A Crime to Play

by Jessica da Maia

Aqua is back in action thanks to a chance encounter with a familiar fellow in the Realm of Darkness. However, she soon realizes that it's such a fine line between a good man and a bad. Her once strong exterior melts away to reveal rising fears and forbidden desires as she finds herself caught in a dangerous game with the "Terra" she once knew. Rated T for now; M for later chapters.

10. Love

Author's note: I know many of you here have been anticipating the build-up to the consummation of Terranort/Aqua's relationship, and how the rest would unfold when conflict would arise once again. Unfortunately, I have lost the drive to even stretch this story to 100 chapters.

Back then when I wrote this story, I had all the ideas for a good romance/suspense/horror fic, but sadly no stable plot. Hence why I took on the 100 themes challenge, in order to improve my writing.

I know it's been a few years since I last updated this, and I don't know if I'll ever come back to finishing all the themes to this story. I may rework this again and make it my own without the theme challenge, but only time will tell.

So, I leave you guys with what would've been the 18th chapter. Yes, I am jumping ahead because I know everyone of you have waited for so long, and I don't want to keep my readers hanging anymore. I'm sorry for not being able to think of anymore good ideas for the themes in between. Perhaps when KH3 finally gets released, I'll find the inspiration to rework this story.

When I wrote this lemon chapter, I was heavily inspired by Eastern influences at that time, so mentions of Tantric sex and all that jazz will be mentioned a lot. I hope you guys don't mind. I also thought I should leave a huge afterword at the end to explain my reasoning for this chapter. Mind you, I wrote this like what-back in 2011? When I was still in university and took some anthropology, human sexuality classes, etc. I was on the course of obtaining my BA in Psychology, so a lot of what I learnt back then, I used a lot in my writing both in class and outside of class work. So no, I was not tripping on psychedelic drugs when I wrote this, and please excuse the corniness that may arise here and there once you start reading this.

At the very least, I hope you all will enjoy it nonetheless and leave me some encouraging feedback.

Special thanks to MonMonCandie for being my wonderful beta reader throughout this whole journey, and special thanks to all of you wonderful readers for sticking with me for this long.

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Theme No. 18: Love
(*warning* lemon/smut chapter)

A heart-shaped moon casts its bright light through the open window of the highest tower located at the east wing of a looming, steel grey castle. This high tower, housing two undressed figures embraced in the arms of each other, serves as their pantheon. And there, on the majestic bed of the sacred temple, lay the anointed ones.

Gandharva vivāha.

They have exchanged their mantras and garlands way beforehand in the early hours of the morning up at the Altar of Naught, signifying the commencement of their sanctified joining to each other. It was a very Spartan wedding; no fancy gown, no fancy suit, no elaborate reception, no gathering of guests whatsoever. It was just the two of them dressed in the usual black coat, with only the light and authority of the heart-shaped heavenly body present to witness and give consent to their day of holy matrimony.

Love marriage.

Time endlessly passes by as they gaze into the eyes of each other, the windows to their souls brimming with an impression of longing to the return of what is familiar. They can care less if they have been gazing and caressing each other like this for hours now, inhaling and exhaling each other's breaths along the way in a tantric manner to create amongst themselves an awareness of spiritual harmony. Eternity can slip away for all they care. In fact, they'd rather have it if they can just hold each other like this forever, sharing all of themselves with each other in marital felicity.

Celestial marriage.

In the cross-legged lap of the deific man nestles the body of his woman. His left limb supports the head of the woman while his free right limb breezily brushes the sides of her athletic hips and thighs before moving them towards her upper body, continuing to caress in an unhurried pace all the way up towards her angelic face.

He stares at her face as he cups it in his hands and studies her with such intensity: long, silken blue tresses that coyly cover the mounds of her breasts and beautifully frame her rosy cheeks, with a set of eyes to match—eyes so blue that they complement Xemnas's orange ones. They stare back at him with an aspect of burden and yearning, a mixture of agony and ardor swirling in those blue depths. Her expression, so full of anguish, makes her look so delicate—such a juxtaposition to her body, which is robust in appearance.

Nevertheless, she looks exquisite like this, this nymph of the water that currently rests in Xemnas's laps. He once long sought her, wanting to capture the striking nymph that escaped from his life several years ago. He pursued her to the far ends of the earth, crossing oceans of time to find her, where he discovered her hiding near the dark mountains in the sea stream that bordered the Dark Margin.

Now this nymph is here with him, resting silently in their pantheon, nestled safely in his arms.

The nymph continues to gaze at the man and quietly admire every fibre of his naked being. With a body as hard as rock and as dark as the earth, and a face as handsome as the Earthshaker's, he is like a god to her—it is as if he is the manifestation of that Greek god of the sea and earthquakes.

Aqua lightly places her hand on Xemnas's godlike torso, lazily tracing the chiseled surface with her dainty fingers until they reach his chest. She rests her hand on the area where his heart should have been, desperately trying to feel for a heartbeat.

"You're so dead…" whispers Aqua, her fragile voice tinged with heartache.

Xemnas doesn't respond. Instead, he simply releases his cupped hand from her face and makes it wander towards her bosom, to the area where a heart still beats and occupies her thoracic cavity. He lets his hand rest there for a while, keen on sensing her every heartbeat. They are slow at first, but soon orchestrate to rapidness, with Aqua's bosom simultaneously heaving in excitement. They hold onto each other's bosoms like that, trying to feel each other's heart thumps with such fixation.

Aqua, with a voice still strained with distress, tenderly asks, "…Can you feel it?"

Xemnas slowly nods his head in silence.

Aqua merely frowns; she in turn can't feel any stroke from the cavity of Xemnas's chest.

"I wish…" she murmurs. She can't get herself to spill the entire phrase from her mouth, for a forming lump in her throat is preventing her from doing so.

I wish you knew, she states calmly in her mind. Wish you knew how much I…I…

Tears begin to cloud Aqua's vision as she ruminates about her passion for Xemnas. It hurt too much to even confess to him how much she feels for him. She wishes he feels the same way for her, but can only hope in vain that he does.

Xemnas lifts his palm away from Aqua's bosom and gingerly wipes away the escaping tears with his thumb. He picks up one of the garlands that are scattered on their bed sheets and adorns Aqua's neck with it.

"Why do you doubt when assurance is right there in front of your eyes?" questions Xemnas. He cups her face once more, as if capturing her beautiful yet pained expression, allowing such a sight to imprint into his memory, before slithering his hand down her body again.

"So you…?" questions Aqua, her anguished voice trailing off in confusion.

"Although I cannot feel, if my memories strongly persist such emotions and desires to be remembered, and such oaths to be kept, then so be it."

Gandharva vivāha.

Love marriage.

While Aqua continues to rest her hand on Xemnas's chest, he lays his once more over Aqua's before slowly moving it over to the mound of her breast, his dawdling fingers leaving shivers down her back. He then grazes the side of her waist, causing Aqua to shudder once more, and feels the firmness of her toned oblique muscles before sliding his palm down to her shapely thigh. He cradles it and observes her entire figure, studying every feature, every bump and dimple of her nude form. With cerulean hair cascading like the river under and over her shoulders, a face slightly wet with tears but nevertheless lovely, and a porcelain statuesque body illuminated by the light of the heart-shaped moon, she radiates the mien of a goddess. It is as if she is the breathtaking reincarnation of Amphitrite, the beautiful Greek goddess of the sea and consort of Poseidon, ruler of the seas and earthquakes.

And she is just right there, under Poseidon's arms, for his to keep. Here, at the meeting place of the two worlds—the terra firma and the aqua—will she no longer be the water nymph. Instead, she will be ordained as queen, the goddess to his oceans and islands.

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you…" murmurs Xemnas.

"I missed you," Aqua voices softly. More tears inevitably escape from her eyes, despite her efforts on fighting them back. She finally let go of her hold on Xemnas's chest and lifts herself up from his lap into a semi-upright position. Letting her right arm support her weight while her left hand cups The Earthshaker's face, she studies his features. His appearance—so divine yet so dull in emotion—leaves Aqua breathless but grieved at the same time.

"Terra," utters the water nymph in an overwrought tone. "I want you to know—" Her lips are daring to tug themselves into a frown, and Aqua can't help but sniff her nose and weep some more. Squeezing her eyes shut, she muffles the whimpering sound in her throat and smashes her lips onto Xemnas's before hastily pulling away and confessing, "—that comes from my heart."

Regardless of the exchange of their mantras and garlands to each other earlier in the day, Aqua will probably never be able to directly say to Xemnas the three magic words. The best she can do is to express them through action, and she is bound to let him know as much as possible, with all of her heart, how much she worships and adores him.

Gandharva vivāha.

Love marriage.

Celestial marriage.

Xemnas, stunned by her action, gapes at her for a moment before placing his palm to the side of her cheeks. He let his thumb mildly sweep the soft skin of her rosy lips before pulling her in and returning the kiss.

Aqua, shocked at the unexpected reciprocation, gradually shuts her eyes and permits her husband to osculate her, at last allowing her worries whisk away into this night of seclusion. The remainders of the water nymph's tears stream down her face, landing with a splash onto her breasts. Xemnas kissed the wet streaks that ran down Aqua's cheeks, tasting the saltiness of her tears, initiating a rush of visions to reel in his mind—he can taste the ocean, he can hear the sound of the waves; he can see clearly the all too familiar shores of his subconscious.

He licks the last bits of the nymph's waterworks that are splattered all over her breasts, tasting the saltiness of the sea again, listening attentively to the sound of the waves, trying to capture with keenness the shards of memory that flash through his mind. Aqua quivers with delight as Xemnas leisurely drinks the tears that have speckled the soft mounds of her breasts. Upon noticing this, he gently pushes her down onto the bed and lays his body over hers with great care while he spreads her legs apart and hugs her waist. He looks down at her face and notices that it no longer holds an angst-ridden appearance; rather, it holds an air of ardent and salacity.

Salacity.

Salacia. Amphitrite. The goddess of the sea to both Romans and Greeks alike. Soon to be Xemnas's goddess and co-ruler of his oceans and islands.

He crashes his lips onto hers again, his tongue tantalising the plump, pink, velvety flesh, begging for entrance as the desire to taste more of that briny water washes over him.

The sea maiden complies, and Xemnas, having no thought of hesitation at all, goes in full force, roughly kissing her as his tongue explores at liberty the cavern of her mouth while his palms caress her waist and inner thighs. Aqua, lost in the waves of pleasure, can only close her eyes and kiss him back with the same eagerness. She encircles her arms around his neck and deepens the kiss, her tongue battling against The Earthshaker's, slipping and sliding all around as she savours the salt of the earth, the light to her world. Aqua feels as though she is drowning and Xemnas is the only solid thing in the world. She moans against him, wanting more, pleading for this moment to never end, but Xemnas just nibbles her lips in a teasing fashion before completely breaking the kiss. He looks at her again and sees that her cheeks are flushed, her lips are swollen, and her eyes aching with thirst. Aqua needs him, needs him so badly that she can't wait any longer and compels her arms to dart southward, but Xemnas immediately stops her from advancing any further by hastily pinning her down in a fluid motion with just one strong hand.

