"Care for some tea?" Joseph asked her. "Please" Faith replied as she sat down on the living room sofa. The sound of rain beating on the old roof was soothing to her. He handed her a glass of Georgia sweet tea. "So a goddess paid you a visit?" he asked. "Morrigan. She made it clear if I don't disband this new task force, I'm making she would kill everyone I ever cared about" she replied. "Task force?" he asked. "In the light of ZODIAC, I thought it was a good idea to have a force of mages to stop anyone else with ideas of conquering the world" she replied. "You told me last time you rewrote history. Saved millions of lives. I can see why you pissed her off. You flat out stole from her" he said. "Every God and goddess through time has taken currency in whatever aspect they had dominion over. In her case the souls of Britanninans. Your task force must've been the proverbial straw so to speak" he said. "So how do I kill her?" Faith asked. Joseph chuckled and sat down. "And what makes you so sure you can kill a goddess?" he asked. "She left when I threatened her with a magically charged arrow. If she was invulnerable, why would she flee?" she asked. Joseph silently nodded. 

"And since I'm old as fuck, you came to me thinking I'd know. Sorry but I don't" he said. "There has to be a way! There are stories thousands of years old of gods and goddesses being killed" Faith said. "Like Heracles?" he asked. She nodded. "Sorry but that story was told by an old drunk in Corinth for a few drachmas. Has it happened? Gods and goddesses being killed? Yes, but the stories that have survived are mostly fiction and those that aren't have one thing in common. They were killed by another god. And you are no deity Faith" he said. She hung her head. "However, long ago there was a group that did kill gods. A secret band of god killers that were human" he said

 "You couldn't start from there?" Faith asked annoyed. "Faith, I've not heard a word about them in a thousand years. Their sect could be extinct. I didn't want to raise your hopes" he said. "Anything will help" she said. "...very well. How much do you know about the early days of the Christian church?" he asked. "Not much. I was never religious" she replied. "I see. Listen carefully."

"Long ago, the Christian church was very divided about how things should be run, what books the bible should contain, and what was considered cannon and what wasn't. In 325 CE, they all gathered in what is now known as the Council of Nicaea. It was there the very beginnings of the Catholic Church began. But that wasn't all that was created. It was blatantly known that pagan gods and goddesses were worshipped as well but what was the real threat was evidence that they were very real. Story goes that a Roman god appeared before Emperor Constantine and shrank his favorite harem slave for turning Christian. Being presented a shrunken slave girl, none in the council could argue that the pagan gods and goddesses were just figments of sinners and infidels. To preserve Christendom, a sect was created to seek out these deities and kill them. And seeing how their sect and reputation stuck around for another 700 years, I'd say they had some degree of success" he said finishing the story. "Where do I begin looking for...do you feel that?" Faith asked feeling an odd rumble in the floorboards. Then the windows shook, and the roof creaked. Joseph stood up and looked out the window. "Come with me outside and watch your head" he growled. 

Faith followed him outside. "Oh my god!" she yelled staring right at a tornado racing towards them. Baseball sized hailstones fell around them. He protected her with a barrier. "ODD TIMING FOR A TORNADO ISN'T IT?! I mean of all the places...prepare your strongest ice spell Faith!" he yelled. "Wouldn't a wind spell..."

"JUST DO IT!" he yelled as he charged his own. The funnel would hit them within minutes for sure. Faith flinched as a mooing cow crashed to the ground behind her in a shower of blood and guts. "Ready?! Fire!" he yelled. Faith sighed internally as the torrent of icicles she castes were blown away in seconds. "Focus the chilled air into a tight line!" he yelled. Faith watched as extremely cold air pierced the winds hitting the tornado. Following suit, she copied him. A minute passed and the funnel cloud began to spin apart. Then, it was gone leaving just debris on the ground and a steady rain. "How...how did that work?" she asked him. "Tornados form from the difference in pressure and density of hot and cool air. It's cold air that ultimately destroys a tornado" he replied. "So, the ice spells were the perfect weapon against it" she said. He silently nodded.  "This happened because I came here. She tried to kill me" Faith said. "First of all, it wasn't her. She doesn't control weather. You got more to worry about than just her. And second, whomever it was knew you could just translocate away. This was a tap on the shoulder. Jesus Christ my Impala..." he said looking at his ruined classic car. "If this sect still exists, where should I look first?" she asked. "Iznik Turkey. The modern city where the council once resided" he replied quietly. Faith opened a portal. "Joseph I'm sorry" she said. He waved without looking at her. She left him. Joseph walked to his damaged car and shrank it. He carried it inside and sat down. "At least I have something to do with my time now" he muttered.

Three days later...

Faith sat there quietly reading another tome. The library was very quiet, and her seat secluded from others letting her concentrate. She found out quickly that any ancient documents from the time period of Nicaea would be contained in the national library located in Ankara not Iznik. She tried to be as unassuming as possible as she figured she was being watched somehow. Of course, an unaccompanied beautiful girl speaking American English would turn a few heads. One of the librarians, a younger man would peek in on her every other hour. Faith smiled at him sensing no ill intent. His thoughts a lusty variety did make her blush but nothing dangerous from him. "Coffee" he said putting a cup down on the table startling her. "Thank you" Faith said smiling at him. She gagged after sipping. "Should've warned you. Turkish coffee is stronger than the western kind. You have been here for three days. What is it you're searching for?" he asked. "Documents from the Council of Nicaea. You know of anything?" Faith asked. "Judging by this pile, you have most of our collection. Well, except for the protected archive" he replied. "Archive?" Faith asked. "Handwritten documents, letters, and recollections from that meeting. They're in the vault" he replied. "I need to see those" she said. "Sorry but without recommendation from the university of Ankara or the government, it is not permitted" he replied. Faith looked down and frowned. "She's even pretty when she's upset" he thought. Faith didn't wish to do what came next but with a death goddess gunning for you, morality was not the highest priority.

Faith stood up and touched his cheek. "If you get them for me, I will make you very happy" she said channeling a mind control spell. A state of euphoria gripped his mind. "Happy...happy..." he muttered walking off. 15 minutes later, he returned with a small gathering of preserved scrolls. She bade him to kneel at her feet. With a wave of her hand, she shrank him where he knelt. Still under her spell, he didn't panic but looked in awe of the giant foot slipping out of its sandal. Faith positioned it right at him and watched contently as the shrunken man began to worship the underside of her toes. Faith read the first scroll carefully for an hour as he cleaned her foot and moved to the other. His hands pushing her toes aside to lick between them. Faith nodded and put the scroll down. What she gathered was a secret meeting between leaders of the churches to be held on the third day. She just had to find that scroll. Even though she liked being worshipped by a shrunken man, she felt slightly bad for using him. She bent down, plucked him up, and placed him on the table. Her fingers petted his head. Faith bent down and gently kissed him. She saw him smile. "If you keep quiet, you can fuck me" she said to him. He silently nodded. After taking off his clothing, Faith dropped him into the front of her panties. It took little time for him to begin fucking her giant snatch. Faith twitched now and then as she went from scroll to scroll. 

She felt him jerk and then sigh. Blowing his tiny load into the western giantess made him content enough to nearly pass out. Faith cleaned him up but saw he was dehydrated. Faith took a break and exposed her right breast. Cradling him with one hand, Faith pinched her nipple until a few drops of milk seeped out. The man happily fed from her. Watching him made her miss those back home. "Why are you crying?" he asked. Faith was shocked he asked. Somewhere, her spell had worn off. "You're not freaking out over all this?" she asked. "You don't seem to want to hurt me" he said. "But, shrinking and well..." she said. "Wonderous" he said. "...who are you?" she asked. "Nobody that wishes you harm" he said before growing back to normal size. "You even broke my shrinking spell" she said worried. "You are seeking information about a secret meeting 1,700 years ago. For what purpose?" he asked sitting on the table. "...I need to find out how to kill a deity. I've been told of a secret sect that did it long ago" she replied warily. He chuckled. "Well I can tell you that you won't find the answers here" he said. She narrowed her eyes. "I'm truthful. The Byzantines took that information with them a thousand years ago" he replied. She sensed truth from him as well as a power cloaked from her clairvoyance. "Who are you really?" she asked. "A descendant in a long line of hunters. My family has kept watch over these remaining documents for a very long time. And if the wrong person should come snooping around..." he said extending his palm.

A dance of ethereal symbols circling a spell circle appeared around his palm. He shrank the coffee cup till it was almost too small to see. She grew frightened. "Come. Sit with me for a moment. I can speak more and I you won't have to bribe me with pretty toes or pussy" he said. Faith blushed beet red and sat down next to him. He confirmed there was a secret sect and they were successful by killing gods and goddesses. He even confirmed that at one time, Christians and Muslims worked with one another as equals as members. "So where can I find them now?" she asked. "Not here I assure you. If I remember, the scrolls were taken back to the Holy Roman Empire. If there anything to be had, you'd find it in the Vatican" he replied. Faith stood up. "Thank you..." 

"Ahmed" he replied nodding. She took a few steps. "Sorry for controlling you" she said. "I was curious so I let you. You were...pleasurable" he said grinning. She blushed and smiled before making a portal. "I wouldn't do that. They could track you that way" he said. "...explains how they found me in Georgia. Thanks" she said closing it abruptly. Instead, Faith booked a flight to Rome.    

Halfway into the flight, she fell asleep. She dreamed she was in the mansion in Yorkshire. She was borrower size walking down the hallway following a sound. A woman's hum drew her to her father's room. She walked through the doorway to find her mother and father holding one another in bed. "Mommy? Daddy?" she asked floating onto the bed. She walked to Aspen's bare foot and tapped her big toe. "Mom?" she asked again. The giantess looked down and smiled seeing her. She plucked her from her foot and held her in her hand. Both of her parents smiled as they took turns petting her. "Where have you been honey? We were worried about you" Aspen asked. Faith broke into sobs clutching her finger. "Aww it's okay. Mommy's here" Aspen cooed nuzzling her. The giantess gently kissed her small body. Faith whimpered as her giantess mother kissed her delicate feet. "I've missed you so much" she said crying. Aspen and Keith smiled at her...until an invisible force grabbed them by their necks. Faith was dropped onto the bed and she watched helplessly as they were yanked up by their throats. "Stop! STOP IT!" Faith screamed trying to find the source of the attack. Then a pair of sickening cracks as their necks were broken. Aspen and Keith slumped bad onto the bed. Aspen's head landed inches from Faith. She could see hear a voice. "This is your doing" it said. Faith could see her reflection in her mother's dead eyes. Her face was that of Morrigan grinning.

Faith awoke soaked in sweat. She asked the stewardess for the strongest liquor they had and downed in in a second. She didn't take another nap after that. An hour after her plane touched down, she checked into a tourist hotel and took a hot shower. She took out her phone and called home. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Alicia screamed into the phone. "In Europe" Faith sighed sitting down on the bed. "Where in Europe?!" she yelled. "I can't say. She could be listening in on you" Faith replied. "Isn't that a bit paranoid?" Alicia asked. "Someone tried to kill me with a tornado a few days ago so no, not paranoid" Faith replied. There was silence on the phone. "I miss you" Faith said. She could hear sniffling. "Come on. Let me hear your voice. I had a rough day" Faith said. Alicia began with simple small talk with her until she simply stopped. "You there?" Faith asked. "Why does God hate me so much?" Alicia asked softly. It was a heartbreaking question to hear from her. "Who says he does?" Faith replied putting the phone down and placing it on speaker. By shrinking down, Faith was able to relax a bit better. "Alicia. FaceTime me" she said. The call ended and then began again but this time they could see one another. Faith looked at the giant phone propped against her pillow seeing her wife. She looked terrible. "You need to rest. Eat more. Go outside" Faith said. 

"If you're not here then what's the point?" Alicia asked. "You make me very scared when you say things like that" Faith told her. Alicia could see she was shivering. "I don't mean it that way" Alicia told her. "I'm trying as hard as I can to find a way to keep us all safe. You have to do your part too by staying healthy" Faith told her. Alicia nodded. "Just call so I know you're okay" Alicia asked. Faith nodded. She ended the call and turned off the lights. She sat in the darkness using her hand to swipe through photo after photo of Alicia, her kids, Lucy, and Theo. She didn't realize she'd miss them so soon. All she wanted was to go home right then and worship the giant feet of her wife, even sleep in her womb. So lonely she would even take Lucy's pussy by this point. She never thought turning her phone off would be difficult, but she had to. Tomorrow would be a long day.

She left early. Dressed in a pretty white dress with expensive sandals on her feet. Sunglasses and a cheap digital camera finished off the disguise of an American tourist. She joined a tour group heading into St. Peter's Basilica, one of two ways to actually enter the Vatican City. She did take time to admire the history and architecture of the place. She even snapped a few pics using the camera and not her iPhone. She didn't want a digital record of her exact location being uploaded to the cloud. Some might call this being paranoid, but others would say it's not paranoia if you're right. Eventually it came time for her to enter the Vatican and she saw there was a checkpoint manned by Vatican guards with facial recognition cameras. She didn't need that either, so she slipped off and shrunk down to barely an inch tall. Faith made her way to it sticking to the sides. Her eyes on the giants and giantesses towering over her. There was a change in the guard which made her pause for a few minutes. She kept her eyes on the giant feet around her just to be sure. "Hmm" she said taking note of something interesting.

The teenage girls and women in general showed a pattern in what footwear they wore. Americans tended to wear sneakers and yet European women tended to wear sandals. Faith figured it was because American women tended not to walk as much distances then European women did and needed a more comfortable shoe. Her mind tended to wander under stress. A habit she inherited from her father. A sandal crashed barely a foot from her snapping her focus back on what was going on. Large toes shifting in it. Toes painted with pink sparkly polish. Faith looked up to see a young Sicilian girl no older than 7 holding her mother's hand. She looked down and saw Faith. "Shhh!" Faith said. The girl giggled at the very small young woman near her feet. She waved at Faith. Faith nervously waved back. Faith watched the young giantess walk away with her family. Faith took a deep breath and sighed. In another time, the girl would've been just one in billions subjugated by Markus and ZODIAC...by her. It was a stroke of fate she was not born in the human settlement back home. Born into a life of servitude. Living and dying by their whims. Faith closed her eyes for a moment and turned her head to hide her shame. 

She was able to sneak through with no further troubles that she could see but that didn't mean she was safe. After growing back to human size, she headed for the archives. Every step she took she felt something odd. A tingle like goosebumps on her skin. The only other time she felt that was back in Yorkshire when she passed through the protective magic barriers surrounding the estate. As she walked, she sensed someone behind her. She topped and looked back. Nobody. Nobody at all. No tourists. Nothing. That should've given her pause but she was too focused on finding information in the archives. Then, a figure dressed in black robes came into her sight. Nothing unusual. Vatican cardinals dressed in such a fashion after all but as he got close, she felt something again. Felt something and then a weird shallow hissing sound. She tried turning around again but found her legs bound to the street. She looked down to see her own shadow coiled around her ankles. Tightly enough she couldn't even wriggle her toes. Faith twisted her body slightly and saw something of horror. A man in ancient roman armor. Skin like ashes, eyes like burning coals. Her borrower nose smelled his breath. Blood, decay, death. "BEND FORWARD!" a voice yelled. She turned forward to see the man she thought a cardinal pulling out a gun and aiming at her. She bent forward and heard a puff of a silenced shot.

The sound of bullet hitting metal and annoyed hiss she could hear behind her. She was free and ran toward almost running into the man. He glanced at her before dropping his mag. He exchanged it and loaded a new one. Shot after shot hit the foul man stalking Faith until it seemed to melt into a shadow and dash after her. "Move!" the man yelled as an arm holding a Roman pilum (javelin) came out of the shadow. Faith went to dodge but took it right through the shoulder. In shock, she mustered her strength to blast the thing with a bolt of lightning. It shrieked and recoiled. Faith staggered as she healed herself. The shadow reformed this time holding a gladius (Roman short sword) and charged her. Faith felt dizzy. Her healing spell wasn't sealing the wound properly. She fired off bursts of lightning but due to her dizziness missed. The shadow soldier swung to cleave her skull in two only to be blocked by a barrier of light. Faith looked at the cardinal as she knew that wasn't her doing and saw him holding a rosary chanting. The soldier stepped back looking at the man. "Maladicti sunti Campioné!" it hissed before disappearing. 

Faith fell to her knees. "Please..." she whispered as the cardinal walked to her. She extended her hand and he did the same. She smiled weakly still trying to close the wound. He hit the base of her skull with the flat of his hand knocking her out. Her body traumatized and weak from blood loss shrank to her borrower size instantly surprising him. He picked her up in his hand studying her small body. He used a bit of handkerchief to bind her wounds and prayed briefly. The bleeding had stopped for the moment. He looked around signing in relief that nobody had witnessed the fight and walked briskly from the area slipping the 3-inch unconscious woman into his pocket. 

Faith awoke with searing pain in her shoulder. As her eyes focused, she saw a young giantess hovering over her. Faith went to get up and found herself bound by oddly strong string tired around her wrists and ankles. Worse yet she was stark naked. "She's awake!" the girl said. "A moment" a male voice said. Faith recognized that one as the cardinal from before. "Don't...don't hurt me" Faith begged as the giantess dipped a large cotton swab in a glass and guided it to her. The giantess touched her shoulder with it and the searing pain returned. "FUCK! Get that rubbing alcohol away from me!" Faith yelled at her. "It's not alcohol. It's holy water. Be still" the girl said. She swabbed it a few more times with Faith gritting her teeth, clenching her tiny toes, and making little fists as the pain continued. "All done" she said as she untied Faith. "Thank you Cordelia" the giant said entering the room. The girl nodded and left. "Where...where am I?" Faith said sitting up and checking her shoulder. Red and sore but healing perfectly now. "My villa on the outskirts of Latina, Italy" he replied. Faith flexed her shoulder and hissed feeling soreness. "As you didn't burst into flames after being doused with holy water, I can conclude you're no demon, unholy goddess, or shade" he said. "Of course I'm no demon or...what's a shade?" she asked.

"That which attacked you. A very powerful shade if he made it through our holy barriers. By the way, it's how I found you. What are you? What kind of creature can shrink and grow?" he asked. "I'm not a creature. I'm a woman trying not to get killed by a pissed off goddess of death" she replied annoyed. "And you came to the Vatican to hide?" he asked. "No. To find an ancient secret sect of God killers. Hmmm...that thing. He said something to you. Maladicti sunti..."

"Campioné" he finished. "What's that mean?" she asked. "The first part means "accursed" the other part…is what a god killer is called by the Vatican" he replied softly. "YOU'RE A GOD KILLER?!" Faith asked. "I was...once. I'm just an exorcist now. I'm afraid your clothes are totally ruined. Cordelia can lend some of her own but..." he said placing his thumb near her. "I can shrink it to fit" she said. "Then one moment" he said. "Wait. What's your name?" she asked. "Marco...Marco Alighieri" he replied. Cordelia came back with some clothed for her. "Thanks Cordelia" Faith said politely. The girl nodded and left. She peeked into the room to watch the strange small woman shrink her clothes. "Give our guest some privacy" Marco told her. "Yes master" she said softly leaving. Faith got dressed and stood up. She was starving. Thankfully, the smell of cooking filled her nose very soon after that.

Marco and Cordelia were amazed at how easily she got around at that size. "Fettuccini with rosa tomatoes" he said making a small plate for her. "Looks great. I can't stay long. I don't want to put you two in danger" she said. "You leave this place and you'll be dead within a week" Cordelia said flatly. "Manners. She is right though. Without the barrier keeping you hidden here, you’ll be marked. It's not every day some pagan God decides to kill a mortal in such an aggressive way. What have you done?" Marco asked. Faith was reluctant to answer as she held a good sauced noodle. She did decide to answer seeing how he saved her life. "I did something that prevented the deaths of millions" she replied. "You did more than that. Now if you want my help, you'd better stop tip toeing around the truth" Marco said gruffly holding his fork. "A goddess, Morrigan wants me to give up tiring to use magic to protect the world. I pissed her off when I made it that 50 million people that died...didn't die. I went back in time and changed stuff so it wouldn't happen" Faith replied. Marco and Cordelia dropped their forks.

"I asked before..." he said. "I am... I was what is called an Etherion user. A being that can tap directly into the source of all magic" she replied. "And you're not anymore?" Cordelia asked. "I gave it up to travel back and fix what went horribly wrong. My sin, my punishment, my duty" Faith replied. "What did you do?" Marco asked. "Faith reluctantly told him everything. By the time she was done, nobody was eating the now cold food. "Morrigan has every right to hunt you. I should turn you away from this place immediately. But I am a Christian and therefore into charity cases" he said. "So you'll help me kill her?" Faith asked. "No. I'm too weak to kill something like her. I can give you sanctuary. Cordelia will draw you a bath. We can speak tomorrow" he said before abruptly leaving the table. "He doesn't like me" Faith muttered. "He doesn't like anyone but yes...he doesn't like you" Cordelia said leaving. After bathing, Faith sat on the edge of the sink squeezing her breasts. "Making sure you have a... sorry" Cordelia said seeing her. "It's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of" Faith said squeezing. She sighed as her milk squirted out. "You're a mother?" Cordelia asked stepping into the bathroom. "Twins. I miss them very badly" Faith replied softly.

"My kids, my wife. You think that thing will come for them?" Faith asked worried. "Unlikely, gods and goddesses are single track minded. It would do no good to kill them without you watching" she replied flatly. Faith cried softly. "Forgive me. Human tact eludes me from time to time" she said placing a dry washcloth next to her. "You talk as if you're not human" Faith said. "I am not. Marco is my master not my family. Sleep well Faith" she said leaving her.

The next morning...

"Did you rest well?" Cordelia asked. "Not really. Is that coffee?" Faith asked. "Espresso. As you're so small I wouldn't...oh" she said watching Faith grow to human size. Smiling, Cordelia gave her a small cup. "Jesus it's like Red Bull fucked a coffee bean tree. Excuse me..." Faith said. "Excused. Italian espresso is considerably stronger than that you Americans call coffee" Marco said making a cup of his own. He wore plan clothes, a jogging suit in fact. "After breakfast, we can talk more" he said. "Coming right up!" Cordelia said pulling out a frying pan. Faith was quiet as she ate breakfast with them. With her strength returned, she could sense power from the both of them. Power weird to her. From Marco, it was like arcane and something else she couldn't identify. And from Cordelia, something totally foreign. Something seemingly old. "If you are done, come step outside with me" he said. Faith followed him out onto the patio. "It's beautiful" she said looking at the lush green slopes and olive trees. "The Campioné have existed for nearly 1,700 years. Our task was to seek out and eliminate pagan gods and goddess that threatened Christendom" he said.

"I know but how?" Faith asked. He motioned for her to follow him again. Minutes later, she found herself with him in a stone circle. Statues of saints sat at the four main cardinal points. "Can you fight?" he asked. "Yeah. I'm not defenseless" she replied. "Then defend yourself" he said. "No. I don't wish to harm you" she said. Marco raised his right hand into the air and chanted. Strange writing formed in the air. He grasped the ethereal writing and his body glowed. "Don't worry. You won't" he said smiling. Faith started out with kicks and punches holding back her natural borrower strength. He deflected each attack. "Stop trying and do it!" he said. Faith pressed her attack. Her punches and kicks while being deflected had enough energy to stagger him. "Good! Getting somewhere! But now I know what you are!" he yelled. He chanted again and Faith faltered seeing a white light flow around him. He let loose a force blowing Faith right off her feet and landing 20 feet away. "My barrier. It went right through..." she muttered. The light focused in his fingertips as he snapped. Faith found her growth spell utterly broken. She shrank before him but more impressively she couldn't regrow. The giant bent down. "Good job for a first try" he said picking her up. Marco placed her on his shoulder and walked a short distance. He sat down at a water fountain.

"How did you do that?!" she asked. "There are all kinds of magics in the world. Eastern, western, new, ancient. Their understanding is one of the three precepts to being a Campioné. "What are the other two?" she asked. "Knowledge of gods and goddesses and faith" he replied. "I don't understand" she said. "I broke your defenses because I realized the basis of your magics. First time I ever encountered a fae" he replied. "I'm not a fae. I'm a borrower" she said. "Explains the enhanced speed and strength without magical boosting. Be as it may, your magic has its roots in fae sorcery. There is a raw, wildness to it but deep down it has a fae structure" he replied. "I never gave it any thought. When I had Etherion, just thinking about a spell could make it happen. Now I'm kind of pushing through it. Mimicking what I've seen" she said. "I know. Your spell work was clumsy. Don't be insulted. You're trying" he said sitting next to her. "So you broke through my barrier because you knew what kind of magic it was?" she asked. "When a Campioné learns the basics of magic, they also learn the counter forces as well. The best of us could dismantle an attack spell before it's even launched" he said. "So what kind of magic is yours then?" she asked.

"It isn't magic. It's Symbology" he said. "What's the difference?" Faith asked. "As I said, magic has a counterforce. An opposite. A mean of dispelling. But if you mix symbols within it..." he said as he chanted. A small fiery crucifix appeared above his palm. "When you see this, what do you think of?" he asked. "Christ? The crucifixion? Faith?" she replied confused. "Exactly. All these things without saying a word. Symbols have power Faith. Symbols, glyphs, arcanes, it all comes down to thought, emotion, and belief. Which leads to the third precept. Belief. This last one is why not everyone can be a Campioné. A rock-solid belief is essential. Unwavering piercing faith because without it, your spell work is as flimsy as wet toilet paper" he said distantly. "Can you teach me?" she asked. Marco laughed at her. "And what do you believe in tiny one? Or did the people licking your feet delude you into thinking you were a goddess yourself?" he said mocking her. Faith didn't answer. Marco abruptly left her there. 

"She's still not back yet. What if a bird or something got her?" Cordelia asked looking out the window into the night. "She's fine" he said quietly as he read a copy of Dante's Inferno. "Maybe you were too hard on her" she said. "She asked to be trained as a Campioné as one would ask to learn karate after school. She doesn't have what it takes" he said. "Then you have no problems having her try and fail then? You love to be proven right" Cordelia said to him. A few minutes passed. "I sense a storm brewing. Tiny and all alone in a foreign land. The wind and rain pelting you as you seek shelter" she whispered. "Enough" he said slapping his book closed. She smiled slightly as he went outside. Marco found her still sitting at the fountain. "If you can make me bleed, I will teach you" he told her. He took her back to the stone circle in the middle of the field. The rumbling of distant thunder could be heard. "One moment while I..."

"Not necessary" she said grimacing as she broke his sealing spell on her height. He raised an eyebrow to that. Once she was his height, he took his stance. "Begin" he said. He used the same defense technique as before and Faith attacked him. She didn’t feign any mercy. Each strike meant to hurt him. Marco found her attacks more precise but still easily deflected. Then she fortified herself. Double, triple, quadruple. She threw a kick so fierce her sandals tore off her feet. The wind rushed past his face as she punched. He chanted as symbols, words in foreign dead tongues formed in the air around his hands. He caught a kick which pushed him back and then she felt her spell work undone. Stupefied, she didn't see his own counterattack land a blow paralyzingly her. "Soul lock" he muttered to her. He grabbed her by her throat. "And with this, the match is..."

"Sucker" she grinned looking up. Above his head was the start of falling rain but as it had gotten closer, Faith froze it using it to create very small razor like hail. Not much but just enough to slip through his defenses. Marco let go as soon as the first pieces hit him in the face. Distracted, Faith fired off a bolt of lightning hitting him so hard he crashed through one of his Saint statues. The rain was coming down hard now as she walked over to him. He coughed out blood. "I win right?" she asked. He silently nodded. "Don't move" he said healing his cracked ribs. She paused as he gave her the softest look she'd seen from him yet. "I'm no Christian. Hell, I don't have any spiritual side, but I do believe there's something better for us when we die. I have to" she told him. "It's a start" he said to her.

Faith sat in the hot water of the sink nursing her bruises. Healing magic had taken care of the worst of it, but it left some lingering effects that would clear up by morning. Just another reminder of how easy she had it with Etherion. "May I come in?" Cordelia asked. "Please" Faith replied. Cordelia entered the bathroom. "Marco was worried about you so I came to check" she said. "Just a few dings and scratches" Faith chuckled. "Water good? Soap?" she asked. "Right temp but I do miss my rose oil shampoo" she replied. Faith watched Cordelia touch the bottle of shampoo with a glowing green hand. She tapped the depressor and handed a smidge to Faith. "Thanks...ow..." she muttered raising her shoulder. "Just relax" Cordelia said rubbing her fingers to get suds and gently stroking Faith's long little hair. "That was quite a feat knocking him on his ass" she said. "The trick wasn't knocking him down. It was not killing him" she replied.

"You're that powerful still?" Cordelia asked. "I've never had someone tear through my defenses like that. Instinctively I'd dial up my attack spells. That's what I did in the past. Marco is fantastic but he's no Markus" she replied. "Yes. I remember you speaking about him. If you do choose to be a Campioné, what about your loved ones?" she asked. Faith turned to look at the giantess with concern. "It's not a weekend course girl. This Morrigan is biding her time waiting for you to emerge but she won't as long as it will take for you to train. She might grow impatient enough to attack them" she explained. She watched the small woman grow terrified. "It's okay. I'll speak to the master about boarding your wife and kids. He should agree on that much" she said. Cordelia was surprised the see her hug her finger tightly. "Thank you" she said. Cordelia nodded. "Don't stay in too long. You'll prune" she said before leaving. 

The next morning...

"If you're done with breakfast, come with me" Marco said putting his cup of espresso down. Faith thought he was leading her back to the back of the villa again, but he led her to his locked study. "Have a seat please" he said sitting. She sat down. "Normally, it takes a year to learn the basic spells. Strength, speed, healing, sight. Months spent on learning what you call arcane, learning to weave the spell as taught by my ancestors. Then two years on the advanced spells. Then after that about a year on studying all the reported gods and goddesses that humanity has ever recorded. Once all that is done...then the Crucible" he said. "But I know magic already" Faith said. "Which is why it will only take about a year for you instead of the usual four" he said. "Whys it so important to know so much about them? Wouldn't well placed spells do the job?" she asked. "Do you know where a god or goddess comes from? They aren't born like you and me. They come from here" he said leaning forward and tapping her head.

"Very long ago, humans didn't understand the forces around us. Where storms come from, the moon, the sun, death, war, birth, and so on. So, they invented all powerful beings that controlled those things. Stories grew, they were shared, the masses believed, and poof you got a religion. All of this belief, this faith, this mental and spiritual energy converges until one day...a god or goddess is created" he said. "You're telling me that gods and goddess are made by mortals?" Faith said. "In the simplest terms yes. And the way to kill one is to first strip them of what is called their Authority. And to do that is speaking their true name. But I'm getting ahead of myself..." he said. He stood up and walked to one of his bookshelves. "To know their true name makes them vulnerable. As they like to hide that, learning their quirks, abilities, lineage, and motives will aid you in that" he said. "Well that's easy. I know Morrigan is her name" Faith said. "That is NOT her name. Campioné have had dealings with her before. A team of Campioné tried to kill her way back in 408 CE. They failed leaving only one survivor" he said. "Seriously?" Faith asked. "Some of these books contain the chronicles of the Campioné. Their successes....and defeats. They serve as a teaching tool. Here, you can start with the excerpts of the Campioné Augustus Servus and his writings about the Sumerian deities. With any luck you can finish it all within the year" he said extending his hand showing off the massive collection of old books, scrolls, and tomes. "A month. I'll have it all done within a month" she muttered. "Don't be a fool. Nobody..."

"I am not like you human. One month" Faith said looking at him with glowing eyes. "I see. Cordelia mentioned it would be best to bring your spouse and children here and I agree. I'll have her prep another spare bed" he said. "Thanks Marco" she said. The man nodded and left her. 

That evening...

"This is insane" Alicia muttered. "A lot of that going around lately. As it stands though, it's safer here" Faith said speaking to her on FaceTime. "And how is this shabby monk...excuse me cardinal have better barriers than we do here?" she asked. "Marco uses a type of spell casting that can rip a spell apart if he knows how it works. Since I haven't been attacked here yet, it must be working. So you get the kids, Lucy and Theo ready to come" Faith said. "And what about me? I'm...I guess I'm not that important" Juli muttered. "Not true at all. I need someone to watch over things there. I wish I could hold you all in my hands right now" she said. Alicia and Juli backed off seeing her trembling hands. "You sure this guy is on the level?" Alicia asked. "If it’s just a story, then it's a hell of a story" Faith replied showing her a book. "What's that?" Alicia asked. "A story about a Campioné hunting down a Canaanite goddess. It's crazy" she replied. "And those others?" Juli asked. "Similar stuff" she replied. "Wait. There's like...8 books Faith. You read all that in three days?" Alicia asked. "No just since this morning. I'm using the same spell I used once before to speed up the learning process. With that and my natural born memory, I can get much more done than a human could" Faith said. "Don't push yourself too hard" Alicia muttered. "I won't. I'll call you tomorrow for flight times. Night night. I... I love you guys" Faith said. Faith ended the call before she started crying.

The next evening, Faith was deep within another book, but her thoughts were on Alicia and the kids. Marco was nice enough to go and pick them up at the airport. She idly tapped her foot waiting for their arrival. "Rose tea" Cordelia said placing a cup before her. "Thanks" Faith said. "Impressive. You actually read all this already?" she asked looking at the pile of books. "...yeah" Faith replied quietly. "What is this Alicia like?" Cordelia asked. "She was a slave for some years. Like me, she's plagued with what she did under Markus. Kind, caring, thinks of others before herself" she replied. "Sounds like a good match. Good for you" Cordelia said. "Thought you Catholics frown on same sex marriages" Faith said. "I'm not catholic" Cordelia said softly. "Oh. I thought you were because you live with Marco" she said. "No" Cordelia told her. "Did I offend you?" Faith asked seeing an odd expression on her face. "Not at all. Hmm. I do believe he's returned" Cordelia replied cocking her head to the side. "Really? I don't...oh you're right" Faith said hearing the crunch of rock under tires. She watched Cordelia leave but was curious as to how she could hear something before she could. 

"FAITH!" Alicia yelled running to hug her. "That tickles!" Faith grinned as her wife hugged her tight. "Nice to see you doing well" Theo said to her holding his own child while he sat in Marco's left hand. In his right was Lucy and the twins. "Right this way" Marco said taking them to a guest room. "You okay? You seem...distracted" Alicia asked her. "Just tired" Faith replied. Alicia was worried as Faith walked right past her to gather the luggage. "Nice to meet you. I'm Cordelia" she said extending her hand. "Alicia. Is she okay?" she asked. "As she said she's tired. Not to worry, she's very excited you all came" Cordelia replied. After a late dinner, everyone retired to their rooms. 

"It's nice to hear so many voices again in this house" Cordelia said to Marco as he laid down in bed. "It is...different" he said. "You don't have to be so cold to them Marco. Even after all this time, I'm sure your parents..." she was saying until he glared at her. "Let me guess. I forgot my place. Forgive me. I am just a servant. Goodnight" she said turning away. Marco grabbed her. "I don't mean to be so cold. And you are far more than a servant" he said with a soft voice. He pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You're as beautiful as the first day I can remember" he told her. She squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes. As he gaze met hers, he turned away. "It is forbidden" he said pulling his hand away. She quietly nodded and left his room. In another room, Faith was putting her nightgown on. 

She had barely said three words to Alicia since the babies had fell asleep. "Faith?" she asked. Faith stopped dressing and tossed her nightgown on the floor furiously. "Is something..." she was saying until Faith turned to look at her. She shoved Alicia onto her back and with her hand firmly pressed onto her chest, shrank her where she lay. The gaze of a woman drunk with lust filled her eyes and Alicia stared at the giantess with worry and anxiety. Faith bent her head down. "Faith...eeep!" Alicia squeaked as the giantess stuffed her nose between her little legs and sniffed deeply. Faith closed her eyes and moved her head down until her nose lined up with Alicia's little feet. Faith's cheeks flushed and she opened her eyes. She used her fingers to pin her arms down and she dipped her face back between her legs again. The eyes of the giantess rolled into the back of her head as she licked her little pussy. "Oh fuck..." Faith moaned. Alicia could feel her hot, humid, breath as she leaned close to her face. "Easy girl" Alicia said. Faith didn't say anything. She smiled slightly and licked her lips. 

Her giant finger released her right arm and traced the side of her body. Making a swirl with her fingertip n her belly, it went up to rub her breasts for a few seconds. Alicia shuddered at how her fingerprints tickled her nipples. And then her fingertip stopped right above her heart. A heart the size of a pinhead beating rapidly, and the giantess could feel it. Faith's left eye twitched before releasing a tear. She scooped her shrunken body into her hands and laid onto her side. Faith laid there trembling with eyes wide open. Alicia had seen this in other people (namely her victims) before. Faith was so wracked with fear and stress she was on the verge on a nervous breakdown. "Look at me. It's okay. We're all here now" Alicia told her. Alicia touched her giant lips and Faith almost immediately fell asleep. Alicia had used a sleeping spell to knock her out. What troubled her was how easily she succumbed to it. Borrowers have a natural inborn ability to resist magic. Not much to speak of but it existed. And due to Faith being powerful in her own right, her magic defenses were some of the best in the world. To put her to sleep so easily, her body was close to exhaustion. 

Alicia slipped out of her grasp just as Faith rolled onto her back. The tears that were in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. Her giant body slumbered as Alicia stood up on the expansive bedspread. Her fingertips were worn smooth in places from turning thousands of pages. Her knuckles slightly swollen. Alicia healed her. She walked down the length of her body to her bare feet. The balls of her feet showed signs of soreness. Alicia knew she had a habit of tapping her foot on the ball when she was anxious. The dutiful wife she was, Alicia climbed onto her right foot, perched herself between her big and second toes, and rubbed the ball of her foot. A gentle healing spell mixed with massage did away with the redness. Alicia switched to her left foot and did the same for her beloved giantess. Faith moaned slightly in her sleep. Her toes flexed almost trapping her shrunken wife. Once she was done, she walked back up to her crotch. She could smell her musky sex, glean the wetness. Alicia chuckled. Rubbing her sensitive feet had aroused her in her sleep. There would be time to slip into her pussy another night. For now, she wanted to help her. Three hours it took to use pinpoint healing spells to ease muscle tension and soreness. She would pause for a moment for Faith to shift in her sleep. She was a restless sleeper if the day was a hard one. Her tiny hands felt the muscles and ligaments around her vertebrae. Tight as piano wires. And when she was finally done, she collapsed right between her breasts. 

She prayed she wouldn't roll over until she found her breath and got off. It was 4:13 in the morning. Alicia was thirsty and coaxed Faith's giant left nipple to give her some milk. Warm, sweet, her lover's. Her heartbeat was steady, for her kind anyway. Borrower pulse rates were on average 25% faster than a human's. Alicia understood why Faith felt her own heartbeat. To confirm someone we cherish was really there in front of them. Exhausted, Alicia slipped off her chest and found a nice safe place next to her to sleep.

Day in and day out, Faith read every book on each shelf he had. However, the strain of cramming so much knowledge hadn't gone unnoticed. Marco had found Faith slumped over a book fast asleep. He was astounded at how much she had read in just a week. From sunrise to midnight, she had stayed in there reading. He would not admit it, but he found her and her family's company a nice change in an otherwise quiet and lonely villa. He would quiz her on things and found her total recall baffling. But he could see certain changes in her the last two days. Obsessive to the point she would have to be reminded to breastfeed her babies. Moody as Lucy encouraged her to get outside just for some fresh air and Faith snapped at her. Marco knew the stress she was under but ruining her health and state of mind wasn't going to help her either. So finding her asleep, he carefully pulled her off the book in order to carry her to her room. But as soon as he touched her, a magic force lashed out shrinking him where he stood. Faith cracked her eyes open and looked forward. Marco was too stunned to berate her and found breaking her spell to be far more challenging than before. Her magic was evolving...

"FAITH! FAITH DOWN HERE!" he yelled up at the giantess still seated. Nothing. He walked over to her big toe tapping it. Faith shifted her foot abruptly trapping him under her toes. She scrunched them threatening to crush his skull. Marco lashed out instinctively with a blast of magic strong enough to slightly injure her foot. Being a borrower with sensitive feet, Faith reacted by moving her foot off him. Faith stood up. "Faith!" he yelled again. Faith turned her head but strangely her eyes were still not fully open. She sniffed the air and then looked down right at him. "Finally! You have to cancel...wait!" he yelled as she got on all fours with a slight grin and pounced on him. Marco took a deep breath after holding it thinking she would flatten him under her weight. No, she stopped inches short of that. Marco backed up as she sniffed again. "Oh my god. She's sleepwalking" he muttered. Marco stood very still. Her nose brushed his shrunken body. "MARCO!" Cordelia yelled entering the room. She waved her hand at a vase of roses and thorny vines erupted from it. They trapped Faith where she knelt. "Don't hurt her! She's not even conscious!" he yelled. Faith turned her head at Cordelia. "Uh...Marco?" she asked as Faith began glowing as she stood up pulling at the vines. Marco focused all his strength and broke the shrinking spell.

"FAITH STOP!" he yelled in her face. Faith opened her eyes gasping. Cordelia let go of her. "What...what happened?" Faith asked looking at scratches on her skin. "You were sleepwalking" he said. "I don't do that" Faith said groggy. "You did" he said grabbing her shoulder. Marco guided her to her room. Faith laid down and within seconds feel asleep again. "What the hell?" Alicia asked. "She was sleepwalking. Make sure you don't let her leave the room until morning" he said sternly. He closed the door before Alicia could ask why she was scratched up. Marco went outside for fresh air still rattled about what happened. "That want just sleepwalking. She attacked you" Cordelia said. "It's obvious her fear and anxiety is manifesting in her subconscious. The stress of studying like this must've weakened whatever mental energy she uses to keep it in check" he said. "She could've killed you. If I hadn't used my Authority..."

"I doubt she would've killed me. Her panties were wet" he muttered. "So maybe she would've fucked you to death" she huffed. "So, you want to kick her out?" he asked. "NO!" Cordelia replied. He looked at her. "All this talk of the old ways brings back memories. Memories of people I cared for that are gone. If you died..."

"Then you'd be free" he finished. "No. I'd just trade one master for another. Only this one would be grief, pain, and loneliness" she said before leaving him. Marco caressed the delicate petals of a rose that grew before him. He thought back to earlier times in his life especially the first time he met Cordelia. He was only five years old back then but even then, he knew she was special. He loved her very much and when told he couldn’t love her back it broke his young heart. Even so, he made sure he wasn't cruel or dismissive of the young woman in his care like his parents or grandmother. Cordelia did nothing to deserve that in his eyes. Be as it may, the Vatican kept tabs on them both making sure the taboo was never broken. The birth of a child between them.

Faith agreed to cutting back her study time when asked by Alicia. She was never told about attacking Marco as they agreed she didn't need the stress and remorse. She spent time with everyone in the evening just to unwind. "She looks better" Cordelia said watching the shrunken Faith breastfeed her babies. "She's like her father. Once she gets an idea, she runs with it" Alicia said. There was a pause between them. "Thanks for not saying what happened with Marco" Alicia said. "I'm surprised you found out" she said. "She came back with scratches, Marco obviously upset, and her panties soaked with her juices" Alicia said. "Are all borrowers that sex crazed?" Cordelia asked. "I wouldn't call it sex crazed. They have a tendency to lash out sexually when under extreme stress. Even then it's with someone they care for and not some random person" she replied. Cordelia narrowed her eyes. "Is something the matter?" Alicia asked. "I envy you all. To be able to give yourself to the one you love" she muttered. She was staring at Marco who was reading a book by the window. "Why can't you?" Alicia asked. "It is forbidden by the church. My kind and yours cannot mate, at best love from afar" she replied. "Excuse me" she said abruptly leaving. Faith watched the pretty giantess storm out of the house. "Lucy if you could" Faith said handing her kids to her. Faith grew and followed her outside.

She didn't immediately see her, but she could hear sobbing close by. She tip toed towards the sound and at first thought her eyes were playing tricks on her seeing a beautiful red haired tiny young woman sitting in the middle of a rose crying. Her dress was a loose toga with sandals on her tiny feet. Suddenly the crying stopped, and Faith blinked. She was there and in an instant she was not. The sound of sniffling to her far left alerted her that Cordelia was sitting on a bench. Faith sat next to her. "What's the matter?" Faith asked observing her dressed normally. Cordelia didn't answer. "You really love him" Faith said. "I have loved a long time Faith and I can count on one hand how many people have been kind to me just for the sake of being kind. And to be told you cannot create new life with them. It's a bitter irony especially for me" Cordelia said coldly. "Why for you?" Faith asked. Cordelia looked at her sadly. "You can't answer, can you? Another secret?" Faith asked. She squeezed her hand holding back tears. "Come here" Faith said actually picking her up and placing her in her lap. It was a welcome surprise for the woman. Faith held her close "I know how bitter it can be not to be able to be with someone you love. In another lifetime, me and Theo were a couple. He's the actual father of my son Matthew" she said. "How do you manage?" Cordelia asked.

"I take solace in the fact he's happy even if it not me making him so. There...there are days where it gets very hard Cordelia and I struggle. An ache deep inside" Faith muttered. Cordelia nodded and sniffled. "I can tell you this. He loves you too. He loves you very much. I can smell it on him" she said. Cordelia closed her eyes and shed tears. Faith kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry. I'm not helping" she said. "No. You're doing great. Mortals...people caring about me. It makes me feel appreciated" she said. Faith cuddled her. "That tickles" Cordelia said. "You smell like spring flowers" Faith told her. She looked back to the house. "He's worried about you" Faith said. Cordelia looked back. She hopped off her lap and went inside. Faith watched over the next several minutes Cordelia serving him tea and sitting near him. "What are you Cordelia and why can't you tell me?" she asked herself.

On the third week, Faith had read nearly three fourths of his library and was busy crafting her new skills. "Am I interrupting?" Alicia asked entering the room. "No. Just getting a handle on this new way of using magics" Faith replied. "What's it like?" Alicia asked sitting in her lap playfully. "Incredible. When we use magic, its tied to thought, emotion, and control. But symbology weaves in spiritual aspects. Beliefs feed the soul and the soul is manifested in the spell. In theory, one could cast spells ten times stronger this way...if they believed in something hard enough" Faith replied. "I don't get it" Alicia said. Faith held out her hands. "In this hand is a regular shrinking spell...boop" she snickered touching Alicia. She shrank down resting in the knee of the giantess. "And in this hand a symbology growth spell" Faith said holding it out. Alicia watched as words orbited a glowing magic circle in her hand. "It's smaller yet brighter" Alicia said. "Because I'm using one third the normal energy. More efficient yet more powerful" she said. Alicia reached for it only to find Faith dismiss the spell before she could. "Hey!" Alicia yelled. Faith giggled. "You thought I'd let you grow again?" she asked. "Don't tease me" Alicia huffed.

"I know what you've been doing while I was asleep little playtoy. Healing my muscle tension. Rejuvenating me. A reward is in order" Faith told her. She slipped Alicia's clothes off and placed her on the desk. "And how is kinky sex any different than any other times?" she asked. Faith reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a box. "This is how" she replied taking out a ring and slipping over her shrunken body. Alicia caught it before it could fall to her feet. It was considerably heavy bit what caught her attention was the red faintly glowing gem in the centerpiece. "Faith...is this..." she muttered. "A part of my soul" Faith finished. Alicia knew the utter importance of the gesture. "...I don't what to say" Alicia muttered. "I wanted you to have a part of me if I'm not around" Faith told her. It was an ominous if not sweet reply. "Dos you shave your crotch?" Alicia asked. "Care to find out?" Faith smiled. She pulled back the waist of her pants and panties and lowered her shrunken wife inside. Faith hummed to herself as she licked and nibbled her giant cunt.

Hours later, Faith sat at the desk closing another book. Her gaze went to Alicia still shrunken and naked fast asleep on the desk. She stared at the precious tiny woman and couldn't comprehend why loving someone would be forbidden. It bothered her. It bothered her to see anyone she loved in pain. Faith got up and went to Marco who was in his bedroom. She knocked and entered. "Something I can do for you?" he asked as he cleaned his gun. "I want you to tell me why you're not allowed to love her" Faith said sternly. "Cordelia?" he asked checking the firing pin. "Because the church doesn't allow it" he replied. "That's not telling me why. What kind of church who builds themselves on love tells someone they can't love? What kind of shit is that?" Faith asked angrily. Marco fitted the slide back on the gun and cocked it. He released the switch and it slid back. "Would you feel better if I said I had problems with that?" he asked calmly. "Yes" she replied. "THEN FEEL BETTER!" he yelled. "I get you want to help but stay out of this. You're only making it harder" he said softly. "What kind of Cardinal uses a gun?" she asked incised. "The one that saved your life with it" he said tossing her a bullet. Faith rolled her eyes at him and went to leave. "I love her Faith. Love her so much..." he said softly. There was a sadness in his voice. Faith walked back to the study.

She said down depressed that she made things worse and stared at the bullet. Cast iron hollow point with a silver core. Writing was on the side. She couldn't make out the strange language. It was clear it was homemade though with great care. Faith looked back at how he carried himself. Nothing trivial. Giving his full attention. Marco was fully aware of his feelings and Cordelia's. Someone who had obsessive tendencies like him, it was probably worse how he agonized at the cultural taboo of being with her. Faith rested her chin on the desk just inches away from Alicia. Maybe it was her warm breath or the thump of her chin, but Alicia woke up. "Jesus!" she yelled as the giantess stared right at her. "Don't scare me like that!" Alicia yelled at her. Faith weakly smiled at her.

"Your body is a work of art" she muttered. "No, I'm not. Hell, my real look had acne scars..." Alicia said. Faith held her tiny foot between her fingers. "I'm serious. Rosy soles, perfect toes" she said before letting go. Her finger traced up her bare body. Her fingertip rested underneath her left breast. "You're so beautiful Alicia" she said softly. "What's bothering you?" Alicia asked concerned. "Marco and Cordelia. They have feelings for one another, but they're not allowed to be together. What kind of world would keep them apart? I really don't get it" Faith said. "Cordelia did say she couldn't be with him and it's odd how she calls him master. She's no maid or anything. Think she's a slave?" she asked. "Marco doesn't seem like the guy who'd enslave a woman. He's too kind and considerate" she said. "Ohh. So, you've taken a liking to him?" Alicia asked sitting up. "I'm not blind. Healthy, handsome, strong, and caring. A good mate overall" Faith shrugged. Alicia was quiet. "Don't be jealous. Borrowers are polygamists but we do settle on a life mate. That's you by the way" she said. Alicia sucked her teeth. "It's true. If you let me, I'll show you something" she said. Faith shrank down and landed on the desk. She walked over to Alicia. She touched her cheek and with a spell, shared a part of her heart.

Alicia fell to her knees. "Oh my god. You always feel that way?" she asked. Faith nodded. "But all that grief, that pain, yet you still..." she said before Faith kissed her deeply. "Only because of you. My biggest hurdle in all this wasn't Markus or the ZODIAC. It was finding someone I could call my own" she said. Her eyes glowed in a way even Alicia hasn't seen before. "I wish I could explain it better because words don't do it justice. This power growing inside me. I can see things. An aura surrounding your body. The threads of life magic coming from your nipples and womb. The flow of blood in your veins. The cloud of pheromones. Your beautiful soul Alicia. It's like staring at the sun" she muttered. She grasped something invisible and yanked. Instantly, Alicia was human sized once more. "I can even unravel magic like it was a ball of string" she said. "Okay. Show's over" Alicia said picking her up. Faith powered down. "What time is it?" Alicia asked. "It's after midnight" Faith replied. "Then let's go to bed" she said. "After sex. It's your turn to be worshipped" Faith said to her.  "You look kinda out there" Alicia asked worried. "Not out there enough to not bathe in my favorite person in the world's pussy juices" Faith giggled. "I'm serious Tinkerbell. I'm worried what this is doing to you" she said.

"You think I can't handle this kind of power?" Faith asked. "I think you're working yourself into the ground. Cutting back has worked but...I can smell the bleach on the desk Faith. I can see the dried blood in your nostrils" she said. Faith was very quiet as she was carried to the bedroom. Alicia took off her clothing and placed tiny Faith in front of her as she sat on the bed. "How frequent are they?" Alicia asked. "Once or twice a day" Faith replied softly. Alicia hung her head. She shook either out of fear or anger. "You think it was right not to tell me about these nosebleeds?" Alicia asked. "I didn't want to frighten you" she replied. Alicia grabbed her with both hands. Faith had never seen her so pissed and winced as the giantess squeezed her. She relented as she saw Faith cringe. Alicia picked up her new ring. "This doesn't mean a thing if you keep secrets like that from me. What would happen to us if we found you slumped over the desk dead from a stroke of whatever the fuck..."

"I know it was wrong for me not to say anything but as dangerous as this learning spell can be, it was absolutely necessary. They're looking for me even as we speak. She's even attacking me in my dreams trying to goad me into leaving here" Faith said. Alicia didn't know that either. "A borrower will do ANYTHING to protect her family. Anything Alicia" Faith said sternly. Alicia laid on her back. She spread her pussy lips. "Get to work plaything. Time for makeup sex" she growled. Faith happily ran to her pussy. "I really am sorry" Faith said as she touched her labia. "I know you are but you're hurting me when you do things like that. Please don't hurt me" she begged. Faith was ready to literally dive right in until she heard the giantess plead. She felt ashamed to put her through that. "Close your eyes" Faith said. Alicia did as Faith caressed what seemed like thin air. In reality it was the aura around her. By mixing her own energy with Alicia's, it added a tingling sensation to her touch. 

Faith had to come up for air every other minute as Alicia soaked her. The labored breathing made the chest rise and fall. Faith climbed onto her chest and walked to her breasts. Her bare feet leaving wet footprints on her skin. Two large mounds of flesh surrounded her as she walked through the very short valley of her tits. Before she could reach her face to give her giantess a kiss on her pouty lips, a finger pushed on her back pinning her to her chest. "Alicia? What are you...hey!" Faith yelled as a finger plucked her tiny bare ass. "Naughty girls needs to be spanked" Alicia said to her. "Ow! I thought…oww...you forgave me!" Faith yelled as a giant finger plucked her ass again. "I did but that doesn't mean there aren't consequences" Alicia chuckled. Faith whimpered as the giantess spanked her a few more times. The shrunken girl whimpered feeling her reddened butt. "Not even daddy spanked me" she muttered. Alicia felt slightly sorry for her and used her fingers to pick her up. Gently she turned her around and placed her butt first in her mouth. Carefully, she closed her teeth and lips so now her feet and legs were almost touching her shoulders. Alicia gently licked and sucked her bare ass. "Hmmm..." Faith groaned as the wet hot tongue eased the soreness and swelling.

"That really hurt babe" Faith muttered. Alicia grabbed her phone and tapped. "Why aren't I healing myself then? Because I deserved it. The way you begged me..." she replied. Alicia parted her ass with the tip of her tongue and teased her pussy. Faith shuddered. "Whoops. Didn't know you two were busy. I'll just grab these diapers..." Lucy said from the floor. Alicia got up, still holding Faith in her mouth, grabbed Lucy. "Hey! I got kids that need diapers!" Lucy yelled. Alicia laid back down still holding Lucy until she dropped her onto her chest. "What's her problem?" Lucy asked Faith. "I got caught not telling her something really important. She's kinda mad" Faith replied. "...like what?" Lucy asked. "That I umm...was slowly killing myself by how I was studying" she replied. Lucy stormed up to the giantess' lips. She grabbed Faith's cheeks and yanked them. "I'd be pissed too!" Lucy yelled. "And then she spanked me and now she's licking my sore ass. You should get in on it. She's kinda good with the tip of her tongue. Lucy shrugged and took off her nightgown. "Scoot over" she muttered pushing Faith aside. Lucy lowered her bare ass into her mouth as Alicia loosened it up just to get a good hold on them.

"Shit she is good" Lucy sighed as Alicia turned her attention on her. "How ready do you think you are?" Lucy asked her. "I really don't know. I feel much more powerful but fighting an actual goddess?" Faith replied. Both were silent. "I'm scared" Faith said. Alicia took her fingers and grabbed Faith's hand and then Lucy's. She guided then to each other's. "She's right. You're not alone" Lucy told her. Faith being over and kissed her. Lucy smiled and then squeaked as the tip of Alicia's tongue pushed into her. She had them both cumming in her mouth within minutes.

The next day, Faith made sure to cuddle everyone, including Marco. "Are borrowers bipolar?" Marco asked Alicia as Faith skipped off to bask in the morning sun. "It's her way of apologizing. She knows she's worrying the hell out of us" Alicia replied. "Well, I was standoffish with her last night" he said. "She came to your room? She never mentioned that" Alicia said. "It was of a personal matter concerning me and Cordelia" he told her. "That explains her mood last night. She really doesn't understand why you and Cordelia can't be with one another" Alicia said to her. Cordelia stopped washing the morning dishes. He looked at her. "There is reason why. We do not enjoy keeping secrets, but time will tell" Cordelia said softly. A cryptic response but Alicia was more inclined to respect their privacy more than Faith.

By the end of the fourth week, Faith had finished reading all the books he had, and she informed him as much.

"What can you tell me about Cestus Maximus?" Marco asked. "Born in 341 CE. Died in 366 CE. His nickname was "Castrum" or Fortress in English because of his exceptional barriers he could cast. Killer of the god Janus after learning it was hiding in what was then Gaul" she replied. "And how did he die?" Marco asked. "Killed by his own brother after he learned he slept with a goddess" she replied. "Hmmm. Now tell me the characteristics of the god Perun" he said. "Slavic God of the sky, lightning, trees, and fertility" she replied. "And how was he killed?" he asked quietly. "He wasn't. Two Campioné went to kill him only to find they couldn't strip his Authority. It's unclear why though" she replied. "Because that wasn't his real identity. Like I said before, you can only strip their Authority if you know their true name" he said. "That wasn't in the book. It was the very last volume so maybe it wasn't included" she said. "It wasn't. That book hasn't been updated in 12 years. Show me your symbology" he said. Faith held out her hands and concentrated.

Marco watched impressed as glowing magic circles with clockwise turning words turned around them. "Don't touch unless you want to be shrunk” she said as he got very close. "A shrinking spell?" he asked. "It's the easiest one I know" she replied. "You can do other spells with it right?" he asked. She nodded. He studied it carefully. "Your symbology is supposed to be based on belief like mine is the original Aramaic of the Lord’s Prayer. What have you done?" he asked confused. Words asking forgiveness for those I hurt, wronged, and murdered" she replied softly. Marco squinted as it was lines upon lines of words. He did see various names mixed within it. "How many are there?" he asked. "72 names. Each one for someone I looked dead in the eye and did them wrong. My mother and father are in the center" she replied. "And this is your belief how?" he asked. "Because I believe I will be forgiven by them one day. In this life or the next" she replied. Marco had expected her technique to be sloppy and rushed but was humbled before it. "I see. Tomorrow you will conclude your initiation as a Campioné by passing the Crucible" he said. "What is that anyway. It's not in the books at all" she asked. "Because half the challenge is dealing with the unexpected. The other half is surviving" he replied. "You took it right?" she asked. He nodded. "So... has anyone ever failed?" she asked. "My uncle" he replied crossing himself.

Later that night...

"I expected another sparring match not a fight to the death!" Faith yelled pacing back and forth on the bed sheet. "Did he say that it was?" Theo asked as he rocked one of his sons to sleep. "He mentioned surviving so yeah" Faith said. "Maybe it's like an obstacle course?" Lucy asked sitting on Alicia's knee. "What kind of obstacle course would there be to train you to fight a fucking God?" Faith asked annoyed. Lucy was silent. "I'm sorry. I'm just..." Faith said sitting down and reclining on the bare sole of Alicia. "Sounds like a contest. Maybe it is a sparring match but with higher stakes" Alicia said scrunching her toes slightly. "Probably but why to the death? That doesn't make sense in a learning standpoint" Faith said tapping her hand on her giant big toe. "Is he lying to throw you off?" Lucy asked jumping onto the bedsheets. "Dunno. Not one book mentioned this Crucible. All of those books were meticulous to the point of obsession when it came to details but not one word of this thing. Furthermore, the last volume left off something weird" she said. Lucy sat next to her. "Such as?" Theo asked.

"I gathered Marco's parents, Draco and Lisa, were Campioné before him. It's clear from the style of handwriting one of them was making an entry about a god named Perun but it just leaves off right there. Not a single written line in over a decade. The entry was never finished" she said. "Maybe that's all they knew. Come to think of it, he hasn't said a word about parents or any relatives" Lucy said banging her head on the soft sole of the giantess. "He called himself the last Campioné. Somehow, I doubt this is a job you can retire from. But if they died, why is there no entry recording it like the others?" Faith asked. "Dunno but I do know this girl needs her sleep. If you'll excuse us" Alicia told them.

Alicia laid down with Faith nearby. "I can sense everyone's fear. Lucy is so scared she was leaking milk" Faith muttered. "Because we love you dummy" Alicia said slipping her finger between Faith's tiny legs. "You've come a long way from being that scared girl I found in that dressing room" she said. "And I want to you to see me get even better. I don't have as many nightmares anymore" Alicia said as she rubbed her little pussy. Faith moaned softly. "Can't you even the odds by using artifacts?" Alicia asked. "Don't know if they would do any good. If a Campioné can unravel my spells, can't one undo enchantments too?" Faith asked. "It's worth a try" Alicia said. "Still, I can only support one. It takes too much concentration to use symbology and artifact magic. It's like two different languages spoken at the same time" she said. "Which one will you choose?" Alicia asked licking her finger. "The armor probably. Marco is fast and agile to almost borrower levels. I doubt I could get a hit using the bow" Faith replied. She rolled onto her back and looked up as the giantess moved her face over her. Alicia bent down. "Any milk left?" she whispered. "Lucy fed the kids tonight as I drank all that wine. Go for it" Faith replied softly. The giantess cupped her lips around her little titties and gently sucked.

Faith cooed softly feeling her warm breath on her sensitive nipples. It only took a few seconds to drink what she had but it left her feeling more relaxed. Alicia playfully nudged her with her nose. "You're so yummy" she snickered. "Alicia? Can you drape your hand over me till I fall asleep?" Faith asked. "Sure I can" she replied. The giantess rested her right hand over her in a way she wasn't pushing on her chest or body. Like a giant fleshy blanket saturated with her scent, Faith snuggled under it and closed her eyes. Alicia watched her fall asleep a half hour later. She didn't want to remove her hand and left it there. The woman worried she might be a widow by this time tomorrow.

The next morning...

"I haven't seen any of them yet this morning" Alicia said. They were all nervous, even Theo. "The kids won't stop crying" he said. "They can literally smell my fear" Faith said softly. She held Matthew and Grace in her lap trying to calm them. "The damn wait is hard enough" Lucy huffed. "The wait is over" Marco said entering the living room. "Are you ready?" he asked her. She handed the kids to Lucy before growing. "Yes" she said bravely. "Then follow me" he said. "Wait. I wanted to see Cordelia just in case..." Faith said. "She's at the Crucible right now finishing the final touches. You'll see her there" he said. "Can we come too?" Alicia asked. "No rule saying you can't. However, you may NOT interfere" he said sternly. Marco led them into the villa gardens and then down a small hill. "Are those...mausoleums?" Lucy asked looking from Alicia's right hand. "The resting place of my family yes" he replied. They were very silent as he led them to what appeared to be the oldest of the structures. The door opened revealing old marble crypts. Marco walked to the statue of an angel with a sword.

"Hmm" he muttered as he cut his thumb along the marble edge of the sword. His blood dripped onto the floor and a magic circle began to glow at his feet. The building began to shake as the floor before them cracked open and receded. A marble staircase leading down appeared. "This way please" he said. Torches lit by themselves as they went down. It was deeper than they thought, 45 feet down and emptying into a room 10 feet cubed. "Cordelia!" Faith said happy to see a friendly face in the weird damp place. Cordelia didn't return the smile. "What's going on here?" Faith asked her. "Faith. Step onto the magic circle before you" he said. Faith was very wary but still trusted him. She stepped forward and a magic circle enveloped her body. In a flash she was gone. "Marco!" Alicia yelled. "Down there" he said pointing to the floor. Alicia stepped forward slightly until he stopped her. "Careful" he muttered. She squinted looking down and placed Lucy and Theo with the kids on the floor. "Oh my god. Alicia she's here. She's really small but here" Lucy said. The dim light made it hard for Alicia to see but Lucy being smaller and a borrower could clearly see the bug sized Faith.

"This is the Crucible. A hidden combat ring where the combatants are shrunken" he said. "For what fucking purpose?! Don't you have a ring up there?" Alicia asked. "That is simply for light sparring. This is for real combat. Underground so nobody can see or hear. The combatants shrunk for the safety of those observing and secrecy. We are a secret sect after all" he said. "You're like a fucking mile tall to her now! This isn't a fair fight!" Alicia yelled panicking. Faith could hear her booming voice but not see her face. Lucy stood outside the perimeter and even at three inches towered over Faith. "I never said I was her opponent. Cordelia..." he said. Cordelia stepped forward and vanished like Faith. She reappeared shrunk to tiny size at the opposite end. "In order to become a Campioné, you must pass the Crucible. The challenge lies in defeating what is the job of a Campioné to defeat...a god or goddess" he said. "She's a goddess?" Faith asked him. "Yes Faith. She's a goddess" Marco replied using magic to hear her.

"It makes sense now. The real reason you can't be with one another. She's a goddess, a pagan. I couldn't read your thoughts. How you would slip up and call us mortals" Faith said. "Defeat her in combat Faith to become a Campioné" he said. "I'm not fighting Cordelia!" she yelled. "Then this will be a very short fight" Cordelia said powering up. "My god..." Faith muttered sensing the power radiating from her. Cordelia was bathed in green light as the floor trembled. Gigantic roses, flowers, and plants burst from the ground. "Beautiful" Lucy muttered. "I wouldn't use that word..." Alicia said as she could see their thorns growing. The very air became sweet smelling. A thorn popped from a stem shooting at Faith. It missed her by a hair but even then cut her cheek. A wave of her hand made half a dozen fly at her. Faith yelped as she drove out of the way. Broken and stuck into the ground where she had been standing, it was clear they were a threat now.  "Summon armor" Faith muttered willing the armor of Cancer to cover her body. Cordelia and Marco raised eyebrows. Cordelia shot off another thorn and Faith punched it. It shattered but strangely Faith felt the blow. Her hand stung. She looked at it to find tiny slivers of thorn in her skin. Vines erupted from the plants carrying Cordelia into the air. She was making her way to her. "Fight or die" she said.

Faith fired off quick lightning attacks only to see them fizzle out as they struck her. Panicking, Faith charged up a lightning symbology attack and fired. Far more powerful than normal, it struck Cordelia. She fell to the floor kneeling. "I'm sorry!" Faith yelled. Cordelia got back up within a second. Any burns or singes disappeared in seconds. Faith fired off ice and fire symbology attacks staggering Cordelia but not stopping her. Worse yet, the power required to use the attacks were draining Faith faster than normal magics. Cordelia snapped off a vine and used it as a whip. She gasped her ankle and yanked her up into the air before slamming her down. Over and over until the floor began to crack. Faith coughing blood could barely keep focus. "Master..." Cordelia asked. "Continue. That's an order" he said. "She forfeits!" Alicia screamed. Marco made a gesture which locked Alicia in place. "Was all your learning a bluff Faith? Did you understand anything you read? How do you defeat a god or goddess?" he asked.

Cordelia wrapped Faith in thorny vines and began to squeeze. Her unnatural powers were literally cutting through the ancient enchantments of the armor. Faith felt the thorns piercing the armor poking her flesh. Blood began to drip onto the floor. Cordelia was trembling as she knew she was seconds away from killing her friend brutally. Crushed, cut to ribbons, or both? Faith thought back to her studies. The first thing to do was to strip them of their Authority. That meant speaking their name. Obviously, her name wasn't Cordelia. Faith quickly began to look at what she had seen so far as she used her waning magic to make a symbology barrier that was skintight.

"She can control plants...no more like flowers. I saw her that night in a rose. That's not enough. Wait...the way she speaks with an accent. It's not Italian but kinda close. I've heard it...that shade. The same way it pronounced sounds. Latin. Her first language is Latin. Latin, can control flowers. I know her true name...

Faith used force magic to blow off the vines. Her clothes soaked in blood. "Oh god Faith!" Alicia yelled. Faith began the second phase of stripping her Authority. "The books said this can be the most dangerous part of the battle. Invoking the binding circle takes a massive amount of energy. If you get the name wrong..." she thought. Faith shook her head. She was certain she guessed her name. Faith held her hand up and Cordelia was surrounded by a symbology circle of Faith's making. "Your power is over flowers. Your pantheon is myriad but known. By the ancient name...YOUR IDENTITY IS FLORA! ROMAN GODDES OF FLOWERS, BLOSSOMING PLANTS, AND SPRINGTIME!" she yelled. The circle pulsed before exploding in a flash of white light. Once it faded, Cordelia...Flora had been stripped of her modern-day clothing and wore a lose fitting toga that exposed her left breast. Sandals on her feet, and in her now vibrant red hair a ring of flowers. Faith took that moment to press her advantage as she knew that exposing her had left her vulnerable to her attacks. Her immortality stripped away; Flora could now be beaten.

Faith punched her fast and hard. Flora could barely parry her strikes and stumbled. Faith took that moment to do a sweeping kick which sent Flora off her feet crashing into a rose stem. A thorn had pierced her side making the goddess bleed. Flora healed but it was clear she was shaken. In a last-ditch effort, Flora made a particular flower bloom. It oozed white sticky fluid which she used to slather Faith. Faith stumbled drowsy and droopy. The match was dead even. Faith charged up for a final symbology lightning attack while Flora fired off a storm of thorns. Faith let lose. The bolt making the thorns burst into flames and ash as it raced towards the goddess. Flora let out a scream as she was struck. She stood there unmoving and singed. Faith staggered in her drugged state towards Flora. Her waning strength her only offense. Flora looked at her for a moment before collapsing. She didn't move.

"Match is over. Faith McCormick is the victor" Marco said. Faith collapsed seconds later into the hands of Alicia.

Faith awoke panicked. "Easy. The match is over" Marco said sitting next to her bed. "Flora! Cordelia! Whatever...is she okay?! I didn't kill her, did I?" Faith asked. "No. She's resting. You can find her in her room" he said. Faith left him quickly flying past the startled Alicia who was carrying a cup of tea in her hands. "Faith!" she yelled after her. Faith flew in Flora's room which had been locked for the entire time they had been there. Flora was resting comfortably in the petals of a rose bush planted in a pot on her windowsill. "Hey slugger" she chuckled seeing Faith. Faith flew to her and held her close crying. "It's okay. This isn't the first time for me" she said to her. "You did extremely well Faith. You should be proud" Marco said to her. Faith took that moment to grow and then slap the shit out of him. She stormed off into the living room. "You deserved that" Alicia muttered. Marco stood there nursing his jaw. "There is the other matter Marco" Flora said. "I know" he muttered. 

They were all concerned with Faith as she shook as she poured her own cup of tea. Alicia, Lucy, and Theo asked her to eat as it was now nighttime outside and her fight had left her weakened. She didn't feel like it. She walked outside for some air. Flora appeared in a rose near her. "Please don't be too angry with him. He was just as bothered by it all as you are. Probably more so" Flora said. "I could’ve fried you!" Faith shouted. "And I could've cut you to pieces or had you overdose on opium in the end. But neither happened" Flora said. "And all that fight to the death crap?" she asked. "Nobody ever said a fight to the death. He was referring to possible accidents like what we just said. You must understand that being a Campioné is a very dangerous job. It would be irresponsible to let someone go out there halfcocked. The Crucible forces the initiate to fight at their very best under controlled circumstances" she said. "By using a goddess as target practice" Faith muttered. "A job that I've done for a very long time" Flora said. 

"How does a goddess end up in the service of a guy that is supposed to kill them?" Faith asked. "A story for another time. For now, though there is one last matter. Isn't that right Marco?" Flora asked. "...yes" Marco replied standing in the doorway. He sat down next to Faith. "You completed the match with success but the Crucible itself isn't over. There is one final task for you to do" he said. Faith was still irked by him but could see worry...maybe even fear in his eyes. "Oh god. Don't tell me I have do a fucking two out of three" Faith asked. "No. No more fighting. Something simple. When a god or goddess is stripped of their Authority, they can get it back after a complete day and night has passed as long as they are not given one by their opponent" he said. 

"I don't understand" Faith said. "Like I told you before, names have power. And a name forced onto a god or goddess with their Authority stripped away becomes a kind of binding spell. In Flora's case, when you stripped her Authority away, she became a masterless goddess. Our family was granted special permission by the Pope long ago to have her in our service as long as she was bound. If freed, I will be excommunicated and stripped of my symbology. The barriers protecting this place will fall, an any deity holding a grudge will come for me...and her" he explained. "So, what are you asking me?" Faith said. "As you defeated her, it's your right to bind her to your service. You must give her a new name" he said. "That's a nice explanation but you're not telling me something. I can see it on both your faces" she said. Both were quiet.

"You don't want me to do you?" she asked. Marco didn't respond and Flora sniffled and looked away. Faith sighed and left them there. Faith kept to herself the rest of the night. Even when the others asked if she was okay, she simply nodded. The next day it was the same. "She's been very quiet" Lucy said sitting in Alicia's lap. "She has a great deal on her mind. She was even quiet as she played with the kids" Alicia said petting Lucy's leg. "Where is she anyway?" Alicia asked not seeing her. "With Theo" Lucy replied.

"Thanks for doing this. I know it's weird for you" Faith said lying on his chest. "It's not so bad being human sized now and then" he said. "I meant petting me" she muttered. "Just because I'm romantically involved with you doesn't mean I don't care. I can see the frustration in your face" he said. "I'm being asked to do something I swore I'd never do again. Make someone a slave to me. It brought out the worst in me. And God help me it felt so fucking good" he said. "Shhh. It's okay. We know you're not that kind of person anymore" he said stroking her back with his finger. "If I give her a name, she's my slave and I take her away from someone she loves. If I don't, he's stripped of his powers and left at the mercy of anyone that comes by. Not even Flora can protect him from everything" she said. "It would mean freedom for them both though" Theo said. Faith growled and kicked her tiny legs in frustration. "If it was me, I rather be free and take my chances. All my life we were taught to serve and give our lives to please our magical masters. Our little city was our entire world. But seeing rolling hills, beautiful flowers, fucking snow. I'd rather die than go back to what I once had" he said. "I get what you're saying. I really do but Marco' faith is everything to him. I read that excommunication is a kind of spiritual death for him. I don't know what to do..." Faith said sniffling. 

"It's rule thing right?" he asked. She nodded. "You're not the kind to follow rules. You make your own. Why should this time be different?" he asked. "It's not so simple this time. The binding magics are very precise. Believe me I checked" she said. "Tell me exactly what the spell says" he said. "A goddess stripped of her Authority must be given a name within 24 hours or she will be free of the binding spell. Once the name is given, she is now bound to the one that gave it to her" Faith replied. "That's it exactly?" he asked. She nodded. "Come closer. I have an idea, but I don't know if it will work" he said. Faith walked up his chest to his lips. Theo whispered very quietly. "What?! It can't be that easy?!" she yelled. "Shhh. I whispered it just in case it would break any mumbo jumbo rules" he said. "It's the best idea out there" she shrugged. 

The next morning, Faith sat with Flora alone. "How long have you been in his family's service?" Faith asked. "1,553 years" Flora replied. "That must mean you had a lot of masters in that time" she said. "Hundreds" Flora said softly. "And each one gave you a name?" she asked. Flora nodded. "Can you remember them all?" she asked. Flora nodded and under Faith's request recited each one. It took a half hour to go through them all. "Why do you ask?" Flora asked worried. "I needed to check something. Can you tell everyone to come out here to the atrium? It's time" Faith said. Flora stood up and stumbled. Faith held her feeling her tremble. Faith cupped her cheeks, wiping away tears, and kissed her forehead. Flora left her to go get the others. Faith stared at the sparkling morning dew on a rose hoping her idea would work. If it didn't, hearts would be broken one way or another. 

They all sat on marble benches surrounding a fountain. The same fountain Faith was crying at weeks before as she was frustrated with her weakness. Faith herself sat at the base of it playing with the water. "I decided on what to do after weighing my options. Flora, it's too dangerous for you not to be given a name to bind you. It would be a death sentence for you and Marco, and I know you don't want anything to happen to him" she said. Flora nodded and cried softly. "Marco. I know how much you love her. It's clear on your face you adore her and it's also clear how upset you are thinking I'll take her away from you by binding her to me. You're trapped between your Faith and your love for her. Flora, stand before me" Faith said.

Flora got up shaking and sniffling. Faith held out her palm and a magic circle formed at Flora's sandaled feet. "By order and right, Flora I bind you with the name...Cordelia" she said. The magic circle flashed brightly and then faded. "Faith you can't give her that name" Marco said. "I don't see any actual rule that says that. It said she had to be bound with a name. Didn't say it couldn't be with an old one" Faith said. Swirling energy engulfed Cordelia and when it stopped, her old modern clothes had returned. Cordelia kneeled before her. "...I am bound by your will" she said. "Only my will?" Faith asked. Cordelia looked puzzled by the question and then looked at Marco. "...no. No, I'm not! I can feel my connection to him! I'm still bound to you Marco!" she yelled. Faith smiled and helped her off her knee. Cordelia hugged her tightly crying. "I think he needs the hug more than I do" she said. Cordelia turned to him nervous until Marco held out his arms. She ran into them sobbing. 

"That was a huge gamble" he said. "Worth it in the name of love" Faith told him. They had an impromptu party that night. Cordelia using her powers to make as much wine as needed and Marco dancing with her nonstop. Faith had carried her drunken wife to their bed. "There ya go" Faith said placing her in bed. "Don' go. We can have our own fun. I'll even let ya eat me. Wanna eat me? I'm yummy" Alicia giggled. "Tempting but it's been a long day" Faith said kissing her forehead. Faith sat there for a while petting her hair till she fell asleep. Faith could smell that the anxiety and fear in her wife had left thinking the worst was over. Faith wished that was so. When she bound Cordelia, she gained access to a small share of her power. With it, she could perceive things she couldn't before. Combining it with symbology clairvoyance, she could sense a dark presence lurking outside the barriers of the villa. Very faint so no surprise Cordelia herself didn't sense it but being a paranoid borrower constantly using her clairvoyance in the first week of her stay made Faith fully aware of what was around her...and this blip of dark energy didn't belong...

Faith walked out of their room back to the living room. She found Marco rubbing the sore feet of Cordelia. "I'm jealous" she snickered. Marco turned beet red and stopped. "Who said stop? If I can't fuck you, I can at least get a foot massage" Cordelia slurred with a wine goblet in her hand. "Goddesses can get drunk?" Faith asked. "Sure. We feel that same stuff morals do. Laugh, cry, drunk, sober, love, wanting, lust, the need to feel a baby in our wombs" she muttered. She got off her chair, stumbled and put the wine goblet in the sink before going outside. "We really do appreciate what you did Faith" he said. "I know but as your ancestors used to say, man cannot live on bread alone" she said looking towards Cordelia. 

"There's something out there. Something dark and devoid of life" Faith said serious. "I was afraid of that. The ceremony caused a kind of ripple. It was probably traced here. It's happened before so don't worry" he said. "I'm not worried. I've been on the defensive long enough" she said. "Whoa. Wait a minute. Cordelia was showing you mercy and she's a pacifist deity. Just because you beat her doesn't mean you're ready to fight a death goddess" he said. Faith walked to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. She gave it to him. She stuck her finger in it and Marco watched wide eyed as it transformed into wine. "Binding her changed me. My magic evolved...again. I need to find another" Faith said grimly. Marco looked at Cordelia who was gazing at the stars. "We'll talk in the morning" he said getting up. Faith watched as he held her to him. 

At the same time…

A young woman dressed in black entered the store and cut the line. “Oy. The line is back there! Move ya arse back” a young man told her. “You’re from Ireland, aren’t you?” she asked. “Fuck is it to you?” he asked as he was handed his sandwich. She didn’t answer but with a smile. She watched him leave. “You never said a thing about a Campione Morrigan” a woman in her early 30’s standing behind the counter said to her. “How was I to know there were any left? Has your shade fond her again Pe…”

“Patricia” she said cutting her off. “Patricia. An American name for a woman working in an American city in an ethnic deli. You were once as feared as your husband there. Now he just sells fucking sandwiches and lunchmeats” Morrigan sneered. “Do not for one second critisize. You created this mess. If you did you job and let that girl and the borrower die when their time came…”

“Then we’d all lose out. Ebonheart would’ve killed 90% of the human race. You think times are tough for us now? Imagine what it would’ve been like if she got her way. Starving literally for worship. Fading into nonexistence” Morrigan said. “I have someone that will step in and help. You just do you job” Patricia said. Morrigan looked out the shop window at the Irish man from before. He was on his phone and didn’t see a taxi coming around a turn just as she crossed the street. The screech of tires and then a thud. Morrigan smiled slightly seeing the man very much dead on behind the car. “Was that necessary? He was a good customer” Patricia asked. “You said yourself you want me to do my job” Morrigan answered before leaving her.

Morrigan walked outside. Time had frozen in place except for those gifted with divinity, supreme magical ability, or the dead. “Wha…what happened?” the man asked standing up. “You’re dead Sean” Morrigan replied pointing to his body. He gasped seeing his broken body. “And you annoyed your goddess of death” she said coldly. “My goddess…Morrigan. Oh god…” he whined. Morrigan touched him as his soul self shrank. She collected him. “Before I send you along, we are going to have some fun. You can start here” she chuckled slipping him and her hand into her panties. She groaned softly as she pushed him into her cunt. With a wave of her hand, she disappeared.

"Is it always this muggy this time of year?" Faith asked wiping sweat from her brow. "Until the rains come and pass" Cordelia replied as she tended her roses. "About last night..." she said. "You said what was in your heart. Don't be ashamed of it" Faith told her. Cordelia nodded silently. "You have Ike to tell me how a goddess ends up serving a family that kills them?" Faith asked. "They took mercy on me. When they found me, I was using my power to feed those starving during a famine. They prayed and I answered" she said. "And Marco's ancestors tracked you down?" Faith asked. "That they did. It was careless of me. Entire villages starved while one prospered. The one I stayed in. It was natural they were drawn to me. We fought, I lost" she told her. "You say that so glib" Faith told her. "It was over 1,500 years ago. Ancient history literally" Cordelia shrugged as she walked to the fountain. Cordelia sat down placing her feet in the water. "Ohh...that feels good. Try it" she said. Faith slipped her sandals off, placed her feet in the water and sat next to Cordelia. 

"I can feel my power within you. That's a first" Cordelia said. "Don't know why it happened like that. Maybe because I used to use Etherion?" she asked. "Possibly. Then again there's a lot about this that's unusual. A Campioné borrower?" she chuckled. "Hey. Don't count us borrowers out. We're small but scrappy" Faith giggled. A lotus flower drifted close to them. Cordelia shrank down and hopped onto it. "This your work?" Cordelia asked. Faith nodded. "Good job. A very sturdy flower" she said tapping her bare foot onto the leaves. "So you became their goddess in exchange for your life?" Faith asked her. "That I did" she replied. "And each Campioné in his family had to beat you in the Crucible since?" Faith asked. Cordelia solemnly nodded. Faith shrank down and hopped onto the lotus. "I'll stop asking" she said. "It's quite alright. It wasn't always bad. There were quite a few nice members of the Alighieri family" Cordelia said. Faith snuck up behind her. "Like Marco?" Faith asked tickling her sides. "HAHAHA! Yes. Like Marco" she giggled. "So Marco went through the Crucible. Was he as good as me?" Faith asked. Cordelia hopped back onto the fountain edge and grew to human sized. She waved her hand making the lotus seeds present sprout. "He was a timid boy. I was terrified I would hurt him or worse. I was the only person he had at the time" she said. She looked off slightly in the distance. "Because his parents died right?" Faith asked. "Slain" she replied. Cordelia placed Faith on the edge of the fountain to continue her work.

"They were killed? I thought that died in an accident" Faith said. Cordelia encouraged the fresh new lotuses to bloom. "No, they were the Campioné the led this house before Marco. 12 years ago, they went off on a mission to kill a god named Perun. They died in the attempt" she replied. "I remember reading something about that. Had no idea his parents were involved" Faith said. Cordelia placed her wet feet on the stone edge near Faith. "They were and with them gone and his uncle in the winds, he was left in my care" she said softly. There was a moment of silence. "Must've been hard for him" Faith said. "11 years old and head of an ancient family. The first few months were so hard for him. Crying to himself when he was alone. Quiet in study. Not so much as a smile.  His birthday was just a month after they died and wanted to surprise him with a little party. Marco became incredibly angry with me and struck me down with symbology lightning. He screamed that I was just a slave and should remember my place" Cordelia said.

"Jesus" Faith muttered. "Well, when I stood back up all singed and bleeding with a smile saying I was sorry, he stood there with this look in his eyes I'll never forget. Like she shot out all his anger and pain through that bolt and now he was emotionally drained. He walked over to the cake I baked and tasted it. "Like mom made it" he muttered. "I asked if she would teach it to me last year" I said. He sat down and I just watched him cry his heart out. I walked over to him. "You won't strike me with lightning if I hug you, will you?" I asked. He looked at me crying he was so sorry. I held him close to me that whole evening" Cordelia said to her. She sniffled at the memory of it. "I see why you two are so close" Faith said petting her toenail. "She helped me through the hardest part of my life" Marco said walking to them. "You don't mind, do you?" Cordelia asked. Marco picked up Faith and sat down where she had been. "No. This woman here nearly got herself killed when I took the Crucible" he told Faith. "You were stronger than I expected is all" Cordelia huffed. "You pulled your punches and you know it. I shouldn't have been able to control your vines so easily" he said.

"You took control of her vines?" Faith asked. "It was a gaffe on my part" she said. "She was distracted by the church decree that if I didn't win, they would exorcise her" he said. Marco sighed. "When my parents died, the church gave me one calendar year to become the next Campioné since nobody could find my uncle at the time" he said. "Whoa. No pressure" Faith said. "I went all out, and she pulled her punches. Damn near got her killed" he scowled. Cordelia shrugged. "Cordelia, I strangled you into a coma. I was 12 for Christ's sake" he said. Faith looked wide eyed at the giant and giantess. "It's true. I was out for a week. My body shrinks to recover as you saw yourself and he nursed me back to health" she said. "I read up on how to care for sick and injured borrowers to help" Marco said. "And he insisted that I stay small for a month just to make sure I didn't push myself. Carrying me in his hands everywhere" she smirked. Marco blushed. "And why not? There is no sin in being cautious" he huffed. "Being babied was a small price to pay to see him smile. No more worries and I got my name Cordelia" she grinned. "What was it before?" Faith asked. "Selene" Marco replied.

"So you loved one another for quite a while. Awesome" Faith said. Marco found himself touching Cordelia's bare foot. "I wouldn't be the man I am today without her" he said. "And I see why you were both so scared I'd take her away" Faith said. "Someone tried before" Marco growled. "His uncle showed up on our doorstep when Marco was 15. Bastard just wanted control of the family fortune" Cordelia said. "But since my family is in direct service to the Pope, under special papal law the head of the family must be a Campioné, the head Campioné" Marco said. "But weren't you the head already?" Faith asked. "That I was little borrower so he decided it was a good idea to undertake the Crucible and usurp me that way. He didn't succeed" he replied. "This the same uncle you were talking about the other day? The one that died?" Faith asked. Marco silently nodded. Faith could sense ill feelings when they spoke of him. Cordelia shivered. Marco put Faith down and stood up. He held Cordelia from behind and whispered something in Latin. Cordelia nodded and walked away.

"Is she alright?" Faith asked worried. "My family has not always been kind to her, but my uncle was especially brutal. Even a goddess can feel post-traumatic stress. My biggest failing was not protecting her back then" he muttered. Faith grew to human size and held his hand. "You were a kid back then" Faith said. "I was old enough to...she cried out my name" he said barely audible. He turned away from her. "Excuse me Faith but I wish to be alone" he said. Faith let him be and returned inside. Faith returned to her room and shrank down. Canceling the size spell gave her some relief but not much. "Something happen?" Alicia asked putting down a tablet. "The more I learn about them, the more I learn their lives are full of pain. I read about his ancestors and many of them led very unhappy lives" Faith replied as she checked in her sleeping babies. "Speaking of ancestors, did you know his ancestor was the actual Dante Alighieri? The author of Dante's Inferno?" Alicia asked showing her an eBook of it. "I knew. He was exiled when he refused to let the family be turned into a political weapon. Now that I've taken the Crucible, I think it was more to do with turning Cordelia into a weapon" Faith replied. "We'll take a deep breath" Alicia said. Faith did and sighed. "Now take off your panties" she said. "Hmm?" Faith asked turning around. Alicia's hand grabbed her.

"You're stressing too much again, and Dr. Alicia has the cure" she giggled opening her hand. "You're silly" Faith said taking her clothing off. "That's better. Now lay back and close your eyes" Alicia said. Faith closed her eyes. She shivered slightly as she felt the warm breath of her giantess wife on the soles of her feet. Goosebumps as giant lips kissed them. Alicia was as gentle as possible kissing her little body. "Ohhhh..." Faith moaned softly as Alicia sucked the milk from her breasts. Her giant finger caressed her small arms and legs to the point Faith giggled. Alicia placed her finger directly over her heart and felt it slow. "Much better" Alicia whispered. She placed her on the pillow to let her nap. Alicia glanced over at the twins who were sleeping soundly on the nightstand and went back to reading. 

"Faith left?" Cordelia asked returning to Marco who had not moved. "I asked her if I could be alone" he said. "Why?" she asked. He didn't answer. She bent down to look into his eyes and saw tears in them. "You were there for me when I needed you, but when you needed me the most..." he said softly. "It turned out alright. It was a trial by God and..."

Marco brutally demolished the head of the fountain with one symbology blow. "What kind of trial would God give to make a man watch a loved one be raped?" he said. "Marco your hand!" she yelled. His knuckles were badly broken. "At one time it wouldn’t have left a mark on me. Even my magics question my resolve" he muttered looking at his hand. "Let's get you inside" she said. Cordelia led him to her bedroom and had him sit down. She began using her own magic to heal him. "I haven't forgotten for one day. Your voice crying out for me to save you from him. And me cowardly hiding in my room with my hands over my ears" he muttered. "It was unfair of me to call your name" she said. "IT WAS HUMAN!" Marco yelled. Cordelia held his now healed hand.  "What makes a goddess different from the miracle workers of the old and new Testament? How is she to blame if others worship her? Isn't the fault on them?" he asked. "Marco..."

"NO! I should've asked these questions long ago! Your crime was to feed the suffering during a famine. And it bought you a millennium and a half of servitude. Show your true self to me Flora" he commanded. Cordelia shed her modern form for her true Romanesque one. "If God is in all things, isn't he in you?" he asked softly. Flora never questioned her existence. One moment she wasn't and the next she was with a quasi-universal purpose. She was profoundly humbled by the question itself. Inadvertently, she began to shrink. "No, I should be the one dwarfed by you. You who has suffered so much by my family. Took care of me. Loved me when there was nobody. I command you to shrink me" he said. Flora did and found herself nervous for him and her. "No wonder you are considered a goddess. Michelangelo himself couldn't create such a masterpiece" he said. Flora blushed as deep as the roses she controlled. "Marco?" she asked as she watched him take his clothing off. He ignored her and walked to her left foot. He felt her warmth on her giant sole. In her goddess form, her feet were flawless. No stench, sweat, or dirt. Warm, soft, and sweet smelling like flowers. "Aren't you tired of being denied the most basic thing God gifted us? To be fruitful and multiply?" He asked as he ran his hand between her toes. "But the Pope said..."

"To hell with him! A man who played both sides to get what he wanted! He was no man of God then and especially now. You yourself lived in those times. You know how they were back then" he said up to her. Flora could see the shrunken man shaking as he steadied himself on her sole. "Marco, if this is truly what you want" she muttered. "It's what we both want" he said. She motioned for him to come closer. When in reach, she touched his chest growing him slightly to a more noticeable 6 inches. "I want to feel you" she said making her tunic disappear leaving her fully nude. Marco had seen her naked before when she bathed but this was wholly different. He was a man of God but a man nonetheless. Even as a teenage boy, he would think of taking her but her own horrible experience with his uncle soured that notion. Never would he put her in a position like that again but as time passed, he could see her longing. She was a goddess but why have a vagina, breasts, and a womb if not for the purpose of creating life with a man. And as he stood before her giant pussy which was as pink and pure as a fresh rose, he was finally ready to make his own choices.

Flora whimpered and shed tears as he mounted her and held onto the button atop her cleft. "I'm not hurting you, am I?" he asked worried. She quickly shook her head. She watched him thrust his tiny dick in and out of her literally dewy pussy with the gentleness and ease only he could afford her. She dared not touch him even though she wanted a more vigorous fuck. She dared not speak as to break the mood. And within 10 minutes, Marco shot his seed into her. Flora came in a way only a goddess of life could. Her potted flowers exploded in blooming colors, her reddish hair shimmered with energy, milk leaked from her breasts, and her eyes gazed at the mortal who relinquished his seed in her. Marco looked up at her panting and couldn't find words to describe what he saw. She placed him on her chest and cuddled him whimpering softly. Neither said anything to the other for an hour until he spoke.

"I feel...lighter" he muttered. "Technically yes as you're a few drops of sperm lighter" Flora chuckled. "Spiritually I mean. It's not what they say...it’s what he said" Marco said. "That's not a new revelation. In fact, it's what started all this Campioné stuff" she said referring to the Council of Nicaea. "And all this time later we still forget that. Why?" Marco asked sitting up on her tummy. "Humans shape divinity according to their personal beliefs and belief is a subjective thing. When I was young, there were two beliefs about me. One I required human sacrifice and the other I didn't. They even fought over who was right until I did something about that" she said. "...what did you do?" Marco asked. "I withheld my gifts ruining a critical harvest. Then I appeared to them both and said I would feed them according to their beliefs. Those that chose sacrifices would drink nothing but blood and those that didn't would drink my milk" she replied. "I'm guessing they all would rather drink your breastmilk" Marco said. "Yep. They stopped giving me human sacrifices and both sides lived in peace" she said proud of herself. "Quick question. Why didn't you just tell them to stop?" he asked.

"And when has that ever worked? Now enough with the philosophical. I'm not done with you yet mortal" she snickered poking his soft penis. She held him with both of her hands and lowered his cock past her lips. She playfully sucked him cracking a smile as he groaned and squirmed. "Flora..." he groaned as he came in her mouth. Flora looked as if in a daze. "So good. Your life seed is so...uhhgh!" she said cumming. She dropped him as her mind wandered. Marco broke her shrinking spell amazed that his own symbology seemingly strengthened. "And now what shall we do?" she asked. "Something I should've done some time ago" he said. Flora grinned as she had what she thought in store for her. No, Marco lifted her up and sat her in his lap. He held her close and tight. "I'm sorry Cordelia. So deeply sorry" he said as his voice broke. She did not know what exactly he meant but dared not ask as she could sense how fragile his heart was at the time.

"Good lord. Everybody fucking in this house?" Lucy asked smelling the cascade of pheromones on the villa. "I missed that" Theo said painting her giant toes. "Nevermind" she said shifting in her seat.  "If you're that uncomfortable being human sized then shrink back. I can still finish" Theo said. "That's not the problem" she muttered. "Then what is?" Theo asked admiring the blue polish on her finished toe. "It's making me horny just smelling it so much" she replied. "We can have sex when I'm done" he said. "I might hurt you. This...this feels...stronger" she growled. Lucy eyed him like prey. "Well we just have to be careful is all" he shrugged turning around and bending over to wash his hands. Her borrower sight caught the silhouette of his tiny right ass in his shorts. "Fuck that" she hissed grabbing him. Lucy tore his shorts right off him and took a deep whiff of him. Her mouth opened and her tongue came out. "Honey...honey slow down" he said as he fell on it. Lucy moaned softly as her tongue receded back into her mouth and she could taste him.

His salty sweat, sweet flesh, the musky tangy flavor of testosterone. Her mate and she would have him. She batted him around as she sucked him clean and only let him go once it was gone. He sat soaked in saliva on the sofa as she took off the little clothing she had on. "Lucy you had your fun now take it easy" he said. "Are you scared?" she asked creeping closer. "Yeah I am" he said. Lucy paused. "You really are, aren't you?" she muttered. Lucy felt a strange whisper in her ear and looked around. "Maybe you'd prefer Alicia or Faith to fuck you" she said. "What?" Theo asked. "Don't deny it. I've seen how you look at them, especially Faith. Aren't I enough?" she said with an icy tone. "Have you been drinking?" he asked.

"ANWER THE QUESTION!" she yelled creeping closer. "I care a great deal about her yes but love like you're talking about? No" he replied. Lucy heard whispering again. "Liar. What is it? Her feet? He feet look prettier?" Lucy said stomping her sole onto him. Theo was pushed into the seat cushion. "Her tits?" she growled taking her foot off him making him painfully gasp for breath. She grabbed him and shoved him hard into the flesh of her left breast. "Or is it her ass?" she said dropping him on the cushion. She promptly sat almost on top of him. Her asscheeks slowly rolling onto him. She got off him and held him. "Lucy...please..." he begged coughing blood. "Or her sweet kiss?" she said with a cruel grin. She brought him to her salivating mouth once again. "Lucy...please...I'm begging you with all my soul" he whimpered pathetically. She planted her lips onto his tiny face and kissed with a suction strong enough to begin smothering him. 15 seconds...30 seconds...a full minute and then Theo went limp. His struggling ceased. "Was it anything like that? Theo... Theo... oh...oh my god!" she yelled as he wasn't breathing. His body was black and blue. "I killed him!" she screamed.

"Did you hear something?" Faith asked groggy waking up. "Huh? Na..." Alicia mumbled. "Could've swore..." Faith mumbled before hearing a thud. Curious, she sat up on the pillow. A minute passed and she shrugged. "The wind I... the fuck?! Alicia get up! I smell blood! Lots of blood!" Faith yelled growing. Faith bolted from the bedroom to the living room. "LUCY!" Faith screamed finding the borrower in a pool of blood dozens of times bigger than her as her growth spell broke from hemorrhagic shock. A bloody knife laid on the floor. Alicia, Marco, and Cordelia gasped in shock as they entered the room. "Oh Jesus Theo too?!" Faith yelled. "I'll tend to the borrower. You tend to Theo" Cordelia said trying to stay calm. Faith applied healing magic to Theo but there was no knowing how long he had stopped breathing. If more than 3 1/2 minutes, he was sure to have brain damage. Five minutes and he'd be brain dead. A trifle if she still had Etherion but without it, she was at the mercy of conventional biology. Theo gasped with a silent scream as powerful magic forced his lungs to inflate and heart to beat. How body shook as she stimulated adrenal glands. "She lives...barely" Cordelia said. 

Faith cried silently and nodded as she stabilized Theo. A half hour later, Lucy rested inside a rose, the symbolic crux of Cordelia's power. "She will have to rest for at least two days. The damage to her intestines, stomach, and liver was very extensive" Cordelia said. "Theo is out cold. What the fuck happened?" Alicia asked. "I sense a trace of spellwork in the air. Something malicious and not of mortals" Cordelia muttered. Faith bent down over Lucy. "Theo looked at Lucy with dread and concern. She couldn't have done that to him. It's unnatural" Faith said looking at the fragile borrower. She extended her finger and touched her head. Her finger glowed. "Faith, Lucy is very weak. A spell could be too strenuous for her right now" she warned. Faith ignored her and began the spell to read her recent memories. "Lucy was aroused, extremely aroused. Way more than usual. She could, umm...smell us having sex. Strange, human pheromones can have an influence on us, but this went way beyond that. She was roughhousing with him and then she heard whispering" Faith said.

"Whispering? From whom? What were they saying?" Alicia asked. "Can't make it out. Like dozens of voices. Wait, my name kept popping up when she looked at him. Jealousy, intense burning jealousy. Lucy, oh god. She sexually tortured him out of jealousy. When she saw she had smothered him with a kiss, she grabbed the kitchen knife and stabbed herself. She...she..." Faith muttered as she touched her stomach. "Faith!" Cordelia yelled slapping her. Faith gasped as she came to her senses. "She wanted to die so badly" Faith whimpered crying. Alicia led her to the sofa and hugged her. "I thought this place was protected by such things" Faith growled angrily at Marco. "It is. The barrier...oh god the barrier. It weakened because my faith wavered earlier" he muttered.  "You couldn't have known" Cordelia said. "The hell I couldn't. This is my punishment for questioning the church" he muttered standing up and going to his room. "The hell is he talking about " Faith spat. "Marco, Marco confessed his love for me, and we were...intimate" she replied. Faith could no longer be angry with him. "He questioned everything he was taught. Whomever this was must've took that moment to slip this spell into her" she said. "Then the blame lies with me. I put the thought into his head" Faith said. "No. This had been coming for some time" she said. "Was he happy when..."

"The happiest he's been for a very long time" she replied. "I can't just sit around and let whoever did this try again" Faith said. "Come with me" Cordelia said. She led Faith to the master study. Faith watched as she opened the glass case hung over the fireplace. Cordelia picked up an ancient sword and carried it to Faith. She packed it on the desk before her. "This is the most important heirloom of the Alighieri family" Cordelia said. "This? Forgive me but this rusty sword looks like it can't even cut soup" Faith said looking at the decrepit sword. "It has not been used since the Spanish Inquisition. None in the family has shown enough power to awaken it. However, you have shown to have an abundance of magic within you. The master asked me earlier to prepare the spell to bequeath it to you" she said. Cordelia took a small dagger from her pocket and cut her palm. "Now yours" she said. Faith reluctantly did so and winced as the goddess cut her hand. "Ow!" Faith yelled as Cordelia roughly grasped her heeling hand with hers. "Bear with it. Now repeat this. By the rite of blood, I take ownership of this blade and duty. Let those who worship falsely beware the Campioné" Cordelia said. Faith reiterated the oath as their mingled blood dripped onto the rusty blade. The sword trembled and rose off the desk. It turned its point at Faith and before she could utter a word or move, ran her through. 

Faith found no searing pain or blood at all. If anything, a warmth and pull as her essence reforged it.   Faith pulled the sword as if in a daze and as she did, she found the blade itself gleaming as it was freed from her. "My god, it's magnificent" she muttered. "Indeed, it is. Its name is... Last Stigmata" she said. Faith felt a power as she grasped it. "Where did this come from? Cordelia...this is a fae forged weapon" Faith said. "No, it is a Faith forged weapon literally. If you see fae design in it, it is because your soul influenced its rebirth. How does it feel?" Cordelia asked. Faith shot a pulse of lightning magic through it. The blade crackled with energy startling Cordelia. "It feels like my father's sword Rune Breaker. That's not a coincidence is it?" Faith asked Cordelia shook her head.  "If you will excuse me" Cordelia said. "Cordelia, I don't blame either of you. Everyone deserves happiness. Make sure he remembers that" she said. Cordelia nodded and left her.

