and horror. My home burned to such an extent that not even ashes remained, my family line ended, my reputation in shambles. All while that disgrace born from me and my wifeughed at and mocked us. Those were the good nightmares. Other times I saw me, my wife, and all those connected to the Fafnir name being puppeted around like marites, constantly doing their mundane tasks while mumbling apologies andments to an unknown recipient. This was the mental anguish.


    When I wasn¡¯t being tortured by these images, I was wracked with an indescribable pain I felt all throughout my body and even to my soul. It coursed through the darkness as a blindingly bright orange-gold me, melting my skin, bleaching my bones, burning my soul. It was horrid, and what made it worse was that, once the mes were gone, I found that I was uninjured. This was the physical anguish.


    The words of that healer yed repeatedly in my mind.


    ¡®Divine Retribution.¡¯


    A punishment delt to me and my house by the Divine as a cruel, undeserved joke. As Imented my situation while I attempted to once again prepare for another wave of nightmares, nothing happened. Gradually the darkness started to fade and I slowly opened my eyes.


    The light of everything blinded me and I yelled out in a hoarse voice due to the pain. It took time, but I continued to try and open my eyes until I could adjust to the light. I looked around to find myself at my desk, papers scattered all over. I couldn¡¯t process what was happening and if this was just anotheryer of nightmare. I stood from the seat and immediately fell to the ground, my limbs screaming in pain, like I had moved for the first time after not moving for an extended period of time.


    ¡°Ho-*cough cough cough cough*¡±


    I couldn¡¯t speak very well, but my mind was certainly clearing up from all the shocks I was experiencing.


    ¡®How did I get to my office. I was clearly in Leticia¡¯s room.¡¯


    I ever so slowly crawled my way over to a chair and, painfully, pulled myself into the seat. While doing this I kicked up the thickyer of dust that was coating most of the other parts of my office, sending me into a fit of coughing. I continued to try and figure out exactly what was going on when I heard the sounds of somethinging this way. The door to the office burst open and someone I vaguely recognized entered the room.


    ¡°Lord Fafnir!¡±


    This man, who wore dark ted light armor, came close to me and ced his hands on my shoulders.


    ¡°Wh-*cough cough cough*¡±


    ¡°I see, so you are still weak. I have already sent for healers toe here the moment I was notified the canals around your manor were no longer boiling.¡±


    I continued to cough as I tilted my head at this unknown person speaking to me like we were equals.


    ¡°That look¡­do you not recognize me? Hmm. It would make sense, no one has been able toe or go from here for the past 13 years. I¡¯m Ivaldi, I was the second inmand to the royal knights, though now I¡¯ve taken that traitors ce asmander.¡± (Ivaldi)


    ¡°Trai¡­tor?¡± (Lucius)


    This much older Ivaldi¡¯s face morphed into one of pure disgust and disdain.


    ¡°Yes. Previousmander Freyr along with the former third prince and several other previous members of the royal knights joined the rebels, bolstering their forces. But that isn¡¯t important at the moment. Rest here until the healers arrive, let them do what they are best at, then we can properly talk. I¡¯m going to make a round around the manor along with some of my men to check if anyone else is fine.¡± (Ivaldi)


    Ivaldi walked back to the door before looking over his shoulder back at me.


    ¡°Lucius Fafnir, recover soon, we will be in need of your house¡¯s famed arms in theing battles with the rebels. We¡¯ve lost ground, it¡¯s high time to take it back.¡± (Ivaldi)


    He finally left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Thinking back over the information he gave me, I weakly made a fist and pounded on the armrest of the chair.


    ¡°Th-is is¡­all that <strong><em>thing¡¯s </em></strong>fault¡­I will¡­hunt you down¡­a-and*cough cough* cut your head from¡­your shoulders.¡± (Lucius)


    As I vowed this to the depths of my soul, another part of the earlier conversation hit me.


    ¡°13¡­years*cough cough cough*¡± (Lucius)


    Dark thoughts started filling my mind. How had the rebels still not been eradicated? Where is that disgrace? Has it somehow joined the rebels? What was it that decided the Divine would strike my House? Did that thing somehow¡­no, it was impossible to leave Falheim.


    Shortly after those thoughts left my mind, several healers came into the room and started to check and heal me. All the while they did this, they were absolutely astounded at how I was still alive, seeing as I had apparently not eaten or drank anything for 13 years. It was almost like I¡¯d be an undead, which was not the case seeing as I was very much alive. I also learned that it was only me and Leticia that were back to normal, the rest of my House was still in a state of Divine Retribution. I again swore to myself to hunt down that blight upon my family as well as to search for a way to curse the very gods who put us in this situation.


    With the fires of hate burning inside me, I allowed the healers to finish their work before I went to find Ivaldi and discuss what our next moves needed to be, as well as to catch up on the state of the country. It was time to end this rebellion, for the sake of our glorious country.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto, this is disgusting.


    I agree. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of despicable mortals, but this one is bordering delusions that remind me of two others.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Luna.


    Luna: I¡¯m fine. In fact, I can¡¯t wait to see that thing¡¯s reaction to Keeno. Actually, can I defluffify it and Keeno¡¯s incubator?


    Sadly no, buuuuuut, I¡¯m nning on taking Order out on a date soon, so whose to stop a certain Abyss of Fluff from defluffifying someone while we¡¯re away?


    Order: Exactly, though it could only happen once, in this very hypothetical scenario.


    Yes. Though the date IS a real event soon. I have such a good n for it.


    Order: All the more reason for me to look forward to it as well.

 Chapter 35- And so it Begins

    Chapter 35- And so it Begins


    [Keeno POV]


    When I woke up, I was in a very bad mood.


    ¡°Ama.¡±


    {Yes Keeno?}


    ¡°What has that bastard been thinking?¡±


    {Mostly about killing you and finding some way to curse me.}


    ¡°Is patricide allowed in this world?¡±


    {While morally questionable, morals are all subjective in the end, and also, as the Goddess of Death, you decide what is and isn¡¯t worthy of eternal damnation.}


    ¡°¡­Heh.¡±


    {Oh? And what devious schemes are you cooking up, my feisty Fated One?}


    ¡°Nothingplicated, though I wonder just what effect my Soul Weapon will have on pitch ck souls. Cause I don¡¯t doubt for a second that thing¡¯s soul isn¡¯t pitch ck with corruption and malice.¡±


    {¡­Heh.}


    The two of us started to chuckle darkly before snapping out of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s for future me to enjoy, for now, focus on going to Vanir. That¡¯s the ce Fia went, right? Think we¡¯re going to meet up again so soon?¡±


    {Not soon in the slightest, Keeno. Vanir is several months, almost a year, away on foot. If you travel by carriage you can easily knock about a month off, but from here to there is going to take a while.}


    ¡°And that¡¯s the closest Dead Zone?¡±


    {No, there is another between Solheim and Vanir, but you are not ready to go there. It¡¯s located in a country called Odeen.}


    ¡°Name aside, why am I not ready for that ce yet?¡±


    {The Dead Zone there is guarded just as well if not better than Falheim¡¯s border. The only way into it is if you have express permission from Odeen¡¯s ruler, are one of the people they call Gravekeepers, or are dead. Otherwise it¡¯s avoided, or if someone DOES approach it without the qualifications, they end up with the third one.}


    ¡°Hmm. Guess it¡¯s best we avoid traveling through Odeen then.¡±


    {I never said that, just that you have to avoid its Dead Zone for now. Going through Odeen is the fastest route to Vanir after all.}


    ¡°Ugh. It¡¯s like dangling a carrot in front of me on a piece of string.¡±


    {Now, now, think of all the fun you¡¯ll have between now and then. I¡¯m very excited to see what you and Pram get up to while you make your way to the Dead Zones.}


    ¡°I am too, and speaking of it, I guess I should get Pram. It¡¯s high time we finally set out.¡±


    {Look out world, Keeno Okami, Goddess of the Blue Sun and Death begins her path to ascension!}


    ¡°Onward, to conquest, adventure, Divinity!¡±


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {¡°Pfft. Ahahahahahahahahahaha!¡±}


    After Ama and I finished ourughing fit, I exited my room for thest time for a long while and called out to Huginn and Muninn.


    ¡°Huginn! Muninn! Let¡¯s go get Pram, then we¡¯re off!¡±


    I heard their acknowledging bird noises and soon enough, they flew to andnded on my shoulders. When they got settled, I made my way through the lodge and out the door. I made sure it was locked and then started on my way to Pram¡¯s home. When I arrived, I found her hugging her mom and dad while Ashe was a little way away, bawling his eyes out.


    ¡°Ashe, aren¡¯t you being a bit exaggerated?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not in the slightest! Okami, make sure you protect my sister with everything you have, else I will never forgive you!¡± (Ashe)


    ¡°One, don¡¯t yell at me like that. Two, that¡¯s only natural.¡± (Keeno)


    With tears still streaming down his face like rivers, Ashe gave me an exaggerated nod before his wife started to console him. I looked back over to Pram and her parents. They had just released their hug and, while a little misty eyes, they bode Pram farewell one more time. On Pram¡¯s side, she nodded and walked over to me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make the two of you proud. The name Kan will be spread far and wide as healers of great renown.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You know we don¡¯t care about that, just be safe, have fun, and give it everything you¡¯ve got.¡± (Mill)


    Pram smiled at her mother¡¯s words and the two of us turned and set off for the city gates. On the way I exined to Pram how our first destination changed from Falheim to Vanir as well as how long it would possibly be before we made it there.


    ¡°You two are so unlucky when ites to being intimate, huh. I mean, the first Sr Convergence that you both have time to actually do anything, and it gets interrupted before anything can happen. I feel so bad for the both of you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It is what it is. I mean, I AM terribly frustrated, but that just means one more month of waiting. If I¡¯ve made it 18 years, what¡¯s one more month?¡± (Keeno)


    {I also n on locking my ce down next time as well. Then only a Goddess of Space could get in.}


    As we passed through the city, we came to the za where the Guild was and I stopped.


    ¡°Should we let the Guild know we¡¯re leaving?¡± (Keeno)


    {You don¡¯t really need to. Fia let that old angel know you two would be leaving soon.}


    ¡°Then off we go.¡± (Keeno)


    The rest of the way to the gate was quiet. Passing by ces that have long be familiar, I was filled with the familiar sadness only experience when parting from a person or ce. A somewhat sad smile was on my face, breaking through the usual emotionless mask. That sad smile disappeared, however, when we reached the gate. Looking through it at therge expanse ofnd spreading out as far as the eye could see lit a fire of excitement inside me.


    ¡°Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Let¡¯s have the greatest journey this world has ever seen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s leave our marks so deep on this world, we¡¯ll be talked about thousands of years from now." (Pram)


    "Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    With those statements, the two of us took our first steps on our journey.


    Chaos Realm:


    Fia: Good for them.


    Amaterasu: Yep. By the way, how have things been on your side, Fia?


    Fia: Good. I¡¯ve just been having to¡­¡¯reeducate¡¯ some of the wolves in Vanir.


    Atmos: If only we could see what¡¯s on your side of things sometimes. Not that I¡¯mining about what we do get to see. I honestly really enjoy not having a clue about what¡¯s going to happen.


    Fia: ¡­Rasu, is she really a god of Fate? She¡¯s so different from the one we know.


    Amaterasu: Honestly, I think I like her personality better. I¡¯d rather deal with pranks than whatever Phobos does.


    Atmos: In his defense, he¡¯s trying to do his job in the way he thinks is best. Sure, he¡¯s extremely socially awkward and has a horrible habit of killing the mood, but he really isn¡¯t the worst. I¡¯ve seen so many gods much worse than him.


    Amaterasu: I¡¯ll take your word for it.


    Fia: Same. Though hearing the perspective of a different god of Fate is actually quite nice.


    Atmos: If Luna and Tamamo were here right now, they would say the two of you are crazy. But that¡¯s fine, a little craziness in life is so much better than none at all.

 Chapter 36- Short-Term Goals

    Chapter 36- Short-Term Goals


    [Keeno POV]


    It has been several days since we left the city. We decided that, while our objective is important, it isn¡¯t pressing, so we would leisurely make our way to Vanir. Due to this decision, we took our time enjoying the scenery. Most of what we¡¯ve seen from the road are intermittent pine forests or open, snowy ins. In the ins, snow was piled high like sand dunes in a desert, giving me a hard time with my instincts. Every time I eyed a snow dune with even a hint of wanting to jump headfirst into it, Pram and Ama wouldugh at me or encourage me to do it. On the times they seeded in convincing me, I managed to pull Pram along into doing the same.


    Huginn and Muninn were also enjoying the open road. They spent more time flying around in the sky than on my shoulders. They were very vocal about their enjoyment as well since, the times they weren¡¯t flying around, they were cawing and squawking at me, telling me just how free they felt.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve decided!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°By the time we make it to Vanir, I¡¯m going to understand what Huginn and Muninn are saying like you, Fia, and Amaterasu do.¡± (Pram)


    {A good short-term goal, Pram.}


    ¡°I agree. Hmm. What should I make for a short-term goal?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°While it sounds fun, Huginn, it is physically impossible for me to learn to fly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw¡­¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Hehehe. Cheer up.¡± (Keeno)


    I scratched the spot on Huginn¡¯s neck it liked most, causing it to ruffle its feathers in enjoyment. I did the same to Muninn shortly after.


    ¡°Hmmm. Well, you have done a lot to practice with your Death Authority, right?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah¡­Come to think of it, I should probably work on my death magic. Sr magic is fine since Ama helped me with it, but death is much harder to picture.¡± (Keeno)


    {I agree. You are really good at infusing your Sr magic with a Death attribute, but we barely focused on the magic part, just the soul purification part.}


    ¡°Then my short-term goal is to increase my proficiency with my death magic.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Who do I pray to for our enemies? Because I feel really bad for them now.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Um¡­Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {It should be Keeno. You pray to me for things like sessful birth, good harvest, pleasant summer, though that also falls under Keeno, better sess in magic knowledge. For Keeno it would be mostly the same things dealing with the sun, but also a peaceful death, safety from gue or famine, repentance for past deeds and the like.}


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m so happy we¡¯re so close, Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Also, what is Death magic even like? I know it¡¯s a thing, but I don¡¯t really know anything about it. You¡¯ve also never shown it to me.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s simple, yet hard to exin. Like your healing magic, but opposite is the simplest, most understandable way to say it, though in reality, it¡¯s moreplicated.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked around and walked off the road over to a nearby tree. I then used a simple death spell and my arm became covered in a ck mist. I touched the tree with that arm and the tree visibly died, starting from the spot I touched.


    ¡°Keeno, what did that tree ever do to you?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Its sacrifice is worth it to teach you. What I just did was a simple death spell. It marks a spot I specify and kills something slowly from that one spot.¡± (Keeno)


    {Wrong. Keeno, you put too much mana into it. That spell normally corrodes the target slowly over time, most effectively over years.}


    ¡°Oh¡­guess it¡¯s good that I focus on this then.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you training control all these years? I don¡¯t believe for a single second you didn¡¯t knowingly put too much mana into that.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡°Don¡¯tugh Ama! You are the one that pointed it out!¡± (Keeno)


    {*Whistle, whistle*}


    ¡°*Sigh* Yes, it was intentional, I wanted to show off a little, ok. Though it wasn¡¯t a lie that that was a simple spell.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If that is simple, then what is more powerful death magic like?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not sure, but if my feeling is correct, then I¡¯m surprised countries don¡¯t hunt down every death mage.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, they really can¡¯t. I mean, you don¡¯t want an angry death mageing after you after you try killing or capturing them. And besides, any and all magic is just as dangerous if put in the right hands. Also, most death mages are actually somewhat useful for keeping criminals in check.}


    ¡°Makes sense. Souls aside, in case of a murder, you could just temporarily raise the victim and have them tell you what happened.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That does make sense.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Your silence is strange. Don¡¯t tell me people haven¡¯t thought about that before.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s like, one of the first things thates to mind when I think of using death magic in a criminal case.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um, Keeno. It¡¯s not really that simple. I only thought about that because you said something. I first thought that they would just threaten criminals to a painful death through death magic when caught, making them either too afraid to do crime, or so good at it that they go into hiding.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Plus, people with death magic are few and far between. Keeno aside, there are like, four other people that have it, and three of those people are either on their deathbed or too young to even use magic right now.}


    ¡°Who is the one other one like me?¡± (Keeno)


    {Someone in Odeen. You¡¯ll meet her one day, I¡¯m certain of it.}


    ¡°Why?¡± (Pram)


    {Because she has a vested interest in the Dead Zones.}


    ¡°I see. Future potential allies aside, what should I focus on exactly?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No clue.¡± (Pram)


    {Hmm. How about a special attack with it? Make a small ball in the palm of your hand, condense as much death into it you can, and fire it off as a beam at your enemy, or just forego the beam and use the condensed ball itself.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Thinking over Ama¡¯s words, some small part deep inside metched onto this idea. Like it was almost an instinct.


    {Heh. I haven¡¯t seen you smile like that in a long time, Keeno.}


    ¡°Smiling like that makes you look like a viin. Yet it¡¯s, and forgive me for saying this Amaterasu, very attractive.¡± (Pram)


    {Careful Pram, Death is a seductress that never leaves those attracted to her alive.}


    ¡°Then what does that mean for you?¡± (Pram)


    {I¡¯m a goddess, meaning I cannot die or be killed. I¡¯m the only one that can handle Death herself.}


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure, Ama. I¡¯ll show you just how hard to handle I am when we see each other again.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. I ept your challenge, Death. I¡¯ll show you just how lively Life can be.}


    ¡°Hehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehe.}


    ¡°¡­Huginn, Muninn, I feel like I made a mistake in asking that question.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Squawk!¡± (Huginn)


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto, thatst thing Keeno felt before she and Amaterasu started to flirt¡­is it what I think it is?


    ¡­


    Luna: Oh?


    Tamamo: Sounds interesting.


    It¡¯s a very distant rtion, and the kitsune bloodline is most dominant, but yes, she did have one blood rtive in the distant past that was one.


    Order: Do I need to reinforce Order in that world before she finishes that spell she¡¯s making?


    Not yet, but I¡¯ll let you know if it will be needed in the future.


    Luna: Are you just going to leave us in suspense, or are you going to tell us what you two just figured out?


    Tamamo: ¡­!*leans over and whispers in Luna¡¯s ear*


    Luna: ¡­


    Hahaha! Your expression is priceless, Luna.


    Luna: Does this make her only half kitsune then?


    No, she¡¯s full kitsune, she just has a trait or two from that race.


    Luna: ¡­Come to think of it, Soleil is technically half human, isn¡¯t she? Why did I never question this before!?


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Tamamo: Pfft! Ufufufufufufufu. Oh Luna, you adorable fluff.

 Chapter 37- A Small Teachable Moment

    Chapter 37- A Small Teachable Moment


    [Keeno POV]


    A few more days passed, and Pram and I were sitting at our campsite as the suns were just starting to rise. We had gotten up a little earlier so we could eat and pack up. After doing all of that and starting once more down the road, Pram spoke up.


    ¡°Keeno¡­when do you think something exciting is going to happen?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I was wondering the same thing. Don¡¯t get me wrong, it¡¯s not that I necessarily want some kind of trouble to happen so we can step in and all that, but just endless road gets tiring very quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Exactly. Plus, I kind of expected to run into something by now, monster wise I mean. Isn¡¯t that what always happens in the stories?¡± (Pram)


    {Life isn¡¯t a storybook, Pram. You won¡¯t normally see monsters attacking a road like this one in broad daylight unless they were starving, lured, or a few other reasons. Plus, countries usually have patrols that keep at least roads safe, though I AM a bit surprised you haven¡¯t seen one of those yet.}


    ¡°We¡¯ve actually passed between a few, their patrol area is just a lot bigger than the immediate area around the road.¡± (Keeno)


    {How do you know that?}


    ¡°Huginn and Muninn. They¡¯ve been telling me what they¡¯ve seen up in the sky. I thought you knew that, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Actually, I¡¯ve been tuning them out a bit. Sorry.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°caw¡± (Muninn)


    {Don¡¯t get like that, you two. It¡¯s just you both normally talk at the same time, so everything you say gets all jumbled together.}


    ¡°Ama, that¡¯s a pitiful excuse.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, just a bit.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­Fine, I tune most things out so I can focus on hearing Keeno¡¯s thoughts. Is that better!?}


    ¡°Much. And I wish I could say the same, but our connection sadly doesn¡¯t work like that on my side.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Really?¡± (Pram)


    {That¡¯s weird, it should work that way¡­Ah! I¡¯m dumb, I forgot that I need to allow that. So far, it¡¯s been like you¡¯ve been chipping away at a steel wall. Now you can have ess to my every thought about you, Keeno.}


    I smiled at that and immediately tried it before stopping just as quickly, my face and the surroundings starting to heat up.


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡°Kee-¡± (Pram)


    Pram was about to say something when the faint sounds of fighting sounded from a bit away from our position. The two of us looked at one another before running in the direction of the sounds. Several minutester we crested a hill and saw a group of three people. Two were standing back to back while surrounded by a few weasel like monsters called Wes. They had snow white fur and were about as big as wolves. The third person was standing a bit away from the other two, watching the battle with their arms crossed.


    ¡°Do we join in, or walk up to the spectator?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I say the spectator. While it would be fun to jump in and help the other two, we might end up causing more problems than actually helping.¡± (Keeno)


    {Tch. One of them just has to be an angel. As per usual, I¡¯ll be quiet now.}


    I looked back at the three people and noticed that one of the pair was indeed an angel. I let out a sigh and Pram and I made our way over to them. The third person spectating the other two must have noticed our arrival because they nced over at us before turning their attention back to the standoff.


    ¡°Need any help?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Nah. These two should be strong enough to handle a few wes. At least, they better be, otherwise I¡¯ve wasted all the time I¡¯ve spent teaching them.¡± (???)


    ¡°Are you three Guild members?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Name¡¯s Hildr, I¡¯m a trainer for the adventurer branch helping these two get up to snuff. You two?¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°I¡¯m Okami, that¡¯s Pram. These two are Huginn and Muninn. We¡¯re also part of the adventurer branch, though right now we¡¯re traveling and not on a quest.¡± (Keeno)


    Hildr nodded as she watched one of the two trainees fend off a wes¡¯s attack with a buckler.


    ¡°Nice to meet you. It¡¯s hard to believe someone so princessy is an adventurer¡­no offense.¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°None taken.¡± (Keeno)


    The second trainee blocked another wes before kicking it away and shing at it with his sword, cutting arge gash into the monster¡¯s side.


    ¡°Tch. Ruined the pelt.¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°Shame too, it looks like a real quality one.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree. Out of all of them, that one¡¯s pelt would have been worth the most, while the other ones are basically loose change. Though on the bright side, the meat will still be good.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heh. Seems like the two of you know what you¡¯re talking about. Seems like a few more areing, mind showing those two how it should really be done?¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°Shall we, Pram? It¡¯s almost lunch time and I could go for some wes meat.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°OI! YOU TWO, STOP PLAYING AROUND AND GET OVER HERE!¡± (Hildr)


    Hildr¡¯s yelling must have spooked the wes her trainees were dealing with since they both froze up and were promptly taken care of. Pram and I then rushed over to that spot just as two more wes leapt out of the snow.


    ¡°Wha!?¡±


    ¡°EEEEEEEE!!!¡±


    We ignored the two and I summoned my Soul Weapon and Pram readied her cudgel. We stared down the wes that jumped out of the snow and soon enough, one of them dove back in in an attempt to get behind us.


    ¡°Dumb things. They aren¡¯t as quiet as they think they are.¡± (Keeno)


    The wes that burrowed into the snow jumped out behind my and just as it¡¯s ws were about to scratch me, I moved to the side and, in a quick, fluid movement, trapped it in the chains of my Soul Weapon. On Pram¡¯s side, her wes ran at her but got tripped up when she dodged it and caught one of it¡¯s legs on the end of her cudgel. Before it could regain it¡¯s bearings, Pram mmed the cudgel on it¡¯s head and the loud cracking sound of bone could be heard.


    ¡°Aw, still not enough. I¡¯m sorry, little wes, I¡¯ll put you out of your misery soon.¡± (Pram)


    Pram smacked its head a few more times before it finally wentpletely still, though I didn¡¯t fail to notice the slight smile on her face. Turning my attention back to my own wes that was struggling to free itself, I whipped my chain and made it wrap around the wes¡¯s neck a few more times before I pulled it taught and snapped its neck. The two of us then looked over at the two trainees and saw that they had stupefied expressions while Hildr walked over with an amused smile.


    ¡°And that, my little fledglings, is how you properly deal with wes while also keeping the pelts intact. Though, Miss Okami, you could have also aimed one of those fancy swords at its eye while it was trapped. On your side, Miss Pram, your first strike was off a bit, and you left yourself a bit too open.¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°I see. Guess I need to work on that some more.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. I feel like going for the eye would have been a bit overkill, but I¡¯ll take it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um, Miss Hildr, who are these two?¡±


    ¡°Some passing by adventurers. They were attracted to the sounds of fighting and wanted to see if you needed help. I told them this was part of your training so they held back, and then we heard more wesing, so I asked if they would take care of them so you two could learn more. By the way, anything you two want in return for that?¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°I think just the wes we killed is fine¡­though if you could answer a question for me, I¡¯d also think that would be good enough.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ask away then.¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°Do you know how far the next city or town is, and the Solheim border in rtion to that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The closest town is about a day from here east along the road. As for the border, it¡¯s about a month more from the closest town on foot.¡± (Hildr)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. Now, you two, let¡¯s go find some more prey. Be seeing you around, Miss Okami, Miss Pram.¡± (Hildr)


    Hildr then left with her two trainees in the direction we came from. We stood in silence for a while before Ama spoke up again.


    {What was even the point of all that?}


    ¡°Reliving boredom.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Getting tasty meat.¡± (Pram)


    Pram and I looked at one another and then all three of us burst intoughter. We then set up a small camp to take care of the wes and have lunch.


    Chaos Realm:


    Oooh. Wes meat. It¡¯s actually quite good when grilled over an open me like that. For some reason it gives it an almost fruity vor.


    Order: Now I want to try some.


    All you need to do is ask and I¡¯ll prepare some.


    Order: Then would you mind?


    *snap*I¡¯ll get started cooking it then. Any other special requests?


    Order: Hmmmm. How about some of that nice wine? You know, the one made with those grapes.


    The ones that grow in the cores of suns?


    Order: Yeah, those.


    Got it.

 Chapter 38- Reaching the City

    Chapter 38- Reaching the City


    [Keeno POV]


    After cooking and eating a very good lunch, Pram and I packed up once more and made it as far as we could before the day came to an end. We decided to camp out on the top of a hill where we could see the city Hildr spoke about in the far distance.


    ¡°Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I think we need to skip setting up and get to the city. I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about tonight.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh? What kind of bad feeling?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not sure, it¡¯s nothing rted to monsters since we¡¯d both be able to tell something about that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    We quickly packed up the few things we had set up and started making our way toward the city again at a faster pace.


    ¡°Think Hildr will be fine?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Who knows. It¡¯s toote to go back and find them. We just have to hope they are.¡± (Pram)


    About an hour after we started to head to the city again, the clouds above us started to get darker and the wind picked up even more.


    ¡°A blizzard.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A big one too.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°If we get stuck out here when it starts, stick close to me Pram. Ama, if it gets too bad, you need to lead us toward the city.¡± (Keeno)


    {Heard loud and clear.}


    We started to pick up the pace even more when snow started to fall. That was when we started running. The city was still far, but we were making good ground when I heard a crash near us. I looked around and saw a big chunk of ice that wasn¡¯t there before.


    ¡°Damn it, it¡¯s there¡¯s hail this time!¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s fine, you just need to melt any before it hits you.}


    ¡°Might as well, but before that. HUGINN, MUNINN, GET DOWN HERE!¡± (Keeno)


    The two ravens that were trying to keep flying while dodging hail and fighting the wind flew to me and nestled into my tail. I nced over to Pram and saw she was struggling to keep up.


    ¡°Pram-¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m¡­fine.¡± (Pram)


    I slid to a stop and grabbed Pram closer to me just as a piece of hail the same size as me mmed into the ground.


    ¡°No, you almost weren¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked toward the city and saw that it was pretty much downhill from us and then at the chunk of sky ice next to us. I summoned my Soul Weapons and started carving the ice as fast as I could until a rtively thick, t piece fell off.


    ¡°Pram, climb on my back.¡± (Keeno)


    She looked reluctant but still did so after I insisted. Once she was good, I stepped on the piece of ice and melted some footholds for myself. I then leaned forward and we started to slide downhill. It was a bit hard to keep my bnce since I was carrying Pram, but I managed to not fall over. It seemed like the storm was picking up speed at the same rate we were since more and more hail started to fall and the snow started to blow around more, decreasing my vision. I tried my best to dodge the hail, which, so far, was going great.


    ¡°Keeno-¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No talking. I don¡¯t want you to bite your tongue if we hit something.¡± (Keeno)


    I leaned forward as much as I could without risking our bnce and sped up more. This allowed me to get just barely ahead of the soon to be raging storm. Small pieces of hail still buffeted us, but none so big it would crush us. After several minutes of this impromptu snowboarding, we hit t ground and the ice at my feet cracked. Thankfully we were close enough to the city that we would be able to make it if we ran full force.


    ¡°Pram, this ice isn¡¯t going tost much longer, when it breaks, hop off my back and start running as fast as you can.¡± (Keeno)


    I felt her nod and shortly after that, the ice beneath my feet broke. Keeping up with the momentum, I started running. Pram let go of my back and hopped off of me. I heard her stumble a little, but she managed to avoid falling and soon enough she was running right next to me. After about a minute of full on sprinting from the both of us, I started to hear someone calling out. It was hard to make out what exactly they were saying due to the wind, but I managed to put together that they wanted us to hurry. The snow that had caught up to us started to swirl around and my vision narrowed to the point where all I could really see was Pram and the gate.


    Two more minutes passed and we finally made it through the gate before sliding to a stop. Just as soon as Pram¡¯s tail was fully inside, the gate mmed shut with a loud nging noise that pierced through the howling of the wind.


    ¡°*Whistle*Cutting it real close, travelers.¡±


    The person who spoke walked out of the gatehouse next to the gate. He was wearing light armor that looked like it was made more for warmth than protection. He looked to be about middle-aged and had a cleanly trimmed beard. Though it was hard to really tell with the current lighting, his eyes were a dull grey color.


    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t expect a blizzard. We were going to camp out one more night.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fair enough. If you aren¡¯t from around this part of Solheim, then you wouldn¡¯t really know how rapid the weather changes here. Anyway, if I was the two of you, I¡¯d hurry and get to an inn before it actually gets bad.¡±


    ¡°Before that, what¡¯s you name?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Name¡¯s Tyr. Now get going.¡± (Tyr)


    We both nodded and left the gate area. As we went further into the city we saw people scrambling around to close up shops, pick up signs, close window shutters. We managed to ask some people about an inn and quickly made our way to the one we were hastily rmended. At this point the snow and small hail wasing down heavily. Once we found the inn, we basically kicked the door in before mming it shut behind us. This elicited brief res from a few people, but other than that no one really said anything. We walked up to the reception desk and rented a room to wait out the storm.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: That looked so fun. Tamamo, is there any ce back home where we can try to outrun storms like that?


    Tamamo: I can think of a few ces. Let¡¯s go try one of them next time we go on a date.


    Luna: Yay!


    It really does sound like fun. What do you think, Order?


    Order: I wouldn¡¯t really care for running, but I think it¡¯d be nice to be carried by you while you did so.


    I can arrange that.


    Luna: Look at those two flirting away, Tamamo.


    Tamamo: Indeed. Though I wonder, where is Astraea?


    She¡¯s been over at Evelyn¡¯s. Apparently the two of them are having fun poking around Crisis¡¯s domain and all the random things that pop up there. Honestly, it makes it seem that ce is more chaotic than here.


    Order: Well, it probably is. I mean, I am here after all.


    And I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.


    Order: Hehehe. Oh you.

 Chapter 39- Waiting out the Storm

    Chapter 39- Waiting out the Storm


    [Keeno POV]


    After checking out the room we rented, Pram and I went back to the lobby. A few people looked over to us before quickly looking away. I didn¡¯t fail to notice that most of the people looking away did so while trembling a bit.


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Keeno.}


    ¡®It¡¯s fine, Ama¡­I just need to get used to it again.¡¯ (Keeno)


    We sat down at an empty table, and someone walked over and asked if there was anything they could do for us. Again, thedy tried her best to talk mostly to Pram while looking away quickly anytime she looked at me. Pram ordered some food, and thedy basically ran away. The two of us sat in silence for several minutes.


    ¡°Okami¡­are you alright?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I just forgot how¡­lonely? It is for people to be scared just by seeing me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I mean, I sort of remember feeling a bit scared since your demeaner and eyes make you really intimidating, but when I really got to know you, I knew you weren¡¯t a bad person. Though I also think I¡¯m a bit biased since we¡¯ve been friends so long.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled a little at Pram¡¯s words. Shortly after that our food was ced in front of us and we started to eat. While we did so we listened to the sound of hail and the hushed chatter of other patrons. Once we were both done, we went back to our room. Pram sat on her bed while I stood next to mine. I undid my hair and let if fall to its full length.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering for a while now, Keeno. Why do you keep your hair long like that? Doesn¡¯t it get in the way?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Like you¡¯re one to talk, Pram. But to answer you, not really. It¡¯s all a matter of getting used to it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Plus, I just really like Keeno¡¯s long hair. It¡¯s so silky and smooth and I can never get enough of running my hands through it.}


    ¡°I see. It must be nice having such a loving lover. I¡¯m quite jealous.¡± (Pram)


    {Sorry Pram, I know you held feelings for Keeno before, but I will never let her be with anyone other than me.}


    ¡°So that was the case after all. I had a feeling you felt that way about me once, but around the time Ashe moved on I felt our friendship became just that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I was a little kid back then, ok. It doesn¡¯t help that you are so pretty, nice, warm, caring¡­beautiful¡­*ahem* Anyway, I feel like I¡¯ll find my perfect person on our journey as well, it¡¯s just a matter of when.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Love lives aside, I wonder how long this storm is going tost and how we¡¯re going to reliably travel if something like this is a normal urrence around here.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ve taught you how to make sr barriers, Keeno. Just set one up and you¡¯ll be protected from hail and snow. Wind is another matter, but it shouldn¡¯t be too bad I think.}


    ¡°Yeah, that IS an option.¡± (Keeno)


    I sat down and ced my hand on my chin while I tried thinking of more ways to protect ourselves from the elements. While I did so Pramid down on her bed and started to hug her tail. That was when I remembered Huginn and Muninn were in mine. I moved my tail in front of me and stuck my hands in. I felt around for a few seconds only to find out the two of them were fast asleep in my fluff.


    ¡°Hehe. Guess we should get some sleep. I¡¯m kind of tired from all the running.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah¡­plus that was a good meal we had. Nice and warm.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Speaking of warm, want me to light the firece?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nnn.¡± (Pram)


    Pram was already half asleep it seemed, so I got up from my bed and walked over to the firece that was in the room. I tossed a few pieces of firewood inside and used my magic to light it. The room lit up with a blue glow as the cerulean mes filled the firece.


    {I know I¡¯ve said it many times, but your fire is so much moreforting than mine.}


    ¡°Hehe. I kind of find that funny, Ama. I mean, you are also the Goddess of Life, so shouldn¡¯t your mes be the kind that radiate stuff like that? Meanwhile mine should give off a feeling of coldness and despair.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Keeno¡­not like that¡­nice and caring¡­¡­.and fluffy.¡± (Pram)


    {What Pram said. I honestly feel you are nicer than I am, though I may just be jaded considering how much I¡¯ve seen mortals squander the Life I give them.}


    ¡°Well, what can I say? Life can also be cruel whereas death is epting to all, no matter what.¡± (Keeno)


    {Feeling philosophical tonight, are we?}


    ¡°Not really, just tired.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehe. Then get some rest, my beloved. You worked hard today, so you deserve it.}


    I smiled andid back down on my bed. I pulled my tail over my stomach so I didn¡¯t disturb Huginn and Muninn and closed my eyes. I slowly drifted off to sleep to the sound of Pram¡¯s quiet snores, hail hitting the roof, and the crackle of the fire.


    [Amaterasu POV]


    Once I was sure Keeno was asleep, I turned my gaze over to Fia. She was sitting on the terrace of a mansion looking out over a city while rain fell from the sky.


    {Fia, how are you doing?}


    ¡°Good. I¡¯m about ready to move on from Vanir. I¡¯m tired of all the rain and the annoying little games these people y to try and one up each other.¡±


    {Understandable. Know where you¡¯re going next?}


    ¡°Depends, know where Keeno¡¯s going after here?¡±


    {Probably Falheim. She doesn¡¯t like how she has to let her birth givers live and gather power. If it wasn¡¯t for Phobos, she¡¯d be on her way there now.}


    ¡°Hmm. Maybe I¡¯ll go to Valkyr.¡±


    {Hmm. Sounds good to me. Any idea on how long it¡¯ll take for you to get Keeno allies there?}


    ¡°Depends. I remember them being a bit stubborn, so the people I try and convince will probably want to test Keeno themselves.¡±


    {Not surprising.}


    Lightning shed in the sky and thunder followed shortly after.


    ¡°How is Keeno?¡±


    {She¡¯s fine. They had to outrun a blizzard today, but they made it to their first new Solheim city.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­I don¡¯t know, very Keeno of them.¡±


    {Pfft. I¡¯ll tell her you said that.}


    ¡°Please don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want the first thing Keeno says to me when we meet again is how she thinks that¡¯s rude of me to say or something.¡±


    {You know she¡¯ll forget it by that time. Anyway, I had a question for you aside from just checking on you.}


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    {The way Keeno and Pram are going, they¡¯ll pass by that ce. Should I let Keeno know about the Well?}


    ¡°Oh¡­Hmmm. Why not? It won¡¯t hurt them.¡±


    {I know that, but I get a feeling like Keeno will be more affected by it than someone normally would be.}


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like the Well can take a price from her. It can from Pram, but whatever it wants from her will be easily doable by the two of them.¡±


    {That¡¯s not what I meant, Fia. I don¡¯t know how to describe this feeling, but still.}


    ¡°If you¡¯re this reluctant, then why even consider it?¡±


    {Because I know it will be helpful in the long run.}


    ¡°*sigh* Then all I can say is talk to them about it. If they decide they don¡¯t want to deal with it, then they won¡¯t and your worry will be absolved, if they decide to go to it, then Keeno will say something that will ultimately reassure you.¡±


    {¡­You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll talk to them about it when they wake up.}


    Fia then stood up from her seat and stretched.


    ¡°Speaking of sleep, I should get some too.¡±


    {Have a good night, Fia.}


    ¡°Same to you, Rasu.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto, are you ready to go?


    I am. Luna, we¡¯ll be away for a few days, feel free to let yourself in and watch. If Astraeaes back while we aren¡¯t here, just let her know where we went.


    Luna: Got it. And I promise nothing will happen to those mongrels while you two are away. And if something unfluffy does happen, it¡¯s 100000% not my doing.


    I hear you loud and clear.


    *Payto and Order leave*


    Luna: Tamamo the unfluffifying can wait, what do you say to a small raid on their coffee selection?


    Tamamo: I like the idea, though we should tell them when they get back.


    Luna: That was the n all along. I just want to see if there is any different variety here than what Java has to offer.


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. Maybe we could even let Java know so he can start growing some.


    Luna: And this is why I always call you a genius.

 Chapter 40- Amaterasu鈥檚 Anxiety

    Chapter 40- Amaterasu¡¯s Anxiety


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next morning, I saw Pram sitting by the firece, poking around to get the fire to grow again. Huginn and Muninn were sitting on the arm of a chair near her looking at what she was doing like two curious cats.


    ¡°Nnn. Mornin Pram, Huginn, Muninn¡­Ama, where are you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Morning Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­I¡¯m here¡­}


    ¡°Ama? What¡¯s wrong?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­I¡­}


    ¡°Ama, did something happen?¡± (Keeno)


    {No, I just don¡¯t know how to ask about something.}


    ¡°Is there something we know that you don¡¯t?¡± (Pram)


    {No, it¡¯s not like that¡­*sigh* Fine, have either of you heard about the Well of Knowledge?}


    Pram tilted her head in confusion while the name rang a bell in my memories.


    ¡°Well of Knowledge. Well located at the roots of the World Tree Yggdrasil. It¡¯s Keeper, the sentient decapitated head Mimir, pretty much all knowing. Takes a price from those who seek its waters, part of why the ruler of the Norse Pantheon, Odin, lost an eye. That kind of Well of Knowledge?¡± (Keeno)


    {Sort of. The takes a price part is right, but it¡¯s not all knowing, at least, I think. Also, no one named Odin here with one eye and no decapitated keeper named Mimir. Anyway, it¡¯s a well located in the mountains on the border of Solheim and Odeen. The path the two of you are taking is going to pass near it and I wanted to know if you were going to go to it.}


    ¡°I mean, now that I know about it I want to. You¡¯re opinion, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It does sound interesting.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­So, this is one of those self-fulfilling prophesies. I thought the two of you knew about it and were heading this way on purpose.}


    ¡°Nope, this is just the shortest route to Vanir ording to you and Fia. Did you not want us to go to it? If so, why even suggest this route in the first ce?¡± (Keeno)


    {No, it¡¯s just that I remembered the Well was this wayst night and then I got a bad feeling about it when I thought of you going to it, Keeno. It¡¯s hard to exin perfectly, but I feel like if you go to the Well and learn from it, it might hurt you in some way.}


    ¡°¡­If that¡¯s the case, then we won¡¯t go to it. Curiosity killed the cat and all that, you know. I won¡¯t go do something if it makes you this worried.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s the thing though, I also get the feeling that it will be more beneficial for you to go and learn something from the well. Plus, I can tell you really want to go see it; your tail is going crazy.


    I looked down and saw that my tail was indeed going crazy. I covered my face with my hands as I felt the room around me heat up.


    ¡°Uuuuuuuuu.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehehe. Embarrassed Keeno is cute.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Caw.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caw, caw.¡± (Muninn)


    I didn¡¯t grace the three of them with a response and just threw a pillow at them. Huginn and Muninn dodged it while Pram caught it before it flew into the firece.


    ¡°Careful Keeno, we don¡¯t want to have to pay the inn more than we already have.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehe.}


    ¡°¡­So, Ama, what do you want us to do?¡± (Keeno)


    {I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t want you to forego an opportunity to seek something that benefits you, but I also don¡¯t want to see you hurt in any way. Call me overprotective all you want, but it¡¯s the truth all the same.}


    My heart skipped a beat at Ama¡¯s sincere feelings of wanting to keep me safe and I could feel a big smile grow on my face.


    ¡®Hnnnng! AMA! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME FEEL SO MANY THINGS THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!? AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH! I JUST WANT TO HUG YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Hehehehe. At least you didn¡¯t yell that out loud. Also, calm down, the nkets and wood in the room are starting to smoke.}


    ¡°Keeno, I get that you¡¯re happy right now, but please reign in your heat.¡± (Pram)


    I took several deep breaths to get everything back under control.


    ¡°I¡¯m good now¡­But also in a bind. I want to absolve your worries, Ama, but I also want to go see this Well of Knowledge.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um, is it the price that you¡¯re worried about, or something else?¡± (Pram)


    {Not in the slightest. The price is negligible. Though it differs from person to person, it¡¯s usually something valuable or, in the worst case, a small amount of lifespan. Though that was only once and even then, it was only a year. I asked Fia about thisst night and even she said that the price wasn¡¯t anything to worry about for either of you.}


    ¡°So, it¡¯s something else then¡­hmmmm.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh, I have an idea.¡± (Keeno)


    {Let¡¯s hear it then.}


    ¡°So, we go to this Well of Knowledge and, in the event that I do get hurt somehow, I let you take full care of me when I see you again?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, I like that, but what if you don¡¯t get physically hurt, but mentally?}


    ¡°Simple. Just make sure you overwrite the mental pain with something better. We do have a promise to fulfill after all, so why not hold off one more month if it¡¯ll be helpful?¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, though I¡¯m not actually sure since I¡¯ve never experienced it, but sex doesn¡¯t solve everything.}


    ¡°Sure, but it can make things easier to put off untilter. And besides, we both know I¡¯m more mentally tough than that. I wouldn¡¯t let a little mental trauma get to me.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°If I may? Since healing magic falls under your Life Authority, wouldn¡¯t you just need to use its full power on Keeno if something happened to her mentally? I mean, I know it doesn¡¯t work like that for a mortal like myself, but I can¡¯t not think you would be different, being the Goddess of Life and all.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Pram¡­are you some kind of genius or something? Why didn¡¯t I think of that? I mean, it¡¯s so, so simple! Aaaaggghhhh! Why am I so dumb sometimes!?}


    I gave Pram a thumbs up and she returned the gesture with one of her own.


    ¡°Well, with this figured out, we can go visit this Well of Knowledge AND me and Ama don¡¯t have to hold back next Sr Convergence.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh* The two of you should just do it already so Keeno stops talking about it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What do you mean? I thought I keep all these things bottled up.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, when you¡¯re awake. You know you talk in your sleep a lot, right?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I do?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Pram)


    I could feel my earlier embarrassment returning tenfold.


    {PRAM!!! Why did you have to say something about that!? Now she¡¯ll try to never sleep!}


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Pram)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Fufufufu. Stupid, now fluffless mongrels. That¡¯ll teach you to be a disgrace to all that is fluffy.


    Tamamo: Oh, you did the same thing you did to those other three. Who is the fluff you¡¯ve taken from them going to?


    Luna: Keeno and Amaterasu obviously. I just need them toe here again so I can give it to them personally.


    Tamamo: I love that mischievous smile of yours so much.


    Luna: And that aplishes my second goal. Come here, Tamamo, let me cuddle you into fluffy oblivion.


    Tamamo: dly.

 Chapter 41- On the Road Again

    Chapter 41- On the Road Again


    [Keeno POV]


    Since we were done with all the important talk for the moment, I got up and got ready for the day. One thing I¡¯m supremely happy about is that I somehow got a mysterious blessing several years ago that made it so my hair and tail never got tangled during my sleep, so tending to them in the mornings easier. I have asked Ama if she knew what God or Goddess blessed me and she said she knows but isn¡¯t allowed to tell me for some reason or another. Anyway, once I was done getting ready, we left the room and went to get something to eat.


    After breakfast we left the inn to see if the weather was decent enough to travel in. The sky was clear, if not with a few clouds here and there. The streets were already practically alive with people shoveling snow or holding torches to melt ice covering stalls, doors, and windows.


    ¡°I wonder why our home never got weather like this. I mean, in geographical terms, the two cities aren¡¯t that far apart, but we¡¯ve at most only ever experienced mild blizzards, and never any hail as big as a house.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I was wondering the same thing.¡± (Pram)


    {While I¡¯d love to add some of my own input, I don¡¯t know either. I¡¯m not a storm Goddess, so I have no control over any of that to answer your questions. I DO know a few storm gods, but the best answer I¡¯d probably get from them is something along the lines of why not or because they feel like it.}


    ¡°Sounds like a ¡®fun¡¯ bunch.¡± (Keeno)


    {At parties, yes, but that¡¯s about it. Their moods are even more vtile than mine or other fire gods.}


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem like someone with a very vtile personality. At least from what I¡¯ve seen so far over the years.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve never seen someone that makes her actually angry.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True, but I can¡¯t say the same about you. No offence, but you do have a habit of holding a grudge, even for small slights.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Meh. I can understand where you¡¯reing from with that.¡± (Keeno)


    We soon got to the gate of the city that let out in the direction we were going when we ran into Tyr again. He and several other guards were shoveling snow and melting ice that was in the way of the gate. As we approached, I started to hear the conversation that they were having.


    ¡°Honestly, it was a crazy thing to see. Thatdy sliding down the hill, avoiding the hail like it was a game. Makes me want to try it out myself, if the weather permits.¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°You sure you¡¯re up for it, Tyr? You aren¡¯t as spry as you used to be, so you may end up hurting yourself.¡±


    ¡°OI! I may be older, but I¡¯m not decrepit! I have a good hundred years left!¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°Ahahahaha! Sure, and I¡¯m engaged to a princess.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Geoffry! My daughter IS my princess! Just be happy I let YOU of all people ask for her hand in marriage.¡±


    ¡°Can the two of you have your bonding quarrels somewhere else?¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Pram)


    Hearing ourughter, Tyr and the other guards that were working on the gate looked over at us.


    ¡°Well, well, well, if it isn¡¯t the two finedies that made such a grand entrancest night. Already leaving?¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re heading for Vanir, so we¡¯re trying to keep pit stops like this to a minimum.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pit stop? Anyway, some advice and a question. The weather from here until you get near the border mountains is somewhat hard to predict if you¡¯re from further north like the two of you. To figure out if it will get stormy like that again, listen to the wind. It¡¯s not a guarantee, but more often than not, the wind howls more when a storm is approaching.¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°And the question?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Got a name for that fancy trick you pulled with riding the ice?¡± (Tyr)


    ¡°Snowboarding. Oh, and if you really want to try it out, I rmend not using ice, it¡¯s too fragile to really be safe. Try using some sanded wood that¡¯s as smooth as possible and some way to keep your feet locked in ce.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± (Tyr)


    With that small meeting done, we went through the gate, leaving the city behind us. I didn¡¯t fail to catch the three of them starting up another rowdy conversation about wanting to give snowboarding a tryter.


    {Did you do that snowboarding thing a lot in yourst life?}


    ¡°No. I did it few times when I was younger back then, and once when I was in university, but it was a long time ago, especially if we add all the years I¡¯ve been alive here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s university?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Think of it like a school, but for learning about specialized jobs. Like, you would take sses to learn about alchemy in more detail than a general education would teach you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°General education?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°*sigh* I sometimes forget how behind this world is in some things.¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s not that Keeno, Solheim is basically considered the boonies. ces like Odeen¡¯s capital or other, bigger countries have things like what you¡¯re talking about, it¡¯s just Solheim is a little behind since there isn¡¯t a big enough poption to really benefit from it. Or at least that¡¯s what some of the ones in charge think. Granted, it¡¯s not to the level of Falheim, but when people live as long as the ones in this world do, changes like that take more time to happen.}


    ¡°Makes sense.¡± (Keeno)


    I then started on a mini lecture about things like general and higher-level education to exin it to Pram. This topic seemed to make her curious about my past and she started to ask about what I did more than she did when I first told her about it. This started me on a rant that took me the whole rest of the day to finish.


    {Hehehehe. Keeno, did you know that you really light up when you talk about things you enjoy? And I mean that literally.}


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She¡¯s right. Especially when you were talking about that arkamaloligy stuff. Your eyes lit up more and the blue parts on your ears, tail, and hair started to flicker like fire.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Huh¡­Did not know about that.¡± (Keeno)


    {I haven¡¯t mentioned it before?}


    ¡°Nope, or at least I don¡¯t remember you ever saying so.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, now you know one more thing that makes you really, REALLY cute.}


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    Shortly after that conversation we set up camp. Over the following weeks it was much the same, though every now and then our pace was slowed due to the weather, but it wasn¡¯t anything a decent Sr barrier couldn¡¯t fix. Luckily, we didn¡¯t have any more hailstorms like the one we first experienced, and soon enough, we started to see a mountain range in the distance.


    Chaos Realm:


    And we¡¯re back.


    Order: Payto, I had a great time.


    I¡¯m d.


    Luna: Wee back. Astraea came back while the two of you were gone but went to her room and never came back out.


    Tamamo: She did say something about letting the two of you know she wants to see you when you get back too.


    Thanks for passing on the message.


    Order: Yes, we¡¯ll go see what she wants then we¡¯ll ask what¡¯s been going on with Keeno.


    Luna: Alright. Though as a little teaser, I think Keeno just invented snowboarding in her world.


    Heh.


    Order: Sounds interesting.

 Chapter 42- Fluff with some Spice

    Chapter 42- Fluff with some Spice


    [Keeno POV]


    Looking at the mountains in the distance grow steadily taller the closer we got, I was awestruck. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure, but these mountains HAD to be as tall or maybe even taller than Mt. Everest.


    ¡°Um¡­are we going to have to climb over those?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I hope not, I¡¯ve never climbed a mountain before, and I really don¡¯t want this to be the first one.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Don¡¯t worry, there is a path through the mountains, so you don¡¯t have to climb them. Just keep following the road.}


    ¡°*Sigh* Thank you for being our eye in the sky, Ama¡­Not that you two aren¡¯t doing your part as well, Huginn, Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    The two of them ruffled their feathers at me before diving into my tail. I chuckled a little before turning my attention back to the mountains.


    ¡°So, where is this Well of Knowledge supposed to be?¡± (Keeno)


    {You¡¯ll find out when you get to the town at the foot of the mountains.}


    I nodded my head at that. We continued on for a few more days when the town Ama spoke about came into view. As usual, it was surrounded by a wall, though this one seemed to be built into the mountain a little. It wasn¡¯t exactly the same as a certain City of the White Tree, but more like one built into a Lonely Mountain. We also started to pass by some small caravans of wagons heading out of the city and in the direction we came from. They were surrounded by several guards, most of whom were beastkin. We traded nods of greeting before passing by each other.


    ¡°¡­Think we should invest in a wagon or something some time? Not that walking everywhere is bad or anything, but it will get tiring at some point.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I think we should hold off until we actually have the money to just throw around. Fia did give us a reasonable windfall, but it¡¯s not enough to buy a wagon, mounts to pull it, and all the other things you need to take care of both it and the animals.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean now, but one day.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then we can talk about it when it bes necessary.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram nodded her head and we fell silent for a while until we got to the gate of the city. The sky above us was starting to turn from the orange and pink of evening to the dark blue and ck of night when we finally managed to make it to and through the gate. As per usual, the guards and other people around the gate seemed to tense up when they saw me, but rxed once I was gone. It took us around an hour, but we did find an inn with a vacant room. Once we were there, the two of us flopped onto our respective beds and let out content sighs.


    ¡°Bed¡­so nice and soft.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Bed¡­so inviting and cushy.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m starting to think Phobos is actually doing something good for once.}


    ¡°Ugh. Why¡¯d you bring HIM up?¡± (Keeno)


    {Because you have perfect timing in getting here. Tomorrow is the Sr Convergence.}


    ¡°¡­I will tentatively thank Phobos, but only this once.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um¡­Are you talking about the god of Time and Fate?¡± (Pram)


    {Yes, but you don¡¯t have to worry about it, Pram. Anyway, Keeno, I have a fun n for us tomorrow, so make sure you are well rested tonight.}


    ¡°Heard you loud and clear.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I guess since you will be upied tomorrow, I¡¯ll head out with Huginn and Muninn and ask around about the Well of Knowledge. I hope the two of you have fun.¡± (Pram)


    After getting ready for bed, I quickly fell asleep. Turns out spending long periods of time camping out tires a person out way more than you realize until you sleep in an actual bed again. The good thing about that, though, is that I didn¡¯t feel the time pass and the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the feeling of being hugged from behind.


    {Hehehe. You look so content, Keeno.}


    ¡°You would too, if you woke up being hugged by me like this.¡±


    {True.}


    I rxed myself more into Ama¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°Ama-¡±


    {Uh, uh, uh Keeno. Not until you meet the dress code or today¡¯s visit.}


    Ama let me go and I turned around to see that she had nothing on. I could feel the heat around me increase in tune with how flustered I was. Ama smiled at me with a scarlet tint on her cheeks. She moved closer to me and put her hands on my shoulders.


    {I see, you want my help. Hehehe.}


    Ama slowly took my shirt off followed by loosening my pants and so on. Before I knew it, I was as bare as the day I was born. Ama then moved away.


    ¡°Ama¡­I don¡¯t think I can hold back anymore.¡±


    {While I don¡¯t mind if you decide to just push me down right here and now, let¡¯s at least try something before we go all the way.}


    ¡°Try what?¡±


    {Well, in preparation for this day, I¡¯ve been reading some things so it would at least look like I know what I¡¯m doing, and one thing stuck in my mind the most.}


    She waved her hand and a table appeared next to the bed. It was full of several sweets ranging from small fruits to what I think was whipped cream. Using one of her tails, she grabbed a small bowl of cream and started to put it on her body. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know what I was supposed to do, and I could feel a smile spread across my face. Once Ama was done turning herself into a sweet treat for me, she looked at me. I did my best to seductively saunter up to her.


    ¡°Ufufufu. I guess it¡¯s time for me to eat this sweet treat in front of me, huh? Don¡¯t mind if I do.¡±


    I stuck my tongue out andpped up some of the cream from Ama¡¯s neck, taking special note of her excited trembling. I took my time and slowly made my way down, savoring everything. This was just the start of a long, passion filled day.


    Chaos Realm:


    Astraea, you wanted to see us?


    Astraea: Yeah, papa, mama. Come in.


    Order: Is something wrong?


    Astraea: No.


    Then what is it that you need?


    Astraea: Well, while I was over at Evelyn¡¯s, her insane mom was telling us about some of the things she can do, and in the end, she taught us how to make stuff. It took a while, but I managed to make something and I wanted to give them to the two of you.


    *Astraea holds out two bracelets made of silvery-gold crytals.*


    ¡­Crystalized Positivity¡­She taught you how to crystalize a small part of one of your Divinities¡­


    Order: Thank you, Astraea, we¡¯ll treasure them forever.


    Astraea: Hehehe.


    *Everyone is pulled into a family hug*

 Chapter 43- The Evening After

    Chapter 43- The Evening After


    [Keeno POV]


    As the day wasing to an end, Ama and Iid under the nkets of the bed snuggling together while trading kisses intermittently.


    ¡°Hehehe. Ama.¡±


    I nuzzled into her neck that was marked all over with red spots.


    {Keeno¡­I think I might get addicted to this¡­}


    ¡°Hehe. Feel free to get as addicted to me as you want, because I think I¡¯m addicted to you.¡±


    {Pfft. Ahahaha.}


    Ama moved and pinned me beneath her and started kissing me deeply again. When our lips separated, she looked down at me and a smile full of so much love andpassion that I felt it like a physical force piercing deeply into my soul. It was like our Fated One connection was zing with the heat of an infinite number of suns.


    ¡°Ama, I love you, for now, and all of eternity.¡±


    {I feel the same, Keeno. If I could, I would even usurp the Authority of Time to make this momentst forever.}


    As she said those words, I felt the usual sensation of fading away from the Divine Domain. As upsetting as that fact was, I decided to make the most of thest few seconds of my time with Ama. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her down until our lips met one more time. That kiss made the seconds feel like minutes, but as all good things do, this amazing day finally ended. My vision faded and before I knew it, I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh? ¡­Keeno, if you are back, go and take a bath.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­You could have let me bask in the afterglow a bit more, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No offence, Keeno, but I¡¯m not sleeping in a room that smells like you do all night.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Fine. But before I go, did you find anything out today?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I did.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up and walked over to the bathroom, though I didn¡¯t fail to notice Pram starting to blush.


    {Oi Pram! Where do you think you¡¯re looking?}


    ¡°At the long scratches on Keeno¡¯s back.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­I thought I healed those.}


    ¡°You did the first few times, but after that we kind of started to ignore it.¡± (Keeno)


    I then shut the door and took my time cleaning off and soaking in the bath. About an hourter I got out, dried my hair and tail, and dressed myself before exiting.


    ¡°Keeno, show me your back and I¡¯ll heal it.¡± (Pram)


    I nodded my head and walked over to Pram¡¯s bed before turning my back to her and pulling my shirt up so she could work her magic.


    ¡°Whew. Does this not hurt?¡± (Pram)


    At the same time, she asked that, I felt a warm,forting feeling radiating from my back.


    ¡°Not really. It stung a bit when I got in the bath and washed my back, but after that it wasn¡¯t noticeable. But enough about that, what did you learn today, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, people do know about the Well, though they aren¡¯t exactly delighted about it. If I¡¯m beingpletely honest, I haven¡¯t heard such hate for something in people¡¯s voices before.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡­doesn¡¯t bode well.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm. I wonder what happened?}


    ¡°Anyway, I did get a location as well, though I was told that I should only go there if I want to go insane. It¡¯s in some ruins in a cave near the peak of the mountain nearest to the city.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ruins!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ruins¡­I wonder how old they are? How ruined are they? Do they have any ancient writings there? W-we need to go see them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um, Amaterasu, please help. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡± (Pram)


    {Keeno.}


    ¡°Hmm? Yes, Ama, is there anything I can do for you?¡± (Keeno)


    {I get how you feel but calm down. You¡¯re scaring Pram.}


    ¡°Sorry, I just really like ruins and the thought of exploring them.¡± (Keeno)


    {Guh. Why did the day have to end? A cute, excited Keeno is right in front of me again and I can¡¯t do anything but speak to her.}


    ¡°Again, I did get the location, but was waned to not go there. I don¡¯t know if we want to go there now due to this new information, but if we do, then we need to figure out a way to protect our minds.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    {You said that people go insane if they go there, right?}


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Pram)


    {Then it¡¯s most likely due to a curse. And, it just so happens that Keeno can purify curses, so as long as you stick with Keeno, then you¡¯ll be perfectly fine.}


    ¡°She can?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I can?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yep. All you have to do is burn it with your Sr magic. Of course, this is only due to you being you, Keeno. Other people with Sr magic wouldn¡¯t be able to do it, but since yours is basically just a severely weakened form of your Sun Authority, then any curse thates in contact with your mes will be purified. AND, it¡¯s not like soul purification, so it won¡¯t tire you out as much.}


    ¡°¡­I feel¡­strange about this. Like, isn¡¯t that just a bit TOO convenient?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hey, perks of Divinity, you just have to get used to it.}


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m done healing your back, so you can put your shirt down.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Thanks Pram. I¡¯ll try to remember to get Ama to do that before Ie back next time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Now, I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± (Pram)


    I moved over to my bed andid down. I just stared at the ceiling for a bit until I was sure Pram was asleep.


    ¡®Ama.¡¯


    {Yes Keeno?}


    ¡®I had a wonderful time today.¡¯


    {I did too. It made me feel so much closer to you than I have ever felt before. And I don¡¯t mean that just in the physical sense. It¡¯s like our souls that were already bound to one another deepened their connection even more.}


    ¡®I agree. Just thinking about it makes me want to just break the boundary between the mortal world and the Divine Domain to be with you, to hold you, to keep you all to myself.¡¯


    {Hehehe. I love possessive Keeno.}


    ¡®Ama, if you keep saying things like that, then I might actually turn into a crazy person that doesn¡¯t even let Fia talk to you. As much as that kind of sounds nice, I also still have SOME rationality left.¡¯


    {Then I¡¯ll keepments like that to myself in the future. Anyway, I think you should get some sleep, else you won¡¯t be ready to climb a mountain.}


    ¡®Alright. I¡¯ll try my best to dream of you.¡¯


    {Hehehe.}


    With the end of our conversation, I slowly fell asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­I¡¯m so d I missed whatever just happened.


    Order: I¡¯m d you did too.


    Luna: As you should be.


    Tamamo: Oh, but they did give me a good idea. Anyway, what is it Astraea wanted from the two of you?


    She was taught how to crystallize a piece of her Divinity into physical form, and she made us some bracelets.


    Order: Aren¡¯t they just beautiful?


    Tamamo: They really are. And they are practically radiating power.


    Luna: ¡­We can do something like that?


    Tamamo: I¡¯ll show you howter.


    Luna: Alright.

 Chapter 44- The Search for the Well Begins

    Chapter 44- The Search for the Well Begins


    [Keeno POV]


    When I woke up the next morning, Huginn and Muninn were sitting on the headboard of the bed and staring down at me unblinkingly. I stared back at them, also unblinkingly. After about a minute of our three way staring contest, Huginn and Muninn started to bob up and down in turn while also folding and unfolding their wings in some sort of dance like manner. It was so funny that I couldn¡¯t help but startughing.


    ¡°Pffft. Ahahahahahaha!¡± (Keeno)


    Myughing caused me to blink; thus, I lost our little game.


    ¡°CASQUACK!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°SQUACAW!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°NYA!¡± (Pram)


    Pram¡¯s strange noise caused the three of us to look over at her. She was halfway on the bed while the other half of her was on the floor.


    ¡°You good Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ugh¡­Yeah. Though, I would like to request you wake me up a different way next time. I though something wasing for us.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Pram)


    She untangled herself from her nket and pulled herself up from the floor.


    ¡°Aww. My hair¡¯s all messed up now.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Get over here, Pram. Let me help.¡± (Keeno)


    She did as I said and moved over to sit on my bed holding her brush. She handed it over to me and I started to brush. This took a bit since Pram¡¯s hair was nearly as long as mine, but eventually I finished.


    ¡°¡­Keeno, I think I¡¯ll ask you to help me out with this again in the future. You actually managed to get the tangles out without pulling my hair AND it somehow feels softer.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but only if you help me out as well. I can take care of my tail fine, but my hair IS a pain to brush sometimes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Deal.¡± (Pram)


    I handed her my own brush and she got to work on my own long hair. It took her quite a bit longer than I did, but still did a wonderful job in the end. Once we were done with hair rted issues, we got dressed for the road. We left our room, got something to eat, and left the inn.


    ¡°Alright Pram, lead the way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°All I know is the mountain it¡¯s on, not where it is.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. When we get there, Huginn and Muninn will finally get their turn. Hear that, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    They both ruffled their feathers in delight at finally being able to help out. Following Pram, we left the city and started up one of the mountain paths. We were stopped at the gate and warned that going this way was dangerous, but we went forward anyway.


    ¡°Ama, you¡¯ve been real quiet so far today. Is anything wrong?¡± (Keeno)


    There was no answer.


    ¡°A-Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    Pram looked around before patting me on the head.


    ¡°Keeno, calm down. You can¡¯t start getting all meek and nervous just because she doesn¡¯t say anything. For all we know, she could just be asleep.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe. And I thought I was supposed to be the always calm and collected one.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Were you just messing with me?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, the nerves are real since I haven¡¯t gone a day since I was five without Ama talking to me. But I can¡¯t let something like that really mess me up mentally. Otherwise, I¡¯d be worthless if we ever went to a ce that was full of angels or somehow entered an area where even our connection somehow didn¡¯t work.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You good to keep going then?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I just hope that this doesn¡¯t be a problem.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, if you are aware of it, then it probably won¡¯t. And hey, I¡¯m also here for you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    I moved closer to Pram and started to pat her on the head.


    ¡°Thanks Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡°CAW!¡±¡± (Huginn and Muninn)


    ¡°Hehe. I haven¡¯t forgotten about you two. I know you¡¯re both there for me.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued our search for the Well of Knowledge for a few hours before Pram stopped. We were now standing by an old bridge that had copsed leaving arge gap.


    ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked around and didn¡¯t see anything that we could move to make a makeshift bridge and the gap was way too big for us to jump it.


    ¡°Oh. Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Did you get an idea?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep. You trust me, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Good.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to the edge of the gap, summoned one of my swords and started to swing it until it gained a lot of momentum. I then flung it and it stabbed deep into the side of the mountain. I pulled the chain a few times to make sure it wouldn¡¯te out and turned to Pram and smiled.


    ¡°No.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No other way, Pram. Climb on my back.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­*sigh*¡± (Pram)


    She reluctantly climbed on my back and I moved back a little to get a running start. I then moved as fast as I could and jumped. The chain went taut quickly as we dropped and we swung forward. As we approached the other side, my sword slipped a little.


    ¡°KEENO!¡± (Pram)


    Pram clung to me tighter. Once we hit the apex of the swing I did my best to put as much weight to get the momentum to stay on the ledge without falling off. I just barely managed to stick thending and, as fast as I could, recalled my sword and spun around so that thebined weight of Pram and I would let us fall backwards.


    ¡°Pram¡­PRAM! Let go, I can¡¯t breathe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We made it?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Y-yes.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram let go and fell on her back.


    ¡°On our way back, we¡¯re looking for a different way. I am NEVER doing that again.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Aww. But it was fun.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It was most definitely not fun.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then we can agree to disagree.¡± (Keeno)


    We stayed in that spot for a little while so Pram could calm down some. While we did that I sent Huginn and Muninn to fly around and see if they could find anything that could tell us where to go.


    Chaos Realm:


    Wait, what are they looking for?


    Luna: Something called a Well of Knowledge.


    ¡­Order?


    Order: Hehe. Looks like I got found out.


    Luna: Eh?


    Order: What, did you forget the one of my other Authorities was Knowledge?


    Luna: I did.


    Hold on, Order, when did you do that?


    Order: A while ago, but don¡¯t worry, I set up very strict rules. One bit of knowledge per individual and a hefty price for it. After they get their one, then they never get to use the Well again. Though I might make an exception for Keeno.


    Luna: Why?


    Ah. Hehe. That¡¯s a good idea, Order.


    Order: Well, I am your wife, I should do my best to support you like you do for me. It just so happens that this particr instance is a prime opportunity for something I made to show some better results.


    *Pulls Order into hug*


    Luna: I¡¯ll see myself out then.

 Chapter 45- Curse Dispelling

    Chapter 45- Curse Dispelling


    [Keeno POV]


    After about three hours of waiting, Huginn and Muninn returned. Huginn flew down to me and started cawing while Muninn flew in circles above us.


    ¡°Pram, Huginn said they might have found something.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright¡­Ask if there were any more gaps in the way.¡± (Pram)


    I looked at Huginn and it cawed in response.


    ¡°No.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Good.¡± (Pram)


    Huginn flew up next to Muninn and the two of them led the way toward what they found. It took us another two hours since we had to find decent footpaths aroundndslides, unstable snow, and fallen trees, but eventually we found a clearing seemingly carved into the side of the mountain. There were several crumbled pirs lining up what I think used to be some sort of pavilion. Pram and I stopped in the treeline just before the clearing.


    ¡°¡­You feel it too, right Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The feeling of wrongness?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Keeno)


    As the two of us looked over the ruins, I heard a noise and saw that a wolf walked into the clearing, clearly staring at us and growling. The second it fully stepped into the clearing, a dark reddish-purple haze flowed up from the ground and covered the wolf. It started whimpering in pain and stumbling around. Before long it stumbled into a pir and started mming its head into it until it couldn¡¯t move anymore.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m ba¡­What did I miss?}


    ¡°Hang on¡­Huginn, Muninn,e here and don¡¯t go into the clearing.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn and Muninn flew down and perched on a tree limb just a little above us.


    ¡°Ok¡­Where have you been, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {I was having a meeting with my sun¡¯s Spirit King. He likes to draw things out longer than they need to.}


    ¡°Did we mess up again?¡± (Keeno)


    {No, my preparations were perfect, so we didn¡¯t have any effect on the world this time. He was mostly justining about insignificant things.}


    ¡°I see. Well, we¡¯ve been looking for a well and Huginn and Muninn led us here. You just missed watching a wolf go crazy and kill itself.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm. Let me see¡­Oof.}


    ¡°How bad of a curse is it?¡± (Pram)


    {It¡¯s an annoying kind. It¡¯s the kind that feeds itself with the lifeforce of the ones affected by it. It corrupts a victim, makes it go crazy, then when the victim dies, bes stronger. The good thing about it is it never expands, just bes harder to purify.}


    ¡°Then I should get on to that. But first, how do I go about doing that?¡± (Keeno)


    {Just go wild with your fire. Though I would advise Pram, Huginn, and Muninn stay away until you are done.}


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll stay right here. Be careful Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ll try. Huginn, Muninn, make sure to keep Pram safe if she needs it.¡± (Keeno)


    I then turned back to the clearing and slowly walked toward it. Once I was walking more on stone than soil I started to channel mana and blue mes started to burn around me. Once I was as far as the wolf, I noticed that it was still alive, if only barely. I looked at the poor animal and set it alight with extremely hot mes so that it would pass on with no more pain. I then noticed the same haze from earliere out of the ground again but the second it touched my mes, it started to dissipate with what almost sounded like a scream.


    {Keeno, expand your mes to cover the entire area. If you don¡¯t eradicate every single piece of the curse, it will only fester.}


    ¡°I thought you said it doesn¡¯t grow, only be more powerful.¡±


    {I meant it doesn¡¯t grow much, and it¡¯s not like it can¡¯t parasitize something and move that way. Curses always have a small amount of near sentient malice in them after all.}


    ¡°Curses seems so confusing.¡± (Keeno)


    {They can be.}


    I shook my head and expanded my mes until the entire entrance to the ruins were a sea of blue. I heard another scream like noise before I started on my way into the cave entrance. I pulled my mes to me and then made them flow into the cave, lighting it uppletely while simultaneously destroying any of the curse inside.


    {Keep moving in, Keeno.}


    I nodded and started walking slowly. I kept the mes burning as I walked before stopping at arge opening.


    ¡°Come to think of it, isn¡¯t this a bad idea? Fire and caves don¡¯t normally mix well.¡±


    {You¡¯re fine, this ce is well ventted, or at least from what I can make out.}


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I took one step inside therge chamber where I saw a giant ball of the same reddish-purple haze. It pulsed with a dim light like a heartbeat. I moved and expanded my mes until they were burning inside the entire chamber except the ball in the middle.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {Are you alright Keeno?}


    ¡°Yeah¡­Just need to finish this fast¡­it¡¯s not as ventted as you thought.¡±


    Once I was sure that I got all the curse around the chamber, I moved to take care of the ball in the center. I made the mes converge on the curse core, making it look like a tiny sun in the center. I continued to condense it until it was a ball so small you could hold it in one hand and then snuffed it out. At this point my head was swimming a little so I slowly made my way outside.


    {Good job, Keeno. Masterfully done.}


    ¡°Heh. I would hope so.¡±


    When I made it outside, I sat down next to a pir and leaned on it. I let the cold air fill my lungs and reveled in the refreshing feeling of it. I looked over to where Pram was watching and waved her over. All three of them walk over to me and Pram sits down next to me.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s taken care of, let¡¯s just wait a bit.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. It is gettingte, so how about we camp out right here for the night?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Wait, if that is a ce set up by Order, why was a curse even able to affect it?


    Order: Because Knowledge Spirits have basically no other power aside from knowledge. They can understand a way to dispel a cure like that but have no actual power to do so.


    Luna: ¡­


    Order: Don¡¯t look at me like that, setting up Wells like that is already overstepping, if I actually did something to them after the initial set up, then Payto would have no choice but to punish me.


    For the record, I¡¯d break every single one of my rules for you, but I am happy you don¡¯t.


    Order: ¡­

 Chapter 46- Gaining Knowledge

    Chapter 46- Gaining Knowledge


    [Keeno POV]


    I was woken up just before the suns rose by a whispering noise. It was nearly imperceptible, but there all the same. I sat up and sleepily rubbed my eyes.


    ¡°Pram¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Zzzzzzzz.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram!¡± (Keeno)


    I looked over to Pram who was chewing on her tail in her sleep and nudged her.


    ¡°Whasit Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Listen¡­do you hear that whispering too?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡­zzzzzzzz¡± (Pram)


    ¡°*Sigh*Do I have to wake you up the old way?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Zzzz!!!! I¡¯M UP!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Listen closely, do you hear the whispering too?¡± (Keeno)


    Pram closed her eyes, though I could tell she was listening this time. Her ears moved at every little sound until the whispering started up again.


    ¡°Yeah, I hear it too. Do we go check it out?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Naturally. I mean, there are only two things to do when you start hearing mysterious whispering, go to it or run away. And, as the naturally curious types, we MUST go towards the mysterious whispering.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Perfect logic.¡± (Pram)


    {I¡¯m sure normal people would call that the wrong decision, but it¡¯s way more fun this way.}


    ¡°Exactly, Ama, exactly.¡± (Keeno)


    We got up and picked up camp before going to the one ce the whispering would feasibly being from: the entrance of the cave. The whispering did indeed grow a little louder the closer we got, though it was still too quiet to make out what it said. Pram and I looked at one another before nodding. I made a tiny fireball to light the way and we headed inside. Now that I could actually get a good look at the ce, it was actually a decently well-made tunnel. Well maintained too, despite what the outside looked like.


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°What¡¯s the point of ruins if they aren¡¯t ruined? It just makes them another normal building or structure.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We¡¯re in an old ce of power, and youin about it not being ruined? I¡¯m sure schrs would call you insane if they heard that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t get it Pram. Actual ruins just have that certain¡­je ne seis quoi to them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A what?¡± (Pram)


    {Yeah, what?}


    At this point we entered the big open area of the cave, the whispering long gone quiet.


    [Je ne seis quoi, a term from Lady Keeno¡¯s old world used to describe an indescribable feeling. Thenguage used is called French, spoken across the world and originating in the country of France in the continent of Europe.]


    Both Pram and I turned our heads to the center of the cavern where a floating, glowing silhouette that wasn¡¯t there before appeared. The two of us were about to ready ourselves forbat when the light spoke again.


    [Calm yourselves, I am the guardian of what you seek. I thank you, Lady Keeno for ridding this ce of that foul evil.]


    {I¡¯ve never seen a spirit of your kind before, what are you?}


    [Ah, Lady Amaterasu, I am a Spirit of Knowledge, that should tell you all you need to know.]


    {¡­I see. Keeno, Pram, this spirit is trustworthy, so feel free to listen to it.}


    When I was about to ask Ama what she meant, the spirit spoke again.


    [Lady Keeno, I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t ask questions for things that you don¡¯t need to know. All I will say is that the one I serve is your ally, even if she cannot interact with you in normal ways.]


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Keeno)


    The Spirit of Knowledge flickered like it nodded in thanks.


    [Now, I shall get the ball rolling, as the saying goes. Wee, Ladies Keeno and Pram, to the Well of Knowledge of this world. To Lady Keeno, I offer knowledge with no price in thanks for ridding my home of its evil curse. To Lady Pram, I offer knowledge as well, though hers will require the sacrifice of a ming feather.]


    ¡°How do we go about getting this knowledge?¡± (Keeno)


    [Simply drink the waters below. Though for Lady Pram, her price must be paid first.]


    I turned to Pram while taking out one of Fia¡¯s feathers from my ring and handed it to her. She took it and walked up to the water in front of us.


    ¡°Do I just drop it in?¡± (Pram)


    [Yes, drop it in and take a handful of water. The knowledge that is bestowed upon you after will be what is most useful for you.]


    Pram looked at the feather in her hand hesitantly before closing her eyes and dropping it into the water. It glowed for a second before looking like it melted into the water. Pram then cupped her hands and drank some of the water. She went still for a second before opening her eyes.


    ¡°That felt weird.¡± (Pram)


    [Yes, most who gain knowledge through the Well say that.]


    Pram stood up and walked back over to me.


    ¡°So, what did you learn?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How to get my healing magic to turn into Life magic.¡± (Pram)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, Keeno, I know.¡± (Pram)


    I nced over at the Spirit.


    [It is not a scam. I said the Well bestows the knowledge most useful to you, not the knowledge that you couldn¡¯t easily obtain through different methods.]


    ¡°I see¡­Well, I might as well see what I learn from the Well.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to the well and cupped some water in my hand before drinking it. Nothing happened for a second before my head got a weird fuzzy feeling while it felt like something was worming itself in. When I finally understood what I learned, my eyes went wide.


    ¡°Seriously!?¡± (Keeno)


    {What did you learn?}


    ¡°¡­Either this world is worse off than we expected, or Death is such a big deal that I¡¯ll need a lot of help¡­I can make nine Death Apostles.¡± (Keeno)


    {WHAT!!!? That¡¯s¡­No, it makes sense. Yeah, I can see what that is necessary.}


    ¡°Exin, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, you need someone to watch over the ces where you dismantle the Dead Zone. You can¡¯t do it personally, so setting up a Death Apostle in each of those countries will help manage it. I don¡¯t know why you get nine when there are only eight Dead Zones, but it is still helpful.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why are youughing?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, Death Apostle is a mouthful and, in my opinion, not very cool sounding, so instead of calling them Death Apostles, I¡¯m going to call them Valkyries.¡± (Keeno)


    {I like it. Makes it sound special.}


    [Eh? My Goddess, are you sure? That goes¡­Permission from Him¡­I understand. Lady Keeno, my Goddess has granted permission for you to learn additional knowledge, though you must take a Trial to gain it.]


    ¡°What kind of Trial?¡± (Keeno)


    [I do not know. It is different for everyone whose price is a Trial. There are infinite possibilities of what it could be.]


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡°Are you getting that bad feeling again?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yeah. But this time the feeling that you need to do this is also very present.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Remember, Keeno, Amaterasu isn¡¯t the only one here for you. You also have Huginn, Muninn, and me. We may not be able to do as much until next Sr Convergence, but we¡¯re here all the same.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled at Pram, whose words put me at ease.


    ¡°Ama, I think I¡¯m going to take this Trial. If whatever happens messes me up mentally, then I want you to trust Pram and the others to take care of me until I see you again. Can you do that?¡± (Keeno)


    {Anything for you, Keeno.}


    ¡°Alright. Just do the same thing?¡± (Keeno)


    [Yes. I wish you good luck.]


    I cupped some water in my hand again and drank it. Like before nothing happened for a few seconds and then, my vision went ck.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Well, that¡¯s enough interference from us, right?


    Yep. Now we can just sit back and watch. And mess around when Amaterasu and Keeno show up here again.


    Atmos: Um, did you happen to put a Well of Knowledge in our world as well?


    Order: I can if you want and Payto allows it.


    I don¡¯t mind. It may lead to some interesting things.


    Atmos: Then, I have an idea for it, but it needs Luna and Tamamo¡¯s assistance.


    Order: Sounds fun, tell me the n and we can propose it to them when they show up again.


    Atmos: Hehehe.


    Am I allowed to join in?


    Atmos: Of course, the more the merrier.

 Chapter 47- Trial of Knowledge

    Chapter 47- Trial of Knowledge


    [Pram POV]


    Seeing Keeno kneeling next to the Well as I and the Spirit looked on at her, she scooped more water into her hands and drank it. A few secondster, she went rigid and started to fall over. I ran over and caught her before she fell into the water.


    {KEENO!}


    [Please calm yourself, Goddess Amaterasu, your Fated One is safe, she is just undertaking her Trial.]


    {I¡­*sigh* Can you figure out what her Trial is now that it is started?}


    [I can try. Permission to touch her forehead?]


    {Tentatively granted.}


    [I thank you.]


    The spirit shrunk in size and floated closer to Keeno before a small protrusion appeared and tapped Keeno¡¯s forehead.


    [I see.]


    {Well?}


    [Her trial is one that, in order toplete it, she must unsupress memories she has suppressed.]


    ¡°What memories is she suppressing?¡±


    {Ah¡­Keeno¡­}


    ¡°Amaterasu?¡±


    {Her death¡­Aside from the initial shock from when it happened, she never really mentioned it and never really talks about it unless it¡¯s important for some small context of something¡­}


    [Yes, it seems she has something to learn from those memories that she hoped to never remember.]


    {Keeno, whatever happens, pleasee back to me safely.}


    Hearing the worry in Amaterasu¡¯s voice, I could only look down at Keeno with worry as well.


    [Keeno POV]


    When I felt my eyes open, all I saw was darkness. My head felt a little fuzzy and instinctively I felt around for something. When my fingers brushed against something hard, I picked it up, and with practices ease, flipped the switch. A single beam of light lit up the room, revealing a somewhat circr room of stone with arge b in the middle. The walls of the room seemed strangely blurry, and I tried standing up.


    When I stood, I immediately felt something off. I reached my hand behind me and didn¡¯t feel what was supposed to be there.


    ¡°Where is my tail¡­And why is my voi-¡±


    I couldn¡¯t even finish my sentence. I dropped the light and tried snapping my fingers. Nothing. No fire, not even a small spark. I fell to my knees.


    ¡°A-Ama!? Amaterasu!!!? Pram? Huginn? Muninn!?¡±


    I felt tears start to roll down my cheeks as nobody answered me. I fell to my side and curled up into a ball. I cried at the sense of loneliness that I hadn¡¯t felt in a long time as well as the fact that, for all I knew, everything was just a dream from a desperate girl dying alone in a dark cave in the middle of nowhere. At some point all the tears were gone, and my consciousness faded.


    When I awoke once more, I felt worse. The loneliness was crushing, and the darkness wasn¡¯t helping. I moved over and sat with my back to the stone b in the middle of the room as I stared nkly at the blurry walls.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    An unknown amount of time passed as I just sat there, staring with no thoughts in my head.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Time that felt like days had passed. It was then that I started to feel a sense of strangeness to this ce.


    ¡°I should feel hungry¡­and the shlight should have died by now¡­¡±


    I sat there, ruminating on the weirdness. This whole situation was weird. There is no possible way to dream up 18 years¡¯ worth of memories, interactions, and love, at least not without being insane or having an extremely active imagination. It was then that I remembered.


    ¡°This is a Trial¡­Why did I forget that? Doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is that I figure out what it is I¡¯m supposed to do.¡±


    I picked up the shlight and stood up before making my way over to one side of the room to inspect the wall. It was still blurry even when I put my face so close my nose touched the wall. I then backed away and started to pace around.


    ¡°Hmmmmm.¡±


    I put my hand to my chin and looked down in thought.


    ¡°Uuuuuuggggghhhh!¡±


    I got frustrated when nothing came to mind. I sat down on the b in the center of the room again and, out of habit, tried to bring my tail to myp, only to remember again that it was no longer there.


    ¡°¡­!!!!¡±


    I jumped up again with a sudden revtion.


    ¡°Why am I so dumb sometimes!?¡±


    Clearly, this was a hint at how I was supposed to pass this Trial. I looked down at my body, the proportions were both familiar, yet foreign.


    ¡°Damn, old me could have stayed in shape more¡­Anyway, if I look like this, then this room should be where I died¡­But¡­something is missing here.¡±


    I started to pace around again. I dug into my memories as hard as I could to try and figure out what was missing from this scenario.


    ¡°Think, Keeno, think¡­What were you doing here in the first ce¡­¡±


    I thought long and hard on the question. I looked at myself once more, the shlight in my hand, and my general surroundings. It was then that the memory, foggy as it was, started to resurface.


    ¡°Ruins¡­Scandinavia¡­Archaeology¡­Cave¡­Darkness¡­My death¡­RIGHT!!!¡±


    I frantically moved over to a wall and, scrounging around for anything I could find, found a loose, sharp rock on the floor.


    ¡°I think I get it now¡­I don¡¯t really get why this is my Trial, but I hope that question gets answered when I finish this.¡±


    Finding a good spot on the wall, I started to chip into it, carving out Runes. I was surprised at just how clear they were to me, even though 18 years had passed as well as the fact that I was apparently repressing the very memory of them. What may have either been hours or days passed as I meticulously carved the Runes for the nine realms on the walls at as equal a distance from each other as I could by just eyeballing the spacing. It helped that I didn¡¯t really get tired in here, at least, now that I realized that this was a Trial and most likely all in my head.


    Once I was finished, I moved to the center of the room and sat down. I looked over my handiwork and felt some pride swell in my chest. I then sat down and waited, and waited, and waited. Hours passed and nothing happened.


    ¡°What¡¯s missing? I have the Runes that I remember¡­no wait¡­don¡¯t tell me I have to carve every single one of them! I CAN¡¯T REMEMBER ALL OF THEM TO THE SMALLEST DETAIL!¡±


    The panic that was taking over again was threatening to put me back into that catatonic state from before when I remembered another thing from that day.


    ¡°¡­There were Seidr Runes as well, weren¡¯t there?¡±


    I once again stood up and picked up my rock before trying to picture what the Runes I needed looked like. I started to carve out the ones that came to me, and the further I progressed, the clearer the memories became. My work got a little faster and, as the hours or days passed, the walls became filled with more and more Runes.


    ¡°Ugh. I may not be getting tired, but my arms and hands are sore¡­Stupid weird Trial for being weird.¡±


    Though I was done, still nothing was happening, so I dug deeper into my memories. While I knew for a fact that all the walls were carved with the most important Runes from that times, it seemed like there was still something missing. Something that I needed to add my own personal twist to in order to get them all to work. I looked over my work and, as had now be usual in this cave, I dove into thought.


    ¡°Well, I have the Nine Realms, Seidr Runes for¡­whatever they were used for¡­maybe I need some protection Runes? I can try that, but I get the feeling that I¡¯m still missing something. Hmmmm.¡±


    While I thought about what I could still be missing, I carved out as many protection Runes as I could remember from all my studies and research. I carved them into the walls, the floor, the b, the pirs around the b. I even carved a giant one on the top of the b. Once that was done and still nothing happened, I started to get really frustrated and just started to carve random shapes.


    Small suns, things that represented life, and what I best could picture as just magic. Things that I would associate with Ama. Then I started to carve Rune-like shapes that would associate with me. At this point I was in a sort of trance that I didn¡¯t even notice some things started to change. A few of the Runes in the room started to glow, just not enough for me to really take notice of.


    ¡°Heh. Hehe. Hehehehahahahahahahahaha! AN EPIFANY! A perfect representation of mine and Ama¡¯s rtionship! We share an Authority of Suns! We oppose each other with Life and Death! And finally! We empower one another with Magic and Runes! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡±


    I fell backwards onto the stone b, only to feel something on my lower back. I jumped up and felt around to find my tail had at some point returned. I felt on top of my head to feel two fluffy fox ears. Excitement started to grow in my chest. I snapped my fingers, and a small ball of cerulean fire came into existence.


    ¡°Ku. Kuku. Kukukukuahahahahahahahahahahaha! *Cough, cough*¡±


    Once I calmed down enough to stop coughing, I climbed onto the b and started to channel mana into the Runes. The mana flowed into them, and they started to glow with a mix of electric blue and ck light. Soon, the rest of the Runes on the floor and the walls started to glow too. It was then that I figured out what the point of the Trial was.


    ¡°So¡­I had to unreppress the memory of Runes, probably get over the trauma, and now I need to make Runes a reality in my new home¡­and make them my third Authority. Hehe. Share, opposite, empower. I like that dynamic. I don¡¯t know exactly how I¡¯m going to do it, but I have a feeling the process wille to me after I get a few Dead Zones under my belt.¡±


    I felt a wide, almost vicious smile spread across my face.


    ¡°Look out, world, your future Goddess of the Blue Sun, Death, and Runes is going to take you by storm!¡±


    I pushed even more mana into the Runes all around the room until I heard a cracking sound. Then, my vision went dark once more.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: ¡­


    Order, you are not responsible for Keeno¡¯s small mental breakdown.


    Order: I know¡­but I can¡¯t not feel a little guilty since it is something caused by something I made.


    *Pulls Order into a hug*


    Not your fault. This is a Trial of Knowledge, it brought many things to Keeno¡¯s attention that she now knows she needs to work on.


    Order: Payto¡­


    Atmos: ¡­I¡¯ll just head home¡­

 Chapter 48- Leaving the Well

    Chapter 48- Leaving the Well


    [Keeno POV]


    My consciousness returned and I found myselfying down on Pram¡¯sp. I was a bit disoriented and there was a dull ache in my head, but I was happy nheless to see Pram.


    ¡°¡­Well now, this is a surprise. How long has it been since I was the one sleeping in yourp, Pram? It¡¯s usually the other way around.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Silly, I haven¡¯t taken a nap in yourp in years.¡± (Pram)


    {KEENO!}


    ¡°Guh.¡± (Keeno)


    {WHAT¡¯S WRONG!? ARE YOU HURT!?}


    ¡°No¡­but please stop yelling. It¡¯s not helping this headache.¡± (Keeno)


    {Sorry¡­Pram, will you please?}


    ¡°On it.¡± (Pram)


    Pram gently ced a hand on my head and started to use some healing magic. A nice, calming warmth started to spread from my head to the ces where it ached and a few secondster the pain was gone.


    ¡°Thank you, Pram. And Ama, I¡¯m fine, really.¡± (Keeno)


    {What exactly happened, Keeno? You¡¯ve been like that for a few days.}


    I told both of them what happened in the Trial and what I learned by going through it.


    {Damn these Divine Laws. I want toe down there and hug you, Keeno. The whole point of our connection like this is so that we can always be with each other at all times. I don¡¯t want to be forced to be unable to even talk to you.}


    ¡°Even if it would reveal Keeno¡¯s identity around angels?¡± (Pram)


    {I¡¯ve been trying to figure out a way to talk while not being heard by them, though it hasn¡¯t been going well so far.}


    ¡°Hehe. Then once I figure out how to make Runes an actual thing, I may be able to help with that. They ARE supposed to be a method to forcefully manifest your Will on reality after all, so they should have the power to do that.¡± (Keeno)


    {Speaking of that, can you exin those in more detail? I like the sound of them and the way you describe it in terms of our rtionship. What was it again? Same, oppose, empower?}


    ¡°Yep. It just has this¡­ring to it that makes me feel all giddy.¡± (Keeno)


    {I get the same feeling. Though I could also say that our opposing Authorities are also kind of perfect for us if you speak of our rtionship. I mean, Life cannot go without Death.}


    ¡°While I agree, that¡¯s getting a bit too philosophical. Look, our cute little Pram is all confused.¡± (Keeno)


    I started patting Pram¡¯s head.


    {Use both hands Keeno, that way I can also be patting her head symbolically.}


    I did as Ama said and used both of my hands to pat Pram¡¯s head. She looked like she wanted to protest, but before she could her expression melted into one of enjoyment. As I was doing this, my ears twitched as I heard the familiar fluttering of feathers. A secondter Huginn and Muninn flew to us,nded, and started hopping around me.


    ¡°Hehehe. I¡¯m fine, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn then hopped onto my leg and stared into my eyes.


    ¡°Caw squawk.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll reward you both for doing a good job of protecting Pram from all those scary things.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um¡­what? Nothing even came close to the cave.¡± (Pram)


    {Pram, this is just where you nod and ept. They are trying to get Keeno to spoil them, but in a roundabout way so they can try and maintain their pride.}


    ¡°Ah.¡± (Pram)


    While Huginn was doing its best to exaggerate its achievements, Muninn was staring at my hands on Pram¡¯s head in jealousy. I chuckled a little and moved one hand to pat Muninn. It closed its eyes in enjoyment before Huginn hopped next to its sibling and I started patting it too. Once all pats were given, we stood up, Huginn and Muninn jumped into my tail, and turned to the Spirit of Knowledge that was watching over all of this silently.


    ¡°Thank you, Spirit.¡± (Keeno)


    [There is no need for thanks from you, venerable sealed Goddess. I hope that the knowledge my Lady¡¯s Well has imparted to you will be helpful for you and the world.]


    ¡°It will definitely be useful.¡± (Keeno)


    [Good. I wish you and yourpanions well.]


    With that, we left the Well of Knowledge and started heading back to the city at the base of the mountain. Seeing as I woke up quite early in the morning, we didn¡¯t have to set up camp. A few hours of descending the mountainter, and we found ourselves back at the broken bridge.


    ¡°No.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Was it really that badst time?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No, at least not after I thought about it more, but what WAS bad was how your Soul Weapon nearly fell out after during our swing.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Then let me try something.¡± (Keeno)


    At the edge of the cliff, I wrote several Runes that would in theory grow some roots big and strong enough to hold our weight and act as a new bridge. Once they were done, I tried pouring some mana into them, but nothing happened. They didn¡¯t even ept the mana.


    ¡°Well, I figured it wouldn¡¯t have been that easy. Guess I need to actually turn it into an Authority before it is even usable.¡± (Keeno)


    {So those are Runes. How very interesting.}


    ¡°So, do we backtrack and look for another way around?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We could, or, I could just do this and ask for forgivenesster.¡± (Keeno)


    I quickly grabbed Pram and did the same thing I did to get us over the gap the first time.


    ¡°KEENO!!!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°As an apology, I shall let you sleep next to me while using my tail as a hug pillow.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Fine. But not for only a night, until next Sr Convergence.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Is that an agreeable proposition, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll allow it this time, but Pram, I will get mad if your hands wander anywhere else other than Keeno¡¯s tail.}


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let them anyway! I¡¯ve said it before and I¡¯ll say it again now, my romantic feelings for Keeno are long gone, now I only see her as a best friend and part of my family!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ama, I know you are just getting your frustrations from worrying out, but stop messing with Pram like that, it¡¯s just mean.¡± (Keeno)


    {Alright. Sorry Pram.}


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Though I guess I need to find a lover soon if you are going to keep bringing this up when you get stressed.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush it Pram. Now, on another topic, do we tell people that the curse is lifted?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Talk about an abrupt change of topic. Anyway, the spirit asked we let the people figure it out on their own. I don¡¯t know why, but it said it would be better that way.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, it works out for us, since if you spread the word about lifting the curse, then you two would be held up here by people celebrating, asking you to take care of more problems, and so on. I know you two would just sneak out after getting fed up with it sooner rather thanter, but it would leave the two of you in regret since I know you both like helping people. Which, in my opinion is a good quality, but with at least part of Pram¡¯s personality, is a little troublesome.}


    ¡°Why?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because you can¡¯t save everyone, Pram. And due to that, people will quickly start ming you for all of their problems. And thus, the phrase, die a hero or live long enough to be the viines to fruition. It¡¯s also why I find the concept of saints that aren¡¯t actually all powerful disgusting.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, once Pram bes the Apostle of Life, she could technically save everyone, but that¡¯s also a bad idea. But enough of this, even if I was the one to bring it up in the first ce. Just know that the spirit was right in wanting the two of you to not mention the Well¡¯s recovery.}


    ¡°Wait, I still don¡¯t get why my personality would be a detriment.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because your soul is still Pure, Pram. It shines a bright white in the sea of grey and ck. Even if you know the truth behind things and understand that people foisting their unreasonable expectations on you is nothing more than idiocy and meaningless, it will affect you deep down. Neither Ama nor I want that for you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {Pram, while I know you want to ask more questions, this isn¡¯t really the ce to delve into soul talk.}


    ¡°Ok.¡± (Pram)


    Like that we continued down the mountain. By nightfall the city was in sight, and once we entered the walls, our small detour to the Well of Knowledge finally ended.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: I¡¯m d Keeno is still the same as ever.


    Naturally. She¡¯s tougher mentally than that, after all she had to be when she spent five years THERE.


    Order: True. I guess I need to do something for her next time shees here as an apology for underestimating her.


    I don¡¯t think it¡¯s necessary to go that far, but I won¡¯t stop you either.


    Order: I¡¯ll think about what to give her then.


    Hehe. You¡¯re so cute when you¡¯re like that.


    Order: *blushes*

 Chapter 49- Mountain Pass Traversal

    Chapter 49- Mountain Pass Traversal


    [Keeno POV]


    Once the suns rose and the day truly started, Pram and I left the inn and walked to the part of the city close to the border. It seemed like we weren¡¯t the only ones with the idea of leaving as early in the day as possible as there was a line of wagons and people at the gate.


    ¡°Ugh. Lines.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind it.¡± (Pram)


    I looked over at Pram and saw she was a bit tense. She was fidgeting around and her tail was swaying nervously.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I-I¡¯m just nervous. While I know we may still have a few days until we cross the borderpletely, it will be my first time leaving my home country.¡± (Pram)


    I chuckled a little and started patting Pram¡¯s head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Pram, I¡¯ll be with you every step. We¡¯ll face this world head on, see all the things, and explore all the ruins. And when we find out things that you want to do, we¡¯ll do them too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. So much enthusiasm, it just blows my nervousness away. I agree, Okami, let¡¯s take this world by storm.¡± (Pram)


    The two of us were receiving warm smiles from and quiet chuckles from a few other people in the line, and a surprisingly short timeter, we were outside the gate. We leisurely made our way down the well maintained road until we found ourselves at a split.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can already see where this is going¡­*sigh*¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Pram. It¡¯ll be fun. And besides, it¡¯s faster.¡± (Keeno)


    At the juncture of the split was a sign for travelers. It pointed down the two paths and, along with their names, exined how one was a faster route to Odeen while one was safer, but less direct.


    ¡°I¡¯ll add another month.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Deal.¡± (Pram)


    With Pram sessfully bribed, I mean convinced, we started down the quicker path to Odeen. Once we were far enough down the path, Ama finally spoke.


    {Annoying angels.}


    ¡°Come to think of it, why do angels have such strong telepathing powers? I¡¯ve wondered about it for a long time, but never really thought to ask.¡± (Pram)


    {It¡¯s just a racial trait. Same with Keeno¡¯s fox fire, not that she uses it.}


    ¡°¡­Honestly, forgot I could even do that. It¡¯s so much weaker than my Sr magic that it hardlyes to mind as a viable tool.¡± (Keeno)


    {Same. If anything, it¡¯s useful for making pretty colors and light shows.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­kind of a let down.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh? What were you thinking it was?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, like at some point in the distant past they were servants of the gods that got cast out of the Divine Domain for one reason or another, but kept the super-telepathy, even countless yearster, or something like that.¡± (Pram)


    {Pfft. Ahahahahahaha. That¡¯s funny, Pram. They are just another race that came to be on this world. The ones that serve gods are spirits, if you haven¡¯t figured that out from the Spirit of Knowledge.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­SUCH A LET DOWN!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hahaha. That¡¯s the thing about the truth sometimes. While fact can be stranger than fiction, the case where it¡¯s less interesting or fun than fiction is more prevalent.¡± (Keeno)


    {Exactly. While this world IS full of mysticism and wonder, I won¡¯t spoil it for the two of you to find and experience.}


    Over the next few hours we spoke about random topics as we ascended a somewhat steep incline to a pass in the mountains. The view was spectacr as it looked out over Solheim. As far as the eye could see it was covered in snow and ice, with the green of trees poking out here and there. On the very horizon I could see dark clouds in the area I assumed was the part with sudden weather changes.


    ¡°This is beautiful.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree. And seeing this is making me excited to see what Odeen looks like from this altitude.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram was about to say something when a low growl interrupted her. We turned around and saw a strange goat-looking thing. Its horns curled around in spirals like an ibex, but the really creepy thing about it was its teeth and eyes. It¡¯s eyes had x shaped pupils of an almost poisonous yellow and it¡¯s teeth were sharp and jagged like a shark¡¯s. It then went from growling to pretty much hissing as it slowly walked toward us, sizing us up.


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    The two silently heeded mymand and flew out of my tail and toward the monster, taking its attention away from us.


    ¡°Pram, use your Soul Weapon¡¯s debuffs.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heard.¡± (Pram)


    Pram summoned her Soul Weapon. In her right hand, a silver bell with several images of snowkes appeared. She held it aloft and lightly flicked her wrist. The bell produced a beautiful, clear sound that seemed to ring out for miles. The sound was pleasant for us, but to the monster, it was anything but. It froze up, allowing Huginn and Muninn tond on top of its head and start pecking at its eyes. It immediately started thrashing about and headed in our direction while screaming in pain. Huginn and Muninn flew off its head and Pram and I moved to the side. It ran right past us and off the edge of the mountain pass, falling and mming into the sides of the mountain on its way down.


    ¡°Good job you three.¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t celebrate just yet, Keeno.}


    Heeding Ama¡¯s words, I looked around us. More of the same monster started to appear,ing out of crevices, nooks, and cracks in the mountain side. While I was confident in our strength, there were too many of these things to fight on the small path we were on. I looked over at Pram.


    ¡°Run.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± (Pram)


    We started to run as fast as we could in the direction we were going. The monsters, seeing this, started to chase after us. I started to blindly fire off fireballs behind me, hoping to hit some of them or to knock some rocks loose to slow them down, and it worked somewhat, but after a bit the monsters adapted to that and slowed down or avoided my attacks.


    We ran for a good bit before Pram started to skid to a stop. I managed to stop just before bumping into her, which would cause both of us to fall off the mountain. I was just about to frantically ask why she suddenly stopped, but looking over her shoulder answered the question. It was a chasm between two parts of the mountain pass connected by a rope bridge. And, just like in a ssic adventure movie, it was in bad shape with boards missing and others just barely hanging on.


    ¡°Pram, I get that this is scary, even I think so, but I don¡¯t think this is the time to let a fear of heights get in the way, because we either run across this clearly unsafe bridge and risk falling, or actually falling due to monsters.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram hesitated for another second before running forward with me right behind her.


    ¡°THREE MONTHS!!!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°FOR THIS I¡¯LL GIVE YOU FOUR!!¡± (Keeno)


    The two of us ran all the while old boards groaned or even broke under our feet. A few times we had to skip a few spaces and at one point I almost wanted to try running on the rope instead of the boards since it seemed in better condition, if just barely. The bridge started to shake more as those monsters also tried to follow us over. When Pram got to the other side of the bridge, the boards under her broke, leaving a big gap for me to cross.


    ¡°Oh, Ama I hope this works.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno?}


    I leapt from thest nk I had and focused some mana at the bottom of my feet. Concentrated bursts of Sr magic ignited and the pulse was enough to give me enough lift to make the jump and burn the ropes of the bridge at the same time. Inded on my feet next to Pram. I moved far enough away from the ledge and sat down of the ground.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­*inhale*¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, Pram. No words. I already got it and I am starting to agree with you. Just give me a minute and let¡¯s get out of here. I think I¡¯m done with mountains for a while.¡± (Keeno)


    Several minutester I got up and Pram and I started moving again while Huginn and Muninn flew around happily in the windy chasm next to us.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Luna, you had your own dangerous bridge thing, there is no need to be jealous.


    Luna: I know, and in my opinion mine was better, but still, it¡¯s a clich¨¦ I didn¡¯t get to do so I can¡¯t help but feel a little jealous.


    Tamamo: Well, we can set up something simr at home.


    Luna: Yeah, but why would I run from you? I¡¯d rather run into your embrace than away from it.


    Tamamo: Who said you¡¯d be running from me? This is where we have Atmos chase after us after depriving her of a Fluff bed for a day.


    Luna: Fufufu. Let¡¯s go then, it¡¯ll be so much fun.

 Chapter 50- Stepping Foot in Odeen

    Chapter 50- Stepping Foot in Odeen


    [Keeno POV]


    A day has passed since we started on this trek to Odeen through the ¡®fast path.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t as fast as I thought, and a bit more dangerous. Like the first day, we ran into more of those goat things, which we once again had to run away from seeing as our location wasn¡¯t prime for how we fight. And once again, we had some poorly maintained rope bridges to cross. By the time we crossed our fourth one, I had given Pram permission to use my tail as a hug pillow for a year. We were currently resting in a small cave near the path, waiting for the suns to rise.


    ¡°Ama how much longer are we going to be up here. If I have to run form more of those stupid goats, I¡¯ll make them go extinct when I ascend.¡± (Keeno)


    {I believe the two of you should cross the border at some point today. You¡¯ll notice it immediately. After that, it¡¯ll all be downhill from here, literally.}


    ¡°What do you mean, we¡¯ll notice it immediately?¡± (Pram)


    Pram asked this question while snuggling into my tail.


    {Once more ¡®blessing¡¯ of the Dead Zones. Though most of the effects are concentrated at the Dead Zone itself and its immediate area, its influence can be seen and felt throughout the whole country. In this case, you¡¯ll notice it is immediately warmer, nearly spring-like, when you cross the border.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve always wondered what spring was like.¡± (Pram)


    {Remember the times it got really hot around Keeno, to the point the snow melted and it just generally being warmer? That¡¯s a bit what it¡¯s like.}


    ¡°I see.¡± (Pram)


    {Keeno, is something wrong?}


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­calling things the Dead Zones give blessings doesn¡¯t feel right to me. Yeah, I know what their purpose is, and that people have be too reliant on them, so it¡¯s almost like a curse instead. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I get why you made them, Ama, but I also kind of feel like you should have known what would happen once they were set up and people started to take them for granted. That, and I¡¯m also remembering just what me dismantling them will cause.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, you do have the choice to not dismantle them and just wait for them to disappear on their own. Not like you are going to die by then, though that means I¡¯d need to think of a new Trial for Pram toplete.}


    ¡°I never said I was going to stop, just¡­reaffirming my resolve, I guess. Not that Odeen¡¯s Dead Zone is the one we are going for right now anyway.¡± (Keeno)


    As I was saying this, the light of my sun could be seen shining over the mountains in the distance followed shortly by Ama¡¯s. Seeing that, Pram let go of my tail and stood up. I followed suit and we left our little cave camp spot.


    A few hours after we left our camp spot, we started descending at a slow pace. When we got to bottom of the small incline and turned a small corner, I felt the atmosphere changepletely, like walking through a barrier to another worldpletely. At the edge of the path was a small cliff that looked out over Odeen.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    I looked over at Pram next to me and saw her eyes were wide.


    ¡°S-so much green¡­¡± (Pram)


    While admiring the view, I felt something like an itch in my very soul. It was small, nearly unnoticeable, but there all the same. It grew a little as I gazed off into the distance.


    ¡°Ama, it¡¯s that way, isn¡¯t it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes. The Core of Divinity of Odeen¡¯s Dead Zone is in that direction.}


    ¡°I can sort of feel it¡­so much¡­Death.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    Pram reached out and patted my head.


    ¡°Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe. I¡¯m good. Now, let¡¯s get off this damn mountain before more of those stupid goats show up.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram nodded her head, and it sounded like Ama wanted to say something, but stopped. We continued to descend the mountain, which was surprisingly void of any obstacles. In no time at all we made it to the bottom and onto an old, barely maintained path.


    ¡°All in all, that was way more trouble than it was worth. Next time, we¡¯re taking the long way around.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°About time you see it my way, but then again, I got a lot out of this, so it isn¡¯t ALL bad.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehe. Don¡¯t worry Pram, this just means Keeno won¡¯t take paths like these through mountains again, not other ¡®fun¡¯ paths to your destinations.}


    ¡°¡­More tail pillow time for me then.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Why am I relegated to just a pillow now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Because I¡¯m trying to teach you not to do ress things like what we just did just for the sake of your curiosity and expediency. No offence to Amaterasu, but she and Fia clearly only ever encouraged this kind of thinking, and I know for a fact that if I don¡¯t at least curb it a little bit, then one day we¡¯re going to end up in a situation that may actually kill us, or at least me, since none of us know if you can even die.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­You have a point?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why was that a question? It¡¯s a fact and I need you to acknowledge it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll try to change my ways just a little.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh* I guess I¡¯ll ept that, FOR NOW.¡± (Pram)


    {Hahahaha.}


    ¡°Don¡¯tugh, this is partially your fault.¡± (Pram)


    {Sorry Pram, but it¡¯s funny. And by the way, Fia was the same a long time ago, but now she¡¯se to terms that our way is more fun and interesting. You¡¯ll see, Pram, you¡¯ll see.}


    ¡°Hehehe. Join us Pram, we have so many crazy things to do and see.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You forget that I¡¯m the one in charge of healing you, I can always stop until you see things my way.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued to banter like this until we found ourselves leaving the unmaintained path and walking on one made of cobblestones. In the distance the walls of a town could be seen.


    ¡°Ready for our first city in Odeen?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. I wonder if it¡¯ll be any different than back home?¡± (Pram)


    {I¡¯ll let you two find that out yourselves.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Crisis: Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I HAVE RETURNED!!!


    Order: *smack!!*


    Crisis: OUCH!


    Order: In-can, what have I told you about showing up here yelling like that?


    Crisis: Ooo! Order¡¯s scary smiling face! It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen that.


    And how are you doing Evelyn?


    Evelyn: Good¡­Where¡¯s Astraea?


    She¡¯ll be here shortly, she was doing something to surprise you, but you didn¡¯t hear that from me.


    Evelyn: Nn.


    Crisis: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! CAN¡¯T CATCH ME, ORDER!


    Order: Like hell I can¡¯t, you loudmouth! GET BACK HERE!


    And I thought I was the God of Chaos.


    Evelyn: Mom is just like that¡­She wishes Miss Order would visit more often.


    I can arrange that. As long as Mordred is also open to the suggestion as well, seeing as this is probably what will end up happening whenever these two are in the same room.


    Evelyn: Mom will allow it¡­She can never say no to Mom¡¯s requests.


    I see.

 Side Chapter 3- Aside in the Capital of Odeen

    Side Chapter 3- Aside in the Capital of Odeen


    In the capital city of Odeen, far from where Keeno and Pram have just arrived was a certain person working deep inside the city¡¯s underground. Lit only by torches and candles she sat at an old desk covered in what could only be called ancient paper, carefully studying their contents. The woman was tall and had a long tail with a dark purple me lighting the tip. Her tail would periodically move in a mesmerizing manner while making swooshing sounds. Atop her head were two pairs of horns, two long and pristine while the other two were small and adorned the sides of her head like essories. Her pale blond hair flowed all the way to her plump thighs. Her sharp eyes locked in a permanent re stared down at the words written on the old paper, her sea green eyes nearly glowing in the dim light. Suddenly she looked up from her research, the me on her tail and the purple me burning in her chest ring up, casting a purple light across the room. She started staring in the direction of a certain kitsune.


    ¡°This feeling¡­my brethren¡­no, but someone once rted to them¡­interesting. I¡¯ll send some of my ¡®eyes¡¯ out to see just who this person is.¡± (???)


    The woman waved her hand, and several small insects flew over to her hand from cracks in the walls. These insects, however, were not normal. They were dead, being reanimated by the woman¡¯s Death magic. The small purple embers burning inside them grew brighter after the woman gave them their orders and the insects flew away.


    ¡°Now to wait and see. Will you be a good little one and keep me entertained, or will you be boring?¡± (???)


    The woman smiled at the thought of something interesting happening soon when she heard the footsteps of someone approaching her study. Once the footsteps stopped, someone knocked on the door and the woman put on her usual bored expression.


    ¡°Enter.¡± (???)


    The door opened and a knight wearing armor entered.


    ¡°Lady Ena, the king requests your presence.¡±


    ¡°*Sigh* What does the old man want now? His requests are always so boring and insignificant.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know. All I was told was toe and summon you to his side.¡±


    ¡°Tch. Fine.¡± (Ena)


    Ena stood up and, following the knight, made her way to the ruler of Odeen. Once the two left the underground study, they traveled through the halls of the castle passing by many windows looking out over the capital. Ena looked out of one of these windows at the familiar sight and the shining wall of light in the center of the city.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Lady Ena?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± (Ena)


    After navigating several hallways, the two stopped in front of a small door near the top of one of the castle¡¯s spires. Standing outside the room was another knight who saluted Ena as she approached before turning and announcing her arrival through the door.


    ¡°Lady Ena, Dragon of Death has arrived!¡±


    The knight leading her to this room joined his fellow in salute on the other side of the door. Ena rolled her eyes in annoyance before stepping between the two knights and opening the door. After entering the room and closing the door, she stared at the old man sitting behind a desk, staring outside to the wall of light.


    ¡°Ena, have you noticed it as well?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is something the matter with the Dead Zone?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Don¡¯t y games with me, just answer.¡±


    ¡°Tch. Yes, I dare say I¡¯ve noticed more than you have. The Death Spirits are stirring a little more than usual and differently than when you started that war. They are more¡­happy.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°This is an ill tiding¡­I can feel it in my bones.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t just getting paranoid in your old age? I for one am looking forward to your death so I can be free of this annoying contract with you.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hehehe. As spiteful as always, my dear Dragon of Death. If you wished to be free of me so much, then all you need do is kill me, but we both know you won¡¯t do that, you have too much pride to go against an agreement you made.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have too much pride to do so, but I won¡¯t have any qualms about it if I find someone better to serve, but you know that too, that¡¯s why you lock me away in that stuffy underground room you call my study and send me all those dusty old papers. But those papers are interesting enough for me to not mind, for now.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hehehe. And, I believe this proposition will be quite, what was it, entertaining, for you. At least enough to keep you busy for a while.¡±


    ¡°Then speak, I tire of your ying around the subject just as much as you do when I do so.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Go to the Dead Zone and investigate what is happening. Report everything you learn to me. Take as much time doing so as you want.¡±


    The dragon woman¡¯s eyes widened slightly.


    ¡°Kukuku. So, you¡¯ve finally given me something to do that is interesting.¡± (Ena)


    Ena turned and left the room immediately, leaving the King of Odeen alone once more.


    ¡°This will keep that damn lizard busy for a while longer. *cough* Hehehe. And good luck finding a new master, as long as this country has a Dead Zone, you will be MY pet and MINE alone. I will never give up the power of a Dragon like you¡­until you¡¯re no longer useful. *cough cough*¡±


    The king opens a drawer and pulls out a vial of liquid. He pops the top off it and downs its contents in one go.


    ¡°Ugh. As disgusting as always.¡±


    He looks back out of the window and sees how the wall of light, Odeen¡¯s Dead Zone, seems duller than normal.


    ¡°An ill tiding indeed¡­I must find out if something simr is happening to the other seven.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­That Ena person¡­she reminds me of Reed.


    Tamamo: That one dragon you met after Ling and the others?


    Luna: Yeah¡­It¡¯s like they could be sisters almost, the resemnce is uncanny.


    Tamamo: That aside, I think I am seeing how things are going to y out a bit once Keeno actually decided to go after this Dead Zone.


    Luna: Yeah, but the exciting thing is going to be seeing how it ys out to that point. I can¡¯t wait.


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. Your excitement is contagious, Luna.

 Chapter 51- Odeen is not off to a good Start

    Chapter 51- Odeen is not off to a good Start


    [Keeno POV]


    Our first night in the border city of Odeen wasn¡¯t very interesting. Most of our time was spent looking for an inn and the one we found wasn¡¯t the best. The beds were ufortable, smelled like mold, and were somewhat moist. And don¡¯t even get me started on the¡­noises we could hear from the other rooms around us.


    ¡°Pram¡­let¡¯s just go¡­I don¡¯t want to stay in this city any more than I have to.¡± (Keeno)


    I was fed up with this city and I hadn¡¯t even spent a day in it. I saw the people around us that heard me speak back away a bit due to how cold and unfeeling my tone was, making me assume that my usual cold public face matched how I was feeling at this current moment.


    ¡°I agree. If I knew we would be kept up all night hearing that, then we should have just camped out.¡± (Pram)


    ¡®Ama, did you know it would be this annoying?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {No. Even I thought it would be better than this.}


    ¡®Then let¡¯s hope it gets better.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami, before we leave, we should get a map. We don¡¯t know which direction to go.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°True. To the Guild then.¡± (Keeno)


    We asked around to see where the Guild branch here was and after a while of getting either ignored or extremely vague answers from people who were unreasonably scared of us, we found it ourselves. Walking inside, we got curious nces and some res for some reason. Looking around at everything though, even the Guild in this city felt seedy. Everything had this thinyer of grime, or at least it looked and felt like it did. We looked around for the appropriate ce to buy a map and when we found it, we did our best to get in and out as fast as possible.


    Looking around for one that was decent enough for what we needed took nearly 30 minutes and when we did find one, it was way overpriced for something that of its quality. After leaving the Guild, we quickly made our way over to the gate of the city and left. After a bit of walking, Pram finally spoke again.


    ¡°Keeno, do you think the rest of our trip through here will be the same?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to hold out hope that this was just an exception and not the norm of this country. Because if this is what we have to look forward to, then I don¡¯t think either of us will stay sane. I mean, I just feel¡­dirty after being there for a night.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I agree with you there.¡± (Pram)


    Taking out the map we just bought and studying it for a bit, I decided on our route for the next few days.


    ¡°Looks like we can continue following this road and we¡¯ll end up passing through another city in a few days. We can try and see if that ce is the same as thest one and if it is, we¡¯ll just stop by, resupply if we need to, and move on.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm. Looking ahead, some of the cities on your possible routes will be simr, if not a tiny bit better. Most of the better off ces are closer to the capital, and you aren¡¯t going to be close enough to make that a small detour, and besides, going to the capital right now would be a bad idea, seeing how the Death Spirits are getting so excited.}


    ¡°Wait what?¡± (Keeno)


    {They felt your presence the second you crossed the border.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry, Keeno, they won¡¯t leave the Dead Zone and get you to go there against your will, they are too busy. If anything, they are more fired up than normal and are actually working faster.}


    ¡°So, the capital is off limits, so where are we going to travel through?¡± (Pram)


    Looking back at the map, I looked for the best route we should take.


    ¡°Well, we keep following this road until we pass like, three more cities, then we have a choice of traveling by river, or bynd. The river route will take us in a more roundabout way, but it will be faster, I assume. Thend route is basically a straight line, but it goes through a lot of ces that I think we¡¯d better avoid.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why is that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just a feeling.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯d trust Keeno¡¯s intuition on this one Pram.}


    ¡°Then river route it is.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Got it. Now, let¡¯s get there.¡± (Keeno)


    With the next step of our journey decided, we started to pick up the pace. Two dayster, we stopped at the edge of a forest and set up camp, the next city a small dot on the horizon. As the two of us sat next to the fire, roasting some meat, I looked into the forest. Inside it were some strange purple lights that flickered like fireflies.


    ¡°How pretty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What was that Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just admiring nature. If what Ama said is true, then most likely it¡¯ll be preferable to the cities.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This is turning out way differently than what I imagined.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree. I mean, there is still an entire world out there, but so far only Solheim has been worth it.¡± (Keeno)


    {I understand your sentiments, but I want you both to know that not everything is horrible. I do hope you both start to enjoy this journey in the truest sense of the word, even if it¡¯s started out leaving you both wanting.}


    ¡°I believe you Ama, we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. After all, good thingse to those who wait, or whatever the saying was.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to sleep. If we¡¯re setting up watches, wake me up in a few hours.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Alright, sleep well Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I definitely will.¡± (Pram)


    She thentched onto my tail and quickly fell asleep.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    {My future Apostle is so cute, though I am so very jealous right now.}


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get your turn eventually.¡±


    {I know.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Crisis: ¡­How enviable.


    Order: Luna can give you some fluff, you know.


    Crisis: Yeah, but I still haven¡¯t figured out which kind of fluff fits me yet. I can see myself as a kitsune, but I can also see myself as a lot of other fluffy things as well. And then I need to take Mordred¡¯s opinion into consideration as well.


    Order: Then discuss it with her.


    Crisis: I n on doing that soon.


    Order: Let me know what you decide and I¡¯ll let Luna know.


    Crisis: Hehehehehehehehehehehe.


    Order: Now what?


    Crisis: It¡¯s just it¡¯s been a long time since we sat down and had a reasonable conversation like this, it¡¯s refreshing.


    Order: And whose fault is that?


    Crisis: Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 Chapter 52- Finally, some Bandits

    Chapter 52- Finally, some Bandits


    [Keeno POV]


    Over the next week, Pram and I had pretty much foregone entering any city we passed. Like this we got ever closer to the river where we¡¯d take a ride to Vanir. We mostly kept to the road while using the map and advice from Ama to move in an expedient way around the cities. Aside from that, the scenery around us was absolutely stunning. We passed through a few small forests with trees full of small flowers that would create a rain of petals at the smallest of breezes. Another time we passed a through arge field of reeds that looked like a shallow sea. At night the sky was cloudless, and we could see all the stars so clearly that it was almost like a painting.


    Every night the pretty purple fireflies would appear inrge numbers and add another level of beauty to the nature around us. At one point I even tried to go and catch a few in a jar I had, but they were surprisingly fast to get away from me. The night I tried that both Ama and Pramughed at me while Huginn and Muninn looked at me with what looked like pity, clearly saying they were worried that I couldn¡¯t even catch some insignificant bugs. Getting fed up with that look, I told the two to try themselves and they failed just as much as I did, much to their bewilderment. It was three days after that event and now we were about two days from seeing the city where we were going to find a boat to take us to Vanir. We were walking through a field of grass taller than the tips of my ears.


    ¡°Pram, you hear it too, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do. What do we do?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Depends on what they want. If it¡¯s just some bandits, then we¡¯ll either fight or give them the slip, if it¡¯s something else, we¡¯ll probably end up fighting. We just have to wait and see.¡± (Keeno)


    {By the way, feel free to kill them if it¡¯s bandits. As long as Keeno delivers the killing blow, they won¡¯t return as undead.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, you¡¯ve prepared yourself for this, mentally speaking. There is no need to feel bad, if a mortal stoops low enough to be a bandit, then they deserve whatever ising to them. And besides, you¡¯ll have to end the lives of people at some point and get desensitized to it, you¡¯ll judge much worse once youe into your full Authority of Death. I know I sound cold, but it¡¯s the truth.}


    ¡°I know.¡± (Keeno)


    As soon as I said that Pram and I entered a clearing in the tall grass. As soon as we reached the center of the clearing a small group of people of various races came out of the tall grass surrounding us.


    ¡°Well, well, well, two lovelydies all on their lonesome.¡±


    ¡°Keheheh. Boss, shall we let them apany us for some fun? If so, mind if I teach the spotted one some things? She looks¡­fresh.¡±


    ¡°You know how we do things, be the first to capture her and she¡¯s yours.¡±


    ¡°Gahaha. Then I¡¯m goin fer the foxy. She seems feisty and I always like them cold beauty types, though I think I¡¯ll scoop out those creepy eyes first. They the most fun to break.¡±


    {Keeno, torch them to their very souls.}


    ¡®Don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡¯ (Keeno)


    One of the bandits perked up a little when me and Ama shared that small interaction.


    ¡°Boss¡­I don¡¯t think this is a good idea.¡±


    ¡°Eh? Why are YOU of all of us bowing out now? Aren¡¯t you the worst of us lot when ites to this?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get it, Boss, the fox is-!!!¡±


    One of my Soul Weapons then embedded itself in the angel¡¯s throat before he could finish his warning.


    ¡°Pram, ring your bell. Let it be their funeral dirge.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°May the Goddess of Death have mercy on your souls.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not a chance.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh well, it was worth a try.¡± (Pram)


    I pulled back on the chain and my sword that was still stuck in the angel¡¯s throat came flying back to me, leaving a ming trail behind it and a smoldering hole in the angel. He fell to the ground, his wings and halo flickering until eventually they went out. Seeing one of theirrades being killed so easily, the bandits were frozen in shock. They were only brought out of their stupor by the sound of Pram¡¯s bell which rung out in the clearing with a crisp chime.


    ¡°Sh-she killed him!?¡±


    ¡°And the rest of you are going to follow him soon.¡± (Keeno)


    With the ringing of Pram¡¯s bell as a backdrop, I flung both of my swords out as far as the chains would let them and spun around a few times, igniting the tall grass. Most of the bandits dodged them, while another one got hit a few times, the death magic coating the des causing him to fall to the ground writhing in pain. As the grass was dry, the fire started to spread quickly, trapping the bandits in the clearing with us.


    ¡°Girlie, you don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve just done. We were going to give you and your pretty little friend here a good time, but now you¡¯ve just sealed your fate.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t think you can hide your fear. I can see you shaking in your boots as we speak. Now, let¡¯s finish this quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    I waved my tail behind me, signaling Huginn and Muninn to take care of the bandit slowly dying from myst attack while I concentrated on the remaining ones. Them, being idiots, thought it was a good idea toe at us one at a time. He swung his shoddily made axe down at me and I sidestepped his attack. I circled around him, wrapping his arms in one of my chains and started channeling mana into it.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!¡±


    The smell of burning flesh filled the area, overpowering the smell of burning grass. The chains burned hot enough that they soon sliced through the bandit¡¯s wrists until all that was left were two ckened stumps. The bandit fell to his knees in shock.


    {Keeno, keep a few alive so you can try making that one spell you said you wanted to work on.}


    ¡°Got it.¡± (Keeno)


    It was at that time when another of the bandits ran at me. I prepared to counter whatever attack he was going to make, but he changed trajectory and aimed an attack at Pram.


    ¡°Not on my watch.¡± (Keeno)


    I flung one of my swords at the bandit¡¯s legs, stabbing into on the back of his knee.


    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!¡±


    I pulled the chain taught and he fell face first into the dirt. Just as I was pulling on the chain to get my sword back, Huginn came flying by my head and into the eye of another bandit that was taking advantage of my momentary opening. Said bandit fell to the ground, his face in a silent scream of pain as he writhed. I got my de back and quickly stooped down, slitting his throat. With him dead, only three bandits remained.


    ¡°Boss, we should run. If we make it to a city, we can turn this around and get these monsters for murder.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Are you saying you haven¡¯t killed people? How very unbandit like.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Idiot, if we killed someone, we¡¯d be hunted down by the King¡¯s pet Dragon. All we ever did was have ¡®fun¡¯ with women before they offed themselves.¡±


    ¡°There is no difference.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°In the eyes of the King, there is, seeing as we¡¯re still around.¡±


    With that, the three remaining bandits tried to run, but the fire that was burning all around us red up in any direction they tried.


    ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll be meeting this dragon before I get to Vanir.¡± (Keeno)


    I manipted the fire in front of the bandits and caused some small tongues of me to scorch their limbs, immobilizing them.


    ¡°Pram, be a dear and numb their pain, please.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. What about the one who passed out because you got his knee?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°His too.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram¡¯s bell stopped ringing and she moved over to the bandits who were writhing on the ground in pain as I dragged the unconscious one over next to hispanions. Once Pram was done doing her thing, all four remaining were lined up neatly in a row.


    ¡°Now, time for some experimentation. Pram, I¡¯ll be setting a barrier around you since I don¡¯t want you to get caught up in any stray shots that may happen. Huginn, Muninn, stay with her too.¡± (Keeno)


    All three of them moved behind me and I set up a barrier with Death magic being the mainponent, hoping that it would cancel out any stray effects my magic would have. I then returned my attention to the bandits.


    I held my and in front of me and started to concentrate on my palm. There, I made a small ball of Death magic. Then, I began to charge it with more mana, causing the ball to slowly growrger.


    {Keeno, you need to concentrate more and go slower, going this fast will cause it to warp and explode in your face.}


    I didn¡¯t react to Ama¡¯s words, but slowly reduced the speed of mana input. By the time the ball was the size of a watermelon, I stopped adding mana to it. I then tried to condense the ball. It very slowly started to shrink. When it got to the point where it was about the size of my head, sparks of ck lightning started toe out of the ball and it started to get unstable.


    {Keeno, throw it now!}


    I tossed the ball at one of the bandits and jumped back behind the barrier I made and started to pour more mana into it. Once the ball hit the bandit, it expanded rapidly, covering all four of them and, for a brief moment, the area around the bandits went photo negative. When things went back to normal, the bandits, grass, and ground around them started crumbling into dust, permanent screams of agony on their faces.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {You got impatient, Keeno. Once you are absolutely proficient in condensing magic like that is when you can go that fast.}


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Keeno)


    I nodded my head before sitting down.


    ¡°Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­So this is how bad purifying ck souls is¡­I¡¯m d I spent so much time getting used to it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, I know what I said earlier, but just because they won¡¯t turn into undead doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t burn the corpses.}


    I nodded and made a few fireballs to burn the corpses that didn¡¯t get caught up in the Death magic.


    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here for a bit, then we can move on.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Anything you need me to do?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Some calming magic would be nice, I feel really shaky.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Calming magic,ing right up.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Thanks. Hey Ama, am I really going to have to fight a dragon soon?¡± (Keeno)


    [Ena POV]


    ¡°Kufufu. Don¡¯t worry, little fox, you¡¯ve piqued my interest, so I won¡¯t stop you. Continue to grow stronger, if you do, I¡¯ll offer you a contract.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Pffft.


    Order: Hehe.


    Silly dragon.


    Atmos: ¡­I was going to ask what was so funny, but I think I can see where this is going, and I¡¯m loving it.


    Sorry for giving something like that away, Atmos, it was just so ironically funny that I couldn¡¯t help butugh.


    Atmos: No worries, I totally understand.


    Order: Aside from the irony, I¡¯m really looking forward to those two meeting, even if it won¡¯t happen for a long time.


    Atmos: I have no idea when or how it¡¯s going to happen, but I DO know that I need to be here to witness it as well.


    I¡¯ll make sure to call you over then.


    Atmos: Heh. Looking forward to it.

 Chapter 53- Fluff on a Boat

    Chapter 53- Fluff on a Boat


    [Keeno POV]


    After a while of Ama convincing me that I was not going to be fighting a dragon soon, Pram and I left the clearing we were in and continued our way to our destination. The next two days were uneventful. No more bandits showed up, and the sounds of a river flowing could be heard. Once we exited the sea of tall grass and found the road, we made our way to the city that we could see in the distance.


    Making it to the gate and entering after the usual reactions from people, we looked around for the Guild. This city, from the small parts we¡¯ve seen, wasn¡¯t horrible. Not as clean as I¡¯d like from a ce where people live, but better than the first and only Odeen city we¡¯ve been to.


    ¡°I hope we don¡¯t have to wait a long time to find a boat to Vanir.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I just hope we can make it there with little trouble.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why does it feel like we¡¯re going to run into loads of trouble now?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehe.}


    After an hour of walking around, we found the Guild building and, when we entered, were greeted by a familiar sight.


    ¡°Heh. Now this is nostalgic.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah¡­Reminds me of the branch at home.¡± (Pram)


    The building was packed with people here and there, all doing one thing or another. Some people wore armor and had weapons at their hips or slung across their backs. Others sat behind counters with long lines in front of them, fake smiles on their faces as they dealt with people both genuinely nice and annoying. We also saw a few homunculi walking around while carrying things here and there. Deciding to not take up space in front of the door anymore, we moved inside. We looked around for the proper counter and when we found it, joined the rtively short line. After a bit of waiting, we made it to the counter and after asking our questions and paying the respective fee, we left the Guild and headed towards the docks.


    ¡°I feel like things are being too easy.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, if it helps, we¡¯re going to have to start taking jobs from the Guild again soon since the tickets to Vanir cost us pretty much the rest of the money Fia gave us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Well, guess we should enjoy this while we can then. And if we must step up on the way, then we¡¯ll just ask for properpensation.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I like the sound of that.¡± (Keeno)


    We made it to the docks after a 30 minute walk from the Guild and we asked around until we found the ship that was going to take us to Vanir. It was arge ship with several decks of residential rooms. It was rectangr and had tworge smokestack on the sides and a giant paddlewheel in the back, making it look like one of those steamboats you¡¯d see in older times in the South part of the US. I tilted my head when I saw it.


    ¡°Steam powered?¡± (Keeno)


    {No, those two long pipes are things that generate a barrier.}


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s¡­kind of a letdown.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m more surprised you came up with the idea of it being steam powered. It¡¯s not an unknown concept, but magic is just much more powerful and efficient.}


    ¡®Well, there were ships like this in the past in my old world, so that¡¯s why I was taken a bit aback.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Ah.}


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Okami.¡± (Pram)


    I nodded to Pram, and we went up to the ship. When we got close to it, we saw some people loading stuff while other people were standing by the ship wearing somewhat fancy clothes. Some had dresses that looked like they were for the sole purpose of showing off the wearer¡¯s wealth while others wore suits and some even had top hats. Seeing this my already cold expression grew colder.


    ¡°Pram¡­I think we should just walk.¡± (Keeno)


    She tilted her head at me.


    ¡°Why? We just spent all that money and now you want to back out?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°*Sigh* Well, guess we¡¯ll just have to put up with nobility then¡­Ugh.¡± (Keeno)


    We walked over to the line of people I assumed were going to board the ship. A few of the people in front of us turned to look at us before immediately turning back. Some stared a little longer with either disgusted or fearful expressions. Others ignored uspletely. After standing there for a good bit, the people loading stuff moved onto the ship and someone that was dressed up a bit more stepped down and started speaking.


    ¡°Good afternoon,dies and gentlemen, I am your captain for this voyage to Vanir. Before I have you all board, I must ask you all to present your tickets and follow my rules. Please watch your steps when boarding. Once you step foot on my ship, you will be assigned a room, I ask that you all immediately go to yours until we set off and the bell rings. I look forward to a safe and peaceful voyage with you all.¡±


    With that, the captain went back to the ship and shortly after the people waiting started to board. After a while it came to our turn and we handed our tickets over to the one in charge of them. He checked them over and handed them back to us after punching some holes in them.


    ¡°Madams Okami and Pram, your room shall be number 34. Fourth room on the starboard side, third floor. Please enjoy your stay with us.¡±


    We both nodded and made our way to the room. Once we got there, I sat on one of the extremely cushy beds while Pram went and looked out the window.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m kind of excited.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Good for you¡­Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    {Not a fan of boats?}


    ¡°Not that¡­just have to get used to it¡­ugh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Want some healing magic?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No¡­just give me¡­a few hours.¡± (Keeno)


    Iid back on the bed in order for my head to hopefully stop spinning. After about another hour the ship started to move and another hour after that the bell was rung.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to walk around outside.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°O¡­K¡­Muninn, go with her.¡± (Keeno)


    Muninn hopped out of my tail and flew over to Pram,nding on her shoulder.


    ¡°Hehe. Let¡¯s go, Muninn.¡± (Pram)


    With that Pram and Muninn left me alone in our room. Huginn hopped out of my tail and stared at me for a second before pping over to the headboard and staring around the room.


    {Good little bird. Make sure to watch over Keeno well.}


    ¡°Caw.¡± (Huginn)


    {Keeno, take a nap. You¡¯ll definitely feel better when you wake up.}


    ¡°I think¡­I¡¯ll do that.¡±


    {Hehehe.}


    While I was confused about herughter, I slowly fell asleep, the rocking helping a little. After what was a surprisingly restful sleep, I woke up to find myself staring right into Ama¡¯s eyes.


    {This Sr Convergence really snuck up on you, didn¡¯t it Keeno?}


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s already been a month!?¡±


    {Yep. And while I¡¯d love to immediately jump into ¡®fun¡¯ I think we should wait a little bit first.}


    ¡°I won¡¯tin, just being here with you is more than enough.¡±


    {You smooth talker you.}


    I sat up from Ama¡¯sp and turned to look at her. She scooted over to me and pulled me into a tight hug.


    {Keeno, let it out. I know you¡¯ve been keeping up a front for Pram these past few days, just let it out.}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Not saying anything I wrapped my arms around Ama.


    ¡°Ama¡­killing people¡­felt¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡­I know it¡¯s fine, especially for me to do so¡­but some part deep inside of me almost enjoyed it.¡±


    I felt one of Ama¡¯s hands move and end up on my head, pushing me further into her embrace. I started trembling as the feelings that I was suppressing from that day started to bubble up again.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just some part of my Death Authority or if it¡¯s some part of me deep down that is just like that, but it scares me, Ama.¡±


    {I hear you, Keeno¡­I hear you.}


    The two of us stayed like that for a while before my trembling stopped. When Ama let me go, I looked at her with swollen eyes. She looked back at me and brought her face close to mine, touching our foreheads together.


    {Keeno, I don¡¯t believe that it¡¯s a part of you that enjoys killing. I think it¡¯s your Authority giving you a sense of fulfillment in purifying evil souls. You are too good a person to enjoy killing anyone, even things as low as bandits.}


    I enjoyed our closeness as her words helped ease my worries about myself.


    ¡°Ama¡­why is it your words ease my mind so much?¡±


    {Don¡¯t be mad, but I used a bit of magic there. Nothing too bad, just something to help sooth your inner turmoil and help you see clearer. Think of it as a little more potent version of soothing magic.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I could be mad at you in the first ce.¡±


    Since our foreheads were still touching, I ced my hands on each side of her head and kissed her. While our lips and tongues fought, she fell backwards, so now we were in a position where I was pinning her down. My one tail and her nine all waving around wildly in happiness. After several minutes I broke away and took a deep breath.


    {You sly little fox you.}


    ¡°What can I say? I enjoy how your lips taste, my love.¡±


    Ama grabbed my shoulders, and we flipped positions.


    {Hehehe. Seeing you down there, Keeno, makes me want to just eat you up.}


    I smirked at her seductively.


    ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t mind that, just not here on the floor.¡±


    I wrapped my legs around Ama, and she stood up from where we were. I brought my lips to hers again in another passionate kiss as she walked the two of us over to the bed. All the while this was happening, both of our clothes burnt away.


    ¡°Tch. And I liked that outfit.¡±


    {Sorry, I¡¯ll make it up to youter.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that.¡±


    When we made it to the bed, Ama turned and fell backwards, making me the one on top again.


    ¡°Time for another unforgettable day, my lovely Amaterasu.¡±


    {Yes, my beautiful Keeno.}


    For a third time today, our lips met in a passionate kiss.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Come to think of it, we should have a date on a ship, Tamamo. I think it¡¯d be super fun.


    Tamamo: I agree. But would it be one sailing in the sky or the water?


    Luna: Why not both? We sail in the water during the day and take a moonlit sky voyage at night? Make it during the next full moon and it¡¯d make the perfect backdrop.


    Tamamo: Lovely idea.


    Luna: Guess we know what we¡¯re doing on the next full moon.


    Tamamo: I can¡¯t wait.


    Luna: Fufu. That¡¯s my line.

 Chapter 54- More Fluff

    Chapter 54- More Fluff


    [Keeno POV]


    Snuggling closer to Ama, I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°Ama¡­thank you. For the magic from earlier, for giving me a good time¡­for just existing. You help keep me together when my mind starts wandering to things that-¡±


    {Ah, ah, ah. No need to get all serious on me now, Keeno. I understand what you are trying to say, and I am happy you think of me that way. But don¡¯t sell yourself short and give me all the credit. Pram, Huginn, Muninn, Fia, you have a lot of people to rely on and your mind is stronger than you think. Did you forget your Trial from the Well? From what you told us you felt you spent a long time alone and you didn¡¯t break. Yes, that thing with the bandits was your first time killing things that could be considered people, yes, you¡¯ll have to do that countless more times in the future, yes, you may not like it, but if anyone in this world can handle it, it¡¯s you. AND, if you still think that burden is too much, you have the rest of us to rely on.}


    ¡°Hehe. Now look who¡¯s getting all serious.¡±


    {Haha. Guess I should listen to my own advice.}


    ¡°We really need to work on our pillow talk. But hey, we have time.¡±


    I moved my arms and pulled Ama into a hug.


    {Oh? Still want more?}


    ¡°Not this time¡­not every hug or kiss I give you needs to lead to sex. I just feel like hugging and being close to you in general, even if we don¡¯t have that much time left today.¡±


    {Ask and I¡¯ll oblige, my love.}


    Ama wrapped her arms and tails around me, making it look like we were in a cocoon of Fluff.


    ¡°One day, I¡¯m going to be the one to do this to you.¡±


    {I look forward to it.}


    Weid there in silence for several minutes, reveling in each other¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Hey Ama.¡±


    {Yes Keeno?}


    ¡°You are the best wife a kitsune could ask for.¡±


    {I could say the same about you. From your cute reactions to your personality that you only show me. A part of me wants to just iste you from all existence so I can treasure you, but I also think you shine all the brighter when you are free.}


    ¡°Ahahaha. I think the same way about you. I mean, I don¡¯t know how free you are in the Divine Domain with all its rules and regtions and stuff, but you shine so bright that it hurts to look directly at you sometimes.¡±


    Ama closed her eyes and rested her forehead on mine and our noses touched.


    {In my honest opinion, us gods are freer than anyone living in the mortal world, though you can¡¯t really enjoy it all that much just yet. Oh, but the dates I have nned for when you finally get here permanently. We¡¯ll be quite busy for years toe.}


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    A short whileter my body started to shine.


    ¡°It seems times up¡­OH! Heal me before I head back. Don¡¯t want to make Pram do it again.¡±


    {With pleasure.}


    Ama moved her arms from around my back to around my neck and brought her lips to mine. I felt a pleasant warmth course throughout my entire body, heating up in several ces where my body needed healing.


    ¡°Hehe. This gave me an idea, but I¡¯ll save it forter.¡±


    I kissed Ama one more time before I disappeared from the Divine Domain. Next thing I knew, I sat up in the bed I was in before visiting Ama. Pram was lying on the other bed, asleep. Huginn and Muninn were staring at the door before turning to look at me. They ruffled their feathers before turning their attention back to the door.


    ¡®I wonder what¡¯s up with them¡­I¡¯ll ask Pramter.¡¯


    {Good idea.}


    I got up from the bed and moved over to the small bathroom attached to the room. After cleaning myself up, I put on some sleeping clothes and walked back to the bed I was using.


    {Rest well, Keeno. We can ask Pram what¡¯s up in the morning.}


    I nodded my head and went to sleep. When I woke up again, I found that Pram had, at some point, made her way over to me and buried herself in my tail. I chuckled at this a little bit and booped her on the nose, waking her up.


    ¡°Morning Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nnn? Keeno¡­fluffy¡­ehehe.¡± (Pram)


    She started nuzzling deeper into my tail.


    ¡°Hnng. Pram, please stop, that feels weird.¡± (Keeno)


    I kept poking Pram until she finally ACTUALLY woke up.


    ¡°Keeno, why are you poking me?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Exnationter, let go of my tail first¡­feels weird¡­ufortable.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram immediately let my tail go and moved a bit away from me.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Pram)


    I moved my tail into myp and started to lightlyb through it with my fingers before looking at her.


    ¡°So, what happened? Why are Huginn and Muninn so entranced by the door? And why were you practically knocked outst night?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just some noble kid refusing to take no for an answer. He found me when I was walking around exploring the day we started this boat trip, started following me until we were in a somewhat secluded ce and started to pester me to be together with him. I refused, telling him I didn¡¯t like men like that, he didn¡¯t listen, got out of the situation thanks to Muninn. Got back here, and the two of them started watching the door.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Spoiled little mongrel thinks he can take my Apostle after she rejects him, eh? Shall we teach him his ce, Keeno? I say a bath in boiling water is fine, you?}


    ¡°Too soft, Ama. If someone thinks they can have our Pram without our approval, then they deserve more¡­a deeply rooted fear should suffice¡­but what to do?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know if I should feel happy, or concerned with how the two of you think about me.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We just want what¡¯s best for you, Pram. Some spoiled noble mongrel wanting you most likely just because you are pretty isn¡¯t good enough. We¡¯ll only ept the best for you.¡± (Keeno)


    {What Keeno said. While, in the end, it¡¯s your decision, we at least want you to fall for someone that is willing to look past your pretty looks and genuinely see you for what you truly are. The caring, pure souled Pram.}


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You two¡­GAH!¡± (Pram)


    Pram jumped at me and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.


    ¡°Hehe. You two set such high standards.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Like I said before, you deserve nothing but the best, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Atmos: Oh dear.


    Luna: Looks like Keeno needs a refresher on Fluff care.


    I agree, she¡¯s been cking.


    Tamamo: We can¡¯t be having that.


    Luna: Paytoe!


    Yeah, yeah, give me a minute. *snap*


    Keeno: Eh?


    Amaterasu: Eh?


    Luna: Both of you sit.


    *Both sit while their ears tten and their tails droop*


    Luna: You¡¯ve both been neglecting your proper Fluff care procedures.


    Keeno: But Big Sis Luna, it¡¯s hard keeping it up while on the road!


    Luna: No excuses, Keeno, I kept my routine on my own journey, no matter the ce or time.


    Keeno: ¡­*ears and tail droop further*


    Luna: And Amaterasu.


    Amaterasu: Y-yes!?


    Luna: You¡¯ve been cking as well.


    Tamamo: As Keeno¡¯s wife, you should be the one keeping her to the proper Fluff routine as well as keeping yourself to it. You have the dignity of a kitsune goddess to uphold, meaning your Fluff must also be kept at Divine levels.


    Amaterasu: ¡­I have failed.


    Tamamo: Endeed you have, but you can both be redeemed.


    Luna: I shall assist both of you get to proper Fluff standards, I expect you to both maintain what I get you to, if not improve it further to the best of your abilities. Am I understood?


    Keeno: Bu-


    Amaterasu: That¡¯s-


    Luna: Am. I. Understood?


    Both: YES!

 Chapter 55- Small Confrontation and a Fun Conversation

    Chapter 55- Small Confrontation and a Fun Conversation


    [Keeno POV]


    After a little while of patting Pram as she continued to hug me, we both got up. As we got dressed for the day, we chatted about what Pram saw on her small exploration before she locked herself in the room.


    ¡°I mean, mostly it was just more of the docks, some open space on the other side of the river, and that¡¯s about it. Well, I also saw a lot of fish jumping in the river ahead of the ship and stuff and it made me hungry.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oooh.¡± (Keeno)


    {Someone sounds hungry.}


    ¡°Well yeah, I haven¡¯t eaten in a day.¡± (Keeno)


    {Now, you know that¡¯s not true.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    The temperature around me started to increase as Ama¡¯s words caused me to blush.


    ¡°Why are you getting so red, Keeno?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Hahahaha. You¡¯ll learn when you get a lover, Pram. For now, just admire Keeno¡¯s adorable embarrassment.}


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not missing a second of it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You two¡­¡± (Keeno)


    The temperature kept increasing as I got more embarrassed, so I decided to leave the room.


    ¡°Muninn, you stay with Pram again. Come on, Huginn, we¡¯re going out.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn flew over to my shoulder and as soon as itnded, I left the room.


    {You know you¡¯ll never escape my sight.}


    ¡®Yeah, but this way I can at least avoid being teased by Pram. And for the record, you did that way more than I did, so if anything, you¡¯re the glutton.¡¯


    {And? Not like I¡¯m ashamed of what I¡¯m like.}


    ¡®Neither am I, but when Pram is there when we talk about that, it makes me feel like I¡¯m corrupting her.¡¯


    {I don¡¯t think you have to worry about it, for someone like Pram, it takes a lot more than just talking about that to corrupt her.}


    ¡®I know¡­¡¯


    As Ama and I were having this conversation, I passed by this guy who looked to be about a year or two younger than me. He was standing next to the guardrail, looking out over the river. He was dressed in clothes that even I could tell were expensive. Looks wise, he wasn¡¯t bad looking, just¡­average? He nced over at me as I passed by him before his eyes went wide and he turned to face me.


    ¡°Excuse me, did you just leave that room over there?¡±


    ¡°And why should I answer that? It¡¯s rude to just ask questions without giving your name.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My apologies. I am An Undertain, heir to the Undertain house.¡± (An)


    ¡°Okami, and yes, that is my room. I¡¯d advise you leave mypanion alone, An.¡± (Keeno)


    I then started to walk again. He seemed to go a bit red in the face and, in a huff, turned to follow me.


    ¡°Now listen here you, I¡¯m a noble, so show me proper respect.¡± (An)


    ¡°And what respect is that? One thates from something someone in your family did in the past? What have YOU done to earn any respect from someone that you literally just met less than three minutes ago? And besides, you are already starting with negative respect from me after being pushy enough to make mypanion lock herself in a room because she rejected you.¡± (Keeno)


    He took a step back from me with a wounded look on his face.


    {Keeno, is it time for the boiling water yet?}


    ¡®If he tries to push any further, then yes, if he actually backs off, then he MAY be redeemable.¡¯


    {Then I¡¯ll save judgement forter.}


    I continued to walk away, leaving the now, surprisingly, contemtive noble alone. I walked to the front of the ship and stood on a small balcony overlooking the area in front of the ship. Both banks of the river were overgrown with reeds and the gentle breeze that was blowing made it look like waves going through them. I closed my eyes as the breeze blew my hair a little and the whole vibe of this moment just made me feel at peace.


    {The perfect picture of serenity.}


    ¡®Not entirely, I mean, you aren¡¯t next to me.¡¯


    {I am in spirit.}


    ¡®Yeah.¡¯


    I stood there for a few minutes enjoying the moment before a question popped into my head.


    ¡®Hey Ama, how¡¯s Fia doing?¡¯


    {Hmm. Give me a second¡­and, let¡¯s see if this works.}


    It was like a small click in my head.


    {Fia, try talking.}


    ¡°Rasu? Is there something you needed from me?¡± (Fia)


    ¡®Not really, I was just wondering how you were, and Ama tried something, and now here we are.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Hey Keeno, it¡¯s been a while. Miss me yet?¡± (Fia)


    ¡®You know I do, but I¡¯m not letting it stop me.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s good. How¡¯s the progress to Vanir going?¡± (Fia)


    ¡®Currently we¡¯re on a ship that will get us there.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°I see, so you chose the river route.¡± (Fia)


    ¡®Yeah, the first city we got to left a bad impression so we¡¯ve been avoiding them as much as possible¡­Speaking of, why didn¡¯t you tell us about that?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Because it¡¯s been too long between the times I¡¯ve been to any of Odeen¡¯s border cities.¡± (Fia)


    ¡®Fair enough. What about you? How are you doing and where are you now?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°I made it to Valkyr a few days ago and now I¡¯m trying to track down the people that I think will be able to help you when youe here. While not as big as Odeen, this country is still giant, so it¡¯s gonna take me a bit to find them.¡± (Fia)


    ¡®I see. Well, good luck.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Thanks. Oh, and Rasu, how are you doing? You haven¡¯t been checking in on me as much as you used to, so I¡¯ve been a bit worried.¡± (Fia)


    {I¡¯m also doing fine, just been watching over Keeno and Pram as they do their thing. Oh, by the way, Keeno just recently killed some bandits.}


    ¡°¡­How¡¯s she take it?¡± (Fia)


    {About how you¡¯re imagining.}


    ¡°Makes sense, but by the sound of it, she¡¯s gotten over it.¡± (Fia)


    ¡®I wouldn¡¯t saypletely, but Ama helped mee to terms with it more than I already had.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± (Fia)


    Like this, Ama and I spent the next hour or two chatting with Fia.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Well, I¡¯m currently done with them. Payto, may I ask a favor?


    What is it?


    Luna: Can you get Pram here for a little bit?


    Hmm. It can¡¯t be for very long, she¡¯s only mortal at the moment.


    Luna: Enough for me to get her to the basics of Fluff knowledge?


    I can do this for you about once a month, Keeno¡¯s world¡¯s time, so teach her as much as you can in the time I give you.


    Luna: Will do.


    *snap*


    Pram: Huh? Where-


    Luna: No time, sit here and listen to what I teach you. Name¡¯s Luna.


    Pram: Huh!?


    Luna: I¡¯m a friend of Keeno¡¯s, now please listen to me.


    Pram: If you know Keeno¡¯s name, then fine.

 Chapter 56- Arrival in Vanir

    Chapter 56- Arrival in Vanir


    [Keeno POV]


    It¡¯s been a few months since we got on this ship to Vanir. It wasn¡¯t a very exciting trip, all things considered, since the barrier around the ship was of such high quality. It practically obliterated any small water monsters that tried to attack the ship and the ones that somehow managed to bypass it were almost always killed by one of the sailors and a well-ced harpoon or trident. Pram and I also got acquainted with most of the people on the ship. The captain and his sailors were quite fun to talk to and interact with. Most of the nobles, on the other hand, were less so. Surprisingly, An turned out to be one of the best on the ship.


    His stalking of Pram stemmed from being a spoiled brat who¡¯d never been told no before, but after interacting with him several times over the months, he turned out to be a decent person. He also gave up on pursuing Pram after we both exined to him in detail that Pram liked women, and that she wasn¡¯t interested in even trying to be with him. Once that finally sunk in, he spent the rest of the time trying to at least befriend us. It got to the point where, if we were ever in Odeen again, he would let us stay at his family¡¯s mansion as important guests.


    As for the other nobles, they were, to put it nicely, disgusting. Ama and Pram had to stop me several times from killing most of them. At times their pettiness, other times it was their general disdain for anyone that wasn¡¯t a noble. There were times when I couldn¡¯t leave our room due to just how disgusted I was with them and the looks of their souls. Such muddy ckness dripping with corruption was horrendous. I knew the souls were like this when we got on the ship, but being around them for so long was¡­like it was back then.


    Today was the day we¡¯d be arriving at the port the ship was heading to. Like on the day we boarded we were all asked to stay in our rooms while the boat docked. I was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring out the window. The sky was overcast and, from what I could see, many ces here were various shaded of grey, white, or ck.


    ¡°Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes Keeno?}


    ¡°Those nobles are all going to die when I¡¯m done in Odeen.¡± (Keeno)


    {I know.}


    ¡°Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t think less of me for wanting that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why would I? I¡¯ve seen what being around those things does to you, so getting rid of them will be a good thing, not just for you, but for the world. The only reason the two of us stopped you every time you wanted to kill them so far is because it would hinder us.¡± (Pram)


    Shortly after, the boat shook, and we heard the sound of a chain sliding through a hole and the ssh of the anchor hitting the water. A little while after that we were allowed to leave the rooms. Pram and I got up and left the room after triple checking we didn¡¯t forget anything. We hurriedly made our way to the gangnk and were off the ship before the vermin that infested it did so. We moved over and out of the way since we at least wanted to say our farewells to An, who thankfully appeared shortly after we got off. He moved over to us with a calm smile stered on his face.


    ¡°Lady Okami, Lady Pram, it seems our smally journey together has ended. While it saddens me to part ways with the two of you, we all have our business that takes president over feelings. I wish the two of you luck in your endeavors and I hope we will meet again.¡± (An)


    ¡°Same to you, An. And remember, no means no, not please stalk me.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I fear I shall never live that past transgression of mine down with you, Lady Pram.¡± (An)


    ¡°It¡¯s just some ribbing between friends. I do the same thing to Okami all the time.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°She speaks the truth. Though I do just as much to her.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. I see. Well, I must go converse with the captain and take care of my business here. Until we meet again, my friends.¡± (An)


    And like that, he walked away. Pram and I turned our backs and did the same, walking in the direction of the city proper. The city here, while being basically monochromatic, was as lively as any other city we¡¯ve been to, though there was also this kind of ¡®air¡¯ about the ce that I couldn¡¯t really ce.


    ¡®Ama, is the Dead Zone here in the capital?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Yes. And I¡¯ll save the two of you a trip to the guild, leave the city and go west. Five days on foot and you¡¯ll be there.}


    ¡®Well, I hope it doesn¡¯t rain on us.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Oh Keeno. It¡¯s almost always raining in Vanir. You¡¯ve actually gotten quite lucky getting here on a day without rain.}


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Can¡¯t you just heat up the area around us like you did sometimes when we were little?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡°Pram, good job remembering that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, if I didn¡¯t, you sure wouldn¡¯t, Okami.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Pram)


    Like that we left the port city and started to make our way to Vanir¡¯s capital.


    *Five days after the two arrived in Vanir proper*


    [3<sup>rd</sup> person POV]


    It was another stormy day in the capital of Vanir. Thunder rang as lightning shed overhead and fat raindrops poured down over the monochrome city. People ran here and there, trying to make it to their destination as dry as they could. All of this was a daily urrence in this city.


    *ng*


    In the distance the sound of shing des rang out.


    *ng, ng* *boom*


    Sounds of magic attacks exploding.


    *Saxophone music ying*


    The sounds of music.


    ¡°Tch. Come on, boys! We got er on the ropes!¡±


    In an alleyway near one of the entrances to the city, a fight was taking ce. A lone wolfgirl stood with her back against a wall, blood slowly dripping from a cut on her forehead and one of her arms hanging limp. She was breathing heavily as her only open eye surveyed her surroundings. Several men wearing suits, some with swords, some with staves, surrounded her.


    The sound of saxophone music intensified.


    ¡°Well, well, well, who would have thought that we¡¯d be the ones with the honor of ending the life of thest remaining member of the vaunted Falkyron Family.¡±


    ¡°Grrrr.¡±


    The wounded woman let out a low growl at the ones surrounding her. The fire in her orange eye burned brightly. In a sh of light and heat, the one that just spoke fell to the ground, his head following suit a momentter. Unfortunately for the woman, two more people came out of the shadows to rece their fallenrade.


    ¡°Careful, idiots, just because she¡¯s injured doesn¡¯t mean she can¡¯t kill you. She¡¯s not called Light-de Freya for nothing.¡±


    The group started to close in on the woman. Seeing this she tried to prepare an attack, but a sense of searing pain shot up her leg, bringing her down to one knee. Seeing this, those surrounding her closed in faster.


    ¡°Light of the Suns, be my swords and my body. Bring me to speeds faster than sight and sound. Fleeting Sunbeam.¡± (Freya)


    The wolfgirl quickly glowed in an orange and blue light and, faster than any could react to, disappeared.


    ¡°DAMN IT ALL! FIND THE BITCH, LEADER WANTS HER HEAD!¡±


    As soon as the orders were given, the people ran in every direction in order to find their quarry. Meanwhile, on said quarry¡¯s side, she finds herself falling limply to the ground, exhausted, in the path of a familiar duo.


    *In another part of the city, shrouded in shadows*


    [??? POV]


    I look up and around me. The grey city I¡¯ve known all my life is no different than it was yesterday. The rain falls, the sounds of people on the streets walking or running, the music of battle musicians ys.


    ¡°¡­Hungry¡­¡­Hunt¡­smell of¡­¡­¡­blood¡­¡­¡±


    I stand from where I sat and pull the hood of my tattered red coat over my head, my ears peeking out from the shoddily cut holes on top. As soon as I¡¯m about to move from my spot, one of my friends passes in front of me.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Another one follows shortly after, until all of them are floating around me, their usual dull blue glow turning brighter.


    ¡°Happy?¡±


    I look in the direction they are facing and start to move. I stalk over to the side of a building and jump. At the apex of my jump, I stab one of my knives into the wall and start pulling myself up until I reach the roof. Once I make it there, I look in the direction my friends are and start running. I jump from roof to roof until I find myself near the walls of the city. I mber up the wall and sit, looking at everything outside the city.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    In the distance I can see two people crouching down over something. I tilt my head a little as I see this.


    ¡°¡­Will observe for now¡­¡­¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Things are getting interesting again.


    Tamamo: I agree.


    *Is dragged through the room by Order*


    Luna: What¡¯s his deal?


    Tamamo: No idea.


    Luna: Oh well, back to Keeno.


    Tamamo: Endeed.

 Chapter 57- Freya

    Chapter 57- Freya


    [Keeno POV]


    Pram and I were approaching the capital of Vanir after five days of walking. It hasn¡¯t stopped raining since the day after we arrived. Me being me, I heated the area around us enough for rain to not get close to us, though in return the humidity around us was high¡­I hate Vanir.


    {Keeno, your inner monologue is strange today.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. My hair and tail are messed up, no matter what I do I can¡¯t fix it, and this damned rain won¡¯t stop, but I don¡¯t want to get wet, so I have to keep the heat going and the humidity is only increasing. I¡¯m slowly losing my mind. I mean, it¡¯s so bad even Huginn and Muninn¡¯s feathers are starting to get affected.¡± (Keeno)


    Looking back at the two birds that haven¡¯t left my tail since we got here, they were about two sizes bigger than normal due to the severe humidity I was making poofing their feathers up.


    ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t think birds could be affected by humidity like this.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t either, but Pram, you aren¡¯t any better.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m trying not to think about it. I¡¯m just happy I have it easier than you.¡± (Pram)


    {And once Keeno starts getting more tails, things like this will get even worse.}


    ¡°AMA! WHY!?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Tee hee?}


    ¡°NO!¡± (Keeno)


    Just as I was about to continue questioning Ama about why she would wish horrid humidity upon me with more tails, a woman appeared in front of us in a sh of blue and orange light before falling to the ground, passed out and clearly very injured. This snapped all us out of our casual mood and we became on guard. Pram knelt down next to the woman.


    ¡°¡­Okami, we need to heal her, and soon. She won¡¯tst much longer if we don¡¯t.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ok, but let¡¯s get her off the road first.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked around and saw a small copse of trees.


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry her, you watch my back.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Already on it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    The two hopped out of my tail and started to fly around above us. I gently picked the unconscious woman up and we moved to the treeline. When we got there we looked around for a few minutes until we found a big enough t space. I heated the area up a little more to dry it and ced her gently on the ground. Pram then came and knelt down next to the woman to examine her.


    ¡°Hmm. Left arm broken and dislocated at the shoulder, internal organs injured, some ruptured, ribs cracked or broken, sprained ankles, some teeth missing,rge gash over right eye, also swollen shut. Probably more injuries under her clothes, but it¡¯s too dirty for me to properly check here¡­Keeno, help me with her shoulder, that has to be fixed first before I do anything else.¡± (Pram)


    She then summoned her bell and rang it twice. The unconscious woman glowed briefly before Pram¡¯s bell disappeared. I moved over to her left arm and grabbed it in the spots Pram told me to.


    ¡°I¡¯ve numbed her senses, but she¡¯ll probably wake up when we get her shoulder back in ce. I don¡¯t know what her reaction will be but be prepared for her to struggle.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heard. Ready whenever, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do it now.¡± (Pram)


    I moved the woman¡¯s arm and, after some resistance, a crunching, popping sound was heard.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!¡± (???)


    The woman tried to jump up, but I held her down as Pram looked down at her with a stern face. The woman was ring at both of us with her one good eye and a pained grimace. A low growling from her throat.


    ¡°Quiet. We¡¯re trying to heal you, so cooperate.¡± (Pram)


    Pram¡¯s statement confused the woman but she stopped growling, though by the look in her eye, she kept her guard up. Pram then got to work healing her. She started with her internal organs before moving on to the broken bones and, after a good while, her minor injuries. Once Pram was done checking over her work, she nodded and I released the woman. She immediately jumped up and tried to grab for Pram, but I conjured some mes in front of her, forcing her to stop.


    ¡°Now, now, that¡¯s no way to treat the one that just spent almost two hours healing you from near death.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Who are you people? What Family do you work for?¡± (???)


    ¡°Who we are doesn¡¯t matter right now, and we don¡¯t work for any Family, whatever that means.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We were just on our way to the capital here when you just appeared in front of us all injured.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. Why would you just heal someone like that?¡± (???)


    ¡°Because that¡¯s just the type of Pure Soul Pram is. Now, why don¡¯t we all calm down and have a nice, rxed conversation?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (???)


    The woman slightly rxed and sat down. I made the mes go away and sat as well, shortly followed by Pram.


    ¡°Starting off, my name is Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m Pram.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Freya.¡± (Freya)


    With introductions out of the way and all of us rxing to a degree, I finally got a chance to really take in the look of the woman in front of us. She had shoulder length greyish-steel blue hair with two wolf ears on top of her head. Her eyes were a duller orange than Ama¡¯s that seemed to turn a simr blue to mine when the light hit them just right. Though it was a little tattered, she wore white boots and ck leggings under some dark blue shorts, at the back of which a wolf¡¯s tail the same color as her hair sprouted. She also wore a white shirt under a ck vest you¡¯d normally see on a suit. At her cor she had a small tie like cloth with a wolf-head brooch. On her shoulders was an expensive looking coat that was acting more like a cape than an actual coat. On her hands were dark blue fingerless gloves.


    At the same time that I was observing her, she was doing the same to us. While we were all giving off a rxed air, none of us were willing to speak any more. We just sat there, observing every minute move the other made.


    ¡°Miss Freya, mind telling us why you were so injured?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmph.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°CAW!¡± (Huginn)


    Huginn¡¯s call made Freya jump up and two swords appeared in her hands as she looked around frantically.


    ¡°Pram, get behind me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How many, Okami?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not sure yet. Enough to surround us is about all I got from that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Was that your bird or something?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, that was Huginn. But no more information giving for now, we havepany, and they¡¯re probably after you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Tch. Hey, Okami, was it? Help me out with this and I¡¯ll answer all your questions. Though we¡¯ll need a better ce to speak than here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Was already nning on doing that. But don¡¯t double cross us, I¡¯m the one person in this world you¡¯ll never escape from.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya tilted her head a little at that statement, but that momentary confusion vanished when the ones surrounding us finally stepped out of the shadows.


    ¡°Tch. So, the Princess of Falkyron family got some allies AND some healing.¡±


    ¡°Damn it! And when we FINALLY got her to the brink.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, if we did it once, we can do it again. So what if there are two more little girls with her?¡±


    ¡°Think we can keep the other two? I know boss wants the Falkyron dead, but he never said anything about any of her friends.¡±


    Thest guy that spoke was then abruptly killed by one of hisrades.


    ¡°Pig.¡±


    {¡­Didn¡¯t expect that.}


    ¡®Neither did I, but that means one less for us to deal with.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I summoned my Soul Weapons and increased the heat even more around us.


    ¡°Suns shine down on me. Be the light that lights the world. Make my des swift and their edges burn.¡± (Freya)


    Freya¡¯s Souls Weapons then started to burn, one with an orange me and the other with a cerulean one.


    ¡°Light of the suns, bless me. May my speed be that of light.¡± (Freya)


    She then started to glow with a dull blue and orange light.


    {Pfft.}


    ¡®I can see why you made chants necessary. It¡¯s funny in a cringy way. But enough of that, time for focus.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Freya was the first to move. In the blink of an eye she was in front of one of the people surrounding us with her swords buried in his chest. Seeing that I tried mimicking the buffs she ced on herself and, upon doing so, moved to one of the others. The speed surprised me at first, and before I knew it I already had one of my swords in the neck of one of our enemies. I pulled it out and jumped back to where Pram was and shivered a little. Ignoring the feeling, I let go of my swords and started to spin them by the chains.


    ¡°Pram, duck. Freya, move out further.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram dropped to the ground and Freya jumped further away while moving between her opponents, dodging magic and weapons at the same time. My des grew hotter and hotter and glowed brighter the more I swung them. I moved forward quickly while spinning them until I had enough forward momentum. At one step I moved one of my arms forward slightly more than the other and the fast spinning de cut into one of my opponents like a buzzsaw. I stepped forward again and the other one did the same to another opponent that was shocked at the sight. I then stepped back a step and turned, causing my ded to swing horizontally, slicing into and cutting another opponent in half at the waist. I continued to spin like this, hitting two more before stomping a foot, nting it on the ground, ending the horizontal spin with a heavy momentum swing. One guy got the idea to try and stop this swing with his sword, but when my des met his, they melted straight through and cut him into three separate pieces.


    I pulled on the chains and the swords returned to my hands. My remaining opponents, now extremely cautious of me, started to widen the distance between them so that I had less of a chance to hit multiple of them at the same time.


    ¡°*Whistle*¡± (Keeno)


    At this signal, Pram¡¯s bell rang loudly and the ones in front of me winced as they ttened their ears to their heads. Huginn and Muninn also followed the signal and started attacking and driving my opponents closer together. Once they were all pretty much in a straight line in front of me, I channeled a lot of mana into my des until they were glowing an incandescent cerulean blue. I flicked my wrists, tossing the des out on the chains at either side of me before bringing both arms together like I was pping. The glowing des and chains followed along and when they met with a metallic ng, the remaining enemies in front of me fell to the ground, being split where the chains and des burned through them. I once again retracted my weapons and moved back to Pram. When I turned to look at Freya¡¯s side, I saw her looking over at me with an ufortable expression that was mixed with what I thought was a slight bit of admiration.


    ¡°In all my life of living in this den of wolves, I¡¯ve never seen someone kill people like that and not have an ounce of emotion on their face while doing so¡­You¡¯ve earned a little respect for that.¡± (Freya)


    Pram nced over at me, and I could feel one of my ears twitch a little at that because Freya¡¯s statement couldn¡¯t be farther from the truth. I was actually really feeling horrible right now, it just didn¡¯t show on my face due to me currently being in ¡®princess mode.¡¯


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, anymore!?¡± (Keeno)


    Deciding to just ignore it and think about itter, I called out to my two avianpanions. They both cawed on response, letting me know that there weren¡¯t any more enemies around. They thennded on a branch slightly above us.


    ¡°Well, now that this is done, time to clean it up before we move.¡± (Keeno)


    While the ones I killed were already purified, Freya¡¯s kills weren¡¯t, so I was going to move over and purify the bodies when I saw the souls start to float out of them.


    ¡°O-Okami, what are those?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, you can see them?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Never seen a soul before? You must have never seen someone die this close to a Dead Zone then.¡± (Freya)


    As the souls silently floated there, their murky dark colors almost dripping, I summoned my Soul Weapons once more. Instantly the souls started to float toward me and, once they touched the des, the murkiness vanished and shortly after, the souls did as well. Once all of them were gone, I started to get unsteady on my feet, the purification having taken a lot out of me.


    ¡°¡­Never seen that happen before¡­Hmph. Anyway, I¡¯m a woman of my word, I¡¯ll answer your question, but we need to get to a safe ce. I happen to have a few safehouses in the city that even they shouldn¡¯t know about, we just need to make it to one.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they all juste from the city? Wouldn¡¯t that just invite even more trouble?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, but your friend there is a kitsune, right? All I need is a bit of illusion magic to make me look different.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Keeno)


    I snapped my fingers and Freya¡¯s appearance changed, now she looked like someone from Solheim.


    ¡°Chantless¡­Anyway, let¡¯s go.¡± (Freya)


    While I was still a little unsteady, it was enough for me to walk on my own. Huginn and Muninn flew down from the branch andnded in my tail again and we left the little copse of trees. A bitter we made it to the wall of the city and after Freya bribed the guards, we walked inside. The city reminded me of picture I saw of European cities from around the industrial revolution, minus all the toxic mist and factories, though for all I knew there could have been some somewhere else in the city. Like the first city we were in, everything was monochromatic, even the people. They all had clothes of varying shades of ck, white, and grey. Freya was the only one so far I¡¯ve seen with any sort of color, aside from us.


    After about a half-hour of walking, she led us down a small alleyway that ended in a dead-end brick wall. She went up to the wall and tapped on several bricks. The wall then made a rectangr indent the size of a door and swung inside.


    ¡°Get in.¡± (Freya)


    We went is as she asked and she followed behind us after making sure no one followed us. When the door shut, everything was dark, the only thing anyone could see would probably be my eyes, due to the fact that they glowed. I was about to conjure a fireball when I heard a tapping sound and soon small glowing stones lit up above us. We were in a small hallway that led to a somewhatrge room I assumed was underground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there.¡± (Freya)


    Pram and I nodded, and we went further in. When we got into therge room, the musty smell of abandoned building hit me. I wrinkled my nose at that but decided not to voice anyints. I moved over to a dusty wooden chair and sat down, letting out a tired sigh. Pram moved another chair over and sat next to me while Huginn and Muninn hopped out of my tail and started to explore the room. Freya also pulled up a chair in front of us and rested her arms on the table between us.


    ¡°So, ask away. While I don¡¯tpletely trust the two of you, you¡¯ve both shown me more goodwill in thest few hours than anyone else has my entire life, so I believe the least I can do is answer any questions you have.¡± (Freya)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Brutal.


    Tamamo: I agree.


    I¡¯ve seen worse.


    Luna: Really?


    Live as long as I have, and you¡¯ll see worse as well.


    Luna: ¡­


    Atmos: Hmmm.


    Tamamo: Wha¡­I see, I think I get where your thoughts are going, Atmos.


    Luna: Hmm? ¡­AH! Fufufu. Same.


    Hehe.

 Chapter 58- Questions

    Chapter 58- Questions


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°Then, can you answer my question from earlier?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It was why I was injured, right?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The Family that I was born into messed up and as a result, all of them were disposed of. I¡¯m the veryst one, not that I ever really considered myself a part of that Family.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami, what¡¯s with that look? Never heard of something like this before?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Let me guess, you were born to an influential family, but them being either so loyal to the country itself, or their Name, that they treated you more like an object. It was so bad that, if you disappointed them enough, they¡¯d stop any form of support for you and raise you till you were old enough to be practically sold off to another person for the sole purpose of breeding?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­How¡¯d you figure all that out just from that one answer?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I get it since I was the same till I was five. Then, with help, I managed to get out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Where were you born?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Falheim.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­There¡¯s a limit to jokes, Okami. Even I know that Falheim makes sure nobody could ever cross its border, in or out.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s a decentlyrge country, very behind in lots of knowledge we would considermon. They treat people with Soul Weapons like both chosen ones and ves. And the capital, from the little I saw of it and remember is mostly canals with very little footpaths.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t get how you think I¡¯d be convinced with that, I¡¯ve never been there and have no way to know if your telling the truth or not. Like I said, no one gets in or out.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Well now I feel stupid.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehe.}


    ¡°Anyway, believe me or not, I¡¯m speaking the truth. If you want to know how I got out, I had help from Fiametta.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya¡¯s eyes went wide when I mentioned Fia¡¯s name.


    ¡°Wait, are you the ones that¡­*sigh* Just what is going on?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Pram)


    Freya started massaging her temples and let out another long sigh.


    ¡°Around a year ago, a very important person came here to the capital and stayed with one of the two leading Families of the country. After some things happened, they basically swore fealty to her. She left some cryptic instructions and then left. Those instructions were to help her family member and herpanion with whatever they needed until they were done in the country.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Fia really doesn¡¯t hold back, does she?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Seems like it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Was the Family you were in under this other Family?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No. They served their rival.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then it sounds like they have some info leaks or traitors in their midst if you know all this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A mix of both, actually. Though I¡¯m impressed again. If anyone else heard what I just told you, we¡¯d either be fighting or one of us would be dead by now.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, one, Pram went through all that trouble to heal you, so I¡¯m not going to undo all her hard work. Two, you give the vibe of someone who¡¯s just done with all this Family crap and just wants out. Three, you¡¯re surprisingly Pure for someone who was raised in the situation you were. Not saying you¡¯re anywhere near as Pure as Pram is, but your soul doesn¡¯t drip with corruption like a lot of the people I¡¯ve seen here so far.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What are you, some sort of soul reading death mage?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Something like that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­*sigh*¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes, spots?¡± (Freya)


    Pram was taken aback by the sudden nickname, but shook it off and looked directly at Freya.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What are you going to do? You are being targeted by people who want you dead, talking to two people who, even if they aren¡¯t YOUR enemy, they technically are.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ah. Simple, I¡¯m not going to do anything. I¡¯m not going to sell you out to those damn wolves just to save my skin, and though my life is being targeted, I¡¯m used to it. You aren¡¯t born into a somewhat prominent Family here and NOT have a target on your head. At most I just want out and to disappear. As far as I¡¯m concerned, the Falkyron Family is dead. I just want to be Freya. If you asked me if I wanted to get back at any of the Families here or whatever, I wouldn¡¯t lie and say I wouldn¡¯t be tempted to, but I¡¯m just one person and I know my limits.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And what do you find so funny?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I like you, you¡¯re interesting. And you meet most of the requirements. Trust, that can be earned over time, but what say you join us, Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°!!! Are you sure, Okami?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Why not? She has Sr magic, she knows the city, she has information on things that we can use to get the¡­What was the name of the Family Fia basically took over?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The Salviento Family.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That Family to trust us since I know Fia¡¯s word won¡¯t be enough to vouch for us. Though if they act like I think they will, we¡¯ll eventually have to go it on our own and probably fight everyone here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Quit talking like it¡¯s a done deal. I haven¡¯t agreed to anything yet, and I¡¯m not going to agree to anything until you tell me what I¡¯d get out of it first.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, for starters, revenge, freedom, and more fun than anything you¡¯d ever find here most likely. There are other possible benefits, but I¡¯ll only tell you those once I can trust you implicitly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­No wonder people say to watch out when you negotiate with kitsune. Even if I wasn¡¯t somewhat¡­no,pletely desperate, your words hold a lot of temptation. Mind if I have some time to think about the offer?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, take as much time as you want. If you decide not to ept, then we¡¯ll just figure out a different way to get things done here. I mean, it¡¯s not like I was expecting things like this to happen.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, Fia didn¡¯t give you a lot of information to go on, just the basics. I think she¡¯s trying to teach you something.}


    ¡®I figured that out a while ago Ama.¡¯


    {¡­}


    ¡®Hehe.¡¯


    {Don¡¯tugh at me!}


    ¡°Mm. Well, I think that¡¯s enough for tonight. Should be some nkets and stuff over in that box, make yourselvesfortable.¡± (Freya)


    She got up from her chair and sat in a corner facing the entrance, using the heavy looking coat on her shoulders as a nket. She closed her eyes and, while it seemed she quickly fell asleep, her ears twitched at every sound, showing she was awake. Pram and I nced at each other and moved to another corner before pulling out some nkets from my ring.


    ¡®Pram, I know I kind of decided a lot of that on my own, but I kind of really want her to join us. I feel some sort of¡­mutual connection or something. I want to give her the freedom that Ama and Fia helped me attain.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®I understood that much. I would have been more surprised if you didn¡¯t offer.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Am I really that predictable?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°No, you¡¯re that much of a good person. I know that even if she refuses, you will at least tell her that she can always find us again if she changes her mind. And if she doesn¡¯t you¡¯ll probably at least tell her to go somewhere like Solheim since it¡¯s the one ce you consider safest in the world, the Divine Domain excluded.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself, Pram. And if I¡¯m to add my own input, while it¡¯ll take some more work, she is a good Apostle candidate for Keeno. I mean, there needs to be more trust, but Keeno said as much earlier. And she could be one morepanion that keeps Pram safe in a fight.}


    ¡®I¡¯m not that useless. I just focus more on the debuffing and healing.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Neither of us said or even thought you were useless, Pram.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Pram)


    I patted Pram¡¯s head.


    ¡®You are not useless, Pram, and we¡¯d never think of you that way. Now get some sleep. We had a long day.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Mm.¡¯ (Pram)


    Pram closed her eyes and soon enough her breathing indicated she went to sleep.


    {¡­Keeno, how are you holding up?}


    ¡®¡­I don¡¯t know. This was the first time since the bandits¡­and I still don¡¯t like it.¡¯


    {Again, you don¡¯t have to like it, but since it will be your responsibility to handle these things, you need to at least get desensitized to it. Of course, I¡¯m here for you, so unload all your troubles onto me and I¡¯ll bear the burden with you. That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to do.}


    ¡®Thanks Ama. I feel like that¡¯s just the first of many times I¡¯m going to have to do that from now on, so I¡¯m trying to just not care, but it¡¯s not working. That¡¯s also another reason why I want Freya to join us¡­she seems like she¡¯s killed way more people than me, so I want to know how she deals with it.¡¯


    I wrapped my tail around me and curled up a little more in my corner.


    {Keeno¡­rest for now, you need to sleep.}


    ¡®I will.¡¯


    {Huginn, Muninn, I know you can hear me. Make sure everyone in here is safe.}


    ¡®Hehe.¡¯


    Soon after that, I fell into a light sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Fenrir: ¡­Mio,e here.


    Mio: Fen nya? What¡¯s wrong nya?


    Fenrir: ¡­That Freya person¡­looks¡­I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s like something in my soul is telling me I need to fight her.


    Mio: Fen nya, if you do that, I¡¯ll fight her with you nya.


    Luna: Hey Payto, if Fated Ones are a thing, are there things like Fated Rivals?


    Nope. I think Fenrir is just sensing another wolf in simr circumstances to her.


    Luna: ¡­How?


    Cmon, Luna, you and the others have already started to figure it out. Think.


    Luna: ¡­Ooooooooooooh. Fufufu. Though if that¡¯s the case, why does she want to fight her?


    Fenrir: Cause why not? Doesn¡¯t it seem like it would be fun? I mean, I have ice and Winter magic and Authority, and that Freya girl has Sr and fire-based magic, it¡¯s like we¡¯re supposed to fight any time we meet, even if she doesn¡¯t know about me.


    Mio: And whatever Fen wants nya, I must support her in it nya. Someone must teach all the wolves that Fen is the best nya!


    Fenrir: Oh Mio, you¡¯re the best. Come here, you. *smooch*

 Chapter 59- Deciding What Needs to be Done

    Chapter 59- Deciding What Needs to be Done


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next morning, thanks to Ama, I looked around. Pram was next to me, still asleep. Huginn and Muninn were vigntly looking at the hallway entrance. And Freya was also still in her corner, ears twitching at every little sound.


    ¡®Huginn, Muninn,e here and rest.¡¯


    The two hopped over, every tap of their feet making Freya¡¯s ears twitch in their direction. I stifledughing at that.


    {Keeno, how are you feeling now?}


    ¡®Better¡­Well, not as good as if I would wake up to you, but good enough.¡¯


    {What am I ever going to do with you?}


    ¡®Spoil me rotten like I will you.¡¯


    {You¡¯re making me blush. Why do you have to be so cute when you know I can¡¯t hug and kiss you for being that way?}


    ¡®Cause you do it to me all the time.¡¯


    {Fair enough.}


    ¡®So, while I¡¯ll discuss this with the otherster, what should we do today, Ama? Go out and meet the¡­Sal-something or other Family, or should we go about doing some things to either get more money or just explore around the city and get ay of thend?¡¯


    {Hmmm. I think you should probably focus on getting a grip on how the city is and getting money. How much do you and Pram have left?}


    ¡®Not much. Should probably spend some on getting some clothes to blend in here a bit more, but depending on how much it costs for the two of us, we¡¯ll need to earn more before getting to the point where we¡¯repletely broke. And no, while I trust Fia, I don¡¯t trust the people she set up to help us. At least not here after seeing so much corruption is here.¡¯


    {Understandable. Though it was good I told you to get here as fast as possible seeing as you were able to save Freya, I¡¯m starting to think I should have let the two of you earn some money first.}


    ¡®It¡¯s not a thing you need to regret, Ama. As long as we can earn some mostly honestly here, then I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t want to deal in blood money, I get a bad feeling in my gut just thinking about it.¡¯


    {Oh, that¡¯s a good term for it. Anyway, I get it. And from how you are thinking and a bit of what I¡¯ve understood from your conversation with Freya yesterday, asking for money from the people Fia got to help you will backfire, though, hehehe, you could also ept it and, once you fully ascend and they die, you can exact your retribution on them and all they can do is cower.}


    ¡®Hehehehe. That¡¯s a fun thought, though really all I need to know is just how hard they¡¯ll probably try to screw us over to give them near eternal damnation.¡¯


    {Only near?}


    ¡®Full eternal damnation is reserved for most of Falheim and any other mongrels I meet.¡¯


    {That¡¯s entirely reasonable. So, what are you going to do about Freya?}


    ¡®That¡¯s up to her. Can¡¯t build trust if we don¡¯t stick together, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to keep her around us if she doesn¡¯t want to. Though now that I think about it, she kind of has to stick close to us if she wants the illusion on her to stay up effectively. I¡¯m not great at illusion magic after all.¡¯


    {You¡¯re thinking too deeply about it, Keeno.}


    ¡®I do that too much.¡¯


    Ama and I continued our conversation until Pram started to stir. She sat up and looked around sleepily before tilting her head. She stayed like that for around a minute before her mindpletely woke up and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.


    ¡®Morning Pram.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Mornin¡­my neck hurts.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Well heal it. You¡¯re the one with the healing magic.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Oh yeah¡­Hehe.¡¯ (Pram)


    Pram ced her hand on her neck and started to use healing magic. Once she was done the two of us stood up and moved over to the dust table. With all themotion we were making, Freya finally got up.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°If you want to say something, just say it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nothing much¡­just¡­thanks. For healing me yesterday and fighting with me.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Of course. As long as I haven¡¯t seen you doing something irredeemable, then I¡¯ll heal anyone.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­a naive way of thinking.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Maybe, but I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m a healer, I heal.¡± (Pram)


    Freya then looked at me.


    ¡°She¡¯spletely sane, right?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°More so than I am.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Our sanity aside, we need to talk about what to do from now on. Pram, we need to go around the city for a few days to figure out theyout first as well as get more money. Plus, we should go and get some clothes that match the ce, so we don¡¯t stand out as much. Though money and information are more important.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Got it. Guess we need to find the Guild.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Are you not going to ask me to show you around and stuff?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I mean, if you want to that¡¯d be great, but you have your own circumstances and it¡¯s not like you¡¯re in our party. You¡¯re free to do so or not. If you want to up and leave go for it, neither of us will stop you. Though if you do, I¡¯d suggest you go and settle down in Solheim. It¡¯s a bit cold there, but you get used to it pretty quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. And if you ever go there and decide to stay, look for the Kan family, they¡¯ll help you out. Just let them know Pram and Okami sent you their way and they¡¯ll help you with anything you need.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, there are Families in other countries to¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Not the kind you¡¯re thinking of, when Pram said that she meant her actual family. The kind that isn¡¯t tied to stuff like the ones here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m hungry.¡± (Keeno)


    I pulled some of our preserved food out of my storage ring and ced it on the table, d that it wasn¡¯t possible for things to go bad when they were stored in there. I took out enough stuff for three people and Pram and I immediately started eating while Freya just stared at the food then us several times.


    ¡°You people are so weird.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s called trust, Freya. Sure, we only met yesterday and haven¡¯t really gotten to know each other, but I¡¯m absolutely positive you deserve at least the same amount of trust a normal person would give to someone they just met. If you want to think it¡¯s weird, we¡¯re not stopping you, but if you¡¯re ever going to make it outside this country, you¡¯ll need to learn too at least do this much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And besides, out of anyone in this world, Okami is absolutely trustworthy. Though now that I say that, it doesn¡¯t really sound super convincinging from me.¡± (Pram)


    I started patting Pram¡¯s head.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Pram. I get what you were trying to say.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­So, are the two of you lovers or something?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡°Nope.¡±¡± (Both)


    ¡°We¡¯re more akin to sisters than anything. Childhood friend is too lukewarm a word for it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That isn¡¯t to say I didn¡¯t once feel like that, but I¡¯m over it, though now Okami teases me with that fact a lot. But I agree with her, sisters in all but blood.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­So that¡¯s what trusting someone is like¡­¡­Got it¡­I¡¯ll help the two of you out, at least as long as you stay in Vanir. After that I don¡¯t know, but I want to at least try this trust thing. Though I would like to ask for your help with keeping myself concealed.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Easy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, but before we head out and do anything, there is one more thing that I forgot to mention yesterday that you need to be very careful of here in the capital.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And that would be?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The Hunter. An assassin unaffiliated with any Family and is more like a ghost than anything. It¡¯s the one thing that every Family is afraid of due to how unpredictable it is when it appears.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°If it¡¯s so unpredictable, how do we make sure to stay away from it?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I was just putting the information on the table.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thanks for telling us. Now eat and we can go and start getting things done.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya nodded and started to eat the stuff I gave her.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Payto, here. *Tosses scroll over*


    *catches* Hmm? ¡­AH! Hehe.


    Atmos: What¡¯s that?


    Gift from a friend. *opens scroll and ces it on the tv* And there.


    Order: Oh, was that a gift from Crimson?


    Yep. Now we can watch stuff that goes on in his Sea of Chaos too.


    Order: How fun.


    Luna: Yeah, apparently there was some special wolf girl over there that has been ignoring her Fluff, so I had to scold her. By the way, thanks for letting me do that when I overheard the two of you talking about it.


    No problem.


    Luna: Oh, and on the way back I Fluffified him.


    Pffft. Ahahahahahahahaha!


    Order: Hehehehehe.


    Atmos: So, when do we get to watch?


    Hang on and I¡¯ll finish up with the fine details.

 Chapter 60- To the Guild

    Chapter 60- To the Guild


    [Keeno POV]


    Once Freya had finished eating, we all sat there, wondering what exactly we should do first.


    ¡°Well, I already said it, so me being with you two, you don¡¯t really need to go around the city to explore it, so getting you two money and inconspicuous clothes should be first. Just how much money do the two of you have?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Not much. And, depending on how much clothes here cost, we¡¯ll end up basically broke after getting some.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Then I¡¯ll bring you to the Guild first, but when we get there, try to be quick, we don¡¯t want ones that are in charge of watching the Guild getting suspicious of us.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°While I¡¯m not really surprised, I find it weird how the Guild would allow something like that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s one of those open secret things. Too many people to reallyb through to catch the trash, but if you get caught then it¡¯s on you. Though I expect that, once you get seen there, the Salviento Family will try to get in contact with you sooner orter, seeing as they have been waiting for you.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Got it, though since I¡¯m guessing the other one knows what at least I look like as well, so what do we do if we get attacked somewhere?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fight back, obviously. Though you bring any civilians into the fight, you¡¯ll get hunted down by everyone. Very important to remember that the Families may be ruthless scum, but they have their own, extremely twisted, morals.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, the thought of involving the uninvolved never crossed my mind. Though I guess that means I¡¯m stuck fighting with magic in the city. My Soul Weapons aren¡¯t really great in tight quarters like a city.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True. Speaking of magic, neither of you need to chant¡­how is that possible?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Secret for now, need more trust for that answer.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fair enough. Now, let¡¯s go. Pack up anything you left out; I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll being back to this ce.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Got it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, and thanks for the food.¡± (Freya)


    I nodded, epting Freya¡¯s thanks and got up. I collected the nkets we usedst night and looked back at Freya.