It has been a decade since the sexual and romantic tensions between them have gone unresolved. Aqua just wants to get it over with and let it all conquer her, but Xemnas won't tolerate such a thing. He's not going to let that water nymph flee again from his sight. He'll make her wait as long as possible; he'll explore every single inch of her figure, relish every single ounce of her essence, before taking the deep dive into her ocean depths.

Aqua, annoyed at Xemnas's hold on her, tries to shake her arms free from his grasp. She glares up at him, but sees that his orange eyes, wrought with salaciousness, pierce into her blue ones with such supremacy that any attempts to break free from his grasp have disintegrated into nothingness.

Salacia.

Amphitrite.

"Aqua," asserts Xemnas with a voice full of dignity.

The sea maiden just continues to glare at him, her face tinged with a blend of terror and thrill.

Neptune.

Poseidon.

"My god," she gasps, eyes widening at the sight of the glorified being hovering above her as a sudden realisation dawns upon her.

Earthshaker.

Water maiden.

Xemnas simply lowers his head to her side of her face and whispers into her ear in a soothing manner. "You will be exalted on high," he declares. "For tonight, you will be mine."

Gandharva Vivāha.

The marriage of the celestials.

Aqua, still at a loss as to how to comprehend the epiphany that just hit her, merely gawks at Xemnas's words as he proceeds to peck and playfully tug at her earlobe with his mouth. She shudders and moans in excitement as his sloppy kisses slowly trail down her smooth, ornamented neck and onto her collar bone. Xemnas lightly brushes aside the garland that covers it and sucks away with a bit of savageness at the succulent skin before leaving a small bruise behind.

Xemnas releases his hold on Aqua and shifts himself further down to her bust, letting one hand tweak the coral-colored nipple of her left breast while the right one is engulfed into his hot mouth. Aqua exhales a sharp cry and slithers her palms onto the crown of Xemnas's head, her trembling fingers combing through his silvery locks as he carries on torturing her nipples with his teeth and fingers. He sucks and tugs friskily at the mounds of her breasts, delighting without restraint in the marine flavour of her nipples and the ivory flesh that surrounds it. Aqua whimpers at the sensations that overwhelm her; she feels as though she is melting into a puddle under Neptune's command of her bosom.

Xemnas, satisfied from the fulfillment of his appetite for her bosom, moves on to the next course by trailing his ravenous mouth down her chiseled abdomen while he let his hands wander freely all over her torso, his wet lips and adept tongue causing the sea nymph to laugh from the ticklish feelings. Smirking at the nymph's response, Xemnas proceeds to tonguing her navel while placing his right hand between her legs to pet her nether curls and softly rub against her pink petals, instigating the nymph to erupt in a combination of moaning and laughter. She squirms in torment at the relentless actions of Neptune, hopelessly struggling to pry his head off and away from her navel.

Neptune, simpering at the maiden's attempt to get him away from her navel, merely lingers his tongue in and around it, teasing her once more before moving on to her mound of Venus. However, he stops his tracks right there; he won't drink her just yet. Instead, he continues to palm her clam, feeling the fast forming wetness leak from her vestibule. She is so slick that Xemnas is able to slide a thick finger with ease inside her orifice. Aqua slightly tremors at the touch of the Earthshaker and begs for more, but is let down when he withdraws his finger from her orifice.

"I want you," asserts Aqua, a sense of longing haunting her voice.

"Not yet," answers Xemnas. He glides himself back onto her trunk again while having his right hand remain on petting her wetlands. Leering at her pleasing expression, he then plunges his head down into the valley of her breasts, tracing his lips all the way up to the tip of her left breast while his left hand gently squeezes her right one.

Aqua begins to moan again as the Earthshaker devours her bust with his mouth and massages it with his left hand, all the while trembling in ecstasy at the proficient workings of his other hand on her pearl. The Earthshaker slowly parts her clam and slides his middle finger inside her treasure cove, stroking its moist walls in an unhurried fashion. He builds a steady pace, causing the nymph to emit soft little moans from the amazing feeling of him playing with her pearl and sliding in and out of her. While Xemnas works on increasing Aqua's arousal, he carries on squeezing and savouring her breasts. He teases each nipple with his ravenous mouth, biting and sucking on them hard until they've become swollen from the sensuous stimulation. Subsequently, he traces his lips all the way up to her neck and kisses the garland that garnishes it before brushing it aside to expose more of the nymphs's soft, ivory flesh. He tickles and suckles on it, triggering the nymph to squirm and whimper in enjoyment. While his mouth relishes her skin and his left hand kneads her bust, Xemnas slides another finger inside her wet cavern with his right hand and curls both fingers upon detecting her sacred spot. He begins to stroke it lightly with his curled fingers, sending Aqua off into a wild frenzy of erotic enjoyment. Xemnas starts to exert more force on his strokes, instigating Aqua to shriek in excitement. She greatly lifts her legs back in order to meet his intoxicating touch at a better angle. As Xemnas builds up the pressure, Aqua suddenly has an uncontrollable urge to eject a torrent from her geyser. She can feel the pressure reaching her peak, so she immediately throws her arms around Xemnas, clinging on for dear life and wailing as a jet of fluid erupts from her geyser. She shakes violently as her geyser continues to erupt and spray fluids onto her lover and all over the bed sheets. This went on for what seemed like an eternity, Aqua's head and eyes rolling back as she feels the quakes of her earth-shattering orgasm.

Once Aqua's orgasm has completely died down, Xemnas frees himself from her and glides his damp right fingers towards his mouth, tasting the sweetness of the water nymph's nectar as he ogles her features with his piercing, lascivious eyes. Aqua, stupefied at what just happened, simply stares back at him with marvel.

"Look around you," orders Xemnas as he licks away the last of Aqua's nectar from his fingers.

Aqua abides and releases her embrace from him, pushing him aside and lifting herself up into a sitting position. She gasps as she sees how soaking wet the bed sheets are. Glancing back at Xemnas, Aqua notices that her fluids drenched his skin as well. Color rushes to Aqua's cheeks as embarrassment floods over her.

"I did this…?" she asks nonsensically.

Xemnas merely smirks at her. "Nothing to be ashamed of," he answers. He then crawls in front of Aqua and sits himself into a cross-legged position. Next, he directs Aqua to the same in front of him. She abides once more, and once she got herself situated, Xemnas instructs, "Place your palms supine on your thighs, and look at me."

Aqua does so and sees that Xemnas has done the same thing as well.

"Don't break eye contact," he orders.

They stare at each other like this for a while, slowly breathing in and out, their eyes piercing into each other's souls as they become spellbound and reach a deep level of intimacy and spiritual awareness that is only accessible through this Tantric art of lovemaking. Xemnas can envision himself unlocking the higher planes of consciousness, nearing ever so closely to his goal of becoming complete and one with the universe. However, such an act is only the beginning, and after a minute has passed by, Xemnas grabs Aqua's right wrist and guides it over to where his semi-hard member is. He wraps her dainty fingers around it and commands, "Now you please me."

Aqua, still dumbfounded from the activities of the sex god, simply gapes at him, bedazzlement and lust twinkling in her eyes. She utters with a quivering voice, "Terra…"

Xemnas, with a smug expression lingering on his face, places his palms onto Aqua's head and lowers her onto his chest, her lips barely brushing their solid surface. Xemnas reclines himself as Aqua's lips begin to osculate and trace the toned exterior of his pectorals in adoration while she strokes his manhood with her right hand into complete hardness.

The Earthshaker groans from the gratification he's receiving and tilts himself back even further onto the bed as Aqua's free hand starts to roam all over his trunk while her other one continues to play with his flute. She reclines with him and shifts herself over to his ear. She initiates licking and nibbling at it, causing Xemnas to grunt in response. He let his palms wander all over her fit form as she pleases him into oblivion, his chilling touches sending shivers down Aqua's back.

Aqua trails her kisses down towards Xemnas's neck, caressing the smooth skin with her tongue and sucking at it with her moist lips. Xemnas grunts in great satisfaction and grabs Aqua's ample bottom, squeezing and kneading it so brutally that his nails dig into her soft flesh. Aqua draws in her breath sharply and whimpers from his rough play that she sucks even harder on his neck until a bruise is left to form on the spot. The Earthshaker growls at the pain and pleasure he's receiving from her bites and her flute playing.

Aqua, a simper plastering her face, breathes softly onto his skin, "Terra, my…my beloved…dearly beloved, your glory…it covers the earth." She then lifts her head up to meet his eyes, her roaming hand reaching up to cup his face as she voices soothingly, "As long as there's breath in me, I'll glorify you."

Xemnas can feel his member become rock hard at the sound of Aqua's ego-stroking words. He halts her activities and grips the sides of her face with his hands, guiding them down towards his erect earthshaker.

"Kiss it," he commands.

The sea maiden lightly places her wet lips on the throbbing tip of his shaft, engulfing it and making little circles with her tongue around its opening. Xemnas groans loudly as he receives the kiss of the maiden, and he watches her stroke his lower shaft and boulders with her palms as her mouth licks and kisses his tip, teasing it as she observes it throb and grow harder. She wraps her lips around the tip of his earthshaker, sucking at it, but taking only the tip in. Sucking and osculating she worked the head, getting Xemnas harder, twisting her tongue around the shaft, taking more of his earthshaker in a little at a time. Xemnas growled, enjoying the pleasure of Aqua's tender little mouth on his shaft.

As she sucked harder on the tip, Xemnas grips her head and pushes her down further onto his shaft, trying his best to get her to take it all in, but she resists and pulls away.

"I can't," whines Aqua.

"Try again," directs Xemnas with no remorse.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Pet me."

Aqua only takes his stick in halfway but continues to stimulate the rest with her delicate fingers, encircling his base with it and building up a steady rhythm.

Xemnas unleashes a strident groan as the water nymph works her magic, eyeing her with hunger as she consumes his manhood with that same level of hunger. He observes her switch up her pattern a bit by lapping his boulders this time and having her hand work his shaft instead. Bits of preseminal fluids leak from the tip of his stick as Aqua puts her thumb on his frenulum and starts teasing it. She takes the leaking fluid from his throbbing tip and glazes it all over his shaft, its already moistened surface even more moistened by the lubrication of her drenched hands.

"Enough," commands Xemnas.

Aqua obeys and stops. She sits back up and glances at him, but before she can further do anything, Xemnas swiftly pushes her down onto the bed in one sweeping motion, causing Aqua to huff in surprise. He glares down at her with animalistic desire swirling in the depths of his piercing, orange eyes. Aqua just stares in return, anticipation building up in her blue ones.

"Indulge me," pleads Aqua.

Smiling coyly at her plead, Xemnas utters in a hushed tone into her ear, "Maiden of the sea…your seduction, beauty and scorn will be the death of me."

