The Long Night
Auction House VIP Area: Hookah Lounge:
"Cheers!" (Everyone)
With a clattering of glasses, we all downed our drinks with the exceptions of Freya and Bella, who just elegantly sipped their wine.
The reactions were great.
*Burp* x 2
"*Cough* Wo!" (Hephaestus)
Akame and Hephaestus burped, and an adult hand-sized fireball came out of their mouth, much to Hephaestus shock and slight embarrassment. Akame played it off like the adorable creature she was.
"Ahhh~" x 2
Yoru and Loki fell into a slight wistful trance that Yoru broke out of after enjoying while Loki just sat there with a stupid happy look on her face.
"My~ This is incredible, how did you procure such a wine?" (Freya)
"Mn, it is quite enjoyable, isn't it? This one was grown on our farms." (Bella)
Freya and Bella had no outward reaction aside from Freya's eyes widening slightly. Those two had the noblewoman attitude down.
The funny thing about noblewomen, once they loosen their restraints, they can be pretty damn wild.
Personally, I felt like going with a fruity flavor tonight, so I went with some rainbow fruit wine.
"Ah~ That's the stuff." (Magus)
'Nothing like a nice drink after a day of work that technically still hasn't ended…'
I ignored that thought and turned to the lit hookah to pick up on the eight hoses resting on the table.
I'll explain it once more.
A hookah has a glass base filled with water, while metal tubes are used to bring airflow from the tobacco and hot coals at the top down into the water at the base.
When someone sucks air through one of the hoses, the heat from the coals burns the tobacco, the resulting smoke enters the water through the metal tubes and exits the water in a much thicker cloud of vapor infused with the tobaccos taste to flow down the hoses.
*Bubble* *Bubble*
I breathed in deeply and heard the satisfying sound of air flowing through the hookah.
The coals turned orange, the sizzle of the tobacco was heard, and the water in the base bubbled before the vapor flooded through.
If you have ever smoked a hookah, you will know that you don't get a small amount of vapor, you get a nice cloud.
I breathed out a column of vapor across the table into Loki's still funny looking face, and she finally snapped out of it.
"*Cough* What… *Cough*" (Loki)
Everyone laughed at her expense before the girls relaxed and enjoyed themselves.
Bella was chatting away with Freya in a friendly and neutral way while Freya enjoyed the fresh experience of hookah and simply having people to talk to without drama.
Akame was munching away on the jewel meat jerky with a dreamy look on her face while Hephaestus was awkwardly looking at the plate of jerky and Akame's face without knowing how to ask her question.
'Ha, I know how you feel, it's hard to step in with Akame and food.'
I laughed and put a hand on Akame's head to pet her.
"Haha~ Love, why don't you share the jerky with Hephaestus." (Magus)
"Hm?" (Akame)
Akame broke out of her trance and gave me a questioning look filled with innocence before turning to Hephaestus, who looked embarrassed for getting caught.
"Mn." (Akame)
Akame moved the plate between them and nodded to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus picked up a piece of jerky and soon fell into the same trance Akame was in.
The sight of those two girls sitting side by side with glazed eyes while blissfully chewing on jerky was one of the most adorable things I've seen in a while.
My sight became obstructed by thick vapor, and I turned my head to see a mischievously smiling Yoru who pointed at Loki at her side.
"She wanted revenge, but she couldn't make her vapor reach you~." (Yoru)
"Oi! You weren't supposed to say that last part!" (Loki)
I narrowed my eyes slightly at them.
"Love, you know what this means, don't you~?" (Magus)
Yoru smiled challengingly at me while Loki just looked confused.
"What exactly is happening?" (Loki)
I matched eyes with Yoru, and we spoke at the same time.
""War."" (Magus + Yoru)
The next ten minutes was a fun mix of laughter as Yoru and I proceeding to pull every trick we could to outdo each other.
Vapor rings, rings through rings, vapor waterfalls, French inhale, mini vapor tornados, even a small battle of trying to shoot rings through each other's creations.
Soon enough, everyone else joined in, and it was a fun vapor war.
Bella and Freya somehow managed to make their actions proper and sensual and the same damn time. I had a strong feeling they were bonding over messing with me.
The best part was that with none of being normal humans and the tobacco being mana infused, it was completely comfortable to breathe and didn't irritate us.
Eventually, the war winded down, and I refilled my glass while Loki stabbed an apple slice and narrowed her eyes at me.
"So, Magus, how about a few questions?" (Loki)
I raised an eyebrow at her asking her to elaborate, and before she did, she threw the apple slice in her mouth, and her eyes lit up.
"Was that an apple?! How is all your stuff so bullshit! That was the best apple I've ever tasted!" (Loki)
Loki ranted while staring at the fruit platter like a predator.
I felt like teasing her a bit.
"Oh~ Is that your first question?" (Magus)
Loki snapped back to me.
"Yes! Wait, no! But…grrrr." (Loki)
She realized she got distracted by the fruit, it was adorable.
'Why am I surrounded by adorable creatures? I can't complain, but it's bad for my blood pressure.'
Loki took a deep breath while I refilled her glass, and she nodded in thanks.
"First question, what are you?" (Loki)
I felt Freya and Hapheastus focus their attention on me, and I smiled wryly.
"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." (Magus)
I got three 'huh's' while Yoru started cracking up.
"Ahaha~ That! That is when you use that line!" (Yoru)
I gave a mock salute to Yoru before turning back to Loki.
"You're going to have to be more specific Loki." (Magus)
She nodded.
"Are you a god?" (Loki)
I twirled my glass and thought for a second before answering.
"How do you define a 'god' Loki?" (Magus)
Loki narrowed her eyes.
"I don't understand." (Loki)
I nodded.