"Don't you dare" Cordelia hissed finding Marco kneeling in his room. He held a cat o' nine tails in his hands. "I have transgressed and sinned and people in our care have suffered for it" he said. She grabbed the whip. "So flagellation is the answer? Shipping yourself till you're bloody solves the problem?" she scowled. "I command you to let go" he said. She didn't and because she disobeyed, an excruciating pain tore through her body. She trembled. " I said let go!" he yelled. She held fast as blood dripped from her nose. "Dammit Cordelia!" he yelled letting go himself. She had the whip and tossed it across the room. Cordelia collapsed onto the floor. "Everyone deserves happiness. She said that" she muttered. "You are a fool...and so am I" he whispered as he cradled her body. Marco cleaned the blood from her nose and stroked her hair. "Last Stigmata is hers now as you requested" she said. "Did it respond?" he asked. "Fiercely. I've never seen it radiate so much power. I almost wet myself" she said.

A few hours later...

"You're doing well" Faith said towering over a shrunken Marco. "I have fed babies before. Least I can do right now" he said as he bottle fed her son. Cordelia smiled watching him. "Thank god they're too young to remember this crap" Alicia said as she bottle fed her stepdaughter. Marco sighed and placed the infant boy on his shoulder and burped him. Cordelia giggled. "What is so funny?" he asked. Cordelia shrugged. "She finds you taking care of a baby very cute...and desirable" Faith said as she gave Lucy another dose of healing magic. Cordelia blushed. "Reading my mind isn't very nice" she huffed. "I didn't. It's natural for a woman to judge the worthiness of her mate on how they take care of children. But onto other matters. Marco, how did Campioné hunt gods and goddesses in the past? Your books were sketchy on that" she said. "We had the help of an oracle that could divine their location" he replied. "Holy shit. For real? Are any still around?" she asked. "Just one" he replied. "Then I guess I'm off the Greece" Faith said. "No, you're not" he said. "If I can track down the fucker that attacked us..."

"The oracle isn't in Greece. It's here in Italy" he said. "Seriously? But I thought the oracles were in Delphi Greece. That what all the stories say" she said. "The oracle of Delphi was but one. There was another in Cumae or what is known now as Cuma. The oracle was known as the Cumaean Sibyl. *Only a few in the world know the oracle is still there" he said. "Marco you can't send her there. She's goddamn crazy. Your own mother refused to speak about her time with Cassandra" Cordelia said. "Cassandra?" Faith asked. "The oracle and a mortal who obtained goddesshood. Cordelia has a point. Cassandra has been known to kill visitors" he replied. "I still have to try. Besides, I'm not exactly defenseless" Faith said summoning Last Stigmata. Marco gasped at the sight of it. "It really is as magnificent as the stories. No, more so" he said. "If you insist on going, then wait until morning" Cordelia said before leaving the room.

(Authors note: There really is or was an oracle in Cuma Italy called the Cumaean Sibyl around 800 BCE or so. Well known to the point that the famous Renaissance artist Raphael painted her in the Santa Maria Della Pace. As for the name Cassandra...)

Lucy finally awoke to the sound of thunder. "Welcome back" Faith said sipping tea as she stared out the window listening to the sound of rain. Lucy let off a screeching wail before sobbing. Faith put down her cup and plucked her from her makeshift bed. "It wasn't you. Someone was controlling your emotions" she said. "He begged me. The look he gave me. Oh god the sound of his bones breaking!" she cried. "He's all better. He understands it wasn't you. Now I need you to calm down. Your body is still weak, and your pulse is dangerously high" Faith said. The small woman whimpered as Faith petted her body. "Yes. That's better" Faith whispered. "Why me?" Lucy asked. "Only you and Theo are the ones with no extensive magical training, so you were defenseless. That and..."

"The underlying seething jealousy?" Lucy asked. "Yeah...that" Faith replied. There was a long silence. "Oh dear" Faith said seeing the small woman lactating. "Oh shit the babies" Lucy said. "Sleeping soundly and perfectly safe. Now brace yourself" Faith said delicately placing Lucy's breasts in her mouth. Faith closed her lips and gently sucked. Lucy gasped and her tiny toes curled. She drank her milk while at the same time used her finger to caress her back. It only took a minute to relieve the excess milk. "I felt like killing you. I felt so much hatred" Lucy said softly. Faith had her recline in her hand. "I saw" Faith said. "Then how can you be so gentle with me? Not even one shred of anger?" Lucy asked. Faith's eyes glowed faintly as she pointed a glowing finger at her. Faith used a spell to show her the moment she found her body. Lucy nearly peed herself seeing her own blood-soaked body. The memory of the smell of her blood. Metallic and sweet. Her body unmoving, and a grief so crushing it took her breath. And one lone thought..."it should've been me".

Lucy watched aghast as they scrambled to save them. Faith's composure actually being shock. And when she learned this was an outside attack, Lucy did pee herself as she felt a rage, she didn't think anyone could exhibit. Faith broke the spell seeing it becoming too much for the borrower. "God help whomever it was" Lucy muttered. "I highly doubt it" Faith said softly. "And now I peed on you" Lucy whimpered. Faith put her down and washed her hands. She microwaved a cup of water and let steep a teabag. Lucy was afraid for Faith. Her depth of her love was a deep as her contempt. She had been told of the things she had done before and as remorseful as she was, Lucy knew her state of mind could be delicate. After all, this was a woman who erased the futures of over 7 billion people to fix the world. A precarious state of mind is par for the course just in that. "It's ready" Faith told her breaking her train of thought as she placed the cup of herbal tea down before her. Faith then put down a sliver of soap and toilet paper. Lucy slowly climbed in wincing at the heat but found it soothing in moments. "Not too hot?" she asked. "Perfect" Lucy replied.

"Good. Now relax" Faith said as she soaped her fingers. Lucy sighed as giant fingers lathered her hair and upper body. Upon asking, she stood up so the giantess could soap the rest of her. Faith giggled as Lucy chirped as a finger rubbed her bare butt and tickled her labia. Lucy rinsed off and soaked as Faith applied another healing spell. "Yes. That's better" Faith mumbled. "You're very good at that" Lucy said feeling the soreness in her abdomen fade away. "Daddy taught me. Healing spells was one of the very few he let me use. The trick is knowing a bit about anatomy" she replied.  "You did say your dad was pretty smart" Lucy said. "And very moody. Humans would call it...bipolar" she said. "Isn't that genetic?" she asked. "Usually yes. I go to great lengths to control my emotions. But there are times..."

"You miss him, don't you?" Lucy asked. "Every goddamned day. Nights like this with thunder and lightning I'd get scared. Me, an Etherion user that could literally toss lightning bolts scared of lightning and thunder. He would hold me in his warm soft hands and tell me I was safe. Tickle my feet so I would laugh and giggle. Suck my toes so I would relax and fall asleep" she replied softly. A few drops of water fell into the cup and Lucy turned around looking up at the giantess. Giant tears falling from her eyes. "And now I can't even be with him. Fuck, I can't even let myself look like I did when I was born. This...this is fake. A lie" she said crying softly. "You're real to me" Lucy told her. Faith took her out of the tea bath and began drying her. "If I had lost you, any of you..." she said. Faith nuzzled her breathing in her scent.

Faith sat quietly watching the borrower eat a late-night dinner. "Fuck I'm starving" Lucy hissed as she devoured bits of food. "I'd imagine so. Healing magic borrows the minerals, nutrients, and proteins in the body. "That bad?" Lucy asked. "Your intestines were hanging out" Faith replied softly. "I felt your rage. Your pain" she said. "And I yours" Faith said. "No, what I felt would shrivel the devil's soul" she said. "Lucy, I wish you could see what I see. The beautiful life sitting on this countertop before me. So full of possibilities" she whispered as she traced her tiny leg with her finger. I'm connected to life energy in ways you can't comprehend. Even now as I move my finger, I can see your blood rushing to your labia. Your milk production increasing. Those breathtaking eyes looking through me. You are a work of true art so your goddamned right I got pissed" Faith said sternly. Lucy blushed and wiped a tear away. She spread her legs. "Tempting, very tempting. However..." she said poking her tummy. Lucy winced in pain. 

"You're still weak. Faith bent down and gave her a long gentle kiss. "You should get some sleep. *yawn* so should I" she said. Faith carried her to Lucy's bedroom. "Wait. What if he's afraid of me?" she asked. "He won't be" Faith said softly. Faith placed her on the floor and left her. Lucy quietly entered the bedroom. Her baby slept in the crib near their bed. In the bed was Theo. She shuffled her bare feet on the floor trying to find courage to get closer. "It's more comfortable here" Theo said softly. Lucy made a quiet gasp. She walked to it finding each step harder. She climbed in and laid there petrified. Barely any light entered the room, but she could see his silhouetted face. He moved and she trembled. His hand reached out and she flinched. "You look much better" he whispered. No anger, fear, or anxiety. Theo being Theo. Lucy scooted lower in the bed and buried her face into his chest. Theo stroked her hair as the borrower sobbed. It hurt him so much to hear her cry so hard. Her body still weak and now full, she fell asleep.

Theo awoke and found Lucy not beside him. He got up and saw their baby not in her crib. Worried until he heard a faint sound. Theo looked up to find Lucy quietly sitting on the windowsill rocking their daughter asleep. The way the light danced around her left him in awe. He went for a morning pee and when he returned, she was placing the baby back in the crib. Lucy was naked and as she turned slightly, he could see the faint reddish outline of where she stabbed herself and dragged the blade through her flesh. His blood ran cold remembering being told she tried killing herself but in truth he had already knew. He stood here inches behind her and she had not noticed. Lucy squeezed a few drops of milk from her nipple and used it to draw a growth arcane. Theo watched silently as his giantess wife went to the bathroom. He could hear the shower running. Theo sat silently on the bed replaying in his mind what had occurred yesterday especially one particular thing.

"You're awake. I... I can shrink down" she stammered. "No, you're fine" he said. "Been up long?" she asked. "Since you were feeding the baby up there and then putting her in the crib" he replied. She was surprised she hadn't noticed him being awake or even walking about. She sat on the floor naked quietly and anxious. "...so much blood" he muttered. She looked at him. "I saw you...you...and then so much blood" he said. "How?" she asked. Theo looked up. "From above" he replied. Lucy realized he was describing a near death experience. She hid her face in shame. Theo walked over to her. Her beautiful giant feet flat on the floor. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked stroking her big toe. She quickly shook her head. Theo walked to her crotch. He touched her lips. "NO! Don't touch me!" she yelled her whole body tense. "You won't hurt me" he said calmly. "You don't know that! Whatever it was could happen..."

"You put a knife through yourself. Let's not bullshit about what you're capable of doing if it came to that" he said flatly. Theo rubbed her walls until they were slick with her juices. She whimpered and scrunched her toes. Her hand trembled. "It's okay. Touch me" he said. The giantess timidly did as if he was made of glass. He sat calmly in her open palm looking at her. He could see sheer terror in her eyes. "Lucy. You won't get better if you don't start playing with me" he said. Her fingers felt parts of him. His arms, his back, his little feet, his growing erection. Still though, he could see she was frightened. "You don't understand. I felt your bones snap like matchsticks" she whined. "You're gonna let whoever did this win?" he asked. "No" she spat. "I'm asking my breathtaking wife to use me to feel better. Because if not, she'll stay broken forever" he said softly. Lucy hung her head knowing he was right.

She sucked him off gently before pushing him in and out of her. After cumming, Theo gave her permission to keep him in her mouth entirely. Something normally would around the borrower but right then nearly gave her a panic attack. Theo pushed her further and further with sexual trust exercises and gradually she relaxed. She shrank down to normal size and laid in bed with him and listened to his heartbeat. Steady, relaxed. "Did your stomach just growl?" he asked. "Umm...yeah. Tasting you worked up an appetite" she sheepishly replied. Theo kissed her passionately and got up. He scratched a temporary growth arcane on his skin causing him to be human sized for the moment. "Wait here" he said. She could faintly hear him talking to Faith and Alicia. They of course asked how she was. "My wife has seen better days, but she'll be fine" he replied. They then asked if he was okay being around her. Lucy held her breath. "Of course, I remember the pain but all that I felt is nothing compared to what she endured. Till death do us part isn't some traditional bullshit you say at the altar. That means something to me...and her. You said it was a miracle you were able to bring me back. What if I told you as I hovered between this world and the next, I refused to pass on? That I told heaven to kick rocks because if I didn't have Lucy it wouldn't be heaven?" he asked. Lucy didn't know what to say to that. She didn't think she could ever find words to express what she felt.

"Hey! Leggo!" Theo yelled. "Nuh uh! Since when did you get so manly?!" Faith giggled. "Ah! Alicia let go of my shorts!" he yelled.  "Looks like she matured in more ways than one" Alicia chuckled. Lucy got out of bed. "Let him go!" she yelled from her room. "Oops. Somebody is mad" Faith muttered. "If you two are done screwing with me, my wife is waiting for her breakfast" he said. Lucy sat on her bed smiling and when she heard giant feet coming to the door, quickly got under the covers. Theo sat down and placed two dollhouse scale plates with bits of food on her lap. A tiny little cup of coffee was ready for her. Lucy felt a little embarrassed as the giant watched her eat. "Where does that all go?" he asked as she cleaned her plate. "I'll have you know that lactating mothers burn quite a few calories just in that. Not to mention my body is still craving what it lost when I..." she said before abruptly stopping. Theo took away the empty plates. He said nothing as he rubbed her bare belly. The quiet somber mood was broken by her letting out an impressive belch. Both chuckled, them giggled, and full out laughed. "Holy shit was that thunder?" Theo laughed. "You got jokes. Least it didn't come out the other end like you do. Last week it was like pure propane with you" she laughed. 

Theo slipped his hand underneath her. "It's nice to hear you laugh again" he said softly. His fingers rubbed her little feet as he looked at her. "How sore are you?" he asked. "Not sore enough to turn down whatever you got planned for me" she replied. "Careful now. You don't know what I got planned" he said. "After hearing what you said in the living room, I don't care if you decided to eat me" she said.  Theo smiled and chuckled until she spread her legs. "Eat me. Fuckin eat me" she cooed as she fingered herself. Theo brought her close to his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Lucy took her hands and held the wet fleshy organ and sucked the tip into her mouth. With a grin, she wiped her mouth. Slowly, she pushed on his tongue till it reached her pussy. "Yes. Fuck yes" she hissed as the tip pushed into her slightly. Lucy moaned as she fucked herself on the tip of his tongue. With a cute little chirp, she came. Theo’s tongue slipped underneath her bare ass and began to lift her up. His lips clamped onto her shins. Lucy tingled as her bare soles were tickled by his taste buds. Slowly with a sucking motion, she was pulled deeper into his mouth. His lips resisted on top of her breasts making her moan. Theo's finger petted the top of her head before playing with her long brown hair. Lucy felt helpless and yet safe secured between his lips. Her hands felt their warmth and softness.

Theo relaxed and began jerking off as he tasted her juices and flesh. She could hear him jerking his giant shaft as he played with her. Then, with a groan that rattled her bones, Theo came. Theo took her out of his mouth worried she might slip down his throat as he caught his breath. His left hand held her while his right glistened with his seed. Lucy shocked him as she slipped from his grasp and purposely landed in a puddle of semen in his right hand. The smell was strong, virile, healthy, her mate's semen. "What are you...whoa" he muttered as she scooped up some in her hand and jammed it up her pussy. Lucy writhed around in his hand until she was finely coated with spunk. "Don't push yourself. I know you're..."

"Happy. Very fucking happy" she said. Theo shrugged and carried her to the bathroom. Even though she had showered earlier, she was in need of another and Theo joined her. He doted on her cleaning her body and when done, carried her back to the bed. He had just put her down when the growth spell wore off. The shower had removed the scratches that made it. Theo slipped a dress over her. She smiled contently as he put on her sandals. "I'll give you a pedicure tonight" he said touching her toes. "I'm okay now. You don't have to keep spoiling me" she said. "And if I decide to keep doing so, what're you going to do about it?" he asked. "Pay you back" she grinned. Theo leaned in and kissed her. Their passionate kiss was interrupted by their daughter crying. Lucy got up, picked up their baby and began rocking her. Theo went to the dresser and picked up his wedding band. He slipped it onto his finger and remembered the first time he had done so. He remembered their wedding vows. "For better or for worse" he muttered.

"You look like a tourist" Marco said to her. "That's the point. Once I'm outside your barrier, I'm an open target again. Better to blend in with normal humans" she said as she placed a camera around her neck. "You can't tell us anymore about this Cassandra person?" Alicia asked. "Only from what was passed down. She doesn't like men, she can divine the general location of gods and goddesses, and she has her own powers. Powers that have kept her alive for an exceptionally long time" he said. "Well if that's all then nothing to it" Faith said. "If it's nothing to it, then why does Cordelia look nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs?" Alicia asked. Faith glanced at her. Cordelia was staring out the window quickly tapping her bare foot. "Something happened. Drusilla was very disturbed when she returned. You don't remember because what happened days later, but I do" Cordelia said. "Drusilla?" Faith asked. "My mother. She went to Cassandra days before she and my father died to get Perun's location" Marco said. "She never spoke about it" Cordelia said. "Be as it may, I have no choice" Faith sighed. "You going?" Lucy asked walking with Theo to the living room. "Yeah" Faith replied. "Kisses first" Lucy told the giantess. Faith picked her up and brought her to her lips. With a kiss as gentle as feathers, Lucy got what she asked for. She felt the giantess take in her scent.

"Yeah yeah we fucked" Lucy said smiling. "It was your scent I was wanting" Faith said smiling. Lucy felt her giant hand shake slightly. She could see in those big eyes that Faith was more than frightened. "Girls night. When you get back were having girl's night" Lucy told her. Faith nodded and put her back down. "You need me to drive?" Marco asked. "No. I'll translocate. Faster and less people involved" she replied. "Joseph said they can track you that way" Alicia warned. "It won't matter by this point. I just have to be quick about it" she said. Alicia hugged her tight. Faith had to push her away. There was a breeze in the house and a single beautiful wildflower floated in the wind to Faith. "For luck" Cordelia said softly. Faith slipped the flower into her hair. "Now or never" she said as she concentrated. As she couldn't lock onto Cassandra, she focused on a park she had seen in a YouTube video of her location. The portal opened and Faith stepped through. 

"Oww!" she said as she exited at an awkward angle slipping on a bathroom floor and falling. She nursed her bottom for a moment before exiting the park bathroom. Faith looked around, a normal day in the ancient yet modern city. The park had dozens of people just walking around or sitting in the grass admiring the sunny day. Faith sniffed the air. Car exhaust, food stalls, sewer grates, humans either sweaty, aroused, or fresh smelling. She sensed no magic, but she didn't either when she was attacked by a shade over a month ago. The city directory was nearby, and she looked upon it. The ancient ruins of the Sybil oracle were not far away so she decided to go immediately. Her pace was brisk, and she took pictures to fit in and for herself. Her sandaled feet slapping on old cobblestone as she made her way closer and closer. As she arrived, so did a small group of tourists. Faith was wary of them. If something were to happen, they would undoubtedly be pulled into the fight. "Dammit" she hissed as young children joined them as they neared the iron gates. She looked around and saw nothing unusual. Faith passes the gates and felt a tingle. A familiar tingle like she did at the Vatican. "A barrier" she thought.

For an hour she was on guard as they toured the ruins and the tour was over. "Where is she?" Faith wondered not seeing this Cassandra. It occurred to her that she neglected to ask Marco how to contact her or what she even looked like. "Dummy" she hissed. Faith walked outside the ruins and sat down on a bench. Her clairvoyance did indeed sense magics embedded in the old stones but no magical beings whatsoever nearby. "Is this seat taken?" a young woman asked her. "No" Faith replied. The young woman sat down next to her. "Gelato?" the young woman asked. "No thanks" Faith replied. "Really? Strawberry is your favorite Hope...oh I mean Faith" she said. Faith turned quickly to face her. Her fist collecting magical power by the second. "Easy. I mean you no harm. I am the one you're looking for after all" she said. "Cassandra?" Faith asked. "In the flesh. Hmm. The pure cane sugar really makes these pop" she said as she ate her frozen treat. 

"I need you help" Faith said. "Yes, I know" Cassandra said. She finished her gelato, stood up, and threw the cup into the trash. She began walking. "Wait!" Faith said running behind her. "So it was the barrier, right? How you knew I was here?" Faith asked. "No" Cassandra replied. "Oh, you saw the future. Listen. If we could, I'm pressed for time..." Faith said.  "In a moment. It's not time yet" she said oddly. Faith followed her quietly until she stopped in a secluded spot. "Don't move" she told her. Faith stood still nervously as Cassandra walked behind her. Faith sensed a small burst of magic and turned her head to see Cassandra' glowing foot stomping her shadow. "Son of a bitch! Again?!" Faith yelled to see the familiar ominous shade dislodged from her shadow. The living shadow pulled a sword. With astonishing speed, Cassandra charged him. The shade swung his sword over and over and her to miss each time. Faith was in awe at how easily Cassandra evaded him. Then she grabbed his throat and sent a blast of light magic through her hand. "Whoa" Faith muttered as the dark shadow engulfing him was blown away leaving a pale man in ancient armor. "Damn Faith. You really must've pissed someone off if they sent this guy. This isn't just any old shade. Motherfuckin' Marc Anthony himself. Now then, let's have you at a more manageable size" she said grinning. The man began shrinking in her grasp until the Latin cursing form had dwindled to a more safer 4 inches. She dropped him into her purse. "Now then, on to business" Cassandra casually said to the mind blown Faith.

She was led to a small yet lavish home overlooking the city. Cassandra had her wait a moment as she adjusted her barrier to let her through. Cassandra had her enter and remove her shoes. Faith was aghast to see dozens of borrower sized people walking about tending to the home. Tending to plants and housekeeping mostly. When they saw Cassandra, they paused and bowed. She coolly dumped Anthony on the floor. "Prepare him" she ordered. The struggling man was led away. "Have a seat" she said. Faith did and studied the people at her feet. Faith found it strange as they had no real scent to speak of and sensed spiritual energy of a higher order from each one. She nearly jumped out of her skin as three of them took it upon themselves to clean her feet. Cassandra returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Don't mind them. They're just doing as they've been trained" she said.

"How...how did you beat him so easily?" Faith asked. "Oh that? Shades carry a spark of godlike Authority within them. His kind can be made vulnerable with a good blast of life energy. After that, it's just a task of reveling their true name to render them powerless" she replied. "Marc Anthony as in cleopatra and Marc Anthony?" Faith asked. "The very same. It's exceedingly rare to send a shade of his class to attack a mortal. Says something about their mindset and their possible identity " she said. "Who?! Who sent him?" Faith asked intrigued. "Ah now there's the rub. Anthony was Roman but the Romans borrowed if not stole their deities from the Greeks. Between the two pantheons, there's quite a few that has their hand in death" she replied. "These people..." Faith said watching one mindlessly polishing her toenail. "You would notice. They are shades...of a sort. I have found them to be necessary for me to continue living" she replied.

Faith looked at their faces and found them devoid of emotion. "What can you possibly get out enslaving someone's soul?" Faith asked irritated. "Unlike a privileged girl born into power, some have to acquire it by other means. Tell me Faith, have you ever heard the story of the oracle that angered the god Apollo?" she asked. "...no" Faith replied softly. "She was born into a modest family near Delphi Greece thousands of years ago and by the time she was 13, became a favored virgin priestess of Apollo. The God showed her favor as she learned divination and when she turned 16, the god offered her the gift of absolute prophecy. She accepted. However, the gift came with strings attached. The god demanded sex from her but as she made a vow of chastity, she refused him. This angered the god greatly and took it upon himself to rape her on the spot. He did every cruel thing imaginable to her for a day and a night. A day slowed to three with the help of his son Helios. And when it was over, he gave her a curse as he couldn't take back his gift. Her prophecies of doom would not be heeded. She would be scorned for the rest of her life."

"And as she went from court to court trying to warn of the disaster of the coming Trojan War, she was raped again and again out of spite and anger until she decided to fake her death. She hid her identity and traveled throughout central Asia learning the various arcades and spells of the people she found. Using her skills of magic, she made contracts with those seeking her prophecy and as payment, she would take ownership of their souls for one century. Care to guess what that girl's name was?" Cassandra asked. "I have a good idea but how do they keep you alive?" Faith asked. "Give praise unto me!" Cassandra commanded them all. "Praise be to our mistress the high oracle Cassandra!" they shouted in unison. Faith watched them shout it over and over as a weird energy emitted off them and was slowly absorbed by Cassandra. "Tastes like chicken" the woman smirked.  "You absorb their praise just like a goddess. That's how you're immortal. They're nothing but batteries" Faith muttered. "And now that we're getting along so well..." Cassandra said dropping her appearance. Her hair turned snow white and her eyes like amber. Her clothing reverted to a classic Greek toga which she slipped off her shoulders. Faith found her exceeding beautiful.

Two men dragged a naked Anthony to them. "You were better off in Tartarus little shade" she said scooping him off the floor. "Unlike the others, you will be mine for untold amounts of time" she said. Anthony yelled and cursed her. "Silence!" she commanded as a magic paralyzed him for a moment. She spread her legs and placed him in front of her naked cunt. "It has been some time since you ate pussy but I'm sure you remember how" she chuckled. Faith watched as the tiny shade who meant to do her harm had now become a cunt licking slave. "This is not offensive is it? Not all of my guests are...understanding of a woman's needs" she said. "As you well know I am a borrower. I'm not as squeamish as a human" Faith replied. "Then you may happily indulge" Cassandra told her. Faith was playing a game of sorts. Show this woman respect and act as her equal to gain favor. She was not picky and chose a random person at her feet. Faith stifled a moan as she slipped a young male shade into her panties.

"You came seeking my help finding a deity, right?" Cassandra asked. "I did. One of them attacked someone I love with a kind of jealous madness. It nearly cost her her life" she replied. Cassandra pushed Anthony into her and shifted her legs slightly as her pussy sucked him in. "So, it's revenge?" she asked. "More than that. If I take this one out, it can hopefully give any others second thoughts about attacking me" Faith replied. "Dubious thinking at best. Gods and goddesses are proud beings. It is only in the last few hundred years they have taken mortal living habits. If anything, they will take your attacks as a challenge to gain honor and prestige. Be as it...one moment" she said closing her eyes. She shivered and then sighed. Anthony slid out of her moments later. "Leave it to a Roman to press his attack. What a boon you are" she grinned holding the sticky mess of the small man. "Be as it may, I'm not one to turn down a request as long as payment is made" she said. "My soul no doubt" Faith said shaking. "As Americans say...bingo" she replied. Faith pulled the young man out of her panties. He showed no emotion as her juices coated him from head to toe.

Faith looked at him remarking how young he was. "What was his request?" she asked. Cassandra looked at him. "Marriage. He wanted to know if he should marry a girl. He was killed in an accident six months later" she replied. "And you didn't warn him?" Faith asked. "I always warn them. They don't listen. The curse remember? That one wanted fame and died of an overdose 8 years later. Stock market tips for her to curry favor with her boss. Her boss killed her when she got pregnant with his child three months later. And that one...well she wanted something similar to what you want and paid no heed to me warning her she was wrong about who they were attacking" she said pointing to a female shade in her early 30's polishing a giant antique vase. "So? Is it a deal?" she asked. Faith hesitated to answer.  Finding this deity was top priority before they attacked again but selling her soul into servitude for a century? Thinking she was clever, Faith figured as the Joseph, Oberon, and others had found ways to be immortal, she could as well and if so, Cassandra couldn't collect her soul if she couldn't die. However, she was making a critical mistake which she had fortunately caught immediately. They had enteral youth, not true immortality like Markus had. She could die. Cassandra coolly sipped her wine as she watched the woman mentally debate this. But as she thought of people, she loved dragged into this her decision became clearer. She remembered being in total shock as she scrubbed Lucy's blood off the floor. The smell of bleach and wet iron, the scent of sugars. Someone she loved like a real sister with her stomach slashed open by her own hand. "...deal" she muttered. "Excellent. Give me a few minutes to prepare" Cassandra said putting her glass down and tossing Anthony into it.

Faith was alone and yet not alone. Surrounded by indentured souls, it was a harbinger for what could come for her. But as she looked at each one, she remembered what Cassandra said about the one she pointed to last. What she described sounded too familiar. Faith got up, plucked the girl from where she was standing and brought her back to the sofa. She sat diligently in her palm as if waiting to be commanded. Faith looked at her intensely. She studied her sandaled feet, her arms, and legs and most importantly her face. She had the same eyes, and unmistakably the same Romanesque nose. Faith couldn't believe it. She had the soul given physical form of his mother in her hand. The adulation of joy was quickly soured with the reality she was in the possession of Cassandra for another 88 years. She caressed her side pitifully at the thought. Trained, the woman began slipping off her plain toga and was half naked in just a second. "Drusilla stop!" Faith said as the woman was taking her sandals off. She looked at the giantess somewhat confused. "You're Drusilla, aren't you? The mother or Marco?" she asked. What has been lifeless eyes suddenly came to life with emotion. "Mar...co?" she asked. 

"Yes Marco. Marco Alighieri" Faith replied. "Marco...Marco...Marco!" she yelled almost frantic. "Shhh! Yes Marco" Faith said. "My son. My little boy" she cried. "He's not so little anymore" Faith said smiling. "You know him?" Drusilla asked. "I'm staying with him right now. He taught me to become a Campioné" she replied. "Then you are his wife?" she asked. "No. I'm already married and he's in love with Cordelia" she replied. Drusilla seemed to be fighting something. "Feel her. Feel. Please. Take me away" she pleaded. Faith heard footsteps. "Don't say a word" she whispered to the woman. "Enjoying yourself?" Cassandra asked. "Just a little" Faith replied. She looked at Drusilla who had lost the spark of emotion once more. "Good taste. She's particularly good at getting the right spots" she said. Faith bent forward slightly and kissed Drusilla's tiny breasts. "I can see she's...special" Faith said with a slight smirk to hide her irritation. "Now if you are so inclined, we can begin" she said ushering her to the basement door. 

Faith followed her down to the basement which was lit with green flame candles. "Extravagant for clairvoyance isn't it?" Faith asked looking at the arcanes chiseled into the stone floor. "What you call clairvoyance is as different from what I can do as a lit match to a forest fire. First..." she said handing her a parchment. "The agreement which you must sign with your birth name" she said. She handed Faith a strange onyx pen which she took. Faith winced as sharp tiny spikes came out of the body. Faith's blood was absorbed into the reservoir. "Hope Anna McCormick" she said to herself signing in her own blood. Her signature glowed briefly before Cassandra took the parchment away. "Now enter the circle" she said. Faith did keep an eye on her. Cassandra sat down motioning her to do so as well. She took her hands and squeezed them causing Faith pain in her still healing hand. "Think back to the attack. Let me see through your eyes. Yes. Good. Whispers. Whispers in the air. Old magic, incredibly old. I can feel its path back. Behold" Cassandra said. Before Faith she saw a shimmering vision. Lands streaking by as if traveling at hypersonic speeds. Hills become mountains, mountains with snowy peaks. It gave way to grasslands, steppes then the desert. Then finally it slowed above a shining city.

"Dubai. Your adversary is in Dubai" she said. "That's it? Dubai is goddamn huge. Can't you narrow it down further?" Faith asked. Cassandra cocked an eyebrow. "I'll ignore the impertinence. Hmm. Interesting. I'm being repelled. Foreign...entertainment...district. Blue...blue...ahhgh!" Cassandra said breaking the spell. "That's as much as I could get before I was pushed back. It has been an awfully long time since that was possible. I do not envy your task" she said standing. She led Faith back to the living room. "Pleasure doing business with you" she said. "About that. I wish to make one final trade" Faith said. "Oh? What for?" Cassandra asked intrigued. "For that shade. I fancy her" Faith said pointing to Drusilla. "As I've said. Each one sustains me and that one is especially important to me. With your soul bargained away, I doubt you have anything of equal value" Cassandra said. "Not even this?" Faith asked summoning the Bow of Artemis. 

"A fake" Cassandra hissed. "Try again" Faith said pulling the bowstring summoning a glowing arrow. "The Bow of Artemis? The legendary bow lost for over 500 years?" Cassandra asked. "Is yours for her" Faith said. "...deal" she said. Faith handed her the bow. She cut her magic ties to it making it Cassandra's. Cassandra handed Drusilla to her. "I hereby release you from our agreement. You are now her's" Cassandra told the shade. With her hold gone, Drusilla became filled with emotion once more. "I'll see you when your times come. Until then..." Cassandra said bowing. Faith said nothing as she made a translocation portal for home.

Faith reappeared back at the villa. "I'm free! Really free!" Drusilla yelled. "In a way..." Faith muttered. Faith was very worried how Marco would take this. "Faith!" Lucy said running out of the front door. "Yeah I'm back" she said. "Who...what is that?" Lucy said peering at the small shade. Drusilla cowered in Faith's hand. "It's okay. Nobody is going to harm you here" Faith said. "I'm Lucy" the borrower human sized said extending her finger. "Drusilla but I prefer Dru" she said shaking her finger. "You are so adorable Dru! You kinda look like somebody I know..." she said. "She's Marco's mom" Faith said. "What? But he said she died 12 years ago. Her grave is that way. How can...she has no human scent. What...what..." she stammered. "It's her soul" Faith said. Faith stared astonished. "What crazy shit have you done this time?" Lucy asked. "Long story" she replied. "This is huge Faith" she said. "I know. Have Marco come out and meet us but don't mention his mom" Faith said. Lucy went back into the house. Marco emerged minutes later. "Oh thank god. You're okay good. Did you find out...anything...what is in your hand?" he asked.

Faith opened it further to reveal Dru. "What witchery is this?!" Marco spat seeing her. "No trick. You know I don't do that kind of shit. This is real and I can explain" she said. "No... no. She's dead. She's in the arms of God" he muttered. "Marco? Honey it's me momma" Dru said. "Whatever you found get rid of it!" he yelled. "Little one please!" she screamed in Italian. Marco paused. He walked very close to them. He peered down. "Only one person ever called me that. Only one" he muttered. "Extend your hand Marco" Faith said. He did and she placed the shade of his mother in it. His finger touched her long hair. "Reddish black. She dyed it black because people stared. Momma?" he asked. She nodded and began sobbing. Faith watched him stumble back into the house.

Faith followed and watched him walk right past Alicia and Cordelia. "You're back! I was...what's up with him?" Alicia asked. "Have a seat" she told them. Faith told them everything that happened. Everything including selling her soul. Needless to say, there was much shouting on Alicia's part. "Sweetie. Borrower hearing remember?" Faith said wincing. "Fuck that! You sold your fucking soul!" Alicia yelled. "I did what had to be done. You saw the consequences if we keep sitting on our asses" she said. They looked at Lucy. She looked down at her toes. "No, don't you dare get angry with her" Faith warned Alicia. Lucy sat down with Theo tapping her big toe. She scooped him up and cuddled him. "Cordelia you say something. You're a fucking goddess so you know how these bargains go" Alicia said. "She's betting on you getting killed in a fight like Drusilla no doubt. Alicia has right to be skeptical. However, bargains like these are ironclad for both parties. She won't risk screwing her over and causing unnecessary trouble for her" Cordelia said looking down the hallway.

"Didn't she kinda do that when she enslaved his mom's soul?" Lucy asked. "It was a legal deal that grants the party...namely her protection. That's how these things work" she replied still looking down the hallway. "Cordelia this is important" Alicia said. "So is the man crying like a child for his mother" she said coldly. "Go to check on him" Faith said. Cordelia nodded and left the room.

"What kind of God would allow this?!" Marco yelled yanking his crucifix off. He was about to throw it until Cordelia grabbed his wrist. "The kind of God who gave you another chance to see your mother" Cordelia replied. She knelt beside him and patted his back. "12 years. 12 fucking years" he said looking at her with bloodshot eyes. "And the people of Israel wandered for 40 years. God never said we wouldn't suffer. Only that he would never leave our side" Dru said touching his hand. Marco cuddled her to his face and whimpered. It hurt Cordelia so much to see him that way. Marco said nothing for hours and just kept rocking where he knelt. Cordelia used her magic to make him sleep and put him on the bed. "How bad was it after we died?" Dru asked her. "Angry at the world. He threw himself into the family business as a kind of revenge" she replied pulling off his shoes. "I can see you love him deeply" she said. "He gave himself to me. Not as a goddess but as a woman. I know it is against the rules..." 

"Cordelia. It took me losing everything I hold dear for me to learn that happiness isn't something someone can dictate. It has to come from you" she said. Cordelia bowed before the small woman. "Of all the mistresses I have served, you were my favorite. You saw me as a woman, not a slave or a tool" Cordelia said softly.  "Off your knees and sit with me" Dru said. Cordelia sat on the bed. Dru climbed into her lap. "It's I that should be thankful. You kept him safe and well like family because you are family" she said. Tears fell on Drusilla with the smell and consistency as dew from a rose. "I made sure fresh flowers grew at your grave every birthday. Flowers that can't be found anywhere else" she said softly. Cordelia stared off into the distance. "Well I see you kept the house in perfect order. Thank god my worthless brother in law never showed up" Dru said. Cordelia tensed up. "He did actually" she said. 

"What? He did? But isn't Marco the head Campioné?" she asked. "He failed the Crucible and he died in the attempt" Cordelia said. "Really? It's exceedingly rare for someone to die in that. Like 5 in the last 500 years" Dru said. "It happens" Cordelia muttered shaking slightly. "What has he done?" Dru asked seriously. The giantess looked down on her. Dru held her finger tightly. "He took liberties with me" she whispered. "...he raped you" Dru muttered. "I found out recently Marco knew and blamed himself. He carried the guilt with him for years" she replied. "Oh god" she whispered. "He understands he was just a kid back then but seeing that pain in his eyes..." Cordelia said stroking his hair. She heard Dru sniffling. Cordelia lifted her to her face and kissed her. "What's done is done. We can only move forward" she said to her. Dru was silent. "Dru? What's it like to die?" Cordelia asked.

"For me? Cold, scared, and then like falling asleep" she replied. Cordelia cracked a slight smile. "Why do you ask?" Dru asked worried. "Just wondering what a finite existence would feel like. To be able to die" she replied. "Honey you're scaring me. Immortality has its obvious benefit and to live so long and see everything" Dru said. "Exactly. See everything. Every single one you ever love grow old and die while you never age. Never get sick or feeble" Cordelia said placing Dru on the bed. "I don't want to watch him grow old and die while I still goddamn look like this! I want babies! I want my tits to sag, stretch marks, menopause, grey hair, I want to die and be buried!" she sobbed. Cordelia shrank down and showed her true form. Dru came over and held her close while she cried. Drusilla never thought about it that way. She always thought it was kinda cool to have such powers and be pretty all the time, but would she feel that way in a thousand years? When people she love and care for die and turn to dust? Drusilla thought back to her final moments of life.

Her husband had been the first to fall after being ran through with a spear by the god and then coldly electrocuted into ashes. As her feeble magics dwindled, she thought of her son. She shook as she was certain she would never see him again. Never see him grow up, fall in love, marry, and give her grandkids. "Cordelia watch over him" she prayed as she made one final attack. But as she ran, the world grew around her. Then she saw the god towering over her. Cruelly he shrunk her as if to mock her. He reached down and the attack she was saving fizzled out hitting his fingers. He held her four-inch body in his fist. Her arms punching his fingers frantically. With a grin he grabbed one and pulled. Drusilla let out a screech as he ripped her arm from her body. The shock made her piss herself. Disgusted, he dropped her. "Filthy creature" he growled tasting his boot over her body. Just as he was about to crush her flat, he stopped. "Suffer" he chuckled as he walked away. And there she lay bleeding out. Growing cold from blood loss, she shivered. Her thoughts on those she loved one final time and then as her eyes closed...a white light filled tunnel but at the end of it was Cassandra. Dru could only imagine the magnitude of grief her son has suffered. Both parents dying was bad enough but not even having bodies to bury? It was a testament to Cordelia's love the boy didn't end up with mental issues. And as the goddess sobbed yearning for a mortal life, at least she could do is hold her, kiss her glorious red hair, and comfort the deity.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Faith was still awake thinking on what had occurred that day. She leaned back against the arch of Alicia's giant right foot deep in thought. It was a habit to dwell at her feet when she was troubled. It's warmth, smoothness, and smell comforted the borrower. She knew she made a harrowing deal, but it was worth it in her opinion. So why did it bother her so? She was smart enough not to ask her what the outcome of her fight would be. In truth it was a 50/50 chance the curse would work on her as she was advanced in magic enough, she might be spared. But as her father Keith had told her before, doubt can aid you in a fight but too much can be a liability. She missed her daddy worse in these times. She moved slightly resting her head against her sole and Alicia moved in her sleep. She didn't wish to wake the giantess and stood up. She heard whimpering from the crib and made her way to it. "My little guy needs changing" she smiled lifting her son Matthew up. Cleaned and changed, she sat down and gave him her breast to drink from. Would he grow up without her she wondered. Alicia moved again. She reached around and didn't find Faith. She bolted up. "Right here" Faith said softly. Alicia sighed and laid back down seeing her feeding one of the twins. "Can't sleep?" Alicia asked. "A lot on my mind. You should go back to sleep though" Faith replied.

"Bad dream" Alicia muttered. "One where the cookie eats you?" Faith giggled. "I buried an empty shoebox" Alicia replied quietly. "Want to talk about it?" she asked. "The dream or your decision? Either way it's done" Alicia replied. There was some time of silence between them until Faith finished putting Matthew back to bed. Faith crept onto Alicia's pillow. "You understand why I did it right?" she asked. She nodded. "And the importance of taking this thing out quickly right?" she asked. Again, she nodded. Alicia turned to her. "I don't want to be in heaven alone" she whispered. 

"Ooh baby, do you know what that's worth? Ooh, heaven is a place on earth. They say in heaven, love comes first. We'll make heaven a place on earth" Faith sang softly. "Stop. You're all off key. You bring shame to 80's music" Alicia muttered. Faith chuckled and Alicia chimed in. "What comes will come" Faith said. Alicia kissed her and closed her eyes. 

The next morning...

"You're off?" Theo asked. "Time is of the essence. Whomever I'm hunting could've sensed Cassandra and ran off" she replied. "I should go with you. I am a member of ZODIAC" Alicia said. "Ex member and holding the fort here with Marco" Faith said. Marco tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around. He kissed both her cheeks. "Come back" he said. Faith nodded. "Give em' one for me" Lucy said. Faith flexed a muscle. "May the saints watch over you" Dru said to her. "Thank you" Faith said as she summoned a translocation portal.

Faith emerged in a back alleyway far from prying eyes. "Whew. Least it's a dry heat" she muttered. She stepped out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. "Wow. The pictures don't do it...justice...what the hell?" she asked feeling a strange force around her. She walked a block bewildered as the force seemed to permeate the entire part of the city. She felt strange, weakened. Faith combined her symbology with clairvoyance and found she was in the midst of a spell woven into the very air itself. Feeling the magic ley and structure, she saw unusual symbols she didn't recognize at all. She looked up and saw it extended into the sky but what was more troubling was the sight of the buildings themselves growing. No, not growing. She was shrinking. She ran into another alley to reinforce her growth spell only to see it fizzle out as if the spell itself was absorbed into the air. She was rapidly shrinking by the second as she tried harder and harder and then she was her natural borrower size. Freaked out and standing in her own left sandal, Faith tried to return home. "Oh no..." she muttered seeing her translocation fail miserably. Squeaking, very loud squeaking behind her. 

Faith instinctively froze as a gigantic rat emerged from a turned over fast food bag. It sniffed the air and turned to face her. Faith readied a lightning bolt. It moved closer and closer and stood on its hind legs revealing its rodent penis. The thoughts of the filthy thing raping her filled her mind and she fired off the bolt. It grew weak the instant it left her hand and struck the rodent among it screech. It's cry alerted others to come out. In seconds she was surrounded by rats. She whimpered to herself sure that she would be torn apart and eaten by day's end. "Away with you!" a voice above her yelled. Faith turned around and looked up just as a hand grabbed her from the ground. "A…Ahmed?!" she yelled. "You are a far away from Italy little one. Let's get you somewhere safer, shall we?" he said making a circular motion with his hand creating a portal. He stepped through taking her with him...

Ahmed sighed after placing her on the bed. He sat down next to her seemingly exhausted. "Damn barrier" he muttered. "Where are we?" she asked. "A safe house I've been using for the last few months" he replied. "I thought you lived in Turkey" she said. "No. Never said that. The library we met in is under the watch of my family however. I appeared to you as I was curious as to how successful someone like you would be finding a Campioné. Remarkably successful by the look of it. However, coming here was an awfully bad idea. You're lucky I sensed your arrival" he said. "So you were spying on me?" she asked. "It's not every day a god or goddess decides to kill a mortal. Even rarer that deities of different pantheons conspire together to do it. I had two choices. Either watch you get slaughtered or save your life. Which did you prefer?" he asked. "I apologize. I was being rude. Thanks for saving me. What's wrong with my magic?" she asked. "Someone immensely powerful cast a protection barrier around the area. Until it is broken, you will be stuck powerless in it" he replied. 

"That doesn't seem to stop you" she said. "My magics are of a different variety and tier. Even so it took all I had to bring you here" he said wiping his brow. "You said you be been here for months, so do you know who's doing this?" she asked. "No. Whomever it is is powerful even by their standards. An elder god perhaps?" he said. "Elder God?" she asked. "Gods and goddesses have been around since man dreamt of them. The oldest ones are called elders. An example would be Zeus" he replied. "Zeus? You serious?" she asked. "Serious enough the caliph ordered my ancestors to kill him. Which they did with great cost. Oh, no shoes on my bed please" he said. Faith took off her sandals and was surprised he took the tiny footwear from her. He gingerly placed them on the nightstand. 

"Who taught you magic?" she asked. "Nobody. I was born with it. My grandfather was a djinn" he replied. "A what?" she asked. "Djinn. Westerns call them genies. However, the truth to them is nothing like that Disney bullshit. Forgive my manners. A few minutes please" he said before leaving her. Ahmed was gone for 10 minutes leaving her alone. Faith was worried as she could still feel her magic being suppressed but was thankful she was found by a kind person. At least he seemed kind back at the library. "Tea and an almond cookie" he said placing them on the coffee table. He helped her onto it. He was dutiful enough to pour some onto a bottle cap for her to drink. "Very good tea" she said. "Thank you. What exactly was your plan anyway? I'm sure they knew you were coming as you used that transit spell I warned you about" he said. "Track them down. Expose their identity and kill them" she replied. Ahmed laughed at her. "What's so funny?" she asked. 

"You. A lion doesn't attack its prey the moment it sees it. It watches it. Studies it. Looks for the opening then attacks. You think I set up that place on a whim? Dubai has been watched for a few years now. The fastest growing city on the planet where the west and Middle East work in harmony.  On paper it sounds glorious but nothing like this comes so easy" he said. "So magic is involved at least?" she asked. He nodded. "Can you show me to the bathroom?" she asked. "I'll carry you and help" he said. "That's not necessary" she said. "Believe me it is" he said picking her up. He carried her to the bathroom. "Uhh" she muttered. "Not every toilet is a western sit down one. I highly doubt you want to stand in there" he said. "Shit" she hissed as she slipped her panties off. Ahmed held her with both hands by her legs and very gently spread them. She blushed beet red as she peed. After she had finished, he took her to the sink to clean up. She was dead quiet as she put her panties back on. 

"Is something bothering you?" he asked her after returning her to the coffee table. "I hate feeling helpless" she muttered. His finger petted the side of her face. "Helplessness is a state of mind especially for our kind" he said. "Easy for you to say. Nobody has to hold you to pee" she said. "No but I do have some experience in the matter. I was born in a city called Iram*" he said. "Iran?" she asked. "No, Iram with an A" he replied. "Never heard of it" she said. Because it's a lost city" he said. "How can you lose a city?" she asked. "By shrinking it" he said. "Wait. What?" she asked. "Long ago, very long ago, an evil vizier came across my grandfather. By binding the djinn to his will, he decided to smite a city he considered wicked. My grandfather wasn't very keen on killing a city with tens of thousands of people so what he did was conjure a sandstorm and with the prophet blinded by it, shrank the city, froze its time, and hid it in his own personal realm. The prophet saw the city gone and thought it destroyed. When the vizier died, my grandfather decided to free the city but by then, the crusades had begun. He decided the best course of action was to keep the city in his protected realm and grow it just enough to successfully sustain itself."

(Authors note: Iram is an actual "lost" city which to this day archeologists have been looking for. Some say it's fictional as its only spoken of in the Quran but then again, they said the city of Troy was fictional until it was discovered)

"So, you were born there?" Faith asked. "No, I was born in Iraq as was my mother. My father was born in Iram though. Over the course of time, those that wanted to leave the city was allowed to do so if they could control size magic expertly. Only a few, about 10% of the population, can. One was my father. He met my mother during one of Saddam's purges and used his inborn magic to save her life. They fell in love and were married. Then I came along. By then we all had moved back to Iram" he finished. Sounds nice" Faith said. "Well, the hitch is only I can grow to human size because of my djinn blood. When grandfather was forced to do the spell, the restriction was the city couldn't be restored. He could grow them to an extent but not back to normal. The point is, even though the people are no bigger than mice, they do not see themselves as helpless. They live, fall in love, have kids, worship, and live their lives until God calls them home. Speaking of people..." he said checking his watch. He walked over to a window and cracked it open. "Aly, you have anything to report?" he asked. Out of the crook of the outer windowsill appeared a young woman. "Nothing until the last half hour. Movement on the ground. Black cars with women. They're armed my liege" she replied. "Could you count how many?" he asked. "More than a dozen and a strange man seemed to lead them" she replied. "A strange man. I see, come inside Aly. Rest before your return" he said holding his hand out. The small woman hopped into it and he carried her to the coffee table. "My liege..." she said.

"An ally. She is our honored guest so treat her as such" he said. Aly hopped down. "I am Aaliyah. Personal guard to the prince Ahmed bin Salam" she said bowing. "Faith McCormick. An honor to meet you" Faith said extending her hand. The young woman shook it. "You never said you were a prince" Faith said to the giant. "You never asked. Aly, you know about the rules and shoes" he said to her. Aly nodded and took off her boots. She sat down and sighed. Faith wrinkled her nose. "Is something the matter?" Aly asked. Ahmed glanced at the tiny woman on his table. "Faith is a borrower and borrowers have a good sense of smell. She is reacting to the smell of your little feet my dear" he chuckled. Aly blushed. "Forgiveness. It is hot outside, and my work doesn't permit sandals" she muttered. "Aly, why don't you and her bathe while I see to lunch" he said. "Yes, my prince" she said. Aly stood up and raised her hand. Faith yelped in surprise as a gust of wind carried her into the air. Aly began to float into the air and flu towards the bathroom with Faith in tow.

"You can use wind magic?!" Faith asked. Aly showed the palm of her hand. On it was a tattooed arcane. "I see" she said. Aly smiled and pulled the sink levers until a stream of not too hot water flowed. Aly placed a sliver of soap on the counter and began taking her clothing off. Faith followed suit curious of the girl. Aly dipped her teeny little toe into the water before sliding in. "Good" she sighed as she relaxed. Faith got in and kept staring at her. Aly noticed it. "Sorry. It's just rare to meet a human that's been shrunk and so used to living in a human sized world" she said. "I understand. It's the first time for me meeting a borrower that knows of magic. How is that?" she asked. "I was born with Etherion" she replied. Aly stared wide eyed. "The one most high. The master of a magecraft" she muttered. "Once. I gave it up" she said. "But...but why?" Aly asked. "It caused more harm than good. Now, now I'm hunting gods and shit as a Campioné" she said. Aly stared aghast. "Campioné of what house?" she asked. "Alighieri I guess" she replied taking the soap into her hands.

"I thought that last of their house forsook the job" she said. "Well Marco isn't hunting anyone that's true" Faith said lathering her hair. She handed the soap to Aly. "So Ahmed is a prince but also a member of a Campioné family?" Faith asked. "He's the 31st prince of Iram and head of the house of Salam succeeding his father the last Campioné" she replied. "And you're his personal guard" Faith said. "Guard, scout, and concubine" she replied. "C... concubine?" she stammered. "He has several and yet has not taken a queen" Aly replied slightly annoyed. She rinsed her hair and gave the soap back to Faith. "I can see why it would be odd for a westerner" she said. "Not really. Borrowers have a similar system. We take a mate but do have partners outside of marriage" she said. "Didn't know of that" she said. Faith soaped her body and rinsed over and over before handing the soap back. "Is he as kind as he seems?" Faith asked. "He's royalty and treats others as equals. Furthermore, he doesn't force himself on his consorts although it's his right" she said.

Faith felt slightly more guilty for using him in Turkey. "Are you attracted to him?" Aly asked soaping her breasts. "Wha?! I'm...he's a friend" she replied. Aly cocked an eyebrow. "I'm not offended if you are. He's good catch and knows how to please women" she said smirking. Faith blushed beet red. Aly got out and began drying herself off. Once done, she extended her hand to her. "I don't wish to embarrass you. I am curious of you is all" she said softly. Faith took her hand and the towel from her. "It's just unusual for someone to read me that way. Normally I'm the one reading people" she said. "Oh? And what does your reading of me say?" she asked. "You want him to choose you. You work yourself hard to please him. I can see the bags under your eyes" she replied. Aly grew noticeably quiet and looked down at her feet. "The others are prettier than me..." she said softly. "I find that hard to believe. I'd kill to look like you" Faith said. "You flatter me to make me feel better" Aly said. Faith walked up to her.

"You're what...18...19 and got your shit together better than I do. Flawless creamy skin and nicer tits. Cute little butt and incredible silky black hair. Even your feet are better than mine. At least your appearance isn't stolen like mine" Faith said. "Stolen?" Aly asked. "A long story" she sighed "I am open to listening to it?" she said. "It is not a nice story. I was a bad person that did awfully bad things that led to unimaginable suffering" Faith said shaking a little. Aly put her hand on her shoulder. "None is clean in the eyes of God" she said. Faith quietly nodded. "Come. You may borrow clean clothing" she said taking off into the air with her. A shower time later, both girls sat on the coffee table again dressed in lose shirts, shorts and pretty much it. "Is Aly more pleasing to your nose?" Ahmed asked chuckling. "I thought you were making lunch not jokes" Faith said. "I am a man of many talents" he said. He came to them with a plate of meat, fried veggies, and tea. "Partake please" he said sitting. "You're not joining us?" Faith asked seeing him open a laptop. "I have pressing matters. I'll eat later" he replied.

Faith tore into the meat. "This is fantastic!" she said. "Braised lamb" Aly said eating. Ahmed smiled down on them. "Aly, make sure to tell the elders the solar panels will arrive next week" he said. "Yes, my liege" she said. Faith looked at her curious. "Our home is sustainable, but we do need things from the outside now and then" she said. "What is it like there?" Faith asked. "Wonderful. We have a population of about 23,000 now. Clean water, homegrown food, schools, hospitals" she said. "It wasn’t easy getting there though in just a few decades" Ahmed said. "When the city was shrunk, we were at the top of culture but as time progressed, the rest of the world left us behind while we stagnated. It wasn't until the King in his wisdom decreed for us to except the western advances" she said. Faith listened to Aly talk about their home as they ate. When she had finished, Ahmed placed her in his hands as they quietly watched the news.

His finger gently petting her body as the minutes passed. Faith noticed Aly slide her panties off and his giant finger rubbing her pussy. Aly sighed contently "if you wish I can help you release your royal seed" she whispered to him. "Just relax. You're working too hard. Enjoy the attention" he said.     She was quiet as he rubbed her into one quiet orgasm after another. "I wish..." she muttered. He used his fingernail to raise her head. "I told you I can abdicate..."

"No!" she yelled suddenly. Ahmed sighed and nodded. Faith could see a sadness in his eyes as his fingers played with her tiny feet. She watched them until Aly nodded off to sleep and he stood up. He carried her into his bedroom. He was quiet when he returned at looked back at tv. He looked at Faith. "It's difficult" he said as if reading her mind. "What's with Campioné and having shitty luck in love?" she asked. He chuckled. "As pretty as the picture she painted our home, it isn't a utopia. Old rivalries, feuds, prejudices. Aly comes from the Sunni tribe while the ruling majority is Shiite. They can stomach her being a concubine but...a queen? Never" he said. "Is that why you said you give up the throne?" she asked. "Yeah but she knows what could happen with that. If I abdicate without a son, the ruling body will go to the council and they aren't...well let's say 9/11 gave them some ideas" he said. Faith looked at him shocked. "Radicalism doesn't go away with magic or size or passage of time. If anything, they're more dangerous that these heretic ISIS twisting our faith" he said.

"Can I use your phone? I'm sure they're worried about me" she said. He nodded and placed the phone on the table. Ahmed walked out onto his balcony as Faith was chewed out by her wife. He smiled and smoked a cigarette as he heard himself being referred to as "some Muslim dude". He smiled more when Faith angrily told her she didn't appreciate that kind of talk. He stepped back in when Faith called for him. "You Ahmed?" Alicia asked over the speakerphone call. "That's what my father named me" he said. "Let's not get cute buddy. I don't know you, but Faith vouches for you. That's good enough for now but if something happens to her under your care...dude I'll literally sing you to death" she said. "I assure you Mrs. McCormick she will be safe in my care. Even when we have rough sex she will be perfectly fine" he said. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" she shouted. "I'm sorry (blowing into the mic). I can't hear you (still blowing). All this static. Must be these faulty Muslim owned cell towers (blowing again). Talk...later" he said before hanging up and powering his phone off.

Faith burst out laughing. "You enjoyed that. Don't misjudge her. She's not an islamophobe. She was raised as a Baptist in Texas" she said. "Ah Texas" he said. Faith watched amused as he sat back down. She scampered up on top of his shoulder. "What? The view is better up here" she said. "Yeah right" he chuckled. As the hours ticked by, she watched him as he scanned every news station he could find. Then he went back into his laptop. "This is boring" she said. "This is how you collect information. See here? Some investment bankers from China arrived last night" he said pointing to a local news blog. Faith huffed. "Short attention span I see" he said. "I'm one year old so yeah" she said. He looked at her. "Again, long story" she said. "Then this is a result of magic?" he asked. "Aging magic and a glamor to change my appearance" she replied. "Lose the glamor. Show me your true form" he said. Faith nervously did. "Yeah. Not a pretty as what I use" she said softly. Ahmed held her in his palm and used his fingernails to pull on her shorts. "Nonsense" he said pulling them off. She raised her arms as he pulled off her little shirt. "A beautiful creation such as yourself shouldn't hide your true form" he said petting her left cheek. Faith blushed as she slipped off her panties.

"You know it's only fair" she said. Ahmed grinned and placed her on the armrest before taking his own clothes off. "You're pretty fit" she said admiring his chest. "I stay in shape yes" he said. He brought her to his lips, and they kissed. "Can you help me with something?" she asked blushing. "What is it?" he asked. "I want to know if royal semen tastes different" she giggled. "Then find out" he said placing her on his cock. The middle eastern giant looked on contently as the tiny girl slid her body up and down his shaft. Her tiny feet slightly digging into his balls. Ahmed twitched as Faith slipped her tongue into his piss hole. She laughed as her face was smeared with precum. He fought the urge to jack her body up and down his shaft himself as he felt his orgasm building. "Faith..." he groaned. Faith simply laughed as she sped up her movements until she felt his cock throb between her arms. Five large globs of cum shot into the air over her head and landed just centimeters from her. "Aww...no bukkake" she frowned. "What's a bukkake?" he asked panting. "When you cum on a girl" she said looking at his cum. She scooped up some in her hand and ate it. "Wow. It's really sweet. Thought it would be salty" she said. "Actually, I have a sweet tooth” ‘he muttered. Faith laughed and turned around to look at him. She screamed. "Your...your eyes..." she said. Ahmed looked at the living room mirror. He took Faith off his cock and quickly went into the bathroom.

He had been in there for nearly an hour before she crawled under the door out of worry. "Ahmed?" she asked. "Don't...don't look. Just give me a little more time and it'll go away" he said. "What is it?" she asked. "Magic wasn't the only thing I inherited from grandfather" he muttered. "So, it's a part of you?" she asked. He silently nodded. "Then show your face. Didn't you say we shouldn't hide our true selves?" she said. "This is different. You yourself screamed at my sight" he muttered. "Yeah and I'm sorry for it. Please look at me" she said. He did and could see his eyes were still like literally on fire. "And it doesn't hurt?" she asked. He shook his head. "Let's head back to the living room okay?" she asked. Reluctantly he did. "Usually I have it under control but when my focus wavers..." he said. "Why do they burn though?" she asked. "Djinn are beings humans call smokeless fire. Each animal on this planet contains one of the five primal elements. Wind for horses and birds. Water for fish, and djinn its fire" he said. "What about borrowers?" she asked. "Like humans the earth" he replied. "Okay but I don't cry sand or anything" she said. Ahmed cracked a smile. "Djinns are so powerful, our elemental being...leaks out" he said. As he said this, his eyes faded into glowing like embers.

"Has Aly seen these eyes?" she asked. "Yes, she has. I was 14 at the time and we were...intimate" he replied. "Did it scare her?" she asked. "No, if anything she calmed me down" he said. "She sounds even more special" she said. Ahmed watched as she put her clothes back on. "It wouldn't feel right" she said. "I completely understand" he said to her. Ahmed watched as she sat on his windowsill staring out at the city. He grew concerned after she had not moved in over an hour. "I'm fine. Just observing the city" she said reading his thoughts. Faith wasn't concerned with getting between him and Aly. She knew Aly was not one to take to jealousy so easily. No, she was concerned with the barrier. Her training afforded her the ability to negate magics if you understood the underlying structure behind it but try as she may, she couldn't decipher the weird symbols embedded in the spellwork itself. "Ahmed? Have you ever seen writing that's just groups of lines turned sideways and right side up?" she asked. "No, it's that what you're seeing?" he asked. "Yeah. I've seen a lot of writing during my study but this kind not really" she said. "Hmm...write down what you see. I'll look later" he said. Ahmed had been cooking as he afforded her a pencil and paper. He left the living room to go to his bedroom.

He saw Aly's bed empty. The toilet flushed and she floated past his head and down to the dresser. "Just going to wake you" he said. "Yeah, it is 8:30" she yawned. "How was she? Was she pleasurable? Tight?" she asked. "We had no intercourse. She called it off after a body job" he said. She looked up at him. "Really?" she asked. "She didn't wish to disrespect you. She holds you in high regard" he said. "She barely knows me" Aly scoffed. Ahmed moved closer to her. "Then I guess she's called Faith for a reason. She saw my real eyes" he said. "Poor girl must've been terrified" she said. "She screamed yes but begged me not to hide myself. Instead of shunning me, she asked questions to understand" he said. Aly nodded. "Like you did back then" he finished. Aly went to grab her clothes until a giant hand scooped her off her little feet. "How long must we keep doing this?" he asked softly. "I do not know what you mean" she said. "You damn well do to. Must I order you as your prince to say it?" he asked. "Fine. I want you to ravage me all day and all night! Suck my pussy until I'm babbling from countless orgasms! Lick my feet clean and thrust your regal cock into me and knock me the fuck up!" she shouted shaking in his palm. "If you feel that strongly, then so shall it be" he said. "You know I can't be allowed to have your child! How many fucking stares did you get growing up half Kurd? Hmm? It's not the same as when your mom came to Iram. The outside world has polluted our home with its hatred. No way will they accept another Kurd into the royal family let alone two counting me" she said.

"And if I said I would execute any who dared speak ill of my wife and children?" he asked with now burning eyes. "Could you with such a gentle heart?" she asked. "I think I could be capable of anything if you were involved" he replied seriously. "We are not love-struck teenagers anymore. We both have duties and obligations" she said. "To my subjects yes but are you not one of them? What good is a prince that forsakes his chosen woman?" he said softly. He kissed her and then placed her back on the dresser. Ahmed finished the last touches on dinner when Aly sat next to Faith. Faith squeezed her hand suddenly. "Any relationship is worth fighting for" she said softly. Aly smiled and nodded. Once dinner was done, Ahmed quietly wished Aly a safe patrol before she left from the window.

"I took a look at your drawings. At first, I thought they were Chinese ideograms but they were not. Are you sure these lines you saw is what you drew?" he asked. "Mostly. I couldn't draw the fat then pointy lines" she replied. "Fat then pointy?" he asked. Ahmed took the pencil and drew a fat line coming to a point. "Yeah like that except a few more in a set then turn them sideways for another set. Good, now kinda link them like this. Yeah, crooked here but straight there" she said watching him.  Ahmed looked at the drawing closely. "Faith. What you saw was cuneiform" he said. "What?" she asked. "Cuneiform. The very first written script used by humans. Its Sumerian. We just narrowed down the possibilities of who we are facing" he said. "I need your laptop and some time to myself" she said seriously. Ahmed placed her before the giant device and left her alone. Hours passed before she said anything. "A pictogram system that slowly evolved over time. I think I can finally break it" she said. "ALREADY?!" he asked. "I needed the basics to work with. Mother, father, son, daughter, house, day, night and so on. Watch" she said extending her hands. They glowed as an ethereal chain made of cuneiform appeared in the air. "The magic foundation..." he muttered.

"Yeah. The underlying work of the barrier spell. Body, submit, magic" she said pointing out certain scripts. "You can read it?" he asked astounded. "Don't be silly. Even I can't learn an ancient language script in just three hours. I just looked for keywords" she said. "So how will you break this thing? The only spellwork I've ever seen this complex is my grandfather's" he asked. "I can't. Even if I did, they'd know immediately. I'm thinking of editing it" she said. "You can do such a thing?" he asked. Faith ran her hand along the script. "I think so. Let's see...exception. God...killer..." she said scratching out the script. The spellwork shimmered for a moment. "Well, it was worth...oh shit!" she yelled as her subdued power rushed through her like a dam bursting. Her entire body glowed with magic. Faith floated down to the floor. "Stand back" she said. The giant took a few steps back and watched in awe as Faith grew herself to human size. "I'm back" she grinned. "What is this I sense in you?" he asked almost frightened.

She smiled at him and went over to touch a half dead Ficus sitting in the corner of the living room. Faith smiled as she watched it spring back to full health in seconds. She turned to look at him. "Don't be afraid. I'd never harm you" she said extending her hand. Ahmed took it and felt a tingle. "When I became a Campioné, I absorbed some of the powers of a nature goddess. That is what you sense" she said. "How? Why?" he asked bewildered. "I do not know. The only thing I can think of is I was born with Etherion. It probably has something to do with it" she replied. She closed her eyes and reigned in her power. "Even with that power, I doubt you be a match for an elder deity" he said. "I won't know unless I try, and Aly mentioned strange people searching the area. This fight is coming to me whether I like it or not" she said. "You going now?" he asked. "No, I'm going to wait until 5 am. Less people out that might get sucked into the fight" she replied. "A sensible precaution" he said. "You have any movies?" she asked looking at the time seeing she had five hours to kill. "A few" he replied starting Netflix. Ahmed found it strange she was calm enough to just sit down and browsing through his Netflix account like nothing.

As the hours ticked by, Faith laughed at punch lines, stared at romance, and got excited in action. Ahmed observed her in disbelief. "Take a picture. It'll last longer" she chuckled poking him in the chest with her bare foot. He grabbed it and began rubbing her sole. "That ain't fair. You know how I like my feet played with" she sighed. "How are you so calm?" he asked. "Controlled breathing and keeping my focus on something else" she replied. He pulled on one of her toes. "That's not what I meant" he said. Faith placed her other foot in his lap. "The others asked me that too. It's okay to be anxious. Keeps the reflexes sharp. But being a nervous Nellie as dad called it, can be a hinderance in combat. I may look carefree but believe me I haven't forgotten a thing" she said. Ahmed found that surprising actually. Growing up, he was taught to be kinda aloof in matters, always with a cool head as such was expected of a prince. A leader of men and women. This translated to being a Campioné and those under his command, but he didn't expect such behavior from a westerner. He found them obnoxious, boorish, and disdainful. He had accused the council and some of his own people halfway radicalized but to see his own stereotypical thinking disproven made him wonder if he had been tainted by the very same thinking his disapproved of.

Ahmed suddenly got up and looked around. "It is almost time" he said. Faith nodded and stood up. Ahmed disappeared into his bedroom. Faith touched the Ficus she healed earlier coaxing it to slither and grow around her body. She concentrated for some time as she was completely encased in vines. Then the vines constricted forming a tight yet flexible mesh armor. "By Allah..." he said seeing her covered in a green vine woven armor with faint glowing eyes. "Something I was messing with a few days ago. You'd be surprised how durable a plant can be. Look closer" she said. Ahmed moved closer. He touched the surface. "It pulses!" he said. "Life energy magics make it stronger. It's literally living armor. Yours isn't too bad. Kinda Assassin’s Creed though" she snickered. "Only a fool wears black clothing in the desert and the hood keeps the sun out of your eyes. It's practical" he sneered. "Okay. Don't get your royal panties in a bunch" she said. "Says the person who can't pee in that. Oh, maybe you can. Just water the flowers" he laughed. "Funny your majesty. Now can we get going?" she asked. He created a portal and bid her to step through.

"Is this..." she asked. "Where I found you yes" he replied. She didn't want to remember the place where she was nearly eaten alive by rats. They stepped out into the streetlamp lit sidewalk. "They're here in this district" she said. "You sure? It's only nightclubs and theatres here" he said. "I'm sure. They were tracked here. Something about the color blue..." she replied. "There are no buildings here that are blue. A few neon signs yes but nothing that stands out" he said. "Don't move" she said as a black car drove by. She relaxed after it passed. "Black car with black windows. Just like Aly said" Faith said relaxing her perception spell. "Good perception spell. It seems they are still looking for you. That's not good. They know you didn't translocate but worse yet have connections that could tell them if you tried to fly out" he said. "I'm trying to trace this barrier spell buts it's so interwoven. Hmm. Let's try that way in the direction that car came from" she said. Ahmed and Faith walked down the street keeping themselves hidden. Even at 5 am there were some people about, but the spell kept them from seeing the two. A Mercedes drove past and suddenly slammed onto its brakes. Four men, including a very large muscular one quickly got out. "Uhh...they're looking dead at us" Ahmed said. The wind shifted. "Ahmed get down!" she yelled as she threw up a barrier. The men with astonishing speed, took AK-47's hidden behind their backs and unloaded onto the two.

He watched as Faith bolstered her barrier at the onslaught of full jacketed rounds. "Well, it seems you have at least some skill" the larger man mocked as he tore off his shirt. "Jesus he's cut" Faith thought. The man produced a sickle shaped sword and directed the others to attack. They rushed them with swords of the same design as Ahmed and Faith readied themselves. They fortified themselves just as they got into range. Ahmed parried their attacked with his bare hands at first and counter attacked when he saw openings. "They're strong!" Ahmed yelled to her. "No shit!" Faith yelled as she struggled with one. She kneed him in the balls which only gave her a moment. Three punishing body jabs and then a heavy punch that sent him hard into the pavement. She heard sound from behind and dodged at the last second before another could slash her side. She slapped her hand on his head and gripped hard. With her left hand she threw a punch into his chest hard enough to break ribs. The man twisted his arm and slashed her side. Luckily, her armor took the hit. "They don't feel pain" she said. "Burn them!" the large man ordered. All four backed away unleashing a torrent of flames. Ahmed Threw up a shield just in time.

"Drop the shield in Three...two...one..." she said. He dropped it just as she fired off a powerful wind spell driving the females right back on their attackers. All four were blinded by their own attacks. Ahmed let a hidden dagger fall into his hand, and he rushed and cut open the throat of one. He leaped behind another and roughly snapped his neck. Faith lined up for a punch hard enough to break the neck of the third. And with a cold stare, placed her hand over the fourth's heart and sent a lightning bolt right into his heart. All four now lie dead in the street. Ahmed and Faith could hear them man laughing. "It has been too long since I found someone even close to a challenge" he said. With blinding speed, he rushed in slashing down where Faith was standing. At the last second, she leaped back to see in astonishment the sword crush the pavement. The man didn't let her relax for a second before punching her so hard in the chest she went flying. 

She crashed into an Audi A8 hard enough it flipped on its side. "Faith!" Ahmed yelled. "Worry about yourself child!" the man yelled. He rushed Ahmed who tried to stab him. He grabbed his arm and ruthlessly broke it like a twig making Ahmed yell in pain. Ahmed staggered as the man yanked his sword out of the street. "Bolt!" Faith yelled firing one off striking the man. The echoes of thunder reverberating down the street. The man staggered as his hair singed. Ahmed looked on in shock as a glowing Faith ran past him in a blur and punched the man sending him across the street and smashing through the guardrail. "By Allah" he said. "Fortification level two" she said taking a look at his arm. He grimaced as she quickly healed it. "His power is unreal. He will break me like a twig if I let him" he said. "Unreal absolutely. Last time I used a punch like that it broke concrete. I felt it when my fist connected. He's a shade" she said. "Then his power comes from his master. If we can expose him..." Ahmed said. "Buy me a moment" she said walking back. Faith concentrated her clairvoyance on the man as he got up and stretched. "Aren't you ashamed a woman saved you boy?" he asked. "Says the man who got punched like he owes someone money by a woman.

The man growled and tore off a rail of the dented guardrail before flinging it at Ahmed. Ahmed dropped to his knees just as the decapitating rail sailed right over his head. On his knees, Ahmed saw him charge him. He rolled to the side and kicked his kneecap hard as the man swung down his sword. A queer sounding pop came from his knee. But with a grin he flexed his leg popping his kneecap back in place. Out of desperation, Ahmed readied a shrinking spell and cast it on the man.  Astonished the man has such natural magic defenses, he poured on the power as he eyes shifted to those of a djinn. The man shrunk to six inches before Ahmed gave up. "It has literally been an age since I last fought a djinn. Last time my friend Gilgamesh took the kill. Not this time" he chuckled as he leaped right at Ahmed and punching him. Ahmed was too shocked to see a half foot tall man leaping at him to dodge and it cost him. Ahmed spat out blood and a tooth as she lay on the ground. The man flexed his body breaking the shrinking spell placed on him. He went over to pick up his sword. "Got him" Faith said quietly grinning.

Still fortified, Faith charged him so fast the man didn't notice her. By the time he did, her hand was around her Throat. "Your name...IS ENKIDU!" she yelled firing off a light spell Through her hand. Instantly, the man's modern facade was erased and. Score her stood a man wearing sandals, a loincloth, and a very heavy beard. Enkidu head butted her. "It changes nothing. I am as strong as a hundred men. I defeated creatures divine and monstrous. I will break you like dried twigs" he growled. He tackled Faith to the pavement. "And after I break you, I will fuck you till your cunt is so hollowed out the wind whistles in it" he grinned. There was a small flash of light and a blur. "Not with that you won't" she said quietly as Enkidu screamed in pain. Faith stood up holding her sword Last Stigmata staring at the man who cupped his bloody crotch. His literally legendary penis severed lying in the street. Ahmed staggered to his feet in disbelief.

"YOU BITCH!" Enkidu screamed swinging his sword at her. Faith easily deflected each attack. "Ahmed has the right idea" she said as she began casting her own shrinking spell. He was now barely an inch tall looking up at the giantess. "Irony. I killed Gilgamesh and now I kill his friend too" she said. "Horseshit! My mighty friend could never fall to the likes of you!" he squeaked. "His true name was Markus" she said. The man stopped his defiance immediately. "Only I knew his true name" he said so softly only Faith with her borrower hearing caught it. Faith raised her boot over him and then slammed it down so hard her foot exploded the shoe before cracking the pavement. She winced in pain but held her foot firm. Ahmed watched as sparkles of light flittered from beneath her foot and into the air. Faith took her foot away only to find a few sparkles and nothing else. 

She staggered and used her sword as a cane for the moment as Ahmed rushed to her. "Astounding. Absolutely astounding" he said. He looked at her leg. "It's been completely shattered" he said. "Give me a few minutes. Fortification level two has its drawbacks. Fuck. Last time I had Etherion to ward off the physical effects" she said. "I was useless" he hissed. "No, you weren't. You bought me valuable time I needed to figure out who that shade was, and you held your ground against a legendary warrior" she said knitting her bones together. "You're too kind. Still, you beat a man as strong as a hundred men!" he said. "Simple math. Fortification level one makes me ten times stronger. Now as a borrower, I'm already four times stronger than a human" she said. "But that would only make you 40 times stronger" he said. "True but fortification level two makes me 10 times stronger than I am at level one" she said. "And that would make you..." he said counting. He gawked at her. "4...400 times?" he asked. Faith nodded. "Very taxing and dangerous. Shattered my damn femur in six places" she said still fixing her leg. "Didn't know you had a sword. Why didn't you use it before?" he asked.

"Same reason I didn't use fortification level two in the beginning. I'm trying to pace myself. We still don't know what we're dealing with" she said. "If that was Enkidu then I'm sure it's the god of death Erishkigal who we're up against" he said. "I'm not so sure about that. I've touched two shades, well six if you count the Three that worshipped my feet the other day. Anyway, the first one that attacked me felt cold and had a taint of darkness about them. But the others I felt, felt warm with a kind of gleam inside them. Enkidu was a bastard, but I sensed no darkness within him" she said. "Then who are we really dealing with that can recall a soul like his?" he asked. "Someone powerful enough to shroud this entire area in a perception spell. Notice the lack of gawkers and police even though we fucked the city block up. It's 5...5:39 a.m. but still" she said standing up. She shrugged a few times healing the joints and muscles in her arms, back, and shoulders. "I'm out of practice driving cars. Would you mind?" she asked pointing to the black Mercedes. "Not at all" he said walking to it. They got into the car, turned it around, and sped off.

Ahmed drove for only a few minutes before abruptly stopping. "This might be the place" he said. Faith looked to see him pointing to a very fancy looking nightclub. "Why this one?" she asked. "Its name is Azraq. That's Arabic for blue. Did you not say that blue is tied to your vision?" he asked. "Yeah I did" she said looking closer. "Give me your hand" she said extending hers. Curious, Ahmed took it and watched as Faith conjured two near perfect illusions of themselves. Faith sent them to the door. One of them opened the door and was immediately vaporized by an intense blast of light. "That answered that" she said getting out of the car. "Wait! There could be innocents inside!" he said getting out. Faith took note of the sizzling hot asphalt and scorch marks across the street. "We don't have a choice and we chose this time on purpose. "...agreed" he said. Ahmed collected a large amount of heat and fire and compressed them tightly. He hurled the blazing orb at the doorway and snapped his fingers. There was a flash of light from the windows and nothing else. Faith could hear faint music coming from the club. He ushered her to sneak to the side as he readied another attack. Ahmed motioned for her to use the back entrance.

As she moved, she took note of the building itself. It was oddly out of place from the others as its brick entrance was painted blue with crouching lions as a motif. It sounded familiar to her. Faith could hear the roar of Ahmed's attacks as she kicked open the back door. Nothing. Just an empty hallway with a kitchen to the right and bathrooms to the left. Her bare feet silent on the carpet as she sneaked to the studio. When she got there, she held her breath at the sight. There were people still there. A western businessman getting sucked off in a booth, another passed out at the bar, two strippers on the dance stage and then a solitary woman waving her hand chuckling as she extinguished Ahmed's attacks. She slowly turned her head towards Faith. Faith gasped looking at her.

Her eyes crackled with light, her elegant white dress clung to her body, her hair black yet shined like the sun, her skin like glazed clay, and in her feet were golden heels. She raised her hand and Faith dove for the floor just as a beam of light burned the wall behind her. Ahmed saw the flash of light not being because of him and dashed for the window. "Come out little one. I'll make this painless I promise" she said. Faith crawled behind the bar and grabbed the fire extinguisher. She Threw it at the young woman and exploded it. "Little shit!" the woman hissed blinded. Faith scampered away after shrinking down. Faith hid herself well under the seat of the man getting a blowjob. She had a line of sight on the woman and began using clairvoyance. "There" she said firing off a beam of light. It was sheer luck the man had been holding a champagne glass as the beam struck it first causing it to refract the angle by a millimeter. Faith nearly pissed herself as the door behind her was burnt and smoking. The chair groaned as the giant in it collapsed dead. The floor made a small tremor as the prostitute giantess fell on it killed instantly by a burning beam of light Through her chest. "She's tracking my magic" she thought as she scrambled in the darkness.

Faith heard a crash of glass. "And the other. Handsome, brave, and strong. Pity. You could've been useful" she sighed. Ahmed Threw two daggers that seemed to zip around in the air. "Enchanted weapons?" she asked. "Scatter and sting!" Ahmed yelled. The twin daggers suddenly turned into a dozen and raced in all directions towards her. They harmlessly deflected off an eerie bull shaped light construct. The woman chuckled and snapped her fingers. The bull howled and stamped its hooves at him. "Die" she said coldly. The woman heard a chirp that grew louder by the second and turned to see a woman unshrinking in midair brandishing a sword. The woman sucked her teeth and the bull kicked with its back legs right into Faith as her sword came within inches of the woman's head. Faith went flying so hard she hit a stripper killing her. Faith winced as she felt Three of her ribs shattered. "Wait your turn" she said to her. She turned her attention back at Ahmed. She stepped towards him as the bull disappeared. A burning scepter appeared in her hand. She grabbed Ahmed by the Throat as he struck her with a point-blank flame attack to no effect. "So brave. I should keep you. At least you will entertain me in my bedchamber" she said coldly. 

She raised her scepter to his face as magics began to crackle from it. He focused as his daggers on the floor began to tremble. "Ah ah ah" she said gripping his Throat tighter. Suddenly, ethereal chains grabbed onto her wrists and ankles making her let go of him. "The cuneiform, the blue gate, the lions, Enkidu, and then finally that bull. I know your true name. You have had many names over the centuries but only one is the true one! BY THE RITE OF THE CAMPOINE I NEGATE YOUR AUTHORITY BY CALLING YOUR TRUE NAME. YOUR NAME IS INANNA ISHTAR. SUMERIAN GODDESS OF THE HEAVENS!" Faith yelled. There was a pulse of light and when it faded, the woman now wore a white cloth, a bullhorned helmet, and bare feet. "This changes nothing!" Ishtar yelled. Ahmed kicked her in the face sending her across the room. "We beg to differ" Ahmed said calmly. Ishtar stood back up holding her scepter. She spat blood before slamming her spear into the floor. A shockwave came forth that Faith and Ahmed rode out, but it was only an opening as Ishtar closed in on her. 

Ahmed watched in disbelief as both women engaged in melee combat. Faith slamming her sword down with Ishtar deflecting it hard enough she cracked the floor. Ishtar counterattacking hard enough the sound was deafening shattering every glass in the club. He readied his own attack but with Faith so close he had no shot. He could see Faith fighting at level two once more but against an elder goddess she was still outmatched. Faith saw something near Ahmed. Faith split her focus as she began her plan. Ishtar's attack made her stagger and she was hit with a blow serous enough to make Faith vomit blood. Ahmed cursed his helplessness. "Listen...carefully. There's a plant behind you. Use the berries on it and coat your daggers with the juices...quickly. Do not let any juice touch your lips" she said in a magical link. Ahmed was to desperate to question anything and willed the daggers back to him. True to her word, there was a plant in a flowerpot in the corner of the room and berries grew out of it. Ahmed sensed magic from the plant as he picked the berries. He crushed them in his hand and wiped the juice onto his daggers.

Faith could barely stand now. Her strength waning and every breath agony. Faith raised her sword and Ishtar grabbed her wrist and broke it. "As if you ever had a chance" she said coldly as she readied a light blast to finish her off. Faith spat blood in her eyes. Ahmed took that moment to send his daggers flying once more. Willing them into the swarm again, he prayed to Allah it would work this time. Faith held her sword barely and aimed it at Ishtar. Shocking them both, the sword suddenly turned into a golden chain and wrapped around the goddess. Restrained, she couldn't repel Ahmed's attack. Ishtar felt the first cut and then dozens as the enchanted weapons broke her defenses. She repelled them with brute force as if summoning all her might. Faith willed the sword back into her hand and weakly drove the blade Through her body. Ishtar slid right off it. The woman looked out of her broken window and laughed. "Too late fools. I rise with the sun" she mocked as sunrise has begun. He wounds healed instantly. "...no. We were so close" Ahmed muttered. Ishtar returned her gaze back to Faith. "Now where were...we?" she asked suddenly feeling ill. Ishtar grabbed her stomach and vomited blood. "So, it did work" Faith muttered. "What...what have you done?!" Ishtar screamed glowing. Ahmed grabbed Faith just before where she stood was scorched. Ishtar fell to her knees. 

"Impressive you could still heal a stab wound like that without your Authority but apparently you can still succumb to poison" Faith chuckled as blood trickled from her mouth. "My daggers" Ahmed said. "Used my own power to grow that nightshade plant in the corner. Odd choice of plant here but I'm not complaining. Feel it? Like your veins are on fire" Faith said. Ishtar staggered to her on her knees and fell forward. "I'll heal...I'll heal" she mumbled. "Not likely. Nightshade berries are some of the most poisonous on earth and by the look of it you took 40 times the lethal dose. You're fucked" she said. Ishtar looked at her. "I yield. I yield!" she yelled. Ahmed was stunned. Faith staggered to her and placed her hand on her shoulder. Using her power given by Cordelia, Faith neutralized the poison. "Thank you" she muttered. "By order and rite of the Campioné, I bind you with a new name.  Your name...is Shit. Because in 24 hours that's all you'll be" Faith said coldly shrinking her. "WHAT?! Then why heal me?!" she yelled. Didn't want to poison myself. You're a fucking moron if you think I'd allow you to live. You turned someone I loved into an assassin and nearly cost her her life if not her heart. You fucked up by dragging someone else into this. 5000 years and it all ends in this" she said dancing the two-inch woman over her mouth.

Faith dropped the screaming deity into her mouth and closed it. Ahmed couldn't believe his eyes. The club was ablaze and before him stood a woman making a meal of one of the oldest goddesses in creation. Faith turned her head and parted her lips letting Ishtar's screams slip out along with the spit ridden cloth and helmet sucked off by Faith. Faith closed her mouth once more and with narrowed eyes began chewing. Faith glowed in short pulses as her teeth tore apart the shrunken Sumerian goddess and when she swallowed the pulp, an orb of light slipped down her Throat. Faith yelled seconds later gripping her stomach as newfound power melded with her being.

Silhouetted in light, Ahmed had to squint looking at her. As sudden as it happened, it ended with her collapsing on the floor. The flames had now set the ceiling on fire as he rushed to her side. Her skin was as pale as snow, blood curdled around her lips. "A...hmed. I can't..." she said before her eyes rolled in the back of her head. He stopped her into his arms and grimaced as he could feel her broken ribs move in her chest cavity. He was sure her lung was punctured and had massive internal bleeding. The roof beams collapsed, and fire blocked the main exit. Fire was his main attribute but that didn't mean he was immune to it. He prepared to burn to death with Faith in his arms. 

But miraculously, a gale force wind parted the flames. In the air hovered none other than Aly. Ahmed raced for the exit and out the door as Aly canceled the spell causing an explosive backdraft. He had no time to reflect on the few innocents lost as he sensed Faith's heart stop. "Aly her heart!" he yelled. The small girl floated onto the giantess chest and she cringed as even she felt the crackle of broken ribs under her feet. She immediately began what little lightning magic she knew to stimulate the giant heart as Ahmed gave her emergency healing treatments. "It's not enough! It's too extensive!" he yelled. Ahmed began forming a translocation portal. "What are you doing?" Aly asked still trying to restart Faith' heart. "Only one person I know is good enough to heal this much injury" he said. "You mean...an outsider in Iram?!" she asked. "This woman risked it all to take out a goddess that treats humans go to amuse her. Not to mention I swore an oath to keep her safe. I shall not forsake that" he said finishing. Ahmed rushed Through the portal followed by Aly.

Faith felt the breeze on her cheeks as she stirred. She blinked hard seeing her surroundings. She lay on a white silk bed which was surrounded by elegant furniture. Whispers caught her attention and she turned. Young women gawked at her. "Hello?" she said. They all mumbled to one another. Faith got off the bed and placed her bare feet on the cool marble floor. She left her room and ended up in a large circular one with 11 more connecting rooms. Fine food sat in trays as well as distilled sweet juices and coffees. Famished, she partook of it. Faith asked her where she was, but the girls didn't respond and only stared. A few sat beside her. One played with her hair, another her free hand. "Can't you at least tell me your names?" she asked. The other girl kneeling on the floor inspected her feet and toes. "Ahem. That's...okay what's going on?" she asked. The girls giggled at her. "I remember feeling cold and struggling to breathe. Everything grew dark and then...oh god. I died, didn't I? This...this is heaven?" she asked scared. As if sensing her fear, one beautiful girl caressed her cheek. "I died. Alicia...my babies.... Lucy, Theo, Marco, and Cordelia. Mommy? Daddy?" she suddenly wept.

"Why are you crying? Does it still hurt?" a voice asked behind her. Faith turned to see a giant eye looking at her. It pulled away as she approached. "AHMED!" she yelled. "Good to see you up and about. You really scared us" he said. Faith walked closer out onto a jutting balcony to find the giant Ahmed sitting down outside. "Where am I?" she asked. "Welcome to the city of Iram" he said scooting out of the way. He placed his hand down for her to climb onto it. Gingerly she did tucking back the silk dress as it flapped in the wind. Ahmed stood up and curled his hand to protect her. "It's magnificent!" she yelled looking onwards. To the west was the fishing district and a small sea. To the east farms and mountains. North was businesses and shops. And to the south were homes, thousands of small homes. "You said this was enclosed in a realm but it's huge!" she said. "I guess it would be for you as you're Three inches tall like everyone else. In reality, it spans two miles in each direction" he said. Faith took note of two people his size where she could see. An older woman to the east and a strange man sitting far south. "Who are they?" she asked. "That there is my mother. The one there is the man who saved your life, my grandfather" he replied.

"I thought I died" she said. "Technically you did. Your heart stopped but thankfully grandfather was able to heal you before you completely slipped away. He did nothing something odd. There was a strange...tug on your soul" he said. Faith grew quiet as she knew what that was. "Cassandra" she thought. "So that room..." she said. "My harem. Your arrival brought about some raised eyebrows. They deemed it appropriate you recover there and only there" he replied. Faith looked back at her room. "They were staring a hole in me. Like they never seen a white girl before" she said. "Apart from pictures they haven't. You are the first westerner ever to come here" he said. He placed her back down onto the balcony. "Aly will bring you some clothing" he said before walking off and disappearing from her sight.

Faith could hear them whispering as she washed her face. They stared intently as she relieved herself of excess breastmilk. Getting annoyed, she cast a spell in order for her to speak and understand her language. "I wonder if her milk tastes sweeter" one asked. "Slightly so" Faith replied. The girls were shocked. They watched as she left the bathroom and took a drink of juice. "She spoke Arabic!" one said. "Nonsense. Western girls are uncultured ignorant fools that are too self-centered to learn another language" one said. She approached her. "So vain she shaves her pussy. You think you're better than us, don't you?" the woman asked with the sweetest smile. "Aisha leave her alone. She's a guest" one said. Faith remembered her as the one that caressed her cheek when she was crying. "I think she's very pretty. When is it wrong to groom one’s body?" she asked. "She does have exceptionally smooth feet. She must come from a very pampered family" another said. "Are you not disturbed hoe she's granted favor by the prince? First the Kurdish whore and now this" Aisha said. "The person you speak of puts her life on the line to protect you and this city every night. If she is a whore than what's does that make you?" Faith asked her. The woman eyes went wide with shock and rage. "Told you she spoke Arabic" one said.

Aisha went to slap Faith and Faith caught her hand. "I'm your guest but I will not be spoken down on nor assaulted. Now if you want to push the matter..."

"You'll tell the prince?" she smirked. "No" Faith said conjuring a quick shrinking spell. "I'll introduce you to a western fetish called macrophilia" she said coldly as she held the tiny woman between her fingers. All the girls backed away in fear. "Making friends I see" Aly said entering the room. Faith tossed Aisha towards the sofa and unshrank in midair falling back to her normal Three-inch size. Faith ran to Aly who was carrying clothing and hugged her tight. "Yes, it's good to see you too" she said. Aly placed the clothing on her bed. Faith went to the bedroom and was followed by her. "You can smell the jealousy" Faith said. "You're an oddity Faith. Half are curious and the other half want you gone" Aly said. "I got that" Faith said changing. Aly sneered at the other girls as they spied on them. "Is it allowed for me to leave the room?" Faith asked as she slipped her sandals on. "I'm sure Ahmed would accompany you" she replied. It wasn't exactly what she asked. "Is it true you devoured a goddess?" Aly asked. "Yeah it's true. I was that angry. Even now I feel...different" Faith replied flexing her hand as light magic poured from it. She glanced at Aly who she could sense feared her slightly. Faith frowned at sat down.

"What troubles you?" Aly asked. "Have I changed so much in the last day that you fear me now?" Faith asked. "I... I don't fear you" Aly said. "You're lying. Heart rate and blood pressure up. Pheromones increasing. Pupils narrowing. I'm still the same me Aly. The same girl rooting for your love" Faith said softly. Aly felt ashamed for lying to her. She opened the dresser and began changing. Faith looked at her. "You're in my room" she replied. Faith nodded. She changed into something freer and sat next to her. " I apologize again" she said. Faith leaned over and kissed her. "This is who I am underneath all this power. All magic tricks aside, I am a loving caring girl" Faith said softly. "Then show me a magic trick to set my heart at ease" Aly grinned. Faith nodded and with a glowing hand pinched her nose. She brought her hand back. "Got your nose" she said showing her thumb tucked under her fingers. Aly jumped and touched her nose. "It's is still...very funny Faith. That joke is old even here" Aly said. Faith chuckled and then both burst out laughing. The girls listening in wondered about the foreign girl who could make the sullen Aly laugh so hard. "I shall see to the arrangements with the prince. Please wait here" Aly said leaving the room. Aly paused however standing before Aisha.

"I almost forgot. What did she do to merit being shrunk and tossed?" Aly asked Faith. "Nothing of importance" Faith said. Aly looked at Aisha's slightly bruised wrist. She knew full well what kind of girl Aisha was. "Did she attack you?" Aly asked. Faith didn't answer as she saw Aisha began to tremble. "Did you attack the guest of the prince? You know the punishment for that?" Aly said to her. The girl was visibly shaking now. "We had a disagreement in which she has learned from. Nothing to bother Ahmed about" Faith said. "Is that all? A disagreement? I'm curious as to what was said and about whom" Aly said narrowing her eyes. "Something in passing about etiquette. That’s all" Faith said. Aisha looked astonished at Faith. "If that's all then it can be forgiven" Aly said before leaving the room. Faith walked to the center of the room. "Why did you lie to save me?" Aisha asked. "I don't believe rudeness should be punished with death. I'm a firm believer in second chances" she replied. Aisha bowed before her kissing her toes. "Don't bow. I don't believe in that stuff. I'm different, strange, foreign to you but I mean no harm. As to the magic you've seen me use, I don't use it as a form of intimidation or threat unless they mean to do me harm. After all, it is better to be respected than feared" Faith said pulling the girl back to her feet.

They all had a look of solemn respect and shame on their faces. "I'm more this happy to answer questions if you want to get to know me" she said. Faith chuckled as they over talked one another barraging her with questions. "Do you drink and smoke?" one asked. "Drink yes. Smoke no" she replied. "Do you have a lot of sex like in the movie pictures?" another asked. "Yes, but not because I'm a westerner. My species has a high sex drive" she replied. "Species?" one asked. "I'm not human" she replied. The girls were enraptured as Faith explained the various races of tiny people scattered Throughout the world. "None of you have ever left Iram?" Faith asked. They shook their heads. "All of us prepared most of our lives to serve the prince. Outside travel is forbidden to us. It is better this way anyway. We would not survive being this small in a world of giants" she said. "Not necessarily. The world has made great strides in living with people your size. Jobs, marriages, adoptions, families of mixed species" Faith said. They grew more curious.

"But isn't it true that westerns frown on Muslims?" one asked.  "It's true that there have been...bigotry in the west concerning Muslims but I ask you not to judge a majority by looking at a close-minded minority. So much has changed in the last 10 years alone. Even same sex relationships are open and accepted now" she said. "Between women also?" Aisha asked. "I'm not here to flip your society upside down. I'm just saying there's more to the west than what you see in movies and magazines" Faith said. "Good point" Ahmed said entering the room. All the girls bowed before him. "Shall we see the sights?" he asked extending his hand. "Please your majesty" Faith said politely. 

Faith was led Through the palace as attendants bowed as he passed. They stepped outside where a grand Arabian horse stood in waiting. He helped her on before getting on himself. Ahmed had her wrap her around his waist before slapping the reins and taking off. Ahmed laughed hearing her voice raise and lower as the horse galloped and jumped over carts and boxes. The people waved as he passed. Faith took note of the city as they rode Through. It was a strange mix of old and modern. Modern plumbing and electricity but no cars or heavy machinery. Curious of course, she asked how they got electricity. Water powered substations. Designs for plumbing from those fleeing Saddam. Apparently, it wasn't just his mother that migrated here at the time. Ahmed slowed the horse down as they entered the agriculture area so she could see the expanse. She looked back to see towers in the city. "Minarets" he replied. Towers built to shout prayers at certain times of day. Ahmed enjoyed hearing her questions about his culture and answering them. "I didn't know the western world owes so much to Arabic culture*" she said. "All cultures borrow from one another. I just wish they borrowed the concept of tolerance as well" he said.

(Authors note: This is absolutely true. After the crusades, Western Europe experienced a cultural explosion due to the importation of Arabic cultural concepts and practices. Modern medicine, regular bathing, words such as syrup, sugar, alchemy, alcohol, and the number system we all use today comes from Arabic culture)

"Whoa. Who is that?!" Faith said as they crested a hill revealing a middle-aged giantess crouching down. "That's my mother" he said getting the horse to gallop. They arrived from behind her. "Mother! I wish for you to meet someone!" Ahmed shouted up. The woman trotted around, her giant bare feet pushing into the ground slightly. "Afternoon son. Is this the guest you brought with you?" she asked. "Indeed" he replied. The giantess extended her hand. "Whoops. A moment" she said dusting her hands off. "The field had been cleared but not tilled. It's faster if I do it with my fingers. I am Fatima, wife of King Abdullah and mother of prince Ahmed" she said extending her finger. Faith shook her finger with her left hand which caught them by surprise*. "I'm not entirely ignorant" she whispered.

(Authors note: It's taboo to shake someone's hand with your right hand in the Middle East. Simplest explanation for this is not everyone has access to toilet paper and since about 66% of people in the world are right-handed...)

"Forgive me. I was expecting someone more...queen like" Faith said. Ahmed looked at her nervously. "I may be a queen, but I was born a farmer’s daughter. I don't feel right if I don't get my hands and bare feet dirty" she said raising her foot and wriggling her giant toes. Faith giggled at her. She could see where Ahmed got his straightforwardness from as well as his gentle eyes. He had told her the other day his mother was 42 years old, but she looked no older than 35. Thin and even muscular in places, she didn't appear to be typical royal stock. Her long black hair was tied in the back and even though she was barefoot, her nails and skin were quite smooth. "So, I hear you defeated Ishtar" she said. "I had help" Faith said. "But still you used exceptional power. Godlike power" she said narrowing her eyes. "I was gifted with power but like those of moral standing I use it to safeguard those I love and care for. Is it not true of your own exceptional arcane?" Faith asked. Fatima burst out laughing. "I like her son. No guile and very observant. Yes, I do have talent with magics. Shall you be staying long?" she asked. "Only until the power within me settles" she replied.  "Pity. You would be a good addition to the harem. He likes girls that do not cower before him" she whispered. Ahmed blushed. "Faith. Can you give us a moment" he asked. Faith nodded and walked off to look at the produce grown in a nearby field. 

 "You wish to speak privately?" Fatima asked sitting down. She placed her son in her hands. "It is about the harem. More importantly about Aly" he said. Fatima nodded and sighed. "You have chosen her? I knew you favored her for sexual favor but as your wife?" she asked. The way she spoke to him made him feel like a child again playing with her giant fingers. "Yes" he replied. "You know why this is a touchy subject and you still choose?" she asked. "She reminds me so much of you and father. Did he not go against the council because he found you most desirable? You treat him like a man and not a king the same as Aly does. She shares Kurdish blood like you" he said. "But I was given exception because I descend from Campioné. My blood bridged a centuries old gap. Aly has no such claim son" she said. "Mother, you didn't hear her sobs and cries wanting a future with me. Not as a fuck slave or soldier but as wife and mother to the man she's loves most in Allah's world. Listening to her moved my soul" he said. "Be as it may, you are still a prince..."

"Yes. A prince! Is it not my right to decide who is to be my wife and not some old men conspiring in hookah halls?!" he yelled. Fatima lowered her head. Her giant finger petted him. "You sound so much like your father. I still remember his voice echoing Through the palace as I lay recovering from a poison gas attack in his bedchamber. Only one week prior I was tending goats and preparing for a wedding to the neighbor’s boy. Then the tanks and troops came. The air yellow with poison gas and then a hand grabbed me and pulled me Through a hole in the world. Shrunken and struggling to breathe, this young man healed me every night and held my hand telling me everything was going to okay. And as I heard his voice telling them he would marry me, I thought I really had died in my village that day. That this, all of this was heaven. Ahmed? I will support your decision" she said. "Thank you mother" he said. "As for your friend, you sure you're not interested?" she asked. "I would be a blind fool not to but as magnificent as Faith is, she is no Aly" he replied. "You have your father's sliver tongue. It severs well in other matters" she winked. "As much as I would like to hear of your nights with father, I should check on Faith. Seems as if she's being noticed" he said looking in her direction.

Fatima put him down and watched him run to her side. "Curious" Fatima said taking note of something interesting. "What are you doing?" Ahmed asked looking at the vast amounts of healthy produce in the field. Farmers stood around gawking at the sight. "Just paying back some of your kindness" Faith chuckled. "These crops were planted just two weeks ago! You used that plant goddess powers?" he asked. "Well yeah" she shrugged. Ahmed gestured her to get on his horse. He rode off very quickly. Some minutes passed before she spoke. "Are you angry with me?" Faith asked. "Not...not angry. What you did was truly kind Faith, but these people are simple folk. And simple folk can be scared easily. A foreign girl using real unassisted magic? Word shall spread like wildfire" he said. "I guess I didn't think that out" she said. He stopped the horse. "You are a trusting girl which is a good thing but even the biggest smile can hide the sharpest dagger" he said kissing her forehead. "Yes, I know" she muttered.

Ahmed led her to his grandfather who towered above them even more so than his mother. At first, she thought him a statute as his skin was as gray as stone and he sat unmoving. Barefoot and just a ragged tunic on his body, he would not seem so mighty. "Afternoon grandfather. Our guest wanted to meet you" Ahmed said. The ancient djinn opened his eyes revealing pupils lit in flames. "It's an honor to meet with you sir" Faith chocked out anxious. "Be calm child" he said softly. "So, child of Etherion. What do you think of my realm?" he asked. "Breathtaking. Simply breathtaking" she replied. "Thank you. I rarely get to walk about it, so I was curious of your opinion" he said. "Wha?" Faith asked. "Maintaining this realm takes a great toll on him. Right down to the smallest grain of sand requires his attention" Ahmed said. "True. I spend most of my days in meditation" the djinn said. "I can't imagine how painstaking that would be. Even if I had Etherion again I doubt I could do this" Faith said. "So, you miss that power?" he asked. "Sometimes" she replied. "Yet you fear it deep down, the power growing within you" he said. Faith was shocked. "You can see that?" she said. "As a high order being of magic it would be queer of me not to" he replied. "Then what's going on with me? I've never heard of a Campioné absorbing the powers of defeated gods or goddesses" she said. "Neither have I" Ahmed said.

