The Cosmos branch in Triven was into the festivities as much as anyone else. More so than its sister buildings if the overcompensation of decorations was any indication.

Most buildings added a mannequin or two in the shape of monsters, maybe some paper mâché with depressing colors. This one painted the whole damn place with depictions of heroes and monsters and decorated its walls to the point that it didn’t even look good. Like it wanted to show itself off but didn’t know the meaning of modicum, only obnoxiousness.

Roesia, Nora, and Yvain found Nelimir looking at such a spectacle with clear distaste.

“Been waiting long?” Yvain asked as he approached, Selt’s food in hand inside a wooden container.

“A bit. Didn’t really eat much. I left right after to wait here for you guys,” Nelimir said as he looked away from the building’s walls. “Shall we get this over with?”

“After you,” Yvain said as he gestured for the door.

Everyone moved inside.

Nora swung her head from side to side trying to take everything in at once.

“What’s wrong? You don’t have Cosmos branches back home?” Yvain asked.

“We do,” Nora said. “I’m just curious to see if I’ll find anything standing out or missing. Clearly guilds in Empryon are treated differently on many levels.”

“If there’s one thing that might be different it’s that there’s no one here,” he said.

Out of the way branches like these usually had little traffic, but they were never so empty. There was a single woman at the other side of the room managing one counter out of three. She didn’t notice the group walk in, instead shuffling papers in a hurry and quickly writing on them.

As they walked closer, Yvain made out makeup that was probably meant to be a monster of sorts. Yet somehow the way she put it all together made her look like a sheep. Her twitchiness and glasses detracted even more from her already inadequately intimidating look.

Nelimir stopped in front of her and waited for any sign of recognition, none came. The girl kept to her nervous work.

“Hello?” he said.

“Ack!” the girl screamed and dropped half the papers on her hand into the floor. “Oh no, oh no,” she said as she quickly bent and picked all of them up before organizing them again. She then looked angrily at their leader.

“What do you want!?” she yelled.

The sudden outburst took everyone aback, but Nelimir quickly recuperated and stated his business.

“We’re here to add someone into our guild,” he said.

“Now of all times? Can’t you come tomorrow?” the girl practically begged.

“It has to be today, we’re on a tight schedule,” Nelimir said.

That’s weird, Yvain thought. He couldn’t remember a single time where they were turned away. What was she busy with anyway? There was no one there besides them. The papers in her hands weren’t that many either.

“Stars smite you, Cristina! Where are my damn files!?” a loud grating voice burst out from the door behind the girl.

“Coming!” Cristina said and rushed to the back of the building, going out of view.

“Where are the rest!? Are you insane!? Do you want me to look bad!?” the voiced screeched rapid-fire questions to which Cristina stuttered out answers trying placate the angry man.

“I-I’m taking care of some guests out front,” she said.

“Why should I care!? Send them away!” the man said.

In the silence that followed the tapping of the girl’s shoes rang sharp as she came back to her station teary-eyed.

“I guess tyrants can be found anywhere,” Nora muttered with distaste.

“Please come back tomorrow,” Cristina said as she went back to the files that were still left.

“What’s his name?” Nelimir asked and the girl confusedly looked at him.

“His name,” he repeated, pointing to the back of the building.

“Eddie?” she said.

“Eddie!” Nelimir yelled, startling Cristina into dropping some more of her files. “Come out here!”

“Do I need to call the guards!?” Eddie threatened as he came barreling out the back door.

Cristina quickly picked up her work and moved out of the line of fire with her head bowed.

“We need to add a member to our guild,” Nelimir said.

“And why should I—” the heavy-set man began as he wiped his brow of sweat with a dirty napkin. But then his eyes bulged out as they registered who he was talking to.

“Oh stars I’m so sorry sir-umm prince, majesty, how may I be of service?” Eddie said as he quickly waddled up to the front.

“I said we need to add a member to our guild,” Nelimir said, ignoring the fawning of the fat man.

“Of course, your majesty, of course,” Eddie said as he bowed several times as far as his stomach allowed. He then turned and in front of everyone slapped Cristina across the face, sending her glasses sliding on the floor.

The girl gave a startled whimper as Roesia gave a low gasp and Nora’s body violently shook; her hand quietly venturing to crush Yvain’s as she stared death at Eddie.

“Did it slip your rotting mind that our guest is his majesty!?” he screamed. Cristina didn’t say anything as she choked back a sob and held her reddening cheek. The quickly changing colors of her new bruise revealed what were bruises covered by cleverly placed make-up Yvain hadn’t noticed before.

“Go grab the blasted application before I send you back to your family,” he said, looking away from her and pasting another dishonest smile for the audience as Cristina grabbed her glasses and left.

“An application?” Nelimir asked.

“Only a formality your majesty, your new member will be added to the registry immediately,” Eddie said and moved his eyes over the rest, “may I ask who you’ll be adding?”

“Me,” Nora said as she walked up next to Nelimir. Yvain had tried to hold her back by the hand but only half-heartedly. He released it soon as she made the slightest effort.

Eddie did his best to keep his eyes from making conscious decisions, but it seemed difficult to ignore the goddess’s massive breasts.

“I’ll need to ask for a few details,” he said as his eyes attempted to remain on her face.

“What is she to you?” Nora asked.

At first Eddie showed a questioning stare, but soon after he realized what the goddess referred to and rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Please stay out of our matters,” he said with practiced ease and raised his hand to show off a beautiful ring, “we’re married to each other, not you.”

“The moment you—”

“Nora,” Nelimir interrupted, “don’t forget that we have no say on what goes on between two married individuals.”

The goddess looked at him with incredulity, but he shook his head seriously.

“You’d do nothing?” she asked.

“It’s not our place, and we have an important mission, remember?”

The goddess kept silent for a second or two.

“I do,” she said, and looked back at Eddie with barely masked rage, making the fat man unconsciously take a step back. His cloth going up to his forehead again to wipe his brow.

“Thank you, your majesty,” he said.

“Just make sure to add her into the registry with haste,” Nelimir said and soon after Cristina appeared holding a single sheet of paper which she handed to her husband before standing a bit behind him.

Grabbing a pen, he asked, “Full name?”

“Nora Genesis,” Yvain said.

“From the Genesis family?” Eddie asked as he wrote down the name.

“Not yet,” Yvain said. “We’re to be married soon.”

Eddie’s pen stopped and he peered at Yvain, “Ah, I should have known. The right-hand man of his majesty.”

“Not officially,” Yvain said but still nodded.

Cristina slightly lifted her head and gave the couple a demure smile, “Congratulations.”

Eddie quickly backhanded her. Not as strong as before, but still with enough force for it to be audible.

“No one asked for your opinion,” he said.

Cristina slumped her head and remained quiet.

Then, before anyone could understand what happened, Eddie flew over the counter and toward the building’s exit. His body heavily slammed against the wall next to the door, several of his bones giving a sickening crack before he fell on the ground.

Cristina, who had had her head down, didn’t see what happened. But with the loud crash she looked up to find her husband on the other side of the building clutching his chest and doing his best to breath.

The poor girl fainted, and Nelimir rushed to catch her over the counter.

In that time Nora appeared next to Eddie and slammed her foot down on his head.

He grunted and attempted to speak through what was probably broken ribs.

“You bitch,” he rasped, “do you understand what you’re doing?”

“More than you do,” she said.

Eddie laughed, “Anyone who attacks a Cosmos agent will automatically receive the penalty of death.”

Nora looked to Yvain for confirmation, which he gave.

“And why should that matter to me,” she said as her slitted pupils pierced the fat man again.

Eddie gasped a few incredulous incoherencies as he stared up from under her shoe.

“Release him Nora,” Nelimir said as Roesia quickly took Cristina out of his hands with ease. “You of all people should understand the consequences of doing something like this.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Nora said as she pressed her foot harder on Eddie’s head and his breath became panicky.

“Your majesty, save me!” he yelled.

“Yvain why in the stars haven’t you stopped her yet?” Nelimir asked in frustration.

“Because I know what she’s feeling right now,” Yvain said, “I will not deprive her of this.”

Nelimir bared his teeth, but he wasn’t going to divulge any more than that without Nora’s consent.

“It’s not about what she feels damn you!” Nelimir said and pulled Yvain toward him by the scruff of his shirt, “I gave you both a chance, I promised my assistance in her matters, but if this is what we’re all going to get from it then she will not join Draconian’s Tavern, regardless of who she is and the benefits, do you understand me? She can go find her daughter on her own.”

Roesia worriedly looked at them from behind, but she remained surprisingly calm midst all the violence.

What should he do? His friend was serious. Was he willing to give up Draconian’s Tavern for Nora? They could both go on their own to try and find her daughter, though it would be more difficult.

“Release him.”

As fast as Nora had appeared next to Eddie, she appeared next to Nelimir holding a sharp dagger close to his neck—a weapon the Cosmos agent probably had concealed in his person.

Everyone froze, all their eyes focusing on the goddess.

“The only reason I haven’t pierced you yet is because of who you are to him, but I will not accept this type of treatment toward my master,” she said.

“What in the stars are you talking about?” Nelimir asked.

“Nora,” Yvain said as he raised a placating hand, “stand down.”

The goddess did as told immediately and released Nelimir at the same time as he released Yvain. She then threw the dagger toward a staggering Eddie who was about to escape through the exit.

It embedded itself deep in the fat man’s back, right where his hear was.

With a barely audible gasp his body fell forward and slid against the door before crumpling, his stomach holding him up.

“Damn you Nora,” Nelimir said as he rubbed his neck.

His friend looked as out of sorts as Yvain felt. Neither of them had expected the goddess to suddenly change her target so quickly, much less toward a companion.

But there was a more pressing matter lying dead on the floor, a pool of blood growing fast.

“You will not survive outside the walls like this,” Nora said calmly.

“By not breaking the law!? By not endangering my friends!?” he yelled.

Nora unexpectedly laughed.

“What laws?” she said between chuckles. “You are the law, that’s the type of mentality that will be required of you,” she said and looked at Roesia, who still held Cristina, and Yvain, “all of you.”

Nora then went to Eddie’s corpse and lifted it before carrying it back.

She stopped in front of the trio and said, “My decree is that this piece of excrement reminded me of my late ex-husband. I will not stand by as I watch the same acts I suffered play in front of me.”

Thus, she effortlessly jumped over the counter and hid the corpse behind it before jumping back.

“And the moment you decided to change Empryon was the moment you and all your friends forfeited their lives. It’s too late to worry about endangerment.”

Nelimir looked like he wanted to say more, but Yvain set a hand on his shoulder, “What’s done is done, what use is there in arguing about it? And deep down you must know she’s right. Regardless, none of us liked the asshole anyways.”

His friend brushed off his hand and gave a defeated sigh.

“What should I do with her?” Roesia asked Nora.

“Leave her by the exit,” Nora said.

“That’s it? We murder her husband and leave the crime scene like nothing?” Nelimir asked.

“Yes,” Nora said. “She didn’t see what happened, and I doubt anyone has the type of carriage we use. It’ll take too long for them to piece together information, spread the news, and even find us. By that time, we should have found my daughter.”

The goddess headed for the exit where Roesia waited, Cristina soundly unconscious against the wall next to her.

“What if we haven’t?” Nelimir asked.

