Fenrir

A week later, while Maya was organizing some matters concerning the Empire, she felt her bosom shake and quickly dropped her pen, standing up from her seat at the office.

“Your excellency?” asked the petite assistant on the side, startled by her empress’s sudden move.

Maya ignored the assistant’s question, pulling on her shirt and allowing the bundle of sources snuggled inside her chest to float outside. In moments, under the assistant’s flabbergasted eyes, a physical body formed around those sources, and Seth appeared right before the two.

“You’re back,” exclaimed Maya, coiling her hands around Seth’s neck and hugging him tightly.

Seth patted her back and looked at the frozen assistant on the side, smiling as he said, “Would you mind leaving us alone?”

The startled assistant quickly nodded and rushed outside the room, terrified when she realized who that man was.

After being left alone with Maya, Seth’s hands found their way to her waist and squeezed her behind as he asked, “Why did you carry me in your chest all this time?”

Maya pulled back, a mischievous look in her aquamarine eyes, “Did you not like it?”

“For over half this time, I was completely unconscious. What is there to like? I also have no senses as my soul is hidden inside my sources….”

“But what about the other half? And what if you can’t feel them? You still knew where you were, didn’t you?”

“It was like having a delicious pie before your eyes but no way of eating it. It was more of a torture than a treat.”

“Yes, but didn’t the desire to eat that pie make you recover quicker?”

Seth sighed, shaking his head at Maya’s antics, “Fine, you win. Thank you for the comfortable resting place.”

“Do I get some reward?” asked Maya, her eyes landing on Seth’s crotch, clearly indicating what reward she was talking about.

“Haha, a bit later. I want to chat with Leora and still need to settle everything with Lisa.”

Maya nodded and let go of his neck, not throwing a tantrum as she said, “Fine. I’ll take care of everything until you’re ready. If you need Lisa and Leora, they are usually together these days, so you might find them in either of their room. Still, before you leave, tell me, how are your sources? Are you fine?”

Seth looked at the system’s damage report and nodded, “They are fine. The destruction source took the blunt in the fight, but I can easily repair it, while the others will also recover in time. I’m going then. Wait for me later.”

Maya tip-toed to peck Seth’s lips and nodded as she watched him fade into space.

After checking both Lisa and Leora’s rooms to find them empty, Seth teleported outside and found them sitting on a bench in the courtyard, chatting leisurely with Julie.

Lisa could not feel Seth’s arrival, but Leora immediately lowered her head from the bright sky and smiled, “Someone decided to wake up. Good to see you on your feet again.”

Alarmed by Leora’s words, Lisa and Julie lowered their heads and also congratulated Seth on his recovery.

Seth gave Julie an apologetic look as he went to sit down between Lisa and Leora, joining the girls in watching the sky together, “What were you girls talking about?”

“Oh, you know, boys and stuff,” said Leora, nesting her hand into Seth’s. “I saw some charming ones as I was roaming the capital.

“Has Dukbium finally managed to conquer your little heart?” asked Seth, causing Leora’s face to scrunch up in disgust, “He wishes. That coward, if he didn’t run away, I would have - “

“He would have beaten you,” interrupted Seth with a serious look. “He would have beaten you if you both went all-out in that fight. Don’t underestimate that guy’s destructive power.”

“I was joking,” said Leora with a laugh. “Light already told me I can’t win against him.”

“As long as you know. I don’t want you doing anything stupid. Speaking about gods, has Razim shown up?” asked Seth, returning to watching the sky while moving his hand to grasp Lisa and Julie’s.

“No, but her world is not far from here. I can feel it under the range of my energy. Do you want me to take you there?” asked Leora.

“No. Razim will come herself when she’s made a decision. She probably moved her world here in case Gaia decided to make trouble for her.”

Leora nodded and suddenly asked, “Seth, We spoke to Light, and she said that chaos is not one of the fundamental energies, but it’s what gave birth to the other energies in the first place.”

“Do you know anything about that? Lisa said that there was a being made out of chaos in the future. Won’t such a being be more powerful than everyone here?”

“You mean the all-devouring wolf?” asked Seth with a smile. “Yggdrasil’s leashed dog… I fought the beast once and lost horribly against it, so that checks out. It devoured all the energy I threw at it while eating a big chunk of my divinity and forcing me to run. Quite a fun fight.”

Seth pondered for a while before continuing, “With everything I’ve learned from Isabel and Yggdrasil’s ambition of gathering life and death energies, which were part of the All-mother, I believe the wolf might be some result of her attempt at recreating the All-mother’s power or something of the sort.”

“Chaos is indeed an energy above all the others, known in the future as the origin energy, but ascension in chaos is also possible; it’s just that the principles behind it were never completely understood by the ascended, and an affinity for it was never discovered, except maybe the All-devouring wolf.”

“Despite its capabilities, cultivating such energy is also difficult. Chaos in its purest forms is barely found in the universe while absorbing the other energies to bring them back to their origin is time-consuming.”

“Reaching the peak in such energy is more challenging than everything, while also making cultivating other energies in parallel impossible.”

“But, with Gaia and Yggdrasil allying, doesn’t it mean that we’ll have to fight that chaos wolf at some point?” asked Leora.