"Because never has someone like you been a Campioné before. I sense you are a mother. How did it feel days after giving birth, I mean physically inside" he asked. "Empty, I guess. I got used to feeling them grow inside me" she replied. "And have you thought of having more to feel full once more?" he asked. "...yes" she replied softly. "Grandfather this is private for her" Ahmed said seeing her embarrassed. Faith held her hand out. "Reasonable. Every mother has thought of it at least once. It's bred into the bone. Just as your womb housed infants, your body housed high tier magics" he said. "So, you're saying I'm absorbing their powers because I want to be all powerful again?" she asked. "What I am saying is your body was born to contain vast amounts of magic and now there is a vacuum. And nature abhors a vacuum. Either it be psychological, or sympathetic magic, it is the why and how you're absorbing their power" he said. Faith flexed her hand and it glowed with bright light. "The power of Ishtar" he muttered. "And if I keep defeating them?" she asked. "You will keep adorning their power. However, their power was never meant for you. No telling what could happen if you keep after it" he warned. Faith quietly nodded.

"Ahmed. Do what you feel is right for you" he said suddenly to him. Ahmed nodded. Ahmed was quiet as they returned to the palace. "What did he mean by you should do what you feel is right?" she asked. "He meant about Aly. Grandfather has known for some time my feelings on the matter" he replied. "I'll try to stay out of it. Got my hands full with Marco and Cordelia" she said. "Oh? You seemed different earlier" he said. "It's clear I don't understand everything that goes on here" she said. He stopped the horse before rather palace steps. "You know enough of the situation. What would you do?" he asked. "My dad, mom, and momma Claire fought the US congress for borrower rights, especially the right to love and marry whomever they want...and won. They fought again to keep me away from an a insane witch hellbent on decimating humanity...and won. My dad fought and died to save the world and me from myself. True love means moving heaven and earth to be with the ones you love, and God forgive anyone who dares stand in your way" Faith said with glowing eyes. "...Aly will lead you back to your room to rest and refreshen. This evening there will be a banquet announcing my decision" he told her. "I understand" she said getting off the horse. Faith walked over to Aly who watched Ahmed walk his horse to the stables. 

"He seems troubled. Did something happen?" Aly asked. "He has a lot on his mind" she replied. Aly was not one to pry into personal business but was highly curious as to what occurred during their tour. 

"I shall be back this evening. I must attend to my duties" she said excusing herself. Of course, the girls wanted to know how her tour went. Faith gave them straight answers and then some vague ones. By talking about what she had seen, the girls happily added their own observations. "Where is the bath?" Faith asked. "This way" Aisha asked. There was a magnificent bath connecting to the main room to the right as one entered the hallway and Through the doors. Faith was surprised they wanted to bathe with her, but truth be told was probably curious as to seeing her nude body. Not being a prude, Faith didn't care which surprised them slightly. They watched as she took off her clothing "Umm, it looks like it might be cramped for 12 people" Faith said. In their curiosity, they had not accounted for their numbers. "We usually take turns" one said. Nobody actually wanted to leave. "Well in that case" Faith shrugged extending her glowing hand at them. In a flash she had shrunken them to about four inches in height. "There. Now everybody can enjoy the bath!" she giggled. The girls looked at one another in bewilderment as they knew she could shrink a person but all of them at once? What was the limit to her power? "Don't let me enjoy this big bath all on my own" Faith said pouting. The most curious girl ran, and cannon balled into the water making a small splash. Seeing their friend and harem mate having all jumped in. "See? Isn't this fun?!" Faith laughed.

The shrunken girls rested against the marble jetties that kept elegant soaps for their use. The fair skinned giantess soaping herself kept their attention. "You say you're not human, but I don't see anything different about you at all" one girl said swimming up close to her. Faith recognized her as the most curious of all and the one that comforted her when she awoke. She was embarrassed she hadn't asked her name yet. "What's your name?" Faith asked. "Sabah" she replied. "Well Sabah, my race directly descended from humans and my mom is human. It's what you can't see that makes me different" Faith said. "How so?" Aisha asked. "I can see, hear, and smell better than you.  My heart is five chambered instead of four  and my muscles are denser so I'm a lot stronger than you" Faith said. "That's incredible!" Sabah said. "A necessary thing for my species to survive. With a world having things big enough to squash or eat you, my species had to rapidly evolve" she said. "Anything else about you?" Aisha asked. Faith noticed the girls swimming towards her to listen. Faith got out of the water and sat in the edge of the bath. "Well, we procreate a lot so we have as many offspring as we can. That itself leads to other things. We emotionally attach ourselves to people easier and emit powerful pheromones that can...entice feelings" Faith said. "Really?" Sabah asked. Faith plucked her out of the water.

"Yes really. Kindness and compassion can sexually arouse a borrower. The same kindness and compassion you showed me earlier" Faith said running her finger along the side of the girl. "But wouldn't that cause confusion if anyone was nice to you?" Aisha asked her. "It's not the only thing. Parts of our bodies are sensitive and when touched..." Faith said crossing her legs. "We are familiar with oral sex" Aisha said crawling out of the bath and standing before her. "It's not just that. There are parts of the body that are sensitive when stimulated. Even humans have this" Faith said. "Show us?" one said. Faith nodded and picked Aisha up. Extremely curious, the 9 other girls climbed out of the bath and stood before the giantess as she held their shrunken friend. "As you know, the clit, nipples, and asshole are very sensitive but there are other places. Aisha are you ready?" Faith asked. "Go right ahead" she replied voice cracking. "It's alright. You don't have to be afraid. It will get intense, but no harm will come to you" Faith whispered to her. Her giant finger ran across her tiny breast and the girl twitched. Faith could feel her heartbeat elevated.

"Eye contact is particularly important. It conveys trust and can tell you if it's uncomfortable" Faith said looking deep into her teeny little eyes. Her finger went lower almost tickling Aisha and then the tip of her finger caressed the back of her left knee. "Ahh..." Aisha said. "There's a pressure point here that can stimulate blood flow. You feel a little warmer Aisha?" Faith asked. The girl nodded. "Good and now lower. Now, I'm sure you've had a foot rub in your time but what about worship?" Faith asked. "Worship? Such a thing is frowned upon" Sabah said. Faith shook and head and sighed. "Such an odd thing to say" Faith said as her fingers rubbed Aisha's tiny soles. The girl sighed contently. Faith picked up Sabah. "Now here's the thing, in our bodies, our hands and feet have the most nerve receptors and on our feet there's a few sensitive spots there are more sensitive than others. Sabah, slip your fingers between her toes" Faith said. Sabah nervously did and Aisha jumped. "Feels good right? Now Sabah, suck her toes" she said. Sabah looked at the giantess with anxiety. She slowly crawled in her palm to Aisha and took ahold of her foot. Sabah stuck her big toe in her mouth. "It tickles!" Aisha said grinning. Sabah smiled and licked between her toes making the girl squirm. Sabah grinned seeing the usual haughty girl, the oldest in the group at age 19, blushing and wriggling around. 

Aisha panted slightly. "Now for borrowers like me, it's even worse" Faith said chuckling. Curious as to how worse, two girls approached her giant feet. They marveled at how smooth they were at this scale and awestruck by the red paint on her toes. "You paint the nails?" one asked. "It's a cultural thing but yes" Faith replied. With her feet sideways, they had easy access to between her toes. "Ahh. That tingles" Faith moaned. The girls grinned at seeing their giantess friend shiver. Faith still held the two and very slowly spread her legs. "She flows like a fountain!" one below yelled. "...yeah. We get wetter easier than you" Faith blushed. Of course, they had seen each other's pussies before but to see one so massive and shockingly sweet smelling was new to them. A hint of musk but being wet smelled sweet like the spiced punch they drunk. One bold one crept right up to it and tasted her. "That is forbidden!" one shouted. "By a man? What harm comes from giving pleasure freely to another?" Faith said. They hadn't looked at it that way before. Faith was captivating to her not just as a physical curiosity but a philosophical one as well. Faith looked intensely at Aisha and Sabah. "What is wrong?" Sabah asked. "Trying to decide which one to continue with. It may frighten you very much" Faith said. "Me! I do not frighten!" Aisha yelled up at her. An obvious lie as she was earlier, but her outburst did decide for her. 

Faith placed Sabah down and glanced at the disappointed girl. "You won't be forgotten" Faith said winking. She turned her attention back to Aisha and kissed the soles of her feet and moved up slowly. Aisha held her breath as the warm mouth moved past her crotch. Giant lips kissing her bare belly and breasts until Faith sucked them into her mouth like candies. Aisha groaned slightly from the new experience and took a breath as Faith let them go. Aisha closed her eyes as those lips kissed her face over and over. And as Faith pulled back a bit, Aisha held her breath as she could see her reflection in those giant eyes. Sensing her wonder, Faith brought her within inches of her right eye. Aisha had never really taken measure of a person's eyes other than color which didn't vary much at all in her land, but she did now. Her reflection near perfect. Pupils as black as blackest night widening slowly. Her iris was the color of almonds and slightly lighter in places. The strands of the iris like fine woven silk. "So beautiful" she muttered. Faith brought her back down near her mouth and was caught off guard as Aisha leaped forward to give her a kiss on her lower lip. Faith nuzzled her for a moment before opening her mouth.

Aisha was taken by surprise as her legs were slipped into her mouth. Deeper they went until the tips of her toes touched the back of her Throat. Then, they bent down slipping deeper until Aisha's lower body was completely in her mouth. Faith pressed her lips closed right over her little tits. Aisha almost panicked as the thought of being swallowed alive entered her mind. It would be difficult at her size but not impossible if the giantess had her legs that deep in her Throat without gagging. Sensing her fear, Faith petted her head. The girls below looked in either awe of fear seeing someone they knew seemingly close to being devoured. However, their fears oddly ebbed as Faith tickled each one. And after being touched, arousal took completely over. Two girls went to lick Faith's giant feet. Sabah began to earnestly lick her giant pussy. And after Faith laid on her back, two more girls crawled onto her belly moving towards her breasts. Faith giggled as their tiny feet tickled her skin. Then those giggles turned to moans as they pleasure the giantess. Aisha nearly came from her moaning as it vibrated her body. Not wanting to be left out, the rest of the girls turned to each other for release. 

Faith gently held Aisha by her shoulders as she sucked and slobbered on the girl as if she was a Popsicle. Sabah was grabbed and inserted into her feet first right to her breasts before being turned into a living sex toy.  None were afraid of her. If anything, they craved being used as toys. Being locked in their rooms and not being fucked for weeks on end made them horny to say the least. Then this giantess shows them the joys of same sex and their institutional beliefs of it being abominations, and affronts melted away. The two girls squeezing her nipples were literally bathing in her breastmilk. Rubbing it on their tiny bodies and drinking it greedily. Sabah was in a daze as the warm wet vice like pussy milked her body. The girls licking her feet had now gone to humping her toes and moaning. And Aisha...Aisha had never felt such bliss before. For all her life she was praised for her beauty. She used her looks for simple favors and domination in school. And when told she would be part of the Royal harem and therefore in the running for queen, lorded over any girl in her way. But such a thing left her lonely. Not even getting her virginity taken by Ahmed gave her satisfaction. And as she saw Aly getting fucked with passion, she turned her ire to the other girls pushing the hatred she had been taught by her father to ostracize the girl. The leader of the harem and nothing to show for it. 

And then this foreign girl comes along who doesn't take any shit from her shrinks her and traps her between her fingers. Being crushed between them. Being eaten. Even sat in crossed her mind and while she felt fear, she felt alive even more. As if the doldrums of life stopped. She was pissed she was humiliated and then when Aly asked if she had attacked the girl, Aisha grew terrified. She knew attacking a royal guest was tantamount to attacking the king. She would be beheaded by sundown. But in astonishment the girl lied and then explained she felt no lasting ire from her futile attack. For a moment, she thought it was some ruse to have her in her debt but quickly found that the girl harbored no such feelings. She simply wanted to be nice to her. It had been years since someone was nice to her for nothing in return. And as a giant tongue coaxed the juices from her cunt, Aisha let out a squeal of joy for finding a friend that saw her as a woman and not a political rival. Faith held her steady as she twitched and leaked on her tongue. Faith pulled her from her mouth and winced as she came herself. Holding each one in her hands, she gave them a loving smile that literally dazzled them with light. Every fiber of their being wanted to please her even more and were disappointed when she put them down. 

All of them were recovering from their own orgasms as Faith looked around. Even she was shocked how far this orgy had went. One by one she placed them back into the bath to clean off but made sure none slipped under the water. "Is it always like that?" Sabah asked. "No. It's always different. You can do the same thing over and over but the little things like looking into their eyes, how they moan and move..." she replied. "Does shrinking make it better?" Aisha asked. "It depends on your mood. Sometimes you just want to be held in her arms. Other times in their hands. And then of course there are things not said" she replied. "Like what?" Sabah asked. "Sabah, you have the cutest butt. And they way you kick your feet in me made me cum hard as fuck. And Aisha?" she said. Aisha looked to her. "Your little pussy tastes as sweet as honey but really got to me was when you just opened your heart in the end" Faith said. Aisha looked at her floored. "You...you noticed that?" she asked. "I saw everything. Even those two getting drunk off my milk" she chuckled. The two girls in question blushed. "The prince had good taste when he picked all of you" Faith said.

"He didn't pick us. It was a compromise by our fathers and the King" Sabah said. "What now?" Faith asked. "We thought you knew. All of us are the daughters of the elder council" Aisha said. "Now it makes sense. It couldn't be just a racial thing. Your fathers want one of you to be queen and Aly messes that up. That's the real reason you hate her" Faith said quietly. "We didn't want to. Aly was truly kind to us when we came. It was only when we were cruel to her, she pulled away" one of them said. "I heard that if she's chosen there will be an uprising" Faith said. They all grew quiet. "When the king married queen Fatima, there was talk. The only reason nothing happened then was because of this arrangement with us. However, in recent years as those from outside returned, more and more talk of spreading magic within certain groups to fight back western oppression has surfaced. The Kurds are really just an excuse to gain favor with Shiites" one said softly. They looked at her as if she said something forbidden. "And what are your thoughts on this?" Faith asked them. "It would mean civil war. The end to our peaceful city" Aisha replied. Faith solemnly nodded.

An hour had passed and most of the girls were napping exhausted after their rounds of sex. Faith laid on a long sofa gently petting a girl she learned was named Jamila. She was the youngest of all of them barely 15 years of age and the most timid and quiet of them all. But like the others had a bit of fun that afternoon. Jamila lazily nibbled on a strawberry as she lay in Faith’s tummy. Unlike the others who grew back to their regular size after their bath, she asked to stay shrunk for a bit longer. Probably because being the youngest, the other girls saw her as a kid and paid little heed to her. Faith stroked her hair between her fingers and thought deeply on what the others said. "Civil war. Even though he didn't come out and say it, I'm sure he'll pick Aly anyway" she thought. Faith thought about what Ahmed had said earlier about one gifted enough to grow human size let alone use magic. 10% of the population but that still meant 2,500 people easily. And saying maybe half were loyal to the prince that left 1,250 possible mages to fight. More than enough to reduce the city to rubble. Faith glanced at Jamila who had dozed off and placed her on the sofa. With a snap of her fingers she grew back. "There might be a way..." she muttered standing up.

Faith opened a translocation portal and stepped Through. She emerged at the feet of the djinn that was Ahmed's grandfather. "Portaling as well? You are full of surprises" he said. "Is there nothing you can do to prevent what may come?" Faith asked. "You mean the looming conflict? If not now, then later. It has been coming for over a decade. No child. All my power is used to conserve this realm and maintain the balance of an evil wish made long ago" he replied looking down at her with glowing fiery eyes. "And if you could?" she asked. "I am older than recoded time. And in that time, I have learned that love is greater than any spell. It is the only repast for an immortal however fleeting it may be" he replied. "Then I ask you for one thing that may halt what is coming. I ask for a few drops of your blood" she said. "For spellwork? No spell in existence requires the blood of a djinn" he said. "This particular one will. It may be the only thing that prevents total destruction to this place" she said. "...very well. Everything gained and little lost" he said. Faith summoned an artifact she had been hiding for some time as the djinn scratched his ashen skin on his ankle. This blood reeked of elemental magics as she collected it. Once done, she returned to the harem room. 

Three hours later...

"You look very pretty" Faith said admiring Aly in her evening dress. "I only wear it during certain occasions" she said straightening the top. "A pity. You're so pretty you're making me wet" Faith chuckled. Aly playfully slapped her shoulder. "Usually I'm not asked to formal dinners so not to upset the elders. But as this is a dinner in your honor..." Aly said. Faith cocked an eyebrow as she knew it wasn't for her sake. After checking her sandals, Aly assumed the lead position as she was guard of the harem as well as a member of it. Her sabre hooked at the waist, she proceeded with the line of girls to the dining hall. Just to be one the safe side, Faith needed one last thing and she saw it as she passed the kitchen door. "Just be a minute. Keep going" Faith said. "But I can't just show up without...*sigh*...fine but do not keep them waiting" Aly said thinking she needed the toilet.

"Can I borrow this?" Faith asked a cook pointing to a cut open box. "If you want" she replied. Faith nodded and took it leaving her. "Westerners are strange" she muttered. Everyone had already entered the hall and very carefully, Faith placed the box down in a dark corner for it not to be disturbed. She opened the large wooden doors and a brilliant flash of light went off activating a particular complicated spell. "What was...never mind. Ahmed. This is your last chance to change your mind" the King said hastily. "My mind is set father" he said. "Husband. We have argued this for the last four hours. He has made his choice as did you those years ago" Fatima said. "Indeed" he said stepping from the throne to the long table where the girls and elders sat. Aly who had been waiting for her, pulled out her chair to be seated. Now everyone sitting down, the night began.

"Lovely ladies, grand viziers, I bid you good evening" the King said. "As we so you your majesty. Is this the wonderful woman we have heard about?" one of the men asked looking at Faith. "Good evening sir. My name is Faith McCormick. The newest Campioné of Italy and House Alighieri. Pleasure to meet you all" she said standing and bowing. Everyone clapped for her. Faith sat down as the food was brought out. Over the course of the dinner, they politely asked her questions and Faith politely responded. She faltered slightly for good reason as the evening went on however. "Honored viziers. Our guest hasn't fully recovered so shall we curtail some questions?" Ahmed asked. "Forgiveness my prince" one said. It was quiet as they entered dessert and once done, the prince stood up and talked his spoon on his crystal goblet. "I have an announcement to make. I have decided on whom I shall marry" he said. He walked over to the side of the table where the girls sat. Each girl held their breath as he approached, and disappointment followed as he passed. And then he had Aly stand. "By tradition, I chose you Aaliyah bin Amad as my wife" he said as he slipped an elegant ruby ring onto her finger. Aly nearly fainted on the spot. Ahmed held her. "Take a breath" he chuckled. The girls clapped but suddenly stopped as a vizier leaped out of his seat. 

"This is outrageous! She has no noble bloodline, no house, and is a Kurd! This goes against the agreement my King!" he yelled. "Our agreement was to have your daughters in line for choosing. However, nothing was said that one of them was guaranteed to be chosen. My son was left the right to choose himself" he said. "And yet she was made a harem girl without approval!" another yelled standing. "When Katya left for the outside, her father offered her place to Aly. This was well known" the King said. The men looked at one in particular. "I apologize for nothing" the one man said softly. All the men stood up. "We carefully warn you your highness. The people will not stand for a commoner with weak blood becoming our future queen" one said. "And we take it your voices will not abate their ire?" Ahmed asked. "We have a responsibility to preserve tradition and not let it be broken by...outside forces" one replied glancing at Faith. "You overstep your bounds!" Ahmed yelled with a glowing fist. "Enough of this prattle!" a vizier shouted throwing a dagger with expert precision. Everyone gasped as Ahmed had no time to react and then stood wide eyed as it harmlessly passed Through him to hit the wall behind him with an odd hollow thunk. "Guess I was right. Good thing I took precautions" Faith said. 

Faith calmly walked to the corner of the room where the box sat. She picked it up and carried it to Ahmed. "By Allah!" he yelled. The King and queen looked inside with shock. With a snap of her fingers, the viziers and harem disappeared from the table. "Where did they go?!" Sabah asked. "In the box. They were never at this table. When I walked in, I took note of everything in the room very quickly. Borrower photographic memory. Anyway, once I saw everything, I crafted an illusion spell and then shrunk and placed these men and the harem inside. They've been talking to our illusions in there while we've been talking to theirs here. "How much power do you have?!" Fatima asked. "...it wasn't easy keeping it going" Faith replied dodging the question. "More important. What do we do with them?" The King asked. Faith reached in and scooped out the terrified squeaking girls who were no bigger than a few millimeters tall. "If I may, the harem has done nothing to you. They're as much victims here as you are being put in such a position" Faith said. "I agree. They have done no harm" Ahmed said. "So be it" the King ordered. Faith restored their size. "I'm very sorry to have frightened you so" Faith said bowing. The girls got on their knees and bowed.

"But what of the viziers?" Fatima asked. "Do what you will! Our cause will go forward and all you will do is make martyrs of us!" The boldest one who Threw the dagger earlier yelled up. "He has a point my husband" Fatima said. "Only because he thinks they have an actual chance. Ahmed, catch" she said tossing him a necklace. "What is this?" he asked. "The locket of Capricorn. Consider it an early wedding day gift. Put it on" she said. Curious he did. "Now turn it slowly clockwise until it clicks" she said. Trusting her he did. An ethereal light traveled from his feet to the top of his head. "BY ALLAH! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Aly shouted as everyone gasped. Ahmed felt vastly different. He could feel magical power coursing Through his body like never before. He looked at his hands to find his skin ashen...like a djinn. "It's okay. The locket has the power to transform the user into a magical race as long as it has a sample of its blood. In this case your grandfather's Ahmed" Faith explained. Ahmed picked up a silver plate and stared at his reflection. Virtually nothing human looking remained. Not his eyes, hair, skin tone, not even his teeth. 

He looked solemnly at Aly. "Could you love this?" he asked. "Oh, stop that. It's not permanent. Just turn it opposite" Faith huffed. Ahmed did and returned to normal. "Is that to scare us?" one vizier laughed. "Ahmed. It wasn't just your looks that changed was it?" Faith asked. "No. I could feel raw ancient magics in me like a wellspring. Indescribable power!" he yelled with glowing eyes. "More than enough power to obliterate anyone in a fiery instant that would threaten the peace of this city assuming you don't shrink them to the size of bugs first. Your grandfather may be powerless to help but you're not. Still laughing old man...I thought not" Faith replied. 

The 12 viziers, like all the others, grew up seeing the giant that overlooked the land and heard the stories of how mighty his power was.  When they saw Ahmed transform, they halfheartedly thought it nothing but an illusion but being adept to arcanic magic like some lucky few, they could sense true magics and moments after transforming, it was like staring at the sun. Ahmed confirmed what they felt. This was no illusion and any mob gathered to overthrow the royal family could be shrunk and squashed on the street in seconds by Ahmed. A very clean and safe way to deal with them. No need to worry about collateral damage. Their coup had ended before it had begun. But now remained the question of what to do with them.

"It could still be trouble if we execute them" the King said quietly. "Father. I do have an idea concerning that. What if we made any offspring from the ladies of my harem legitimate heirs? Of course, Aly's would be first in line of course" Ahmed said. "That could be even worse down the line" his father said. "They have a similar system in Saudi Arabia do they not?" Ahmed asked. "This is different son. Saudi princes don't have arcanic talent" Fatima said. "Unless you decree if your first child dies by their hand, they all are executed" Faith said softly. They looked at her in shock. "Look. There's no absolute clean way to do this. Either that or shrink them and keep them that way all their lives. At least my way that have a chance at a normal life" she said. "What say you to all this?" Ahmed asked the girls. "Our lives are in your hands my prince. If we are allowed to raise them, they will never raise a hand against you" Aisha replied. "Aly?" Ahmed asked. "Faith said it herself. No clean way about this but it does beat the alternative of killing hundreds if not thousands of my people" she said. "My people? Spoken like a true queen already. And what say you old fools?" Ahmed asked the quivering shrunken men in their boxes. "Agreed! Agreed wholeheartedly!" one screamed.

"Then let it be done. And for now, girls, take your fathers between your fingers" the King ordered. One by one they plucked their shrunken fathers from the box. Such powerful strong men pinned between their fingers seemed bizarre to them to say the least. "Until my son's future wife becomes pregnant, you are to keep your fathers in your care. They will remain their size until then to protect Aly as it is against Allah to harm an expectant mother. Not even they are foolish enough to disobey that. You are dismissed.... except Aisha" he said. The girls left leaving the extremely nervous girl and even more nervous father in her hand. The King calmly walked up to her. He plucked the man from her hand. "Ibrahim...we've known each other since we were children. Is that not true?" he asked him. "...Yes sire! We were playmates! We swam, ate dinner with one another, you personally led my wedding ceremony!" he yelled shaking. "Then why did you try to kill my son with that dagger of yours? If anyone on the council of viziers would show loyalty, I swore it would've been you" the King said. "Abdullah please..." he whimpered. "Shhh...I did decree that none of you were to die did I not? Aisha, I want you to hold very still" he commanded.

The King got down on the floor as he held Ibrahim between his fingers. "Oh god..." he muttered as he saw where he was going. Carefully, the King pushed the half inch tall man between Aisha's toes. With it being warm even at night, (and the cold sweat of stark terror from earlier) her feet were already sweating. The man grimaced as his fine linens were being soaked with the foot sweat of his giantess daughter. Only the top of his head was exposed. "Aisha. He is to clean your feet every hour upon the hour. He will not be permitted the luxury of bedding. He shall sleep in your pussy or anus. His food will be scraps, his job as foot cleaner, his sleeping arrangements an orifice of your choosing. If he dies before his punishment is allotted, then that is the will of Allah" the King commanded. He gestured her to leave. "Abdullah please! FORGIVE ME! FORGIVE MEEEEEE!  he screeched as his daughter gingerly walked out of the hall. 

Shortly after, the King summoned the court officer to make arrangements to announce the engagement in time for nightly prayers. Faith stood on the balcony of her borrowed room looking at the celebratory fireworks exploding in the air. People danced in the street, but it was clear there could've been more. She had learned so much from being here but there was one thing that hadn't been answered but she suspected old grandfather djinn had the answer. Still in her nightgown, she translocated to him. "You're the reason so many can’t use arcane, aren't you?" she asked him. The djinn opened his fiery eyes and looked down at her. "Yes, I am" he replied. "Why?" she asked. "An interesting question seeing what your father does. Does he not police the world to suppress magic? To keep it out of unscrupulous hands?" he asked. "You know far more than you ever let on" she replied. The giant djinn laughed. "I am aware of all that happens in this realm. To the north is a young man reading the writings of Osama bin Laden and learning fire magics. Talented but cannot use size magic. To the east is a young girl finding out tonight she can shrink. She’s thinking of stealing a cookie with this new talent. "To the south is a young father that will tonight figure out how to grow to human size. He wants to leave the city with his family and see the real world."

"And to the west is a young woman who is quite skilled in wind magic but could never master size magics. It hardened her to the harshness of life on the outside but placed absolute trust in her prince" he said. "Aly" Faith muttered. "Those that are of good hearts I allow size magics. Those of capable blood I allow to a point other magics" he said. "But doesn't that make a lot of risk for some of them? The viziers weren't very nice guys" she asked. "And yet it kept balance. The state of good and evil inside a person is like the ocean tides. Ever changing. If you cut off their progress, you'll never know what good may come out of it. As you say it's a risk, but life is full of them. Just as it was risky to use your power to bewitch the harem into having sex" he said smiling. "Eep. You noticed" she said. The djinn laughed heartedly. "That I did but your gamble paid off. It opened their hearts to new ways of thinking. Of acceptance. Good job. Was there anything else?" he asked. "No. Goodnight old genie" she said smiling. "Goodnight borrower from another time" he replied cryptically.

Faith translocated onto the shore of the ocean to the far west. Using her magic, she grew to human size and sat down. Once she did, she was startled by a squeaking sound. In the moonlight, she could see a girl to her right. Her eyes focused. "Jamila?" Faith asked. Jamila politely bowed. "Didn't see you there. I came here to stretch my muscles magic wise. Why aren't you celebrating with all the others?" Faith asked as the warm waters flowed over her bare feet. "What if I don't want to be in his harem anymore?" she asked softly.  "You seemed open to it earlier" Faith said. "I want what Aly has. I want to be with someone I really love" she said to her. "Have you told anyone this?" Faith asked. "My parents just a short time ago. With my father shrunk, I thought he would be more open to my wants" she said. "He said no didn't he?" Faith asked. "Both did. If I do not stay in the harem I will be disowned" she said. "Jamila, I can't...what is this?" Faith said picking her up only to find two rocks tied to string tied around her waist. She didn't understand until she realized the purpose for them as she looked at the ocean. Faith angrily tore them off her. "THIS IS YOUR SOLUTION?! DROWNING YOURSELF?!" Faith yelled.

Jamila didn't know what to say as she saw far more pain in those giant eyes than anger. "All your power! You don't know what it's like to be denied giving yourself to the one you love!" Jamila yelled trapped in her first. "Yes, I do. The father of one of my children told me flat out he will only love me as a friend and nothing else...ever. He lives with me and every day I'm reminded of that. Magic is not a cure all. Never has been and never will be" Faith said to her. "But in the bath! Your magic! That light!" she yelled. Faith rubbed her eyes. "I tapped into the power of Ishtar to stimulate the feelings already inside you. Love, infatuation, curiosity, and compassion. I didn't make you love me or one another. I just nudged them is all. What I didn't know was how fucking horny you all were" Faith sighed. She opened her fist and let the girl sit in her hand. "As hard as it is at home, one day it won't be like this" Faith said petting her. Jamila gripped her finger. "You'll be gone by then!" she yelled. Faith looked at her confused. "You, I want to be with you" she muttered sniffling. "O... oh" Faith stammered.

"I'm flattered but I'm just a westerner that came Through. A simple crush" Faith said. The girl flung her tiny sandals at her and then the rest of her clothing leaving her naked in the ocean breeze. "Lick me. Suck on me. Eat my unworthy pussy. Eat me alive for all I care. Please...please don't leave me all alone!" she sobbed. Faith's breath was caught in her Throat. She could sense how hysterical she was and was terrified of what to say next. What's to say she wouldn't try to kill herself after she left? Faith licked her lips and brought the girl to her mouth. Jamila closed her eyes bracing herself for...something she didn't know. Two giant lips pressed on her face and then moved away. A gentle kiss and when Jamila opened her eyes, she found the giantess crying softly.

"It's, it's rare for anyone to love me that much. Jamila, know this when I say I am sorely tempted to take you up on your offer. But if I did, I'd be wrong for it. You're just now thinking about what you want. Not the prince, not your father, not your mother. You. To snatch you away as you find yourself would be really bad" she said. "I know what I want! You!" Jamila yelled. "And if I told you I killed millions of people once? Devoured and raped people to death because it was fun?" Faith asked. "You'd...you'd never..."

"YOU DON'T KNOW ME! Jesus Christ I barely know myself" Faith said with a shaking hand. "When I woke up here my first thought was god screwed up. That I should be burning in hell. I'm 13 months old Jamila. You heard right. 13 fucking months old. You do not know me" Faith hissed. Jamila leaped off her hand. Faith scrambled and caught her before she could hit the ground. "Knew enough you'd do that" she said. They say in silence for over an hour listening to the waves and off and on pops of fireworks. "Will you let me learn about you?" Jamila asked. "Will you promise not to kill yourself when I leave?" Faith replied. She nodded. "I'll be back to visit from time to time...or you could visit me. See the city I run" she said. "You have your own city?!" Jamila asked. "Not as regal or historic as yours but yeah" Faith shrugged. "Then it's a promise" Jamila said clapping. Faith weakly smiled. Exhausted, she bid the girl goodnight and returned to her room.

Faith flopped on her bed and sighed. "Long day huh?" Aly said entering the room. "Thought you'd still be partying" Faith said. "I'm emotionally exhausted. You knew he was going to do this didn't you?" she asked. "Sneaking suspicion but it was necessary to keep it quiet until the last moment" Faith said. Aly nodded and took off her nightgown. Faith was startled as she pulled on hers, but Aly hushed her. Aly climbed onto the bed and gently sat on her. "By Allah, your muscles are tight" she said rubbing her shoulders. "Borrowers have dense muscles but I am... tense" Faith said. "It seemed to work out" Aly said rubbing her upper back. "For now. I know full well it isn't easy changing a society's way of thinking. Damn sure not in one day. Not to mention Jamila has a dangerous crush on me" Faith said. "Dangerous how?" Aly asked. "I rather not dwell on it" Faith muttered. Aly pushed her hands hard cracking the borrowers back. "Ahh...Christ" Faith said. Aly turned around to get to her lower back. Faith let out a breath of air as she felt the girl squeezing her ass.

"It took you just two days. What does that say about me?" Aly asked. "Not a damn thing. Ahmed made it clear this was long in the making. I just happened to be around is all" she said. "It is far more than that. I'm well aware that Ishtar had dominion over love and lust and that her power rests in you now" Aly said now rubbing her feet. "What are you saying?" Faith asked wary. "Did you influence his decision?" she whispered. "Not in the way you're thinking. He asked me if I loved someone very deeply and society wouldn't allow us to be together, what would I do" Faith said slipping from underneath her. "I told him if that was true, I'd burn that society to the fucking ground" Faith said sternly. Aly broke into sobs. "It doesn't seem real. It all feels like a dream and I'm so scared I'll wake up and none of this will have happened!" she cried. Faith held her from behind. "It's not a dream" Faith said.

Faith turned her head and kissed her. "You will make a fine queen Aly. I gave Ahmed a gift. Now it is your turn" she said to her. Faith opened a portal and took Aly with her. "The eastern plains?" Aly asked. "We needed some space. Now hold still" Faith said. She looked towards the djinn and sensing her intentions even that far away, nodded his approval. Faith used her magic to peer into Aly's soul. She placed her palm between Aly's bare breasts and with a pulse of goddess like magic, unlocked Aly's hidden talents. Her heart racing, Aly fell to her knees. "What did you..."

"Draw a growth arcane" Faith said. "But I can't. I'm not strong enough to" she said. "Yes...you are" Faith told her. Nervous, Aly did and the magic array pulsed to life. Aly moaned as the power grew her to human size. "How?" Aly said looking at the smaller looking city in the distance. "I unlocked the power within you. Deep down you always could do this. It's just your desire to stay and serve Ahmed kept it from blossoming. Now you can protect the city as husband and wife" Faith said smiling. Aly grabbed her and roughly kissed her face. "You still say this is no dream?" she asked. Faith chuckled at her. Aly looked around. Her face blushed as she looked at the young woman in her hand. "...just be gentle" Faith said grinning. Aly jammed her little breasts into her mouth and sucked. "Gentle I said!" Faith said squirming as Aly milked her. Aly pulled her back licking her lips. "So sweet" Aly mumbled as she lowered her to her cunt. "Gentle remember!" Faith yelled up as Aly pushed her in. She was more in control of herself as she pushed and pulled the girl in and out of her.

Her juices soaked the ground so much they ran into the nearby field. Faith found it odd that a human girl could get that wet. Aly laid back on the ground staring at the stars as she used Faith as a sex toy. Her bare feet sinking into the soft soil. Her moans stifled by her own hand. Her salty tears soaking the dirt near her head. And with a whimper she came. Worried, Faith ran to her head checking on her. "It's not a dream is it?" Aly asked. With a simple wind spell, Faith erased her arcane. She took her hand after shrinking back down and helped her to her feet. "What does your soul say?" Faith asked. "...it's real. It's real. IT'S REAL!" Aly squealed hugging her. "Oh...oh my" Aly said feeling her sticky pussy juice on her. "It was just I was so happy and..."

"Shhh. It was wonderful. If I had any real stamina left, I'd be my turn" Faith winked whispering in her ear. Faith returned them to their room. Very exhausted now, Aly bathed Faith herself as she cleaned herself up. Faith was nodding off as she was dried and was carried to bed. Aly got into bed beside her and stroked her hair. Aly fell asleep moments later.

The next morning, Faith made it clear it was time to go home. Ahmed Threw a large breakfast in her honor and the entire harem attended. Even the shrunken viziers attended. However, Aisha's father was not allowed to dine on the table. To continue his punishment, his giantess daughter had him still trapped between her toes and bent her hand down now and then to feed him scraps of honey bread and juice from her fingers. Not a cross word was spoken among them. 

Meanwhile...

Morrigan sat down at the outdoor cafe table alongside the goddess who called herself Penny. The goddess who called New York City home was visibly distressed shaking her sandaled foot rapidly. She jumped as Morrigan sat down. "You sounded urgent. If this is about Ishtar I already know. It's best to call this off as you said before" Morrigan said. "You'll do no such thing" a female voice said behind her. Morrigan's blood ran cold seeing the young woman sit down at the table. "You...I didn't know you knew about this" Morrigan stammered. "Of course, I knew. Your overzealous attitude has put us all in a precarious position. An elder goddess fails to the hand of a Campioné? Such a thing has not happened in a 1000 years. Not to mention her power rests in her slayer" the woman said coldly. "Which is why I decided it was best to leave her alone. If we acknowledge her power..."

The strange woman's eyes went pitch black. "Silence you Celtic fool. I will now decide on how to deal with her" she said. "H... how?" Penny squeaked. "Instead of fighting her head on, we use tactics. Cut her off from any real support and at the same time attack her from within. I have someone who can do the latter, as for the former I need you to summon a particular shade Penny" the woman said scribbling down a name. "HIM?! He's a monster! He's locked away in the deepest part of my underworld for good reason! Unleashing him on Earth is reckless at best" Penny said. "I'm well aware of what kind of creature he is but he has certain talents that can be used" she said. A young waiter around 18 years old came by to their table. "Your order miss?" he asked her. "Espresso. Two shots please Ryan" she replied. "Okay...how do you know my name?" he asked curious. Her eyes flowed with black flame. "I know your name the same way I know the names of all young men" she said oddly waving her hand slightly. The teenager grew an erection and astonishingly came in his pants with a span of 10 seconds. "Get me my drink boy" she said to him. The young man nearly ran back into the cafe. "You still here?" she asked Penny. Penny jumped up and shimmered away. "What about me?" Morrigan asked. "Kill an Irishman or something. Just don't get in my way" the woman growled waving her off. Morrigan shimmered away moments later.

"Don't be a stranger" Aly said hugging her tightly. "I'll try not to be. After all I have to come back for the wedding" Faith smiled. "That you do" Ahmed said as he opened a portal to Italy. "I can't get closer" he muttered. "A barrier protects the house. Just pop me onto the road" she said. Ahmed nodded and adjusted the portal. Faith looked back at everyone and waved before entering.

She appeared in the road in front of the house and grew to human size after using her go work to restore her borrowed image. "Home sweet...home?" she asked feeling something slightly off about herself. She shook her thinking it was just her emotions and walked to the front door. She knocked and Alicia damn near tore the door of the hinges. "I'm...whoa!" Faith said as she was tackled by her. Marco and Cordelia ran to the door. "By the saints" he said crossing himself. "Guess you guys missed me" Faith said standing up. "Welcome home mistress" Cordelia said bowing. Faith touched her shoulder. Cordelia whimpered hugging her torso. They led her into the home where she was tackled for the third and fourth time by Lucy and Theo.

Faith recounted her experiences over the last two days. Meeting Ahmed, slaying Ishtar, staying in the lost city of Iram, and much more. The part where she killed an elder goddess definitely raised eyebrows. And when she told them she absorbed her power similar to how she absorbed Cordelia's, it left the room quiet. Nonetheless, they were overjoyed to have her home and cooked a lavish dinner in her honor. By the evening, Faith was totally exhausted from rounds of sex with Lucy and Alicia and fell asleep.

The next morning...

"Is anyone else concerned about her having that level of power?" Theo asked them. "She handled Cordelia's power pretty well" Lucy sighed as she had her feet rubbed by her husband. "That isn't the same. No offense to Cordelia but we're not talking about making roses bloom here. She lit up like a Roman candle when you were spelunking in her pussy last night. Fucking Stevie Wonder could’ve seen it" he said. "And what of it?" Alicia asked looming over them. "Easy Alicia. Theo's worries are valid. She could hurt us by accident" Cordelia said. "So what lock her up?" Alicia growled. "No. She has done us no harm since her return. Her biggest crime is hugging us too much. We start suspecting everyone with a high degree of power then we are no better than mob. Theo and Alicia made their points. Until something happens, we keep going on as usual" Marco said. They silently nodded in agreement. "Speaking of Faith, she isn't up yet?" Lucy asked seeing the time was close to noon. "We did kinda Rock the Casbah" Alicia grinned. "No kidding. You two sounded like angry ferrets" Dru said sitting on the coffee table watching tv.  "Can I get you anything mom?" Marco asked walking over and petting her little head. "...no. I'm not hungry. Never am" she replied softly. Marco forgot she was but a shade, a soul and had no true needs of food, water, or sleep. "But Faith might. Why don't you wake her up just to see if she wants something to eat" she said. "I'll get her" Alicia said leaving the room.

A few minutes passed and everyone could hear Alicia screaming Faith's name. Marco and Cordelia stood up as Alicia ran back into the living room. "She...SHE WON'T WAKE UP!" she yelled. They all rushed to her bedroom. Alicia shook her violently, pinched her cheek, even held her nose until Faith went pale. "YOU SEE?!" Alicia screamed. "Her eyes. Is she...dreaming?" Marco asked looking closely... 

At that moment....

"Faith! We're going to be late for the party if we don't leave now!" Alicia yelled. "Give me a minute!" Faith yelled down. Moments later she came walking down the stairs behind her two teenage children Matthew and Grace. "There's the birthday twins. Now remember to watch were you step when we get to grandpa's until we can shrink you" Faith said. "Yes mom" they said together. "If you need anything, please call Juli" Alicia said to the maid standing in the living room. "Don't worry miss. I'm sure everything will be...perfect" she said smiling with ominous glowing eyes.

Marco moved his lit cigarette lighter close to her left eye and then her right. He put it away and then moved his hand down to her left foot and tickled her sole. He watched as her toes scrunched. "The good news is I don't see any brain damage" he said. "Then she's in a deep sleep?" Lucy asked. "More like a medically induced coma" he replied. Alicia began pulling clothes out of the closet. "Let me get her dressed and we can take her to the doctor" she said softly. "We can't" Marco said in a whisper. "Why the hell not?!" Alicia yelled. "You forgetting she isn't human? Even if we shrank her and passed her off as a borrower...there aren't any doctors skilled in borrower medicine in Italy. Probably not in all of Europe. Borrowers are a North American thing" he said. "Then we portal to New York or something" Alicia said. "It's not a sickness" Cordelia said sitting down on the bed. Her hand caressed Faith's cheek and lips. "There is a power at work here" she said. "But the barrier..."

"She was probably attacked before she crossed it" she replied. "By whom?" Lucy asked. "Don't know. Whoever it was has divine power. Leave me" Cordelia said as she transformed into her natural state. Marco let them out of the room to the living room. "What is she doing?" Alicia asked nervous. "Trying to determine what we're dealing with. She's more experienced with old magics than I am" he replied. "Doesn't your symbology work by breaking magics" Theo asked. "If I can learn the basic structure but I've never heard of a sleeping spell this powerful. I don't know if I can" Marco replied. Alicia sat on the sofa and wept. Marco sat next to her and began praying softly. 

After stripping Faith of all clothing, Cordelia broke off a piece of a vine from the potted plant in the room and placed it on Faith's stomach. She then took off her own clothing, shrank down, and stood on her stomach. Touching the vine, she willed it to grow. Minutes passed as its tendrils touched her giant soles, her hands, her nipples, her rectum, and then slipped into her mouth and up her nose. The shrunken goddess got down on her knees and felt the main vine. It had been literally ages since she tried controlling a mortal this way. Using her vines like strings for a puppet. She quickly found out that when she tried to rouse Faith with force, it caused physical harm to her. Cordelia backed off. Cordelia took her time to study the physical state of the giantess. He tiny feet felt the heart beating under her soles. Her giant finger twitched when poked with thorns. Cordelia moved to her large soles and using gentle fire magic to heat the air, coaxed them to sweat. She stimulated the folds of her pussy with her hands and watched as Faith grew wet. She however, did not even so much as groan. She didn't even gasp as Cordelia squeezed her nipples for milk. It has confirmed her worst fear...and then some as her connection to the giantess wavered ever so slightly. She extracted the vines from Faith, grew back to human size and sat quietly on the bed.

She mustered the strength to go out to them and tell them what she had found out. All eyes were on her as she entered the living room. "It's a curse" she muttered passing them. Cordelia poured a cup of tea and sipped it. Alicia wanted to scream at her, but Marco held her back. "How can we break it" he asked. "I don't know if it can be broken. If not either death or kill the one that cast it" she replied. She looked at all of them. She's also dying. The longer she's under the curse, the more it will sap her life force. It's already began to ebb" she said softly. "Cordelia. Who did this?" Marco asked. "I don't know. It's a slumber deity that much is for sure. Probably an elder" she said. Alicia saw Cordelia's hand shaking as she held her cup. "I need to learn more about it. It's sounds familiar but..." she said shaking her head. "We can use the library. There might be a record of this somewhere" Marco said. "I'll help" Alicia said. "We'll all help" Dru said to them. All six of them began pulling books off the shelves in the library looking for a clue on how to wake Faith. 

"Grandpa grandpa!" the twins shouted running to him. "Grace! Matty! Come here you cute critters!" Keith chucked hold his arms out. The twins hugged him tightly. "Have pity on an old man!" he chuckled as the kids eased up. "You're looking good dad" Faith said to him. "All three of your mothers make sure I don't lounge about the house too long" he said winking. "Dirty old man" she chuckled. "Alicia. I made sure to buy a 100 copies of your new album" he said to her. "Much appreciated. It's been 15 years since I came out and got married to a woman, but you'd think it happened yesterday looking at my Twitter*" she said. "You'll always have shitheads. I would say it's human nature, but borrowers aren't exactly exempt either" he said. "Speaking of borrowers..." she mumbled. She looked at the twins so we're staring at the colony. "Why don't you two go explore the city. Just make sure you're barefoot. Just fixed Main Street" he said. "You sure dad?" Faith asked. "Aww they'll be fine. Not like they're gonna eat somebody. They don't eat people right?" he asked. He laughed. He watched the teenage giant and giantess tip toe into the city as the festival was underway. Faith placed their sandals aside for the moment.

"Now what's going on?" he asked. "I want the kids to learn how to forage in the wild like traditional borrowers. Alicia on the it her hand..." Faith said. "It's not necessary. They're raised in a mansion for god's sake. Not to mention they both inherited some impressive magics" Alicia argued. "True but it is a good skill set to have. There have been plenty of times that knowing what plants I can eat, listening and feeling for predators, navigating and whatnot saved my life even after I learned arcane" Keith said. "You were a soldier!" Alicia yelled. "After I was drafted into a war to save the world. Being a Mage puts a target on our heads. You think the mogwai are fine knowing someone like Faith is allied with THORN and she has very powerful offspring following in her footsteps?" he asked. "You heard anything?" Faith asked worried. "Some rumors about them expanding their influence in North Korea. Nothing other than that. They haven't done anything since...you know" he replied. "Okay a few days" Alicia said. "Sweetie. This stuff takes longer than an extended weekend. Daddy had me do it for three weeks and I still kept making bad mistakes" she said. "The poison oak toilet paper" he chuckled. "Oh god that. My pussy and ass were itchy for two days" she groaned. "Yeah until I took you home and sucked on you for a few hours. Then your real mom stumbled on us and gave me that look" he chuckled. "I'd imagine so. Hanging out of your mouth moaning as I came" Faith laughed. Alicia coughed.

"Nothing bad will happen. I do this all the time for the kids in the colony. I even sweep the area for snakes and spiders and other creepy crawlers just in case before we go out" Keith said smiling and patting Alicia's hand. "I'll go with him if you feel better" Faith said. "Two days as a test run and we'll be right back" Keith said. Alicia quietly nodded. "You going to her grave?" he quietly asked? "I should but every time it feels weird. That's essentially me under there" Faith replied. "Hard to believe it's been ten years. I'll never forget that day those mogwai assassinated her" he said. "A first strike but they didn't know about me and my peacekeepers. Our retaliatory strike killed so many. Obliterated their homeland" Faith muttered. "And what was left fled into North Korea. I remember that day. Christ I helped" Alicia said. "I remember that day too. Beautiful sunny day and it led to...well" he said. "At least they had the sense to evacuate the children. Does mom talk about it?" Faith asked. "No, but doesn't have to. Part of her died the day Hope did. She didn't say a word when I came home drenched in blood, feet sore from crushing. My mouth and lips stained with blood. It was like I just turned over the keys to my dark side. Even Oberon kept quiet" he said. "Where is mom?" Faith asked. "With Clare at the school" he replied. "Mind if I say hi?" she asked. "By all means" he replied smiling.

Faith left them and took off her flats before entering the city. Her kids were busy playing in the grassy meadow area along with other older kids their age that didn't have to attend school that day.  The way it had it be set up, with more borrowers now living in the city, school days depending on age were staggered to accommodate them all. Faith smiled seeing her kids having safe fun as she walked down the Main Street. The little borrowers happily smiling up at the supermodel looking giantess walking through their town. Her giant feet softly as possible stepping on their street. They knew who she was really but honored her request of being seen as a different person. Still, some couldn't help but perceive her as Hope. Even the scent from her feet was the same. No exaggeration to say some were astonished to learn who she was 10 years prior that fateful day.

Faith reached the large school and sat patiently awaiting school to end. In the decade that came, Aspen had chosen to become a teacher in a way to soothe the pain of losing Hope. Not to leave her side, Claire gave up the career of a supermodel to teach as well. School eventually let out and the young tiny kids poured out of the school to find the kindly giantess sitting there. They squealed and rushed her as Faith was seen by and large as a war hero. A savior to the colony that was under siege. People joked that her, Susan, Claire, and Keith were a kind of Justice League of borrowers. Faith didn't find it all that funny. The cost of that nickname came too high. "That tickles!" Faith giggled as they climbed up her feet. She had fun literally juggling them in her hands watching them jump from palm to palm. But all too son their fun came to an end as their parents came to take them home. About 15 minutes later, Claire and Aspen emerged from the school. "Hi moms" she said to them. "Faith!" Claire yelled running up to her. Faith grabbed her up and nuzzled her to her cheek. "You look well honey" Aspen said up to her. Faith fidgeted with her hand until Aspen gestured for her to pick her up. "Why so bashful?" Aspen asked. "...nothing" she replied.

"You still remember that day how I acted?" she asked. "You had every right" Faith said. "No I didn't sweetie. Give mommy kisses" she said. Faith kissed her face. "Did you bring the twins?" Claire asked. "You mean the giant monsters terrorizing the meadows?" she asked turning to show them. "Aspen do you see it?" Claire asked pointing to Grace. "Looking like my grandma when she was young? Yeah" Aspen said. "Well they were looking forward to seeing their grandmothers" Faith said standing up and walking. "I'm glad you came. Your father comes off like he doesn't care about his birthday but after Hope died..." Aspen said. "Family functions aren't trivial anymore" Faith said. "You going to visit her grave right?" Claire asked. Faith nodded. "Me and dad were talking about what happened afterwards. I know you don't like to talk about those three days, but do you think what we did was overkill?" Faith asked. Claire looked at them both wondering what the answer would be. "I asked that myself afterwards. I even asked Lawan what her thoughts were. Horrible means to a necessary end she said" 

"What are your thoughts Faith?" Claire asked as they left the edge of the city. "I remember how good it felt to crush them under my feet. My heart quicken as they fought to the death. Watching a father fall to his knees as I ate his son alive. Daddy said one thing the entire time we were alone in that cave. "Shock and awe". The mogwai were evil to the core but killing them reminded me how good it felt to extinguish the lives of people no bigger than bugs. A legacy left over from Markus" Faith replied. "Markus? Who's Markus?" Aspen asked. "How could you...AHHGH!" Faith yelled as she felt a sharp migraine. 

In the real world...

"She's shaking!" Alicia yelled as she held Faith down. "Something is wrong! Her pulse is spiking...wait...it's slowing" Cordelia said with her fingers on Faith's wrist. "What was that?!" Lucy asked. "Something is happening in her mind. Some kind of resistance" Cordelia replied. "All day...all goddamn day and nothing! Not even a clue!" Alicia yelled. "Marco is still searching. Until then we can only look after her body. Alicia, please get me some bottled water while I change her diaper" Cordelia said. She shooed them out. "Mistress" she said softly as she took the soiled diaper off Faith. She had been asleep for nearly a full day and when she pissed the bed by late afternoon, it was clear other measures were needed. With a wet cloth, Cordelia cleaned the piss and shit off her mistress like a mother would her babe and put on a fresh diaper. "Good. Put some in your mouth and give it to her that way" Cordelia said as Alicia returned. Cordelia left the room. Silently, Alicia did and happily found Faith swallowing. At least she wouldn't die from dehydration. Over and over she kept doing it until the bottle was empty and sat down "Did she take it?" Cordelia asked returning. 

"Thankfully yes" she replied. "Help me stand her up a little. Her breasts need to be drained" Cordelia said holding a small bowl. They stood her up and pulled her shirt off. Alicia watched as the goddess took ahold of her right breast and coaxed the breastmilk from it into the bowl. "Same" she said. "It's like you have experience in this" Alicia said. "I do but that very long ago" Cordelia muttered. "How bad it is...really?" Alicia asked. "She's weakening by the moment. In a few hours she won't be able to hold her growth spell and shrink down. At this rate...four days" she replied. Alicia looked at her. "He won't stop until he finds the answer. None of us will" Cordelia told her. After they were done, Cordelia left the room and came back with a potted rose. "I must rest. I suggest you do the same" Cordelia said shrinking down and climbing into the flower. "But don't we need to feed her?" Alicia asked. "We do it now she could choke to death. Her body needs to get...well desperate for food. Then we can spoon feed with little risk of choking as her throat will expand slightly" Cordelia replied. Alicia watched the tiny goddess use flower petals as a blanket. She held Faith's hand and closed her eyes.

Back in the dream world...

"Wha...what happened?" Faith asked. "You said something and then held you head. You okay?" Claire asked. "I am now. Can't remember what I was saying" she said shaking her head. Faith couldn't see but a mysterious figure with an outstretched hand was watching her from a good distance. "Is the cake ready?" Lawan asked. The figure turned around. "Just finished the icing" she replied. The strange young woman watched as Lawan carried the cake out of the kitchen. "The rumors were true. She is powerful. It has been centuries since anyone threatened to break my hold" she muttered.

"Look who I brought!" Faith yelled to her kids. The twins sprinted to her after having the foresight of walking away from the other children playing to their mother. "I want grandma Aspen!" Matty yelled. "I get Claire!" Gracie yelled grabbing them from Faith. "Careful! They're not toys!" Faith yelled as they ran off. Faith shook her head and followed. She sat comfortably on the grass watching her kids kiss and nuzzle her grandmothers. Aspen couldn't get enough of kissing his giant cheeks while Claire delighted in making Grace giggle and squirm as she tickled her grass stained giant soles. As she watched them, she felt something. Something odd. The more she thought of it though, the pain began to return. She shook her head dismissing the thought and just looked on as her kids rambled on to their grandmothers about school, boys, and girls they liked, and life in general. "Let's go see her" Faith said to them standing up. The kids carried Claire and Aspen as they all went to Hope's grave.

Situated at the crest of Memorial Field was an 8 ft. tall statue of an angelic child overlooking the thousands of headstones the size of bricks dotting the land. Ground had been broken decades prior to house the final resting place of borrowers here and over time it steadily grew. Hundreds on the day Hope was born and hundreds more the day she died. By this time there were no less than 4,000 graves; one third of them empty as no body could be recovered because of being crushed, burnt, or eaten. The giant known as Keith would sometimes just sit at the foot of the grave of his daughter. Only Aspen could rose him to return to the mansion. They pitied the giant as they knew his hopes and dreams rested under the dirt. Some wondered how he had not gone mad. Those that knew him best would answer that his madness walked side by side with him the day he entered the Mogwai homelands and only tamed by spending day and night creating the glorious memorial that stood before them now. None, not Claire, Aspen, or even his wife Lawan knew he had such artistic talent. People would sometimes just stare from their windows at the sculpture not out of respect of remembrance but out of awe.

Faith had placed them on the ground and sat at the foot of the statue. "You won't come in?" Claire asked. Faith shook her head. "I understand. This is probably the hardest for you" she said. The kids looked at her concerned. "I'm okay. Shrink down and pay your respects" she said softly. The kids shrunk down and followed Aspen and Claire into the small room that lie inside the foot of the statue. Faith stared at it. Beautifully polished marble so fine the mineral lines appeared like blood vessels. The eyes had pupils and even eyelashes. The feathers of the wings unique and none the same as the other. The toga flowing as if time had frozen it in place. As detailed it was, it didn't compare to her hands and feet. Line and wrinkles in the soles and strikingly fingerprints in the fingers and toes. This was half the reason why Faith didn't like coming here. Her father loved her so much he memorized her fingerprints and Faith felt as if she was an impostor. The other half was more obvious. It was her body interred here. Separated by a timeline but it was her.

Claire and the kids emerged helping the crying Aspen. Faith felt guilty just looking down on her. "Faith. Please see to your mother. Come along kids" Claire said sensing discomfort in Faith. With a slightly shaking hand, held her mother in it. She still did not look at her, but a mother knows when something is wrong with their child. "Tell mommy what's on your mind" she said rubbing her eyes. "Where did dad get the idea to do it this way?" Faith asked. "Our biggest regret was not seeing you grow up normally. He said he had a dream and in it you were about 7 or 8 years old playing on his workbench. You jumped off for some reason and he said you started flying and laughing. He said you looked like an angel. Now tell me what you're really thinking about" she said. 

"I can't help but feel like I'm an impostor. That I'm not really your daughter and I just took her place. I come from a different world. No parents or anything. Being here, calling you mom is a fucking lie" Faith said shaking as tears fell from her eyes. Aspen had heard this before 10 years ago but figured her fears had gone by now. "When I found out who you were I was angry and upset. I thought the why you're thinking now until I learned something. There are parents in the world that had identical twins born to them and some of those parents had the bad fortune of losing one of them. What of the other child? Did they take the place of the dead sibling? No, they were loved because they were their own person. Faith, you are my child regardless the circumstances. You are not her and that is okay" Aspen said. Faith gave her shrunken mother a good kiss. "Thanks mom" she whispered. She sighed and breathed in her scent. "It's feels good to be back" she smiled.

Outside in the real world...

"Cordelia!" Alicia yelled as Faith glowed for a moment before shrinking in bed. The small goddess bolted up to see what had happened. Cordelia floated down and pulled Faith out of the tent like shirt covering her. Thankfully, she had not shrunken into her own diaper. "We expected this remember?" she said. "I'll do it" Alicia said grabbing a paper towel, getting it wet, and cleaning her. "Fuck it!" Alicia yelled placing Faith in the warm water bowl to bathe her. Cordelia didn't interfere and went to check on Marco. She found him where she left him in the library with books scattered around him. Asleep with an old tome as his pillow. She landed on the desk and began to pull the pen still in his hand out from his grasp. Marco bolted awake breathing hard. "Easy" she said. "Cordelia?" he asked rubbing his eyes. "Yeah it's me" she said. He looked at the door. "Faith?" he asked. "Getting weaker. Her growth spell crapped out which is a good thing really. It will help to conserve her energy" she replied. "I looked through a dozen books to find any similarity to what's happening. Just old stories with impractical endings" he said. "Anything could help" she said patting his finger.

"Rip Van Winkle was asleep for decades but that was due to a witch that's been dead for centuries. The Campioné of that time exorcised her. And then the real account of Sleeping Beauty" he said. "So maybe a kiss from a prince?" Cordelia asked smiling. "That's the Disney version. The real version involved rape, necrophilia, and childbirth*" he said coldly. "It's almost 5 in the morning. Go to bed and start again in the morning" she said. He looked at his books. "Alicia must think I'm a cold bastard. I haven't even checked on Faith since this morning. And then how calm I was" he muttered. "She knows you're desperately looking for answers and that cool exterior comes from years of training" she said. "Would I still be that calm if it was you instead of her?" he asked. He cradled her in his hands. "If you were slowly dying in your bed, could I stay calm? If not then what does that say about me now?" he asked. Marco played with her hair before his fingers went down her body. He looked at her tiny rosy bare soles for a moment. "That doesn't mean you don't love her" she said. "Then why do I feel guilty?" he asked. "Love is a very complicated emotion. Aphrodite...or was she calling herself Venus back then told me...wait. That's why it felt familiar. Marco, there's a story about a man put into eternal sleep by a Greek deity. It's not so well known but..." she said before growing to human size. She left the room and returned with his laptop.

(Authors note: Yeah, it's true. The original Sleeping Beauty story contained that)

She searched online for a few minutes. "There it is. The story of Endymion. The goddess Selene fell in love with him and asked Zeus to give him eternal life. However, she loved him most as he slept and asked...hmm...the story gets murky. * Either Hypnos or Morpheus grants her request and puts him into eternal sleep. Eventually he dies though" she said. "You said this felt like a deity's power. We might just found our culprit" Marco said. "But which one? Hypnos, Sommnus, or Morpheus?" she asked. "Right, two pantheons" he muttered. "It's a start...after you sleep" she said. Marco reluctantly went to his bedroom. Cordelia went back to check on Alicia and Faith.

(Authors note: There are multiple versions to the story of Endymion. Some where Selene was the main one and another where he pissed off Apollo and or Zeus and was put to sleep as punishment)

"We made some progress which Marco will follow up on in the morning" Cordelia said to Alicia. She silently nodded as she dried the still sleeping Faith in her hands. "She looks pale" Alicia said. "With her life force diminishing, it's effecting her circulation. If you stimulate her body it will help" Cordelia said. Alicia sat on the bed as she rubbed Faith's little legs and feet. "She feels so fragile" she muttered. "...yes" Cordelia whispered. Alicia fingers wandered over her body rubbing and poking various places. "Jesus what's wrong with me. I'm getting wet" Alicia hissed. "Calm yourself. In times of great stress, humans naturally think of sex more. Stimulate her more" she said. Alicia gave her a look. "It's not taking advantage of her. She's a borrower. They're hard wired for this. Look, I'm not saying fuck her. Just be affectionate. Kisses and nibbles" Cordelia said patting her head. Cordelia left the room to give her a bit a privacy.

Alicia smelled her. The smell of hand soap still clung to her skin. She whimpered softly as she cuddled her unconscious body to her cheek. Alicia spent the next few minutes just touching her lips to her face. Small little pecks as she tried not to shake. Her lips kissed her bare belly and then her breasts. Alicia slipped them past her lips for a quick gentle suck and was rewarded with a few squirts of her milk. She had to admit that her completion did look better now. She placed her tiny pussy on her lips and barely grazed it with the tip of her tongue. Tiny licks over and over until she could taste her juices. Faith's cheeks seemed rosier. Then Alicia got to her feet. They smelled of hand soap as she felt them touch her nostrils. She held her ankles between her fingers admiring her teeny little toes. Toes she had worshiped many times by now. Faith looked much better as Alicia put her back on the bed. She lay next to her biting her lip to the point of bleeding as how terrified she was of being a widow.

Back in the dream world...

"Whew! Jesus I'm stuffed. You always were a good cook Lawan" Keith said patting his stomach. "The thanks lies with the maid. Not with me" she said gesturing to the maid collecting dishes. "A pleasure" she said before a dish slipped out of her hand. Faith grabbed it before it could shatter on the floor. "Thank you" the maid said as Faith handed her it. Their skin touched and Faith felt an eerie sensation that gave her goosebumps. She narrowed her eyes. "Is something the matter?" the maid asked. "What's your name?" Faith asked. "...Mary" she replied. Faith felt a migraine coming. "Nice to meet you" Faith said walking back to the table. Her eyes stayed in the maid until she left the room. "Is something wrong Faith?" Lawan asked. "No mama Lawan" Faith replied shaking her head. "If anyone is up for movies, I got an entire Netflix playlist ready" Rose said. The family adjourned into the main living room.

A few hours passed as Faith sat with her family watching a few movies. Aspen went to bed first still emotionally drained from the day, then Claire followed. Lawan had shrunk down to rest on his stomach. Keith just quietly watched whatever as he rubbed his finger on her belly now and then until she had fallen asleep. "You ever wonder what happened to the other Marty McFly when the first Marty came back to that altered good 1985?" Keith asked suddenly. "Never gave it thought dad. I haven't seen Kannika and Justin" she asked. "On their first assignment. Surprised you just now asked" he said. "Thought it might be a touchy subject" Faith said. "They wanted to follow in their mother's footsteps. They're 16 years old now and adults in our culture" he shrugged. Faith looked down in her hands at her sleeping children. "But it still scares you right?" she asked. "Every goddamn day" he sighed. Alicia let out a loud snore. "Guess that means we should go to bed too" he chuckled. He stood up and then paused. "If you want, we can do that camping slash training thing tomorrow morning" he said. Faith nodded and smiled. He walked over, kissed her cheek, and went to bed with Lawan in his hand.

The next morning...

"Okay kids. As your mom Alicia agreed to this, there's to be some ground rules. First no magic. Defeats the purpose. Second, you do NOT wander off. I'll be human size for most of this to make sure you're all safe. Third, don't eat anything without my approval. Do as me and you mom Faith say, and this will be a fun weekend. Questions?" he asked. "Will there be predators?" Grace asked worried. "No, the area and creek we'll be at won't have any snakes or rats or still like that. However, there can be birds and maybe a spider so stick close" he replied. "Stop being a baby" Matty said to her. "I'm not being a baby!" she yelled. "Matty we aren't doing that" Faith said. The teen boy huffed. Keith picked up his grandkids and his daughter and began walking. "This here is the starting point. Normally the walk to the creek your size should take six hours. There is a tiny path you will be following for safety reasons" he said putting them down at the edge of the meadow outside the dome. Alicia bent down.  "Be careful and do EVERYTHING they say!" she yelled at her tiny family. "Yes mom" the kids said in unison. "We did this all the time" Faith reassured her. Alicia nodded and stood there as they began walking. "I'm trusting you Keith" she said. "I know" he said quietly.

Keith stood unmoving as his own pace for just a few seconds would outpace them by what seemed a mile. His borrower eyes locked on them the whole time as his bare feet felt for any strange vibration. "Is grandpa still watching us?" Grace asked looking around. "Yes. Are you concentrating feeling the vibrations through your bare feet?" Faith asked. She nodded. "And Matty you sniffing the air?" Faith asked. "Yes mom" he said annoyed. "Watch your tone. A scent carried by the wind will alert you to danger before you see or hear it" Faith said looking up. She was using her clairvoyance just in case but true to her father's words, not one predator could be seen. They walked silently for an hour before Grace jumped and yelped. "The ground shook!" she said scared. "Your grandpa took a few steps is all" Faith said. Matty laughed at her. "This might be fun for you but not for me!" she yelled at her brother. "Honey. You're perfectly safe. Just enjoy it. You won't this much diversity back home" Faith said touching a dandelion stalk. She bent down and picked up a seed and tossed it at her. It floated for a few moments before falling to Grace's feet.

Matty looked at her. He went over, picked it up and tore off the fluff. "Hey!" Grace yelled. Matty gently put the fluff behind her ear. He gave her a soft look before walking again. "His way of saying sorry" Faith whispered. Two more hours passed before they reached the halfway point. Keith sat down and guarded them as they ate lunch. "My feet hurt" Grace said. "Put your shoes on. By now you should have gotten a feel for sensing things barefoot" Faith said. "So, you and grandpa did this a lot?" Matty asked. "Oh yes. Daddy daughter time" she chuckled. "We're you ever scared?" Grace asked. "No. I was curious of everything" she replied. Grace looked down at her shoes. "Honey, I was a totally different person back then. Nothing scared me because I had Etherion. You have every right to be afraid" she said. "You don't talk about Etherion much mom" Matty said. "I was...irresponsible with it" she said. "You mean how you helped dad try to take over the world?" he asked. "Yes, but much more. I may come down hard on you guys but it's because I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I killed people kiddo. Killed them to make me feel good" Faith said. Keith could hear everything she was saying. 

"...how?" Matty asked. "I stepped on them. I ate them. I used some for sex" Faith replied softly. "Is that why you watch me and Grace so hard when we play with the tinies?" he asked. "Both of you are at the age where your passions are running deepest. The allure to...satisfy urges is strong" she said. "You and mama Alicia taught us to be good. Don't worry so much" Matty said hugging her. "He's right. I promise not to eat anybody" Grace said crossing her fingers. Faith chuckled at her. "You guys are silly" she laughed hugging them. Keith watched over them lovingly as he ate his sandwich. His thoughts wandered to Hope wondering if she had lived, would she had been just as good a parent. He had heard the old argument of nature versus nurture when it came to how good or bad a person was. Looking back on the people Faith had in her life and measuring those that had been in Hope's, he figured the answer was both. 

They continued their hike for another few hours. Faith pointing out plants safe to eat, others not, how to stay off paths marked with certain scents, how to find water in plant stalks, and more stories of her as a kid. "So wait. You got high?" Matty asked. "Tripping fucking balls. Your grandma was so pissed I got into his stash of weed" Faith asked. "And grandpa?" Grace asked. "Chuckled. Dad did give a stern talking to later on about responsibility and getting high alone. You shouldn't get fucked up for the first time alone. You could get a bad trip" she replied. "So, it's cool if I smoke a joint?" Matty asked. "Buddy system. Borrowers are more sensitive to drugs, so you have to find the right dose. If any of you wants to get high, the other needs to look after the other" she said. Both kids look annoyed. Faith stopped in her tracks. "You two get on each other's nerves but how would you feel if the other one died. No more birthdays shared, Christmas, jokes, smiles, not even the arguing and apologies later. Gone" she said snapping her fingers. Matty and Grace looked at one another again but this time remorseful. Faith put their hands in the other's. "Each one is the other half of the other" she said. The kids nodded understanding. Matty suddenly kissed Grace. "Sorry for being such a dick sometimes" he said. "Sorry for being a bitch Matty" she said returning the kids. "Much better" Faith said. The giant chuckled more pleased than before. 

Eventually they arrived at the campsite, a shallow creek running between two clipped and maintained hedges. It was obviously artificially maintained by Keith, but it served its purpose. Okay kids. Matty find me a rock the size of your head and Grace there should be a creeping vine on the base of that hedge there. Bring them to us" Faith said. Tired, they groaned about it but obeyed. They came back to find Faith rubbing the waxy surface of a very thick sturdy leaf. "What are you doing mom?" Matty asked. "Showing you two how to build a fishing boat. Now tie the vine around the rock for an anchor" she said. It took some doing but they did. "Now see how I rubbed it so it's not shiny? You have to do that so you won't slip off" she said. "Fishing? But at our size the fish will eat US!" Grace said. "Not these fish. Only algae eating minnows are in this creek. At this time of year, they're about half the size of you. Oh, and they're your dinner. Good luck" Keith said as he bent down to hand them toothpicks. "Take off all your clothes in case you fall in" Faith said. Sighing, the shrunken teen twins did as told. "Now carry it into the water, climb on it and paddle to the center. Drop the rock and you won't float away" she said. Keith waited until he was certain they would be fine before shrinking. 

"Impressive. It took you three tries to get out there without falling off" he said. "I was an eager beaver" Faith shrugged. "Speaking of beavers, Grace has developed well. She looks like a carbon copy of Aspen when she was a teen. I'm surprised she doesn't have kids" he said. "Blame Alicia. She's old school. On that we agree though. It's not like it was 15 years ago and borrowers pumping out babies to keep the family line going" she said. "But she's still a borrower. She's has to be going through the phases" he said. "I know. She handles it on her own. But still though..." she said. "And Matty looks a lot like Theo" he said. "He damn sure's got his cock. Not sure about the libido" she said. "So none of you..." he asked. 

"Nope. It freaked out Alicia when I brought it up when they were around 13 going on 14" she replied. "I see" he said snapping off a vine and tying it to a pebble. She watched him choose a leaf. "What? You need practice too so get to stripping" he laughed. Faith giggled as she stripped naked. Soon, they were out fishing like her kids. "You're so pretty" he smiled at her. He looked down at their feet in the water. "I see you kept the area tidy even though...do you come here alone?" she asked. "Yeah now and then" he replied. "Because of her?" Faith asked. Keith didn't answer. "They look really happy dad" Faith said pointing to the kids. "I'm glad. That's what this place should be about" he said. "Did you ever bring your other kids here?" she asked confused. "Of course I did but It wasn't the same" he replied. "Did they like it?" she asked. "Loved it. Especially Luke" he replied. "Then maybe instead of trying to replace the memories you should build new ones" she said. He held her hand. "You're totally right. Damn, when did you get so smart?" he asked. "Had good teachers. You guys here, Alicia, Marco and Cordelia" she said. "Marco? Cordelia? Who are they?" he asked. Faith winced. "I... I don't know. Why did I say that?" she asked. "Maybe you should go to the shore and rest. Daddy will get a fish" he said rowing the leaf back.

Faith wondered why she said those names. Each time she even tried to think about them her head pounded, and she felt slightly dizzy. She figured it was exhaustion and laid on her back to rest. Faith rested until the day ended. She laughed like a kid again as her father sang songs from the 50's and 60's as he taught his grandkids how to cook their little minnows over a small flame. As it was now nighttime and the kids totally exhausted, they chose to sleep in a little tent made of sticks and leaves leaving Keith and his daughter alone. "I'm going to check the perimeter" he said standing up. He had been gone for a few minutes and she caught the smell of pee in the air. Faith stood up and walked to find her father pissing in places near their camp. "Marking territory" he chuckled. He finished his business and looked at the stars. "Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars" he pointed out. "And Sirius in case I get lost right?" she asked. "That's right" he said hugging her. He walked her back holding her hand and they sat down. 

"Do you hear something?" he asked. Faith strained her hearing. "Yeah, it's...heavy breathing" she said looking around. Worried something was approaching, she used her clairvoyance for the source of the sounds. "Oh. Oh, I see" she muttered. "A rat? Vole?" he asked tensing. She shook her head and scooted to her far left a foot away from the tent with her kids. The heavy breathing stopped. "Matty, Grace. Come on out" Faith said. No movement. "I know what you were doing. I'm not mad. Come on out" she said. Reluctantly they did and looked up at their giantess mother before looking back down. "So how long have you two been fucking?" she asked. "...6 months" Matty whispered. "I'm surprised as you two always argue" Faith said. "You're not mad?" Matty asked. "No. Borrowers tend to very intimate with family members. Even fucking on occasion. However, it's usually done in times of extreme stress or lack of other mates" she said. "I thought you guys are surrounded by boys and girls" Keith said. "We are but..."

"But what?" Faith asked. "They throw themselves at us because of who we are. I just want to be loved for what's inside" Matty said upset. "Me too" Grace said holding his hand. Faith plucked him away from his sister and placed him on her right knee and then put Grace on her left. "I know how you feel. Before, before Markus, there were hundreds of boys...and a few girls that wanted to fuck me because of who I was. What was worse was I could read their minds and see I was like a trophy to them" she said. "Didn't that make you mad?" Matty asked. "More upset than mad and at the time sexually frustrated. Your grandfather helped me through it" she replied. the twins looked at one another. "Really?" Grace asked. "Yes really" Keith said picking her up. He looked at Faith and she nodded. "You won't be needing those tonight" Keith grinned as he pulled off her simple clothing. Grace blushed lying naked in his hand. "As for you" Faith said plucking him from her knee. She pulled off his shorts. "I'm sorry I'm not..."

"You're so cute" Faith grinned as she petted the underside of his scrotum. He shivered as his cock grew. Her free hand roamed his small body gently. His athletic legs, tiny little feet, and cute butt which Faith giggled pinching it. The pad of her finger rested on his chest and could feel his heart racing. "You're too hard on yourself Matty. Half of your problems is you lack the confidence to look for someone. You're a sexy teen boy" she said kissing him. "But...but it's different with you and Grace" his muttered as her lips kissed his chest. "No, you're different. See how open and trusting you are right now? That's how to snag a girl" she said. Matty moaned as his giantess mother sucked his cock between her giant lips. Grace squealed as her grandfather sucked her tiny feet and petted her little head. He let go of them for a moment. "Boys can be horny little guys but you'll find some that really care about your feelings...if you look" he said to her. His finger rubbed her little tits and traveled down her body where she opened her legs. Keith sniffed her smelling the scent of a blood relative ripe for sex. 

The urge to suck on her like candy nearly overpowered him but he took it slow. Tentative licks of her tiny pussy to make her wet, then a gentle sucking of her cunt. Keith held her still as she wriggled. As he ate her out, Faith was coaxing her son to climax. The boy grunted as he shot his little load on her tongue. "I'm...I'm sorry" he panted. "Don't be. You're just as sweet on the inside" she smiled savoring his cum. Faith felt the need to use the boy further, but she worried that would too much for a first time. She gently cuddled him as he rested. Grace squealed as she came coating his tongue with her juices. Both of them cared for the twins as they rested and relaxed.

"They fell right to sleep" Faith said. "It's been a very long day" Keith chuckled. Faith placed them back in their tent. "Dad? Can you hold me" she said shrinking down. Keith nodded and held her in his hands. "Sing me a song" she asked. Keith smiled and began humming the song "Come Go With Me". She felt his soft finger stroking her delicate little back before she fell asleep. 

Back in the waking world...

"That's it. Swallow" Alicia said spoon feeding Faith soup. "She looks better" Lucy said screwing on the top to a bottle full of breastmilk. She wiped away any spillage after she milked her.  "Looks can be deceiving" Alicia muttered wiping Faith's lips. "She taking food?" Marco asked entering the room. He carefully sat down not to disturb the small women on the bed. "Thankfully yes" she replied. "Did you make any progress?" Lucy asked. "It's a twist on a sleeping spell from Ancient Greece" he replied. "How can a sleeping spell kill someone?" Alicia asked. "Let's find out" Marco said placing his hand right over Faith. His palm glowed as a symbology magic array formed around it. "Greek and fae? The damn spell is acting as a parasite. It's feeding itself off her own energy but why?" Marco asked. "Fuck the why. Break it" Alicia hissed. "...I can't. It's too interwoven, too complex to break it under normal means. Layers and layers of protection. I only got as far as I did because I had an idea of what to look for" he said holding his wrist. Alicia was about to berate him until she saw his nose bleeding. "Are you alright?" Lucy asked. "Just pushed myself a little too hard is all. Cordelia!" he yelled. Cordelia entered the room.

"Confirmed. A Greek sleeping spell" he said shaking. She braced him. "Then I'll get started at once" she said. "Started on what?" Alicia asked. "Deconstructing the spell piece by piece" he replied. "Can't you just name the God or whatever?" Lucy asked. "If they were standing before us yes but sleep and dream gods have no physical form" he replied. "Then how do we beat them?" Alicia asked. Marco and Cordelia looked at one another. "Nobody ever has" Cordelia said sitting down. They began using magic to coax the sleeping spell into form. "My god" Lucy muttered as the entire room was filled with lines of writings and symbols. "How...how long?" Alicia asked. Marco shook his head. "Alicia, we do not know how long this will take so we do not know if we can finish in time. But we will try" Cordelia said softly. She said nothing as the giant and giantess began their work.

Back in the dream world...

"Breakfast!" Keith yelled as he dropped a few wild strawberries down. "And how are you two doing this morning?" Faith asked ruffling the hair of her kids. "Fine. This salted minnow isn't so bad" Matty said. "It's important to conserve food when you can. When I was a little boy, our family spent weeks preserving food for the winter months. Frog steak, earthworm, acorn meal" Keith said. "Earthworm?! Fuck that!" Matty said. Faith punched his shoulder. "I will say it's an acquired taste" Keith said. "Mom said you lost your parents in a mudslide" Grace said. "I did. Only me and my sister survived it" he replied. "Must've been hard" she said. "In the beginning yeah, it was. Thankfully, I had my sister to help me. You'd be surprised what you take for granted until you lose it. Love each other as much as you can. Always" he said softly. Matty looked at his sister and tore off a chunk of strawberry for her. "I'm surprised you haven't gotten her pregnant Matty" Faith said. "I only do her in the butt" he said flatly. He was promptly hit in the face with the same chunk of strawberry he'd given her. "What?!" he yelled.

Grace got up and took off running. "What? It was the truth? Rather I lied?" he asked them. "It's not so much what you said but how you said it. You referred to her like she was just a fuck buddy. Not cool Matty. Dad, can you go get her?" Faith asked. Keith got up and walked off. He came back minutes later empty handed and very worried. "I can't find her" he said. Faith stood up and motioned for him to pick her up. She scanned the area using clairvoyance. "I... I can't either. She's cloaking herself with magic. Daddy" she said scared. "Just stay calm. She hasn't grown so she can't have gotten far. Get up boy and help" he said. 

Keith stayed human sized while Faith stayed shrunk as well as Matty. He had never seen his mother in full borrower mode before. She had left in such a hurry that Grace left her shoes and socks behind. Faith smelled her dirty socks to get a scent and began tracking. Faith found footprints and confirmed with her nose they were Grace's. They were fresh leading off the path. Faith grew more and more frightened as they went deeper into the grass. Keith could only move so fast in fear he might crush the girl without knowing. Keith's blood ran cold when the trail ended at a very small hole in the ground. A telltale smell entered his nose when he bent down. "What is it?" Faith asked as he shrunk down. He didn't answer. He summoned his sword. "Daddy!" Faith screamed. "Formic acid and venom. A fire ant colony. "Stay here. If you get stung..." he said. Matty rushed in at full speed using a fortification spell. A spell that caused a small cave in behind him from his footsteps. Keith was frozen in shock as memories form long ago resurfaced. Faith screamed his name frantically as she powered up. "NO! You could collapse it on their heads!" he yelled stopping her. 

He had to stoop down walking through the tunnel. He was surprised that ants could make tunnels this big but a faint light and the sound of crying ahead urged him on. Bits of dirt fell overhead signaling how precarious the integrity of the tunnel was. They were made to withstand the infinitesimal tremors of ant feet, not those of a powered up shrunken boy.  "GRACE!" he screamed. His echoes traveling down the tunnel into various other caverns. "MATTY! HELP ME!" Grace screamed back. Matty quickened his pace as the light ahead grew brighter. As he got close enough to see, his breath caught in his throat. Grace sat on the ground with a barrier around her, but dozens of ants had dogpiled on it. Mandibles and stingers attacking it with his shrunken sister nearly hysterical as she desperately tried keeping the barrier from collapsing. Matty let off a flurry of lighting spells but at his size it was more like static shocks than anything. It did the job killing most of the ants and driving back a few more. "Grace!" he yelled pounding his fists on her barrier. Grace opened her eyes to see her brother. "MATTY! MAAAATY!" she sobbed hugging him. Their happy reunion was short lived though as when he killed some ants, it had produced an attack pheromone. Now a legion of fire ants had begun to surround them. They were cut off from the exit. 

"Stay behind me!" he yelled firing of lighting magic over and over until one got close enough to bite his arm. Matty screamed in pain as the ant crushed the bone in his arm. If he hadn't been fortified, it would've bit it clean off. Terrified, Grace peed herself which oddly made the ants even more aggressive. One pushed forward using a fallen ant as a shield and stabbed Matty in the foot with his stinger. The boy made in ungodly scream and he fell to one knee. "G... Grace" he stammered as the venom coursed through his body. She could see him gasping for air. The look he gave her though, one of remorse shook her very soul and caused a change in her. "Lemurian barrier spell level one...Shield" she muttered repelling the ants away with a barrier leagues better than anything she ever conjured. "Igniting oxygen. Lemurian fire spell level two...Inferno" she muttered. A cascade of flames ripped through the entire colony.

"What the..." Keith said seeing traces of smoke coming from the ground.  There was a small rumble under his feet before a burst of light came from the ground. Within it hovered Grace carrying her unconscious brother. She landed near Faith who rushed over. "MATTY! WHAT HAPPENED?!" she yelled grabbing her daughters' shoulder. Grace looked at her and Faith gasped seeing a magic array dancing in her right eye. "Analyzing affliction. Poison detected, breaking chemical bonds. Lemurian healing spell level two...Panacea" she muttered. A greenish hue enveloped Matty and he stabilized in seconds. Grace powered down exhausted and nearly slumping over. "Ants...ANTS!" he yelled sitting up. Faith hugged him tightly sobbing his name. Matty reached for Grace's hand and squeezed it. Minutes later, Faith had grown human size and held her kids in her hands.  She was too traumatized to let them walk on the ground right then. They all rested letting emotions and adrenaline cool down. 

"I can barely remember it myself. It was like there was me and then another me" Grace said answering how she felt using Lemurian magics. "When I saw the look in his eyes, like he was so sorry for everything and that he loved me, something in me snapped" she said. She held Matty and kissed him roughly. "Don't ever give me that look again. My heart..." she said before crying. Her brother said nothing as he petted her hair to calm her. "You two are safe and that's what matters" Faith said wiping a tear away. Reluctantly, Faith let them walk on the ground again but kept a sharp eye out for anything remotely dangerous. Even ladybugs met her ire. In due time, they returned to the house safe and sound. "Welcome home kids!" Alicia said picking them up for the ground and cuddling them. "Mom! Too tight!" Matty yelled. "So, did anything exciting happen?" Alicia asked. Matty and Grace looked at one another. "Nope. Nothing at all. Hiking and fishing" Grace said. "Then it was a good trip then" Alicia shrugged. "Mom, if you don't mind we'd like to take a bath" Matty said. "Oh okay" she said putting them down. She cocked an eyebrow as she watched the kids hold hands and run into the hallway. "Since when did they get so chummy?" she asked. "During the trip, the kids were fuc..."

Faith elbowed her father. "Ahem. During the trip, the kids were fighting and saw how much it hurt one another" Keith said. "Must've been some revelation" Alicia said. "Yeah you could say that" Keith muttered. "Well lunch has been prepared but since the kids went to wash up, I guess we can start without them" she said. The maid brought a tray of sandwiches. "Thank you Mary" Alicia said. Faith look another look at the maid as she thought she could sense an odd aura around her. As if the air shimmered around her. Faith blinked hard and found it gone. "More tired than I thought" she said. 

Alicia was sleeping soundly next to her. She was utterly exhausted but for some reason could not fall asleep. As if a part of her demanded she stay awake. She chalked it up to anxiety over this morning and left her bedroom just to check on her kids. At 2 am, everyone was asleep except for the night shift officers who stayed in the control room. With the Mogwai nation destroyed, there will still threats out in the world. She opened the door to Matty's room to find Grace human sized in it. The room reeked of sex and teenage hormones. Grace slept on her back naked with her shrunken brother sleeping soundly between her breasts. "If Alicia saw you now..." she muttered entering the room. She picked up Matty and found him still slightly sticky. The smell of Grace's juices clung to his skin. She placed him on a pillow far away enough that if Grace had moved she would not crush or smother the boy. "So cute and sexy" she giggled to herself petting his naked body. She stifled a squeal watching his little toes curl as her fingernail tickled his tiny sole. She kissed his tummy softly and he shifted in his sleep. The urge to suck his cock entered her mind but it was clear the boy needed his sleep. His body was still weakened by the venom and more so by the sex session with his sister earlier. 

Faith grabbed a thin blanket for Grace and draped it over her nude body. She did indeed look like her grandmother right down to the fact her second toes were longer than her big toes. Faith looked at her own feet for a moment to remark she had the same kind of toes, but Grace had narrower feet. In borrower society, she would be married, and her spouse would be sucking her toes as she bared her first child. Matty would be a father himself seeing to his wife's needs. Hell, maybe his wife and Grace's. Alicia had been clear she wanted the kids to be brought up human and as they grew older and didn't show most of the signs of being a borrower (being only one third borrower), she relented. Now it was clear that the progression wasn't absent but delayed. They were awakening to instincts that couldn't be ignored. Faith would have to speak to Alicia about it but chose to wait until they got home. 

Faith understood what the kids were going through. How many sleepless nights she spent wanting a cute boy to fuck her, suck her toes, and cuddle her naked body. Some asked how such a kind girl could fall into with a man like Markus. His rants about humanity was just the tip of it. In truth, he gave her what she craved. Sex, intimacy, and children. She swore she would not let her kids fall in with someone unworthy of them. Faith kissed Grace on the forehead before leaving them.

She made her way to the library hoping some old boring book would have her fall asleep. She grabbed a random one, sat down, and opened it. "Huh?" she asked seeing the pages utterly blank. Even the title on the spine was absent. She grabbed another one and found the same. Another then another, and another. "Fuck is going on?" she asked after finding her seventh random book with empty pages. She went to one book she knew had words in it; "Thumbelina". She calmed down slightly seeing words in it but as she read she found sentences broken, words out of place, a chapter missing with blank pages and then the rest of the book itself blank. The angrily threw it across the room. "Clairvoyance!" she yelled looking around sensing something as very much amiss. She didn't see anything. "Not buying it!" she said increasing her magic power to an extent her eyes were bloodshot. And then she could see it. "Auras, auras everywhere" she muttered. Every single thing in her view had a magical aura about it. The books, chairs, even the pen on the desk. It was familiar to a particular aspect. "...it's an illusion. It's all an illusion!" she yelled. The door to the library opened. "No, not an illusion" a voice said. 

"Mary? Your name is Mary right? Wait...I saw you at our home in Indonesia. How are you...you're behind this?!" she yelled running up to her. "Half of it" she replied. Faith grabbed her by the throat and was shocked that the frail looking teenage girl pulled her hand off her. Faith saw the bruise on her wrist. "What the hell are you?" Faith asked. "Do you really have ask?" she replied with slightly glowing eyes. "A goddess. Which one? You know it doesn't even fucking matter. You'll die like the rest" Faith hissed attacking her. She fired off spell after spell of all kinds only to see the girl completely unharmed. "A futile gesture Faith. I'm not like the others. I have no body to kill" she said. "Nothing is invincible. All I need to do is find out your name..."

"Morpheus. The Greek god...or goddess of dreams at your service" she said bowing slightly. "You cocky fucker!" Faith said extending her hand. Seconds passed. "Expecting your sword?" she asked. "If you haven't figured it all out, this is a dream" Morpheus said. "Bullshit! The smells, the sounds, the goddamn taste of my son's semen!" she yelled. "All invented by your mind. Hmm, I see it was the books that tipped you off. Understandable. Your mortal minds are interesting. Many cannot read anything in dreams, but some exceptional people can. Even then it comes from memory. This book here "Thumbelina", a book read more than once it seems" she said flipping pages. "Yes, these pages come from your memory" she said. "Then the other book here blank..."

"Are either books you haven't read or forgotten" she finished. "Your deal is to trap me in a dream?" Faith chuckled. "As you said yourself this is no mere dream. In terms your mortal mind can understand, if this dream were as a house, I am just the foundation and you are the architect. Your own magics are the nails and studs that hold it together. Your magic has been casting nonstop for two full days. That would put a dangerous strain on anyone especially you" she said. "So, I'm to die in my sleep?!" Faith yelled. "I pulled from your psyche to make it as pleasant as possible. This really is a world of your choosing. That other Hope is gone and you're free to take her place. Children grown and loving. Your father, mothers, your homeland. It's as you wished it so" she said.

"I did NOT wish for her to be dead and for the Mogwai extermination!" Faith yelled. "Deep down you did. Her existence keeps you from trying to have a life with your parents and as for the Mogwai...well them being gone would keep your loved ones safer I guess" Morpheus said. "So, this is a dream of my own making?" she asked. "Indeed it is...until your passing" she replied. Faith grinned and broke into laughter. "Card to let me in on the joke?" Morpheus asked. "If this is of my own making, then you're in for a world of trouble. I got a VERY active imagination and good memory bitch!" Faith yelled snapping her fingers. Suddenly they were in the front yard of the mansion with Morpheus totally surrounded by every person Faith knew intimately. Her father holding his sword. Lawan her spear, Susan a short blade, Fiona her gun, Claire in full fae mode, Alicia with her artifact at the ready, dozens of soldiers her father introduced her to or knew from life, and Faith in full armor with her sword Last Stigmata. "Leave nothing" Faith growled pointing at her. 

Each one rushed in to take on the deity as Faith stood there watching like a General. Morpheus simply stood there not even bothering to defend herself. Each attack met with a nullifying force. Every...last...one. Faith did not give up in the slightest and charged in herself.

And unknown time later...

"AHHGH!" she screamed swinging her sword at her. Morpheus stepped aside for it to miss. Angrily, she tossed the sword as hard as she could and saw astonished that Morpheus caught it between her dainty fingers. Screaming to the heavens, Faith grew in height. Taller, taller, and still taller until even the spacious mansion was no bigger than her big toe. Radiating so much lightning power, thunderstorms filled the sky. With an animalistic growl, she raised her left foot up...and slammed it down. Slammed it down with so much force the dream world glitched. Cracks and fissures raced from her cavernous footprint. However, Faith could feel the goddess moving under her bare sole. Faith rose high above the air and she could see Yorkshire in the distance. Only parts of it in existence reminding her how fake this all was.  She took what she knew of what her father told her about science and conjured the most powerful elemental spell she could. 

"Daddy? Do stars die?" she asked him once as they gazed at the night sky. "Yes, they do actually. They collapse and explode when they get too old. Either a nova, supernova, or hypernova. And when that happens it shoots off one of the most powerful things in nature...and I'm rambling" he said. "No, I wanna know everything you do" she said smiling. "Okay..." he said petting her head.

 "FUCKING DIE ALREADY!" Faith screeched after concentrating and making her attack take form. A brilliant flash of light came from her hands. Brilliant enough that even Morpheus winced. A millisecond of light so bright and hot everything in their world turned to ash and dust. And when it was over, darkness remained. "Yeah! Fuck you in the ass!" Faith howled. "Not today" Morpheus said calmly snapping she fingers and bringing the world right back to prestige order. "Im...impossible. That was a gamma ray burst. Nothing..." she stammered. "You can't kill a dream Faith and you can't kill me" the goddess said coldly. "I'm trying to be as gracious as possible in this. Anything you desire can be done here" she said closing her hands. She opened them to reveal Theo. "I love you Faith. I want to be your mate" he said. "S... stop it" she muttered. Morpheus carried him to her, and Faith scooted backwards. "Don't you love me?" Theo asked her. "Please...please stop" Faith begged. Morpheus dropped him and Faith instinctively caught him. "I want to be with you. I want to be used by you. At your very mercy, your command. I want you" he said. Faith trembled as her nose caught his testosterone laden pheromones. Her shaking finger petted his tiny little balls. Theo sighed as his cock grew.

"NO!" she yelled stopping herself. "Then you don't want me" he said softly looking down. "That's not true!" she yelled. "Then prove it! Stop lying to yourself!" Theo yelled. Faith growled and slammed him headfirst into her pussy. Grunting like an animal, she brutally used him for her pleasure until she came. "More!" she said sucking his little cock. Even Morpheus cocked an eyebrow at the ferocity of her libido. Theo grunted as he came on her tongue. She flipped him over and jammed the tip of her tongue up his ass. He yelled in pain as her tongue sodomized him. His squirming as she held his legs went unnoticed. Panting and barely conscious, Theo twitched as her teeth nibbled on his arms and legs. "Am... I yours?" he gasped. "MINE!" she screamed before jamming him into her mouth. Morpheus watched as she writhed on the ground as she bit and sucked on his body while fingering fucking herself. And when she came, she swallowed him whole. She felt him slip down her throat and into her stomach and learned that it was possible to have an orgasm within an orgasm. But it came with a cost...

Faith came to her senses sometime after and let out a panicked scream. She stuck her finger in her mouth touching her throat. "What are you doing?" Morpheus asked. Faith gave no answer as she made herself puke. "Nothing...he's....he's gone" she muttered. "Of course he is. He served the purpose your mind gave him" she said. "I NEVER WANTED TO EAT HIM ALIVE YOU FUCKED UP GREEK!" Faith screamed. "I don't know why you're calling me fucked up. This came out of your head. Dreams can be described as many things. The vehicle for the subconscious. The crossroads for all emotions. The psychiatrist to tell our unspoken desires that not even you are fully aware of. In this case unrequited love. Your desire to possess him was so potent you did the most drastic thing you could do. You ate him" she said. Faith stared at her for a moment before weeping as she knew her words to be true.

In the waking world...

"Jesus. She came three times and now she's crying. What the hell is happening in there?" Theo asked. "Progress?" Lucy asked. "The fact these physical things are occurring means we're slowly breaking through. Her mind and body are slowly resynching. But...there's so much still there" Cordelia said. "Marco. Will she die?" Alicia asked. He gave her a look. "At this rate yes. If we had an extra day, we could free her. Now, she has 6 hours left. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry" he choked.  "Then there's only one option left. Her father" she said. "He's a Mage?" Cordelia asked. "Yes, but his skill rests in his sword that can break spells" she replied. "Then why the hell didn't we get his help earlier?!" Lucy asked. "Because their circumstances are...troublesome. Marco, take me to the airport. I can't translocate to a place I haven't seen before. I'm not that good" she said. "Understood" Marco said stopping.

20 minutes later...

"You ready?" Marco asked. "Fuck no. What I'm doing is a Hail Mary. There's going to be a lot of questions and not many explanations. Not to mention his bodyguard can literally smell lies. If he learns who she really is...holy shit" she muttered. "Then let's get going" he said to her. Marco drove her to the airport in Rome. "May all His angels speed you on your journey" he said kissing his cheek. Alicia nodded and ran inside to the ticket booth. The next fight to London took off in 35 minutes. She still had to pass security and her heart sank as she saw the line. "Come on" she growled as she slowly made her way forward. "Shoes off, metal objects in the tray" the agent said. She threw them down and kicked off her sandals. She had 10 minutes to get to her gate. She passed through and ran barefoot through the terminal not daring for an instant to put her sandals back on. Some would see her as a rude American, but none knew the truth. A desperate wife on a mission. "Final boarding for Air Italia flight 1277 nonstop to Heathrow London calling for final boarding" the announcement said. Alicia sprinted hard, her bare feet slapping the floor painfully now. "Here!" she yelled slapping her pass on the desk. The attendant casually stamped it and let her pass. She boarded the plane and sat down.

The plane ride was 2 hours and 45 minutes, but it seemed like eternity to her. Stale air, stale food, and the boy kicking her seat pissed her off so much she gave thought of shrinking him and sealing him in a bag of crisps. She dismissed the thought as that was not her anymore. Faith had rescued her from such a life and as minutes ticked by she worried she would lose her way if Faith died. The plane touched down and taxied to the terminal. She pushed through the passengers and ran like mad through the airport to the exit. People took her picture as she was still known as the singer Celine Cruz. She had not been in public since marrying Faith and although she lost a good part of her fan base, they had not forgotten her. Alicia ignored people asking for autographs as she waited for a taxi. They thought her rude as she got in the car and she didn't care a bit what they thought. Using her song magic, she traced the driver to speed as fast as he could down the M1 to Yorkshire.  She checked her watch. 1 hour 33 minutes and counting. 

She raced to the door, barely waiting for the car to stop. She pounded on it and it eventually opened. "I need to see Keith now" she demanded. "Wait outside please" the maid said. "No time for that!" she said pushing past her. Alicia was struck from behind with a shrinking spell as two giant black shoes came down on either side of her. Fingers wrapped around her body and lifted her up. "Let me go!" Alicia said giving off a burst of power. Alicia fell from her grasp and softly landed on the floor. "Code 1!" the maid yelled. Moments later she was surrounded by giantesses from all sides. "I don't want to hurt you, but I need to see Keith now" Alicia growled. "See me about what?" Keith asked stepping forward. "Sir. Her magical power..." the first maid said.

"I can see it" Keith said with glowing eyes. Alicia snapped her fingers breaking the flimsy shrinking arcane placed on her. She grew to human size before them. "I mean you no harm" she said. "So, it would seem. You could've killed them in an instant if you wished" he said. He waved them off. "We need your help. Do you remember the woman that came to you once? The one called Faith?" she asked. "How could I forget? She left more questions than answers. As if she knew how things should turn out" he said. "She's dying. A curse has been placed on her and we tried everything to break it. " she said. "Everything but my sword" he said. "Exactly. She has...55 minutes before it kills her. Please. I'm begging you..." she said before crying. Keith looked around. "Where is she?" he asked. "In Italy. Her friends are still trying to do their best but..."

"Italy is like a three-hour flight" he said. "We're not flying" she said opening a portal. "I want answers when this is over" he warned. "So be it if that's the price" she said softly. She took his hand as they entered. They were back in front of the villa in an instant. "Keith. There a barrier. A strange one" Oberon told him. "There's a barrier in the way" Keith told her. "I know. Marco, let us in" she said. The barrier dropped for a few seconds letting them in. Alicia ran into the house and to the bedroom. "We didn't know..." Lucy sniffled. "She's so pale" Alicia said sitting down and letting her tiny body. "You must be Keith. Marco Alighieri" Marco said extending his hand. "As in Dante Alighieri?" Keith asked. "An ancestor" he replied. "Curiouser and curiouser" he said sitting in the bed as well. "Well?" she asked. "Easy. Breaking curses and foreign spellwork is a delicate thing even for Rune Breaker. Oberon?" Keith asked. A shimmering soul of the old fae appeared and floated down to Faith. "A sleeping spell but this is no ordinary one. Who cast this?" Oberon asked. "A god by the name of Morpheus" Alicia replied. Keith and Oberon looked astounded. "Please. Please help her" she begged. "I've only seen a spell this powerful once before in the Old Lands. I have good news and bad news"

"The good news is his sword can break this spell. The bad news is this spell has ensnared the girl mind and body. If broken by Rune Breaker, it will destroy her mind. She will be a mindless girl the rest of her days" he said retreating into Keith. "I'll give you some minutes to decide" Keith said leaving the room. Keith heard the girl sobbing as he sat on the sofa. Up till that moment he didn't believe gods even existed. Sure, people that acted like gods but a real one? He wondered who these people were to be in such a situation.

Back in the dream world...

"Take off your fucking shoes" Faith hissed. "Does it matter?" Morpheus asked as she stood in the street. "You're fucking up the street so yes" she replied. Morpheus shrugged and took off her shoes and stockings. She bent down to look at the little borrowers going about their day around her bare feet. Some smiling and waving. "This is a magnificent place. You even took care to memorize so many faces. Normally with so many they would be blank like those books. Curious though as I keep seeing one boy in particular" she said picking him up. Faith snatched him away from her. "Who is he?" she asked. "Someone I had a crush on. He was the first boy I let suck my toes" she said petting him. Morpheus looked at the slowly disappearing landscape. "I don't take joy in none of this. My job is to be impartial" she said. "And yet you're killing me. That's not impartial" she said. "There are forces at work far greater than you or I. Forces not even I am willing to trifle with" Morpheus said softly. "You fear Morrigan that much?" Faith asked. "Not her" Morpheus replied. "Then who is..." Faith was saying until she heard voices.

