'I will protect her with my life,' Axelia said sincerely.
I nodded in acceptance, then shifted my focus back to Okeanós—the name of what was once Neró's world.
"What's wrong? You spaced out for a while," the tailed Lilith asked.
"Nothing. Just in my head," I replied.
"Well, now that you're fully present… You can have this back," Lilith said, before tossing Kitsune toward me.
I reached out to catch her, but to my shock, she passed straight through my arms and splashed into the water below. I stared at my hands, looking like dissolving wax.
Only then did I notice it. Ever since absorbing Neró's soul, my body had felt… different. Stronger, yes, but no longer solid. The weight I once carried in myself was gone, replaced with a hollow lightness, as though even the wind could pass through me.
I reached for Kitsune again, her small hand breaking the water's surface. But once more, my fingers slipped uselessly through her.
'This is just getting annoying,' I thought, irritation bubbling up.
Turning to Neró, I snapped, "Your power is useful in battle, but how did you ever manage to hold on to anything?"
"Focus your mind on the part of your body you wish to be solid. Visualize it as though it already—"
"Say less." I cut him off.
Circulating Neró's power through myself, I pictured my body as it once was—whole, tangible. Slowly, the melting ceased. My form solidified.
I drifted over to the tailed Lilith, and with a flick of my finger against her forehead—smack—she yelped, "Ow!"
"Go fetch Kitsune," I told her.
She rolled her eyes, then she dove into the still waters and got a hold of Kitsune before she sank too deep.
"What the fuck, Lilith!" Kitsune shouted, thrashing in the water.
"Calm down. It's not like you were dying," the tailed Lilith replied with a shrug.
I ignored them, turning instead to Neró. "Your power is kind of inconvenie-"
I began to say before suddenly sinking down. A few seconds later, with Neró's guidance, I shot back up to the surface.
Neró's body could shift between light and heavy in an instant and at will. The limit was his imagination and comprehension to make it happen.
"I don't quite understand your power, so that's reason enough to keep you around. You'll also make a good training dummy. Finish sorting out your people before we leave." I said to Neró.
Neró bowed his head. "Sovereign." Then his form dissolved, sinking back into the waters.
"Come out," I commanded, eyes narrowing at the horizon.
Not hearing a response, my voice sharpened, echoing with authority. "I know you're there. Stop wasting my time and come out!"
Three hundred meters away, the still surface trembled. Ripples spread outward, and from them rose a woman of haunting beauty, her form born from the water itself.
Most of her body shimmered with scales of a deep, pristine blue. A six-foot, liquid-like aqua tail with some scales trailed behind her, rippling with each movement. Her hair was water itself, cascading down her shoulders like a rushing stream.
She darted forward with such speed that it seemed like she had appeared before me.
"Neró… he's truly gone?" she asked, her voice laced with expectation.
"Yes. Why? Will that be a problem for you… Whoever you are?" I replied evenly.
"Not at all," she answered, her lips curling into a faint smile. "My name is Livia. I'm glad you rid this world of that arrogant bastard. Never did I think I'd see the day another reaper comes here, let alone one who could so easily destroy Neró. You have my gratitude. Of course… I must report this to Thanatos."
"You will do no such thing," I said coldly, releasing my pressure onto her.
Her liquid tail rippled violently under the weight, waves coursing down its length—but her face remained unshaken.
She laughed, sharp and triumphant. "Hahaha… For over two thousand years, Neró crushed me under his abuse. You could say I've built a tolerance to this pain."
I released my pressure but immediately bound her within my dark cloud.
'The Helpers can move freely to and from Thanatos… if she reports me, I'm finished. And since they cannot be killed… how do I deal with this one?' I thought to myself.
"I suppose," Livia said with a sly smile, "I could serve under you. Consider it my gratitude for freeing me from that bastard Neró. In return, I won't report you to Thanatos. So long as I'm free to do whatever I wish."