"Not many do. A god is defined as any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force. Gods are physical representations and are birthed not through another life form but from energy itself. So, to answer your question Loki, no, I am not a god." (Magus)
'Not yet at least.'
Loki digested that while Freya spoke up.
"You are correct Magus, not many like to see it that way, but your definition describes the essence of gods and goddesses in the truest sense." (Freya)
I smiled at her.
"Thank you my lady, but I am merely quoting something I once read." (Magus)
She smiled back and sipped her wine while Hephaestus spoke up.
"So, your human?" (Hephaestus)
I pushed a new plate of snacks into the space between Akame and Hephaestus to replace the empty ones and spoke.
"Well~ I was indeed born to human mother, but you can consider me to be half human~." (Magus)
"And the other half?" (Loki)
I gave her a teasing smile.
"Who knows~." (Magus)
She huffed but didn't press the issue.
"Next question, what's your real purpose in this city?" (Loki)
I laughed at that.
"Haha~ What does mostly everyone come to this city for?" (Magus)
"The dungeon?" (Hephaestus)
I nodded.
"Indeed, I am here for the dungeon." (Magus)
Loki stopped to think for a second while taking a puff of hookah.
"If that's the case, then why all this? Why make this auction house?" (Loki)
Akame yawned, so I put my arm around her and pulled her against me to allow her to relax and get comfortable.
"Hm~ For shits and giggles mostly." (Magus)
"Eh?" (Loki)
'I think I broke her this time. Look, even Freya has a dumbfounded look.'
"If I am going to be here for a few years, why not have some fun? Sure, stalking around in the darkness was possible, but why do it? It seems like it would be incredibly tiring and a waste of effort." (Magus)
Freya's eyes narrowed.
"Are you not afraid of the danger it brings?" (Freya)
I smiled at her and released some of my bottled aura, which each of my girls matched with their own much to the surprise of the goddesses.
"Danger is more than welcome to find us. I make no promises for its own safety though." (Magus)
I felt the hungry stare of my girls.
'Releasing our aura really gets our instincts pumping.'
"Arrogance leads to weakness you know?" (Loki)
I turned to her and nodded.
"I agree, however, I am not being arrogant, I am being confident in my preparations and skills. Arrogance is believing your untouchable. I believe I can be touched, but I also believe I have the ability to respond to the touch with my full force.
After all." (Magus)
I smiled a bit ferally and showed my fangs.
"A lion will use its full strength even when hunting a rabbit." (Magus)
I heard four gulps and tilted my head.
'Four?'
I looked around, and the three goddesses definitely made those sounds. Bella and Yoru were smiling a little ferally at my display and trying to reign in their instincts to jump me.
I looked down and discovered the fourth one.
'That was mine….'
Akame had finished my rainbow fruit wine while I was talking and looked up at me when she felt my gaze.
She matched my eyes and nodded with a blank face.
"It was good." (Akame)
I felt a figurative raincloud over my head and pulled back the aura I was releasing while ignoring the three foreign scents of arousal I could detect from the goddesses.
"That was my last bottle in my inventory…." (Magus)
"There, there." (Akame)
I sulked while Akame patted my head to comfort me.
The sight was interesting, to say the least for the goddesses while Yoru and Bella just laughed.
I enjoyed Akame's petting for a minute before turning to the dumbfounded Loki, who was just staring at me like a puzzle she couldn't figure out.
"So, any more questions Loki?" (Magus)
She snapped out of her and nodded.
The sight of me sulking seemed to have calmed her down, and she was able to regain her usual attitude.
"So, you made the auction house for fun, which means you have easy access to the things that you offer for sale, which brings up a lot of questions, but first, I want to know something else. How are you releasing that aura! I feel like I'm being stared at by an ancient beast or something!" (Loki)
Hephaestus jumped in.
"Is it related to those animal statues you have around the auction house?" (Hephaestus)
And Freya added her piece.
"I was curious as well, I don't recall ever seeing those beasts depicted before." (Freya)
I nodded before saying one of the explanations the girls and I prepared in advance.
"Yes, they are related, and they are mythical creatures that have not been seen by most races, so I wouldn't expect anyone to easily guess their species." (Magus)
'Technically, that's true.'
"That still doesn't explain how they are related to you and your aura!" (Loki)
I smiled wryly at her.
"Curiosity has become your weakness Loki." (Magus)
She huffed but didn't reply, she likely didn't want the topic to deviate even if she acknowledged what I said as correct.
"The answer to your question Loki, is magic." (Magus)
I waited for a question and got none before I sighed at the annoyed looks I was getting.
'I guess I can't pull the same joke too many times.'
"It's an ancient magic to be exact, and it is a lost art to the modern age of this world." (Magus)
"And what does this magic do?" (Freya)
I gave her a teasing smile.
"It allows the user to look into their own soul." (Magus)
Her eyes widened.
"That's…not supposed to be possible for mortals." (Freya)
She sounded unsure.
'Good, it seems I'm starting to break the world views of these goddesses. It's so boring when those you talk to think they know the 'Rules' of the world. The 'Rules' were made by others for their own convenience and because they didn't want to push the boundaries farther than their comfort zones.'
"Magic is a powerful thing, right Loki?" (Magus)
She nodded and finally gave a small smile.
"True magic is not bound by the same laws that others are bound to. Still, mortals shouldn't be able to access such magic." (Loki)
My girls had mostly been quiet during this time to allow me to explain, but they couldn't help themselves with this one.
"Isn't it interesting how many things that 'shouldn't' be possible were lost to time and forgotten?" (Bella)
"Yeah~ Isn't it just convenient how certain things that would anger others if they became known, simply disappear~?" (Yoru)
Bella and Yoru had shit-eating grins as they spoke.