"Curiouser and curiouser". "Daddy?" Faith asked hearing his voice in the wind. She could not see him. "I should change. If it come to it, I should perform the Last Rites". "Marco? Marco was never a part of this dream. So why am I now...you look worried Morpheus. Worried for the very first time. Why?" Faith asked. Morpheus looked around. "Your times grows short Faith. You should make peace with yourself" she said. "Nuh uh. I may be dying but I'm betting the people I love are doing something to your spell. It's weakening isn't it?" she asked. "It won't save you. In real time you have 30 minutes left to live" she said coldly. "Then I'll die trying" she said placing the small boy back on the street. She raised her hand over her head. "All I have to do is believe" she muttered.

In the real world...

"Don't. She wouldn't want this" Alicia said. "Can you tell me who she really is? For some reason, a part of me won't let this go" Keith asked. "...you should know. She's..." Alicia was saying before Faith's sword Last Stigma shimmered into existence. "Her sword?!" Cordelia yelled. It vanished into Faith as fast as it appeared. "She's fighting it! The spell weakened enough she could summon it!" she yelled.

In the dream world...

Faith grabbed the sword as it appeared from her chest. "Something tells me it's the real thing" she said before attacking. Faith gave no heed to anything this time as she was relentless. Far away enough with bought time, she began the ritual. "By the Order of the Campioné, I begin the binding! Your pantheon is known! Your name is known to me! By your name I bind your Authority! MORPHEUS, GREEK GOD OF DREAMS!" she yelled. The binding circle spun around the goddess as ethereal chains bound her wrists and ankles. Last Stigmata trembled and left her hand flying at the goddess. But before it could pierce her, it vanished. Morpheus began breaking the chains. "Impossible. I got your name perfect. You told it to me!" Faith yelled. "You cannot bind a dream and I am made of dreams" Morpheus said.

In the real world...

They were blinded by light as the sword reappeared. It's power arching like mad made everyone retreat out of the room. "My god, what is it doing?" Theo asked. "It's doing what its namesake is meant. But what form could it...oh" Cordelia said. "Is that what I think it is?" Lucy asked as the sword took another form. "That's how you bind a dream god? Astonishing" Marco said. "A dream catcher?" Keith asked. The golden dreamcatcher cast golden light on the tiny barely alive woman. "What's happening now...Jesus!" Dru yelled as bright golden light blinded everyone in the room. 

In the dream world...

A golden light surrounded Morpheus and pulled her off her feet. "What...what have you done?!" she screamed at Faith who had fallen to her knees. Faith simply grinned as the goddess was yanked out of their world. Moments later, the dream world dissolved into void.

In the real world...

Faith opened her eyes and sat up slightly. Everyone was aghast at two sights. One, Faith waking up, and second what was right above her body. "IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE! I AM MORPHEUS, GOD OF DREAMS! I CANNOT BE TAKEN PRISONER!" she yelled switching between male and female. Her body was firmly shrunk and entangled in the golden threads like a moth in a spider's web. "By rite...of the Campioné, this battle is over. I now...now bind you to my service with the name...Mary" Faith stammered. The dreamcatcher disappeared freeing Mary physically, but she was now bond spiritually to her master. And under unique circumstances, a portion of her power was transferred to Faith. Faith fell backwards into a warm giant hand. She looked up. "You?" she asked before passing out. "FAITH!" Alicia yelled. "She's stable. Just in time" Cordelia said. Marco crossed himself and sighed. "I still want answers here" Keith said. "Alicia..." Cordelia muttered as something inconvenient occurred. Keith held his breath for a moment watching in disbelief. "Now I know I want answers" he muttered.

Faith awoke hungry and parched. "Water? You've been asleep for three days" Keith asked sitting on the bed. "Yes pl... oh no. You shouldn't be here. You need to leave" Faith said. "I don't think so" he said placing Alicia's makeup compact mirror next to her. To her horror, she saw her glamor was gone. "I confirmed with Oberon that this is no magic trick. Care to explain why you look and smell like my daughter?" he asked.

"Because I am your daughter" she replied.

"I'm waiting" Keith said tapping his foot. "I don't where to begin" Faith said. "Try at the beginning. It's usually a good place to start" he said curtly. Faith flinched at his tone of voice. "First of all, I really am your daughter. No tricks or illusion magics. As a bit of proof, your last name is Acornwood" she said. "Which you might know with mind reading magic" he said. "The first time you licked my pussy you were scared it was the wrong thing to do. You were terrified at how bad I was in heat and you licked and sucked on me. I heard you crying alone in the bathroom that night before you decided to do it" she said softly. Keith softened his gaze. "Then how are there two of you?" he asked. 

"It all began in the last week of August 2018. You sent Aunt Suzie on an antiquing mission and things happened. Things like you learning of a secret society built around the zodiacs. Over the course of several weeks, THORN kept butting heads with them until it was a war of attrition. We take some of them out, they take some of us out. Some like Fiona" she said. "Why do I have the feeling you're giving it the soft treatment?" Keith asked. "Because the war has gotten very ugly. Ugly in ways it scarred you and Susan, and me. "What...what did it do to you?" he asked concerned. "When you had done enough damage to them, their leader Markus appeared. His wrath was...considerable. At the time I was having a philosophical crisis. I believed that humanity would eventually destroy the borrower race. Any race not of their own. Markus preyed on my fears and had me join his cause" she said. "...what cause?" Keith asked. "To place the magical races as rulers of the world. To keep humanity from destroying it, he saw that as the only way. He firmly believed that humans were inferior beings who lived to service us and in turn we were their...babysitters for lack of a better term" she replied. "And you believed him?!" Keith yelled. 

"Yes. Remember when I visited you some months before? I froze time briefly to have a conversation with the other Hope. What you did not know at the time was Hope was already thinking of being judge, jury, and executioner for the vilest humans. She changed her mind after our talk but for me, there was nobody that could give me the real insight I needed. Not even you. Oh, you tried but your words fell on deaf ears. Then Markus showed me his model utopia and..."

"And what?" he asked. "Perfection. Humans living in perfect harmony and their needs cared for. No bigotry, racism, or xenophobia. It just cost them their freedoms...and lives. Serve our whims and live in paradise. I felt powerful, respected, appreciated" she whispered. "Didn't you get some of that from me and your mothers?" Keith asked exasperated. "You don't understand. How could you? To have so much power and told not to use it. The power to fix the world, to crush evil, to make people's lives better. And to have them worship your fucking feet for it" she said. "Sounds like you miss it" he said coldly. "I think on it every day. Even when I conquered their home I thought on it. It was like shooting up raw fucking heroin. You'll never feel that high anywhere else" she said. "Conquered? Didn't you say you joined Markus?" he asked. 

"His plan came into fruition when he had me raise a long-lost continent from the sea. The Continent of Mu" she said. "Mu? I've heard of it before. It was a lost civilization kinda like Atlantis" he said. "Mu was very real and the home of an ancient race of magical beings that existed 20,000 years ago. Some of their descendants live on today. Some like Susan" she said. "You're kidding" he muttered. "No, inside Susan lies the seeds of great power. Power she used to help you win this war" she said. "So, we won?" he asked curious. "Is it a win when you lose almost everything in the process? Hikari, your army, Fiona, you?" she asked. "I... I died?" he asked. "Yes, by an evil version of Susan. I shit you not. I was the one that ended the fight when I unleashed all my power" she said. "At least...at least you came to your senses" he said. "It only cost the lives of 40 million people" she whispered. "But...not even you..."

"The continent dad. I raised a continent out of the sea" she said. "Oh god. The tsunamis and volcanic eruptions" he said. "With the loss of their pacific fleets, China, Russia, and America was slowly teetering on a nuclear conflict. Each side thinking the other would take advantage in the power vacuum not to mention rights to a new continent" she said. "But I still don't see how that leads to two of you" he said. "What's the most dangerous magic there is?" Faith asked. "Time magic" Oberon said appearing before them. Faith quietly nodded. "Oh my god. You didn't..." Keith muttered. "I went back in time and wiped out ZODIAC before you ever met them" she said. "Susan's father. That Ruby girl. The Mogwai woman they showed up on our doorstep" he said. "All because I knew how it played out before. I tried my best to preserve the good things that happened while killing the bad" she said. "You created an alternate timeline! Of course, there would be two of you. But how did you end up like this? With Etherion..."

"I gave it up. Necessary to safeguard all reality. In the final battle, reality itself was coming apart. We almost lost the Earth" she replied. "Whoa. Wait a minute. You're skipping around" he said rubbing his temples. "I'm not doing a good job at this" she sighed. "Can you show me? You have that power still?" Keith asked. "I do but...there will be a side effect. It won't be just my memories; it will also be my emotions too" she said. "I'm ready" he said sternly. Faith waved her hand shrinking him. He walked to her and sat before her. "No, you're not" she said touching his face. She closed her eyes. "I'll try to be gentle daddy" she said softly.

Later...

"They were talking and now silence. Three hours of it. What's going on in there?" Alicia asked. "Better to give them space. We're right here if she needs us" Dru replied pushing a rook on a chess board. "It must be traumatic to see him this way. To be separated from your parent and then having them thrust into your life again..." Marco muttered. Dru looked at her giant son. "I'm not saying I regret this. It's only..." he said. "Unexpected. I know son. Check by the way" she said to him. "Can we discuss the other matter?" Lucy asked looking at the new guest of the house. "What is this called again?" Mary asked. "Netflix" Theo replied. "A marvelous invention. Thousands of plays ready to be seen and heard" she said holding the remote. "It is weird having a goddess sitting on the sofa trying to binge watch The Sopranos" Cordelia said. "Cordi sweetie. You sit on the same sofa clipping your toenails" Dru said. "This isn't any goddess Dru. It's the deity of dreams for Jupiter's sake. The fact alone she has a solid ass to put on our sofa is creepy. It was just three days ago we had to show her how to use the bathroom" she said. "The dreamcatcher gave her a physical body. I'd imagine so she didn't know how to take a piss" Marco said moving his King.

"Is she connected too?" Dru asked pushing her bishop. "Yes. What that means for Faith I do not know" Cordelia replied. "Neither do I" Faith said entering the living room. "Your father..."

"Needs a moment. How are the kids?" she asked. "Sleeping for now but your babies are getting more agitated" Lucy replied. "I've been away too long" she said going to the kitchen. They stared at her as she made tea. "You okay? You seem...drained" Alicia asked. "I just shared my memories and emotions with my father on a very mental level. It was...intense" she replied sitting on the sofa next to Mary. Faith narrowed her eyes at her. "I have a few questions for you, but I will wait until this evening when I feel better to ask them" Faith said despondently. "Well were glad to have you back safe and sound" Marco said moving his knight. "What did you dream about?" Alicia asked. Faith glanced at Mary who flinched at her gaze. "My heart's desire" she replied. "Really? I thought she would've given you nightmares" Alicia said standing behind the sofa. "Like I told her it wasn't personal. I was ordered to" Mary said. Alicia grabbed her from behind and yanked her right over the sofa onto the floor. "Following orders? Just doing your job? I think that excuse pisses me off even more than if you told it was personal" Alicia growled. She cruelly stomped Mary in the face hard breaking her nose. "Alicia stop" Faith said standing up. "She damn near killed you Faith! We're are war with them!" Alicia yelled. "Them?" Cordelia asked. "Don't give me that shit. You know what I mean" Alicia told her.

"She's an asset I intend to use. Kicking her to death with your bare foot won't help me" Faith said. She bent down to the goddess. "This...is this pain? Real blood?" Mary asked frightened. "Yes" Faith said extending her hand. She began to heal her. Mary got up a moment later. "Thank..." Mary was saying until Faith grabbed her throat and lifted her off her feet.

"Save it. You live at my leisure. You serve my beck and call. Unlike the other goddess in this room, you have done NOTHING to warrant my kindness. From now on, you will not be permitted a human size unless necessary. Understood?" Faith asked. "Un....derstood" she choked. Faith let go and shrunk her on the spot. She coldly threw her on a sofa cushion. "Enjoy The Sopranos" she muttered checking the tea pot. It wasn't her words or grabbing her throat, or even shrinking her so rapidly that unnerved them. It was her lack of emotion. The same amount of emotion one would give to an ant on the ground. Alicia came behind her and petted her shoulder. "I sense the anxiety in you Alicia. I'm okay really" she said. "Then why haven't you kissed me since you woke up?" she asked with a breaking voice. Faith turned to look at her. She leaned forward and kissed her. "Now if you will excuse me" Faith said after pouring some tea into a cup. Alicia stood there utterly dejected. "Nothing. I felt nothing" Alicia said softly crying.

"I'm back. Here's some nice chamomile tea. I use it to relax" she said handing it to her shrunken father. He had to steady his hand to take the also shrunken teacup from her palm. "So much pain. So much death. Suffering. Sadness. Hope...I'm so sorry baby" he said to her as she sat back on the bed. "A lot of it was self-inflicted. I was the greatest mass murderer in history. Emotional baggage is par for the course" she said. "But you made it right. Why hide yourself from me? Did you think I wouldn't love you? Your mothers? Oh god Claire and Aspen" he said. "I'm not Hope. I just look like her. This isn't even my world" she said shifting her legs to relax. Her giant feet were on both sides of him. "No, it doesn't work that way. You are my daughter. Same DNA, same parents. You just lived a different life in the last year. That doesn't mean you're not my child" he said. He walked over to her left foot. At his height, the top of his head barely reached her big toe. "You got callouses sweetheart" he said rubbing her giant toe with his hand. "I've had to do a lot of fighting lately" she said. "Show me. Show me what you got" he said to her. "No, it would be unfair" she said. "Bawk bawk bawk!" he said clucking like a chicken. "I'm not chicken" she muttered. "Bullshit. I'm betting you'll lay an egg out of your pussy any second now" he laughed. Faith grabbed him up and stormed out of the room. She walked right past the confused others into the courtyard.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked. They shrugged and followed her. They followed her right to the training circle. She placed him on the ground and promptly shrunk. "Rules?" she asked tossing her nightgown away. "No offensive magics and no weapons. Hand to hand. First to yield wins" he said. "This isn't a good idea. Faith is imbued with deity level power right now" Cordelia said. Keith looked at the giantess for just a moment and back down to Faith. "Stay out of it. Daddy knows best" he said. Faith stretched and slid her right foot forward slightly. "Hehe...alright. Fortification!" he yelled activating arcane. He stood there a moment. "You won't even bother fortifying yourself?" he asked. "Pointless" she said. "That cockiness is going to cost you" he said growling as he attacked. Keith threw kicks and blows, most of them missing as she sidestepped back and forth. As the fight continued, he got faster and faster until she was forced to parry. "Closer and closer" he grinned. With uncanny speed, she struck his chest with her palm knocking him right off his feet. "Interesting" he muttered coughing. "This is over" she said standing over him. Keith swept her legs with his foot making her stagger. He jumped up and punched her hard in the face. "Faith!" Alicia yelled. Faith held her hand out motioning for the giantess not to interfere. She wiped the blood from her nose. "I didn't enjoy that" Keith said. Faith's eyes glowed for a moment as the very sunlight healed her instantly. 

She shifted her stance.  She threw a kick so fast Keith barely had time to dodge. His movement left his open as she used her momentum to follow up on a second roundhouse. The impact staggered him. A quick blow to his ribs followed by another and another made him spit blood. "This is stupid! You're father and daughter for Christ sakes!" Alicia yelled. Keith grabbed her wrist and shoved her hard. Off balance, he used the opening to shoulder lock her from behind. Keith squeezed hard enough her face turned reddish purple. She held out her hand and a symbology arcane flowed around it. "Whoa. What the hell is that?" Keith asked. Faith felt the overcharged fortification fill her body. She grabbed his wrist and broke it easily. Free of his hold, she pulled her arm back. "FAITH NO!" Cordelia yelled throwing her hand down. There was a loud cracking sound after Faith ended up punching the giant goddess' index finger. Keith stood motionless as the gust of wind ripped past him. Cordelia bit her lip as her index finger painfully twitched. "Cordi?" Dru asked. "She broke my finger" she muttered. "If she had punched him..."

"You would've killed me instantly" Keith said aghast. "The match is over" Faith said leaving the ring and growing to human size. "How long has been that way?" he asked them. "Since this morning. She wasn't like this before. Not cold, emotionless" Marco replied. "Something is wrong, and I have an idea who's responsible" Alicia huffed going back into the house. Mary sat quietly on the sofa cushion still nursing her neck. Alicia abruptly sat down next to her. Mary scampered away in terror until Alicia caught her in her hand. "Please don't hurt me!" she begged. "I won't but I'm betting you're the cause as to why Faith is acting weird" Alicia said opening her palm. "In what way?" Mary asked. "Her feelings of kindness, caring, sympathy is gone. She didn't even show real anger when she grabbed you" she replied. "And she's been that way since she woke up" Lucy added hopping onto the coffee table. "What did you really show her Morpheus?" Cordelia asked flexing her healed finger. "Her deepest desires. Her kids grown, a life with her parents, peace and tranquility" Mary shrugged. 

"The devil is in the details. If it was so tranquil, why did she fight it?" Keith asked standing over them. "Her deepest desires were...problematic. What she had done in her previous life..."

"She hates herself for it we know" Alicia said. "That's not all of it. Part of her wants to be that person again. I offered it to her free of charge. No consequences, no harm no foul. She refused" Mary said. "Good girl. So, it's trauma we're dealing with" he said. "No, I've seen her broken before" Alicia said. "Where is she now?" Marco asked. "With her babies" Theo said entering the room. Everyone got tense. "She's holding and breastfeeding them but, it's like she's on automatic" he said to them. "That's it?" Lucy asked. Theo nodded. "Morpheus. Do you feel the connection between you two?" Cordelia asked. "Yes, I do. It's strange as all other feelings I sense now" she replied. "So, to confirm you've never had a real body before?" she asked. "Never" she replied anxious as she slid her bare foot along Alicia's palm. "Since she bonded with me, I can sense Faith even at a distance. She even took on some of my personality traits" she said. "I noticed that. She's more cheerful lately...until this" Alicia said. "So, what if she took on Mary's?" Cordelia asked. "She doesn't seem apathetic to me" Alicia said poking the tiny girl. "I'm betting she was before. The stories say you're more or less an impartial deity. That right?" she asked Mary. "Of course. Dreams, even nightmares don't play favorites. From the beggar in the street to the King on his throne has them" she replied.

"So, you would show apathy when it came to giving them" Cordelia said. "Yes, I would" she replied. "So, Faith is acting like she doesn't give a shit about things because she absorbed Morpheus's personality?" Marco asked. "That and she does feel traumatized. Her apathy is blocking her from reaching out" Cordelia said. "So how do we fix it?" Alicia asked.  Keith stood up and left the room. He found Faith calmly sitting in the middle of her bed borrower size breastfeeding Matty while rocking Grace in her left arm. Keith sat down and shrunk before approaching her. "You mind?" he asked pointing to Grace. Faith shook her head and handed her to him. "She's beautiful. She looks so much like you" he said smiling. Keith tickled her cheek grinning and his granddaughter smiled. "I only got to hold you for three minutes. Three minutes before you were taken from me" he said. "Faith? Do you think something is wrong with you?" he asked. "I'm just a little tired is all" she said flatly. "So being tired almost caused you to decapitate me with your fist?" he asked. "You're exaggerating" she said.  "You broke the finger bone of a giantess. At our size, her finger bone was as strong as concrete. You think my tiny skull is as resilient?" he asked. Faith reminded quiet.

"We think you absorbing Morpheus' power also caused you to absorb part of her personality. That and being traumatized has caused you to emotionally shut down" he said. "That a bit of stretch. I admit I made a mistake during our match but me shutting down my emotions?" she said. "Not once have you hugged me since you awoke. I know what you felt when you looked at me last. You shared that with me. It was a pain so deep I'll never forget it. You deny that?" he asked. Faith blinked hard. "It was painful for me to be in your palm again. To smell you, feel you, hearing your voice" she muttered. "So what changed?" he asked putting Grace on his shoulder. Faith floated up to the baby crib and put Matty in it. After giving him a toy, she came back down to the bed. She took Grace from him and repeated the same. "Faith talk to me. You're worrying daddy" he said. Faith ignored him and grew to human size. She left him to take a shower.

Days old sweat scrubbed and rinsed off as she thought about what he said. She knew something was off. Over and over she thought about what it would be like if they met again. How she might react. What might be said. Of all the things she imagined, her being cold and distant was not one of them. She finished her shower and dried off. She walked slowly back to her room and paused as she could hear her father crying. Her heart skipped a beat. She entered the room and sat down on the bed finishing drying her hair. "Why are you crying?" she asked. "I don't know what to do. My little girl is so hurt she closed her heart off and I don't know what to really do" he muttered. She looked away slightly. She nearly jumped when he had walked over to touch her foot. "I'll be damned. You have the puncture scar" he said rubbing his hand across a small scar on the ball of her foot. "The one I got on our first camping trip, yes" she said. Keith sighed and reclined in the arch of her foot. "What do you feel when I say I love you very much?" he asked. Faith shifted slightly. "Nice I guess" she replied. "Your brothers? Sister?" he asked. "It's not my life dad. Not anymore" she said quietly.

Keith got up and walked to her crotch. "Sometimes I think our family has a curse on it. How many times have I asked when we can truly be happy? No world to save. No great threat to society as we know it. I was even robbed the chance to see you give birth. My god you look so much like your mother" he said. His hand rubbed the inside of her pussy for a moment. "Taste and smell like her too. I'm not going to let you simply die on the inside. If I have to bring you back...then so be it" he said using her juices to make a lightning arcane. "What are you..."

*crack*

Faith's eyes went wide as Keith channeled a lightning bolt right into his own heart. The tiny man fell dead before her. Her breath quickened to almost a panic state as she restarted his heart. Keith gasped for air. "Why...why..." she muttered. Keith climbed up her crotch. "Don't...don't touch me" she said as he walked to her belly. Faith laid back on the bed not wanting to touch him as conflicting emotions struggled to break to the surface. His bare feet sank into her soft flesh as he walked up her chest. It rose and fell rapidly. Her large heart beating at a fast pace. He paused between her breasts smelling the traces of breastmilk on her nipples. His mouth watered but he was not there to indulge. "Please...please...daddy don't touch me" she begged. "Why? What are you so afraid of?  he asked. He kept walking up to her neck and hopped off. She strolled to her left ear and whispered..."it's okay to not be okay but don't be not okay alone".

"PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!" she begged sobbing. Her emotional break was so intense her growth spell broke causing her to shrink before him. "My dream was Hope was dead and I took her place and..."

"Shhh. It's okay" he said placing her in his lap. Keith held her close and rocked back and forth as he petted her hair. He never recalled her ever crying so hard. It hurt him so much to see his child in so much pain. No amount of licking her pussy or sucking her toes would calm her right then. She listened to him sing softly. "Well I love, love you darlin' come and go with me. Come home with me, way beyond the sea. I need you darlin', so come and go with me." he sang. 

There was a pause. 

"Come, come, cone, come, come into my heart. Tell me darlin' we will never part. I need you darlin' so come and go with me..."  Faith sang. "Ah you remember!" Keith grinned. "Of course, I do. You sing that song all the time. Why?" she asked. "The first time you ever danced was to it" he replied. Faith had to think long and hard to remember that first time she heard it. Late July 2018.  She was barely three weeks old and still experiencing things for the first time. Keith was busy overlooking old journals he'd come across that belonged to Lily while Hope (now Faith) was busy browsing YouTube. To keep some of her curiosity in check, he had the safe search turned on. She found herself touching and opening a playlist of songs which began. The blast of music startled her, and she found the repetitive beats alluring. She felt the urge to move her body with the rhythm. Worried, she looked at her father to see his head slightly nodding to the sound. "So, it's natural" she thought. She stood up and began to tap her tiny foot. Her hands clapped. Keith glanced over. "Oh" he chuckled. Keith quietly got up and tiptoed behind her. He smiled as his little girl danced before him. The song ended with him clapping. "Daddy! Scared me" she sighed turning around.

"Couldn't help it. You like that song?" he asked looking at the screen. "It's okay" she shrugged. "Come Go With Me by the Del-Vikings. Your grandmother Beth had this on vinyl" he said. "What's vinyl?" she asked. "An old physical format for music" he replied. "Is there more by these Del-Vikings?" she asked. "Let's check their Wikipedia" he said. Father and daughter read their page. "Daddy? Why weren't they allowed to perform in the South?" she asked. Keith was slightly worried about the answer as he didn't want her to know about racism so early. However, he didn't have the heart to lie or ignore her. "They were an integrated music group. In those days, humans in America had problems with white and black humans mixing socially...and physically" he replied. "Why?" she asked. "...sometimes hate doesn't need a reason why. Hate can be taught and passed down. Some hate because they're too afraid not to. Or maybe...they hate themselves" he said softly. "I don't understand daddy" she said. "I hope you never do munchkin" he said kissing her.

"I remember now. I remember what you said afterwards. After you went to bed that night, I turned off safe search and browsed YouTube again. I learned what hate was. I learned other words too. Rape, torture, vore" she said. "My god. Faith..." he muttered. "It was probably then I wondered what humanity really was about. Where my doubts began" she said. He looked at her worried. Faith kissed him. "I understand now that not all of them are that way. That they have to be given a chance " she said to him. Her stomach growled. "Guess someone is hungry" he chuckled. "Then this someone should get something to eat" she chuckled getting off his lap. She grew to human size and got dressed. She looked at her babies and smiled seeing them sleeping peacefully. Keith grew and held her hand as they left.

They were all quiet as they entered the living room. "Who wants lunch?" Faith asked grinning. "I do" Keith said. Faith nodded and went to the kitchen. "Whoa. What did you all say?" Lucy asked. "Some things. Part of the problem was she feared I'd hate her. Another is whatever is going on here is causing her depression. That goddess there compounded it all. She needs a vacation" Keith replied. "A vacation. Never thought about that" Alicia said. "Where could she go? She's being hunted" Marco asked. "Indeed. Last thing we want is more innocents involved" Dru said. "Yorkshire? Seeing her mom and siblings could help. Oh damn...the other Hope" Alicia said. "Oh damn is right. Aspen, Claire, and Lawan don't know of her yet. It could make it all worse" Keith said.  "Then where could she go?" Cordelia asked. "What about Eden? You know back in the island in Indonesia?" Theo asked. They looked at him. "Or not?" he muttered. "No, that's actually a really good idea. It's defended and has really nice beaches" Alicia said. "I've been meaning to check on the place" Faith said boiling water. Keith pointed to his ears. "Oh right. Borrower hearing" Marco muttered.

Faith made them some light pasta and they all joined in except Dru who couldn't eat. Even Mary was invited to eat.  "So this is what chicken parmesan tastes like" Mary said eating a bit of it as she sat on the table. "So Mary, who sent you?" Faith asked. "Wait. Didn't Morrigan send her?" Alicia asked. "No, Morpheus said as much before my dream prison ended. Pass the wine please" Faith replied. Mary stopped eating. "Can you protect me?" Mary asked. "If you cooperate..."

"CAN YOU PROTECT ME?!" Mary screamed terrified. They all looked at her. "Yeah, yeah I will" Faith replied. Faith reached over and picked her up. She placed her next to her plate and petted her head. "Mary, is the one who sent you that bad?" Faith asked. Mary's body trembled as she nodded. "Who is it?" Cordelia asked. "The first one. The first woman" Mary replied softly. "Eve as in Adam and Eve?" Alicia snickered. Mary shook her head. "Eve was not the first. It was her" Mary said. Marco tensed up. "I thought Eve was the first woman at least for Christians" Alicia said. Mary dabbed her hand into the giant plate of pasta. Coating her hands in sauce, she wrote out the name she dared not speak aloud.

"That's it? I knew a girl with that name in middle school" Alicia said. "Where do you think it first came from?" Mary asked. "But I don't recall seeing a Lili..."

"Shh! Don't speak it aloud! Just doing so could incur her gaze!" Mary yelled. "Oh come on. Since when do we play by Beetlejuice rules?" Alicia snorted. Marco raised his hand and his symbology activated. He surrounded them all in a barrier. "Hmm. Nice work" Keith said plucking the barrier. "A barrier within a barrier? Marco you know something about this?" Faith asked. "You recall that the houses of Campioné were formed during the council of Nicaea right? You remember the public reason why it was formed as well?" he asked. "Joseph told me it was to edit the bible. Like what books to include and not to include" she replied. "Exactly. One of the books not included was the full version of the book of Genesis. In it, there were two humans. Adam...and Lilith."

Mary shuddered at the name. "Right. Lilith was created exactly the same as Adam, however she refused to be subservient to him. Well the final straw was broken when she wanted to be on top when having sex and Adam didn't. Adam complained to God and Lilith gave them both lip. God kicked her out of Eden and as revenge swore she would murder his offspring. Some believers of Judaism still hold their belief in her" he said. "Enough belief she became real" Faith said. Marco nodded. "So, the Campioné knew she was out there? Why haven't they taken her out yet?" Lucy asked. "You think they haven't tried? She's an Elder class goddess. Probably the first of them all. We don't even know the full extent of her power" he replied. "She can control any man on the planet. Bring death to any child. Render women barren of womb. Assume the form of any woman. Goddess knows what else she can do" Mary said softly.

Meanwhile in Indonesia...

Juli woke up and saw her lover was not in bed with her. She checked the sheets making sure he or her (she didn't remember) was not crawling around having their own bit of fun with her giant body. Nobody. "...Maya...yes her name was Maya. Maya?" she called out. No answer. She was not accustomed to her lovers leaving in the middle of the night and was annoyed as she laid back down. She heard a heavy thump down the stairs. The Indian woman rose from her bed and placed her bare feet on the floor. "Damn it's cold" she muttered as she walked out of the bedroom. "Maya? You okay?" she asked worried. She had chosen Maya from the ranks of mages for some fun that weekend which was allowed as long as it was consensual. Juli being exceptionally beautiful was rarely denied requests. The steps creaked with her weight as she went down. A faint light coming from the fridge illuminated the floor. "Maya?" Juli asked. "MAYA?!" she yelled finding the naked girl on the floor. A small pool of blood near her throat. Juli panicked and went to heal her immediately. "Thank god she's still breathing. Maya who did this?!" she asked. Maya began to open her eyes...red glowing eyes.

Suddenly, an ice-cold hand grabbed her throat by behind. "Finally. One with some flavor" a chilly voice growled. Juli raised her hand to strike down her attacker only to find her hands bound with magic. Magic being used by Maya. "She is yours sire" Maya said. Juli gasped at the sight. Two puncture marks in her neck. Her pretty peanut butter skin pale and the irises of her eyes glowing red. Juli let out a whimper as she felt something bite right into her jugular. She could feel it sucking, slurping, drinking her blood. She felt weak. Her magic fading. And then something queer enter her being. The hand let go of her and she fell to the floor. Her vision blurry she looked at who attacked her. A pale visage of a half-naked man with glowing eyes. Juli slipped into unconsciousness. Sometime later, she awoke. "Rise" he commanded. Juli rose to her feet. Her senses sharper now. Night vision, hearing and smell more acute. Most alarming was her incisor teeth were sharp and pointed like daggers now. She saw him what she considered glory. A man with black hair and ruby eyes. His skin flawless like alabaster. A torn robe dressed his form. He flexed his hand as raw magical energy crackled from it. "Excellent. Your power and lifeblood mine now" he chuckled. Juli felt a hunger in her. Hunger for him...and blood. "More...I want more" he said. "As you will milord" she said opening the front door. She began leading him right to the Mage dorms...

"Why can't she wait till morning?" Alicia asked. "Her father said the sooner the better. Apparently, depression can be very dangerous to a borrower" Dru replied. "It is. There were times..." Lucy sighed. Theo sat next to her and hugged her. She kissed him lovingly until their baby began crying. "May I?" Mary asked sitting on the adjacent sofa cushion. Reluctantly, Lucy handed her son to her. Mary placed the infant on her shoulder and patted her until she burped. "Whoo..." Mary said. Lucy watched her for a few minutes as she cared for him. "You're pretty good" Lucy said. "I've been caring for infants for thousands of years. Well, in their dreams anyway" she said. "None of yours?" Theo asked. "Nobody means no womb" Mary replied. "What's a baby's dream like?" Lucy asked. "Distorted mostly except when they're...abused. Flashes of light and sound blinding and deafening" she replied softly. "It just occurred to me you've seen some really bad shit" Lucy said. "I am impartial. Good or bad is meaningless to me" she said. "It doesn't seem that way now" Lucy said. "These new sensations have given me more perspective. Holding your son feels very nice to me. Is this what it's like to be a mother?" she asked. "Just a part of it. Feeding them. Smelling them. Looking into those perfect eyes" Lucy said. "Now that I have a body it occurs to me that I can bear a child. Is anyone willing to fuck me?" Mary asked flatly. Alicia spat her iced tea in surprise. "It's not that simple" Alicia said. 

"It seems so. I have seen the dreams of many mortal where they meet up and fuck somewhere. Is this not true in real life?" Mary asked handing the boy back to Lucy. "It is but don't you care about romance, courtship, marriage?" Cordelia asked. "I'm curious of these things as well but they are not critical to conceding a child" she replied. "Morpheus..."

"Mary. Morpheus was what I was. I am no longer that" she said cutting her off. "You have been corporeal for just four days. There is a wide variety to what you're asking. It is one thing to bear a child. But is far more to wanting your mate to be there to raise it. To take care of not just it but you" Cordelia said. "If you say so. You know more about that than I would" she said quietly looking at Marco.

"So how many humans live on your island?" Keith asked. "Oh, about 50,000 by now" she replied as she packed her suitcase. "You're shitting me" he said. "Nope. Markus had been taking humans in since the Middle Ages. Their city is about a half mile long and a quarter mile wide. It's quite remarkable. Very modern with little to no crime" she said. "What's the catch?" he asked. "Subject to dying horribly. You saw my memories" she replied quietly. "How do you run something that complicated with him gone?" he asked. "My assistant Juli takes care of the busywork but they still kinda worship us. It's a work in progress" she shrugged. "Juli, wasn't she a ZODIAC?" he asked. "Reformed. One of only three I spared. Her, Alicia, and Susan's surrogate dad" she replied. "Surrogate? Faith you never said anything about that" he said touching her shoulder. "Teagan has his own problems. Serving them warped his mind severely. His artifact didn't help. He chose not to come back into her life" she said. "Don't you think she should know?" he asked. "And tell her what exactly?" Faith asked. Keith didn't know what to say to that.

"I weighed every option carefully including what to do with Markus' daughter. Everything that happened was the best outcome I could work with" she said. Keith petted her shoulder.  "Hmm. My bikini top is a little small. There we go" she said enlarging it with magic. "When was the last time you actually took a vacation?" he asked. "Technically never. When we lived in Washington State it was peaceful. Me, Alicia, Lucy, Theo, and the kids" she said. Keith could see the sadness coming back in her eyes as he closed her suitcase. "You sure you don't want Alicia coming?" he asked. "I need her here to watch Mary. She's not happy but she understands" she replied picking up the case. She carried it into the living room. "How long will you be gone?" Lucy asked her. "Three days tops. Long enough to clear my head" she replied bending down to gently tap her babies being looked after by Alicia. She kissed her wife before standing back up. "Three days" Alicia mumbled. "Three days" Faith said. "We'll see you when you get back honey" Dru said to her. Faith nodded and opened the translocation portal. She waved to them before entering. Keith followed her through.

"Welcome to the private island of Eden in the Indonesia archipelago. The local time is...4:33 am" Faith said as she carried her case up the stairs. Keith looked around. "Wow" he said. "It's nice yes" Faith said. "Anyone else stay in here with you?" he asked. "Now? Juli has a bedroom on the top floor next to the master, guest rooms on the lower level along with the maid on duty for the week" she replied. Keith walked up the stairs. "Are those silk sheets?" he asked as she kicked off her sandals. "Yep" she replied taking her clothing off. "Even Lily didn't live like this" he said. Faith shrank down and stretched out on the pillow. "Marks had a taste for the finer things in life. Women too" she said. Keith took off his clothes and climbed into bed. "Did you love him?" he asked softly as he ran his finger up her delicate back. "Yeah I did. And he loved me to. Killing him was the hardest thing I ever did...physically and emotionally" she replied rolling onto her back. "But you didn't kill him remember?" he asked. "In my heart I did. Shrinking small enough that a proton is the size of Jupiter is no different to me" she said coldly. His fingers began rubbing her little feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you" he said.

She curled her toes on his fingernail. "I'm not upset. Just cranky" she said. "Cranky girls get kisses" he chuckled leaning over to kiss her belly. "Daddy that tickles" she giggled. His kisses traveled to her breasts and she squirmed. Then they came to her pussy. She could feel his warm breath on her. She opened her legs for her giant daddy. With his right hand he played with her long hair. His left steadied her legs as he slipped his tongue between them. The tiny woman cooed softly as he gently licked her little snatch. "She really is my daughter" he thought tasting her familiar sweetness. Her bare feet dug into his cheeks as he began to gently suck her crotch. Her tiny fists clenching as he gave her the intimacy she craved from him. And with a sigh she came on his tongue. Keith watched in silence as she rested. He wondered what to do after all this. There was no way he could simply walk out of her life. Two Hopes. Each one dear and precious to him and needing a father. He kissed her one more time before closing his eyes to go to sleep.

"Faith wake up" he said poking her. "D... daddy? Wha?" she asked groggy. "Something is wrong" he said. Faith rubbed her eyes. "It's still dark outside" she said rolling over. "Exactly. It's 10:30 in the morning and it's pitch black outside" he said. Faith got up and looked at the clock and then the window. "...you're right" she mumbled as she enlarged and went to the bathroom. She came back as he was dressing. Faith threw on some clothing from her suitcase. "Juli?" she asked in the hallway. No response. She sniffed the air. "Her scent is weak. She hasn't been in the house for a whole day and a half" she said. "Strange?" Keith asked. "For Juli not entirely. She's...well she's a sex addict. Not uncommon for her to stay over somewhere to fuck. What's strange is I'm not finding any other...hold on..." she said walking down the steps to the living room. "Smell that?" she asked. Keith sniffed the air. "Bleach, sweat, and blood" he replied tensing up. Faith walked onto the veranda. "The lights in the city are on. No smoke, fires, no collective screaming. So, what's up with...a barrier?" she asked.

"There a barrier?" he asked. "We have one surrounding the island to protect from magical attacks and to safeguard the shrunken citizens from the elements. It's been tampered with. Not a beam of sunlight is getting through" she said. "Oberon said to would take a huge amount of magic to make a barrier this large" Keith said. "Oberon is right. The city streets themselves make an array. Every human here powers the barrier. It's uses life energy" she said. Keith looked at her. "It's perfectly safe. The load is spread out evenly between 50,000 people after all. What I'm concerned with is who could tamper with the array to this degree. To block out the sun would take more than 100 times the energy" she said. "Then is the is barrier still safe?" he asked. "...no" she replied softly walking off the veranda. "Where you going?" he asked. "The academy. I need answers" she replied. "Academy?" he asked. "Here is the home of over 1000 mages. It was used as a kind of boot camp. Think evil version of Hogwarts. Now it's used as a reform school and training academy" she said. "Whoa" Keith said seeing a human sized dorm building and then much smaller buildings close by. "Class A mages stay here. Class B and C there" she explained. She opened the doors to Class A. Silence. "Blood. More blood" Keith muttered.

 "HELLO! Anyone awake?!" Faith yelled. Her voice echoed down the hallway. They could hear the pattering of bare feet on cold floor approaching. "Faith? We were not expecting you back so soon" Juli said emerging from the corner. "Juli!" Faith yelled running up to her. She hugged her. "What the hell is going on here?!" she yelled. Keith kept an eye on the woman. There was something odd about her. "Whatever do you mean? I've been here for a while and have not noticed anything unusual" Juli said. "Are you kidding me! Look out the window!" Faith said turning around to point at one. Juli took a step towards her. She opened her mouth revealing her fangs. "BEHIND YOU!" Keith screamed as Juli sunk her teeth into her neck. Faith yelped in pain as Keith swung at Juli. Juli easily grabbed his wrist with unnatural speed and with unnatural strength threw him hard into the wall. Hard enough to crater the drywall. Faith raised her hand to attack her but felt paralysis creeping into her body. "Fort....fortification" Keith said activating an arcane. His bruised body healed slightly as he stood back up. Keith threw an even faster punch this time connecting with Juli's face. She fell backwards hissing. Her glowing red eyes locked on him. "Oh shit" he muttered.

He summoned Rune Breaker to his hand. "Don't..." Faith mumbled as she began shrinking. Juli attacked him with the ferocity of a wild beast. Hissing, clawing, growling. He had to fortify himself again just to keep even. "Kusanagi form!" he yelled changing the blade into a curved katana. It made his power drop but gave him an extra speed advantage as it harnessed wind magics. With a flurry of slashes, Juli backed away. "It's clear my daughter cares about you. Don't make me do this" he begged. Juli laughed. "Her blood is exquisite! More than enough for my master. Come little borrower. See your death through me and our legion!" Juli yelled holding her hand above her head. Keith could hear the shuffling of feet behind her. A few, five, a dozen, dozens of mages came through the various doors linked to the main hallway. Mages with glowing eyes. Chains of pure dark magics bound him where he stood. "Oberon!" Keith yelled. The old fae took control of his body and forced light magic through him. The chains cracked and broke. Juli growled in annoyance and went to restrain him. "Jesus, you're not even alive" he muttered as he grappled with her while trying not to let go of his sword.

With a burst of light magic Juli fell back. Keith pivoted his feet and ashes with blinding speed cutting her head clean off. Nearly instantly, Juli turned to dust and bones. "Juli..." Faith whimpered. Keith grabbed his small daughter off the floor and found himself slowly being surrounded. Then a chill filled the air. The lights flickered as a long figure emerged from the horde. "Give her to me and you will live" the strange man demanded. "Eat a dick" Keith replied getting ready to fight. Faith could feel his hand trembling. The fear and terror in his heart. Fear and terror not for him, but for her. "Sh... shrink" she muttered. "What?!" Keith asked. "Do...it" she said. Seeing no other option, he trusted her and shrank down. Keith held her in his arms. "Translocation" she muttered forming a portal underneath them. "STOP THEM!" the man commanded. The horde descended upon them just as they fell through. Keith and Faith landed hard in the middle of a town square demolishing tiny trees and benches. He looked around to find even though he was borrower sized. They were still a giant and giantess compared to everything else. Faith weakly shrank them further and with not a word, implanted an image into his mind. "Okay...okay" he muttered taking off running.

Keith ran like mad through down the street to where he needed to go. Luckily, it was not far, and his fortification sped up his footwork. He arrived at the front door and pounded it nearly breaking it down. Faith had lost consciousness as blood still trickled down her neck. "OPEN UP! OPEN UP DAMMIT!" he yelled. The door opened revealing an older man and woman. "My daughter...my daughter told me to come here. Please...please we need help" he begged. "Faith?! It's the goddess!   Quick inside!" the man said leading them in. "Clear the floor!" Keith yelled. The husband and wife pulled the rug up and tossed it aside. Keith tore Faith's clothing off after positioning her. Keith grabbed a knife and cut his hand. "What happened?!" the woman asked. "It sounds nutty, but we were attacked by fucking vampires. Jesus Christ. Immortals, body jumping fairies, gods, now fucking vampires? What's next the tooth fairy on crack?" Keith hissed as he dripped blood in a circle around his daughter. He quickly began scribbling runes to form an array. "Do you know any magics?" he asked. "None. We were never blessed with the aptitude. Thankfully, we were blessed with a son cute enough to be either eaten or used for sexual..."

"Alex, we are not to think at way anymore. We were commanded by the goddess" his wife interjected. "Christ. Can either of you tell me why she chose this place of all places for us to go?" Keith asked. "Probably because our son is the father to her child Matthew. We are truly blessed" the woman replied clapping her hands in prayer. Keith shook his head. "Don't ask a question unless..." he whispered as he put the finishing touches on the array. "Fae healing magic. Array activate. Restoration!" he commanded. The array glowed to life and began to heal Faith. The punctures in her neck closed and then she began to have a seizure. "Hold her down but don't smudge the blood!" Keith yelled. The man and wife did as told as Keith concentrated. "No...no no no! Her heart is stopping!" he yelled. Faith began to sit up even through the man held her arms. She looked dead at her father with glowing eyes. "He's calling me" she said. "Fight it! Fight it dammit!" he yelled. A dark energy began to seep from her. "You're not a quitter so don't you dare start now!" he yelled holding her. Keith tried to restrain her as she stood up. Keith kissed her deeply. His tongue invading her mouth. He could feel her vampiric teeth slowly growing. "Daddy' begging you. Don't leave him alone. He's so scared" he whimpered crying. Faith looked at him once more as a tear fell from her eyes. "Do...not...follow daddy" she stammered.  She pushed him aside and oddly walked down into the basement. Keith couldn't help but follow terrified for her. The basement door was closed and just before he forced it open, there was an intense light and a scream coming from behind it.

The playing card box sized house shook intensely. Dinner plates crashed to the floor. Lamps fell. A column of light tore through the floor scorching the ceiling. Then...silence. Keith kicked the door in to find his daughter on the floor. The sheer heat from the concrete made it feel like an oven in the basement. "I got ya baby" he said picking her up and carrying her upstairs. "Water..." she whispered. The wife hurriedly got a glass of water for her. Faith gulped it down. "It's out of my system. I burned it right out" she said. "I thought I lost you" Keith said shaking. She held his hand. "You almost did. Your heart. I heard your heart through the darkness. He's a monster. I saw what he is" she said. Keith sat next to her and wiped the sweat off her face. "You're still hot" he said. "I'll run a cold-water bath" the wife said to them. Once she had, Keith carried her to the tub and placed her in it. "Fuck that feels better" she sighed. Keith used his hands to pour water on her head. "When I felt his call, I could see into his very being. He's a shade" she said. "A what?" he asked. "A reanimated soul given physical form" she replied. "I thought he was a vampire" he said. "He is. He's the first vampire in all of history. His name is Ambrogio*"

(Authors note: While doing research for this chapter, I was surprised to find the actual origins to what we would consider a western vampire. The story dates back to 450 BCE Delphi Greece involving the ill-fated love between a man named Ambrogio and an oracle Selene)

"He's a plague upon mortal kind. He drinks blood to invigorate himself, but he also absorbs the magical essence of those that have it. He sucks them dry until only a mind-controlled shell of the victim remains. His curses are passed from victim to victim like a disease. The bite itself acts like paralyzing venom and holds the victim until the job is done" she muttered. "I had to kill your friend" Keith said. "...you didn't kill her. You freed her" Faith said softly. "If you know so much about him then surely you know how to stop him" he said. "Light and silver. His weakness is light and silver. A curse bestowed by Apollo and Artemis. I purged him only by focusing Ishtar's light within me and burning his curses. It left me weak though" she said. "So, you can't use it on the others? There were dozens coming after us" he said. "Hundreds. More like hundreds by now. He devoured every scrap of magic from the Class A and a good amount from Class B. It's the only way I can think of to use so much power to corrupt the barrier. But to sustain it..."

"He's using the citizens. He knows he can't leave here so he's using them to keep the darkness barrier up until he drains this place dry, including you" he finished. Faith stood up and got out of the tub. She faltered and Keith caught her in time. "He'll kill them all. I can't sit around and do nothing" she said. "You have to. You can barely stand let alone fight" he said. "I have the power of goddesses in me. I am stronger than you think" she said coldly. Keith took his finger and slipped it up her pussy. "The hell?!" she yelled. "Stop me" he said. Faith struggled in his grip. She tried using magic only to see it fizzle out. He pulled his finger out. "If you can't stop this you can't stop him. This is partly my fault. You get your stubbornness from me. I know you want to fight. I know you want to protect these people with all your heart, but you have to play the long game. You go out there he will drink you fucking dry and everyone is fucked. You want that?" he asked. "...no daddy" she whispered. "Then rest" he said grabbing a towel. 

He dried her off and brought her to Theo's old room. He laid her down in bed and sat down next to her. "I want you to relax" he said as he began rubbing her feet. "How can I?" she asked. "The same why I did before you were born. I let the people who love me show it" he said. Faith closed her eyes. She could feel his warm breath on her soles. Her body tingled as his tongue licked her toes. His teeth as he slowly sucked her toes. His hand felt her legs. "Damn. She's been through a lot" he thought as her leg muscles were more developed than a normal borrower. Faith sighed contently as his hands massaged them. She felt his warm hand rubbing her belly. "That's my girl" he said seeing her breathing slow. His hands traveled up her chest to her bare breasts. Little drops of milk fell from her nipples. She squirmed a little. Keith bent down to suckle her breasts. "Hmm...yeah daddy. Feels so good" she sighed as he drank her milk. There wasn't much as she pumped her breasts for the babies before she left Italy and soon Keith had let go to play with her hair.

Keith stopped as soon as she fell asleep. He sat there in the darkness for a while deep in thought. He had played the brave general for her but deep down he was terrified of what she was facing. There was a literal horde of giant vampires out there and no telling when they would come for her. Oh yes, they would come for her. "She said sliver right?" Keith asked summoning his sword. "That she did, and Rune Breaker is made out of silver" Oberon replied. Keith was silent for a moment. "What are you planning?" he asked. "Do you really have to ask old man?" Keith asked. "No, I guess not" Oberon replied. Keith left the room just as the potted plants outside their window began to grow.

"What's wrong?" Keith asked seeing them standing around bewildered. "Our noses are bleeding" Alex said. Keith walked outside to find people in the streets standing around. Each and every one nursing nosebleeds. "It's beginning. The drain really is killing them" he said. Keith began to run to the entrance of the city. He didn't dare to grow for fear of alerting anyone. It would take time to get where he wanted. Time that was of short supply. 20 minutes into his run he abruptly stopped. What he had feared. What they had both feared was beginning. Keith could see far ahead a towering titan of a man, the same man he knew now as Ambrogio commanding human sized Mages along with borrower sized ones. "Take the four Cardinal points and work your way in. I care not for the others but bring me her alive" he ordered. Keith watched them fan out. Dozens, no hundreds of borrower sized vampires invaded the city and Keith could only watch as even he could not cut down that many. Keith fell back towards where Faith rested. If worst came to worst, he would make a stand there. His hearing was sensitive enough to hear the crunching of bug sized humans and screams. The air carried the scent of blood and death. 

It had been barely a year since Faith had taken over the island and made it clear there would be changes. They were free and no longer the playthings of mages, but old habits and beliefs die hard. When they first arrived, they accepted them. Trained since childhood, they came forth to please and pleasure them. Their red glowing eyes did startle them at first but there had been mages from time to time to have glowing eyes. They thought nothing of it. Certainly not the 14-year-old boy with his two older siblings. The closest vampire Mage approached. Her bare feet making tremors in the street. Still dressed in night clothing (as most were attacked in the middle of the night) she fit the bill for a girl looking for some cute humans to rape, squish, or eat. The three teenage siblings stood ready to oblige. The giantess looked down at the gathering crowd looking for something or someone. Her vampiric sight seeking magical power. Power maybe belonging to a girl named Faith.  She took a step forward right over the teens. "This is it! Die well!" the youngest yelled with pride as they stood naked ready for what was to come. Her giant bare foot came right down kicking up dust blinding the boy. He cleared his eyes to find himself square between her toes. His older brother not as lucky. Her toes scrunched scraping his flattened remains underneath her second toe. She bent down plucking his sister (surviving only because she was standing behind them) from the street. 

The giantess brought her to eye level sensing magic within her. She had just awoken to her power a few months prior and any other time would be indulging in pleasure giving humans herself. She had chosen to wait until she could control her size spell before enrolling in the academy. It bought her a few hours of life as she would've been one of his thralls otherwise. The giantess saw she was not Faith and tossed her into her mouth. With no ceremony, she pressed the tiny girl to the roof of her mouth until her body exploded from pressure. The vampire savored her blood for a moment before continuing her search. Over and over it played out as Keith watched. Girls, only girls plucked from the street only to be eaten. Pulled from lovers, parents, siblings. And then, then the humans realized this was no culling, no raid for fun and games, this was slaughter. They ran. Moving now, they were crushed flat by the dozens as the giants and giantesses had to step up their pace. The screams louder, buildings demolished for the girls hiding inside. A girl who awakened the other week showed extraordinary power within her. Now a target as she hid with her young brother. She hid with him in her bedroom as the ground shook and people screamed below. Their parents out at the market shopping when it occurred. Her door flew open and it was her best friend. 

They had known one another since kindergarten. Her friend was the only one around her that did not give her grief about not wanting to clean the feet of a giantess. Others said she disrespected their masters, but her friend stood by her side. She loved her for that. Sleepovers, borrowing clothes. Boys...girls. They were more like sisters. Her friend grabbed her and dragged her brother into the hallway thinking the sub-basement of their apartment was better shelter. It did no good against vampiric sight. A pair of fingers smashed right through the ceiling and upper floors nearly killing them in the process. The girls and her brother stunned by debris. Then she saw her friend plucked up. Her sandal falling ominously back down. The girl stumbled and looked up through the hole made. "No... NOOO!" her friend screamed as it was determined she was not the one she was looking for. But fresh blood must not be wasted. Thrown into the mouth of a giant their age and chewed alive. The girl stood there broken until her brother grabbed her leg crying. The fingers came back down sensing their real person of interest. The girl pushed her brother away just as she was plucked up. "YOU KILLED HER!" the girl screamed firing off her most potent blast of lighting magic she could. It struck the vampire in the face searing dead flesh. It froze. She watched horribly as the thing regenerated she tried to attack again but found her magic used up. It was all she had. She was not Faith and was tossed into the maw headfirst. 

She struggled with all her might kicking her legs until they were pinned. Her tiny bare soles sticking out from between his lips until a sucking motion brought her inside. The tongue three her hard to the roof of his mouth nearly breaking her neck. What little blood she shed made the monster want more. Pinning her between his teeth, he began her execution. Screams, ungodly screams rattled his dead teeth. That and the sound of crunching bones. And then mercifully stillness of death. He chewed her to a pulp savored her magical youthful blood and swallowed her remains. Empowered by the flicking remnants of magic, he carried on looking for candidates.   

Keith closed his eyes to the horrific sight. Girls, young vibrant girls devoured. Their futures cut short because they were looking for his child. The ghastliness of it all spurred him to action. When all seemed hopeless, Keith saw in amazement as girls from all over the city grew to meet the threat. However, Keith knew it would only delay the inevitable. Less than a hundred had risen to fight a horde four times their number and nigh immortal. Keith ran to the closest ones. She was young, 14 at best dressed simply. "SIR!  she yelled bowing seeing one her size but years older. "Off your feet" he said holding his sword. She looked at him oddly. "What...what's going on?" she asked. "Monsters. Goddamn monsters invading the city" he replied. "Where is Class S? Where's the rest of you?!" she asked. It dawned on him that she thought he was a high ranked Mage due to his age. "They're all dead. Turned into those" he said gripping his sword. He heard the sound of her pissing herself. The vampires turned their attention on all of them. "They're sensing your magics. You got any good spells other than growth and shrinking?" he asked. "Fire. I can use a bit of fire" she replied softly. "Better than nothing" he said. 

Battle erupted all around them as the vampires took the initiative. If the first few moments it was a slaughter. The low-level mages completely unprepared for an enemy with lightning fast reflexes, superior strength, and unnatural healing. The older ones rallied for a counterattack. Keith leaped into the fray. His superior combat training and experience giving him the upper edge one after another he cut off the heads of monsters. Their dust and bones raining down like abysmal rain. But as he struck one down, two more seemingly took its place. Not seemingly, the mages lying dead on the ruined streets and buildings had been turned. They joined the ranks of undead killers. Keith could hear fresh screams coming from mages being attacked by those who were friends just minutes before. He knew he couldn't hope to hold them off this way. "Attention. Withdraw from combat and focus on gathering the surviving people to the center of the city! NOW!" Keith yelled over a magical link. They all questioned who he was but only a high rank Mage could use such a link. The girl near him looked at him worried. "You heard me! Go!" he yelled. And so, began their retreat.

Keith kept cutting them down as they came. Slowly he was pushed back. If it wasn't for their methodical approach, he would've been overrun on all sides by now. His eyes now and then looked at the giant in the distance. Faith had told him there were 50,000 people here making the population dense for such an area. More density meant a longer time to track down their prey, but it also meant a bigger body count. 10 minutes had passed since he gave the order. Now it was time to go on the offensive again and that meant growing back to human size. Keith canceled the spell and now towered over the city and the borrower sized vampires. Of course, that meant he was fully visible now. "There you are. Take him" Ambrogio growled. Keith saw them swam towards him. "Yeah that's right you bloodthirsty fucks. Come at me" he thought. Their footsteps tore through the city demolishing buildings and squashing fleeing citizens by the drove. No longer were they looking for Faith. Keith bent down to begin writing arcane. The dust itself his medium.

Faith awoke in her bed. She felt strong again. Powerful. She left the room and came upon Theo's parents. They were on the floor breathing heavily. "Goddess?" Alex asked. "Shhh. It'll be over soon enough. Hang on until it is done. I command this" she said oddly. "What's done?" the wife asked. "A battle between monsters" she replied holding her hand out. The Eye of Bast appeared in her hand and she made a wish on it.

Meanwhile...

*crash*. "Cordelia?" Marco asked looking at the floor with broken glass on it. Cordelia was washing dishes when suddenly she went stiff. "Marco. Something has happened with Faith. She's pulling on the Green" she replied. "Green? What's going on with Faith?!" Alicia asked worried. "The Green is what Cordelia calls the source of plant life. It's basically where she gets the power for her Authority. What do you mean Cordelia?" he asked. "Faith is absorbing all the life energy of the plants where she is. Something has happened" she replied. "I knew it was a bad idea not going" Alicia said making a portal. She stopped abruptly. "I'm being blocked. That's impossible" she said. She tried forming it again. "I can't get it to focus on her!" she said. "Can you put it near her?" Marco asked. "Trying. Found it. I can open one on the beach" she said. She clapped her hands and opened one. Cordelia nearly fainted. "Getting worse. Hurry" Cordelia said. Alicia rushed though.

As she thought, she emerged on the shore. Her bare feet sank into the sand as she gazed and gasped at the sight of a void black barrier surrounding almost the entire island. She ran to it and found it as solid as diamond. She attacked it with the biggest spells she could muster. Not one scratch. Breathing hard, she grunted as she pounded her fists on it. "Adet " she growled summoning her artifact. With it, she could boost her magic with song. She began at once attacking it with a lightning spell as she sang a random song. The barrier fluctuated but did not break. Over and over she attacked and then paused. "This is no ordinary barrier. If it's black then it must be absorbing light. So, what if I hit it with a light spell? One pure blast" she muttered. Alicia took a deep breath, concentrated light magic into her hands, and fired off an eardrum rupturing note. It cracked and then broke. Not much but enough for Alicia to squeeze through. It closed as soon as she did. "Oh my god" she muttered after climbing the hill and looking on the city. Ablaze, broken, under siege, and Keith standing alone as tiny vampires began to swarm him. "What was that?" Ambrogio muttered sensing his barrier falter for just a few seconds.

Alicia ran full speed into the city not even noticing Ambrogio yet. She did notice the full-on swarm engulfing Keith. Bursts of fire magic incinerating small vampires by the dozen but even then they were wearing him down. "Cover your ears!" Alicia screamed at him. Not having time to ask why, he did. Alicia fired off a musical note seeped in wind magic blowing the swarm clear. "How? How are you here?" he asked gasping. "Something is wrong with Faith. She's sucking dry every bit of plant life energy" she replied. "Can't be. She's out like a light after she was attacked" he said. She looked around just as a vampire jumped at her face. She caught it squeezed. "Aw fuck what is it?!" she asked cringing at the hissing thing. "Vampire!" Keith yelled burning the streets around them. Alicia threw it down on the ground and crushed it under her bare foot. She squealed in terror as it exploded into dust and bones. A green light began to fly towards them. "Aw now what?!" Keith yelled. Just as it got near, the green light grew to human size revealing Faith. "I'd knew you'd come" Faith said with a slight smile.

"Faith!" Alicia yelled hugging her. "How?" Keith asked. "I used the plant life around me to...jump start my magics" she replied. "Faith. The city, the people" Keith said. "...I know. Alicia I brought you here for a reason. You once told me that if people sang your song along with you, you could leech their life energy" Faith said. "Yes, but it's horrible. When I did it it wasn't pretty. You don't mean..." she muttered. "Yes, but on a far grander scale. Slowly, very slowly at a time not to kill anyone and then transfer it right to me" Faith said. "You can't be serious. Everyone here? Faith there's 50,000 people! Not even you can..."

"50,000 no more. And if that fucker has his way, none will be left alive and he will be unleashed on the world like a plague" Faith said. "Guys! The big bad is coming right for us!" Keith yelled seeing Ambrogio hovering into the air. "This darkness barrier was caused by corrupting the existing one. The only way to bring it down is to overwrite it with a burst of light magic to cancel it out. I can't do it alone" she said. "Okay, but it had to be a song everyone knows. It won't work otherwise" Alicia said.  "I have Faith in you" she said. "Not yet anyway" Alicia said kissing her. "Sweet and all but guys!" Keith said firing of a lightning bolt at Ambrogio. The vampire deflected it easily. "Delay him as long as you can while we get ready" Faith said to her father touching his chest. Instantly the armor of Caner appeared on him. Keith nodded not even fazed anymore and gripped his sword as they flew to the center of town. Their giant feet shook the ground as they landed terrifying those nearby. "The barrier array begins here and spools out using the streets. Alright diva girl. Showtime" Faith said. Alicia knew that her regular songs wouldn't cut it. The outside world knee them but nobody here did. It wasn't enough to sing them. One had to feel them in their hearts. That was the trick to drawing life energy out of her targets. There was one song she could think of that might work. Just one that was well known enough and pure enough for her synergy to work. Alicia took a deep breath and began to sing...

"Twinkle twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star..."

"Brilliant. Goddamn brilliant. Everyone knows that song. Parents singing to their kids at bedtime and kids listening to it. A perfect memory. That's my girl" Faith thought smiling. Alicia's song began to touch the hearts and souls of the people in the city. They felt the urge to sing along. In English, French, German, Finnish, Russian, multitudes of different languages in unison singing. Alicia felt their energy drawn to her. "Don't die" Alicia muttered as she touched Faith. Faith nearly jumped out of her skin as life energy forced itself into her body. Raw and potent, it was like rocket fuel compared to the life energy she absorbed from flowers, grass, and trees. "Come forth Last Stigmata!" Faith yelled. The sword appeared in her hands and she stabbed it into the street shaking the buildings. An ant sized girl hugged her mother as she felt the tremors. She and her mother barely survived the attack. Her father not so lucky ending up squashed flat under a huge sole. Her shorts soaked after pissing herself, she felt the coldness. But her mother sang and held her close as the roof creaked and groaned. And in her fear, the girl began to sing with her. She felt a pull on her body. She felt tired. But the longer she sang, the calmer she felt.

"It's working" Faith said as she directed the energy into the array. Hundreds of tiny people came out of hiding to sing louder and harder. Faith did not look down and kept her eyes on her father fighting a pitch battle on his own. "But grandma? What big teeth you have?" Keith asked swinging his sword at his head. Ambrogio caught it on in his hand. The vampire hissed as it burned his skin. "Accursed silver!" he yelled tossing it aside and striking Keith in the chest with his first. Anyone else and it would've punched a hole clean through, but the armor saved his life. Cracked his ribs but saved him.  "Every story has monsters, but they all end up dead in the end" Keith said spitting blood. The blood froze in midair and was slurped up by the vampire. "It took the curses of a god to kill me last time and I'm 100 times more powerful now. No gods here to save you mortals from my palate" Ambrogio said digging hid bare feet into the street. The street cracked and fissured as he sprung forward to deliver a slash of dark magic. Keith staggered feeling it cut through the armor. "Possession mode" he hissed. In this form, he and Oberon were of one body one mind. It was taxing on both, but each gained from the other. Keith gained the immediate knowledge and insight into magic spells and Oberon hand to hand combat and superior reflexes and senses. "Light attribute. Luminous element form" he muttered invoking light magic into the sword. The vampire froze seeing it. 

Keith wailed on him and each strike burning the vampire's dark magic sheathing his body. With his speed, he staggered him and drive the sword into his chest. "ENOUGH!" Ambrogio yelled knocking Keith back. He pulled the sword out of his sizzling chest and throwing it onto the ground. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a flurry of dark magic spears to rain down on him. Keith focused his defenses to maximum and deflected all but one. It skewered him right through the leg. The pain broke his connection to Oberon. Ambrogio swiped up some of his blood. "Pathetic" he said shaking his hand. He waved his hand once more commanding dark magical tendrils to tear open homes all around him. Dozens of people were forced into the air by magician might. "No..." Keith muttered tying to stand as they were brought to his mouth. With a sick grin, he consumed them. His tongue crushing the bug sized humans to the roof of his mouth. He savored their blood before swallowing. Keith watched in horror as the wound he gave him healed in seconds. "Only one or two had what I needed but sometimes you need quantity over quality" Ambrogio laughed. Keith felt cold. The wound in his leg far more serious than it looked. Struggling to heal, he was in no position to defend himself any longer. The vampire gripped his throat.  

"And I will take your daughter next. I won't drain her immediately. No, she's a vintage that must be supped. Maybe, maybe I will give her pleasure before the enteral touch of Thanatos" he chuckled. The vampire squeezed his throat until a stray beam of light pierced the monster's left eye. He howled in pain and let go of Keith. "VERMIN!" he screamed as a frightening dark visage enveloped him in compete darkness. His hand shot out at unbelievable speed ensnaring a tiny girl in midair. Keith watched helplessly as he stuffed her into his mouth and bit down. Her screams abruptly stopped as he sucked her dry before spitting out her upper torso. Keith's rage boiled over as he recognized her remains as the same girl from earlier. "Keith....Keith what are you doing?" Oberon asked. Keith didn't answer as he forced magic through his body. Magic his body was not suited for. He collected his into his hand. The vampire could see what he was doing and grinned. Ambrogio slammed his feet into the street demolishing the last standing buildings. "As if a puny mortal could kill me! Do your worst fool! DO IT!" he screamed thumping his dark magic armored chest as his voice echoed through the burning city. "HARROWING!" Keith yelled activating the spell at point blank range.

*BOOOOM*

The shockwave bent around the vampire scouring the city in two directions for 50 ft. Tiny vampires and survivors were obliterated by its touch. As for Ambrogio, his darkness armor was dissipated, and his body broken but he stood. Stood and laughed as his eldritch bones and skin reformed. "No..." Keith muttered before vomiting blood. The recoil from using the forbidden spell, especially by one not blessed with magical talent, ruined his body. His arm was broken. Fingers shattered. His body growing cold from blood loss. He had not even the stamina for healing magic anymore. Falling to his knees, he glared at him. "I apologize. I considered you weak and beneath my notice but to use such a spell knowing the cost, I applaud you mortal. Not many have the spine for such a thing. I make an offer of you. Swear fealty to me and live for eternity. Be a noble among the rabble. What say you?" Ambrogio asked. "I... give a counteroffer" Keith said before giving him the middle finger. "Your middle finger? What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. The ground trembled before it began to glow. A massive magic array became visible all around them enveloping the city. Pure blackness it was made of until slowly the array began to change into white light. "Something tells me you're about to find out asshole" Keith chuckled.  Ambrogio looked ahead of him. In the distance was a small light that grew brighter. At first he thought it came from the woman he could see but it was illuminating her and not the source. "My barrier! No!" he yelled running to them.

For the first time in nearly 2,500 years, Ambrogio felt panic. The array was purged around him as he got closer. "Stop singing. STOP THAT INFERNAL SINGING!" he roared as his feet crashed through the city taking more lives. The barrier spell pulsed brightly enough to make everyone wince, even him, as it was finally purged of his corruption. The darkness in the barrier cracked and shattered like glass letting in the high noon sun. Ambrogio stopped dead in his tracks hissing. His darkness shielding him from being burnt to ashes. Faith pulled her sword from the ground and willed herself to human size. Those that could see her had no doubts anymore in their hearts that Faith was the chosen protector. Sparkling with shards of light and holding sword gleaming with light magic and sheer power, she was something to behold. Keith wept at the sight as he had seen NOTHING as beautiful before. And as he began to slip into death, he thanked whatever God could hear him for giving him the chance to see it. Ambrogio lashed out in fear only to have his arm cut clean off. Screaming in pain he fell back. "No more. No more monster. Your darkness has been banished, your feast is canceled, time to go back to the pit from where you came" Faith said coldly.

With a blur, she charged and slashed him. Then over and over she did it again literally whittling down the last defenses of dark magic he had until his pale lacerated body was exposed. "Mercy! MERCY!" he screeched. He gasped as her sword ran him through. "You're asking the wrong Campioné for that" Faith said with a chill. She yanked her sword out and kicked him onto his back. She planted her right bare foot over his face. With his vampire senses, he could easily smell the dirt and sweat on her sole but more importantly, feel her blood pumping through the veins and capillaries in it. He could feel her heartbeat. It wasn't fast, it wasn't racing as one would expect with adrenaline. It was a steady rhythm. Steady and constant. He realized in that moment why he had been chosen to attack this girl. He thought it a useless waste of his power. He had devoured more dangerous (in his mind) prey in the past. Thessalian witches drained dry after raping them. Powerful oracles torn apart. Demigoddesses themselves shrunk and eaten alive if they crossed him. But a mortal girl with no name making her famous? Surely a waste of his power. No. As her light imbued bare foot burned through his unholy skin, he knew why he was tasked to kill her.

She was approaching Ascension...

Faith pressed all her weight and strength down crushing his skull. And with that, the evil vampiric shade was gone from this world for a second time. Nothing of him remained. With him gone, so was his curse and with that gone, his thralls, his victims turned to dust and ashes. Faith walked away from the site towards Keith. She looked down on him lifting him into the air with magic. She said not one word as she healed his body. Willed his heart to beat again. Stabilized, she began walking back to the house leaving Alicia standing there in awe. "Oh god, now what?" she muttered.

Keith awoke to the smell of fresh coffee being brewed. His was lying in his daughters' bed but Faith was nowhere to be found. After taking what seemed the longest piss of his life. He staggered down the stairs. Every muscle in his body stiff and sore. "You're awake" Cordelia said handing coffee to Marco. "You're here" Keith said. "Alicia brought us here hoping our presence would help Faith" Marco said. "Where is she?" he asked. "The cemetery" Alicia replied softly gazing from the veranda. Cordelia gave him a cup of coffee. "Damn good" he muttered. "Thanks. I literally grew the beans this morning" she said. "Alicia you said the cemetery?" he asked. "She's been burying the dead for three days. All on her own. Lucy and Theo are staying with his parents along with the babies" she said. "THREE DAYS?! I was asleep for three days?" he asked. "Your body was a shattered mess. Faith said you were dead for a moment" she replied. "So, you've talked to her?" Keith asked.

"If you can call two or three word sentences a talk" she replied. They were silent for a moment. "You saw it didn't you? You saw the power she wielded" she said. "She took out the bad guy yes" he replied. "Took him out? She smote him with her damn foot! Like it was nothing!" she yelled. "Keith, she tapped into probably my most formidable power. To give or take plant life on a MASSIVE SCALE. There's not a single plant in that city left alive. Even the trees outside have wilted. Look at the ocean. Notice anything?" Cordelia asked pointing out of the window. "It's kinda...brown" he replied. "Because she sucked the life out of the seaweed and plankton. She killed the ocean life around us" she said. "SO WHAT?! She saved thousands of lives! Faced down the father of fucking vampires and what you just told me has been mourning the dead for three days! Jesus Christ unpucker your assholes!" Keith yelled slamming his coffee cup down. Keith stormed out of the house. It was fairly easy to see where Faith was being the tallest thing in and around the city. It was a careful 10-minute walk to get to her, but it gave him time to look at the city.

It was no longer burning but the morning light exposed the damage. Entire neighborhoods leveled to the ground but oddly in some places no debris. There were some people mulling about looking at the gigantic man strolling through the town but not as many as one would think. He paused watching the bug sized humans digging through debris and carrying out bodies into the middle of the street. Teams of humans carrying giant (to them) bones to be out in piles. No doubt borrower sized vampires that met their end. He watched in silence as people cried and mourned in front of their demolished homes. Keith bit his lip watching parents sift through the rubble of a school. A giant footprint dead center of what was probably the auditorium. Logically the place one would gather all the kids to be watched. And if so, they were no more. He finally reached Faith who was pouring dust and bones into a small grave the size of a shoe box. Hundreds of small little lumps of dirt stretched on for dozens of feet before then. "It's difficult. You can't tell whose bones are who's. I broke even and just interred a bunch until the grave filled" she said. "Honey..."

Faith motioned for him to be quiet. She set the grave on fire. "Cordelia said the curse could still be carried in their bones so cleansing fire is needed" she said softly. "Faith, tell me how you feel" he said. "It's even harder for the really tine people. The grave is easy. A few scratches with my finger, a few millimeters down is all. But the bodies...as durable as grains of salt. Again, mass graves especially the ones crushed flat. Took a while to literally scrape them off the street with my fingernails" she said. "Faith, talk to me" Keith said sternly. "You ever have to use a dustpan to dig a grave and fill it?" she asked. Keith shook his head. "I know how it feels. After the battle last summer on your birthday, I had to dig graves and mourn the dead..."

"That is nothing like this! You didn't have to pull the mangled bodies of kids out of their school with tweezers!" she screamed breathing hard. Keith could see her eyes flaring up. Faith willed fresh green grass to hide the newest graves. It was pristine with no hint of what lay below. "I'm done here...for now. 6,661 and counting" she said quietly. "That many?" he asked. "Before I took over here, when they died with bodies mostly intact, they were incinerated, and their ashes tossed into the sea. A few grams of ash and bone. No funeral, memorial, no grave plot. I changed that. Everyone should be remembered. Not disposed of like cigarettes" she said. "They didn't have a cemetery?" he asked. "Not until last year. Even then it was just a 20 ft. strip of dirt. Well I burned through that and then some" she hissed. Keith looked on as it was easy to distinguish what she made by the green grass and what was natural by the sandy soil. It was 200 ft. long and 25 ft. wide. 10 times what she began with. He held her hand and she pulled away. She disappeared in a flash of light leaving him there.

Faith translocated to the other side of the island and sat on a little bump of land near the northern edge of the city. She used clairvoyance to survey the area as it was a part she had not tried to clean up. She could see bodies crushed flat still lying in footprints. The smell of death had begun to get stronger over the last few days. Soon that and possible diseases would be an issue. She went over in her mind how to handle that and distributing food and water to the affected. With so much damage, basic utilities wouldn't be repaired for a while. "I should get Shanice to help organize food banks. She once said she...Oh" Faith said to herself until she remembered Shanice, one of the maids on staff, was one of the first to die. She hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. The same day the invasion was put down, Faith went about collecting the remains of the dead starting with the Class A mages. A literal ring of their bones surrounded the city as Ambrogio held them back for fear of them crushing Faith like an ant. 50 of them and Faith made a mass grave for them except for Shanice and Juli. Not just for sentimental reasons. The unnerving fact was Faith could smell their scent on their bones. She could identify them and only them. Faith buried them both under a beautiful palm tree. 

"You going to run again?" Keith asked behind her. "I'm busy" she muttered looking at him with glowing eyes. "I know but can I sit next to you?" he asked. She shrugged and turned her gaze back at the city. "If I did as they asked, disbanded my project, knelt, and kissed her fucking feet, none of this would've happened. I'm just as guilty as they are" she said softly. "Bullshit. You're an Acornwood which means you're and survivor and a McCormick which means you're not a bootlicker. From what you and Alicia told me you were the new girl in the neighborhood and these gods, goddesses or whatever the fuck they are didn't want to share the playground. FUCK THEM YOU HEAR ME!" he yelled. Faith flinched. "Nice speech dad but does it do them any good?" she asked. Keith looked at the city with clairvoyance. "The thing about senseless deaths is you can do something that gives them meaning. Medger Evers, 9/11, the Holocaust. All senseless until we gave them purpose! A rallying cry to change this shitty world for the better! And... hmmm...come with me" he said standing. He led Faith to a collapsed apartment no bigger than a shoebox. "And the thing about tragedy? Sometimes you can find a glimmer of hope that, and to paraphrase a great human, that the arc of our moral universe bends towards Justice" he said carefully pealing way the mound of debris to reveal a group of survivors huddled underneath a magical barrier. "Oh my god" Faith muttered. A lone girl with her hands held high saw the darkness peeled away and her goddess looking down on her. 

"Three days...she had that barrier up for three days" Faith muttered as the girl passed out. No less than 50 teeny little humans have their lives spared by the girl. When the attack began, the tenets rushed down into the basement. Then a massive rumble brought it all down on them. But a girl, a girl half the size of an ant, and no older than 12 held her hands high and created a barrier to save them all. She sang like the rest of them to banish the darkness and then it all went quiet. A day passed and she craved sleep, water, food. A second day passed, and they were sure they would die. Their cries for yield out of tiny holes in rubble that gave them air went unheard. The girl did not lose hope and told them to hang on. They poked her to keep her awake, gave what little water in the hot water tank they had to her. And on the third day her magic finally began to wane. The debris sagged as her barrier shrank. They huddled closer and closer. And when she had met her limit, her only regret was not seeing her beautiful goddess one last time. A goddess who showed them how to live than simply existing to serve or die. To see her face one last time. To gaze upon her glorious toes one last time. To thank her in prayer one last time. And then shaking and light. She thought she had died and fell to her knees as her barrier faded away. But she was not dead as she could feel her warm moist breath on her fragile tiny body. Her mouth, teeth, tongue looked so comfortable.

"Please...eat me" she muttered just loud enough for Faith to hear. "Jesus she's delirious" Faith muttered shrinking down to her natural borrower size before picking the girl up. Faith could sense her life hanging by a thread and began first aid by conjuring water from water vapor in the air and infusing the girl with stamina fortification. "Rescue teams here now!" Faith yelled. In minutes house drawn carts to ferry survivors to aid stations in the city arrived and took them away. Faith however still held the small girl in her hands. "She'll be okay. She'll be okay" she muttered. Keith placed Faith in his own hands. "What's your name sweetie?" Faith asked trying to see if her attentions were helping. "Selah" she replied weakly. "That's a pretty name" Faith said. "Why don't you see to her personally?" Keith asked Faith. Faith saw no reason to object at the moment and was still worried for the girl. Keith walked them back to the house. Everyone was watching as they returned, and Keith motioned for them to stay silent. Faith fluttered down onto the coffee table still holding the girl and silently saw to her every need for the next few hours. 

"Finally. She's stable" Faith said after coming back downstairs from tucking the girl into her bed. "Keith told us what happened. It's really a miracle" Marco said crossing himself. "Three days. Even class A mages can't do that" Alicia said. Faith sat on the sofa clearly exhausted. "She going to be okay in your bed? She's like really small, smaller than me right?" Lucy asked curious. "She's your size right now. Her body is just stable enough to be grown. Still, I'll be with her for a while. Selah..." she replied. "It's pretty" Lucy said. "It's Jewish. It means pause and reflect" Cordelia said. Faith looked at Cordelia for a moment and then closed her eyes as she looked at the ceiling. She took a deep breath as her body began trembling. They all grew worried and was not prepared for what happened next. Faith let out a heart wrenching wail. She cried so hard Alicia had to grab her from falling off the cushion. Marco looked down at his feet sadly. Cordelia closed her eyes. Lucy cried for her. And Theo held his wife. "Why? Haven't I suffered enough? Why can't I be happy like everyone else?" she whimpered. Alicia sat down on the sofa as Faith curled into a ball in her hands. "I'm tired. I'M TIRED GODDAMMIT!" Faith shrieked as light magic exploded form her body. As quick as it flared, it died down. 

"She passed out" Alicia muttered. "I don't think she even got a wink of sleep since she killed that guy" Cordelia muttered. "How much more can she take?" Lucy asked. Keith looked at her. "Don't. I'm saying what we're all thinking. I love her but we can't ignore she's worse off than she was a few days ago" Lucy said. "She's not going to hurt you" Keith said coldly. "I'm worried she'll hurt herself. You heard her. She's said she's tired. Pretending this isn't a possibility doesn't do her any favors" Lucy said to him. Keith was forced to agree. "Prozac?" Alicia asked. Keith looked at her. "Borrowers don't do antidepressants. It causes other problems" he muttered. "Then how do we treat a borrower with depression and possible suicidal tendencies?" Marco asked. "Love. Constant around the clock love" Keith replied softly petting his daughter with his finger. "I'll put her to bed and stay with her" Alicia muttered before standing up to leave. 

Over the next three days, Faith was very quiet around them. She would mutter to herself now and then and only talk to the girl she had rescued. She had taken an interest in the girl which seemed to be a good thing all around. They hoped that by helping her, Faith was helping herself. "That was great Selah. Now can you keep your growth spell up long enough while I do this?" Faith asked grabbing her ankle and ticking her bare sole. "HAHAHAHA! Stop it!" Selah laughed. Faith smirked at her. "Selah? Do you want to live here in the mansion with me?" Faith asked. "Goddess! I am not worthy to..."

"Faith. I am no goddess. Goddesses do not let their charges be murdered" she said to her. "Nobody has ever cried for us" Selah said wiping one of Faith's tears away. "Please don't cry. You've cried enough. You've mourned enough" she said. Faith looked at her. "I heard about the graves and other things" she said. Faith hung her head. "I failed you. I should've been here to protect you" Faith said. Keith and the others watching from inside the mansion to the veranda where Faith and Selah sat could hear them. Selah looked down at her toes searching for something to say. "You saved us. Today is my 13th birthday today and if it weren't for you I wouldn't be having it" she said. "If it wasn't for me you would've never been in danger" Faith said. "If it wasn't for you I would've been crushed, eaten, or worse by now. The God...I mean Aquarius liked our part of the city the most when he visited. He liked to eat pretty girls. Girls like my older sister" she said softly. Faith looked horrified at her. She hugged her close. "No more..." Faith whispered. She told up and walked back into the mansion. 

"Marco. I want to know everything about your parents last mission. Everything" she said to him. "Why?" he asked wary. "The only reason I defeated Ambrogio is because I used Ishtar's Authority. It's clear now what I need to do. I need to get stronger. I need to kill more gods and goddesses" she said coldly. "Faith. I don't know if that's a good idea. You had problems assimilating Morpheus' power last time. The toll on your mind..." Cordelia said. "Is nothing compared to the suffering down that hill. I'm sick and tired of people I love being caught in the crossfire. I need more power but before that there's going to be some changes" she said. "Like what?" Alicia asked. "All of you are going back to Italy without me. That includes my kids too" Faith replied. "Aww hell naw!" Alicia said as her Texan accent slipped out. "Alicia, I'm a walking talking ground zero for any shit coming my way. Look what happened to Lucy and Theo. You're all safer away from me" Faith said. "Faith honey you need to consider..."

"Am I wrong?" Faith asked cutting her father off. "...technically no but would you agree if the roles were reversed?" he asked. "YES! Yes, goddammit because it isn't just about my feelings. Lucy tried killing herself after she stabbed Theo because of what I brought into her life. Thousands died out there because what I brought into their lives. You yourself were a cunt hair away from death because of what I brought into your life. This is the smart play and you know it" she hissed. Keith didn't respond. "You're better off with me and Cordelia at least" Alicia said. "You're going back with them to help protect the others. The decision is final" Faith huffed hopping off her hand. She grew to human size to make some tea. "How can you calmly brew tea after telling us to get lost?!" Alicia yelled. "I didn't say that" Faith said lighting the stove. "You might as well have! You think I can twiddle my thumbs while you ride off into battle?" she asked. "It's the right thing to do. Never said it would be easy" Faith muttered as she watched steam escape the kettle. "Don't you remember how effective..."

"ENOUGH!" Faith yelled slamming her first down on the marble counter cracking it. Everyone looked at her astonished. Faith looked at her bleeding hand. She observed her blood running off it almost curious. "The only one in this room that has an inkling of how I feel is Cordelia. Isn't that right?" Faith asked the goddess. "I don't know what you're referring to" Cordelia replied. "Florian" Faith muttered. "You...you know about that?" Cordelia asked. "We're connected" Faith said tapping her head. Cordelia grew quiet and sat down. Faith poured her fresh tea and went back outside to Selah. "Who's Florian?" Marco asked. "My son" Cordelia replied softly. "...you never mentioned a son" he said. "Because it's very painful to speak about. He grew old and died as well as his children and his children's children until it was far too painful for me to keep watch" she replied softly. Marco held her hand. "Then what exactly did Faith mean?" Marco asked. "She's means that she considers all of us, even the multitude out there as family. And with so many lost she questions the point of caring. If there was a bigger fear in her heart then losing us, losing her love for us maybe it. We should honor her request" she replied.

Faith spent quiet dinner with them not staying much. Selah herself curious to it all if not awestruck just eating with her. "I wrote down what I could remember from what we learned and what mom told me when she...returned. Cordelia and she would probably be better at this" Marco said. "Maybe but I wanted to hear it from you" she said before kissing him. "Theo, Lucy, take care" she said sniffling. "Cordelia I'll be in touch soon" she said. "Alicia...come on face me" she said turning her shoulder. Faith deeply kissed her while hugging her tightly. Faith let go and clenched her fist. She felt her wedding ring with her finger. Alicia deeply wept and Faith motioned for Marco to see to her. "The strength you showed the other day I need to see again. If not for you then our kids" she said bending down. Alicia silently nodded. Faith opened a portal back to Italy and watched them leave. "Now for you old man" she said to her dad. "What am I to say to your mothers?" he asked. Faith took a step towards him. She breathed in his scent before kissing him. "Nothing because you won't remember none of this" she whispered before grabbing his forehead. Her eyes glowed as she activated a memory erasing spell. Keith tried to fight it as well did Oberon. "Stay out of this old fae. This is for his own good" she said. "And he does not have a choice in this?" he asked. "You of all people know the purpose of this don't you?" she asked him. Oberon was to shame to answer.

Keith's eyes glazed over as Faith rewrote his memories. She let go when satisfied her work was done. She watched in silence as her father left her life for a second time. Faith sat down on her sofa. "Well I love, love you darlin' come and go with me. Come home with me, beyond the sea. I need you darlin' so come go with me..." she sang softly to herself. Faith began crying softly hugging herself. The small pressure of a tiny girl on her knee made her stop. "Are you okay?" Selah asked softly. "Sometimes doing what's necessary isn't always easy. It can hurt just as much as doing the wrong thing" she replied. "It's really quiet right now. Did everybody leave?" Selah asked. "Yes, they did. You don't mind it being just the two of us in this big house do you?" Faith asked. "No, it's nice" Selah replied grinning. "You're adorable" Faith said ticking her with her fingernail. Selah chucked and then burst out laughing as her nail raked her tiny sole. "You're a quick study. Borrower sized and full control. That makes me very happy" Faith said. "Whys that?" Selah asked. "Gives me hope that there is a better future out there for all of us. That a girl with power like yours can have such a beautiful soul" Faith replied. Faith gave her a delicate kiss before carrying her to the kitchen. "Time for ice cream. What's your favorite?" Faith asked. "Double chocolate chip" she replied. "A cutie after my own heart" Faith chuckled.

Faith took comfort in the lull that night. She carried the girl to her bed and tucked her in. Faith smelled her little body and felt compelled to keep her safe at all costs. Little did she know how important this girl would be to her...and the world. 

 "Thanks for taking your time to meet with me Dru" Faith said to her. "Not like I was doing anything anyway. I'm dead remember?" Dru shrugged. "It's about the circumstances is why I summoned you. Marco and Cordelia have me the details of where and when and you have me some idea of the how and why. What I need to know is the smaller details. What kind of spells were used? Chants or unspoken? What elements did he favor? Appearance? Accent?" Faith asked. Dru took a moment to answer. "Lightning. So much lightning. Not the magic bolts people like you and me toss around. I'm talking about the oak splitting, air tearing, ear ringing kind. The air was heavy with it my goddamn hair stood on end. Just one ripped through my defenses like they weren't there" she said. "What else?" Faith asked.

"He spoke with a strange accent. Not quite Russian, not quite German either. A weird in between" she replied. "What did he look like?" Faith asked. "His hair was white and gold. It shimmered with lightning itself. His eyes blue as sapphire and just as cold looking. His body was strong, powerful, damn near professional model but the way he moved suggested he was older than he appeared. It's hard to describe Faith. It was as if he was anticipating any movement. A true seasoned warrior" she replied. "You said he shrank you. So, he can perform other magics than lightning?" Faith asked. "I'm sure so. He shrank us with ease. Even his healing spellwork was far beyond anything I've ever seen. No arcane to speak off but he did use chants. Soft spoken unrecognized chants" she said. "Anything else?" Faith asked. Dru shook her head. "Thanks" Faith said nodding. "How's everyone else?" Faith asked.

"Worried. Very worried. It's only been a week, but Alicia is making plans to sneak here" Dru replied. "She's to stay where she is. Am I clear on that?" Faith asked. "As a bell" she replied. Faith sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I did make the right decision didn't I?" she asked. "Faith, I watched my husband crushed flat like an insect before me. I know what it means to lose a loved one in the midst of battle. It's a fate I wouldn't wish on my enemies let alone my friends. Our life is the way of service and protection and sometimes that means going with her head and not your heart" she replied. "Thanks Dru. It's been a hard week and...one moment" Faith said. "Hmm. I'm needed upstairs. We'll talk another time. Goodnight Dru" Faith said dismissing her as easily as she summoned the shade to her. Faith got up off the sofa and walked upstairs. As she got closer to her bedroom, she could hear screaming.

She entered the bedroom to find Selah thrashing around in bed. "I CAN'T BREATHE! I CAN'T BREATHE! she was screaming in her sleep. Faith sat down. "Selah! Selah wake up!" Faith said poking the small girl. Selah gasped as she opened her eyes. She looked around to see she was in a giant bed being looked down upon by a concerned giantess. She put her head in her hands where she stayed until she looked down at the sheets around her. "Oh god..." she whined. "What? What is...oh" Faith muttered smelling urine. "It's okay sweetie" Faith said unfurling the sheets from around her. "Please don't. I'm filthy" she said. Faith shushed her and picked her up anyway. She carried her to the bathroom and stripped off her nightgown. Humming softly, she ran a warm bath in the sink. "Okay, slip right on in" Faith said. The highly embarrassed girl slipped into the water. "I can't believe I pissed the bed. I'm 13 for fucks sake" she hissed. "You've been through a lot Selah. It's only natural you suffer from PTSD. That was what you dreamed about isn't it? You were screaming you couldn't breathe in your sleep" she asked. "...yeah. Yeah I was" Selah replied. She jumped as a giant finger soaped her back. "You're safe now. I won't let anything happen to you" Faith said. The girl cried softly.

Faith let her cry to get it out of her system. "You know, in just a week you've come a long way. Even during a nightmare, you didn't shrink all the way back down. That's incredible honey" Faith said. "Nothing compared to what you can do. Compared to that, I'm nothing special" Selah said. Faith used her fingernail to turn the delicate head of the tiny girl. "You're more than special. You're spectacular. You're the one that saved those lives not me. I was ready to give up. All this power in me and I was this close to giving in" she said. "But you're so powerful! I heard how you killed that monster thing! You're a real hero! A goddess!" Selah yelled. "I'm no hero. It's easy to do those kinds of things when you have that much power. A hero is someone who shoulders the burden of doing what must be done to protect people when they know they can easily fail. Someone like you" Faith said poking Selah's bare chest.

Faith began drying her off with tissue paper. Selah looked up at her giant eyes. They seemed so soft and yet so sad. Once done, Faith carried her back to bed. "Hmm...don't see anything clean for you so you'll just have to borrow my nightshirt" she said giving the small clothing to Selah. It was humbling to her to be doted on by a woman she considered her goddess even though Faith told her not to think of her in such a way. "Are you lonely?" Selah asked suddenly. "I'm alright" Faith replied watching her slip the nightgown on. "Really? You look sad" she said trying to adjust the shoulder straps. "I'm a borrower. We kinda get attached to people we like easily. When they're not around, it can be stressful. Especially if it's a mate or offspring" she replied. "Attached how?" Selah asked curious. "Borrowers are more...sensual and intimate than humans. The first thing a borrower does in life is memorize the scents of their parents. Their first orgasm usually comes from a parent or sibling" she replied.

"So, you miss your parents" Selah said. "I think of them all the time, but I'm used to them not being around. Not as much as for daddy now..." Faith muttered. "I'm sorry for asking" Selah said. "It's okay. What about you? Your parents..." Faith asked. Selah's parents were never found after the attack and Faith had given up trying after Selah said they had gone shopping with friends. The area they had gone was literally flattened by several footprints. The victims crushed and mangled beyond recognition. "A lot. I miss them a lot" she replied. Faith laid down in bed next to her. "Are you attached...to me?" Selah asked. Faith nuzzled her with her nose taking in her scent. Faith smiled at her and gave tiny kisses to her little feet. "That tickles!" Selah giggled. "Yes, I'm very attached to you. I want you to live in a world where you don't have nightmares. A world where you're free to make your own choices. A world where you're safe" Faith said softly to her. Faith kissed her. "I love you sweetie" she said softly. Selah whimpered. "Now it's getting late and you need your rest" Faith said tucking her in. "Please don't leave" Selah begged. Faith slipped into bed. "Wasn't planning to" she smiled.

Selah felt at ease as her beloved giantess gently caressed her hair. Faith's soft humming lulled her into rest. Was it her instincts or fragile mental state that had her so connected to the girl? Probably both by this point. Yes, it was the combination of the two but also she saw herself in the girl. Bristling with raw ability and so young. Faith wished she were half as pretty as her. Only 13 with nearly C cup breasts and beautiful feet and toes. A slim but not skinny build with long pretty hair. If she were a borrower she would be narrowing down her choices in mates by now. If left alone, in just a few years she would be starting a family as per Markus' law. A law Faith did not have them adhere to. They decide on their own time she believed. Faith closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Selah awoke to find Faith not in bed. The clock read 11:34 am. She grew to human size after getting out of bed. After taking a morning piss, she left the bedroom. The steps creaked slightly under her human sized weight. Her surroundings seemed smaller and more enclosed which made her heart skip slightly. "Morning sleepy head" Faith said as she poured herself another cup of coffee. "Mornin'" Selah yawned. "I made oatmeal with bacon. Orange juice is in the fridge" Faith said sipping her coffee. Selah reheated breakfast and sat down at the table. "We training again today?" she asked. "Nope. I have some work to do. God hunting" Faith replied. "Can I help?" Selah asked. "Not a chance. Eat your breakfast" Faith replied sternly. The girl pouted as she ate. "I'm not an invalid you know" she whispered. "The one I'm going after crushed one person under his foot and tore apart another slowly. She begged to die" Faith said back. Selah was surprised. She didn't know her hearing was that good. Faith walked down into the basement area and shut the door. After finishing her food, Selah went and followed her. "Am I at least allowed to watch?" Selah asked an annoyed Faith.

*sigh* "Fine" Faith replied. Selah sat on the desk and shrank herself down as not to be too intrusive. "See? Better control" Selah said proudly. Faith absently nodded. Minutes turned into two hours as Faith searched through database after database until she huffed and took a break. "What exactly are you doing?" Selah asked stepping onto the mousepad. Her tiny feet barely sinking into the soft foam. "Research. Half the battle is finding their locations" she replied. "And searching the net can do that?" Selah asked. "Gods and goddesses are creatures of habit. Now and then something unusual can give them away if you know where and what to look for. But dammit I can't find anything" she sighed. "Not even on Facebook? Try Facebook" she said. "How do you know about that?" Faith asked. "Well...I've been kinda browsing your phone" she sheepishly replied. Faith eyed her. "What's doggy style? I saw that in a message to Alicia" she asked. Faith blushed deep red. "Not your business. Anyway, I've already tried social media. Markus's setup is backdoored into just about every major sever on the planet. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, NSA, FBI, CIA, INTERPOL, Scotland Yard, you name it. Not a damn thing. Guess I have no choice" Faith said summoning an artifact. "Whoa. What's that thing?" Selah asked.

"The Eye of Bast. I didn't want to use it, but it might help me find who I'm looking for" she replied. "Why don't you want to use it?" she asked. "It can alter a person's luck but there are side effects. First, doing so would alter the luck of anyone that's around me and second is the balance effect. It may give me really good luck now, but bad luck can come knocking later on. Everything is about balance Selah. Remember that" Faith said. "If it's super important that you should do it" Selah said

. Faith reluctantly nodded and had her leave the room just in case. "Okay you freaky ass bauble. Give me some good luck" she muttered. The Eye shined briefly and then faded. "Don't feel different" she said before suddenly sneezing. She dropped the Eye out of her hand, and it hit her mouse. It clicked on an ad which brought her to a weather page. "Freak lightning strike kills gangsters" she said reading the headline. Faith began to slowly read the article.

"Locals were shocked to find out on July 9th that a freak lightning storm resulted in the deaths of 8 men with ties to the Drammen family. According to eyewitnesses, the 8 men were in the local Circle K parking lot when the night sky filled with Aurora seconds before a cascade of lightning filled the lot. Miraculously, nobody else was killed or injured. Meteorologists still have no idea exactly how a low-pressure system formed in just minutes and then disappeared shortly afterwards. Scientists theorize the atmosphere was battered with high energy solar particles (explaining the aurora) which caused a massive buildup and discharge of ions. However, no observatories recorded any solar storms for that day" Faith said reading. "Can I come back in?" Selah asked. "Yeah sure" Faith replied. "I need you to look after the place while I'm gone" she said. "Where are you going?" Selah asked. "Oslo Norway it seems" Faith said looking at the screen. "Take me..."

"No" Faith said cutting her off. Faith walked upstairs to pack a change of clothes. She could sense Selah watching her. "What if you don't come back?" Selah asked. "I'll be back" Faith said softly. "But what if you don't?" she asked. Faith almost yelled at her until she could see fear in her eyes. Faith walked over to her. Her hand caressed her cheek. "You're to stay in the hotel when we arrive. Understood?" she asked. Selah grinned and hugged her very tightly. In short time Faith was finished packing and on the phone getting the private jet (which belonged to Markus but to the spoils...) ready. "I've never been to the outside world before. What do I wear? How do I act?" Selah asked her. "You won't be doing much of interacting. You'll stay borrower size as you still have issues keeping your human size and you'll be in the hotel remember?" Faith replied. Selah scowled as she sat down. "I have some shirts, shorts, panties, and two pairs of shoes to choose from" Faith said to her. "Sneakers I guess" Selah shrugged. Faith smirked as she packed her bags. "I wasn't expecting to do this kinda stuff so soon" Faith said. "God hunting?" Selah asked. "No, packing overnight bags for a teenage girl. Like what a mother does" Faith said. Selah looked at her bewildered. "But you're not my mom. You're more like a teacher" she smirked. Faith paused after zipping the bag up. "Suppose I am" Faith said very softly. Faith was very quiet after that even all the way to the airport in Jakarta. She wondered if she hurt her feelings.

After the initial shock of the outside world wore off and the plane was in the air, Selah took a moment to relax. "The ocean is that big?" she asked. "Bigger" Faith replied browsing her phone

. Selah sat quietly on the fold down tray table munching on a pretzel. "Did I hurt your feelings?" she asked. "What? No" Faith replied. "You seemed kinda hurt when I said you weren't my mom" she said. "It's was...truth is all. Truth can be like cold water. Bracing" Faith replied. "You know I love you right?" Selah asked. "I figured that when you hugged my nose" Faith chuckled. Selah laughed with her.

After the plane landed on Oslo, Faith hailed a taxi to take them to the hotel where they would be staying. "American?" the driver asked. "My parents are. I don't really have a country of my own" Faith replied. "...oh? Who is the tiny lady it's you?" he asked glancing at Selah who sat in her palm. "My...my daughter" Faith replied. She glanced down at Selah who was looking out the window. "Wonderful! It is a good thing to see gremlins adopted by human family. When I was child, I had gremlin as pet" he said. "Pet?" Faith cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I was not one for killing gremlins. Found young one taking bicycle apart. Thought her cute so kept her as pet in secret" he said. "What became of her?" Faith asked. "Father found her.  Crushed her underfoot. Beat me for keeping her" he replied softly. "I'm sorry" Faith muttered. "Be sorry for father. He is old and sick now. Lifetime of hate and anger poison his body" he said. "Sounds like he deserved it" Selah said. "Selah" Faith said. "No. Tiny girl is right. Cannot go through life doing bad things and not expect it to revisit you. You understand?" he asked. "More than you know" Faith replied. She looked at the houses and buildings zipping by until she saw something. "Wait. Pull over here for a moment" she said. The driver pulled over and Faith got out. Where she was, was the Circle K parking lot she saw in the news page.

She looked at it using clairvoyance for a moment. "Incredible" she muttered standing in the center of the lot. The asphalt itself still showing signs of scorches. "The spell that did this was insanely powerful. There's still traces of it lingering" she thought. As she focused on it, it was like a faint fog clung to the ground. Looking closer, she saw it was no fog but thousands of lines of spellwork saturating the ground. Faith had never seen such complicated magic before. She couldn't decipher it. Faith walked back to the taxi. "Everything okay miss?" the driver asked. "Had to let out a fart" she chuckled. "Thanks for being courteous" he laughed as he drove on. He dropped rm off at the hotel and even helped them with their bags. "Enjoy Oslo one of the safest cities in the world" he said. "Really? I thought I saw an article about bikers being killed by lightning" she said. "True but our prayers were answered" he said. "God provides right?" she asked. "We pray to who will listen. Some still cling to old ways. Old beliefs" he said closing the boot of the car. "Interesting" Faith muttered watching him leave.

"Whee!" Selah yelled tumbling onto the bed. Faith grinned as she took off her shoes. "Now we order a very late dinner, wash, and hit the bed" Faith said to her. Faith ordered room service and then began to look over her laptop. Selah wiggled her socked toes as she watched local television. She did not understand the language but that was not enough to dissuade her fascination. This was the first time she had seen a tv before. "They look kinda the same" she said. Faith glanced at the tv. "Norway is a country that doesn't have as many foreign populations living in it. So yes, their features will look the same" Faith said. "Weird" she muttered. "Weird to you honey. History has much to do with geography when it comes to diverse populations" she said. "So other places are more diverse?" Selah asked walking up to the giantess. "Very much so. The UK, the United States, France, Canada, just to name a few" she replied. "Can we visit them?" Selah asked. "One day" she replied. "Anything new?" she asked. "This program I'm running looks for anything out of the ordinary for a particular area. Weather, accidents, murders, disappearances" she said. "And?" Selah asked. "In the last 7 years, there have been an uptick in the number of girls over the age of 14 going missing. I'll tell the program to cross reference anything major happening in Norway starting...2013" Faith said typing. "That laptop thing can do that?" Selah asked climbing onto her lap to look. "With the help of the server back home it can. It's currently linked to it. There was a knock on the door. Faith placed her back on the bed to answer. Room service wheeled in the cart and handed her the tray of food. "Time for dinner" she smiled placing the girl on the tray.

