NOVEL NEXT Chapter 121: Memories of a Real Mother Part 1
| Song Recommendation: Slip Away (Never Meant To Belong)「Bleach TYBW Episode 19 OST」Emotional Orchestral Cover
Both Mother and daughter found themselves completely still (something the demoness obviously began to take advantage of as she charged her ultimate move) in light of the unmoving cat. Neither of the dragons seemed quite able to process the fact that such a big piece of their life… Had just vanished. Even Mother, who clearly knew and planned what was happening, found herself frozen with a confused smile on her face.
Eventually it was Elizabeth who moved; stumbling past Mother as the cursed flames stopped melting away her frozen body which allowed for a gust of frost to coat the entire realm. A slow but powerful snowstorm permeated throughout - bringing a chill to the heated battlefield which only one person could completely ignore. With her large build it didn’t take her long to reach the still standing Cheshire.
For once she had no smile on her face but… Somehow she seemed truly at peace - as if a weight had finally been lifted off of her shoulders that allowed her to forget all her grievances.
“N-no…” <Elizabeth>
<That can’t be true, she can’t die, she would never just submit to something like death!>
Her draconic visage crunched up as she brought her hands to softly cradle the cheek of her somehow still standing parent. As if still trying her hardest to be a pillar of support for her children. One that Lizzy seemed to desperately need with how the ice dragon was shivering like a mortal in an icy pool.
“I need… I need to know…” <Elizabeth>
<How can she be content with this!?>
The fragile goddess' confusion soon turned into a primal rage that overcame her ice - her refusal to accept that person’s demise turned to anger that it could possibly happen. What in the world could satisfy someone as gluttoness as that undying cat? She had spent her entire life fighting against the odds, not letting anyone tell her where she belonged, but then she just… Gave up?
“IMPOSSIBLE!” <Elizabeth>
Mother didn’t approach her daughter to comfort her but instead tilted her head in a rare moment of childish behaviour that completely broke away from her Motherly aura. As if she simply couldn’t fathom why the girl was acting that way - was it similar to how she felt about her mama? But unlike her mama nobody stole anything from her so it should be fine, right?
It wasn’t as if she killed her, she simply passed away due to her old age, so surely that daughter of hers should be completely satisfied with how long the cat even managed to hold on for.
<I really do not understand how someone so close to me can be so…>
“Eheh-” <->
Nobody noticed a small giggle left “Mother”’s lips as she quickly stopped herself but at the same time her curiosity once again got the better of her. Completely unbefitting of her title. Simply leaving her to quietly watch what the quirky little child in front of her may get up to in case there was something to learn.
“SHOW ME!” <Elizabeth>
<P-perhaps it is all some kind of prank, hahaha, mama does like her jokes~!>
The world itself faded from Elizabeth’s mind as she utilised her divinity, a power she despised due to all the trouble it had caused, to delve into the mind of the cat to see what her last thoughts were. By now her eyes felt dry as did her throat. A rarity for a dragon whose entire body is essentially made up from ice thus as close to water without being water.
So she abused her strongest authority (perhaps the strongest of all) as she moved her forehead down to rest against that tiny figure.
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\_ PoV Cheshire Prime _/
Slowly I had my fingers delicately glide across that sturdy outer shell, its toughness only beaten by the battle that allowed for all this to be possible, as I could see my face in the reflection. In hindsight it made some sense that the kid would have some relation to water… There was certainly a missing hole in the ecosystem and the hearts of the people.
Although I didn’t care nor particularly put much thought into that as I looked at the pearl-like surface that created the vessel from which my first child would come.
Only thing annoying me was that constant beeping that came from the machine monitoring my vitals; it did not take a genius to tell they were completely down in the shitter. I was a “mere mortal” playing the role of a god for far too long. It only made sense that this chaotic life of mine would catch up to me eventually.
Not that it mattered now.