Freya and Loki became thoughtful, and their thoughts were moving quickly while Hephaestus chose the direct route.
"So, you're saying it was covered up by someone else? A conspiracy theory?" (Hephaestus)
I laughed and turned to her.
"No Hephaestus, not a conspiracy. You should have realized this by now, but the most common trend is that the source of such incidents are usually petty squabbles due to greed or other such things. Intelligent species are just broken recorders that repeat the same things over, and over, and over. Much is lost in these cycles that would have been world-changing for the present day." (Magus)
The funny part of this conversation was the girls and I were not lying about human nature, but we were doing it in a way to spin a tale to mislead these goddesses. Using the truth to misdirect makes for the best covers.
Hephaestus nodded.
"I can't argue with you, but if you don't mind me asking, just how old are you? You speak as if your much older than you look." (Hephaestus)
I pondered that one while I saw Bella and Yoru nodded in agreement with Hephaestus's words.
'Ok, ok! So, I sound like an old man sometimes, sue me.'
"Hm~ How old do I look to you?" (Magus)
"20." (Hephaestus)
"25." (Freya)
"22." (Loki)
'Oi, isn't this body supposed to look 19? Well, whatever.'
I shrugged and responded.
"Let's just say that you girls will eternally be somewhere between 21 – 24, and I fit in there somewhere." (Magus)
"Mhm, and don't forget it." (Bella)
"This is what a man is supposed to say, you should write a book love~." (Yoru)
"""….""" (The goddesses)
They had different reactions, but it only took a second for everyone to laugh.
I refilled my glass with some of the leftover fire whiskey while the women laughed at my joke and let it go.
"Fine~ Fine~ That question wasn't very important for us, but you're not getting away from the last one! What does that magic of yours do??" (Loki)
I nodded and decided to stop dragging it out by holding up three fingers.
"First, it allows you to see your soul." (Magus)
I put a finger down.
"Second, it allows you to find your inner beast spirit." (Magus)
I put another finger down.
"Inner beast?" (Freya)
I looked at her and nodded.
"Every being with a soul will have a reflection of themselves in a beast form. These beasts can be mundane, magical, or mythical. It's all based on the person itself." (Magus)
She looked thoughtful about that, probably just realizing what those small irregular signs she saw in other souls up till now were.
I held up my last finger and continued.
"And finally, you must confront your inner spirit, and find harmony with it through many different forms. It could force you to reflect on your life and reconfirm your desires, it could be through a game of tag, it could be through battle, and it could also be simple and have no test at all." (Magus)
I held up my fist and finished.
"And finally, if you succeed, you will gain access to your beast form, and it will fundamentally change you. You will gain the senses and instincts of your beast spirit while being able to use a half or full transformation. If you fail, you could receive a backlash and, in some cases, you could lose your life." (Magus)
To emphasize my point, I released my lion ears.
Their reactions, however, were not expected.
Within seconds, I had Loki standing on the seat next to me and feeling one ear while Hephaestus leaned over Akame to feel the other.
"Oi!" (Magus)
"Shhhh, just let it happen." (Loki)
I felt my mouth twitch.
'They better not have forgotten everything I just said as soon as they saw my animal ears.'
Thankfully, Akame decided to help me out and released her own tails much to the two goddesses' delight, and I got thrown away like leftovers.
Since they were on the other side of the table, Bella was letting Freya touch her own ears.
"Fascinating, what else did you gain from these forms?" (Freya)
"Many things, but we shouldn't share too much, each beast has abilities unique to them." (Bella)
Freya nodded and didn't pursue that line of questioning, it was reasonable to not want to share your abilities with others.
Eventually, the situation winded down, and we moved on.
Loki opened her mouth to speak but got cut off.
"If possible, I would like to ask the next question." (Freya)
Loki nodded, and Freya turned to me with a serious look.
'What's with the serious atmosphere?'
I took a drink and waited for her to speak.
"Magus, if I wish to woo you, is it better to be direct or subtle? I do not wish to waste time." (Freya)
*Cough* *Cough*
I choked on my fire whiskey and spat out a few small flames.
"Well~ that was refreshing." (Magus)
She smiled but otherwise waited for my answer.
Loki and Hephaestus were caught off guard, but they also looked at me with an obvious desire to know the answer.
My girls were actually laughing at my predicament.
I sighed and smiled wryly.
"*Sigh* I really don't know how to answer that." (Magus)
I looked at my girls who were smiling at me, reminding me that we talked about this earlier, and they would follow me no matter what choice I made.
I looked back at Freya and spoke honestly.
"Freya, the best answer I can give you is to let life guide us. I love my wives, and I would walk through hell before I hurt them by jumping into a new relationship despite what they say otherwise. Let's allow things to play out and see where it goes." (Magus)
Loki's eyes flashed before she spoke up.
"So, you're saying we can come at your however we want then?" (Loki)
Her smile turned predatory.
I gave her a wry smile in return.
"In moderation ok? Just be casual, I will be in this city for a few years after all." (Magus)
That seemed to settle them down, and I saw Hephaestus breathe a sigh of relief as well.
After finally being satisfied seeing me get uncomfortable answering questions, Bella decided to throw me a bone.
"Dear~ why don't you help these women by explaining the items they won at the auction tonight?" (Bella)
The goddess's eyes lit up, and they nodded.
'Thank you love.'
"With pleasure~ I believe each of you received one special item while the others were self-explanatory. Hephaestus, do you wish to start?" (Magus)
She nodded and excitedly pulled out a human head-sized egg in a special container.
