Back in Rakna's territory, Eva dropped him off turbulently in a sort of rebellious tantrum.
"I'm done for today, tomorrow, and however many days I want! Stay put for once! I'm taking a vacation!" She huffed, very aggrieved, and then disappeared through a System transfer.
The therian could only blink at the bareness of his training room. "…well, I suppose that's to be expected after meeting an Eldritch God face to face," he muttered with a sigh.
"{Unlike you, she's sensible,}" Fray commented. "{She does not have the mental fortifications you do and must be quite stressed overall. In fact, she may worry about you a lot.}"
"Way to make me feel bad," Rakna complained and slowly headed to his house's lift. With all that had happened, and now that it was over, he honestly was exhausted.
His physical body was fine; considering he had been using a fake one during the Simulation, but his soul and mind could only be described as 'extremely sore' at the moment. Some part of him wondered how he hadn't fainted yet.
"Let's get this done and go to bed," he mumbled and pushed himself off the wall when the doors of the elevator opened. He absentmindedly noticed it was dark outside and walked to the stairs.
He passed by the living room, where Hans was habitually sitting on his sofa. The azure-haired boy raised his head and looked at the therian from above his glasses with a frown. "…why do you carry the brand of the Dreamer on you?"
"Met him. Haggled a dream." Rakna replied almost lazily. "How'd you know?"
Hans blinked and continued writing on a paper with his quill. "I see. As for how… academically, it would be acceptable to define me as a Scion Outer God," he explained indifferently.
"Is that so? Good night then," the therian wasn't surprised. He just walked up the stairs, ignoring the stupefied expression of Natsu, who so happened to be curled up nearby.
Rakna went to the guest room where he could sense almost everyone, even Lilith. He could hear them talking but he didn't hesitate to open the door.
"…that's why you--!"
Whoever was speaking stopped. Almost instantly, everyone looked at him.
Rakna made a confused expression. "…what are you doing to the poor woman?" He asked when he saw how they were surrounding the bed Lilith was sitting on. She was awake now; and had an overwhelmed expression on her face, barely registering what was happening around her.
"Um…" Kaelith had the decency to look ashamed. "…getting to know each other better?"
"She was trying to make her spill the beans," Higure casually explained, earning a betrayed glare from the vixen. "What? I never lie to my devourer."
"Well, this does look like an interrogation, if anything," Flavia remarked with a chuckle.
"Don't worry, Rara," Kara stepped up with a grin. "It was all very civil."
Rakna didn't even know what to say. For a moment, he exchanged glances with the reasonable people; namely Nyx, Evelyn, and Ceresta. But two of them shrugged, and one tilted her head.
He took a deep breath and recalled a comment a certain blind friend of his had once said about fictitious harems. "Logistics…" The therian recited dryly.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," he uttered almost too quickly and scowled at two people. "…you're still here?"
Svanya and Lilia were standing to the side. The former smiled politely and the latter waved her hand… with a bucket of popcorn in the other. Yes… that was undeniably popcorn.
"I apologize. The feeling of spectating a live drama was too tempting," the regal woman said back with a chuckle. "Also, your friend told me he needed a bit more time to prepare an item for my 'condition', so here I am."
"Uh," Rakna exclaimed dumbly. "Hans was nice to you? How lucky."
"His actions, at least," she deadpanned. "Not so much his words."
"Sounds about right."
"Ahem! Anyway!" Kaelith cleared her throat, catching their attention. "Welcome back, wolfy," she greeted him with a huff. "Glad to see you alive," she added sarcastically.
"I feel like you should be happier about it…"
"No. That'll teach you a lesson."
"Fair enough," he rubbed his neck and glanced at Lilith, who was staring at him with a helpless gaze that screamed 'help me'… or maybe 'what the hell is going on', he wasn't sure.
He apologetically avoided her gaze and approached a second bed under the puzzled eyes of his comrades. Then, he swiped his hand, drawing a trail of purple flames. 'Push her through,' he said to Fray as a portal opened above the bed.
Then, a silhouette dropped from inside, gently carried by the flames before they disappeared. In the blink of an eye, Ramsa exited Rakna's soul and landed on the bed unconscious.
"…" Kaelith's eye twitched at the sight. And here she had just finished confirming that the girl next to her was more of an admirer. But now, she had to redo an 'assessment' all over again.
Or it would have been the case had Rakna not dropped a bomb on her right after.
"This is Ramsa," he said simply. "Treat her… as you would my mother."
Surprise flashed across everyone's face in quite a conspicuous manner.
"Please take care of her. I'm in serious need of sleep, so let's talk tomorrow," with that said, the therian left the room as if he hadn't just blown their minds.