Selah contently munched away on a piece of chicken and lettuce while she gazed up at her giantess guardian, especially her mouth. She watched silently as massive (to her) amounts of food disappeared into her mouth, chewed, and sent down her throat. Faith eventually took notice of her staring. "Still want me to eat you?" Faith asked. The girl jumped. "You may not remember but you asked when I pulled you out of the rubble" Selah blushed beet red and looked down at her socked feet. Faith finished her food and looked down closely at her. "I didn't mean to embarrass you" she said. "I thought it was a dream. I really said that?" she asked. Faith nodded. "Don't feel so ashamed. You were raised from birth to feel like your life was for our amusement. You liked me so much you wanted to fulfill that purpose. I was as much a victim as you were. What damns me is I was taught different. I knew better" Faith said softly. A few moments passed. "We should wash this sweat off us" she said softly.

After a nice scrub, Selah laid back on Faith's tummy as they soaked in the hot water. Faith's giant hand sprinkled water on the girl now and then keeping her warm. Selah still seems to be withdrawn from earlier. "Wanna see a trick?" Faith asked pinching her nipples. A few coaxing sent streams of her breastmilk into the air past the girl into the water. Selah chuckled. "Oh no! Looks like a sprang a leak!" Faith yelled. Selah burst out laughing nearly tumbling into the water. She looked at a bead of milk on Faith's skin. "You can taste it if you want" she said. Selah delicately climbed up her chest to her right breast. She sat down tucking her legs underneath and began squeezing her nipple. Faith twitched. A bead of milk came out and Selah drank it. "It's sweet and warm!" she said surprised. Faith lovingly watched the tiny girl milk her for more, stroking her delicate back, until she had her fill.

*burp*

"Excuse you" Faith said. Selah giggled. "Will my breasts be able to do that?" she asked. "One day when you are with child" Faith replied. "I can't wait to get pregnant. Will you drink my milk too?" she asked. Faith coughed. "It's not that straightforward. You got plenty of time before any of that" Faith replied. "Only like a year or so" she said. Faith had forgotten that it was customary for the shrunken humans in that city to pair off around 14 or 15 years of age. "Or longer. Hopefully longer" she said. "But don't your kind fuck and have kids close to my age?" she asked. "So, she googled about borrowers" Faith thought. "Yes, that's true but we do it from a biological instinctive standpoint. We're hard wired to reproduce early" she said. "But aren't human females most fertile when they're in their teens?" Selah asked. "I swear no more NatGeo for you. Yes, it's true but you lack the maturity for that level of responsibility.  It's complicated Selah. You're too young" Faith said sternly. Faith got out of the water carrying Selah with her.

"I can dry myself" Selah snipped as she tore the tissue paper from the giantess. Faith let her do so silently. A little later, Selah laid on the pillow naked just watching tv as Faith looked over some findings on her laptop. She could tell the girl was still angry with her. "I'm not saying not to peruse a relationship with someone. I'm not saying to stay celibate either. Selah, a kid changes everything. I was like you once. I thought I was ready and let the first boy that made me feel good knock me up. It ended in pain and the deaths of millions" she said. " I seriously doubt millions will die if some boy cums in me" Selah quipped. "Then are you ready for the emotional commitment? Worrying about you'd child every moment of every day. The fear and terror that comes with the power we're born to? The possibility that your children may fear and hate what you are?" Faith asked closing her laptop. She laid next to her. "Why would they be afraid of me? I'm their mom" Selah said. "My mom was scared of me. It made me cry for the first time in my life. Selah, can you live with that burden?" Faith asked. Selah didn't answer.

"Life is not a race and I'm damn sure not the gold standard. All things come in their own time" she said petting Selah's belly. "And when the time does come, I was be a very jealous woman" Faith told her. Selah giggled. "What? You're adorable. Let me see that cute butt" Faith said flipping her onto her belly. Faith lightly tapped her bare ass. "Ah! Cut it out!" Selah shrieked. "Not till I get these adorable feet" Faith said tickling her tiny soles. Selah giggled and fought her finger. Faith leaned in and kissed her. After tucking her in, the girl fell to sleep soon after. Faith breathed in her scent. "Oh" she remarked smelling her pheromones indicating she was ovulating. "She's going to be a handful" she thought as she rested her head. Faith found it hard to go to sleep with the girl smelling like that. Thoughts of licking and sucking on her filled her mind. She did not wish to scare the girl or give her the wrong idea just after the lecture she gave her. She realized now why her father was hesitant to stimulate her when he did. It wasn't just biology and instinct at play. It was their feelings, the balance between desire and care. After all, it would be gratifying for Faith, but would Selah feel the same especially with her upbringing? Would that reinforce being taught to give people like Faith pleasure? Faith closed her eyes trying to sleep again. Right on the cusp of sleep, she could sense Selah dreaming. Having the power of Morpheus, she could sense a person's dreams. In her mind it was as easy as opening a door to enter one.

Faith found herself on a sunny meadow. In the distance was Selah along with a dream version of herself. "Good job!" Faith said to her. Selah hugged her tightly as Faith ruffled her hair. The real Faith stood there for some time silently watching what they were doing. Selah practicing her magic while a version of her heaped praise on her. Then, storm clouds began to form overhead, the dream Faith began to walk away, and Selah tried to follow only to find her feet stuck to the ground. "Please don't leave! Don't leave me all alone!" Selah cried out. The girl fell to her knees as thunder echoed overhead. Faith realized that it wasn't claustrophobia Selah was inflicted with, it was the fear of being alone. Faith walked over to her. The sobbing girl could not hear the crunch of grass under her bare feet. Faith sat down next to her and placed the girl in her lap. "Faith? I thought..."

"I will never leave you. Ever" she said before kissing her deeply. It took the girl by surprise as nobody had ever given such a kiss. It calmed her and she blushed looking into Faith's eyes. "Hold out your hand" she said. Selah did and watched in awe as Faith touched her chest and seemingly pulled out a shard of light. Faith placed it in her hand. "This is a part of my soul. Swallow it" she said. Still in awe, she did. Selah gasped in surprise as a feeling washed over her very being. She looked at Faith bewildered. "I can feel it. How, how is it possible to love someone so deeply?" Selah asked in tears. "I've asked myself that many times. Maybe the answer isn't as important as the blessing that we can ask the question. Selah looked at her confused. "You'll understand in time. For now, Selah, from this moment on your last name will be McCormick" Faith said. "But isn't that your last name?" Selah asked. "Yes, it is" she replied. The girl sobbed into her chest as Faith held her. Once she was calm, Faith left her dream.

Faith awoke to find she had shrunken down and was holding the sleeping girl to her. Faith wiped away Selah's tears content that the girl's fears were subdued.

The next morning...

"What are these called again?" Selah asked. "Scones" Faith replied looking over important data. Selah spread a teeny little dot of jam on her crumb of scone before munching on it. Selah hummed to herself as she ate lawfully slapping her little soles against the ceramic plate where she sat. She was happier than she had been for some time. The dream she had seemed perfect to her and she wished it were real. Never in a million years would she think her goddess would adopt her to be her daughter. "Faith?" Selah asked. "Yes?" Faith replied. "Have you ever had a dream so perfect that you wanted to stay in it forever?" she asked. "...yes" Faith replied softly. "But dreams are simply that. Dreams" she added. "...oh" Selah said solemnly before climbing off the plate back onto the bed. "Why would she adopt me? We both said she's not my mom just my guardian" she thought looking at the tv. Faith glanced at the girl who was no longer happy go lucky. "Was your dream that nice?" Faith asked. "Yeah I guess" Selah replied softly. Faith sat the laptop aside. "Selah? Talk to me" she said patting the bed next to her. Selah didn't respond. "Selah McCormick come here" she said. Selah froze. "You heard right. Now come here" she said. Selah warily walked over. She seemed frightened. Faith motioned for her to sit. "I know what in your heart sweetie. You think my approval equates to how much I love you. That's not true. You can be the biggest magical fuckup

I know and I'll still love you. I won't abandon you and... I decided to make you my daughter. That was your dream right?" Faith asked. "But you said that all they are, dreams!" Selah yelled shaking. "Some dreams should stay dreams, and others are worth fighting to make real" she replied. The girl was still shaking as Faith's giant fingers wrapped around her. She picked her up. Faith gently pulled off her little nightgown exposing her. She planted tender kisses on her tummy, chest, her budding breasts, and face. "God you're so cute" Faith growled. Her finger caressed her face and Selah kissed the tip. Her fingernail tickled the girl squirming in her palm until Faith pinched her ankles. She took gentle licks of her feet making Selah laugh and cringe. Selah looked into those giant soft eyes of hers and saw that this giantess would never harm her. She would never use her as a toy, a meal, a slave. Selah was hers to love and cherish and it made the girl nearly faint. Selah went limp in her hand. "Whoa! You okay honey?" Faith asked. "More. I want more...mom" she whimpered at her. The last time someone called her mom was in her dream which made her heart skip a beat. The moment was ruined when her laptop beeped. "Damn" Faith sighed as she put Selah down.

"I found something" she said. "Like what?" Selah asked annoyed. "Last night the program found a company that sprung up 7 years ago so this morning I had the program cross reference anything strange along with this company. It got a few hits. Started in 2013 around the time of a spike in missing person reports in Oslo. In 2013 there was 77 missing persons. 31 of them girls under the age of 15. That's very high for a country this safe. Let's see, hmm. None of these girls were found. Not even bodies. Homeless, runaways, and a few just vanished overnight from their homes" she said.

"Vanished like magic?" Selah asked. "Possibly. Let me see what this company is about. World Tree Security. Established September 13, 2013 by a Ragnar Wulff. A high class personal private security firm that employs only women. I think we got ourselves a winner" Faith said. The caw of birds made them jump. Faith looked out the window. "Ravens" she said softly looking back at her screen. "So, what next? Storm the place?" Selah asked. "No. I might be wrong and if I am will cast an uncomfortable light on myself. I'm going to pay them a visit" Faith said closing the laptop. Selah watched as Faith opened her suitcase and pulled out a dress with matching shoes. Faith put the dress on. "How do I look?" she asked. "Awesome! I love how the blue sparkles" Selah said. Faith smiled and sat down as. She put on open toed heeled sandals.

"Don't those hurt?" Selah asked. "They do especially for borrowers" Faith replied. "Then why wear them?" Selah asked. "Outside humans have this thing about nicely shaped arches" she replied. Selah shrugged. "I'll be back in time for lunch. Behave and I'll take you out" she said. Selah clapped her approval. "And put some clothes on. Just because you have a cute ass doesn't mean you need to show it off constantly" Faith said. "Yes mom" Selah said sarcastically. Faith chuckled as she left the room. Right then, one of the ravens perched at their window flew off...

World Tree Security was closer than Faith realized. It was a short 10-minute ride there. After getting out, she observed it for a moment. "Hmm. Almost no regular cars in their lot. A few black SUVs. Good, guess coming here on a Sunday was best after all. Four floors. Wonder how many people actually work here" she thought. Faith conjured her glamor to hide her identity before walking to the front doors. They slid open and she entered. The sound of her clacking heels on marble floor alerted the receptionist. "Welcome to Word Tree Security. Hoe may I help you?" the young woman at the desk asked. "Hi. I was thinking of contracting your services as I travel to Bangkok next week" Faith replied. The woman eyed her. "I see. Please have a seat and a representative will be out shortly" she said hitting a buzzer. Faith quietly sat down and looked around the lobby. Using her clairvoyance, she saw no magical traces in view. She did take note of metal plates hanging above windows though. 

The lobby smelled of carpet, cleaning solution, and oleander flowers. Focusing further, she caught the scent of the receptionist. Calm and collected. The smell of nylons. Perfume and makeup. "Hello, my name is Skylar" a young woman said approaching her. Faith stood up. She appeared to be 20 or 21. Blond hair in a ponytail. Blue eyes and dressed in a white uniform covering her entire body except for white boot like shoes. Slim and form fitting, it reminded Faith of the uniform a THORN agent would use. Unusual even for bodyguard details Faith wanted to get a closer look with clairvoyance but white faint glowing eyes wasn't easy to hide. "Faith McCormick" Faith said shaking her hand. "This way please" Skylar said. She led Faith to a nearby conference room and had her sit in a chair. A camera in the ceiling was looking dead at her. "Coffee? Tea?" Skylar asked. "No thank you" Faith said. "So, the receptionist sent me the message that you want our services for a detail in Bangkok? Okay, let's go over a few other questions" she said. Skylar asked interesting questions about her. Her identification number, bank numbers, place of residence, any outstanding threats. Faith was able to answer all except one. "You have no ID number at all?" Skylar asked looking at her. "I live with my employer who's a little eccentric. He owns his own island and so no ID number" she replied. "And his name?" she asked. "Markus Kavalt" Faith said recalling the last name he was using at the time she got rid of him. Skylar typed in the name. She looked shocked. "OH! He's used our services before. In that case a see little problem writing up a contract" she said. Seconds later her phone notification beeped. She looked at the screen. "If you give me a few minutes to draw up the standard contract I'd be most grateful" she said. Faith nodded.

Faith had been waiting patiently for nearly 15 minutes but noticed the woman barely typed anything. She sniffed their air. She could smell deodorant. The woman was sweating profusely now. "Anything wrong?" Faith asked. "Oh, dotting I's and crossing T's" she replied. Faith heard her heart faintly skip a beat. She was lying. "Do you mind if I use the bathroom?" Faith asked standing up. "But we're almost done here. If you can't a few more minutes" she said. "Sorry but nature calls" Faith said heading to the door. "Please have patience Ms. McCormick" Skylar said gripping her shoulder. Faith flinched as her grip was strong. Faith grabbed her wrist and forced her hand away. Skylar held her wrist surprised. "I'll be right back" Faith said smiling. Faith left the room and headed to the front door. The receptionist saw her and quickly stood up. "Ms. McCormick wait!" she yelled. Suddenly, a white with blue stripes 67' Shelby GT 500 skidded to a stop in front of the lobby doors. It was certainly out of place with other cars she had seen since arriving. Even more odd it had custom plates which was not a thing for Norway. "Slepnir?" Faith asked reading it. A well-built man in white clothing emerged along with a teenage girl. He began walking right towards her. He made a gesture with his hand and an alarm sounded. Armored shutters came down over the windows.

The only way out was forward. Faith prepared herself but she was not prepared for what came next. The elevator rang and a dozen women dressed in either white or black began to surround the lobby. SCAR rifles drawn on her.  The man entered the lobby with the girl in tow. "I don't take kindly to people poking into my business. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way but you're not leaving here until I get answers" he warned. This close, Faith saw he matched the description Dru gave her. This was the God that killed Marco's parents. Faith had not intended to fight him this early, but luck was not on her side that morning. "Well the Eye of Bast figured payment was due" she thought. "What shall it be?" he asked. Faith kicked her heels off feeling the cool marble under her warm moist soles. She tore off her skirt so now her dress came to her knees. Faith flexed a little. "Hard way it is. I want her alive" Ragnar said motioning for six agents to step forward.

They surrounded her holding clubs and electrified batons. "You really want to ride this train?" Faith asked staring at them. One to her upper right tensed up as her heartbeat increased. She rushed Faith trying to snack her with a billy club. Faith pivoted on the ball of her left foot and twisted as the young woman missed. Faith grabbed her extended arm, broke it, and roughly kicked her square in the chest. Her bare foot cracking her ribs, the kick sent her flying and sliding along their floor. The woman shook in pain but never cried out. Everyone looked at one another at the speed and skill Faith used. They all rushed her at once. Faith used hand to hand combat but found they were far stronger and faster than a normal human should be. "Fortification magic? No, something else" she thought as she fought them. One shocked her with a baton which rattled her muscles. Then another and another. Faith began to falter until she lashed out hitting vital areas. A punctured lung, direct strike to the heart, heavy concussion. Faith stood back up wiping blood from her mouth and spitting a tooth. Only two left. Faith focused her strength like her father once taught her by locking her right leg and tensing her right arm. The young woman charged her and then turned as expecting Faith to do the same, but Faith did not move. Faith threw a punch using the energy transferred from her leg to increase the damage. There was a sickening crack after landing the blow to her face. The woman fell to Faith's feet unmoving or breathing. Faith couldn't hear her heart beating anymore. "I snapped your friend's neck just now. Back the fuck off" Faith warned the last one. The woman eased back.

Faith looked back at the man. "Call them off. I rather not kill more of them if I have to" she told him. Ragnar glanced to the side and held out his hand. A raven flew into the lobby and dropped something into his hand. "I propose a trade. Her life for your freedom" he said coldly. "Who's...oh no. You fucking bastard!" she yelled as her eyes focused on an unconscious Selah in his hand. "Going once. Going twice" he said closing his fist on the tiny girl. "STOP! I... surrender" Faith said. Ragnar relented. He walked up to her. "Take her to the indoctrination room" he said handing Selah to an agent. He motioned for three others to assault Faith. "Let her go. I'll go willingly. Hell, you can beat me to death if you want but let her go" Faith begged. Ragnar didn't respond except nodding to the agents to do their job. Faith was beaten and shocked until she could no longer even kneel. She laid on the cold floor as they subdued her. "Enough. As for you Alana, you disobeyed a direct order from your master. There is no room for insubordination in this family" he said raising his hand at the woman who refused to fight Faith any longer. Ragnar's hand glowed for a moment as he shrank the girl before him. He walked closer to her.

"Please master! It was a lapse! I'm faithful! Loyal!" she begged as her three-inch body shook in fear. "You swore an oath which you broke. I cannot trust you any longer. I discharge you from your duty. May your soul find peace" he said calmly as he raised his foot over her. She barely whimpered as he slammed it down. Faith saw her body simply pop under his foot. The crunch of bones and wet squelch of her meat audible to her ears. "Take her to interrogation room 1" he ordered. Faith was grabbed and roughly knocked out.

She woke startled as cold water was poured on her. She was bound hand and foot to some kind of rack. But what was more alarming was the giant man looming right over her. Faith looked around to find she has shrunk to her normal size and trapped in a room with him and one other woman. "You are an interesting creature. Normally I shrink the people that plague me but as soon as you were rendered unconscious, you reverted to this size. That tells me you're either a gremlin or a borrower. My money is on borrower with that American accent. Usually, I'd only have to gaze upon you to know all I need to know but there are some exceptional spell wards on you preventing that. Now, this is the part where you begin to tell me what I want to know" Ragnar said. "I ain't saying shit until I know that girl is safe" Faith said. Ragnar snapped his fingers summoning the woman in the room closer. Now that Faith could see her face, she could see it was Skylar from before. Skylar showed her the phone held in her hand. It was a closed feed from another room. "Unharmed and now human sized. Now she didn't have those wards so I could peer right into her very being. Fascinating really. A permanent shrinking spell placed on her. A spellwork I've never seen before except once. A man by the name of Markus had something similar. Skylar here said you dropped his name so tell me little one. Who are you?" he asked.

"Faith McCormick. I didn't lie about that. As to what I am, I'm a borrower as you say" she replied. "A borrower with natural magic? Well, such a thing has happened before but never one so powerful. What is your purpose here?" he asked. "Let her go and I'll tell you everything" she said. Ragnar laughed. "Why would I ever let go one that skilled in magic? Right now, she is being prepared for indoctrination. I'm sorely tempted to include you" he said touching her face with his finger. It traveled down to her breasts which he poked and rolled with his finger until her milk began to come out. "A mother I see. And of exceptional health too" he muttered after tasting it. "My familiars told me that girl called you mom. Too old to suckle your breasts and you're too young to push her out of your cunt. An adoption. Markus once spoke of an island he lived on. You are from there yes?" he asked. Faith stared at him. Ragnar slipped his finger underneath her pussy and began pushing the tip in. "YES DAMMIT!" she yelled as her pussy was being split open.

He pulled it out and licked it. "There are more like her there? Like you?" he asked. "There are. I took over after I killed Markus" she said smiling. "You? You killed such a powerful man?" Ragnar laughed. "More like banished him to a never-ending hellish landscape of no return where he will wander until the stars themselves burn out" she hissed as her eyes glowed. Ragnar somehow sensed truth to her boast. "So, what brought you to me?" he asked. "I came to claim your godly power and to get some vengeance on the side. It is a matter of time old man. These iron shackles will not hold me forever" she said. "They will not need to. If you know I am a God and that is why you came, then I know who and what you are. You have given yourself away little Campioné" he said. He gripped her had between his fingers. "No. Not yet. You are not as homely as some of the girls I have found. I will strip you of your mind and partake of you. I shall start on these supple feet and when I have finished, the girl that calls you mother will use you as she sees fit. A test of her commitment and reward" he chuckled. Ragnar got up. "Watch her as I see to the girl" he said to Skylar.

The door closed leaving Faith and Skylar alone. "What's he talking about when he says indoctrination?" Faith asked. "If our master...our father deems us worthy, he gifts us with blessed strength, speed, and healing. We begin our training as shield maidens" she said. "Shield maidens?" Faith asked. "That is what he calls us. I was 14 when I began. We are taught the sword, the hand, and the gun" she replied. "He turned you into a child soldier?" Faith asked. "We are more than that! We were elevated to greatness! Cared for! Loved!" Skylar yelled looming over Faith. "That's it. Get closer" Faith thought. "And where you came from had none of that?" Faith asked. "I came from a state orphanage. I was more a number than a girl. Ragnar took me from there. He shrank me as I was playing alone and brought me here. He gave me a choice. Serve him and be rewarded beyond my wildest dreams or return to my cot smelling of piss and mold. I made the logical choice" she replied. "Where's the logic in turning children into indentured servants?" Faith asked. "Where the logic in attacking a magnificent God such as Ragnar?" she hissed bending down until her face was inches from her body. "Close enough" Faith thought.

Faith channeled her absorbed power she had gotten from Ishtar into manipulating the emotions of the woman before her. The anger and animosity she held was transformed into love and devotion. Skylar's eyes glassed over for a split second before a smile crept onto her lips. "Now be a good girl and release me from these bonds" Faith said. "Of course, Faith" she said as the giantess touched her thin chains and cuffs. They unlocked almost instantly. Faith stumbled to her feet rubbing her wrists. Skylar began to shake her head in confusion. "Damn. Wearing off already" Faith hissed as she quickly grew herself to human size. "Ma..." she was saying before Faith's hand clapped onto her mouth. The woman fought and struggled but Faith calmly fortified herself until she was more than strong enough to restrain her. "I'm not in the habit of killing slaves so don't make me snap your little neck like a chicken bone. You understand me?" Faith asked. Skylar nodded. "Good. Now I'm going to release you but if you scream or run I guarantee I will shrink and eat you alive. And I'm telling you now. Being digested alive is worse than being burned alive" she warned with glowing eyes.

"Where is this indoctrination room?" Faith asked. "Down the hallway to the right" she replied. "Lead the way" Faith said. Faith marched her forward down the hall wary of any other agents, but it seemed none were close by. "Through that door" Skylar said pointing to a heavy double door. Faith sensed a spike in magical energy and could hear crying. "Selah" Faith muttered. "The door requires an access code that..." she was saying before Faith knocked her out. Her eyes could distinguish the smudges on the keypad. "6346" she muttered typing. The doors opened. Dimly lit except for torches. Spacious being 50 ft. long, 25 ft. wide, and 15 ft. tall. Small planted trees in all four corners. In the far back was a throne covered in furs, but it was the center that bothered her the absolute most. Ragnar stood before Selah who was restrained similar to how Faith was except it was normal human sized. Selah was naked, crying, and yanking at the cuffs on her ankles and wrists. Standing around them in a circle was five other women.

A raven cawed near her and Ragnar paused. He raised his hand. "Oh shi..." Faith said before being struck by lightning. She fell to her knees dizzy. Her added defenses saved her life. She staggered to her feet. Wind swept up around her and threw her roughly at Ragnar to punched her with a lighting filled fist dropping her back to her knees. "I was just finishing up the first half of the ritual" he said softly. He motioned for the woman to stand her up. "Fa...mom?" Selah asked. Faith could barely hear her as her ears still rang with thunder. "You bastard" Faith hissed. Ragnar punched her in the stomach. Her body twitched like mad as tens of thousands of volts coursed through her body. Her ribs broke, her milk shot from her breasts. And when he pulled back Faith vomited blood. "STOP IT! Just...just stop it. I agree" Selah whimpered. "Good. Then you swear on your life, your soul to obey me?" he asked. "Do..."

"Yes" Selah replied. "Then brace yourself" he said placing his hand over her bare breast. Selah shrieked for a moment as her very heart was struck by lightning. She slumped forward eyes wide open. Faith stared in shock. Selah was not breathing. "What...what have you done?" Faith whispered. "In order to grant her my blessing. I must brand her soul. In order to do that, I must temporarily kill her" he said. Faith felt her heart drop. Ragnar tapped his foot waiting. "Ah, here we go" he said as Selah's soul drifted from her mortal body. An ancient symbol glowed in the air as Ragnar pushed it into Selah's soul. However, there was a flash and was repelled. "What?! Her soul has been bonded to another?! Curses!" he hissed walking away. "Wait...wait! She's still dead!" Faith yelled. "The ritual failed. She's bonded to another soul. I have no use for her" he said. "You killed her for nothing? FOR NOTHING?!" Faith screamed.

Faith lashed out with tremendous magical force blowing them all away from her. Her eyes glowed brilliant white leaving them all stunned. She heard the click of a hammer being pulled back and she glanced as a gun was fired. It deflected harmlessly off an invisible barrier around her. Faith looked at the young woman and with not a word shrank her on the spot. With no emotion, she crushed the once inch girl flat on the cold floor under her bare sole. She turned her attention to the other four now desperately shooting her. They were killed instantly as Faith fired off four expertly aimed beams of light through their hearts. Ragnar watched as Faith turned her attention to Selah. She held out her hand as symbolic lightning magic collected in her hand before discharging over Selah's heart. Selah gasped and coughed as her heart was restarted. "Mom?" she asked seeing Faith glowing but not like the last time. What was before a golden light was now a crimson red.

"What the hell are you?!" Ragnar yelled hitting her with lightning once more. Faith was blown right off her feet and crashed into the retaining wall. "...adet" Faith muttered. Faith stood up having her injuries. "It matters nothing!" Ragnar yelled firing off a lightning bolt so fierce the air temperate skyrocketed. The small dust cloud surrounding Faith grew after it hit. Silence for a moment and then the small, steady, pit pat of bare feet on stone. Faith emerged from the dust cloud wearing the armor of Cancer. "Impossible" he muttered. He charged right at her with a fist full of lightning. Faith fortified even more pushing her bare feet into the floor cracking it. He swung right at her heart.

*BOOOOM*

Selah screamed in fright as the shockwave shook the room. She looked at to where they were to see Faith standing eerily calm. The lightning harmlessly discharging downwards. "You shouldn't have had plants in here" she muttered looking down. Ragnar looked down aghast as his lighting was grounded by tree roots wrapped around Faith's toes. Its energy transmitted back to the small planted trees in the room making them burst into flames. "How interesting" she muttered looking into his eyes before backhanding him brutally throwing him clear of her. An odd sound came from her feet and she looked down. "I thought so" she muttered seeing what it was. Faith placed her bare foot right over what was a false glass eye and crushing it into shards. She glared at the stunned God as she ground it into powder. "I'll peal the meat from your bones for this" he hissed. Faith burst out laughing at him. "You made this easier than most. I knew your kind were creatures of habit, but you just got lazy. I know your true name"

Faith began the ritual of the Campioné. Ethereal chains began to bind the god. "By the ritual of the Campioné, I break your Authority by speaking your true name! YOUR TRUE NAME IS ODIN!" she yelled. The ritual circle flashed brightly with an explosion of light and once done revealed his true form. He was older looking, war paint on his wrinkled face, his beard and hair longer. "The accent, the ravens, the missing eye, the goddamned license plate. Even the name of this god forsaken company of yours. The sloppiest work was those bikers you fried. It was like you were begging to be exposed. " she said. "A personal matter. They drugged and raped one of my Valkyries. A clear insult to my honor. As for you ritual, you actually think making me mortal will save you?" Odin asked summoning Gungnir his sacred spear into his hands. "You never know" Faith muttered summoning Last Stigmata.

The battle was brutal. Selah saw only blurs as they fought. Each one using their one magics to try to trump one another's speed and strength. However, it was clear that Faith was at a disadvantage as her stamina was not godlike at all. Her only saving grace was her armor. Odin went to stab her, and Faith parried. Her sword trembling at the potent runic magics assaulting it. Her stance unguarded, Odin swung the spear opposite striking Faith with a lighting uppercut sending her crashing through the ceiling to the ground floor. Selah coughed from the dust and staggered out of the room. She found Skylar laying on the floor outside. "I hope I don't regret this" she muttered as she shrank the young woman and carried her with her.

Faith's head was spinning as she lay in the lobby once more. While the armor saved her once more, there was still the issue of kinetic energy. She had been knocked right through the floor, sailed into the air, and landed a few feet away from the hole her head had made. It took her a moment to realize that the ringing in her ears was the alarm. "Oh goody" she muttered hearing footsteps approaching. The blast shutters had come down again, but this time Faith was counting on it. Her backup plan was going into effect soon but first she had set something in motion. She subtly made the oleander flowers in the lobby bloom and multiply. "AHHGH!" she groaned as a woman shot her with a Spaz-12 in the back. Again, and again, and again. Faith saw it was no buckshot but solid slugs. A gust of wind sent the woman flying but she got no reprieve. Others opened fire on her.

It was like being stung by hornets as dozens per second of 5.56 FMJ rounds stuck her. Faith knew they were too weak to kill her and was reluctant to do away with them, but her patience waned. "BACK OFF!" Faith yelled throwing off flames seemingly aimlessly. They fell back for a moment. "Cowards" someone muttered stepping forward. Faith saw the woman holding a broadsword. She was obviously different from the others. Lightning coursed through the woman's blade. "You face a veteran Valkyrie blasphemer!" she yelled charging Faith. Faith didn't move an inch and at the last second raised Last Stigmata. The enemy sword limply fell to the floor as the woman slipped to a stop a few feet behind her. "Wait" Faith muttered to the others. The woman's head slipped off her neck. A clean decapitation. Her head fell to the floor as a fountain of blood shot from the stump. Faith glanced at her body and shrank it. She picked it up, placed it in her mouth, and swallowed. "Waste not want not" she told them with a grin. She motioned for them to attack her again. Two clacks as funds were dropped. The trickle of piss on the floor. None dared to attack. Faith smiled not out of bloodlust but out of satisfaction her scare tactic worked.

"Cowardice?!" Odin bellowed as he appeared before them. His anger shot froth from his spear knocking Faith over the reception desk. "No matter. I want to kill her myself anyway" he muttered. Her armor was scorched and cracked. It nearing its limit, Faith knew it wouldn't take many hits like that anymore. It was great for defending against physical blows and magic but godlike magics were a cut above the rest. It was like comparing a .38 revolver to a .44 magnum. But luck was on her side. There was a panel she needed to break for her plan to work. With a punch she did and with that she emerged firing off flame magic carefully. "Your mind so addled, you cannot see me? Or were your attacks for killing flowers? Odin laughed. Faith was not laughing nor were her attacks random. 

The lobby began to fill with thin smoke as the oleander flowers burned. Faith crouched low. Her legs spread exposing her pussy. "I've seen more heartier cunts in my time woman. Do not think your snatch will distract me" he said firing off lighting. Faith used all her might to repel the attack but even then some got through. It seemed that she was on the ropes until Odin began to falter. His hands trembled and he dropped his spear. "What?" he asked looking at his hands. He coughed and tasted blood. Faith went on the attack.

Odin was immediate pushed back as a sword cut his stomach. A slash to his face, a kick to his chest broke ribs. "How? What did you do to me?" he asked. "Poison" Faith muttered. "Ridiculous! I have not eaten or drank anything!" he yelled. "You're breathing are you not?" Faith asked. It dawned on the God that the smoke was the cause. "Fun fact. When you burn oleander flowers, the smoke is very toxic. The tremors are the start, then coughing blood. Next will be convulsions, unconsciousness, and death" Faith said. "Arrogant fool. The sprinkler system..."

"Is offline" Faith finished. "You forget who I am. I am the thunderer! The maker of storms! The All Father!" he yelled raising his hand over his hand conjuring a rainstorm in the lobby. In seconds, the fire and smoke were gone. "Now that your folly is done, time to end you" he said gathering lighting. "If you do that, you will kill them too. Water conducts electricity and the floor is soaked" she warned. "I will make more" he growled. The others grew terrified hearing that. Their master, their father, was about to electrocute them to kill this woman. Faith gripped her sword. "Slay this monster" he prayed to it. The sword left her hand and turned around. Suddenly, it pierced Faith and retreated into her body.

"HAHAHA! Even your sword as failed you!" Odin laughed. Faith cried out not in frustration but in pain as something was happening to her body. Her eyes turned yellow. Her teeth grew and sharpened. Hair grew all over her body. Her finger and toenails grew into claws. "No...no it can't be" Odin muttered. Before their eyes, Faith morphed into an enormous wolf. Standing 7 ft. tall and 15 ft. long, it was an epic beast. Faith growled at him. "A TRICK! YOU ARE NOT THE WOLF BEAST OF ENDING! YOU ARE NOT FENRIR!" he screamed firing off a gigantic bolt of lightning. The girls and woman screamed as they awaited electrocution. They were still alive as they watched astonished as the wolf seemingly absorbed the attack fully. There was a screech as her clawed feet ripped up marble to lunge at him. A vicious snarl as she sailed through the air. Faith snapped him in her jaws by the neck. His screams turning into gurgles as he'd theta tore through his flesh. Then with unnatural strength, bit his head clean off. The women and girls stared in disbelief as Faith chewed his head into chested skull, brains, and blood before swallowing. Once done, she licked her mouth clean and let loose a soul chilling howl that resounded though the building. The women whimpered and looked for a way to flee only to find their own security system had trapped them. Faith heard footsteps behind her and turned snarling. A scream. A familiar scream.

Faith moved ever closer to her growling slightly. "Mom..." Selah whimpered crying as her legs trembled. Faith cocked her head to the side and roughly buried her nose on Selah's pussy. Selah would've pissed herself if not for emptying her bladder not long ago. Faith backed away. She looked down at the floor where the water shone her reflection. She whimpered. "You're...crying?" Selah asked seeing tears run from those yellow eyes. Faith let out a final howl before her sword left her body. Selah watched stunned as the wolf slowly turned back into Faith. "Se... lah" Faith stammered. Selah hugged her tightly. Faith glanced at the sword on the ground angrily before it vanished. "You can turn into wolves? That's awesome!" Selah said. "I nearly ate you. My mind, it wanted to taste your intestines. Only the smell of your vagina made me realize who you were. I came this close to tearing you apart and eating you. All because of these goddamn women and their shitty God!" Faith yelled leering at the women with now ominous lighting filled eyes.  There was a flash of intense light and all the woman were gone. Faith berated hard and fast as she cupped her hands. In them were at least 30 of Odin's Valkyries and shieldmaidens no bigger than ants. With a maniacal grin she began to close them. The tiniest screams came from her hands. "Mom no! It's not right" Selah said. "You have no idea what they have probably done! They're hired guns Selah. They lured a bunch of low rent thugs to a gas station so their God could burn them to a crisp with no care in the world if anyone got caught in the crossfire! "Mom. Don't you see? They're like me. Bound to an uncaring monster who didn't care if they lived or died. Faith opened her hands.

"Point taken but they can't be let loose on their own. They've been altered to the point memory erasing magic won't work and I doubt I can fully seal their powers for the rest of their lives" Faith said. "You can see that?" Selah asked. "I'm absorbing Odin's powers as we speak. Including his connection to his soul branding he's done. That's right girls. You're mine now" Faith said coldly. Faith heard a few whimpers. "Mom" Selah said. "Oh, all right" Faith huffed. She opened a portal to home. "We're taking them home with us?" Selah asked. "All...39 of them including the one you've been hiding from me" Faith replied. Selah cringed being caught hiding the still unconscious Skylar behind her back. They all went through the portal to home.

"Shower time" Faith mumbled as she staggered into the bathroom. She deposited all the shrunken women she collected on the sink. She ran warm water into the basin. "You reek of piss and shit. Strip off all your clothing. Someone be lifeguard. I don't give a shit who" she mumbled pushing them in after their teeny little bodies were nude and dropping some soap in there. All were terrified of the gigantic woman and kept an eye on her the entire time she bathed. "Mind if I join you?" Selah asked placing Skylar down on the sink. Faith shrugged. Selah climbed in and shrank down to fit. "What's the plan?" Selah asked soaping up. "Work release program" Faith quipped. "Isn't that similar to what Odin did? Making them work against their will?" Selah asked. "Their souls are bound for life Selah. They'll never be truly free again" Faith said. "I've never heard you so cold before" Selah said. "I've burping up the taste of brains 

and I'm sure a piece of a gods skull is caught in my teeth" she said. "Okay. Eww, but they are now really tiny and scared shitless. Can you imagine what's going through their minds right now?" Selah asked. "They stood there watching knowing what you were about to go through. What kind of woman watches a 13-year-old girl get electrocuted!? You were dead Selah!" Faith yelled as her tears mixed with bath water. "Mom. Think about it, how many did you say we took back? 39 right?" she asked. "And?" Faith asked. "How many did you kill?" Selah asked. "10...no 11. But they were..."

"And if 77 girls went missing like you said. Minus the ones you killed, and the ones brought back...so what happened to the 26 other girls?" Selah asked. Faith had not even thought about it. Faith finished her bath and after drying off saw to the women now in her care. She carried them downstairs and handed them all shirts and panties to wear from the collected wardrobe of hers and the now dead Juli. "My adopted daughter asked a very good question. What did happen to the 26 girls?" she asked them as they quietly stood in a crowd on her coffee table. "Dead" someone said. Faith stood up and came back with a sandwich and water for them. She waited patiently for them to finish. "Tell me more about these girls. How did they die?" Faith asked them. Faith listened for over an hour as they rattled off some of how they died. Truthfully, none could say how all 26 met their ends. But there was a reoccurring theme. They met their ends in violent ways. Stabbed to death, drowned, shot, some killed before their eyes for disobedience. And a few just disappeared after last being seen with Odin. As none were allowed to quit being shieldmaidens or Valkyries, there was only one other explanation why they no longer were seen with their peers. Upon hearing some of their fates, Faith's heart softened just a little.

It was clear that everyone was utterly exhausted, so Faith led them to the mage's dorms. "What is this place?" one asked. "Your new homes for the foreseeable future. This was once the dorm rooms for hundreds of mages. It's...not being used right now. You shall stay here?" she said. "How long are we to be your prisoners?" Skylar asked. "Until I decide you're no threat to the outside world. Your speed, strength, basic magical ability sets you apart from humanity. I know some of you here has done some really nasty shit using those talents. So, consider this a work release program" Faith replied. "And what work you have in mind?" Skylar asked. Faith bent down and picked the girl from the ground. The terrified girl thrashed in her fist. "Calm you ass down. You need to see something" Faith said. Faith carefully floated into the air high enough for Skylar to see the human city before them. "My god. An entire city?! There's an entire city here?" she asked. "Populated by 50....45,000 humans. No, I didn't collect them. It was something I inherited for lack of a better term. "But how would so many fit?!" she asked. "Shrunk. Shrunk far smaller than you. Even at your three-inch stature, you are like a 150 ft. giantess to them" she said as she put them back down. "What I want you to all do is help them rebuild their city, help them with the aid they need. You're going to be my very own shrunken Red Cross" she replied.

"That's it?" Skylar asked. "No killing. No hit jobs. No drunken clients fucking you. Help those in need. That's it" Faith replied. Some nodded. Others stayed silent. "And you are to lead them" she said. "Why me?" Skylar asked. "Because you have the most to learn. Now we are linked, I see what's in your heart. And Skylar, I would've chosen the piss and mold smelling cot if it meant I kept my freedom" Faith said coldly. "Oh, one other thing. Your first job is to clean your rooms before bed. Especially the blood stains. I had a vampire infestation last week" she said before walking away.

Faith walked back to the mansion. "You should get some rest" she said to Selah as the dawn crept over the horizon. "I'm still pretty wired" Selah said as Faith picked her up. Faith walked upstairs. "Still you should try" Faith said placing her on the bed. "Are you?" Selah asked as Faith sat on the edge of the bed. "I've been up for 23 hours, fought dozens of girls, shot hundreds of times, fought a god, turned into a Norse nightmare of a wolf, and ate said God. So yes, getting some sleep" Faith said lying down. Selah watched her fall asleep fairly quickly. A half hour passed by and Selah had fallen asleep until the bed began shaking. She awoke to find Faith talking in her sleep as blood red magical energy sparked around her body. "...Selah....Selah...SELAH!" Faith screamed as a pulse of destructive magic burst forth straight up blowing a hole in the roof. Faith looked around and saw Selah staring wide eyed at the trembling giantess. Sunlight beamed down on her through the hole. Faith hung her head. "You need to leave the room. It's not safe around me" Faith muttered. "I'm not leaving..."

"I SAID GO!" Faith screamed as tears fell from her eyes. "AND I SAID NO!" Selah screamed back trembling. "For everyone I get rid of, I lose more of myself" Faith said sniffling. "Look on the bright side. At least it isn't raining" Selah said pointing to the hole in the ceiling. Faith chuckled and then laughed as Selah joined in. "You were there for me weren't you? Let me be here for you" Selah told her. Faith cuddled her tightly to her cheek. She sniffed the girl before kissing her feet. "Is this one of those borrower things?" Selah asked. Faith looked at her with soft eyes and nodded slightly. "Then do it" Selah said spreading her legs.

Faith hooked her panties with her fingers and pulled them off. A small tuff of hair on her crotch. Faith breathed in her scent. Healthy, fertile, the same smell that broke the hold on her when she assumed the form of Fenrir. Her soft lips touched her special place and Selah shuddered as warm breath and soft lips caressed and teased her cunt.  Faith let her tongue slip out to gently lick her tiny pussy making the girl moan softly. Faith kept licking until the girl began to get wet. Sweet as honey, Faith slipped the girl feet first into her mouth claiming her lips down below her budding tits. Selah's heart quickened at the thought of being eaten by her. Her hand slipped down into her panties and she began to finger herself. Selah yipped and twitched as the giant tongue parted her legs to get more of her natural flavor. Her tiny feet barely touching the back teeth of her giantess mother. And with a grunt, Selah came. Faith moaned deeply as her sweet juices coated her tongue. Her own orgasm bubbling over and she relaxed. Lazily, she sucked the last bit of flavor off her daughter before setting her free.

Selah lay panting on Faith's left breast. The air cold on her salvia-soaked skin. It pleased her to no end to see Faith so happy. "You're not hurt are you?" Faith asked. "No, just winded" Selah said. "So... how did I taste?" Selah asked. "Like candy. Like you were born to be eaten. I might give into temptation one day" Faith snickered. "Is this a onetime thing?" Selah asked. Faith sensed worry in her. "Sweetie. It might be a fetish for humans but it's instinct for me. So, no it's not a onetime thing" Faith replied. Selah sighed in relief. "I keep forgetting that you've been trained to give people like me pleasure. Like it's your purpose in life. Alright. I see some habits are harder to break than others. You want to make me feel really good?" Faith asked. Selah quickly nodded. Faith placed her at her right foot. "Then worship my foot. For borrowers it's...intimate" Faith blushed. Selah rubbed her hands on her giant warm sole. Faith shuddered as her small hands felt between her toes. She could hear the tiny girl giggle. "Don't tease" Faith whimpered. Selah licked her nail as she straddled her big toe. Faith heard her whimpering as she grinned herself on her toe. "Oof. What have I gotten myself into?" Faith thought.

The next day...

Faith checked her clothes one last time in the mirror. The roof was patched, and Selah was with the Valkyries keeping watch on them for their first day in the city. Faith was worried though. Not for Selah (who was far hornier than she ever realized) or for the Valkyries. She was worried about herself. She thought she could handle absorbing part of the personalities of gods and goddesses, but it was clear now it was changing her in ways she could not perceive. Her magic had hints of malice in them. She had been told by Oberon once that emotional context is the foundation to spell casting. Focus, control, and effectiveness came second. However, extreme emotions can amplify a spell's power. When Faith lost control at the sight of Selah's dead body, her magic power grew exponentially. She had to admit it gave her the needed advantage long enough for her plans to work. Worse yet, Faith began to believe she would need more of that kind of power to win this war. and that meant becoming someone else. A colder, crueler woman. And then there was one other thing that bothered her. Last Stigmata. Clearly there was more to the blade than what she was told. She needed answers before she dared use it in battle once more. Faith opened a portal to Italy.

It was early morning local time when she arrived. Cordelia opened the door sensing her arrival. Alicia, Lucy, and everyone else was delighted in seeing her and Faith played off their worries. Then came time to discuss matters of importance. Faith sat calmly shrunken on the sofa nursing her babies. "It's done" Faith said flatly to Dru, Marco, and Cordelia. "Done? Done what?" Marco asked. "You serious? You actually did it?" Dru asked. Faith barely moved as she summoned lighting from above. Everyone flinched as the thunder shook the house. "Answer your question?" Faith asked. "What she talking about mom?" Marco asked. "She killed him. The God that killed me and your father" Dru replied. "But you said he was mighty! That was an elder tier God!" Marco said. "He was no pushover that's for sure" Faith said. "Who was he Faith?" Cordelia asked wary. "Odin" she replied.

 "Odin the All Father? The king of Norse gods? That Odin?!" Cordelia asked. "Odin...Odin..." Alicia mumbled. "Anthony Hopkins from the Thor movies" Faith said. "You killed Anthony Hopkins?!" Alicia yelled. "No dummy. The God. The God he played" Faith chuckled. "Whoa. How did you pull that one off?" Alicia asked. Faith didn't immediately answer. "I rather not go into details. Let's just say I did, and I inherited his staff of hit women and servants" she said. "Come again?" Lucy asked. "He kidnapped and made these girls his servants, well slaves really. 39 of them. I got them working at home right now" Faith said. "Working at home? Just like that? Why did you free them?!" Marco asked astounded. "Not that simple. Their souls were branded with this transformation magic. Setting them out into the world would've been reckless at best. Some of these girls killed innocent people Marco. It was either kill them on site or take them in under the idea of rehabilitation" Faith replied.

"There is another matter. When Odin killed Selah, it set into motion a chain of events that led to his death. One being how he died. The sword physically transformed me. Cordelia, you said the sword will take what form it needs to kill a deity. You never said it would change me" Faith said. "It... it's never happened before" Cordelia said. "What form are we talking about?" Theo asked. "A goddamn giant wolf. It was NOT pleasant" Faith said.

"That girl you saved died? Oh, Faith I'm so sorry" Lucy said. "Don't be. I restarted her heart and saved her. But the shock of seeing my adopted daughter dead really brought out a bad side of me" she said. "Wait? Adopted daughter?" Alicia asked. "Is that a problem?" Faith asked. "Don't you think you should've consulted me as your wife?" Alicia asked. "You weren't there as she screamed in her sleep she couldn't breathe. You weren't there as nightmares about being left alone ate away at her sanity. You weren't there as she tried to make herself a sex slave so I would t abandon her" Faith said. A low peal of thunder responded overhead. Alicia and the others held their breath as they could see lightning in her eyes. "She didn't need a guardian. She needed a parent" Faith told her.

"What? What's that look for?" Faith asked. "Your eyes" Lucy muttered. Faith quickly looked her reflection in the tv. "Excuse me. I absorbed Odin's temper. That and recent events have left me on edge" she said. Alicia petted her head. "You said you didn't want to talk about it but maybe you should" she said. "It will make you fear me" Faith muttered. "Talk to me" Alicia said. Faith recounted her fight with Odin not skipping any details this time. "No wonder you're freaked out" Alicia said. "This power within me isn't just changing me. It's changing the sword too. I'm certain of it. My god Alicia. It felt fucking glorious to unleash that kind of raw power. I thought I was rocking shit when I smote Ambrogio but the sheer power I radiated attacking Odin made me cum. That can't be what I am, but I know without it I won't survive" she said. Faith stood up, handed her kids to Lucy, and went outside. "At least she's talking about it" Marco said.

Alicia gave her a moment before going to find her. The sunny morning was replaced with storm clouds overhead. Alicia found her easily at the fountain in the garden and sat next to her. "Careful or a frog might eat ya" Alicia chuckled. "How did you find me?" Faith asked. "This is where you like to come to think" Alicia replied. "One day I might end up like Ebonheart or Markus. Drunk on my own power using cruelty and anger as my guide. That gun you keep hidden. You keep it loaded?" Faith asked. "Don't even joke" Alicia said sternly. "Who's joking? One minute I'm a grieving mother, the next an engine of rage and wrath. And then a monster you would tell children that it would eat them if they misbehave. I would've eaten Selah if not for the fact she was ovulating. I wanted to eat her intestines, savor the fat of her breasts. Suck the marrow from her bones" Faith said. Alicia watched as the woman pissed herself. "Goddamit" Faith hissed. Alicia took ahold of her ankles and raised her legs. Faith pulled back. "Stop it" Alicia said sharply as she pulled her wet panties off her. Faith whimpered as the giantess washed her panties between her fingers in the fountain.

"Might as well hop in" Alicia said. Faith silently nodded and slipped off her flats and dress before jumping into the water with a small splash. Alicia placed her panties on the stone edge and had Faith sit nearby. With a simple wind spell, she dried them. "I killed innocent people Faith" Alicia said suddenly. "I know that" Faith said. "No, you understand I did it. You don't know it. The first time was this girl in Houston. Some random teenage girl who wanted to meet the great Celine Cruz. Invited her into my dressing room. We shook hands, listened to her talk about all the songs of mine he loved. And as I began signing an autograph, a photo fell out of her purse. A photo of her parents. Something in me snapped. I shrank her and next thing I knew I was cleaning her blood and guts off my soles. My first real kill. She was 14. And as the months went by I would do it more. A college girl in Ithaca New York. Swallowed her alive. A pretty girl in Barcelona. A sweet boy in Mexico City. I crushed him in my hand slowly" Alicia said quietly flexing her hand. "Why are you..."

"Because I had nobody in my corner Faith. I was alone with my anger, my pain, my hatred. Nobody to pull me away from the darkness holding my heart. Not until you. Not until them" she said looking at the house. Alicia picked up Faith in her hands. "As long as we're here, you won't be swallowed by the darkness" she said. The storm clouds in the sky parted. Alicia carried her back into the house, to their room, and closed the door. A few hours later, Faith rested against the warm giant sole of her wife deep in thought. She felt better about herself but still had doubts. Faith grew to human size and left the bedroom. "Alicia?" Cordelia asked. "Fast asleep. She was out like a light after just one orgasm" Faith shrugged. "She hasn't been sleeping well since you sent her away" Cordelia said. "About the sword..."

"Marco and I want though some really old papers and parchments. It's been in the family for a thousand years but only a few actual owners. It was given to House Alighieri by the Order of St. Brigid" she replied. "Oh goody. Another lost secret society" Faith huffed. "There is a priory in Kildare Ireland. You should start there" Cordelia said. "Thanks Cordi" Faith said kissing her cheek. "Don't be a stranger Faith" she said as Faith made a portal back to the island.

"Hmm..." Faith said finding a small Selah fast asleep on the sofa with the tv on. Faith turned it off, picked her up, and carried her to the bedroom. She placed her on the pillow and sat down to undress. "Mom?" Selah asked rubbing her eyes. "Sorry I woke you" Faith said slipping her dress off. "Got what you wanted?" Selah asked. "Ireland. Have to go to Ireland. You can come with me. It shouldn't be dangerous this time" Faith said. She laid down naked and relaxed. "How was your day?" Faith asked. "Long. The girls kept bitching but got quiet when everyone kept thanking them. I was able to keep human size all day" she smiled. "Good girl. Sounds like you want a reward" Faith chuckled. "Well, my feet hurt" Selah shrugged. Faith gently rubbed her tiny feet between her fingers. "Anything else?" Faith asked. "Well my butt hurts from sitting on rubble" she replied. Faith turned her over and slipped her panties off with her fingernail. She gently kissed her butt a few times. Selah turned over and spread her legs. "Don't tell me your pussy hurts too" Faith huffed. "No, I just want you to lick it" Selah blushed. Faith clucked her tongue before diving in. She took a few licks before she tasted her juices. "Mmmm...such a yummy girl" Faith whispered as she sucked her pussy. Selah let out a cute chirp as she came. Selah had fallen asleep once again leaving her mother awake. She shrunk down to be closer to the girl. This close, she could hear her steady heartbeat. Faith smiled to herself as she found herself jealous of the girl. It was clear to her that Selah would be prettier than her one day. Selah asleep on her back, Faith held her right foot in her hand and smelled it. She had taken a bath so there was little to smell. Each of her toes seemed cute as could be and Faith sighed contently as she sucked them. Selah grinned in her sleep and wriggled her toes in her mouth as Faith's tongue tickled them.

Faith let go of her foot and moved Selah long hair out of her face. The gentlest kiss on her lips before lying beside her again. She was so precious to her, but a chilling thought occurred to her. How many girls like Selah had been lost over the years? So many girls with promise and potential. It wasn't just girls but boys as well. She remembered how she loved a teenage version of her son Matthew in that perfect dream. The thought angered her. The bed shook slightly. Thunder rumbled overhead. Faith calmed down. It wasn't just for her and those she loved she needed to win this war. It was also for those who lost treasured loved ones. All the Matthews and Selah's out there counting on their goddess to claim victory. 

"So, we're not taking a plane?" Selah asked. "No, I'm opening a portal to Heathrow airport since I've been there before. Dress modestly. These are nuns were talking about" Faith said as she adjusted dress shoes. Satisfied, with Selah's choice in clothes, she opened the portal to Heathrow, or more accurately a private hangar. And went through. It was around 1:00 pm local time when they arrived, and Faith carried the girl into the terminal and to the car rental. "That's a cute borrower you have there. Adopted sister?" the attendant asked curious of the tiny girl standing on his reception desk. "Daughter actually" Faith said signing paperwork. The woman cocked an eyebrow. "At your age? Interesting" she said. She found the girl exquisitely cute and had the urge to pick her up. "The Mini Cooper should be enough" Faith said clicking the pen loudly. <p>Faith took the keys from the woman and got into the compact car and drive off heading north. "You look pissed" Selah said sitting on the cup holder. Faith revved the engine before shifting into fourth gear. "I didn't like her questions or the way she looked at you" she replied. "I didn't see anything" Selah said. "It wasn't just the way she looked at you. I heard her heartbeat increase. Her pheromones spiked. She was sizing you up" Faith said. "For what?" Selah asked innocently. "How good a sex toy you'd make" Faith growled. She turned on the radio to clear her head as she saw her emotions creating storm clouds. It was long drive down the M40 to Kildare Ireland which Faith tried to keep the girl entertained. Selah was curious about Faith's parents, so she told her random stories about them. Selah found it shocking to learn the woman had three mothers and five siblings. Selah didn't ask if she missed them as she could see a bit of pain in the giantess' eyes when she spoke of them. </p><p>"So, he was your first crush?" Selah asked. "He was the first boy I met that wasn't intimidated because who I was. He had very nice thoughts" she replied. "Nice thoughts?" Selah asked yawning. "Back then I was able to very easily read people's thoughts. Some boys feared me, others wanted to straight out fuck me. But Jeffery, he kept thinking of ways to make me smile" she replied. "So how far did you get with him?" Selah asked. "Not as far as I wanted before...before Markus" she replied. Faith took the exit to Kildare. She pulled into an Inn and carried the sleepy Selah in with her. "One room for the night please" she asked. "Aye. Now there's a cute lass. Just sign here and I'll run ya card" the woman at the desk said. "Be just a moment. It's been a long time no time since I see a borrower or gremlin. Adopted no doubt" she asked. "Yes. No problem is there?" Faith asked wary. "Be none at all. Around these parts, we take kindly to them. This is the land of fairy after all" she replied looking for a key. "Fairy?" Faith asked. "Well the legend goes that fairies and her kind are kin. But it's just a fairy tale. Pay it no mind unless the lass is hiding wings" the woman chuckled glancing at Selah. Selah couldn't help but chuckle at her. Faith took the key from her and headed upstairs to their room.</p><p>"She was nice" Selah said. "Some humans are willing to treat smaller ones with kindness and respect. Not all of them are craven" Faith said sitting down and taking her shoes off. She sighed rubbing her aching feet. Faith drew them a bath for them to take before bed. Faith found it all quaint. There was something to be said about simpler furnishings. Selah laid on her belly as she giantess poured water over her body. Selah could obviously wash herself but took please on her giantess mother doing it for her. Selah sighed contently as Faith washed her long hair between her fingers. "Mom? Will I ever be okay living in the outside world?" she asked. Faith paused for a moment. "When you're older sure" she replied. "And what if others want to live out here? I feel bad for the ones back home cooped up in the city missing all of this" she said. It was a question Faith asked herself the first day she inherited the city. "I really don't know. You're right that we shouldn't keep them cooped up, but 45,000 people released into the world with working knowledge of magic? Thankfully, not many have given up some of their beliefs. But one day..." Faith said. </p><p>Faith lathered her tiny body with soap and rinsed her. Faith dried the girl and then herself before going to bed. There was something about this land. Something almost familiar as if she had been here before but she knew that wasn't true. In any event, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Faith dreamed of a stream that cut through a meadow. The sun made it look like it was filled with shards of light. She looked down at her feet and noticed they weren't hers. Different toes, longer narrower soles. She approached the stream and looked at it. Faith backed away as it was not her face. Red hair, green eyes, freckles. "This where you've been hiding?" a voice asked behind her. She turned to see a young man waving. Faith awoke with a name on her tongue. "Duncan" she muttered looking at the window. </p><p>Faith ordered breakfast down in the kitchen and sat down with her daughter to eat. "Hope ya like it" the woman from last night said. "You're the cook too?" Faith asked. "Cook, receptionist, cleaner" she shrugged. "So, you here as tourists?" she asked. "Somewhat. What do you know of St. Brigid?" Faith asked. "Oh, everybody knows her. She founded the monastery here and the town grew around it. The Cill Dera" she said. "Church of the Oak" Faith muttered. "Oh! You speak Gaelic?!" the woman asked. "...of a sort" Faith replied. Faith did not show it, but she was perplexed. She spoke not a word of Gaelic but somehow knew the translation without magic. "Aye that be the one. It's long torn down, but the cathedral was built over it. Monks and nuns serving the lord there for 1500 years" she said proudly. "Interesting. Thank you..."</p><p>"Abby is the name" she said. "Faith" she said extending her hand. "If you wait I'll rustle up some pie" she said winking. "Oh, I didn't ask for any pie" Faith said. "Aye but the little one looks to be a pie eater" Abby said snickering. After eating a very delicious slice of pie, Faith and Selah set out of the monastery. It was a short ride from the inn, and they parked. Faith paused as she approached it. "Something the matter?" Selah asked sitting on her shoulder. "Symbology. Faint traces of it everywhere. Layers and layers of it like a barrier" Faith replied touching the barrier. The air shimmered as she touched it. Faith was surprised as she was able to step through without trouble. Faith walked the corridors heading to the cloister. She felt as if she was being pulled somewhere. Monks and nuns gave her curious concerned looks, but none stopped her. And then one did approach her as she neared old oak doors. "Welcome Faith. You've been expected" a young woman said. "...how do you know my name?" Faith asked shielding her tiny daughter. "There is no need to be afraid. Come, you have many questions" she said opening the doors to a large room. Faith eyed the woman carefully. </p><p>She seemed no older than 30, her hair faded red, her eyes hazel. Dressed in white from head to covered toe, she seemed not a threat, but Faith could sense the woman was cloaked in a glamor. Nevertheless, Faith followed her into the room. "Please make yourself comfortable" the woman said pouring readymade tea. Faith found it very odd that the woman not only presented a teacup of tea to her but a very tiny one for Selah indicating she had expected Selah as well. "You seem to be in good spirits seeing the troubles you have seen" the woman said. "How do you know what troubles I've seen? My name? A cup for my daughter?" Faith asked. The woman gave her an old parchment. "I can't read this" Faith said. The woman flipped it around. "Not to be opened until the year of our lord 2019 on the 29th of September" the woman said reading the old Gaelic written on it. She flipped it around again. "You shall receive visitors by the name of Faith and Selah McCormick. They will come asking about the sword, the Order and the vision she had the night before" she read. The woman pointed out a drawing of Faith and Selah sitting in the very chair she sat right then. Needless to say, it unnerved Faith considerably. </p><p>"Vision? You had a vision?" Selah asked Faith. Faith did not answer. "You have questions about the sword Last Stigmata. May I see it?" the woman asked. "Not before you tell me who you are and who wrote that note" Faith replied. "I am the abbess of this monastery, and this note was written by St. Brigid herself on the day of her death back on the first of February 525 AD. "Okay that's creepy" Selah said. "Selah" Faith muttered. "You're staying it's not? This Brigid woman wrote on her deathbed things that won't happen for 1500 years. She even drew the chair mom" Selah said. "Brigid was a woman of miracles to say the least and she's the one that created your sword" the Abbess said. "Then you can answer my questions" she said. "May I see it?" the Abbess asked. Faith summoned her sword to her hand and cautiously handed it to the woman. In a sparkle of light, half of the blade of the sword disappeared leaving it broken. "MY SWORD! What have you done?!" Faith yelled grabbing the woman by the throat. "No need for concern. It only reverted to its original form as I'm not its owner. Pick it up" she said. Faith did and the blade was made whole again. "How..."</p><p>"The blade is a physical manifestation of your soul. Have you not noticed the look to it when it entered and left your body? Like it was brand new? Never dull, tarnished, or nicked?" she asked. "Yes, I did find it strange. But recently I did something to me. I... transformed. I need to know why. I need to know if it's in my control...or if it's controlling me" Faith said. "Since you have the sword, it means you are a... Campioné. A remarkable one if it recognizes you as its current owner. A transformation you say? Explain" she said. "It turned me into a wolf of legend to kill a god. Odin" she replied. The woman crossed herself. "Unexpected but not impossible. That is the nature of it" she said. "I need more than that. I was a fu...ahem.... a beast. A snarling man-eating beast" Faith said. "To answer your questions, first you must learn the circumstances of how the sword came to be. Shall I tell you the tale kept secret by my Order?" she asked. "Please" Faith replied. The woman nodded, sat down, and poured herself a cup of tea. </p><p>The year was 480 AD. The place Kildare Ireland. The young woman Brigid, a slim girl of 16 lay in her bed on the night of Samhain or what today we call Halloween. Brigid had lived a peculiar life so far. Born to a chieftain and Christian mother. Sold into slavery to a Druid before she was born. Brigid spent her early years learning the Christian faith alongside the discovery she had an unnatural gift for magics. Even her Druid owner acknowledged her talents as they far surpassed any of his paltry arcanes. So pious, her father tried to sell the girl off to the King of Leinster and through another act of piousness, was given her freedom by the king himself. However, the girl was not satisfied with her freedom and wished to spread the teachings of Christ. But during this time, women teaching the faith was looked upon favorably and it disheartened her. Tonight, she would find the courage to fulfill her dreams in the most unlikely of ways.</p><p>As she lay in bed, she saw a flickering of light out of her drafty porthole of a window. Brigid stood up, the cold floor chilling her bare soles, and walked over to the window. "What is that?" she asked herself. Innocent as she was, she didn't think it to be dangerous or evil. Slipping on her sandals and day clothes, she left her room. She walked in darkness through the field with only a weak conjuring of flame in her hand. She knew full well that magic was looked on with suspicion but at that distance it would seem she held a lantern. The air cold, breath in the air like fog, she approached the flicking light. As she neared it, it was as if a crack in the air had formed and through the crack light poured out. Curious, she touched it and a flash of light blinded her. When she awoke, it was no longer chilly or nighttime. Brigid stood up to find the castle nowhere to be seen. Worried but not afraid, she began walking.</p><p>She had walked for some time. Her mouth dry, her stomach empty. She crested a hill and what she saw did give her fear. "By the blessed lord. What is this place?" she asked herself crossing with her hands. Before her was a burned-out broken land to the east. To the west was a huge black hill nearly 20 miles away. To the south were villages, oddly looking ones. And she stood on the North hill overlooking it at. She walked back from wince she came and found no cracks in the air. Nothing to show her the way home. With no other choice, she began walking towards the closest village she could see. As she neared it, she came to realize that the village was not typical at all. "The houses, trees, the animals, by the lord the people! THEY'RE TINY!" she yelled. Her loud boast attracted attention. The warning bells rang as the villagers saw the giantess close to their homes. Dozens of tiny lights popped up before a torrent of spells, fire, ice, wind, and lighting assaulted her. Brigid cried out as they struck her, and she fell to the ground. Already exhausted from hunger, thirst and lack of sleep, Brigid passed out.</p><p>When she awoke, she was tied fast to the ground. String, strangely strong string had her staked to the ground as the young men of the village stood around her head. Brigid groaned and moved alerting them that the giantess had awoken. "She awakes! Archers at ready! Aim for the eyes!" one commanded. "Please no! Don't hurt me!" Brigid begged. Crying out of fear, they paused for a brief moment before they took aim. "Hold fire!" one shouted. Brigid could barely turn her head to see who it was. "I mean you no harm! I'm lost and far from home! Please...for the love of God, I mean you no harm" she said weeping. The young man looked upon her carefully. Archers...fall back" he said. He dismissed them. "You say you are not from here?" he asked. "Yes. I come from Kildare" Brigid said. "I do not know of such a place" he said. "What is that place called?" she asked. "The Shire Valley. The northern region of Tir na Oog" he replied calmly. "Tir na Oog?! The legendary land of fairy?!" she asked. "The land of fairy, man, and Formoriean" he replied.</p><p>"Wait. She found herself in Tir Na Oog?" Faith asked the Abbess. "You've heard of it?" she asked. "My uncle Oberon told me stories about it. He said it was completely ruined by a war and so broken that magic bled out of the land" Faith replied. The abbess cocked an eyebrow. "Oberon? That is the name of the fairy King" she said. Faith grew quiet. "You knew a real fairy mom?!" Selah asked. Faith looked at the abbess. "Yeah I did" she replied. "Interesting" the Abbess said softly. "Please continue" Faith said. "Very well..."</p><p>"Are you a fairy?" Brigid asked. "Descended from them yes. You are too small to be a Formoriean. A human?" he asked. "A very scared, hungry, and thirsty one" she replied. "If you behave, I will see to your needs. Give me time to gather people to cut your bonds" he said. "No need" she said conjuring small flames to burn the strings holding her down. The young man jumped back in fright seeing that and her sitting up. "You could've done that at any time. Why didn't you?" he asked. "I had to show I won't harm you" she replied. "Curious. There is a stream nearby for you to drink from. We do not have enough food for you however" he said. All I need is a field" she said smiling. The young man blushed looking at her and nodded. The people were on edge seeing the giantess free and people had some questions for the young man. He calmed them by explaining she swore no harm to them and showed them how easily she freed herself.</p><p>Brigid drank from the stream greedily and walked back a few feet into the grassy field. She was being watched closely especially the young man. Brigid held out her hand as a magic array formed around it. Symbols and etched Latin danced in it as she released her spell. In seconds, all manner of herbs, vegetables, nuts, and berries sprang from the ground. Edibles her scale and therefore huge to the tiny folk. "Well come and get some. I'm not eating all of this myself" she said grinning. They were wary at first but as they saw the agriculture she has grown was harmless and very healthy, they readily made plans to carry it all back to the village. It was well into the afternoon that they had finished, and Brigid was laying on her back patting her belly. The young man stared at the young woman almost amused. A practitioner of magics, a towering giantess, and yet a most gentle girl. "Thanks for sharing your bounty. The soil has grown weak over the years and our sprouts are coming more sicklier and more withered" he said. "Think nothing of it. Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. It is one of the teachings of the Lord" she said. "You are not an emissary. No way you could be" he said. Brigid sat up. "Emissary of whom?" she asked. </p><p>"Rona. The last Formorian who rules this land. She has two human sized emissaries, a male and female, who walks the land doing her bidding" he replied. "And you thought I was the female one. That's why you attacked me" she said. "Aye. We did not want to pay our tribute this tithing" he said. "Tribute? Why do I think this is not about money" she said. "Because it is not. Every 25 years, 50 girls and 50 boys are chosen among the 10 villages and sent to Rona" he replied. "What does she do with them?" Brigid asked. "...we do not know" he replied softly. "How? Why? I heard stories of this being a beautiful magical land. Yet I see ashes, fear, and now kidnapping?" she asked. "Rona's mastery of earth magic gives this land life. We didn't have a choice. We would've perished if we refused. The bargain was struck not long after the war" he said. "War?" she asked. </p><p>"Centuries ago, a great war was fought good and evil. The fae and humanity on one side, Ebonheart, the Slaugh, and the Formoreians on the other" he said. </p><p>"Faith? You're tense" the Abbess said. "That name. Ebonheart. I'm familiar with her" she replied. "You even know of Ebonheart?! Who are you?!" she asked. "At one time the bearer of Etherion" Faith replied. The woman fell to her knees in prostration. "The one to guard against the darkness" she whispered. "Stand up. I said I was at one time it's bearer. I was a fool and caused death and destruction with it. I walk a path of redemption now" Faith said to her. The abbess was bewildered. "If you have given the power up, who will stand against Ebonheart?" she asked. "Ebonheart was banished from this world the day of my birth last year" Faith replied. "Birth? Last year?" the abbess muttered falling into her chair. "I will explain later but please finish your story" Faith said. </p><p>"The war burned the land. Wounded magic itself. And for a land that thrived on magic, it was like plunging a dagger into the chest. The land began to die quickly. To save themselves, the surviving fae took the remaining humans to another world before the last great vestiges of magic died. However, some were left behind in the confusion. A handful of fae and humans, and then Rona herself. It seemed we were doomed to die here. No food, no clean water, magic weak and paltry. Except Rona. Rona proposed a deal. She uses her stored up magics to restore a small portion of land for us to live on in exchange for tributes of the most handsome and beautiful of our youth. And so, it was and had been since" he said finishing. </p><p>"I see it is God's will I am here now. Thank you..." </p><p>"Duncan" he finished. "Brigid. Thank you Duncan" she said softly. A man walked over to Duncan and whispered into his ear. "It seems I am to be your watcher for now" he said. "Watch away" she smiled. While the jury was still out on Brigid, she was not allowed into the village but was allowed to sleep near it. Duncan was not allowed to leave her side the entire time. "I'm sorry about this. It's just after so much time, well having a giantess show up just two days before a tribute raises suspicions" he said as Brigid lay on the grass under the starry sky. "I've had to deal with worse. I was a slave for a long time" she said. "A slave? Who would dare enslave a gentle soul as yours?" he asked. Brigid blushed. "My father" she replied. "Disgusting" he snarled. Duncan drank some ale to calm his anger. </p><p>Brigid listened to the young man talk about his life here as the small campfire crackled and lit the night. She felt sorry for him as he spoke of how his parents died of starvation 10 years back when famine gripped the village. Sorry for the children living under the threat of being taken away to meet an unknown fate. She noticed the drunken man fall asleep and the urge to pet him filed her heart. She held off though as him waking up being touched by her could freak him out. Instead, she scooted her body close to him before sleeping. </p><p>Duncan was the first to wake. At first he thought he had drunkenly stumbled back to his home and to his wool softened bed as his body rested on something warn and soft. He turned to see that it was the clothed breast of the giantess. Her red hair draped over him like a blanket. He quickly got up and stepped back. Brigid was still sleep snoring. She sounded like a beast which made him smile a bit. He walked over to her face and felt her warm breath on his body. Her mouth dark and cavernous, he could easily fit in there. Thankfully, she was not the kind to devour him. Her lips seemed rosy and soft. Not cracked and weather beaten like the girls in the village. The more he stared at her, the more he found her...appealing. "She's a giant human. The days of her kind and ours mating has long past" he thought looking away and walking a ways to piss out his used ale. Brigid stirred and sat up. She rubbed her eyes. She stood up, walked a few feet, hiked up her dress and lowered her breeches before squatting for a piss. Duncan, finished with his own piss, turned around and nearly fell backwards at the sight. "By the gods" he muttered. He had not seen a pussy and bare ass as big as this before.</p><p>"She's so pale and rosy" he thought staring. His eyes looking at her rosebud ass and moving down to stop to observe her cunt. She was partly shaved down there with barely a red tuff of hair. Duncan thought of what it would be like to fuck a pussy that big. To lick it, to slip inside it. "I could fit my entire body in... no. Just concentrate on the task at hand. Observe Duncan...observe her...fuck she's magnificent" he said. Brigid finished and turned to see a quickly turning away Brigid. "Did you..."</p><p>"I did not look" he replied. She narrowed her eyes. "I tried not to look" he muttered. Brigid sucked her teeth and walked off. Due to her stride, she easily outpaced Duncan. Annoyed and embarrassed at him ogling her, she paid no heed to his calls for her to slow down. She walked down a slight slope coming to a stream. It was long into the morning by then and seeing she was alone; she took off her clothing to bathe in the waters. She had no soap so it best all she could do was wash off sweat, grass, and grime. The water was cold enough her nipples became hard but cold as it was, it was refreshing. Not only did it cool her body but her annoyance at the tiny young man acting as her observer. "Of course, he peeped. He is a healthy man after all, and I am a woman" she sighed as she shook the water out of her hair. Brigid stepped out of the water and took a few minutes to dry off in the sun. She put her clothing back on and paused for a moment to look at her reflection. </p><p>Her bare feet resting at the bottom of the clear water, she wriggled them. Young and mostly pampered, her feet were mostly unblemished. Smooth and pale on the tops, rosy pink on her soles. She gazed at her face admiring her pretty eyes, freckles, and oddly decent teeth. Her red hair more vibrant being still damp from water. "Vanity is a sin" she muttered shaking her head. "So, there's where you've been hiding" a voice said behind her. She turned. "Duncan" she said smiling. "Are you still mad?" he asked. "Not anymore. I realized it was only natural you'd look. Especially at my size it would be hard not to notice" she said smiling. "I apologize anyway. A beautiful as you are, I should respect your privacy" he said. "...beautiful? You think I'm beautiful?" she asked stepping out of the water. Brigid yelped in pain almost instantly and fell on her butt. Duncan rushed to her. </p><p>"What is it?! What happened?!" he yelled. "My foot! My right foot!" she replied showing her foot to him. She flexed her ankle raising her sole to him. "You must've stepped on a sharp rock. There's a cut on the ball of your foot. Hold still" he said. He took his hands and wiped the trickle of blood from the cut. At his size, his hands were coated with her blood. "Duncan it's okay" Brigid said seeing him look at his bloody hands. "No, it's not. You're hurt and in my care" he said gruffly wiping his hands clean on his pants. He took out his canteen and used the water inside to clean the wound. Brigid watched surprised as his hands glowed. He rubbed the wound and it began to heal. "Healing magic?" she asked. "Aye. That and a bit of fire is all I'm really good at" he said. "Still impressive. Back home, natural magic users are a rarity" she said. "And all humans are your size? Must be a crowded world" he said. Brigid laughed. She flinched a little. "Careful. It's still tender there" she said. "I can see that. What was your job where you come from? Your feet are in excellent shape" he asked. "A nun in training I guess you could say" she replied. "Nun?" he asked. "Priestess?" she asked.</p><p>"Ah. That I understand. Lower your foot slightly" he said. She did and she twitched as he sat on her big toe rubbing between the big and second one. "Okay that's not necessary" she said. "To promote blood flow" he said. "Nothing else?" she asked. "While I do admire your pretty feet, I really am acting out of concern" he replied. She blushed. "I have not let a man get this close to my body before, especially my feet" she said. "Brigid. Even if you were not a giantess, I would not harm you, especially in such a way" he said softly. She reached down and petted his hair. Duncan paused for a moment before continuing his toe massage. "Does this bother you?" she asked in a whisper. "I find it pleasant" he replied softly. Duncan finished what he was doing shortly after and watched her slip her sandals back on. His eyes were still on her feet until she laid on the ground. Brigid conjured strawberries for them to eat as they enjoyed to solitude of the stream and the sound of water running.</p><p>"Why are you not married? Not with child?" he asked. "I am married. I'm just married to God and his son Jesus" she replied. "Married to your God? Is that not difficult? he asked. Brigid chuckled. "It can be. I would be lying if I said I did not feel the stirrings that come naturally to women. Alas, I am to be celibate. But what of you Duncan? 19 years of age and no child" she asked. "Haven't found the right girl I guess" he replied. "And the right girl would be?" she asked. "Kind, caring, compassionate, pretty" he replied. Brigid pl used him up and placed him on her belly. "Surely there are girls in your village that fits the description" she said. His hand rubbed her smooth skin. "None I felt a connection to. The one that when you look at her, talk to her, just makes your heartbeat faster. The one that speaks to you without saying anything" he said softly. Her finger touched his chest and traveled down his side. She closed her eyes and pickled her hand back. "No. Duncan I'm sorry. I..."</p><p>"Married to your God. Yeah you told me" he said quietly slipping off her body. "We should head back. The other will worry of we are gone too long" he said. "Duncan. Please don't be angry" she said standing up. "I am not angry Brigid" he said. He was being truthful. Brigid could hear heartbreak in his voice. "At least let me carry you" she said. "...agreed" he replied. Brigid placed him on her shoulder, and he held her hair as she walked. It was midafternoon before they got near the village. As they did though, the sound of the warning bells rang. "Again? Is this because we disappeared for a while?" she asked as she crested the hill. "No. This something else" he muttered. At the top of the hill, Brigid could see a human her size tearing apart small houses. "...Bright Day" he muttered. "What?" she asked. "Bright Day. The name given to the female emissary! It's begun! The tribute!" Duncan yelled. "Not while I'm here!" Brigid yelled going into a full sprint.</p><p>Duncan held onto her hair for dear life as she ran full speed to the village. Brigid neared the edge of the village and saw the carnage up close. Houses demolished, small dead bodies buried under sticks, good honest people crushed into the dirt. Her eyes locked on the woman before her. She looked to be 40 years of age. Her brown hair pristine. Her skin pale as salt. Barefoot and wearing an oddly made dress that ran to her knees. Brigid could sense magic from her as well as a coldness in her soul. Around her waist were leather pouches. Squirming leather pouches. The woman bent down and yanked a small boy from a broken house and stuffed him into the pouch. "9" she muttered. "By the grace...stop this at once!" Brigid yelled at her. The woman looked at Brigid quizzically before ignoring her. She walked over to a home, smashed her hand through the roof, and dragged out a teenage girl. Her father gripping her ankle as she rose up only to fall badly into a storage shed near his home. "10" she muttered before turning to walk away. "No, you will not!" Brigid yelled pointing her hands at the woman. </p><p>A brisk gale blew through the village threatening to blow it clean away, but the winds encircled the woman trapping her. The villagers below watched as the giantess they had met just yesterday walk through their town to the emissary. The woman flexed her body and with a magical force expelled the wind prison. Brigid staggered back. "Duncan. Take cover" she said placing him on the ground. Duncan ran to the side but dared not to hide. His concern for Brigid too great for that. The woman gathered lighting in her hands before shooting it. Brigid used a barrier to block the attack knowing if she tried to deflect it, it would cause extreme damage to the village. The thunder alone made ears ring or bleed. Brigid raised her hands once more and commanded vines and roots to grow and bind the woman's arms and legs. Brigid charged the woman, tore away her five pouches and quickly yet carefully dumped the teenagers onto the ground. "Run!" she yelled. The woman tore away from the vines and roots and grabbed Brigid by the throat. She couldn't breathe. She was lifted off her feet. The woman was far stronger than normal women. "Men! Aim for the eyes!" Duncan yelled. Scattered volleys of magic struck the woman in the face near her eyes making her reflexively let go of Brigid. Brigid gasped for air. Not letting this chance go, she pushed her left sandaled foot into the ground and concentrated her magic from her toes, up her leg, through her chest, and out from her right hand. </p><p>A rock the size of a human head leaped from the ground hitting the woman in her ribs. Knocked right off her feet, she landed with a heavy thud that rattled the village. "Kill her!" Duncan yelled. Brigid glanced at him and then the woman trying to catch her breath. It was clear he ribs were broken by the rattle in her chest. Brigid bent down and began writing arcane in the dirt. She finished just as they woman tried to sit up. The circle flared to life and a binding spell kept the woman pinned to the ground for good. "Brigid! Just kill her!" Duncan yelled. "That is not my way" she said. "Look around you! Look at the ground for fae's sake!" he yelled pointing to bloody footprints and broken homes. "Arwen? Arwen is that you?" a small woman in her early 60's asked approaching. The giantess looked at the woman and snarled before looking away. "ARWEN!" the woman cried falling to her knees. "You know this monster?!" Duncan asked the woman. "I'm sure she does. It stands to reason" Brigid said softly. "Reason?! What reason would this woman know a bloodthirsty emissary?!" he yelled. "Have you not wondered where they come from? You said yourself you do not know what happens to some of the ones taken.</p><p>"Duncan. How old do you think she is?" she asked. "40? 42?" he replied. "And between what ages are these tributes?" she asked. "Usually between 13 and 20" he replied. "And if this tribute is done every 25 years..." she asked. </p><p>"She...she was one of the tributes" he muttered. "Not just that. I am betting this woman is kin to that one" Brigid said pointing to them. Duncan grew quiet. "We...we thought maybe. How could one of us turn into that?" he asked pointing to the giantess growling and pulling on magical bindings. "Maybe I should see" Brigid said sitting down. Brigid touched the forehead of the woman to read her memories.</p><p>He was in a dark place surrounded by screams, crying, and whimpers. Bodies of people touching her. She was like this for hours until she tumbled out onto a massive stone floor. A middle-aged giant stood above all 50 of them. Teenage kids hugged one another in fear. The floor shook as something emerged before them. The shrieks of sheer terror as a colossal naked woman with grey skin stood before them. The Formorian Rona. "Welcome to your new home. As per the agreement made so long ago, you are mine. Bright Day, Dark Night. See to them and bring me one that is fair and healthy before the midnight hour" she commanded before leaving them. They were made to walk to rooms carved into cave walls. Iron rods their bars. And there they were for the longest of time. She saw the one named Dark Night take a 14-year-old girl from her cage. Torn right of out of the hands of her older sister. She was not seen again. Every 6 months, one would be taken but that was not the worst of it. Being scared and alone, she saw the males pair off with females for human comfort. It led to pregnancies which attracted the notice of emissaries. When a girl was heavy with child, she would be taken away and not seen again until she was empty once more. They never said what became of their offspring. They said nothing as their minds broken.</p><p>A decade had passed and all she knew from her village were gone leaving her all alone. Bright Day came for her. She was terrified as she was held in her grip. Naked and trembling, she was placed on the stone floor before a harrowing looking throne of black rock. Before her was another girl. "Only one shall live to see the morrow" the booming voice or Rona said. She understood they were to fight until one victor remained. She won. Her nose bloody, her eye swollen but she had won. Giant fingernails plucked the loser up. Her weak painful screams filled Arwen's ears and she watched as Rona ate her like a crumb of bread. The giantess pulsed with power seconds later. Arwen had been told that Rona was responsible for giving the land life and now she knew the truth behind that. "Your life is not your only reward" Rona said snapping her fingers. Arwen grew to the size of a normal human. The giantess summoned Bright Day before her. He snoozed her fingers once more. "Eat her and assume your new place" Rona commanded. Arwen picked up the middle-aged woman and placed her in her mouth.</p><p>Arwen could not remember the last time she tasted something other than bread and water. Salty and sweet, she savored her flavor before the unrelenting need to chew was too much to bear. The fallen emissary did not scream of cry as her flesh and bones cracked, tore, and squelched in her mouth. Arwen tasted her coppery tasting blood and savored every scrap of the woman she could before swallowing. Seconds after she did, she felt the magic transferred to her. Her ratty dirty hair became pristine, emaciated flesh and muscles healthy once more. "Good. Welcome Bright Day. assume your place at my throne" Rona cackled. She did and she reminded there doing her bidding until the next tribute was due.</p><p>Brigid hugged her body rocking back and forth reeling from the memories. "What did you see?" Duncan asked. Brigid broke down into sobs and laid on her side and the horrors weighted greatly on her heart. The villagers walked close to her to show their concern. Duncan petted her cheek wiping away a tear. He was caught off guard as the sobbing giantess grabbed him and held him close to her face. "It was horrible. So much pain and misery for years and years. They're all gone. Every last one gone except two. She made them become her new emissaries" she muttered. The villagers gasped in shock. The older ones cried as their last hope of seeing loved ones taken years ago disappeared. Arwen has stopped writhing around and simply laid there. Seeing them grieve, seeing the torture Arwen's had gone through, Brigid made a heavy decision. She sat up and wiped her face. "I want everyone to gather every scrap of gold and iron you have. Every last bit and leave them before me" she said. "Why?" Duncan asked. "I need a weapon. This madness will end by my hand" she replied coldly. With half their village destroyed, dozens dead, and their children saved, they readily agreed. </p><p>Brigid watched for hours as they came and went dropping forks, knives, plates, plows, scythes, axes, saws, shovels, promise rings, and precious handed down heirlooms and jewelry before her. Finally, they had stopped. "That's it. Nothing left" Duncan said. Brigid had divided the iron and gold into two piles. As expected the pile of gold was considerably smaller than the iron. Brigid dug a trench into the ground and in the center formed a line with the gold. "Keep away. This will not be pleasant" she warned the people gathering to see what she had planned. Brigid summoned intense flames to fill the trench. The heat intense enough for nearby grass to burst into flame. Sweat dropped from her body as she melted the gold into a thin uniform line. Once done and called forth a fine mist to cool the metal. Brigid used a finely tuned barrier to straighten and fold the gold until it was a thin six-inch-long, quarter inch thick plate. A splashing of water cooled it further. </p><p>Now, she took half the iron and dropped it on top of the gold plate and smelted it. She cooled it and flipped it over repeating the process until she had a crudely made iron blade. "A blade?" Duncan asked. "The making of a sword. Gold bone for flexibility. Iron for the toughness" she said inspecting it. "Hmm. Need a hilt" she muttered. She summoned two lengths of granite out of the very earth and fused them together. To join and anchor the blade to the hilt, she took off her sandals and used the leather straps to tie and fasten them. By sundown, she sat quietly sharpening and etching the blade with granite. Duncan tapped the sole of her foot. "Impressive work but even at your size tis no better than a large knife. That is no match against a Formoriean" he said. "They said the same thing about David and his slingshot. They doubted, mocked, laughed when they saw it. That is until God blessed him and his weapon" she said plucking the top of the blade. "The father" the muttered as it made a high-pitched ring. "The Son" the said plucking the middle making a medium pitched ring. "And the Holy Ghost" she said plucking the bottom making a low ring. Symbolic magic encircled the sword as it astoundingly grew in size. When it had stopped, it was a 3 ft. long broadsword. Brigid stood up holding the sword and looked off in the distance. "It seems I finished in time" she muttered. "What do you mean?" Duncan asked not seeing anything she was looking at.</p><p>"Those are not stars" she muttered as five orange points of light seemed to come towards them. They got closer and closer. "The Slaugh. It's the Slaugh! Rona has sent them to punish us!" a villager yelled. "Souls made of cursed flames" Duncan told her. "I know. My master told me of them as a child" she said readying herself. Brigid launched an attack of mist hoping to weaken and confuse them as they got close enough. It did not weaken them, but it did force them to land. Their very footsteps scorched the dirt. Brigid singled the first one out as it's burning form glowed in the mist. "Yea though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death" she muttered slashing at it and cutting it down. "I will fear no evil" she said watching it snuff out. The air grew increasingly hot. The wind blew and the mist was gone. Brigid was exposed. The darkness had come, and their unholy forms lit the night. The girl felt fear in her heart. To hear the stories was one thing. To see four of them staring into your soul was another. Blue ghostly flames appeared as skeletal bones in their form. Their blue hissing skulls made her fingers and toes wriggle with worry. "For thou art with me" she said gripping her sword tighter. They pointed their hands at her and she moved to the right knowing what was coming. </p><p>They followed her movements and released a punishing torrent of flames at her. Anyone else would be burnt to their bones in seconds. Brigid pressed her bare feet into the soil as well as the tip of her sword. A powerful barrier kept her alive. "My rod and thy staff. They comfort me" she said softly as she endured. Duncan and the others screamed out of concern for their friendly giantess as she disappeared in a storm of fire. "Thou preparest a table in the presence of mine enemies" she said using wind magic to blow away the firestorm. "Thou anointed my head with oil. My cup runneth over" she said focusing her magic into her limbs. The dirt around her feet went flying as she charged to attack. She destroyed one and used her momentum to turn and take out another. She walked slowly over to it. It shrieked and three balls of flame at her which she easily deflected. Brigid let herself grin for a moment to realize it could feel fear. It rose into the air to attack. Astonishingly, Brigid cast a fire spell and bound it. It fell to the ground immobilized. With a coldness, Brigid slew it where it lay. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will live in the house of the lord forever. Amen" she muttered crossing herself. </p><p>"Nobody had killed a Slaugh since the last era. Brigid, this goes well past having auspicious parents. What bloodline do you share?" Duncan asked. Everyone standing there wanted to know too. "I do not know. Ever since I was born, I could perform miracles. Magic with no equal. The temperance to change people. It's why I want to be a nun Duncan. In the eyes of God, we are all his children, and our souls have equal weight. I firmly believe He is the one that gifted me this power and also brought me here" she replied. The people know not what to make of her answer. Someone of her power with such humility? Did this one God of hers grant her this power? This serenity? Brigid rested and ate whatever the land could provide her. Men and women gathered literally at her feet asking questions about this Christianity of hers. Of course, she could not answer all of them by the time she was forced to rest. They went to their homes to care for the 40 other kids saved by her except Duncan. </p><p>It frustrated him to no end her chastity. He had never loved a girl this much before. It wasn't just the urge to fuck her but to claim her his wife. He did not care about their difference in size and she couldn't give him children. And the more he thought on it, the more it hurt. For a brief second, he wished she never came. Duncan went to the well, gathered a bucket of water and heated it. With a cloth in hand and the bucket in the other, he walked to her feet. Quietly, during the next three hours, scrubbed her soles and between her toes clean. It was the least he could do after risking her life to save them, and it did give him some pleasure to serve her feet. Duncan laid down on a pile of straw near her face and went to sleep. </p><p>It was morning and she was not to be found. Duncan asked around to hear she had left the village to relieve herself. Until she returned, he simply went about his time tending to his daily chores. His patch of land weeded, giant chickens herded, laundry washed and left to dry. Then the shadow blotted out the sun and a pair of giant toes thudded to the ground. "Back?" he asked not looking up. "Yes. Did you eat already?" she asked. He shook his head. Another thud as she placed a giant apple on the ground. "I couldn't help but notice my feet were clean of dirt and soot when I awoke. That your doing?" she asked. "Aye" he replied. "For what reason?" she asked. "Is it so odd to wish to repay your kindness with foot washing?" he asked. "Not according to my teachings. My faith says that..."</p><p>"ENOUGH ABOUT YOUR RELIGION AND YOUR GOD!" he yelled looking up at the giantess. His outburst took her by surprise, and she sat down. "What kind of God demands his women to deny the most basic function of life? "He does not say to deny it. He said to be fruitful and multiply. But in order to be closest to him one must be pure" she said. "So, sex between husband and wife makes them filthy? Did you not say that all souls are equal before your God?" he asked angrily. "This is about us isn't it?" she said. "You're damned right it is" he hissed. Duncan hastily took off his clothing leaving him naked before her. Brigid looked away. "What? The killer of cursed souls fears the sight of a man's penis? Am I not the creation of your God? Is my nakedness such a damnation in your eyes?" he asked with a breaking voice. She could hear him sniffling. Brigid looked at him. "Why? Why would your God deny me you?" he said falling to his knees. Brigid placed him in her hands. To say she felt nothing holding his small naked body would be a lie. </p><p>"Since I was 11 years old, men have sought my hand in marriage or my bedchamber. You are the first to pain me for saying no. When I look upon you, I feel my heart quicken, my cheeks warm, the flutter of my stomach. It is not the sight of your buttocks, balls, or penis that makes me turn away. It is the self-hatred I feel for denying my love for you. I love you Duncan. The woman in me wants to grow fat with your children. To feel your lips on my skin, your touch. The pain of giving you my maidenhead" she said as she raised him to her lips. She kissed him. "I am so rich in faith and poor in womanly duties that that is all I can afford you" she said placing him on the ground. Brigid walked off leaving them alone. Duncan dressed and sat alone in his barn. She had told him a painful truth that she felt the same way for him. That she wanted to be his wife, but other duties came before that. It gave him some degree of solace that his feelings were reciprocated but it did not do much to ease his broken heart. Brigid has returned to him holding her sword. "I have asked the others to gather carts so I may carry their children back" she said. "To their village?" he asked. "Aye. That and more" she said looking at her sword. <br /></p>

