Caethya let out a small sigh as Aperio lowered her to the ground. Sure, she understood that they couldn't just spend their entire day doing nothing but cuddling, but that did not mean she had to like the interruption. One day we can do that… Hopefully soon.

For now, however, there were other things that needed to be done. Like talking to Laelia who had assumed a guard position just outside their door. How she was even able to see the woman there with the amount of enchantments her love had placed on the room was beyond her, but she assumed it was due to the simple fact that Aperio wanted her to be able to look around the temple. Her wish was the universe's command, after all.

"Your Scion is waiting." Caethya ran her hands down the sides of Aperio's waist until they rested on her hips. "She seems to have gotten herself some upgrades while we were gone, too."

"She is overseeing my church," Aperio replied, not taking her eyes off Caethya. "She also saw fit to clean out more than a few of the dungeons around Ebenlowe to gain some power for herself." A smile spread across her face. "I think she did quite well."

"She gained over three-hundred levels since I last saw her," Caethya said. "That is quite impressive. Laelia has a higher level than me now."

Aperio offered a small smile at the words. "Good thing you operate outside the bounds of something so silly. You are far stronger than you seem to think."

"I'll figure it out at some point," the Demigoddess replied with a wave of her hand. "Maybe when I ascend to godhood."

Her love's wings twitched at the words, producing a sound that Caethya could only describe as a rustle of excitement. Aperio leaned down while she gently tilted Caethya's head up with a finger.

"I eagerly await your ascension," Aperio said, her ever-shifting eyes giving off a subtle glow as her love took in the entirety of her being. The All-Mother placed a gentle kiss upon her lips. "My love."

It might not have been a first for Aperio, but Caethya still welcomed any and all advances her love took on her own accord. Lord knew -- or, well, the All-Mother knew -- that Caethya was waiting eagerly, and yet with endless patience, for her to be ready.

"You could do that more often," Caethya said, lowering herself back down from the tip-toe position she had unknowingly assumed. "An assertive Aperio is attractive."

"Is that so?" the All-Mother asked as she stood to her full height again, stretching her wings briefly before folding them behind her back. "I will keep that in mind."

There was a moment of silence as Caethya simply looked at the All-Mother and her love did the same. She considered pushing the matter for a moment, but decided against it, instead giving her love as tight of a hug as she could.

For all her strength and looks, Aperio was a big softie that never quite knew what she should do. Pushing her would not get them anywhere. In any case, it wasn't Caethya's will that was necessary to move them forwards, but that of the All-Mother.

She needed more time to heal from a life of abuse and the memories of being a cold and cruel Creator.

---

Aperio hesitated for a moment before she responded in kind to the hug. It was not what she had expected. Not fully, at least.

She had assumed Caethya would use her small advance to push for something more that she was perhaps willing to give, even if it made her feel anything but comfortable. Luckily, her love seemed to be quite aware of that.

Aperio mouthed a silent thank you and took a deep breath. She really needed to fix things so she could simply be with her love without having to worry about the world falling to stupidity and egomaniacal deities again.

With a sigh, she pulled back, another thought opening the door once Caethya had given her her okay. "Come in, Laelia."

Her Scion did not hesitate and stepped into the room, offering Caethya a small nod and the All-Mother a bow.

Aperio raised a brow at that. "And why are you bowing? I was not aware I mandated that."

"Some respect is due," Laelia replied, righting herself. "Especially when I am acting as your Scion and head of your church."

"A church that seems to have grown quite a bit while I was gone," Aperio said. "Why did so many of them choose to follow me? Was it not made clear that I do not wish to be worshipped?"

"Worship is not required to serve a good cause," Laelia replied with a shrug. "And besides, the people that realise who you actually are find it hard not to worship you. I know you do not wish to be viewed as a Goddess, but even I struggle with that.

"You are the being that made our existence possible. If anyone would be describes as a Goddess, it would be you," Laelia continued. "Every other deity, no matter how strong, still relies upon the foundation you built and the mana you provide. In the end, there are mortals of different strengths, and you."

