by Prax Venter
Pendula stepped forward. “Impressed with how you dealt with the Impossible New Life that Dwells in a space deemed devoid of stories. I have seen and will see a new history through you. That cannot be repaid.”
She shifted her hourglass eyes to Salivis and in a move that Mark knew spoke libraries of context, she bowed her head once before vanishing.
“Please align my anchor with the world anchor,” Salivis said casually, hunger in her voice.
Amina, having grown bold with her goddess, paused to make sure Learis was on her feet before she complied.
“Everything here is back under control?” Mark asked while the Awysai reset the divine relic. He spun to check the ruined hallway only to find it empty of marching lagomorph drones.
“It is,” Jezebel said. “I flew up and could see the surrounding hexagons fall away outside. I knew exactly where you’d been in the other dimension by the damage you did to the nickel-iron structures on this side.”
“For my Goddess’s pleasure,” Amina said as she aligned the uniquely attuned obelisk in front of the Jar of Stars.
An ethereal light ripped through the magical spectrum, and Mark had to cover his blind eye or lose that too.
“Fuck,” Mark cursed under his breath, wincing.
“Not quite,” Salivis said from a kneeling position directly in front of him. His vision snapped to see a hall of mirrors with many other gods and goddesses in similar positions with copies of the Goddess of Oral Sex… doing her thing.
And it hit him. She wasn’t sucking off the orb; she was using it to pleasure the other gods…
“Correct,” her voice whispered in both his ears. “And many will want to… ah… reciprocate.”
His goddess was reaching out to speak with him from a new realm of joy, lust, and power. Then, her power began flowing into him. The imaginary pool that he used to visualize how much energy he could form into weapons or armor shifted through all colors before settling into a pure molten white. From the groan that vibrated Amina’s throat, she was getting pumped full of juice too, but it was when her markings shifted to white on black skin that he knew for sure. Not only was there more, but the energy swirling around his core now flowed like water under his thoughts. An expanse of possibilities in combat and mobility danced in his head.
“You’ve done exceptionally well,” Salivis said, her voice booming around the chamber. “And with all I am now, I will unite those who fight Maliah.”
Before Mark could digest what that meant, the game world stuttered again as two shimmering magic doorways opened against the walls to either side of her glowing anchor.
From where he stood, Mark could see that one went to Thomellia’s Throne Room in their starting world and the other went to the Saturasphere under the Blazar Dome in the Wrongside. And by the sharp glint reaching Mark’s magically tuned eye, he knew they were both permanent fixtures.
All three distant places of power in different dimensions were now a single step apart.
- 21 -
Crisp blackness bubbled and split his skin, seeping into his body. The pulsating wet organs that he needed to pump vital life-sustaining fluids grew far too large and the thin membrane of his flesh stretched to unbearable pressure. His good eye exploded into fine mist within his eye socket, but Mark didn’t care. Pain was irrelevant. And if he could just… dig… past-
“Good try,” the Goddess of Oral Sex whispered, and Mark puffed out his cheeks with a frustrated sigh as he snapped to floating in his grandparents’ backyard swimming pool. “I will save you every time. This is… fascinating to watch. Yet, I can’t imagine how much longer you can rend your soul like this. The tools you seek seem beyond all conceivable reach.”
Salivis rolled off the same, sun-bleached foam noodles stored in his grandpa’s shed for him when he’d visit in the summer- maybe two times a year. He’d loved them for keeping stuff around just for him and genuinely treasured his lazy summer hours spent watching the clouds. No one he knew lived out where they did, and the elderly neighbors in this tomb-like suburb never left their house, so it was the place and time Salivis decided to pilfer from his memories to cushion him after violently almost dying over and over while grasping at the Jar of Stars.
He was surprised by the choice at first, but it had truly been an underappreciated isolation buffer where he would simply float and embrace the peace of an empty head. Also, this was one memory he shared with the other version of him and looking at the foreign events from this shared perspective finally aligned every complicated shard in his mind in a way that felt right. His virtual existence had never felt more solidified.
