"Mommy, Mommy!"

Patroklos and Pyrrha dashed into the arms of Sophitia with the enthusiasm found in all children for their mothers.

"Mom's back!"

"What happened, mom? Did you get Hephaestus to show up?"

Sophitia knelt down to reach eye-level with her children. "Yes, I did."

"Wow! Really, mom?"

"What happened?"

Sophitia smiled. "Well, the guests we had last night spoke with him, and he did his best to help them as much as he could."

"Yeah? So now what are they going to do?"

"...Well, they were on a quest to destroy Soul Edge, much like I was a few years ago...They're going to continue their quest, and..." Sophitia's voice trailed off.

"...Mommy? Why do you look so sad?"

Sophitia hesitated before speaking, because she knew that what she had to say was going to be very painful for both her and her family. "...I'm going with them."

"What? Mommy, why?"

"No, don't go, mommy! Please don't leave us!"

"I'm sorry, Patroklos, Pyrrha. I have to go for your sake. As long as Soul Edge is around, it is a threat to everyone alive, including you, and I want you to be safe, so I must go."

The two children looked down, sadly.

"...Please don't be sad, children. I always told you that I might have to do this again someday, and to prepare for that day. After Soul Edge is destroyed once and for all, the world will be much, much safer, and then I won't ever have to leave you again...okay?"

The two children seemed on the verge of tears, but nodded their heads.

"Please go get Auntie Cassandra and tell her I have news, all right?"

"Okay..."

The two children turned and ran towards the kitchen. Sophitia looked up, and saw someone standing in the doorway.

"...Rothion."

Rothion was standing in the doorway, looking at Sophitia. She could not read the expression on his face. It was blank, but carried with it a sadness...or, almost, an anger.

She took a step towards him, and when she did, he took a step back. She faltered for a moment, and then walked towards him. He quickly slipped to the side and out of view.

"Rothion, wait! Are you upset? Please, wait..."

Sophitia entered the room he had been standing in, but all she saw was the back door slamming.

What's gotten into him...? I've never known him to act this way before...

"Sis?"

Sophitia turned around to see her sister. "Oh...Hi, Cassie..."

"...You're going again, aren't you?"

Sophitia chuckled lightly. "...I guess it's easy for you to tell."

They briefly shared sad smiles with one another.

Sophitia sighed. "...You know why I have to do this...It's because of the children..."

"Don't worry, Sophie." Cassandra said. "You don't need to give me any excuses. I understand how you must feel. Even if I'm not a mom."

Sophitia smiled. "Cassie...can I count on you to look after the children?"

Cassandra hesitated.

"...Is something wrong?" Sophitia asked.

"...I feel that, if you're out on a quest, I should be doing the same. You know how much I care about you and your kids, sis. I want to help you."

"Oh, Cassie...I think you could help me best by staying home and watching the children."

Cassandra puffed her cheeks out to show her displeasure at the prospect that Sophitia had suggested. "But, I don't want to spend my life staying at home and watching after children...I want to be out there in the world, doing things..."

"Don't worry, Cassie, I'm sure you'll be able to obtain a life like that. ...But would you consider protecting my children until I make sure they'll be safe...?"

Cassandra looked downward. "...Yeah, I guess." ...But I won't make any promises.

---

After telling her plans to her children and sister, Sophitia searched the house and its perimeter for Rothion, but did not find him. When she finished looking for him, she set out for the inn that Siegfried, Tira, and Ivy were staying at. Before Sophitia had gone to talk with her family, she and the others had agreed to meet back at the inn in a short while to discuss what they were going to do next. Siegfried and the others had been stocking up on supplies for their ensuing journey, and arrived at the inn shortly after Sophitia did.

With all of them present, and a private room secured, their discussion began. However, the 'discussion' consisted mostly of Siegfried and Ivy arguing, with Tira occasionally adding in a few comments in favor of whatever her Master was currently suggesting, and Sophitia mostly staying silent, not seeming to be paying much attention at all.

When Siegfried took notice of Sophitia's absentmindedness, he asked her if something was wrong. Sophitia confessed that there was an issue she had left unresolved with her family, and that she couldn't stop thinking about it. Siegfried told her that since it was bothering her so much, she was free to leave and tie up the loose end. Sophitia thanked him, and left quickly.

Sophitia went straight home, and searched for Rothion again. Once again, she did not find him. She consulted Cassandra on the matter, and Cassandra had this to say:

"The last time I saw him, he seemed angry. He said he was going to see his friend Abderus."