“Look at cha, ya’re gonna be such a lady killer when cha grow up, just like cha mama chehe- *cough* hehi- *cough* hihi~!” <Cheshire>
I could see in the smooth surface - a face that I almost didn’t recognise - as my black hair had seemingly grown duller over the years of strife but my smile could not be more radiant. There was no sign of that intimidating insanity that so many claimed I have (personally I think I’m completely sane) yet it was still wider than it had ever been. It was easy to understand why; we had fought a war for the betterment of the world and we won… And this was my prize.
“Master… The cold may negatively impact your health…” <Athena>
Hardly surprising that the voice of my closest servant & ally should ring out at this moment. Whether she made it obvious or not… She was always one step behind me these days. I couldn’t really blame the flying chicken, though. Her worry about my longevity was obvious but I also found it quite silly. Obviously I had no “longevity” left in this world but there were still the “infinite” numbers of me to take care of things.
Plus how could I not pamper this cute little egg!
“Pssh~ as if I’d ever be harmed by my little darling Alexander~!” <Cheshire>
Waving one hand as if to shoo her negative talk away from my beautiful bouncing baby to be.
“Whooo~? I thought the young master was going to be called Elizabeth?” <Athena>
“Hm~ I thought they’d be a girl but apparently they’re a guy… I honestly do not understand how that i possible though maybe I just don’t give that male bitch enough credit nyehehe~?” <Cheshire>
“MASTER!” <Athena>
Even I jumped a the sudden admonishing shout from my own right hand; nervously turning my head to see that the bird of prey was actually frowning at me with a dismissive look in her eyes!
“Yoo~u shouldn’t swear in the child's presence!” <Athena>
“Have their ears even developed yet~?” <Cheshire>
“I don’t know; yoo~u are the doctor!” <Athena>
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Love truly is a strange thing.
At first I thought that it was what I and Alice felt for one another yet… I now realise that the romantic type of love is the most complicated there is. In truth, what we felt for one another was something more akin to curiosity about one another. Enough to swear we’d spent the rest of my admittedly short life together.
Now that I have a comparison I know that romance is more about effort than it is raw feelings - in truth I am not sure what she felt was even the same kind of curiosity. I suppose that only that snooty goddess of fate can be truly all seeing as I certainly overlooked that messy problem. If it affected me I wouldn’t care so much but…
Well, if I was going to pick someone as a mate, I clearly should have picked that Azure Indigo!
“We are talking about the life of a child, a child that belongs to the Indigo, if you dare bring up such radical ideas again I will see to it that you become the next lizard I flay.” <Sohn-Tochter>
“There iss no need to get sso aggravated~.” <Dealmaker>
That slippery metal danger noodle said from upon their throne, looking down on the three of us from their place up high, next to me stood a fully armoured figure that was the older sister to the Indigo. Honestly I knew there was something special about her when we first met. Unlike those looking down on us she wasn’t born with power; even if not as bad as me she most certainly suffered.
Her willpower was something that even I envied… I am glad to have at least one ally as we both cautiously stood in front of the precious little egg that I truly loved. This wasn’t the same confusing feelings that I shared with Alice; this was simply the feeling of warmth that gave me the same willpower as the knightess who stood by me now. Her armour was adorned with the visage that markedly was a hybrid between a dragon and a phoenix which most certainly was accurate to its wearer.
Just the fact she entered like that proved how far she was willing to go for this egg behind me; one that she did not even spend much time with. One could say a lot about her. What they could never do was say that her love for her family was weaker than anyone they had ever met.
Above us were several figures that we recognised; of course there was the silver figure of the silver tongued serpent. I could only be lost in how different they were - once a kind figure that used their talents to help the weak mortals make it through the next day… Now they were a cold and cruel person who was willing to sell out even their own grandniece if it was convenient for their own scheme.
Beside the snake was a mature figure that should have been fighting beside us yet was the leading figure that endangered the precious child behind me. That kind smile was easily enough to make the completely ignorant believe that she wasn’t attempting to justify sending her own egg into the void. These crazy primordial gods actually wanted to seal my baby away in a place with nothing but loneliness!
Something I could never allow.
