Contracted Works: Temptations of a Goddess

by Spiritblade

The edited chapters of InsaneGuy2010's AMG fanfic: Temptations of a Goddess. (HEAVY M Rating).

4. Chapter 4: Skuld, part 1

Ah! My Goddess: Temptations of a Goddess

Chapter 4: Skuld

Original Draft written by InsaneGuy2010

Edited by Spiritblade

Disclaimer: Hey, it's me Insane-Guy 2010! Yeah, it's been some time since I've been in the writing fanfic thing but it's all cool now. This story has been in my head for some time now and it has been bothering the crap out of me. You will probably notice some of the dialogue as it was taken from the manga with some altercations. So, without farther ado, here is it. Also, I don't (in any way) own the 'Oh My Goddess' series, I only wish that sometimes.

BY THE WAY, THIS STORY IS INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS.

Editor's foreword: I, Spiritblade, hereby acknowledge that this story – from first word to last – is the property of InsaneGuy2010. Should he choose to change any part of the story, I grant him – InsaneGuy2010 – the right to do so. I also thank him for granting me the chance to edit his story, thus allowing me to train myself in a genre that is hard for one such as I – who prefer the political, war and espionage genres – to write. And now, my readers, from InsaneGuy2010 and myself, I present the final chapter of the former's original 'Temptations of a Goddess'. Enjoy (and review, as I want to know where I can improve).

A tribute to Fahad09's 'A Demon Lord's Hero' and Traingham's 'By Your Enrapture' is included in this chapter. Also a cameo by Game Workshop's Warhammer 40K; I'll leave it to my readers to guess which of its many factions I called in. Hint: they're the ones carrying the halberds, and grin when they see demons. Other included cameos come from Darksiders and Darksiders II; it feels wrong not to have the Four in this story. If Archangel Michael is seen by two of the monotheistic faiths (i.e.: Christian and Judaism) as God's right hand, then Four are His left.

Also, please take note that I am dividing Skuld's chapter into two parts. This one deals with her descent to Earth, which I hope I have done well. The next one will close the Skuld chapters. After that...we can get to meet Peorth.

Last, but not least, I extend my humblest apologies if this chapter took so long to get posted. Life got real. And when you are a citizen of my country, those three simple words gets pushed up to eleven. But enough of my whining, on with the story!

First draft posted on 20/09/2015.

Second draft posted on 29/01/2016.

(O)

Tariki Hongan Temple

Main living room foyer

It had taken Belldandy and Keiichi the better part of a day to clear out the entire west wing of the temple in preparation for Skuld's arrival. When the task was accomplished and a good hour was spent in the onsen, the two lovers had taken to resting on foyer of the main temple, watching the stars above them and the fireflies that flitted amidst the grass and the trees of the well-tended garden like playful children. Keiichi had his head on the goddess's lap, and the latter was looking down at him with fond affection before turning her attention to the dozen hanyou children that had sneaked into the temple grounds.

The goddess smiled. Ever since they had tasted her cooking, the hengeyoukai children in the neighbourhood had been paying her regular visits. Belldandy did not mind. She loved children. It helped that said children, including human ones, were fond of Keiichi. He was their elder sibling and, in the case of two hanyou, a surrogate father. Their mother, a nekomata, had lost her mate in a car accident and had been forced to find work in the same nightclub whose owner had owed Keiichi more than a few favours.

Her debts had been considerable and her choices few. Youkai society was feudal, mirroring the bygone days of Asia's monarchies. A city's ruling lord or council answered to regional governors, who in turn answered to provincial lords. These bent knee to the royal houses, the heads of which were youkai of great age and immense power. One of the nekomata's debtors had been a lieutenant of a powerful youkai yakuza group'sleader, and the former had been determined to keep to lovely youkai under his thumb for as long as he could.

Keiichi had brought the matter up to Tsukune, and the Shinso prince had made arrangements for the female youkai's debts to be cleared and a new and more stable job waiting for her at his company. The nekomata had been baffled as to why a prince would have taken interest in the plight of a commoner, and had wondered with no small amount of fear if she had exchanged one cruel master for another more so. Her worries were soon put to rest when her fellow youkai told her that the one she served was neither cruel nor petty. That he had in his service some of the most powerful monsters bending knee to him willingly spoke volumes of his character. And his exploits prior to his becoming a vampire was the stuff of legend. How many humans could reach the dizzying heights Aono Tsukune had reached? Few, very few – and Belldandy had told him about each and every one.

But the nekomata's curiosity remained. Who had gone out of his or her way to help her? She wanted to know, if only to thank the person. It had taken the youkai no small amount of effort to find the answers she sought. When she finally did – and had managed to catch him alone – the nekomata had given Keiichi a hug that almost broke his ribs. She promised that, one day, she would wed her daughters to any sons he might have – and that the latter would never have the chance to think or say no.

Belldandy liked the image that took shape in her mind. The soft hum her Shadow Soul made told her that Verdandi liked it even more.

The goddess's azure eyes went to the first of the shape-shifters who emerged from the bushes, their eyes luminous in the night and the light of countless fireflies illuminating their small forms. Two of them changed shape as they scampered over to her and Keiichi, becoming a pair of cute grade-school children they both knew. Both were dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, the crimson of their garments a striking contrast with their snow-white hair.

"Keiichi-oniichan...!" the two girls squealed in delight as they pounced on him as they would a mouse. The young mechanic's eyes widened in mock-alarm a heartbeat before they landed on him, a yelp of protest leaving his lips when they did. He wrapped his arms around them, an instinctive gesture of a parent-yet-to-be to children who loved him.

"Miko-chan...? Aya-chan...? What are you doing here? Where's your mother?"

"She is working late tonight, Keiichi-oniichan," the younger of the two girls replied, giving him a bright smile as she did so, "So she called us and asked us to have a sleepover here."

"Belldandy-neesama said we were always welcome to do so if we wanted," the older one added, "After all, she promised us a story every time we visited. And she has so many! Also, Belldandy-neesama told us that tonight will be a very special night! She said that a lot of people will be coming! Some of them from other worlds! We want to meet them!"

"You're spoiling them, Belldandy," Keiichi looked up at the goddess whose lap he rested on.

"As do you," the Norn replied as she ran one hand gently through her lover's hair, "But that is to be expected. You are, after all, their eldest sibling. A beloved one," her lips curved in a smile as one of the other hanyou, still in animal form, snuggled against him, the sound of his heartbeat making it purr contentedly, "Trust is earned, Keiichi-san, and you have earned it many times over."

Father, you are called. Brother, you are held as. Every dream held dear by men who long for a home to return to and children to heft onto their broad shoulders is in your hands, and you hold it high so that that dream can see the stars above.

Keiichi turned to look at the garden, where hanyou children engaged in mock-fights against one another, playful yips and yowls filling the air. Others had taken to sitting on the foyer's ledge, watching their peers play or reading books they had carried on their person. Others had produced instruments and were playing them, filling the air with melodies as old as Japan. All of them, the young man saw, had taken their hybrid forms rather than their human forms. It was a show of trust. After all, if they could not trust the mate of the kami, how could they present themselves before the two goddesses who lived with him?

"I suppose we'd best not disappoint them, Belldandy. Why don't you get ready?"

The goddess nodded and left the foyer.

She found, when she returned 15 minutes later, that her mate had become very much the centre of attention. The younger hanyou children were showing Keiichi what they had learned from their parents and teachers. Everything from botched Charms to failed shape-shifts was on display, and the air was filled with merry laughter and shocked gasps.

Even Ayako, a Kitsune-hanyou well-known for being a tsundere, was trying her best not to laugh. She was failing miserably. The poor girl was on the verge of an epic breakdown. And the straw that broke the camel's back? A prank played on one of her younger counterparts by his sister. When the smoke finally cleared and everyone had a clear view of just what the latter had done.

Drinks were spat out, faces went red and the protesting wail of a child could be heard throughout the temple. The poor hanyou child quickly shifted into his animal form to avoid further embarrassment, only to find to his utter horror that his fur coat looked like a hardware store's worth of paint had been thrown on him. He turned to glare at his sibling, who was rolling on the floor and laughing uproariously at his misfortune. That laughter became a strangled squeak when he proceeded to chase her around the courtyard, the angry yips of the former promising the torments of the underworld that would be visited on the latter when he caught her.

The girl leapt behind Keiichi and begged the young man to protect her from her angry brother.