    ¡°Anything you want me to hold for you from here?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nah. Got my own storage ring.¡± (Freya)


    Once we were all ready, we were about to leave when I thought I heard some whispering. One of my ears twitched, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything anymore, so I just shrugged it off as one of us brushing past something.


    {Keeno, you weren¡¯t hearing things. Those were Death Spirits, they are getting uppity with you being there, so be ready to start hearing their voices. They won¡¯te to meet you or anything, at least while you aren¡¯t IN the Dead Zone proper, so be prepared to start hearing whispers. After a point you¡¯ll just tune them out.}


    ¡®I see. Well, it¡¯s good that I¡¯m not going crazy.¡¯


    We left the hidden safehouse and walked into the rain-soaked alleyway. Just before we left the safehouse, I cast another illusion over Freya and she took the lead of our little group. She stopped at the entrance of the alleyway and looked to each side before waving us over. When she was sure nobody was really looking in our direction, we left the alleyway.


    Walking down the road, I nearly immediately got fed up with the rain, so I turned up the heat again. Pram got a little closer to me to enjoy the small benefit of not getting soaked. Freya, on the other hand, loosened her cor a bit since she wasn¡¯t expecting it to suddenly get hotter.


    ¡°Really?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t want to get wet¡­speaking of, how are you not?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Clothes here repel water. Doesn¡¯t stop hair and tails from getting wet, but since it¡¯s practically always raining here and nobody likes getting soaked through to their skin and lugging heavy clothes around, we figured out how to make clothes that would stay dry, not matter how much water got on them, though it also makes them an absolute pain to clean.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We definitely need to get clothes here now, I¡¯m not going to walk around like a living humidity machine if I can just make I don¡¯t get wet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Guess that leaves me getting my hair and tail wet then.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. I mean, look at Freya, her hair and tail arepletely dry.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Perks of Sr magic.¡± (Freya)


    Saying that, Freya actually had a small smile on her face.


    ¡°Tch. And here I am, just stuck with healing magic.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And it¡¯s very helpful, along with you being a source of joy for all of us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll ept that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You two just go at your own pace, don¡¯t you?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Meh, we¡¯re actually more serious than normal.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯tining, it¡¯s actually kind of nice. It¡¯s dreary here all the time, so people like you are a good change of pace, at least until they get broken by the system here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not nning on staying here long enough for that to happen. While not getting in, doing what we came here for, and getting out, I want to move on before we get caught up into things we don¡¯t want to be a part of.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What is it you¡¯re here to do, anyway?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m not at liberty to say unless I know we won¡¯t be overheard. Since you said you¡¯re sticking with us at least while we¡¯re here, you¡¯ll find out when we get to it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°At least you¡¯re sensible enough to know that it¡¯s not good to talk about stuff like that in detail in public.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Just because we¡¯re easygoing, doesn¡¯t mean we aren¡¯t sensible.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Says the one that will heal anyone.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I still have standards, you know. If I see or know someone doing something bad, then I won¡¯t heal them.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, and how would you know if they did something like that without you seeing or knowing it?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That¡¯s what Okami is for.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    As we continued to walk, we passed another alleyway. In said alleyway, I saw a wolfgirl wearing a somewhat tattered, long red coat staring at me. Once I blinked though, she was gone.


    ¡®Huginn, Muninn, keep your guards up until I say we¡¯re good.¡¯ (Keeno)


    A rustling of featherster, and the two poked their heads out of my tail.


    Chaos Realm:


    Hmm.


    Order: What is it?


    What kind of wardrobe do you think they¡¯ll go with?


    Order: Something like what Freya is wearing.


    So you thought so too.


    Order: I mean, it¡¯s kind of obvious.


    True¡­


    Order: Yes, I¡¯ll wear something like that at ater date, but only if I get to see you wear a suit as well, you¡¯d look so good in one.


    It¡¯s a deal.

 Chapter 61- Time for Work

    Chapter 61- Time for Work


    [Keeno POV]


    Several minutester we arrived in front of a big brick building with heavy-looking double doors.


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m starting to think that there is some other purpose to the Guild having doors this big and heavy. No matter where, every Guild building has had doors like this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m notpletely sure, but I think it¡¯s supposed to be some sort of safety thing. If you struggle to open the doors and everyone inside can hear you when youe in, it bes a bit harder to do something stupid like try and attack someone. Same reason some shops have small bells on the doors.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Makes sense, though I feel like you¡¯d be an idiot to actually try something like that in the Guild.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, I mean, most people that visit the Guild are armed, skilled in magic, or both.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Actually, some of the greener, stupider members of Families sometimes try and do that in order to strongarm the Guild into supporting them. Never works out, one way or another, but that doesn¡¯t stop said idiots from thinking they are the special one that will be able to do it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s enough standing in front of the doors, let¡¯s get in, get some work, and get out.¡± (Keeno)


    I opened the heavy doors, and, with a loud groaning sound, we entered the Guild. Inside looked kind of different that what we¡¯ve usually seen in other Guilds. It was a big open room with several floors visible from the ground through balconies. Each floor had several people going through stacks of papers, messing with stuff in bottles, and more that I couldn¡¯t really make out from here. The floor we were on was the one that dealt with adventurers. I looked around from a spot a little out of the way of the door.


    ¡°Where is the request board? I don¡¯t see it anywhere.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°All the way in the back.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Really like making it easy to watch people, don¡¯t they?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Makes it easy to control people that way, so yeah.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    We moved further into the Guild Hall and I almost immediately noticed a few people watching us. As soon as we made it to the request board at the very back of the Guild, I noticed a few people quickly leaving. Just as soon as the doors were about to shut, some random saxophone music started to y.


    ¡°Huh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Battle Musicians. Askter, find something to do first.¡± (Freya)


    {Followers of the God of Music, nicedy, if not a bit dramatic.}


    We looked over the requests on the board. Most weren¡¯t what I would consider interesting, mostly delivery or bodyguard requests. They paid well but would take too long. Some even had indefinite time limits.


    ¡°There are some for healing people, should we take those?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Take a few. I¡¯ll take a few of these delivery ones. None that will leave the city, but enough that can be done within the day.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Since I¡¯m not a part of the Guild, I¡¯ll leave all that to you two.¡± (Freya)


    We nodded and after looking over the quests, we picked up the ones that we figured would give us the most money while taking the least amount of time. After going through the proper motions, we made our way out of the Guild. When we exited, there were signs of a fight going down the street until they disappeared into an alleyway. Pram and I looked at the scene with deadpan expressions while Freya started to get a little twitchy.


    ¡°Okami or Pram, let me look over the ces we need to go for those and let¡¯s get out of here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Why?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The Hunter is on the prowl and I don¡¯t want to be anywhere near where she has been recently.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°How can you tell?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°See those throwing knives over there embedded into the wall, those are The Hunter¡¯s. It¡¯s like a calling card of sorts, so show me and we move, now.¡± (Freya)


    We did as she said and, after looking over the papers, she started to walk in a direction away from where that obvious fight transpired.


    ¡°First up is for Pram. After that we¡¯ll pick up one of the things that needs delivering.¡± (Freya)


    We simply nodded and followed Freya. A while after picking up the requests and doing one of each of the ones we picked, we decided that we should get all of Pram¡¯s done first before going around and doing the ones I chose. The sole reason behind this was that it was more expedient. All Pram had to do was show up, prove she could use healing magic, and use it, while on my end we had to show the request paper, fill out the proper paperwork, get the delivery, traverse the city to the destination, wait for the recipient to check their delivery, fill out more paperwork, report back to the starting point, and fill out more paperwork.


    ¡°I hate bureaucracy like this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t get how people do that kind of stuff all day. I¡¯d go mad.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {No, Keeno, you cannot burn all the paperwork, it¡¯ll only add more. I¡¯ve seen it happen to so many people to the point that it stopped being funny and is just sad.}


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    I just shook my head and we got on with our work. We spent the rest of the day doing this and by the time night was about to arrive, Freya took us to another one of her hidden safehouses. Once the door to this one, which was hidden in a dried-up culvert, was shut and we sat down in the one big room, we all fell on our backs and let out long sighs.


    ¡°I see a few more long days like this before I say we have enough money tost for a while. Though first things first tomorrow, me and Pram go get us some Vanir clothing.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve never wanted to bludgeon something to death more than several of those people and their paperwork today. Especially that one that tried to pull a fast one on us. Thanks, Freya, for catching that for us.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No problem¡­Well, slight problem in that we may be on that guy¡¯s hit list now, but that¡¯s negligible for me at this point.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Guess it¡¯s a feeling I¡¯m going to have to get used to.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s not a feeling you should, but considering everything, it¡¯s probably true.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The more you two talk about this, the more curious I am. What exactly are you going to do?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°All I¡¯ll say for now is that it has to do with Dead Zones.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah. While I haven¡¯t experienced it personally seeing as the Family I was a part of never was part of the faction that had control of it in my lifetime, makes sense if you want to do anything with Dead Zones. I¡¯ve heard how just setting foot too near one without permission is immediate grounds for execution. No questions asked.¡± (Freya)


    {And it¡¯s sickening. They are there to help the world, not for mortals to fight over for power that isn¡¯t even theirs.}


    Ama¡¯s feelings were a bit contagious for me, making my already slightly foul mood fouler.


    ¡°OI! Stop turning up the heat.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Keeno)


    After a bit more resting, I pulled out some more food and we all ate before turning in for the night.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Even if I already knew mortals get arrogant fast and easily, it still kind of shocked me at just how fast so many people tried to start scams and stuff when I made the stars. It¡¯s honestly insulting thinking I¡¯d allow them to do something like that.


    Tamamo: Happens to all of us, Luna. Though the annoyance is extremely understandable. Though if I had to give them one thing, it¡¯s that those kinds of people are very courageous. I mean, we¡¯re not above smiting people.


    Luna: True.


    *Poof*


    Amaterasu: ¡­*tries to run away*


    Luna: Nope. *teleports her back*


    Amaterasu: WHY!? I¡¯VE BEEN TAKING CARE OF MY FLUFF PROPERLY!


    Luna: And I was going tomend you for that.


    Amaterasu: Eh?


    Luna: We really need to have a talk about how you see me.


    Tamamo: I agree, it¡¯s like you think my Luna is a tyrannical goddess who abuses her power.


    Amaterasu: I have never and will never think that!


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. Good.

 Chapter 62- Clothes Shopping

    Chapter 62- Clothes Shopping


    [Keeno POV]


    The next day we got up, ate, and immediately left to get me and Pram some new clothes fit for Vanir. Freya brought us to a ce that she said was reasonable with its prices and pretty neutral when it came to Family connections. When we arrived at our destination and entered the shop, a friendly voice called out to us.


    ¡°Wee. What can I interest such cute customers so early in the day?¡±


    ¡°Me and my friend here are here to get some clothes that will help with the weather while also being easy to move in.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Adventurers?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Any preference?¡±


    ¡°Something like what my otherpanion is wearing would be nice, but if there isn¡¯t something like that then it doesn¡¯t really matter to us all that much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Lastly, any special requests? Specific colors or something or do you want the usual ck, white, and grey?¡±


    ¡°If you have anything with colors simr to the orange sun, I¡¯m all for it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯d like something with some silver highlights if you have some, though I can also go with indigo if you don¡¯t.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Come over here for a few minutes. I need to check your measurements for when we find you something so we can get it perfect.¡±


    We did as the shopdy said and walked over to a small, raised dais surrounded by mirrors in the back of the shop. The shopkeep then turned back to us.


    ¡°Are either of you familiar with getting measurements done? If not, then please undress some so I can get a proper measurement. Rest assured that, once I¡¯m done everything will remain confidential.¡±


    Pram tilted her head at thatst bit.


    ¡°I assume some people would have tried something nefarious if that¡¯s something you have to say?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll step out then, I don¡¯t need anything. When you¡¯re both donee get me.¡± (Freya)


    We nodded to Freya and then turned back to the clerk.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± (Keeno)


    I undressed enough for the clerk to get the proper measurements which didn¡¯t take long, though the clerk had several things to say about my figure.


    {What does she mean to big? Keeno¡¯s breasts and thighs are magnificent and perfect!}


    ¡®I think she¡¯s just jealous.¡¯


    {Well, I can understand that. I mean, I get all of that for myself, so it¡¯s only natural people would get jealous of what they can¡¯t have.}


    ¡®True words, Ama, true words.¡¯


    After Pram was done and we got dressed again, the clerk brought us out to the main shop where numerous outfits were disyed.


    ¡°You said you wanted something simr to your otherpanion¡¯s clothes, right? How close are you thinking, exact same, or just a simr aesthetic?¡±


    ¡°Simr aesthetic for me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Simr.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Got it. Ah, it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve had such easy clients, no offence.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing most people are really picky about what they want?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You have no idea. It¡¯s too tight, it¡¯s too loose, there aren¡¯t enough embroideries, h, h, h.¡±


    The clerk kept venting all her annoyances with her usual clientele while picking up and moving around clothes as she shuffled through things while every so often throwing one over her arm.


    ¡®Ama, don¡¯t watch for a while, once Ipletely decide on something and change into is I¡¯ll tell you and let you see.¡¯


    {You sly fox you, fine, I¡¯ll check on Fia for a bit.}


    Once the clerk was done collecting things, she walked over to us again and handed me and Pram our respective choices.


    ¡°Go to the changing rooms over there and try these on, if you need help, I¡¯ll assist. Once you find the ones you like and are set on getting them, I¡¯ll fix them up to the sizes we just took.¡±


    We both thanked the clerk and went to the changing rooms. After a while of figuring out how to put these on properly and deciding on what we wanted, we walked out of the changing rooms wearing our preferred outfits. Seeing this the clerk came over and, upon seeing us, nodded her head.


    ¡°You two look really good in those. Now, let¡¯s get to the rest.¡±


    We again took the chosen clothes off and handed them over to the clerk who took them and, after two hours, came back with the freshly tailored clothes. We asked the price and once we paid, we borrowed the changing rooms again so we could wear the clothes out. Once we got to the shopfront where Freya was waiting, she was sitting in a chair looking out the window at the rain.


    ¡°Anyone ever tell you that you¡¯d be a good model for art?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm. I can see it, too bad neither of us is good at painting.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    She just turned back to looking out the window, though I could tell she was happy about thepliment by the slight waving of her tail.


    ¡®Oh Ama~ Come and see~¡¯


    {You call I answ¡­Dear Me¡­I-I¡¯m speechless¡­}


    ¡®Hehehe.¡¯


    While leaving Ama stunned, I returned my attention back to our group.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s go and get the rest of these delivery jobs done. This already took way longer than I figured it would, not that I regret it.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya got up from the chair and we all walked out of the shop. I immediately noticed the difference between these clothes and the ones I was wearing when we got to the shop.


    ¡°This is so much better.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree.¡± (Keeno)


    {Approved!}


    ¡°Can we get these deliveries over with now?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, and while I get it, why are you in a hurry?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just feel like we need to move. It¡¯s like the presence of death is close.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m right here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And isn¡¯t the Dead Zone somewhere in the city? Shouldn¡¯t that feeling always be present?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! Let¡¯s just go.¡± (Freya)


    She then started to walk off in a direction. Pram and I traded nces before quickly walking after her.


    Chaos Realm:


    Amaterasu: Keeno so hot in a suit. d I don¡¯t need to blink; I shall carve her image into my mind.


    Luna: Someone¡¯s excited.


    Tamamo: It¡¯s understandable. I was the same when you got your favorite outfit.


    Luna: I never said I didn¡¯t get it. What do you think I did when I firstid my eyes on you?


    Tamamo: I sometimes wonder why all of us kitsune are like this.


    It¡¯s not just kitsune, Tamamo. Anyone so madly in love with their significant other would react like this when they see their significant other wearing something good looking like that. Even I¡¯m the same with Order.


    Luna: Speaking of, I haven¡¯t seen her and Astraea in a while.


    They went out on a mother-daughter bonding thing, or at least that¡¯s what I think they called it.


    Luna: Ah. Well, I hope they have fun.

 Chapter 63- An Unexpected Meeting

    Chapter 63- An Unexpected Meeting


    [Keeno POV]


    It¡¯s been several more days of us doing delivery and healing requests to earn money. We did so many that Pram and I even ranked up in the guild. We even got minimal ess to the Gatework, though using it once would take every bit of money we earned and even then, we¡¯d be in debt. At this point though, I felt we were good on money for now and now we were deciding what to do next, though really there was only one thing to do.


    ¡°So, Freya, do you want to go with us to the Family we¡¯re supposed to have the support of, or do you want to go your own way?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We will support whatever you decide.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­I think I¡¯ll stick around with you two. I¡¯m still not sure about once you¡¯re done with whatever you¡¯re doing here, but I will at least stick with you two through this much. I¡¯ve said it before that, until you leave Vanir, I¡¯m with you after all.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Alright then, with that decided, let¡¯s go meet this Salwhateveritwas Family.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s Salviento. You¡¯ll need to get it memorized if you want them to even acknowledge you, even if you have the person who subjugated their leaders¡¯ loyalty vouching for you.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Meh. Why do something like that to people who are almost assuredly going to betray me sooner orter? Of course, I¡¯ll act cordial for now, but the second even a hint of it is caught I¡¯m dropping the act.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami, your princess mode is dropping a bit.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine around Freya at this point.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I thought so too.¡± (Pram)


    Freya just rolled her eyes and stood up. We did the same and left this safehouse.


    ¡°Good thing we decided this, I only have one more unused safehouse left before we would have to go back to one we¡¯ve already used.¡± (Freya)


    After a bit of walking, Huginn and Muninn noticed something. After the ruffling of feathers, we slowed down our pace.


    ¡°We¡¯re being followed. About 10 of them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Those birds are really something.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And I¡¯m very proud of them. Pram, get between us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    Pram slowly moved between me and Freya, making it look as natural as she could. Freya then took the lead and led us to a discreet alleyway where we wouldn¡¯t get any civilians caught up in what was about to happen. When we stopped in front of the dead-end, a few people started to chuckle like they nned this.


    ¡°Gehehehe. See, I was right, it is the one the Salvientos are waiting for. Think the boss¡¯ll give us a promotion if we bring im back er eyes?¡±


    ¡°Probably. I mean, he does have that weird habit, though I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll like those ones. I mean, the look rotten.¡±


    ¡°Eh, maybe he¡¯ll think they look exotic or somethin.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also a possibility. We dispose of the other two?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    While they gloated and spoke like they had already won, it gave us time to prepare. In low voices we talked about what to do.


    ¡°My Soul Weapons aren¡¯t very suited for an environment like this, so I¡¯ll be sticking to magic. Pram, the usual please. Freya, can you manage?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Easily. I¡¯ve been trained on how to fight in a ce like this for most of my life.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s get rid of these goons.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°mes of the suns, bless my des, coat them in your brilliance and sear my enemies.¡± (Freya)


    {Pfft. She has no idea how lucky she is.}


    ¡®I know, but now¡¯s not the time, Ama. I¡¯m trying to stay serious here.¡¯


    {Sorry.}


    ¡°Wait, those des¡­It¡¯s Lightde Freya!¡±


    As soon as those words were said, the guy¡¯s head was cut off by Freya who looked like she teleported to his position. The second the guy¡¯s head hit the ground, the music started to y, and chaos ensued. I conjured several arrows of Death-infused fire and fired them off meanwhile Pram summoned her bell and started to ring it. Seeing as there weren¡¯t many enemies, it wasn¡¯t taking us long to deal with them when suddenly Huginn and Muninn started to get agitated. Just as soon as thest guy was finished off, we grouped back up back-to-back as more mooks jumped down from above us.


    ¡°Tch. This is one thing I HATE about battle musicians. They give away our position and anyone regardless of factiones running.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°While I get where you¡¯reing from, it also makes this actually somewhat enjoyable.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I won¡¯t deny that.¡± (Freya)


    We were now surrounded and the mooks started to close in on us. Just as I was about to shoot off my magic, I noticed something. Several Pure souls had started to appear around us, circling around us and from somewhere above us. As soon as I noticed this, several ck knives flew out of the darkness and three mooks fell dead.


    ¡°THE HUNTER!¡±


    ¡°¡­Silence¡­¡±


    Another knife flew out of the dark and buried itself in the guy who just yelled¡¯s throat. Due to our close proximity, I could tell Freya was shaken at this. Me, on the other hand, took this opportunity to also attack. I shot more ming arrows at the ones surrounding us, piercing and burning them. Our enemies were thrown into confusion.


    ¡°Freya, snap out of it, now isn¡¯t the time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°B-but it¡¯s The Hunter, we need to get out of here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°They are clearly avoiding us with their knives, so for now fight, we can defend ourselves from them afterwards if it¡¯s necessary.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Gaaah! Fine!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know.¡± (Pram)


    Pram rang her bell again and the few remaining enemies groaned, and some fell to their knees as Pram¡¯s debuffs hit them. This allowed Freya, The Hunter, and I to finish them all off. As soon as thest one died, we once more regrouped, Freya clearly more on guard than I was. I looked in the direction of where the Pure souls were.


    ¡°You cane out. Someone with this many Pure souls floating around them can¡¯t be our enemy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Out of the shadows walked a wolfgirl who looked about two years younger than I was wearing tattered looking ck and grey clothes underneath arge red coat. Her bronzish-orange eyes looking out from underneath the hood along with a few locks of unkempt light-grey hair. Upon seeing hering closer to us, Freya brandished her weapons, but I put a hand up to stop her.


    ¡°Red means you no harm¡­for now.¡± (Red)


    ¡°So, your name is Red?¡± (Keeno)


    She slightly nodded as she stared at me unblinkingly. The souls around her seemed to dance in¡­joy?


    ¡°Red¡¯s friends like the fluffy one¡­why?¡± (Red)


    ¡°These Pure souls are your friends?¡± (Keeno)


    Again, she just nodded.


    ¡°Red wants to know¡­why Red¡¯s friends are¡­happier.¡± (Red)


    {They want to move on.}


    ¡®I know.¡¯


    I looked Red in the eyes as I spoke.


    ¡°They want to move on.¡± (Keeno)


    Once those words left my mouth, Red seemed to get a cold glint in her eyes, though it vanished just as fast when the Pure souls floating around her started to bounce around and float towards me excitedly.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we all sit and talk? Tell me your story. Maybe that will help you move on as well, and let you get your final goodbyes said.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Red will talk¡­long story¡­¡­lots of words¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, take as long as you need to find the words, we¡¯ll listen.¡± (Keeno)


    I then sat down, shortly followed by Pram. Freya still looked terrified, but seeing as the rest of us were doing so and Red showed no signs of attacking, she slowly sat as well. Lastly Red did as well.


    ¡°Red was born¡­¡­16 years ago¡­¡± (Red)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Ah, so that girl that¡¯s been watching the group this entire time was Red.


    I¡¯m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.


    Luna: Well sorry for disappointing you, oh omniscient one.


    Don¡¯t hate the yer, hate the game.


    Luna: That¡¯s not what the saying means!


    I know, but it got a reaction out of you.


    Luna: Why are you in such a mischievous mood today?


    I¡¯m bored. Order and Astraea are still out, and I have nothing else to do but talk with anyone whoes and visits and watch either Keeno or Crim¡¯s ces.


    Luna: Such a reasonable argument.


    Naturally.

 Chapter 64- Red鈥檚 Story

    Chapter 64- Red¡¯s Story


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°Red was born¡­¡­16 years ago¡­Red doesn¡¯t know what happened after¡­as far as Red remembers¡­it was Red and Red¡¯s friends¡­¡­and Old Lady Marian. Red and the others¡­lived in an orphanage¡­¡­everyone was nice and¡­happy.¡± (Red)


    Though slowly, Red started her tale. It took her several minutes to get this far as she had to stop and find the right words to say. At the mention of her friends and the mention of the apparent caretaker of the orphanage she lived in, her tail started to wave and her ears twitched animatedly.


    ¡°Lived there¡­¡­for years¡­Big Brother¡­Baldr¡­would always bring Red sweets¡­and Tiny Sister¡­Bryn would want to y house¡­called Red the other mama¡­hehehe. Old Lady Marian¡­¡­would always pat Red¡¯s head¡­tell Red things would¡­¡­be peaceful¡­.Was peaceful¡­until it wasn¡¯t.¡± (Red)


    Her happy expression was reced by one of sadness and anger.


    ¡°Red was¡­five¡­when Families¡­burned everything¡­¡­strung up Red¡¯s friends¡­RED¡¯S FAMILY UP LIKE PUPPETS! BURNED OUR HOME TO ASH AS RED WAS FORCED TO WATCH! WANTED RED TO LIVE AFTERWRDS AS EXAMPLE!¡± (Red)


    Her enraged outburst was followed by tears as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡®Don¡¯t, Ama, I feel it too.¡¯ (Keeno)


    The Pure souls floating around us got closer to Red. I nced at the other two and saw that they clearly couldn¡¯t see these souls.


    ¡®Ama, what¡¯s up with that? Since we¡¯re so close to a Dead Zone, shouldn¡¯t they be able to see the souls like that one time and how it¡¯ll probably be soon with these others?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It could be any number of reasons. In this instance I think it¡¯s a mix of them holding strong feelings of protecting Red here as well as not being strong enough to manifest visually to normal people.}


    ¡®Hmm.¡¯ (Keeno)


    After a few more minutes, Red calmed down enough to continue.


    ¡°Red cried and cried¡­until Red¡¯s friends appeared¡­all small and shiny¡­made Red feel better¡­But Red still wasn¡¯t happy¡­Red wanted everything back¡­everyone back¡­¡­Then Red met teacher. Teacher taught Red¡­taught Red to kill¡­to hunt¡­to live¡­Called Red¡­prodigy¡­¡­Red learned for¡­long time¡­hard training¡­but¡­¡­teacher was also¡­kind. Gave Red lot of¡­pats¡­and sweets¡­¡­Teacher taught Red¡­everything¡­then died¡­¡­made Red sad again¡­¡­but teacher¡¯sst words¡­¡­¡¯Find someone you and your friends trust, if you think you can, befriend them.¡¯¡± (Red)


    ¡°Sounds like your teacher was very special.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Special¡­no¡­teacher always said¡­she was bad person¡­¡­got tired of killing¡­and was sad¡­for teaching Red to¡­¡­but was also happy¡­to raise Red¡­¡­said Red would one day¡­no longer have to kill¡­to live or¡­for vengeance¡­And¡­Red thinks Fluffydy is¡­the one to make that true. Red¡¯s friends¡­watched Fluffydy and friends¡­whole time¡­¡­Always wanted¡­to go to Fluffydy¡­¡­move on¡­let Red¡­find Red¡¯s own way¡­But Red¡­wanted to observe¡­¡­Then¡­saw Fluffydy get attacked¡­and decided¡­to meet Fluffydy and¡­friends¡­¡± (Red)


    I nodded at thest words Red said before standing up and walking over to her. She flinched a little at my sudden movement, but calmed down after I pushed her hood off and started to pat her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot.¡± (Keeno)


    I crouched down in front of her and met her gaze.


    ¡°Red, do you want your friends to move on?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No¡­¡­but Red knows¡­it needs to happen¡­Red loves Red¡¯s friends¡­¡­but knows they won¡¯t rest¡­¡± (Red)


    I smiled reassuringly at her.


    ¡°Red, I¡¯ll help your friends move on, I want you to join me though, as a final goodbye. Tell them that they¡¯ll rest well. Afterwards, we can talk about other things like what you want to do in the future. Does that sound ok?¡± (Keeno)


    Red stared me in the eyes for a few more seconds before nodding. I then turned to Freya and Pram.


    ¡°Change of ns for today. Freya, we¡¯re going back to that safehouse and taking care of this. Once that¡¯s done and we figure things out, we move onto the next step.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami, what are we going to do about our main objective?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It¡¯s the same, but the way we approach it will be different. It¡¯s a High Sin to do things like what Red just told us, and I believe that it¡¯s time for me to teach these Families the weight of Life.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I pray for their souls.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t, they won¡¯t get any mercy from me.¡± (Keeno)


    I stood from my position, followed shortly by Red and the others and we made our way back to the safehouse we left not too long ago. We were careful to avoid any attention and made it back undetected. Once Freya opened the door, we all stepped inside. When Red passed her, she flinched, but it wasn¡¯t as drastic a reaction as it was earlier. It seemed hearing Red¡¯s story made Freya reconsider her opinion of her a little, though the deep-rooted fear of the assassin was still present. Once we sat down around the dusty table, the first thing I did was pull out some food and ce it in front of Red.


    ¡°Eat, you look hungry and the sound of your stomach is so loud that even people in Odeen can hear it.¡± (Keeno)


    Red¡¯s eyes shone at the food I gave her and she immediately started to inhale it.


    ¡°Hehe. Slow down, Red, it¡¯s not going anywhere.¡± (Pram)


    Pram, who was sitting on the other side of Red ced her hand on her head and started using healing magic. Red stopped eating for a second and tilted her head, but quickly stopped caring and started to eat again.


    ¡®What was wrong?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Lots of small cuts and bruises. Some old scars that I could see here and there, probably more under her clothes. I just did a heal everything on her, though I would really like to do a thorough checkup on herter.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I¡¯ll see what I can do to get her to agree.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Thanks.¡¯ (Pram)


    Red finished eating shortly after that and had a small, satisfied smile on her face.


    ¡°Tasty.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I¡¯m d you liked it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mm¡­Is it time for Red to say goodbye now?¡± (Red)


    ¡°Are you ready? We can wait for as long as you need.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red¡­is ready¡­¡­have kept friends from rest¡­¡­for too long¡­¡± (Red)


    I nodded and got up from my chair. I walked to an open spot and motioned for Red toe stand next to me. When she was, I summoned my Soul Weapons. The des shone with their blue and slightly orange mes.


    ¡°Red, put you hand on mine.¡± (Keeno)


    She silently did as I said and shortly after that, the Pure souls floating around her moved to my des. One by one they touched the mes and, in a small sh of light, vanished. Though I wasn¡¯tpletely sure, I thought I heard small voices every time they vanished. As soon as thest one was gone, I put my swords away. Red kept her hand on mine and when I looked at her, I saw her silently crying. I moved my hand and pulled her into a hug and started patting her head.


    ¡°Let it out, Red. Let it all out.¡± (Keeno)


    Her knees gave out and I slowly lowered her to the floor while keeping her in my embrace. After a while of sitting there letting the wolfgirl cry, her silent sobbing and halting breaths turned into the calmer ones of sleep. Iid her head on myp and looked up at the others. Pram had a small smile on her face as she looked at us warmly while Freya had aplicated expression on hers.


    ¡°And you always said you didn¡¯t like kids.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Shut up, Pram. She isn¡¯t that much of a kid.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Why?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Why what?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why do you trust her so much? If it¡¯s just her story, you could go to any dark alley here and find several others with simr ones. And, while I agree that none of them should experience something like that, it¡¯s a fact that many have.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s her Soul. While notpletely, it¡¯s purer than a lot of people¡¯s in this city that I¡¯ve seen so far. It¡¯s a lot closer to Pram¡¯s than mine or yours, even if she¡¯s killed more people than all three of usbined, not that I know your kill count. No, I don¡¯t know how it workspletely or the criteria that decides how a soul remains Pure or gets corrupted, but if I was put in a room and told that I had to trust one of two people on the extreme ends of the spectrum, I¡¯d trust the one with the Purer soul. Same reason I¡¯m giving you a chance. Your soul isn¡¯t tainted to the level of the normal Family mooks I¡¯ve seen so far and I think you are even able to cleanse the small amount of corruption already there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to pretend to understand even half of this Soul talk, but I think I get your reasoning a little. Even if I think you have your own kind of naivety driving your actions. You can¡¯t save everyone.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I know that and I don¡¯t n of stopping every time I see someone suffer like this, heck, what I¡¯m doing is going to cause more, worse suffering probably, but it¡¯s something that needs to be done.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Tell me, what are you going to do? If you think that things are going to get that bad, then I think I at least deserve to know.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m dismantling the Dead Zones. Completely taking them away.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya¡¯s eyes went wide. She was shocked and that shock was apparent. She didn¡¯t speak for several minutes and just stared at me.


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible, if anything, I¡¯m the only one who CAN do it. Think Freya, I haven¡¯t been subtle about things.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    After several minutes of silent contemtion, the shocked look on her face became more exaggerated.


    ¡°You¡¯re mad.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Not in the slightest, as future Goddess of Death, it¡¯s my job to get these things done. Amaterasu¡¯s Dead Zones have been going for long enough and with meing into power, they¡¯ll disappear sooner orter. I¡¯m just speeding up the process so I can fulfill my own wishes. So, this is yourst chance, Freya, if you want out, then leave, if you are willing to stick around, be one of the viins of this part of history, then I will personally give you the power and means to get your own revenge along with Red¡¯s as well as give you people you can trust more than anything else. Betrayal? Never. Love? Maybe, that¡¯s on you. Friends? Absolutely. A True Family? I may sound arrogant, but I think me, Pram, Ama, and Fia are a damn good option. So, Freya, what will it be?¡± (Keeno)


    Freya stayed silent, staring directly into my eyes. We held each other¡¯s gaze for several minutes before she looked away.


    ¡°Damn kitsune and their tempting words. Fine. I¡¯ll join you¡­permanently. But if you don¡¯t hold up on your end, then I¡¯ll curse your name, even after death.¡± (Freya)


    I was internally shocked. I honestly wasn¡¯t expecting to get carried away by the mood and give such an impassioned speech and end up convincing Freya to stick around with us. I was hoping to do this at ater date once we had more trust built up.


    {It was a good speech, Keeno. A bit cringy here and there, but it worked. Though I think she got caught up in the mood too, but hey, we take a win when we get it.}


    ¡°Okami-¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just use my first name around Freya and Red now, Pram. It¡¯s fine since I said this much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, are you really sure this was the time to say all that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s toote now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, Red, what about you? You want to stick around with us too?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red will¡­have a family again¡­¡­Red is¡­happy.¡± (Red)


    ¡°That¡¯s that then. I say we all rest and let our minds digest everything and then we can discuss our next move. Cause, I for one, am mentally exhausted right now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Same. You don¡¯t happen to have any alcohol in that storage ring of yours, right?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Nope. Me and alcohol don¡¯t really mix. Last time I tried some, I got drunk and nearly burned the whole bar down. Future Sun Goddesses and alcohol don¡¯t mix after all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sun too? But what about Goddess Amaterasu?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°There are two suns, Freya, Ama¡¯s is the orange one while I get the blue one. And before you say anything about disrespect or whatever, she¡¯s my wife, so I¡¯m allowed to call her that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Would you stop dropping world shattering information like it¡¯s nothing already! What¡¯s next, are you going to say Pram¡¯s an Apostle candidate or something?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°For the record, you are too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I need a drink.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehehe¡­Red likes this.¡± (Red)


    Chaos Realm:


    Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Now that¡¯s some good Chaos right there!


    Luna: Fufufufufufufufufufu.


    Atmos: So fun. It reminds me of a lot of your interactions, Luna.


    True, Luna did go for shock value a lot when dropping info bombs like this. And for the record, it never gets old.


    Luna: If only Tamamo were here to see it.


    Atmos: Where is she anyway?


    Luna: Mom wanted to do something with her. They¡¯ve been nning something, but I don¡¯t know what.


    Which mom? Amagi or your first world¡¯s one?


    Luna: Both.


    Atmos: Hmm. Well, whatever it is, I know it¡¯ll be nice.


    Luna: True.

 Chapter 65- Planning

    Chapter 65- nning


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next morning, I found Red snuggling into my tail.


    ¡®This is cute.¡¯


    {I agree. Like a little sister staying near her big sister.}


    ¡®I could get used to that¡­Though I get the feeling we need to teach her how to properly care for her tail, otherwise, all of us will get in trouble.¡¯


    {So, I wasn¡¯t the only one.}


    ¡®The same applies to Freya. We can figure that outter.¡¯


    I started patting Red¡¯s head as she slept and she nuzzled further into my tail, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.


    ¡®Are you sure you hate kids?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I feel she¡¯s more like a little sister than a kid, Pram. Stop bringing it up or I¡¯ll get mad.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Heard loud and clear.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Aside from that, I think we need to teach Freya telepathy, and Ama, while I agree it¡¯s funny, she needs chantless magic.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {And done. Just tell her about it and get her to start getting used to it.}


    ¡®Thanks.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Anything for you, Keeno.}


    ¡®Hehe.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Anyway, what do we do while we wait for the other two to wake up?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I normally just sit here and talk to Ama. I¡¯m actually surprised you¡¯re awake already.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Well, Red took my pillow, so it¡¯s natural I wouldn¡¯t sleep in as much as normal.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Oh, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not jealous, in fact it was my idea to let her do that after you fell asleep.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I see, so I¡¯m just a glorified pillow to you now.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®THAT¡¯S NOT WHAT I MEANT AND YOU KNOW IT!¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Try saying that with a less serious expression next time then.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Pram)


    {Don¡¯t worry, Pram, I get it.}


    ¡®I do too. I mean, Ama has eight more tails than I do, so how do you think I feel when I sleep with her?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Oh Pram, you¡¯ll love it when she gets more tails. I will too, obviously, but just imagine it, sleeping while wrapped up in a cocoon of fluff.}


    ¡®Keeno, let¡¯s keep doing stupid things that I won¡¯t like until I get enough time sleeping in your tails that itsts until you get nine of them.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I¡¯M MORE THAN A GLORIFIED BODY PILLOW!¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Hehehehe.}


    ¡®Oh, Keeno, teasing you is so much fun.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®The two of you will face retribution one day, mark my words.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I can¡¯t wait.}


    ¡®Ama, do I need to NOT do anything but sit with you next time?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {¡­Not even kissing?}


    ¡®You will get ONE.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I can work with that.}


    ¡®It willst three minutes, then no more.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {NOOOOOOOO! THAT¡¯S TOO SHORT! IF I ONLY GET ONE THEN IT NEEDS TO LAST ALL DAY!}


    ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be a punishment if you enjoyed it.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {B-but you¡¯d be punishing yourself too.}


    ¡®¡­Damn it. You¡¯re right.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Well, think about thister, I think Freya is waking up.¡¯ (Pram)


    Sure enough, Freya started to stir in the corner she chose to sleep in.


    ¡°¡­Hey¡­was everything I heardst night some weird dream, or is it all real?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°All of it was real.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­*Sigh* You better deliver on all that stuff you promised me. The revenge is one thing, but the rest of it is a must.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°When I promise things like that, I don¡¯t lie.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can vouch for that. Any promise Keeno makes with someone close to her, she will keep it unless there is no other option, and even then, she does her best to make most of it happen.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm. Oh, what was that about me being an Apostle candidate?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Exactly what it sounds like. Of course, I need to get a bit more powerful, but once I do, I can give you a Trial and when you finish it you be my Apostle of the Sun. I think Red can be one of my Valkyries too, but again, we need more trust and I need more power.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to feel about that, so I¡¯m just going to not think about it. Now, what are we going to do?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We have several options, though I do have an idea that I want to work with. But first, Red, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡± (Keeno)


    I shook Red¡¯s shoulder a bit and she slowly started waking up. She sat up and looked around, still holding my tail in a hug.


    ¡°Red¡¯s¡­awake¡­¡­Keeno¡­fluffy and warm¡­fortable to hug¡­¡­Red¡­happy.¡± (Red)


    I smiled and patted Red¡¯s head again.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy you are happy, but it¡¯s time we talk about what we are going to do.¡± (Keeno)


    Red reluctantly let go of my tail and we all moved over to the table. Following the routine we¡¯d made over the past days we were here, I handed out food to everyone.


    ¡°At some point soon we¡¯re going to need to go hunt some more stuff. I¡¯m running low on food now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If we¡¯re going to take down the Families, then we can just take all the food they have in their main manors. Not like they¡¯ll be needing it if they are all dead.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We¡¯re not killing all of them, just most of them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Why¡­so little?¡± (Red)


    ¡°We do that, and it creates a power vacuum that will make everything even worse, even possibly leading to the fall of the country, if Fia and Freya¡¯s understanding of how the country is run is correct. I¡¯m taking away the Dead Zones, not trying to mess up the lives of ever single person living in the country, even if taking away the Dead Zones will make some things more inconvenient.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Before we even talk about what we¡¯re going to do, what will the repercussions of taking the Dead Zone away be?¡± (Freya)


    {Diseases and sickness can start spreading, storms might be worse, harvests will no longer be as abundant, lifespans will probably fall a little, undead will start spawning more.}


    I ryed what Ama said to everyone.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like people in other parts of the world don¡¯t know how to live with that. Solheim being an example.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, this just means that those countries will be more appealing for their knowledge. Though that also means there will probably be more wars of conquest.¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry too much about that. The countries without Dead Zones are in ces that make invading them very disadvantageous for the invaders. They¡¯d lose more people in the process than would be worth invading.}


    ¡®Well, that¡¯s good.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Red doesn¡¯t¡­really get it¡­but Red knows¡­things will be fine.¡± (Red)


    ¡°And how do you know that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Instinct¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯sforting. Now, about how we¡¯re going to go about this. The way I see it, there are two options we can go. The first one: the fast approach. The second one: the drawn-out approach.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And what are the details of these?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°For the fast approach, we go in, ¡®take over¡¯ the Family Fia requisitioned for us and get them to take us to the Dead Zone¡¯s core immediately. For the second one, we go in less domineering and slowly get them to tentatively trust us, knowing that even though Fia took them over they¡¯ll betray us at some point. I, for one, am fond of the first approach.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You always favor the more dangerous approach, Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s effective and you know it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I hate that I can¡¯t deny that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your vote, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I say the second option. Even if it¡¯ll exponentially increase the time we are around those things, it¡¯ll help us get more information and n ordingly.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Red likes the first one.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Two in favor of the first approach, one against. Freya is the decider. If the vote is split evenly, I¡¯ll ask Ama and Fia¡¯s opinions.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Before I cast my vote, what was the idea you spoke of earlier?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Shock value. We get the head of the Salwhatchamacallems and the head of whahtevertheirnameis to convene at the core of the Dead Zone while I dismantle it in front of them. We then get out as fast as possible.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s even the point of that?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Shoving it into their faces that the thing they feud over is gone and that they are just the rulers without a im to power or something like that. Cause if I¡¯m remembering right, some of the people who ¡®lead¡¯ countries with Dead Zones think that they have Divine Right to rule as long as they control ess to the Dead Zone or whatever. Take that away right in front of their faces and they¡¯ll either lose it, crumble, orsh out. Add to the fact that, if they do that, they¡¯ll probably focus more on their bitter rival of a long time over us and boom, perfect way to escape while a faction war happens.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That is a horrible n. Funny, but downright horrendous.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m the Goddess of the Blue Sun, Death, and Runes(eventually), not a Goddess of Tacticians.¡± (Keeno)


    {I for one think it¡¯s a great n.}


    ¡°Pram, how have the two of you survived any kind of n she¡¯s made?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Brute force and luck. Though really, it¡¯s more brute force. Remind meter and I¡¯ll tell you how she though it was a good idea to travel though high-up mountain passes instead of a safe road to get from Solheim to Odeen.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Remind me again why I¡¯m joining the two of you from now on?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Cause, while you don¡¯t act like it, you actually really enjoy everything you¡¯re hearing right now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red agrees¡­¡­Freya¡¯s tail¡­waving happily.¡± (Red)


    When Red pointed that out Freya started to blush.


    ¡°Good job, Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red desires¡­pats.¡± (Red)


    ¡°And you shall get them.¡± (Keeno)


    I started to pat Red¡¯s head, causing her to smile.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s your vote, Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Ahem* I vote for the first approach.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And here I thought we¡¯d gotten another sensible person on the team. Looks like I¡¯m still the only one that isn¡¯t hot-headed.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I think Keeno¡¯s get both leaders to the core n is stupid, but I¡¯ve always been good at the fast approach to things.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thinking about it, I guess that makes sense. But in the future, you have to try and help me curb Keeno¡¯s impulsiveness.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°dly.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Well, with that concluded, let¡¯s start the actual nning.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Wow, things have taken a turn for the fast paced.


    It¡¯s better this way, in my opinion. The longer they wait, the more time the second big Family in the city has time to prepare to try something stupid. Since they know Keeno is there now and all.


    Luna: When did they learn that. As far as I was aware, either Keeno¡¯s group or Red has killed anyone that tried to report to the leaders.


    One actually got away in theirst fight. He pretended to be dead, and Keeno dropped her guard too much.


    Luna: ¡­She needs to work on that.


    I agree. Guess we should drop a few hints next time either her or Amaterasu show up here.


    Luna: Yeah. And on the Fluff front of Freya and Red, I¡¯ll leave their education forter seeing as they are about to be very busy. But, once they get a breather, you will call them here for their Fluff lecture.


    On it, Oh great Abyss of Fluff.


    Luna: Stop it, that¡¯s just creepy.


    Well soooorrrrryyyy for trying to be funny.

 Chapter 66- Dead Zone Plan

    Chapter 66- Dead Zone n


    [Boss Salviento]


    Sitting in my big cushy chair, staring out the window at the particrly stormy day today, I was listening to my underlings¡¯ reports. For the most part they were the same as yesterdays. Small skirmishes here and there, debt collections and the people who either tried to pay less or not at all, names of those suspected of being traitors, names of those who wanted to join us from the other side, progress on how the newest members of the Familying along in training.


    ¡°Has there been any news on Madam Fiametta¡¯s sister? Has she still not arrived? Also, where have our contacts in the Guild gone?¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Sir, from what we can tell, the Guild contacts have been Hunted when they tried toe and report.¡±


    ¡°Tch. The Hunter has been more active recently. Send out more people to try get rid of that nuisance.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±


    That underling left to ry my orders when another stepped up.


    ¡°Sir, I have news from our rival. They are quickly gathering a lot of people. From our insiders, apparently the one we¡¯ve been waiting for has appeared and they are going to try and kill her before she makes it to us. Also, she is traveling with Lightde Freya and The Hunter.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Go tell the one that just left to hold off rying my previous order for the time being. Instead tell him to spread out and search for Madam Fiametta¡¯s sister at all costs.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Yes, Si-¡±


    *Crash*


    A loud crashing sound came from behind the door. I turned in my chair as the underling that was reporting to me turned and pulled out his sword, ready to defend me if needed. After a few more crashing sounds, the door was kicked open and the one I just sent out came flying in, crashing into the other underling, and knocking both of them unconscious. After that, SHE walked in.


    A tall kitsune woman wearing a fine, Vanir-made suit walked in. She was a stunningly beautiful woman with long silver hair tied in a ponytail, yet it still reached past her knees, yet it somehow managed to avoid her simrly silver tail. The tips of her tail, ears, and the very end of her hair were a stunning, almost electric blue. While very well hidden by her clothes, her figure was something that would make many women jealous, and many men fall. Her face was well featured, though the cold, uncaring expression made even me shiver. But the most eye-catching thing about her were her eyes. Glowing blue irises that reminded me of the blue sun shining in a sea of pitch ck. They gave a feeling that you would die if you looked away from them for even a second as well as a sense that they saw all your secrets.


    After walking far enough into the room, she was joined by two more people. On her right side was a snow leopard girl that seemed to be around the same age as the kitsune. Her silver hair, while not tied like the kitsune¡¯s, was still long, ending just above her knees. Her tail peeking out through it, yet unhindered all the same. She also wore a Vanir-style suit, though her figure was more well hidden than the kitsune¡¯s. Her expression was just as cold as the kitsune¡¯s as well, though it was easier to tell that it was just for appearance than anything. Her grey eyes surveyed the room disinterestedly beforending on the two unconscious underlings.


    ¡®A healer, huh.¡¯ (Boss)


    The third woman was a Vanir native that I knew of. Lightde Freya,st living member of the Falkyron Family. I didn¡¯t know how or why she met and was traveling with the kitsune, but I decided it didn¡¯t matter as long as I could use her in the end.


    ¡°I¡¯ve kept you waiting, huh. Well, here I am. Fiametta¡¯s sister, Okami. I don¡¯t know what she told you, and I¡¯m in a hurry here, so it¡¯s time for you to take us to the Dead Zone.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Direct and to the point, I like it. Leaves no room for useless prattling. I¡¯ll have someonee and be your guide.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°No, you do it. This is something too important to leave to some no-name mook.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°¡­I-¡± (Boss)


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a negotiation. It¡¯s either yes, or yes after more¡­convincing.¡± (Okami)


    I fought the urge to snap at the arrogant girl, but remembering what Fiametta did to those who badmouthed her and knowing this girl was most likely raised with simr teachings, I decided to y along.


    ¡°Fine¡­All I was going to ask for was a few minutes to make the preparations.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°That is eptable. Get whatever needs to be done, done ande on. We¡¯re already wasting time.¡± (Okami)


    I got up from my chair and moved to exit the room. Just as I passed by Okami, lightning shed, and thunder roared.


    *Meanwhile in another part of the city* *Rival Family main base*


    [Red POV]


    Red¡¯s new Family had given Red a mission. Eliminate enough enemies and draw out the leader. Subdue the leader and get him to bring Red to the Dead Zone. Let it slip that this is a test for him and that he will have a chance to best his rival. Red will not disappoint Red¡¯s new Family. Red WILL get pats for a good job.


    Red arrived at the location. Red stalked around, looking for a ce or opportunity to infiltrate. It didn¡¯t take long. Red found two guards standing beside a grate on the wall of thepound. One was leaning against the wall, a small plume of smokeing from a paper in his mouth while the other had his stupid looking hat lowered over his eyes, light snoresing from him. Lightning shed and a short whileter, thunder roared. Red took this chance to go on the attack. Red jumped down from the roof of the building Red was watching from. While Red was falling, Red¡¯s Soul Weapons appeared on the bottom of Red¡¯s wrists. Rednded between the two guards and, in one fluid motion, Red extended Red¡¯s arms to the sides, and the des extended, stabbing into the necks of the guards. They silently fell to the ground, dead. Red then opened the grate and climbed in before shutting it behind Red.


    Red crawled silently through the tunnel, trying hard to make as little noise as possible in the small stream of water at the bottom of it. Red followed the sounds of voices Red hearding from somewhere further inside. At one point, the tunnel nted downward, and more water was flowing. Red used two of Red¡¯s knives and started to climb up the slope. When Red got to the top, Red listened to see if there was anyone around before slowly raising the grate above Red. Once Red was out, Red ced the grate back and looked around. Red was now on the roof of thepound. Moving slowly over to the side of the roof where voices wereing from, Red saw arge number of people gathering together.


    ¡°¡­30 people¡­all weak¡­Red can handle¡­leave five.¡±


    Lightning shed again and as soon as the thunder sounded, Red leapt from the roof andnded on one of the people, stabbing into his neck with Red¡¯s Soul Weapon. Red then rolled and threw several knives, killing each target. Red then moved on and before they realized what had happened, six people were already dead. When the others finally realized what was happening, they tried to attack Red, but Red was better. Red dodged all of their attacks and managed to kill a few more who got too close. Red¡¯s ears twitched when a door mmed open and more people ran into the room. Red then ran up to one of the enemies and used them to jump up onto a ledge and Red then disappeared into the shadows.


    ¡°WHAT HAPPENED!?¡±


    ¡°The Hunter! She infiltrated and took out some of our people!¡±


    ¡°WELL WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? FIND THE HUNTER!¡±


    ¡°She disappeared! How are we supposed to find her when she disappears in the shadows!? Have you ever fought her before!?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re all idiots.¡±


    The one that burst into the area first raised his had to the sky and Red knew it would be a bad idea to let him finish whatever he was doing.


    ¡°I call on the power of fire. Light up the world and be my hope. -*gurgle*¡±


    Red threw one of Red¡¯s knives from a new vantage point and it sunk into the enemy¡¯s throat. He fell to his knees after his hands instinctively went to his throat and soon after died. After that, panic took over the group. Red continued to fan the mes of the panic by moving from vantage point to vantage point, throwing knives and killing enemies until another loud sound came from a door being kicked out of the frame.


    ¡°ALL OF YOU STOP! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING, PANICING FROM ONE MEASLY ASSASSIN!?¡± (Boss)


    ¡°B-boss it¡¯s the-*gurgle gurgle*¡±


    Red¡¯s main target had finally shown himself. Red made it to a vantage point above the boss and, after killing the one directly in front of him, jumped down and held a knife to his neck.


    ¡°Heh¡­Red superior¡­¡­Families¡­inferior.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Don¡¯t gloat yet, little gir-¡± (Boss)


    ¡°No talking¡­You will do¡­as Red says.¡± (Red)


    Red held the knife closer to the leader¡¯s neck and cut into it a little.


    ¡°What do you want, Hunter?¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Bring Red to¡­Dead Zone¡­¡­is test for you¡­can get what you most want¡­if you listen.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­May I rymands to my men?¡± (Boss)


    ¡°If a trick¡­say goodbye to life.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Stand down, all of you. We will go and lead The Hunter to the Dead Zone.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°No¡­only you¡­and two others¡­no more.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Alright. You and you, get ready, we¡¯re heading to the Dead Zone.¡± (Boss)


    The two that were justmanded bowed and ran from the ce.


    ¡°Now, Miss Hunter, can you release me?¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Once out ofpound¡­no trust for any of you.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Smarter than you look then.¡± (Boss)


    Several minutester, the two that ran out came back carrying some things.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Two idiots¡­walk in front¡­never look back unless needed to ry directions.¡± (Red)


    ¡°You heard the girl, do as she says.¡± (Boss)


    ¡®n sessful¡­Now to get praise from¡­sister Keeno and¡­sister Pram.¡¯


    Red was then led through many dark alleys and streets that even Red didn¡¯t know where there. An hourter, Red and Red¡¯s hostages arrived at a small graveyard with only one thing in the entire ce. Arge stone building with eroded designs that had long lost any identifiable shape. We stopped in front of the rusty iron gate in front of the entrance.


    ¡°Boss¡­someone else was here not too long ago.¡±


    ¡°Red said¡­you will get what¡­you most want.¡± (Red)


    The leader¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Hehehe. Boys, get ready. I believe we¡¯re gonna have a lot of good thingsing to us soon.¡± (Boss)


    The two idiots opened the rusty gate and all of us walked inside, the sound of it squealing closed behind us rang out as we walked down some old stone stairs into the dark.


    Chaos Realm:


    Oi Luna, you missed some good stuff.


    Luna: Yeah, yeah.


    What are you watching over there.


    Luna: That wolf from your friend¡¯s ce. She¡¯s trying to figure out mixing magic and melee.


    Oh?


    Luna: It¡¯s honestly a bit frustrating, why doesn¡¯t she just do what she¡¯s thinking? It¡¯s just some simple space magic.


    ¡­Luna¡­you are the Goddess of Space for your world, space magic is as simple as breathing to you. It¡¯s not easy for mortals. It wasn¡¯t easy for you in the beginning either.


    Luna: ¡­Oh yeah¡­Guess I forgot how hard it was at first since I got so used to using it as naturally as possible.


    Understandable.

 Chapter 67- Dead Zone

    Chapter 67- Dead Zone


    [Keeno POV]


    After bursting in and basically strongarming the leader of the Family I don¡¯t care to remember the name of into leading us to and through the Dead Zone, we arrived in front of the gate to what looked like a crypt.


    ¡°Madam Okami, this is the gate to the Dead Zone. Please rest assured that I will lead you through the maze of tunnels and rooms down there to the core. Though I ask that you be mindful of what you touch down there. There have been times I¡¯ve lost good people to undead they¡¯ve woken up down there.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Keeno)


    After a little struggle opening the rusted gate, we entered the dark stone building. As we started to descend, the gate screeched and nged shut. As we walked, our surroundings got darker and darker and eventually it wasplete darkness. Even my natural night vision didn¡¯t help, so I made a small fireball for light.


    ¡°Thank you, Madam Okami. It seems the torches that are supposed to be lit have burned out. My people haven¡¯t been doing their jobs.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Having subordinates who don¡¯t do what they are supposed to is a bad look. Fia told me good things about you, but this and the way they acted when I got here haven¡¯t matched up.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­It seems they¡¯ve grownzy. I apologize for their ipetence and will severely reprimand and reeducate them once we¡¯re done here.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Ah, also, you seem to have some rats in your home. Freya, if you will.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, I have a list of names to give youter. All traitors or informants that you thought you bought off.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯ll reward you for that informationter, Miss Freya. It will be very valuable to know this and any other inside information you have.¡± (Boss)


    This conversation helped pass the time until we stopped descending down the stairs. The ce we ended up was basically a big hallway that split in three directions. The walls were filled with bones of the deceased like the French catbs. The entire ce was filled with an ominous feeling, yet I felt a faint sense offort being here. In the distance I could just barely see faint humanoid shadows moving about, carrying souls with very faint lighting from them.


    {Death spirits. If you asked them to, they would dly lead you to the core.}


    ¡®I figured that, but I wanted to go with my n.¡¯


    Looking around, the Family leader moved closer to a wall and stared at something that I couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Alright, please follow me. If you see any skulls with faint lights in the eye sockets, do not go near them.¡± (Boss)


    We silently nodded and started following the boss down the left passage. As we progressed, the feeling offort I felt slowly grew.


    ¡®It¡¯s like I¡¯m getting closer to you, Ama.¡¯


    {Well, you are getting closer to a piece of my Divinity. It may be just Divinity now, but at one point it was part of me, so it would make sense.}


    ¡®So does that mean I¡¯ll be putting a part of you inside me?¡¯


    {Hehehe. You sultry little vixen you.}


    ¡®Hehehe.¡¯


    After a while of walking, we came to arge room with several other passages connected to it. In the center of the room was a small pedestal with a carved drawing on it. The boss walked up to and stared at it for a minute before looking up and moving to another passage. We followed him and this process repeated several times. As we went, I saw more Death Spirits moving around, though when we passed by, they stopped and bowed to me. Though they were just faceless silhouettes I could just tell they were smiling happily and the only thing stopping them from following us and celebrating me being here was their job of helping the faint souls move on. Some did start moving in the same direction as us, only to disappear by walking right through the walls of the catbs.


    {Keeno, Red just arrived.}


    ¡®Thank you for watching over her, Ama.¡¯


    {It¡¯s only natural.}


    After what felt like another hour, the feeling I was getting this whole time was getting even stronger. I also noticed that the number of skulls on the wall that had faintly glowing eye sockets also increased. As we passed by them, it felt like the small lights followed us, or more like the boss, Freya, and Pram. They seemed to avoid looking at me at all costs. I even saw a few attempting to reach out and grab one of them, but when I moved to stop it, it immediately went back to trying to act like an inanimate object.


    Even more time passed and the passageways grew increasingly older looking and the bones in the walls became more ancient. The boss also got jumpier the further we went, flinching at every small noise.


    ¡°Why are you so jumpy?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This is the part of the Dead Zone where most of the undead appear. I¡¯m honestly surprised we haven¡¯t run into any at all so far.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Oh, we¡¯ve run into several, but they know better than to attack us. Life magic is a very good repent.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You possess Life magic? That¡¯s something very good to know.¡± (Boss)


    Pram was going to correct him, but I tapped her shoulder and shook my head to let him keep the misunderstanding. She realized I said what I did the way I did for a reason and stopped. Shortly after that, we made it to another circr room with several passages, though this room was different in that it was much bigger and in the center was a glowing ball of pure power.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This is the core of the Dead Zone. I don¡¯t know why you needed to see it, but do not go near it or you¡¯ll catch fire and burn to death.¡± (Boss)


    ¡°Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I still think it¡¯s stupid, but we¡¯ve gone this far, so sure.¡± (Freya)


    Freya moved and summoned her Soul Weapons. She didn¡¯t ignite them but held one at the boss¡¯s throat and one ready in case he tried something.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this!?¡± (boss)


    ¡°You¡¯ll see. Red should be here in a bit as long as she follows the path I left for her so she can avoid the undead.¡± (Keeno)


    What felt like two hours passed when Red entered the room we were in with two other people. One looked like a random mook while the other was a heavyset man who looked like the stereotypical fat mob boss.


    ¡°Hehehe. Well, looks like what The Hunter said is true. Don Salviento, it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve seen each other face to face.¡± (boss2)


    ¡°I could say the same, Don Leprezzo.¡± (boss1)


    ¡°Heh. It seems you¡¯ve been double crossed by the one you were waiting for as well. It¡¯s a good look for you, des held at your neck, though I think you¡¯d look even better with no head at all.¡± (boss2)


    The one we came here with was getting increasingly angry and tried to lunge at the one that just arrived, but remembering he had a sword at his neck, he stopped.


    ¡°Now, what else do I need to do, Miss Hunter?¡± (boss2)


    Instead of answering, Red kicked the random mook into another hallway and shortly after that, we all heard screaming and the rattling of bones as he was dragged away by undead.


    ¡°All Families¡­will suffer.¡± (Red)


    She then pulled out some knives and held them to the other boss¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Wha-?¡± (boss2)


    ¡°No talking¡­just¡­watching.¡± (Red)


    Everyone then turned their attention to me. In the absolute silence of the catbs, my shoes made echoing sounds on the stone floor as I approached the shining Divinity. Every step closer, my heart started to beat faster and the temperature in the room increased, though I couldn¡¯t tell if it was just around me, or if I was the one unconsciously doing it. When I stopped walking, I was about half an arm¡¯s length away from the core. Not knowing anything better to do, I reached up and plunged my hands inside.


    When I did so, I felt a pleasant warmth. Then, something deep in my soul clicked and I started to draw the Divinity into myself. I felt the Divinity flow into me, down my arms, and into my Soul. It felt like fire coursing through me, but it didn¡¯t hurt. The glowing ball in front of me started to dim and be smaller. I could faintly hear the two mob bosses losing their minds in the background, but they weren¡¯t loud or important enough for me to put any thought to actually listen to what they were saying. After an amount of time that felt both like forever and an instant, the ball of Divinitypletely vanished inside me.


    Several seconds of not feeling any differentter, I heard an internal cracking noise, like ss breaking and about to shatter. The cracking sounds continued when it finally broke. It was like fire was coursing through my entire body. It felt like an unnoticed weight inside my body got lighter. Shortly after that, the fire in my body started flowing toward my lower back and soon I felt an extra weight next to my tail. I looked back and saw a second one waving around next to my original one.


    ¡°Heh! Hehe! Hehehehehehehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!¡± (Keeno)


    {Ooooo! Second tail! WOOOOO! MORE FLUFF FOR ME TO FEEL!}


    Riding on the high of all of this, I moved over to the others and knocked the two mob bosses out.


    ¡°Now, while I¡¯m feeling this good. Freya, I, Keeno Okami, Goddess of the Blue Sun, offer you this Trial. Assist me with the dismantling of the Dead Zones, and uponpletion of this Trial, I shall make you the Apostle of the Blue Sun. Do you ept?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Freya)


    Freya shone for a moment, showing that the Trial deration actually worked. I then turned to Red.


    ¡°Red, you have fulfilled the conditions, abstract as they are. You have seeded in anything I can consider a Trial for you, so, will you ept the position of Valkyrie from me, Keeno Okami, Goddess of Death? If so, you will be bestowed the Family Name Okami, and all the benefits bestowed upon an Apostle.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red¡­epts¡­Red will be¡­a Valkyrie¡­and take the name¡­Okami¡­From today¡­onward¡­.Red will be¡­Red Okami.¡± (Red)


    I felt a small amount of power leave my body and one of my tails shone a bit. Red then began to glow as well and when the glow died down, she gave off a feeling of closeness to me that I only ever felt from Ama.


    {That is the bond between Apostle and Goddess. You¡¯ll be able to talk to Red wherever, whenever, and for however long you want, like me, or me and Fia. Also, since Freya is now taking her Trial and Red is your Apostle, they should be able to hear me like Pram when I want them to.}


    ¡®Alright.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I looked at Red again and saw she had a big smile on her face. She was standing still with her eyes closed and when she opened them and looked at me, she jumped at me and wrapped her arms around me.


    ¡°Red...Red is so happy!¡± (Red)


    I patted her head and smiled at her.


    ¡°Wee to the Family, Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Congrattions, Red.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    Pram walked over to us and started to pat Red on the head as well. Freya also walked closer, but she just observed, though I didn¡¯t miss the small smile on her face and the slight wave of her tail. We all stayed like that for several minutes when I noticed the Death Spirits all standing in the entrances of the passageways. Their faceless heads staring in our direction, conveying a silent message.


    ¡°Death Spirits, Imend you all on your work so far. I ask that you continue with your previous task until I fully take my ce. Also, I ask that you try and keep those who would make your work harder in check. Do not harm those who are uninvolved or innocent, but those like the ones led by these two mongrels must be watched. Now go. Ah, and one of you stay here and act as a guide for us to leave once we¡¯re ready.¡± (Keeno)


    The Death Spirits all nodded in unison at my order and all but one left to go back to their work. I then turned back to the two unconscious mob bosses. I waved my hand and ropes of blue me surrounded them.


    ¡°Pram, if you please, wake them up.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram summoned her bell and rang it once. A shrill sound came from it and the two on the floor woke with grimaces on their faces.


    ¡°¡°WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS DIVINE DID YOU DO!!¡±¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: *reclining in a chair sits up and points at the television, snapping her fingers* OI! NO FAIR! WHY DID SHE NOT FALL OVER IN PAIN WHEN SHE GOT A NEW TAIL!?


    Different world, different rules.


    Luna: That¡¯s not an excuse! I mean, I¡¯m not mad that she didn¡¯t go through excruciating pain, I wouldn¡¯t wish that on anyone, but I¡¯m also a bit¡­jealous?


    That¡¯s understandable¡­Oh, Luna, you¡¯re being called to your home¡­oh, and happy birthday.


    Luna: Thanks¡­wait, it¡¯s my birthday?


    Yep. Have fun at your party.


    Luna: *poof*


    ¡­And now I¡¯m all alone¡­*sigh*


    Order and Astraea: WE¡¯RE BACK!


    HURRAY!

 Chapter 68- Leaving Vanir鈥檚 Capital

    Chapter 68- Leaving Vanir¡¯s Capital


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS DIVINE DID YOU DO!!¡±


    The two mob bosses yelled with unbridled fury mixed with a hefty mix of fear in their voices.


    ¡°Simply set thing on the right path. You narrowminded idiots have taken a gift given to your ancestors to help keep the world in bnce for granted and gained the false impression that the one that ¡®owns¡¯ a Dead Zone controlled everything. But here is a fact that the two of you practice, but never truly felt the weight of. What¡¯s given can always be taken away. But enough righteous sounding stuff that none of us really care about. My motivations are my own, and neither of you deserve to know them. I simply got the two of you together to make things interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do you realize what you¡¯ve done!? All those blessings, the power thates with just controlling who esses it! All gone! Do you realize how many of my ns are now ruined!? My life¡¯s work, gone!¡± (boss1)


    ¡°All that influence that controlling a Dead Zone¡­gone. Do you have any idea how long I¡¯ve been waiting to im that for myself again!? Now I¡¯ll be theughingstock of every country! My name TAINTED!¡± (boss2)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    It felt like my great mood was doused with a fire extinguisher. Instead, I just got angry at how little they actually valued any of the blessings the Dead Zone gave them above such small, petty things. The temperature in the room started to skyrocket rapidly.


    ¡°Okami, calm down. It¡¯s not worth super heating everything.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I turned around and started walking to the passage we entered from. The others followed silently behind me.


    ¡°Mongrels, you¡¯ve ruined my fun with just how arrogant, idiotic, and self-centered you are. Guess this is what I get for trying to set things up like an interesting production. Fight amongst yourselves, you won¡¯t be able to leave until only one remains. Have fun quelling the chaos that causes.¡± (Keeno)


    I snapped my fingers and the entrance of every passageway to that room was blocked by blue mes. At the same time, the bindings around the two vanished.


    ¡°Lead the way, Spirit.¡± (Keeno)


    The spirit silently nodded and started to walk in the direction of the exit. We were all silent as we went. Along the way I observed the walls of the catbs and the skeletons that adorned the walls. The fire in the eye sockets of the undead seemed to glow brighter, though they still did nothing to us as we passed them.


    ¡®Ama, do I have to worry about the undead leaving here now that the Dead Zone is no longer confining them down here?¡¯


    {I don¡¯t think so. There is a possibility that any undead near the entrance will escape, but they shouldn¡¯t cause any problems¡­Though I do think that someone needs to observe the state of this city at least. The undead here won¡¯t really be a problem, but even though your excitement and ns were thrown off by theplete foolishness of those two, only one leaving will cause a lot of chaos. And, with how Vanir society is, it¡¯ll basically be all out war between Families. I get that¡¯s what you were going for so it would make it easier for you all to get out, but with that number of things going on, there needs to be someone to manage the souls of the departed andmand the Death Spirits}


    Freya and Red jumped when Ama started to speak. They both looked at me with questioning gazes, but I didn¡¯t respond to their obvious questions.


    ¡°Ama, I don¡¯t think I like where you¡¯re going with that.¡± (Keeno)


    {I don¡¯t like it either, but it¡¯s necessary. You can¡¯t stay here until things stabilize, both with the people AND the ce itself. Having someone stay here andmand the Death Spirits in case things go the worst possible way will be more beneficial. And, seeing as you now have an Apostle of Death, she can take over thatmand until things settle down. I know none of you like this, but it¡¯s better than just up and leaving without any kind of follow up. If you did that, then something will eventuallye back and bite you.}


    ¡°Ama, I get what you¡¯re saying, but isn¡¯t that still too much? And Red literally just became an Apostle, neither of us know how much that changed her or what she can do now because of it.¡± (Keeno)


    {If it follows the usual rules, then aside from immortality, she has, albeit less effective than yours, soul purification powers, the ability tomand Death Spirits, ability to immediately subdue undead, and maybe a few more things special to her. Only time will tell. And Red, I hope you understand, I¡¯m not saying this because I like the idea, in fact, I would love it if you joined everyone on their journey, but if this decision isn¡¯t made, then everyone will suffer consequences down the line.}


    The atmosphere around us was tense as Ama¡¯s words hung in the air. While it was true that I didn¡¯t like it, what she said also made sense and I could very clearly see things bing way harder on us down the line if this was ignored. While I was sinking into unhappy thoughts about possible problems in the future, Freya broke the heavy silence.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Really, Freya?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What? Just because I have a very, VERY good idea who, I want confirmation, even if it¡¯s just to make sure I¡¯m actually sane.¡± (Freya)


    {I¡¯m Amaterasu, Goddess of the Orange Sun, Life, and Magic. Now, while I thank you for trying to lighten the tension, Freya, we NEED toe to a decision on this.}


    ¡°¡­Not really¡­any choice¡­¡­If Red is¡­needed here¡­¡­then Red will stay¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°But Red, you finally got a family again and now we need to basically part ways already.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Silly¡­big sister¡­Red¡­immortal now¡­what¡¯s¡­¡­a few more years?¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­You adjusted to that way to fast.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red always¡­has to adjust¡­rapidly. Can¡¯t¡­survive here¡­if can¡¯t.¡± (Red)


    {And besides, you can talk with her anytime, anywhere. While I¡¯m also a bit shocked she adjusted to the whole immortality thing this quickly, she¡¯s right. What¡¯s a little longer when you have eternity?}


    ¡°Besides¡­Red still¡­has unfinished business¡­¡­more Families¡­to Hunt.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­If you are really fine with it, Red, then I can¡¯t really say no.¡± (Keeno)


    With that difficult decision made, we continued making our way out of the catbs. Once we reached the stairs, we could hear the sounds of music.


    ¡°When we get out of here, can we go to two ces before we make our escape?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Where?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Thepound of the person Red brought here and the ce I used to live. Seeing how chaotic it is now, neither ce should be well guarded, and I want to pick up some stuff before we get out of here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine as long as we¡¯re fast.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Freya)


    We climbed the stairs and stopped at the entrance. Music was ring outside like a concert and the sounds of fighting were intense. The gate to the entrance to the catbs was gone.


    ¡°Once we get out, we run for it. Anyone that decides to stop fighting and start following us we either lose or kill, but we go to those ces Freya needs to, then we get out.¡± (Keeno)


    The others nodded and we got ready to run. When we did, we saw a scene of carnage. Dead bodies scattered everywhere while in other ces the sounds of fighting and music. We ran in the direction with the least number of sounds. Thankfully we didn¡¯t run into anyone alive. Once we were sure in the clear, we slowed our pace and Freya took the lead.


    ¡°How heavy of a guard do you think is left at thepound?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Probably light. With the amount of fighting we heard back there, both Families probably mobilized most of their forces.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°How stupid.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Families¡­not smart¡­care more¡­about image and¡­power¡­all¡­muscle heads.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I can¡¯t deny that, Red. Not saying there aren¡¯t smart people in the Families, but when something like this happens, it¡¯s because even the smart ones grew too arrogant.¡± (Freya)


    After a while, we found ourselves near a big mansion surrounded by a wall. We were hidden in an alleyway right across from the giant, ornate gate. Two people stood in front of it, making sure no one got close.


    ¡°Let me take care of them.¡± (Keeno)


    I left the alleyway and walked closer to the two guards. When they noticed me, they both raised their guard, but didn¡¯t move from their spot. I started to increase the heat around me very quickly, making the pouring rain start evaporating and turning it all into a thick fog of steam. Seeing this, the two guards starteding closer to me, but the second they touched the steam, they yelled out in pain. I didn¡¯t stop approaching them and once they were fully inside the steam, they quickly started screaming and then I heard the sound of two things falling to the floor. I continued on towards the gate and once I got near it, I increased the heat even more until the metal started to melt. I felt the stone underneath me also get affected, but I didn¡¯t care and just continued until there was a big enough hole in the metal for us to pass through. I decreased the temperature around me and stepped inside before waving for the others to follow once things were cool enough.


    The steam dissipated while I was waiting and I saw that I had left footprints in the stone. I looked down and saw that the bottoms of my shoes werepletely gone, though thankfully the rest of my clothes were fine.


    ¡°Tch. And I liked these boots.¡± (Keeno)


    I quickly reced them. Once I was done with that, the others wereing towards me.


    ¡°Was that something you got from absorbing the core?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not really, I was always capable of that, it¡¯s just that it was easier to control it and the speed at which things heated up got a little faster. I think my control improved overall, actually.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram nodded and we started making our way inside. There were a few more guards inside, but we took care of them as Freya led us to a ce that looked like a vault.


    ¡°You want to rob them?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, I want to take back some things that should belong to me. Heirlooms, if you will.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I thought you hated everything to do with your Family?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do, but that doesn¡¯t mean things that I should have gotten eventually should be left here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya summoned her des and after a small chant, she cut the vault door. It took several minutes to get through it, but it still got cut in the end. It took all of us pushing one of the halves to make it fall, but we did it. Inside the vault was a lot of piled up gold, several weapons that looked more gaudy than practical, suits of armor that looked like they could be pierced by a stick, and a few other things that screamed over the top opulence. Freya walked over to a shelf inside and started to rummage through the pile of random stuff in front of it until she found what she was looking for. She then turned back to us and started walking to the door. In her hand were two rings, and something that looked like an earring. She put the earring on one of her ears and one of the rings on her index finger above the other one. The second ring disappeared from her hand.


    ¡°Good, now to my old home.¡± (Freya)


    We quickly left thepound and made our way to Freya¡¯s old home. It didn¡¯t take long to get there and it wasn¡¯t guarded at all.


    ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d ce guards here in case you ever showed up.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°There probably were at some point.¡± (Freya)


    She kicked the door open and went inside. We followed shortly after and waited while Freya went up therge staircase. Looking around, everything was covered in a thinyer of dust, like it had been abandoned for far longer than a few weeks. We all looked around at random things inside until Freya showed back up a few minutester.


    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± (Freya)


    Once Freya got back to us, we turned to leave when Red stopped.


    ¡°Everyone¡­should go now¡­Red will¡­stay.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Be happier¡­big sister¡­Red will finish things here¡­thene find you¡­once things¡­stabilize.¡± (Red)


    I walked up to Red and hugged her.


    ¡°Remember Red, we¡¯re family now, so I expect you to stay safe and find us once you¡¯re done. We¡¯ll all be waiting for you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red understands¡­and¡­will work on¡­talking better¡­for next time.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Aww. I think the way you talk is cute.¡± (Pram)


    Pram walked over and patted Red¡¯s head.


    ¡°Big sister¡­Pram¡­keep the others¡­out of trouble.¡± (Red)


    ¡°That¡¯s a big task, Red. I¡¯ve been trying to do that for Keeno for years now, and it hardly ever works.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then¡­heal everyone¡­when they get hurt.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Already do that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Red)


    She then looked at Freya.


    ¡°Freya¡­trust more¡­like Red does¡­Red has¡­known everyone¡­less time than¡­you¡­but trustpletely¡­Not like¡­Families¡­we¡¯re used to¡­Freya knows¡­already¡­but still holding back¡­Red has been watching¡­the whole time¡­knows that¡­Freya wants to trust¡­and has started too¡­but is still¡­scared.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    While she didn¡¯t say anything, she nodded her head at Red¡¯s word. After another hug, I let go of Red and we walked out the door. We then quickly made our way to one of the city gates and left Vanir¡¯s capital behind.


    Chaos Realm:


    And that¡¯s all that you missed.


    Order: Their stay in Vanir was so short. But I guess that¡¯s a good thing.


    Yeah. But now things are going to pick up.


    Order: Heh. Her birth givers won¡¯t know what hit them when she gets there.


    It will be glorious. I¡¯m really looking forward to that fight.


    Order: How long will it take them to get there?


    A few months, I believe. Though the Falheim Dead Zone will be a lot harder to reach.


    Order: Well, they can¡¯t all be that easy.


    True.

 Chapter 69- Divine Visitors

    Chapter 69- Divine Visitors


    [Amaterasu POV]


    It had been a few days since Keeno and the others left Vanir¡¯s capital. They were currently making their way to Nidavellir as it was the only ce that shared a border with Vanir and Falheim. And while it was just a few days ago, they were already stuck hiding out in a small city while a storm the likes of which Vanir hadn¡¯t seen in thousands of years. While the three of them were sitting in an inn room ying around with Huginn and Muninn and chatting, I felt the presence of someone entering my home. I turned to see who it was and was surprised.


    ¡°¡°Rasu!!¡±¡±


    Two goddesses that looked remarkably simr to each other jumped up and hugged me.


    ¡°It¡¯s been so long since you¡¯ve spoken to us.¡± (???)


    ¡°Yeah! Nearly 20 years is too long to just seclude yourself!¡± (???)


    After a few minutes of being squeezed to the point of not being to talkter, I was finally released. The two backed up and, with their hands on their hips, pouted at me. These two were the twin goddesses of Home, Nature, War, and Family, though no gods have figured out which one was which. Though they looked simr, they had features that distinguished them. The taller of the two had sandy blond hair with light blue highlights, light pinky eyes, had a slightlyrge chest, and wore a frilly jacket over something that looked like light armor, only made of normal cloth. Her name is Fu. The shorter one had the same color hair as her sister only with light pink highlights, light blue eyes, and was tter than a cliff. She wore a small jacket with a fluffy cor and a shirt that left her midriff exposed, and short pants. Her name was Moco. Both had a pair of wolf ears on their heads and a matching tail, both tipped with the respective highlights of their hair.


    {Before that, at least let me know when you two are going to visit so I can make myself presentable.}


    ¡°No can do, Rasu!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°If we did that, then you¡¯d hide everything interesting!¡± (Moco)


    The two then got close to me again but froze up.


    ¡°Moco¡­¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Yes, Fu, I can feel it too, now that we aren¡¯t trying to surprise her.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Rasu!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Sit.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°And.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Tell.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Us.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Who.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°You.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°¡°Married!¡±¡± (Both)


    {And this is why I was putting this off.}


    I made three chairs appear and we all sat down. They waved a hand each and a table and some tea appeared along with a few snacks.


    {Well, 19 years ago, a poor soul got caught up in a situation where our world and another got close and some ancient special magic activated, throwing her soul into the Sea of Chaos. The God of Chaos then put her soul in my home, where I found her, and learned she was my Fated One. I nursed her soul back to health, in a sense, and when she woke up, we talked a bit, then she reincarnated, though Phobos got in the way and did some things I¡¯m still upset about.}


    ¡°Idiot Phobos.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Just because he means well, doesn¡¯t mean he needs to stick his nose into every little thing. It just gets in the way a lot of the time.¡± (Fu)


    {Anyway, once she reincarnated, I sent Fia to get her out of Falheim, when she did, they moved to Solheim, and she grew up, now she¡¯s on an adventure to dismantle the Dead Zones and get things in the world on track.}


    ¡°Ooooooohhhhh.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°We were wondering why a Dead Zone disappeared. It¡¯s still what, 10,000 or so years early?¡± (Moco)


    {Give or take a few. Anyway, that¡¯s why I¡¯ve secluded myself so much recently, I¡¯ve been watching over my Fated One.}


    ¡°I see, I see. Though it¡¯s more under your purview, would you like our blessing of Home and Family to help getting a little kitsune goddess running around here?¡± (Moco)


    {Definitely not! Neither of us want a kid, we¡¯ve discussed it in detail and have both agreed to never have one! I will ept getting your blessings so that our family and home life are better, but no fertility blessings, not that they work well on gods anyway.}


    ¡°Oh well, we think a tiny you would be kind of absolutely adorable, but if that¡¯s the decision the two of you agreed with, then we won¡¯t pursue it further.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Yep, yep. But we would love to meet her!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°That is a fact we are unwilling to let go! We must meet this Fated One of yours!¡± (Fu)


    {Well, you can¡¯t meet her right now, seeing as she can only show up here during Sr Convergence, we can talk to her and one sidedly watch her.}


    ¡°¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡±¡± (Both)


    I waved my hand and an illusion of what I saw when I watched Keeno appeared so that all of us could see.


    {She¡¯s the kitsune with the pretty eyes.}


    ¡°*Nodding* Pretty eyes indeed.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°*Nodding*¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Wait¡­I see what you mean that Phobos got in the way.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Yeah. Authorities of the Blue Sun and Death while still a mortal. Must have been a tough life until Fia got her out of Falheim.¡± (Fu)


    {Oh, trust me, I want nothing more than to torch the entire country, but I¡¯m leaving that to her. I mean, I had everyone who ever tormented her there in a never-ending nightmare for 18 years or so. Hehe. Some are still trapped too.}


    ¡°Heh. Should we bless those rebels there for their war? I mean, they are slowly winning, but we could give them that little push.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, Fu. Let¡¯s do it!¡± (Moco)


    {Can you wait until Keeno gets there? For the whole prodigal kitsune returning kind of deal?}


    ¡°*Vigorous nodding* Hmm, hmm. I like the way you think!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Yeah! If we¡¯re gonna do something like that, at least make it a spectacle!¡± (Fu)


    We continued watching Keeno when she suddenly dropped the paper she had at some point pulled out of her ring and started writing on.


    ¡°Ama, I¡¯ve been waiting for a while for you to finish your conversation, but who are these two women you¡¯ve invited over?¡± (Keeno)


    Her voice full of cold curiosity made my heart beat a little faster.


    {They are some old friends of mine. The twin goddesses of Home, Nature, War, and Family, Fu and Moco.}


    ¡°Which one is which?¡± (Keeno)


    {Only they know.}


    ¡°And we¡¯ll never tell.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°It¡¯s funnier that way.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡­I want to meet you two next Sr Convergence, but I¡¯ll say this now, Ama is MINE.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We know.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°We never had feelings for her like that in the first ce.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Good. Also, how do those Authorities even work? Isn¡¯t Nature covered under Life? And what do Home and Family even do?¡± (Keeno)


    {Nature is a sub-Authority under Life. If I¡¯m the one that controls all of it, Nature is specialized in one aspect. Just like how Authority over Weather and Authority over Storms sound the same but are different.}


    ¡°I kind of get it. And how does War fit in?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nature is War for survival.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°The two Authorities go hand in hand, so it¡¯s only natural that, even if we have them separate, they¡¯d go together. But is that the case for us, or no?¡± (Moco)


    I chuckled at the two goddesses as they made funny gestures to add effect to their exnation.


    ¡°You two seem fun. Though with one of you having Authority over Family, I don¡¯t get why you let Vanir get to the point it did.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s a sore spot for us, too.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I mean, it would be unreasonable for us to smite every individual for giving the Family Authority a bad connotation there, plus Rasu here would get mad at us for making her work with the Dead Zone harder if we did that.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Well, hold off a little longer then, please. I don¡¯t want to over work Red now that she¡¯s the one in charge of the Death Spirits there until Ie into my full power.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh! You got to that little wolf before we did!?¡± (Fu)


    {Yeah, Keeno made her, her first Apostle of Death.}


    ¡°I¡¯m calling them Valkyries.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, treat her well, yeah.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Yeah. We cursed those who tore apart her first two families, but that¡¯s about all we could do without interfering more than allowed.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that little wolf will be treated with all the love and attention she deserves and then more.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yeah. And when I meet her in person, I¡¯m going to give her so many headpats that she may get a title.}


    ¡°She may have one already.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True, true, she seems so headpattable that even we want to descend just to give her some.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Yep, yep. Makes me want to make her my daughter just so I can spoil her.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Fu! Though I want her to be my daughter. You can be the aunt!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°NO! IT WAS MY IDEA FIRST!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°BUT I¡¯M THE OLDER ONE OF US!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°LIES! WE CAME TO BE AT THE SAME TIME!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°NO! I CAME TO BE A NANOSECOND EARLIER!¡± (Moco)


    I snapped my finger and a magic barrier that cut off all sound around them appeared.


    {They¡¯ll be at it for a while.}


    ¡°They seem fun.¡± (Keeno)


    {They can be. Now, what is that, that you were writing?}


    Keeno¡¯s face then immediately started to turn red, and she quickly tried to cover the paper she ced in front of her.


    {Oh? The only time I¡¯ve ever seen you react like this was when you wrote poetry. Are you starting it up again?}


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t k-know what you¡¯re t-t-talking about, Ama. There¡¯s no poetry here. Especially not the steamier, only for Ama¡¯s eyes kind.¡± (Keeno)


    {Tch, tch, tch. A shame. If there was any poetry like that, it might give me some ideas for our next rendezvous.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehehe.}


    With the twin goddesses still arguing next to me, I spent the rest of the day teasing Keeno about her poetry that I was going to coax out of her at some point soon.


    Chaos Realm:


    Red: Where¡­is Red?


    Keeno: RED!!! *Pulls Red into a headpat-hugbo*


    Red: Big sister¡­Keeno. Where¡­are we?


    Keeno: A safe ce.


    Luna: Are you sure about that?


    Keeno: Yes, big sis Luna. I know you won¡¯t drag Red away to give her a Fluff lecture right now.


    Luna: ¡­True. Red is still too busy to do anything about her Fluff. So instead, I¡¯m going to also headpat her. *Does as she just said*


    Red: ¡­Bliss.


    Luna: Hmm. I dere you your world¡¯s most headpattable being.


    Red: ¡­


    Keeno: Can you do that?


    Luna: Only here. I¡¯ll ask for permissionter.


    Keeno: Shouldn¡¯t it be the other way around?


    Luna: Meh. Future me¡¯s problem now.


    Keeno: ¡­


    Luna: Don¡¯t look at me like that. If you think I¡¯m bad, then let me tell you about Atmos. She¡¯s basically my world¡¯s version of Loki, only not usually evil.

 Chapter 70- Escaping the Rain for some Fluff

    Chapter 70- Escaping the Rain for some Fluff


    [Keeno POV]


    It¡¯s been almost two weeks since the Vanir Dead Zone was dealt with, and we haven¡¯t really been able to do much. A few days after we left the capital, we made it to a small city to rest for the night, only to get stuck there due to storms so bad it would make hurricanes and tornados look like a light breeze. Thankfully the city had a barrier that prevented too much damage, but it¡¯s practically impossible to travel. During this time, we haven¡¯t done much. Pram has been doing her best to learn to understand Huginn and Muninn with Freya joining in. I¡¯d been bored out of my mind, so I started up on my poetry again, though when Ama noticed, she bugged me constantly until I read it to her. I also learned about some of her god friends, though when they left Ama¡¯s ce, they were still arguing about which one of them would be the one to adopt Red.


    I was ready for another boring day of sitting in the inn room waiting out the storm that was getting even worse, if the sounds that kept me up all night were any indication. What surprised me when I woke up from one of my brief escapades into thend of dreams, I woke up with no sound of rain or thunder. Just nice, warm sunlight, and an even nicer view of a certain kitsune goddess.


    ¡°Well, didn¡¯t think it was this time already, not that I¡¯mining.¡±


    {You¡¯re usually so good about keeping track of time like that, Keeno. What happened?}


    ¡°When all the days look the same, they all just blend together. Especially thesest days.¡±


    {That shouldn¡¯t be the case much longer. The storm gods are about done having fun.}


    ¡°Did Fu and Moco tell you that?¡±


    {Yeah. They sent over a letter saying so. The letter also said that they¡¯ll be busy doing something today, so they reserved time next Sr Convergence to meet you in person.}


    ¡°So, it¡¯s me and you all alone today?¡±


    {Yep. Just me. And. You.}


    Ama reached over, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me into a kiss. We lost each other in the kiss for some time before breaking apart, a silver string still connecting our lips. Ama smiled at me in her usual seductive way.


    {Hehe. Keeno, shall we?}


    ¡°As much as I¡¯d love to, Ama, and trust me, I¡¯m doing my best from just pushing you down here and now, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to do before we lose ourselves.¡±


    {Booo! You can¡¯t just get me like this and then stop!}


    ¡°Hey! I should be the one saying that to you! You initiated it this time!¡±


    {¡­So, what is it that you wanted to do?}


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I¡¯m gonna just forget this, Ama. But anyway, I wanted to see if we could go somewhere. I¡¯ve been holding off for a long time now, but knowing that Phobos, Fu, and Moco are able toe and go, I wanted to see if we could go on an actual date. Not saying that I don¡¯t love our alone time together, but I want to see more than the usual endless looking nes here.¡±


    {¡­Come to think of it, it has been a long time since I¡¯ve changed the way it looks here, but I see where you¡¯reing from¡­And now that I¡¯m in this situation, I¡¯ve kind of forgotten all the different date ns I¡¯ve made until now¡­If you let me know in advance I could have nned better.}


    ¡°Sorry. If I didn¡¯t get the sudden urge to go out when I saw you today, I would have said something.¡±


    We sat there in silence for a few minutes with apologetic faces.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {¡­}


    ¡°Pfft.¡±


    {Ahahahaha.}


    We both copsed backward as we startedughing. This fitsted another several minutes until I was out of breath.


    ¡°We¡¯re so bad at stuff like this, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    {Yeah. We can sit here and do so many things with each other and it¡¯s no problem, but when ites to the idea of going out on a date, then we both get thrown off. It¡¯s honestly kind of hrious to me.}


    ¡°Same.¡±


    Ama then sat up again.


    {So, is it really a date you want, or just a change of scenery? I can do either.}


    ¡°Hmm. I think this time is just a change of scenery. Though I¡¯d like to go out and see more of the Divine Domain at some point soonish. If not today, then maybe the Sr Convergence after the meeting with Fu and Moco?¡±


    {I can do that. I¡¯ll even write down ns that we¡¯ll be able to do in just a day instead of just trust I¡¯ll remember them.}


    ¡°Ok, but I¡¯ll need to know if I need to dress up or not.¡±


    {I think your Vanir clothes will be perfect. I mean, anything you wear is perfect, but I <em>really</em> like seeing you in a suit like that. It just does something that makes you almost more irresistible than normal.}


    ¡°Oh? Well, that¡¯s news to me.¡±


    {Really? I thought I made that very clear.}


    ¡°It¡¯s one thing to hear you say that it¡¯s another to see the expression you make when saying it. I mean, your pupils looked like hearts for a second there, and it was¡­no, calm down Keeno. There¡¯s time for thatter.¡±


    {Or¡­you could just let loose.}


    ¡°Ama, remodeling first.¡±


    {Oh right. So, any ideas?}


    ¡°Depends, what can this ce change into?¡±


    {Anything I want. Some things are a bit harder than others, but only in the meaning that they¡¯ll look a little fake. Like moons or stars, I can at best make those look like an OK painting in the sky unless it naturally bes night, but at that point you wouldn¡¯t be here to see.}


    ¡°Hmmm. How do you feel about a beach?¡±


    {I can do that. Want realistic sand, or sand that looks and feels like it, but doesn¡¯t get everywhere?}


    ¡°Why is that even a question?¡±


    {Good point, I don¡¯t even know why I asked. Now, watch and learn, Keeno.}


    Ama then pped her hands together and it felt like all existence started to rumble. I looked down at my feet and the grassyndscape started to be reced with beautiful, silky feeling ck sand. In the distance a giant geyser exploded from the ground and filled a vast majority of the space in front of us so quickly that it was mind boggling. As the worldpletely changed in front of me, I was speechless.


    {Hehehe. This is the first time you¡¯re seeing me do something like this, right? You know that one day you¡¯ll be able to do it too.}


    ¡°I mean¡­even if I know that it still is amazing actually seeing it happen.¡±


    {Oh? How amazing is it?}


    ¡°Indescribably.¡±


    {Oh Keeno, you truly have no idea just how much I can do, do you? Like, the true grasp of just how much power we have.}


    ¡°Theoretically, I do, but still¡­no, enough of that. Once this is done, want to swim with me?¡±


    {I¡¯d love to.}


    We watched as the area in front of us turned from a sandy desert with a giant geyser in the distance to a beautiful shimmering ocean in only several minutes.


    ¡°Ama¡­you said I¡¯ll be able to do this one day too, right? How?¡±


    {Gods have absolute power to make their homes look however they please. No matter their Authority. And before you ask, the reason it was a ne for so long here was just because I didn¡¯t really care to change it for a good long time. Though now that I think about it, an endless sea of wheat would have looked pretty. I¡¯ve always liked those.}


    ¡°I see¡­Well, think the water is done yet?¡±


    {Oh yes. And the best thing, no creatures in there to threaten you, unlike what lives in the waters of the world below.}


    ¡°Do I even want to know?¡±


    {Not at the moment. Let¡¯s just say, it was and still is a miracle that the bridge the mortals made crossing over to the other continent you¡¯re on has remained standing in near perfect condition.}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    There were many things I wanted to ask at that moment, but all my thoughts vanished when Ama walked into the water while wearing nothing. She looked back at me over her shoulder and smirked while waving her hips seductively as her tails shook in a hypnotizing manner.


    ¡°You sly fox¡­time to teach you not to rile me up this much when I¡¯m here.¡±


    I shed my clothes and followed Ama into the water.


    Chaos Realm:


    Astraea: ¡­Can we go to a ce like that?


    Order: But we just got back, my little one.


    Astraea: But it looks so pretty.


    Order: ¡­Let¡¯s ask your father.


    We can. I¡¯ve been wanting to get out myself for a while now, so if it¡¯s something Astraea wants, then by all means let¡¯s do it.


    Order: A perfectly reasonable argument.


    Astraea: YATTA!!!


    ¡­


    Order: Where did you learn that?


    Astraea: Those funny books that Miss Atmos got from Miss Luna. Though I didn¡¯t understand them, why would someone write a book backwards?


    You¡¯re supposed to read it the other way around.


    Astraea: ¡­Oh.


    Hehe.


    Order: Cute.


    *Both Order and Payto proceed to headpat Astraea*

 Chapter 71- Foxes, the Teasening

    Chapter 71- Foxes, the Teasening


    [Keeno POV]


    After a long day of having fun with Ama in her beach home, we¡¯d both fallen asleep on a small ind in arge hammock. I say fell asleep, but I¡¯m pretty sure the two of us were just pretending to sleep while enjoying being close to each other and snuggling in ourbined 11 tails. I was surprised at how much joy it filled me with to actually contribute to the fluff cocoon with more than a single measly tail.


    ¡°Hey Ama, let¡¯s stop pretending to sleep and open up the cocoon a bit.¡±


    {Why?}


    ¡°Well, even if I¡¯m going back soon, it doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t watch the sunset with you. And one of the most beautiful pieces of scenery is the sun, or in this case suns, setting over the ocean.¡±


    {¡­}


    We both unraveled our tails, though we kept one intertwined. It was perfect timing too. As weid there, the suns slowly started to dip below the horizon. Their stretched-out reflections making everything beautiful. I didn¡¯t know how it worked, but the orange of Ama¡¯s sun and the blue of mine didn¡¯t mix in the water to make whatever color it would. But managed to stay separate and intermingle like an aurora.


    {You know, Keeno, you were right. Even with them starting to separate, the scene is amazing. Not as amazing as you are right now, but still one of the most beautiful things I can think of right now. Though that may just be due to you being next to me.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll ept that fact. When I¡¯m here with you, I just feelplete. I don¡¯t mean to say that being with Pram and the others also doesn¡¯t make me feel that way, but it¡¯s just¡­different.¡±


    {Ipletely understand.}


    Ama started to run a hand through my hair in the way I like it as she stopped staring at the sunset and looked at me. The warm smile on her lips made my heart flutter like it was the first time I saw her smile like that. Her glowing orange eyes taking in the sight before her like I was the only thing in existence. She drew closer and kissed me. It wasn¡¯t like the long, passionate kisses we normally shared, but one that conveyed all her love and affection for me. I kissed back, hoping it would convey even a quarter of my own feelings for her. When we separated, my body started to glow.


    {Oh, how I wish I could just keep you here.}


    ¡°I feel the same, though, I also kind of enjoy it this way too. I mean, it makes it so we truly savor every single moment together that we would otherwise take for granted.¡±


    {Fair, though I feel like it¡¯ll be a different kind of special when we finally do live together.}


    ¡°I see where you¡¯reing from with that and I agree, but enough of that. One more like that before I go.¡±


    Our lips met once more as the glow grew brighter.


    {See you again soon, my love.}


    Those were thest words I heard Ama say before I vanished from the Divine Domain.


    ¡®Cheeky Ama, saying something like that knowing that I can¡¯t see you.¡¯


    {Hehehe.}


    I sat up in the inn bed I wasying on, the roompletely dark. Looking around as my eyes adjusted, I saw something quite funny. On Pram¡¯s bed I saw Freya sleeping while cuddling Pram¡¯s tail. A small sniff of the air told me that at least one of them, but most likely both, had gotten drunk.


    ¡®Well, this is a very interesting thing to see.¡¯


    {I agree. Hmm.}


    ¡®I know what you¡¯re thinking, Ama, and I think we should wait and see. For all we know, this could just be something that happened due to at least one of them being drunk. And by the looks of it, they are just sleeping.¡¯


    {The wait and see approach is seconded.}


    ¡®And hey, we¡¯re now in possession of prime teasing material.¡¯


    {We are going to use it so much. This is going to be glorious.}


    ¡®Should we get Fia in on it as well?¡¯


    {Nah. I mean, we will definitely tell her about it, but it would only really work if she was here in person. She wouldn¡¯t be directly teasing them if we¡¯re the ones rying what she says.}


    ¡®Can that trick you didst time not work with everyone?¡¯


    {No.}


    ¡®Unfortunate. Now, I think I¡¯m going to sleep. Wake me up if they start waking up, please.¡¯


    {Will do.}


    Iid back down on the bed and quickly fell asleep. Time passed in a sh and before I knew it, Ama was calling me in my head.


    {Keeno!}


    ¡®Wah!? I¡¯m up, I¡¯m up!¡¯


    {They¡¯re slowly waking up too.}


    That woke me uppletely. Looking over at the others, the tip of Pram¡¯s tail was starting to twitch around.


    ¡®K-Keeno, are you awake!?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I am.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®W-what is happening right now!?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®From what I could piece together, one or the both of you got drunk and somehow ended up that way.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Pram)


    While we had this small interaction, Freya also started to¡­nope, never mind.


    ¡®Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! She¡¯s hugging me tighter! It feels¡­weird!¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Oh?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°W-what!?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®What was that pause before weird?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Is it maybe it felt better than you thought, Pram?}


    ¡®N-no¡­I-I¡¯m totally not enjoying my tail being sandwiched somewhere¡­Wait, what are the two of you getting me to say!?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®We didn¡¯t imply that. As people who are normally on the side of our tails being hugged like that, we¡¯re just asking if you were enjoying what we usually feel.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It seems like Pram¡¯s mind is in the metaphorical gutter, Keeno.}


    ¡®I agree, Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®It¡¯s not that! Why are you both like this!? Please just help me out here!¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Fine, but I hope you know that we¡¯re not going to let this go. One does not simply give two foxes teasing material and escape from being teased.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {A fine phrase, my dear Keeno.}


    ¡®I don¡¯t care, just please help! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll¡­um¡­I¡¯ll adopt Red!¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®And here I thought that you¡¯d be good atebacks after all our time together.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {And besides, you¡¯d have to contend with two other goddesses if you were serious about that im.}


    ¡®Eh?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Later, for now, Huginn, Muninn, rm, level 4.¡¯ (Keeno)


    This entire time, Huginn and Muninn had been watching our exchange from atop the headboard of my bed, looking between me and Pram while looking at whoever was talking at the moment like they were watching a tennis match. When I gave the order, they both hopped over to Pram¡¯s headboard and then down onto the pillow next to Freya¡¯s ears. They looked at each other and gave the raven version of a nod before cawing right into Freya¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Gyaaaaa!¡± (Freya)


    Freya literally jumped up out of the bed and fell onto the floor. Huginn and Muninn looked at one another again before their gaze turned to me. I chuckled as I took out a small te with their favorite treat on it and ced it at the edge of my bed. They hopped back over and started devouring the food like it was a delicacy they hadn¡¯t seen in years.


    ¡°What in the name of all that¡¯s divine was that for!?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s the only way I could find to get you to wake up and stop treating Pram¡¯s tail like a hug pillow.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Freya)


    She sat up from her position to see that the bed she had just fallen out of wasn¡¯t, in fact, her¡¯s. Combined with the fact that Pram¡¯s face was as red as a tomato made her realized that I was telling the truth. She sat there, staring at Pram¡¯s face for about a minute before her face blushed so much I thought I saw steam rising from her head.


    ¡°I-I-I-I-¡± (Freya)


    {Oh, this is amazing, Keeno. I knew her reaction would be good, but this! This is above expectation!}


    ¡°I agree, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ignoring the two foxes, how about me and you agree to forget this whole thing. What do you say, Freya?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Like it never happened.¡± (Freya)


    {Pffft.}


    ¡°I know it¡¯s funny, Ama, but, pfft, it¡¯s rude tough at them.¡± (Keeno)


    {You have no right to say that when you are trying to hold it in just as much.}


    Freya then turned to re at me before somehow blushing even more and turning back around so fast I thought she¡¯d get whish.


    ¡°And why are you naked!?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh?¡± (Keeno)


    I looked down and saw that I was indeed au natural.


    ¡°Crap, did I leave my clothes there, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {Um¡­no, I don¡¯t see them anywhere.}


    I checked my ring but didn¡¯t see them in the list that popped up in my mind.


    ¡°Wait, does your new ocean have proper tides?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes.}


    ¡°Well damn it. Why do I keep losing clothes at your ce!?¡± (Keeno)


    {Because we¡¯re both careless people who forget almost everything when we¡¯re together.}


    ¡°¡­A reasonable argument.¡± (Keeno)


    {Anyway, I¡¯ll find them and have them ready for you for when youe back.}


    ¡°Thanks. But hey, at least it wasn¡¯t my Vanir clothes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Who cares about that, just dress yourself! And Pram, why are you so calm about this?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m used to it. This happens a lot with Keeno the day after a Sr Convergence.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­*Sigh*¡± (Freya)


    I chuckled at them before getting up and walking to the small partition in the corner of the room that was supposed to double as a bathroom.


    ¡°Oh, this storm should be over at any time now, so you two should be ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice.¡± (Keeno)


    I then proceeded to clean myself and get dressed for the day.


    Chaos Realm:


    *Reclining on a beach chair, sipping some kind of tropical looking drink* This is nice.


    Order: *Sitting in a chair next to Payto, sipping from the same ss* I agree.


    Astraea: *In the distance sshing around in the water with Evelyn who was invited at some point*


    Do you really think it was a good idea to bring Evelyn? I mean, for Astraea it was, but knowing those two, they¡¯ll disappear for who knows how long to do¡­things.


    Order: Think of it as a good thing. This way, we can make sure In-chan doesn¡¯t put weird ideas in her daughter¡¯s head.


    Shame Mordred only thinks she¡¯s keeping Crisis in check when she¡¯s actually a super enabler.


    Order: Oh well.


    *Nods and takes another sip*


    Order: *Smiles as she drinks a little more before abruptly moving the ss away from both of them and kissing Payto*


    *Is briefly confused at why this went in this direction, but rolls with it anyway*

 Side Chapter 4- Side: Falheim-Rebels

    Side Chapter 4- Side: Falheim-Rebels


    <em>Location: Falheim-Main base of the rebels</em>


    [Emma POV]


    We had just returned to base after another sessful skirmish with the mongrels that rule the country. We managed to reduce their numbers by a somewhat significant margin in this part of the country, so now it¡¯s basically liberated from their tyranny. I sat down on my bunk and let out a long, tired breath.


    ¡°Good job today, Emma¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Same to you, Sigurd. You did great, defeating themander like that. Very heroic looking.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Please stop with that, I¡¯m no hero.¡± (Sigurd)


    I rolled my eyes at his statement. We both came a long way from where we started. In all these years since everything happened, I had be a proficient warrior, though I didn¡¯t hold a candle to Sigurd.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know any normal person that can take on four people at one time without breaking a sweat like you can, not to mention that any battlefield that has you on it, our forces have their morale raised to near max in an instant. Well, unless the Commander is there.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That still doesn¡¯t make me a hero.¡± (Sigurd)


    He sat down on his own bunk and started to clean his armor.


    ¡°Besides, I never liked the heroes in the stories. They always felt¡­empty to me. I¡¯d much rather be just a normal soldier.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Are you not going to work on your armor?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Not with you in here. I¡¯m an unmarried woman after all.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Don¡¯t say a word.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to say anything.¡± (Sigurd)


    I rolled my eyes again.


    ¡°Sigurd, what do you think the young miss is up to?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Well, I HOPE she is fine and living a life away from fighting like we are. She deserves way more than that.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°While I agree, I feel like she¡¯dugh in your face for thinking she¡¯d just sit on the sidelines instead of going out into the world and adventuring. I know I would if I got out of this damn country.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hahaha. I guess you¡¯re right. She was always more of the action seeking type of person, at least around us.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yep. And if I¡¯m beingpletely honest, I feel like we¡¯re going to see her again soon. I don¡¯t know why, though.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°So, it wasn¡¯t just me? That¡¯s good to know.¡± (Sigurd)


    I was just about to say something when more of our squad mates entered our bunk room.


    ¡°Good job today, Sigurd!¡±


    ¡°You as well, Miss Emma.¡±


    ¡°A-are we interrupting something?¡±


    ¡°For thest time, we¡¯re not together!¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°We dated for one month! We didn¡¯t click, so we¡¯re just friends, how many times do I have to tell you that, Selkie!?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°When did you ever tell me that?¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°At least oncest week.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh.¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her, Emma, she¡¯s just acting dumb so you talk to her more.¡±


    ¡°NO I¡¯M NOT!¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°Gahahaha! And Sigurd, you should really stop denying the Commander¡¯s request to be a general, you were really good today.¡±


    ¡°Why do all of you always say that? I just want to be a soldier, I¡¯m not made for that kind of role.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m a god¡¯s Apostle. If anyone is capable of being a general or even better, amander, it¡¯s you.¡±


    Sigurd was about to reply in denial when someone knocked on the doorframe.


    ¡°Sir Sigurd, Lady Emma, Commander Freyr has requested you and your squad¡¯s presence in themand room.¡±


    We all immediately stopped what we were doing and left the room. We quickly made our way to themand room and, when we arrived, were immediately ushered inside. Standing behind a table with a mapid over it and held in ce with knives in the corners was the Commander.


    He was tall and had a neatly trimmed ck beard with a few grey streaks here and there. His steel-colored eyes looking over the map as the stern expression on his face gave the impression, he was about to flip the table in rage. When the door shut behind us, he nced up at us before turning his attention back to the map. Also, in the room was the former third prince, Bjorn.


    ¡°Sigurd, Emma, the rest of Dragon Squad, good work on your mission today. With the city of Falk liberated, we have taken out most of the enemy forces in the western part of the country.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Yes, now all that¡¯s left before we haveplete control is the border forts.¡± (Bjorn)


    ¡°My prince, patience.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Sorry, I got ahead of myself.¡± (Bjorn)


    ¡°Notpletely, but I need to exin things to them first. Now, Dragon Squad, like Prince Bjorn said, all that¡¯s left for us to take are the three border forts before we have fully liberated the western part of the country. Doing so will be our next major operation, but we need to divert attention from them so that mongrel Ivaldi doesn¡¯t figure out when we¡¯re going to try and take them. That will be the job for us, meanwhile I want you and the rest of your squad to prepare for that operation. I will be assigning this operation to three squads. You will be in charge of taking the middle fort, same parameters as usual, spare any that surrender, kill the ones that don¡¯t.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Any other objectives?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°If you can, try to secure them as discretely as possible. From my time as knightmander, there were special tools there that could send messages to the castle directly, we need to make sure that they don¡¯t alert the capital.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°What about a time frame?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Preferably in the next six months, but it NEEDS to be done before the end of the year. Our spies say Lucius has been bing more unhinged in his delirium and is getting more and more impatient. He may take the field soon, and when he does, I¡¯m going to need everyone with me if we¡¯re going to have any chance at defeating him.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Is the Fafnir Duke that powerful?¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°He¡¯s on par with Commander Freyr in skill, but the biggest danger he poses is his Soul Weapon. It¡¯s called the Dragon¡¯s Hoard and it has the ability to spawn copies of itself almost infinitely.¡± (Bjorn)


    ¡°Not infinitely, the copies will disappear when he runs out of mana, but he¡¯s a master at managing it, so it feels infinite. Anyway, he can use those copies like he¡¯s wielding them himself, so it¡¯s like he¡¯s a one-man army. I¡¯ll repeat this, if he ever takes the field, I NEED all of you with me if we¡¯re going to have a chance at winning. We¡¯ve been truly blessed that he¡¯s been recovering so slowly and locking himself away in the castle library looking for whatever.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°So, in all, at some point in the next six months, we need to take the border forts, fully liberating the western part of the country, then once those are fully under our control, we need to regroup with the main army?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. If we can get control of the border forts, then we can send word to the outside and request for aide if we need it.¡± (Bjorn)


    ¡°Yes, we may be winning for now, but the supplies we get from the ones we¡¯ve liberated so far are starting to be consumed faster than we can replenish them. If we don¡¯t either finish this war before the end of the year, or get help from the outside, then I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll starve before we aplish our goals. Oh, and Sigurd, this will also be a test for you. I know you don¡¯t want it, but I NEED you to be a general. Save yourints for after the war, but with you inmand of some squads, it¡¯ll raise morale even more. IF we survive, I¡¯ll even let you beat me up for forcing that position onto you after the war is over.¡± (Freyr)


    Me and the rest of our squad all started grinning at this news. We all knew this was inevitable, though Sigurd was in denial about it. ncing over at his expression, I could tell he wasn¡¯t happy about it, but he begrudgingly epted.


    ¡°Fine¡­if it¡¯s an order, I can¡¯t turn it down. But I want you to know that I¡¯ll hold you to your word for WHEN we survive.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hahaha! That¡¯s the spirit,d. Now, dismissed!¡± (Freyr)


    We all saluted and left the room. Once the heavy door shut behind us, we all gathered closer to Sigurd and started to nudge him exaggeratedly.


    ¡°Well, general, what¡¯s our orders? Do we start preparing immediately, or something else?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yeah, boss! We gonna surprise the Commander and bust right into those forts before the other two squads get the run down? Really show off what we can do?¡±


    ¡°First order of business is go and get some rest after finishing your armor¡¯s maintenance. We have a long time to get this done, and we just got back from ourst operation. We can¡¯t get things done right if we¡¯re exhausted. And stop calling me general, I¡¯m not one yet!¡± (Sigurd)


    That got the rest of usughing as we made it back to our bunk room.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: Well, I¡¯m d Emma and Sigurd are doing well.


    Amaterasu: Guess you also have an idea on when you want to get to Falheim.


    Keeno: Yep. Though I wasn¡¯t expecting that info about that mongrel to pop up. Is he really that strong?


    You need to remember, Keeno, the ones in Falheim are running on information that is only true there. You alone are on par with Sigurd¡¯s entire squad, in thebat strength department. Add your magic on top and you can probably take on all three of those forts and take them by the end of the day.


    Keeno: Eh?


    Amaterasu: Speaking of, Keeno, you need to start working on training again. You¡¯ve coasted on barely doing anything for a while now, but you need to keep improving. I know you have been keeping up with the control training, but you need to up it some more else it starts to not do anything.


    Keeno: So, what should I do?


    Amaterasu: Hmm. I guess start really working on your Death and Sr spells that you said you wanted to work on. That should get you some good progress.


    Also, ask Freya to spar with you from time to time. You can¡¯t neglect your physical training for pure magic.


    Amaterasu: That¡¯s a good idea.


    Oh, and one more tip for you, Keeno. Before you start your Deathpression training, work with Sr first. Pram will be able to heal anything that happens with that, and it may make it a bit easier considering¡­no, that¡¯s too much information.


    Keeno: *tilts head in confusion* Alright.

 Chapter 72- Time for some Red

    Chapter 72- Time for some Red


    [Red POV]


    It¡¯s been a long time since my new family left the city. I had been busy culling the numbers of the two we brought to the crypts, though I left the ones whose leader managed to get out alone more than the others. The survivor was the head of the Salviento Family, not that he was in very good shape. He was basically dragged out of the entrance by some of his people maimed nearly beyond recognition and missing an arm. In the darkness, the forms of the spirits watched them with clear hostility.


    I decided it was best for them to regroup a bit before I started really getting down to the business of getting rid of them. There were a lot of things that I needed to do as well, like figure out more of what I can do now, and n out how to really take the Families down in a way that would make them too scared to start up again. At least, that was the n in the beginning. A few days after they left and things were somewhat calming down, at least on the surface, the storm hit. It was the worst storm I¡¯d ever experienced. It was so bad that a few buildings got destroyed by lightning and wind before the city¡¯s barrier was put up. I escaped into the catbs when it hit since it was safer than staying above ground.


    After spending several days down there, I managed to learn some things about the Death spirits. For one thing, their forms were different than when big sis Keeno was here. They now looked like wolves made of ck smoke with glowing red eyes. They sometimes returned to that human-like form when I was near, and they would always pat my head. What surprised me when they did that was that their touch was actually quite warm when I expected it to be cold. Aside from that, though, I had lost count of how long it was that I was down here when, one day, big sis Keeno talked to me again.


    ¡°Hey Red, how are you doing? Did you manage to stay out of the storm? Are you eating well? Has anyone tried to hurt you? Do you need us toe back and see you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Big sis Keeno¡­calm down¡­Red¡­¡­is fine. Managed to¡­get into the catbs¡­out of the storm¡­Death spirits¡­very good at¡­pats. Food¡­not good¡­Red¡­can¡¯t cook¡­well. Don¡¯t¡­e back¡­trust in Red.¡± (Red)


    ¡°If that¡¯s the ca-Ama? What are you tr-¡± (Keeno)


    {Red, can you hear me?}


    ¡°Goddess¡­Amaterasu?¡± (Red)


    {Yay, it worked! Anyway, listen to me real quick, Red. I want you to try something. Since you are an Apostle, you should be able toe and go from the Divine Domain. Technically, Keeno doesn¡¯t have a ce here, but I want to see if you cane to my ce since <em>technically </em>it¡¯s also Keeno¡¯s home due to us being married and whatnot. So, I need you to imagine a doorway or something simr that you think fits best, then try to picture heading to that little flicker of a feeling you should have been getting in your soul when you became an Apostle. Can you do that?}


    ¡°Red¡­will try.¡± (Red)


    I closed my eyes and pictured a doorway. After that, I tried concentrating on that small feeling that was indeed in my soul. It took a while, but eventually I managed to find it and when I ¡®reached out¡¯ for it, I felt aforting heate from the middle of my chest and exit my body, so to speak. When I opened my eyes, a shining door was in front of me.


    {Good job, Red. It showed up on my end, soe on in.}


    Seeing no reason to refuse, I walked forward through the doorway. When I came out the other side, I found myself standing in a strange ce. The ground beneath my feet was made of some pitch-ck grainy stuff and in front of me was more water than I¡¯d ever seen before.


    ¡°Pretty.¡± (Red)


    {Why thank you, Red.}


    Someone spoke behind me, but before I could turn to look at them, they ced their hand on my head and started patting. It was pure bliss. Once the person removed their hand, I turned to look at them.


    Standing behind me was a kitsune like big sis Keeno, only instead of white hair and tails, she had pure ck. The ends of her ears and tail, of which there were nine, were a ming orange. Her eyes were also a glowing orange and seemed to flicker like fire. On her cheeks were four red marks, her chest was big, bigger than any I¡¯ve seen, and her thighs that could be seen in the gaps of her dress were just a bit smaller than big sis Keeno¡¯s. She was as tall as big sis Keeno as well.


    {Wee, Red, to the Divine Domain. My name is Amaterasu, Keeno¡¯s Fated One. It¡¯s a pleasure meeting you in person.}


    ¡°¡­Pretty.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Yes, Red, Ama is very pretty. Admire my wife¡¯s beauty, but don¡¯t get funny thoughts. I may love you as family, Red, but she¡¯s mine and mine alone.¡± (Keeno)


    {Calm down, Keeno.}


    ¡°I am calm. I just though I¡¯d state the facts.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Uuuuu¡­Red¡¯s head¡­spinning¡­¡­¡± (Red)


    {See what you did, Keeno? You made poor Red dizzy with all that intensity of yours.}


    ¡°Eh!? Red! I¡¯m sorry Red!¡± (Keeno)


    The prettydy¡­I mean Goddess Amaterasu chuckled a little at big sis Keeno before waving her hand and summoning a big seat. She sat down and patted the spot next to her.


    {Take a seat, Red. There are some things I¡¯d like to talk with you about as well as some other people that would like to talk to you soon, so you might be staying here for a few days.}


    ¡°No fair!¡± (Keeno)


    {Hush, Keeno.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Red)


    I did as I was told and sat next to the goddess, who proceeded to pat my head once I gotfortable. The warmth in the gesture made me feel happy and when I looked over to the goddess, I saw her smiling happily at me.


    {It seems you really do enjoy headpats, Red, if your tail is anything to go by.}


    ¡°Pats¡­good¡­Red will always¡­ept pats¡­especially from family.¡± (Red)


    {Hehehe. Now, let¡¯s get down to business before those two get here.}


    ¡°What¡­business?¡± (Red)


    {Aside from just seeing if you could be brought here, which we¡¯ve discovered is possible, I need to talk to you about something. There are twin goddesses who have apparently taken a liking to you. So much so that they want to adopt you, though they are still arguing about which one get¡¯s to be the mother and which one gets to be the aunt, anyway, I wanted to ask if you even wanted that in the first ce.}


    ¡°What¡­would be different?¡± (Red)


    {Not much, at least in the mortal world. Down there your status as Keeno¡¯s Valkyrie will take priority, but up here you¡¯d be treated very well. Those two will pamper you like no tomorrow and make sure you never want for anything, though they may get a little overbearing at times. But basically, aside from them doing that, you can treat it like a fancy title.}


    ¡°Would Red¡­have to not call big sis Keeno¡­and the others¡­as family anymore?¡± (Red)


    ¡°Red¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {If anything, it would just make your family bigger. One of the two I¡¯m talking about is the Goddess of Family, so she¡¯d be more than happy with a bigger family.}


    ¡°¡­Red needs¡­to think about it¡­Should meet them¡­first.¡± (Red)


    {Good point. Like I said earlier, they¡¯ll be here in a few days, so why don¡¯t you rx a little bit. That storm still has a few more days before it stops, so you won¡¯t miss anything.}


    I nodded my head. I then looked around at everything seeing as I now had even more free time and it was a new ce. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the goddess cover her mouth as she chuckled silently. I turned to say something when one of her tails moved and my eyes were drawn to its fluffiness. This elicited another chuckle from the goddess.


    {Feel free to try petting it, Red. I don¡¯t mind and I¡¯m sure Keeno doesn¡¯t either.}


    ¡°Nope. I¡¯m proud of how fluffy Ama¡¯s tails are, so it would be a crime to not let someone she says can pat them pat them¡­but her ears are off limits.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯smon sense, Keeno.}


    ¡°Ears¡­off limits?¡± (Red)


    {¡­It seems we need to teach you some things, Red.}


    I nodded at that and sat down again. The goddess moved one of her tails into myp and when I moved my hands to pat it, they sunk into it.


    ¡°So¡­Fluffy.¡± (Red)


    Like that, I spent time getting to know big sis Keeno¡¯s Fated One as I waited to meet these other two goddesses.


    Chaos Realm:


    Red: Red¡­here again?


    Luna: *Pats Red with all ten tails*


    Red: Uheeeeee~


    Luna¡­


    Luna: I¡¯m being careful. Keeno would never forgive me if I made her first Valkyrie into a Fluff obsessed zombie. She¡¯s just feeling the essence of my Fluff though Space magic.


    Good.


    Red: ¡­Fluffy¡­


    Luna: And that¡¯s enough.


    Red: *tries to put Luna¡¯s tails back on her head*


    Luna: No, no, little Red. Now, want to learn more on how to make your own tail fluffy? It¡¯ll help keep you busy while those two aren¡¯t there.


    Red: ¡­*Nods*

 Chapter 73- Random Encounter on the Road

    Chapter 73- Random Encounter on the Road


    [Keeno POV]


    A few more days of rain passed before it fully stopped. Once it did, we left the inn and started back on the road. Red was still staying in the Divine Domain since, apparently, Fu and Moco haven¡¯t finished whatever thing they were doing, though it was also nice to know Ama was spoiling Red enough for all of us. It¡¯s been a few days now on the road, and thankfully, the suns have been present the entire time, with hardly a cloud in sight. At the moment, we were moving a little bit off the road in order to set up camp for the night. We quickly set up our tents and I lit the fire for the night, d that magic was a thing seeing as everything around us was still moist from the storm. We had a small dinner and were discussing who would take first watch for the night when something happened.


    From the road walked a woman from a race I¡¯ve never seen before. She was somewhat tall, around the same height as Pram, with shoulder length electric blue hair and cyan colored eyes. On the sides of her head were two horns that jutted out to the side about an inch or two before taking a 90-degree turn pointing down. Above her head was a halo, though unlike most angels¡¯ halos that I¡¯ve seen, hers was faded, giving off less light than normal and honestly looked like it was about to crack. At her back were the usual angel wings that looked like shards of light, though in her case, they were a faded, dull yellowish with the bits closest to her back turning ck. They were also cracked like shards of ss. I also noticed a thin tail ending in an arrowhead shaped point. She wore arge jacket with a hood, though it was down at the moment with a simple shirt and shorts underneath it.


    ¡°Hello, strangers, mind if I borrow a spot by the fire for a bit? Need a bit of warmth.¡± (???)


    I looked at mypanions and, seeing no one had aint about it, nodded to the ne guest. She smiled and sat down next to the fire.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Mostima, thanks, strangers.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Okami. This right here is Pram, and the one over there is Freya. These two cuties are Huginn and Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    My two featheredpanions ruffled their feathers in pride when I introduced them the way I did. This elicited a chuckle from all of us.


    ¡°Smart little birds you got there. Been a long time since Ist saw a person with Steelfeather Raven familiars too.¡± (Mostima)


    She then reached next to the fire and held out her hand, offering Huginn and Muninn two small pieces of meat. They both hopped over to her warily before looking at the meat in her hand. After a minute of hesitation, they slowly took the meat from her and quickly hopped back over next to me.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Mostima)


    After that, we all fell silent. While it was gettingte, the three of us stayed awake. I tended to the fire while the others discreetly watched Mostima. Meanwhile, she just sat there, staring into the fire, an empty smile on her face. It was a little while longer till she broke the silence.


    ¡°You know¡­I¡¯ve never seen blue mes like this before. I know they are magic, but still. But, for some reason, I get a familiar feeling from them.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Familiar how?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not sure¡­just¡­the warmth they give off reminds me of an old friend I haven¡¯t seen in a long, long time. Hope she¡¯s doing well.¡± (Mostima)


    I was about this friend of hers so we didn¡¯t fall into another ufortably long silence, Mostima stood up.


    ¡°Thanks for sharing your fire, Okami and friends. I¡¯ll be off now, hope we meet again, if Fate allows it.¡± (Mostima)


    With thosest words, she walked away, eventually disappearing into the night. We all just stared in the direction she went when, eventually, Ama started to talk again.


    {So, you¡¯ve finally met a fallen angel.}


    ¡°So, my guess was right.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­That woman¡­she gave off a weird feeling.¡± (Pram)


    {How so, Pram?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­I don¡¯t think it was anything malicious, but like she was just¡­sad? No, that¡¯s not it¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Indifferent?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Maybe?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Empty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± (Pram)


    {Oh? And what led you to that epiphany, Keeno?}


    ¡°Well, for one, the look in her eyes and that smile on her face. None of them had any real emotions behind them, though there was a little spark when she said that about my fire. Other than that, her soul looked¡­weird. It was like it was undecided on what it was, shing between ck and grey, though the grey was more pronounced.¡± (Keeno)


    {That makes sense, seeing as the cause of an angel bing a fallen angel isn¡¯t something the individual can easilye to terms with.}


    ¡°Can you tell us what leads to that? Even I¡¯ve never met a fallen angel, but the few angels that I¡¯ve seen and interacted with before all seemed scared when one of the Families told them to do something and threatened to make them Fall when it was brought up as a punishment.¡± (Freya)


    {Well, for an angel to Fall, they need to injure a sentient being¡¯s soul with their Soul Weapon. Be it intentional or not, the second that happens, they Fall. But contrary to anything, fallen angels are no different from normal people. The ones that are around, though not high in number, aren¡¯t really prosecuted or anything, it¡¯s just the process of Falling is extremely painful, so much so that many that start Fallingmit suicide before the process is finished just to escape the pain.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Tragic.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°*Nodding*¡± (Freya)


    ¡°This may be a stretch, but do you think she was talking about Fia?¡± (Keeno)


    {What give you that idea?}


    ¡°Well, I learned magic from you and Fia, so if my mes had a simr <em>feeling,</em> whatever that means, to Fia¡¯s, I would understand, though honestly, this could just be me being tired talking and looking for connections where there are none.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll ask herter.}


    ¡°...Hello.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Hey Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Big sis¡­Keeno¡­loud. Red¡­can¡¯t sleep.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Nn.¡± (Red)


    {Speaking of sleep, you should all get some.}


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Pram, Freya, I¡¯ll take first watch, so go to bed.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You sure?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, there is still some stuff I want to talk about with Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    With that Pram went to her tent. I looked over at Freya who also walked over to her tent, though I didn¡¯t miss it when she looked over at Pram¡¯s for a second longer than usual. This caused a small smirk to appear on my face.


    ¡®Seems like she can¡¯t just forget that night she fell asleep hugging Pram¡¯s tail. Think she caught some feelings for our resident snow leopard too?¡¯


    {I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that far yet, but there is a chance it will happen eventually.}


    ¡®She does realize that, if or when that happens, it¡¯s not just me that is going to be teasing them, right? I can¡¯t wait for her to meet Pram¡¯s parents.¡¯


    {Oh, believe me, that is going to be glorious.}


    The rest of the time that I was on watch, I talked with Ama about random things as well as getting a few more tips on how to progress with my magic condensing practice.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Invoking Fate like that means she¡¯s going to show upter, I¡¯m sure of it.


    Who knows?


    Luna: You do.


    Order: Hey! That¡¯s my line!


    Luna: Eh? It is?


    Order: Yeah, it one of those things between me and him.


    Luna: ¡­Sorry.


    Order: It¡¯s fine, I know it¡¯s amon joke, I¡¯m just used to being the one to answer it.


    *Moves over and pats Order*


    Order: *moves closer into the pat and Payto in general*


    Luna: Well, I¡¯ll leave the two of you alone. I have a Tamamo I need to pamper.

 Chapter 74- Tasty Treats and Magical Explosions

    Chapter 74- Tasty Treats and Magical Explosions


    [Keeno POV]


    Another two days passed as we continued on our way out of Vanir. Pram and I were doing quite well with the weather being sunny, while Freya was, for some reason, a bit ufortable with it. When we asked her about it, she said that, while knowing it was the case, it¡¯s a lot stranger experiencing extended periods of time without the sound and feel of rain like in other countries. It was at that point that I couldn¡¯t hold back my curiosity anymore.


    ¡°Hey Ama, do you know why it rains so much in Vanir anyway?¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s the part of this continent that the rain and storm gods love. I don¡¯t know why they love it; they just do. And if you think Vanir was bad, just wait until you get to Tamist. They love that country too, so much so that it¡¯s basically a country sized mire.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Will we need to go there?¡± (Keeno)


    {There is a Dead Zone there.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, when we eventually get there, will you just heat up everything so that it all goes away?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That sounds like a good n, Pram. I think I¡¯ll do that.¡± (Keeno)


    {The Dead Zonepounds it, so you won¡¯t be able to do that. Don¡¯t ask me why it does that, it happened after the core became simple Divinity.}


    ¡°Oh, is that why Fia had to go around inspecting the Dead Zones?¡± (Keeno)


    {One reason. The other is that it kept her busy. You know she doesn¡¯t like sitting still.}


    ¡°True.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, if Fia ever get¡¯s a lover, they¡¯ll have to be good with moving around a lot.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I can¡¯tment since I¡¯ve only ever heard of Fiametta.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You¡¯ll meet her one day.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yep. Be it either before or after Keeno fully ascends or not, I feel like the two of you will get along quite well. Especially since you¡¯ll both be Sun Apostles.}


    ¡°Well, if all of you say that, then I guess I should look forward to meeting her.¡± (Freya)


    We continued for the rest of the day sharing some fun conversation. When it came time to set up camp, we found a nice spot next to a big tree close to the road. While setting up, I looked up at the tree branches and saw that there were several fruits hanging from the branches. They were small apple-like fruits, though they had a poisonous purple color.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± (Freya)


    Freya looked up at what I was staring at and a small smile spread across her face.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t think there was a lesh tree this far ind.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Lesh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s a fruit that normally is only grown near the border with Odeen. Despite how they look, the fruit is extremely delicious. It¡¯s to the point where there are debates on how best to eat one. One side believes it¡¯s best to eat it like it is, while the other says that adding salt makes it a thousand times better.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And what side are you on?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No salt. In my opinion, it masks the natural sweetness too much. Plus, why would anyone like salty fruit?¡± (Freya)


    Hearing that, Pram looked at me and I nodded.


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, mind getting some of those fruits down for us?¡± (Keeno)


    The two hopped out of my tails and pped up to the branches. They then pecked at some of the stems, dropping the lesh fruits down to us. I caught them and handed them over to Freya and Pram before catching a few more. Once we were satisfied with the number, Huginn and Muninn flew back down to us and looked expectantly at me.


    ¡°Yes, you two, I¡¯m going to share with you.¡± (Keeno)


    We all sat down and, after cleaning them a bit, we all bit into the fruit.


    ¡®¡­Watermelon¡­it tastes like watermelon, very, very sweet watermelon.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {What¡¯s a watermelon?}


    ¡®A fruit from my old world. Green on the outside, red or sometimes yellow on the inside, sweet, normally, oval shaped, and a normal sized one is about the size of a human¡¯s head.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Interesting.}


    We all enjoyed our fruit and I had Huginn and Muninn help in getting us a few more down from the branches so we could keep them forter. After that, I sat back down and started to concentrate on my training. I had a ball of my blue mes floating above my palm. I continued to add more and more mana to it while also trying to make it smaller and morepact. It was going well for a few minutes before the ball started to warp. I then sent it as far up into the air as I could before it exploded. High up in the air, the ball rapidly expanded, and everything lit up like it was day again. Then the sound hit. A sharp pain in my ears is all I felt. My vision swam a bit and I held my ears down, hoping it would help. It did not. When I looked up, I saw Pram and Freya doing the same while Huginn and Muninn were sprawled out on the ground.


    ¡° ¡± (Pram)


    ¡° ¡± (Freya)


    ¡®I can¡¯t hear anything.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Keeno! What was that!?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Magic practice. It was a failure.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®At least warn us next time!¡¯ (Pram)


    Pram then ced her hands on her ears and used healing magic. She then moved on to Freya, Huginn, and Muninn. When she got to me, she red at me for a second before healing me.


    ¡°Next time, tell us you¡¯re going to make us deaf.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my intention.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, it still worked. And what even was that?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°A simple fireball, just super condensed.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    {You were doing so good with it too. Even practically made a tiny sun. Too bad it took too long to be used practically.}


    ¡°Yeah. And even then, that isn¡¯t what I was going for, condensing it is just the first step.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What in the world are you trying to do?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Something like a dragon¡¯s breath¡­AH! That¡¯s it! I¡¯m an idiot!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh no.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What? Why oh no?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°She¡¯s going to do something stupid again.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh no.¡± (Freya)


    While those two had looks ranging from annoyed and worried to worried and scared, Huginn and Muninn hopped behind them.


    {Keeno, even I¡¯m a bit worried at whatever epiphany you just had. Share before you try.}


    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s a breath attack, then I was going about it in the wrong way. Where does breathe out, your mouth, so I just have to condense the magic inside either my mouth or throat and it should work.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, I love you, I really do, but that is the stupidest things I¡¯ve ever heard of.}


    ¡°I know it¡¯s stupid, and even more dangerous, but I just have this gut feeling it¡¯ll work.¡± (Keeno)


    {Pram, please be ready to use healing magic if Keeno blows up.}


    ¡°Will that even work?¡± (Pram)


    {She¡¯s immune to fire magic, even her own, so she¡¯ll just be in a lot of pain while suffering some minor internal injuries. Well, minor for her.}


    Pram just rolled her eyes but got ready to heal me just in case.


    ¡°Thanks Pram, feel free to use both my tails as pillows for however long you want now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just get it over with.¡± (Pram)


    I closed my eyes and concentrated inside myself. I tried focusing on making mana condense in either my mouth or throat, but it just didn¡¯t feel right. I kept trying to condense it lower until it was around inside my chest.


    ¡°Why is her chest glowing like that?¡± (Freya)


    {Guess that¡¯s where the magic is going to start condensing.}


    Ignoring them, I concentrated more. The small bit of heat inside my chest continued to grow hotter and hotter.


    {Freya, point Keeno in a direction that doesn¡¯t have any people in it. I don¡¯t know how far anything that happens is going to go, but just in case it goes until it hits something, please make sure it won¡¯t end in something Keeno will regret. There is a mountain range to the north, so turn her in that direction. Pram, keep at the ready.}


    Freya moved over and grabbed my shoulders, turning me around until I was facing a safe direction. While this was happening, I continued to condense the sr magic in my chest even more. I could tell it was already past the point of the earlier attempt, but I felt like I could condense it even more. After several minutes, I felt like I heard some kind of heartbeat and felt a small itch in my eyes. At that point, it was like I instinctually knew that I was ready to release my magic. I opened my mouth, and I felt the intense heat of the sr magicing up and out. In front of me, a beam of cerulean light shot from my mouth and into the distance. Itsted for only a few seconds and when it stopped, I fell to my back, panting heavily.


    ¡°So¡­this is what it feels like to run out of mana.¡± (Keeno)


    I felt dizzy and when I tried opening my eyes again, everything started to spin, so I closed them. I heard Pram walk over and kneel down next to me before she started to inspect my body with healing magic for any injuries.


    ¡°Well, your body is perfectly fine. Open your eyes.¡± (Pram)


    I did as she said and for a second, she looked a little freaked out.


    {Oh? Your eyes are even prettier now, Keeno.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to them, but it seems you¡¯re the only one that seems to think that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not true, I was just surprised. I mean, not much has changed, it¡¯s just your pupils are now slits instead of round, so it makes your already intense gaze even more piercing. And I¡¯m sorry for jumping at it, I know that it makes you upset when people get scared of your eyes, even if you deny it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, you also have insecurities? Paint me surprised.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Of course, I do. Just because my expression doesn¡¯t change much around other people not close to me doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m actually like that. You should have figured that out by now.¡± (Keeno)


    {Freya, even us gods have insecurities. No one is exempt from them.}


    ¡°I see¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°All that aside, Keeno, as your best friend and healer of our party, I say you sleep. Noining, no excuses, sleep.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I hear you, but I can¡¯t really move. If I do, I feel like I¡¯ll pass out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Freya, mind helping me to move this idiot?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Sure.¡± (Freya)


    I was then picked up by the two and moved into my tent. Shortly after that, I fell asleep.


    [Pram POV]


    Once we were sure Keeno was asleep, Freya and I sat down next to a freshly started fire.


    ¡°Goddess, that felt¡­strange. Like, she was a bit too good at doing that when she¡¯s been struggling with it for so long.¡± (Pram)


    {Hmmm. Hang on a second.}


    A few secondster, the goddess¡¯s voice came back.


    {Don¡¯t know how I missed this before, but apparently Keeno has some dragon blood in her. Not enough to do anything more than give her slight instincts and apparently change her eyes to what they look like now, but it¡¯s there all the same.}


    ¡°What? I feel like if there was a family in any country that had a dragon in their ancestry, it would be widely known. I mean, I don¡¯t really know much about dragons, but from what I do know, they are stupid powerful.¡± (Freya)


    {You aren¡¯t wrong there; they are very strong. As for the first thing, it isn¡¯t well known for a few reasons, one being Keeno is from Falheim, another being that she was never told by those disgusting mongrels that birthed her because they treated her like a disposable piece of trash. I doubt even those outside of the Fafnir family even know that they had a dragon ancestor.}


    ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, why did her eyes change like that now instead of when she was born?¡± (Pram)


    {I don¡¯t know. I can learn a person¡¯s ancestry through my Life Authority, but I can¡¯t find out stuff like that. At least, not without having Keeno right next to me so I can get a more precise look.}


    ¡°Are you sure you aren¡¯t just saying that because you want to touch her?¡± (Pram)


    {Pram, it¡¯s not like we go at it like beasts in heat every time we see each other. It may end up like that most times, but we CAN hold back.}


    ¡°ANYWAY, should we be worried about any more of these instincts she has?¡± (Freya)


    {Nope. At most she¡¯ll probably notice them more, and there is a small chance she¡¯ll be a bit more hot-blooded when she thinks someone is trying to take things or people she considers precious from her, but being a kitsune, she was already like that, so it won¡¯t really change anything. What I¡¯m more nervous about is when she tries to do a breath attack like she did earlier with Death magic.}


    ¡°I pray for any soul that is on the receiving end of that.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Why? Either way they would end up feeling Keeno¡¯s wrath.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Right. Why do I feel bad for anyone who makes themselves her enemy?¡± (Freya)


    {You shouldn¡¯t. If they are stupid enough to be Keeno¡¯s enemy, then they deserve whatever fate they face. Especially since they will have lost my favor as well.}


    ¡°If Life herself says that, then are they even considered a living thing at that point?¡± (Pram)


    {They wouldn¡¯t be for long.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    {Hehe.}


    ¡°And you¡¯re supposed to be the one with a Pure soul? How?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± (Pram)


    {That¡¯s a secret.}


    The night continued on and before long, the suns started to rise. When Keeno woke up, she was still a bit tired, so we all decided to use this spot to camp for a bit until she was back to her peak.


    Chaos Realm:


    Wonder how Keeno¡¯s going to react to that news.


    Order: Not sure, I mean, we knew for a while now, so it¡¯s hard to picture her being surprised.


    True.


    Order: By the way, what happened to that breath attack?


    Sadly, it dissipated before hitting anything.


    Order: Why is that sad?


    It would have been funny seeing the chaos it caused.


    Order: Falling into your role a bit too much, are we?


    Gotta do that sometimes. If I don¡¯t, I feel like I¡¯m not really me.


    Order: Well, as long as you don¡¯t mess up with the order of things too much, I guess I can allow that.


    Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯d never do something that makes your job harder.


    Order: And that¡¯s why you are the best.

 Chapter 75- Red鈥檚 Adoption

    Chapter 75- Red¡¯s Adoption


    [Red POV]


    It¡¯s been a few days since I¡¯ve learned that I can go to the Divine Domain. Apparently the two goddesses that wanted to meet me were still arguing over who would apparently adopt me. I had gone back to the mortal world during the day to do my job while sometimes returning at night and sleeping there. Big sis Rasu is a very nice and warm person, just like big sis Keeno. She also gives good pats.


    Anyway, when I got back to the mortal world, I continued sewing chaos in the Families, making sure they wouldn¡¯t send anyone after big sis Keeno and the others. I even managed to eradicate a smaller Family, crippling some of the bigger Family¡¯s supportwork. I was now running from the few remnants that were chasing me, leading them into a trap I had the Death spirits help me set up.


    I turned the corner into an alleyway and jumped from wall to wall until I was on the roof of one of the buildings. The ones chasing me finally turned the same corner only to get confused about where I went. As they strode deeper into the dark alley, something resembling smokey ck chains blocked the only exit. I dropped down behind them and took several knives out of hidden pockets in my jacket and imbued them with some of my Valkyrie power. I threw one fan of knives and they embedded themselves in the backs and throats of a few of the enemies. I then quickly jumped back up before the others that were still alive heard the sounds of their allies¡¯ bodies hitting the floor. Once they did, I threw the other fan of knives at them, hitting all but two.


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    Jumping down once more when the remaining goons looked up and saw me, I summoned my Soul Weapon and dashed towards them. They tried to team up and hit me simultaneously, but I dodged their attacks and, with one stab to the throat each, killed them both before they could recover their bnce. The multitude of chains blocking the alley¡¯s entrance then transformed into the forms of smokey wolves with glowing red eyes. They walked over and their faces sunk into the bodies before reemerging with dimly glowing ck balls in their mouths before sinking into the ground.


    ¡®Hey Red, are you still busy with those mongrels?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®No¡­Red finished them¡­just now.¡¯ (Red)


    ¡®Good. Ama was saying that the two that wanted to meet you are there and waiting for you.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Ok¡­Red will go there now.¡¯ (Red)


    Following what I said, I closed my eyes and imagined a door in front of me. When I opened them again, the door was there, and I walked through it. Instantly I was transported to the pretty ce I learned was called a beach. Looking around, I found big sis Rasu talking with two people I¡¯ve never seen before. They looked simr but had a few features that made them easy to tell apart. When I appeared here, all three of them turned to look at me. Big sis Rasu smiled at me while the other two started getting so excited they looked like they were vibrating.


    {Calm down, you two. You¡¯ll scare her if you approach her like this.}


    It¡¯s true that I was on guard when those two started to get excited like that, but scared was wrong.


    ¡°Red not scared¡­just¡­wary.¡± (Red)


    {My bad then.}


    I nodded at big sis Rasu before turning my attention fully back to the other two.


    ¡°Red is Red¡­who are you?¡± (Red)


    The slightly shorter, pinker one stepped forward.


    ¡°I am Moco, one of the twin goddesses of Nature, Family, War, and Home.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°And I am Fu, the other twin.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Which is which?¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡°We¡¯ll never tell.¡±¡± (Both)


    {Hehehe.}


    I walked over and sat down on a seat that appeared at some point. Big sis Rasu sat next to me and the other two sat on another one that appeared on the opposite side of ours. The two goddesses stared at me, and I stared back, not knowing what to do or say.


    {*Sigh* Guess I¡¯ll get this whole thing rolling then. Red, like I told you a few days ago, these two want to adopt you. I don¡¯t know which one will be considered your mother as they didn¡¯t tell me, but I do know that they will both take care of you to the best of their abilities. Naturally, they won¡¯t force you to ept if you so choose, but we¡¯ll leave that decision up to you. Before you make that decision, however, you all need to get acquainted. For that, I¡¯ll leave you three alone for a bit.}


    Big sis Rasu then got up and vanished. Things went back to the silent staring between all three of us, the only sound being the waves breaking out in the water.


    ¡°Guess it¡¯s my turn. Once again, my name is Moco. I¡¯ll start out by saying, Red, you¡¯ve had a hard life. A life that me and my sister, honestly, hate you had to endure. We think the same for all people that went through experiences like you did, though what you went through is one of the crueler things we¡¯ve seen.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°While we would adopt everyone that was in a situation like yours, Divine Law doesn¡¯t allow it. Something about interfering too much in mortal affairs, and, while we do understand the reason for thatw, we still don¡¯t like it, so we bless all those with simr circumstances to one day find a family and home that will ensure that things like what happened to them don¡¯t happen again.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°However, since you became an Apostle, or Valkyrie, or whatever it was Amaterasu¡¯s Fated One calls it, we figured that we could also adopt you. We understand that it¡¯s way out of nowhere, but as the embodiments of Home and Family, we want to at least try and make up for our trueck of action.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Of course, we know that things like this will continue to happen, and it¡¯s probably just an excuse to make ourselves feel better, but we truly do want to make you a part of our family.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°We won¡¯t stop you from your objectives, we won¡¯t keep you from spending time with Amaterasu or her Fated One, and we won¡¯t constrain you in anything you want to do afterwards.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°All we ask is that you sometimes spend time with us, let us spoil you, and ept us as your family.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Like Fu said earlier, we know that this is basically us just using you to make ourselves feel better, but we also truly do want to make you part of our family. We know that you want one and know that you consider Amaterasu¡¯s Fated One, Amaterasu, and the rest of their small circle your family, and we would really love to be considered a part of it as well.¡± (Moco)


    With that, the two fell silent. Their eyes told me that everything they said was the truth and there was no hint of any ulterior motive that I could tell from their words. I stayed silent as I mulled over everything they said. Looking at it the way Teacher taught me to, I looked at everything they said objectively, and found it reasonable, then I thought about what I truly wanted, which was a True Family. Coming to a decision, I looked back at them.


    ¡°Who¡­would be Red¡¯s mother?¡± (Red)


    ¡°I would.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I would be your aunt. But I¡¯ll be the fun aunt who spoils you more than your mother.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°We¡¯ll see, Fu.¡± (Moco)


    The two red at each other before big sis Rasu¡¯s voice echoed from somewhere.


    {Oi! Don¡¯t start arguing right now.}


    That snapped the two out of the soon to be argument and they returned to looking at me.


    ¡°After we looked at everything from our personalities to how good we are with people, it was decided that I would be your mother since I¡¯m just a tad bit more responsible than Fu.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°As much as I hate to admit it, I¡¯m more impulsive and eager to start something. Not that Moco isn¡¯t also that way, it just takes a bit more before she loses it.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Red sees¡­.One more¡­question.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡°Yes?¡±¡± (Both)


    ¡°Can you¡­give pats¡­as good as¡­¡­the others?¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡± (Both)


    {Ahahahahaha!}


    ¡®Pffft.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, pfft, we can give some of the best pats around.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°And seeing as we are also wolves like you, we know the sweet spots that feel really nice to be pat.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Then¡­Red agrees.¡± (Red)


    At my answer, the two¡¯s eyes began sparkling and they jumped up from their seat and over to me, wrapping me in a hug from both sides.


    ¡°Ahahaha. Wee to the family, my daughter.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Yes, my niece, we will make sure you will be the most spoiled child out there.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°But Red is¡­16.¡± (Red)


    ¡°And? We¡¯re millions of years old. That¡¯s still practically a baby.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°And if you think that¡¯s old, Amaterasu should be more like a grand-¡± (Fu)


    Just then arge amount of killing intent flooded the ce and the temperature started to rise so much the water nearby started to boil.


    ¡°I am saying nothing. I said nothing. I will never attempt to say anything.¡± (Fu)


    Just as fast as it started, all the heat and killing intent disappeared. After that, I spent the rest of the day being patted and spoiled by the two newest members of my family.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Good for Red.


    Yeah. She really deserves this.


    Luna: *Poof* GUYS! GUESS WHAT JUST APPEARED!


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Luna: ¡­Sorry for interrupting a tender moment, but seriously, something amazing just appeared in the outer space that¡¯s been slowly appearing since I ascended.


    And that would be?


    Luna: An entire that¡¯s just a giant cookie. It¡¯s like a giant cookie ball, full of rivers of milk, ice cream, and coffee for some reason.


    Order: That¡¯s¡­interesting.


    ¡­Poor.


    Luna: And why is that?


    Last time one appeared like that, when some beings that advanced enough for space travel found it, the entire was consumed faster than its regeneration could fix it.


    Luna: ¡­Can I have permission to personally protect that when that happens?


    I¡¯ll allow arge space barrier.


    Luna: That¡¯ll be enough. Now, off to set that up! *poof*

 Chapter 76- Competitive Impulses

    Chapter 76- Competitive Impulses


    [Keeno POV]


    The day after I managed to sessfully condense my magic in the way I wanted, I was told that I apparently had a dragon in my bloodline at one point, but it was so long ago that any kind of noticeable effect it would have is some faint instincts and my eyes changing to what they were now. A few days after that, Red was adopted by one of those twin goddesses, and now, a few weeks after that, we were nearing the border of Vanir and Nidavellir. I say nearing, but we were still about a week out from it. We were currently walking next to the road while a caravan of people passed in the direction we came from. There were a LOT of people.


    We did ask someone what was going on and what we were told was that they were arge merchant group heading out to try and see if there were any people in need of help after the big storm from a while back. Apparently, word had just reached this far and though it was a while back, they still decided toe and see if there were any ces that needed help.


    ¡°I get the feeling that Nidavellir is one of those countries that is just good. Like, they will help anyone that asks if they aren¡¯t already making ns to help before that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that. At least, notpletely. Those merchants were probably also looking to expand their area of influence as well as rake in profits from people down on their luck.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Why do you have to make things negative like that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not trying to be negative, just realistic. All I said was my own personal experience.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Guess we need to add that to the list of things we need to work on. Freya, I get that you didn¡¯t have it great growing up, and I feel for you, but taking everything and putting it through a filter of negativity is going to just make your life worse. I¡¯m not saying topletely get rid of the realistic point of view, but you need to learn to look on the bright side of things too. It¡¯ll allow you to enjoy things way more.¡± (Keeno)


    {Was that an intentional pun, or no?}


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± (Keeno)


    {The other sun goddess talking about looking on the bright side of things. I thought you were making a pun.}


    ¡°I did not have that intention at all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami¡¯s statements aside, she¡¯s right. While I think it¡¯s nice we have someone with us that is trying to keep us grounded, if you always look at stuff like you do now, it¡¯ll only make you depressed and make it so you don¡¯t trust anyone. I know you¡¯re trying to work on trusting more, but it¡¯s going to be hard if you can¡¯t at least look at things more positively.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­I guess¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡®Just don¡¯t say anything.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {All I¡¯m saying is, isn¡¯t she too easy when ites to Pram? I mean, all she did is sleep while hugging her tail one night. How is it she¡¯s all¡­timid when ites to anything Pram says?}


    ¡®I don¡¯t know, maybe wolfkin have some kind of thing for tails like we kitsune do for our ears.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll ask Fu and Moco since even I don¡¯t really know. I¡¯ve never paid any attention to that kind of thing when it didn¡¯t concern me.}


    As Ama and I pondered over the intricacies of the meaning between tail hugging, the day went on. We eventually stopped seeing the caravan before running into another, much smaller one. While the first one was more humanitarian in nature, this one was different. It mainly consisted of adventurer members of the Guild. It seemed that they were just following the other caravan for a little while before breaking away and heading to Odeen. We found that out when we stopped to set up camp for the night and the caravan did the same a bit away from us.


    ¡°¡­They are loud. It¡¯s annoying.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree. Don¡¯t they know partying while trying to camp is a stupid idea?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Want to move away more?¡± (Keeno)


    They nodded and we started to pack up our stuff again when a loud voice rang out over the camp of adventurers.


    ¡°Wahahaha! I AM THE MOST POWERFUL FIRE MAGE IN THE WORLD! ALLOW ME TO DEMONSTRATE MY GREATNESS!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh? An upstart? Hehehe. Go, Keeno, show him what it means to wield the mes of a sun.}


    ¡°*Sigh*¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Why are you going closer?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Are you not also annoyed at someone iming they are better than you in fire magic when both of us have sr magic, fire magic¡¯s perfected version?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Let¡¯s show him a thing of three.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Well, might as well enjoy the show.¡± (Pram)


    We walked over to the other camp and saw the guy that was yelling earlier ying around with fire in the shape of an eastern style dragon. It was such a weak looking orange me that I almost started tough.


    ¡°Oh? Have you threee to see the wonders of the greatest fire magic?¡±


    ¡°Really? No offence, but that¡¯s such weak fire magic that it¡¯s an insult.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You dare mock Surtr, the greatest fire mage!?¡± (Surtr)


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want someone who clearly knows that mes of that caliber are less effective than a candle to mock them, then get stronger with them.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And what would the two of youdies know about mes?¡± (Surtr)


    I snapped my fingers and a simr eastern style dragon formed out of blue mes. Freya and Pram aside, the other people that were around moved back a bit since the heat my small copy of the upstart¡¯s magic gave off more heat than arge bonfire. I made the dragon fly around until it neared the other guy¡¯s and ate it like it was eating pasta.


    ¡°Grr. I¡¯ll have you know that was a simple party trick of mine. I will show you my true power. Heed my call, oh primordial mes! Burn my mana and be a congration that shall ensconce my enemies and turn even their bones to ash!¡± (Surtr)


    Above the fire mage, a ball of fire formed, giving off a lukewarm heat that wouldn¡¯t even be able to melt Solheim snow.


    ¡°Want to take this one, Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s not normally my style, but I refuse to be thought of as weaker than this guy with magic like this.¡± (Freya)


    Simr to what this mage did, Freya started to create a fireball above her. It grew bigger than the fire mage¡¯s almost instantly and gave off a heat simr to my small fire dragon from earlier.


    ¡°Why are they sopetitive? I mean, I sort of get it, but this is just showing off to show off at this point.¡± (Pram)


    {Well, you would get defensive if someone else imed to be better than you were at healing magic, right?}


    ¡®Not really. I know I¡¯m not the best at it yet, and if anything, there should always be people that are better at healing magic, otherwise no one would try and improve it more.¡¯ (Pram)


    {¡­Well, that aside, it¡¯s just thepetitive nature of people with fire and sr magic. I mean, even I am a bit annoyed that a mere fire mage thinks they are better than me at fire magic when he doesn¡¯t even realize that sr magic is fire magic¡¯s advanced version.}


    ¡®Nope, still don¡¯t get it.¡¯ (Pram)


    The fire mage¡¯s spell was soon swallowed up by Freya¡¯s fireball.


    ¡°YOU! YOU! YOU! GAAAAAAHHHHH! HOW DO YOU SO EASILY DESTROY THE MAGIC THAT HAS TAKEN ME MY WHOLE LIFE TO CULTIVATE TO THIS POINT!?¡± (Surtr)


    ¡°We hold the advanced form of fire magic.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, you can¡¯t im to be the world¡¯s best fire mage until you manage to use sr magic.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°If you do manage that, then feel free to find us and we¡¯llpete again, but for now, you can no longer im to be the best.¡± (Keeno)


    The mage fell to his knees as he continued staring into the fireball created by Freya and the fire dragon I made.


    ¡°¡­Which one?¡± (Surtr)


    ¡°Which one what?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Which one of the two of you are better? If I am to be put down in such a way in regards to my magic, then at least show me the peak of what I shall ovee to be the best.¡± (Surtr)


    ¡°Oh, she is by far better than I am.¡± (Freya)


    In response to Freya¡¯s words, I moved the fire dragon I made next to Freya¡¯s fireball and the second it touched it, the entire thing turned blue and expanded even more, until it was a tiny blue sun.


    ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! My beautiful mustache! WHY!?¡±


    Hearing that, I immediately stopped the magic and the fireball disappeared.


    ¡°Was that enough?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, but know this, mysteriousdies of the me, I shall go and be even better and then I will find you, and I will show you that I am the one that deserves the title of world¡¯s greatest fire mage.¡± (Surtr)


    ¡°Then do your best. I can¡¯t speak for her, but I will always ept that challenge.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll ept. I know I won¡¯t beat you, Okami, but I can at least make sure I¡¯m not outdone by others.¡± (Freya)


    We turned and started to leave.


    ¡°Good luck, Surtr, I hope the next time we meet, you live up to that name.¡± (Keeno)


    After walking far enough away that the noise of that adventurer camp wouldn¡¯t bother us, Freya and I crouched down and covered our faces.


    ¡°Freya, why did we do that just now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s like some kind of impulse to prove someone wrong came over me.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Exactly. I mean, at least we managed to get out of there without makingplete fools of ourselves, I hope we don¡¯t actually run into that guy again.¡± (Keeno)


    {In my opinion, the show you two put on was great. I mean, it could have been more theatrical, but seeing as it was the first time you two have really tried to show an upstart their ce, I¡¯ll give you a good rating of 8/10.}


    ¡°Not helping, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s set up our stuff again before it get¡¯s toote.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes, I like that idea very much. Hopefully I¡¯ll forget this ever happened when I wake up.¡± (Freya)


    We then quickly set up camp and headed to sleep for the night, letting Huginn and Muninn take first watch.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: Why did I have to show up here tonight?


    Cause there is something I was asked to give you.


    Order: From who?


    A being from another God of Chaos¡¯s Sea of Chaos.


    *Hands Keeno a pendant of a tiny silver fox with nine tails and eyes made from purple jewels*


    It¡¯s called the Fluff Preserver of NULL and it makes it so your hair and tails are safe from humidity and are easier to dry when you wash them. Made by someone named Lilith.


    Keeno: Neat. Tell whoever that friend of yours is thanks.


    Order: Since when did you give gifts like this? I thought it wasn¡¯t allowed.


    It¡¯s an item that has no other power than what I just said, like that special brush I gave Luna all that time ago. It won¡¯t mess with anything in Keeno¡¯s world, so it¡¯s safe, though that also means I can¡¯t give any more gifts.


    Keeno: Well, thanks again. Now, can I please go to sleep so I can forget what happened tonight?


    Yeah, sorry for abruptly pulling you here. *poof*


    Order: Now, shall I get back to brushing your tails?


    If you don¡¯t mind.

 Chapter 77- Prelude to a Big Event

    Chapter 77- Prelude to a Big Event


    [Keeno POV]


    A week passed since the small incident that Freya and I refuse to talk about, and we finally could see the border to Nidavellir. In this time, there hasn¡¯t been much of note that happened. If anything, it was kind of suspicious with how little happened. Aside from the two caravans we passed, there was literally nothing. No animals, no monsters, no more people, just us and the empty road. It¡¯s honestly kind of concerning.


    ¡°Ok, Ama, is there something going on here? It can¡¯t be natural that there is nothing around here. I¡¯ve been holding off asking, but I can¡¯t take it anymore.¡± (Keeno)


    {Maybe a monster hoard is forming?}


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Pram)


    {It¡¯s something that happens sometimes when an area gets overhunted. The monsters in that area all start congregating near each other while looking for food, run into other groups of monsters in the same predicament, and start fighting. When a lot of said groups do this at the same time, a hoard forms and then it rampages through the area.}


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that really bad for Nidavellir? I mean, arge group of adventurers just left the country.¡± (Keeno)


    {Sure, it was arge group, but that doesn¡¯t mean it was every single adventurer. And even then, there are also soldiers from the country¡¯s army, mercenaries, and others that protect ces. It¡¯s not like things like this haven¡¯t happened before, though I suspect that those two caravans are the reason this is happening.}


    ¡°That would make sense. That many people traveling through an area, you can¡¯t expect them to not hunt for food.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then maybe we should hurry and get to the nearest city. I don¡¯t really like the idea of getting caught up in something like a hoard of monsters with nothing but our own magic to defend ourselves. Not saying we can¡¯t probably handle it, but I¡¯d feel much better if we had somewhere we could retreat to.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I second that notion.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And I third it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, scouting time.¡± (Keeno)


    At my words, Huginn and Muninn pped out of my tails and onto my shoulders before taking off. They flew off for a ways until all I could see of them were tiny ck specs in the sky. We continued to walk along the road while they flew and about an hourter, they came back. Bothnded on one of my shoulders and started squawking.


    ¡°So, she does understand them, right? I mean, I know it¡¯s a bitte to ask this, but you¡¯re really sure she isn¡¯t just ying along and guessing what they are trying to convey, right?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°She understands them perfectly. I¡¯m doing my best to try as well, though progress is slow.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Well, I won¡¯t lie and say it¡¯s not something interesting to try. I mean, they both look super smart, so I guess it won¡¯t hurt for me to try and learn as well.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh? Then how about we work on it together?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­I-I like that idea.¡± (Freya)


    {¡­}


    ¡®And the best part about that, Ama, is that I don¡¯t think Pram realizes it yet.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {She¡¯s naturally flirting with Freya, and she doesn¡¯t even realize it. And Freya¡¯s reactions are great as well.}


    ¡®I agree.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I then turned to the others.


    ¡°Huginn and Muninn saw a wall nearby, so we¡¯re close to civilization. Next fork we need to go left, and we¡¯ll be there. Let¡¯s pick up the pace.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Impending monster hoard aside, I¡¯m ready to sleep in an actual bed again.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, while camping out is surprisingly more fun than I initially thought, a real bed would be nice.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Onward, to real beds!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡± (Pram and Freya)


    We sped up our pace and after about an hour of walking more, we hit the fork in the road. We went left and, after another hour, the wall of a city appeared. We sped up even more since the suns were about to start setting and we didn¡¯t want to get locked out of a city for a night. By the time we got in sight of the guards, they were already closing the gate, just to stop as we reached them. One of them quickly checked our identification and waved us in, a bit annoyed at being kept out longer than he was probably wishing to be.


    It took a bit, but we managed to find a good inn and got a big room. After going and getting something to eat, we all went back to the room to discuss our next move.


    ¡°So, tomorrow we go to the Guild branch here and report a possible hoard if it hasn¡¯t already been reported and see what needs to be done from there. Any objections?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°None from me.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°None here either.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, with that figured out, it¡¯s Red¡¯s turn.}


    ¡°Red is with you now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red¡­is here. And¡­Red has¡­news.¡± (Red)


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Red?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Families here¡­are self-destructing¡­¡­Leader of¡­Salviento¡­killed by traitors¡­turning into¡­all out war again. From what Red¡­could find out¡­me the Dead Zone¡­disappearing¡­on the ones¡­normally in control.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­So, what we were trying to mostly avoid happened.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­worry¡­Not as bad¡­as it sounds¡­¡­Just less¡­order? Red is¡­managing to¡­disrupt¡­any major¡­developments.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Good job, Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red will¡­ept any pats¡­through proxy.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {On it.}


    ¡°Red is¡­feeling patting¡­bliss.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Jealousy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Next time I see Red, I¡¯m giving her all the pats.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes¡­I will too.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Red will¡­ept all¡­the pats.¡± (Red)


    {And we will dly give them. Now, are you going to visit your mother, or did you just want to talk with us?}


    ¡°Red will¡­go see mother and Aunt Fu.¡± (Red)


    {Alright. See youter, Red.}


    ¡°¡­What is this feeling of¡­emptiness?¡± (Keeno)


    {They move on so fast, don¡¯t they?}


    ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯re watching Red get married and move away?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because it¡¯s funny?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°There is a certain humor to it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I guess I can see it.¡± (Pram)


    We all continued talking about these random things until we grew tired and finally went to sleep, thankful for having real beds after a while.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Ah. I remember the first hoard I encountered. Feels like it was yesterday.


    Velvet: Wasn¡¯t that the time with the Fiend cult leader?


    Yep. It was quite interesting, seeing as Luna still had a chance to struggle then.


    Luna: Really? I mean, the biggest struggle of that time would have been protecting people, not defeating enemies, or am I misremembering things?


    Tamamo: I think it was more you just trying not to absolutely decimate everything.


    Luna: Meh. It happened and it ended well for all of us. Anyway, I¡¯m looking forward to how Keeno handles this.


    Velvet: Same, though I wish you would have invited me and the others here earlier.


    Luna: Sorry. It kind of just slipped my mind. And it¡¯s not like none of you aren¡¯t busy.


    Velvet: Sure, we¡¯re busy, but even we would like a break.


    Got it, feel free to go get Soleil. Luna, invite Skadi and Ophidia. Tamamo, get Mio and Fenrir.


    Luna: We¡¯ll be back.

 Chapter 78- Horde Preparation

    Chapter 78- Horde Preparation


    [Keeno POV]


    The next day, we had ate start due to identally sleeping in. When we did manage to get up, we quickly got ready for the day and left the inn. After Pram asked around a bit, seeing as she was the most approachable of our group, we made our way to the Guild branch. It looked like the one I saw the first time I arrived in Nidavellir. When we walked inside, we got the usual stares that we promptly ignored, as we made our way to the staircase that led to the adventurer area of the Guild.


    Once we were down there, we made our way over to a free reception counter. The floor was somewhat barren of adventurers, though seeing the size of the caravan from a week ago, it made sense. Anyway, when we walked up to the counter, the receptionist that was stationed there gave the usual service smile, though, as usual when someone sees me for the first time, she flinched, though, as a professional, she hid it well.


    ¡°Wee, is there anything that the Guild can assist you with?¡±


    We shed our adventurer cards before I started speaking.


    ¡°Not sure if the Guild is aware of it or not, but on the way to this city, we found that the area was pretty muchpletely barren of any wildlife, animal or monster. This led us to the conclusion that a possible horde is forming.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°As you can see, there aren¡¯t many adventurers around at the moment, so this hasn¡¯t been reported yet. Thank you for the information and we¡¯ll send out some people that have experienced hordes before to survey the area and see if this information is good, or just a false rm. The Guild asks that you stay put in this city for the time being and, if this information turns out to be good, we ask that you assist in the defense of the city, if not, you will still be paid for the warning.¡±


    The three of us nodded and I signed the paperwork for reporting things like this that the receptionist handed to me. We moved away from the counter and walked over to the request board to see if there was anything we could pass the time doing, seeing as we¡¯d be stuck here for a while. After a while of browsing, we picked a few in-city delivery quests to do. After officially epting them, we left the Guild to get them done.


    Like this, a few days passed when the Guild called in all the adventurers present in the city. When we arrived, the ground floor of the Guild was filled with people while arge, muscr man with dark skin, pointed ears, and blood red eyes stood looking over everyone present. A little while after a few more people arrived, the man stepped up onto a small, raised dais in the front of the room.


    ¡°Everyone quiet!¡±


    At his shout, the small amounts of chatter stoppedpletely.


    ¡°As you are all aware, there was recently an exodus of adventurers from this city. I¡¯m sure you are all also aware of therge caravan that departed from here before those adventurers. While things like this are fairlymonce, it has been a while since suchrge caravans have gone through this area. And, whenrge groups get together and travel, they obviously need to sustain themselves. In this case, they did so too much, overhunting many animals. For those of you that know what this entails, get ready, for those of you who don¡¯t, a monster horde is forming, and we need to shore up the city¡¯s defenses. We¡¯ll be working with the knights stationed here to defend the city. We¡¯ll be splitting things up, those of you with earth and other support magic, go to the city walls and consult with the knights there, those of you who can use healing magic, head to the floor below us and get the briefing from the other healers. Those of you who arebatants, stay here and split into three groups, one for mages, one for physical warriors, and one for ones that can use both.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m heading down, see you twoter.¡± (Pram)


    Pram and the other healers headed downstairs while Freya and I moved to the group of people that use both magic and physical abilities. When we got there, a few people flinched back while others started to stare at my two tails.


    {*grumbling noises*}


    While I could hear faint grumbling noisesing from Ama, she didn¡¯t say anything due to there being several angels nearby. Turning my attention back to the man that was organizing everyone here, he was looking around making sure everybody was in their proper groups. Once he decided that everything was good, he started speaking again.


    ¡°Alright, mages, you¡¯ll be joining the mage knights on the wall and, once the horde arrives, will be in charge of providing bombardment support, archers will do so as well. Physical only fighters will be the vanguard and our first line of defense. The mixed group will be between the wall and the vanguard, provide support where you can and don¡¯t let any monster through. Due to the nature of hordes, we don¡¯t know when it wille for the city but be prepared to deploy at a moment¡¯s notice. For now, that¡¯s all, when you hear the bells, run to your stations.¡±


    The dark elf man then stepped down from his dais and was quickly approached by several people who started asking questions.


    ¡°Want to move over there and wait for Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Freya)


    We moved over to the side of the room next to the stairs Pram went down earlier.


    ¡°So¡­what¡¯s it like?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Be¡­Having two tails.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s interesting. Now, ask what you were originally going to ask.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Fine, but I¡¯m not saying any of it out loud.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®That¡¯s fine, though it won¡¯t stop any of the angels in here from listening in.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®I don¡¯t care about that I just don¡¯t want Pram to hear.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Then ask away.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®How do I go about¡­finding out how she feels about me?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Well, first off, Pram is basically an open book, so as long as she doesn¡¯t outright reject you in any way, you¡¯re good. But seeing as that isn¡¯t what you are asking really, I need to know, are you in love with her, or are you just nervous about something regarding that time you slept while hugging her tail?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Yes, it¡¯s the second thing¡­I think. I don¡¯t know if what I feel is love or not, and even if it is, I feel that we need to¡­be more acquainted before anything happens, but for the most part, I¡¯m worried I overstepped when I did that with her tail. For my people, being allowed to touch another¡¯s tail is basically only things married couples do, and seeing as I slept while hugging her¡¯s, I feel like I invaded her personal space too much for someone that hasn¡¯t even known her for a long time.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Freya, you are overthinking this way, WAY too much. I mean, you¡¯ve seen her sleeping while hugging one or both of my tails pretty much since the day we met. You know each beastkin race is different when ites to things like touching their ears or tails. Like us kitsune, touching our tails are fine, but our ears are off limits, Pram told me once that, for snow leopard beastkin, touching their ears and tails are fine, but biting or nibbling their tails are a big no for anyone not married or are children, so as long as you didn¡¯t do that, you are fine. Now, on the topic of you being in love with Pram, I¡¯ll let you figure it out yourself. But I will tell you this now; if you are in love with her, never, EVER break her heart. I don¡¯t care if you are going to be what you are, I won¡¯t forgive you. Pram is my best friend, sister in all but blood, and one of the few people I¡¯ve seen with a Pure soul, if you hurt her like that and it taints her soul, I will make sure you regret it.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®I understand your warning, but I also object to even needing it. I am NOT like the ones that raised me, I¡¯ll make sure the person I fall in love with, Pram or not, will be the happiest person in the world, I would never betray them.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Perfect. Of course, that¡¯s just on my side, one day when you meet her family, you¡¯ll need to get their approval as well, though if you manage to get mine, theirs will be a cake walk, and, you are close to getting mine.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Freya)


    I nced over at Freya and saw her cheeks were tinged slightly red and one of her ears was twitching.


    ¡®Hehehe.¡¯ (Keeno)


    A little while after this discussion, Pram emerged from the stairs. She looked a bit sleepy and, once questioned about it, we learned that the one leading the healers is some old man that takes too long to get a point across and has a habit of going on tangents unrted to the current subject. After going over our stations for when the horde arrives, we left the Guild. About two dayster, the vibe of the citypletely changed and early that morning, before the suns rose into the sky, the emergency bells started ringing.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: So, how long do you think Freya will be in denial that she loves Pram?


    Velvet: I don¡¯t think she¡¯s in denial. She does have some feelings for Pram, but she doesn¡¯t know they are love just yet, like she said.


    Soleil: No, she¡¯s definitely in denial. She just doesn¡¯t want to think about how she fell in love with the first person who¡¯s tail she hugged.


    Luna: And on Pram¡¯s side, it¡¯s a wonder how she hasn¡¯t noticed this. I mean, all of us can clearly see it, but she hasn¡¯t. It¡¯s like she¡¯s a ro protagonist.


    Luna, not everything is like a school romance light novel. She¡¯ll notice before the 7 thousandth chapter.


    Luna: She better, I hate how those stories do that.


    Well, I¡¯m sure once Keeno and Amaterasu get fed up with Pram¡¯s denseness, they¡¯ll make their move.


    Velvet: I feel like they are just going to tease them until they get together.


    Soleil and Luna: That¡¯s one of the best ways to go about it.


    Velvet: Of course the two of you would think that way.

 Chapter 79- Start of the Defense

    Chapter 79- Start of the Defense


    [Keeno POV]


    The three of us ran in the direction we saw the other adventurers and knights running. Several of said knights slowed down and started to gather civilians and telling them to go to the Guild building since it was going to act as a disaster shelter of sorts and, if necessary, an escape route using the portal room. We continued on until we reached the wall. There, Pram split off from us and headed over to where the other healers were stationed, ready for when they would be needed. Freya and I passed under the gate and, after the other adventurers and knights that would be in the two vanguard positions were outside the wall, the gate shut with a loud ng.


    At this point the suns were just starting to rise, giving us a better view of what we were facing. While still far, the horde of monsters was visible, though it looked like a roiling mass of shapes than anything discernable. Someone on the wall must have had insanely good eyesight since they called out to us on the ground.


    ¡°IT¡¯S MOVING, GET READY!¡±


    Sure enough, the mob was indeed moving closer at a very fast speed. The closer they got, the more the ground beneath us rumbled due to the sea of monsters heading our way like a tsunami. Another voice called out over the din of the approaching horde.


    ¡°ADVENTURERS AND KNIGHTS, TODAY IS THE DAY WE DEFEND OUR FAIR CITY! DO NOT FALTER IN THE FACE OF OUR ENEMY, THINK OF WHAT WE¡¯RE FIGHTING FOR! THE FACES OF THE CHILDREN AS THEY PLAY, THE GIRL AT THE BAR WHO GIVES YOU THAT BIT OF EXTRA ATTENTION, THE MAN WHO SELLS THE GOOD SKEWERS ON THE STREET CORNER! WE FIGHT FOR THEM AS MUCH AS OURSELVES! SHOW THESE DEALERS OF DEATH THE VIBRANCY OF LIFE!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {You idiots! My Keeno has nothing to do with these things!}


    A few of the angels around us started holding their heads as Ama¡¯s yell was overpowering for them, though they managed to snap out of it when the roars of the monsters got even closer. Shortly after that, the wave broke upon the leading vanguard of knights and adventurers.


    Saling over our head was a rain of magic and arrows and the sounds of magical explosions rang out. Bodies, both dead and not, flew around. While the main vanguards took the brunt of the monster horde, there were too many for them to hold them all off, so us in the second line were intercepting the ones that slipped through or passed beside the main vanguard. Due to my magic and Soul Weapons being more suited to widespread carnage than close-knit fighting, I was a bit away from the main group, taking care of monsters that slipped by the side of the main vanguard.


    I was in the midst of it, swinging my des, cutting apart anything that came into contact with them. If it wasn¡¯t for the heat and mesing from both des and chains cauterizing the wounds from the monsters, I¡¯d be drenched in blood from ears to tails. Thingssted like this for a while until I started noticing that the monsters were starting to avoid where I was and going in a wide berth around me, so I decided it was time to switch things up and start using magic.


    I started off using simple fireballs and arrows mixed with Death magic to make sure that, even if I only grazed the monster, it would die or at the very least be weakened enough to get finished off by someone else.


    ¡®I¡¯m not doing enough. I need to increase the output or do something more.¡¯


    It was then that I remembered something Fia did a long time ago. At the time, I didn¡¯t know how she did it, but now, I had a pretty good idea, but never had the chance to try it.


    ¡®Don¡¯t blow up in my face, please.¡¯


    I started to spread my mana out around me. Almost instantly, the area that was being saturated in my mana started to increase in temperature. Soon enough the grass at my feet and in the area, I spread my mana to started to turn scorched. Large cerulean embers started floating up into the air. They then formed into little foxes made of mostly blue mes with some ck highlights signifying the Death magic imbued in them. The blue foxes then started to run towards any monster that entered the area my mana covered and when they struck a monster, it almost instantly turned to ash. I made a few more embers turn into raven shapes and made them fly to monsters that were avoiding the foxes.


    While I was doing this, some of the monsters trieding to attack me in order to stop the magic, but either the higher heat near me or my Soul weapons ended them before they got close. It was like I entered some kind of trance at this point, and I didn¡¯t notice how, ever so slowly, the ground beneath me started to die, and it wasn¡¯t due to the heat I was giving off. It wasn¡¯t just the monsters that were turning to ash, but the entire area that was saturated with my mana, the aspect of Death seeping into it unconsciously.


    [Freya POV]


    It¡¯s been several hours since the defense of the city started. The horde was still going strong, though it was noticeably bing smaller. The mages, archers, and other rangedbatants on the walls were making sure to keep the horde from fanning out any more than it already was and funneling it in the direction of the vanguard. The main vanguard was doing a good job of culling the numbers that went directly for them, though there was still arge number of monsters leaking through to us in the mid-guard.


    After finishing off another monster, I backed away a bit so I could get a small breather. Once I got past the defense line, I surveyed the battlefield. Despite the number of monsters, we were holding the line well, there were some that got past both vanguard groups, but that was in the margin of error for the size of the horde. When I looked over at Keeno¡¯s side of the battlefield, my eyes went wide. The area around her was turning ck and grey and burning with blue mes. Monsters were going right for her like moths attracted to a me and turning to ash just as quickly. If they managed to dodge the moving mes and get close to her, they either started to catch fire or were struck down by one of her swords.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Lass, that one over there is your party¡¯s leader, right?¡±


    I nced over to see the giant dark elf that has acted as the defacto leader of the defense.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Think she¡¯ll be able to continue that much longer? It¡¯s been going on for a long while and I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s using more mana than I can imagine.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I only joined her party recently and I¡¯ve never seen her do anything like that before.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I see. Even if that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d like it if you could get her to stop. Seeing as she¡¯s a big hitter in this defense, I¡¯d like it if she doesn¡¯t get put out ofmission fromck of mana. I think at this point we can handle it for a while before any other potential wave hits.¡±


    ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll go see what I can do.¡± (Freya)


    I started to make my way over to Keeno¡¯s area, killing any monster that got through and near me. It took a bit, but when I got close to her, I slowed my pace. The heat was insane around her and one step onto the burnt ground revealed that it turned to ash.


    ¡®Come on, Freya, it¡¯s just a little heat. You have the same magic affinity, so you should be able to withstand it.¡¯


    I looked back at Keeno in the center of the small sea of burning ash. She was ever so slowly moving toward the main horde,pletely ignoring practically everything but her enemies. Deciding that I should just go and get her to snap out of whatever trance she was in, I covered myself in my mana and, muttering a small chant to myself, I used my favorite spell.


    ¡°Suns bless me. Give me the speed to be light.¡±


    My body started to glow, and I felt the familiar lightness that gave me a feeling of freedom that I loved. I looked in Keeno¡¯s direction and took a step. I glided over the sea of ash and, next thing that I knew, I was next to Keeno. Looking at her face, it gave me chills. No emotion could be seen on her face, her ring eyes looked even colder than normal and the glow from her irises made the ck parts of her eyes give off an eerie feeling that was onlypounded by the slit pupils that made one think a dragon was staring them down. I shook off the uneasy feeling and got back to what I was supposed to be doing.


    ¡°Okami! Snap out of it! Wake up!¡± (Freya)


    It seemed that yelling wasn¡¯t going to do anything. When I was about to try something else, I heard a small whisper in my mind.


    {Freya, words like those aren¡¯t going to get through to her, you need to either say or do something that will take up more of her focus.}


    ¡°Well, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.¡± (Freya)


    {Say this.}


    I raised an eyebrow at what the goddess told me, but not seeing anything better to do, I shrugged my shoulder and spoke again. It seems that even Keeno can get embarrassed about things that she thinks none of us know about, seeing as the fire around us died down almost immediately upon mentioning her poetry.


    ¡°How did you know about that!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ask the goddesster. I was sent over here to get you to stop and fall back for a bit.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m actually kind of tired, so thanks for this.¡± (Keeno)


    The two of us then retreated back to the defense line.


    Chaos Realm:


    I was wondering when Keeno would try and copy that move of Fia¡¯s. Just a shame she didn¡¯t maximize on its potential.


    Amaterasu: While I agree, I think she needs to work on that tunnel-vision. It¡¯s dangerous for that to happen in a fight, and I¡¯m worried if it happens when she gets back to Falheim.


    Order: If I remember right, didn¡¯t Luna have the same problem?


    Hers was a bit different. Luna liked fighting and was more like a berserk state, in Keeno¡¯s case, it¡¯s more like traditional tunnel-vision. If Freya got in the way of one of her attacks, she would have snapped out of it, so Amaterasu¡¯s way of dealing with it worked better.


    Amaterasu: It¡¯s worth the scolding I¡¯m going to get from Keenoter.


    Order: I¡¯m more surprised she still writes poetry when she knows you are always watching her.


    Amaterasu: It¡¯s something she enjoys, so she won¡¯t stop.


    Well, have fun when she starts writing it in Runes so that only she can read it.


    Amaterasu: Then I¡¯ll just learn how to read Runes.


    Order: Payto, are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking?


    And here I thought you were the Goddess of Order.


    Order: I am, but when has that ever stopped me from doing something that will lead to all of our enjoyment?


    Never.


    Order: Exactly. Now, Amaterasu, get ready for your Rune lessons.


    Amaterasu: Yes Ma¡¯am!

 Chapter 80- End of the Defense

    Chapter 80- End of the Defense


    [Keeno POV]


    Freya and I were told to rest for a while behind the defense line. While doing so, we watched as the fight continued in front of us. The monsters were throwing themselves against the wall of adventurers and knights in a mindless manner, like they wanted to die. Even if that was the case, our side was also facing its own casualties. Every now and then, people would run past the defense line and grab someone that had gotten severely injured or even fallen in the battle and brought them back inside, where a little whileter, they would run back out after being healed.


    ¡°How much you want to bet most of these people running back into the fight were healed by Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Is it really a bet if we¡¯re both betting on Pram?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Ok that¡¯s fair.¡± (Keeno)


    Above us, another volley of magic and arrows was released and shortly after, the explosions from the magic sounded. When the dust cleared, the battlefield was littered with carnage. Seeing this, some monsters turned tail and ran away, though a majority continued to run headfirst to their deaths. As we watched, I started to feel a little rumblinging from beneath my feet, different to the rumbling of the horde.


    ¡°Freya, get ready, I think something ising from underground.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya nodded and summoned her Soul Weapons, and I did the same. A few minutester and, in a spot a little away from us, something burst out of the ground. It was a monster with a catlike head with two long canines, like a sabertoothed tiger from my past life. A little down from the head was arge body with two long, muscr legs ending in feet with extremely sharp looking ws. The rest of the body was snakelike, with no hind legs, but a slender, spiny tail. It had sickly, yellow-colored scales all over its body with a brownish-red underbelly. From its mouth and the tips of the spines in its tail dripped a poisonous yellow-green looking liquid. It opened its mouth and let out a hiss-like roar that sounded like nails on a chalkboard and then lunged toward the backs of some of the adventurers, the poisonous looking liquid flying everywhere.


    Seeing that, I made a sr arrow and fired it at the monster. It hit and the monster¡¯s lunge was interrupted. When it hit the ground, it started to writhe around like a snake with its head cut off when some of the liquid touched the mes from my magic. It caught like oil and started to let off an acrid looking smoke. Seeing that I started to panic when one of the mages on the wall shot a big water spell on the burning poison, putting it out. At the same time, the muscr dark elf that was leading the adventurers yelled out over the battlefield.


    ¡°TATZELWURMS! BE WARY OF THE GROUND!¡±


    ¡°Okami, watch where you hit those things with fire.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, I kind of figured that out.¡± (Keeno)


    Seeing as we now had enemiesing from underground, Freya and I decided to rejoin the battle. As we ran, the ground rumbled more and several more tatzelwurms burst out, spitting poison everywhere.


    ¡°Gaaah! I¡¯m not suited to fight these things.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just use your Death magic.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m doing, but it¡¯s still annoying.¡± (Keeno)


    All the while dodging poison, Freya and I began killing tatzelwurms. While my Soul weapons wouldn¡¯t be safe to use on these things, Freya¡¯s were fine since she didn¡¯t imbue them with mes. I was shooting off small balls and beams of Death magic. We were also joined in this fight by several more people that were behind the defense line, the dark elf among them. I saw him roaming this part of the battlefield in armor made of stone. Every time he encountered a monster, he¡¯d punch it and once his fist made contact, numerous spikes made of rock would explode out of the unlucky monster.


    Hours went by while we fought. At some point during this time, the main horde¡¯s numbers started to dwindle, and more and more monsters started to flee. The tatzelwurms that had appeared earlier had also slowed to a trickle, though they still periodically shot out of the ground and tried to attack someone. Freya and I were still on the lookout for them, though at this point we were both exhausted.


    ¡°¡­Freya¡­to your left.¡± (Keeno)


    A tatzelwurm burst up from the ground near us and whipped its tail, sending spines and poison at us. Freya blocked the spines with her Soul Weapons while I dealt with the monster with my magic.


    ¡°¡­¡­This is getting too close forfort¡­I don¡¯t know how much longer¡­we canst out here¡­without some time¡­to catch our breath.¡± (Freya)


    Freya and I stood back-to-back as we surveyed our surroundings. I could tell just how tired she was by the weariness in her voice. Once again, I felt the rumbling underneath us and turned to see the tatzelwurm burst from the ground right in front of me. It swung its tail at me midair.


    ¡°Down.¡± (Freya)


    I ducked just as Freya¡¯s sword swung. It severed the tail that was aiming for us. Freya then jumped to the side to dodge the poison that came from the severed tail while I moved the other way. When the monster hit the ground, I summoned a spear of Death magic and skewered the monster before it could start writhing around.


    ¡°You good?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Though I wish they¡¯d just give up now.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Same.¡± (Keeno)


    As we backed up to each other again, a voice called out from on top of the wall.


    ¡°THOSE BETWEEN THE VANGUARD AND DEFENSE LINE, RETREAT! EARTH MAGES, READY YOURSELVES!¡±


    Heeding this warning, me, Freya, and the rest of the midguard hurried past the defense line. Once all of us were there, the voice from earlier called out again.


    ¡°EARTH MAGES, OUR FORCES HAVE MADE IT TO SAFETY! REALEASE THE TACTICAL MAGIC!¡±


    As soon as themand was issued, it was like the ground pulsed like a heartbeat. A second after that, spikes of varying size burst from the ground. Nearly as fast as they appeared, they vanished, just to burst from the ground again. This process repeated several more times before finally stopping. Once the ground returned to normal, the bodies of tatzelwurms and a few other monsters littered the area, holes of varying sized spotting the bodies.


    ¡°¡­Why didn¡¯t they do that earlier?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s tactical magic. It takes a very long time to cast. If anything, this ismendable for how fast it was cast this time.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    As we surveyed the battlefield again from our position, we saw even more monsters starting to run away from the main vanguard. At this point the number was so small that it didn¡¯t take long for them to finish them off. When thest monster was killed, someone blew a horn. The sound was very deep, and it echoed off the battlefield like thunder. When the sound of the horn finally faded, everything was silent for a moment before the area erupted into cheers of victory.


    ¡°Finally.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah¡­Good work out there today.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Same to you.¡± (Keeno)


    As the two of us stood there, taking a moment of well-earned rest, the main gate started to fully open. Once it was fully open, healers started to rush out and find anyone injured.


    ¡°Do you know the rules to these kinds of things?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not really. Why?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m about to head to the inn, clean up, and sleep for the next week.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh¡­I like that idea.¡± (Freya)


    While the two of us were moving toward the gate, Pram rushed out and, once she saw us, ran in our direction.


    ¡°Are the two of you hurt!?¡± (Pram)


    Freya and I tiredly shook our heads, causing Pram to sigh in relief.


    ¡°I¡¯m d. Now, you two should head inside. The one in charge of the healer squad should be waiting at the gate. Tell him you both got the all clear and you should be allowed to head to the inn. I¡¯ll get back once I¡¯m done with my part out here.¡± (Pram)


    We both nodded our heads and started to shuffle to the gate.


    ¡°Huginn, stay with Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw.¡± (Huginn)


    Huginn pped out of one of my tails and onto Pram¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let them out to fight today?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want them to get mistaken as enemy monsters and get hit by arrows or magic. Though I do feel bad for them since they were with me when I was doing my thing earlier.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Now that I think about it, how are they both not cooked raven at this point?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I never questioned it and right now, I¡¯m too tired to think about it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± (Freya)


    At that, we got to the gate where we were met by a wrinkled old man in white robes with green trimmings. On his head was a funny looking hat that looks like something a pope would wear. He was talking with another adventurer who looked just as exhausted as we were. After a few more minutes of talking and a few pokes and prods, the adventurer was let through the gate. The old man then turned his attention to us.


    ¡°Have you to been seen by a healer yet?¡±


    ¡°Yes, our party member Pram gave us the all-clear.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah. That snow leoparddy is your party member. She¡¯s an amazing healer for someone so young. She must have had very good teachers if she is this proficient at it¡­but let me stop there before I start rambling. Head inside and get some rest and thank you for your help in defending our city.¡±


    We both nodded and walked inside. We then slowly made our way to the inn we were staying at. It took a lot longer than I care to admit, but once we were there, Freya and I took turns cleaning off in the bathroom before we flopped down on our respective beds. Freya fell asleep instantly.


    {Good job today, Keeno. You did very good out there.}


    ¡°Thanks, Ama¡­I¡¯d love to chat more, but I can barely think right now, let alone talk much more.¡± (Keeno)


    {Heheheh. Sleep well, my beloved. I¡¯ll talk to you again once you wake.}


    I managed to stay awake long enough to hear what Ama said before sumbing to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Whew. I¡¯m d the fight with those worm things didn¡¯t go the way I expected.


    Tamamo: I agree. I was also surprised by that tactical magic. It looked so¡­slow.


    Luna: I agree.


    Neither of you can say anything about that. Especially you, Luna. You were able to fire off tactical magic at even higher levels than that like it was nothing. They are all mortals, and they don¡¯t have the help of a status system like you do.


    Luna: ¡­I-


    Nope, you never hadmon sense like that. Though that¡¯s what made watching your journey enjoyable.


    Tamamo: He¡¯s right, Luna.


    Luna: I know, and I¡¯m proud of that. I was just going to ask if what Keeno did earlier was also considered tactical magic.


    Oh¡­I¡¯m gonna say no. It¡¯s more a unique spell that only people with enough control can use than tactical magic that needs arge group of people to use. If, say, Keeno and Fia did that spell together and amplified the effects even more, then it could be considered tactical magic, but then again, that¡¯s the same with a lot of magic in general.


    Luna: I see¡­


    Tamamo: Then what about Keeno¡¯s dragon breath?


    ¡­Also a unique spell. Tactical magic in Keeno¡¯s world is only able to be preformed by several people. If Keeno and another dragon got together and did a breath attack at the same time and the beamsbined, it would be considered tactical magic.


    Luna: Now I really want to see that.


    Tamamo: It would be interesting.


    ¡­It would, wouldn¡¯t it. Hehehe.


    Luna: Fufufufu.


    Tamamo: Ufufufu.

