Note 1: I tried typing cancer but kept laughing so sorry but I just couldn't.
Calice didn't remember much from that night of sex with is what is essentially a demon slime. Nor did he the next night, or the next. All he remembered that it was good and that he was slowly losing mindset about what had transpired during the visit. After a week of this, he agreed over dinner to go to Royal Makai. The mindflyer smiled, satisfied with her work of slowly breaking him down. He packed his essential belongings, his tools, his clothing, his favorite books. But most importantly and sentimental, the necklace with the order emblem, and a framed picture of his past to always remember. Knowing he packed everything, he closed his suitcase and went inside the carriage with the mindflyer as they took off for what could possibly be his last destination.
The mindflyer noticed the sad look on his face and kissed his cheek. "This must hurt deeper than I thought. Would you like to talk about it?" She asked, trying instead to comfort him with advice to make him feel better. "It's just that I have lived here all my life and all this starts going on...don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of close calls with my clients," He trails off, remembering all the times that a customer's enemy has tried to kill him just by the mere fact of association. "But this...this is something else. I don't know exactly how I feel about it anymore, but I know it's not good." He finished, as the (non-mamono) horses have pulled the carriage into the woods, finally leaving the village behind and now on the road to a new place. He looked behind him one last time, not sitting back into place until not even a sliver of the view can be seen through the trees and over the terrain.
He fell asleep on the slime's shoulder a half an hour into the journey. The smiling slime patted his head the entire time, sometimes moving a tendril into his mouth to suck like a pacifier on a baby. He woke up a few hours later, yawning and stretching as much as he could inside the carriage. "Afternoon Calice," She said, taking the tendril out of his mouth, now coated in saliva. "M-Morning...wait where are we?" He asked as he looked around. They were right beside a beach, laying under a tree with him laying on the mindflyer like a bed. The horses resting and grazing on some patches of grass. The carriage was parked beside the road in a spot obvious, but somehow not as noticeable.
"We are at the shoreline. I know you seemed sad, so I got permission to takes us exploring. Maybe if you got to know ever got to know some of them, you might change your mind." She then pointed to the beach. "This is our first and biggest stop, the ocean."
Calice seemed worried, but intrigued, but worried again. "But I can't breath underwater, and my stuff will get wet, and-"
"No worries, all those problems will be taken care of if it worries you. Now let's go shall we?" She said as they both got up and walked up to the sandy beach. A few crab girls were playing and waved to them as the approached the water. Calice waved back then realized something. "Wait, what is your name?"
"That is irrelevant to you or whoever is watching this, but you can call me whatever you want," She said smiling. As if on cue, a Sea Bishop came and welcomed them. After exchanging greetings and chatting for a while, the Bishop agreed to help Calice breath under water. "By the way, it would involve quite a lot of energy to pull it off," She said giggling as the mindflyer and bishop looked at Calice. He looked back, confused about what was about to happen. The Bishop noticed this and took out a scroll. "Beforehand, I would have taken blood or something, but now...we mostly get our power through intimacy," She said. The Mindflyer was already moving her tentacles inside his ears and calming him. "I think he doesn't mind now."
"Great! The let's begin..."
They swam under the ocean, Calice now having small fins on his arms and legs, pointy ears, webbed feet and hands, and blue pupils instead of his usual brown. The explored the seafloor interacting with everyone there, the mindflyer trying to show him the good parts about all the new creatures, and the healthy relationships everyone was in. He got to drink milk from an Aspara, Help some mamono with some inconveniences, and even pat a mimic on her head. They did this for hours, going around and exploring everywhere. Eventually, this lead them to the edge of the abyss where the famous demons of chaos resided. "Oooh," He said, peering over the edge into the darkness. He looked for a while, then saw three sets of giant eyes look back at him, causing him to jump back a few feet. "Don't worry Calice, that's just my masters saying hi," the mindflyer said, waving down. "Didn't they wage an ent-tire war?" He responded, clearly distraught.
"Yes, they did. That's why they are now stuck in the abyss," The sea bishop responded, patting Calice's head. "Now, we go to our last spot. You see, I rank a little higher than most bishops, high enough to be in Poseidon's castle."
"Wait, you mean..."
"I do mean that," she trailed off, swim off in the direction of the god herself, the mindflyer and Calice following behind.
The castle looked grand, surrounded by underwater gardens and towers. as they swam to the entrance, armored Nereids blocked their passage with spears. "Who goes there?" They asked the trio. The bishop came forward and nodded to each one of them, getting them to lower their spears and allow them to pass. Pass they did, Calice getting kissed at least twice by each of them before finally being let go. As the entered the hall, all the maids and male servants immediately bowed, saying welcome as the walking through the entrance corridor. They then went up the levels, seeing more and more of the castle until reaching the top - Where Poseidon resides.
