Hephaestus stiffened when Asahi touched her back again.

"Fei, don't be so tense," Astraea said and slid a pillow under her chest. "Please, you have to trust me and him. We can't do this without you."

Hephaestus relaxed her chin on the soft pillow. "Sorry, I'm not used to people touching me…"

Asahi patted her back. "It's alright. You'll get used to my touch soon."

"You never get tired of picking on me..." Hephaestus sighed. "What's so fun about it?"

She was ashamed to admit that a young man's words had such a drastic effect on her.

"Getting different reactions out of beautiful women is my fetish."

"Your fetish is very specific… I'm ready now." She completely ignored the disguise compliment.

Perhaps it was the strange conversation or the hands massaging her back, she was relaxed now. More relaxed than she had ever been in the mortal world.

'He has his way with these skills.'

She understood a bit about the women willing to share him with others. His skills worked like a miracle.

"I'm starting for real now," Asahi said and reached for her life vein.

Hephaestus felt the same chills as Lilith. Fear filled her mind. Chiaki, who had been hiding in Hephaestus's head, enveloped her hands in white flames and rubbed Hephaestus's head.

"Ma…"

Hephaestus stopped thinking about anything and focused on Chiaki's flames.

Asahi had some minor ideas on how the vessels of these gods worked. The gods of this world had their elemental affinity tied to their divinity. Loki had no elemental affinity to speak of. That wasn't the case for Hephaestus. The life vein of her soul was a blacksmith hammer made out of human bones and surrounded by crimson flames similar to her hair color.

'Pretty cool. But where is the defect?'

The hammer's shape and size were perfect, and its flames burned bright. The exterior showed no flaws.

'Is it internal damage?'

(That is the case, my love.)

Asahi scanned her life vein from the inside out and created a replica of Hephaestus's life vein. As expected, there was an internal crack in the bone hammer. The bone hammer hovered over her back, rotating as if it was a pickup item inside a game.

"How fitting," Astraea thought out loud. Hephaestus's hammer represented her divinity and her passion down to a tee.

"It's a bit cracked on the inside," Asahi said. "Nothing some Lina can't fix."

(That name again.)

'Hehe.'

Asahi combined fire and life elements and filled the gap in the hammer's internal structure. As he was used to the process, it took less than five minutes for him to match the wavelength.

"Now for the real thing. Fei, whatever happens, don't doubt me. Can you do that?"

Astraea cupped Hephaestus's face. "Please, Fei."

"That's a lot to ask for… I'll try."

She couldn't guarantee anything when it came to matters of the heart.

Asahi put both hands on Hephaestus's back and sent numerous small waves of fire and life elements. He frowned, feeling a barrier blocking his advance. He could see and feel her life vein but he couldn't modify any part as if her subconscious barred his path.

(It's not her fault, my love.)

'I know.'

Lilith had nothing to lose, so she completely surrendered her soul to him. Hephaestus, however, was different. She was a god with a familia full of people who looked up to her as a leader and the greatest blacksmith. They both had completely different lives and mindsets.

'I can force the process, but it might kill her. It's not worth it.'

Astraea saw Asahi's troubled look and held Hephaestus's hands.

"It's not working?" Hephaestus asked with a sigh. "It's my fault, isn't it?"

Astraea shook her head. "It most certainly isn't."

"Chill out, Fei, Astraea. I have got this." 

Asahi resorted to the most basic method of lowering Hephaestus's defenses—headpats. At first, Hephaestus felt puzzled until the calming effect kicked in and almost put her to sleep. She folded her hands and rested her chin, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth. She literally melted from his warmth.

"Pa…" The fairy gazed at her father in awe.

The power of headpats brought Hephaestus to a vulnerable state. Asahi retried the rebirth. Her life vein accepted his mana and life force with open arms.

Asahi moved away from Hephaestus, who had passed out on the bed.

'Guess Lilith is a stubborn one for staying consciousness after having her soul tinkered with.'

Astraea noticed immediate changes in Hephaestus's body. Her skin was brighter and just more pleasant in general. Still, she inquired through eyes whether Asahi succeeded or not.

He conveyed his agreement with a smile and a nod. "All done."

Astraea took a sigh of relief as strength left her. "I'm so glad."

Chiaki flew at Asahi and hugged his neck. "Pa!"

She was bubbling with happiness even though she had no idea what was going on. If she did know, she'd stop Hephaestus from going through this.

Asahi sat beside Astraea and made her lean on his shoulder. "Let's wait for her to wake up."

"Hmm… I want to see her face, but I'll let her take off the eyepatch."

"That's the right thing to do."

[—You can evolve your ‘Life Element’ skill into a Special-Rank skill.]

(Oh, a system reminder. Do you want to upgrade this?)

'Hmm… I'll wait until I completely master the life element.''

He'd become the god of life and the god of creation by extension. For that, he needed more than just a special-ranked skill.

(My love wants more authorities…)

'Yep. Something like Lord of Life, or God of all lives.'

(Then delaying this upgrade is the right decision.)