 Chapter 81- Pram: Teaser Extraordinaire

    Chapter 81- Pram: Teaser Extraordinaire


    [Keeno POV]


    I didn¡¯t know how long I had slept, but when I woke up next, the suns were just starting to rise over the walls of the city and was hitting the window just right to let a beame into the room and shine right into my eyes. I justid there with my eyes half open, trying and failing to contemte my current situation. While lying there, my mind slowly beginning to wake up, Ama started to talk.


    {Morning, sleepyhead.}


    I didn¡¯t reply and just blinked slowly.


    {Hehehe. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you like this, it¡¯s adorable.}


    ¡°¡­Ama.¡±


    {Hehe. While I¡¯d love to watch you more in this state, you should really wake up. Something interesting is happening.}


    Ama¡¯s words about something interesting knocked my mind into gear and I shook my head to get thest bits of sleep to go away.


    ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯


    {Just look over there.}


    I turned my head in the only direction I could think of something interesting happening and a wide smile spread across my face.


    ¡®She definitely knows.¡¯


    {Oh yeah. It was funny watching what happened when she got back.}


    ¡®Do I even need to ask?¡¯


    {Nope. So, Freya being super tired, she identallyid down in Pram¡¯s bed. And a little while after the two of you went to sleep, Pram got back. She got ready for bed, and when she got over to hers and found Freya sleeping there, she got one of those smiles that you get when you want to tease someone. So, instead of going over to the empty bed, she justid down there and went to sleep.}


    ¡®So, she¡¯s trying to goad Freya into making a proper move?¡¯


    {I think, though it could also just be she wanted to mess with her. But I¡¯m thinking she knows about Freya¡¯s feelings and is just trying to tease her with subtle hints.}


    Looking over at Pram¡¯s bed, she was there sleeping soundly while Freya had her tail in her arms. Pram even had it wrapped around them a bit. Every so often, Freya would move, rubbing her cheek on Pram¡¯s tail, extremely close to even nibbling on it.


    ¡®I kind of want to wake Freya up to see her reaction, but it naturally happening will be much better.¡¯


    {I agree.}


    Ama and I continued to chat while we watched Pram and Freya. Apparently, we had all been out for two days from exhaustion and a lot of the residents of the city were back to normal while others were doing their part for the cleanup effort from the horde. There had been lots of bonfires to get rid of the monster corpses and others were working on parts of the wall that got damaged from stray magic or monsters that managed to get past every vanguard. Things had been going well for them until they got to the area I first fought in.


    Apparently, the ground had turned to ash and people who tried to step into it started sinking like they were in quicksand. That area was effectively dead to anyone or thing that was trapped in it and couldn¡¯t get out.


    ¡®¡­¡¯


    {Don¡¯t worry, Keeno, that¡¯s actually a good thing. If you drop a few hints in some appropriate ces, people can use that ash for things. It works well for growing crops and other stuff that promotes Life.}


    ¡®I¡¯m d you know a positive side to that. I didn¡¯t know what I would do if I got apprehended for basically making an actual dead zone right outside the city¡¯s walls.¡¯


    {Well, of course. While these Authorities of ours may be opposites, they also work together to promote the other. All life ends in death, and death can help improve life. Like you said that one time, weplement each other perfectly.}


    ¡®I think it was you who said that, but I could be wrong.¡¯


    We chatted some more and eventually, Huginn and Muninn woke up and pped over to me. I started petting them in the spot on their necks where they liked it and they nearly turned into feathery puddles. This continued on for several minutes when I heard stirring from the other bed. I looked over there and saw that Pram was awake. She was lying on her side facing me and she had a mischievous smile on her face.


    ¡®So, how long since you figured it out?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®A while. It¡¯s kind of obvious when she gets a little flustered any time I look at her when we aren¡¯t in some kind of serious situation. Though ying oblivious is kind of fun. This time, though, she gave me such a perfect opportunity that I just couldn¡¯t resist.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Think she¡¯ll make a move after this?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Doubt it.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Same. From her own words, she wants to take more time to figure out if what she feels is actually love.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®And, as the person in this room that knows what love is, your thoughts?¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Definitely in love with you but doesn¡¯t want to admit it to herself since she fell too easily in her opinion.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I, for one, think she should just ept it already. Being prideful like that is just getting in the way of moments we can use to tease her withter.}


    ¡®A certain amount of pride is fine, Ama. In fact, I think it¡¯s the right amount for her. And besides, her being like this can give us a different kind of thing to tease her about, especially once they get together.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®For my part, I also want to tease her, but I hope the two of you will leave me out of your teasing.¡¯ (Pram)


    {Pram, sweety, that¡¯s not going to happen.}


    ¡®*Sigh* I know, I just had to try.¡¯ (Pram)


    We then heard some more rustlinging from behind Pram.


    ¡®I¡¯m going to pretend to be asleep.¡¯ (Pram)


    She then closed her eyes and slowed her breathing down to mimic sleeping. From behind her I could see Freya¡¯s eyes slowly open. She blinked sleepily a few times, not really understanding what was going on. When she finally, fully woke up though, she froze.


    Her eyes went wide, and her breathing started to be rapid as she started to panic. She looked around and then her eyes met mine. Seeing this, she started to panic more and subconsciously started to hug Pram¡¯s tail tighter. I reached out with telepathy to try and get Freya to calm down, but before I could, I started to hear what she was thinking.


    ¡®AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! IT¡¯S HAPPENING AGAIN! WHY? WHEN? HOW? WHAT DO I DOOOOOOOOO! WHY DOES THIS FEEL SO NICE!? WHY DO I WANT TO DO THIS EVERY NIGHT!? WHY DOES SHE SMELL SO GOOD!? WHAT AM I EVEN THINKING RIGHT NOW!? HOW MUCH AM I GOING TO BE TEASED ABOUT THIS!? WHY IS THIS SO NICE!!!!!!!!?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®¡­FREYA!¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­How much did you hear?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®All of it. Ama too.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Yep.}


    ¡®¡­I¡¯m never going to live this down, am I?¡¯ (Freya)


    {¡®Not for all eternity.¡¯}


    ¡®¡­Damnit.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Now, why don¡¯t you calm down before you wake Pram up?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®You think I¡¯m not trying!? How did this even happen?¡¯ (Freya)


    {You were too tired and got in the wrong bed. Pram was also tired and didn¡¯t notice you in her bed.}


    ¡®¡­I see.¡¯ (Freya)


    She looked between her arms and Pram¡¯s tail before, reluctantly, letting it go and moving slowly to try and not wake Pram up. On my side, I could see the smile on Pram¡¯s face as sheid there. I was fighting to keep a straight face when I realized I didn¡¯t need to.


    ¡®Quit looking at me like that!¡¯ (Freya)


    At this point I was smiling ear-to-ear and probably looked like some kind of sleep paralysis demon, but it was just too funny.


    {Freya, this kind of fun is what you signed up for when you decided to stick with us. And besides, this is what a real family is like, lots of yful teasing and just generally getting along.}


    ¡®¡­Ok, I¡¯ll ept that, but can you stop looking at me like that? It¡¯s a little creepy.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Keeno)


    It was at this point that Pram started to move like she was about to wake up. This caused Freya to start panicking again and, like thest time this happened, she fell out of the bed.


    ¡°Morning everyone.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Mornin, Pram. Sleep well?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Absolutely, especially since I had a dream that my tail was being hugged by someone special.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°EH!?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Is something wrong, Freya? And why are you on the floor?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Eh¡­Ah¡­I-I um¡­spec-I mean, um¡­did you enjoy this dream?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I did. Kind of makes me wish someone would hug my tail while I sleep every night. Wouldn¡¯t even mind if they nibbled it a bit, but sadly it¡¯s just a dream.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± (Freya)


    It didn¡¯t take a genius to see that Freya was so flustered she didn¡¯t know how to truly react. She did get up from the floor, though her hair was covering her face.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to wash up and get ready for the day.¡± (Freya)


    As she turned to go, all of us could see that her tail was waving happily, showing what she felt. I looked over to Pram and saw her with a smile like she used to have a long time ago.


    ¡®Good going, Pram. Just a bit more pushing, and I think she¡¯ll finally ept it.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Yes. Do it Pram, DO IT!}


    ¡®All things in time, you two.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®¡­Actually, what made you fall for her?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®¡­A few things. One; she¡¯s cute, two; I can tell that she¡¯d never do something that would hurt me, three; she has all the things I like about a person and would want in a partner for life. Honestly, and I don¡¯t know if this is a good thing or not, but she kind of reminds me of you a little. I don¡¯t know if that means I like people like you, or if it¡¯s something else, but I want to think that I just like the kind of person you and Freya are and am attracted to that.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®So that¡¯s your type. Well anyway, know that me and Ama support you two and if you ever need advice, just ask.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Yeah. Though, if it¡¯s about dates and stuff, then don¡¯t ask cause we don¡¯t know either. We¡¯ve never done anything outside my ce.}


    ¡®¡­¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Ama, she didn¡¯t need to know that.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {¡­Um¡­Oh look! Huginn and Muninn are doing funny bird things!}


    Pram and I immediately looked in the direction of Huginn and Muninn and sure enough, they were doing some kind of bird dance where they hopped around in a circle while they each red their wings in turn in a rhythmic fashion.


    ¡°Are they trying to summon something?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It looks fun though.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°True.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Pram is a little schemer.


    Atmos: Yeah, but in a good way. I bet she¡¯s great at pranks.


    Luna: We need to get them to start doing those.


    Atmos: I couldn¡¯t agree more.


    Tamamo: No. While I do agree it would be interesting to watch, I refuse to let the two of you do that. They don¡¯t need that much chaos yet.


    I agree with Tamamo.


    Order: Same.


    Red: Red has¡­no opinion.


    Astrea: Um¡­Miss Red?


    Red: Hm?


    Astrea: Would you like toe and y with me and Evelyn?


    Red: ¡­*nods*


    Astrea: *Grabs Red¡¯s hand and leads her away*


    I should really invite Fu and Moco here.


    Order: I already did. They should be here soon.


    Thanks.


    Order: My pleasure.

 Chapter 82- Freya things with a Side of Fluff

    Chapter 82- Freya things with a Side of Fluff


    [Freya POV]


    Quickly making my way to the bathroom after escaping the teasing smirk of Keeno and the sleepy beauty of Pram, I quickly stripped and turned on the magic tool that produced water. I didn¡¯t wait for it to warm up and just jumped right into the freezing cold water in order to hopefully cool my head. The second the cold water hit me, goosebumps appeared all over my skin and my tail that was waving unconsciously stopped. I just stood there with the water falling onto me while I tried to figure out what was wrong with me.


    ¡°¡­Just what is up with me? Why do I get so¡­nervous¡­no¡­¡­flustered when Pram even talks to me? And what even was that a little while ago?¡±


    Just thinking back at what Pram said a short while ago had my tail waving around so fast, I thought it¡¯d catch fire, especially thatst bit.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Keeno say that those of Pram¡¯s race only ever let their lovers nibble their tails? And she said that she¡¯d let the one hugging her tail at night do that to her!¡±


    My tail started to wave even more, and I felt my ears twitching wildly, flinging water all over the ce. My heart was also beating so fast I thought I¡¯d pass out soon.


    ¡°Why does this make me so happy?¡±


    While I was lost in thought, I looked around until I saw my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks were bright red, my ears were twitching, and I was smiling like Keeno did whenever she bragged about Amaterasu.


    ¡°Am I in love with Pram?¡±


    I thought back to the conversation me and Keeno had the other day.


    ¡°Pram is an open book when ites to her feelings.¡±


    Though I didn¡¯t see her expression too clearly since I was on the floor, she was clearly looking at me. When she said that, there was a gleam in her eye that had some sort of meaning.


    ¡°Am I just looking too far into things and interpreting what I want? Wait, I want that?¡±


    I turned my head up and let the cold water ssh in my face.


    ¡°Why are these feelings so confusing? And am I really that easy?¡±


    I stood there for a moment, contemting things when I thought back to something else Keeno told me.


    ¡°Wait¡­why does that matter? Isn¡¯t there an example of someone that fell in love at first sight near me every day? Fated One stuff aside, does being easy even matter?¡±


    Getting this far in my thoughts, I turned off the water and used some magic to quickly dry off. I then started working on my tail. While I was doing this, I thought about how to go about conveying my feelings to Pram.


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯m obviously in love with her. I don¡¯t know what exactly made me fall for her, but I did. Now, how do I tell her? Do I just go up and say it, or should I make some kind of grand gesture? Do I get her a gift? Is it too early for a ring? No, it¡¯s definitely too early for that, though one day¡­um.¡±


    Thinking about all of this was getting me nowhere. While I continued to meticulously groom my tail, an idea struck me.


    ¡°I¡¯m an idiot. I should just ask Keeno.¡±


    Using telepathy, I reached out to Keeno.


    ¡°So, um¡­question. If I, hypothetically, wanted to get Pram a gift, what would be the best thing to get her?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡­Ok first, this is a surprise in development. Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be pushed to figuring this out so fast, but anyway a gift for Pram, huh? ¡­Is this to show her your feelings?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmmm. Well, while a gift is a good idea, I think it should wait until you are together since me telling you what to get her would be less special. So, while I do have some ideas for the two of you for dates and stuff, I¡¯m going to have to let you figure this out on your own. But I¡¯ll at least help set the mood a little. Hurry up with whatever you¡¯re doing in there. Huginn, Muninn, and I will go and get some stuff to eat and find out if we have anything we need to do regarding the horde cleanup. Make the most of your time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Thanks¡­I owe you one.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Nah. It¡¯s all good. Just make sure it¡¯s a moment you both will remember forever.¡± (Keeno)


    With that she cut the connection. I finished up with my tail and got dressed. I ced my hand on the doorknob and hesitated. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Ok, Freya, you got this.¡±


    I opened the door slowly and stepped out. I didn¡¯t realize how long it was in there, but it was long enough for the suns to rise high enough that they lit the whole room up. Pram was sitting on the edge of a bed, looking out the window. The gentle morning light of the suns reflecting off her silver hair, making her glow in an ethereal light. When she heard me approach her, she turned around with a gentle, sleepy smile on her face. Taking this sight in, I froze up, my heart beating so fast I thought it was about to explode.


    ¡°Keeno said you had something to talk to me about?¡± (Pram)


    I was still stunned by Pram¡¯s beauty to get any words out. She just looks so, SO much more beautiful than she did just a little while ago that it made any words I wanted to say get stuck in my throat.


    Pram looked at me silently, still smiling. She shifted her position on the bed and patted the spot next to her.


    ¡°Feel free to sit down, I don¡¯t bite.¡± (Pram)


    I leaned my head forward until my hair covered my face as I slowly made my way over to the bed. When I sat down, Pram frowned a little and scooted closer to me. Her tail moving around my back, avoiding my own but still encircling me.


    My heart was beating so fast and loud that I was surprised she couldn¡¯t hear it. Her hand was ced on the bed, just barely touching mine. Being this close to her, I could smell the scent of nature and, if I had to describe it, life. I was still finding it hard to put words to voice when Pram moved her hand and brushed my hair out of my face.


    ¡°While it¡¯s cute in its own way, you look much prettier when I can see your face, ya know.¡± (Pram)


    As she moved my hair, her fingers brushed my cheek, and it sent an electric shock through my whole body. Now that I was sitting next to her, I could make out all the small details of her face. Her grey eyes with that always sleepy look, the mouth in an ever-gentle smile, her nose, hair, fluffy ears. She was driving me insane.


    Not knowing at all what to say, I just acted. I moved and grabbed Pram by the shoulders and brought my lips to hers. Her eyes went wide for a second before she realized what was happening and, wrapping her arms around my neck, she reciprocated the kiss. I felt her tail move and wrap around my waist, pulling me closer to her.


    It was like time stopped for me as we stayed like this. All I could focus on was Pram and the feeling of her lips on mine. I also noticed that, much less than with Keeno, the temperature in the room grew warmer. We stayed like this for several minutes before separating, our lips still connected by a silver string.


    ¡°Oh my, that was quite magical.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It was. But will you ept my feelings?¡± (Freya)


    Pram still had her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled me closer. She stopped just short of kissing me, but we were close enough for our foreheads to touch.


    ¡°Silly, I would have stopped kissing you immediately if I didn¡¯t ept them. Im just d I didn¡¯t have to make the final push to make you realize your feelings.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, it was obvious?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°To everyone but you.¡± (Pram)


    I felt my face flush even more, eliciting augh from Pram.


    ¡°Hehe. You¡¯re simply too cute, Freya. It¡¯s been driving me crazy waiting for you to finally figure it out. I mean, I¡¯ve given you so many opportunities to make a move, I thought I was going to have to start resorting to drastic measures.¡± (Pram)


    I was about to say something when Pram sealed my mouth with another kiss. This onested for just a second, but that second was wonderful.


    ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for words, let me kiss you a little longer before Keeno gets back. She already knows that it¡¯s probably gotten to this point, but we need to make sure she doesn¡¯t catch us or else we¡¯ll be teased to no end.¡± (Pram)


    I just nodded my head before our lips met once more.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ABOUT TIME!


    Atmos: How sweet.


    Tamamo: Easily flustered people are cute.


    Keeno: Hehehehe.


    Amaterasu: Hehehehehe.


    Don¡¯t tease them too much just yet.


    Order: It¡¯s more effective when done at the right time.


    Keeno and Amaterasu: Heard loud and clear.

 Chapter 83- Keeno鈥檚 Side

    Chapter 83- Keeno¡¯s Side


    [Keeno POV]


    Leaving Pram and Freya alone to progress their rtionship, me, Huginn, and Muninn left the inn. Walking down the street while heading for the Guild, I saw many people going back and forth in the direction of the gate. Among them were some adventurers and knights, but not so many that it matched the number from the defense battle. The crowd was actually quiterge, but I wasn¡¯t hindered since people would make way for me like Moses and the Red Sea.


    ¡®Ya know you two, one of these days, I hope people don¡¯t do this when they see meing. I mean, I¡¯m only now realizing that this happens less when Pram and Freya are around. It¡¯s honestly a bit upsetting.¡¯


    The two birds hanging out in my tails moved around and started to gently pat me with their wings. It was a funny sight. I could also tell that Ama wanted to say something, but the multitude of angels around made it impossible.


    ¡®I wonder if burning their halos off will do something?¡¯


    I looked the nearest angel in the eyes, and he flinched back and ran away down an alley. I rolled my eyes and continued on my way. With what people were doing, making it to the Guild was quite easy. When I opened the heavy doors and stepped inside, it was like what the inside of an ant nest looked like. People were running around here and there, some carrying stacks of paper, others bags of things, more with boxes. Weaving my way through all these people, I made it to the stairs that led to the adventurer hall. Once there, I went to an open counter with a receptionist. Ignoring the slight flinch form her, I asked what I needed to.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Okami, I was here for the defense battle a few days ago. Is there anything that I need to do to help or someone I need to talk to, to find out any more?¡±


    ¡°O-Okami? The Guild Master gave instructions to us that when you showed up, to bring you to him. He has things he needs to talk to you about. P-please follow me.¡±


    The receptionist moved from behind the counter and started walking toward a hallway near the reception desk. I followed behind her down the hallway until we got to a heavy looking wooden door. She hesitantly knocked on it before the deep voice of that dark elf came from the other side, telling us to enter. The receptionist opened the door and we both went inside. After bowing a little, she scurried back out and the door shut behind me with a loud thunk. Sitting behind a desk that was way too small for him was the same dark elf. He was holding a pen looking thing and writing down something on a piece of paper before moving it to the top of a pile. He then looked up at me.


    ¡°Miss Okami, correct?¡±


    I nodded my head and sat down in a chair when he motioned to it. We sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke.


    ¡°I guess introductions are in order. My name is Heim, the Guild Master for the adventurers here in this city.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°I am Okami, adventurer from Solheim.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nice to personally meet you, Miss Okami.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°The feeling is mutual, Sir Heim.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Drop the Sir, I¡¯m not a knight.¡± (Heim)


    I nodded my head, and he smiled a bit. He rxed in his chair a bit and closed his eyes.


    ¡°First, I¡¯d like to thank you and by extension your party for your help in the defense of the city. While normally this would go unsaid and assumed by people that participated in it, you managed to almost single-handedly defend a portion of the wall by yourself, your friend Freya and you yourself were invaluable in the Wyrm wave, and your friend Pram was one of the best healers here. For all of this, the Guild wants to reward you three with an increased reward. Also, since you are the group that reported the Horde in the first ce, you¡¯ll be granted the rest of thepensation for that. Also, your aplishments have earned you and your party members titles.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°¡­I¡­I don¡¯t really know what to say to this. I¡¯m thankful for it all, yes, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m supposed to say something, or just ept it and move on.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Personally, I¡¯d just ept it and move on. No reason to not ept it after all.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°That¡¯s a fair assessment.¡± (Keeno)


    The Guild Master then ced tworge sacks of money on the desk, and I picked them up and stored them away.


    ¡°Now, onto the titles, they are still being discussed, but you and your party will be notified once they are decided on. Look forward to receiving them since they wille with a rank up in the Guild.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°Oh, now that is some pleasant news. Does this mean we¡¯ll gain ess to the portal room?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t use it now, it¡¯s just not marily justifiable, but yes, you will get a discount on one use of it. Why, is there somewhere you want to go?¡± (Heim)


    ¡°Not at the moment, though I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be using it to go to Solheim again at some point. But that¡¯s beside the point.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Ah, there was another thing I wanted to ask you. It¡¯s regarding the part ofnd where you fought.¡± (Heim)


    I stiffened up a little at his words.


    ¡°Hehehe. Don¡¯t worry, you aren¡¯t in trouble about that, it¡¯s just we don¡¯t know what to do with it. Nobody can go into that area without endangering their life, but we need to do something about it, or it will impact the integrity of the wall. Since it was an affect of one of your spells, we figured you¡¯d know if there was something that can be done about it.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m no Life mage or someone with much agricultural experience, but I have it on good Authority that it can be used for good fertilizer for crops. Other than that, maybe someone in a cksmithing profession can use it. What for, I have no clue, but if they can make use of it, then more power to them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll let those in the agricultural branch of the Guild know. Now, that¡¯s all the business I had that needed your presence. Like I said earlier, we¡¯ll notify you and your party members when your titles are decided on, so please remain in the city until then¡­Oh, and this is a personal question, but do you currently have a destination in mind?¡± (Heim)


    ¡°We do.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah¡­What a shame. I was going to ask you if you would be willing to make this city your permanent residence, but it seems that I will be denied that. Oh well, it¡¯s not unexpected.¡± (Heim)


    ¡°While it is a nice thought, we do have our own goal we¡¯re trying to achieve, so even if we didn¡¯t have a destination in mind, I¡¯d have to decline, though I am ttered by the offer and whatever possible benefits it would bring us.¡± (Keeno)


    I then stood up from the chair and turned to the door.


    ¡°Again, it was nice to meet you, Miss Okami. I look forward to hearing what you and your party will aplish in the future.¡± (Heim)


    I nodded in his direction before leaving the room. When I was out in the hallway again, Ama finally spoke.


    {Keeno, stay right here for a bit. There aren¡¯t any angels around here, so I can talk to you.}


    ¡®Well, that¡¯s good. By the way, will be burning their halos off do anything?¡¯


    {Unfortunately not. But it is a funny thing to think about. It¡¯d show them to stop unintentionally eavesdropping on any telepathic conversations.}


    ¡®¡­Let¡¯s save this n for ater date.¡¯


    {Agreed. Now, head back to the other two, if you hurry, we may get some teasing material.}


    ¡®Oh, we have a ton of it, but more never hurt.¡¯


    I started moving. When I left the Guild building, once again the crowd of moving people parted before me, and I quickly made my way back to the inn. By the time I made it back, it was around noon. I made my way up the stairs and when I got to the door to our room, I calmed my breathing down and attempted to be as quiet as I could.


    I slowly put the key into the door and turned it. When the lock clicked, my ears twitched since it felt extremely loud, though in reality it wasn¡¯t. I slowly pushed open the door and crept into the room. It was dark with the only lighting in from the window near the beds. Two of them were empty while the third one had two people lying on it entangled in each other¡¯s arms. I moved to get a closer look. While both were dressed and there were no signs of¡­extracurricr activities, their faces were so close together that it didn¡¯t take a genius to know that they had been kissing. Pram also had her tail wrapped around one of Freya¡¯s arm while Freya had her free arm wrapped around Pram¡¯s waist. Pram, on the other hand, had both of her arms wrapped around Freya¡¯s neck.


    {Well, this is cute.}


    ¡®I agree. And seeing as things obviously went well, I think I¡¯ll hold off from waking them up and just leave them be.¡¯


    I turned around and left the room again. After locking it again, I went down the stairs.


    ¡®Well, I¡¯m going to eat something. Mind chatting with me, Ama?¡¯


    {I¡¯d love to. I haven¡¯t gotten to do that enough today, after all.}


    ¡®Hehehe.¡¯


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: THE SWEETNESS OF THOSE TWO!


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Luna, we already sleep like that all the time.


    Luna: I know, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t want to be wrapped up in your arms like that right now.


    Tamamo: Then what are you doing just sitting there?


    Luna: *Hops right into Tamamo¡¯s arms* Fufufufufufu.


    Tamamo: Better?


    Luna: Much.


    Atmos: Get a room, you two.


    Luna and Tamamo: We willter.

 Chapter 84- Keeno Meets the Twins

    Chapter 84- Keeno Meets the Twins


    [Keeno POV]


    After eating I spent the rest of the day going here and there helping out with things the Guild needed since I was bored. When I got back in the evening, Pram and Freya were awake and chatting happily with one another. Freya especially seemed overjoyed, if her tail waving around was anything to go by. After some light teasing, I exined the things the Guild Master told me earlier and that we¡¯ll be staying here for a bit more before moving on.


    ¡°Why do I feel both honored and scared of getting a title?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Because titles like that have a habit of forcing a certain kind of image on you.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And there is a chance that it will be something cringy.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, there have been uncountable numbers of cringy titles in the past. Even Fia didn¡¯t like hers in the beginning, though she¡¯s since gotten used to it.}


    ¡°That¡¯s not easing my nerves about it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°As someone who had a title before, it¡¯s not too bad. Once you hear people call you by the title enough, that is.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And besides, you technically already have one, at least back home, Miss Duchess of Ice.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Says you, Miss Snowfire Princess.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Pfft.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°See, now Freya¡¯sughing at us.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Wait, before that, what are those titles?¡± (Freya)


    Freya had fallen backwards on the bed she wasying on trying to hold in herughter at the titles Pram and I had gotten back home.


    ¡°Well, back in Solheim, when we were little, Keeno had a reputation for having an attitude of a cold princess to everyone but the people closest to her, and with the heat she naturally produces, the adventurers and eventually others in the city started calling her that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And since Pram and I were nearly inseparable when we were little, she got her title when she tried to mimic me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hahahahahahahahahaha¡­I mean, it fits¡­haha¡­when you take into ount of the way you¡­haha¡­act in public, Keeno, but I can¡¯t see Pram acting that way.¡± (Freya)


    While Freya continued to try and stopughing, Pram pouted and turned away from her with a hmph. This prompted Freya to immediately stopughing and try to get Pram to forgive her, which then turned into flirting.


    ¡°¡­Ya know, Ama, it feels like they¡¯ve been together a lot longer than a few hours.¡± (Keeno)


    {I agree¡­are we going to let them outdo us in flirting?}


    ¡°Never.¡± (Keeno)


    The evening turned to night, and by the time midnight rolled around, all of us had fallen asleep. The next time I woke up, I wasying on some warm sand with my head on an amazing pillow and staring up at two mounds that obstructed a familiar face.


    ¡°Well, this is a nice way to wake up.¡±


    {It is, isn¡¯t it? Makes me wonder what it feels like.}


    ¡°Well, seeing as there is no current way for the reverse to happen just yet, I¡¯ll let you fantasize about it.¡±


    {Now, now, I wouldn¡¯t say there is no way for it to happen. Though I feel that it would take away some of the time we get to spend together if I just slept a little.}


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t enjoy that. It would be a chance for me to see your cute sleeping face, after all.¡±


    {And how do you know my face is cute when I sleep?}


    ¡°I just figured, if you are already so insanely beautiful while awake, then you¡¯d look insanely cute while asleep. It¡¯s perfect logic.¡±


    {It¡¯s definitely logic I can get behind.}


    I was about to sit up when Ama ced a hand on my shoulder to keep meying there. Then, with her free hand, she started to gently rub one of my ears. The ticklish, and slightly stimting feeling caused shivers to run through my entire body.


    ¡°Ama.¡±


    {Shhh. Keeno, just enjoy the feeling for the moment. We will have guests today after all and I want to pamper you before they show up.}


    ¡°Fine¡­but I get to do the same to youter¡­you know I don¡¯t do well¡­when you start something and then stop halfway.¡±


    {I know that very well. And what, may I ask, will you do to me?}


    ¡°This.¡±


    I moved one of my tails and used the tip of it to tickly Ama¡¯s foot. The sudden feeling caused her to squirm a little and allowed me to sit up. I quickly positioned myself in such a way that now, Ama¡¯s head was in myp. I then brought my hands to her ears and gently started to rub them.


    {Awawawawa.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    Ama continued to melt at my touch when a coughing sound came from somewhere. I turned my head to see two wolfgirls looking at us with their faces blushing a deep red. In front of the taller one was Red with hands covering her eyes.


    ¡°Well, this is awkward.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ah! How long have you three been there!?}


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Moco)


    ¡°About the time Miss Keeno there got your head in herp.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Can Red¡¯s¡­eyes be uncovered now?¡± (Red)


    ¡°Not yet.¡± (Fu)


    Ama quickly sat up, her face also blushing a deep crimson. It was such a rare sight to see her this embarrassed, so I made sure to sear the image into my mind. After doing that, I turned back to our guests.


    ¡°Nice to meet you both. I am Keeno Okami, Fated One of Amaterasu Okami and future(?) Goddess of the Blue Sun, Death, and Runes, though Runes are still a work in progress.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why was future a question?¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I can¡¯t really decide if I can call myself a goddess yet or not. I mean, I have the Authorities, but they are basically stillpletely sealed, with only a small amount of power that is usable. So, until someone can definitively tell me that I am or am not currently a goddess, it¡¯s a thing I¡¯ll say sometimes, and not at others.¡± (Keeno)


    The twin goddesses nodded their heads in sync in understanding.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice to finally meet you in person, Miss Keeno. I¡¯m Fu!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°And I¡¯m Moco!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡°And we¡¯re the twin Goddesses of Nature, War, Home, and Family!¡±¡± (Both)


    They introduced themselves in such a way that it was like they choreographed it beforehand, but it was endearing. At this point, Red¡¯s eyes were also uncovered, and she moved over towards me and sat down in myp. I unconsciously moved my hand and stared to pat her head.


    ¡°Nn¡­Pats are good.¡± (Red)


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again too, Red. Have you been doing well? Have you been getting enough to eat? Have you gotten hurt at all? Do I need to drop everything ande burn Vanir to the ground?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Everything¡­is fine¡­Red has¡­been eating well¡­and mom¡­and aunty¡­have made sure to take care¡­of Red¡¯s¡­wellbeing.¡± (Red)


    I looked up at the two goddesses and gave them a thumbs up. They both smiled while the shorter of the two had tears in the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°Ah! It makes me so emotional when I hear Red call me mom!¡± (Moco)


    Moco then jumped forward and started hugging Red. This resulted in all three of us getting tangled up in a pile.


    ¡°*Sigh* Moco, while I get that you are happy, you should calm down a little.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Uuuuuuuu. But Fu, aren¡¯t you also justpletely enamored at being called Aunty?¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I am, but I also know that I shouldn¡¯t act like that until our second meeting with Amaterasu¡¯s Fated One and Red¡¯s proimed big sister. Plus, watch where your hands are, because Amaterasu is ring at you, and it¡¯s really scary.¡± (Fu)


    Moco looked at where her hands were, and they were dangerously close to my ears. She then nced over at Ama who was staring at the pile of fluff, and she went pale. She hopped up and behind her twin sister so fast it was almost like she teleported.


    ¡°I¡¯msosorryIdidn¡¯tmeanitandInevertouchedherearspleaseforgiveme.¡± (Moco)


    {You¡¯re fine, Moco, just don¡¯t do it again. Keeno¡¯s ears are mine and mine alone.}


    ¡°Heard loud and clear. Next time my emotions get the best of me, I will make sure Miss Keeno in nowhere near me!¡± (Moco)


    {Good.}


    ¡°Hehe. I like how you don¡¯t deny that it will happen again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural. I mean, do you see how adorable Red is? As her mother, I must show her all the affection she needs and deserves, and sometimes I go a bit overboard, but I can¡¯t help it.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°And I¡¯m much the same, I just know when to hold it back a bit more.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Aunty prefers¡­to spoil Red¡­with treats¡­instead of pats.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Yup, yup.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Good. You deserve it, Red.¡± (Keeno)


    Fu and Moco then sat down across from me, Ama, and Red and a pic nket appeared underneath us. Fu then pulled out a basket and started to pull out food and even some drinks from it.


    ¡°Seeing as this meeting will take a while, I figured we¡¯d all like something to eat, so I whipped up some stuff earlier. Please enjoy!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°And I helped!¡± (Moco)


    We all grabbed some stuff to eat and dug in. The food was good, though just a bit too tough or chewy for my tastes. I got to know the twins a bit more during this time, though most of it was spent with all of us spoiling Red. Before long, I noticed that the suns were about to start setting. Red had fallen asleep with her head lying on Moco¡¯sp while Fu was gently brushing her hair with her fingers. We were all looking at the sky that was turning a pretty pink and orange color on the horizon.


    ¡°This was fun, but I think it¡¯s time for us to go.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°I agree. Once again, it was nice to meet you, Keeno. I look forward to the next time we get to meet.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°The feeling is mutual. Also, please continue to take good care of Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Of that, you need not worry. We will always take care of her, you have our word on that.¡±¡± (Both)


    They then stood up and disappeared in a sh of faint light along with Red. Now, it was just me and Ama. I scooted over and leaned my head on her shoulder as we continued to look into the horizon.


    ¡°Hey Ama.¡±


    {Yes Keeno?}


    ¡°While we didn¡¯t get to be alone for the day today, I had a lot of fun.¡±


    {I did as well.}


    ¡°While I don¡¯t think we should make a habit of it, I think we need to do this again one day. Only next time, we should get Fia here as well.¡±


    {I agree. It¡¯s been a long time since it was just the three of us, so a reunion of sorts would be nice. Of course, that will have to wait for after next month since we have a special date that time.}


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    I closed my eyes as I continued to rest my head on Ama¡¯s shoulder. The gentle sound of the waves breaking against the shore and the pleasant breeze that blew through the area, making everything extremely peaceful.


    ¡°I feel like this is something I or both of us say every time, but it¡¯s moments like this that I wish wouldst forever. I know they will in time, but I¡¯m impatient.¡±


    Ama didn¡¯t say anything and just wrapped her arm around me and pulled my head to her chest in a hug. I kept my eyes closed and just listened to her heartbeat. She then started to hum a song I¡¯ve never heard. It was an enchanting melody that made me feel a sense of tranquility that I¡¯ve never felt before. We sat there while Ama hummed her song to me and the sea in front of us for several minutes before it came to an end.


    {Keeno, I know this may seem out of nowhere, but I feel like I should have said this a long time ago.}


    I opened my eyes and moved so we were looking at each other. She grabbed my shoulders and ced her head against mine.


    {Entrust all your anxieties, doubts, and fears to me, and focus your mind only on moving forward without hesitation. Come, let me be your bedrock, your foundation. My beloved Keeno, nothing in existence shall ever tear you from me. I am yours.}


    She then moved even closer to me until our lips met. We both closed our eyes and just enjoyed the moment. When we broke apart and opened our eyes, we both smiled at each other.


    ¡°Amaterasu. You are my everything. My beacon in the night, the warmth of my soul, the overflowing radiance of my world. Nothing will ever stop me from loving you and everything you stand for. As long I have you, I can enjoy my life to the fullest. Even just saying your name gives me strength, and fills me with the passion of an infinite number of suns. I¡¯ve long entrusted you with my everything, and I hope that you do the same with me, from now unto eternity.¡±


    We smiled at each other even more deeply than before and wrapped our arms around each other. Even our tails intertwined. While we didn¡¯t kiss this time, we both knew that it wasn¡¯t necessary since just this warm embrace was enough to convey any feelings, both already said and the ones we couldn¡¯t possibly describe in words. It was in this warmth that we both eventually fell asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I¡¯m so confused.


    Order: About what?


    Luna: There at the end, how did them sitting on the beach turn into basically stating marriage vows? Don¡¯t get me wrong, me and Tamamo have done the same thing several times, but seeing it happen to other people just feels¡­off.


    Well, it¡¯s just a mood thing really. In this instance, Amaterasu was in the mood to reaffirm her feelings for Keeno since they didn¡¯t really get much alone time this time. And, following along with the same mood, Keeno did the same.


    Order: Seeing as you said that this happens with you and Tamamo, it doesn¡¯t make sense that it would be confusing to you.


    Luna: Hmmm. Maybe I¡¯m just in the mood to do the same thing, but with Tamamo not being here at the moment, I¡¯m frustrated?


    Probably.


    Order: It¡¯s very likely the case.


    Luna: In any case, that was very heartwarming.


    Payto and Order: Agreed.

 Chapter 85- New Titles

    Chapter 85- New Titles


    [Keeno POV]


    Two days after the Sr Convergence, the three of us were approached by someone from the Guild. We were asked toe by there at some point today before the messenger turned and left.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m nervous now.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, Pram, I¡¯m sure the title you get will be a good one.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m getting a feeling that they won¡¯t be super cringy and something that we¡¯ll actuallye to like rather quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    Since we were still eating our breakfast, we finished up there before making our way to the Guild. There weren¡¯t a lot of people in the street now that most of the Horde aftermath was dealt with, so we didn¡¯t have any trouble getting to the Guild. However, we did run into a few people who, upon seeing me, smiled and waved to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s just like back home, eh?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep. Though I still get a few uneasy looks or people outright avoiding me or being slightly hostile.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°While I know that you aren¡¯t a bad person, even I¡¯m still getting used to you, you know. Your public appearance is very unapproachable and the permanent re you have makes it feel like you are looking down on everything. It¡¯s especially scary at night since they glow.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Now Freya, that¡¯s not nice. I personally think Okami looks cute like that. It makes it feel like she¡¯ll keep you safe and it scares off any nasty bugs that want to cling to you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram, that¡¯s not thepliment you think it is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Really?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. While I think it worked out, especially now, but there were quite a few people back home that fell for you but never approached because they were afraid of me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then I guess I should thank you for being there.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Your thanks are graciously epted. And for the record, I didn¡¯t like any of the ones that fell for Pram back home anyway. They only ever wanted to have Pram for the connection to her family or because she is pretty, not for her.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Really? How¡¯d you figure that out?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Your brother. While I was the one that protected you personally, he was the one that handled the physical side of things. Did you never wonder why he was the one to handle pretty much all the male patients at the clinic?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I just thought it had something to do with not having ady of marriageable age interacting with men that would be in various upromising states.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, this is some of that childish purity Pram has¡­it¡¯s charming.¡± (Freya)


    Freya¡¯s words caused Pram to smile and move closer to her, grabbing her arm in the process. This, in turn, made Freya start blushing.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    We made it to the Guild before the two lost themselvespletely to their flirting. We quickly made our way inside and to the adventurer floor. As we did this, a few people that saw us started to p or congratte us on earning a title. This slowed us down a little when a few people came up to us to talk, but they were quickly pulled away by other Guild staff or their party members. This happened several times until we finally made it to the adventurer floor proper. There, we saw the Guild Master speaking with some staff while a group of adventurers was standing around them while a bigger group was standing off to the side of the room looking at the smaller group with proud expressions.


    When one of the staff noticed us arrive, they told the Guild Master, and he turned in our direction. He waved us over to the smaller group of people and, seeing no reason to ignore him, we moved to where we were told to.


    ¡°Now, seeing as everyone is now present, we can get to the bequeathing ceremony.¡± (Heim)


    The Guild staff that were near the Guild Master moved to the area with the counter and grabbed some things from there before moving back to the Guild Master. He then turned to the group we were in.


    ¡°All of you here in this group have earned titles due to your efforts in the defense of the city during the monster horde. When I call your name,e up to me and I will give you your new Guild Card with your new title.¡± (Heim)


    This started a lengthy process of Guild Master Heim calling an adventurer¡¯s name and handing over a new Guild Card. Cheers would erupt from therge group at the other side of the room and only when they quieted down did the Guild Master call the next name. This caused all of this to take way longer than it should have, but seeing as we didn¡¯t have anything better to do today, we didn¡¯t mind it. In fact, the onlyint I had so far was that there were too many angels here, so any and allmentary Ama might have provided was kept solely with her. The hours passed by until we were thest three to be called.


    ¡°Now, for the titles that all of you have probably been waiting for. These three were invaluable in the defense of the city both on the battlefield and off it for healing those injured. The first title I will present is to Miss Pram.¡± (Heim)


    Pram stepped forward and the Guild Master handed over the card.


    ¡°From today onward, Miss Pram here will be known by the title Saintess of Life.¡± (Heim)


    Pram epted the card and thanked the Guild Master before moving back next to us. The cheersing from everyone in the room were louder than previous times, and at least one person called out that they loved Pram, earning whoever said that a viscous re from Freya. The re only stopped when Freya was called up.


    ¡°Miss Freya here will now be known as Freya the Dawnbreaker.¡± (Heim)


    Freya¡¯s new card was handed over to her and she curtly thanked the Guild Master beforeing back and standing a little closer to Pram. I did notice that she had a small smile on her face, but I couldn¡¯t tell if the reason was Pram or something else.


    ¡°Finally, Miss Okami.¡± (Heim)


    When my name was called, I made my way over to Heim. On my way to him, I nced at the group that¡¯s been watching over everything to see them watching with bated breath. When a few of them met my eyes, they flinched, but remained mostly excited to find out my title. When I reached the spot in front of Heim, he smiled at me and picked up the card being held by one of the Guild staff.


    ¡°From today onward, Miss Okami shall be known as Okami the Cerulean Princess.¡± (Heim)


    My ear twitched at the title I got, but seeing as it was something already decided, I just smiled and thanked the Guild Master after epting my new card. When I turned to head back to where Pram and Freya were standing, I saw that several from the cheering group were saluting me like some kind of knights. My ear twitched again and I just silently stood next to my friends.


    ¡°Hehe. Now, let¡¯s wee our newly titledrades like adventurers!¡± (Heim)


    The Guild Master pped his hands and the Guild staff behind him and several homunculi started rushing around setting up tables and piling on food and drinks on top of them.


    ¡°Good.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh no.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What? What¡¯s, oh no?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°She¡¯s somewhat upset and she¡¯s definitely going to drink. We better be prepared to get her out of here as fast as possible if she gets too drunk. Else we may be having to run from this city as fugitives whomit arson.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh no.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Aside from that one and only time I¡¯ve ever gotten drunk, Pram, I¡¯m not that bad. And besides, I wasn¡¯t nning on drinking that much, just enough to speed along the process of epting that I¡¯ve acquired another title with Princess in it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If you say so, but I¡¯m still going to keep an eye on you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Fine by me.¡± (Keeno)


    For the next while, we milled about the party while drinking, eating, and just generally having a decent time.


    Chaos Realm:


    Amaterasu: I don¡¯t get why she¡¯s upset about her title.


    I think it has something to do with her not liking being called a princess. Probably brings up bad memories.


    Amaterasu: I mean, I get that much, but I also think that the meaning is different and that this particr one shouldn¡¯t carry a negative feeling with it.


    Order: Hmm. I think this is one of those things we just don¡¯t really get since we¡¯re gods.


    I agree with Order.


    Amaterasu: Hmm. I¡¯ll ask her about it when I can. If only those annoying angels weren¡¯t there to get in the way.


    Weren¡¯t you working on a spell to get around their super telepathy interception ability?


    Amaterasu: Yeah, but I¡¯m stuck. At the moment, if I use it, any angels¡¯ heads will explode. I¡¯m trying to avoid that.


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Amaterasu: Don¡¯t look at me like that, I didn¡¯t test this on anyone, I just know that¡¯s what will happen if I use it.


    Then exin the current progress with the spell and maybe we can help you.


    Amaterasu: While I appreciate the thought, I want to do this myself. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯vee up with some new magic, and I want to get back my proficiency before Keeno makes the Authority of Runes.


    nning some coboration projects?


    Amaterasu: Yep.


    Order: Well, we wish you luck then.


    Amaterasu: Thanks.

 Chapter 86- Birding Around

    Chapter 86- Birding Around


    [Keeno POV]


    The day after we received our titles, we decided it was time to move on. We packed up our things and left the city just as the suns were rising into the sky, their blue and orange radiance painting the horizon and early morning sky in a myriad of light but vibrant colors. The air was cool and crisp and there was a light breeze blowing.


    ¡°Ah. I love mornings like this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I agree. I wouldn¡¯t mind it being a bit colder, but it¡¯s still quite nice.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. Makes me want to sit in afy chair and sip on some coffee while watching the suns rise.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And now I want coffee.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t get why you like that stuff. I mean, unless you fill it with sugar and milk, it¡¯s way to bitter.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram, you say that like that isn¡¯t exactly how I like it. I hate bitter stuff, so making it like that is the best. And I like it because it makes me feel good.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, you¡¯re one of those people.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I am and I¡¯m proud of it. I won¡¯t take any criticism on it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fair enough. And for the record, even I don¡¯t like coffee as it is, it does need something to bnce out the bitterness. I¡¯m a bit fan of these little cracker sticks dipped in chocte.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Those sound nice. If we ever find any, I¡¯ll have to try them.¡± (Pram)


    Freya¡¯s ear twitched and her cheeks turned a little red, showing that she had an idea, but whatever it was, she didn¡¯t share it.


    ¡°Y-yeah, if we find some somewhere.¡± (Freya)


    It was at this point that Huginn and Muninn did something they hadn¡¯t done in a long time. They pped out of my tails andnded on my shoulders.


    ¡°Oh? You two feel like riding here today?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caw, caw.¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s understandable, you two.}


    ¡°Pram¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, Freya, I know.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Speaking of¡­How is your progress in understanding them, Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s progressing slowly, I think. I kind of got the feeling they said something about doing something different, but that¡¯s about it, though it was mostly from the context of what you said.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Close. They said they wanted to have a change of pace and sit on my shoulders for a while. Apparently, my tails have been swaying about too much for them to befortable since I got the second one.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You got all of that from just those short bird noises?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yep. Birdnguage is way moreplex than ours. Short noises like that convey a ton of meanings.¡± (Keeno)


    {And on this topic, speaking to things like trees is also different. They take a long, LONG time to say anything.}


    ¡°Wait, even trees speak?¡± (Keeno)


    {Specific ones, yes.}


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    {Hey! Don¡¯t sass me bird!}


    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Wait, you understood that Pram?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No, but Muninn is being funny.¡± (Pram)


    I looked at Munin and saw it was holding its wings up while bobbing its head in a funny way.


    {¡­When I see the two of you in person, I¡¯m going to roast you.}


    ¡°Caw, caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caw, caw, cacaw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn. I won¡¯t defend you two if you keep that up. And Huginn, remember what happenedst time you really pissed someone off. If you forgot, you almost froze to death.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Hmm. Now that I think about it, I never asked where you met these two.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I hatched them. At the start when they were just eggs, Fia gave them to me in order to learn how to control my heat. Since I didn¡¯t want to turn them into breakfast, I did my best and managed to incubate them properly, and once they hatched, I¡¯ve taken care of them since then.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. So, they aren¡¯t special? I mean, I¡¯ve seen steelfeather ravens before, but none have ever been as big or as smart as these two. Don¡¯t get me wrong, steelfeather ravens are smart, but these two are smarter.¡± (Freya)


    {I actually have a theory about that, but to fully confirm it, I¡¯d need to see them in person. Of course, only after I bake them slightly in butter.}


    ¡°Ama, that¡¯s enough. While I do agree that what they said was mean, I want to keep them uncooked.¡± (Keeno)


    {Fine. But I¡¯ll only concede this one time. Next time it¡¯s cooked bird time.}


    ¡°Hear that, you two, this was yourst chance.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Caw.¡±¡± (Both)


    We continued on. After a while Huginn and Muninn must have gotten bored riding on my shoulders, so they took off to the sky. I looked up as we went and the two were flying around, doing spirals and loops in the air.


    ¡°Makes me wonder what it¡¯s like to fly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it seems like fun.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It probably feels freeing.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll ever grow big enough for us to ride on them?¡± (Keeno)


    {I highly doubt it. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to grow any bigger.}


    ¡°Oh well.¡± (Keeno)


    A little while after Huginn and Muninn started to fly, something happened. From farther above them, some big shadow came flying down at high speeds. The two dodged it and the object flipped around. When it stopped moving enough for me to make out what it was, I saw a bird bigger than the twobined with brown feathers, gleaming, steel-colored talons, and a razor-sharp beak. Its golden eyes looking at Huginn and Muninn hungrily.


    Huginn and Muninn looked down at the eagle looking bird with contempt as it regained its bnce in the air. Not letting it fully recover, Huginn moved first. It dove down and passed by the eagle looking bird. Huginn¡¯s feathers glinted in the light and a trail of blood was left in the air where Huginn passed by. Muninn moved next and did the same thing only on the other side of the opposing bird.


    They continued to fly past the bigger bird at high speed, inflicting small, but deep wounds on it until it could no longer maintain flight. It started to tumble down to the ground, but my two feathered friends didn¡¯t let up. Muninn flew down to the bird and grabbed its talons with its own and, using its momentum, flipped it up into the sky where Huginn flew circled around it, cutting it up even more.


    ¡°Caw, cacaw, caw, CAW!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What did they say?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I will not repeat those words, they will taint your soul.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    {Keeno, we need to speak with Fia. She¡¯s the only one who could have taught those two words like that.}


    ¡°Words will be had.¡± (Keeno)


    Once the two were done mocking their ¡®opponent¡¯ they finally let it fall to the ground in a bloody heap of feathers. The two the spiraled around in the air, flinging blood everywhere until they were satisfied beforeing andnding back on my shoulders.


    ¡°Done having fun?¡± (Keeno)


    The two bobbed their heads in confirmation before I stored the big bird in my ring to cook forter before we resumed on our way.


    Chaos Realm:


    Astrea: Papa, what did those birds mean?


    ¡­


    Order: We¡¯re going to have words with Fiametta.


    Astrea, never, EVER repeat those words, unless it¡¯s to an absolute mongrel.


    Order: NO! Not even then! You say worse in that instance.


    Astrea: Oki!

 Chapter 87- Travel Montage Time!

    Chapter 87- Travel Montage Time!


    [Keeno POV]


    Three weeks since we set out from thest city we reached the first city I saw after getting out of Falheim. We stayed there a few days to rest and resupply before moving onto getting to Falheim. We were now standing at the edge of the No-man¡¯snd. Starring at the ce that acted like a corridor to the ce I hate was making many feelings I didn¡¯t realize I still held for the cee to the surface.


    ¡°Keeno, calm down.¡± (Pram)


    {Please Keeno, save your anger for those that deserve it.}


    I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we have a long way to go.¡± (Keeno)


    We started to move once more, taking my first steps into no-man¡¯snd for a second time.


    ¡°So, you were telling the truth about being from Falheim.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m from Solheim, Falheim is just where I was born. Aside from two,, I have no love for the country or its people.¡± (Keeno)


    My voice contained more venom than I meant it to and Freya flinched back from my words.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I get it.¡± (Freya)


    Another week passed after we entered the no-man¡¯snd with very little happening.


    ¡°It¡¯s just as boring and empty as I remember it.¡± (Keeno)


    We were sitting at a campfire while I cooked up some bird meat Huginn and Muninn brought us. They had been very proactive in fighting other birds recently and theirnguage has been getting fowler every time they bring one down.


    ¡°Hey Ama, do they have something to prove, or are they just bored as well?¡± (Keeno)


    {Probably just bored.}


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, how did you manage your boredom the first time you came through this way?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Mostly learning stuff from Fia and Ama. I was five the first time I went this way, so I had a lot of stuff to ask and talk about.¡± (Keeno)


    {Those were surprisingly fun days for me, though I guess it¡¯s because I was getting to spend my time talking to Keeno after years of it being able to.}


    ¡°That makes it sound like it¡¯s boring to talk to me now.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m insulted you even thought of that.}


    ¡°Well, then, what are you going to do to make me apologize for that insult?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmmm¡­Heh. Many, many things.}


    ¡°Then I shall do them once we see each other again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t stare at me like that, don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know you two sneakily kiss when you think I¡¯m asleep.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    Seeing the two blush like that was really good for my mental health. I spent a few more minutes yfully teasing the two before handing out our supper. After a decent meal, we decided on a watch and went to bed for the night. After another week, we were around the middle of the no-man¡¯snd. We were passing through a forest of dead trees that would be a star actor in a Halloween movie. It wasplete with trees with branches that looked like hands, owl-like birds that shrieked at night, random shes of lightning and roaring of thunder even though there was no rain, the works. It was currently early evening, the suns setting, making the trees cast long, creepy shadows on the ground.


    ¡°A-are we sure we need to go through here?¡± (Pram)


    {It¡¯s the fastest way to your destination.}


    ¡°I get that, but is this REALLY the best route?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Oh yeah, I forgot you aren¡¯t good with these kinds of things. Sorry Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Wait, what?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Pram isn¡¯t good with things that can be considered ¡®scary.¡¯ Ask her for the reasons though.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How is¡­I mean¡­what?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not good with spooky ces. I can handle things that would be considered scary like undead and their like since I can actually do something about them, but ces with spooky atmospheres and stuff like scary stories I can¡¯t handle.¡± (Pram)


    Just then another random roar of thunder sounded making Pram jump up. Freya caught her in a princess carry and Pram wrapped her tail around Freya¡¯s waist while she buried her head in the crook of Freya¡¯s neck.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    I smiled a little and gave Freya a small thumbs up before we continued on a little further.


    ¡®Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {This IS the quickest route, but I thought I¡¯d also at least get Pram and Freya to have some intimate moments like this since, once you reach Falheim, they won¡¯t be able to really, truly get close like this for a while. And small bits of magic like this don¡¯t count as me interfering too much, so I¡¯ve been helping set the mood, in a sense.}


    ¡®Hehehe. Good work, Ama. Now if only we could make it a little colder so that they could snuggle closer at night.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It really is a shame, isn¡¯t it, though I guess this ¡®spooky¡¯ forest will have the same effect.}


    ¡®True¡­Huginn, Muninn, I¡¯m going to need your helpter to. It¡¯s time for project get Pram and Freya even closer.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Caw.¡¯ (Muninn)


    ¡®Kaw!¡¯ (Huginn)


    {You genius, Keeno! Only nightbirds are rivals to steelfeather ravens when ites to spooky!}


    ¡®So, that¡¯s what those owl things are.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {What¡¯s an owl?}


    ¡®Tell youter, n now.¡¯


    {Right.}


    We set up camp shortly after the four of us started to n our operation. Huginn and Muninn flew off to do bird things while Pram, who has been sticking close to Freya since she was let down earlier, was setting up the tents and I was prepping the fire and what we were going to eat. A littleter, we had a campfire going and an assortment of meat and vegetables on sticks in our hands.


    ¡°Now, to pass the time while we eat. I shall regale you all of a tale.¡± (Keeno)


    I made the fire die down a little, making the lighting in the area fit for the mood.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Keeno¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It is a tale of anothernd, world even. Tis a dark night, a snowstorm billowing. A giant and his son, both masters of craft, speak of their works. The father, tall and muscr and brilliant, but wary with age and experience, the son, tall, though still shorter than his father, and of the same build as his father, excitable and wanting to prove to his father that he has mastered their craft even more than his father, argue. Now, the father was a very loving man, gentle and kind to a fault. He had never raised his hand against his son, though on this stormy night, things were different. They had been arguing worse than normal, for there was a monster out, hunting giants. The son, full of youthful fire and a thirst to prove his worth, wanted to build something grand and prove himself, wanted to venture out into the worlds, while his father wanted him to stay and remain safe. In the heat of the argument and fueled by drink, the father had enough and, for the first time ever, raised his hand against his son. The son, shocked by this, ran out the door into the blizzard. After realizing what he had done, the father made chase. The blizzard, however, only worsened and the father could not even see his hand when held to his eyes. He searched and searched.¡± (Keeno)


    At this point in the story, Pram was enraptured. She was also hugging Freya¡¯s arm to her chest and had her tail wrapped around Freya again. Freya, for her part, was also looking at me with an interested look, though she was also paying rapt attention to where her arm was in rtion to Pram. I sent a mental signal to Huginn and Muninn.


    ¡°After a while of searching, the father couldn¡¯t find his son. The storm had worsened even more, and it became veryte. Filled with worry for his son as well as guilt for causing him to flee, the father continued until his beard froze and he could no longer feel. Above him, thunder rang from the snowclouds, and shes of lightning slightly lit the night. This allowed the father to see a shape in the snow. Thinking it was his son, he ran in that direction.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn and Muninn rustled some branches overhead and Ama made some thunder sound.


    ¡°Once the father reached the silhouette, he grabbed its shoulder. Lightning shed again, and the father was shocked for what he found wasn¡¯t his son, but the giant hunting monster. The monster raised its hammer of thunder and swung it with the speed of lightning until the father fell to the ground, dead. With his final breath, the father breathed out a breath colder than the blizzard that had doomed him, causing the ce and the town nearby to fall into an eternal winter.¡± (Keeno)


    At the point of the story where the giant met Thor, Huginn and Muninn shrilly cawed and the loudest thunder of the night rang out. Pram screamed and she fell off the log she was sitting on, dragging Freya with her. When I got up to see if they were alright, I found Freya on her back while Pram was curled up and hugging her close. Pram was shaking while Freya held her tightly.


    ¡°And that concludes Keeno¡¯s story time for the night. I¡¯ll leave Pram in your capable hands, Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    With that, I went to my tent for the night. The next day I faced the Wrath of Pram and was poked and prodded and my tails forcefully hugged for the next three days. Of course, I didn¡¯t really mind all this since Freya had an extremely happy expression throughout all of this because Pram has been clinging to her just as much. Not much more of note happened as we made our way onward until finally, they came into sight. The three forts that guarded Falheim¡¯s border. Seeing them, my feelings once again started to bubble into a difficult to control mess, causing the temperature to increase.


    ¡°¡­Keeno, do you hear that?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    I strained my ears to see if I could hear whatever it was Freya was hearing. Though it was faint, I could just barely hear the sound of what I think was fighting.


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, fly up and see what¡¯s going on!¡± (Keeno)


    Heeding my words, the two flew high into the sky and toward the forts. They circled around for a few minutes beforeing back andnding on my shoulders.


    ¡°Cawcaw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Caaaaaaaaw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Pram, Freya, pick up the pace!¡± (Keeno)


    Leaving it at that, I started to run toward the middle fort followed closely by the other two.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Oooo. A montage.


    Isn¡¯t it fun? Though nobody got stronger in the physical sense.


    Order: Well, Pram and Freya¡¯s rtionship got better, so that counts as bonds growing stronger, right?


    That is¡­eptable.


    Luna: Payto, you aren¡¯t a sith lord, so don¡¯t make your voice do that.


    Order: No, no, that was cute, so it¡¯s fine.


    I was going for menacing, but if my wife says it¡¯s cute, it¡¯s cute.


    Luna: Lovebirds.


    Payto and Order: Takes one to know one.


    Luna: Damn straight, not that I am!


    All: Hahahahahaha!

 Chapter 88- Fort Battle

    Chapter 88- Fort Battle


    [Sigurd POV]


    After a few months of nning and preparing, my squad and two others made our way to the border forts. There, we stayed for a few days for reconnaissance before it was time to take them. It seems that the patrols had bex since the time themander was in charge as they were few and far between. Once we were sure of the timing, the teams that would storm the other two forts separated from us and, as soon as night fell, we attacked.


    Our earth magic users used spells and knocked the wooden gates off their hinges, and we rushed inside. The reaction time of the soldiers inside the fort was quick, though not fast enough for any respectable standard knights should be held to. Taking advantage of this, we started pushing further in.


    ¡°Team One, go and take the stables! Make sure not to kill any of the horses if possible! Team Two, secure the walls! Team Three, we storm the main keep!¡± (Sigurd)


    The teams split and headed to their respective capture points.


    ¡°Sigurd, enemies approaching from the east!¡± (Emma)


    The vanguards of our team moved to defend from the east and almost instantly shed with the ones defending the fort. While the knights we shed with were slow in their response to being attacked, they were still elites. Theypletely stopped our advance.


    ¡°Leader, they¡¯reing from the west!¡±


    ¡°Mages!¡± (Sigurd)


    At mymand, our mages set to work setting up an improvised wall that would stop the western enemies from advancing from our nk enough for us to deal with the ones from the east. As they were doing this, I jumped into the fray.


    Summoning my Soul Weapon, I swung it at the nearest enemy. He raised his shield to block my sword, but it being just a normal shield, my sword cut through it like paper, bisecting the soldier behind it along with the shield. Just as another enemy took the ce of the one I killed, an arrow sprouted from his neck. While I would have liked to celebrate that, it wasn¡¯t all good things as arrows also rained down on us from another wall. We got stuck in ce fighting while being attacked from two, nearly three sides as time passed. A whileter after the suns rose into the sky, something started to change. Emma and I were fighting back-to-back as ourrades¡¯ traded blows from two sides, the walls of earth magic long gone, when we both felt the temperature start to rise.


    ¡°Emma.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°This familiar feeling¡­¡± (Emma)


    Though it could have been a mistake, I trusted my gut readied my sword once more. I cut down three opponents in front of me and moved forward. Seeing this, myrades¡¯ morale was boosted, and we started to gain ground. Finally, we pushed past the enemies, and we found ourselves in the courtyard before the main keep¡¯s doors.


    ¡°Regroup on me!¡± (Sigurd)


    My allies grouped up around me and we faced the doors we just pushed through. The enemy soldiers chasing after us rushed through the doors when, from on top of the walls, something fell between us and them.


    ¡°It seems you need some help, Sigurd.¡± (???)


    When the dust settled, an unfamiliar kitsune woman stood between my group and the fort soldiers. The heating from the woman was intense enough to make the air around her waver. She stood tall with her long, silver hair tied up in a long ponytail that still reached just past her knees. Her silver colored twin tails waving slowly, making the cerulean tips of her tails move like mes along with the end of her hair and ears. Wrapped around her arms were ck chains that connected to the pommels of two swords in her hands, their ck des glinting in the light of the mes that coated their edges. She turned her head back at us, looking over her shoulder. When I saw her eyes, I instinctively took a step back. Her iris was a glowing cerulean with the slit pupil in the center making it feel like she was staring right into my soul. This effect waspounded by the sclera that were a darker ck than a moonless night.


    ¡°Young miss.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re here too, Emma? Well then, I guess I have to put in more work if I want this reunion to go well.¡± (???)


    The woman turned her attention back at the soldiers that continued to pour in through the doors to the courtyard. She dropped the swords from her hands and took hold of the chains connected to them and then started to swing them around. The faster the swords were swung, the brighter the mes on the des became until the swords and chains were glowing an intense blue. When she swung one of them, people, the doors, and even some of the wall was cut like a hot knife through butter. She didn¡¯t stop there either as she stepped forward a step and swung the other sword, making another cut. This shortly turned into an spinning dance of fire and death as the woman cut through the enemies we had a hard time fighting against.


    ¡°She really is going all out from the start, huh.¡± (???)


    ¡°Well, if what she said is true, there are a lot of repressed feelings that areing to the forefront. Will you please follow after her and make sure she doesn¡¯t end up in a bad situation?¡± (???)


    ¡°Yeah¡­Hey, knight guy, we¡¯re here to help. Any of your injured step up now and she¡¯ll heal them, but I¡¯m warning you, any of you try anything and I¡¯ll cut you down faster than you can see.¡± (???)


    The newly appeared wolfgirl then ran through the burning door after the kitsune woman. I turned to see the third new arrival to see a silver haired snow leopard woman smiling over to us, a sleepy look in her eyes, yet a weing warmth in her expression that made it feel like we couldy bare all our hurts and she would heal them.


    ¡°My name is Pram, a healer. Like she said, any of you that are injured, step forward and I will heal you. Those two can handle the rest, so recuperate while you can.¡± (Pram)


    While there did not seem to be any lies in her words, I couldn¡¯t rx just yet.


    ¡°While I would like to take you up on your words, Lady Pram, we must take this fort as soon as possible. We cannot rest until that is achieved.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°While that is certainly something you probably needed to do, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible. Okami burned her way through several of the buildings and walls on her way to get here, ughtering any enemy in her path, so I don¡¯t think there is much worth to capturing the rest of the fort.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Pfft. That¡¯s one way to take a fort, I guess. Sigurd, should we send up the signal then?¡± (Emma)


    I let out a big sight and took out the magic tool we were using for sending a signal. I pointed it to the sky and pulled a trigger, sending up a ball of fire magic. After a few seconds, a loud pop sounded out and a few minutester, two more pops sounded from the other forts. Hearing this, everyone rxed, though the sounds of fighting continued to ring out from the two women who passed through here a moment earlier.


    ¡°Young Miss really grew up, huh, Sigurd.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°And it seems like she¡¯s gotten stronger than we could have ever thought possible.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hehe. Believe it or not, she¡¯s still not going all out. If she was, then this ce would probably be a smoldering pile of ash, and she¡¯s not using her magic either.¡± (Pram)


    Emma and I looked at the snow leopard woman with astonishment.


    ¡°Wow. You Falheim people really don¡¯t know just how much stronger people outside are. I really pity you.¡± (Pram)


    She then turned her back to us as she continued to heal our injuredrades.


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: Ooooooo! This is gonna be fun seeing this reunion!


    Luna: Keeno really is just going crazy here too. I mean, I understand her, but still.


    Meh. It¡¯s just a pile of brick and wood. It can always be rebuiltter.


    Luna: ¡­True.


    Astraea: Ahahahahaha. Things are going swoosh and shwing!


    Order: Payto¡­


    Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s seeing a censored version than what we¡¯re seeing. I don¡¯t want her to see all that just yet.


    Order: Alright.


    Luna: Out of curiosity, what is she seeing?


    *snap*


    Luna: ¡­Hmm. I¡¯m not going to question how it looks like all these dead bodies look like they are just unconscious, but it¡¯s very interesting.


    Never underestimate parental magic.


    Luna: ¡­


    Atmos: ¡­That¡¯s a thing?


    Yep. Exclusive to me and Order, but yep.


    Atmos: Anyway, back to watching Keeno do things.

 Chapter 89- Reunion

    Chapter 89- Reunion


    [Keeno POV]


    After burning onto the scene, Freya and I¡¯ve been dealing with all the Falheim mongrels in the fort while Pram healed the group of people that were with Sigurd and Emma. Honestly, I was surprised to see Emma here, but I¡¯d ask the reasonter.


    ¡°Okami, are you sure we shouldn¡¯t be taking prisoners?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No, they¡¯ll just stab us in the back when they get a chance. Surrender is not an option for them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Freya)


    After an hour, we were done with air route of the enemy. After doing a once over of the fort, I started a fire that I knew wouldn¡¯t go out until the ce was nothing but cinders. That way, if there were any stragglers we missed, they wouldn¡¯t get out.


    ¡°You¡¯re being very thorough.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thend must be purified before any Life Ama decides should return can truly thrive.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    {Oh, that¡¯s a good one, Keeno.}


    Freya looked a bit pensive about what I said but shrugged her shoulders after a moment. A few minutester, Pram, followed by two people I recognized came up to us.


    ¡°Are you going to do the same to the other two?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Please hold off from doing that. These are key positions and symbols, if all of them burn down, it will affect morale and ns going forward.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Told you she wouldn¡¯t like that, Sigurd.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t make it any truer.¡± (Sigurd)


    I turned to face the two and Emma immediately jumped at me and hugged me. Since she was now shorter than me, her head rested on my chest. My hand unconsciously moved, and I started patting her head.


    ¡°Hehehe. Oh, how the tables have turned, Young Miss.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m d you are alright and out of that pit of mongrels, Emma. Same to you, Sigurd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Us, along with a few others got out the same day you were sent away.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°That¡¯s good¡­Ah, before we proceed with this little reunion of ours, introductions are in order. This is Pram, my best friend. This is Freya, mypanion and Pram¡¯s girlfriend. The two in my tails are Huginn and Muninn. As for myself, Keeno Okami. To those close to me it¡¯s Keeno, everyone else it¡¯s Okami, please remember that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again, Lady Keeno, and it¡¯s a pleasure, Lady Pram and Lady Freya. I am Emma, formerly a maid in the service of the Young Miss, now a soldier fighting for the rebels to free our home from tyranny.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°And I am Sigurd, knight named by the Young Miss and soldier of the rebellion.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°You¡¯re a general, not just a soldier.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Heh. Moving on up in the world, eh? Good for you, Sigurd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My Lady, please don¡¯t. If it wasn¡¯t themander that gave me the position, I¡¯d be more than happy to just be a soldier and nothing more.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°¡­You are way to humble.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°THANK YOU! All of us tell him that all the time, and he just doesn¡¯t get it!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Sigurd, I¡¯ll tell you this now, too much humility is not a good thing. ept when things like this happen to you, it¡¯s fine to be humble about it, but being so humble to the point of denying you deserve ites off as disrespectful.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Sigurd¡¯s problems aside, Emma, what made you join as a soldier?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just kind of happened. I escaped with Sigurd and a few other knights from the Fafnir house, we met up with some of the rebels, and one thing led to another, and I joined the rebellion. Sure, I wasn¡¯t great at fighting at first, but a few years of trainingter and I was on the battlefield, and honestly, I think I have a calling for fighting since I, for some reason, find it more fulfilling than maid duties. Though, if you asked, I would happily join you as your maid again, My Lady. Oh, and for the record, the day you left, I pushed that mongrel that birthed you down the stairs. She, unfortunately, survived, but was still injured. I don¡¯t know what happened afterward though.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Heh. She deserved it. Anyway, we should probably meet up with the rest of yourpanions and figure out where to go from here, and I probably need to meet thismander of yours. I n on working with the rebels for a while until my own goal is reached, so getting to know them is probably my best bet.¡± (Keeno)


    We then moved to where the rest of Sigurd and Emma¡¯spanions were. When they saw me, several of them flinched back while a few others raised their guard. A smaller group did a double take at me before awkwardly ncing away and one girl red at me for some reason, though honestly it was a bit refreshing. After a brief introduction, Sigurd stepped up and started to issue orders.


    ¡°With the conquest of the border forts, we have seized a means to get supplies and hopefully allies from the outside. Those of you who are trained in riding should gather any supplies needed from the remaining two forts and head out to ask for help. Lady Okami, you and your friends came from the outside, correct?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°We did. Thend just past the border is a no-man¡¯snd where no country upies. About a month¡¯s travel as the kitsune walks is the country named Nidavellir. When you get there, follow any road you find and you¡¯ll likelye to a city or town, go to a ce called the Guild, there you should be able to get information on most things you need. If you are given trouble, tell them you have the backing of Okami the Cerulean Princess, Pram the Saintess of Life, or Freya the Dawnbreaker and you should at least get someone of decent power to listen to you.¡± (Keeno)


    Someone wrote all that down before putting that in a bag. That person and several other turned and moved to head to the other forts to fulfill their orders.


    ¡°The rest of us are to regroup at base and wait for themander to return. Let¡¯s rest here for the night and head out before dawn tomorrow.¡± (Sigurd)


    The soldiers saluted and moved away to prepare for camping. Emma came up to me and my group.


    ¡°So, My Lady, I need all the details of what happened after we parted ways. And I really want to know who gave you your name.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you all the thingster, there are some things that I want to stay between us, and I don¡¯t want to be overheard, especially by a certain someone who is still ring at me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, that¡¯s just Selkie, she¡¯spletely harmless. I¡¯ll talk to her in a bit and clear up whatever absurd fantasy she¡¯s currently thinking is the truth.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Ah, she¡¯s one of those people.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­She reminds me of my brother.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I was thinking the same.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why do I feel so left out?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Because you haven¡¯t met her brother yet. When you do, though, you¡¯ll get what we mean.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m sensing a very funny story or two from those words alone.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh, there are way more than two.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued to chat with Emma while we helped set up camp alongside the rebels.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Hey, isn¡¯t that prince that¡¯s one of the leaders of the rebels Keeno¡¯s cousin?


    I think he¡¯s, her uncle. Why?


    Luna: I was just looking for rification.


    Tamamo: I keep forgetting that Keeno is, in some way, rted to or technically is royalty.


    Amaterasu: I mean, it¡¯s not like it affects her personal life or her status since she has not real royal backing or political power, not that she¡¯d want it anyway.


    Luna: Ipletely understand that. I was the same, after all.


    Amaterasu: You were royalty?


    Luna: No, I was the daughter of a Marquis, but aside from attending a royal wedding once, I never really did anything as the daughter of an important noble.


    Tamamo: There was also the time you went to a noble gathering and attended the ceremony for naming a crown princess. And also, the time you met with the Queen of the Elves.


    Luna: Thatst one doesn¡¯t count since I was there as an S-rank adventurer, not as a noble.


    Tamamo: I always felt that that still counted.


    Luna: Meh. Doesn¡¯t matter anymore, so let¡¯s just leave it at that.


    Tamamo: Sounds good to me.


    Amaterasu: ¡­


    ¡­


    Amaterasu: We kind of just got left out of that whole thing, didn¡¯t we?


    I mean, it¡¯s not like there was anything we could have said to really participate there, so I¡¯m not bothered.


    Amaterasu: That¡¯s fair.

 Chapter 90- A Lady and her Retainers

    Chapter 90- A Lady and her Retainers


    [Keeno POV]


    After camp was set up and food was eaten, people were milling about, chatting, or going to their tents to sleep. Since the novelty of being red at ran out, I pulled that little fox aside and told her that I wasn¡¯t making any move on Emma and exined a small bit of my rtionship with her to assuage her. When I exined that Pram and Freya also wouldn¡¯t make a move, she became all smiles and sunshine. Soon enough, the only ones left awake were Sigurd, Emma, Pram, Freya, and me. We were all sitting around a fire when I looked over at Pram and Freya and told them through telepathy that I wanted to have a small, private talk with Emma and Sigurd and that we¡¯d be back in a bit. They both nodded and I stood up.


    ¡°Emma, Sigurd,e with me for a bit.¡± (Keeno)


    They both nodded and stood up. I waved my tails a little and Huginn and Muninn pped out of them before flying over andnding next to Pram. The three of us walked away until I was sure nobody would hear us. I even tried carving some runes of silence in the dirt with my feet, but nothing happened.


    ¡®I really need to figure out how to start making these things work.¡¯


    Shrugging my shoulders at that, I walked over and sat down on a rock. The other two followed suit.


    ¡°*Sigh*So, where do you want me to start?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your name.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That¡¯s going to take some exining, so fine, but before I even get there, I need the two of you to promise me something.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Anything, my Lady.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Any and all secrets are safe with me, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Then, please keep ALL of this a secret. I won¡¯t say take it to your grave, but please keep what I¡¯m going to tell you two to yourselves until I say it¡¯s ok. It has further reaching implications than either of you two could probably imagine.¡± (Keeno)


    The two got up and knelt down on one knee.


    ¡°Lady Keeno Okami, I, Sigurd, promise on the name you gave me to keep any and all secrets you deign to tell me, even if I face the most gruesome of torture, I will never divulge them.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Lady Keeno Okami, I, Emma, promise to keep all your secrets froming to light until told otherwise. As your maid, it is my duty to be your closest confidant. Should I be captured and tortured for your secrets, I will die before ever divulging them.¡± (Emma)


    I felt a bit happy that the two of them were this willing to make a vow like that to me, even 14 yearster. Deciding that I¡¯d show my appreciation for their willingness to go this far, I stood up and walked near them.


    ¡°Thank you, my two loyal retainers. My appreciation for your vows is more than you could possibly know.¡± (Keeno)


    I ced a hand on their shoulders like I was knighting them. I then moved back to my rock seat and sat down. They did the same after a moment. When they sat down, the area was filled with silence before all three of us burst intoughter.


    ¡°While I was serious about it, thank you for ying along, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes, it feels good to feel like I¡¯m serving you again, my Lady. It brings me back to when we used to discretely y like this when you were a child.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Oh, that brings me back¡­but enough of that reminiscing for now. We have things to talk about and not a long enough night to do so. Now, back to answering Emma¡¯s question. Like I said it takes a bit more backstory, so please don¡¯t interrupt.¡± (Keeno)


    After getting confirmation that they wouldn¡¯t interrupt me, I began my tale.


    ¡°For starts, this isn¡¯t my first life. I was reincarnated from a different world through¡­means I can¡¯t remember all to well honestly. But that isn¡¯t the important part. Before I was born in this world, I met someone in the Divine Domain. That someone was Amaterasu, Goddess of the Orange Sun, Life, and Magic. Said goddess is also my Fated One.¡± (Keeno)


    I paused there to let that information sink in. I could tell they were both shocked at this information, though their expressions told me it was for different reasons. I nodded my head, saying they could ask some things for now. Emma was the first to speak.


    ¡°My Lady, you¡¯re telling me that you and a Goddess are Fated partners!?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. She is mine and I am hers. I will not stand for anyone else iming so and they will be dealt the most painful of ends if they dare try anything.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s both scary and romantic. I wish someone would be like that for me. And no, Sigurd and Selkie don¡¯t count. Sigurd and I didn¡¯t click like that and whatever Selkie feels for me isn¡¯t proper love, but an obsession.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Wait what!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, Sigurd and I were a couple for about a month, but things didn¡¯t work out so we ended things but kept a good rtionship as friends and colleagues.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I hope you know that I¡¯m going to use this information for teasing atter dates now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Join the club, I and the others always tease Sigurd about this kind of stuff.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°All that aside, is that the reason for so many things going wrong with the Fafnir house after we all managed to get out? Though I didn¡¯t see it for myself, I heard that everyone in the mansion was put under some kind of curse that kept them in eternal nightmares for years and years and that the canals around the mansion were constantly boiling until recently. It was even to the point that people from the outside trying to get in died due to the steam.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the specifics of Ama¡¯s curse, but honestly, I feel she could have done worse. But yes, she did curse them all for how they treated me, at least until she was asked to lift it by that idiot Phobos.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Wait, what other implicationse with you being the Fated One of a goddess?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I¡¯ll be one, one day, or am I already one now? I don¡¯t really know, and I change that answer all the time since neither Ama nor I know. Anyway, before you ask any more, let me exin some more things. When I was being reincarnated, Phobos, the God of Time and Fate messes with my soul and gave me the two Authorities I would have when I ascended early, resulting in me getting the Authorities of the Blue Sun and Death. That¡¯s why, when I was born and for so long afterwards, my body was so hot that my birth giver became infertile, and it was so hot anywhere near me. That and one of the effects of Ama¡¯s Divine Protection giving me more mana than normal people which was hard to control when I was that young.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Now, onto the main part. The day I was being sent into Solitude for ¡®being a disgrace to the Fafnir name,¡¯ the one who picked me up in the carriage was Ama¡¯s Apostle, Fiametta, who is now like a big sister to me. Along the way out of this damnable country, Ama gave me the name Keeno, while I gave us the family name Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s lovely, Lady Keeno.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°It is indeed. I¡¯m happy that you managed to get out of here and live a happy life, from what I¡¯ve seen of you and how you interact with the two that came here with you.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I can say the same for you two, while still having to live here and while fighting the whole time is one thing, I¡¯m d you have had at least the smallest of chances for, what I would consider, a normal life, even if it is in snippets.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Now, from what I¡¯ve seen today, at least a little bit, you¡¯ve finally learned magic.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yep. And also manifested my Soul Weapon.¡± (Keeno)


    I made my des appear and disappear again.


    ¡°¡­But¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°ording to Ama, the manifestedter than normal due to my body still getting ustomed to the Divine Protection and the two Authorities. And besides, Soul Weapons aren¡¯t as rare as you¡¯d think. They aren¡¯t ¡®signs of nobility¡¯ and they are not invincible, shaking someone¡¯s resolve enough will make their Will falter, and when it falters, a soul weakens, when a soul weakens, its weapon fails its wielder. Shake someone who relies on their Soul Weapon enough, it will fail them, it is not a trump card or an absolute sign of victory, but a weapon, and one that is only as strong as its wielder¡¯s resolve.¡± (Keeno)


    The two were once again shocked into silence, this time though, the surprise on their faces was the same. Like a part of their world view was destroyed, which, for them, it was.


    ¡°¡­How much?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°How much of what, Sigurd, there are too many ways to finish that question properly topletely answer you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How much of what we know is true?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Well, if you know what I was taught when I was still very young, then most of it. There are so many more ces outside of this ce more advanced and powerful than here. Even on this continent, there are two countries that are bigger than you could possibly imagine. In fact, just crossing a small part of one to another took me a year, and most of that year was spent on a boat. There are people stronger than anyone you could imagine.¡± (Keeno)


    I decided to stop there since the two of them looked like they were on the verge of a panic attack. I waited for the two of them to calm down before we proceeded any further.


    ¡°¡­My Lady, please tell me that you aren¡¯t going topletely destroy my view of the world anymore.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Just a little bit, though this part is probably going to be the thing that does the most damage. How much do either of you know about the Dead Zone?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know that the king keeps it closely guarded, only those who serve him directly, like the Fafnir house, know its location, and that anyone who holds im over it is deigned to rule thisnd, a right given by¡­...the goddess of Life. In the name of all the Divine, my Lady!¡± (Sigurd)


    Sigurd looked up at me, his eyes widest tonight.


    ¡°My goals are my own, Sigurd. What may seem selfish to you is, a change the world needs. If you want an excuse to trick your mind, think of it this way: me taking away the Dead Zone will stop future rulers of this country from going down the same path its on now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°My Lady. It doesn¡¯t matter. I am your maid, your head maid, in fact. Thates before anything else, and, I have no love for this ce. Yes, it¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever known, but what you said just now makes me want to see the world. Get out and experience everything there is to know about it. If getting rid of a Dead Zone is your goal, I¡¯ll support you in it, with my meager power.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Thank you, Emma.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­My Lady¡­let me ask you this¡­is your goal truly worth this? I may not know much about the big picture, but I do know that the king and anyone connected to him, as well as the prince that leads the rebellion will both target you if or when they find out about this.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Sigurd, if it wasn¡¯t for you and Emma being here, I would burn this entire country to the ground.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡®Anything to say, Ama?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Not for now, butter.}


    ¡°I see¡­my Lady, I have sworn to you earlier on my name, let me add to that. I will serve you as a knight for the rest of my life, if I my blood continues, they will serve you, be it as knights or clergy, whatever you choose, faithfully and without betrayal.¡± (Sigurd)


    I wanted to say he didn¡¯t have to go that far, but seeing the resolve in his eyes, I held my tongue. I looked over to Emma and she nodded her head, showing that she agreed with what Sigurd had said.


    ¡°My Lady, may I ask one more thing¡­no, two more?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Sure.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°First, I would like to ask how you grew a second tail, I know that, in the far past, some kitsune who lived a long time grew one or two more, but you are far, far too young for that.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯ve already taken one Dead Zone. In a country known as Vanir. Me being me, I can take the core, that has now turned into simple Divinity, for myself. By doing so, it lessens the seals on my Authorities, letting me have more power, and whatnot. It also gives me the ability to appoint an Apostle of Death, or what I¡¯m calling Valkyries up to nine. So far, I have only one who is named Red. She is still in Vanir, helping out the Death Spirits maintain things until I can fully ascend. Once I get rid of the Dead Zone here, I¡¯ll need to do the same, but that¡¯s something for future me to figure out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Are there conditions?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yes, though in this instance the ones for Death are vague. It could be someone whose killed thousands, someone whose been at death¡¯s door, someone who evades death at every step, more that I¡¯m still figuring out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do either of us fulfill those conditions?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Not at the moment, no. Red fulfilled the condition of killing. Her life hasn¡¯t been easy, and she was in no position to stay her hand from treading that path, but she¡¯s since found family in me and mine. I consider the two of you close as family here, as well, by the way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That warms my heart, my Lady. Now for the second, and in my opinion, most important question¡­may I pat your tails?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Feel free.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma stood up from her spot and moved over to me. Sitting down next to me, she gently ced her hands into the fluff on one of my tails.


    ¡°¡­This is¡­fluffier than I remember.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hehe. Just don¡¯t fall for me, Emma. I promised that little fox I wouldn¡¯t take you from her.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The little fox is just enraptured by me because I saved her life. She doesn¡¯t actually love me, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hmm. Tell me that story some other time. We should head back, the suns should rise soon, and we need at least some sleep.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up, much to Emma¡¯s disappointment and the three of us headed back to the camp.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Hoho. So she just out and told them everything from the start.


    You weren¡¯t any different.


    Luna: I waited until I was five!


    Your mother and Ana figured out something was up way earlier and ke knew from the start it was you, pretty much.


    Luna: ¡­


    Order: What I¡¯m more interested in is who will get the Valkyrie position.


    Emma.


    Luna: Emma.


    Order: And why are you both so sure of that?


    Luna: Valkyrie are only woman.


    And Sigurd is more pdin material. Hmm. Pdin of the Sun, or Pdin of Death?


    Luna: *praises the sun*


    Pfft. *does the same*


    Order: I don¡¯t know what this means, but it seems fun. *joins in the sun praising*

 Chapter 91- Pram and Freya- Learning from Emma

    Chapter 91- Pram and Freya- Learning from Emma


    [Pram POV]


    The day after we met some of Keeno¡¯s old acquaintances, their group and us packed up camp and started to head to their base. Their leader Sigurd was leading the way while Keeno walked with him while discussing something. Freya and I were a little ways behind them while the woman named Emma walked beside us.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes, Lady Pram? Is there something I can assist you with?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me Lady. And I was wondering¡­if you can tell us more about Okami when she was little. I know she grew up for a few years here, but whenever I asked her about it, she only ever told me the bare minimum. I just want to know why she hates this ce so much since I¡¯m a bit worried about her.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes, she¡¯s seemed more¡­angry than normal.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm. Well, first off, I only met her when she was about four or so, before that there was another maid named Saki who died. So, if you¡¯re fine with what little I can tell you, then ask your questions.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. Now, what was her usual day like? I mean, you can skip the normal things like what she ate or how she slept and stuff, but I want to know what she had to do, and what the people around her thought of her.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmmmm. Well, in the beginning, there was only ever one person in that entire mansion that actually cared for her. She was the maid named Saki. She was an olddy that was more a mother to her than anyone else could possibly imagine in her situation. She cared for her, made sure she learned what she needed, and so on. And, this is probably not known to her, but she even advocated for her position in the family so that others would treat her better. It didn¡¯t work for a lot of people, but for the few it did, we came to respect both Saki and my Lady. One for her persistence, and the other for her dedication to not being broken by her environment, though ultimately, only Sigurd and I ever got truly close to my Lady. And personally, it took me a while before I actually came around to Saki¡¯s words. In the beginning I was like most of the other maids in the mansion, disliking my Lady due to the poisonous things her¡­birth giver said. But, once I actually was around my Lady more often when I was chosen to take Saki¡¯s ce when she died, I came to realize that my Lady was just as Saki said. But enough digressing, mostly, her days started before the suns even rose. She would get up, study, then after eating what amounted to scrapspared to what most children of that age should have eaten, she would train for most of the day with Sigurd. After that, she would be thrown to the wolves, per se, her birth giver and ¡®trained¡¯ in the ways of nobility and how a woman should present herself. This training, though, was 10 times worse than what I¡¯d heard other noble children went through.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes, I do recall herining a lot about that. She never went into details but said that was one of the things she hated the most. And, while I hate to say any of it is a good thing, I think it did help her a little. I mean, you can see by how she carries herself that it helped make her into who she is today.¡± (Pram)


    All three of us looked over at Keeno. Walking in front of the group, her every move looked like it was calcted to make her seem like a ruler leading her people.


    ¡°If I may, what were the two that¡­um¡­how do I even word this?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Are you asking about the Fafnir family¡¯s head and his wife?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. What were they like?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Utter trash. Probably still are or worse, though my money is on worse. I mean, I may not know what the two of you from outside consider trash, but even with how¡­behind Falheim apparently is, those two are considered absolute trash. Or at least to normal, non-noble born people from what I¡¯ve heard. Now, if you want to know more about them as individuals¡­Lucius is the head of the Ducal house Fafnir. That family is second only to the royal family and are privy to every single secret of this country. To the residents here, even being able to nce at someone from the Fafnir family is said to grant you a lifetime of good fortune, and working for them is basically like being set for life. Same with the royal family. He is a prideful, vindictive, stubborn man whose only purpose in life is to serve himself, his interests, and the interests of the royal family. His wife is one of the king¡¯s many daughters and a princess of the country. Due to some circumstances that I don¡¯t know, she still has a im to the throne, though it¡¯s highly unlikely she will ever actually manage to take it. She is just as vindictive as her husband, but on top of that she is spiteful. When my Lady was born, she was scarred so much that, even with the country¡¯s best healers, was unable to ever produce another child. That¡¯s what led her to treat my Lady as horridly as she did. Also, from what I remember, Lucius tried several other times with concubines to have other children, but all of those ended in failure.¡± (Emma)


    {Of course, they did. I made sure to make him, and anyone rted to him by blood or not, infertile. Of course, Keeno is the exception, though neither of us will ever have a child.}


    ¡®Thank you for yourmentary, though thatst bit was unnecessary.¡¯ (Pram)


    {¡­I didn¡¯t realize I said that out loud. Sorry Pram, Freya.}


    ¡®It¡¯s fine, though I¡¯m surprised Keeno isn¡¯t chipping into this conversation now that you¡¯re involved.¡¯ (Freya)


    {Well, I was making sure of that much. If Keeno overheard this conversation, she¡¯d be very mad. She didn¡¯t want the two of you to know all this because she thinks you¡¯ll start to pity her, and she doesn¡¯t want that.}


    ¡®Ah.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®I see.¡¯ (Freya)


    {Well, that¡¯s enough from me, Emma is still talking, so just act like you know what she was saying.}


    ¡°¡­Honestly, it was kind of hectic getting out of the capital after all that. Though, getting to push a Duke¡¯s wife down a staircase was a novel experience. But that¡¯s about all I can tell you. If you want to know more details about what kind of training and stuff she had to go through, ask Sigurdter. Now, can I ask some stuff?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°What do you want to know?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°More about my Lady¡¯s life once she was out of here, where she lived, the friends she made, what her love life with her special someone is like.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m at no liberty toment on thatst thing, since, aside from bragging about how close they are, she doesn¡¯t like to share their private moments with us, though they both sometimes let some small details slip, but that can be talked aboutter. I¡¯ll start off on the other stuff, though, and then Freya can tell her side. Sound good?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. I just want to know how my Lady has been since west saw her. We got some detailsst night, but nothing more than just absolutely worldview-shattering information, she didn¡¯t say much about her life growing up.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Then, let me start on the day I met her.¡± (Pram)


    For the rest of the day, and even a bit into the night, Freya and I spoke at length about our time with Keeno while Emma listened to everything with rapt attention as she absorbed every detail.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­*Sigh*Everyone, hold onto something.


    Luna: Is something about to happen?


    Just a Chaos Quake. Honestly, it¡¯s been a long time since one happened, so it might be a big one.


    Order: Astraea! Get in here!


    Astraea: I¡¯m¡­here¡­why¡¯d¡­nap time¡­over¡­?


    Order: Juste here and you can go back to sleep.


    Astraea: *Sleepily walks over to Order and enters into her embrace* Hehe¡­mamma warm.


    Tamamo: Should we head home for a bit?


    No, it¡¯s too dangerous for anyone toe or go right now, so just getfortable and hold on tight. Things are going to get rough for a little while.


    Luna: Shouldn¡¯t you do the same?


    Why? I¡¯m the one that has to make sure the house doesn¡¯t get damaged too badly, so I have to go fight the damn thing.


    Tamamo: It¡¯s a sentient thing?


    Tamamo, you are a goddess, are you telling me you¡¯ve never tried to beat up a natural phenomenon before?


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: Eh? That sounds so fun.


    Tamamo: It is¡­though it depends on what kind it is.


    Luna: Tell me about itter.


    Thanks for not yelling all that. Now, I¡¯ll be back in a bit. *Poof*

 Chapter 92- Amaterasu鈥檚 Worries

    Chapter 92- Amaterasu¡¯s Worries


    [Amaterasu POV]


    It¡¯s been a few days since Keeno and the others got into Falheim, and over this time I¡¯ve been getting increasingly worried. While I do understand, Keeno has been getting angrier and angrier the further into the country she went. It¡¯s getting to the point that one small thing will be enough to make her explode and I don¡¯t want that to happen. While I have been trying to calm her down, it¡¯s not really doing much.


    {Fia¡­I need your help.}


    Shortly after saying that, a shining door appeared and Fia stepped through it, and she also looked extremely upset.


    {Gah! Why are both of you like this today!?}


    ¡°What do you mean, Rasu?¡± (Fia)


    {Why are you so mad!?}


    ¡°Because those idiots won¡¯t let me meet with anyone important! None of them were even alive when I made that desert of ash, so why are they still holding a grudge!?¡± (Fia)


    {¡­}


    Fia fumed for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath and calming down.


    ¡°So, what fixed you to call me here?¡± (Fia)


    {I don¡¯t know what to do. At the rate it¡¯s going, Keeno is going to end up doing something she will regret, but she¡¯s barely even listening to me.}


    ¡°Where is she now?¡± (Fia)


    {Falheim.}


    ¡°¡­Oh¡­¡­hmmm. Can you let me see her the way you do?¡± (Fia)


    I waved my hand and an illusory mirror appeared with Keeno centered in it. She was currently sitting a small distance away from a campsite watching the suns set. Just by seeing her face, I could tell things were getting increasingly vtile.


    ¡°I see what you mean now.¡± (Fia)


    {It¡¯s just, all of this anger¡­it¡¯s misced. Yes, she has a right to be angry, but not at EVERYTHING in Falheim. Sure, I may be saying something hypocritical, but it¡¯s too much.}


    ¡°Is she at least still thinking rationally?¡± (Fia)


    {For the most part, though like I said, she¡¯s barely listening to me when I try to bring up her being angry.}


    Just then, a few people tried to approach Keeno, but when they called out to her and she looked at them, they froze up and pretty much ran away.


    ¡°Cowards.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    {*Sigh*What am I going to do, Fia?}


    I slumped down and started hugging one of my tails.


    ¡°I¡¯d say she should see a town or something so she can see that there is no reason to indiscriminately hate all of Falheim, but that can backfire extremely easily¡­Hmmmm. AH! What if you see what that sperm donor is doing and see if you can get her to focus all her anger on that?¡± (Fia)


    {¡­I can try, though I feel like Keeno will just up and leave the group to go and hunt him down if I did that.}


    ¡°True, but what if you say that he is in a ce that is impossible for her to get to without the help of an army? Sure, she can take out a lot of people, but even she will get overwhelmed by the numbers eventually. You said she is still thinking rationally, so saying that much should help alleviate some of the problems.¡± (Fia)


    I nodded my head and waved my hand. The image in the mirror changed. We were looking into a dark underground room. Water running down the bricks, washing away several liquids on the ground. In the middle of the room was a man standing over a table with a woman strapped to it. Both the man and the woman were extremely sick looking and not a single strand of hair could be seen on either of them. The woman strapped to the table had nothing on, though her body was full of scars and fresh wounds while the man that looked more like a rat than a fox at this point had a crazed, nearly feral look on his face.


    ¡°Oh, my precious Leticia, I know this hurts you. It hurts me as well, but the more of your blood I take, the more I feel that part of myself awaken. Soon, I know I will have the power to kill even a god, and once I subjugate it, I will have it return you to your proper self. HEhE. Once I do that, I will find the mongrel and offer you its head. KuaaHaahAhahAhaHA. We will have everything we lost from that disgrace returned to us tenfold.¡± (Lucius)


    Seeing what was disyed in the mirror, Fia and I were horrified and disgusted.


    ¡°Rasu, what kind of ritual is this?¡± (Fia)


    {It isn¡¯t one. There is no magic or cursed ritual like this, I think he¡¯s just gone insane, though looking at him, I can see that his draconic lineage is starting to awaken. I don¡¯t know why though; I never made any magic that could or should be able to do this.}


    ¡°Is it possibly some kind of Fiend magic?¡± (Fia)


    {No, I would know if it was, but it isn¡¯t¡­either his draconic bloodline is one of some kind of vampiric dragon, or¡­I see now.}


    ¡°Well, what is it?¡± (Fia)


    {Dragons are very big on familial love, you know this. What he is doing is destroying what he loves very slowly and deliberately, forcing the draconic aspects in him toe to the surface. Of course, this is only happening because that is a value ingrained in the soul of a dragon and is passed down to any and all in their bloodline, no matter how diluted said blood is. Of course, if we leave him to his own devices, he¡¯ll end up killing himself, but not before he goes on a rampage. While I know Keeno has no love for either of them, her anger will definitely be focused on him if we tell her what she¡¯s doing because it¡¯s a horrid act that she would consider a major sin.}


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for?¡± (Fia)


    I waved my hand and Keeno came into focus again.


    {Keeno.}


    ¡°¡­Yes Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {I know you don¡¯t want to hear this from me again, but please listen. Your anger is misced. Yes, you can hate and feel angry about Falheim, but before long, you are going to do something to regret.}


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to keep it in check, Ama. It¡¯s just, I keep remembering things and it makes me angry all over again.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s understandable, but that doesn¡¯t mean you have to take that anger out on all of the unrted people. And besides, you should focus all your hate and anger on that sperm donor.}


    ¡°You saw something it was doing, didn¡¯t you?¡± (Keeno)


    {He¡¯s torturing his wife, barely keeping her alive, all so that he can gain power enough to kill me and you.}


    The second those words left my mouth, all the grass around Keeno started to burn. It must be unbearably hot for the mortals around her right now.


    {Keeno don¡¯t just run off on your own, you won¡¯t be able to reach him before you get done in by numbers alone. You need an army, and those rebels are the best you can find unless you go and bring one from somewhere else or make one yourself.}


    ¡°¡­Ama¡­I¡¯m going to burn his soul so much it will bepletely destroyed.¡± (Keeno)


    {And I¡¯ll be there to witness it, but please, for your sake, keep your anger focused on him, and not all of Falheim.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do¡­but to think he would do something like that to someone he actually, if somewhat twistedly, loved.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely something that needs to be dealt with. I have faith in you, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Fia?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, I called her here for something.}


    ¡°Alright. Anyway, I should sleep some, I¡¯ll talk to you bothter.¡± (Keeno)


    {Goodnight, my beloved.}


    ¡°Night, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    Once Keeno went to bed, I made the mirror vanish.


    {Why do I feel like I just manipted Keeno?}


    ¡°Because you love seeing her making her own decisions, but when you are the one that strongly suggests something to her and it seems like the only option, you feel bad. Like you¡¯re interfering too much.¡± (Fia)


    {That perfectly describes it.}


    ¡°It does¡­Now, before I go back, there is something I want to ask of you, Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    {What is it?}


    ¡°Can I meet this Red person? I¡¯d really like to meet Keeno¡¯s first Apostle.¡± (Fia)


    {Stay for a bit, she should being for her regr visit tomorrow.}


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Fia)


    Chaos Realm:


    *Loud booms and crasheding from outside*


    Luna: He¡¯s really struggling, isn¡¯t he?


    Order: No, he just like making things dramatic. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he¡¯s just using magic to make those noises.


    Luna: That¡¯s something I can totally see happening. Heck, I¡¯d do it myself.


    Tamamo: We all know you would, Luna.


    *Suddenly all the noise stops and a few secondster a note appears on the table*


    ¡®Order, I beat the chaos quake, but thest hit sent me flying. If I¡¯m reading the trajectory right, I¡¯ll end up at a friend¡¯s ce, so don¡¯t worry about anything. I¡¯ll even pick up something for you and Astraea.¡¯


    Order: *quickly writes a reply that vanishes* And that takes care of that.


    Luna: So, now what do we do?


    Tamamo: Not sure.


    Order: Want to have some girl talk? We don¡¯t get to do that very much.


    Luna and Tamamo: Sure.

 Chapter 93- Red鈥檚 a Genius

    Chapter 93- Red¡¯s a Genius


    [Fia POV]


    I spent the rest of the night and a bit of the next day rxing with Rasu as we watched Keeno. While what Rasu told her earlier managed to get her to focus her anger at Falheim to something specific, it seems that it was just a small bandage on therger problem. Though, from our perspective, the anger Keeno was feeling is starting to seem strange to even her. She hasn¡¯t realized it fully yet, but she¡¯s noticed that even she is way too angry.


    {Fia, what could it be?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Rasu, but at least we managed to extend the meltdown timer.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Miss Amaterasu¡­who is this?¡± (???)


    The third, unexpected voice made me turn around quickly and prepare some magic when Rasu spoke.


    {Hello, Red. This is Fia, my Sun Apostle.}


    The young wolf girl approached me somewhat timidly before circling around me.


    ¡°Smell reminds me of¡­big sis Keeno.¡± (Red)


    {Your speech is getting better too.}


    ¡°Mother has been¡­teaching Red and¡­helping with talking¡­want to keep it secret¡­so Red can surprise big sis Keeno, Pram, and Freya.¡± (Red)


    {Then we¡¯ll keep our mouths shut on this.}


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Red)


    Red then walked up to Rasu and wrapped herself up in a few of her tails like it was the most natural thing in the world.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Want to join Red?¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    Rasu just smiled and offered up a few more of her tails. I silently just walked over and ced myselffortably in the fluffy embrace.


    {Hehehehe.}


    ¡°Mofu, mofu?¡± (Red)


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Red doesn¡¯t know¡­just something Red has heard in dreams before¡­seemed fitting.¡± (Red)


    ¡°It does sound fitting, though I also feel like it has some¡­interesting connections to it.¡± (Fia)


    {Heh.}


    ¡°What?¡± (Fia)


    {Nothing, just seems the two of you are getting along very quickly.}


    ¡°She gives off¡­same feeling as big sis Keeno¡­so, Red trusts her¡­Red has also been working on¡­trusting more.¡± (Red)


    ¡°And I don¡¯t see why I should be hostile to someone that you let this close AND is also Keeno¡¯s Apostle.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Valkyrie.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I mean Valkyrie.¡± (Fia)


    {Hehehe. Red, calm down or your tail is going to get tangled in mine.}


    ¡°Red can¡¯t help it.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Shall we tell Keeno that Red is here?¡± (Fia)


    {Do you want to, Red?}


    ¡°Not yet¡­but Red won¡¯t mind seeing¡­big sis again.¡± (Red)


    Rasu nodded and the mirror appeared again.


    ¡°Nn? Big sis is¡­different¡­angry.¡± (Red)


    Red started frowning when she saw Keeno.


    ¡°Why is big sis¡­letting all the grudges¡­affect her?¡± (Red)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Fia)


    {Huh?}


    ¡°Don¡¯t know?¡± (Red)


    ¡°We know what grudges are, but why are you saying they are affecting Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    {*Gasp!*Fia, it¡¯s her Death Authority. Dead Zones purify the souls of the dead, but not any of the grudge they may hold. It doesn¡¯t affect people normally, but Keeno is basically a giant vacuum for purifying even the grudge left behind. Falheim being so closed off from the rest of the world pretty much made it like trapping everything in a jar and sealing the lid, and since Keeno has a little more of her Authorities unsealed since she took down Vanir¡¯s Dead Zone, she can take in and purify more of the grudge, but since she¡¯s never been exposed to so much, it¡¯s starting to affect her.}


    Rasu took a deep breath after saying all of that so quickly which allowed me to process what she said.


    ¡°So, how does she fix this?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Can¡¯t big sis¡­use her Death magic to do something?¡± (Red)


    ¡°Rasu, you are the Goddess of Magic, so, is there a way to do that?¡± (Fia)


    {There are a few ways, yes, but it won¡¯t do much for Keeno since there is so much concentrated grudge in Falheim that any progress she makes will just instantly be reced. It would be like trying to scoop a pit out of the ocean with a teacup.}


    ¡°Hmm. Oh, Red, how did you know it was the grudge affecting Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Red has seen it before. It didn¡¯t happen¡­often, but¡­sometimes people that normally were¡­calm and meek would¡­suddenly go on a rampage¡­spewing hate that they never had before.¡± (Red)


    {Honestly, I¡¯m surprised we didn¡¯t figure that out, Fia.}


    ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t a problem we would normally think of due to it being simple.¡± (Fia)


    {That¡¯s true. And I should teach Keeno some of those spells, it may not be super effective, but it should give her some reprieve.}


    Rasu waved her hand again.


    {Keeno.}


    ¡°Ama? What is it?¡± (Keeno)


    {Fia and I havee up with another reason you¡¯re so mad and I¡¯m going to teach you a spell to hopefully grant you some reprieve for just a little while. It won¡¯t perfectly appease you, but it should help.}


    Rasu then went over a Death Magic spell for clearing grudges. After exining its effect and how to use it properly, Keeno attempted it, but since it was her first try, it failed. We continued to watch Keeno for a few hours while Rasu and I continued to give her pointers. She eventually figured it out and when she did, all of us present saw a noticeable improvement in Keeno¡¯s mood.


    ¡°My head feels way clearer now, though now that I know what¡¯s going on I can feel the grudgeing back. It¡¯s annoying and I don¡¯t like having all this messing with my head.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯spletely understandable.¡± (Fia)


    {Hmm. Keeno, you¡¯re still trying to make those Rune things work, right?}


    ¡°Yeah, though I¡¯m still not making any progress. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because they technically don¡¯t exist here, or I haven¡¯t put enough mana into them, or something else, but I am trying.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, why don¡¯t you try making one that is for clearing grudges and wear it so that it can help keep your mind clear.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll try, though I need to find something to write a rune on. A normal rock won¡¯t work since I¡¯ve tried that before, but¡­hmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    Keeno started to dive into her thoughts like she does so we left her to it. Rasu cut the connection.


    ¡°¡­Big sis Keeno¡­needs to get out of that ce¡­not good for her.¡± (Red)


    I smiled at Red¡¯s concern for Keeno and started to pat her on the head.


    ¡°Uheeee~¡± (Red)


    {Thank you for being concerned for Keeno, Red, but she needs to get the Dead Zone there as well as finish off some things rted to her past.}


    ¡°Nn¡­Red will give her pats next time Red sees her in person.¡± (Red)


    This time Rasu joined in on the Red patting. The rest of the day was mostly spent by me getting to know Red more while we all watched Keeno. Once the day ended though, I decided I needed to head back to what I was doing. After bidding farewell to Rasu and Red, I stepped though the door I used to get there and appeared back in the Church dedicated to Rasu in Valkyr. I was about to step out of the church when someone walked inside. They were wearing a dark cloak with a hood pulled over their face, though every so often there was a sh of a golden blond tail and the telltale sound of armor moving against other armor was heard.


    ¡°Lady Fiametta, I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve been meaning to talk with someone in Valkyr. I may not be someone of extreme importance, but I hope me, and my order will suffice.¡± (???)


    The woman in the cloak shed a crest at me.


    ¡°And here I thought the Radiant Knights were gone. Let¡¯s have a nice, long chat.¡± (Fia)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Hmm.


    Tamamo: Something wrong, Luna?


    Luna: Just trying to figure out how Keeno is going to make Runes work. I¡¯m pretty sure she can use some of that excess Divinity she¡¯s got flowing around inside her, but not how she can go about it.


    Order: That¡¯s a good theory. Maybe something to do with the material?


    Luna: That¡¯s a good idea, maybe something old or with some kind of history to it would work, though those are mortal concepts, so who knows.


    Tamamo: Well, it is a different world, so who can say that things don¡¯t work like that there?


    Luna: Also true. Oh this is fun.


    Tamamo and Order: Endeed.

 Chapter 94- Meeting the Rebel Commander

    Chapter 94- Meeting the Rebel Commander


    [Keeno POV]


    A few weeks of traveling after meeting up with Sigurd and his group and finding out that I am being affected by the grudges of Falheim, we finally made it to the rebellion¡¯s main base. It was located in a dpidated mansion inside a small city. Upon reaching here and entering the base, we were greeted by the sight of many injured soldiers, some worse off than others. Seeing this and being who she is, Pram rushed ahead of the rest of the group and immediately started assessing the closest injured person.


    The small number of other healers in the room looked over at her and were about to try and stop her when they saw she started using healing magic and let her be. Freya walked over to join her and act as her bodyguard.


    ¡°She¡¯s a kind person. Healing our people without being asked.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°She has the title of Saint for a reason, though it¡¯s mostly just because it¡¯s her nature. Oh, but if any one here tries to take advantage of her kindness, neither I nor Freya will be very pleased.¡± (Keeno)


    I noticed I was getting overly heated, physically and mentally, so I used the grudge cleansing spell Ama taught me again.


    ¡°Are you alright, my Lady?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. Same spell I¡¯ve been using on myself for a while now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Emma)


    As we continued to walk deeper into the base, a voice called out to Sigurd from up the staircase. When I looked up to see who was speaking, I saw a tall, muscr man. He was wearing a tight shirt that showed every muscle along with surprisingly modern looking military pants and thick, heavy boots. He sported a small beard along his jawline and chin which was the same salt and peppered color as his short hair. He had one eyes closed with a scar covering it.


    ¡°Commander, reporting back from our mission. Permission for debriefing?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Granted. Come up here and bring that new face with you.¡± (Commander)


    Sigurd nodded and the two of us walked up the stairs. They creaked a bit too much for my liking, but still held. When we got to the second floor, Sigurd led the way down a short hallway to a door. He opened it and we both stepped inside. I was a bit surprised to see that the room wasn¡¯t a small one but was actually very spacious. It looked like there were two walls knocked down to make it this big, but that was beside the point. In the center of the room was arge table with a map of the country pinned to it with daggers in each corner. There were little wooden figuresid out over the map. Standing on the other side of the table from us was themander while another person was standing hunched over the table, studying the map intently. For some reason, this other person looked vaguely familiar.


    ¡°Sigurd, make your report.¡± (Commander)


    ¡°The forts at the border have been liberated¡­well, two of them have. The center fort is rubble and ash, but they¡¯ve all been taken regardless. I¡¯ve also sent several of my people out to the neighboring country to see if they can acquire supplies and hopefully people. Concerning theplete destruction of one fort, I will say that it was the one I brought here that did so and will leave the exnation as to why to her.¡± (Sigurd)


    I was a bit annoyed at how quickly Sigurd outed me, though I also knew that information had toe out at some point. Themander turned his attention to me. His stern expression immediately turned to a pondering one before his one eye opened wide.


    ¡°Prince.¡± (Commander)


    The sudden call and tone it was made in caused the other person in the room to look up from the table. He looked at themander with a questioning look and themander motioned toward me with his chin. When the other man in the room looked at me and after the initial flinch from making eye contact with me, his eyes also went wide.


    ¡°Who are you and why do you look like my sister Leticia?¡± (???)


    Hearing that name made me frown and the room started to heat up. The suddenness of this caused themander to raise his guard and the other person to step back.


    ¡°So, I look like that mongrel. I don¡¯t know whether to feel revolted or insulted¡­actually, I think it¡¯s both.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (???)


    ¡°*Sigh*Sigurd, please exin, it seems we¡¯ve offended our guest.¡± (Commander)


    ¡°Yes, Commander Freyr.¡± (Sigurd)


    And now I knew themander¡¯s name. I also found it ironic that I had someone named Freya close to me, though those thoughts only made sense to me.


    ¡°She is the one born from the Fafnir family, though she renounces the name and, quite justifiably I may add, has the biggest vendetta against them here.¡± (Sigurd)


    Commander Freyr crossed his arms and hummed in contemtion. The other person, on the other hand, had various expressions forming on his face ranging from sympathetic, to annoyed, to enlightened.


    ¡°I see, so my sister¡¯s child did live. I¡¯d heard that the child she bore was stillborn.¡± (???)


    ¡°I highly doubt that mongrel said such¡­tame things about me. At least, the vitriol she spouted at me during her tortuous training wasn¡¯t anything as tame as that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, there were many more things, though it was mostly that her child was stillborn and reced with some sort of monster.¡± (???)


    The heat in the room increased again and I was clinching my hands so tightly I was surprised I wasn¡¯t drawing blood yet.


    ¡°My Lady, please calm down. I understand that talking about those mongrels isn¡¯t pleasant for you, but we need the things in here and we will be in serious trouble if they start to burn.¡± (Sigurd)


    I bit my lip as I tried to calm myself down. It took a few minutes and some deep breaths, but eventually the temperature decreased again.


    ¡°Prince, please refrain from talking about her for now.¡± (Freyr)


    The prince nodded and stopped talking, though he still didn¡¯t avert his gaze from me.


    ¡°I apologize for getting off topic. Madam¡­¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Madam Okami, can you please exin why you destroyed one of the border forts, provide any information you can about the outside to us, and, if possible, exin what you n on doing from here on out? I need to know these things before I ask more questions and hopefully receive some answers.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Simply put, the fort was in the way, and I wanted to help Sigurd and Emma. For information on the outside, I¡¯ve told Sigurd most of what I know, at least to the point he could handle it. And one of my goals here is to finish off those two mongrels that made my life as bad as it was at the start. I do have other goals, but those will remain personal until I see fit to either trust you with what they are or am forced into a situation where divulging them is the only possible solution.¡± (Keeno)


    Commander Freyr closed his eye and mulled over my words. When he opened it again and spoke, his voice was gruff.


    ¡°Let me at least ask this much¡­do you n on either taking the country for yourself, or hindering the rebellion from its mission?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°After I take care of my goals here, I want nothing to do with this country for the rest of eternity. As for thetter part of your question, I don¡¯t see any point in doing so. In fact, it would only hinder both of us if me and mypanions did that, so I¡¯d much rather work with you than against you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Oh, and before either of you get any ideas, I will up and leave all of you in a near death state if you even try to marry me off to someone for some political reason just because I am unfortunate enough to be rted to those two mongrels. I am my own person, I hate this country with every fiber of my being, and most importantly, I have a wife.¡± (Keeno)


    I saw the prince dete a little causing me to re at him. I didn¡¯t even know this guy and he was already nning things like that just because I am who I am. Themander looked at the prince as well and rolled his eye.


    ¡°Prince, I know that you are used to the scheming of the castle and all that implies, but instantly jumping into nning things like that, especially to a person that you just met and still hasn¡¯t joined us is bad for our cause. Especially if said person is also as strong as Madame Okami is.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Old habits die hard. Madame Okami¡­please forgive me for even entertaining the thought.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°Nn. Now, I know you have more questions, so out with them.¡± (Keeno)


    I was then asked several questions about the outside of Falheim which, by the end of the discussion, left Commander Freyr and the prince in a state of mild shock. Deciding it was best to let them mull over this new information, Sigurd and I left the room. We went back downstairs where we saw that arge group was surrounding Pram and Freya as Pram continued healing people. She had made a lot of progress through the room, though I could also see she was starting to get low on mana. Passing through the crowd, I stood next to Pram.


    ¡°Pram, take a rest.¡± (Keeno)


    I tried shaking her, but she didn¡¯t respond and just kept healing the person she was next to.


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried telling her, Okami, but it¡¯s like she¡¯s in a trance.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Once she¡¯s done here, grab one of her arms and I¡¯ll grab the other. We¡¯re going to need to get her away from this room for a bit if we want her to stop.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya nodded and once Pram finished healing the soldier, she stood up and the two of us moved. Freya grabbed Pram¡¯s left arm while I grabbed her right and we pulled her away. She tried to struggle, but since she was so low on mana, she didn¡¯t put up much of a fight.


    ¡°Emma.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This way, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Sigurd, exin the situation to these onlookers and don¡¯t let anyone bother us for a while.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady.¡± (Sigurd)


    We continued down a different hallway until Emma opened a door and we all went inside. Emma shut the door behind us as Freya and I put Pram down on a bed.


    ¡°Pram, are you back with us now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I did it again, didn¡¯t I?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, Pram.¡± (Freya)


    Freya started to pat Pram¡¯s head while Pram leaned into it.


    ¡°Emma, can we use this room?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady. I¡¯ll clear it with the one in charge of thister, but feel free to use it.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Keeno)


    I sat down on another bed and rested my face in my hands.


    {Don¡¯t worry, Keeno, I know you are having a hard time, but tomorrow will help.}


    ¡°Hehe. Emma, I think we should turn in for the day right now. Make sure no one bothers us the rest of the night and all day tomorrow. If thatmander needs something from me, Freya and Pram can act as my proxy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood, my Lady. I will go clear this with the one in charge of living quarters, then I¡¯ll be back.¡± (Emma)


    Once she left the room Iid down on the bed.


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, you two know what to do.¡± (Keeno)


    My two featheredpanions hopped out of my tails and pped over to whatever was a suitable perch where they started to watch the door. After I made sure they were doing their job, I closed my eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stay up toote, you two. And Pram, rest, it¡¯s just us in here, so feel free to stop putting up the not as tired as you are act.¡± (Keeno)


    I heard a rustling sound as I assumed Pram immediatelyid down.


    ¡°Gya!¡± (Freya)


    And apparently pulling Freya down with her. I chuckled a little before sleep came for me.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: And that¡¯s how you make a perfect cup of coffee out of esoteric energy.


    Luna: It¡¯s so good!


    Tamamo: It really is! We should tell Java about this.


    Order: I¡¯m sure he already knows, just hasn¡¯t figured out a way to make it perfect yet.


    Luna: Then how can you?


    Order: I had a good teacher.


    Luna: Chaos magic is such a cheat.


    Order: Says the fox girl that was a walking cheat as a mortal.


    Luna: You¡¯re damn right I was!


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. And it was so very enjoyable watching you be yourself, every step of the way.


    Luna: It¡¯s not as enjoyable as being with you, though.


    Order: ¡­And now I¡¯m the third wheel in my own home.


    Astraea: *still asleep*Mama¡­


    Order: Oh well, I¡¯ll leave them to their flirting while I take care of my precious little fluff. *starts to gently pat Astraea¡¯s head*

 Chapter 95- A Lesson in Divinity

    Chapter 95- A Lesson in Divinity


    [Keeno POV]


    Floating in a void, all I could hear were whispers.


    ¡°Kill them all.¡±


    ¡°Burn, kill, mutte, consume, murder, defile, torch!¡±


    ¡°Avenge me, avenge my son, avenge my father, kill all those responsible!¡±


    ¡°Destroy them for trapping us! End them for using us! Burn them for manipting us!¡±


    ¡°Free us from our suffering! We want revenge! Kill the king! Kill the princes. Kill the nobles! Kill the soldiers! Kill themoners! Kill the peasants! Kill the world!¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!!!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!¡± (Keeno)


    I started to use my magic to light the void. Wherever my mes touched, shadowy figures would hiss or shriek and disappear only for more to appear in their ce. I started to make more and more mes until the entire ce was a sea of cerulean me coursing with ck rivers if death magic.


    ¡°GET OUT! GET OUT! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!¡± (Keeno)


    I could feel the remnants of tears on my cheeks as they evaporated. As I was starting to panic as the voices were getting louder, a different warmth started to surround me. It wrapped me up and gave me a sense of home and peace.


    {Keeno, calm down and open your eyes.}


    My eyes shot open as I sat straight up while gasping for air. Ama wrapped her arms and tails around me tofort me as I noticed that I was shaking. Looking around, all the sand that was around us was turned to ss and there were still spots that were burning with blue mes.


    ¡°¡­A-Ama.¡±


    {Shhhh. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here, just take deep breaths and calm down.}


    She tightened her embrace, and I did as she said. After a few minutes I finally managed to calm down. The heat around us considerably lessened and the fires went out. I could feel tears streaming from my eyes without evaporating and I just couldn¡¯t keep it in.


    ¡°Ama!¡±


    {Oh Keeno¡­}


    As time passed, I gradually regained my senses. Ama moved one of her hands and wiped the tears from my cheeks.


    {Are you feeling better now?}


    ¡°Nn¡­Though I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in any state to go out on our date today.¡±


    {We have all eternity for that, silly, so don¡¯t worry. In fact, we can stay like this all day if you want. As long as it makes you feel better, then I will do anything.}


    ¡°Hehe. Those words are very dangerous, Ama.¡±


    {Why? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m ashamed or scared of anything you¡¯d ask me to do for, with, or to you.}


    ¡°You could have yed along, but there is time for thatter. What I want right now, is this.¡±


    I turned my face to hers and met her lips with mine. We both closed our eyes as we kissed until I had to back off to breathe several minutester. When we broke apart, Ama licked her lips with a light blush on her face.


    {Honestly, why do I always get that sweet feeling that makes me blush and my heart flutter whenever we kiss? Is it just your sweet taste, or something else?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but I absolutely love that feeling. It¡¯s addicting and I always want more.¡±


    {Then¡­}


    ¡°Ama, I am extremely tempted, but I feel like if I continue to kiss you the entire time I¡¯m here with you, instead of bing the goddess of Runes, I¡¯ll be the goddess of kissing or love or something.¡±


    {Hahaha. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works, but fine, we can hold off for a little while. And since we¡¯re not going to spend all day kissing and such, what shall we do?}


    ¡°Well, seeing as I just had a horrid nightmare rted to the grudges of the dead, want to help me figure out how to force Runes to work until I can make it an Authority?¡±


    {Sounds fun.}


    Ama reluctantly loosened her embrace enough for me to move more and I sat down on the now ssy ground next to her instead of herp, though I did move one of my tails and entwined it with one of hers, which made her happy again.


    ¡°So, as the resident goddess, any idea on how I¡¯m supposed to do this?¡±


    {¡­Keeno I-}


    ¡°Don¡¯t say you aren¡¯t an expert, you are literally a goddess, so if you don¡¯t have any tips at all, how am I supposed to do something like this?¡±


    Ama exaggeratedly pouted at me.


    {It¡¯s different than what you¡¯re thinking, Keeno. All gods are different with how they make use of their Authorities and Divinity. Even though we share the overall Authority of the Suns, we do things differently, not that you can do much with it at the moment.}


    ¡°Wait, go back for a second, why did you say Authority and Divinity separately?¡±


    {Because they can be used separately. Divinity is used for minor miracles and things that are simple while Authority is for our specialized roles.}


    ¡°Why am I only now learning about this?¡±


    {¡­Keeno, I HAVE taught you this before. Or is it that you weren¡¯t paying attention to those lessons?}


    ¡°Ummm¡­A-anyway, can I use Divinity at all?¡±


    {We¡¯lle back to thister, and yes, just like when you use Sr or Death magic, you are using your Authorities, you can use Divinity, though you don¡¯t have much yet. You have more than you did before you absorbed Vanir¡¯s Dead Zone, so if you concentrate hard enough, you¡¯ll be able to feel it like you feel mana. Here let me help.}


    Ama ced a hand on my chest and I started to feel a warm sensation starting to spread out from there. A few minutester and I actually started to feel a hot, burning sensation inside my chest.


    {Can you feel my Divinity making yours move?}


    ¡°Aanh!¡±


    {Eh?}


    ¡°A-Ama¡­!¡±


    {Sorry Keeno¡­I didn¡¯t mean to¡­consider this the punishment for not listening to your lessons back then and we can move on.}


    Ignoring the state she put me in by touching where she was, I DID feel an unfamiliar feeling inside me. Along with the feeling of mana, there was a denser feeling of something moving sluggishly. If mana was like water, then this other feeling was akin to something viscous.


    {Now that you are feeling the Divinity, try to start circting it like you do mana until it gets to the same consistency.}


    I nodded my head and started to do that.


    ¡°Hey Ama¡­if I use Divinity instead of mana for magic, what will happen?¡±


    {It¡¯ll make you extremely tired, like you get when you use up all your mana. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want you using Divinity excessively until you have more to work with. What you use will be regenerated, but you don¡¯t have a lot and are you are too inexperienced in using it to control the consequences of whatever miracle you produce with said Divinity.}


    Apparently something in my expression changed causing Ama to frown.


    {What was going on in your precious little head?}


    ¡°I was wondering what would happen if I injected Divinity in my dragon breath.¡±


    {¡­}


    Ama¡¯s pondering face was extremely pretty before she made up her mind on something which was indicated by a small ear twitch.


    {We can try that one time before tonight, but for now, focus.}


    I smiled and nodded my head as I went back to concentrating on my internal Divinity. After about two hours, I had it flowing around at a consistency that Ama deemed eptable.


    {Now, try making a simple Rune. I don¡¯t know anything about them, so this is all on you.}


    I nodded my head and, taking out a small rock and a knife from my storage ring, I started to carve a small Rune for light. After scratching the Rune into the rock, I poured some Divinity into it. I was ready to be disappointed by yet another failure when the Rune actually started to glow in a faint blue light. After a few seconds, the rock itself started to shine extremely brightly before burning out, the rock having been evaporated into nothingness.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {Well that was pretty.}


    ¡°¡­It worked¡­IT WORKED!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡±


    After this tiny sess, my mind started racing with variousbinations of Runes that I knew and could use for things. The first and foremost being something that can deal with grudges.


    {Don¡¯t get carried away, Keeno. Sure, you can make light use of them now, but remember what happened to that rock. It didn¡¯t evenst a minute.}


    ¡°Then I just need to experiment with what the best materials for Rune carving are. Rocks are out, but what about gems? Bones? Metal? There are so many things I can try, OHHHHHHH I¡¯M SO EXCITED!¡±


    I hopped up from the spot I was sitting in, forgetting mine and Ama¡¯s tails were intertwined, causing me to fall over and pin her to the ground.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {¡­}


    Our faces were so close I could feel even her smallest breath and our noses were touching.


    {Keeno, remember, we still have a long day ahead of us.}


    ¡°Next time you say that, actually mean it.¡±


    I kissed Ama again, and immediately felt like all things in the world were unimportant except for this feeling of closeness andpleteness. After that Ipletely lost any sense of time and, when I came back to myself, it waste afternoon, Ama lying beside me in a simr daze.


    ¡°Ama, when I said that earlier, you were supposed to stop me.¡±


    {But you said to only do that when I meant it.}


    ¡°Yes, and that was myst bit of rationality asking you to stop me. You¡¯re supposed to be the one that stops my impulsiveness.¡±


    {That¡¯s Fia¡¯s, Pram¡¯s, and Freya¡¯s job.}


    ¡°¡­Ok that¡¯s fair.¡±


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {¡°Hahahahahaha.¡±}


    ¡°*Sigh*I love you so much, Ama.¡±


    {I love you more, Keeno.}


    ¡°Ok, before we get into an endless, heated argument on how that cannot be possibly true since I love you even more than that, let¡¯s figure out how much time we actually have left today.¡±


    {Fine, but I still love you more.}


    I moved my hand and squeezed Ama, eliciting a small, pleased noise from her before sitting up. I looked up at the sky and saw that the suns were closing in on the horizon.


    ¡°About two hours.¡±


    {Yeah. So, what are we going to do? Continue our fun, actually do some work on figuring out what materials work best for Runes, or something else?}


    ¡°Well, first I want to try my dragon breath. Care to make me a target?¡±


    Ama waved her hand and over the water a giant rock started to float. After getting high enough to block the suns from sight, it started to shake until it took the form of a person¡¯s face.


    {Good?}


    ¡°Perfect. Now I can actually practice vaporizing that mongrel like I¡¯ve wanted to for a very long time.¡±


    I stood up and started to concentrate my mana in the center of my chest. It was a bit faster than the first time since I knew better what I was doing, so I got a bit bolder with it and started to add Death on top of Sr. The shining blue light that was starting to glow inside my chest started to get a sinister ckness to it. I then started to inject some Divinity into it as well. When I felt like I could barely contain the power in my chest, I looked toward the giant floating target. I heard Ama stand up next to me and she grabbed me from behind.


    {I¡¯ll brace you so you don¡¯t get flung back by the extra power, so let it out.}


    I smiled a feral smile and let the breath loose. A thick beam of ck light lined in cerulean blue flew from my mouth. It seemed like it sucked in all the light around it as it flew as the surroundings got darker wherever the beam went until in hit its mark. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then we heard the cracking sound.


    At first it started slowly. A fewrge cracks appeared on the surface of the rock and from those cracks shone a dark blue light. Then, nearly instantly, the entire rock was gone in a sh of light so bright I could see my bones through my arms and eyelids. I then felt some kind of feeling envelope the two of us just as the shockwave hit. If my outburst from when I arrived here this morning turned a small area into ss, the heat from this st and the shockwave turned the rest of the beach to ss before shattering it.


    {That was beautiful.}


    When I could actually see again from being blinded by the light, I saw the aftermath of my breath. Not only was the rockpletely gone, but so was the sea beneath it and the clouds above it. There was also a strange chill in the air, like the kind you only feel when something is so hot it feels cold, though honestly, I loved that kind of heat.


    ¡°Hey Ama, we should totally make this ce this hot all the time.¡±


    {While that can be arranged, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to have people over if we do. Especially right now, since most of that chill you¡¯re feeling is lingering Death. If we weren¡¯t who we are, then any mortal beinging here would die instantly.}


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m that powerful?¡±


    {No, that¡¯s what using up all the Divinity you can currently use in one attack can do. That¡¯s why I¡¯m banning you from using Divinity anywhere outside of here if it also includes your Death Authority. The only exception being your grudge removing Runes.}


    I nodded my head and only then did I notice a few things. One of which being that I was being carried by Ama.


    ¡°While I¡¯m notining, why are you carrying me?¡±


    {I guess you¡¯ve exhausted your body so much that you haven¡¯t realized it yet. If it wasn¡¯t for me sustaining you right now, you¡¯d be copsed in a heap.}


    ¡°Well, thank you for your help. Also, d we weren¡¯t wearing any clothes, because I don¡¯t think they would have survived that.}


    {Most certainly not. But since you¡¯ve shown off, now it¡¯s my turn.}


    Ama then waved one of her tails and the ground beneath us started to reform, returning to the soft ck sand from before. The chill in the air went away, before being reced by just the heat. The sea started to fill in the hole until it was like it was never there.


    {Where there is Death, Life will follow.}


    ¡°And where there is Life, the Suns will sustain it all.¡±


    {And Magic will improve what the Suns sustain.}


    ¡°And Runes will empower Magic so that all things are possible.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    {Ahaha.}


    Ama continued to show off for a little longer before she sat us down on the ground again.


    {And now, we¡¯re back to where we started.}


    ¡°You know, being the Goddess of Magic is kind of broken. I mean, you can use EVERY kind of magic, even ones not tied to your Authorities.¡±


    {Yes, though believe it or not, I¡¯m not as proficient in all of it other than the magic tied to my Authorities.}


    ¡°That makes sense, but that¡¯s enough of that. It¡¯s time for us to cuddle till I leave.¡±


    {That¡¯s one of the best parts of the day, if we ignore the whole you leaving part.}


    I didn¡¯t respond and just wrapped myself in Ama¡¯s tails, where I spent our remaining time together.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Hmmm. Should I have had my well also give her hints for Rune materials?


    Atmos: No, that would be giving too much information. It¡¯s always more fun to let them figure it out on their own.


    Order: Says the one that can, if she felt like it, learn anything and everything if you view it as useful for a prank, and so much worse if we factor in Fate.


    Atmos: Wahahahahaha! But in all seriousness, you made the right decision with what Keeno learned.


    Order: ¡­What did we miss?


    Atmos: What do you mean¡­WHY IS THERE A GIANT HOLE IN THEIR SEA!? AND WHAT¡¯S WITH ALL THESE WEIRD BEAMS OF LIGHT EVERYWHERE!?


    Order: The light beams are a censor, so they much have gotten up to something, but I don¡¯t know where the hole came from.


    Atmos: Don¡¯t you have a rewind thing?


    Order: Yeah, just let me find the remote.

 Chapter 96- Taboo

    Chapter 96- Taboo


    [Lucius POV]


    In a dark and damp dungeon underneath the capital of Falheim, I was continuing my ritual to bring out my ancestors¡¯ power.


    *schlick**drip*


    ¡°*Muffled groan of pain*¡±


    ¡°I know, Leticia, I know. It pains me more than you know to do this to you. I know you must now resent me, but this is for the good of us and Falheim. The more pain you feel, I feel ten times worse, like my soul is tearing itself apart, but I feel the power it gives me. KekekekeahahaHAhaahAhahA! *cough*¡± (Lucius)


    Blood drips from my mouth and joins the puddle of Leticia¡¯s at my feet. My hands are so slick with the crimson liquid that the knife slips from my grasp yet again, hitting the ground with a wet sound. I bend over to pick it up when a searing pain causes me to fall to my knees.


    ¡°GAAAHHHH!¡± (Lucius)


    Another bout of searing pain all up my spine, down my tail, on my hands, in my eyes left me writhing on the ground. I didn¡¯t know how long the painsted or how long Iy in the pool of blood, but once I came back to myself, I stood up. I immediately noticed the changes as well. My hands had turned scaled with sharp ws recing the nails. A few spots on my tail had also grown scales while spines had grown on the tip and up the top following along my spine. On my head two small nubs of horns started to grow.


    ¡°KekekekahahahAhHaaaHAKuHAaaaAAHHAha!¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°*Muffled sounds of pain and disgust*¡± (Leticia)


    ¡°Do you see, my precious Leticia! Our pain is working! All of this will soon be over, we just need that final push!¡± (Lucius)


    That was when I heard it. A low growling echoing from all around me. I looked around frantically looking for the source. This caused me to notice that I was no longer in the dungeon, but a space of pure darkness with the only other beings present being Leticia and whatever was growling.


    ¡°Show yourself, beast!¡± (Lucius)


    I summoned my glorious Soul Weapon, only to find it dull and the de full of cracks.


    ¡°Fufufufufufu.¡±


    The growling turned to feminineughter.


    ¡°You DAREugh at me!?¡± (Lucius)


    I swung my Soul Weapon in front of me, only for parts of it to crumble.


    ¡°You foolish descendant.¡±


    ¡°DO NOT MOCK ME!¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°I will do what I like, you foolish descendant, for you are a fool and thus not worth being taken seriously.¡±


    ¡°Who are you!?¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°I am the spirit of Fafnir, the originator of the name and your first ancestor.¡± (Fafnir)


    As soon as the feminine voice said this, the darkness began to brighten with golden mes. In front of me was a giant dragon with shining golden scales, a crown of horns adorning its head, and eyes that shone like flickering golden mes. The majesty of the dragon made even my great self fall to my knees in reverence.


    ¡°Ahh! So my great ancestor has decided to grace me with wisdom and her blessing!¡± (Lucius)


    The dragon in front of me started growling again, it¡¯s lips curling in disgust, showing off the teeth that were sharper than any sword, and made of gold.


    ¡°My blessing? Wisdom? HA! My spirit was not reawakened to bestow gifts upon you, you foolish mongrel! It was reawakened to set things to rights and condemn you for your atrocities! You havemitted the worse taboo any being of draconic descent could possiblymit!¡± (Fafnir)


    The gaze of Fafnir seemed to be looking past me, so I turned to see and saw Leticia, still strapped to the table, though her breathing was weaker than usual.


    ¡°When I was reawakened, I saw all memories from all my currently living descendants. You have all grown quite arrogant in the few thousand years since my death. Even then, you have had a very twisted love of your family. And it¡¯s a shame that you never felt any love for your daughter.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I never had a daughter!¡± (Lucius)


    ¡°That thing was never my father!¡± (???)


    A new voice came from next to Fafnir. When I turned to look at its source, I saw a female kitsune with silver hair and two silver tails. Her hair, ears, and tailed were tipped with cerulean blue that seemed to move like mes. She was tall, around the same height as me, and had a well endowed chest. Her hair was tied up high on her head, yet still reached past her knees. Her eyes, set in a permanent re were what clues me into her identity. They had glowing cerulean blue irises set in a sea of pitch ck sclera with slit pupils reminiscent of the dragon she stood next to.


    Without a second thought, I charged forward with my Soul Weapon, ready to skewer the disgrace in front of me. She stared at me with a scowl and moved a hand, hitting my Soul Weapon and shattering it so that all that remained was a hilt.


    ¡°Imagine my surprise when I wake up from seeing my wife not in my bed, but in yet another void, and the first thing I see is a dragon and a rat thing. Let me tell you, it¡¯s not very pleasant.¡± (Disgrace)


    The heat around me started to increase and the blood and other liquids on the floor started to boil.


    ¡°What¡¯s worse is I am cut off from her voice, and that¡¯s not helping your situation, spirit. So, you are going to tell me what is going on, why those <em>mongrels </em>are here, and why I can¡¯t kill them at this very moment.¡± (Disgrace)


    ¡°Worry not, little one. I am aware of your situation as well. I will exin things properly, but I first must finish the foolish one¡¯s punishment.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Honestly, I feel like you don¡¯t have much to do. Though it¡¯s still sickening to look at, its soul is just barely hanging on. I¡¯d say it has about¡­a month(?) left to live.¡± (Disgrace)


    ¡°Hmmm. Then would you like to be the one to punish it? I can see that you would love to, though I am a bit reluctant to let my descendants kill one another.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I don¡¯t care who kills it as long as I get to destroy the soul. Souls as corrupted as theirs have no ce ever reentering the cycle.¡± (Disgrace)


    ¡°I see. Then I will just let the taboo do its job.¡± (Fafnir)


    Hearing all of this, I couldn¡¯t contain my rage. I leapt up from my spot in the boiling blood and ran over to Leticia¡¯s table.


    ¡°I will not be looked down on by disgusting things like you!¡± (Lucius)


    Standing over my beloved wife, I plunged my hand into her chest and ripped her heart out before bringing it to my mouth and swallowing it. The dragon and the disgrace were stunned into silence. Then, a deafening cracking sound rang out in the void and I once again fell to my knees. Before I could say anything, though, an orb flowed out of Leticia¡¯s chest. The orb was ck and seems to drip with mud. Every drop that fell from the orb thatnded on anything dry started to melt into it like an acid.


    ¡°See, disgusting.¡± (Disgrace)


    I looked over to the disgrace and was stunned by what I saw. Appearing from her elbows to her wrists were ck chains faintly glowing with blue mes. Attached to these chain were two short swords with ck des, their edges glowing with more cerulean mes that would sometimes flicker a golden orange.


    ¡°Impossible. (Lucius)


    ¡°What? Did you think I wouldn¡¯t have Soul Weapons? All mortals do.¡± (Disgrace)


    She stepped away from beside Fafnir and next to the table before frowning.


    ¡°I hate both of you with every fiber of my being, but THIS, is not what she deserved.¡± (Disgrace)


    It was then that the air around the disgrace changed.


    ¡°I dere this to be a Sin of the greatest magnitude. Lucius, you are condemned to Soul Destruction. Await your sentencing for when I find you.¡± (Disgrace)


    The disgrace then swung one of her swords and cut the orb that came out of Leticia. The mud on the orb began to catch fire beforepletely burning away, leaving an orb or pristine ck. After another swing, the orb was cut in two before slowly dissipating like smoke.


    ¡°Ah. Foolish descendant that hasmitted the biggest taboo any of draconic descent can, and hadmitted one of the greatest Sins, I revoke you from my family. You are no longer a Fafnir. May your days be full of pain as the changes tear your body apart and you lose yourself to madness.¡± (Fafnir)


    My vision then went dark and I awoke in the dungeon once more. I tried to stand, but fell to the floor as my body began to experience pain in magnitudes indescribable with the words of man. I could not even scream as I writhed in the blood. The only things I was able to think about were the face of the disgrace and the orb that she cut.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Astraea: Mama¡­


    Order: Of course you woke up just in time to see that. Come here, baby.


    Tamamo: Luna, let¡¯s go. I need to be close to you for a bit.


    Luna: Yeah.


    *The two disappear just for another portal to open*


    What happened?


    Order: Astraea woke up and I didn¡¯t know, so she saw something she shouldn¡¯t have.


    ¡­*Silently hugs both*Everything is going to be fine, Astraea, I¡¯ll make sure we make more happy, fun memories to rece the scary one.


    Order: Why not just seal or make her forget it?


    I would never do something like that to my daughter. She will learn one day that there are things like that that happen, so there isn¡¯t a point in doing something that will just make her resee this and get a trauma from it. All we can do is make sure she has more happy memories to outnumber the bad ones.


    Order: Alright.

 Chapter 97- Talks with a Dragon

    Chapter 97- Talks with a Dragon


    [Keeno POV]


    After the thing even worse than a mongrel disappeared from the void, I turned to face the golden dragon.


    ¡°So, spirit, where am I and why am I cut off from my wife?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmmm¡­Call it a spirit realm of sorts. It¡¯s something that extremely powerful beings can create just before they die so they can watch over their descendants and make sure they stay out of trouble¡­or maybe it¡¯s a thing only dragons can do. I¡¯m not too sure on the details myself, I just know I could do it, so I did it.¡± (???)


    ¡°So, are you ever going to introduce yourself?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah, my apologies, Keeno, I-¡±


    ¡°I never gave you permission to use that name.¡± (Keeno)


    Already having been extremely irritated by seeing the face of that thing, my fuse was already nonexistent, so this dragon spirit using my name so causally nearly sent me over the edge. The blood that was still on the floor of the void started to boil even more.


    ¡°Pardon me, descendent Okami, I am Fafnir, originator of the name and your first ancestor in this world.¡± (Fafnir)


    Seeing as the dragon was at least trying to be cordial, I decided that I¡¯d let the name thing go this one time. The heat died down a little, though everything was still boiling.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s who you are and where we are, why am I here?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I thought I¡¯d take care of two things at once since I was reawakened by the taboo being broken. The first being aplished after the foolish descendant had my name removed from his soul. The second being my conversation with you. Fret not with exining the details of your life, I have seen your memories from when you were born to present day, so I know everything about you.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate having my memories read, Fafnir.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmhmhmhmhm. It¡¯s unavoidable but rest assured that only I know what is contained within them, and, if things pan out as I hope they do, you won¡¯t have to worry about me much longer.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Well, finish what you want to say, I have things to do, and I¡¯d much rather be doing them than this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Quite the feisty descendant, aren¡¯t you, though I do understand why. But you are correct, I should finish what I have to do. First, I¡¯d like to apologize as matriarch of the Fafnir family. What you were forced to go through when very young was not something any descendant of mine, or any child should have had to face. I know it means nothing to you, who¡¯s found family has provided what blood could not, but my heartfelt apologies all the same.¡± (Fafnir)


    Since her body was massive, she didn¡¯t move much, though she did close her eyes and moved her head in a way that I figured was a bow of apology.


    ¡°Second, I¡¯d like to give you some things, even if they mean nothing in the world of the living. As myst descendant, I¡¯d like you to take the name Fafnir. You need not introduce yourself with it to mortals if you so wish, but should you ever deal with another dragon, please use it as you see fit. I know not how much influence it will have, but back in my day, I was quite the renowned dragon whose riches were unending and whose scales were coveted by all for their worth as materials and currency.¡± (Fafnir)


    Before I could even say a word, my expression must have betrayed what I was thinking.


    ¡°Before you refuse, I ask that you truly consider it. I know what meaning you assign to the name but think of it another way. It¡¯s another thing you can take away from the foolish descendant and something you can hold over his head when you mete out his sentence.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll consider it. Once I¡¯m out of here, I¡¯ll have to discuss it with my wife.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That is enough, oh Draconic Fox Princess of the Blue Sun and Death.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Where in the world did thate from?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmhmhmhmhmhm. It is fitting for you though, is it not? You are a draconic kitsune who is a princess and the future goddess of the blue sun and death.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I hope that doesn¡¯t stick. I have a feeling if it does, I¡¯ll somehow keep acquiring titles with princess in them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, descendent, it will ¡®stick¡¯ as you say, I¡¯m the one who said it after all.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I guess purifying a dragon spirit is on my list of things I¡¯m doing today.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Please not yet, there are still things I wish to discuss, and I am sure there are a few things you are wondering about, right?¡± (Fafnir)


    Despite her face not moving much, she was a very emotive dragon, at leastpared to what my mental image of dragons was.


    ¡°Then let me ask, what is this taboo that was broken?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah, so you don¡¯t know. You know at least that dragons are a prideful, prideful bunch, correct?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Prideful, lustful, greedy, gluttonous, wrathful, slothful, powerful, absolute drunks, prone to kidnapping, am I missing anything?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Our pride is well known, and so is our love for our families, for they are also a source of pride.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Just going topletely ignore the rest, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Our love for our families, over generations, became so ingrained in our being that it became a part of our souls. So much so that, if any dragon EVER did anything to irreparably harm its family, it would start to suffer damage to its soul. We love our families more than our lives, so any dragon or being of even the smallest of draconic descent that does so, suffers bacsh. A side effect of this bacsh is that, in the case of ones of draconic descent, their body¡¯s take on draconic features, or even turn into a lesser dragon entirely in an extremely painful process before their soul shatters. That foolish descendant, though in an extremely twisted way, loved his wife, so torturing her to death like he did was enough to break the taboo a hundredfold. Honestly, I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s held on as long as he has.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°It¡¯s probably spite.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Most likely. Now, may I ask a question?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What is it like having a goddess as a wife?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hard to say since the answer would be extremely biased since I¡¯ve only ever loved her. I mean, I don¡¯t care about her power as long as I have her, so even if she wasn¡¯t a goddess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s the most amazing thing in existence to have Amaterasu as my wife.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmhmhmhm. You¡¯d make a splendid dragon if that¡¯s the way you see it. Now, onto the final matters. A request, seeing as you are the final member of my bloodline, I see no reason to stay as a spirit in a spirit realm and honestly, my soul has grown tired. I wish to be purified and returned to the cycle, and I ask if you will do so, Goddess of Death. Though, not at this moment, for I wish to witness the fall of Falheim as the world now knows it, call it tying up loose ends. As payment for this request, I will give you your birthright as I mentioned before and is still pending, and I will try and contain as much of the grudge that assails your mind as I can, though it will only amount to allowing you to sleep properly at most. Is this request eptable?¡± (Fafnir)


    I considered her words and the things she¡¯s said so far, as well as the actions I had seen her make in the earlier confrontation beforeing to a decision.


    ¡°Fine. It¡¯s my job as Goddess of Death to ensure all souls return to the cycle eventually, my Apostles, Valkyries, and family aside unless otherwise stated, so your request is epted, though I do have to add that I will not tolerate any memory snooping orments in my head. There is only room for my wife in there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then the contract is sealed. And worry not about your addendum, for I wouldn¡¯t be able to do that anyway. I can only see the memories up until the moment of my reawakening, and none after. And, with the amount of grudge I will be dealing with here, I will not have time toment on things, as much as I would like to. Now, farewell, my final descendant Okami.¡± (Fafnir)


    My vision started to go dark and I started to loose all feeling in my body as the visage of the giant golden dragon started to fade.


    Chaos Realm:


    Is Astraea finally asleep?


    Order: Yes.


    Good. The first sleep after seeing that is always the hardest. It¡¯ll get easier from here.


    Order: I hope so. Though I¡¯m worried about what effects this might have if her emotions affect her Authority¡¯s activation.


    Nothing will happen yet. She may be able to use a bit of their power, but not enough to cause any drastic effects that we can¡¯t fix. Though I think something that will help is if we call them.


    Order: Crisis and Evelyn are already on the way. They should be here soon.


    Good.


    Order: Payto¡­


    Leave everything to Keeno, Order. It¡¯s something she needs to deal with, and her punishment will be the same thing we¡¯d do anyway, just less painful for the culprit since she hasn¡¯t learned to torment souls yet.


    Order: ¡­Fine.


    *The two go back to giving Astraeaforting headpats while she sleeps*

 Chapter 98- Talking with Ama and Negotiations

    Chapter 98- Talking with Ama and Negotiations


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up for the second time today wasn¡¯t as nearly as unpleasant as the first, though the dull headache wasn¡¯t nice.


    {KEENO! WHAT HAPPENED!? WHY WEREN¡¯T YOU RESPONDING TO ME!?}


    ¡°Ama, please stop yelling, I¡¯ll exin if you just let me.¡±


    {*sigh*Keeno, I was terrified.}


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Ama, but it¡¯s not like I knew I was going to end up in my ancestor¡¯s spirit realm.¡±


    {Huh?¡­WHAT!}


    That one statement by me seems to get Ama extremely mad.


    {If you were there, then¡­}


    ¡°Yes, I saw <em>them </em>again. But there are several pieces of good news toe from that. The first being that the incubator is gone, soul and all. That taboo breaking mongrel¡¯s torture did her in, and it doesn¡¯t help that he literally ripped her heart out and ate it.¡±


    {¡­How repulsive.}


    ¡°Oh, believe me, I know. I was there to watch it happen. Also, that dragon taboo is some nasty stuff. That rat looking mongrel¡¯s soul is basically being held together with pure spite at this point. Honestly, it was just pitiful.¡±


    {Are you going to spare him?}


    ¡°Hel no.¡±


    {Good.}


    ¡°There is something I do need to discuss with you though.¡±


    {And that would be?}


    ¡°Well, for starters, Fafnir stripped the taboo breaker of the name Fafnir, and she wants me to take up the name. She said I didn¡¯t need to use it on anything official, but she would like herst living descendant to still have the name. And apparently, I can use it with other dragons for a small boost to respect or something.¡±


    {Hmm. What do you want to do, Keeno?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, that¡¯s why I was asking you.¡±


    {This isn¡¯t something I can decide for you, Keeno.}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I furrowed my brow. Going over things in my head, aside from the two people that used to be tied to the name, I had no real reason to not take it. And I feel like granting thest wish of someone is something that I should do if it was in my power, especially as the goddess of Death.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll take it. I mean, it was part of thest wish of my first ancestor, and aside from calling me by Keeno one time, she didn¡¯t really strike me as a bad person.¡±


    {Keeno Fafnir Okami¡­a bit of a mouthful, but it works.}


    ¡°I¡¯m only using Fafnir when necessary. I still prefer just Keeno Okami.¡±


    {¡­}


    ¡°What?¡±


    {I¡¯m getting a feeling that there is something else missing¡­something extremely cute for you.}


    ¡°*sigh*New title.¡±


    {What is it?}


    The unhidden excitement in her voice made me embarrassed to say it, but I knew Ama, and she would pester me until I told her.


    ¡°*SIGH*Draconic Fox Princess.¡±


    I tried whispering it, even though I knew she would hear it anyway.


    {¡­Yes¡­Extremely adorable.}


    ¡°???¡±


    {Why the confused face?}


    ¡°I just expected a bigger reaction.¡±


    {Keeno, what exactly could I do beside scream at the top of my lungs with how adorable that title is? I can hug you, or kiss you, or wrap you in my tails. That isn¡¯t to say that I feel oddly proud, but still.}


    ¡°A reasonable argument.¡±


    {I am nothing BUT reasonable with my arguments, my beloved.}


    ¡°She says when our she uses petty facts in our ¡®arguments¡¯ when we¡¯re together.¡±


    {All¡¯s fair when ites to bedding you, Keeno.}


    ¡°Oh really?¡±


    {Yep.}


    ¡°Good to know.¡±


    Before we could start flirting with each other more, the door to the room opened and Emma walked in.


    ¡°You¡¯re finally awake, my Lady. I was worried when you just randomly disappeared yesterday.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Sorry about that, Sr Convergence is the day I get to see my wife, so I¡¯m normally not avable those days.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Anyway, it¡¯s perfect timing that you¡¯re back, we¡¯re about to have a big meeting and themander wants you to be present. Your twopanions are already there.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Perfect timing indeed.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up and was about to start changing clothes when Emma approached me and started to help me.


    ¡°Emma, I can handle this myself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know, but I¡¯m also your maid, so I should help you. For old time¡¯s sake?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°What is your ulterior motive?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I want to pet your tails. For some strange reason, they¡¯ve been drawing me in and I just can¡¯t hold back anymore.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­Fine, but only this once.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes!¡± (Emma)


    And so, Emma assisted me in changing clothes like she used to when I was little, focusing mostly on my tails while she was at it.


    ¡°Bliss. This is way better than Selkie¡¯s.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh? I thought you two weren¡¯t that close.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We¡¯re not, but she¡¯s usually my tent mate, and she¡¯s a very erratic sleeper. I¡¯ve lost count how many times I¡¯ve woken up almost being suffocated by her tail.¡± (Emma)


    For some reason, there was a nagging feeling in the very back of my mind saying that I should scold that girl for neglecting her tail care, but I managed to ignore it until it went away.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go, we¡¯ve been keeping them waiting for too long.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True.¡± (Emma)


    We left the room and walked until we were back in the room I met the Commander and Prince for the first time. When we arrived, I looked around the room and saw the aforementionedmander and prince, along with Sigurd, Pram, Freya, and a few other people I didn¡¯t know. I nodded at themander in greeting before moving and sitting next to Pram.


    ¡°Wee back.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Keeno)


    Themander looked around the room and, after making sure it was silent and everyone was paying attention, cleared his throat.


    ¡°Now that all are present, it¡¯s time to go over the ns for our next move. Before that, though, a report. Thanks to the efforts of Sigurd, his squad, and the three new arrivals, we¡¯ve taken the border forts, thus securing the border for ourselves. Sigurd has sent riders out to gather supplies and allies for us and, with the information given by the new arrivals, we have a rough timeline. Best case, we have only two months to wait before supplies and allies arrive, and we can finally make a move on the capital. That is, like I said, the best case, assume we will make a move before then as always.¡± (Freyr)


    Some chatter started at this news but was promptly stopped by themander.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up too high, people, we are, as always, still bncing on the edge of a knife in this fight. Supplies and allies will mean nothing if we are all dead before they arrive, so keep your vignce. The enemy¡¯s movements have been bing more aggressivetely, meaning they are realizing they are getting cornered. This is when they are the most dangerous. I received word earlier today that one of our scout groups was ambushed by a battalion of Soul Soldiers and all but three survived.¡± (Freyr)


    The mood in the room suddenly hit rock bottom. Some stifled gasps, and other sounds of anger or sadness before Freyr called the room to silence again.


    ¡°I know what you are all feeling but save that anger for the battlefield. It is to the enemy¡¯s advantage if we rush in headlong for revenge.¡± (Freyr)


    He moved over to therge table with the map that had been turned on its side so everyone in the room could see it. It had new marking on it that weren¡¯t present when I saw itst. The side with the border was marked blue, while arger portion was covered with ck markings.


    ¡°Soon, we will move onto these territories and attempt to take these three cities. We do that, and we¡¯ll have taken control of roughly half of the country. This is crucial since it will also push them further into a corner, thus increasing the danger they pose even higher. The good news though, is that there has still been no movements my Duke-¡± (Freyr)


    I assumed he was trying to call the taboo breaking mongrel by the name Fafnir, but it seemed that my ancestor taking the name from him actually had an effect on anyone that tried to speak it.


    ¡°*Ahem*This means they are fortifying their remaining territory, making what we have to do much harder. They WILL push back, and they WILL NOT spare any of us. Be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of our people.¡± (Freyr)


    The Commander then started to issue orders to several people who immediately got up and left the room. He continued to do so until the only ones left were Sigurd, Emma, and me and mypanions.


    ¡°Lady Okami, I would like to request that you fight alongside us in the battles toe. I have spoken with your twopanions yesterday about this, but they both said that it was ultimately your decision.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll help, but we will needpensation afterwords. That is how adventurers operate. In this sense we are like mercenaries, but seeing as our goals are in line with the rebellions¡¯ to a point, thepensation will be light.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And thatpensation is?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°The location of the Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    The air around Commander Freyr and the Prince seemed to freeze when I said that.


    ¡°What do you want with that information?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°That is none of your concern, Prince. All you need to know is that, in the end, it will benefit all of you as well.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°As the one that will be the ruler after this is all over, I demand you tell me, niece.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°My Prince, calm yourself.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Freyr, this is of no concern to you, as a royal, it is my duty to make sure the Dead Zone is kept safe from all that would use it for evil.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°Like. I. Said. It¡¯s of no concern to you, Prince. If you need reminding, we¡¯re the ones that hold the power over this negotiation, not you. You are in no ce to demand ANYTHING of us or our motives.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You da-¡± (Prince)


    ¡°My Prince, you will be silent, this is not the royal court where you hold the power, but a negotiation between amander and potential allies. You will NOT jeopardize this for us, or I will lock you up myself. And Lady Okami, while I do understand we are in no position to ask your motives, it is necessary for us to know why you want this information.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°There is something there that is like a poison to this country. It¡¯s the same in several others outside of Falheim as well, and I am here to make sure it is gone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What? I¡¯ve never heard of such nonsense before. What is your proof?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°I¡¯ve already taken care of it once, in a country called Vanir. Of course, I know that this information is of no use to you, so I will divulge a small detail. It¡¯s something that only those with draconic blood can handle.¡± (Keeno)


    The Prince still looked like he didn¡¯t believe a word I said, but themander¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°I see¡­then there was more to them than just a long lineage.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°What are you mumbling about, Freyr?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°Her words hold weight, my Prince. The Duke house is one that holds draconic lineage and is the only other house aside from the royal family that has ever been allowed at the Dead Zone.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°¡­Tch. Fine.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°Lady Okami, the Dead Zone is located in the mountains directly behind the capital. There are two ways to get there, a passage located directly behind the throne in the castle, and another path below the castle where all the dead in the capital and its direct surroundings are brought and disposed of. If what you say is true, then your best bet to getting there will be either of these two ces.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Alright. You have my power at your disposal until the taboo breaker Lucius is dead and the capital is taken. Me and mypanions will join Sigurd¡¯s squad. Any objections?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°None. I thank you for your cooperation.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°May the Goddess of War bless our path to victory, the Goddess of Life protect ours to the end, and the Goddess of Death¡¯s des cleanse the souls of our enemies.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡®Was that really necessary, Keeno?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Why not? It¡¯s funny for us in the know, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®It really is. They have no idea how lucky they are.¡¯ (Pram)


    After a few more brief words, we left themand room to start the preparations to depart for the next battle.


    Chaos Realm:


    ???


    What¡¯s Astraea¡¯s Mofu bud doing?


    Order: Umm¡­no clue.


    Mofu bud: Mofu~*poof*


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Mofu bud: Mofuuuuuu~ *goes back to snuggle in Astraea¡¯s tails*


    Crisis: Wahahaha! I have arrived!


    Evelyn: *stays silent and instantly cuddles up to Astraea*


    Crisis: It¡¯s no fun if no one reacts. What are y¡¯all looking at?


    A book Astraea¡¯s pet eldritch Fluff bud poofed into existence.


    Order: And this strange rock thing that came with it.


    Crisis: Hmm. Gimme!


    Order: NO! I BANNED YOU FROM EVER USING NECROMANCY AGAIN!


    Crisis: Tch. Killjoy.


    Well, since she¡¯s not allowed to use it, I might as well ¡®drop¡¯ this into Keeno¡¯s storage ring.


    Order: I thought we weren¡¯t allowed to give her any more gifts.


    We¡¯re not giving her anything. I¡¯m just conveniently ¡®dropping¡¯ it and being toozy to pick it back up.


    Order: ¡­Oh no, I just so happened to never see it in the first ce, so there is no way this is going to mess up the order of things. *wink*


    *Wink*


    Crisis: Why am I even here?


    Payto and Order: So Evelyn can be with Astraea in her moment of need.


    Crisis: *Sob* Oh woe is me; the Goddess of Insanity being lowered to the level of convenient transportation.


    Order: *Pats Crisis¡¯ head* Now, now, you know that¡¯s not true.

 Special Fluff Chapter

    Special Fluff Chapter


    This takes ce at some point on a sr convergence, it has nothing to do with the main part of the story and is purely because I got an idea that I just had to write. Please enjoy the Fluffy treat.


    [Keeno POV]


    Sitting next to Ama, I had a random, fun thought.


    ¡°Ama, I know it¡¯s neither of our specialty, but make it as cold and snowy here as you possibly can.¡±


    {Oh? Give me a moment.}


    Ama closed her eyes and I felt the power around her start ring. A few secondster, the scenery started to shift. The ck sand and sea started to gain a haze before vanishing like fog. In their ce was an endless expanse of a snowyndscape. Snow also started to gently fall, reminding me of back home in Solheim.


    {Good?}


    ¡°Almost. Can you recreate the lodge?¡±


    She responded with a snap of her fingers and soon the home I remembered appeared in front of us. A wave of nostalgia hit me as soon as I saw the lodge that I wasn¡¯t expecting. It gave me a pang of longing that I didn¡¯t know I was feeling until now.


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    I grabbed AMA¡¯s hand and pulled her inside. The usual sights and smells hit me in the feels once again, making me tear up a little. After taking a second to recollect myself, I smiled. I pulled Ama over to one of the big chairs and sat her down.


    ¡°Just wait right here, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Seeing as Ama recreated every little detail, I ran to the kitchen and started to prepare some hot chocte.


    ¡°Oh, if only Pram and Freya could be here. I¡¯m sure Pram would love it.¡±


    As I was making the hot choco, a letter appeared in front of me.


    [Just this once, ask and you shall receive. Again, because this is a special asion this is happening, after this, they can onlye here when they fully be Apostles. -???]


    As soon as I finished reading the letter, it folded itself into a tiny origami fox and leapt straight through the wall like it wasn¡¯t even there. Before I could even process what was going on, I heard some surprised shouts and ran from the kitchen to see what happened.


    When I got to where the voices were, I saw Pram and Freya sitting in the floor, confusion written all over their faces.


    ¡°Where?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Solheim?¡± (Pram)


    {Not quite, Pram.}


    ¡°Well, where else could we¡­possibly¡­¡­be? ¡­¡­So that¡¯s what you look like. I have to say, Keeno wasn¡¯t exaggerating, you really are beautiful.¡± (Pram)


    {Why thank you, Pram.}


    ¡°Can someone please tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± (Freya)


    {For some reason I don¡¯t know, the two of you have arrived in my home in the Divine Domain.}


    ¡°I see¡­HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE!?¡± (Freya)


    {It just does.}


    Since they were having fun, I silently went back to finish making the hot chocte, adding two additional cups and setting out a fifth in case Red decided to show up at some point. I put the cups in a tray and went back to where everyone was. Pram had gotten up and sat down in the chair she usually took when she came over. Seeing as it was another of the big chairs, she had Freya sitting closely next to her. Though she was trying to hide it, Freya was lightly blushing while Pram was smiling happily, her tail wrapped snugly around Freya¡¯s waist. I ced the tray down on the small table and handed out the drinks.


    ¡°Thanks, Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pleasure¡¯s mine, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    After handing a cup to Ama, I picked up mine and sat down next to her. Just before I got trulyfortable, I snapped my fingers and a fire was lit in the firece.


    ¡°Were you homesick or something?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, just had an idea and wanted to follow through with it. This is just the setting for the idea. I mean, while the two of us don¡¯t feel it as much, it should be quite cold in here, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. Quite cold indeed.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ok, perfect.¡± (Keeno)


    I stood up again and walked over to where we piled up the heavy nkets and picked one up before sitting back down next to Ama. I then leaned over and whispered something in Ama¡¯s ear before winking at Pram. She started smiling happily once again when she saw that. Ama snapped her fingers, and a super big, super fluffy looking hoodie from my past life appeared in Pram¡¯sp.


    ¡°Something for the two of you to share. Should keep you both nice and warm.¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh, and Freya, there¡¯s no need to be so embarrassed. No one will make fun of you or judge you for showing affection to Pram. We all know you¡¯re madly in love with each other, so show it.}


    These words seemed to have pushed a button in Freya, because her face grew redder until a small puff of steam flew off the top of her head. After a few more seconds though, herplexion went back to normal. It seems she got so embarrassed that she overheated, causing her restraints to loosen.


    She pulled one of Pram¡¯s arms to her chest and started nuzzling into the crook of Pram¡¯s neck before finally finding afortable spot with her head leaning on Pram¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Fine. This is fine. If you¡¯re all going to make me like this, then be prepared, I¡¯m sticking so close to Pram that it will take the might of all the godsbined to tear us apart, and even then they¡¯ll still fail!¡± (Freya)


    {Heh. A challenge, is it? Keeno, let¡¯s show them what true cuddling is like!}


    Apetitive smile spread across mine and Ama¡¯s faces as she wrapped her tails around the two of us then magically wrapped us up in the nket. We now looked like a giant, fluffy cocoon with only our heads showing. Pram chuckled before finally pulling the oversized hoodie over her and Freya. It took them a second to figure it out, but eventually their heads emerged.


    ¡°Keeno, I don¡¯t know what this thing is, but I love it. It¡¯s so warm and cozy, and it has sleeves so I can drink without moving my arms out of the warmth.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And it¡¯s so soft.¡± (Freya)


    {Ha! Imagine having to move your arms in the first ce.}


    Smirking, Ama made our cups float up and to our lips, though she switched the cups, so she ended up drinking from mine and vice versa.


    ¡°That¡¯s cheating.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Alls fair when ites tofy cuddling, Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She¡¯s right¡­how to respond?¡± (Pram)


    Pram closed her eyes in thought when Freya made a move. She tilted her head up and whispered in Pram¡¯s ear. Whatever she said, Pram smiled her biggest smile of the day so far and, judging from the rustling, moved and started to hug Freya. The one being hugged had a triumphant smile on her face as she shifted a little and started nuzzling Pram again.


    Not to be outdone, Ama shifted around and kissed me on the cheek. This was when I made my own move. Tilting us sideways, Ama and I fell over until we were on our side, with Amaying on top of me while I hugged her tightly in the kind of position one would normally assume when rxing while watching movies with their loved one in my past life. Ama had her head resting on my chest while snuggling deeper into it.


    {I could get used to this.}


    ¡°Let me do the sameter.¡± (Keeno)


    {Naturally.}


    ¡°Gah! This doesn¡¯t let us do that!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram?¡± (Freya)


    Freya turned her head a little to see why Pram wasn¡¯t responding only to see she had fallen asleep, thepf finally getting to her.


    ¡°Looks like we win this round, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes.}


    ¡°¡­We¡¯ll, at least I have a nice view.¡± (Freya)


    She continued to stare at Pram¡¯s sleeping face until a bitter when she also sumbed to thepf. Ama and Iy there watching the fire crackle as we enjoyed the closeness.


    ¡°This was one of my best ideas ever.¡±


    { I have to say, I agree. A bit of a shame we don¡¯t get the full effect due to how hot we naturally are, but the atmosphere is enough.}


    ¡°If only Red had showed up.¡±


    {She¡¯s probably spending time with the others, so it¡¯s fine. Though we should absolutely invite her next time.}


    ¡°On that, I wholeheartedly agree.¡±


    And thus, the two chatted until sunset, all the while enjoying the loving embrace of one another.

 Chapter 99- Setting Out

    Chapter 99- Setting Out


    [Keeno POV]


    After leaving the war room, we began preparing to depart. Once all preparations were finished, themander issued orders on who attacked where. Sigurd¡¯s squad along with three others were assigned the mountainous territory who¡¯s main city was built into and on the sides of the mountain.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Is something wrong, my Lady?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I feel like we were assigned this city because stone doesn¡¯t burn as easily.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, it would make sense, considering what happenedst time you were involved in the attacking of a major ce here.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you know I waspletely justified in that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why you¡¯d have a problem, also considering that fort was also mostly stone.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I never said I had a problem, just that I felt like it was the reason we were assigned this target.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, I for one, am happy it¡¯s this ce. There are a lot of stairs there.¡± (Emma)


    At that, the people around us that had been slowly making more space around us due to the topic of our conversation suddenly stopped being discreet about it.


    ¡°That¡¯s a weird reaction.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s because Emma has be a bit infamous due to her penchant for pushing people down stairs or other simr things in urbanbat.¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°Oh, when did you get here, little fox?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m not little!¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°Says the one shorter than all of us.¡± (Pram)


    The little blonde kitsune poured at the teasing she received before going over and grabbing Emma¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Emma, they¡¯re bullying me.¡± (Selkie)


    ¡°And your reaction is just further enforcing your childish image.¡± (Emma)


    Emma said this while using her free hand to pat the little fox¡¯s head. If her tail was any indication, she was enjoying this quite a lot. It was then that Sigurd stepped to the front of the group and turned to all of us.


    ¡°It¡¯s time. We set out for our mark now. If all goes to n, we will arrive in two weeks. Prepare yourselves for anything that may happen on the way.¡± (Sigurd)


    Once his little speech was finished, he turned around and started to walk away, followed by the rest of us. As we were leaving the city we were based in, several people lined the streets and waved off the soldiers. Some threw flowers in the way, others ran up and gave the soldiers some kind of small trinket, probably a kind of good luck charm or something simr.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {What¡¯s on your mind, Keeno?}


    ¡®It¡¯s just¡­so human. Constantly being bombarded with grudge aside, in my mind, most Falheim people were seen as monsters rather than human, but seeing this is¡­endearing? Anyway, knowing that not all people are reprehensibly irredeemable mongrels and actually seeing it is a weird shift in perspective.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {While I feel this should have been obvious seeing as there is an entire rebellion going on, at least you are starting to fully understand. Of course, I¡¯m not trying to mock you or anything, but I also have what is basically a different point of view when ites to these things. While I DO have a bone to pick with specific people in this country, most of which are nobility rted, I¡¯m not mad at the entire country.}


    ¡®I understood you weren¡¯t mocking me, Ama. I know you¡¯ve said many times that it¡¯s not all of Falheim that is bad, but specific pieces of the whole that are rotting it. But I AM seeing this from a mortal point of view, so I feel like I need a little ck with this.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Just remember this for the future, Keeno. A neutral point of view is needed on all things. See all sides of it. If you need to choose a specific side, make sure it¡¯s the one that is beneficial for everyone in the long run. Though you may think that it was due to you being selfish, you already made a decision like this with the Dead Zones. Keeping the point of view, you have now is good as it will make making decisions in the future easier, as the Goddess of Death, if you are going to make a system that punishes people for a sin, you need to keep a perfectly neutral stance on judging them.}


    ¡®Why does it feel like this turned into some kind of lesson?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It kind of did, though teachable moments like this are always good.}


    ¡®Fair.¡¯ (Keeno)


    As soon as my conversation with Ama ended, I saw something insanely sweet. One person threw a flower which Pram caught; she then ced the flower in Freya¡¯s hair by her ear. It all happened so naturally that one could almost think it was nned that way.


    ¡®Pram is smooth.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Indeed. Hmm.}


    ¡®Don¡¯t try and make something that will give us a simr situation, it will just feel like we¡¯re copying them.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Alright, though I do think it¡¯s about time for a change in scenery here. I¡¯m kind of tired of beach and ocean.}


    ¡®I¡¯ll try to think of something.¡¯ (Keeno)


    We marched the rest of the day after making it out of the city. It was finally out of sight when we set up camp. I was sitting beside a fire, roasting some small chunks of meat while Pram and Freya chatted with each other. Emma had gone off to do something with the little fox trailing behind her like a duckling.


    ¡°So, my Lady, this is where you were.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hello, Sigurd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°There is something I need to discuss with you, may I sit?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Go for it.¡± (Keeno)


    He sat on a log on the opposite side of the fire, the light it gave off making his face seem grave. We sat there, the only sounding from the constant chatter of other people and the crackling of the fire, as well as a few small sizzling sounds from juice dripping off the meat.


    ¡°My Lady, I have a bad feeling about this mission. Something about it feels¡­different than previous ones.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hmm. Maybe because it¡¯s a very important battle?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No, well, maybe a bit, but it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s¡­it feels like this is too easy. We¡¯ve been sessful on most missions for a while now with very few casualties and it¡¯s giving me some¡­trepidation for continuing.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit toote to be saying all this?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, and I did bring it up with themander before we departed, but he said that we need to continue pushing forward or else we will lose the momentum. At the time I understood him and I managed to power through these thoughts during preparation, but after marching all day, the thoughts havee up again.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Forgive me for intruding on the conversation, but I have some input on this topic.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Feel free to give it.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Things like that are normal when you are doing something like this, be it on the way to siege a city, or any other mission where stakes are high. Sure, repeated sesses may seem like things are too easy or that some big, bad thing is going to happen soon, that isn¡¯t always the case. If that doesn¡¯t help, then attribute the sesses as thanks to the strength of you and your subordinates, or poor nning or reaction from your opponent, or any other reason you can think of. Thinking in the way you are now is only going to cause you to mess up at some point, and that won¡¯t end well.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I see. That¡­that makes sense.¡± (Sigurd)


    It seemed that Freya¡¯s words helped Sigurd move past his doubts a little and he soon got up to leave.


    ¡°I would love to stay and chat, but I still need to finalize the n for when we get to the target.¡± (Sigurd)


    He walked away, leaving us three alone.


    ¡°¡­Keeno, I didn¡¯t say anything earlier since we were surrounded by people and I didn¡¯t trust using telepathy, but are you sure helping out that prince person is worth it? I mean, the way he just demanded you exin everything to him like it was wrong to hide any information from him just gives me a bad feeling.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree. He gives me the same feeling I got when I dealt with Family leaders, which is to say, not trustworthy in the slightest.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know that trusting him is only going to lead to trouble down the line, that¡¯s why, once this is over and the Dead Zone is gone, we¡¯re going to make Freyr the new ruler. He¡¯spetent, and unlike the prince, his soul isn¡¯t tainted. And hey, what¡¯s a bit of regicide when we¡¯re already enemies of the world?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. A small step in righting the wrongs of this country¡¯s leadership.}


    The night continued on as we conversed over a topic that was anything but good for a certain prince.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: ¡­And why am I now stuck with a sleeping Crisis in myp?


    Because yourp is very nice to sleep on.


    Order: ¡­


    You¡¯re so cute when you blush like that.


    Order: *blushes more*


    *Begins patting Order¡¯s head*


    Order: Hmmmmm.


    Hehe.

 Chapter 100- Beginner Necromancy

    Chapter 100- Beginner Necromancy


    [Keeno POV]


    The two-week march was surprisingly void of any trouble. This lead most of us to be on edge as we progressed toward the mountain city we were supposed to conquer. Said mountain came into view a few days ago, and it was an impressive sight, as much as I hated to admit. The mountain was also surrounded by a forest full of trees with leaves that ranged in color from yellow, to brown, to red in a lovely disy of the current season.


    ¡°Sigurd, we should be careful walking through here. I may be an amateur when ites to warfare, but even I know this ce is perfect ambush terrain.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m getting an unsettling feeling about this, but we still need to push on.¡± (Sigurd)


    He then turned to the rest of thepany.


    ¡°Once we enter the forest, be prepared for anything.¡± (Sigurd)


    At those words, the entire vibe of thepany changed. Honestly, it was quite interesting just how quickly everyone raised their guard. Nothing happened as soon as we entered the forest, though, speaking in a non-serious way, the forest was even more beautiful in the tree line.


    ¡®Almost a shame this ce is going to go up in mes if a fight does happen.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s the price of war for you. It¡¯s honestly a bit saddening.}


    ¡®That¡¯s the goddess of Life for you.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®You know, now that I think of it, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re so unopposed to killing people and animals for the goddess of Life.¡¯ (Freya)


    {Why would I be? Aside from certain exceptions, it¡¯s all a part of Life for things to die. Sure, I might not like the reason some things die early, but in the end, it still happens. And I know for a fact that even if I could step in to stop it, things would find ways to die that I didn¡¯t consider.}


    ¡®What are those exceptions?¡¯ (Pram)


    {True immortals like us gods, our Apostles, spirits, things whose natural lifespans are basically immortal but still kible like dragons.}


    ¡®¡­Now that I think about it, how did my ancestor die and make a Spirit Realm if she should have been immortal, lifespan wise?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Not sure, you should ask her next time you see her.}


    ¡®I will, and maybe I¡¯ll try some of that stuff written in that book that just randomly appeared in my ring. If she want to of course.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®I feel you should probably do some of that before then.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®I agree with Freya, Keeno. I don¡¯t know anything about necromancy, but I feel like it¡¯s something that should at least have the bare minimum experience in before trying to raise a dragon.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®That¡¯s fair¡­hmm.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Keeno, you¡¯re making that face again.}


    ¡®Just got an idea, I¡¯ll run it by youter, for now, we¡¯re about to be busy.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Up ahead, I could see a smallish clearing with several ck orbs hiding.


    ¡°Sigurd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Up ahead?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yeah, I can only see a few souls near the entrance to the clearing, but there is most definitely more than just that small number. Unless they arepletely underestimating us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Can you tell the strength of the enemy?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°No, I just know they are there.¡± (Keeno)


    While Sigurd fell silent in thought, I decided that I would like to try something.


    ¡°Sigurd, send me and Freya in while the rest of you hold back here. There is something I want to try, and the two of us should be enough to handle this many. Just be prepared to jump in or run if things go south.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Are you sure, my Lady?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yeah. Though, if things do work out, the city will definitely end up learning we¡¯re here if they didn¡¯t already know.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll have any that know water magic get ready to put out any fires as fast as possible.¡± (Sigurd)


    I nodded and looked at Freya.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is what Pram meant by getting some experience.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°People learn faster under pressure like this, Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*sigh*¡± (Freya)


    Sigurd have the signal to halt and Freya and I continued into the clearing. The souls showed that the ambushes noticed us and they started to move. Aside from the ce we entered from, people wearing light armor appeared from every other direction, quickly surrounding us. Once they were all in position, shimmering weapons of varying types appeared in their hands. Looking around, a lot of these people had a vacant look in their eyes, while a few others had a sadistic cruelty in theirs.


    ¡°I hope you at least know a little of what you¡¯re doing.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I have the theory down, just need the practical. Once I start, things¡¯ll get easier. Though they¡¯ll be cannon fodder at most.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t work out?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll both be fighting.¡± (Keeno)


    Any words Freya was going to retort with were lost to time as one of the ambushes ran at us. Freya immediately summoned her swords and defended against the attack with one while stabbing the assant with the other. As soon as the body fell to the floor, I got to work.


    Raising my hand over the body, I started to channel my mana into it. I imagined a set of chains keeping the soul in ce and then making sure there was a tether of mana connecting me to the chains. Once this process was over, the corpse started to rise unsteadily.


    ¡®Ugh. This is harder than I thought it would be.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Maybe so, but at least it was unexpected for the enemy. They haven¡¯t moved and some are clearly scared.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Then let¡¯s put the fear of us in them more.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I sent a signal through the mana tether and the newly raised undead started to shamble towards one of its previouspanions. Said previouspanion started to shake and turned to run, only to end up being cut down by another.


    ¡°WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING!? WE ARE THE ELITE OF FALHEIM, DON¡¯T LET SOME¡­WITCHCRAFT LIKE THIS SCARE YOU! KILL THE WITCH AND HER PET, THEN RAZE THE ARMY BEHIND THEM. LET THE RIGHTFUL KING BE DECIDED WITH THIS!¡±


    One of the enemies whose eyes weren¡¯t dead rallied his Allie¡¯s and this started a charge of several more while others stayed back to ensure we wouldn¡¯t escape. Tapping. Foot on the ground, I sent a wave of fire behind me until it reached behind our enemies. The fire then spread in a ring around the clearing, helped greatly by all of the fallen leaves.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it cute, Freya? They think we¡¯re trapped here with them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Freya)


    The enemies were surprised for a second, which gave Freya the opportunity to take out several of them by doing her usual move of speeding herself up to great speeds. I also did my best to do my work as fast as possible. We soon were about even in numbers with the ambushers.


    ¡®This is as many as I can manage at the moment.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Got it.¡¯ (Freya)


    Imanded my undead to attack or distract the enemies while Freya started to once again go on the offensive. There were a few times when one enemy nearly broke through the line to get to me, but they got burnt to a crisp the second they got too close. Near the end of the battle, my undead managed to finish off the few enemies left near me. When I was sure that no one was left around me, I cut the mana tether and all the undead fell to the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut. The souls started to float out of the bodies, and I summoned one of my swords and purified them. I looked over to Freya to see she was in the middle of a sh with the final enemy.


    ¡°Pet of the witch, I will y you here and bring you and your master¡¯s head to my lord. Myrades may have fallen into your hands, but I will be victorious. Falheim will be victorious.¡±


    Freya then kicked the man in the stomach, pushing him back before bursting forward, impaling him through the chest and head. When his soul began leaving his body, I purified it.


    ¡°Well, that went quite well.¡± (Keeno)


    {From my point of view, that was sloppy. You could have done much better, Keeno. Your mana control was all over the ce and so much was wasted on unnecessary actions.}


    ¡°It was my first time doing necromancy, so let me celebrate that much.¡± (Keeno)


    {Fine, but you are working on this the next time you get a chance. I am unwilling to let you be subpar in anything rted to magic that you can use.}


    ¡®I understand, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    I canceled the magic on the fire that surrounded the clearing, though that didn¡¯t do anything to the fire that spread from it. Thankfully mages that could use water magic were already putting any of the fires out that they could before running through the clearing to try and put out the others they weren¡¯t near. After surveying the clearing, Sigurd walked up to us.


    ¡°My Lady, Lady Freya¡­these were elites, and you managed to finish them off so quickly¡­this is amazing.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°They weren¡¯t that hard to fight.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­If we were left to our own devices, a good chunk of our forces would have been killed.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°There¡¯ll be time for reflection on these thingster, Sigurd. We have more pressing matters to attend to. I hope everyone got adequate rest during this time, because now that this has happened, we need to move. The city would have seen the fire, so it¡¯s time to charge.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know, my Lady, we are ready.¡± (Sigurd)


    Sigurd then turned to the forces we had and went to make a rallying speech.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {What¡¯s wrong, Keeno?}


    ¡°Is the reason I know all of this warfare stuff due to the blessing of war?¡± (Keeno)


    {Most likely.}


    ¡°It¡¯s weird knowing things that I never really learned.¡± (Keeno)


    {Just imagine if all my Divine Protections worked, then you¡¯d be even more powerful than you currently are.}


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t let that go?¡± (Keeno)


    {I probably never will.}


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to find Pram; I¡¯m feeling weird just listening to the two of you right now. It doesn¡¯t fit with what¡¯s about to happen.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°She says as she goes to find her girlfriend to flirt.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya¡¯s ear twitches, showing her embarrassment at being easily found out but still walks away to find Pram.


    ¡°Oh, and Ama, how about a forest like this for the new scenery? I always did like forests and their look in this season, even back then.¡± (Keeno)


    {Noted. It¡¯s shall be done shortly.}


    I spent the rest of the time before the major battle like this so my own nerves didn¡¯t get the best of me for what was about to happen. By the start ofte afternoon, our forces arrived at the entrance to the mountain city.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: That was a horrible disy, Keeno. Such bad puppeteering skill.


    Oh yeah, one of your other Authorities was Puppeteering.


    Order: Yeah. I don¡¯t use it much now¡­I wonder if Astraea would like a puppet show one of these days.


    I bet she would.


    Order: Guess I¡¯ll shake off the rust then. Care to be my spectator?


    dly.

 Chapter 101- Siege of the Mountain

    Chapter 101- Siege of the Mountain


    An hour before noon in thergest residence of the mountain city.


    [Baron Orcly Orcalus Piggalus Swine POV]


    I was sitting at my table, looking over the abundant feast in front of me and debating about what should be eaten first when I was so rudely interrupted by one of the peasant maids bursting into the room.


    ¡°Lord Baron-!¡±


    Before the whelp could continue, I tossed one of the empty tes from my pre-lunch snack from the pile beside me at her.


    ¡°Address me correctly!¡± (Baron)


    The peasant, now shaking and with a small trail of blood flowing from her head, spoke once more.


    ¡°O-oh graciously corpulent Lord Swine, a message has arrived from the guards at the city gate. The rebel army has arrived and is making its way through the forest as we speak.¡±


    Hearing the sniveling whelp¡¯s message, I rxed further into my seat.


    ¡°Hmm. I have heard the message. Leave me and wait in my chambers. You will be mypanion for the night. Rejoice to your heart¡¯s content.¡± (Baron)


    The cat eared toy then ran from the room while tears of joy fell from her eyes, leaving a small trail of stains in the carpet.


    ¡°So, the game for the throne has finally reached my doorstep. That young one is making surprisingly good use of his pawns. A shame his father has stationed those Soul Soldiers in the forest, though I guess his Majesty has been keening his scions from the throne for centuries at this point. I do wonder what it would be like serving a new king though.¡± (Baron)


    In my mind I imagined a possible future under a new king before waving those thoughts to the back of my mind.


    ¡°More importantly, I think I will go with the pork.¡± (Baron)


    As I stabbed my fork into the sulent meat, I felt an itch in the back of my mind as the halo above my head shone a small bit brighter.


    {How annoying. The lord of this city is an angel. Take care of him quickly, my love.}


    It was just barely a whisper but present all the same.


    ¡°Such strong telepathy. Wonder who it is, not that it matters.¡± (Baron)


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°Annoying angels. Why do they have to have that stupid ability?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. Isn¡¯t that something SHE should know?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked before and she told me that it was the Goddess of Creation that made living things, or at least the races that living things could be born as. Ama is just responsible for making sure they actually have Life.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­That¡­why don¡¯t more people know that? It¡¯s the first I¡¯m hearing this.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t know that, but we¡¯ll askter. ¡°(Keeno)


    We were standing in front of arge, closed gate. I could see the souls of arge number of people standing behind both the gate and above it. Every so often I saw the glint of metal through some of the small arrow holes lining the top of the gate as well.


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Sigurd)


    While Sigurd was standing next to us, contemting what to do, one of the soldiers stepped up.


    ¡°General, should we prepare some battering rams? There are abundant resources to do so, and I get the feeling that those inside won¡¯t make a move while we do.¡±


    ¡°No, that will take too long and while I trust the instincts of my men, I won¡¯t take any chances and leave an opening like that.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Sigurd, you know very well I can open us a way in. It will result in some damage to the gate and maybe a bit of the city, but I¡¯m confident I can contain the damage to only that much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°With all due respect, my Lady, but I also don¡¯t want to do that. You¡¯ve already done us a great service today, and I feel like if I continue to make these requests of you, it will be like I¡¯m asking you to do all the work while we sit back and watch.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Sigurd, me and mypanions are adventurers hired to help in this war. As a general, you should use all the advantages and people you have to seed. I don¡¯t care how much you ask me to do as long as I get what I¡¯m owed in the end. So, man up as a general and do your duty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*Lady Okami, destroy the gate and sound the start of the battle.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°dly.¡± (Keeno)


    I lifted a hand in front of me with my palm facing the sky. Just above my hand a small ball of cerulean mes formed, empowered by it being the hour before noon. I began pouring more mana into it while keeping it small. While the size didn¡¯t change, the heat around us began increasing. Grass around us and the leaves of the trees behind us began to singe and I heard the cries of a few people behind us whose facial hair became the first casualties of today¡¯s battle. When I decided it was enough, I made the ball of magic fly toward the gate.


    ¡°COVER YOUR EARS AND EYES!¡± (Keeno)


    I didn¡¯t turn around to see if anyone listened to me as I covered my own ears and shut my eyes as tight as I could. Not long after that, a still loud boom echoed all around followed shortly by a wave of heat that I found extremely pleasant but was extremely hot for normal people. When I opened my eyes, the gate was entirely gone as well as a small chunk of the side of the mountain. Inside through the smoke, I could sort of make out a lot of movement, like what happens when you kick an anthill. Though I cracked the gate open like an egg, nobody on our side moved.


    ¡°Sigurd, give the order to charge.¡± (Keeno)


    Sigurd snapped out of the stupor he was in and looked at me.


    ¡°Are you alright? Something of that magnitude should have taken too much mana.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, more than fine even since that didn¡¯t take much. But that¡¯s not important, if we¡¯re attacking, give the order. We can¡¯t always be distracted like this if we¡¯re going to win this war.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re right. We can¡¯t be surprised by every little thing if we¡¯re going to win and get more allies from outside. LISTEN UP ALL OF YOU, IT¡¯S TIME WE GO ON THE OFFENSIVE. STORM THE CITY, SPARE ALL CIVILIANS AND KILL OR CAPTURE ANY SOLDIER! WE TAKE THIS CITY FOR THE REBELLION!¡± (Sigurd)


    Sigurd¡¯s spirited yell had the effect that was intended and soon a war cry rang out from our side. We began to charge toward the gate of the city while the ones supposed to be guarding it were still shocked. They only started to regain their senses once we crossed what used to be the still smoldering gate.


    [3<sup>rd</sup> person POV]


    As the rebel forces flooded into the city, citizens fled to their homes or other ces they deemed safe. The soldiers who had run to the gate after its destruction were met in the streets by rebels in battle. The sh was intense and both sides took losses. Though the rebels were outnumbered, they were aided by the blessing of war, leading to a slow, but steady advance through the city, with more losses or captures of Falheim loyalists than rebels.


    The further inside the city the rebels pushed, the more frenzied the loyalists became, some fighting tooth and nail, others giving up when realizing they were fighting a losing battle. Many of the ones that went out fighting fell to Freya or Keeno, seeing as they were managing to overpower the rebels, though several also fell to Sigurd¡¯s sword. Emma had also raked up a good number of kills on the enemy by continuously finding ways to knock them downrge numbers of stairs, ending in the deaths of many by ways of falling or being crushed. By the time evening was nearing, the rebels managed to make it to the surroundings of the Lord¡¯s residence.


    [Baron Orcly Orcalus Piggalus Swine]


    Just as I was about to go to my room to feast upon the maid from earlier, my entire residence shook.


    *boom*


    ¡°Squeeeee! What was that!?¡± (Baron)


    Shortly after that loud noise, one of my soldiers burst into the room.


    ¡°Most opulent one, Lord Swine, the rebels have broken into the city and are surrounding the manor.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!? What have you all been doing!? Make those insignificant pests called peasants throw themselves at the swords of the rebels! Don¡¯t let them any closer to my wonderous home, you filthy beast!¡± (Baron)


    For a brief second, some kind of emotion crossed over the face of the soldier before me before he turned and left the room. I huffed and turned around to start making my way to my room again, but once again, I was interrupted. The ss in the room shattered as a loud boom sounded. I fell to the floor in a ball while covering my precious head to ensure my beauty would not be marred. Another few momentster, and I heard the sound of doors bursting open once more, the soldier from earlier flying through it and sliding to my feet. Through the now broken doors stepped several figures, though one especially caught my eye. A tall kitsune with twin tails of the brightest silver, tipped with a glowing cerulean that matched her irises. Said irises were surrounded by a sea of ck darker than the darkest abyss. Those eyes put a primal fear in this great me, like my very soul was being judged. I was captivated by this kitsune that I didn¡¯t notice the man stepping up to me.


    ¡°Lord of this city, relinquish your rule. We have taken the rest of the city.¡± (???)


    Turning my attention to the one speaking, I couldn¡¯t help but scoff. He looked like a rank-and-file peasant like the rest of them, the beautifully scary eyed one notwithstanding. I stood and faced him while summoning my Soul Weapon behind my back.


    ¡°Relinquish my rule? PAH! You know NOTHING. I will never relinquish my rule. Doing so would be a sign of weakness, and weakness is not epted here. If I relinquish my rule, I will have no ce in the future of this country. Neither the current nor future ruler would allow one who gave up their rule to live, and I will not die. BUHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!¡± (Baron)


    I swung my Soul Weapon at the offensive mongrel, though before my de struck true, my vision shook, and I started to feel a burning sensation in my arm. I looked down and saw my handying on the floor, a light burning smelling from the end of it and my arm.


    ¡°SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± (Baron)


    ¡°It even sounds like a pig.¡± (???)


    The scary-eyed kitsune stepped forward, a de swinging from a chain having appeared in her hand.


    ¡°And, out of all the nobles in this country I¡¯ve seen so far, all of them have been so Corrupted, it¡¯s absolutely sickening.¡± (???)


