Inhale
...
Exhale
It had been about five minutes since Ares witnessed the brilliance of life made manifest. If reality didn't exist for moments like these, it was well and truly meaningless. As a man, Ares couldn't help but thank the universe for women. Men were pretty ugly creatures in comparison and Ares reached a kind of enlightenment watching two delicate, sensual women going at it. Granted Enyo looked anything but delicate but she was a freak so it didn't count. Regardless... Ares was now a bit jealous. Not in any kind of excessive way, he just wanted to hold Bellona himself and taste her up and down her body much like Enyo had. That vixen, right before Ares stopped watching temporarily, looked directly at the viewer's angle and smirked with a wink of the eye. This damnable temptress knew exactly what she was doing and, from her perspective, she accomplished multiple things here. One, she riled up Ares to really chase after Bellona; this was for the sake of her sister to move things along without any kind of hitch. It shred Bellona's hesitation while igniting a fire in Ares to lay claim to her thanks to that spark of aforementioned jealousy. It also got Ares feeling antsy on his trip back which meant he would look for Enyo as soon as he returned which was definitely true, Ares was struggling to contain himself knowing what was waiting patiently for him back home. And finally, Enyo closed the gap. The relationship between her and Bellona was cemented in stone now and that was that. It's not like all Bellona's problems were solved, and she would be open 100% now to sexual matters with Enyo, but the door was open and Enyo's foot was firmly in it... Deep in it... Very deep...
Ahem
Ares coughed to himself and shook his head... He was getting distracted, him and his little brother downstairs who was trying to poke out and say 'hello world, I'm back'. "No, down boy, down!" Ares remonstrated his partner in crime and took another deep breath as he reopened the can of worms that was Enyo's memory. Before he did, though, he inwardly complimented Enyo for holding back. If she'd let loose on Bellona she would have been sitting on her face and grabbing her by the hair in no time flat, going to completely wild and letting loose, so she'd done a good job of being 'polite'. For Enyo, there actually wasn't much to gain from dong this. She derived some pleasure form messing with Bellona, sure, but she wasn't lacking in terms of knowledge of fulfillment and so she would understandably crave more. She didn't exactly get her own happy ending but still went through with it anyway for what she deemed the greater good. She started off light, didn't even eat Bellona out or expect the same of her in return, and that was commendable because there was zero chance that was what she really wanted deep down... Very deepdown.
Ahem
"Stop doing that, brain!" Ares clasped his head between his two hands, leaving palm marks on both cheeks, and refocussed. He shut his eyes and delved back into the land of Enyo's memories with gusto. Bellona had settled down and was lazing about in the bath, now with her own head half submerged as she glared at Enyo like an angry crocodile who'd been very wronged. Deeply wronged...
Ahem
Anywho, Enyo merely chuckled at the grouchy Bellona and licked her wet fingers mockingly. Bellona then asked if this was what Ares himself had to put up with all the time before admiring his resolve and patience. Enyo told her Ares had to put with far worse and that Bellona would come to understand in due time how bad things got. In response, as if she refused to back down from the threat-cum-challenge, Bellona sharply raised her middle finger and told Enyo she could suck on it. Though Bellona didn't mean it literally, Enyo was Enyo and took it literally. She splashed in the water as she pounced on the finger and devoured it, wrapping her warm and slimy tongue around it like a dog in heat. Something in Bellona must have awakened t that point because she seemed to come to the realisation that she could fight back and didn't just endlessly have to take the brunt of Enyo's desires. Seeing her sister clinging to her finger like a feisty and desperate koala Bellona felt an urge to push Enyo around a bit and take the reigns for a little while. Her finger hooked Enyo's cheek and dragged her head over the edge of the bath so that Enyo was leaning out of it with her rear exposed and then Bellona spanked her naughty sister. Bellona even took it a step further and shoved her fingers where the sun didn't shine to repay the earlier pleasure she received and even the score between them while Enyo lay there and took it like a champ. It was a hollow victory for Bellona at the end of the day because she was nowhere near as experienced as Enyo, who merely treated her efforts as a fun side attraction to he main event that already happened, but at least she fought back somewhat and didn't just completely roll over. There was also no cowardice which was a good sign she'd internalised the way things were going to be form now on, her initiating even if only as revenge was proof enough of that.