The young mechanic soon found himself caught between a growling, multi-coloured, three-tailed fox and its teary-eyed sibling. There was no doubt in his mind that the growling kitsune before him would not hesitate to knock him down to get to his sister, the consequences of doing so be damned. It was only when the last blew a raspberry at the first did the second calm down.

The young hanyou realized that he had let his emotions get the better of him – a flaw his teachers and parents were determined to beat out of him before it led to him biting off more than he could chew. If both got word that he had tried to turn the mate of the two kami who lived in the temple into a chew toy – accidental or otherwise – they would kill him.

And that was if the two goddesses did not electrocute him first.

He had two options. The first was to let his sister get away with it and look like a four-legged rainbow for the rest of the evening. The second was to stay the course and get even with his sibling, a task made all the more difficult by the fact that his sister was using their adopted elder sibling as a shield. If he chose the latter option, he had to get his paws on her without touching a hair on the head of the last. But how could he do so?

The sight of a sakura petal floating past the young, multi-coloured Kitsune-hanyou's snout showed him just how such a thing could be done. He just had to be faster than his sibling. He was a Kitsune. The pranks his mother so loved to play on his father were ones he could use to pay his sister for her mischief.

His eyes blazed as he called upon its Disciplines – one he had only begun learning days before – and materialized behind Keiichi in a flash of fur and blazing eyes. The tiny female kitsune barely had time to call her brother a cheat before he pounced on her, teleported them both right into the open, and proceeded to rain his full repertoire of cantrips on her struggling form.

Some of said Charms caused Keiichi to go through all the shades of a glorious sunset, and which saw to Miko quickly slapping her tiny hands over his eyes and shrieking at the two to stop whatever it was they were doing.

Poor, poor Ayako lost it completely. She was on her knees, holding her sides and was pounding on the floor in a desperate attempt to regain control. The other hanyou had quickly turned away so as to maintain a semblance of dignity, but their shaking forms would tell any casual observer that they were failing miserably at the attempt.

None saw or sensed Belldandy, who watched everything from the shadows of the adjoining hall. She closed her eyes and allowed the sounds and laughter to fill her ears. It was, both to her and her angel, the most beautiful thing they have ever heard. It was the sound of Creation at peace with itself and its dearest wish a reality. Soon, very soon, it would be so. When Belldandy opened her eyes, she saw her elder sibling standing next to her, wearing a beautiful low-cut, dark-blue kimono adorned with the depictions of cherry blossoms against a twilit backdrop.

Her sister's silver hair, glowing softly with an inner light, was a striking contrast to her clothing. It cascaded over and past her shoulders like a shimmering waterfall, to cradle her lush body in its gentle embrace. Though Urd would deny it vociferously should any give voice to it, she was becoming more and more like her mother.

"Are you ready for tonight, Urd...?"

"I am," the silver-haired goddess replied, "Has Rias and her peerage arrived yet?"

"Not yet."

A strangled yelp caused both goddesses to look in the direction of where their lover was. Both grinned when they saw the fox-girl-turned-fox-woman hiding behind the latter once more, uncaring of her nudity, and praying that her adopted elder sibling would be a strong enough shield from the ire of her affronted sibling.

"Shall we go help Keiichi before he gets a heart attack?" Urd asked her.

The Norn's clear blue eyes darkened briefly, as her shadow-soul took over, "No. Not yet; just a moment longer. I want to taste his desire and arousal, Urd. I want it to sing deep inside my body. I want it to run white-hot in my soul, so that I know that he is mine. No, ours. Ours until time itself comes to an end."

Urd shook her head, her eyes bright with approval and mirth, "If Mara knew your true colours, Bell, she would run screaming back to Niflheim and ask for an easier assignment."

"Do not worry about Mara, Urd. Before long, she will be mine as well."

The silver-haired goddess grinned. Mara had long been a thorn in their side. It was only a matter of time before Belldandy decided to resolve matters with the female devil once and for all. And that time was swiftly approaching. When it did, Mara's downfall would be a sight to behold. There was no denying the manner in which Belldandy would choose to punish Mara, and Urd wanted to be there when she did. She wanted to partake in it. The mental image of her childhood friend on her back, her lush body gleaming in all its delicious glory, her legs spread wide and Keiichi deep, deep inside her body was an alluring one. She wanted to know if the expression Mara would make as Keiichi's seed filled her womb and impregnated her would be as beautiful as she knew it would be. She wanted to know if a devil can reach the very limits of the sins it fed on before it broke.

"And I promise you, sister dearest, we will all enjoy the moment she gives herself unto us..."

(O)

Monogatari Night was a time of magic, a festival that honoured the living as it did the dead. Held on the last Sunday of every quarter to celebrate the passing of the seasons, it was a time when the children of Creation would gather to hear the daughters of its monarchs sing and tell stories of eras long gone. Invitations would be sent, and few were they who would refuse a chance to set aside their responsibilities for a night and speak to their opposites under a banner of truce. It gave them a chance to mingle with the inhabitants of a world that had forgotten the sacrifice their ancestors had made to win it.

But Creation refused to let their story pass from memory. Theirs were the lessons taught to every deity and devil as they reached adulthood. Theirs were the deeds that were immortalized and sung before the nobles and chieftains of the Fair Folk and the shape-shifter tribes. Theirs were the hands and the dream that made the impossible possible, for the Six Elemental Courts echoed the glory of the great manses that had once served as home of the Unconquered Sun's chosen.

The last of these asked a boon of the Fates and the Keepers of Time. Both accepted, and imposed a duty on those who took up their respective mantles. For one night on the turn of every millennium – or when they so wished – they would declare the Thousand Stars Festival. On that night, no wars or battles would be fought. Every sword would be sheathed, every labour would be rewarded and every soul blessed. When the sons and daughters of Ancient Terra fell into slumber, they would hear in their dreams songs older than history being sung. In that distant, mythic era, humanity was not the divided, fractured entity it was now. It had stood united against an invincible enemy. It had laughed in the face of defeat and despair, and the gleaming, serried ranks of its armies had embodied the very meaning of defiance. And their victories, though few in number, had been the ones that made all the difference.

Those victories were not won by strength of arms. They were won by acts that broke and won the hearts of one's enemies.

There is a prize beyond fame and fortune, beyond the promise of Paradise and the caresses of Niflheim's temptresses. One needed only find it, and many would find it, often, right under their very noses. A home was a thing worth fighting for; a dream, worth defending; and loved ones, held dearer than all the stars in Heaven

Monogatari Night was a time to remember that simple truth. And that festival, held alongside one greater and far older, made that truth a sacred thing.

And many were they who held that untainted dream dearer than life itself. Tonight, as the gateways between worlds opened and binding oaths older than the King of Heaven himself were called into account, Midgard-Assiah would see some of Creation's mightiest entities bestride it. From beyond the gleaming spiral arm of the Milky Way to a countless billion others under the majestic throne of the Almighty, and across time and space, they would come...and listen to Heaven's most beloved daughters sing.

(O)

The first to arrive in Tariki Hongan Temple was the Royal Family of the Imperium Lunar, a group numbering close to a hundred souls. Comprising of its King, his harem-slash-honour guard and their offspring, these materialized in the courtyard with a blinding flash of light and a earthshaking crack of thunder. Each and every one of them was clad in traditional Japanese wear, though much liberty had been taken with the cut and designs of the kimonos worn by many of the women of the vampire king's harem. The term scandalously elegant was as close a word as Keiichi could describe them. They bared no small amount of skin, and the sensuality each radiated reminded the young mechanic of Urd. The silver-haired goddess stood next to him, one arm wrapped around his, as they watched Belldandy welcome the man and his clan.

"That," Urd nodded at the handsome and gently-smiling, red-eyed royal, "is Negi Springfield, Emperor of the Moonlit Empire in the Mundus Magicus. He is the son of a hero and the last queen of the now-fallen Kingdom of Vespertatia, and a descendant of the First and Forsaken Angel. The one next to him," the goddess's eyes went to the seductive yet imperious figure of a woman with flowing golden locks and green eyes, "is Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell, one of the most powerful vampires to bestride Creation, and the Empress of the Imperium Lunar. Those kittens next to her...? Those are their children. Oh, just so you know, the women around him? Many of them were once his students."

"Eh...?" Keiichi's head snapped back to the vampire king, who was engaging Belldandy in conversation.

