[Keeno POV]

As soon as the sky in the Divine Domain began to turn and the suns started to set, Ama and I changed out of our dresses. After that Ama summoned a large chair and sat down before pulling me into her lap.

 

“I had fun today, Ama.”

 

{I’m glad. It’s kind of a shame we didn’t get to enjoy the entire ball, but what we did was indeed quite fun. And it’s just plain fun dancing with you.}

 

“Hehe.  I WAS a bit hesitant about it, but the music earlier helped a lot. Though I kind of feel bad for just running away from Fu and Moco.”

 

{They’ll be fine. It’s not like they can’t visit whenever they want.}

 

“That’s true. By the way, why didn’t you tell me Emma and mum showed up here?”

 

{I didn’t know. It’s not like I monitor that weird room your Valkyries always appear in. I’m too busy watching your every waking and sleeping moment.}

 

“I’ll accept that argument.”

 

We then fell into a comfortable silence as we watched the suns begin to fully set as they began to split, slowly ending the Solar Convergence.  As they kissed the horizon, I felt Ama move slightly and felt a sensation on my ear.

 

“Really Ama? Why do you have to tease me like this just before I’m about to go?”

 

{Hehehe.  Because I just couldn’t resist. How can you wave those adorable ears of yours in my face and not take a little nibble?}

 

She then nibbled on my other ear, leaving me as a speechless ball of fluff with a face as red as a tomato.  I managed to regain a small bit of composure just before I started to vanish.

 

“Mark my words, Goddess of Life.  The Goddess of Death shall have her revenge upon our next meeting.”

 

{Hehehehehe.  I’m looking forward to seeing what you will do.}

 

“Hehehe.  Many, MANY things.”

 

With that my consciousness faded and I woke up in bed.

 

{By the way, your malicious laugh is a 10/10.}

 

‘Good. All the practice was worth it.’

 

It was then that I heard some rustling from the bed next to me.

 

“P-Pram!  Wh-where are you-aaaahhh!” (Freya)

 

“…” (Keeno)

 

{…}

 

‘I feel like I need to say something, but I also feel like if I do, something bad will happen.’ (Keeno)

 

{Won’t either choise result in the same outcome?}

 

“P-Praaaaammmmm!!!!!!!!” (Freya)

 

I could feel the room start to heat up tremendously due to my feelings of embarrassment, and the other two noticed.

 

“She’s back.” (Pram)

 

“Haaa haaa haaa.” (Freya)

 

I had no clue what to do or say in this situation, so I just remained silent, making the only sound in the room Freya’s heavy breathing.  This silence lasted several minutes before even that quieted down and things became even more awkward.

 

‘Ama, can you do some sort of magic to get me out of here?’ (Keeno)

 

{No, I can’t.}

 

Several more minutes went by before someone started moving and I heard the distinct sound of clothes being put back on.

 

“You stay right under that blanket, Keeno. Don’t move until I say.” (Pram)

 

I conjured a small fireball above me in the shape of a thumbs up.  After a minute the rustling stopped.

 

“Alright.” (Pram)

 

I slowly poked my head over the blanket and saw Pram sitting on her bed, blocking Freya from view. She smiled gently at me like usual, though she couldn’t hide the deep blush on her face.

 

“First things first, we are to never mention this moment again.  Second, you are to forget anything you heard.  Third, if this ever happens again, you are to make your presence known immediately.  Am I clear?” (Pram)

 

“Crystal.” (Keeno)

 

“Good.  Now we are all going to sleep.  There are some things we need to talk about, but rest is needed before that.  If you look over here, I will rip your eyes out for the night.” (Pram)

 

“Understood.” (Keeno)

 

I promptly turned around and laid down before covering my head with the blanket once more.

 

“Oh, and Keeno.” (Pram)

 

“Yes?” (Keeno)

 

“Vanilla is a very good scent for you. I don’t know why you smell so strongly of it, but whatever the reason, it was a good decision.” (Pram)

 

“Thank you…” (Keeno)

 

Shortly after that I could tell both Pram and Freya were asleep.

 

‘Ama…’

 

{I know, Keeno.  They should be asleep, so just leave the room quietly.}

 

Mustering all the stealth I could, I got up and left the room.

 

‘Ama, I think we need to start getting separate rooms at inns from now on.’

 

{That’s probably for the best.}

 

‘Do you know of any cold lakes or something around here?’

 

{There is a lake just outside the wall. I don’t know how cold it is, but it’ll probably do the trick.}

 

‘Hope they don’t use it for anything, cause it’s gonna be a smaller lake for a bit.’

 

{I’m sorry.}

 

‘For what?’

 

{I feel my teasing you before you left led to this situation.}

 

‘Ama, there is…no actually I should have figured this would happen at one point. I mean, it’s not like they ever have a lot of alone time until days like this, so it makes sense.  Anyway, it’s not your fault.’

 

I made my way to the wall of the city and used some magic to hop over it.  I spent a while looking for the lake Ama told me about before finding it. It was the picture of serenity, the reflection of the three moons were unbroken by any ripples.  I appreciated the scenery for a moment before jumping right in.  I floated in the water for a few hours before finally getting out and increasing my heat to dry off.  I then looked for a suitable tree and decided to try and sleep the night away in the branches.  It was a very difficult endeavor.

 

[Pram POV]

I slowly opened my eyes as a beam of sunlight came through the curtain. Sitting up slightly, I looked around the room when my eyes fell upon the sight of a still sleeping Freya, hair disheveled and small bites marking her neck and shoulders.  I smiled down at my lovely sleeping wolf before laying back down and snuggling up to her. While enjoying the closeness, I used my Life magic to heal the bites I’d left on her.  It was then that I remembered what else happened last night.  I shot up and looked over at the other bed in the room, only to see it was empty.