    ¡°Corruption? HAH! I am not corrupt, all those that live in my city are mine to use as I see fit. There is no such thing as corruption when I am one of the few chosen to as a real human and not one of those heathan peasants in the shape of people.¡± (Baron)


    ¡°*Sigh*It¡¯s always like this. Every single one of them is like this, my Lady. And they all end the same.¡± (???)


    The mongrel brandished his sword and swung, and everything went dark.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: That blessing of war is broken.


    I wouldn¡¯t say that. It¡¯s just Falheim being weak that makes it look broken.


    Tamamo: There is being weak, then there is this. How have they even survived this long?


    No idea. The world atrge has found a sort of peace incency, though Odeen has taken over several small countries, making it basically an empire, not that it¡¯s going tost much longer thanks to Keeno. But enough of that.


    Luna: Fine, but how is that grudge going? Keeno seems to be getting angrier again.


    She¡¯ll manage a little longer, especially if she finds what I hope she finds soon, because I¡¯m sensing some fun things in the future if she does.


    Tamamo: Care to let us in on what you see?


    Where¡¯s the fun in spoiling it?


    Luna: He¡¯s right, Tamamo, let¡¯s just wait and see.


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. Fine, but I really do hope as interesting as you are making it out to be.

 Chapter 102- Aftermath of the Siege

    Chapter 102- Aftermath of the Siege


    [Keeno POV]


    After Sigurd beheaded the pig angel, he called in one of his people to go and raise the g of the rebellion over the city. When the person ran off to carry out those orders, Emma stepped into the room. When I saw her, there was a different air about her that made me smile.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My Lady, it paints a very disappointing picture seeing youugh over a corpse.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I have no way to refute that, but that isn¡¯t important right now. Emma, how many people did you kill today?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s not like I keep track of the number of people that die when I kill or push them downstairs.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Fair point, anyway, get over here, one knee.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma looked at me with a confused expression but did as I said. She stopped a step before me and knelt down on one knee.


    ¡°Emma, you have reached have in countless foes, enough for the Goddess of Death to take notice. Hence, I, as the Goddess of Death, offer you the position of Valkyrie. Should you ept, you will receive the benefits of an Apostle. Do you epting into my service for all eternity?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I shall serve as a Valkyrie from now unto eternity, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Then I, Keeno Okami, give you the Family Name Okami and anoint you as a Valkyrie. Rise now, Emma Okami, and fight by my side to ensure those who¡¯ve died pass on in peace.¡± (Keeno)


    I felt a heat from my chest flow down my arm and umte in my hand before it flew over to Emma and surrounded her. Her body then became shrouded in a dark aura before receding a momentter. What Sigurd and I saw after the aura disappeared shocked us. Unlike Red, Emma¡¯s entire appearance changed.


    Her once short brown hair had grown to around the same length as mine and turned white with a few streaks of red. Her skin had turned a slight bit paler, and her figure became a bit leaner. Her eyes changed from their jade green to an incandescent sky blue. Her Soul Weapon beside her had changed form to a great sword that was about half her body size. She also gave off a simr feeling to the one I felt when I met Fafnir, almost like she¡¯d be a spirit.


    {Close, Keeno. She¡¯s a half-spirit now.}


    ¡°Who?¡± (Emma)


    {Oh right, you can hear me now. I¡¯m Amaterasu, Keeno¡¯s wife.}


    ¡°Oh¡­OH! It¡¯s nice to meet(?) you!¡± (Emma)


    {The pleasure is mine. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for taking care of Keeno when she was little, even if it was only for a small amount of time.}


    ¡°It was nothing¡­um¡­what should I call you?¡± (Emma)


    {Just Amaterasu, or Rasu, as one of Keeno¡¯s Valkyries, you have that much of a privilege, though seeing as it is probably not something you feelfortable with, you can call me what you call Keeno.}


    ¡°Then, Lady Rasu, it was nothing, though it was a bit rocky at the very start, I¡¯m d to have met my Lady, and am proud to serve under her forever.¡± (Emma)


    {Very good. Now, you should finish up anything in here before moving on. You can probably find some good stuff in that pig¡¯s treasury.}


    ¡°True, but first, we need to deal with this.¡± (Keeno)


    The soul of the pig was still floating around near its meat suit, dripping with corruption the entire time.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask what that disgusting thing was when it just appeared a moment ago.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That is the soul of that pig right there. It¡¯s one that is super corrupt and needs immediate purification. And speaking of that.¡± (Keeno)


    I swung one of my des through the soul and the muddy corruption dripping from it started to burn away until all that was left was a grey glowing orb that vanished shortly after.


    ¡°Is that what happens every time you kill something?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Pretty much, though normally the souls don¡¯t float out like that, it did this time since I wasn¡¯t the one that struck the final blow.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°No, you¡¯re fine, but we should move on. Sigurd, you should go do your general thing, Emma and I are going to move through this ce and find anything that could prove useful to the cause. If you see Pram, let her know that she¡¯s free to heal as much as she pleases.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hehe. It feels more like you are the general than he is.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling the same. And while I am grateful to those two for the blessing of war, it¡¯s also weird having all this knowledge I never actually learned in my head. At this point, it feels like if I take charge anymore, I¡¯ll end up staying here a lot longer after getting stuck with a title and responsibilities I don¡¯t want.¡± (Keeno)


    {And you would still fulfill those responsibilities if you had them.}


    ¡°Well, I would until I could push it off onto someone else more fitting. I¡¯m NOT going to run this country or take any other form of leadership. So, until Freyr is king, I¡¯m no longer taking over Sigurd¡¯s role.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What do you mean making Freyr king?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I don¡¯t trust that, Prince. His soul is just like that pig¡¯s. And something that pig said is stuck in my head. Of course, I could just be overthinking it, but what if this whole rebellion was just a game to them for the purpose of deciding the next ruler?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, my Lady. Thinking in that way is way above my station.¡± (Emma)


    {Same problem, but it¡¯s actually the opposite, it¡¯s under your station. As one of Keeno¡¯s Valkyries, you are one of the most important beings in the world.}


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± (Emma)


    {For now, though, you won¡¯t have much to-curious.}


    ¡°Something wrong, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {A small piece of my ce is changing, and I¡¯m not causing it¡­Hmm. I¡¯ll be back, you two keep doing what you¡¯re doing.}


    We continued to look for the treasury in the manner when we came upon an extremely gaudy door full of gold and silver trimmings and made of an extremely pretty ck wood that was ruined by the before mentioned additions. Emma and I turned to each other and nodded before we both pushed the door open.


    The room was dark and smelled of a mix of extremely strong perfume and the stink of unwashed people. There was also a small shriek. I conjured a small ball of fire to light the room, tinting it in blue. Barely hiding behind a table piled high with things ranging from jewelry to vials of liquid was a cat girl wearing nothing but a leather cor. She was desperately trying to cover herself, make herself as small as possible, and generally project an aura of invisibility.


    ¡°Little cat, we¡¯re not here to hurt you, that pig is dead. Emma, find her some clothes.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma looked around before seeing a pile of clothes that obviously belonged to the girl. She moved over and picked them up before slowly approaching the girl. She was shivering and still had the terrified aura from when we first entered the room.


    ¡°Little one, what¡¯s your name?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°O-Ortlinde.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Then, Ortlinde, you really are safe. That pig is dead and will never hurt you, I made sure of that. Please, let my friend here help you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°H-his Corpulence, Greatest of his Name, the Baron is dead?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Did it make you call it that?¡± (Keeno)


    She didn¡¯t say anything, but the increased trembling and small nods were all the confirmation I needed. Emma proceeded to dress the girl and once she stepped away, the girl finally fully believed she was safe. She fell back to her knees sobbing. Emma and I looked at each other and came to a silent agreement tofort this girl. We knelt next to her, and I wrapped one of my tails around her while Emm wrapped her in her arms and patted her head. After a while, she finally calmed down and fell asleep.


    ¡°Emma, keep watching over her, I¡¯m going to keep looking around.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    Looking around the room, there were several bookshelves. Seeming like the most obvious thing to do, I started pulling every book off the shelves until the clich¨¦ yed out. Pulling on a book with a long, overly detailed and obnoxious title that gave away the entire plot, a click sounded, and the bookshelf slid into the wall and behind another shelf.


    ¡°No matter the world, some things are always the same. Hidden bookshelf doors are too easy to find.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked into the room to see it was full of gold and other things that looked obnoxiously opulent. Swords, shields, suits of armor made of gold and adorned with ornaments that made them far from battle worthy. Paintings of the manor¡¯s previous owner, all nude which I promptly burned. Several chests overflowing with coins. All typical of what I figured would be in here. I was just about to leave when I saw something that stirred something in me. Like seeing it was a slight to a pride I didn¡¯t know I had.


    On the wall next to the door was a rtively small item about the size of one of my hands. It was an almost glowing gold, ruined by a carved and painted crest of what I assumed to be this baron¡¯s family. When I touched the object, it flew brighter and the painted bits burnt away, though the carving, unfortunately, remained.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s a dragon scale¡­They turned Fafnir into petty trinkets that decorate their walls!¡± (Keeno)


    The heat in the room increases rapidly, causing several things to start burning.


    {Keeno? What¡¯s wrong?}


    ¡°They turned Fafnir into ornaments! Nothing useful, decoration! It¡¯s an insult! They¡¯ll all burn for this!¡± (Keeno)


    {m down, Keeno. Don¡¯t let the dragon pride control you, you¡¯re stronger than it.}


    Suppressing my irritation, I took a few deep breaths until I calmed down.


    ¡°I hope that doesn¡¯t be a problem any time I meet anything dragon rted. It¡¯s worse than that annoyingly persistent grudge.¡± (Keeno)


    {You can manage it; I believe in you.}


    ¡°Thanks, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    I put the scale away into my ring before leaving the treasury making a mental note to talk to Freyr.


    ¡°My Lady, what was that about?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I found something irritating. Can you carry her?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Easily. After bing a Valkyrie, I feel so much stronger now that it¡¯s mind blowing.¡± (Emma)


    Emma gently lifted Ortlinde and we walked to the door. After making our way downstairs we ran into Sigurd again.


    ¡°My Lady, your friend Pram didn¡¯t need telling about the healing, she was already doing so when I found her.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Figured as much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Who is this youngdy?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Someone who ising with me for a while. Were there any other servants in the manor?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for that report as well, though from what I can see, they¡¯ve all probably fled when word got out that we were in the city.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°So, they just abandoned her¡­*sigh*¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm¡­My Lady, I have an idea, but it will have to wait for this little one to wake up, and for the four of us to bepletely alone.¡± (Emma)


    I nodded to Emma, and we went back to waiting for the report. It didn¡¯t take much longer and all it really did was confirm Sigurd¡¯s theory.


    ¡°Oh, Sigurd, you¡¯ve taken several cities like this one, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Have you personally gone through the treasuries?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Several times, yes, but not every time.¡± (Sigurd)


    I pulled the dragon scale out of my ring.


    ¡°Have you found any more of these, with family crests painted on them?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, those are the proof of nobility. We were ordered by the Prince to take those and give them to him when we found one.¡± (Sigurd)


    My temper red again, but I managed to keep it from affecting anything this time.


    ¡°Looks like I REALLY need to have a conversation with Freyr. But that aside, what¡¯s next? Do we continue to push to the capital, or do we return to base?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We return. I suspect we¡¯ll be told what¡¯s next in the next debriefing. We¡¯re close to the end, and it¡¯s, in my opinion, best to push the rest of the way, but I¡¯ll leave that decision to someone more experienced in warfare than me. But I¡¯m going to station the ones that are to watch over this city and then we rest before going back to base. I¡¯ve told your twopanions toe here when they finish their tasks.¡± (Sigurd)


    I nodded then brought one of my tails forward.


    ¡°Muninn, go find Prama and Freya. Watch over them just in case.¡± (Keeno)


    Muninn emerged from my tail and ruffled its feathers in acknowledgement before pping over to Sigurd¡¯s shoulder as he was leaving the building.


    ¡°Pretty bird.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°You¡¯re awake again?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, mydy. I-I apologize for my rude, unseemly behavior from earlier.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, though there are some things I¡¯d like to talk about with you. And you don¡¯t need to address me that way, just call me Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma ced Ortlinde down and, though hesitantly, she nodded her head. We moved to a room close to the main foyer and sat down to start our discussion. Though before it really started, Ama spoke to me.


    {Once you three are done, I figured out what was going on here, I¡¯ll let you know then.}


    I nodded before looking at Ortlinde.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get started.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Luna? What are you thinking up over there?


    Luna: Hey, Payto, does Amaterasu have an order of Pdins that follow her?


    She has a big following, especially in Odeen and Lokir, and they both have orders of knights that call themselves pdins, but they aren¡¯t true Pdins.


    Luna: So, she hasn¡¯t blessed any of them?


    Nope.


    Tamamo: I think I see where you¡¯re going with this now.


    Luna: Can Keeno bless people yet?


    No, though she should be able to give minor blessings when she takes Falheim¡¯s Dead Zone, I think.


    Luna: We need to get Keeno and Amaterasu here; I want to talk with them and give them an idea. Can you make that happen?


    Give me some time.


    Tamamo: You really want this whole Pdin thing to happen, don¡¯t you.


    Luna: Of course. I think it will be a good idea, and if it works out, an order of Pdins can really help out Keeno¡¯s Valkyries keep the peace, so to speak.


    Now, will they be Pdins of the Sun, or Death Pdins?


    Luna: The Sun, Life, and Death.


    And here I thought I was the one who looks at the bigger picture.


    Luna: You are, I just have a different perspective.


    True.

 Chapter 103- Proposition to Ortlinde

    Chapter 103- Proposition to Ortlinde


    [Keeno POV]


    With the three of us sitting in silence, I had time to fully observe the cat girl. She had short, shoulder-length ck hair with two cat ears and a tail on her back that matched. She was petite, but not in a healthy way, like she had barely been given enough to eat. Not to say she was skin and bones, but still. Her most striking feature, however, were her eyes. They were like two rubies.


    ¡°U-uhm. Ldy Okami, why are you staring at me so much?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Just looking.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A-at what?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Your soul. You see, I think I¡¯ve finally figured out something that¡¯s been bugging me for a while, but I haven¡¯t had time to really check until now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I-I see? But please don¡¯t look at me so much. I don¡¯t deserve to be looked at by someone with eyes as pretty as yours.¡± (Ortlinde)


    {Keeno, I like this girl, you should keep her around.}


    ¡®I was thinking the same thing.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Miss Ortlinde, you must have more confidence in yourself. If we feed you properly and get you some better clothes, then you¡¯d be a stunning young woman and man, or woman would fall head over heels for.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Eh!? But I was thrown out of my home because I failed to seduce men! I only managed to be a maid here after begging for the job for months! The only reason that disgusting pig wanted me was because I was the only one here nobody had touched yet! How can I be considered pretty when I¡¯m facing two of the most stunning women in all the world!?¡± (Ortlinde)


    As she tried catching her breath from her sudden outburst, Emma and I smiled at her.


    ¡°So, Emma?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady, she is perfect.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Miss Ortlinde, I have a proposition for you, would you like to hear it?¡± (Keeno)


    At my words, she became meek and nervous again.


    ¡°Y-you saved my life, s-so I really feel like you should just make me agree.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°My Lady isn¡¯t like that. She¡¯s from outside this ursed country where people are better than the ones here.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Huh? There are other countries?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Yes, but we can save that conversation forter. For now, hear me out. I¡¯d like you to join us, and when I say us, I don¡¯t mean the rebellion, but my group ofpanions. There are nine of them for now, but that number will berger in the future. We¡¯ll take care of you like a family, but not one of those imitations from this ce.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°You¡¯re probably thinking what we¡¯d get out of this, aren¡¯t you?¡± (Emma)


    Ortlinde didn¡¯t verbally answer but nodded slightly.


    ¡°My Lady has a soft spot for people like you. When she sees someone in a situation like yours, she can¡¯t help but want to aid them or, in a sense, adopt them into her family. Though I¡¯ve also recently reunited with her, from what she¡¯s told me about her travels so far, and some of the people she¡¯s met, I know for a fact things like this are going to be moremon as times goes on. You may not specifically have a fancy title like I do, but you¡¯ll still be considered family.¡± (Emma)


    {She¡¯s got your personality down, Keeno.}


    ¡®Of course, she does, she¡¯s a maid, they¡¯re supposed to be near omnipotent.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s¡­oddly urate, at least for the most part.}


    ¡°S-so you just want me to join your family? No ulterior motives?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°I mean, I¡¯d ask you to help out with things here and there if you can, but other than that I just want to take care of people like you. I¡¯m no saint, that¡¯s my friend, and I know I can¡¯t do this for every single person in the world in a situation like yours, but I reserve the right of reaching out if I want to. In fact, it¡¯s because it¡¯s you that I¡¯m extending this offer.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°W-what makes me so special?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Two things, one, your soul. It may not be as pure as my saint friend¡¯s, but it¡¯s still extremely pure, especially for someone who lives in Falheim. Two, you like my eyes. I can count on two hands the amount of people that liked my eyes from the very start without taking the time to actually get to know me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s absurd! How can people NOT like your eyes!? They are so pretty, and I feel like I could be lost in them if I let myself.¡± (Ortlinde)


    {Keeno, don¡¯t you think Red would like a sister? I can ask if they want to adopt her and give her an Apostle trial.}


    ¡®Do it,ter though.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®It¡¯s not my ce to judge, but if that¡¯s all it takes to get on the good side of both of you, things will be difficult if an enemy learns of this.¡¯ (Emma)


    {It¡¯s fine, Fia taught Keeno how to see through empty ttery, and once she gets more of her Authorities unlocked, she¡¯ll be able to discern lies and the truth.}


    ¡®I will?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Of course. You are the Goddess of Death; you must be able to see through these things if you are to judge a soul properly.}


    ¡®¡­Anyway, back to Ortlinde.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°T-this is too good to be true. There is n-no way there is someone this nice.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s the truth. Think of it this way, little one. What is there waiting for you if you decline? Hardship of a magnitude you can hardly imagine. Living on the streets, only the clothes on your back for warmth in a cooler season close to winter. No way to get food other than stealing it or begging. No roof to sleep under. No protection from those who¡¯d use you for unsavory things. What I¡¯m offering is safety, peace of mind, and people that would look at you as an equal and as family rather than a thing that is only there to be exploited or used. Though, now that I say all this out loud, it makes it sound like I¡¯m trying to strongarm you into agreeing, which I¡¯m really not trying to do¡­*sigh*Why does everything I¡¯m saying sound so insincere?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Because that is usually how the truth makes things sound when listed out in that way, especially with things like they are in this country.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°OH! And here is a bonus for you if you ept my offer. I can teach you how to manifest your Soul Weapon.¡± (Keeno)


    Ortlinde¡¯s eyes went wide at my words, and she nearly jumped to her feet in shock.


    ¡°I can use a Soul Weapon!?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Everyone can, I just didn¡¯t know why people in Falheim couldn¡¯t, which is what I figured out by observing you earlier. Turns out, your soul is too weak to manifest it. Aside from the physical side needing to be improved for your quality of life and health, you need to strengthen your soul to normal person levels to manifest it. And to do that, or at least start the process it to get more confidence in yourself.¡± (Keeno)


    Ortlinde continued standing there in shock at this revtion while Emma looked a bit confused.


    ¡°How can you tell how strong or weak a soul is?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling. You¡¯ll get it once you get used to seeing souls. Just try not to get overwhelmed when we actually go out and see a lot of people.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m suddenly very worried.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma and I chatted a little while longer while Ortlinde processed the information I gave her earlier. When she finally managed toe back to her senses, she fell limply onto the seat behind her.


    ¡°Head¡­hurts.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°My Lady, I feel like this is enough information sharing for her for one day.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I agree, though I would like to hear her answer to my proposition.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°H-honestly¡­I don¡¯t see a real choice to refuse¡­and¡­I really want a family. If this is all a dream, I really hope I never wake up.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Wee to the family, Ortlinde Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Ortlinde)


    I got up from where I was sitting and walked over to where Ortlinde was sitting. I sat next to her and wrapped one of my tails around her. She leaned into the hug, and she started to cry, the reality fully sinking in. Emma joined soon after and we stayed like that for a while before Ortlinde finally calmed down and dried her eyes. I stood up from the seat and held out my hand to her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go meet Pram and Freya, they¡¯re going to love you.¡± (Keeno)


    Ortlinde took my hand, and I helped her up before all three of us left the room.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­


    Keeno: What?


    Nothing.


    Luna: Hey, Keeno,e here for a bit, we need to talk, you too, Amaterasu.


    Amaterasu: Coming.


    Keeno: What is it?


    Luna: Getting straight to the point, you should make a Pdin order.


    Keeno: Pdin?


    Amaterasu: Why?


    Luna: Because leaving all the work to Keeno¡¯s Valkyries is too much. If you make a Pdin order with them at the head, then they can delegate tasks to them while they take care of more important things. You can both give ones that pledge their service to the two of you blessings and stuff, and if they end up betraying the order and consequently the two of you, then you can take them away.


    Amaterasu: It¡¯s a good idea, and it would allow me to assist Keeno¡¯s Valkyries indirectly, though I don¡¯t have any good ideas for members. Those knights that call themselves pdins in my service don¡¯t count.


    Luna: What are you talking about? There are at least two perfect candidates at the moment. You know, Sigurd and Ortlinde.


    Amaterasu: Well, I still need to reach out to Fu and Moco about Ortlinde, but I think it can still work for Sigurd.


    Keeno: Um¡­What¡¯s a Pdin?


    Luna: Think Einherjar, but not dead and eternally preparing for war.


    Keeno: Oh¡­That¡¯s a wonderful idea, and I could totally see Sigurd being one of them.


    Luna: Then I¡¯ll draft up a n for you while you two look for members, I¡¯ll give it to you next time Payto decides to let you bothe here.


    ¡­


    Keeno: Seriously, what¡¯s up with him today?


    Luna: Order yelled at him for messing up and making Astraea cry, so now he¡¯s despondent due to both of those things.


    Amaterasu and Keeno: Ah.

 Chapter 104- Introducing Ortlinde to the others.

    Chapter 104- Introducing Ortlinde to the others.


    [Keeno POV]


    After leaving the manor, we found a bewildering sight. Rows upon rows of soldiers from this city all lined up on their knees, looking like they were waiting for their execution. Beside me, Emma falters a little while looking at all these people.


    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Overwhelming at first, isn¡¯t it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You see like this all the time?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Since I was 10. Though I got brief glimpses before then.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Like I said, you get used to it.¡± (Keeno)


    While we were looking at all of this, Ortlinde was hiding behind me, clutching onto one of my tails. Feeling this, I wrapped her arm in one and we started to walk, Emma on her other side so she could stay somewhat hidden from view.


    After leaving the courtyard full of prisoners, we stopped at the gate.


    ¡°Huginn, find your sibling.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn emerged from my free tail and pped up to my shoulder. Looking at it, I saw the mischievous look in its eye.


    ¡°No, ba-¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°CAW!!!!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°You dumb bird! That hurt!¡± (Keeno)


    I tried to grab Huginn by it pped into the air just out of my reach.


    ¡°Cawawawawawawaw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate, you¡¯ll have toe down eventually.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Cawawawawawawawawawawawawaw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°That was quite funny, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    I was about to reply when I heard a cawe from a bit away from us. Looking up, Huginn started to fly in that direction and we followed. Several minutester, we found Pram, Freya, and Muninn surrounded by peopleying on the ground, most in good condition while others were still injured and waiting to be healed. Muninn flew down andnded on Freya¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I have several questions, but they can wait, why do you look so pissed?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°My damn bird nearly ruined my hearing.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So that¡¯s why it¡¯s flying around up there still.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°More importantly, how did things go on your end? We heard a little from Sigurd, but not all the details.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Lord of the city is dead. Preferred that to surrendering peacefully. Going to leave some people here to watch the ce while we go back to base.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. As long as we don¡¯t set out now. I need to finish up here.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°My guess is we¡¯ll leave in a few days, tomorrow at the soonest.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Give me two, I¡¯ll be done by then.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You¡¯ll have more than that, Pram. The way Sigurd handles these things is we take a week to rest before moving back to base. The border forts were an exception.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Perfect.¡± (Pram)


    Pram continued to heal people while we stood watch over her until she was nearly out of mana. We then helped her up and brought her over to where we would be resting for the time being. Thankfully, Sigurd had us set up in a ce where we could be alone and go unheard by the rest of the rebels and citizens of the city.


    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for introductions. Pram, Freya, Muninn, this is Ortlinde, the newest member to our little family.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°H-hello.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, Ortlinde. I¡¯m Pram, Okami¡¯s best friend.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Freya, Pram¡¯s lover.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Um¡­are you going to let the other pretty bird inside?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°That¡¯s Huginn, and not at the moment, no. If I do that, it won¡¯t be a punishment.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn tapped on the window with its beak, wanting toe in, but I just ignored it.


    ¡°Bird aside, what question do you want to ask, Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What happened to Emma, what¡¯s Ortlinde¡¯s story, and how much does she know?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°In reverse order, she doesn¡¯t know much, though she is going to learn in a moment. We found her in the lord¡¯s chambers, waiting for that disgusting pig to have his way with her, I don¡¯t know the full story, but from the small bits she¡¯s said, she needs a real family, and we¡¯re going to be it. And Emma met the requirements, so she¡¯s now a Valkyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I for one like the changes. I¡¯ve never felt so light and strong. Though I kind of wish I could turn this soul sight thing off. By the way Pram, you¡¯re so shiny and bright, it¡¯s a bit blinding.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Focusing on it less helps.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Um¡­what am I supposed to be learning?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Since you¡¯re a part of the family now, you¡¯re going to learn several things, some of which will take a while for you to process, mostly about the world atrge. First things first though, my full name is Keeno Okami. I¡¯d like you to call me Okami in public, but privately, like now, Keeno is fine.¡± (Keeno)


    After exining my circumstances to Ortlinde, we moved onto telling her about the world outside of Falheim. She absorbed the first part reasonably well, though after exining about the world, it was like her brain started to overheat and she fell asleep with an exhausted look.


    ¡°Alright, now that Ortlinde is asleep, Ama, what happened on your end?¡± (Keeno)


    {Right. A part of my home here has changed. I think that means that that specific part is a piece of your im, Keeno. It didn¡¯t change much, and I can still change that ce to whatever like usual, but there are parts that stay there, regardless of what I want. That being arge round table with eleven chairs around it. I have a feeling I know what it¡¯s for, but I need to test it, so will you do me a favor and ask Red toe here?}


    ¡°Got it, give me a second.¡± (Keeno)


    I closed my eyes and focused on my connection with Red.


    ¡°Hey Red.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Big sis¡­Keeno!¡¯ (Red)


    ¡°How are you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Red is¡­good! Mother has been¡­pampering Red¡­a lot¡­and Vanir things¡­are calming down¡­some.¡¯ (Red)


    ¡°That¡¯s good, and I¡¯m happy you¡¯re being taken care of so well. Now, there is something I need you to do.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Anything for you¡­big sis Keeno.¡¯ (Red)


    ¡°Ama said there was a change in her ce and has a theory about it, but you are the only one at the moment who knows how to get there, so can you go and check it out?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Nn¡­Red can do it¡­Oh¡­did Red get¡­another sister? Red felt¡­a strange feeling¡­earlier.¡¯ (Red)


    ¡°Two actually, though one isn¡¯t another Valkyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Yay¡­Red¡¯s family¡­continues to get¡­bigger.¡¯ (Red)


    With that, my conversation with Red stopped for a second as I felt it get fuzzy.


    ¡°Eh? This isn¡¯t¡­Red¡¯s normal spot.¡± (Red)


    {Hello Red.}


    ¡°Big sis¡­Rasu!¡± (Red)


    {Yes, yes,e here you cute little thing.}


    ¡°Uheeeee~¡± (Red)


    {It¡¯s as I suspected Keeno; this ce is for your Apostles toe. Emma, I¡¯ll teach you how toe hereter and you can meet Red. We should continue with our findings from today.}


    ¡°Pat and hug Red lots for us too, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {That was the n.}


    I nodded and then Pram asked a question.


    ¡°What else is there to talk about?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°This.¡± (Keeno)


    I pulled out the dragon scale from my ring and put it on the table between us. Just looking at it made me upset, but I pushed those feelings down so we could continue.


    ¡°Apparently, the king of this country has divvied up Fafnir¡¯s scales to the nobles of this country as proof of nobility. The mongrel is using my ancestor as petty trinkets that decorate the walls of more mongrels. I can¡¯t stand this¡­this¡­this desecration. He, and the Prince that is collecting them as either trophies or whatever have gone past where I am willing to let go. I¡¯m sure Fafnir will also agree once I figure out a way to meet with her again, but I¡¯m telling all of you this because I need you all to help hold me back before I do something I will regret.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I n on disposing of the Prince and king, but I can¡¯t get rid of the Prince too early. We need his rebel army just as much as they need us, but I don¡¯t trust myself to be able to reliably hold myself back when we add all the extra influences on me while we¡¯re here in Falheim as well as my own personality.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So basically, you want at least one of us with you at all times when we¡¯re anywhere near the Prince?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Got it. We can do that, though if he ever, for some reason, wants to speak with you alone and you are in a position you can¡¯t refuse, what do we do?¡± (Pram)


    {Just be nearby. I¡¯ll tell you if you need to intervene and you can do so in any way you deem necessary at that time.}


    ¡°Sounds good then.¡± (Pram)


    Over the next hour or so, we hammered out more concrete details over the n of keeping me in check until we had something solid. It was then that we decided to call it a day and moved to go to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Keeno: Ok, so that¡¯s the Pdin n in full?


    Luna: Yep. Have Sigurd and Ortlinde a part of it as well as any other people you decide to pull into your family. They may not all be Apostles, but they¡¯ll be close enough.


    Amaterasu: Hmm. If webine my Blessing of Life and Keeno¡¯s eventual Blessing of Death, they can be effectively immortal as well, though once that get¡¯s out we¡¯ll have to have a very thorough screening process to find people who genuinely want to join and those who only want the immortality.


    Luna: That¡¯s where you twoe in. You¡¯ve said yourself that Keeno will get the ability to see through lies and stuff, so that includes seeing people¡¯s intentions as well. Just use that since it¡¯s ultimately up to the two of you who gets to be a part of the Order.


    Keeno: Then it¡¯s settled. Now, Payto, I need to ask you something.


    Hmm?


    Keeno: Are you allowed to tell me how to meet with Fafnir again, or does that count as interfering with my life to much?


    ¡­I don¡¯t think so, and I know Amaterasu doesn¡¯t know.


    Amaterasu: Yep, not a clue. I¡¯ve never dealt with Spirit Realms too much since they aren¡¯t under any of my Authorities.


    They are, actually, since they have something to do with souls, but never mind that for now. Keeno, it¡¯s actually extremely simple, you just need to find the connection you have with Fafnir andtch onto it. Then you should be able to go to her Spirit Realm and back whenever you want until the Spirit Realm no longer exists.


    Keeno: I see, thanks. I¡¯m gonna go do that, so see y¡¯all again at some point.


    Luna: See ya.


    Adios.


    Amaterasu: See you next Sr Convergence.

 Chapter 105- Talking with Fafnir and an Omen

    Chapter 105- Talking with Fafnir and an Omen


    [Keeno POV]


    In the darkness of my dreams, a dim light was all I could see. I was surrounded by shadows, walking towards that light as it flickered like a golden me. It felt like I was walking for days until I finally entered a room to find a golden dragon whose scales once shone like suns now being colored by shadow.


    ¡°Well, Fafnir, you look like you¡¯ve seen better days.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heh. Little Okami¡­the grudges of this country¡­they are quite strong¡­your mind is strong to withstand them so well, even before my assistance.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°And I have to say, as expected of a great dragon to withstand them, even after death.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your ttery is appreciated and will get you everything, Okami. What is it you wish from me?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°To change our agreement a slight bit. Some¡­new findings have led me to a realization that leaves me¡­quite irate.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Depends¡­what is it that you¡¯ve found, tiny one?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°One of your scales, desecrated. Turned into a petty trinket that decorates the walls of pigs that have not earned the right to adorn themselves with the jewels of a dragon!¡± (Keeno)


    The mes that lit the room changed from gold to blue and the ckness of the grudge darkened while quiet whispers started to increase in volume. Above those whispers was a low growl.


    ¡°Trinkets¡­TRINKETS!!! THEY TURNED MY SCALES, MY PRIDE INTO PETTY TRINKETS!!!¡± (Fafnir)


    The mes in the room flickered gold again, but soon returned to blue. The shadows grew and the whispers turned to screams before suddenly going quiet again. In my hand was the scale I took from that noble¡¯s wall with a Rune newly carved into it, shining with Divinity.


    ¡°Little one, what is this magic¡­that calms us and eases the grudge?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Runes, not magic, and it won¡¯tst long, it¡¯s burning through the scale very fast, though I must say, dragon scales are wonderful Rune materials, no offence.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°None taken, I dly give you permission to use them, as they are your birthright. But I must ask, if you¡¯ve found one, have you found my reverse-scale?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°No. If I had to guess, it¡¯s either in the taboo breaker¡¯s home, or the castle of the king.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Find it and keep it, little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°This is where I have the proposition to change the agreement. I have a n, and something that will give me the knowledge of how to pull it off. The onlyst things I need for it to work are as many of your scales as I can get, and the assistance of my wife, as well as ess to the Dead Zone¡¯s Divinity to let me use more of my power. That way, we can return you to life, fully.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You propose necromancy¡­the most forbidden secrets of it even.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°And who says that it¡¯s forbidden? Whatw of this world calls it forbidden to the Goddess of Death, wife of the Goddess of Life?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Humans make it forbidden¡­and no goddess I¡¯ve ever heard of follows thews of man. Hehehehehehehe. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Good, little one, I agree with this change. Do this and I will burn this kingdom down so it can be changed for the better.¡± (Fafnir)


    As soon as she said this, I felt a ripple in the Spirit Realm.


    ¡°This¡­Keeno Fafnir Okami, this is an omen.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°The taboo breaker¡­I understand, Fafnir, I will fulfill my end of the bargain, but I must leave now and move before things be irreversibly dire.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Go, my little one, may you be victorious in battle.¡± (Fafnir)


    As soon as Fafnir uttered those words, my eyes flew open, and I shot up from my bed. Looking out the window, it was still dark, I¡¯d say near midnight.


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°Ama, something is happening, and we have too little time. Pram, Freya, Emma, Ortlinde, wake up!¡± (Keeno)


    I threw the window open.


    ¡°Huginn, go find Sigurd, now!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    Huginn flew away with my orders while the others slowly woke.


    ¡°There is no time, get up now!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Where are the enemies!?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s not right for a maid to wake after herdy!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Five more minutes.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°I¡¯d let you have them, sweety, but now isn¡¯t the time. Gather your things everyone, we need to be ready to move as fast as possible.¡± (Keeno)


    The others started to collect what little things they had with them while I focused on waking Ortlinde.


    ¡°Listen, little one, we need to move. Just a little more, and you won¡¯t ever have to be woken up like this again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Nn¡­Big sis Keeno. We have to leave?¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°Yes. Ama, get in touch with the twins, I want them to see if they can do anything and get Ortlinde to safety.¡± (Keeno)


    {On it.}


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Thanks, Huginn, get over here. We need to move.¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn flew into one of my tails and I threw open the door. We ran from where we were staying until we reached a za where Sigurd was also just arriving at.


    ¡°My Lady, what¡¯s wrong!?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Sigurd, send your fastest messenger to Freyr, tell him that he needs to move all avable forces to the capital as fast as possible. We need to move there now as well or else things will get horrendously bad.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s happening my Lady?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°The capital is going to be destroyed, the taboo breaker, he¡¯s doing something no mortal should, we need to hurry, or else things will go from bad to dead, and I don¡¯t want that to happen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Right¡­I¡¯ll get things in order, we should be ready for departure by daybreak at thetest.¡± (Sigurd)


    With that, he ran off to get things in motion.


    {Keeno, the twins will be here in a while, now, tell me what¡¯s going on.}


    ¡°The taboo breaker is taking in the grudge of thend to keep its soul from shattering. All the while it¡¯s mutating into some kind of monstrosity. We can¡¯t let itplete its transformation.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Alright, those two better get here faster, we¡¯ll need their help too.}


    With those words, a waiting game began as we prepared to move onto the capital.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­


    Luna: And now he¡¯s staring at some plushies that I have no clue where they came from.


    Tamamo: I thought you made those?


    Luna: Nope.


    ¡­I can give them to Order and Astraea and they will forgive me.


    Luna: You think it¡¯s that simple?


    Yes. If that doesn¡¯t work, I am absolutely willing to offer my head as tribute.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Don¡¯t give me that look, it¡¯ll grow back in a week or two.


    Luna: No, I was just thinking that that would just end up traumatizing little Astraea.


    Really?


    Tamamo: Definitely.


    Hmm¡­Well, the plushies of mysterious origin shall go first.


    Luna and Tamamo: Good luck.

 Chapter 106- The Beginning of the Fall of Falheim

    Chapter 106- The Beginning of the Fall of Falheim


    [Amaterasu POV]


    Feeling a ripple in my home, I turn around to see Fu and Moco sleepily walking towards me.


    ¡°Ne, ne, Rasu¡­what¡¯s so urgent you need to call us up like this?¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Yeh, we was sleepen real good ya know.¡± (Moco)


    {You want Red to have a sister?}


    That one question blew all their sleepiness away and they ran up to me and grabbed my hands.


    ¡°Who!?¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Where!?!¡± (Fu)


    {Hold on, you two¡­Oh, and she can be an Apostle.}


    I pulled up an image of Ortlinde and the two¡¯s eyes started to shine, then that shine turned to a gleam. They faced each other.


    ¡°My Apostle!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°No, mine!¡± (Moco)


    I rolled my eyes at their antics.


    {Oi! This isn¡¯t the time for this. Keeno needs Ortlinde to safety fast, so no arguing!}


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± (Fu)


    ¡°¡­! Oi¡­that ain¡¯t good.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Moco?¡± (Fu)


    ¡°That¡¯s an abomination, Fu, look at it with your Authority, it¡¯s that big dark spot.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡­! Oi¡­that ain¡¯t good.¡± (Fu)


    The two looked into each other¡¯s eyes and came to a silent agreement.


    ¡°*ahem*Little one named Ortlinde, I am Moco, Goddess of Family and War, you meet the requirements for Apostleship. Do you wish to be the Apostle of Family and join us for eternity?¡± (Moco)


    Ignoring that she finally revealed which twin had which Authority, I looked at the sight of Keeno¡¯s group. Ortlinde seemed startled and was looking around panicked while hugging one of Keeno¡¯s tails tightly. Keeno herself was patting her head and telling her that this was a good thing that meant they¡¯d be together forever if she epted. After several minutes, Ortlinde slowly nodded her head and epted Moco¡¯s offer. Ortlinde briefly shone before the glow vanished.


    ¡°Now, little Ortlinde, imagine a door in your head and walk through it. Ortlinde closed her eyes and took a step forward before vanishing from the mortal world and appearing in front of us. She kept her eyes closed but stopped moving forward.


    ¡°Hehe. Silly little one, you can open your eyes now.¡± (Moco)


    Hearing Moco¡¯s voice so close to her yet not in her head, Ortlinde¡¯s eyes flew open.


    ¡°Eh!? W-where am I!? B-big sis Keeno!?¡± (Ortlinde)


    She crouched down on the spot and started to cry. This sent Moco into a panic.


    ¡°Ahh. Little one, you¡¯re okay, you¡¯re safe. I¡¯m Moco, the one you became the Apostle of.¡± (Moco)


    Ortlinde looked up and some sort of realization happened because her tears stopped and she jumped into Moco¡¯s arms, surprising the Goddess.


    ¡°Purrrrrrrrrrrrr.¡± (Ortlinde)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fu)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Ama¡­. Hey, Ama, is Ortlinde safe now?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Yeah. Don¡¯t be worried, she¡¯s safe here, so go do what you have to do.}


    ¡°Perfect. Ortlinde, I don¡¯t know if you can hear me, but I want you to stay there for a while until things down here are settled. Ama, Fu, and Mici will take care of you, and if you meet Red, get along with her, your sisters now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oki, big sis Keeno!¡± (Ortlinde)


    {Heard that, Keeno?}


    ¡°Yep. Now, onward!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, here you go, Keeno. The fluff powered Blessing of War!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°You¡¯re making me feel left out, so here¡¯s Nature as well, you¡¯ll need it for post war cleanup, though I guess this¡¯ll be better for Pram, anyway, good luck!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Thanks. We¡¯ll put them to good use. Take good care of Ortlinde and pamper her lots.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No need to tell us that, we¡¯re already nning a full course pampering for her and Red as we speak.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Perfect.¡± (Keeno)


    [3<sup>rd</sup> Person POV]


    Around a week and a half after Keeno andpany left the mountain city. Inside the capital at this time, people had started going missing. Normally, the king would just ignore this because he deemed it unimportant for the leeches that parasitized his greatness to disappear. But when some of his knights and nobles also started to disappear without a trace, his irritation began to grow, and he sent some of his subjects to discover the reason behind this. Little did he know that this was the prelude to the end of his reign.


    Underneath the capital, a darkness was growing. A monster of grudge consumed these people in order to sate its never-ending hunger and as it consumed, it grew. It grew until the hate and malevolence were so strong that it started to contaminate thend. The once pristine canals of the city were now slowly bing tainted and lost their clearness, turning darker and murkier. When someone least expected it, they would be dragged into the water, where they would never be seen again. At night, people would be kept awake by sounds of sshing, screaming, hate filled yelling and a low, rumbling growl. Soon, this monstrosity would ascend from the depths, and all those living in the city would know despair.


    On the march, a week away from the capital, in a tent of far better quality than all those surrounding it, a man in attire entirely unfit for the time, ce, or situation stood looking into a chest at his feet. Inside said chest were gleaming golden scales with various crests carved into them.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough. What does that stupid fox think she¡¯s doing, ordering us around like she¡¯s in charge? What danger are we in that we need to mobilizepletely for? Hmm. She wants to usurp me and take over¡­that must be it, Lucius didn¡¯t send her to solitude, he sent her out of the country so that she¡¯d be strong, then when she came back, he¡¯d use her to take the country for himself. That treasonous mongrel. It¡¯s too bad I nned on killing him and his family once I took over, I can¡¯t have anyone with any rtion to me alive if I¡¯m to keep the throne. Now, how am I to dispose of these pawns once I¡¯m done with them? Ah, I¡¯ll send them there, though I hate that fox girl, if what she said was true and only ones with draconic bloodline can enter the Dead Zone safely, then I¡¯ll just send them all in as her escort, that should also give me more years to live, if what father said is true. Hehehe. It¡¯s alling together now, just a while longer, and I can finally be done with this stupid act of caring for the people and wanting to make things better for them. They¡¯re so disgusting that it¡¯s hard to keep from vomiting just looking at them.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°My Prince, may I enter?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Yes. What do you need, Commander Freyr?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°¡­Before that, I don¡¯t think you should let Lady Okami see that. Who knows what will happen if she knows what those are.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Oh please, you fear her too much, Freyr. There is nothing my niece can do to me or you, she doesn¡¯t have the power or resolve to go against us and my father¡¯s soldiers at the same time. Why else would she seek to help us? And besides, why would a whelp like her be angry at these trinkets? They hold no value to her, draconic or not, her blood is so diluted that she¡¯d gain nothing from it. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°The scouts I sent ahead of us have returned, and the news they bring is dire.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Then spit it out!¡± (Prince)


    ¡°They say the capital is different than how it used to be. Like a shadow hangs over it. The canals are dark and murky, the skies are shrouded in thunderous clouds, yet not a drop of rain falls, and at night, people go missing and screams and growling can be heard all throughout the city. Even nobles and knights havepletely vanished. These are dark omens and I fear that something horrendous, just as Lady Okami has said, ising, and we will NEED her and herpanion¡¯s assistance if we are toe out of this alive.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°You have grown awfully reliant on that little ann¡­my niece, Freyr. Is there something going on between the two of you that I need to know about?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°My Prince, she is a child so young I could be considered her grandfather, I beg you not to make such disgusting jokes. It is my intuition honed on the battlefield that tells me she is something more than she lets on. That she is someone that we should avoid making our enemy at all costs.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Hmm. I have heard your words, Freyr. Leave me so I may ponder over this.¡± (Prince)


    ¡°By your will.¡± (Freyr)


    The Commander then left the Prince¡¯s tent while the Prince stood in silent contemtion until sure that no one was around to hear his words.


    ¡°Old fool. You¡¯ve be cowardly in your old age, resting all your hopes on a single girl. Though now I have an idea. Hehehe. Her eyes will make a glorious adornment for a mantle, especially if made into a statue of dragon scales. And her tails, oh her tails will make fine scarves, especially with winter so close at hand¡­both of her friend¡¯s tails as well, maybe I should start a collection, after all what else are those beast freaks good for? Hehe. Ahahahahahahahahaha.¡± (Prince)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Kill.


    Tamamo: ¡­Kill.


    Kill.


    Order: Kill.


    Astraea: Yay, murder!


    Crisis: Wahahahahahahahahaha!


    All in favor?


    Everyone: AYE!


    Then, I sentence Prince whateverhisnameis to a death crueler than anything. My Abyss friend, I will send his soul to you once Keeno has killed its fleshy container.


    Ray of the Abyss: Noted.


    Mofu: MOFU!!!!!


    Astraea: No, Mofu, papa won¡¯t let you eat that one¡­Papa?


    Yes?


    Astraea: Can Mofu have that king person¡¯s soul?


    Sure.


    Astraea: YAY!


    Mofu: MOFU~!!!!


    Luna: ¡­


    Don¡¯t worry, Luna, we¡¯ll let you get in some good hits as well, especially since that Prince has some simr motivations to a certain fake saint you are familiar with.


    Luna: Perfect. I never did get to punch that mongrel for that, I let them off too easily.


    I can always find their soul fragments for you.


    Luna: Don¡¯t tempt me.

 Chapter 107- The Beast Emerges

    Chapter 107- The Beast Emerges


    [Keeno POV]


    Some time has passed since we started to head toward the capital, and I was constantly getting a bad feeling. It was getting to the point that I hardly felt any of the grudge around me, like it was all being sucked in one direction. All of this made me extremely nervous about what was happening, and how powerful this would make what we had to face once we finally arrived. This feeling was onlypounded by what I saw when we finally got into sight of the capital.


    With a backdrop of mountains, was a city surrounded by rivers that wound in and out of the walls like veins to a heart. The sky above the walls was a dark mass of clouds with the asional bolt of lightning. Even from the distance we were at, I could see that the water in the rivers looked tainted.


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s been so many years, but this¡­this is horrible.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°It feels like we¡¯re marching to our deaths.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°You literally can¡¯t die, Emma, but I get how you feel.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued to march toward the capital until we were a handful of hours away. We set up camp for probably thest time in this war as soon as the suns dipped too low to reasonably continue. This whole time, the foreboding feeling grew stronger. As soon as night was fully upon us, other things started to happen. Screams could be hearding from the city along with a loud, rumbling growl like that of a starved beast. These things kept many people awake and made them paranoid, though I highly suspect it was more due to the concentrated grudgeing from all the water around us that wafting into the air like a purplish-ck steam.


    A restless night passed and once the suns once again graced us with their presence, they were quickly shrouded by the clouds. Once all were up, we began to prepare to attack the city when a lookout called attention to a grouping from behind us. When the g of the rebellion was seen, many uttered sighs of relief, though those sentiments quickly died as the sound of cracking stone could be hearding from the city. A short time after that, a roar full of such primal rage that it could fill even the most bloodthirsty barbarian with fear drowned out all sound as a shadow that towered over the walls of the capital emerged.


    A being that is spoken of only in legends from my previous life, and a creature so rare that it¡¯s basically a myth in this one emerged, or at least, something with the shape of one. It was massive, with a starved, skeletal look, with what looked like tar dripping from all over its body. A feeling of pride so strong welled up in my chest, forbidding me from calling that thing a dragon stopped me from uttering the words, though that wasn¡¯t the same for others.


    ¡°A-a dragon!?¡±


    ¡°When did the king get a dragon!?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re all going to die!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been an honor fighting by your side, my brothers and sisters, may we all go out in a ze of glory, for the freedom of Falheim!¡±


    Despite the fear, some of the warriors here saw the challenge and epted the fact that they would most likely die but chose to go out fighting. The morale of these few was contagious, and soon, a vast majority of our forces let out an ear-shattering war cry and soon, started to rush toward the city.


    ¡®Blessing of War?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Most assuredly.}


    ¡°Yep. A little morale boost in the direst situations always helps, and I think this counts as a dire situation. Though, it could be worse, I mean hmmm hmm hmmmph hmm hmph!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Moco, don¡¯t say that, or things WILL get worse for them. You know how Phobos is.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°¡­Mmm hmm.¡± (Moco)


    {Just focus on the fight ahead, Keeno.}


    ¡°Y-you can do it, big sis!¡± (Ortlinde)


    Ama and Ortlinde¡¯s supportive words filled me with determination, and I joined in on the charge to the city. The closer we got, the less tired I felt, and the feeling of wanting to fight and win started to fill me. Not so say I felt invincible, but close to it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let that invincible feeling get to you, Keeno. My blessing invigorates you, makes you less tired in battle, and makes you tougher, but you can still be cut, you can still break bones, and you CAN still die, just not as easily. Sadly, though it may not be trouble for you, it doesn¡¯t lessen mana consumption. And, this is the most important, it¡¯s only temporary. For you, I can give it indefinitely, but not for the others.¡± (Moco)


    ¡®No, I don¡¯t want it indefinitely, else I know I¡¯ll get too overconfident. Once this war is over, and we¡¯re sure we¡¯re safe, then you can take it back.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Heard you loud and clear!¡± (Moco)


    The monstrosity continued to roar at the sky, almost like it was crying, though I couldn¡¯t tell if it was from sadness or rage. Once we reached the gates of the city, we found them open, and we could hear other things going on inside. The sounds of weeping, screaming, sshing. As soon as we passed the threshold, the sight we saw was sickening. People, or should I say bodies, were strewn about. Most wearing armor, others regr clothes or even rags. A few still lived, but only barely, and I could see arge number of souls slowly hovering out of the bodies and floating towards the castle, or more specifically, the mountain and sky behind the castle.


    Some of the people that were alive and saw us storm the gates, did their best to pick up the bodies of their loved ones and move them somece so that they wouldn¡¯t be trampled underfoot, while those with armor stood and drew their weapons, their eyes hollow and full of nothing but hate.


    {The grudge from that monstrosity is filling them. Soon enough it¡¯s going to also start affecting the ones that aren¡¯t soldiers. How horrible.}


    ¡°Rasu, doesn¡¯t this remind you of-¡± (Fu)


    {Don¡¯t say it, Fu. It does, but I know for a fact that this isn¡¯t one. While it is simr, it¡¯s not powerful enough or its presence corrupting enough to be close to one.}


    ¡°True. But if I had to name it, it would be a seed, one that needs pruning at all costs.¡± (Fu)


    {I agree with you there.}


    ¡°Hear that, Keeno, leave the rabble to the others, they can handle it, especially with that Commander guy almost here. Go face the bigger threat.¡± (Moco)


    I only nodded and started to run faster, dodging past several enemies, going in any direction that would bring me closer to <strong>it</strong>. After a while of winding my way through small alleys and jumping several canals, I found that I wasn¡¯t alone. Pram, Freya, Emma, and Sigurd were also making their way towards the monstrosity.


    ¡°My Lady, I hope you have some sort of n, because this feels very off the cuff.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yeah, the n is deal with that before it starts affecting normal people more than it already is andpletely destroys the city.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT A PLAN AT ALL!¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°It¡¯s n enough, Sigurd. Just trust in our Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°If anyone can handle this, it is most certainly Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°True, if anything, she is capable of more than we are for now.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And Sigurd, you¡¯ll be pivotal for this, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing you live up to your namesake.¡± (Keeno)


    Chuckling at his confused expression, I summoned my Soul Weapons and tossed one into the side of a building before using the chain to swing over several canals at once.


    ¡°You guys catch up, I¡¯ll be waiting!¡± (Keeno)


    I continued onward, toward a fated confrontation.


    Chaos Realm:


    Preparing the Soul Snares. They¡¯ll be ready once Keeno initiates battle.


    Order: I¡¯m ready on my end too.


    Good. Though it won¡¯t be as satisfying, I also have the miniature versions getting ready to pick up any small piece of Lucius¡¯s soul as well, if there is anything left at all once Keeno is done with it.


    Order: And I sent Astraea off with In-chan, so she¡¯s safe from this too.


    Perfect. She¡¯s still too young to see such a corrupted soul.


    Order: I know¡­and done.


    Now all we have left to do is wait.

 Chapter 108- Two Battles, One Conclusion

    Chapter 108- Two Battles, One Conclusion


    [Freyr POV]


    The inside of the once beautiful capital had be a nightmare. Bodies littered the sidewalks and canals. The waters that were once pristine were polluted with something I had no words to describe how foul it was. My men, both current and previous were locked inbat, with thetter all in a mad frenzy, no emotion but rage driving them. It brought me no sense of relief to cut them down. I continued to cut through possessed soldiers until I made it to the za of ceremony.


    ¡°FREYR!!!!!¡±


    I turned to the one who yelled my name. Standing on top of a pile of corpses, wearing broken armor and several bleeding wounds stood Ivaldi, my once second inmand.


    ¡°Ivaldi¡­you¡¯ve seen better days, old friend.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°You¡¯re no friend of mine, all you are is a traitor. Someone not even fit to breathe the same air as those of us who support the king, our god.¡± (Ivaldi)


    ¡°I am no traitor. I did what I did for the sake of thisnd. The king is beyond old, it is time for new blood to rule, especially with the cruel the king had be since even before I left. You must have seen it, Ivaldi! The dungeons, the entrance to the Dead Zone! Even the king¡¯s private chambers! Full of corpses, most of them children. I¡¯ve heard the screams and seen the tools. He takes them and tortures them for fun before taking a piece of them and mounting them on those grotesque piles he calls art!¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve seen them. But who am I to question my god!? What the king says is absolute! And Freyr, you naive fool, do you really think that Prince you serve is any better? Let me be frank with you, it¡¯s all a game for them. That Prince is going to have all of you killed once this is all over, if any of us survive that is.¡± (Ivaldi)


    His words shook me to my core for a moment before I fully processed hisst words.


    ¡°You mean that¡­<strong>THING </strong>isn¡¯t something you¡¯ve had prepared for us!?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°No, though if it takes all of you traitors down, then I don¡¯t care what it is or where it came from.¡± (Ivaldi)


    The monster let out another roar, only for it to be cut short as its jaw was mmed shut from below. Shortly after, something covered in blue mes was thrown and a silver shadow followed swinging another line of blue into the beast. A pained shriek that sounded like it came from thousands of different beings at once was heard before the monster turned toward its opponent and began fighting it.


    ¡°You¡¯ve grown old and forgetful, you¡¯re the one who taught me to never turn your back on an opponent!¡± (Ivaldi)


    Ivaldi had jumped at me from where he was standing and swung his axe at me.


    ¡°I also taught you to never announce when you attack, especially in a situation like this.¡± (Freyr)


    I swung my great sword to meet his attack. After our weapons shed, we were sent sliding in opposite directions. I grasped the hilt of my sword with both ands and pulled it apart before stabbing my twin swords into the ground to slow by momentum. Once I stopped, I pulled my swords from the ground and burst forward. Ivaldi had stumbled over a piece of rubble and I was before him just as he regained his bnce. Swinging one sword diagonally towards his chest, he blocked it with the haft of his axe. Once I was sure he was too upied with his defense, I stabbed forward with my free sword. Just as it scratched his armor, he raised a foot and kicked, sending me sliding back as he dashed forward in an attempt to cut me down.


    As soon as he was at the apex of his swing, I grabbed some stone dust and flung it in his eyes. He recoiled, allowing me to push him back, pirouette whilebining swords into a great sword once more, and sh. My sword cleaved through his armor and flesh with hardly any resistance.


    ¡°Too hasty and arrogant as always, Ivaldi. I also taught you to think on your feet and use everything at your disposal, event the lowliest of tricks.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°*spluttering cough*Seems¡­this is the end for me, but you¡¯ll get yours. *cough*Duke Fa-Lucius is still alive, and once he takes the field, you¡¯ll all die. Hahahahahaha*cough, cough, cough*¡± (Ivaldi)


    Those were Ivaldi¡¯sst words before his head fell to the ground.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!¡±


    I turned in the direction of the pained roar and saw the monster get mmed into a building.


    ¡°No time to think, get through this first, then I can figure this out.


    [Keeno POV]


    A st of my magic sent the monster into the side of a building, destroying the building and knocking off some of the ck sludge covering its body.


    ¡°Keeno, on your left!¡± (Freya)


    Appearing in a sh of light, Freya shed at the bony, membrane-less wings, searing some more of the sludge from them, though it quickly got reced by more.


    ¡°Can you stop dropping that stuff down here!? I¡¯m still new to this, so it takes a bit to get rid of it!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°No talking, just purifying!¡± (Pram)


    The clear, distinct sound of Pram¡¯s bell sounding nonstop during this fight was helping us much more than I thought it would, as it seemed to be severely loosening the sludge.


    ¡°Blessing of Nature at work there, mixed with Blessing of Life. That stuff isn¡¯t naturally like that, so my blessing is helping make it easier to get rid of. Otherwise, it would probably be like armor made of stone.¡± (Fu)


    {Hehehehe. Good Pram, good, make more progress. Soon, you¡¯ll hit the threshold and only need one achievement to pass into Life magic.}


    ¡°That¡¯s great news, Ama, but it¡¯s really not the time for that!¡± (Keeno)


    I tossed one of my des into the side of a building and used it to swing over a tail swipe. Sigurd, who was behind me, wasn¡¯t in time to move out the way, so taking a stance with his sword held aloft, he swung it down, cleaving through the thinnest part of sludge, skin, and bone, andpletely severing the tip of the tail.


    ¡°GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡±


    Reacting to the pain, the monster whipped its head around to try and bite Sigurd, only to be met with abined attack of potent Sr magic from me and Freya. The hit sent the beast¡¯s head into the ground, shattering the stone around it, throwing chunks into the air. This constant beatdown of the beast must have enraged it, because almost as soon as the rubblended, it raised itself on its rear legs letting out an ear-splitting roar. While it did this, its wings spread, and the sludge moved to the ces where a wing membrane would be. In the split second it took for this to happen, it started to beat its wings, and with every beat, a deluge of sludge would rain everywhere.


    It started to lift off the ground a small bit, crushing any building that was in the way before looking down on us. In the ce where its eyes should be two orbs with an eerie green light that seemed to shine from behind them rested. As it was floating there, a simr green light started to shine in its chest.


    ¡°BREATH!!!¡± (Keeno)


    The light was building in brightness fast and in just a short few seconds, it traveled up the beast¡¯s throat and a beam of green light shot from its mouth apanied by a roar.


    {Keeno, disce it or else it will raze this entire area!}


    Channeling my mana, I made a condensed fireball as fast as I could and shot it toward the breath. The two connected and when the fireball exploded, the breath was redirected into the sky, where it cut through the storm clouds, creating a rift for the suns to shine through. My fireball also managed to burn away a good bit of sludge, causing the beast to fall to the ground with a hard thud.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ve got an idea, but we need to get it to fly again!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Say the word, my Lady, and we¡¯ll do our best!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°What she said, Keeno, exin as you start doing whatever it is you thought of.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Simple, fight breath with breath, we just need it to get into the air, then when my breath connects and it falls to the ground, enough sludge should be gone to deal some damage.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then we need to make it angry again!¡± (Pram)


    The monster swatted at Pram with one of its wings but didn¡¯t do anything due to Freya blocking its attack.


    ¡°YOU FILTHY LIZARD! I¡¯LL RIP YOU FACE OFF!!!¡± (Freya)


    Freya then shot toward the beast with the fastest attack I¡¯ve seen her perform to date. Her swords cut deep into the beast¡¯s wing, and she continued to attack until reaching its neck where her swords sunk through the sludge, burning it the whole way and cutting deep into its neck until they stopped at the spine. Letting out an extremely pained groan, the beast reared up and flung Freya into a building where she crashed through the wall in a rain of stone and wood.


    ¡°FREYA!¡± (Pram)


    The sound of Pram¡¯s bell stopped as soon as she ran towards the building where Freya was sent flying into. I wanted to do the same as Pram, but the beast blocked my way as it iled around in pain.


    ¡°Emma, Sigurd, get ready to go all out, we need to finish this quickly!¡± (Keeno)


    The two just nodded in response and rushed forward. Emma, using her speed and the weight of her weapon to her advantage dealt several small cuts, rtive to the size of the beast, in a short amount of time, focusing on ces like between its ws, the back of its joints, and especially in the joints of the wings. Sigurd on the other hand focused on trying to increase the pain and damage Emma¡¯s cuts did, though he was much slower than her and couldn¡¯t reach the ces higher up on the beast¡¯s body like its wings.


    ¡°I¡¯vee to assist!¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Good, go and help Sigurd and Emma, make that thing start flying again!¡± (Keeno)


    Freyr joined in the fight and broke his sword in two, turning it into twin swords.


    ¡°Oooo! That¡¯s such a unique Soul Weapon! How cool!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°It is super duper cool! I want a sword like that too!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get someone to make some for us!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°We¡¯re totally doing that, and let¡¯s get some for Red and Ortlinde too!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°That¡¯s such a good idea! We¡¯re doing that once this is all over!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Bau!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Bau, bau!¡± (Moco)


    {¡­}


    Ignoring the antic of those two, I started to concentrate on making a breath attack. I started to get that nice, hot, tingling feeling in my chest and I started to see the area around me glow blue. ncing up, I saw the suns were at their apex, meaning one of Ama¡¯s Sun Blessing effects was working. As the blue glow got brighter and brighter, the sounds of the fight began getting more hectic.


    ¡°GrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!¡±


    The beast made the same move it did earlier and the sludge formed wing membranes again. Once it was in the air, it started to prepare a breath attack again, but I was faster. The blue glow from my chest came up and condensed in my mouth before I released it. The beast tried to release its breath attack to counteract mine but was toote. As the bright cerulean beam hit the beast in the chest it let out a piercing shriek. It crashed to the ground, blowing Emma and Freyr back while Sigurd braced himself next to some rubble. I fell to one knee having exhausted a lot of mana doing that attack.


    ¡°Sigurd¡­do it!¡± (Keeno)


    Sigurd ran up to the beast and, putting all his weight and strength behind it, swung his sword at the wound Freya left in its neck. Striking true, Sigurd¡¯s sword but through the greenish-ck scales that had half formed on the beast¡¯s neck, through its flesh, the spine, and out the other side. The beast let out a hoarse scream as its massive head fell to the ground with a heavy thud. I stood up from where I was kneeling and shortly after the beast¡¯s head hit the ground, one of the most disgusting souls floated out of the body. It was such a muddy pitch ck that it made moonless nights look like the brightest day.


    ¡°*retch*My Lady, that¡¯s¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Just look away, Emma.¡± (Keeno)


    I resummoned one of my Soul Weapons and approached the soul. When I got closer, I saw just how broken the soul was. Through the muddiness, it was like a shattered window being held together by spiderwebs of dust. Without a spec of hesitation, I swung my sword through the soul. Though it felt a tad bit different than what usually happened, I choked it up to how corrupted it was as, a secondter, it disappeared into nothingness.


    Once I was sure the soul was gone, I rushed over to the building where Freya and Pram were. I found Pramying over Freya who was hugging Pram with one arm while holding her head with the other.


    ¡°*sniff*Freya, are you ok now?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Pram, you¡¯ve been healing me this whole time. Anymore and you¡¯ll just exhaust yourself.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, dummy!¡± (Pram)


    Pram grabbed Freya by the cor of her shirt and pulled her close before kissing her. It onlysted for about a minute, and when they broke apart, Freya¡¯s face was as red as a ruby.


    ¡°Never scare me like that again. If you do, I¡¯ll have to lock you up somewhere and never let you out.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Pram, that¡¯s a very scary idea.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sounds reasonable to me.¡± (Keeno)


    {Me too. I¡¯d have done that to Keeno a long time ago if she was able to just stay here with me.}


    ¡°She says like I¡¯m not the one who¡¯d do that to her first.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Anyway, can I please get up now? This rubble isn¡¯t veryfortable.¡± (Freya)


    Pram dried the tears in her eyes and stood up, offering a hand to Freya who took it with a small smile on her face. Leaving the building, we found Emma, Sigurd, and Freyr sitting or leaning on some of the rubble. When he saw us, Freyr stood straight and spoke.


    ¡°Lady Okami, I need to talk with you about something important. I would normally say it could wait, but I fear we could be out of time if we don¡¯t do it now.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Make it quick, Freyr, we still need to get to the castle.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know¡­¡± (Freyr)


    Chaos Realm:


    The first soul, or whatever is left of it acquired.


    Order: To containment with you! *poof*


    Ray of the Abyss: I shall take it. I have a list of things I want to do with it. If you have any more ideas for¡­fun with it, I take suggestions.


    Noted.


    Luna: One down, two to go. Let¡¯s see what happens next!

 Chapter 109- Convincing Freyr

    Chapter 109- Convincing Freyr


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point since we don¡¯t have much time, but I think the Prince isn¡¯t as trustworthy as he seems.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°You¡¯re only now figuring that out? I knew he wasn¡¯t any good the first time I ever saw him. If you¡¯re only now just learning this, then you need to get better at reading people, Freyr. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be overthrown very quickly when you be king.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What!?¡± (Freyr)


    He gave me a look like I had two heads and fifty tails.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why me? I¡¯m not fit to rule, and out of anyone I know, you are the only one with the bloodright to do so.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°I will NEVER rule this country. I have more pressing matters to attend to outside of this ce. I¡¯ve told thing to you before, Freyr, I¡¯m only here for Emma, Sigurd, Ortlinde, and the Dead Zone. I thought you¡¯d figured that out when we first negotiated my terms for helping you in this rebellion.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That was then, this is now.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°My terms haven¡¯t changed. That doesn¡¯t mean I won¡¯t leave someone to help you, which can only happen if we finish this war, but she will have to agree to it, now if that¡¯s all, then we need to go.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­We also have to worry about Duke Lucius. He hasn¡¯t made an appearance yet, and when he does, we must all be in top form if we¡¯re to survive.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Pffft. Ahahahahahahaha! You don¡¯t need to worry about that Taboo Breaker, we just killed it. That thing was¡­I can¡¯t even say its name now.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked over at the corpse of the thing and I spit on it.


    ¡°You deserved much worse than this, you disgusting, taboo breaking mongrel.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How did he be this?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°He broke the Dragon Taboo, that¡¯s all you need to know. Now, let¡¯s gomit some regicide, I¡¯m done with this conversation for now.¡± (Keeno)


    This small reprieve helped with recovering some mana and stamina. I started moving in the direction of the tallest building in the city, the castle. The others followed me, with Freyr taking the lead, showing us the quickest way there. On the way, I decided to ask a few questions.


    ¡°Freyr, which entrance to the Dead Zone is the better point to go through. Above or below?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Above. Though I¡¯ve never been inside it, the truest entrance is behind the throne while the bottom is just where the bodies were disposed of, minus the king¡¯s¡­¡¯art.¡±¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Then I have a feeling we¡¯ll be settling things there. Sigurd, once we finish things with the king, I want you and Freyr to stand by for when the Prince gets there. Emma, Pram, Freya, and I will take care of the Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I thought you said that only those with draconic bloodline could enter.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Anyone can enter, but only I can do what needs to be done. Oh, and Freyr, where is Fafnir¡¯s reverse scale?¡± (Keeno)


    Freyr froze up when I mentioned that.


    ¡°Yes, I know about the dragon scales, Freyr. I don¡¯t know the story of what happened, and I¡¯m not happy about what happened to them, but I know you had no say in it, so there is no point in taking out any anger on you, though I do want the ones that Prince has collected once this is all over. They were bequeathed to me after all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes¡­I¡¯ll make that unjust action right.¡± (Freyr)


    We continued onward through the city. I noticed as we went that the water in the canals was bing clearer and the thunderclouds above were dissipating, allowing the suns to shine on the city. This being the first actual time I got to see it in detail, I was, though I am loath to admit it, impressed. The buildings were made of white stone while the canals were lined with aquamarine pebbles. In a few zas we passed through, I briefly saw several murals made of multicolored stones. They mostly depicted an old man wearing a golden crown. Others depicted the old man sitting on a throne of white.


    ¡°Freyr, if there is any more of this country that is using my ancestor¡¯s body for something, tell me now. Some of these murals are depicting something I¡¯m not to fond of.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Unless things have changed in thest decade, then I don¡¯t think so, though as has been pointed out to me time and again today, I have not been the most observant, so I im no responsibility for anything other than the scales. Though many of these murals are new, the king I know would only spit on the people who made them for ¡®dirtying his image with mortal standards of artistry.¡¯¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°How in the name of all that is divine did you ever serve this king for so long without question?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You fail to understand just how much we are brought up thinking of the king being a god in mortal form, youdy. Being chosen to serve him is like being given the chance to be a god yourself. When I was younger, I was much the same, just a bit more skilled than most, so I earned the title of Knight Commander. After that, I was a glorified brute who would y anything or anyone the kingmanded. Only once I saw what the king does with the bodies of people he had killed, or even killed himself. After I discovered that, I questioned everything I ever knew or thought.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I knew this country was bad from what Okami said, but that¡¯s just¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I had it easier than most, actually. The family I was born into was a high-ranking noble family, though I gave up the title to be Knight Commander. I was blinded by the trust and power that position gave me¡­I¡­¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Stop putting yourself down, Freyr. You did things you regret; we all do that. What matters now is what you do to make up for it, like what you¡¯ve been doing for the rebellion. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s all been a game by some royal mongrel, you¡¯ve done true good here, and you will into the future. You haven¡¯t fallen too far, and your soul is still neutral. You¡¯re human and mortal, you are allowed to make mistakes and to correct them. Remember this, Freyr, the only reason I didn¡¯t take Sigurd and Emma from the rebellion and storm this ce on my own when I got here was because you are a decent person in a sea of corruption in this country. The same applies for some of the others in the rebellion. If you want condemnation for your actions, then wait for a few years, rule this ce as best you can, and then we¡¯ll see if you still feel the same way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­You are an enigmatic being, Lady Okami. I will take your words to heart, though I still find myself unworthy of this trust you are putting on me.¡± (Freyr)


    I was going to just silently acknowledge his words, but Ama whispered something to me and told me to say it to him to push him into fully epting his inevitable future position.


    ¡°Few good rulers find themselves worthy of their rule. All they can do is what they think is right. I see that kind of conviction in you, Freyr, you can make Falheim what it should be, not what it currently is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I understand.¡± (Freyr)


    After that, the only sound that we could hear was the water in the canals and our feet hitting the ground as we ran. Almost an hourter, we found ourselves at the gate of the castle.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Taboo Breaking mongrel: Dead. Next ruler of Falheim: Convinced. Next on the list: Regicide.


    Atmos: ¡­Needs more pizzazz. They¡¯ve been too serious and aren¡¯t having enough fun with this.


    Atmos, not everything needs to haveedic relief. And besides, once they are done with this, you¡¯ll get all the fun, cute, fluffy antics you can stomach. Think of all this serious stuff as an intermission to the true purpose of all of this, the cute fluffy couple moments.


    Astraea: YURI!


    Yes, Astraea, yuri.


    Astraea: YAY!


    Luna: You¡¯ve stopped caring about her knowing that?


    Order: Well, it IS her third Authority, so she¡¯d have to learn about it eventually. And besides, she has so many examples of it in front of her, it¡¯s kind of pointless to shield her from it until she¡¯s more mature.


    Luna: Good point. Though now I kind of feel like a bad influence.


    Don¡¯t worry, yours and Keeno¡¯s rtionships with your Fated Ones are more wholesome than some others we can name.


    Luna: That makes me feel slightly better.


    Atmos: Come to think of it, when is that Fiametta girl going to join Amaterasu in watching Keeno finish up in Falheim? It seems like something she¡¯d want to witness.


    She¡¯s still spending time with the Radiant Knights. She¡¯s about done there, though, so she should be able to see thest bits of the Falheim debacle.


    Atmos: I see. Sounds fun, I¡¯m gonna spy on them for a bit, let me know when it gets interesting over on Keeno¡¯s side again.


    Sure.

 Chapter 110- Angry Fox Commits Regicide

    Chapter 110- Angry Fox Commits Regicide


    [Keeno POV]


    Standing in front of the gate, I was about to melt a hole through it when it swung open by itself.


    ¡°How inviting.¡± (Keeno)


    Not even listening to my sarcasm, Freyr walked by right through.


    ¡°It¡¯s best to just ept the invitation. Arrogance of this magnitude is what the king is known for. He wouldn¡¯t invite us in like this if he didn¡¯t believe we were walking in the palm of his hand.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Ugh. All of these people in charge, always so arrogant. Get some originality.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I agree with you there, Freya. Don¡¯t they know that this much arrogance only ever leads to death?¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s notpletely true, I mean if it was, you¡¯d have met the king or equivalent ruler in most countries by now.}


    ¡®¡­Pfft. That¡¯s true.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Thankful for Ama lightening the mood, I entered through the gate. Freyr once again leading the way, we pressed forward. As we went, we entered a rather lovely garden full of many colorful flowers, several fruit trees, their branches weighed down with fruit, several small streams that I think branched from the canals outside the walls flowed throughout, filling the garden with a light burble. It was a ce so full of life, it was like the outside of the castle¡¯s walls didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡°The gardens haven¡¯t changed but gotten more beautiful than I remember.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°I¡¯ve only ever heard tales of the castle¡¯s gardens. The Jewel of the World, I believe.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Yes, Sigurd, I remember the times when we were allowed to harvest the fruit here, how we always snuck a few into out pockets to snack onter, how the the others would try to gain the favor of someone they fancied by taking a flower from here.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that was ever allowed.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hah! It wasn¡¯t. Any who got caught, on a good day, were given a minimum of 20shes, on a bad day, hung. But we still did it. We thought of it like a game, a very dangerous one, but a game all the same.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°So, a thing many did, but was still a death sentence regardless. And no one ever tried to stop it?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ones that did got the same punishment as the ones caught. We all learned to keep it to ourselves, but when someone did inevitably get caught, all we could do was hold our tongues. It¡¯s something I deeply regret to this day, but it¡¯s in the past now, and there is nothing I can do.¡± (Freyr)


    I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of armor nking. In the doorway Freyr was leading us to, two knights in full armor stood guard.


    ¡°Ill take one, anyone care to take the other?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hmm. Huginn, Muninn, care to stretch your wings a bit?¡± (Keeno)


    The two emerged from my tails and pped up to my shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the one in the left.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°You two, go for the other one, if you please.¡± (Keeno)


    The two got a glint in their eyes and took off from my shoulders. They started to circle above the guard they were going to take while Emma emerged from the corner we were hiding behind. Seeing her, the guards became alert and slowly approached her.


    ¡°Oi! Lady, you don¡¯t belong here. Unless you¡¯re a new maid, and we would know if you were, then you¡¯re going to have toe with us.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll decline.¡± (Emma)


    She summoned her Soul Weapon and readied herself. The guards took a cautious step back before drawing the swords at their hips. This was when my two feathered friends made their move. Muninn flew down from above and shed the right guard¡¯s helmet with its wing. A secondter, the helmet cracked like a cheap wooden bucket and fell apart, leaving the guard¡¯s face unprotected. Huginn then dove and went beak first through the guard¡¯s eye and out the back of his head. The two then flew over to one of the small streams and dove in. Turning my attention back to the guards, I saw the second one¡¯s head fall to the ground as Emma made her sword disappear.


    ¡°Lady Okami, your bird friends are very scary.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Nah. They¡¯re sweet little ones, if not a bit too mischievous at times.¡± (Keeno)


    Once the two came back from their little bath, we entered through the door the guards were guarding. Staying a bit low, we moved quickly through the halls, hiding behind corners or other things when too many knights passed by and taking out any we could as quietly as possible before hiding the bodies in closets or spare rooms.


    ¡®You know, this is a lot of people in the way for inviting us in the gate.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®I was thinking the same thing. It¡¯s annoying.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s more inviting you in just so you can tire yourselves out getting to the destination.}


    ¡°Yep. Looking back, this has happened a lot of times here. Though, this is the first time there have been more survivors on the attacking side.¡± (Moco)


    ¡®You mean this scenario has happened before?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. This isn¡¯t the first time the king of Falheim¡¯s children have tried to usurp the throne. This is one of the more sessful attempts, but still. They¡¯ve all failed, though this time is different. It¡¯s practically impossible for you to lose, Keeno, with my full Blessing of War. Though that won¡¯t stop you from getting slowed down by this or any other traps the king has set. I mean, he has ruled Falheim since the beginning of the country.¡± (Moco)


    ¡®There are a lot of things I want toment on there, but it¡¯ll have to wait.¡¯ (Keeno)


    We stopped at another corner with Sigurd being the one to peek around it this time. After discreetly scanning for any enemies, he turned to us and whispered.


    ¡°There are only two guards around the corner, and they are guarding what I can only assume is the throne room.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Were the doors asrge as the hallway and decorated with murals?¡± (Freyr)


    Sigurd nodded his head in affirmation.


    ¡°It¡¯s the throne room.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Freya, you and me, fast as light.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°On your mark.¡± (Freya)


    I nodded and prepared myself before signaling Freya. We both activated our magic and in a split second, we were next to the guards by therge doors and had our weapons through their chests and necks. We carefully lowered the bodies to the ground trying to make as little sound as possible before the others joined us before the doors. Once we were all ready, we faced the ornate doors. Sigurd and Freyr walked up to them and, with a lot of effort, pushed the heavy doors open. They made a deep groaning sound as they moved. Once there was a space big enough for us to walk through, the two went in ahead of us and we followed.


    The inside of the room was massive, like the inside of a giant cathedral. The windows lining the walls were stained ss depicting scenes of a man fighting monsters, building a city by himself, shaping mountains and calling down storms. The windows closer to the throne began to be much less colorful and full of shades of red depicting scenes of gruesome things. Torture, cannibalism, desecration of corpses. All these led to a giant ss mural depicting this same castle from outside its walls, only instead of water leading out from the walls, it was rivers of blood. The white walls were painted in shades of ck and red. And behind it stood a mountain with its peak missing, reced by another castle floating in the sky with a man standing atop it, looking down on the world with a cruel smile.


    Looking down from thergest stained-ss window, I saw something that made me freeze up. In the ce where the throne should have been, arge skeleton. In the ce where the skully, its mouth open, a highly gilded cushion was suspended in the air with golden chains slung through the ce where eyes should have been. The wing bones on the back were spread like it was about to take flight while the tail was coiled around, disying sharp looking spikes. The ribcage was covered with carvings that looked the like the same kind of thing that I found on the scale in that one city. From the teeth of the skull hung several gs, all with the symbol of Falheim embroidered on them. And, in the cushion in the middle of the mouth sat a man.


    Atop this man¡¯s head was a crown of gold so polished, it was practically glowing, though it also had an interesting shape that made it look like it was just carved out of something than made of metal. The man wearing the crown¡­left a lot to be desired from someone surrounded by so much opulence. He had grey skin like that of a corpse that had been dead for a long time, sunken, sickly yellow eyes, so many wrinkles that he looked more like a raisin than a man, and even from the doors, I could smell the reeking from him. It was like he was a corpse left in the suns to dpose.


    Even with the king staring at us with a toothy smile on his raisiny face, I barely noticed it. All I could see were the skeleton and crown. A rage I had felt several times sinceing back to this country started to surface, only its potency was so strong, I could barely see straight. My vision was wavering a bit, and I could barely stand. In my periphery, I could see some smoke rising around me from the ground and the others backed away from me. Looking directly at the king, I spoke, my voice surprisingly calm for how much rage I was currently feeling.


    ¡°So¡­not only did you pass out her scales like trinkets, but you also use her body as a chair and symbol of oppression, and you wear her reverse scale as a crown. You step on her pride, and the pride of her descendants with your every action.¡± (Keeno)


    As I continued to walk forward, the king of Falheim spoke. His voice was a hoarse, croaky one that could curdle milk.


    ¡°Kukukuku. Youck manners, parasite. It is only appropriate to grovel at the feet of your god and speak only when told to. As for this, it¡¯s only natural that I use the lizard that once lived in the world I created as a chair. Though it was vermin, it was indeed pretty to look at. It¡¯s a shame it took me so long to think of using it as my throne. But enough of this, parasite. Bow! You shall not show me any more disrespect!¡± (King)


    ¡°I refuse, you walking corpse. I bow to no one.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, calm down, you are getting too lost in your anger.}


    ¡°¡­Hmmm. Kukukukukukuku! You bare a resemnce to them¡­what were their names? The duke who served me oh so faithfully before disappearing and¡­my daughter?¡± (King)


    {You damn idiot!}


    His words made me even angrier. The plush carpet under my feet started to catch fire and my Soul Weapons manifested.


    ¡°Such a temper for a mere parasite. It seems I should teach you why it¡¯s a bad idea to face a god.¡± (King)


    He raised his hands and lightning began to crackle between his fingers. Pointing them at me, he yelled at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°UNLIMITED POWAH!!!!!!!!!!!¡± (King)


    The blue lightning flew across the room at me while other bolts were pulled towards the bones. I dodged out of the way and threw one of my swords at the I king. He moved some of his lightning and pushed the de away. Taking the opportunity while he was distracted, I ran toward the king while pulling my sword back. He directed his lightning back at me, causing me to start dodging it again.


    {Keeno, redirect the lightning to the bones. Dragon bones absorb magic.}


    Though I could just barely hear her voice, I heeded Ama¡¯s advice. I threw a sword again, though the angle I threw it was a little different than thest time. Once again, the king shot his lightning at my sword to protect himself, but this time the ce he aimed was too close to the bones. All of the lightning was drawn toward it, causing the king to panic a little. I started to move forward again. Once I was close, I jumped up and kicked the king in the chest, knocking him off his plush little cushion.


    ¡°YOU DARE TOUCH A GOD!?¡± (King)


    ¡°I do every Sr Convergence.¡± (Keeno)


    I brought my swords up to stab the king when I felt a weird chill at my back. I jumped away and soon a ck metal pir in the shape of a spiraling spear appeared out of nowhere. The king took that opportunity to try his lightning once again, but it was all attracted to the bones and pir. Choosing not to think about it much at the moment, I threw my sword again, and it sunk into the king¡¯s face. Pulling on the chain and freeing my sword, I was going to cut the king¡¯s body to cleanse his soul, but before I could it was forcefully pulled from his body into the ck pir. The pir then vanished, leaving behind a small note.


    [Don¡¯t worry about the soul, it¡¯s being taken care of by a specialist. Sorry for the intervention, but I promised someone that they could have this mongrel¡¯s soul, so I took it. Won¡¯t happen again. This message will now disappear, and you¡¯ll all forget this happened. Have fun. -P]


    I was confused, but before I could really question anything, the note burst into mes, and I became dizzy. When I recovered, I looked down and saw the king with a hole in his face and no soul to be seen.


    ¡®Ama, did I ck out and do this?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {¡­I think so?}


    ¡®Why was that a question?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I don¡¯t know. I feel like something happened but can¡¯t really recall what it was.}


    Deciding not to think about it, I took the crown off the mongrel¡¯s head while the others came up behind me.


    ¡°Talk about anticlimactic. I was so sure he would be some super powerful master ofbat, but he didn¡¯t even use his Soul Weapon.¡± (Emma)


    {He probably couldn¡¯t. Too old, the strain would have killed him.}


    ¡°Step one of being a tyrant. Convince those under you that you¡¯re all powerful, even if you¡¯re weaker than a child.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, what now, my Lady?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°You and Freyr wait here while the rest of us deal with the Dead Zone. If that Prince shows up, stall him or kill him, either works.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, my Lady.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°We shall await your return.¡± (Freyr)


    Looking up at the bones and down at the crown in my hand, I closed my eyes for a moment before moving forward.


    ¡°Soon, Fafnir. We have more than enough to bring you back, just need the power.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Mofu bud: MOFU!!! *Sound of ying around with a raisin man¡¯s soul*


    Astraea: Hehehehe. Are you having fun, Mofu?


    Mofu bud: MOFUFUFUFUFUFLUFF!


    Astraea: Mofufufufluff!


    Luna: Infeel like this should be worrying behavior, but it¡¯s so dang cute I don¡¯t care.


    Naturally. My daughter is the cutest in the whole Sea of Chaos. Only beaten by the beauty of Order.


    Order: tterer.


    Guilty as charged.


    Luna: ttery gets you everywhere. Tamamo can attest to that because we use it all the time.


    Mofu bud: *crunch*


    Luna: Did it just eat a part of the soul?


    Nope, just made a crunching sound.


    Luna: Hmm. Anyway, Dead Zone numero dos time!


    Endeed.

 Chapter 111- Getting to Falheim鈥檚 Dead Zone

    Chapter 111- Getting to Falheim¡¯s Dead Zone


    [Keeno POV]


    The four of us stepped behind the throne and immediately saw a door. It was very ornate and built into the giant window that was behind the throne and went all the way to the ground. The door was ced in the window in a way that looked like it was the beginning guns a path towards the floating castle.


    ¡°How subtle.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to the door and touched it. The door instantly burst into mes and a few minutester, the ss surrounding it either melted or broke. The sound of shattering was louder than I expected, but at the moment I didn¡¯t care. I was still fuming, and I just wanted to release some frustration.


    ¡°My Lady, I get that you are quite¡­upset at the moment, but please at least turn down the heat a bit. Your clothes are starting to burn.¡± (Emma)


    Hearing Emma¡¯s words, I looked down and saw she was right. Though the important ces were still covered, the rest of my clothes were basically worthless now.


    ¡°*Sigh*I really need to find a ce that has fireproof clothes.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll add that to the list of ces I¡¯m going to take you next time we see each other.}


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± (Keeno)


    I stepped through the hole in the wall and around a corner before I removed my useless clothes and changed into some new ones. After I was done with that I looked up and saw a hallway lined with yet more stained ss, only these all had depictions of the king. Just seeing this pissed me off more, so as we went, I made sure to melt each and every one of the windows.


    ¡°Ya know, I¡¯m d we¡¯re getting this one out of the way. No offense, Keeno, but seeing you so angry so often is really not nice. I miss seeing you smile and, Lady Amaterasu save me, your teasing.¡± (Pram)


    {Why are you asking me to save you? You know I¡¯d happily join in on Keeno¡¯s teasing.}


    ¡°YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!¡± (Pram)


    {Hehehehe.}


    ¡°Hehe. I agree, Pram. I really do. Though, honestly, I wasn¡¯t expecting to be this angry constantly either. I knew I¡¯d be far from happy, sure, but this near constant boiling rage is exhausting. Though admittedly, the throne room debacle aside, it¡¯s calmed down quite considerably. Killing the Taboo Breaker really helped dispel a lot of grudge.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Guess collecting so much of it in one ce does the job well.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well enough at least, though honestly, I¡¯m sick of this ce. I just want out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sounds like you need a break, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯d love one. No offense to you three, but I¡¯d really just like a day with Ama and myself. Good thing Sr Convergence isn¡¯t too far off, but I¡¯m impatient.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No offense taken. You deserve it. And besides, it would give me and Freya some time to ourselves as well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I quite like that idea, though I¡¯d prefer we go on a date somewhere not in this country.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Seconded.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Gah! I¡¯m surrounded by people with partners.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°There¡¯s always Selkie.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve said it before, and I¡¯ll say it now, I never felt for her that way, and besides, since my looks have changed, she¡¯s be all distant. Still treats me the same, but that sparkle disappeared.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Maybe she figured out what she felt wasn¡¯t love?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Probably.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, as long as we stay friends, I¡¯m fine with that.¡± (Emma)


    I was about to add my own thoughts to this topic, but before I could, we exited the hallway we¡¯d been following. Outside the rather simple door we were faced with a very windy canyon with a well-traveled bridge going up into the clouds around the peaks of the mountains.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, you¡¯re getting that look again.}


    ¡°What look?¡± (Fu)


    {The one she gets when she finds something she thinks is exciting.}


    ¡°You sun foxes and your moods. How can she go from boiling mad to bouncing excitement so fast!?¡± (Moco)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, I realized it just as the words left my mouth.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°At least you¡¯re self aware. Not that it¡¯s a bad thing. By the way, how is Ortlinde? She¡¯s been quiet for a while.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She¡¯s doing good, she was with Red a little while ago and they yed around a bit before tiring themselves out. Now they are napping next to each other in a nice sunny spot. Honestly, I¡¯m kind of tempted to join them. Rasu¡¯s ce is always peak napping space.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Too bad you have to keep watching this, Moco, Imma go nap with them!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°TRAITOR!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°When ites to napping with your family in the best sunny spots in all the Divine Domain, alls fair in Fluff and War.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°I¡¯M LITERALLY WAR ITSELF!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Wahahahahaha!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Can you two keep it down, please. All this yelling is giving me a headache and killing the excitement of this wonderful bridge into mystery.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Sorry.¡±¡± (Fu and Moco)


    ¡°Oh, Freya, stick close to Pram, she¡¯s not great with stuff like this.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yep. I hate all this high up stuff. Never have, never will.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Adorable.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, no way but up. Onward!¡± (Keeno)


    I took one step onto the bridge, and my sense of excitement diminished some.


    ¡°¡­What a let down. No creak or noise of stress. Where is the fun in that?¡± (Keeno)


    I continued up the bridge, the others trailing behind me at a slower pace. About 15 minutester, I made it to the cloudyer and started to push through the clouds. I was actually a bit chilly, so I increased the heat around me. A few minutes in and I felt like I passed through some kind of barrier.


    ¡°So, there was the border to the Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. I hope you¡¯re ready, Keeno.}


    ¡°For what?¡± (Keeno)


    {You¡¯ll see.}


    As soon as Ama¡¯swords were said, I exited the cloudyer, and my eyes went wide. Towering in front of me was a wall made of ancient looking stone. It had pictures carved into it like some of the ancient buildings in my past life with so much detail they almost looked alive.


    ¡°Amaterasu Okami, you¡¯re telling me this Dead Zone is an ancient floating sky ruin!¡± (Keeno)


    {It is indeed.}


    ¡°I could push you down and do many things to you right now if only you were here. This is making all the annoyance of Falheim worth it.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s why I never told you what the Dead Zone here was specifically. I knew this reaction would be worth it.}


    As I was admiring any would be archaeologists¡¯ dream of a structure, the others finally caught up.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°This is¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    I turned around to see the others¡¯ reactions. Emma looked amazed while Freya was shocked, and Pram was being held in a Princess carry with her eyes shut tightly.


    ¡°Are we on good ground again?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t open your eyes just yet.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± (Pram)


    Chuckling inwardly at Pram being cute, I looked around for a way to get up the wall and noticed that just behind the carved statues were things that looked like stairs. Following them, I saw what looked like the ends of a bridge that had rotted away and fallen. I walked over to that spot and looked from where I was standing and the gap to the ruins. I nodded my head and summoned one of my Soul Weapons. I backed up a little and then started to sprint. When I hit the edge, I leapt and threw my sword into the wall. It stuck and held and once I stopped swinging like a pendulum, I started to climb. After a few minutes I mbered onto the bottom steps of the ruin.


    ¡°Well, that was fun, though now my arms are sore.¡± (Keeno)


    {I give it an 8 out of 10. You could have added more re.}


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    {Pfft.}


    Turning around, I took out some rope and one of the stakes we use for our tents, and I stabbed it into the stone. I made sure it was secure then tied the rope around it before dropping the rest off the edge.


    ¡°¡­My Lady, no offense, but you are insane. I¡¯ve done some crazy things in life, but never something like this, and I really don¡¯t feel like trying it.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I would join, but I feel if I do, Pram is going to kill me.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And I¡¯m not even going to say anything. I can¡¯t see what any of you are talking about, but knowing Keeno, it¡¯s something I¡¯m definitely notfortable with, so I¡¯m not even going to say anything more.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {You can summon Emma to you.}


    ¡°That sound fine, Emma?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I think Pram and I will stay here. You go on ahead and get what you need to get done, done. If something happens, we¡¯ll make sure you can at least find your way back to the bridge.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll let you two know if anything happens on my end.¡± (Keeno)


    I started to walk up the aged steps being careful not to step on any spots that were clearly unstable. I also inspected some of the statues while I was at it.


    ¡°Greek sculptors, eat your hearts out. These are so well done it¡¯s almost like these are actual people and animals. Like, seriously, it¡¯s insane.¡± (Keeno)


    {This ce¡¯s people were very artistic in their time. This castle and its walls were their magnum opus. It was the work of every citizen and took several hundred years toplete, but they managed. Honestly, they were very entertaining to observe, it¡¯s a shame how they ended, with this ce being thest piece of art every created by them.}


    ¡°Is that why there is a Dead Zone here?¡± (Keeno)


    {Partly. It was mostly because this was the ce where arge amount of people died in the Fiend Season. That¡¯s what whipped out that civilization.}


    ¡°And there aren¡¯t any other pieces from these people left behind anywhere else?¡± (Keeno)


    {Not to my knowledge, though the God of Art might have tasked his Apostle to find and collect as much of it as possible and I didn¡¯t know. Don¡¯t know the guy well enough to ask and don¡¯t really feel like getting to know him better either. He¡¯s always been¡­entric.}


    ¡°How entric are we talking here?¡± (Keeno)


    {First thing he asks anyone he meets for the first time is if he can paint them naked. Every. Single. Time.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {I know what you¡¯re thinking, and yes, and don¡¯t try it, he¡¯s had it happen several times over, it just gives him more inspiration.}


    ¡°Tch. Guess his eyes are going to stay in his head then.¡± (Keeno)


    {Enough about him, you figured out how to summon Emma yet, or do you want my help?}


    ¡°I think I have an idea.¡± (Keeno)


    I soon found myself closing in on the top of the stairs and what I saw when I finally reached the top astounded me. The entire ce was perfectly preserved, like not a single day had gone by. Not fading from the suns, no cracks, not chips, not deteriorated paints, nothing.


    ¡°How is the top like this when the walls and stairs down aren¡¯t? What kind of sorcery is this!?¡± (Keeno)


    {I may have added some slight preservation elements to this Dead Zone, but only to the area where I liked. I didn¡¯t really care for the sides all that much since, after a while of seeing those statues, they get kind of creepy.}


    As I was admiring the scenery, I started to notice that the shadows seemed to be moving, and when I concentrated harder on them, I saw they were full of souls of varying shades of grey and ck.


    ¡°Seem¡¯s like even the Death Spirits understood the meaning you put into the Dead Zone here since they¡¯re trying to stay out of sight as much as possible.¡± (Keeno)


    {Such considerate little things.}


    I admired the scenery a little more before getting back on track with what I had to do. I closed my eyes and focused on my connection with Emma. I then pictured myself pulling on it and a few secondster, Emma let out a surprised noise.


    ¡°Wah!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°It worked! Yay!¡± (Keeno)


    {Good job.}


    ¡°You can praise me more.¡± (Keeno)


    {You did so wonderfully, Keeno. You¡¯re amazing, and beautiful, and cute, and I want nothing more than to just pull you close and kiss you all day and night for all eternity.}


    ¡°Ehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I feel like I shouldn¡¯t be seeing this, yet I love that I¡¯m finally getting to see a side of you that I¡¯ve never seen before.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°*Ahem*Now, let¡¯s go!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Not even going to acknowledge what I said?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no.¡± (Emma)


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: It¡¯s good to see Keeno get to let loose a bit more in Falheim.


    Luna: Yeah. And I can totally tell that once she¡¯s out, she¡¯s going to flirt with Amaterasu and tease the others so much that it¡¯ll drive normal people insane.


    Tamamo: It¡¯s never good to keep it all bottled up like that.


    Luna: Exactly. She should let her Kitsune Nature out.


    Atmos: I just got chills. Why did I just get chills?


    Luna: No idea, just go back to watching whatever it is you¡¯re watching.


    Atmos: Oki.

 Chapter 112- Dead Zone Two: Gone, Tail Three: Obtained

    Chapter 112- Dead Zone Two: Gone, Tail Three: Obtained


    [Keeno POV]


    I walked up to one of the moving shadows and stuck my hand in. After waving it around for a minute, I felt something mildly solid, grabbed onto it and pulled. What came out was a shadowy figure that slowly morphed into a silhouette of a person. It looked at me with its eyeless face and I could somehow tell it was overjoyed. I let it go and the shadowy Death Spirit that was about as tall as my knee started to run around me before jumping onto my leg like it was a child hugging its parent.


    ¡°It¡¯s adorable in an odd way. Bit creepy too, with it not making any sound at all, but overall adorable.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°They are cute, aren¡¯t they. Hey little one, would you mind leading us to the Core?¡± (Keeno)


    It hopped off my leg and performed a cute little salute before turning and skipping off. I chuckled and started following the spirit, Emma not far behind. It went slowly which allowed us to look around as much as we pleased. It was all extremely pretty.


    ¡°Hey Ama, if you love this ce so much, why haven¡¯t you somehow brought it to your ce yet?¡± (Keeno)


    {Dead Zone aside¡­I don¡¯t know. Guess it was justziness. Always thinking I can figure it out at some other point in time that never really got to it.}


    ¡°Then how about you go figure that out while we take care of this and once we¡¯re done you can bring it there?¡± (Keeno)


    {Might as well. Hey Moco, watch over them for a bit, I¡¯ll be back in a bit. Gotta see the gods of transportation for a bit.}


    ¡°Okay. Oh, this is gonna be fun to watch¡­aaaaaaaaand, my blessing is gone from everyone but Keeno¡¯s people.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Sounds interesting, but this first.¡± (Keeno)


    We continued following the spirit until it faded through the wall of a building with thousands upon thousands of small fox pictures carved into it. They were all doing different things from ying to sleeping to any number of things that I found absolutely adorable.


    ¡°And I think I found my favorite ce here.¡± (Keeno)


    {I figured it would be. It¡¯s my favorite as well, though not for the same reasons you.}


    ¡°What¡¯s the reason you like it so much?¡± (Emma)


    {You¡¯ll see.}


    It took us a few minutes, but eventually we found the entrance to the tower. The door was quite big and it was an borate one that looked like two multi-tailed foxes blocking the entrance with their tails. When the door opened, it made the foxes look like they were bowing down to the one entering the building. The inside of the tower was dark, but there was enough lighting in from the door for me to see some spots to light some fires. I snapped my fingers and the spots I saw lit up with blue mes that started to spread up in spirals.


    ¡°Is there anything these people made in a non-artistic way?¡± (Emma)


    {Nope.}


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you going somewhere?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m about to, I have to make myself presentable, it takes time.}


    We started walking up the stairs following the fire. It took quite a while to climb all the stairs, but we finally made it to the top, and once again we were amazed. It was like a meadow in full bloom, like the gardens in the castle down below, but much more spacious and with a lot more to see.


    ¡°How is it possible to have so much in here when there wasn¡¯t nearly as much space on the outside?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°My guess, some kind of space magic.¡± (Keeno)


    {And you¡¯d be correct. But now I¡¯m really off. I¡¯ll be back in a little while.}


    ¡°Have fun, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    Observing the whole garden, there were several things that confused me, like how there was water flowing up from underground when there were no signs of any kind of pipes to transport it, or how there was a slight breeze blowing when there was no opening that I could see for it toe from. During this observation, I saw the small Death Spirit sitting on a rock while looking around. I walked over to it and it looked up at me before pointing in a direction. I looked that way and couldn¡¯t help but start smiling. Where the spirit was pointing was the shining core of the Dead Zone.


    ¡°Is that what you¡¯re here for?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yep, now watch.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to the core and stuck my hands into it. The Divinity¡¯s pleasant heat washed over my skin as I started to absorb it. During the process the heat began to increase and it felt like my soul was bing the sun itself. As the core began to decrease in size, I felt the weight at my lower back increase a small amount. Once it waspletely gone, I felt somewhat intoxicated.


    ¡°Hehehehehehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I LOVE this feeling! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA! I feels so bubbly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My Lady, are you alright?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m more than alright, my lovely Valkyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to Emma and gave her a big hug.


    ¡°Ya know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever had the chance to properly thank you for everything you¡¯ve done for me, Emma. For taking care of me when I was small, to the help you¡¯ve given me since I came back here. Honestly, I need to treat you better¡­and I need you to meet Red. You¡¯re going to love her, she¡¯s adorable like Ortlinde and so fun. She really likes pats, so be ready for that¡­and¡­¡± (Keeno)


    As I was losing myself in rambling, the intoxicating feeling vanished and I noticed something.


    ¡°Huh.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked at a tree a little away from where we were standing and walked over to it. Walking around it for a moment before jumping up to one of the lower branches and climbing up a little, I found a tiny orb about the size of my palm. I picked it up and hoped down from the branch.


    ¡°Why are you acting like you¡¯re holding something?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°You can¡¯t see this?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No.¡± (Emma)


    I lifted the small object up to my eye and peered in. I couldn¡¯t really make anything out in there, but I could tell that something was in there. Figuring it couldn¡¯t hurt, I channeled some mana into the orb and was immediately the scenery around me changed, though it was weird. I could tell I was still holding the orb, but I was also inside it, and after looking around, I noticed a familiar presence.


    ¡°Well, well, well, today is just full of twists and turns one after another.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I quite agree, though this visit is unusual. Did you cause all of that shaking?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Probably, but this is also good. You¡¯ll never guess what I found.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t leave me in suspense, my descendant.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Your reverse scale AND your skeleton.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°!!!!¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°And with your Spirit Realm in my physical possession as well, resurrecting you is going to be even easier now. I hope.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for!?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Me to leave the once Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright then, I shall wait a little longer.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°See you in the flesh in a bit then, Fafnir.¡± (Keeno)


    I cut the mana connection and my consciousness returned to my body.


    ¡°Well, that was an experience. Don¡¯t worry about not seeing this, Emma, you might gain the ability in the future, but I¡¯ll tell you about it allter. It¡¯s time to go and finish the day off with a bang!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t really get it, but I¡¯m liking this personality of yours right now, so let¡¯s go.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Go for it, you two. Things are getting interesting and I want to really see things evolve when you get involved.¡± (Moco)


    With that, Emma and I waved to the small Death Spirit and left the tower and made our way back to the others.


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: Ahahahahahahahahahahaha! This fool! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


    Luna: What are you watching?


    Atmos: That stupid Prince.


    Luna: Kill.


    Tamamo: Kill.


    Kill.


    Atmos: Yes kill, bute look, it¡¯s hrious how red his face is. It¡¯s like looking at a tomato, a red apple, and a festering wound at the same time. Like, how has he not popped yet?


    *Everyone present turns to see*


    Everyone: Pfft. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!


    Atmos: RIGHT!? It¡¯s hrious!

 Special Christmas Chapter

    Special Christmas Chapter


    [Chaos Realm: Keeno POV]


    ¡°I wee you all to my humble abode, for a time of merry making. Go about and mingle with others, or go on a small adventure with your significant other. All I ask is that you all meet back up here in a few hours for a special closing event.¡± (Payto)


    After saying that he disappeared along with Mrs. Order. This left me, Ama, Pram, Freya, and big sis Luna and big sis Tamamo alone. We all looked around for a moment before big sis Luna grabbed her wife by the arm and vanished.


    ¡°Guess we do the same, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {Might as well.}


    Ama wrapped her arm around mine and we also disappeared from the strange apartment. When my sight returned to me, we were in a ce I wasn¡¯t expecting. With a backdrop of a snowy mountain stood a small vige, roads covered in fresh snow, coniferous trees lining the sidewalks, and strings of lights hung over the main road like little twinkling stars. The trees were all decorated with colorful ornaments and all topped with stars, giving the whole ce a festive atmosphere.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Is something wrong, Keeno?}


    ¡°No, just feeling¡­nostalgic. Reminds me of a holiday in my previous life. I loved this time of year. Might also be why I liked Solheim so much, anyway let¡¯s go explore a bit. I want to know what this ce is about.¡± (Keeno)


    We took one step and almost instantly heard someughter.


    ¡°Fufufufufufufufufufu!¡± (Luna)


    ¡°Ufufufufufufufufu!¡± (Tamamo)


    Looked to where theughter wasing from, I saw big sis Luna and Tamamo sliding down the side of the mountain on a sled. As they went, the snow that was kicked up into the air sparkled, adding to how pretty the two ten-tailed kitsune already were. Just when the sled hit its fastest, they hit a bump and were flung off the sled into a big pile of snow. I wanted to run over to see if they were ok, but Ama kept me from doing so.


    When the snow that was kicked up by theirnding settled, I could see the two of themughing harder as big sis Lunay on top of big sis Tamamo. They looked deeply into each other¡¯s eyes as theyughed until it somehow turned into the two kissing. We quickly turned away and started to walk toward the vige.


    {Do you think we¡¯re like that too?}


    ¡°Probably, not that I mind. It just shows how much we care for each other.¡± (Keeno)


    {True¡­if they¡¯re here, then it¡¯s fair to assume that this is where we were all meant to be today, then why did we start in the apartment?}


    ¡°Probably because it was a bit better than just throwing all of us here with no exnation. Though I don¡¯t know how Pram and Freya are going to get here.¡± (Keeno)


    Just as we crossed the threshold of the vige, my question was answered. Pram and Freya were already in the vige, wearing warmer clothes than when we first arrived, including some adorable matching scarves that obviously resembled their wearer¡¯s partner. They walked down one of the sidewalks holding hands and looking into the windows of a few buildings, looking to see what they could find.


    {I¡¯m feeling left out all of a sudden. They clearly left before and after us, yet they seem to already know about this ce.}


    ¡°Well, they probably looked at that obvious map that¡¯s right in the middle of the road.¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh¡­that would help.}


    We walked up to the big map posted in a signboard. The second we got near it, the clothes we were wearing when we got here changed into ones that fit the ce. We also got matching scarves and I noticed that Ama¡¯s tails were now wearing tiny Santa hats.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute, Ama. I love the little tail hats.¡± (Keeno)


    {You¡¯re cute too, you know. You look so cuddly right now that I just want to pull you close and hug you forever.}


    Ama and I were getting closer and we¡¯re about to kiss when a snowball flew out of a small hole in space and hit me in the face.


    ¡°LUNA!!!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fufufufu! That¡¯s what you get for watching earlier!¡± (Luna)


    ¡°Get over here and face me like a woman!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I am! I control all of Space, so I¡¯m just fighting by my own means!¡± (Luna)


    {She¡¯s got you there, Keeno.}


    ¡°You aren¡¯t safe either, Amaterasu.¡± (Tamamo)


    Another hole in space opened and another snowball flew out. Ama tried to move out of the way, but it was like something started to weigh down on her and the snowball hit her in the face. Getting frustrated by the two other foxes and their antics, Ama and I looked at each other and decided it would be our mission to hunt them down and pelt them with snow.


    [Pram POV]


    I heard a loud yelling from the middle of the vige, meaning that Keeno and Rasu were probably about to go and chase around Mrs, Luna and Mrs. Tamamo for some reason or another. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned my full attention back on Freya.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check out what¡¯s in here.¡± (Pram)


    The building I pointed at looked like arge cabin. On the little sign hanging by the door was a funny picture of what I think was a soldier in strange clothes and a mouse both holding swords. When we entered the building, it was like we entered a whole different world. It was pleasantly warm, but stillfortable while wearing our scarves. We had somehow been transported into a big couch-like seat and in front of us were two steaming mugs of hot chocte. Seeing that, Freya and I had the same idea because when we reached out to take a mug, our hands touched. This made me smile and I gripped Freya¡¯s hand, forgetting about the warm drink in front of uspletely.


    ¡°Pram¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Shh.¡± (Pram)


    I pulled Freya¡¯s hand back towards us and then, being the selfish woman I am, curled up and leaned on Freya. I moved the arm I was holding around my shoulder and snuggled into her like I was trying to rub all of my scent into her.


    ¡°Loosen up, Freya. This is a date, so act like it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to, but you make every move I¡¯m going to make before I can.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh? Then why didn¡¯t you just say so?¡± (Pram)


    I immediately untangled myself from Freya before opening my arms and beckoning her to do what I just did. She did just that, and I was overjoyed at a side of Freya I rarely ever get to see. Her ear was twitching happily as I started to stroke her hair. I also noticed that our scarves were now magically a single big scarf, tying us together in a literal sense. I started to smile at the feeling of closeness this gave me when the lights in the room went dark and a single light focused on the stage and whatever show it was began.


    ¡­


    ¡°Well that was interesting.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It really was.¡± (Pram)


    Looking down at my Freya in my arms, I saw she had some hot chocte on her lip. Moving around to get to afortable position, I lifted her chin up with my fingers and kissed her. It was just a short kiss, but one that had the effect I wanted. When I moved my face away from hers, the slight blush apanied by the hint of sadness in her eyes was enough to make me giggle. I was about to say something when Freya grabbed my scarf, which had separated from hers at some point, and pulled me back into a kiss. This time it was more passionate and she even used her tongue to infiltrate my mouth. We were starting to lose ourselves when a strange sensations washed over me. Freya immediately broke off the kiss and we looked around. The town was now gone and in its ce was a giant frozenke, a massive bonfire in the center, and the sky alight with pretty colors.


    ¡°He really doesn¡¯t hold back I setting a scene, does he Tamamo?¡± (Luna)


    ¡°Nope. But what would you expect?¡± (Tamamo)


    ¡°True. If only Mio and Fenrir were here, they¡¯d be making a fuss about it on how they can do better.¡± (Luna)


    ¡°True, though knowing Fenrir, she¡¯d also be holed up somewhere while Mio napped in herp.¡± (Tamamo)


    ¡°True.¡± (Luna)


    ¡°NEVER GET DISTRACTED WHILE IN A WAR!¡± (Keeno)


    Keeno appeared from behind arge snow patch on the ice and threw a snowball at Mrs. Luna. The snowball flew fast and hard at her but disappeared only to reappear and hit Keeno in the face.


    ¡°How many times do I have to teach you this lesson youngdy? You can¡¯t hit me.¡± (Luna)


    {Sure, but can you two handle falling into freezing water!?}


    Beneath Mrs. Luna and Mrs. Tamamo¡¯s feet the ice started melting very fast, though neither of them fell in.


    ¡°Thank you for your masterful gravity maniption Tamamo.¡± (Luna)


    ¡°You are quite wee, my lovely Luna. Shall we show these two once more that they can¡¯t beat us?¡± (Tamamo)


    ¡°dly. Opening Gate of Foxylon: Christmas edition.¡± (Luna)


    In the sky above us and in the space all around us, small silver ripples appeared and then snowballs started to rain out like a hailstorm.


    ¡°Fuwahahahahahahaha!¡± (Luna)


    Keeno and Amaterasu were sliding around, avoiding or melting the snowballs that came for them, but that¡¯s all they could do.


    ¡°OI! THIS ISN¡¯ T FAIR! AND WHY ARE THEY SO HEAVY!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, you four! We have one more event for the night before all of you are sent home.¡± (Payto)


    The tall, white haired, twenty-tailed Kitsune man appeared again apanied by his bunny eared wife.


    ¡°Shall we all do some ice skating on this beautiful Christmas night?¡± (Payto)


    ¡°I, for one, would love to join you.¡± (Order)


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll start.¡± (Payto)


    Snapping his fingers, a faint music started to y that was pleasing to the ears and set the mood. He then gently took his wife by the hand and they glided away on the ice, spinning g in tune to the music and generally just enjoying being with one another. I looked over to Freya and smiled. She smiled back at me and offered me her hand.


    ¡°May I have this dance, my Lady?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I would love to oblige, my fair maiden.¡± (Pram)


    I took her hand in mine and we started gliding along the ice on funny little des that appeared under our feet at some point.


    [Keeno POV]


    Seeing that Payto, Order, Pram, and Freya were off enjoying themselves ice skating, I decided it was time to temporarily bury the hatchet with big sis Luna to spend some quality time with Ama.


    I looked around to see where she ended up and saw the two ten-tailed kitsune dancing in the most elegant way I¡¯ve ever seen. It was such a beautiful scene that it took my breath away, the way the light of the moon and the aurora glistened off their tails.


    {Let¡¯s not get outdone by them. We may have been at a slight disadvantage when it came tobat, but we can for sure beat them in dancing on the ice.}


    I offered Ama my hand and once she took it, we skated off. Even though I barely knew how to dance, much less dance while ice skating, we somehow managed to not make a fool of ourselves. It was almost like there was some magic here that made sure we knew the bare minimum of what we were doing.


    Ama and I skated around, taking turns spinning the other in tune with the music, and dipping the other when the tune called for it. Every so often we would pass by one of the other couples and I would be able to see how they were doing. Pram and Freya were in a simr boat to me and Ama, being the most amateur of all here. Big sis Luna and big sis Tamamo looked like masters who¡¯d practiced ice dancing all their lives, never missing a beat and making every movepliment the lead¡¯s partner perfectly. Payto and Order on the other hand were gliding across the ice. If Luna and Tamamo were professionals, then Payto and Order were gods whose Authority was ice skating and dance.


    It was like the music was made to apany their dance than the other way around. The moonlight and light of the aurora nced off the particles of ice that flew up from their feet, enhancing the scene to such a level that even gods of art would be speechless by the beauty of the scene and counters of blood for missing the opportunity to paint it. This was all eclipsed by the people themselves. Even in my brief nces of them in passing, seeing the love andpassion for each other in their eyes made me feel like my own feelings for Ama were inadequate. This made me double down on my focus and I kept all my attention on Ama. The light reflecting off her tails and hair, the lighting from her beautiful, glowing orange eyes, the smile in her face that gave me a feeling of warmth that reminded me of the greatest of summer days. All of it made me fall for her again and again.


    As we glided over the ice, I changed my posture a bit, making me the lead in the dance. We slid over the ice, spinning in ces, moving apart in others, and pulling each other close when needed. When the song hit a point, I dipped Ama down and when I pulled her up, I gently cupped her cheek with my hand and kissed her. The heat from her breath and the closeness of our bodies made my mind melt a little, but I continued to kiss her, making sure all my feelings were transmitted to her, about how wonderful she is, how beautiful I find her, and how I fall for her every second I see her like it was the first time.


    ¡°Amaterasu Okami, I love you with all my heart and soul. Thank you for being here with me and I look forward to our lives together going forward.¡±


    {Keeno Fafnir Okami, I love you with all my soul and piece of my being. You are my everything, my sun, and moon, and stars. You are my world and my rock and I fall for you every second of every day. I am happy and willing to give you my everything at any and every moment.}


    Smiling at one another, we brought our faces closer until our lips met one more.

 Chapter 113- Arise Dragon, Dragon Arise

    Chapter 113- Arise Dragon, Dragon Arise


    [Sigurd POV]


    About an hour after my Lady left the throne room to go take care of the Dead Zone, a loud sound echoed from the doors to the room. Several of our people rushed in while the Prince followed, surrounded by even more of our people and a few people that were wearing the armor of the royal guard. The rebels in the group looked around the throne room and were clearly in awe at the splendor of the hall and the dragon bones that made up the throne. While they approached us, Freyr leaned over and quietly spoke to me.


    ¡°Sigurd, leave the talking to me. If this turns into a fight, I don¡¯t think our allies will turn on us, but be ready for those royal guards. We try to avoidbat as long as we can until Lady Okami returns.¡± (Freyr)


    I nodded my head. A minuteter, the group that entered the hall lined up on either side and the Prince approached us. When he got close enough to see the King¡¯s body, he stopped and stared at it.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Prince)


    I couldn¡¯t really tell what emotion he was showing on his face, but I could see the mes of scorn, greed, and triumph in his eyes. He walked up to the body and spat at it.


    ¡°Looks like I win, <em>Father</em>, all of it is mine now. I¡¯ve proven myself superior to you, now I will remake this world in my image. I am no longer the person you deemed worthless, born from whatever mistress it was.¡± (Prince)


    He started to kick the corpse, focusing on whatever was left of the face. The sounds of the King¡¯s bones breaking and dead flesh tearing was sickening, even to us who¡¯ve spent many years on the battlefield.


    ¡°M-¡­Prince, that is no way for someone of your station to act, especially in front of so many.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Hmm? Ah, Freyr, I forgot you were here.¡± (Prince)


    Again, keeping his expression neutral, the Prince looked up at us, then over to the others in the room, some of which had disgusted expressions while others tried their best to just avoid eye contact. I caught a brief glimpse of spite in his eyes before his head turned.


    ¡°Prince, what shall we do now? What are your orders?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Hmm. Send some people through the castle, round up any servants and nobles that are here and hiding. We¡¯re going to hold a grand execution before I ascend the throne¡­Speaking of, where is the crown? Better question, where is that stupid niece of mine? While I hate to admit it, she was invaluable to us, so I should at least let her witness my ascension before having her executed as well.¡± (Prince)


    Thosest words from the Prince set me on edge. I almost instinctively summoned my Soul Weapon, but managed to just barely stop myself due to the presence of the royal guards, who I knew I would have a difficult time defeating in a sudden battle.


    ¡°Why would you do such a thing? You said so yourself that she and her friends were invaluable, so they should be rewarded, not executed.¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Because Freyr, she is still rted to me through my sister, meaning she has a im to the throne. I will not allow ANYONE else to have such a im to what is mine. And her friends, they are unwee here, peasants that they are.¡± (Prince)


    The Prince turned away from us and toward the royal guards.


    ¡°My guards, go and prepare for the execution. Two of you stay here. The rest of you I will allow to witness my ascension.¡± (Prince)


    The royal guards saluted and left the throne room, shutting therge doors behind them. I, and the rest of the rebels were silent. I was doing my best to keep from cutting the Prince down right now while the others behind the Prince looked like they¡¯d just received dire news, though in reality, they did.


    ¡°I see¡­so it really ising to this. Prince of Falheim, you will noty a hand on the throne, you shall never rule this country. You will just take the previous king¡¯s mantle and oppress all those under your rule. I, as Commander of the Rebel army, did not fight this war just to have another thousand years of the same oppressive rule to continue.¡± (Freyr)


    Freyr¡¯s greatsword appeared in his hand and at the ready. I did the same shortly after, ring at the Prince all the while.


    ¡°Pfft. Pahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! You think I give a damn about what you think!? You were just a means to an end! Once I took the throne and reced all the nobles, I nned on having all of you executed, but it seems that a change in ns is necessary.¡± (Prince)


    He then turned back to the group that came in with him.


    ¡°As king of Falheim, I order all of you to kill these two traitors to the crown. I will reward the one that gets the killing blow a position in the royal guard and a pardon for being part of a rebellion.¡± (Prince)


    The two royal guards that were still present drew their swords and ran toward me and Freyr, but we thankfully managed to cut them down without much trouble. Looking up from my freshly killed enemy, I saw the lot of the others looking unsure of themselves.


    ¡°What are you waiting for!? This is an order from your king!¡± (Prince)


    ¡°Hahaha. They don¡¯t answer to you, you tomato-apple faced mongrel, they answer to Freyr, the one they¡¯ve fought with side by side. You¡¯ve done nothing but mand¡¯ from the backlines. All you have going for you right now is social position.¡± (Keeno)


    Turning around to face where the voice came from, I saw my Lady, apanied by the others. On her face was a knowing smirk while her tails waved behind her. I was surprised by the appearance of a third one, but I could ask her about itter, for now it was imperative for me to protect her from anything the Prince threw at her.


    ¡°You dare look down on me and my station!?¡± (Prince)


    ¡°I do, Prince whateveryournameis.¡± (Keeno)


    This caused the Prince to get even angrier and his face to turn even redder, somehow.


    ¡°Freya, if you please, help me cut these ugly chains, Pram get ready to help me. Emma, stand back and make sure no one interrupts.¡± (Keeno)


    Those three nodded their heads and got to work. Lady Freya jumped up onto the dragon skull and cut through the chains holding the throne aloft in the skull. Once she was done with that, she moved them and the cushion that was the throne away. Emma stood next to me and Freyr, her Soul Weapon in her hand and she pointed it at the Prince.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to put on a spectacle to which none of you have ever seen in your lives and will never see again.¡± (Keeno)


    She hopped up and stood on the skull of the dragon and knelt down. cing a hand on the skull, she acted like she crushed something in her other hand before moving it to the skull as well. She then started to pour mana into the skull. It was so much and so concentrated that it was bing visible in an inky ck color tinged with a slight hint of gold. Several minutes passed with seemingly nothing happening when¡­something changed. In the hollow parts of the skull, two lights started to glow. In one was an orange light, while the other was blue.


    ¡°Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    The snow leopard girl nodded her head and touched the skull and she also started to channel mana into it. I could tell something was happening with her, but it wasn¡¯t as drastic as where my Lady was. Where she was at, a small humming sound could be heard as the mana poured out of her. There was a crashing sounding from next to me, but what was happening with the dragon skeleton was more important, so I didn¡¯t nce over at it.


    Another few minutester, the skeleton began to change more than just a light glowing in the eyes. Starting at the tail, arms, and legs something fleshy started to grow from the bones and crawling up before quickly bing covered in shimmering golden scales. Once the flesh and scales covered the whole torso, a scraping sound was heard.


    ¡°Okami¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just one more push, Pram. Freya, get ready.¡± (Keeno)


    My Lady stood up and hopped down next to Pram and ced her hand back on the dragon skull. She channeled even more mana into the skull, this time it was about half ck, half gold and there was a kind of oppressive powering from her. The skin and scales started to grow rapidly and soon they covered the neck and skull. Now, instead of a pile of bones, a true dragony in front of us, its eyes closed.


    ¡°Pram, this is the end. I¡¯ve done as much as I can do without making it undead, so I¡¯m gonna help you as you push the final bit. Freya, help me out with mana transfer.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Right.¡± (Freya)


    Lady Freya ced her hand on Lady Pram¡¯s back along with my Lady. My Lady then started to channel that golden mana intody Pram. This power along with whatever magic she was using epassed the dragon, making its already golden scales shine even more. Then, there was a sound. A beat. A rhythmic beat that made all those present stop and hold their breath.


    *Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump*


    I then felt a hot breath that nearly blew me back. Then, the eyes opened, one a zing orange, the other a zing blue. The dragon moved once more, its bones making cracking sounds due to it moving again after sitting in one ce for a long time.


    ¡°Hmmm. The world of the living¡­the air feels¡­stale.¡± (???)


    The dragon raised its head a little off the ground and looked at the wall nearest to it. It slightly opened its mouth and a faint glow shone in its chest before traveling up and out its mouth. A st simr to the one my Lady made earlier shot out and hit the wall, vaporizing it. The dragon then breathed in.


    ¡°Mmmm. Better. So sweet and crisp, I¡¯ve missed it.¡± (???)


    The dragon then moved its head again and looked at my Lady.


    ¡°Many thanks, Lady Okami, you have done me a great service, returning me to life.¡± (???)


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t any trouble, Fafnir. Now, your part of the deal needs to be upheld.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Naturally, though I am quite famished, so I believe I will take a small snack first.¡± (Fafnir)


    The dragon¡¯s head moved once more and it eyed the Prince who wasying on the floor, pinned under Emma¡¯s knees.


    ¡°Emma, move.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Right away.¡± (Emma)


    Emma moved away from the Prince, who didn¡¯t move a muscle, clearly unconscious.


    ¡°Small, but it will do for a very light snack.¡± (Fafnir)


    The dragon then picked the Prince up, threw him into the air, then snapped its jaws shut on the Prince.


    ¡°¡­Disgusting.¡± (Fafnir)


    The dragon then looked over the rest of us, like we were being appraised as livestock ready to be ughtered for food. It didn¡¯t make a move to do the same as with the Prince, but when its eyesnded on the king¡¯s corpse, a dangerous glint appeared and it spit a small ball of fire at the corpse. It went up in mes instantly.


    ¡°Need more, but I will wait forter. All of you tiny people, who is your leader?¡± (Fafnir)


    No one could move due to the fear for several minutes but eventually a few started to point at Freyr. Seeing that, others did the same until most people in the room were pointing at Freyr.


    ¡°Hmm. You will rule this ce now, if any object, send them to the mountains behind this human-made den. Miss Okami,e here with your little friends and climb on my back.¡± (Fafnir)


    My Lady nodded and slowly climbed onto the dragon, followed bydy Freya who was carryingdy Pram. Emma also hopped up behind them.


    ¡°Sigurd, get up here.¡± (Keeno)


    I froze up for a second, but feeling the stares of all the people present and wanting nothing more than to get away from the attention, I did as I was told and climbed up. Once I was settled, the dragon swung its tail and broke down the wall behind where it oncey and moved over to the hole. It looked over to the mountain and the long stone tunnel built into the castle. It jumped onto the tunnel and started bounding towards the mountains, trying to outrun the copsing structures underneath its feet.


    ¡°*Sigh*Fafnir, be happy this worked out so well. I¡¯m about out of mana andpletely spent on Divinity.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmhmhmhm. You did wonderfully, my descendant, I will get to a suitable cave and let you rest there. Ah, and thank you for resurrecting me¡­I didn¡¯t realize I missed the feeling of being alive until just now.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Haha. Just don¡¯t die again, and if you do, at least wait until I¡¯m fully ascended to do so.¡± (Keeno)


    My Lady seemed to teeter in her seat for a moment before leaning to one side and being caught by Emma.


    ¡°You other three should rest as well. You¡¯ve all had a long day, and it will take a while to find a suitable home. I will ensure you do not fall from my back, so rest.¡± (Fafnir)


    The tone of the dragon was much calmer and gentler than when in the throne room, almost like a mother caring for its child.


    ¡°I think we should listen, Sigurd. There is a lot you missed while we were in the Dead Zone, and we¡¯ll probably need a few days for things to calm down out here, so listen to Fafnir here and rest.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I get it, Emma¡­today truly has been long.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hmhmhm. Rest well, tiny people.¡± (Fafnir)


    Chaos Realm:


    Aaaaaand¡­got it! Prince soul is in my possession.


    All Present: Woooooo! Soul muttion time!!!


    Luna: Here, I got some nk canvases, let¡¯s tie some of it to these and I can shoot it with arrows and stuff, just like those two.


    Atmos: And give it just a little sentience again, I want to throw a lot of cakes at it!


    Crisis: Let me give it Essence of Insanity! I want to eat its delicious delirium!


    Order: In-chan, don¡¯t do that in front of the kids.


    Crisis: Then I¡¯ll let Mordred watch them in another room!


    Order: ¡­*Sigh*


    Crisis: SHE DIDN¡¯T SAY NO! WOOOOO!!!

 Chapter 114- Some Bonding with Fafnir

    Chapter 114- Some Bonding with Fafnir


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up, I held my head in my hand.


    ¡°Ugh. Someone remind me to not use up all my Divinity. It feels like my head is about to explode.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s why I told you to conserve it. But this was a special asion, so I¡¯ll just leave it at that.}


    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ve been back, Keeno. You¡¯ve been asleep for three days.}


    ¡°Oh¡­so, how was your outing?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Quite productive. I got the ind settled and got another errand I needed to get done, done.}


    ¡°What was the other errand?¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s for me to know, and you to find outter.}


    ¡°Booo!¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t be me, my lovely wife.}


    ¡°Then tell me! You know I¡¯m impatient!¡± (Keeno)


    {I can¡¯t tell you, it¡¯s something that you can only truly appreciate when we are together.}


    ¡°¡­Fine. You said three days, right? Next Sr Convergence should be real soon.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yep. Few more days.}


    ¡°Looking forward to it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmmm. So that¡¯s the voice of a goddess. Interesting.¡± (Fafnir)


    I jumped at Fafnir¡¯s voice, not knowing she was present in the cave I found myself in.


    {Hehehe. Cute.}


    ¡°Indeed.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Why can you hear Ama¡¯s voice?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to your goddess wife because I¡¯m not too sure either.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Hmmm. Well, this is interesting. Your dragon there is now a half-spirit of Death.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, really quick, check what kind of connection you have with her. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s at the level of a Valkyrie, but I want you to rify further.}


    ¡°¡­She¡¯s not. There is the connection that I felt from before that¡¯s just a bit stronger, but she¡¯s not a Valkyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    {I see. Hmm.}


    ¡°I guess this is what happens when I use necromancy mixed with Divinity.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m of the same opinion, so don¡¯t do this again, and if you have to, don¡¯t do it too much. I know we are the ones in charge of it, but we shouldn¡¯t make a habit of fully reviving the dead.}


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t nning on it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Good.}


    ¡°Does me being half spirit now mean anything special?¡± (Fafnir)


    {Not really. You can help out the other Death Spirits if you want, but you don¡¯t HAVE to.}


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d like it if you help Emma out, but we can talk about thatter. And speaking of Emma, where is she and the others?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They went to the tiny people city. Something about food for humans and reconnaissance. I don¡¯t really get it, but I let them go.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah! Now that you are awake, my descendant, would you mind helping me with something?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Sure. What is it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to get used to a physical body again. So far, it¡¯s been easy, though there is one thing I haven¡¯t tried yet, and I need an opinion.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°My opinion on what?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s difficult to exin, so I¡¯ll just show you.¡± (Fafnir)


    After she stopped speaking, Fafnir¡¯s body started shining in a bright gold light. Out of habit I squinted my eyes, but honestly speaking the brightness didn¡¯t really bother me.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s new.¡± (Keeno)


    {What is?}


    ¡°Guess I can stare at extremely bright things without being bothered by it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ah. It helps when we have to manage our suns up close. Things happen sometimes that make it necessary.}


    ¡°Like what?¡± (Keeno)


    {Annoying ice or water gods ying a prank. Though I haven¡¯t had to deal with that for a few thousand years now, so maybe that scolding I gave them worked.}


    ¡°I have the sudden urge to smack around some people for annoying my wife. I will ept the full list of names and locations at ater date.¡± (Keeno)


    {Understood. The list shall be sent to you at your next avable appointment in the Divine Domain.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ufufufufu.}


    ¡°¡­What kind ofugh was that?¡± (Keeno)


    {Someone I knowughs like that, and I just wanted to try it.}


    ¡°¡­Sounds oddly familiar¡­it doesn¡¯t suit you. I like your normalugh better.¡± (Keeno)


    {Noted.}


    During this conversation, the light started to die down and once it was gone, a woman about my height stood in front of me. Her eyes remained the faintly glowing orange and blue and she had hip-length golden hair. At her back swung a decently long tail covered in golden scales and on her head small horns sprouted out like a crown. She didn¡¯t have much in the chest, but it was still a respectable size. Looking at her for a second, I was stunned, but once I recovered, I took some of my clothes from my ring and tossed them to her.


    ¡°Put something on, or do you need help with that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Some help would be greatly appreciated.¡± (Fafnir)


    I chuckled and walked over to Fafnir and helped her dress herself.


    ¡°Why is there so much room around my chest? Is this what the young people of today like or something?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s with that look?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°That aside, what do you want my opinion on? Your humanoid form, or something else?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, nothing like that, I know I¡¯m stunning to look at. I was just wondering if I should show my wings or not. Personally, I would like to, but they get in the way when I try to do things in this form. Much more annoying than my tail.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hmm. I say depends on the situation. Hide them when you sit or are in a small space but show them when out and about or in the open. Like now would be a good time to show them, though I¡¯d-¡± (Keeno)


    Apanied by the sound of ripping, Fafnir¡¯s beautiful golden wings spring from her back and unfurled to their full length.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Not understanding why I was silent, Fafnir tilted her head to the side.


    ¡°*Sigh*Ama, we better get me a lot of clothes. I have what I¡¯m wearing, my Vanir stuff, and one more clean set left. The rest have been destroyed or burned away.¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry, we have a lot of ces to visit, so you¡¯ll end up with more clothes than you could ever use in a mortal lifetime.}


    ¡°Ah! Apologies, my descendant.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Damage has already been done, so it¡¯s fine. Feel free to keep those.¡± (Keeno)


    My shoulders fell as I sat on a rock and wrapped my tails around myself. The first two wrapped around my side while the third I didn¡¯t know what to do with.


    ¡°Odd numbers are annoying.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen a kitsune with multiple tails. My previous circumstances aside, only the those of appropriate power and age had multiple, and this was a thousand years ago.¡± (Fafnir)


    Fafnir walked over and sat next to me. Her gaze fixed on my third tail, the gleam in her eyes telling me exactly what she wanted. Deciding to indulge her, Iid my third tail in herp and her expression became so bright it could light up the cave.


    ¡°So fluffy and soft! I might be addicted to this. What magic is this!?¡± (Fafnir)


    {Not magic, that¡¯s just Keeno¡¯s natural fluffiness. It¡¯s even better after it¡¯s clean.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Heh, heh, heh, now, before my magnificent fluff!¡± (Keeno)


    {I submit myself to thee, oh Goddess of Fluff.}


    Just then I felt a weird tremble in space.


    {MIKON!!!}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­What was that?¡± (Keeno)


    {I take it back! Keeno is still extremely fluffy, but not the Goddess of Fluff!}


    ¡°Ama!?¡± (Keeno)


    {Ok¡­I¡¯m ok¡­whooh¡­Keeno, never im to be a Goddess of Fluff or say someone else is. Primordial forces don¡¯t like it.}


    ¡°Noted. Now, what was that other thing?¡± (Keeno)


    {You never heard that and neither of you will ever mention it again.}


    The weight to AMA¡¯s voice was all I needed to know that if we mentioned her outburst, we¡¯d regret it. Fafnir looked like she wanted to say something about that, but I covered her face with my tail, and she immediately went to snuggling it. After a while, she moved my tail from her face revealing a wide smile. It was then that we heard the sound of something dropping to the floor at the mouth of the cave.


    ¡°Who!!!?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°My Lady, who is this woman?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Squaw!!!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Calm down, it¡¯s just Fafnir.¡± (Keeno)


    Sigurd was still cautious, but rxed his guard slightly while Emmapletely lowered her guard and rushed over to us. When she got closer, I saw how she was looking at Fafnir, and I smirked.


    ¡°You¡¯re so pretty! I love the wings and the tail, and your hair is so long and smooth!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m pretty, I¡¯m a dragon after all. None are prettier than I!¡± (Fafnir)


    Fafnir stood up straight and puffed out her chest, hands on her hips, chin lifted into the air with a prideful smile on her face.


    ¡°M-may I feel your wings?¡± (Emma)


    These words cracked Fafnir¡¯s prideful aura and turned her into a blushing mess.


    ¡°H-how uncouth¡­You would wish to perform an act so intimate with me?¡± (Fafnir)


    Emma was silent as she processed Fafnir¡¯s words. Once things clicked, her face became so red I was sure steam would starting from it.


    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know¡­I¡¯m sorry¡­w-we should at least get to know each other better before doing that.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Eh!? You still w-wish to feel my wings?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°A-and you tail¡­if it won¡¯t make you ufortable.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    I chuckled at the two before getting up and walking over to Sigurd. Huginn and Muninn who had been sitting on a rock at the mouth of the cave flew over and dove into the tails they usually sit in.


    ¡°So, Sigurd, what¡¯s going on and where are Pram and Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    My voice snapped Sigurd out of his stupor.


    ¡°Ah¡­Apologies, my Lady, what did you say?¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I asked what you found out on your outing and where Pram and Freya are.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes¡­Well, starting with your second question, they are out walking the mountain paths. I think they wanted to go off to be alone together for a while.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°I see, well, they deserve it. They haven¡¯t had much time to be with just each other since they got together after all.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m honestly surprised it took them this long to sneak off together.}


    ¡°Same. Anyway, and my other question?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s much harder to exin¡­but, in simple terms, you may have a hard time going around if you ever go to the city.¡± (Sigurd)


    Sigurd¡¯s troubled face was all I needed to know I was in for a story.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: What did you do earlier?


    Luna: ¡­I didn¡¯t do anything¡­I think?


    Tamamo: Then what was with the special fluctuations and stuff?


    That wasn¡¯t Luna. It¡¯s exactly what Amaterasu said. Primordial forces don¡¯t like people iming to be the God or Goddess of Fluff when Luna exists as the Abyss of Fluff.


    Tamamo: But don¡¯t you control all Primordial Forces?


    Yes, but I need to let them have some free reign or else they¡¯ll act like a sealed bottle under immeasurable amounts of pressure. You don¡¯t want an explosion big enough and powerful enough to reset all existence on ayer of the Sea of Chaos, do you?


    Tamamo: No.


    Luna: No.


    That¡¯s what I thought. But that aside, you don¡¯t need to worry about that happening again. I¡¯ve adjusted things to where someone saying stuff like that as a joke doesn¡¯t upset anything, Luna just needs to take it as a joke.


    Luna: I never didn¡¯t.


    I know, but as the Abyss of Fluff, you are closest to the Primordial Concept of Fluff, so if you hear something like that and don¡¯t pay it any mind, things can get weird. If you ever personally hear a joke like that again, you¡¯ll need to be conscious about it.


    Luna: I understand, I¡¯ll work on it.


    Tamamo: And I¡¯ll support you all the way.


    ¡­I swear, these two will take any opportunity to start flirting with one another.

 Chapter 115- Long Awaited Date

    Chapter 115- Long Awaited Date


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°My Lady¡­I believe it¡¯s going to be very hard for you to do anything in the city. Word has spread of what you did with Lady Fafnir and rumors have spread that you are a Goddess of Life. This rumor has spread all throughout the city and I¡¯m sure it¡¯s going to spread across the rest of the country quickly as well.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Pffft. Ahahahhahahahahahaha!}


    ¡°It¡¯s not funny, Ama. They think I¡¯m you or an incarnation of you. I¡¯m my own person and the Goddess of Death! I will not take any achievements from my wife!¡± (Keeno)


    My outburst lit a few small embers that floated up from my tails and some weeds that were growing in the cave. This also snapped the two flirting in the back out of their little world.


    ¡°What is wrong, my dau- descendant?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°You told her about the rumors, Sigurd?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°What did I tell you!? She wasn¡¯t going to take it well, so we should have gradually told her, not just outright state it!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°What are these rumors you speak of?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Where I¡¯m being credited with my wife¡¯s Authority.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ahe here, little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    Fafnir walked up to me and pulled me into an embrace while patting my head. It was a kind gesture, but was a bit awkward due to us both being quite tall.


    ¡°Calm yourself, precious one, don¡¯t let your pride be tested by such petty sentiments as mortal misunderstanding. You are better than that.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    In this moment, I waspletely confused on how I was supposed to react. In this confusion, I felt a feeling I¡¯ve only ever felt when being held like this by three people. A feeling of closeness that¡­I decided not to think about it too much and just rxed. It just felt right.


    ¡°Kukuku. That¡¯s a good girl.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Hmm. Dragon instincts are no joke.}


    ¡°What do you mean, Lady Amaterasu?¡± (Emma)


    {Dragons are very family oriented beings. Be that family adopted or blood rted, a dragon epts you into its family and you¡¯ll be taken care of for the rest of time. Fafnir being an ancient dragon, has potent instincts to protect and care for her family members, and since Keeno is her only living blood rtive, she¡¯s basically treating her like her own daughter. Keeno is epting this treatment since she also has these same instincts.}


    ¡°I see. And how do you feel about this?¡± (Emma)


    {I think it¡¯s good for Keeno. Fafnir can be that mother figure Keeno doesn¡¯t have. I¡¯m her wife, so it would be weird for me to act motherly to her, and Fia is more a big sister than a mother. That maid, Saki, also filled this motherly position, but with her not being present, it¡¯s opened up again. And, if I¡¯mpletely honest, I¡¯m happy for this development since it means my family has grownrger too. Children aside, I¡¯ve always wanted a big family, and with the way Keeno is going, it¡¯s going to be quite big by the time she fully joins me here. I mean look, our Apostles and Valkyries are family, and Keeno is going to have several, plus the suspected path she¡¯s going with people like Ortilinde, we¡¯ll be a big, happy family in the end.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    {Hehehe.}


    ¡°What?¡± (Emma)


    {Oh, it¡¯s nothing.}


    Hearing this conversation, I had a lot of things to think about, though I made up my mind to do one thing in this moment.


    ¡°Fafnir, feel free to call me Keeno from now on.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Fafnir)


    After this, I mulled over a lot of things rting to Fafnir and how I should actually go about this whole dragon mom thing before ultimately deciding to just let what happens happen. This took a few days. Also in those days Pram and Freya reappeared with both of them smelling like the other and being very¡­shiny. Sigurd had gone back and forth from the cave to the city doing reconnaissance and secretly meeting with Freyr who had his hands full with all the work he now had. Emma and Fafnir also started binding more, cementing the fact that Emma fell for Fafnir at first sight and immediately started trying to get her to fall for her as well. Around the second day Ama was surprised by something, but she wouldn¡¯t tell me what it was no matter how much I pestered her about it. And, the day after I decided to just roll with it, I found myself lying in a bed, facing my beautiful wife who was still asleep.


    ¡°Time to wake up sleeping beauty.¡± (Keeno)


    I sat up and moved Ama so she wasying in her back before I straddled her and leaned forward. Our lips met and the already awake fox woman beneath me opened her beautiful glowing orange eyes. We stayed like that for around five minutes before I was lightly pushed away.


    {Now, now, you little vixen, we have a lot of things to do today, so we can¡¯t just indulge ourselves right now.}


    ¡°I know, but I needed at least that much. I can¡¯t not get affected by Pram and Freya being all over each other even more than before. Honestly, while I¡¯m happy for them to have gotten to that point already, it¡¯s maddening to smell them, even Fafnir is getting affected and she¡¯s been giving Emma looks.¡± (Keeno)


    {I don¡¯t think you have to worry about those two going that far yet. Maybe eventually, but not just yet.}


    ¡°Ok that¡¯s fair.¡± (Keeno)


    Ama sat up while I continued to straddle herp. Feeling her breath on my skin made me feel the urge to push her back down, but I held back.


    {Keeno, hop in the bath over there real quick then change into your Vanir clothes. I want you to look your best for today. I¡¯m going to do the same.}


    ¡°Heard you loud and clear, my love. Feel free to join me if you get lonely.¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno please, I nned this day out for a while now, so please stop tempting me to throw all of that effort away and take you right here. We have all of eternity to do that, but this is our first outing and we only get one first date.}


    The earnestness in her plea made me smile as I turned to the bath, stripped, and hopped in.


    ¡°Alright, Ama. I¡¯ll hold off on teasing you so much today, but I¡¯m putting this out there again, me this in Pram and Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    {We can punish themter, get ready first.}


    Chuckling at our interaction, I bathed as quickly and thoroughly as I could before getting out and turning up the heat to dry off. I then pulled out some underpants my suit from Vanir. After adjusting it properly, I turned to Ama and was stunned. She was wearing a tasteful, yet elegant dress that ended just a little above her knees, her hair was brushed in a way that it caught the light and shone dazzlingly. Her tails were immacte and waved slowly, entuating their fluffiness.


    {Well?}


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°Oh Sun my beloved, I shall bring you close, so I may feel your warmth, and hold you high so your brightness may enamor all who bask in it. Lovely Amaterasu, you stun me with a beauty so dazzling, it warms my soul and captures my heart. Your divine form can ruin nations and enrapture all, as you have done with me.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Why thank you, my dashing Draconic Fox Princess.}


    I smiled at Ama and held out a hand.


    ¡°May I have the pleasure of escorting my Lady on this fine day?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll be the one escorting, but I shall ept the gesture all the same so thank you, my Lady.}


    Ama reached out and took my hand. I kissed the back of it, trying to act as princely as I could before linking my arm with hers. We both smiled and a shining door appeared in front of us. We stepped through it and were immediately faced with a sight of what I could only call the most luxurious bazaar I¡¯ve ever seen. Shops lined up to infinity with smaller stalls set up in front of them advertising the wares, people milling about in every direction, the smell of strange slices in the air, musicing from some indistinct ce yet was pleasing to the ear.


    ¡°This is amazing.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehe. This is a favorite ce of mine. There is always something interesting to find thanks to various craft gods and goddesses, foods from culinary specialists, music performed by the Goddess of Music herself, it¡¯s just¡­indescribably fun.}


    ¡°Then let us get to this indescribable fun.¡± (Keeno)


    Ama smiled and led he way to our first stop. As we went, several of the gods around us stopped and stared and started whispering. Others called out and congratted Ama before moving on. Aside from acknowledging a few, we mostly ignored them as we focused on each other and our destination.


    The first ce we stopped at looked like a small boutique with several stands of clothes in front of and behind the window. All the clothes were beautiful and also exactly what I like.


    {This ce is really good. At one point they asked me to make a special enchantment for their stands that would show people things that they like, so each set on disy looks different to every person. It was such a fun little thing to figure out.}


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute when you gush about magic.¡± (Keeno)


    Ama lightly blushed as we entered the boutique. Inside was much more spacious than I expected and the walls were lined with clothes of various designs, all of which were stunning.


    {Do you want to get all of your clothes here, or do you want to get several from other ces?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Ama, I don¡¯t know anything about this ce.¡± (Keeno)


    {Right¡­then we¡¯ll get you some here, then we¡¯ll go to one of the tailoring gods to get a few custom sets for you. That may take most of the day though, but we should still have enough time for the main part of the date. We can alwayse back another time to explore more.}


    ¡°Sounds like a n.¡± (Keeno)


    We approached a prettydy wearing some kind of flowing robes. She was looking down reading a book. When she looked up to see who was approaching her, her eyes went wide.


    ¡°Ldy Amaterasu! To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today!?¡±


    {I¡¯m on a date with my wife and we were looking for some clothes for her that would survive her heat. Her Authorities are Sun and Death.}


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, I am Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Eh!? Wife!? Death Authority!? This is¡­wonderful! The world is about to be set on track again! No more stagnation!¡±


    {Calm down.}


    ¡°Ah! My apologies! Lady Okami, is there anything in particr you are looking for?¡±


    ¡°Mostly things that are easy to move in, form fitting preferably. Something like adventurer armor if you have it. Maybe some lighter, casual stuff to and¡­maybe something for Ama¡¯s eyes only, if you know what I mean.¡± (Keeno)


    The clerkdy took a second to process what I said then began brightly blushing.


    ¡°I-I think I get it¡­pleasee this way.¡±


    {Still looking for ways to tempt me, eh?}


    ¡°Always. I have designs I want for this tailor too. Some that I¡¯m positive you¡¯ll find appealing.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The poor clerk goddess continued blushing as she lead us over to a spot and then started taking down clothes that matched my every demand perfectly. There were so many that I liked that Ama took charge and said we¡¯d take them all. This caused the clerk to smile brightly.


    ¡°Thank you for you patronage, Lady Amaterasu, Lady Okami.¡±


    {I¡¯ll take care of the payment, my wife here has some special circumstances, so until those are settled,e to me.}


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll write it down.¡±


    With that settled, we left the boutique.


    ¡°What kind of payment system is this?¡± (Keeno)


    {As gods, we don¡¯t really need or use proper currency, we trade small favors like the one I told you about with the enchantments. And before you ask, no, it won¡¯t get out of hand since there are rules for this. The favor can¡¯t be something world changing, just small things here or there. Personal favors are different, but that¡¯s mostly howmerce works here.}


    ¡°Interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    {Now, on to the tailor.}


    Ama led the way again. We wound through the crowd and shops, stopping at a few every so often and picking up some stuff here and there. I picked up some small trinkets for those close to me while we were at it. Eventually we made it to a shop that looked somewhat simr to the first boutique we visited only outwardlyrger and more fancy looking. We walked through the door and were greeted by a giant wall of mirrors made of some sort of crystal.


    ¡°Ah, Lady Amaterasu. It has been a while.¡±


    Out of seemingly nowhere a very androgynous person appeared. Around their neck were several tailoring measuring tapes. They had bandolier styled belts that held an assortment of pins, scissors, and other tailoring tools strapped to them. When I looked closer, the person was also made of a cloth-like material. It looked like they were wearing an elegant tailcoat over a velvety vest made of a rich dark purple. Their eyes glinted like polished gas that seemed to change color in the light.


    {Indeed it has. Are you free now, or are theremissions you are working on?}


    ¡°I am quite free. Are you going to introduce me to this youngdy holding your arm?¡±


    ¡°My name is Okami, Ama¡¯s wife. My Authorities are Sun and Death with a third on the way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Greetings, Mistress Okami. What can this humble god of tailoring do for you today?¡±


    ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d be able to help me with a few outfits. We got a few earlier, but I¡¯d also like some moreplicated ones that Ama said would be better to have specifically tailored.¡± (Keeno)


    I then described several outfits to the god in front of me. They nodded at my requests as I listed them in as detailed a manner as I could.


    ¡°Oh, and finally some special lingerie if you make that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can tailor anything, so it is in scope of what I can do. I assume that specifically is something that you¡¯d like to keep secret until the moment of use?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Very well. I will listen to the specifics of itter, so for now I will take your measurements. Please move in front of the mirror and onto the podium.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to strip down?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m not a mortal, so those constraints mean nothing. Plus I feel like my physical wellbeing would be in danger if I asked that.¡±


    I nced at Ama who avoided my gaze. I chuckled and stepped up onto the podium. While the god if tailoring took my measurements, they asked a few questions.


    ¡°You did not describe a set like your current one. Would you like that as well?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Now, please hold this paper and think of the design for the lingerie. The specifics will be recorded and I will begin work on that immediately. For the rest I shall deliver them to Lady Amaterasu¡¯s home once they are all finished. Is this eptable?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Ama said she will take care of all payments for now due to my own personal situation, so feel free to ask her about that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood. Also, would you mind if I kept this design? I could send any others of this that I make to other gods who specialize in this aspect to spark their creativity.¡±


    ¡°Feel free.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I am truly grateful. Your measurements are done. I shall make this product for you now, so please wait for a small while.¡±


    The god then walked into the mirror which rippled like water.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {They need to have more fun. They¡¯re always so businesslike that it just takes the wind out of people¡¯s sails.}


    ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. If they want to be that way, then we can¡¯t really change them.¡± (Keeno)


    {True.}


    Ama then moved over to the window and looked outside.


    {I hope they don¡¯t take too long, we¡¯re running out of time for the main event.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take much longer. Lingerie shouldn¡¯t take THAT long to make since there isn¡¯t much to it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh?}


    ¡°Hehe. Maybe not today, but you¡¯ll find out eventually. Look forward to it.¡± (Keeno)


    {I always do.}


    Around 20 minutester, the god of tailoring came back out of the mirror again carrying a box.


    ¡°Mistress Okami, here is this order. As I said before, the rest will be delivered at ater date.¡±


    {Thank you. You know what to do about payment.}


    ¡°Yes. Now please, get on with your date.¡±


    {!!}


    ¡°Hehe. Thank you again.¡± (Keeno)


    The god nodded and walked back to the mirror. We left as well and Ama led the way. We eventually ended up in a different section of the bazaar where a lot of alcohol was being sold. Ama looked around before her ears perked up and she led me to an alleyway with a door. She knocked on it three times before a lock sounded and the door opened slowly. We walked inside before the door shut and locked again.


    {This ce is special in that the door moves around all the time. I only knew it was there because I reserved a ce for us earlier.}


    Ama then pulled out a small ticket and a glittery light floated out of it like fireflies leading to another door. We went through it and the door shut. Inside the room was a single table with two chairs, arge couch that sat in front of an entire wall made of windows that looked out over a scene so beautiful it was like an illusion. The scene was one of a mountain valley, one side full of coniferous trees, the other being a frozennd where all things there looked like ice sculptures. This was only enhanced by light is the suns.


    I walked up to the window and looked out over all of the scenery. Ama joined me after a second and smiled.


    {The owner of this ce really knows how to set the mood. But then again, as the goddess of love, that¡¯s no surprise.}


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think the goddess of love would run a ce like this. Not that I even know what this ce is.¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s her hobby. She loves setting a mood that brings two people closer together so she made a ce for that sole purpose.}


    ¡°I see. Then what are we going to do now?¡± (Keeno)


    {Well¡­}


    Ama grabbed my hand and led us over to the long couch. She sat me down before walking to a wall and pulling out two crystal cups. She ced them down on a table that appeared out of nowhere and then grabbed a bottle of wine.


    {We sit close and drink some good wine while we admire the scenery. While we do that, we wait for sunset. Then I have one final n for the day.}


    Ama poured some wine into the sses and we each picked one up. We clinked them together before taking a sip. To say it was good would be an understatement. The richnessbined with a sweetness I didn¡¯t expect from wine went perfectly with the atmosphere, leading to aforting feeling that is hard to reproduce when at home.


    Ama mixed a bit closer to me before taking another sip.


    {Keeno, I know I say this all the time, but I really, REALLY love you. I love you so much it¡¯s maddening. Just being close to you makes my rational vanish.}


    ¡°I¡¯m the same. Sometimes it feels like I can only think aboutying you down and ravaging you or being ravaged by you, other times it feels like I just want to be held in your arms for all time. It¡¯s so, so hard to focus on anything when I¡¯m near you, and honestly, I¡¯d have it on other way. I am yours and you are mine, we exist for one another and I¡¯ll burn all existence if it meant I could spend just one more nanosecond with you.¡± (Keeno)


    Ama stayed silent, but she didn¡¯t need words to let me know how she felt. I just instinctually knew. We continued to sip our wine as we enjoyed each other¡¯s warmth and presence. In what felt like no time at all, the suns started on their descent to the horizon. The colors of sunset lit up the icy side of the valley in beautiful hues that mesmerized me.


    {¡­It¡¯s time.}


    Ama stood up and then pulled something out of nowhere.


    {Using one of my connections, I got in touch with a special Goddess of Crafts. One could even say she¡¯s the greatest of them all. It¡¯s not really a tradition that gods follow, but some of us like it because of its sentimentality.}


    Backlit by the setting suns, Ama held out a small box and opened the lid. Inside it was a small ring. It was shaped like nine small fox tails and matched the ck and orange of her own tails. The tiny gem set in it was a faintly glowing orange, just like her eyes. Engraved into the tails were what looked like runes that I didn¡¯t recognize but could understand just by seeing them as they spelled out Ama¡¯s full name, our family name included.


    Just seeing the ring caused my heart to skip a beat and I was lost for words. I could feel tears falling from my eyes due to the happiness of the moment as I sat and stared.


    {Keeno Fafnir Okami, my beloved Fated One and light of my life. Please ept this ring and all of my feelings that apany it. I swear to you that I shall love and cherish you forever and always, through any turmoil or tribtion. My love for you burns hotter than any sun and all you being with me brings a happiness to my life that outshines any Magic.}


    Ama took the ring out of the box and I held up my left hand. She slid it on my ring finger and once it was snugly in ce, it was like it became a part of my body. It wasn¡¯t ufortable and it felt like it was always there. I looked at it in amazement for a moment when Ama lifted my hand and kissed the finger and ring. She then ced a simr box in myp. Figuring out what she wanted, I gently took my hand from hers and lifted on the box.


    I faced it to her and opened it before taking out another ring. This one was a simr design of nine fox tails, only instead of ck and orange, they matched my silver-white and blue. The small gem was a pitch ck one with a glowing blue center and runes engraved into it with my full name. She offered her hand to me and I slid the ring on slowly.


    ¡°Amaterasu Okami. I offer you this ring with a matrimonial vow. I will cherish you for eternity with a love that burns hotter than an infinite number of suns. Even if Death consumes mortal and god alike, I will be there to love and hold you. Through any trouble or tribtion, forever and always. I offer up my Life to you and only you. I say as your beloved Fated One that no existence in all existence will stand in my way to getting to your side. Should the world deny me, I will fill it with fire and Death till nothing remains and be a Fox of Cmity should it mean I be worthy of this Fate to be with you.¡±


    I then pulled Ama close and sat her on myp. She leaned into me and moved her face close until our lips met. Unlike our normal passionate kisses, this one was deep and conveyed all the feelings that we had no words to express to one another. The momentsted for only a few short minutes, but felt like an eternity. We broke our kiss just as the suns dipped under the horizon.


    {I¡¯ll see you again soon, my love.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting with baited breath for that moment.¡±


    And like that, our first date in the Divine Domain ended.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: *stands up* Tamamo¡­


    Tamamo: Lets go, Luna.


    *Both vanish*


    Atmos: I¡¯m also going to see Grey. See you next time.


    *Atmos vanishes*


    Astraea: I want to see Evelyn.


    *Payto opens a portal for Astraea*


    Astraea: Thank you, Papa.


    ¡­


    Order: ¡­


    Shall we go on a date as well? I don¡¯t want to be outdone by those two.


    Order: dly. I¡¯ll get my things.


    *The two disappear shortly after.*

 Chapter 116- Chatting with Emma and Fafnir

    Chapter 116- Chatting with Emma and Fafnir


    [Keeno POV]


    I woke up in Fafnir¡¯s cave. It was dark, only lit by a golden fire. Emma and Fafnir sat by it while Pram and Freya slept nearby, holding each other close. Sigurd was nowhere to be seen and my two feathered friends were perched on a root that was hanging from the roof of the cave. Somehow sensing my presence, Fafnir turned around and smiled.


    ¡°Wee back, little one. Was your rendezvous with you previous one good?¡± (Fafnir)


    I got up and walked over to the fire as I answered.


    ¡°Good doesn¡¯t describe the wonderful time enough. I don¡¯t think there are any words to express how happy I am or how fun it was and look.¡± (Keeno)


    I held out my hand to the two, showing off my ring.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s a treasure worth the hoard of every dragon, past and present. I¡¯ve never seen such a thing of beauty, us excluded.¡± (Fafnir)


    {And the best thing about our rings, we no longer have to worry about those pesky angels and their eavesdropping. Some of the materials it¡¯s made out of is halo light and embed with a spell I made for the same purpose.}


    All three of us let out quite sounds of awe and I look at my ring with even more feelings of happiness. We all admired it a little longer before looking up again.


    ¡°Why were you two still awake?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been getting a weird feelingtely and it¡¯s bing harder to ignore.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I am the same. It¡¯s like the grudge of thend is returning.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Ama, I¡¯m just guessing here, but with no Dead Zone¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Undead. A lot of undead. The only saving grace about this is that the grudge has basically all condensed in the nearby city. So, I¡¯d say get ready for a horde.}


    ¡°Ugh. If it¡¯s not one thing, it¡¯s another in this country.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Lady Amaterasu, is there a timeline we have, or should we be ready at a moment¡¯s notice?¡± (Emma)


    {Well, Keeno would be more the one to ask that, but if I had to guess, you have a few more days, maybe a week at most.}


    ¡°How would I even tell; I can¡¯t even feel this feeling Emma and Fafnir are.¡± (Keeno)


    {You¡¯ve just gotten used to feeling a lot of grudge. Fafnir would be the same, but seeing as her body was revived not too long ago, that affects her mind and abilities. Emma, being a Valkyrie and being close to you, who is a giant ma of grudge didn¡¯t get to feel much of it either. They are a bit more sensitive to the feeling. Or at least that¡¯s what I think. But none of you need to worry about it for the moment, so calm down.}


    ¡°Hmm. Oh, Fafnir, there are a few things I would like to ask you. I have been meaning to for the past few days, but I kept getting either distracted or just forgetting, but would you mind staying here and helping Emma out? With the Dead Zone gone, someone needs to coordinate with the Death Spirits and keep things in check, and I thought you¡¯d be perfect for the role, being half Death Spirit yourself now, among other reasons.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, my little one. While I would like to see this world and how it¡¯s changed since my first death, I can wait, after all, I now have eternity to do so. Plus, this one here is interesting. While I won¡¯t say anything about your obvious expectations about our rtionship, I do wish to get to know her more. Especially if she is special to you. I will also need to meet these other two you have imed as family at some point.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange that. Now, the second thing is, once we clear up, or at least assist in this uing crisis, would you mind flying me, Pram, and Freya out of Falheim? Just dropping us off at the other end of the buffer zone is fine, but I could really do without walking for a month just to get back to civilization after who knows how long of being <em>here</em>.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course. I cannot have one descended from me not know the joy of flying freely through the skies at least once in their life. It¡¯s just a shame you were born with those tails instead of wings.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­But I really like my tails¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah! T-that¡¯s not what I meant, my little one¡­I-I did not mean to insult your beautifully fluffy tails in the slightest¡­I-I just meant that you would be even more beautiful with a pair of wings to go with them¡­P-please don¡¯t hate me!¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Faf, I think she¡¯s messing with you.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m not though, I really do like my tails, and you¡¯d know if I wasn¡¯t upset about it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, I know you¡­well, I know the younger you and what you were taught by that person. You can cry fake tears just as easily as you can conjure fire and emte a mood change in the time it takes to blink.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°*Sigh*Ok, Emma, first, I really wasn¡¯t acting, and Fafnir, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t hate you for something as small as that. I got what you meant, but I still had to say it, or I feel like something else would happen. Remember what happened a few days ago?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah¡­I do indeed.¡± (Fafnir)


    Fafnir scooted over from her spot next to the fire and got closer to me before asking for permission with a nce. I nodded slightly and she started patting one of my tails.


    ¡°¡­This truly is blissful. I sincerely apologize for my earlier statement.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I ept your apology, mum.¡± (Keeno)


    Me calling her that seemed to make Fafnir¡¯s brainpletely stop working.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Now you¡¯re really messing with her.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. Though I get the feeling that calling her that in the future is a very real possibility. By the way, Emma, when do you n of going to that ce Ama found?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That thing that happened when I became a Valkyrie?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yeah. Ama did say that Red now shows up there every time she goes to the Divine Domain, even when she wants to open a pathway in a different spot. And I really would like you two to meet sooner rather thanter. You¡¯ll both be helping me out, so I can¡¯t have you two not be close.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll go after we deal with this uing crisis. You¡¯ll be staying a little longer after that, right?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Unless something unexpected like being mobbed by tons of people calling me a goddess happens and I have to make a scene getting out of there, then yeah. I mean, I kind of wanted a few more days rest before leaving, but this is extending our stay a little longer than expected.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, as selfish as this may make me sound, I¡¯m kind of happy about that. I mean, we¡¯ve only just reunited and you¡¯re already trying to move on. We haven¡¯t even really had much time to catch up with everything. We got the overall exnation, but none of the small, fun stories.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°True, but we have time. And even with me no physically here, we can talk wherever, whenever now. Though I guess the same doesn¡¯t work with Sigurd, but I feel like he¡¯s been trying to keep a certain amount of distance for some reason.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°He¡¯s probably still in the mindset of war and its hierarchy. It has been a long time, after all. Give him time and he¡¯ll eventually get over it¡­probably.¡± (Emma)


    {I agree with Emma. Sigurd is one of those mortals that takes things too seriously, and a personality like that mixing with a routine that he¡¯s had for many years will take time to get settled, if ever¡­though maybe not? Mortal minds are weird.}


    ¡°Hmm. We still need a way to extend his lifespan. We can¡¯t have our first Pdin dying of old age after all, Ama. And, if the saying holds true here as well, time will fix most wounds, whether they be physical or mental.¡± (Keeno)


    {I do have an idea about that, but we need to know if you can bless people yet. Doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a major Blessing, but knowing if you can do it at all or not is still important.}


    ¡°How do I go about trying that out?¡± (Keeno)


    {Wait for Sigurd to get back. It won¡¯t really work on Freya or Pram if it¡¯s not a major Blessing since they are currentlypleting Apostle Trials. Emma is a Valkyrie, and Fafnir is a half Death Spirit, so no Death Blessing will work on them since they already receive all the benefits one could provide. And a Sun blessing isn¡¯t really THAT useful for them¡­though I guess it could improve Fafnir¡¯s mes a bit, but it wouldn¡¯t really be noticeable, and we probably shouldn¡¯t stress her soul too much just yet.}


    ¡°Then wait for Sigurd we shall.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Ehehehe. I was called mum.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°And she¡¯s back with us.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Indeed she is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Did I miss something?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Not really. Oh right, there was one more thing, Fafnir.¡± (Keeno)


    She deted a little at me calling her by her name again, but she recovered quickly and looked me in the eye while waiting for me to continue.


    ¡°Please, keep them safe. While I know Freyr is now king, that doesn¡¯t mean everyone will immediately start following him. I¡¯m sure there will be people that go after anyone that seemed close to him, so Emma and Sigurd need to be protected at all costs.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s only natural, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit surprised you didn¡¯t mean Freyr.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°He¡¯s a nice guy, I guess, and a decent leader, but I have no attachment to him. As far as I¡¯m concerned, my contract with him ended the second Fafnir told him to be king with so many witnesses. Of course, I¡¯m still waiting for the scales, but I can use a proxy, if either you or Sigurd don¡¯t mind doing so. I¡¯ve said it many times, Pram is the saint, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not going to stick around long enough to somehow be dragged into power struggles and political whatever here. It may seem irresponsible, but who cares because I sure don¡¯t. I have other things to do, and I can¡¯t spare the time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Emma, you must be careful as well. Human politics are always a pain to deal with. People know your connection with Keeno, and some will want to take advantage of that.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Then I just need to stick close to you, don¡¯t I? No one wants to steal the maiden away from the dragon that¡¯s captured her, after all.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Hush, Keeno. Let them have their moment.}


    Fafnir was lightly blushing, and though Emma said the words, she was as well.


    ¡°¡­T-*ahem*That aside, I will do my utmost to protect your special people here, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Thank you¡­now, I feel tired, so I¡¯m going to try and sleep a little. You two should sleep as well.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Good night, my Lady.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Rest well, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Same to you two.¡± (Keeno)


    I moved over to my bedmat andid down and several minutester, I sumbed to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Why did I have such a weird dream right after a nice date with Tamamo?


    Hehe. No clue.


    Luna: You know something!


    No I don¡¯t!


    Luna: Stop lying or at least try to not make it obvious about it!


    Order: What is she talking about?


    Don¡¯t worry about it, Order. It¡¯s something to do with some time shenanigans and other Chaos Realms outside mine. The less you know, the less confused you¡¯ll be. And Luna, don¡¯t worry about it.


    Order: Ok.


    Luna: Fine. But I¡¯ll get you back one of these days for trying to trick me.


    I look forward to seeing what you try.

 Side Chapter 5- Red and Ortilinde

    Side Chapter 5- Red and Ortilinde


    [Red POV]


    After finishing off yet another idiot who thought they could do bad things to others and wiping off my knives, I asked my smoky wolf friends to take his soul. They pounced on him and ripped out a dark, dimly lit orb and swallowed it. They then came up to me with their tails wagging. I smiled and patted both of them causing them to let out silent but happy barks.


    ¡°You can join the others again, friends. Red will call you when you are needed.¡± (Red)


    They barked in their silent voices again and dissolved into smoke. I put away my knives and opened the shiny door. After stepping through it I was greeted with the sight of the circr room with nine chairs. I looked around it to see if anything was different, but nothing was.


    ¡°Red wonders how to light more of the fires. Only two are lit.¡± (Red)


    {If I had to say, they correspond to the number of Valkyries.}


    ¡°Hello, big sis Rasu.¡± (Red)


    She smiled at me and started to pat my head. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the warm sensation.


    ¡°Uheee~¡± (Red)


    {Oh Red, you¡¯re so cute.}


    The patting continued for some time until big sis Keeno spoke.


    ¡°No fair! I want to pay Red too!¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s why I¡¯m patting her so much, Keeno.}


    ¡°¡­I can argue with that logic, so continue.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Red needs¡­uheee~¡­to go see Ortilinde¡­Red wants¡­uuuuuuuuu~¡± (Red)


    {Hehehehehehe.}


    My mind was starting to go nk due to theforting pats when I was saved by my new sister.


    ¡°Red!?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Ort¡­uheee~.¡± (Red)


    Before I could tell her to run, she was caught by big sis Rasu¡¯s tails and pulled next to me. Then she also started to receive pats of the highest order.


    ¡°Awawawawa¡­uuuuuuuuu.¡± (Ortilinde)


    {Wahahahahahahahaha!}


    For the next who knows how long the two of us received pats until thefort became too much and I fell asleep. When I woke up again, Ortilinde and I were wrapped up in a big nketying under a tree with pretty colored leaves.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°Ah!¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Ortilinde?¡± (Red)


    ¡°So many pats¡­felt good¡­want more?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Red will give more pats.¡± (Red)


    I started patting Ortilinde¡¯s head and she began purring.


    ¡°Hehe. Red can understand why big sis didn¡¯t stop.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Nn. Big sis Rasu¡¯s pats are warm¡­like mother¡¯s.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Nn. Mother¡¯s pats are also warm. And Auntie Fu¡¯s.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Ortilinde)


    We sat there a little longer when Ortilinde moved my hand away from her head.


    ¡°Sister¡­how was your day?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Good¡­though Red had to fight someone this time. Bad person¡­muddy soul.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I¡¯ll never get why they are like that¡­no point in being bad.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Red agrees, but mother says it¡¯s just mortals being mortals¡­whatever that means.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Hmm¡­what did this person do?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°¡­Kidnapped children¡­tortured their parents in front of them¡­from an old Family vying for power¡­thought he was untouchable now¡­found out differently.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­Bad person¡­I¡¯m happy you didn¡¯t get hurt.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Never even saw Reding.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Can you teach me to be sneaky like you? I¡­I want to make bad people disappear to.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Red can teach you¡­but isn¡¯t sure mother or big sis Keeno would be happy about it¡­always want to protect us instead of letting us deal with bad people.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Yeah¡­but I want to be able to do more than just sit here and watch while they do things. Big sis Keeno and the others are about to fight a lot of undead, and all I can do is sit here and watch¡­They¡­they helped me so much more than I could ever repay, and I can¡¯t do anything.¡± (Ortilinde)


    Ortilinde¡¯s head fell into her hands and she started shaking. I didn¡¯t know anything else to do but pull her into a hug.


    ¡°Red understands¡­Red will teach you what Red knows, but better than how teacher taught Red¡­don¡¯t want to put Ortilinde through too much pain.¡± (Red)


    ¡°When do we start?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Next time¡­Red wants to rest for a bit longer¡­and Red didn¡¯t ask how Ortilinde was yet.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good¡­I got to visit with big sis Keeno and the others a bit before they had to leave to fight undead¡­apparently there is a lot of them.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°¡­Red feels¡­left out. Red is also supposed to help with undead as a Valkyrie.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I¡­I think you¡¯re doing fine. If what mother said is true, then you are helping big sis Keeno in your own way.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Red knows, but Red still feels like Red should be there. Plus, Red wants pats from big sis Keeno and the others.¡± (Red)


    ¡°You really like pats, Red.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Red knows, but Red doesn¡¯t care. Red will get all the pats.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Ortilinde)


    Ortilinde then reached over and started patting my head.


    ¡°Uheeee~¡± (Red)


    ¡°I know that sound of enjoyment anywhere! I¡¯ve finally found you, my daughters!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡°Mother!¡±¡± (Red and Ortilinde)


    Mother then fell down from the branches of the tree,nding on her feet for a second before falling on her butt.


    ¡°Ugh¡­I still don¡¯t get how Fu always manages to do stuff like that. I can never stick thending.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Is Auntie Fu not here?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Nope. We may go pretty much everywhere together, but we can be separated. She had some errands to run, and I had to stick around to oversee Keeno¡¯s battle with the undead. I swear, if it¡¯s not one thing, it¡¯s another in Falheim. But at least I don¡¯t need to bless anyone this time.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Can mother send Red there?¡± (Red)


    ¡°No can do, Red. You have to focus on Vanir. It¡¯s fine if youe here every few days, but staying here or going to Keeno¡¯s side for too long and things¡¯ll get out of hand for your work.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Frustrating.¡± (Red)


    ¡°I know, but you just need to make it a few years. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to join up with them then.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Nn. Red just wishes that Red could really tell the difference Red is making. Red knows Red is getting rid of bad people, but that¡¯s all Red can tell.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m no expert on souls and all this Death stuff when it has nothing to do with war, but I think just you being there does¡­something? I don¡¯t know, I just know you being there helps.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Mother is bad at exining.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°You wound me, Ortilinde. It¡¯s not my specialty, so I can¡¯t exin all the specifics. Talk to Rasu, she can probably tell you all you could possibly know about souls and stuff.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Red will askter. For now, Red is hungry.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Then I shall treat my two daughters to a feast!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I will help¡­I¡­I want to make something for mother and Red.¡± (Ortilinde)


    Mother looked shocked, but in a happy way, if the tears falling from her eyes were any indication.


    ¡°*sniff*I¡¯m so happy. My daughter already wants to cook for me. They grow up so fast.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°But I¡¯m not a child.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Of course, you are. Everyone is a child in my eyes¡­well¡­nope, not going there. I feel like it won¡¯t end well if I do. Anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter how old you are, I will always treat you like my little girl who must be spoiled! Same for Red!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Ortilinde)


    We looked at each other and then back at mother. Her words resonated in our hearts, giving us a feeling we didn¡¯t know how to describe, just that it felt nice and warm, like when I was with big sis Keeno for that little while. Nodding at each other, we moved from under our nket and started patting mother¡¯s head.


    ¡°Awawawawawa!¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Being with mother makes Red happy enough. Red doesn¡¯t need to be spoiled.¡± (Red)


    ¡°And I feel like I¡¯ve been spoiled enough for a lifetime in the few months I¡¯ve been here. It makes me want to return the favor.¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°Aaaaaahhhhhh! Such wonderful daughters I have!¡± (Moco)


    Mother hopped up from our pats and wrapped her arms around both of us. Looking at Ortilinde over mother¡¯s shoulder, we both smiled as we hugged mother back.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Hmm. I have the sudden urge to kidnap Soleil and spoil her.


    Tamamo: I get the same feeling. I feel like she needs a break from all her responsibilities.


    Luna: Yeah. It¡¯s a lot of work, managing all that Apostle stuff she does. She should really just choose a high priest to push all that stuff onto already. She doesn¡¯t need to ensure every talisman my followers in Celestia make is perfect.


    Tamamo: I don¡¯t think she can help it. Plus it takes her mind off of not being able to see Velvet while she takes care of that other Fluff cult that sprang up in the Demon Empire.


    Luna: I swear, why do those keep popping up? I mean seriously, the first one was fine, I guess, but why do splinter groups keep forming and splitting from it?


    Tamamo: I wish I knew. I¡¯ve never had this much trouble with cults dedicated to me.


    Luna: Maybe I should start smiting people?


    Tamamo: ¡­You can try, though I don¡¯t know how effective it will be.


    Luna: Only one way to find out.

 Chapter 117- Time to Save Falheim

    Chapter 117- Time to Save Falheim


    [Keeno POV]


    A few more days had passed with no undead outbreak, but the foreboding feeling Emma and Fafnir grew strong enough for me to also start feeling it. Sigurd had also returned with news that some small, isted groups of rotting humanoid monsters had been springing up and were being culled by patrols. I also took that time to try my hand at blessing him and seeded after a few attempts. It was a surprisingly difficult process for me, and it nearly made me pass out from using too much Divinity.


    The day after that, Ortilinde came to visit. She looked much happier and healthier than when Ist saw her. She also had more confidence in herself, though she did stumble over her words a bit still. Wevished her with pats and attention for a while when Fafnir, Emma, and I felt something change in the foreboding feeling.


    ¡°Ortilinde, go back. We have some undead to hunt.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Can¡­can I help?¡± (Ortilinde)


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t know how to fight and aren¡¯t strong enough to be by yourself. Leave this to us.¡± (Emma)


    She looked disappointed about not being able to help us, but I smiled at her and patted her head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so disappointed, Ortilinde. You¡¯ll grow into a fine warrior someday, you just need to learn, but a real battlefield like this isn¡¯t the best ce. Watch from the sidelines for now and prepare for your moment.¡± (Keeno)


    She gave me a determined look before walking through a shining door that appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°Shall I make this a quick trip?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Flying?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Naturally.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡¯m all for it. Anyone object?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You know I do¡­but in this instance I don¡¯t see any other choice but to do so if it gets us there quickly¡­so let¡¯s just get it over with.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled at Pram¡¯s reluctant eptance of the situation and took it as a sign that she was finally warming up to fun, thrilling experiences. Fafnir walked over to the mouth of the cave and her body started shining. Several secondster, she was in her normal form covered in those beautiful golden scales.


    ¡°Quickly now, and grab on tightly.¡± (Fafnir)


    We did as she said and mbered into her back before grabbing onto one of the spikes along her spine. She moved further out of the cave and fully unfurled her wings and pped them a few times.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bit rough for a second.¡± (Fafnir)


    She crouched down a bit before swiftly moving her winds down with enough force to put craters in the stone. Wind buffeted us as she ascended into the sky, and we all closed our eyes tightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m finally done negotiating and getting people in board¡­what in the world is going on, Rasu? Why is Keeno riding on the back of a dragon?¡± (Fia)


    {Hahaha. Perfect timing, Fia. Keeno and the others are just about to fight a horde of undead.}


    ¡®Hey Fia, long time since I got to hear from you.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°Someone please exin what¡¯s happened sincest we spoke!¡± (Fia)


    While Fia¡¯s bewildered voice rang in my head, I opened my eyes. Spread out in front of me was the vast blue sky, a sea of clouds underneath us, and a surprisingly pleasant wind in my face. It was mesmerizing.


    {¡­}


    ¡°Hehehe. That¡¯s the face of someone who¡¯s just learned the wonders of flight. I remember my first time too.¡± (Fia)


    ¡®¡­I have flown before, in my past life, but it was no where near as wonderful as this¡­and the view was so much less impressive¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ahahahahaha! This is amazing!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­Wait, are they in Falheim already? And she¡¯s got three tails now, so¡­Rasu, I told you to let me know when they got there!¡± (Fia)


    {I tried, but you were busy and ignored me.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    Ama then started to catch Fia up on what¡¯s happened so far while Fafnir started to descend below the clouds. Once we were through, I noticed it was snowing.


    ¡°The first snow of the year¡­an ill omen for battle,¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Hehehe. You forget, human, you have a dragon on your side, my presence bnces out your situation, not that superstitions like that have any real meaning.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Plus, Keeno is basically the bane of all undead, with her here along with Emma and Fafnir, things should be much easier than you think.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That is reassuring.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°Oi! I¡¯m more than a glorified undead destroyer!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, but part of your whole being is tailor made for dealing with them.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°This sassier Freya is getting on my nerves.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ready yourselves.¡± (Fafnir)


    We were already circling slowly toward the ground and soon it was there. We gripped tightly to the spines and then everything shook violently.


    ¡°Gah!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Sigurd)


    ¡°FREYA!!!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Everything is fine, Pram.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ahahahaha!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Kahahahahaha!¡± (Fafnir)


    Once all the dust settled from thending, I could see where we were. We stood in the space in front of the walls of the city. Snow gently fell from the sky and wind blew over the ne carrying the smell of rot and decay.


    ¡°Still far buting closer.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­What is this sense of revulsion I¡¯m feeling?¡± (Pram)


    {Oh? Well, looks like your Life Magic is sensing the undead. You¡¯re more proficient with it than I figured you would be at this point. This is good.}


    ¡°So, life mages feel revulsion at undead, I just feel¡­pity?¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s interesting.}


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not really sure if it¡¯s pity or not, but it¡¯s the best word I can use to describe it. Makes me wonder what I would feel if I actually raised these undead myself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We can wonder about thatter; I¡¯m seeing some movement.¡± (Emma)


    On the horizon was a rolling mass of shambling bodies. Though it was still a good distance away, I could vaguely make out the forms of skeletons, things that I think were zombies, and some kind of moving shadows. Out of all of that, the shadows gave me the most uneasy feeling.


    ¡°Those shadows¡­I don¡¯t like them. They seem more dangerous than anything elseing this way.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm.}


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me giving advice, Keeno, Emma, and Fafnir should be the ones to deal with those shadows. No one there besides those three are equipped to deal with them. Pram could assist, but Life Magic isn¡¯t really useful against resentment made manifest.¡± (Fia)


    I was about to say something when the sound of a gate opening echoed over the ne. Turing around, arge group of armed warriors led by Freyr marched toward us.


    ¡°Life Goddess Okami, you have returned.¡± (Freyr)


    I winced internally at Freyr¡¯s words and red at him. He showed a brief sympathetic expression before everything was drowned out by a deafening shout from the warriors behind him.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Not a word, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    Freyr walked up to us, every so often eyeing Fafnir with caution.


    ¡°You¡¯re here to help with the new threat?¡± (Freyr)


    ¡°Yeah. We were just discussing our roles. Those shadows are things that only me, Emma, and Fafnir can handle, while the rest are just fodder. But a word of advice, try your best not to let anyone on our side die, or they could end up adding to the enemy¡¯s forces. You need all people that can use healing magic prepared at all times.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood.¡± (Freyr)


    I turned to face the approaching mass of undead before looking over my shoulder back at Freyr.


    ¡°And I¡¯m the Goddess of Death, get it right next time.¡± (Keeno)


    I then took a step toward the next battle.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Keeno has a real penchant for dramatic one-liners. I¡¯m kind of jealous.


    You have your moments as well.


    Luna: Yeah, but those moments were proceeded by apletely one-sided ughter.


    Tamamo: I don¡¯t remember youining about that.


    Luna: I didn¡¯t, but even I wanted a bit of a challenge sometimes.


    ¡­


    Order: What¡¯s that face for?


    It¡¯s nothing¡­don¡¯t worry about it.

 Chapter 118- Falheim Makes Keeno Mad鈥?gain

    Chapter 118- Falheim Makes Keeno Mad¡­Again


    [Keeno POV]


    Walking forward, I saw the moving shadows squirm and the horde start to indent. It was kind of like I had arge barrier around me that made all the undead want to avoid me. The shadows, however, started to grow denser. Walking up next to me, Emma spoke.


    ¡°My Lady, what do you want us to do?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Well, seeing as the undead probably won¡¯te near the three of us, we can focus on those shadows. I feel like if we deal with them now, the undead will be less of a problem. I want the two of you to watch my back in case things get dicey and they try something.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood, though I do feel it¡¯s my ce to say that you don¡¯t need to take on the brunt of this. We ARE here to help, after all.¡± (Emma)


    I was about to respond when one of the shadows shot a tendril of inky shade at us. I blocked it with one of my swords. The second they collided; I heard something talking in my head.


    ¡°Let us go.¡±


    The feeling was highly unpleasant, and I used some fire to try and get the shade away from me. It skulked back with what sounded like a hiss.


    ¡°¡­Emma, change of ns, get on Fafnir¡¯s back and try to burn as much of the shadows you can.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°But what about you?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Challenge them on two fronts. By air and bynd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­We¡¯ll do our best to reduce them as much as possible for you. Don¡¯t get hurt.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Don¡¯t n on it.¡± (Keeno)


    Emma ran back to Fafnir and told her the n before climbing onto her back.


    {Keeno¡­you are acting tough.}


    ¡°Course I am. If I don¡¯t, then how will the others react? These shadows are nasty, and I just barely touched one. I don¡¯t want to know what happens if it touches or consumes all these people. If I¡¯m one of the few that can actually Kill them, then I can¡¯t not act like this.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­I-}


    ¡°Rasu, let her have this. It¡¯s one of those mortal moments.¡± (Fia)


    {Fine¡­I¡¯ll let this slide once, Keeno.}


    ¡°Hahaha! Then feel free to do whatever you want with me next time aspensation for this.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Keeno, do your best. And remember, whatever you see, it¡¯s all just an illusion.¡± (Fia)


    The ground shook as Fafnir took to the sky again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get this done.¡± (Keeno)


    I stepped forward again, pushing my mes forward towards the shadows. They hissed more before trying to send tendrils over or around my fire, only to be met with more blue mes. More shadows started to converge on my location, making the ones near me condense even more. They were bing even darker until they started to smother the mes. I started to put more mana into them but a few of the more viscous of the shade tendrils shot at me like a whip. I dodged it by stepping to the left and cutting at it with a sword. Contacting it sent a chill all over my body as more voices spoke in my head.


    ¡°Join us.¡±


    ¡°Retribution is ours.¡±


    ¡°Get out of my head.¡± (Keeno)


    A tongue of mepped at the tendril I cut, and it evaporated into nothingness while the part still in contact with the others slunk back again. Above me, a roar echoed out over the field. Shortly after that a wave of golden me washed over both the shadows and the undead. The shadows shrieked at the mes as they washed over them like water. I took this chance to also burn as much as I could, though it wasn¡¯t as easy as I thought it would be. The shadows continued to slip through spaces where the mes from either me or Fafnir didn¡¯t reach like some sort of eel.


    ¡°Dragon fire is always impressive to see.¡± (Fia)


    {Mine and Keeno¡¯s is better.}


    ¡°Thementary is nice and all, but really isn¡¯t doing my concentration any favors.¡± (Keeno)


    Yet again, I cut another tendril that shot at me, and yet again more voices rang in my head.


    ¡°You are our salvation.¡±


    ¡°You are our destruction.¡±


    ¡°Be one with us.¡±


    ¡°Let our hate flow through you.¡±


    I was starting to get irritated at these annoying voices. Every time they spoke, it felt like they were trying to pick at something. Not like I would listen to them anyway. I continued to burn away at the shadows, shing them whenever they tried to use a chance to attack me.


    ¡°Destroy Falheim.¡±


    ¡°Destroy the world.¡±


    ¡°Kill all the living.¡±


    After thosest words, I saw a sh of an image in my mind, but it was gone before I could really process it. I didn¡¯t like this, though, so I started to intensify my mes even more. Whatever these shadows were trying to show me, and the entire getting into my head thing in general were starting to make me mad. This back and forth continued on for a while as Fafnir and Emma continued to swoop over and over shooting mes all over the ce. It felt like this was a never-ending tug of war where every little cut and sh from both sides added to my own mental stress.


    ¡°Do not resist us!¡±


    ¡°We will show you what will happen if you don¡¯t!¡±


    At that, several images shed across my mind. Images of Pram, Freya, Emma, Fia¡­Ama, cut up, hung, yed, broken, and all sorts of other horrible scenes that were too much for me to describe. It made me snap. I stopped moving and started to condense mana in my chest as I felt my rage start to hit a boiling point. There was a slight itch at the corner of my eyes as well, but it wasn¡¯t something I was able to pay attention to at the moment. These shadows had shown me something that I would never allow to happen and never forgive for being shown.


    [Emma POV]


    ¡°Hey Faf, something¡¯s wrong with my Lady. She¡¯s stopped advancing and the shadows are starting to close in on her.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Faf!?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Emma, brace yourself.¡± (Fafnir)


    I did as she said and clung tighter to the spine in front of me. As soon as I did that, a beam of blue light the color of one of the suns shot out from the dome of shadows covering my Lady. It cut through the battlefield like a hot knife through butter.


    ¡°Ah, so young and already showing such promise with breath attacks. I¡¯d expect no less from my daughter.¡± (Fafnir)


    The beam was so intense that the waves of heating from it could be felt even where we were in the sky. My Lady¡¯s two birds pped up from below beforending next to me on Fafnir¡¯s back. Then the air around us shook violently and I could no longer hear anything.


    <em>¡°Emma, are you alright?¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    <em>¡°Well, aside from being a bit dizzy and my ears ringing, I think?¡± </em>(Emma)


    <em>¡°Hmm. She¡¯s not holding back. I think she¡¯s actually charging another one, though it¡¯s sloppy. Too slow. I should teach her some proper technique¡­but that aside, I believe she¡¯s raging right now.¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    {You¡¯d be correct. Even though Fia warned her, she¡¯s still letting the resentment get in her head. Ugh. Why did I agree to let this go on again?}


    ¡°So that she learns. You never let her go through training with illusions.¡± (Fia)


    {I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d have to. I mean, I never really expected her to face manifested resentment in such concentrated form.}


    ¡°I didn¡¯t either, but now that I¡¯m thinking back on it, we didn¡¯t cover a lot of stuff we should have.¡± (Fia)


    {That¡¯s just your penchant for over preparing things talk for you.}


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Fia)


    Another st was fired from my Lady¡¯s position followed by more waves of heat and another bout of shaking.


    ¡°Oh? How very interesting. It seems me iming her as my daughter has had some interesting effects.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Hmm? Oh!? It¡¯s not much of a change, but it is very pretty.}


    <em>¡°Um, can we get back to the current situation. How do we stop her from raging?¡± </em>(Emma)


    ¡°Let her get it out of her system, or fully destroy the thing that made her angry.¡± (Fia)


    <em>¡°In this case, I think we should step up our own onught. She¡¯s either going to dry up her mana or get some of our allies caught up in her attacks. And I don¡¯t know if the battlefield can handle many more breath attacks. Where they end up hitting is one thing, but the effects I¡¯m seeing from just being fired is not good for thend.¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    <em>¡°I can¡¯t really tell what you¡¯re seeing. It¡¯s so small from up here.¡± </em>(Emma)


    <em>¡°You¡¯ll be able to tell after wendter. But nothing is ever going to grow there again.¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    Another st was fired, shaving another line in the shadows and even cutting through some of Fafnir¡¯s mes. Then, her golden mes started to turn blue.


    <em>¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    {She¡¯s exercising her Sr Authority¡¯s control over fire. Actually, now that I think about it, it¡¯s probably getting very hot down there.}


    <em>¡°Yes, it¡¯s time to stop this.¡±</em> (Fafnir)


    Feeling the weightlessness of diving with Fafnir, we fell toward the ground at high speed. As we dove, it did start to get ufortably hot. Fafnir started breathing fire more intensely as well, covering all the shadows we could see, even passing over my Lady once or twice, though the times that happened, the mes turned blue and seemed to just be absorbed into her rather than hurting her. After several more passes, Fafnir stopped breathing fire and spoke to me.


    <em>¡°I¡¯m dropping you off near Pram, then I¡¯m going to pick Keeno up. The shadows should all be gone or starting to burn up. I¡¯ll take her back to the cave and call her down. Meet us back there in a few days.¡± </em>(Fafnir)


    <em>¡°Alright.¡± </em>(Emma)


    Fafnir flew away from where my Lady was and tilted sideways. I leaped off her back before rolling to my feet afternding. She then flew back towards my Lady as I walked over to Pram after finding her in a nearly perfect circle of dead(?) undead.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: It¡¯s like this country just exists to make Keeno angry.


    I mean, that isn¡¯t wrong, in a sense. But hey, at least she¡¯s venting and not just bottling it all up.


    Order: True. Though she¡¯s not relying on her friends enough.


    Also true. If I had to guess, I think she¡¯s thinking a bit too much about things. What I think is happening is that she thinks she¡¯s supposed to handle everything herself since she¡¯s a goddess.


    Order: Well, Amaterasu hasn¡¯t really told her much about what gods do yet, so I can see where she gets that misunderstanding.


    Yeah. I mean, just because we can manage everything ourselves, doesn¡¯t mean we want or have to. Finishing touches on things or extremely specific, delicate stuff, yeah, but the vaguer, more broad stuff can be left up to Spirits and other gods of specific Authorities. I mean, even I have Chaos Spirits that do some of my work for me.


    Order: Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never seen one of those.


    Astraea¡¯s little Mofu bud is partially a Chaos Spirit, it¡¯s just infused with the essence of another of my friends who is mischievous and cuddly.


    Order: Ah, Mofu, they¡¯re such a nice person, they shoulde visit more often.


    True¡­I wonder what Crim is doing¡­Maybe we should have a get together one of these days.


    Order: That sounds like a good idea.

 Chapter 119- The Family Grows

    Chapter 119- The Family Grows


    [Fafnir POV]


    After dropping Emma off, I flew back to where Keeno was. As I got closer, the heat started to be overwhelming, even for me. Once Inded, the ground beneath my feet started shifting like sand as it had all turned to ash. Keeno was still walking forward swinging her weapons that were glowing a vibrant blue from de to the chains and releasing fire all around her as she charged another breath. Atop her head was a crown of horns simr to mine, only made by mes.