The silver-haired goddess grinned, "Yup. He was a ten-year old prodigy sent to Mahora High School to be a teacher. It was part of his test to be a full-fledged mage. As the son of a renowned hero, everyone expected the world of him. And Negi was a boy who loved his father. He looked up to and worshipped him as any child would a beloved parent. Empress Evangeline wanted to humble and enslave Negi at first, if only to spite his father, whom she loved and hated in equal measure. It backfired spectacularly, as you can already tell."

"She fell in love?"

"Before she knew it," Urd chuckled, "By the time she realized how badly her schemes had fallen apart, it was already too late. Those five," she looked at the four golden-haired girls and the red-haired boy beside the vampire queen, "had already been born and were already in their late teens, learning how to run the Empire their father had built. What worse, they worshipped their parents the same way Negi had done with his father."

"How did he take it?" Keiichi already knew the answer despite asking the question.

"Like any lovable goofball," the silver-haired goddess winked at him, even as the grin on her lips became a gentle smile, "A father is more than an example, Keiichi. A mother is more than someone a child turns to for comfort. They embody an idea. That idea is the mould that gives shape to strength, and every good thing that is born of it. Even those that have nothing can still have faith. It took the Empress of Midnight the better part of two decades to accept that, because of it, her plans have fallen apart in the best possible way."

Keiichi smiled, "If the best-laid plans fail the way Evangeline-san's had, Urd, the world would be a better place for it."

"True," the silver-haired Norn replied, "Sometimes you need to let go of the things you have chased all your life so that you can take hold of what is in front of you. Come on, that's our cue; time for us to play the role of the good host."

X X X

The next few groups to arrive were smaller in size. None of them were as large as the royal court of the Moonlit Empire. The portal Belldandy had engraved in the temple's eastern courtyard would bring from distant worlds and times the ruling elite of kingdoms and empires. Elven princes would rub shoulders with towering Dragonborn paladins. Death Knights, champions of Niflheim, would engage their divine counterparts in games of chess and debate. No few centaurs were challenging stocky, armoured dwarves to drinking games. Youkai lords gathered around tables to discuss matters of business and trade.

Their offspring, like the hanyou children who had arrived ahead of all of them, would proceed to congregate around Keiichi. Many of these would engage in mock-fights with their counterparts, squealing and laughing as they did so. Their parents would throw the young human winks and playful grins, silently thanking him for taking their children off their hands if only for a few hours. The young man sighed in silent suffering and bore with grace the task of entertaining the children around him.

He did not realize that his efforts would earn him their future visits in the days – and years – to come.

X X X

Rias Gremory had heard from her brother that two of the three daughters of the Regent of Heaven had taken up residence within a temple on Earth with their mate, but nothing she had been told had prepared her for the sheer size of their home. It was easily the size of the Gremory clan's summer palace, a place that could easily – and comfortably – house every member of her family, their servants and a full company of the House Guard. And that was not all. The temple, despite being holy ground, radiated none of the imperious disdain that could be found within the places of worship dedicated to the King of Heaven. It was well-maintained and filled with a radiant vigour that soothed the frazzled nerves and weary bodies of her Peerage, a thing Rias was thankful for.

The Rating Game battle against the Queen of Wrath and her Peerage revealed just how far she and hers had to go. The battle against the Queen of Blades – who was, despite a sobriquet, a male and who was perhaps the strongest Ultimate-class Devil in history – and Sona's sister, Serafall, had been a lesson in agony.

Serafall, as was her wont, had decided to up the ante. As the faux magic-girl was a Demon King, she had the privilege of throwing a literal spanner into the works as and when she pleased. The manner in which she had done so, however, had earned her much applause across both Heaven and the Underworld.

The Great Serpent of the Eternal Ocean had healed her and her peerage, restored them to full strength, forcibly gated her younger sister and her peerage into the arena, and then doing the same to the Master of Legions. The last had been in the midst of dinner, and both he and his peerage had suddenly found themselves sitting not at the dinner table, but in the middle of the arena, utensils in hand and wondering – in the brief seconds before they realized where they were – where their food had gone.

That they had been displeased was a massive understatement. That Serafall had managed to successfully twist the arm of the Master of Legions had left his Peerage and the daemons he commanded all the more annoyed. Rias, despite being soundly and roundly defeated, had sympathized with the Daemon Prince. Serafall was a trickster of the highest order, one of the rare few in Creation who could prank the sleeping King of Heaven into an embarrassed (if dignified) silence.

"Welcome to my home, Rias-san," the voice of a man broke the red-haired devil princess out of her thoughts. She turned to see a young man walk out from one of the nearby buildings, in the company of a dozen youkai children. An angel hovered over him, her golden brown wings and brilliant snow-blonde hair glowing with divine radiance.

Rias recognized the human instantly, even though he looked nothing like the one she had seen on the intelligence reports. This was the one whom her brother had described had been the source of much frustration in the underworld, a human who was a prize many female arch-devils would sell their True Names to have in their clutches.

And Rias could see why. The soul-fire of Keiichi Morisato burned with a warm radiance. It was a beacon that guided the lost and the lonely home. It illuminated the path that led the devoted amongst the damned back to Paradise. It was a thing that remained pure despite knowing sin. Had Rias succeeded in inducting Keiichi into her peerage prior to his making a contract with Heaven, it would have earned her no small amount of applause in the Underworld. Even a minor pact would earn her the respect of both her peers and the clan elders. The only thing that kept the Gremory princess from doing so was the fact that the angel who hovered behind him and the goddess it was bonded to would not hesitate to bring the sky and the Heavenly Host down on her. And that was after the youkai and hanyou children surrounding the young man, all of whom were looking at her warily, were through with her.

"It is an honour to be invited for the Festival, Master Keiichi," the red-haired Gremory princess bowed, an act mirrored by the members of her peerage, "I take it that you are here to welcome us?"

The young man nodded, "I am. And please, just call me Keiichi. Belldandy asked me to be nearby to welcome those who came through the portal. She and Urd are in the main courtyard, entertaining those that have arrived earlier. Oh, may I ask if you and your friends to step out of the circle, Rias-san? The Gateway will not open if someone remains standing within it."

Rias and her peerage complied. The second they had all stepped out of the mandala, it started to glow once more.

"Is it all right if you introduced to me the members of your peerage, Rias-san?" Keiichi asked as he led them to a nearby pavilion.

Rias nodded and turned to look at those who would be by her side in the decades she would live. Her eyes fell first on Kiba Yuuto, her Knight, who was looking at Keiichi and the children around him. There was a kind of quiet awe in his gaze, as if he was seeing something that was precious beyond words. The awe faded and became a smile when one of the youkai children tugged at his coat and began asking him questions about the sword he had buckled around his waist. She looked at stoic Koneko, whose ears and tail had materialized, and who looked all too eager to join the youkai children nearby in mock-fights and eating contests.

Her gaze went next to Asia, who had found herself being the target of affectionate embrace of a pair of newly-arrived female neko-hanyou, who plopped themselves on the nearby ledges and who had began braiding the former nun's long, golden locks with red ribbons. Rias turned her gaze next to Rossweisse, her second Rook and a former Valkyrie of Heaven. She was staring in amazement at the angel who had its arms around Keiichi. A single raised eyebrow had the angel nodding and spreading her wings in reply. Xenovia, her second knight, was unable to believe that the rumours that two of the three daughters of Heaven's Regent had bound themselves to a mortal man were true. The young man before her was normal in every way, but he had a scent of winter snow, wood-smoke and molten steel that the former exorcist of the Church found comforting and familiar.

Gaspar, her second Bishop, was staring at a beautiful female vampire walk past them with her harem of lovers. The second threw the first a saucy wink, an invitation that made the half-vampire squeal.

Rias looked at Akeno. The playful smile on her Queen's face was one that gave everyone who saw it nightmares. The nervous looks in the eyes of the kitsune children hiding behind Keiichi told Rias that they were aware what her Queen was capable of. Any attempt to prank the priestess would end badly. Any attempt to do the same to the Gremory princess's sole pawn and lover – who was running an appreciative eye over the sinful curves of the angel before him – would make said torments worse. Issei Hyuudou was a dyed-in-the-wool pervert whose sin of lust was married to a faithful streak that would put a paladin's to shame. Any girl he took into his bed would find themselves in it repeatedly, and ravished into utter ecstasy and exhaustion. Eyes that had gazed upon the fairer sex with desire and hunger now looked upon children with the same wonder that Rias had seen in Kiba's. He knew what awaited him at the end of the road he walked on.

"I will be honoured, Master Keiichi," Rias replied.