 

“…”

 

I felt my face heating up to an absurd degree, almost to the point I thought I’d start to affect the surrounding like Keeno.

 

‘Um…’ (Pram)

 

{She’s not at the inn right now. She’ll come back soon though, so I’d suggest you get Freya up and dressed and your appearances fixed before that. She’s had a rough night.}

 

The tone in her voice was mixed with indignation.

 

“If I said anything rude last night, I’m sorry. All I really remember was Keeno getting back and then us exchanging words before I fell asleep.” (Pram)

 

{Well, next time you threaten to take Keeno’s eyes, I’ll have to punish you a little, even if I know you didn’t really mean it.}

 

“I’m …no, no words are enough to say how sorry I am about even saying that.” (Pram)

 

{I understand very well how hazy a mind can get after experiencing a passionate time together, but from now on at least try to take time into account.  Keeno has also said she’s going to try and let you two have more space so something like this doesn’t happen again.}

 

I could only nod my head and accept her words. I then started to shake Freya awake. After a few minutes of trying, she groggily sat up.

 

“Pram…whatimeisit?” (Freya)

 

“It’s time to get up, sleepyhead.” (Pram)

 

“Eeeehhhh?  Oki…” (Freya)

 

Freya clumsily moved the blanket off her, giving me a lovely view that I fully appreciated.  After a few seconds and several rapid blinks and normal, awake Freya greeted me.

 

“…Mornin.” (Freya)

 

I smiled and patted her head.

 

“…” (Freya)

 

Sitting there and enjoying my pats, Freya’s face started to turn red.

 

“Oh gods…” (Freya)

 

“We are going to play it cool and not think about it, ok.” (Pram)

 

“How are you so calm about this?” (Freya)

 

“I’m not, but us acting this way when Keeno gets back is going to make something awkward, to something even more awkward. We can only move on from this and be more prudent in the future.” (Pram)

 

“A-alright…I’ll do my best.” (Freya)

 

I nodded and we both got ready. Once we did, we waited for a few minutes and Keeno timidly knocked on the door.  I opened it and she walked in. Just looking at her I noticed she barely slept, and by the way her tails were moving, she was highly agitated about it.

 

“I’m stupid…should have just rented a separate room instead of trying to sleep in a tree…ugh.” (Keeno)

 

She then fell face first onto her bed.  Freya and I looked at each other in confusion before shrugging it off and sitting down.

 

“Keeno, before you fall asleep, we have some things to discuss regarding that dragon.” (Pram)

 

Though she didn’t move, her ears twitched and she moved one of her tails in a show she was listening.

 

“She was asking about you yesterday and resorted to the paper thing when we explained you were unavailable. After getting that sorted, I asked about our noble friend and well…he’s much more important now that we could have guessed.” (Pram)

 

“How so?” (Keeno)

 

“Apparently, he has become the Prime Minister. The details are sparse since she didn’t really care about it much, but from what we pieced together his father or grandfather retired and he inherited the position.” (Pram)

 

“This makes things complicated. I don’t really want to play kingmaker again.” (Keeno)

 

“We might not have a choice. As far as even that dragon know, the king hasn’t had any heirs and aside from the Prime Minister there aren’t any people fit to rule.” (Freya)

 

“Uuuuugggghhhh!  Maybe we won’t need to. This is a big country, I don’t see things going smoothly anyway, so maybe we should just get our friend to get out and let things implode.” (Keeno)

 

{I’m all for that. While not as bad as Falheim, this country has been stagnant for too long. Sure, they’ve developed considerably, but things need to change if they want to survive when the natural world cycle resumes.}

 

“Then let’s get our friend out, get the Dead Zone, and go. Whatever happens after that happens.” (Keeno)

 

“I feel we should at least try to-” (Pram)

 

“Pram, this is nation size problems you’re thinking of. We are just two aspiring Apostles, a potential Valkyrie, and a, no offense, weak goddess, we can’t be everywhere.” (Freya)

 

“…Right…I knew what I signed up for at the start, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Just like Vanir did.” (Pram)

 

“I understand that Pram, but it’s not like we are perfect. And, in the grand scheme of things, this needed to happen eventually. Speaking as someone who studied fallen civilizations, this will happen one day, it just so happens that it will be us that are the catalyst this time.” (Keeno)

 

“…” (Pram)

 

“Alright, I know this is a bad place to leave this conversation, and that we have other things we are not mentioning that should probably be addressed, but I’m exhausted, so let’s talk about it in a few hours.” (Keeno)

 

“Alright.” (Pram)

 

“Sleep well.” (Freya)

 

Where normally she would have responded, all the two of us could hear were quiet snores. Looking at Freya we nodded at one another and left the room to find something to eat.

 

Chaos Realm:

I have returned! What did I miss?

Order: A very awkward moment for Keeno, Pram, and Freya.

Luna: Decisions about what to do about Odeen once they are done with the Dead Zone.

Atmos: And Keeno’s impeccable diving form.

…

Hmm.

Order: So, how was the training on your end?

In a word, difficult.  Nihility is hard to control.

Atmos: …That is a scary Concept to wield, Payto.

I’m well aware.

Luna: So, you’re basically Epilogue now?

More like I’m the entire thing. Chaos being basically Prologue, Fate Weaving as the body, and now Nihility as Epilogue.

Luna: All I can say is congrats for becoming even more broken than you already are.

Thanks.

Order: Well, I’m just glad you’re back. Astraea, Nykuro, and Evelyn have been wondering about you.

Guess I’ll go show my face to them real quick then.

Order: That’s a good idea.