It was the fourth day since lockdown, and I was lost in thought. Sekh was here a few minutes ago before being called by Ichiha. Prior to that, we discussed what to do if this continued any longer. My last option was to use my waypoint writing to act as ‘god’ to reveal the chimera’s location to the Bellerophon agents.   

Out of everything I could do, waypoint writing was by far the most impressive since it allowed me to communicate with anyone in a place where I have been. You just had to be able to see the floating letters, so blindness was the only limitation. I was hesitant to use it, though. But I vowed that if my clone hadn't made any substantial progress in the next two days, I wouldn’t have the luxury of wanting to keep this ability hidden. Becoming a decoy did pass through my mind. I could halt [Status Cloak], use a clone to shapeshift in front of them, and lead the pursuing soldiers to the chimera, but Tilde vetoed that plan. She wouldn't even hear my perspective or point of view, citing that it was far too dangerous to give it a modicum of thought. My next idea was to lead them to the chimera via scratch marks.  

But no, that wouldn't work. The soldiers would take one look at the scratches and believe it to be a stray animal. Bellerophon wasn't full of idiots. They wouldn't think a chimera would stupidly lead them right to their hideout. Besides, they somehow had developed a spell to analyze the marks and look for biomass remnants. Only Sir Flaf, the wizard, could use it, so it must've been hard to learn. It also took a great deal out of him, requiring about 1/3rd of his mana to perform. My [Status Cloak] would fail that test every time, and Tilde wouldn't let me turn it off. Not even for a second. So, my original plan of getting actual proof from the chimera's hibernation was the best idea.   

Yeah, I could download a soldier's visual data and pretend to be a member of Bellerophon, and that was my plan if I acquired the proof in time. That was the only way I would get an audience without having a sword put to my throat or a spear against my chest. But it all resolved around getting that proof. That was one of the rules put forth by Flaf. If you didn’t have proof, you were punished. According to him, there was little value in chasing after false leads because time was of the highest commodity. 

Fuck... Do I really have to go against Tilde? Is that the only choice? I know she’s just looking out for me because we share a life, but still... I don’t want to disobey her. Two days... That’s all I’m going to spare before I have to make an important decision.  

“Mila? Sweetie, can you come in here?” I heard Ichiha call for me, so I rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen, where everyone was sitting around the table.    

Instantly, I was transported back 14 years to that horrible moment. Blinking, the table with Sekh and the others momentarily showed my mother and father. The pretty wall with shelves of little knick-knacks was replaced by peeling wallpaper. Each step taken forward swapped between total fear and uneasiness. I became aware of the beating of my heart, the shortness of my breath, and the taste of iron and blood from where that man’s fist shattered my teeth.   

Two letters sat on the table.   

It was happening... Again... But why?! Why do this to me?! I helped them!!! I killed the one that hurt them the most!!! I let them use my webs to sell as fishing line and bandages!  

No... No... Don’t... You’re not doing this to me. Not here! Not now!  

But what if it’s different? I haven't done anything to get punished... I haven't done anything to deserve their ire.  

Confusion blanketed everyone’s faces but Sekh’s, Tilde’s, and Niva’s. Sekh stood and approached me, her hands reaching to take mine in hers. She touched her head to mine, then whispered. “It’s not what you think, my liege. Do you believe me? Do you trust me?”   

“I do... You know I trust you...”   

“Do you trust Irisa? Kokan? Ichiha?” I nodded. “Then come with me. Sit down and read the letters.”   

Sekh led me like a lost lamb, with me staying as far behind as I could. It felt like I was ramming into a wall with each step. I thought I couldn’t sweat, but my hands were clammy. They hurt, throbbing with the pain of having my forearm broken by a metal pipe.    

My breathing became irregular when I touched the chair. All eyes were on me. They stared... They perceived... They ogled...   

I sat down.   

Did they care? No one even asked why I acted the way I did...    

It’s too much! I gotta get out of here!  

Sekh stood behind me, her hands on my shoulders. With trembling hands, I reached for the letters and read them. My eyes scanned each line like a hawk stalking its prey. They were waiting to come across the hateful words I knew were buried deep within.   

But...where were they?   

The letter from Ichiha reminiscenced of the first time I came into their lives. Sure, I was rude and boorish, but she wrote with love and affection. She told me—her words true—about the joy I brought her.  

But joy? Me? Bringing that?  

You’re just frightened, alone, and afraid. Someone who didn’t know what it was like to sleep in a warm bed and eat a warm meal to fill your hungry belly. Someone who had no choice but to fight each and every day for the right to live. When you ran to the dungeon, I was worried for you... Each day you were gone, another stake of panic pierced my heart. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t hardly eat. We were afraid we wouldn’t ever see you again.   