X X X

More came to fill the massive courtyards of the Temple. Divine magic and arcane technology saw to said courtyards being made able to house the thousands that came. Elemental and divine spirits aided the goddesses and their mate to welcome and tend to the needs of their guests. All waited in anticipation for midnight to come, when the Festival would begin in earnest.

X X X

Sona Sitri was not an easy individual to surprise, but what the Sitri heiress saw standing before her had caused her mental processes to come to a screeching halt even as one part of her started throwing curses at the sleeping King of Heaven. After meeting Rias, Sona and her peerage had gone to where they could get refreshments. There, she had found her elder sibling's Queen and the Master of Legions cooking up a literal storm, the delight in a shared hobby evident to everyone watching and eating.

And if the pile of empty bowls set before the occupants of numerous tables were anything to go by, they were good at it. That they were clearly challenging each other to see who could get the tastiest dish out in the shortest possible time served only to delight their customers. Sona caught sight of her sister and the Empress of Wrath sharing a table. Serafall was resting against the trunk of an ancient sakura tree while Sammael was enjoying hot sake and taking in the lively scene before her.

The younger Sitri heiress pulled out her smart-phone and raised it in the direction of her elder sibling sister and her companion before taking a picture. With that one action, she would consign to the annals of the Sitri family a moment that would never come again. Wrath had dimmed to softly-glowing embers, relishing peace. Regret had fallen silent, allowing those it haunted a night's respite from bitter memory and deeds done.

When her sister's Queen presented her with a hot meal, the latter would jump down from her lofty perch, pull the former down and kiss him. Sona would capture that moment as well, smiling despite herself, at what was the future of her clan taking shape. It would take shape one dream at a time, one victory at a time, and grow strong with every promise made and kept.

Her dream and her pride would allow nothing less.

X X X

When Tsukune arrived at the palatial home of his childhood friend, he had been surprised at the silence that hung heavy over it. Keiichi had told him about a festival that would be held at his home, but the lack of activity made him wonder if he and his girls had been wrongly informed as to the date and time of the event. Kurumu's mother and aunt had arrived in Nekomi several days back for a visit, and Tsukune had taken the chance to invite them to the festival. He turned to look at them. Both Ageha Kurono and Caro Shade embodied the carnal fantasy of every man to walk the face of the Earth. Their bodies were lush, but strong. Motherhood had lent Kurumu's mother a warm radiance that served only to make her allure all the more potent. Caro Shade, Tsukune's aunt-in-law, dominated the other end of the spectrum. Hers was the seduction, the mystery and the temptation that was immortalized in literature and scripture; the kiss that turned heroic knights into abandoning their quests and whose smile had made priests curse the vows they took.

Yukari had likened Kurumu and Ageha to the sky and the sea, and Caro to the night and the wind. Both were capable of creating a hurricane of epic proportions. Tsukune had learned that succubae treasured their mates and children beyond reason. Do anything that threatened the safety and well-being of either, and all bets were off. History was rife with incidents when the succubae took vengeance on those who harmed their family. The fact that the community each was born in would, upon hearing of any threat to any of their sisters, bring Armageddon crashing down on the head of the person who crossed them. Overkill did not exist in the vocabulary of the succubae when protecting one's kin and kindred was concerned.

With those they loved and treasured, every sexual fantasy, every tender dream of intimacy and companionship, became real. The dream of the First Succubus, Lilith of the Sanctified Night, was made real over and over across the long centuries she and her sisters had lain with Adam. Passion was directed to a purpose; purpose to buttress faith, and faith to conquer fear, death and despair.

Ageha, Kurumu and Caro showed him. It had left Tsukune unable to move or think clearly in the hours that followed. They claimed him and marked him as their own. Kurumu's mother had lost her Destined One when her daughter was born; the latter was his immortality, proof that they loved one another. His mother-in-law had allowed herself to be impregnated by him, so as to show that the bond they once had, had changed. The intentions of Caro Shade, however, lay entirely in the realm of the carnal. Ageha's sister had long wanted to have sex with a Shinso. The experience she had had when she slept with a True Ancestor vampire had been beyond exhilarating.

Ageha and Kurumu had helped him drive Caro Shade beyond soul-breaking ecstasy and into willing slavery. The first had long-wanted to even the score with the last, and had struck before her sister could defend herself.

And Moka – scheming, mischievous Moka – had only smirked in approval when she learned of what had transpired. That she would have two arch-succubae in her mate's harem – both of whom were the blood-relations of the one already part of it – would serve only to further strengthen the internal integrity of her clan. Of course, the fact that more children would grace the halls of their home was an added – and very welcome – bonus. It did not help matters that both Ruby and Yukari had gone, drooling and giggling, to their respective happy places when they heard of what had happened. To call his dear witches dyed-in-the-wool perverts was akin to calling the ocean a pond; the two had enough fetishes between them to fill the shelves and fantasies of every pervert from Nekomi to Hokkaido.

The fact that they were determined to enact each and every one of said fantasy and fetish with him was both flattering and shocking. If his parents heard about Ruby's BDSM fetish or Yukari's love of orgies, they would both faint. Tsukune chuckled; he would have it no other way. Keiichi was not wrong. One needed to only look around oneself to find what one held dear.

"Tsukune," Yukari's soft voice broke the Shinso out of his thoughts, "Are you sure that you got the date and time right? There is no one here. The temple is empty. I can't sense anyone."

"It looks and feels empty because of the Charms and wards placed on it, Yukari-chan," the familiar voice of the snow-woman's mother causing everyone to look in the direction of the temple's entrance. The air about it shimmered, and the elegant but curvaceous form of Shirayuki Tsurara stepped out of the portal. The elder snow-woman, like her daughter, had come for the festivities clad in her best kimono. And she had not come alone. Her husband, Shirayuki Taka, had likewise come in his best.

"One cannot have a festival of the magnitude that is being held without taking precautions," Tsurara walked down the steps with her husband, "Humanity is not yet ready to welcome us youkai back into the world, nor is it ready to accept what a select few are allowed to know."

"Mother...?" Mizore had a startled look on her face, "What are you and father doing here?"

"Our village was invited for the Festival, Mizore-chan," Tsurara nodded at the gateway, "The Snow Priestess is here as well. She wants to have a word with you."

"About...?"

"About your pregnancy, Mizore-chan," a playful grin curved Tsurara's lips, even as an avalanche of delighted squeals and shrieks shattered the quiet night air. Mizore found that the cat she had managed to catch earlier finally succeed in its attempt to run off with her tongue and, in the doing so, had let its cousin out of the bag. She had known for several days now about her condition and had been thinking about how to best tell her mate. Her mother, unfortunately, had decided that any delay in informing her husband was unacceptable.

If the annoyed look on the face of the boob-monster's mother and the smug look on hers were any indication, the old rivalry both had had in their younger years had yet to abate. Mizore sighed inwardly; it seems that boys (and men) were not the only ones guilty of – to quote Gin at his crassest – 'pissing contests'. Women were guilty of the same. The only difference between them was that her gender conducted their said contests in a far more elegant fashion.

Mizore turned to look at her mate. The latter was clearly suffering from what Yukari affectionately called 'The Thousand Mice Syndrome', a condition that afflicted both humans and youkai alike when their minds were overloaded. Tsukune was trying to give voice to each and every question on his, before eventually giving up and asking her the one that mattered. Mizore smiled shyly, and placed her hands on her lower belly.

"Yes, Tsukune," the young snow-woman replied, "I am."

Behind the temple's entrance, unseen by everyone outside the Bounded Field, Keiichi and Urd stood, exchanging smiles before walking away to rejoin Belldandy. There would be time enough to prepare a special gift for the young Shinso prince and his family.

X X X

Conversations suddenly died an hour later when a shockwave of power caused the clouds overhead to be blasted back, and four figures materialized within the mandala of the Gateway. When the smoke cleared and revealed the newcomers to the Festival, the reaction was unlike any shown before. There was shock and awe, fear and respect. Regardless of race and religion, of world and language, all of Creation's children knew who the four that stood within the mandala were.

Many were the names given them. Many were the stories written of them. All knew and feared them, for the four they looked upon had the power to end – in every sense of the word – each and every being in Tariki Hongan Temple.

These entities answered to none save the Charred Council and the sleeping King of Heaven Himself. These were His enforcers, the blade that, once drawn, would not be sheathed unless He so commanded. Rare were the time when the One Above ever did so, for when he unleashed His Horsemen,He wanted those who had angered Him to know the full extent of their transgressions. The Four had reaped a tally so bloody amongst the Titans and their servants during the Great War that the survivors refused to speak their names above a whisper, for fear of attracting their attention.