Ares only really scanned the remaining memories briefly because Enyo could take Bellona's inexperienced punishment with her hands tied behind her back... No, actually, if she was tied up it might have been more enjoyable for her... Anyway, point being, Enyo would require greater stimulation than Bellona's first attempt to really make watching that scene worthwhile. He was glad to see Bellona getting with the program, though, as she didn't need to walk on eggshells or feel bad about it anymore. That was the main draw in all of this, not that relationships could be moved forward now although that was also obviously a part of it. Now all Ares needed to do was spend some time with Bellona and get a move on with his own advancement of relations. It shouldn't be too hard, and Arse already had plenty of ways to find an excuse to spend time with Bellona as he'd promised her a few various things before leaving for his trip anyway, so he just needed to capitalise on the momentum Enyo masterfully created with her cunning and lewd genius. He wouldn't rush it, though, as he'd only just returned and there were many, many matters to take of as he'd been gone for a while. All the stuff he picked up on his journey aside, he was going to become the sect master officially and that came with its own whole host of matters to solve or deal with. A busy bee is what he'll be and the time for him to stack paperwork was fast approaching as he could see the Central Land shore not too far from his current location if he strained his divine sense. The journey had been quick and, by Ares' standards at least, relatively peaceful. He was attacked by a lancetfish at one point, which depressed him greatly knowing that such hideousness existed within this world, but that was probably the worst of this journey which meant it was pretty great overall. He wasn't attacked by depth draggers, shark pirates, a Scylla, a wyvern soul, or a krakyrn this time so he really couldn't complain. Not needing to blow up a chunk of the ocean and leave a permanent whirlpool or crater type mark was also a good case for why this return trip could be considered 'normal' comparatively to the entire rest of his journey. Had any mortal sailor been attacked half as much as Arse they would consider themselves ot have been born underneath an unlucky star or some sort of bad omen but trouble-magnet Mr Calamity himself simply shrugged it off without a care in the world.
Ares eventually reached land and, as if on cue, he also finally completed his pressurisation of the Moongate Mountain. He'd been working on it ever since he acquired it and, now that it was done, his mental realm felt even sturdier. There were no fancy theatrics or extra benefits with this treasure, it just became an unbreakable wall twice over. Ares wasn't going to complain because sometimes simplicity was for the best. More defence = more good and he didn't even need to do experimenting like he usually would which was perfect as he wanted to go home right now and not worry about treasures testing. He was back on home turf, familiar soil, beloved land at long last! "Hehehe, Red Sun your man of the hour is back and better than ever!" Ares really was a changed man since the last time he was here. The fine grind alone had altered his appearance notably, he was in Bloodline awakening now, he had an aura about him that was pacified but present if inspected closely, Garmr was lurking right around the corner and ready to announce himself at the drop of a hat, Ares was draped in Brotherhood robes that accentuated his features nicely, and his magical power was at an all time high thanks to the creation of Armillary and the procurement of the Extinction Converter, the Deep Blue, another Celestial Cluster treasure, and the Protection Racket. Ares was maybe the strongest person to ever set foot in this country, at least below the transition realm anyway as Dominus might have been here at some point when he was nearing Godhood which was an unfair comparison to make, and Ares felt like a king in his own kingdom. There wasn't a throne waiting for him, nor a grand celebration lining the streets, but it felt good to be back anyway and he wanted to go see some old faces... But that could wait, home and family took priority so he would head right there after briefly stopping off at Transmit. There was actually one other thing Ares had been working on but he started this particular endeavour back before he even left in the first place! Ares promised Terros he would send him something he was experimenting on whenever he made progress with it and Ares had a breakthrough recently.
It had been ages since Mako left so saying hello to him again briefly, and informing him about his clone's meeting with the other fundamental champions, felt like the right thing to do even if Ares was mostly after Terros. What was he sending the rocky-eyed elven overseer? A drink! 'Ambrosia', as Ares referred to it. Enyo liked mint honeycomb but if there was one thing that always bugged Ares it was that she didn't really have a favourite food. It was petty but it irked his soul and so, for a bunch of reasons although primarily that, he vowed to wow her taste buds in a way that defied reason. This wasn't a personal love letter kind of dish. This wasn't the next mint honeycomb because that was unique and symbolic, this wasn't Bellona's popping candy or Sandy's bundevara, this was just an exquisite, high quality dish that tasted really damn good... For a select group of people... Arse didn't name it 'ambrosia' for the fun of it, this was a liquid that would only have any taste whatsoever when consumed by someone with divinity within them. There was a reason only Terros could help Ares test this product because the only other options were Astraeus, a robo who probably couldn't articulate his thoughts on the drink anyway, and Enyo who had her old history of being a Goddess from the 'real world' even if it was buried deep down. It still counted, sure, but Ares wasn't going to test his ultra secret recipe he was hiding from Enyo... On Enyo... Duh! Ignizz had joined the crew recently, so he was also a valid target for constructive feedback, but Ares only made one batch recently and Terros was the original contractor for this particular job and so giving that dumb lizard a reward when it had yet to make itself useful was out of the question. Plus Ares' breakthrough involved using his own blood as a flavouring and Ignizz would be frothing at the mouth like a perv if he knew about this so Ares decided to withhold the brew from this silly salamander until the next batch was ready at least. Also, for what it was worth, Ares just expected better worded feedback from Terros anyway. Terros was, ironically, a very grounded God and could be trusted with matters due to his reliability. Mako didn't know how good he had it with a God like Terros instead of Ignizz...