The maiden gasps and makes a slight moaning sound of thrill, her esteem boosting from the Earthshaker's bewitching words. At that point, he immediately grabs her hips and darts for her treasure chest. He buries his face into it, inhaling and indulging in the oceanic scent. He pulls away and places a hand on her left inner thigh, grazing it all the way up to her treasure. He squeezes her soft pink petals between his fingers and begins to rub and caress them, slowly seducing the sea maiden into a frenzy. Xemnas pulls gently on her inner and outer labia, admiring the maiden's culminating moans and movements from his touch. Aqua raucously begs him to lick her, but he simply refuses, making the impatient nymph glower in response.

"Patience, dear," purrs Xemnas. He runs his fingers up and down between her labia, slowly tantalizing her opening just a bit. Pleasurable sensations wash over the nymph as Xemnas continues to stroke her, enjoying and fancying the pleasure he is giving her. Xemnas moves his hands away from her clam and lets them roam all over her thighs, stomach, and pelvic arch, teasing and taunting her with every single touch of his skilled fingers.

"Please…" Aqua whimpers, her body squirming in eagerness.

Xemnas, smirking at her response, instigates on devouring her, his tongue slurping and savoring her scrumptious clam as his palms sensuously knead her inner thighs. This triggers Aqua to unleash a shrill of satisfaction, and she places her hands on his head and pats it, her fingers raking through his silver mane in enjoyment.

Xemnas moves his tongue freely from Aqua's inner lips to her outer labia, drawing her intimate lips into his mouth and massaging them with his tongue. He dips his tongue deep into her grotto in order to take a sip of the delicious water before dipping it back out and shifting over to where her pink pearl is. He lightly flicks it with tongue, triggering the sea nymph to shriek wildly, curl her toes, and buck her hips in delight. She pushes his head down closer to her center in order to better meet with his tongue, and he licks the throbbing, pink bud in circular motions and tenderly sucks on it while sliding two broad fingers in and out of her grotto in a steady cadence.

As Xemnas continues to taste and relish the sea maiden's clam, she sings to him a siren song of passion while leisurely combing his silver hair with her fingers. Her haunting voice escalates into screeches as she nears the apex of her arousal. However, Xemnas, upon noticing this, releases his hold on her, delaying her orgasm once more.

Aqua, annoyed at Xemnas's sudden halt of his intoxicating activities, growls, "What gives?"

"You've never experienced enlightenment, haven't you?" retorts Xemnas; an air of amusement coats his leering face.

"Huh? You mean like what the Master taught us?"

"No, little love. I mean an enlightenment of a different kind…"

Xemnas then sits himself back into an upright cross-legged position and instructs Aqua to resit herself into that lotus style. Once they have situated themselves, Xemnas directs Aqua to make eye contact and harmonize her breathing with him again as they bring their spiritual and sexual energy into alignment with one another in a meditative manner. Once they feel connected, Xemnas has Aqua straddle his waist and wrap her legs and arms around him. Before he proceeds on committing any further actions, he inquires, "Tell me…what do you desire?"

Aqua gazes at Xemnas with uncertainty, for is his dark, orange eyes are unreadable to her. "I…I don't know," she stutters. "…I can't think."

"Tell me exactly, or I shall give you nothing."

At this moment, Aqua's head is spinning and her face is twisted into a mixture of exhilaration and panic. She realizes that she has now come to the pinnacle of where those ten years of unresolved romantic and sexual tensions will finally have their resolution. The tensions just kept on building up until this day of their secret matrimony; now the only thing that's left is to perform the final act of this sacred ritual.

Finally having her mind made up, Aqua palms the side of Xemnas's face with both of her hands and sticks her forehead onto his. She glares into his eyes with such intensity, as if searching for the lost soul that became drowned in those orange depths. Never letting go of her lock on him, she slightly parts her lips and releases a breath before answering. "Above the universe, beneath the great heart-shaped moon, I shall desire you forevermore."

Content with Aqua's answer, Xemnas places a quick peck on her lips and shifts Aqua a bit so that he can carefully position his lingam into her yoni. Although this is Aqua's first time, it doesn't hurt her much since she's already long since broken her hymen from high-impact sports. She and Xemnas then completely embrace other, their arms and legs interlocked into that sacred Yab-Yum position as though to represent the symbolism of the male deity in sexual union with his female consort.

"What are you, a sex god?" asks Aqua in amusement.

"Perhaps," replies Xemnas, a smug appearance forming on his features.

"It's been ten years, Terra. I've waited for that long."

"I know it has been a long time…how about we prolong that wait into eternity instead?"

Aqua quirks her eyebrows. "Have you lost your mind?"

Xemnas chuckles at her question; it's already been long lost. "Aqua, you've already become my consort on this night. But do you not realise how truly divine and holy you are?"

Aqua snickers at his flowery words. "You exalt me too much."

"Why so? You're the embodiment of Amphitrite to me."

Aqua, flattered by the compliments, snickers some more and reaches for the remaining garland on their bed and places it around Xemnas's neck.

"Poseidon," she utters. She kisses his brow and then has her forehead and nose touches his. She closes her eyes and abruptly pecks his lips, smiling into them before pulling away. "My king," she finishes.

Xemnas just gazes at her, his attentive eyes drinking in her enchanting features as he initiates on taking in her divine energy. Aqua in turn opens her eyes and makes strict contact with him again while she sanctions her hands on caressing his well-built body. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Xemnas proceeds on reclining her in order to get in touch with her sacral chakra. His face brushes against her soft skin as he breathes in her feminine, aquatic floral scent; she smells like a lotus flower. His eyes are also wide alert in this entire process of controlling the exchange of their spiritual energy. Next, he glides his nose in a sluggish way up towards her chest and gradually brings her back to leaning forward, taking his time to inhale all of her energy centres as he experiences a rush of recharged sexual energy flow through him. He stops at her chest for a moment, taking his time to breathe in the power emitting from her heart chakra, feeling her love for him flow throughout his entire being. Next, he moves his nose up to her throat, continuing to take in her scent and energy until he reached her Third Eye chakra. He breathes in heavily as a rush of fragmented memories flash through his mind, the visualisation of each of them becoming stronger and clearer with each deep inhalation. A particular fragment caught Xemnas's attention, and he holds on to it for a moment, analyzing its content before releasing it back into the void:

"You and me, we'll go across the universe."

"And make history along the way, too, right?"

"We'll go together."

Subsequently, Xemnas tilts Aqua forward a bit more and brushes his nose across Aqua's face, continuing his steady breathing until he reached her crown chakra. He takes one last deep breath on the area, feeling complete spiritual awakening as the energy from Aqua's crown chakra rushes into his nostrils. Lastly, he kisses her head, locks his eyes onto hers, and declares, "Come, Aqua. Let us travel across the universe."

Aqua catches her breath at the mentioning of those particular words. "Th—those words—they're—" She grips the side of Xemnas's face, her face leaning onto his as she states, "That was—that was our childhood dream!"

Xemnas simply nods his head.

Aqua, her hands and voice shaking in shock, whispers hoarsely, "You—you remember…" Her eyes suddenly become watery.

"Don't break the meditation now," addresses Xemnas as he places a quick peck on her cheek in order to soothe her soul. He looks into her eyes and declares, "Partake in this enlightenment with me, Aqua. We'll go across the universe in a whole new light."

Thrilled from the sound of his declaration, Aqua nods her head in agreement and blinks her tears away. She has Xemnas lean back, supporting himself on his arms while Aqua drags her hands and face down towards his sacral energy centre. She commences on breathing in his energy and indulging in his masculine, earthy scent; he smells like sandalwood. Then, she mirrors Xemnas's actions by keeping her eyes wide alert and creating a steady rhythm of breathing while she grazes her nose from his sacral chakra all the way up to his heart chakra. She takes her time to absorb each unique channeling of energy from his chakras as he gradually leans forward. However, once she arrived at his chest, she remarks, "I don't feel much energy coming from here."

"The flow of energy has been interrupted ever since I lost my heart," notes Xemnas. "But don't stop there. Proceed with breathing meditatively and absorbing my remaining energy until you've reached spiritual awakening."

Aqua complies and continues grazing her nose over his remaining energy centres. She finishes the last of her meditative breathing, at last reaching spiritual awakening. Next, she places a kiss on Xemnas's head and smiles warmly.

"Now, Aqua," asserts Xemnas as he gazes at her. "Fill me with your power. Complete the void in me as the dualities of our nature weave into one. Receive my power and surrender to the god in me, as I surrender to the goddess in you." Not even giving Aqua a minute to respond, Xemnas crashes his lips onto hers, sucking them and lightly running his tongue over them while he caresses her body. Aqua returns the favour and permits him to enter the moist cavern of her mouth. They begin their rhythmic exchange of spiritual and sexual energy by inhaling and exhaling each other's breaths. Their chests heave in sync with the cadence of their breathing, and their hands caress all over each other's back in playful abandon as they open their bodies up in receiving more pleasure and reaching even higher states of bliss.

Xemnas can detect the sexual energy building in his genitals. However, rather than letting this energy out right away through a regular orgasm, he intends to magnify and spread it throughout his body for increased pleasure and a more mystical experience. He initiates this by running his hands up from the base of Aqua's spine to the top of her head, visualizing the spreading his sexual energy upwards from his genitals, and guides her on repeating after him. Once they sense that they've built a high sexual charge, Xemnas stops their movements. He places a palm on his wife's heart and says, "The energy has ripened, and now is the time for us to consciously share it with each other. Do as I say. Place your hand over my chest."

Aqua does as she's told and puts her hand over Xemnas's chest.

"Immediately commence breathing in a circular pattern. As I exhale, you inhale. As you exhale, I inhale, and vise versa."

Aqua breathes in the flux of energy that Xemnas is transferring to her. In turn, she breathes out her own energy and transfers it to Xemnas as he breathes it in. As Xemnas's energy circulates throughout her body, she experiences an overwhelming feeling of compassion wash over her. Contorting her expression in pity, Aqua looks into the emptiness of her husband's soulless eyes; she loves him so much that it hurt her soul to see his continued suffering. With her hand over his chest, she visualizes a sphere of healing energy emit from the base of her spine and up towards her crown, and transmits it through Xemnas's crown and into the energy center of his chest. She can sense and visualize his damaged energy wheel sluggishly animate itself to life. It's not much, but it is enough to keep the circulation going, so Aqua smiles at her achievement.

In the midst of Xemnas's rejuvenation, he can feel profound sense of wisdom flood over his entire being. Through this insight, he is able to uncover certain truths about himself, learn truths of the world, the universe, and the psychic forces of enlightenment. He is better able to see the universe in its entirety, see the balance which once sustained it. He is able to discern what needs to be accomplished and what needs to be abandoned. He can feel the essence of the universe; he can feel himself coming ever so closer to his goals.

Just then, as Xemnas exhales, he pictures sending hot, sexual energy out through his lingam into his wife's yoni.

"Aqua," he utters. "Are you still following?"

"Yes," she responds.

"Good. The next thing that must be done is for you to inhale and visualise bringing my energy in through your genitals, up to the center of your body, to your heart."

Aqua utters a sound of affirmation and inhales the incoming energy. She can see and feel the erotic high as it enters through her yoni up towards her heart chakra.

"Now, exhale and send that energy out through your heart, and back into the energy centre of my thorax."