War had come, his sturdy form clad in crimson and brass, his silvery hair flowing from his heavy hood a contrast to the gleaming war-plate he wore. The enormous sword on his back was a weapon capable of shattering mountains and slaughtering entire armies.

Fury had come, her purple mane contrasting with her lush body and her pale, tattooed flesh. Her whip hung from her belt, the war-harness she wore emphasising her curves and promising pleasure to those capable of enduring the pain she brought.

Strife had come, his face swathed in bandages and his burning eyes studying those who had arrived before him and his brothers with quiet disdain. He drew his twin, master-worked pistols from their holsters and began spinning them so fast that they were a blur to everyone watching.

And Death, oldest of the Four, looked at all from behind his faceless mask, his golden eyes judging each and every soul before him. Only when his eyes fall upon daughters of the Regent King of Heaven did the Reaper avert his gaze. He and his siblings had been there when they were born. They would be there when they passed on into eternity. The Reaper's gaze turned to the young mortal who stood beside the second daughter of the Regent of Heaven. His soul-fire was a warm, bright thing that made the Horseman smile beneath his mask. The Reaper and his brothers would attend this one when his thread was finally cut. No evil or shadow will mar the young man's journey to the Well of Souls.

"Welcome, Ancient Ones," Belldandy's musical voice caused the Horsemen to turn their attention to the young goddess before them, "I am glad that the Charred Council have given you leave to come for the Festival. It has been a long time since we last spoke."

"Lady Belldandy," War knelt before the goddess, an act mirrored by his siblings, "We thank you for your invitation. It has been a long, long time since we have been allowed to step foot on the Third Kingdom. Much of it has changed since last we gazed upon it, and it has become a much more interesting place since then. I see that the rumours my siblings and I have heard are true: you and your sister have taken a mortal consort."

"Yes, we have," Belldandy replied with a gentle smile, "And please, do not kneel before me. You and your kin never need to."

"A good one," Strife spoke as he stood back up, watching with quiet amusement as several of the hanyou children hid behind the lovely Norn's human mate, "I see no doubt in that one. No Corruption. The Symphony in him is a sound both pleasing and calming. I like it. Are the little ones his by any chance?"

"No, Strife," the Norn replied, "They are the children of our guests. He will have his own, in time."

"Good. Good. Call us when they are born, won't you?" the Horseman asked. There was a rare note of excitement in his voice.

"I promise, Strife."

"You would terrify the children, Strife," the Pale Rider proceeded to slip a dagger between his younger sibling's ribs, "They would run screaming and I will have to explain to the Charred Council as to why you look like you have been hit by the White City's Stormcast Eternals. You embody the nightmare every parent has in regards to Creation's faceless dregs striking at their younglings, after all."

"If you are saying that my wardrobe is lacking, brother," the Emerald Rider raised an eyebrow, "then perhaps it is about time you looked in a mirror."

Death chuckled, a harsh, wintry sound that caused everyone in the vicinity to shiver, "Fashion advice coming from one whose taste in clothing would make the spectres wish that they had died. Would you be so kind as to show my sibling just what is considered acceptable wear in polite company, Lady Belldandy? Before he decides to embarrass all of us by trying...?"

"Stop trying to shift the blame, Death. You were the one who suggested that we should attend the Festival as we were," Fury shot her eldest sibling a dirty look, "It would – and I quote you for this – leave an impression on those present. And I can wager a thousand Astarian crowns that the Talking Mountains are going to send us to the Forge Lands with orders to get proper clothing that will allow us to stand in polite company."

Everyone could see the smirk behind the featureless mask the Pale Rider wore. The sheer smugness of it justified both murder and cold-blooded torture.

"Are you saying that you would much prefer looking like those aristocrats from Astaria, Fury?"

"Don't go putting words into my mouth, brother! I told you centuries back that there would come a day when we would need something presentable to wear should we be invited to formal events. Look at where your smart ideas have gotten us! Everyone here is looking at us and wondering if we are going to start the End War early!"

A mischievous look entered Death's eyes then. All swore then that the Pale Rider had suddenly sported a pair of vulpine ears and nine swishing fox tails.

"Oh, but it has: for you. I," and there was no small amount of glee in Death's voice as he emphasized the word, "am taking the extra portions of that Lady Belldandy promised to put aside for you. And no, sister; the judge and the jury do not entertain appeals."

Had a grinning War not stopped her, Fury would have throttled Death within an inch of his namesake. Strife could only laugh at the comedic skit taking place before him. After all, what was a little strife between siblings, eh?

X X X

As the stars and planets came into alignment, the Gateway glowed one final time, depositing the last guest and her entourage onto the grounds of Tariki Hongan Temple. There were three of them. The first was a young, dark-haired woman wearing a dark blue bodysuit with knee-high boots and a flowing, crimson centre-parted skirt. Intricate, silver scrollwork adorned both bodysuit and skirt, emphasising her curvaceous form and giving any who gazed upon her the impression that the girl walked upon crimson-skied lightning. She held in her gloved hands a long-handled, master-worked hammer.

Her two companions were hulking figures of master-worked steel and imperious menace. Larger than their mistress by far, the ornate war-plate they wore made them an intimidating amalgam of armoured bear and Imperial Knight. But beneath their blessed carapaces, adorned with the sigils of Heaven's army, was not flesh, blood and bone, but the same divine technology that powered the War-jacks. They were the newest prototypes that the young woman – a goddess – had crafted, a magnum opus that had taken the better part of a century.

Both were armed with massive force-halberds whose rune-inscribed edges were capable of cutting Niflheim's Helljacks in half and whose mounted shock cannons were capable of putting a hole in the same from three hundred paces with unerring accuracy.

Skuld, Norn of the Future, youngest of the three Norns had come to Midgard-Terra, fulfilling the blessed Trinity by which the Fates enacted the will of the sleeping King of Heaven and by whose grace the Ages turned. And she came as all Creation echoed with the first scores of the Eternal Symphony and the voices of her two elder sisters giving a dream shape, voice and form.

Smiling, she joined, unseen, the multitude that had gathered.

X X X

Imagine, if you will, the first song sung by the Almighty. It is a beautiful, perfect thing with no equal; a thing that Creation itself remembers and tries to recreate. It does not succeed, but it will never stop trying. The song was a prayer, and the prayer was a song. It held in its grand symphony the majesty of radiant light and the splendour of the sacred darkness; it whispered and roared, the sound the first beat of Creation's fierce, proud heart; it sang of temptation and seduction, of angels falling from grace and of devils learning to love; it spoke of cowardice and courage, of faith and despair, of lust and love and of greed and temperance.

The passing of countless centuries would do something to the Great Symphony of the Almighty, and the universe could only watch in awe as that which they believed immutable and unchanging changed. It became more beautiful, more perfect. A trillion stars and a billion planets moved in harmony with the Great Spiral as it turned, their voices lending depth and meaning to that ancient melody. The scores of the Great Symphony changed again when the first mortal races were born. Their dreams and struggles gave it shape and form. Their pain gave it a soul and their joy made it whole. A home was a thing one had to travel long and far to find. Victory was a thing hard-won. Love and faith were treasures greater than the wealth that could be found on a thousand worlds.

The greatest search was not for a crown and the country by which all was promised. Wealth and power were transitory things. They were like life; a thing that would soon slip from one's hands and become a memory. The immortals soon learned that the King of Heaven's greatest gift was not eternal life, but the choice to make an end of it. And like His gift, the greatest thing was not what one kept to oneself, but what one gave to the world.

Death more than gave Life meaning; it gave the story – all stories – an end. Before the fullness of the concept and the authority was vested unto the eldest of the Four Horsemen by the King of Heaven, Charon the Ferryman was granted the duty and responsibility to bring the dead to the Courts of the Dead to be judged. His payment was not only in the silver coins tradition demanded the departed soul pay him for passage, but the life-story of the one he took across the River Styx.

It was only in the final breath does one hear the Great Symphony. But it is only in life that one can add to it. All hear it. All feel it. In the moments of inspiration, in the quickening of your heart, in the moments your soul breathes free, you are hearing and feeling it.

Countless have asked for the Almighty's blessing, never realizing it was close at hand.

And that song took shape in the hands of the two daughters of the Regent King of Heaven. But as they reached the part where their youngest, absent sister was to sing, they found to their surprise that she had already arrived, her voice adding to theirs. Perfection, it was said by the wise, was a state of being. It was a thing countless billions worked towards, an impossible dream that none would relinquish. Those rare few that reached the summit of that unforgiving mountain soon learned that their search and the people that aided them along the way were far more important than the laurel itself.