But then you returned in a state I never wished you would have to experience again. While nursing your wounds, you were restless and struggling, yet my simple touch was enough to ease your worried heart. You even called me mom... It hurts me to no end to imagine how hard your life must’ve been to this point, chimera or not.  

I gripped the pages even harder, my eyes flashing across the lines faster than before as she talked about how my friendship with Irisa was the key to getting her family back together.  

And at the very end?  

That is why, if you’ll allow it, I want to adopt you and become your mother...   

Something warm and hot brushed the corner of my eyes as I flipped to the next one.  

It was from Kokan.  

It started off the first time he saw me with his daughter. How I ran after her after she told the story of how things became as they were. He was afraid it would mean I wouldn’t care for her, but he was happy to know I chased after her. That was when he knew he didn’t have to worry much. For someone to do that, he knew they had a good heart.  

When you and I first met face to face, it was strangely comforting to know that you valued the truth rather than leaning into your emotional reaction. You looked at my appearance with how Ichiha would have reacted and came to a proper understanding using what was available. You had such profound intelligence that I was impressed. But that isn’t why I’m writing this letter. I’m writing it because I’ve become engrossed with your well-being. In your desire to improve. In your desire to better your life. Becoming your instructor in both combat and medicine truly made me feel like a proper instructor again. Seeing your growth in person at a rapid rate was heartwarming. You were so focused on the future that you didn’t allow any setbacks to halt your determination.  

I didn’t want this letter to end... If it did, then...  

Like Ichiha, I do see you as a daughter, Mila. As a sweet girl that endured the hardships of life more than anyone else. As a warrior who fought to the bitter end to mark your existence in history. You never gave up on Irisa. You never gave up on Niva, and you never gave up on Erin. That’s why I won’t give up on you.  

And if you’ll have it, I want to become your father.  

My vision became foggy, hazy, and cloudy. The pages became slightly damp with salty water as I wiped my crying eyes. Looking up, I expected to see Sekh, but I saw them...   

I saw a motherly figure that genuinely loved me.   

I saw a fatherly figure that genuinely wished the best for me.   

The letters vanished from my hand and appeared in the most secure vault in this world. On trembling legs, my sight was still blurry-- my face probably a red mess from emotions. My mouth quivered like a rattling snake refusing to stay still.    

“M… M—Mom…” The word was foreign in this context since it defined that sorry excuse of a woman who attempted to abandon her child more times than she hugged him.     

“Mom…” That word used to define a sorry sack of shit who only saw how ‘precious’ Mia was and determined that they would spend all their cash to lease a learning chamber for her after declaring me a lost cause.     

“Mom!” Before I knew it, I leaped into her arms and cried again, the tears leaving my eyes for the second time in all my life.    

Her strong arms wrapped around my back, making me safe, warm, and happy. A large hand brushed my head, slowly patting it.    

“Dad...” That word was painful, causing me agony after agony after agony.    

“Dad...!” It sent the feelings of broken bones and shattered teeth down my spine.    

“DAD!!!!” I... I... I didn’t feel fear when uttering it... I didn’t feel the hatred of being a useless son. Speaking the word... It filled me with...something positive for the first time in my life.    

I turned so fast I almost fell and cried in his chest. I shed tears for so long everything began to hurt, but I didn’t want this feeling to end. This parental guidance I’ve been missing my entire life. This parental love of protection.    

I’d been missing out on this warm, fuzzy feeling for my entire life.    

But not anymore...     

“MOM!!! DAD!!!!” I continued to cry those two words that meant so much to me now until my consciousness drained away.   

---

 

When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at the face of my mother. No, not my birth mother, but my real mother. The one who loved me. She had been patiently stroking my head. I enjoyed this warm feeling until I tried to sit up. It was almost 8 PM, so I was out for about six hours.  

We all had a big talk about what happened. Irisa practically clung to my arm and excitedly repeated that we were sisters. She always wanted a sibling, and now she had two.   

But it wouldn’t last that way for long.   

I cleared my throat and apologized, first and foremost, for keeping something from them. In the next two hours, I started to explain my true history...   

And I didn’t skip anything. Not the abuse, the beatings, or the sham trial and betrayal. The void and the Soul Warriors I killed to free Sekh? After I got permission to reveal her status as a Dark Lord, I told it all. They soon knew about my goal-- the destruction of Cridia, Holy Lord Meruria, and killing those disgusting traitors that wanted me dead.   