Nora stopped, a hand on the door handle, “Then I will rally my subjects and force Arthur to give me answers.”

 

----------

 

Nelimir left soon after the group evacuated the Cosmos branch without saying much, only that he would go buy meat, vegetables, and fruits.

Due to the Day of Terrors not much attention was paid to the guild building. It was already afternoon and even the guards were happily leaving their posts to partake of the event.

As the trio went about buying clothing for Nora, a new bed frame, and sweets, Yvain replayed in his head his girlfriend’s words.

What did it mean to create one’s own laws? It sounded like an oversimplification of very complex matters. Yet at that moment, who could have stopped her out of every normal human in Empryon? And what if she had been at full strength? Could anyone from Draconian’s Tavern do anything? Even Nelimir had to ask for his help, despite being the leader.

Not because Nora was Yvain’s responsibility, but because he wasn’t strong enough to do so himself. There was no catching her off-guard like with Elly, and her strength when she defeated the tall woman was already returning.

Did all this mean that it should be that easy to take a life? Yvain wasn’t unwilling, but only when it was another opponent. Someone he considered equal. He couldn’t imagine killing someone weaker than him for no reason.

Was Nora’s reason enough, then? He felt no remorse or guilt when she killed Eddie, so maybe that meant that it was. Regardless of how weak he was, or how they didn’t hold a grudge against him, he was a piece of shit that deserved to die. And he couldn’t imagine how Nora felt when confronted with a reminder of her past.

“Should we have really left her behind?” Roesia asked between bites of her candy apple.

“There wasn’t any other choice, we have no idea how she’ll react once she wakes up and we can’t simply carry her around,” Nora said, taking a bite out her own apple.

“Exactly, so let’s head back already,” Yvain said. They had bought everything they needed—he carried the materials for the new bedframe, along with Selt’s food, while Nora held her new clothing inside paper bags—but both women were running around eagerly trying sweets.

“One more stop!” Roesia said.

Said stop was a stand selling cotton candy. The sorceress bought two, one pink and the other blue, and showed them off to Nora.

“Which one do you want?” she asked. By this point Nora didn’t even bother to ask what she was being handed. She knew it was candy, and that she could eat it. That was all that mattered.

“Pink of course, you like blue, don’t you?” his girlfriend said.

Roesia bopped her head up and down happily as she handed Nora the pink cotton candy.

Yvain was glad the sorceress didn’t seem affected by the death she witnessed. Before her transformation he couldn’t imagine her not entering a catatonic state if it ever happened.

The trio left the town and made their way to the carriage.

The trees it hid in made the surroundings darker than it currently was, but the inside lights illuminated things enough for them to make their way.

Nelimir, Elly, and Selt were already sitting at the table when the group made it inside.

“Put away your belongings, then come back so we can start the meeting,” Nelimir said.

Selt, who was wearing an oni mask, copied his mannerisms and gave a somber nod toward the group standing by the doorway.

At least Elly didn’t seem one way or the other. Did Nelimir not tell her what happened?

“Here’s your food you dunce,” Yvain said as he set down the wooden container.

“How am I supposed to heat this up!?” he asked.

“That’s not my problem,” Yvain said as he and Nora took their new bedframe and clothing back to the room. In it, Nora undid the hair tied to her horns and gave a satisfied sigh. She then lifted her skirt and swung her tail around wildly.

“Much better,” she said.

“We’ll ask Elly later to make it so you can more easily put these on,” Yvain said. It had been a challenge to have Nora try out new clothing. Not impossible, but it would be a hassle to wear in everyday life without any modifications. “Now let’s go before Nelimir screams at us again.”

Nora turned, and jumped into his arms with a smoldering kiss.

“From now on my name is Nora Genesis,” she said with a grin.

“Sorry for jumping several hoops at once,” Yvain said, though he couldn’t help an excited smile from coming out.

Nora kissed him several more times and rubbed his cock before jumping back smilingly.

“Let’s go,” she said with an offered hand Yvain took.

When the couple excited the room Roesia was already at the table with her hair cascading down her body too, her hand on top of Selt’s food.

“I’m not your personal heater,” she said. Her hand had a crimson glow coming out of it.

“What else are you good for?” he said innocently.

The sorceress glared at him but finished heating up the kids food.

The couple took their seats.

“We have several items to discuss today,” Nelimir began, “of which our two friends, Elly and Selt, know nothing of yet. And they go as such. First, Nora killed a Cosmos agent and threatened my life in defense of Yvain when things got heated between us. We didn’t have any other choice than to hide the body and leave the late agent’s unconscious wife immediately.”

Selt, still wearing his mask, nodded several times to Nelimir’s every word with crossed arms.

Elly remained surprisingly quiet, even when hearing that the goddess had threated their leader.

“Second, Nora will be giving us a detailed account, or at least as detailed as she can make it, of Empryon’s outside. And lastly, it seems that my father might be the so-called god of humans.”

Selt had kept up his charades while Elly clicked her nails incessantly.

“Who wants to start?” Nelimir asked.

“Well, that’s certainly a lot to take in,” Elly said. “I guess my first question should be,” she looked at Nora, “why did you threaten our leader?”

“He insulted Yvain,” she said.

So not master? Yvain wondered.

“And why did you kill the agent from Cosmos?” Elly asked.

“He was abusing his wife. I’ve been through a similar experience. I will not allow something like that to go unattended,” Nora said.

“There you have it,” Elly said, sitting back on her chair. “Don’t look so riled up, Nelimir. These things happen.”

“They do not just happen,” Nelimir said with disbelief. “My life was just threatened by someone we consider a member of the guild, am I supposed to gloss over that?”

Yvain agreed. He would side with Nora’s choice to kill the agent, but it would be unreasonable to expect nothing to come out of an attempt at a life between companions. Why would Elly react so, after she managed to stop him from taking things with Selt too far a few days back?

“Was it?” Elly asked, “Nora, would you really have killed Nelimir?”

“No,” the goddess said.

Elly nodded in an ‘I rest my case’ manner, “It might be hard to believe, but I can tell when these things are true or untrue by instinct. And right now, Nora is being truthful.”

Nelimir searched the tall woman’s expression for any lie, but none was found. He touched his neck absentmindedly, right over the miniscule dagger cut and asked, “And the rest? How do you all feel about this?”

“Doesn’t this type of thing happen between us all the time?” Roesia said. “Stars look at Elly’s arm. If anything, this is the least of offenses.”

“Yvain even threw me off Great Divider,” Selt said. “I could have died.” The kid then narrowed his eyes, “Actually isn’t everything that’s happening his fault to begin with?”

“I thought you couldn’t die as long as you had the favor of all gods,” Yvain retorted.

“Why would you believe something so idiotic?” Selt said.

This brat.

“Alright, I got it,” Nelimir cut in with a sigh and looked to Nora, “Regardless, I will not have it happen again. This will be the first and last time, understood?”

“I am still but a guest here,” Nora said, “I can only defer to your verdict.”

“Let’s hope that holds up,” he said and stood from his chair impassively. “Now onto more exciting matters.”

Nelimir went into his office and rolled out a chalkboard along with chalk and eraser. He moved his chair aside to make space and walked up to Nora before handing her the items she’d need to give her presentation.

The goddess grabbed the equipment and gave Yvain a questioning stare.

“What?” he asked.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

Seriously?

“It’s chalk, you’ll use it to write whatever information you need to convey to us there,” he said as he pointed at the black board.

“Oh! Like a quill,” his girlfriend said with a smile of realization.

Yvain couldn’t remember anyone ever using a quill anywhere, but he humored her and nodded with a smile of his own.

“The soft rectangle on your hand is an eraser,” Roesia added.

“I figured as much,” Nora said as she stood and walked to the front.

Selt bent forward and whispered, “She’s not very bright, is she?”

“You’ll have to excuse my lack of understanding,” Nora proclaimed loudly as she stared at Selt, “in matters regarding human culture and technological advancements.”

The kid sat back with an air of dignity, “You are excused.”

Nora didn’t reply and instead turned toward the chalkboard. She then drew a misshapen circle which began to be filled with many details—mountains, rivers, lakes. It was insanely comprehensive, and every drawing seemed to pop out of the black backdrop.

“You’re clearly an artist,” Yvain said.

“I dabbled in the hobby from time to time,” the goddess said without turning.

Eventually she pulled back and, apparently satisfied with her work, faced her audience.

“This is the land we reside in called Astros,” she said and looked at everyone for at least half a minute.

“Does this name ring any bells?” she asked.

It didn't for Yvain. He looked to those around the table, but they were as clueless as him.

“You guys really don't know anything of the outside, do you?” Nora said.

“What we do we had to scrape together,” Nelimir said.

“We aren't even allowed to leave Empryon, neither do we receive news from the outside,” Roesia said.

He should have known that Nora would not know of their situation. Meeting her back at great divider as a human had given him a subconscious perception that she would in fact understand Empryon’s culture and rules, even after learning of her true nature. And they had been too focused on their relationship, training, and mission to have this much needed conversation.

“Stars have mercy,” Nora said as she shook her head in wonderment, “Well all this changes now.”

The goddess stabbed the chalk on a spot to the southeast and outside of the landmass, “This is where Empryon is located.”

“It's not part of Astros?” Nelimir asked. What Nora pointed at was much smaller and disconnected from the larger land.

“It is,” Nora said.

“And what's between it?” Yvain asked. Could it be open dark space? Just like the one found inside him between the outside and his Galaxia?

Nora looked at him, dumbfounded, “you don't know what an ocean is?”

Yvain shook his head.

“It's obviously a large body of water surrounding us, dumbo,” Selt said.

“That's... correct,” Nora said skeptically.

“And how exactly do you know that?” Yvain asked.

“It's common knowledge,” Selt said with a shrug.

No, it wasn't. But this was just another random outburst by the kid; many had come before it, this one being the least confusing. And Yvain already knew what the answer would be to questioning. Silence. Selt never answered the first ever question the guild ever asked him, ‘where did he come from?’. Neither would he answer anything that might reveal his past.

“In any case, Emrpyon is set apart from the mainland by the ocean which surrounds Astros itself,” Nora said. “I won't go into geographical detail, but while we're on the topic,” the goddess wrote four names on the chalkboard, one on each of Astros's cardinal directions.

To the North there was the Starless Ocean.

To the South the Darkened Hollow.

The West and East had the Weeping Gulf and Inflamed Tides respectively.

“Why are all these names so depressing,” Roesia asked.

“Ask the cartographers who named them,” Nora said with a shrug. “I don't have much to say about them except that you are right next to the Inflamed Tides.” The goddess circled Empryon.

“How are we supposed to crossover to Astros?” Nelimir asked.

“Before I knew the extent of your lack of outside knowledge, I assumed you all had a plan. Now? I’m not sure,” Nora said.

The goddess began to turn for the chalkboard but stopped and looked back, “You wouldn’t happen to know what boats are?”

“We don’t,” Yvain said, beginning to feel like a child. 

He always imagined himself gleaming off this type of information from a book or some random more experienced personage on the outside.

Which I guess is what we’re doing now, Yvain thought.  Yet never did he imagine how mortifying it would be.

“Actually, isn’t that what we use to tread waters?” Roesia asked.