    ¡°Keeno, it¡¯s time you calmed down.¡± (Fafnir)


    Though I j ew it would be the case, it seemed my word couldn¡¯t reach her. I heaved a sigh and struck the ground. Though the effect was minimized due to all the ash, it still shook enough to knock her off bnce. I then rushed forward and picked her up in my hand before taking to the sky.


    ¡°Let me go! I have to burn them all! They MUST face retribution!¡± (Keeno)


    I felt the flesh on my hand burning as I gripped Keeno, but I ignored it.


    ¡°Keeno, break yourself from this illusion. The shadows are gone, you are safe, whatever they showed you will note to pass.¡± (Fafnir)


    I could hear her breathing heavily and soon the heat she was releasing diminished rapidly.


    ¡°*sniff*It was horrible¡­¡± (Keeno)


    After uttering those words, she fell silent, though every now and then, I could hear quiet sobs.


    {¡­I¡¯ve messed up.}


    ¡°This isn¡¯t on you, Rasu.¡± (Fia)


    {I should have taught her how to resist things like this, Fia! How is it not my fault!?}


    ¡°We all make mistakes, and we need to learn from them. And if anything, I¡¯m at fault here. As the one who was in charge of both keeping your overprotectiveness in check, as well as educating Keeno, I also slipped up.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Will the two of you be quiet. This is neither of your faults, so quiet down, and let me tend to her.¡± (Fafnir)


    {But I¡¯m-}


    ¡°As her Fated One, you are her wife, lover, soul mate, and the one whopletes her, but you are not her mother. And you, phoenix, are her older sister. Neither of you have ever tended to a child as a parent, so let me do what I am supposed to do as her mother.¡± (Fafnir)


    I approached the mouth of my cave and slowly descended. As I touched down, I gentlyid Keeno on the ground as I transformed into my small, humanoid form. I picked up my little fox and brought her inside. I sat down on her bedroll andid her head in myp. The horns of me had vanished, but the markings at the corners of her eyes remained. I looked closer and saw that they were actually tiny ck scales which made me smile.


    ¡°So, iming you as my daughter did strengthen your draconic lineage, though I¡¯m getting the feeling these are the only scales you¡¯ll ever get. Still, they suit you, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Faf-¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Shh. Just stop for now, Keeno. Close your eyes and calm your heart. Nothing can hurt you here.¡± (Fafnir)


    She stared up at me for a moment before slowly closing her eyes. I started to run my fingers through her hair and started humming an old song. For a while, that was the only sound that could be heard in the cave. Looking down at Keeno again, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.


    ¡°It was so scary¡­all those scenes I saw¡­everyone¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. None of that will happen. None of it can happen.¡± (Fafnir)


    Keeno continued to cry in myp. I lifted her up and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around me as her sobs grew louder.


    {¡­}


    ¡°Let it all out, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    A little whileter, Keeno fell asleep.


    ¡°Goddess Amaterasu, next time you see my little one in person, do everything you can for her. Pamper her to the fullest extent you are capable of.¡± (Fafnir)


    {You don¡¯t need to tell me that. I was already going to do that.}


    ¡°Very good. Even as her mother, there are some things I¡¯m not capable of doing for her that you are.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Mm.}


    After about an hour, Keeno woke up again, looking visibly refreshed.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Better?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Keeno)


    She looked a bit pensive then looked up and me.


    ¡°Ya know, aside from certain things, I can¡¯t really remember a lot of personal things from myst life. My hobbies, my area of study, what I wanted to do, I can remember them clear as day, but more personal stuff, my old name, any family I may or may not have had, friends, none of that. There was Saki, but she was more a loving grandmother if anything. But even with that fact, I can say this with certainty, I¡¯ve never felt like I had someone I could call mum till now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d to fill that ce in your heart. You are born of my blood through many generations, but you are thest of my children. I¡¯m d to call you my daughter.¡± (Fafnir)


    She reached up and hugged me again.


    ¡°Though with this, it will feel kind of weird to call Emma mum as well. I mean, she doesn¡¯t give off that vibe, if you get my meaning.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t mind not being called that. Even if she is mine, I don¡¯t think your rtionship will change that much.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hehe. So, you already consider her yours, eh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t deny she¡¯s cute, and I know she likes me, so naturally I¡¯ll im her as mine.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­And here I thought I could tease you about it, but it doesn¡¯t really work if you take it in stride like that. But meh, I¡¯m happy for you and Emma.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If you¡¯re trying for that, then you must be feeling better.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Yeah. Honestly, now I¡¯m kind of ashamed at how I was acting earlier. Thinking back on it, what I saw was irrational and practically impossible to happen, but it still got to me. I mean, everything seemed so real, and I could even feel and smell things that weren¡¯t there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Illusions can be powerful if used like that, and it takes a heart of steel and a will of iron to withstand them. Something only those experienced in many, MANY years of battle or those who feel nothing for others can fight something like that and not be affected. At least, in my opinion.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Enough of the bad things, it¡¯s over now and I have something I wish to discuss with you.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°What is it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s about our breath.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°What about it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°To put it bluntly, it¡¯s sloppy. I can tell that you are relying purely on instinct when using it. You may be doing something else as well, but I don¡¯t know how you were taught to use magic and your mana, so I can¡¯t say anything there, but as a dragon and my daughter, I cannot allow you to continue to be sloppy with this, or else you¡¯ll one day end up hurting yourself, others around you, and much more.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Her reaction to this turning into a lesson suddenly was, as expected of my daughter, adorable, but I had to harden my heart and set her straight in this topic before anything else, as a point of pride and a worry for her future.


    {For what me and Fia taught her regarding magic, it basically boils down to getting perfect control over her mana and its use.}


    ¡°I see. Coming from the goddess of Magic herself, I haveplete faith in that teaching, and it is quite close to what I¡¯m thinking needed as well. But there is something you arecking. It may either be dormant in you, or small inside, but it¡¯s something that all dragons or ones of draconic descent have.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Wait, are you talking about a dragon core?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of them, phoenix? I would assume the goddess Amaterasu has, but I¡¯m surprised you have as well.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Rasu aside, I¡¯ve only ever heard about them, and even then, those were vague rumors at best.¡± (Fia)


    {I did know about them, but I didn¡¯t know all the details. All I ever really cared about in regard to them was how they acted with mana. I mean, it¡¯s kind of important for me to know about anything like that after all, but it seems myck of interest beyond that ising back to bite me again.}


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not something we really talk about much, and even then, once we die, they vanish. It¡¯s the reason I hardly used my breath at all since being revived.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Um, can someone please exin?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Right. Basically, all dragons or their kin, no matter how distant the rtion, have what is called a dragon core. They range in size, though for all intents and purposes that doesn¡¯t mean anything and are usually located somewhere near our hearts. We dragons store mana in the cores over time so we can use it in various ways ranging from normal magic to breaths. The thing is, and even I don¡¯t know why it is this way, but when using mana stored in our cores, it¡¯s more stable and concentrated. How to put it in an easier way to understand?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°If mana normally is an uncontroble ze, a dragon core makes it a contained candle me.¡± (Fia)


    {If the candle me has the intensity of the sun concentrated in one point, then something like that.}


    ¡°I kind of get it now. But howe I never knew I had one of these. I mean, even Ama didn¡¯t know.¡± (Keeno)


    {For the record, I didn¡¯t know anyone of draconic descent had one or the method of awakening one.}


    ¡°Awakening it is simple, it just takes a nudge once we find it. But Keeno is special, I don¡¯t know just what will happen when I awaken it due to her holding the power of a goddess.¡± (Fafnir)


    {I don¡¯t expect much will happen. At least for now. Her Authorities are still mostly sealed and even then, it would only make her stronger in time.}


    ¡°True. So, shall we get to awakening it? I know it may be abrupt and all after what just happened, but it¡¯s always better to do something like this right when you think about it rather than waiting. And besides, teaching a young dragon about their core is a mother¡¯s duty, and I must fulfill it.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you brought this up.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Of course. Keeno is my daughter, so I must do everything I can as her mother before she leaves the nest.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­This whole conversation is turning weird. I am an adult, you know¡­Actually, have I already turned 20?¡± (Keeno)


    {A few more months.}


    ¡°Oh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me. I mean, we are all timeless being here, so mortal concepts of age mean nothing. After all, if we use those rules, I¡¯m a month old at most again.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Fafnir¡¯s strange reasoning aside, do you want to do this now, Keeno?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. I mean, it¡¯ll only end up helping me in the long run, and I can clearly see that mum here really wants to do this, so I don¡¯t mind indulging her. And besides¡­it¡¯ll make me feel closer to my family¡­in a way.¡± (Keeno)


    Though I couldn¡¯t speak for the other two, I know Keeno¡¯s words had a great effect on me. Even in the distant past no one had fully epted me into what would be considered a family. I was considered quite the entric one among dragons in the past for being as conservative in who I loved. I had tried making a family many times, only to either be rejected or attempted to be taken advantage of. Even when I did settle down, the ones that I chose to im as my family ultimately killed me. But I wasn¡¯t going to tell any of them that. It would only invite further hatred for this ce, and I didn¡¯t want my daughter to go on a second rampage. Nevertheless, hearing those words from Keeno, I could only feel true happiness.


    ¡°Mum?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Eh?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Did you hear my question?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah, I apologize, my little one, I didn¡¯t. Your words put me in a daze of happiness.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I asked if anything would change. Physically or otherwise.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t think so. At most you may grow a few scales in some ces, but I don¡¯t think that will happen in your case more than it already has. Your eyes look like a dragon¡¯s already and with me iming you as my daughter, you also have grown some scales at the corners of your eyes. Though there is one certainty and that is your chest will start glowing permanently. If you had a dragon form, it wouldn¡¯t be noticeable unless you were about to use a breath, but since you don¡¯t, it will be visible. The only reason mine isn¡¯t is because I haven¡¯t stored enough mana in my own core yet.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hmm. Well, that¡¯s fine I guess¡­wait, I have scales now?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, and I have to say they make you look even more beautiful that you already were.}


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°With that question answered, are you ready?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then let us begin.¡± (Fafnir)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I¡¯m d for Fafnir. It seems that she¡¯s had her own troubles in thest, so it¡¯s good she finally gets a decent family.


    Tamamo: I agree, though it does make me wonder why she doesn¡¯t rampage now that she¡¯s alive again. I mean, if we assume all dragons, regardless of world they¡¯re from, are simr, then they hold a grudge just as long as we gods do.


    It¡¯s a matter of priority. She¡¯s prioritizing Keeno and the others over her own personal grudges. Plus, I think there is some slight after effect of having held the grudges of thend at bay. You two have never had to deal with it, but experiencing all of that gives a certain perspective.


    Order: It really does.


    Luna: I feel there is a story of its own in that statement.


    Not really, just usual God if Chaos stuff. Who do you think has to deal with stuff like that when worlds end up destroyed?


    Order: As the resident God of Order here, I also have experienced something simr. I reside over judgment in all worlds in this Sea of Chaos, and there is a lot of resentment in those situations. I¡¯m d Payto picked up the ck where I can¡¯t.


    I am your husband, after all. It¡¯s my job to do that. And even then, that part of your Authority of Order only started when you married me, so it¡¯s my job to make sure you are supported.


    Luna: Flirtter you two.


    Payto and Order: Like you can talk!

 Chapter 120- Core Awakening

    Chapter 120- Core Awakening


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°First things first, you need to undress a little. Though it won¡¯t be for long, I do need to make skin contact. Just your top will do though.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Oi!}


    ¡°Calm down. You know she doesn¡¯t have any ulterior motives.¡± (Fia)


    {Yeah, but it doesn¡¯t mean I like it.}


    ¡°The phoenix is right. I hold no feelings of lust for my own daughter. And this part will take no more than five minutes at most.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Ama, how about I let you feel for a day to make up for it?¡± (Keeno)


    {Deal.}


    I chuckled at Ama while I removed my top and bra. Mum stared at me for a moment before looking down then back at me. She then silently reached up and touched the center of my chest. I then felt tiny pulses of manaing from her hand.


    ¡°I must say, you truly do have masterful control over your mana. Normally yours would try to interfere with mine, but I can tell you are allowing this small intrusion. It¡¯s making this process much faster.¡± (Fafnir)


    About a minute after this started, I felt a weird sort of hollow feeling in my chest.


    ¡°Do you feel that hollow feeling?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Start filling it with a small amount of mana.¡± (Fafnir)


    I did as she said, and the hollow started sucking in mana at an rming rate. Not so much that I couldn¡¯t quickly stem the flow, but enough to make me a little dizzy.


    ¡°Ugh...not a lot of mana left¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. Well, you did use a lot earlier.¡± (Fafnir)


    She took her hand off my chest and helped me redress. After that, she pulled me into another hug.


    ¡°Rest, my little one. Now that you¡¯ve awakened your core, you can fill it with mana at any time. Let your eyes close and wee slumber.¡± (Fafnir)


    I closed my eyes and almost immediately fell asleep.


    ¡°Sleep, my darling little one, ce your burdens aside and allow me to keep them. Once you awaken, your strength will be renewed, and you can continue onward.¡± (Fafnir)


    She then started to softly hum that same song from earlier, though I didn¡¯t hear much of it due to fully embracing sleep. Later, when I woke up, my head was still in mum¡¯sp.


    ¡°You know you could have moved me whenever, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, but why would I?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°How long ago did you stop feeling your legs?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I have no clue what you¡¯re talking about.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Oh really.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up from herp and offered my hand. She hesitated for a second before taking it. I helped her up and almost immediately she started to fall.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°The one time I wish I could use healing magic.¡± (Keeno)


    I caught her before she fell and started moving her toward the mouth of the cave.


    ¡°used humanoid form.¡± (Fafnir)


    Every step we took she winced until we were at the mouth of the cave. There I sat down on the ledge after helping her do the same. The scene in front of us was amazing. The suns were starting to peek over the ridge, lighting up the entire mountain range in beautiful morning colors. It was then that I noticed the former Dead Zone ind was gone.


    ¡°Ama, when did you get the ind?¡± (Keeno)


    {Last night.}


    ¡°I must thank you for that. While interesting visually, it was a nuisance when it came to space here. It messed with the wind and made flying annoying.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Wait, it was here even when you were alive the first time?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. I was here when it was first built, too. Those people were so strange, even considering normal mortal strangeness.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Keeno)


    I decided to not think about this further since it really put into perspective just how little I¡¯ve actually seenpared to most people I knew and just focus on the scenery. With the time it was and how the mountains were arranged, the suns¡¯ light was reflecting off the snow of the peaks and the ground and were painting everything in either orange or blue.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This is one reason dragons love mountains. Sure, they are easily defensible, difficult for thieves to ess, and so on, but the views are almost all stunning.¡± (Fafnir)


    I nodded at that as I continued to look out over the beautiful mystery of nature. Focusing on a blue part, my mind started to wander.


    ¡°¡­So blue¡­so orange¡­Ama¡­¡­suns¡­I don¡¯t focus on my Sr Authority enough, I¡¯ve been so caught up in the Death one that I¡¯ve neglected it¡­Wait, mum, you said we store mana in our cores, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. Though I don¡¯t know the reason we are like that, it makes our mana easier to control and makes breaths and magic more potent, even if only slightly.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I wonder what would happen if I also stored Divinity in mine.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    {Hmm. Most likely it would act the same way as it does with mana; make it easier to use, slightly more potent, so on and so forth¡­Keeno, remember our agreement.}


    ¡°I know, Ama. No using Divinity and breath at the same time.¡± (Keeno)


    {No using Divinity without my permission.}


    ¡°Ama, if I do that, then I¡¯ll never get the same amount of mastery over it as I do with my mana. I know we made that promise since I don¡¯t have a lot of usable Divinity, but that should have been mitigated a little with my third tail.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, butpared to a god, you still have the equivalent of a drop in an ocean.}


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that going to be the case until I fully take my ce?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yeah.}


    ¡°Then don¡¯tpare me to a god like that. It¡¯s influencing your viewpoint.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°She¡¯s right, Rasu. And, I say we should see what happens. Divinity is useful for things, and if Keeno can use it, then she should be allowed to train with it, in moderation.¡± (Fia)


    {¡­Fine, but you still aren¡¯t allowed to mix it into breaths. I¡¯m not going to descend to fix the damage if you do.}


    ¡°¡­Wait, how much damage are we talking here?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯m curious as well.¡± (Fafnir)


    {Well, when we tested it here, the environment was an ocean, and she evaporated half of it with a fully powered, fully Divinity-enhanced breath. Did we also try one mixed with Death?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember exactly, but I don¡¯t think so.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°As your mother, I say you are not allowed to mix any of your breaths with Death, or at least anymore. The ones you did in your rage were probably charged with it, so I can¡¯t really do anything about that, but from now on, you can only use your Sr aspect with them.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°That¡¯s not any better, but if we banned that as well, it would basically ban Keeno from using breaths all together, so Sr is fine.¡± (Fia)


    {Yes, Sr is fine, as long as it¡¯s a 25% charge or less.}


    ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t just arbitrarily ban things for me!¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, you do realize that you¡¯re trying to help the world, not make it even worse, right? Things you do, even now, have effects, be they socially or in the grander picture of the world. The social aspect can be handled with enough time, but the other is moreplicated. Nothing too bad has happened yet, but you using Death a lot DOES have things you need to be extremely careful with.}


    ¡°So that descending thing wasn¡¯t a joke?¡± (Keeno)


    {For the most part it was, but if you do something too big, then I would actually have to in order to fix it. Pram isn¡¯t my Apostle yet, so any major damage to the world caused by Death would have to be fixed by me.}


    ¡°What about Life Spirits?¡± (Keeno)


    {They can¡¯t handle everything. I thought I taught you that much?}


    ¡°You did, but never the exact scaling of what they can or can¡¯t handle, or if you did cover that, I don¡¯t remember it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your knowledge is very scattered, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Well, most of what I learned was in regard to controlling my mana, survival, and fighting. Things likemon sense were relegated to afterthoughts.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Well, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m any better with that, I¡¯m a dragon and have been dead for a long time, so the world has probably changed significantly from what I once knew, this country excluded.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I did try, but even with that, my ownmon sense is different than what is actually consideredmon.¡± (Fia)


    {Getting back on topic, Keeno, Life Spirits can handle a lot, but anything above their scope can only be left to my Life Apostle or myself. And most things caused by your Death Authority would need to be handled by me if you ever went any further with it, Divinity wise.}


    ¡°Ok, so as long as I don¡¯t use any of my Death rted abilities with Divinity, then I should be good unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, but Sr is fine. Mix Divinity with that as much as you want.}


    ¡°Yay!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I have reservations about that too, but I know I can¡¯t convince her anymore.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯m happy you are happy, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    Mum then started to pat my head.


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    I leaned on mum¡¯s shoulder as we continued to look at the mountainous scenery and I slowly started storing Divinity in my core.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto, did you send the invitations?


    Yep. I¡¯ve got replies from several too, Crim is bringing drinks, Envy, is bringing cookies, Mofu is bringing¡­something. Alex is making something, but she didn¡¯t tell me what it was. I think Mary is alsoing, but she said she¡¯s getting another tail, so she may bete.


    Order: I see. Then we should start preparing everything on our end as well.


    Yeah. Do you want to cook, or do you want me to?


    Order: We can cook together.


    Then let¡¯s do that. I¡¯ll also make the preparations for the barrier. With all those Gods of Chaos and other beings in one ce, there needs to be something to protect existence.


    Order: I¡¯ll help with that too. Now, the most important thing, Astraea.


    Of course we are going to brag.


    Order: Perfect.


    *Meanwhile in Astraea¡¯s room*


    Astraea: ¡­


    Evelyn: What¡¯s wrong?


    Astraea: Don¡¯t know¡­I feel¡­scared.


    Evelyn: *Hugs Astraea* Better?


    Astraea: Ehehe.

 Chapter 121- Time to Leave Falheim

    Chapter 121- Time to Leave Falheim


    [Keeno POV]


    Half a day had passed since mum awakened my dragon core. We had moved from the ledge, and I was taught a few more things about dragons. During that time Pram, Freya, and Emma arrived with Huginn and Muninn riding on Pram and Freya¡¯s heads.


    ¡°Keeno, get these two feather heads off of ours.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°I will roast you bird!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Casquack!¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°That¡¯s it, I don¡¯t know what you said, but I know it was an insult!¡± (Freya)


    Freya tried to grab Muninn off her head, but it flew up and out of her reach.


    ¡°Do t think you¡¯re faster than me!¡± (Freya)


    Freya¡¯s body was then covered in light, and she started to chase Muninn around. Though she was going very fast, Muninn actually managed to evade her perfectly every time.


    ¡°¡­Your birds are strange, my little one.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Really? I mean, I knew they were special, but never really strange.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. Though I can¡¯t exin why, I can just tell. If I was pressed to put words to it, I¡¯d say they are too smart and too strong to be normal.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°When I got their eggs, I was told they were normal steelfeather raven eggs, so I have no clue either.¡± (Fia)


    Ama was silent as the others walked up to us after watching Freya and Muninn y around a bit more. Huginn hopped off Pram¡¯s head and dove into one of my tails before looking its head out.


    ¡°How goes it out there?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, first things first, the people are sort of mixed about your presence now. There are some still calling you a goddess of Life, others are cursing you for the area you fought in turning ck and ashy and dead. Freyr sent some people to see what damage those breath attacks you did cause, but they still haven¡¯t found the end points yet.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°And Sigurd is staying down there leading the cleanup of things. He told us that we shoulde back here and see how you were doing and to tell you that it¡¯s probably best you leave Falheim before more stuff happens.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°His words were a bit nicer than that, but basically that¡¯s it. Though I will say that he wasn¡¯t being malicious, but more worried you¡¯ll get dragged into something else if you stay any longer.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I was getting that same feeling, so I agree with him.¡± (Keeno)


    Muninn then suddenly dived from above me and into a different tail from Huginn. Freya charged at me but stopped just before mming into me.


    ¡°Keeno, give me the bird.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Calm down, Freya. The more you react, the more they will mess with you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I won¡¯t lose to a bird!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Freya.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Leave it this time. We just won¡¯t give Muninn treats for a while to make up for this. If it still hasn¡¯t learned for next time, THEN you can roast it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Keeno, do you agree?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hear that, Muninn? You¡¯re on thin ice with someone with Sr Magic. Don¡¯t mess up again.¡± (Keeno)


    Muninn responded by hiding further into my tail.


    ¡°And there we go.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss this. It¡¯s so fun being with you three. Much better than Sigurd¡¯s overseriousness.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss the two of you and Sigurd as well. And I¡¯m sorry for asking you to stick around in this dump of a country.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not forever, my little one. Compared to what we live, it will be just a blink before we see each other again.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°True. And we can talk whenever, so that also helps.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep. Oh, I almost forgot, Freyr finally managed to get all the scales. Pram has them in her storage ring.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, we¡¯re finally leaving here¡­time for more walking.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Silly girl, you think I would se my daughter and her friends off by letting them walk? Nonsense, I will be flying you to that ce called¡­what was it again?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Nidavellir.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, that ce.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Eh!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Freya, mind helping with the convincing?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Both of you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I get to use all of your tails to sleep at night. That¡¯s the only way I¡¯m agreeing to this.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I mean, I already owe you a lifetime of doing that, so fine by me.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram nodded in satisfaction then we all looked at Freya. Her head was down but her ear was twitching, showing her embarrassment.


    ¡°Pram¡­you know¡­you know I don like you touching other tails.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    {¡­Cute.}


    Pram said nothing and walked over to Freya before pulling her close and giving her a quick kiss.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll only sleep with your tail. It¡¯s worth it in multiple ways, so I guess I¡¯ll manage with flying.¡± (Pram)


    Freya was blushing and both her ears were twitching while her tail was waving around wildly.


    ¡°Since when was Pram that smooth?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°She¡¯s always been like that, but when it¡¯s focused on someone, specifically Freya, it¡¯s super effective.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Come to think of it, that¡¯s true.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Oh, mum, I think there is one more thing before we leave.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram, Freya, and Emma looked at me with somewhat surprised looks mixed with a warmth I couldn¡¯t describe when they heard me. Mum on the other hand looked confused, so I slightly gestured at Emma. She realized what I was saying and approached Emma.


    ¡°Emma, from today unto eternity, I im you as mine, do you object to this?¡± (Fafnir)


    Emma was once again stunned, and it took a moment for her to process what was happening. When she finally did, a radiant smile spread across her face.


    ¡°I do not object. In fact, I wee this development.¡± (Emma)


    Emma then grabbed mum¡¯s arm and pulled her close, bringing their lips together. When they broke apart, Emma had another shining smile on her face while mum was blushing so red, you¡¯d think she was a red dragon and not a gold one.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should congratte them or leave them alone for a while.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I think we congratte them?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I say congratte now and then, when we are gone, they can have all the privacy they want. Though I do feel bad for temporarily separating the newlyweds.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Newlyweds?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That¡¯s how we dragons do things.¡± (Keeno)


    {Though it¡¯s a bit different in our case, it was pretty much the same for me and Keeno.}


    ¡°I¡¯d prefer not you don¡¯t say any more about that. Thinking back on it, I said some things I feel embarrassed about.¡± (Keeno)


    {You realize that¡¯s tempting me to mention it so I can tease you, right?}


    ¡°Yes, but think of it this way, if you don¡¯t, it¡¯ll be a memory only the two of us have. Isn¡¯t it nice, having exclusive memories?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°I need to remember that line.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That¡¯s harder to do since we haven¡¯t had that many opportunities for just the two of us to go out yet. And the times we have recently aren¡¯t things we¡¯d share with others.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to hold you to that yet part.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­What is this sense of loneliness?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°We didn¡¯t forget about you, Fia. I¡¯ll help you find someone one day.¡± (Keeno)


    {And I¡¯ll help too.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to feel thankful or scared.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Knowing them, it should be both.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Definitely both.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We aren¡¯t that bad.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yeah.}


    ¡°Says the two who will tease anything that does or doesn¡¯t breathe if they¡¯ll find it funny!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°And you love us for that!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°{And we love you for being so teaseable!}


    ¡°Dumb sly foxes, how can I argue back if you say that?¡± (Fia)


    {Get over here, you adorable firebird.}


    I didn¡¯t have to imagine the scene of Fia being grabbed by Ama and pulled into a hug seeing as it¡¯s an action I¡¯ve seen and done many times before when we had simr ¡®arguments,¡¯ though I wish I could also participate in it as well.


    ¡°Stop! You¡¯re gonna suffocate me in these tails!¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Just ept it, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And why are you all of a sudden mad at me!?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your tone implies otherwi-mmmph!!!¡± (Fia)


    A few more minutester mum had finally calmed down enough to converse again.


    ¡°*Ahem* Apologies, my little one. I did not expect my own reaction to receiving affection to be so intense.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it was cute.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It really was.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Emma, I expect you to tease her a lot while I¡¯m not here to do it myself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your word is mymand.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Good.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Shall we get the preparations out of the way, my little one? As much as I would love to spend more time with you, I also now have a lovely wife I need to pamper.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°How many days will it take to get us there and back?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m motivated, so three days one way.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave me out! I¡¯ming to see you all off as well.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°But someone needs to tell Sigurd.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Leave him a note.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Poor guy.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Shall we also start preparing?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Freya)


    Like that, we started our preparations to finally leave Falheim for good.


    Chaos Realm:


    *In arge room somewhere in the usual ce*


    Wee everyone, I¡¯m d all of you could make it, and to those who couldn¡¯t, we¡¯ll raise a toast.


    *Everyone raises a ss of extremely potent alcohol and holds it there for a second before drinking some*


    Order: And thank you Alex for making such an interesting item. Care to exin it to everyone before this gets fully started?


    Alex: It¡¯s really something simple. In essence, it¡¯s a normal chocte fountain, but when you eat some of the chocte, it will taste like whatever you like the most, be it food or drink.


    *Oooh¡¯s and Aaahhh¡¯s from all present*


    A big thank you to Crimson for the drinks that will actually let us get drunk if we wish.


    Crimson: You¡¯re all wee¡­and if you can¡¯t hold any more, just give them to me to finish up the bottles.


    Order: Thank you to Envy, for the fresh cookies and other surprise desserts, they all look delicious.


    Envy: Fufu. T¡¯was my pleasure.


    Always a big thank you to Mofu for both providing a bud for Astraea to keep as a pet and for bringing some retion disks as drinking snacks.


    Mofu: Mofufufufufluff. Mofu can always get more if we run out, mofu~.


    Order: Mary, thank you for being here, even after just recently gaining your fifth tail. We have prepared a congrattion gift for you that we¡¯ll give to youter.


    Mary: You didn¡¯t have to, but thank you, nheless.


    Ray, wee back. How has that one soul been?


    Ray: I would say, but since Astraea is here, I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t think a child needs to hear that just yet.


    Fair enough and thank you for your discretion.


    Order: In-chan, there is no use in trying to party crash when we all knew you¡¯d show up, so stop hiding over there.


    Crisis: Tch. At least let me act like I¡¯m fashionablyte.


    Order: No. Last time you did that, we had to spend a week trying to fix the mess you made and even then, it still took a month to fully finish the repairs.


    Crisis: And? I see no problem there.


    Order: *Sigh*


    Hehe. Now, how about we get this get together started?

 Chapter 122- First Day of Flight and Pram鈥檚 Plight

    Chapter 122- First Day of Flight and Pram¡¯s Plight


    [Keeno POV]


    Our preparations ended quickly. Pram had transferred the crate of dragon scales to me. I had opened it to check and both me and mum got a bit agitated at the gaudy ¡®additions¡¯ that were added to them, but since we couldn¡¯t do anything about it, we decided to just ignore it. After packing those away, mum headed to the mouth of the cave and reverted to her normal form, her golden scales shining in the sunlight.


    ¡°As dazzlingly beautiful as ever.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Thank you for thepliment, my beloved.¡± (Fafnir)


    Emma started blushing as we climbed onto mum¡¯s back. After gettingfortable, mum looked back at us.


    ¡°Ready yourselves.¡± (Fafnir)


    Mum crouched lower and then leapt powerfully into the air as she beat her giant wings. The surge of pressure as we quickly ascended was exhrating as was the feeling of weightlessness when mum dipped before leveling out.


    ¡°Ahahahaha!¡± (Keeno)


    I sat up from my near prone position and felt the wind with my face causing my hair to flutter behind me.


    {You seem to really like flying.}


    ¡°It¡¯s quite nice¡­no, more than just nice. It¡¯s amazing!¡± (Keeno)


    It was like I was in my element. Every little shift in the wind and the howl in my ears gave a feeling of euphoria that was only eclipsed by any and every second I spend with Ama.


    {I see. A shame I can¡¯t make our ce like this, to see that expression you have in person is something I¡¯d love.}


    ¡°Then I guess I need to figure out how to fly.¡± (Keeno)


    {Well, our resident phoenix can help with that. But that can be saved forter. Right now, you should help Freya with Pram.}


    I looked back to see that Pram was out cold and really being held on mum¡¯s back by Freya basically holding her down with her body. I let go of the spine in front of me and slowly moved down before stopping beside Freya. She looked over at me with panic in her eyes and I smiled trying to reassure her that things were going to be fine.


    I positioned myself on Pram¡¯s left and summoned one of my weapons. I wrapped one of the chains around a spine and then maneuvered my way around the two before doing the same thing on the right. After a few more times of doing this, all three of us were fully secured to mum¡¯s back. Freya looked at me again and nodded in thanks before burying her face in Pram¡¯s hair.


    ¡°She sure is taking advantage of this situation.¡± (Keeno)


    {While I do agree, I also believe she is trying to keep the wind out of her face. Not all people are like you or Emma over there who enjoy thrills like this. Pram being an extreme example.}


    ¡°Fair enough. Guess I¡¯m going to have to do something to make this up to the both of themter.¡± (Keeno)


    {Definitely.}


    After making that mental note, I spent the rest of the day enjoying the flight. Mum did want to make it more fun by doing some areal acrobatics, but I convinced her not to, seeing as it would end in my summary execution by Pram and Freya. When the suns started to set and the sky was dyed in sunset hues, we began our descent. When wended, I unsummoned my weapon and hopped off mum¡¯s back. Freya sat up and the two of us helped the still unconscious Pram down.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong my Lady?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Am I a terrible friend?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Look at Pram, she¡¯s like this because she HATES things like flying. I know this, but even then, we still decided on it, AND we have two more days of it left. I also feel bad for Freya since she¡¯s also not doing great with this either. And what makes all this worse is that things like this are going to keep happening too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Emma)


    Mum walked up to us in her humanoid form with a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°I believe it to be my fault in this case. There are things I could have done to help mitigate their unease, but I failed to realize their trepidation for flight. Even with hearing you during the day, I still didn¡¯t realize the intensity.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I still feel it¡¯s on me though.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No Keeno¡­it¡¯s on me¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Are you feeling better?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah. Life magic is one heck of a support. But that¡¯s not the point. Keeno, this isn¡¯t on you at all. I knew when we started this journey, there would be times where we would inevitably encounter things like this. At the start, when you¡¯d teasingly offer your tail inpensation and I took you up on it, I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be that bad, but after today and waking up right now, I can¡¯t let this keep on. It¡¯s gone from something that¡¯s somewhat funny to joke about to actually a problem.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram, you don¡¯t have to think that way. I know that I¡¯m putting you in situations you aren¡¯tfortable with, and I don¡¯t want to keep doing that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And I¡¯m saying it¡¯s not you, but me. This is how the life of an adventurer is, I knew that when I signed up, and I know that no matter what, we are going to end up in circumstances where we will have to do things that I won¡¯t like. Like in this case, flying out of Falheim is meant to make it more expedient for us instead of the slow trudge it was to get there. I know this, and I want to enjoy it, but I can¡¯t if I¡¯m so afraid I pass out for the whole day.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m on her side on this, Keeno. It isn¡¯t you putting us in these situations, but her own fear. And I know this is going to sound harsh, Pram, but it¡¯s a liability. I understand that I only think this from my own upbringing, and I HATE myself for even saying that, but still.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I know you¡¯re just saying it because of this situation, Freya. I don¡¯t take it personally and know you¡¯re just stating the truth. I just don¡¯t know what to do about it.¡± (Pram)


    The three of us hung our heads at this dilemma.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°My beloved, we should leave them alone for a bit. As outsiders to this entire rtionship, we have nothing to add here.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Emma)


    They moved a little bit away to give us space as the three of us sat there in deep thought.


    ¡°Freya, do you know a way for me to get over this? I can¡¯t think of anything productive.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The way I was forced to get over things like this was basically just to be thrown into a situation like that over in over until I was numb to it. If I died in the process, then no one would care.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    Pram scooted closer to Freya and wrapped her tail around her. Freya leaned over and rested her head on Pram¡¯s shoulder with a small smile on her face at the gesture.


    ¡°Hey, I ended up meeting you by surviving all of that, so there¡¯s a silver lining.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that having to go through that is good at all, but I¡¯m happy you survived as well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree with Pram. No one should have to go through something like that at all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Can we please not turn this on me. Just because I said that doesn¡¯t mean I want pity. It¡¯s in the past, and none of us can change it.¡± (Freya)


    Pram and I reluctantly agreed to not delve into any of Freya¡¯s trauma for now and went back to the topic at hand.


    ¡°I wish I could say something, but I¡¯ve just always liked stuff like this. I won¡¯t say there aren¡¯t things I¡¯m afraid of, but stuff like flying or things that get the adrenaline going aren¡¯t one of them. I¡¯d say just doing them over and over until you naturally get used to them is a good way to do it, but then it¡¯s the exact same thing as what Freya had to do, just in a more controlled, less dangerous way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the issue too. I¡¯m broken, Keeno likes it, and Pram hates it. None of us are suited to figuring this out because we don¡¯t know why she fears it so much. I mean, is there something from when you were a kid that made you hate this stuff?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No. The only really bad thing that I can recall from when I was a kid was being bullied because my Soul Weapon was a bell and not a ¡®cool sword or spear.¡¯ At least until Keeno arrived and I started hanging out with her all the time.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°There were times when I¡¯d have to defend Pram physically from those same brats, but they learned not to mess with us when I nearly scorched off all their hair and clothes and made them run through the city naked.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. I remember that. They¡¯d always run away before getting to that point yelling about how we would regret it. I also remember that one time where they actually did try something, and you got so mad that you broke one of their noses and nearly blinded another one permanently.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s what happens when they try and steal a girl¡¯s underwear after breaking into her house. The perverts.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm. Hey Ama, do you or Fia have any ideas?¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°Rasu is fuming over that story again, Keeno, so she won¡¯t be any help for a bit. Anyway, what were those things called again? Runes? Do you know one that helps keep people calm? You have all the things you need to make it work except the nonexistent Authority, so why not try that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m an idiot. I should have thought about that at the beginning. I mean, it should work. It won¡¯t be a permanent solution, but it should be able to mitigate the problem for long enough for us to figure out a better one!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Wait, it¡¯s actually a thing?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Yes! There is a Rune for literally everything.¡± (Keeno)


    I quickly pulled a scale out of my ring and immediately started to carve the Rune I needed while charging it with a bit of Divinity. It started to glow, and I tossed it to Pram. She caught it and her body shone for a second.


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not really that different¡­wait¡­weird. My heart isn¡¯t fluttering while holding Freya like this like it usually is. I still like it a lot, but it¡¯s not making me feel anything, just calm.¡± (Pram)


    Pram then gently grabbed a lock of Freya¡¯s hair and sniffed it.


    ¡°Nope, still no fluttery, happy feeling, just smells nice.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    Ignoring Freya¡¯s blushing face, Pram did a few other things that would normally make her extremely happy, but she said she felt nothing but an eerie sense of calm.


    ¡°So, it works too well. Good to know.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good stopgap though. But I refuse to use them any other time but when we¡¯re flying. I think that¡¯s too much for me, but other things I will do my best to try and get over it.¡± (Pram)


    Pram then tossed the dragon scale with the Rune on it back to me. I caught it and burned it into nothingness.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be extremely calm when Amaes back.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You sun foxes and your heightened emotions.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Don¡¯t start on that again, Fia, you know how it will end.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    I got up from my spot and moved closer to the other two before sitting down on Pram¡¯s other side.


    ¡°Well, with this figured out, we should get some sleep. We have two more days of flying, and even though you don¡¯t physically look like it, you both probably feel exhausted.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± (Freya)


    I snuggled a little closer to the two and loosened my control a little, heating up the early winter air around us.


    ¡°Sleep well, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    Soon enough, all three of us fell asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    *Sounds of people milling about and chatting with each other can be heard*


    Ray: Payto, I have a request.


    What¡¯s up?


    Ray: Let me help that little fox dragon. She needs a teacher to make sure she doesn¡¯t pop while storing Divinity in her core.


    I¡¯ll set something up. You fine with it being a dream to her?


    Ray: That works perfectly. If she saw my avatar¡¯s form, she¡¯d probably lose her mind, even if it would be a tame one.


    True. It¡¯ll be done shortly, but it can wait for after this.


    Ray: Very well.


    *Ray¡¯s figure moves away as he goes to socialize with Mofu¡¯s True Form and Mary approaches*


    Mary: How have you two been? I¡¯ve heard you two have a child; will she be present today?


    Order: No, we figured she¡¯d be too overwhelmed, but that doesn¡¯t mean we won¡¯t take this opportunity to brag about her and show pictures.


    Mary: Shame I won¡¯t get to meet her in person, but I¡¯m more than happy to see pics.


    Oh, before that, here. Congrats on the fifth tail.


    *Hands Mary a bow with swirling gxies inside it*


    It can split into the same number of tails you have and shouldn¡¯t feel ufortable to wear.


    Order: We knew you like pretty things, and this is the best idea we coulde up with on short notice when nning this get together and hearing the news about your tails.


    Mary: *teary eyed* Thanks, you two. *Jumps over and hugs them* I love it.


    Hehe.


    Order: *Pats Mary¡¯s head* It¡¯s our pleasure.


    Mary: Ehehe. Now, let¡¯s see those pics. I hope they are enough topletely embarrass you little one and turn her face into a tomato.


    Payto and Order: It¡¯s only natural.

 Chapter 123- A Relaxing Morning

    Chapter 123- A Rxing Morning


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next day, my head was pounding and there was a full ache in my chest where a faint blue light was sparking to life.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Is something wrong, my little one?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Don¡¯t know¡­had a weird dream¡­head hurts¡­chest feels sore.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Is it your core? I can see it¡¯s starting to glow, which is surprising seeing as it hasn¡¯t been that long since you¡¯ve begun utilizing it.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know¡­just wish it would stop¡­head pounding¡­worse than a hangover.¡± (Keeno)


    Mum moved closer to me and after untangling me from Pram and Freya¡¯s bad sleeping postures alone me down on herp before gently patting my head.


    ¡°I know it won¡¯t help much, but this is all I can do until Pram reawakens.¡± (Fafnir)


    Iy there for a while longer until Pram woke up after Freya started unconsciously nibbling her tail. After looking around dazedly for a minute and smiling like a love-struck maiden at Freya, she fully woke up.


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Pram)


    Pram started to gently pat Freya¡¯s head as the sleepy wolf girl reacted to her touch and cuddled closer to her. Mum and I just watched this with warm smiles until Pram noticed out staring.


    ¡°Something wrong, Keeno? You look like that one time you got a bad hangover.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Woke up with a bad headache. Has gotten a little better, but not fully gone. Chest also hurt, but that¡¯s better now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Pram)


    Pram waved her hand and my body shone for a second. My head immediately felt better afterward.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My pleasure.¡± (Pram)


    She then went back to patting and cuddling her sleeping wolf girl. Mum and I both chuckled as we watched.


    ¡°Mum, where¡¯s Emma?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Behind us hugging my tail.¡± (Fafnir)


    I sat up a bit and looked behind mum to see that Emma was indeed clinging to mum¡¯s tail like a ko.


    ¡°Adorable.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I agree.¡± (Fafnir)


    Seeing both Freya and Emma getting to enjoy the tails of their lovers, a feeling of jealousy started to build inside me.


    ¡°¡­No fair.¡± (Keeno)


    {I agree, Keeno. It¡¯s no fair.}


    ¡°Ama, can you descend and let me enjoy your tails?¡± (Keeno)


    {Unfortunately, no. It takes a long time to get descension approval, and the only way around that is something that would endanger the world that only I can fix.}


    At that, I got an idea and sat up to put said idea into motion.


    {As much as I would love for you to continue, Keeno, don¡¯t. It¡¯s a bad idea and I¡¯d have to go back the instant the problem is fixed.}


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°To think the day would finallye where I¡¯m the one jealous of others and even my own wife won¡¯t let me do something that allows me to see her.¡± (Keeno)


    {Guh.}


    ¡°Now, now, Keeno, that¡¯s a low blow. Do you know how long you¡¯ve done the same thing unconsciously? Since the day I met you. I say this is your just desserts.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Stop it with your sound logic and stuff, Pram. Let mein!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, Keeno. I mean, look at this being of absolute cuteness. How can anyone ignore her charm and elegance?¡± (Pram)


    At that moment Freya curled up even more and started rubbing her cheek on Pram¡¯s tail.


    ¡°Grrrr. Annoyingly convincing logic of cute, fluffy things, why does it have to be so convincing? I can¡¯t feel jealous at this.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram smiles as she puffed out her chest in pride.


    ¡°This sense of fulfillment¡­no wonder you love to tease people so much.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You say that like we¡¯ve never tag team teased people before.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, but I can count the number of times I¡¯ve teased YOU on one hand.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll know. And I¡¯ll get you back for it one day. Just you wait.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe. I¡¯m d my little one has such a good friend.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Pram, don¡¯t you dare do what you just thought of.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Miss Fafnir, would you like to hear some stories from when Keeno was little?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Oh. Do tell.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Don¡¯t you do it Pram!¡± (Keeno)


    I was about to get up to stop Pram from speaking, but mum held me down by the shoulders. Though she was gentle, there was enough force there to keep me immobile.


    ¡°So, where we grew up it¡¯s always snowing.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°There were alwaysrge piles of powder snow piled up everywhere, and when we were little Keeno would always end up buried in them headfirst due to an impulse to jump into them. She always shrugged it off as training, but I never really believed that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It was training! It was so I could learn to control my heat!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fafnir)


    {¡­}


    ¡°What? Why are you all quiet all of a sudden?¡± (Keeno)


    {I hate to break it to you, Keeno, but that was just an excuse Fia made up to get you to y.}


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I thought you figured that out a long time ago. I figured it out after getting to know you and all that, and I never said anything because I thought you knew as well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡­


    {Oh dear. Even her through havepletely stopped.}


    Upon learning this information, it felt like my whole early life was a lie. What else had I been told was training that was just an excuse to y around like the child I physically was? I was starting to fall into flustered feelings of doubt when a patting sensation on my head brought me back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it, my little one. Did you enjoy yourself then?¡± (Fafnir)


    I nodded.


    ¡°Then does it matter if it was training or ying? It helped you in the end, and you had fun.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Is today beat Keeno with sound logic day or something?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No, but we should totally make a day for that some time.¡± (Pram)


    At that moment, the two troublemakers poked their heads out of my tails.


    ¡°*sigh*¡± (Keeno)


    They hopped out of my tails and looked between all of us before zeroing in on the still sleeping Freya and Emma. They nced at one another than opened their beaks. Just before they let out a sound, I flopped two of my tails onto them.


    ¡°Why do these two feather heads have a death wish? I¡¯m not in the business of granting wishes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who raised them, so they probably learned from you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I take no responsibility for their pranks.¡± (Keeno)


    I was about to defend my decisions in regard to raising Huginn and Muninn when I felt a small sting in one of my tails and fell silent.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Freya, get up now!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Uwah!!¡± (Freya)


    Pram hopped up while dragging Freya with her and moved to a safe spot behind arge rock.


    ¡°Fafnir, move!¡± (Pram)


    Not taking a second to think, mum hopped up and joined Pram behind her rock, Emma still clinging to her tail.


    ¡°What is happening?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°One of the birds made a grave error and now Keeno is pissed.¡± (Pram)


    I lifted one tail to reveal Huginn looking at me in annoyance only to start hopping back in fear when it saw my expression.


    ¡°Huginn dear, mind exining what in the name of all that is divine gave you the bright idea to BITE MY TAIL!!!!?¡± (Keeno)


    I quickly grabbed the little birdie and pulled it closer, so we were eye to eye.


    ¡°Listen here, NEVER do that again, and I¡¯m willing to let it slide this one time. If you ignore this warning, then you¡¯ll be pping around with no feathers and smelling like a delicious lunch. I¡¯ll never kill you; I love the two of you too much to do that, but even I have a tolerance limit to your antics. Do. You. Understand?¡± (Keeno)


    Huginn did its best to nod in bird and I let it go. It dazedly hopped around until it buried itself in my third tail. I lifted the tail that was on Muninn and looked it in the eye.


    ¡°He¡¯s my warning as well, Muninn.¡± (Keeno)


    It moved its wing in a mock salute, or at least it tried before burying itself in my tail again.


    ¡°Um, the fire horns are new.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The what?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re gone.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°The what now!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It seems that when your emotions grow uncontrolled a crown of horns, simr to mine, made of mes appear. Though in my opinion they add to your charm, but enough about this, we¡¯ve dallied too long, and we need to take to the sky if we wish to keep to our schedule.¡± (Fafnir)


    She then moved her tail in front of her and kissed Emma. This made her wake up immediately and wrap her arms around mum¡¯s neck. It looked like they were about to lose themselves, so we had to interrupt them.


    ¡°Mum, you said we are runningte.¡± (Keeno)


    This poured metaphorical cold water on them as they broke apart. Mum looking slightly disappointed while Emma was refreshed. I also noticed that Pram and Freya were eyeing each other¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Do you want a repeat of our earlier interaction, or are we going to get ready now?¡± (Keeno)


    Freya and Emma looked at me with confusion while mum and Pram sighed and stood up. Mum moved to the open space in front of us and returned to her normal form, her scales shining in the sunlight. I took another scale out of my ring and carved another rune into it before handing it to Pram. She tucked it away in one of her pockets and we climbed onto mum¡¯s back. She then took to the air. I watched Pram the whole time, and it seemed the rune was working as intended. In fact, she had a bored expression on her face.


    ¡®Well, it¡¯s better than beingpletely terrified.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Yes.}


    ¡®By the way, where is Fia?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {She had some errands to run, so she set offtest night. She should be back in a few days.}


    ¡®Alright.¡¯ (Keeno)


    With the end of that conversation I spent the next two days enjoying the flight out of that ursed country.


    Chaos Realm:


    *While Payto and Order show off pictures of Astraea*


    Fia: ¡­


    Alex: We meet again.


    Fia: Did Ie at a bad time? It seems like I¡¯m interrupting something.


    Alex: Nah. It¡¯s just a get together those two put together at thest minute.


    Fia: I see. Anyway, I¡¯m d you are here. I have the things we discussed. Do you think the cloak will be finished before Keeno¡¯s birthday?


    Alex: Of course. I¡¯m a Goddess of Crafts of the highest degree, so anymission I take on will be done before the deadline. Do you have the measurements I need?


    Fia: Yes. Here.


    Alex: Hmm. Perfect. I¡¯ll get started on it after this party is over.


    Fia: Thank you.


    Alex: It¡¯s my pleasure. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I would also like to see what everyone is fawning over, over there.


    Fia: I¡¯ll be going too; I need to get back.


    Alex: Give my greetings to Lady Amaterasu.


    Fia: I will¡­Oh, she did ask me to thank you again for the rings, she and Keeno are very, VERY happy with them and she said that if you ever need anything from her, she¡¯ll happily help within reason.


    Alex: I will dly ept her help when I need it.


    *Fia leaves and Alex joins the group of Astraea admirers. *

 Chapter 124- Day of Parting Hath Come

    Chapter 124- Day of Parting Hath Come


    [Keeno POV]


    On the night of the third day, wended a few miles past the border of Nidavellir where mum transformed into her humanoid form. We had dismounted several minutes ago and started pitching camp. When she joined us, she grabbed Emma¡¯s arm and pulled her close.


    ¡°How does it taste, my beloved, the air outside of Falheim?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Like freedom and endless possibilities. Enough to be saddened that we have to go back.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Understandable, but we have a mission given to us by our daughter, and said mission is vital to the world.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Ehehe¡­*Ahem*I understand that, but still, knowing that we are out of there is so very tempting to shirk that responsibility and explore.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°True, but think about it, we live for much longer now, so what¡¯s a few more years?¡± (Fafnir)


    Rolling my eyes at their overly dramatic theatrics, I lit a fire and pulled out some things to cook for dinner. Pram sat next to me and tossed the Rune into the fire.


    ¡°I have to say, Keeno, that Rune thing is both effective, yet scary. While I like that it has kept me calm, but it also scares me, at least after I¡¯ve gotten rid of it. The calmness just doesn¡¯t feel natural to me, and it gives me too much to think about when all I can be is that calm.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°What exactly are you thinking about?¡± (Freya)


    She sat next to Pram and leaned her head onto her shoulder.


    ¡°Our wedding, life itself, how much I love you, Keeno¡¯s insanity, all the things I want to do with and to you, introducing you to my family, when I¡¯m going to get the time to do that, worrying about bing an Apostle, stuff like that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m not insane.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s up to interpretation.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just because I can¡¯t deny that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t love me for it!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True. You wouldn¡¯t be you and my greatest friend if you weren¡¯t.¡± (Pram)


    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as I scooted over and gave Pram a side hug. I nced over at Freya, but she seemed to be in her own world as she barely audibly muttered about her and Pram¡¯s wedding.


    {You know, seeing this makes me want to invite some of my old friends over that I haven¡¯t seen in a long time.}


    ¡°You had friends aside from Fu and Moco?¡± (Pram)


    {How rude. Fia was my friend a long while before she became my Apostle. And I do have one more friend aside from those three, though she¡¯s been secluded for a long while before you showed up, Keeno.}


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to be rude, though now I can see why it came off that way.¡± (Pram)


    {It¡¯s fine, Pram. I understood that you didn¡¯t mean anything mean by saying that.}


    ¡°Who is this other friend?¡± (Keeno)


    {While I do love that possessiveness in your voice, Keeno, it¡¯s unnecessary. She likes men for one, and she¡¯s the Goddess of Creation, Hresvelgr.}


    ¡°Hmm? Was I being possessive?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your words held that bite, yes.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Not like I can help it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True. You have the blood of the two most possessive races known to the world, after all. I would not me you if you even held thoughts of locking away your Beloved from all existence just so you are the only one to be able to see her.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s not cool, Fafnir. Don¡¯t give her ideas, no matter how appealing they are for me as well.}


    ¡°Oh? Are gods that possessive as well?¡± (Emma)


    {I¡¯m a kitsune as well, you know. And when ites to my Fated One, of course.}


    As this line of fun conversation continued, I finished cooking dinner for everyone and shortly after that, we all went to sleep. In the morning while Pram and Freya disassembled our camp, I was saying my farewells to mum and Emma.


    ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t really expect to be thankful to Falheim for letting me find a mother, though I¡¯m happy it happened. And I¡¯m happy you survived all this time, Emma, though I also never expected you to also be my mum.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, that makes two of us, though I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing. A pleasant surprise that life is full of.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That is the truth. I never expected to be alive again, in fact, I didn¡¯t expect to even be awake for another hundred years or so.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    I pulled the two of them into a tight hug.


    ¡°I love you both and I really hope you both stay out of trouble. I don¡¯t want to have toe all the way back after somehow hearing that you¡¯ve razed half the country because some idiot did something stupid.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Worry not, my little one, I¡¯m not as prone to anger of that level as some dragons I can name. And, since I have all I can want, I have no reason to subject some peons to unjust destruction and desecration.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Emma, never let anyone kidnap you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not nning on it.¡± (Emma)


    I squeezed them tighter for a second before letting go. I stepped back a few steps before giving the two of them a bright smile.


    ¡°See youter, my little one, remember to have fun on your journey and keep those two safe.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°We¡¯ll tell Sigurd not to worry, so go and do what you need to do. See you again!¡± (Emma)


    They both smiled at me as well before mum spread her wings, picked Emma up in a princess carry, and took to the sky as quick as lightning. Secondster, she was a faintly shimmering golden glint in the sky. Watching that, I felt a small pang in my heart.


    {Don¡¯t worry, Keeno, this parting is not forever,}


    ¡°I know, but I¡¯m not good at goodbyes.¡± (Keeno)


    {And that¡¯s why this isn¡¯t a goodbye, but a see youter.}


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true. Still makes me sad though.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked at the barely visible glint until it fully disappeared before going and helping Pram and Freya. They looked over at me with understanding sympathy while we worked in silence. Once everything was finished, we took a small break to decide on our next course of action. We sat back-to-back on arge rock while the winter breeze blew past us.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had to worry about it, but what are our savings like?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We have a decent windfall. Why?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like traveling through this country for a¡­what is it, my fifth time? So, let¡¯s splurge and use a gate to get to Odeen. As far as our funds can get us. All in favor, say I.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°¡°I!¡±¡±¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s agreed.¡± (Keeno)


    With that we got up and started making our way to the nearest city.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: Did wee at a bad time?


    Hmm? Oh, wee back you two. You showed up at a great time. We were just about to share stories about things happening in other Seas of Chaos.


    Crimson: Oh! It¡¯s the super fluffy foxdy!


    Luna: Wait, you¡¯re that drunk guy! How is that wolf girl¡­or was it girls? Their soul was weird.


    Crimson: ¡­


    Luna: What?


    He¡¯s been so drunk; his entire Sea of Chaos went into a sort of stasis.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: And this is why I¡¯m d you can¡¯t get drunk, Luna. The things that would happen to space if you could.


    Luna: But what about you and Gravity?


    Tamamo: How many times have you ever seen me drunk, or have I told you I¡¯ve been drunk?


    Luna: ¡­Good point.


    Enough of that,e one, we¡¯re just getting to the good parts of our Astraea scrapbook!


    Luna and Tamamo: Oooo! Coming!

 Side Chapter 6- Something Nothing Can Escape

    Side Chapter 6- Something Nothing Can Escape


    [King of Odeen POV]


    Sitting in my office going over petitions for some nonsense the nobles were wanting to boost their already overinted ego I let out a long sigh. Iid the paper down and stood from my chair before moving over to the window. Looking out over my city, it was painted a shade of blue due to the blue sun shining brightly, the orange one nowhere in sight.


    ¡°Strange.¡±


    As I continued to look over the city and starting to admire how the shade of blue dyed it in interesting ways, I faintly heard a sounding from outside the room.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s not right. This room is soundproof. I should only be able to hear if someone knocks on the door.¡±


    Leaving therge window, I moved to the door and opened it. After stepping out into the hallway, I noticed another anomaly, my guards and other officials were gone. I took another step before stepping into an almost sand like substance. Looking down, I saw it was ash.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    From the end of the hallway, I heard a sound as if something skittered across like a rat. I moved towards the sound, stepping through even more piles of ash as I went. After a few turns I found myself in the throne room. Ignoring the incongruous feeling of how I ended up here I looked around for the source of the sound. After a time of searching and finding nothing, I turned to go back to my work when an unpleasantly chilly wind blew past me with an unsettling tune being carried by it. I turned around once more only to find myself facing my throne with a dark figure sitting there. All of its features were obscured by inky shadows though I could make out the shape of nine tails behind it. Stop it¡¯s head was a crown of horns made of blue mes and the eyes glowed with the same blue as the blue sun in the sky.


    ¡°Baldr Odeen, you have a debt to pay, and I havee to collect.¡±


    The shadow¡¯s voice was as cold and sharp as a de held at my neck, yet warm and weing like a mother¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°What debt!? And who do you think you are, sitting on MY throne in MY kingdom, speaking to me in such a tone!¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Hehehe. I shall speak to you as I like, for you are but a mortal who has grown arrogant with the power you have stolen. As I said, you have a debt, and I am here to collect.¡±


    The figure stood from my throne and took a step toward me. That step and each one slowly after were eerily silent as the chilling tune on the wind continuously reverberate through my being. Each step closer to me instilled a primal fear I had not felt in nearly a thousand years. I turned on the spot and fled the throne room.


    ¡°Hehehehehe. Flee for now, coward, but know, you can never outrun me. We will meet again.¡±


    As I ran, my castle started to burn with blue mes and the sounds of birds cawing mixed into the music. As soon as the fire trapped me and I started to burn, my vision cut out. In the next moment I awoke in my bed in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. Looking out the window I saw both suns rising over the city wall and the Dead Zone¡¯s shining wall of light which had been afortingly unchanging scene. I stood from my bed and had a servante in to dress me. After that, I left my room and went to my office. Opening a drawer, and taking out a faintly glowing vial, I imbibed its contents and my mind calmed down.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Baldr)


    I looked over my desk before seeing a document simr to the one from that nightmare. I picked it up before tossing it into the firece one of the servants lit. I picked up a bell and rang it, summoning in an attendant.


    ¡°Go fetch thatzy dragon.¡± (Baldr)


    I didn¡¯t fail to notice the man stiffen up at my order, but he soon left the room. About an hourter, thezy dragon came in, an annoyed expression on her face as she red at me.


    ¡°What do you want, old fool?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°A fine morning to you as well, you rotting lizard.¡± (Baldr)


    Her re intensified and one of the small tables and the documents on it went up in mes as her tails whipped past it. I stared into the indigo mes suppressing a shudder.


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s this is sense? Is it maybe¡­fear?¡± (Ena)


    It was my turn to re at thiszy dragon woman as she smiled smugly in my direction.


    ¡°Do tell what has the Invincible King so frightened. I¡¯m all ears.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°You¡¯re older than I am, so tell me, are there any kitsune who¡¯ve ever had nine tails?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Aside from Goddess Amaterasu, I¡¯ve never seen one reach further than eight. In fact, I haven¡¯t seen many with more than one recently, though that doesn¡¯t mean there are none with more than one now.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Then what about any creature thatmands mes as blue as the blue sun and with ming horns of the same me in a crown atop their heads?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Blue mes are a rarity, but not unheard of, so you need not worry about anything with them, but a crown of horns? Only dragons in humanoid form have horns that can be said to look like a crown, and I know no dragon with horns of me. The closest I¡¯ve ever seen like that is Fafnir, but hers were gold and she¡¯s been dead for a thousand years.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Is there anything else? As amusing as seeing you afraid of something is, if you continue to be cryptic about it simply because your paranoia, I won¡¯t help anymore. You¡¯ve already interrupted my studies longer than I¡¯d like.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Fine, one final question.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Spit it out.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°What is something that nothing can outrun?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°A riddle? And such a simple one at that? Ha!¡± (Ena)


    Her smile turned wicked, a faint indigo glow shine in her eyes and the same indigo light in her chest flickered like mes. It seemed like her shadow grew, dimming all the light except the lighting from her own body. A powerful sense of intimidation washed over the whole room as she stared at me, malicious glee twinkling in her eyes.


    ¡°The answer is Death.¡± (Ena)


    She then turned and left the room. Even after leaving, the room felt dark and cold.


    ¡°¡­Death¡­ha! Ahahahahaha! So, it was just a foolish nightmare. And to think such a childish thing would get under my skin.¡± (Baldr)


    I decided to forget the childish nightmare and get back to the tedious work I needed to finish.


    [Ena POV]


    ¡°Hehehe. It was nice to see that old fool nervous for once.¡±


    As I proceeded down the hallway I turned to a stairwell and pressed on a few bricks. The wall opened and I entered the old passageway behind it. After walking for a while I exited into an old aqueduct. Following that for a while I jump into a small hole that led to an underground chamber that smelled of books and death.


    ¡°I¡¯ve returned, little spirit friends. Care to share any secrets with me today?¡± (Ena)


    The shadows on the walls moved but remained silent as they continued to do their work.


    ¡°So I¡¯m in my own still¡­meh, it makes it more fun. I wonder what I should try to learn today then? The old fool¡¯s summons made me lose my motivation to continue with¡­!!!¡± (Ena)


    Before I could finish with my monologue, the shadows of the Death Spirits stopped moving as they all looked in one direction. I felt it as well and I couldn¡¯t keep the smirk from forming in my face.


    ¡°So, the little fox is back. It¡¯s been nearly a year since you¡¯ve left my little eyes on the outside, so how much stronger have you gotten?¡± (Ena)


    I summoned my staff and mmed the butt of it on the ground. The indigo mes in the room red and small bugs lit from the inside with indigo mes flew around.


    ¡°Go and find the little fox and her friend.¡± (Ena)


    The undead bugs fly out of the room.


    ¡°Hmm. Little fox, why does your presence feel more draconic than before, I wonder¡­could it be that your ancestor¡­no, you came from the Northst time, not from that cesspit of a country that killed Lady Fafnir¡­whatever, I¡¯ll figure it out when we meet. I do hope you are worthy of a contract now.¡± (Ena)


    While I waited for my ¡®eyes¡¯ to find the little fox, I sat in my chair as I picked up an ancient looking book from the pile.


    ¡°While I wait, I may as well refresh my knowledge of necromancy. Even if you aren¡¯t strong enough to contract with me, I¡¯ll dly teach an aspiring new Death mage.¡± (Ena)


    Chaos Realm:


    Ahahahaha! That was a good party.


    Order: It was. Though it¡¯s a shame it had to end so soon.


    True, but can¡¯t keep all of them here when they all have other things to do.


    Order: Well, at least we got to brag about Astraea.


    Yep.


    Luna: Um¡­


    What¡¯s wrong?


    Luna: I tried looking around Keeno¡¯s world a bit but now the tv is stuck on that dragondy that reminds me of Reed.


    Did you try hitting it?


    Luna: Seven times.


    Hmm¡­*sigh*


    Luna: What?


    You¡¯re sitting on the remote.


    Luna: ¡­


    Order: Pfft.


    Tamamo: Ufufu.


    Luna: *says nothing as she smothers all present with her tails in embarrassment*

 Chapter 125- Broke Once More!

    Chapter 125- Broke Once More!


    [Keeno POV]


    After a day of traveling, we finally made it to a city. After resting for a night, we went to the guild. After going down several stairs we reached the gate room where we paid for a gate to Odeen andpletely cleaned out all of our savings.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s alright, Keeno. Mortal money is easy to get, so just take some quests and you¡¯ll have saved up in no time.}


    ¡®Not what I was thinking, Ama¡­it feels weird here, and I mean weirder than when we werest here.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {How so?}


    ¡®It¡¯s¡­too full of life¡­or something like that.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Hmm.}


    While Ama seemed to delve into her thoughts, we exited the stairwell onto the Adventurer floor of the guild, and I heard something that I thought I¡¯d never hear again. A voice projected with a slight static behind it.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sixth round and everybody¡¯s favorite ballisteer has just scored his 50<sup>th</sup> consecutive bullseye. Is there no stopping him!? What¡¯s this? The dark horse of thepetition has also scored 50 bullseyes! Will we see an upset and new champion in the Odeen Tournament of Marksmanship!?!¡±


    ¡°A radio?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A what?¡± (Freya)


    I know Freya said something, but I was too distracted to respond as I followed the sound and arrived at a table with a bunch of other adventurers sitting around it, staring at a box with rapt attention.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Shh. They¡¯re about to announce the winner.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Bothpetitors have reached their final targets! *GASP!*. THEY¡¯VE BOTH HIT BULLSEYES!!! We¡¯ve reached an unprecedented feat today! What will the judges decide for the tie breaker I wonder!?¡±


    The adventurers leaned closer to the radio with rapt attention.


    ¡°And the deliberation is over! The winner will be the one who manages to hit a coin tossed into the air with wind magic! How will they do it with a ballista!?..And there it goes!¡­¡­OH MY GODS!!! THE DARK HORSE HAS HIT THE REIGNING CHAMPION¡¯S BOLT OUT OF THE SKY AND HIT THE COIN AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!¡±


    Sensing the impending celebration, I quickly moved backward. Just as I did that, the adventurers jumped up yelling and cheering while a few mmed down their mugs in bitter disappointment. One of them even picked up the radio and was about to throw it when two tackled him to the ground and wrestled the thing away from him.


    ¡°Oh! You know how expensive this thing was! Don¡¯t you dare try and break it just cause you lost a bet!¡±


    The adventurer then gently ced it down on the table. I approached once more and spoke up.


    ¡°So, what is that thing?¡± (Keeno)


    A few of them turned and looked at me.


    ¡°This thing here is the newestmodity from the capital. It has some long, fancy name too, but we just call it the noise box. They¡¯ve been all the rage for a little over a month now, or at least that¡¯s when we found out about em.¡±


    ¡°Any idea how it works?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nah. All we know is that you need lightning magic to make em work.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Thanks, guys.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No problem missy¡­hey, I just won a lot o¡¯ money, care to celebra-¡±


    ¡°Married, not gonna happen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ooooooooh!¡±


    I walked away from the group and back to Pram and Freya.


    {And say goodbye to your lightning magic.}


    ¡®What was that, Ama?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Nothing, MY love.}


    I didn¡¯t quite get it, but the way she said ¡®my¡¯ made me feel super happy. That aside, I finally reached Pram and Freya who were looking at the quest board.


    ¡°Find anything lucrative?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not yet. Satisfy your curiosity?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. Not something we¡¯ll be able to afford at the moment or even use. Unless either of you can use lightning magic and just never told me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nope.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Neither can I.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then its of no consequence.¡± (Keeno)


    I started skimming over the quests on the board with them. None seemed particrly lucrative, with most being nt gathering or delivery quests.


    ¡°Might as well just take several of these and spend a few days here building up our savings again before moving on.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking as well. Freya, what¡¯s your opinion?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We need to get our savings in order, so let¡¯s get these done.¡± (Freya)


    With that settled, we picked up several quests and, over the next few days,pleted them. Surprisingly, we managed to finish the gathering quests extremely quickly due to Pram¡¯s life magic helping the herbs grow a bit faster and making their medicinal properties more potent,ting us a bonus for quality. Today we were out gathering more herbs when I felt something off.


    ¡°Keeno, what¡¯s got you so irritated?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s like there¡¯s this itch but I don¡¯t know why.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Did you get into some kind of nt again?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°THAT WAS ONE TIME!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And youined about it for a whole week after burning that part of the forest.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It deserved it!¡± (Keeno)


    Pram was about to say something, but I motioned her to stop. She nodded slightly and I reached past her and grabbed a small bug that glowed with an indigo light.


    ¡°An undead bug?¡± (Keeno)


    I stared at the tiny bug in my hand as it tried to fly away. Deciding to try something, I poured some mana into it and the glow started to turn blue before the bug went up in mes before burning to ash.


    ¡°Meh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So¡­what was that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Some undead bug. It¡¯s weird, and I¡¯m going to¡­teach whoever sent it some manners in regards to whatever it is they were using it for when we find them, but that¡¯s for future us to deal with.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Wait, how do you know someone was controlling it?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°One, bugs have no souls, so they make for horrible undead, and two, this country is too full of life for any undead to naturally spawn.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You seem displeased by the too full of life thing.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not particrly¡­I think? It just feels off to me, I guess. I mean, winter should be getting into full swing now, and yet it¡¯s like it¡¯s in the middle of spring, that annoying season of stupid blooming things and pollen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ugh.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You hate it too?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Worst time of the year. Most of the thunderstorms happen then, and even with buildings made to dampen the sound, the thunder is deafening. In Vanir we called it sleepless spring cause everyone is sleep deprived more often than not and it¡¯s the time when most violence urs.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m not qualified for this conversation¡­only spring I¡¯m used to really is the one where it snows less.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Ama, is there a country anywhere here with normal weather and seasons? We need to get Pram there so she can experience these things more than just our tainted bias.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm¡­There is Lokir, it¡¯s a country on the other continent. It also has a Dead Zone, but all it really did was make the entire country a forest. It still has normal seasons, almost like Falheim, though you never really saw spring and summer there.}


    ¡°Hmph. Guess that¡¯ll have to wait then, sorry Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Not like it¡¯s something I¡¯m particrly worried about.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s great and all, but back to the topic, what are we going to do about these bugs?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Burn them when we see them. It¡¯s all we can do for now until we find the source.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fine.¡± (Freya)


    After that we went back to our quests until we acquired enough money to travel again and set off for the next city.


    [Ena POV]


    ¡°Hehehehehahahahahahahahahaha! The little fox is much bolder than I thought! To try and wrest control of one of my undead from me. And from your looks, you must have gotten closer to your dragon ancestor in some way, if those eyes and scales are of any indication. Though I wonder who it is, I don¡¯t remember anyone with ck scales. Even mine only look ck from a distance. Hmm. Anyway,e on, I want to meet you already!¡±


    I tossed my book down as I stood from my chair and identally hit it towards the wall with my tail, breaking it.


    ¡°And three tails¡­much different fromst time when you only had one¡­I wonder what your secret is?¡±


    I looked up at the wall where I could see Death spirits working.


    ¡°My silent spirit friends, will you tell me? I want to know why you get all excited when she¡¯s in this country and why she¡¯s grown so much in only about two years. I¡¯ll even release some of those souls the old man keeps to you if you tell me.¡±


    Some of the shadowy spirits prickled up at this and I felt a bit of pressureing from them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t me me for that! He¡¯s the one that¡¯s doing it! Even I can¡¯t mess with souls like that, even as a Death mage!¡±


    They stared at me like I was an idiot before looking at one another and discussing something between themselves. One of them waved a hand and a skull appeared.


    ¡°Dumb child¡­know¡­¡­yo¡­ur c¡­¡­e. Only¡­our go¡­ddess¡­and¡­her foll¡­owers¡­can¡­or¡­der us¡­you¡­do not¡­¡­yet qualify¡­the¡­pest above¡­¡­desecrates¡­the cycle¡­you¡­facilitate it¡­¡­learn¡­of your¡­transgressions¡­¡­¡­and atone¡­then¡­¡­we shall¡­call you¡­friend.¡±


    The skull then disappeared into smoke and the shadows of the spirits left.


    ¡°¡­Hmm. It seems I must be more active¡­maybe an outing is in order.¡±


    I looked over my small room and picked up my books and journals and ced them in my storage ring.


    ¡°First order of business, figure out what that mongrel of a contractor is doing.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Hehehehehehe.


    Order: She¡¯s¡­really¡­*sigh*


    Luna: I don¡¯t get it.


    Pride, Luna. It makes people dumb to even the most obvious of things.


    Luna: I fail to follow.


    Order: Just keep watching. Things should be clear in time.


    Luna: Well, whatever it is, I¡¯m super engaged. I wanna see Keeno p that dragon around for daring to spy on her!

 Chapter 126- Angry Wolf, Angry Fox

    Chapter 126- Angry Wolf, Angry Fox


    [Keeno POV]


    It seemed the size of Odeen was even bigger than I realized seeing as we still haven¡¯t found a city in almost two weeks of walking. We HAVE passed through a small vige or two, but they weren¡¯t really anything of note. I¡¯ve also gotten into the habit of burning any glowing purple bugs I see, though this has led to them hiding better. This fine morning, we had just finished putting away camp and started down the surprisingly well-maintained road while a light mist filled the air.


    ¡°How manyst night, Okami?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Seven. There were several more lights out there, but they were far enough away that I wouldn¡¯t really give chase and risk something happening to the two of you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m getting irritated from these bugs. Whoever is sending them is either a creep, someone ordered to by a higher up in the government or an organization, or you were wrong and Odeen just has some weird undead bug problem that the Dead Zone doesn¡¯t cover.¡± (Freya)


    {Hey!}


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t an insult. She¡¯s said so herself, bugs don¡¯t have souls, so what¡¯s to stop them from somehow bing undead and being exempt from Dead Zone purification?¡± (Freya)


    {¡­That¡¯s a good point.}


    ¡°I¡¯d think someone as important as you would know something like that.¡± (Pram)


    {We gods aren¡¯t omnipotent, Pram. I¡¯ve told you that countless times, and on my side of things, I can get rid of undead easier, but how theye to be and every single type there are beyond me. I know a lot from just generally watching the world for so long, yes, but not everything. And bugs are small, do you expect me to watch even the most microscopic things?}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­you¡¯re right.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t that contradict a third of your Authorities?¡± (Freya)


    {That¡¯s Creation¡¯s purview, I just make sure things can live. Now, enough scrutinizing what role what gods have, pay attention to your surroundings.}


    It started getting foggier as we walked, and soon enough, we could only see each other and the immediate area in front of us. I started to get an uneasy feeling as well. This fog rolled in too quickly and, as far as I could tell, there hadn¡¯t been any weather recently to really cause it. I was about to tell the others when I heard the twang of a bowstring. All three of us moved before an arrow pierced the ground where Pram was once standing.


    ¡°¡°You¡¯re all dead!¡±¡± (Freya and Keeno)


    I whipped two of my tails and Huginn and Mininn wereunched high into the air.


    ¡°Find the source of the fog and kill it.¡± (Keeno)


    The two made no sound as they flew off above us. Freya and I stood back-to-back around Pram as we waited for any more attacks. Another arrow flew at us and u burnt it to ash before it hit us and Freya cut down another two on her side. Seeing as the arrows weren¡¯t stopping us, several shadows surrounded us and started to run around in the fog.


    ¡°Pram, sound the bell, it¡¯ll throw them off.¡± (Freya)


    Pram nodded and she rang her bell. The soothing sound was was reminiscent of church bells for us while several of the moving shadows faltered long enough for me to impale a few with spears of me. A few minutester I heard a scream that turned into a choked gurgle and the fog started to rapidly clear, revealing several charred corpses, a guy missing his eyes as my two feathered friends ate them, and several other figures retreating.


    ¡°Shall we chase them?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, they will learn to never try and hurt my Pram!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {Gut them!}


    With Ama¡¯s spirited yell, we started to chase after the retreating assants. They were quite quick on their feet and had made good distance from us. However, they weren¡¯t far enough away that magic couldn¡¯t reach. I conjured a spear of me near me and willed it forward. It flew through the air before impaling one of them in the back, then it expanded,unching offshoots into a few others surrounding him. Freya covered herself in mes and shot forward like a bullet, swords at the ready. She caught up almost instantly and cut down four more, leaving only one. He ran as fast as he could, and Freya was about to pounce.


    ¡®Hold on. Let him get away and lead us to his base. Rats like this always have a burrow where more hole up.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Pram and I caught up to Freya and Huginn and Muninn dove from the sky onto the corpses at our feet, plucking the eyes from them before scarfing them down like candy and moving onto the next one.


    ¡°Urp.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Look away, Pram. Freya, you keep chasing from a distance until he makes it there, I¡¯m going to clean this ce up.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fine. You know what I¡¯m about to say?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah. And you know Pram¡¯s safety is guaranteed with me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That I do.¡± (Freya)


    She looked at Pram tenderly before jetting off after the remaining bandit.


    ¡°This country¡­why is it that this is the only ce we¡¯ve ever run into bandits?¡± (Keeno)


    I shooed away my birds as I got to emptying the pockets of the bodies before piling them up to burn them. Pram was standing a bit away, doing her best to not watch as Huginn and Muninn devoured even more of the corpse¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Are those really that tasty? You two have been obsessed with eating eyes recently.¡± (Keeno)


    After they finished their little snack, I piled up thest of the bodies and set it alight. My birds hopped over and were about to jump into my tails when I red at them.


    ¡°Go clean yourselves.¡± (Keeno)


    They looked at each other before flying off.


    ¡°Keeno¡­are you really not going to stop them from continuing to do that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not like I¡¯d be able to stop them. They¡¯d just go out on their own and do it away from us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d prefer that to seeing and hearing them do that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll tell them not to do that in front of us anymore.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Pram)


    After burning the bodies until nothing remained, we watched for Freya. She didn¡¯t return until about two hourster.


    ¡°Found them in a cave. There weren¡¯t many there but were still more than I can handle on my own.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then its time for some bandit hunting. No one can target us like that and get away with it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And they will pay for going for Pram.¡± (Freya)


    {They will know the fear of targeting my future Apostle!}


    ¡°I¡¯d say stop and cool your heads a bit, but I¡¯ve known you all long enough now to know it¡¯s futile. Not that I¡¯m not angry myself.¡± (Pram)


    Freya then took the lead and led us to the bandit cave.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: No matter the world, bandits are stupid.


    Tamamo: True.


    Order: ¡­!


    !!!


    Luna: What happened?


    We have to go, something popped up. Watch Astraea for us.


    *The two leave in a hurry*


    Tamamo: I wonder what happened?


    Luna: No clue, but now¡¯s our chance, Tamamo. Let¡¯s get Astraea fully fluffified.


    Tamamo: I have all the brushes and oils for her tail.


    Luna: And I have the books on proper fluff care.


    Tamamo: Let¡¯s get to it then.

 Chapter 127- Finishing up with the Bandits

    Chapter 127- Finishing up with the Bandits


    [Keeno POV]


    An hourter we crouched down in some bushes a bit away from the cave. Several of the bandits were standing outside while yelling could be hearding from inside.


    ¡°Ya moron!!! They let you get away! Now we¡¯re all gonna be killed by those maniacs!¡±


    ¡°Then we kill then first!¡±


    ¡°And face the wrath of a dragon! Our best bet is to get out now and try our luck in a new area!¡±


    ¡°Imma stay and fight! They got my brother back there, and if that damn death dragon hasn¡¯t learned of some deaths now, then whose to say that story is even true!? Have you ever seen it!?¡±


    Even the bandits guarding the entrance all turned to the cave with shocked faces as if they never thought about that themselves.


    ¡®Hehehe.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®I mean, they are about to face a death fox-dragon, so, they should have run¡­not that it would have helped.¡± (Pram)


    ¡®Shall we start then?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Shall we announce ourselves, or no, for dramatic reasons.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Depends, what¡¯s on your mind?¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Well, even the lowliest of bandits need a death toll to announce their departure from the world of the living, and we have the greatest bell ringer in the world right here.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Pram¡¯s tail and ears twitched at thepliment.


    ¡®Normally I¡¯d say hold off, but I¡¯m still mad, so let¡¯s do it.¡¯ (Freya)


    Pram summoned her bell and rang it. The melodic sound rang out in the entire area, clearer and more beautiful than church bells. I felt my spirits rise and it felt like my body became lighter.


    ¡°You both forget I¡¯m quite angry myself. Show these bandits that the messed with the wrong people.¡± (Pram)


    We burst from the bushes and charged toward the cave. The bandits on the outside were crouching down, holding their ears as blood seeped from between their fingers. Summoning my own Soul Weapons, I spun around until I gained enough momentum and swung my des through the bandits,pletely incinerating them as soon as one of my des touched them.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um¡­that¡¯s¡­¡± (Freya)


    {Extremely hot.}


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not the time you two.¡± (Pram)


    Pram stood in front of the cave and rang her bell again and its tone echoed off the walls, increasing in volume as it went.


    ¡°Freya, my love, it¡¯s your turn.¡± (Pram)


    Freya looked at Pram with a slight blush before being surrounded by light and shooting into the cave.


    ¡°Been a while since I¡¯ve seen that face. I think thest time it was when Ashe picked me up in a princess carry when I broke my foot that one time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah¡­I never did get him back for that¡­I need to remember for when we visit home again.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Still holding that grudge, I see.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, I learned from the best when ites to that.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m not THAT vindictive, am I?¡± (Keeno)


    {You can be, not that it¡¯s a bad thing in my opinion.}


    ¡°What am I ever going to do with you two?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been asking myself that same question for a long time now.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hey Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°And what was your answer?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Not to think about it anymore and just enjoy their antics.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°*sigh*So just do what I¡¯ve been doing then.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Fia)


    In another sh of light, Freya returned.


    ¡°That¡¯s done, but I found something interesting.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What is it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Some kind of ruins. I kicked one of them through the wall and it gave way revealing some kind of old bricks that didn¡¯t match the cave.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You had me at ruins. We shall now explore and document everything!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Freya)


    {Adorable!}


    ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot Keeno really liked ruins.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    {Oh? It seems the fire horns aren¡¯t only there when she¡¯s angry.}


    Ignoring them, I walked right into the cave, though I didn¡¯t miss the tiny purple light near the entrance which I promptly burned.


    ¡°Come on, you two, let¡¯s explore!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She¡¯s like a child now¡­it¡¯s¡­cute.¡± (Freya)


    {Keeno is always cute, but yes, it¡¯s absolutely ADORABLE!!!!!!}


    I walked past the slot burning bandit corpses to the wall that Freya had smashed through. On the other side was indeed an old passage made of stone bricks. There were also sconces on the wall where torches would have been, though many were empty and the ones that weren¡¯t had wood so rotted they¡¯d fall apart at the slightest touch.


    ¡°Hmm¡­indeed¡­old.¡± (Keeno)


    {How very astute of you, Keeno.}


    ¡°Hey, stuff in this world has way more history than I can fathom, this could have been made anywhere from a hundred, to a few thousand years ago and I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference!¡± (Keeno)


    {Yet you sound so excited about that.}


    ¡°Of course I am! History is amazing! One of the best things ever is exploring ces people from a long time ago used to live in, trying to find traces of their lives and how they lived! Even better if you find things they made, or even better¡­er is if they have writings or art!¡± (Keeno)


    I was so excited that I started breathing heavily.


    {If you want to learn more, all you need to do is ask, you know.}


    ¡°¡­True¡­but also¡­I like the feeling of discovering it myself. There¡¯s a certain¡­satisfaction to it¡­however, I won¡¯t say no to you telling me stories¡­but let me ask about them.¡± (Keeno)


    {Understood.}


    I conjured a small floating ball of fire while I waited for Pram and Freya. The two joined me shortly after, Freya making way for Pram while making sure rocks didn¡¯t fall on her head as she passed through the hole.


    ¡°Why thank you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It my pleasure.¡± (Freya)


    They joined me in staring at the passageway as I deliberated on which way to go.


    ¡°Left¡­or right¡­hmmmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    I made two tiny fireballs that I was sure wouldn¡¯t explode or burn anything and shot them dow the passageways. The lights on both sides went for a ways before the left side hit a pile of crumbled brick.


    ¡°¡­Ok, so save left for when we finish the rest of it.¡± (Keeno)


    I twisted right and immediately started to walk.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    The others silently followed me as we traversed my first real ruins in this world.


    Chaos Realm:


    *In a separateyer of the Sea of Chaos*


    ¡­


    Order: Payto¡­


    Don¡¯t say anything, Order. Take that little one back home, I have some work to do.


    *Order takes a very injured being in her arms and vanishes*


    *Snap*


    Insignificant mongrel: Wha¡­GOD OF CHAOS!?


    Shut your mouth.


    Insignificant mongrel: Mmmmmmm!!!!


    You havemitted a taboo, banishing a god to the Sea of Chaos as well as doing so with the support of the world you manage, causing a disturbance that can have catastrophic consequences. For that, you and the world you manage must be eradicated in order to preserve all existence. In my Authority as God of Destruction, I condemn you, god of light and your world. In my benevolence, I shall hear yourst words, make your peace.


    Insignificant mongrel: If it is a taboo for banishing a being of evil, then I dly ept. And to think, the God of Chaos is also a source of evil. If you¡¯re Destroying me and MY world because I am right, then you are not worth even the dirt on my boot.


    So, yet another arrogant mongrel who doesn¡¯t understand anything of bnce or the importance of alignment on the grand scale. Words are no longer needed, be erased from all Fate, Creation, and Existence.


    *snap*


    *the world and its sole god vanish as if they never existed in the first ce*


    Ray, take whatever minuscule remains there are that you want. Feed the rest to Mofu.


    *Payto vanishes*

 Chapter 128- Exploring the Ruins

    Chapter 128- Exploring the Ruins


    [Keeno POV]


    Walking through the ruins made me feel giddy. Though it was probably weird to Pram and Freya seeing me nearly skip around and stop at every crook and crevice to see if there was anything interesting that would let me know what this ce was. So far there was nothing that would help me with that specific discovery. We did pass by a few rooms built into the side of the hallway, but all they had inside were old, rotten beds that smelled of mold and rotten wood. Some rooms had desks, but they were either empty, or full of nothing but empty inkwells, feather quills that disintegrated when I touched them, and spiders.


    ¡°How are you holding up, Pram?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Surprisingly, I feel fine. I know dark, creepy ces like this would normally make me uneasy, but for some reason I feel like¡­I¡¯m home?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s funny, I was getting that same kind of feeling, though a bit different as well¡­It¡¯s hard to exin in words¡­it¡¯s like I¡¯m visiting Ama, but also not?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm¡­Ah!}


    ¡°Don¡¯t spoil it, Ama. Let me figure it out myself.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehe. Alright.}


    After a few more minutes, we came to a fork in the passage. I once again sent some small lights down each one. On the right was just another long hallway simr to the one we were in now while the left ended in big double stone doors.


    ¡°¡­Big doors first.¡± (Keeno)


    I immediately went for the big doors and, once reaching them, tried to push them open¡­They didn¡¯t move an inch.


    ¡°Mind helping?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just melt the rock. You¡¯ve done it before?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Absolutely not! I refuse to desecrate history in such barbaric manner!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sorry for even suggesting it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry I blew up like that.¡± (Keeno)


    We lined up by the door and started to push. It moved, but just barely.


    ¡°Hmm. Oh, hey Freya, concentrate on your feet and make a controlled me. Both of us doing that should hopefully provide enough thrust for us to push it all the way open. Pram, can you use your bell to buff us too?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can try, but I need an example.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I can.¡± (Pram)


    Pram summoned her bell while I showed Freya an example of the magic. It seemed she got an epiphany after seeing it as well, which was a good thing. Pram stood back and rang her bell while Freya and I ced our hands on the door and pushed. We then used our magic and the door slowly opened with the sound of stone sliding on stone. We kicked up and burnt some dust in the room which caused us to wrinkle our noses, but other than that, the heavy stone door was finally out of the way. I made my floating ball of fire fly into the center of the room and expand a bit to light up more of the area.


    The room was built as arge circle with the ceiling being a heavily cracked dome. On said dome ceiling were faded, extremely chipped paintings that were nearly unrecognizable with what they depicted, and being tinted blue by my mes didn¡¯t help make out things either. Along the walls were carved pictures that I could tell were also painted at one point but said paint had long since decayed. And the biggest things I noticed were two statues. One was of a woman who projected a mature,posed feeling. The other statue depicted someone I was <em>intimately</em> acquainted with.


    ¡°AMA!¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehehe.}


    ¡°Hmm. So that¡¯s what she looks like.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I expected taller.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°The statue is a bit short. Ama is as tall as I am. She¡¯s also much prettier, and fluffier, and more beautiful, and warmer¡­my statue now.¡± (Keeno)


    I touched the statue and it disappeared into my ring.


    {Why take it when you have the real one?}


    ¡°Cause I can¡¯t see you every day. And watching these two flirt and kiss when they think I don¡¯t see it can get annoying.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {So, you¡¯re going to kiss a statue of me?}


    ¡°No. I¡¯m just going to stare at it. My lips are reserved for you alone, not even a statue of you gets the privilege.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, that was a good one Keeno. She¡¯s as red as you used to get when we tried to embarrass you and seeded.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°*ahem*That aside, was this a temple or something?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯d say so. I haven¡¯t been to many ¡®official¡¯ temples, just the small shrine Fia made at home so she coulde and go to see Ama when needed.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s a very old temple that was dedicated to Rasu and Hresvelgr, the Goddess of Creation, that¡¯s all I¡¯ll tell you unless you ask for more.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°If I¡¯mpletely honest, I would have thought people would say Amaterasu is also goddess of creation, seeing as Life is also her Authority. At least a long time ago.¡± (Freya)


    {For a good while, people DID think that. Then Hresvelgr came around. She often secludes herself in her own home nowadays, but she used to be very sociable.}


    ¡°What happened?¡± (Pram)


    {Phobos was his usual idiot self.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Just hearing that guy¡¯s name made my mood dip.


    ¡°What did <em>he </em>do?¡± (Keeno)


    {He was super dense and blew her off when she asked him out.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ama, go beat that idiot up! You don¡¯t just do that to someone!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, believe me, she did that, along with Fu, Moco, and several other gods who were close to Hresvelgr. After that, he figured out what he did and actually tried to make up for it, but she didn¡¯t respond to any form ofmunication.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmph.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ya know what, I¡¯m gonna reach out to her and extend an invite. Maybe she¡¯s finally over it and will emerge from her seclusion. I¡¯ll invite Fu and Moco too and we can make it a party.}


    ¡°Sounds like fun. And we can see Red and Ortilinde too.¡± (Fia)


    {I¡¯ll go do that then. Fia, watch over them for me while I¡¯m away.}


    ¡°Was already nning on it.¡± (Fia)


    With Ama¡¯s departure, I went back to studying the room we were in. I walked closer to the wall to get a better look at the carved pictures.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: *appears back at The Home carrying the still injured goddess*


    Luna: !!! Tamamo, make room. Astraea, move over.


    Tamamo: Lay her down here.


    Astraea: ¡­


    Order: *Lays the injured goddess down while Luna moves next to them*Heal here, here, and here first. She¡¯s suffered injuries that need more focus than just a nket heal.


    Luna: Alright.*begins healing the specified ces*


    Order: Astraea,e here. We need your help too.


    Astraea: *brightens up and rushes over*


    Tamamo: Anything I need to do?


    Order: Go get a lot of water.


    Tamamo: On it.


    Order: Luna, that¡¯s fine for now. I¡¯m going to summon Amaterasu here to help out. With the two of you healing her, things will get better than with just you healing. Astraea, put your hands here and focus on your Bnce Authority.


    Tamamo: I¡¯m back.


    Order: Alright, Luna help me lift her into the water. Astraea, keep doing what you¡¯re doing.


    Astraea: Ok, mama.


    Amaterasu: Don¡¯t just abruptly-what¡¯s the situation?


    Order: I¡¯ll let Payto exin when he gets back. For now, help Luna with healing her. Luna, focus here, Amaterasu, focus here.


    Luna and Amaterasu: Alright.


    *The healing process continues for quite a while until the young goddess is healed, though she still sleeps*


    Order: *holding the sleeping Astraea*Now we wait for her to wake up.


    Amaterasu: What happened to get such a young goddess like this so injured?


    A dispute with an arrogant mongrel too full of himself to let another god be born into his world.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Amaterasu: I¡¯d say let me gut this mongrel myself, but that¡¯d break the rules and I assume you already took care of it?


    Yes. This little one here is a drifter with no world to call her own¡­Order.


    Order: I was thinking the same thing.


    Good to know we¡¯re on the same page.


    Order: It¡¯s only natural we are.


    True.


    Amaterasu: Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly is she? I see traits of both an Alrune and a harpy.


    Don¡¯t know her name yet, but her Authorities are Nature, Feathered Beings, and Evil.


    Amaterasu: Hmm. Different worlds have different needs, I guess.


    Tamamo: Yeah. Though we also have a pair of Good and Evil goddesses.


    Luna: Oh, those two lovebirds? I heard they finally admitted they couldn¡¯t live without the other.


    Tamamo: Ufufufufu. And I thought I was the sociable one.


    Luna: Atmos told me. She¡¯s been off trying to y matchmaker and she pulled Grey into it. It¡¯s why she¡¯s been away so long.


    Tamamo: I knew there was a distinctck of pranks and cake for a while now.


    ???: Noisy¡­

 Chapter 129- Creation Myth: As Interpreted by Keeno

    Chapter 129- Creation Myth: As Interpreted by Keeno


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°In the beginning, there was nothing but rock and dust. Then, a sun of the most vibrant orange exploded into being. It warmed the rock and dust until it cracked, and the water flowed from the cracks like blood. This water allowed greenery and Life to cover thend while the source became the seas. As time went on, sentient beings grew from the Life on thend, and this Life learned of the secret of Magic.


    Learning this secret art led the sentient beings to prosperity as they propagated infinitely. They created many things that would allow them to prosper further. Their glory was wondrous and the being that resided in the Sun and watched all her children born of her Life smiled down on them as they grew and grew. She loved how they used the Magic she blessed them with in the myriad ways they did to achieve their dreams.


    But all good things are doomed to end, as they grew arrogant and power hungry. They developed ways of taking the Life they were blessed with away with the Magic that was there to nurture their civilization. This culminated into a devious n to take the Sun of their beloved Goddess with the very same Magic she gave them. They created a spell and used it on the Sun, dying half of it blue and angering the being that blessed their world. She took their Magic, stopping the spell while it was iplete, and splitting the Sun into two.


    From the split came horrors so outrageous they could cause madness with even the slightest nce. The people, as the original sentient beings called themselves, faced these horrors with all of their might, but they suffered heavy losses. Thends they lived on were split and drifted apart. The horrors consumed and propagated at a rate faster than the people could manage and would soon eradicate them all. Seeing this, the Goddess the people betrayed so cruelly felt a great sadness. For all the pain their betrayal caused her, she still loved them, for she had given so much to grant them Life. So, she decided that she would step in to stop the horrors from destroying all she, and her children had made. Using her endless powers, she sealed off the Suns, allowing both orange and blue to coexist, and stopping the ever-increasing horde of horrors from falling from the sky. She then bestowed Magic back to the people and their strength returned, allowing them to finallybat the horrors that, to this point, they could only ever hide from and pray to survive.


    After many, many years of fighting, the people prevailed in defeating the horrors. This victory, however, hade at a great cost. The number of people had diminished to a shadow of its former glory, their civilization was razed to the ground, and the poison of the horrors lingered, even with its source eradicated. Seeing this, the Goddess that they loved wept. From her tears came zones of Life that purified the horror¡¯s poison and allowed the people to have a glimpse of their former glory and what they could be once again. As the people wept along with their Goddess, she ascended once more into the orange Sun, wishing them all to live and regain their former glory so that all could be happy once more. Yearster, beings of simr power to the people¡¯s beloved Goddess appeared, and through the things these beings preached, civilization began to take a new form. Still far from the glory of their past, but with the hope that they would reach the same, if not greater heights than their predecessors¡­And that¡¯s what these pictures mean.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I give it a 6/10.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I was that off?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You took a lot of liberties with it. Youpletely ignored the parts that mentioned Hresvelgr, you glorified Rasu too much, you misinterpreted the severity of just how horrible the Fiends were, and you gave too much credit to the mortals.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I was working with what I have! Stuff like this isn¡¯t exact unless you have someone like you who actually lived to to critique! In myst life, this was about as good as a creation myth got and people took it as gospel.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And I¡¯m not arguing that. You did a very good job, but you are also heavily biased towards Rasu and its painting your interpretation in that way. If you were to transcribe this and submit it to an academy, you¡¯d probably be given a hefty sum, seeing as the most people left from this time period are Apostles, and we try not to influence the way history is written with our bias, because honestly, that time period was too terrible to remember. Just look at Falheim, its previous ruler was one of the few mortals from back then, and you clearly know how that turned out.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course, only Rasu could tell you how much of the beginning was true. I was born in the time Fiends were running rampant, so I only have the vaguest notion of what the world was like before that.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Fia, this is a temple to Ama, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Why?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Get down here so I can hug you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°If what you said is true,bined with what I¡¯ve been able to put together from this, you deserve a hug.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I agree. Plus, I think it¡¯s been a bit too long before we¡¯ve spoken face to face. Speaking this way is fine and all, but Fia, it makes you feel distant.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Plus, I¡¯d like to meet you in person. I only have what you sound like and the descriptions from Pram and Keeno to go by, but I¡¯d like to put the actual face to the name and voice.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Fine, but Keeno has to put the statue back for a bit. With it gone, this temple turned into one solely dedicated to Hresvelgr.¡± (Fia)


    I ced the statue back where it was at first and around a minuteter, Fia walked through a shiny door that appeared out of nowhere. I immediately jumped toward her and pulled her into a hug while patting her head.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    Pram walked over and joined in.


    ¡°Fia deserves all the hugs.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Um¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No words, Freya, just join in like we all know you want to.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    She looked a little reluctant, but eventually she relented and also started to hug Fia, or more like Pram while sort of hugging Fia. We stayed like that for a while before releasing the phoenix.


    ¡°So, want to hang around for a bit? Eat some lunch with us and chat? Let us know what¡¯s been up with you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why not? I¡¯m here after all.¡± (Fia)


    I smiled as I walked over to my light source and pulled out some seats for us before setting up some stuff to cook.


    Chaos Realm:


    ???: Where am I? What happened to that shiny jerk? Who¡­eh!?


    How about we get your name before we answer your questions?


    ???: My name is Nykuro, mister god of chaos.


    You don¡¯t need to be formal.


    Order: And you don¡¯t need to put up that strong front, just let your feelings out.


    Nykuro: Front? I- I¡¯m not putting up a front! Hmph!


    Hehe. And to answer your questions, you¡¯re in our home, the shiny jerk has been deleted from existence along with the world that cast you out.


    Nykuro: ¡­Eh!?¡­Then¡­how am I alive?


    Order: You were cast out, so you were no longer a part of that world¡­I¡¯m very sorry you were treated that way.


    It makes me angry all over again. You aren¡¯t even that much older than our own daughter and yet you were subjected to such disgusting treatment.


    Nykuro: ¡­Then what do I do? Am I going to disappear?


    Order: No. Due to Payto¡¯s kindness, you have two options. One is to go to a new world of your choosing and be a part of it.


    Nykuro: And the second?


    Let us adopt you.


    Nykuro: ¡­¡­EH!?


    Luna: *does a spit take*


    Nykuro: HOW IS RHAT EVEBEBTHSISICHCURMSIW!!!!!!!!???????


    Order: Hehehe. Calm down, your words are turning to gibberish.


    Nykuro: How is that even an option!?


    We have one child, but she wants a sibling. Since gods can only have one child biologically, this is all we can do.


    Nykuro: But why me!? You don¡¯t even know me!


    I do though. I know literally everything about you, your possible futures, and any and every decision you will make and their consequences.


    Nykuro: Then do I even have a real choice!?


    Yes. The second you ept this offer; I can¡¯t see anything else. I¡¯m a Fate-Weaver, but I don¡¯t dictate the fate of my family.


    Nykuro: ¡­Then, if I decline, will I even find a home?


    Yes¡­


    Nykuro: But?


    Depends on the decisions after that, you will find a home EVENTUALLY.


    Order: You¡¯re being a bit heavy handed here, Payto.


    I¡¯m just answering her question. This is a very major decision, I won¡¯t lie. If my answers just so happen to push her more toward an oue we¡¯ll like more, then that¡¯s on her, not me.


    Order: *sigh*


    Nykuro: Ummmmmm¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Astraea:??? Sister?


    Nykuro: ¡­. Who is this adorable creature?


    Astraea, our daughter.


    Nykuro: Will I get to y with and cuddle her as much as I want?


    Order: When she¡¯s not with her Fated One.


    Nykuro: Soooo, is there any ceremony I have to perform to be adopted by the two of you?


    Nope, we just need to im you as our daughter.


    Nykuro: Then what are you waiting for!? I demand to be made this small, adorable girl¡¯s big sister!


    Hehehe.


    Order: Pffft.


    Nykuro: I mean¡­Hmph! I guess I can be this small, adorable girl¡¯s big sister since you¡¯re so insistent about it.


    Very well.


    Order: Wee to the family, Nykuro.

 Chapter 130- Realization

    Chapter 130- Realization


    [Ena POV, a short time before Keeno and co find the ruins]


    ¡°Oh? Finally, someone proactive in cleaning up those pests. Good thing I like you, or I¡¯d actually have to go and fight you for killing them. Though since I like you, I¡¯ll clean up that small mess you made on the road. Can¡¯t have those annoying pdins tracking you down.¡±


    I ordered several of my undead eyes tond on the unburnt bodies and soon they went up in purple mes.


    ¡°Tch. Just barely enough to cover their tracks. I wish she would stop burning all of these. It takes a while to get them there and it¡¯s annoying making more, though I guess I do get why she does it. I mean, I don¡¯t like being watched either. Meh, I¡¯ll just apologize when we meet ande up with an excuse then¡­hmm?¡±


    I watched as they started walking toward a cave, miss Keeno seemingly getting very excited when something happened with her. Atop her head blue mes in the shape of a crown of horns appeared, reminiscent of someone any dragon would recognize.


    ¡°¡­Oh¡­oh dear¡­¡±


    I immediately made a stronger undead capable of flight and extreme long-distance surveince and sent it toward that forsaken country.


    ¡°If she is part of <em>her </em>bloodline, then I need to reconsider many things¡­damn, and I¡¯m already on her bad side¡­¡±


    My connection to thest of my eyes observing her at the moment was abruptly cut, letting me know she burnt it away again.


    ¡°I need to make contact with her.¡±


    I looked around my workspace and practically ran over to a pile of assorted bones. I started to pick them up and sorted them in a shape while channeling mana into them. Once I was done, the bones were in the shape of a somewhatrge bird. I then added a human hand to the inside of the rib cage before putting one of my magic pens and several pieces of paper inside. After that I raised it and nearly threw it out the window. Only then did I allow myself to breathe.


    ¡°Please make it before they get too far away from that area.¡±


    I sat down in my chair, trying my best to calm down.


    ¡°You are much more than you seem, Miss Keeno.¡±


    As I sat there thinking about the little fox, I remembered something.


    ¡°Oh¡­OH¡­OH!!! I-I don¡¯t know if I shouldugh or cry.¡±


    Thinking about the shape of those horns on her head, the fact that her mes are blue, and is a kitsune with multiple tails, I remembered the old mongrel¡¯s nightmare.


    ¡°He¡¯s having prophetic nightmares about her¡­those nightmares are calling for his death¡­the Death Spirits are bing more active and have gotten even more excited when she enters the country¡­!!!¡±


    I then remembered the thing the spirits told me.


    ¡°There is no goddess¡­of¡­¡­Death¡­¡­¡­¡±


    If I wasn¡¯t already sitting down, I¡¯d have fallen to my knees. The realization of this fact and the enormity of just what was happening hit me all at once.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to be or already is the Goddess of Death.¡±


    I could hardly process this and couldn¡¯t voice my thoughts anymore. All my thinking stopped and the only thing in the room that could be heard was the sound of silence.


    ¡°Pffft. Hehe. HehehehehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahHaHAaHhaAhhaaahaAhHAHahahHa! Forget about offering a contract! I want, no NEED to serve her! She¡¯s the one I¡¯ve been waiting for my entire life! One who will allow me to reach the peak of necromancy¡­of Death Magic! Then, I can finally¡­¡±


    I felt something warm run down my cheek. As I moved my hand to my face, I felt a wet sensation before realizing I was crying.


    ¡°Hehehe. To think I was still capable of crying¡­I thought all my tears dried up a long time ago¡­¡±


    I shakily stood from my chair and walked over to the door.


    ¡°I need tomune with the spirits¡­though I still haven¡¯t figured out what the old man is up to, I can at least make amends for some of my transgressions with them¡­and hopefully, she doesn¡¯t burn my messenger on sight.¡±


    As I walked to my small room closer to the Dead Zone, I raised several more small undead.


    ¡°Go, explore every nook and cranny of this city. Find what the old man is hiding from me.¡±


    Once I made it to my destination, I found some of the Death Spirits doing their usual business. I fell to my knees in front of them.


    ¡°Oh Spirits of Death. I ask for forgiveness for my foolish actions and thoughts in regard to the Goddess you serve. I may be a prideful dragon, but even I know my ce in front of Divinity. I ask that you pardon me as I attempt to make up for my transgressions and ask that you give me time to find what the foolish mongrel is doing so that appropriate punishment can be meted out.¡±


    The spirits stopped moving as they all looked down at me. Soon, a skull lifted into the air and a spirit started to speak through it.


    ¡°Dragon¡­of death¡­¡­your reflection is genuine¡­we¡­¡­¡­.approve¡­though our Goddess¡­hold final sway¡­¡­continue your¡­search¡­¡­¡­we will continue¡­to allow your¡­acts of defilement¡­¡­once¡­our Goddess¡­¡­arrives¡­we shall¡­lead her to you¡­for judgment¡­¡±


    ¡°I will, though if I may ask, why not assist me in my search?¡±


    ¡°We Spirits¡­should never¡­¡­interfere with¡­mortal affairs¡­though the fool¡­¡­transgresses¡­¡­Life¡­stays our hands¡­Lady¡­¡­Amaterasu¡­asks us¡­to¡­¡­allow her Fated One¡­to pass judgment¡­now go¡­do not seek¡­¡­¡­our counsel again¡­until judgment is passed.¡±


    I was then practically thrown out of the room by an otherworldly force. After recovering from the shock of that, I slowly trudged my way back as I mulled over the new information.


    ¡°Things are just getting more and moreplicated. Though I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s taken this long, the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Death are Fated Ones and they are finally preparing to pass judgment on Odeen¡­what¡¯s going on? Why not do this long ago? *sigh*Calm down and think, Ena¡­or wait for answers toe to you¡­if things go well, I¡¯ll get some answers soon¡­I just need to make sure not to offend her even more.¡±


    When I finally made it back to my room, I fell face first onto my bed.


    ¡°I need a drink.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    Nykuro: *holding a sleeping Astraea*So¡­anyone want to tell me what I just watched?


    Luna: *gives a rundown on what has happened before Nykuro arrived*


    Nykuro: ¡­So we¡¯re basically spying on people? How deliciously evil, I approb!


    Luna: Fufufufu.


    Atmos: I HAVE AREIV¡ª¡ª


    Luna: Shut it, Atmos. Astraea is asleep.


    Atmos: Mmhhmmm.


    Nykuro: ¡­What is this feeling of jealousy?


    Atmos: Luna¡¯s tails have that effect¡­also who are you?


    Nykuro: I am the great Nykuro! Goddess of Evil, Nature, and Feathered Beings! And adopted daughter of the God of Chaos and Goddess of Order!


    Atmos: *summons and drinks a ss of water before performing a spit take*


    Nykuro: Gross.


    Atmos: Luna¡­


    Luna: *sigh*When did I be the expositioner?

 Chapter 131- Back on the Road

    Chapter 131- Back on the Road


    [Keeno POV]


    After lunch, we spent the rest of the day looking around the temple ruins along with Fia. Sadly, we didn¡¯t find any ancient, forgotten artifacts or some secret document extoling the greatest of magics, though we did find an old priestess robe that, through the hands of a master tailor, could either be restored or a new one made. Said robe would also look good on Pram, as, in Freya¡¯s words, would entuate her saintly aura.


    That night, we stayed in the ruins and left early the next morning. Fia decided to go back and wait for Ama to get back because she had been gone longer than expected. This made me slightly worried, but circumstances being what they were, I couldn¡¯t do anything about it, which frustrated me to no end.


    ¡°Keeno, I get that I was careless with my words, but Rasu is fine, she can take care of herself, and she¡¯ll exin what happened when she gets back.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmph.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You know it¡¯s no use, Fia.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I know, but still. She¡¯s worrying where there is no need to.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°In her defense, I¡¯d worry about Pram if I was in the same situation.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Aww. You¡¯re sweet. I love you too, Freya.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Freya)


    The rest of that day and most of the next one my head was unpleasantly empty of Ama¡¯s voice. We had stopped for lunch a bit away from the road on top of a hill with a big tree. It was Freya¡¯s turn to cook, so I was sitting with my back to the tree, looking out over the path we came from as well as the one we would continue to take for the foreseeable future.


    ¡°¡­I think I have some dependency issues.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re only now realizing that?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I always knew I did, but I never had to think about it until now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a downside of having your Fated Ones always in your head.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Probably, not that I really mind it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve always been curious, but what¡¯s it like?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What specifically?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Having the person you love the most always in your head.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°While nothing beats being near them physically, when you are in circumstances like ours, it¡¯s like the sweetest, most addicting drug you can imagine, multiplied infinitely.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­If it¡¯s like that, how have you not gonepletely insane yet?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Fia, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve been sane ever since I was born in this world. I was born in Falheim and forced myself to act in a way that wouldn¡¯t get me into any unnecessary trouble, then from five and on, I¡¯ve had my Fated One in my head. I¡¯m also on a journey to throw the mortal world into what is essentially their apocalypse, at least for the current civilization. If any of that is what a sane person is, then I¡¯m the sanest person in the world and then some.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehe. True, not that I, or anyone else close to you, are any better. We¡¯re all crazy. Honestly, I think that¡¯s one of the prerequisites for bing an Apostle.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I agree with that.¡± (Keeno)


    The crackling of the fire along with the sound of sizzling meat and the gentle breeze started to make me drowsy.


    ¡°*Yawn*I think I¡¯m gonna take a nap.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Rest well.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Mmm.¡± (Keeno)


    Helped along by the ambiance, I quickly fell asleep.


    [Pram POV]


    Looking over at Keeno, I saw she was asleep. I chuckled lightly at how defenseless she looked, especially when Huginn and Muninn hopped out of her tails and nestled themselves under her hands before also seemingly falling asleep.


    ¡°Pram, watch your tail.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Pram)


    Looking down, I saw my tail was almostying in the fire.


    ¡°Ah. Thank you, Freya.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No problem¡­my love.¡± (Freya)


    Freya muttered thest bit before looking down, her cheeks flushed and her ear twitching.


    ¡°Hehe. You know you don¡¯t have to force yourself to say things like that, right?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I know, you tell me that every time I do it¡­but I still like giving the affirmation.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    Moving my tail, I wrapped it around Freya¡¯s waist and pulled her closer.


    ¡°And I love that part of you too.¡± (Pram)


    I leaned over and kissed her cheek and was about to kiss her lips when I heard a sound that wasn¡¯t naturaling from above us.


    ¡°Grr.¡± (Pram)


    I pulled my cudgel out of my storage as a strange, skeletal bird about the same size as Huginn and Muninnnded in front of us.


    ¡°Pest getting in my way.¡± (Pram)


    I was about to smash the undead annoyance when its rib cage opened up and a strange magic tool and several pieces of paper fell out and a skeletal human hand picked up the tool. It then started writing something on the top piece of paper. While it did that, Freya and I turned to look at each other before looking back at the undead. After a few minutes it finished writing. I picked up the paper before it was blown away and read it.


    ¡®My name is Ena, this is a messenger I sent once I came to several major realizations and sought to contact you as fast as possible. Though I would have preferred toe in person, it would rouse suspicions with the wrong people if I did so due to my status. I would like to speak with Miss Keeno with haste. There is no need to write responses as I am controlling this messenger through necromancy, so I can see and hear you, but not speak through verbal words.¡¯


    Freya and I shared another look before Freya stood up to go and wake Keeno.


    ¡°Before you speak with her, know that calling her Keeno right off the bat will be a bad idea. So, until you are given permission by her, refer to her as Okami.¡± (Pram)


    The skeletal bird nodded its head in a shaky manner. A few secondster, Freya and a grumpy Keeno sat next to me.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the ones that¡¯s been watching us?¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: And that¡¯s everything you¡¯ve missed since you werest here.


    Atmos: Wow¡­I missed a lot.


    Luna: You did.


    Nykuro: Ooo! The fuzzydy is about to smack that bone bird! Teach that featherless fake a lesson!


    Atmos: I like this one. She¡¯s fun.


    Luna: I agree. Can¡¯t wait to start teasing her too.


    Atmos: Thise reactions are going to be glorious, and I¡¯m here for it.


    Luna: Fufufufufufufu.


    Atmos: Hehehehehehehehe.


    Nykuro: ¡­???

 Chapter 132- Negotiations?

    Chapter 132- Negotiations?


    [Keeno POV]


    I was literally shaken awake by Freya just when I felt I actually started sleeping.


    ¡°What?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I get you aren¡¯t in the best of moods, but that¡¯s no reason to talk to me that way. We have a situation that needs your attention.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sorry, Freya, I¡¯m never good when I just wake up. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I get it.¡± (Freya)


    After shaking the slight lingering feeling of sleep from my mind I noticed Freya was also quite annoyed.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have been asleep that long. Is this situation that dire that you¡¯re this annoyed by it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I am annoyed, but more about what was happening before the situation started and getting interrupted.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ah.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up and walked over to where Pram and a strange undead bird were sitting. Huginn and Muninn who had at some point left my tails pped up to my shoulders and perched on them. As I sat down next to Pram and looked at the bird, I saw the pale purple mes in its eyes.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one that¡¯s been watching us?¡± (Keeno)


    The bird nodded before a skeletal human hand started to write on some paper that wasying on the ground in front of the bird.


    ¡®It¡¯s nice to meet you, Miss Okami. My name is Ena. Before anything else is said, I would like to apologize for my rash decision in regards to watching you, both now and in the past. I was ignorant of just <em>who</em> and <em>what </em>you are. I understand that this may see insincere as it¡¯s through writing, but its the best method I have tomunicate with you outside of meeting in person, which is dangerous for you.¡¯ (Ena)


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll ept your apology so we can move this along, but <em>how </em>did you learn about who and what I am? As far as I¡¯m aware, information about me shouldn¡¯t have spread yet. Both due to Vanir¡¯s own internal strife and Falheim¡¯s¡­Falheim¡­ness.¡± (Keeno)


    The bird sat there for a moment, seemingly shivering, before the hand started moving again. It seemed like it would be a long letter, and the several blotches of ink that started spreading as the hand shook and uneven ground didn¡¯t help with legibility.


    ¡°*Sigh*Hang on, let me try something.¡± (Keeno)


    I reached out toward the bird with some of my mana and tried to wrest partial control over it from our tentative guest. At first there was some resistance and then my mana started to consume Ena¡¯s. I lessened the flow to allow Ena to meet me halfway. After a few minutes we reached an equilibrium and the light in one of the bird¡¯s eyes turned blue like my mes.


    ¡°Try talking.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What precise control¡­wait, can you hear me?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That was the point of doing that. By sharing control of this undead, we canmunicate through our mana. I just need to keep in mind to NOT kick you out or overload the medium.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How did you learn how to do this?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°A book. Now, like I said earlier, I¡¯m willing to talk, and by extension forgive your voyeurism as long as you give me a good reason. And, before even that, who are you exactly, Ena?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­As I said, my name is Ena. I am a part of the great Dragon race and as clearly shown by the messenger and my eyes, I focus on Death magic.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°So, you¡¯re that oh so famous Death Dragon that this country¡¯s ruler keeps as a pet? How shameful to be reduced to such a state for one of our people.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I am <strong>NOT </strong>that old mongrel¡¯s pet! I offered him a contract in my younger, more impulsive days that has, as loathe as I am to admit it, been very beneficial to me. The whole reason I am reaching out to you is because I want out of this contract, and you are the only one in this world that is worthy of me serving!¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Then why not just do it? Kill the old mongrel ande and meet me in person.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­I would have when I found out about you, but the Death Spirits told me that you alone, by order of the Goddess Amaterasu, are allowed to judge the king for his transgressions. If I tried, the spirits would probably kill me, and I have things I need to do, so I can¡¯t die yet¡­¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hmm¡­Fine¡­I¡¯ll reserve further provocation for when we meet in person. Now, I can clearly tell you have questions that you want to ask, but I reserve the right to not answer.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*It¡¯s been so long, I¡¯ve forgotten why some of us separate from dragon society. Anyway, I do indeed have some questions. First and foremost, who is your dragon ancestor?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Ah, then, let me reintroduce myself. I am Keeno Fafnir Okami, daughter of Fafnir, Fated One of Amaterasu, and Goddess of the Blue Sun and Death. Until I say say otherwise, you are only to refer to me as Okami.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, it is Fafnir¡­but that would mean you¡¯re from Falheim¡­and as far as I¡¯m aware, at least until my eye gets there and I can observe, that no one has gotten in or out of there in years.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Special circumstances for that, but I was born there, as much as I hate to say that. After getting out I lived in Solheim, which is my home. As for being Fafnir¡¯s daughter, after bringing her back, she adopted me as hers, making me her only living blood family.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You raised her!?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°No, I resurrected her. She¡¯s alive, not some skeleton or zombie with her soul.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Please¡­please let me serve you! I will give you my life¡­no, my soul! Anything and everything I am, all my knowledge, connections, and experiences! Just knowing resurrection is possible¡­¡± (Ena)


    The connection from her end began to waver and I could feel a myriad of intense emotions from her side ranging from relief, sadness, joy, some brief anger, but mostly longing.


    ¡°Family or Fated One?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Family¡­sister¡­mix of my own idiocy and bad decisions on her part¡­my biggest regret¡­¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hmm¡­I¡¯ll keep this undead on me, next time we need to talk, we can connect to it the same way. Get your bearings. I may not fully trust you, but from the emotions I felt from you just now, I can at least tell you are genuine when ites to attempting to make amends. As for serving me, show me you are worthy of myplete trust first, then we can talk about that. And also, just because resurrection is possible, it needs a lot of things to align perfectly. If just one is missing, it won¡¯t work.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mm¡­I¡¯ll keep that in mind. I¡¯ve spent this long with this regret, if resurrecting her fails, I can at least say I tried and send her off properly¡­but I will still hold onto the faint hope it¡¯s possible until the end¡­and thank you for even considering this in the first ce. All pride aside¡­thank you for igniting this ember of hope.¡± (Ena)


    She then fell quiet and her side of the connection, though still present, went dormant. Ipletely pulled my mana from the undead and both its eyes returned to purple.


    ¡°You know we only heard one half of that conversation, right?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the rundown.¡± (Keeno)


    For the next while I gave Ena¡¯s half of the conversation some thought as I exined it to the others. After that we discussed if she was truly trustworthy and just how far we should be willing to follow what information, however little it was, she gave us.


    Chaos Realm:


    Amaterasu: Thank you again for the room. I didn¡¯t realize healing a goddess from a different world from my own would have such a mental strain. I¡¯m honestly surprised Luna didn¡¯t also pass out after a while.


    Different worlds, different rules. You may both be of equal strength, but she has a lot of items and other things that support her that your own world doesn¡¯t have due to their nature or other things you don¡¯t really need to know about. But you did make a fast recovery. If it wasn¡¯t for me and Order stepping in, you¡¯d still be out cold for a while yet.


    Order: And it¡¯s the least we could do since you were forcefully summoned here by us. Now, go back and put Keeno¡¯s mind at ease.


    Amaterasu: You don¡¯t need to tell me twice.


    *A portal opens next to Payto and Order*


    Alex: Ah. Good timing. Here is that gift Miss Fiamettamissioned from me. *Hands over a neatly folded bundle in a light box made of iprehensibly smooth material*


    Amaterasu: Thank you. Keeno is going to love it.


    Alex: I wish her the best. Payto, I¡¯ve also delivered that othermission. If I don¡¯t see them any time soon, let me know what they thought about it.


    Got it.


    Amaterasu: Is this another thing I¡¯m not supposed to know about?


    Nah. I won¡¯t say it outright, but you really should take Keeno out dancing on your next date. Isn¡¯t there something going on around the next Sr Convergence just perfect for that?


    Amaterasu: AH! That¡¯s perfect! I mean, she knows how to dance, but never has the chance to, so I might as well¡­Anyway, thank you again.


    Alex: It was no issue. If you ever need anything made, feel free to ask me¡­as long as Payto allows it.


    Just don¡¯t do something to alter the very fabric of existence or makeyers leak into others, and I can turn a blind eye every so often¡­but don¡¯t make it a habit.


    Alex: Heard loud and clear, boss.


    Amaterasu: I¡¯ll stick to things from my own world unless it¡¯s absolutely necessary, like in this case.


    Good. Now, off you go, Amaterasu.


    Amaterasu: See you all againter.

 Chapter 133- The Return of Amaterasu

    Chapter 133- The Return of Amaterasu


    [Keeno POV]


    Another day passed as we continued following the road. Ena hadn¡¯t reached out again so far, and Ama still hadn¡¯t returned. This fact was making my mood tank even further, though there had been a few sights that elevated it for a bit. One of these instances being when we saw a family of foxes ying around by the side of ake. The kits were running around chasing dragonflies while the mothery next to the water asleep. Getting cought up in the cuteness of the tiny fluffs, I slowly approached them. They stopped their chasing and looked at me with curiosity while the mother woke up and looked at me.


    She made some adorable fox noises before approaching me and sniffing my leg. I knelt down and patted her head, causing her to purr. Her little ones hearing that bounded toward me and demanded pats as well, which I dly gave. A few secondster and the kits were ying around me, jumping into my tails, one of them nibbling on one in a yful manner. The mother fox moved over and sniffed one of my tails before looking at her own. She then started to groom her tail.


    I spent a good hour ying with the tiny balls of fluffy adorableness before they started to yawn, and the mother fox yipped at them. They then left me and walked over to a spot in the ground and vanishing into their burrow. I got up from that spot and went over to where they disappeared but found no trace of a hole. At this moment Ama would have probablymented something, but the silence in my head brought my mood back down, leading to the present.


    ¡°Those foxes were cute.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, I wish I could have yed with them too.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, I think Keeno needed it more. We can always try to find and y with more some other time if we run into some.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°True, though I do wonder where they went. I didn¡¯t think animals could use magic, but their burrowpletely vanishing like that can only be caused by magic.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Maybe there is a subterranean civilization of foxes that rarelye to the surface to let their kits y and explore before having to leave the underground once they have grown up and act like normal animals when in actuality, they control the mortal world as the true rulers while allowing the people to believe they are free. Meaning that foxes are fourth under Gods, Apostles, and Spirits.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    {I mean, that¡¯s allpletely wrong, but it is funny.}


    Just hearing her voice made me perk up instantly. I could feel my tails waving ecstatically, enough to almost send Huginn and Muninn flying.


    ¡°AMA!!!¡± (Keeno)


    {I am extremely sorry for just disappearing like that. I was on my way to see Hresvelgr, but things happened; I¡¯ll exin next time we see each other in person.}


    ¡°Alright. The next Sr Convergence isn¡¯t that far away, so I can wait. I¡¯m just happy you¡¯re back.¡± (Keeno)


    {I can see that. Now, has anything happened while I was away?}


    ¡°Well, you just missed Keeno ying with a family of foxes.¡± (Pram)


    {A thing that will shame me for the rest of time.}


    ¡°We also spoke with that Death dragon¡­well, Keeno spoke with her and then exined what was up with her after.¡± (Freya)


    {And your opinion?}


    ¡°Don¡¯tpletely trust her but am willing to build it up.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm.}


    ¡°Oh, and what is this about telling Death Spirits to let me judge people?¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh. That was something I asked about a long time ago andpletely forgot about. Do you want me to resend the order?}


    ¡°No. I need to do my job and can¡¯t leave all the work to those under me.¡± (Keeno)


    {How diligent.}


    ¡°I try.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehe. Now, any one of you want to sleep in a bed tonight?}


    All three of us peeked up at this. Seeing that Ama chuckled at our reactions.


    {Pick up the pace just a bit and you¡¯ll reach a city by the end of the day.}


    I looked over at Freya and she nodded before picking Pram up in a princess carry. We then used Freya¡¯s favorite spell and shot off down the road like a pair of shooting stars.


    {I didn¡¯t mean do that, but whatever works.}


    Leaving trails of light behind us, we arrived in sight of the walls of a city within two hours of running. At that point we stopped our magic and slid to a stop leaving some scorch marks on the ground.


    ¡°That was¡­interesting. Not particrly enjoyable, but interesting.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, at least you managed to not pass out this time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°True. But please at least give me some warning next time. Unless you enjoyed sweeping me off my feet, Freya.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It was quite fun¡­and it¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t get anything out of this either.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh? And what would that be?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°My secret.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°This is also something you missed, Ama. These two flirting nonstop.¡± (Keeno)


    {Isn¡¯t that normal though?}


    ¡°Maybe it got on my nerves a bit too much¡­but still.¡± (Keeno)


    {Then we just have to do the same if we¡¯re to match them, right?}


    ¡°I like that idea. Even if it¡¯s only been almost a month, I miss seeing your beautiful face.¡± (Keeno)


    {And I miss the touch of your lips on mine and the warmth of your body when it¡¯s close to mine.}


    ¡°The smooth fluffiness of your tails is as addicting as your presence to me and I shudder at the thought of staying away as long as I do. For thou art mine truest of love, my one and only destined by Fate itself. My love for you is as boundless as the sky and stars and as deep as all the seas in all the worlds. It burns as bright and hot as our sunsbined and willst for all eternity. The sound of your voice is enough to set my heart aze and your visage is burned into my eyes so that I see you, even in my dreams. I dedicate all of my life and soul to you, my truest of love.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve heard any poetry from you, Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t let myself get rusty. It¡¯s a fun hobby, even if I don¡¯t share it with anyone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°But-¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t point it out, Freya.¡± (Keeno)


    Freya went silent and we soon arrived at the gates of the city. I could already hear the hustle and bustle inside as we approached the ones guarding the entrance. After showing our identification and walking inside, said hustle and bustle became much louder.


    ¡°First things first, to find an inn!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Woooo!!¡±¡± (Pram and Freya)


    Chaos Realm:


    Fia: Thank you very much for finishing that gift so quickly.


    Alex: It¡¯s really no problem and nothing requiring such excessive thanks. I¡¯m just doing my job¡­well, one of them.


    Fia: I get that, but what I¡¯m thanking you for is the quality. It¡¯s far above what I imagined it would be. I¡¯m just an Apostle, so I don¡¯t know ALL the rules when ites to stuff like this, but I¡¯m sure it would normally break those if given to someone. For even making something like that is¡­I have no words.


    Alex: Well, you can thank Payto for that. He likes to break his own rules a lot when ites to people he likes. At least that¡¯s what I¡¯ve figured out after getting to know him.


    Order: Yep. In his words, ¡°As long as I keep the pretense and don¡¯t excessively do it, it¡¯ll be fine. I say, in the long run, what¡¯s a few hundred times in the span of eternity?¡±


    Luna: How very like him.


    Tamamo: Indeed.


    Atmos: Where was that resolve when Lu-um¡­


    Order: PAYTO!?!?!?


    *Sound of Payto copsing to the ground*


    Order: *Panicking noises*


    It¡¯s¡­ok¡­¡­just something¡­I didn¡¯t expect to happen¡­for a few more¡­millennia. Will exinter. *passes out*

 Chapter 134- Relaxing in the City

    Chapter 134- Rxing in the City


    [Keeno POV]


    After arriving at the city, we spent about a week just doing easy to finish jobs for the guild to build up more savings. Huginn and Muninn had even managed to get a small group of other steelfeather ravens to be their underlings, which was funny when I saw them together and saw just how much bigger my precious birds were than a normal one from their species. It filled me with a strange pride.


    Ena had also reached out again giving an update on what she found out so far in regards to whatever it is the ruler of this country had done. While she didn¡¯t find anything concrete yet, she¡¯s finding many small things likeboratories researching strange medicines and potions that are more akin to poison. Others that had several captured undead that they¡¯ve kept the Death Spirits from with some sort of barrier. In thosebs, the undead were chained to walls or strapped to tables while researchers forced several different liquids of unknown purposes into them and observed their reactions. Ena thinks they are trying to find a way to either revive an undead or make them obedient with methods other than Death Magic.


    ¡°Ama. What kind of barrier can keep spirits away?¡± (Keeno)


    {There shouldn¡¯t be one. I think they are using some kind of convoluted trick to hide from them. From her information, all of thesebs are in somewhat close proximity to a very ¡®thin¡¯ part of the Dead Zone, in a manner of speaking. The spirits should be able to still enter, but they probably won¡¯t be able to do much since it would count as interference with the mortal world to them. It¡¯s hard to properly exin.}


    ¡°Hmm. Guess she can cause some havoc there. See if her word is to be trusted.¡± (Keeno)


    Me and Ama came up with a n that we rted to Ena for her to, over theing weeks, make things start to fall apart in thesebs that would eventually destroy them. After finishing that, Pram and Freya arrived at our room in the inn we were staying at. Pram has volunteered her healing services at a temple not to far down the road while Freya acted as her bodyguard. When Pram flopped down on the bed she and Freya shared, I could see the content look on her face.


    ¡°Ever the saint. Don¡¯t ever change that, Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t nning to.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Just make sure to bring me along with you. I didn¡¯t like how some of those people were looking at you. Especially the few that kepting back to have you heal them repeatedly.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehe. Maybe I should be the one to go then. Seeing as people try to avoid the area I¡¯m in.¡± (Keeno)


    {They are just fools who can¡¯t see the true you. They are too stuck in your appearance that, to mortals, is intimidating.}


    ¡°Whatever. In not too bothered by it anymore. If anything, it¡¯s annoying when people don¡¯t look me in the eye when talking. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m nning on eating their soul or anything.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you try that one time?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And we agreed to never bring that up again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Wait what?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh! I remember that! Hehehe. You couldn¡¯t taste anything for a week after that due to the bitterness, right?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Get down here so I can turn you into roast phoenix!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think I will.¡± (Fia)


    {Wee back, Fia. Did things go well?}


    ¡°At first, but then something happened, and I couldn¡¯t stay there. Too suffocating.¡± (Fia)


    {Hmm. Wonder what happened?}


    ¡°Oi! I not done talking!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Souls taste bitter? And who¡¯s did you eat?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Extremely so, and it was the soul of a boar. I¡¯ve never eaten a person¡¯s soul.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That was my reaction too, before I startedughing at the way her face scrunched up.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Exactly. Take whatever you¡¯re imagining and multiply it by 20.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Looks like that¡¯s two people who want to sleep outside tonight.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t take out your embarrassment on them, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You¡¯ll get your when I see you again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re still a few thousand years too early for that.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Oh? Wanna bet? I bet my fire can take over yours now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe. We¡¯ll see. Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t seen you cking in your daily training.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t! I can already make a ball of fire as small as an acorn with the power to obliterate this entire city.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Do dragon cores really help that much?¡± (Fia)


    {Yes.}


    ¡°Well¡­what about your Divinity?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Also doing my best with that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ok you two, that¡¯s enough.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh!!! Keeno, I just remembered something.¡± (Pram)


    Pram nearly jumped off her bed staring at me,


    ¡°Remember that one guy we befriended? That noble guy.¡± (Pram)


    I tilted my head in confusion at her words. When did we meet a noble? And more importantly, when did we befriend a noble? Seeing my obvious confusion, Pram sighed.


    ¡°The one from the boat. The one that couldn¡¯t take no for an answer at the beginning.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ooooooooh. The one that stalked you for a while.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah him.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hmmm?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Long story short he fell for Pram, she rejected him, he didn¡¯t want to ept that, I nearly boiled him alive, after nearly a year on a boat he became our friend. That also reminds me I have some nobles to kill too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to this stalking my Pram thing.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It was dealt with, Freya. No need to get like that. And we parted ways on friendly terms.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll let it go then. Especially since it was something that happened before we met, but that doesn¡¯t mean I like it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Understandable.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh!}


    ¡°What is today, the day of revtions or something?¡± (Keeno)


    {Keeno, be ready for a party when you get here soon. We¡¯re going to be attending a grand ball of the gods.}


    ¡°A what now?¡± (Keeno)


    {Grand ball of the Gods.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry, I already have you a dress and it¡¯s not as bad as you¡¯re imagining. It¡¯s not some kind of political thing, but something that more of the festive Gods throw together to show off or socialize. And apparently there is going to be a very special guest this time performing some music.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {I want to use this opportunity to show you off and make all of the others jealous of us.}


    ¡°That sounds fun.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why is that the part that gets you excited?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Because she¡¯s Keeno. Messing with others is one of her favorite things.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I mean, I know that, but I still needed to say it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°They won¡¯t know what hit them. We¡¯ll be the hottest topic and the hottest couple there.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hehehehehahahahahahahahaha! That was a good one. And, I think you¡¯ll look very good in a ck dress. It¡¯llpliment your tails and hair.}


    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll be wearing a white one?¡± (Keeno)


    {Naturally.}


    ¡°Might as well make it our wedding then, right?¡± (Keeno)


    {No, that¡¯s much different. When we hold that, if you wish to, it will be much grander than any grand ball.}


    ¡°I was kidding. We¡¯ll make it a day to remember.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I still need to meet your family first.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Even when you know they¡¯ll ept you?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Still want to meet them. If they are gonna be my family too, then I can¡¯t NOT meet them.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve both met all of my family, and, in my opinion, are already a part of it, so you have my blessing to get married any time.¡± (Keeno)


    At this Freya blushed and Pram smiled.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll ask Ena about that noble friend of ours next time we get in contact. So, until then what should we do? Keep going with the small guild jobs until after the Sr Convergence?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sounds fine to me.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We could use all the money we can get, seeing as we have a habit of splurging it all a lot.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled.¡± (Keeno)


    After this a few more days passed, and the Sr Convergence arrived.


    Chaos Realm:


    *Payto sits up groggily*


    Ugh.


    Order: PAYTO!!!*jumps over and hugs*


    Hey Order¡­sorry for worrying you.


    Order: What happened?


    You know Nykuro¡¯s old world? Seems like Destroying it pushed me past some sort of limit or threshold. Now, something that even I didn¡¯t know could happen happened. My Destruction Authority has evolved into the Authority of Nihility.


    Order: ¡­That sounds¡­dangerous.


    It is; for those that I have to end. I¡¯m going to need to get the hang of it first though, so I may have to iste myself for a bit.


    Order: How long?


    Few weeks at most. I should have a full grasp on everything that¡¯s changed by that point.


    Order: Well, hurry back¡­I¡¯m still worried about you.


    *Pats Order¡¯s head*Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m motivated now, so I¡¯ll definitely be back as soon as possible.*Disappears in a sh of negative light*

 Chapter 135- A Dance to Remember

    Chapter 135- A Dance to Remember


    [Keeno POV]


    I was woken by a warm feeling and sweet taste on my lips. Upon opening my eyes, all I could see was a pair of fiery orange eyes staring into mine.


    {And so the beautiful princess awakens from her slumber upon receiving the kiss of her beloved.}


    ¡°Are you sure the princess is awake? She may need more than one kiss.¡±


    {That is easily arranged.}


    She brought her lips to mine once more and time seemed to stop due to the sensation and the feelings behind it.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll juste back after the two of you head out.¡± (Fia)


    <em>¡°If you¡¯re jealous Fia, find someone to do the same to you.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy!¡± (Fia)


    <em>{Was for us.}</em>


    ¡°Says the ones who Fate beyond Fate brought together.¡± (Fia)


    After saying this Fia left, and Ama and I continued to get lost in each other¡¯s presence for several more minutes before she broke away.


    {Time to get ready.}


    ¡°Fiiinnnneee. Also, love the scent. What is it?¡±


    {Not sure. All I know is it¡¯s made of those orange fruits.}


    ¡°Oranges?¡±


    {¡­Such a straightforward name. I thought they were called something else?}


    ¡°Probably are, but I¡¯ve never bothered to remember the name for them in this world. But it¡¯s mixed with something else.¡±


    {No clue. Found it when I got the dresses and thought you¡¯d like it. I also found some of that other scented oil you like. That vani stuff.}


    ¡°Oh yay!¡±


    Ama handed me a small bottle of liquid which I promptly opened and started applying to my tails and hair.


    {Hehe. It¡¯s a special bottle that refills itself when you get low. It shouldst a few years.}


    ¡°Thank you, I love you so much!¡±


    {I know¡­hehehehehe.}


    Ama stood close to me as she led us toward our dresses for theing ball. As she did this, I noticed she was breathing slightly heavier through her nose. I smiled mischievously and moved one of my tails just slightly under her nose and tickled it with the tip.


    ¡°If you want to smell them, just ask.¡±


    {I would, but I need to start practicing some restraint if we¡¯re to be presentable.}


    ¡°*Sigh*Yeah, I guess I should start doing that as well¡­by the way, how mmable is this oil?¡±


    {No clue. Why?}


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    I raised the heat around one of my tails until the oil caught fire. The mes let off a sweet smell as the oil burned off and itsted only for a few seconds before the mes burnt out.


    ¡°Hmm. So long as it¡¯s not hot enough to atomize a living person it¡¯ll be fine. Guess it¡¯llst longer than just a few years since I¡¯ll have to sparingly use it before joining you up here permanently.¡±


    {Seems so¡­would you like help reapplying some?}


    ¡°What happened to restraint?¡±


    {I¡¯d have some if you¡¯d stop providing me opportunities too tempting to pass up.}


    ¡°Stop being so unbearably lovely that I need to do that, and I wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±


    {I can¡¯t stop being how I naturally am.}


    We finally stopped in front of two spectacr dresses that were suspended in the air by magic. The ck one was strapless and went down to just above my feet. There were slits along the legs that made it flowy, but not enough to hinder movement. It also sparkled slightly in the light making it very eye catching. And, as a bonus, it didn¡¯t have that stupid corset that I hated so much.


    Ama¡¯s was a simr looking dress, though it was white in color and featured some gold highlights in ce of the sparkly bits. However, where my dress looked form-fitting, Ama¡¯s seemed to be slightly looser. Nothing my noticing of this, Ama exined.


    {Your¡¯s looked like that too, but I made it like you were wearing it with magic, so you¡¯d see how it looked. It will loosen up so you can put it on over your tails.}


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    I picked up my dress and it immediately, forck of a better phrase, floofed up and fell over me, causing me to get tangled up.


    ¡°Gah!!¡±


    {Hehehe. Such royal grace.}


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it to expand that much!¡±


    {Stand still and I¡¯ll help.}


    I immediately did as I was told and soon Ama had the dress in one hand and the clothes I was wearing in the other.


    ¡°You sneaky fox.¡±


    {Takes one to know one.}


    After a few more minutes I was in the dress and standing in front of a mirror that magically appeared.


    ¡°Hmm. If it wasn¡¯t for you and me not being aplete narcissist, I¡¯d fall for myself.¡±


    {Understandable. You are indescribably beautiful.}


    I twirled around letting the bottom of the dress ir out a little bit.


    {I almost don¡¯t want to go now. You¡¯re stunning already, and this entuates your looks so much you¡¯ll be the talk of the party.}


    ¡°Then we should get you dressed. If I look this good, then you¡¯ll look even better.¡±


    {I wouldn¡¯t say that, if anything I¡¯d be equal to you, not better.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree to that.¡±


    I waited for Ama to undress so I could help her into her dress, and while I expected her to tease me like she usually would, she actually changed into the dress nearly instantly without me having to do anything.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {I know, Keeno, but we don¡¯t have time. We only have a day; we can¡¯t get lost in each other.}


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Ama chuckled and then smirked before doing a twirl of her own. In the midst of said twirl, I saw quite a bit of leg which I approved of.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m satisfied now.¡±


    {Good. Now, follow me, my lovely wife.}


    ¡°Very well, my lovely wife.¡±


    I stood next to Ama and took entwined our arms before we walked through a shining door. The ce we arrived on the other side was a¡­mystifying ce. It was like time waspletely stopped at the moment the suns met the horizon and the moons started to rise over it. Thend itself was like an endless ballroom floor surrounded by walls of crystal that glowed in the light of perpetual sunset and moonrise. There was a veritable orchestra of instruments set up on a stage made of some strange material that seemed to both be there and not at the same time.


    There were several attendees already here, among who I recognized Fu, Moco, and Phobos. Seeing those two in particr made me hope I¡¯d see Red and Ortilinde, but they were nowhere to be seen.


    {Unfortunately, only gods are invited to grand balls like this. Last time Apostles were invited, it got a bit TOO crazy and turned form what is usually a nice, calm event into a wild party that nearly broke a few Divine rules.}


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±


    {Try not to think about it. Though I do have to admit it was fun.}


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Moving on from that aside, near the stage were two gods. One was a woman with long hair that seemed to change colors at random and with music notes flowing out of it. She was standing next to another god who seemed different from any I can remember seeing or meeting. For some odd reason I couldn¡¯t really make out any discernible features but looking at them gave me an odd feeling of dissonance. I could tell their back was to me and strapped there was an instrument I¡¯d never seen before made of materials that gave off a presence that felt familiar, but I couldn¡¯t quite ce why.


    {Ahhh. I get it. Keeno, try not to look over there very much, I think it¡¯s too much to handle for you for now.}


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The two of us made our way through the slowly growing crowd of gods and goddesses to the ones that I knew. When they saw us approaching, Fu and Moco started smiling brighter than usual and Phobos¡¯s expression remained neutral, though there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.


    ¡°Greetings and salutations, oh lovely Goddesses of the Suns. It¡¯s a pleasure to see your radiance once more.¡± (Phobos)


    {Phobos.}


    ¡°Hello.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s been too long, you two! How have you been? Got anymore people for us to adopt?¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Fu, you should at least wait a bit before asking that.¡± (Moco)


    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re the one that¡¯s more excited by that prospect than me sometimes, so you have no right to say that!¡± (Fu)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Moco)


    {You two are as energetic as ever.}


    ¡°How are Red and Ortilinde? I haven¡¯t been able to reach Red for a while now, so I¡¯ve been getting worried.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They¡¯re doing fine. And Red hasn¡¯t been answering you because she¡¯s been concentrating on something so that the next time you speak, she can surprise you. Oh, and that Emma girl has been a real help too.¡± (Fu)


    ¡°Huh. Surprised she met Red. I thought she and mum would still be on their honeymoon.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That dragondy? She¡¯s your mum?¡± (Moco)


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the storyter.¡± (Keeno)


    Our conversation was about to continue when the goddess with music notes floating out of her hair climbed onto the stage.


    ¡°Wee all of you. As most of you know, the time hase for another grand ball. I am proud to host our festivities on this fine day to show off some of my newlyposed music. Also, we have a special guest this time as well. With permission of *&@%#, someone from outside our world hase to perform. Please wee God of Arts: Sris.¡±


    The outworld visitor stepped forward and bowed like one would before a musical performance before I had to look away due to the pain beginning to assault my head.


    ¡°Ama¡­why can I not see or hear that person speak?¡±


    {It¡¯s due to the instrument they¡¯re carrying. It¡¯s from a higher ne, so-to-speak, and your Divinity is too weak toprehend something of that level. I think you¡¯ll be able to manage it in special circumstance, but this isn¡¯t one of them.}


    ¡°Let¡¯s just hope I can at least enjoy their music.¡±


    For a split-second reality seemed to distort and the difort diminished when I heard the very end of the speech, though I still couldn¡¯tprehend the visitor¡¯s appearance. Once the speech of the visitor and the hostess finished, the hostess made her way to one of the instruments on the stage. What she picked up was the bow for a cello that she promptly sat next to. The instrument was beautiful, made out of a ck wood with scarlet ents. The second the bow met the strings a deep melody flowed forth from the instrument that left me stunned by its majesty. Shortly after that, the rest of the instruments began ying as if the goddess on the stage was ying all of them at once. It gave a sense of longing to dance with the one closest to you. I turned to look at Ama and she did the same. Both of us smiled warmly at the other. I turned my body to face Ama and performed a slight curtsy.


    ¡°Would you care for a dance?¡±


    Ama¡¯s smile grew more before she also performed a simr curtsy.


    {I would be remiss to deny a request from you.}


    I held out a hand and Ama gently took it. We slowly moved away from the group we were in to a spot with more space. I grabbed her other hand and pulled her closer before I spun her slowly. Letting go of her hands, I stepped around her until we were face to face again. I took hold of her left hand while cing my own left hand on her waist. We moved to the left in a sort of gliding motion. Once we stopped moving, I spun Ama again until her back was to me and the two of us glide walked back in the direction we came. Holding Ama¡¯s hand, I stopped while she walked and spun, stopping when we were both at arm¡¯s length from one another, her free hand outstretched. I pulled her close to me again, resulting in Ama being dipped backward. We shared a tender gaze and pleasant smiles.


    After gracefully pulling Ama up again, we pulled each other close while twirling around a few times before we pushed apart while keeping our hands linked. We danced in ce, twirling, pulling, and pushing, trading steps like we were a mirror of each other. Soon enough it was like all those around us melted away, leaving only the music and Ama.


    We once again separated, only staying connected by a hand. I gently pulled her close before leaning forward and kissing her hand before lifting that hand and arm up, pulling us closer. After another set of mirrored movements bringing us close before pushing us apart like a pair of mas, we both stepped in, one of each of our arms resting on the other¡¯s shoulder while the other rested on the hip. Our faces were close enough that I could feel her breath on my lips, to which I answered with a quick kiss. It was nothing more than a peck as soon I brought my left hand from Ama¡¯s shoulder, grasping her right hand, and with them outstretched we waltzed to the music. After several twirls, we stepped even closer into each other¡¯s space where we kissed again, this time slightly deeper. After dipping Ama again, we continued to waltz as the music¡¯s tempo slowly increased.


    As we twirled, pulled, and pushed, the mood and excitement started to affect our surroundings as small balls of blue and orange me started to appear. They in no way affected the other dancers around us but seemed to ce a spotlight on us. Shortly after this happened the music¡¯s tempo increased even further, and taking me by surprise, Ama stole the lead from me. Though we kept with the same moves as earlier, they were faster paced and more aggressive. As soon as the music hit a fever pitch, Ama pulled me close once more, but it was like this moment frozepletely.


    All that filled my vision was Ama. Her beautiful ming orange eyes, her perfect lips, her small nose, her long eyshes. Although I¡¯ve seen her face so many times that it¡¯s been burnt into my mind, this moment made it feel like the first time I saw her. It made my heart flutter, and I could feel myself blush.


    {You¡¯re so perfect, Keeno. Everything about you and how much I love you makes it feel like I¡¯m burning up and going insane.}


    ¡°Hehehe. You know, I was thinking the same thing. Every single time we are together like this, I find a new thing to appreciate about you. It¡¯s just something about your presence that makes you so much more addicting than just hearing your voice. I could write a fullpendium of poetry just describing you and all I love about you and even then, it would never be enough to say just how much I love you.¡±


    We brought our lips together once more, this time a feeling of electricity felt like it was shooting through me. It was a feeling I so desperately missed. It was like it was melting all of my pent-up stress and other anxieties away. As saddening as it was, this moment frozen in time had to end and soon the world came back into focus. The music had started to die down, and Ama leaned me into a dip one final time as it came to an end. I was breathing heavily while leaning back, entrusting all my weight to Ama. Her hair covered both of our faces, the citrusy smell filling my nose. We would have gone back to our own little world again if it wasn¡¯t for the apuse starting all around us.


    Pulling me us, Ama smiled bashfully as several other gods around us looked over at us. I saw Fu and Moco looking at us in awe and Phobos looking¡­indescribable. Like he was having a hard time figuring out just what kind of reaction he should be having at this moment. Getting all of this attention was starting to get to both of us when a strange, yet beautifully melodic sound cut through the air, bringing everyone¡¯s attention back to the stage. The visitor Sris performed another bow before cing the strange instrument on their shoulder like a violin and they began to y.


    If the previous performance was like a wonderful ballroom orchestra, the performance of this time was like a maestro assembling the performance of all other maestros from history and rolling their talent into a single song. Though it was a string instrument, it was like it yed everything from wind to percussion in a beautifully Chaotic manner. It was even capable of making musical tones from instruments I thought couldn¡¯t exist in this world. There was an Order to the Chaos making a Bnced harmony that had all those present enthralled.


    In what felt like no time at all the song ended and the one performing it bowed one final time before disappearing in a sh of light. Only then did the other people around us snap out of the reverie and then the chatting started. It was like a flood that rang in my ears, further erasing the beautiful music that somehow lingered like an earworm song.


    {Shall we go and enjoy the rest of the day? While I would love to dance a few more songs, it seems like things are going to be much more hectic and we¡¯ll run out of room.}


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We can dance however many times as you want when we get back home.¡±


    {Very well.}


    Ama and I maneuvered our way over to the three we were near and exined that we were leaving. Just before we stepped through the door Ama summoned, she looked over her shoulder.


    {Thought I¡¯d mention it while I saw you two. I¡¯m thinking of seeing if Hresvelgr is ready toe back out of her seclusion. Feel free to visit when she hopefully agrees.}


    I had stepped through the door before I heard their responses, but I imagined they were positive.


    {So, did you enjoy the ball, or at least the small part we actually danced?}


    ¡°Much more than I thought I would. Though I¡¯m going to contribute that to you more than anything else.¡±


    {I was thinking the same thing.}


    Both of us chuckled as we sat down for a few minutes to just enjoy each other and rest from our magical dance. Once we felt rested enough, we both got up and smiled at one another.


    {¡°Care for another dance?¡±}


    We joined hands once more and spent the rest of our day dancing away.


    Chaos Realm:


    Sris: Thanks for the opportunity.


    Order: It¡¯s no problem. Though I do feel bad for Keeno.


    Sris: Yeah, it wasn¡¯t my intention to have near Eldritch effects on her.


    Order: It¡¯s not your fault, that¡¯s just what happens when a god from a different Layer goes to another world, even if we have basically all of your power sealed temporarily and with the proper permissions.


    Sris: Makes sense, though I do have to wonder why she doesn¡¯t experience simr things when she¡¯s here.


    Order: Even I¡¯m not sure about that. That¡¯s a Payto question to answer.


    Sris: Fair enough. Now, I¡¯ll see you around, I have some more practice to get in if I¡¯m going to improve with this instrument yall gifted me.


    Order: I wish you luck.

 Chapter 136- Well, That Happened

    Chapter 136- Well, That Happened


    [Keeno POV]


    As soon as the sky in the Divine Domain began to turn and the suns started to set, Ama and I changed out of our dresses. After that Ama summoned arge chair and sat down before pulling me into herp.


    ¡°I had fun today, Ama.¡±


    {I¡¯m d. It¡¯s kind of a shame we didn¡¯t get to enjoy the entire ball, but what we did was indeed quite fun. And it¡¯s just in fun dancing with you.}


    ¡°Hehe. I WAS a bit hesitant about it, but the music earlier helped a lot. Though I kind of feel bad for just running away from Fu and Moco.¡±


    {They¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s not like they can¡¯t visit whenever they want.}


    ¡°That¡¯s true. By the way, why didn¡¯t you tell me Emma and mum showed up here?¡±


    {I didn¡¯t know. It¡¯s not like I monitor that weird room your Valkyries always appear in. I¡¯m too busy watching your every waking and sleeping moment.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll ept that argument.¡±


    We then fell into afortable silence as we watched the suns begin to fully set as they began to split, slowly ending the Sr Convergence. As they kissed the horizon, I felt Ama move slightly and felt a sensation on my ear.


    ¡°Really Ama? Why do you have to tease me like this just before I¡¯m about to go?¡±


    {Hehehe. Because I just couldn¡¯t resist. How can you wave those adorable ears of yours in my face and not take a little nibble?}


    She then nibbled on my other ear, leaving me as a speechless ball of fluff with a face as red as a tomato. I managed to regain a small bit ofposure just before I started to vanish.


    ¡°Mark my words, Goddess of Life. The Goddess of Death shall have her revenge upon our next meeting.¡±


    {Hehehehehe. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what you will do.}


    ¡°Hehehe. Many, MANY things.¡±


    With that my consciousness faded and I woke up in bed.


    {By the way, your maliciousugh is a 10/10.}


    ¡®Good. All the practice was worth it.¡¯


    It was then that I heard some rustling from the bed next to me.


    ¡°P-Pram! Wh-where are you-aaaahhh!¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    ¡®I feel like I need to say something, but I also feel like if I do, something bad will happen.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Won¡¯t either choise result in the same oue?}


    ¡°P-Praaaaammmmm!!!!!!!!¡± (Freya)


    I could feel the room start to heat up tremendously due to my feelings of embarrassment, and the other two noticed.


    ¡°She¡¯s back.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Haaa haaa haaa.¡± (Freya)


    I had no clue what to do or say in this situation, so I just remained silent, making the only sound in the room Freya¡¯s heavy breathing. This silencested several minutes before even that quieted down and things became even more awkward.


    ¡®Ama, can you do some sort of magic to get me out of here?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {No, I can¡¯t.}


    Several more minutes went by before someone started moving and I heard the distinct sound of clothes being put back on.


    ¡°You stay right under that nket, Keeno. Don¡¯t move until I say.¡± (Pram)


    I conjured a small fireball above me in the shape of a thumbs up. After a minute the rustling stopped.


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    I slowly poked my head over the nket and saw Pram sitting on her bed, blocking Freya from view. She smiled gently at me like usual, though she couldn¡¯t hide the deep blush on her face.


    ¡°First things first, we are to never mention this moment again. Second, you are to forget anything you heard. Third, if this ever happens again, you are to make your presence known immediately. Am I clear?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Crystal.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Good. Now we are all going to sleep. There are some things we need to talk about, but rest is needed before that. If you look over here, I will rip your eyes out for the night.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Understood.¡± (Keeno)


    I promptly turned around andid down before covering my head with the nket once more.


    ¡°Oh, and Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Vani is a very good scent for you. I don¡¯t know why you smell so strongly of it, but whatever the reason, it was a good decision.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Shortly after that I could tell both Pram and Freya were asleep.


    ¡®Ama¡­¡¯


    {I know, Keeno. They should be asleep, so just leave the room quietly.}


    Mustering all the stealth I could, I got up and left the room.


    ¡®Ama, I think we need to start getting separate rooms at inns from now on.¡¯


    {That¡¯s probably for the best.}


    ¡®Do you know of any coldkes or something around here?¡¯


    {There is ake just outside the wall. I don¡¯t know how cold it is, but it¡¯ll probably do the trick.}


    ¡®Hope they don¡¯t use it for anything, cause it¡¯s gonna be a smallerke for a bit.¡¯


    {I¡¯m sorry.}


    ¡®For what?¡¯


    {I feel my teasing you before you left led to this situation.}


    ¡®Ama, there is¡­no actually I should have figured this would happen at one point. I mean, it¡¯s not like they ever have a lot of alone time until days like this, so it makes sense. Anyway, it¡¯s not your fault.¡¯


    I made my way to the wall of the city and used some magic to hop over it. I spent a while looking for theke Ama told me about before finding it. It was the picture of serenity, the reflection of the three moons were unbroken by any ripples. I appreciated the scenery for a moment before jumping right in. I floated in the water for a few hours before finally getting out and increasing my heat to dry off. I then looked for a suitable tree and decided to try and sleep the night away in the branches. It was a very difficult endeavor.


    [Pram POV]


    I slowly opened my eyes as a beam of sunlight came through the curtain. Sitting up slightly, I looked around the room when my eyes fell upon the sight of a still sleeping Freya, hair disheveled and small bites marking her neck and shoulders. I smiled down at my lovely sleeping wolf beforeying back down and snuggling up to her. While enjoying the closeness, I used my Life magic to heal the bites I¡¯d left on her. It was then that I remembered what else happenedst night. I shot up and looked over at the other bed in the room, only to see it was empty.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I felt my face heating up to an absurd degree, almost to the point I thought I¡¯d start to affect the surrounding like Keeno.


    ¡®Um¡­¡¯ (Pram)


    {She¡¯s not at the inn right now. She¡¯lle back soon though, so I¡¯d suggest you get Freya up and dressed and your appearances fixed before that. She¡¯s had a rough night.}


    The tone in her voice was mixed with indignation.


    ¡°If I said anything rudest night, I¡¯m sorry. All I really remember was Keeno getting back and then us exchanging words before I fell asleep.¡± (Pram)


    {Well, next time you threaten to take Keeno¡¯s eyes, I¡¯ll have to punish you a little, even if I know you didn¡¯t really mean it.}


    ¡°I¡¯m ¡­no, no words are enough to say how sorry I am about even saying that.¡± (Pram)


    {I understand very well how hazy a mind can get after experiencing a passionate time together, but from now on at least try to take time into ount. Keeno has also said she¡¯s going to try and let you two have more space so something like this doesn¡¯t happen again.}


    I could only nod my head and ept her words. I then started to shake Freya awake. After a few minutes of trying, she groggily sat up.


    ¡°Pram¡­whatimeisit?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s time to get up, sleepyhead.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Eeeehhhh? Oki¡­¡± (Freya)


    Freya clumsily moved the nket off her, giving me a lovely view that I fully appreciated. After a few seconds and several rapid blinks and normal, awake Freya greeted me.


    ¡°¡­Mornin.¡± (Freya)


    I smiled and patted her head.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    Sitting there and enjoying my pats, Freya¡¯s face started to turn red.


    ¡°Oh gods¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We are going to y it cool and not think about it, ok.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°How are you so calm about this?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m not, but us acting this way when Keeno gets back is going to make something awkward, to something even more awkward. We can only move on from this and be more prudent in the future.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°A-alright¡­I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Freya)


    I nodded and we both got ready. Once we did, we waited for a few minutes and Keeno timidly knocked on the door. I opened it and she walked in. Just looking at her I noticed she barely slept, and by the way her tails were moving, she was highly agitated about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m stupid¡­should have just rented a separate room instead of trying to sleep in a tree¡­ugh.¡± (Keeno)


    She then fell face first onto her bed. Freya and I looked at each other in confusion before shrugging it off and sitting down.


    ¡°Keeno, before you fall asleep, we have some things to discuss regarding that dragon.¡± (Pram)


    Though she didn¡¯t move, her ears twitched and she moved one of her tails in a show she was listening.


    ¡°She was asking about you yesterday and resorted to the paper thing when we exined you were unavable. After getting that sorted, I asked about our noble friend and well¡­he¡¯s much more important now that we could have guessed.¡± (Pram)


    <em>¡°How so?¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°Apparently, he has be the Prime Minister. The details are sparse since she didn¡¯t really care about it much, but from what we pieced together his father or grandfather retired and he inherited the position.¡± (Pram)


    <em>¡°This makes thingsplicated. I don¡¯t really want to y kingmaker again.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°We might not have a choice. As far as even that dragon know, the king hasn¡¯t had any heirs and aside from the Prime Minister there aren¡¯t any people fit to rule.¡± (Freya)


    <em>¡°Uuuuugggghhhh! Maybe we won¡¯t need to. This is a big country, I don¡¯t see things going smoothly anyway, so maybe we should just get our friend to get out and let things implode.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    {I¡¯m all for that. While not as bad as Falheim, this country has been stagnant for too long. Sure, they¡¯ve developed considerably, but things need to change if they want to survive when the natural world cycle resumes.}


    <em>¡°Then let¡¯s get our friend out, get the Dead Zone, and go. Whatever happens after that happens.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°I feel we should at least try to-¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pram, this is nation size problems you¡¯re thinking of. We are just two aspiring Apostles, a potential Valkyrie, and a, no offense, weak goddess, we can¡¯t be everywhere.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­Right¡­I knew what I signed up for at the start, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Just like Vanir did.¡± (Pram)


    <em>¡°I understand that Pram, but it¡¯s not like we are perfect. And, in the grand scheme of things, this needed to happen eventually. Speaking as someone who studied fallen civilizations, this will happen one day, it just so happens that it will be us that are the catalyst this time.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    <em>¡°Alright, I know this is a bad ce to leave this conversation, and that we have other things we are not mentioning that should probably be addressed, but I¡¯m exhausted, so let¡¯s talk about it in a few hours.¡± </em>(Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Sleep well.¡± (Freya)


    Where normally she would have responded, all the two of us could hear were quiet snores. Looking at Freya we nodded at one another and left the room to find something to eat.


    Chaos Realm:


    I have returned! What did I miss?


    Order: A very awkward moment for Keeno, Pram, and Freya.


    Luna: Decisions about what to do about Odeen once they are done with the Dead Zone.


    Atmos: And Keeno¡¯s impable diving form.


    ¡­


    Hmm.


    Order: So, how was the training on your end?


    In a word, difficult. Nihility is hard to control.


    Atmos: ¡­That is a scary Concept to wield, Payto.


    I¡¯m well aware.


    Luna: So, you¡¯re basically Epilogue now?


    More like I¡¯m the entire thing. Chaos being basically Prologue, Fate Weaving as the body, and now Nihility as Epilogue.


    Luna: All I can say is congrats for bing even more broken than you already are.


    Thanks.


    Order: Well, I¡¯m just d you¡¯re back. Astraea, Nykuro, and Evelyn have been wondering about you.


    Guess I¡¯ll go show my face to them real quick then.


    Order: That¡¯s a good idea.

 Chapter 137- 20th Birthday

    Chapter 137- 20th Birthday


    [Keeno POV]


    Two weeks had passed after the¡­incident and things have basically returned to normal, though we did move to separate rooms in the inn. Waking up today and stretching, I opened the curtains letting the light of the suns in. For some reason, mine seemed a bit brighter than usual, giving the world a slight bluish tint.


    {I thought I¡¯d step back just a bit to let you shine brighter on your birthday.}


    ¡°Aww. Thank you, Ama¡­how old am I again?¡±


    {Ummm¡­20.}


    ¡°Really? Neat.¡±


    {I feel you are a few thousand years too young to be forgetting how old you are.}


    ¡°Does it really matter if I¡¯m Immortal?¡±


    {I mean, not really, but you should at least keep track of it while you live down there. You never know if some kind of social norm will get in your way.}


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you and Fia have told me about that if there was one?¡±


    {¡­Anyway, Fia should be waiting for you near my temple in this city. Get dressed and go meet with her. She¡¯s been really nervous about your gift, so go put her mind at ease.}


    ¡°She should know I¡¯ll love any gift she gets me.¡±


    {I told her the same thing, but you know how she is.}


    ¡°Oh, that lovable bird. If only she¡¯d show that side of her more often, she¡¯d find a girlfriend easily.¡±


    {I mean, you could do the same with that public face you put on.}


    ¡°True, but it¡¯s a hard habit to break and it surprisingly helps with people taking me seriously. Guess that stupid royalty training is good for something.¡±


    {Yes, yes, now get ready.}


    ¡°I am.¡±


    Taking a bit to get my daily readiness done and applying some of the oil Ama got for me, I left my room only to run into Pram and Freyaing in my direction.


    ¡°Morning and happy birthday.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Happy birthday.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thanks, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    I hugged both of them tightly before we all started walking out of the inn together.


    ¡°Any special ns for today?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We need to go to Ama¡¯s temple and meet up with Fia. From there not really. I was just going to y it by ear.¡± (Keeno)


    After leaving the inn we walked for a bit until we reached the biggest street in the city. Dodging around the growing morning crowd we finally arrived at arge cathedral-like building.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± (Keeno)


    {We¡¯ve been over this, Keeno. Mortals do whatever they want, just because this isn¡¯t to my personal tastes doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to smite everyone that takes things into their own hands and interprets what I like.}


    ¡°It¡¯s just overly gaudy in my opinion. No building needs that much gold and silver iy and jewel encrusted handles. It¡¯s more a show of greed than dedication to you.¡± (Keeno)


    {Like I said, let it go, this same thing will happen to youter.}


    ¡°Well, I hope they at least try and make something decent. No overly decorated stone or metal, just a wooden shrine or longhouse style is fine.¡± (Keeno)


    {Then make sure you Apostles say as much when overseeing your temples.}


    I looked over at Freya.


    ¡°Let¡¯s deal with that when we get there.¡± (Freya)


    I yfully filled my eyes as we pushed open the doors. As we entered a priestess bowed to us as we passed and entered the main hall. Lining each side of an isle were rows upon rows of pews leading to as dais with arge statue of Ama standing behind it. I looked around for Fia, ignoring most of the other worshipers and the decently sized group closest to the dais wearing shiny silver armor. I finally saw the distinct horn-like feathers I knew all too well. She was standing behind a pir just in view enough for us to see her. After moving over there, she held a finger up to her lip and led us further into the cathedral.


    ¡°Sorry for the secrecy, I didn¡¯t realize those annoying pdins were in town.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    We were led out of a small but thick wooden door into a pretty atrium full of flowers, small trees ripe with fruit, and other nts lush and full of life.


    ¡°My opinion about the building aside, I like this.¡± (Keeno)


    Stepping over a small man-made creek Fia led us to a few small benches.


    ¡°Sorry again, Keeno. I wanted to meet you outside, but I¡¯d saw those pdinsing here and only thought to hide deeper inside.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What¡¯s up with them anyway?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯d exin, but I would ruin the day, just know for now that it¡¯s best if you all avoid them.¡± (Fia)


    While theck of an exnation was a bit unsettling, I shrugged it off into future me. I scooted closer to Fia and hugged her.


    ¡°Good to see you again, Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You saw me two weeks ago.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°And? I¡¯m allowed to miss you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh, you lovable fox, stop refuting everything I say with such logical statements.¡± (Fia)


    I then became the hugee instead of the hugger. After letting me go Fia moved over and pulled out a ck box so dark it was like it absorbed all light.


    ¡°Though I¡¯m not the one that made it, I hope you like the gift. Happy birthday, Keeno.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You know that doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± (Keeno)


    I carefully picked up the box and ced it in myp. To my surprise it was made out of a wood that I¡¯ve never seen or felt before as it was smoother than any metal even from what I could remember from my past life.


    ¡°I¡¯m almost tempted to just keep this box as the gift. It¡¯s fascinating.¡± (Keeno)


    Fia reacted to this with a worried expression. I smiled at her before yfully bumping her with my arm.


    ¡°You little trickster.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I¡¯m not lying, but just because I like the box doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not gonna open it. That would fail to do justice for the box¡¯s reason for existing.¡± (Keeno)


    I clicked the ck metaltch and slowly opened the lid. Before I even opened it all the way, a small note written with crimson letters fell out. ncing at it I saw it was an exnation of the box¡¯s features. I took a mental note to look over itter and stored it in my ring before fully opening the box.


    Inside was a folded article of clothing made of feathers. Arge majority of them were ck or dark grey and reminiscent of Huginn and Muninn¡¯s feathers. There were also several crimson red and orange ones that I recognized immediately. Looking up at Fia with shock on my face, she turned away, clearly embarrassed. Standing up and setting the box on the bench, I picked up the gift and it unfurled into a beautiful feather cloak. Another small letter fell out of it which I quickly caught and saw it was written by the same person as thest one. It detailed the specifics of the cloak¡¯s make and other information for cleaning and care as well as letting me know it was a Divine Raiment that only I could wear. I put that note away as well, wanting nothing more than to just try it on.


    Moving my hair out of the way, which turned out to be more of a hassle than normal due to its length, I ced it on my shoulders and sped it with the tiny fox shaped sps. After a few seconds it shrunk to afortable size. Wearing it was amazing as well. The back was split into two parts, sort of like a long scarf, leaving my back exposed due to my current number of tails and the fact I¡¯d have more in the future. The hood was deep and, ording to the others, hid my face in perfect shadow, only showing my glowing blue eyes.


    ¡°I love it, Fia. I have no other words other than that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m so d. I¡¯ve been worried about it for the past month.¡± (Fia)


    I lowered the hood and hugged Fia again. She began patting my head and smiled. After another minute of this, we let go.


    ¡°So, with the gift given, what do you feel like doing the rest of the day?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hmmm.¡± (Keeno)


    While I would have loved to see Ama, I knew it wasn¡¯t possible, so I thought about it.


    ¡°Anyone here want to go and just rx by ake? No worrying about anything, just sit there, enjoy the day, fish a bit.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sounds fun. We do need some rest since we¡¯ve been working nonstop thest few weeks.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I like the sound of fishing.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Want me to cook any we catch?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡°NO!!¡±¡± (Keeno and Pram)


    {Pffft.}


    ¡°I know I¡¯m not great, but I can¡¯t be THAT bad.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, Fia. I know you¡¯ve improved over the years, but Keeno is actually super good at¡­what did you call it?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Campfire cooking. Still bad in a kitchen, but out in the open and simple things I feel like I can at least be called above average.¡± (Keeno)


    For a split second I thought I heard a whisper saying something about more training but decided that it was nothing before standing up and walking toward an exit with my new cloak billowing behind me.


    ¡°She¡¯s going to try and be as dramatic as possible now, isn¡¯t she.¡± (Fia)


    {Isn¡¯t it adorable?}


    ¡°I can hear you; you know.¡± (Keeno)


    We left the temple, thankfully without having to sneak from those pdins Fia seemed to hate. Also, something I noticed about my new cloak is that the phoenix feathers periodically shed blue like my mes which I found very pretty, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile at the gift, my public persona be damned. Leaving through one of the gates this time, we walked over to the bigke, now a slight bit shallower, next to the city. It was just as serene as thest time I saw it, reflecting the sky and space clouds like a perfectly crafted mirror. There were a few other people here as well, but all of them were far enough away that they wouldn¡¯t bother us. We found a nice, sunny spot and sat down. I immediately pulled out some fishing stuff while Pram and Freyaid down on the grass. Fia sat down next to me after pulling a small log out of her own storage ring.


    ¡°Got a spare one of those?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°I have several.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Why?¡± (Fia)


    I looked away while scratching my cheek.


    ¡°I may or may not have gotten frustrated and burnt a few a few times.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    I ignored Fia¡¯s slightly judging gaze and cast a line into the water. She sighed and did the same soon after. A little while after this, Huginn and Muninnnded next to me, eyeing my new cloak with interest.


    ¡°And where have you two been?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Cawcacaw.¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°I see. You¡¯ve been training your underlings in the ways of reconnaissance and assassination. Interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a goal for a different third Authority? If you aren¡¯t careful, you¡¯ll be the Goddess of Ravens.¡± (Fia)


    {Actually, there are special circumstances to any Authority over Feathered Beings now, so she can¡¯t.}


    ¡°¡­Huh?¡± (Fia)


    {Don¡¯t worry about it for now.}


    ¡°If you say so.¡± (Fia)


    We fell into silence as my two birdpanions hopped around me before deciding they could inspect my featherster and hopped into my tails for a nap. We spent many hours sitting there fishing while Pram and Freya fell asleep in the embrace of one another. Fia and I had started a smallpetition to see who could catch more fish, which I was winning. I also got to see a rare side of Fia getting frustrated. So much so she identally burnt one of my fishing rods which got quite a fewughs from me and Ama and an embarrassed pout from Fia. A few more hourster, and me being dered the undisputed winner of our impromptu contest we were packing stuff up and waking the two sleeping lovers when something unexpected happened.


    ¡°Well, well, well, you¡¯re a very hard person to find, Fiametta.¡± (???)


    ¡°That voice¡­Mostima?¡± (Fia)


    Turning to face where the voice came from, I saw that fallen angel we briefly met on our way out of Vanir.


    ¡°Hehehe. I hope you won¡¯t run away this time. We have a lot to talk about.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I never ran, I just had a lot of important things to take care of.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Really, causest I remember seeing you it was with a look of horror as most of Lokir was awash in a sea of ever-burning mes while horrors beyond words burned along with them.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten over it.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s good, but just abandoning your partner like that afterwards makes you look bad. Do you have any idea how much trouble it was getting out of there after things calmed down?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I¡¯d imagine very difficult, not that it¡¯s any easier for me there anyway. Did you know they still me me?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehe. I¡¯m surprised you ever went back.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°My job called for it.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Oh? And what does that Sunny Fox Lady have you doing that¡¯s so important?¡± (Mostima)


    I saw red.


    ¡°Show her some respect.¡± (Keeno)


    Before I knew it my swords were in my hands and I was about to move toward her when I felt an unseen pressure on me, making it extremely hard to move.


    ¡°Heh. So, you can still move? Interesting.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Stop it, Tima. If you don¡¯t, we¡¯re all going to have problems and start an unnecessary conflict.¡± (Fia)


    The pressure on me instantly vanished.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move location. Seems we have a lot more to discuss than I thought.¡± (Mostima)


    She stepped past me and stood next to Fia.


    ¡°Oh, and sorry about the gravity thing, Little¡­Fox? It¡¯s a force of habit when people show hostility to me.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Hmph.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*¡± (Fia)


    {Ipletely agree, Fia.}


    We then started walking back to the city for a long night of interrogation.


    Chaos Realm:


    Alex: Payto, are you back yet!?


    No need to yell.


    Alex: ¡­Do I even need to ask why you are covered in face paint?


    Astraea and Evelyn.


    Alex: Say no more¡­


    Shh. That¡¯s why I said no need to yell. Don¡¯t wake Nykuro.


    Alex: Alright. Anyway, I wanted to ask what happened? As your Apostle I feel like I need to know, especially since my Destruction powers are weird now.


    In short, my Concept and subsequent Authority over said concept has evolved from Destruction to Nihility.


    Alex: ¡­That can happen?


    Obviously.


    Alex: In my defense I¡¯ve never seen it happen.


    You haven¡¯t lived long enough then.


    Alex: ¡­Just how old are you?


    Some things are better left unknown, Alex.


    Alex: I get it, so put the pressure away.


    Alright.


    Alex: So, anything I need to know?


    Just make sure to practice controlling it. It needs more finesse than Destruction and it has more consequences for use when used. So don¡¯t start mass producing Nihility weapons like you did Destruction ones.


    Alex: I can do that. Do I need to scrap the old things?


    No.


    Alex: Alright. I¡¯ll go get to training then.


    Good luck.

 Chapter 138- Reconciliation

    Chapter 138- Reconciliation


    [Keeno POV]


    After making it back into the city, we went to the Guild and Fia asked for a private room for us to talk. After securing the door we all sat around a big table. Fia pulled out some drink and several sses from her ring and poured some for each of us before sliding the sses to us. Mostima caught hers and downed it one go before sliding it back to Fia. The tension in the room palpable, especially between the two of them.


    ¡°Before anything else, Tima, show some respect to Rasu. This conversation won¡¯t go anywhere if you two don¡¯t at least act cordial.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°What does the Sun Goddess have to do with this? I know being her Apostle is important for you, but you¡¯ve never had a problem with how I address before.¡± (Mostima)


    Fia nced at me, and I nodded, not seeing any point in keeping secrets from a person who knew Fia¡¯s true identity.


    ¡°It¡¯s because she¡¯s Rasu¡¯s Fated One. You surely understand what that means, right?¡± (Fia)


    Mostima¡¯s eyes went wide, and she turned her gaze from Fia to me.


    ¡°¡­That¡­damn¡­*sigh* Sorry for getting off on the wrong foot this time, Miss Okami. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you or your Fated One, my emotions are just running a bit high since I¡¯ve finally found Fiametta after so long.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve met before?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Briefly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We shared a campfire for a bit. By the way, was it you who made such a scene in Vanir? When I got there after that night things were strained and that oh so infamous Hunter was all anyone could talk about.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Well, at least Red seems to be getting stuff done. I wish she would talk to me sometimes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Well, this surprising information aside, I should also apologize to you, Mostima. I know it probably doesn¡¯t mean much seeing as I¡¯ve kind of avoided this for¡­a few thousand years, but it¡¯s all I can really say.¡± (Fia)


    Fia then downed her own ss before refilling both hers and Mostima¡¯s and sliding it back to her. The blue haired fallen angel caught it again and looked down into the amber liquid as she mulled over Fia¡¯s words.


    ¡°Can someone please exin what¡¯s happening and some context?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°In the time before the Dead Zones, the world was much different and there was a time then where horrors called Fiends appeared. They started wreaking havoc on the world, corrupting everything they touched, causing mortals to go mad, killing everything indiscriminately. Basically, a time where almost nothing good ever happened.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°In those times, mortals banded together with the few Gods around at the time to fight and eradicate the Fiends. Still a lot of losses, but we managed to seed in the end. In one such case was in current day Lokir. To win that battle I as a newly appointed Apostle had to stoop to drastic measures. Those measures being full use of my Soul Weapon.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That, in turn, caused all of Lokir except the area where the Dead Zone is to be a desert of ash and mes.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Hence my title as Eternal me.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°At the time, it was an unavoidable oue, though it also cemented Fiametta¡¯s status as extremely hated by the natives of thatnd. She also, forck of a better word, ran after that happened. I did hear that she yed a big part in the final battle.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°It was a very grueling, horrible battle too. I still sometimes see it in my dreams, though it¡¯s been a while since I have after Okami showed up.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Anyway, after the Fiends were eradicated, I spent all these years looking for Fiametta. You are a very hard phoenix to find. Every now and then I would hear a rumor of you being somewhere only for you to be long gone when I got there. I actually heard you were spotted in Lokir not too long ago and was preparing to head that way when I ran into you here.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°For my part I was mostly going around making sure the Dead Zones were doing their job, or at least as close as I could get to them in some cases like here in Odeen where I had to be more careful else people get stupid ideas. Then 20 years ago I had to go to Falheim to get Okami. After sessfully getting her out, we spent 13 years in Solheim before going separate ways.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°To think I could have found you in Solheim.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I actually tried my best to make sure no information about that got out. Not so you couldn¡¯t find me since I actually didn¡¯t know you were still looking for me, but because I didn¡¯t want any people who I¡¯ve made enemies of to find us as well as just treating it like a vacation.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, are you done with the Dead Zones? I¡¯ve been around long enough to know Vanir doesn¡¯t have one anymore.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°That¡¯s where Ie in. But first, full introduction seeing as Fia trusts you and you know about my circumstances to a certain extent. I¡¯m Keeno Fafnir Okami, Goddess of the Blue Sun and Death, aspiring Goddess of Runes, and the Fated One of Amaterasu who needs no introduction. And, while you know this, I¡¯d still prefer you call me Okami for now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Honestly Keeno, that stiption hardly seems necessary seeing as most people who find out your name end up calling you by Keeno nearly as soon as they learn it.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I know that happens a lot, but I still at least want to try and keep it as a precedent of formality.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You¡¯re just being stubborn.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m dismantling the Dead Zones so I can fullye into my power as a goddess. Fia has been going around setting things up, so I have a slightly better time doing so, though the only time so far that has actually helped was in Vanir. After that we¡¯ve gotten Falheim¡¯s and we¡¯re on the way to get Odeen¡¯s. We have two contacts inside the capital that are going to help us as well, though only one of them knows this, the other doesn¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hoho. Seems like it¡¯s nearing time for the world to change again. If you don¡¯t mind me asking, who are your contacts?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°An, the new Prime Minister and Ena the Death Dragon.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pffft.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s gross, Fia.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°When did you meet the Prime Minister?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°He was that noble we befriended on the way to Vanir. Apparently, he inherited the position recently.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That is a surprise, but the dragon isn¡¯t. I mean, you have some rtion to the old Dragon Queen after all.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°¡­Eh!? Mum¡¯s the Dragon Queen!? Dragons have a queen!?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pfffft. Mum!!?? She¡¯s your mother!!??? How, she died a thousand years ago!?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°She got better.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hahahahahahaha! I¡¯ve been waiting to see that reaction! It¡¯s also funny how you can¡¯t ever escape being royalty.}


    ¡°It¡¯s not that funny, Ama! Why didn¡¯t you tell me!?¡± (Keeno)


    {Because you never showed that much interest in it directly to me.}


    ¡°That¡¯s just semantics!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s calm down and get back on topic.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thank you, Freya. Fafnir rted things aside, after taking care of the Dead Zone here, they are heading to Lokir, right?¡± (Fia)


    ¡°That¡¯s the n if everything works out. If they don¡¯t, we end up dead, but I¡¯m not gonna let that happen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten you some allies there in the form of the Radiant Knights.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°They¡¯re still around?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I was surprised by it as well, but yeah. Though they now hide that affiliation under a different name which is the Knights of Eclipse.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°¡­Well. I have some information on them. I was actually going to get to it after the Prime Minister was mentioned, but now things are getting even more interesting. See, there is an envoy from Lokir here in Odeen to discuss some trade agreement along with Odeen and Nidavellir. They¡¯ve been having meetings for a while now, from what I¡¯ve heard and the guards for said envoy are the aforementioned Knights of Eclipse, or at least their leader.¡± (Mostima)


    {Phobos is being a bit heavy handed here. This reeks of his influence.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, Ama. He needs a better hobby than making things easy like this. It¡¯s honestly been going ufortably well.¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s it, I¡¯m gonna go get Hresvelgr and we¡¯re going to teach him a lesson for meddling with stuff this much. Happy birthday, Keeno. If I¡¯m not back before midnight, get Fia toe find me.}


    ¡°I heard that.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°So, anyone want to tell me why I¡¯m hearing this weird noise in my head? Sounds super scratchy and only shows up when you are talking to who I assume is Goddess Amaterasu.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s a countermeasure so no angels can hear Ama when she talks to me. Don¡¯t know why it sounds like static to you though.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Oh, I got caught up in the conversation so far, but going back to the beginning a bit, Fiametta, tell me, why did you run back then, well, I know the reason, what I actually want to know is why you never at least told me where you went or tried to find me afterword. I won¡¯t take an excuse like you forgot or you thought I died between then and now.¡± (Mostima)


    Her expression grew extremely serious, and her pointed tail swished back and forth in suspenseful agitation.


    ¡°Honestly, directly after that, I just didn¡¯t want to face you. Lokir was also your homnd and I reduced literally the entire country to ash. I thought you¡¯d hate me, so I ran both from the consequences and you. Am I proud of that? Not in the slightest, but it¡¯s not like I can go back in time and change it. And even if I could, I wouldn¡¯t.¡± (Fia)


    Mostima looked down at the table, her hair hiding her expression.


    ¡°¡­I could never hate you. I never have¡­I¡­it¡¯s impossible.¡± (Mostima)


    I looked at Freya and Pram. The three of us clearly heard what she said, but Fia obviously didn¡¯t. The three of us observed Fia as she stared at the fallen angel with an expression full of nervousness mixed with sadness and¡­longing? Clearly Fia still valued the friendship they shared.


    ¡°Fiametta, we were partners who fought on the worst battlefields to ever grace this world¡¯s history. We faced death more times than I can count and saved each other¡¯s lives just as many times. One decision that led to a major victory, no matter how destructive it was, could make me hate you. I won¡¯t lie and say I wasn¡¯t the happiest person when you ran away, but after so many years of thinking about it, I understood at least some of why you did. I don¡¯t me you in the slightest. I know you weren¡¯t and clearly still aren¡¯t that adept at reading people when they are close to you, and I can also tell you are finally getting better at that, but you or the goddess you served should have been able to figure that out after all this time.¡± (Mostima)


    By the end of her statement her voice started to break with tears. Fia, for her part, was also on the verge of crying as well. I had never seen her look so vulnerable that it made me sit back and watch instead ofmenting on Mostima¡¯s dig at Ama.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­not that she didn¡¯t try¡­I was the one that didn¡¯t want to listen when she tried. After a long enough time of that she just stopped trying. Like I said, I felt I couldn¡¯t face you. After so long I¡¯d gotten so used to ignoring it that¡­¡± (Fia)


    She couldn¡¯t even finish speaking as the tears took over. She slumped forward, holding her face in her hands as she sobbed. I wanted to get up andfort her, but I knew that this wasn¡¯t the ce for me to do so. Looking over at Mostima, she had a soft look on her tear-stricken face. She quietly got up and walked over to Fia before pulling her close and patting her head.


    ¡°Fiametta¡­Fia, you were my closest friend, partner in battle, you were everything to me. You saved me when I was this close to being killed by a Fiend just after my Fall, you did your best to keep everyone safe, even at the cost of your beautiful feathers until you had no more to give. Even when you became the Apostle of the Sun, I was the only one to never treat you differently when all you wanted was a shoulder to cry on and someone to watch you back without revering you. I could never EVER hate you. I LOVED you; I STILL LOVE you. Do you want to know what I thought when I saw you sitting next to thatke earlier? I was excited and relieved. I wanted to do nothing more than run up to you and hug you. To just sit there hugging you until all that existed in the world was the two of us.¡± (Mostima)


    Pram and Ipletely fell silent. We looked at one another before looking back at the two and back at one another again. We came to a wordless mutual agreement.


    ¡°Mostima¡­am I-¡± (Fia)


    ¡°No words, Fia. Just listen to me.¡± (Mostima)


    Mostima held Fia¡¯s shoulders and crouched until they were face to face and staring into each other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I never told you back then because I was never sure if I would survive. After you ran, though I couldn¡¯t focus on finding you for a while, you were always in my thoughts. You are the first and only person I¡¯ve ever loved. I expected these feelings to go away at some point in my long journey to find you, and for a long time I thought they did, but the second I saw you it was like the mes of my feelings were reignited. I know I probably sound like I¡¯m trying to manipte you or something, but I NEEDED to tell you this.¡± (Mostima)


    Fia, for her part, waspletely silent. Her sobs had stopped, and she was staring nkly into Mostima¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Tima¡­¡± (Fia)


    Fia¡¯s voice carried so many strong emotions that they even affected us. Pram pulled Freya closer, and I couldn¡¯t help but reminisce on my times with Ama. On their side they were locked in a staring contest. I could tell that they were having a full conversation with their gaze seeing as I¡¯ve experienced the same kind of thing with Ama more than once. At the end of their silent conversation fresh tears streamed from their eyes and Fia wrapped her arms around Mostima¡¯s neck before pulling her into a kiss. Itsted for a few seconds before they broke apart.


    ¡°Mostima¡­I¡¯m so sorry. I never intended to hurt you and I honestly hate myself for never looking for you or even attempting to think about looking for you for all these years. I know that I am unworthy of your feelings¡­but I honestly can¡¯t help it. I promise you that I¡¯ll spend as many years as it takes to make up for it, but please ept this as my first step to redemption.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hehehe. You silly bird. Didn¡¯t I already say that I didn¡¯t hate you? I¡¯m just relieved that you epted my feelings. You always seemed so removed from things like this that I¡¯m honestly surprised.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°You can me that on the two foxes I have to deal with. They unt their rtionship so much that I¡¯m surprised my blood hasn¡¯t turned to pure sugar by now.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Hey!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pffft.¡± (Mostima)


    At this point I felt like it was time for us to leave the two alone to sort things out themselves. I stood up followed by Pram and Freya.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave the two of you alone for the night. Feel free to reminisce, gaze into each other¡¯s eyes, make out to your heart¡¯s content. We¡¯ll see you two tomorrow if you¡¯re willing.¡± (Keeno)


    With that we fled the room and went back to the inn for the night.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Well now, talk about an intriguing development.


    Tamamo: Definitely.


    Atmos: Hmm. Is that the definition of star-crossed lovers?


    Luna: No.


    *poof!*


    Soleil: Eh?


    Velvet: What the heck?


    Ophidia: Oh, hey Master!


    Skadi: It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been here.


    Mio: Same nya.


    Fenrir: It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen any of you, Mio excluded.


    Luna: Impromptu watch party time! Also, hey everyone! Missed seeing all of you.


    Soleil: You saw us a few hours ago.


    Velvet: You even told us we¡¯d being here soon.


    Luna: And? Time here is weird, so it feels like a long time.


    Fenrir: So, what¡¯s happened with that fox in a simr situation to you?


    Mio: Has she met any cats yet nya? Someone worthy of the Blessing of Nya nya?


    Ophidia: Did you know something like this was happening Skadi?


    Skadi: I wasn¡¯t. I feel left out now.


    Tamamo: It¡¯s not like we didn¡¯t try to reach out to you.


    Skadi: For my part, I¡¯m still getting used to taking over for my mother.


    Ophidia: And for my part I¡¯m still getting used to bing a goddess myself.


    Luna: That¡¯s fair. Come to think of it, only Soleil and Velvet haven¡¯t be goddesses yet. We need to change that.


    Tamamo: Ask if they even want that first.


    Soleil: As long as Velvet is fine with it, then it doesn¡¯t matter to me if I¡¯m only an Apostle or a Goddess.


    Velvet: I was going to say the same thing.


    Luna: Hmmm. Soleil could be a Goddess of Art and Velvet a Goddess of Reason.


    Velvet: ¡­


    Soleil: Be serious, big sis.


    Tamamo: Goddess of Vampires sounds better.


    Luna: Authority of Vampirism¡­wonder what that would hold power over exactly?


    Tamamo: Probably some esoteric something or other. She¡¯d be a subordinate of mine.


    Luna: Is that fine, Velvet?


    Velvet: Sounds fine to me. Not like I¡¯d be treated like a subordinate anyway. And the Temple of Fluff and Stars no longer needs our full attention, though I wonder how it works, being an Apostle and a God at the same time?


    Luna: We can ask thatter. For now, we¡¯ll get all of you caught up on recent events in this other world.

 Chapter 139- Decisions decisions

    Chapter 139- Decisions decisions


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next morning I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I was wrapped up in my new cloak and absolutely loving it.


    {Well, someone seems happy.}


    ¡°Well, I love my gift, and I¡¯m happy for Fia. What¡¯s not to be happy about?¡±


    {Very true. Maybe she won¡¯t feel jealous of us anymore.}


    ¡°If anything, it¡¯ll be us that will feel jealous. I mean all she needs to do is pop up when she wants some loving from her fallen angel.¡±


    {Hehehe. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that simple. I looked in to check on them earlier and let¡¯s just say Fia is like Freya, only turned up to 10.}


    ¡°¡­heh. Ehehe. Ehehehahahahahahahahahahaha!¡±


    I thought Ama would share in my tion at finding a new way to tease Fia, but she shifted her tone to a more serious one instead.


    {We need to discuss something.}


    ¡°Mostima¡¯s appointment as an Apostle.¡±


    {Exactly.}


    ¡°Does she meet the requirements for Magic?¡±


    {No. That one is a bit special and in all the time I¡¯ve lived I¡¯ve never seen anyone that matched the requirements.}


    ¡°She can bee a Valkyrie, but my gut is telling me that that would be a bad decision to make.¡±


    {Listen to that feeling then. What about Runes once you make that Authority?}


    ¡°I can start teaching them to her. It may not exist as an Authority yet, but getting someone started on the way to that Apostleship shouldn¡¯t be hard. Now we just need to convince her toe with us instead of traveling with Fia¡­Which sounds really bad when put into words.¡±


    {I doubt it will be that hard. You said it earlier, Fia can go get her job done, then when she feels the need for it, she can pop over to the nearest temple to your group. Or she can also start traveling with you, but knowing Fia¡¯s personality, she won¡¯t take that option.}


    ¡°Yeah. But also knowing Fia she¡¯ll use any excuse to basically be traveling with us in her down time. I mean she¡¯s basically been doing that for as long as we¡¯ve been in Odeen.¡±


    {True. What are we ever going to do with our silly little bird?}


    ¡°Love her like we always have.¡±


    {Hehehe.}


    I got up from the bed before taking my cloak off and changing into some daywear and sping it on again. I then walked over to the window and moved the curtains out of the way. Sitting on the windowsill outside were three normal sized steelfeather ravens. They turned to look at me and did a funny looking bird salute before turning back to look over the city.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {Hmm. Guess you are going to have a symbolic animal now. If this keeps happening.}


    ¡°Not that I really mind. If Huginn and Muninn keep training all the other ravens they find, I¡¯ll have many more eyes. Hehe. I can call them a Herald. A Herald of Ravens.¡±


    {I like it.}


    ¡°Hear that Huginn? Muninn? From now on, you two can make as many subordinates as you wish. Train them, lead them, do whatever. As my left and right wings, you two shall be the twin leaders of your race and together the three of us shall see and hear everything in all the realms. Nothing will ever again escape the eyes of Death. All those with corrupted souls will fear the sight of my Heralds and know that their crimes will not go unpunished.¡±


    Poking their heads out of my tails, the two nodded in their bird way. I smiled at them and scratched their necks where they loved it the most. After a very pleased ruffle of feathers, the hooped up to the window and opened it with their beaks before flying out, their much smaller underlings following behind them.