Sophitia remembered Abderus' name. He was a merchant who often purchased items forged by Rothion, and the two of them had struck up a friendship together. Sophitia knew where he lived - she hurried over to his house, and began knocking on the door. It had grown very late - most people were now asleep, or just heading to bed - and a very sleepy-looking Abderus answered the door.

"Abderus, where is Rothion?" Sophitia asked, urgency in every syllable.

"...Rothion?" Abderus asked slowly as he blinked and rubbed his eyes. He was obviously very tired, and his sluggish nature was a sharp contrast compared to Sophitia's rushed attitude. "...Why are you asking me?"

"You mean, he's not here?"

"...No, he's not. Has he gone missing, or something...?"

"Well, when he left home earlier, he said he was coming here."

"...That's odd. Just as I was closing up shop a short while ago, I saw him, but he didn't stop by, or anything like tha-"

"You saw him? Where was he?"

"...He was over there. On the porch of that house, talking to a woman. Don't know who it was."

Sophitia looked at the house that Abderus was gesturing at. "He was on the porch of that house, talking to a woman...?"

"...Yes. Pardon, but tomorrow will be a very busy day, and I'd really like to get back to bed now, so-"

"Oh!" Sophitia exclaimed. "I'm so sorry for bothering you this time of night. Thank you for helping me!"

"...Yes, it's fine. Hope everything turns out all right. Good night..." Abderus closed his door.

Sophitia stared at the house that Abderus had pointed at for a few moments. ...A woman. He was talking with a woman...No! Why am I assuming the worst? Rothion's never been disloyal to me. I should have more faith in him and be more trusting...

Sophitia's attempts to calm herself did not prevent her from running with haste to the house. When she reached it, she raised her fist towards the door to knock on it, but found herself hesitant to do so, fearful of what the truth might be.

However, she would find out the truth regardless of whether she knocked or not.

As she stood before the door, she could hear voices coming from inside the house. She listened closer. The voices were low, groaning sounds. Occasionally, words were spoken -

"Yes..."

"Oh, God..."

Sophitia listened in disbelief to what she realized were ecstatic moans. Feeling weak, she let her hand lower, and came to rest on the door. The slight pressure it exerted upon the door pushed it open - it had been unlocked.

A greater amount of fear and curiosity than she'd ever felt pushed Sophitia into the house, and she quickly began searching for the source of the moans.

It's probably just the woman and her husband. Rothion's probably back home. I'm probably about to make a big fool out of myself by intruding upon a woman and her husband, and-

Sophitia stumbled into a room where two naked bodies lay on a bed, glistening with sweat, wrapped in each other's arms, and grinding against one another.

One of them was Rothion.

"Oh, yes...you're so good at this..."

"Don't stop...harder..."

"I'm almost there...oh, you're so perfect, baby..."

"Mmm, yes! Yes!"

Sophitia slowly shook her head back and forth. No. No, no, no. This isn't right. This shouldn't be happening. This can't be. ...It's a test from the gods, or an illusion, or a dream, or...

But the more Sophitia watched them, the less she was able to keep herself in denial. When Rothion and his lover arched their backs, moaned loudly, shuddered with ecstasy, and collapsed in each other's arms, tears began to form in Sophitia's eyes.

After a few moments of basking in the happiness that their act gave them, Rothion's lover suddenly did not seem so pleased. She turned her head so her lips were next to Rothion's ear, and whispered, "...Darling, did you know that we have a visitor?"

Rothion's body jerked slightly in surprise, but he turned his head to see his 'visitor' very slowly - perhaps because, deep down, he already knew who it would be. Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse of them as they darted out of the room, he recognized her.

Sophitia only made it a few feet away from the house's porch before she stumbled and fell to the ground. She tried to get up, but found that she did not have the willpower. She lay there, sobbing and heaving, until she heard footsteps approaching her. She jerked her head around to see Rothion behind her, clothed only in a pair of pants, approaching her. Desiring not to be seen in a humiliating state by him, she quickly scrambled to her feet.

She stared at Rothion with tears rolling down her cheeks and a trembling lower lip. "...How could you?" She finally managed to spit out.