"You cannot mean to slay Rona. She is a goddess Brigid. This is her domain" he said. "And that is why she must be met. Surely you do not think the matter of your children is over? If anything, she will demand to know who is powerful enough to slay her Slaugh" she said. Duncan was forced to agree about that. "Well you will need a guide" he said. "I do not. I can see the Iron Mountain from here. You will stay" she said. "I most assuredly will not!" he yelled. <p>"YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!" she yelled as magic slowly ebbed from her body. Duncan was taken aback by her tone. "Where I go there is no place for a man no bigger than my thumb. You are no soldier, and this is battle" she said coldly. "And what does a priestess know of battle?" he asked. "I am a priestess yes, but I am of the Isle as well. I am descended from warriors that pushed back the mightiest empire of my world. I hold God in my heart but the fury of ages within my soul" she replied. Duncan was forced to remember he knew her all of two and a half days. There were sides of her he didn't know of. "I'll see you off" he muttered. Brigid nodded and walked to the center of town. The 40 children were loaded into cart beds and tied fast to the cages. Their legs and feet dangled out. One by one, Brigid tied all four cages to her waist. "Tis a long journey" Duncan said. "20 miles by the look of things" she said. "I wish you well" he said stoical. Brigid gave a slight nod and began walking. She held back her tears as she went.</p><p>Duncan's village was the most distant from the mountain with the other four closer to it with a span of five miles each. Brigid walked in silence thankful the soft grass didn't hurt her bare feet. As she walked, her stomach growled. With eating only berries, nuts, and grains is morning, her body wanted some real calories. The children whimpered as they knew she was hungry. A small girl cried. Brigid paused, took her cart off her waist, and looked upon her. "Is something the matter little one?" she asked. "Please don't eat us" she cried softly. "I don't eat children. Naughty children maybe but not cute adorable ones. I do not lie when I say I will take you back to your homes" she said. They were not entirely convinced. They did see her free other children but all alone on the prairie. That and surely she ate meat as they did. As there were no chickens with them, then the only other source of meat would be them. Brigid placed the cart back on her hip and began walking again but this time singing.</p><p>The children calmed hearing her voice as song was not a thing in their lives. Fascinated by her voice, they did not cry or whimper anymore. She came to the first village in her travel and of course everyone screamed in terror. But when she placed the cart of young teenage kids before them, they were astounded. Parents hugged them tightly and the kids told them of what they had seen. Brigid told them not to bow before her. Her gentleness and humility mind blowing. The young men bid her to stay and rest, but she could not. She did leave them with giant berries to feast on.</p><p>It played out three more times, but this time Brigid did stay to rest. All done children back where they belonged, she felt more at ease but was still wary of what lie before her. Now closer to the mountain, Brigid noticed a curious thing. There was a thin line of forest, and human scaled forest lining the mountain. It was the first sight she had seen of anything naturally her scale in the world other than Arwen of course. It was nearly midday, but the people readily feasted around her. A young woman with child attended her. "If you will not celebrate with us, at least partake" she said presenting a cart with cooked chicken and two tiny barrels of wine. "It is not much..."</p><p>"It is more than enough" Brigid said using magic to enlarge the small strip of chicken to something that would satisfy her hunger. The woman cringed as Brigid tore into it. "Sorry. I have had no meat in days" she said. "Apparently. So, the rumors of giants not eating our kind is untrue" she said. "No, just me it seems. I have seen what takes place in the mountain and I have come to end it" Brigid said. The woman had heard as much from the children but did not believe it until it was said by the giantess herself. Brigid finished her chicken and lowered her hand to the ground. "Climb into it. I have questions" she said softly. The woman timidly did after taking her sandals off. She was amazed how soft and warm her giant hand was. The soles of her tiny feet could feel the fine ridges and swirls in her flesh. Brigid lifted her up a ways. </p><p>"What can you tell me of that forest yonder?" she asked. "It is a place of death. Many years ago, my father and a neighbor went there to retrieve the kids stolen just after a tribute. His niece among them. As they neared, it was it was clear the forest was not for our kind. The trees towered into the sky, even the grass taller than they. Fruits hung from branches that could feed us for months if not years. But the most daunting sight was the insect life. They pressed on until my father's friend was caught in a spider web. He tried hacking away at it with his sickle until the owner of the web appeared. The man screamed as the spider sank its fangs into him. Then his body went slack. My father said he could hear the creature drink the fluids out of his friend as she still lived. My father ran for his life. He fought like a madman against mosquitoes and dragonflies as big as he running the entire way. By the time her returned, he was not my father anymore. He was a solemn she'll never to smile, laugh, or even cry again. It did not steal his life, but it did steal his soul" she finished. </p><p>"No animals? No magics?" Brigid asked. The woman shook her head. It was clear the forest was some kind of natural barrier against them. If that was true, then Rona was not invincible. Invincible people have nothing to fear. "Then I should be fine then" Brigid said. "I envy you. With your size, skill, beauty, and bravery you are glorious" the young woman said softly. "I am far from glorious. If anything, I envy you" Brigid said. "I am a small homely thing. What is there to envy?" she asked. Brigid pulled up her little dress with her fingertip and let the bunched-up part rest exposing her pregnant belly. Brigid gently rubbed it with the tip of her finger. "This I envy. You are to be a mother" she said. "Are you barren?" the young woman asked tapping the fingernail of the giantess. "No, I am not barren. At least I don't think I am. The original sin comes each month like all women" she said. "Then you prefer women?" she asked. "No. I prefer men" she replied. "Forgive my questions. They as I am curious" the young woman said to her. "I do not mind. It makes me feel better just to talk. Oh! I felt movement!" Brigid said feeling her baby kick under her finger. </p><p>"Aye. Tis a feisty one. Why do this Brigid?" the woman asked. "Why not?" Brigid replied. The woman chuckled and then laughed. "A woman with your power with no vices or faults?" the woman laughed. "I have faults. There are times I do too much and times I do too little. I inconvenience others with my choices and as a vice...I have found I enjoy little people pampering my feet" Brigid blushed. "Then we shall see to your needs! Men! Rub the feet of this woman hence!" the woman yelled clapping. "No. As much as I would enjoy that. I must continue. Time is not on my side" Brigid said placing her back on the ground. Brigid stood up, picked up her sword and began walking once more. "If only we could follow" a man said. "Wish we could do more for her" another said. "If you wish to do something, prepare for her victorious return. Or prepare a memorial if she is not" she replied. </p><p>Brigid walked for just over an hour to the forest. The moment her bare soles touched the soil, she could sense the abundance of life energy in it. She could feel it as the dirt got between her toes. "10...no 100 times as much here" she muttered observing the trees and vegetation. It was breathtaking to her. Mighty oaks and slender apple trees, wild berries, and fresh onions. It was as if the Garden of Eden was there. But Brigid was not fooled. She could see and hear the insects around her. Venomous centipedes, spiders, wasps, and god knows what lurked above and below. Just to be sure, she protected herself with a barrier. A centipede landed on her shoulder only to be burned away. Spiders biting her ankles and toes to be scorched. "A forest of death indeed" she muttered as she continued. And eventually she came to the mouth of the cave. The cave where Rona resided. </p><p>Brigid walked inside and shivered as the cold stone chilled her dirty soles. There was no sound other that the pitter patter of her feet. Brigid felt fear once more looking at the sheer size of the cave. The roof 400 ft. high and at least 700 feet wide. Torches with blue flames lit the interior. Brigid wondered how big Rona truly was to live in such a place. She walked further and could see a chamber to the left and right. This she recognized form reading Arwen. The right kept the tributes. The left she did not know. The cave kept going so she continued. She could see two glowing lights up ahead and as she approached...</p><p>"So, you are the one intruding in my affairs" a voice said. Torches burst into life revealing a sight Brigid would never forget. There on a throne of black rock sat Rona. Naked and easily towering over Brigid, she looked down with a sneer revealing gleaming yellow teeth. Her hair the color of burnt brass. Her skin like sandalwood. And her eyes glowing like embers. The eyes Brigid had seen moments before in the darkness. "And you must be the monster using children to empower the land" Brigid said pointing her sword at her. "Monster? I saved them. You think all this comes free? This land was as fallow as an old woman's pussy when we came! This was necessary!" Rona yelled. "This is necromancy and that never leads to good. I have come to end this tribute system" Brigid said. Rona stood up. Brigid nearly fell backwards seeing her at her full height. The Formoriean was easily 225 ft. tall. "So this is how they feel" Brigid muttered thinking of how Duncan and the others take in her height. </p><p>"You? I sense magics in you, but you are no match for me tiny one" Rona said. "And yet I bested your Slaugh with little effort" Brigid boasted. "I can easily make more" Rona said to her. "I doubt it. You are a collector and collectors do not give up their prizes so easily. Surrender and we can end this suffering of so many" Brigid said. Rona pointed her finger at her before unleashing a bolt of lightning. There was a small explosion. Brigid blew away the dust showing she was unharmed. "You honestly didn't think that would do anything did you?" Brigid told her. Rona collected even more lightning in the palm of her hand before casting it down. The blast echoed throughout the cave. "Still smiling?" Rona chucked as the smoke didn't immediately clear. A beam of light shot through the smoke burning a hole through the shoulder of the giantess. Brigid stepped forth. "As if I would smile in the face of this madness" Brigid hissed. "Fire haired bitch! How did you even end up in my realm?!" Rona yelled trying to heal the gaping wound in her shoulder. "I... brought her here" a voice said emerging from the left chamber. </p><p>"Darkness Night?! What did you say?!" Rona howled. "Brought...her here. Too much death. Too much..." the half-naked man struggled to say. "After all I gave you. Your size. Your very life! This is how you repay me?! With deceit and thievery of my power?!" Rona yelled moving after than Brigid expected. She grabbed the man from the floor and squeezed him. There was a loud crack and the man screamed in pain. "Let him go! Brigid yelled firing off another beam of light. Rona did not underestimate her this time and deflected the shot. The man vomited blood before Rona roughly tossed him aside. He landed with a thud and did not move. "As for you" she growled at the small girl. The skin of the giantess glowed red as her magics hardened her from attacks. She raised her dirt stained sole over Brigid. In a panic, Brigid fried off three light magic attacks only to see them harmlessly impact her skin. "Deflect this!" Rona yelled laughing as she slammed her foot down as hard as she could. </p><p>Brigid was not turned to mush as Rona had expected as she threw up a barrier at the last moment. Her giant sole eclipsing her entire body easily as Brigid knelt struggling to maintain her defense. Her defense however was literally cracking under hundreds of tons of pressure. "Delaying the inevitable? Just relent. It will be over before you even feel pain" Rona said coldly. Brigid concentrated her symbology into one powerful strike and aimed it straight up. "NEVER!" Brigid yelled releasing the spell. Rona let out a screech as a cross shaped beam of light burned right through her giant sole and out the top of her foot. Rona fell back immediately giving Brigid a moment to rest. "Normal magic won't harm her now but symbology will" she thought. As the giantess reeled in pain on the ground, Brigid went on the offensive. She summoned gale force winds to gather the iron ore dust on the ground and walls. Once gathered, she cast it all over the giantess. Her skin immediately stopped glowing red. "You think this iron will save you?!" Rona howled through the still steady winds. "Maybe when I do this" Brigid replied firing off an intense bolt of fire right into the iron dust cloud. </p><p>*BOOOOM*</p><p>The iron dust had not only dampened her magics but set up a catastrophic chance of dust detonation. The blast knocked Brigid right off her feet for her to land nearly 30 ft. back. Her ears ringing, her vision blurry, she could barely see the writhing burning form of Rona. But when it seemed she had won; a burst of intense magic snuffed the fire. Rona, badly burned but healing at an insane pace began to stand. "Making me squander my collected magics. For that...for that I'll take payment from your very soul" she growled walking to Brigid. Brigid staggered to her feet. She could barely keep balance from the concussion. Rona snatched Brigid right off her feet. Brigid felt her fist contracting squeezing the air out of her lungs. She feared she would be crushed like the young man Darkest Night. She raised her sword to hack Rona's giant fingers only for the giantess to grab the small blade with the fingers of her free hand. The iron blade burned her skin on contact. "Cold iron will not save you any longer" she said coldly snapping the blade leaving a broken metal stump at the hilt. Rona tossed away the rest. "You should know it takes days, weeks sometimes to extract a soul. You will be digested constantly as I feed on your mortal and spiritual essence until there is nothing left of you. Not even bones!" Rona laughed. She opened her mouth and pushed Brigid in. </p><p>Brigid slid onto her wet moist tongue still holding her broken sword. The mouth snapped shut encasing her in damp smelly darkness. Her bare feet could find no purchase to stop her movement as Rona titled her head back. She could feel the giantess tasting her. Could feel her saliva itching her skin. And then, she entered her throat. Brigid nearly had her ribs broke as powerful throat muscles squeezed her down into the pit of her stomach. True to form, she never let go of her sword even as she landed in a pool of bile and stomach acid. Pitch black with only the sound of her monstrous heart beating, Brigid could not sense anything else. The soles of her feet felt the rippled flesh of her stomach. Her lungs struggled for oxygen. She thought her life over and she prepared herself to meet God. "My soul...if she devours it...I won't see paradise" she realized. Brigid broke into sheer terror and panic hacking at the stomach walls with her broken blade only to feel the mucus lining protecting it. Worse yet she could feel her skin beginning to tingle. She thought of the people in her life she would not see again. People she would not see in heaven. "Mother, father, the king" </p><p>And as she prayed for a miracle, she remembered something. "All magics come from within. The spirt, the soul, the essence of what we are. However, because our soul is never at peace, we can only manage what we perceive. We are limited to our own flaws, our mortal understanding of things" her Druid master once said to her. "But what if there was a way to overcome that. What if we combined our magics with a higher order than ourselves? Something that transcended mortal understanding?" Brigid asked kicking her childish feet in the water. "Then maybe magic would transcend the laws of man. Transcend into the realm of legend and lore. The realm of miracles" he replied.</p><p>"The realm of miracles" Brigid whispered. Brigid turned her sword onto herself. And slammed the broken jagged blade into her stomach. She nearly screamed in pain and felt her warm blood running onto her hands. "The lord is my shepherd. I shall not want!" she yelled focusing her will, her very soul into her symbology. "He makeith me lie down in green pastures" she said letting go using her free hands to focus the array in them. "He leadeth me besides the still waters" she said as the sword began to oddly force itself deeper and deeper into her stomach disappearing. Brigid fell to her knees. "HE RESTORITH MY SOUL!" she yelled as power welled up within her. The hilt of the sword began to exit her stomach and she took hold. "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" she said weakly holding the sword in her hand. She squinted as the newly soul forged sword filled the stomach with light. It was no longer a cobbled together blade but a gleaming weapon of symbology. Golden hilt with ivory. The blade metal unnatural as it seemed gold Latin was etched in it. Brigid crossed herself astounded at what she had made and then her wound was gone. Taking the sword in both hands, she reared back, concentrated her power, and let loose a slash of holy magics.</p><p>Rona, sitting on her throne sucking her teeth still enjoying the literal flavor of her false victory found her stomach slashed open. She howled in pain falling off her throne. Brigid landed on the floor and looked dead at the giantess. "Impossible..." Rona muttered trying to heal only to find her magics doing nothing for the wound. Brigid calmly walked right up to her. Rona fired off bolts of lightning only to see them easily deflected away. Even the large attack that gave Brigid paused before smacked away with her sword like nothing. "This ends old murderous one" Brigid said. Rona focused her flame magics in her very mouth and spat them. A torrent of flame hot enough to melt stone raced towards her. Brigid ran at full speed right into it and held her sword firm deflecting the planes in two directions. She leaped so hard her ankles broke. Soaring into the air, Brigid landed just below the chin of the giantess and jammed her sword as deep as she could. Rona gurgled flames for a moment.</p><p>Brigid focused her magics one final time into an almighty burst of holy magic making a construct of light shoot forth. The form of a cross burned clean through her neck decapitating her. Rona fell to the floor, her head rolling to her side. Brigid walked to her face and looked dead into her ember glowing eyes as they faded. "I... just did what we agreed. Should I have let them die?" Rona skied with her dying breath. "...that is for God to decide. Not you" Brigid replied coldly. Those ember eyes went dead cold and Rona was no more. Almost as soon as that occurred, a greenish hue enveloped her body. It built in intensity before a colossal burst of pure raw life magic radiated out. When it was gone, Rona's body turned into dust. "All that magic she had hoarded, released in an instant. How many souls did it take for it to be that intense?" Brigid wondered. "She...gone?" Darkest Night asked. Brigid was shocked he was still alive. As she approached him, it did not seem he was long for that world. "Yes, she's gone" she replied. He smiled. "Saved magic for 10 years. Bring you here. Prayer answered" he coughed. "Easy. Let me..."</p><p>He swatted her hand away and coughed more blood. "Dying. They need your strength more" he said pointing to the left chamber. "They? They who?" she asked. "Go. See. See why I bring you. Help them! Hel..." he said before falling silent. His breath still. Eyes frozen in death. Brigid closed them for him and crossed herself as she made a quick prayer. Brigid walked to the left chamber not knowing what she would find. From Arwen's memories, they were held in the right chamber not the left. She had not seen what the left one held or possibly she had but blocked it from memory. Brigid entered the chamber and there was a room to the left and right of a stairway. Simple bedding and chamber pots. No doubt the living quarters of Rona's emissaries. But there was a light coming from down the staircase. Brigid walked down the massive staircase for a full three minutes. She happened onto a room and the horrifying full truth what Rona had been doing would come to light. Brigid gasped in shock as tears fell from her eyes.</p><p>"Hell is too good for you" Brigid cursed Rona's soul. She had happened on a room of similar size and shape of the throne room above and what lay inside were hundreds of children of varying ages. Tiny beds for each one laid out in rows. Tables with simple foods and water and along the walls were chamber pots. Brigid stepped closer and expected them to scream or at least whimper as a giantess coated in blood and bile stood before them. Nothing. They did look but nothing else. Brigid bent down to get a closer look at them. Some as young as infants being held by teenage mothers. Teens heavy with child. Not one looked over the age of 20. Inwardly curious, she plucked up a random one, a teenage boy around 15. Astonishingly, she took off his clothing as soon as she placed him in her hand. Brigid quickly put him down. She chose another, a young girl and she grabbed her dress and Brigid recoiled. "What in the fresh hell is...oh no. Lord don't say this is so" she begged crying.</p><p>Brigid recalled that Arwen observed the girls becoming pregnant, taken away when it came time to give birth, and then return without the infant. She had grimly assumed Rina disposed of it but that was not true. "Livestock. They're all livestock. And the Tributes, they were a source of fresh blood for breeding" she muttered. When the shock had worn off, Brigid went to counting them. In all, 312 children and young adults lived, ate, slept, shitted, and bred in this room. Never seeing the light of day. They had been conditioned from birth to be obedient and give themselves up to be eaten. Brigid sat there trying to come to terms with such a gruesome discovery. Brigid had been told this was going on for centuries but even so there should've been more children here, thousands more easily even factoring in infant mortality and disease. Her upbringing included a study of mathematics, and she concluded that Rona must've eaten someone each week for a very long time. Mostly likely the oldest among them. "Darkest Night. He must've been a father and some of them here are his children. That's why..." she muttered. Brigid willed her sword to enter her body before beginning what needed to be done. "Look at me!" she yelled down at them. They did.</p><p>"Follow me" she commanded. They did until they reached the staircase. Their conditioning conflicted with her order and them not to leave. Brigid looked around and found a small box full of dried food. She emptied it and placed it in front of the children. Holding her hands out, she concentrated and shrunk the children to the size of ants. It was the first time Brigid had even tried using shrinking magic on a person. Carefully, very carefully, she placed all 312 of them into the box and began her walk out of the cave by the time she had left it, the sun hung low in the sky. She purposely left the top of the box open for them to see the sky. They were all dazzled beyond belief at the slight. Brigid began her walk back. </p><p>They children looked at the forest puzzled. Their addled minds couldn't perceive what it was. But as she walked, more and more began to show emotion. Brigid made it back to the last village she had been in the dead of night. They held torches as if expecting her or something else to arrive. When she had they rejoiced but stopped immediately after Brigid placed the box down and revealed what was inside. "Hundreds of them just waiting to be eaten. Your land was made fertile with their souls" Brigid said before sitting down. "And they are this small because..." someone asked. "They would not leave otherwise. Conditioned from birth to give their lives. They are the offspring of the tributes" she replied. "Offspring? Then that means..."</p><p>"Some are no doubt your grandchildren or maybe great grandchildren. As to which ones I do not know" she replied. "Can you make them bigger?" the pregnant one from earlier asked. ".... yeah. Just take out as many as you can take care of. By the lord I'm speaking as if they are puppies or kittens" Brigid sighed. One by one, a villager took a child from the box once everyone had a shrunken child, Brigid regrew them. "Let us clean you. You are to miraculous to be covered in filth" the pregnant woman said. Brigid was too tired to be modest any longer and took off her clothing. She laid on the ground as the villagers grabbed a wet cloth and went to scrubbing the filth for her body. Brigid was too shaken to care about tiny men and women cleaning her thighs and crotch. The women made sure the men did not take that job. They granted their giantess that much and tried their best not to arouse her. Brigid whimpered as even their delicate graces did make her cum. "Do not be embarrassed. You are a woman" the pregnant woman assured her wiping the juices off her hands. The men had at first were aroused seeing her nakedness but seeing her pitiful expression felt very sorry for her. They did tease her erect nipples or the crack of her ass. They washed her as one would family.</p><p>The last one had finished cleaning between her last toe and bid her goodnight. "You look better" the woman said still around. "You should rest. You have to be exhausted" Brigid said. "I say the same for you" she said. "They are very pretty but they are not mine" Brigid said softly looking at the stars. The woman climbed onto her belly. "Aye they are. That one there my father named me for. Cera" she said pointing to it. Brigid petted her little belly. "How will we care for so many? The land was stingy already with harvests" Cera asked. "Not anymore. Rona had been hoarding life magics to extend her life. When she died, she released it all at once. I expect you will see changes very soon" Brigid said. "May I rest here?" Cera asked. "...you may" Brigid replied softly.</p><p>In the morning, Brigid found her dress to be clean again. Who had not washed her body had washed her dress and left it to dry in the night. She put her dress back on and picked up her box. "Will you return?" Cera asked. "I do not know" she replied. "In either event, I shall name my child after you" Cera said. "What if it's a boy?" she asked. "Then he will have to live with a girl's name" Cera chuckled. Brigid laughed and bid her goodbye.</p><p>Brigid visited the other villages repeating the task of giving the children out. Each time to the same solemn effect. Eventfully, she made her way back to Duncan. She placed the box of children down as he stood before her. Duncan said nothing and run to hug her toes. He kissed her big toe weeping. She sat and held him to her cheek crying. Of course, he and the others demanded to know what has occurred especially with her in the possession of shrunken children. When they were told, they were aghast. "312 you say?" Duncan asked. "Aye. There is I think 50 or so left here" she replied. Villagers took a child or two and gave them to be regrown. Having spent so much magic, Brigid rested with Duncan at her side.</p><p>As the days passed, what Brigid predicted came true, the grass was much greener, the air cleaner, and oddly enough, the appearance of birds. "It barely looks the same. The soil is so rich its almost black. Brigid, while this is a great thing, wouldn't it eventually die without her necromancy?" Duncan asked. "There was a lot of magic in her Duncan. Your land will remain fertile for centuries but even so I can feel a change. When I first came here I could sense magic all around. Weak, broken, faded like a flickering flame on a candle. But now, slowly, ever so slowly, it's begun to heal. Yesterday, I walked to the edge of the fertile lands and found they had expanded a meter. Your land is like a suture treating a gaping wound. It's very possible that many years from now the entire land will be whole once more. The fact that even after centuries of mixing blood you still have magic is proof that this land still holds promise" she told him. "You should save some of that hope for yourself. I can tell you're not happy here" he said sitting down. </p><p>"It's a wondrous place with cute, loving little people but it's not home. The Lochs sparkle in the dawn. The spring moss so soft under your bare feet. The beauty of falling snow. The merciful king who took me in. That is home. That is my Isle" she muttered. "You can make another home here. Can you not shrink like you shrunk the children?" he asked. "Aye I could" she said holding her hand out. She concentrated but instead of shrinking, a small crack in reality appeared. "Was that supposed to happen?" he asked. "Nae. I was dead center of a magic explosion. It has still left me...unbalanced. It takes great control to shrink anything. It was a small miracle I shrunk those kids earlier" she said looking closer at the crack. "My home. I can see the castle through it!" she yelled. "You can go home?" he asked. "Aye. Now that I know how the spell feels" she said. "Then I guess this is goodbye?" he asked softly. She did not respond. Her lip trembled at the thought of leaving him. There was a whiff of smoke that drifted by her nose making her sneeze. She looked over to where it had come from. "The kiln. With so many children now, we need more pots and plates" he said smiling a little. Brigid stared at it for a moment and then the magic rich dirt. It was then she decided to do something very forbidden...</p><p>"There is a way for us to both get what we want. I need that kiln and your help" she said. "For what purpose?" he asked. "I need to make something forbidden by my master's teachings" she replied. Brigid scooted closer to the kiln and began scrounging up dirt. Hand me water. Buckets of water" she said. Duncan went back and forth from the well and under her direction, poured water over the small mound of dirt she had made. Brigid scooped it up and began kneading it into mud. Once she was satisfied with its consistency, she used her fingers to begin to mold something. "Brigid. This thing you're making gives me the creeps" he said. "As it should. There is reason it is forbidden. What I am making is dangerous" she replied. She bit her finger and let fall a few drops of blood and gave it a moment to soak into the fresh clay. "What is this thing called?" he asked. "A homunculus" she replied infusing it with magic. Under her direction, she had Duncan place it in the kiln to bake and mature. </p><p>By dusk, she had him take it out. With a gentle tap of her finger, the outer shell crumbled and revealed a perfect tiny replica of Brigid. "By the gods. In every detail right down to the toenails" he gasped. "You should step back Duncan" she said. "Why? How could something so lovely be dangerous?" he chuckled looking at its naked body. An arm shot up. Her hand gripped Duncan's throat and began to choke him. "No! I am what you want!" Brigid yelled. The copy looked at the giantess and let go of him before climbing out of her shell. "That's right. You can smell it can't you? My soul. You need my soul to be fully realized. Well, I have my own desires" Brigid dais reaching into her body. With great pain, she extracted a part of her very soul. She held out her hand. The copy climbed into her palm and quickly devoured the spark of life. The copy cried out as it began to grow. Brigid dragged her out of the village to spare it from damage. Once she had stopped yelling, there were two giantesses before them. </p><p>"Two of them? Two?!" one yelled astonished. Brigid looked at her copy as she did the same. "You're me?" Brigid asked wary. "Aye. In form, spirit, and memory" she replied. "Brigid. What's the point of making two of you?" Duncan asked. "Don't you see? This way I can go home and another I can...become your bride" she replied softly. "But which one?" he asked confused. "Me. I can feel inside me" the other replied. "Aye" Brigid said quietly. Brigid gave her the sword she carried in her soul. "Where I am going, what I have chosen for myself I will not need it..." </p><p>"Mary. After the Virgin Mother" the clone finished. "A good choice in name" Brigid said. She had Mary clutch the sword and when ownership was transferred, the sword lost its elegant blade. It was back to have the same broken one. "Fear not. Your soul will forge a new one when the need arises" Brigid said. Brigid opened a crack in reality. "I must go. Already the power needed to open it this much is waning" she said. "Wait!" Duncan yelled. Brigid looked back to see them erecting a cross. "In your honor we will live our lives with mercy and grace in our hearts. We do not know much of anything of your God but if he has you as a worshipper, he must be worthy. Maybe we will see you again one day?" he asked smiling. Brigid wiped a tear away. "He does work in mysterious ways" she grinned. Brigid stepped rough the crack in reality and departed the realm. </p><p>She emerged in almost the exact place she had entered Tir Na Oog days before. It was nighttime, the familiar chill touched her skin. The cold damp earth under her bare feet. Brigid walked back to the castle. As one would imagine, she caused quite a stir being missing for days. The King asked where she had been as he sent out soldiers to look for her. Worried so much, he himself led the search. Her reply as to where she had been was "a calling by our lord and savior". Safe and chaste, he did not press the matter. Her handmaidens asked her what her answer meant. "Spreading the word of God, ending suffering and evil, and hoping I would see you once more" she replied. Brigid cared for her handmaidens very much so her answer as vague it might be, was enough to still their worried hearts. Not much later, she used her gifts and faith to founded this monastery" the Abbess said to Faith and Selah.</p><p>"That's a pretty story but if the sword was left there, then how does mom have it now? And why did she turn into a big dog?" Selah asked. "I have not finished the story yet little one" the Abbess said.</p><p>January 25, 525 CE</p><p>Brigid lay resting in her bed. The years had finally caught up to her. At a ripe age of 71 years, her time on earth grew short and she knew it. Darlugdach, her most trusted and favored pupil prayed before the cross for her abbess leaving Brigid alone in the room. She had accomplished her dreams of founding a monastery, spreading the gospel, and helping those that needed it most. She smiled contently thinking of the mute daughters able to speak because of her, the women caught between lust and belief. The men impoverished physically but great in wealth spiritually. However, her thoughts returned to her time with Duncan and her copy Mary. As if answering her questions, a familiar crack appeared on her nightstand and through it came out a tiny young woman. "I bid you good tidings Brigid of Kildare" she said bowing before the old giantess. "I take it you come from Tir Na Oog?" Brigid asked. "Aye I do" she replied making her way onto the bed.</p><p>"By any chance you know of Duncan and Mary of the village South?" Brigid asked. "That is why I have come" she replied. "I'll will has not befallen them has it *cough cough*" Brigid asked coughing roughly and painfully. "No. The opposite. In the years you have been gone, the land has healed immensely, the population greatly risen, and your teachings have spread to every village" she replied. Brigid smiled. "Forgive me but it was so long ago. In the years the came I have not seen or heard from anyone" Brigid said. "It took this long before someone could harness enough magic to come here. It is as big as you once said it is" the young woman smiled looking around. "More so. Tell me. What became of Duncan and Mary?" Brigid asked timidly. "Duncan still tills the land with his many children and grandchildren" she replied. "They had children?!" Brigid asked excited. "Yes. Eight children and 25 grandchildren" she replied. "Twenty...five grandchildren?" Brigid blushed. "Aye. Mary was very vocal about them giving her many grandchildren. It made her very happy" she replied. "You speak of her in past tense" Brigid said softly. "Aye. She is why I came here"</p><p>"Yesterday. Mary died but before she died, she told me to come here and give you a most precious gift. She said it was to "repay a blessing" the young woman said. The young woman held out her hand revealing a tiny sparkling of light. "Is that..."</p><p>"It is but so much more. Precious enough she only entrusted me, her eldest grandchild with it" she replied. "Oh! You...you are her...my...." Brigid said weeping. Her old withered hand plucked the girl up and brought her to her face. Her tired old eyes focused on the girl. She appeared to be about 25 years of age with dusty red hair. Her finger traced her form right down to her sandaled feet which she inspected. "You have your grandmothers' toes" Brigid chuckled. "Among other things. Brigid, squeeze the gift she gave you" she said. Brigid squeezed it between her fingers and the old woman gasped as Mary's memories collected over the decades filled her heart. The young woman sat patiently watching the ordeal. Brigid saw a wedding. The birth of their first child. Her first day breastfeeding her. Her first steps, words, the birth of other children. Years upon years of memories warming her heart until the very end. The end of Mary's life. She knew it would come and did not wish for her gift to fade with her. She removed it from her body and handed it to the young woman. The young woman Brigid now knew as Bellany.</p><p>"Thank you. Thank you so much. You can tell your grandfather the gift was well received" Brigid said. "No, there was one other thing. I am to give you this. There is no need for it anymore back home" Bellany said summoning the sword that brought peace and freedom to her land. I am to stay with you until the very end" she said. Brigid nodded quietly. Bellany remained hidden for the next few days. "My time grows near, but my visions have told me a man will come today that needs a blessing" Brigid said to Bellany. "Someone does come" Bellany said looking out the window from her windowsill perch. Soon, the man knocked on her bedchamber door. "Enter good sir" she said. "Apologies abbess but I am in need of your miracles" the young man said. Brigid bade him to sit on the stool near her bed. "I belong to an order that hunts down foreign gods that would do pious Christians harm" he said. "Campioné. I've heard of you" Brigid said. "Indeed. I am Arthurus Alligarus of Rome and my family has hunted them for nearly 200 years. Now, I fear we can no longer do so. A god from the Nubian continent has massacred an Ethiopian mission and all attempts to destroy him have failed" he explained. "So, you seek power" Brigid said. "...yes" he replied softly. "Destruction is not a blessing Roman" she torted.</p><p>"Aye it is not but the suffering must end. That is why I came so far" he replied. "To you, what is a sword? To end your foes? What drives you Roman?" she asked. The young man sat quietly. "What drives me is to end suffering. I am a humble man. A God-fearing man and even if some are heathens, they do not deserve slavery and butchery. Jesus did not stutter when he said to love one another and surely did not say "unless they are Christian" he replied. Brigid cocked an eyebrow. "That is...an interesting view. It runs counter to the Vatican" she said. The man looked worried. "A belief I share too" she whispered grinning. "Arthurus, kneel before me and receive a blessing" she said. The young man did, and Brigid summoned the sword. The man nearly fell backwards seeing symbology very different from his. "You know of this magic?" he asked. "I discovered it on my own. Now, Arthurus Alligarus, I hereby give you my sword" she said. The sword glowed for a moment.</p><p>"Thank you but...the sword is broken" he said. "Give it a moment" she said smiling. Just as she said that, the sword lifted up and embedded itself in his chest. The man gasped in shock as the sword disappeared into his body. "Now summon it forth!" she yelled. The young man did and found the sword whole. Its blade etched with Latin different from what was when Brigid had it. It did not have the groove of a broadsword anymore but of a fine ancient Roman gladius. "The blade is a reflection of your soul. You take great pride in Rome it seems" she said. Brigid coughed blood. "I have texted you too much" he said worried. Brigid shook her head. "What is the name of this sword?" he asked. Brigid blinked as she had never thought of one. She looked at the gift given by Bellany hidden under her pillow. "Before you depart. Are you a father?" she asked. "I am. It is the suffering of children that bothers me most of all. It is why I do what I do. Not out of family or of the faith but to make the world safer for my son if I am to be honest" he replied. Brigid nodded and picked the sword from his hand. It reverted to its broken state.</p><p>Brigid placed the gift on the hilt and magically fused it into the sword. "Now you can wield it as not a man but as a father. It will respond to your wishes and desires. Take heed Arthurus, it is not a weapon to be trifled with as it will expose weakness" she said. "How so?" he asked confused. "It has a heart" she replied smiling. He nodded. "I know what to call it now. Last Stigmata. The end and beginning of faith" he said. "A fine name indeed" she said. Arthurus look his leave. "Was that wise Brigid? That was a cherished thing. Both cherished" Bellany said coming out from under the bed. "Aye they were but cherished things are not to be hoarded, they are to be shared. Now excuse me. I have three letters to write. Very important letters" she said grinning.</p><p>February 1, 525 CE</p><p>Brigid lay dying in her bed. The end has come. In her room was her pupil Darlugdach and Bellany who was hidden. "Darlugdach, my beautiful girl, I entrust a secret to you. Bellany, please show yourself" she said. Bellany walked out from underneath the bed startling the girl. "Do not be afraid. She is my family, and she holds a treasured secret. I trust you to keep it" Brigid said. Bellany explained the most she could to ease the giantess' mind. "The legends are true?" the young woman asked. "They are. She is proof that the land exists. Now as I go to meet the Lord, I leave to you the truth in order protect them from those that do not understand" Brigid said gasping for every breath. "I... I understand" Darlugdach said. Brigid nodded and smiled one final time before closing her eyes and leaving this world for the next. Bellany fell to her knees and wept bitterly. Darlugdach picked her up and cuddled her as they cried over their loss. The next morning, they both looked out the window as monks dug a grave. "I do not know what to do next. She was my teacher but now they say I should take her place. I'm not ready for that" Darlugdach said.</p><p>"You will be. If she was your teacher, then I know you are ready" Bellany said. "Are you to go back home now she has passed?" Darlugdach asked solemnly. She could see the giantess grip her crucifix. "I was going to, but I see that maybe I'm needed here more" Bellany replied. Bellany used her magic to grow to human size. "Whew. Not easy keeping this form but I have reason to practice it" she said holding Darlugdach's hand. "Come. Her farewell gathering is in the abbey" Darlugdach said leading her to it" the Abbess said.</p><p>"So Brigid's soul is in the sword? That's why it transforms?" Faith asked. The Abbess smiled and touched the hilt revealing the answer. "Mary's gift was not just her soul" the replied. "A soul gem!" Faith said. "Look closer" the abbess said. Faith looked closer and squinted before looking at the Abbess astounded. "What is it mom?" Selah asked. "The gem. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. It the shape of a human heart. A crystallized human heart" Faith said. "Aye. Mary had become a patron saint of children and parents after saving so many of them from the clutches of Rona. So many prayed to her, so many entrusted their love to her it transformed her very soul into this. Faith, the reason you transformed into a "big dog" as your daughter says is because you prayed for the strength to save her. Last Stigmata chooses its owner based on what's in their hearts. And the heart of a parent is mighty indeed. Every owner imparts part of themselves onto that crystal heart. Their hopes, dreams, wishes, and prayers. It is not to be feared" the Abbess said. Faith was very quiet.</p><p>"I feel like a fool to be afraid of something with such a beautiful past" Faith muttered. "Don't be. None of start off knowing the answers to everything. Without doubt there can be no faith" the abbess said smiling. "It must've been hard for you Bellany to make that choice" Faith said. "...you can see me?" The Abbess asked. "Yeah. The barrier was a clue. No ordinary arcane can do that. But the dead giveaway is the glamor on yourself" Faith said. The abbess smiled and released the spell reveling a young woman. "Whoa" Selah said. "I do know why I ended up with immortality but when I did I formed the Order of St. Brigid to pass on her hidden truth. I teach it to an abbess in training, fake my death when the time comes and then return to be the next abbess in training. An Order of master and pupil" she said smiling.</p><p>Bellany looked at the clock. I will be needed for evening prayer. I wish we could speak more. I have many questions for you" she said. "I can stay in town longer" Faith said. "No, you are needed elsewhere, and you have the answers you seek. Farewell, Faith and Selah McCormick. May god order your steps in his word" she said opening the door. Faith and Selah left. "She looked sad mom" Selah said getting comfortable in the cup holder of the car. "Yeah I picked up on that too. Probably memories of people long dead" she replied. "You're powerful right? Why aren't you immortal?" she asked. "Who said I want to?" Faith said starting the car and leaving.</p><p>The next day...</p><p>Bellany sipped her morning tea and held the second ancient letter. "To be opened the morning after the first one" it said on the cover. Bellany broke the old wax seal and read it. Her face went pale and her hand trembled. "...alright" she whispered. Bellany waited patiently at the archway until she saw whom she was waiting for. She was unnerved at how unassuming she looked. Black hair, light colored skin, bright red dress, and heels to match. She stood there looking dead at Bellany with one hand in the shoulder of a teenage boy dressed in private school uniform. The woman gently tapped the barrier. "Release it or he dies" she hissed. "There is no need to threaten his life Lilith. I am prepared to let you enter" Bellany said. Bellany dropped the holy barrier protecting the monastery. Lilith smiled as magic shrank the boy where he stood. She picked him up from the ground and shoved him into her cleavage. "Insurance" she told her. Bellany bid her to enter. Bellany wisely cleared the vestibule as the infamous woman entered. The basins of holy water for parishioners boiled being in her presence. </p><p>"Ask you questions" Bellany said. "You knew I was coming and did not flee?" Lilith asked. "It was foretold long ago" Bellany replied. Lilith smiled briefly. "So Faith paid a visit. Is she still set on killing gods and goddesses?" Lilith asked. "She wavered. She wavers no longer. She is the one that will slay your evil kind" Bellany replied. Lilith laughed. "Evil? Evil is a god creating me to be a slave for a man. Evil is kicking me out of paradise for standing up for myself" Lilith said. "Evil is laying in the bed of lucifer and vowing to murder innocent children. You are no victim first woman" Bellany said. "Agree to disagree" Lilith said coldly waving her hand. A shadow raced from her body gripping Bellany's throat. "No screams?" Lilith said before releasing her. "You wish for me to make noise?"</p><p>"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone, in the ranks of death you'll find him. His father's sword he hath girded on, and his wild harp slung behind him"</p><p>"Stop singing" Lilith spat. "Land of song cried the warrior bard, should tho' all the world betrays thee. One sword at least they rights shall guard. One faithful harp shall praise thee!" Bellany sang at the top of her voice. "ENOUGH!" Lilith yelled blasting her with an unholy magic shattering her glamor and growth spell. Bellany dazed, used the last of her strength to open a crack in reality and slipped the third and final letter through it. "I got what I need from you" she hissed raising her shoe over her. Bellany crossed herself as it came crashing down ending her very long life. Once Lilith was content wish crushing her to paste, she looked at the cross. "Soon, with Faith's help, we will have words you and I" she hissed before incinerating what was left of Bellany with hellfire. Lilith left and as she made it outside, she paused. She glanced down at the boy. She pulled him free of her sweaty cleavage. "Hmm. Guess I didn't need you after all. Although, I am what I am" she grinned putting him back in. </p><p>Two days later...</p><p>Selah sat on the sofa playing with her phone when something caught her attention. She opened the link. After reading it, she rushed outside to where Faith stood overlooking the city. "I'm impressed at how much good you've all done in such a short amount of time. Please tell the girls I'm very proud of them" Faith said talking to Skylar. Skylar nodded. "Mom! You have to see this!" Selah yelled running up to her. "Selah slow down! Watch where you're stepping!" Faith said as Selah's giant feet nearly crushed Skylar. "Sorry Sky. Still getting used to...never mind that mom! Read this!" Selah said pushing her phone into Faith's hand. Faith read the page title. "Missing person's bulletin issued for Bell Gregory after beloved Abbes of Kildare Monastery goes missing" </p><p>"She wouldn't just leave. It meant everything to her" Faith muttered. Her fist clenched. Selah cringed as her phone was broken in half by her strength. "Lilith. She did this because we visited her!" Faith yelled as lightning thundered overhead. The winds howled. "I need to find more. More deities! More power!" Faith screamed. "I...I... can help with that" Skylar meekly said. The winds died down. "What did you say?" Faith asked. "Our father.... I mean Odin had many clients. There was one in particular he said was a god" she replied. "And where would I find this god?" Faith asked roughly. </p><p>"Japan" Skylar replied. </p><p></p>

Faith placed her on the sofa. "Skylar I need you to tell me what you know about this goddess" she said. "I met her briefly two years ago at a dinner party in Tokyo. All Father...I mean Odin was there trying to make business connections and I accompanied him. It was fairly routine except one guest. A young woman in a beautiful blue kimono with accented waves on it. She introduced herself as Umino Tachibana. The head of the Tachibana Shipping Consortium. After a bit of small talk, she wandered off. Odin said, "you'd never know by looking but she's an actual water goddess".

"What else?" Faith asked. "That's pretty it" Skylar replied. "Jesus Christ that doesn't tell me shit. You have any idea how many fucking gods and goddesses Japan has?!" Faith yelled. Skylar cringed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just frustrated is all. Because of this bullshit I can't even keep my babies around me" Faith sighed. "You have babies?" Skylar asked. "Twins. A boy and girl" Faith replied. Faith looked at her. "Why do you seem shocked?" Faith asked. "Well back in Norway you were kinda...violent" she replied. "A mother will turn into a lion to protect her cub. I'm not a violent person by nature. If anything, I'm kinda affectionate. I adopted Selah as my daughter barely a week after her mom died. I have you guys a second chance" she said. "But that one agent you beheaded..."

"Tried to take my head after her friend shot me in the back with a 12-gauge automatic shotgun" Faith corrected. Skylar grew quiet. "Would you be up to a trip to Japan with me?" she asked. "Me?!" Skylar asked. "You've seen her, and you have combat training" Faith said. "...I guess" Skylar replied. "Good. I'll book a hotel in Tokyo and do some research on this Tachibana Shipping Consortium" Faith said smiling and leaving Skylar to herself. "Does that mean I'm a bodyguard again?" she asked herself. With that done, Skylar walked back to the edge of the city. There were still hours in the day and her friends had not come back. Her talk with Faith had left her confused as it cast the giantess in a different light. Seeking someone to talk to, she walked to the city. When she arrived, she found a friend sitting down near the edge resting.

"Skylar. I take it out overlord was pleased with our work?" her friend asked. "I wouldn't exactly call her an overlord Greta" Skylar replied sitting next to her. "We're forced to work and can't leave this place. Overlord is putting it nicely" Greta said cracking her bare toes. "Look at what we were doing. We killed innocent people. Used our magic for our own pleasures. Have you forgotten the Vancouver job?" Skylar asked.  "How were we to know his son was in the car?" Greta asked. "And that night in the hotel? He was 14 Greta. An entire life ahead of him" Skylar said. "A pompous life filled with booze, drugs, and sex like his father" Greta snorted. "Well we'll never know because you raped him to death" Skylar said. "Have you forgotten what she did to the All Father?! She fucking ate him. Turned into a monster of legend and ate him. You want to defend that abomination?" Greta asked. She looked at some of the tiny humans approaching her. "You wanna thank me then clean between my toes. God knows this is fucking up my pedi" she growled. "That abomination gave more of a damn for your life than the All Father did. Did you forget how he was going to throw away our lives to kill her. What was his words? I can make more" Skylar said.

Greta looked down at the people squirming between her toes under her orders. "If she's so damn good then how is it these people worship my feet at the drop of a hat? They look at us like we are goddesses" Greta said. It was Skylar's turn to be silent. Skylar lowered her hand and plucked a random person up. A young man. He seemed mesmerized by the giantess. She was forced to admit it was strange. "I've heard them talk about her. Said she was glorious killing monsters. Mourned the dead. That doesn't sound like someone who'd make slaves of thousands" Skylar said placing the young man down and standing up. She left Greta sitting there and headed to the beach.

She thought she would be alone with her thoughts there but found it occupied by Selah. Human sized, she was busy practicing magics. Fire, earth, water, wind, and lightning. Selah hovered into the air as an astounded Skylar watched. Selah pushed herself forming multiple spells at once and it cost her her size. Her three-inch form fell to the sand with a thud. Skylar ran over. "You okay?!" she asked. "I'm okay. Just my ego got bruised" Selah chuckled. "Guess I still need to practice my concentration" she said. "Still though that was amazing! Is Faith your patron?" Skylar asked sitting down. "Patron?" Selah asked walking over to her. "The one you get your magics from" Skylar asked. "No, I was born with this. I have Lemurian blood" Selah replied. Skylar looked confused. "Lemurians are an ancient race of magicians that died out...well they died out last year when Markus died" she replied. "Markus?" Skylar asked. "The one that created all this. The island, the city, the shrunken people. He gathered thousands to serve him and other mages in order to remake the world. Faith got rid of him and took over this place" she replied. "I noticed the people here act funny to giantesses" Skylar said. "Because we were taught to live and die at their whim. Those that have magic get the perks of...playing with the tiny people. Those that don't serve" Selah said. "Die. Did that happen often?" Skylar asked. "Yeah. A few would get squashed or drowned in someone's pussy, their feet, or butts. Others eaten. Aquarius really liked to eat people. His favorite was eating them while at school" she said.

"School?" Skylar whispered. "Yeah. Kids my age. Some a little bit younger" Selah replied. It unnerved her to hear the girl say it so nonchalantly. "Mom killed him" Selah said to her. "She's young to be your mom" Skylar said. "True. She's barely a year old but she's super nice. Didn't even give it a second thought to take me in when my parents died" she said. "A year old?!" Skylar yelled. "I thought you knew that. She was born in August last year" Selah said. Skylar didn't know to be either in awe or fear of her. "Hey! You zoned out there" Selah said tapping her shoulder. "Sorry. It's a lot to take in. And I'm supposed to go to Japan with her?" she asked. "You and mom are going on a trip?!" Selah asked. "Yeah" she replied. "I better get back to practicing" Selah said standing up and growing. Skylar watched the giantess for a few more minutes before walking back to the city. What few questions were answered many more were created. The people were complacent because someone else taught them to be. Faith was seen as a goddess to them because of her generosity. However, she was powerful beyond belief and such power rarely goes benevolent. She may be kind now but in the future who knew. Skylar tried to use her work to forget her worries the rest of the day.

The next day...

"But why?! I can protect myself now!" Selah yelled. Skylar entered the family room to find a giantess and her giantess daughter arguing. "A goddess is involved Selah. As strong as you may be, it's nothing in the face of a goddess. We're not having a repeat of Norway. You're staying here. That's final" Faith said. Selah stomped off nearly stepping on Skylar. "You wished to see me?" Skylar asked. "Yeah" Faith sighed rubbing her temples. "Is everything alright?" Skylar asked. "Just annoyed. She doesn't realize how terrifying it is to see a loved one die in front of you. It changes you. You feel this pressure in your heart and... never mind" Faith sighed reaching down and picking up Skylar. Faith walked down to the basement where the master terminal was and placed her on the desk. "Damn it's cold down here" Skylar muttered. "Have to be because of the servers. This here is a computer terminal connected to very major news network and law enforcement server on the planet. Hell, I can hack Facebook accounts if I want" Faith said. She pulled up a page. "Did some digging on Umiko Tachibana. 24 years old and the CEO of Tachibana Shipping Consortium. Apparently she inherited it from her grandmother. Net worth about one trillion yen. Of course, we know that isn't true. She's not 24 years old, her name isn't Umino Tachibana, and she didn't inherit anything" Faith said.

"Well, she's crazy rich anyway" Skylar said. "She's a philanthropist. Donated money to conservation and environmental protection agencies. Orphanages, struggling villages" she said. "Really?" Skylar asked. "Not all deities are assholes. What troubles me in all this is this news report" Faith said pulling up a page. "Brazen attack on Tachibana Shipping Consortium leaves 13 dead 22 wounded. Tachibana CEO missing and presumed kidnapped" Skylar read. "Dated two weeks ago at the exact same time this island was attacked. Not a coincidence" Faith said. "How the hell do you kidnap a goddess?" Skylar asked. "It's possible.  Right spells, right equipment, right circumstances. Question is why" Faith replied. Faith switched tabs to a hotel booking site. "We'll be leaving for Japan in 15 minutes" Faith said. "With what clothes? All I have is some hand me downs" Skylar asked. "I know which is why you'll be borrowing some of mine" Faith said picking her up. She carried her to her bedroom and placed her on the bed. With a wave of her hand canceled the shrinking spell securely placed on her. "Until the assignment is over, you'll be given permission to be human sized as well as given power as a Valkyrie. Don't abuse my trust" Faith said opening her closet. She glanced at Skylar and nodded.

Faith tossed out a few dresses, panties, and sandals for her to wear for day clothing. "Try them on" she said. Skylar was nervous about stripping naked before her but obliged. Blushing as Faith watched, Skylar put the dress on. "It's loose in the front" she muttered. "Well my tits got bigger when I got pregnant. Hold still" Faith said. She magically altered the fitting. "And the panties?" Faith asked. "Tight" Skylar replied. Faith looked annoyed as she adjusted that. "Did I say something wrong?" Skylar asked. "Just a touch jealous is all. Your figure is better than mine" Faith said. "...thanks?" Skylar said nervously. "The shoes?" Faith asked. Skylar slipped them on her feet. She walked a few steps. "Need some arch support but okay" Skylar said. "Sit down" Faith instructed. Skylar did and Faith slipped her sandals off. "You have flat feet" Faith said touching her right sole. "Occupational hazard. You do a lot of standing when you're a bodyguard. I'm sorry if they smell a little. It's hot outside" Skylar muttered. "I've smelled worse. Selah's feet reek when she wears sneakers and no socks. "Oww!" Skylar yelled as Faith pushed her thumb into her sole. "Hold still. I'm fixing the bone damage. There" Faith said. "It doesn't feel different" Skylar said. "Give it time. Now the other foot" she said. Faith corrected her arch on her other foot. "It's been awhile since anyone paid attention to my feet" she said.

"Good foot health is important. It affects your posture, walking, running. It can really fuck up your back if you have foot issues" she explained. "Hmm. I thought it was because of my tits" Skylar said. Faith laughed a little. "You're a beautiful woman Skylar. You should take care of yourself more" Faith said. "You think I'm beautiful?" she asked. "Don't you?" Faith asked back. Faith let go of her feet and augmented her sandals. She slipped them onto her feet. "Perfect" Faith said. Faith left the room and went downstairs. Skylar stood up and froze. For the first time in a while, her feet didn't hurt when she walked. She had grown used to it but with it gone it was very noticeable. "Thanks" she muttered.

"You're in charge while I'm gone" Faith told a sulking Selah. Selah didn't respond. Faint kissed her on the cheek and sighed. She grabbed her suitcases and opened a portal. "Japan here we come" Faith said stepping through followed by Skylar. They emerged in front of Narita Airport. "Whoa. Just like that?" Skylar asked as they stepped out of the shadows. "Yep. As long as I've been there before or have line of sight, I can translocate anywhere in the world. It's a very high-level spell that takes some practice" Faith replied. She hailed a taxi, and they rode to their hotel. "Good afternoon. I have a reservation for McCormick" Faith said. "You speak Japanese?" Skylar asked. "When I have to" she replied. "Room 812. Enjoy your stay McCormick-san" the receptionist said. Faith politely bowed. "You have this Japanese thing down pat" Skylar said. "My aunt is Japanese" Faith said softly as she summoned an elevator. They arrived at their room which gave off a nice view of the city below and Tokyo Tower. "Now we're booked in, let's go to Tachibana Shipping" Faith said. Another taxi ride and soon they were close to their destination. "Close enough. Thanks" Faith said paying the driver and getting out. "Why a block away?" Skylar asked. "That" Faith said pointing to three men standing outside a yellow taped perimeter. "Police?" she asked. "No. Police dress in blue and carry .38 Smith and Wesson. Not all black and .45's. I'd say they're from the Ministry of Cultural Preservation. I wonder if they know who Umino really is" Faith said.

"Preservation?" Skylar asked. "A new organization Japan created to preserve things and people of cultural importance. My aunt is their boss" Faith replied. Skylar looked stunned. "You said your aunt, but you don't look at all Japanese" she said. "I'm not. My aunt is more like a friend of the family, but she does have a son who is my half-brother. It's complicated" she replied. Faith led Skylar close to the building and the guards. "No tourists" one said roughly. Faith took a deep breath and focused her powers. "We just want to take a look inside" she said with an odd tone. "Yes ma'am" he said stepping aside. "Was that the same thing you did on me?" Skylar asked looking at him. "Yes. Thankfully, he's attracted to me" she replied. "What?" Skylar asked. "That power comes from the goddess Ishtar who was a goddess of love among other things. As long as they feel some degree of sexual attraction, I can control them to an extent" she replied. "Then why did it work on me?" Skylar asked. "Because you were partially attracted to me" Faith replied bluntly. Faith kept walking leaving Skylar to quickly catch up.

"I'm not attracted to you" Skylar said. "Shh. We'll discuss that later. Now I need to concentrate. Stand far away from me. Your scent is getting in the way" she said. Skylar stepped back towards the wall and waited. She told herself she wasn't attracted to her. Sure, she looked cute when she was tiny and seemingly helpless but that was it. She looked around the main entrance to see the main desk smashed, holes in the walls, blood stains, cards with numbers on them. Faith had passed the offices and into the main storage warehouse. The cargo boxes were still there albeit a few damaged. "Nothing was taken so Umino really was the primary target" Faith said. She used her clairvoyance to scan the floor and walls. Her eyes confirmed what her nose told her. Traces of blood and sea salt. Faith found it odd though. While the warehouse did back up to the bay, there was way more sea salt than one would expect from simple misting. Further, the smell of sea salt was strongest near blood stains and broken boxes. "Water magic. Had to be water magic and the ocean was the source used. But why? Water magic relies on water vapor in the air. It's just condensing it. So why go through the...what's that?" Faith asked herself seeing something very tiny on the floor. If it wasn't for her clairvoyance, she would've missed it completely.

She bent down, picked it up, and brought it to her eyes. Faith squinted. "A sandal? A traditional Japanese sandal 1/8-inch-long. Faith brought it to her nose. "A young woman wore this with a sock. And... incense? This...all of this was the work of koonago?" Faith asked herself. Faith returned to the main entrance. She observed more evidence she had missed along her way by exploded water coolers and coffee makers. "Skylar, this is bigger than I thought. It's possible the Ministry...Skylar?" Faith asked seeing her not where she had been. She could hear something outside. Faith ran outside to find Skylar fighting four men outside. "Crap she's in full Valkyrie mode!" Faith yelled seeing Skylar's clothing now her old white uniform. She would block and counter fiercely, but it seemed these men were exceptionally trained in martial arts as they held their own even with her being far stronger. Skylar roundhouse kicked one sending him to the ground and turned to grab the other as he pulled a gun. She flipped him, summoned a sword of her own and raised it over his chest. "SKYLAR STOP!" Faith commanded. Skylar froze.

She backed away. "We will not kill them. They pose no real threat to us" she said. The man glared at Faith taking it as an insult. "You giving me the stink eye. Call Hikari. We need to have a talk". Faith said. "You're going nowhere near her foreigner" he growled. "I know a koonago is responsible for that in there. Make the fucking call" Faith hissed putting her sandaled foot on his ribs and pressing down. A rib cracked and he spat blood. He tapped her foot, and she took it off him. He made the call. "Yes. Two of them. Very strong and skilled. They're down but alive. She knows about the attack. About koonago. Understood" he said ending the call. "The Director agrees to meet with you" he said. Faith walked away to heal his associates and help them onto their feet. "I am not your enemy, but I agree that errors were made in its sides" Faith said bowing. The man was taken aback by her politeness. The agents looked at one another and to the man Faith spoke too. He simply nodded and gestured to enter the SUV parked nearby. "Errors on both sides? They attacked me first" Skylar snipped at Faith. "They were no match for you, and you took it too far. There's a difference between a merciful victory and a cruel one" Faith retorted.

They rode in the SUV all the way to the government sector of Tokyo not far from the National Diet where the headquarters of the Ministry of Cultural Preservation was. Skylar was nervous with the enhanced security. Her training was strict about blindly going into places she knew nothing about. Faith was not deterred. It was not the first time she had been there. Under guard, they were brought up to the highest floor where Hikari was and told to wait outside her office. One ducked into her office and Faith listened in. "They're outside? Bring them in and leave" Hikari said. Faith's heart fluttered. It was the first time in a long while she heard her voice. She was not blood but Hikari treated her with the utmost love. "They're dangerous. At least have me stay" the man objected. "Dangerous enough they could've killed you easily Ishimura. You said the blonde one's clothes transformed, and she summoned a sword from thin air. That is magic and that falls under our jurisdiction. Send them in" she said. Ishimura emerged from the office. "Enter" he growled. Faith and Skylar entered.

Faith fought back an urge to snatch up the small Asian woman and cuddle her. She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Welcome to the Ministry of Cultural Preservation" she said. "Thank you for seeing us Director Fujikawa" Faith said politely bowing. "What would bring two foreigners, mages no less, into a crime scene" Hikari asked. "Personal matters with Umino Tachibana" Faith replied. "Such as?" Hikari asked. "I said personal. They are not a matter for the Japanese government" Faith replied. "You are under the impression you are in a position to remain aloof. I assure you that you are not. Breaking into a crime scene, interfering with an investigation, assaulting federal agents. All punishable with prison time" Hikari said coldly. "True. Very true but this is not an ordinary crime scene I was in was it. I assure you the last thing you want me to be doing is talking to regular officers. Not with what I know" Faith said. Hikari narrowed her eyes and walked closer to the giantess standing before her desk. Her small nylon foot tapping angrily, her hands at her professional dress covered waist. "And what may that be?" Hikari asked. "A koonago was responsible" Faith replied.

"Tcch. Is that what you have to say? That's your threat? No koonago were involved in the attack. I would personally know if they were. Eastern water magic was involved yes but it was of onmyoji. Traffic cameras confirmed humans entered" Hikari said. "Then explain this" Faith said placing the tiny sandal before her. Hikari picked it up. "This was at the crime scene?" Hikari asked. "Yes. At first I thought shrunken human, but the scent is wrong. Human sweat is saltier than a koonago and I recognize the style of sandal" Faith replied. "Human sweat...you have met our kind before?" Hikari asked wary. "In another life, Faith replied softly. "...I do not recognize the family crest. You are correct in saying this is a koonago sandal. We have our family crests on the strap, but I do not recognize this one" she said. "Excuse me. If you did not know a koonago was involved then why head the investigation?" Skylar asked. "Because she knows Tachibana isn't human. Isn't that right Director Fujikawa?" Faith asked. Hikari didn't answer. "So, she knew she was a goddess?" Skylar asked. "Oh, she knew. Makes sense really. A billionaire with no family history? You'd need the government's help to keep that secret. Probably faked her family registry" Faith replied. "...what is it you want?" Hikari asked quietly.

"To help with the investigation. I have special skills that I can use to find her" Faith replied. "You have given us nothing except your first name. Why should I even trust you to help?" Hikari asked. "My last name...is McCormick" she replied. Hikari gasped but quickly reeled her surprise in. "Forgive me. I know a westerner with the last name McCormick. She is dear to me. For a moment I thought you were of the same family" Hikari said. "I mean you no harm whatsoever but finding your errant water goddess his paramount. On that you have my undying word" Faith said. "And that one?" Hikari asked pouting to Skylar. "She is my...retainer. She will obey" Faith replied. Hikari chuckled. "Retainer? Interesting choice of words. I must confer with my mother on this matter" she said. "In the village? It would be faster if I joined you" Faith said. Hikari eyed her. "Can you shrink?" she asked. "Yes" Faith replied. "Then you may accompany me. Where are you staying?" she asked. "Hilton Tokyo" Faith replied. "Very well. Be ready to depart at 9:00 tomorrow morning. An attendant will deliver some more...fitting clothing. Anything else?" she asked. "The coroner report" Faith replied. "Done. Until tomorrow" Hikari said bowing. Faith bowed and has Skylar follow suit.

Faith and Skylar was dropped off at the hotel and they entered their room. "That was stressful" Faith sighed kicking her shoes off. "I've heard of their kind but never seen one. Why all the pomp and circumstance for her?" Skylar asked. "First she's an imperial princess. Second she's a lot older than she looks. She about 160 I think. And third, she's very powerful" Faith replied. "160?! She looks like she's 19. How powerful could she be? She's like small as my thumb" Skylar said. "Powerful enough to control your blood and make you slit your own throat. And that's for starters" Faith replied.

Faith went into the bathroom and ran the sink. "I need a bath" she muttered returning to the room and stripping her clothing off. Skylar was embarrassed to see her naked, but she didn't look away. She noticed Faith wore absorbent pads in her bra. "Breastfeeding?" Skylar asked. "Yeah. I have to make sure my milk doesn't stop. Wanna join me in the bath? Bathing in the sunk doesn't sound nice but it really is" Faith said. "No! I mean no thanks" she blurted out. "Look. About before. I did not mean to embarrass you. I sometimes forget how sensitive humans are about their sexual desires" Faith said. "I'm not attracted to you" Skylar huffed. "Uh huh" Faith nodded. "Fine! I'll join you in the bath!" Skylar yelled taking her clothing off. Faith shrunk her down and placed her on the sink before joining her. "Nice right? All this space" Faith said letting her legs float in the warm water. "It is nice" Skylar muttered. Faith tossed her a sliver of soap.

"So that was your aunt?" Skylar asked. "My dad's mistress is more like it. During a trip he got her pregnant with my brother Yuusha" she replied. "And that wasn't a problem with your mom?" Skylar asked. "My real mom, a human, is married to another woman" Faith replied. "Your family sounds weird" she said. "By human standards yes. My father is a borrower, my stepmoms are a yaksha and fairy" she said. Skylar looked at her. "I'm not shitting you" Faith chuckled. "So, you got your magics from whom?" Skylar asked. "I was born as the most powerful magic user in the world, but I gave them mostly up" she said. "Why?!" Skylar asked. "Because I used them for wicked reason. I brought death to millions in a foolish attempt to fix the world. I was unworthy of such power" Faith said soaping her body. "Millions? Why haven't I heard of so many dying?" she asked. "Because I reset the world. And all it cost me was my entire life. Save for my two children. My parents, brothers and sisters, beloved aunts. They belong to someone else now" she replied. Faith rinsed her body.

She swam over to Skylar. "Hold still and I'll wash your back" Faith said. "I can wash it on my own" Skylar interjected. "Not with those short arms you won't. Now stop fussing" Faith said soaping her back. "Humans. So uptight" she sighed. "So, borrowers just fuck whomever they want?" Skylar asked. "No. We're choosy about whom we fuck. We get pregnant very easily. We just have the hang ups about intimacy and sexual preference. When you're a few inches tall and at the mercy of the world, you tend to live in the moment" Faith replied as she wiped her back. "So, borrowers don't give a shit about being gay or lesbian?" Skylar asked. "Nope. We do insist on procreation though so in the instance of same sex coupling, there is usually a surrogate. My brother Luke was born to a surrogate. Skylar, it's not that big a deal if you like girls" Faith said to her. Skylar pulled away. "It is to me. It ruined my life!" she yelled. "How?" Faith asked curious. "You already know my parents died in a car accident, but you don't know what led to it."

"It was my 13th birthday. I had my best friend over for my party. During the evening, I... I kissed my best friend. I told her how I felt about her. She slapped me and told my parents what I did. My parents read me the riot act. Said I was a shameful sinful girl. They took my friend back to her house and on the way back they hit some black ice, slid off the road and plowed into a tree. If I never kissed her, they'd be alive right now. No orphanage, no Odin, no killing people" Skylar said shaking. Faith placed her hands on her shoulders. "What your parents did was wrong but you're not to blame for any of it. Not their anger, not the crash. You can't deny your feelings. It'll only hurt more in the long run" she told her. Skylar sniffled. Faith spun her around and hugged her. "You're going to be okay Sky" she said. Skylar quietly nodded. Shortly afterwards, they got out of the sink, dried off, and made their way to the bed.

Skylar was humbled at how kind she was. She seemed so average. Wolfing down good room service food, laughing at the pay per view movie they watched. "All that power. All that's going on with her and she took the time to comfort me" she thought. They went to bed after a while. Faith chose to sleep in her small size as she said it was like unclenching a magical muscle. Skylar was again surprised at how trusting Faith was to sleep next to a giantess she once fought. She looked so fragile, so cute, so sexy. Skylar shook the last thought out of her head as she laid down. She couldn't deny she desired her any longer. Skylar woke up a few hours later to the sound of thunder and rain pelting the window. The clock read 3:13 am. She looked over to see Faith was gone from her sleeping on the pillow. She panicked at first thinking she might've crushed her in her sleep but no. She could hear faint crying near the foot of the bed. "Faith?" Skylar asked. "...sorry" Faith sniffled. Faith walked back to the pillow. "Why were you crying?" Skylar asked. "Thinking about my family. Seeing Hikari again reminded me what I lost" she sniffled. "At least yours is alive" Skylar said. "No, that makes it worse. If they died there would be a finality to it. They're out there and I'm here. Skylar sat up and picked Faith up in her hands. "The big bad wolf girl..."

"IS NOT ME! This isn't who I am! Not some goddess, a holy warrior or whatever the fuck people think I am now. People I love and care for are either frightened of me or for me. I just want to love and be loved!" Faith yelled sobbing. Skylar brought her to her lips and kissed her. Faith looked at the giantess who herself looked scared of her reaction. "I won't slap you if that's what you're worried about" Faith muttered. Skylar chuckled. "Thanks" she said petting her face. Her finger brushed her left breast and Faith jumped slightly. Her finger was wet. "I don't hurt you did I?" Skylar asked. "No. I just forgot to pump my breasts today. They've been hurting all day" she replied. Skylar took a snarl breath as she slid the nightgown off the small woman. "Wow. They really are swollen" she said. Faith nodded. Skylar gripped her left breast between her fingers and ever so gently squeezed and massaged until the tiniest stream of milk came out. Faith groped her finger moaning softly. "I'm terrified I'm going to pop it" Skylar said. "Then just suck it" Faith said. Skylar blushed beet red. "Drinking her milk? Really?" she thought. She brought her to her lips and culled them around her breasts. Faith let out a groan as the giantess sucked. Skylar used her palms to steady the woman as her tiny toes gripped her cheeks. She was shocked to find her milk so sweet. It reminded her of the vanilla half and half she would use for her coffee. Faith let out a shallow moan and went limp. "Faith?" Skylar asked worried. "I'm okay. I uhh...came is all" Faith muttered. Skylar laughed.

"It's not funny! Borrower nipples are very sensitive, and you were sucking me dry!" Faith said punching her nose. "I haven't laughed like that in a while. I'm sorry Faith. Earlier when you told me you'd stated with the piss smelling cot, I thought you were all high and mighty. You were speaking from experience wasn't you?" she asked. "Yeah I was" she replied. Skylar kissed her. "You can do more...if you want" Faith whispered. "Maybe later. This is still new for me" Skylar said. "I understand. Sweet dreams Sky" Faith said hopping onto her pillow. Skylar laid back down slightly regretting turning down Faith's offer but the memory of losing her best friend nagged her. She didn't want to go through that heartbreak again regardless of what Faith said. She had time to explore her feelings. The more she thought about it though, the more she wanted to fuck this woman. "Fuck. Should've said yes" she muttered.

The morning came and after an early breakfast there was a knock on the door. Two perfectly sized kimonos with matching geta sandals sat on the hallway floor. "When in Rome" Faith said picking them up. She was startled by finding a koonago nearly hidden by the clothing. "Good morning. I am Nanashi. I am to show you how to wear the kimono" a tiny young woman said bowing. Sigh loaded her hand for the woman to step into and carried her in. "The clothes arrived?" Skylar asked brushing her teeth. "And a visitor" Faith replied. Faith placed Nanashi on the table before taking her clothing off. Faith began to drape the top over her upper body. "For the top, please..."

"I know how to put one on" Faith said wrapping it. Skylar paid attention and mimicked Faith. "Is this your first-time seeing foreigners?" Skylar asked. "It is not" Nanashi replied. "Oh. You're just staring at us intently is all" Skylar said. "Hikari sent her as an observer. Isn't that true Nanashi" Faith asked. Nanashi looked down at her toes and did not reply. "A wise precaution but I'd be worried about you if I was Hikari" Faith said smiling. "I am a lowly retainer of a small house. I am beneath the princess" Nanashi said. Faith sighed as she tied her obi sash. Nanashi was shocked by the way she did it. "May I ask who taught you to tie the obi?" Nanashi asked. "A family member. Is something wrong with it?" Faith asked. "The knot you used. It is an imperial knot" she replied. "It's the only one I know. Sorry" Faith said. Nanashi shrugged. Faith cursed herself letting that slip. It was Hikari that taught her how to put a kimono on in her previous life.

Once they were dressed, Faith and Skylar slipped their geta sandals on. "Feels weird to wear wooden shoes" she muttered. "Be grateful you have nice toes" Faith chuckled. "If you please, place me in your pocket or purse" Nanashi said. "Nonsense. You're not a stick of gum or a tampon. You ride on my shoulder" Faith said placing her on her shoulder. Faith gave her a lock of hair to steady herself. "A... arigato" Nanashi said blushing. They walked to the elevator and took it down to the lobby. Of course, all eyes were on the foreign girls in kimono. Faith simply smiled while Skylar was a bit shyer. "Do they have to stare? Hey! No pictures!" Skylar yelled. "Easy. Price of looking pretty and you do look pretty" Faith giggled. Skylar blushed. "There is a car waiting to take us to the bullet train to Fuji" Nanashi said pointing to a black sedan. "Hikari won't be with us?" Faith asked. "The princess has already gone ahead" she replied. They got into the car and headed to the station.

"Wow. We even got a private car" Skylar said. "You are important guests" Nanashi said sitting on the table. A porter can by with tea and snacks. "I didn't know how pretty Japan could be" Skylar said watching the landscape. "Yes. It is pretty" Faith said peeling an orange. Nanashi sat quietly as the giantesses sipped tea and ate food. Faith heard her tiny stomach growl. "She's hungry" Faith whispered to Skylar. "Nanashi? Care to share with me?" Skylar asked. "I'm okay" she replied. "You sure?" she asked. "If...if it would please you" the tiny girl muttered. "Yeah it would" Skylar said. Nanashi stood up and walked a few millimeters before slipping. Skylar caught her before she could roll off the table. "I'm sorry! Very sorry!" Nanashi yelled bowing. "It's alright. Least you're not hurt. These wooden sandals don't work well on smooth surfaces. Let's slip these off" she said using her fingers to pry off the tiny footwear. Nanashi was too embarrassed to object and soon was presented with an orange slice. Skylar grinned watching her eat.

She thought a tiny Faith was cute, but this girl was adorable. She appeared to be 16 at the most with her black hair tied in a ponytail. Her tiny toes clenching as she sucked the juices from the slice. She was like a beautiful doll and the giantess blushed as thoughts of kissing her entered her mind. "Get a fucking grip. First Faith and now her?" she thought. Faith smiled as she could tell Skylar liked the girl. She was curious though about Nanashi. She knew Japanese modesty, but this girl practiced it in spades. That and her name. "May I ask you something Nanashi?" Faith asked. "By all means" she replied putting the orange slice down.  Why would someone give you a name like that? I am aware of what Nanashi means" she said. The tiny girl looked sullen. "What? What does that mean?" Skylar asked. "Nobody. It means nobody" Faith replied.

"I am unwanted. My father was a human staying at in an inn that kept koonago. My mother a koonago slave. When he left, his seed stayed behind inside my mother" she said. "Wait. If koonago are is small and humans are well like us, then how did he...oh...oh damn" Skylar muttered. "I was born six weeks later. I was given my name and sent away to become a servant of a small house" she said. "And you mom just left it at that?" Skylar asked. "...yes" she replied. "I'm sorry but that's fucking cruel. The circumstances of your birth don't impact who you can become" Skylar hissed. "It is for me" she said softly. Nanashi kept to herself the rest of the ride and to the forest entrance of the koonago homelands. JSDF soldiers stood guard as they passed. Skylar, who insisted carry Nanashi, put her down. "Stand still Sky" Faith said snapping her fingers shrinking them down. "Most impressive!" Nanashi said. "That's nothing compared..."

"Skylar" Faith snapped. Nanashi led them to the entrance of the sprawling village. "Welcome to our home. Please this way" Nanashi said leading them to the mansion that held Hikari's family. Two male koonago dressed like samurai stood guard. "Guests of the princess" she said. They nodded and let them through. Discarding their sandals at the entryway, they entered. Female attendants eyed them suspiciously as they passed. They were led to the welcome hall and bade to sit down. An attendant whispered into Nanashi's ear. "The princess is delayed but will be here shortly. The queen will enter momentarily" she said.

Himeko, the queen of the koonago entered the hall and Nanashi bowed her head to the floor. "It is not often we have human visitors. Even less foreign ones. My daughter says you can help find our missing water goddess" she said. "It is true your highness. I have certain skills and magics at my disposal" Faith said. "Really? More powerful than mine?" Himeko asked. Faith knew this was a test. Faith was suppressing her power as she knew that high level mages can sense the magic in one another. Would she lie or tell the truth? Faith closed her eyes and concentrated, using Odin's power, she conjured a gentle rain and thunder overhead. With a snap of her fingers it ended. "...yes" she replied. "I see. You chose truth over modesty. A wise decision" Himeko nodded. Faith heard crying and footsteps coming closer. "Forgive my lateness" Hikari said entering carrying her baby Yuusha. "No luck?" her mother asked. "None. The wet nurse has taken ill, and he won't take the bottle" Hikari replied.

"Forgive my rudeness but you cannot feed him yourself?" Faith asked. "Being gone for so long has caused my milk to dry up. My son has not weaned" she replied. "May I approach?" Faith asked. Himeko nodded. Faith approached her and slipped her kimono top off her right shoulder exposing her breast. "Here" she said. "I mustn't! You are a guest!" Hikari said. "You son cries because he is hungry. I can take care of that" Faith said. "Agreed" Himeko said. Hikari looked at her mother surprised and then handed her son to Faith. Faith sat down and moved him to her nipple which the boy sucked greedily. "Interesting. Even when fed by his wet nurse he is cranky, yet he is not with you" she said. "Just got a knack I guess. I have two back at home" Faith said half lying. Faith knew why her brother took to her milk so easily. The boy was half borrower and could smell a family member. She realized her glamor was not as strong as it used to be if her scent got through. Faith rocked back and forth smiling as she fed him. Hikari sat down trying to dismiss her utter embarrassment.

"Ms. Fujikawa. About what we discussed earlier?" Faith asked. "Yes" she said snapping her fingers. An attendant quickly entered and left a small stack of papers. "There's the coroner report and about that sandal..." she said. "It is from a family we thought dead. A family that served the Taira clan nearly a thousand years ago. There's no mistaking this crest of a one-winged butterfly" Himeko said. "A thousand years ago?" Skylar asked. "Yes. In the year 1189, the Taira clan began to overthrow the imperial family. All of the koonago families united under Miyamoto, the man who stood to defend the imperial family. All except one. They sided with the Taira and lost the following year. The koonago Taira were ostracized from our society and retreated southwest to near modern-day Osaka. Their village hidden even from our eyes. We have heard nothing of them since the late 1500's" Himeko replied. "Sorry but why would you think they were dead? Wouldn't you think they were still hiding?" Skylar asked. "Because American planes burned their supposed hiding place to the ground in the final days of the war. Entire mountains were aflame child" Himeko replied.

"Well it appears they survived after all. What is the name of the place they were supposed to be hiding at?" Faith asked rocking back and forth as her brother drifted off to sleep. "Biwako Valley" Himeko replied. "A good as any place to start looking. In the meantime, I have some reading to do" Faith said handing her brother back to Hikari. She found him sound asleep with a slight smile on his face. "I humbly thank you for seeing to my son. I shall have a room prepared. Nanashi, see to it as well as the spring" Hikari commanded. Nanashi bowed and led the two women out of the hall. This will be your room during your stay. If you will excuse me" Nanashi said softly leaving. "Disappointed she left?" Faith asked Skylar. "What? No..." she replied. "She's cute. I can see why you like her. You're not hurting my feelings" Faith said. "Look. I'm coming to terms I like girls and having feelings for two in one day? How does that work?" she asked. "Only a fool looks for logic in the human heart. Something my mom once told me. It's okay to be infatuated with more than one person. Hell, I got several. What's wrong is closing your heart off because you feel it's too much" Faith said. "Another life lesson?" Skylar asked. "The first one I learned when it came to love" Faith replied sitting down to read.

Faith read the documents over and over nodding now and then. "That's odd" she said suddenly. "What is?" Skylar asked. "The ones with the most damage to their bodies had the same tattoo on the back of their hand. One moment.... hmm...Google says the kanji is Umi. That means sea in Japanese. They were servants. Bodyguards to be exact. They were the bigger threat, so they were brutalized more. Beheading, stabbed through the heart, throats slit. But not a single trace of metal in the wound" she said. "Didn't you say water magic was involved?" Skylar asked. "Yeah it was but even water magic leaves traces behind. This is surgical. The neck vertebrae were cut clean through. Even I would have trouble with that precision. Whomever did this is beyond a pro" Faith said. "Then blow her away as soon as you see him or her" Skylar shrugged. "It's not that simple. You've never seen a truly skilled koonago in action before"

"Himeko has the power to deliver devastating earthquakes. Hikari can command a fucking mythical dragon made of water to crush her enemies. Shit, she even used her power to puppet the dead by controlling their blood. Under all the cuteness, they're deadly" Faith said. "Ahem. The spring is ready for bathing" Nanashi said. Faith wondered how much she heard. "Thank you" Faith said standing up and gesturing Skylar to follow. They took off their clothes in the hamper room and stepped into the open-air baths. Skylar was surprised that Nanashi followed. "Please sit. The honorable Skylar will be attended to shortly" Nanashi said grabbing the water gun. "I'll be fine, but Skylar could use a gentle scrub" Faith smiled winking. Skylar growled at her. "If that is your wish" Nanashi said. Selah sat rigid as stone as the koonago rinsed her body down. She nearly jumped off her stool as Nanashi applied her soapy hands to her back. "Is this uncomfortable?" she asked. "No!" Skylar squeaked. Faith had to hold in a laugh. "Your hair is very pretty. Like gold and bronze" she said. "My mother was German. Father was Norwegian" she muttered. "Please lay back some" she said. Skylar did and blushed as her head rested between Nanashi's tits. "Are all western girls as beautiful as you?" she asked. "Only the lucky ones" Faith snorted. Skylar wanted to say something until she heard the koonago chuckle. She glanced up to see her pretty face looking down. Skylar closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentle hands on her tummy, chest, and breasts.

Nanashi has her turn around as the koonago washed her feet. Her fingers between her toes. She jumped slightly. "Forgive me. I try not to tickle you" she said. Faith rinsed the shampoo out of her hair to see Skylar gazing up at the sky. "She likes you" Faith muttered in Japanese. Nanashi paused. She smiled a bit and kept going. Nanashi finished soon after. "Sky? Why don't you return the favor?" Faith asked. "Too much trouble!" Nanashi said quickly. "Nonsense. A gracious host should have a gracious guest" Faith said handing the soap to Skylar. "Sit on the stool" Skylar said taking ahold of her shoulders. She sat her down and Nanashi cringed. For a split second they thought it was because of embarrassment but they saw the real reason. Up until now, Nanashi had her back facing away from them but now her back was fully exposed. Skylar placed her hand on her back. Her fingers tracing faint thin scars on her skin. "Who did this?" Skylar asked coldly. "The servant heads and this mistress of my house" she replied softly. "They whipped you till you bled?" Skylar asked. "...yes" she replied. "Your scars don't define you. Never be ashamed of them. Never" Skylar said sternly. "...y... yes" Nanashi said with a cracking voice.

The koonago remained as quiet as a mouse the entire time Skylar washed her. Not since she was a young child has someone took such care of her. Skylar soaped her breasts and the girl twitched. She paused but Nanashi grabbed her hand to continue. The Asian girl blushed furiously as Skylar washed the dirtiest parts of her. Gently, she was rinsed clean. "Come in guys, the water is fine" Faith said sitting in the spring. Nanashi and Skylar joined her. She did not tally long as Nanashi has to leave to prepare dinner. "You knew didn't you?" Skylar asked. "About what?" Faith asked. "That she'd been abused" she replied. "I sensed it when you gave her the orange. She was too timid to even eat in our presence and when you showed her kindness it looked like she would faint" Faith chuckled. "Then why didn't you do something? Why leave it to me and don't say because I'm attracted to her" Skylar asked. "Because you were abused too. There are two types of people in this world Sky who suffered abuse. Those that learn from it to be kinder people or those that learn to be cruel" she replied. "And I'm kind?" Skylar asked. "Deep down I think you hate that scared teenage girl you once were, and you see yourself in Nanashi and you want to save her from any more pain. Salvation is a type of kindness" she replied. "Do I deserve it though? The things I did..."

"Will slowly be absolved one good deed at a time. Doesn't mean you have to wallow in pity and loneliness along the way" Faith said. Faith scooted over to Skylar and hugged her close. "Yesterday you opened your heart to a woman. Today you gave hope to an abused girl. Just imagine what you can accomplish tomorrow" she said. Faith heard someone leave fresh clothing for them. "Now let's get out before we turn into fabulously beautiful prunes" she laughed. Skylar snickered as she was helped out of the spring. They dressed in their simple yet finely made yukata and was met by Nanashi. "That...that really suits you Skylar" Nanashi said blushing. "This way to dinner" she said pointing down the hallway. "What about you?" Skylar asked as she was walking in the opposite direction. "I am a servant. I eat elsewhere" she said. "May I join you?" Skylar asked. "If...if you wish" she blushed. "Have fun you two" Faith winked as she walked down the hall. Faith sat down on the floor before the low table filled with different traditional dishes. There were attendants standing watch. Faith began to eat but kept an eye on them. One to the left seemed curious of Faith but the one on the right...there was something off about her. Her breathing was shallow. Her toes slightly clenched. "Seeing a foreigner caused her this much fear?" she wondered. "How is the food?" Hikari asked entering the room and sitting opposite of Faith. "Fantastic. The unagi is chewy but not too chewy. The sashimi is perfectly fresh. The miso spot on" she replied. "So, you have had these things before?" Hikari asked. "Yeah I have, and it was cooked with tender care before. Even the hint of pickled plum on the eel is the same" she replied. "Interesting. That's actually a recipe of my family" Hikari said. Faith grew quiet.

"So, I will head to Biwako Valley tomorrow. With my clairvoyance I can hopefully find this hidden village" Faith said. Faith heard a rise in heartbeat from the right attendant. "And I shall join you. Together we will root out these traitorous Taira koonago" Hikari said grinning. From behind, the attendant leaped at them with a kunai in her hand. Faith quickly kicked the take aside and threw Hikari to the left. The attendant missed Hikari's neck by a breath and Faith grabbed her wrists. He threw the girl to the floor. Hikari stood up waving her hand as a shard of frozen miso floated into the air. "NO!" Faith yelled at her. Faith waved her hand casting a binding spell on the girl. "Her pupils are dilated and a sense active magic upon her. She's being controlled" Faith said binding the girl with ethereal magic chains. Faith struck her with the edge of her hand behind her neck knocking her out. Faith knelt down close. "What are you doing?" Hikari asked panting. "Tracing the source of the spell. It's some kind of arcane being cast remotely. It's too weak to be a real spell. A real one would've made her break her own wrists and ankles to get free" Faith replied.

Her hands began at the top of her head and slowly traveled down. By then Skylar, Nanashi, guards, and even the queen herself had come hearing the attack. Faith tracked the source of the spell down to her feet and stopped. Carefully, she pried her second and third toe apart with her fingers and pulled off a very small scrap of paper. "Hikari. Take a look" Faith said handing it to her. "This is an ofuda. A paper talisman. The spell work is rooted in onmyodo, but this arrangement is Shinto. She was controlled by this?" she asked. "It seems so. Ingenious really. Anywhere else on her body it could be easily seen. Hidden in her pussy or ass it could destroy it before it did its job. Putting it between her toes was the perfect place. Hikari seal the village now!" Faith yelled. "We have captured the culprit didn't we?" Skylar asked. "Putting it between her toes means they planned the attack before she could bathe. The puppeteer is among us" Faith replied. Himeko motioned for guards to quickly go block the gates leading in and out. She paused. "I lost contact with the east guard" she said. "Skylar. Stop them from leaving. I'll defend the royal family" Faith ordered. Skylar nodded and rushed outside.

It was dark outside. "I can't see shit" she muttered. "Hang on" Faith said in her head. Her vision sharpened by magnitudes. "Holy shit!" Skylar said as Faith cast a remote spell giving her borrower sight. "Can you see better?" Faith asked. "Fuck yeah. How did you do that?" she asked running. "Used our link to give you my natural night vision" she replied. "You see like this all the time? It's like having high def in your head" she muttered. "Focus. There's a magic wielding killer here" Faith said. Skylar came across three dead koonago. The fourth pointed to someone running on the rooftops. Skylar took off full sprint. Her bare feet kicking up dirt and dust and she ran. "Faith is person is...whoa" Skylar yelled dodging a bolt of fire. Skylar fired back a weak bolt of lightning making her attacker stumble. Skylar jumped onto the rooftop to close distance. The attacker dressed in black threw four ofuda at her. Each one turning into a whip made of water. Skylar dodged all but one being struck in the face. Her vision blurred for a moment as her attacker ran once more.

It jumped clean over the barrier wall heading into the forest. "They're getting away!" Skylar yelled. "I can see you. You're clear to grow" Faith said. Skylar released her size restriction growing to human size. Now she easily made up the distance. The attacker turned to fight once more. "No, you don't!" Skylar said raising her foot and bringing it down. She was more gentle than usual. Most that ended up under her feet didn't live for very long. Her giant dirty sole did indeed crack some ribs and broke an arm or a leg but left the would-be puppet assassin alive. "Caught him alive so we can get some answers" Skylar said. "Excellent. Good forward-thinking Sky" Faith said. But as soon as she said that. The groans and trashing under her foot stopped. She took it off him and found him nit moving an inch. She didn't even see him breathing. Skylar scooped him up and ran back to the village. The villagers were shocked already with some trying to kill their princess. They were not exactly prepared for a half-naked foreign giantess to step into the town. "He's not breathing! I swear I didn't crush him too much!" Skylar said putting him down. Faith checked him by yanking his cloth covering his face off. "Almonds. The smell of almonds. Cyanide. You didn't kill him Sky. He ingested poison" she said. "So, he couldn't be questioned no doubt" Hikari said. "This does answer one question. We're on the right track about Biwako Valley. This started seconds after we confirmed going there" Faith said. Skylar looked around seeing their terrified faces. She shrunk back down.

Skylar sat on the steps washing her dirty feet. Faith sat next to her. "You did good tonight" she said. "Didn't capture him alive. I failed!" she growled kicking the wash basin. "I don't fail" she muttered. "You can't be perfect Sky. Trying to be won't bring you happiness" Faith said touching her cheek. "With Odin, we were not allowed to fail. Failure is a sign of disrespect for what was given to us" she said. Faith healed the bruise and loosening of her tooth. "And that is part of why he is dead. A true leader doesn't lead with fear. He leads with respect. Every two-bit bastard that tried ruling with fear met their end. Sometimes by the hand of those he ruled. There. Much better. Now why don't we talk about what's really bugging you" she said.

"When I pressed my foot on him, it brought back some old feelings. When we were bodyguards, we didn't just guard VIP's, we took out the threats too. Every girl had their own thing. Mine was using my feet to crush the life out of people no bigger than my thumb. This was one...one job I..." Skylar said before shivering. "I know" Faith said. "If you know then how the hell am I even allowed to love anyone?!" Skylar yelled. Faith glanced down the inner hallway hearing something faint. She used her clairvoyance to identify what it was. "Hmmm. If you go that hallway all the way to the end and enter the room on the right. You just might find your answer" she said. Skylar stood up and walked down the hallway. She was not in the mood for Faith being vague, but she hadn't steered her wrong yet. When she had got to the room, she could hear faint crying. Skylar opened the room to find Nanashi draped in a futon cover crying softly. "Hey" she said. Nanashi jumped in fright nearly screaming. "I guess seeing me as a giantess stomping around would scare you. I'll leave you alone" Skylar said. "NO! Don't leave...please...." Nanashi whimpered.

Skylar closed the sliding door behind her. She sat next to her. "I don't want to be alone" Nanashi whimpered to her. "Hey. They doubled the guards and searched the village. No more assassins" Skylar said. Nanashi hugged her tightly. "If you're that scared, I'll stay here tonight" she said. The koonago looked at her with soft almond colored eyes and cried more. Skylar pushed her away for a moment and the koonago looked in horror thinking she had offended her. Skylar shrunk herself even further until she was as small as a koonago was to a normal human. Nanashi was amazed she could shrink further. Skylar jumped, cartwheeled, and somersaulted around making the koonago giantess laugh and giggle. "You're prettier when you smile" Skylar said. Nanashi looked at her hands. "Of course, you can" Skylar said reading her intentions. Nanashi picked her up and smiled feeling the tiny woman in her hands. She leaned closer and was surprised when Skylar kissed her. The koonago blushed. "Let me serve you tonight. What is your wish my majesty?" Skylar asked. Nanashi had to think about it.

"You want me to worship your feet?" Skylar asked hopping down. She made her way to her left foot and licked her second toe. Nanashi was as red as a tomato by that point. "Mmmm" Skylar said licking between her toes. "It...it is unseemly" she squeaked. "Nothing is unseemly about you. You're allowed to have desires" Skylar said up to her. Nanashi took off her yukata and placed Skylar right at her pussy. "If...if you please" she muttered. Nanashi put her hands over her eyes in embarrassment as the small woman licked her pussy. "You're so yummy. I knew you were sweet but fuck..." Skylar groaned drinking her juices. Nanashi peeked down at her. Her embarrassment yielded to her inner desires as she took Skylar by the shoulders and pushed her in. Nanashi placed a hand over her mouth as the walls were quite thin in the mansion. At first, Skylar was terrified of being used as her dildo. Her body sinking deeper and deeper with each push. Her toes could feel the wet rippling of her walls. Walls wanting to swallow her whole. But she looked up to see the cute koonago giantess in such ecstasy she set aside her fears. 

Nanashi pushed her deep inside and trapped her there with her hand as she rode out a well-deserved orgasm. Skylar had faith in her even as her juices threatened to drown her. Then came fresh air as she lie on her palm. Nanashi was quiet as she cleaned the girl up in a wash basin in her bathroom. "You're very quiet" Skylar said as she finished rinsing her. "What will I do when you are gone?" she asked softly. It was not a question Skylar had an answer to. "Want to come with me? God knows we have the room" Skylar finally said. "I am oathbound to serve here. It cannot be broken. Only in death" she said. Skylar grew to her size. "Nanashi..."

"It is late. Good night Skylar" she said turning in. Skylar laid next to her in the futon wondering if she made a terrible mistake.

The next morning...

"It's better off you stay here" Faith said. "Normally, with something this serious I'd disagree but this village has come under attack already. However, an observer should accompany you in case negotiations are required" Hikari said before clapping. "Eiko, go with them" she said. The young woman nodded. Faith sized her up. She was a warrior no doubt. More muscular, wore simple yet elegant armor, and held a naginata. "With all due respect, sending a battle dressed woman may give the wrong idea. I propose bringing Nanashi with us. She a koonago, somewhat skilled in diplomacy, and comes off as meek and mild" Faith said. Skylar gave her a look. Faith shrugged seeing it. "A maid servant? The mongrel?" someone muttered. Himeko snapped her fan for them to be silent. "Send her in" she commanded. Moments later, Nanashi entered. "You summoned me majesty?" she asked nervous. "The foreigners are leaving for Biwako Valley and have requested you to join them. You are to assist their needs and represent our people to the fullest. Do not bring dishonor to us child" Himeko said coldly. Nanashi was dumbfounded. "By...by your command" she stammered. "Prepare yourself and be ready when called again" Himeko commanded motioning for her to leave.

"A private plane will be ready for you at the JSDF airfield not far from here. It will take you to Osaka" she said. "Why didn't we take that before?" Skylar asked. "Because it wouldn't have given Nanashi enough time to size us up" Faith whispered. "Indeed. I wish you well Faith and the one called Skylar" Himeko said leaving the room. The guards followed except one staying behind with Hikari. "Faith, I'm going to change" Skylar said. Faith nodded. Faith was left alone with Hikari. "Interesting. You seemed completely calm about possibly marching into the den of the enemy but tense being in the room alone with me" Hikari said. "Personal reasons" Faith muttered. "More secrets. A foreigner with incredible magics. The knowledge of a Japanese goddess only few in the world know about. And reasons for finding her still hidden. Have we not earned your trust?" Hikari asked. "A hundred times over but the truth you're seeking would be a hard burden to bear. It is not for my sake but yours" Faith replied. That only heightened Hikari's curiosity.

"I am over 160 years old. I have watched loved ones grow old and die before me. Fellow koonago, raped, crushed, and eaten to preserve my life. I have even witnessed a child slowly die of radiation sickness. I am no stranger to burden" she said. "This is different. I wish in my heart of hearts I could tell you just to ease my own loneliness but..." Faith muttered. "Tcch. Very well then. Keep your secrets. I have a son that needs feeding" Hikari said with a chill that made Faith wince. "If you go to the kitchen, you will find a bottle of my milk to feed him. I should change clothes" Faith said softly. On hearing that, Hikari regretted her tone.

"Bet your happy Nanashi is coming with us" Faith said. "Not entirely" Skylar said putting her shirt on. "Something happen between you two last night?" she asked. "It went fine until she brought up she goes back to her shitty life after we leave" she replied. "She could come with us?" Faith shrugged. "Don't you think I tried that?!" Skylar yelled. "No go?" Faith asked. Skylar looked at her. They got dressed and carried their shoes in their hands Nanashi stood at the entrance with Hikari. "I wish you the best of luck. As unlikely as it sounds, we do get cell phone coverage out here so don't hesitate to call" she said. Faith bowed her head. A half hour later, they were on the plane to Osaka. The pilots were exceptionally curious about their passengers taking glances at them now and then. Faith sat in the far front on her phone reading. Skylar in the back with Nanashi. "You regret last night?" Skylar asked. "...it shouldn't have happened" she replied. Skylar looked away from her and buried her head into her chest. The koonago glanced at her hearing her cry. "You do not understand. I am bound by oath..."

"I understand because I was too bound by oath to serve. I killed innocent people because of an oath. Let myself get raped for an oath. I once had an abortion because of an oath. But even I know when enough is enough. It took someone from the outside to show me what kind of bastard I served. Someone who gave a fuck about my happiness. You koonago supposed to live for centuries. You really want to keep serving people who can't even give you a proper fucking name for the next 500 years?" Skylar spat. A question that cut the koonago to the core. A question Nanashi would answer in her own way in time.

They landed in Osaka airport and was driven to Biwako Valley by car. "This place is magnificent!" Skylar said. "It is a ski and hot spring resort. At this time of year, there is no snow" Nanashi said. "And we are not here for vacation" Faith said looking at the northern mountain slope. They trekked from the base of the mountain and up the slope taking their time. "Are we even going the right way?" Skylar asked. Faith paused to touch a tree. She closed her eyes. "Yes. There's some kind of...void another kilometer up" she replied. "A void?" Nanashi asked worried sitting on Skylar's shoulder. "One of my powers is to commune with plant life. By feeding a bit of magic into the forest, I can in a way create a radar pulse. There's an odd void or dead zone up there" she replied. They kept walking, Faith carefully using her senses, Skylar checking her rear and guarding her koonago with her hand, and Nanashi trying to stay calm through it. Faith took a step and paused. "The air, it feels off" she said. "We should go back" Skylar said. "No, lets press on" Faith said. They took a few more steps and Skylar froze. "Faith. We really should go back" she said trembling. Nanashi looked at the giantess worried. "No" Faith said grabbing her hand pulling her. "No! NO WE CAN'T GO FORWARD!" she shrieked. "A barrier! We're caught in a koonago barrier!" Nanashi yelled. "Dispel" Faith muttered touching the struggling Skylar. She calmed down instantly. "What...what the fuck happened? I was terrified of going forward" she said. "A perception spell made by koonago. It keeps people out and if they kept going...would drive them to suicide. We used if for a very long time" Nanashi replied.

"This means we're close. Can you continue?" Faith asked her. "Just give me a minute" Skylar said walking off. "Is she really okay?" Nanashi asked. "She pissed her panties, so the answer is no. But she'll keep walking anyways" Faith replied. Skylar returned a few minutes later. She nodded for them to continue. They kept walking slower this time until they came to a clearing. Before them stood a temple surrounded by channels of water. "A Shinto temple way up here?" Nanashi asked. "This place is imbued with magics and we are not alone" Faith warned. As if appearing out of thin air, tiny Shinto shrine maidens surrounded them. Arrows of pure flame aimed at the two giantesses. "Hold your arrows!. We are here on behalf of the koonago nation! I am Nanashi and I request an audience with your leader!" Nanashi yelled as loud as she could. The maidens looked at one another. "You, the one named nobody speaks for the nation? Our race has grown weaker than I thought" a voice said before them. Slowly, emerging from the temple was a young human sized woman dressed in white and red. On her sash was a butterfly. Accompanying her were five men dressed in odd clothing.

The woman slipped on her sandals to step onto the ground. Faith grew very wary. This woman was hiding her magical power. She was far stronger than she seemed. "And these foreigners who dare trespass onto sacred ground?" she asked. "Allies" Nanashi replied. The woman motioned for the five men to take positions. "I am Orube. Leader of the Taira koonago. Why have you come?" the woman asked. "There has been attacks on a water goddess and our homeland. Evidence points back to a koonago from your clan. Shall we discuss the matter?" Nanashi asked trying to hide her fear. Orube motioned with her hand. Faith sensed a spike in magic energy and began to summon her sword. "...no" Orube replied quickly gathering water from the channel, compressing it, and shipping it at Faith at high speed. Faith's borrower reflexes saved her life and she dodged back with an eight of a second to spare. Orube didn't stop as she summoned ice to skewer Faith. Faith batted them all away shocking the koonago. "She motioned for the Shinto maidens to fire. With a cone of compressed air, Faith shielded them. But it was all a delay tactic on Orube's part as a five-pointed star lit up the ground underneath them. "Jump!" Faith yelled as she did, but it was too late for Skylar. She was struck by a shrinking spell. Oddly, it had no effect on Nanashi as she cradled the dazed girl.

Orube rushed to where Skylar and Nanashi were with the grace only a koonago could have even though she was human sized. "As much as I would like to battle you, I am pressed for time. Surrender or they will be stains" she warned fading her sandaled foot over them. Faith thought about striking the woman down with Odin level lightning but there was no guarantee she wouldn't cause their deaths as well. "I surrender" Faith said. "No... I can still fight" Skylar said summoning her white uniform and sword. She tried growing but found a resistance she could not overcome.

"Genbu of the north" one onmyoji said invoking a yellow chain ensnaring Faith's left arm. "Seiryu of the east" another said ensnaring her right arm in a blue chain. "Suzaku of the south" another said chaining her left ankle in a flaming red chain. "Byakko of the west" the last one said chaining her right ankle in a ghostly white chain. Faith sensed the magical chains were of an elemental nature. They were astoundingly strong. The fifth onmyoji approached her and struck her point black with a bolt of lightning to her head. "...still alive? Very impressive. Bring them into the lower chambers. I must make preparations for the final part of the plan if that goddess told us the truth" Orube said just before Faith blacked out.

"How long do you think it's been?" Nanashi asked as she stared out of their cage. "6 hours. Maybe 8 seeing how hungry I am. They must be busy if they haven't come to torture us yet" Skylar replied shivering from the cold damp air on her naked body. "Torture?!" Nanashi yelled. "Listen. You have to stay strong. You talk and they'll have no reason to keep us alive. Goddamn wooden bars.  Must be some kind of magic on them" she muttered. "You're really calm" Nanashi said moving closer to her. "I've seen this kind of shit before. First time for me being on the receiving end though" she replied softly. The door opened to their chamber and a giant man, an onmyoji entered. "Don't give them anything" Skylar whispered. The man popped the cage open grabbing Skylar out. He sat down on a stool. "What do you know?" he asked. "Many things. The cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth. New York was once called New Amsterdam. And Trump is an asshole" she smirked. The man took his thumb and pressed hard into her ribs cracking them. Skylar held a scream. "Sorry. Didn't take you for a Republican" she coughed. "This is not a game little one. You will tell me what you and your filthy foreign friend knew to bring you here" he said. "...you must be my lucky star. Cause you shine on me wherever you are. I just think of you..."

*snap*

Skylar whimpered as the man used his fingers to break her left leg. "Not a Madonna fan?" she asked. "I see you wish to use bravery and honor as your defense. Maybe you hope that the other foreigner will save you. She will not. She was out to death hours ago when she would not talk" he said. "Liar. I'd know if she were dead and if it weren't for your shitty magic barrier in here you would end up dead" Skylar spat. The man growled and placed his pinky at her pussy. He began pushing it into her. Skylar let out a shriek. "STOP! Just stop. I'll tell you what you want to know just let her go" Nanashi begged. The man threw Skylar back in the cage. Blood dripping down her thighs she looked at Nanashi and shook her head. "I have too" Nanashi said smiling crying.

Meanwhile...

Faith felt Skylar's distress. Steel chains kept her from escaping. An onmyoji sitting at her feet stared at her naked body. "You are a troublesome creature. Your pain threshold is higher than most. Even needles in your feet would not encourage you to talk" he said looking at her. He stood up holding needles in his hands. He looked at her breasts. He grabbed her left one squeezing roughly. Faith stifled a groan in pain. The man jerked back as his face was sprayed with milk. "A mother I see. Do you not wish to see your child again? If you tell me what you know I can arrange it" he said kneading her breast. Faith didn't need any tricks to know it was a lie. Her body ached from being stuck with needles all over. He was a sadist as well as a liar. He sucked her nipple into her mouth and began suckling her milk. It disgusted her. He wiped his face and took off his clothes. She needed him to get closer. Faith held her breath as he rammed his cock into her. "Fuck you're tight!" he yelled looking down. "Can't even look a girl in the face when you rape her?" Faith asked. He did and began thrusting hard into her. Her power of Ishtar's hypnosis began to take effect and he finally paused. "Release the chains" she said. "Yeah...the chains" he muttered unlocking them one by one. Free, Faith embraced him. He had a grin on his face until Faith spun around him and quickly snapped his neck.

She focused her senses. She could feel the circuit of magic energy running through an array on the floors of the lower chambers. It was unfamiliar to her. No doubt an onmyodo spell but it was an array nonetheless with the same flaw. Faith got on her knees and began punching the lower right spell line as hard as she could. Over and over as her knuckles broke. She would pause, heal, and punch again. 15 minutes passed until the stone floor finally cracked. With all her might, she yanked the stone slab from the ground interrupting the sealing barrier. Faith felt her powers return immediately. She left the room.

A shine maiden saw her in the hallway and Faith crushed her flat before she could scream. Another snagged by her wind magic and eaten alive as Faith was famished and needed calories for her magics. The maiden digested within minutes. She followed the traces of Skylar as their connection was like a beacon to her. Faith kicked the door in right as a man was squeezing Nanashi. With uncanny speed, Faith summoned her sword and ran him through the heart. She caught Nanashi. "Skylar!" Nanashi yelled at her giantess savior. Faith saw the horrible state she was in and took her out of the cage. "Knew you'd come" Skylar weakly said. Her bleeding had not stopped and look to cost her her life. Faith broke off a cage bar and used her fingernail to pry a splinter off. "Bite down on this" she said to Skylar. Skylar did and let out a stifling screech as Faith quickly healed her.

"Bear with it Sky" Faith said petting her tiny head. Nanashi held her small hand shaking with fear. "There. That should do for now" Faith said finishing. "Good" Skylar said focusing on growing. "Wait! It's dangerous to do that right now!" Faith yelled. "Ask me if I care" she groaned as she grew. Skylar leaned against the table as her bones popped and groaned. "Me too" Nanashi said. "I've never grown a koonago before. I could kill you" Faith warned. "As the honorable Skylar said. Ask me if I care" she said. Fifth sighed and used the spell to grow her. Nanashi wanted to cry out in pain as her body mass grew in ways it was not meant to. Borrowers and humans had similar muscle mass but koonago were different. They were leaner and built for magics. A more delicate process it entailed. Nanashi nearly doubled over once it was done but was caught by Skylar who was grinning. "Now we kick some ass?" Nanashi asked. "Not yet. Now that the barrier is down. I can sense a strong magic here. A goddess magic" Faith said. "Then she is here?!" Skylar asked. Faith pointed up. They left their room and proceeded to head up the stairs.

It was not a quiet trek to their target. Nearly a dozen servants and maidens blocked their path. All ended up dead before they could raise an alert. Nanashi crushed one under her foot and was stunned by it. "She just popped" she muttered. "Come on" Skylar said pulling her. "In there" Faith said pointing to lacquered doors. She opened them and there sat chained a young woman. "Who...are you?" she asked. Each one gasped as she was beautiful beyond normal. Her hair glistened like fresh seaweed. Her eyes as dark as a night ocean. Her skin as white and pink as coral. Her finger and toenails like peach seashells. "The sea goddess I presume? A lot of people are worried about you?" Faith said tugging on the chains. "Foreigners too?" she asked smiling. "Yeah for other reasons. Can you tell me why they went to all the trouble to kidnap you? How exactly did they pull that off anyhow?" Faith asked.

"They were able to kidnap me because it was the new moon that night. My power wanes and waxes based on the moon. I fought back as best as I could but an onmyoji sealed most of my powers after he called my true name" she said. "He broke your authority like a Campioné" Faith said. "Campione? Yes, that's right" she replied. "But why your grace would they do such a thing? Why did the Taira betray us again?!" Nanashi asked.

"They are not what you would call the Taira koonago. They are but a pale shadow of them. Less than a quarter of then carry the original bloodline. No, what you see there is the Aleph koonago" she said. "Aleph?" Faith asked. "They are what humans knew as the terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo. The same people responsible for the sarin gas attack in 1995. Ever since then, they have splinted off and come under leadership of Orube and her clan" Umiko replied. "So, what were they needing you for?" Skylar asked. "Orube needed me to find an atomic bomb" she replied. "An atom bomb?! Why?!" Faith yelled snapping the chains. "Why she needed me for it or why she needed the bomb?" Umiko asked. "Both" Faith replied. "Somehow, Orube came into the knowledge of an atomic bomb lost off the coast of Yokohama. Apparently, the Americans had planned to drop two atomic bombs on August 9, 1945. One never reached its target of Yokohama. The plane crashed into the sea taking its payload with it" she said. "And your power over the sea helped her retrieve it" Faith said. Umiko nodded. "Why? Why would she.... no. She wouldn't..." Faith said.

"She's insane. She plans to detonate the bomb over the heads of the Japanese Parliament. It will plunge the country into chaos and Aleph would take over. She despises what Japan has become since the end of the war and wishes to restore it to the way it was nearly a century ago" Umiko said. "Bullshit! Even I know the Americans have bases here. No way in hell they're going to stand by and let her take over" Skylar said. "Actually, she plans for them to be blamed for it. It is their bomb after all" Umiko said. "Every nuclear weapon has a kind of radioactive fingerprint depending on the nuclear fuel used. Scientists will link the fallout to uranium mined in the United States. When did you tell her where to find it?" Faith asked. "Shames me to say I found it for her 12 hours ago" she replied. "More than enough time for a high level koonago to tear it from the sea floor. We need to get out of here and radio Hikari" Faith said. Faith and Skylar helped Umiko onto her feet. "Nanashi. I need you to carry her. Me and Skylar are about to have our hands full" Faith said. Nanashi shyly held the sea goddess in her arms. They ran downstairs. "Strange. You'd think we'd be...oh" Skylar said seeing the temple surrounded by no less than 200 shrine maiden koonago, men, and three onmyoji.

"Guard them" Faith whispered to Skylar as she took point. "Faith. This is way more than before" Skylar said looking around. "No kidding. Was wondering where the male koonago were" she said stepping forward slowly. The koonago were uneasy. Even they could sense unnatural magics coming from the naked foreign giantess before them and as far they knew, only the clan mother Orube could be as big as they so seeing Nanashi put that in doubt. "Let us pass. Fight me and it will only end badly" Faith warned. Storm clouds grew overhead. The wind picked up. "Seiryu. Byakko. Genbu" the three onmyoji chanted ensnaring Faith in chains on her wrists and neck. The chains brought her to the ground. "FAITH!" Skylar yelled. "Sucks to be you. I command those elements too. Faith said coldly. Odin's power over wind snapped Byakko's chain. Odin's power over rain snapped Seiryu's chain. Umiko raised her hand and using her command over water snapped Genbu's chain. Faith stood up. "Cover your ears" she muttered. Skylar, Nanashi, and Umiko clapped their hands over their ears as massive thunderbolts came down from the sky striking the three men where they stood. The thunder itself brought the koonago to their knees. Any fool could see that it was no mere run of the mill lighting that struck them. It was lightning from a fucking God.

The koonago looked in horror as the onmyoji were brunt to a crisp. Their clothes brunt and tattered. The skin sizzling. "Anyone else want to be a fool?" Faith asked. The koonago were faced with a terrible choice. Fight and be slaughtered or surrender and face dishonor. They raised their bows with flaming arrows. The male koonago readied their tiny swords. "This is madness! Can you not see that?! Where is the honor in defending a woman who would murder thousands of people?!" Nanashi screamed.

"200,000 at least" Faith said. They hesitated. "She will literally poison our lands. Our very springs! That which makes us koonago will be destroyed in a day! Don't...don't do this" Nanashi begged crying. Umiko stood out from Nanashi's arms and stepped forward undefended. It was a bold move as she was very mortal right then. "Have you fallen so low that even a child can see the insanity before you?" Umiko asked walking up to a random koonago. Her bare feet leaving wet footprints behind her. She picked a young man up in her hands. None truly dared to attack her as she was a goddess. A goddess koonago worshiped since time immemorial. "I did not gift you power, but I do love you as my own. Your blood, your very semen carries my salt" she said touching his tiny loincloth covered balls. "I can forgive my mistreatment, but I cannot forgive wanton murder. Choose wisely little koonago. I am of the sea and the sea is VAST. The last 1000 years of what you considered hardship will seem as if a bad dream compared what I can do" she warned with a devilish grin. She placed him back on the ground. The young man tossed his sword on the ground. All around them they threw their weapons down and bowed. "Shall we go?" Umiko asked. "Gladly. Hang on tight. We're going to fly" Faith said summoning winds underneath their feet.

Faith used the storm clouds to conceal their flight. Nobody saw them fly overhead and bank fully the low rumble of thunder covered up the squealing of a frightened goddess. They landed on the private airstrip where their plane sat. "For a tough as hell goddess, you sure do scream a lot" Skylar said. "Cannot be helped. I'm a sea goddess not a sky one" Umiko huffed. "Not now you two!" Faith said running to the plane. The pilots were left speechless seeing a naked Faith, a human sized koonago and when they saw Umiko, they nearly fainted. "Food. Now" Faith growled grabbing the copilot. He gave her a bento box which Faith began wolfing down as she had Skylar call Hikari.  "I'm here. I was getting worried" Hikari said gently. "I don't have time for pleasantries. I need you to contact air traffic control at Yokohama and ground EVERY plane. Nothing, not even a goddamn paper airplane is to take off!" Faith yelled. "Why?! What has happened?!" Hikari asked. "A bomb. A fucking nuclear bomb is what they were using your goddess to find. Their plan is to detonate an old salvaged American bomb from August 1945 right over the heads of your government. She wants Japan to be imperialist again" Faith replied. "Oh my god. I can't even begin to think what the casualties could be..." Hikari muttered.