But tonight, it was a thing within reach of all. One can see what perfection is like. It was a thing that could be seen, touched and heard.

The Festival of a Thousand Stars paid homage to impossible dreams and to those who dared. It laid flowers and lit candles on the altars of the sons and daughters of Creation who reached for victory. It honoured those whose lives were fleeting but whose dreams and determination had lit the way for countless others to follow. Across a billion worlds, spoken by as many lips and in a thousand languages, praise was given unto the King of Heaven. And for as long as the Wheel of Time turned, the Almighty would never stop praying for His children.

X X X

Keiichi turned to see a beautiful, dark-haired girl walk towards the stage where Urd and Belldandy stood, as thunderous applause filled the air. She was young, no older than a high school senior, wearing an ensemble that would not have looked out of place on a cosplayer. The way the girl carried herself reminded him of Sayoko – it was proud and confident; her steady stride was of one who knew one's place in the world and what one was capable of. Sparkling brown eyes, radiant with life and bright with joy, alighted on him. In that instant, Keiichi felt the weight of Creation crash down on his shoulders as the young woman took his measure.

There was nothing that was hidden from her. Every act – whether it was for selfish gain or for greater good – was weighed by one who had the right to do so. Realization hit the young man with the force of a freight train, when an angel materialized above the girl. The saucy grin she threw his way told him that his guess was right on target.

Standing less than ten feet from him was Skuld, the youngest sibling of Urd and Belldandy, Norn of the Future and the youngest daughter of the Regent of Heaven. Binary squirts told Keiichi that the young goddess had not come alone. They materialized behind her in honeycombed light, their armoured forms and weapons gleaming in the firelight, startling everyone in the temple's massive courtyard. Their heavy footsteps told all present that they had been created for but one purpose: to bring Heaven's wrath down upon its enemies.

'War-jacks,' Keiichi heard Holy Bell whisper in his mind, 'the armoured fist of Heaven's Army.'

'They're machines...?'

'Machines with souls, Keiichi,' the angel replied as she wrapped her arms around her mate, 'Not the false anima that the brightest mind of your generation have gifted the steel and plastic golems they have created, but true souls that know faith and devotion.'

The two war-jacks paused briefly, their knightly helms turning to look at Keiichi in eerie synchronization, before releasing a crooning sound and a series of happy clicks. Even though he did not understand what the two war-jacks were saying, he could feel the meaning in the melody of sounds. Forgemaster, they sang, He whose hands blesses the Machine and the Spirit within.

'And many are the souls in Creation who are made in their image, for whom simple faith and fortitude have won crowns and hearts beyond counting.'

(O)

When dawn finally came, the hundreds that had gathered within the confines of Tariki Hongan had returned to their respective worlds. Only a handful had remained, and these had taken the opportunity to take up Belldandy's invitation for breakfast and conversation. These had gathered in the small living room, and were taking the chance to get to know one another better. Among them was Serafall Leviathan, the Great Serpent of the Eternal Ocean and one of the Four Monarchs of the Underworld. A devil whose puissance and power was surpassed only by the current ruler of Niflheim, Serafall had few weaknesses her enemies and rivals could exploit.

Her Queen's cooking was one of them. Emiya Shirou, Ultimate-class Devil and chef extraordinaire, was an individual whose cooking skills matched his martial prowess. The female arch-devil had seen – and for more times than she could count – how her lieutenant could literally bribe those more powerful than him into doing his bidding. She had to get a manse for her Queen just so he could house the growing menagerie of monsters and shape-shifters who agreed that their new master's cooking was worth their selling their souls for.

His taking notes from the silver-blonde haired goddess he was working with in the kitchen all but promised Serafall that her Queen's retinue and reputation would only grow here on out. Belldandy was perfection incarnate. There was nothing the goddess did not excel at. And, if what she had smelled earlier was any indication, the beautiful Norn had found the pleasures of the flesh to her liking. The Great Serpent of the Endless Oceans drew in a deep breath, blocking out the aroma of the feast that was being produced in the kitchen and inhaling the scent that radiated from the goddess's body.

It was the scent of a soul many of her kind would sell their True Names to claim and bring into their beds. Every bright soul claimed by Niflheim was prized beyond words. Some of the mightiest devils to walk Creation were sired not by those who boasted direct lines of descent from the Demon Kings of old, but by humanity's best and brightest. Serafall turned to look at the sole human in a gathering of those that were either no longer or ever had been human, her eyes a brilliant crimson.

It was such a pity he had been claimed. Had he not been so, Serafall would have had her Queen bring Keiichi Morisato into her Peerage. His skill with machines easily matched her Shirou's empathy with weapons. Skipping over to the two, the female arch-devil saw that the human engineer was using coloured pens to make annotations on the blue-prints that were lying on the floor according to the suggestions of the dark-haired goddess that was next to him. The concepts and terminologies both used were complex, and Serafall soon found herself struggling to understand what the two were talking about. Both human engineer and Divine Artificer were in a private heaven reserved for those of like mind, a place where the uninvited risked a migraine of epic proportions should they enter.

Theirs was an instinctive intelligence, the understanding of the workings of Creation filtered through the lenses of the teachings of the Deus Mechanicum. Simple, yet complex, it offered those who heeded a glimpse of the Great Work in its entirety. The radiant light in the young mechanic's eyes told Serafall that a part of him remembered what he had beheld.

"Will this work for the race, Skuld-san?"

The teenage goddess ran a hand through her soft locks, "It will. Can you call your friends to meet us at your club-house later in the afternoon? If we can start today, we should be able to remove the components and be able to replace them in two days' time. I will have to gate in my forge."

"Your forge...?"

The young goddess gave her human counterpart a saucy grin, "Have you watched the Iron Man movie series, Keiichi-san?"

"Yes, I have," the latter replied slowly," Why?"

"Tony Stark has nothing," the female Divine Artificer was practically preening as she replied, "on me."

Serafall giggled at the stunned look on Keiichi's face. Oh, he was so cute that she was tempted to ask the goddesses he was contracted to if she could bring the human home with her! She did not need to use her psychic powers to see the image that was in his mind. The Iron Man movies had done more than bring its franchise creators and the movie company a healthy profit. It had set the standard the world round in regards to technological advancement. The human could practically see a highly-advanced, futuristic assembly line being set up n the temple grounds, churning out everything from fighter planes and war-jacks to fridges and bikes in record time.

"Otaki and Tamiya are going to go nuts when I tell them that we have to dismantle the Yukikaze because of what you have pointed out," Keiichi finally spoke when he finally managed to regain his tongue and realign his thought processes, "They've been working on it for the past six months."

"It's either that or you get a lengthy stay in the hospital. I do not want to see that happen. It will make my sisters sad."

Serafall decided then to enter the conversation. A race would be a good time to cosplay as a race queen, something she always wanted to do.

"A race, Keiichi-tan...?" the female arch-devil skipped over to join the young man and his companion, "I heard something like that being discussed by Tsukune-tan and his friends during the Festival. Would you mind telling me more? Shirou-tan and I could help."

Both Keiichi and the Divine Artificer turned to look at her as she knelt on the floor next to them. The second stared at her, still unable to believe that one of the feared Four Monarchs of the Underworld was a Magic Girl fanatic. The first had been startled at first, but had accepted her within moments. The eldest Norn had told her that Keiichi was known and trusted by those who lived both on the fringes and underbelly of society.

"Any help would be most appreciated, Serafall-san. But I am sorry to say that there is not much I can offer in compensation."

Serafall took the chance to wrap her arms around him and kiss Keiichi on the cheek, an act that shocked the young goddess next to her and cause a brief tempest to materialize out of thin air. The Great Serpent turned to see the calmly-smiling face of Belldandy looking at her. Nothing in the goddess's body language or her eyes bespoke of her disapproval, but the elements spoke volumes of her displeasure. Urd, who was nursing a cup of hot sake in the background, had one eyebrow raised.

"Consider that kiss," the female arch-devil winked at the blushing young man, "as payment for my aid. And yes, Belldandy, Shirou-tan and I will be helping you. And no, you do not get to refuse. If what I heard Tsukune-tan tell me about the odds you are up against is true, you will need all the help you can get."

(O)

Tariki Hongan Temple

Later that evening...