“Yeah, I remember my family using a pair during one of our vacations as a kid,” Nelimir said.

Are you kidding me?  Yvain thought.

“Where would you even use this boat?” he asked.

“There’s a lake all the way down south from Allsworth,” Elly said.

Of course she would choose to talk now.

“And why exactly haven’t I heard of it?” he asked.

Elly shrugged, “Maybe you should get out more.”

As the group talked, Nora was once again drawing something on the chalkboard.

The goddess spun and addressed the group, “This is what you would need if you wanted to cross into Astros.  It’s called a ship.”

On the board a white outline of what looked like a very detailed basket with two sticks coming out of it was drawn.

“It follows the same logic as a boat, only, its much bigger, it can fit as many more people, and it can cross the ocean,” Nora said.

Nelimir dragged his hands across his face and sighed, “More things we’ll need to deal with later on.”

“I understand your frustration,” Nora said, “now that I’ve lost a large percentage of my starlight, I’m good as stuck here until I gain most of it back or a ship presents itself.”

“Which begs the question,” Roesia said, “how did you get here?”

“I flew here,” the goddess said nonchalantly.

The group fell silent.

“What?” the sorceress asked, mirroring Yvain’s incredulity.

“We’ll deal with that tidbit of information later,” Nelimir said, “Please continue.”

Nora nodded. “To expand upon the conversation we had on the nine powerhouses inside the Tairos rank,” the goddess began to write down another list, this one containing nine names, “these are the nine most powerful races in the continent.”

On the right most corner of the chalkboard, right next to Empryon, they read as such: Dragons, Humans, Bulls, Vampires, Elves, Demons, Werewolves, Angels, and Starchildren.

“There are other, much weaker races that fall under the influence of these groups, but they are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things,” she said.  “As I’m sure you can deduce, each one of the powerful races have a Tairos combatant.”

“We’re finally getting somewhere,” Nelimir said, a small smile threatening to grow full.

“But wasn’t your ex-husband in the Tairos rank?  That means that the dragons don’t have a champion,” Yvain said.

Nora looked at him sadly, “Yes.”

“What will happen to them?” Roesia asked.

“Besides us and my subjects no one knows that he is dead, but it’s only a matter of time before news spread across Astros, bringing to light the possibility of war,” Nora said.

“Is the situation that dire? Would your people be swallowed up so quickly by turmoil over the death of one person?” Nelimir asked.

“Why do you think there are other weaker races depending on those more powerful than them?” Nora said. “As I’ve mentioned in the past, strength is everything, and those who don’t have it are doomed to be beholden of another.”

It didn’t take a tactical genius, then, to know what would happen to Nora’s people once news spread.

It also wasn’t hard for Yvain to imagine what Nora’s choice would be once the time came either. She would return to her rightful place as an empress and goddess when her powers returned, regardless of his wants. What would he do then?

“But we’re getting sidetracked,” the goddess said as she took a deep breath and began to draw lines intersecting all of Astros.

It divided the continent in seven parts in an upright arc, with an eighth in the middle being the biggest one, connected with the Darkened Hollow. The closest division to Empryon had the name of ‘Bulls’, a simple ship ride away. To its west was the Parallax Belt, the biggest piece of land out of all. North of it was the land of Demons. Then in a straight line west one would hit the Angels and Starchildren—who were contained in the same land­—, Neutral, and the Elves; all sharing the Starless Ocean while the first three were north the Parallax Belt.

Yvain looked to Nelimir who was seriously studying the map along the rest. One of the biggest reasons for creating Draconian’s Tavern was to find his ex-fiancée, yet her land was all the way to the other side of them. It could very well take months if not years to get there.

Going back to the map, right to the south of Haradriel’s home was the Weeping Gulf, and southeast of it were the Vampires whose land separated them from the Parallax Belt. Said Vampires also separated the Werewolves who were south of the Gulf.

 There was only one race left.

“Where are the Dragons?” Yvain asked.

“Over the Starless Ocean,” Nora said, and she drew what looked like a piece of land ripped out of the earth.

“What do you mean over it?” Rosie asked.

“Exactly what I meant, our country floats over the northern seas,” Nora said.

A flying world. It seemed fitting for the race called dragons, especially if they had the form of the beast Yvain fought in the past.

The sorceress’s eyes shone with he mention of a floating land but she remained surprisingly calm as Nora continued her presentation.

“Now, later I will write down details like capitals, cities, state of affairs, and such. At the moment though I will stick to what is most pertinent to us,” Nora said. “The first thing being Cosmos and its real purpose.”

“That being?” Nelimir asked.

The goddess drew even more lines on the map, these starting at the center of Parallax Belt and fanning out into each country.

“To create a filter between everyone having a chance at resources and all-out war,” the goddess said. “Am I correct in assuming that there are no dungeons in Empryon?”

Nelimir nodded.

“That is because no dungeon comes into being outside of the Parallax Belt unless a starchild is challenged. Inside this huge chaotic land guilds coming from all around Astros can freely fight each other for an attempt at the dungeons and its contents without repercussions. If you want to have any hope of coming into your own and having a say on intercultural relations,” Nora stabbed the Parallax Belt, “you will need to thrive here, everything else comes later.”

It’s perfect, Yvain thought. A free-for all where anyone and everyone could fight each other to their hearts content. It reminded him of their time inside Empryon’s west.

“Needless to say, all of you should be at least Protos rank before going here,” Nora said.

A snore broke everyone’s concentration. Selt had fallen asleep on his arms.

Without batting an eye, Elly grabbed the kid, took him to his room, and sat back in her chair.

“Do you have any ideas as to why Cosmos would hide this from us?” Nelimir asked.

“Personally? No. But I can infer a few things, which brings us to the second topic, Arthur Allsworth,” Nora said. “Be he your father or not, it doesn’t change the fact that all of humanity answers to him. Empryon came to be thanks to him, as did his subjects’ ability to stand equal with the other eight powers. And if this carriage, soap, cooking utensils, showers, and any other quality of life improvements are any indication, so did technological advancements.”

“You don’t have anything like that back home?” Roesia asked. “Not even a shower?”

“We have our way of doing things, but it isn’t as easy or comfortable as it is here,” Nora said with a regretful smile. “It shames me to say it, but we’ve had to even make deals with humans before to acquire something like a bed. Or at least, a bed made by your kind.”

“No sweets and now this? How do you live?” Roesia said half-jokingly.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, except the sweets parts,” Nora said with a small laugh that tapered off into uneasy silence. “This is the crux of the problem though. To Arthur, and those who follow him, every other race is composed of barely coherent animals whose only purpose is to be livestock. If they can’t fall in line, then they are simply culled.”

It was no surprise then, that Empryon would be as it was.

The goddess pinned everyone except Yvain with a hard stare. “This is far from the truth, as I hope I’ve shown you all. Because no amount of display of competency can convince the god of humans otherwise.” Nora’s shoulders relaxed, “In the past I felt that every human must be like him, but thanks to my experiences here I now know that isn’t the case, which means the reason Empryon came to be is obvious, as is Cosmos’s control over information.”

“To keep the hatred toward the beast races burning strong,” Nelimir said with a frown.

Nora nodded. “As the goddess of dragons, it’s practically impossible for me to visit other countries. My people wouldn’t allow it, and I wouldn’t risk dying and abandoning them for just sightseeing. Yet I feel I can safely say that I would never see what I saw in Triven outside this land. How at ease even children were with the idea of dancing in the guts of their enemy.”

Yvain slightly flinched at his girlfriend’s condemning voice.

She didn’t show any reactions to the Day of Terrors, but she clearly came to her own conclusions, he thought.

“Please allow me to apologize on behalf of my people,” Nelimir said with a hard expression.

“I happily accept,” Nora said, “but that won’t change the fact. Other races are far from innocent, but humans have a way of being cruel for cruelty’s sake. Even the Demons, whose sole purpose is to increase their ranks and sow chaos, have a system and rules in place.”

“My question is,” Elly began, “why is it that humans can be considered as powerful as you say, yet hold such a small amount of land compared to the rest?”

“That… you would need to ask Arthur himself,” Nora said. “Though if you look here,” the goddess pointed to where she wrote ‘Neutral’, “This land is the one place where all the races gather in relative peace, each holding a degree of control. But I’ve heard that humans have the most authority. Unfortunately, I don’t know much more than that.”

Would that be the smartest course of action? If the god of humans was truly Nelimir’s father, how should they proceed? The man was against their guild, even banished his son, but they had never perceived him as someone uncaring and cruel. Nora’s picture of the god of humans didn’t match. Yet, if it did…

“Is there anything else that you must tell us?” Nelimir asked.

“A lot more, but the rest is just tedious details which I’ll write down later,” the goddess said.

“Then let’s conclude our meeting here,” their leader said and stood, “today is almost over so we’ll set off at dawn tomorrow.”

Everyone else followed suit, preparing to go about their evening business. Yvain was already formulating ideas on how to spend the rest of the day with Nora as she walked back to him with a wide smile.

“Already forgotten our training, have we?” came Elly’s voice, like two heavy chains wrapping around his neck.

Stars strike me down.

“How do you plan on doing anything with that arm?” Yvain said with barely contained disappointment. He knew full well what her answer would be.

“I have another that works just fine, let’s go,” his master predictably said as she turned for her room.

The goddess looked just as upset as he felt, but suddenly an idea visibly developed in her eyes.

“Do you mind if I join?” she asked Elly.

His master snapped her head toward Nora, and Yvain was sure she would deny the request. Yet she nodded.

“The more the better, we can go for a two versus one,” she said.

“Oh please, you couldn’t even take her one on one. And that was with two arms,” Yvain said with a laugh.

“Who said anything about me?” Elly said, her eyes turning into crescents as she stared at him.

“I am still recuperating, please take it easy on me,” Nora said to him with a grin as she caressed his arm and walked past.

Both women were, at the flip of a switch, suddenly consorting against him. No words exchanged, just an implied understanding he had not expected from them. They were clearly trying to tease him, but this was a challenge Yvain would gladly take.

The question was, why did Elly agree, and would she do anything out of the ordinary now that his girlfriend would be involved in their training? He hoped not.

Nonetheless this was an exciting opportunity. He couldn’t remember the last time someone other than the two of them had been involved in their routine. Only Nelimir had joined them once two years ago and sort of kept up before swearing to never train with them again.

“Do you want to join us, Roesia?” Nora asked the sorceress who was about to enter her lair.

“I’m good for now,” she said before closing the door.

“You’ll have a tough time convincing her,” Elly said with a chuckle as she went into her own room.

Yvain caught up to his girlfriend who looked slightly saddened.

“Hey, at least she added ‘for now’,” he said. “That has never happened before.”

“We really need to get her a specialist. If she was trained well, she could keep up with any of us.”

“Focus on the present,” Yvain said as he softly, but firmly, punched his girlfriend’s sides, earning a challenging stare from her that got his blood boiling in more ways than one.

“You’ll need that fire when you’re going up against me,” he grinned.

“Be careful you don’t get burned,” Nora said with her deliciously imperial voice before she sashayed into Elly’s room, giving him a full tempting view of her ass, somehow visible even through the baggy clothing.

He’d be buried in it tonight.