    {I wonder how long it will take them toe back?}


    ¡°I give them a week. They hate being away from me for too long, after all.¡±


    {That¡¯s true. I just hope they don¡¯t get into too much trouble.}


    ¡°I agree. Are they still eating eyes for some reason?¡±


    {I think so. They are hard to find when they go off far away, butst time they did, they¡¯d somehow killed a small bandit camp and ate all of their eyes, leaving the shiny stuff for their subordinates.}


    ¡°¡­I really wish there was a method to see what they see, just so I can make sure they aren¡¯t getting up to no good.¡± (Keeno)


    {Who knows, maybe that¡¯s why they keep eating eyes. It may make that a possibility¡­somehow.}


    ¡°Sounds like a magic ritual to me, so you would know the answer to that.¡±


    {Unless they are creating it as we speak, then it isn¡¯t. There are a lot of rituals, some I¡¯m not very happy about existing, but none that require the ingesting of eyes.}


    ¡°Hmm. Well, as long as it¡¯s not innocent people and they don¡¯t do that in front of Pram, who am I to get in the way of their snacking?¡±


    {This is why they can¡¯t stay away. You spoil them too much.}


    I stood there, watching them fly away, the lightening sky boundless.


    {You want to fly, don¡¯t you?}


    ¡°That obvious?¡±


    {Just because I know you. Why note up with a spell to fly? You¡¯ve made yourself float a few times, so just go extra with that.}


    ¡°Simple propulsion like that isn¡¯t flying in my opinion. The closest I can get is gliding too, seeing as apparently my cloak can allow me to do that. I don¡¯t know who Fia got to make it, but they put a lot of work into it.¡±


    {Hmm. Alright, I¡¯ll figure something out. Maybe even make it an exclusive spell for you.}


    ¡°Aww. You¡¯re sweet.¡±


    {What can I say? I love spoiling you.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    I shut the window and left the room. Going downstairs I found Pram and Freya sitting at a table ordering some breakfast. I sat down and did the same.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you hot wearing that?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I mean, I know I¡¯m good looking, Freya, but in front of Pram?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh!? Wha-¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You know what she meant, Okami.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehe. Freya, I like the heat, the hotter the better. It doesn¡¯t bother me in the slightest. You should know that by now. I mean, how many times did the two of you move way to far away when we had to bathe in a river just because the water around me started boiling before I wasfortable?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s just, I thought wearing a cloak like that would feel stuffy.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s not. It¡¯s way morefortable that you think.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Where are the other two?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Huginn and Muninn?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I sent them on a mission. They¡¯ll be back eventually.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I wonder what the other other two are doing.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Do we even know what inn they are at?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    {It¡¯s the one down the street from this one.}


    ¡°Thanks, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    After our food got there and we ate, we immediately left the inn and started to look for Fia and Mostima. It wasn¡¯t hard to find them. They were sitting at an outside table in front of the inn they were at. Mostima had a satisfied smile on her face as she drank a cup of this world¡¯s version of coffee while Fia was sitting there, staring into her own cup, her face glowing the same red as her hair.


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Fia)


    ¡°Enjoy yourselvesst night?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Immensely.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Fia?¡± (Keeno)


    She didn¡¯t answer verbally, but the small, meek nod was all I needed.


    ¡°Well, congrats, you two.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Care to sit? We have things we need to discuss.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I was about to say the same thing.¡± (Keeno)


    The three of us sat down. I sat next to Fia who nced over at me, caught sight of Mostima who I was also sitting next to, and looked away, though I didn¡¯t miss the smile on her face when she did that.


    {Oh Fia. You adorable phoenix.}


    ¡°Getting right to the point, I want to travel with you, Miss Okami.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Oh? I was gonna ask you the same thing. I mean, I do know you¡¯d probably prefer to go with Fia, but that has its own issues.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. I love Fia with all my heart, but I also know myself and if I went with her, I¡¯d get in the way of her work. I also don¡¯t want to lose her now that I¡¯ve found her, so I figured traveling with you will allow me to see her regrly.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°It¡¯s funny. Ama and I were having a simr conversation earlier. We thought that it would be easier and when Fia needed you for <em>whatever</em> reason she could pop over and see you. Plus, if we¡¯re going to make you an Apostle, we need to get you worthy of being one. Magic and bing a Valkyrie is out, so I¡¯m going to teach you some stuff in order to get you to a position to possibly be one for the Authority I hope to create.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sounds interesting. Mind telling me more details?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°A question first. How good of a study are you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I say pretty good. If you want to live as long as I have, you need to be.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll get along very well.¡± (Keeno)


    I exined Runes a little and Mostima seemed interested, so we struck a deal there. After that she finished her coffee and stood up.


    ¡°Nice to be working with you, Okami.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Same to you, Mostima. Oh, and just so I put it out there for the future, don¡¯t ever hurt Fia. I know what you said yesterday, and I can be pretty sure that you never will, but still.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Okami.¡± (Fia)


    ¡°You know I was going to say it, Fia. I said the same thing to Freya, I will say the same thing to anyone that wants to be with my Valkyries. Anyone who hurts my family will be ended, and there is no way around that. And if they run, well, hehehe, they can¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You can be pretty scary when you want to be.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Comes with the job. But with this, everything is figured out but when we are going to move on. I think sooner the better, but we need to figure out what we need and a rough estimate of how long away the capital is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why not take a wagon? It¡¯s faster than walking and, though I doubt any of you need to worry about it much, safer than walking.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Last time we didn¡¯t have the money to do so.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°And it¡¯s not very convenient for me due to various reasons. One being my tails. The other being my eyes, as much as I dislike admitting to it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah. I didn¡¯t even notice. They suit you quite well, all things considered. Bit ufortable to look at directly for too long, but it¡¯s probably just something I need to get used to.¡± (Mostima)


    {And finally, another person gets it.}


    ¡°Heh. How much of that did Fia coach you on?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°All she said was not to judge you for your eyes. Other than that everything I said was my own opinion.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take thepliment.¡± (Keeno)


    We then discussed when we would leave before deciding to do so the next day. Seeing as a wagon was out, it would take us three weeks on foot to get to the capital and, ording to Mostima, another week in the capital city itself before we reached any part we actually needed to be in. As for our objectives there, Dead Zone aside, we had to meet with Ena, An, and our potential ally from Lokir.


    Chaos Realm:


    Velvet: ¡­


    Soleil: You¡¯re getting the same feeling I am, right?


    Velvet: Are all kitsune like that regarding their families, regardless of world?


    Luna: From what I¡¯ve seen, yes. It varies in degree, but still.


    Skadi: Must be a lot to deal with. Not that those two seem to mind it seeing as I don¡¯t see any other kitsune in her party.


    Ophidia: ¡­What is this feeling of kinship? Ever since that one dream I had that somehow turned me into a dragon, why do I feel some semnce of draconic essence from her?


    Tamamo: She¡¯s half dragon.


    Ophidia: Ah.


    Mio: Fen, calm down nya. I knyow you want to fight that wolfdy nya, but ku nyeed to calm down nya.


    Fenrir: I¡¯m trying, Mio, but it¡¯s like I NEED to fight her. I don¡¯t get why.


    Mio: *sigh* *pulls Fenrir into a kiss*


    Fenrir: !!!!!!!!!!


    Luna: I¡¯ve missed fun like this.


    Tamamo: Well, you have been busy.


    Luna: I wish I was at the point of unconsciously managing things like you are.


    Tamamo: You¡¯re getting there.


    Luna: It¡¯s just, progress is slow. Having Space infinitely expanding is hard to manage when you have to make sure nothing tears and lets the scary emptiness in.


    Tamamo: Come here you overworked fox. *Pulls Luna into ap pillow*


    Luna: Ehehehe.

 Chapter 140- Capital City, or Small Country?

    Chapter 140- Capital City, or Small Country?


    [Keeno POV]


    Three weeks have passed since leaving thest city. Fia, after spending another obviously passionate night with Mostima went back to the Divine Domain. What she failed to realize is that she could never escape the teasing. It was just a matter of who got to see the reaction. That aside, she was also preparing for her next job which would take her to the other continent. I also contacted Ena who, after giving her own updates, I asked if she could possibly set up a meeting between us, An, and the Knight envoy from Lokir. She was curious about the reason, but I told her that it would have to wait until we met in person, though I did let slip they¡¯d be a potential ally.


    For her part she had finally stumbled upon a roadblock in her search for secrets. In a part of the castle even she didn¡¯t know existed she found a single corridor. It was heavily guarded with magic. She would have sent some of her undead to brute force any traps, but she didn¡¯t seeing as if she did, she would no doubtedly be found out, so getting to whatever was beyond there was put on hold. We also set up a meeting point at arge abandoned temple that not many people ever visited.


    Now, at the present day, we were standing on a hill near the capital city, Pram, Freya, and Ipletely bbergasted at the immense size of the ce. When Mostima said it would take us a week to get anywhere important, I thought she was exaggerating, but seeing the city with my own eyes made me reconsider that.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°How does a city this big even exist? Even from what I can remember of my past life no city was ever THIS big!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s the biggest city in the world. Not sure though since it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been on the other continent.¡± (Mostima)


    {It is by a very big margin.}


    ¡°I mean, from here it feels like it could be a whole country itself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I honestly wonder how people manage to live there. I mean, what if you need something urgently, but you can only find it on theplete other side of the city?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Being honest, they have a lot of problems like that. There are a lot of ces for things like medicine or healing readily avable in most parts of the city, but if you need something specific that can¡¯t be found near you, then you take a multiple day journey to get it. It¡¯s very inconvenient for most citizens, though when I was herest, I heard some rumors that something was in development that would help make this a nonissue.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°How credible were those rumors?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°As credible as a few drunk metalworkers can be. It¡¯s a good thing none of you need metal for anything, it¡¯s been getting bought up by the crown by the minefull nearly.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°You need to teach us how to collect information like this. I can always rely on Huginn and Muninn and their growing number of subordinates, and what they say can be¡­unreliable.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, they are birds. They can¡¯t all be as smart as those two.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°True. Huginn and Muninn aren¡¯t the best with discipline. At least not yet.¡± (Keeno)


    The two in question squawked inint from my tails. They had indeed returned after a week before resting a day then going back out. This was their second rest day before they started working on converting the ravens in this city.


    ¡°Well, standing on a hill overlooking the city isn¡¯t going to get us anywhere.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Come to think of it, why do so many cities we¡¯ve been to have hills like this? I mean, it¡¯s not even that steep of a hill and we have a view of the city like we¡¯re standing on a mountain.¡± (Freya)


    {Something I call perspective magic. It¡¯s a little something I cast on the world a long time ago when I was obsessed with that one civilization. They always had interesting art and, to get more of it myself, I made a magic that made painting scenes like this easier. I just never got around to removing said spell because other things kept cropping up, and now it¡¯s basically a part of life.}


    ¡°¡­How do I respond to that?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You don¡¯t. You just ept it and move on.¡± (Pram)


    {Pram gets it.}


    ¡°As someone whose seen many things rted to gods in the past, this is rather tame. When you see an angry earth god create a volcano just to eradicate a Fiend nest the size of a small vige, then you can talk.¡± (Mostima)


    {Ugh. That guy. I¡¯m d he¡¯s gone. He was always so arrogant and heavy handed. But enough about all this, get going or you¡¯ll miss the gate.}


    We set off toward the city only for all of us minus Mostima to realize that the walls were much taller than we thought. They were so tall that I could have sworn only a giant of, well, giant proportions could build.


    ¡°There are no giants in this world, right?¡± (Keeno)


    {No. At least not in the way you¡¯ve described them to me before. Depending on the subspecies there can be some extremely tall beastkin or demons, but none at the size you are thinking of.}


    ¡°I think they built these walls by turning the bricks into golems and having them move themselves. Old building technique, but useful in a pinch. Used it a few times myself, not that I¡¯m particrly good at the puppeteering part of the process.¡± (Mostima)


    {It was a truly ingenious idea. Too bad it¡¯s fallen out of use for a lot of stuff thanks to mortals gettingzy.}


    ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d use it more if they were thatzy.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thing about golem building is that, depending on how strong you want them to be, some of the materials make it more expensive to build that way than just doing it by hand. Not all of us are insanely rich, have enough mana to provide direction without aid of a tool or focus, or a goddess that can snap her fingers and any kind of magic can happen perfectly.¡± (Mostima)


    {It takes a lot more work than you think to get to that point, even for me. If I told you how long it took me to fine tune things so that you mortals could use magic without causing all of you to self annihte yourselves, you¡¯d go insane.}


    ¡°I¡¯m grateful for all the work you do, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {At least someone is.}


    After entering into the line at the gate, we found that a very strict screening process was going on for everyone trying to enter the city.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t happeningst time.¡± (Mostima)


    Merchants were having their wares scrutinized thoroughly and adventurers were being interrogated like they were criminals. Getting closer to the guards performing the searches, I saw their souls were on the brink of bing pitch ck. Others frisking the merchants were already well past that point.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see this ending in any way other than a fight.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hey, how about you try that one Rune you showed me? Didn¡¯t you say you were going to try and start using more of those? Isn¡¯t this a perfect chance?¡± (Mostima)


    What she said made sense. I motioned for all of us to move to an out of sight spot. I took out a scale and quickly carved a Rune into it. After charging it with a small amount of Divinity, it glowed softly. I handed it to Pram before making three more.


    <em>¡®These should hide our presence and make us unseen for as long as the Rune holds. Just don¡¯t make too much noise or we will be found out. I know we don¡¯t have anything to hide yet, but if searches like this are happening, then someone important enough to order them is clearly looking for something or someone.¡¯ </em>(Keeno)


    I got telepathic signals of approval, and we approached the gate a second time, being as quiet as we possibly could be. Thankfully the Runes held long enough and the guards physically in the gate were more negligent than their friends outside it. We made it inside without too much trouble. After getting far enough away from the gate the Runes burnt through the scales, turning them to ash on the wind. It was then that I felt something.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {What¡¯s wrong?}


    I couldn¡¯t answer. My head was swimming and it felt like I was about to lose everything I ate today. I stumbled over to a wall and held myself up with one hand. I only started to feel better after a few minutes of waiting and Pram¡¯s magic. I turned my back to the wall and slowly slid down until I was sitting. The other three were standing over me with looks of concern.


    ¡°Something is <em>wrong</em> with this city. I don¡¯t know what or who, but if I can feel it, then it¡¯s¡­indescribably bad.¡± (Keeno)


    I looked up, peeking through my fingers only to see some shadows moving in an unnatural manner. They seemed to want toe closer but were keeping a respectful distance.


    ¡°Death Spirits.¡± (Keeno)


    The shadows seemed to stand at attention.


    ¡°Go contact the dragon. Tell her we have arrived and to go to the specified destination.¡± (Keeno)


    The shadows instantly vanished.


    ¡°Was it the Death Spirits making you feel bad for some reason?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No¡­it¡¯s something else. Those two were just here to greet us.¡± (Keeno)


    I slowly stood up from where I was sitting.


    ¡°We need to move. I¡¯ll feel better if I just get used to being here, so we need to get to the meetup spot. It should still be manageable to get to today, I hope. Ena did say it was near the entrance we¡¯d being through.¡± (Keeno)


    I took a step and stumbled a bit before being caught by Freya and Mostima.


    {Pram, use you magic on her at full strength. Try some that calms the mind before trying the usual small cures.}


    Pram nodded and put a hand on my head. For a minute all I could see was the slightly greenish-white light of the magic before the bad feeling diminished enough for me to walk normally.


    {Hmm. It has to do with your Authority of Death. That¡¯s what¡¯s going on.}


    ¡°I figured as much.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do you still want us to hold you up?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I should be good for a while, but if I nearly fall again, then I¡¯ll dly ept. Now, let¡¯s get moving. Huginn, Muninn, look for the abandoned temple we¡¯re looking for. Should have one of those big bell towers with a blue bell the same color as my fire.¡± (Keeno)


    The two flew out of my tail and started circling above us in big circles, looking for what I was talking about before spotting our destination and started flying that way. We followed under them, only to realize that getting there would not be as simple as going in a straight line. By the time we finally made it to the temple, it was nearing midnight.


    The temple grounds were, forck of a better word, decrepit. It was in the middle of a small grassy spot, though most of the nts were weeds. The doors to the nearly crumbling stone building were rotted wood one touch away from disintegrating. The one beautiful stained-ss windows were covered in mold, moss, and several were shattered. The only thing that seemed in a rtive state of upkeep was the bell tower. It was made of a pristine white stone that reflected the moonlight.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how bad it is, we sleep here for the night.¡± (Keeno)


    I made my way over to a dead tree and slumped down next to it. The others followed suit shortly after and most of us fell asleep immediately while having Huginn and Muninn keeping watch over us.


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: Things are getting interesting again.


    Luna: Finally. Though I¡¯m also impressed about the size of that city.


    Want some fun info about that city?


    Atmos: Oh? What¡¯s the scoop!?


    They are trying to develop a train.


    Atmos: A what?


    Luna: Oh!¡­What are you nning, mister Fate-Weaver?


    Nothing you need to worry about. It doesn¡¯t concern you.


    Atmos: ¡­Hehehehehehehehe.


    Tamamo: *Bonk*


    Atmos: OW!!!!!


    Tamamo: Don¡¯t get any funny ideas, Atmos.


    Atmos: Fine.

 Chapter 141- The Meeting

    Chapter 141- The Meeting


    [Ena POV]


    While dozing off after another day of wracking my brain on a way to get through that corridor undetected I was suddenly greeted by a chilling feeling. It woke me up instantly and I summoned my Soul Weapon while tiny purple embers started to rise around me.


    ¡°What was that?¡±


    I stood, alert, for several minutes before I got ustomed to the feeling. Another few minutes passed, and I rxed slightly, letting my Soul Weapon fade but keeping the embers around me. After yet another few minutes, I let the burn out before sitting again. When I was about to start dozing again, two Spirits appeared in front of me. As usual, the nearest skull started floating and a raspy voice came from it.


    ¡°Our Goddess¡­has summoned¡­¡­you. Do not keep¡­her waiting.¡±


    The skull then fell to the floor, shattering as the spirits departed.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    I got up again and made my way outside. Seeing as night had fallen, it would make things easier for me to get to where I was going. I made my way up to the top of a nearby building and made my wings appear.


    ¡°Hmm. The old mongrel¡¯s shady little eyes aren¡¯t watching me tonight¡­!!¡±


    I pped my wings and took to the sky, flying as fast as I could to the ce we were supposed to meet. I spanned the distance that would have taken a few days walk in minutes. With the moons high in the sky, I found the abandoned temple andnded quietly. Thankfully I got there before anyone else. Hiding my wings again, I looked around the small temple grounds. Next to a dead tree were four figures, three were clearly asleep while one was pretending. Perched in the branches above them were two of the biggest ravens I¡¯ve ever seen, staring at me with a mix of interest and skepticism. I took a sort closer to the tree and their gaze sharpened. I backed away and they went back to just staring.


    ¡°I would just stand there if I were you.¡± (???)


    The blue-haired one, who I now realized was a fallen angel got up, an air of caution surrounding her and a spear shaped stave in her hand. In her other was another stave, the end of which was circr in shape and with a strange aura surrounding it.


    ¡°I am Ena, the one who was to meet you here.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I figured as much. I¡¯m just telling you to stand there because getting any closer will make those two attack you.¡± (???)


    ¡°Are they your familiars?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Not mine, hers.¡± (???)


    I looked at where she motioned with her stave at the kitsune girlying down. Now that I was getting a better look at her in person, I had to admit she was gorgeous. Long white hair ending in almost glowing blue highlights, same as the ears atop her head. At her back were three extremely fluffy tails, as white as snow and tipped in blue like her hair and ears. In the center of her chest was a glowing blue light, brighter than one should have been at her age and tinged with a faint gold. At the corners of her eyes were small groups of ck scales that I would have confused for makeup if I didn¡¯t already know her heritage. As if sensing she was being stared at, her eyes slowly opened, causing my breath to get caught in my throat. Her eyes were some of the most beautiful things I¡¯d ever seen. Glowing the same blue as one sun sitting in a sea of ck darker than a moonless night, with slit, dragon-like pupils swimming in the center. They nearly awakened my inherent desire to collect precious things.


    ¡°¡­Ena, I presume?¡± (Okami)


    I could only manage a small nod. Her looks were one thing, but being looked at with those eyes in person left me feeling a distinct chill in my soul. Like I was being judged for every wrong I¡¯ve evermitted.


    ¡°Hmm. Are you always this pale? You seem unwell.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry¡­it¡¯s just, seeing you through the eyes of an undead leaves things¡­clouded. I was stunned by your appearance now that I can get a perfectly clear sight of you. And I was unprepared for whatever this feeling in my soul is.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll take thepliment, but things like that aren¡¯t important right now. If you¡¯re here already, that means something is up, or you were already near here before we got here.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Right. We need to move to a more secure location. It seems I was making too light of the old mongrel¡¯s paranoia.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Pram, Freya, get up. Huginn, Muninn, get ready.¡± (Okami)


    The still sleeping snow leopard girl sat up groggily, but soon was fully awake and got up with the wolf girls following shortly after.


    ¡°Whats the situation?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We¡¯re getting ready to move. Apparently we¡¯re going to have a harder time here than we thought.¡± (Okami)


    The two birds in the branches pped their wings and took to the sky, only their shadowy silhouettes backed by the moons to be seen.


    ¡°If you have any idea on a good ce to hide and talk, we¡¯re all ears.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason I chose this ce as our meetup spot. We jus-¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Caw!¡±


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Okami)


    Several figures appeared in the small grounds of the temple, covered head to toe in dark clothes that hid them in the darkness and silenced their movements.


    ¡°This feels oddly familiar.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°So, I¡¯m not the only one who thought that. It was Vanir, right? The day we met Freya.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Exactly.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a good fight.¡± (???)


    ¡°Mostima, want to make the opening move, or should we let our dragon friend there prove herself?¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Well, Miss Ena, going to prove yourself, or do we need to do the work?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Your theatrics are quite annoying, but if I can gain your full trust with this, then fine. Not like these mindless ants can put up much of a fight anyway.¡± (Ena)


    Turning to face the king¡¯s little shadows, I felt myself smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been quite tired of your peeping anyway, so taking out my frustration is also nice.¡± (Ena)


    I stomped my foot on the ground and beneath the feet of all the shadows that appeared here skeletal hands burst up from the ground and grabbed them.


    ¡°And it¡¯s quite fitting for the Goddess of Death to take a nap in a graveyard.¡± (Ena)


    The hands started to drag the shadows into the ground until all that was left of them above were their heads. Some tried to escape, but it was futile as the ones that left the clearing were dealt with by the two ravens. I stepped closer to them, my smile growing wider.


    ¡°It seems people havee to stop fearing my title as well. Just because I¡¯ve been preupied with other things doesn¡¯t mean Odeen¡¯s Death Dragon is a myth.¡±


    After taking another step, something I didn¡¯t expect urred. Echoing throughout the clearing the sound of a pipe organ sounded. Though I was confused as to why, I didn¡¯t let it stop me. I stopped walking when I was in the middle of the trapped shadows. I turned to face the one I wished to serve and held up my arms, as if to present her my catch of the day all the while summoning purple mes around me above the heads trapped in the ground.


    ¡°I offer you this, Oh Goddess of Death, in hopes that you ept me into your service. I hereby renounce my contract with Baldr Odeen and offer to you his shadows as well as my own soul. Should you judge me inferior, do with it as you please, all I ask is you resurrect my sister and cleanse me of my biggest regret in return.¡± (Ena)


    The mes around me descended into the heads, and they began letting out silent screams. It onlysted a few seconds until all of them were dead and the hands I raised pulled them under soon after. Looking at the Goddess standing in front of me, her eyes seemed to be boring directly into me. She then raised one of the two swords in her hands and the music in the air started to be ominous as it reached a peak. Around me shining orbs rose from the ground. At the same time, I felt a searing pain in my chest and I fell to my knees.


    ¡°Be careful when offering your soul like that. In the presence of someone like me, you may end up regretting it.¡± (Okami)


    In front of me a small orb floated. The kitsune walked up, moving through the other orbs while periodically cutting one. She stopped in front of me, my vision starting to turn slightly hazy.


    ¡°Hmm. You can be redeemed. Simr to how Freya¡¯s was when we met, your soul is mostly ck, but not so far gone as to need my intervention. As for your request, I believe regrets should be resolved by the one who holds them, not others.¡± (Okami)


    She stepped forward, pushing my soul back into my body and moving my face up to look into her eyes.


    ¡°Considering your actions just now, as well as your actions in the past that we¡¯ve known you, and the state of your soul as it is now, I believe we can trust you. I¡¯ll ept you and absolve you. Know that you cannot ever renounce this covenant upon epting it.¡± (Okami)


    I then felt a strange energy flow into me. It filled every part of my body with searing heat and pain, so much that I wanted nothing more that to scream. When I felt it envelop my soul, the world shed before my eyes. For a split second which felt like hours the world became a monochrome version of itself, the only thing with any color being the being standing before me. The glowing blue eyes that saw into my soul, searing their power into my body, making me something more than I was just moments ago. I felt my soul grow hotter and hotter until I thought it would outshine my core. Then, as suddenly as it happened, the fire invading my body cooled. Only then did I start breathing again.


    ¡°Rise, Ena, my Valkyrie.¡± (Okami)


    She held her hand out to me, and it was as if she had a radiance that lit the night. The music behind all of this became less ominous and more holy.


    I reached up and took her hand.


    ¡°Wee to the family, Ena.¡± (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Alex: All these events right now aside, this city is a logistical nightmare.


    Luna: Exin.


    Alex: It¡¯s too big, meaning that nothing can be reliably transported, especially with the technological level of this world. Not to mention medical problems associated with such a big city. You¡¯d need officials to run several districts that would never be able to reliably reach the kind or someone else of high importance and it would lead to corruption, among other things. And don¡¯t even get me started on the train Payto said was being developed.


    Luna: Oh? Keep going.


    Alex: They need much more than just metal to build it and the tracks, it would need to be run CONSTANTLY if it is to be of any use. Depending on if it is run above or below ground, they need to tunnel under the ground, which with earth magic is easier, but still difficult, would disce hundreds, thousands, or maybe millions of people, even worse above ground. The manpower to maintain a train in constant use, bordering on overuse, would mean no people working on or with the train will get any rest, even if they work in shifts¡­just ugh. It messes with my pride as a craftsperson.


    Luna: Maybe they just got the idea for it and wanted to build it before figuring out any logistics for it?


    Alex: Then they are idiots. Honestly, I don¡¯t get how that king even runs his country if his capital city is this much of a mess.


    Luna: Well, I¡¯m going to choose not to think about it because, I don¡¯t think things are going to get so far that you¡¯re going to need to worry about it.


    Alex: Probably, but I¡¯m allowed toin.


    Luna: Fufufufu. Then feel free.

 Special Collab Chapter

    Special Cob Chapter


    <i ss="fa fa-exmation-triangle" aria-hidden="true" style="padding-right:5px;"></i> Announcement


    This is a cob chapter written with with another Author from SH; Smiles. Please check out their /profile/135519/smiles/


    [In the usual apartment-like space, home of Payto and his family]


    *A message appears in front of Payto*


    {I think our realms are getting closer to each other.}


    After seeing that the message was from another God of Chaos, I let out a long sigh.


    {Thanks for the warning.}


    I cracked my knuckles and neck before stepping out of the door into the swirling, Chaotic void.


    {I hate it when this happens, stuff always gets weird and annoying to fix. Not that it isn¡¯t interesting as well.}


    [A time in the three weeks it took to get to Odeen¡¯s capital city; Keeno POV]


    ¡°Where¡­am I? Is this a dream? It isn¡¯t Sr Convergence¡­Ama?¡±


    As usual when weird things happen, I couldn¡¯t feel Ama¡¯s presence in my head. I looked around and found myself in what seemed to be an endlessly expansive grasnd, an equally cloudless and infinite sky above me that seemed to change to every color imaginable with every blink. Strangely enough, there were no suns in the sky, cementing the fact that I was indeed in a dream. I looked around to see if I was alone or if the others also found themselves stuck with me, but no luck. The seemingly only other person here was¡­


    ¡°Another person? And what is she?¡±


    She was a person with green hair with a periodic red streak running through it that for some reason reminded me of a nt¡¯s stem or maybe vines. Her eyes were a crimson red, very reminiscent of blood. Her skin was pale, like she¡¯d never stepped foot in the sunlight. She wore clothes that vaguely reminded me of casual clothes from my old world, mixed with robes the likes of which Pram now wore, reminiscent of the ones we found in those temple ruins. All in all, she seemed human, or at least close enough to human that she was indistinguishable from one.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± (???)


    ¡°My name is Okami. Who are you?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Name¡¯s Lia. What¡¯s a Sr Convergence?¡± (Lia)


    I was confused, who didn¡¯t know about Sr Convergence?


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? It¡¯s when bot suns ovep, making it look like they are a single one.¡± (Keeno)


    The confusion on Lia¡¯s face grew.


    ¡°Suns? You have two?¡± (Lia)


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± (Keeno)


    It was then that it clicked in my head.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯re not from the same world.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Guess not. I think I would have at least heard rumors about a beautiful foxkin like you if we were. I¡¯m from a world called Aerylin.¡± (Lia)


    While the news of other worlds was no surprise to me, something else from that simple statement was.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know the name of my world¡­I¡¯ve never really cared to learn it¡­if it even has one.¡± (Keeno)


    This caused me to have a small existential crisis, but Lia clearly didn¡¯t notice, or was just unconcerned about it as she kept talking.


    ¡°Did yours have a system?¡± (Lia)


    I was taken aback by this question. What¡¯s a system?


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Like levels and skills and stuff. It¡¯s a very important part of my world.¡± (Lia)


    A small part of my memories from my past life cleared up when she exined this and I guessed it was sort of like a video game system, like she called it.


    ¡°That aside, your world has magic, right? Mine does. Most people there need to use chants and stuff, but I don¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    Her eyes lit up and she smiled. I clearly hit on a topic that our worlds shared inmon.


    ¡°Yeah, my world has magic too¡­Howe you don¡¯t need to use chants if everyone has to?¡± (Lia)


    Seeing as this was most likely a dream caused by something weird going on, I didn¡¯t see a problem exining my situation.


    ¡°I¡¯m technically the Goddess of the Blue Sun and Death, with an aspiration to also be the Goddess of Runes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s cool!¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Yeah, though it¡¯s not all sunshine and rainbows for now. While I¡¯m working on it, I haven¡¯t gotten my full Authority yet, in a way of speaking. When I do though, I¡¯ll finally get to join my Fated One, who is the Goddess of the Orange Sun, Life, and Magic in the Divine Domain.¡± (Keeno)


    Lia got another confused expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s a Fated One?¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Basically, we are fated to be together by a Fate beyond Fate¡­ummm¡­like Soul Mates.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ooooooohhhhhhh. My world has a simr thing, though we have our own name for it, Soul Match. And, funnily enough, I¡¯m in a situation simr to yours. My Soul Match is the daughter on one of my world¡¯s gods, though in actuality we, or I guess our souls, are from a different, different world.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s the ce you¡¯re from called?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Earth.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I was shocked. We were from the same original world? Do all people that get reincarnatede from earth? It seemed my reaction was more than I realized as Lia¡¯s eyes narrowed in amusement.


    ¡°I¡¯m from there too!¡± (Keeno)


    This time she was surprised before an excited smile spread across her face.


    ¡°Really!? Where from? I¡¯m from the US!¡± (Lia)


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­hard to say. I don¡¯t remember a lot, and what I do remember is either vague, or extremely clear when ites to what I was interested in, mostly being anything rted to ancient Norse mythology and culture. I fancied myself an aspiring archaeologist, though I think I was more a novice than an official one.¡± (Keeno)


    She deted a bit, causing me to feel bad, so I decided to steer the conversation back to the topic from before.


    ¡°Do you have any magic?¡± (Keeno)


    Her eyes lit up again.


    ¡°Not much, but I CAN do this.¡± (Lia)


    She lifted her arm, and several thorn-like things grew out of it before retracting a few secondster.


    ¡°What was that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°My thorns. Though my appearance makes it seem like I am, I¡¯m not human. I¡¯m a Bloodthorn Spirit.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°What¡¯s a Bloodthorn?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s a magical, highly poisonous venus-flytrap, meaning I have a lot of poison rted skills. Most of me is poisonous, even down to my saliva.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°That¡¯s neat.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know, right? Those thorns, for example, aren¡¯t really created but are more like a part of my body that I can grow and retract at will. It was kind of hard to manage in the beginning, but it¡¯s now to the point where it¡¯s second nature.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Huh. Cool.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What about you? Any magic?¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Yep. The magic I use most of the time is my Sr magic, which is the most potent fire magic in my world, and it shares the same color as my Sun.¡± (Keeno)


    I summoned a few fireballs above my head as a demonstration.


    ¡°My body heat is also hotter than a normal person¡¯s, and I can control it at will, though when my emotions reach a certain point I kind of forget to control it and it increases in response to the intensity of said emotions.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Cool. Sounds perfect for winter.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°You have no idea. My best friend loves it in the cold too. Anyway, my other magic is Death magic, naturally.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Sounds kinda¡­terrifying.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Meh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What exactly does Death magic do?¡± (Lia)


    ¡°It mostly epasses necromancy. Though in my case, and the case of the one other person with Death magic that I know, we can see and interact with Death Spirits, though that¡¯s also probably because I¡¯m the Goddess of Death, in my case at least. If I work in conjunction with someone with Life magic and a deep connection with my wife, mix it with my own Divinity, and a few other specific requirements, I can fully resurrect someone as well. Other than that, it¡¯s mostly things to deal with my Authority over Death than Death magic itself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Amazing!¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Hehe. Oh, and a correction from earlier, my race is kitsune, not foxkin, though, I¡¯m also half dragon. It seems kitsune genes are dominant though, so my most draconic features are the slit pupils and the scales around my eyes. The three tails should also be a giveaway.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Aaahhh. I thought that was just makeup around your eyes, but them being dragon scales is also super cool.¡± (Lia)


    As our conversation reached a lull, a loud popping sound echoed throughout the space we were in, and a note appeared out of nowhere. It was a piece of ck paper with the writing on it being silver. It seemed Lia couldn¡¯t read it, though for some reason I could.


    {Sorry you two, our respective Seas of Chaos were passing close by each other and as a result you two were caught in the waves of the event. Your physical bodies and souls arepletely fine, you both just seem to be sharing a dream. This shouldn¡¯t take too much longer to resolve, so just sit tight, drink some coffee or something, and all will be just a distant memory.


    - Payto and Smiles; Gods of Chaos}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Well¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°At least we finally got an exnation of what¡¯s going on.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Yeah. And seeing as this is about to be resolved, we should probably say our goodbyes, so, it¡¯s been nice meeting you, Lia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Feelings mutual, Okami. I wish you luck getting to your Fated One.¡± (Lia)


    ¡°Same to you in bing a god.¡± (Keeno)


    As soon as our goodbyes were finished, I became extremely tired, to the point that I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes open. Once I finally fell asleep, I woke up to find myself in my tent, the sounds of birds flying around and the quiet snores from the othersing from nearby.


    {Keeno? What¡¯s up, did you have a weird dream or something?}


    ¡°Yeah, I did, Ama. But it was a good weird.¡±


    {Well, as long as you enjoyed it, then I¡¯d say it wasn¡¯t that weird.}


    ¡°Hehehe. I guess you¡¯re right.¡±

 Chapter 142- Recognition

    Chapter 142- Recognition


    [Keeno POV]


    Helping Ena up, I realized she was trembling and could barely stand.


    ¡°You alright?¡± (Keeno)


    All I got in response was a star stuck gaze.


    ¡®I think I broke her.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Poke her horns.}


    ¡®Ama, I¡¯m trying to fix her, not seduce her.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I don¡¯t know! Mostima, what do we do!?}


    ¡°Why would I know?¡± (Mostima)


    In my panic of identally breaking my new Valkyrie, I just tried something. I moved one of my tails and put it near her. Surprisingly enough, it worked and she suddenly regained awareness and buried her hands and face into my tail.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {She was right. Fluff heals all.}


    ¡°Who?¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry about it.}


    Shrugging off my questions, I pulled my tail away, much to Ena¡¯s displeasure.


    ¡°You back with us?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What if I said no?¡± (Ena)


    A small ball of blue fire appeared next to me. Ena looked at it and grew paler and paler after staring at it.


    ¡°Are you trying to immte this whole section of the city?!¡± (Ena)


    Her ability to yell in a whisper was astonishing and I shook my head in the negative.


    ¡°I understand the fun in messing around, burning the time for it?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh right! We need to get all of you hidden. Follow me.¡± (Ena)


    She started moving as quickly as her mood shifted and walked up to the rotting doors of the temple. As I expected, just moving up to them was enough for one of them to fall inwards and breaking into mushy pieces. Ignoring itpletely she walked inside, followed shortly after by the rest of us. I was thest to go in and as I did I nced at Huginn and Muninn who promptly flew off to do other business.


    The inside of the temple was just as decrepit as the outside. Weeds and grass were growing through cracks in the stone floor and bat-like creatures were hanging in the eaves. The only thing in any kind of good condition was the statue in the center depicting a very familiar pair of faces.


    ¡°Fu and Moco, do they know about this?¡± (Keeno)


    {Probably not. Hehe. Should I tell them?}


    ¡°Who?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Do it, Ama. They may bring Red and Ortilind along too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve heard from Red and Ortilind, I hope they¡¯re doing well.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I doubt they¡¯d be doing bad.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°True.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Is that Red person that hunter people in Vanir are so afraid of? When I was there after you three, she was all people were talking about, with how active she became.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Again, who what that voice?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Amaterasu, my wife.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh¡­why can I hear the voice of a Goddess in my head?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Because you¡¯re my kyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    Her tail twitched in confusion, nearly igniting a dpidated pew with purple mes.


    {That¡¯s what she calls her Apostles of Death.}


    ¡°¡­Oh¡­when people sell their souls to you, you really go for everything, though I feel I¡¯m getting more out of this than you are.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Meh. I¡¯m not going to make a habit of epting just ANYONE who offers their soul to me. I only epted yours because, so far, you haven¡¯t lied to us, I genuinely feel your dedication to wanting your sister back, and, though it was self imposed in your case, knowing how it feels to want out of something but not being able to leave until some outside influencees along is something I¡¯ve also experienced.¡± (Keeno)


    She froze in ce while the rest of us passed her. I stopped walking just as the clouds opened up and a beam of moonlight shone through a hole in the roof. I looked over my shoulder at Ena.


    ¡°I may be na?ve in many ways, especially as a goddess whose supposed to judge souls, but I know that ANYONE who would do as much as you, even going so far as to dedicate a significant portion of their life to a contract serving some tyrant abusing a gift from the gods for their own selfish gains, just to bring back their only family is someone I should trust. I don¡¯t condemn your actions, no matter how heinous, in service of that goal. I take Family very seriously, so making you one of my Apostles is not a decision I made lightly or regret. Even if it feels to you like I didn¡¯t gain anything, then that just means you need to watch and learn just what values I have to know that I¡¯ve gained more than you could possibly realize.¡± (Keeno)


    I turned my gaze away from her and stepped forward until I was standing directly under the gaze of Fu and Moco¡¯s statues. Looking up at them, it was like their already cheerful gazes were even happier after my little speech. In Ena¡¯s end, she was stunned speechless.


    {I thought you said you weren¡¯t trying to seduce her?}


    ¡®If my own beliefs are enough to make her fall for me even knowing I¡¯m taken, then she¡¯s easier than Freya or Fia was.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®HEY! I can hear you both, you know!?¡¯ (Freya)


    Ena moved again, sinking to her knees for a second time tonight, this time, however, I saw tears in her eyes when I heard her and turned to see her.


    ¡°It¡¯s been¡­so long since ANYONE has actually recognized my efforts. All people see when I¡¯m around is somezy, creepy, depressing, lizard who locks herself up in libraries, studies, and mage workshops and ys with skeletons. It¡¯s so FRUSTRATING just having to take it! I¡¯d just kill them, but that damn contract stayed my hand seeing as my ess to all of that would be revoked, and if I burned an entire country just to find a way to receive my sister, then she¡¯d hate me for all the innocents killed in the process. Sure, along the way the end goal has remained the same, but my inherent pride has gotten in the way and led to mycency of my situation. I guess what I¡¯m trying to say¡­is thank you.¡± (Ena)


    {Hehehe. Little miss dragon, if there is one thing you need to know about my precious Keeno, it¡¯s that she gives people what they deserve. If they deserve death, they will get it, if they deserve praise, they will get it, if they deserve recognition, they will get it. In your case, the recognition you¡¯ve received is well earned, there is no need for thanks.}


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better myself, Ama. And Ena, I get you are happy, and on a high from all these things happening so quickly, but know this for when your emotions are calmer, people can hide things, some better than others, but a Soul never lies. All souls but the most muddy and corrupted can be redeemed, you are no different. In your case, this recognition is the first step.¡± (Keeno)


    I stepped over to her and knelt in front of her to meet her eyes.


    ¡°And I already said it before, someone who has done so much for their family deserves all the recognition in the world. Nowe on, we have things to do, and you are the only one who knows where we have to do them. At least get us somewhere we can all properly rest before you break down.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®I know she means everything she¡¯s saying, but it still surprises me how she can change her mood and tone to fit situations like this so quickly. Not even ten minutes ago she was domineering and controlling and now she¡¯s like a caring big sister.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®Most kitsune are like that. That¡¯s why they are good merchants and negotiators. Most diplomats are kitsune, though I¡¯m surprised she is so good at this considering her age.¡¯ (Mostima)


    ¡®She was raised by a princess to basically be a princess till she was five and some stuff stuck.¡¯ (Pram)


    ¡®Makes sense.¡¯ (Mostima)


    Ignoring the conversation of the others I once again helped Ena to her feet. She had stopped crying for the moment and was wiping the tears from her eyes. She silently moved over to a wall panel and moved it out of ce.


    ¡°Follow me and block it back. This is one of the few secret tunnels the shadows don¡¯t know about.¡± (Ena)


    We all nodded and followed her, Mostima taking up the rear and securely blocking off the entrance. She then led us down the tunnel while following a purple me for a long while until we came to a small cer.


    ¡°This is our stop for now. It¡¯s going to take a while for us to get to my own ce, so we rest in these ces until we get there.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Where exactly is your ce?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I have several, but the one the shadows don¡¯t watch is under the aqueduct near the center of the city.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Why isn¡¯t that one watched by these shadows? Judging by what¡¯s happened so far today, he¡¯s paranoid enough to keep you under strict watch constantly.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Because it¡¯s one of the biggest gathering spots for the Death Spirits. No one ever goes to ces they like to gather unless they have something to hide, dispose of bodies, or are one of the crown¡¯s secretbs. Oh, and one of those has fallen by the way.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Now, we all need some rest and a certain dragon needs toe to terms with everything that¡¯s happened so far. We¡¯ll continue anything else in the morning.¡± (Keeno)


    All were in favor so we all chose a suitablyfortable corner and went to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Are we also like that Tamamo?


    Tamamo: No clue. I don¡¯t think so.


    Atmos: ¡­


    Luna: Anything you want to say, Atmos?


    Atmos: Not while you¡¯re smiling at me like that.


    Luna: Whatever do you mean?


    Atmos: Hey Luna, can I ask you a favor?


    Luna: Weird change of subject, but I¡¯ll bite. What do you want?


    Atmos: Your help in making a very atmospheric scenery for a date with Grey.


    Luna: Oh!? Tell me more and I¡¯ll happily help.


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Atmos: I¡¯m thinking me and him, big, prettyke, moon and stars shining as a reflection when a shower of those shooting stars happens.


    Luna: ¡­Why did I never think of that?! Of course I¡¯ll help with that!


    Tamamo: Atmos, I¡¯m going to have to have a talk with youter.


    Atmos: I¡¯m also saying all of this so you two can have a very nice date. Maybe not exactly the same, but think about it, floating on Luna¡¯s ship on a sea of clouds, nothing blocking your view.


    Tamamo: ¡­You are fine this time, but not next time.


    Atmos: Understood until I don¡¯t.


    Luna: What a very Atmos answer.

 Chapter 143- A Break for Some Research

    Chapter 143- A Break for Some Research


    [Keeno POV]


    It took us what felt like a month of moving through tunnels after our first day in the capital, though in reality it was only a week ording to Ama. We had stopped at many small rest spots and cers along the way while every so often running through other intersecting tunnels and some of these ¡®shadows¡¯ as Ena called them. Every time we fought them, just like the night with Ena, the notes of a pipe organ yed. At first, we thought that it would blow our cover, but Ama let us know that it was a minor blessing from the Goddess of Music and only those involved in the battle or major event could hear it.


    Luckily, the times we ran into the shadows were minimal and they were only ever in groups with small numbers. Ena had taken the initiative and done most of the work in an attempt to show off her skills and impress us. On the night of the sixth day, we had also started to run into a lot of Death Spirits ferrying souls in the direction of the Dead Zone. They had stopped when we arrived in this area and bowed to me to the best of their abilities before getting back to their work. Ena was also quite shocked at how they treated her now, with almost equal reverence as me. ording to her they¡¯d hardly ever acknowledge her before, but now all she had to do was ask a question and several would nearly line up to answer.


    All that aside, all of us were relieved when we finally made it to our destination and found we could see some actual sunlight instead of my makeshift sunlight in the tunnels when we got a bit too antsy. Ena¡¯s base here cameplete with windows, however small and high up in the walls they were, several beds, and so many books it was like a small library.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to be home again. Or as home as this room can feel at least.¡± (Ena)


    I went and sat on one of the beds, carefully stepping over a small pile of bones.


    ¡°Sorry about the mess, I¡¯m not used to visitors and have never been good at organized rooms.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve lived with Keeno and Fia, so this is nothing.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°We are not that messy!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Says the one that had a room full of poetryying everywhere but her desk and bird feathersying around in piles.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault Huginn and Muninn leave those everywhere! You know how may feathers I find in my tails every day!? Too many! I don¡¯t even know why they molt so much! It¡¯s not healthy for them, but somehow, they don¡¯t ever seem to look less feathery!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That really does sound bad.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I mean, they haven¡¯t been in them for a week but watch.¡± (Keeno)


    I waved around one of my tails quickly and several feathers flew out and stuck into the wall.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­That shouldn¡¯t happen, right?¡± (Keeno)


    I got up from the bed and walked over to the feathers. I poked one and my finger instantly started bleeding.


    ¡°Why are they like this? When I pet them, they don¡¯t cut me.¡± (Keeno)


    {Interesting. Keeno, I know you are tired, but help me out here, I want to see one of those feathers. Ena, time to learn an important skill for Apostles;ing and going from the Divine Domain.}


    ¡°Eh!?¡± (Ena)


    {Don¡¯t ¡®eh,¡¯ just imagine a door and walk through it.}


    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± (Ena)


    {For Apostles, yes. And gods, though that only applies IN the Divine Domain. Otherwise, we¡¯d all have space magic.}


    I plucked the feathers out of the wall by the spine with some slight trouble and handed them to Ena who had covered her hand with scales.


    ¡°Tch. How do these even cut through dragon scales?¡± (Ena)


    She closed her eyes and a shining door appeared after several minutes. She took a hesitant step forward and disappeared into the light, followed shortly after by me trying to go through as well, only for me to bounce off of a barrier-like film.


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    {If that would have worked, we¡¯d have done it a long time ago, Keeno.}


    ¡°I know, but I still needed to try.¡± (Keeno)


    I went over and sat back down on a bed where Pram walked over to me, healed the small cut on my finger and hugged me. I wasn¡¯t expecting the show of affection but epted it all the same.


    {And here she is.}


    ¡°Woooooooow. Everything is so pretty. It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen leaves of this color. The reds, oranges, and yellows are so vibrant. Though it¡¯s a bit warm.¡± (Ena)


    {I was actually kind of cold, but that¡¯s beside the point. Feathers please.}


    ¡°Here you go.¡± (Ena)


    {Thank you.}


    After a few minutes of silence Ama spoke up again.


    {Interesting. The feathers are taking on aspects of divine metals while also keeping the flimsiness and flexibility of normal feathers. Not strong enough to pierce anything harder than stone but cutting power enough to cut dragon scales¡­Ah! That¡¯s why. Keeno, it seems a small sliver of your Divinity has seeped into Huginn and Muninn, making them divine beasts, though on the weaker side for now.}


    ¡°Oh? Interesting, very interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Will that effect them down here somehow?¡± (Mostima)


    {No. Divine beasts are governed by a different set of rules than gods are, so as long as they don¡¯t grow too big while in the mortal world, things will be fine.}


    ¡°Define too big.¡± (Pram)


    {As big as a castle. While it¡¯s different for every divine beast, those two in particr are definitely going to grow that size now that I know what I¡¯m looking for in them. Though on the bright side, it will take thousands of years for that to happen.}


    I nodded at Ama¡¯s words when an idea struck me.


    ¡°Ama-¡±


    {Sorry to burst your bubble, Keeno, but they won¡¯t grow big enough to ride before you ascend.}


    ¡°Aww.¡± (Keeno)


    {I said I¡¯m working on a spell just for you, Keeno. It just takes a while.}


    ¡°I know.¡± (Keeno)


    Almost another hour went by while Ama analyzed the feathers and Ena basked in the ambiance of mine and Ama¡¯s home, much to my chagrin. Ama, on the other hand, kept praising the feathers for their properties in all the magic tests she was running on them. Some of the things she said about them also gave me several ideas for uses beyond being pretty and sharp. I also decided to try an experiment of my own and held a feather up to my cloak. The feather was promptly absorbed into it and the other feathers that made up the cloak took on a simr sheen to the one that was absorbed.


    ¡°Oooo.¡± (Keeno)


    Next, I took a golden scale out of my ring and then picked up another feather from inside my tail. I then poured a pinch of Divinity into the feather which started to glow a faint shade of gold and ck. Pitting the tip of my makeshift quill into the scale I carved a small Rune for making light and nearly blinded everyone in the room but myself.


    ¡°So, using it as a tool to carve Runes makes them more effective by a slight margin.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°A warning would be nice.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sorry.¡± (Keeno)


    I cut the scale with the same feather and the light vanished.


    ¡°So, note to self, collect or burn any of Huginn and Muninn¡¯s feathers that drop if we notice them. I don¡¯t want them falling into the wrong hands.¡± (Keeno)


    {I agree. They burn like normal feathers, so even a candle will work. I¡¯m going to keep these here, Keeno. Ena¡­where did she go? Oh. Ena! Go back, there are still things that you need to do!}


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± (Ena)


    Suddenly another shining door appeared and Ena was back. It wasn¡¯t that long of a time, but she looked a bit sunburnt.


    ¡°Lady Okami, your home is beautiful.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up from the chair I hadmandeered at some point and moved over to a bed, only to find everyone else had fallen asleep. It was then that the tiredness also hit me, and I yawned.


    ¡°Ena, tomorrow we need to n out how we are going to meet the two people we need to meet. And though you¡¯ve told us that it¡¯s normal for you to hole up in one of these ces for months at a time, but I think it¡¯s time you head out and see what the king is up to.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood.¡± (Ena)


    Iid down on the empty bed and the small light I conjured blinked out, making the only light in the room the faint beam of moonlight, mine and Ena¡¯s cores, the me on the tip of Ena¡¯s tail, and my eyes.


    ¡°Oh, and though I should have told you before, feel free to call me Keeno while we¡¯re in thepany of allies that know.¡± (Keeno)


    Though her face was obscured, I could tell she was happy due to the movements of her tail¡¯s me. While watching that movement, I drifted off to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I would think they would have nned that out while on the way there.


    Tamamo: Well, you saw that they didn¡¯t really have much chance to. Sure, they can use telepathy, but there is the angel problem, and they can¡¯t keep that spell that blocks that up constantly.


    Luna: It¡¯s just, I can see so many ways I would have handled this to this point, and it makes me antsy.


    Tamamo: Yes, but by this point in your own journey, you could have single handedly conquered the country in a day, gotten the Dead Zone gone, and been on your way to the next destination without breaking a sweat.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Ufufufu. But I also know your journey was about the journey itself.


    Luna: *silently wraps her arms around Tamamo¡¯s and snuggles up to her, their tails intertwining into a giant mass of Fluff*


    Tamamo: *Smiles and starts snuggling Luna back*

 Chapter 144- Eblana the Go Getter

    Chapter 144- Ena the Go Getter


    [Ena POV]


    I woke from my light sleep with a big yawn. Looking around the room and seeing the others in there, I was once again reminded all of the things from this past week were real. Even though we were just skulking through tunnels, this past week was some of the most fun I¡¯ve had in years. It was like I was with my sister again, with family. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from smiling at the thought. I reveled in the feeling for several minutes before stretching and getting out of bed. Undecided that it was best to not wake the others up, so I wrote a quick note to them before leaving the room.


    ¡°The early dragon gets the gold, as they say.¡±


    Making my way out through several tunnels, I exited from my favorite spot under the aqueduct. The suns had just started to rise, bringing light to the world. It reflected off the white stone of the buildings, casting interesting shadows across the city.


    ¡°So, while it will take some nning to meet those Lokir ambassadors, the prime minister should be easy. Hehehe. And I know just what to do to get that meeting.¡±


    Making my wings appear I flew up and around several buildings until I reached the castle. While normally I¡¯d take several secret passages, I didn¡¯t feel like alerting any of the shadows that way and taking the ones that were forgotten would take too long. While on my way there I savored the taste of the early morning air while I daydreamed of that beautiful forest view from yesterday.


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ll let me spend some time there at some point. It was stunning.¡±


    Landing on the small grassywn of the castle I waltzed right through the gates. The guards on early duty stiffened at my approach and immediately opened the way for me. As I passed them, I noticed a slight grey light shining from within them but when I blinked it was gone.


    ¡®I¡¯ll need to ask Lady Keenoter.¡¯


    After therge doors to the castle closed behind me, I made the long trek to a certain mongrel¡¯s office. I passed several maids and a butler or two who bowed to me with the grace of professionals, none even so much as flinching at my presence, which was a nice feeling, even if I knew it was something they trained to do. After another half an hour, I finally made it to the heavy, enchanted door and pushed my way in. Sitting behind the same old desk full of papers was the same old man who¡¯d been ruling this country for a thousand years. Only this time he seemed older. His hair was grayer and thinner than I remember, he hadrge bags under his eyes, and he was hunched over like he was about to pass out at any moment.


    ¡°Oh? Are you finally on your deathbed, old man? Ready to keel over any moment?¡± (Ena)


    He bolted like he was startled or woken up from a nap.


    ¡°¡­What¡­do you want, youzy lizard?¡± (Baldr)


    My interest being peeked, I sat down in one of the cushy chairs and stared at the old man, a barely concealed grin on my face.


    ¡°Well, I did have some business, but this takes priority. It¡¯s not like this isn¡¯t the first time you¡¯ve confided in me, so tell me what¡¯s gotten you so¡­old.¡± (Ena)


    He stared at me while scrutinizing my word before letting out arge sigh.


    ¡°Remember that nightmare?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°The one calling for your death? I remember it fondly.¡± (Ena)


    He red and scowled at me before continuing.


    ¡°It¡¯s been happening more frequently; to the point it¡¯s every night now. It doesn¡¯t help that other things have been going wrong, the negotiations with Lokir have stalled, those sted raven keep harassing me¡­my shadows are going missing¡­¡± (Baldr)


    He looked at me with suspicion.


    ¡°Do you have anything to do with that?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°Have I ever killed your little spies, even when knowing that they nearly always are watching me. Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t felt their gaze in a while, what¡¯s with that?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I received a report that a suspicious group led by a three tailed kitsune was seen inside the city but soon vanished as if they were just an illusion. And I haven¡¯t been able to find the report either. Hahahaha. I feel like I¡¯m going insane! Anyway, I sent all of them to look for that group. Some have gone missing on this mission, so I¡¯m assuming they¡¯ve been killed¡­hehehehehehehehe. I¡¯ve gotten an idea now, you stupid,zy, good-for-nothing lizard, it¡¯s time you live up to the reputation as my pet. Hunt down this kitsune and bring me her head.¡± (Baldr)


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m taking this reward up front. Where¡¯s the prime minister?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°What do you need with that whelp?¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°I heard thest one got reced and I haven¡¯t met the new one yet. Need to at least scare them a bit.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Geh. He¡¯s in his office. Other side of the castle.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°I know where it¡¯s at. Now get back to your nap.¡± (Ena)


    I stood up from my chair and noticed several ravens sitting in the balcony railing, a veryrge one in the center. I smirked at this sight.


    ¡°You got an audience, old man.¡± (Ena)


    He turned around faster than I thought he could move, and his eyes went wide with actual terror. Visibly trembling he raised a hand, and the light of magic began to shine only for thergest of the ravens to spread its wings, casting a shadow in the room. Baldr faltered and his hand dropped. The raven made sounds akin toughter and flew off with its smaller brethren, leaving one to continue staring directly at Baldr.


    I approached the window and the raven stared at me for a moment before flying off. I turned around d and walked to the door, only sparing a nce at the old man who was trembling even more now. I opened the door and was about to step out when I got an idea. I closed it back and approached a shelf in the room before picking up a random trinket, cing a small animal skull on the shelf and cing the trinket back. To hide this action, I picked up several more things and acted like I was observing them.


    ¡°At the price of actually sounding concerned, you should get some sleep. Get a sleep mage or something, they work wonders for dreamless sleep I¡¯ve heard, though the uracy of those rumors is unknown.¡± (Ena)


    I walked back to the door and left the room. Making a simrly long tell to the other side of the castle, I arrived at the office of the previous and now current prime minister. Unlike the king who had two guards stationed outside, none were present here. There were also no shadows present either, making my task even easier. Seeing as this person is a friend of Lady Keeno, I decided to be polite and knocked on the door and only entered when I positive response was given. Quietly opening the door, I saw a simr scene from earlier. A man in the prime of his life sitting behind a desk piled high with papers. He nced up briefly before looking back down at his work only to do a double take.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± (An)


    ¡°Your father or grandfather or whoever it is you inherited this position from didn¡¯t tell you about me? That makes me so sad. My name is Ena, the Death Dragon.¡± (Ena)


    I sat down in a chair facing An while he digested this new knowledge and grew paler as he did so.


    ¡°W-what do you want from me?¡± (An)


    ¡°Hmmm? I¡¯ll just ask outright then, want tomit some grand treason?¡± (Ena)


    He didn¡¯t even respond, he moved his hand to reach for something that would send a signal, so I applied some pressure on him, causing him to freeze.


    ¡°I could have worded that better. What I am trying to say is, want to meet with your friend Lady Okami?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­How is that and grand treason rted?¡± (An)


    ¡°Depends on our answer. Do you consider your friendship with her a higher priority than your duty to this country?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­¡± (An)


    His hesitation was a good sign. The reaction earlier was most likely a conditioned response to my suggestion. Watching his expression, I could see the internal debate being held in his mind.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t like many things here, and that feeling has only beenpounded after taking up position as prime minister. The nobles are all corrupt, the king sits in this castle, watching everything as if he¡¯s a god, the knights are just as corrupt as the nobles, taking bribes from nearly every crook and bandit, and it takes nearly more money to maintain this city than it does the rest of the country. It¡¯s so stressful I can feel myself age a hundred years in a week. Compared to that leisurely year traveling to Vanir, I¡¯d love to feel that way again.¡± (An)


    He pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in his chair.


    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know how this country has stayed together for so long. I don¡¯t understand how its projected this nearly invincible, untouchable, perfect image to the rest of the world when it¡¯s all just an illusion. I¡¯ve about done all I could do mitigate or absolve as many of these problems as I could, but without the king¡¯s support, much less the people¡¯s, I can¡¯t do anything. All of them are just happy beingcent¡­stagnant in this horrid situation, I¡¯m at my limit.¡± (An)


    I crossed my arms as he vented his frustrations. I contemted all the things I knew about this situation of this country and realized that I really didn¡¯t know all that much. I knew it was in an eternal spring due to the Dead Zone, I knew that the people here didn¡¯t care to truly advance aside from their inventions like that noise box thing, but aside from those and a few more minor things, I didn¡¯t know much.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure of her ns for you, or if she just wants to see a friend, she made a while ago, but I can take you to meet her. As for why it¡¯s high treason to see her, it¡¯s because she¡¯s the one the king is looking for, though he doesn¡¯t know it¡¯s her specifically.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°What could she possibly have done to make her a wanted fugitive? She and Lady Pram seemed to be too good people to do something that would earn a conviction like this.¡± (An)


    ¡°I¡¯m not at liberty to say. That¡¯s something only she can tell you, but what I can say is it has to do with the old man¡¯s paranoia.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­I see. Is there any way we should go about this then? I doubt it would seem normal for me to just up and leave.¡± (An)


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t you worry about that, just y along with me and all will seem like I¡¯m the one at fault. In this case, it¡¯s good my reputation with most of the knights and guards proceeds me.¡± (Ena)


    Before he could even ask what I meant, I got up, grabbed him, and opened a window. Stepping out onto the balcony I spread my wings and leapt.


    ¡°WHAT!!!¡± (An)


    ¡°AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!¡± (Ena)


    To make a show of it, I flew around the castle a few times, making sure I passed by the old man¡¯s office once or twice before diving toward the aqueduct once more. Landing next to it, I found the door to the tunnels and opened it. I only put the prime minister down after shutting the door.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± (An)


    ¡°Suck it up, it wasn¡¯t that bad.¡± (Ena)


    He stumbled a bit before leaning on the wall and sliding down.


    ¡°Next time¡­a warning would be nice.¡± (An)


    ¡°Meh. It wouldn¡¯t be convincing otherwise. Nowe on, we have a lot to talk about, and I need to get you back before tonight. If I don¡¯t, the old man will get suspicious.¡± (Ena)


    He sat there for another minute before standing up shakily.


    ¡°Lead the way then.¡± (An)


    I did just that and started walking, hoping that Lady Keeno would be proud to get her ns underway faster than expected.


    Chaos Realm:


    Hmm. Ena is a bit rash, but she¡¯s got the right idea at least.


    Order: Yeah. But I¡¯m kind of worried about that An kid, he¡¯s too stressed for someone his age should be, at least in that specific world¡¯s standard.


    True.


    Nykuro: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I like that dragondy. She¡¯s so deliciously evil!


    Heh. How so?


    Nykuro: She just kidnapped the prime minister, made fun of an old man, and scared those guard people so much they almost peed their pants. As expected of my future evil apprentice.


    Order: And when was that decided?


    Nykuro: Just now!


    Little Nyoodle, why don¡¯t we calm down? You can¡¯t just decide something like that so suddenly.


    Nykuro: HMPH!


    Order: Now, now, don¡¯t be like that. Think about it this way, what if someone even more evil shows upter? You wouldn¡¯t want to have your first apprentice be someone who is so easily outshone by someer down the line, right?


    Nykuro: ¡­Uuuuuuuu. You make too much sense, mum.


    I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t say anything about the king, he is also evil. I¡¯d say even more so than Ena or Keeno, at least in my perspective.


    Nykuro: That old guy is bad evil. Evil for himself, it¡¯s disgusting and makes me feel gross. The dragondy is evil, but the good kind.


    Order: I see. So, you only find the good kind of evil eptable.


    Nykuro: Yep.


    So, your Authority is based on Necessary Evil more so than Evil in its entirety.


    Nykuro: I¡¯m gonna go y with Astraea now, I need my dose of sisterium.


    Order: Just don¡¯t get in the way of Evelyn. If you do, they may end up not liking you anymore.


    Nykuro: I know! I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m not that in the way.


    *Both Order and Payto pat Nykuro¡¯s head*


    Nykuro: Ehehehe¡­I mean, it¡¯s not like I like that or anything, so I definitely won¡¯te backter for more!

 Chapter 145- A Reunion and Planning

    Chapter 145- A Reunion and nning


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up the next morning, I found a nice sight. Pram was still asleep, but Freya wasn¡¯t. Freya had Pram¡¯s head in herp, and she was gently stroking her head while looking down at her with a tender gaze.


    {They¡¯ve been like that for at least two hours. It¡¯s super cute.}


    ¡®I agree.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®Hehehe. Makes me want to do the same to Fia. She¡¯d have a meltdown and it¡¯d be super cute.¡¯ (Mostima)


    {That¡¯s definitely sounds like Fia.}


    I nodded in agreement before looking around the room.


    ¡®Where¡¯s Ena?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡®She left a note saying she¡¯d be back. She went to gather info and if possible, bring the prime minister with her.¡¯ (Mostima)


    ¡®Won¡¯t that cause a big problem?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Trust her. It¡¯ll work out.}


    ¡®If you say so, Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Not too longter I heard the sounds of footsteps echoing from the other side of a door and then the sound of stone rubbing against stone. From the passage behind the door walked Ena and a tall man with a well-trimmed beard, tired grey eyes, and a Vanir-made suit of mostly ck with a wine-red mixed in.


    ¡°¡­¡± (An)


    ¡°Good to see you again, An. The beard works for you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thank you, Lady Okami. I see you have also grown more beautiful with time, and you¡¯ve gained two tails. I¡¯ve heard that¡¯s a very important thing in Kitsune culture, so congrattions. I also see you and Lady Pram have gained morepanions.¡± (An)


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I¡¯m Freya, Pram¡¯s girlfriend. I¡¯ve heard some interesting things about you, Sir An.¡± (Freya)


    Freya¡¯s words wereced with sarcasm, especially thest part of her greeting.


    ¡°Hehe. To put your mind at ease, Lady Freya, I assure you I only hold feelings of friendship for Lady Pram now. She was very clear in her rejection of my advances, and after a stern conversation with Lady Okami, I epted it.¡± (An)


    ¡°I¡¯ll believe that for now.¡± (Freya)


    Mostima stepped forward to break the tension that was building one-sidedly from Freya¡¯s side.


    ¡°Name¡¯s Mostima. Nice to meet you.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°A pleasure, Lady Mostima.¡± (An)


    ¡°Now, I know there are probably a lot of questions swimming around in your head, An, but let¡¯s wait just a minute for that. Ena, good job. I really appreciate you doing this so quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    She smiled and was trying to keep a calm demeanor, but her tail gave away just what she was feeling.


    ¡°Ena, we can talk about other thingster. Seeing as we don¡¯t want to raise too much more suspicion at the moment, we¡¯ll get this underway. An, what have you been told so far if anything?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Only that, apparently, talking with you ounts to high treason and that you are the source of the king¡¯s paranoia.¡± (An)


    ¡°Then, to exin a bit before we get to what really needs talking about, we are going around and taking away the Dead Zones. We¡¯ve already done this in Vanir and Falheim, and, seeing as we¡¯re here, this one is next.¡± (Keeno)


    Just this brief statement brought a myriad of expressions and emotions across An¡¯s face with the most prevalent being fear and intrigue.


    ¡°¡­How is the possible? Taking away something gifted¡­by¡­¡­the Gods¡­Lady Okami, are you an Apostle?¡± (An)


    My only reply to that question was a smile before I moved on with the conversation.


    ¡°If your next question is what will happen to this country, then I can only say I don¡¯t know, but it will probably fall apart. And I will make this absolutely clear, I am NOT going to stop. Even if you are my friend, you won¡¯t convince me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That does answer the question I was going to ask, so let me ask a different one. Why tell me this?¡± (An)


    ¡°Firstly, and most importantly, you are my friend, and I don¡¯t want you to get even more caught up in this than you already are. Secondly, we need your help. As Ena has said, just you being here talking to us is high treason, so obviously we can¡¯t just freely walk around outside, but we need to meet with the Lokir envoi, specifically, a knight guarding them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Are they also in on this n?¡± (An)


    ¡°Hard to say. Not for Odeen, but Lokir was nned to be next. My friend Fiametta has been going around, finding people that can help us get to the Dead Zones easier and this knight is someone she met with. I believe she said her name was Margaret?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Leader of the Eclipse Knights.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Ah. Lady Margaret, she¡¯s a very kind individual, though I can see why you need help meeting with her. Hmmm.¡± (An)


    Seeing he was already fully helping just by contemting this problem made me feel relieved. I was prepared to get rejected, cursed, or even attacked, but seeing him doing none of these was nice.


    ¡®He¡¯s much more stressed than you think, Lady Keeno. I¡¯d even say he would rather abandon this country than help keep it together by a thread.¡¯ (Ena)


    She went on to tell me about his whole rant when she first found him.


    ¡®Oh. Your birds are also harassing the old man. What do they like, I want to reward them.¡¯ (Ena)


    ¡®From what I¡¯ve seen, they like meat, and eyes.¡¯ (Freya)


    ¡®They also like wine, but never give them any. I hate dealing with them when they are in any way intoxicated. Bird poop doesn¡¯te out of my hair or tails very easily.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°AH! Lady Okami, I think I know a way for you to meet with Lady Margaret, but it will take some preparation.¡± (An)


    I turned my attention back to An and motioned for him to continue.


    ¡°You know of the noise boxes, correct?¡± (An)


    I nodded.


    ¡°Soon, there will be a poorly timed, very expensive event that will be broadcast to all noise boxes. For diplomatic purposes, the Lokir envois were invited to watch alongside King Baldr. I believe I can get you a meeting with Lady Margaret at that time. It will be very risky, but it¡¯s the only thing I can think of that will allow you to do this.¡± (An)


    ¡°Hmm. Guess I¡¯ll have to hide my tails for a while¡­as well as my eyes.¡± (Keeno)


    Just the thought of hiding my eyes made me shiver in difort.


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡®It¡¯s necessary for this¡­what¡¯s momentary difort when it will help in the end?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°That obviously makes you ufortable, so why not just use that effect from your cloak? Or use those Runes you used to get us in the city in the first ce.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Using my cloak like that would draw more suspicion, and while the Rune idea would work, I don¡¯t want to use too much of that power and not be in peak condition to fight if I have to. Remember, it¡¯s not as abundant as my mana is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sir An, will it be possible for you to provide positions of guards and the like, or do we need to go in blind?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I can easily get you that.¡± (An)


    ¡°I¡¯d be more worried about the shadows. Even if all of them are mobilized to find you, if the old man leaves the castle, they will all be guarding him. If getting around the guards is easy, then that¡¯s our next obstacle.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hmm. That is definitely a big problem¡­I don¡¯t know how to go about getting around them.¡± (An)


    {Ask the spirits for help. If it¡¯s a direct order from you, Keeno, then they will definitely help.}


    I nodded to Ama¡¯s words.


    ¡°I think I can figure that out, so leave it to me.¡± (Keeno)


    Before An could ask what I had thought up, Mostima kept the conversation going.


    ¡°Now, that only leaves getting this Margaret away from her charge for any amount of time for this meeting to happen.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Simple, we leave that to her. If what you said earlier is true and she already knows that she needs to meet you at some point, then she should be aware of what you look like. Just show yourself and something that will prove your identity at a nce and she can make up whatever excuse toe and meet with you.¡± (An)


    ¡°That sounds much easier than anything I coulde up with.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s consider this n made. Now, let¡¯s make some contingencies because no n will ever go perfectly.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I thought you were trying not to rely on HIS meddling?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°You¡¯re right, so let¡¯s get to work. Ena, is it fine if I give An that bird you sent to us before so we canmunicate without having to bring him here every time? I think it¡¯s about time he goes back.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We shouldn¡¯t need it anymore, all things considered.¡± (Ena)


    I nodded and pulled the skeletal bird out of my tail and tossed it over to An.


    ¡°Don¡¯t question it, just ept it. Ena¡¯s going to take you back, y it like this meeting never happened as best you can. When you get any information that will be helpful in fleshing out this n more, then send it when you can.¡± (Keeno)


    An nodded and turned to leave the room with Ena. Just as he reached the door, he turned back.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to ask seeing as our topic strayed to other important matters, but I need to know; what is your n for me after this?¡± (An)


    ¡°We want to get you out of this country. If things go as we expect they will when the Dead Zone is gone, then people will look for others to me, and from what I remember of other Odeen nobles and what Ena has told us, then you will be one of the first to be targeted.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can see the reasoning behind that, but where do you want me to go? I hardly know anything about living somewhere else, as amoner or other things not rted to what I¡¯ve experienced in my life here.¡± (An)


    ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d want you to go to Solheim. In my mind at least, it¡¯s the safest country in this world, though my opinion is colored by bias. Just hope you don¡¯t mind snow.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t know, I¡¯ve only ever heard of snow in stories, never experienced it.¡± (An)


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll get used to it quickly. Getting you there is something we need to think of, but once you are there, head to the city of Nifl. It¡¯s where Pram and I grew up. The people there are epting, and you shouldn¡¯t find it hard to get a job. Mention either of us and you¡¯ll be almost guaranteed to fine friends there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It depends on the circumstances at the time, but I believe I can get him out and get back rtively quickly.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That won¡¯t work, Ena. You¡¯ll be needed here when the Dead Zone is gone, and I¡¯d prefer An be out of here before that. And I don¡¯t feelfortable if you all of a sudden leave to get him out ande back.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. How long did it take for Fafnir to fly again?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°About a week if I¡¯m remembering right.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then how about we get my sister? I know this is making me sound impatient, but it¡¯s the best thing I can think of.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°We can try, but we also need to think of something if that option is not possible.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We canter. For now, I will return and gather the things we need on my end.¡± (An)


    ¡°Alright. And An, it¡¯s good to see you again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Same to you, Lady Okami. I hope we can meet again in the future, hopefully with less¡­dire circumstances.¡± (An)


    ¡°I¡¯d like the same.¡± (Keeno)


    He and Ena then left. After the door shutpletely and their footstepspletely faded, another sound echoed in the room.


    ¡°¡­Eh? Why do you all look so serious? Did I miss something?¡± (Pram)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Fufufufufufufuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! She slept through all of that!? That¡¯s hrious!


    Crisis: Sounds like a certain sleepy nekomata we know, eh?


    Luna: Yeah. Speaking of Tonya, aside from sleep what¡¯s she been up to?


    Crisis: Meh. Mostly justzing around Mordred and my home. Just like the cat she is, she¡¯s alwaysying in the smallest, most inconvenient for us spots of sun and not moving until the sun does.


    Luna: Sounds like Mio.


    Crisis: Or is it Mio that sounds like Tonya? Are we even sure they aren¡¯t actually the same individual?


    Order: That¡¯s enough from you. It¡¯s rude to say two of our friends aren¡¯t their own people.


    Crisis: Oh yeah, I also heard something interesting that pertains to you!


    Order: And that would be?


    Crisis: Hehehe. People have been using your name while trying to take away free will.


    Order: ¡­


    Luna: And this is my cue to leave. I don¡¯t think I need or should see her angry, and I can tell she¡¯s getting to that point very quickly. *poof*


    Crisis: Hehehehehe. Is it time for me to see the fun side of you again? Like in the past.


    Order: We¡¯ll see. Show me these¡­<em>things</em> you were talking about.


    Crisis: Should we call Payto to the party too?


    Order: No. He¡¯s finally getting to spend some time with Astraea and Nykuro, so I¡¯ll handle it myself.


    Crisis: Yay. I¡¯ll get the popcorn then.

 Chapter 146- Getting the Plan Underway

    Chapter 146- Getting the n Underway


    [Keeno POV]


    The night we were waiting for came a weekter. An had sent us a detailedyout of the arena and guard positions. He couldn¡¯t get any of the shadow positions, but that was expected. I still begrudgingly disguised my features when we left Ena¡¯s base, but only for the duration of the quick trip to the arena. It was a giant colosseum simr to the one from that one city I could barely remember, only slightly more modern. The highest seats were ss-incased rooms full of luxuries while the seats for all others were only protected by a thin barrier that could be easily broken, as if anyone that got injured in the audience were just part of the spectacle.


    ¡°This ce¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know how you feel. I knew there were a lot of ¡®idents¡¯ from this ce, but I never cared enough to investigate it. Actually, looking at it though¡­it¡¯s disgusting.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Ya know, the more I get to know you, Keeno, the more I realize that you care a lot about life for a Goddess of Death. Not that I dislike that about you.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°A quip about my wife I could make aside, just because I¡¯m the Goddess of Death doesn¡¯t mean I enjoy pointless loss of life. People have one life, they should live it to the fullest without worrying about it being prematurely cut short for the entertainment of others, willingly or otherwise. And before you say anything, Ama, I know this isn¡¯t the case sometimes.¡± (Keeno)


    {I wasn¡¯t going to say anything, though I do share your opinion on this.}


    ¡°Well, your magnanimity is appreciated.¡± (Mostima)


    With the exception of Ena, we kept mostly to the shadows of the corridors and hallways while I hid my glowing core as best I could. I never really thought about how hard it would be to sneak around now that I basically had a glowing blue beacon in my chest. It was a very tiring experience to say the least, but we did make it to a ce where we knew no guards or spectators would be present, that being the ss booth of An¡¯s family.


    ¡°If this is supposed to be as big an event as we were told, I would think people would be seated already.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t special, they would have. No one is allowed to be seated until the king and any of his guests arrive and are seated. Only after that can those of lower status be allowed in, after that themoners and peasants.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°How long are we going to have to wait then?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯d say another hour. I can see some people preparing things down there, so I doubt they would want the king to see it. No one likes watching the set up or clean up of events, after all.¡± (Mostima)


    I stepped a bit closer to the window overlooking the arena and watched as several people scurried around setting up targets, making the already weak barrier weaker, rolling in ballistae. One person even started tampering with one they rolled in, holding a me under the rope, weakening it until it was only useable for one maybe two shots before snapping.


    ¡°Someone pissed off some nobles, I see. Petty rats.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That¡¯s disrespectful to rats, Ena. Even they have a purpose in life.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°True. I¡¯d call them leaches, but even those help in medicine¡­I think? Some strange doctors seem to think so at least.¡± (Ena)


    The conversation aside, I watched as several more ballistae were sabotaged, leaving a very bad taste in my mouth.


    {I can see you really want to do something about that, Keeno, and at the price of sounding uncaring, I heavily rmend you don¡¯t. The more things that go as usual here tonight, the better for all parties involved in your ns for the night. You can always avenge the people that get killed or injuredter.}


    I gritted my teeth in frustration. I knew Ama was right and I wasn¡¯t going to ignore her advice, but the tant disregard for life made me angry.


    ¡°Keeno, calm down. If it gets too hot in here, someone will notice.¡± (Pram)


    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hot jets of steam leaving my mouth as I exhaled.


    ¡°Ena, have any clue which nobles ordered that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Honestly no. It could be any one of them, but I don¡¯t know any on a personal enough level to say. Sorry I can¡¯t be of more help here.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just if I knew and they were to show up here, I could probably broil them in their ss coffin of a spectator seat¡­no, it¡¯d be more microwave. I wonder if they would pop like a hot dog?¡± (Keeno)


    My intrusive thoughts aside, I sat down on the couch in the room while we waited for things to get started. Almost an hourter, the lights in a box a few away from us were lit. Thankfully the booths were equipped with heavy curtains, so we could peek through them without being seen ourselves.


    Most of the people in that specific booth were people dressed in all ck, setting up more barriers and hiding in the shadows of the room. Shortly after that an old man walked in. He wore what looked surprisingly like normal clothes, at least from this distance, though they were dyed in deep colors of purple and red. He sat in an ornately carved wooden seat.


    Following him was a person in simr garb, but with more sandy colors. They had small, pointed ears on the top of their head and a flowing ck tail that almost looked like a kitsune¡¯s if it wasn¡¯t for the way it moved and was groomed. That person sat in a different chair slightly behind the first person. A few other people, clearly servants, filed in and began waiting on the two.


    Once they were sufficientlyfortable, there was a brief period of waiting and more of the ss booths began lighting up. People invish to gaudy clothes began sitting or standing, looks of amusement or disdain on their faces as if they were too good for the world to be kept waiting.


    Seeing so many souls practically dripping with muddy corruption nearly made me lose my dinner. I hadn¡¯t felt that way since Falheim.


    ¡°Disgusting. Is this what you always see?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the souls, then you learn to reduce just how much you see. It¡¯s a bit overwhelming at the start. But you don¡¯t see such disgusting sights often. Most normal people are a calm grey while some very rare individuals, like Pram, are spotlessly pure.¡± (Keeno)


    I noticed Pram looked away, making me wonder what it was I said that made her ufortable, but I quickly got my wandering thoughts back on track. The nobles had finally all finished getting to their booths and themoners were finally allowed in. Those seats filled up twice as fast as the noble ones and only half an hour passed before the entire arena was full to bursting.


    ¡°Now to wait for things to get significantly hyped up.¡± (Mostima)


    While we waited, the voice of a person that sounded like it was ying through a filter rang out all around the arena.


    ¡°WELCOME ALL TO THE SPECIAL COMPETITION OF BALLISTAE MARKSMANSHIP! WE HAVE A SPECTACLE PLANNED FOR ALL OF YOU TONIGHT! IF YOU ALL REMEMBER THE LAST TOURNAMENT, OUR REIGNING CHAMPION AND AN NEWCOMER FOUGHT UNTIL THE NEWCOMER TOOK A SURPRISING VICTORY! TONIGHT, WE HAVE INVITED THOSE TWO BACK FOR A REMATCH AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHERS FROM ACROSS ALL OF ODEEN!¡±


    Cheers from themoner crowd rang out even louder than the announcer making everything reverberate with their voices.


    ¡°HAHAHA! SUCH AN ENERGETIC CRIWD TONIGHT! BUT THAT¡¯S NOT EVERYTHING! WE HAVE SOME VERY IMPORTANT GUESTS TONIGHT! WE HAVE BEEN JOINED BY OUR GREAT RULER; KING BALDR ODEEN!¡±


    Cheers erupted again, this time louder than thest.


    ¡°WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY THE REPRESENTATIVE IF LOKIR, HERE TO SEE THE SIGHTS AND EXPERIENCE OUR COUNTRY¡¯S. GREATEST SPORT! GIVE THEM A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!¡±


    A quieter, yet still deafening scream echoed through the arena.


    ¡°NOW, BEFORE THIS COMPETITION IS KICKED, WE¡¯LL GET A WORD FROM OUR GLORIOUS LEADER!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, thank you, I wee you all on this glorious night. I hope to see some amazingpetition and friendly rivalry. Hehe. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I¡¯ve been on the edge of my seat every time thesepetitors have faced each other. In fact, I¡¯ve been so impressed that I want to offer an opportunity. The two mainpetitors, I offer you a position among the royal knights, and the winner tonight shall be themander of this unit. So, give us a show worthy of the role.¡± (Baldr)


    There was silence for a moment before cheers rang out once more. Looking down at the field, the ones participating were also affected by this surge of energy. They moved to their ballistae and began to do some preliminary checks. I hoped the one who¡¯s was tampered with would notice that, but that¡¯s all I could do. I turned my back on the curtain and tried to mentally prepare myself. Once I felt like it was time, I snapped my fingers. In front of me several moving shadows appeared.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been watching over us for awhile now, so I don¡¯t need to exin what I need you all to do, correct?¡± (Keeno)


    The figures nodded their smoky heads before dispersing.


    ¡°Alright. We should give them some time to get their job done. After that, we¡¯ll get the next part going.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How long should we give them?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯d say 10 minutes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You have a lot of faith in these Spirits.¡± (Mostima)


    {And she should. Anymand we give them, they will follow through with utmost precision.}


    Ten minutester, I left the booth alone as quietly as I could. As we had figured, there were several guards standing outside the noble booths. Thankfully, none had noticed movement and remained as stationary as statues. As slowly as I could, I hid in the shadows of a pir and soon after a person dressed in all ck ran toward some of the guards. After whispering something I couldn¡¯t hear, the guards that the shadow person spoke to changed. Their eyes went lifeless, and they followed behind the shadow like puppets being pulled by their stringmaster.


    ¡®Was that some kind of mind control or something?¡¯


    {I think it¡¯s more conditioning. What¡¯s the best way for someone as paranoid as the king here to watch over any source of potential rebellion? Have the untrustworthy people watched constantly. He probably has those shadows watching every noble as well as their own guards or other close aides being shadows unknowingly.}


    ¡®Sleeper shadows. That¡¯s annoying for our other ns.¡¯


    {Don¡¯t think about it now, Keeno. You have a mission, stick to it.}


    ¡®Right.¡¯


    After waiting for the near silent steps of the guards to get far enough away, I moved quietly and quickly from shadow to shadow until I finally got near the king¡¯s booth. Outside this booth stood four guards. Two were wearing the armor of Odeen¡¯s royal guards, while the other two were wearing different armor. It was mostly ck with simrly colored cloaks flowing down the backs. I was no connoisseur of armor, but to me it looked like the kind a knight would wear while jousting, but lighter and allowing for better movement. They didn¡¯t have their Soul Weapons manifested, but at their hips were swords with very strange hilts.


    Of these two knights, one was, in a word, unremarkable looking. The other, however, was anything but. She stood a head taller than the other three and didn¡¯t wear a helmet. She had long, shoulder length golden hair tied up in the back in a ponytail. A long, flowing tail like that of a purebred show horse of the same golden color at her back swayed every so often, clearly in slight agitation. Her eyes, also sharing the same golden color as her hair and tail were slightly squinted in a cautious re as she scrutinized her surroundings and her hand hovered slightly over the hilt of the sword at her hip. She turned to look at one of the Odeen knights and spoke.


    ¡°Are you sure everything is fine? There seems to be some sort ofmotion if the sounds of people in armor running around is anything to go by.¡± (???)


    ¡°I assure you, Lady Margaret, our people have everything under control. I understand you¡¯d prefer to be inside protecting your charge, but the rules of our country should be respected. That aside, if there were truly amotion, then we¡¯d be sure to inform you and allow you to do your duty.¡±


    The tall female knight¡¯s tail swished again in agitation before she abruptly turned away from the other knight. She took two steps away from the other three and took a deep breath before turning back to the one she spoke too previously.


    ¡°I apologize, Sir knight. I¡¯ve just had a foreboding feeling recently and am on edge. If my tone has conveyed any offense to you or your customs, feel free to let me know and I will rectify it in the future.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Worry not, Lady Margaret, I¡¯ve taken no offence and you have not done any wrongs.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± (Margaret)


    She went back and stood at attention next to herrade while the two Odeen knights went back to standing like statues.


    ¡®Well, this is both good and problematic.¡¯


    {Yes. It¡¯s good you¡¯ve already found the one you need to meet but getting her away from these three naturally will be difficult.}


    Looking around from my shadow, I saw the windows and an idea struck me.


    ¡®Ama, did Fia ever tell her about Huginn and Muninn?¡¯


    {Most likely¡­want me to double check with her real quick?}


    ¡®It¡¯d be helpful.¡¯


    {Alright.}


    Several excruciatingly long momentster, Ama was back.


    {Fia said she did talk about them, but she isn¡¯t sure how much the person herself remembers from the whole conversation.}


    I nodded and went back to observing while reaching out to either Huginn or Muninn. Muninn was closer and I let it in on the n. Not even a minuteter I heard the rustling of feathers and the sound of arge birdnding on stone. A shadow was cast from the window due to the light of the moons and itnded on the two knights from Lokir. I saw that Margaret¡¯s eyes went wide for a split second before she looked around for something. When her gazended near my hiding spot, I shed a bit of my tail into the light. She froze up for a second before looking back at Muninn. It gave some sort of signal to her because she nced in the direction of where the others were waiting and nodded discreetly. Seeing that, I smiled to myself and started on my way back, leaving how she was going to do the same to herself.


    ¡°Tch. Get out of here, bird.¡±


    I heard one of the Odeen knights step forward, trying to shoo Muninn away, but Muninn wouldn¡¯t be intimidated.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that, Sir knight.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Oh? Are you some sort of animal lover or something, Lady Margaret?¡±


    ¡°Not particrly, but this is a raven, correct? I have an acquaintance that is particrly fond of those birds. They¡¯ve told me stories of how they are much smarter than other types and how, if provoked, they hold a grudge. I¡¯m just trying to save you from some unneeded harassment from either this particr bird, or its kinter down the line.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll risk it. These same types of birds have been seen inrger numbers recently harassing nobles and other guards at the castle, so I think I have the right to take some small revenge on them.¡±


    I heard the sound of metal scraping against a scabbard and a rustling of feathers. I was sorely tempted to stop and watch, but I knew Muninn could handle the situation, so I kept going.


    ¡°Craaw!!¡± (Muninn)


    I heard the sound of wings and then the sound of someone falling out of a window. I then heard the sound of another sword being drawn and yet again, the sound of someone falling out of a window.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Margaret)


    {¡­}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    None of us moved for a second, just processing what happened.


    ¡°*Sigh* The one hiding in the shadows. I assume you are in some way rted to Lady Okami, correct?¡± (Margaret)


    Seeing no real point in hiding at the moment, I internally sighed and stood uppletely.


    ¡°More than rted, I am her.¡± (Keeno)


    Margaret looked surprised by this, but she shook off the shock quickly.


    ¡°That¡¯s a surprise, but I¡¯m assuming you wish to speak somewhere else, correct?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yes. Me and mypanions have a ce to talk not too far from here. If you would follow me, we can get this secret meeting underway and finished before things getplicated.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll follow you.¡± (Margaret)


    She then turned to herpanion who nodded and went back to standing guard like she saw nothing.


    ¡°Lead the way.¡± (Margaret)


    Chaos Realm: Order POV:


    *In the world where so-called Followers of Order resided*


    Looking down at the events unfolding before me caused me to sigh. Though small, this cult that thinks it¡¯s doing whatever it can to take away the free will of all things in an attempt to bring Order to the universe was making strides I haven¡¯t seen in a long time. They had apparently already done this to an entire in their universe and were now moving on to doing the same to their home world.


    ¡®It¡¯s funny they think this small aspect is me thought. Let¡¯s see just what these few that are opposing this cult can do.¡¯


    One of the leading members of the cult had somehow transformed into a sort of puppet and was spouting some nonsense about how every day should be a Sunday or something like that and using anecdotes that referred to music while being opposed by a group of six or seven. The one in the lead of the opposition seemed to have been given the equivalent of a blessing from this world¡¯s goddess of harmony as well.


    ¡®Hm.¡¯


    They were putting up a decent fight, managing to weaken their opponent a fair amount.


    ¡®Hehehehe. Very good, little mortals. Show that idiot that Order is nothing like what he¡¯s spouting.¡¯


    After dealing a critical blow to their opponent, he gained a second wind. Unleashing a new and powerful attack nearly knocked the ones opposing him into submission, but just before that happened, another yer entered the fray. Singing a beautiful song and rousing their spirits, the opposition regained their footing.


    ¡®Hmmm. While this is evening them out once more, I think I should step in just a bit.¡¯


    Looking around, I saw something that gave me a fun idea.


    ¡°Hehehehehe. Payto, you¡¯re going to enjoy this story when I tell it to you.¡±


    My gazended on a train near the group fighting, I used my Divinity of Puppetry and temporarily took control of it. Once I was sure things were perfect, I went back to watching the fight and looking for perfect opportunities. When one showed itself, I controlled the train and used it to ram the giant puppet in the face.


    ¡®¡­I think I could get addicted to doing this. It¡¯s strangely satisfying.¡¯


    ¡°¡­Lady Order¡­to what do we owe pleasure of your appearance and personal intervention in this matter?¡±


    ¡°Oh, my apologies, Xipe, I heard that some cult was using my name as an excuse to take the free will of mortals and I couldn¡¯t help but look and see what their problem was and how they got my entire philosophy wrong. Seeing this, I got a bit entranced in the fight and wanted to y along with them. And besides, it¡¯s not like you aren¡¯t helping them too.¡± (Order)


    ¡°I just spared that interesting child a nce. I wanted to see who woulde out on top. After all, to that misguided child there, his order is just another facet of my Harmony.¡± (Xipe)


    ¡°I see¡­well, I¡¯m already assisting, so I can¡¯t really back out of it now.¡± (Order)


    ¡°True¡­mind if I try as well? That seems like fun.¡± (Xipe)


    ¡°Have at it.¡± (Order)


    While making sure we didn¡¯t get too overly involved in the fight, the opposers overcame the so-called follower of order and soundly defeated him.


    ¡°Well, with that taken care of, I¡¯m going back home. If something like this happens again, let me know.¡± (Order)


    ¡°I understand. Goodbye, Lady Order.¡± (Xipe)


    I vanished from thatyer of the Sea of Chaos and appeared back home.


    ¡°Oh Paytoooooo. I have a story for youuuuuuuu.¡± (Order)


    ¡°Oh? Sounds interesting.¡± (Payto)


    ¡°Mind if we hear it too?¡± (Luna)


    ¡°You can¡¯t make an entrance like that and expect us to just ignore it!¡± (Atmos)


    ¡°Then sit and quiet down.¡± (Order)

 Chapter 147- Meet and Run

    Chapter 147- Meet and Run


    [Keeno POV]


    I took it a bit slow making my way back to the booth we were hiding in to make sure we weren¡¯t caught. Thankfully the Death Spirits were going above and beyond in their task and this floor was basically now devoid of guards, making the quick trip easier. After reaching the door, I gave the signal and the odder was opened. The two of us stepped inside and I rxed just a bit.


    ¡°Ena, monitor the things out there. I got Muninn to help a bit and now we¡¯re on a shorter time limit.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What did it do?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Helped two guards take an express trip out a window.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Just great. Anyway, introductions.¡± (Pram)


    Margaret stepped out from behind me.


    ¡°Then allow me to start. My name is Margaret Nearl, leader of the Radiant Knights of Lokir. I have heard of your mission from Sun Apostle Fiametta and the rest of my order and myself agree with it. While there are only two other members of my order aside from myself here, we are prepared to assist you in any way we can, though our means are extremely limited in Odeen.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I am Keeno Fafnir Okami, I would prefer if you use Okami for me for now. To my left are Pram, Freya, and Mostima. They are my travelingpanions. The one by the window over there is Ena, my Odeen Valkyrie and the infamous Death Dragon. I¡¯m thankful for your future cooperation and look forward to working with you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then, in the name of expediency, let us get straight to the point.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°dly. I¡¯m going toy out a timeline of things we have nned. For the most part you and yours won¡¯t have much of a role seeing as you are also foreigners to Odeen and aren¡¯t tied up in this politics and dark side fully. Mostly I would like you assistance in getting out of here and into Lokir. While we need to finalize the specifics, there is a chance I won¡¯t be very mobile myself when we need to leave, and when we do need to leave, there will be chaos.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. I can do that much. It won¡¯t be too hard to convince our charge to bring you five along. The hard part will be getting him to abandon the current deal going on here.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I doubt that. A Dead Zone disappearing will cause immediate chaos. Whatever your charge stands to gain from staying will be far outshone by self preservation.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I like your confidence, but I know him. While your words are true, it will probably take a few days for him to realize things aren¡¯t¡­profitable enough to stick around.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I didn¡¯t have a response for that. Sure, that ultimately helps us, but I didn¡¯t think someone would actually want to continue any interaction with a country about to be thrown into upheaval.


    ¡°What if, say, Baldr also dies? Would that speed up any departure ns?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Yes. Assassination of royalty will give us all the excuse to take our charge and leave, regardless of his protests.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Well, he had to die anyway, so that helps. Oh, and one thing you got wrong earlier, it¡¯ll be us four. Ena needs to stay here. It¡¯s her duty as a Valkyrie to keep some semnce of control over the souls of the dead for a while.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Any idea on where we would meet for our mutual exodus from the city?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. We can¡¯t really know just how bad the situation will be or where we¡¯lle out when the Dead Zone is gone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Then, if you don¡¯t mind a suggestion from my side, how about outside the castle gate? If there is going to be as much chaos as you say, then. A ce that recognizable should be at least somewhat easy to get to.¡± (Margaret)


    I nced around at the others and no objections were raised.


    ¡°Then consider that matter settled. I¡¯ll leave the way you get us to join you to you as well.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can do that. I-¡± (Margaret)


    Suddenly a loud sound of snapping came from below apanied by terrified shrieks. Margaret stood up from the seat she was sitting in and rushed over to the window and threw open the curtains. I went to stand next to her, making sure I¡¯d be hidden as much as possible.


    Down in the arena, the ballista that was tampered with before everything began ropes snapped, sending arge bolt charged with magic through the barrier and into the crowd, carving arge chunk out if the seats and killing tens of people. The particr seating was directly under the king¡¯s booth. Though it was difficult to see from our position, the one who manned the ballista seemed dazed while several guards that weren¡¯t a part of anything rted to us stormed into the arena. They surrounded the dazed ballisteer and ripped him from his position and forced him to his knees. Then, the king¡¯s voice rang out over the entire arena.


    ¡°It seems my decision from earlier was a hasty one. It seems that his intention was to assassinate me and my esteemed guest. Truly a shame, for one of such promise tomit such a grave and foolish crime. Spitting in the face of my honor, as well as our glorious country¡¯s. It seems I must now turn this joyous event into a bloody one. Execute him and present his head to the castle. Acquire all his assets and have them delivered as well, for they will be fired to Lokir¡¯s envoy as reparations for this slight.¡± (Baldr)


    Down below, four knights restrained the ballisteer while a fifth walked up brandishing a greatsword. It was only then did the unwitting victim of this charade recover from his dazed state. When he raised his head, I expected to see him look in the direction of the king and show some sort of resentment or fear, but instead of that, he looked in my direction and gave a knowing smile. It reminded me of that time with the old man back in Solheim. Soon after that, the sword was brought down, and the poor man¡¯s head rolled away from his body. Several secondster, his soul along with the souls of all the other innocent people who had died tonight floated from their bodies.


    ¡°Damn it! Margaret, get back to your ce now. Everyone, we need to run.¡± (Keeno)


    Not questioning why, Margaret leapt from her ce by the window and out the door. We did so shortly after and began looking for a way out. None of our ns for getting out of here ounted for souls of the deading to me for purification. I looked around in a panic when some movement made me look at a window. Muninn sat there watching us with Huginn sitting next to it.


    ¡°Huginn, Muninn, can each of you carry one person long enough to safely get to the ground?¡± (Keeno)


    They looked at one another and nodded.


    ¡°You two go with them.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram and Freya looked slightly reluctant, but the situation being what it was they quickly moved to the window. They were both held by the shoulders by Huginn and Muninn and out the window they went. Mostima had summoned her Soul Weapons and jumped out shortly after, gently floating down while manipting her gravity. Ena followed after her, leaving me alone. I hooped up into the window only to hear the sound of peopleing up behind me.


    ¡°Stop right there and face me, monster.¡± (Baldr)


    My tails twitched.


    {Keeno, I know that look. Are you really sure taunting him will be helpful?}


    ¡®It won¡¯t.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Seeing the reason in Ama¡¯s words, I resisted the urge to turn and taunt the king too much. I twitched a tail and shot a fireball in the direction his voice came from while jumping from the window. I free fell for a second before the split part of my cloak unfurled like the wings of a bird and I gently glided down. I looked around for the others and saw the me on Ena¡¯s tail. I glided until Inded next to her and she quickly led us away from the arena. We ran around several turns and alleys and into a door that looked like it led into a cer.


    ¡°It¡¯s very convenient that you know about all these hidden passages.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It really is. But that¡¯s not the point right now. We need to move since this one is a known one.¡± (Ena)


    She led the way, running through the tunnels just like our first week here. Thankfully it only took two hours to make it back to her ce instead of a week. Sitting down on a bed, I let out a sigh.


    ¡°I realize ns hardly ever go, well, as nned, but damn. It was going so well. I didn¡¯t ount for people instinctively looking to me when they are about to die or the soulsing to me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I forgot people do that too, Keeno. It¡¯s not like we expected something like that to happen either.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Guess being the living embodiment of death has drawbacks like that.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Meh. Anyway, Ena, I expect you¡¯ll be summoned to the castle soon. Be ready for that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I already have an idea on how to handle that, so leave it to me. But I should say one thing, we should speed up any n we have in regards to the Dead Zone. Knowing the old man, he¡¯s gonna start shoring up his defenses.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    I nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss when you get back¡­or would you rather us discuss while you¡¯re dealing with this, and we tell youter?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Tell meter. I¡¯m going now.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°*Sigh*Sooner than I expected, but two days. That¡¯s when we go for it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Why two days?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Gotta give Margaret some time to get her people informed and a n figured out. I¡¯ll send Huginn and Muninn to let her know.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m not, but what can we do? We can¡¯t stay here forever, and with what happened tonight, the faster we get this done, the better. It¡¯s not ideal, but I can¡¯t think of anything else.¡± (Keeno)


    {Haste makes waste, Keeno. I agree waiting too long will end poorly, but two days is too short. Give it a week at least.}


    ¡°Any specific reason why?¡± (Keeno)


    {Let tonight¡¯s events fester in his mind. Doing so will cause his paranoia to be uncontroble and he¡¯ll keep everyone at his disposal on guard constantly. The longer they are like that, the more tired and easy to trick they¡¯ll be when the timees.}


    ¡°Oh. That kind of n. It¡¯s very effective, though other tactics like this are more effective. If we just do nothing, they will eventually getcent, even if the king doesn¡¯t. We should do something to keep all the guards on their toes.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Then Huginn, Muninn, you two and your minions are to cause as much trouble for everyone in the castle as possible, don¡¯t take it too far with people that aren¡¯t guards or nobles, but stir up as much chaos as possible. Oh, and leave Margaret and her people out of it.¡± (Keeno)


    They nodded in a bird way and flew up and off my shoulder before seemingly exploding in a burst of feathers,pletely disappearing from the room.


    ¡°What!?!?¡± (Keeno)


    Everyone else was just as shocked and confused as I was.


    {Keeno, next time youe see me, bring those two. It seems I need to study them personally. Their growing in a weird way.}


    ¡°Yeah¡­I¡¯ll do that.¡± (Keeno)


    Deciding to just stop thinking about it, I flopped down on the bed.


    ¡°Uuuuuuugh. My head hurts.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Want some life magic?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Nah. I¡¯m just gonna sleep it off.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Good night then.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Keeno)


    I was thankfully weed by sleep nearly as soon as I closed my eyes.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­


    Order: What in all theyers of the Sea of Chaos was that?


    I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­how do I not know?


    Order: You can not know stuff?


    Apparently. Let me get a better look at them.


    *Several minutester*


    Well. That¡¯s interesting. They are starting to embody the Concept of Heralding Death as well as something else interesting.


    Order: What¡¯s that something else?


    In Keeno¡¯s old world, their names meant ¡®thought¡¯ and ¡®memory.¡¯ By some conceptual connection from that fact and Keeno¡¯s Divinity that the two have, they are also gaining ess to those Authorities, though to an even more limited degree than Keeno¡¯s current state. Seems like, once Keeno fully ascends, those two will be integral in the way that world works in regard to judgement of souls. Heralding Death is obvious but Thought and Memory are going to be strange.


    Order: Is this going to affect anything else in that specific mortal world?


    No. They won¡¯t fully ess the Thought and Memory Concepts until after Keeno ascends, but Heralding Death is going to give them some fun abilities, like that weird teleport thing they did. Too bad it only works on them and no one else.


    Order: I wonder why this is happening now.


    My guess is being in close proximity to the Dead Zone core for such an extended period of time.


    Order: I hope that doesn¡¯t lessen the effect it¡¯s going to have on Keeno when she absorbs it.


    It won¡¯t.


    Order: That¡¯s good.


    It is.

 Chapter 148- Spice and Fox

    Chapter 148- Spice and Fox


    [Keeno POV]


    Opening my eyes, my mind felt a bit cloudy. Ignoring that feeling, I looked around. Instead of the dark room we¡¯d been staying in, I wasying on a big round bed under a veranda. I say veranda, but it was more like a gazebo with walls made of vines. At the roof beautiful purple flowers grew on the dangling vines, providing a sweet scent that permitted the air. Looking outside the gazebo, I saw something that didn¡¯t make sense. I could clearly see both suns sitting on the horizon like they were frozen in time just before they set, leaving the sky in a beautiful array of colors.


    {Ufufufufufu. Like it? I called in some favors and now we have some time to ourselves.}


    Before I could even turn around to see her, I felt her pull me close. Resting my head on her two natural pillows, I looked up to see Ama¡¯s smiling face. Just the sight alone was enough to make me ignore the coolness of her body.


    {And how is my adorable other half doing on this fine asion?}


    ¡°Much better now that I¡¯m seeing you.¡±


    She leaned forward and stole my lips. The kiss onlysted for a moment, and when we separated, I turned around in her arms, pushing her down on the bed, and kissed her again. After several minutes that felt like hours, I sat up, straddling Ama¡¯s stomach. A seductive smile crossed my face.


    ¡°Now, what should I do with this adorable, <em>defenseless</em>, goddess underneath me?¡±


    I gently ran my fingers through her hair as she smiled up at me. As my hands slowly made their way up to her ears, her face started to be red.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    I gently took her ears and started to softly caress them. I was reveling in the soft, silky, fluffy feeling when I noticed something else. The more I rubbed her ears, the more the clothes she was wearing would fade.


    {Nnn. I¡­heard from a friend¡­Nn, that using illusion clothing, aah, is a way to spice things up.}


    My smile grew wider.


    ¡°An interesting concept. And a treat for me.¡±


    {Aaannhh! I¡­thought you¡¯d say that.}


    Deciding that she shouldn¡¯t be the only one like this, I stopped ying with her ears and slowly took off my top. From what I could see, Ama was enjoying every second of it. Deciding I¡¯d give her more than just a show, I leaned over, making sure my chest covered her face, before ying with her ears some more. Ama made some very happy noises that were muffled as I gently nibbled on her ears.


    ¡°Aah. You sneaky little thing, you know doing that is-!!!¡±


    I felt Ama grab my waist and before I knew it, she was the one straddling me.


    {You seem to be enjoying my ears quite a lot, yet you are keeping yours away from me. Let¡¯s change that.}


    Leaning forward, my vision waspletely covered by soft mountains and an almost numbing sensation shot through my body as I felt a pleasant pinch on one of my ears.


    ¡°AAAAAHHHHH!!!¡±


    {Hehehe. Felt good, eh?}


    Ama slid down and brought her lips to mine for a second before nestling into my neck and kissing it. One of her ears twitched and I managed to grab the tip of it with my lips, causing Ama to twitch.


    ¡®Two can y at that game, Ama.¡±


    I flipped us over again and buried myself in kissing her neck. Over the next few hours, we continued to trade positions, slowly moving lower down our bodies as we did so. At some point we had started treating it like a sort of game where whoever got low enough would¡­anyway I was just about to win when I thought Ama was a bit dazed when she suddenly pulled a surprise move and stroked the base of one of my tails then flipping us over. The second she kissed <em>there </em>my mind went nk and I felt a strange sensation. My vision went dark and when I managed to open my eyes again, I was in the room I went to sleep in.


    ¡°¡­Gods damnit!¡± (Keeno)


    My shout instantly woke the others up.


    ¡°Whats wrong, Keeno?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Nothing, just a¡­dream.¡± (Keeno)


    {Judging by your expression and the fact that your heart is racing, it was either a nightmare or extremely pleasant.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about itter, Ama. For now, we should just go back to sleep.¡± (Keeno)


    The other three looked at me with some concern, but after I vehemently assuaged them, they let it go.


    {Keeno¡­}


    ¡®Ama, I know what we¡¯re doing next time we¡¯re together.¡¯


    {So, it was THAT kind of dream. Want to give me more details?}


    ¡®Sorry but I think I¡¯m gonna leave you just as frustrated as I am right now.¡¯


    {You tease.}


    ¡®Guilty as charged.¡¯


    Iid back down and closed my eyes.


    ¡®Ama¡­I¡¯m very stressed right now, and you are my only relief. It¡¯s honestly maddening I can¡¯t even physically feel you, and I don¡¯t even mean that with lustful intent. Hearing your voice is one thing, knowing you¡¯re always watching is another, but just feeling you close is enough to blow those two things out of the water.¡¯


    {I know. I feel the same way. If I had the power to, I¡¯d love nothing more than to travel along with all of you in person, but it¡¯s truly impossible. I feel like the two of us have be exceptions to many rules, but some just CAN¡¯T be broken, otherwise nothing but absolute chaos would reign. So, we must deal with our circumstances as best we can for the time being. These short years apart will make everything all the better when we can bet permanently by each other¡¯s side.}


    ¡®I¡¯ll do my best. And who knows, when I can fully utilize Runes as an Authority, maybe I can figure something out which will let us meet more than once a month. But that¡¯s for future me to figure out.¡¯


    {{Hehe. I¡¯ll wait patiently for that time toe. For now, though, try to sleep again. Maybe you can have another pleasant dream.}


    ¡®Even if I do, nothing beatsying with the real you.¡¯


    {Yet more sweet words.}


    ¡®All the sweeter when they are true.¡¯


    Those were thest words I spoke tonight as sleep once again overtook me.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­Payto¡­


    I feel bad for them too, Luna, but like she said, I can¡¯t make exceptions to EVERY rule. Honestly, I think I¡¯ve let loose a bit too much.


    Order: You could have let them have that as a shared dream.


    ¡­Why didn¡¯t I think of that?


    Luna: Probably because you were being blinded and your ears covered.


    Even then, I knew what was happening. But enough of that for now, things are about to get exciting.


    Order: Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing.


    And don¡¯t you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking.


    Order: Later then?


    Of course.


    Luna: ursed pink aura of love! Begone with thee till my lovely Tamamo returns!

 Chapter 149- Four Fluffs, More Powa!!!

    Chapter 149- Four Fluffs, More Powa!!!


    [Keeno POV]


    Waiting for a week after our meeting with Margaret felt like forever. We did not have all that much to do while we waited for Huginn and Muninn¡¯s chaos to unfold and Ena had onlye back once to tell us that the king was sending her around the city to look for us. While she would usually deny thismand, she wanted to ept it so she could thin out the number of people guarding the castle and Dead Zone as much as possible. She did, however, give me regr reports on what she was doing.


    Seeing as we couldn¡¯t really do much else, I started to teach Mostima more about Runes. She was able to pick up the symbols and their meanings rather quickly, but struggled when it came to the more advanced concepts like formations and arrays. Another thing she had a hard time with was when I started to teach her about Seier Runes. Even when I didn¡¯t put any Divinity into them, she said that just looking at them gave her a bad feeling. I could understand why, seeing as those particr Runes were shaped in a way that made people equate them with things like curses, and while some WERE, they were neutral, like all other Runes. All that was needed to change their alignment and meaning was the intent behind them.


    While Mostima and I did this, Pram was working on refining her Life Magic. Ama helped her a lot by teaching her more about what she could do beyond healing, though Pram seemed to struggle with some of the concepts she was being taught. We did find out, however, that Pram had a natural affinity for using Life Magic to grow nts. This would be helpful in the future if we ever ran into a situation where certain medicinal nts were needed over outright healing magic¡­and it would be an easy way to make money from the Guild somewhat quickly. The thought of exploiting the Guild aside, I came up with a somewhat fitting idea for something in the future and asked to see if Pram was able to do it. After a few days she managed to grow a spear made of mistletoe.


    Freya was also doing her own thing, mostly working more on her mana control. In her own words, she felt like she hadn¡¯t been able to do all that much, so she wanted to improve on anything to make herself more useful. We did try to tell her that she was an invaluable member of our group, but she still said she felt like all she had to contribute was her speed. Eventually Pram was able to distract her from this way of thinking, but I knew we¡¯d need to address this at some point soon before it caused an irreparable rift between her and the rest of us.


    Now, it was the night seven days after our meeting. Huginn, Muninn, and their myriad of minions had wreaked as much havoc as they could. I¡¯d received word from Ena that those in the castle had finally gotten so fed up with them that they were preparing a barrier that would basically cut the entire castle off from the outside world, so now would the the opportune time to strike for the Dead Zone. She also said that she¡¯d being back for a short time to rest before we set everything in motion for the confrontation. The tone of her voice in this particr message was quite strained with a mix of emotions. She¡¯d arrived around midnight, looking tired and angry. She flopped onto her bed, the end of her tail twitching in agitation.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Ena?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I finally remembered why I truly hate working with most people. All these idiots that are supposed to actually provide security arezy mongrels that care only about their chosen vices than doing anything productive. Even though I wasn¡¯t trying in the slightest to actually find any of you, being the one doing all the work while others were makingments on how they¡¯d like to bed me bes grating rather quickly.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That¡¯s understandable. But at least you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about that for much longer. Rest and recover, we¡¯re going to finish things tonight.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Ena)


    Ena fell into a light sleep while the rest of us mentally prepared ourselves for whatever was toe. Three hourster Ena was up and waiting.


    ¡°There are two major objectives tonight; get the Dead Zone and find out what¡¯s in that secret room under the castle. We have three options for this. Either we take the Dead Zone first and, in the chaos caused by that, we head to that room from there, we go to that room first and deal with whatever is there and then go to the Dead Zone, or we four head to the Dead Zone while Ena goes to that room.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That second option is no good. It¡¯s a one-way trip to that ce and we¡¯d have to fight our way out. We would inevitably lose one or more of us in that confrontation. The first option is also out of the question as, knowing the king, he¡¯ll most likely hole himself up there in panic once the Dead Zone falls.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Since the third option is all that¡¯s left, we¡¯ll go with it. But why is Ena going alone?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m sending the Death Spirits with her, so she isn¡¯t alone. Also, Ena, if you do happen to be the one to run into the king, don¡¯t kill him on the spot. I want to witness it with my own eyes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best, but I make no promises.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked over to a corner of the room and picked up one of two mistletoe spears. Pram had made a second one at my behest.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t hold back or the situation calls for his immediate departure from thend of the living, kill him with this. It¡¯s nothing special, but I like to think he has some conceptual weakness to mistletoe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Never heard of that nt before, but if you say that much, then I¡¯ll do what needs to be done.¡± (Ena)


    I nodded and stood up.


    ¡°Shall we go then?¡± (Keeno)


    Silent nods of approval from everyone were all I got so we left the room. Ena led the way through tunnels and passages until we hit a fork.


    ¡°This is where we part for now. Take the left passage and four more lefts. After that you¡¯ll find adder carved into the stone. Climb it and you¡¯ll be as near to the Dead Zone as any of the tunnels will get you. After that I don¡¯t really need to give you any directions since it¡¯s not really something you can miss unless you¡¯re blind.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Four more lefts and a stonedder. Easy enough.¡± (Keeno)


    We faced our passage and I looked at Ena over my shoulder.


    ¡°Good luck and don¡¯t die.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hahaha! Same to all of you!¡± (Ena)


    She turned and walked down the right passage, the purple light from her core and the mes in her tail lighting her way. We started walking down the left passage. Following Ena¡¯s directions we took four more lefts and started to look for the stonedder. It wasn¡¯t easy to find since the walls in this part of the tunnels were covered in moss and slick with water, like we were under an aqueduct. Mostima was the one to find thedder which was more just divots carved into the stone to make climbing out easier. I burned up the moss on the rest of them and we started climbing out. Once we were outside under the moonlight I took a deep breath. While Ena¡¯s ce was fine, it could have used better air cirction because the fresh air in my skin was wonderful. It also smelled like it had just rained, making many ces slick with water.


    Once we were all out of the tunnels we looked around until we saw the giant glowing wall not too far away from us. Looking up it was like it took up the entire sky. Just looking at it made me feel a pulling sensation.


    ¡°Ama¡­are you sure this will only give me one tail? If that¡¯s the core, then¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes. When you are absorbing this one, I want you to focus on your Runes. There is enough Divinity there that it should be able to make it a proper Authority and a tail.}


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    We left the ce we were standing and made our way to the Dead Zone. To make the traversal easier, Mostima used her gravity magic to let us jump to the roofs of the buildings and hop across them. It didn¡¯t take us five minutes to reach thest building at the very edge of the core. There was a space separating the core from the buildings and standing in that space was a group of people wearing silver armor that gleamed in the light of the Dead Zone.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, we¡¯ll distract them and keep them busy, you just focus on what you have to do.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Are you sure? I don¡¯t mind fighting them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We don¡¯t know how long it will take for you to absorb that or what will happen directly after, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t exhaust yourself beforehand. Put your faith in us and go.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, none of us will even get a scratch.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heh. I¡¯ll hold you to that. Huginn, Muninn, help them out too.¡± (Keeno)


    My two feathered friends had appeared andnded on the ground next to me as they had once again grown in size and could no longer ride on my shoulders. After taking a second to mentally prepare myself, I jumped down from the building¡¯s roof and sprinted toward the Dead Zone core while summoning my swords. Several of the shiny armored knights looked in my direction and summoned their Soul Weapons.


    ¡°Halt! In the name of the Goddess of Life, none may tread on the sanctity of this area without express-gaaaaahhhhh!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have time to really listen to his rambling, so I cut him down before he swung at me. This shocked hispanions who froze as their friend crumpled to the ground nearly headless. I picked up the pace even more and blitzed past them.


    {Serves you right, you annoying people. Using my name to push your agenda.}


    My ear twitched and I wanted to turn around and cut them down for what Ama just said, but I continued on. When I reached the wall of light I leapt into it. For a moment all I could see was white before an overly lush grassyndscape was in front of me. While the grass was soft, it towered above me as tall as trees. They waved softly and slowly like a breeze was blowing when, in actuality, it felt like time stopped. At the same time my senses felt both dulled and hyper focused, it was a bit overwhelming. I tried walking forward and it felt like walking underwater while pushing against a current.


    After a while I managed to get used to the feeling and made my way as deep as I could into the core. Along the way I saw a myriad of Death Spirits floating around like specters. They were all moving in the same direction. I decided following them would be a good idea, so I did so. Eventually I found them circling around something like vultures. When I approached, I found an orb floating between two pirs that reminded me of stctites and stgmites. Several other orbs were orbiting around this big one like a small sr system. I looked at one of these and it shied away from me and ended up too close to the core of the core. It then got sucked inside and vanished. The Death Spirits seemed to cheer silently at this as their floating speed increased.


    I neared another one and the same thing happened. Deciding it was probably a good idea to get rid of all of these, I moved toward them and pushed them into the core¡¯s core. I looked around to see if I could find any more only to stumble on something that reminded me of mum¡¯s Spirit Realm, though this one was much smaller, barely even noticeable even. It also projected a feeling simr to Ena.


    ¡°Spirits, make sure this one stays safe. I don¡¯t want it purified or taken over there.¡± (Keeno)


    Two spirits floated over to me, gently picked up the fledgling Spirit Realm and left, leaving me to what needed to be done. I walked up to the orb being held between the two formations of power and touched it. I heard a loud heartbeat and then the sound of a pipe organ being yed started up with a triumphant yet somber tone. Closing my eyes and focusing on what I needed to do, I began absorbing the core. In my mind I pictured Runes and my intentions for them and the Divinity making up the core and the rest of the space around me resonated. Then the familiar burning sensation I¡¯de to expect from doing this started. It raced down my arms into my very soul. There, the power started to condense as it merged within me. I felt some resistance but before it became too much an unknown pressure descended on me and the resistance crumbled like sand. After that happened it was a smooth process, almost too smooth since I didn¡¯t really know what I was doing. What felt like an hour, or several passed and the condensing slowed down, I felt something fit together like a missing piece of a puzzle.


    {It worked, Keeno! Now just focus on absorbing the rest of it.}


    I nodded my head and opened my eyes only to find I was somehow floating. The shining walls of the Dead Zone were rapidly fading, and some parts were gone, allowing me to see outside. The constant influx of power was giving me that feeling of drunkenness and before I knew it, I was falling to the ground. Inded unsteadily on my feet and nearly fell over due to the unfamiliar weight of a fourth tail.


    ¡°Hehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    Soon afternding, all the light making up the Dead Zone had vanished within me, and I was teetering. I put one of my hands on my head in a vain attempt to make the world stop spinning only to feel sharp mes.


    ¡°Ama¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes, your horns are out. Now, I¡¯d suggest you use a bit of Divinity, your dragon core is trying to absorb as much as it can but it¡¯s going to get overloaded.}


    ¡°Eheheh. Time for some fun, then.¡± (Keeno)


    I stumbled a bit as I tried walking forward. It felt like trying to move after eating too much. I gradually got used to it while walking until I finally got fed up with the tall grass. Apparently this much was enough for a burst of mes to erupt from me, razing all of it in what used to be the Dead Zone and leaving molding patches of blue fire around me. This surprised me, but it also felt interesting.


    ¡°Hehehe. It went fwoosh.¡± (Keeno)


    Walking more I finally reached where the others were. They were surrounded by those shiny armored people. There were several corpses around them and from what I could see my friends weren¡¯t touched. I still hadn¡¯t been noticed so I decided to try something. I stomped my foot on the ground and, using some of the excess Divinity, conjured a Rune array around all of them. I excluded mypanions from the effects and after solidifying the array, golden lightning shot up from the array, either killing or disabling the shiny armor people. After the array vanished, I walked up to the others.


    ¡°Keeno, what in the world was that!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Full Authority of Runes, my dear friend, ehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Why do you sound drunk? Now isn¡¯t really the time to be inebriated.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Ehehehe. It won¡¯tst long, just all the power swirling in me. Too much right now, hehe, gotta use up a lot of it soon or my core¡¯s gonna go boom.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We need to find Ena. I think I found her sister¡¯s Spirit Realm, so if we¡¯re gonna resurrect her, I need to have enough Divinity. Now, Ena, situation update!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Keeno, I humbly request you and everyone else get to the castle as fast as possible. I¡¯ve done the hard work and have gotten everything from that room to the throne room, but I¡¯m having such a hard time holding back from killing this mongrel.¡± (Ena)


    The tone of absolute hate and sadness in her voice instantly sobered me up.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. You two spirits, follow us and keep that Spirit Realm safe from everything.¡± (Keeno)


    With that order given, we began rushing toward the castle while chaos started to erupt in the city due to the Dead Zone¡¯s disappearance.


    Chaos Realm:


    Well, that was easier than allowing Stars.


    Luna: Why?


    Probably because Runes are, in one meaning,nguage, so there was a basis that was able to be taken to the extreme. In your case, that world had no stars at all, even with you and other summoned people talking about them, they didn¡¯t really make an impact to be fully recorded in your world¡¯s mythos and reality.


    Luna: Soundsplicated.


    You have no idea how much work it is to do that stuff. If I had topare it to something, it¡¯d be like if a caveman had to create a hydrogen bomb that didn¡¯t produce any fallout from exploding.


    Luna: ¡­


    Exactly.


    Luna: I¡¯m going to borrow your kitchen. I suddenly feel like cooking you something for all the problems I must have caused you.


    I won¡¯t turn that down, but you really don¡¯t have to be worried about that. It¡¯s much easier than some of my other jobs.


    Luna: Not really helping, but I¡¯ll at least stop worrying about it.


    Alright. Feel free to use anything you find in there.


    Luna: Hehehe. Since I¡¯m doing this, can you invite Keeno and Amaterasu for when I¡¯m done. I feel like celebrating an Acolyte of Fluff¡¯s newest fluff.


    Will do.

 Chapter 150- Dragons Reunited

    Chapter 150- Dragons Reunited


    [Ena POV]


    After splitting off from the others I rushed through the tunnels, raising undead as I went so I could brute force the traps in the way of that room. Several twists and turnster and I came out of the tunnels in the castle dungeons. There were several people locked away in them in various stages of neglect. Some chained to walls, others so starved even the rats wouldn¡¯t bother them because they wouldn¡¯t sate them. As soon as I entered, all screams, yells, or pained moans stopped. I felt several eyes on me, but I didn¡¯t feel the scorn or fear I usually felt when I came down here. Instead, the gazes were filled with hope and eptance.


    ¡®It¡¯s like the other night¡­ah, I get it now. They know they are going to die, and they see me as the salvation they¡¯ll receive once they do.¡¯


    Making a split-second decision, I asked several of the Death Spirits I knew were around here to take these people and end their suffering. They hesitated for a moment but relented in the end. Once their job was done, the silence that was charged with anticipation was reced with solemnity.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The Spirits didn¡¯t respond, but I got the feeling they acknowledged and felt happy with the praise. I cracked a small smile and began moving on. As I was leading my small horde through the dungeons, I felt a strange feeling in my soul and instinctively looked up.


    ¡°She¡¯s getting stronger.¡±


    I smirked again and started moving faster. I reached what looked like a dead end of the dungeons and punched the wall, breaking the illusion magic ced on it. I then made my undead flood the hallway, triggering every trap along the way. Several of them when triggered made me feel chills as they cared powerful curses that rotted the undead that triggered them almost instantly while others either poisoned them or crushed them or melted them. The worst was when they finally reached the door and flooded the entire hallway in mes and deadly gas. Thankfully there was a barrier around the entrance that contained all of it, so it didn¡¯t spill out. Once all of it was gone, I was about to step into the hallway when I stopped. I sent in a few more undead and the hallway once again burst into me.


    ¡°¡­*Sigh*¡±


    I sent in wave after wave and all of them were destroyed. The good thing about this was that most of the undead could be raised again AND the mes were getting weaker every time. Finally, after about 20 waves the mes and other magics stopped while my undead were finally reduced toplete ash. Sending a small skeleton through the hallway first, nothing happened to it, and it touched the door without being destroyed. Seeing that, I walked through the hallway. I ced my hands on the door and pushed. It barely moved, but I continued on. No door could keep a dragon out when she wants something.


    Getting annoyed at just how heavy the door was, I kicked it and it bent inward. I kicked it again and it fell in a crumpled heap of metal. I stepped inside the dark room, my core and the me on my tail hardly illuminating the room. I made several small mes and moved them throughout the room. Even before they managed to light up the entire room, I saw glimpses of something that nearly made me lose my mind.


    Once the room was fully illuminated, I saw it¡­her. At the back wall, her arms chained up, crucifying her hung the limp body of my sister. The light of her core and on the tip of her tail long since extinguished. The body of my sister, who I believed I buried in the way of our people, chained up, missing scales and her horns,cerations covering her body devoid of blood. It made my blood boil and my mind nearly break in anger. I slowly approached her body, gently caressing her cheek. I pushed her hair out of the way only to notice her eyes and been gouged out.


    ¡°So, it was you, you useless lizard. *cough* It seems you¡¯ve finally discovered the source of my longevity as well.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°WHAT!!!???¡± (Ena)


    ¡°*Cough, cough* You moronic animal, think. That corpse tied up there is still full of draconic vitality, especially for one who was so attuned to Life magic. I know you¡¯ve known I¡¯ve lived for far too long, but never questioned it. You¡¯ve seen me imbibe that potion.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°¡­You¡¯ve desecrated my sister¡¯s body just to extend your worthless lifespan? You took her scales, her horns¡­her eyes¡­what else have you taken from her?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Kukuku*cough, cough, cough* Who do you think ordered her death in the first ce? I grew up hearing stories of the Dragons on Life and Death. I figured if I managed to capture either of you, I¡¯d be able to do something to live forever. *cough* But those I sent to do so were too¡­hasty. They heard kill, not capture. Once they did so, I had them exiled, only to meet you yearster at my doorstep, begging for a contract. After that, acquiring its body was easy.¡± (Baldr)


    I¡¯d heard enough. I didn¡¯t care about motives, or monologues, or anything. I just wanted to erase the mongrel off the face of the world. Gently wrapping my arms around my sister¡¯s body, I destroyed the chains holding her up. Grabbing the spear Keeno had given me with my tail, I threw it at Baldr. He smirked and the spear hit him in the stomach.


    ¡°Kuhuhuhu. Your puny-guh.¡± (Baldr)


    The spear had not embedded itself in his flesh but was enough to pierce whatever defense he had and wind his feeble body. I walked up to him and, while making sure my sister¡¯s body was secured, grabbed Baldr by the throat before turning my head up. I built up mana in my chest and shot a breath through the ceiling, nearly disintegrating all rubble in the way. I let my wings appear and, with Baldr in my grasp, flew up through the hole I crated. Landing in the throne room, I tossed the old man onto his throne, and I struggled to maintain my humanoid form from the anger I was feeling. I looked to the sky and roared, causing all the windows in the room to shatter and more of the ceiling to crumble more, opening the entire room up to the night sky. The light of the moons couldn¡¯t be seen due to rapidly umting storm clouds.


    ¡°Gah!¡± (Baldr)


    He was reduced to a mess of coughing, recovering only for his palled form to wither even more when he noticed.


    ¡°T-the light of the Dead Zone¡­WHERE IS IT!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?¡± (Baldr)


    His absolute despair made my anger slightly diminish as a scorn filled smile crossed my face.


    ¡°My Lady has taken what is rightfully hers.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°So, you DID betray me.¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been very clear I would one day annul our contract once I found someone more suitable. I find the Goddess of Death a suitable new master.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Fool! There is no goddess of Death! You¡¯ve fallen to a chatan!¡± (Baldr)


    ¡°True, I am a fool¡­no, even lower than a fool, but you are the same.¡± (Ena)


    Conjuring my Soul Weapon, I waved it around and several stakes of purple me appeared and stabbed into Baldr¡¯s arms and legs, locking him in ce. I then received word from Keeno and asked her and the others to hurry here before my anger resurged once again and I killed Baldr. Luckily, I didn¡¯t have to wait too long since they appeared through the hold in the roof thanks to Mostima¡¯s gravity magic.


    When theynded in front of me, I immediately noticed the change in Keeno. The most obvious being a fourth tail was now present. Another change was the horns of me present on her head in the shape of a crown and strange, ever-so-slightly glowing symbols engraved in strange patterns on her arms.


    ¡°We meet again, mongrel who¡¯s imed my wife¡¯s power.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The monster from the arena¡­from those nightmares¡­¡± (Baldr)


    Huginn and Muninn flew through the hole in the roof andnded next to Keeno, causing Baldr to flinch.


    ¡°Unfortunately for you, we don¡¯t have time to mess with you, so Ena¡­nevermind. I¡¯ll do it. Pram, get ready.¡± (Keeno)


    Keeno the pulled that strange spear out of her ring and walked up to Baldr.


    ¡°The name Baldr has a lot of history to it, though from all I¡¯ve heard about you, you don¡¯t do it justice. You bring shame to the name. For all your crimes against the people of this world,mitted intentionally or not, you are hereby sentenced to death. Your punishment will be carried out by Keeno Fafnir Okami, Goddess of Death. With Amaterasu as witness, may your Soul be consigned to oblivion.¡± (Keeno)


    Some of the strange symbols on her arms shone brighter and seemed to move onto the spear. She slowly pierced his chest and we all saw the life fade from his eyes. Almost instantly his soul floated out of his body, and she cut it with her swords. Just as soon as she did that, the air all around us dropped in temperature. It became colder than I had felt in years. In front of me, small snowkes drifted down.


    ¡°Hmm. Like I said, Conceptual weakness. As long as the one with the name Baldr is killed by mistletoe, then Fimblvintr begins. Now, Death Spirits, bring me the Spirit Realm. Ena, it¡¯s time to reunite you with your sister.¡± (Keeno)


    I nodded at her and gentlyid my sister down,ying her head in myp. Keeno and Pram sat on either side of her while two Death Spirits floated down, a small glowing orb held between them. Once they got closer, and I got a better look at the orb, my heart skipped a beat. The feeling it gave off reminded me of her so much I nearly began crying.


    Keeno took the orb from the Death Spirits and ced it on my sister¡¯s chest. A golden power then began to flow from Keeno¡¯s body and surrounded her, my sister¡¯s body, and Pram.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting. Pram, use all the magic you can, just likest time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Pram)


    The golden power started to steadily flow into my sister, causing the orb sitting on her chest to be slowly absorbed into her body. On Pram¡¯s side a gold-tinted green magic began to shine, causing thecerations, missing scales, broken horns, and missing eyes toe back. When the orb was fully absorbed back into the body, the color of her skin slowly started to regain its glow. I looked over at Keeno and saw she was sweating profusely as she concentrated on her work. She suddenly stood up and moved next to Pram, cing her hand on her back and letting her mana and the golden power to flow into her. The magic Pram was using fully turned gold and I felt the warmth of life to slowly return to my sister. It was very small at first, but I saw her chest move as she breathed again.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Ena)


    The golden power enshrouding the three of them started to dim until all that was left was the light of Life magic. My sister¡¯s breathing became more rapid the longer the magic was used and soon the me on her tail lit up. I could see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids and soon they slowly cracked open. It was the first time in a long time I saw the pale teal of her eyes.


    ¡°Loughshinny¡­¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­E-Ena?¡± (Loughshinny)


    I couldn¡¯t contain my happiness and moved Loughshinny up and hugged her.


    ¡°Wee back. *sniff* I¡¯m so sorry.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Ena¡­¡± (Loughshinny)


    She gently wrapped her arms around me, and I felt tears running down her face.


    ¡°Ena¡­I¡­I thought I¡¯d never see you again¡­I was trapped in this small ce all alone¡­I heard all the whispers telling me to let go¡­move on¡­I was so scared¡­¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. You¡¯re better now, you¡¯re back and I won¡¯t ever let anyone touch you again. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t able to protect you back then.¡± (Ena)


    Keeno and the others had made some distance to give us a moment, but that moment couldn¡¯tst.


    ¡°Ena, I know you are happy, but we need to get moving. Things are going to start getting worse out there.¡± (Freya)


    Looking over I saw that Pram was being supported by Freya and Keeno was being carried by Mostima. Huginn and Muninn were watching with keen eyes in case any interlopers decided to show up.


    ¡°Ena¡­who are they?¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°I¡¯ll exin everythingter, Lou, but for now all you need to know is that they are friends.¡± (Ena)


    She nodded and I returned my attention to the others.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Keeno?¡± (Ena)


    {Even with all that excess Divinity, she used up a ton of her own, so she¡¯s gonna be out for a while.}


    ¡°¡­Ok. Everyone needs to follow me, and I¡¯ll get you where you need to be. Lou, are you able to walk, or do you want me to carry you?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Everything still feels fuzzy.¡± (Loughshinny)


    I stood up and picked up Lou.


    ¡°Come on.¡± (Ena)


    I started to rush out of the castle followed closely by the others. Since we were all upied carrying someone, we relied on Huginn and Muninn to defend us for the most part. There were a few times some knights or shadows came at us, but they were dispatched easily as we ran.


    ¡°Ena, we¡¯re probably not gonna see each other for a while after this, so I¡¯ll say this for everyone, but be ready and stay safe. Don¡¯t make Keeno and Pram¡¯s work tonight pointless, because they can¡¯t do this all the time.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I realize that, and I don¡¯t n on ever letting someone harm me or my sister like that again.¡± (Ena)


    We turned a few corners and made it out of the main part of the castle. I saw several servants and other officials of the castle looking up at the sky. Some shivering due to the rapidly falling temperature, others looking at the snow falling like it was some sort of never-before-seen creature.


    ¡°Ena, you keep going. Find An and do whatever you need to do. We¡¯re going go where Margaret said we need to meet up.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get Lou somewhere safe and then look for him around here. I wish all of you luck.¡± (Ena)


    They pulled away from me and Lou, heading toward one of therge gates to the castle. I made my way to another tunnel entrance that would lead me to one of my safe ces.


    ¡°Ena, there are a lot of things I missed.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°Hehe. You have no idea, but now I have time to fill you in on every little thing. For now, though, just rest, there are things that I need to finish, and you clearly need some sleep.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Nn¡­Just, tell me everything when I wake up.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°Of course, my little sister, I¡¯ll tell you everything.¡± (Ena)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    Something up?


    Luna: Doppelganger.


    Yep. You gonna find a way to tell that Reed girl?


    Luna: Maybe. On a scale of 1 to Atmos, how funny would it be?


    Three Atmos.


    Luna: Then I need to do it yesterday¡­and get Atmos in on it too.


    Atmos: Call my name and I appear!


    Luna: ¡­Better entrance this time. Still loud, but my ears aren¡¯t ringing.


    Atmos: Ha ha ha! Even I can learn eventually!


    Stop yelling everything you say.


    Atmos: Oki. Now, why is my name being called? And why do I have a feeling it¡¯s being relegated to some sort of rating system?


    Luna: New joint project by the three of us, get Reed and Loughshinny to meet.


    Atmos: Lou-who? Exin in detail or let me see everything.


    On it.

 Chapter 151- Dragon Rests for the Long Winter

    Chapter 151- Dragon Rests for the Long Winter


    [Ena POV]


    After making sure Loughshinny was fine and all of this wasn¡¯t a dream, I locked up the room and went to find An. The chill from outside had already begun seeping into the passageways. The waster that was always present had started freezing, making it quite the hassle traversing the tunnels I¡¯ve gotten so used to over the many long years.


    ¡°I forgot how cold it could get¡­and it¡¯s still getting colder.¡±


    When I got to the door I¡¯d just used, it was nearly frozen shut.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to need to find a better ce to live. It won¡¯t be convenient if I have to defrost myself or the doors if I need to go somewhere.¡±


    Giving the door a good kick managed to get it open. A gust of wind then tore through the opening making me shiver. The snow had started falling harder and the clouds had grown darker, making it nearly impossible to tell the time. It must have been some time just after sunrise due to the amount of people I could see panicking, though that wasn¡¯t necessarily correct. Of course, not everyone was panicking; children were running around ying in the snow, despite the increasingly stormy conditions. Others were trying to go about their daily business seemingly unaffected by current events. Another strong gust of wind blew causing me to focus on my task again.


    I made my way back to the castle after making my wings appear. It was interesting hearing some of the people get scared at seeing someone flying around, but I didn¡¯t have time to revel in their reactions. Inded on the balcony of the mongrel¡¯s office and shattered one of the windows. Wind started blowing around all the papers on the empty desk and knocking over lighter things on shelves. I stepped into the room and looked around.


    ¡°I may have hated you, mongrel, but I¡¯ll say this much, this room is empty without you hunched over the desk.¡±


    I was about to move on when I got curious about something. I walked up to the desk and started opening the drawers. Most of them only held nk papers, quills, inkwells, some fancy sticks that seemed to have ink in them somehow, and some paperweights. One had a false bottom with some very old, well aged wine and brandy which I dly took. When I opened thest drawer though, I almost let out a breath.


    There were several vials of faintly glowing liquid. In the bottoms of these vials were scales or small pieces of flesh. I picked one up and opened the lid. It reeked of decay, yet I could tell it would restore vitality.


    ¡°Is this another Valkyrie skill? No, can¡¯t think of that right now.¡±


    I ignited the desk with my mes and made sure all of those vials were destroyed. I now had a secondary mission aside from An. I was about to head to the mongrel¡¯s old room but decided that I¡¯d have the other help me search instead of doing so alone. As I made my way across the castle, I ran into several guards.


    ¡°Oi! Stop right there, criminal scum!¡±


    I stared that particr guard down with an unamused re.


    ¡°¡­Forgive me, lizard. We have found the king dead and are looking for the culprit. As his pet, you should join us in the search.¡±


    This annoyed me even more.


    ¡°Looks like all of you have forgotten something, so allow me to <em>kindly</em> remind you. I. Am. NOT! A! LIZARD!! I am a dragon!!!¡±


    Iunched myself forward and grabbed the leading guard by the neck, lifted him off his feet, and with a satisfying crunch, crushed his neck. I wrapped my tail around another one¡¯s throat and twisted, his head nearly being torn from his shoulders. I grabbed the third one by the face and, simr to the first one, squeezed, which was promptly followed by a wet pop.


    ¡°How liberating.¡±


    I cleansed my hand with mes and moved on. If he followed along with our correspondence, he should have been waiting in his own office. When I got there, I found more guards trying to knock the door down.


    ¡°Prime Minister, open the door! We¡¯re trying to protect you!¡±


    That guard¡¯s words sounded genuine, but several of hisrades were not, judging by the naked daggers in their hands. I was about to step forward when one of the people with different affiliation stabbed the guard knocking on the door. The others with unsheathed daggers did the same before one of them started trying to pick the lock.


    ¡°Saves me the trouble and only slightly guilty conscience.¡±


    I kicked the corpses out of the way and knocked on the door.


    ¡°An, it¡¯s Ena, open up.¡±


    I heard the sound of things being moved and the door being unlocked. When it opened An poked his head out and looked at all the bodies.


    ¡°Was killing all of them necessary?¡± (An)


    ¡°Believe it or not, I only killed a few of them. One noble or another decided now was a prime time to try and assassinate you as well.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Idiotic snakes.¡± (An)


    ¡°That¡¯s rude to snakes.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°It seems Lady Okami¡¯s humor has rubbed off on you.¡± (An)


    ¡°What can I say, she¡¯s very charismatic. Anyway, we should go. Though there is another thing that needs doing first.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°And what would that be?¡± (An)


    ¡°We need to make sure that mongrel of an old man didn¡¯t leave any more of a vile concoction behind. I destroyed all of it in his office, I just need to search his personal room. And we should hurry before more rats show up.¡± (Ena)


    We ran a while before finally arriving before a set of heavily decorated wooden doors. Pushing them open revealed avish room. Arge circr bed covered in a deep purple nket and a blood red carpet covering the entire room were the first things I noticed. Even after all the years I spent here, I¡¯d never been in this room.


    ¡°His taste in d¨¦cor is actually surprisingly gaudy.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°It is indeed somewhat of an eyesore.¡± (An)


    We walked in and I exined exactly what we were looking for before we started turning out every drawer and pocket in the room. We found coal after vial which was then tossed onto the bed. Once we were confident that we¡¯d searched every inch of the room, I turned to the bed and lit it aze.


    ¡°¡­¡± (An)


    ¡°Having second thoughts on anything?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°No, but even if I was, it¡¯s already toote to go back on them.¡± (An)


    ¡°True.¡± (Ena)


    I checked one more time that all the vials were burned uppletely before walking to the balcony. Once the two of us were standing outside, my wings appeared.


    ¡°*Sigh*¡± (An)


    I picked him up and hopped onto the guardrail before ncing over at the room behind me and flicking my tail. The ze on the bed red and soon the entire room was covered in purple mes; mes that would soon start spreading to the rest of the castle.


    ¡°Hehehe. Truly the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.¡± (Ena)


    I jumped from the railing and glided a bit before dipping down into a spiral around an aqueduct. Buts of hail had started falling along with the snow, buffeting me as we went.


    ¡°Before we make it to our temporary refuge, I will warn you, do not do anything to my sister. No matter how much Lady Okami or I trust you, that is nonnegotiable.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (An)


    I wasn¡¯t going to have Loughshinny, or I go through such a terrible experience again, so until she was back to her full strength, I wasn¡¯t going to let ANYONE near her without my constant supervision.


    ¡°Gnn.¡± (Ena)


    A powerful gust of wind nearly blew me into the stone pir supporting the aqueduct and allowed a sizable piece of hail to hit me on the head. I felt some blood trickle down from just above my eyes, but I ignored the stinging. When Inded, I had to once again forcefully open the door and we walked inside.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe everything was warm only a few short hours ago.¡± (An)


    ¡°Yeah. Either the Dead Zone was keeping all of that at bay for years, or some Gods are having fun right now.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Does Lady Okami know?¡± (An)


    ¡°When she killed Baldr, she said something and stated a name¡­Fimblventer or something like that. No clue what it is, but next opportunity I get to ask, I will. All I know is that it¡¯s, for some reason, Conceptually tied to the name Baldr, and only happens if the one with the name is killed by a certain nt, and that¡¯s only what I¡¯ve been able to piece together myself.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t continue to get worse.¡± (An)


    ¡°Saying things like that causes the worst to happen, you know.¡± (Ena)


    Making sure the door was securely shut, we walked for a while until we got back to my room. Unlocking the door and opening it, I was about to step inside when I was suddenly knocked into the wall. Looking down I saw Loughshinny hugging me tightly with tears in the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°Ena, you were gone for so long¡­I saw all these scary shadows moving¡­and it¡¯s getting so cold.¡± (Loughshinny)


    She looked up at me and saw the blood trickling down my head and her sorrow and fear instantly turned to anger.


    ¡°Who hurt you?¡± (Loughshinny)


    The me on her tail turned from a calming orange to a fierce red. Around us small flowers made of me began to bloom. She must have caught some movement An made as she immediately turned her head to face him and red at him.


    ¡°Calm down, Lou, I just got hit with some hail. He is an ally.¡± (Ena)


    This made her calm down and she looked at my head. One of the fire flowers floating in the air fell andnded on my wound, healing it instantly. Shortly after that the others faded, and Lou¡¯s breathing became a bitbored.


    ¡°You should be resting. Those shadows are Death Spirits that I asked to watch over and protect you while I was gone for a bit.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­It seems I missed a lot¡­and mister, I¡¯m sorry for ring at you.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°You need not apologize; I¡¯ve be used to such res.¡± (An)


    I picked Lou up and walked her inside beforeying her back down on the bed. An followed shortly after and sat further away from us.


    ¡°Hmm. I really need a better ce than this. I can¡¯t light a fire for warmth.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Are there not any ces in these tunnels made for camping? With the size of the city there has to be.¡± (An)


    ¡°There are, but none of them are as secure as this room and a few others. The point is to stay hidden until Lou can fly long distances again before getting you out of here.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll be fine with enough nkets for now. At least until we figure out something more permanent.¡± (An)


    ¡°Hmm. Well, think of it as getting used to Solheim weather.¡± (Ena)


    He nodded his head before gathering up as many nkets as he could while leaving us on our own.


    ¡°Ena, I haven¡¯t questioned it really, but what¡¯s happening? As far as I remember, Odeen doesn¡¯t get cold.¡± (Loughshinny)


    I then started telling Lou the story of what¡¯s been going on since she died up to this point while leaving specific parts out that Keeno didn¡¯t want An to know. Lou¡¯s eyes were shining as I told her everything like it was a bedtime story.


    <em>¡°There are some things that are left vague or false that I will exinter. Things he doesn¡¯t need to know or are misunderstandings that don¡¯t need fixing¡± </em>(Ena)


    She nodded slightly before hugging me tightly.


    ¡°Ena¡­You did too much¡­for so long¡­I¡¯m sorry I left you alone¡­¡± (Loughshinny)


    I stopped her from going any further.


    ¡°You¡¯re my sister, my family, my world, I¡¯d turn everything to ashes¡­I¡¯d sacrifice my soul if it meant you¡¯d live. Hehe. Some could even say I already did, but I don¡¯t care. As long as I can see you alive and smiling, then all trouble or pain is an afterthought.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°You should save those kinds of words for someone you want to marry, Ena.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°*Sigh*Looks like Okami is rubbing off on me more than I realized. Always flirting with such flowery wordse to think of it, most of them were like that, though Mostima was better since she kept most of her conversations quiet or through telepathy.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Hehehe. I really wish I could have spoken with them. They seem like fun people.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°You¡¯ll have the chance to in the future.¡± (Ena)


    I leaned back against the wall next to my bed.


    ¡°For now, though, I need some sleep. Today has been¡­chaotic, to say the least.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Good night, sister.¡± (Loughshinny)


    ¡°Good night to you too, sister.¡± (Ena)


    Chaos Realm:


    Atmos: You know, seeing all of this, it¡¯s eye-opening seeing how much goes into making this ce safe for someone with no real connection to the Divine.


    What can I say? You have never and should never want to see what happens when something gets tainted by the Pure Chaos here. Even with all the protections I can give it¡¯s a pain to cleanse.


    Atmos: Don¡¯t think I¡¯ve forgotten The Incident.


    I¡¯m trying to forget it.


    Atmos: You and I both know that it¡¯s impossible for both of us.


    I do, but I can put it to the back of my mind and not think about it if SOMEONE doesn¡¯t bring it up.


    Atmos: ¡­Touche. Also, where is Order and the others?


    Order, Astraea, Nykuro, Crisis, Evelyn, and Mordred are out. Evelyn and Astraea are on a date while the others are making sure nothing gets out of hand.


    Atmos: So, all of them are babysitting Crisis.


    Yep.


    Atmos: And Luna and Tamamo?


    Preparing something for yall¡¯s world.


    Atmos: Eh!? And why was I not included in this secret?


    Don¡¯t ask me! I try my best not to spoil things for you¡­wait, you should know!!


    Atmos: He he he, actually, I¡¯ve figured something out. With my Authority over Mischief, I can trick myself into not seeing the Fate of things!


    ¡­That¡¯s stupid. Stupid and dangerous.


    Atmos: ¡­


    *Sigh*You didn¡¯t think of the repercussions, did you.


    Atmos: Not a single bit. I was too preupied with the current moment that I didn¡¯t really consider anything.


    See, if I didn¡¯t like you and consider you a close friend, basically family at this point, I¡¯d have to punish you severely for that.


    Atmos: I promise on my name and Authorities that it¡¯ll never happen again¡­well, this specifically.


    ¡­I¡¯ll ept that.

 Chapter 152- The Fox Receives a Warning

    Chapter 152- The Fox Receives a Warning


    [Keeno POV]


    I slowly started to regain consciousness as I felt a rather ufortable rocking sensation. Opening my eyes slowly, I tried to sit up, but my body felt extremely sluggish. It was like I was moving through water while tied to weights.


    {Oh? Already up?}


    ¡®Sort of? I don¡¯t feel awake, or at least my body doesn¡¯t.¡¯


    {Just give it a bit longer. You burned through a lot of Divinity bringing Ena¡¯s sister back.}


    ¡®Was it enough to keep my core from exploding?¡¯


    {It would have already if it wasn¡¯t.}


    ¡®Well, that¡¯s good.¡¯


    I closed my eyes again and ever so slowly the weight on my body lessened.


    ¡®¡­¡¯


    {What is it, Keeno?}


    ¡®I almost felt like I was at home again¡­I know I was kind of high on Divinity, but did I really start Fimblventr?¡¯


    {Remind me what that was again. I know you told me about it before, but I can¡¯t remember the details.}


    ¡®Basically, never-ending winter until the end of the world. I doubt the world is gonna end though, though the people here may feel like it is for a while.¡¯


    {Oh right. Fun¡­Cataclysmic winter aside, I¡¯ll let the others know you¡¯re up. That Margaretdy needs to speak to you.}


    I nodded my head slightly. Around a minuteter I heard the ruffling of cloth and someone stepping into whatever I was riding in.


    ¡°Lady Okami?¡± (Margaret)


    Izily flicked a tail in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Are you alright? The others said you were awake, but I can leave you to rest some more if you need.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I¡¯m awake. Sluggish, but awake.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then feel free to just listen. I need to exin to you what¡¯s going on in regards to us getting you to Lokir. The person we are guarding is someone of high social standing and has the pride and arrogance usually associated with that. The story we are going with is that you and your group are adventurers who areing to Lokir to join our knight order. Regarding our charge¡­he is¡­has, a very difficult personality. He will say things to you that will more than likely make you upset, and that¡¯s only IF he doesn¡¯t take an interest in you. Unfortunately, you WILL catch his interest. What I¡¯m trying to ask is¡­please do your best and hold off from doing anything drastic until we reach Lokir. After that we have a myriad of ways to convincingly <em>disappear</em> him.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very knightly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We follow more of a bottom line than any formal knightly oath. As long as we don¡¯t cross that line, basically anything goes. Biggest thing we try to avoid is causing unjust harm to innocents.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. Surprised you want to help me then. While it¡¯s not like I want it to, what I¡¯m doing is one of the most life changing, potentially harmful things to innocent people.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Let me rephrase myself then, unjust and unnecessary harm. Me and most of my order believe what you are doing is just and necessary. There are a few decenters and some still on the fence, but they won¡¯t do anything to impede you either.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°You¡¯re much morex than I thought you were.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s just the situation. He¡¯s quiet since he isn¡¯t used to such cold.¡± (Margaret)


    Margaret shivered a little and tried to hide it. Hearing that I smirked a little.


    ¡°Heh. Well, if I¡¯m going to dislike this guy as much as you say, then he better get used to being messed with.¡± (Keeno)


    I slowly and steadily increased the heat around me. Margaret kept her stoic expression, but I could see she rxed very slightly.


    ¡°My family and friends are the only ones allowed the privilege of being this close to me to stay warm, and I am and n on continuing to think of you as a friend. Seeing as you know more of my secrets than most normal people and probably have a good idea regarding what I want you to be in the future, feel free to rx. Hehe. All facades are meaningless in the face of Death and all ns areid bare under the Sun. May my presence be as weing to you as the warmth of hearth at home.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for a poet.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I dabble. I wouldn¡¯t call myself a professional, and most of the ones I¡¯ve written shall never be shown to other people, but it¡¯s fun.¡± (Keeno)


    {I think you are good enough to be considered professional at it. At least as professional as being a poet can be.}


    ¡®Thank you, Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s a nice hobby.¡± (Margaret)


    She allowed herself to bask in the warmth a bit more before starting to get up. She turned to get out of the wagon before looking over her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you get some more rest; we can talk more after that¡­just please remember what I said earlier.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Keeno)


    She left the wagon, and I heard the sound of hooves pass beside me.


    ¡®¡­Horse people riding horses. Is that irony, or something else?¡¯


    {No clue, but it¡¯s funny to think about.}


    The two of us fell silent again, the only sound being that of the wagon and hooves of horses.


    ¡®We should still be in the city¡­why is there hardly any noise?¡¯


    {Most people have taken to hiding away inside, trying to stay warm. Some are heading toward temples or shrines that they haven¡¯t visited in a long time or that have been basically abandoned and begun praying to me or other gods to stop the snow and cold. It¡¯s funny since this isn¡¯t the doing of any storm or weather gods and they can¡¯t stop it either.}


    ¡®It¡¯s a good thing our existences don¡¯t require believers. Though I understand it¡¯s a very mortal thing to do, it feels¡­insulting?¡¯


    {Meh. It¡¯s something you get used to.}


    I let my head rest again.


    ¡®I wanna see Red again¡­and Mum and Emma and Ortilinde.¡¯


    {That can be arranged. Sr Convergence-}


    ¡®Stop right there. We have ns for the next one. I miss them, yes, but we can save that for a different time.¡¯


    {Hehehe. Very well.}


    I closed my eyes again and was just starting to doze when someone outside shouted ¡®HAIL¡¯ and I heard the sound of movement. I started hearing the sound of soft nking as hail hit armor when I heard the sound of the cloth on the wagon moving. Looking over there I saw my friends climbing inside.


    ¡°About time yall joined me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, for the moment we can¡¯t really just sit in here. We ARE technically knights in training. We¡¯re supposed to be showing what we¡¯re made of by keeping pace with the group.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Guess we need to make it look convincing, though I guess I¡¯m not really making the cut at the moment.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Everyone but that¡­person knows we aren¡¯t actually bing knights, but needs must.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°¡­Margaret gave me a brief rundown, but how much am I going to hate this guy we¡¯re guarding?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We don¡¯t know. He¡¯s been locked up in his fancy carriage the entire time, so we haven¡¯t seen him, but we got the same warning from Margaret as you did.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then why does it sound like Mostima has some idea?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Because it has to do with Lokir nobility like him. When Margaret gave us the rundown, I got a sense about just how things are going to go. She asked you to do your best to not kill him, right?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Yeah. Said something about how he¡¯d take a liking to me or something¡­Actually, Ama, how bad is this going to be?¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmm? Oh, I¡¯m doing my best to hold back as well. I¡¯ve wanted to do a lot of things to Lokir nobility for a long time, this person being no exception, but I¡¯ve made a binding promise to NOT do anything that could ruin the country even more with the Gods of Judgement, so I kind of just try to ignore everything to do with them. This case is going to be extremely difficult on the both of us, Keeno.}


    ¡°¡­What if I just seal him inside his carriage permanently?¡± (Keeno)


    Everyone in the wagon looked at me like I grew a second head.


    ¡°You can do that?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Easily. Now that I have Authority over Runes, they will work with my mana instead of Divinity, so I can put a simple lock Rune on the door, and he¡¯ll never be able to leave until I remove it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do that when you are able to really move again. None of us want to deal with this guy, so that sounds like the best n of action¡­and throw a silence Rune in the mix as well.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    {Oh right, Keeno, one day we¡¯re going to need to figure out some fun things to do when we mix Runes and Magic. I can¡¯t wait to research with you!}


    ¡°Hehehe. It¡¯s going to be so much fun.¡± (Keeno)


    While Ama and I were starting to fall into our own little world, Pram moved over and started to snuggle next to me.


    ¡°Freya,e here.¡± (Pram)


    Freya looked a bit reluctant but gave in after Pram gave her a pleading look.


    ¡°Ehehe. Just like back home. The cold, the closeness, the warmth. All we¡¯re missing is the firece.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I was telling Ama that earlier. It¡¯s so familiar that I¡¯m starting to miss it again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mind if I join as well?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Come on.¡± (Keeno)


    Mostima moved over and joined the puddle. I moved my tails and wrapped them around all of us like we were all in a group hug.


    ¡°All we¡¯re missing is Ama and Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°And the others. Red, Emma, Fafnir, Ortilinde, Ena.¡± (Pram)


    {Fu and Moco.}


    ¡°Yeah¡­I have a new goal now, when this journey is over, we¡¯re going to have a party where we¡¯re sitting around a hearthfire, telling stories with all of us, my Valkyries, and any other friends we make along the way while telling stories and just having a good time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That sounds like fun.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡¯t wait for that.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯ll provide the drinks.¡± (Mostima)


    {And I¡¯ll set the scenery. Keeno, you want to be the one to provide the ambiance?}


    ¡°Hehehe. dly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Don¡¯t turn it into some kind of horror situation.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Fiiiiinnnneeee.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram and Freya startedughing at my answer while Mostima had a warm smile. We continued to chat while the sound of hail hitting the cloth roof of the wagon provided aforting atmosphere and that blessing from the Goddess of Music started up a soft tune that lulled all of us to sleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­What is he doing?


    Atmos: Still prepping for those two dragons to meet.


    Luna: When I said that I was making a joke, but if he took it this seriously, I guess I might as well help.


    Atmos: He told me to tell you just wait. He¡¯s almost done.


    Luna: Define almost.


    Atmos: Like I know, I don¡¯t know rituals like this.


    Luna: ???


    Atmos: ??!!??


    *A bright sh of light covers the roompletely*

 Chapter 153- Getting One Obstacle Out of the Way

    Chapter 153- Getting One Obstacle Out of the Way


    [Keeno POV]


    It took a few more days before I was really able to move around as I wished. The temperature also continued to plummet as each day passed until I basically became the only beacon of warmth in the area. Pram had needed to change into her old clothes and I shared some of mine with Freya and Mostima, even if they looked a bit baggy on them. Luckily we were also about to exit the city, or at least that was the n.


    ¡°HALT!!!¡±


    Our wagons came to a stop at the gate of the city, stopped by who I was assuming to be guards. They walked up to the other side of the wagon I was riding in and began talking to Margaret.


    ¡°Due to recent events, all people leaving the city must be questioned and searched. State your names and reason for departure.¡±


    ¡°We are the envoy from Lokir. Due to said recent events, we must leave at once to ensure the safety of our charge.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Envoy of Lokir¡­Understood. Your wagons are still subject to search, but it will be quick.¡±


    ¡°Very well, but I ask that you not disturb this wagon too much, our Lord¡¯s favorite is in there and she needs rest.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­¡­Understood.¡±


    My ears twitched in annoyance. I knew what she said wasn¡¯t true, whatever it meant, but it made me very upset. I then turned my attention to the p on the wagon as someone poked their head in, looked around, and moved back to Margaret.


    ¡°Lady Knight, this wagon is fine¡­but I must ask¡­judging by the kitsune in there, is it true they are highly sought after in Lokir?¡±


    ¡°Only by the nobility, but yes.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I see¡­thank you for the information. It will be valuable in the future.¡±


    I didn¡¯t like the sound of that at all.


    ¡®Huginn, have some of your underlings watch this guy. Find out who he serves and kill them.¡¯


    After a silent ruffle of feathers, Huginn disappeared. After another half an hour the wagons started to move again. When that happened and we were outside of the gates and a ways away from them, Margaret stepped into the wagon.


    ¡°I assume you heard all of that earlier?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I did, and I¡¯d like an exnation.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°*Sigh*¡­A recent trend has started recently among the Lokir nobility. One that involves kitsune¡­I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s difficult for me to find delicate words for this.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then don¡¯t. Just say it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They use them as prostitutes. At first it was just like any other, but now it¡¯s getting to the point where they are basically being sold as livestock. From what I¡¯ve heard, the nobility is is buying them up from brothels or paying off debts, but in doing so giving them no choice but to use their bodies to pay them back while <em>earning</em> a pittance to the debt they owe the noble that helped them.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I know what indentured servitude is, Margaret.¡± (Keeno)


    It seemed my tone was harsher than I realized as Margaret flinched slightly and the heat in the wagon increased.


    {When did this start!? If I did, would have known about this and warned you if I knew!}


    ¡°When did this start happening?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Shortly after Lady Fiametta left. A few of the kitsune in our order had been hearing strange rumors or noticing lingering gazes from nobility they are hired to guard. A bitter they started getting solicited or ckmailed, though the ones trying that met less than pleasant ends.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°*Sigh*If it¡¯s not one thing it¡¯s another. Why does EVERY country with a Dead Zone have some sort of problem like this? Every single one. I¡¯m getting tired of it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can¡¯t say anything for other countries, but I feel like I should apologize for this.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°No need. It¡¯s honestly something that I shouldn¡¯t get involved in, but I feelpelled to since it has to do with other kitsune. How well trusted is your night order in Lokir?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°While there is no real ranking for such things, ours is one of the most requested in the country when ites to guarding, transporting, and small-scale skirmishes, not that there have been that many recently.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Ok. When we get there and meet up with the rest of your order we can n, but for now I¡¯m going to not worry about it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I understand.¡± (Margaret)


    She turned to leave when I stopped her.


    ¡°Oh, I should let you know I have thought of a way to deal with that guy that you¡¯re guarding. What would you be able toe up with if he got locked in his carriage for the entire duration of the journey back? No way to open it, no way to hear him. We just conveniently forget to feed him.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­No skin off my back. In fa-¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°MARGARET NEARL!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?¡±


    Our wagon and assumingely the rest of them stopped as well.


    ¡°No time like the present. I¡¯m tired of being cooped up.¡± (Keeno)


    Though it was very missable, I saw Margaret smirk as she stepped out of the wagon. Looking around I saw several people wearing armor and mounted on horses. My friends were standing next to the other knight that was present that night we met Margaret while several others were dismounted and standing next to a short man. Thoughnky, he had a potbelly that made it seem like he only ever ate food and sat around. At his back, swishing around was a tail made of thinning, wiry hair and atop his head were long ears almost reminiscent of a rabbit¡¯s.


    ¡®Pffft. He¡¯s an ass, literally.¡¯


    {Know how you¡¯re going to go about this?}


    ¡®Yeah. It¡¯ll make me feel disgusting afterwards, but it¡¯s the most effective method.¡¯


    {Wait a few more days and I¡¯ll help make you feel better.}


    ¡®That¡¯s all I needed to hear.¡¯


    [Margaret POV]


    The two of us stepped forward, Lord Jack¡¯s eyes immediately darting to Lady Okami and instantly filling with lust. His tail swishing back and forth like a dog in heat. He stepped forward, rubbing his hands together in a disgusting manner as he made no attempt to even hide his obscenity.


    ¡°I see, you were preparing a gift for me, eh? I¡¯ll make sure The Council knows how well you¡¯ve treated me on this trip.¡± (Jack)


    He started walking around us, clearly inspecting Lady Okami. I looked over at her and saw that her eyes were void of any light, the blue fading into the ck making her expression terrifying. Her four tails were moving slowly in a methodical manner as she looked at the noble. When he stepped directly in front of her, surprisingly, she smiled one of the most seductive smiles I¡¯d ever seen, as she raised one of her arms underneath her breasts, emphasizing their size and her tails started flicking back and forth. The abrupt change in her and the way she looked even started affecting me, making me feel things that I didn¡¯t understand. She took one step forward and leaned forward, bringing her eyes level with Jack¡¯s, the height difference making it seem like an adult talking to a child.


    ¡°Ufufufu. What have we here?¡± (Okami)


    Her voice, sounding like it wasced with the sweetest honey, affected not only Jack and myself, but the others that were around us, watching what was happening. A few of the men here hunched over while a few of the women¡¯s breath¡¯s hitched as they stared in awe. She ced one finger under Jack¡¯s chin and lifted it up so he was looking into her eyes. It was then that I noticed some glowing symbol on Lady Okami¡¯s arms.


    ¡°My eyes are up here.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°A-a-apologies, mady.¡± (Jack)


    ¡°It¡¯s too crowded out here, why don¡¯t you go wait in that big, fancy carriage of yours and I¡¯ll join you in a moment?¡± (Okami)


    That statement nearly knocked Jack as he practically ran over to the carriage and jumped in, the door mming shut behind him. Lady Okami walked up to the door and ced a hand on it. Shortly after three glowing symbols appeared on the door and the carriage underwent a change. Not a physical one, but a change that all present could feel. After that, the symbols on Lady Okami¡¯s arms stopped glowing and that hot feeling I and most likely the rest of us here were feeling vanished like it was never there, leaving an unsatisfactory void.


    ¡°Lady Oka-¡± (Margaret)


    Before I could even finish saying anything, Lady Okami¡¯s entire body burst into mes as she fell to her knees, retching. I had no idea what to do, but one of her otherpanions, the wolf girl Freya, approached and started patting her back.


    ¡°Come on, Keeno, I know that was probably horrid, but it¡¯s over now.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I know, Freya-heugh-but-heugh-it was disgusting. HEUGH!!!¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Can you at least stop burning the spot you¡¯re in right now, the others are trying toe over here.¡± (Freya)


    Lady Okami just nodded her head and the blue mes slowly dwindled until they vanished. Her other twopanions and I were finally able to approach. Lady Pram crouched down and hugged her.


    ¡°Keeno, two things, one; are you alright, and two; what was that about? It made me remember things from a long time ago¡­why did I admit that?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°None of us hold it against you, Pram, we all felt something there.¡± (Mostima)


    Lady Mostima had started patting Lady Okami¡¯s back like Lady Freya was. This scene made me feel like I was the awkward one out.


    ¡°Sorry¡­ugh¡­I didn¡¯t think those Runes would be so potent.¡± (Okami)


    They helped her back to her feet and a few momentster she was able to stand on her own. She looked over to me with a bashful expression.


    ¡°Sorry I put all of you through that¡­¡± (Okami)


    She was clearly very embarrassed about everything that just happened, making me feel something different from earlier¡­like she was a scolded child whose prank got out of hand.


    ¡°¡­Think nothing of it?¡± (Margaret)


    This entire situation was awkward and none of us knew what we should do next, so we just silently went back to where we were before any of this happened and continued on our way.


    ¡°Commander Margaret¡­¡±


    I held up a hand to stop my knight from speaking any further.


    ¡°We are all going to treat it like this event never happened. Make sure the carriage is guarded, but treat it like we are transporting cargo, not a noble. We¡¯ll figure out which method to use to dispose of it when we get to the desert.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am!¡±


    After my knight rode back to ry my orders, I sighed.


    ¡°Why do I feel like things like this are going to be moremon? Meh. It¡¯ll make things more fun. We could use a livelier atmosphere.¡± (Margaret)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna, is everything ready on your end?


    Luna: Yep.


    Keeno?


    Keeno: I guess. Your instructions weren¡¯t super clear, but I ryed everything to Ena.


    That¡¯s perfect then. Now, let¡¯s get the fun started.


    *A bright light shines, causing everything to be seen in negative for a split second*


    *Once the light fades, two dragon girls are seen standing in the middle of a magic circle*


    *Both of them look exactly the same, though one seems to be slightly older than the other*


    Reed: Eh?


    Loughshinny: Huh?


    *Both look around confused before seeing each other*


    Both: Ah!? *Point*


    Both: Who are you? Why do you look, and sound like me? Why are you copying me? Stop! STOP!! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!!!


    Luna: Pffft!


    Keeno: Ahahahahahahahaha!!


    Atmos: THIS IS GLORIOUS!


    Heh.


    *Both dragons continue to eye the other suspiciously until Luna and Keeno are sent into the barrier around them and begin exining the situation*


    Both: So, this is my doppelganger from a different world?? Interesting. Would you stop copying everything I¡¯m saying, other me!


    *Both dragons looked like they were about to pounce at each other and soon enough did so, only pass through a strange portal before falling back to where they were before they leapt at one another*


    Luna: Now, now, we¡¯re not gonna have you two fight each other, neither of you are fighters to begin with.


    Keeno: Just rx, treat this all as a strange dream.


    Reed: So, why are we even here?


    Luna: Because a god in an even higher position than us thought it would be fun.


    Both: ¡­


    Luna: And we thought Loughshinny here needed a friend. She¡¯s been dead for a long time after all.


    Loughshinny: *Blushes in embarrassment*


    Reed: Eh?


    Loughshinny: I got better.


    Luna: Pfft.


    Keeno: ¡­I feel like that was a reference to something, but I can¡¯t quite recall what it was¡­just that I know it was funny.


    Luna: I need to get you to watch Monte Python with me at some point. Refresh that memory a bit.


    Keeno: Sounds fun.


    Luna: Anyway, we¡¯ll leave you two to get acquainted for a bit before you wake up. Before that happens, we¡¯ll let you know about any other things that will happen from here.


    Both: *Nod their heads before staring the other dragon down*


    Keeno: No fighting!


    Both: A.


    Luna: Is this something I¡¯m too fox to understand?


    Keeno: Yeah.


    Luna: Meh. I¡¯ll make sure they won¡¯t actually be able to do much.


    Keeno: Space magic is so broken.


    Luna: And it¡¯s the most enjoyable feeling to use it at its fullest potential. Just like you want to do with Runes.


    Keeno: It¡¯s gonna be so fun messing with them.


    And we all look forward to seeing what you do with them.

 Chapter 154- A Special Kind of Dance

    Chapter 154- A Special Kind of Dance


    [Keeno POV]


    Several more days had passed since we left the city. The temperature had finally stopped falling, though it was still cold to the normal person, well, cold is an understatement, but that¡¯s just semantics at this point. Despite that, it¡¯s been pretty pleasant so far. Seeing as the snow was all fresh it melted easily, making the job I gave myself as road-clearer extremely easy. I¡¯d also gotten to know Margaret and several of the other knights better, though I still got a few awkward looks from some. As for the noble we were ferrying along, well, he was probably still alive¡­maybe.


    That aside, we had finished setting up camp next to a tree that had started losing its leaves, though several were still green and clinging to the branches. I had told Margaret that we might as well stay here for a day or two since the Sr Convergence was about to happen and I wasn¡¯t going to be left behind if they decided to move on while I was with Ama. She understood and ryed instructions to the others. Once everything was settled, Iid down in my tent. After what felt like a blink, I woke up to find I was in a lovely ce.


    The ce was transformed into arge river, its banks a lush jungle. It kind of reminded me of Egypt around the Nile, not that I could remember much more than vague memories of it. I was sitting in a chair on arge boat that would put any ruler¡¯s to shame. It was made of a ck wood, darker than ebony with motifs of foxes iid in birch. On one part of the deck was arge bath, steam freely floating from the boiling water. On another part was arge bed covered with a veil that seemed to shimmer in the light of the suns, making the intricate fox designs sewn into it seem like they were moving when the smallest breeze blew past and through it. I looked around to find Ama, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    ¡°Ama?¡±


    {Hehehe.}


    Her voice seemed to being from everywhere at once, making it impossible to follow it to where she was.


    {I know what we promised, but I also want you to experience something interesting. I¡¯m almost done getting ready, so feel free to take a bath. I know we¡¯ll need to take another er, but you probably want to clean yourself since you weren¡¯t really able to take a proper bath for a while.}


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    I dly walked toward the bath, my tails swaying rhythmically. On the way there, I decided to make my own fun for Ama, so I slowly removed my clothes and left them in a trail leading to the bath.


    {Remind meter and I¡¯ll clean them.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to.¡±


    I reached the edge of the bath and breathed in. There was a slight fragrance of citrus and vani wafting through the air. I slowly dipped a toe into the water before slowly stepping into it. The pleasant tingling of super hot water sending a shiver up my spine.


    ¡°Only you get it right, Ama.¡±


    {Well, I do know you best. And besides, I love it too. It¡¯s a shame that only we find it pleasant. I know Fia likes really hot baths, but even she can¡¯t stand it as hot as we like it.}


    ¡°Freya doesn¡¯t either. She actually prefers cold ones, ording to Pram.¡±


    {Well, there is still hope for Freya, we just need to slowly increase the temperature when she bes your Apostle.}


    ¡°We can do that? I mean, I can understand focusing our sun¡¯s light into the water, but won¡¯t that take too long?¡±


    {We control the suns, and thus are the highest order of fire. To put it better way, we are the queens of all fire, and all fire gods under us are like nobles.}


    ¡°Ah. I see.¡±


    I sank down to my shoulders as Izily let my tails and breasts float atop the water.


    {Gnn. Stupid sexy Keeno. You¡¯re making it hard for me to get ready.}


    I chuckled as I ced an arm under my breasts and made them bounce in the water a bit.


    {Gaaaahhhhhh!!!}


    ¡°Pfffahahahahahhhahahahahahahahahaha!!!¡±


    I continued doing this and enjoying Ama¡¯s reactions for a bit before I decided to actually take my bath. I looked around and saw a loofa sitting on the side next to some soap.


    ¡°I¡¯m loving all the vani smelling stuff.¡±


    {I know you love it, so I made sure to find as many things that smell like it as I could. Most of it is either soap or oil for you tails and hair, but still.}


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    I finished using the soap and sank down to my shoulders, the soap bubbles vanishing from the water as soon as they were washed off my skin.


    ¡°Tch. I just got an idea, but it¡¯s toote for it now. Oh well, I¡¯ll try to remember forter.¡±


    {What was it?}


    ¡°Well, if I¡¯m teasing you this much, I could have and should have washed all that soap off slowly.¡±


    {Keeno, do you know how hard not being there right now is? If you did that, all my ns would go to waste.}


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep the teasing to a minimum, for now.¡±


    {Hehehe. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m almost done, so you won¡¯t be waiting for much longer.}


    Hearing that I started to finish up my bath as fast as I could. After stepping out, I lit myself on fire to quickly dry off. I contemted putting some of my oil in my tails but decided against it for the time being.


    ¡°Anything you need for me to do?¡±


    {Just go and sit on the bed.}


    I nodded and slowly made my way over to the bed. I sat down and crossed my legs on the side and looked around. Shortly after I did that, trees rapidly grew on the sides of the river, nearly blocking out the light of the suns, leaving gaps just big enough to let in small rays of light. Those rays seemed to move and focus on a part of the boat I¡¯dpletely ignored where a set of twin doors started to open slowly.


    For some reason my blessing from the Goddess of Music kicked in and some music yed on an instrument I¡¯ve never heard, or at least from what I could remember. That aside, Ama moved slowly out of the doors wearing¡­not much. She wore what could only be considered a long ck loincloth that ended just above her ankles, leaving her legs nearly fully exposed. Her midriff waspletely exposed, attracting my attention. When I was able to tear my eyes away from that, I noticed how the¡­bikini top, forck of a better description, covered very little of Ama¡¯s breasts and included some tasteful cuts in the middle, hiding practically nothing from my sight. She hid the lower part of her face under a short veil, the same ck color as the rest of her outfit.


    {Like it?}


    I could only manage a small nod. This got her smiling, or at least the feeling she was letting off was anything to go by. She took one step, and the music kicked up.


    {Hehehe. That blessing really is useful.}


    After another step she swayed her hips, her tails moving gracefully along with them. Everything was super bouncy and hypnotizing. I was so caught up in the dance that I didn¡¯t realize Ama was right in front of me until I felt her weight sitting on myp. She wrapped her arms around my neck and our foreheads touched.


    {I hope you liked the little show.}


    ¡°More than you know¡­though I¡¯m curious what took you so long to get ready.¡±


    {As embarrassing as it is, this lower part got caught in several of my tails and I was trying to get it untangled.}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to call that cute or hot¡­actually, it¡¯s both.¡±


    {Hehehe. Now then.}


    Ama let go of my neck and straightened up. She then leaned forward, shifting both our centers of gravity, making me fall backwards. Ama was now straddling my stomach, looking down on me in all my bare glory, and, though it may have just been a trick of the light, I could swear her pupils had turned into hearts.


    {Are you ready Keeno? I¡¯m going to make you forget all things in creation but me.}


    ¡°Hahaha! You silly vixen!¡±


    I grabbed Ama¡¯s waist.


    ¡°You¡¯re already all I ever think about!¡±


    Shifting my weight, I tried to flip us over, but Ama didn¡¯t budge.


    {No, no, no, Keeno. Like we promised, I¡¯ll be the one to lead today. You¡¯ve built up a lot of stress, and it¡¯s time for me to help you relieve it.}


    I smiled seductively up at Ama and let her waist go.


    ¡°I¡¯m all yours then.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    And that¡¯s where we turn this off. Order, get the neuralizer ready so we can go on a trip.


    Order: Look here. *FLASH*


    ¡­That works too¡­*Ahem* ASTRAEA, NYKURO, COME HERE!


    Astraea: Papa! Mama!


    Nykuro: Wa! Ha! Ha! The evilest being in all of Chaos has arrived!!!


    We¡¯re heading out on a pic.


    Astraea: YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


    Nykuro: ??? What¡¯s a pic?


    Order: We go somewhere, eat, and rx while enjoying pretty scenery.


    Nykuro: Hmm¡­I¡¯ll allow it. Praise me foring up with such a wonderful idea!


    *All three give Nykuro all the pats*


    Nykuro: Hmph! Passable!


    Astraea: Ehehe. Big Sis Nyk is cute.


    Nykuro: *Mumbling while blushing* Am not.


    Order: Oh right, what¡¯s the destination this time, Payto?


    Forested mountains.


    Order: Oh?


    Not going into more detail or else the effect of seeing the ce for the first time would be gone.


    Order: Fair enough.


    Nykuro: *Blushing even more*


    Astraea: Is Evelyning?


    Not this time. Thought it would be nice to be just the four of us for once.


    Astraea: Alright¡­but next time?


    Next time is fine.


    Astraea: YIS!!!


    Nykuro: Hmm. Since that¡¯s the case, this great me shall allow you to sit in myp.


    Astraea: Thank you, Big Sis Nyoodle!


    Nykuro: *Blushes again*


    Hehehe. Let¡¯s get going.


    *A portal appears and the four walk through*

 Chapter 155- Moar Fluff!!!

    Chapter 155- Moar Fluff!!!


    [Keeno POV]


    After several hours of passionate intimacy and a long bath that hardly got us clean we finally settled down to just sitting and enjoying each other¡¯spany. I was sitting with my back against the headboard of the bed while Ama sat in myp using my chest as a pillow. She had several of her tails intertwined with mine while others were wrapped around us like nkets. Their smooth, silky softness better than anything I¡¯ve ever felt provided a serene sensation that made all my worldly problems melt away.


    ¡°Hey Ama, we need to do this more often. No sex, no teasing, noplicated topics, just sit and enjoy each other¡¯s presence.¡±


    {It IS a nice change of pace.}


    Our boat passed under a low hanging branch and Ama lifted up a hand, touched the branch, and a fruit instantly grew. Plucking it she took a bite before passing it to me. I gently nuzzled her before taking a bite myself. It looked and felt like an apple, but the taste of watermelon filled my mouth.


    ¡°Funny. I¡¯ve been craving one of these for a while now.¡±


    {I know. You mumbled about it in your sleep.}


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    When we finished that one, she made another one grow. She was about to take a bite when I stopped her and took the fruit.


    ¡°I wanna try something.¡±


    Holding the fruit in my hand, I blew a little fire on it, roasting it lightly. When I was sure it was done, I took a bite and my ears shot up straight in surprise. Ama chuckled lightly and I handed her the fruit. After she took a bite, her ears did the same.


    {What in the world?}


    ¡°It tastes like apletely different fruit. How does something go from tasting like watermelon to tasting like a peach?¡±


    {I don¡¯t know, but I kind of like the taste of it more now.}


    ¡°Noted.¡±


    We spent the rest of our day like this, Ama making several kinds of fruit grow and allowing me to lightly roast them so we could see if any others changed.


    [Pram POV]


    Waking up in the morning I found my tailpletely wrapped up and around Freya while she lightly nibbled on the end of it. Looking at her adorable face while she slept was a source of immense pleasure as she looked so calm and defenseless. It made me want topletely eat her up and keep her hidden away from all the world. I smiled gently at that thought as I slowly moved my arms and pulled Freya closer to me until her head rested on my chest.


    The faint scent of her hair drifted into my nose, causing my heart to start beating faster as I wanted nothing more than to bepletely surrounded and emersed by that scent. It made me hug Freya a bit tighter as I never wanted her to be away from me from this moment on.


    ¡°I really love you, Freya. More than you can ever know. You make me feelplete in a way I never could have thought possible. I¡¯m so d you¡¯re in my life and I look forward to all the things we do in the future. With you by my side, I feel everything is possible. I know you can¡¯t hear this, and I really should say all this to you when you are aware, but I can¡¯t help it. For some reason, I always struggle to get these words across when I see you stare back at me so earnestly.¡±


    I closed my eyes and gently kissed Freya¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯re always safe and healthy, secure in life andfortable. I vow this on my name and the names of Amaterasu and Keeno.¡±


    I touched my forehead to Freya¡¯s and slowly began drifting off to sleep again only to get jolted awake when I felt a warm sensation on my lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to sleep when you¡¯re saying all that directly in my ears, silly.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe. Don¡¯t go all quiet on me now. You know I love it when you say sweet things like that to me.¡± (Freya)


    Moving her head from my chest, she pushed my face into hers.


    ¡°What was it again? Oh yeah. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re always safe and healthy, secure in life andfortable, I vow this on my name and the names of Amaterasu and Keeno. In this life and any other, for all eternity.¡± (Freya)


    I peeked up at her face through her barely covered cleavage.


    ¡°Is this the part where I say I do?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I think we¡¯re past that already.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± (Pram)


    I moved my head from her chest only to see her shiver.


    ¡°This is what you get for choosing to wear those skimpy pajamas, Freya.¡± (Pram)


    I pulled her close once again and moved both of our nkets over us while wrapping my tail around her.


    ¡°In cold like this, you need to wearyers uponyers.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t help but lose a lot of them when I sleep. I don¡¯t even realize I¡¯m losing clothes until I wake up and find them everywhere tangled in the nkets. I¡¯m just lucky you like to invade my nket in your sleep.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Like you said, I can¡¯t help it. I like being close to you. Call me clingy or whatever, but it¡¯s just how I am.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You¡¯re getting that scary look in your eyes again.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hmm? Ah!¡± (Pram)


    I turned my face away from Freya, embarrassed.


    ¡°I never said it was a bad thing¡­that look makes me feel¡­happy.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ehehehe.¡± (Pram)


    We enjoyed the warmth our bodies provided until even then Freya began to shiver.


    ¡°I think we should get dressed. I don¡¯t know what we¡¯ll be doing today since Keeno isn¡¯t here, but I don¡¯t want you to start getting sick because you weren¡¯t warm enough. I¡¯ll even brush your hair and tail for you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That sounds lovely¡­if you let me do the same for you.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯d never deny you that.¡± (Pram)


    I let go of Freya and she pulled out an outfit I¡¯d never seen her wear from her storage ring. It was predominantly ck with dark grey in ces. A thick coat lined in some sort of fur on the inside while the outside seemed to be some sort of leather that was much more flexible than it looked. ck stockings made for extremely cold weather were slowly pulled up until they disappeared under a skirt that ended at the middle of Freya¡¯s thighs, which I could, unfortunately, not see under. She then pulled on some boots that were lined with the same fur as the inside of her clothes and two finger widths under her knees. She ced two bracers and a scarf-like cloak on the ground next to her to put onter.


    ¡°Like it? I found it in my storage ring a while back and never had the chance or reason to wear it. Apparently, it¡¯s a gift from some god or something, but I never really gotten the chance to ask about it from one of the few we know.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Like it? I LOVE it! It makes you look like a proper adventurer, ready to go y some big bad monster.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehe. Do you not have one too?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Let me see real quick.¡± (Pram)


    Looking through my own storage ring, I didn¡¯t see anything I didn¡¯t recognize. I was about to say I didn¡¯t when I noticed a spot that seemed void of anything, space included. When I tried to touch that spot with mana, a box appeared in the ring. I took it out and opened it. A small card fell out of the lid which I decided to readter after I looked at the clothes in the box and Freya and I got ready.


    Inside the box was arge ck skirt with patterns normally only seen in clothes from Solheim that would fall three finger widths under my knees lined with the same fur from Freya¡¯s clothes. Long socks made of the same material and boots that would end just under the skirt. A dark blue coat with small gold buttons and other small golden iys was in there as well. There were some fancy, fur lined ck gloves and a ck, fur-trimmed capelet as well. When I removed all of the clothes from the box, it transformed into a small blue hat with a ck, fur-trimmed interior and two small golden beads fell into my palms along with it.


    ¡°¡­Hey Freya, have you ever braided someone¡¯s hair?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach you. Come over here.¡± (Pram)


    I showed Freya how to braid hair and she picked up on it right away. After that I had her brush out and braid some of my hair by my face. When she got near the end of the strands she was braiding, I put one of the golden beads at the end, leaving the bottom in a tuft. Freya did the same on the left side and now I had two strands of braided hair that went surprisingly well with my new outfit.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    Freya liked what she saw, if her blushing face was anything to go by. Taking advantage of her distraction, I moved and sat behind her while grabbing her brush.


    ¡°Pram?¡± (Freya)


    Iid her tail in myp and started brushing in long, slow strokes. Freya stiffened up and I saw her tremble slightly with every stroke of the brush.


    ¡°How¡­are you so¡­good at this? It¡¯s¡­like you¡¯re¡­¡­turning me¡­to jelly.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It was a dream from a long time ago. Or was it a nightmare? Anyway, I went to sleep one day, and the next it was like I was intimately aware of the best way to brush any tail and hair in the world and make the one on the receiving end putty in my hands. Hehehehe.¡± (Pram)


    By the end of my sentence, my voice took on an almost demented tone, which even surprised me.


    ¡°¡­Pr-ehehehehehehehehehe.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hush now, my sweet. There are more pressing matters to attend to than my¡­faux pa.¡± (Pram)


    I continued brushing Freya¡¯s tail until no more questions were asked. An hourter and my own tail and hair brushed, we heard movement from outside the tent and we decided to greet the day.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: How can any time spent with me be a nightmare?


    Atmos: Well, when you go into teacher mode, things can get¡­tense¡­speaking of which, it¡¯s about time you call that Freya girl and Mostimady here and teach them the ways of the Abyss of Fluff, no?


    Luna: Yeah, I should do that. They need to learn if they are going to be in any sort of proximity to Keeno and Amaterasu in the future.


    Atmos: I¡¯ll go get Tamamo.


    Luna: No, she¡¯s still preparing for the festival. I¡¯d love to be helping her, but apparently there¡¯s a surprise for me there and I was kicked out of the preparations.


    Atmos: Guess that¡¯s why I was kicked out too. I¡¯m too much of a¡­spoiler.


    Luna: That or you¡¯d turn everything into one big prank.


    Atmos: ¡­I don¡¯t know if I should be upset that I didn¡¯t think of that first, or if it¡¯s because that¡¯s sound reasoning?


    Luna: Meh. Just have to wait for Payto and the others toe back so I can safely teach Freya and Mostima.


    Atmos: Hehehehehehe. Time for more top-quality entertainment.


    Luna: *ps Atmos on the back of the head with a tail*Stop that.

 Side Chapter 7- Meeting of Dragons

    Side Chapter 7- Meeting of Dragons


    [Fafnir POV]


    I waszing around in my cave, Emmaying curled up beside me snuggling into my wing after spending a grueling week of managing the souls of the departed with the Death Spirits. I had long since gained a new respect for the beings after seeing and helping with their work. Just thinking about all of it made me tired and caused me to yawn. When I was about to go to sleep again to escape this tiredness, I heard something. Seemingly echoing off all of creation the sound of a roar could be heard. Taking a few seconds, I deciphered where it came from and sighed.


    ¡°Emma, my love. I need you to wake up a moment.¡± (Fafnir)


    I gently poked her on the arm a few times when she groggily sat up and looked around.


    ¡°Whasit?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Something hase up that I must attend to.¡± (Fafnir)


    She tilted her head cutely and only after a minute did she finally register what I said.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Valkyr. A meeting of dragons has been called and I must attend. It is mandatory.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I can¡¯te with you, can I?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Unfortunately, not. While it isn¡¯t a rule, we can¡¯t bring our spouse if we want, I don¡¯t want you to be away from here for too long. Gods know these meetings can take ages.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you just stay?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Because I¡¯ve been away for far too long. I need to know who is still alive and who is not. As well as to make sure none of them are getting¡­arrogant. Plus I want to meet this Ena and her sister. If they are going to be around my daughter, I need to make sure they won¡¯t be bad influences.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°But won¡¯t Ena have to decline? She should be in the same situation as I am.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°She¡¯ll be there. Like I said, attendance is mandatory.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Who made that rule?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I did. It was to ensure none of thezier ones ignored it when important matters needed to be discussed. Matters that involve the world atrge.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    She started looking at me with an adorable expression, trying her best to convey her want toe with me.


    ¡°Emma, I really do want to bring you, but I can¡¯t. I-¡± (Fafnir)


    Just then a Death Spirit appeared in its shadowy glory. It did its best to bow before letting its feelings known.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Are you sure, little spirit?¡± (Fafnir)


    Apparently, the spirits could handle the load of managing things without Emma and mine help for a bit, but we couldn¡¯t be away for longer than two months. Now that my one worry was taken care of, Emma immediately started packing some stuff into a storage ring while I stood at the mouth of our cave and stretched my wings. Half an hourter and Emma was climbing onto my back.


    ¡°Are you ready, Emma?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Yep. Any idea how long this is going to take?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I¡¯ll be flying as fast as I can, so it should take about a week and a half at best.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Fun¡­where is this Valkyr ce anyway?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°The other continent.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Continent?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh right. It¡¯s far away, but we can take a shortcut that most mortals can¡¯t.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Yay for adventure!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh, and before we go, no pushing anyone downstairs, even if they annoy you. We are attending a meeting of dragons, there will be many you will wish to punish, but you must leave that to me. I need to regain my image as a proper queen.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­But doesn¡¯t that also make me dragon queen too? What if I¡¯m asked to prove myself?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Your status as our little one¡¯s Valkyrie is more than enough. They¡¯ll be able to tell¡­or at least the smart ones will.¡± (Fafnir)


    Deciding we spent too long just standing and talking, I took to the air. It didn¡¯t take long for us after that to run out ofnd.