"81,000 dead in the first five minutes. Another 125,000 dead within a week from radiation sickness and injuries. 30,000 dead from cancer within a year. I did the math" Faith said. The pilots sat there terrified of the news. "Hikari? You still there?" Faith asked. "...I am here. You confirmed this?" Hikari asked is disbelief. "Yeah. Your goddess is alive and told me everything. Listen, she may have found the bomb and even recovered it from the sea floor by now but I'm guessing it will take time to check, arm, and then load the damn thing. That's our window. Pilot. Get this thing in the air and head to Yokohama" Faith said. The quickly nodded and spun up the engines. "Could such a bomb still work after 75 years of being submerged in cold seawater?" Skylar asked. "The casing was made of composite steel. The same shit used in tanks. The plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years. Change out the explosive primer and detonator altimeter and you got a 75-year-old working nuke" Faith replied grimly. The plane took to the air and roared to Yokohama.

"I heard what you said. Faith, even with prep, what is to say she has not loaded it already?" Hikari asked hopelessly. "She traveled by car from here. She doesn't have her own jet and she's not stupid enough to risk blowing her plan over fake ID's at the airport. Google maps says that's a 5-hour 45-minute drive. Factor in drive time and getting the bomb, that's probably 6 hours minimum. Preparing the bomb maybe an hour and a half if they don't give a shit about radiation poisoning. That leaves a half hour were behind and we haven't factored in transportation and loading. We can do it Hikari. We have to stay positive" Faith replied. "...you are right. I will send the word. May the kami smile upon you" Hikari said ending the call. Faith touched the shoulder of the pilot. "Not over yet" she told him. The pilot looked at the naked woman and then his friend. He tore a strip off his sleeve and tied it around his forehead. His friend did the same. "Yes" he said grinning as he pushed the throttle a half inch further.

Faith opened here suitcase and likely out a very small uniform. She enlarged it and began putting it on. "Whoa. That puts mine to shame" Skylar said. "Modeled it after a friend of the family. I'm just using it as an underlay." Faith said adjusting the boots. "Faith. How do you know so much about nukes and shit?" Skylar asked sitting next to her. "In my old life, Markus showed me the ugliest side of humanity which included the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At first I thought it to be a lie. Humans using such a horrific weapon. The more I read on it, the bomb, how it was made, what from, I saw it was no lie" she replied. "At least the koonago surrendered" Nanashi said trying to lighten the mood. "I ate one. Crushed a few more" Faith muttered. "So did we" Skylar said shrugging. "But I remember their faces. This goddamn borrower memory won't let me forget. Excuse me" Faith said picking up her phone and dialing.

"Mom? What's up? Having fun in Tokyo?" Selah said after answering. "Not exactly. It's a business trip remember?" Faith asked. "You okay? You sound funny" Selah said. "Just missing you is all. I wanted to hear your voice" Faith said. "Oh. Okay. Mom I have to go. The pizza is done. Love ya!" Selah said hanging up. "Yeah...bye" Faith said softly lowering her head into her lap and crying softly. "Someone so powerful, so glorious and she seems so..."

"Fragile?" Umiko finished. Nanashi nodded. "Even the most powerful of us is not immune to the withering pain of life. The more powerful we are, the more life tends to throw at us. Especially that one" Umiko said standing up and walking to Faith. She sat down across from her. "I'm sorry. Did you need anything? Food, water?" Faith asked wiping her tears away. "I thought you could use someone to talk to" Umiko replied. "As old and wise are you probably are, I doubt you can help me" Faith said. "Oh, I disagree. I know who you are and what you have done. Our kind transcends timelines not to mention a sea goddess doesn't forget the largest tsunami this world has seen in eons. I know about your suffering and now that we are this close, I know why you sought me out" Umiko said. Faith looked at her frightened. "Long ago, I used my power to destroy a Mongol invasion fleet. And 75 years ago, I used my power to hasten the doom of hundreds of thousands of people. I granted the Americans clear skies those two days" Umiko said softly. "Why?" Faith asked dumbfounded. "Because it was the only way to save them. A twisted honor would've destroyed Japan utterly and cost the lives of millions upon millions. Some would question if I even had the right to make such a decision goddess or not. So I did something you might not think our kind does".

"Have you ever wondered if a god or goddess prays?" Umiko asked. "Yeah actually" Faith replied. "Well we do but not to a higher power. We pray to you. We pray to you mortals with your quirky flaws, your prejudices, your brutality. Your love, compassion, devotion, your power to shape your own lives. In so many ways you are far better than we ever will be. I suspect that those that threaten your family fears that above all. Not your innate power but your ability to shape your own destinies without our aid. It's not your magics they fear Faith. They fear being obsolete" Umiko said. Her words left Faith speechless. "Look. There's a new player in this game named Lilith..."

"She isn't new. She's hated mankind since the beginning and I do mean beginning" Umiko finished. "Wait. You mean she's the genuine article? I thought she popped into being after people believed in her" Faith said. "No. While her history is wrapped in mystery, what I can tell you is she predates us all. Even the old ones worshipped when your kind still hunted mammoths is not as old as she. We ask the same question your mortals do eventually. "Where did it all begin? Who was there?" The answer told was..."in a place long lost with a man and a woman. And this woman rebelled and was cast out. From henceforth she swore revenge on his sons and that which made her. Now, who does that sound like?" Umiko asked. "But what does that have to do with me?" Faith asked. "No idea" Umiko said before coughing. She coughed so hard her toes curled. "You're worse than I thought. If I tried borrowing your power now it would kill you" Faith told her. "I need to return to the sea. I've been gone too long. Faith...be a dear and rub my feet for me. It will lessen the discomfort" Umiko said placing her feet in her lap. Faith cocked an eyebrow. "Please?" Umiko asked batting her eyes. "You're a very odd goddess" Faith smirked as she began rubbing her feet.

"Now that's crazy. She's rubbing a goddess' feet" Skylar quipped. "She is very beautiful" Nanashi said softly. "So are you. You were so brave earlier. You deserve a treat" Skylar said kissing her. "Oh Nanashi. Sorry but I need to conserve energy" Faith said snapping her fingers shrinking Nanashi back to normal. "No problem. No problem at all" Skylar said licking her lips at the little koonago.

1 hour 5 minutes later...

"We're starting out descent now. Did you have any luck locking the airport down?" Faith asked Hikari. "It was done and all ground traffic entering the leaving has been halted. Faith, I got a report on a semi-truck entering just before the lockdown. They cannot find it" Hikari said. "No doubt being used to transport the bomb" Faith said. "Precisely. It probably was heading to a hangar with a plane large enough to carry it. We are checking them one by one but there are dozens" Hikari said. "Keep at it. I'll join the search when we touch down" Faith said ending the call. "Nanashi. When we are down, take Umiko somewhere safe after I grow you again. Make it fast because the spell won't hold if I move too far away this time. Skylar you're with me" Faith said. They nodded. The plane touched down and they immediately got out. She called Hikari again. "Seven so far cleared but that leaves another 27" Hikari said. "Understood" she said hanging up. Faith used clairvoyance to glance at the ones in her line of sight. "This isn't working. They could have the damn thing loaded by now" she hissed. Faith looked around and close by was a maintenance truck. "Drive" she told Skylar as she climbed into the truck bed. Skylar raced down the far-left side of the runway glancing at each hangar as it passed. Most were empty of planes, but some were not. Then she narrowed down planes too small and weak to carry a bomb weighing 9,000 lbs. and four feet wide. Passenger jets didn't have the cargo doors to accommodate that which left actual cargo planes. Her eyes narrowed on one hangar.

Her vision caught a very large jet, a few crews around it but glaringly its engines were spooled. "Why would they have their engines on if they're all grounded?" she wondered. Faith told Skylar to creep up on it slowly. "Hikari. Have you searched hangar 31?" Faith asked. "No, we have not. It's registered to FedEx shipping" she replied. "They got a plane in there. Check the flight plan" Faith said. Hikari came back minutes later. Flight plan for Tokyo leaving tomorrow morning at 8:00" she replied. "Tomorrow morning? We got ourselves a winner. No reason at all now for their engines to be cranked that high. We're going in. Nobody is to enter. I don't want her detonating the bomb in our faces" Faith said. "Faith, we don't have that kind of time" Skylar said pointing out the plane was moving. The Boeing 777 crept out of the hangar onto the runway. "Got to hand to the crazy bitch. Using that to carry the bomb is genius. Blends in, powerful enough to carry it, fast enough to escape the blast. Fucking floor it Skylar!" Faith yelled. Skylar slammed her booted foot on the gas pedal and the truck sped for the plane now turning onto Runway 2. Hikari called her phone. "I know dammit! I'm chasing it! Keep everyone back! I don't need anyone getting in my way!" Faith yelled before hanging up. "Faith! Please tell me you got a plan!" Skylar yelled as the jet lurched forward moving faster and faster. "Yeah but you won't like it! Drive right up to the landing gear!" Faith yelled.

The tuck engine screamed as it began to redline. They were getting closer to the gear, but the plane began to widen the distance. "Fucking hell!" Skylar said as the speedometer pegged at 200 kph. "Whatever you do don't swallow your tongue!" Faith yelled as she grabbed Skylar by the collar. "FAITH YOU CRAZY BIIIiiitch...!" Skylar screamed as Faith yanked her out of the truck, shrank them both, and used wind magic to throw them onto the gear strut. "Hold on!" Faith yelled holding her close as the plane took to the air. The gear retracted with them into the fuselage and they were onboard.

"Your grace?" Nanashi asked as she sat waiting patiently outside a bathroom door in a hangar. She had been in there for some time. Nanashi knocked on the door and got no response. "She's gone..." she muttered after opening door and not finding her inside.

Like mice, Faith and Skylar climbed through the innards of the plane making sure not to fuck up the avionics. They squeezed through a maintenance hatch and stood in the cargo hold. There before them stood two giants and a Giantess. Orube, two male koonago. "We will approach maximum cruising speed in a few minutes. Time to target is 12 minutes" the pilot said from the cockpit. "Good. I'll set the altimeter to detonate it at 800 ft" she said checking the open hatch on the bomb. Faith and Skylar grew. "You won't succeed" Faith said coldly. "Impossible. Over 200 koonago and the best onmyoji in Japan were guarding you" Orube said reaching into her pocket. "Killed a few. The others realized what a fucking nutcase you are and surrendered" Faith said. The plane suddenly rocked. There was a sound of running water. A puddle of water formed onto the deck and Umiko formed from it. "I was fortunate to find a pipe leading to a saltwater runoff. Sorry it took me awhile you two" she said. "You honestly think you have the upper hand here? Kneel before me Umi no Kami" Orube commanded. Using her true name, Umiko began to kneel. "You will not win this child" Umiko said. Orube formed a katana made of bottled water. It oddly hummed as it flattened. "Aw shit" Faith said realizing how Orube could make such fine precise cuts. She put the water under extreme pressure. Enough pressure and vibration, water could cut solid steel.

"You served your purpose long enough" Orube said slashing. There was a high-pitched ping as it parried against Faith's sword. "Try again. Adet" Faith said summoning her Cancer armor. All were taken aback by it. "Don't just stand there fools! Kill them!" Orube yelled at the koonago. They rushed Faith and Skylar together attacking at once. Faith fortified herself and Skylar, but it was clear these koonago were picked because they were the best she had. Even with heightened defense and strength, they were little match for them. Umiko began to stand once again. Orube growled and slashed at her throat. Umiko caught the water blade with her bare hand. Normally it would've sliced clean through but all it did was draw blood. "I am weakened still. Your control over me still present but you are far removed from being my master. I am power little koonago. And you are but a single fish trying to subjugate a tidal wave" Umiko said pushing her hand back.

Faith studied her attacker. He moved with precision, but his stamina was lacking. "Hard isn't it? When you grow a person that is naturally three inches tall, it takes some time for the body to adjust. The need for more oxygen. The heart has to pump harder. Strain on the muscles" Faith said wiping her sweat. Drops of sweat fell to the floor and trickled towards Umiko. "You're no better. You're getting slower. You have no chance in defeating someone with 500 years of combat experience" her koonago opponent said taking a new stance with his katana. Faith glanced at Skylar who was no better if not worse. Her arms had cuts all over them. Her uniform was slashed in the front exposing her cleavage. She looked at Faith and as brave as she was, Faith could see fear. "I'll slice open that neck of yours very soon" he said. Faith dismissed her armor. "Oh? Trying to lighten your burden? It won't work!" he said slashing right. Faith deflected it but he used his momentum to turn and strike downwards.

Faith pivoted at the very last second as he drew his wakizashi sword stabbing her in the side. "Faith!" Skylar said as she staggered backwards. Her blood dripped on the floor and trickled towards Umiko. Faith caught a glimpse of it. "Please tell me you have enough now" Faith groaned. "More than enough child" Umiko said manipulating the sweat and blood into a shard and throwing it at incredible speed at Faith's attacker. The shard skewered his heart killing him. The other stunned, was attacked by Skylar. Not seeing Faith, she snuck up behind him and ran him through. "You're next" Faith said looking over the dead koonago's shoulder. "Now entering Tokyo airspace! 6 minutes to target! We have a JSDF F-15 on our tail!" the pilot yelled. "Let them come. Even if they shoot us down they'll spread radioactivity like fucking snow over the city" Orube said. Faith held her side as she quickly and very painfully healed herself. "Not if I shrink your fucking bomb" Faith hissed staggering to it. "You won't get the chance!" Orube yelled attacking Faith. Faith parried her blow. The vibration of Orube's water blade nearly rattled the sword from Faith's hand. "Impossible! No metal has fewer withstood my attack!" she yelled. "This blade was forged from my soul. It will not yield! Umiko! Explode the blood shard!" Faith yelled pushing her back. Umiko commanded it to pull from the dead koonago and explode into a fine dust.

"What...have you done?!" Orube said losing all control over her water blade. "Contaminated it with salt. I may not attack you, but I can disarm you" Umiko said. Orube suddenly punched the inner workings of the bomb and pulled back a bloody hand. "I just destroyed the failsafe. It cannot be stopped now! YOU LOSE!" Orube yelled laughing. Faith yelled and beheaded the woman on the spot. "Faith..." Skylar said. "You know how to fly a plane yeah?" Faith asked. "Yeah. Odin had us fly his personal jet, but this is way beyond that" Skylar replied. "Then just steer the goddamned thing over the ocean" Faith muttered looking at exposed broken panel on the bomb. Skylar entered the cockpit and punched the pilot as hard as she could in his face. He slumped forward. "Kobe asshole" she said yanking him out of the chair. She sat down looking at the controls. "Fuck me" she whispered.

"She's right. We can't disarm it. She even has it on a deadman timer" Faith muttered. She touched the bomb and concentrated. "Shrink it?" Umiko asked. "...I can't. There's cold iron in the casing. I don't have time to keep trying. New plan" Faith muttered. Faith concentrated again forming a portal underneath it. The plane shook as the portal intersected with the floor. "Faith?!" Skylar yelled. "Keep turning! I'm going to translocate the damn thing out!" Faith yelled. "But didn't you say you can only go where you've been before or seen?!" Skylar yelled. "Yeah...yeah I did" Faith replied feeling dizzy. "Your wound" Umiko said looking at the fresh blood coming from Faith's side. "I know. I didn't have time to heal it completely" she said as the portal expanded. "I have to ride it through! Skylar, if I don't make it. Look after Selah for me" Faith said. "FAITH!" Skylar screamed as Faith fell through the portal with the atomic bomb.

The portal opened right where she planned it to, but it was not enough. She looked up at the sky as far as she could see. "Bingo. It's going to be close" Faith muttered as she formed another portal 4,000 feet below her. Already falling past 5,000 feet, she only had 4,200 feet to play with before the altimeter trigger detonated it. She hooked her legs around the slimmer back part of the bomb and literally steered it with her body. She used wind magic to keep on her targeted portal. She timed it as even if the altimeter didn't explode it, the timer would in 30 seconds. They fell through the portal and out they came in the same location...100,000 ft. above. Just at the edge of her visual range. Faith let go and her vision blurred. Her shrinking body cold as ice as she formed her portal to escape. She fell through just seconds before the atomic weapon exploded.

24 hours later...

"She had to survive. She just had to" Skylar muttered sitting on the floor of Hikari's tiny little shrine in her office. "Reports are coming in of a powerful EMP burst in the middle of the Indian Ocean at 100,000 ft. Sounds like she did her job" Hikari said entering the room. "She wouldn't want you to be saddened" Nanashi said hugging her. "In the beginning I hated her. Now I can't picture my life without that meddling woman" Skylar said. "The doctors cleared you of any possible radiation poisoning. What will you do now?" Hikari asked. "Go back to that island I guess. Someone has to tell Selah she lost another mom" Skylar replied. "Who was she?" Hikari asked. "I don't know. Someone with a lot of sadness in her life but she made sure everyone around her was happy" Skylar replied. There was a knock on the main door. Hikari got up to answer. She returned with a smile on her face. "She lives" she said. Skylar stood up. "Where the hell is she?!" she asked. "At a military hospital not far from here. She just staggered right in off the street" Hikari grinned. Skylar ran outside and jumped down as she grew herself. Hikari summoned a car to take them to the hospital.

"That ass. I know that ass" Skylar hissed as she spied Faith being scrubbed down. "What the hell Faith?!" Skylar yelled running into the decontamination shower. "Whoa! Kinda radioactive here!" Faith yelled as the nurses stepped back. Skylar didn't let go of her and cried into her bare breasts. "I'm sorry. When I fell through my escape portal, I crashed landed into an old woman 's mochii bucket near the Tachibana warehouse. It's what saved my life. I almost became a traditional Japanese snack" Faith chuckled. "None of that is funny!" Skylar yelled. "Sorry. I was really out of it for hours, but the old woman cared for me until I could move on my own. I came here just in case I was contaminated. I did ride a fucking nuke cowgirl style" Faith said. The nurses finished scrubbing her and used a Giger counter to give her a clean bill of health. She was given some robes as her other clothes were incinerated. Faith was taken to an empty hospital room to rest. "Don't go anywhere. I mean it" Skylar said leaving her room to get coffee.

Faith was left alone with Hikari. "You did a tremendous service to us. How could we possibly repay you?" Hikari asked. Faith looked down at the koonago princess quietly before turning away sharply. "There is something you want" Hikari said. "I have no right to ask you" Faith said. "You saved thousands up thousands of lives Faith. Whatever it is, you earned it" Hikari said. Faith shrank down and walked on the bedspread over to Hikari. She looked deep into her eyes. "Please let me hug you" Faith begged. "That's it? That is all you want?" Hikari asked dumbfounded. Hikari nodded and was hugged tightly by the young woman. Faith broke down into deep sobs as she held her. "Faith, what has wounded your soul this badly?" Hikari asked deeply worried. "I've lost so much. When I saw you..." Faith said before catching herself. "What about me? How do you know so much about us?" Hikari asked. Faith looked at her and sighed. "Your secret. I will not ask again" she muttered. Faith shook her head. "No, I want you to know" Faith said canceling her glamor.

"HOPE!" Hikari yelled seeing her true form. Faith held her finger to her lips motioning for her to be quiet. "Does your dad know you came here?" Hikari asked. "I am not the Hope you think I am. I come from another world, another time. A time and place where I did terrible things and paid the price for it. I came here to literally start over. I am Faith, not Hope" she said softly. "I will not pretend to know what that means but it is clear you wish none of your family to know you're here. You cannot tell me what you did?" Hikari asked. "I am too much of a coward to" Faith replied. "Maybe one day you can tell her" Umiko said entering the room. "One day" Faith said. "Astonishing to know there are two of you. If your father knew..." Hikari said. "He did briefly before I erased his memory of me" Faith said. "...will you do that to me?" Hikari asked. "No. Like I said I want you to know. If I cannot trust an honorable koonago, then who can I trust?" Faith asked. "...you do me honor" Hikari said wiping a tear away. "Faith. You sought me out for a reason. I'm ready if you are" Umiko said. "Ready for what?" Skylar asked retuning with coffee. "Close the door behind you" Faith said. Skylar did. "Yes. What is it you are asking the goddess?" Hikari asked. "To enter the contract of a Campioné" Faith replied.

"A what?" Hikari asked. "A hunter of gods and goddesses. They slay them" Umiko replied. "Faith no!" Hikari yelled. "It's okay Hikari. There is more to a Campioné then godslaying. They can also become partners. And in my case I can inherit their power" Faith said. "She speaks truth" Umiko said. "Impossible. No mortal can house the power of the divine" Hikari said. "I have" Faith said powering up and growing. She extended her hand. A magic circle formed around Umiko and ethereal chains bound her. "By the rite of the Campioné, I break your Authority by calling your true name! Umi no Kami!" Faith yelled. Umiko gasped as she felt mortality take hold once more. Faith casually walked up to her as she drew her sword. "FAITH!" Hikari yelled. Umiko motioned for her to be quiet. Umiko extended her hand. Faith cut it as gently as she could. Umiko knelt before her. "I submit" she said softly. "Now I bind you by giving you a name. It shall be...Umiko" Faith said grinning. Faith gasped a second later as Umiko's water divinity filled her soul. Faith fell to the floor weakened. "It's done" Faith said dismissing the magics.

"That was weird. A lot cleaner than last time though" Skylar said. "What happened last time?" Hikari asked. "Faith turned into this monstrous wolf and..."

"Skylar...be quiet" Faith said cutting her off. Skylar shrugged and sat on the bed. Faith sat down moments later to rest. "I don't know about you being enslaved" Hikari said. "It's not enslavement" Faith said. "But the chains. The magic circle. The bloodshedding" Hikari said. "All part of the ritual. Orube used a bastardized version of it to bind Umiko but after I killed her, she was freed. My way is more like gaining a member of the family" Faith said. "Quite true" Umiko said. "What's going on?" Nanashi asked waking up. "You slept through Faith gaining the powers of a goddess" Skylar chuckled poking the tiny girl laying on Faith's pillow. "Wha?!" Nanashi yelled. Everyone laughed at her innocence. A little time passed, and a man spoke to Hikari. "If you please, come to the outer garden" she said. Hikari pointed out where to go and they were all outside. The nighttime garden was lit with paper lanterns. "It's pretty" Faith said. "Look out there" Hikari said. Seconds later fireworks began exploding.

"Something my mother ordered. We have to stay silent whole affair, but we decided somehow they should know what you have done" she explained. They stared for a few minutes watching the spectacle. Faith stood next to Skylar. "What're you thinking about?" Faith asked. "Happy I didn't crash the plane when I landed" Skylar replied. "No. Really" Faith said. Skylar looked down at Nanashi in her hand. "Hikari. There is one final thing I wish to ask of you" Faith said. "Go ahead" he said. "Release Nanashi from her oath of service" she said. Hikari glanced at Nanashi who was shocked by the request. "Done. You are released from your vow Nanashi by order of the imperial family" Hikari said before a loud (for her size) clap. "That's it?" Faith asked. "Not as elegant as your ritual but yes" she replied. "You can come home with me!" Skylar giggled. Nanashi was too astounded to say anything. "You have nothing to say Nanashi?" Hikari asked. "That is no longer my name" Nanashi said flatly. "Then what are you to be called?" Hikari asked. Nanashi looked around for a moment, saw something, and smiled. "Hana" she replied. Hikari looked at the beautiful flower she had saw. "A fitting name. Bring honor to yourself and conduct your life fitting for a koonago" Hikari commanded. "By your leave" Hana said bowing in Skylar's palm.

The next morning...

"Your luggage has arrived. I guess you are leaving now?" Hikari asked in Faith's hand. "Yeah. Got a girl at home that probably misses me even if she won't admit it. You ever find out who told Orube about the bomb?" Faith asked. "A woman named Lilith. That much we confirmed when we interrogated the Taira koonago" Hikari replied. Faith stiffened her posture. "You know this woman?" Hikari asked. "Only of her. Umiko said she is the most dangerous woman on the planet with the power of an elder goddess. She has her sights set on me for some reason" Faith replied. "She needs you Faith. You have something...or possibly you will have something" Hikari said. Faith paused as another piece of the puzzle fit. "Whatever she wants, her ass ain't getting it" Faith said coldly. "Be careful Faith. There may come a time you won't have a choice in the matter. Hikari told her. She motioned for her to bring her close to her face. "Be safe little one. I will pray to the kami that they keep you from harm. And one last thing...I love you" Hikari said before kissing her.

Faith summoned the Cancer artifact. "Take this. Forge it into a weapon" Faith said handing it her. By her permission, the artifact shrunk to fit in Hikari's hand. "I would not know how" Hikari said. "Find an onmyoji named Hiro Fujikawa. He will know what to do" Faith said. "Very well but why? This is better in your hands" Hikari asked. "Insurance policy" Faith said softly. Faith handed her to her guard. "Come back when you need to. Just...don't forget about me" Hikari said sniffling. She bad them farewell and left. "She loves you very much" Skylar said. "In my old world, she died because of my stupidity. Nana...ahem. Hana, anything before we go?" Faith asked. Hana looked out the window at the city. "...no" she replied. On that, they gathered their things, checked out of the hotel, and translocated home.

"Jesus!" Selah yelled as they popped out in the middle of the living room. "I'm home" Faith sighed as she went to the kitchen. "Any leftover pizza?" Faith asked. "Bottom shelf" Selah replied looked at the fridge. "Holding the fort down squirt?" Skylar asked. "All in hand!" Selah replied. "I bet" Skylar chuckled seeing her in the middle of a Fortnite match. "Sky. You have a tiny Asian girl on your shoulder" Selah said pointing to Hana. "Selah, Hana. Hana this is my daughter Selah" Faith said pulling out cold slices of pizza. "I'm honored to meet you" Hana said bowing to the teen giantess sitting before her. Selah for very close. "You're very pretty" Selah said. "Easy kiddo. No leering at my girlfriend" Skylar said. "GIRLFRIEND?! You were only gone three days!" Selah yelled. "One thing led to another..." Skylar shrugged. "I knew I should've gone" Selah said. "Nope. Nasty shit went down. Kidnapping, interrogation, a nuclear bomb" Skylar said nonchalantly. "Stop teasing her Sky. Why don't you two get settled in?" Faith said. Skylar went to walk out of the mansion. "Nuh uh. There's a vacant room down the hall there you two can use" Faith said. "...you sure?" Skylar asked. Faith gave her a look. "Okay. Gift horse and all that" Skylar said. Faith sat next to Selah. "Controller 2" Faith mumbled as she ate pizza. Selah smiled handing her the second controller.

That evening...

"I still can't get the images out if my mind. An entire shrunken city! Shrunken small enough even I'm a giantess" Hana said looking out of the window of their bedroom. "Believe it. It's pretty isn't it? All those lights like the stars fell out of the sky and landed there" Skylar said. "It felt...weird to have so many stare at me. They even tried to clean my feet" Hana said blushing. "They've been accustomed to a kind of treatment. You get used to it and why not stare? You're breathtaking" Skylar told her. "Flattery" Hana smiled. Skylar grabbed her from the windowsill and pulled her panties down. "Hmmm...breathtaking alright" she said taking a long lick of her tiny ass. Hana squealed and wriggled in her grip. Skylar slipped off her nightclothes and began sucking her into her mouth. The giantess masturbated as she sucked the koonago to orgasm. "Holy shit you're delicious" Skylar huffed coming down. She kissed the koonago on her little lips. "Tomorrow it can be your turn" she winked. Hana suddenly began crying. "Crap! I wasn't too rough in you was I?" Skylar asked scared. "No. I'm just so happy. Before....before I was planning to commit seppuku when you left but..."

Skylar felt a chill in her soul. She didn't know Japanese, but she knew the word for ritual suicide. Skylar shrunk down and held her close. Hana could feel her shaking. "I've said smithing I shouldn't have. Please forgive me" Hana muttered. "No! Don't you ever feel you have to hide things from me!  Not ever! Talk to me. I don't give damn if it's something as trivial as messy hair. Just talk to me" Skylar said sniffling. Hana knew when someone had a hard life. She hadn't asked out of respect but now she felt compelled to know. "Who has hurt you?" Hana asked. The irony of Hana asking the same question she had been asked just two days ago was not lost on her. Skylar looked into those soft almond eyes. "A lot of people" she replied. "Tell me everything" Hana said. It was almost till dawn before Skylar finished telling her everything. Skylar grew back to human size exhausted and fell asleep. Hana stayed awake for a few minutes longer coming to terms what had been told to her.

It came as a shock to the girl that the person she loved had done such terrible things. Hana paced around at the foot of the bed as to not disturb her. She wasn't expecting Skylar to be perfect but a killer of innocents? Hana looked at her giant sleeping form from the sole of her left foot. "She doesn't look at all capable of that. Then again, no one would think a koonago capable of trying to nuke people either. Even I have surprised myself by demanding the princess to called by a different name" Hana thought. Hana thought back to her old life. How many times had the young master of the home she served demanded sexual favors? Enough to know not to bend down for anything in his presence. Enough to wear socks as he took liberties with her feet. Hana was as much as sex slave as a servant back then. Skylar said her master, Odin, had been demanding and cruel at times. She had told her that he made her have an abortion but there was something else she had not shared with anyone, not even Faith. Odin performed the abortion himself in the cruelest way imaginable. He tore the month-old fetus from her womb leaving the girl barren for life.

Hana was left speechless. She had seen cruelty but that...that was insane. It was why Skylar wasn't worried about getting pregnant when the onmyoji was raping her. It was also why Skylar had not inserted the koonago into her pussy. She was ashamed of the internal scarring. She thought it made her...broken. When she replayed the conversation in her mind, she saw how foolish her worries were. She was the slave of a fucking God. As if she had a choice in any matter. Hana rubbed her giant arch feeling so sorry of the giantess she had fallen in love with. "Nanashi don't cry. I can get more ice cream" Skylar muttered in her sleep. "My name is Hana dummy" Hana chuckled punching her warm arch. Skylar's toes twitched slightly. Hana kissed her foot and went back to her pillow to get some rest. She fell asleep more content than she had for a very long time as she knew her life was her own from now on.

"Thanks for putting this all together guys" Faith said taking a breather. "Birthdays are always special. Especially the first one" Marco said. "Selah! Make sure they don't choke!" Faith yelled looking down at her plate on the coffee table. "I won't!" the shrunken girl yelled up to her giantess mother. "They really took to her fast" Alicia said sitting next to Faith. "Yeah they did. She's been bugging me all week about coming here to meet her new siblings. And look at her. Playing in the frosting right with them" Faith chuckled. Faith enjoyed the much-needed downtime. It had been Three weeks since the incident in Japan and one of those weeks was spent healing the lasting damage of radiation poisoning. Her thoughts lingered on what Umiko had told her. She told her that Lilith wanted something from her. Something she had or would have soon. Her ultimate goal still unknown. Skylar and Hana were hitting it off great. Spending the day fixing the city and spending the night taking turns using each other for pleasure. Even The hard feelings within the rank of Valkyrie seemed to ebb as Skylar told them how they saved Tokyo from being nuked. It weighed of Faith being away from the others though. Theo being a smug teenager, Cordelia smelling like fresh roses every morning. Marco smelling like espresso and franensece. Lucy smiling and laughing watching old episodes of Friends. Alicia. Her smile, her heartbeat, the smell of her feet. And then her kids Matty and Grace. Matty had her father's eyes. His male borrower scent missed so much she nearly squeezed him when she held him today. And Grace. Those soft eyes that belonged to Markus. Her giggle when Faith tickled her tiny foot. They were very worried when Faith rocked back and forth breastfeeding them with a look of hysterical relief. 

Faith calmed down as the hours passed. She opened up about her worries, her adventures, her inner feelings. "I'm not going to play her game. I'm Through hunting down gods and goddesses" Faith said. Dru, who had been silent the entire time spoke. "I don't think it works that way. She's not going to just let you go back to your old life. Even immortal, gods and goddesses have little patience. You don't go to her; she will come to you" she said. "Mom, today is not the day for this" Marco said. "Son, they do not care about birthdays, anniversaries, or any of life's celebrations. We should not stand on our laurels thinking they do" Dru said. Cordelia coughed. "Present company excluded of course" Dru said. "I have few plans in motion myself. I left Hikari with a powerful artifact and a name of a man who can really put it to use. And then there are other things..." Faith said. "Such as?" Lucy asked putting down a crumb of cake. "Rather not say. You could be compromised. I mean anyone could be!" Faith said realizing what she said to whom. Lucy lowered her head remembering how Ishtar remotely made Lucy attack Theo and nearly Faith. Faith regretted answering her question. "I see your point" Lucy muttered. Faith reached out, plucked her up, and brought her to her face. Faith wrapped her lips around her hands and sucked away every trace of cake and frosting. "It wasn't my intention to hurt your feelings. The more I love you, the more vulnerable that makes me against you" Faith said to her.

"It is a fear you have every night" Mary said entering the room. "Every night?" Alicia asked. "She uses my power to reshape her nightmares. I must warn you Faith, in the realm of dreams and nightmares, it is auspicious to have a reoccurring one. It blurs the lines between dream...and prophecy" she said quietly. "What have you dreamed?" Alicia asked. "...the end of the world. Me standing as a colossal giantess in every major city on earth soaked in the blood of millions as everything around me burns. Even The fucking sky" she muttered. "My God and you were keeping this to yourself?!" Alicia asked. "I figured it was stress and my own fears creeping in" Faith said. "And it could be. Dreams are a mirror of our innermost fears and desires" Mary said. "That's not what you said before" Alicia spat. "If you're looking for logic from a dream then you are a fool. Unless you really do think a cheeseburger will eat you" Mary snickered. "Enough. Faith, go get some more wine to ease your nerves. Mary, sit down, eat cake, and shut up. Alicia, have faith that it is only her own fears" Cordelia said. Each one did as told.

Lucy and Theo returned to their room to look after The Three babies. Marco left for Rome on business but would return late that night. Dru kept to herself in his room which Faith was told to be more frequent. Faith was out on the garden and asked to be left alone for a while. So who was left was Alicia, Selah, and Cordelia. "Barring the apocalypse stuff, today was a great day" Cordelia said putting the cake away.  "I guess" Alicia muttered looking at her toes. "Mom will be okay. You'll see" Selah said glancing up at the giantess from her seat on the sofa. Alicia gave a slight glare at her which made the girl wince. "Or I can keep my mouth shut from now on" she said softly. "I didn't mean to give you the stink eye" Alicia apologized. "I understand. Not like you asked for my opinion or me being your daughter..." Selah said. "Whoa kiddo. Yeah I was...slightly annoyed being left out of the loop but I'm no stranger to this family growing. Come here. Time for cuddles" she said grabbing her and rubbing the girl up and down her left cheek. 

Alicia snickered as the girl giggled. Alicia could smell the traces of frosting on her and gave her a lick across the face. "You're not just adorable but yummy too" Alicia said licking her lips. "Maybe I'll have one quick nibble" she giggled. "Nuh uh!" Selah said shrinking Alicia where she sat. "Whoa!" Alicia yelled shocked at the ease and speed of how she was shrunk. "Now you can't eat me" Selah snickered. Both laughed until Selah hugged her tightly. "I see why mom loves you. You make people feel better" Selah whispered. "I see you two getting along better" Cordelia said sitting next to the shrunken two. "She tricked me by being cute" Alicia huffed. Selah stared up at the giantess. "Wow. You're super pretty. I get how people think you're a goddess. Cordelia blushed at the comment. "I see what you mean Alicia. You're pretty too Selah" Cordelia said. "Maybe. I wish I had nice tits like you two. I'm still kinda flat as well as my ass" The girl sighed. "All things come in time" The goddess told her as she propped her feet close to them. "Easy for you to say. I bet you're were smoking hot the day you were born. Between mom, Skylar, The Valkyries, and now Hana, I feel like a pear in a room full of oranges. I don't even have hair down there yet" Selah said. "Have you discussed this with Faith?" Cordelia asked. "Yeah and she says I'm pretty already. She pets me, licks me, sucks my toes, and says she loves me more than the moon. But well how can I compare? You're a breathtaking goddess and you're a pop idol that looks like she stepped out of a fashion mag" Selah said.

"I didn't always look like this. When I was your age, I had mosquito tits, an ass as flat as a chess board, acne, and monkey feet. Serious. My toes looked like I could use them to peel a banana. OOK OOK OOK!" Alicia said acting like a monkey. Selah smiled a little. But when I hit a few growth spurts, I changed. My body grew and my feet weren't so gangly. Tits went from AA to B cup in a year. Butt got bigger but I couldn't don't anything about the crack in it" Alicia sighed. Selah giggled. Cordelia fashioned a flower seed out of thin air. "Look. An ugly seed but give it time and will become a beautiful flower" she said growing and aging it into a pretty rose. "I hear ya but waiting takes too long. I want to be fucking sexy now!" Selah said stamping her tiny foot. "But rushing it ruins so much" Cordelia said. She picked the girl up into her hand. "It's not always a good thing being pretty" she told her petting her cheek. "I know. I lost some friends because they were pretty. Mom put a stop to it" Selah said hopping down, growing herself, and heading to her room. "What was that about?" Cordelia asked.

"She comes from a city where it was common for humans to be...culled. We all had our particular tastes, but Aquarius delighted in eating cute girls the most. I'm surprised Selah didn't say something to me about what I had done" Alicia said. "Maybe she didn't know? You did say you rarely visited that island" Cordelia said. "She knew. I saw the look on her face when she saw me today. It's a little hard to forget a scale wise 1,000 ft. giantess in your town" she said. "But you never seen her before?" Cordelia asked. "You keep track of every ant in that garden?" Alicia asked. Cordelia narrowed her eyes. "That's not...Cordelia, what I'm saying is when your victim is a tiny thing, you don't have the burden of remembering faces. That's not what keeps me up at night is trying to remember them. It's how many I don't remember" she said. "You said each one of you had a certain taste. What was yours?" Cordelia asked. "Teenage boys. The cuter the better. I would drain them dry until they cried out in pain. Covering their erections because they hurt. Those died slowly under my bare foot. Those that hung on, they lived longer. Sometimes days. This one boy, he cried so hard. Not because of the sexual torture. But because he ran out of cum. He was devoted to my happiness. And I... I killed him...drowned him inside..." Alicia stammered. Cordelia put her hand on her shoulder. "Why does she love me?" Alicia whimpered. "Because that girl knows something adults have a hard time understanding. People change" Cordelia answered.

"Lira for your thoughts?" Dru asked sitting next to Faith. "Jesus you scared me. I'm just sitting here jotting down some notes" Faith said kicking her feet in the fountain water. "Your favorite spot?" Dru asked. "Yeah" she replied. "It's mine too. I lost my virginity here" The small woman chuckled. "Doesn't look comfortable" Faith said shifting her butt on the stone rim. "Well, we were a bit smaller. Alberto liked to indulge in his shrinking magic from time to time" she said. "Your husband shrunk you two and had sex in the fountain?" Faith asked. "He was a cardinal, but he did have a wild side" she said. "You don't talk much about your husband? I take it you married into the family?" Faith asked. "Yes. I was a wine maker apprentice when Alberto met me" she replied. "How old were you?" Faith asked. "15. He visited my father's villa in the hills of Florence while he was in seminary. He had heard our wine was the best in Italy. My father gave him a tour of the vineyard and then the winery where he found me stomping grapes. I looked horrid" Dru said smiling.

"He told introduced himself and I found his smile...appealing. I knew he was a man of the cloth, so I shelved any feelings at the time. When he left I thought that was the end of it but each week he would come for a bottle requesting that I had mashed the grapes. One day while I was mashing them I fell and hit my head on the edge of a plow. I was hurt very badly. Alberto took my hand and told me softly that I would be okay. He healed me and in turn revealed an age-old secret. Magic was real. He sat with me into the evening telling me the legacy of his family. "Why tell me such secrets" I asked him. "Because I have chosen you as my wife" he replied smiling. "I thought he was a fool, a womanizer as men of the cloth must be chaste. No, he explained that the family of a Campioné are allowed to marry and have children in order to pass down the duty given by the pope. Knowing that, I asked him for time to make my decision. After all I was still a teenager" she said.

"But you did say yes" Faith said. "Well, it did take some convincing. Shrinking himself down and plucking grape seeds from between my toes for one. Arranging a picnic in a rabbit burrow for another. He was very flashy with his shrinking magics. By then my parents had been told enough that Alberto was very special in the church and was allowed to marry. It only took one look at his villa to fully convince them. We were married by the pope himself a week after my 16th birthday and in this fountain, our marriage was concentrated" she said. "Fancy way of saying we shrunk down and fucked on a lily pad" Faith snickered. Dru blushed. "He sounds like he was wonderful" Faith said. "His passion for me equaled his passion in Christ. There was nothing he would not do for me. When I was heavy with Marco, he doted on my every need. He rubbed my feet and sucked my toes when they were swollen. Drink my milk when my breasts were bloated. Oftentimes he would shrink down and just lay on my belly for hours on end sleeping. One time he went to Milan to gather special herbs for my skin. He made a tea out of them, shrank me, and had me sit in his favorite coffee cup. "Delicious" he smirked as he drank it after I got out. He was so goofy I..." she said before stopping.

Dru burst into tears sobbing. Faith cuddled her to her check to soothe the tiny woman. When he sobbing had died down, Dru looked dead into the giantess' eyes. "Please let me go" Dru begged. "I'm sorry. I'll put you down" Faith said. "That's not what I meant. I want you to release my soul" she said. "Dru..." Faith muttered. "You don't know what it's like for me. I can't eat or drink. I don't feel hot or cold. I feel without feeling. I can feel the skin of your palm under my bare feet but not a hint of warmth. I can't even sleep Faith. It's like torture. I want to be with my husband" she pleaded. Faith sighed. "I did not mean to add to your problems especially today" Dru said. "Have you spoke to Marco about this?" Faith asked. "He would not see this as clearly as you would" she replied. "I'll let you go but Marco must be told Dru before I do" Faith said. Dru nodded. She left Faith alone who went back to her phone. She copied what she had written and sent it off as email to Hikari.

It was well past midnight when Faith came to bed. Matty and Grace had been fed by her and rocked to sleep in their room as Selah slept on her pillow. Alicia climbed into bed around the same time as Faith. "She wants to be beautiful so badly" Alicia said looking at Selah. "I know. I've caught her dabbling with glamors. She's and extremely powerful Mage in her own right but she rushes everything, including growing up" Faith said. "Can you truly blame her knowing where she comes from? She lived by a set of rules since she was born, and you threw them out the window. And now you surrounded her with fashion models. Yeah, she feels inadequate and I'm sure she's begging you to fuck her" Alicia said sharply. "I refused. I will lick her, suck her feet and toes, cuddle her but not that. Not yet anyway. How can I change their minds if I cannot change my own daughter's?" Faith asked. "How can you change their minds if you don't even have the answer to some of their most troublesome problems? The zodiac culled them for a reason Faith. In the course of a month, there are about 11 natural deaths and 13 births. Eventually overpopulation would take over if unchecked. You don't want to kill them, and you don't want to release them into the world. At this rate, the population will double in 20 years. And that's not counting the problem with of them paring off young. Teenagers fuck like jackrabbits" Alicia said.

"You honestly think that on my mind right now? Something 10...20 years down the road? My concern is what is going to happen next week and the week after that and then the week after that" Faith said sharply. Selah shifted in her sleep. Faith sighed and used her fingernail to smooth out Selah's nightgown. Faith sniffled a little. "She's beautiful even if she doesn't believe it" Alicia said softly. Her finger moved the stands of hair out of her tiny face. Faith leaned in and sniffed her. "There is some merit to what you're saying though. As we speak, this tiny girl is ovulating. It's unrealistic to suppress her sex drive" Faith said softly. "It's not often you have that look in your eyes. That truly peaceful look" Alicia said. "Odin killed her. Literally used lightning to stop her heart. I was so angry my magic changed color. There's losing someone and then there's someone taken from you. It's clear which one hurts more but complicating it was the fact like you, she's soul bonded to me. I felt a part of me just...wink out of this world" Faith said. Alicia bent down resting her head inches from Selah. "She's beyond special. She opened her heart to me even though she knew what I had previously done. It takes kindness beyond measure to see beyond that" Alicia said. Alicia moved her head and planted a gentle kiss on the right sole of the shrunken teen. Faith did the same giggling. Selah shifted in her sleep as their giant lips tickled her bare feet. Faith closed her eyes and let go of her growth spell to sleep. Alicia now the sole giantess in the bed watched over her shrunken wife and stepdaughter before going to sleep as well. 

A few hours later...

Alicia and Selah were woken by the frantic screaming of Faith. "Faith wake up!" Alicia yelled poking her. Faith bolted up panting in a cold sweat. He looked up and Alicia and then at Selah. Selah went to touch her. "Mom? It's okay. It was just a dream" Selah said touching her shoulder. Faith gasped and scooted back. She sat there hysterically crying. "Jesus Christ she never said it was this bad!" Alicia yelled. "It wasn't! Some moaning but that was it!" Selah said scooting towards Faith. Faith cried harder scooting back further. "Why? What are you scared of me?" Selah asked upset. "Selah scoot back. She's not in her right mind. She's stuck on borrower fight or flight instinct right now" Alicia said placing her hands around Faith. Faith looked terrified as the hands came together trapping her movement. Faith wriggled in her hands crying and screeching as Alicia carried her to the babies crib. "It's okay. Smell them" Alicia said after placing her before her kids. Faith was wary but sniffed the astoundingly still sleeping babies. She calmed down. Faith nearly fell off the nightstand as her adrenaline crash kicked in. "Alicia? Selah? What...what happened?" Faith asked.

"We were hoping you could tell us" Alicia replied now holding her. Faith closed her eyes trying to steady her racing heartbeat. "I... I was having a nightmare again. That much I remember" she replied. Mary entered the room nursing a bloody nose. "A very potent one at that. The damn feedback did this" Mary said. "You're Morpheus, goddess of dreams. You're telling me a bad dream gave you a bloody nose?" Alicia asked her. "Normally no but me and her are spiritually linked. There are advantages and disadvantages to that" she replied. "You can that much you can remember. You can't remember what the dream was?" Alicia asked Faith. She shook her head. "Your mind must've blocked it out as a self-defense mechanism. That's not uncommon for severe nightmares" Mary said. "She woke up fucking feral. This goes beyond nightmares" Alicia said. "And she was more frightened of me than the giantess here" Selah said. "Really? Maybe her nightmare had something to do with you?" Mary said. "What? I'd never hurt her!" Selah yelled. "If this is a vision, it might be crucial for her to see it again" Mary said scratching her cheek. "You can't be serious. She woke up screeching out of her mind with fear. She peed the bed for Christ sakes" Alicia said. "No. I... I need to know, or I'll never be able to sleep again" Faith said. "Very well lie down on the pillow" Mary said sitting down.

Mary placed two fingers on either side of Faith's small head. "I need you to concentrate. Count back in your mind. One...two...Three...four..." Mary counted as Faith relaxed. "Hypnosis?" Alicia asked. "Of a kind taught to me by my brother Hypnos. Now quiet" Mary said. Mary tapped into her mind. "Faith? Can you still hear me?" she asked. "Yes..." Faith replied softly. "Now concentrate on your most recent dream. Imagining yourself opening a door and walking into a movie theatre" she said. Faith nodded. Within her mind, she was in a movie theatre. The snap scrunch sound under her sandals was the sticky floor. She found herself alone in the auditorium. She found a random seat and sat down. The lights dimmed and the clicking of a movie projector began.

"The following dream is rated R for violent imagery" the screen said. Faith wriggled in her chair. "Stay calm. Keep watching" Mary said. "My Worst Fear" starring Faith McCormick as herself. Alicia McCormick as herself. And Selah McCormick as herself. Guest starring in the role of Lilith is...Lilith" the narrator said. "This place, it's beautiful. It's nothing like I've ever seen. The air, the trees, grass, everything has an aura of purity to it" Alicia said. Faith took her sandals off and felt the grass under her bare feet. "It's everywhere. Life energy is saturating the place. Christ I'm getting wet just feeling it between my toes" Faith said slipping her sandals back on. "Mom!" Selah yelled. Faith turned around summoning her sword. "Fuck me that's a tiger!" Alicia yelled as she watched the large cat waking close. Alicia and Selah readied to kill it. "No. I can sense it won't attack us" Faith said lowering her sword. The tiger walked right past them. "It didn't even growl" Selah said. "Focus you two. She's here" Faith said looking up. A woman in red swooped down from the sky landing in front of them.

Faith and Lilith exchanged attacks for the first minute before backing off. "I know you're holding back" Lilith said. "Taking your measure is all. For someone to claim as old as you are, you fight for shit" Faith sneered. "I have a bad habit of playing so my food is all" Lilith said gripping her sword. It shined red and orange as if the blade itself was possessed with fire. Faith watched from her seat in the theatre breathless and not daring to blink as the battle was a blur. Each one piling on speed and strength tearing up the ground with their steps. Faith moved so fast her sandals tore apart. Her heels and toes tearing the pristine grass apart. Finally, Faith delivered a punishing blow blocked by Lilith but slammed her into the dirt. "NOW!" Faith yelled. Alicia and Selah pummeled her with their fiercest magics leaving a smoking crater. Faith as the audience cheering them on. Faith, channeling magics into her sword walked over to Lilith who now naked as her dress was scorched and torn away stood back up. Without missing a beat, Faith attacked her one last time. "CHAIN DESTRUCTION!" Faith yelled as her sword screamed Through the air. Air compressed into a literal ton of pressure, a fine water edge to her sword made up of blood and sweat, lightning channeled Through it, light magic to daze and blind her opponent in the metal, and life magic energy to boost her stamina to swing the blade at sonic speeds. Virtually every Authority under her command in a single decisive stroke.

Lilith was cleaved in two...

"YES!  Faith in the audience screamed. Suddenly, the screen fizzled and went black. "I guess that's...what?" Faith said hearing sound still. "Faith? Faith what's wrong? Ahhhgh!" Alicia yelled. The screen cut back on. "Mom?" Selah said terrified. Faith ran the girl clean Through with the sword. "No... no...no no no no!" Faith muttered in the audience. "Mommy? Why..." Selah muttered before collapsing onto the ground. Faith tried yanking her sword out and yelled in pain as the hilt burned her hand. She glanced at Alicia who was on the ground nursing a slash to the gut. Faith chuckled and the screen went black. 

"NOOOOOOO!" Faith screamed as the connection was broken. Faith turned her head and vomited.  "Well, that was horrific" Mary sighed. "What? What did you see?" Alicia asked Mary.  "She saw herself killing Lilith and then slashing you and stabbing Selah in the stomach with her sword" Mary muttered. "It was a nightmare still feeding on..."

"I COULDN'T CONTROL IT! Don't you get it? Morpheus power works on dreams not prophecies" Faith said. "Tis true. Prophecies were Apollo's domain. I can see them as they straddle the unconscious dreamscape, but I have no sway over them" Mary said. Selah grew herself to human size and suddenly scooped Faith up. She began struggling to almost a panic. "Stop fighting me" Selah said softly. "Mom Alicia? Could you see to the bed while I get mom cleaned up?" Selah asked. Alicia quietly nodded. Selah carried her to the bathroom and ran some hot water in the sink. Faith had stopped wriggling and simply whimpered in her hand as her giantess daughter tested the water. Faith slipped into the warm water and was given a bit of soap and shampoo. Selah watched for a few moments and saw her mother was too shaken to even bathe herself. "I understand mom" she said as she dribbled water over her head. Using her fingers, she shampooed her long brownish black hair. This stuff is supposed to tingle. Is it tingling?" Selah asked. Barely a nod from Faith. Selah gently raised her tiny left arm to soap it up and then the right one.

A little cascade of water to rinse her. "Now hold still" she said raising her legs. Faith gave a slight smile as giant fingers washed her dainty feet. Delicate fingers washing her legs. Selah picked her up and laid her on her stomach in her hand to wash her butt. "Mom? Do you think I'll ever be as pretty as you? Truthfully?" Selah asked rinsing her butt. "If I don't kill you first" Faith whispered. Selah flipped her onto her back and began cleaning her crotch. Faith gasped slightly and breathed hard as the giant finger teased her tiny clit. Faith whimpered a little and Selah stopped. She held her in both hands and stared at her. "Earlier today, I was angry I wasn't as pretty as you and the others, but I see now what's really important. It's being there for someone that needs you. Being cute and pretty doesn't get you that warm feeling of satisfaction that comes from making their day" Selah said. "Now you get it. I knew you would eventually" Faith said smiling a little. "We're these lessons hard for you?" Selah asked.

"I'm still learning them. I may talk like a grownup but I'm still only 14 months old" Faith replied. She shivered a little. Selah cupped her hands cradling her and blew warm breath on her. Selah pulled back slightly feeling Faith kiss her lips. "Sorry. Couldn't resist. I'm a little...vulnerable right now" Faith blushed. Selah planted a soft warm kiss on her little tummy. "I'm always up for kisses mom" Selah chuckled. Selah began kissing every inch of her body. Faith curled her toes on her upper lip as her tender tiny soles were kissed. Shivered as warm breath tickled her pussy. "Not too much! The babies will need some too" Faith said as Selah sucked her left breast into her mouth to drink her sweet milk. Selah let go after a few sucks and then kissed her face. Selah wiped a few tears away with her left hand. "I didn't even love my real mom as much as you" she whispered. To hear that wounded the little borrower. Faith jumped off her hand onto the sink and grew herself to human size. She sat on the edge of the sink and pulled Selah in close. "I need to do something for you. It will hurt, it will be frightening but if what's coming will come, it may be the only way" Faith said seriously looking into her eyes. "What...what do you mean?" Selah asked worried. "Well talk about this tomorrow. I have to...look within myself first to make sure of some things. Off to bed" Faith replied ruffling her hair.

Selah returned to bed followed by Faith. All were relieved as she looked considerably better than before. Selah shrank down to rest, but Faith held her size as she sat upright in bed. "Amazing. She went right to sleep" Alicia said. "She's terrified beyond belief. I can smell it. No surprise the stress made her konk out" Faith said typing on her phone. "Put that away and rest" Alicia said. "I don't feel like sleeping for obvious reasons. I'm making some notes before I begin my meditation" Faith said. "You meditate?" Alicia asked. "When I need to. These godlike powers aren't just plug and play. It takes concentration, purpose, and a clear goal to use them properly. It's not just magics that I inherit. Knowledge too" Faith said. "What kind of knowledge?" Alicia asked curious. "The killing kind. Your brain is a kind of electrical engine. Tiny, very tiny bolts of lightning criss crossing those neurons. With The knowledge of Odin, I can increase the amount of lightning in your brain causing a seizure or turn it completely off. Not to mention the bastard was a gifted Mage. I know how to shrink entire villages because of these funny arcane rune things. I am vastly more powerful than I was before" Faith said. Alicia grew worried.

"But isn't it getting crowded with all those magics in you?" she asked. "No. My body is suited for this. When I gave up Etherion, it was as if...it was like you losing your voice. It felt like a critical part of me was missing. When I began collecting those powers I felt whole again. Don't worry songbird. I'm still me" she said leaning in to kiss her. Alicia laid down and kept her eyes on Faith until sleep took over. Faith sent off what she was writing and put her phone down. The time was 4:33 am and she still had to meditate on a very big decision.

Faith was very much like her father. Extremely gifted when it came to understanding how things worked, how something could work, and why things worked in the first place. Also, she inherited his attention span which Claire once joked was that of a goldfish. Simply put, Faith's mind wandered way too much. Taking lessons for her dad who himself was taught Hikari, Faith began to meditate. The trick was to still her mind by imagining herself in a library. All her random thoughts were books left open on a massive table. One by one she closed the books, and her thoughts became more focused and precise. "Much better" she sighed as she began to walk down imagined rows with bookshelves on each side. "Section O" she whispered as she looked for what she was needed. Each book on the shelf was filled with what knowledge she had learned in her life. "Orgy, orgasm, orifice...." she mused as she passed by books looking at their titles. "Here it is. Odin" she said pulling it from the shelf. Faith sat down and began reading. How long she read even she would not know. "Well, that answers that about Valkyries" she said closing the book. Faith stood up and began walking towards the door, the mental trigger to come out of her meditative hypnotic state. She paused though as what was most precious to her lie near the exit. Entire wings of her mental library devoted to those she loved.

Theirs were much smaller than others. Her babies, Matty and Grace were small because of their young ages and she had not accumulated as many memories. Nevertheless, it gave her a bit of guilt. She had found out she had missed critical things recently. Their first word, their first steps. Faith had paid a price for pushing them away to keep them safe. A price parents would refuse to. Faith left the wing and to its right was Selah's. It was smallest yet, but it was growing much faster than the others. Curious, she chose a random book and opened it. "She hasn't had a nightmare in a week now. I soothed them for a time, getting rid of the real nasty ones but she had to come to terms on her own. I find myself resting my head very close to her tiny body as she sleeps. I can hear her steady heartbeat, rhythmic breathing. She's so pretty I find myself kissing her in her sleep. Her pretty little feet, pinchable cheeks, her long hair. She smells so nice. I find it hard to control myself around her. I see why daddy held off as long as he did before being intimate with me. It was for his sake more than mine. I'd never hurt this beautiful girl, never in a million years but there will come a day when I decide to show her what borrower intimacy is really like. Not the half asssed tickling and kissing stuff. I'm talking about when the taste of her pussy is burned into memory. The feeling of her slipping in and out of me. And when I'm done and she's panting in front of my cunt, she will be mine. Bonded to my soul in a way a borrower parent and her child should be. Yes she's human but she's so much like a borrower she might as well be"

Faith closed the book blushing beet red. It was one of the most intimate thoughts she ever had laid bare. There were no lies to be told in the library. Faith chose the last and most recent book in Selah's wing. "Selah's fingertip is tickling my pussy. She knows sexual stimulation can calm a borrower. Usually, I'd object to her washing me like a kid or toy, but my heart feels like it's been sapped of its strength. It feels good to cum on her finger and I look into those soft eyes. She's drying me and humming some song. She so gentle with me but I can smell fear and worry on her. As my toes are right on the edge of the sink, I think for a moment about jumping to my death. Selah would live, Lilith would be cheated out of whatever she wants from me. My thoughts interrupted by her picking me up. Her breath felt so warm and alive on my skin. And then she said something profound that gave me hope. I decided then to keep fighting but I still feared what could happen to her. It was then I decided to make her a Valkyrie" she read. Faith closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. She was satisfied and ended her meditation. Alicia and Selah were asleep again. The time was 5:35 am. Exhausted, Faith feel asleep and dreamt of nothing.

The next day...

"She still asleep? We need to talk to her" Marco said to Alicia. "You'll have to wait. She didn't fall asleep until about maybe 5:30 or so. She had another nightmare. Far worse than he others" Alicia said. "How worse?" Theo asked as he played with his child. "She dreamed of killing Selah. It drove her temporarily mad" Mary replied reading a book. They looked towards the direction of her bedroom. "She not crazy anymore" Selah said interjecting. "Still though" Cordelia said. "Look. We've been over this and you guys aren't helping her. Let mom be mom" she said playing with Matty. "Our discussion can wait" Dru said.  "I take it you spoke to Marco Dru?" Faith said as she left the bedroom. She walked past them stark naked. "Aren't you cold?" Lucy asked. "A little but maybe you can warm me up? We haven't been close since I visited" Faith smirked after bending down to kiss the tiny woman. Lucy blushed. "I take it you feel better" Alicia said. "Better than yesterday. Shocking how good you can sleep without the apocalypse or murder in your dreams. Whose dick or pussy do I have to suck to get fresh coffee around here?" she huffed looking in the cupboard. 

Cordelia pointed to the pantry. Faith smiled finding some grounds to brew. "Selah? Would you be interested in becoming a Valkyrie?" she asked as she waited for the coffee to finish. "Like Sky?" Selah asked. "Yep. Stronger, faster, more magic control. Nifty sword too" Faith replied. "ABSOLUTELY!" Selah yelled. Faith nodded as the pot finished brewing. "Slow down. You told me that Odin tried on her and killed her" Alicia said. "True. It involves etching runes on her very soul. To draw it out I have to kill her...medically" Faith said. "But he failed and was the Norse king shit!" Alicia said. "It failed because Selah has been bonded to a part of my soul. Spiritually, I had already laid claim" Faith said. "Still crazy. Got it. Bed rest for you" Alicia said pushing on her back. "I'm not crazy. I spent a great deal of insight on the matter last night as I meditated. I'm positive if I do it it will work. It's The best option" Faith said. "Best option is to kill her now and hope this works?!  Alicia asked. "Best option as she has a chance of surviving me if I do kill her in that garden!" Faith yelled as she trembled. Alicia grew quiet. "I said I'd do it. My life my choice" Selah said. "Matter is closed" Faith said sternly as she sipped her coffee.

"It better than Plan B" she said softly. "What's Plan B?" Marco asked. Faith did not answer and looked down at her feet. "No. No, you will be damned to hell for it!" he yelled. "Then you can see this is no random thought of mine. I'm hiding it but I'm utterly terrified. You don't know what it's like to wonder everyday if your world will end by the end of it. And when I mean world, I mean what's in this room right here and now. Marco, you opened your home to me. Treated me with respect and compassion. Cordelia, you're a goddess and you never used your power to hurt others. You should be the goddess of love instead of plants. Dru, your soul is connected to me and I felt every bit of your pain and loneliness. Theo, you complicated little squirt. You walk a fine line everyday between loving me and avoiding hurting my feelings. Lucy, I love you so much I made you my sister. One of the best decisions I ever made was hiring you to be my nanny. You remind me of what being a borrower is. Living in a hostile world and never giving up. Selah, you remind me so much of myself it's scary. There are times I have to control how much I love you for fear of frightening you. And Alicia, till death do us part. Never once have you taken your wedding ring off. You don't need that gun anymore. You won't be that person again. Too many people love you for you to fall into darkness again" Faith said softly. Mary looked at them for just a moment.

"Haven't forgotten about you Morpheus. You were used, threatened, treated poorly but never did you give into despair. Have you ever known a life of peace and contentment before you came here? A place where nobody expects you to do things for them? Where you can be a woman not defined by your role but by your character?" she asked. "...no" The goddess said closing her book. Faith put down her cup and sat next to the woman on the sofa. Faith glanced at the book in her hands. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Good book. Voldemort is an asshole" she smiled. Mary wiped tears from her eyes. "Big asshole" Mary said. Faith hugged her tightly. "When do we begin?" Selah asked. "After I eat. This will be as trying for me as you. I'll need every ounce of stamina" she replied. They were unusually quiet as she ate. Once done, Faith went into her bedroom and returned wearing an odd assortment of Norse clothing. "What are you dressed as?" Alicia asked. "A shield maiden" Faith replied softly. "Don't Vikings wear those horned helmets?" Lucy asked. "No. That's some opera bullshit. This clothing helps me get into the mood" she said. "And the black eyeliner?" Alicia asked. "Valkyries aren't just warriors. They were angels of death" she said flatly.

Faith touched Selah's shoulder. "You ready?" Faith asked. Selah closed her eyes and prayed in Hebrew. "I am now" she replied. Faith knew she was frightened. Her heart was racing. "Take off all your clothes and lie flat on the floor" she said. Selah stripped naked and laid down. The cold floor chilled her body. Her bare ass clenched. Faith kneeled before her and with a finger began writing runes around her body. "I don't remember this last time" Selah said. "What Odin did was impart a very small portion of his power...or tried to. He was a selfish bastard by limiting his servants. What I'm doing is pouring a lot of power into you, a good deal of wisdom, a feel of combat. A holy warrior. Combined with your own magics, you'll be a force to be reckoned with" Faith said still writing. "Sounds too good to be true. Killing her aside, what's the cost? The real cost?" Cordelia asked skeptical. "I suspected the cost when I learned the ages of some of The Valkyries. Not a damn one looks their true age. Their height, eyes, lips, look their age but their muscles, breasts, asses, hands, and bare feet look much older. Selah noticed it too. She said they looked like supermodels. The real cost of being a Valkyrie is the loss of your childhood. You lose those precious years of growth spurts and becoming a young woman."

"Selah I'm so sorry for what I'm taking from you. Seeing your titties grow. Seeing if the carpet will match the drapes. Those pretty feet growing. Seeing you become who you are under your own merit" Faith said softly. She paused writing. Selah held her hand. "Which wouldn't have happened if you didn't save me. Easy come easy go" Selah shrugged smiling. Faith shed tears for her as she starting writing again. Once she was done, she touched her forehead. "Just locking your size spell in place" Faith said seeing the girl tense up. Faith activated the spell. The runes lit up and circled her. "Alicia. Get your phone out and turn the stopwatch app on when I tell you" she said. Alicia did. "You're on a time limit?" Marco asked. "I have to stop her heart to draw out her soul. That means stopping the flow of oxygen to her brain. I got 4 minutes 30 seconds before brain damage sets in" Faith said. Faith charged her fingers with concentrated lightning. Faith lowered her hand. "Love you mom. Just in case something happens..." Selah said shaking. Faith covered her mouth with her free hand not to sob as her index finger touched one side of her heart and her thumb the other. Faith fired off an arc of lightning between her fingers. Selah jerked hard. Her toes clenched tight. A gasp and then eyes frozen wide. Her mouth agape. Her heart still. Selah was dead.

"Start the timer" Faith croaked. Faith drew out her soul after 15 seconds. "It's beautiful. My god" Marco whispered crossing himself. "Those two lights look like they're chasing one another" Lucy said. "One is a fragment of my soul. The other is her soul" Faith said literally holding Selah's unique soul in her hands. Faith trembled at its grace. It seemed to weight almost nothing and yet weighed as much as the world. Warm like a blanket. Soft as a summer breeze. The love and joy radiated made the woman feel small. It was a love so pure one could get lost in. "Faith. 3 minutes 30 seconds" Alicia said. Faith nodded and began etching runes. Her hand gripped Selah's light and held it between her fingers. Like a master jeweler, Faith etched a magic rune into its shining form. It was not easy by any means. The soul of a young girl was as fragile as one would think. Runes tinier than what human eyes could see written in the guise of a contract. "2 minutes 30 seconds" Alicia said. Faith kept writing as sweat poured from her forehead. She had to remind herself to breathe. "1 minute 30 seconds" Alicia said. Faith nodded and gently placed the light of her soul back into place. A gentle nudge and it began to spin once again like two teeny little stars in orbit. "Now The hard part" Faith muttered. Faith began to shove her soul back into her body.

It was an unnatural thing as a soul does not longer inside one who is dead. Faith held it down in her chest as she charged up her fingers. "1 minute" Alicia warned. Faith shocked her heart. Nothing. "Come on now" Faith muttered shocking her again. Her body jerked hard. Toes clenched. Selah peed on the floor. Faith shocked her once again. Same thing. "30 seconds" Alicia whimpered. Again, and again. Faith grew desperate. She bent down and roughly kissed her. It was a Hail Mary for sure. As she kissed her, Faith breathed a spark of her own life essence into her body hoping the fragment of her soul would tether to it. Faith felt it as it did as it no longer struggled to free form her body. "10 seconds!" Alicia yelled. Faith shrunk down so fast her head spun and stood on the budding left breast of her dead giantess daughter. Faith was barely the size of an ant as she stood on the pale flesh. Her feet slightly sinking into it. Faith glanced at Selah's face and saw her lips were now blue, her skin very pale. She knew her time was up. This was it. Her last chance. Faith concentrated lightning into her own body. The giant and giantesses around her saw a spark of bluish light crackling and then a snap crack of thunder. Selah jerked hard making Faith tumble. Faith rolled down her tummy stopping near her belly button. Her abdomen rose and fell. Faith wearily looked up and saw the giantess gasping for air. Faith grew to her borrower size dazed. "Oh thank god..." she said before collapsing.

"Momma Alicia? Where's Faith?" Selah weakly asked. Alicia showed Faith to her in her palm. "Mom...I saw...I felt your hands..." Selah said petting her body. Faith held her fingertip before kissing it. Before their very eyes, Selah's body changed. Her A cup breasts grew into C cups. Her pubic hair became a bush, her hands and feet grew with the rest of her body. Her dark straight hair became kinky and wavy. Her skin free of acne and blemishes. Faith wept softly as her beauty and the fact she was right. She had stolen years off her life. She took comfort in the fact she was alive though. Weary and exhausted, Faith did not want to go back to her bedroom but rested among them. Selah shrank herself down and doted on her. Rubbing her feet, smoothing out a cloth for a blanket, propping herself up so she could breastfeed her kids. After a nice dinner, Faith was feeling considerably better. "Now about you two. Marco, do you understand where your mother is coming from?" Faith asked him. "Yeah, yeah I do. I'm not blind. I can see how miserable she is" he said softly. "What's going on?" Lucy asked them. "Dru asked me to release her soul" she replied. "Won't she like...disappear?" Theo asked. "From this world yes" Faith replied. The room grew quiet. 

"Where would she go?" Lucy asked. "The afterlife I'd imagine" Faith said. "If there is such a thing" Lucy scoffed. Marco looked at her angrily. "Marco, our kind are atheists. There are some exceptions but by and large they don't believe in gods, goddesses, or an afterlife. Don't take it personally" she said. Marco softened his gaze. "Lucy, there is an afterlife. My father confirmed that once. Now is it like a Christian heaven I can't say but there is something after all this. If souls exist, and we all saw they do, then they have to want to go somewhere when we die. Our world is too well made to squander such a precious thing" Faith said. "Well said" Cordelia said. "If you two are in agreement, then I'll do it" Faith said. "Just give us some time alone" Dru said. Faith nodded and watched them both leave the room.

"I remember the time we all went hiking on the mountain. You know when dad shrunk us down so we could rough it like squirrels" Marco said. "I remember. We had to walk barefoot because the morning dew made the ground soggy" Dru said. "And there was the time dad began teaching me symbology. I accidentally set fire to the rose bush. Cordelia was so pissed" Marco chuckled. "Yeah you scorched those flowers good, but we were proud. You took to it like a duck to water" she said.  Marco took out a photo album and looked at it with his mother sitting on his shoulder. They exchanged more memories until Marco said something. "Mom. I'm planning to make her my wife" he said softly. Dru knew the weight of that. "What will you do when they object? Strip you of Cardinal?" she asked. "Keep on smiling. I know what's really important" he replied. "Then I know me, and your father did right by you. It's time son" she said. Marco silently nodded.

They returned to the living room where they were all gathered. "Cordi. I can't thank you enough for raising him when we couldn't. You were not a servant but a proud daughter of The House Alighieri. God smiled when all of you entered our home. Borrower, goddess, human. We are one in spirit" she said. They began to softly cry. Faith took her off his shocked and sat down. Dru could feel her hands trembling. "Please...let me go home" Dru begged. Faith closed her eyes. Dru began to shimmer, her form lost shape, and soon she was nothing but a spark of brilliant light. She drifted off her hands and slowly hovered over each person in the room. They all cried and laughed as her soul said something directly into their hearts. Something meant only for them to hear. Her soul hovered over Cordelia who was so moved forgot her mortal appearance exposing her goddess form. Cordelia silently nodded and forced herself to smile. Marco was the next and last one to be given Dru's goodbye. He stood there unmoving for a full minute which is longer than you'd suspect. And then a smile crept onto his face and he broke out in laughter. Dru's soul left him and fluttered out of the cracked window to disappear into the night sky like a reverse shooting star. Drusilla was finally free.

Marco laughter faded as he fell to his knees crying softly. Cordelia came to his side. Hurt seeing him in such a way, she shrunk him, picked him up, and stood up. "We're...going to retire early. Thanks, Faith. It was the right thing to do" she said. Faith silently nodded and watched them leave. Faith sat down and burning her head in her hands. "This trip is not turning out as intended" she muttered. Selah sat next to her. "Maybe not but I don't think anyone he is regretting we came" Selah said. "You're just saying that because you got nice tits out of the deal" Faith smirked. "They are nice tits. Can't wait to show them off to...uhhhgh..." Selah groaned. "Damn. Thought this might be an issue. Let go of the transformation. Just release it like a cramped muscle" she said. Selah groaned deeper until her body reverted to its normal appearance. "What...what the hell mom?!" Selah gasped. "Your body isn't used to that much power yet. When I made you a Valkyrie, I wasn't skimping on the power. You're leagues above Skylar. Be patient. Soon you will be able to contain it without causing you pain" she said. Selah sighed and nodded. They all say watching tv until they went to bed leaving Faith alone with Lucy. Lucy sat on the windowsill staring at the garden. "Thought you'd gone to bed by now" Faith said looking at the time. It was well past midnight. "Could've said the same about you. Today was off the chain" Lucy said. "Was worried about everyone so I stayed up" Faith said standing behind her. Lucy shivered.

"Come here" Faith said scooping her into her hand. Faith sat down on the sofa. "What's bothering you? You got that million miles away look" Faith asked. "Belief. I'm trying to imagine what it's like to believe in something you can't see. I can't imagine losing my mother twice but looking at Marco, it didn't break him. Is that the power of belief?" Lucy asked. "Maybe" Faith replied. "When my parents were sold off I didn't curse a God or pray to one. When my first mate and child was sold off I didn't believe in seeing them again in some afterlife. Why would we? What kind of God makes people like us in a world designed to kill us? But, if there are souls and an afterlife, there has to be one. I mean an actual goddess baked us a cake yesterday" Lucy said. Faith sighed and began rubbing her bare tummy. "Am I supposed to believe in a god? Would I be a better person if I did? A stronger person?" Lucy asked. "I'm not qualified to answer those questions Lucy" Faith said. "You kidding me? You're uniquely qualified" Lucy said. Faith rubbed her tiny cheek with her hand. "I can only answer from my experience. By no means do I talk for everyone or presume I have the right answer"

"Marco is a Catholic. Alicia is a Baptist. Selah is Jewish. My friends Ahmed and Aly are Muslims. Each one of them believes in something different. Does it give them strength? Yeah, yeah I think it does" she said. "So, I should believe in something" Lucy said. Faith's fingers moved down to her tiny feet. "That's not what I'm saying. They made choices in what they believe. They were born into it, but they chose to keep believing because it was a part of who they are. Belief isn't something that should be mandatory. It's a choice. A companion. Just like you chose your friends, you choose believing in something" Faith said. "So, which one should I believe in?" Lucy asked. Faith looked at her tiny toes curled on her fingertip. "There's really no right or wrong in that. Well, as long as you don't worship evil I guess. I've read a lot in Marco's library and like usual, humans get hung up on the unimportant stuff. What does it matter if a savior was born of God? A prophet had the right words? A people chosen? A pantheon or a singular God? It's the message that counts, not the messenger. Lucy, if you want to believe in the goddess of ice cream, go right ahead. Sacrifice rainbow sprinkles in her name if you want. In the end, it's your choice. Nobody can make it for you, nor should they be allowed to" Faith said.

"In that case I chose you" Lucy said flatly. "I'm no goddess Lucy. I'm the last person you should worship" she said. "You brought your daughter back from the dead. Saved a city from nuclear destruction. Made gods and goddesses piss their pants. You're more than qualified and you said yourself it's my choice" Lucy said sternly. "...in that case you will obey Three important commandments I shall give you. One, don't forget to love yourself. Two, tell me you love me now and then. I really need that sometimes. And her third..." Faith said. "Yeah..." Lucy asked. "I'll tell you the third when the time comes" Faith replied. Lucy smiled and nodded. "While we're talking, there's something I need to discuss with you. Since you're the only other borrower here, there's something I need you to do" she said. "If you need your feet or pussy licked you only have to ask Faith. I know that itch. We all get it" Lucy said to her. "No, not that. In human culture I'd ask this of Alicia as she's my wife, but she won't listen if I ask. Selah is too unstable to listen. Lucy, I need you to plan my funeral" Faith said.

"You fuckin' kidding me?" Lucy asked. "I'm facing the literal mother of all evil and I'm not immortal. These things have to be considered. Alicia doesn't understand our funeral customs and I do wish to be honored as a borrower" Faith said. Lucy looked away from the giantess. "I'm going to fight to win but even so..." Faith said. Lucy violently stamped her tiny feet in her palm grunting. "I know I'm not being fair" Faith muttered. "YOU THINK?!" Lucy shrieked. "I've put such burdens on you. Taking care of my kids. Teaching them about being borrowers. Helping them learn how to walk. And now this. I don't deserve you" Faith whispered. Lucy was quiet for a moment. "Where do you went to be buried if...you know" she asked. "If there's a body, under the big apple tree in front of the mansion in Yorkshire. I have some good memories about that tree" Faith replied. Lucy was still angry with her as she clenched her toes. "...commandment two please" Faith muttered. "Of course, I love you!" Lucy spat. Faith looked away hurt. "Lie on your back" Lucy said to her. Faith did and placed her on her belly so she wouldn't tumble off her hand. Lucy stripped naked and lay between her breasts. "Mmmm..." Lucy said taking in the scent of sweat and breast milk. Her heartbeat slowing down as she relaxed. Faith gently petted her bare back to her ass. "Of all the ads in that Seattle newspaper, I answered yours" Lucy muttered. "Regret it?" Faith asked. "Not for a second" Lucy replied.

Faith was tempted to have sex with her, but both were emotionally drained. She made a mental note to do it later...just in case she wouldn't have the chance again. She settled on petting her to sleep. Once she had, Faith carried her to her room and Theo saw to her. "I figured you two would be fucking how much you flirted with her tonight" Theo said. "You sound disappointed. You wanted a wife sticky with my pussy juice?" Faith smirked. "...you're that depressed? You only flirt this much when you're really depressed" Theo said. Theo tucked Lucy into bed. "Me and her had some real talk tonight. It wasn't pleasant but she understood what I asked of her" Faith said. "And what was that?" Theo asked curious. "My final arrangements if I don't make it" she replied. Theo silently nodded. "I can see why she would get upset. Borrowers love really hard" he said. "That we do. She said she was to pray to like a real goddess, but I told her I'm no such thing. Truthfully, Theo, I don't know what I am now. I thought I knew what I was until The Odin situation. When he murdered Selah in front of me, I became a walking natural disaster. Even my damn magic changed color into this sickening blood red. Borrowers don't turn into wolves. I don't give a fuck what kind of spell you got working for you" she said.

"Is that what you're afraid of? Not being a borrower anymore?" Theo asked. Faith placed him in her hand. "No, I knew full well the cost of doing this. What I afraid of is what happens when I don't have to fight anymore. What if that's all I am now? A goddess of death" she said softly. Theo laughed. "Now you're being silly. You a goddess of death? I find that very hard to swallow. You fight for life harder than anyone I know. If it weren't for you, me, Lucy and our daughter wouldn't be alive right now" he said. "Even though it was me that put you in danger in the first place?" Faith asked softly. "Hey!" he yelled stamping his left bare foot on her palm. "I don't have to remind you that our lives were filled with danger before we even met you. Stop trying to carry the world on your shoulders" he said. Faith kissed him and let her lips linger on his face for a few seconds. "You guys are better than therapy" she snickered. "I try to be helpful when I can. Not much for me to do around here" he shrugged. "I think I should put you down now" she said as she did. "Why, was it something I said?" he asked. "Something you did. You used to shrug when...never mind. It was a world away. Sweet dreams little Theo" she said smiling. Theo watched her leave the room. "What was she going to say?" he wondered.

Faith entered her bedroom and slid into bed. "Your phone went off" Alicia mumbled. Faith looked at it. "Hmm. Great news. If you can, fly over to my island and I can complete the work myself" she said as she typed. "Who you texting?" Alicia asked. "Hikari. I had her look into building a weapon. She said it was mostly done but lacking a few key components" Faith replied. "What kind of weapon?" Alicia asked. "A magical one that may help give us the needed edge against you know who" she replied. Alicia was curious as to what exactly was she working on but chose not to pry further. She asked earlier why the secrecy and Faith replied that if Lucy could be controlled so easily, what's to say someone wasn't using one of them to spy on her. Alicia said she was being paranoid. Faith said it wasn't paranoia if she was right. "You want to go on a date tomorrow? Just the two of us?" Faith asked. "Well yeah. That sounds great" Alicia said surprised. "Good. Night night" Faith snickered. Alicia cocked an eyebrow as the girl was in higher spirits than earlier. She seemed like the old Faith before all this. 

Meanwhile...

"Lilith, why do you have us out here at 10 at night in Central Park?" an Asian woman asked sitting on a bench next to her. "I would also like to know the reason why" a familiar woman asked approaching. "Sit and you will be told. However, we are missing someone" Lilith said. A few minutes passed when the last one expected showed herself. "You are late" Lilith hissed. "You have any idea how many Irish that believe the old ways live in New York City? I was working" Morrigan said coldly. "And I have to contend with every Jew, Muslim, and Christian. Your work is minuscule compared to mine and yet I can still keep appointments" Lilith said. "What do you expect from a fool that refused to keep her true name private?" Penny scoffed. "Am I included in your insult?" Lilith asked. Penny grew very quiet. "Penny putting her proverbial foot in her mouth aside, she is responsible for this Campioné problem. None of us sanctioned this conflict. Not me anyways" The Asian woman said. "Be as it may Izu, we are afforded a great opportunity" she said. "And what may that be?" Izu asked.

"Ever since the beginning, we have been stuck doing the same thing over and over. Why? Because humans believe it so as well as the one Supreme Being. Penny, the second those feet or yours on soil, you became a kidnapped teen girl made a wife of a death lord. Have you ever seen real snow before? No because you have to report to your hell before winter. Morrigan, your role hangs by threads. First it was the Romans and then their Jesus. You were feared across the Isle. Their souls your playthings when their end came. But given time even your end will come when their belief dries up like a well in a desert. Izu, oh Izu. You're like my sister. Your origins are a mirror of mine. Tossed aside by a man, told to rule over a dreary, lifeless land. And mine? Well let's just say he loved me until I had the audacity to ride on top. The most perfect place in creation lost to me because he and his God decided I was too slutty. Ladies, we got the chance to change all of it" she said. "How? Our fates are as intertwined. They are written into reality itself" Penny said. "EXACTLY! And that is how we change it. Change it all" Lilith said.

"We are all familiar with Faith McCormick and what she had done but her actions have given us a golden opportunity. Reality has been frayed, torn making it very malleable right now. With your help, we will alter reality as we see fit" she said. "Baka. Even if we combine our powers we cannot hope alter reality on such a scale. "First of all, it is too complex to even try. Layers of reality, dimensions, the elementals" Izu said. "Not if we have the Divine Blueprint" Lilith said. "You're right Izu. She is a fool. Humans are the ones that made the blueprint trying to understand what they cannot. It's as if an ant tried to understand quantum mechanics" Penny scoffed. "I have the real one" Lilith said summoning a glowing parchment. Shining light filled their part of the park. "Ladies. I present to you the true Divine Blueprint. Crafted by a lovesick angel and an Essene girl. Handed down generation after generation until I took it from its last guardian yesterday" Lilith said before hiding it. None said a word for a full minute. "But you still lack the power to pull this off" Morrigan said. "For now, but that's where Faith comes in. "I could've killed her anytime I wanted but I needed her to gather the power I needed. You yourself Izu said we lack the elementals. Faith has collected them without even realizing it. Wind and lightning when she killed Odin. Water when she bonded with Umi no Kami. Earth and life energy when she bonded with Flora. Light when she killed Ishtar. And the connection with the unconscious soul when she bonded with Morpheus. Combine all of that with my elements of fire and darkness..."

"You become a unified goddess. Now how do we play in all of this?" Izu asked. "Well, in order for my plan to work I need Authority over hells plural. They are part of the grand order after all. So ladies, hand over your keys" she said. They all looked at one another. "Excuse me but may I ask what your husband thinks of this. He is the king of your hell after all. Why has he not shown himself like we have?" Penny asked. "Lucifer chose not to go with my plan. He has been...deposed" she said. They looked at one another again. Lilith sighed and clenched her fist. She opened it revealing a blood red key forged from impossibly hard brimstone. They leaned back realizing what she said was true. She had kicked the Devil off his throne. "Any further..."

"Look what we have here Mikey. Got a little United Nations of pussy right here in Central Park" a young man said walking towards them. "Get a load of The Asian one, ever seen eyes like that? Those some color contacts making them all red like that?" Mikey said getting very close. "Gentlemen. I'm in the middle of something here. Keep walking" Lilith scowled. "You got a mouth on you. Put that to work. What are you? Some kind of white and middle eastern?" he asked getting very close to her. "Boy. I existed before there were races of man" she growled. The man flicked a pocketknife. "You two bitches run she gets her throat cut" he hissed at Morrigan and Penny. "This is why I questioned the meeting place. All kinds of rabble and lowborn come here" Izu muttered. "Lowborn? That some kind of insult chink? Mikey, teach her some manners" The man said. "No problem Kyle. I like some sass in my bitches. Where to start with you? Those lovely toes? Got some nice sized tits for an Asian girl. Maybe that mouth" Mikey chuckled as he touched Izu on her shoulder. Her eyes flared to life and the young man gasped. "What...what are you..."

"Draining you of your life. 1 year...5 years...10 years..." she chuckled before letting him go. Mikey fell to his knees weak. "What are you?!" he croaked staring into her pulsating red eyes. As he did he thought she was growing in size, but the bench grew as well, everything grew. Izu shifted her foot placing it before him. His body shrunken in size so small he was barely taller than the rim of her opened toed sandal. "What the fuck?!" Kyle yelled seeing his friend shrunk to the size of an ant. Lilith grabbed him before he could do anything. "Now now. It's impolite to interrupt someone's date" she chuckled. He turned to look at her and pissed himself seeing her Amber eyes seemingly aflame. Izu unbuckled her sandal and slipped her bare foot out of it. She placed it before him. "Didn't you say I had lovely toes? That's what you said right?" she asked scooting her toes very close to him. He stood back up trying to back away. The cool air warm and moist as her toes were only a centimeter from him. The smell of sweat and grave dirt emanated from her giant toes. Izu chuckled as he lifted her foot above him. Mikey, who was the type that gave foot fetishists a bad name stared up at the sweaty sole towering over him. He let out a squeak as it came crashing down. Mikey found he was not dead.

"You really think it was going to end that soon? You wanted my toes Michael. I'm anything I'm a generous woman" Izu said grinning looking down at the man caught between her toes. Mikey was about to lose his sanity. Two massive toes Three times his height trapping him from running. A big part of him did not want to run though. He touched her skin and even though cold as a tombstone, was soft as silk. The smell was strong to the point of pungent but that did not stop him from having an erection. The bug sized rapist began to laugh as he caressed and worshipped her toe cleavage. Izu narrowed her eyes as very slowly she brought her toes together. Mikey laughed and giggled as her toes clamped down on her body. Why a gleeful cry, he came in his pants as his legs and arms shattered. His mind was gone and a haunting smile frozen on his face as he was crushed into a smear between her toes. Lilith sighed contently. "Looks like your friend died doing what he loved. I can feel him you know. Still laughing as he entered the gates of hell. Wanna see him one last time?" she asked Kyle. She held her hand out and summoned the shade of his dead friend. He stood in her hand. "Mi... Mikey?" Kyle asked. "It was magnificent! Oh fuck me was it good! The smell of those fucking toes. And then...Kyle? What happened to me?" he asked. Lilith brought him to her face and grinned. "OH GOD! KYLE RUN!  CAN'T YOU SEE WHAT SHE REALLY IS?!" he screeched looking at the giantess. Lilith threw him into her mouth, looked right at Kyle, and swallowed. She traced the path of his soul down her Throat with her fingers until it disappeared into her stomach. A personal hell of her own design. A place that digested souls slowly, ever so slowly.

"I didn't want him spilling the beans" Lilith smirked. Kyle broke down sobbing. "There there. I understand. I know how it feels to face something so horrible it just breaks you inside" she said softly wiping his tears away. Her gentle smile eased him slightly. "Please don't kill me" he begged. "Now Kyle. You came here to do bad things. It's only natural that eventually those things come back to bite you" she said. Lilith gave a gentle sigh as she shrunk him out of his clothes. Lilith plucked him from the confines of his boxers and held him in her hand. Being The queen of hell, Lilith had the power to see the sins of a person and Kyle was rife with them. "Your own sister Kyle? She trusted you to keep her safe. She even kept loving you after what you did. But she never got over it and then one day she...well...she's in my domain for doing it. To escape one hell only to end up in another" she said quietly. Kyle broke down once more knowing what she was referring to. "I have the power to send her to purgatory instead of her suffering in the pit. All you have to do...is climb in and Theow yourself down my throat" she said. Kyle whimpered and nodded. Lilith opened her mouth and Kyle stepped in.

He could feel her tests buds under his bare feet. The warmth of her breath made him sweat. Lilith closed her mouth killing the last sight of the living world he would ever see. He crawled on hands and knees to the back of her Throat. Her saliva drenching his naked body. And as he neared the back of her Throat, he whimpered on last time and pushed on the back of his heels. Kyle slipped down her Throat. Her muscles squeezing air out of him until her Throat opened up dropping him into her stomach. There was light inside as the soul of Mikey was Thrashing about in agony. Kyle sat in a pool of bile watching his friend thrash and scream so loudly Kyles ears rung. His skin began to itch and burn as the acids broke down his flesh. Even though he would be digested, his soul would remain and succumb to the same fate as Mikey. But that would take some more time...torturous, hellish time.

"As I was...*burp*...excuse me. As I was saying, I need your keys" Lili said callously kicking Kyle's clothing aside. "The Underworld, Hel, and Musphelheim" Morrigan said handing her a key made of sprig and mistletoe. "Hades and Tartarus" Penny said handing over her key made of black marble. "Yomi and Naraka" Izu said handing over a key made of black iron and ash. "Naraka? You had dominion over that?!" Morrigan asked astounded. "Given to me by Yoma as payment for driving The British out of India" Izu replied. Lilith smirked as the shrewdness of the woman. "Now you have everything you need?" Penny asked. "Almost. For this to work, I must cast the spell at the source of everything. The place it all started" she replied. "Onogoroshima" lzu muttered. "Hesperides" Penny muttered. "All true. Different names, same conceptual place. Eden" Lilith said. "Eden was lost even to me and I created mine. Are you saying you found it?" Izu asked. "Like I said it's a conceptual place. It has no geographical location, but its existence is engraved in every innocent soul on the planet. Imagine my outrage when I discovered the key to returning was all around me. One innocent soul is all that's needed to be the gateway" she replied. "Very well Lilith. Proceed with your plan with our blessing but do not renege on your promise" Izu said coldly standing up followed by the others. Izu and Morrigan disappeared in whiffs of smoke leaving Penny and Lilith. 

"Is this really going to work? My husband has not been his old self in a very long time. I fear..." Penny trailed off. "It will. I know your husband is...fading. Our domains overlap. It will work and when it does, he will be his old self again and we will be worshipped like the days of old. It will be glorious. Four goddess each ruling over a corner of the Earth. Humans bowing before our might and males...subservient. No longer will a male oppress a female. Patriarchy has failed. It is time for a matriarchy to fix what they have broken" Lilith said smiling. Her stomach rumbled. "That's the end of little Kyle there" she muttered. "Will you free his sister as promised?" Penny asked. Lilith closed her eyes and reopened them. "She now repents in purgatory. See? I am a woman of my word" Lilith replied. Penny nodded and disappeared. "Now to find an innocent virtuous soul" she muttered.

High noon in Italy...

"You ready?" Alicia asked. "Ready" Faith said entering the living room. She wore a white cashmere sweater, jeans, white tennis shoes, a beret, and sunglasses. "Look at you all euro tourist" Alicia chuckled. Faith glanced at Alicia who wore a red dress to her shins and gladiator sandals. "Says the girl who looks like she's trying to see me perfume" Faith quipped. Both laughed at one another. "Shall we?" Faith said holding her arm out. "We shall" Alicia said taking it. Faith opened a translocation portal and walked her Through. They emerged in the fashion district of Rome. "Shall we have some fun?" Faith grinned holding her black platinum credit card with no limit. The first shop they entered was a boutique filled with elegant dresses. The employee inside took one look at them and rolled her eyes. Faith and Alicia took turns trying on dresses until the employee spoke. "If I may ask, are these in your price range?" she asked. Faith thought it a simple question, but Alicia picked up on the dismissive tone. "Yes" Alicia said flatly. The young woman sighed and went back to her desk leaving the two standing there. "Something wrong?" Faith asked. "She thinks we're poor American trash" she replied. "Oh" Faith muttered. "Not The first time for me. Texas accent, mixed Hispanic heritage. A lot of people treated me like a "fucking beaner" most of my life" Alicia said shaking a little.

Faith placed her hand on her shoulder. "Don't let them get to you. That's what they want. You lose your shit, and they get proven right. Excuse me miss? Your most expensive dress please in my size" Faith said. The woman went to the back and returned with a dress that made Alicia gasp. "Very nice. The price?" Faith asked. "€12,000" the woman replied. Faith pulled out her black credit card making the young woman gasp herself. "Wrap it for me" Fait ordered. The woman nearly fell over herself wrapping the dress. Faith went to swipe the card and stopped. "Then again. It's not my style. Thanks anyway" Faith said pulling Alicia out the door. Once outside they looked back to see the woman shouting and fuming. "Holy shit that was funny!" Alicia laughed. "Maybe the next store will be better" Faith said. They went around to various stores. Perfumes, purses, lotions, jewelry, and finally a shoe store. Alicia and Faith put down their bags as they browsed different shoes. "Those heels would look great on you" Alicia said pointing to silver open toed heels. "Can't wear them. Sensitive feet. They'd do murder to my arches. You on the other hand have those monkey feet" Faith said looking at Alicia's feet. "Weren't you licking them the other night? You aren't talking shit then" Alicia quipped. "I was afraid that long middle toe of yours was going to wrap around my body" Faith snickered.

"Oh, you're asking for it" Alicia huffed grabbing at her. Faith stepped back and stumbled falling into Alicia's arms. Faith looked up at her as Alicia bent down and kissed her lovingly. "Ahem" Faith said seeing the employee blushing at them. "Now this I like" Faith said eying a pair of heels. She picked one up. Red with golden flakes sewn into the leather. The heel was two inches tall, not enough to cause issue for her borrower feet. The straps in front were a cross weave and a wrapping for the heel. "Alicia. You need to see this" Faith said looking closer. "Whoa. This is handmade? The stitching is like 1/32 of an inch each. I've never seen such precision by hand" Alicia said. "Costs enough" Faith said seeing the €15,000 tag. "That there is a pair made by our master craftsman" the employee said. "I'd love to meet him" Faith said. "One moment" the woman said ducking ingot he back. She returned with a small middle-aged man in her hands. "This is the craftsman" she said. "I am Gustav. I hear you admire my work" he said bowing slightly. "A borrower?" Alicia asked. "No. Too short. A gremlin. Faith McCormick. A pleasure to meet such an artist" Faith said bowing slightly. "The pleasure is mine. Please. Try them on" he said. Faith sat down and removed her shoe and sock.

Faith gingerly slipped her bare foot in. The insole gripped her sole slightly but not too much. Her toes slipped right to a centimeter before the edge. Her heel rested on the back. Gustav motioned for him to be placed before her foot. The small man walked around her foot nodding now and then. "Sorry if it smells. I know you have a sensitive nose" Faith muttered. "No bother. I've smelled much worse. I dare say your foot is very well kept. Not so much as a blemish, not even on the pinky toe. How are the pads of your toes? No slipping?" he asked. Faith ground her foot back and forth. "Nothing. I don't think I ever wore a sandaled heel that fit this well" she said astounded. Faith nearly jumped as the small man used his hands to inspect the area were her toes met the top cross strap. He slipped his hand between the tips of her toes and the leather. "Just enough of a gap" he said amused. "Gustav" the woman chided. "Forgive me. I get lost in my work and forget the politeness. I should've asked before touching your feet" he said. "It's alright. My feet are sensitive is all" Faith said. Alicia eyed Faith blushing. "You must get a lot of customers with this quality of work" Alicia said breaking the mood. "Sadly, no. Not many wish to buy from a gremlin. There are still some old prejudices. Even with my human wife as the face of the store did not help. My work is said to rival the greats like Prada but even so..." he sighed. "You thought of lowering your prices?" Alicia asked. "Of course, but the rent here is outrageous" he said. "I'll take them" Faith suddenly said.

"Thanks" the woman said as Faith hand her the shoes. The woman rang up the purchase and gift boxed them. "Ramona. It's 6:00. Might as well close and head home" he said. The woman Ramona softly nodded. "Would you like to have dinner with us? What am I saying? Of course not. If you can afford my shoes than no way would you want to eat a simple meal" Gustav said. Alicia and Faith looked at one another. "We would be honored" Faith said. Alicia nodded. Ramona led the way holding Gustav in her hands. They lived in an apartment on a hill overlooking the fashion district. No doubt such a place would command a high rent and yet it was more homely than you'd expect. "We're home! We brought guests for dinner!" Ramona shouted. A minute later, three tiny kids appeared. One, a teenage boy maybe 18 or 19. The next a girl around 12. And The third a young boy maybe 8 years old. They stared up at the two-stranger giantess before them. Faith got on her knees. "I'm Faith. What are your names?" she asked. The younger kids hid behind their older brother. "Be polite" Gustav muttered as he climbed onto the living room sofa. "Adrian" The oldest one said. "Klara" The girl squeaked out. "Bruno" The boy replied. Faith extended her finger. "Nice to meet you all" Faith smiled. Adrian shook her finger. "I'm Alicia" Alicia said getting on her knees. Adrian shook her finger as well. 

"I'll get the rigatoni going" Ramona said starting the water. Faith was curious about their situation. "Gustav, if you don't mind answering, how did you have kids with Ramona?" Faith asked. "We didn't. My first wife and the kids lived in Ramona's apartment back in Austria. Ramona at the time was there as an exchange student. She discovered us one day and instead of killing us, took pity and saw to our needs. Well, one day the neighbor saw Ramona was harboring gremlins, which was a crime back then. The exterminators came, they...they crushed my wife under his foot. Ramona attacked him with a knife. She took us and fled back here to Italy. We are it married under the law, but we call ourselves husband and wife" he said. "Sorry for what you went through" Alicia said. "Not to worry. That was five years past and our lives are a good one" he said smiling. The kids stared intently at the giantesses. "Kids, come sit. We will watch the Bugs Bunny" Gustav said to them. They climbed up onto the sofa and sat next to him. Their eyes however were still on Faith and Alicia. "Forgive them. It is uncommon for them to see humans other than Ramona" Gustav said. "We don't mind. We understand" Alicia said. "The nice lady there bought one of papa's shoes" Gustav said to them. "Which ones?" Adrian asked. "The silver ones. Be proud son. She liked the design" he replied. "You designed it?" Faith asked him. "Just an idea" he shrugged.

"Don't see yourself short. It's a beautiful design" Faith said. "Indeed. The boy is apprentice to me but he's learning faster than I anticipated. Adrian, they looked perfect on her feet" he said. "You wanna see? Faith asked. The boy nodded. Faith took the shoes out of The box and tried them on. "They...they are nice" he stammered. "He is like his father. He has a good eye for feet" Gustav chuckled. Adrian blushed and looked away. The other kids looked jealous of the attention. "What do you want to be when you grow up Klara?" Alicia asked. "Hmmm...a singer like Celine Cruz I guess. She's....she's you! YOU'RE CELINE CRUZ!" Klara screamed. They all looked at her. "Hehe...yeah I am. Nice to meet a fan" Alicia chuckled. "I have all your CD's! I watched all your concerts on YouTube!" The girl yelled jumping up and down. Her tiny bare feet slipped on the sofa fabric and Alicia caught her before she fell. "Easy kiddo" she chuckled. Alicia brought her close to her face. With the blonde hair and blue eyes, it was clear she probably took after her mother. The other two inherited their father's dark hair and silver eyes. "Can you sing for me?" Klara asked. Alicia nodded and began singing an old song of hers. The girl was enraptured with her voice. They all were. "Dial it down little miss Alux" Faith whispered. Alicia softened her voice as her natural magical abilities were mixing into her voice. "Fantastic" Ramona said softly. "Very much so" Gustav said. "Thank you" Klara said hugging her giant cheek. "That tickles" Alicia giggled.

"And you Bruno?" Faith asked. The boy simply shrugged. "No dreams at all?" Faith asked. "I like to draw" he muttered. Faith plucked him up. The boy looked intently into her eyes. Felt the warmth of her breath. When he first saw her, he was frightened she or her giantess friend would crush him under their foot. Understandably as he almost met a similar fate 5 years ago. His mother pushed him out of the way saving his life at the cost of her own. A trauma burned into his three-year-old mind. Now as he gazed into her eyes, he saw no evil, no hatred in them. Her mouth could swallow him whole but the gentlest smile on her lips said otherwise. "Many great artists started off when they were boys. Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello" Faith said. "Don't forget Master Splinter" Alicia chimed in. "That's Ninja Turtles" Faith said. The boy laughed at them. "All dreams start small. It's important you nurture them" Faith said. She kissed him gently. "Well said" Gustav said. "They fit perfectly?" Adrian asked abruptly now at her feet. Faith slipped them off and slowly put them back on. Adrian walked around her feet like his father did.

"Magnificent aren't they?" Gustav said. "Not a blemish. Prefect in every way" he said. "I meant the shoes boy" Gustav chuckled. Adrian slumped away back into the apartment. He hadn't returned for a while. "The bathroom?" Faith asked. Ramona pointed down the hallway. Faith got up and walked down the hallway but not to the bathroom. She found Adrian sitting on one of Three beds in what was obviously the kids' bedroom. "Can we talk?" she asked. Adrian looked startled but reluctantly nodded. Faith sat down on the floor extending her bare feet. "Your dad was less than tactful about your fetish. My father was at times absentminded about the things he said now and then. It's not unusual for you to like feet Adrian" she said. The teen looked as if he wanted the earth to swallow him. "I'm serious. You think you're the first to admire my toes? That girl I came here with is my wife. We both suck each other's toes. It's normal socially and in your case biologically. You're a gremlin and that means you share a lot of borrower biology. Borrowers males focus on feet a lot because our...because borrower females have sensitive feet. It's a mating thing" she said. Adrian looked at her. "Never knew that. So, you're not creeped out?" he asked. Faith pushed her feet to him. "No Adrian. If anything, I'm flattered. You can touch them if you want" she said. Adrian got off the bed and knelt at her toes.

Her polish on her nails reflected his face. He could smell the natural sweat and musk on her feet and took a breath. His hands felt the underside of her second toe. "They're pretty" he said smiling. "You can do more" she said grinning. His tiny heart raced as he began kissing and kicking her toes.  "I have to go back now" Faith said as five minutes had passed. Adrian collected himself. Faith noticed a wet spot on his pants. "Maybe you should...change" she said pointing to his crotch. Adrian blushed profusely. "I'm happy I made you cum. If we had more time...we could have some real fun" she winked. "Uhh...yeah" he muttered. Faith left his room to return to the living room. "You were gone for a while. How did he taste?" Alicia whispered. "Never got that far but I could smell his semen. He's...virile" Faith smiled. 

Meanwhile...