The club-house where the members of Nekomi Institute of Technology's Auto-Club gathered and worked was old and run-down, but heavy with the weight of pride and dignity. In the ten years since its founding, the converted garage the club's founders had managed to secure had seen to extensions being added to the original building. The boyfriend of one of the club members had helped to design and build the small annex for the club as part of his school project. The sturdiness of its construction was such that the earthquake that had struck the region did not so much as shake more than a few beams out of place. An entire wall was dedicated to past members of the club. More than a few pictures saw to weddings being held within its humble interiors, and a small shrine stood to honour those whose lives had ended before their time.

Skuld could see why Belldandy and Urd loved the place. For all their eccentricities, the Auto-Club was replete with good-hearted souls who knew the value of what they had. And the machines in the vicinity practically sang praises of those who worked on them. The fierce arguments that filled the air told the teenage goddess that they took their labours seriously. Any Divine Artificer would be proud to have such individuals in his or her entourage.

It was only when Belldandy finally step in did the arguments stop. It was only when she had allowed her to tell them why the pride of the club had to be dismantled did they give way. It was only when she told them of the changes and improvements she would make to their work did she see the excitement in their eyes. Keiichi had told her that his friends lived to chase their horizon. Their dreams were there, and they were determined to grow old and grey holding them proudly to their chests.

She began to see why her sisters loved the human they had bound themselves to so much. He was the wind under their wings and the prayer spoken by devils and deities alike. Skuld shivered, the delicious sensation of arousal and hunger spreading its sinuous tendrils through her body, as she remembered what Keiichi and Belldandy had been doing in the privacy of the university's swimming pool...

X X X

Nekomi Institute of Technology

Sports and Recreation Centre

Some three hours ago...

There was no doubt in Keiichi's mind as to what Belldandy intended when she took him to his university's Sports and Recreation Centre instead of the clubhouse. The dark blue sheen of her eyes, the insatiable hunger in their smoky depths and the way she had licked her lips, told the young man that his goddess hungered, and that there was only one way she could – and would – be sated. Raising one hand, the silver-blonde haired Norn erected a Bounded Field – one that would ensure that the two of them could do as they pleased without interference or interruption.

Not that there would be any. It was the holiday season. The only people that were inside the Sports and Recreation Centre could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and all of these were looking forward to closing the facility and going home. Her Charms had ensured that no one saw the two of them enter the facility, and no one would bother checking the pool the two of them would be using for the next two hours.

Keiichi watched as the clothing Belldandy wore disappear in motes of golden light, before being replaced by a bikini which accentuated her voluptuous curves. The young man swallowed hard, seconds before a single wave of the goddess's hands saw to his clothes being changed into swimwear. It did not help matters that he was as aroused as hell, his erection pushing hard against the latex, hungering to be sheathed in the body of the woman before him.

Perfect lips curved into a sinful smile that was just as faultless. Try as Keiichi might to tell Belldandy to show mercy in what was to come, everything in the goddess's body language told the young man that his girlfriend wanted to ravish him until he was incapable of thought and movement, to soil herself into sweet madness and oblivion, and to show him that every fantasy that haunted the primal darkness of his subconscious would find release in her.

Before Keiichi could even speak, his goddess had swept into him like a hurricane, kissing him hungrily.

'Mine,' the kiss spoke.

'Ours,' the eyes whispered.

'Today, tomorrow, forever...' the arms that embraced him promised.

"Belldandy..." Keiichi's voice, when the goddess finally let him up for air, was rough with lust and longing. It was soft, a prayer to the one whose lithe arms held him close and held him dear. The silver-blonde haired Norn smiled and ran a hand down his lean body, before stroking his erection with tender reverence. There was no denying what Belldandy intended now. The latter pushed him onto one of the nearby benches before kneeling before him, her hands pulling down his swimming trunks and revealing his phallus to the cold air.

The goddess looked at him through her lashes, the smile on her lips becoming predatory. Keiichi shivered, both in fear and desire. Urd had warned him. This was the beast that slumbered deep beneath the pristine perfection of the one both Heaven and Hell had called the Perficio Dea. Crimson wings emerged from Belldandy's back, completing the image of a goddess perfect in her corruption and wanting to show her beloved the way to dark paradise. She would visit every carnal sin that could be imagined across the ages upon his body and soul, leaving him sane and breathless and strong so that she could visit more.

'You belong to us, Keiichi. And for every moment of every hour of every day till eternity's end...you will learn the meaning of those words.'

Keiichi gave a strangled gasp as Belldandy took his erect penis into her mouth, and began to move back and forth. The air began to curl about them, taking on a musky scent that served to heighten his senses.

'A goddess loves fiercely, Keiichi.'

This was an agony that bordered on reverence. This was a torment that approached the holy. This was a sin that was sacred. Suffering was another name by which pleasure was known. Love could be found in sin and in the darkness.

'You know this.'

The young man clenched his teeth, fighting back the tsunami of sensation that threatened to drown out reason. It was near impossible. The goddess who was pleasuring him was as good, if not more so, than her elder sibling. Belldandy was dangerous in a way Urd was not. The latter knew every trick in the book – if not wrote entire chapters of said book – when it came of seduction and love-making, but the former was on the way to writing a treatise that would shame her predecessors.

'Submit, Keiichi...'

Keiichi was unable to resist any longer. With a strangled cry and fierce convulsions, his seed slammed into the back of Belldandy's throat, searing hot and puissant. The goddess swallowed each fierce jet with relish, before allowing the last mouthful to flow onto her cupped hands. The young man could not help but stare at the lovely creature before him as she lathered his semen over her body, the lewd smile on her lips serving to fan the flames of his libido back into an inferno.

'...and let yourself be devoured.'

X X X

Skuld had been unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of her sister debasing herself in such a fashion. The latter had drunk Keiichi's seed like it was ambrosia. And then, she had proceeded to lather the last mouthful over her body, sending a fierce spike of arousal blasting through Skuld's veins. It was at that moment the teenage goddess almost felt her heart stop. Not in disgust, no, but in awe. What her older sibling had done was an act carried out by the succubae to mark themselves as the mate of their Destined One.

Such an act preceded what would be the most electrifying sexual encounter in the life of the latter, one that would be repeated time and time again till the day he died. A succubus worshipped her mate, moulding herself into that erotic fantasy that lurked deep in his subconscious even as she moulded him into that which he always wished to become. Thus, even the weakest of men emerged from their long courtship with the seductive female devils as nightmares made flesh, wielding power that could scorch the air and blades that could shatter the earth.

Keiichi was no different. Skuld knew that had her sister not been sent to grant his wish, Niflheim would send one of its daughters to do likewise. Or worse, come for him itself. Some of Skuld's friends who worked within the Goddess Relief Office had told her that Keiichi's file had been in the hand of the Empress of Niflheim herself when the young man made his wish. That, in the seconds after the wish had been registered in Heaven, her father had received a call from his opposite. What had passed between her father and the Empress of Niflheim could only be guessed at, but the smirk Skuld had seen on her mother's face when she met her for dinner spoke volume of how pleased the latter had been by how things had played out.

How would their parents react if they saw Belldandy do what she just did? The young goddess could imagine her father's stunned expression and her mother's shocked, yet delighted, one. Both had known that it was only a matter of time before both her sister and her Contractor crossed that line. But this...this was a home run. The ball had been knocked out of the stadium and the city.

This was a side of Belldandy that Skuld did not know existed. This was a side she doubted even their parents knew existed. Her sister had ever been the embodiment of all that was good and great about Heaven. She was loved and revered by every deity and spirit that lived in the light of the Unconquered Sun. She was perfect. Which was why, to see her sister choose to sully herself in such a manner – and relish every second of it – was breathtaking.

Words were spoken; words that captured in every word and syllable a predator's intent to utterly ravage and devour its prey. They would have put the sweet endearments uttered by Niflheim's finest courtesans and temptresses to shame. It was oil poured over an already-raging fire. Skuld saw the soul-aura of her sister's Contractor become a blazing inferno of crimson, white and gold.

Skuld knew, even without accessing her powers, what was about to happen next. Keiichi's love for her sister was mingled with the overwhelming, primal desire to dominate her. And this, the latter encouraged.

'Take me,' her sister said, 'Impregnate and break me. Stain my body and ruin me. Just as I belong to you, you belong to me. I will show you every shade of sin and every depth that can be dreamt of...'

X X X

Skuld pushed aside the layer of cloth covering her nether regions and began to toy with the nub of flesh there...