Rothion's expression seemed sympathetic and guilty at first, but at her comment, it turned to an angry one. "...How could I? How couldn't I? Oh, that's right. You're not me. You don't know what it's like being married to Sophitia Alexandra. Did you know that everyone mocks you when you're not around? 'Oh, there goes Sophitia, that crazy lady who thinks she can hear the gods.' 'Oh, there goes Sophitia, that crazy lady who disappears for months and years on imaginary crusades for her imaginary friend Hephaestus.' But that's not what stings me. 'Oh, there goes Rothion, the idiot who married a crazy lady who thinks she can hear gods and is gone half the time on stupid adventures to find some made-up sword!' "

"But Hephaestus is real, and Soul Edge is real, you know that!"

"So what?" Rothion demanded. "No one else knows that, or ever takes me seriously! It hurts my business, and hurts my pride! Everyone spends their time making fun of you, of me, of our children. Surely you wonder why your brother Lucius and your mother and father are all but estranged now. It's because they're embarrassed. It's because they're ashamed. Ashamed of having a crazy daughter who hears voices and runs away for months at a time, leaving her husband without a wife and her children without a mother!"

"I...I..." Sophitia stammered, but her throat was too choked up to allow words through.

"I was able to deal with the ridicule at first, but there's one thing I can't take. You can't expect me to be satisfied with a wife who leaves me for months, can you? I spend so many nights cold and alone, not even knowing if you're dead, not even knowing if you were raped, killed, and are lying dead in a ditch somewhere, not even knowing if you've run off with another man and will never return to me again. I don't know a single damned thing, and on top of it all I have to endure being alone every night for months? I married you, not an empty spot on a bed, but guess which one I lay next to at night!"

Sophitia tried to speak, but could only force sobs out of her mouth.

"Who did you marry? Me, or Hephaestus? You spend more time off running errands for him. You and your sister run off and leave me to raise the kids all alone. You don't know what it's like! You don't have a clue what it is like to be me, Sophitia! To spend every day in ridicule and loneliness, and then to hear - to hear that you're going to be leaving again!"

Sophitia finally regained control of her throat. "IT'S NOT MY FAULT! I DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS RESPONSIBILITY!"

Rothion stared at Sophitia with cold, hard eyes. "...Not your fault? You say it's not your fault? ...How...how dare you? Can you really stand there and tell me that all the pain you cause me is not your fault? HOW DARE YOU!"

Sophitia saw it coming. Over the course of hundreds of battles, she'd learned how to tell what an opponent's next attack would be from even the slightest movement of their muscles. She saw it coming, but did nothing to stop it. She still hung on to a thread of hope that this was a dream, an illusion, anything other than reality...

The sound of a palm striking a face rang out in the night.

Sophitia fell to the ground once more. She looked up at Rothion, whose expression of anger had finally faded. In its place was a look of disappointment. Rothion looked momentarily at his own hand with a look of fear, and then turned around and shot off down the street, not looking back.

Sophitia did not bother to get up, and simply laid there, crying and heaving. A flurry of thoughts stormed through her mind.

People ridicule me behind my back. He hates his life. He thinks I'm a terrible wife. He slept with another woman. He hit me. He hates me. He doesn't love me anymore.

Sophitia's hands curled up into fists, and she gritted her teeth. Slowly, her sadness began to turn to anger.

How could he? How could he? If he'd just told me all of this calmly, I would have stayed here, tried to be a better wife, and left Soul Edge to the others. He didn't have to sleep with another woman! He didn't have to hit me! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why did all of this have to happen? All I wanted from him was love and comfort...Who will love me now? Who will comfort me now?

Sophitia's eyes opened wide when she remembered.

...Him.

He appeared in her mind glowing with a heavenly aura. That man, so pure of heart, so good-willed. So handsome, with that long hair and those stunning eyes. He had seen her naked once, but she had never even detected a hint that it lewd thoughts could possibly enter his pure and chaste mind. Not only was he irresistibly beautiful, but he was the most fascinating and tragic man she'd ever met.

...I tried to suppress these feelings, but there is no point to that anymore. I know that he would love me better. I know that would hold me in his arms and comfort me. I know he would...

Sophitia staggered to her feet. She turned her head in the direction of the inn the man was staying at. She whispered his name for a moment, heard by none by her, and then began running.

---

Siegfried closed the door to his room, feeling exhausted. What a night. Ivy was so stubborn, refusing to hear anyone's opinion but her own. Tira tried, but she's not much help in times like those. And Sophitia...what was wrong with Sophitia, anyway? She never returned to the meeting. She had a look on her face as if she was pining for something the entire time, and said she had left something 'unresolved' with her family. ...I wonder what that could mean? She said goodbye to them, didn't she? Then what else could she have-

Siegfried nearly stumbled.