Aqua releases a deep breath and channels the sexual energy back into Xemnas. He breathes the energy in, drawing the power in through his thoracic energy wheel and back down through the center of his body. They repeat this magical circle a few more times; out through his lingam, into her yoni; out through her heart, into his 'heart'. In fact, they continue circulating this energy for as long as they can retain their focus, each heavily lost in the moment of this sacred art of lovemaking.

Subsequently, Xemnas begins to rock his lingam in and out of his wife's yoni, building up a gradual, steady rhythm that synchronizes with the tantric movement of the rest f their lovemaking. They roam their hands all over each other's backs in a concentric fashion, tracing an infinity mark on each other as Xemnas's ramming becomes faster and harder. In reaction, Aqua moans in bliss and leans back, escaping from her husband's embrace in order to support her weight with her arms. She begins to thrust her hips in time with his, her love muscles clenching ecstatically onto his throbbing lingam. Xemnas grunts in gratification at the physical sensations he is feeling from Aqua's clenches, all the while throwing his head back as he drowns himself into her stream of erotic divinity. Their momentum increases, and Xemnas can feel himself reach the crest of his climax. As he notices several muscle contractions signal the inception of his ejaculation at the base of his lingam and deep inside his pelvis, he immediately halts his thrusting and commands Aqua to halt hers as he squeezes his pelvic floor muscles tight. He clutches onto Aqua closely and emits loud groans of erotic satisfaction as he reaches his dry orgasm, his lingam untainted with not even the smallest spillage of his seed.

As Xemnas gives himself a minute to rest, Aqua can't take it anymore as she is getting impatient by the minute. She questions Xemnas in an irritated manner, "What, so you're just going to have it all for yourself?"

Chuckling, Xemnas replies, "Little love, you have a lot to learn. The goal of Tantra is to not have orgasm as the end-all and be-all of intercourse."

Aqua grimaces in disbelief. "If that's so, then why did you just now…?"

Xemnas, with a brazen smile plastered onto his face, answers, "Tantric sex is the closest thing to multiple orgasms for men."

"Hm. What's in it for me?"

"A prolonged state of arousal."

"Hm! That doesn't sound very satisfying to me."

At the sound of those words, Xemnas snakes his arms around Aqua's adorned neck and pulls her in. He glowers at her as he enunciates, "Don't you see, Aqua? Tantra is not narrowly focused on having performance-based sex. It is about having our entire being aroused sexually and spiritually. It is about connecting with the divine within you and within me. It is about having an elevated state of consciousness, a spiritual connection with the entities around us. A harmonious union between us, the elevation of our souls that to the level of gods as we acknowledge the divinities within us. The merging of our dualities into totality, our dual sexual natures into one ecstatic union. It is enlightenment at its finest as we experience such a deep level of intimacy circulate throughout our bodies, bringing us ever so closer to each other and to the wisdom and truths about the universe."

Aqua, however, merely snickers at such absurdity. She probably thinks that Xemnas got this from Master Eraqus at one point in time, and she can't help but snicker some more as she envisions him and the Master having a father-and-son-talk about such private matters. "Tell me your secret, Terra. This mystical Tantra thing you speak of, did the Master teach you this?"

"I could lie and say that a wise disciple of Gautama Buddha from the Land of Dragons passed his wisdom and knowledge down to me. However…" A lascivious smirk slowly creeps upon Xemnas's lips. "I assume that you have already made your conclusion by now."

Aqua raises her eyebrows and purses her lips in amusement. Laughing, she places her forehead onto Xemnas's and eyes him with intrigue as she says, "So the Master did give you some one-on-one alone time on this…oh, sexuality education?" She laughs some more and then kisses Xemnas's nose. "Well then, enlighten me."

Xemnas, with a smirk still playing on his lips, proclaims, "You will get your climax, dear…but only after prolonged hours of lovemaking."

Aqua sighs. "Alright, sex guru. If it's really as amazing as you make it out to be…"

Xemnas, his expression now serious, glowers at her once more. "I want you to enjoy this sacrament of love with me at its fullest, Aqua. So come join this cosmic dance with me as we travel across the universe in sensuous bliss." He then leans into her ear and whispers, "And as for your orgasm…it will be like nothing you've ever experienced before."

Aqua shakes in anticipation and excitement at the sound of Xemnas's proclamation while he inhales her energy and exhales his energy into her nostrils one last time. His palms brush all over her back in that concentric way, forming an infinity symbol once again as he builds up sexual energy within her. Aqua can sense herself getting lost in that erotic high again as Xemnas works his divine magic onto her. She moans and rolls her head around as she reaches the edge of her arousal, her meditative breathing becoming erratic. Xemnas can see Aqua's eyes become glazed with lust and the rest of her features become flushed with sexual arousal. Just as she is about to tip over that sensuous waterfall, Xemnas places a finger gently on her adorned neck without even moving a single inch of it.

Just then, tingling sensations initiate in Aqua's hands and feet. Her hands begin to feel light as the sex energy moves up her spine and throughout the rest of the body. The tingling sensation continues to move up her legs and arms accompanied with a pulling sensation rising up through her stomach and the base of her spine. Subsequently, it proceeds up to her neck, chest and face area before rising to her head. As the sexual energy reaches up to her head, Aqua heaves and releases a sharp cry of ecstasy. Her whole body is vibrating with ripples of pleasure as her mind experiences a state of bliss. It's as though she is feeling an abundance of sensual high and elation as her mind opens itself up to the cosmic truths of the universe. She even literally feels as though she is out of this world, as though she is forever soaring high in the astral planes, forever spreading her wings and never coming down as she soars across the universe. She takes in the warm radiance of the stars, feeling their wisdom and knowledge fill her entire being and give her a profound sense of peace and harmony.

While Aqua is lost in her state of bliss, Xemnas carefully holds onto her and just idly watches by, enjoying and admiring the full body orgasm that has taken over every fibre of her being. This entertaining spectacle went on for a while, with Aqua's full body orgasm coming in waves of about two minutes at a time. Sounds of endless moans drowned in sublime euphoria resonate throughout the entire room as the enlightened water nymph rides the waves of her climax, each wave becoming stronger until it reaches her mind again and create a succession of blissful states.

About ten minutes have passed when Aqua finally came crashing down from her heaven. Her body stopped writhing and her voice stopped emitting moans of pleasure. Instead, in its place are shrills of uncontrollable laughter as the siren experiences the aftershocks of her climax. She cups the sides of Xemnas's face and exhales her laugher onto it, the breaths of her sultry voice causing him to beam in gladness. She gazes at him, her eyes twinkling with mirth as her lips form a grin.

"How was it?" asks Xemnas.

"Lovely," answers Aqua as she coils her arms around his neck and pulls him in for a quick kiss. "Absolutely lovely." Giggles erupt from her as she states, "You are a sex god, aren't you?"

Xemnas smirks at that thought for a moment before changing his smug expression into a deadpan one. He snakes his arms past Aqua's neck and around the back of her head, cradling it as he sticks his temples onto hers. He utters quietly, "Nothingness is eternal…"

"Hm?" mumbles Aqua as she exhibits a somewhat perplexed expression.

Nirvāna.

Nothingness.

"Nirvāna is eternal, Aqua" blurts Xemnas as he lightly raises his hushed voice. "Nir-vaa-naaa…"

"I don't understand," mutters Aqua as she knits her eyebrows together. "What are you trying to say?"

Freedom from saṃsāra.

Liberation into the Void.

Xemnas lowers his eyelids halfway, as if to give off a sleepy, tranced look. He murmurs very languidly, "Save me…from my…suffering…"

Aqua, eyeing him with a look of pity, releases her right hand's embrace on his neck and slides it over to the side of his face. "Terra," she mumbles as she delicately palms his cheek, her voice tangling itself as heartache hits it once again. "You have to let go of that anger and hatred within you. Only then can you be free from your suffering."

"Without you, my Shakti, the path to enlightenment would not be possible."

"I will help free you from your suffering…"

Xemnas's expression changes into an intense stare as he gently pushes Aqua down onto the bed, careful not to accidentally slip his lingam out her yoni so as to not break their sexual bond. Xemnas releases his embrace on her and supports his weight with his arms, shifting himself around until his rock hard member teasingly nudges the walls Aqua's orifice, making her gasp as nerves shoot to life. However, Xemnas prevents himself from going any further and instead gazes upon the maiden's exquisite face, searching for signs of readiness in those lovely features.

"Aqua," he announces. "This is the final sacrament. I will not proceed further unless you permit me to do so."

Aqua allows her eyes to lock onto Xemnas's one last time before nodding her heard in affirmation. She lifts herself up a bit and whispers sublimely into his ear, "Come, my lord."

At the signaling of his consort's permission, Xemnas begins to thrust, but only ever so slightly. As he moves in and out of her at a leisurely pace, he says to her, "Don't expect this to last only for a few minutes."

"I don't," retorts Aqua.

Xemnas merely smirks. "Just earlier, you were expecting conventional sex."

Vigorously shaking her head, she states, "You want enlightenment? Then I'll give it to you. Anything to free you from your suffering."

"You are on the correct train of thought," says Xemnas. "Now…work with me, Aqua." He closes the gap between them and starts to graze his hands up and down the sides of her body as he continues to rock in an unhurried manner.

"What do you—want me—to do?" pants Aqua as her spouse's tempting touches bring her into arousal.

"Let go of everything," replies Xemnas. "Surrender of all your mental, emotional and cultural conditioning, so that universal life energy can flow through you freely. Just simply listen to your body and follow your instincts as your mind opens itself up to higher states of consciousness." He then kisses her passionately, their tongues swirling around each other and their lips sucking each other in a playful way as they enjoy the taste of each other. Xemnas soon breaks the kiss and whispers, "Just simply let go…"

Still not exactly sure of what to do, Aqua just follows Xemnas's instructions by caressing his back and tuning in attentively to what her body instinctively wants to do. As her arousal heightens, she initiates on wrapping her legs around him and rock in time with him as their bodies begin to meld into one. They continue this for several minutes, their locked eyes never breaking away from each other, their slightly parted mouths never ceasing the controlled movement of their breathing, and their hips rocking into each other at a slow and sensuous pace. They ride the waves of pleasure with no rush at all to reach the ultimate climax, and they simply enjoy the building intimacy and spiritual union between them.

Soft moaning and groaning can be heard throughout the blessed chamber as the divine couple surf near the edge of orgasm. However, just before either of them can tip over, Xemnas immediately relaxes and clenches his pubococcygeus muscles as he breathes slowly, allowing just tiny waves of valley orgasms to flood over him, just enough to satisfy him and his partner without completely going over the edge and reaching the point of no return. Still, he can see Aqua almost tipping over the waterfall, and so he rescues her before it's too late.

"Stop," he commands. "Slow down your breathing, slow it down…relax your abdominal muscles."

Aqua, looking as though she is nearly drowning in the erotic current, sluggishly nods her head and relaxes herself as her body retains the build-up of sexual excitement.

"Have you reached anything that was similar to your full body experience from earlier?" asks Xemnas.

