First Demonic Dragon - Chapter 1039: Motives

Chapter 1039: Motives

As time went by, Eris was becoming less and less certain that she could just sit and say nothing.

Bashenga was going to get married. As his mother, she should have been over the moon.

But because she was his mother, and she knew all of her children like the back of her hand, Eris couldn’t help but want to understand the reason behind a decision that was utterly unlike him.

“Bash… What happened while we were away?”

Bashenga flinched. He didn’t lift his head initially and instead enjoyed the feeling of his head against the soft grass.

“…Did everyone else not tell you?” He suddenly said with a clarity that did not belong to an inebriated individual.

“Your Great Uncle Satan is planning a barbecue later this afternoon. Everyone was going to catch us up then, but you know how your mommy is. I can be impatient.”

Bashenga scoffed. Maybe that description would apply to one of his other mothers, but Eris was the very last one for whom it would fit.

“…Thea was kidnapped.”

Eris felt as if a blow had just landed in her chest. “…What?”

“It wasn’t the demons. A human warlock concocted an elaborate plan to bind Thea and the fates in his basement and siphoned their powers to make mascerated heavenly seals. Wildly invented and weirdly deluded if you ask me.”

Bashenga went on to explain how the perpetrator sprang Loki from his prison in exchange for the lock of hair he cut from Thea when they were young.

He could only describe the search up to a certain point. It seemed Bashenga had a very volatile reaction to his sister going missing, and as a result, he nearly destroyed all of Asgard.

“It’s funny. I often criticize Father for his over-the-top personality and nonsensically strong attachments. But I suppose I’m not much better than him, am I? An apple that never even fell from the branch…”

Bashenga sat up on the grass with a fallen twig in his hand.

He held it up to his face and watched as it slowly disintegrated. His eyes shone with a crimson light.

“After all of that… she forgave the bastard. He kidnapped her. Tried to kill everyone else in the world, and she…”

Bashenga’s words trailed off as he noticed the world becoming slightly alien.

The grass he sat on turned an illustrious scarlet. He heard flocks of birds migrating in the distance and felt vibrations in the ground caused by fleeing animals.

’Ah, right… forgot about that.’

Mother Nature, despite always being beautiful, was not always kind.

Bashenga looked over his shoulder at the tree his parents sat underneath.

Eris was panting rather hard. She covered her face with one hand, but through the openings in her fingers, he could see the veins around her eyes throbbing with rage.

“Sorry, Bashy… Give mommy just a minute…”

Eris’ voice was utterly unlike herself. It was hard, brutal, and grating.

Eventually, both Abaddon and Lailah started to stir.

Their eyes fluttered open at the same time, and Eris seemingly snapped right out of it.

When she spoke again, the sound that escaped her lips was soft and sweet.

“It’s alright, it’s alright… go back to sleep now.”

Slowly, the pair’s eyes drifted closed once again. And Eris let out a small sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness… Your mother and father are exhausted from our journey. I would have felt dreadful if they woke up because of me.”

“….” Bashenga was beginning to worry that some sort of bipolar disorder ran in his family.

Eris took a few more minutes to compose herself, and the realm returned to normal.

When she was finally ready, she put on her usual smile and seemed no worse off than before.

“That’s better… Now your sister she… she wasn’t harmed in any-”

“No, no… I believe you should know better than that. Would any of us have been able to act normally around you if that were the case?”

Eris nodded, knowing his words rang true. Their family wasn’t that good at hiding their emotions.

“She’s being foolish… Tell her that she’s being foolish. It’s nonsensical to offer forgiveness to a person who kidnapped you and tried to destroy their world!”

“I suppose it may feel that way, but your sister… she doesn’t think about things from the same perspective as others.” Eris shrugged.

“You mean logically?”

“Don’t be mean, Bash.” Eris chidded. “I mean that your sister is special. Fate goddesses see a tremendous amount of things all at once. The lived experiences of trillions, if not more.

Have you any idea just how many terrible things your sister has seen since she was young? All of those stories don’t necessarily end in disaster and tragedy, you know. Sometimes, there comes a rebirth.

Your sister understands that not every person is defined by their worst day or their darkest impulses. She wasn’t hurt. The seals weren’t broken. Everything was fine. I don’t believe her line of thinking went much farther than that.”

“So you admit, she was being dumb and not thinking and everyone else is just going along with it because-”

“Bashenga. Be nice.” Eris reminded.

“Fine.”

Bash flopped back into the grass and lay there like a mortal who had fallen from heaven.

’What do I even care…. I’m starting to get sick of everything again.’

Eris stared at her son for a long time without saying a word.

Eventually, a lightbulb went off in her brain.

“Oh… Oh, I see.”

“?”