"So you'd follow nothing but your own whims, without question?" I asked, calmly.
"Exactly!" she answered proudly, flashing her teeth in a grin.
"What you ask for, I do not stand for," I said coldly.
The weight of my aura crashed down again—heavier than before. This time, her body trembled under it, pinned in place. I seized her rippling tail in my grasp, shadows curling around my fingers, then drove my dark cloud deep into it.
"I will make you feel a pain you have never known," I said, my voice low and stern.
Her tail then formed small dark patches all around. The dark cloud began taking its effect and was withering her soul. This was the effect of the black poison from the 3 headed ancient beast. This poison not only rots the flesh, but it also withers the soul until there is nothing left.
Surprisingly, her regeneration was faster than the dark cloud's withering effect. 'So, even the helper's souls are undying?' I thought to myself as I controlled the poison within her tail to circulate faster. This caused Livia to scream even louder.
"Please, I'm sorry. I will serve you, please, just stop." She begged me with tears in her eyes. "I'm interested to find out how much you can take next time. If you dare give me a reason to." I said to her then stopped circulating the poison within her tail. The dark patches slowly started to fade from her tail, but not completely. She eventually began to gain some relief.
"So, who wants to go sight-seeing?" I asked out loud as I looked at everyone with a warm smile. "You can be scary sometimes. Nevertheless, I'm interested to go shopping." The tailed Lilith said as though the previous events never happened. It was only then that Livia took notice of the two helpers, the tailed Lilith and Kitsune, who were behind me.
"YOU! How is this possible? Does Thanatos know you are here?" Livia asked flabbergasted. "What is it with you people? I don't know who this Thanatos is!" The tailed Lilith said annoyed. "Well, he is obviously AAAH!!" Livia tried to say, but was then overcome by a new kind of pain.
I could feel Theós' presence from within Livia's body and immediately knew Theós was once again trying to cover something up. I then held Livia's head and tried to suppress Theós' power within her, but it only lessened slightly.
It was only after 7 or 8 breaths, did Livia stop screaming and Theós' presence finally faded away. "Livia, tell me. Have you seen the tailed Lilith before?" I quickly asked her, pointing towards the tailed Lilith.
"I'm not sure if I can answer that or not. I don't think it is within Theós plans." She said to me cautiously.
"Try!" I said to her. She hesitated for a few seconds, but then mastered up the courage to say one word, "Yes." "Where?" I ask her. "I cannot say where, but it was a long time ago. Back to when we were first created." She said to me still warry of Theós.
"I see. That's enough then." I said to her. 'The stronger my resistance is to Theós, the more I can suppress his power and get more answers…all in due time.' I thought to myself. I then opened a gate in front of me with my dark cloud.
"Tailed Lilith, hang on to Kitsune and don't lose sight of her." I said to her. "Fine…" She said to me then flew through the gate, holding Kitsune. "Azrael, head over to the Alpha region then contact me once you arrive. I'm sure you will be able to sense the other reapers in the region." I said to him. "Yes master." Azrael said then flew off.
I was then about to walk through the gate, but then Livia stopped me. "Wait… Alpha region? Terrifaísteio is in that region. You don't actually plan on taking Terrifaísteio down like you did Neró do you?" She asked in a whisper.
'How you all pronounce this God forsaken name is beyond me.' I thought to myself. "That is exactly what I plan on doing." I answered her.
"HAHAHAHAHAAA!! Oh, my goodness! You actually believe you can defeat Terrifaísteio and even sent your shadow after her first…HAAAAHAHA!" She said bursting into laughter.
"Real shame about your shadow though, he had a certain charm about him." She added, clearly amused by my plan. "So, what if I did?" I asked her. She then stopped laughing and kept a serious face, one that she had never shown until now.
"Terrifaísteio is one of the untouchable existences in this universe with senses that cannot be compared to the average reaper. The moment your shadow enters the Alpha Region, Terrifaísteio will know, and your shadow will die!" She warned.