"No," answers Aqua.

"Then don't go into orgasm yet," orders Xemnas. "The key to Tantra is to skillfully ride the wave-edge until you have accessed the higher states of consciousness." Thenceforth he glares at Aqua and asserts, "Mark my words. Do not go into orgasm until you have charged the higher chakras and not just the base chakra."

Aqua plainly makes a sound of affirmation. Subsequently, Xemnas lifts Aqua and pulls her down with him as he reclines on the other end of the bed so as to change position without breaking their lingam-yoni bond. With the roles now reversed, Xemnas states, "You, Aqua, are Shakti. You now take in charge the role of the goddess. Give to me your never-ending flow of wisdom. Open up the path of enlightenment to me, and then come and partake with me this journey to self-realization as we travel across the universe once more."

"Yes, my Shiva," blurts Aqua with a tinge of amusement coating her voice. Gleams of excitement dance in her eyes as she simpers at her spouse.

Smiling smugly for an instant, Xemnas then retorts, "Those breathing exercises I taught you earlier? Keep on doing them. Remember, do not go into orgasm until you are absolutely ready to do so. And whatever you do, don't ever break eye contact."

"Yes, my Shiva," reiterates Aqua, the simper on her face widening into a grin from heightened amusement. Bending down to give Xemnas a quick kiss on the lips, she therefore commences on rocking in a slow motion as she gradually builds up the sexual energy between him and her, inhaling as Xemnas exhales in that meditative fashion and vise-versa. Aqua massages his nipples with her fingers and teases them with her lips, causing Xemnas to moan in delight. She persists on relishing the chocolate morsels of her lover with her mouth while she lets her palms massage the rest of his trunk, instigating Xemnas to emit countless strings of pleasurable moans that clash with hers. As their sexual arousal increases and they near the climatic edge yet again, Aqua halts her rocking. She and Xemnas relax their love muscles and decelerate their breathing, retaining their arousal for the perpetual rounds of sex that are yet to come.

They change their sexual position into a spooning one, with Xemnas regaining his symbolic role as the Hindu god, Shiva, and controlling the direction of their lovemaking once again. He carries on their cycle of slow grinding and meditative breathing, their eyes never breaking contact with each other as the intimate and passionate atmosphere between them increases. Shiva grazes his palms all over his consort's extremities and massages her breasts, making her shiver and moan in delight. He leaves several trails of moist kisses all over her ornamented neck, letting her know how much she is worshiped and adored by him. He continues this worship and adoration of her until they surf near the edge of the erotic wave once more, thereby slowing down their actions and accumulating more of that erotic high to help last them into the night.

They extend this plateau phase of their lovemaking for several minutes whilst they take turns in directing it, their Kama Sutric positions always exemplifying the powers of the divine within them. Endless moans and groans of euphoria abound throughout the sacred space as the minutes transition into hours, and they at last begin to feel their sexual bliss melt into a spiritual one. They pant heavily but slowly, careful to control their breathing so as to not excite themselves too early into orgasm so as to just enjoy the sexual and spiritual oneness as they elevate themselves to the level of gods. The once dual natures of their sexuality in this symbolic, cosmic dance of the divine begin to merge into an ecstatic union as masculinity melds with femininity, darkness with light; yin with yang; wisdom with compassion; god with goddess; Shiva with Shaki; object with subject; earth with water; water nymph with the Earthshaker; Salacia with Neptune. The snake of energy that rests at the base of their spines has risen to meet their topmost chakras, giving them complete access to the higher planes of consciousness. As the ripples of pleasure effortlessly flow between them and the state of their bliss expand even further, Aqua senses great warmth and tingling starting in her toes. This electrical feeling soon moves up her body and shoots out of her eyes, creating within her an intense experience that is nearly indescribable. She feels as though there is an element of heat circulating within her and a field of light clouding her vision. In fact, the light is so bright that Aqua can't help but squeeze her eyes shut. But even with closed eyes, she can still see the light and see it moving. It is so incredibly powerful that Aqua thinks she must have been transported into another dimension.

Meanwhile, as Aqua revels in the paranormal light, Xemnas feels himself being transported into another dimension as well. As the coil of energy that once rested at the base of his spine continues the connection with his crown chakra and release a powerful stream of energy throughout his entire being, he observes a vastly unfolding vision of a thousand lives flash before his eyes. He is able to recall with tremendous clarity these countless numbers of lives—his life as a hellish being of darkness, his life as a mere shadow; his life as a godlike being; his life as a king; his life as a newborn child; his life as a young boy; his life as an islander; his life as a healer; his life as a disciple; his life as a sage; his life as an apprentice; his life as a warrior; his life as a scientist; his life as a hellish being of darkness, his life as a mere shadow; and so forth—it is as though he is living this great wheel of life in its entirety. However, he can sense something strange with these past life glimpses. Just something about them isn't right—they do not flow perfectly like a calm stream of water—rather, they constantly clash against each other like raging ocean tides clashing against the jagged shoreline rocks. It's as though foreign forces are interfering with his cycle of memories. Nevertheless, through his heightened state of awareness, Xemnas is able to discern which of these are either illusions or reality.

"Shakti," voices Xemnas through breathless moans.

"Yes, Shiva?" pants Aqua. Her eyes have become glazed making her expression unreadable.

"Assure me as I recite the details of my previous lives. Give me the affirmative of the illusionary and the reality."

"I will."

"My past life has a demon of darkness…is reality."

"Affirmative."

"My past life as a hungry ghost of the shadows…is illusion."

"Affirmative."

Xemnas, narrowing his eyes at the affirmation of his realizations, proceeds his recitations as he analyzes the higher levels of his past life existences. "My past life as a deity…it is illusion."

"Illusion, it is," blurts Aqua, her voice becoming hollow.

Xemnas just continues to glare at her. "The king in me is an illusion."

"It is not you."

"The newborn child has been one of my realities."

"It has been you."

"The young boy is reality as well."

"It has been you."

A sense of anticipation overwhelms him as he nears the final reviews of his past lives. "The islander…that is not reality."

"It has never been," states Aqua.

Xemnas knots his eyebrows at the affirmation of that certain past life's truth. The islander frequently shows up in his dreams, and the memories it embodies can be quite vivid at times. "The healer…is not reality."

"It has never been," reiterates Aqua.

"The sage…it is illusion."

"Illusion, it is."

"The disciple, the apprentice, the warrior, the scientist…they are all reality."

A strange change of tone overcomes Aqua's voice, and she states in a languid way, "Only one of them is."

Xemnas sneers at the false assumption of his final analyses. He could have sworn that he truly lived out all those lives. But then again, further investigation into the contents of those lives reveals that is where the source of interference is coming from the most. "Impossible. They all seem to overlap…"

"Dive deeper," blurts Aqua in a plain manner.

Inconsiderably frustrated, Xemnas changes their sexual stance so that they are back to situating themselves into the Yab-Yum position. They never cease on breaking their breathing and rocking, however. In fact, they have now become effortless. They never cease on going overboard the erotic wave-edge, either, for fear of breaking their connected, heightened state of awareness. Their bodies very slowly but seamlessly move as one now, with all the natures of their duality merging into totality. As Xemnas re-aligns their chakras, he breathes in and closes his eyes, observing attentively the vivid visions that manifest before his eyes. A peculiar one clearly rings loud to him, and he carefully examines its contents. He is able to view the vision's contents in its entirety, as if he is watching a film from beginning to end. However, there is one part of this memory reel that particularly catches Xemnas's eye, and he continues to watch with keenness.

In the frames of the memory's film depicts a growing boy who appears as though he has is in the early stages of puberty. Innocence radiates in his blue eyes, and an expression of wonder washes over his youthful face as a wise, fatherly figure standing before him instructs him on something shrouded in mystery. Xemnas definitely knows what those esoteric teachings are about, for this particular memory has appeared in his dreams before. This was day before they embarked on their journey to the Land of Dragons, when that wise father was preparing him for one of the most difficult paths he was about to partake in his life. He also remembered the reason why his old man began to lecture him in such a stern fashion on that day, because weeks before that day, Xemnas was still living under his ignorance of human sexuality. He smiles wryly at that thought; never did he think in his life that such a single, absurd event would trigger a chain of events that would completely change his perception of such things, and how they equate to the attainment of perpetual bliss. He definitely knew what happened on that day; that was the day when his father disciplined him by making him produce seminal fluid five times throughout the afternoon without rest. Xemnas chuckles at that thought; it was his punishment for thinking about sex in the typical, narrow-minded way that most people think about, and such narrow-mindedness is what is keeping them from ever fleeing the never-ending, karmic cycle of rebirth. That old man surely did teach Xemnas a lesson, for now he truly knows what the punishment was for, why he needed to be disciplined, and why he had to undergo the most rigorous training of his life: it is to realise the apparent emptiness of all things, to free himself from the cycle of rebirth, to free himself and his dearly beloved ones from suffering once and for all. Sacred sexual union with a consort is just the final stage of it all in this Tantric quest for enlightenment.

"Aqua," utters Xemnas as he forms an infinity symbol on his consort's back with his palms.

"Y-yes?" mutters Aqua, her voice quivering as she marginally eases out of her trance.

"Do you remember the day when our old man and I departed for training in the Land of Dragons?

"Yes…that was the day when I was taken care of under Master Yen Sid's wings, because father didn't want me to be home alone."

"And I never told you the reason why father and I departed for the Land of Dragons, correct?"

"Yes…you said that it is a secret that must be kept, or else father will punish you dearly for revealing it."

"I am about to reveal to you the truth, for we have reached that point where it is safe to do so. If this Master Yen Sid taught you anything about the Diamond Way of the Master, then you will understand why."

Falling a bit more out of her trance, Aqua widens her eyes and gasps. "You mean—all along, you and father were following—" she has become nearly speechless. "That dangerous path of the Great Way! You were trying to achieve enlightenment in a single lifetime!? How? Why?"

"That is the reason why the Diamond Way is often esoteric," states Xemnas matter-of-factly. "The teachings are difficult and thus are only given personally from master to pupil. They are secret because they demand a certain maturity of the pupil. Otherwise, they might have a negative effect, such as your misunderstanding of it."

Aqua, shocked at Xemnas's reasoning, grips the sides of Xemnas's face and spits, "This truly is more than just sex now, isn't it?" She relaxes her grip on him and says weakly, "Terra, you have to come back. You're almost there…"

"That is why I need your wisdom, Shakti," mumurs Xemnas. "So from what you have just experienced in your transcendental state, I implore you to reveal to me the truth about everything." He inhales deeply as Aqua exhales, trying to gain some insight from her.

Soon Aqua begins to do the same and traces with her hands the infinity mark on Xemnas's back. She asks rhetorically, "What do you make of your anger and hatred?"

"Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else," answers Xemnas. "For it is the angry one who gets burned."

"As for hatred?"

"Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love. This is the eternal rule."

"You deny that a wise disciple of Gautama Buddha passed his wisdom and knowledge down to you, yet you echo the Buddha's very sole words of wisdom," states Aqua. "Reveal to me then who this disciple is."