“You feel like everyone else is taking Thea’s side instead of yours. You’re marrying Gaia because you feel like she’s the only one who’ll always take your side and you’re hoping to glue her to you.”

“Don’t psychoanalyze me right now, mother…”

Eris ignored him.

“For one, no one is taking Thea’s side against yours; they’re just respecting her decision. Do you think they like that your sister decided to forgive the man who kidnapped her? Have you even met your brothers?”

Bashenga found that particular brand of logic hard to refute.

“And another thing… you’re not being fair to Gaia. She’s not a perfect woman, but you shouldn’t just marry her just because she always agrees with you. She deserves better.”

“…” Bashenga looked down at his sleeping parents then back at Eris.

“…I did not marry your mother and father just because they always agree with me… Which they don’t by the way!”

“I believe that all of our friends and family would be dreadfully surprised to hear that.”

Eris puffed out her cheeks like an overstuffed chipmunk.

She placed her hand on Lailah’s shoulder and gently shook her awake.

“Hm…? When did I..”

Eris placed her hand on Lailah’s cheek and ensured that they were looking at each other eye to eye.

“Darling… I don’t like any of the reality television shows you make me watch.”

“W-What..?!” Lailah’s eyes instantly watered.

“I believe humanitarian documentaries are far superior.”

“Absolutely not! After the last one you made me watch, I curled up in the middle of the woods for an hour just to feel something again!”

Eris gently shook Abaddon awake next and made sure all four of his eyes were focused on her.

“Babe…? You’re not going to believe this, I was having this crazy dream our son was getting married, and-”

“Honey, I think you and Bekka eat too much meat. I want us to go on a vegan diet together. Just for a year or two.”

“…” Abaddon shut his eyes again.

“Don’t pretend you’re still dreaming, you butthead!”

Huffing, Eris turned to Bashenga with something of a helpless look on her face.

“This is what marriage is like. People who aren’t necessarily identical constantly introducing each other to new perspectives and trains of thought.

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s the journey.

I need you to honestly ask yourself: Are you marrying Gaia because you want a wife or because you want an accomplice?

Someone who’ll co-sign everything you do without ever challenging you to operate differently.

Do you think that’s right?”

Lailah and Abaddon were now fully awake, but they had no idea exactly what they had woken up to.

But judging by the things that were being said, it seemed that Abaddon wasn’t having a dream earlier after all.

Bashenga didn’t offer his mother a response right away. It seemed he couldn’t.

Eventually, he stood up and left his parents and the realm entirely.

When Abaddon and Lailah felt him leave, they turned back to Eris with anticapitory gazes.

“Y-You were just saying all of that stuff about not not liking my shows, right..?”

“And going vegan..?”

Eris knew that she had a couple of paths before her.

She could either stick to her guns and watch the light leave her lovers’ eyes, or take back everything she had said and label it as a ’teaching’ moment.

…

After extensive internal debate, she decided to save blowing up their worlds for something that she really wanted.

“Yes, my loves. I was only joking.”

–

Bashenga appeared just outside of his room.

He paced outside the door for a bit and muttered to himself while he did so.

But he must have been standing outside for too long because eventually his door opened on its own.

Gaia stepped out with her hair strewn all over the place and one of her breasts hanging out of her nightgown.

“Why’re you wandering around outside like this for..? That’s how you throw up, you know?”

Bashenga clenched his fists and steeled himself.

“I’m sorry, Gaia, but I… I shouldn’t have said what I did. I can’t marry you.”

“….Oh.”

Bashenga’s heart clenched. “It was irresponsible of me and my mother has helped me see that-”

“You were serious about that?”

“…”

“…?”

“….What?”

“Like when you proposed. I thought you just wanted to make up an excuse to drink so I went along with it.”

If the ground caved under Bashenga’s feet right now, he might not have even noticed.

“…You thought I was joking?”

“Duh. We’re gods. Who gets married without at least putting their mouth on someone?”

“…”

There were very few words that could properly articulate how the fourth son was feeling in that moment.

–

“Steady trynna find the motive~ For why I do what I do!

Freedom ain’t getting no closer, no matter how far I go!

My car is stolen, no registration!

Cops patrollin’, and now they done stopped me and I get locked up!

They won’t let me out~ They won’t let me ou-”

“Infernal bells, would you SHUT UP, LOKI!” Dagon roared from his chains.

Loki stopped singing and pursed his lips sadly.

“These are jailhouse tunes, my friend. Necessary for properly passing the time while in confinement.”

“If you don’t stop singing, I swear that I am going to turn you inside out!”

“Well that’s also a part of jail, but can you at least wait for shower time?”

“WE DON’T GET SHOWER TIME, YOU FOOL!”

Suddenly, the door to the two men’s cell opened up and a ray of light poured in.

Dagon had prayed for this moment ever since Loki got thrown in here.

He was ready to crack.

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