...Of course. How could I have not seen it? He leaned against a wall. She went off to make love to her husband one last time before she left. That's obvious.

Siegfried chuckled sadly to himself. That Rothion. That damned lucky Rothion. I wonder how often he sleeps with Sophitia. Probably every night. I know that if Sophitia was my wife, I would sleep with her at least once or twice every...

...This is wrong. I should stop thinking these things. She is another man's wife, and besides that, I'm trying to stop thinking about this sort of thing...

Despite his frequent self-chastising, Siegfried could not stop his curious mind from wandering. ...I wonder what Rothion is doing to her right now. He's probably lying on top of her, cupping those beautiful breasts of hers in his hands, and kissing them. Right at this moment, his hands are probably sliding up and down her body, fondling her breasts, those wonderful, supple, perfect breasts. I would do nearly anything to spend just one night holding those beautiful-

Siegfried's hand came to his rescue - but not in the sense that one might expect. He slapped his own face, and shook his head. Snap out of it, Siegfried! Why am I getting so frustrated over this? If it pains me so much, there is always Tira. That's what I should do. I'll go and lie with Tira, and I'll feel much better about this mess. ...Although it's not that I think that Tira exists merely for my pleasure...even if that's what Tira herself thinks...and I know I should be trying to ease out of how sexual my lifestyle has become...even though I may be unable to help it, i it really is this 'curse' that is causing my mind to deteriorate so...

Siegfried continued to deliberate with himself. Eventually, it began to remind him far too much of the times when he would mentally deliberate with his Nightmare side when he was the Azure Knight, and decided to stop thinking about it at all, and simply go find comfort in the embrace of Tira.

The very moment his hand reached for the door to exit his room, a knocking suddenly came from it. Siegfried was not normally a man who scared easily, but he was feeling jumpy at the moment, and the knocking frightened him a bit.

When he recovered from his surprise, he called out. "...Who is it?"

"It's Sophitia."

Sophitia? Here? At this time of night? But, why...?

Siegfried opened the door, and beheld Sophitia. He noticed that her usual beauty was marred by a somewhat disheveled appearance. Her eyes looked slightly red, as if she had been crying. Her cheek was also red, as if she had been struck. She hid it well, but Siegfried could tell from subtle hints that she was distressed at the moment. Something very bad must have happened. But, what-

Sophitia stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she did, without giving Siegfried a chance to stop her from doing so. Then, suddenly, she lunged forward, threw her arms around Siegfried's neck, pressed her lips hard against his, and kissed him.

Siegfried stood as still as a statue. What? What is this? Why is she doing this...?

Kiss her back. Kiss her back, Siegfried.

No! If I allow myself to be seduced yet again, then I will only be falling deeper into this pit I am trying to escape from. If I truly care for my mental clarity, I will have to reject this sudden advance of hers. Besides, Tira would be heartbroken if I lay with another woman after what I told her yesterday. And what's more, this woman is married! No, it would be wrong in so many different ways; I simply cannot do this...

Sophitia noticed that Siegfried was not kissing her back, and slightly pulled her face away from his. "What's wrong?" She whispered in a sweet voice that sent chills running all over his body.

"...Y...you're married." Siegfried said, choosing to provide a short and reasonable explanation rather than explain to Sophitia the complex inner turmoil he was faced with.

Sophitia paused for a moment, and then spoke again. "...The truth is...I'm not actually married to Rothion."

Siegfried was once again shocked. "You're - not?"

Sophitia shook her head, her beautiful hair bobbing slightly along with it. "It is true that he and I were once married, but shortly after the birth of our second child, we decided that we were not right for one another, and that it would be better for the two of us to separate, and seek the ones we truly belong with. Since then, I've looked without success for the one who is for me...but now I think I've found him."

Siegfried faintly sensed that what she was telling him was a half-truth. Her story - separating from Rothion after the birth of her second child - seemed a lie, but he felt that when she said that she and Rothion were now no longer bound to one another, he believed her. Maybe this is something that happened very recently...tonight, perhaps. ...Her red eyes and cheek - could that mean that she and Rothion fought? But they seemed to love each other so much, and this is so sudden, I...