 

----------

 

“You better prepare a huge meal today,” Yvain said as he, Elly, and Nora descended the stairs into their training room. Or ‘Gravitational room’ as Roesia called it.

“You think I won’t be as hungry as you?” Elly said.

When they reached the bottom, lights came on to reveal what has been Yvain’s main home since the carriage was created. An unostentatious but expansive room that allowed for the type of movements superhumans were used to making, even with the use of weapons.

Nora let out a small gasp. “I know I shouldn’t be impressed by now, but it boggles the mind that something like this could exist or that Roesia created it. It almost feels like a manmade dungeon.”

“You’re right to feel as such, it was only through extraordinary circumstances that this was possible,” Yvain said. “One being the source of power holding it all together. The other, forbidden schematics our lovable sorceress stole from the academy.”

“That’s… something I never though her capable of,” Nora said.

“Not if it’s related to magic and advances like this,” Yvain said with a laugh.

Elly had gone on ahead to the small locker room where they kept their gear.

“Follow me,” Yvain said to Nora.

His master was already half naked and putting on her customary battle garments.

“You think you could lend her a pair?” he asked.

“No,” Elly said.

It was worth a try. She handled her combat attire almost ceremoniously, so it wasn’t surprising she wouldn’t risk others using them.

“It’s alright,” Nora said, “I’ll be fine with what I’m wearing.”

“You’ll certainly be fine,” he said, “but your clothing will be ripped to shreds.”

Nora looked at him with understandable confusion.

“You’ll see once we begin,” he said and then sighed, “I guess we can always just give you one of Elly’s sets.”

“That’s what you should have asked for from the start,” his master said dryly as she easily pulled out a normal looking attire of a dull gray color from the wooden locker and handed it to Nora.

“You can do whatever you want with those. I’m never going to use them anyways,” she said.

Nora laid eyes on the new clothes with a helpless smile.

“You just wanted me to be in a skimpy outfit, didn’t you?” she said in amusement.

Elly suddenly stood upright and said in a harsh tone, “It’s not a ‘skimpy outfit’.”

Nora was taken aback but took no offense and just gave an apology. It seemed to appease his master as she didn’t say anymore and walked out.

“Don’t worry,” he said, “she can take a lot of insults to her person in easy stride, but any mention of those clothes and she loses it.”

“I’ll remember from now on,” Nora said and began to undress, starting with her shirt.

Yvain stood behind her and crushed her tits in his hands, pulling her toward his chest and eliciting a small moan.

“But yes, I just wanted to see you in skimpy attire,” he said softly in Nora’s ear.

The goddess slightly trembled and gave a pant as he released her. Her nipples were already hard as rocks, begging to be abused more. He wanted to do nothing else, but it was better to just finish their training with Elly first.

“Maybe we can work something out in the future,” Nora said heatedly and continued to change.

Yvain nodded eagerly before turning his back—lest the goddess’s body tempt him more—and quickly put on the clothes meant for the training room.

When the couple walked out, Elly was standing by the console that controlled everything there.

“Did you explain to her how this place works?” she asked.

“It’s simple,” Yvain began. “Gravity is increased here, allowing us to push ourselves to limits normal training wouldn’t allow.”

“Gravity?” Nora said with a tilt of her head.

She didn’t know what gravity was? Yvain looked to his master for help.

“It’s what gives your body weight,” Elly said. “I don’t know the details, but just remember that once I turn it on your body will become heavier. I’ll start low so you can become accustomed to it.”

Saying as much, his master turned a dial on the almost transparent bluish screen.

Yvain immediately felt his every limb become slightly heavier, but at this point he could handle this much with ease.

Nora didn’t look affected either. The goddess slowly moved her arms around as she looked herself over with a surprised smile. She then bent backward all the way down until she was forming a perfect bridge before lifting one leg and then the other in succession to stand on her arms.

“How do you feel?” Yvain asked, feeling a warmth in his chest at the sight of his girlfriend enjoying herself within the context of training.

“Words would fail to do justice,” she said. “The benefits of such technology don’t fail to make themselves clear to me.”

“I’d say this is closer to magic than technology, but Roesia could probably come up with a more accurate description,” he said. “This is also the reason for our special clothes. They were enchanted by her so that they wouldn’t be affected. Elly’s apparently already had that effect.”

“You should stand on your legs again,” his master said. “I’m going to increase it up to our normal amount.”

Nora did as such and spun back onto her legs before giving Elly a nod.

“Wait,” Yvain said and went to stand behind Nora, wrapping his arms around her stomach, right beneath her breasts. “I’m sure you can handle it, but this is your first time experiencing this.”

Nora didn’t seem bothered at all by his caution and gave a hum of consent as she readied herself.

He gave Elly a nod and his master turned the dial up to their usual point, four times their body weight.

 Nora’s legs were immediately bent by the sudden shift, but Yvain stopped her from falling on her butt.

“You weren’t kidding,” she breathed out which made him laugh.

Slowly, but steadily, she rose to once more stand on her own and Yvain released her. She then repeated the same process than before, this time a look of consternation covering her brows.

“Do you both train like this without using starlight?” she asked.

“That’s correct,” Elly said.

“Going any higher would be detrimental, as you can imagine. But,” Yvain looked at his master with an eager smile she returned with a toothy grin, “thanks to you, now that we’ve understood starlight better it’ll be possible to do so.”

“And you do this every day?” the goddess asked.

Yvain shook his head, “We wouldn’t have the energy to do anything else. Only twice a week.”

“Though with what you’ve told us about ranks,” Elly said, “something tells me we’ll be able to increase that amount as we become stronger.”

“You’re not wrong,” Nora said almost in a grunt as she stretched her limbs.

“If you want, we can lower it for today,” Yvain said with a taunting grin.

Nora glared at him, “Just tell me what we’ll be doing.”

“Rudimentary exercises,” Elly said. “Then we’ll start those we’ve developed ourselves based on our extreme physical capabilities.”

“Easy enough, I’ll follow you’ll lead,” the goddess said.

And follow she did. Push-ups, squats, handstand push-ups, chin-ups. They used their bodies along with what little equipment they needed to train, all while at four times their body weight.

At first Yvain thought his girlfriend would struggle to keep up, having never experienced such a thing before, but it seemed that being in a higher rank of power truly came with its benefits. There was no other explanation for how he and Elly were sweating profusely by the end while she had but a slight sheen.

“What’s next?” Nora asked with a slight pant.

Elly took deep breaths as she cooled down her body and prepared herself for the next barrage of exercises. “We’ll start again with push-ups, only this time we’ll be pushing ourselves off the ground and try to go as high as possible.”

It wasn’t just push-ups. They had a more difficult variation for everything and took no rest. Yvain was struggling to see straight by the end of it. But that was the point. To keep going until one could go no more and then keep going still.

Nora was in better condition than him and Elly, who was harshly panting and grunting every move she made, yet her clothing was absolutely drenched. Her hair matted.

Yvain found it funny how he couldn’t even get excited about her curves being shown off or the display of strength in her muscles. He was fully concentrated on not throwing up and finishing just one more repetition or exercise.

Finally, the time came when he could no longer keep up and limply fell on the ground. What was four times his weight was now an invisible mountain attempting to crush him flat.

Elly fell next, but Nora kept going.

“You’ll just continue all night,” Elly said with a rare laugh, “but we’re done. Mind turning it off?”

Nora stood with a grin and moved to the control panel. “What should I do?”

“Just turn it all the way to the left,” Elly said.

A full breath of fresh air crushed into Yvain’s lungs as his body was released from the pressure. Breathing, standing, walking, everything became infinitely easier. It was a feeling he cherished. A sort of testament to his work.

The trio then went back to the locker room and grabbed towels.

“Are you ready?” Elly asked after everyone dried themselves as best they could.

“Always,” Yvain said.

He stepped back out, both women following behind.

“So hand to hand only?” Nora asked as everyone stood in the middle of the wide room.

“We were supposed to use weapons today, but this little accident put it on hold,” Elly said as she showed off her casted arm. “Regardless, this is just as important.”

Yvan’s master took her stance, modified for her unusable arm.

“And no starlight?” the goddess asked as she took her own. This one different from what Yvain was used to seeing. It almost made her look defenseless.

“That’s for next time,” Elly said as Yvain prepared himself for the incoming barrage of attacks.

Instead of attacking though, both women shot out at opposite directions.

First they somehow help each other tease him, now they knew how to work together? If he stood in place, he’d be smashed between them. Already they were beginning to curve toward him.

Yvain pushed off toward his master first. He was excited to finally have a chance to fight Nora, but he also wanted to win. Elly was the weakest, and she was already injured.

He would only have time to land one hit though and that would be toward her ribs.

A chill then ran down his spine and Yvain ducked.

Nora’s leg flew over him, intent on landing on his head but missing.

“Of course you’re fas—”

Elly’s leg came crashing forward. Yvain guarded against the hit and used to force to pull back and roll away as Nora gave chase.

Why did he even try to talk? They wouldn’t allow it. A part of him had wanted to share with Nora just how happy he was, but he could do that with his fists.

Yvain stood up in the same rolling motion and met his girlfriend head on.

It was weird clashing with her. The method he was used to relied on meeting brute force with brute force. But Nora was all softness. His hits failed to land solidly and hers returned as a counter he barely guarded or dodged.

They exchanged less than a handful of blows before Elly was on him. She came from Nora’s open side and kicked forward, forcing him to guard. Doing so left him open though and Nora’s fist landed on his face before he was sent flying.

There was no way he was going to be able to do this without help from starlight. He and his master were already almost equal. Nora vastly outclassed him. And both women covered each other.

Yet the thought of doing so felt like he was admitting defeat. They weren’t using starlight and his master was even injured.

Nora didn’t give him any more time to think and the couple clashed once more. Her eyes were all focus, but he could see a small smirk saying ‘I told you so’ that irritated him.

For the most part he could keep up with her, if not in equal measure, then in defense. But there wasn’t enough to surpass her. And soon, as he feared, Elly was upon him.

This time he moved in the opposite direction of the goddess to use her body as a shield from his master. It worked momentarily, but Nora simply adjusted her own position along with his, allowing for Elly to come in.

Yvain tried to guard against both women’s attacks with his arms and legs, shifting his body to soften the blows. It was more than he could handle.

Nora used his weakened defenses to land several hits across his body and face followed by Elly again kicking out and sending him flying. Only this time the damage was greater.

“Son of a bitch!” Yvain yelled on his knees as he spat out some blood. One thing was Elly, but he would not lose to Nora.

“Do you give up?” Elly asked.

“No!” Yvain said roughly and stood, taking his stance once more.

Nora smiled at him as she and Elly took their stances again.

Yvain initiated this time. He rushed both women, specifically Nora, and created a feint that paid off beautifully. The goddess guarded and Elly attacked but he was prepared for it. In one smooth motion he dodged and then repeated the move from yesterday, tackling his master to the ground.

No yelp came this time, but a small grunt of pain as his body slammed her fractured arm. Both flew a few feet with Yvain easily landing on top at the end and landing several punches on Elly’s face since she could only try to guard with one arm.

He didn’t forget Nora, the goddess reaching them even faster than his master had. It didn’t matter though. She made a move he never expected and tackled him off, same as he had done to Elly.

