***The Eternal Palace***

***Angrod***

I look up at the three flying fortresses hovering above my city and scratch my familiar's furry forehead. The large razorclaw purrs contently, closing his eyes in pure enjoyment while standing next to me.

The new fortresses were grown from Mana Crystal at an accelerated rate. Their shape was based on a real crystal – two hexagonal pyramids connected at their base.

Without having to fear detection and pursuit by the Council, I and my subjects had a multitude of possibilities available to gather energy for our great task. That, and it's always a boon if you can simply command ten-thousand deities to lend you their time.

Countless people gave their assistance for this project.

All of them combined their knowledge and power, and I truly believe that together we created something mighty.

I cackle upon seeing the fruit of our labour completed, three monuments to our triumph. They are only the first. More will come, but these should suffice to place our boots firmly on the Council's soil and to tell them to go fuck themselves.

Still, it took a lot of time and resources to build those behemoths, and I am tired.

It's a temptation to simply lean back and take a break, here on the balcony of my palace. Taking some time to get my head free and to relax while I overlook my flourishing world.

Alas, there are still so many more preparations to make, wars to fight, and people to kill. How can we slack off now that our plans are finally coming to fruition? In one way or another, all of us worked and strived to free ourselves from the Council. How can anyone rest now at the dawn of our rise?

We did it for a single reason: Seria's last wish.

It's not wrong to call it her last wish.

After a few years of watching my daughter very carefully, I am sure. The old Seria is gone and the new one is more like a very similar twin. She believes herself to be the same person, but there are noticeable differences... like her childishness.

She has some traits of her old personality and some of her memories, but the old personality is... dead, for the lack of a better description. The old Seria had something like an aura of aloofness around her. I simply could feel that I was facing a very old being.

The new Seria is just my daughter, a child.

I sigh and force my drifting thoughts to return to the floating fortresses.

It would probably be best if we always keep one fortress stationed on the homeworld to protect it. The Void Zone is reasonably safe for now, but the secret of how to travel the pathways could come out at any time. I am quite certain that even without betrayal, someone will connect the dots of how our people are able to use the pathways for travel, and that the Void Zones are simply areas with low energy.

Our final task is to take on the Council. We already challenged them. All that's left to do is to leave the Void and show everyone our existence.

As long as we are in a state of war with the Council we should strive to keep the secret of traversing the Void to a limited circle. In the meantime, we can use the fortresses to transport anyone who truly wants to leave.

The more time passes, the stronger our society will become. Once it is unlikely that outside influence can shake us, we can open our border and share the secret of travelling the Void Zones with everyone.

I am fairly certain that inviting in new blood will even turn into an advantage in the long run. I am not thinking of old gods, but of those who are newly ascended. Surely those in search of a place with equals will come to join us and be a boon.

There is more than enough space on our world. It's a big planet and our population amounts only to about eight hundred million people.

I don't want to know how long Seria kept gathering people in order to amass this many souls. Another question is: How many are still drifting as dead souls around this world?

I scratch my chin. As long as this place is disconnected from the rest of the multiverse it could become a problem as new children are born. What happens once there are no more souls available? Will the rate of newborn gods level out with those who become tired and decide to rejoin the reincarnation cycle? It might become a problem in the future.

In any case, our first army is ready. We decided to give the Council a show of force with fifty thousand of our strongest fighters.

As soon as we are ready, we will march directly towards the Crystal City and give them a choice.

Thanks to interrogating Tjenemit, we have a good idea of their forces and about their capabilities. The only thing he couldn't tell us was how many additional followers the Council might gather in anticipation of our attack.

It’s likely that we will have to deal with a force of a hundred thousand. Historically, that’s the largest number of followers the Council ever dared to field against insurgents. They are frightened of their own troops joining an uprising, and rightfully so. I am even counting on it, should they dare to hire more than their personal elite guards.

For a long time, I just stand there and watch the city, searching my memories for anything of use. While I was just another minion to the Council, I always kept a keen eye on them and their city. I also left one or two things behind… nothing that amounts to a real plan or would assure their downfall, but things that could help if I roll a twenty with my dice.

What I am truly worried about is that the Crystal City has secrets. Secrets which I am quite certain not even Tjenemit knows about. The story of how El Shaddai stumbled across an empty city is highly suspicious. There must have been something left behind and I am afraid that there might be a hidden weapons cache. Taking the city might not be as easy as I want it to be.