“Yup,” Mark said, lacing his hands behind his far-from-empty head. “That was a bad one… and yes, this is the last try for a while.”
“Oh? Better places to be?”
“Our experts agree that we need better experts to do anything more with the machines hooked up to this thing, so yeah. We’re going to pay a visit to the Centaur Technocracy. But first, I have a promise to keep to our android.”
The deity waving her arms around in the sparking water nodded, and he felt a flash of excitement from her. She wanted Angel and Abby to go to the moon.
Mark sat up on the sunbaked, inflatable innertube. “What are you planning?”
The virtual goddess narrowed her human eyes at him.
“You are too powerful, mortal.”
He then snapped awake kneeling before the Awysai-carved obelisk. Mark cracked his neck as he stood, his focus shifting to the pulsing world.anchor resting in its cradle before him.
Nine days had passed since Salivis joined the Vulpath, the Blazar, and the Lagomorph together, and things were finally starting to settle down. Learis was the easy, uncontested choice to represent Lagos. Yet she immediately asked Mark and his team for help as the towering demigod canine, Queen Ki, stepped through, and then the Royal Advisor Urtanion and the whole Blazar court shortly after. Then came Audra and Lissa with other important Vulpath, and they quickly started running out of space.
With the gods themselves getting involved, no one in the clump of important people argued for power, dominance, or control. Each ruler, fighter, and individual knew that any ambitions they had hinged on ensuring their existence. In the end, everyone agreed that the Outsiders were the best equipped to call the shots. Having multiple powerful deities back them up didn’t hurt either.
Despite not being able to use the orb to give them system-level access, Angel, Jezebel, and Princess Verrelle had made huge leaps forward regarding what they could do with the high-tech fantasy machines around it. The whole thing sat on a relatively remote floating island, but protection was still a priority, so the first thing they unlocked was an overpowered magic forcefield. More functions came online faster once the team had a grasp on the language and tools, and teleportation to the cleared depots throughout Lagos became the next big breakthrough.
Learis and Amina wanted to split off and go clear all the infected hub points that continued malfunctioning, killing people across Lagos. Sasha had nothing really to do while he tried to pry the lid off the toolbox, so she joined them for a while to lend heavy-hitting support. It was a great opportunity to gain loads of essence and experience for the new team. Additionally, Angel gave Learis a rectangular piece of black metal that turned out to be a portable, wireless hard drive to collect as many crafting patterns as she could find. Armed with the basic knowledge of the control panels, the three women popped all over the grasslands dimension, and tales of the ‘Song Touched’ heroine named Learis had started to spread through Lagomorph society like wildfire.
As she didn’t need sleep, Angel had split her time between researching the technology around them and teaching it to those with the will to learn more. Vulpath mages, Blazar scholars, and several Lagomorph farmers attended daily instructional classes from a confident young bot who now wore a long black skirt with deep slits exposing only a peek of her fleshy thighs.
Salivis herself swelled with power and new de
votees daily. The remaining Awysai people left under the Blazar dome had not been idle either. The hardworking red salamanders already started building dirt domes near their new Eternal Echo ocean and had already crafted three more Goddess Anchors. Audra the painter had become a high priestess of Salivis and worked closely with Queen Ki as a powerful part of her court. As reward for her eager devotion and service, Salivis restored her Good Eye ability. Mark checked in on her once and saw her cream tail wagging as she learned the Blazar technique of Gem Shaping. As Mark predicted, the Blazar and Vulpath got along extremely well and a channel of trade now constantly flowed between their connected portals. The honest praise and appreciation each had for the artistic flourishes of the other’s culture made everything gel between them.
It was taking the native Lagomorph a lot longer to understand enough (or care) to even show up here, and Mark thought it was probably for the best. No matter what happened, everyone who had an opinion he cared to know agreed that the Lagomorph should retain ultimate control of this facility- at least until enough of them were brought up to speed.
