"Oh? And what did you have in mind?" Luka asked, shifting around in the bed to face his wife.
"Hmm... I don't know. Birthdays were never widely celebrated in monster society. Here and there sure, but it was never very common. Tamamo did throw a party for my sixteenth. That was also the age that I started to rule." Alice explained. "I just wish she didn't invite so many of those damn kitsunes..."
The Monster Lord turned to her husband. "And what about you? Did Lucifina ever throw you a party?"
"None that I remember, and I doubt anyone from Iliasville would've come anyway. I don't really know all that much about them. But Nero and Neris are both turning ten years old in two days. We've got to have something ready for them."
"I guess." Alice sighed. Suddenly, she wrapped her tail around the Hero. "But that can wait for the morning. Wouldn't you much rather focus on me right now?"
"A-again!? But we only did it a few hours—" Alice pressed her finger to the man's lips.
"Shush... Let your wife take care of you." The Lamia's tail coiled around the purple-haired hero, so tight that he could barely even move. Quickly, she got to work undressing him.
"Hora, Hora. Make sure to give me a lot~"
"And save that one..." White Rabbit muttered. Reaper sighed as she looked away from the scene. In an attempt to distract herself, Reaper looked off in the distance. An odd structure could be seen, a circle of pillars with no roof, and a magical glowing circle in the middle. That was where the Hero Luka would return to the mortal realm.
"There we go." The Spirit of Time said, smiling. She skipped forward a few hours, to when the pair were finally finished. Reaper looked into the orb between them. It was glowing brighter than the one that came before, likely due to its lighter content. The emotion felt in each orb would change its shade, an odd consequence of their design. This one was a light blue. Unfortunately, Reaper was clueless as to what each colour actually meant.
The last one was red, this one is blue. The first and third were yellow, and the second was green...
Nope. I still have no idea what they mean. Maybe I should just ask White Rabbit. She did design them after all...
Suddenly, Reaper sensed something, or rather, someone. She sighed as realised who it was.
Already? He's only been back for a few minutes.
Out of thin air, a purple-haired boy appeared. He fell to the ground, plopping down on the stone floor below. Quickly, he rose, rubbing the back of his head. "Ouch." He muttered. It only took Reaper a few moments to know exactly who it was that sent him here.
Of course, Myusca. That's the third time this week...
Luka approached Reaper and White Rabbit, curious as to what they were doing. "Is that Luka?" White Rabbit asked, hopping over to him. "It's been a while since the last time we were in the same room."
Instinctively, the Hero backed up. The smile on her face only served to confirm his fears.
Reaper rolled her eyes as she heard her friend trying to flirt with Luka yet again. "We don't have any time for that right now." She said. "We still have plenty left to get through."
"Oh relax, would you? Winding down every now and then is a good thing, and we deserve it after all we've done."
"Not to interrupt but... What are you guys doing?" Luka asked. He motioned towards the orb. "And what's that?"
White Rabbit was happy to explain. "It's a magical orb that lets us see into time itself! Made by yours truly, it peeks into time, looking at other realities and possibilities. Over the years, whenever I was free, I would go find some new world that we'd never seen before and capture it in one of those orbs. It took a while, but you can see the results for yourself."
She pointed towards a large pile not far from them. Luka could count at least a hundred orbs, if not more. Some shone golden yellow, others a deep blue. Some were a dim red, barely even visible against the dark background of Hades. "Wow..." He said. "That's incredible... but why? What's the point?"
"Honestly? I was bored." White Rabbit gleefully admitted. "Anyway, Luka! Don't you think Reaper and I deserve something for all those times we helped you?"
"A reward...?"
"Yep. It's not fair that only those in the Pocket Castle are allowed a piece. We should get some too!"
"Some of what? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Ignore her, Luka. Come. If you are that interested in the orbs, you may look at this one with us." Reaper called out. The Hero nodded, sitting down beside her. White Rabbit sighed as she sat across from Reaper.
Before Luka could say anything, a loud moaning could be heard in the orb. His gaze drifted to it, and Reaper knew it was too late. White Rabbit quickly skipped forward in time, but Luka had already seen it.
"...What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing. Let's just move on." White Rabbit said. Luka remained suspicious. He did just see Alice, the monster who had accompanied him around the world, wrapped around him in a large bed. She looked a lot bigger than the one he knew.
Could it be... Was that an alternate version of me in some distant world?
Wait a minute... Why were they watching it? It couldn't be... do they also see what happens in the Pocket Castle too!?
...Fuck.
"Ahh... haah..."
Luka wiped the sweat from his brow as his eye's focused on the ceiling above him. He couldn't even lift a finger, let alone get out of the bed. Alice had a smug smile on her beautiful face as she looked at the results of her work. Eventually, the pair fell asleep.
