Aluber’s gray hair shimmered in the red night as he approached Treall. His face, burning in anger, forgave none in the world. Though he understood any destruction he would inflict would simply be reversed by the newly awakened Goddess, he still pressed forward. Cursing his belated entrance, he contemplated his current circumstance. Likely, their battle would end similarly to the one many years ago, with Mizuki and Hinata sealing him away at the cost of their own powers. In fact, Aluber had gambled on achieving his goals before the Goddess's return.

While the enigma continued his journey to Treall, he caught sight of two figures out of the corner of his eye. With a flash of red, a sword landed upon Aluber's neck. Sophie's ambush successfully placed him on the back foot, but her fairy-slaying blade left not even a scratch. 

“Well, look who finally decided to show up.”

Sophie attempted a witticism but received only silence in return.

“Could you at least tell us why you are doing this?”

Lucia attempted to reason with the Gaian-looking being.

However, she received no response. Instead, the entity swung its fists in rage. Sophie recoiled as his fists continued to land blow after blow. Each time one of his attacks landed, Lucia grimaced.

Deciding that she could watch no more, Lucia attempted to restrict Aluber using her light powers. The ring of light manifesting through her hands constricted around the gray-haired entity, creating a lull in his constant strikes and giving Sophie an opening to escape. And with this opening, the first step of their plan had succeeded.

I can’t believe this is working.

The purple Goddess telepathically expressed astonishment to her lover.

We still have no clue if this will actually work; it is the only other "thing" that seems to exist outside the bounds of the Lux Aeterna, though.

The two flew through the forests of the Heavenswood until they reached Treall. Then, they lured Aluber to the sacred tree which had once been used to defeat Fionn. From the ground, Aluber attempted to summon massive tremors, but each time he attempted to do so, Sophie would instantaneously repair the terrain. 

Though he could not use magic to alter the external world for long, his physical prowess allowed him to damage the two Goddesses. Thus, it was only natural that Lucia and Sophie strived to end the battle sooner rather than later. Sophie, being the primary target of Aluber's anger, positioned herself ahead of the tree's entrance. Under her breath, she whispered words to only herself.

“Come get me.”

Aluber charged towards her with a frightening dash that deracinated the wooden planks beneath him. Sophie braced for impact as Aluber barreled into her, sending the both of them straight into Sacred Tree's mouth.

While their plan had "worked," it still relied on the tree's powers affecting Aluber. And so, Lucia rushed into the tree's entrance to view the aftermath. What she saw was a gray-haired man suspended in mid-air. To the purple Goddess, the scene rekindled memories of her old world, especially the levitation tricks used in theatre. Meanwhile, Sophie sat collapsed in a corner, her body aching in pain.

"I can't believe it actually worked. I was expecting an "epic" final showdown."

Sophie spat out her words violently as she attempted to calm her body. Somehow, Aluber had mangled her soul. Even now, the aftereffects of his powers were the cause of Sophie’s immense pain. Not even her Lux Aeterna could seem to heal it.

“Just what is this guy?”

Sophie questioned whilst attempting to stand. Despite the pain, she gave Lucia a long smirk.

“You sure you’re okay?

“Yeah, never been better.”

Immediately after completing her sentence, the cat-eared Goddess fainted. Despite her words, Sophie had been deeply injured by the gray-haired entity, and furthermore, the injury was not one understood by either of the deities.

While Lucia contemplated her next move, the Oracle suddenly made her way into the Sacred Tree.

"It's finally over. Good job, you two."

Though the Oracle had always been a little odd, she always placed herself lower in the conversation than the Goddesses; Lucia took notice of this.

"You sound a tad bit off..."

"Well, that is because the being you are talking to is not the Oracle."

“What do you mean?”

“Let me tell you a story.”

"Uhm, okay?

"Long ago, there were two beings: the Demiurge and the Antipode. Since the beginning of time, they had been fighting; neither knew how the fight began nor why they were continuously drawn to battle. At some point, the Demiurge and Antipode were able to kill one another, and this led to their bodies creating a method of regeneration. The byproduct of this regeneration was the "Zenith Universe" inside the Demiurge and the "Twilight Universe" inside the Antipode. Before both the Demiurge and Antipode fell unconscious, they created beings who would protect their "bodies." The Demiurge created Aluber, and the Antipode created the five Goddesses.

The "Zenith Universe" is that of your old world, while the "Twilight Universe" is the canvas on which this world is painted. Both universes and the beings within them could simply be considered part of the regeneration process. When the bodies of the Demiurge and Antipode heal, the Universes will end, and all return to their creators.

This war has been a result of Aluber receiving orders from the Demiurge to destroy this world. Ever since his birth, he has been slowly building power, which was unleashed two millennia ago. This is also the reason he can resist the Lux Aeterna—because he is of similar power to the Goddesses, if not slightly stronger. Luckily, he has failed in his pursuit to destroy this world and halt the regeneration process; no thanks to you and Sophie, of course.