The Council might not understand the Crystal Technology, but they had the time to figure out anything that was left behind. Their Sphere of Sight is proof of that.

If it is true that Amaru's Sphere of Sight is, in fact, a found artefact; Tjenemit implied that Amaru might have created some artefacts of insane power.

It could be that their scientist somehow came across a few seeds to create crystal-artefacts. Then he managed to manipulate them into growing according to his wishes. Maybe he never understood how to create a seed?

That would be one possible explanation. But the answer can only be given by Amaru himself.

>>

I shake my head, realizing that my worries will get me nowhere at this point. Standing alone on the balcony and allowing my thoughts to run rampant only wastes time.

Looking down into the palace’s garden, I give myself a second to watch the automated drones which are tending to the plants, just like in the rest of the building. Being gods, we decided to outsource most of our menial labour. There are only very few people left who truly dedicate their life to serve others. Like the three succubi Celes picked up. My prediction was right on spot when I assumed that Rose would take charge of them to turn them into proper maids.

Giving Ghost a final pat, I turn around and open the door leading into the palace’s private quarters.

Screams of pain greet me as the door unseals and I wince at the high pitch only a child can produce.

Ghost flattens his ears and decides to stay on the balcony while I enter the room.

Seria is getting her horns and tail. Oh, my daughter will look really cute with those!

I find Seria hanging from the ceiling. She is bondage-bound – just like Aengus – and Celes is standing in front of them with her arms crossed.

“You two gave Tanja, Sandra, Margerie, and Sven a really hard time! Can you imagine how you made us look as your parents? What made you think it’s a good idea to abuse their hospitality by flooding the lower levels of Margerie’s mansion?”

Celes is furious, forcing me to consider whether I should silently close the door and leave.

“I will never do it again!” Aengus promises.

“Yoooou PROmised you wilLLL hit me unconscious, MOM!” Seria wails.

“Back then and now are two different situations! You won't get out of this. It’s your own fault for playing such a bad prank when you are about to go through your metamorphosis.” Celes whips Seria with her tail on the backside, forcing the child to flinch!

“KYAAA! I reegrreeet! No moreeee whipping!!”

“Mom, that's cruel!” Aengus tries to intervene in defence of his little sister, but a series of whipping attacks shuts him up.

Celes surely doesn't think much of a more pedagogic approach. I wonder just how bad this flooding-incident is for Celes to get that enraged. The two good-for-nothings rarely manage to push their mother enough to cause a situation like this one.

Hmm, should I help them? They don't really deserve that much punishm-

Mh... but I really like the movement Celes's hips make when she uses her tail!

‘Whip!’

‘Whip!’

Oh, yeah! That’s it. One more time!

“Aargh!” “Kyaa!”

Oh, and that ass! If it weren’t for those seriously off-putting screams.

Another series of whipping attacks rains down on Seria and Aengus. So far, I was only on the receiving end of those! I never got to watch my wife from behind while she was doing it!

‘Whip!’

“Kyaa!” “Aargh!”

Hah… those screams… they remind me of my first time with Celes! When both of us realized that there is a little more to our new physiology than the bare eye allows to assume.

Sneaking up from behind, I hug Celes and give her a kiss onto the neck. “Aren't you overdoing it a little, honey?” I whisper into her ear while I grin at Seria and Aengus.

“Don't distract me now! I have serious work!” Celes glares at the kids and tries to get out of my arms.

“But your husband is in need of his wife.” I throw her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry and wink at Seria and Aengus before cutting their constraints with a spell. They are smart enough to escape on their own. I am sure that they can find their grandparents for help.

Both of them have disturbed expressions on their faces. But when they realize that I am letting them escape, they look relieved.

“What are you doing Angrod!? I am serious here! Those kids need to realize that actions have consequences!” Celes tries to get off of me, but I hold her tight enough that she would be forced to hurt me in order to get away.

Turning around, I squeeze her ass and carry her out of the room. “I thought I would act upon a sudden urge of mine.” I hum while I walk towards our bedroom.

Celes freezes up. “What's wrong with you? Do you have a fever? That's not like you!”

Reaching the door, I open it and close it behind us. “Hmm. I don't really know. I just had the urge. So no voice for you, wife!”

I lock the door and start chuckling in anticipation. “Hehehehe.”