Chapter 2289: Arad’s Hibernation I

Eris rested on her bed, leaning on a pile of pillows and thinking. Her mind was already deep into darkness, remembering how slow she was in Vorvadoss’s fight. Even as a goddess, she couldn’t do anything.

She sighed, "Too slow..."

"If Luminous couldn’t keep up, you won’t." The one who spoke was Gamond; she was down there polishing and sharpening Eris’s toe claws.

Eris blinked, and slowly looked down. "Usually, it’s Zia doing this."

Gamond smiled and put her tools down. "Well, not when you’re releasing all of this magic out. Do I need to spell it out to you?" She crawled into the bed and on top of Eris. "Calm the fuck down, bitch. If you keep leaking out this much murder divine magic, then the maids would just perish walking past your room."

"Get off me." Eris growled, and Gamond just smiled. "Nuh-Uh! Calm down first. Otherwise, I’ll cool you down myself."

For a second there, Eris’s magic kept rising, and so did Gamond’s. But after a few seconds, Eris closed her eyes and relaxed, her magic also calmed down. Gamond smiled, and fell on top of her, hugging her. "If you want to cry, do it."

Even as a goddess, even with Amaterasu’s full support, she still failed, lost without being able to put up a decent fight, and because of her, Arad had to fight in his critical condition, and ended up being forced to hibernate. That was frustrating, and Eris had to let that out.

What hurt Eris the most was realizing how far behind Arad she was. He didn’t just show up, save the day, or help he violated all of the abominations, literally erasing everyone out of existence, and even made Amaterasu stronger for some reason.

In another place, deep into Arad’s draconic hoard, Luminous relaxed naked in her bath with Linda and Azrael beside her. "To think you’re living in his hoard." Azrael asked, and Luminous stretched her legs as two light drakainas massaged her shoulders.

"I mean, it’s vast, has a lot of gold and gems, and is perfect." She looked at Linda with a smile. "As long as she is with me, I’m fine."

Azrael looked at Linda. "The research to mask Luminous’s light. True, the Shadow Realm, the only place that can erase light, might have the answer." She then tilted her head. "But... I saw what that witch Merlin can make. Won’t you two be better if she made you a massive lab?"

Luminous smiled. "I know we aren’t that old, but we aren’t you either."

Azrael knew what Luminous meant, and it was clear. The reason she and Linda were living inside Arad’s treasury was simple: it was symbolic, and meant to make a statement to both the Chromatic and Metallic dragons. They are a part of Arad’s treasury, his property.

It was then that the bath’s door opened up, and Kossuth walked in. "What’s going on! Ladies!" She yelled, and Betty was sitting on her shoulders. "I’m here too!"

"Who invited you?" Luminous shook her head, and Kossuth rested her fists on her hips. "Listen, I was busy burning a whole abomination army, and then I got the news about what happened."

She giggled. "Arad is tearing the entire battlefield apart, going feral and almost killing everyone, angels included..." She shivered, and they could clearly see some liquid slowly leaking from between her legs. "And even now! He is finally evolving into something greater!"

Betty stared down at her. "Are you getting turned on just by thinking about that?"

And Kossuth replied with pride. "Of course, who wouldn’t? Arad did all of that while Amaterasu was leading the army; I even heard that, to protect the angels from his attack, she lost a whole arm. Just imagining it then made me... uh!" She jumped. "But it isn’t all; he healed her afterward and even made her stronger! Serves her right; I got me a dragon beyond all dragons!"

The bath’s door opened again, and Gamond walked in. "Oh, my. Look who is here." She approached Kossuth and gave her a short bow. "Lady Kossuth, it’s been a while."

Kossuth patted Gamond on the shoulder. "Gamond, I told you that I don’t need to be called a lady. Anyway, are you keeping up with your training well?"

Gamond nodded with a smile. "I was, indeed. But I have to say, resisting your heat isn’t easy."

Kossuth pointed at Gamond’s chest. "That’s precisely the point, my girl. You can never grow stronger by easy training. Arad taught you and the rest of the wives that lesson, didn’t he? Cry in training so you can laugh in battle."

Kossuth and Gamond sat beside each other, and Betty started stretching on her own beside the hot tub. She had been running and training for a while, so her whole body was sore.

Gamond then looked at Azrael, "So, what are you doing here?"

Azrael closed her eyes. "Awaiting Arad’s awakening."

Hearing that reply, Gamond leaned back. "Then I’ll have you drink the piss of all of his wives, the maids included, to be sure. You don’t mind, do you?"

"I don’t mind." Azrael replied immediately, and Kossuth laughed. "You don’t need to test her. She is trustworthy." Kossuth looked at Azrael. "She never left Death’s side; she never let anyone look down at her; she never spoke before. But here she is now. This archangel is serious."

"Since she is serious, I bet she doesn’t mind explaining a few things to us, right?" Linda spoke, and everyone stared at Azrael. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Explain what? Ask, and I’ll decide."

"First, what is the END." As Linda asked, Azrael smiled. "A primordial concept that refers to the end of all things, when things are finished. Death is just an aspect of the END." She pointed at Linda. "The Shadow Realm is the corpse of the primordial god who carried that concept."

"So, it’s something like Kali’s Destruction, or Isabelle’s Creation." Gamond leaned back. "And you want Linda to take that crown?"

Azrael shook her head. "No, I don’t want her to become the goddess of the End. Because that would mean she would end as well. The same way the primordial god did." Azrael then smiled. "I want her to rule the end, not become it. The Shadow Realm is a lightless world, and it needs a ruler. I’ll assist her in taking that throne."

"Okay... that’s a project for later." Linda looked at Azrael. "So, we’re taking Mira to the succubus kingdom when Arad wakes up, and you’ll help, right?"

Kossuth shook her head. "I don’t think she’ll do that. As high-ranking as Azrael is, she won’t break Death’s laws. We’ll need to call Death herself and the mother of all life to open a shadow portal."

Azrael lifted her hand, "Oh, about that. I’ll open the portal. We don’t need to call them."

Kossuth blinked. "What... are you talking about. You can’t just do that."

"No, I can." Azrael spoke as a matter of fact. "If Arad want to go there, I’ll guide him, if Death or the Mother of All life disagrees, then I’ll kill them myself."

Arad is AO, the overgod, and the Archangels are his strongest war machines. They are tools bereft of heart, with the sole purpose of serving and eliminating his opposition.