    ¡°¡­We live that close to all this water? And it¡¯s so loud, even through all the wind.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes, but the ocean air is so refreshing.¡± (Fafnir)


    I felt Emma move and peek over my shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s so blue¡­but why does it feel so¡­unsettling?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Its depths are unknown and many monsters more powerful than most anything you find onnd live here. It¡¯s why only the most daring or stupid people ever try to challenge it with the art of the sail. I¡¯ve only ever known one person who was truly sessful at it, and they died a most cruel death at the hands of those horrors of long past.¡± (Fafnir)


    I thought back to that young man and his overflowing confidence and the image of his final moments as his life¡¯s work was devoured by that tentacled behemoth.


    ¡°Faf?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Apologies, my love. Sad memories of a friend.¡± (Fafnir)


    A moment of silence followed as I reminisced, only the sound of the wind and sea and Emma¡¯s warmth on my back keeping me from being swallowed up by other past regrets and memories that welled up.


    ¡°Faf¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I know what you are thinking, Emma, and my answer is no. This person is long dead, his soul having long rejoined the eternal cycle. And I also wish to not put unneeded pressure on our little one. She¡¯s already done something against the natural order twice, even if she is one of the two that holds the highest Authority to allow it. I don¡¯t want her taking undue risk in continuing to resurrect anyone she feelspelled to in service of our family or her own goals.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Are you going to bring that up in this meeting?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That, among other things like this Ena always refusing to meet with us. It¡¯s rude to continuously decline our request when she epted the tiny red one¡¯s.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I think she¡¯s probably just intimidated. While I¡¯m used to it and Keeno and the others are Keeno and the others, you do give off a regal yet domineering aura.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That¡¯s just proper dragon etiquette.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Then maybe she¡¯s just scared for her sister? From what Red told me, even when they met, she seemed extremely skittish.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hmm. We shall see.¡± (Fafnir)


    The rest of the day and the following week were spent telling Emma more about the world as I remembered it as well as seeing the sights of the sea. Interestingly, there were several small inds I didn¡¯t remember popping up here and there, the smoke of small volcanoes wafting into the sky. Other times we saw several of the sea¡¯s creatures fighting over territory or food in bloody, violent shes that usually ended up with both parties too injured to live on and a third or even fourth iming the spoils. Emma was star-struck as she witnessed all of this, further cementing my determination to take her around the world once our little one imed her Divine Throne. Another two days passed, and we could finally see continentalnd.


    ¡°Faf, that ce seems¡­strange.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°The one unpleasant part of this trip; flying over the swamps of Tamist. Thankfully, it¡¯ll only take a day at most by air.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Is there a dragon here?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. He was a regal, dignified old man, even for dragon standards. He chose this ce as his home to show that even a race as strong and proud as ours must show humility and understanding of weaker races. Choosing to live in a ce like this¡­he was one of the best of us.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Is he dead?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t when Ist came this way, though he was growing weak in those days. I¡¯d be surprised if he had passed on by now. I just hope any offspring he had share his sentiments.¡± (Fafnir)


    That day passed slowly as the humidity and smell of Tamist¡¯s swamps permeated into everything. Even then it didn¡¯t stop us from seeing some interesting sights. We flew over several ces that could be called viges made up of small huts standing on tall supports, all with chimneys breathing out smokes of different colors and consistencies. A few of the mortals that lived there looked up as we flew by, but their reactions were that of caution, bordering hostility, giving me a foreboding feeling. I raised my awareness until we finally crossed the border into the forest country of Valkyr.


    ¡°So many trees! It¡¯s like a different kind of ocean!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Indeed. And the trees are so much taller and lusher than I remember. Shu must be very proud.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Is that the name of the dragon in this country?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. Of all the dragons I know, she¡¯s the one I was closest to. Not romantically, mind you, but more like a sister or close cousin. She was my confidante for many asions.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Hmmm. You¡¯re mine. I¡¯m all you¡¯ll ever need¡­aside from Keeno.¡± (Emma)


    Iughed loudly and spun in the air, letting Emma enter a short free fall before I caught her and hugged her to my chest.


    ¡°Of course, my love. You and our little one are all I will ever need.¡± (Fafnir)


    I tossed Emma up again before righting myself. Shended on my back and steadied herself, her shouts of excitement ringing loud in the wind. By the end of the day, we¡¯d made it quite a distance into Valkyr. The trees grew taller and thicker as we went until we finally found the ce we were headed. A tree so tall its topmost leaves and branches spread above the clouds. The closer we got to it, the more splendorous its massiveness became. Only when we were about tond on some of the branches above the clouds, did we feel a pull in the direction of the heart of the tree.


    ¡°Faf¡­¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the Dead Zone of Valkyr.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡¯m actually kind of sad thinking about what¡¯s going to happen when Keeno takes this one. All I can imagine is this entire forest withering.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Nature is resilient, Emma. Those goddesses will make sure that this ce isn¡¯t destroyed by the taking of a source of abundant Life.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I can see that, but I¡¯m still not so optimistic.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°We can only wait and see, my love. We shall leave that to our little one to figure out in the future.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Right.¡± (Emma)


    Landing on arge area of branches seemingly grown for such a purpose, we looked around as Emma climbed down from my back and shifted to my humanoid form. In front of us were branches formed into the shape of arge pagoda, its sides lined with flowing vines that grew silver leaves. As we approached these vines, a soft voice came from behind us.


    ¡°So, it¡¯s true. It¡¯s been a long time, Queen Fafnir. You seem much happier and more energetic than when west met.¡± (Shu)


    Turning around we saw a humanoid dragon with two branch-like horns on her head the color of golden wheat that began to turn a dark blue at the tips. Calm grey eyes with pupils of me looked at us with a happy warmth. Her long, white-scaled tail lined along the spine with fur the same wheat color as her hair and horns with the ends bing dark blue. Her clothes were flowing robes of white though the ends were brown, covered in the mud of fields.


    ¡°It has indeed been a long time, Shu. Allow me to introduce my wife to you. This is Emma, a Valkyrie of the Goddess of Death.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Greetings, Madam Shu.¡± (Emma


    ¡°Huhuhu. I always told you a woman suited you more than a man, my Queen. It is lovely to meet you, Queen Emma. I am Shu, dragon of Valkyr and overseer of Nature.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°You know those two goddesses too?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°s, I do not. I have always hoped my dedication to them would earn me even just a nce, but as of yet I¡¯ve had no sess.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°We can put in a good word for you, if you¡¯d like. And if that doesn¡¯t work, we know two people who will for sure manage it.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Oh? Please expand upon this moreter. For now, though, the others should be arriving soon. But it does please me you are the first to arrive.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Eh? But what of the ones who live in Tamist and Aesir?¡± (Fafnir)


    Shu hesitated to answer immediately, alerting me to some unpleasant changes the world has undergone in my absence.


    ¡°It¡¯s best we wait for the others to arrive before we go into details¡­seeing them in person will do much more than any words can.¡± (Shu)


    I could do nothing but nod. Shu then passed us, opening up the vines and ushering us inside.


    ¡°Seeing as it will most likely be a day or two more before all are gathered, feel free to rest. It can¡¯t have been easy to fly for as long as you did in your current circumstances.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Thank you, Shu.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, my Queen. Ah, and if you have need of a private room, the one you used to use is still avable. I¡¯ve made sure it¡¯s been cleaned regrly, and it¡¯s perfectly soundproof.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Emma)


    I couldn¡¯t hold back a smile while I saw Emma red up to her ears.


    We walked inside, enjoying the light scent of lotus flowers as I led Emma to the room Shu mentioned.


    ¡°Faf-¡± (Emma)


    ¡°We are not, Emma, I¡¯m just going to take a nap.¡± (Fafnir)


    If Emma had fox ears and a tail, they would have drooped at my response.


    ¡°We can do thatter; I would just like to sleep a little.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Well, you have been awake for a week and a half, so it¡¯s fine. Hehe. Do you want to use your favorite pillows?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Sounds lovely. I¡¯ll dly use them.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°They¡¯re all yours then.¡± (Emma)


    Making it to the room, we shut the doors, doors that would not open until two dayster after Shu left a message saying that everyone had arrived. Groggily sitting up in the bed, Emma walked over carrying a tray in her hands.


    ¡°I know Shu said the meetings about to start, but I thought you could use something to eat. You slept an entire two days after all.¡± (Emma)


    I dly epted the tray from Emma who sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a utensil and held it up to my mouth.


    ¡°But, as queens, we¡¯re supposed to show upst at this sort of thing, right?¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Kukuku. You are correct, my love.¡± (Fafnir)


    I enjoyed the meal Emma prepared for me as well as the small gestures she made while feeding me. Her small mannerisms while doing such things always made me smile. Sadly, the meal finally ended and the business we needed to attend to loomed.


    ¡°Thank you, my love. Now, shall we get this dull business done with?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°The faster we do so, the more time we have for each other, so let¡¯s.¡± (Emma)


    I smiled at her words and rose from the bed. Donning some more appropriate attire, we left the room and made our way to the meeting room. Said room was located in the innermost part of the pagoda. Where the outside walls were made of thick branches and vines of silver, the innermost chamber was made of white branches with vines and leaves the color of jade. As we approached the room, we could already hear the voices of some.


    ¡°Shu, what are we waiting for!? This is unlike you to stall when you know I¡¯m busy!¡± (???)


    The voice of this person was gravely and deep with a low rumble like thunder. Its tone held a sense of authority and arrogance.


    ¡°You made mee all the way here just to sit around this table and do nothing. Either start the meeting, or I¡¯m leaving!¡± (???)


    This second voice was nasally, like that of a child, and held a sense of entitlement. It made my expression drop.


    ¡°This is going to be a long meeting.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Faf, I want to push them.¡± (Emma)


    I considered it, but ultimately stopped Emma¡­though only for now. Deciding it was pointless to continue and eavesdrop, the two of us pushed through the vines.


    ¡°Ah. *ahem*Announcing the arrivals of their majesties, Queen of Dragons, Fafnir and her wife, Queen Emma the Valkyrie.¡± (Shu)


    Silently looking around the room I gazed at each attending member. Around a circr table were six dragons. Skipping over the vacant seats that were mine and Emma¡¯s, there was Shu, dragon of nature and representative of Valkyr. Sitting next to her was Volundr, dragon of sands and the representative for Lokir. He looked at Emma and I with a warm, calm gaze as he stroked his long, flowing beard. His ash-colored robes seemed to flow like smoke at every move.


    ¡°My, my, it¡¯s a great pleasure to see you again, Queen Fafnir. Your scales are absolutely radiant today. Oh, how I¡¯ve missed their gilded shine. And, though it¡¯s first meeting, Queen Emma, I¡¯m sure into the future you will shine just as radiantly in time.¡± (Volundr)


    I nodded silently at the old dragon. His ttery was a weing sentiment from an old friend. Sitting next to him were the twin dragons of life and death as well as Emma¡¯s fellow Valkyrie, Ena and Loughshinny. Theirplexions were theplete opposite of the other¡¯s. Where Ena was pale, like she¡¯d never stepped into the light of the suns, Loughshinny¡¯splexion was like golden wheat. Their tails waved back and forth in slight agitation, the purple and orange mes at their tips flickering. Ena continuously nced at Emma and I before ncing away. The other one was doing her best to y ghost and turn invisible. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, causing the two of them to start trembling.


    ¡°We need to talk to the two of youter. And don¡¯t run away this time.¡± (Emma)


    At Emma¡¯s words theypletely froze up.


    ¡°We¡¯ll tell <em>her</em> about it if you don¡¯t.¡± (Fafnir)


    At that Loughshinny dropped her head, finally epting the inevitable while Ena looked like she wanted to die. Inwardly I shook my head because I didn¡¯t even know why they were so afraid of me. Turning my attention away from the sisters, I looked over at the humanoid figure that was overweight by human standards. A greasy mop of wiry ck hair sat atop its head while two beady grey eyes stared at me and Emma in a disgusting way. A stench that I¡¯d been doing my best to ignore since we entered the room wafted over from that thing as it moved an arm behind it to scratch. It opened its mouth to speak, and the somewhat deep, nasal whine of its voice grated on the ears of all present.


    ¡°How do you do, mydies? Shu did not tell us we were waiting for such-*belch*- ravishingly beautiful gems such as yourselves-*buuurp*. To think our long-lost queen would finally rejoin after all these years. My name is Smaug, dragon of Tamist and Keeper of the Mire, it¡¯s a-*blech*-pleasure.¡± (Smaug)


    Even his words seemed toe coated in ayer of mud and filth as they gave the feeling of making one dirty by just hearing them. And the barely concealed lust in his eyes made every woman in the room disgusted. This was only made worse by his tant disregard for this fact as he continued to devour us with his eyes. I forced myself to look away from him before I did something that would cause too much trouble in the current moment. There would always beter to deal with this¡­mongrel.


    Looking toward the final participant of the meeting I saw yet another familiar face, though slightly changed by age. He was a portly one, not too dissimr to the mongrel sitting next to him, though where the mongrel was disgusting, this one was fat from opulence. He wore several golden, jewel-encrusted rings on every finger, several on his overly fat, stubby tail, and more still on his horns. He shed a smile, showing even his teeth were now gold. He wore what could only be called a bed sheet of deep purple with an outeryer of pure white. In one of his hands, he held a winess made of gold which spilled a bit of purple wine every time he swirled the thing exaggeratedly.


    ¡°Greetings, Fafnir. I am¡­pleasantly surprised you havee out of hiding after so many years. Time has not dulled the shine from your scales¡­one could even say they¡¯ve grown even shinier sincest we met. Kehehehehehehe. I would be so very grateful if you would be willing to share some with me. I am, as you can unfortunately see, still unable to grow any myself. I¡¯d very much like to add them to my treasures. Ah! Forgive me, I shall introduce myself to your lovely little consort. I am Calus! Dragon of Knowledge, Art, and Decadence as well as head librarian of Aesir¡¯s Grand Library. Come there is you wish to know anything.¡± (Calus)


    ¡°You seem to have grown fat, Calus. Have you finally given up on everything but your books?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Not so, Fafnir, not so. I¡¯ve just taken a keen interest in mortal riches and art. In fact, I¡¯ve been working on a way to turn my Grand Library into a veritable Leviathan containing not only all the world¡¯s knowledge, but also its riches. In fact, I extend an invitation to you and your wife toe visit one day, allow yourselves to indulge in disys of opulence so grand, it would make human emperors envious.¡± (Calus)


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it. Of course, this invitation must wait, for me and my wife have more pressing matters at present.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°A shame, truly, but s it is understandable. Your absence has had a resounding effect, so take your time. I am nothing if not amodating.¡± (Calus)


    I nodded and Emma and I took to our seats at the table. Shu looked around at all present before nodding to herself.


    ¡°Now that everyone is present, I officially begin this meeting. The reason for my summons this time; the systematic disappearance of Dead Zones. We must know the reason for this and if it will continue as well as what we must do if the world suffers due to it.¡± (Shu)


    The silence in the room that followed Shu¡¯s statement was deafening, though for those of us in the know, it was for a different reason than the others. Emma, Ena, and I shared a nce and I took this opportunity to do something I should have done on the way here.


    <em>¡®Little one, we have encountered a predicament. You must have heard the call nearly two weeks ago, yes? It was a summons to a meeting of dragons. Emma and I along with Ena and her sister are here and the subject of the meeting has just been revealed. It pertains to you and your secrets. We must know how much you are ready for us to reveal.¡¯ </em>(Fafnir)


    <em>¡®Several questions aside, I trust your judgment. I don¡¯t know how much influence these dragons have wherever they are from, so reveal what you need to. I¡¯m starting to get the feeling that we won¡¯t be so inconspicuous much longer.¡¯ </em>(Keeno)


    <em>¡®I understand, my little one. As for your questions, I¡¯ll answer themter when I can.¡¯ </em>(Fafnir)


    There was a hum of acknowledgement before I returned my attention back to the meeting. Both Emma and Ena were looking at me for answers on what to do and I nodded, signaling they should leave the talking to me.


    ¡°I have answers to most of these subjects, but I will first make the judgment of what we will do about it. That is, nothing.¡± (Fafnir)


    I looked around the room to judge the reactions to all present. As expected, Emma, Ena, and Loughshinny weren¡¯t surprised in the slightest. Shu, while projecting a calm fa?ade was showing slight signs of confusion. Volundr simply narrowed his eyes. Calus chortled under his breath, the gleam in his eyes showing he was entertained while Smaug just scratched the patchy beard on his neck before sniffing his fingers and sticking them in his mouth.


    ¡°My queen, why will we do nothing? Should we not at least attempt to do something?¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s very unlike you, Shu. What are you worried about?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I¡­I¡¯m just worried about the effect on my forest. I¡¯ve only managed to keep it this lush and vibrant through the Dead Zone¡¯s presence. I don¡¯t want all my hard work to be ruined.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve fallen into the same trap as the mortals have then. This just shows that even those of us as old as we are aren¡¯t immune to bingcent.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Shu)


    ¡°I¡¯m curious as well, Your Majesty. You seem to have experienced something that changed you in a fundamental way.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°I have. Several things, actually, and I will get to that, in fact, some of those reasons will be expounded on in theing exnation. Younger, the reason the Dead Zones are disappearing is due to the Advent of the Goddess of Death.¡± (Fafnir)


    At this revtion, Shu¡¯s and Volundr¡¯s eyes went wide. Calus l¡¯s did as well and the sound of his chair falling to the floor as he shot up echoed around the room. Ena and Loughshinny chuckled, and Emma smirked. Smaug raised an eyebrow, but other than that didn¡¯t really have a reaction. Calus¡¯s thunderous voice then resounded about the room.


    ¡°Advent of the Goddess of Death!? Are you certain!?¡± (Calus)


    ¡°Specifically, she is the Goddess of Death, the Blue Sun, and a new, third Authority we will not disclose for now.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Exin human¡­no¡­Apostle!¡± (Calus)


    He looked around the room and gestured, trying to get the others to understand or exemplify his revtion only to freeze when he looked at Ena.


    ¡°You as well?! What in in the name of all the Divine is going on for two Apostles to be in this room?¡± (Calus)


    ¡°Your shock is indeed warranted, Calus, but things must be exined in order, so calm yourself and save any questions for when the exnation is over.¡± (Fafnir)


    He grumbled something under his breath about how he wished he brought his favorite scribe before dropping back into his seat. The gesture caused the room to shake, making Smaug startle awake. I rolled my eyes at him before clearing my throat.


    ¡°Before exining more, I will give a warning to all of you present, if any of you dare to attempt to harm this fledgling goddess, I will personally see to it you meet the cruelest of ends, be it by my teeth, ws, or her swords. She is my daughter,st of my bloodline. Hehehe, though any end you meet by my hand will pale inparison to what you will face after you die, be it by my hand, hers, or her Fated One¡¯s.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Who is the Fated One?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°The Goddess of Life, the Orange Sun, and Magic: Amaterasu.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Volundr)


    He closed his eyes in contemtion before opening them, a soft smile spreading across his lips.


    ¡°If what you say is true, then may I make a request?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°It depends on what it is, old friend.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°If all you say is true, then she should have absolute control over fire, yes? Then¡­she can finally extinguish the phoenix¡¯s mes that gue my home and help its old vibrancy return.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Hmm. While I cannot say what she will or will no ept, I can at least inform her of this request.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Is it alright to say where she is going now?¡± (Ena)


    I couldn¡¯t help but let out a small, imperceptible sigh.


    ¡°Young one, what is it you are being taught in this new age? Asking such a question after Volundr has spoken his request gives such answer away.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Apologies.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°What¡¯s done is done. She is on her way to Lokir as we speak along with a group called the Radiant Knights. Like I said previously, I will ry the message, but her answer will be her own. Now, continuing on, in order for her to fully unseal her Divinity, she is absorbing the Dead Zones. A gift of Divinity from her wife, as she calls it. She had taken Vanir¡¯s, Falheim¡¯s, and Odeen¡¯s. She ns for Lokir¡¯s next. After that, none of us know just yet.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°What have been the aftereffects of this so far?¡± (Shu)


    ¡°From what we were told, it rained harder in Vanir for roughly a month before things calmed down and the rain actually stopped there.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°In Falheim, though it was more due to that despicable ce¡¯s own nature that caused it to happen, a tide of undead attacked, and several other, smaller outbreaks have urred and been snuffed out.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°In Odeen, though it was from a separate matter entirely, snow has begun falling, and still hasn¡¯t stopped, though it ranges from storms to light flurries. On a mission I as given, Lou and I took the chance to survey thend and found that it extends to the borders of all of Odeen and, with the exception of Solheim which has always been and of snow and ice, are unaffected. As if a barrier has been erected around the entire country, stopping at every border.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°How are you sure it is not due to the fall of the Dead Zone? It is what made Odeen and of eternal Spring, is it not?¡± (Shu)


    ¡°We have been told by Goddess Amaterasu herself that it has nothing to do with the Dead Zone nor any other gods of our world. Combined with testimony of my Lady herself, we concluded that it is solely due to the death of Baldr Odeen by means of a nt called mistletoe. A phenomenon she called Fimblventr.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Knowing this, Shu, and the fact that we have easy means to contact the Divine, we shall go ask the gods themselves if your work will be undone by the disappearance of the Dead Zone. Will this assuage your worries?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°¡­Only when I can know the answer will they be assuaged.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°As much as I treasure you as a friend, Shu, I will not go and disrupt my daughter¡¯s journey just to bring her here. I will, however, mediate a meeting between the two of you once she reaches here in time. Hearing validation from me, while you will most likely ept a part of it, will not make you stop worrying, so having the one in question exin it in as immacte detail as you wish would.¡± (Fafnir)


    Shu closed her eyes, the worry that was eating away at her finally breaking her cool fa?ade. After reaching its peak, her expression fell, and she sighed.


    ¡°Then I will leave that to you, my Queen. Though may I ask to know what your daughter looks like as well her name?¡± (Shu)


    ¡°That is an eptable request. Calus, are you still mildly proficient in illusion magic?¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I am, Fafnir, though I haven¡¯t practiced it in many years, so my skills are, as the humans say, rusty.¡± (Calus)


    Emma and I began describing our little one, with some inputs from Ena who saw herst and the things that have changed after she absorbed Odeen¡¯s Dead Zone.


    ¡°Grand mystics that flow through this world, like blood, grant shape to the picture in my mind.¡± (Calus)


    In the center of the table an image of Keeno appeared in exquisite detail. Emma and I both smiled at the image. Though she was slightly taller than when west saw her, it was good to know she was in good health.


    ¡°Four tails¡­it¡¯s been so long since one of the kitsune have had one so powerful¡­it brings back memories.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Shu)


    ¡°Is something the matter, Shu?¡± (Loughshinny)


    I looked over to Shu to see her cheeks tinges a slight pink.


    ¡°Shu, my daughter is spoken for.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°I-I know¡­but her eyes are so beautiful¡­¡± (Shu)


    She looked away to refocus her thoughts before looking back.


    ¡°I apologize, my Queen. Old proclivities of mine resurfaced for a moment.¡± (Shu)


    ¡°No need to apologize, Shu. We¡¯re all dragons, we all have our proclivities.¡± (Fafnir)


    ¡°Huehuehue.¡± (Smaug)


    The disgustingughter that reminded me more of a pig than a dragon brought my attention over to the disrespectful pile of excrement. His face was twisted in glee while he sat up straight for the first time. The odoring from his body became all the more overwhelming as the grease from his folds warmed up in the light of the suns beaming down from above.


    ¡°What a lovely little strumpet. A gaze as fierce as lightning and a body as elegant as-*belch*-a masterwork of art.¡± (Smaug)


    ¡°As. I. SAID! My daughter is taken. Get all of those obvious thoughts out of your head before I rip it from your neck.¡± (Fafnir)


    My rage at this disrespectful bastard¡¯s obvious lust manifested as my wings appearing and unfurling and my core glowing brighter as the heat around us slightly increased.


    ¡°Ah. There it is, I knew the old Queen was still in there.¡± (Calus)


    A tinge of fear welled up in his eyes and he looked down, muttering under his breath. I caught a few words of what he said, something about bing an Apostle himself and even gods falling for his alpha charms. I was about to stand up and show him the reason why I was Queen of Dragons when Emma and Ena stood up, their rage just as evident as mine and projecting sinister auras. Ena¡¯s Soul Weapon manifested as the pointed end of her staff was pointed at Smaug¡¯s neck. Emma¡¯s Soul Weapon, a serrated pair of daggers were poised at the base of his wings, ready to slowly saw them off.


    ¡°As the Queen said, get those thoughts out of your mind before WE have to end you. And know, if we do so, there is no future for your soul.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°My daughter is not for you to lust over like some dog in heat. We can kill your mortal body, shave your soul to dust, and present that dust to her and Amaterasu to burn to nothing.¡± (Emma)


    Smaug froze up and a new odor began wafting off of him.


    ¡°Get out. You¡¯ve shown nothing but disrespect through your actions and no pride as a dragon. Begone from here, you lizard.¡± (Fafnir)


    In the depths of his beady little eyes a spark of rage was lit. He stumblingly stood up and a light was building in his chest, aiming at Emma. Leaping from my own seat and spreading my wings wide, I flew across the table and picked up the heaping mass by the neck. Shooting through the vines and ending at the edge of the tree tform, dangling him over the edge.


    ¡°I¡¯m showing mercy by not ending you now, which is probably a mistake. However, if I EVER get word of you even going as far as calling yourself a dragon again, you will regret it. You tarnish the name of your ancestor.¡± (Fafnir)


    He opened his mouth to wheeze something, but I dropped him before he could say a word. After falling for a good bit, he transformed to his original form and shakily flew away. Staring after him for a while, I turned around and found Emma waiting there.


    ¡°Shu postponed the rest of the meeting. Let¡¯s get you bathed; you probably feel disgusting after handling that thing.¡± (Emma)


    I only nodded and the two of us went inside.


    Chaos Realm:


    Ray: Payto!


    I know, Ray. It will be dealt with. That thing is a waste of space. I¡¯m going to enjoy watching it die by Keeno¡¯s hand.


    Way: At least it¡¯s a foregone conclusion.


    Naturally. I won¡¯t leave such a stain on one of my worlds.


    Ray: ¡­


    Don¡¯t say a word. I know how hypocritical that sounds.


    Ray: Fine then. But erase that thing¡¯s shine¡¯s connection to me.


    I¡¯m already running all the interference I can, but that thing is like a cockroach.


    Ray: Annoying, disgusting creatures.


    Indeed.

 Chapter 156- Solemnity

    Chapter 156- Solemnity


    [Keeno POV]


    Traveling through snowy ins was beginning to get tiresome. Due to the nature of the weather, there was hardly any life to be seen except the asional bird or fox. Whenever we saw some foxes, they seemed to look over at me specifically and smile in the way foxes and dogs smiled. It made me feel a nice warm feeling different from the usual I feel when I interact with Ama or my other family members.


    ¡°Keeno, do all these foxes remind you of that one small family we saw that one time?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I was thinking the same thing. The way they all seem to know me¡­maybe there IS a worldwide underground civilization of foxes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t surprise me at this point.¡± (Freya)


    Time continued to pass like this, the only thing that changed is the smell the carriage started to produce, which was promptly fixed by another Rune. I¡¯d also started to feel¡­something in the direction we were heading, though I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what it was. Just that it was a sort of pull. I found out three dayster. We all stood at the entrance of a small vige. Where one would expect to see some people walking about tending to everyday business there was nothing. No smoke wafted from chimneys, no children yed in the snow, nothing but empty white.


    ¡°Stop.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Is something wrong, Lady Okami?¡± (Margaret)


    I didn¡¯t answer her, I just walked further into the vige. That pull I¡¯ve been feeling became stronger until I reached the center.


    ¡°Ama¡­¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­}


    I was silent, not even a thought running through my head. Only when the sound of a door slowly opening, and the weak steps of a person were heard did I turn to look. An old man walked toward me shakily. From his fingers up to his elbows and feet up to his knees ck with frostbite. He silently approached me before falling to his knees in front of me, his head bowed.


    ¡°Are you all that¡¯s left?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes¡­and I fear I¡¯m leaving soon too. Please, deliver us to a peaceful rest. To true warmth where all our families rest.¡±


    He looked up at me with a smile devoid of fear of death or bargaining. A smile like he was greeting me as an old friend he hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. I returned the smile as I crouched down to meet his gaze as an equal.


    ¡°Rest now, old friend, you will meet your fellows soon. Dream of the warm suns and foxes ying in the fields, of childrenughing and elders gazing at them withpassionate remembrance.¡± (Keeno)


    His smile widened more and his eyes slowly closed, his breathing stopping shortly after. I picked him up and brought him to the house he came from. cing him on a bed in the corner, I pulled his thin nket over his body before leaving the house. I found Margaret and the others looking around, waiting for me.


    ¡°Margaret, move everyone out of here. I have something I must do, and all those with life in them must not be here.¡± (Keeno)


    Her curiosity turned to realization to understanding. She solemnly nodded her head and instructed everyone to leave. It took some time to get everyone out due to the snow, but an hourter they were at a safe distance.


    ¡°Ama I-¡± (Keeno)


    {This is not your fault.}


    I had kept a stoic face for the others, but I couldn¡¯t any longer. I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks before evaporating, a circle melting in the snow around me.


    ¡°I feel responsible¡­second only to burning and before drowning, freezing is a horrible way to die. I know everything I do has consequences, but this is the first time I¡¯m seeing them in person truly. Even if it wasn¡¯t due to the Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    Mncholic music began ying all around me.


    ¡°Oh, unfortunate souls who passed before your time, I havee to greet you with warmth.¡±


    Blue mes started to flicker to life around me.


    ¡°I greet you all as an old friend, a weing hearth to rest your weary feet besides, a hot meal to fill your empty, travel-worn hearts.¡±


    The mes had be stronger and began spreading away from me, meeting houses and barns, alighting in blue yet producing no smoke.


    ¡°Orange be the mes of Life that wave to you as you set off on your journey. Blue of Death be the ones that wee you home. Rest your head and hearts as youy them down and the heat melts away your tiredness. Join yourpanions in the evesting banquet.¡±


    The entire vige was consumed in my blue mes, burning everything to ash that would be spread across the world on the wind.


    {I¡¯ll write that down, it¡¯s something that should be said at any funeral.}


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Keeno)


    I turned around and walked into the distance where the others were waiting. Margaret seemed like she wanted to say something, but Pram stopped her and shook her head. I silently thanked Pram in my mind as I climbed into a wagon.


    [Margaret POV]


    ¡°Lady Pram¡­¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°She hasn¡¯t realized we all heard that. Let her be for a while.¡± (Pram)


    Lady Pram¡¯s words left no room forment, so I just nodded my head as I dove into my ow thoughts. These past weeks have allowed me to learn quite a bit about Lady Okami and her friends. They are all friendly, weing, and overall pleasant to be around, like we¡¯ve known them all our lives and spent many a year together. Today is the first time I¡¯ve seen any of them with anything other than a smile or serious expression, with Ladies Okami and Pram having the most mncholic expressions of the lot.


    ¡°Lady Pram, may I ask something?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Sure, but depending on the question I may not be able to answer yet.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Out of everyone in your group, Goddess Amaterasu aside, you¡¯ve known Lady Okami longest, correct?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then, as Goddess of Death, I would assume she wouldn¡¯t feel anything for the death of others. Is that not the case?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Far from it. She may be a goddess in body and soul, but she still holds mortal sentiments. And sure, if it¡¯s someone she kills herself that deserves it, she may feel nothing or even a small sense of righteousness in the action, but something like this, she cares just as much as any of us do, if not more. See, she probably feels like she is responsible for this happening to that vige. It¡¯s the same kind of thing from when we were little, only taken to the nth degree. See, I was raised in a family of healers, and, as my best and only friend for the longest of time, she was over with me more often than not. Being healers, you can imagine I¡¯ve seen death countless times, but for her who can see souls and who those on the very threshold of death either wee or hate with all their being, it¡¯s another thing entirely. Combine that with the fact that, due to other circumstances, she doesn¡¯t like showing strong emotions like sadness in front of others, so she bottled them up until she is alone¡­what I¡¯m trying to say is, she feels things like we do, if not more in some cases. So, if you are going to be a Valkyrie at some point, you need to learn to look through the fa?ade she presents in public. It¡¯s loosened up a lot over the time we¡¯ve been together so far, but she¡¯s still keeping it up around most of the other knights here. It¡¯s the same reason she¡¯s still not letting you call her Keeno.¡± (Pram)


    Lady Pram looked up at the sky, small snowkesnding in her silver-grey hair.


    ¡°Honestly, I sometimes feel like she doesn¡¯t let us in on everything either. Some sides she probably only shows to Amaterasu. I mean, in all our life, I¡¯ve only ever seen her cry a handful of times, not that you can really ever tell if she is anyway. Haha. I mean, tears just evaporate off her face.¡± (Pram)


    Her humor was appreciated as she cracked a small smile and turned.


    ¡°Mull over what I said for a bit, when she¡¯s ready she¡¯ll talk, just remember; she feels all the same things we do, after all, gods or not, we¡¯re all people in the end.¡± (Pram)


    She walked over toward Lady Freya before taking her hand in hers and squeezing it, Lady Mostima smiling over them from behind. With a slight smile on my face, I also turned and began leading us away from the burning vige.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to think I¡¯m slightly older than most of them when I learn more with every conversation.¡± (Margaret)


    Chaos Realm:


    Tamamo: Payto.


    Luna: Let them.


    *nods* *snap*


    Keeno: ¡­


    Amaterasu: *Looks around and figures out what¡¯s happening* *Silently walks up behind Keeno and hugs her tightly*


    Keeno: *Surprised ear flick and tail twitch* Ama?


    Amaterasu: Shhh. Just let it all out.


    Keeno: *Tears slowly start to fall*


    This is where we give them some time to themselves. *Snaps and all other spectators vanish to somece else*

 Chapter 157- The Dragon Appears

    Chapter 157- The Dragon Appears


    [A week after Keeno andpany moved through the vige]


    A man in silver knelt in the snow surrounded by several others wearing simr armor. This was a ce where a vige once stood, poor as it was, an now it was reduced to a still smoldering pile of ash and dust.


    ¡°Commander!¡±


    The man turns his head, sorrow etched across his face and even deeper in his dull golden eyes. Snowkes fall and melt in his shoulder length red hair and well-groomed beard of the same color.


    ¡°Found anything?¡±


    ¡°Only burned bodies that crumbled to ash when we tried to touch them.¡±


    Themander would usually be emotional over such dire news, but should he let a single tear drop from his cheek, it may well freeze in his eye, that is how unfortunate he and the rest of the surviving Pdins of Life had been since the day the Dead Zone fell.


    ¡°It¡¯s no doubt the work of that vixen bitch.¡±


    As soon as the words left his mouth, it felt like something grasped his heart with a spiked fist. He faltered and fell back to one knee.


    ¡°Commander Thor!¡±


    Themander held his hand up, signaling hispanion to stand at ease.


    ¡°It¡¯s just more of that pain in my heart. Just thinking of that bitch- grk ¨C fills me with the pain of all the souls she¡¯s murdered.¡± (Thor)


    ¡°I understand, Commander.¡±


    A sh of rage crossed the second pdin¡¯s face whenever the kitsune was mentioned. He and Thor were two of the few survivors from the Night of Dread, as they hade to call the night when the Dead Zone of Odeen fell. They will never forget the face of the kitsune woman who destroyed most of theirpanions in a sh of golden light and lightning that cut through even Thor¡¯s resistance. The most vivid of sights in their nightmares were the blue irises swimming in a sea of ck darker than a moonless night.


    ¡°Sir¡­what if we can¡¯t catch her? All tracked have long been covered by fresh snow. The only information we have is that she¡¯s traveling with arge group headed someway this direction.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll catch her. As long as we hold faith in our goddess, nothing under the suns can hide from us.¡± (Thor)


    A cold wind blew, causing the two men to shiver. A short timeter the rest of the smallpany reconvened and started off in the direction of the silver fox of death. Unbeknownst to them, however, were the eyes of several ravens watching them from the skies, as well as the ears of the foxes perked in their direction, listening to them in hopes of being of some help to their two-legged kin whose fluffiness was worthy of worship.


    [Keeno POV]


    A week after the vige, Huginn suddenly flew up from my tail and began circling around us in the sky. A few minutester and a few more, smaller shadows began flying with them. Before long Huginn returned. Seeing as it was too big tond on my shoulder, I held up my arm and they perched happily before leaning in.


    ¡°Any news?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Apparently, I didn¡¯t do a good enough job of purging those parasites of Ama¡¯s. Now they are tailing us fueled by a misguided sense of revenge.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Should we stop and wait for them?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No. We¡¯ve already dyed Margaret and the others long enough, so making them stop for longer feels wrong.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If I may intrude, none of us mind. The cold is one thing which we are learning to adapt to, but Lady Okami projecting warmth constantly in arge area helps more than you realize. And besides, they aren¡¯t expecting us back for at least two more years. Those at the top in Lokir know that diplomacy, especially diplomacy in Odeen, takes a long time.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. Still, I think it¡¯s best to keep moving. If we¡¯re lucky, they¡¯ll fall to the elements before reaching us.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hm? You¡¯d usually want to wait and take care of them. Are you feeling alright, Keeno?}


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Ama. I just¡­want to be out of Odeen.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ah. I understand. Well at lea-}


    ¡°Waaaaaaaaa!¡±


    I looked around for the source of the sound that interrupted Ama before feeling a soft sensation rubbing on my leg. I looked down to see a fox with pure white fur and emerald green eyes looking up at me.


    ¡°Waaaa!¡±


    I knelt next to it which caused its tail to wag in all its fluff glory.


    ¡°Waayip!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    My tailed twitched in irritation.


    ¡°Thank you, little friend. Go back to the others and thank them as well.¡± (Keeno)


    I patted the fox¡¯s head, and it yipped excitedly as its tail started to stir up a small cloud of powder snow. When it had enough it trotted away a bit before diving headfirst into the snow,pletely disappearing.


    {Since when could you talk to foxes?}


    ¡°Just now. I didn¡¯t get it at first, but after figuring it couldn¡¯t be that different from understanding Huginn and Muninn, it made sense.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, tha¡­that makes no sense at all. And that¡¯sing from someone who¡¯s starting to understand what those two feather heads of yours are saying.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Meh. I¡¯m just slightly worried about how that fox was talking to me. I mean, I¡¯m not fox royalty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Your title is Draconic Fox Princess, so technically you are.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°True¡­hmm. Things to think about.¡± (Keeno)


    I chuckled at Freya¡¯s pout.


    ¡°I rate your attempt at teasing a 7/10.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Very nice. I¡¯ve only ever gotten an 8 before, so good job, Freya.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°This aside, is there something we need to do with whatever that fox told you, or is the n to keep moving?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°We keep moving. If they catch up, they catch up and we fight, if we outrun them, we still fight when they catch up, but it will be on our terms, not their¡¯s. We have the advantage of eyes and ears watching them while they don¡¯t know hardly anything about us. I¡¯ll have my eyes in the sky continue to monitor them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Very well.¡± (Margaret)


    She walked away from us to ry instructions to the other knights.


    ¡°Ok, now tell us what¡¯s got you so upset. Your tails have been twitching nonstop and it¡¯s getting slightly warmer.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I¡¯m less upset and more annoyed at how little these idiots understand things¡­and the fact they think Ama cares for them at all. She is only for me, her love, her attention, everything is mine. I won¡¯t let some deluded mongrels think they have even the slightest bit of her attention.¡± (Keeno)


    The other three took a small step back as my core began to shine a bit brighter and my horns appeared. My tails began twitching even more and I felt the need to burn something.


    {Keeno, calm down. All of us know that we are only for each other in all things, so there is no need to get so worked up about it.}


    ¡°Sorry. Something deep inside me was just screaming about how someone was trying to take something of mine and I can¡¯t let that happen.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Probably the dragon in you.¡± (Mostima)


    I nodded at Mostima¡¯s words when I caught a glimpse of a grim spreading across Pram¡¯s face. She stepped over to my and pulled my arm into a hug while stepping onto her tiptoes to whisper in my ear.


    ¡°What would you do if those people, or any others for that matter, tried to take any of us from you?¡± (Pram)


    My horns that were slowly fading lit up again and a low growl wasing from deep in my throat.


    ¡°No one takes any of my family from me. They are all mine, my treasures.¡± (Keeno)


    I felt a hot itch at my back simr to what I felt when my horns appeared.


    {¡­Keeno, what about Red and the other Valkyries? What about Ortilinde?}


    ¡°All of them are mine.¡± (Keeno)


    I could feel my core heating us as mana and Divinity flowed into it faster than I normally allowed it to and the itch on my back became more intense until, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something made of blue mes moving, trying to wrap around all four of us.


    {Hahahahahahaha! Wings of me! Thanks Pram, you for pushing Keeno that little bit more has helped greatly. Keeno, we are one step closer to helping you fly.}


    ¡°Eh? EH!? Hehehahahahahahaha.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°d I could help, though I missed my chance to tease Keeno now.¡± (Pram)


    Pram pouted simrly to Freya who had moved closer to Pram and began patting her head. Pram¡¯s tail wrapped itself around Freya¡¯s waist and pulled her closer.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just have Freyafort me with her nice headpats for the time being.¡± (Pram)


    I was lost in my new fire wings, so I barely heard what Pram said, but I figured it was just flirting with Freya, so I just nodded along with her. The wings, though, were quite nice. I couldn¡¯t feel anything through them, but they reminded me of mum¡¯s. Every so often a small bit of ck would course through the sea of blue me while in the parts where a membrane would be the faintest outline of golden Runes could be barely made out.


    {We are going to need to work on getting your dragon features toe out onmand instead of just emotion, but that can wait, seems like they are starting to fade.}


    Just as she said, my wings began to dissipate into embers untilpletely vanishing like they were never there in the first ce.


    {This helps me quite a bit now. Keeno, I may be a bit quiet for a few days while I work on this idea I have. While I¡¯m doing that you should practice getting at least your wings to appear.}


    ¡°Ok, Ama. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± (Keeno)


    Ama didn¡¯t respond again, though I did hear her start mumbling something here and there. Soon after all of this, the horses of the knights and the wagon bearing ones were rated and watered and we set off again.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Fufufufufufuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Keeno is a Mouse Princess!!!


    Pffft!


    Tamamo: Mouse?


    Luna: Can¡¯t exin here, will tell youter. I have a feeling if I exined, Payto here would somehow end up in trouble.


    I wouldn¡¯t, but I thank you for being prudent.


    Luna: Your wele? What was that?


    *Sigh*Your Abyss of Fluff powers are expanding beyond my Chaos Realm, Luna. Reign them in.


    Luna: How do I do that?


    Imagine putting them in your inventory.


    Luna: ¡­Oh, that was easy.


    Hmm.


    Tamamo: Did something happen in this smallpse?


    Not really. She may have blessed someone in another Chaos Realm somewhere unintentionally, but that person is actually very receptive of both Abyssal Blessings as well as Fluff Blessings, and even then, it won¡¯t really take any noticeable effect for a while. But I will have to have Luna meet that God of Chaos eventually to smooth things over.


    Luna: Are you able to show me who I identally blessed?


    Easily. *snap*


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: Cute. Needs more tails, but cute.


    Let¡¯s see¡­modern world, superpowers, beastkin, lots of yuri, named Lily¡­well, at least this world is good. I¡¯ll be in contact with that God of Chaos to make any necessary adjustments, but don¡¯t worry for now. If something happens that needs bit of our intervention, I¡¯ll contact you about it.


    Luna: Alright. Sorry for causing any trouble.


    It¡¯s fine. Things happen.


    Tamamo: Oh! Luna, look at the time! It¡¯s starting soon!


    Luna: Sorry to just up and leave after that, Payto, but something important is happening, so we¡¯ll see you again soon!


    Have fun you two, and don¡¯t do anything Atmos would.

 Chapter 158- Talking with a Future Valkyrie

    Chapter 158- Talking with a Future Valkyrie


    [Keeno POV]


    Another two weeks of nothing but open snow and small viges or towns pass as we made our way to Lokir. Over these two weeks my little eyes in the sky as well as several foxes kept tabs on our pursuers. They were having a hard time dealing with the fresh snow that fell after we had passed through, allowing us to make a surprising amount of distance between us. Unfortunately, I also had to perform some funerary rights for a few of the small viges while Pram had healed many from frostbite or hypothermia in the towns when the local healers weren¡¯t enough.


    On Margaret and her knight¡¯s side, we¡¯d all be closer to an extent. I¡¯d finally allowed Margaret to call me by my first name and I¡¯d started to learn more about her as well. She told me several stories about her little sister and her aunt. One being an aspiring knight while the other was a well-known teacher and capable assistant when it came to more domestic matters like logistics. She also had an uncle who she respected, but that was about all I got from her about him.


    In regards to my wings and flying, no real progress was made. I¡¯d gotten to the point where I could manifest my horns at will, but my wings refused to show themselves again unless I got suitably worked up about something, much to the enjoyment of the others who used those opportunities to tease me. Little did they know I¡¯d been keeping track of everything and would get them backter.


    Today was turning out to be yet another uneventful day of walking in a straight line while watching snow fall and ravens flying around free while I was stuck on the ground.


    ¡°Do you really like flying that much?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Love it. Ever since my first taste of it with mum, I¡¯ve wanted to be able to do it myself. I know a few ways of propulsion to get me airborne, but that¡¯s more just hovering than flying.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What if you mixed those Rune things in somehow?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Ama and I are working on that, but I only have so many dragon scales that I can use. Even with the Authority making my Runes work with mana instead of Divinity, it¡¯s still not sustainable for indefinite flight. If I could figure out how to get my wings out when I want and for however long I want, then it¡¯d be easier, but so far, no luck with that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What do you do to get your horns out permanently when you want?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­a feeling, I guess. My wings will probably be the same, I just need to manifest them enough. At least that¡¯s our current theory.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Honestly, I wish I could help as well, but I¡¯m not very informed on things rted to dragons and magic like this.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± (Keeno)


    I was going to say more when one of my little ravensnded on my shoulder. It whispered its message before taking off again. Huginn and Muginn poked their heads out of two of my tails and looked after their little minion.


    ¡°What news?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°They found another gravesite and are mad about it. Idiots.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°While I get why you think that it should be said that Death is practically a foreign concept to most in this country. They¡¯ve lived hundreds if not more years knowing only prosperity and life and any death that wasn¡¯t natural was condemned by a dragon. Now that said dragon isn¡¯t doing anything about thatbined with the facts that the Dead Zone, which they¡¯ve known all their lives, is gone AND what feels like an omen of apocalypse in this seemingly never-ending winter, they¡¯d want totch onto something to me, and you, having killed some of theirrades in front of them, are said something. I don¡¯t condone what they are doing as far as ming you, but that¡¯s because I¡¯ve gotten to know you and know your circumstances.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I get that, Margaret, I¡¯ve been prepared for something like this happening since I started this. I call them idiots for the simple reason they think MY wife has or has ever had any interest in them. I¡¯m a very selfish, possessive kitsune, I don¡¯t like anyone harboring anything other than respect for my family. Something like worship I can stretch my thinking to make it like respect, but when it¡¯s taken to the extent that someone thinks they deserve some kind of recognition or praise or blessing for their devotion, or if someone has such a narrow view of my family that it clouds their judgment in a way like this, then I feel slighted. Ama is more than just Life. She is the Sun and Magic, and before even that, a loving, caring person who can be mischievous or daring or cute or all of the above.¡± (Keeno)


    The passion in my voice and the mix of emotions I was feeling made my horns and wings appear.


    ¡°Hehe. This is one of the things I like about you, Lady Keeno. You aren¡¯t some dreadful, gloomy person the Authority of Death would make it seem, but a kind, extremely loving and dedicated person.¡± (Margaret)


    {Keeno is the best, no one can say otherwise!}


    Smiling at both Ama¡¯s and Margaret¡¯s praise, I blushed a little and the fire making up my horns and wings grew slightly hotter.


    ¡°Soooo¡­any more stories about you?¡± (Keeno)


    Margaret chuckled at my tant topic change but acquiesced to it all the same.


    ¡°Anything specific you want to know? I¡¯ve told you about my family, the good parts of Lokir, what we do as knights. I don¡¯t really think there is anything else of much interest to tell.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. Any kind of tournament or jousting thing you ever done?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Jousting is for those who y as knights, not knights themselves. As for tournaments, I¡¯ve been in one or two, but they aren¡¯t all that special. Just some small scale territory control exercises or one-on-onebat where first blood drawn decides the victor.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. Sounds interesting enough, though now I kind of want to spar with you. See how things go. I haven¡¯t had any goodpetition since that time I fought with Ama and Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know how I canpare to an Apostle or God, but I can try when we have the time. I¡¯ve honestly been quite interested in your ownbat prowess myself. I know from the stories you¡¯ve all told that you are more of a¡­how to put it?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Indiscriminate?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, an indiscriminate fighter. You are better at crowd control and fights against multiple opponents than singlebat. And you can¡¯t really watch out for allies in too close proximity.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Sounds about right, though I will say this, I CAN fight one-on-one rtively well, but closebat is somewhat more troubling than mid to long rangebat.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Noted.¡± (Margaret)


    She unsheathed the sword at her hip and made a strange movement. All of a sudden, the handle extended until the sword became more of a ive.


    ¡°This is a Lokirian swordspear, the mostmon weapon aside from Soul Weapons wielded by most every knight in Lokir. As you¡¯ve no doubt noticed by now, we all have one. At this point they are more ceremonial than anything, but some knight orders, like ours, still practice the art of using them.¡± (Margaret)


    She twirled the weapon around in her hand, the de shining in the sunlight like a golden beam of light.


    ¡°I take a lot of pride in this weapon and my skill in wielding it. As I said earlier, I don¡¯t know how I will match with the likes of an Apostle or a God, but I ept your request to spar when we get a moment of peace.¡± (Margaret)


    I smiled at her. It wasn¡¯t strange for the conversation between the two of us to end in a manner like this. Talking about her family, knighthood, or weapons always seemed to get Margaret to open up more. It was nice to see the person beneath the shell, so to speak.


    ¡°Ah¡­Lady Keeno¡­¡± (Margaret)


    Her previous calm, open demeanor changed to one of slight hesitation and worry.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I know it¡¯s a very abrupt change of subject, but I just thought of this¡­you and the others have said many times that you hope to have me as a¡­Valkyrie, as you call them, correct?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I would like to, yes. You meet one of the requirements for the position, and I can make you one at any time now, but I won¡¯t if you don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t want to force you into a position you don¡¯t want or aren¡¯t ready for after all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s just, I don¡¯t know why you want ME to be one. Sure, over these past weeks and months we¡¯ve gotten to know each other quite well, but I don¡¯t know what you see in me that makes you want to elevate me to such a lofty position. I am fine with being a supporter of you and your allies and I do wholly support and encourage your efforts, but I feel like choosing me of all people would be a mistake.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re trying to say, Margaret, but this is another thing about you. You overthink a lot of things. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s due to the nature of your working for nobles or if it¡¯s some knight mentality or something like that, but it¡¯s much simpler than what you¡¯re thinking. I want you to be one of my Valkyries because Fia said you¡¯d make a good one. Sure, it may seem like some kind of n to keep someone who knows my secrets close or some other paranoid way of thinking to someone looking in from the outside, but it¡¯s not. Even if Fia wasn¡¯t the one to rmend you, if Ama, Pram, Freya, or Mostima said so, I¡¯d either agree on the spot or at least consider it. Naturally, I¡¯d try to increase the trust between us first and get a feel for your personality and all that, but a rmendationing from someone in my family will greatly increase your chances of a favorable oue. I¡¯ve said it before and I¡¯ll say it again, I¡¯m a simple person. I see something I like, or something someone in my family rmends me, and I¡¯ll do my utmost to obtain ite to think of it, that may be more of my dragon sideing out again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Then, if I may ask, what is the requirement I meet? I know nearly nothing of how one bes an Apostle in the first ce aside from what legends say.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Well, Valkyrie, or Death Apostle, positions are kind of easy to meet requirements for. From what I¡¯ve been able to tell, it has several different requirements of which only one needs to be met. Suitable amount of people or things killed, surviving what can only be considered certain death, absolute mastery of Death Magic, and a few more I haven¡¯t been able to figure out just yet. For you, you meet the first one. It''s the same for Red and Emma while Ena met two of them, being the number of kills and mastery of Death Magic.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see. Does this mean you can tell how many people a person has killed before?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°No. In the cases of Valkyries, it¡¯s more a gut feeling than anything else. But don¡¯t get me wrong, I wouldn¡¯t choose just anyone that meets one of those requirements. Otherwise, I could find some random adventurer or bandit or mass murderer and make them a Valkyrie. It¡¯s your soul I truly value. It¡¯s a perfect grey. Calm, bnced, unsullied by corruption. It¡¯s not as radiantly white as Pram¡¯s, but I know she¡¯s an exception.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯d assume my soul would be dirty, weighted down by the lives I¡¯ve taken for our order or the good of our home.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°And that¡¯s where you and so many people get it wrong. Sure, killing someone unprovoked and in cold blood is one thing, but it¡¯s not fully evil. There are circumstances upon circumstances that lead to most people who kill another tomit the act. Revenge, passion, hate, money, survival, self-defense, and so on and so forth. Myriads of motives, some more morally grey than others, sure, but one such act won¡¯t muddy a soul. It takes years ofmitting atrocities against another with a soul to truly muddy one. And once a soul has been bathed in that mud for so long that it taints the soul, then you are no longer considered a person. At least in my eyes. You do what you must in order to protect your home from those who would taint it with the same mud that taints their souls. I won¡¯t condemn you or anyone for that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­That, honestly, makes me feel better about some of the choices I¡¯ve made in my life. Though I do now want to know how muddy a soul has to be before you won¡¯t consider someone for this kind of position.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°As long as it isn¡¯t enough that I have to kill you to purify it, then it is eptable. Take Freya for example, her soul was a bit muddy when we met, though it was due to her own circumstances. Now it¡¯s recovered greatly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So as long as someone is redeemable you consider them a person you¡¯re willing to help?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°If they are open to being helped.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Someone you want me to help?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know how open to help he would be. But I¡¯m willing to ask and try to convince him once we reach Lokir.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll do what I can, but only if they agree.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thank you, Lady Keeno.¡± (Margaret)


    I smiled at her in reply as we continued on our way.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Ehehehe.


    I see you like the present Tamamo made for you.


    Luna: How could I not?


    Fair. By the way, feel like blessing some people from another Chaos Realm?


    Luna: Who?


    Some little fox named Aiko and herpanions.


    Luna: What do I need to do?


    Just focus on your Abyssal Fluff powers and I can take care of the rest. Oh, but think of a speech in your head. It¡¯ll be conveyed when they get blessed.


    Luna: *closes her eyes and thinks before nodding her head*


    *Gathers power from the Abyss of Fluff and flings it toward the specific Chaos Realm*


    And done.


    Luna: That was easy.


    Well, it just so happens that this specific ce is very receptive to blessings from the outside. Cultivation worlds are like that.


    Luna: ¡­Heh. You better let me take a look at this ce.


    Over there.


    Luna: Perfection.

 Chapter 159- Valkyrie Training

    Chapter 159- Valkyrie Training


    In the room Keeno and Amaterasu have dubbed the Hall of Valkyries three shining doorways appear behind the seats highlighted by blue torchlight. After walking through the doorways, the Valkyries sat in their surprisinglyfortable stone chairs. All of them had serious faces as they stared at one another. The first to speak was Red.


    [Red POV]


    ¡°Hmm?¡± (Red)


    Tilting my head in confusion at seeing the others, also here I was going to ask something when they both jumped up from their seats and rushed over to me. I didn¡¯t even get the chance to move before I felt hands on my head.


    ¡°Uheeeee~¡± (Red)


    ¡°Sorry Red, you¡¯re just too cute to not do this every time I see you.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°It¡¯s a strange yet nicepelling feeling.¡± (Ena)


    {There is a reason Keeno and I call her the most headpattable Valkyrie.}


    Two more hands joined in the headpatting. One was clearly Rasu, the other was Ortilinde.


    ¡°Orti.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Hehehe. Hello Red.¡± (Ortilinde)


    As I was on the verge of bing a puddle of fluff, the headpats stopped. I instinctually pouted. Just because I was bing a puddle didn¡¯t mean I wanted them to stop. Seeing this, Ortilinde began patting me again causing me to smile slightly. I was d to have her as a sister, she always spoiled me.


    {Ahem. Before anything else, thank you for calling this meeting, Ena.}


    ¡°It was nothing. Your idea was a good one, and I¡¯m happy to help out.¡± (Ena)


    This time it wasn¡¯t only me who tilted her head. Emma and Ortilinde did as well.


    {See, I had an idea, totally not because I¡¯m bored and the idiots chasing Keeno haven¡¯t caught up to her for her to deal with them yet, since all of you Valkyries became Valkyries and half Death Spirit, you have gained the ability to use Death Magic and, with the exception of Ena, should learn how to use it more effectively. So, I asked Ena to call a meeting with all of you so the two of us can help you both learn how to use your Death Magic more effectively. Keeno would love to be here to help as well, but we all know what she can¡¯t be, so she sent her best regards. And Ortilinde, even though you don¡¯t have Death Magic, I¡¯m going to help you with your Wind Magic.}


    Emma started to nod along with Rasu¡¯s words halfway through the exnation.


    ¡°Faf and I have been experimenting a little, but we were too afraid of what we might identally do, so this is a wee opportunity¡­actually, should I call her here for this too?¡± (Emma)


    {Depends, how are things in Falheim currently? You two somewhat recently got back from that dragon meeting, right? Is it fine to leave it with no one powerful watching things?}


    ¡°Hmmm¡­It¡¯s probably best to keep her there. Some of the old nobles are starting to get ideas.¡± (Emma)


    {You didn¡¯t eradicate them all?}


    ¡°We tried, but some were more slippery than others. Sigurd and the few Pdins that have joined him so far have been tracking them down, but they are still just mortal, in a sense, they can stay awake constantly and they have to rest at some point.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hmph. Those idiots don¡¯t know just what they are messing with.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Does Red need toe help? Red can sniff the mongrels out fast and take them out faster.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­If we get Keeno¡¯s permission. I don¡¯t know how long it would take and I don¡¯t want to get you away from Vanir for to long.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Just let Red know when you find them then we meet here, and Red follows you from here. Simple.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­We just need Keeno¡¯s permission then.¡± (Emma)


    {She¡¯ll probably give it if she¡¯s as bored as I am. But that can wait, let¡¯s go outside and get to work.}


    We stood up and followed Rasu outside. Stepping out of the room, a vastndscape full of mountains spread out in front of us. The room itself had been moved on top of one of the mountains overlooking a massive valley full of orange and blue fire. Despite all of that, snow gently fell all around us. Some of the shorter mountain peaks we could see around us were t and had steam floating up from them.


    {Oh, please keep the look of this ce a secret from Keeno. It¡¯s a surprise for her when she gets toe here again.}


    We all nodded. Rasu then stepped toward the edge of the peak we were on, and a bridge made of smoke appeared.


    {Follow me. It¡¯s going to get a bit destructive in practice and I don¡¯t want to somehow damage this ce.}


    We followed closely behind her, Ortilinde holding onto my hand tightly as she was scared, she would fall through the bridge into the mes below. The others smiled at us warmly the entire way and the two of us were gifted more pats once we were off the bridge. We enjoyed them immensely.


    {Now, Ena will walk the two of you through the most basic stuff. I know that you¡¯ve both been doing what Keeno and I rmended with practicing your mana control. Ortilinde, the two of us will work on that and some beginner wind magic. By the end of the day, you will be well on your way to bing the best wind mage the world has ever seen.}


    An extremely determined expression filled Ortilinde¡¯s face.


    ¡°Then I can finally be worthy of being the daughter of gods and little sister to two more!¡± (Ortilinde)


    {Silly little one, you should never worry about such things. You are worthy enough by being yourself.}


    Rasu began patting Ortilinde¡¯s head again and her expression brightened like the suns.


    ¡°Emma¡­we have our work cut out for us.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°I agree. I hope we get a few more Valkyrie sisters that can handle giving these two as many headpats as they can take.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°I feel like our next sister will be on our side, but there is no telling about the others. If we get a third one on Red¡¯s side, then it will take all of us to keep them satisfied.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Yeah. Though I wonder why Keeno didn¡¯t try to help Ortilinde meet a requirement to be a Valkyrie. I always meant to ask, but too much stuff keeping up for me to do so.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°It¡¯s toote for that anyway, but I count her as an honorary Valkyrie anyway.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°You two know Red can hear you right?¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡°Yes.¡±¡± (Both)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Red)


    All of us separated so we could all have space to work with. When we were finally ready to start, Ena had us sit on the ground and watch.


    ¡°First things first, I won¡¯t be teaching any kind of necromancy due to the nature of the environment and it being one of the mostplicated forms of Death Magic. And before you say any of what you are thinking, Emma, Keeno is different. What is usually considered difficult or high level, she can do easily due to the fact she is the literal Goddess of the entire Concept of Death. She is Death herself, after all. That aside, I need to know how much you already know and how much you arefortable in wielding the magic.¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Faf and I both have gotten pretty proficient in infusing our magic in weapons or other attacks, and we¡¯ve been trying to improve at purifying souls, but that¡¯s about as far as we¡¯ve gotten.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Red can do the same with infusion, especially when ites to Red¡¯s Soul Weapons. It¡¯s a bit harder for Red¡¯s throwing knives, but it works well enough. Red¡¯s Death Spirit friends have also been helping with purification, but that¡¯s all. It¡¯s still hard to do that¡­and something weird has been happening. Red doesn¡¯t know if it¡¯s supposed to be like this, but sick people keep finding Red, even when Red is trying to work and is hiding. Always kneeling in front of Red and asking for relief.¡± (Red)


    ¡°That¡¯s been happening a lot with me too, now that I think about it.¡± (Emma)


    ¡°That¡¯s less Death Magic rted, and more Valkyrie rted. Only reason I¡¯m confident in that is because I¡¯ve also been getting the same thing, but it only started after I became a Valkyrie. But now that I know where you two are at, we can go from there. Red, I¡¯ll help you with working on keeping the infusion in your knives. Emma, we¡¯ll work on purification spells.¡± (Ena)


    We nodded our heads and stood up.


    ¡°Red, show me what you do when you infuse your throwing knives.¡± (Ena)


    I did as she said and took out one of my many knives. Concentrating on the de, I infused my mana into it. Ena nodded sagely as I did this. I then turned to a tree that was nearby and threw my knife. Almost the second it left my hand most of the infusion vanished. When the knife imbedded itself into the tree¡¯s trunk, only a very small part faded before the vitality in the tree healed it in the next few seconds.


    ¡°I see. Your initial infusion is almost wless, but the follow through iscking. When you throw the knife, you need to keep a small thread of mana connected to it, so the infusion stays at full power. Your knives aren¡¯t mithril, so they don¡¯t hold enchantment or infusion too long after leaving your hand. The mana thread makes up for that at the cost of using a little more mana than the initial infusion. Watch.¡± (Ena)


    She retrieved my knife from the tree and walked back over to us. She infused it with Death Magic and, when she threw it, half of the tree seemed to die before restoring itself again a secondter.


    ¡°¡­That tree¡¯s vitality aside, did you see what I did?¡± (Ena)


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Red)


    I took out another knife and tried again. This time attaching a small mana thread to it. When I threw the knife, the thread snapped immediately, causing me to frown.


    ¡°You did well, you just need to keep practicing.¡± (Ena)


    She patted my head before walking away with Emma so she could help her out next. For the rest of the day, I continued to try attaching and keeping the mana thread on my knives. It worked a few times but failed more often than not. While this made me frustrated, I also kind of enjoyed it. Every time I seeded, a warm feeling bloomed in my chest, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile. I didn¡¯t even realize the entire day went by until Rasu stopped all of us and said it was about time for rest. Seeing as we were all here, she made a giant bed for us and said we could stay the night. After a nice bath in one of those hot spring things, we all sat in the bed and talked about our respective countries, stuff we found interesting, and what we felt like doing once we could have free reign to move about the world. Ortilinde was the first to fall asleep and I followed shortly after, a content smile on my face at having such a fulfilling day and being surrounded by family.


    Chaos Realm:


    How sweet.


    Luna: Yeah. Their specific magic aside, it is always fun to see people work hard and feel aplished after making progress.


    Endeed.


    Luna: Speaking of, how did my blessing for those people go?


    It went well. I had to make a deal with the Chaos God as well as the god of the worlds they were in, but it wasn¡¯t that demanding. Honestly, I feel like I can get along with them, so I now consider them friends.


    Luna: Hmm.


    Something else on your mind?


    Luna: It¡¯s just¡­after being here for as long as I have, I¡¯ve been able to get a sense of how some things are going to go¡­and I feel like making a request.


    And that request would be?


    Luna: Let Keeno and Amaterasu meet up after she takes care of those idiots chasing her.


    Easy. I was nning too anyway.


    Luna: Good.

 Chapter 160- A Long Journey鈥檚 Intermission

    Chapter 160- A Long Journey¡¯s Intermission


    [Keeno POV]


    Nearly six months passed slowly as we traveled through the snow nes of Odeen. It was a boring trip, to say the least. The most exciting thing that happened were the times I got to spend with Ama and the new look of our home. I always did like mountains, though I had personally never seen ones that were several groups of pirs surrounded my mist, clouds, and valleys of fire. At least that I could remember. That aside, we were finally approaching the border between Odeen and Lokir. We were now travelling on a road with much less snow than any of the rest of the country since Baldr died and approaching a city built into the side of a mountain range.


    ¡°Hmm. Why does this remind me of that checkpoint town at the border of Solheim and Odeen?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Every country that has a mountain range on their border with another country has at least one city built there for defensive reasons.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmmm. Makes sense.¡± (Keeno)


    We were approaching the gate to the city when Mostima came up to us.


    ¡°By the way, what are we going to do about that extra baggage we have? I doubt they¡¯ll let us in or out on the other side if we have a heavily sealed, dead Lokir noble in a carriage.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°It¡¯s much less of a problem than you think, actually. And once we¡¯re out on the other side, we can easily find a good spot to abandon it.¡± (Margaret)


    When we finally got to the gate, two people in armor with Odeen heraldry approached us. Margaret stepped forward as the representative of the group.


    ¡°Envoys of Lokir, you¡¯ve returned much earlier than expected. Was there any trouble in the capital? Our noise boxes have stopped working quite a while ago now, so we are in the dark. Also, we mustplete the proper checks.¡±


    ¡°First things first, I¡¯d rmend no checking our charge¡¯s carriage, he¡¯s been¡­quite indisposed for a while now and we don¡¯t want whatever it is he is afflicted with to spread. We had a healer check him and were told whatever it is, is quite contagious. We wish to not spread it to you or this city if we can help it.¡± (Margaret)


    When she finished saying that, both guards moved slightly farther back from the noble¡¯s carriage and nodded.


    ¡°Noted.¡±


    ¡°As for news from the capital, yes, there were many problems there. The most obvious being the eternal spring of Odeen has ended. But that aside, the Dead Zone has fallen, and the King has died. I believe the Prime Minister has as well and, at least when we left, the capital nobles were beginning to move against one another in an attempt to usurp power for themselves. If you¡¯d like my personal opinion, I believe it was some sort of coup.¡± (Margaret)


    Both guards were speechless. It took several minutes before they rebooted their brains, and they became panicked.


    ¡°Get inside the city, we will be shutting the gate afterwards and no one is allowed to leave until we can post some others here.¡±


    The lead guard then turned to his colleague.


    ¡°Go report to the captain now!¡±


    The other one nodded and ran into the city. Our procession followed suit and entered the city. Once we were all through the gate, it was shut, and therge metal doors closed. The guard that was talking with Margaret ran into a door next to the gate and didn¡¯te back.


    ¡°So, seeing as the city is now in lockdown, not that it will really do much for something that happened a little more than half a year ago at this point, what should we do?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I believe it would be good to have a few days rest. Even though we took our time, all of us are most likely pretty exhausted from traveling on the roads, so sleeping in proper beds for a change would be nice.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Keeno, I think we should also wait and deal with those that are following us before we leave the country.¡± (Pram)


    Prama and Freya approached from the wagon we¡¯d been using for the longest time.


    ¡°I agree with Pram. There is no telling what we are going to face in Lokir, so it would be better to take care of anything that might pose an annoyance behind us.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. We rest here until those chasing us get close, then we will finish them off before moving on. Anything to add Mostima, Margaret?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Nothing from me.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Same here. I was going to suggest the same thing.¡± (Margaret)


    I nodded.


    ¡°Now, an inn, of the Guild. Where will we be staying?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The Guild would be a better option. The inns in this city in particr aren¡¯t very¡­hospitable.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°The Guild it is.¡± (Keeno)


    Moving further into the city we quickly found the Guild building and Margaret and I obtained some lodging for our group. Once that was settled, several of the Guild homunculi began leading the horses to stables somewhere deeper into the Guild Hall and, using strength that surprised me, pushed the wagons and the carriage behind them. Another homunculus led us to the lodging we would be using while here. It was arge room with enough beds to amodate our entire group. Connected to the room was arge bathroom with an equallyrge bath, obviously to be used byrge groups.


    Several of the knights, after receiving permission from Margaret, took off their armor and sat orid on a bed, a few falling asleep instantly. My group all eyed the bath with longing.


    ¡°You know I¡¯m not going to stop you, right? I¡¯m going in there in a moment myself.¡± (Keeno)


    They eyed each other before nearly sprinting inside.


    ¡°Why are they acting like that?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Because they want to get in and out before I get in there. They can¡¯t handle how hot I like my baths.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad, and it¡¯s a massive one, so even so it should be fine.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Meh. It doesn¡¯t bother me.¡± (Keeno)


    I chose a bed for myself and put my boots next to it before heading into the bathroom myself. The others were currently washing off any soap before going to soak in the lukewarm water. I quickly stripped and followed suit.


    {Looking as lovely as ever, Keeno.}


    ¡°Why thank you Ama. By the way, how is it going with the others? It¡¯s been a while since I heard anything.¡± (Keeno)


    {They are doing well. Red has started working on keeping her mana tethered to three knives now, Emma has started working on necromantic theory. Ortilinde is making a lot of progress in her mana control, so she¡¯ll soon be moving to spellwork.}


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful.¡± (Keeno)


    {It really is. It reminds me why I like teaching magic so much. Seeing people progress through their effort is so rewarding.}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    I finished washing off the soap and moved to the bath proper. Seeing as I didn¡¯t want to trouble the others, I sat down as far as possible from them. After about two minutes of sitting and soaking, the water began to slowly boil, a slightly better but still lukewarm temperature. Letting my control over my body heat loosen a bit, letting the water start boiling even more and a lot of steam began to rise.


    ¡°Ahhhhh. Perfection.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see, that¡¯s what you meant earlier. I think even I would struggle with how hot that water is.¡± (Margaret)


    I opened one eye and looked over at the edge of the bath next to the others. Margaret stood there, hiding nothing. She had her long golden hair undone from the usual ponytail, letting it flow, reaching the small of her back. The longest strands just an inch from getting tangled in her tail. She was surprisingly slim, with just the faintest outline of muscle on her abdomen. Her chest was also more well endowed than her armor would suggest, not that I particrly cared, Ama¡¯s were much bigger and more attractive. Though, from a third-party perspective, she was quite attractive looking.


    {Ya know, it¡¯s kind of surprising none of the people you¡¯ve chosen aspanions have been called out to by others. I mean, I understand why, but I honestly suspected there would be more idiots than you¡¯ve actually run into.}


    ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping those kinds of thoughts out of my head. If I didn¡¯t, we would have already invited a lot more trouble.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ah¡­sorry for messing up then.}


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Ama. I know it will happen eventually, even without this fact put out into the universe now.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­I¡¯ll make it up to you when we see each other again.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll take it, not that you really need to.¡± (Keeno)


    {Let me spoil you!}


    ¡°Fine, but only if I get to spoil you back.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll agree to that.}


    ¡°¡­I know I¡¯ve gotten used to it normally, only hearing one side of their conversations, but it adds a whole newyer to the awkwardness when they flirt like that in a bath.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Tell me about it. And this is tamepared to other times. As embarrassing as it is to admit it, when we were still living in Solheim, and we shared a bath on especially cold days their flirting could lead to very¡­frustrating moments.¡± (Pram)


    Freya then, very discreetly, moved Pram¡¯s tail around her waist. The others next to them didn¡¯t seem to notice, but I did. I couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡®Ama, I know it¡¯s a drastic change of topic, but what can we do to help Freya? Though she isn¡¯t showing it, we all know she feels like she isn¡¯t aplishing much. What can I do to show that she is more important than just being here for Pram?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I¡¯d say, next time something happens, and it focuses on Pram, let Freya handle it instead of you jumping in and taking care of it. It¡¯s mostly just a mental shackle, so if she does something like that, it could shake it loose.}


    ¡®Alright.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I slowly slid further into the water, the only thing visible of myself through the steam being my face from the nose up, and the blue tips of my tails. After soaking for a good long while, I decided it was best I got out before I got toofortable and fell asleep in the perfect warmth. After getting out of the water and drying off, I got dressed and sat on the bed I chose earlier. The others followed shortly after. Once all of us were out, all the men of Margaret¡¯s group went in only, after several minutes, for us to hear yelps as some of them discovered the ce I was soaking in.


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Can you please notugh at broiling some of my men.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see that small smirk you had, you found it funny too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Anyway, seeing as we have the time, want to spar tomorrow?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Sure. I could use the exercise. It¡¯s been too long since I had a decent fight.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sparring, eh? Mind if we join in too?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°The more the merrier. I¡¯d love to see what all of you can do.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a n. For now, though, a bed calls my name, and I am going to answer.¡± (Keeno)


    The others nodded and all chose beds. Thankfully, Pram and Freya chose separate ones. Ones next to each other, but still separate, so we wouldn¡¯t have a repeat of <em>that </em>again. Though I know they have more than enough self-control to not do something like that while we are in this big of a group. Anyway, the second my head hit the pillow, drowsiness hit me, and I quickly fell asleep.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Payto.


    Yes?


    Order: *Blushes*


    Ah. I¡¯ll join you in a minute. I need to check on something.


    Order: What do you need to check?


    I¡¯ve been searching and I finally found Nykuro¡¯s Fated One. Just one hup.


    Order: And that is?


    They are another God of Chaos names Swil.


    Order: Aren¡¯t the two of you friends though?


    Yes, but that¡¯s not the problem. I genuinely don¡¯t know what happens when a family member of one God of Chaos marries another God of Chaos. Does something happen and their Seas of Chaos mix? Does nothing happen? Am I just overthinking everything?


    Order: Most likely thest one.


    I¡¯m inclined to agree.


    Order: Then how about this; we take a bath together and have some ¡°fun,¡± then we contact Swil and have Nykuro meet them and see what happens from there.


    Sounds reasonable to me. We¡¯ll do that.


    Order: Then lets go.

 Chapter 161- Sparring

    Chapter 161- Sparring


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up early the next morning I looked around. Most everyone was still asleep though I did notice Pram¡¯s tail reaching over into Freya¡¯s nket.


    ¡®Cute.¡¯


    {I agree. Best thing is it was an unconscious movement on Pram¡¯s part.}


    ¡®Extra adorable.¡¯


    Thinking about what was nned for the day, I got myself dressed in my most easy to move in outfit as quietly as possible. I went to the bathroom to tend to my tails and pass the time waiting for the others to wake up. Once I was satisfied, I went back into the room to find a few others awake including Margaret. She was busy getting a few pieces of her armor on in preparation for our match.


    ¡°I was wondering where you went.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Had to get these in order. Doesn¡¯t feel right if I don¡¯t, like I¡¯d be scolded by someone scary if I didn¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s concerning. I didn¡¯t think Lady Fiametta or Goddess Amaterasu would scold you for that kind of thing.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Ama tends to her tails like I do with the same reasoning.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­What is there that can actually scare a god?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°A lot of things, actually. They are just people like us after all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Margaret)


    She finished putting on her armor and stood up, stretching.


    ¡°The rules for our spar in a bit, Soul Weapons, or sparring weapons?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Soul Weapons. No point if there isn¡¯t a bit of danger. It¡¯s the best way to learn.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I¡¯ve never heard that before.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Eh? Is it not normal to train like that? Fia and Ama said it was.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Um. I think we have different versions ofmon sense in this regard. Soul Weapon sparring is only ever done by masters of their preferred style.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hehehe. In any case, it¡¯ll be interesting. I¡¯m looking forward to our match even more now.¡± (Margaret)


    I smirked, my own excitement for our sparring match getting ignited even further. So much so that my horns appeared and my tails began to wave a bit faster than their usual methodical swaying.


    ¡°Keeeennnnnooooo. Too hooooooot.¡± (Pram)


    I toned down my enthusiasm a bit before Pram fully woke up.


    ¡°Pffft.¡± (Margaret)


    {Hahahahahaha! It¡¯s been so long since she had a reaction like that.}


    It was then that I got an idea. Manipting the heat around Pram, I coaxed her to wrap her tail around Freya even more before coaxing it to pull back toward Pram. The result; Freya is pulled out of her bed and halfway into Pram¡¯s before she wakes up all adorably confused.


    ¡°Hehehehehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    In her still drowsy state, Freya looked around before noticing she was very close to Pram. With a blush visible even in the dim lighting of the room she crawled the rest of the way into the bed and began to hug Pram whose tail was still tightly wrapped around the wolf girl¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Even though I¡¯ve seen it several times now, I¡¯m still surprised at Freya¡¯s actual personality. It¡¯s so different from how she usually presents herself that it¡¯s always a shock.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°It¡¯s one of, among many other things, I really like about her. I¡¯m just happy she¡¯s loosened up around us as much as she has since her Vanir days. Though I wish I knew how I could help her get over her feelings of¡­uselessness? I don¡¯t know how to word it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She feels like she is just extra weight since the two of you use the same kind of magic and she doesn¡¯t have all that many opportunities to shine?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Exactly.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Some of the newer knights in our order also get feelings like that. It usually solves itself after they get a few achievements, or they find out they find their niche.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Ama and I agreed to leave Pram¡¯s protection solely to her from now on.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± (Margaret)


    We watched as the two lovebirds wiggled around in the small bed trying to getfortable before we decided we should get something to eat before our match. We walked to a different part of the Guild where several tens of people were milling about. Some were eating at tables, some were drinking alcohol, even this early in the morning, or maybe they just never stopped from the night before, I¡¯m not too sure. After getting something reasonable for breakfast and chatting for a bit, we decided it was time.


    I walked up to a free Guild homunculus and asked if there was a training room somewhere either in the Guild or somewhere else in the city. In her monotone voice, she told us to follow her. We did so and after descending several floors of the Guild, we arrived in one of thergest Guild rooms I¡¯d seen yet. She said that this was the main training hall and that there were smaller, private rooms one floor down. We thanked her and she lightly bowed before leaving us to our own devices.


    ¡°Should we do it here or in a private room?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t want to drag others into our sparring if we get too into it, so I¡¯d say a private training room.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then that¡¯s where we¡¯ll go.¡± (Keeno)


    We went back to the stairs and walked down to the floor below us. Talking to the homunculus stationed there, we were led to a training room with a heavy metal door. The homunculus ced her hand on it and the door seemed to melt like a liquid. She beckoned us to go inside before following us in.


    ¡°Please rest assured, this unit is receable, do not worry about destroying or using this unit in any way you desire during your training.¡±


    This stopped me in my tracks and left me with aplicated feeling.


    ¡°Are you sure you want to stay in here?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°This unit has no wants. This unit is required to stay in the training room until the participants are satisfied. Also, these rooms arepletely soundproof, so if this unit remained outside, the participants would never be able to leave.¡±


    I had no reaction to thatst part, so I just nodded.


    {I never really paid attention to this, but now that I¡¯ve heard this, it makes me upset.}


    ¡®Same. It seems we¡¯ll need to do something about this at some point.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {I¡¯ll go visit Hresvelgr again. She needs to be in on this as well. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.}


    Ama¡¯sforting presence vanished from my mind, and I focused back on the present. I looked over to Margaret and saw she had a dissatisfied expression on her face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like this either?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do not. Say what you will about my way of thinking, but my first though when she said what she did was how some of the more¡­unscrupulous adventurers would most likely use the homunculi as free prostitutes or worse.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I would assume that they wouldn¡¯t have functions like that¡­I feel disgusting for wording it that way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They may not, I¡¯m not sure, but, as much as I dislike saying this, let¡¯s get back to what we intended today. This is something we cannot fix yet.¡± (Margaret)


    I nodded and walked further into the surprisingly spacious room. I turned and faced Margaret after I crossed the midpoint of the room. I summoned my swords while Margaret summoned her own Soul Weapon. In her hand a swordspear like the one she usually wears at her hip slowly formed. Unlike the one she usually wears however this one was much more ornate, seemingly having an almost angelic, holy aura about it. The de itself was gold with a crossguard that was shaped like the wings of an angel from my old world¡¯s imagery, or maybe more like those of a pegasus. The handle was also gold, yet a slightly duller one that, when it caught the lights, sometimes looked silver. She swung it around a few times before the handle extended to the size of a spear and she began to twirl it around.


    ¡°Very impressive.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Thank you. Your swords are also impressive, if not a bit intimidating.¡± (Margaret)


    I smirked and began to twirl one of my swords around by the chain. Blue sparks flew around with every movement and when the de scraped the ground a glowing gash was left.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready when you are, Margaret.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Then let us begin.¡± (Margaret)


    Without another word, Margaret charged at me. She was very fast, though not as fast as Freya, and, once she was a few steps away from me, she stomped the ground and thrusted her weapon at me. I crossed my swords, blocking it, and was pushed back. Not letting me catch my breath from that, she lunged forward again, but this time I was ready. Throwing one of my swords to the side, it stuck into the ground, and I pulled myself out of Margaret¡¯s trajectory. Once I reached the side of my sword, I pulled it out by the chain and began spinning it around faster and faster until it looked like a ring of blue mes. Using an underhand throw, I flung it towards Margaret, who parried it with her weapon. Before she lunged at me again, however, she jumped to her left and spears of blue me pierced the ground and exploded where she was standing a second ago.


    It looked like she wanted to say something, but I didn¡¯t give her the chance because I shot myself forward using my des and chains like a slingshot and boosted by mes I produced at my feet. Once she was in range again, I stopped and used my heel as a pivot for the momentum to swing both of my des horizontally at Margaret. They came at her like a wall of blue fire and just barely missed her, though I managed to singe a few strands of loose hair. Keeping up with that momentum, I took another step and pivoted again and repeated this one more time before, on the fourth pivot, I shifted the momentum and turned the horizontal swings to an overhead one, smashing the ground. When my des hit the ground, they produced a small sea of mes that Margaret had to jump backwards several times to avoid.


    I was about to jump forward again when Margaret coated herself in wind magic and began leaping upward and forward. It was almost like she was flying as she stepped on small wind footholds, the mes and heat-haze making the movements simr to a dance as she rapidly approached me. This time, instead of using her weapon as a spear, she used it as a sword and, upon getting close enough, shed with me. She brought her sword down vertically as I blocked it by crossing mine in an ¡®X¡¯ shape. Before I could break the stalemate with some magic, I was kicked in the stomach and pushed back before having to block another attack. It was thrilling, having such an even match. So thrilling, in fact, that I barely noticed my horns and wings manifested.


    ¡°Hehehehehe!¡± (Keeno)


    I knew another kick wasing, so I preemptively broke the stalemate by loosening my guard on one side, letting Margaret¡¯s de slip off of mine. I wrapped around her side and swung one of my swords like an actual one, attempting to cut her side, but she extended the handle of her sword back into a spear shaft and blocked it. She then attempted to sweep my feet off the ground but I backflipped out of the way. When Inded, I let my swords swing out to the fullest length my chains would allow and spun them diagonally. Margaret blocked the first two hits before jumping back out of my range.


    Pulling my swords back, I coated myself in sr magic andunched myself forward. This time, I was the one to initiate the sh of des while Margaret was the one who needed to block. She was about to try and get away from me when I pped my wings, small embers flying everywhere with some even getting into her face, causing her to falter. Seeing this as an opportunity, I let up on my weight and was about to stab at Margaret¡¯s neck and heart when the world seemed to shift and I found myself shaken. Margaret had swept my feet from under me and had the tip of her sword pointed at my neck.


    ¡°It seems I win this round, Okami.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­Pffft. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!¡± (Keeno)


    She moved the tip of her sword away from my neck and offered me her hand. I took it and she hoisted me up. I brushed the dust off of myself and looked her in the eye.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go again. I won¡¯t lose this time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± (Margaret)


    We stepped back and faced each other again. Hours passed as we continuously fought one another, Margareting out on top for most of our matches, though I did manage to get one over on her every so often. At one point, she even used a fire magic spell to try and dazzle me with the radiance of her spear, but it failed to work since I couldn¡¯t be dazzled. Once we were finished with ourtest match, which I once again lost, we heard ppinging from the entrance. A second homunculus had appeared with Mostima, Pram, and Freya as well as a few of Margaret¡¯s knights in tow. The knights were the ones pping as they had stars in their eyes. My friends, excluding Mostima, were shocked by the fact I actually lost a fight. Pram even rushed up to me and began poking me to see if I was injured or feeling sick.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you¡¯re alright?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. I mean, I may have a few bruises, but that¡¯s about the gist of it. Oh, and I think I chipped a tooth.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram¡¯s hands shed and I felt all the sore spots and the aching in my mouth vanish as if they were never there.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Are you really ok, though? I¡¯ve never seen you lose a fight, so I was starting to think you were invincible.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Coming from someone as realistic as you, Freya, that¡¯s apliment.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Let me guess, this was the first fight you¡¯ve had difficulty with since you finished training with Fia?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Yeah. I think I was getting a bit toocent with all the easy victories I¡¯ve had. Though I¡¯m starting to see improvements again, so I think if I keep going, I¡¯ll be back in top form.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. If you want, I can train with you in our free time sometimes. It¡¯s always best to keep in top shape when you are out on the roads roaming around, since you never know if you¡¯ll run into someone with adequate skill. The number of times I¡¯ve had that happen to me is surprisingly a lot more than you¡¯d think, especially considering I¡¯m quite strong myself.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I like that idea.¡± (Keeno)


    Margaret then came over to us.


    ¡°Pram, may I request some healing as well. Okami here doesn¡¯t understand what it means to hold back and I¡¯m struggling to keep myself standing.¡± (Margaret)


    Looking over at her she had a lot of first and second degree burns and at least one third degree. Several bruises here and there on the exposed parts of her arms, a swollen eye, she was holding her side like she had a broken rib, and she was limping.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re even able to speak, let alone stand and walk around. And I¡¯m even more surprised you beat Okami so many times given your conditionpared to hers.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heh. Actually¡­most of this is from thisst match. She keeps getting better every time we fight, and I¡¯m starting to be unable to keep up.¡± (Margaret)


    Pram started to heal Margaret as we conversed.


    ¡°Well, at least she hasn¡¯t started to imbue Death Magic into her attacks.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hey! I haven¡¯t unwittingly done that in a long time. Last time I did it unconsciously was when I was fighting Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah, and Fia, and that one time we had to stop that horde from reaching a city.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That time with Fia was intentional though. I only do it when I know my opponent can handle it, or if I¡¯m actually trying to kill them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sure. I totally believe you.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Someone seems a bit nippy today.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep wellst night.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°How about this morning?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It was better.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Keeno)


    Looking over at Freya, she was keeping a stoic face, but her blush was unable to be hidden. Pram then finished up healing Margaret and she looked at us again.


    ¡°Okami, may I request a spar with Freya next?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind if Freya doesn¡¯t mine, but are you sure you don¡¯t want to take a small break?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Pram¡¯s healing is quite potent; I feel like I could keep going for hours now.¡± (Margeret)


    ¡°Oh?¡± (Keeno)


    I turned to look at Pram who had mysteriously vanished. I turned to look at Freya, noticing the white tail with ck spots she now had, and asked if she would like to spar with Margaret. She agreed, and after refreshing herself with some water, the two went to the center of the room.


    [Freya POV]


    Stepping up to the center of the room, I summoned my swords. Their sliver edges gleaming in the light of the room. I closed my eyes for a moment to clear my mind and ready myself for the fight. When I opened them again, I lowered my center of gravity and waited for the signal to start. Margaret did the same and we just stared at one another, waiting for someone to make the first move.


    I discreetly covered myself with sr magic and observed. It was like time had slowed down and I saw that Margaret shifted her weight, about to move in for the first attack. I preempted her and moved faster. By the time she noticed my movement, I was already bringing my swords down at her. When they were about to hit her, I felt something hit my stomach and I flew backwards. Looking at Margaret, I saw she was surrounded by wind.


    ¡°That was a good attack, though I¡¯ve alreadye up with countermeasures thanks to Okami.¡± (Margaret)


    I narrowed my eyes at her statement and crouched down again. If she already knows these movements, then I just need to go faster, be sharper. I increased the mana consumption of my magic and shot towards her again. Again, her wind blocked me and pushed me away before I could get a strike in, but I made it closer this time. She noticed this as well and increased the force of her wind. This meant I had toe up with a better n.


    Margaret, however, thought otherwise and wouldn¡¯t let me. She lunged at me, her wind boosting her movement and nearly got me. When she thrusted her spear toward me, I jumped up,nding on the shaft and kicked. If it was a regr weapon, it would have shattered the shaft, but since it was Margaret¡¯s Soul Weapon, it just sent a reverberation up my leg, making me lose bnce and fall off the t of the de. This, however, did give me an idea, but that idea could only work if I don¡¯t get finished off here.


    Kicking up some dust, I covered my retreat, and, in the ce, I was a second ago Margaret¡¯s de now sits. I lunge toward her and jump onto the de of her weapon just as she frees it from the ground. Using both the momentum from my movement and the upward force of her weapon. Inded on the roof and kicked off it, throwing one of my swords to the ground. Ind on the handle and use it tounch myself at Margaret again, holding my second sword with both hands. Once I reach near her, I twist, using the momentum to back up my sword. The des of our weapons sh, sparks flying everywhere.


    The sh continued for about a minute when Margaret tried to kick me in the stomach, but I slipped to the side, our des sliding against one another with a distorted metallic sound. The two of us were breathing heavily as we stared at one another. Margaret caught her breath first and stood up straight. Her weapon¡¯s shaft shrinking into the handle of a sword which she pointed at me.


    I recovered a secondter and did the same with my own sword. I made my second sword reappear in my other hand. It was then that I felt some kind of piece inside me seemed to feel out of ce. My vision seemed to swim for a second before I felt a pair of arms wrapped around me.


    ¡°Freya, are you alright?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­Yeah¡­I just feel like¡­I¡¯m on the cusp of something¡­regarding my Soul Weapons¡­but its¡­making things in my head weird.¡± (Freya)


    Keeno knelt next to me with a serious expression on her face. Staring into her eyes, I felt a chill go over my body as she was clearly examining my soul.


    ¡°Pram, Mostima, get Freya to a bed. Margaret, sparring any more today is postponed.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s¡­happening?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°It¡¯s something good, actually. Your soul is clearing out thest bits of corruption it still had. I don¡¯t know why it¡¯s happening now, of all times, but if I had to bet, it¡¯s because you were using your Soul Weapon against another one of a purer nature. I¡¯ll have to consult with Amater about it. But this is not the time we need to get you to your bed. Pram, you are going to be on Freya-watch for the time being.¡± (Keeno)


    I was then lifted up and carried up several flights of stairs until we finally reached the room we were staying in. I was gently ced on my bed. The second my head hit the pillow; my vision began to fade.


    Chaos Realm:


    Order: Have you contacted that Swil person?


    Yeah. She¡¯ll be here in a few days.


    Order: Alright.


    Luna: I¡¯m gone for a few days and something interesting happens. I would like details please.


    Tamamo: I would as well.


    Order: Payto found Nykuro¡¯s Fated One, but she is another God of Chaos, so we are making preparations for their meeting.


    Luna: Nykuro is moving on up in the world again, I see.


    Tamamo: Speaking of Divine Fated Ones, how are Astraea and Evelyn?


    Hmph.


    Order: As much as Payto hates to admit it, they are finally old enough to go on dates without our supervision. I believe they are currently jaunting around Keeno¡¯s world¡¯s Divine Domain.


    Amaterasu just ran into them on her way to talk with her Goddess of Creation and now she¡¯s wondering on just what she should do.


    Luna: That¡¯s funny.


    Tamamo: It really is. How are Keeno and Amaterasu, by the way? Luna has been telling me about them since I¡¯ve been busy, but I still find watching them to be better than just words.


    Order: I¡¯ll rey everything that happened since you werest here. That should help.


    Tamamo: Thank you.

 Chapter 162- Another Myth Experienced

    Chapter 162- Another Myth Experienced


    [Keeno POV]


    It¡¯s been a few days since Freya copsed during her match with Margaret. Her soul is still in the process of cleansing itself, but it¡¯s almost done and she should be able to move freely again. Pram has stayed by her side the entire time, watching her like a hawk and taking care of any small thing Freya needs. I consulted with Ama about why this was happening and she agreed with my diagnosis of the cause of this. Once I was sure I wasn¡¯t needed to constantly monitor her, Mostima, Margaret and I went back to sparring and getting me back into top shape.


    Huginn and Muninn were getting constant reports on our perusers location. They picked up their pace and were now a week out from our location. The lockdown was rxed as well, and we decided to go and wait a few days out from the city to meet our opponents. A few more dayster and we could see a small group on the horizon. A dull glint let us know they were wearing armor, even if it seemed worse for wear. When they saw our group standing in their way, their pace increased.


    When they got close enough to see us clearly the man in the lead grew furious. His shoulder length red hair almost seemed to start floating and electricity seemed to crackle in his scruffy beard.


    ¡°YOU DAMN FOX! WE¡¯VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!!¡±


    I suppressed a smirk. You don¡¯t find people who are waiting for you. He then attempted to jump off his horse, but the poor animal copsed before he could fully leave the saddle and nearly crushed him beneath the weight of it.


    ¡°YOU BITCH!¡±


    ¡°¡­I didn¡¯t even do anything yet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°SHUT YOUR BLASPHEMOUS LITTLE MOUTH!¡±


    ¡°No you-¡° (Keeno)


    Before I could finish my words, the idiot in armor finally got up, summoned what was clearly his Soul Weapon, and threw it at me. I tilted my head and it missed me, but I didn¡¯t fail to notice several interesting things in those short seconds.


    ¡°Thor.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, even a sphemous, murderous whore like you knows who I am.¡± (Thor)


    I ducked down as the hammer sailed over where my head was a second time. It was then that hisckeys arrived behind him, most of their horses looking ready to copse like their leader¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking their leader on, keep the rabble off me.¡± (Keeno)


    I summoned my own swords and took a step forward.


    ¡°Ya know, I had thought of a lot of things to say when you finally caught up with us, but learning your name has changed all of that. Hehehe. Though I HAVE thought of a fitting end for you, just like I had one for Baldr.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°So, it WAS you who killed His Majesty and brought on this dreadful cold. All the more reason to kill you and offer your head and heart to the Goddess of Life.¡± (Thor)


    ¡°Hehehehehahahahahahahahaha! Amaterasu already has my heart, soul, and body, and I hers. You¡¯d just be giving me something I want!¡± (Keeno)


    I expected this to make Thor stop in shock, but instead he just got angrier. His hammer became coated in lightning, and he charged at me.


    {Hmm?}


    ¡®Something wrong?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {No¡­just weird. It¡¯s like he and his idiot friends are cursed, but not by any kind of curse I know of.}


    ¡®Is it something I need to worry about spreading to me?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Not in the slightest. Now, kill them all!}


    I smirked and dodged the lightning coated hammer as it sailed past me once more. The sound of thunder rang out from behind me where the hammer hit. I rolled to the side when the hammer flew back towards Thor who jumped into the air, caught the hammer, and brought it down where I was standing a second before.


    ¡°STOP MOVING YOU BLASPHEMOUS MONGREL!!!¡± (Thor)


    I continued to dodge his strikes, though the electricity from the hammer kept messing with my hair and tails, making me pretty annoyed. Fighting through the annoyance, I continued to dodge until I could see him slowing down and his swings getting sloppy. When he stumbled on a small ice patch, I took the chance to change the fight¡¯s momentum. I stepped too far into his range to be effective and stabbed. My sword pierced his armor¡¯s shoulder like it was made of paper, which caused me to be confused. It should not have been this thin. This momentary distraction was enough for Thor to ignore the pain and bring his hammer hard into my ribs. I felt the electricity flow through my body as the force knocked me away along with all the breath in my body. I know at least two were broken. I expected to taste blood as well, but the coppery liquid wasn¡¯t present. The pain, however, was.


    ¡®No more getting distracted by stuff like that. Lesson learned.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Ignoring the pain and the tingling feeling of static in my tails I dodged the hammer again. He was very persistent.


    ¡°Oh! My Goddess, grant me the power of thunder and lightning so I may smite the sphemer before me!¡± (Thor)


    He held his hammer in one hand and presented it to the sky. Though, much to my enjoyment and his shock, nothing happened. No brilliant disy of light and sound, no mystic feeling of awe and power, just a man standing in the middle of a field doing a stupid pose.


    {There we go. Just be careful of the hammer. It can still do some minor lightning magic, but nothing more powerful than that.}


    ¡°Nn.¡± (Keeno)


    Before Thor could process this turn of events I shot forward. Once close I imbued my swords with Death and swung at him. His reflexes weremendable as he just barely managed to block my strike with his hammer, though said hammer had now obtained arge crack in it. Thor stumbled backwards, his free hand holding onto his chest.


    ¡°M-monster. To think you¡¯d even stoop to such disgusting magic. You are the same as that disgusting pet thete king had. A walking affront to our Goddess¡¯s love. A being that loves to spread death and revels in the suffering of all living things. It¡¯s no wonder you left a trail of atrocities in your wake.¡± (Thor)


    I couldn¡¯t help but frown. Pulling a dragon scale out of my ring, I walked up to the still recovering Thor and ced it on his chest. A Rune for binding began to glow, and bands of golden light surrounded Thor, immobilizing him.


    ¡°You truly are an idiotic mongrel if you can¡¯t tell a funeral pyre from arson.¡± (Keeno)


    I took several steps back from the idiot in armor.


    ¡°You think I enjoyed doing that? You think I enjoy seeing all those innocent people dead from the cold and starvation!?¡­*sigh*. This is why I hate fanatics like you and your ilk. You preach the sanctity of life yet disparage its other half.¡± (Keeno)


    I held back a wince from the shout. I even felt one of my ribs poke into something it shouldn¡¯t have, yet I still tasted no blood.


    ¡°You cannot have Life without Death. And now, it¡¯s time for you to learn that personally.¡± (Keeno)


    I tapped my foot and conjured a ginormous serpent made of blue mes. Its eyes held pupils made of Runes and its fangs were pure ck. It stared down at Thor, and I thought I could see an almost primal gleam in its eyes that I didn¡¯t ce into the spell. On Thor¡¯s end, the giant snake seems to terrify him so much that he was struggling to break free from my restraints. He even tried using his hammer, though that only made the crack widen, forcing him to his knees. The me serpent watched this, a gleeful glint in its eyes. It moved closer to Thor before turning to me. It slightly opened its mouth and spoke in anguage I couldn¡¯t understand, but still got the meaning of. Turning back to Thor, it opened its mouth wide, even going as far as unhinging its jaw, and swallowed him whole once he waspletely gone, the snake looked back at me, nodded, then vanished.


    ¡°¡­I-¡±


    Before I could get any other words out, a pain so intense I couldn¡¯t even scream coursed throughout my chest and I fell to my knees, my vision fading in and out.


    ¡°A¡­ma¡­¡±


    Just as my vision faded into pure darkness, I thought I heard Ama say something as I was enveloped in a very pleasant and familiar warmth.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­I may not be very well versed in Norse myth, but isn¡¯t this getting kind of too coincidental?


    Says the woman whopleted most of the Twelve Labors and tamed Cerberus.


    Luna: ¡­That aside, Jormungandr actually exists in that world and invited Keeno to have a chat. That¡¯s gonna be fun to watch.


    I agree there. Though, between you and me, the one she¡¯s going to meet is still on the smaller side.


    Luna: ¡­


    Your old world¡¯s version was big enough that it had to teach itself space magic because it no longer had space to wrap around the.


    Luna: How-


    Magic, Luna. Just because your old world¡¯s modern era didn¡¯t have any doesn¡¯t mean other points didn¡¯t. The ones still surviving from those times still have the ability. And besides, have you never wondered why people could never make it into the mantle of the even with all the technological advancements of the times?


    Luna: ¡­So many things make sense now.


    Hehehehehe.

 Chapter 163- Anti-Distraction Training

    Chapter 163- Anti-Distraction Training


    [Keeno POV]


    In the darkness of unconsciousness all I felt was pain and a soothing heat. The pain was slowly fading while the heat was being focused in one spot to the point that it started to sting a little. It was only when both the pain and heatpletely dissipated did I start to swim out of the darkness. When I was able to open my eyes, I could barely see as everything was blurry, though the nice, soft sensation under my head and the faint scent of citrus in the air clued me in on where I was.


    ¡°Well, this is a pleasant surprise.¡±


    {It really is, though, before anything else, I¡¯d like to ask you to avoid getting injured like that again. You wouldn¡¯t have died, but you would have fallen asleep for a long time if I wasn¡¯t able to intervene. Not even Pram would have been able to help.}


    ¡°It was that bad?¡±


    {Yes. One of your ribs was a centimeter away from poking a hole in your second lung after piercing through two sides of the first one. And that lightning on that hammer made your heart beat irregrly. If you were a normal mortal, you would have died on the spot.}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    I could say nothing. My mind wouldn¡¯t even allow me to process how close I was to dying.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised a mortal was able to put me in such a state with only one hit.¡±


    {I think it was a bad matchup. You were only back to form for a few days and have only really fought people that weren¡¯t out to actually kill you. Falheim doesn¡¯t count since even if they were out for your life, they were all weaker than any other normal mortal. And you were also taken off guard by the armor being too weak.}


    ¡°It was weird¡­and I¡¯m too easily distracted.¡±


    {I do have an idea on how to help with that, but we can get to that in a bit. Lay still and let me check you over one more time.}


    I nodded and let Ama¡¯s hands roam over my body. She paid special attention to where my heart was, my left lung, and my ribs. Once she was satisfied with my condition, she let out a sigh of relief.


    {It¡¯s bad for my heart seeing you in a condition like that, even if its not life threatening for you. I¡¯m just d I you were brought here to me.}


    ¡°I was wondering why I was here.¡±


    {I¡¯m not allowed to go into too much detail, but let¡¯s just say a friend is being generous and allowing us to see each other for the next two days. I¡¯ve already asked Pram to let the others know and to not worry, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that either.}


    ¡°Sorry, what was that? I stopped listening at two whole days of getting my Ama vitamins.¡±


    {Your what now?}


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. So, what is this idea of getting me to get better at not being distracted in a fight?¡±


    Ama didn¡¯t answer and just gave me a sultry smile before motioning for me to get up. Iplied and turned to look at her.


    {We are going to take advantage of our time together this time and spar for a while.}


    ¡°Bu-¡±


    {I¡¯m not done. We will be sparring with a special rule. No magic, only Soul Weapons, after every hit, the one that was hit must remove a piece of clothing. We don¡¯t stop even if we both end up naked, only when I deem you good enough will we stop and enjoy ourselves.}


    ¡°¡­I think you¡¯re a genius, Ama.¡±


    {I have my moments.}


    ¡°You¡¯re always a genius, but that aside, let¡¯s get sweaty and naked, Ama.¡±


    {Someone¡¯s excited.}


    ¡°Any time I can see your body is a reason to be excited¡­and I kind of want to rub it in that you are mine to that mongrel, even if he is dead.¡±


    {I love this petty side to you, Keeno. It makes meugh.}


    Ama stood up and held her hand out to me. I took it and she pulled me up. I expected a little bit of soreness in my chest but felt none.


    ¡°Your version of healing magic is amazing as always, Ama.¡±


    {Well, when I¡¯m the one that made all of it and am the source of the Concept it would make sense.}


    ¡°True. Though now I wonder why Death Magic was usable before I was born.¡±


    {Try not to think about it, it¡¯ll only give you a headache. Think about what I¡¯ll look like in a bit.}


    ¡°Ehehehe.¡±


    Ama waved her hand and the mountain peak we were standing on was cleared of all obstacles. A cool breeze blew through the gap between us, and we summoned our weapons. Ama¡¯s naginata was as beautiful as always and as mesmerizing a sight as Ama herself.


    {Oh, no Runes either.}


    ¡°Tch.¡±


    {Don¡¯t tch me, Keeno. I¡¯m your wife, so I know you better than anyone else.}


    ¡°Hmph. Just because I love you doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m happy you did that.¡±


    {Thene, blow off some steam.}


    Ama smirked, making me hmph again andunch myself toward her, one of my swords swinging at her as far as the chain will allow. She leaned back to dodge and did so, though I managed to cut a single hair, causing us both to stop.


    {¡­}


    ¡°Does that count?¡±


    {I say it does. I mean, the whole point of us doing this is to help you get less distracted in a fight.}


    Ama¡¯s naginata vanished from her hands and she removed one of the cloth belts that held her clothes closed. They immediately loosened up at the chest, drawing my eyes. Taking advantage of that, Ama swung her naginata, which I didn¡¯t even notice she resummoned, and hit my arm with the shaft.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {I never said we stopped. Now strip.}


    I did as instructed and took off one of the belts I was wearing. I smirked at Ama, who slightly frowned.


    ¡°What? Wanted me to take off something else?¡±


    {Yes. That belt held nothing up or together.}


    ¡°Heh. Then if you want more, you have to get me.¡±


    {Oh, I n on it.}


    Instead of taking a cheap shot likest time, we both walked to a good distance from one another and readied ourselves again. I silently thanked my past self for deciding to wear my Vanir style clothes today. If we were going to y this game, it was the best choice for teasing Ama thoroughly.


    We shot toward each other again. I blocked the swing from her naginata with one of my swords while trying to stab toward her with the other, but she managed to move the shaft of her weapon to block my other sword while still keeping the other one blocked. She then moved her arms in a way that her loosened clothes moved, shing a small bit of skin, drawing my eyes away from the fact that she moved her leg and kicked me, knocking me off bnce and then smacking my face with one of her tails when I stumbled backwards.


    {That¡¯s two hits.}


    I removed a second belt and the topmost jacket of my suit.


    {Much better.}


    I didn¡¯t reply and ran toward Ama while swinging both of my swords on the chains. She blocked the attack, but I kept on the offensive. When she blocked the attack of one sword, I had the second in motion to follow up. I didn¡¯t let up and kept going. When one sword was swung horizontally, the second went vertical, then on a third swing one went diagonally. Eventually Ama hit one of the chains on a swing and my sword wrapped around the shaft of her naginata. I whipped the chain wrapped around it causing a wave to move from my hand to the sword, a light trail of blue mes following along until the fire exploded at the end of the chain causing Ama to stumble and allowed me to close the distance where I managed to get a good hit to her stomach and two hits to the arm with two of my tails.


    ¡°That¡¯s four hits, Ama.¡±


    {Sigh.}


    Her naginata vanished again and she took off two more belts, the topmostyer of her kimono, and her sandals. I could now see her curves much better than before, though thinking about it now, that was a bad thing for me.


    ¡°¡­This is just a different kind of forey, isn¡¯t it.¡±


    {You only now figured that out? I mean, sure, it WILL help with your distraction problem, but we both know how this is going to end up eventually, so I might as well kill two birds with one stone and help you practice while we both work up to getting hot and bothered.}


    ¡°Again Ama, you are a genius.¡±


    After she summoned her Soul Weapon again we shot forward. The next few shes were intense as we both got in multiple hits on one another, resulting in more and more lost clothes. At this point, all I had on were my panties and the wrappings I was wearing around my chest. Ama on the other hand only had her panties left, allowing me a wonderful view.


    {Why not a bra today?}


    ¡°Cause they grew a little bit again and the ones I got in the Divine Domain need to be adjusted.¡±


    {Pfft. Silly Keeno, just circte some Divinity through them and they¡¯ll adjust themselves.}


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Using this moment to her advantage, Ama moved forward and waved her naginata next to me. The wrappings around my chest caught fire and burned away in an instant.


    ¡°¡­Does that count as a hit and a strip, or do I still have to strip?¡±


    {What do you want to do?}


    I smirked at Ama and I slowly took my panties off. Her eyes were immediately drawn down and I took this chance to poke her with one of my swords. She removed her own panties just as slowly as I did and we stepped back from one another.


    {Next hit is the one in the receiving end.}


    ¡°Game on!¡±


    This was the most intense fight we had today. It was a struggle to not watch Ama¡¯s chest and other parts as she moved, though I noticed she was having a simrly hard time. We continued to tease back and forth, just barely avoiding being hit for several hours until finally one of us triumphed. I got in close and Ama swung her naginata. I sidestepped the swing and jumped over the next one,nding on the de. Sliding a foot forward I poked Ama on the forehead with a tail.


    ¡°Hehehe. I win.¡±


    {Cheeky little vixen!}


    Ama¡¯s Soul Weapon vanished causing me to stumble at myck of a foothold. When Inded I fell backwards because a bed appeared underneath me and Ama crawled up and straddled my stomach.


    {You aren¡¯t getting a wink of sleep for the rest of our time here now.}


    ¡°Heh. I expected nothing different.¡±


    Chaos Realm:


    *After Keeno and Amaterasu¡¯s ¡°fun¡± was over*


    Keeno: Oh? It¡¯s been a long time since I was here.


    Luna: Hello Keeno.


    Keeno: Is it just you today, big sis Luna?


    Luna: Order is taking a nap with Astraea and Nykuro while they wait for Nykuro¡¯s Fated One to get time toe over. Payto is outside handling a situation.


    Keeno: What kind of situation?


    *The front door sts open and a woman with skin as ck as ash, smelt of fire and brimstone, was dressed in nothing but what was essentially a bikini, with crimson eyes with mes trailing from the cornersnds on the floor*


    Idiotic mongrels, sending hellhounds out into the Sea of Chaos in an attempt to seduce me. I have a wife. Wake up, hellhound.


    Hellhound: ¡­??!!! Strong one! I will make you mine!


    No. Go back to wince you came and tell your master I¡¯m not interested, and I never will be.


    *A portal opens underneath the hellhound, and she falls through*


    Hellhound: I¡¯LL BE BACK STRONG ONE! MARK MY WORDS!!!


    Keeno: ¡­


    Luna: Keeno?


    *Sigh* Sorry about that. It happens every few hundred thousand years. I¡¯ll have to get Alex involved to see if she can get those gates closed for longer.


    Luna: Aren¡¯t you all powerful though? Why not do it yourself?


    Outside help can cover for things I don¡¯t think about or for fine tuning I struggle with.


    Keeno: Why do I feel some kind of affinity for that hellhound person?


    They deal in Death.


    Keeno: ¡­


    !!!


    Luna: What was that feeling?


    Keeno just gave actual form to the Death Spirits in her world¡­Though strangely enough the ones around Red will always remain the same.


    Luna: Is that going to effect their personalities?


    No?


    Luna: How do you no-!!!


    Those undeserving of Fluff?


    Luna: Yep. Aiko¡¯s universe. The blessing will take care of it.


    Hmm.


    Keeno: *Snapping out of her stupor* So, is there a reason I am here today?


    Luna: I wanted to help you take care of your tails. Tamamo is busy again and she won¡¯t let me help her. Says I would just make the problem more problematic.


    Probably has something to do with one of Atmos¡¯s pranks.


    Luna: Most likely.


    Keeno: Well, thank you, though I wish Ama could be here too.


    Luna: I¡¯m going to do the same for her, but if we had both of you here together, you¡¯d just flirt the entire time and I wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.


    Keeno: Oh¡­makes sense.

 Chapter 164- Arrival in Lokir

    Chapter 164- Arrival in Lokir


    [Keeno POV]


    I slowly woke up with a pleasant soreness all over my body. Not much registered as I was still on cloud nine from the vigorous ¡®exercise¡¯ Ama and I were doing, though in the very back of my mind I felt like there was some other kind of event that happened, but I couldn¡¯t quite clear away the fog around it. I continued staring nkly up until a ck and silver blur crashed into my side, knocking me off the bed and into the floor.


    ¡°Keeno! Are you alright!? Where were you!? What happened!?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Pram. Don¡¯t know why, but I was somehow able to meet with Ama after the fight. She healed me up good.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram slumped back and heaved a big sigh. I noticed Freya looking over, the same relief in Pram¡¯s face on hers as well.


    ¡°I told you she was fine. You should have more faith in her.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Says the one that wasn¡¯t able to sleep and constantly asking Fia for any updates.¡± (Pram)


    Mostima looked away, a light blush in her face. I turned my attention over to Freya, not wanting to tease Mostima for worrying about me.


    ¡°How are you doing, Freya?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine. Though she can¡¯t see souls, Pram has said I¡¯m free to move around now.¡± (Freya)


    I focused harder on Freya and sure enough her soul was a calm grey instead of being in the verge of ck.


    ¡°Your soul is fine, so you are allowed to return to normal.¡± (Keeno)


    She nodded. Pram got up from pinning me to the ground and I got up from the ground and sat in the bed.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Margaret and the others?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Preparing for the next leg of the journey.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Alright. Should we-¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°KEENO!¡± (Emma)


    ¡°Hello to you too, mum.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Ehe¡­No, be happyter, Emma. Keeno, something¡¯s wrong with the Death Spirits!¡± (Emma)


    My ears and tails floofed up in shock.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°They all just suddenly transformed into some kind of humanoid creatures. All female, skin color ranging from pitch ck to ash grey, eyes like yours, but their irises are red or orange instead of blue. And there are mesing from the corners of their eyes. ws like wolves and they¡¯ve be slightly more aggressive, at least towards other spirits only, but still more aggressive.¡± (Emma)


    I tilted my head in confusion when a word floated out of some foggy part of my mind.


    ¡°Hellhounds? The Death Spirits are hellhounds now?¡± (Keeno)


    The others around me all tilted their heads in confusion.


    ¡°¡­That¡¯s¡­a weirdly fitting name.¡± (Emma)


    A bit more information I know I didn¡¯t know, even in myst life came unprompted and I ryed it to Emma.


    ¡°And let the others know too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll let you know if anything else weird happens.¡± (Emma)


    I thanked her and refocused on everyone else.


    ¡°Well, that happened. Wonder why though?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I feel like I do, but it¡¯s so foggy that I can¡¯t answer anything definitively.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Should we be concerned about that?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I¡¯d say no, but we can ask Ama when she wakes up.¡± (Keeno)


    It was then that Margaret and a few of her knights entered the room.


    ¡°Oh, wee back, Keeno. You had us all worried.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Sorry about that, but it was unexpected on my end too. How did it go in your end?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We were ready for a difficult fight, but they were so exhausted and their armor was too weak to really pose a challenge. You clearly won, and very shily at that, but how did it go?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Rtively fine. The armor thing caught me off guard and that led to a few of my ribs being broken and nearly two pierced lungs, but nothing major.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That is VERY major Keeno!¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ama healed me up and we trained a bit so I wouldn¡¯t get distracted as easily in the event of something simr happening.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It takes years for that kind of thing to develop.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°It was very intense training.¡± (Keeno)


    They still had worried faces, but I managed to convince them enough to drop the subject. I asked how much longer we were going to stay here and Margaret said it would be best to leave either tomorrow or the next day, though she preferred tomorrow because the noble carriage was starting to attract attention from the city guard. I nodded and got up.


    ¡°Anything we need to do to help get ready?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No, we¡¯ve gotten everything handled. We were just waiting on you and Freya to recover.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m fine, and Freya is fully recovered now, so we can leave tomorrow.¡± (Keeno)


    Margaret nodded and looked at one of the knights following her. She saluted and left to inform the others. Once everyone was informed, we spent the rest of the day packing up anything we happened to pick up while in this city and doing a few small easy quests to get just a bit more money. We all went to bed early that night and woke up early the next day.


    Leaving the Guild was simple, we just had to let one of the free homunculi know we would be leaving, and the Guild would take care of the room. We collected our wagons and the carriage and started to make our way to the gate leading to Lokir. The closer we got to that part of the city; I noticed a slight increase in temperature. Approaching a gate built into the side of a mountain, I had a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    We went through another half inspection from some more guards before being allowed to pass. Crossing under the gate we entered a tunnel that was surprisingly shorter than I thought it would be considering it was built into the side of a mountain, that was due to what felt a weird feeling like we crossed through a wall of still water. It must have been some kind of space magic. Anyway, stepping through the gate on the other side, I couldn¡¯t help but smile. A lovely heat hit my skin as the light of the suns beamed down, unobstructed by clouds.


    ¡°Now I see why you told the others not to dress in warm clothes. It feels lovely here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Feels like one of the hotter days, in my opinion. Especially after being in the new Odeen for so long.¡± (Margaret)


    Looking around I saw several people wearing rtively skimpy clothes, though the heat made it fashionable instead of ridiculous. Our caravan moved forward again after Margaret reported the same story we¡¯d been using to a few more guards and we began making our way out of the city. Once we were out of the walls, my eyes widened at the view.


    An endless expanse of grey and ck ash spread out in front of us. In some ces out in the distance I could see faint trails of smoke and there was a noticeableck of the feeling of life. I crouched down and dug my fingers into the ash. The fineness of it was pleasant to the touch and it was gloriously warm, though I did notice a feeling of familiarity in the heat.


    ¡°Definitely Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. I get the feeling like she¡¯s always around when I¡¯m here. The ever-burning fires, the ash that retains some of the heat, it¡¯s soforting.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Kind of upsetting I have to stop these mes somehow.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Do you know where you are supposed to meet the dragon that lives here?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°No, my guess is we¡¯ll meet when he deems it time to.¡± (Keeno)


    We started following the path marked by metal-like wooden poles.


    ¡°Fair warning, try to keep between these markers or at least in sight of them. While I don¡¯t think any of you would have any trouble, I don¡¯t want you getting lost in the desert. When everything looks the same out there, it¡¯s extremely easy to get lost.¡± (Margaret)


    My group nodded. We proceeded with caution for several hours when I felt a strange nudge. Looking down, I saw several small things milling around us while floating toward the noble carriage. Margaret made a sign to stop, and we did as we watched the small creatures. They were like tiny dogs made of me with discernable front paws, but the back half of their bodies were pure me. Their heads were almosticallyrger than their bodies and they flickered like they were a candleme about to be blown out by the wind. What confused me the most was that these were spirits, but not rted to mes or sr power in any way. They were tiny Death Spirits.


    Chaos Realm:


    Nykuro, wake up.


    Nykuro: Nuuuu. Papatato¡¯s tails are toofy!


    ¡­


    Order: Pffft. I like that nickname. Papatato.


    ¡­¡­


    *A light blue portal opens up and a being that gives off the same feeling as Payto, yet slightly different appears*


    Swil: H-hello.


    Hello Swil. It¡¯s nice to see you again.


    Swil: S-same here. I was surprised by your sudden invitation; sorry I didn¡¯t respond earlier.


    It¡¯s fine. I know how busy you are and how sudden things like that make you nervous. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for basically barging in, info dumping on you, and leaving.


    Swil: It¡¯s fine¡­but please give me a thousand years notice before hand next time.


    I¡¯ll try to remember.


    Nykuro: ¡­


    *Nykuro peeks around Payto and meets Swil¡¯s eyes*


    Nykuro: ¡­<3


    Swil: Adorable¡­adorable¡­<span style="text-decoration:line-through">MiN3?...adorable¡­Fated One.


    *Payto looks over to Order who nods. Payto moves Nykuro in front of him with a few of his infinite number of tails and the two disappear, leaving the two newly introduced Fated Ones to get to know each other*

 Chapter 165- A Rare Sight

    Chapter 165- A Rare Sight


    [Keeno POV]


    {Oh? What happened to the Death Spirits? Why do they look like little fire spirits now?}


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Ama. Oh, and good morning.¡± (Keeno)


    {Good morning. You really know how to please a woman if you knocked me out for a few days.}


    ¡°Thanks for thepliment. Anyway, there is some foggy part of my mind that knows why they changed, but I can¡¯t recall itpletely.¡± (Keeno)


    {I see. It¡¯s best not to worry about it then. Back to this though, it¡¯s interesting seeing such young spirits. Especially ones in the verge of growing up.}


    ¡°Growing up?¡± (Pram)


    {Spirits have four stages. The first is the young stage, then adolescent, then mature, and finally king. You will only rarely ever see a spirit king, so most will be in the mature stage. It¡¯s very rare to see young spirits outside of their respective spirit realm, though if there was any ce you¡¯d find them in the mortal world, this would be one of them, I guess.}


    ¡°Keeno, do you know what that strange feeling and those faintly blinking lights are?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Death Spirits. They are being attracted by the corpse we have in there.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­I see. Can you ask those feathered friends of yours to see if there are any other people going I either direction from us?¡± (Margaret)


    Poking their heads out of my tails, Huginn and Muninn looked from me to Margaret then back to me.


    ¡°Please you two.¡± (Keeno)


    The pped their wings and took off into the air. They circled around us for several minutes beforeing back down.


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Crrrr.¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°We¡¯re clear. No one else on the road for now.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Margaret)


    She turned to four of the knights and made a hand gesture. They nodded and dismounted their horses and walked over to the carriage. They unhooked the horses that were pulling it after turning it in a direction off the road. Just before they pushed the carriage into the swirling ashes a feeling I haven¡¯t felt since the time I got information from the Well of Knowledge washed over me.


    ¡°Hang on just a second.¡± (Keeno)


    I walked up to the carriage and undid the Rune seals keeping it shut. I cracked the door open a slight bit and nearly vomited from the smell. It seemed that it was warm enough in there for the body to dpose even though we were traveling through a giant icebox for the longest time. Not to mention the smell of other things that were there while the noble was still slowly starving to death. Even so, the smell wasn¡¯t able to deter the young Death Spirits who swarmed into the small crack in the door.


    They flooded in so fast the carriage began rocking. Doing my best to ignore the smell, I peeked inside the door to see a strange sight. The spirits were tearing into the body like vultures to carrion, but instead of tearing the rotted flesh, they tore at a spectral body. Looking at it closer, it was the noble¡¯s soul and what was getting torn apart was the muddy corruption.


    {Interesting. Seems this change affected the spirits more than just in appearance. Though they kind of match your personality a bit more, if not made them a bit more aggressive.}


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± (Keeno)


    {Your aggressive disdain for corrupted souls. Even through that princess mask of yours you get slightly more violent when ites to them.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    Watching the spirits consume the corruption of the noble¡¯s soul I noticed a few changes. The light from most of the spirits began to dim while two others began to grow brighter. Wanting to see if it would help in whatever was happening, I channeled a small bit of Divinity inside the carriage.


    {¡­While I wouldn¡¯t rmend doing that, you¡¯ve already done it, so let¡¯s see what happens.}


    ¡°I had a weird gut feeling, so I followed it.¡± (Keeno)


    The two brighter spirits glow shifted. For a second they snuffed at the Divinity beforetching onto it with their teeth. All across their flickering bodies Runes shed, engraving patterns that tugged at my mind. A connection simr to the one I shared with Huginn and Muninn was forming and I needed to cement it for things to end well.


    ¡°I name you two Geri and Freki.¡± (Keeno)


    The Runes shed again, bing one with the two spirits. The wobbled a bit in the air before turning back to the body and tearing into the soul again, this time even more ravenously than thest time. Seeing this, the other spirits moved over to them and clumped up into two masses. As Geri and Freki consumed the soul¡¯s corruption, power began flowing from the masses of dimmer spirits into them.


    {Interesting. I always heard of things like this happening, but I¡¯ve never witnessed it firsthand.}


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± (Keeno)


    {Like I said earlier, there are four stages to a spirit. Though still young, those two you named are in the process of bing adolescents. However, in their case, they are showing the metaphorical ¡°seed¡± of bing spirit kings. But the funny thing here is, your Divinity changed something in them, and now they are what I¡¯m going to call Runic Death Spirits. They keep their nature as Death Spirits, but with your Runes mixed in, they will be the first Rune Spirits.}


    ¡°Interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    As I watched the spirits grow, one of them, the one I decided is Freki, began to shine in a different color. The mes that made up its body became blue and, for some odd reason, the temperature inside the carriage began to drop.


    ¡°Names hold power¡­I need to remember to watch what I name things in the future.¡± (Keeno)


    Soon the masses of spiritspletely faded away, leaving only Geri and Freki inside the carriage. They had also finished their ¡®meal¡¯ and floated out of the carriage.


    ¡°Keeno¡­what are those things?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°You can see them now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yeah. Are those spirits?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yeah. They are bing adolescent spirits now.¡± (Keeno)


    {Pay attention, this isn¡¯t something most mortals or gods, for that matter, get to see often if ever.}


    We all watched with rapt attention as the spirits morphed. The seemed to lose all shape as they turned into floating spheres about the size of pumpkins that would win a blue ribbon at a harvest festival. Runes covered the entirety of the spheres in jumbled messes that made no sense as theyyered on top of one another continuously. This slowed to a stop after several minutes when the Runes vanishedpletely. With the Runes gone, the spheres became floating masses of grey the same color as the ash around us with a red-orange glow in the heart of one and an icy blue in the other.


    {Strange. They are showing signs of having physical bodies.}


    ¡°Hmm. No, it¡¯s different, Ama. They are giving me the same vibe as mum.¡± (Keeno)


    {Hmmmmm. Considering Fafnir is half spirit, she may be able to make her body incorporeal as well as physical¡­we should ask her about itter.}


    I simply nodded as I watched the glow inside the spheres pulse like heartbeats. It was a mesmerizing sight.


    {This is going to take a while. If you can move them and be in your way before your luck runs out and other people show up.}


    I nodded again and ryed Ama¡¯s words to the others. The knights who were moving the carriage stood behind it and mumbled some chants. After they finished, a mix of earth and wind magic pushed the carriage off the marked road and into the sea of ash. It rolled for a bit before it hit a loose patch of deep ash and began sinking rather quickly.


    Turning my attention back to the spirits that were growing, I moved next to them and touched them to see if I was able to move them. When I touched the surprisingly smooth spheres, they shed in a golden light and vanished. I looked around to see if they teleported or something but couldn¡¯t find them.


    ¡°Keeno, those Runic tattoos on your arms look different.¡± (Mostima)


    Looking at my arms, the Runes had indeed shifted. On my left arm they had taken the shape of a wolf¡¯s head with mes surrounding it while the other took a simr wolf shape but made of Runes with meanings of ice and cold.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Did you move them?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Something like that. Let¡¯s get going.¡± (Keeno)


    The knights that pushed the carriage had remounted their horses and we started on our way again. I looked down at the two shapes on my arms and smiled, happy to have morepanions, the fact that they would be a pair of hellhounds once they finished this stage of their growth slipping my mindpletely.


    Chaos Realm:


    Nykuro: ¡­<3 <3


    Swil: Ehehe. You¡¯re a cutie.


    Nykuro: *blushes* Am not?


    Swil: Why a question?


    Nykuro: ¡­Because I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing. I want to eptpliments, but it makes me so embarrassed to do that, that I want to hide in a hole. But I don¡¯t ever feel that way when the otherspliment me¡­Is this what having a Fated One feels like?


    Swil: I don¡¯t know about others, but I feel this inexplicable urge to take care of and spoil you.


    Nykuro: Hahaha! Then the great and Evil Nykuro shall let you.


    *Nykuro moves over and sits in Swil¡¯sp then cing Swil¡¯s hands on her head*


    Swil: *furiously blushing* *begins patting the head of the Nyoodle*


    Nykuro: Ehehehe. Happy.

 Chapter 166- Creatures of the Ash Desert

    Chapter 166- Creatures of the Ash Desert


    [Keeno POV]


    The next few days were interesting. As we walked, I kept feeling the presence of mes, but there was none to see in any direction, the only indication of any being the smoke constantly billowing on the horizon. I figured that meant it was either somewhere far underground, or some of the ash itself was still burning. I did try to reach out with my Authority, but the feeling was too vague to see if I was actually effective.


    On a different note, there had been no real change with Geri and Freki. They remained in their egg-like state with practically no change, though the pulsing light inside them seemed to get stronger when I fed them a tiny bit of Divinity. It seemed nurturing them to maturity would take a lot longer than I thought.


    As for the rest of the group, Margaret and her knights were right at home andpletely unhindered by the environment. It took some getting used to, but eventually I got the hang of walking on the ash though anything more than a light sprint would need some work. Mostima also seems at home here, making me remember that this was her home country. Pram and Freya, on the other hand, were having a hard time adjusting, Pram more so than Freya. She was pretty much forced to sit in one of the shaded wagons in her lightest clothes and even then she was only holding on thanks to her Life Magic and water provided by one of the knights.


    I¡¯d chosen one of my more flowy wardrobes for this part of our journey because the suns felt really nice here whenbined with the heat the ground produced. I¡¯d alsoe to learn that this desert of ash was much more alive than I¡¯d thought. There were weird cactus things that were super fast when they noticed something moving near them. Seeing them tickled some kind of vague memory of my past life, but nothing concrete enough to give context.


    Another form of life in this desert of ash were the foxes that reminded me of fennec foxes, but their ears were even bigger and cuter than the ones I knew of. Simr to other foxes we¡¯ve seen they treated me with reverie, which was adorable due to their ears twitching. It was the only time in thest few days Pram was able to show her face for an extended period of time.


    Yesterday, I saw a small group that seemed to be adventurers doing their best to capture some of those cactus things only to end up failing spectacrly and getting absolutely pummeled by needles. Despite their size, the little things packed a punch and sent several of the ones attacking them flying while burying the other half headfirst in the ash. By the time the adventurers recovered, all the cactus things had run far away. It made me curious, and I asked Margaret about them. She said that they were a pest and had no real value, though a few entrics seemed to love the cactus juice inside them. Margaret said that we could try some the next time any were close as they were extremely weak to physical ranged attacks, but practically immune to magic, excluding Wind and Death magic.


    Today we had encountered yet another interesting creature of the desert and it was currently being a pain in the ass. It was a scorpion the size of arge wagon with five stinger-ended tails and three pairs of chitinous wings. Two main pincers and eight segmented legs. It could spit poison out of each of its tails and each had its own effect, the most annoying being the one that melted most things it touched. Its exoskeleton was resistant to many of our attacked and it was especially resistant to fire and sr magic.


    ¡°Keeno! The best way to kill these things is to cut off the tip of the acid tail and melts its armor!¡± (Margaret)


    Just after shouting that, Margaret rolled out of the way as a jet of purple goop was shot at her. The scorpion raised one of its pincers and tried to cut Margaret off, but the pincer was mmed into the ground by Mostima¡¯s gravity magic. She twirled her second stave around as the other one was upied in holding down the scorpion and a spike tossed everything by the pinned pincer into the air.


    ¡°They¡¯ve gotten even harder than I remember. But they tear easily still.¡± (Mostima)


    The scorpion regained itself while in the air and its wings began to p at incredible speed, making a sound like millions of flies grouped up. Mostima tried pointing her gravity stave at it again, but it zipped around avoiding her while spraying poisons and acid from all its tails at once.


    ¡°Freya, Mostima!¡± (Keeno)


    I ran up the spike of earth Mostima created earlier, slicing the top off while Freya followed a second after. Once she reached me, I made a final foothold for her, who was wreathed in mes, andunched her skyward. Her weight was reduced further than Mostima and she shot toward the scorpion like a meteor of blue and orange. The monster didn¡¯t even have time to react before Freya¡¯s swords cut the acid spewing tail¡¯s bulb like a pair of shears, causing the acid to fall all over the thing¡¯s back and wings. It crashed to the ground in a giant plume of ash and caused it to shake like an earthquake was happening. Freya, on the other hand,nded gracefully on the thing¡¯s head, stabbing one of her swords into its head, and tossing her hair over her shoulder like it was just a casual gesture.


    The thing went into death throes, its tails swinging wildly but ultimately not managing much but spraying poison in every direction. Looking down in disdain at this, Freya grabbed the hilt of the sword sticking out of its head and the sword began to burn. The scorpion let out an ear grating shriek as it finally fell limp, smoke trailing out of its eye parts, joints, and any wounds we¡¯d managed to inflict it with.


    ¡°Good work. Those things are always a pain to deal with, having someone with gravity magic works wonders. And Freya, good job with finishing it off like that. Any longer and it would have hit the wagons with its acid.¡± (Margret)


    The two nodded in eptance of thepliment before heading over to Pram¡¯s wagon to get healed of the small acid burns they¡¯d gotten.


    ¡°Anything worthwhile we can harvest from this thing?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s kind of small, in all honestly. Must have only molted three or four times. As for an answer to your question, their ws are a delicacy. The one Mostima ripped off we can preserve forter, but we should eat the one Freya, cooked before it attracts more.¡± (Margaret)


    Sure enough when I turned back to the scorpion, three of the knights were busy ripping the still attached pincer from the body. They managed it several minutester and a bit of steam wafted up from the stump. The smell hit me a secondter.


    ¡°¡­Smells like seafood.¡± (Keeno)


    {Do you like seafood?}


    ¡°Love it.¡± (Keeno)


    {Noted.}


    Margaret walked up to the smoking w and cut out a small chunk of meat from the stump before walking back and handing it to me.


    ¡°Try it.¡± (Margaret)


    I tossed the small piece of meat into my mouth and chewed slowly. It was a bit rubbery at first, but after a few seconds the texture changed and a vor that reminded me a lot of crab flooded my mouth.


    ¡°Thish ish rearry good.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Like I said, delicacy. And the bigger they are, the more delicious. I¡¯ve had the chance to try some meat from one about the size of a mid sized house and it ruined any other meat for almost a month.¡± (Margaret)


    I nodded my head at her statement, but I couldn¡¯t help the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I¡¯d rated something even better than this before.


    {Eh? Oi! Bad fox!}


    ¡°Fufufufufu. He¡¯s busy and it¡¯s just stealing a few scorpions. No one will miss them.¡± (???)


    {Rules are rules!}


    ¡°Rules are meant to be broken! Now, I¡¯ll see you twoter for the feast. $&/;$= will be so pleased.¡± (???)


    ¡°Ama, who was that?¡± (Keeno)


    {*Sigh*Don¡¯t worry about it. They are a friend, but it¡¯s best you don¡¯t try to meet her here until you unseal yourselfpletely.}


    ¡°Oki.¡± (Keeno)


    I turned my attention back to everyone down here and saw Margaret was back at the cooked w. She and a few other knights were busy doing their best to peel away the meat exoskeleton to get at the meat. I decided I should help out and joined them. It took several hours to do, but we finally finished and moved on. That night we all had a feast of meat. Even Pram was able to survive in the ever hot outside to partake in the bountiful meat party.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: FUFUFUFUFFUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!


    Atmos: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!


    Tamamo: Luna, don¡¯t do that again.


    Luna: Ok. Now, let¡¯s add some of this, a dash of that, a pinch of this¡­oh, and a bit of this¡­¡­¡­fufufufufu. And it¡¯s done. BEHOLD!!!! A dish of two worlds!


    Atmos: DIBS ON FIRST BITE!! *noms*


    Luna: *looks on with anticipation*


    Tamamo: *exasperated, but also looks on in anticipation*


    Atmos: ¡­The scorpion meat by itself is endeed quite delicious. Not as good as wyvern, mind you, but a hearty second ce. The wyvern meat here, on the other hand, is as delicious as always. As for trying them at the same time, the vors fight one another in an interesting sh of savory and tender, but the sauce you zed them with, once it soaked into them, made the vors mix into a perfect harmony that enhanced both meats to a further pinnacle of vor that can bring even the most picky of food critics and gourmands to their knees with tears in their eyes.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: Since Atmos approves, I¡¯ll try it next.


    Luna: *nervously sweats*


    Tamamo: Perfection.


    Luna: Hmm. Let me see then. *Walks up and kissed Tamamo, tasting the meal she just made on her lips as their tongues sh in a wet kiss*


    Atmos: I should have seen thising. *Steals te and vanishes to share the new meal with Grey*

 Chapter 167- Flame Eternal No Longer

    Chapter 167- me Eternal No Longer


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>About a week after our fight with that delicious scorpion not much else had happened. We ran into a small herd(?) of those cactus things and managed to catch two. Drinking the cactus juice was an¡­experience I¡¯d rather not ever go through again. It didn¡¯t taste like anything really, but it messed with my head worse than any alcohol and I almost ended up burning more than half of our supplies¡­On another note, Geri and Freki have ceased being Irbs of ck with a small glow in the middle and have be a glowing orange and blue orb. Ama said that meant they were almost through their adolescent phase, but it would still take a bit for them to ¡®hatch.¡¯


    <span>


    <span>Today we were passing one of the smoking pits in the ash. It was close enough to the road that we could safely walk to it so I can check it out and see if there was anything I can do about it or the mes or if it would be a more persistent issue than I can handle in one fell swoop. We neared the edge of the massive smoking crater and I felt the familiar heat of Fia¡¯s mes, though they were more concentrated than I¡¯d ever felt personally. Looking at them through the smoke the red orange of the mes with a slight tint of gold flickered and moved in the way only mes could, mesmerizing me further.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm. I rate them 8/10.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Pfft. Fia¡¯d be so mad at you for that.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well, these are unrefinedpared to the current quality of her mes.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>I produced a small blue me in my palm.


    <span>


    <span>¡°See,pared to this, it¡¯s like it was made by an amateur. A very good amateur, but an amateur nheless.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Sorry, the look the same to me.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>I just shrugged my shoulders and looked down into the pit again.


    <span>


    <span>¡°No time like the present.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>I took a step forward, summoned one of my swords, and stuck it into the surprisingly sturdy wall of the pit and began sliding toward the fire. I saw Margaret, who was standing next to Mostima, reach out but she was stopped. Sliding down, the heat continued to grow more intense andfortable. When my feet hit the bottom, I sank to my knees in loose ash, but only that far. Wading into the mes was nice. The searing heat felt nice on my exposed skin and made it feel like all impurities were being cleansed.


    <span>


    <span>I waded as far in as I could before the ash started to cover my belly. I then released a small me from my hand. The two mingled together for a moment before my me began to grow, recing the red-orange of Fia¡¯s. The me spread like, well, a wildfire in a drought ridden forest until the entire crater was awash with cerulean light and a heat so hot it could melt and evaporate metal. I don¡¯t know if it was another aspect of my Sr Authority, but when my mes took over Fia¡¯s, it was like I could feel the area the mes touched, though it onlysted for half an instant. Once I waspletely sure my mespletely consumed Fia¡¯s, I waved my hand, and the mes rapidly cooled until thepletely went out, leaving an empty pit.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Mostima, Huginn, Muninn, some assistance please.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>My two feathered friends flew out of my tails and I saw Mostima raise her gravity stave and a strange, almost wet feeling assailed me as Huginn and Muninn grabbed the end of my chains and began lifting me up. Once I was back on the ground next to Margaret and Mostima, the eternal feeling vanished.


    <span>


    <span>¡°That felt weird.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well, just ept that as punishment for scaring me like that. It¡¯s not good for any of us to watch you fall into a pit of ever burning mes.¡±(Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°You were scared? For the one person here who hasn¡¯t so much as turned a bit red from the sunlight, or ever said anything about being hot, or loves taking baths in boiling water?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehe. Just stating what Margaret¡¯s too flustered to say. Ain¡¯t that right?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­Yes. It would have been nice to know you are immune to burning.¡± (Margret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I could have sworn I mentioned that at some point.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°You didn¡¯t. That aside though, that was amazing. And it already feels cooler here than most ces.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well yeah, that¡¯s how it works when a fire goes out. In my semi-professional opinion, a sizable chunk of this area should start to cool down over the next few months. I don¡¯t know how livable it¡¯ll be, but I think once all the eternal mes are taken care of, people should be able to expand out of the one city you have here. Depending on how you go about it, you and the Radiant Knights could lead that charge.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>It was then that I felt a small itch in my Dragon Core and I turned my head north. Scanning the horizon I saw nothing but a few more columns of smoke denoting other burning pits that were too far away to take care of right now. Filing it in the back of my mind forter, the three of us moved back to the others and started off again. The itch in my Core now faint, but ever present.


    <span>


    <span>¡®Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{It¡¯s nothing bad. By my estimation he will get to you in about four days, maybe two if he doesn¡¯t sleep, which I doubt he will so be prepared to meet another dragon.}


    <span>


    <span>¡®Mum¡¯s friend?¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{Not Shu. I think his name was Volundr.}


    <span>


    <span>¡®Ok. I¡¯ll let the others know.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Doing just that I let the others know we were going to meet a dragon in the next few days. Many of the knights were uneasy about this, but Margaret was able to calm them down enough to reason with them. My group was less surprised and more interested in how this dragon would act seeing as the ones we¡¯ve met so far all had different personalities. We found out two dayster.


    <span>


    <span>The suns were setting, just about to dip below the horizon when I noticed what looked to be a small cloud. The distance made it seem like nothing important, but the feeling in my Dragon Core said otherwise. Not even ten minutester, the dust cloud was growingrger andrger rapidly. We could feel a rumbling under our feet.


    <span>


    <span>Once the close was practically on top of us, a giant serpentine form erupted from the ash. This dragon had the form of an eastern dragon with a mix of ash grey and bronze colored scales that reflected the dimming light beautifully. He gave off a different kind of regal feeling than mum. If she gave of he feeling of absolute authority and dominance, he gave off the feeling of a calm and wise advisor. Like someone who you could trust with secrets and let all fa?ades down.


    <span>


    <span>He settled in front of our group, his calm eyes reflecting us observantly. After slow blink, his body began to shine and several secondster an older looking man with an impressive beard that flowed like a river down to the middle of his chest and wearing grey-bronze robes that flowed like smoke stood in front of us. When he spoke, his voice resounded like a bass drum.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hello, young ones. I am Volundr, Dragon of Ash and Metal and the one who calls thisnd home. I apologize for the abruptness of my appearance, but I would very much like to speak to my half-kin.¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>I stepped forward from the group and lifted my chin slightly, my ming horns appearing and, though for only a few seconds, manifesting my wings, while showing off my four tails.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Greetings, Volundr. I am Keeno Fafnir Okami, Goddess apparent of Death, the Blue Sun, and Runes. Fated One of Amaterasu, Goddess of Life, the Orange Sun, and Magic. Daughter of Dragon Queen Fafnir. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well met, Princess. Her Majesty has informed those of us as of yet unacquainted with you about your name, and as such I shall not impose. And greetings to you lot. I see many of you are knights of the city. Judging from your armor and the weapons at your hips, my teachings are still being practiced, though to a lesser quality from what I prefer.¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>When his eyes passed over Mostima and Freya, his gaze lingered, especially at Mostima.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hoh? If it isn¡¯t-¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Please keep that to yourself.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Volundr stopped and nodded after a second of contemtion.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Apologies. My age has made me prone to rambling.¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>ncing over at Mostima, I thought about anything she¡¯d like to hide. She¡¯s told us pretty much everything about herself, the only exception being how she Fell.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Where are my manners. Please, allow me to make a better spot for discussion.¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>Turning around, he lifted his hands and quietly chanted something. A rumbling feeling under our feet urred and next to the path a makeshift cave rose from the ash.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Please, I will have some tea prepared shortly.¡± (Volundr)


    <span>


    <span>He moved into the cave, his robes making it seem like he was a specter floating. I followed shortly after, the others filling me a momentter.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: ¡­


    <span>Tamamo: ¡­


    <span>Atmos: ¡­


    <span>What?


    <span>Atmos: You¡¯re different now.


    <span>Tamamo: You give off the same vibe as Luna.


    <span>Luna: Abyss?


    <span>And Luna wins the prize. In all of my domain I have transcended godhood and be the Abyss of Chaos and Nihility. Order, Astraea, and Nykuro are still undergoing their transcendence, but they should be finished soon.


    <span>Luna: What exactly does that imply?


    <span>Basically we are mergingpletely with the Concepts we control so that we are one and the same. Just like you are the embodiment of all Fluff that has, is, and ever will be, it¡¯s the same for us, though in our respective Concepts. But that aside, nothing much for any of you I consider family at this point. It just means I can rx the rules for you slightly more without upsetting bnce.


    <span>Atmos: Oh?


    <span>No traveling to Keeno¡¯s world. Luna I allowed that one time, but I really don¡¯t want others to know about my preferential treatment.


    <span>Atmos: Fine.


    <span>Feel free to cake people though.


    <span>Atmos: I¡¯ll take what I can get.


    <span>Tamamo: Wha-


    <span>!!!


    <span>Luna: Oh!


    <span>Atmos: This is going to be interesting.


    <span>Tamamo: What I was saying isn¡¯t important. This development is more interesting.


    <span>Luna: Keeno has two more fluffy friends now. Payto, help me with the blessing.


    <span>Go whenever you are ready.


    <span>

 Chapter 168- Planning for Firefighting

    Chapter 168- nning for Firefighting


    [Keeno POV]


    Inside the makeshift cave was surprisingly cozy. Though I don¡¯tin about the heat, it was pleasant being somewhere cooler than outside for a change. Pram was the happiest about it though. She practically burst out of the wagon she¡¯d secluded herself in andid on the cool stone floor like she¡¯d never felt cold in her life.


    Volundr for his part just smiled at her like a grandparent does to their grandchild. He had set up arge table and small cups of tea, light steam still wafting up from them. Two of the cups seemed to be boiling, making a small smile spread across my face. Sitting down at the table next to one of the boiling cups, I picked it up and sniffed it. It had a wonderful aroma that seemed to calm my nerves. Volundr sat next to the other boiling cup while the others sat at whatever free seat was avable.


    ¡°Please, enjoy yourselves. The journey through the desert is no easy thing, so any respite should be taken full advantage of.¡± (Volundr)


    There were several murmurs of agreement as most of the knights picked up their cup and gingerly sipped at them, blissful expressions crossing their faces. I took a sip of my own boiling tea and was quite surprised. It was a mellow taste. Sweet yet lightly bitter with a hint of citrus followed by a strangely vani taste after a moment.


    ¡°I see you enjoy this tea, Princess. It is part of my most favored in my collection and I¡¯d be d to share a box or two of leaves with you.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°I¡¯ll dly ept. In exchange, I have some wine taken from the Divine Domain. Would you care to add that to your collection?¡± (Keeno)


    At that, the eyes of Volundr as well as several knights opened wide. I couldn¡¯t help but snicker at that considering we¡¯ve all shared wine a few times, but I never mentioned this. Their expressions said that they would like to take it from me so I wouldn¡¯t squander it by giving it to a dragon.


    ¡°I have more than one bottle, guys. Next time we share a cup, I¡¯ll bring it out.¡± (Keeno)


    That caused them to be relieved, though Volundr was still shocked.


    ¡°¡­Ahem. My apologies, Princess. My reaction was very uncouth, though I will dly ept this exchange. It¡¯s been an age and a half since I was graced with an opportunity such as this one.¡± (Volundr)


    One of the several rings on his fingers lightly shone and two small boxes appeared which he then slid over to me. I opened them after stopping them and looked inside. Several small pouches of green-gold leaves were inside. Nodding, I put the boxes away and brought out a wine bottle full of a very deep purple, bordering on ck liquid. The eyes of everyone present were drawn to the bottle that began to move along with the sound of stone grinding against stone. Once it reached Volundr¡¯s side, it vanished into a different one of his rings.


    ¡°With that done, to what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ah yes. Truthfully, I wished to meet you, Princess, at the border of thisnd, but as embarrassing as it is, I napped through it. After I awoke, I searched for your presence and only managed to find it when you put out that fire. I¡¯m assuming Her Majesty has informed you of my request?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°The one to put out all of Fia¡¯s mes that still burn here, correct?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That is indeed the one. I would like to discuss it in more detail if you¡¯ll allow me to impose upon your time.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°I personally don¡¯t mind, especially seeing as mum had many good things to say about you, but that¡¯s me. I don¡¯t know what Margaret and the others think about it.¡± (Keeno)


    The two of us turned to Margaret.


    ¡°Truthfully, I¡¯d prefer if we could do so at ater date. I know that it is something important, even more important than what we have to do, but the second we crossed the border, those in charge in the city knew we arrived. If we don¡¯t get there after an appropriate time, things will get ratherplicated and make things we have to do much more difficult. Of course, this shouldn¡¯t hold any sway over such a decision and the more I say, the less confident I am in my own position in this discussion.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. How many more of these mes are left?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°About 20. They are spread sporadically and influence different sizes ofnd. A few of the bigger ones ovep with other zones and can probably be put out at the same time, though I am only specting at that.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Hmm. Margaret, how far are we from our destination?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°At the pace we are going, I¡¯d say three weeks to a month. If we don¡¯t run into any problems like a storm orrge scorpions, we may be able to make it two weeks, but that¡¯s only possible if we also push the horses to near death, which I¡¯m not going to do.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmmm. This may be rude of me, but what say you allow me ride in your back and we take care of the mes while everyone else keeps going?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t take it as rude, though I doubt you¡¯d like thepany of an old man like me. Not to mention that we¡¯d only be able to take care of at least half of the mes in that time period.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind. You could probably tell me some stories about mum. Anyway, is it possible to make a map to show the areas of the mes?¡± (Keeno)


    Volundr began to quietly chant a spell and the center of the table sunk until it became an extremely detailed areal view map. In the very center was a small ball representing the city we were heading to with circr indents scattered randomly across the map indicating fires.


    ¡°This one here is the one that was taken care of.¡± (Volundr)


    A small indent was filled in, bing flush with the rest of the map. I looked over everything, noting one big pit was practically on top of the city causing me to smile. I pointed to several pits, letting tiny blue sparks fill them.


    ¡°We can take care of these depending on how fast you are, stopping at the one next to the city. There I can meet up with Margaret and the others and I can do what I need to do in the city before moving on to the rest.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Keeno, you have that smile that makes you look evil again.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well¡­I still remember that OTHER problem I have to deal with while in the city. Might as well make use of that fire before putting it out.¡± (Keeno)


    Most of the knights went pale at my words, clearly remembering the nature of the problem I was talking about.


    ¡°Ah. The plight of the kitsune, how unfortunate for the ¡®nobility¡¯ of Lokir.¡± (Volundr)


    My gaze immediately shot towards Volundr. His words struck me as odd.


    ¡°Phobos.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­That dragon has odd choice in literature¡­but how does he have any of Phobos¡¯s works?}


    ¡°Volundr, would you please enlighten me on how you have things written by Phobos.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How do you¡­ah yes, Divinity. Before anything else, no, I am not an Apostle of his, but I do know several Apostles of other Gods. They have traded several of the works written by the God if Time and Fate with me for tea or other crafts I¡¯ve made. I¡¯ve read so many that their phrasing slips from my own lips sometimes. And it seems this particr god has earned your displeasure. I apologize for rousing such negative sentiments.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°He¡¯s neutral for now, though I wish he wouldn¡¯t meddle with things so much. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t heard much from him recently. What about you, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    {I haven¡¯t either. Ever since Hresvelgr started toe out more, he¡¯s secluded himself. Speaking of her, she will being over to visit at some point. I hope the two of you get to meet in person. I¡¯ll even invite Fu and Moco and make it a party.}


    I nodded and turned my attention back to the conversation here in the mortal world.


    ¡°Phobos aside, which mes would we be able to visit and still be able to meet up with everyone by the time they make it to the city?¡± (Keeno)


    Skimming over the map, Volundr murmured a chant and several of the indents inverted. Some of them were in the other direction but were close enough together that they probably be taken care of the same day, depending on how fast we moved. I rested my arms on the table as I steepled my fingers and dove into my thoughts. Before I could state my opinion, I noticed the Runic tattoos on my arms where Geri and Freki were, were starting to glow.


    I stood up from the table and passed a pinch of Divinity into my arms. The two orbs promptly appeared in front of me, the blue and red-orange glow from them starting to be blinding. Everyone else shielded their eyes while I continued to watch. Soon, cracks appeared on the orbs apanied by the sound of ss cracking. It reminded me of eggs, which in turn made me hungry, but that was beside the point.


    Once a very loud crack sounded, the orbs shattered. The light began fading and once it was gone, everyone could see the forms of two woman with skin the color of obsidian, wed hands and feet covered in fluffy ck fur. Hair the same obsidian ck that flowed to their waists. From one of them I could feel heat radiating off of her, while the other one radiated cold. They slowly stirred and sat up. When they opened their eyes, mes began to leak out at the corners of their eyes. One had red-orange mes that matched her eyes, while the other one¡¯s were blue that radiated cold despite being mes. I quickly pulled out two nkets from my ring to cover them since they werepletely exposed and wrapped them around them. They looked up at me and a happy gleam appeared in their eyes.


    ¡°Master¡­strong¡­pretty¡­will follow¡­forever.¡±


    The blue one, Geri, spoke. Her voice was hoarse, but that was expected. The red one, Freki shakily moved. She stood up, revealing she was the same height as me and stumblingly stepped over to me before kneeling down and wrapping one of my tails around her.


    ¡°Master smells good¡­must always protect Master¡­make Master¡­mine?¡± (Freki)


    {OI! SHE¡¯S MINE AND I DON¡¯T SHARE!!!!!}


    ¡°¡­Master¡¯s Fated One¡­Freki will concede¡­sleepy¡­¡± (Freki)


    I patted Freki¡¯s head, and she closed her eyes and smiled. She then shone and returned to the Runic tattoo on my left arm.


    ¡°Sister not smart¡­sleepy¡­¡± (Geri)


    Geri moved over to my right side and vanished into the tattoo on that arm.


    ¡°Well that happened.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m going to have to teach them some manners. Thinking she can have you when you are mine.}


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Ama. I¡¯m going to teach them that I¡¯m not avable for anything they¡¯d want me to do.¡± (Keeno)


    {Doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m going to teach them too.}


    ¡°What was that? I¡¯ve never seen beings such as them.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Runic Death Spirits. First of their kind. All Death Spirits look simr now as well, ording to two of my Valkyries.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­The world is indeed finally starting to change once more.¡± (Volundr)


    I sat back down at my seat, and we continued the meeting. It was finally decided that I would go with Volundr for a while to take care of several fires while everyone else continued on to the city. We nned to meet up again a few days from the gate so I could enter with them and go from there. Once everything was finalized, Volundr created a room for all of us to sleep in for the rest of the night.


    Chaos Realm:


    Alex: Payto! What¡¯s going on with my abilities!? Why is everything so much more difficult to control?


    I got stronger again.


    Alex: Can you stop doing that so fast? I was just getting used to the Nihility change, and now I have to get used to it again.


    Meh.


    Alex: DON¡¯T JUST MEH!


    Luna: Calm down or I¡¯ll fluffify you again.


    Alex: Please no. I already have four tails, and they are a pain to take care of. I don¡¯t need a fifth.


    Luna: ¡­


    Tamamo: ¡­


    ¡­


    Alex: ¡­Yeah, I realized what I said after I said it.


    Luna: Fluffify!


    Alex: Nooooooooooooo!

 Chapter 169- Getting to Know Geri and Freki

    Chapter 169- Getting to Know Geri and Freki


    [Keeno POV]


    Te next day Margaret and the others got up just before the suns rise and started off again. Volundr, either due to his nature as a dragon or because he was an old man was harder to wake up. I tried for an hour, but he didn¡¯t budge an inch, so I gave up for now. I moved to the big room we were inst night and let Geri and Freki out. When they appeared, they were curled up. After a minute the two sat up sleepily. When their gazes met mine, they both smiled like children and jumped at me. Before I had time to react, they took a tail each and began nuzzling them. This disturbed Huginn and Muninn who stuck their heads out of the two tails that weren¡¯t being hugged and pecked at the two new faces.


    ¡°O!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Stop it!¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Cucaw!!!!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Grrrr. Don¡¯t make me eat you.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Caw!¡± (Huginn)


    ¡°Tch. Stupid immortal bird.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Kukukukuku.¡± (Muninn)


    ¡°Sister. Siblings. We don¡¯t eat siblings¡± (Freki)


    Geri sniffed the air close to Huginn and let out a sigh.


    ¡°Lucky bird.¡± (Geri)


    I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    ¡°Master?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°You two are cute.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not cute! Strong and fierce!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Fierce and strong!¡± (Geri)


    I smiled even more and began patting their heads. This caused them to nearly melt into puddles of bliss.


    ¡°Uuuuuuuuuuuu.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Satisfaction.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Hehehe. Oh right, how much do you two know about the world? Is there anything I or Ama need to teach you, or do we have to find other Spirits to teach you things?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We learned our purpose when we manifested in these forms.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Protect Master, do everything Master says, find and capture strong person for ourselves, kill and purify any of the Souls Master deems beneath her. More like that. We don¡¯t need to know anything else.¡± (Geri)


    Both their tails were wagging, clearly wishing me to praise them for their knowledge. I couldn¡¯t resist. They once again became puddles of bliss.


    {You are spoiling them too much already.}


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that because you can¡¯t pat them yet.¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes¡­but you are still spoiling them.}


    ¡°Master¡¯s Fated One¡­jealous.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°All of Master¡¯s attention is ours.¡± (Freki)


    {I¡¯m going to punish you two so much for that.}


    ¡°Beat us and we will allow you to monopolize Master¡¯s attention. Until then she is ours.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°We shall not lust after Master for that is your right, but we shall not give up the position of receiving all the pats.¡± (Freki)


    {We¡¯ll see. You two haven¡¯t met Red yet.}


    ¡°A rival!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°The name¡­rouses instinctual need to give pats¡­rival for Master¡¯s pats.¡± (Freki)


    {Well, well, well, speak her name and she shall appear.}


    ¡°Red sensed someone is trying to steal Red¡¯s pats. Where are they? Red shall cut them!¡± (Red)


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯ve gotten so good at speaking Red. When did that happen?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Eh!? ¡­Red wanted to surprise big sis, but pats are more important. Who is trying to steal Red¡¯s pats!?!!¡± (Red)


    ¡°Geh! Apostle.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Master¡¯s pats are ours!¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Red will find you and Red WILL cut you mysterious rivals. Mark Red¡¯s words!¡± (Red)


    {¡­She could have stayed and let mey her a bit.}


    ¡°¡­She could have waited. I wanted to talk to her some more too.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No words, only pats.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Recharge pat energy and we will wake up thezy dragon.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°We will punish thezy dragon for ignoring Master.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°How did you two even know about that? You were asleep.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Lazy dragon¡¯s scent. And Master doesn¡¯t sleep with anyone other than Master¡¯s Fated One.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Master¡¯s Fated One¡¯s scent is deeply ingrained into Master¡¯s soul. We can tell by that and instinctual knowledge of what Fated Ones are. Only option other than that is thatzy dragon ignored Master¡¯s attempt to wake it up.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°When ites to Master, we will do anything and everything. Kill whoever, however many, however brutally Mastermands. We will take any strong ones though¡­but only if they match our tastes.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Mmm¡­I want to fight pat rival.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°If Master allows it, we will when she gets to meet her Fated One.¡± (Freki)


    They both looked up at me with shining puppy eyes.


    ¡°Only if Red agrees.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sister.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Hahahahaha! We will show the Apostle-¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Valkyrie.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hahahahaha! We will show the Valkyrie we are the only ones deserving of Master¡¯s pats!¡± (Geri)


    Feral smiles grew on both of their faces, and they jumped up and ran into the room Volundr was still sleeping in.


    ¡°Hang on you two!¡± (Keeno)


    They stopped in their tracks and turned to me.


    ¡°If you are going to be out and about, you¡¯re going to need to wear clothes.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Constricting.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Confining.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± (Keeno)


    I was just about to pull out some of my spare clothes when they both somehow snapped their wed hands and ¡®clothes¡¯ resembling a bikini bottom and a top made of literal seashells, but instead of shells they were made of a ck metal connected behind their necks with simrly ck chains.


    ¡°¡­Good enough I guess.¡± (Keeno)


    With that they both nodded and went back to what they were doing.


    {They are going to be a handful.}


    ¡°Agreed.¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m going to step Red¡¯s training up a notch.}


    ¡°You really want her to beat them that much?¡± (Keeno)


    {I¡¯m interested in seeing what happens if she does. With their mannerisms, I want to see if they be more submissive to Red. Guess I¡¯ll be feeding them several souls soon so we can see what they do to people they deem too weak.}


    ¡°Incredibly. Huginn, Muninn, I know you two aren¡¯t very fond of the weather out there, but I want you two to catch up with the others and go with them. Let Pram know of anything that might hinder them while I¡¯m dealing with things.¡± (Keeno)


    They hopped out of my tails and ruffled their feathers. Before they flew off, I noticed a weird glint in their eyes, but they flew off before I could stop them and examine what it was.


    ¡°Ama, note that down for me to investigate when we meet up again.¡± (Keeno)


    {Done.}


    I watched my two feathered friends fly off into the distance before a rumbling, scraping sound came from behind me. I spun around on my heel and was bewildered by what was happening. Geri and Freki were dragging Volundr, who was in his dragon form, by the whiskers through the doorway while he surprisingly remained asleep. Only when they had half his head out in the sunlight did he show any kind of reaction.


    ¡°Wake upzy dragon!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°You are keeping Master waiting!¡± (Freki)


    ¡°The longer you sleep, the more your hair will burn!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Oi! No! No hurting a family friend!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°But Master! He won¡¯t wake up if we don¡¯t do something!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Young ones, please quiet down your yelling. I have awoken. You must forgive this old man for his deep slumber.¡± (Volundr)


    Sitting his neck up, he flexed it letting out cracking sounds like stone smashing against stone.


    ¡°Ahhh. The suns¡¯ warmth does these old scales of mine such good. That aside though, I do apologize for my actions. It seems I¡¯ve overslept quite a bit. Shall we head off now?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Geri, Freki, we will discuss thister. For now, though,e back here.¡± (Keeno)


    Their ears and tails drooped at the light scolding and returned to the tattoos on my arms. I then climbed into Volundr¡¯s back as he slowly began to move. I did apologize for the two¡¯s actions, but he brushed it off as the mischief of the young. And thus started the first day of our fire-fighting excursion.


    Chaos Realm:


    Alex: ¡­I see I¡¯ve missed a lot.


    Well, you¡¯ve been busy with your own family, so it¡¯s understandable.


    Alex: Yeah. But hellhounds, really?


    Don¡¯t look at me like that, that was all Keeno.


    Alex: And where did she see a hellhound?


    When that one annoyingly persistent one kept showing up due to your significant other¡¯s prank.


    Alex: ¡­


    We¡¯ll end that conversation there.


    Alex: Yeah¡­so¡­where is everyone else?


    Still transcending. Should be done by tomorrow.


    Alex: Things are going to get even crazier here, aren¡¯t they?


    You know it. I have ns now that I¡¯m like this.


    Alex: That smirk tells me it¡¯s going to be fun, clue me in when you¡¯re about to do something.


    Gotcha.

 Chapter 170- Not Even a Day and Something Happens

    Chapter 170- Not Even a Day and Something Happens


    [Mostima POV]


    We left early the next day. Not that long after we departed Huginn and Muninn flew up to us andnded on top of the shaded wagon Pram was riding in. I feel so bad for her. It¡¯s like her entire being is rejecting being here with no say to what she personally wants. I¡¯m hoping that once we reach the city things will be better, as well as when Keeno puts out all of Fia¡¯s mes.


    We traveled for most of the day without interruption. We did pass a few people who seemed like merchants and Margaret bought a few supplies off of them. The knights guarding them seemed to look at Margaret and her knights with something that I couldn¡¯t tell if it was scorn, jealousy, or mockery. Margaret and the others ignored it and we moved on. A few more hourster and we had to find a space for the night. The suns were setting, making the ash of the desert shine in interesting ways with the colors of sunset. Huginn had pped over to me as I stared off into the distance watching the suns slowly sink. I moved a hand over to it and scratched its neck.


    ¡°I wish I could understand you the way Keeno and Pram do. But all my focus recently has been on Fia and Runes. I don¡¯t have time to try and learn yournguage just yet.¡±


    Looking next to me my tail was unconsciously drawing runes in the soft ash. With my still shallow understanding, the Runes I was drawing meant fire, feathers, and love.


    ¡°Such interesting things, these Runes. I hope Keeno understands just how insane these things will be once she fully ascends.¡±


    Huginn looked down at the Runes and ruffled its feathers.


    ¡°Does that mean she understands and knows what she¡¯s doing?¡±


    Huginn bobbed its head up and down.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    I scritched its neck again when its head immediately turned southward. I followed its gaze and saw several small shadows on the slowly darkening horizon. Huginn cawed lightly in what I guessed was agitation. Sighing, I stood up and summoned my Soul Weapons.


    ¡°Want to go get the others, or do you want the two of us to deal with it?¡±


    It ruffled its feathers again and spread its wings, letting out a kind of pressure that Keeno and Fia sometimes give off when they get serious. I grinned and made a small tform of stone spike out of the ground. Knocking it t I jumped on it and, using a mix of earth and gravity magic, started rapidly moving toward the shapes.


    ¡°Keeno has novel ideas. This works just as well on ash as it does snow.¡±


    The two of us managed to reach the approaching shapes in hardly any time at all, surprising them. Once we were close enough, we discovered that they were a flock of ravens with feathers tinted a light emerald green. Seeing this, Huginn flew ahead of me and let out a loud caw. Its eyes seemed to shine faintly as all the ravens¡¯ attention was drawn to Huginn.


    Several of them tried tond but let out small, pained shrieks before unsteadily pping higher into the air. The entire flock then began to fly around the two of us while their feathers began to lightly shine. The wind around us began to pick up rapidly and ash was starting to form a cone. As the speed picked up, the cone began to close in on the two of us and it started to get hard to breathe due to the ash. I mmed the end of my gravity stave into the ground and created a bubble around us where the ash was pushed away from us, giving us some breathing room.


    ¡°Any ideas? I don¡¯t want to kill them since you seem to want to do something with them, but I may have no choice.¡±


    ¡°Caw!¡±


    Huginn¡¯s voice had an unnatural echo. The cone of ravens around us faltered, but another strange sound made them reinvigorated. After hearing that strange sound, I was able to focus on it more and eventually find the source of the sound. Using my other stave, I shot a few small rocks in the direction the sound wasing from. This, in turn, caused all the ravens to flock toward the source of the sound. Using my gravity stave, I forces all the raves to the ground as gently as I could, but I know several of them died or broke bones. Regardless of that, the ce where they were trying to flock to stood, or more aptly floated, a strange figure.


    It had ethereal robes that ended in tatters and trailed off behind it like they were being perpetually blown in the wind. Its head was covered in a deep hood, though I could see the soulless eyes inside it. On its head was also a pair of antlers that branched out like trees, though one was broken and much smaller than the other. It was hunched over like a hag and held a long staff that forked at the end and looked like a perch. There were small holes all along the staff that, when wind passed through them, made an eerie sound that, when the creature swung the staff, seemed to force the ravens to attack us.


    ¡°A new pretty to join our flock. Give it to me! Its feathers are beautiful, and its power is too much for a lowly creature like you!¡±


    The monster¡¯s voice was scratchy and sounded like scraping metal against a porcin te. It swung its staff again, mostly in the direction of Huginn. Huginn stared at the staff and flew over to it,pletely ignoring my gravity maniption.


    ¡°Yessss little pretty. Come to me. Be mine forevermore.¡±


    Huginnnded on the top of the staff and, with surprising strength, shattered it into splinters before letting out a noise simr toughter. It then flew up higher and nced over to me. I let up on the gravity and the green wind ravens that could move, got up and started flying around Huginn.


    ¡°Noooooo. My pretties! You foul feathered fiend! Do you know how long it took to im their little minds!?¡±


    ¡°No clue, but you better be d I¡¯m the one who witnessed you trying to do that. SHE would make your death much more painful.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Do not sully my ears with your foul words, fallen one. Wretched beasts like you should all just die!¡±


    ¡°Says the actual monster. But, seeing as you said that about me, prepare for a death more painful than I originally nned to give you.¡± (Mostima)


    mming the butt on my earth staff into the ground, a spike appeared underneath the creature. It tried to move away, but Huginn and the other ravens kept it in ce by diving at it. Once the spike wasrge enough, I made it rise higher until it pierced the monster. I then waved my gravity stave to weigh the monster down while the spike continued to grow taller and more robust. When the monster on the stake was a person¡¯s height above me, I increased the gravity a bit more, fully securing the impaled monster onto it. Its shrieks quieted when the stake passed though it¡¯s now visible mouth.


    ¡°I don¡¯t usually use this method due to how cruel it is, but this asion is an exception. Huginn, feel free to let your new friends y with it until it dies and even after if they want. It canst a few days like this, so have fun.¡± (Mostima)


    Huginn cawed, rying what I said, before pping over to me. We started making our way back to the camp and joined the others by the fire they had while they cooked our evening meal.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Huginn and I saw something heading our way and went to check it out. Turned out to be some weird monster that could control ravens, so we took care of it.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Did it have weird antlers?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Tch. I hate those things. They started to show up a few years ago and have be a nuisance due to their resemnce to old women. They try to get into the city all the time and wreak havoc. If we could find out where they areing from, then we could hopefully eradicate them, but we¡¯ve never been able to send any teams out to find the source. It¡¯s too far into the desert for any of us to travel to due to the heat.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm. Who knows, maybe Keeno will find it on her way to deal with the fires. That seems to be the kind of luck she has.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°She¡¯d be upset if you said that to her face.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Sure, but you can¡¯t deny the truth.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°And I wasn¡¯t denying it.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± (Mostima)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: ¡­


    No, she is a fallen angel, not a vampire.


    Luna: Is she that world¡¯s version of d?


    No. It was a fairly normal tactic in this world¡¯s past.


    Luna: Can you show me?


    I forget that you¡¯ve seen Fiends already, so sure.


    Luna: ¡­Quick question, since I¡¯m the Abyss of Fluff, would I give Fiends sanity damage?


    ¡­Heh! Hehe! Hehehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I don¡¯t know, but I want to find out¡­we can test it next time your world goes through a Fiend Season.


    Luna: Any idea on when that¡¯s gonna happen? Not that I want it to.


    You still have a good LONG time before the next one.


    Luna: Good.

 Chapter 171- A Painful Time in the Desert

    Chapter 171- A Painful Time in the Desert


    [Mostima POV]


    It¡¯s been three weeks since we split from Keeno. In these three weeks we met with quite a few annoyances which pushed our timetable back quite a bit. After the first night and two days after that we didn¡¯t meet any kind of trouble, but the next day we had to hunker down in the wagons because a storm blew in. That kept us in one spot for two days and left us finding ash in every crook and crevice, much to all of ourbined frustration.


    The day after that we ran into three giant scorpions herding a group of cacti and fighting everything else, including each other, that got too close. It took most of the day to deal with them. After that we had four days of peace before a pit nearly opened up beneath us. We lost one horse to it. It took us three more days to slowly tread a safe path around the hole. Thankfully, thest two days had been peaceful once again, but most of us were cursing the God of Fate under our breaths. Thanks to all of this, though, we¡¯ll be arriving at our destination muchter than we estimated, meaning Keeno is going to reach the city before we will.


    We were all hoping today would be another peaceful day, but the way Huginn, Muninn, and the remaining horses were acting didn¡¯t give us much confidence in that hope. It took three hours into moving for the day for us to u destined why they were acting strange. Margaret, who was at the head of the group signaled all of us to stop. This out all of us on edge. Not long after we stopped, we all felt it. The ground was slightly rumbling. Out in the distance we started seeing small plumes of ash with rapidly moving, fin-like protrusionsing in our direction.


    They were still far enough into distance that we had time to get the wagons in a defensive formation. Just as thest one was moved into ce, one of the monsters was upon us. It leapt out of the ash, its grey, piscine body sailing over us with ease. When itnded on the morepact ground, it floundered around for a second like a fish out of water before turning its t, hammer-like head in our direction. Before any of us could move, it let out a terrified sounding roar and jumped into the air and dove into the softer, shifting ash and ¡®swam¡¯ away, leaving all of us confused. Turning back in the direction it came, several more plumes simr to thest one were all moving toward us, chased by an even bigger one.


    On top of the ash moving along at incredible speed was a monster wider than the other monstersing right for us. When they got closer, we could make out what the bigger monster looks like. It was two times as wide as the monsters running from it and its mouth was big enough to swallow one of the wagons in one bite. I noticed it had a strangely bright red organ in the very back of its mouth that seemed to be some kind of lure or something. It had a giant protrusion on top of its mouth that looked a bit like a boulder and the mouth had two rows of pointed needle-like teeth that seemed to gleam like metal. Soon, the monsters it was chasing started splitting around or jumping over us like the one from a moment ago. We braced for the one chasing them, only for it to dive under the ash, avoiding uspletely, and resurfacing behind us.


    ¡°What?¡± (Margaret)


    As soon as the back of the giant creature rose above the ash, a shadow flew over all of us faster than a lot of things I¡¯ve seen, and several human-sized golden scales pierced the ground and the creature¡¯s back. It let out pained screams that were quickly snuffed out by an earsplitting roar sounded above us. In a sh of gold and brown and billowing ash a monster I hadn¡¯t seen in hundreds of years stood atop the other creature.


    It was lizard-like in appearance with long, muscr legs simr to those of birds ending in four talons the size of my arms. Its winged arms studded with spikes with a talon halfway down the arm. Its neck up to its head and the end of its tail were covered in scales that red out like a pinecone. Its beak-tipped head dove into the creature under its back and ripped out a massive chunk of flesh and scales and flung it away before stabbing back into the creature, ripping out the red organ I saw earlier. Every time its head came up, therge, single horn on the end of the head dripped with sticky, crimson liquid.


    ¡°Ready yourselves, everyone, this thing is no joke. Its scales are sharper than most swords and its speed is nothing to be trifled with. I¡¯ll try my best to keep it grounded, but I make no promises that it¡¯ll be the entire time.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°What is that thing?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°A wyvern. I thought they were extinct, but, clearly, they aren¡¯t.¡± (Mostima)


    Once the wyvern was satisfied with its meal, it turned to us and roared, the pinecone like scales on its neck, tail, and legs, shaking and ring our slightly, glimmering brightly in the sunlight. It spread its wings to try and take off, but, using my gravity stave, I held it down. It struggled immensely and nearly broke through my magic with pure strength. Several of the knights ran forward, their Soul Weapons manifested. They swung with all their might, but even under the effects of my gravity, the wyvern swung its tail, shooting several gleaming golden scales at the knights. Freya had sped herself up with her own magic and deflected as many of the scales as she could, though two of the knights still caught some with their bodies. They were thrown back, severely injured but thankfully still alive.


    The knights that Freya saved continued to attack the wyvern who was thrashing about, doing its best to free itself from my restraints, and beginning to seed. In an attempt to keep it from getting airborne when it did free itself, I used earth magic to create spikes from the ground to pierce its wings. A few managed to do so, but most of them were broken by the wing or snapped with they hit the wing membrane. I did manage to attract its attention with that action though.


    It roared at me and lowered its horn in my direction and began pawing the ground. Itunched forward, piercing through one of the wagons and through several stone walls I made in front of it. Thankfully thest wall managed to stop it, allowing more knights and Margaret herself to challenge the monster. I created some footholds for them. Their weapons managed to inflict several injuries on the wyvern¡¯s neck and Margaret actually broke its horn. Having enough of this, the wyvern swept around in a circle, shooting scales indiscriminately, hitting most of the knights back. Margaret was thrown against the wagon Pram was hiding in. Not missing its chance, it stepped over to one of the downed knights and began fileting him with its talons in a rhythmic, dance-like way. Seeing that, Freya¡¯s body became covered in blue mes, and she vanished from sight, next appearing above the wyvern with her swords raised. She brought them down with all her strength, carving two long, burning gashes in its neck, causing the wyvern to stumble and fall over, iling all the way.


    Before the wyvern could recover, Huginn and Muninn flew out of Pram¡¯s wagon and right at the wyvern. Before anyone else could react, the two dove right into the monster¡¯s eyes, piercing through the wyvern¡¯s face like paper. It shrieked loudly and iled even more, destroying a second wagon before going limp. We all took this time to recover, and Pram came out of her wagon, already moving to heal all the extremely injured knights. Sadly, the knight the wyvern pinned was dead. Margaret was limping heavily as she approached me and Freya, who were standing over the now dead wyvern trying to figure out a way to get Huginn and Muninn out.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen or even heard of a monster like this.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°They used to live in the mountains in this region of the world but were hunted down for their scales and meat a long time ago. Then, when the Fiends appeared, we thought they werepletely taken out or corrupted. Apparently, they weren¡¯t, though I wonder where they¡¯ve been hiding till now.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Just another thing to investigate when we get to the city.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Um, guys.¡± (Freya)


    At Freya¡¯s confused words, we both turned to the wyvern corpse. Out of the wounds Freya made on its neck, tworge mounds were moving until two birds covered in viscera emerged. We knew they were obviously Huginn and Muninn, but they had changed in thest few minutes. They had yet again grown in size, both now reaching my stomach in height. They had both sprouted a second pair of wings and their eyes now glowed with blue light. They both turned their heads toward us and cawed in triumph when Keeno¡¯s voice sounded in our heads.


    ¡®Um¡­is there any reason I can see you guys right now¡­and what in the name of all that¡¯s Divine happened?¡¯ (Keeno)


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot that happened, actually, but it¡¯ll take a while to tell.¡± (Freya)


    ¡®Well, I¡¯m all ears.¡¯ (Keeno)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: WHY DOES KEENO¡¯S WORLD GET THE MONSTER HUNTER MONSTERS!!?? I WANNA FIGHT A SEREGIOS!!!


    It¡¯s just how things evolved¡­but I¡¯ll pull some strings for you.


    Luna: Yes!


    Amaterasu: *appears carrying a deted Phobos* Fix him. *Vanishes*


    ¡­


    Luna: ¡­


    Phobos: I did nothing¡­why am I being med for something I had no hand in? I was asked to stop making things easy, and this is the treatment I¡¯m given?


    Atmos: *Appears after sensing something fun* You get used to it.


    Phobos: Can you teach me how to not feel anything?


    Atmos: Hehehe. Sure.


    Luna: Postpone my Seregios fight, I need to make sure she doesn¡¯t corrupt him.


    Says the one that will potentially make things even worse.


    Luna: ¡­Come on Atmos, Phobos, let¡¯s go somewhere we¡¯ll be appreciated.


    Atmos: Wooo! Party!!!!!


    Phobos: *Monotone*Yay.

 Chapter 172- WINGS!

    Chapter 172- WINGS!


    [Keeno POV]


    ¡°So, let me get this straight, through a series of unfortunate events, you¡¯re a week and a half away from the city still, you just got attacked by a monster that hasn¡¯t been seen in thousands of years, and now my two birds are the size of human children with four wings, glowing eyes, and with the ability to share their vision with me?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡®Pretty much. By the way, can you ask Goddess Amaterasu to beat the God of Fate for us? We all me him for this.¡± (Mostima)


    {For the record, he isn¡¯t the one causing all of those problems. It¡¯s just bad luck.}


    ¡°Ama said it¡¯s not Phobos, it¡¯s just bad luck. Not that we haven¡¯t been having our own annoyances. Geri and Freki keep having to be fished out of the ash, we¡¯ve run into many more storms than yall have, and clearing all these fires has been giving me crippling headaches. Who knew being able to feel things through fire would have side-effects like that? Not me!¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It is quite the surprising development, though we have made much better progress despite all these inconveniences.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°True. We¡¯ve taken care of all of the mes we nned on, so we¡¯re waiting out of sight of the city. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like you to send either Huginn or Muninn here so Ama and I can check them out.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Got it¡­Damn, Huginn really wanted to go I guess, it took off so fast.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Heh. Huginn was always the clingier of the two. Anyway, we¡¯ll stay here for the time being, keep in contact.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Gotcha. We¡¯re setting up camp for the night right now, but we¡¯ll save some of this meat for you. It loses out to the scorpion meat, but it¡¯s still good, from what I remember at least.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Thanks.¡± (Keeno)


    With that, my sight shifted back to here. It was a weird feeling, seeing through Huginn and Muninn¡¯s eyes, especially when they separated.


    ¡°Master?¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Head in pain again?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°No, just weird seeing through the eyes of birds, everything is so much more vivid, though seeing through Huginn¡¯s eyes makes me want to redouble my efforts in trying to fly myself.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. Seeing as we have met our goal and have nothing better to do than wait, should I assist you in this endeavor? I may not be inclined to flight myself, but I used to be quite good at instructing the younger dragons in the use of their bodies.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°We can try, though I do feel like I need to ask this. What happened? Why are there so little dragons now? From the way you¡¯ve spoken this entire time, there used to be a lot of us.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It was the Fiends. Those <em>abominations </em>nearly eradicated all of us. It was a dark time, those days. The horrors haunted my nightmares for centuries. It¡¯s a good thing that our lifespans are practically eternal, else I¡¯m afraid most of us would have died already, your mother and Ena¡¯s sister being examples of exceptions¡­though my friend in Tamist¡­I know not how he died or why his offspring turned out the way he did¡­tis truly a shame.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to going there, in all honesty.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The people of that country are interesting and quite friendly, despite their chosen homnd. Tis a shame that disgraceful lizard has ruined our great reputation there.¡± (Volundr)


    The vitriol in his voice when talking about Tamist¡¯s resident lizard was palpable.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough about him, let¡¯s move on to flying and manifesting my wings onmand.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We wanna see them!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°They will make Master even more majestic!¡± (Freki)


    I tried manifesting my wings, but the only thing that appeared were my horns and a few small sparks on my back.


    ¡°Hmm. What do you usually do to manifest your wingspletely?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Most of the time it¡¯s when I get emotional or think of all the things that are mine.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmhmhmhmhm. Your possessiveness is admirable. Then, if you¡¯ll allow me to be so bold. What would you do if I tried to take your little friends? Your loved ones?¡± (Volundr)


    This got Geri and Freki to start growling at him, the mes at the corners of their eyes bing small infernos. My horns had nearly turned white, and I knew my wings were fully manifested without having to look back. The surrounding temperature started skyrocketing and I felt the ash beneath my feet hardening into ss.


    ¡°I know, rationally, that you are just saying that to help me¡­but it really pisses me off. They are MINE! They are MY treasures! MY precious ones. NO ONE is allowed to have them but ME!¡± (Keeno)


    I was right up in Volundr¡¯s face, fuming while he retained his calm demeanor.


    ¡°I understand, child. Now, before you calm down and your wings fade, learn the feeling of having them. Close your eyes and focus on your core.¡± (Volundr)


    Growling, I closed my eyes and focused on my core because it just felt right to. It was like a tranquilke constantly being fed by small rivers of mana and Divinity. Said rivers were wide and had a slow, rhythmic flow that seemed to pulse like a heart. The rivers symbolized my limbs. Eight going to my arms, legs, and each tail. Fix went to my head, two for my eyes, two for my ears, one for my head in general and the smallest one my horns. Looking around my core, I found another very small creek of power running to my back. It felt dammed up with some kind of blockage. Willing a small, even mix of mana and Divinity to that spot the blockage began to clear, giving me a sense of release I didn¡¯t know was even needed.


    Opening my eyes I nced back and saw my wings were a steadier me than the wild, sputtering one they usually were. They actually resembled the wings of a dragon now.


    ¡°Why did it take me this long to figure this out?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°In my experience, having a third party give suggestions opens up more opportunities. Now, for the flying part, I am sadly unqualified to help. I know not how the mechanics of flight work with wings of me and the body of a kitsune, especially one with four tails.¡± (Volundr)


    {Oh! My time to shine then!}


    ¡°Ama, you¡¯re always shining.¡± (Keeno)


    {Thank you, Keeno. Now, empty your mind, Keeno. I¡¯m going to try and give you the information instead of exining it.}


    I did as Ama said and tried to empty my mind. I was surprisingly difficult, especially since it was Ama who asked. Nearly an hour, which I didn¡¯t notice,ter, my mind was as empty as I could get it. Sensing this, Ama pushed the information into my head, making it feel like a white-hot stake was shoved into my eyes and ears and melting my brain.


    ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± (Keeno)


    I fell to my back, sweating and panting, my vision swimming and my throat sore and dry.


    {KEENO!? I¡¯M SO SORRY!!!!! I DIDN¡¯T MEAN TO PUSH IT IN SO HARD!!!}


    ¡°Hehehe. How lewd, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {¡­Pfft! Seriously though, are you alright?}


    ¡°A bit numb and the headache I could do without, but I¡¯m fine.¡± (Keeno)


    {Did the information take? I hope so, I don¡¯t want to out you through that again.}


    I closed my eyes and tried to find the information Ama pushed into my head before realizing I didn¡¯t know how to find it.


    ¡°Describe it for me please.¡± (Keeno)


    {It should hold a concept of a spell that allows solidification of the mes and-}


    ¡°Super fine heat maniption that would allow for manipting air currents and stuff?¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s it.}


    ¡°Then its in there. Let¡¯s see if it works then.¡± (Keeno)


    I focused on my wings and sent some mana to them. The blue mes slowly lost their etherealness and began to look more solid. It was a weird feeling, seeing something solid on my back, but not feeling anything with them. With this fact, I stopped channeling mana.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to work.¡± (Keeno)


    {Why?}


    ¡°There is no feeling. How would I be able to adjust temperature or wing tilt without being able to actually feel the wind?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. That is a very important part of flight. With no feeling, aside from what Princess Okami has already said, without feeling, you wouldn¡¯t know when you hit a spot of dead air or the minute static feeling if one is flying in a storm so as to avoid lightning.¡± (Volundr)


    {Hmm. I¡¯ll see what I can do to add feeling to your wings, but I think that will be more on your side of things, Keeno.}


    I nodded my head.


    ¡°Oh, right, Ama, are you ready for tomorrow?¡± (Keeno)


    {Yes. I also invited Hresvelgr over for a bit, so you¡¯ll finally get to meet her. I¡¯ll see if Fu and Moco can alsoe, and we can make it a party.}


    ¡°Sounds fun. What about Red?¡± (Keeno)


    {That¡¯s a you question.}


    ¡°She isn¡¯t answering me, so I thought I¡¯d ask you.¡± (Keeno)


    {I can go and check the meeting room, but I doubt she¡¯s there.}


    ¡°Ok.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Master, master! Are you finished?¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Yes. What do you need, Geri?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I would like to use Master¡¯s tails to sleep tonight!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Fine.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Me too, Master?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I have four of them, so take one each for the night.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°YES!¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Hehehe. Master so fluffy and nice.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Hehe. The vibrancy of youth. How I wish I could be that energetic again.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°You¡¯re much spryer than you give yourself credit for.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heh. If you¡¯d known me in my youth, you¡¯d be saying something different.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Speaking of the past, mind telling me another story about Mum? Thest one about how she became Queen of Dragons was fun.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmmm. How about a story about the time she destroyed an entire kingdom because that kingdom¡¯s ruler wanted her as his wife?¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°¡­Sounds interesting, though just that alone makes me wonder what she saw in whoever it was she fell for that led to her getting killed the first time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know. When the rest of us found out that happened, we were all just as confused. I fear though that it is something most of us will never know. It was a topic that was brought up at the meeting, but she dodged the question, and it was obvious it was something she never wanted brought up again.¡± (Volundr)


    ¡°Well, that makes sense. I wouldn¡¯t want to give away something that got me killed the first¡­time¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Master?¡± (Geri)


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Master?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡­just remembered something I didn¡¯t want to.¡± (Keeno)


    To soothe the two who still seemed worried, I patted their heads. They began smiling, though I could still see the concern deep in their eyes. I sat up on the edge of the cave Volundr had made and gotfortable before I waved two of my tails at the two Spirits. They grabbed onto one each and began snuggling into them like they were body pillows. It was then that Volundr started his story.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­


    Order: What¡¯s wrong?


    Nothing. It just¡­feels like Astraea is never here anymore.


    Order: It¡¯s been a day since we let her have an extended sleepover with Evelyn.


    I know, but with her there, and Nykuro visiting Swil for a while, it feels¡­empty. I mean, even Luna and the others are busy right now.


    Order: Well, I¡¯m free, and it HAS been a long time since we had the house just to the two of us.


    True¡­wanna y a game?


    Order: What kind?


    One of those fighting games that is popr in Luna and Keeno¡¯s old worlds. Each time one of us loses, the loser has to remove one article of clothing.


    Order: You¡¯re on!


    HAHAHA! I won¡¯t go easy on you, my wife!


    Order: I don¡¯t want you to! It makes everything much more satisfying that way!

 Chapter 173- A Meeting

    Chapter 173- A Meeting


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>I awoke to the feeling of Ama¡¯s tails wrapping around me. Her bright smile filling my entire being with a happiness and sense of connection I only ever feel here.


    <span>


    <span>{Good morning, my daystar.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Morning, my sr corona.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>As we stared into each other¡¯s eyes, small blue and orange fires began to light as we let all presence of control go to focus that much more on one another.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hot.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°In many ways.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>{Can you two shut up and let us enjoy this moment! It¡¯s already bad enough I had to peel you off of MY Keeno to get this far.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°We respect that. We will give Master and you all the time in the world now.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Nn. Master¡¯s Fated One is strong. Stand proud.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>{Obviously. Now run along you two, Red is waiting near that building over there, go fight and get dominated by her already and leave us alone.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°RIVAL!¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°All the pats will be ours!¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>The two ran off, the mes at the corners of their eyes leaving shining trails behind them that would be intimidating in the dark. Ama huffed in satisfaction now that the two of us were alone.


    <span>


    <span>{Those two¡­}


    <span>


    <span>¡°At least you settled their clinginess.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{True.}


    <span>


    <span>We went back to silently staring into each other¡¯s eyes before Ama tickled my nose with one of her tails.


    <span>


    <span>{While I¡¯d love to spend the day like this, we UNFORTUNATELY have things to do.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°*sigh*Yeah. Are we going somewhere, or are theying here?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{They¡¯reing here. I have the ce set up already, we just have to wait.}


    <span>


    <span>I sat up from Ama¡¯s wonderfully pillowy thighs and stood up. I offered her my hand and she gently took it. I pulled her up and she was much lighter than usual. The force I used was too much and she kept going until we were embracing, her lips against mine. We stuck together just long enough for me to get a good, proper taste of her lips before she pulled away.


    <span>


    <span>{If things go well, we¡¯ll have all afternoon to continue, but for now let¡¯s go.}


    <span>


    <span>She started to walk away, her hips and tails moving in such a seductive fashion that my eyes couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to them.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You are going to pay for teasing me like this.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{I hope so.}


    <span>


    <span>I couldn¡¯t help but crack a smile and lightly jog to catch up to her. When I reached her side, some of her tails intertwined with two of mine and we interlocked our fingers. After walking for a short while, we ended up by a small table with five seats. Next to the table sat a giant, gorgeous flower with big purple, dark blue, and golden petals and leaves such a vibrant green that it was mesmerizing.


    <span>


    <span>{Oh? Well aren¡¯t you early, Hresvelgr?}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Eh?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>I looked around, but I didn¡¯t see or sense anyone other than the two of us in the area.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehe. Sorry, I just wanted to y this little prank. It¡¯s so much fun seeing the reaction of people meeting me for the first time.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>I was still looking around for the source of the voice when the flower started opening. When if fully opened, a beautiful woman taller than me and Ama walked forward. She had light olive skin and brilliantly glowing emerald eyes. Her hair was gold like honey and flowed all the way down to the ground. Her voice was soothing to hear, almost motherly. When she stepped down from her flowery spot, the petals seemed to flow like water to her back where they became something that looked reminiscent of wings. She bowed politely at Ama and turned to me and did the same.