The only difference was that he was the one to land on the bottom, the goddess raining down punches on him. She felt light though. And somehow her attacks felt weaker than his master’s. In other words, soon after the hits began, he was able to fling her off.

Yvain stood and took a breath, but Elly, as always, was right there in the small window of perceived respite and kneed his stomach.

He got the breath knocked out of him and Nora showed up with another barrage of body hits that ended on his face.

A last, powerful kick, courtesy of his master, sent him flying for a third time.

Yvain rolled before coming into a full stop. More blood spilled from his mouth, a now split lip, and his forehead. Some of it went into his eyes, partially blinding him. He wasn’t registering any of this though. He was seeing red.

He stood and took his stance. Both women took that as an indication to keep going and rushed him. Their tactic was set. Nora would go in first and Elly would follow.

How dare she act so arrogant? Yvain thought. I could have crushed her in an instant if I had only come to my full potential. A raging tempest churned in his breast that was pushed to untold proportions thanks to also losing to his master so much.

For how long must I be humiliated by her?

Nora and Elly were almost upon him.

Yvain cycled starlight through his body.

“Stop!” he commanded.

Nora completely froze, her attack only a few inches away from his face.

“Don’t—!” Elly’s distorted voice came but it didn’t reach him.

Pulling every ounce of combat experience, every bit of starlight and rage, Yvain threw a hook at Nora’s face.

He could almost, in slow motion, see how her skin distorted under the pressure of his attack. Pliant and weak. Her unmarred eye wide at the sudden development.

A shockwave burst out from their spot and the goddess shot out, reaching and smashing the wall in less than a second. The impact revibrating in Yvain’s ears.

Elly ran to were Nora laid unconscious.

Feeling spent after the sudden outburst, Yvain attempted to calm his breath, but it was impossible. He harshly inhaled and exhaled as he ran the hand that had just attempted to break Nora’s skull over his sweaty hair. Flinching, he switched to the other and once more attempted to calm his breath.

Elly checked Nora’s her pulse, breath, and injuries. After a few seconds she gave a sigh of relief; the goddess was okay. His girlfriend was okay. The love of his life. The woman who came to Empryon to rescue her daughter Charlotte.

Yvain still couldn’t calm his breath, no matter how much he tried. It was actually speeding up.

How was he any better than her ex-husband? Or even the fat man he condemned in his mind?

Suddenly a fist landed on his face, making the room spin before landing sprawled on the ground.

“I deserved that,” he said.

“It’s not about whether you deserved it or not,” Elly said. “You were beginning to hyperventilate so I stopped it.”

As if to prove her right, he was able to take a deep breath and hold in his bosom for a few second before strongly exhaling.

“She’s… she’s okay, right?” he asked with a slight shake of his voice.

“A nasty bruise will grow on half her face,” Elly said. “She probably won’t be able to see through one eye for a couple of days. I couldn’t find some of her teeth either—probably scattered somewhere around here. Other than that, yeah, she’s okay.”

“We should still get her to see someone, we can go to Triven.”

“That would have been a good idea if she hadn’t killed the Cosmos agent,” Elly said.

“Fuck,” Yvain breathed out as he sat upright. He looked to where his girlfriend still lay.

There would be no coming back from this, but he needed to at least take care of the current mess.

“Let me get her to bed and I’ll come help clean up,” he said as he stood and walked to Nora.

When Yvain arrived, the part he attacked was on full display; an angry bruise already expanding and deforming her beautiful features. A small puddle of blood that had stopped growing was underneath her, limbs spread about brokenly.

Guilt tore at him as he gazed down on the heartbreaking picture of his actions.

“Don’t worry about the mess,” Elly said. “Just take her to bed, maybe hold something cold over the swelling.”

Yvain nodded in thanks to his master, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak anymore. He picked up Nora as carefully as if holding a newborn and left the training room.

He tried to understand why he did what he did.

Never had he felt such a rage. Neither had he lost his senses in emotion. Maybe with Selt? But had known the kid wouldn’t die. This was different.

Getting beaten up by Nora unleashed something he hadn’t known was there. Now that he did, he didn’t know what it was. Only that it was spurred on by violence.

Was he just a sore loser? He had lost plenty in the past, even almost died fighting a dragon. It wasn’t about losing.

Nora looked as if she was just resting peacefully in his arms. Her breath came steadily and softly.

It’s her, there’s no other explanation. He could ascertain now that the moniker of master wasn’t just for sexual gratification. Neither was it some contrived idea the goddess had created in her mind. He had completely controlled her body in that split second. She had not expected it. And he had been free to hurt her as he pleased.

His reaction had been to hurt her, hers had been to protect him back at Cosmos.

A shiver of disgust ran through his being. How could he had done such a thing? How could be so weak to allow himself to do such a thing?

Thankfully no one was in the living room to see the spectacle and Yvain was able to bring Nora to their bed without interruption. He quickly took care of his injuries, went to kitchen and wet one of the towels with the coldest water he could get from the faucet.

When he returned, Nora was awake. The goddess simply laid in bed with an unreadable expression, looking up at the ceiling.

Yvain closed the door quietly, almost as if trying to not be found or heard and walked to her side with the wet cloth.

Nora looked at him with that same unreadable expression while saying nothing.

Yvain held up the towel.

“M-may,” he stopped and swallowed a lump threatening to choke him. “May I?”

“Plea—” Nora stopped and took a sharp intake of air. The pain coming from half her face stopped her mouth from moving. His girlfriend nodded instead.

Yvain laid next to her and slowly lowered the towel over half her face. Each cold inch of it making her whimper. Each whimper stabbing daggers at his heart.

The couple lay in silence. Nora because she couldn’t speak and Yvain because he didn’t dare to. He kept a few inches of distance from her while keeping company.

It was Nora who broke the tumultuous stillness by taking his hand; the one that had struck her.

Yvain flinched by reflex, but his girlfriend held onto it tightly and gave a grunt of disapproval. Neither of them spoke still, Nora’s thumb running meandering circles across his skin.

They remained as such until a knock snapped them into attention.

Yvain left the bed and opened the door to find Elly holding food. One a platter topped to the brim with meat, vegetables, and bread. The other a bowl of soup.

“Here,” was all she said before turning.

“Is she okay?” came Roesia’s voice from her seat at the table but Elly closed the door behind her.

A muffled, “she’s fine,” flowed into the room before silence descended once more.

Elly’s kindness should have warmed his heart, but Yvain gave a cynical laugh as it instead accentuated his guilt and disgust with himself.

When he turned, Nora was sitting on the edge of the bed. She pointed at him, and then at her mouth.

“You want me to feed you?” he asked to which his girlfriend nodded.

It was the least he could do. Yvain set aside his own plate of food and went to sit next to her.

He took a spoonful of the tasty smelling liquid and blew on it too hard, making the watery substance fall off into the bowl.

“Ah, my bad,” he said hurriedly before sticking the spoon in the soup again.

Nora stopped him though and rolled her eyes.

“Right,” Yvain said with a low laugh. His girlfriend was practically immune to heat. He didn’t need to make it cooler.

“Here,” he said and immediately brought the food to Nora’s mouth.

The goddess opened her lips slightly and drank the broth. She then scrunched up her one good eye as she swallowed.

“Does it hurt?” he asked nervously, to which she nodded.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the word containing much more meaning than he could possible articulate at the moment. The meaning still needed to be expressed though, regardless of the medium. And the floodgate had been opened.

First it hit his neck with a lump so large he attempted to swallow several times while motionlessly holding the spoon. Then his mouth as it trembled against the inviolable current, forced into a sad frown. And finally, he broke down into quite sniffs that would give Roesia a challenge.

“I’m so sorry,” Yvain said as he cried and stared into the soup, not having the courage to look at Nora. Pissed that the tears now coming out of him were falling into her meal.

He didn’t know what to do with himself. The last time he cried was probably when he was still a child. The feeling of vulnerability was immense, and he was glad it was only Nora who was there to witness it.

She should be the one crying, not me, Yvain thought as sobs wrecked him.

Nora squeezed his arm, but she still couldn’t talk.

What could she be thinking? At least she didn’t seem to hate him. The goddess remained by his side, holding his arm until he calmed down.

Once he did, she stood and moved out of view.

Yvain remained in place, hearing her rummage around the cabinets connected to the wardrobe.

When Nora came back, she brought into his view a bottle he knew all too well. The medicine she had used on him and he on her inside the dungeon.

With her other hand, she grabbed his chin and forced him to look up, showing off her deformed face.

Of course.

In the vortex of the ordeal, he had completely forgotten about the medicine.

“Will it work though?” he asked.

Nora shrugged.

It was still worth to try, and so Yvain set aside the soup and took the bottle from Nora’s hand before she sat next to him.

“Where do you want me to put it?” he asked.

Nora pointed to the inside of her mouth and then to her cheek.

“You’re going to drink it?” he asked. He didn’t know anything about how the medicine worked, but from Nora’s explanation of it, it didn’t seem like drinking it would do anything.

The goddess shook her head though and pointed to her mouth again, so Yvain brought the bottle to her lips and tipped it for a second or two before pulling back.

Nora raised a finger, telling him to wait a second, and went to the bathroom. She then swished, spat out the contents, and came back to him, this time grabbing his hand and softly rubbing the tip of his fingers over her bloated skin.

What she wanted was clear, for him to slather the medicine over it.

So Yvain did.

The effects were immediate, the swelling being largely reduced and her eye reappearing. There was still a reddish and somewhat dark imprint, but it was much better over the sick black and purple from before.

“Do you feel better now?” Nora asked with an easy smile.

“How dare you even ask me that,” Yvain said with a disbelieving tone, somehow angry at her for showing worry over his wellbeing.

“Do you?”

Yvain looked to his girlfriend. He couldn’t see nor feel any resentment from her. No anger or hatred at what he had done.

“I do,” he said, wiping the wet trails that had remained on his cheeks, “but forget about me, what about you? Does it still hurt? Any dizziness?”

“Nope,” she said and shook her head. “Look.” The goddess opened her mouth wide, showing full rows of teeth and healthy skin.

“That’s good,” Yvain said softly. He was genuinely happy that she had healed. Even her teeth had grown back. But that didn’t fix the gaping crevice now living inside him. His hands were dirty. He didn’t deserve to touch her with them.

“If you want to end things between us,” he began, “then—”

Nora blocked his lips with the palm of her hand, closed in, and replaced it with her mouth. Her long, skinny, but warm tongue pushed inside and lazily swirled around his.

Yvain remained frozen at the unexpected development, but even after gathering his sense, he only copied her and made no other move. Touching her in any sexual way was out of the question. A barrier of grime didn’t allow his muscles to move or his mind to get into the task.

Nora didn’t share his reservations though and grabbed his hand, putting it on top of one of her breasts and helping it squeeze hard. She then slipped the other into his pants and grabbed his limp member.

Despite his current feelings, the effect she had on him was clear. The simple touch made it twitch, and her subsequent jerking had it at full mast in seconds. Every inch the goddess caressed of his dick had her panting harder into the kiss and him getting hornier.

The hand that had been holding his onto her breasts moved to help its companion in jerking him off, but Yvain didn’t take back his arm. Instead, he pinched the goddess’s nipple, making her softly moan into his mouth and jerk him faster.

Before things escalated any more, Nora pulled back, taking back her long tongue with a slurp.