"I have been extremely curious about this Phoenix egg, but I didn't know how to ask about it." (Hephaestus)
"Haha~ No need to be shy; your welcome to ask." (Magus)
Seeing most of the drinks were finished, I pulled out some various fruit wines and spread them around, hey, I'm a man who likes to always have more drinks to go around, and I have crazy amounts stored in the warehouse back home.
I refilled my glass and examined the case before speaking.
"Let's see~ First, I'll explain a bit about that breed of phoenix." (Magus)
She nodded with glowing eyes, and I thought she looked adorable at the moment.
"Phoenix's mainly have the elements of fire and life with a few others. Not many know this, but a phoenix should be born from the flames of its partner to create the strongest bond. Once hatched, it will grow to adulthood very quickly, and it will have a few abilities.
It will be able to communicate with you over a mental link.
It can teleport through flames to any location it has seen before, and it can take you with it.
It will be able to shed tears that can heal, its shed feathers will be excellent materials to forge with, and it will be able to soothe anyone around it with the music of its voice." (Magus)
I stopped there to take a drink and let Hephaestus stop gawking at the egg in her hands in amazement before hitting her with probably the most essential trait to a goddess like her.
"And finally, the bird is immortal. Once it grows to a point or takes a certain amount of damage, it will undergo a flame rebirth and become a baby phoenix again with all its memories retained." (Magus)
I had to reach over and grab the egg when Hephaestus became shocked and almost dropped the egg.
"Oi! It's still fragile before it's born." (Magus)
She snapped out of it and looked horrified.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I got lost in thought." (Haphaeustus)
She looked like she was about to cry until Akame wrapped a few tails around her and pulled her over to us to begin petting her head.
"It's ok, calm down." (Akame)
She visibly calmed down while I raised a thumbs up to my adorable fox.
'Good job love~.'
I placed a hand on Akame's head to show my thanks, and she nuzzled into it while still patting Hephaestus.
"It's fine~ Just be careful ok?" (Magus)
She nodded and blushed in embarrassment, but interestingly enough, she didn't try to move away from Akame.
'How do I describe this sight? Should I say this sight could give someone diabetes? Yeah, let's go with that.'
I explained a few more points to her, and she was over the moon to have a new friend who would be eternally by her side.
"Now, remove the egg and bathe it quickly in your flames." (Magus)
She hesitated and asked.
"Are you sure? I don't want to damage it." (Hephaestus)
I nodded.
"Don't worry, no flame can truly hurt a phoenix, it will feed off the energy of your flame to be born, and the fire will link it to you." (Magus)
She nodded and removed the egg from the glass case before taking a deep breath and igniting her hand with her divine flames.
They were a golden-red color, and the temperature quickly rose.
I flexed my fingers, and a few fireproofing charms hit the items around us.
Loki was examining the charm and probably figuring it out while Freya was more interested in the egg.
*Crack* *Crack*
With the sound of cracking ringing out, I spoke to Hephaestus.
"Increase the temperature." (Magus)
She followed my instructions, and the flame she was emitting grew.
A few seconds later and the egg visibly cracked, and I told her to cut off the flames.
She did so and put the egg down on the table just as a small head broke through the shell.
*Trriill*
It gave an adorable sound before it finished breaking out and exposed its naked baby chicken like image to the world.
"Aww~" (Most of the women)
'At birth, they mostly look like a naked baby chicken, how is that thing cute looking?'
In fact, the only two women who didn't make a sound were the two in physical contact with me.
Akame's eyes shined with a hunter's gaze, and Yoru's cat instincts flared up.
I quickly got an arm around both of their waists.
"No girls, you can't eat the bird." (Magus)
*Hiiiss*
Yoru hissed in dissatisfaction, and Akame play bit my hand trying to make me let go.
While I dealt with my felines, the baby phoenix waddled up to Hephaestus's hands and rubbed itself against her.
A link was formed between them, and Hephaestus automatically knew its gender.
"She's adorable..." (Hephaestus)
*Triill*
The baby gave off another cute sound before curling up in her hand and going to sleep.
Loki jumped over the table to sit in between Hephaestus and Freya and studied the bird with her.
"This bird has a crazy amount of mana!" (Loki)
Bella spoke up since I was busy.
"Oi! Yoru, not the ear! Akame, easy with those tails!" (Magus)
Busy with that.
"It will grow naturally from the ambient mana, but it can be sped up if you bath it in your flames daily. A phoenix doesn't technically need to eat, but it still enjoys fruits.
Oh, and save the ash from its rebirth days, that stuff is very valuable for potions." (Bella)
Hephaestus nodded and continued cooing over the bird while Loki spoke up.
"That reminds me, you guys had a lot of interesting potions for sale, including the one I bought, where do you guys get this stuff?" (Loki)
I laughed as I overheard that question while Bella puffed out her chest much to Loki's annoyance.
"While Magus has a great deal of skill in potion making, I make the majority of the things you see for sale."
The goddesses were taken back by that.
"Really? That's quite the skill you have there Bella. Do you take private orders?" (Freya)
Bella nodded while Loki was tiredly rubbing her forehead on the side.
"That skill can match gods whose divinities allow them to focus on making potions like Miache! *Sigh* You four are going to give me grey hairs." (Loki)
I managed to get a word in.
"Blame your own curiosity! How far you go down the rabbit hole is up to you!" (Magus)
She jumped up like an enraged kitten.
"Oi! I can't help it!" (Loki)
She threw a piece of chicken shawarma at me, but it was caught by Akame, with her mouth.
Bella and Freya ignored us.
"It depends, what are you looking for?" (Bella)
"I was hoping for more of those mental cleansing potions. Many of my Familia members have been strongly affected by my charm over the years." (Freya)
You could see the pain in her eyes when she spoke of it.
Her divinity encouraged the action and actually made her feel good when she ensnared someone, but on the inside, she felt disgusted by such actions.