On the other side was the seemingly uncaring figure of Vibrant, a swordswomen with no equal, as she strangely chose to sit upon the backrest of the chair rather than the chair. Her strange obsession with reaching higher than anyone else showing up strangely. That angelic appearance masking her cruelty.
Beside her was the hulking muscular form of her fellow “Violet” whose hair was alight with purple flame as those green eyes peered down at us. Comparatively she was bored out of her mind, fanning her mouth with a lax attitude, not that anyone would dare censor her for her attitude or resting her feet atop of the table. There was no doubt in my mind that she could likely take on every other person in the room and get away with only a few scrapes.
She didn’t need any magical abilities as her body was enough.
Unsurprisingly the third member of the trio… Sat on the opposite side to her “sisters”. Her hair the colour of blood - bringing back memories of the blood soaked battlefield which was hardly surprising - as she played with a pair of inconspicuous ball shaped bells. Unlike the other two sisters I thought she was by far the most dangerous of the sisters since she was also the most intelligent.
A master of curses with that strange “energy” that she generated through absorbing sins and especially the blood of others. Literally stealing the abilities of others as she does it. She at least wasn’t like the two next to her who hid their personalities - she was very open about the monstrosities she took great pleasure in orchestrating. Only thing holding her back was a weird inferiority complex she had developed due to that incompetent father of hers.
The girl's instincts were more akin to future sight.
Her long crimson hair flowers down her back as the black ink outlined her top row of teeth on her peach-coloured skin. This included a line following where her mouth would be if not for the soft squishy flesh that got in the way of her elongated fangs. Those plump lips of hers curved in a sloven smirk that portrayed the arrogance that only an empress could possess.
Her fingers that toyed with the cursed bells were jet black like the prior mentioned outline; leaving her normal coloured finger nails to stand out. The black didn’t stop at the fingers as it completely covered her palm while creating a kind of outline around the back of her hand - the darkness coming down from all fingers but the middle to curl toward her palm. Meanwhile the other hand was untouched but had a pure black sleeve that was only visible on her wrist due to the red obi she wore. Although all of the black was filled with imperfections as if war paint that had been applied for a while was flaking away.
It was just a representation of her dark curses.
On both middle fingers were violet rings that gave off a chilling cold or a burning heat while the wrist (whose hand was instead holding a cup of sake) had two bells hanging from it. Usually she also wore them around her shins and ankles as she used them as well as her bell-like voice to curse anyone she didn’t like very much. At the very least she respected both of us due to her strange obsession with the varying forms of strength which we worked hard for.
Comparatively… She hated the guts of everyone else on the table except the snake; seeing them all as “nepobabies” as she referred to them. People who were born with their powers thus didn’t know hard work. To an extent she was certainly correct about every single one of them
She was also only beaten in immodest dressing by her most hated sister yet Violent, unlike her sister, wore what you’d expect from a barbarian like her. That cursed oni instead wore just an obi that was open at the front thus allowing all to see the black wrapped around her chest. Once again that smudged black ink sat above upon her chest to make a series of branches that came out from her heart while a thick line travelled both up & down her body to only stop at adorning her chin chin.
No doubt representing that strange energy she possessed in some way.
Instead of eyebrows there were two black splotches above the corners of her eye (pretty much on her forehead) but when compared to those eyes… It hardly was noticeable. Around those eyes were, similarly to her hair, painted with blood which had become a fad among the oni women. One to show their first victory then the next to show their strongest foe.
Perfectly fitting those piercing violet eyes that one could not mistake as belonging to anyone else.
“Maybe you should all pay some respect and hear the pair out…” <Vivi>
Her bell-like voice languid but carried with it powerful demonic energy that instantly cursed the arrogant snake; causing them to spit out their own golden blood. Alice worriedly looked toward their uncle as they both worked together to quickly remove the curse while Violent just laughed while Vibrant paid no attention but snorted coldly.
A sadistic smirk appeared upon those crimson lips as she calmly sipped her sake-
No, wait, that’s blood.
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Seeing this unknown figure… Elizabeth could only widen her eyes in confusion.
“That… Is Vi?” <Elizabeth>
It certainly didn’t fit with her image of the demon god empress.