"It is no ordinary stranger that I merely met on the road," replies Xemnas. "It is he, Master Eraqus, whom comes from an unbroken lineage of disciples. It is he who taught me the Diamond Way and has passed the unbroken lineage of discipleship down to me."

"As for your attachments to anger and hatred?" asks Aqua, her voice becoming hollow and her eyes glazing again as she reenters the higher realms of awareness.

"Śūnyatā," answers Xemnas. "Zero. Nothing. They are empty. Impermanent. They may seem real, solid and permanent at first, but when analysed closely, it is impermanent and constantly changing. It has no inherent meaning. In other words, they are 'empty' of my confused projections."

"Wisdom surely is flowing through you then if you have at least reach that point," remarks Aqua. "You have detached yourself from them and realise the emptiness of it all. However, compassion is important, for it goes hand-in-hand with wisdom. Do you embody compassion itself?"

"Compassion abounds within me," states Xemnas.

"Then when is your true objective for obtaining Kingdom Hearts?" questions Aqua, her voice becoming languid again and her eyelids becoming droopy.

Xemnas narrows his eyes at Aqua; they pierce relentlessly into the windows of her soul. His lips are parted as the unbroken cycle of their breathing, along with their simultaneous slow thrusting, brings them near the climatic wave-edge yet again. They slow down their act so as to carefully surf the edge and not flip over. Xemnas then answers, "It is so that I may achieve salvation for the sake of all other beings."

"Do you know who is still suffering?" inquires Aqua through her panting breaths.

"Everyone in this castle."

"There is one more, and he is not in this castle."

Xemnas, with his eyes still narrowed, attests, "I know who he is and where he is. He is whom which I have sought since the inception of my Organization."

"Then you know what the true objectives to your occupation are?" questions Aqua.

"Along with what I've stated earlier," blurts Xemnas with a bit of assertiveness, the tension between them increasing. "The other truths to my occupation are to understand that there is no awakening to achieve, no other beings for me to have compassion on, and that I myself do not exist."

"Then tell me," murmurs Aqua as though she is dragging her speech. "Who are you?"

Xemnas closes his eyes for a moment, the film of memories reeling through his mind once more. They are a lot clearer this time, and he notices that they are finally free of the interference of the other illusionary past lives. The film plays through his mind with no more pausing, no more rewinding, no more editing, no more adding, no more deleting. It has become seamless and perfect in its oneness. With this newfound realization, Xemnas declares, "I, Terra, am the Superior of the In-Between. I take the Middle Path, walking between existence and non-existence, walking neither in darkness nor light. I take the twilight road to enlightenment, for that is the road to liberation."

At the sound of Xemnas's declaration, Aqua immediately halts her hands' concentric grazing of his back. "Then you, Terra Bodhisattva," she announces clearly through her hollow voice. "Have become enlightened."

With Aqua's announcement ringing loudly through his ears, Xemnas forcefully pushes her down onto the bed and begins to quicken his thrusting. However, he maintains it at a steady pace, leaning forward and wrapping Aqua's legs around his shoulders so that he can penetrate her deeply. The wisdom consort moans deafeningly with each deep grinding, and she arches her back and tightens her embrace on him, determined to at last enter into orgasm. Xemnas pushes on with his strenuous ramming, his jewel nearly sliding out of her lotus but quickly sliding back in, persistent on activating the nerves of her sacred spot. Aqua shrills in pleasure as she feels a strong vibration emit from her sacred spot and quickly spread throughout her body. Her meditative breathing now becoming erratic, she clenches her pelvic floor muscles and wails as the strong vibration that's circulating throughout her body migrates back to her base chakra and up to her crown chakra. She can feel the sensation shoot out of her head, as if sensations of white lights are shooting out of the top of her head. They blind her vision with brilliant light again and transport her mind even higher to the realms of the divine cosmos, overwhelming her with feelings of supreme bliss.

Xemnas can sense himself coming, and using the Tantric skills he mastered way back then, he clenches his pelvic floor muscles once more and takes deep and steady breaths. He groans stridently as the ripples of dry, valley orgasms overcome him and give him sensations of euphoria. The ripples soon die down, and he lifts Aqua up and changes their sexual position. He has her on top of him once again as he lies down on the bed. He looks up at her and notices something peculiar, something different about her: divine aura surrounds her head, and her eys, no longer glazed, hold a sense of serenity in them. Everything about her appears to be magnified: her porcelain skin, illuminated by the moonlight, sparkles with youth. Her toned body seems even more toned, as if the last jagged, imperfect bits have been chiseled away to reveal a completely perfect sculpture. Her long hair is much more saturated in its blue hue and even shinier than before. Hell, Xemnas could have sworn it even grew a couple of centimetres. The long lashes of Aqua's eyes are much darker and much more voluminous than ever, as if she was wearing mascara. Even the irises of her sapphire eyes are more brilliant than before. Her entire face looked flushed, and her rosy lips very red and quite voluptuous. It is as though her entire appearance radiates beauty and regality.

"Aqua…" mouths Xemnas soundlessly as he gapes at her.

Smiling warmheartedly, Aqua places her right palm on Xemnas's base chakra and slowly moves it upward as she recites, "Om mani padme hum, om mani padme hum, om mani padme hum…"

"'The jewel is in the lotus'," enunciates Xemnas.

Aqua breaks her chanting and says wittingly, "'The penis is in the vagina' is more like it." She resumes chanting her mantra as her palms travel up Xemnas's sculpted abdomen towards his chest, trailing the path of the energy centres that lie beneath them.

"So I see the Master also taught you well," remarks Xemnas; a wide smile of amusement creeps upon his lips.

Aqua halts her chanting again. Quirking her eyebrows, she glances up at him and says, "Well of co—" she gasps and widens her eyes at the unbelievable sight before her. She swiftly blinks her eyes and rubs them; did Xemnas just get a palette swap in phenotype? His skin has been lightened, the silvery colour of his hair darkened into a chestnut brown, and the pigment of his orange eyes traded for blue ones. Gawking stupidly at him, she lowers her gaze and notices that his once nude body has been clothed with none other than Master Eraqus's robes! Aqua vigorously shakes her head and squeezes her eyes shut; she must be hallucinating from all the recent nirvana trip she's been on. Refusing to open her eyes, Aqua proceeds with her mantra chanting and chakra charging while blindly locating for her lover's forehead. Xemnas, on the other hand, has a mixture of confusion and amusement on his expression. If he could laugh wholeheartedly, he would, but obviously his lack of emotions prevents him from doing so. He doesn't do anything to stop her though, and just idly observes her as he simply revels in the entertainment.

Once Aqua has located Xemnas's temples, she lowers her head and barely brushes her lips across it. She parts her lips, the warmth of her breath tingling his skin, and murmurs, "Terra Bodhisattva…you are destined to carry on the unbroken lineage of discipleship. You will proceed our father as lama, with your successor being that young boy from the islands whom you have inherited to him the Keyblade. He will be your sadhaka."

"I have not seen him in aeons," blurts Xemnas. Suddenly, realisation hit him as he muses upon Aqua's statement. Glaring at her, he stops her moving hand, grabs onto it tightly, and enunciates, "I will not allow him to initiate discipleship on the Diamond Way. It is too dangerous and will twist and delude his mind unless he is mentally mature enough to endure it."

Aqua finally opens her eyes at Xemnas's interruption of her actions. She can only imagine what trials and tribulations Terra had to go through during the time he spent in training over at the Land of Dragons, and she frowns at the thought. She observes Xemnas attentively and sees that he no longer appears as that otherworldly Terra anymore. Smiling wryly, Aqua murmurs, "If that boy is anything like you, then he'll get through."

Xemnas plainly stares at her, not knowing what else to say.

They continue their lovemaking well into the dead of night, the cadences of their breaths and the pleasurable sounds of their moans rising and falling as they lose themselves into the endless sea of bliss. Their harmonized breathing ceaselessly relays with each other as the circulation of their orgasmic energy pours into each other's souls, bringing their own souls to pour into the soul of the whole cosmos and into the divine ground of all being. It is as though they are Shiva and Shakti in step with each other in this cosmic dance of divine play. It is as though they truly are traveling across the universe, perhaps even above it. Indeed, the whole cosmos pours into them, the vibrations of its universal love soothing their souls as they drown themselves in the sea of supreme bliss. It is love in perfect non-dual union.

As nightfall gives way to dawn, they end their final round in the Yab-Yum position once more, signifying the complete oneness of their sacred union. Even their climax is harmonized into totality as the polarities of male and female—Shiva and Shakti, Poseidon and Amphitrite, Xemnas and Aqua—are no more, for Shiva without his Shakti is like a corpse; Poseidon without his Amphitrite unable to create islands and tsunamis; Xemnas without his Aqua is like a body without its heart. Perhaps even for the first time in such a very long time, Xemnas truly feels authentically whole.

However, having learned from the Tantric masters that to ejaculate is to waste precious life-force energy, Xemnas ends their session with one last clenching of his love muscles, his final thrust triggering Aqua to wail in sensuous bliss. They come together once more, the strong, sensuous vibrations reverberating throughout their body, causing them to clutch onto each other's back so tightly that they leave behind scratch marks. The crescendos of the elated blend of their moaning and groaning decrescendo into huffing and puffing as they slowly come down from their shared climax. Their curled fingers unravel and caress each other's naked bodies, and Xemnas takes his wife's breath away again by claiming her mouth with his. She closes her eyes and melts into the kiss, allowing herself to drown once more as feelings of euphoria relentlessly subdue her into the sea of bliss.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Aren't you going to sleep? It's five in the morning now," mentions Aqua.

"I could ask the same about you," retorts Xemnas.

They lie down on their marriage bed facing each other, both seemingly quite energized rather than spent from the long hours of lovemaking. Aqua glances up at the godly man that's lying beside her; she sees that he has himself propped up on his left arm and staring down at her, his bright eyes roaming all over her sculpted form. She smiles softly at him and says, "Thanks to your Tantric prowess, I feel alive and enlightened as well." She lifts herself up to have her lips meet with his. "I think I'll try going to sleep now, though. Goodnight, love." And with that said, she lies back down on the bed and lowers her eyelids as she dozes off into the dream world.

Xemnas just continues to gaze at her, apparently lost in her beauty. With the face of an angel, the voice of a siren, the body of a classical Greek statue, and the aura of a goddess, she never ceases to captivate him. Her entire form glows by the light of Kingdom Hearts, as if she is its present to him. Indeed, she is his now, completely his and his alone. Xemnas breaks his gaze away from Aqua and looks up at the heart-shaped moon that lingers outside of their bedroom window. He may have become enlightened this night; however, his work isn't finished yet. He still has to locate the Chamber of Waking and finish the production of Kingdom Hearts. He furrows his eyebrows as he reflects upon his goals: there was a time when memory revealed to him that his childhood self once revealed to Aqua what he would intend to do if he did decide to rule over a world. He remembered telling her that he would find whatever world out there housed all of their childhood fantasies of rainbows, fireworks, ponies, teddy bears, playgrounds, water parks and whatnot, and rule over such a world as its master. He never did find such a world, though. Aqua also never knew of his other childhood desire, for he kept this particular desire secret from her for a reason: whilst Aqua knew of his idealistic ambitions for travelling through worlds and ruling over one of them as a Master, what she didn't know was that should he ever fail to find a world that housed all of their childhood fantasies, he himself would reshape their homeland into one instead.