Luka's dreams were filled with memories of battles long passed. His fight with Ilias, with Alice or Tamamo, with Granberia and, strangely enough, his battle with Lime. She was his first opponent in his quest for coexistence, and a surprisingly tough one at that. If she hadn't run away after a while, he might've ended up losing the battle. Alice, on the other hand, only dreamt of parfaits.
When the morning light finally shone down on them both, they quickly got up. After a few minutes, they walked out to the hall, Luka with his classic hero get-up and Alice with her official Monster Lord attire. Luka always felt that her clothes were quite revealing, but it was not something he was going to complain about any time soon.
Nero is away with Tamamo in Yamatai, and Neris is with Alma Elma in Grand Noah. The party is on Friday, and today is Wednesday...
Well, if nothing gets in my way, I should be able to get all of it planned. Who should we invite? The knights, obviously, and the spirits might want to come as well... I should tell them all directly. It would also give me a chance to search for good presents... And I'm sure I'll think of some other people to invite along the way.
"Well, I think I've got a good idea of what to do for the party," Luka said. "How about this? I hand out the invites and get the presents, and you set up the actual party itself. I assume we'll be having it in the castle."
Alice nodded. "We can set up a few rooms for it. We should actually make a few invitations first." She pointed out. "I'll do that then. Why don't you go tell Granberia and Erubetie about the party? I believe they are fighting in the training grounds right now."
"Right," Luka said, running down the hall to them. Alice felt herself smile as looked down towards her husband. She could swear he looked just like a child. Even after ten years, he was still the same boy she had met all those years ago. That was only in body, however. Over the course of the journey, both of them had grown as people.
"Ah, Luka. There you are." Granberia called out, huffing. She was breathing hard and sweating, clearly having just finished some tough training. "Are you up to spar again?"
"No, not today. I've got a lot of things to do. Oh, speaking of, you're invited to Nero and Neris's birthday party. It's on Friday." Luka said. "I don't have a physical invitation to give you right now, but—"
"No matter. I shall be there." Granberia said. "I hear humans enjoy gifts on an occasion like this one. A birthday present, I've heard them called. But... I don't know what either of them would like."
"Hmm... Well, you could just get them some gold or something. Or maybe a sword? I don't know." The Hero replied. "Anyway, I've got to get going. See you!"
Granberia watched the Hero run off. She sighed. Now she would have to find another partner to train with for the day, and neither Alma Elma nor Tamamo were available. She had fought against Erubetie before, but the slime was never very interested in the battles. She would have to find someone strong, willing and not currently occupied... but who?
Luka took in the morning air as he stepped outside the castle. After all the years he spent living there, it had finally begun to feel like a second home. The only problem he had with it was its distance from Iliasville. He liked to visit his home village every now and then, talk to Micaela, or simply pay his respects at his mother's grave.
"Galda, come!" The Hero said. A large gust of wind flew by him as the large, harpy-like monster approached. Ever since Alice and Amira unsealed the creature, she had been Luka's main mode of transport. Going around the world was easier than ever thanks to her.
Instead of going south and getting Salamander first, I should go North. Since the world is a globe, I should get to Iliasville pretty quickly. It should only take a few hours.
And so, Luka jumped on the back of the monster. "Galda, to Iliasville!" He said. The monster, who had only recently begun to listen to his commands consistently, used her multitude of wings to take flight. Luka got comfortable on her back, sitting down in the new saddle they had made her. It made riding much easier, and Galda seemed to like it.
So, Iliasville first. Invite some of the people there... Then go visit Micaela, invite her... Maybe going to Iliasburg would also be a good idea. Those Heavenly Bandits might be old enough to come, and it would be good for Nero and Neris to talk to kids around their age... even if they are a good few years older.
Alipheese Fateburn the Sixteenth. The first Monster Lord to ever openly preach coexistence. The first one to ever officially marry a human, or at least, someone who was mostly human. And the first Monster Lord to reign without having to fear Ilias.
This proud, strong, talented ruler was currently deciding which icing would be best for her children's cakes. She had planned to spoil them a bit and buy the ingredients for not one, but two separate cakes. Her husband, the Hero Luka, would cook them. The last time she tried to cook them anything, they ended up crying and begged Luka to never let her cook again. She was not eager to endure that humiliation ever again.
"I'd recommend vanilla," Tamamo said. The short, golden-haired kitsune was glad to accompany Alice on her shopping venture.
I had to leave Nero alone with Yao and Nanabi for this... Oh well, I'm sure they can be trusted.
Normally, Alice never had to leave the castle for food. It would be delivered straight to her. But today she wanted to make sure they got the best ingredients possible. It was exorbitantly expensive, of course, but nothing she couldn't afford.
"Vanilla? I expected something more... exciting from you, Tamamo." Alice said. She looked at the plain-white icing. Its price was triple what it should've been, but Alice seemed to not notice. Being the ruler of an entire race made her view money as not something to be managed, but something to spend on whatever she wanted. Tamamo had tried and failed to instil its value into her, at least when it comes to food.