“Take off your clothes and lay down,” she said with a soft tap to his chest.

Yvain did so, and Nora followed suit, revealing her buxom and muscular body; horns shinning and scaly tail almost waggling.

Yvain then got on his back and watched enraptured as the goddess straddled him—his dick pushing against her sinewy stomach. The omnipresent need to push her down and fuck her senseless struggled against its chains, but two others held it back. Curiosity and the still lingering guilt clutching on despite the consuming horniness.

Biting her lip, the goddess rose by her knees and rubbed her entrance on his length, slathering it in the wetness that had already covered his balls and puddled at the bottom. There wasn’t enough reach to cover the long member though, so she pushed against his chest with her hands and lifted herself higher on all fours. She had enough space then and sensually slid her slit all the way to exposed head and down again, her hips contorting like water.

Yvain grunted, but didn’t make a move. He practically self-chained himself down to the bed as electrical currents teased his whole body, begging him to hold down and penetrate; the goddess’s massive tits and stiff nipples imploring him to crush and suckle as they hovered over his face.

Nora feverishly looked into his eyes throughout the intense moment, torturing herself just as much as she was torturing him. All up until they were aligned, and with a loud moan gradually inserted his dick inside her, covering him in a soothing warmth.

Bottoming out was enough to send her on a small tremor-inducing orgasm with her nails scratching him and eyes rolling back.

Once it passed, she looked at him again and lowered her mouth to his, initiating another kiss—one Yvain was more active in.

His hands, unable to hold back anymore, pressed her head harder against his and clawed onto one of her ass checks. He gave minute thrusts into his girlfriend as he licked the roof of her mouth, intent on making her come again.

 It was no contest, both stimulations sent her immediately into another short, but stronger, orgasm and she moaned into his mouth as her hands clutched onto his shoulders.

The couple unlatched their mouths with a pop of suctioning lips, saliva hanging in between.

Nora quickly licked it up with her long tongue and sucked it into her mouth, almost as if it was a sugary concoction.

She lovingly smiled down at him.

“That was the first time you gave me an order,” she panted and tried to push him deeper.

“And it’ll be the last,” Yvain said as he pushed back. Warring between his lust and the tides of self-blame.

“Don’t be silly,” Nora said and licked his cheek. “It’ll happen again regardless of your misgivings; I can feel it and I’m sure you can too.”

“You act as if you enjoy it,” Yvain said with some frustration. Hitting her, controlling her, these were acts that by themselves would have had a lesser impact on him. But combined they demonstrated just how easily he could hurt her if he so pleased.

Could he tell her to injure herself? Or even her daughter? The idea filled him with terror, even knowing that he wouldn’t do such a thing.

“I… do,” Nora said, either embarrassed or ashamed, but with the same worshipping eyes she always reserved for only him.

It made Yvain’s dick twitch and grow harder inside of her.

“So do you,” Nora said with an impish smile that turned sloppy as she pumped her hips a few times. She clearly noticed his excitement.

“And what about how I hurt you?” Yvain asked, wanting to at least be blamed. “I disfigured your face for stars sake. Your old teeth are probably in the trash by now.”

Nora caressed his cheek, “Simply an accident, I know you didn’t mean your actions. Regardless, between all my titles, I’m also a warrior. You are not the first person to bash my teeth out, and you won’t be the last.”

“I will kill them,” Yvain suddenly said as he pinned the goddess under a fervent stare, his voice thickening and their current conversation temporarily forgotten. “Whoever hurts you, they will die.”

“Do not worry my boyfriend,” Nora said, “I know how—”

“No,” he said and grabbed both her wrists, pulling them away from his face. “You will tell me if anyone hurts you, okay?” At the end he softened his voice, realizing that there was no need to be so riled up over an implied attack on her person, but still wanting to let his worry be known.

Nora kissed the fingers holding her wrists, “It’ll be as you say.”

“It’s not a command,” Yvain said with a sigh and dropped his head back on the pillow, “just a plea.”

The goddess didn’t respond to that, only continuing to kiss his fingers and slowly pulling them apart. Then she began to suck them, and Yvain basked over the sensation of playing with her lips and tongue, his dick hardening fully again.

“Allow me to ride you once more,” Nora whispered.

“Do you think you’ll be able to?” he asked while trying to hold back a smirk. It had literally taken her only one thrust to come.

With determination apparent, his girlfriend got on all fours just like before, hands on his chest and pussy aligned with his dick.

“I’ll show you,” she said. “All you have to do is relax.”

It was a hard request, considering how much his need to fill her up continued to grow, and how cute she looked doing her best to please him. Yvain remained still nonetheless, wanting to watch how she fared.

The goddess came on the first plunge. She bit her lip in an attempt to keep control as her eyes rolled to the back of her head for a split second before coming back to him with both trepidation and excitement.

It wasn’t near enough for Yvain to come, but it was interesting to see her struggle so hard.

Nora pushed on, or more specifically up, before slamming her thick ass and wet pussy on his dick a second time.

“Stars,” she wheezed out as a thin spray of her cum poured out of her and onto him, her head pulling back in ecstasy while her legs quivered.

Yvain caressed them, enjoying their softly solid texture.

“Want me to take over?” he asked but the goddess shook her head vigorously without looking at him. Instead, she stared at his chest, taking deep breaths and preparing herself to go again.

“Grab my chest,” she panted.

Yvain gave her a questioning look but did as asked.

Nora readied herself and, in a display of accuracy, pumped her hips the full length of his penis fast; the reason for her request immediately becoming clear.

It would be impossible for her to stay upright on her own.

At first, she attempted to use her hands for leverage, but she began to come from the very first thrust; every subsequent pump bringing more orgasms. Her arms completely lost their strength in no time and simply hung loosely.

Only her legs, which almost straightened and fully bent as she fucked him, managed to slightly work. But the full weight of her body was practically held up only through her tits by Yvain’s hands. As such, his fingers sunk into the pliable spheres, making them expand in width.

Her tongue drooped completely, her eyes rolled back, and she gave long sensual moans that almost sounded surprised.

Yvain surveyed her perverted face in pure delight.

This dirty slut is still pumping even after being half-unconscious, he thought, and reached up to suck on the tip of her tongue. Her face was still a bit far, but the slimy member was long enough he could take the tip in his mouth.

The goddess was past light sprays of cum and was practically hosing him and the bed down. Yet she didn’t stop and impaled herself harder and faster on him.

“Pwease, mashte,” she said sloppily, unable to take her tongue back from him to speak properly, “sill me with you cum.”

Under any other circumstances Yvain would have burst out laughing after hearing her broken words. But with the desperation his girlfriend begged him, all he could do was give her what she wished. Not that he had a choice. She already had his dick aching to paint her insides white.

“Anything for such a hard worker,” Yvain managed to say evenly and allowed himself to let go.

It was a measured burst, yet Nora screamed all the same as she slammed her hips all the way down and held them there, trying to get him inside her as deep as possible. Her pussy undulated in waves across his length like a suction cup with such force that he wondered if it could literally rip a normal man’s dick off. He could handle it of course, but what if she used starlight? The thought made him shudder. Maybe even he could be hurt.

This completely random line of questioning brought to the forefront an idea.

I controlled her with a simple command, Yvain thought. Yet, how far did that control go? It didn’t need to only have malicious connotations.

“Cum,” Yvain suddenly commanded.

Nora screamed as even her legs lost their knee grip, opting to stretch out completely behind her. She was held in the air by her toes and Yvain holding onto her tits.

The ordeal lasted for a few seconds before she lost all strength, even in her legs. She only hung in the air thanks to Yvain.

The goddess looked at him with wide eyes that rolled back sporadically as shakes of pleasure coursed through her body.

“I’m going to enjoy that,” Yvain said with a wide, probably shit-eating grin.

“I think I preferred it when you were tearing yourself up,” Nora said, panting violently.

“Cu—”

“No!” Nora covered his mouth as she gasped in fear.

Yvain laughed almost evilly through her hand and let the goddess down carefully to let her rest on his chest.

“I won’t do it too much. You orgasm enough with me just putting my dick in you,” he said once she released his mouth.

The goddess gave him a warning look, then sighed, “You’ll seriously kill me. I can’t imagine anyone weaker than me being able to handle this.”

Saying as much reminded Yvain of Roesia but he quickly sealed the images away.

“You better not die on me,” he said, “because we’re not done yet.”

To prove the point, Yvain rubbed his already hard and slick dick against the goddess’s pussy, making her ass flinch and shake up and down with full honesty, begging to be pounded.

Nora gave amorous eyes before biting and licking his neck.

“Clearly,” she whispered.

Yvain smiled in anticipation and was about to lift her, but his girlfriend softly pushed him down.

“But,” she said, “this will be the last time we have sex for the coming days. There is too much that needs to be done before reaching our next destination. Especially Roesia’s training.”

Yvain nodded, but it was a half-hearted effort. No sex? For days? He hadn’t had any for over two decades. Now… it felt as if he might as well die. Yet the goddess was right. There was much to do, and while he kept up his training his heart had not been in it with her around.

“I… I understand,” he said, the words being ripped out of his mouth. “You better prepare yourself though; fainting won’t save you tonight.”

“When has it ever,” Nora said with a mischievous smile.

With everything settled, Yvain grabbed the goddess by the waist, lifted her up, and put her on his shoulder as she giggled. He then took them into the bathroom, turned on the lights, the shower, and once the water was hot enough, set her down inside before going in himself.

The couple began to make out as they waited for their bodies to get wet enough, audibly exchanging saliva and their soft members.

Yvain didn’t waste time during this and licked Nora’s unusual weak spot without shame, making her come several times.

The goddess let him have his way as she clawed into his arms and shook all over—panting, moaning, and slightly squirting—her nipples daggers against his broad chest.

After having his fill of her tongue, he mashed the massive spheres together before latching his teeth to the two hardened, light-pink protrusions and biting down hard.

“Crush them,” Nora pleaded with a sensual whisper as she held on to his head and pushed against her tiptoes, attempting to bring Yvain deeper into her bosom.

Yvain endeavored to do just that, and the harder he bit, the louder and deeper his girlfriend moaned. At no point did she tell him to stop, not even when he couldn’t bite down any harder.

Nora remained silent and taut as the beginning vibrations of a massive orgasm began to overtake her. When they did, she screamed and spewed cream all over his legs, her own losing all strength. She had no other choice but to let her body fall as her arms held on to his neck, her tits burring his large dick between them in the process.

The goddess stared up at Yvain from her awkward, bent position with glazed eyes.

“Let me wash you, it’s my turn,” she panted.

“How are you going to do that? You can’t even stand,” he said with a laugh.

Nora took the question seriously, her brows furrowing adorably. She then gave a slight grin and let herself slide down his body while dragging her hands down his back, still looking up at him. The movement made her breasts rub all over his dick, sending shocks through his waist.

When the large appendage was released, she caressed it with her cheeks and kissed its length up to the tip where she slightly sucked.

“Lay dow—hmmgh!”

Yvain grabbed Nora’s horns and slammed his cock fully down her throat.

The goddess hadn’t expected the invasion and gagged while attempting to push his hips away.

“Cum,” Yvain said and Nora’s eyes rolled back as her whole body trashed and she scratched at his legs. He didn’t let up though and kept his dick in place, enjoying her half moan, half heave into his crotch.