X X X

Keiichi pulled at the knots that secured Belldandy's bikini, allowing them to fall from her body. The goddess stepped back and allowed her wings to emerge from her back. Crimson pinions the colour of blood and the glow of dying stars spread wide. One elegant hand cupped a full breast while another parted the stained petals of her nether regions. Belldandy was the ideal the divinities and spirits of Heaven reached for. Verdandi was the sin that dwelt deep in each of them.

But where they would struggle to not allow their shadow souls to stain them, Belldandy allowed her shadow soul to be part of her. She loved him; there was no doubt in those endless azure eyes that reflected the bright depths of her soul. And what Belldandy loved, Verdandi worshipped. The latter's desire to be sullied repeatedly by him gave shape to that love and made it burn hot.

Belldandy knew that it was only a matter of time before she gave birth to Keiichi's children.

Verdandi wanted to make it happen, the tiny forms of her offspring proof positive that the impossible was possible.

Moving close, the crimson-winged goddess kissed her mate before pushing him onto the wooden table and straddling him. Gentle fingers took the engorged phallus and rubbed it against the moist opening between her legs, teasing and tender, before taking her lover's full length in a single stroke. Verdandi shivered in delight, relishing the sensations that flooded her body. She could hear her angel shrieking at the back of her mind, a wail of sweet ecstasy that goaded the goddess to drink deeper of the sin she had chosen to make her own.

X X X

Skuld remembered seeing, via her portable Auspex arrays, just how deeply Keiichi had penetrated her sister. He was practically thrusting against the fleshy walls of the latter's womb. And he had proceeded, with wild abandon, to flood her body with his seed. Jet after merciless jet was poured into Belldandy's writhing form. The sounds that had spilled from her sister's lips had made Skuld shiver. Every strangled gasp and every fierce thrust caused Skuld to bite down harder on her gloved hand. Every kiss served to deepen her envy. Every orgasm caused her to plunge her fingers deep into the opening between her legs.

Keiichi worshipped her sister as she should be worshipped. Everything he had was being offered up to her willingly. No favour was asked. No reward was sought. But both Heaven and Hell had unspoken, unwritten rules by which its inhabitants abided. Those the inhabitants of the twin realms held dear would find that every possible blessing that could be given and spared would be proffered with gentle hands upon those they loved.

One does not ask for eternity. One lived it, and it is measured by those moments that take your breath away.

And when Belldandy took the dominant position, the memory of that moment – one of the many that would come – would take Skuld's breath away, and sow the seeds of her fall.

X X X

Urd had told him, back when the two of them had gone to a bar several weeks back, that every deity and angel in Heaven had his or her opposite in Hell. The Doublet System paired a divinity with a devil, to ensure that neither celestial kingdom could take up arms against the other without losing their counterparts in either realm. It was a failsafe created by the King of Heaven and His Adversary in the days before their armies marched out to meet the Titans and their servants in battle. Neither Lords of Creation could afford treachery within their ranks; the Morningstar's brief but bloody revolt showed them that nothing could be left to chance.

The silver-haired goddess had told him that her father's Doublet was her mother. Without asking, Keiichi knew who it was the silver-haired goddess was talking about. The latter was not talking about her stepmother, the one who had given birth to her younger siblings. She was talking about the one who was her father's first love, a female arch-devil who now sat upon the Onyx Throne of Niflheim and who waited for her beloved daughter to return home. An arch-devil Urd loved and feared in equal measure.

She was her promise to her father, a bond that can never be broken. She was their impossible dream made a reality, just as he was hers. Keiichi remembered the smile on Urd's face and the feel of her lips on his moments later.

'You...' the bronze-skinned goddess had whispered in quiet reverence.

"...belong to me," Verdandi's voice replaced Urd's, the voice of the former as low and smoky as latter's, her internal muscles gripping and caressing the hard, enormous length in her body, "And I will spend an eternity showing you every carnal fantasy that will haunt has haunted the dreams of your race for ages uncounted."

"Belldandy..."

"Hush, dearest," the Norn whispered, placing one elegant finger on her lover's lips before running them down his jaw and his lean, muscular body, "Say nothing. Words do not matter, not when what is between us is beyond that."

Verdandi rested her hands on her lover's torso and began to ride him vigorously. She felt Keiichi stab deep into her body repeatedly, the latter's phallus pushing past her cervix with merciless lust and into her stained, flooded uterus. It was perfect; so very, very perfect. The literal lightning-storm of sensation that flooded the Norn's body was breathtaking. She could feel her mortal lover's desire to impregnate her, the wards she had placed on her body to prevent such an occurrence taking place be damned. He would shatter them and claim her. He would see to it that she would be made his slave.

The image that took shape in her mind excited the goddess. She saw herself naked and heavily pregnant, her legs spread and Keiichi ploughing her with fierce abandon. Her thighs and the futon beneath them were slick with spilled fluids, and the sounds that filled the air would have seen to a saint break his or her vows of celibacy. She saw Urd holding Keiichi close to her lush form, her older sister relishing the sight of her on her back and ravished mercilessly. And she saw Skuld – sweet, innocent Skuld who knew so little of the vices indulged by deities and devils alike – trembling in the aftermath of intercourse, her well-endowed chest rising and falling with each breath.

Perfect lips curved in a wicked smile. Yes. Yes, that would be perfect. Verdandi knew that many male gods and spirits had their eyes on her little sister. More than her beauty, they desired her for the influence that being mated to her would bring. But Keiichi would love her, just as he loved Urd, for being who she was.

Now how would she bring her little sister into her web?

Her mother had told her that, in matters of love and politics, it was the slow blade that penetrated. And Belldandy knew just how she could lure her youngest sibling into the web she was weaving for her family.

X X X

Skuld teeth bit down on her glove as a fierce orgasm tore through her, and her bodily fluids sprayed fiercely from the opening between her legs. The teenage goddess writhed in ecstasy, imagining that it was not Belldandy that Keiichi was making love to, but her. He was so like her, enough that she was comfortable talking to him about everything under the sun. Her war-jacks, her pride and joy, had conversed with her sister's Contractor as if they had known him for decades. The fact that he understood what they were saying amazed her. That he managed to grasp the concepts that led to their creation stunned her.

And it was his words that told her she had found her long-sought other half. It was impossible, yet wasn't Creation made of impossible miracles? This was the King of Heaven's greatest labour, the dream that will endure till eternity's end. Miracles were rare and precious things, sought by all that lived within and beyond Creation.

The teenage goddess raised her hand, her fingers slick and gleaming with her bodily fluids, and smiled.

'Would Belldandy be willing to share Keiichi with me...?'

It was bad and wrong, she knew, as it violated every law that was written and known by the denizens of both Heaven and Hell. But she wanted it so very much.

(O)

Outside the room, Belldandy watched the panting form of her younger sibling through a crack in the door, taking in the latter's nude, curvaceous form, gleaming with sweat and her full breasts rising and falling with every breath. It was a sight artists from across Creation would sell their souls to see. Youthful innocence flushed with passion, the realization that love was more than just words and promises, but kisses and tender caresses.

The silver-blonde haired Norn smiled, before walking away to rejoin Keiichi at his room. Things were falling into place. All she needed was time...and a few carefully-placed words to nudge things along. She laughed softly, and sang to the air.

"Welcome to my parlour, said the spider to the fly. Within these webs, shall you dream, love and forever lie..."

To be continued...

Author's afterword:

First things first, I tender my apologies for keeping everyone waiting for almost ten months. I was made in charge of my company's projects for this year, and manpower and time were things in short supply. Fighting on four different fronts with limited resources is not funny, let me tell you. And recent events in my country have left me...less than pleased. I won't bore you with them; the international news networks will fill you in better than I can – and they're pretty on the money, too.

Okay, moving on, we now have Skuld officially on Earth (and who doesn't realize she is caught in Belldandy's web). We have Emiya Shirou and Serafall from Fahad09's 'A Demon Lord's Hero' showing up next chapter. We have the Winter Race that will, because of the Akashiya Concern and the Aoshima Conglomerate, become a major event. This will give me time to draw out the...moments between Skuld and Keiichi (with the aid of a very wicked Belldandy and a very, very eager Urd).

After Skuld's chapters are done, as I mentioned in the foreword, we will move on to Peorth, Lind and finally, Hild. And the next intermission, I will carry out Belldandy's promise in regards to Mara. It is time for our favourite female devil to fall.

Last but not least, review! Tell me if I set the temperature for this chapter right, and if the story flowed and aligned well with the previous chapters.