The one thing that remained a secret was Sekh’s title as the Dark Lord of Tyranny and the curse that made her whole existence miserable. I even explained why I was unable to break the slave seal, so Sekh talked about [Tyranny Control] and how it was both a skeleton key and an unbreakable lock at the same time. Then I talked about how it morphed with the Transcendent Dark Lord Training System’s loyalty system.    

It was intense... Maybe the hardest thing I'd ever done that didn't involve killing something or someone. Speaking such horrors to those that saw me as their child.    

But was their love to be found somewhere else?   

No, not at all. My new family was there to hold me. To hug me. To rub my hair and cry for me. To help me shed these growing emotions. When it came to my rape, dad’s eyes flashed wide, then he realized I went through what he did. He wasn’t alone, and neither was I. But I had him, and he had me, and we had Sekh and the others. Even Primrose, as quiet as she was since she didn’t speak a word to me, had this look on her face. She finally knew my past-- that I used to be a human. Understood that I was a slave to my parents, which was why I detested those that stole a person's freedom with the utmost passion. I was snatched from my world and forced to fight, only to be sacrificed hours later. Survival entailed evolving into an enemy of the natural order, and my revenge gleefully led me down that precarious path.  

I didn't kill for the fun of it. I slaughtered my enemies and ate their corpses for power. My instincts wanted me to feed. Was I any different than a monster spawned by mana?  

Erin? The poor Catfolk was far more emotional. Like I did for her, she bravely held back the tears and sat beside me, telling me it was okay to lean against her for comfort and support. Even Lei, the banana-colored slime that probably hated my guts, extended a jelly-like appendage and hopped in my lap.   

The time passed until the moon was well within its 5th hour as ruler of the night sky. I thought I’d felt horrible and sick, but there was a brisk calm after realizing I had nothing more to hide.   

It was soon time to sleep. Erin thanked mom and dad for the bed but said she wanted to return it. Instead, she was going to sleep on the couch while Irisa took the floor. “If that’s what you want, then okay. Goodnight, girls,” mom said, her hand ruffling my hair. We all said our goodnights as they went to bed-- the aftermath of an emotional scene clearly visible on their crying faces. Sekh kissed my cheeks and said she was getting ready for bed. Niva, Primrose, and Tilde joined her while Lei remained in Erin’s lap as she sat on the couch. The Catfolk yawned seconds later. Since she was in her pajamas, she wiped her sleepy eyes and, after getting permission, extinguished the candles and laid down.   

In half a minute, she fell into a deep slumber.   

I took Irisa’s hands and held them gently, my thumbs massaging the back of her palms. “It feels good to have another sister,” she whispered. “A cute sister, at that. Mila, I’m so, so sorry about what you had to live through...”   

I felt the onset of tears coming back on. Irisa held me close to her chest, her tank top doing very little to stop my cheek from rubbing against her breasts. She rubbed my back with care, her other hand petting my head.   

I felt something grow from my crotch, an erect pressure rising deep. I looked up at the girl whose face I couldn’t shake from my mind. Her lips looked soft; her yellow eyes were so full of love...   

“Mila... Something’s touching me,” she whispered.   

“I’m...sorry...but...” I couldn’t hold back anymore.    

“What are... mmph—”   

At that moment, I made a choice. A choice I should have made a long time ago in that I pressed my lips to hers.    

I must've been a sloppy mess. Damp hair? Reddened expression? Watermarks from where the tears flooded my eyes and didn't seem to stop?  

But Irisa? She didn’t struggle. Her mouth slightly relaxed to let my tongue in, and we kissed, sharing our bottled emotions and releasing them into the wild. The pleasure of this electrifying kiss was more than enough to send me over the edge. My legs trembled slightly, causing Irisa to keep me steady as the front of my panties became stained with semen. The smell wafted up, causing our proof of physical connection to end. She looked down and saw proof of my erection, a wet stain having gone through my panties and soiled the front of my green outfit.   

I... It was shameful, but Irisa didn’t see it that way. She pressed her fingers against the sensitive tip, lifted my dress, and pulled my panties to the side to look at my sperm-covered penis. “Did...I do that?” She gently held it, stroking it from the tip to about halfway down the shaft, then stared at her fingers. “It’s way bigger than the last time I saw it.”   

I nodded. “When I was at Aetos Village, I couldn’t stop thinking about you... Can you sleep with me?”   

Instead of answering, Irisa gave me a kiss, then led me into the bedroom, my erection on display.  

It’s good Erin’s asleep. But I get to spend the night with Irisa? The first one to accept me after Sekh and Tilde? I couldn’t imagine this life without her help and assistance...  

I love her...  

I love her like crazy.