"I'm getting nervous again," Calice said stopping right before entering the room. The mindflyer smiles and put her small tendrils in his ears. "Sssh, you will do great. Now, let us go," She said, holding his hand as they walked into the room, seeing Poseidon seated on her throne, surrounded by more Nereid and Undine guards. "The famous blacksmith, he arrives. Did you enjoy the tour?" She asked, patting her lap as a sudden rush of water took him into the goddess' arms, seating him on her lap. The bishop and mindflyer simply smiled and left the room. "I heard that you were still unsure about traveling to the heart of our new kingdom," She said softly as he nodded in response, the sheer power airing from her making him wanting to cower and kneel in her presence. She noticed this and hugged him. "It's ok blacksmith, I am no longer the god I used to be, nor the mythical creatures from my kingdom that have tried to hurt you. One of them is here right now," She finished, pointing to one of the Undine. She Wore purple armor instead of the blue he usually saw and had a particular golden crest on her chest. The same one that one of his clients lost when he died in a fight. "I'm sorry for trying to kill you that time ago. I just got so upset when I heard you were the one who made the powerful thing..." She simply bowed her head and kneeled to him.
"I, in particular, had my servants request special items made by you. To this day I'm satisfied, and surprised at the small cost." Calice finally relaxed in her embrace, those words of praise of his work seeming to calm him. "Thank you Poseidon," He responded.
"Glad you are more relaxed now because before you go, I have a special request for you." She clapped her hands as a smaller throne and a large case was laid in front of the throne. "I was thinking of a new design for our clothing and my trident, and I wanted you to take a gander at it. As common of your request, everything and more is in the case." He went to the box and looked inside, seeing shiny lapiz-colored fabric(if not made of lapiz) and the golden disassembled pieces of a god-worth trident. He looked at everything, smiling brightly, then looked back.
The goddess caught on immediately. "As much time as you need, and every one of your requests would be tended to by the staff." He simply swam up and hugged her. "I would be honored to, your highness."
"Honor is all mine. In fact, if you don't mind you will be working in the Coliseum. Your presence here had attracted an audience. Of course, your off-work time would be kept private."
"No, I don't mind at a-"
"Great!"
Suddenly, there was a flash and boom of thunder as he closed his eyes and covered and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw that he was in the center of a large stadium. the seats were slowly being filled with spectators, mostly underwater creatures with their husbands and children. He kept looking around, then seeing a set of seats a different color. "I wonder what those a-"
Suddenly, the sound of cheering rapidly filled the cavernous area. The red seats were starting to be filled by the gods themselves. Poseidon in lead, followed by Hel, Bastet, and lastly the fallen god. After them, four seated, some lower deities and high powered mamono leaders started filling the seats. He just stood in silence as they all sat and looked at him while conversing with each other. At last, Poseidon's voice boomed through the stadium.
"I know you seem confused, but one does not simply be acknowledged by the Demon Lord herself and expect nothing else to happen. We have all gathered here today to watch you try your hand at more godly material. You may begin at once."
With that, all noise stopped as thousands of eyes all stared at Calice, eager to see how such quality is produced. He started sweating from the nervousness, especially from the stares of everyone's expectations. Hoping no one will see, he took out his necklace from his pocket and stared at it, being called down by it reminding him of pleasant childhood memories. Now calm, he put the necklace back and opened the box. Inside were the disassembled parts of the trident, the golden metal pieces already shaped but needed to be connected together. He took one out and tossed experimentally and softy, and was surprised when it floated like there was no gravity. He took another piece that looked they fit together. They snapped together like magnets and sealed with a blue glow, looking like it was one piece the entire time and not apart. Whispers started going through the crowd, words like "Worthy" and "Amazing" going about. He didn't get it but he kept looking and found materials for a dress fit for a God.
"Hmm..." Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. He gathered all the pieces and tossed them up, letting them float around in the stadium. He then started swimming and zipping around, connecting each of the spreading apart pieces as he flew by faster and faster. Finally, he had one last piece to attach. He kicked as hard as he could at Poseidon herself, then flew after it. Gasps and screams went among the crowd as it flew straight for her face, her eyes widening a little as it got closer and closer. As it was within 5 feet of impact and still going fast, Calice suddenly had caught up and reached the trident out, it's incomplete middle prong closest to the piece. The flying piece suddenly stopped an inch from her nose and started gliding back to the trident, snapping into place as the entire staff started glowing brightly in his hands. Eventually, it grew down, now showing a gem-encrusted trident in perfect form.
"Your trident, my lord," He said, presenting it to her and kneeling as much as he could while hovering in water. The crowd went wild with applaud and relief as Poseidon took it and place it beside her, unfazed. "Thank you for the show. And the close call..." She trailed off as Calice looked around, starting to see guards watching from secret positions, ready to attack if that piece as even so much as booped her. "Thank you," he said, going back and creating the dress afterward. After, the show ended, with him staying in the castle for the night before continuing in the morning. He had dinner in the dining hall, talking and chatting happily with the staff before going to bed and falling asleep, ready for the next day...