Bella noticed and nodded.
"Sure, just give me a number, and I'll get them to you soon enough." (Bella)
Freya gave a genuine smile and nodded.
"You have my thanks." (Freya)
Bella waved it off.
"No worries~." (Bella)
And Loki jumped back in with the potion she won in the auction in her hand.
"So, you made this potion?" (Loki)
Bella looked over and nodded.
"Mhm, luck potions are annoying to make, but they have their uses." (Bella)
Loki's eyes sparkled.
"But it really works right!?" (Loki)
Bella nodded hesitantly, she felt there was a stupid motive behind her excitement.
"Yes, however, the risks were clearly stated. You will experience a large decrease in luck the following day, and it's not all-powerful. It just increases the odds of things you are trying to accomplish. You can still fail horribly." (Bella)
Loki didn't hear her, and her nose started bleeding while she muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"The girl's bath! I will finally enjoy my paradise without Riveria stopping me!" (Loki)
*COUGH*
Loki froze.
She looked straight at Bella.
"Is…is there an angry elf woman who could really use some love standing behind me?" (Loki)
Bella nodded with a benevolent smile.
"Yes, yes there is." (Bella)
"Right, thank you." (Loki)
As soon as that dialogue was said, Loki tried to dive under the table and got her head hit with a staff in response.
A few minutes later and Riveria joined us and was studying the luck potion in her hands while Loki was laid out on the seat.
"Ow! Why do you always hit so hard?" (Loki)
Riveria absentmindedly responded.
"Usually, pain is the greatest lesson. With you, I have to keep increasing the pain, and I'm starting to question your fetishes." (Riviera)
I almost spit out my drink at that.
'Savage!'
"Live as long as I have, and you will try a lot of different things." (Loki)
She looked my way when she said that and winked.
'Don't engage Magus, just enjoy your drink and heal your bite and scratch wounds while petting the adorable creatures that caused them.
Wait, what happened to Azazel?'
"If I may ask Riveria, did you happen to run into a certain multi-winged man?" (Magus)
She turned to me and nodded.
"I studied him for a bit before throwing him off the floating island." (Riveria)
'Damn! This woman is savage as fuck! Best of luck man.'
"*Cough* Right, well, Freya, I believe it's your turn. What would you like me to explain?" (Magus)
Freya's eyes lit up, and she brought out the Tome on Occulemncy she won.
"If you would be so kind, I have many questions about this mental magic." (Freya)
I nodded and smiled.
"I wrote that Tome, so your more than welcome to ask." (Magus)
Everyone aside from my girls was surprised by that.
"Really? It's one thing to make a Tome with the Mystery development skill, but its another to write one yourself." (Riviera)
Riveria looked at me in admiration, she didn't doubt me after seeing the library we have, let alone the place we were currently in.
"Yeah, you would have to thoroughly understand the magic to do that." (Loki)
Loki added in, and I smiled.
"I have a bit of skill in it~." (Magus)
Bella laughed.
"Don't be so humble dear, its not a big secret. Magus here is a true master of the mental arts. Where we come from, he was renown as one of the greatest mind healers at an incredibly young age, and that was only what he showed.
He showed us how to use the art in the most efficient way, and all four of us have impregnable and organized minds now. It's incredibly useful." (Bella)
Bella decided to show us off a bit since it was a defensive and supportive art we were describing. We said nothing on Legilimency.
Riviera looked at the Tome with obvious desire.
Loki and Hephaestus looked interested, but they weren't crazy about it. I had a hunch that Loki already made progress in the mental arts despite this world being very rigid in its thinking of magic.
"Oh~ Is that so?" (Freya)
'Did I just hear her voice shake?'
"Magus, would it be possible for you to help me set the foundation? I believe I may have a few issues that you could help me with." (Freya)
Freya looked at me, and I confirmed a bit of desperation in her eyes.
'Is it that bad?'
I nodded.
"Sure, the mental world moves at different speeds to the real world, a minute here could be as much as an hour in there. However, as a mind healer, I have a few things I should warn you of first." (Magus)
She nodded, and I got everyone's attention.
"First, as a professional, I will never speak of what I see if you do not wish. In some cases, I could actually delete the memories of what I see if that is what the patient desires." (Magus)
She nodded in appreciation.
"Second, I will assess what I can before dragging your consciousness into your mental world, you will feel a slight tug, and I need you to follow it, not fight it." (Magus)
She nodded again.
"And finally, I'll help you set the foundation, but if I do anything more than that, I might leave to much of my own influence. Your mind should work by your rules, understand?" (Magus)
She nodded once more, and I turned to everyone else.
"It should only take a few minutes from your perspective, just keep enjoying yourselves." (Magus)
I looked back at Freya and spoke.
"Look into my eyes." (Magus)
She matched my own, and I sent out a Legilimency probe.
Her divinity acted as a fundamental barrier, but it was like a piece of paper before me.
My consciousness entered her mind, and what I saw was frightening.
"What….the….fuck…..?" (Magus)
Bella wasn't lying when she boasted my skills at the mental arts.
If there were a few things I would say I truly took to the highest level I could, it would be my mental art skills.
I never went a day without spending some time in my mind, and my mental skills progressed to monstrous levels.
I could heal those with mental disorders and cripple those with entirely constructed mental defenses.
Now that my body is being evolved to eventually match my divine side, my powers are settling in and strengthening me even more.
I could look a full power Voldemort in the eyes and break his mind in seconds.
But what I am seeing right now is downright terrifying.
Freya was known as an extremely powerful goddess in mythology. A world god version of her wouldn't be able to handle everything she represents.
When I met her in person for the first time, I identified a few divinities and only spoke of those ones at the time.