Getting back on track, Ares created the ambrosia brew by siphoning the energy of stars and suns from within his Primordial Blade. It was not a normal drink, this was something only a lunatic would dream up... But Ares had faith in it coming out well. The first version Ares had Terros taste was incredible as is and had even someone with as refined a palate as Terros raving about it. It was no wonder Terros signed up to become the tester for it and he must have been looking forward to an update. Ares wished he could refine it personally with his own expertise but, alas, until he underwent apotheosis later, he had to rely on the taste buds of another. This made his life harder but he dedicated a lot of time and effort to this, so much so his own cooking had stagnated a bit and he didn't do it as much recently save for when he was feeding Sandy, and he really wanted to see some results. Thanks to his Blade and blood, this was a dish only he could ever make and he'd be pleased when it was done. His signature, or at least one of them anyway, had to be something special and befitting of his talents as the future God of destruction. He wasn't going to half-ass this!
And so, with such thoughts in mind, Ares arrived at the Red Sun Transmit a few minutes after reaching Central Land, his Voidwalk's speed was truly impressive nowadays, and handed the package over to Peppy? who happened to be manning the front desk. She snorted when she saw Ares so he guessed she knew about Loris Lax's aquatic escapades earlier but she didn't say a word and merely kept giggling to herself as she took the package away. She returned about five seconds alter with a thumbs up and promised the delivery was a roaring success, Mako had been in the middle of piloting his mecha to brawl hand to hand with a gigantic four eyed monster of some sort but Terros received the package gratefully, flew off the side, and began opening it excitedly with tiny tricky arms he formed for convenience. Peppy? was obligated to inform Ares that Mako shouted something about 'being number one' and how Ares better be ready to 'lose and cry like a baby' the next time they met. Naturally, Ares smirked and dismissed this without paying it any heed whatsoever. Still, he'd done his job. He left a small letter in the package for Mako to get him up to speed on the outside world and that meant his job was done. The next time they met they'd probably battle it out again but, realistically, Mako stood a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Ares' upgrades since their last duel weren't reasonable and his gains were simply too numerous for Mako to close the gap. Maybe the fight after that would be close again but Ares' foundation now was solid, Mako was going to have work very hard, and overtime, to stay hot on Ares' heels from now on.
Ares was about to turn and leave but Peppy checked in with him and made sure all was well. She'd heard about the Isaz incident after all, and was being polite to their VIP customer. That and she would report it to the main branch later just so that everyone was on the same page. Ares said he was doing better than ever, explained it was just a tribulation for bloodline awakening, and then left the building with his next goal already in mind. Home. For real this time! For really real this time! Ares merrily bolted towards the sect and arrived in a flash because he knew the way here from anywhere in the city like the back of his hand. He boldly arrived at the entrance, waved to Slick whose hiding skills were no longer enough to avoid Ares immediate detection, and sauntered in like he owned the place... Because he did! Well Yulo hadn't given him the keys to the place just yet but it was basically already in effect. Some of the more keen disciples were already reverent in the way they side eyed him so it was clear word had spread for better or for worse. Apparently none of the outer court or inner court disciples had any problems with Ares becoming the new sect master, they knew he was an unrivalled powerhouse now, but Ares was hearing whispers about how the core disciples were taking it and the general consensus was 'not good'.