Currently, I, the "Antipode," am communicating to you through this Oracle. I am only able to do so because my body is nearly healed."

The information initially overwhelmed the weak-hearted Lucia, but there was one aspect she especially clung to.

"If you are almost fully recovered, does that mean that the world is going to end soon?"

"Correct… Well, it would be correct if I hadn't taken a liking to the Fairies and Ferefolk of this world. After watching the people of this world for so long, even I began to grow attached. So, I have no plans to discard you or the people of this world after I fully heal."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lucia moved to her next question.

“What about this “Demiurge,” are they also on the verge of resurrection?”

“That’s something even I am not entirely sure of, but we’ll simply have to cross that bridge when we get there, no?”

For being a deity, they seemed rather nonchalant… Actually, I guess I'm kinda a nonchalant deity too… JUST HOW MANY ALL-POWERFUL DEITIES ARE THERE?

“I am currently unaware of any gods greater than I and the Demiurge. As far as I can tell, we have simply always existed.”

Wait, you can hear my thoughts? I keep forgetting that mind reading should be trivial for gods.

While the two chatted, Lucia inquired into Sophie’s current condition.

"I'll heal her when my body is fully restored. Until then, all I can do is ease the pain. Unfortunately, She may be bedridden for some time."

“That’s fine, as long as she isn’t in pain.” 

Lucia looked over to Sophie in worry as she contemplated the future.

✿✿✿

Six months had passed since the defeat of Aluber. The Antipode fully healed, and with him, the other Goddesses had returned. Each of them returned to the continent they had resided before, with Lucia and Sophie settling in the Vel Empire. They commemorated their love with the largest marriage seen in either of the two worlds and became kind rulers. Before long, Lucia gave birth to a healthy son. Though the couple debated endlessly over names, they eventually settled on "Sage."

After the reawakening of both the Goddesses and the Antipode, Lucia and Sophie lobbied for a new set of divine laws. It would allow all Ferefolk to become Fairies. Then, it would allow all people of the world to live as long as they wished. Lucia's dream of crafting a world without suffering was becoming more realistic with each passing day.

Lucia also created a new body for the Oracle and returned Marie to her original body. Afterward, Marie reunited with her mother. 

Violent Refrain went on to aid Lucia and Sophie in Valeria. The guild now served as a group of highly elite soldiers for the new Queens. 

Then, there was Lucia and Sophie…

In the royal bedchamber, they cuddled close to one another.

“Looking back on it all, I can’t believe it had all occurred in the span of a few weeks.”

Lucia snuggled into her lover’s neck while speaking, muffling her voice.

“I told you I would keep you safe.”

Sophie rested her head on Lucia’s as she whispered words of comfort.

“I almost forgot, I got you a little present to celebrate… Sage's birth!”

“You didn’t sound too confident there!”

Sophie reached under the bed, revealing a modestly sized package.

Opening the package, Lucia found a dress that could barely be called a "dress." From the waist down, there was nothing particularly lewd or revealing about it. Still, the skirt of the dress was of considerable length—so much so that Lucia questioned whether one could even walk in it. The upper portions of the dress were the especially "questionable" aspects. The "dress" was backless, had a considerable cleavage window, and a navel cutout that showed everything below the breasts and above the waist. It was the definition of perversion.

“Are you sure this isn’t supposed to be a present for you?”

Lucia raised an eyebrow at the black and red-haired Sylvan before sighing. She rose from the bed and stripped to nothing but her birthday suit. Then, Lucia donned her new dress while accentuating her breasts and buttocks. Sophie became enraptured in the erotic dance, focusing first on Lucia's succulent thighs before watching the woman present her privates. When she had finished dressing, Sophie fell into an even deeper trance. Moonlight passed through the windows and draped itself over the girl's elegant yet titillating figure.

After a few seconds of awe-struck stare, Sophie pounced on the purple Goddess; it seemed her seduction had been successful.

The two spent hours making love to one another, each of them releasing many times onto the other. Eventually, things came to an end, as all good things tend to do. Bathed in moonlight, the couple gazed deeply into one another’s eyes. Their emerald and purple eyes locked for a good many moments as they continued to bask in one another’s company.

Darkness and light: the two were interlinked until the end of days. And so, Sophie and Lucia lived happily ever after. 

VioletPenfrost

Well, it's been quite the ride. Thank you to everyone who has stayed through the glacially slow updates! I originally planned for this series to continue for much longer, but for various reasons, it seems FOO has come to an end here. I've been thinking about writing a slice-of-life series with the spotlight on Sage. However, FOO had a few issues holding it back that a new series would likely suffer from as well: inconsistent storytelling, awkward prose, and a slow upload schedule being the largest among them. Therefore, before I consider returning, I would like to work on my writing skills and scheduling. So, for now, it is goodbye. Thank you once again!