Her Scion looked at her for a moment, perhaps waiting for a reaction, before she continued. "Many of your new followers want to express their thanks, and only know to do that through prayers and their attendance at a service. I’ve try to clean up the mess the removal of those traitorous Gods caused."

"It seems to be going fairly well." A quick look at the city showed that there were more than a few knights walking about that followed a colour scheme and design she was most familiar with. After all, it was her own. "Though, I am seeing a few things I might have to take care of myself."

"More idiots trying to perform large rituals?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, squinting at the runes she saw etched into the ground on an island quite a ways away from the city itself. "And it is one I am most familiar with and do not wish to see repeated."

"What does it do?" Laelia asked, a small crystal appearing in her hand.

The All-Mother directed her gaze at her Scion. She hesitated for a moment before she sighed. "Without me being the proposed sacrifice? Probably kill all the casters and empower one of the two people at the centre. But the alterations specifically mention godhood and the 'Will of the Universe', so it will likely kill them, create something that can kill anyone on Vetus, and then give the accumulated mana to me."

Her Scion blinked at the words and Caethya rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Aperio simply waved her hand. The distant noise of a large explosion washed over the temple a few seconds later. "The problem is solved. If someone asks how the island blew up, just tell them it was divine intervention."

"I guess that is technically correct?" Caethya half-asked, half-stated. "Do you know who made it?"

"I had a suspicion, but the person I thought would do it is currently chained up in a dungeon and being stabbed by Adelita."

"The last Vinmaier," Laelia said with a shake of her head, unbothered by the fact that her Goddess had not only seen the man being tortured but was fine with it. "Of course. Their little cult still thinks that Inaru is a real God they can revive to somehow put them back in charge and fend you off."

"Cult?" Caethya asked, absentmindedly tapping her chin. "I have heard of Inaru before. There was an empire with that name that fought the predecessor of the Kingdom of Ahl. They were slavers, mainly. At least according to my history lessons."

"That is correct," Aperio spat, making no effort to hide the malice and disgust in her voice. "Only other Human countries were given the option to join their Empire peacefully, everyone else was enslaved and forced to do as they were told.

"Every bit of their research was to make their enchantments better," the All-Mother continued. She reached deep into her well, the pure mana doing its best to stop the ember of anger from bursting into flame. "All invested to make sure no-one but themselves would be allowed free will."

Laelia gave a curt nod, but did not speak, her rather pale face reminding Aperio that most people were not comfortable with her calling on enough mana to create a few worlds, even if it was done in an attempt to calm herself.

Aperio took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting most of the mana she had called upon do what it seemingly always wished to do and melt into her muscles and bones. "Needless to say I am aware of what they try to accomplish, and do not enjoy the idea one bit."

"Perhaps you should take care of them yourself?" Caethya suggested as she brushed a hand past Aperio's wings and rested in the small of her back. "Maybe you can get some information from them, as well. I suspect that island was not their only base of operations."

"It was not," Aperio replied without even looking for more. She knew how far the old Empire had spread, it would only be weird if the cult it left behind did not at least have a presence in all the old territories. "The influence of the Elder Gods had been left to fester for too long." And I left knowing they would try something of the like…

She shook her head. There was no need to dwell on who she had been. She wasn't that person anymore, nor would she ever be again.

"I will take care of them soon enough," Aperio continued. "But first I have to fix another issue caused by the ever-annoying Elder Gods. Even in death, they still manage to make life worse for everyone."

"What did they do?" Laelia inquired, her Scion no longer looking as pale now that the All-Mother had put the mana she had brought forth to use. "Besides the turmoil, I did not notice anything else that might be wrong. Nor did any of the remaining Gods speak out." She hesitated for a moment. "At least not to us."

"They tried to bring Classes back on their own. It did not work. Then they seemingly tried to change how titles work and only managed to mangle them." Aperio offered a shrug. "At the moment, I am taking care of all the issues they created myself, but I would rather delegate that task back to the System itself." She looked at her Scion for a moment before directing her gaze at her love. "The two of you can join me if you wish. An understanding of how the System works would undoubtedly be beneficial to the both of you."