“Don’t puke,” he commanded as a precaution, not knowing if it would work. Regardless, her heaving was beginning to patter out as her throat became accustomed to the sudden invasion. But he wasn’t going to wait.

Yvain began to push and pull, pumping his hips and effectively starting to face fuck her.

It felt incredible, but he knew it could feel better. His girlfriend would soon start licking and sucking him the way she had in the past, and he would burst into her stomach. The anticipation was palpable, and he slammed his hips harder against her face, pulled her horns harder into the clash. Yet she was taking too long to start.

Nora was still recovering from her command induced orgasm.

“Suck the cum out of my dick you slut,” Yvain said through gritted teeth. It wasn’t a request like in the past. There was a thin veil difference between such a wording and the way he could make the goddess do as he willed. This was such an occurrence, materializing from instinctual selection.

Nora’s mouth constricted as if with a will of its own. Her tongue slid completely out and curled around his rod before she began to bash her face into his crotch almost as powerfully as he was pumping her; hands grabbing onto his ass to try and increase the force as much as possible.

Yvain didn’t know how she did it, but it felt as good as her pussy, maybe tighter. In other words, it was somehow even better than her blowjobs in the past.

Nora was dripping saliva while she licked all his weak spots and swallowed precum insatiately with no other thought than following his orders to the letter. They might not be an example for decorum during sex, but the goddess was being as filthy as possible thanks to the inherent nature of her current all-encompassing need.

The sight itself might have been enough to get Yvain to come there and then. This was something else, and finally his cum was quite literally sucked out of his dick as he burst down his girlfriend’s throat.

He held her in place while he grunted with each ejaculation, wanting to make sure he fed her everything, but there might have been no need. She drank every bit of sperm that shot into her stomach without moving a single inch… even as she came.

As usual the viscous substance had shot out in the buckets and its very first drop upon her insides had made Nora orgasm—her eyes rolling back as she sucked harder than she had ever done before, showing concave cheeks—yet there was not a single peep or moan from her.

Yvain could hear her squirting pussy even through the sound of water falling around them, but the goddess made no motion other than to guzzle his cock. Even after he was spent.

“Stop,” he said, and Nora finally released his dick.

Being allowed to finally breathe, the goddess panted and took heavy breaths while looking up at him with wide worshipping eyes. All the while she sat on her calves with hands on her thighs, almost like a dog looking up at its owner, waiting for its next command.

“You’re beautiful,” Yvain couldn’t help himself from saying as he stared down.

Nora froze, then looked to the side and delicately pulled some of her hair behind her ear before looking up to him again with doe eyes.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve told me that,” she said happily.

“It doesn’t stop me from thinking it,” Yvain said with a sheepish smile, remembering that the first thing he called beautiful were her eyes, but the atmosphere had been slightly more hostile, and she hadn’t acknowledged his admiration.

Nora didn’t seem to remember though.

Her smile became wider at his words, and she once more moved to his dick, kissing and licking as before, only this time Yvain didn’t shove it down her throat. But it did quickly harden.

“I knew it,” the goddess said with a grin, “you still have plenty for me in here.” She grabbed his testicles and fondled them. “That’s why I didn’t stop sucking.”

“Then what are we waiting for,” Yvain said, laughing at how enthusiastic yet analytical she sounded while playing with his private bits.

“Lay down so I can clean you then!” Nora said, pulling on his hands excitedly.

He did as instructed, lying on the floor face up, and closed his eyes to stop the hot shower head droplets from hitting his eyes.

He was soon shielded from the water though and opened his eyes to find Nora’s ass right on top of him. Actually, her whole body was draped across his.

The goddess let her whole weight fall on him, and she ran her tongue in circles over his dick while he got a full show of her very proper-looking pussy. The slit had no protruding parts except for her very visible pink knob.

Yvain gave it a tentative lick and Nora’s hips jumped up as she squeaked. He waited for her to tell him to stop, but she didn’t say anything. Rather, his girlfriend lathered up her hands and began to clean him, starting at his feet.

Were her reflexive inhibitions dying down? If they were, was it because of the new variable to the relationship? His control over her? Or was she simply becoming accustomed to his abrupt ministrations? It wasn’t like he was trying to get a rise out of her… for the most part.

Regardless, if even Nora was okay with it, then Yvain had nothing to worry about. He dove in and sucked her clit into his lips.

Nora held back another squeal, instead moaning deep in her throat, and pushed her pussy hard against his mouth while she lathered his legs up. She tried her best to remain still, but it was a challenge.

Yvain continued to suck, lick, and bite—making the job harder for the goddess than it had to be. It was a surprise that she hadn’t come yet. She single-mindedly focused on the washing.

When Nora got to his dick and her hands wrapped around it, violent pants were rushing out of her chest while juices poured nonstop into and around his mouth. She rubbed her hands over the solid member as fast as possible, like trying to stop its allure from taking her, and moved to his abs and chest.

Not wanting to sit on him, his girlfriend rose on her knees in order to wash his upper body, but Yvain grasped the two meaty cheeks composing her ass and pulled down, bringing her soaked pussy back onto his mouth.

Nora went along with it—or maybe it’s what she had wanted to do all along? All the same, she discarded the passive role and helped him grind her cunt over his face by pressing down.

“Do you like my taste?” she sighed amorously, to which he answered with a loud smack to her ass and sucked her juices forcefully. Nora moaned and grinded harder against his head, forgetting what it was she had to do.

Yvain easily lifted her body completely off the ground and said, “finish washing me,” before setting her back into place.

It wasn’t a command, but his girlfriend acceded. She still rubbed herself on him, but she also finished cleaning what was left.

With that done, it was time to change positions, but neither of them made a move. Yvain was hyper focused on tasting her, and Nora was moaning lowly as she enjoyed his mouth on her.

“Oh master,” Nora moaned while coming. It wasn’t her usual aggressive orgasm, neither was it a particularly small one. It felt like something in between.

The goddess squirted some as she vibrated with life over him, pressing her thighs against his sides, and her tail lovingly coiling around the top of his head.

The couple remained locked like this for several seconds.

When she finally settled down, Nora rose and turned in one smooth motion before lying down on him.

“Can you take me from behind like last time?” she asked.

“You mean like yesterday?”

For a second Nora looked as if she was about to say yes, but she shook her head.

“The first time we had sex,” she said. “I want you to bend me over against that wall and fuck me.”

The first time they had sex. The memory of just a few days ago washed over Yvain like a warm but worn memory. Their relationship had gone through stages that should have taken years in the blink of an eye. Yet to him it felt natural.

Yvain seized Nora’s neck and rose. His girlfriend gave a gagged moan and her tongue poured out of her mouth to lick his wrist.

The light bruise that was still on her cheek almost gave him pause, but this was different. He was far from hurting her. The goddess’s expression showed nothing but ecstasy even as he choked her, and he was fully in control of himself.

How could he make her feel even better? With how easily she always came and how much, it seemed an impossible prospect.

Yvain turned Nora around roughly and forced her hands to hold steady against the wall. Then he bent her down, making her huge ass pop out even more than usual.

The goddess allowed him to control all her movements, even without the need for a command.

An idea popped into Yvain’s lust filled mind.

It might be easier than I thought.

The key was in his commands.

After acclimating to each other, the goddess still couldn’t get far without having an orgasm. It only took a few strokes or less to have her creaming. Now he could even tell her to come, and she would. But then, what if…

Yvain positioned his rod right by the goddess’s soaking entrance and commanded, “Do not cum until I say otherwise.”

Nora’s head snapped back, looking at him with wide fearful eyes.

As he held her waist he could feel a shift in her muscles, the way everything constricted around itself. Had the command worked? There was only one way to find out.

Yvain slammed his dick all the way in, stopping his girlfriend from what she was about to say, instead making her breath hitch. He completely pulled back and pounded her a second time.

Nora gave shuddering breaths, but no orgasm came.

A third, a fourth, a fifth. No matter how much he slid his rod through her innards, the goddess did not come and remained eerily silent. Only giving more and more shuddering breaths.

Then he gave the sixth thrust and Nora’s head rose violently, an animalistic roar tearing out of her throat. It almost sounded like the one her ex-husband’s skill had given, but with much less power. Right after, something the goddess had never managed to do in the past occurred.

Nora slammed her hips back against his.

It wasn’t a half-assed attempt, or an assisted push. With full control of her body, her arms on the wall, and the full power of her muscled legs, she fucked back.

Yvain was caught by surprise and was slightly pushed back, but he immediately regained his balance, set his feet down and threw out his measured assault.

Their hips almost blurred, and the couple truly fucked each other for the first time.

Not having orgasmed immediately inside Nora was a feat in and of itself. The goddess did everything in her power to cum. Her ass desperately rushed back and forth over his length trying to find release and failing. It was mesmerizing how as the seconds ticked by it became more efficient, more malleable and flexible, learning the best and most sensual method to slide over his shaft and make herself orgasm.

But that also meant she would keep reaching the goal faster and still win no prize.

The goddess became akin to a starved beast.

“Let me come!” she screamed once. Then devolved to just screaming ‘come’ with every violent crash between them.

Yvain didn’t do such a thing. Watching her become so wild was insanely intoxicating. Why was he even trying to hold back?

Knowing that he had more than enough semen to spare, he grabbed his girlfriend by one of her horns and pulled as his other hand clawed her waist, using the leverage to lift her off the ground.

Nora’s hand flailed at the sudden lack of wall, but soon she just let them go limp, focusing instead on doing her best to still impale herself on him, her back muscles doing their outmost to bend back and push out her pussy onto his dick while her legs remained straight and taut behind him.

Yvain had the upper hand though, and powerfully fucked up and into her.

The couple lasted like this for at least a minute. Nora doing her best to beg and orgasm, Yvain to fuck her into a deeper senselessness.

Then, with a roar of his own, he burst into the goddess’s depths.

Unexpectedly, Nora didn’t scream. She gave a low-pitched whine, like a balloon deflating, and peed herself. The golden stream shooting out with force against the wall she had just been grabbing.

She didn’t stop awkwardly pumping her hips throughout, and neither did Yvain.

He actually began to fuck her with even more vigor as he came. The white, thick liquid falling out of her cunt and around him in large quantities.

No sooner had it stopped pouring in and out, Yvain came again.

This time Nora did scream. She tried to speak but only incoherent moans came out of her mouth as she reached a possibly dangerous height of pleasure.

“You can come,” Yvain said, wanting to push her even further, and the goddess’s body bent back into in impossible shape. Her scream turned into the same dragoness’s roar she had given at the start while her usual stream of transparent cum erupted onto the wall to mix with her urine.

Holding her steady, Yvain saw out of the corner of his eye the water around them being slightly pushed back by the force of her voice.

Nora continued to scream and come for at least half a minute.

Her vocal cords then went hoarse, yet she continued squirting.

Suddenly all of her skin rose to an inordinate heat while her body remained taut and bent.

The water that was already hot began to steam, and even Yvain could feel that he was getting slightly burned. He never once let go of her though. She was still coming, and he would hold her up through the ride. But such an amount of time passed with her like so that he worried.

“Nora?” he asked, but all his girlfriend could pronounce were gasps, still squirting with stretched muscles.