Something was being planned, and some elders were even whispering to each other about some guy called 'Dascar' being the ring leader of it all... Ares remembered the name, he'd definitely heard it somewhere before, but he couldn't place it for the life of him. Dominus chimed in and reminded him it was the elder that had been trying to weasel his way into power in this sect and basically betray everyone without doing so openly. He was the one throwing money at this place to indebt it to him but, honestly... It still didn't ring any bells. This guy clearly had 'small time villain' written all over his character profile so Ares just didn't put him in his memory whatsoever and flat out ignored him. Apparently the guy raised quite a fuss during the meeting with the elders a while back but... Ares didn't care. Anyway, he was probably stirring up the core disciples who believed Ares didn't earn the position of sect master legitimately. He skipped over core disciples and even elders which was unthinkable so some people were calling foul play and wanted him to prove himself. Not all the core disciples saw Ares become Garmr, not all of them saw his various annihilation arts light up the sky, etc... There was a gathering of them that had issues and, though Eagerton and Edgerton explicitly warned them, and wanted nothing to with it because they knew better, the dedicated core disciples couldn't be convinced otherwise. Seeing was believing and Ares would make sure they were given an eyeful whenever the issue became more prevalent but, for now, he just went straight back to his house. This wasn't a problem he had to tackle immediately and it would likely spring itself upon him at some point without him needing to chase it down anyway. Let them come to him.
Ares arrived outside the door to his house in the blink of an eye and couldn't help but grin with glee. He could tell only one person was currently inside the house, which was unfortunate as he wanted to see more people, buuuuut it was one of his wives! Blo Blo was lying, half dead half bored, on the couch and sighing to herself over and over. She was mumbling about how Nibbler was gone, Sandy was gone, everyone was gone! She had nobody to play with and was tempted to just go to sleep. Ares rubbed his hands together because this was the perfect opportunity to be her hero and bring some colour and joy back into her world! He used Quietus Edict to silently open the door and creep inside. He saw Leo, the palm sized tiger, lying about in the hallway like he usually did and put his finger to his lips while mouthing the 'shh' noise. Leo understood the assignment and nodded before throwing his paw up and giving a small wave as if to say hello after not seeing the master of the house for a while. Leo did miss Ares' cooking and he was originally the reason he came to his house in the first place after all. Allie was his master now really, and he was happy to be her pet alongside her Mini-Pillie army, but he was friendly with Ares too. If nothing else, his animal instincts told him Ares was not someone who could be defied lightly and they were screaming at him even louder now not to raise his head in front of this new and improved monster. Anywho, Ares waved back and walked by towards the living room.
Bellona rocked her head side to side, puffed her cheeks up, and blew hot air with a regular rhythm. This poor woman really was the type to struggle in a world without technology. She was still hoping she'd hear that knock on the door any minute now but that hope had dwindled massively after last time. Sandy was a pleasant surprise, and chatting to someone new about a different culture kept Bellona entertained somewhat, but it wasn't Ares! She wanted her Ares back! She blamed his stupid ass for being gone for so long but would forgive him the instant he walked through the door if it meant he actually hurried up and did it. Alas, aware it wasn't likely to happen any time soon, as he hadn't mentioned it, caused her to sigh again and again. she really needed to find something to do... Maybe a book? Aejaz had finished a bunch recently and left them out and about for anyone else who wanted to go and read them so maybe that would be a way to pass the time? "Ah fuck it, why not?" Bellona, feeling more defeated than adventurous, chose to go and read but, before she got up off the couch, she spied something peeking around the doorway to the living room from the corner of her eye. She tilted her head, expecting to see maybe Leo flying down the hallway to go lie on a proper bed or something, but instead she saw the head of a man she recognised instantly. Her mouth widened and she blinked in disbelief while her lips curved upwards into a big grin. belatedly, she realised she looked like a lost child finding her parent so she tried her utmost to stop smiling so hard but her facial muscles refused to obey her and she was thoroughly betrayed by her own unpreventable emotions.
Ares laughed as he walked into the room and fell onto the sofa next to Bellona, giving her a big hug and dragging her down into a half-lying position. She was laying on his chest as he ran his hand through her hair. "Did you miss me?" Bellona missed hearing his stupid voice and that familiar mocking tone was agitating but heavenly. She sunk into his chest, wormed around until she was comfortable, and shook her head in the negative.
"Nope." A blatant lie, and her ever-widening smile was all the evidence needed to disprove her statement, but she still stuck her tongue out at Ares to mess with him anyway.
"Aw, I missed you though." Ares leant down and lifted Bellona's face by the chin, giving her a heartfelt kiss on the lips.
"Mhm..." Bellona received it and kissed him back without missing a beat. "... Of course I missed you. Why wouldn't I miss the man I love?" Bellona had a hard time looking Ares in the eye as she admitted the truth but did so anyway. Ares had missed this cute little devil. He held Bellona closer and placed her head back on his chest, over his heart where she could hide her red face as long as she wanted to.
"I love you too." It felt good to say that again and it had definitely been far too long since those words last left his mouth. Yep, Ares was definitely home again.