    <span>


    <span>¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, little goddess. It¡¯s pleasing to know our world will soon get back on track to the normal cycle and the creativity of mortals will spike once more. Ah, where are my manners, though I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve figured it out already, I am Hresvelgr, Goddess of Creation.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>I returned her gesture from earlier.


    <span>


    <span>¡°It is very nice to meet you, Lady Hresvelgr. I am Keeno Fafnir Okami, Goddess of the Blue Sun, Death, and Runes. Thank you for being my Ama¡¯s friend.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Of course. She¡¯s so friendly, it should be a crime not to be friends with her.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I like you. You get it.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°And I like how straightforward you are. It¡¯s refreshing.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>{Well, that¡¯s good. I was worried about you two getting along.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°You know I¡¯m personable. I make friends most ces I go.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{And a lot of enemies.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Meh. They just don¡¯t get it.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Most mortals hardly ever do.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>¡°If they did, we¡¯d be partly out of a job.¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Nature is still war enough, but mortals are also part of nature.¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>{Mortals will be mortals, I guess. Not much we¡¯re allowed to change.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well, if they weren¡¯t how they are, they¡¯d be boring.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°True.¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hello everyone!¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>The energetic twins smiled brightly at all of us.


    <span>


    <span>¡°It¡¯s good to see you again Keeno!¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Red and Ortilinde have been wondering when they can see you again.¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Really? I¡¯ve tried to reach out to Red, but she hasn¡¯t responded.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm? Oh! She¡¯s been stalking this really important person whose been causing a lot of trouble, but he surrounds himself with angels.¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Geh. Annoying ability.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°In my defense as the one who created them that way, it was supposed to be an ability that let them empathize with all of creation, but I was inexperienced at the time, so all that happened was the ability to hear any and all telepathic co bc redactions near them. And by the time I became more proficient, it was toote to fix this.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh¡­I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°It¡¯s fine. I know it¡¯s an annoying ability for them to have. Both for us and them. I¡¯m just happy no one has tried to kill them all.¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>¡°We¡¯d step in if someone did. We may advocate for violence, but never genocide.¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Though if Keeno says so, we can look the other way.¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Just because I control Death doesn¡¯t mean I desire the Death of all things. And besides, Ama would stop me before I did anything reckless.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{Someone has to. You¡¯re much more impulsive than I am.}


    <span>


    <span>Ama then waved her hand and a small tea set and some desserts appeared in front of us.


    <span>


    <span>{Please, help yourselves.}


    <span>


    <span>None of us had to be told twice. We all grabbed one or two desserts and tried them. The desserts were a perfect blend of the sweetness of sugar and tartness of logons or other fruit.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Mmm. Handmade desserts.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{I worked hard to get them right. Baking is surprisingly difficult.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°You made these yourself!?¡± (Hresvelgr)


    <span>


    <span>{Naturally. If it¡¯s something that will let me impress Keeno, then I will do my utmost to learn it.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°How admirable.¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>¡°We could learn a thing or two, Fu.¡± (Moco)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yeah.¡± (Fu)


    <span>


    <span>We all continued to chat, which allowed me to learn more about Hresvelgr, as well as the twins, though for them I mostly asked about how Red and Ortilinde were doing. Every so often our conversation would be interrupted by the ground shaking or the sound of an explosion, but since it was just those three ying, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to just ignore it. All in all, it was a very pleasant morning.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: Hey guys! What¡¯s¡­up¡­


    <span>*Payto and Order freeze while looking at Luna*


    <span>Luna: Now, I know I¡¯m kind of at fault here and it¡¯s your home in the first ce, but really?


    <span>Order: -_-


    <span>Like you can judge, Miss Exobitiobist.


    <span>Luna: I¡¯ll have you know that I am wearing illusions, so I¡¯m dressed.


    <span>That¡¯s just semantics, now please leave for a bit and forget everything you saw.


    <span>Luna: fine, I¡¯lle back tomorrow, so you two keep going. *poof*


    <span>Well, the mood is ruined now.


    <span>Order: Yeah¡­though I thought you locked it down here.


    <span>I did.


    <span>Order: Then how?


    <span>I don¡¯t know.


    <span>Order: Then let¡¯s figure it out.


    <span>

 Chapter 174- An Unexpected Development

    Chapter 174- An Unexpected Development


    [Red POV]


    I stood at the entrance of the Valkyrie meeting hall, waiting for my rivals to show up. Morning had just begun with the ovepping suns just starting to peek over the horizon. As soon as that happened, I felt the presence of Big Sis Keeno appear and shortly after that I heard surprised yelp from two voices I¡¯d only heard once. I continued to sharpen my knives in anticipation. It was only 30 minutester before I heard the sound of the brush moving and two women walked out, stepping in perfect sync.


    Their appearance was much more feral than I imagined, though it was oddly¡­attractive. They both looked identical, with ash grey skin, ck hair that went down to their backs, tails just as ck, swaying ever so slightly in a hypnotic rhythm. wed feet and hands with ck fur that looked like fuzzy gloves and high socks that went to their elbows and knees. Glowing eyes simr to big sis Keeno¡¯s, though one was orange while the other was blue with trails of me burning in ribbons out of the corners. Their attire left very little to the imagination, though again, I found it¡­strangely alluring.


    ¡°Freki, I can understand the desire the others have.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Indeed, Geri. I almost don¡¯t want to fight her.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Shame, Red wants to fight the two of you. Not only are you trying to take Red¡¯s pats, just seeing you makes Red feel strange.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Hmph!¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Hoh?¡± (Geri)


    The one named Geri leaned slightly forward, crossing her arms under her chest, emphasizing its size.


    ¡°Like what you see, little wolf? Beat us and it can all be yours.¡± (Geri)


    Her words carried a strange power that made my heart race for some odd reason.


    ¡°Geri¡­the more I look at the little wolf, the stranger I feel. Not rivalry¡­but I don¡¯t know how to describe it.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I¡¯ve been feeling the same, Freki. She makes me want to do things¡­and have things done¡­¡± (Geri)


    The more they spoke, the more the odd feeling in my chest grew. If we just continued to stand here, staring each other down, the less I felt I¡¯d be able to fight them.


    ¡°The pats will be Red¡¯s.¡± (Red)


    I kicked off the ground where I was standing and shot forward in a red blur, hoping to take the two spirits off guard. As fast as I was, however, they were ready for me. Geri blocked my low kick and Freki dodged my knives which I threw. I hopped back before a strangely cold st of blue mes erupted where I was a second ago while my knives returned to my hands due to the thins strings of mana connected to them.


    ¡°Geri, she¡¯s¡­¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I know, Freki¡­but it doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s realized it yet.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Done tell her?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I thi-¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Less talk, more fight. Red will never surrender herst to the two of you.¡± (Red)


    Deciding that these two were stronger than I thought, I decided to use my full power and the cards I was hiding because I was overconfident. Concentrating, I sunk into the shadows using magic Amaterasu taught me. The surprise on the faces of the two spirits was a delightful thing that made my heart race.


    Moving through the shadows was a strange feeling. It felt wet on my face and hands, but I knew there was no moisture. The colors for everything were muted to almost ck and white like everything in Vanir.


    ¡°Be on guard, Geri.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I know. Just because of the connection doesn¡¯t mean we will willingly lose. She still has to show us how strong she is if she doesn¡¯t want to be dominated by us.¡± (Geri)


    I held my younger at their provocation and silently moved through the shadows until I was behind them. Aiming at the back of their knees, I kicked my leg out of the shadows causing Freki to fall. I then threw a knife at Geri who swatted it away and charged at my position. She jumped up and aimed a strong, wed kick at me, but I tripped up the still recovering Freki again, making Geri¡¯s kick connect with her abdomen instead of my head.


    ¡°Gah!¡± (Freki)


    Divingpletely back into the shadows, I moved quickly left of Geri and jumped out, flinging a knife at her eyes. She caught it between her fingers, but that momentary span when her sight was blocked was enough for me to get low, kick her legs out from under her, then, after losing her bnce, grabbing her arm and throwing her with a technique my previous teacher taught me.


    Shended in the ce Freki was previously. Noticing her gone, I tried jumping back into the shadows but was kicked in the stomach before I could. The kick was strong and sent me flying back while my breath waspletely knocked out of me.


    ¡°Grr.¡± (Red)


    I tried to stand up, but my legs quivered and refused to hold my weight.


    ¡°Geri, let¡¯s light up the area, get rid of all the shadows.¡± (Freki)


    The blue one nodded to her sister¡¯s request and a wall of orange, nearing red, mes spread on one side while nearly freezing blue mes spread in the opposite side, creating a ring of fire andpletely lighting the area, leaving the only shadows we created. Finally managing to stand up, I looked around, trying to make a n, but my thoughts were interrupted by the two spirits rushing toward me.


    The first to reach me was Geri, who flew into abo of kicks that I could only dodge or parry. Any counter I tried was prevented by abo of punches thrown by Freki who was covering her sister¡¯s openings. I was doing all I could to keep from getting beaten back until a particrly powerful kick pushed me back and nearly into the mes. This caused them to both panic and the wall in that area shrunk until it was just small embers in the ground. This panic also allowed me time to breathe. In a desperate attempt to do something, I threw all of my knives at them, which they promptly knocked away. I ducked away and behind them closer to the center of our battlefield when the wall of mes leapt up in intensity again. I was about to pull my knives back to me when I noticed something.


    ¡°Heh.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Got a n, little wolf?¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Try it, if you can.¡± (Freki)


    They started at me again with theirbo attacks, but before they reached me, I sunk into the shadows again, throwing them off and leaving them confused. I moved between the shadows of my knives to build up speed before jumping out of them, attacking the two spirits focusing on spots like their necks, joints, and other weak spots, and diving back in over and over, knocking them back until Freki faltered and fell to the ground. I began focusing on Geri now that her sister was out for the count, and she fell shortly after.


    ¡°Red may not be as physically strong, but Red is faster and more precise.¡± (Red)


    I walked over to the two downed spirits. Looking down on them, I got another strange feeling in my chest. For some reason I was pained, yet also somewhat excited to see the two in such a state where I could do anything I liked with them. Crouching down, I smiled.


    ¡°Good fight.¡± (Red)


    I ced my hands on their heads and began patting them.


    ¡°But Red ims all pats from now on.¡± (Red)


    I continued patting them until they regained consciousness. As they looked up at me, their faces brightened and the most beautiful smiles I¡¯d ever seen spread across their faces.


    ¡°Geri.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I know, Freki.¡± (Geri)


    They silently reveled at my patting abilities before jumping up, causing me to almost fall over. Geri caught me in her arms and pulled me close. The smelling from her made my head feel fuzzy in a good way for some unknown reason.


    ¡°Now, now, Red. You beat us, so you must take responsibility.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Will you?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Naturally. Red always takes responsibility for things Red does. Mama Moco said it was the right thing to do.¡± (Red)


    ¡°Alright. You must always remember that.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Keep getting stronger, Red. In a few years, we¡¯ll have another match to see who gets to top next time!¡± (Red)


    ¡°Red will never lose! All the pats will be Red¡¯s!¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Pfft.¡± (Freki)


    I tilted my head, confused at why they wereughing and giving me funny looks.


    ¡°You¡¯ll understand in time, Red. We look forward to seeing you again in the future, but for now, it seems the time we can stay here is almost up. Master should be about to leave soon.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t take any pats from you from now on, though if we get any, we won¡¯tin.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°That just means you have to keep track and pat Red an equal number of times.¡± (Red)


    ¡°¡°That works.¡±¡± (Geri and Freki)


    With that, the suns had been nearly swallowed by the horizon and the two rushed to where big sis Keeno and Amaterasu were. I turned and walked through a shining door to my home with Mama Moco, Aunty Fu, and Ortilinde to tell them about my day.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: That¡¯s adorable.


    Tamamo: It is, though I hope she figures it out soon.


    Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll understand that those two are her Fated Ones sooner rather thanter.


    Luna: How does that even work? Having two Fated Ones, I mean.


    It¡¯s a twin thing. Most of the time, when twins find their Fated One, it will be another set of twins. Very rarely, like in this case, twins will have the same Fated One. Though, from my experience, it always happens in worlds like this where the two to one thing happens, in worlds like your first one, it practically never happens. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s due to the cultural aspect that influences that part of Fate, or some other factor that I haven¡¯t discovered yet.


    Tamamo: It still surprises me that there are things you don¡¯t know.


    It¡¯s willful ignorance. If I actually did know everything, then life would be boring.


    Luna and Tamamo: True.

 Chapter 175- Steam and Fox

    Chapter 175- Steam and Fox


    [Keeno POV]


    Our little tea partysted until about noon when Fu and Moco got up to leave after saying something about another party they were attending. Hresvelgr also decided to leave with the reasoning of she didn¡¯t want to impose on our limited time any longer, which we appreciated. Once it was just the two of us, I scooted my chair closer to Ama¡¯s and wrapped one of my tails around one of hers.


    ¡°That was fun.¡±


    {Yes. It¡¯s been a while since we had a good get together with others.}


    ¡°Yeah, though I¡¯m also quite happy it¡¯s just the two of us now.¡±


    {Hehehe. Feeling needy for attention, are we?}


    ¡°From you? Always.¡±


    Ama waved her hand and the small gazebo we were sitting under vanished. She reced it with arge hammock that was connected to several trees close by. Honestly, it was more like a superfy trampoline than a hammock, but potatoes tomatoes, semantics can die in a fire right now. I gently slid into her open arms, resting my head in the crook of her neck.


    {You really like that spot. It¡¯s the first ce you go when we get this close, and you aren¡¯t resting in myp.}


    ¡°It¡¯s the perfect spot. My head fits perfectly, I get to be close to you, and I get to breathe in your scent entirely. Plus, I like the way your hair tickles my ears a bit.¡±


    {Hehe.}


    I closed my eyes and breathed deep, Ama¡¯s calming, citrus scent almost lulling me to sleep when I felt a slight tugging sensation on on of my tails. Moving a bit to see what was going on I saw that Ama pulled out a brush and was having her way with one of my free tails.


    {All this ash is getting matted in there, Keeno.}


    ¡°I know.¡± I said as I buried my face back into her neck and hair. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying my hardest to take care of it, but there isn¡¯t much I can do. It¡¯s not like I can protect my tails with some kind of space barrier.¡±


    {True. Guess I just have to take meticulous care of you then.}


    ¡°Would you say you have to <em>inspect every single inch of me?</em>¡±


    The seductive tone in my voice seemed to have the intended effect as Ama¡¯s free tails began to wave.


    {I¡¯ll dly do so soon. First though, I think we need a bath. You so you can get this ash out of your tails, and me so I can enjoy the view.}


    ¡°It¡¯s funny you think you¡¯re the only one getting a nice view.¡±


    {Fufufu.}


    Ama picked me up bridal style and floated us off the hammock.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re putting that new spell you came up to good use.¡±


    {Naturally.}


    Gentlynding on the ground our clothes vanished and a boiling pool appeared under our feet. I was gentlyid into the hot stone floor before Ama eased herself down as well. We both let out contented sighs.


    ¡°This is nice. You always know the perfect temperature, Ama.¡±


    {Of course. I know you are tired of those freezing ones you have to take down there, so I like to indulge you in the finer things.}


    ¡°Hehe. Now then, as much as I¡¯d like to take this opportunity to add steamy to this hotness, I think we should start working on my tails before we run out of time.¡±


    {True.}


    We got to work washing out my tails which, with out powersbined, took a surprisingly small amount of time. Once we were finished, we both rxed, spreading out as much as we could.


    {Ash¡­so annoyingly persistent.}


    ¡°And sticky. No wonder civilizations in ancient times used it to make cement.¡±


    Ama wrapped one of her tails around my arms and pulled. I willingly let myself fall into her, my facending on her literal heavenly pillows.


    ¡°Ama, you¡¯re ying with fire.¡±


    {Oh. Let¡¯s see if I get burned.}


    The pillowy flesh epassing my face was a tempting target, I decided to save those delicacies forter. I moved up until I was straddling Ama¡¯sp, my arms wrapped around her neck, and our foreheads pressed against each other. Staring into her eyes, the ember of desire in my chest started to be an inferno.


    Her glowing orange eyes. Her lips ever so slightly parted. Her breathing even and hot. The anticipation in her expression, the look of longing and impatience. Everything about her made my body hot. Every action made my mind fill with the sole desire to have her. She was mine. I was hers. Our bodies and souls made perfectly for one another. I know everything she likes; she knows everything I like.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough, Ama.¡±


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°It¡¯s never enough. Every time I see you, I want more. I want YOU more! Your body, your soul, your time, your EVERYTHING!¡±


    I didn¡¯t have to look back to know my wings had appeared, and I could see my horns reflected in Ama¡¯s eyes along with how my pupils had shrunk to the thinnest ck lines possible. I could hear the water start to boil even more and I could feel my tails light, the blue from the fires reflecting everywhere, giving our surroundings a blue hue.


    {Keeno, don¡¯t let the dragon instincts take over there isn¡¯t time for me to satisfy you if you do.}


    The coolness of her words broke the trance I was in. I moved slightly back.


    {Are you back to me, Keeno?}


    ¡°What was that, Ama?¡±


    {Dragon instincts. You usually let them take over when we are together, though you were more aware of them this time. You¡¯re spending too much time around dragons.}


    ¡°Is it going to be a problem?¡±


    {Not particrly, I actually find it quite nice, but if you let them take overpletely now, we¡¯ll keep going until the sun sets, and I don¡¯t want to miss the pillow talk.}


    ¡°Hehe. If that¡¯s so, then how about you teach me to let my foxy instincts lead?¡±


    {Then we¡¯d be here even longer, how about an even mix of both.}


    ¡°I¡¯m up for that.¡±


    I let go of Ama and picked her up in the same kind of bridal carry she held me in earlier and leapt up,nding back on our hammock. We superheated ourselves to dry off.


    {Shall the goddess valiantly fight off the foxy dragon, or will the foxy dragon sessfully manage to subdue the goddess today?}


    ¡°I think the foxy dragon has the advantage today.¡±


    {Hehehehehe. Then prove it.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I¡¯m upset. She¡¯s bing more and more dragon. Don¡¯t get me wrong, dragons are cool and all, but kitsune are better.


    Don¡¯t worry, we should get more than enough kitsune influence soon.


    Luna: Good¡­that was rude of me.


    It¡¯s fine. She has been focusing on her dragon aspects a lot and neglecting her kitsune side. It¡¯s because she only has Amaterasu as a fellow kitsune to learn from. With the amount in the city she¡¯s about to go to, it should be able to even out her imbnce.


    Luna: So, it¡¯s just an imbnce?


    Yep.


    Luna: Is there more to it than just face value?


    Not really. And even in this sense it¡¯s more of a metaphorical imbnce. Remember, the only other interaction between Keeno and other kitsune, aside from Amaterasu, were the two that brought her physical body into the world. She hasn¡¯t run into any others very often, so she only really knows abuse. Once she interacts with more kitsune mortals, she should get a small shift.


    Luna: I see. Guess all that¡¯s left is to wait and see then.


    Indeed.

 Chapter 176- A Mystery

    Chapter 176- A Mystery


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>{Keeeennnnoooooo. Wake uuuuuppppp.}


    <span>


    <span>Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Amaying on her side, smiling as her glowing orange eyes stared into mine. I couldn¡¯t stop a smile from spreading across my own face.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Evening, my love.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Evening. Did you enjoy yourself today?}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Of course. Any moment I have with you is enjoyable.¡±


    <span>


    <span>We snuggled closer together and gave each other light kisses and y bites before we bath turned andid on our backs, looking up at the slowly darkening sky. The beautiful sunset colors dying the sky vibrant shades.


    <span>


    <span>{We should get dressed. Who knows what those two horny spirits will do if they see us in this state.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Are they really that bad, or are you just projecting?¡±


    <span>


    <span>{¡­Projecting. I just feel they want you when you are MINE.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°And you are MINE. I have no room for others to love like this in my heart and soul. They are family, yes. But they are not my WIFE. I will have no other but you for that, it¡¯s not an option.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Took the words right out of my mouth.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯d like to hear other things from there, but since we don¡¯t have time, it¡¯ll have to wait another month. Anyway, we should probably get cleaned up before getting dressed.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{I already took care of that with magic. I think they are almost done with their fight too, so if we want to be decent when they get here, we should hurry.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Fine. But do take your time, I enjoy the show.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{My thoughts exactly.}


    <span>


    <span>We got up and moved to our piled up clothes before slowly getting dressed, the two of us savoring every movement the other made. Just as we finished, some of the bushes rustled and a beaming Geri and Freki appeared.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Master!¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Exciting news!¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>Ama and I shared a nce before turning back to them.


    <span>


    <span>¡°And that news is?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡°Red is our Fated One!¡±¡± (Both)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{¡­Cone again?}


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡°Red is our Fated One!¡±¡± (Both)


    <span>


    <span>¡°That¡¯s possible?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{Apparently so.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Huh¡­Well, congrattions then. When¡¯s the wedding hehe?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°She hasn¡¯t realized it yet.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°She seemed to have sensed it deep down, but we don¡¯t think she knows what romantic love feels like, so she just has a vague sense of attraction to us.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell her then?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Because it¡¯s cute, seeing her confused reactions.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°She tilts her head and one of her ears twitch. Makes me want to gobble her up.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Me too. But I don¡¯t know what to do with this feeling now. My head and heart feel hot.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I feel itchy. It¡¯s annoying.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­I¡¯m going to regret asking this, but when you two, forck of better words, jump into my arms, where do you go?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°It¡¯s a very hot, fiery ce.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°And there are Runes in the sky like golden stars. Lots of them to study and they help us learn.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°What do you think, Ama?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{Hmm.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh, and there is a big tree. One we can¡¯t even see the leave of. It¡¯s taller than the sky!¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°But it¡¯s within you, Master. We know it¡¯s not your soul because your soul is too hot for that tree to handle.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°So, I have a manifestation of Yggdrasil inside me, but it¡¯s not in my soul? Maybe the Runes are like some sort of demotion themselves?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{Keeno, quickly before we run out of time, show me your back and try to focus on your Rune Authority.}


    <span>


    <span>I lifted my shirt and turned my back to Ama. Geri and Freki eyed my chest with stars in their eyes, but shook their heads to snap out of whatever heat they were in. Focusing on my Authorities the ground around us started to turn ck with rot, the heat drastically increased, and the Runes on my arms started to glow in a mix of gold and blue light. I even felt my horns and wings appear for some reason.


    <span>


    <span>{Interesting. It seems like some Runes appear on your back when you focus on the Authority. Though somewhat vague, it does look like a tree with several circles in ces. The one in the very top, under the roots, one in the trunk, and two in the lower branches are glowing brighter than the other four.}


    <span>


    <span>I pulled my top back down while pondering Ama¡¯s words.


    <span>


    <span>¡°If I had to guess, the top one is the Divine Domain as a sort of Asgard representation, the one under the roots is Helheim and it¡¯s probably glowing due to my Death Authority, the trunk Midgard representing the mortal world, if the same thinking applies, one of the lower branch ones is Muspelheim for my Sr Authority, though Sun andnd of fire are kind of a stretch. Not sure about the second lower branch one, unless it¡¯s supposed to be Niflheim due to its close connection with Muspelheim. Maybe that¡¯s why Geri¡¯s fire is cold? I wonder what this means?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>As I began to lose myself in my thoughts, the sudden sensation of Ama¡¯s mouth on mine jolted me.


    <span>


    <span>{As cute as it is when this happens, Keeno, I want you to focus here until you vanish.}


    <span>


    <span>I smiled. Looking over at the suns, they were being swallowed by the horizon. We didn¡¯t have much more than five minutes. I walked up to Ama and pulled her into a tight hug.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I love you, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>{I love you too, Keeno.}


    <span>


    <span>Time ticked away as we enjoyed the embrace until the usual feeling of near weightlessness began to take hold of me.


    <span>


    <span>{You two, congrattions on meeting your Fated One. Also, keep my Keeno safe. I know she can handle herself, but there is a reason you two became what you did and can do what you do.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°We are our Master¡¯s loyal hounds! We shall guard her with all our strength!¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Anyone who dares try and harm her will meet our ws and mes. Their souls will be ripped to shreds and cast into eternal damnation!¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>{Good.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Geri, Freki, get into my arms. Relieve yourselves and then, if you can, explore the tree. I want a detailed report on what you find.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>The two, surprisingly, blushed before nodding their heads and disappearing into the Runes on my arms.


    <span>


    <span>{See you again soon, Keeno.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Keep the bed warm for when I¡¯m back.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Hehe. Naturally.}


    <span>


    <span>With that as our final words in person, my day in the Divine Domain ended as my vision faded into ck. When I came to a momentter, I felt the cool night air of the desert on my skin. Looking around, Volundr was asleep in the alcove he made, small streams of smoke wafting out of his dragon nose. Nodding my head seeing he hadn¡¯t moved at all, probably having slept the entire day I was about to sit, make a fire, and contact the others to check on their progress. Halfway through this process, my mind was suddenly assaulted with the sound of moans and obscene wet sounds.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You two idiots, stop projecting all of that into my head!¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Clearly ignoring me, or more like being unable to hear me I general, I resigned myself to my fate and sighed.


    <span>


    <span>¡°This is going to be a long night.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: For some reason, it felt like this one day was like, two weeks long.


    <span>It does feel like that, doesn¡¯t it?


    <span>Tamamo: Hmm. Seems I missed quite a bit.


    <span>Luna: TAMAMO!


    <span>Tamamo: LUNA!


    <span>¡­


    <span>Luna: What?


    <span>Didn¡¯t you just get here like, four minutes apart?


    <span>Luna: Doesn¡¯t matter.


    <span>¡­Know what? True!


    <span>Tamamo: Actually, where is Order and Astraea?


    <span>Helping Nykuro prepare for her and Swil¡¯s wedding. Apparently I¡¯m not allowed to go help, so I¡¯m just sitting here.


    <span>Tamamo: Hmm.


    <span>Luna: Hmm.


    <span>What!? Order did the same thing! What does ¡®hmm¡¯ mean!?


    <span>Luna and Tamamo: Hmm!


    <span>Gah!


    <span>

 Chapter 177- Entering Capital Lokir

    Chapter 177- Entering Capital Lokir


    [Keeno POV]


    Sitting in the ash next to a still slumbering dragon, I stared at the cloudless sky. I¡¯ve gotten abined hour of sleep over the past week due to the two horny hellhounds who even put me and Ama to shame. I was livid to say the least, and the worst part is, they were still doing themselves and I could HEAR. EVERY. SECOND!


    ¡°¡­Freya, get Pram. Something¡¯s wrong with Keeno.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that will work; I don¡¯t think healing magic can fix this.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehehehehe. I¡¯ve tried stopping them, but every restraint just made it worse. WHY ARE THEY THE WAY THAT THEY ARE!!!???¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What¡¯s going on, Keeno? We get here only to find you practically catatonic with dead eyes.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Geri and Freki discovered Red was their Fated One¡­they fought like they were going too, all of that made the two insatiably horny¡­they¡¯ve been ying with themselves a week straight and they won¡¯t sever the connection temporarily, so I can hear everything¡­I can¡¯t sleep¡­have barely slept for a week¡­help me.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Mostima)


    {For the record, I¡¯ve also tried to help, but whatever thing those two are doing wakes her up instantly.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to break their hands when I see them again.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°How violent.¡± (Mostima)


    The two of them walked over to me and helped me stand up. My vision wobbled and I would have fallen over if they weren¡¯t holding me up.


    ¡°Come on, Keeno. Let¡¯s get you somewhere morefortable.¡± (Mostima)


    As we passed Margaret and the others, they got concerned looks on their faces. Margaret looked like she wanted to ask, but Mostima gave her a nce that said not to ask.


    ¡°You guys got good atmunicating hehe. Imma tell Fia.¡± (Keeno)


    They brought me to Pram¡¯s wagon and gently lifted me into it. I saw Pram sit up and look over at me with worry.


    ¡°Hello Pram¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Last time I saw you like this, you hadn¡¯t slept for three days. How long has it been this time?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Since I came back from Ama¡¯s ce.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­*sigh*What are we gonna do with you?¡± (Pram)


    Freya and Mostima sat me down and Pram moved over and pulled me down, my head now resting in herp.


    ¡°¡­Ah! They finally stopped.¡± (Keeno)


    I don¡¯t actually know when they stopped, but noticing the pleasant silence, I practically passed out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wake me up¡­for a while¡­¡± (Keeno)


    [Pram POV]


    Combing my fingers through Keeno¡¯s hair, I looked at her with a small smile. It¡¯d been a while since I¡¯ve seen her sleep like this. She looked so¡­defenseless. Like all the stress she kept to herself was gone and she was free of worry.


    ¡°Mostima, please tell Margaret that it¡¯s imperative we do not wake Keeno up. If we have to go through a search to get into the city, then she can¡¯t be disturbed. Waking her up in the state she¡¯s in will end in someone dying.¡± (Pram)


    Mostima simply nodded her head and left the wagon as we began to move.


    ¡°Freya, please take over, my legs are bing numb.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Don¡¯t eh me. Lap pillow the fox girl now.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± (Freya)


    I gently lifted Keeno¡¯s head while Freya slid over. I ced her down and moved over to stretch my legs.


    ¡°It¡¯s surprisinglyfortable.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I know right? She¡¯s a kind of warm that soothes you when she¡¯s asleep like this.¡± (Pram)


    I saw Freya eyeing Keeno¡¯s slightly twitching ears with a look of veiled interest.


    {I wouldn¡¯t do that, Freya. I don¡¯t want to fight you.}


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    Freya looked away quickly and I could practically see the cold sweat that broke out all over her body. Smirking in my mind, I feigned a hurt look.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d even consider that, Freya. Aren¡¯t I enough for you?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ah! Um. I-I was¡­um¡­?? Wah?¡± (Freya)


    She began iling while trying to defend herself, but she couldn¡¯t move all that much to avoid waking Keeno up.


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding, love. You know I¡¯d never let you leave me or have another woman.¡± (Pram)


    She didn¡¯t say anything, just blushed and looked away, though I didn¡¯t fail to see the small smile on her face. Freya is just too cute. Half an hourter, we traded spots again just in time for the wagon to start slowing down before rattling to a stop. That made Keeno scrunch her face in her sleep, but thankfully she didn¡¯t wake up. Mostima then poked her head inside.


    ¡°They are going to check the wagons, so be ready for that. Margaret said try not to hide Keeno¡¯s tails or ears since it¡¯ll make the guards ignore this wagon.¡± (Mostima)


    We both nodded with bitter expressions.


    ¡°This doesn¡¯t feel right.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I agree, but we¡¯re going to change it.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Or let Keeno kill every sleazy mongrel in this city.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Whicheveres first.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Mmmm. Murder¡­mongrels.¡± (Keeno)


    She remained asleep but shifted position slightly.


    {How cute.}


    ¡°She really is.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Ehehe.¡± (Mostima)


    Mostima then hopped up inside and pulled her hood over her head, her wings and halo practically vanishing in the darkness of the covered wagon, leaving only her tail tozily sway too and fro. Five minutester a man wearing light armor hopped into the wagon and looked around. He had a look like he just ate a lemon until his eyes saw the sleeping Keeno. He did a double take when he saw her four tails and the long ears on her head.


    ¡°Apologiesdies, but is that sleeping beauty there alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes. She got super motion sick, and I had to put her to sleep with magic. Once we, hopefully settle in, she should be in top shape.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°You¡¯re a good servant then. Shame you met these stupid Eclipse Knights, but whatever. Let yourdy know that she will most likely get a summons to appear in front of the Council. We will let Knight Commander Margaret as well.¡±


    The guard¡¯s gaze never left Keeno, the apparent lust in his eyes making my skin crawl. He stepped out of the wagon, and we waited until we couldn¡¯t hear him moving to speak.


    ¡°All in favor of letting her burn this ce to the ground?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°¡°¡°Aye.¡±¡±¡± (Pram, Freya, Mostima)


    {Aye!!}


    ¡°Mmnn. Burn.¡± (Keeno)


    Several minutester the wagon started to move again. I expected Margaret to poke her head in with her usual apologetic manner at some point, but she never did. Getting curious as to why, I unfastened the knot on the cloth p that acted as a window after having Mostima take over pillow duty.


    What I saw was a city made of white stone, small waterways winding down the sides of the streets and down channels on most every building. Funny looking trees with big, wide leaves, so with a brown, nut-like objects handling at the tops. People dressed in colorful clothes chatting happily with one another. Most of them looked to the the same race as Margaret, though there were also several demons and other beastkin. Looking around though, I didn¡¯t see many kitsune. Maybe one or two every so often, but not enough to match the amount Margaret alluded to. The ones I did see though, seemed hollow. They wore clothes that left very little to the imagination, with tops that barely covered their chests and would seemingly slip at even the smallest of movement. Their bottoms, which were small, colorful straps with a near translucent veil covering the important bits, but leaving their hips, thighs, and legspletely exposed also seemed a wrong step away frompletely falling off. Deciding I had seen enough, I tied the window p back and sunk lower, sighing.


    ¡°This country ispletely doomed. I know we never did our noble purge in Odeen, but I feel that it¡¯s going to happen here.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That bad?¡± (Mostima)


    I nodded. We sat in rtive silence after that, the only noise being the rattling of the wagon, the hum of voices outside, and Keeno¡¯s sleeping breaths. Around an hour after entering the city, we seemed to have entered a tunnel or some kind of other shaded ce because the wagon got even darker than it already was, the only real lighting from Keeno¡¯s dragon core, shading everything in a beautiful blue. It was then that Margaret finally poked her head inside.


    ¡°Sorry about me dying this, obligations of my position and what not. We¡¯ve arrived at our Knight¡¯s Headquarters. It¡¯ll take a while for the rest of our people to gather, so I¡¯d like to get you all settled before then.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Margaret¡­¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I know what you want to ask, Pram, and we¡¯ll get to that once all the important people get here. Until then, I ask that you hold your questions¡­¡± (Margaret)


    By the sorrowful tone in her voice and the way she was avoiding looking in Keeno¡¯s direction, we could all tell she was just as worried about the immediate future as we were. She seemed like she wanted to say something else but stopped herself and just pulled back. We followed her out of the wagon, Mostima carrying Keeno like a sack flower over her shoulder. One of our knight friends led us deeper into thepound to some empty rooms. Mostimaid Keeno down on a bed in one of them before leaving and entering a different one. Freya and I entered a third room and were told that we¡¯d be notified when the meeting was going to start.


    ¡°Pram¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Freya, we need to make sure we reign Keeno in as much as we can. I feel like she¡¯ll be as vtile as she was in Falheim. We won¡¯t stop her from killing mongrels, but we should at least make sure it¡¯s in a ce we can cover it up or where no one will find out in the first ce.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I was thinking the same thing¡­and to think I¡¯m the one who¡¯s supposed to have grown up in this kind of world.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I also know you¡¯re trying to leave it behind, so me being the one to suggest it is my way of trying to avoid forcing you to look back.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Silly Pram, if it¡¯s for you, Keeno, Mostima, or the other Valkyries, I¡¯ll dly use my upbringing¡¯s teachings.¡± (Freya)


    She got up and moved over next to me.


    ¡°We¡¯re in this together, Pram. Us against the world.¡± (Freya)


    She touched her forehead to mine, and we closed our eyes.


    ¡°Heh. I like this serious version of you, Freya. You should let it out more.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Well, when there are people like you and Keeno, it¡¯s hard to take the spotlight.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Then we should look for opportunities for you. Let¡¯s show the world what the aspiring Sun Apostle can actually do.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it.¡± (Freya)


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Kill. Murder! DEATH!!!


    Tamamo: I will bathe thatnd in moonfire.


    Calm down you two, let things y out.


    Tamamo: ¡­


    Luna: Kitsune treatment aside, I¡¯m getting a nagging feeling there will be a new Du-Fis interaction soon.


    Tamamo: Knowing Keeno, it¡¯s gonna end in a mongrel dying.


    Yeah.


    Luna: Hmm. Payto, permission to deny fluff.


    Denied for now. Wait and see, then I¡¯ll let you.


    Luna: Boooo!

 Chapter 178- Getting a Grasp of Lokir

    Chapter 178- Getting a Grasp of Lokir


    [Keeno POV]


    Slowly opening my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.


    ¡°¡­¡±


    {Someone¡¯s grumpy.}


    ¡°I¡¯m going to crush their hands. Each bone at a time.¡±


    {Scratch that¡­really grumpy.}


    ¡°You would be too if your dreams were gued with horny energy. And I can¡¯t even get the time to relieve it now that I¡¯m pent up.¡±


    I sighed deeply, smoke and a small tongue of me escaping my mouth as I did.


    {I can whisper sweet nothings to you in hopes that helps.}


    ¡°Later. I can hear peopleing.¡±


    Sure enough a secondter a knock sounded on the door. I grunted loud enough to let them know they could enter. When the door opened, Pram and Margaret stepped in. Pram took one look at me and promptly turned on her heel and left in as calm a manner as she could.


    ¡°Eh?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m assuming we¡¯re in the city now?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Y-yes! We are in ourpound inside the city. We are going to hold a meeting to discuss you and what we will be doing going forward.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Nn. Leave me for a moment, I¡¯ll get charged then join you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes, Majesty!¡± (Margaret)


    I tilted my head as she left the room but shrugged it off and got up.


    ¡°Ama.¡±


    {Wear your suit for this but change when you inevitably meet the leaders of this country.}


    ¡°Nn.¡±


    I quickly dressed myself in my suit and left the room. Margaret was waiting for me outside, standing rather stiffly.


    ¡°Lead the way.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes!¡± (Margaret)


    She led me down a dimly lit hallway. Our steps echoing off the walls giving the impression we were in a cave deep underground. After about five minutes we stopped at a pair of double doors. Margaret pushed them open and stepped inside. Following after her I looked around the room. In the center of the room was arge circr table sitting under a skylight which lit the room much better than any of the torches in the hallway. Around the table were numerous chairs with a person standing beside them. They all turned to look at us when we entered and the second they saw me, they all knelt. My ear twitched when I saw that, and I looked over to Margaret. She seemed just as shocked and clearly didn¡¯t know what to do.


    {Hahahahahaha! So, a grumpy Keeno makes knights have an instinctual urge to kneel! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!}


    I held back a smile from hearing Amaugh and looked around, ignoring the kneeling knights. Seeing an empty seat, I walked over and sat.


    ¡°What are you all kneeling for? Rise and sit, we have a discussion to get to, don¡¯t we?¡± (Keeno)


    This snapped them out of their daze, and they all stood, looking at one another with confusion the unspoken question of why they all just did that clearly hanging in the air.


    ¡°Everyone, please, we need to get this discussion going and finished before the inevitable envoy gets here.¡± (Margaret)


    All the knights in the room sat and stared in Margaret and my direction.


    ¡°First off, introductions. This is Lady Keeno Fafnir Okami, though she requests we address her by Okami until told otherwise. She is the one Lady Fiametta has tasked us to assist. Me and the rest of the group that went to Odeen have been traveling with her after the Dead Zone in Odeen as well as its king were removed. I know that some of you had doubts about joining forces with her, but after spending the amount of time I have with her, I believe she deserves our full support and loyalty. As you all have just clearly felt, she is one worthy of the Radiant Knight¡¯s service.¡± (Margaret)


    Murmurs broke out from the knights that I didn¡¯t know while the few here who were traveling with us were silent or nodding their heads. One unfamiliar knight stood up and looked at Margaret.


    ¡°Margaret, what do you mean the king of Odeen was removed?¡± (???)


    ¡°He was killed, Zofia. Upon his death, Odeen became trapped in a winter that hadn¡¯t ended and I¡¯m guessing won¡¯t for a long time yet.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°But how? What about the dragon that¡¯s said to protect Odeen and its king?¡± (???)


    ¡°I made said dragon my Valkyrie. She wasn¡¯t very loyal to Baldr as legends and rumor stated. If anything, she wanted him dead more than anyone.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°What¡¯s a Valkyrie?¡± (???)


    ¡°Its Lady Keeno¡¯s name for her Death Apostles, Maria.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Oh.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°Speaking of, Margaret, it¡¯s about time we make you one. I trust all your worries are settled about it.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes.¡± (Margaret)


    I nodded and stood up. I ced a hand on Margaret¡¯s shoulder and shrouded her in my Divinity.


    ¡°Margaret Nearl, do you swear to serve me for eternity?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Do you swear to uphold my ideals?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Do you swear to protect this world from those who would tread on the sanctity of Life, Death, or both?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then I name you my fourth Valkyrie, Margaret Nearl.¡± (Keeno)


    The Divinity shrouding her flew into her body and she seemed to glow a bit before it died down. I moved back to my seat and eased myself down, trying to disy an image of poise despite how tired I was again.


    ¡°The rest of you who are worthy will receive the Blessings of Life and Deathter. While we wait for Margaret to get used to her ascension, I¡¯d like to ask about something unrted to the Dead Zone.¡± (Keeno)


    I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the stone table and steepling my fingers. The other knights in the room, reviving from their shock, looked at me. While a few seemed to not know what I was about to ask, a majority became visibly more nervous.


    ¡°What is the current state of the kitsune? How much worse has it gotten since Margaret wasst here?¡± (Keeno)


    This question got the few knights that were confused to freeze up while most of the others were ncing around, seemingly nervous to answer the question. This, in turn made me confused, though I hid it better than they did.


    ¡®Why do they all seem so timid?¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Well, you are already projecting an aura of unapproachable authority, so most of them feel like if they give a bad answer, you will punish them. Some just don¡¯t know how to answer because they genuinely don¡¯t know the full depth of the situation, and some are trying to find the words to articte it.}


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me I have to investigate this myself. I thought they were supposed to help me, not leave all the work to me.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Leave it to Margaret. Things¡¯ll get back on track in a second.}


    ¡°Zofia, Maria, answer her.¡± (Margaret)


    ncing over to Margaret, she seemed slightly tired, but overall fine. She sat with her back straight and a glint in her eye that left no room for floundering around.


    ¡°The situation has overall worsened. The Council has passed a fewws requiring kitsune to basically unt their bodies in public while the ones ¡®owned¡¯ by the nobles are basically held prisoner in their homes. Only kitsune belonging to the more reputable knight orders are exempt from thisw.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°For the ones who are part of the noble harems, they are treated well in the surface, but the longer this situation goes on, the more the darker side of the nobles will be revealed. Just a few days ago we received a report that a noble was walking around the streets with two kitsune held in leashes,pletely naked, and forced to walk on their hands and knees. This action was kept in the noble district, but said noble is just the first of bolder moves of the same or simr nature.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°That¡¯s just what we know of. There ARE a few rumors that a few nobles have been forcing high debts on some of the kitsune citizens in themon district so that when they fail to pay, they get turned into their toys. We haven¡¯t found any evidence of this though, so it remains a rumor.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°Back to that first thing¡­how is such aw even enforceable?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fearmongering. They think they¡¯ll be kidnapped from their homes and enved if they don¡¯t due to rumors spread by the nobles. So while it¡¯s not enforceable, the kitsune people have still taken it upon themselves to do it in the hopes that they won¡¯t be the one to get taken from their families, never to be seen again.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Not all of them are against it though. Some have even said that they like the way they <em>have </em>to dress now. The ones the least averse to this were the kitsune who work or own brothels. Those same brothels have also taken to sheltering some kitsune without asking for them work in the profession, but we¡¯ve heard that a few of the less reputable¡­even <em>less </em>reputable nobles have been trying to put a stop to that through Council meetings.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, and tantly killing them will just paint a target on your back. One or two will probably be eptable, depending on who it is, but all of them is not possible. Even with all of us together, we¡¯d be outnumbered and overpowered eventually.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Tch.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We have been digging, and we¡¯ve found some dirt on a few. We release it right and our darker services will be in high demand.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Then start doing so. We should step up our efforts now that we have literal Death on our side.¡± (Margaret)


    Zofia nodded and looked over to a small group sitting opposite of her. The nodded once and stood up, leaving the room.


    ¡°Lady Keeno, is there anything you wish to add on this topic?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Not particrly. All I¡¯m really thinking of right now aside from killing these mongrels, is wether I should do it myself, or by letting the hellhounds have them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°If I may, what are these hellhounds?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°The new name for Death Spirits. For a reason even I¡¯m notpletely sure of, they¡¯ve changed, so I have them a new name.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I see.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°With this topic finished, is there anything we need to know that has happened in my absence?¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Aside from what we just discussed, not much. You already know about the strange monsters that have been appearing and the only thing different is it¡¯s be slightly more frequent. The attacks have increased from once every few months to about once a month. They¡¯re still not difficult to repel or eradicate, so much so that it¡¯s turning into apetition to be the ones to fight.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°Oh right. We, well, saying we ran into it isn¡¯t exactly correct, but anyway, we found a monster called a wyvern.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­What is this feeling of disdain?¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t worry about it.}


    ¡°It wasrge, about the size of two wagons, powerful, and fast. Apparently, they were a thing a long, LONG time ago, but were pretty much wiped out, or at least they thought they were.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°How many did you encounter?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Just one¡­oh, and they fly.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­Margaret.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°I know, should have been the first thing I said.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Yes!¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Leave it their Aunty.¡± (Maria)


    ¡°¡­Fine.¡± (Zofia)


    The knight Maria calling knight Zofia aunty made me remember that some of Margaret¡¯s blood family were part of her knight order. I looked closer at them, while Zofia only held a slight resemnce to her, Maria looked like I imagine Margaret looking when she was younger, meaning she was the sister Margaret is always worried about.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s enough about that, we aren¡¯t really monster hunters, though we should let the Guild know as soon as possible.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°I agree. I¡¯ll send some of the people that were traveling with me to the Guild once the get more rest.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Is there anything else to discuss then?¡± (Maria)


    ¡°I think that¡¯s everything. Can someone pleasepile all the information pertaining to the kitsune and the nobles who can be taken care of easily and give them to Lady Keeno. Other than that, this meeting is finished, so you are all dismissed. Zofia, Maria, stay here though.¡± (Margaret)


    All the knights nodded and stood. After several minutes the filed out of the room, leaving the four of us. Margaret practically deted into her seat and heaved a big sigh.


    ¡°Aunty Zofia¡­¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°You did good, Margaret. And wee back.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°How was Odeen, big sis? Was it fun and not hot?¡± (Maria)


    ¡°Not particrly fun at first, and it was pleasantly cool when we first arrived only to be ufortably cold on the way back. It was pleasant on the way back though, thanks to Keeno and her friends.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Oh yeah!? Miss Okami, is it true your Fated One is Goddess Amaterasu!?¡± (Maria)


    ¡°She is, and she is the best damn wife I could ever ask for.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Amazing!¡± (Maria)


    ¡°Maria, calm down and show respect to her, she is practically our superior.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I may act one way, but I prefer it when people don¡¯t act all stiff around me in most circumstances. Since this is like a private meeting right now, I couldn¡¯t care less about how you speak or act.¡± (Keeno)


    Zofia visibly rxed and she had a small smile on her face.


    ¡°That¡¯s reassuring. Here I was being paranoid about having to appease a goddess by offering sacrifices or something. I should have believed Lady Fiametta instead of getting in my head about it.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Eh. Fia likes to exaggerate things, so it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if that was her intention in the first ce. Oh, and Margaret, sorry for springing that on you earlier, I was in a bad mood, and I thought doing something like that would fix it, but I realize it was kind of out of nowhere.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Honestly, I was less surprised than I thought I would be. And I expected more to happen, I don¡¯t really feel all that different. Maybe a bit lighter, but that¡¯s about it.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Your body is probably still just getting used to it. Red and Emma took a bit to actually notice all the changes, from what they¡¯ve told me. Speaking of them, you¡¯ll have to meet them at some point. You should be able to go to the Divine Domain to the meeting hall, but we can leave that for when we have the time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright.¡± (Margaret)


    We continued to chat so I could get to know Margaret¡¯s family a bit more. I was going to bring up the topic of her uncle who she wanted me to help, but a knight entered the room.


    ¡°Commander Margaret, Lady Keeno, they Council envoy is here with a summons.¡±


    ¡°Let them in.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The knight with the message hesitated but moved after a heavy pause. This gave me a bad feeling. He returned a few minutester with a kitsune woman in two. She followed the knight with her head down, her ears ttened against her head and her tail drooping so low it was basically dragging on the floor. She was clearly ufortable. She was wearing practically nothing, and she was doing her best to move as little as possible, else she would bepletely exposed.


    ¡°L-ldy Margaret¡­you and your kitsune guest h-h-have been summoned to the Council Hall. You are to exin what h-happened to your charge and the state of Odeen and your guest is to¡­¡±


    The kitsune woman lifted her head to look in my direction and I could see her mind stop working. She was staring directly at my tails. After almost five minutes of silent staring, she seemed to reboot, and her gaze followed every small move of my tails.


    ¡°You were saying?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I was saying something?¡±


    ¡°About me being summoned to some Council Hall?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Huh? ... OH! I apologize, mistress! You have been summoned to the Council Hall to be invited to a ball held by the nobles.¡±


    ¡°¡­I see.¡± (Keeno)


    I had no idea on how to respond to that. Why am I her mistress now!?


    {She¡¯s mine! Back off!}


    ¡®I think it¡¯s more reverence than anything Ama.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Hmph.}


    ¡°Thank you, we will make our way there shortly.¡± (Margaret)


    Margaret¡¯s words seemed to ssh cold water on the kitsune woman, and her mood fell to rock bottom again.


    ¡°Very well.¡±


    The envoy and the knight that escorted her here turned and left.


    ¡°Margaret.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Please try to stick to the n we just came up with.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let you deal with the ones that were discussed, but I¡¯m sending the hellhounds after the others. That is nonnegotiable.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You don¡¯t even know how they are going to deal with it.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Actually, I think I do, but I¡¯m still going to leave it to them.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Fine. I know an argument I¡¯ll lose when I see it, so please at least hold off for a while so you can find the ones you want to target first.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll agree to that. Now, I¡¯m going to go get ready for this <em>invitation.</em> I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± (Keeno)


    I left the room and headed back to the room I woke up in.


    ¡°Ama, help me choose what to wear.¡±


    {Of course.}


    Chaos Realm:


    Sigh.


    Luna: It must be bad if you are actually saying the word while sighing. Order still not letting you help?


    Nope.


    Tamamo: Just rx. Not everything needs your hand in it to work. Why don¡¯t you read a book or something aside from just watching Keeno?


    *Before a reply can be made, the entirety of the Chaos Realm shakes*


    Hmm.


    Luna: Another one of those Chaos quake things?


    No.


    *Cracks appear in the roof and a person falls through*


    Celeste?


    Celeste: Hey Payto. Any idea what happened or why I¡¯m here now?


    I think our Seas of Chaos passed by each other a bit too closely.


    Celeste: Ah. *Looks around and notices Luna and Tamamo* GASP! IT¡¯S LUNA AND TAMAMO!!!!!!


    Luna: And you are?


    Celeste: Oh um¡­I¡¯m Celeste, a God of Chaos like Payto, though my other Divinities are different than the ones Payto has. Anyway, I¡¯ve read all about you two! Your lives are so interesting!


    Tamamo: What do you mean by that?


    You know how us God of Chaos record everything, that¡¯s it.


    Luna: Yeah, but why does a different Chaos God know about us?


    Celeste: Because we have to share stories like this in order to keep ourselves entertained. No one likes a bored Chaos God.


    And before you say anything or get mad, I keep all the private times with you or Keeno and any others in the future private. Even I don¡¯t look into that. It just takes different forms depending on the ce. We see it like a movie here, in Celeste¡¯s case, it¡¯s books. If I¡¯m remembering correctly, your Sea of Chaos takes the form of an infinite library, right?


    Celeste: Yep. By the way, when whatever just happened, happened, I think some of the light reading could have fallen into a few worlds here. Will that cause a problem?


    Probably not but make aption of what you are missing and send me the list.


    Celeste: Oki.


    *A portal opens, and Alex and a blue cat goddess appear*


    Alex: Payto, what happened? Oh?


    Celeste: OH! Hello Alex, Dawn. How are you two?


    Alex: Good.


    Dawn: Long time no see.


    You know Celeste, Alex?


    Alex: Yep. With me being your Apostle and all, I¡¯ve been looking into your connections and have been advertising my services. Who knew Gods of Chaos would be such a lucrative consumer base?


    Dawn: Hello, I¡¯m Dawn, a Goddess of Animals and Alex¡¯s friend. I was visiting her when all of this happened and decided to follow her because I thought it would be fun. Originally, Ie from one of Chaos God Celeste¡¯s worlds.


    Celeste: Hmm? Oh, looks like things are back to normal.


    Seems like it. Are you going back now?


    Celeste: Yep. Gotta make that list, but if it¡¯s fine with you I¡¯d like toe visit more often.


    That¡¯s fine.


    Celeste: Okay then, bye gramps.


    Luna: Eh?


    Alex: Seeing as everything is good here, Dawn and I will go back to what we were doing.


    Dawn: It was nice to meet you, I¡¯ll pop in and out too, if that¡¯s fine with you.


    It¡¯s fine.


    Dawn: Yay.


    *The two disappear into the portal they arrived through*


    Tamamo: Gramps?


    Don¡¯t ask. The ¡®Family Tree¡¯ isplicated, and I don¡¯t feel like exining it.


    Luna: You are going to tell us every detail.


    Tamamo: Now!

 Chapter 179- A Second Meeting

    Chapter 179- A Second Meeting


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>After a surprisingly little time Ama and I managed to find an outfit perfect for the asion. We chose a kimono-like dress simr to what Ama usually wears, though instead of her deep ck and purple preference, I went with rusty, brownish-red color. It exposed my shoulders and cleavage but didn¡¯t slip or fall due to the enchantments made into it and there was a nice gap at the hips so I could move easier at the expense of having my thighs slightly more visible. There was another enchantment ced on it where nobody but Ama would be able to see anything more than shadows, simr to my cloak¡¯s hood. To add to the appeal I made small blue wisps of fox fire float around me.


    <span>


    <span>{Very nice, Keeno. You look absolutely stunning. And the way it flows with the fiery effect of the blue parts of you hair, ears, and tails makes it even better. I wish you¡¯d wear stuff like this more often.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°I though you liked me in a suit?¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Don¡¯t get me wrong, I love that look too, but changing it up every now and then is also nice.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Says the goddess whose entire wardrobe is the same thing. I¡¯ve only ever seen you wear that, fancy underwear, or nothing at all.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{¡­Touch¨¦.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Heh. Well anyway, thanks for thepliment. Now it¡¯s time to go taunt some nobles so Margaret doesn¡¯t have a good reason to stop me purging them today!¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Knock em dead, love!}


    <span>


    <span>¡°That¡¯s too simple¡­unless there is a pit. Then it should be fun.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{You¡¯re a dragon fox, not a cat.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Pram must be rubbing off on me.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Keeno.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehehe.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Leaving the room I nearly ran into Margaret as she had a fist raised, prime position for a door knock.


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>I smirked.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Anyints?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°*Sigh*No. Let¡¯s go, if we keep them waiting any longer the more annoying they¡¯ll be.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>We walked through the halls of thepound for a bit before arriving at arge room that held various wagons and carriages. We walked to a carriage made of pitch ck wood and extremely dark windows. Zofia and Maria stood outside the door, waiting for us.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Margaret, you forgot the mantle.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°You know I hate wearing that stuffy thing. It¡¯s so unnecessary and ufortable.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ipletely understand, but we have an image to uphold for the time being. You don¡¯t start changing things up when your enemies don¡¯t expect your betrayal, only after.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°And besides, it makes you look super cool!¡± (Maria)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehe.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Okami, you look wonderful, though I do question why you decided to do so. Forgive my forwardness, but aren¡¯t you trying to avoid catching their attention?¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Though it wasn¡¯t my particr field of study, I know my ancient history, and if there is anything that can ruin a country quickly, it¡¯s a beautiful woman. Especially a woman no one can have. I y my cards right, and I may even be able to wipe out most of the nobles and im self defense of to protect my honor. If not, a few teasing nces and whispered words and they will be at their throats.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Interesting.¡± (Maria)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Rx, I¡¯m not trying to destroy the ENTIRE country, just the mongrels enving my people. What kind of Death God would I be if I didn¡¯t do some purging?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Right¡­you don¡¯t work in mortal logic¡­that makes sense.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Margaret, your aunt is smart, you should promote her.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°She¡¯s already second inmand and lead trainer. I can¡¯t do any more aside from giving up my position, and she has made it tantly clear that she doesn¡¯t want it.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°This is fun and all, but won¡¯t you two bete at this rate?¡± (Maria)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, we have to go. Please, Lady Keeno, allow me to assist you.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>Standing to the side of the carriage; Margaret offered her hand to me. I took and and she helped me into the carriage. After I was seated she got in and Zofia climbed into the horseman¡¯s seat.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Off we go then.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>Maria waved us off outside the window as we departed. Once we left the coach house I got my first glimpse of the capital of Lokir.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Thepound we are staying in for the moment is the one in the noble district since we have business here. Once all of that is finished. We¡¯ll move to our normal one.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>I nodded my head as I looked at the smooth white stone that made up the buildings and the small canals of water that flowed down from the roof of the buildings to smaller canals on the ground. It seemed like a waste to me considering the environment, but then I realized that it wasn¡¯t all that hot. Sure, it was hotterpared to what most would considerfortable, but no to the extent that someone could get used to it and stop noticing. Every so often we would pass by another carriage that was much more openpared to ours. Other times we would pass by some people walking down the sidewalk. They always wore pompous expressions and were dressed gaudily. We reached a small square and began passing through it when the carriage started to speed up a bit.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Aunt Zofia, what are you doing?¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Avoiding a fight.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>I saw nothing on my side of the carriage and was about to look out of Margaret¡¯s side but whatever it was that made Zofia nervous was already out of my sight.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Was it kitsune?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°No, just a rival order that try to antagonize us any time they see us.¡± (Zofia)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ah.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>After about five more minutes we arrived at arge building decorated with vibrant blue and red stones mixed with the white of all the other buildings. It also gave me the feeling all other Dead Zone cores did.


    <span>


    <span>¡°So the Core is here.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Is it?¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°It feels like it¡­but I still need more information, so I won¡¯t go for it for now.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ok.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>{How patient of you, Keeno.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­Is that?¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, that¡¯s Ama. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t say anything earlier considering she had some input.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°It wasn¡¯t the time for me to react then.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>I nodded as the carriage began moving again. We passed through a giant metal gate and shortly after that through a massive stone doorway.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Keeno, before we enter the meeting, know that most all present will be an enemy. One person can be an ally as long as we keepposure.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°What¡¯s their name?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Sif. She is a kitsune woman like you and the only kitsune on the Council. She is the one who owns all the brothels in the city.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Alright.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>[Sif POV]


    <span>Sitting in the stuffy room full of overinted egos and barely concealed schemes was stifling. Even sitting in my small booth on the second story of the meeting hall wasn¡¯t enough to escape it. We were called in to attend an emergency meeting due to the arrival of the Commander of the Eclipse Knights when she should have still been in Odeen. Though strangely enough there was also an impromptu ball to be held tonight as well, which is strange considering those in charge of hosting those took months to prepare them normally. That fact aside, I could only wait.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Sif.¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, my lovely attendant?¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°We received a small missive from that poor girl who was the envoy.¡±


    <span>


    <span>My foxy attendant handed me a small slip of paper and gave me a light peck on the cheek before stepping into the shadows behind me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You little tease.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Unfolding the paper in my hands I quickly read over the message. The words held on the paper made my eyes go wide and I read it several more times just to make sure I wasn¡¯t somehow misreading it.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Sif?¡±


    <span>


    <span>My cute bodyguard grew concerned and she as well as my attendant stepped up to me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯m fine, my lovelies. But¡­is this true?¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>The two looked over my shoulders, making sure their breasts pressed into my back as much as they could, and read the note.


    <span>


    <span>¡°A kitsune with more than one tail?¡± (Attendant)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯d only heard stories from my grandmother of our ancient ancestors being able to grow more tails.¡± (Bodyguard)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hush for now, they¡¯ve arrived.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Looking down from my private booth, I saw the herald walk to the center of the room.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Announcing Commander Margaret Nearl, Commander of the Eclipse Knight Order as well as her guest from afar!¡±


    <span>


    <span>The herald moved away from the ¡®main stage¡¯ as fast as he could and as soon as he was gone, the double doors opened. The first one to enter the room was the young Nearl girl. Her polished ck armor reflected the dim lighting of the room,bined with her equally ck mantle making her look like a shadow that hade to life. I immediately noticed the different air about her, almost as if she was apletely different being than thest time I had seen her. Just her appearance made someone more observant nobles start whispering amongst their neighbors or the not so discreet passing of messages between booths on the second floor. But all of that stopped as the second pair of steps was heard.


    <span>


    <span>The room becamepletely, utterly silent, as if all sound had been forcibly killed and a strange, almost overwhelming presence began to suffocate the room. It also became noticeably warmer and I could have sworn that some shadows began to move. Each step echoed around the room until, finally, she emerged.


    <span>


    <span>Wearing a beautiful rust colored foreign looking dress a tall Kitsune woman stopped next to Lady Margaret. She had beautiful, long white hair done up but still ending by her knees. Her four fluffy tails as well as her ears and hair ended in striking blue that seemed to move like mes. She had proportions that even I was envious of, as if her body was sculpted to be the most beautiful, seductive thing in the world with a warm blue light shining in her chest. Her face was just as beautiful, free of blemishes, with fierce eyes whose corners had ck makeup in the style of our people. Every so often small wisps of blue me would burst to life only to fade around her. But her eyes¡­her eyes were her most striking feature, even above her four tails. They were seas of the purest ck I¡¯d ever seen dotted with small inds of glowing blue and sliced in twain by pupils as sharp as knives.


    <span>


    <span>Her gaze swept around the room and I could tell she was quite skilled in making her thoughts and emotions. When her gaze met mine I broke out into a cold sweat. It was like I could hide nothing from those eyes, like my Soul was removed from my body and was being judged by a higher being. This oppressive feeling only eased when she moved her gaze off of me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>I let out a breath I didn¡¯t even realize I was holding in and looked at my sides. My attendant and bodyguard were equally as stunned as I was and still hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock. Observing the other nobles I could see some had been just as mesmerized as I was. Others couldn¡¯t conceal their lust and greed while a few showed clear difort.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯m attending tonight¡¯s ball.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Are you going to add another sister?¡± (Attendant)


    <span>


    <span>¡°No, I doubt even I could handle her. But I do want to make a connection with her. She may be able to help in saving our people.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°We shall assist in any was possible, Mistress.¡± (Bodyguard)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Just give us and our sisters the word and we¡¯ll do all in our power.¡± (Assistant)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Thank you, my lovelies. I¡¯ll rely on all of you.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: That¡¯s a first.


    <span>Yeah.


    <span>Luna: Might just be me, but I don¡¯t know how to feel about that.


    <span>I say as long as she keeps it under a certain number and can satisfy them all equally, then good for her.


    <span>Luna: Hmm.


    <span>*A portal opens*


    <span>Fu: Payto!


    <span>Moco: We found something!


    <span>And that something is?


    <span>Fu: Two weird books. They fell on Moco¡¯s head the other day out of nowhere. They had a strange power on them too, so after we read them we thought to bring them here.


    <span>Moco: It really hurt. But it also gave the two of us ideas.


    <span>I can take the books from you. I think I know where they go. *takes books and looks at titles before very quickly tossing them away into Celeste¡¯s ce*


    <span>Luna: Weird reaction detected.


    <span>MGE.


    <span>Luna: Ah. Understandable.


    <span>Moco: We have a request.


    <span>¡­Is it what I¡¯m thinking it is?


    <span>Fu: Dunno. We can¡¯t read your mind.


    <span>You two want to be goddesses of monsters and make the ones from those books.


    <span>Both: YEP! It¡¯ll be funny what happens!


    <span>Luna: The sync is strong with these two.


    <span>I-


    <span>Moco: Plus it could be a fun idea to see what happens when twin goddesses share a single Authority.


    <span>Fu: It does seem special enough to be a single god Authority.


    <span>¡­I¡¯ll allow it. But you need to get Amaterasu and Hresvelgr to help.


    <span>Both: YAY! What do we need to do?


    <span>Since it¡¯s a special case, I¡¯ll give it to you two. *pats their heads* And done.


    <span>Fu: Ehehe.


    <span>Moco: Hehehe.


    <span>Luna:¡­


    <span>*Headpats Luna with a tail*


    <span>Luna: Fufufu..


    <span>

 Chapter 180- The Den of Wolves

    Chapter 180- The Den of Wolves


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>Looking around therge auditorium-like room I couldn¡¯t help but feel a disgusting, skin-crawling feeling at the sight of such corrupted souls. Granted there were a few that were grey and an even smaller number closer to white than ck, but the repulsive feeling of corruption nearly drowned them outpletely. It made me sick.


    <span>


    <span>¡®Lady Keeno¡­I feel unwell. This muddy feeling, I¡¯ve never felt something like this before.¡¯


    <span>


    <span>¡®Trust me, the sight is even worse. Be d you just can¡¯t see it yet.¡¯


    <span>


    <span>Our telepathic conversation ended when a man dressed in a Vanir-style all white suit stepped up to a small raised podium.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I, Lord Ign Orant,mence this meeting! All my fellow nobles, we have gathered here to hear what Margaret Nearl, Commander of the Eclipse Knights, has to say in regards to the disappearance of our blue-bloodedrade as well as the state of Odeen. We shall also <span style="font-style:italic">discuss<span> the identity and visit of her mysterious guest. Afterwards a ball will be held in hopes that the Mysterious Miss will join us so we may all be acquainted.¡±


    <span>


    <span>After the small speech with hidden meanings thrown unstopped down and motioned for Margaret to step up. She did so and a spotlighting from seemingly nowhere focused on her.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Nearl, please exin the disappearance of ourrade. Why were you and your proud Eclipse Knights unable to sessfully escort him home?¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>¡°He fell gravely ill in Odeen as we made our way back and his condition only deteriorated once we entered Lokir¡¯s borders. Even with the assistance of the healer we managed to acquire while there, things continued to worsen. We also ran into some foul luck while on the road and were attacked by a monster I¡¯d never seen before. It swooped from the sky and destroyed his carriage andpletely obliterating him. We did our best to y the beast and seeded. But the cost was grave as the speed of the monster was so great, the only thing left of our charge was a bloody mist floating away on the desert breeze. If you do not believe my words, myrades have brought the remains of the beast to The Guild. The can corroborate my story as they had witnessed the entire event.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Very well, we shall send a representative to the Guildter today to review your story. Now, the Odeen matter. We have received some reports from our people abroad that extreme turmoil has broken out across our neighboring nation. Can you exin?¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Firstly, for our original purpose in visiting Odeen, in blunt words, it was an absolute failure. The king was shrewd and any cooperation we offered was met with rules so strict it would be easier to put out the mes burning in the desert.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>Murmurs broke out amongst the mongrels while I held in a snicker.


    <span>


    <span>¡°That aside, any cooperation is, in my opinion,pletely useless at the current time. On our final day in the capital, King Baldr Odeen was assassinated and the country¡¯s Dead Zone vanished. Thend itself also began to experience an, enviable, endless snowfall. I know not if it still continues now, but upon our flight from the country it had not ceased. Not only that but I believe the Prime Minister was also killed, so the country has fallen intoplete anarchy.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>More murmurs broke out with several of the louder voices hinting at wanting to take some of Odeen¡¯snd for themselves. It was then another noble spoke up after the noise died down.


    <span>


    <span>¡°What about the so called Death Dragon? Was Odeen King not protected by such a ferocious beast?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°We never saw a dragon in our time there. From the way some of the knights spoke, it either died many years ago or was never there in the first ce and was just a way for Odeen¡¯s king to keep his citizens in check. Some even let slip of an assassin organization that could have been the dragon in the rumors, though, if my opinion is eptable, I believe that there once was a dragon, but it left Odeen long ago and its king used the legend to his advantage.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>Another noble then spoke.


    <span>


    <span>¡°In your opinion, Miss Nearl, would it be beneficial for us to mobilize a force to ¡®assist¡¯ the people of Odeen?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°No. The people there were unequipped for the kind of weather they faced, and we, as a country who have equallycking experience in said weather, should not do anything to risk making it even worse for them as well as wasting our already small amount of resources just getting through the desert on top of supplying a small portion of a country already in decline for practically nothing. Even as a humanitarian effort it would fail.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Your opinion from personal experience is noted. We will discuss this in more detailter. Now, if you wouldn¡¯t mind, please introduce your guest.¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I believe my own words would not be adequate, so I shall leave her introduction to her.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm¡­Your suggestion is epted.¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>Margaret stepped down from the podium and made way for me.


    <span>


    <span>{Know what you are going to say?}


    <span>


    <span>¡®Seeing as most of them here are going to die, I don¡¯t mind divulging a bit.¡¯


    <span>


    <span>I stepped up and the spotlight focused on me. I kept an emotionless face as I began to speak.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hello to all of you, gracious nobles of the Great Lokir. I havee from and far from here in order to learn and improve my knowledge in hopes of eventually bing a ruler worthy of her crown. Thend k hail from is Falheim, the, until recently, istionist country that is, if I am to be blunt, so far behind current civilization it¡¯s a surprise we even survived until now. Ah, but forgive me, I have not given you my name yet. I am Okami Fafnir, daughter of Falheim¡¯s sole Duke and, due to circumstances, the future ruler of Falheim. I have been traveling with Lady Margaret here for a while after running into her in the country known as Odeen in hopes of not only learning, as I said before, but also seeing the world. She has told me many good things about this lovely city of yours and I hope you will all be open to showing me what you can so I may return one day to Falheim and show my people our old ways are obsolete.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>The clear greed in the eyes of most every noble in the room, it was almost like a night sky lit with stars. I could even clearly see the ns some of them were making to keep me here permanently. I nced in the direction of the Kitsune woman Margaret told me about earlier and who I saw when I first entered the room. She seemed to be contemting my every word with concealed disappointment. It seemed I needed to advertise my skills a bit to get a message across. I fanned out my tails to make a dramatic disy.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Though I and by extension my home may be seen as behind in the modern sense of technology, culture, and politics, I AM confident in not only mine, but my people¡¯s magic as well. If I may, shall I demonstrate a small bit?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>This captured the attention of everyone again and the noble from earlier spoke.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Feel free, Lady Okami.¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>I smiled and asked for the light to be put out. It was, dying the entire room in darkness, the only lighting from my core and eyes. Flicking a finger up, I said a quiet chant to conceal my full abilities. Above me where the spotlight was, a small ball of blue me sparked to life before growing in size, shading the room in a brilliant blue glow and casting even darker shadows. I made the ball expand and break apart, turning into a magic circle. A few of the nobles that couldn¡¯t take the heat passed out while another few had their facial hair burnt off. I made the magic circle spin before it faded into sparks and vanished.


    <span>


    <span>¡°We pride ourselves on our control of mana and theplexity of our magic. That is just a small fraction of what I could do.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>It took several minutes for the nobles to recover.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Lady Okami¡­if what you are saying is true about your mastery of mana control, would you and your people be able to extinguish mes that have been burning for thousands of years?¡± (Ign)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Possibly? I believe it would depend on their source and the amount of people dedicated to the extinguishing.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>More murmurs burst out all across the room.


    <span>


    <span>¡®Lady Keeno, I think you¡¯re ying it up to much.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡®Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m about to pull the rug.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Looking up, I spoke one mace more.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ah. Pardon me, but I neglected to mention that my people are also quite defensive. While we are wee to outside aide, we¡¯d like to preserve our dignity and culture. If we perceive a threat to that, we may act out in quite the violent manner. That small quirk extends to me as well, so if I offend any of you or cause physical harm, I apologize in advance. I may be ignorant when ites to many things regarding the world outside my country, even I am unwilling to budge on this. Just as I may unintentionally slight you, if you slight me, I will see it as an action against my home.¡± I smiled and saw some nobles visibly flinch. ¡°I am willing to wage war on my home¡¯s behalf, so I¡¯d think twice about putting into motion a few of the ns I could see in your eyes. Now, if you excuse me, I shall go prepare for that ball you have invited me to. Thank you for your time, gracious nobles of Lokir.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>I stepped down from the podium and left the room, Margaret two steps behind me.


    <span>


    <span>¡®Hmm. I didn¡¯t expect that. Now you have full justification to retaliate in any way you see fit and face no repercussions else they cut off the only way they can see to possibly get rid of a persistent problem.¡¯ (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡®That¡¯s what I was going for, but only a few actually believed my words. Especially among the ones that were actually listening and not just undressing me with their eyes.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡®I was monitoring Lady Sif and she seemed to be highly interested in you. Especially after that disy. I expect she¡¯ll be at the ball and will want to talk to you.¡¯ (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡®Perfect. She¡¯s the only one I actually wanted to talk to. Out of pretty much everyone there, her soul was the least corrupted.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡®I¡¯ll be attending to, so I¡¯ll be able to run interference that should allow you some time with her.¡¯ (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡®That¡¯d be perfect.¡¯ (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡®I¡¯ll see it done then.¡¯ (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>We eventually ran into someone who seemed somewhat important and asked for a room to rest before the ball began. They dly led the way to a room down a long, dimly lit corridor. The room they led us in was quite posh and we were told that if we needed anything, to just ring the small bell on the table. Once the guide closed the door, a faint sweet smell filled the room.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Margaret, eat this. It should counteract anything they throw at us for the rest of the day, poison wise.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Greatly appreciated.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>Like this we spent a few hours rxing before the ball began.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: Wow. I know they are dumb, but filling a room with aphrodisiacs just after a threat of war? There is stupid, then there is this.


    <span>Believe it or not, this was set up before that. Whoever came up with it is going to be in for a rude awakening soon.


    <span>Luna: Dancing in iron shoes?


    <span>Heated iron shoes.


    <span>Luna: Oh fun.


    <span>I¡¯m just ready for the hellhounds.


    <span>Luna: Oh¡­that will be interesting. Will they do it secretly, or tantly?


    <span>My bet is on a mix of both.


    <span>Luna: Then I¡¯ll be on secretly.


    <span>Your on.


    <span>

 Chapter 181- The First of Many

    Chapter 181- The First of Many


    [Keeno POV]


    Turned out most of the things provided to us in that room had some form of poison or aphrodisiac which made me d I had that medicine from Ama.


    ¡°Ya know, Margaret, it just struck me how, with Ama being a kitsune goddess, it could be seen as sacrilege to treat kitsune like they do here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I think most of the nobles are treating it as a form of worship in some twisted way.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I can sort of see that, but with me in the picture now, I say it¡¯s sacrilege.¡± (Keeno)


    {Ooo! Start a holy war!}


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Boo!¡± (Keeno)


    {Boo!}


    ¡°Don¡¯t boo me.¡± (Margaret)


    Margaret, Ama, and I continued to lightly banter when two people I was <em>slightly </em>annoyed with spoke up.


    ¡°Master, we have returned from exploring this weird tree.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°It¡¯s quite fun. It has a lot of different energies, and it feels full of life, which is odd considering who you are, Master.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°That¡¯s nice and all, you two, but we need to have a chat.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Geri¡­¡± (Freki)


    ¡°I¡¯m scared too, Freki.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°Next time you two have to relieve yourselves, make sure your connection with me is severed so I don¡¯t have to hear you ying with yourselves for a week! Do you know how annoying it is to hear constant moans and other sounds day in and day out!? If it happens again, I¡¯m going to break your hands one bone at a time.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Yes Master. It won¡¯t happen again.¡±¡±


    ¡°Good. Now get out here, I have another mission for you.¡± (Keeno)


    The Rune tattoos on my arms glowed and the two hellhounds jumped out, kneeling.


    ¡°Gather up some Death Spirits and hide in my shadow. We are going to a ball soon and there are going to be several people marked for death. I want them followed for now and only killed when I give the order.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Understood.¡±¡±


    They sank into the shadows and their presence vanished.


    ¡°Thank you for not ordering a ughter immediately.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Mm. With my improved deration earlier, I want to mess with them a bit.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Heh. It¡¯s going to be entertaining watching them fall all over themselves while trying not to offend you.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Indeed. Though I would like to meet the one that tried to hit us with aphrodisiac in the room. They¡¯ll get special attention.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I won¡¯t stop that one, they deserve it.¡± (Margaret)


    A few more hours passed before a knock sounded on the door. After acknowledging the knocker, the door opened to reveal the noble that officiated the meeting earlier whose name I forgot.


    ¡°Mydies, the ball is beginning soon, and it would be I, Lord Ign Orant¡¯s, pleasure to escort you to the venue.¡± (Ign)


    I could see in his eyes that he was shocked at the smell in the room, and I could see the cold sweat breaking out all over his face.


    ¡°Pardon me, but by chance do the two of you feel alright?¡± (Ign)


    ¡°I feel a bit peckish, but other than that I am fine. What if you, Lady Nearl?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I am perfectly fine. A bit tired of this sweet-smelling room, but that¡¯s about it.¡± (Margaret)


    Though I assume he thought otherwise, the clear expression of disbelieving relief on his face made it clear he was not the one behind this room¡¯s <em>amenities</em>. We stood up and exited the room before the noble turned and, with a bow, led the way to the ball. It was a very short walk before a set of, honestly, beautifully sculpted stone doors. The noble pushed them open and a sight I never expected to see in the middle of a desert appeared.


    The thing that fist drew my eyes was a massive fountain burbling with clear water, statues of kitsune holding overflowing bowls with water flowing down the curvaceous bodies and onto stone carved trees which spread the water further until it finallynded in the bottom of the fountain which was made of apiszuli basic. From the fountain several lines of palm trees spread in each direction. It was the most Life I had seen since arriving in Lokir. Seeing the sight, I got a fun idea.


    ¡®Huginn, Muninn, operation dramatic entrance.¡¯ (Keeno)


    As we walked down the row of palm trees to the fountain, I heard the low drum of music and the chattering of people. Just as we were about to enter the za, two shadows flew down from the night sky andnded on the palm trees. They both opened their four wings and let out a ghostly caw that echoed around the za and seemed to rattle the soul. All present looked at the trees where the two ravens sat and I alone walked between them. The pped elegantly down from the trees and allowed me to pet their heads.


    ¡°I apologize for disturbing the festivities, but my little friends here love making an entrance.¡± (Keeno)


    The silence following my wordssted for several moments before slow, uneasy ps followed. I yed it off like I didn¡¯t realize the strange mood and continued to walk toward the fountain. As my steps echoed through the za with nothing but the burbling of the fountain to contest them the ps slowly fading out and the music of the performers beginning again. I nced at my two feathered friends, and they flew away into the night sky, which drastically improved the mood around us.


    ¡®Note for future me, Huginn and Muninn seem to have an aura that makes people uneasy.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {Well, as Heralds of Death, it makes sense. Though with that it¡¯s fitting all the people here saw them.}


    ¡®Well, I hope that foxdy didn¡¯t see them, she isn¡¯t marked for now.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {It¡¯ll be fine.}


    Slowly the chatter began again, and Margaret arrived at my side before the wave of nobles fully regained their senses.


    ¡®I believe you should find Lady Sif before things get annoying for you.¡¯ (Margaret)


    ¡®I agree.¡¯ (Keeno)


    I admired the fountain for a few more minutes before turning and looking over the attendees. While most were chatting happily with their fellow nobles, it was clear they were all keeping at least one eye on me or in my direction. It seemed my little disy with Huginn and Muninn didn¡¯t curb their ambitions as much as I¡¯d hoped. A few tried to approach me but they were skillfully dissuaded by Margaret. I wasn¡¯t lucky enough to avoid all of them, however. Most of them, surprisingly, only wished to greet me and offered to invite me to tea or a meal at their homes before walking away to socialize more, though some were pushier than others.


    It was only after wading through all of that did, I see the kitsune woman I was looking for. She was a head shorter than me with long blond hair and a simrly golden tail ending in a tuft of white. Though I assumed it was just an act, everything about her screamed meek and sheltered. Smiling to myself I slowly approached her. Noticing that she lightly blushed and half turned away from me.


    [Sif POV]


    So far it was turning out to be a boring ball. The most important guest hadn¡¯t arrived yet and I was starting to worry that something had happened to her when she left the meeting hall earlier. Knowing some of these bastards as well as I did, I know at least one had to have done SOMETHING. I just hoped it wouldn¡¯t lead to a war we were unequipped to fight. It was then that me and everyone else here felt an ominous pressure.


    Turning to the west za entrance, two massive birds resembling ravensnded on the trees. The sound they made sent shivers down my spine and caused my tail to fluff out in panic. My attendant who wasn¡¯t that far from me wobbled and I held her up so she wouldn¡¯t fall. It was then that we heard the footsteps. Looking down I saw the Princess arrive. The birds flew down from the trees andnded next to her and she began patting their heads with a gentle smile on her face. She said something and they flew away, but I was too dazed to process what she said.


    The Princess walked toward the embarrassing fountain in the center of the za while all those present recovered from the shock. Soon enough though, she was getting swarmed by nobles. Lady Nearl took the brunt of them and distracted them, though the Princess was still unlucky enough to be approached. Only after a while did the sea of people recede enough for her to breathe. It was then that I noticed she was looking around. When our eyes met she smiled and I felt my hear start beating faster. I could feel my cheeks heat up and I turned away.


    ¡®Why am I acting like such a child whose just met her first love?¡¯


    While I was losing myself in my thoughts, I didn¡¯t notice when the Princess moved next to me.


    ¡°Hello there, are you perhaps free at the moment?¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Ah! Y-yes, your highness. I-I apologize for not greeting you sooner.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s quite alright. I didn¡¯t have all that much of a chance to find you either. I have been wishing to speak with you since I saw you in that stuffy meeting hall earlier.¡± (Okami)


    Her small, gentle smile and honest eyes made me blush again and I looked down in hopes of hiding it. When I did so my eyesnded on her hands and on the ring on one of her fingers.


    ¡°If I may, your highness, are you perhaps betrothed?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I am actually married, though unfortunately my wife could not join me on my journey. Oh, how I miss her.¡± (Okami)


    This answer shook me to my core. Not only was she already married, but to another woman at that. Not that I had any right to question that, but I had brothers who could pass on my family name. For a prospective queen to be married to a woman was unheard of.


    ¡°Is there something wrong? Are you perhaps ufortable with that?¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Oh no, morning the slightest. In fact, I have four wives myself, it just shocked me that as a future queen you would marry a woman and not a man to have heirs to the throne.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Ah. Well, I cannot have children, so there is no problem.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°Ah¡­my apologies.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°You have nothing to apologize for, little fox. Now, while I would love to dive into a topic discussing my wife and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d love to do the same about yours, I have more important matters to discuss with you, though I¡¯m not sure how much we should go into details here. Is there a time when you are free to meetter?¡± (Okami)


    Her serious switch in tone brought me back to my senses. She is right, this isn¡¯t the time to act as I have been.


    ¡°My apologies, it seems I¡¯ve been a bit clumsy in my manners. As for your requested meeting, I can arrange a time and ce, though I doubt the amodations I can give you would be the most proper for someone of your status.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I care not for that. The only ones who know my true identity are the nobles here and Lady Nearl¡¯s knights. To the rest of the people, I am but an aspiring knight.¡± (Okami)


    I nodded my head. I was about to turn to my attendant but before I could she stepped up and handed me a folded piece of paper.


    ¡°Thank you. Your Highness, this is the address of my abode. While I will have to check my schedule for the time, this is the ce we can meet. Though I am sure you would like to meet at thepound of Lady Nearl¡¯s Eclipse Knights, not many ces are safe from the prying ears of others. My establishments are somewhat of a neutral zone from the various factions in this city, so any secret spoken is safe there.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Thank you, Madam Sif. I shall meet with you at your earliest convenience then.¡± (Okami)


    She hid the paper away before smiling at me and my attendant.


    ¡°I believe I should take my leave now. I cannot let Margaret handle all of these people by herself.¡± (Okami)


    Just as she was turning away, one of the sleazier nobles approached, reeking of alcohol.


    ¡°Excuse medies, it seems your conversation is over. May I have some of your time, Princess? Did you and your friend Lady Nearl like the room that my people prepared for you?¡±


    He stepped between us, practically pushing me away and clinging to the Princess. He lightly bowed and I thought he was reaching for her hand to ce a kiss on it, but instead he grabbed a lock of loose hair and, with a knife neither of us saw him holding, cut said lock off. Me as well as many others froze in ce as we watched this scene. Looking at the Princess¡¯s face, her carefully maintained expression was gone, reced with a rage that reminded me of zing mes. It made me fear for the souls of all present.


    ¡°State your name, noble.¡± (Okami)


    ¡°I am Lord Gonnadi, at your service.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Die.¡± (Okami)


    A sword appeared in the Princess¡¯s hand. Its de as ck as night with blue mes that sparked orange on the edges and with strange golden symbols etched on the de shed through the air and shortly after the noble¡¯s head was separated from his body.


    The venue went silent as the now headless body teetered before falling limply to the ground. No blood spilled as the wounds were cauterized but the smell of burnt flesh began to fill the area. As we all silently looked at the body, a ck, muddy looking orb floated out of the body and flew toward the fountain. Before it could make contact with it, the sound of rattling chains was heard and the sword flew from Princess Omani¡¯s hand, piercing the orb before returning to her hand once more.


    ¡°Hmph. To think such a thing would happen only hours after my warning. Should I take this as the stance of the rest of you?¡± (Okami)


    No one moved.


    ¡°Answer me!¡± (Okami)


    The anger in her voice and the temperature around her increased. Which knocked several people into action, me being chief among them. I quickly knelt before her with my head bowed.


    ¡°No, your highness, that is not the stance the country of Lokir takes. We wish to keep friendly rtions with you and deeply apologize for the behavior of our own. Though we cannot offer you his head as you¡¯ve already taken it, we shall offer all of this one¡¯s assets to you in reparations.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Hmm. Very well, I¡¯ll ept your words, Madam Sif, but know that you are the only reason I ept. I won¡¯t harm one of my own unless absolutely necessary, and as you are the only one so far, I¡¯ve seen with no ulterior motive, so that gives me reason to trust your words. BUT there won¡¯t be a second time. Margaret, let¡¯s go, I¡¯ve grown tired of this.¡± (Okami)


    Sweeping her tails as she turned, she rubbed her hands through the hair that was cut as we all stared at the body of the idiot who almost ruined a chance at removing the ever-burning mes and the salvation of my people. As soon as they werepletely gone from the venue most everyone had snapped out of the shock.


    ¡°Good Lord Ign, please remove this trash from here then we must convene a second meeting to discuss our future steps.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I agree, Madam Sif. Everyone! The ball is over, as Madam Sif had said, we must hold an emergency meeting, so please reconvene in the meeting hall!¡± (Ign)


    Everyone began to move toward other doors than the ones that the Princess entered and exited through while Lord Ign examined the corpse.


    ¡°Madam Sif, thank you for your courage in this moment of plight. If not for your quick thinking, then I fear we could have lost a most valuable asset.¡± (Ign)


    ¡°Mm. I will not be present in this meeting. I must retire for the night after this experience, but please send a scribe¡¯s report to me. Also, I suggest heeding her warnings, her magic, from what we saw earlier is one thing, but that sword she wielded, I¡¯m assuming her Soul Weapon, filled me with a dread I¡¯ve never felt before. Like I was staring Death itself in the face.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Mmm. I will take your words into ount.¡± (Ign)


    As I turned to leave, I saw Lord Ign take the lock of hair out of the dead man¡¯s hand and stash it away in his own pocket. I couldn¡¯t help but let out a quiet sigh.


    ¡®This fool is no different.¡¯ (Sif)


    I pulled my attendant along and we met up with my bodyguard in the hall before leaving to my carriage. I told my bodyguard what had transpired, and she pulled me close and snuggled me to calm me down. My attendant also snuggled closer and ced her fluffy tail in myp for me to hug.


    ¡°I love you both so much, I don¡¯t deserve you.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°It¡¯s us who should be saying that. If not for you, who knows what we¡¯d be like or who¡¯s whims we¡¯d be under. I prefer you and your love over pretty much everything.¡± (Bodyguard)


    ¡°I agree. I¡¯d much prefer being with you for all time than anything else in the world.¡± (Attendant)


    ¡°Hehehe. Looks like you two want some spoiling tonight.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°¡°We should be the ones spoiling you.¡±¡±


    Before I could reply, the two kissed my cheeks. Unbeknownst to us, two wrathful goddesses were nning the obliteration of most of the nobles in this country with a fury as hot as the two suns.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Let me at em!


    ¡­


    Luna: Payto!


    I¡¯m tempted.


    Luna: Eh!?


    *Before Payto opens a portal for Luna he is hit in the head by a rock with a note tied to it*


    Note: Payto, I¡¯m monitoring you from here, don¡¯t you dare do it. I know how you all feel cause even I¡¯m mad, but I don¡¯t think letting Luna loose will end well. And you still need to keep the pretense of impartiality. -Order


    Tch.


    *Payto gets hit with another rock*


    Note: Don¡¯t you ¡®tch¡¯ me.


    Yes Order. Pleasee home, I miss all of you.


    *A feather drops into Payto¡¯sp*


    Note: We¡¯re almost done. After the wedding we can be together again, so just be a little more patient.


    Astraea¡¯s Addition: Don¡¯t worry Papa, we¡¯ll be home soon!


    Nykuro¡¯s Addition: And I¡¯ll allow you to pat my head if you can wait a bit more.


    Swii¡¯s Addition: *sends pats through the note in form of emoticon*


    Luna: ¡­So no rampage?


    No.


    Luna: A.

 Chapter 182- Angry Isn鈥檛 Enough to Describe

    Chapter 182- Angry Isn¡¯t Enough to Describe


    [Keeno POV]


    The carriage ride back was¡­less than pleasant. I was still extremely angry though I was trying to hold it in so I didn¡¯t start making things spontaneouslybust. Margaret, to her credit, was managing to keep a cool expression though I could see she was ufortable with how hot it was getting in here. Zofia had been asking questions, but I hadn¡¯t answered due to the extreme focus I was having to use, and Margaret was too busy making herself small as possible to say anything. Ama, on the other hand, had free reign to express herself.


    {THOSE FILTHY MONGRELS DARE DO THAT TO MY KEENO!!! I¡¯LL KILL THEM ALL!!! I¡¯LL RIP THEIR SPINES OUT AND FEED THEM TO THE MONSTERS AND THEN I¡¯LL REVIVE THEM AND DO IT AGAIN!!!!! I CURSE THEM AND THEIR BLOODLINES FOR 20 GENERATIONS!!!! I¡¯LL MAKE THEM SUFFER A YEAR FOR EACH STRAND NO <strong>ATOM </strong>OF HAIR CUT FROM MY BELOVED KEENO!!!!}


    Even Huginn and Muninn, who had teleported themselves into my tails, were angry. Their feathers that were usually smooth were ruffled making them seem bigger and more intimidating than usual. I¡¯d mention Geri and Freki, but it goes without saying that they were in a simr state to the rest of us. I ran my fingers through the rough, uneven cut in my hair and my face scrunched with displeasure. It took a lot of work and time to get my hair as long as it was and to the best condition then I nearly boiled over again, causing the curtains and seat cushions to start lightly smoking.


    When we stopped and Zofia told us we¡¯d arrived back, I got up and nearly threw the door off its hinges before leaving the carriage. Zofia looked like she wanted to protest, but seeing the look on my face she held back and left me alone. I moved a bit away from the carriage and sat down on the ground under a skylight that let in a beam of moonlight and began to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself. Each exhale let out a cloud of steam.


    ¡°Again, can someone PLEASE tell me what happened?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°A near catastrophe. Well, a catastrophe that could have turned worse.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin anything.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine Margaret, skirting around the issue isn¡¯t going to change that it happened, and I don¡¯t think I can get any angrier.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the meeting detailster, but long story short we were shut in a room full of aphrodisiac for several hours and in the middle of the ball Gonnadi walked up and cut off a lock of her hair. To which she promptly beheaded him.¡± (Margaret)


    My ear twitched in displeasure.


    ¡°And the entire way back Ive been hearing an angry Goddess cursing and fuming to the point I¡¯m surprised the orange sun hasn¡¯t risen by itself and fallen on this country.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°You poor girl. That room aside you have such beautiful hair, it truly is a catastrophe for something like that to happen. I know it won¡¯t fix the damage that¡¯s already done, but I can at least help in either trimming more to make it look better or styling it in a way that makes it unnoticeable.¡± (Zofia)


    The switch in Zofia¡¯s tone and personality from strict advisor to caring aunt was a shock and my anger abated for a moment.


    ¡°¡­Thank you for the thought, but I¡¯m going to let Pram help me. She¡¯s always helped with that, and I can¡¯t really describe what I like in words.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Of course. Now, back to the previous topic, how exactly are we going to get through this without the other nobles breathing down our backs?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°She made up a story about being a Princess from Falheim who isn¡¯t afraid to go to war by herself if she is slighted, so I don¡¯t think we have to worry much.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°I mean, it is <em>technically </em>the truth.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°That¡­actually gives me a lot to work with.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Also, there should be a messenger from a noble named Sifing at some point to deliver a message.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh? She¡¯s a good ally to have, so that¡¯s good.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Really? I mean, I know it was most likely an act she put up in public, but she seemed kind of meek to me. And she had a hard time looking me in the eyes. Not that I don¡¯t understand that part.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Madam Sif and being meek don¡¯t make any sense. Also, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes? The ck parts make them more alluring.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Tell that to most people I meet. Do you know how much I¡¯ve heard people say my eyes are creepy? Of course, I ignore those ignorant mongrels, but still.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Bit of a strong word to use there, but considering how things went today, it¡¯s understandable.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°All this aside, Keeno, thank you for notpletely blowing up today. I know I¡¯m asking an unreasonable amount of restraint from you, but please know that I truly do appreciate it. I just don¡¯t want you to have a bad name associated with you when the truth finallyes out one day.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Margaret, I may be a god, but I don¡¯t want to be a tyrant. I won¡¯t oppress or destroy innocent people out of my own prejudices and vendettas. At least if I can help it. Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I have an angry wife to calm down and some sleep to get. Hopefully I¡¯ll be in a better mood tomorrow, or is it already today? Whatever.¡± (Keeno)


    I got up and slowly walked to the room I was assigned to. I took off my clothes and flipped onto the bed naked. The cool sheets helping very slightly cool my head.


    ¡°Ama, stop it. What¡¯s done is done and any future generation 17 times removed won¡¯t have any memory or connection to this, so that¡¯s just going overboard. I get you¡¯re pissed, I am too, but if we¡¯re going to do something about it, we need a calm headfirst.¡±


    {Keeno, I can¡¯t just sit idly by. I NEED to do something.}


    ¡°Then take their magic away. It¡¯s not like they use it for anything good anyway, so without it they¡¯ll be even more defenseless.¡±


    {Fine. Though I reserve the right to a few of their souls.}


    ¡°Was never going to challenge that. Speaking of, I know that fountain is connected to the Core, but I couldn¡¯t feel it aside from the knowledge that it¡¯s there. If that makes sense.¡±


    {It would have appeared of that soul touched it.}


    ¡°Oh. Well, it¡¯s not like I was going to take it yet anyway. Geri, Freki.¡±


    The two appeared from my arms kneeling at the side of the bed. I was too tired and angry to care about my state of undress and just gave them their orders.


    ¡°I just realized I was an idiot, so make sure you have one of the spirits following whoever has my hair that was cut. Make sure they don¡¯t do anything just yet but keep an eye on them. I want to know everything they do with it so I can judge just how long their soul is going to be reprimanded before finally passing into the Cycle.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What if they do something reprehensible?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Mark the soul for Ama to take care of.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Understood!¡± (Both)


    They once again faded into the shadows to spread the word. I sluggishly got up and moved under the covers of the bed before being fed up and just kicked them offpletely.


    ¡°I¡¯m too angry to sleep.¡±


    {Then how about finding you a luby?}


    ¡°Might as well.¡±


    {Alright then.}


    Ama then began to sing a soft tune I¡¯d never heard before that projected a sense of calm and warmth. Mixed with the sweet tone of her voice and the feelings I could feel in it, I began falling asleep while my anger seemingly melted into the background.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I was going to ask you to pull Keeno here, but I¡¯m not going to now.


    That¡¯s most likely for the best.


    Luna: ¡­Would my Abyss Fluff powers be able to grow her hair back?


    Most likely, but it¡¯d have adverse effects too. Abyssal powers being dangerous for worlds they don¡¯t originate from h h h. Blessings are fine, but any more than that and it¡¯s a no.


    Luna: ¡­


    What?


    Luna: That¡¯s never stopped you before, so what¡¯s your real reason for not letting me?


    ¡­¡­


    Luna: Don¡¯t make me call Order again.


    I just don¡¯t want you to and I make the rules.


    Luna: Ok. There¡¯s no need to get so defensive about it.


    Says the one who threatens to tell on me to my wife when you don¡¯t get your way.


    Luna: I-


    Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t do the same to you. I can tell Tamamo about a lot of things. Like your secret stash of pictures of her sleeping in embarrassing positions.


    Luna: How do you know about that!?


    I know everything! I sometimes wish I didn¡¯t!


    Luna: Where¡¯s that damn neuralizer at!


    I¡¯m not giving it to you.


    Luna: Then I¡¯ll just have to TAKE IT!


    *The two begin to run around until finally Luna snatches the memory wiping device from a Payto who stubbed his pinky toe on a table leg*

 Chapter 183- The First Strike

    Chapter 183- The First Strike


    [Keeno POV]


    I woke up groggy the next morning. Though the luby from Ama helped a lot, I still had annoying dreams of more people cutting my hair and. doing¡­unscrupulous things with it. It made me shiver.


    ¡°Ama.¡±


    {Do you want me to start cursing again?}


    ¡°No¡­not yet.¡±


    {Ok. Oh, even though I really don¡¯t want you to, you should get dressed. Pram and Freya are waking up and are going toe check on you.}


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    Getting up I picked through my wardrobe until I decided on some short pants and a breathable top with no sleeves. I contemted wearing my cloak but decided that it would look weird even though I really wanted to wear it.


    {Just wear it, Keeno. It¡¯s not like the heat bothers you.}


    ¡°I know, but the colors sh. It would make me stand out even more.¡±


    {Who are you even dressing up for? It¡¯s not like you n to walk around much, right?}


    ¡°Ama, is that a rhetorical question? You know I always dress up for you.¡±


    {Aww.}


    I then heard a knock on the door before it loosely swung open with Pram and Freya standing behind it.


    ¡°Did I not close it all the wayst night?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Apparently not.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Nobody snuck inst night, so it¡¯s fine.}


    ¡°Mm.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Ok¡­so, what happened yesterday? We waited for you toe see us and let us know, but you never did.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Before that, Pram, mind helping me out with my hair?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Mm? What¡¯s¡­Keeno, what happened and how much of a bloodbath was it?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Only one mongrel is dead. And it¡¯s the one that did this.¡± (Keeno)


    I ran my fingers through the cut part of my hair and couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    ¡°Did you get in any trouble for executing that mongrel?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°No.¡± (Keeno)


    Pram walked over and sat on my bed while I sat on the ground in front of her. I recounted the events of yesterday as she trimmed my hair to be even on both sides with some scissors she pulled out of her ring.


    ¡°Honestly, Keeno. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t kill every living thing there. I know how much time and hard work you put into your hair. I mean, even I¡¯d go for more than just one person¡¯s head.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about what Amaterasu will do.¡± (Freya)


    {Keeno told me to hold off so I am.}


    ¡°¡­Why does that not make me feel any better?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Because you know Keeno and Amaterasu and it¡¯s not something they¡¯d normally do.¡± (Pram)


    After a few more quiet snips, Pram put her scissors away.


    ¡°Check.¡± (Pram)


    I got up and stood in front of the mirror. Running my hands through my now shorter hair, I sighed.


    ¡°Thanks Pram. It¡¯s wonderful as always.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t like it when you have to cut your hair, but I¡¯m d you like my skills.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled and gave Pram a small hug.


    ¡°Speaking of, Freya, you need some touch ups. I¡¯m starting to see split ends and though I love it like it is, your tail needs some work too.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Then help all you want.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Stay in here. I want to talk some more. We all need to take some time to rx for since we¡¯ve been in the road so long and since getting here it¡¯s been nothing but business.¡± (Keeno)


    I cleaned up all my hair that Pram had cut and put it in my storage ring so I could figure out how to get rid of itter before Freya sat down where I was a few minutes ago. Pram pulled her scissors out again and began working on Freya¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Have either of you seen Mostima?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°She passed by us before we got to your door. Said she was going somewhere in the city she used to frequent and said we shouldn¡¯t worry.¡± (Freya)


    Our chatting continued as Pram worked her magic and before we knew it, we spent half the day just sitting around chatting.


    [Ign Orant POV]


    I nearly jumped out of my bed in a cold sweat. Climbing out my foot caught on something, and I fell andnded in my face. Slowly standing up I felt a warm drip and held my hand to my nose and felt a warm liquid. Covering it, I looked down to see one of the several foxes I made apany me tonight, passed out and already having blue spots appear on her body.


    ¡®Did I break her that much? Meh. A healer can fix it.¡¯


    Stepping over the unconscious fox I nearly tripped again over the maleying behind her.


    ¡®I broke him too?¡¯


    Ignoring the foxes I finally made it to the washroom. The blood dripping from my nose hadn¡¯t slowed at all. Doing my best to stem the flow, I stared at myself in the mirror. My shoulders and arms were covered in deep scratches from the ws of these ¡®passionate¡¯ foxes. I continued to inspect the mirror when, after a flicker of candlelight, a woman I¡¯d never seen before of a race I¡¯d never seen before appeared before the candle flickered again and she was gone.


    ¡°¡­First that nightmare and now hallucinations.¡±


    Sitting down on the side of the tub, I continued to try to stop the bleeding for another hour before it finally stopped. Standing up again I wobbled and felt lightheaded. After regaining my bnce, I was about to step back to bed when I saw a silvery glint in the corner of my eye. Looking towards it I saw the bar of that obscenely gorgeous princess that I¡¯d ¡®confiscated¡¯ from that dead man. While he had no tact or patience, he was always one to take the first opportunity.


    ¡°To think that Princess could withstand aphrodisiac of such potency. And a shame I didn¡¯t think of this first.¡±


    Picking up the lock of hair I brought it to my nose and sniffed. The warm smell of vani filled my being with vigor and stoked my imagination.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡±


    Feeling the urge again, I decided that I¡¯d wake up the two unconstructed for another round or two of fun, maybe even make them use their illusions to take the form of the princess. cing the hair back down I felt a sudden chill and it felt like I lost something, but the feeling passed quickly so I didn¡¯t put any more thought into it. I reached for the door when the candle flickered again, this timepletely going out. Strangely enough though, there was still light.


    I turned around and saw the hallucination I did earlier, though this time I¡¯m quite sure she was real. She stood a head taller than me with dark grey, nearing ck, skin and tufts of fur around her neck, wrists, and ankles. Her eyes were ck, simr to the princess¡¯s, but the irises were a fury orange, and she had trails of bright orange mes flowing like ribbons from her eyes. Her chest was bountiful and covered with the bare minimum of what could be called clothes, same as her lower body where a tail as equally ck as her hair slowly waved from side to side. Her otherworldly beauty captivated me.


    ¡°Now, now, you don¡¯t have to go and wake up those poor sleepyheads. I¡¯m right here after all. A big, strong, <em>smart, </em>male like you wouldn¡¯t keep a lonelydy waiting, right?¡±


    She crossed an arm under her breasts, pushing them up and making them slightly jiggle, drawing my eyes.


    ¡°Who a-¡±


    ¡°Shhh. No need for words, only actions.¡±


    She stepped toward me, and I could feel the heat radiating off her body. It was like she had been made from mes themselves, yet the heat did not burn me, it only made me feel more invigorated. It made my mind numb, and I practically lunged forward in an attempt to grab her, but she slipped away like smoke.


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah. Don¡¯t be so hasty, we have all the time in the world to enjoy ourselves, so let¡¯s take. It. <strong><em>Slow.</em></strong>¡±


    She said thesest words from behind me, in a quiet whisper in my ear as her arms wrapped around me, her luscious mounds pressing into my naked back. Her hot breath against my neck sent more chills down my spine and stood proud. She dragged one of her sharp ws down my chest sensually leaving a trail of precision heat in its wake. I tried to turn around in an attempt to kiss her, but my body didn¡¯t move, betraying the amount of strength this mystery woman possessed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude for prey to try and take the lead? When you¡¯re with me <strong><em>I¡¯m </em></strong>in control.¡±


    The almost beastly way she said this gave me a sensation I¡¯d never felt before, yet didn¡¯t really mind as it was quite exciting. She pushed me lightly toward the door and out of the washroom. Moving around the still unconscious foxes I was forcefully pushed onto the bed, still face down. She flipped me over and a hand wrapped around my throat.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s really get started. Die for my Mistress.¡±


    My eyes went wide as the pressure continued to increase around my throat. I tried iling, but I couldn¡¯t muster any strength, and no sound was able to escape. The woman seemed to be getting pleasure from choking the life out of me, if the wet sensation on my stomach was anything to go by. She put her other hand around my throat to speed up the process.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my little prey, this won¡¯t be thest time we meet. I¡¯ll get to have so much fun with your soul soon.¡±


    I could no longer understand her words as the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat and the blood flowing in my body as my vision slowly went dark.


    ¡°Fufufufufu. Mmm! Yes, give me your soul.¡±


    And thus, the first of many nobles in Lokir lost their lives not knowing why or who killed them.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: I¡¯m d that Death Spirit rescued those Kitsune afterwards. I¡¯d hate for them to be med for whatever that mongrel¡¯s name is death.


    I agree. Especially knowing the treatment those that offend or worse attack or kill a noble receive, it¡¯s a good thing they were taken out of there.


    Luna: None of this makes me want to descend any less.


    I know.


    Order: *popping into the room*Oh hello Luna.


    Luna: Hello.


    Did you need something?


    Order: Everything is ready, just need you toe. I¡¯m here to pick you up.


    Ok. Luna.


    Luna: Yeah, I¡¯ll watch the ce. Go have fun.


    *The couple then leaves while Luna turns her attention back to Keeno¡¯s world*

 Chapter 184- The Invitation

    Chapter 184- The Invitation


    [Keeno POV]


    A few days had passed since we had our rxing time together. We had moved to therger Radiant Knightpound outside of the noble district in this time and honestly, it was much morefortable. It was early morning now and I was in the training room. When Margaret showed us around the day we got here, I was surprised that they had what I would consider a modern day earth gym with all the equipment. Deciding to take advantage of this, I woke up early the next day and dressed in a good outfit for working out. Hitting the gym I couldn¡¯t help but inwardly chuckle at Ama¡¯s approving silence that clearly showed she was quite interested in what I was doing and wearing.


    ¡®Note to self, wear more form fitting clothes for Ama.¡¯


    Finished up with my workout, I decided to jog around the room to dpress. Once that was done, I grabbed a towel from my ring and wiped the sweat off my face.


    {Guh.}


    ¡°Ama?¡±


    {You¡¯re too sexy like this, Keeno.}


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    I smirked mischievously.


    ¡°So me being all sweaty makes you hot and bothered, eh?¡±


    {No, but your slightly flushed, toned body in clothes that hug your form does.}


    ¡°Hehe. Alright then, I know what I¡¯m wearing next time I see you.¡±


    {YES!!!}


    Her overreaction made me chuckle. Just as I was leaving the room, Margaret and Zofia came in followed by a seemingly sleepwalking Maria.


    ¡°Oh! Hello, Keeno.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Morning. I hope it was alright for me to use the facilities here.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Perfectly fine.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Hmm.¡± (Zofia)


    Turning my attention to Zofia, I saw that she was looking me up and down while she had her fingers on her chin, clearly thinking about something.


    ¡°Lady Okami, if I may, can I ask for a small sparring session?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, though I do want to ask why.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m the one in charge of training the knights and seeing your physique, it makes me want to test you. See if you have anything I can help you improve on.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Aunt, I think that¡¯s a bad idea for you to spar with her. I¡¯ve done it a few times and know she¡¯s above your level to handle.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll observe while you two spar. Maybe it¡¯ll even motivate Maria to improve too.¡± (Zofia)


    Speaking of Maria, she was still standing there clearly half asleep, though at the mention of her name she seemed to be slightly more aware. Seeing this Zofia just shook her head and heaved a defeated sigh.


    ¡°You have a ce that can withstand it?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°While not as good as the Guild, we do have a room for higher tier fights.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go. I¡¯m all warmed up.¡± (Keeno)


    Margaret led the way to the sparring room. When we got there and she opened the doors, I was greeted by the sight of walls full of weapons ranging from swords to spears to axes. There were also bows and crossbows, spear throwers, and even blowguns. Stepping into the center of the room, Margaret turned to me and summoned her Soul Weapon.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see who wins this time.¡± (Margaret)


    Summoning my swords in reply, we began our fight. It onlysted half an hour before we called it to a stop with a tie. We had both gotten in some good bits, but neither of us could get the equilibrium to tip in our favor.


    ¡°You¡¯ve improved.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°Well, I did have some training with Ama, so I¡¯d be upset if I didn¡¯t.¡± (Keeno)


    Walking up to us, Zofia had a look of admiration and contemtion on her face.


    ¡°You fight more to kill than anything, don¡¯t you?¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Is there a problem with that?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not really, though that¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t break the stalemate. Because you fight more to kill, when you are put in a situation where you need to hold back like this, you be too conscious about it. Of course, this reason is also what prevented Margaret from winning as she couldn¡¯t find the right bnce herself. A mix of deadly and nonlethal strikes threw her off and caused her to over analyze things. Also, and this is just my own personal opinion, but you are quite cocky in your fighting style. It tells me that you don¡¯t lose fights very often and your aggression shows ws that you rely in your killing intent to cover. Like you don¡¯t fear getting killed.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t die, though I do also feel pain, and I don¡¯t lose fights much at all. If I¡¯m sparring against Ama or Fia, I do, but with Margaret, though I¡¯m still under at the moment, I can get better. Plus, most gaps I do have I fill with magic, though this sparring session didn¡¯t let me show that.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Hmm. I still think you should show a little more caution, but that¡¯s just my opinion as an instructor. All in all, it was a good match. And Margaret, you still haven¡¯t gotten over some of those bad habits of yours. Fighting is about efficiency, you don¡¯t need to flourish your attacks as much. No unnecessary movements or showboating.¡± (Zofia)


    ¡°Yes, Aunt Zofia.¡± (Margaret)


    Maria came up shortly after, fully awake, and was about to say something, but was interrupted when a knight came into the room.


    ¡°Commander Margaret, a messenger from Madam Sif has arrived with a message.¡±


    Nodding her head, she and I left the room seeing as it was most likely for me. Arriving outside an office I saw a young kitsune woman standing next to the door. She seemed extremely nervous if her twitching ears and stiff tail were anything to go by. When she heard us approaching, she turned and her eyes went wide upon seeing me, her eyes instantly being drawn to my tails.


    ¡®I¡¯m starting to think my having four tails is more inconvenient around other kitsune than I originally thought.¡¯


    {It¡¯s an instinct thing. The more tails we have, the more other kitsune are drawn to us. It¡¯s also a respect thing, though it¡¯s not as known now.}


    ¡®Hmm.¡¯


    The kitsune woman stared for a minute longer beforeing back to herself. Her ears ttened against her head, and she blushed a little.


    ¡°G-greetings, Lady Nearl, p-princess. Madam Sif has sent me to deliver an invitation.¡±


    Pulling a letter out of her tail, she shook as she handed it to the knight who led us here who then handed it to Margaret. She looked over the envelope before nodding and handing it to me.


    ¡°Before that, let¡¯s go inside. It isn¡¯t proper to meet in the hallway like this.¡± (Margaret)


    She walked up and unlocked the door. We all entered after her and I took a seat on one of the plush chairs in the room. Opening the letter I started reading.


    [Greetings Princess Okami. I apologize for the dy in sending this but I¡¯ve been dealing with rescuing our kin from the nobles that have been mysteriously dying recently. Preface aside, I¡¯ve been able to free up time the rest of this week to meet with you at your discretion. Our meeting ce is my main establishment called The Vixen¡¯s Allure. Once you arrive, just let the one at the entrance know I¡¯m expecting you and she should let you in. All I ask is that you please hold any disgust for this profession in. I understand that it isn¡¯t the most reputable, but the ones that work here truly love their work and despite the image it may give them, they too have their reasons for it.


    -Signed, Sif]


    I was a bit confused why she would think I¡¯d be disgusted at her work but decided to chock it up to difference in culture.


    {If you want a suggestion, the id say go today. The faster the better.}


    I nodded mentally at Ama before turning to the messenger.


    ¡°Please let Mrs. Sif that I will meet with herter this afternoon. I shall go prepare soon.¡± (Keeno)


    The messenger bowed deeply and looked like she wanted to run out the door, but realized she would be rude for doing that, she embarrassedly bowed again to me and Margaret.


    ¡°I shall ry your intentions, mistress. Madam Sif shall be waiting your arrival.¡±


    She bowed a final time before leaving the room.


    ¡°Well, I guess I know what I¡¯m doing the rest of the day.¡± (Keeno)


    Standing up I was about to leave the room when I turned to the others.


    ¡°Margaret, mind if I borrow that carriage, we usedst time?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Feel free. I¡¯ll assign someone to driving it since Aunt Zofia doesn¡¯t like going to that part of town.¡± (Margaret)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Zofia)


    We turned to look at Zofia who let out a strange noise somewhere between a grunt and a cough. Her face was red like a tomato and her tail was erratically swishing back and forth.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Margaret)


    {Well, she¡¯s an adult, so she can do whatever she wants. It¡¯s not like we¡¯ll judge her.}


    ¡°Guess Aunt Zofia will be driving you then.¡± (Margaret)


    It was this moment I decided to get out of the room because Zofia¡¯s embarrassed blush turned to one of irritation and I didn¡¯t want to get caught in the scolding. I made my way to my room and took a shower.


    {Remind me next time we¡¯re together to get you to walk around with just a towel hanging from your neck. It does things to me.}


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember.¡±


    Once I felt fully clean and refreshed, I dried myself off before getting to work drying my tails.


    ¡°WHY IS THERE STILL ASH IN THERE!!? It¡¯s like sand!!¡±


    I got up and went back to the shower before starting the entire tail cleaning process again. Only on the seventh wash did I finally be satisfied with the result. Thankfully it only took two hours, and I still had ample time before the afternoon came around. I got dressed in my short shorts and sleeveless shirt since it was easier to move in and, even with my tails, since it would cause some kind ofmotion. No one would expect a princess to wear something so casual to somewhere she normally should never be seen near such a ce.


    ¡°Time to go then.¡±


    Leaving my room, I made my way to the carriage that should have been waiting for me.


    Chaos Realm:


    *Payto sticks his out out of a shining window*


    Luna, your blessing hit ant doom affect there.


    Luna: Good. I hope Aiko and the others appreciate it.


    I¡¯m sure they will, given enough time.


    Luna: That¡¯s good. By the way, there is this kitsune named Vale I want to bless.


    Same rules asst time. I¡¯ll meet with the Chaos God there and see where and how much is allowed.


    Luna: Thanks.

 Chapter 185- Meeting with Sif and Future Discussion

    Chapter 185- Meeting with Sif and Future Discussion


    [Keeno POV]


    The carriage ride was actually quite short, all things considered. When we entered the red-light district, I noticed a sharp increase of scantly d men and woman trying to solicit any passerby into using their services. Ignoring all of that though, we headed toward the biggest building in this part of the city. It had four floors and was built in such a way that water cascaded down carved channels like small waterfalls lightly throwing mist into the air. Two buff kitsune men stood on either side of the entrance with stern expressions. When the carriage stopped, and Zofia got down from the coachman¡¯s chair the guards seemed to recognize her as their expressions changed.


    ¡°Lady Zofia, you¡¯vee earlier this week than normal.¡±


    ¡°Miss Aniya has no clients today, so you should be able to meet with her.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Thank you for the information, you two. Though before that, I have to do my job.¡± (Zofia)


    Opening the carriage door, I stepped out and the two guards becamepletely stiff. They looked at each other before kneeling with their fists across their chests.


    ¡®Ama, I¡¯m getting tired of this.¡¯


    {I don¡¯t like these two.}


    I had to stop myself from smiling at the tone of Ama¡¯s voice. ncing at Zofia she nodded.


    ¡°Please stop before this bes a scene. She has a meeting to attend, and we can¡¯t go in if you don¡¯t move.¡± (Zofia)


    They practically jumped to their feet and moved to the side while opening the double doors. We stepped inside and a wave of heavily sweet perfume assaulted my nose. I understood the reason it was needed, but it still wasn¡¯t pleasant. Stepping up to the small counter where a kitsune woman wearing nothing but a bottom smiled at us. She seemed especially happy when Zofia winked at her.


    ¡°Wee, lovelies. How may I please you today?¡±


    ¡°Hello Aniya, my Lady here has a meeting with Madam Sif, so if you wouldn¡¯t mind leading us there.¡± (Zofia)


    It was then that thedy looked over at me and, as is bing ufortablymon, she stiffened up seeing my tails.


    ¡°Yes, pleasee this way.¡± (Aniya)


    She led us deeper into the building and up a few ramps leading all the way to the top floor. On the way there I couldn¡¯t help but overhear the sounds of moans, grunts, and pping showing that the soundproofing here wasn¡¯t the greatest.


    {I think that¡¯s the point. I¡¯ve heard some mortals get off on the sound alone.}


    ¡®Hmm. Makes sense, though I¡¯d prefer only hearing your sounds. Those are much more pleasing.¡¯


    {I agree, the sounds you make are simply divine.}


    Making it to a heavy door thedy leading us here knocked four times. A secondter the door opened with Sif on the other side.


    ¡°Wee, Princess Okami.¡± (Sif)


    She stepped to the side, inviting me in. I smiled lightly and stepped forward. Just as I passed Zofia, I turned to her.


    ¡°Feel free to do whatever. This meeting is going tost a while, and I don¡¯t want you to be bored just sitting there.¡± (Keeno)


    Zofia looked like she wanted to protest, but thedy that led us here smiled and hugged Zofia¡¯s arm, killing any kind of argument she had.


    ¡°Let¡¯s let our Lady¡¯s meet. You and I have a lot of catching up to do. We can even call it a date.¡± (Aniya)


    Zofia could only look down while blushing as the kitsune woman led her away and into a room down the hall. With that over with, I stepped into Sif¡¯s office, and she shut the door. The second it was locked, all sounds and smells from outside were gone.


    ¡°That¡¯s much better.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. Even though there is a reason for it, even I can¡¯t really stand the smell and sounds for all that long.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I think it¡¯s that we prefer the sounds our own wives make over those of random people. The smell though, it is quite sickening.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°You make a good point, Princess. Now, shall we officially begin this meeting? There are many things I wish to discuss and I¡¯m sure there are things you¡¯d like to ask about as well.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Yes. Though first things first, please drop the Princess. This meeting is personal, so there is no need to stand in formality. I¡¯m just here as a kitsune worried about other kitsune, not the princess of a country.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± (Sif)


    I nodded my head with a smile.


    ¡°Now, the state of our people here can be described simply as ves. Even the ones that live in the city and aren¡¯t used by the nobles are treated as nothing but sexual objects by anyone with enough influence or money. This isn¡¯t to say most citizens here don¡¯t care about our plight, but they are just as afraid of retaliation as we are. If someone gets in the bad side of a noble or anyone with influence, the get banished to the desert with the excuse of ¡®saving resources.¡¯¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m surprised there hasn¡¯t been some kind of rebellion.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°The nobles have too much manpower. Even in the slight chance one does break out, the number of resources used would outspend what can afford. Goddess Amaterasu¡¯s blessing is very helpful in making this city livable, but it can¡¯t provide everything we need. Especially with those eternally burning mes everywhere, not to mention the recent raids of those strange monsters.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Well, and I¡¯m only telling this to you because I want to see how much I can trust you, but the eternal mes are no issue. With the help of one of my mother¡¯s friends, I¡¯ve already put out several of them. I nned on getting to the rest once I finished my business here.¡± (Keeno)


    This made Sif¡¯s tail puff up as her ears twitched in shock.


    ¡°You mean-!¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been helping already. I assume you know the <em>other</em> work the Eclipse Knights do?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes. Though I¡¯ve never paid for their services before, I <strong>have</strong> been told of that kind of work from regrs who do deal is shadier work. From my sources, many lesser nobles have been found dead recently, and a handful of more prominent ones as well, the most prominent being that bastard Ign.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°The one who stole my hair after that mongrel cut it off? I see.¡± (Keeno)


    It looked like Germans Freki didn¡¯t keep a tight enough leash in the Death Spirits seeing as I didn¡¯t order him dead yet, but I didn¡¯t really care.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the one. Though I¡¯m happy to say that all of the kitsune he kept there were brought to me the same night, though they couldn¡¯t tell me who rescued them. The most I got from them is that it was a mysteriously hot woman. Though by the way they said it, I get the feeling they meant it in the temperature sense more than looks.¡± (Sif)


    She began eyeing me with a knowing look.


    ¡°While it wasn¡¯t me personally, I do know who it was. Though it seems they acted much earlier than they should have. Ah! Did any of the rescued ones happen to know what became of my hair that was stolen?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°No. Though, and this is just a rumor, I believe one of the nobles that was investigating the murder has be gravely ill due to an object he confiscated from the manor as evidence. At least ording to one of his servants who frequent one of my establishments.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Interesting. Oh, before I forget, seeing as you would most likely have this information, can I get a list of names of nobles that have captured most of our people? Just so I can have a physical object to mark when one of them is¡­taken care of.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I can prepare one soon.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Thank you.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Moving on, and I know I¡¯m being extremely forward by asking this, but what exactly is the nature of the people you have helping our people? You did say that one of them acted hastily, so it had me curious.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Before I answer, Sif, how much can I trust you? Outside of our people¡¯s shared plight here, as a person, can I trust you to keep secrets, or are you someone who will use flowery words and false promises to get in my good graces only to stab me in the back when I¡¯m most vulnerable? And before anything else, I <strong>will </strong>know if you are lying.¡± (Keeno)


    The seriousness in my voice and expression made her jovial attitude disappear as she stared at me with slight trepidation and fear.


    ¡°I apologize for any aspect of myself that would lead you to being distrustful of me, but I should ask the same from you. In the end, you are also a noble, and I have been acting in good faith, but if you have designs for me that will hurt me or my family, let alone the rest of my people, then I must say my good faith is misced. I may be a fox, but unlike the reputation we have, I value my honesty, if someone like you feels I¡¯m untrustworthy even after all of the things I¡¯ve done here, then our conversation is over. I will ept any help you give me, but I will treat it as a transaction, not a request.¡± (Sif)


    Her words brought out from the fear and trepidation sparked a fire in her and her attitudepletely changed. And every word she said was true, which caused me to smile and do my best to hold back fromughing.


    ¡°Pfft. Sorry for testing you like that, it¡¯s usually not my go to method, but your words give me reason to put my trust in you. So, I¡¯ll tell you about my helpers, and I have an idea for things to do with this country once I¡¯m done here. But first, what¡¯s your thoughts on religion?¡± (Keeno)


    This abrupt change in topicpletely threw her off and all the bluster she had vanished as she ttened her ears and tilted her head.


    ¡°I mean, I follow the Goddess Amaterasu, naturally, and I pray to God Phobos for a better Fate for our people, but I don¡¯t really think about it all that often.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Ignore that annoying ywright who thinks he knows best for everyone, make your own Fate.¡± (Keeno)


    {Tell her Keeno!}


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that heresy?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°What¡¯s he gonna do? Smite me? Nah, that idiot has his own problems to deal with. Namely figuring out how he is gonna apologize and make things right with Hresvelgr. But those things aside, how do you feel with bing a Head Priestess?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯m a brothel Master, I don¡¯t think such a drastic upation change would fit me, not that I even understand why we are discussing this.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°It¡¯s a preface. My helpers are the Death Spirits. No better spies and assassins than the ones that help Ama take care of souls after all.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°But spirits can only¡­be¡­¡­oh gods!¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I¡¯m only 24 and I have four tails, this is only supposed to happen when we live for hundreds of years. My wife can¡¯t travel with me because she can¡¯t descend, and I have a mission in the mortal world before I can ascend. Starting to get the bigger picture here?¡± (Keeno)


    Sif had started bing catatonic. It was honestly kind of funny watching her expression change from one to another until she nearly started foaming from her mouth.


    ¡°Ama, I think I said too much too quickly.¡± (Keeno)


    {One of her wives is nearby, so if needed you can call her to help her, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be necessary just yet.}


    ¡°Ok. If you say so, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    After a few minutes Sif seemed to somewhat recover. She stood up and walked over to a bookshelf, pulled a book down, and opened up a cool box full of alcohol. She took a bottle out before shutting and sitting back down. Pouring a shot into a ss she pulled out of a ring; she downed it in one go before pouring herself another one.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually talking to a god¡­¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Yep. Two if you count Ama listening in and speaking to me one-sidedly.¡± (Keeno)


    She downed the second shot and poured a third one.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know if I should prostrate myself and apologize for any rudeness I¡¯ve unintentionally done, or to drink myself to sleep and treat this all like a dream.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°If you want my opinion, just ept the reality. We still have a lot to talk about, so the faster you do so, the better.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Would you like a drink too?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°I¡¯d love one. It¡¯s been a while since I had any alcohol.¡± (Keeno)


    {Don¡¯t go too far, Fia isn¡¯t here to reign you in if you get drunk.}


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t nning on getting drunk, Ama.¡± (Keeno)


    {Just saying.}


    Sif poured me a shot and I picked it up. The smell of the alcohol was strong and when I downed the shot, it burnt as it went down.


    ¡°*Cough*Whisky¡­*cough*at least its not vodka.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Not to your taste?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°No, I love it, just haven¡¯t had any in a long time, wasn¡¯t ready for the burn.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Now, continuing on, though you may not want to hear this part. I¡¯m here for the Dead Zone, it¡¯s what will allow me to get my fifth tail and allow this ce to actually progress. Of course I mean to take care of the eternal mes first, but before I can finish that job, I need to help my people out and put someone in charge who won¡¯t destroy everything this country could potentially be.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Though there is a lot I want to say and ask, but the most important thing is why bing a priestess has anything to do with this?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Because I need someone here aside from Margaret to be able to run things, and, though it¡¯s a bit presumptuous of me, I at least want a say in who takes charge. And, seeing as this ce has the biggest connection to kitsune of any country I¡¯ve been to so far, might as well make it a ce where me and Ama are worshipped, seeing as basically every kitsune I¡¯ve seen has bowed to me or treated me like some miracle made flesh. Plus, I get this strange gut feeling that you and your wives would fit the role perfectly. Of course, I¡¯m willing to give benefits for basically being the head of state and such with almost no notice.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°What are these benefits?¡± (Sif)


    Her tail swished back and forth while her cheeks were slightly flushed.


    ¡°Mine and Ama¡¯s blessings so that you can be immortal, lifespan wise, which extends to your wives as well, Margaret¡¯s support as my Valkyrie in Lokir, whatever the perks of being a head of state entail, a way for you to do something more than just run brothels. Probably more that I can¡¯t think of at the moment.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡­Mind if I take a few days to deliberate this and talk this through with my wives?¡± (Sif)


    ¡°As long as you can make sure they won¡¯t spread anything. I¡¯m not ready for my identity to get out yet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure of that.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Very well. Seeing as you are drunk though, I feel we should call this meeting here. If you need to contact me more discreetly, look to the sky and find one of my ravens. You remember them, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I dooo. They were really intimidatingggg.¡± (Sif)


    ¡°Hehe. Well, goodbye, my future head priestess.¡± (Keeno)


    Standing up the fox woman stared up at me as I turned around and made my way to the door.


    ¡°Thank youuuu¡­Mistress Okamiii¡­for saving our people¡­¡± (Sif)


    ¡°It¡¯s only natural.¡± (Keeno)


    Opening the door I stepped into the hallway. Looking around I saw Zofia and her lover hanging around next to the door. Zofia had several lipstick marks on her neck and arms and probably other ces I couldn¡¯t see and she had a glow about her that onlyes from having had a wonderful time.


    ¡°Sorry to break you two lovebirds apart, but it¡¯s time we left for the day, Zofia.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yes Princess!¡± (Zofia)


    She quickly tried wiping off all the visible marks and project an air of normalcy, though she failed at it miserably. Deciding not to say anything about the marks she missed we were led to the exit. After leaving to the carriage, I smirked at Zofia while making sure we were in earshot of her lover.


    ¡°Once everything is settled here, I want an invite to the wedding.¡± (Keeno)


    This made both of them blush, making me wonder how two such people could still be so innocent.


    {Love makes people act in ways they normally wouldn¡¯t Keeno.}


    ¡®I know that, but it¡¯s still surprising seeing someone else aside from Freya and Fia looking like that.¡¯ (Keeno)


    {You just haven¡¯t seen too many other people in love like that, though I¡¯m the same, so I really can¡¯t say anything more.}


    ¡®Meh. All I need is you and my family, so I don¡¯t really care.¡¯ (Keeno)


    The carriage started moving while Ama and I talked meanwhile Sif was exining everything to her family, trying to make a decision that would change the world once it was made.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: Fufufufufufufufufufufufufufufuahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!


    Tamamo: I know you were having fun torturing a mongrel, Luna, but is it really that funny?


    Luna: Oh, I¡¯m notughing at that, though it WAS fun. I¡¯mughing at the fact that most all of what Keeno was saying to Sif was spur of the moment. I mean, I know I¡¯m good at adlibbing, but that was impressive.


    Tamamo: True. But hey, she is inherently bing more fox like just by being in a ce full of kitsune, so isn¡¯t it to be expected?


    Luna: True. Who knew just being in a ce with other kitsune would affect her like that. I expected it to be more like Sif teaches her how to act like a kitsune over it just being a passive effect thing.


    Tamamo: Different world, different rules, I guess.


    Luna: Yeah¡­


    Tamamo: I know that look.


    Luna: You¡¯ve been so busy recently; I haven¡¯t gotten to spend all that much time with you.


    Tamamo: I know, but that¡¯s changing today.


    *Tamamo cups Luna¡¯s cheek tenderly, slowly pulling her closer until their lips meet; signaling the beginning of a very <em>active</em> time toe*

 Chapter 186- Witchling

    Chapter 186- Witchling


    <span>[Witch POV]


    <span>Standing in the underground chamber the noble prepared for me, I was slowly stirring my cauldron, the misty, glowing green liquid forming shapes like in a mirror. It was boring, disgusting work on my end, but the pay was too good to pass, though after seeing a noble screw a kitsune for the nth time I started to feel really bad for them. Though recently things have been getting more interesting. I even got to see a few get killed by some really prettydies of a race id never seen before.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Wonder if I I could form a contract with one of them? Would probably be more lucrative than this job. Good thing this contract is almost up and he hasn¡¯t asked for a renewal.¡±


    <span>


    <span>My stirring and observing continued for a few minutes when I was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and my mongrel of a contractor walked in, his smile even slimier than normal.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Got another thing to add to the scrying?¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°And more. I¡¯d like you to imbue an object that lets me control her.¡±


    <span>


    <span>I grimaced. I hate that kind of magic, but the contract is absolute and I can¡¯t go against it.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You know what I need.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>Nodding eagerly, he pulled out a lock of silver hair that ended in blue. I walked up to take it but before I even touched it I recoiled. That single lock of hair had such dense Death Magic inside it that I¡¯m surprised this mongrel of a contractor was even able to walk, much less be alive.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Something wrong?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°*Ahem* I just needed to see it. Since it¡¯s a special request this time, some of you input is necessary.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>This immediately showered his mood, but I didn¡¯t back down.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Tch. Fine. What do I need to do?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°For observation, toss one strand in the cauldron.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>Stepping up to the ck pot, he looked inside and, with a heavy sigh, took one strand of the hair and let it fall into the liquid. The strange thing was, it didn¡¯t dissolve like it should have, but stayed floating. I stepped closer to peer inside and what greeted me was a horrendous thing. Even with my poor divination abilities, all I could see was death. This mongrel here, many others, all the while a silver haired kitsune with five tails stood atop the mountain of corpses, blue eyes zing like the blue sun and staring right into my soul. Behind her the form of a god I knew all to well was seen looking at the five tailed fox with an amount of love I¡¯d only ever seen a handful of times.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Sir¡­I don¡¯t think-¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Shut up, witch, I don¡¯t pay you to think!¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡®Your funeral then.¡¯ (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>The picture I saw faded and was reced my an extremely blurry image of the same silver fox from the idental divination. Her ear twitched and she turned, looking right through the image seemingly at the noble. The room filled with a sense of dread and for a moment I thought I saw a strange ck symbol appear above his head before vanishing. The image then disappearedpletely, turning the contents of my cauldron ck and unusable.


    <span>


    <span>¡°What happened!?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°The mana still in the hair was too potent, itpletely took over and destroyed¡­no, killed, the contents of my cauldron.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Can you still make the control item?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°It would kill us both.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­That¡¯s a risk I¡¯m willing to take so I can make that kitsune my bitch. That ass of hers is simply divine and I need it for my collection.¡±


    <span>


    <span>If it didn¡¯t have the bacsh it did, I¡¯d sever my contract and kill this man myself, but I also value my life and ability to use magic.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ahahahahahahaha!!¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>A beastlyugh echoed around the room after my contractor said those words and interrupted my thoughts. The smell of fire and brimstone began to waft about the room and the fire beneath my cauldron slowly died along with all their other light sources, leaving us in pitch darkness.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Another one seeking my Mistress to sate their lust, how pathetic. And a little witchling who knows her ce. Good. This makes the next task much easier.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>Soft, scraping steps could be hearding from the stairs down into the chamber. The only thing I could see as the source was a being with orange, fiery eyes staring at the noble next to me with hunger.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Shame, such a male is unworthy to even look upon my Mistress, not that she¡¯d spare you a thought to begin with. Hehehe. But that just means more fun for me.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>The eyes got closer slowly, and the tension grew with every step.


    <span>


    <span>¡°W-witch! Do you job and protect me from whatever that is!!¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°How about no. My contract doesn¡¯t cover protection!¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>With the butt of my broom, I pushed the noble standing next to me closer to the mystery being.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Good girl.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>I didn¡¯t need to see to know what happened next, the sound of a deep crunch as the noble¡¯s neck was quickly snapped. I did, however, see what happened after. A muddy ck orb was plucked out of the body. The being looked at it with disgust in its eyes before cing it somewhere I couldn¡¯t see.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Now that this is about if the way, let¡¯s have a proper chat, witchling.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>Snapping its fingers the fires in the room lit up again, revealing the being in front of me. She stood a head taller than me and looked exactly like one of the mystery assassins that have been killing nobles for a while now.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Don¡¯t worry your pretty little head, witchling, you aren¡¯t marked for death like that thing was. I would, however, advise you to leave and not get caught up in the events toe. An upheaval is nigh, and my Mistress would like to keep her identity secret.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯d love to, but unfortunately I think I¡¯ve already seen your Mistress¡¯ face.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°A shame¡­hmm? Understood Lady Amaterasu.¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>I had shut my eyes tight, expecting to be killed any moment, but it never came, and I opened my eyes wide when the being in front of me mentioned the Goddess of Magic herself. My reaction must have amused the being in front of me because she smiled sweetly, causing my heart to flutter a bit.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You have an opportunity, witchling. You can keep you life, but you must sign a Soul Contract binding you to thisnd until my Mistress ascends or decides her identity is to be revealed. The contents of this contract are simple, don¡¯t leave the country unless stated you can, you will assist High Priestess Sif in her endeavors, and you cannot mention what my Mistress is until otherwise told of the contract is ended. Of course there will be exceptions like when you are in the presence of one of us or the High Priestess and her wives. Do you ept?¡± (???)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I have no choice if I wish to live, so yes, though I would like to know your name.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I am but a humble Spirit of Death, as such I have no name.¡± (Spirit)


    <span>


    <span>The spirit walked up to me and grabbed my hand. I felt a slight burning sensation and on the back of my hand a small mark appeared, signifying the contract was signed.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I know you dread this and wish to return to your homnd, and I assure you, you will if you don¡¯t break the contract. My Mistress is not overly cruel, but the world isn¡¯t ready to fully know her yet. Patience is key in all things, and rewards those who understand this. Now, go find High Priestess Sif and tell her of this, I have more people to save.¡± (Spirit)


    <span>


    <span>Sinking into the shadows the spirit left me alone and stunned.


    <span>


    <span>¡°*sigh*At least I get to live. And who knows, maybe things will get more exciting this way. I¡¯m tired of just spying on people after all.¡± (Witch)


    <span>


    <span>Packing up my things, I left the former noble¡¯s residence and began wandering the city in search for this High Priestess Sif.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: I forgot there were witches in this world.


    <span>Tamamo: I did as well. Their magic seems different than normal.


    <span>Luna: if it follows the conventions I know, then they focus more on ritual type magic than quick casting like most people.


    <span>Tamamo: Makes sense. Though didn¡¯t Payto or someone else say the witches hated dragons? I wonder if that¡¯s going to be a problem?


    <span>Luna: ¡­Should be interesting.


    <span>Tamamo: Agreed.


    <span>

 Chapter 187- A Date to Soothe the Soul

    Chapter 187- A Date to Soothe the Soul


    [Pram POV]


    Sighing heavily, I looked at Freya with a weary gaze. She was cut up and breathing heavily after another sparring session with Margaret. I was sitting in our room, and she had just returned and was about to bathe herself.


    ¡°Freya, you are pushing yourself too much.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Look at me, love. Tell me what¡¯s on your mind.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°I¡­feel unneeded. We¡¯ve been here for a while and Keeno hasn¡¯t asked us to do anything. Sure, we¡¯ve helped a bit, but not as much as her spirits or Margaret¡¯s knights. We¡¯re supposed to be helping her, but so far, we¡¯re just here for the ride.¡± (Freya)


    I patted the spot next to me and Freya sat down. Moving over I pulled her down and rested her head in myp and began running my fingers through her hair while I began to heal her injuries.


    ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it, my love. We¡¯ll have our time to shine, we just have to wait for the opportunity. I DO get what you feel, I really do, but patience is key in something like this. I know you want to achieve something, but neither of us are equipped to deal with political movements and assassinations like what¡¯s been going on so far.¡± (Pram)


    She had her eyes closed but she nodded her head, though I could tell she was still antsy to do something. To move around.


    ¡°Hmm. How about this, since you feel like you need to do something, how about I give you a mission?¡± (Pram)


    She opened one eye and looked at me.


    ¡°What kind of mission?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Take me around and give me a good time today. I¡¯ll reward you with myself if you seed.¡± (Pram)


    This perked her right up. She hooped out of myp and practically ran into the bathroom to clean herself up. About an hourter and she was getting dressed, though I was tempted to change up the mission after seeing her right now. She was currently buttoning up her shirt while her panties peeked out from the hem every so often. Especially when she turned her back to me and her tail waved. It took everything for me not to pounce on her.


    ¡°You know I won¡¯t stop you, right? I can tell what you want to do.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh? Confident Freya today! I like it. And seeing you so confident like this, I¡¯ll hold back my pouncing. Though I want to see you like this again tonight. That is nonnegotiable.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°That can be arranged, though if we find something I want you to wear tonight while out, I expect you to do the same.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°We going to shops for that kind of stuff?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Seeing how this city and its leaders are, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if things like that are in every shop, no matter the ce we go.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°That¡¯s fair. We¡¯ll see.¡± (Pram)


    Freya, unfortunately, finished getting dressed and turned to me.


    ¡°Enjoy the show?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°More than you know.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll get to enjoy one as well, seeing as you¡¯re not dressed to go yet.¡± (Freya)


    Rolling onto my back while looking at Freya upside down I smiled at her. She blushed lightly and I noticed her checking me out. Rolling back over I got on my hands and knees and crawled to the edge of the bed, my tail standing up and swaying slowly. Freya walked up to me in a light daze, and I sat up more, grabbing her shoulders. I brought my face right next to her ear.


    ¡°*purring noises*¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    I felt Freya start to shiver and she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back. Falling onto my back on the bed, I opened my arms for her, but she didn¡¯t jump at the chance and turned away, her ears t and her tail puffed up.


    ¡°Hehehe.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°D-do you even want to go out?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I do.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°T-then w-why are you m-making this so hard?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Cause your reactions are cute and I love teasing you. Now, seeing as I got what I wanted at this moment, I¡¯ll actually stop and get dressed.¡± (Pram)


    I got off the bed and entered the bathroom. If I stayed in there too much longer, I¡¯d fall for my own provocations and just attack Freya where she stood. Though I didn¡¯t fail to notice Freya moving to change her clothes again just as I shut the door.


    ¡®¡­No, Pram, you can have the final push tonight! Don¡¯t burst through the door and pin her down! Willpower!!!¡¯


    Doing my best to calm myself down, I eventually tamed my urges and got dressed. When I exited the bathroom Freya hastily kicked something under the bed but I decided to pretend I didn¡¯t see what it was, though I couldn¡¯t stop my tail from curling happily.


    ¡°*cough*Shall we go?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡± (Pram)


    Leaving the room and eventually thepound itself, we were greeted by a heavy gust of wind that started to blow the dress I was wearing up. Pushing down the front so nothing showed, Freya dutifully stood behind me and held the back down, though it seems she saw <em>something</em> if her blush was anything to go by.


    ¡°Dark blue is unfair, Pram.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d be considered a pervert if I wore what I wanted to wear for you, but whose to stop meter?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°¡­¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Fufufu. Wondering what I mean?¡± (Pram)


    Freya slowly nodded her head.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out tonight.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Tease.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehe.¡± (Pram)


    I wrapped my tail around Freya¡¯s waist, and we started walking. Thankfully we¡¯d done this enough that we naturally started walking in sync, though I somewhat miss the times when we¡¯d stumble into each other. Once we finally got into the city proper, we were greeted with the sounds of people going about their business in a rather charming change of pace.


    ¡°Seeing something normal like this feels a bit weird, when you consider the things we know about this ce.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°I agree, though it¡¯s also kind of nice.¡± (Pram)


    Freya nodded before grabbing my hand and moving forward. Meandering into the crowd, a few people looked over at us and our clear disy of affection. Some of them smiled while some looked on in annoyance. There were even a few that seemed to want to kill us because we were together, if the words ¡®go explode¡¯ were any indication.


    ¡°I think some people are jealous.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Heh. They should be, I get to have you all for myself, meaning they can¡¯t have you.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Hehehe. A disy of possessiveness, 10 points.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Pfft. Only 10? I thought I¡¯d be worth more.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t really need to worry since you existing is worth infinite points, so it¡¯s moot.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Hehehehe. And here I though I was supposed to be the one giving YOU a good time.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You are. Especially when we¡¯re both teasing the jealous ones still watching us.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Guess we meet to be sweeter if we¡¯re to repel them.¡± (Freya)


    I was about to reply when I felt Freya¡¯s lips touch my cheek. This made me blush since I wasn¡¯t expecting such a public disy of affection from Freya. This also made those jealous stares intensify before finally leaving. ncing over at Freya, she was blushing even more than I was, so she wasn¡¯t exempt from her own actions. Deciding to move on before anything else happened, I pulled Freya forward. We walked through the crowd for a bit when Freya retook the lead. After walking a bit more, Freya lifted her head and sniffed around. I tilted my head a bit when I smelled what she did.


    ¡°Want to check it out?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah. Smells good.¡± (Pram)


    Following our noses we ended up in front of a bakery. Just like all the other buildings in the city, it was made of a white stone, though this building was one of the ones with blue tiled channels running down the sides with water constantly flowing down them. The smell of baking bread wafted out of the open windows, enticing all who passed by to turn their heads and take in the smell. Freya walked up and opened the door before stepping aside and allowing me to enter first. I smiled and curtsied a bit to show my thanks before stepping in.


    The smell was even stronger inside and it made me hungry. Stepping beside me again, Freya sniffed the air again and smiled. Looking around, the ce was surprisingly high ss. Long counters lined the back wall with equally long ss shelves showing off the various bread that was made and served here. On the side opposite the bread wall was a roped off section that had three big stone ovens, two of which were cold while the third had a fire zing inside. Two people stood over there kneading dough while a third waited with a pensive look.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, now start rolling it. Once it¡¯s t, shape it. When you are done, let me see and I¡¯ll judge if it¡¯s worth baking. If it isn¡¯t, you¡¯ll star over again.¡±


    Turning his back on the two, I assume, apprentices, he saw the two of us standing there.


    ¡°Ah, customers. I apologize for not noticing you. How may we serve you?¡±


    I was about to step forward and speak when Freya held me back and stepped forward.


    ¡°We were just curious about this ce when we smelled the baking.¡± (Freya)


    I don¡¯t know if he just took a second to figure out we were on a date, or if something in Freya¡¯s words clued him in on it, but he nodded his head with a knowing smile.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m d the smelling from here was enticing enough to lure a nice young couple in. If you are looking for a nice thing to snack on while you walk, allow me to rmend some of these.¡±


    He walked over to a smaller ss shelf I didn¡¯t notice before and took out two small paper cones filled with small bread balls with what looked like salt sprinkled on them.


    ¡°These are something I came up with called zels. Perfect snacks the eat while wondering through the shopping district or feed to a lover.¡±


    I was very interested, especially since I could smell those were very fresh. I nced over at Freya, and she nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take two.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Thank you for your business. Will that be everything, or are you interested in more?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it for now, but we will definitelye back. Well even bring a friend over who has a bottomless appetite. And, if you¡¯re able to make something sweet for her, she¡¯ll be a regr.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Well, if your friend likes honey, then we can do it, but that¡¯s about all we can do for sweet. Sugar isn¡¯t something we get often in this city after all. But, don¡¯t let that discourage you from rmending us to your friend. Thankfully we get cactus bees or even honey would be difficult.¡±


    Freya paid for the snack, and we left after a few more sweet words with the shopkeeper. After we left, we heard him raise his voice at the apprentices. Apparently, they got distracted when they noticed us and let their oven¡¯s fire die.


    Picking up one of the treats, I popped it in my mouth and the gentle salty taste mixed with a very lite sweetness from a drizzle of honey on a pillowy bed of freshly baked bread. It was wonderful and before I knew it, half of my cone was gone. Looking over at Freya, I saw she was in the same predicament. When she noticed my staring and looked at me, we bothughed.


    We continued on while snacking on your treat. Every so often we¡¯d feed the other a bite and giggle because of it. After we¡¯d finished our snacks and cleaned our hands, we walked around the shopping district we¡¯d entered a bit ago. Most of the shops here seemed to be extremely expensive and honestly not worth our time. A few did peak out interests. Stepping into those ces, I got to feast my eyes on a Freya trying on different outfits, all of which we bought. Freya even sneakily bought <em>something </em>from one of the more risqu¨¦ shops we visited, though she wouldn¡¯t show me what. I also got a bunch of new outfits, though we¡¯d have to ask Keeno and Amaterasu to help make them more durable with the help from their friend.


    After visiting a few dozen more shops, we finally returned to thepound. I had a wonderful day, so I considered Freya¡¯s mission a sess. All that¡¯s left to do is give her the reward. When we got to the room I flopped onto the bed andzily rolled onto my back.


    ¡°Freya, the verdict is in and you have seeded in your mission. Feel free to im your reward.¡± (Pram)


    I smiled seductively at her and saw her tail go stiff.


    ¡°Um¡­before that, would you mind trying something for me?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Oh? Sure.¡± (Pram)


    Sitting up, I saw Freya remove a bundle from her storage ring. It was a light grey, and I couldn¡¯t really tell what it was, but when she unfolded it I understood. It was a kind of sweater with a very wide open back and made to be extremely revealing. I looked Freya in the eyes, and she looked away while blushing heavily. It was cute. Getting up from the bed, I took the sweater from her and walked into the bathroom. Before shutting the doorpletely, I stuck my head back into the room.


    ¡°Getfortable, Freya, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± (Pram)


    Shutting the door again, I undressed and looked at the sweater. Smirking, I also too out some of my <em>special</em> underwear so I could give Freya a night she¡¯ll never forget.


    Chaos Realm:


    ¡­Why is this the first thing we see when we get home?


    Order: No clue. I¡¯m just d Astraea is with Evelyn right now.


    Same¡­*sigh*


    Order: And our other two resident foxes are having their own fun.


    Yeah¡­want to drink some coffee while looking in a few other Chaos Seas?


    Order: Sure. It¡¯s been a while since we just had time with one another after all.


    Yeah. Let¡¯s watch Aiko, she¡¯s fun.


    Order: What about this Vale person?


    We can watch her too. Wanna try that split screen feature?


    Order: Sure.


    *walks into the kitchen to make some coffee*


    Order: *smiling*Finally, some rxing alone time with Payto. Maybe we can dte time so it¡¯s a bit more than a few days?


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 188- The Beginnings of Phase Two

    Chapter 188- The Beginnings of Phase Two


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>Sitting in yet another meeting room, I sighed at the sight of the insanely in love pair across from me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Had a fun night, you two?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Freya had the decency to blush as Pram hugged her arm, nuzzled into her neck, and purred audibly.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>The sound of Pram¡¯s purring was the only thing to be heard until the door to the room opened and a person I hadn¡¯t seen in weeks finally returned. Mostima stood next to a seat near me wearing a long coat with no sleeves and a hood that cast her face inplete shadow. Her cracked halo hovering above her head as the tips of her horns poked out of the hood slightly. Her thin tail swished back and forth as her shattered wings flickered lightly with grey light.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Sorry for just vanishing like I did. I had some things I had to go from my old home and it took longer than I intended to get there and back.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°It¡¯s all good. Out of curiosity, what did you need to get?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Some old texts I had, a few outfits made forbat, some pictures of Fia. Seeing as I don¡¯t n on returning here again unless absolutely necessary, I thought I¡¯d pack them up and move them to wherever me and Fia move into.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Whenever we visit Solheim again, you can put them in our ce.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Thanks.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>She sat down and asked what¡¯s been happening while she was away. I gave her the rundown and she nodded.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You¡¯ve been quite busy I see. Mind if I join in on the purging? I¡¯ve got a bone or two to pick with some of these mongrels.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Feel free. I¡¯m just waiting for Margaret and Sif to arrive so I can let them know what I¡¯m going to be doing soon.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm. Oh, speaking of, I think I have something that can help when you have people turn this ce into your ce of worship.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Taking a stack of papers out of her storage, she rifled through them until she pulled out a thing that reminded me of a blueprint.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Way back when, I dabbled a bit in architecture. When I learned Fia was undergoing trials to be the Sun Apostle, I thought she¡¯d have to have a dedicated temple, so I drafted some ns.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Standing up and walking over to Mostima I looked at the ns sheid out. My eyes went wide at the masterful drawing of what I assumed would be an absolutely MASSIVE cathedral in gothic style that renaissance artists from my old world could only have wet dreams about.


    <span>


    <span>{¡­I¡­wow.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well, judging by the two of you¡¯s reactions, it¡¯s something you¡¯d like.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Definitely.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Heh. Then I¡¯ll bring it up with the two who are gonna be in chargeter.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>She rolled the ns back up but left them on the table. I sat back down and began gently brushing one of my tails while we waited for the others to arrive. Time passed as not much happened. I had just gotten started on my fourth tail when Geri and Freki left their realm inside me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Master, something is strange with the big tree.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°The strange orbs are condensing power in the branches and four small spectral animals are forming. Also, where the power is condensing in the branches, a new orb is forming.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°There are also signs of a different animal scurrying about. It doesn¡¯t seem to be hurting anything, but every time we try to look for it, we somehow end up back by the roots.¡± (Geri)


    <span>


    <span>¡°What do the four animals look like?¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Fawns.¡± (Freki)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm. Leave them be and let them grow. They are the Stags of Four Seasons. The other critter must be Ratatoskr, so leave it be too. It¡¯ll take care of the stags. But this new orb¡­keep an eye on it. If it changes any, let me know immediately. Oh, and watch the roots, unless I¡¯m wrong, you¡¯ll be getting a draconic friend too at some point.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡°Yes Master.¡±¡± (Both)


    <span>


    <span>They went back into the realm after that. Once those two vanished, the door to the room opened again and the two I was waiting for entered. Sitting down next to one another, they looked over at me,pletely ignoring Pram and Freya. Sif did look over at Mostima, but quickly looked away, a look of fear shing across her face.


    <span>


    <span>¡°So, Keeno, what¡¯s the meeting about, or are we waiting for more people to get here?¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I was waiting for you to. There isn¡¯t much for me to discuss and it¡¯s more just I¡¯m letting you know that I¡¯m leaving the city for a bit to finish putting out the mes guing the country. While I¡¯m away, I want to leave the rest of the purging to you. Mostima is also going to be helping now too, so things should continue to go at the pace they have been.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Speaking of that, a few nobles are figuring out what¡¯s going on and may start targeting us.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Wow. That took way longer than I expected it to.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Actually, I think I know what¡¯s going on and why it took so long. Not all of them have been killed by assassins or your Death Spirits. A few have died from what seemed to be a curse, ording to my new witch friend. Others have died from bing sick, though no others around those have showed any symptoms of the same sickness. The only connection being they havee into contact with that hair that was cut from you.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­I see. I should get a spirit to collect it.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t do that immediately.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I was going to, but Ama told me to let it be. Said it would help thin out more if I left it, but hearing this I now understand why she said that.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>We talked a bit more about current events before the topic shifted back to my main reason for summoning them here.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Anyway, I n on leaving today and getting everything done as quickly as I can. With how fast Volundr is, I say it¡¯ll take at most a month and a half, so I¡¯d like you all to stay safe in that time. I¡¯ll be leaving Muninn here to help out if needed as well while Huginnes with me. Margaret, you maymand the Death spirits as needed. Sif, I want you to keep the neutral fa?ade a little longer. Things will start to change rapidly once I get back, so shore up any defenses you need to to keep you, your loved ones, and our people safe.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>They both nodded. I then turned to Mostima, Pram, and Freya.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Mostima, I know what you want to do, so feel free to do it. Pram, Freya, if a fight breaks out here, I want the two of you to help where needed or even take charge if necessary. While I hope nothing extreme happens, Freya, I trust you to protect Pram and seize victory, I know you can.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>My words made Freya smile, though I still saw a small shadow of doubt in it. At least until Pram hugged her arm, causing all her doubts to burn away like paper. I smiled at that and stood up.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯ll be going then. There are a lot of fires to deal with, and not a lot of time to do so.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Everyone gave me words of encouragement as I left the room as I made my way to the outside of the city once more.


    <span>


    <span>[Mostima POV]


    <span>


    <span>With Keeno now gone, Margaret and our new ally Sif began talking of ns for the near future. When they reached a point where I could interject, I did so.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I have a suggestion in regards to some things we can do after Keeno gets back and takes the Dead Zone.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Standing up, I picked up my old architecture ns and brought them over closer to the two. Sif flinched when I got next to them and didn¡¯t meet my eyes once while Margaret showed no reaction. I made a note to try and settle this once I got my piece done. Unrolling the ns, the two looked them over and, simr to Keeno¡¯s reaction earlier, their eyes went wide.


    <span>


    <span>¡°This¡­is extremely ambitious. The time, money, and other resources that would be needed to construct this would be insane.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°But it is a masterpiece. Something I¡¯d like to see made, though I don¡¯t know if it¡¯d ever be finished in my lifetime.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Well, we¡¯re all either immortal, or going to be at some point, so who cares how long it takes. Both Keeno and Amaterasu want it, so it must be done.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh the whims of gods. How unreasonable yet entertaining. Seeing as the Goddesses I¡¯m following want it, I can¡¯t deny it.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>I rolled the ns up again and passed them over to Margaret.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Can I leave these to you?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°I¡¯ll see to it that they getpleted one day.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Thanks. Moving on from that, Madam Sif, can you please tell me why you are afraid of me?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Sif froze uppletely, her tail puffing up to almost two times its normal size and her ears ttening against her head.


    <span>


    <span>¡°You¡¯re Mostima the Fallen! The ursed traitor of Lokir who sided with the Eternal me. The reaper who, even as a normal angel, killed someone¡¯s soul. Though I know it to not be true, you were even considered something akin to the God of Death. Everyone in Lokir have grown up with stories of how you¡¯de hunt us down and devour our souls if we ever did anything bad or disobeyed our parents. I truly don¡¯t mean to be rude, especially with the things I¡¯vee to learn over these past few weeks, but it¡¯s still difficult to sewerage you from the stories we¡¯ve all grown up with.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hmm. So that¡¯s how history has portrayed me here. Interesting. Though, I have to say, greatly exaggerated. I just cracked that soul, not killed it. And believe it or not, Falling is excruciating, so¡­anyway, those stories, while holding slivers of truth, are mostly false.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Even the one about betraying the country to go with the Eternal me?¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>¡°One, Fia isn¡¯t an evil person who meant to do that and she regrets it even to this day. Two, in terms of time, I only recently found her again. Three, the circumstances of the time being what they were, Fia¡¯s mes covering the country helped SAVE it. Four, please, for your sake, don¡¯t nder Fia any more with such horrid biases. I don¡¯t want to be the monster people think me as, especially to someone Keeno has her eye on.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>I guess I unintentionally used some gravity magic because the second she said that, a physical weight seemed to vanish from her.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Apologies. When someone says bad things about Fia, I get a bit emotional.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Ipletely understand. If anyone said something bad about my wives while I was in earshot, I¡¯d react the same way. I sincerely apologize for my words as well.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>With that, Margaret adjourned this meeting. She and Sif got up to leave before Margaret turned back to me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Mind if we put you to work now? It¡¯s close to night, so it¡¯s ample opportunity for some more purging.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Give me names and locations and they¡¯ll be gone before morning.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Follow us then.¡± (Margaret)


    <span>


    <span>We left the room and headed down a hallway. A long night was starting, and so many nobles would soon face the retribution they so deserved.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>*Holding Order close as they rx on arge chair-and-a-half*


    <span>*Kisses Order gently*


    <span>I¡¯ve missed these alone times.


    <span>Order: I have too. I love Astraea, Nykuro, Swil and our ever growing number of friends, but it¡¯s good to just have us time every now and then.


    <span>I agree.


    <span>*Order pulls one of Payto¡¯s innumerable tails around her, lightly hugging it*


    <span>Order: You¡¯re getting softer and fluffier.


    <span>I¡¯ve been taking Luna¡¯s sses. They are very helpful.


    <span>Order: I see. *She smiles as the smell of campfires and leather fills her nose* New oils?


    <span>Yeah. Thought you¡¯d like something different.


    <span>Order: If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d think you¡¯re trying to seduce me.


    <span>I¡¯m always trying to seduce my wife.


    <span>*Both smile as their faces inch closer*


    <span>Order: Well, it¡¯s working wonderfully.


    <span>*The shadow they cast shows their faces ovep as they share a tender, loving kiss that is the prelude to a wonderful night of love and passion*


    <span>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 189- Mostima Joins the Purge

    Chapter 189- Mostima Joins the Purge


    <span>[Mostima POV]


    <span>The moons had risen quite high before I was able to find my first target of the night. It was a rather low ranking noble that manages some very unimportant businesses though that was just what the public knew. ording to the information I was given. In actuality, she oversaw the underground trade of kitsune and other races for the nobles to use as ythings. She also had a nasty habit of severing people¡¯s hands and using them for¡­lewd purposes.


    <span>


    <span>I had snuck past her security and managed to sneak into her manor quite easily. People never expect how easy it is to fall unconscious when subjected to specific gravitational force. The hard part of this mission, though, was finding the room she slept in. Oddly enough, she didn¡¯t sleep in thergest room in the center of the second floor. I¡¯d mapped out the entire second floor only to discover that she also want here. This meant she was either not her at all, or in some hidden chamber. Huffing a bit in frustration, I scoured the entire bottom floor a second time when I found some hollow-sounding floorboards. Lightly tapping around, I found a good spot and, with some of my gravity magic, made a hatch door float up.


    <span>


    <span>Silently stepping down into the hidden steps, I followed them until the light of candles was the only thing to light my way. Echoing down the halls were the sound of light moans and the smell of sex. The sounds and smell got stronger the further down the tunnel I got until I met with an doorless opening. Peeking inside the room, I saw a scene that I¡¯de to which I could have never seen.


    <span>


    <span>The noble I was looking for wasying in a tub full of blood and severed hands, a ss of either blood or wine in one hand and a severed hand in the other. She had it ced between her legs and was manipting the fingers to do¡­things. It made me nearly puke in disgust. Looking around the room more, I saw a pile of corpses all drained of blood. I was surprised I didn¡¯t smell it all, but figured it must have been the candles, though I wasn¡¯t sure how I smelled the other things. Escapism aside, I decided to just end it so I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with this anymore. Summing my Soul Weapons, I pointed both at the room and a rumbling began. Everything in there froze under the weight of the gravity I was manipting, some of the weakest things surprisingly turning to dust from the force. The ceiling then began to slowly descend. The rumbling didn¡¯t stop until ceiling met floor, crushing everything inside in a stone tomb that none would ever find again.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I need to see Fia soon. This is gonna haunt me for a while.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Making my way all the way out of the manor I wavered on wether to just obliterate the manor entirely or not, but decided it¡¯d be for the best. I mmed the butt if my gravity stave on the ground and the world seemed to shake as the entire manor started to crumble.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Unfortunate that there were no kitsune I could save.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Once the entire manor was reduced to rubble, I turned my back and left. Avoiding the rushing guards, I made my way to my next target. This one was a simr level of importance to myst one, though he was in charge of supplying aphrodisiacs. His manor was across the noble district, but it was quite easy to get there by jumping over the tops of buildings, though getting to the tops was a chore.


    <span>


    <span>Overlooking his manor from a distance, I saw a bunch of knights wearing crimson armor standing around, patrolling, guarding entrances, some even on the roof watching over the ce like it was a prison. I waved my earth magic stave over the roof I was on and small chunks loosened up. Using my gravity stave, I made them float and, once again with my earth stave, propelled them at high speeds. This was I took out all the knights I could see on the roof. One almost fell off, but his mantle got caught on something and left him hanging as if he¡¯d jumped.


    <span>


    <span>My attention then turned to the ones standing around and patrolling. Though my vantage only covered half of the manor, I was able to silently take out many knights before someone took notice. I moved over the roofs of neighboring manors when an rm was raised, though not many outside guards came due to the destruction of the previous manor. As I circled around my targeted manor, the knights and few guards who came due to the rm grouped up. The ones of the roof stayed in ce and I took this chance to take out as many as I could while I still had the advantage of stealth. Unfortunately I wasn¡¯t able to do much before those above and below started to clue in on my location. I yet again moved location. I decided to try something extremely risky and actually moved over to my target manor¡¯s roof and moved over to one of the few chimneys that I¡¯d fit down and hopped into it. It was extremely ufortable on my wings and tail, but it was only momentary. Doing my best to avoid knocking loose as much soot as I could, I finally reached the bottom of the firece and silently crawled out.


    <span>


    <span>Looking around the room, it was thankfully vacant, though the sounds of knights running around outside the room could be heard. Dusting myself off a bit, I made my way over to the door and peeked through the keyhole. More red armored knights rushed past. They were jostling a few kitsune women around, likely to bring them out and use them as hostages. I wanted to save them somehow, so I decided to try something that would hopefully work.


    <span>


    <span>I pulled out one of the dragon scales Keeno had given me and carved a Rune on it with one of the feather quills Keeno had also given me. Pouring my mana into it, it started to glow, but only after taking more than half my remaining mana.


    <span>


    <span>¡®Damn mana monster. You said it doesn¡¯t take that much.¡¯


    <span>


    <span>Opening the door a bit, I tossed the Rune into the hallway and immediately all light vanished. I was able to see perfectly fine though, due to the other Rune I added onto the scale. Pulling out a dagger I had in my boot, I ran up to the knights and began slitting their throats until the only ones left in the hallway were me and the bound kitsune.


    <span>


    <span>¡°All of you be very quiet, I¡¯m here to help. Grab onto one another and I¡¯ll lead you to a safe room. When I¡¯m done here I¡¯ll help you all get out of here.¡±


    <span>


    <span>They all felt around until they were sure they had a hold of each other. I then grabbed the hand of one and walked them into the room i¡¯de from.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Remember, be very quiet. I¡¯ll have some friendse in soon to help you all get out of here.¡±


    <span>


    <span>A few of the ones that were less afraid nodded their heads and I left the room. Walking in the other direction from the still darkness covered hallway, I began searching for my target. The hallway ended in arge foyer with a grand staircase leading to the second floor. My guess was my target would be on the second floor, so I was going to go up there. Before I did though, a figure stepped out of the shadows by the staircase.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh? My Mistress¡¯ Apostle candidate. Fancy meeting you here. Are you here to kill the apostate that live in this building?¡±


    <span>


    <span>The death spirit silently walked over to me, her assets on full disy.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, I¡¯m here to kill the noble.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Wonderful. He is currently locked in his special room with a few more of Mistress¡¯s people. I was also about to go wrong out his soul.¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°Then we have amon goal. Want to do it together?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>The mes at the corners of the spirit¡¯s eyes red up for a brief second.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh? But we¡¯re in the middle of a mission. Of course you being an Apostle candidate and strong in your own right, I¡¯d love to ept a small tryst with you, but my orders are absolute.¡±


    <span>


    <span>She began unting herself as she sidled close to me.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Not what I meant. I¡¯d never cheat on Fia anyway.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Boo! Where¡¯s the fun in that!? We death spirits, with these new permanent forms of ours need our own release! Sure we¡¯ve been dealing with it with each other, but we still desire strong people like you to have fun with too! Gah!¡±


    <span>


    <span>I bonked the spirit on the head.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Focus. I rescued a few kitsune and left them in a safe room back down that way, can you send a spirit or two to help them?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>She was holding her head with a tiny pout that would be hot if I didn¡¯t have Fia.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, I have a few of my sisters on standby to help the kitsune. I¡¯ll get one of them to pick up those you saved. Now, let¡¯s go kill the apostate. He is in his hidden room under these stairs.¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°What is it with nobles and underground hidden rooms?¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care. Just have to kill him. Oh, and good job with that handdy. We¡¯re treating her soul very <span style="font-style:italic">well<span>.¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°Mm.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>I followed her over to the remains of a wooden door that seemed to have rotted away recently. ncing at the spirit she grinned and began walking down the hidden stairs. As we went down, I started to notice offshoots in the walls. Some were freshly carved while others were old. The old ones had iron doors made of bars. Inside were chained connected to the walls and most of them had the smell of old blood and other, fainter scents of <span style="font-style:italic">things.<span> The lower we went, the more doors were there. Some even had deceased upants.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Keeno would be furious if she saw this.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>Several of the upied cells had kitsune who¡¯s tails were ripped off and shoved down their throats. Others were hung with them. There was even one with two tails from other Kitsune shoved through their eyes.


    <span>


    <span>¡°This one will get special treatment as well.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Reaching the very bottom of the stairs, the heaviest iron door I¡¯ve seen so far blocked out path.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Please do the honors.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Tapping my gravity stave on the door, I let a pulse go. The door shot into the room with a loud boom.


    <span>


    <span>¡°What in the name of all that¡¯s Divine!!!??? Who dares attack me!!??¡±


    <span>


    <span>The noble was nearly hit by the door and was fuming before I stepped into the room. That got him trembling like a newborn animal.


    <span>


    <span>¡°N-no! Y-you!?¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°Shut up, filth.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>I mmed the butt of my gravity stave on the ground and he fell to his back, the gravity slowly crushing him.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Spirit.¡± (Mostima)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehehe. Thanks, Apostle candidate.¡±


    <span>


    <span>The spirit sidled up to the noble and, with one of her ws, began her bloody work. She cut his shirt off and I saw a ck haze cover him for a second. She then stabbed a single w into his chest, but only skin deep.


    <span>


    <span>¡°We death spirits have seen all manner of war and atrocity. Some mortal got very creative in ways of inducing pain while the victim lived. These things were nothing to us before our Mistress gave us these new forms. Now, we somewhat understand the joy in it, though only when ites to those deserving. One of the methods we found was most effective was named a blood eagle.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Turning to me for a moment, the spirit spoke more.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Miss Apostle candidate, you¡¯ve also showed us some nice methods. Like impalement. Mixing that with this is a very nice way to inflict pain.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Turning back to the noble who was looking at the two of us with a level of fear I¡¯ve never seen before. The spirit continued to y the noble while he lived.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehe. You won¡¯t die until I say, mongrel. We death spirits will make sure of that.¡±


    <span>


    <span>She slowly tortured the mongrel until, well, I won¡¯t even describe the spectacle of the end result, but it definitely wasn¡¯t a pretty sight for a person with normal sensibilities. She asked if I wanted to impale him, and though I was slightly tempted, I decided not to. She seemed a bit upset about that, but got over it quickly. She ripped his soul from his body and smiled sinisterly.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Feel free to move on. My sisters shall see to the saving of the foxes.¡±


    <span>


    <span>I nodded and left the room that smelt of blood and other substances that came from the mongrel during the past few hours. The night was still young and I had many more nobles to deal with.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: How many damn nobles are in this country?


    <span>A lot. Though, Keeno¡¯s people should stop their purge for the time being soon.


    <span>Luna: Why?


    <span>Keeno needs an audience.


    <span>Luna: Ahh. Spectacle.


    <span>Heh. Much more than mere spectacle. Look forward to it, Luna.


    <span>Luna: I always do.


    <span>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 190- Advent of a Goddess

    Chapter 190- Advent of a Goddess


    <span>[3<span>rd<span> Person POV]


    <span>An emergency Council had been called due to the rapid dwindling of their numbers. It had been a hectic three months of assassinations and espionage against one another. Their numbers had been massively reduced, and for the most part the worst had all died. One could tell from their expressions that they were both terrified and angry, at one another or the ones killing them all, none but themselves could say. They had been covered in this meeting for hours already, but nothing of note was discussed due to the tension and suspicion each individual held for the other. Only a very select few werepletely unfazed by the atmosphere, and that was due to the fact that they had allied themselves with Sif.


    <span>


    <span>As unbelievable as it was, not all nobles in this city were scum, some had been taking in kitsune to protect them, as Sif had been doing. When Sif had learned of these individuals, she consulted with Margaret and Keeno¡¯s otherpanions before finally bringing them into the fold, letting them in on the events urring and vaguely what was toe. Only when Keeno judged them would they be trustedpletely. Speaking of Keeno, she had been taking care of the mes as she had said, and it was beginning to have tangible effects on the country. This was also one of the reasons this Council was convened. Stepping up to the center podium, the newest Speaker mmed a gavel to silence the room.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I understand that we all have our suspicions of current events, but this endless bickering is doing nothing but wasting our time! I demand order!!¡±


    <span>


    <span>Silence enveloped the room as all present looked to the Speaker.


    <span>


    <span>¡°We have all been doing nothing but throwing usations at one another, a vition of our rules when convened! Remember that we are a civilized lot, we leave our differences and grudges outside of this room, so CEASE THIS INFERNAL BICKERING!!! We have things to discuss, and inly so much time!¡±


    <span>


    <span>Murmurs of unwilling eptance washed over the room before silence once again reigned over all.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Good. Not for our first order of business, the missing Princess of Falheim and the absence of the eternal mes. While her host, Lady Margaret of the Nearl family, has note to this Council, I have sent inquiries to her. Though many have gone unanswered, the one she did not rudely ignore was the whereabouts of the Princess. She has departed the city and begun the process of extinguishing the eternal mes. As we have all clearly seen, the smoke rising all across ournd has ceased and the heat outside has be far less oppressive than we have be ustomed to. This lengthy preamble brings me to the point; what shall we do topensate the Princess for this altruistic aid?¡±


    <span>


    <span>Murmurs once again arose from all around the room as nobles discussed potential rewards for Keeno. Most that could be made out had strings attached that would only benefit the noble who proposed it, even to the detriment of the recipient of such ¡®rewards.¡¯ It was then that the proverbial spotlight shine on one of Sid¡¯s allies.


    <span>


    <span>¡°I suggest we relinquish the kitsune we have begun keeping to her. It would seem disingenuous of us to reward her while practically enving her kin.¡±


    <span>


    <span>A new wave of murmurs arose. Most carrying decenting opinions. This nearly led to an new wave of arguments to erupt across the room. This abruptly stopped when a strange music none present had ever heard began to softly y. It was some kind of string instrument, not high enough toe from a violin, but not low enough to be from a cello. It was a middle ground that sounded pleasant, if not for the chills that the music made all present feel. As if it was the beginning of a dirge that brought ruin to all. Apulsion hit all nobles in the room to go see what the source of this chillingly beautiful music was. In a near trance, they all filed out of the meeting room and began making their way toward the rooftop gathering ce.


    <span>


    <span>Upon stepping outside, all the nobles saw a sight they couldn¡¯t understand, but something in their souls forced them to kneel. Where their beautiful fountain once stood was a giant glowing ball of golden light. The music began to intensify and a shadow overtook the nobles. They all looked to the sky only to see a silhouette with a crown of blue ming horns, blue ming wings and piercing, glowing blue eyes. Just seeing the figure filled them all with dread. Itnded next to the golden light and stuck its hand into it. Soon the light began to fade rapidly. As this went on the figure became encased in light. When the golden lightpletely vanished, the light encasing the figure faded. The silhouette became clearer and revealed the Princess of Falheim, though now she had a fifth fluffy tail.


    <span>


    <span>Turning to her shocked audience, she smiled a smile so devilish, it put a different kind of fear into the souls of most present. The water had ceased to flow from the fountain and the five-tailed kitsune jumped up, knocked the statue sitting atop the fountain away, and seated herself on the carved throne. Only now did all present get a good look at her as well. She wore leotard type clothing that showed all of her legs all the way up to her hips. The part covering her midriff was covered in an opaque material that showed her naval all the way up to where her breasts ended. The material at her breasts was stretched taut, as if the fleshy mounds were about to rip free at any moment. Her shoulders were bare, though her arms a bit below the shoulders were covered by sleeves of the same ck material as the rest of her clothing. They covered her arms like the long gloves noble women loved to wear, though in her case they ended in metallic, armor-like pieces that gave the impression of a dragon¡¯s ws. This was not the only metallic element to her outfit, as there were sharp looking metallic parts along her sides and one on each hip and four more along her chest. From mid-thigh her legs were covered with the same opaque material along her midriff until mid-shin where boots of a mix of ck and silver metal covered her feet, ending in more dragon-like ws. Her now five tails fanned out as the crown of ming horns atop her head red, giving her the feeling of an overlord of death.


    <span>


    <span>As soon as the Princess took her seat, two more shadows began circling above all present before pping down. Two massive ravensnded, one on the back of the throne while the othernded on a knob just above the Princess¡¯s shoulder. At the foot of the fountain two beings appeared. They shared the same appearance as one another with the only difference being the mes leading from the corners of their eyes as well as the color of their eyes. One was blue while the other was orange. More figures of simr appearance soon began to materialize red mes leading from the corners of their eyes and all with devilish smirks and arrogant expressions of superiority. The beings knelt on one knee or fully prostrated themselves to the Princess in her throne.


    <span>


    <span>¡°The Spirits of Death greet the Goddess of Death!¡±


    <span>


    <span>All the beings spoke in unison, the harmonization causing the sound to carry much more than it should have. The Princess smiled down at all present. The meaning behind that smile was interpreted differently by all those that saw it. Some felt like there was a de handing above their heads while others felt the gentlefort of the sun or other such versions of these feelings. She then tapped a single finger on the armrest of the throne and where water once flowed, a blue me began to travel. Like mes to oil, the blue mes rushed through the channel, eventually spreading across the entirety of the city, causing all to turn their gaze towards the source. Back at the Council hall, the nobles were still confounded at what was urring. They still did not know what that golden light was earlier, but a few that were slightly smarter began to notice something <span style="font-style:italic">off.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Wait¡­The Dead Zone! It¡¯s disappearing!¡±


    <span>


    <span>¡°WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE DIVINE DID YOU DO!!??¡±


    <span>


    <span>The uproar began to spread as all the nobles not allied with Sif nor Sif herself began to be outraged. Their outrage, however, only made Keenough, which chilled the angry nobles to the bone.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Hehehehahahahaha!! Don¡¯t worry, you filthy mongrels, you won¡¯t be alive long enough to suffer whatever you think is going to happen, for you are going to experience something much worse.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Sif then made her move, standing up, she stepped forward and those of them who had be her allies stepped forward as well.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Oh Goddess of Death, I beg forgiveness for me, and those who have joined me. Please spare our souls so that we me witness your glory, now and in the future.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Keeno nodded before looking at her hellhounds.


    <span>


    <span>¡°My Death Spirits, these ones are off limits, the others are not. Go, have some fun.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>All present here would call the smile Keeno gave as a smile of the most vilest evil the world had ever seen. The prostrating death spirits stood and turned toward the crowd. Some had already began running while others were dazed. A few who had recovered quickly also tried to run, but only managed a few steps before freezing in ce before a muddy ck orb flew from their being. Their fleshy bodies fell like puppets with their strings cut and the hellhounds dly gripped the souls and vanished into the shadows.


    <span>


    <span>Those that were spared looked upon Keeno with a newfound respect born from fear. The wicked smile she had was then reced by one of a benevolent, loving one, warm andforting like the sun. She stood from the fountain throne and hopped down. The two spirits and the twin ravens looked at her with clear anticipation and their excitement was beginning to spread.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Geri, Freki, give me the seed.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>The two spirits smiled brightly and stepped forward. Out of nowhere, they pulled out a shimmering, deep green seed about the size of a person¡¯s head.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Sif, as my high priestess in thisnd, you and my Valkyrie Margaret will be in charge of tending and protecting the tree that this grows into.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>¡°Yes, my Goddess.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Turning back to the fountain, Keeno raised her hand and, with a snap of her fingers, the stone lit aze with blue mes bordering on white. The fountain as well as the floor beneath it and the subsequent floors under those began to melt until a hole leading all the way to the natural ground. Writing strange symbols on the air surrounding the seed, it floated from her hands and gently down the hole until meeting the ground. The second it touched the ashy soil, it sunk into it like a mole burrowing in a garden. Seconds passed and everyone felt a small rumble, then out of that patch of soil, a sapling sprouted. It grew more and more until its trunk, branches, and fledgling leaves met with the light of the twin suns, just slightly above the heads of the people present.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Take good care of this small sapling. If you do, it will grow to its true potential and spread it¡¯s seeds and roots, filling this country of ash and Death with new Life.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>Most wanted to retort about what was small about this tree, but the second part of her words made them hold their tongues. New Life? The implications of this were great, even greater than any of them could imagine. Keeno then stepped forward and began to carve a symbol into the tree. Some wanted to stop her, but she was already done before they could even take a single step.


    <span>


    <span>¡°This ash tree is Yggdrasil. Tend to it properly and this country will be a whole new world. However, if someone harms it, they will face a Death so cruel, it¡¯s indescribable.¡± (Keeno)


    <span>


    <span>She stepped away from the tree and the ravens took flight. The two spirits disappeared in a sh of light bringing attention to the glowing tattoos along Keeno¡¯s arms and back. On her back was what looked like the same tree made of the same strange symbols she kept using. The ming wings then reappeared and pped, sending a wave of heat over the crowd. pping one more time, Keeno took to the sky, circled around a few times, and flew away over the city. When she was far enough away, a st of blue light swallowed her up, and she could no longer be seen. Those left at the Council hall were leftpletely stunned at everything that had urred over thest few minutes. That is until Sid stepped up.


    <span>


    <span>¡°Everyone! We have many things to do now, we will be starting the process of reorganizing everything as well as informing the people and exining what is going to happen from now on. If any of you know skilled architects, or know of someone who does, gather them all. And someone gather the bodies here and ce them near the roots.¡± (Sif)


    <span>


    <span>Themanding tone she portrayed got all those present moving. It would be a rough time for a while, but eventually things would settle and Lokir would finally be able to advance.


    <span>


    <span>[Keeno POV]


    <span>


    <span>I left the city in a dramatic fashion and only returned after dark. The streets were still abuzz with people, even at thete hour and my mes still hadn¡¯t gone out in the channels. I subtly walked over to one andmanded the mes to cease. All at once the mes began to die down until they were no more than a memory. I then made my way back to the Radiant Knightpound. Getting there was a hassle and inside wasn¡¯t any better. The knights did stop their frantic business enough to let me pass, only to return to the hustle and bustle afterwards. Only once I reached my room and closed the door did I allow myself to rx.


    <span>


    <span>¡°*Sigh*¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Are you alright, Keeno?}


    <span>


    <span>¡°¡­Exhausted¡­feel strange. Stronger, yet not. Freer maybe? Dunno, too tired.¡±


    <span>


    <span>{Sleep. We¡¯ll talk more when you¡¯re rested. I¡¯ll let the others know not to bother you as well.}


    <span>


    <span>¡°Nn.¡±


    <span>


    <span>Falling face-first into the bed, I didn¡¯t even move the nket before I was out like a light.


    <span>


    <span>Chaos Realm:


    <span>Luna: Wonder what she got for getting five tails?


    <span>Want me to tell you?


    <span>Luna: No spoilers.


    <span>Ok.


    <span>Luna: It¡¯s a good thing only those nobles saw her face too. I doubt she¡¯d like people to learn she¡¯s a goddess yet.


    <span>Hehe. I just find it funny how, even with both Sif and the spirits saying so, some of the nobles believe she¡¯s a Goddess of Life or Amaterasu¡¯s Apostle.


    <span>Luna: Well, she did just nt a world tree that grew to the size of a mature redwood in an instant, so I can see that happening.


    <span>Wonder how Amaterasu is going to react.


    <span>Luna: Smugly.


    <span>Heh.


    <span>Luna: I like that heh. What do your Chaos Eyes see?


    <span>Fun things in the future.


    <span>Luna: Fufufu. I¡¯m here for it.


    <span>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 191- Waking up Again

    Chapter 191- Waking up Again


    [Keeno POV]


    Waking up in a daze, I¡¯d felt like I slept both for a second and a month. When the daze finally passed, Iid there, staring at the ceiling.


    {What¡¯s wrong?}


    ¡°Was kind of hoping to wake up to you. Had a feeling I would when I got five tails but seems that feeling was wrong.¡±


    {Shame. I really wanted to the first one to enjoy that fifth tail.}


    Her words seemed to spark something deep inside me. It felt like my already overwhelming feelings for Ama grew like a fire that¡¯d been given even more fuel.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    {Keeno?}


    ¡°Words can¡¯t describe how much I want you right now, Ama. In every sense you can imagine.¡±


    {Keeno!!! Calm down! If you don¡¯t, we¡¯re going to have a repeat of what happened when we first kissed.}


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t know if I can, Ama. It¡¯s like everything I¡¯m feeling right now is being amplified even more than usual.¡±


    {Damn dragon bloodline! I usually love it, but in this circumstance, that and kitsune mix horribly! Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!! Keeno! I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m cutting the connection till you can calm down! My best advice, do your control exercises.}


    The mental connection cut after that, leaving a void I didn¡¯t like. Iy there, my emotions heightened to the nth degree, struggling to regain my control. The second I thought I was, the progress slipped through like sand. It didn¡¯t help that my frustration was also heightened. Only after what felt like hours did I manage to get a bit better. I felt the connectione back, but Ama didn¡¯t say anything. When she reconnected us, my control threatened to slip again, but this time was grip on the reigns was irond.


    ¡°Ama¡­let¡¯s try again.¡±


    {Can you handle it?}


    The iron grip instantly started melting but I reinforced it with steel and then tungsten.


    ¡°Why is this so hard? I was fine earlier.¡±


    {You have more than half of your Divinity unsealed. This means your body has gone through some changes. Not¡­well, mostly not physically. Your Core is glowing brighter and those scales around your eyes have be a deeper ck, but the most changes are in your soul. You might have to stay put and retrain your control before actually trying to do anything.}


    ¡°Ugh. What¡¯s the damage outside?¡±


    {Not much is different here, but they lost about an inch of snow in Solheim and Odeen. Falheim is fine too, though some of their crops have wilted a little. Vanir was quite happy with it. So, not too much damage, but I¡¯m going to need to have another conversation with your Sr spirits. Either they were king, or they weren¡¯t ready for you to get to this much of your Authority at this pace.}


    ¡°Please do, the sooner the better. I don¡¯t want every small fluctuation in my emotions to cause summer to happen worldwide. It was already bad when we both lost control after all.¡±


    {Ok. I¡¯ll tell Pram and the others toe see you, I¡¯ll be back in a bit.}


    Ama left again, but I felt the connection stay instead of being cut like earlier.


    ¡°Annoying spirits taking away MY Ama¡¯s time from me¡­oh dear.¡±


    I was really going to have to work on this. My spiraling thoughts were then interrupted by a knock on the door. When it opened, my threepanions entered. Two of them seemed a bit tired while Freya seemed perfectly fine.


    ¡°Keeno, why did it get so hot outside a bit ago? Did something happen?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± (Freya)


    ¡°Yeah. Felt like my skin was gonna start cooking like bacon.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Sorry about that. My control is a <em>bit </em>off today. Ama is getting things settled for me in the Divine Domain so I can focus on getting my control back to normal. How long have I been asleep?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Three days. By the way, what¡¯s with the giant tree? All the kitsune in this city have been flocking to it anding away praising Okami, the Apostle of Life.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°But Pram is the Apostle of Life.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Well, when someone grows a giant tree out of nowhere, then no one will listen to what the one in charge of watching over the tree says when she calls you the Goddess of Death.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Sorry Pram.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. You still don¡¯t want people knowing you¡¯re a goddess after all, and with that identity, you can get to more ces without trouble.¡± (Pram)


    She had a point, though I still felt bad about taking her title.


    ¡°That aside for the moment, what are we going to do now? Stay here for a while, move on, or something else?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Our next destination is on the other continent, right?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Yep.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°Then I think we should return to Solheim for a bit. I get this feeling that it¡¯s our only chance to before I get nine tails. As much as I dislike that feeling.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°I like that idea. I can also introduce Freya to everyone.¡± (Pram)


    This made Freya blush and fidget nervously.


    ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll cover the cost of the Guild Teleport then. Any idea on the timeframe we leave at?¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°The sooner the better, though there are a few things I need to take care of before we leave. And we¡¯ll being back to this city to set off, if I¡¯m remembering the map right. Plus, I still need to figure out where Margaret¡¯s uncle is.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°One thing at a time, Keeno. Also, what¡¯s with the outfit? I didn¡¯t expect you to have something so¡­risqu¨¦ for public use.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°It was Ama¡¯s idea. Said I needed something fitting of my image. Plus, I really like it too. It¡¯s so easy to move in.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°It does suit you, though I think you should change soon.¡± (Mostima)


    ¡°I was nning on it. I need a bath too. It¡¯s no fun not having one while putting out fires.¡± (Keeno)


    Izily got up and the others backed away, a bit shocked.


    ¡°Ok, Keeno, five tails really suits you. Better than any so far.¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Yeah. If I had to rate it on a scale of one to Pram, you¡¯d be a 10.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°What am I on that scale, if Pram was a number?¡± (Pram)


    ¡°Unrateable because you are perfect.¡± (Freya)


    ¡°You sweet talker you.¡± (Pram)


    One of my ears twitched as I watched the two flirt.


    ¡°Pram, Freya, hold off for now.¡± (Mostima)


    They nodded and stopped their flirting. I stretched and red my tails out, making some satisfying popping sounds.


    ¡°Anyway, I think I¡¯ve calmed down enough for now. If you three don¡¯t mind letting Margaret and Sif know I¡¯m awake and toe see me in a bit. I REALLY need a bath.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Alright. Take your time, we¡¯ll let them know you will see them this afternoon.¡± (Mostima)


    I thanked them and they walked out the door. I turned to the bathroom and entered, only to be greeted by Geri and Freki lounging in therge tub, taking up all the room.


    ¡°Morning, Master!¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Good~?Mor~ning?~Ma~a~ster??!¡± (Geri)


    I tilted my head at their surprisingly good mood.


    ¡°Something good happen in these days I¡¯ve been asleep?¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We went to the Divine Domain at Mistress Amaterasu¡¯s request and got to see Red again.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°She even hugged us, though she didn¡¯t get why she did it. But it was nice.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°I¡¯m happy for the two of you then, though I think you should let Red know at some point soon. She may get mad you¡¯ve been teasing her for so long.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°We will take that into ount for next time we see Red.¡± (Freki)


    ¡°Would you like to join us, Master? It¡¯s a bit cold, but rxing.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°You two are taking up all the space.¡± (Keeno)


    I know the reaction they wanted from me, and I was tempted to acquiesce, but I didn¡¯t want to risk acting all shy making things difficult outside again.


    ¡°Ice Princess Master.¡± (Geri)


    ¡°No reaction isn¡¯t any fun!¡± (Freki)


    I smirked a little at their words.


    ¡°It¡¯s only because you two aren¡¯t ready for something like that yet.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°Oh?¡± (Freki)


    ¡°A challenge!?¡± (Geri)


    Turning my back to them, I slowly started to remove my clothes while hiding slightly behind my tails, only showing just small glimpses of the rest of my body while looking over my shoulder.


    ¡°¡­¡± (Geri)


    ¡°¡­We bow to Master!¡± (Freki)


    In an amazing show of synchronization, the two hellhounds leapt from the bath and got on one knee, crossed a hand across their ample chests, and bowed their heads, their tails dancing as they did so.


    ¡°Hehe. Dry off and go check out the tree inside me. I want to know if there were any changes when I got my fifth tail.¡± (Keeno)


    ¡°¡°Yes Master!¡±¡±


    The vanished in a sh of light. I chucked at their enthusiasm. Walking up to the bath I snapped my fingers and evaporated all the water and started to fill it again. Once it was full I stepped inside and started to heat it to a preferable temperature. Once the water was perfect and the room filled with, to normal people, scalding steam, I finally rxedpletely.


    ¡°I¡¯m kind of excited to go back home for a bit. I wonder what everyone is going to think about my tails?¡±


    Closing my eyes, I sunk a little deeper into the water.


    Chaos Realm:


    Luna: At times like this I wish I didn¡¯t have Space Magic, well, when I think about my own journey at least. It¡¯s a different kind of satisfaction when you can¡¯t just snap your fingers and return home whenever you want.


    Order: It worked out fine for you in the end. You had fun and were always happy and satisfied when you went back home. I bet Keeno would love free range teleportation sometimes, but she doesn¡¯t have that.


    Luna: True, but now she can fly.


    Says the one that can fly by manipting space.


    Luna: Oi! I won¡¯t take any of that from you, mister can-take-whatever-form-he-desires!


    Just because I can, doesn¡¯t mean I care to. I actually prefer kitsune form.


    Luna: Then choose a set number of tails!!! Don¡¯t just randomly decide how many to have whenever the mood strikes!


    Order: Don¡¯t listen to her!


    Hehehe.


    Luna: Tch. Just you wait, when Tamamoes here, we¡¯re going to put you through ourbined attack: 20-tail assault!


    Oh no. Whatever will I do? Order, please protect me. *monotone*


    Luna: *gets even more yfully frustrated and starts throwing fluffy things at the other two*


    Order: Why!?


    Luna: Because you¡¯re his wife!


    Pfft.


    Order: Pffft.


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