Xemnas breaks his train-of-thought and glances down at the angel that peacefully sleeps beside him. He looks back up at Kingdom Hearts; he knows what he has to do. Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, he'll use its power to form a world that's full of their childhood dreams, for that will be his surprise gift to Aqua. He lowers his eyes down at Aqua one last time, his lips widening to a brazen smile as he muses upon that clandestine goal of his.

"Soon, Aqua, soon," he whispers to her. He lowers his head to kiss her brow before situating himself into a comfortable sleeping position. Just before sleep captures him, he pulls the blanket over them and hugs Aqua close to his body. She stirs a bit and languidly moves her arms to cuddle him. Xemnas kisses her brow one last time and soon quickly joins her in the world of dreams.

They sleep soundlessly as they lay still, warmly embraced into the arms of each other as they travel through the deeper realms of their sleep. Aqua's dreams are full with fluff and romance that delight her heart to no end. And for once, Xemnas's dreams aren't so full of bizarre memories. Instead, he slumbers peacefully as he vividly dreams of the cosmos and of adventures across the surreal universe.

---

Afterword (from 2011; left unedited)

If it took you more than two hours to read this entire chapter (not including meal/bathroom/whatever breaks in-between), then you can have a good idea on exactly how long Aqua and Xemnas's tantric sex session was (it was however long it took you to read this chapter).

Now I usually don't leave long author's notes at the end of my fan fictions, but I felt that an afterword was necessary for all of you who are just tuning in from , especially for those of you who are bound to ask me questions about Eastern views on human sexuality.

A lot of thought and research was put into the making of this chapter. When I was first deciding on how I should write the lemon scene between Xemnas and Aqua, I took account of their temperaments. I began brainstorming with Xemnas first since his character is a lot harder to write than Aqua's due to his apparent mysteriousness in video game canon. I did a bit of studying about his character, and from what I gathered from my analysis of him is that he is usually attributed kingly, godly traits to his character. The fact that he is number one in the Organization, that the lesser Nobodies he controls are the sorcerer types, that he's in god mode all the time whenever you battle him, that one of his boss forms depicts him sitting on a majestic throne and fashioned in knightly armour, that he wants to aquire Kingdom Hearts in order to become a god, gain supreme wisdom and knowledge of everything, and recreate the entire universe to his own liking, all screams to me that the type of sex best suited for him is godly sex. Chuckling at the thought, I said amusingly to myself, "alright, I'll write godly sex and give Aqua the most amazing sex she's ever had."

So I began writing the setting with some godly imagery that portrays their sexual coupling as a sacred act instead of just mere sex. I first began with a scene inspired by a dream I had a long time ago about the historical and infamous Vlad III "the Impaler" Dracula and his second wife, the Hungarian royal, Countess Ilona Szilágyi of Horogzeg. I dreamt that Vlad and Ilona were laying down in this majestic bedchamber somewhere in the modern era, but the bedchamber was old-fashioned and filled with plenty of antique furniture and paintings. In my dream, Vlad and Ilona were just laying down on the bed of that embellished chamber, just gazing into each other's eyes with longing as Vlad cradles his long lost wife in his arms. You might be thinking, "What the heck does this have to do with Kingdom Hearts?" Well, hardly any, really. I was actually going to use this muse for the Hellsing fandom instead, and have actually written a humongous brainstorm/pre-write piece for the fandom a long time ago. However, I never got around to turning that pile of brainstorming/pre-write stuff into a solid piece of fan fiction because the plan I had for it was too big and too much. I wanted to cover the entire spectrum of Dracula's life, from his past days as a Romanian warrior of God to his present day as the infamous vampire. I of course also wanted Ilona to be included in it in a significant way, which meant she inevitably had to be turned into a vampire as well and…well, such plains never came to fruition because the research I did of their lives was too much just for a fan fiction (I spent perhaps more than a week just doing some scholarly research on the history of their lives and their lands). So that gigantic pile of notes still sits somewhere in my hard drive, tucked away into some obscure folder as it collects virtual dust.

I always liked how that bedchamber scene played out, though, and decided to use it for Kingdom Hearts instead. What you just read in the scene where Xemnas cradles Aqua in his arms as they simply gaze at each other with longing is exactly how that scene played out in my dream, save for a few minor changes in dialogue and action to better fit the characters and setting of Kingdom Hearts. The scene eventually became my cornerstone for this chapter, as I began to build the rest of the chapter's story around that.

Along the way with using some generic godly imagery (as in: "oh, she's like a goddess to him" type of imagery with no specific mentioning of any deities whatsoever), I thought about attributing some actual deific allusions to Xemnas and Aqua. So I began with Greek/Roman gods at first because, well, everyone knows at least some general Greek/Roman mythology that they learned in their high school English classes. I started hunting around the Internet for a possible Greek/Roman goddess that does rule the seas, as I felt that it would be appropriate to allude Aqua to one. And amazingly, as I found out about about such a goddess existing, I eventually also found out about how Terra's Earthshaker keyblade has a connection to the husband of this aforementioned Greco-Roman goddess of the sea.

This aforementioned Greco-Roman goddess of the sea is of course none other than Amphitrite ('Salacia' in the Roman world). Salacia's name is also where the term, 'salacious', meaning 'lustful', comes from hurr hurr hurr~. I found out that she's the wife of thne Greco-Roman god, Poseidon/Neptune, who is of course the god of the sea, but is also known as as the 'Earth-Shaker' of earthquakes in mythology, as he could conjure giant waves and even raise islands to the surface.

And as we all know by now that one of Terra's keyblade is called 'Earthshaker', so...

/all the moar reason that he and Aqua make a perfect pair~

So, as Hades from Hercules would say, "Bada-bing bada boom!" I echoed his words. "Bada-bing bada boom! What an epiphany! I'll definitely incorporate all this newfound intriguing information into my fan fic!" And so I did.

Now personally, I don't agree with pre-marital sex due to religious reasons. However, I usually don't have a problem with writing or reading fan fiction where the couple haves pre-marital sex, as trying to get the couple married before they have sex is often difficult and usually pulled off terribly in fandom due to various, vast circumstances. So at first, my chapter's setting began with some simple imagery until I began to notice that how I was describing the setting and characters had too much of a spiritual aspect to it that it just didn't jive with me that something so sacred should be done out of wedlock. Now I knew that having the conventional Western marriage wouldn't suit the Xemnas/Aqua pairing well due to the stoic nature of the Nobodies, so to have Xemnas wed Aqua in the conventional Western way would be sappy and quite out-of-character for him to do so. Therefore, I began to hunt around the World Wide Web for some problem solving ways to have Xemnas marry Aqua in manner that well suits his character. Eventually, I came across a type of Indian wedding called 'Gandharva vivāha', which is about marriage of the celestials (its literal meaning is 'love marriage').

If you know anything about love marriages, you'd know that they are union of two individuals based upon mutual love, affection, commitment and attraction. A gandharva marriage is basically what that is: an ancient system of Indian marriage comparable to love marriage. Gandharva vivāha is somewhat similar to an elopement with the lover, getting married secretly, especially when parents refuse consent to such a union. Gandharva vivāha is getting married privately without being arranged or witnessed by others, unlike traditional arranged weddings. However, gandharva vivāha is supposed to be witnessed by 'Gandharvas' (powers associated with God). In Hinduism, the gandharvas are male nature spirits, husbands of the Apsaras. Some are part animal, usually a bird or horse. They have superb musical skills. They guarded the Soma and made beautiful music for the gods in their palaces. A gandharva means a singer in the court of Gods.

In Hindu theology, gandharvas act as messengers between the gods and humans. Therfore, in Hindu law, if a Gandharva marriage is one contracted by mutual consent, then there is no superior authority for approval other than God. "If God is for us, who could be against us?" If God or Gandharvas have witnessed it, then everyone deemed to have witnessed it, and hence there is no need to register it. There is no need to prove it to any other authorities once the wedded couple have cleared it with the heavens; it is set in stone.

To incorporate this into the Kingdom Hearts mythos, I had to problem solve on which deity Xemnas and Aqua would witness their marriage to. I could have gone with the Greek gods at the Olympus Colosseum or maybe done some creative licensing and make some Hindu deities part of canon (to validate this, I would also have to incorporate Indiana Jones's world into Kingdom Hearts, for I can't think of any other Disney film that's situated in India except for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The counterpart ride at Disneyland is awesome, by the way) as well. This leaves me with great creative liberty to work with, such as adding some spiritual twist to Aqua's and Xemnas's character, and perhaps even planning a scene for them in future chapters where they visit the Temple of Doom (or not. I have this idea in store where Xemnas and Aqua go to India for their honeymoon, so to have them visit the Temple of Doom wouldn't be romantic at all. Of course, pulling off a honeymoon scene between Xemnas and Aqua must also be done in such a way that suits the stoicism of Xemnas and the overall angst dynamic of the pairing. I know just what to do for this plot bunny, so no worries for my readers out there who are OOC-phobic). However, to make deities an integral part of the KH mythos would be too complicated and straying too far away from canon, so instead, I decided to just have Aqua and Xemnas conduct their marriage in front of Kingdom Hearts itself. I thought it would make sense for them to do so anyway since Xemnas treats Kingdom Hearts as his precious treasure, sometimes even exalting it to the level of deities. So yes, you could say that since Kingdom Hearts does house profound wisdom, knowledge, and all that godly jazz, it really did approve of the couple's matrimony. Heck, it was so close to voiding the couple's marriage and branding it as an unholy matrimony due to Xemnas's twisted mental state and multiple personality disorder; however, the Terra in Xemnas shone through, and that is what caused Kingdom Hearts to approve of their marriage—this is all my headcanon, of course. Feel free to interpret it however way you want unless you do desire to have me write a Hindu wedding chapter.

Now that I had that taken care of, I proceeded with writing out the sex scene between Aqua and Xemnas. At first, it was going to be short and sweet. However, one night during the in-between writing breaks, I searched up the meaning of Tantra on Google since I had always wanted to know what it was about. I've heard of the infamous Kama Sutra before, and sometimes Tantra gets mentioned alongside Kama Sutra. As I discovered what Tantra is about, I decided to incorporate plenty of it into Aqua and Xemnas's lovemaking since it fit well with the sacred/spiritual imagery I was aiming for. However, another epiphany hit me as I discovered more about Tantra: it involves the prolonging of the plateau phase in the sexual response cycle so that the engaged couple may enter into heightened states of awareness, thus allowing them to achieve enlightenment quickly. This is exactly what I learned about in my Psychology of Sex class. The arousal stage is put on a greater emphasis than the orgasmic stage, as the benefits of withholding orgasm are increased intimacy between the couple and plenty of spiritual and biological benefits for them as well. Sometimes, couples don't even enter into orgasm at all. Tantric men are taught to separate their ejaculation from their orgasmic response so as to become multi-orgasmic and continue one with endless hours of lovemaking without ever becoming exhausted. This also holds true for Taoist sexuality. Now I won't go into great detail about neither Tantric sex nor the Tao of lovemaking, because I don't want this long afterword to become even longer than it already is. If you're interested in knowing more about Tantric sex or the Tao of lovemaking, there's plenty of information available of it on the Internet and in print. Another thing I should add though is that you should also look up karezza and coitus reservatus as they are very much related to Tantra and Taoist sexuality; however, they're more like the secular, Western counterparts of them.