"What? It's sweet. Neris is sure to love it. I suppose Nero would favour dark chocolate more though... How about you just buy Vanilla for Neris's cake, and dark chocolate for Nero's." Tamamo suggested. Without waiting for Alice's reply, she used her tails to take bout packages from the wooden shelf. They approached the counter with a bag full of ingredients.
"That'll be 24,805 gold, please." The human cashier said. Alice gently laid a large pouch of gold on the counter. As the worker counted it, she posed Tamamo a question she had been dying to ask. "You know, I've been wondering, Tamamo. Do you have a birthday?"
"Nope. There was no such thing as dates when I was born, Alice. We didn't even start tracking time until humans started doing it." The ancient kitsune explained. Alice knew she was old, but this was absurd.
"So old... Just what age are you?"
"Excuse me!? I'll have you know, I'm young at heart..." Tamamo sighed. "And... for the record, I'm over 2000 years old, give or take."
Alice's mind was briefly distracted by the idea of having two thousand birthdays to celebrate. She doubted even she could eat that many cakes... Eventually, she managed to shake the thoughts away. "I see... So then you'll be completely useless when it comes to what happens at birthday parties."
"Oh don't be so cynical. I know plenty. For instance, you have to put candles on the top of the cake. Since Nero and Neris are ten, we'll put ten candles on each cake, to represent their age. Then, just before we cut them, we sing a song as they blow the candles out!"
"That sounds... idiotic," Alice admitted. "Human rituals are so strange... But that candle idea does sound nice."
Then, all of a sudden, Alice stopped moving. "Wait a second... You didn't make me a cake for my sixteenth birthday..."
Tamamo gulped. "Well... You weren't exactly slim, you know? I had to make sure you didn't eat too much..."
Alice scoffed. "It was my birthday! I didn't even know you were supposed to get a cake on that day! All you gave me was some of that damn thin-fried tofu!"
"Now, now. Alice. I didn't raise you to hold grudges." Tamamo reprimanded. "Look, you'll get a slice of the cake once Luka is done making it, alright?"
"Hmph. Whatever..."
The Monster Lord sighed as she exited the shop, realising she'd have to go back in to buy the candles. "You couldn't have told me the cakes were supposed to have candles before we were done shopping?"
Tamamo shrugged. "My mistake. I'll wait for you out here."
Alice was in a huff as she slithered back in. Tamamo watched as the citizens of Remina walked by. The city had been rebuilt over the years, having only recently been fully restored as the symbol of coexistence in the world. The famous Remina labs had also been fully rebuilt, now filled with angel, monster and human scientists, all working together to further their respective fields.
I always thought coexistence was possible, in theory... But this is a step beyond anything I imagined. All around the world, the three races live together... even if it isn't yet in perfect harmony. Hopefully, with time, those issues will be worked out.
And the first knows I have plenty of time. Even when Alice and Luka pass, I'll be here to ensure coexistence continues into the future.
Tamamo's tails swept across the ground calmly. There was nothing better than the Hellgondo air, even if it could get a bit too warm for her tastes. The fur covering her entire body didn't help either. Dragonkins were much more suited to such heat.
Speaking of... Is that Granberia?
The green-scaled dragonkin spotted Tamamo through the crowds of people walking by. She was accompanied by a small, four-tailed kistune. Tamamo recognised her instantly as one of her old students.
"Granberia and... Izuna. What are you two up to?" She asked, her voice the same as a high-pitched young girl, brimming with curiosity. Even so, Granberia knew that appearances could be deceiving. In truth, Tamamo wasn't a child as her looks would suggest, but instead a destroyer of nations, the ancestor to all beast monsters.
Izuna bowed lightly as she answered. "Lady Granberia promised to teach me the way of the sword. With her training, I am sure to get to five tails in no time."
Granberia nodded. "She is a good listener..." The dragonkin sounded like she wanted to continue, but stopped out of what Tamamo assumed was politeness. "And she has... an acceptable level of skill with a sword."
Tamamo didn't need to be told twice. Clearly, Izuna was no swordswoman. "Well, I wish you luck in your future endeavours," Tamamo said.
Suddenly, the door to the shop opened. Out slithered a tall Lamia, with silver hair and haunting golden eyes. Her appearance alone screamed power. "Will these do?" She asked, holding up a bad of around 20 candles.
"Mhm," Tamamo said. "Now then, back to the castle. Granberia, I trust we'll be seeing you at the party?"
Granberia nodded. She bowed to her lord before leaving. In her search to find a worthy adversary, she accidentally got stuck with training one of Tamamo's failed students. She sighed, hoping things would change for the better, and fast.