Love, fertility, beauty, fine material possessions, and a minor domain of death. Those were the divinities I could sense.
I gifted her the charm suppression bracelet to help her control what I thought was her primary divinity, but the truth is very different.
I looked ahead at the standing mental projection of Freya. She wasn't even conscious in her own mental world.
"You….poor girl.." (Magus)
A mind that never had mental organization is usually just a formless space filled with chaotic memories all jumbled up, or in rare cases, it takes a specific form like a field, ocean, or such things.
What I am seeing is something I have never seen before.
Each and every divinity that Freya has taken the form of an eldritch horror type beast, and they were fighting for supremacy.
Strange leech-like worms with thousands of mouths, skeletons with glowing green eyes, massive sludge-like slime beasts, three-headed demons, tornados with faces, and more were all attempting to destroy each other.
It wasn't just the five divinities I initially saw, but there were also beasts giving off the feelings of Lust, Sorcery (Different from Magic), and War.
Eight creatures were fighting and causing destruction to the mental world.
And in the process, memories that are floating around randomly get caught up in their fights and destroyed.
Just like any unorganized mind, there were tens of thousands of memories randomly scattered about.
Standing off to the side of the center was Freya's mental projection, it was curled up into a ball and surrounded by a protective energy field.
I felt something get stuck in my throat when I realized that protection was from the bracelet I gave her recently.
"How long have you suffered like this?" (Magus)
My father once told me that it wasn't wise for a god, a primordial god, to have too many active divinities, especially if they are not compatible. No matter how strong you become, your soul would be a warzone between conflicting divinities.
He said it was a painful existence and most prioritized what felt more comfortable to them and released or sealed the others.
If let go, it would eventually take a physical shape of its own or wait for the next compatible owner.
That's actually how I came to own the divinity of shadows.
The divinity was floating in the universe after Uncle Erebus faded, and it chose me as the most compatible host.
A primordial god CAN die, but a new one will eventually take its place.
Back to Freya, a world god, even with world god level divinities that will only ever affect the current world, she should not be holding so many divinities at once.
Each time one of the divinities gets an advantage, it will be like shooting a concentrated drug into Freya that would compel her to do something.
If there were fewer divinities and they were compatible, they would settle in her mind and soul, similar to the spheres I have in my own soul.
They would naturally find a balance and take root to support the host.
But without them taking root? With them continually taking brief control? The compulsions would drive an average person to insanity.
And one of the saddest parts of this picture is that Freya has a divinity for sorcery.
A sorcerer is born able to cast spells, but they have to learn spells in the first place.
This world never made any progress in the mental arts.
*Back at the table:
Akame was still leaning against Magus and felt his body shudder. She looked up and noticed a few tears falling down his cheek, and before anyone could notice, she waved her tails as if she was stretching and wiped the tears away.
'Don't be sad Magus.' (Akame)
She wrapped a tail around him to share her warmth and love with him.
Back in Freya's mind:
Magus POV:
I decided I watched enough and moved over to Freya's mental projection.
I cast a mental shield around us and examined her.
The bracelet I gave her had recently allowed her to remain protected not just from her uncontrollable charm on the outside, but also from her extreme compulsions from other divinities on the inside.
I never made it with that intention, but that was the result it had.
Around Freya's body itself was a fragile layer of something everyone has, but not many can use it.
Willpower.
'Has she been surviving this mental storm with only her will as her shield?'
That frightened me in two different ways.
The first was that her willpower was down to a simple surface layer skin filled with cracks and looking extremely fragile.
The second was that, after all these years of her willpower being battered and tempered in the fires of her mind, just how strong would it become if it was fully restored?
I shivered a bit.
'This woman will be a force of nature.'
I placed my hand on her head and began to heal many of the mental cracks I could find. She had a significant amount of small fracture like cracks.
This is one of the critical parts of mental healing, you can't leave behind a crack, or it can become a weak link that can cause the patient to relapse.
After a few minutes, I pulled my hand away.
'Damn this woman was broken, how the hell has she been so calm on the outside since we met? A crazed psychopath would have fewer cracks than her. Was it all really her willpower?'
My skills had improved tremendously from years ago when I healed Sirius.
It took me a year to heal him, where it only took me a few minutes to heal Freya.
But there were significant differences.
Sirius had a drained and shattered mind while the core of his being was kept locked away and safe. He actively knew how to control his mental world to sacrifice things to save others.
Freya had no control over her mental world and was similar to a small boat being rocked by massive waves in a storm. All those horror beasts that represent her divinities have also been eating away at her long years of memories.
And there was also the point that Sirius was a mortal man with only a few dozen years of life versus Freya who lived thousands of times longer. Her mind was much more flexible than his.
"Hmm…." (Freya)
Freya's mental projection began to wake up.
In the mental world, time moves much slower than in the outside world.
In the time a single blink, minutes could pass in the mind.
I laid her down on the ground and examined her.
"Freya, can you hear me?" (Magus)
"Magus?" (Freya)
Her eyes snapped into wakefulness, and she immediately began analyzing the situation.
'Oh~ What a fast adaption.'
"Is this my mental world?" (Freya)
I nodded and helped her sit up.
"Yeah, I managed to heal many of the cracks on your own psyche, but I thought it best to bring you in before I take any more steps." (Magus)
I pointed to the side, and she followed my finger to the sight of her divinities, and she paled.
"Those…. are my divinities?" (Freya)
I gave her a moment of silence before speaking.
"Freya, I don't know what your existence was like, but these divinities took these shapes to reflect your thoughts on them. They were always fighting for dominance, but your negative views on them shaped their current images." (Magus)
"I made them into…..this?" (Freya)
I finally saw real sadness from her instead of the proper image she always tries so hard to maintain.