Kaelith reached for her own mother with trembling hands and gripped her clothes. "D-d-d-did he just say… mother?!" She stuttered and started pulling.
"Kae…! Calm…!" Kara's voice couldn't come out as the younger vixen shook her around. Even she was flustered by the sudden revelation.
"She's a goddess," and Nyx didn't help by dropping a second bomb. "Of the Sun too. That's quite a high-ranking Domain."
"She's so beautiful," Fiora admired as she appeared inside the room, her body being constructed by a cloud of amber light particles. "Fit of Master's mother."
"You just keep appearing out of nowhere, recently, don't you?" Higure blankly retorted. "Oz, you should keep a better leash on her," the lioness glanced at the Qilin's shadow, where a pair of eyes stared back with a 'what do you even want me to do?' kind of look.
"I'm not mentally prepared yet…!" Meanwhile, Kaelith was having a breakdown whilst panicking over Ramsa's presence. "There's no way she would be as crazy as my mom…"
'I'm right here, you know?' Kara thought wryly and coughed. "Ahem… Kae. In times like these, you should be gathering as much information as possible about the parent."
"Eh?" The vixen looked up. "Where do I get that?"
Kara smirked and turned toward the frozen Lilith, who immediately flinched. Silently, the rest of the room's occupants focused on her again and she whimpered.
'What is happening, for Bhumi's sake?!'
* * *
Rakna was ready to sleep, but after some hesitation, he went to Astraea's room. Since his senses could cover anything happening in his territory, he didn't bother knocking as he already knew who was inside.
As soon as he entered, Artemis was seen standing up. "Ah, Lord Monarch. It's good to see you are unharmed," she bowed rather curtly and Rakna let out a bitter chuckle.
"Unharmed… well, I suppose," he huffed and glanced at Astraea, fast asleep. "Something I should be worried about concerning her state?"
The goddess of the hunt shook her head. "She is not in any danger. She strained her Records, but it didn't damage them. Had it been worse, I would have sent her back to Egregore to heal. But as it stands now, she should awaken in the morning at the latest."
Rakna sighed and rubbed his temple. "Well… I'm gonna get scolded once she does."
"I imagine," Artemis smiled faintly. "Though, I could do it in her place if you wish."
He snorted. "Is that a warning?"
"You can take it that way," she closed her eyes. "As Egregore Entities, our life is quite unique. We can die, but at the same time, we are immortal. If the current Astraea perishes… a blank copy will replace her."
"…"
"Same personality, appearance, powers… but no established likes, dislikes, or memories. All of us begin our life in that state. And I still remember mine…" She whispered. "Maddening. The state of living a life created by a 'history' that isn't yours, without a sense of clarity. My current self, more so, was born during a time of warfare within Egregore. "
Rakna perked up at that, confusion etched on his face.
She chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. We too have wars. Though, naturally, our definition of it is not comparable to Existence outside the Realms. In Egregore… all is spiritual. Our battles are fought through spirit and 'story'. They occur in times of imbalance, where Entities rise to escape the Realm, unable to accept the fact of not being 'real'; the sentiment spreads and war sparks."
"…and the only way to fix it is to 'reset' those insurgents, I assume?" Rakna concluded calmly.
"As expected of you, Lord Monarch," she confirmed sadly. "Usually, these wars happen every two or three thousand years. But to this day, not one Entity has ever escaped. For eons, we have had pillars protecting this balance; such as Izanagi, Brahma, Odin, Isis, and the Jade Emperor. Each of them has thrived in the Collective Consciousness for so long without 'dying' they have surpassed their 'history'. That is why some say that 'Rightful Godhood dwells in Egregore'."
"Regardless, I was a casualty of the latest battle," she added. "And so was Astraea. But unlike any other, she remained a brilliant star. Never was lost or hesitant, she offered her support to all… including me. She lifted me and many others up. She is not just loved by all of us, but also our Realm itself."
Rakna's eyes narrowed in thought. "…is that why she could summon Odin?"
Artemis smiled. "Lord Odin is compassionate. Even if she wasn't a beloved Entity, he would have still come to her rescue. As far as I know, he has never answered the call of a Monarch no matter their strength, but he has never ignored the plea of a fellow Egregore Entity."
"I see," the therian snorted softly. "I should consider myself lucky to have had her as my first link to Egregore then, I suppose," he said and looked at the slumbering angel one last time. "Help me reassure her when she wakes up, alright?" He requested. "I'll be resting, so… maybe try to hold her back a little if she wants to come for my neck?"
The goddess displayed a small smirk. "I shall do my best."
"Hah, how promising," Rakna replied as he left the room.