"Wait, wait, wait. Me and Alice get... married? We have children?"
White Rabbit nodded. "Heh, you made them the second you got married! I have it all recorded if you want to watch—"
"Rabbit, that's enough," Reaper said, turning to Luka. "This is not your world, nor is it your future. At least, not anymore. This is the first world, the original world, the true history. You and Alipheese fell in love during your adventure around the world. Something like that may still happen in your reality, but not in the same way."
"Woah, wait a minute. I like Alice, sure... but I don't love her anything!" Luka said. "But you're saying that I was supposed to? If nothing happened, if those people from the other worlds didn't intervene, Alice and I would've fallen in love?"
"Pretty much." White Rabbit said. "It's not completely set in stone or anything, but it's the most likely outcome of your adventure for coexistence. I have seen a reality where people other than Alice join you on the journey, though. One time it was Alma Elma. Imagine that! There was even one where your soul was accidentally replaced! It was hilarious, that version of you was obsessed with Tamamo..."
"My soul was replaced...? That doesn't sound funny at all..." Luka muttered. After a while, he turned back to the orb. "Wait a second... Neris is that version of me's daughter. I know a girl named Neris too... She even said her real name was Alipheese the Seventeenth, which would make sense if she was Alice's daughter..."
At that moment, something miraculous happened. Luka, on his own, with no help, understood something. Such an incredible sight was a rarity in this world—In any world, for that matter. "...Neris is my daughter from another world."
White Rabbit nodded. "That she is. Bit weird that she tried to fuck you, but that's neither here nor there. Now, are we going to keep talking or are we going to actually watch this?"
"Wait, one more thing!" Luka said. "If Nero and Neris are ten years old, how come Alice is acting like they never had a birthday before?"
White Rabbit sighed. "One sec." She walked over to the edge of the stone platform and picked up a dusty old book. Luka could just about make out the title. 'The Hero Luka and Monster Lord Alice, the lives they led and their love.'
She flicked through the novel, stopping on one of the middle pages. "It says here that..." She ran her finger over the page. "Ah, they were simply too busy. They had a small celebration for each birthday, but nothing major like they're having right now. Making sure coexistence remains in check was more important, it seems."
White Rabbit hopped back to the group, sitting down right beside Luka, and getting a bit too close for comfort. Reaper sighed as she waited for her long-time friend to resume the orbs flow.
"You want me to go to Nero and Neris's birthday party?" Micaela asked. "What for?"
"For fun," Luka said. "And I'm sure they'd be happy to see you again. It's not often they get to see their great-aunt."
Micaela sighed. "Well, I am busy but... I'm sure I can make time for it. Thank you for the invitation, Luka."
"No problem. So, how have the angels been?"
"You can probably guess. Same old, same old." Micaela said. "I suppose they have gotten a bit better at dealing with monsters. The amount of fights breaking out has lessened too. Still, a lot of them want to reward those who stay faithful to Ilias and punish those who don't. I swear, it's as if it was embedded into them from birth."
"Well, as long as things aren't going back to how they used to be, I guess that's a positive."
Micaela nodded. She took a sip from the cup of tea she had prepared earlier. "And how have Nero and Neris been?"
The Hero sighed. "Neris is just as clingy as always. I thought that would slowly go away as she got older, but I haven't seen any sign of that yet... Anyway, Granberia says her innate skill with a sword is incredible. If she were to apply herself and put some actual effort in, she might be an even better swordsman than me, or you, for that matter."
"Well, she does have your blood." Micaela pointed out. "And Nero?"
"In terms of smarts, he's far beyond me. Skilled with a sword but... I don't know. He doesn't seem to really like it. Sword fighting, I mean. Other than that, he hasn't been making many friends lately. He doesn't seem very talkative. Most of the day he spends with his sister. I fear if this continues, he might never learn how to properly socialise."
"Hm. I know a few monsters and humans around his age. I can try to introduce them. You don't want him to become a recluse."
Luka nodded.
Maybe having him be taught by Erubetie of all people wasn't such a great idea... I thought Tamamo would help, but she's more interested in teaching Nero magic instead of social skills...
The Hero stood. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Micaela."
Just as Luka was about to leave, Micaela said something she had been longing to say. "Luka... One more thing."
Luka turned back. "Yeah?"
"Lucifna... She would be very proud of you."
The Hero smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you at the party!"
Notes
My first three-parter. In theory, I could've just put it all in one chapter... But I have far too many ideas for this scenario. Three parts should cover it all. I may do something like this again, but probably not anytime soon. Most of the stories in this fic will be short, and, most of the time, sweet.
As for if this fic will ever be completed, as in, have an actual ending... Maybe. Once Part 3 does eventually come out, (Which is looking more like a hope than reality nowadays) I'll probably put in any stories I can think of here. So is an ending coming anytime soon? Ask ToroToro Resistance.