I put a hand on her shoulder and made her face me.
"If anything, Freya, it tells me how much a good person you really are. You hated what your divinities pushed you to act like and fought back without ever truly giving up." (Magus)
I sent out some mental energy to create an image of herself ten minutes ago before I healed her.
She blankly stared at her own image.
"Here you were, covered in cracks and on the verge of totally losing any sanity you had left. And yet, you never gave up." (Magus)
I smiled down at her.
"Like a blade being tempered by a hammer and flame to create an even stronger metal." (Magus)
I held out a hand in front of her.
"Are you ready to be reborn? As the real 'Freya' this time?" (Magus)
I stayed still and waited for her to respond.
She stared at her broken image a few minutes longer before looking up at me and hesitantly placing her hand in mine.
"…..yes." (Freya)
She gave me a genuinely heartfelt smile, and her tears finally fell from her eyes. It must have been centuries since she last let herself cry.
I gave her a hug and let her cry on my shoulder for a few minutes.
Whatever happens, will happen, but I know that this was the right thing to do at the moment.
Once she calmed down, she was able to speak again.
"Thank you for helping me Magus, my pride would never allow me to say this in other situations, but my existence has been nothing but pain and giving in to my compulsions to escape said pain. I didn't know what else to do." (Freya)
I nodded and patted her head.
"Don't worry, as long as you will it, that will never happen again, I will help you set the foundation." (Magus)
With that said, I increased the strength of the mental shield around us and floated us up into the air above the rampaging beasts.
'When it comes to a battle in the mental world, a world god level divinity is a child before me.'
I raised a hand to form my will and explained myself to Freya at the same time.
"Enough!" (Magus)
Mental energy swept out from me to form chains from the void that wrapped around the eight beasts.
{RAWR!} {GROWL!} {GRRR!} {&$%#^@!}
They attacked back, and painful memories from Freya's existence bombarded my mind.
I gritted my teeth and pushed them to the side.
"A god cannot hold so many active divinities at the same time, even if you temporarily hold them down, they will wear you down in return and eventually damage you." (Magus)
I sent out another mental wave.
"Silence!" (Magus)
Each of the eight beasts was confined into a sphere, and no longer made noise.
"I will seal these divinities into eight separate corners of your mind, and you will have the freedom to call upon whichever one you want to be active at the time." (Magus)
With a thought, the eight spheres separated and settled in the space around us.
I formed the space to resemble a pizza with a 'slice' acting like the channel in which Freya could call upon the divinity.
"I am separating the space into ten sections, one for each of the divinities, and two for the center. A barrier space to protect your mind and an inner sanctum for you to form as you wish.
You will need to keep at least one divinity active to remain a goddess. I do not know what would happen if all your divinities were to remain inactive, and I don't think we should try and find out.
The tome will teach you how to construct things in more detail and organize your scattered memories.
I'll make it slightly easier for you."
With another mental wave, the scattered memories spread throughout the mental plane began getting sucked to the center area where we were.
I created a giant sphere and a small sphere.
In the process, I happened to see various memory sequences and saw a bit more of the life Freya lived.
'This feels wrong to say, but….damn, this woman has one amazing body underneath those clothes.'
Hey, doctors get to see things, it's a privilege. We just have to stay silent about them.
"The large sphere here will store all your current memories, including new ones until you make your own system to deal with it. The small one will be for you to view and organize." (Magus)
With that done, I turned to Freya to see her with unfocused eyes, a smile, and blushing cheeks.
For some reason, I shivered a bit.
'I am not going to comment on that.'
"*Cough* Freya~ oi! Did you hear everything I just said?" (Magus)
I waved my hand in front of her face until she blinked and refocused her eyes on me.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" (Freya)
I felt my old forehead twitch return and sighed.
"*Sigh* Forget it, I'll write it down for you, just follow the instructions in the Tome, and you can begin working on constructing and organizing your mental world." (Magus)
She nodded.
"Thank you for helping me Magus." (Freya)
I smiled and nodded, but then her smile changed slightly.
I saw her divinity for lust light up, and a bed appeared from the space behind her.
'Oi, isn't that a little too fast to get the hang of things? .... Oh right, sorcerer divinity, I should be careful with teaching her how things work.'
"Since we have the opportunity, do think I could thank you.... a little more....intimately?" (Freya)
Her voice turned sensual, and her charm turned on consciously as she raised her hand invitingly.
This wasn't the broken Freya, this wasn't the Freya who couldn't control her charm, this was the reborn and perfectly clear-minded Freya.
And in a way, she wasn't all that different from before, at least on the surface.
I smiled, shook off the heavy charm, took her hand, and kissed it but in a polite way.
For some reason, she only smiled more brightly in response.
"Thank you for the offer Freya, you are truly a beautiful woman in mind, soul, and body. However, you need time to heal and observe the changes to yourself without my influence to depend on. Like I said before, let's let life guide us and not rush it." (Magus)
She pouted at me.
"Your no fun~." (Freya)
We laughed, and I explained a few more small details to her before leaving her mind with a final thought.
'I wonder how what she was thinking about throughout that process.'
*Line break*
Freya POV:
Back when Freya woke up in her mind:
It was only a moment after Magus met my eyes when I felt a soothing warmth flow through my soul, the pain I was accustomed to for my entire life was being removed all at once, and I felt my consciousness get pulled by something.
I let it take me like I was told, and when I opened my eyes again, I was in a dark world.
It took me a minute to gather myself before I focused and analyzed my situation.
Magus was standing over me, and I had to be sure it was him and not my imagination.
"Magus?" (Freya)
He reassured me and explained how he healed me before showing me what my divinities were acting like.
To say I was shocked was an understatement.