You know what, just click [here] and [here]. They explain all of these sacred sexuality and sexual techniques very well if you're mighty interested.

Unfortunately, neither my Psychology of Sex professor nor textbook go into great detail about these sacred acts of lovemaking. However, I did choose Tantric sex as my topic for a scientific journal review article/term paper thingy I had to do for that class. The research I gathered about the subject of Tantra was decent for my term paper; however, it wasn't enough for my fan fiction. I ran into many problems as I began to know more about what the heck Tantra really is.

First of all, Tantra is more than just sacred sex, and I don't want to further trash the true essence of Tantra as Westerners have already done so with their neo-Tantrism and all this other New Age crap. I am sensitive about the diversity of my readers, and I do take into account any actual Tantrikas/Hindus/Buddhists that do read my fan fiction. I wanted this to be more than just a New Age hippy thing for our featured pairing for fear of unintentionally disrespecting any Eastern spiritualists out there. So instead of just focusing on neo-Tantra alone, I wanted to incorporate the real deals of Tantric Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism.

The problem was, however, that the information on Tantra out there is so obscure and convoluted that it took me my entire spring break and beyond to gather enough information on Tantra and its related sects in Hinduism and Buddhism. Basically, Tantra is this ancient spiritual art/philosophy thing that originated in India some 6,000 years ago. It is meant to be as a fast track towards enlightenment through the indulgence of all the things that causes one to suffer from desire. However, the indulgence is very controlled, as those who are not spiritually, mentally, and emotionally strong enough to fight fire with fire often fall way side and give in to desire. This is at least true for Tantric Buddhism (also known as Tibetan Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism, 'The Diamond Vehicle', 'The Thunderbolt Path', etc.), which is why its practises are often esoteric. As for Tantric Hinduism, it had links with the worship of the integral Hindu deities, Shiva and Shakti, and how their sacred sexual union is the source of everything—even in the creation of the universe. Tantra in Hinduism is also a way to quickly achieve enlightenment.

The 'tantric sex' in Tantra is just one aspect of Tantra. Like I said, Tantra incorporates all aspects of life in its practises. However, it is the sexual aspect of it that caught most of the West's attention due to the radical sexual imagery and practises prevalent in Tantra. Thus, the West decided to fashion it as 'sacred sex' for couples everywhere who want to improve their sex and marital lives. Whilst there are many positives into incorporating the practise of tantric sex into one's love life, keep in mind that the practises of it are more than just about improving one's spirituality, intimacy with partner, performance in the bedroom, and overall health; it is truly seen as a valid path to enlightenment by its more serious practitioners, and it is often not recommended to embark on the Tantric path without the guidance of a guru/lama/teacher. The reason for this is that the authentic practises, the ones rampant in Tantric Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism, are very dangerous for those who are not mentally/spiritually/emotionally/etc. prepared enough to control what will come in their way. Since it is a fast track to enlightenment (shortening one's achievement of enlightenment to a single lifetime instead of three incalculable aeons), the initiated will eventually have to endure all of the desires that the guru will tempt and wreck them with, thus turning their temptations into emptiness as they overcome desire with 'desire' by using their mastered skills of meditation, mantras, yantras, and other tantric techniques. Basically, it is fighting fire with fire. Perhaps the easiest way to illustrate this to my readers is the example of Riku's eventual reverse/rebirth in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Rather than further choosing to suppress darkness (his desire and also the root of his suffering) or merely running away from it, he began to accept the darkness in his heart and use it as a tool for good. Thus, he had become enlightened as he gained understanding on how to overcome that suffering. With this newfound enlightenment, he knew what he had to do in the future (save his friend Sora from suffering, etc. etc.) You could even say that what Riku just had was some sort of Taoist version of enlightenment: in the Tao, it is obvious that darkness cannot exist without light, yang cannot exist with yin and vise versa.

Sometimes I even wonder if Nomura himself is a Buddhist or a Taoist, for as I played through Kingdom Hearts II, I began to sense this sort of Taoist influence on the light/dark theme of Kingdom Hearts. There's even obvious influence of existentialism/nihilism in regards to the Nobodies. Kingdom Hearts seems to be more influenced by that philosophy rather than Buddhist philosophy, however, despite the fact Buddhism seeks the Middle Path between absolutism and nihilism (which is perfect for the twilight theme rampant in the KH universe now). To me, Final Fantasy VII seems more inspired by Buddhism than Kingdom Hearts is due to the cycle of life thing apparent in the FF7 world. Also, Buddhism's concept of 'no-soul' jives more with Final Fantasy VII than Kingdom Hearts. In Final Fantasy VII, every sentient being is composed of the Lifestream, which runs in line with Buddhism's 'no-soul' concept of sentient beings not being permanent souls (as all things, according to Buddha, are impermanent and ever changing), but rather being compositions of this 'mind-stream' thing. There is no soul that leaves the body upon death in Buddhism; rather, it is just this 'mind-stream' that traverses on to the next life in the cycle of rebirth. So as you can see, this is why Buddhism more in line with the Final Fantasy VII mythos than the Kingdom Hearts mythos. That posed huge problems for me as the concept of a soul is very apparent in Kingdom Hearts, and is seemingly permanent and individualistic as well. This is evident in the mythos's anatomy of the soul, which is made up of body, heart, and obviously soul. This is also evident in the incorporation of the Greek underworld in Kingdom Hearts. While it is part of Hercules's world, according to the Wikipedia article on the KH concept of souls, it is canon that Hades's underworld is the go-to source for plenty of worldly souls in the afterlife, and not just limited to those in Hercules's world. This is made canon due to Auron's disintegration into fading pyreflies as he enters in repose in Hades's underworld rather than in the Farplane of his Final Fantasy X homeworld.

However, I could be wrong with this since it is Wikipedia after all, and to have a Final Fantasy X world in Kingdom Hearts is impossible anyway since Tidus, Wakka, Yuna, Riku, and Paine have all been changed dramatically. So perhaps Auron's backstory have been changed as well in order to fit into Hercules's world. I'm guessing it is rather canon of him to actually originate from somewhere in Greece, and that his backstory consists of meeting Lord Braska and Jecht in Greece rather than in Spira.

I just find this all so troubling now though because along the way with writing out this chapter, I eventually turned Terra—er, I mean, 'Xemnas'—into a practising Vajrayana Buddhist! Now, I don't mind incorporating a religious aspect into Terra Xemnas as I think the philosophy of Buddhism suits his character; however, it is the Buddha's concept of 'no-soul' that keeps on getting in the damn way of ever integrating all of this seamlessly into Kingdom Hearts! Now perhaps I could just do a cop-out and just say that since this is religion after all, there are many who will disagree about the 'no-soul' thing since that is solely the Buddhist's belief and not the Zeus worshipper's belief. Buddhists can believe all they want that sentient beings have no permanent soul whilst believers of other faiths can believe all they want about souls not being illusion and that we are meant to be truly unique individuals instead. So perhaps to incorporate Buddhism in the KH canon would not be so problematic after all as long as it's not the end-all be-all of the KH mythos. So to have Terra—er, I mean, 'Xemnas'—say that he is a butt-kicking, kung fu Keyblade warrior monk that is out to save his friends from their torment (or in the case of Buddhism, from suffering due to ignorance, desire, the torturous cycle of rebirth, and all that jazz) is him solely acting upon his belief and not on the canon KH mythos that souls are permanent and all that jazz, so I don't have to worry about Terra Xemnas's Buddhist belief of 'no-soul' not being in line with KH's 'there-is-a-soul' (plus. Xemnas as Apprentice Xehanort believed in the individual, unchaging soul during his study of the anatomy of the soul). However, if this is the case, then why is it that Greek mythology is canon in the KH mythos whilst hardly any of the belief systems from Mulan's world isn't? This is the problem with trying to mix all religions into one (now apparent in Kingdom Hearts) and declaring them all as truth. There are doctrines that will be in conflict with each other, so to say that all religions are true is not exactly true at all. Whilst they may all hold a bit of common truth, it is apparent through this problem I just ran into that not all of them can be the absolute truth. This is the reason why there is so much fighting going on between religions today because it is such a common notion by believers that only their specific religion holds the absolute truth while denouncing all other religions as false.

It seems like I'm on the verge of going off-topic. I know someone on here is bound to ask me about my own beliefs. I'll let you know that yes, I am spiritual, but I will not tell you what my religion is due to the amount of unnecessary wank that might rise from all of this. Goodness gracious, if we're going to extend this conversation on religion, we'll take it elsewhere rather than battling it out here on my fan fic. I'd rather not debate though because I hate wank so much. I'm not even good at debating anyway, so if you have a problem with what I believe in, go take it out on some religious debate forums rather than on me.

Anyway, as I was going to say, I tried my best to make Vajrayana Buddhist!Terra Xemnas jive with Kingdom Hearts, but alas, it is inevitable that I'd have to do some artistic licensing on Buddhism according to Kingdom Hearts. So my apologies to any Buddhist out there for my overall poor integration and eventual exclusion of anatman *OTL*.

Perhaps I'm just trying too hard to please so many people at once and should just not take this all too seriously. I mean I could just have left this chapter without the Tantric Buddhism/Hinduism thing while still retaining aspects of tantric sex (in this case, it would have become neo-Tantra then) so that I don't have to worry about incorporating these Eastern religions into canon. I mean, I wasn't expecting Terra—errrrr, Xemmy—to find enlightenment through tantric sex at all; the story pretty much just wrote itself as I began to incorporate more of Tantra into this chapter. My original idea for the theme of Love is to just have Xemnas and Aqua perform conventional sex, but one littered with angst. I was going to save Terrrr Xemmy's self-realisation for some other theme, but alas, that doesn't to be the case now. For those of you who also write fiction, don't you just hate it when the chapter just writes itself, and the original idea you had for it now has radically changed? Sometimes I like it when the chapter writes itself out as it creates new plot bunnies for me to work with. However, in the case of trying to get this fan fic into chronological order as much as possible, some of the ideas that came to being from this chapter seem to be better suited for earlier chapters than later chapters according to their themes and vise-versa, so that there is a proper build-up of suspense before the climax and resolution of conventional storytelling. But then again, trying to write one-hundred freaking chapters isn't conventional much, especially if each one is specifically themed. So I hope no one here has a problem with some events becoming too sudden or my writing of some recaps in this chapter. I'll try my best to find a way to incorporate these plot bunnies into future chapters. I've had some planned out for earlier chapters before this one so that proper build-up happens before the big lemon scene though.