He looked over to see Abby hovering off the ground next to him, her green legs crossed and her loose laces dangling from her boots. She cracked open a lid.
“That was the swiftest failure yet,” she said, closing her eye again.
“I’m done with this,” he said. “It’s time to rip that band-aid off and go see if the Centaur people will even listen to us.”
Abby opened her eye again and this time he saw a lot more of her bright-yellow iris. She didn’t know what a band-aid was, but the direct link to his mind filled in the root meaning for her.
“And yes,” he said quickly. “Before we deal with that unpleasant business, how about we shoot straight to the moon, baby!”
The Abyssal Horror bound to his heart dropped her telekinesis practice a bit too early and stumbled before she rushed to him, kissed his cheek, then clomped her boots off to go find her pet Lunar Power Droid.
Between the manufacturing capabilities of this place and professional construction crews from multiple dimensions, ‘The Hub’ was on the verge of becoming a proper base of operations.
“Hello, Lover,” Jezebel said as she stepped through the portal from Thomellia. She moved right to him and looked deep into his eyes as she reached for his hand. As they kissed, Jezebel read his intentions to finally go ask the last people that had held the orb for help.
“Right now?” she said out loud once they pulled apart. “I just got back from a long strategy session and was hoping to just unwind for a few hours. All the harpy clans have joined Maliah, by the way. It has been confirmed that she has amassed at least 20 of her own Crystal Heart shards. Humans of the Tresmark region are still claiming neutrality. No word on the centaur lately- who may have either been wiped out or gone into hiding. Perhaps it would be better to start moving forward again as soon as possible.”
“It doesn’t have to be right now, but-”
“We’re finally going where I was built?” Angel called out at 200% volume as she hovered down through the broken sphere roof with Abby riding her back. “I’m so excited!”
Mark held up his hand. “We need to wait for Sasha.”
“I summoned her,” Abby said. “She’s headed to the closest cleared depot now. Ten minutes.”
“Are Amina and Learis coming too?” Angel asked, turning to her mistress.
Abby’s eyes lost their focus, and both Mark and Jezebel felt her powerful mental signal bounce all the way to their bound Succubus and back.
“Yes, yet only to wish good hunting, not approach the Centaur Technocracy.”
Mark waved a hand. “I was going to suggest that anyway. They might try and trap us or ambush us or whatever, we don’t need to bring everyone.”
“I’ll return in 37 seconds,” Angel said and zipped straight into the periwinkle sky above.
“What’s that about,” Mark asked, and Abby answered.
“She’s been working on unlocking complicated crafting patterns and has made some recent progress.”
The cherry-lipped bot came back while Jezebel was telling them about how Salivis was sharing worshipers with Primal Air in Thomellia and how people were responding in overwhelming numbers to the deities’ direct reciprocation. Why not worship two, five? Apparently, new gods and goddesses were making themselves known. The Vulpath people were proud to have their castle and queen back as well.
Mark was nodding along when he looked over to see Angel holding her oversized gauntlets hands behind her back.
“Angel,” he asked when Jezebel took a breath. Everyone looked at the bot.
“Yes, Commander?”
“Is… whatever you have another surprise for Learis?”
“For Amina.”
Abby hugged herself. “You will no longer be able to keep secrets from me once we find the advanced upgrade component.”
Angel’s pixelated eyes squinted with pleasure. “Yes, Mistress.”
The bot reminded everyone that they were searching for something called Steelrune fiber mesh. If they located or fabricated a square, then found a working LPD Station, she could install a new ability to psychically link with Abby. It was one of the few augmentations options she’d still had in her memory when they found her, and it was something the artificial Enthralled had wanted since he’d known her.
Three blue flashes caught his eye from the hallway, and he turned to see his irresistible sex demon charging straight for him. Mark effortlessly whisked a solid brace of flowing goddess energy to brace against the floor as she slammed her chest into him, and then pushed off, reversing her intended tackle.