Sophitia leaned closer so that her lips were touching Siegfried's, but only just barely. "...Siegfried," she whispered, "I want you to touch me."

Tell her 'no'. Tell her you can't. Explain everything to her, she'll listen and understand, and then this mess will be over with, and if you still yearn for sex, you can go see Tira...

Sophitia did not wait while Siegfried struggled with himself. She took one of his hands in her own, and placed it on her thigh. She slowly slid his hand along her thigh, up her skirt, until it rested on her ass. Then she slid his hand further up, along her waist and torso, until it reached her breast. She pressed his hand against her breast, and gave a soft moan, her lips gently caressing Siegfried's.

Siegfried's sexual frustration was like a rope that had been pulled taut, come unwound one string at a time, and was now barely hanging on by a single thread. Sophitia's lips softly brushing up against Siegfried's in that sensual manner was enough to cause that thread to snap.

Siegfried pressed his lips against hers hard, and the two were soon locked in a fiery kiss.

Siegfried's hand moved up and down Sophitia's body from her breast to her ass again, this time of his own will. He slid his other hand onto her breast, and squeezed it fondly, just as he'd wished he could have done when he had been drying her body off two days ago - just as he'd been fantasizing about doing since then. He slowly slid both his hands down his body parallel to each other, taking his time and feeling the parts he especially wanted to. But when he'd done all he wanted to with his hands, he began to feel a desire that could only be quenched by the taste of Sophitia's skin.

He began to guide her body towards the bed, and she took the hint and laid herself down on it. Siegfried stood above her, enjoyed the sight of her beautiful body laying prone on a bed all for him, and then quickly began to remove her clothing.

First he pushed aside the fabric covering her breasts, and then buried his face in between them. He pushed then against his head with his hands, and moaned gently from pleasure. Then he began to kiss her breasts passionately, also drawing his tongue up and down them and sucking on her delicious, supple nipples.

"Siegfried, you're so...passionate!" Sophitia whispered between sighs of pleasure.

Siegfried continued to play with Sophitia's breasts, and generally fulfill every fantasy he'd been having about her even while guiltily trying to suppress those feelings. As he played with her body, the tension in between his legs grew stronger and stronger, and demanded to be relieved. When he could take it no longer, he reached down, unzipped his pants, and moved his body upwards long Sophitia's until his crotch was at her breasts.

As Siegfried slid his dick between her breasts, Sophitia's eyes grew wide, and then a somewhat amused expression overcame her face. She obviously had never thought of this deed before, and found it arousing and intriguing. She pushed her breasts against Siegfried's dick, and lapped the tip of his penis with her tongue whenever it came close enough as he pumped it through her cleavage.

Sophitia's willingness to assist Siegfried in reaching his climax was equally arousing for him, and before long, his body arched with ecstasy as he came on Sophitia's chest.

He slid his body back and collapsed beside Sophitia on the bed, spent and exhausted. Sophitia, however, was not done yet. Now that Siegfried had lived out all of his fantasies, it was Sophitia's turn to live out hers.

She rolled on top of him and began to plant kisses all across his face and neck, and eventually most of his upper body. Siegfried sighed happily, and let his hands roam across her body as she did so. Sophitia let her hands roam as well, massaging Siegfried's attractive physique and grabbing his ass.

The two of them explored and enjoyed each other's bodies for an ample amount of time, and eventually Sophitia felt Siegfried's dick grew hard and rub up against her thighs. She smiled slyly, and slid upwards along Siegfried's body until she was straddling his crotch, grabbed Siegfried's dick with her hand, and guided it inside of her.

The two of them enjoyed a very pleasant night, Siegfried letting go of his inhibitions and fulfilling the desires he'd been attempting to suppress, and Sophitia doing the same, as well as escaping reality and finding comfort in the arms of the man she had secret and forbidden feelings for.

The time eventually came when both of them were finished for the night, and lay entangled in one another's arms and legs, clutching closely the one whom had given them so much comfort and pleasure.

"Thank you." Sophitia whispered.

"I should be saying that to you." Siegfried replied, caressing her gently.

"That was the best experience in my life." Sophitia said, while sighing happily.

...The best? ...Does that mean I was better than Rothion? Siegfried was reminded of the fact that another man had laid with Sophitia and had his way with her. The thought made him insecure, and he clutched her closer. But, in a way, she just told me that I was better. Siegfried took solace in this thought, and the comfort it brought him slowly lulled him to sleep.