“We might have to, but while strong, the wolf is not that smart. Because of the lack of the mind energies of the All-mother, it’s just a chaos being seeking to devour everything in its path. If we play it right, we might even be able to use it against its master, which Gaia is aware of, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”

With Leora nodding, Seth turned to Lisa and said, “How have things been for you? I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly the last time.”

“It’s been good. Leora is good to me,” said Lisa with a wry smile, but Seth could easily read between the lines.

“Don’t worry. The others will likely come around with time. What about you, Julie?”

Julie just nodded, squeezing Seth’s hand harder.

Seth knew it was not easy for either of them, but he could do nothing about it. He couldn’t force the others to accept the mother-and-daughter duo, even more after the incident with Lisa attacking him, despite everyone knowing by now he was the one orchestrating the incident.

While Seth was thinking about making things easier for them, Light materialized on the side and said, “Destruction Seat, can I chat with my sister?”

“Darkness?” asked Seth with a frown. “What for?”

“Please. I know releasing her divinity is risky, but if anything happens, I promise I’ll take care of it,” said Light, choosing not to explain her intent.

Seth turned to look at Lisa, and she nodded to show her approval, “I’m alright with it.”

With a sigh, Seth said, “You can do it, but it must be inside her divinity. I’m only allowing your will to enter the seal for a while. I’m not undoing it so that it can cast its influence over Lisa again. Is that fine with you?”

“And how am I supposed to enter her divinity?” asked Light with obvious displeasure in her voice.

Seth smiled, and Lust manifested on Light’s side, taking her hand as both disappeared into a flash of pink light.

Lisa’s face flushed, and the mark on her stomach brightened as she buried her face into Seth’s shoulder and rubbed her knees together.

“It will be over in a while,” said Seth, letting go of Julie’s hand to massage Lisa’s back.

Lisa nodded on his shoulder, and Julie said with a blaming look, “When will I get a mark like that? All of your wives have one.”

“Probably never,” said Seth. “The last human to get one turned into a completely new being, and I don’t want a repeat of that incident. I’ll speak to Lust, but the chances are we’ll never be able to create a lust link between our souls.”

Julie’s excitement crumbled, and she lowered her head with a sigh. Seth also fell silent, monitoring the situation inside the darkness divinity to ensure none of its influence would leak out.

Leora, on the side, looked at the trio and asked, “Seth, now that we’ve solved the issue with the gods, what about the horrors in the continent?”

Seth focused back on Leora and considered her question for a moment before shaking his head, “I know you can do it yourself, but it will be best to wait until I’ve reached godhood. As feeble as it is, peace reins over the continent for now, and it’s better to keep it that way for a few more generations.”

“If we launch an attack on the horrors, Death will do the same without a doubt, and things will turn chaotic again.”

“But I can probably deal with Death myself,” said Leora with a frown, her mind traveling to the unfortunate souls she had seen in the kingdom of Pain.

“I know you can, but I don’t want to kill Death.”

“Why not?”

“You probably don’t know about it, but Lust has a plan of recreating the power and memories of the All-mother inside the child growing in Katy’s belly. That child is, in fact, a seed in which she keeps feeding the energy and greater wills through the links I have created with them.”

“If everything goes right, that child will be born as a chaos being akin to the All-devouring wolf and a second incarnation of the All-mother. I didn’t like what she was doing initially, but now I know we might need someone as strong as that if we ever hope of taking on the World Sovereign once outside, or at least be able to protect ourselves from him.”

“After forming a link to Isabel, Lust informed me that Katy’s seed will only be complete after forming a link with Death or Yggdrasil, and I’m not doing anything of the sort with a tree.”

“But isn’t Death… male?” asked Julie from the side, having recovered her memories from the treasure of the heart.

Seth shook his head and said, “No. Perception, Lust, Life, and Death are all formed out of the All-mother and are all female by origin,” Seth’s body changed as he spoke. His male features transformed, and he became a female version of himself, “It’s just that energy bodies will be able to take whatever form they want when they materialize, and she chose a male one to spread her influence more easily.”

As Seth returned to his normal appearance, Light returned from Lisa’s divinity and disappeared inside Leora’s soul without saying a word, while Lust did the same thing.

“I guess things didn’t go well,” muttered Seth, to which Leora smiled wryly and didn’t reply.

Seth sighed and patted Lisa’s back, standing up from the bench, “I’ll chat with the others and explain some things. After that, we’ll spend some time together before I have to go back to cultivating.”

Julie and Lisa nodded while Lisa asked, “Can I break through to the seventh shell? My energy has long reached the peak.”

“We’ll do that eventually, but I have to assist you since you’ll be breaking through outside Darkness’s influence,” said Seth, creating a few books on the side. “Until then, read those. They contain knowledge in the concept of darkness.”

After Lisa nodded again, Leora asked, “Do you mind if I go with Seth to see the others?”

Lisa shook her head, “No. I’ll also have to start reading through these. Thank you for keeping me company.”

Seth turned to Leora and asked, “What about me? What if I mind?”

Leora grabbed his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, speaking in a spoiled tone filled with conviction, “You don’t.”

Seth sighed before chuckling, winking at Lisa and Julie, and teleporting away again.

Lisa turned to Julie after grabbing her books, “Mom, I’m always heading to my room to read. We’ll speak later.”

Julie watched her daughter leave with a sad look as she rubbed her stomach above her clothes.

“I wonder if I can somehow become an ascended….”