Let me at least set her down, Yvain thought.

Pulling out of her gaped pussy, he finally realized just how tight she was. In all the heat and lust, he didn’t understand how much her cunt had tried to crush his dick. Removing her was almost painful.

Not for her though, the goddess moaned lowly as the strength of her orgasm was slightly increased by the simple removal of his dick.

Nora was far from capable of standing up on her own currently or lying down. It was up to Yvain to bring her down carefully as she continued to squirt, covering parts of his body in her juices.

Unable to bend her in any way, he opted to lay her upper body on his lap as the rest of her remained stretched out.

Nora’s eyes were completely white, her mouth perpetually open. It felt as if she would never stop orgasming.

Yvain then mentally kicked himself.

“Stop coming,” he commanded, and Nora went limp instantly, losing consciousness. He checked her breath and vitals. Erratic, but she would be okay.

Satisfied with his handiwork, and refreshed after three releases, Yvain washed himself again and then Nora.

Praying that no one had heard them, but not holding much hope, he took her to the still destroyed bed. He then left the room to let the rest know that their starlight guide would be decommissioned for tonight.

“We’ll need to ask Roesia if she can soundproof our rooms,” Elly, the only one in the living room, said.

Yvain kept a neutral expression, knowing that there was nothing he could say. ‘It is what it is’, so to speak.

“Nora won’t be able to join us today,” he said.

Elly gave a sardonic chuckle, “Obviously. Nelimir already went outside to start his training.”

“Should we go then?” Yvain said to which Elly nodded.

Both were almost at the exit when his master stopped him by the shoulder.

“Nelimir told me what happened,” she said, “about how Nora addressed you as her master. I would have thought of it as harmless had I not seen what happened today during our three-way.”

“Did you tell him?” Yvain asked.

Elly shook her head, “I haven’t told anyone, neither will I do so in the future, nor will you.”

Yvain turned to his master with a questioning look.

“Think of who she is, what she represents. Then think of how someone with full control over her could accomplish.”

“But I won’t—”

“You won’t, that doesn’t mean that others share your sentiment.” Elly stepped closer and painfully stabbed his chest with a finger. “You are also far from worthy of your current position. Too weak and too blind to understand what’s at stake.”

“And you do?” Yvain said, slapping her hand away.

“Better than you, at least,” Elly said as she turned for the exit.

Yvain was about to give a snarky response when Roesia came out of her room.

“Did you guys happen to see a vial in the kitchen?” she asked while heading for said location.

Both master and pupil looked at her quietly and simply shook their heads.

The sorceress sighed, “Figures.”

After she disappeared through the double doors, Yvain turned to his master once more.

“What about Nelimir though, you don’t trust him?”

“I wouldn’t trust anyone with the type of power you now hold. But we’re deep in this situation already, see that you don’t make it worse.”

Elly then left a contemplating Yvain to attend her own starlight training.

Was it that serious of a case? Only he had a hold over Nora. Not even her ex-husband, the emperor of a whole race, could say as much. He wasn’t bragging, it was a simple fact that indicated just how rare and impossible their connection as.

Not to mention, regardless of what others did to him, he would never betray her.

She did make some good points though. He was weak. And the less people knew of his and Nora’s connection until such a fact was untrue would increase their chances of avoiding danger.

A fire for training growing larger than usual inside him, Yvain went upstairs to join his companions outside.

 

----------

 

Nora never woke up until the next day. When she did, a gallon of water or more disappeared into her dehydrated body along with a ton of food. Apparently, their exertions the day before had been more than the couple bargained for and the soup was already inedible by the time she awoke.

It was a good thing that they did push the boundaries though, because not even that was enough to keep Yvain away from the edge of insanity on the following three days.

Nora was not kidding when she said they would stop having sex. It wasn’t that she would withhold it from him and herself, but that she would be busy quite literally at all times. Both writing down all the details she knew about the countries composing Astros, and the gathering of starlight.

She wanted to gain her strength back and be in enough of a good shape to help Roesia start absorbing starlight safely before they arrived at Allsworth. In other words, if she wasn’t writing, she was on top of the carriage absorbing.

She didn’t even eat with them; she would do so while doing either of her tasks.

Obviously, everyone was perfectly fine with this except him.

The first morning, Yvain awoke with massive morning wood. Business as usual. All he had to do was masturbate. Nora was doing her own thing too, so he didn’t have to suffer the visual attack that was all of her.

And yet, Roesia was still around, always taunting him with her hidden curves. The effect she had on him was no less than his girlfriend’s.

Only during his training with his master and later in the evening with starlight absorption, did he find some type of repose. Several times he thought of telling Nora to just put a little bit of time aside for them, but he felt it would tarnish on how seriously she took her responsibilities. And only so he could get off? He could wait a measly three days.

Then by the first night, as he rested on his bed alone, he realized that masturbating hadn’t helped at all. Why should it have? He came only a miniscule amount, and it was with his own hand. His body demanded Nora and she was nowhere to be found. He needed to come inside her… or Roesia, either of them would do.

The second day was the worst of all. Saying he had a perpetual boner wouldn’t be an exaggeration. He couldn’t even concentrate during his training and left a disappointed Elly after a few sad attempts, going to his bathroom and jerking off.

It took a small amount off the edge, but it wasn’t enough.

‘Are you okay?’ Roesia had asked him at one point. He had been burning his eyes into her at every chance he got, debating the severity of the consequences if he fucked her when no one was watching. Her innocent question is what snapped him out of the haze and from then on excused himself from their meals together by saying he wasn’t feeling well.

There had been only one more day left, by then Nora would become available.

On the third day, he never left his room. Yvain was almost shaking at how horny he was, his dick perpetually hard while one or two strokes was enough to make him come. Yet not even doing it ten times in the morning helped.

He had looked haggard enough that his friends let him be, his meals all eaten in his room. The rest of the day was spent in the shower, attempting to calm down.

And then the time finally arrived. It was the night of the third day. Tomorrow they’d arrive at Allsworth, but today Roesia would begin her training.

Yvain was outside along with everyone else, not including Selt.

He masturbated enough that he trusted himself to at least keep his damn dick half-flaccid. He could have waited in his room while Roesia began her training with Nora, but he wanted to be there for when they were done. It shouldn’t take long anyways.

Afterward, he’d drag his girlfriend to the bathroom by force if he had to and fill her until she spurted cum out of every hole.

One appeasing caveat was that Nora’s eyes were as lust filled as his. It somehow cooled his mind to know that she would probably beg him to fill her every hole herself, regardless of what he said.

“You’ll help me, right?” Roesia asked, straightening her robes and sitting down properly in the middle.

“That’s why I’ve been so busy lately, remember?” Nora said. “To prepare for this.”

The sorceress nodded with a nervous smile.

At least she’s willing to make the attempt, Yvain thought.

Nora took the usual position and carefully held Roesia’s head.

“Let me take care of the beginning,” she said. “Once I think you’re ready I’ll slowly help you do it on your own.”

Roesia again nodded, still holding her nervous smile.

Elly chuckled at his side, “Calm down, you’ll barely have to do anything.”

“Just let me be apprehensive, stars!” Roesia said and everyone laughed while she rolled her eyes.

“Alright, close your eyes,” Nora said along with the rest of her instructions.

Roesia was soon covered in the now familiar blackness, her hair floating up like live tentacles. Then, tiny lights began to shine inside of it when a shockwave burst out of her core strong enough to push back Yvain and the rest.

Strong enough that Nora, who had been connected to the sorceress, was blasted back with ample force to blow up the trunk of the tree that cushioned her crash.

A could of dirt rose in the night, making visibility even more difficult.

Yvain forced his rushing heart to calm down. Were they being attackd? He quickly ran starlight through his eyes to see past the cloud, but it immediately proved to be unnecessary as a current of cycling wind spun it away.

In the center of it a wide crater appeared with Roesia standing in the middle. She was still covered in blackness though. Two bright, white circles had appeared in place of eyes, looking up at the night ether.

The sorceress slowly raised her arms, pointing them up with open palms.

A cough caught Yvain’s attention. Nora was struggling to get up, blood seeping from her mouth.

Not understanding what was happening, but not sensing any danger, he rushed to her.

“What in the stars is going on?” he asked as he surveyed their surroundings. Elly was helping Nelimir stand up.

“Stop—” Nora coughed up more blood.

Yvain went to grab her and offer support, but Nora slapped his hands away.

“Stop her!” she managed to say when another gust of wind, this one magnitudes stronger than the last, assaulted them.

Everything in their surroundings was instantly ripped away, including trees and the carriage. The couple ran starlight through their bodies as they hunkered down, trying to stop the force of it dragging them too.

Yvain looked up to find the sky was falling toward them. Or was it the stars? It had to be, because he felt like he was about to be crushed by an outrageous amount of starlight.

But before said power reached them, Roesia floated up. It was a calm ascent, the eye of the storm he and the rest were being pushed by.

When she met the energy, it began to be absorbed into her body in immense quantities.

A hand gripped Yvain’s shirt.

“If we don’t stop her, she’ll die!” Nora yelled through the roar of the wind, her body shaky from the effort to hold on, even with Yvain’s help.

“What do we do?” Yvain yelled back.

The goddess searched his eyes fearfully.

“I don’t know,” she said, “I—" A realization arrived in her expression.

“Can you reach her while carrying me?” she said.

Yvain tested his footing and movement. It would take a large amount of his starlight, but it was doable. So, he nodded.

“Then take us to her,” Nora said.

He didn’t know how getting closer would help, but Nora was the only one who could come even close to solving their current predicament.

Yvain pushed his starlight usage to its limit and lifted Nora into his arms.

It was such a short distance, but moving through the wind felt as if he had to walk with gravity hitting sideways inside their training room while carrying eight times his weight and dodging debris that was just as heavy but moving at high speeds toward him.

One step in front of the other, his energy was being sapped in rapid quantities.

It was inevitable that eventually he would fail to dodge in time. A massive trunk was about to land on him and Nora when Elly appeared as if out of nowhere and punched it out of the way with a loud crack.

“Can you reach her?” she yelled at him.

Not wanting to waste time or energy Yvain only nodded.

“Go, I’ll cover you,” she said.

He was quickly back on track. Dodging still, but having a much easier time than before with Elly’s help.

Reaching their sorceress friend, Yvain was reminded of her description for Nelimir. ‘He was breaking apart inside’ she had said. Well, she was breaking apart on the outside. Tiny lights were floating out of her, leaving a space behind where her shadow body should be.

“Hurry! Grab her leg,” Nora hit him in the chest and yelled.

Yvain did as told and Roesia’s leg broke into a million lights.

“Carefully!” Nora screeched.

Would anything lost return? There was no time to doubt, Yvain pushed down his fear and guilt.

With trembling fingers he encircled the sorceress’s other leg.

Thankfully this one didn’t burst into pieces.

“Repeat after me,” Nora said. “O infinite stars.”

“O infinite stars,” Yvain yelled.

“I challenge Nora Stormhedge.”

“I challenge Nora Stormhedge.”

“To a ‘Godless trial’”

“To a ‘Godless trial’”

“I accept,” Nora said.

Yvain snapped his head toward a determined looking goddess, but it was too late.

A light enveloped his surroundings.