First off, I had never felt more 'whole' in my life after whatever he did to heal me. It felt like pieces of myself that have long since broken were put back together.
As for the monsters, for my entire existence, I hated my divinities for two simple reasons.
They were always fighting and pushing me to do things I didn't want to.
And I couldn't control my own power, I could only direct it and call upon it.
But to see what my hate had formed?
I felt pain and sadness, knowing these monstrosities were created from my hate.
Before I could give in to the pain, Magus brought me back again by showing me a projection of how I looked before he healed me.
I lost myself in my own image.
It felt like looking at a broken mirror.
Pale and scarred, torn and beaten, cracked and flawed, this was the true form I became after enduring my divinities for so long?
Was every god and goddess like this? Was it just me?
Magus's voice rang out again, it felt warm, confident, comforting, and yet….was he…..admiring me?
"Like a blade being tempered by a hammer and flame to create an even stronger metal." (Magus)
A large hand was placed in front of me.
"Are you ready to be reborn? As the real 'Freya' this time?" (Magus)
I thought about my entire existence, the wars of heaven followed by the periods of pure boredom. My descent to the mortal world and my countless new experiences there. Throughout all of it, everything, was I ever truly me? Or was I whatever was leftover from the war inside my mind?
I looked up to match his kind eyes.
'Magus…..this man….he just wants to help me?'
I reached up to take his hand and prayed this wasn't all a dream before speaking.
"….Yes." (Freya)
He pulled me up, helping me confirm this was all real, and for the first time in centuries, I cried.
Waiting for my crying self was the warm embrace of this man.
Once I managed to calm down, he floated us up far above those monsters, and what happened next was the actions of a real god.
With a single word, the world obeyed.
I was mesmerized in his power.
I barely heard the words he was speaking to me and just stared at how he shaped the hell that was my mental world into a controlled form.
I felt all eight divinities that were always screaming and trying to take control vanish instantly as they were captured in spheres and divided to eight corners.
I felt my personal control strengthened and knew instinctively I could call upon any one of my divinities with ease.
I stared at Magus as he finished his actions and engraved the sight of him acting like a true god in my memories.
'If you do this much, how can I not be devoted to you?'
Unfortunately, I already knew it wouldn't be so easy to find a place in his heart. The very love he gave off when he looked at one of his wives was overwhelming.
It didn't stop me from teasing him with an attempt to have him sleep with me though.
And subtly, I also tested something else.
Even inside my own mind, with full control of my divinity, he still brushed off my charm like nothing. The sight truly got me excited.
I watched him leave with a smile before my smile turned genuinely sensual.
'Oh~ There is no man for me other than you Magus.'
With a thought, a few marble statues of Magus appeared near me.
One with kind eyes and an extended hand, another with his hair flowing around him and giving off a predator like aura, another with the face he had when he shaped my mental world, and a few nude statues in different poses.
'Yes, these should be placed near the center of my being.'
And if you want to ask how I know what Magus is packing to make a nude statue? Please, you think my eyes can only see souls? I believe I heard that young girl Syr call it a 'Scouter.'
I looked at the sphere of memories and knew it would take quite a bit of time, but one look at the statues around me, and I knew it wouldn't be that bad.
I summoned a bed to lay on with the small memory sphere.
'Besides, every step from here is truly 'Me.''
*Line Break*
Back with everyone:
Magus POV:
After leaving Freya's mind, I found myself back in the same position I was in before with only a few minutes having passed.
"*Phew*" (Magus)
I exhaled a tired breath.
"Oh~ Your back?" (Yoru)
I heard Yoru's voice next to me and nodded absentmindedly before remembering Yoru should be on the other side of the table.
I looked down to see her sitting on my lap with a mischievous look, and I could feel her tail wrapped around my waist.
Akame was still leaning into my side and resting with one tail wrapped around me and her other tails aimlessly moving slightly, Hephaestus was suppressing her laughter, Freya was still in a daze in her mind, Bella was leaning back with a smug smile like she was saying 'Just go on with the show,' Loki was pouting, and oh! Azazel was back and bugging Riviera, good for him.
I did what I felt was right in this situation.
First, kiss the sexy cat on my lap.
"Mn~" (Yoru)
Done.
Second, tease said cat and question everyone.
My hand moved to Yoru's head, one pulling her into my chest while the other petted her cat ears.
"So~ What did I miss~?" (Magus)
Akame spoke up.
"*Yawn* Loki wanted to prank you, naughty cat claimed your lap to 'protect' you, they were bickering." (Akame)
I felt like she was leaving something out but just dropped it and turned to Loki with a smile.
"Oh~? So, you wanted to prank my defenseless body? Just what were you going to do to me~?" (Magus)
I mock cried like a girl who was going to be molested, and Loki huffed.
"Defenseless my ass! These wives of yours are just as protective as you are for them." (Loki)
I felt the tails around me increase in pressure, and I felt warm inside.
"Besides, you would have done the same to me if the situation was reversed~." (Loki)
'I can't deny that, oh wait, I can!'
"Honestly Loki~ Just what do you think of me~." (Magus)
"I think I see a male version of me." (Loki)
We matched eyes for a second before everyone laughed at the banter.
Just then, I saw Freya's eyes blink, and she came back.
I match eyes with her and sensed an incredible amount of emotion behind her pure gaze.
Everyone welcomed her back, and besides being curious, no one asked any personal questions.
Seeing it was almost time to wrap this night up, I pulled out a small bag and spoke up.
"Now that everything else is done for the moment, why don't we play a small game to end the night?" (Magus)
I smiled mischievously and opened the bag.
My girls and Loki's eyes widened.
It was a bag with nine gumballs inside of it.
"It's just a small game~." (Magus)
'Mwuhahahah! *Evil cat laughing*.'