"We can… go to the System?" Laelia asked. "How is it any different from you?"

"You can think of it as my subconsciousness," Aperio replied. "But I have given it a set of… instructions, for a lack of a better term. Like your body circulates blood without your input, or how you do not have to breathe by yourself unless someone reminds you of it.

"And yes, you can go there in a sense," she continued. "It is no different a space than my Void or this very world."

Laelia rubbed her temples and shook her head. "I think I will remain here. The thought alone is giving me a headache."

"You'll get used to it with time," Caethya said with a small smile. "The first time Aperio showed me a glimpse of the System, I thought I would die. It's quite obviously not made for mortal eyes."

"It is good then that neither of you are that mortal anymore, then."

It had been long clear that Caethya was no longer a regular mortal, and it was quite obvious why that was the case, but her Scion had also been taking steps towards ascension. Hers were just of a more violent nature.

Where Caethya simply warmly welcomed all the mana surrounding her to take part in furthering her capabilities, Laelia went the way most mortals did: killing loads of monsters in order to gain levels and ascend. Though the path to godhood might not be on her mind just yet…

Of course, doing both at the same time was best, but Caethya was with her most of the time and Laelia did not have the time to sit down and figure out the first steps of using ambient mana for yourself. While Aperio found the task to be quite a bit easier than breathing, that would not be true for a mortal who had never done it before.

"That might be true for Caethya, but I am still very much just a higher-levelled Human," Laelia said, her eyes lingering on the Demigoddess for a moment longer. "My Class does grant me the benefit of no longer ageing, however. So I guess, in that sense, I am no longer mortal?"

Aperio smiled at her Scion. "A mortal is anyone who is not a deity, and you are not as mortal as you seem to think."

A thought nudged the construct that made up Laelia's Class. Perhaps it would make her see the bits and pieces that were already in place to ease her own journey to godhood. "All you have to do is keep bettering yourself. You wish to be strong enough to help those you hold dear without relying on anyone's help — even mine — and you are well on your way to being able to do that."

"Is it that obvious?" Laelia asked.

"It was to me," Aperio replied, glancing at her love.

"Almost as if you glued a newspaper to your face with your goal written on it," Caethya said. "But Aperio also knows you and feels much the same, and I was always good at reading people."

Laelia looked at Aperio, her eyes lingering on the All-Mother's arms. "You wish to become stronger?"

"No, I want to protect the ones I care about. My challenge is not gaining the power to do so, but exercising the power I already have." That she was growing stronger with every passing moment, Aperio left unsaid.

"Everyone relies on the System and lives on a world I have made. Whatever I wish to be, will be." Aperio lowered her head slightly. "Except that I have no desire to control people and when I do not, they seemingly do not want to let me live the life I want."

"For now," Laelia said. "You killed that which many people thought unkillable as if it was nothing. But people will forget. All you have to do is wait, and time is something you have plenty of."

She shrugged her wings lightly, the motion ending with one of her feathered appendages wrapped around her love. "It is what it is. I will simply do what I want and anyone who has a problem with that is more than welcome to try and change my mind."

"I pity whatever poor Soul tries," Caethya said with a giggle.

"I think you would be entertained by it."

Her love looked up at her. "I like to see you fight. You always seem to enjoy yourself, and I very much like that."

"A good fight is exhilarating," Aperio replied. "Sadly I have yet to find a challenge. It is still very much fun, however."

Laelia's leg shifted, as though she had thought about stepping forwards but felt hesitant to do so. The All-Mother directed her gaze at her Scion and beckoned her to approach. "Yes?" she asked, almost sure the woman would ask her for a fight. "Do you wish to challenge me?"

"Yes," she replied, giving a nod. "It would not be a close fight, but I wish to test my strength."

"I am happy to provide the chance, but I wish to fix the System first."

"Of course," Laelia replied, bowing her head slightly. She whispered a few words that Aperio felt certain she would hear frequently in the future from many different mouths. "The All-Mother provides."