“Oh!” she squealed, armoring up her wings so he didn’t snap them with his aggression. But he did almost knock the wind out of her, and she growled with desire.
“I missed you so dearly,” she mewed, kissing his face as Learis and Amina followed her into the main chamber.
Mark flashed her a smile as he pulled her up to her hooves. He’d seen her just this morning. They both knew she’d have never left if she couldn’t simply teleport back to Orb Hub every night to snuggle next to her primary user.
“This is for you,” Angel said, holding a tree sapling out into Amina’s personal space.
The Awysai took it reverently. “Please tell me more.”
“I have been delving into genetic customization within the stored data patterns, and I believe this species should be 73% viable under constant inferred bombardment from the noon-locked sun while taking advantage of the potent magic energies found in the unique Eternal Echo liquid for sustenance. This is not a long-term solution for biodiversity, but it will prime that process while serving many other functions such as building material, shelter, and preventing soil erosion, for example.”
Everyone stared at the black and blue paint in Amina’s thick fingers.
“You crafted new life that will grow in my barren lands?”
“That is my intention.” Angel nodded. “It should be leafy. A tall tree providing plenty of shade.”
“This will speed things up considerably,” Jezebel said, her emerald eyes wide. “If it flourishes, we can make thousands of saplings. This place can autocraft a whole forest.”
Amina’s pure white eyes started leaking and she pulled the durable bot in for a fierce, one-armed hug.
“Do you have a name for them,” she said after pulling back.
Angel’s pixelated brows came down before she spoke. “Well, currently, Iteration 18.”
“Do you mind if the Awysai call them Angelshade Trees instead?”
Her digitized response was breathless. “I do not mind.”
“I will see that it is so.”
Amina was no longer the chieftain of her people. Her markings were now pure white on glossy onyx skin, and although she appointed another of her kind to rule the day-to-day in their lands, she herself was considered the ultimate authority in all things. She was the living avatar of their Goddess and the surviving Awysa
i practically worshiped her now.
Jezebel checked her pack and changed into her armor while they said their good lucks to the two adventurers. Prince Isskeld and Princess Verrelle came through the Blazar portal while they were standing around and seemed surprised to see everyone there. He asked about the sapling, and after chatting for a while, Amina and Learis followed him back to the Wrongside where he vowed to escort them both personally to the new Awysai lands to plant it.
Mark shot him a double eyebrow pump as he passed. Yes, he himself had been intimate with both, but these two were not his Enthralled. And he honestly felt giddy when some of the Prince’s nervous anticipation echoed back. From a surface-level read, Mark knew Isskeld was relatively inexperienced with lovemaking, but anyone could tell he was a good person, and the dude would have to try not to be jumped by the dual heroines by his side.
With a content sigh, he saw his bonded battle harem readying themselves for the next adventure. Angel was currently reminding Sasha about the Steelrune mesh they needed to find and it struck him that he felt differently about her. The bot was not his Enthralled, yet she was his- or rather, she was theirs.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook all of that out of his skull. He’d never thought too hard about the hooks and hazards of multiple-person relationships in his life and decided not to start now.
“You babes ready for the moon?” he asked, rubbing his hands together.
“I have a week’s supplies,” Jezebel said, nodding firmly. It had been a while since he’d seen her in her full armor. She was breathtaking.
Abby and Angel stood side by side at attention, ready as ever.
Sasha sashayed her hips over to him and then leaned her sinful body against his.
“All systems go, Commander.” After all this time, her closeness still made his heart pound in his chest.
The first step toward the moon they sought was a quick hop over to their starting dimension. Thomellia’s throne room was filled with people who stopped to gawk at the Outsiders of legend before Mark’s group moved out into a courtyard. The powerful queen of the Vulpath city was almost never there. After spending centuries in this castle, she now enjoyed freely walking among her people.