[Astral Realm — Dragon Territory]
While Nent and Gabriel were having a heartwarming moment between mother and daughter while Gabriel was also trying to flee from her debt, the atmosphere in the Dragon territory was rather subtle in comparison.
If the Phoenix’s territory was a place that was extremely harsh and ill-suited for habitation, the territory of Tiamat was one of the most visited thanks to its mild weather and the beautiful sights of the floating islands above the seemingly endless blue sea.
[8th Heaven]
The territory was divided into nine heavens and out of them all, only the direct children of Tiamat and the people of their choosing could reside in the 8th heaven.
As the queen of the territory and the one who made the young dragons not able to wreak havoc at every moment of their existence, the amount of work that fell to her was truly extraordinary.
But despite the efficiency she usually had, the paperwork continued to stack as time passed and she seemed unable to reassume her duties.
"Mother. It seems like the Park of Lord Hydra faced another destruction thanks to two dragons fighting."
Aqua entered the room and groaned as she observed the amount of paperwork that seemed to have reached the ceiling at this point.
She felt like she was watching the phenomenon of the expansion of the known universe right in front of her very eyes at this moment.
"You seriously don't intend to work anymore?"
"Sorry. I was just a bit distracted."
Kiyohime spoke quietly before sighing for… Aqua had lost count of how many times she did that at that point. The only thing she was able to do at this point was just frowning at that answer.
"You have been distracted for a few months now."
It all started the moment Sol left to go back to the Mortal Realm.
Slowly, the efficiency of Kiyohime had been dropping until it reached the current level where it couldn't get any lower.
She understood that her mom was missing her lover. As weird as it was that someone so much younger was destined to become her 'father'.
But she had never imagined Kiyohime would be missing someone so much.
Aqua hesitated for a slight instant before shrugging like she couldn’t help it.
She could take care of the official stuff herself later on anyways.
She took a seat near her mother and asked her with a concerned tone, "So, you really miss him, huh…"
Kiyohime was startled by her sudden words, "Is it really that evident?"
It was Aqua’s turn to give her mother an utterly dumbfounded look, "I mean…"
She waved her hand to show the current state of the room. "I don't really need to be a genius to know about this, you know?"
"Hah…"
Kiyohime could only give an awkward laugh in response to her question, "Well… I wouldn't exactly say I miss him… But I do admit that it feels strange not feeling his presence in my vicinity."
Sol's time in the Dragon Territory may have been short, but in a way, she was the one who had spent the most time with him in this realm. Perhaps, she had spent the most time with him in his entire journey to this place. Taking care of him, training him, guiding him, and finally making love with him.
Even now, thinking about the events they had faced and experienced together she was unable to wrap her head around it. She would have never imagined that she would fall in love with a hybrid dragon who wasn't even in the realm of a duke when they had their first time.
Well at least that was justifiable, but it paled in comparison to the fact that the boy was her direct nephew. Just what was wrong with her for her to go along with establishing such a relationship? She was unable to understand that fact.
"I believe, mother… That the emotions you are describing can be summarized in three words. Ahem~ You. Miss. Him."
Aqua decided to make things straight and simple for her suprisingly ignorant mother.
"Ugh…"
Kiyohime could not argue with her daughter on that note.
"Now that we have determined that you indeed miss your lover… Let's see what we can do, alright?"
Aqua grinned. Kiyohime had always been this fair and nearly perfect ruler who took care of the well-being of the entire realm with utmost impartiality.
Even Aqua, as her direct daughter, was not given many special privileges from the get go. She had to earn them with her own blood and sweat.
Auqa found nothing wrong with that though. But she had always been worried about her mother. Kiyohime always looked like she had the weight of the entire world on her shoulders and it was disheartening watching her like this. Anyone would be mortified to see such a woman, much less her.
Now though, Kiyohime felt truly alive and happy.
She had to thank her cousin for that.
"Well, why don't we first try working on your fashion sense?"
This was going to be fun.
———
[Tartarus — 8th Circle of Hell]
Below all those islands, in the subterranean grounds of the hells of Tartarus, Tiamat could be seen peacefully watching the gigantic sun floating in the sky.
The sight of a sun shining underground would have surprised anyone. But for her, this was just a common sight.
Next to her were three women.
The three looked like paintings depicting the same person at different moments in time.
From the youngest who looked like a young teen, to the somewhat adult woman and finally the mature big sister.
They were the Norns sisters. The weavers of Fate.
Urd ("That which transpired") was the oldest and calmest of the three sisters.
Verdandi ("That which is transpiring") was the most worrywart among the three sisters.
Skuld (“That which would transpire”) was the most carefree and chaotic among the sisters.
The three sisters were standing together and the seal that usually stopped them from using their full powers without permission was not present on their wrists.
There was no need to. After all, Tiamat had absolute belief in subduing them no matter what they threw at her.
Their exotic pink skins and black sclera were fascinating to watch but Tiamat had no interest in observing them.
"How long do you intend to stay hidden, Lucifer."
Her voice was calm as always. This time, her hair was as black as the night sky and she was clad in a simple bodysuit that showed off her proud figure.
A sigh filled the sky as the sun seemed to change into a gigantic eye that looked down on them.
"Why can't you let an old man rest in peace until death?"
"If death wanted you, you would have long since left. You should curse your powerful past self that made it so even after death, a sliver of your soul could still thrive."
This time a chuckle followed and the transparent soul of Lucifer, the Light Bringer, appeared before them.
Verdandi gulped and Urd adjusted her position in a more respectful stance. Even though it was just a shade. Even though this soul barely had the power of a Duke and could be crushed by all of them — The man in front of them was still Lucifer.
Even Tiamat showed some modicum of respect for him. A notion that even the goddesses were unable to extract from her. He was such a being.
The only one who was completely unbothered was Skuld.
Compared to the things she witnessed in that other timeline, Lucifer was just a pitiful child.
This was why they were here. In a place the goddesses could not reach.
"I am surprised. Why are you bringing those people here?"
Lucifer did not hide his distaste for the Titans.
While he did not follow the doctrine of the goddesses, he did lose many people dear to him because of the machinations of the three sisters.
"Skuld."
Skuld nodded at Tiamat's word and advanced forward.
"Hi! I am Skuld and I am here to talk to you about the end of the world and all timelines."
Skuld grinned. She had been unable to follow Lilith's future lately. This meant that Sol succeeded and Lilith had survived her ordeal.
With this, the worst case scenario where Sol fell into the path of darkness had been averted successfully.
Furthermore, Nefertiti was doing a much better job than she thought and was increasing Sol's influence in a specific way by following her instructions.
But — It wasn't enough. Not nearly enough for the adversities ahead.
They needed to move and prepare themselves and all of this would begin in one place.
"When will the summit of the Divine Beasts begin?"
In that place, they would shine the light of her one and only master.
———
(AN: Now time for some fun adventure.)