Lilith sat quietly on a bench in a park just outside of Jewish Academy of Orlando. There was what she needed. The academy was a private Jewish that catered from kindergarten to fifth grade, but she wasn't interested in the children that attended. No, she was interested in Nick Rothberger. Nick was a strapping healthy 15-year-old Jewish boy that volunteered to help the teachers there on Fridays to prepare for services the next day. A pious kindhearted teen that read The Torah, attended services, and even gave out candy during Purim. Surely a boy that pure held the key to entering Eden in his soul. Lilith could've chosen anyone else, even an atheist if their soul was pure enough but her Authority held more power over Jewish boys. She had come too far to mess up now. So she waited until Nick left the school and walked out of the gates towards the park to take the bus home. With her power, she "suggested" Nick to come over to her and sit beside her. "Beautiful day isn't it?" she asked. "Very much so" he replied. "You attend that school?" she asked. "More like help out" he replied smiling. "I'm curious. What is your ideal of Eden? What does it look like in your mind?" she asked. "A warm peaceful place where everything is in perfect harmony. The grass is soft under your bare feet. The air sweet with flowers and fruits. No rain or storms. Like...like everything made sense" he said. Lilith grew quiet and shed a tear. "Is something wrong?" he asked worried. "Just that what you said is totally right. Your description was perfect" she replied.

She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. The boy became mesmerized instantly. Lilith plunged her hand deep within his soul and the boy jerked as she tore out something irreplaceable. The memory of Eden. The path to the beginning. Lilith pulled her hand out and pocketed the valuable artifact. She looked upon him admiring his youth and vitality, but he was a child of she who he hated second most in the world. The first man. Lilith snapped her fingers shrinking the boy right out of his clothing. He rested in her palm dazed oblivious of the danger he was in. Lilith brought him to her mouth and sucked his tiny cock. Gentle slurping sounds as she brought the tiny teen to cum in her mouth. Lilith savored his seed for a moment. She contemplated raping him further but decided business before pleasure. If her plan worked, millions of boys like him would be ample prey and she needed to keep her stamina in reserve for now. She slipped him into her mouth and sucked on his body as she disposed of his clothes in a trash bin. Once done cleaning up her crime, she added another and let him slip down her Throat. "And now to begin the final act" she said to herself translocating to Italy...

In Italy...

They ate dinner with them and had small talk for a while. Faith and Alicia played with the kids as they talked. Klara playing in Alicia's hair made her day. Bruno enjoyed the petting by the friendly giantess Faith. Adrian seemed enraptured by Faith and never took his eyes off her. "It seems my oldest has taken a like to you" Gustav said. "The feeling is mutual. If I wasn't married, I might take him as a mate" Faith said flatly. She plucked Adrian up and kissed him. "Very handsome boy" she said smiling. Adrian was quite pleased with the compliments. "It grows late" Alicia said. "She's right. It's well past 11:00" Faith said looking at her watch. "Maybe you can come again?" Klara asked Alicia. "And sing more songs?" she asked. The small girl quickly nodded. "Deal" Alicia said extending her pinky. Klara shook it with both hands. Faith and Alicia said their goodbyes and left. "Such a nice family. That Adrian was something else" Alicia said ribbing Faith. "He has good taste" Faith chuckled. "Is that all? Your pussy was practically drooling for him" Alicia said. "Actually, it's drooling for a different reason. It's my turn tonight" Faith said. "Just remember the safe word. I nearly drowned last time" Alicia said. "You exaggerate. I wasn't that wet. If anything, you're the one with the gushing pussy" Faith said. As soon as she did, Faith was struck with pain. "What is it?" Alicia asked worried. "Cordelia and Selah. They're in pain. Something is wrong" Faith said softly. Alicia quickly translocated them back home.

Once they arrived, they were aghast at the sight. The villa was in flames. Cordelia was passed out bleeding on the ground. Marco desperately shooting Lilith with his gun using the only arm not shattered. His symbology fueled bullets impacting her doing little damage. "You must be a man because you got some balls bitch!" Alicia screamed firing up a lightning spell. "DON'T! She has Selah!" Marco yelled. Lilith raised her arm revealing a shrunken Selah. She smiled wickedly as the damage she sustained healed. "Let her go" Faith said coldly. Lilith placed her thumbnail underneath Selah's chin pressing on her very delicate neck. "Toss your gun away or I'll pop her head off like she was a Pez dispenser" she told Marco. Marco tossed aside his .45. "You want her back? Follow me?" Lilith said as she summoned a spiritual construct. Lilith laughed loudly as it formed from the concept of Eden into a viable portal to it. She stepped right Through. Faith rushed over to Cordelia. "I saved them..." she moaned in pain revealing Lucy, Theo, and the Three babies. Faith was very relieved but not by much. Faith opened a translocation portal back home. "Marco, take them and go through the portal. I got healers on the other side and you'll be safe there" Faith said softly. "You're going after her?" he asked. "She forced my hand" Faith replied. "Faith. We don't even know where that thing goes. Look at it. I've never seen a portal so...vibrant" Alicia said.

"She's right. I can see magics swirling all around it, but I cannot make out a single symbol. The symbols themselves seem alive. Not to mention it's an obvious trap" Marco said. "She has my kid" Faith said angrily. "You're not going alone" Alicia said. "...I know" Faith said holding her hand. They rushed Through the portal and a second later it closed. Marco picked himself up and painfully pulled Cordelia onto his shoulder. Carrying their tiny friends, they entered Faith's portal.

Alicia and Faith emerged from the portal. Alicia looked around in amazement. "Have you ever seen anything this pretty?" she asked. "...yeah. In my nightmares" Faith replied. 

Lilith emerged from the portal. She was alone for the moment, but she knew that would change soon in more ways than one. She needed to deal with the immediate threat before Faith and Alicia came for her and Selah. Lilith stripped off her clothing to take it all in. "The air, the plants, animals. Exactly as I remember it all. Perfect in every detail. Even the grass feels soft as clouds under my bare feet" she muttered wriggling her toes. Selah groaned slightly in her grip. "You were more troublesome to capture than I realized. I may have to rethink keeping you alive even though I gave my word I would not kill you in the meantime" she said. "...eat a bag of dicks" Selah hissed as she opened her eyes. Selah tried to harness her now found Valkyrie power until Lilith squeezed her. "I suggest you do not provoke me. You wouldn't be able to do much of anything anyway. That power you possess is unstable. Pushing it further would've killed you" Lilith said. She felt an odd tingle in the air and looked up as a figure was coming from the sky. "Now behave little Jew. We have unusual company coming" Lilith said to her.

Lilith watched as the figure landed before her. "Lilith. By how you have come here I do not know but all humans are banned from this place...especially you. Leave now or suffer judgement" the figure said. Selah looked upon this figure and squinted as sheer radiance poured off him. "Now Uriel. We haven't seen one another in an eon. Is that all you have to say to me?" Lilith asked smiling. Selah went pale in her hand hearing his name. What Uriel summoned to his hand confirmed who she thought he was. "Last warning queen of the damned. Vacate paradise or be cut down" he said holding a sword of impossibly condensed flame and elemental plasma. "The archangel that guards Eden" Selah said trembling in her grip. Lilith looked down at her and casually tossed her aside. Uriel gave Selah little notice. Selah was unharmed as the perfect grass cushioned her fall. "You will find I am not cowed by you" Lilith said coldly summoning a sword of her own. Uriel bawlked seeing it. "Impossible. The sword..."

"Of Samael. The original sword that sparked the sun and stars into life. It can cleave an electron off an atom or an entire planet. A reluctant gift of my husband. Now arrogant concept. Face me in combat" she said coldly. Selah watched as the angelic giant faced off against the giantess of purest evil. As they clashed swords, the very realm shuddered. "This is foolish Lilith. The Creator seeded me with protecting this place. You truly believe you can defeat a seraph?" he asked. "I have sparred with the best swordsmen and women in all of time. While you stood here admiring the grass, I spent my time exchanging blows with terrors that would wither souls with just a gaze" she said. Lilith delivered a punishing blow that shattered his sword driving him to his knees. Uriel looked at her confused. "It cannot be" he muttered. Lilith said nothing as she beheaded him. Selah gasped seeing the impossible. A human killing an archangel. His body exploded into sparkles of light. Her victory however was postponed. A sound filled their ears. The sound of hundreds of ethereal wings overhead signaled Lilith's victory didn't go unnoticed. Dozens of angels surrounded her with swords drawn. "So, when the General falls, they send foot soldiers?" she laughed.

(Authors note: Wow. Haven't done one of these in a while. Samael is probably the most problematic pieces of research I've ever done. There's so much contradiction on what and who he is its crazy. Some say he's the original form of Lucifer. Another is he preceded him. Others say he's the most wicked and yet is still in heaven. Even the description of him is crazy. Said to be so tall it would take 500 years to walk from his toes to the top of his head making him a class well beyond Giga. Just his body would kill you by the gravitational pull and disrupt every orbit of every planet in the solar system. Whew...)

"Alicia. Did you hear that?" Faith asked. "Hear what?" Alicia replied. "Faint but it sounded like dozens of birds overhead" Faith said looking up. She looked around. They had arrived just a few minutes prior and were dazzled by the beauty of the place. Now, Faith felt something ominous. She slipped off her shoes to feel the perfect grass. She nearly doubled over. "Whoa!" Alicia said catching her. "Thanks. The grass feels incredible under my feet. It's pulsing with a power so pure the last time I felt something even close to it was Etherion. Intrigued, Alicia took off her shoes and closed her eyes as her bare feet felt the grass. "My god. It's like stepping on pure joy. It's as if the purest happiness was made physical. Is this really real?" she asked. Faith bent down to touch a grass leaf and it seemingly caressed her finger. Faith shook her head. We need to concentrate. Their scent is ahead of us" Faith said softly. Faith began trudging ahead with Alicia close behind.

"Your mightiest have fallen, your spirits in doubt. Leave" Lilith said to the Angels that were still alive. Out of the 42 that came down, only 13 remained after just five minutes of combat. "Never" one replied. Lilith sucked her teeth and used her sword to amplify a shrinking spell. With a swipe of her blade, the spell shot forth around her shrinking them where they stood. It was then they realized all hope was lost defeating her. A human using a shrinking spell on an angel was heresy on a conceptual scale. Angels were concepts by a higher power and shrinking them was like shrinking an idea or thought. Impossible by definition. But Lilith was doing the impossible since she arrived. Lilith raised her foot over one and slammed it down crushing the being under the ball of her foot. Then another and another. Her foot would come down and a puff of light. Sparkles of light flittering between her toes. Even as he massacred them, they did not flee. They proudly stood their ground as the giantess crushed them into oblivion. Then she stood before the final one. Lilith snatched him up in her hand. His four-inch form wriggled in her grip so much his golden sandals fell off. She looked at him and felt pity. He was beautiful like all the others. Skin like freshly smelted copper. His hair like spun gold. His eyes gleamed with purity with colors no human had a name for. If he were human she would guess his age to be 16. Any other time, Lilith would've fucked him for sure but today was all about business. "I don't enjoy any of this you know? Slaughtering you because your master gave no care about you" she said.

"Liar! The Maker cares about all his creations. Even a creature such as you!" he snarled. "Your creator is famous for saying he has a plan for all beings. Look around you. Your comrades were crushed under my sweaty feet into oblivion. Uriel falling against me is an understandable shock but why send soldiers to fight me? Why not the rest of the highest Host? Because his plan included your destruction. You know my words to be true" she said. The angel looked at her speechless. "He wouldn't. We are forever faithful" he said. "And yet he does not show himself! One thought from him and I would be dust and yet I remain!" Lilith shouted. He said nothing and looked down. "I will spare you. All you have to do is leave" she said. "I cannot" he said whimpering. "I know" she said softly gripping his head with her fingers. With a twist she snapped his neck. She opened her palm and watched the defeated angel disappear into sparkles of light. Selah stood up and willed herself to grow. It was a painful process breaking Lilith's shrinking spell but seeing such beautiful beings destroyed filled her with rage.

"People pray all their lives to see with their own eyes their beliefs confirmed. Beings so pure I felt as an insect before them and you destroyed them. I know I can't win against you in a fight but I'll fuckin try anyway" Selah hissed. Lilith pointed her sword at her. "Fine. Die alone in paradise" Lilith said to her. A bolt of lightning shot from behind Selah. Lilith parried the blow leaving her hands trembling. "Who said she was alone?" Faith said eerily calm. "MOM!" Selah yelled running to hug her. "Mommy's here. Both mommies are here" Faith said hugging her back but keeping an eye on Lilith. "She killed them. She killed angels!" Selah yelled. Faith and Alicia looked at her. "Welcome to the Garden of Eden. The literal center of creation itself. From here the beginnings of humanity's time on Earth came into being" Lilith said smiling. Alicia looked visibly disturbed by the revelation. Faith was not. "Am I supposed to be humbled? What does paradise mean to a parent whose child is in danger? You won't win this Lilith. I know what you want now, and you won't get it" Faith said.

"Oh? What is it I want?" Lilith asked. "At first I thought you wanted my inborn borrower abilities but that was just stupid. Then I thought about what only I could give you. Thought it was my sword. It can kill gods and goddesses after all making it one of the powerful weapons on Earth. No, that wasn't it either. A sword that synchronizes the embodiment of pure love and protection could never be used by you. That left one other thing. The powers I've absorbed. You've dragged me here to absorb my powers to elevate yourself to godhood" Faith said. Lilith chuckled. "To be so close and yet so far away" she said to her. "Alicia run support like we discussed. Selah stay behind us" Faith ordered. "I can help" slash said powering up. She winced and fell to her knees. "I can't go Valkyrie!" she yelled. "I was afraid of this. Your body can't handle the strain yet. Do as mommy says" Faith said. Selah limped behind them. "Let's rock out with our cocks out" Alicia growled. "By all means bastard Alux. Show me what ya got!" Lilith laughed. Alicia grinned wickedly as she summoned her artifact. She took a deep breath and began.

"There must be some kind of way outta here. Said the joker to the thief. There's too much confusion...I can't get no relief."

Faith felt Alicia's song magic empowering her. One...five...ten times fortification. One could hear her muscles tighten, the joints pop and crack. Even her toes popped as they dug into the soft dirt. "Form Ishtar" she muttered as she launched her attack. Lilith parried her blows but surprisingly found them far stronger than she imagined. Lilith countered going low. Faith leaped off her feet sticking the sword in the ground. Lilith's sword clanged against Last Stigmata as Faith delivered a kick to the side of her head. "Still talking shit?" Faith asked. "I cut down an archangel. All you proven is you fight better. That doesn't make you stronger" she replied. Faith had to admit she was right about that. At her level of strength, her kick would've decapitated a normal person. All it did was loosen Lilith's teeth. "This is real power!" Lilith yelled plucking a single blade of grass, tossing it into the air, and swinging her sword at it. Faith couldn't see it, but Lilith's sword nicked the blade of grass so finely it split atoms. Insanely, she turned the blade of grass into a nuclear bomb. Faith barely had time to shield Selah, Alicia, and herself from the blast.

It shook the women to their core. Around them it was brunt ash and wood. Shockingly, the landscape healed before their eyes. "Form Odin" Faith muttered as her very body changed into lightning. Lilith was struck and slashed dozens of times in just a second. Faith reformed out of breath. Lilith stood her ground wounded but healing at insane speed. Lilith raised her hand. "Enough out of you" she growled firing a spell right at Alicia. Faith and Alicia went to block it. It found it shattered their defense barrier easily. Alicia screamed as she shrunk out of sight. "Much better. Anyone that butchers Jimi Hendrix that badly deserves some kind of punishment" Lilith chuckled. Faith's entire body language changed. Magic began to radiate from her body. It was yellow and then slowly turned blood red. "Bindings of Nari" Faith hissed. Norse runes burned in the grass around Lilith before bloody entrails sprung from the ground ensnaring her. Alicia who was very much alive could not see what was happening but saw the burning red titaness that was her wife. She had been shrunk to the size of a grain of sand purposefully so her song could not reach her. Faith turned to Selah. The girl was at first terrified at how Faith looked. Her eyes burned like hot coals as they looked upon her adopted daughter. "Selah. Come forward slowly until I say stop" she commanded.

Selah approached. "Stop. Do not move. Near your big toe of your left foot is your mother Alicia. Bend down and let her climb onto your fingernail" she said. Alicia felt the tremors as the gigantic girl approached. The megastores of grass crushed under her feet. The air pressed out threatened to blow Alicia away. She hunkered down as the smell of feet and hurricane winds passed over her. Then it all stopped. Before her was the teen girl's toe taller than a 20-story building. Massive enough Alicia could see the prints on the pad of her toe. She could prob Aly place her hand between them like crevices on a canyon wall. Then from the sky came a finger longer than an aircraft carrier. It landed with a resounding thud. Alicia could hear Faith's booming voice like god from above commanding her to climb onto the nail. Secured, Selah carried her to Faith. "Jesus mom I can barely see her" Selah said. Alicia looked upon Faith and gasped. "Faith?" she asked barely recognizing her. "Don't be afraid Alicia. I just...let go for a while" she said eerily.

"This will be frightening but bear with me" she said. Faith opened her mouth and slipped Selah's finger, along with Alicia into it. Faith had told her to not be frightened, but she couldn't help it. Stick firmly in a pool of saliva. Surrounded by Boulder sized teeth. Taste buds as big as she was and then Faith muttered two words that made their tiny speck of a woman's ears ring in pain. "Sedir's breath" she whispered. The humid breath was filled with static like energy and whipped around her minuscule body like a whirlwind. Astoundingly, Alicia began to grow. Grow and grow and grow until Faith spat her out into her hand. The blood red magic softened in ferocity for a moment as she looked upon her. Faith placed her on the ground and looked back at Lilith as she snapped another binding. Faith was content as Alicia grew back to normal size abet soggy. Lilith yelled as she snapped the final binding. "That shrinking spell was the original! The very first!" Lilith yelled. "And I broke it like the antique it was" Faith said coldly. Lilith howled as she attacked her, but Faith stood her ground. Their blows shaking the very land. "Why can't I break your blade?!" Lilith yelled. "Because it's built upon a concept older than yours. Love. I understand now. Everything is built upon concepts. EVERYTHING. Even God. Even you. You are the first woman in existence but still your origin is based on an idea. You are a cog in the great machine of reality. I'm fine with knowing that that is my role as well. It's all our roles. It's your problem that you can't accept that" Faith told her as she pushed her away.

"You have no idea what I suffered because of some uncaring deity's concept. NONE! I've spent more time being a concubine to the lords of hell than humans have walked erect. I've spoken to those so evil you question if being in hell is too good for them. And while you flawed fucked up creatures desecrate the world and question if there is even an afterlife or a god, beings like me suffer under His yoke while he smiles upon you. When I done with you, I'm going after your wife. I'll rip out her fucking throat with my teeth and watch her bleed the fuck out and then I'm going after the Jew. She's going to suffer slowly. I'll start with her toes and work my way up till she's a quivering sex puppet. Only then will I exterminate her. And you know why Faith? Why be so cruel to such a young girl? Because she reminds me of myself once. Young and full of love. I hate that. I REALLY FUCKING HATE THAT" Lilith hissed as power spilled off her.

Lilith showed her open palm to Faith and she mirrored her. Both disappeared in a flash. "Where did they go?!" Selah yelled. Alicia felt tiny tickles on her body. The faintest glimmers of a red and then black streak. "My god. Selah don't move an inch. They're right here. They must've shrunk one another and now fighting it out faster than we can see" Alicia muttered as she stiffened up. Alicia was absolutely right. Lilith went to shrink Faith just as she had Alicia but in turn Faith used Umi no Kami's ability to mirror or mimic a spell. Both shrank to the size of ants and tacked one another. Each one piling on strength and speed spells to counter the other. Now moving so fast, it seemed the world has slowed to a crawl. They had taken the fight onto the bodies of the two giantesses there for decent footing as fighting in the grass wouldn't amount to much. They began on Alicia's big toe of her left foot. Faith taking the high ground on her toe knuckle struck down. Lilith's bare feet slipped on the smooth toenail throwing her off giving Faith the first decent cut severing her arm at the shoulder. Lilith picked it up and ran up the giantess' leg giving her time to reattach it. Faith followed.

Their speed to ferocious, their bare feet left tiny tears in Alicia's dress. Up and up, they continued their battle until Lilith slid down the bridge of Alicia's nose striking Faith hard. Faith fell down hundreds of feet as Lilith leaped to kill her in midair. Using Odin's power, she used the wind to twist and kick Lilith hard enough she went flying like a bullet right into Selah's crotch. "Oww..." Selah muttered as it felt like a wasp sting. Faith flew to attack her and paused worried her strike could harm the giantess. Lilith struck her as she hesitated and Faith barely parried. Faith found herself tangled in a small forest of dark pubic hair. "Now that's funny!" Lilith said raising her sword to cleave Faith's skull. "Form Umi no Kami" Faith muttered. Selah moaned softly and tried to keep standing but Faith wasn't making it easy. Lilith's attack was halted as a whip of sticky pussy juice slashed Lilith across her right eye blinding it. Faith had manipulated her giantess daughter's pussy fluids as a weapon. She quickly followed up by making frozen shards and skewering her.

"Selah!" Alicia yelled as the girl fell to her knees. "You try standing after your pussy gets that fucking cold!" Selah shouted trying her best not to touch it. Lilith slashed with her sword burning the public hairs and inadvertent freeing Faith in her attempt to cut her in half. Lilith went full defense more and more enraged that Faith was doing some real damage. Faith didn't let up for a second chasing her around Selah's naked body. Faith kept her momentum jumping back and forth between Selah's ass crack. Streaks of light traveled up her body. Faith delivered a neck breaking kick as Lilith twisted her body gripping Selah's giant left nipple to attack. Faith went low and connected. Lilith healed her broken neck and ran full speed to her shoulder, but Faith was one step ahead of her. Faith had been using clairvoyance to predict her attacks since fighting at Selah's cunt. It was taxing but it was working. And she saw what Lilith was going to do next and leaped off Selah's collarbone a moment before Lilith leaped from her shoulder.

There was an audible pop as Faith kicked Lilith hard enough to break the sound barrier. They had connected about 9 ft. away in reality. To them, Lilith was kicked a half mile. Faith followed her where she was flying which happened to be Selah's open mouth. Lilith smacked hard against Selah's right molar. Her body battered and sore, her strength waning, her vision blurred. Faith landed on Selah's tongue. Her bare feet sinking on the soft palate, Faith focused as now she could deliver a devastating attack. "Form Umi no Kami. Storm of water blades!" Faith screamed as Lilith leaped to kill her. Selah paused; her breath caught on her throat as she could taste something. She felt them on her tongue and her eyes widened. She dared not breathe or do anything for fear of eating her mother...or worse. Then her mouth went dry, very dry, and cold. Hundreds of extremely tiny shards of frozen saliva turned Lilith into a pin cushion in midair. Lilith fell to the tongue writing in pain. Faith gave no shits and rough kicked the woman out of her daughter's mouth. Faith saw Lilith regrow and followed suit.

"Impossible! I killed an archangel! You cannot be stronger than that! A MERE BORROWER!" Lilith yelled healing. "All of you make the same mistake. You underestimate us. We're survivors. Always was, always will. I once questioned why borrowers have no magic and after going through all this I now know why. If they did, they'd be walking WMD's. Magic power is determined not only on talent or skill but also emotion. The greater the emotion, the wilder and more unstable the spellwork. It's the difference between a controlled burn and a wildfire. Here before you is a borrower, a very emotional creature that commands the power of gods and goddesses. A creature that commands elemental magic. You threatened her wife, threatened to rape, and murder her child. Tell me Lilith, what's my emotional state right now?" Faith asked coldly as her magic swirled faster and faster around her. Lilith raised her sword defensively. Faith raised hers and ran her finger along the blade. Her magic shifted form as she readied her final attack.

CHAIN DESTRUCTION!" Faith yelled as her sword screamed through the air. Air compressed into a literal ton of pressure, a fine water edge to her sword made up of blood and sweat, lightning channeled through it, light magic to daze and blind her opponent in the metal, and life magic energy to boost her stamina to swing the blade at sonic speeds. Virtually every Authority under her command in a single decisive stroke. The blow landed on the sword of Samael first. It's keen edge that could rend atoms bit right through the water edge but found no purchase in the air, lightning, or light. At the subatomic level, two symbolic concepts fought it out. Creation through destruction versus love. In the end, love won out just as Faith predicted. It was an older concept shared by every sentient being on Earth. It was not bound to any sole god, goddess, or pantheon. In its purest form, all were beholden to its power. Even the creator of their world. Lilith's sword was broken in half. The act made every living creature in existence pause for a split second as the embodiment of one of the oldest concepts was shattered. Even people in comas twitched as the universal order shifted. The sword of the devil had been broken...and a half second later, the wielder as well. Eden trembled as Faith cut her clean in half and struck the ground causing an explosion of dirt. The blast so powerful, Lilith's upper body sailed 30 ft. forward and her lower half 30 ft. up and then backwards. Faith was sprayed finely with her blood and she did not give a single shit.

"YOU DID IT! The fucking bitch is dead!" Selah rejoiced as the dust settled. Faith was hesitant at first as this was very similar to her vision. However, she remarked that the battle had played out very differently. She sighed convincing herself that eat her happened her in vision would not occur. Something she had done differently prevented it. She couldn't have been more wrong. It was like icy lightning shot up her arm holding Last Stigmata. She wanted to cry out but couldn't. She was frozen in place. She couldn't even more her toes let alone warn them something was very wrong. Her vision went black as she heard Lilith's chaotic laughter. "You fucking idiot. You fell for it" she laughed. Faith felt herself a prisoner of her own body and then she noticed her fingers twitching on their own. No, not on their own but being controlled. "Oh my god. You wanted this. You wanted me to kill you" Faith thought. "Bingo. It wasn't just your power I needed you moron. I needed your body too. I used your own sword's special ability and your body's against you. Remember how you acquired some of those powers? You absorbed them after killing a deity, but it wasn't just their power you stole, you took their personas. By killing me, you opened the pathway for me to possess you! I'm no two-bit Sumerian goddess but a fucking empress of hell! You bit off more than you could chew this time!" Lilith taunted. Faith screamed internally as Lilith corrupted her body and mind. "Selah! Alicia run!" Faith yelled as the last feeling of her body disappeared. Faith's body twitched as a new owner merged with it. "Mom? You okay there?" Selah asked. Alicia's eyes went wide remembering what Faith said about her vision.

"SELAH GET BACK!" Alicia screamed. Faith saw Lilith raise her own sword and tried to hold back her attack. She could not. Lilith brutally slashed Alicia across the stomach so fiercely her intestines showed. Then, Lilith plunged the sword into Selah's chest just after it twitched ever so slightly. "Mommy..." Selah blankly muttered falling to the ground sword still in her chest. "NOOOO!" Alicia screamed coughing blood. Lilith grabbed the hilt of Last Stigmata only to find it burn her hand at the touch. Selah gasped and vomited blood as Last Stigmata retreated into her body. "I have more important things anyway" Lilith said summoning the Great Blueprint. Selah took a painful glance at it and shuddered seeing what she thought was myth her entire young life. "You bitch..." Faith hissed as she used the last of her strength to save those she loved. With her right hand, she opened a translocation portal back to her island home and used a hurricane gust of wind to blow them through. "A futile gesture. What's coming even they cannot stop even if they survive those wounds" Lilith muttered to her. "As long as even one can stand against you, you can never claim victory" Faith said softly. Lilith ignored her and began the final part of her plan.

Lilith placed the Great Blueprint in the absolute center of Eden and summoned the keys of the underworlds entrusted to her. Lilith thrust them into the blueprint a select places. As they added to her control, the blueprint grew in size. Bigger and bigger and Lilith grew with it until she towered over all of paradise. Her very feet sank into the earth itself and it seemed to all creatures below, Lilith had truly returned in her now naked 1000 ft. tall glory. "But through it all when there was doubt. I ate it up and spit it out" she sang erasing the true name of the Creator of her world. "I faced it and I stood tall. And I did it my way..." she sang with a grin on her face as she wrote her name in place of His and below hers the true names of Izu and Penny. The garden shuddered. Thunder crackled overhead as reality itself was rewritten. An explosion reminiscent of the Big Bang itself rippled across reality...

"Cold, very cold" Alicia muttered as Skylar pressed on her wound. Her blood seeped through Skylar's fingers. "Hang in there! Where are the goddamn Mage medics?!" she shouted. "They're on their way! What the hell happened?! Where Faith?!" Hikari asked. Alicia looked at her weeping. "Oh no...no she can't be dead" Hikari muttered collapsing on the floor. Cordelia placed her on the table so she wouldn't be underfoot. "No. Alive. But she's..." Alicia muttered before coughing blood. A dozen mages entered the living room and surrounded the dying giantess. Skylar turned her attention to Selah ho was in bad shape as well but not so mortally wounded strangely. Skylar began healing magics that she knew. Weak ones but they slowly repaired the damage dealt. Skylar held the now small girl in her hand carefully as she healed. "What happened?" Skylar asked. "Mom killed her and then something took control. Those weren't her eyes" she replied weakly. "Faith did this?!" Skylar asked. They all looked at her shocked. "No! Not her!" Selah yelled grimacing. Then the sky grew dark. Thunder and lightning cracked overhead. "What the hell?" Cordelia said feeling something coming. The entire island shook as if hit by an earthquake. Cordelia screamed in pain and collapsed. "CORDI!" Macro yelled coming to her. Lucy, Theo, Hana, all of them winced as a flash of light, the brightest they had ever seen blinded them. Then...it was gone.

An hour had passed since then. Alicia was resting from her latest treatment of healing spells. Selah was resting as her very body felt electrified. Cordelia rested as nobody could wake her. "Little damage to the city thank god" Skylar sighed coming into the living room. She looked at all three of them. "What the hell happened? And what the fuck was that light?" she asked. "As far as we know, only we saw it" Mary said quietly. "You look pale" Skylar asked. "Something happened to me and Cordelia when that light and earthquake struck. It was if someone cut the cord that attaches us to humanity. There's something else. Something you should see" Mary said handing her an iPad. "Goddess Lilith set to vanquish heretic Vatican during the red moon?!" Skylar said. "The Internet is full of mentions of her but not just her. Three other goddesses. A Persephone, an Izanami, and a Morrigan. They're worshipped openly Skylar. Worshiped and sacrificed to. I found a YouTube video of a priest shrinking a boy and feeding him to this Lilith" Mary said. "Shrinking? On YouTube out in the open?!" Skylar said. Mary nodded. "We need answers" Skylar muttered. "We need Faith" Mary said. "Well, we don't have her now do we?" Lucy said walking into the room. "That is not conducive to the problem" Hikari said softly looking out the window into the ocean. "Pardon my attitude your highness but we got it handed to us on an ass shaped platter and according to Mary there they took over the fucking planet in an hour!" Lucy yelled. "Not an hour. They've been at it since January. It's like the world took a hard left on New Year's Day" she said. "Impossible. The world has been fine until an hour ago" Skylar said. "Just saying" Mary said yawning.

"We're all on edge. Let's all of us just take a deep breath and calm down. Find out as much information as we can. From what Faith told me this place is a hackers wet dream" she said. "Mary...and Mary is passed out. Lucy, get on the iPad. Find out more about Lilith. Hikari, try to contact your homeland. Even though Mary said only we saw the light I'm not buying it. It might be some kind of Internet censoring. Maybe your village saw it too" she said. "And you?" Lucy asked. "Staying here and monitoring these three. Alicia is due for a treatment soon anyways" she replied.

Three days later...

"Goddamn..." Alicia moaned. "Holy shit you're awake. You've been asleep for three and a half days" Skylar said. "Selah!" Alicia yelled sitting up wincing. "Easy there your intestines are still a little losey goosey. Selah is fine physically. She's in her room alone. Has been since she awoke two days ago" Skylar said. Alicia looked up the stairs. "Faith killed her but something went totally wrong. Like she was possessed. I think it was Lilith inside her" Alicia said. Skylar handed her some water. "How's everyone else?" she asked. "Cordelia and Mary and acting like their batteries are low. They keep saying they've been cut off from humanity whatever that means" Skylar replied. "We have to regroup and go after Lilith. If we gather all our forces, koonago, Umiko, yaksha, everyone we can stop this" Alicia said. Skylar shook her head. "They conquered the world. They have the adulation of billions. This isn't one of your one on one fights Alicia. Lilith won the war" Skylar said softly. "It's not over till you're dead" Alicia had harshly leaving her standing there. Alicia walked up to where Selah was. "Knock knock" Alicia said knocking on the bedroom door. "...leave the food on the nightstand" Selah said. "I'm not room service kiddo" Alicia said entering. "How do you feel?" Selah asked. "That my question" Alicia replied.

"Collarbone is still sore and I feel funny inside like my magics are out of whack" Selah replied. Alicia sat down on the bed and petted the shrunken girl sitting on a pillow. "Being stabbed with a holy sword can do that. It's a miracle you survived" she said. "Not a miracle. Mom dipped the sword at the last second before stabbing me. Skylar said if it was a few millimeters off, it would've punctured my lung and aorta for sure" she said softly. "About that. You know it wasn't her right? Lilith possessed her" Alicia said. Selah put down a very tiny book she had been reading. "I know. I saw her eyes" she said "You wanna talk about it?" Alicia asked. "No, I'm busy" Selah replied coldly reaching for her book. "Busy with what?" Alicia asked. "Getting mom back. Everyone here is acting like it's all over" Selah said. "What are you reading?" Alicia asked quitting at the tiny letters. "You wouldn't understand. You're not Jewish" she said. "True I'm not but I want to help" Alicia said. Selah put the book back down. "When I was dying I saw Lilith holding a glowing glyph" she said. "Yeah. Some kind of magic array. Never seen such a configuration before" Alicia said. "It's not a magic array. It was the Sephiroth" she said. "The what?" Alicia asked. "My parents were Kabbalah, a special sect of Judaism that studies the more esoteric and mystical parts. One of the beliefs is that the order, the very nature of existence is personified as 10 distinct aspects of humanity, the state of being, and God. Each one connected in some way to the other. The representation, or blueprint if you will is called the Sephiroth. I overheard Lilith took over the world. If she had a genuine version of the Sephiroth, it's possible. If anyone who knew His name it would be her" she said. "Who's name?" Alicia asked. "God" she replied. "What? God has a real name?" she asked.

"Many names Alicia. Father, lord, Jehovah, Elohim, Yahweh. None are the right one...at least what people like mom and dad believed" Selah replied. "I don't understand it all" Alicia sighed rubbing her temples. "Hell, I barely do and is as raised in the faith" she said. "And these are you parents' books?" Alicia asked. "They were pulled out of the rubble of our apartment. It's all I have left of them" Selah said softly. Alicia scooted her into her hands. A gentle peck on the back of her head before caressing her from her tiny feet to her cheeks. "If I was stronger..." Selah said. "Then you'd probably be dead" Alicia finished. "She let you live out of pity" Alicia stated. "How do you know?" Selah asked. "Because I used to think like her. We both know what I was once like" Alicia replied. "And you changed. Is it that hard to change?" she asked. "You're asking why Lilith is the way she is. Yeah it hard to change. When you've been hurt so many times you hurt others so nobody gets close to you so they may hurt you. Other times people tell you you're an evil piece of shit enough you begin to believe it. The how's and whys cease to matter. When I first began using the people here it was really a test of my loyalty. Rape and kill them because their lowborn humans. And it sickened me at first. Their smiles and cheers before I crushed them under my feet. They literally jumped down my throat. Their parents full of pride and joy as their offspring drowned and crushed in my pussy. And then I became numb to it all" Alicia said softly turning her palms to her face bringing the girl to eye level.

"Girls like you died because of me. All things being equal, I would've eaten you" Alicia said shedding tears. Selah used her hand to wipe a giant one away. "But here I am uneaten" Selah grinned. "For now..." Alicia said licking her lips. Selah scooted back slightly. "Got ya!" Alicia snickered. Alicia lowered her face into her hands just a few centimeters from the shrunken girl. Her warm breath on her body. "I'm scared" Alicia whimpered. "You don't act like it in front of others" Selah said. "Because I have to. They're all frightened. "I don't feel so bad about being scared anymore if you are" Selah said. "Only a fool knows no fear. What's important is not giving into it" Alicia said. There as a knock on the door. "Guys. Faith's computer is beeping" Skylar said entering the room. Alicia placed Selah on her shoulder and walked downstairs behind Skylar. They followed her down into the basement where the master computer Markus and then Faith had been using. "Damn thing still awes me" Skylar said looking at the terminal. "Yeah. Markus outdid himself when he commissioned this thing. It's probably the most powerful CPU on Earth. No doubt when you have shrunken humans' buildings the processors. One chip has over 1 million microprocessors on it alone. You're right Sky. It's beeping. It's a notification" Alicia said sitting down. She clicked the notification.

It opened up a file folder with a text page. Alicia opened the text. "This message is set for notification of it is not opened every 72 hours. Last modification was...October 12, 2018" Alicia read out loud. "That's three days ago" Selah said. "It has a video file attached to it. Open in the company of everyone we trust" Skylar said. "Get the others down here" Alicia said softly. 10 minutes later, Hikari, Hana, Cordelia, Marco, Lucy, Theo, joined Skylar, Selah, and Alicia at the computer. "What do you think it is?" Theo asked. "Probably a last will and testament. Faith asked me to oversee her funeral" Lucy replied. "She ain't dead!" Alicia snarled. "Mom. Let's just play the vid okay?" Selah said. Alicia nodded and clicked the video.

"Okay. Here we go. If you guys are seeing is then I'm dead. Fuck. Hopefully, it was quick and painless, but I doubt that. If you think this is a video will then you're partly right. Alicia, you have full authority over the island and our children. Matty, Grace, and of course Selah. Lucy, I know your last name is borrowed from the humans you lived with at the time until you married Theo. I also know how much you hate that. I said to you once you're like my sister. Working on that I put in paperwork to adopt you into my family. Your maiden name was McCormick. Congrats! I'll miss our talks. I'll miss your scent. I'll miss...that night we.." Faith was saying before she stifled a cry. "Theo, oh Theo I love you. I know your heart is with Lucy and I can never get between that, but I want you to know...you were a good mate in both timelines. Hikari, if you're listening to this, there was so much I wanted to say to you, but I was too scared. I was scared you wouldn't love me anymore if you knew the truth. You should. In a few minutes you will receive an automated email about the things I did. I can't keep running from my past. Skylar, I'll miss you. I saw you more as my problem daughter than some rehabilitation case. When I absorbed Odin's power, I saw what he had done to you. No girl should go through those things. I just wish I were still there to hold your hand to help you through that pain. "Selah honey. Mommy loves you. I'm so sorry you lost another mother I..."

The video goes black...

"It's still running. Alicia muttered. "Oh Faith" Alicia muttered seeing her back on the screen with bloodshot eyes. "Selah. It's going to be tough, but I know you will be okay. Alicia and everyone else are here for you. And I have it on good authority that Skylar loves you like a little sister" Faith said smiling. Skylar looked over at Selah who was crying and plucked her from Alicia's shoulder. "She's not lying" Skylar said softly kissing her before putting her own her own shoulder. "Marco. Cordelia. Have some goddamn kids!" Faith shouted. Marco and Cordelia laughed softly. "Seriously. I worry about you guys. You deserve each other. Let no mortal stand in your way. This is the advice I give as your friend...as family" she said. "And now that's out of the way, time for revenge" Faith said. "That's my girl" Alicia grinned. "Hikari. You brought the transformation driver as I asked but I'm sure you wanted to tell me it's incomplete. That it's missing a key component. Yeah I know. Alicia, go to the safe and bring down the Capricorn broach. Hikari, go get the driver" Faith said. Alicia left and returned with it as did Hikari with the driver. "Now to combine them. The spellwork is already on the broach. Just touch them together and uhh.... watch the lightning" Faith said. Hikari handed the tiny driver to Alicia which grew to human scale in her hand.

Cautiously, she brought them both together. Like magnets, they pulled together with a flash of lightning and rose from her hand. Once it was done, a powerful device was born. "I'll be damned. It looks like the driver that Faith drew out. Even the colors are the same" Hikari said. "It should be what I described to you Hikari. You're probably wondering how I knew what exactly it would like. Hell. You're wondering how I knew it put it together. The truth is in the other timeline you crafted this weapon to defeat Markus...which you did. However, its power led to your death. It's a magic hog Hikari. It will drain you dry if you use it carelessly. Fortunately, I have a solution to that which I will get to soon. Now for what I call Plan B. Plan B means recruiting people from my past life to fight this woman. In the beginning, I didn't want them involved because I didn't think it was their responsibility to clean up my messes. Later on though I wanted them safe and out of the way just in case I failed. It's time to bring in reinforcements. First thing is Ahmed. He's awesome and you can contact him by translocating to Dubai. Put out a big enough magic profile and he'll find you. Second, go to Joseph in Georgia. He's a stubborn old bastard but he might have a change of heart after telling him what's been going on. And third, go to my dad. Hikari knows full well what he's capable of but more importantly connected to him is my other self Hope and the Ring of Shishak. The ring contains a green philosopher stone that can safely power the driver Hikari. And as for Hope...well she has Etherion" Faith said. "Hot damn she's right! With just a snap she can..."

"Somebody just said Hope can solve this with just a snap didn't they? Try again. Etherion is powerful but not ALL powerful. Also, Hope doesn't have the combat experience and understanding to use so much power at will. She's not me guys. She's never gone through what I have. Learned what I have. She understands the world like a teenage kid. She needs guidance. Without it she can do more harm than good. Trust me on that. Good luck. I love you all. Alicia. The rest of this video is for you only..." Faith said. The others left out of respect. Alicia came upstairs 15 minute later wiping her tears. They were curious as to what Faith had told her but knew it was personal and for them only.

"You heard the lady. Time to get to work" Alicia said with a smile. 

It was a bright sunny morning that belied the predicament the world was in. The Queen of Hell had changed reality to suit her revenge on the powers that be and her accomplices each ruled a part of the world. Their hopelessness faded as Faith left instructions on how to carry on without her. At that moment, Hikari was busy trying to contact the Ministry of National Heritage, the epicenter of power for the koonago in the Japanese government. However, no calls were getting through no matter what number she dialed. "I have to go to the village" she said flatly. "That's not a good idea. If nobody is picking up, then they're obviously compromised. If they're compromised then no doubt they've attacked your village" Alicia said. "Which is why I must go. I am their princess. It is my duty to go" Hikari said sternly. "Alright. Give me a few minutes to get ready and then we can all..."

"No boss. With Faith gone, we need you on the sidelines for now. No sense in putting all our eggs in a basket" Skylar said. "If something had befallen our brethren, I shall accompany the princess" Hana said. "No for the same reasons Skylar gave. If something troubling has befallen our kind, you must be kept safe to preserve out interests. I am sorry Hana" Hikari said. Hana got on her knees before the tiny princess. "Then I bid you safe travels" she said softly. Skylar plucked her from the floor. "I'll watch out for her. Just have that sashimi you said you make ready for our return" she grinned. "As you wish" Hana said softly. Skylar could fell the girl trembling in her hand. Skylar gave her a gentle kiss before placing her back on the floor. "I'll be going too Hana so don't worry" Selah said tying her shoes. "No. You're not well" Alicia said. "They need me. They can't translocate" she said. "...and you can?" Alicia asked surprised. "I've been doing more than just sitting on my ass reading that book. I've been there already so I know how to get in. While we're gone, why don't you check on that Joseph guy?" Selah asked. "I believe I will. If trouble pops up, get out. No reckless bullshit" Alicia wagged her finger. Selah nodded.

15 minutes later, Selah had opened a translocation portal astounding Alicia. "She really did do it. How much stronger did she get?" she wondered. Selah, Skylar, and Hikari stepped through. When they emerged, Hikari's fears were confirmed. "By the Kami..." she muttered sitting on Skylar's shoulder. The village had been utterly destroyed. Hikari leaped off her shoulder to look at the damage from the ground. Skylar and Selah shrunk down to join her. "The school, the nursery, the markets..." Hikari muttered seeing each one pulverized in massive footprints. The ground itself was either crushed flatter than normal (except for depressions of footprints) or overgrown by grass as the forest itself tried to swallow up the carnage. The main house barely stood. Its front gates demolished as well as the adjacent storerooms and servants' quarters. Hikari took off her sandals as per custom but it seemed pointless with the dust and dirt in the building and the broken roof. Skylar and Selah took off their shoes to honor her customs. The tatami mats seemed to buckle under their socks and bare feet. No doubt rotted from rain.

The armory was bare indicating anyone who could hold a weapon had grabbed one. The kitchen had been wrecked with dishes broken and thrown about. Hikari made her way to the throne room. There sat a lone skeleton wearing a pink and white kimono. "No, Yume" she muttered. "Someone you know?" Skylar asked. "My most loyal retainer. She took care of..." Hikari muttered before she dashed out of the room. Skylar and Selah could hear her weep down the hallway. They followed the sound to a large room. Hikari stood there draped over her son's crib. Skylar and Selah were hesitant to look but did. Nothing. "As long as there isn't a body" Skylar said. It gave little comfort to the woman. Hikari returned to the throne room. "She wouldn't abandon my son. Why would she sit on the throne?" Hikari asked herself. "Is there any significance to it other than the symbolism?" Selah asked. "The throne is the seat of power for our nation. It acts like an amplifier for our abilities.  Only me and my mother may sit on it without being overwhelmed by its power. The barrier that protected us came from here" Hikari replied. "Then maybe she sat here for that reason" she said. "No, the barrier serves to persuade humans not to enter. If this happened, it had already failed. Akari, why would you risk your life to sit on the throne? For what exact purpose?" Hikari muttered touching her skull. Just then a ball of blue fire emanated from her skeletal corpse. "Whoa! What the hell is that?!" Skylar asked. "A hitodama. A spirit flame. An echo of Akari's soul" Hikari said catching it in her hands. She gasped as the sprit showed her a horrible truth to her questions.

The very ground shook and was only deafened by the screams of women and children. She had run outside so fast she had no time to put her geta sandals on. There she saw a massive boot crush someone's home. She looked up and saw a human, a young man dressed in camo. The guard immediately attacked killing him as ice skewered his eyes and tiny koonago slashed his throat open with naginata's. He fell hard but was soon replaced with another and another. She ran back inside racing to the princess' bedchamber to find the prince, Yuusha, crying. "Give him to me!" Akari yelled. The ground shook again. Akari ran with the baby prince in her arms, a female servant close behind her. Akari ended up outside behind the koonago imperial mansion hoping the flee deeper into the forest with the others. No such luck. A soldier blocked their path. He reached down for them and was attacked by the servant with weak water magics that blinded his left eye. Enraged, he plucked her up from the ground so fast her sandals fell off.

"SAVE THE PRINCE!" she screamed as the giant squeezed her till she shrieked as her ribs shattered. Akari pissed herself seeing someone she had known for years, someone who had bathed with her every night eaten alive. She heard every crunch of bone, every shriek, every squelch of flesh as he chewed and finally swallowed. Akari stood there frozen as he reached for her. A barrier stopped his hand. "Inside child" Empress Himeko ordered in her mind. Akari stumbled back to the throne room and found Himeko sitting on the throne exhausted and badly wounded. "There are a hundred more out there. They're exterminating the men and rounding up the women and children. The humans turned on us!" Himeko cried out. "But the princess has made great friends with them! Surely this is no official sanction!" Akari said. "They are JSDF. It is sanctioned. I know not where my daughter is so I must think the worst. The prince must be protected. I shall open a portal to the ancestral lands. Lead the survivors..."

Himeko did not finish her sentence. She slumped right off the throne. Akari's shook her and found that she had died. The empress was dead. With her death, the physical barrier protecting the mansion was failing. Akari ran to the courtyard and found barely two dozen had been saved when it went up. "Take the prince. Go through the portal to the ancestral lands when it appears" Akari said handing the baby to a young woman she did not even know. Akari returned to the throne room and looked upon the throne. Akari sat down keeping full well the consequences of doing so. The ancient enchantments on the old straw, wooden, and carved rock throne took ahold of her body. Akari nearly screamed as her own power amplified a hundred times searing her nerves. She reached out with her hand and summoned water from the ground. It formed into a flat plane in the air. At first a mirror and then a portal. Blood ran from her nose as a low born girl had summoned high tier water magics. Something normally impossible. She felt them run through the portal and struggled to keep it open long enough for them to escape. A searing pain tore through her skull and she smelled something odd. She sensed the rest had escaped which was a relief but now something was horribly wrong. Her entire left side was paralyzed. The barrier had fallen exposing her.

Akari slumped to the left unable to move, speak, or even wriggle her toes. The paralysis had spread within seconds all over her body. A giant finger crashed through the roof. A giant eye looked in. Akari could see it focus on her. She prepared herself for death. "Just a dead one. The others fled through some magic" a male voice said. "We have enough for her majesty" another voice said. Giant pairs of feet moved on leaving her where she was. Akari sat there unmoving for hours and then days. Her vision weak. Her mouth dry, lips cracked. She was dying from thirst and could do nothing about it. She prayed that when death did take her, it would be kind. She doing even notice when it happened. She could move once more and when she did, she looked back to find her body had not. She had passed. A lone figure stood outside. Giant bare feet in ancient geta sandals belonged to a young woman dressed in a blackest black kimono. She held a black flame katana. Akari knew she was a Shinigami. A harbinger of death. "Please. Please don't take me. I must await my princess. She must know what happened here" Akari pleaded. The giantess knelt down.

"She may never come" the Shinigami said. "Then I shall wait for eternity until a koonago does" Akari said. The Shinigami stood up and looked around. She had taken many souls there today. Men, women, children. She was bound not to show bias but even she was appalled by such a vicious attack. "I shall take your soul another time. Be warned koonago. Your decision may yet cause far more harm than good to your people" she said. "I was the last one here. I fought the best way I could and saved who I could. I cannot go to paradise wondering if any good may come of this bloodshed. At least this way there is a chance to right this" she said softly. The Shinigami nodded and placed her katana back into its scabbard. "Very well" she simply said walking away. Even though a giantess, her feet made no tremors, no sound, not even footprints. She vanished into the shadows. Hikari opened her eyes and let the spirit flame go wherever it could find final peace.

"She sacrificed herself to get the survivors to the ancestral homeland. The power gave her a massive stroke and she died of thirst trapped within her own body. A Shinigami came for her and she bargained to keep her soul here hoping I would find it" Hikari muttered. "Who did this?" Skylar asked. Hikari spun around and glared right at her making Skylar back away from her. "Humans. Humans did this!" Hikari hissed crying. Selah touched her shoulder and Hikari slapped her hand away accidentally striking Selah in the mouth. Selah yelped in pain nursing a bleeding lip. Hikari looked horrified realizing she hurt a friend through her rage. "Deepest apologizes. I..." Hikari said falling to her knees. The princess sobbed into her hands. Skylar and Selah sat beside her. "I know how it feels. People you loved; places you've been. Taken from you. And the worse part of it all, you survived it. I lost everything when Ambrosio destroyed my life. You felt like you did something wrong when you survived. Like you cheated by not sharing their fate" Selah said looking down at her bare feet. Hikari stopped crying and looked at her.

"Yes. That's how it feels" she muttered. "You can't think that way. You were spared for a reason. A reason none of us may know now but together we can find out" Selah said. Hikari leaned in and touched her cut lip with her finger healing it. "...you have brought me honor. I am... humbled" she dais softly. Selah kissed her. "Family is there for one another. That's how it works" Selah said smiling. Hikari nodded and hugged her tightly. "Come one Sky. Group hug!" Selah giggled. Skylar sighed and hugged them. "I must honor her sacrifice starting with a proper funeral" Hikari said standing. "We'll help. Just tell us what to do" Skylar said. Hikari gently took Akari's skeleton off the throne and with the help of the other two, carried it outside. They placed it on a pyre and lit it. Skylar was surprised that was all Hikari wanted. A few tiny twigs on fire to burn a three-inch skeleton. She expected more. "Normally there would be a priest, incense, a picture. This is all I can do" Hikari said as if reading Skylar's thoughts. "It's the thought that counts" Selah said. "Indeed. The fire will purify her and then we shall gather her ashes and bone into an urn for burial" she said.

They did and stood silent as the princess sifted through the ash and bone. Skylar worried about her as she could only imagine the grief of being coated with the ashes of someone you cared about. Hikari placed her remains in the only receptacle not broken in the conflict. A gourd to hold sake. Hikari carried it to the cemetery not far away which was mercifully spared from the attack. She dug a hole at the foot of a memorial caved from mountain rock taken from Fuji, and placed the gourd in. Hikari clapped twice and prayed. Then Hikari shocked them by cutting her wrist open. "Hikari!" Skylar yelled. Hikari motioned for her not to move. "I shed this blood because I was not here to do so earlier. I vow that those responsible will not go unpunished" she said with an eerie soft tone. Hikari healed herself and stood there for a moment. "You said humans did this" Selah said. "Soldiers from the Japanese Self Defense Force. They only act under the orders of the government" she replied. "I think we should find out why" Skylar said. "I agree but first I want to see to the survivors. Come with me and wear your shoes this time" Hikari said. Hikari led them back to the throne room and sat down on the throne. "Will you be okay?" Selah asked worried. "I will be just fine" she replied.

Hikari closed her eyes. The ground shook slightly as her hair began to stand on end. Magic radiated off her body. "No wonder that poor girl had a stroke. I thought only Faith could put out that much magic energy" Skylar said. A glob of water floated into the room and formed a portal. "Step through" she commanded. Selah and Skylar did and Hikari got up off the throne. She took one last look at it solemnly before entering the portal. The air was slightly crisp as they stood dwarfed by the wild grass. "This is your ancestral homeland?" Skylar asked. "Long ago we were a scattered people until my mother united us under one banner. We settled here not far from Kyoto. Back then it didn't even exist yet. It went until the end of the Warring States period we moved to the base of Fujiyama. This way please" Hikari said. They followed her until she stopped. It appeared nothing was there until she walked and seemingly disappeared. Skylar and Selah followed and found themselves in an ancient village with small warm streams cutting through it. It was not as large as the one they had come from. It felt deserted. "We are in the right place right?" Skylar asked. "Show yourselves!" Hikari yelled.

Slowly, koonago emerged from their homes. They ran to meet their princess but stopped rad in their tracks seeing Skylar and Selah. They screamed in terror and fled. "Calm yourselves! These humans are under the banner of our clan!" Hikari yelled. They paused. "Can you truly blame them princess after what they witnessed?" a voice said. A young man emerged from an alley with his hand on the handle of his katana. "Ichiro. I'm pleased you survived" she said. "As captain of the royal guard, I shouldn't have" he said softly approaching. "You did your duty. You helped evacuate the survivors here" she said. He looked at Selah and Skylar. "We should talk alone" he said. "What you have to say can be said in their company" Hikari said. "Not them I'm concerned with. It is the others" he said looking at the koonago whispering. Ichiro led them to the main house. He was slightly impressed that Skylar and Selah took their shoes off before entering. "At least your humans have manners" he quipped. "My humans are loyal without fault. Especially this one" Hikari said pointing to Skylar. They sat down in the meeting room and he placed his katana on the floor mat.

"How long have you all been here? How many made it through?" Hikari asked. "Six months and 32 made it through. 29 still live" he said coldly. "I saw a death vision that the JSDF was responsible. Can you confirm this?" Hikari asked. "I can. All soldiers. They somehow penetrated our barrier even after we strengthened it after Izanami's rise" he replied. All three looked at one another. "Now how about you answer one of my questions. Where the hell have you been?!" he yelled. "Hey! She's your princess!" Selah yelled. "You stay out of this gaijin!" he spat. "Ichiro. A malevolent force has somehow rewritten reality as we know it. We were spared the effects. I'm assuming this is why it seemed I disappeared. From my perspective, I just saw you two weeks ago" Hikari said calmly. "For me it was 10 months" he said quietly. "You mentioned the Queen of Death. What do you mean she has risen?" she asked. "On New Year's Day, we were watching it happen live on tv. The people were praying at the shrines as usual and then she appeared utterly gigantic over Tokyo. Her shadow darkened the city and the people just...froze where they stood. They turned around and began praying to her. It was...unsettling" he replied.

"What else? What led to humans attacking us? Where is my mother?!" Hikari shouted. In the weeks that followed, word reached us of three other goddesses that emerged at the same time. However, Izanami declared Japan as her sovereign land and was to not be touched by a foreign influence. By February, the Order of Shi gained notice when they forcibly dissolved the National diet and subsequently exterminated the imperial family. They crushed them under their feet literally. Those that join the Order are taught onmyoji shrinking magics. Soon, hundreds of thousands of females joined their order and began persecuting males. Teachers shrinking and eating or crushing delinquent students. Female police officers executing males for the smallest crimes. And... the males just accept it. Hikari, it seemed every Japanese human had gone totally insane! We broke ties with them fearing their madness turned on us" he said.

"...and my mother?" Hikari asked. "Captured along with most of our females. When they attacked us, our best defended us as much as they could but for every human we killed, two more took their place. We lost our warriors to their numbers and they began snatching up females and putting them in cages. Some young males too but mostly the females. Older men were...eliminated. As for your mother, she was one of the captured" he replied. "Where did they take them?" she asked coldly.

"A scout reported seeing a koonago at RIKEN before we lost contact with her" he replied. "What's RIKEN?" Skylar asked. "A think tank for lack of a better term. Various scientific studies have been done there since 1917" Hikari replied. "When do we go?" Selah asked. Hikari looked at her. "I will lead the charge. I must prepare myself" she said excusing herself. "She took it better than I thought she would. Does she not understand what I have told her?" Ichiro asked. "She understands. She's holding it in" Skylar said. "She does do that. How well do you know her?" he asked. "Barely a few weeks. I know her kind though. She takes her anger and pain and makes it work for you. It's a fine line. It can make you stronger or it can make you reckless" Skylar replied. Ichiro stood up. "An attendant will see to your needs. If you will excuse me" he said before leaving.

Ichiro made his way to the imperial dojo where he suspected Hikari was. Sure enough she was practicing with her naginata. He watched silently as she twirled, thruster, and pivoted. "You've gotten better but you drag your right foot" he said. "I wish to be alone" she said softly. "Too bad" he said picking up a wooden sword. He placed his real one on the floor. He quickly attacked her. Minutes passed as they quickly sparred. Ichiro stayed every so calm while Hikari grew more agitated by the second. With a shout, she shattered his sword, and her momentum made her crash into him. Ichiro flipped her onto her back. "I win" he said. She struggled against him. Her eyes full of tears. "She was right about you. The human said you were bottling up your pain. It did not do you any favors here so why expect it will out there?" he asked. He looked down and noticed her left breast looking out the cut of her kimono. His hand went to it...and closed her kimono. "I was too harsh" he muttered.

"You said what they needed to hear" she said sitting up sniffling. "Even so, they are ignorant of the pressure that comes with the throne. You are not even allowed to choose your husband" he said. "If I could, I would've chosen...it does not matter now" she huffed. "It may very well matter now. There is no telling if those taken are alive or dead now. Our numbers have dwindled severely. To survive, we have to forgo some of the old ways" he said. She was silent. "What you were saying about who you would've chosen. Who? The borrower man in England?" he asked. "Keith is a splendid mate who have me an exceptional son. My son..." she muttered. She bolted and he grabbed her. Ichiro led her to a bedroom where an attendant rocked her son to sleep. Hikari fell to her knees as he took her son from the attendant and dismissed her. He gave her son to her and she wept quietly to herself as she rocked him. Yuusha began to stir hearing her crying.

His eyes lit up taking in her much-missed scent and he grasped as her covered breasts. The infant began whimpering as he couldn't latch. Hikari bared her breasts and he latched onto her nipple. Yuusha whimpered more as no milk came out. "I can't even feed him" she sobbed. Ichiro got on his knees and began to suddenly gently squeeze and massage her left breast that her son was suckling on. She looked at him pitifully. "You have to relax. You're so stressed you're not lactating" he said softly. Hikari closed her eyes and bit her lip as she became aroused. Ichiro embraced herald held her close. She felt so safe in his arms. He was one of the very few in this world that she knew would never harm her. Not just the fact his family had faithfully served hers for over 1000 years, but the fact he had personally been her friend for decades. Ichiro, like many koonago was far older than he appeared. On the outside, he looked at most 21 years old but in reality, was nearly 100.

In all that time, he stayed close to her side until she relocated to Tokyo. In all that time, he loved her. He never truly acted on it as he was in a lower social caste. He was not of royal blood. Hikari gasped as her milk began to flow. The baby settled down to enjoy his mother's milk. "Thank you" she said trembling. He looked into her eyes and he wiped her tears away once more. She leaned closer into him and Ichiro suddenly stood up. "I should check on your guests and get dinner ready" he said softly before leaving her. He stood outside her room taking a deep breath. He so very wanted to kiss her it hurt and judging by the disappointment in her eyes, so did she.

Meanwhile in Georgia...

"Can we talk?" Alicia asked Joseph after he opened his door. He bid her to enter. "The reason I'm here is..." she was saying until his gesture cut her off. "I know damn well why you're here and truthfully, if I knew she would mess up this badly, I'd killed Faith myself" he said coldly. "...excuse me? Fuck did you say?" Alicia asked. "You heard me. Your fucking squabble ruined the goddamned world" he replied. "And where the fuck were you when we were fighting to keep people free of these assholes? Sitting on your ass watching Price is Right and eating TV dinners" she spat. He looked at her and cocked his head. Alicia suddenly found herself shrunk to two inches. Joseph plucked her from the floor and brought her to eye level. She could see raw magical energy flickering in his eyes. He was not amused.

"Faith upset the natural order of the world. Then she kicked the beehive. Now when she first heard of Lilith, she should've gotten more help instead of blindingly stumbling into battle. Do you have any fucking clue the damage her ego has inflicted on this world! ANY?!" he yelled. His voice rattled her tiny bones. "I've seen reports of Lilith and three other goddesses popping up all over the world" she replied. His eyes flared. "YOU IGNORANT SHIT! THEY TOOK AWAY THE FOUNDATION OF HUMAN EXISTANCE!" he yelled squeezing her. Alicia yelped in pain as her bones creaked. "...killing you would solve absolutely nothing" he sighed walking to his living room and tossing her. She unshrunk in midair landing normal sized on his sofa. He sat in his love seat and went back to drinking the beer he was enjoying before being interrupted.

"Lilith rewrote reality and the changes start at January 1, 2019" he muttered. "That's impossible. Faith told me that time travel was too dangerous to try again as it might tear reality apart" Alicia said. "Weren't you listening? I said reality was rewritten not time travel. Look, time travel damages the fabric of reality because it's so localized. You're changing the past on Earth not the universe. It's like taking a sewing needle and poking holes in reality. At first it's not so bad. Saving a few lives here and there. Resetting the last hour or so. After a while it adds up. Those tiny holes you poke begin to grow and tear. Lilith took advantage of the situation by rewriting reality with a perception spell implanted at the source of the most recent damage. It's like sewing a patch on a quilt. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she didn't care about the collateral damage that would result" he said.

"What perception? What's the real damage?" Alicia asked. "The perception is the entire rucking world was to worship her and her friends instead of their God or gods. Nobody has visited a church, synagogue, temple, shrine, or mosque since the beginning of the year. In fact, those of belief began to pray to them and only them. It made them stronger and keeps doing so every day that passes. As for the real damage, humanity was designed with one inherent belief. Free will. You mess with that and the whole foundation of their species crumbles. Care to guess how many have died because she changed reality?" he asked. Alicia didn't want to ask. "113 million. For so many, it was only their belief in something good, pure, and just that kept them going. The change affected their minds but deep down in their souls, they felt something infinitely precious torn away. They couldn't take it. They took their own lives because they couldn't understand why they felt so empty. It even affected atheists Alicia. Even the belief of nothing is still belief" he said softly.

"I didn't know" she muttered. Joseph picked up a picture and caressed it. The man shed a tear. "Who did you lose?" she asked quietly. "A man named Tim. I loved him as the son I should've had. He was a preacher of a church and father to a woman I considered my granddaughter. He hung himself in the shower last April" he said softly. His eyes grew so soft and cold then Alicia shivered. "There has to be a way to undo this. Faith's last message to us was to seek you and others out" she said. "And she did not come herself because?" he asked. "She was possessed by Lilith" she replied. "Now it makes sense. I wondered how Lilith had enough power to do something of this scale. She used the collected magics Faith had and combined them with the conceptual domains of the other goddesses. But how would she rewrite reality without a point of reference?" he asked. "Selah mentioned she has the true Sephiroth" she said. "The map of creation? The real map?! She really did think this through" he sighed. "How do you know of all this?" she asked. "Because I tried it myself long ago. Shortly after me and my siblings burned the world, I decided to find a way to rewrite our fates. Make so we never got Etherion. As you'd might expect, using a power like Etherion made most of the work easy until it came time to actually do it. I used my power to demand to see how creation was made. It nearly drove me mad. I abandoned the idea, but I remember glimpses of the forbidden knowledge. The Sephiroth was one of them" he said.

"We're thinking the barrier surrounding the island shielded us somehow" Alicia said softly. "Most likely true. There are many kinds of barriers. A perception barrier, an invisibility one, and then you have physical ones that warp space to defend against impacts, the natural world, and magics. The latter would be most effective against reality warping. Hmm...There might be a way to undo this. Recreate the conditions that led to this. A vessel containing deity level elemental magics, acquiring the conceptual domains of the goddesses, and then using the Sephiroth to restart the process" he said. "Will you help me?" Alicia asked. Joseph got up from his chair and walked outside. Alicia followed. The cool October air blew steadily in the very late night as Georgia was many hours behind Indonesia. "...call me when you need me the very most to avoid interference. And one other thing you must be aware of child. For all this to happen, you have to become what you fear the most. A destroyer of life. To them, Lilith is a goddess most high and in this world, you're the bad guys. They will fight you with their own version of righteousness in their hearts and they will not yield" he said. "I understand" Alicia said. "No, you don't, but you will" he said softly. Alicia left him standing outside looking at the stars and went home.

Back in Japan...

They were all alerted to the sound of painful whimpering outside before a house shaking thud. Selah, Skylar, Ichiro, and those outside rushed to the commotion. There they found a now giantess Hikari. "What did you do?!" Skylar asked. "...grew to human size obviously" she whispered. "But that's really dangerous for a koonago! Hana was in serious pain when she did it!" Selah said. "I admit it hurt. Shrinking is one thing, growing yourself behind your normal size is another. How do borrowers do it so easily?" Hikari asked. "They're built for it. Their muscles and bones are denser. They can take more stress. Apparently koonago are more delicate" Skylar said. "It could've killed you. A stroke, aortic rupture" Skylar added. "Necessary for them" Hikari pointed to her people staring at their giant naked princess. "To regain their trust in you" Ichiro said. "Hear me. Tomorrow I will venture forth to take our people back and to punish those who would lay violence and death on our lands. So says the imperial princess of the koonago and sole heir to the throne of Japan by way of Meji" she said holding out her hand. The people bowed before her.

"Go and spread her word! Give prayers to her highness for victory!" Ichiro yelled. They obeyed and dispersed. "Are they gone yet?" Hikari asked with closed eyes. "Yeah they're gone" Selah replied. Hikari winced and braced herself. "I believe the bath can do some good" she muttered standing up. She walked away. "That was weird and random" Selah said. "The bath part? Our baths have healing properties" Ichiro said. "And apparently she's more hurt than she's letting on" Skylar said pinging to drops of blood on the ground. Ichiro grew concerned. "Come Selah.

Back to the house" Skylar said. "But Hikari..."

"Leave that to him" Skylar said winking at him. Ichiro coughed and proceeded to walk in the direction Hikari was heading.

Hikari slipped her feet into the hot spring. Normally, it would be huge to her on the scale of an Olympic swimming pool, but now barely the size of a bathtub. It was a community pool as everyone had access to it. At the moment though she was all alone. She sneezed out the remainder of blood form her nose and wiped her hand on the grass. She winced in pain once more. "Your shoulder is dislocated" Ichiro muttered startling her. "I can feel that. It happened when I grew" she said. "I can pop it back in of you shrink" he said. "Right now, it is too dangerous for me to shrink. I can do it myself" she said stubbornly. She placed her palm flat on the ground and braced herself as she pushed forward. A sickening pop and she yelled in pain. "See? Nothing to it" she huffed. "Then I worried for nothing" he said. Ichiro found himself staring at her naked beauty. She had her back turned to him, but he could see her royal blood fared well. "Ichiro? Why did you not kiss me when you had the chance?" she asked suddenly. "It...it is not my place. You are a princess. I am a retainer" he stammered. She turned to face him. Water trickling down her breasts and body. "Is that all I am? A princess and not a woman?" she asked. "...what would you have me say?" the small man asked walking closer to her.

"The truth" she replied. "Of course, I see the woman that is you. I would have to be blind and deaf not to. And when you held your son, your body close to mine and that pain in your eyes" he said softly. "And why not? We have known each other way too long for excuses" she said. "Because your heart is wounded. Too easy a prize" he said. "Oh. You wanted not to take advantage of me. Tell me Ichiro. When I give you orders, who obeys? The man or the retainer?" she asked. "Both" he said. "For the next hour, you are hereby relieved of duty. You are not my retainer during that time" she ordered. "Have I offended thee?" he asked. She used her hand to scoot him closer. She began pulling his clothing off slowly. "Bathe with me" she said. Nervously, he stepped into the pool. The hot water eased his tense muscles but not his stress. She sprinkled the exposed part of his body with water. "If I fail, there will have to be some changes. I know there is another clan of koonago living in the west but as we are, we cannot show ourselves to them. As of that, the old caste system must be dissolved. Furthermore, each woman must have more than one mate" she said. He looked up at the giantess and wanted to object but he knew she was right. For them not to die out, at least their clan anyway, polygamy had to be observed.

"Where should we begin? The servants, the farmers, the craftsmen?" he asked. Hikari propped her leg on top of the other raising her bare sole out of the water. She rubbed her foot. He had seen her bare feet many times over the past century but never that big. "I am of a person that would not ask anyone to do something I would not. What is the quality of your seed?" she asked. Ichiro swore he misheard her. "Your semen, sperm, spunk, baby batter. Is it any good?" she asked blushing. "I had kids. You know that" he said. "Goddamit I mean recently!" she yelled. "I guess!" he stammered. She placed him on the ground and got out. "I wish to mate with you" she whispered. He looked at the giantess in shock trying to look between her legs. "Hikari. You cannot be serious. We don't even know yet this is necessary" he said. She gave him a look he'd never forget. A look of pain, anger, and dejection. He had broken her heart. "Are you that desperate not to touch me?" she asked crying. He felt deeply ashamed of himself. "Not desperate. I fear I may disappoint you in that matter and that is a personal failure too heavy to bear. I am... unworthy of your affection" he said softly.

"Let me be the judge of that" she said quietly. Ichiro stepped right up to her pussy. It gave him a slight thrill to see the princess blushing so hard. He leaned in and began licking. He could hear the giantess whimper and coo as he ate her out. Once she was nice and wet, he began fucking her. Hikari never touched him as much as she wanted to simply push the small man inside her. She knew it took a great deal of courage on his behalf to get this far and not to do anything to jeopardize that. She looked down at him and smiled warmly. The man grunted as he pounded himself into her over and over until with a shout he emptied his seed in her cavernous cunt. "See. I was unworthy. You did not cum" he said softly. She slipped her finger down inside her and scooped out with little seed he had left. She sucked her finger clean. "Ichiro...you are indeed worthy. Look at my toes" she said. He did and saw they were curled tightly. "You...did..."

"Twice. I did not wish to frighten you" she replied. "I doubt you can do anything to frighten me" he chuckled. He picked him up. "Nothing you say?" she said placing the tip of her finger underneath his balls. "...almost nothing. Princess, wouldn't this be more meaningful if you were normal size?" he asked. "I needed your compassion right now. Not later. You always knew how to show it when I needed it" she replied. "And your strength, and your devotion. You still have the scar" she said touching his chest. "Yes. I saw no need to get rid of it" he said. "Maybe you don't wish to forget that day for personal reasons" she said. He grew quiet. "...that was long ago, and we were different back then" he said.

May 1905 outskirts of Tokyo...

"Princess. We have seen enough. It's time to return" Ichiro who was 16 at the time. "Aren't you curious as to how this will play out?" Hikari who was 38 at the time but looked barely 15 asked. "No, I am not. Another squabble between humans doesn't concern me" he said standing next to her. They were perched in a tree branch watching a battalion of troops heading north to Hokkaido. "This is no ordinary squabble. Foreigners waging war have come to our shores. Mother has not been this concerned since the Mongols. She wants to know how the Japanese will win this. It does affect us" she said. "Be as it may, these Russians seem to fight a protracted war they are not fully prepared for. A nation their size should've won this by now" he said. He sighed softly. "Let us go. We can learn thing more here and it will take time to return home" he said. Hikari nodded and he helped her down from the tree. He helped straighten her kimono and she smiled at him. "Taking your time with that aren't you?" she smiled. He blushed. "Even alone you should look regal" he said. He walked beside her as they made their way through the forest. She suddenly stopped as the strap on her geta broke. He had her sit down. "While you are there, might as well rub my feet" she said. Ichiro sighed as he fixed her strap and took ahold of her tiny left foot.

"Mother has asked me to choose a husband from the approved linage" she said. "I'm sure they are of noble stock" he said softly rubbing the ball of her foot. "Noble stock is not all I desire. Being a certain bloodline is no guarantee of a decent man. I wish for a man who is kind, gentle, and rubs my feet when they hurt" she said. He paused. "You may find someone like that" he said starting on her other foot. Hikari grunted. "And what if I do not?" she asked. "Then it is a pity" he replied. Hikari pulled her foot from him and stood up. "Continue" she barked. They had walked further until they smelled something sweet and waxy. "Hold. Something is amiss. There are no other insects here. PRINCESS!" he yelled shoving her aside as something swooped down from above. He yelled out in pain as a Japanese hornet skewered him through the shoulder. He dropped his katana and she picked it up. "NO! His blood will attract others!" he yelled. Hikari killed the frightening creature snapping at him by trapping its head in a bubble of water and then freezing it. Ichiro pushed the thing off him and cried out as he pulled himself off its stinger.

He began shaking uncontrollably. "Pri...princess....you need to continue just in case..." he stammered. "Shut up fool!" she yelled as she began healing him. She closed the wounds, but she could see he was very far from being healed. "So...cold..." he said shivering. "The venom" she muttered. Her abilities could not counteract hornet venom, so she quickly gathered a special herb for him to ingest. By this point, he was passing out. Hikari chewed it in her mouth and kissed him pushing the chaw into his to swallow. His body had grown very cold and weak. Hikari pulled off giant leaves and dragged them to him. There she made a bed and cover and stripped naked. She climbed on top of him and placed the leaf on top of them. Hikari had been flirting with him but now naked on top of him she was embarrassed. Nighttime came and he had finally stopped shaking. "Hikari..." he muttered in his sleep. She blushed hearing her name with no honorifics. "What are you dreaming about?" she asked. As if to answer her, his left arm hugged her close. He nuzzled her head close to his neck. She could feel his heartbeat, smell him. She felt...good being on him. Thankfully, they were not attacked again during the night.

Morning came and Ichiro awoke. His left hand felt something warm, supple, and smooth. "By the Kami..." he muttered realizing he was fondling his princess' bare ass. He jerked his hand back and the full realization of her completely naked on his naked body dawned on him. His mind frantically played back yesterday. He had been stabbed through by a hornet sting. Normally, it would've been instant death but going clean through gave him a slight dose instead of the full amount. He remembered her face. Terrified with tears as she closed his wounds. Then a feeling of cold as a visage of a sandal wearing giantess behind them stood kneeling over them. "A Shinigami. Must've been. She kept me from death" he muttered looking at Hikari's face. Be it morning wood or her naked body on him, Ichiro's erection rubbed on her pussy lips. He reached out and pushed her hair out of her face.

It wakened her. "O...ohaiyo..." he stammered getting her off him. She shed tears and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were going to die" she sobbed. "You should've left me. This place is still not safe" he said. She looked at him before slapping him. "Idiot!" she yelled standing up. He looked away at her nakedness. Once they had both dressed and peed, they continued. She was very quiet as they trekked to a place they could return home from. He suddenly stopped in his tracks. "I'm not an idiot. I know full well you have feelings for me. You are meant to be with a noble and I am betrothed to Kanami my cousin and that is that" he said. "If it was simply that you wouldn't be so irritated" she said. "It is not my place to say anything contrary! I do believe we should be free to marry who we love but we are koonago. There are rules in place longer than we have been alive that serve purpose. Clean bloodlines produce strong offspring. A hierarchy gives structure" he said. "And yet I am here half human. I am proof that making a strong healthy child is not bound to bloodlines alone" she said. "Exception meets rule" he said softly. "So, you say you felt nothing as I slept on your body? Felt no stirring realizing who was naked upon you? Do not dare lie to me" she said. Ichiro threw his three-inch katana, his badge of office, onto the forest floor.

"Yeah I felt something. I wanted to fuck you hard. To pin you down as I rammed you over and over and filled you with my seed. Your glory is fucking wasted on those nobles that see you nothing as a baby maker at best and a fucking trophy at worst. If I were born to a noble family, I would worship you day and night. You would want for NOTHING" he said walking up to her. Ichiro roughly kissed her long and hard invading her mouth with his tongue. He only let go to give her a chance to breathe. Hikari fell on her butt. He bent down. "Sometimes the truth is crueler than the lie" he said softly caressing her hair. He helped her to his feet. "In another life, my princess" he said quietly as he picked his katana back up. Neither said a word as they returned home.

"She's a lucky woman" Hikari said seeing Kanami, his fiancée waving at his arrival. "About earlier..." he muttered. "Your katana seems heavier in my presence" she said. He simply nodded. "For one night during the Tanabata festival, we are just a man and woman. We shall bare ourselves like we did today. And what comes...comes" she said softly. "The Tanabata festival*. You always did have a poetic side. Agreed" he said.

(Authors note: The Tanabata festival has its origins in China but this particular form is Japanese. It is said that the goddess Orihime and the lower deity Hikoboushi fell in love and married. However, they were so in love, they forgot their duties and put heaven off balance. Orihime's father separated them but eventually let Orihime see her husband for one day a year if the Milky Way was passable (not raining that day). The festival is usually held on July 7th (unless it rains, and the two deities have to wait until next year). So Hikari here is comparing herself to Orihime and Ichiro to Hikoboushi.)

Now...

"Even though we met every year, we never had sex. Why is that?" Hikari asked him as she stroked his tiny chest. "I think we needed someone to talk to that didn't care about titles. The fact that you stayed single so long is astounding. Although, I see why now. None of your suitors was me" he said quietly. "For the longest time I hated Kanami because she had you. But when she died with your children in the Tokyo bombing raid, I felt so ashamed. I was a failure as a princess and your friend" she said. "Nobody is perfect, not even you. But I do remember how you held me in your arms as I cried for them on that Tanabata" he said. He hopped down on the ground and looked at the stars Altair and Vega, the two stars representing Orihime and Hikoboushi. "I missed you this Tanabata. I won't do so again but next year...we will be celebrating with our child" he said. The giantess let out a girlish squeal. "Good night Hikari" he said leaving her.

Hikari returned to the village and with Skylar's and Selah's help, shrunk down more safely. The girls were amused but puzzled at how the princess grinned constantly until bedtime. "She had sex" Selah snickered as they lay in their futons. "Probably" Skylar said turning over. "Is it that different when you love them? I mean I've seen the ZODIAC fucking all the time..." she asked. "So, I've been told. I wouldn't know. When I've had sex, it's been for a job or...amusement for a god" Skylar replied. Selah knew Skylar's life wasn't a good one before she came but she didn't know she was raped. Selah scooted into her futon and hugged her from behind. "Wha...what are you doing?" Skylar asked. "Hugging you silly. Hugs are like ice cream. They fix everything" she replied. Skylar chuckled as her innocence. "Thanks squirt" she whispered.

The next morning...

Skylar stepped outside and sat on the steps next to Hikari. She was humming softly as she fed her son. "You seem a lot better this morning" Skylar said. Hikari nodded. "Some to do with him?" she asked pointing to Ichiro who was practicing his sword swings. "What do you mean?" Hikari asked. "Don't be coy. Your eyes haven't left him in minutes. Every time those muscles of his move, you smile ever so slightly. Those taunt muscles glistening with sweat" Skylar whispered. Hikari shifted her body slightly. "Last night. Was he gentle?" Skylar asked. Hikari was about to berate her tactless attitude until her hand squeezed hers. "He was...vulnerable. He felt very fragile in my hands. After we...had our first bout of sex, I felt satisfied in one way and longing in another. I had to restrain myself" she replied. "Faith said you're over 100-year-old..."

"155 this spring to be exact" Hikari finished. "And no husband at all during that time?" Skylar asked. "No. According to tradition, female royalty may set a condition for a noble to pass before they are chosen for marriage. I chose a question. "What do I want the most in the world?" Noblemen spent over a century trying to guess what I desired. Gemstones, ancient books, priceless swords, one even promised his soul. I wanted none of that" she said. "What do you want Hikari?" Skylar asked. Hikari looked at Ichiro and smiled. "Him" she replied. "It seems the crown prince is no longer hungry" Skylar said glancing down at the boy pushing his mother's breast out of his face. "It occurs to me that my son is not just the prince of the koonago. He is the prince of Japan now as well now that Aki-chan is dead. "Aki-chan?" Skylar asked. "Prince Akihito. The ruler of the Heisei era. We were living in the Reiwa era since he has stepped down. Now, now I have no idea what era this is" she said. Her son grasped at Skylar's arm. "Come here little guy" she said picking him up. "He likes you" Hikari smiled. "Feeling is mutual" Skylar said softly.

"What's wrong?" Hikari asked her. "I was pregnant once. Odin impregnated me but he forced me to have an abortion. He was a sadistic bastard, and I was younger and more foolish but there are times I wonder" she said. "Why don't you babysit for a while" Hikari said standing up. Skylar looked at her surprised. "No thanks. If you'll excuse me, I have to make a call" she said handing the boy back to his mother. Hikari watched her walk away wondering if her gesture did more harm than good. Skylar walked a ways outside the village and passed through the barrier before growing to human size. As she suspected, her cell signal returned. Her phone lit up with voice messages and texts all from Alicia. "Ooh..." she winced reading them. Skylar sighed and called.

"About goddamned time! Where the hell did you go?! You disappeared right off GPS!" Alicia yelled. "To Hikari's ancestral homelands. Alicia, her home was destroyed. Only the main royal mansion survived. They were attacked by soldiers and half of her people were kidnapped.   

Only a few dozen managed to escape here" she replied. The line went silent for a moment. "How's she taking it?" Alicia asked. "Half of the people she grew up with are dead, the other half are missing including her mother. There's vengeance in her soul" Skylar replied. "We should meet up. Talk this out" Alicia said. "Not here" Hikari said at Skylar's foot. "You heard that" Skylar muttered. "Yeah barely. There's a maid cafe in Akibahara we can meet. I'll send the address" Alicia said. "Understood. Be there in a half hour" Skylar said ending the call. "I was worried, so I followed. What is there to discuss? I will wreck vengeance upon them" Hikari said. Skylar picked her up. "It's never that easy. Never. Alicia is worried you'll be walking into something you can't walk out of" she told her. "My mother..."

"Exactly. Your mother was taken and from what I heard she's as strong as you if not stronger. Was she not responsible for the Kanto Earthquake? If she was defeated, how will you fare?" Skylar asked. "You did your homework" the small princess muttered. "I took an interest in you yes. Hana looks up to you like a revered big sister. Nobody here wants you to storm off on some righteous crusade" she said. Hikari wanted to berate her for her choice of words but saw a callous on the palm of her hand. She slipped her sandal off and rubbed her tiny bare foot over it. The edges were rough, very rough but the top of the callous was smooth as glass. "You have seen much combat in your short years" she said. "Once a week before Faith yes. Odin had us train until our joints in our fingers swole. And then...I was unleashed on the world. I never walked into a fight without a plan. Partly why I survived as long" she said. "Let's see what Alicia has to say" Hikari said softly.

Selah was left behind as they did not know exactly what Tokyo had become. Hikari used the magics of the great spring she bathed in earlier to transport them to Akibahara. "A moment please" Hikari asked as her body was adjusting to human size once more. The trick was growing her slowly over the course of 10 minutes. Not as joint wrenching as before but still painful. They hid in an alleyway until Hikari was well enough to stand. "Don't move" a voice in their minds said. "Alicia?" Skylar asked. "Shh..." she said. A minute later, a young Japanese woman appeared before them. "You're radiating magics" she said. The woman touched Alicia and Hikari's shoulders revealing Alicia in disguise. "Don't move Skylar. You need a perception spell like I do. They don't take too kindly to foreigners here" she said. Alicia cast her spell on her weaving a powerful illusion and perception spell. "Good, now all anyone will see is three Japanese women speaking Japanese" she said walking onto the sidewalk. Hikari and Skylar followed.

Alicia opened the door to the cafe. "Good afternoon oneesama!" three young women in maid uniforms yelled. "Table for three please" Alicia said. A maid led them to a booth near the back. "You been here before?" Skylar asked. "Two years ago, during my world tour album release. Came here on a lark" Alicia replied. "I forgot you're Celine Cruz" she said. "That's not me. Only a persona Markus invented as a cover to do his bidding" she said. "But you do like to sing. I've heard your work. It's beautiful" Skylar said. "It can be dangerous too. I'm an S class Mage that can use harmonic synergy in my spellwork" she said. Skylar looked confused. "I can mix magic with my singing to make people stronger...among other things" she explained. Hikari motioned for them to be quiet. "Three jasmine teas" she said ordering as the maid came back. "Right away. Pardon but are you famous? I feel I've seen you before" she said. "Just one of those faces" Hikari replied. "If you say so. While I'm at it, your kimono is exceptional" she said. Hikari nodded silently. "Should've put a different illusion on you too. Of course someone would recognize the face of a koonago princess that's been on tv" Alicia sighed. "Let's just be quick about this. The vibe feels strange" Hikari said. "No kidding. Look what's hanging on the wall there" Skylar said. On the far right wall was a shrine with a young woman's picture. "That's actually common when a relative..."

"No. The katakana reads as "Praise be to the goddess Izanami". At least we got a face now" Hikari said. The maid came back with their teas. As she walked away, a male customer brushed his hand against the back of her nyloned leg as he reached down to pick his wallet up. She paused for a split second. "Now customer-san. That's not nice" she said taking a phone out of her pocket. She tapped a strange app on her phone. "Order of Shi member confirmed. What is the infraction?" the digital voice asked in Japanese. "Groping" she tapped. She showed the phone to the man. "Hiroto Asahi confirmed. This marks the third infraction. Sentence is death" it said. "Please! I was just trying to pick my wallet up!" he begged. The maid tapped the app once more before showing it to him. A light beamed onto him projecting a onmyoji style of talisman. He ran for the door as the light followed him on his back. He cried out in terror as he began to shrink. He was barely 2 1/2 inches tall when he made it to the door. The maid casually plucked him from the floor. "What do we do with this one?" she asked her coworkers.

"Ayumi suffocated the last one by putting him on her shoe and wearing it until her shift was over. Mine I just flushed down the toilet" one replied. "Hmm...I'll just eat him then" she shrugged. She ignored his pleading as she ripped his clothing off. The young woman rinsed his naked body in the sink before placing him in her mouth. His screams faded down her throat as she swallowed him alive. She finished by discarding his shrunken clothes in the waste bin. "Did you fuckin' see that?" Alicia asked. "I think we all did. This is worse than I thought. They combined magic with technology. Anyone with that app can use it" Hikari said. "How is such a thing possible?" Skylar asked. "Combining magic with technology isn't that hard. You only have to find a reasonable platform to work from. My transformation driver is part tech developed by...never mind" she said blushing. "Developed by whom?" Alicia asked. "...Sony" Hikari replied embarrassed. Skylar burst out laughing. "Shhh!" Hikari said. "Sony? As in the people that make the PlayStation?" Skylar chuckled. "Sony has been on the forefront of many technological advances for decades. They're even working on electric cars and self-navigation systems*" she said.

(Authors note: Absolutely true)

"Putting Sony's odd business decisions aside, I had a chat with Joseph, and he shed some light on what's going on. What Lilith did was somehow graft a perception spell on reality itself. People around the world stopped worshipping whatever they believed in and began worshipping Lilith, Izanami, Persephone, and Morrigan. They effectively rule the world" she said. "At the cost of my people it seems" Hikari muttered. "Not just yours. Over 100 million people ended their own lives because their very souls couldn't cope with the changes. Who knows how many more are dead like that poor bastard we just saw" Alicia said. "He knew why we were spared becoming like them?" Skylar asked pointing to the maids. "Like we thought, the barrier on the island protected us. Stands to reason similar barriers in other places did the same. We have to hurry before one of these goddesses notices the difference" Alicia said. "So, my people fell victim because our barrier was a perception one" Hikari said. Her tea began to boil. "Hikari" Alicia muttered. Her tea floated out of the cup and formed into a thin line of boiling liquid. She angrily cut the Izanami shrine in half shocking everyone in the cafe. The maids pulled out their phones. "Order of Shi member confirmed" their phones said. Hikari slashed the phones right out of their hands. "Hikari!" Alicia yelled. "Hikari?! You're the koonago princess! I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" the maid that waited on them said. Hikari raised her hand. "And you are the ones worshipping that fucking monster" Hikari hissed as she fired off three consecutive shrinking spells.

Each one shrank to only an inch tall. Hikari casually walked up to each of them and slipped her sandal off. With not a word, she crushed the first one with her big toe. They scrambled seeing their coworker reduced to a stain which Hikari smeared on the floor. The giantess princess took two steps and squashed another leaving the original maid. "Please! Please don't!" she begged. "Like that poor man from earlier? How many met their ends for frivolous things? How many yourself have you killed? You worship your death goddess so much then embrace her" Hikari said coldly as she lowered her imperial once pristine rosy sole over her body. Everyone watched silently as she brought it down slowly. The tiny girl's whimpering turned into a scream as the giant sole flesh touched her outward extended hands. Her screams became shrieks as it pushed down on her body and then a muffle as her face was buried. Then...a wet pop and crunch. Hikari stood there grinding the ball of her foot back and forth for 10 long seconds until nothing but red smear was left. "Goddamit we have to leave!" Alicia yelled pointing to the window. A woman with a phone had seen everything. Alicia grabbed Hikari and motioned for Skylar to flee. They ran into an alley as police sirens in the distance came closer. Hikari summoned her water magic to take them back to the village.

Hikari said nothing as she began walking to the village from the spring. "You have any idea what you just did? You exposed us all! Any advantage of surprise is fucking gone!" Alicia yelled grabbing Hikari's shoulder. Hikari grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully. "Do not presume to lecture me! My people are either dead or missing! My fellow Japanese are in a fucking death cult murdering males for the glory of a woman who has been the bogeyman for the people of this nation since time memorial! And while we sit and drink tea her followers murder a man for dropping his fucking wallet at a bad time. You want to berate me for killing those worthless fucking creatures? News flash! A lot more and going to die tonight because I'm going to the research center and I don't give a fuck if you're coming or not. Cover blown? I can command a fucking water dragon. Ask me if a fucking care!" Hikari screamed crying. Skylar grabbed Hikari's arm. "This...this is what I was talking about. Your rage and grief has clouded your judgement. You command a water dragon? Well, we don't and neither do they. Neither does he. What about them Hikari? What danger have they been exposed to now they know we're here?" Skylar asked after pointing to Ichiro. Hikari let go of Alicia. She looked aghast realizing the full extent of what could come of what she did. She staggered off leaving them. "She had blood on her toes. What happened?" Ichiro asked. "Nothing good. She needs time alone" Skylar replied. 

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Six hours later...

"You must like this room" Ichiro said entering the dojo. Hikari was sitting down with her eyes closed. "They're worried. They were worried before but now they're really worried. This isn't some suicide mission is it? Some way to regain your honor?" he asked. He sat down and twisted her big toe. "Oww!" she yelled. "Stop ignoring me" he said. "I was meditating!" she yelled. "BULLSHIT! You were moping and hiding yourself like you always do when you fuck up badly. They told me what you did" he said. "It was stupid, irresponsible, and borderline childish. I lost sight of the bigger picture" she muttered. "Damn right you did" he said taking her foot in his hand. He began to massage her sole. "I've taken so much for granted. My home, my title, my mother. It's never even crossed my mind once she could die. I'm like she's 5000 years old, she not going anywhere" she said. She placed her other foot in his lap. "I know how that feels. I didn't realize what I had until I lost my wife and kids. It doesn't even feel real at first. But when it sets in its...oh. No wonder you lost your shit. Crying and fucking isn't going to fix that hole" he said letting her feet go. "...what will?" she asked softly. "Finding your purpose. That's not easy Hikari" he replied. He pulled her in and kissed her deeply. He held her until they needed air. "But you will if you don't destroy yourself in the process. Come, dinner is being served" he said standing her up. They walked to the dining hall where Skylar, Alicia, and Selah were already seated.

Hikari bent down prostrating herself. "Forgive my foolish words and actions. They were uncalled for and put you in danger. Alicia, the things I said to you...I understand if you do not wish to associate with me no longer" she said. Alicia scooted over to her. Alicia put her finger under Hikari's chin and raised her head. "Deko-pin rocket!" Alicia yelled suddenly plucking her in the forehead hard. Hikari nursed her forehead. "A secret technique passed down through Ichiro's family to deal with troublesome princesses. He was kind enough to teach me it" Alicia said. Ichiro covered his mouth as he stifled a laugh. "Apology accepted. Let's eat shall we? Can't mount a rescue mission on an empty stomach" she said. They ate dinner and once done assembled outside in the twilight air. A young girl approached Hikari and gave her a headband. Hikari read the kanji on it. Hikari bowed before her. The girl was shocked the imperial princess bowed to her a peasant. "You honor me" Hikari told her. The girl began weeping Hikari tied the headband on and knelt down to her. "You must be strong. All of you! Be strong for if I die and you weep for me...I will find no peace. Mourn for as long as it takes for a sun to rise and set and then no more. This I command" she said. Each one bowed before her. An attendant carrying a tray of sake bowls approached him. She gave Ichiro a bowl, then Hikari. She paused looking at the foreigners for just a moment before handing them bowls as well. Selah watched as Hikari and Ichiro drank and then shattered the bowls on the ground. Following suit, the others did as well. "Congrats. You're honorary koonago now" Hikari chuckled. "What does the headband say?" Skylar asked. "Victory" she replied.

"We good to go?" Alicia asked. Ichiro gripped his scabbard. Hikari held her naginata in one hand and the transformation driver in another. "You seriously taking that? Faith said it's dangerous without that green gem" Alicia said. "Be as it may, I might need its power. That's assuming it even works. It hasn't even been tested" she replied. "That inspires confidence" Selah said. Hikari summoned it away. "I'm not in the position of being choosy. Let's go everyone" she said. The people watched as they walked out of the village to the spring. "Last one in is a rotten manju bun" Hikari said after opening the portal. She jumped in, followed by Ichiro, then Alicia, Skylar, and Selah. They appeared near a riverbank near the edge of the forest to the north side of RIKEN. They slowly walked out cautious, yet it was near impossible for anyone to see them in their tiny state. "Skylar, Selah, cancel your shrink spells" Alicia said. The three of them grew back to human size. "Well damn" Skylar said looking at the facility. "What? What do you see? Hikari asked. "A nice chunk of the JSDF. Better part of a battalion. Hundred soldiers outside, probably just as many inside. Armored vehicles, five tanks, four snipers" Alicia muttered using clairvoyance. "Can you see inside the facility?" Ichiro asked impressed. "No, there's a spell barrier on the building itself" she replied. "Shit!" Skylar hissed. "No this is a good thing. You don't use this many troops to guard a low priority facility" Alicia said. "Or they could be doing sensitive research" Skylar said. "With spell barriers on the building? No, they don't want something that can portal out from escaping" she said.

"What's the plan?" Selah said. "You stay right here" Alicia said. "Nuh uh. I can cast attack spells too and you need all the help you can get" Selah said. "You held your own a little against Lilith kid but that doesn't make you a big gun" Alicia said. "And I can heal. If Hikari's people are in there they could be hurt or worse. You need a magic medic with them" Selah said. Alicia looked at Hikari and Ichiro. They nodded. "I will guard her with my life" he said. "You better or I'll cut something precious to you and Hikari off your body. Get me buddy?" she asked. "H...hai" he squeaked at the giantess. "And for the rest of us?" Skylar asked. "You follow them into the building. I'll make a way for you to slip in" she replied. "Slip in? They're crawling down there" she said. "Not for long. Now you and Selah pick up our friends and head to the fence. Wait till you get your chance" she said. Before Skylar could ask how'd she know when that was, Alicia was already walking down the hillside.

Alicia calmly walked to the gate entrance. She cracked her knuckles and cleared her throat. She hid her right hand behind her back. "Adet..." she muttered summoning her zodiac artifact, Harmony Bangle, onto her wrist. Someone blew a whistle and spotlights centered on her. A team of soldiers ran out of the gate to her weapons drawn. "A foreigner here?" one asked. "Report it to the commandant. YOU! On ground!" a soldier yelled in broken English. "Now fellas. Ain't this extreme for a young woman walking the road at night?" Alicia asked. Their guns were trained on her. Alicia took a deep breath and let out a powerful blast of wind magic through her voice. The wind literally shredded the soldiers before her. "A sharp if you were wondering. Now for my next trick..." she smiled. Her eyes glowed as spells weaved around her body. Fortification, healing, and growth. Her artifact giving her the power to sing three different notes at the same time as she grew and grew. Astonished, they opened fire on her. Their bullets doing nothing as they bounced off a barrier. Now before them was a foreign giantess every bit of 150 ft. tall. The sheer power Alicia was putting out made her toes tingle. Alicia took two steps forward and kicked the fenced gate so hard it flew clear into the air. The center had been breached.

Her kick had thrown concrete and pavement dust into the air blocking their sight, but it did not stifle her laugh. "Puny little things" Alicia chuckled. She turned her attention to the sniper towers. She sang and a sonic pressure wave amplified so strongly it caused the dust to ripple. Suddenly it forcibly expanded literally crushing all four snipers where they stood. A rain of blood and gore showed those below. "B flat" she muttered. The soldiers panicked and let loose all they had on her. Alicia kept singing softly as she walked forward. Soldiers retreated behind the column of tanks. Lightning arced from her fingers striking the tanks. Made of iron and steel, they easily conducted the charge until their own ammo stores exploded violently. "My god. Is that really her?!" Selah asked. "Faith told me that she was far more powerful than she looked. I thought she was exaggerating because they were married. Now I feel stupid" Skylar replied. "She's drawing them away from the east entrance!" Ichiro yelled as sirens made it hard for them to hear. They made their way to the east loading dock.

Their best defense was no more but still they stood their ground. Alicia moved forward but more careful as she didn't want to risk damaging the building itself yet. She raised her shoe over soldiers and crushed them easily. It felt glorious to her. "YOU'RE NOTHING TO ME!" she growled smashing more. An RPG struck her in the face, and she paused. They looked on helpless seeing the giantess was unharmed. More soldiers appeared and tapped the badges on their uniforms. "Uh oh" Alicia muttered as they held out their hands and fired disturbing black lightning. Alicia was brought to her knees as two dozen dark magic bolts pummeled the giantess. "Fuck!" Skylar yelled as the air was torn from numerous thunderclaps. "Should we help her?" Selah asked. "No, we stick to the plan" Skylar said as they approached the east loading dock. It was barely defended. "Invoke" Skylar said powering into her Valkyrie form. Selah went to follow. "No, your form is still unstable, and you need to save your energy. You're the team white Mage" Skylar chuckled. "Rush them" Ichiro said hopping off Skylar's left shoulder. There were four soldiers on the dock. Ichiro armed for the throat of the far right one and slashed it. His razor thin blade cutting the giant's throat so keenly, at first there was no blood. Then a pressurized cloudy spray. Ichiro landed on the back wall and used his momentum to push off and flip attacking the soldier once more strapping the back of the neck digging his two-inch sword into the soldier's brain stem. The koonago held on as the giant fell to the concrete dead.

Hikari leaped off the right shoulder and summoned her treasured naginata, slashing a soldier upwards on the side of her jugular. A vicious cut causing to giantess to bleed out within seconds. The two soldiers shocked by losing their friends aimed their rifles at the two women they could actually see, although seeing Skylar in white holding a sword gave them pause. Pause that was fatal. Skylar ran the first soldier through, pulled out her sword and swung cutting the hands off the other one. One groaning, the other shrieking, Skylar cut the head off the shrieking soldier. "SKY!" Selah yelled as the other soldier aimed his pistol. Skylar deflected the shot so fast a gust of wind pushed everyone back. She finished him off a second later. "Incredible speed. I barely saw you move" Ichiro said yanking his sword free. "Wind and lightning magic boosts my speed and reaction time to twice that of humans. It's good in short bursts but fucks up your joints and muscles after extended use" she said. She kicked the reinforced door open. "Let's go" she muttered.

"You know. That black lightning was impressive. Not the first time I've been hit that hard but it's very rare. That lightning, tainted by malice and evil. Like putting a full metal jacket on a bullet. But here's the thing about your magics" Alicia said standing back up. "Arcane magics can't compare to the genuine article" she said grinning. Her eyes glowed intensely. Alicia brought her fingers together forming a circle. She sang a high note into her hands collecting magical power. Terrified, they attacked her once more only to find their lightning ricocheting off an even more powerful barrier. "You're so fucked!" Alicia laughed at them. She opened her fingers and the collected spell craft drifted down. Impacting the ground, all of them screamed in pain clutching their ears. They shat themselves, pissed themselves, brought to their knees screeching as a sound well beyond human hearing tore them apart from the inside out. A cone of pulverized pavement surrounded them. One by one they fell dead after their hearts of brains were turned to mush. One, one that had protective earplugs on barely survived. Blood oozed out of his nose and mouth as he crawled. He looked up blindingly as her sound had obliterated his eyes. "...Godzilla ain't got shit on me" she said coldly crushing him under her shoe and twisting it.

Almost immediately after entering the building, Hikari sensed something very off. "Not possible! I sense hundreds of koonago here!" she yelled. "Isn't that a good thing?" Selah asked. "You do not understand. My attendant saw them kill most of the males and kidnap the rest. That's 200 at the most taken. I'm sensing better part of 500 koonago here. How is this possible Ichiro?" Hikari asked dumbfounded. "I know not princess" he replied. "Then we should find out" Alicia said stumbling down the hallway. "Jesus you look like shit" Skylar said running up to her. "Growing like that takes a shitload of energy. I'll be fine. Hikari, what does those signs say?" she asked pointing to the, on the wall. "Lab 5 to the left. Main lab forward" she replied. "Main lab then?" Selah asked. "If 500 koonago really are here, they would need a good amount of room to monitor them. It would be too dangerous to keep them spit up in different rooms" Alicia said. "Wouldn't it be the opposite?" Selah asked. "Multiple rooms means separate monitoring and more chances of something going wrong. Since we're talking about a magical race, it would make sense to have them in one place just in case you have to...kill them all" Alicia said quietly. Alicia looked behind her. "Head to the main lab while I head to the security office" she said walking away. "Something is really wrong with her" Selah said. "Her shoes were red with blood. Whatever happened outside must've been graphic. We should press on before whoever is left in here calls for help" Skylar said. Skylar and Selah carried Hikari and Ichiro with them as they made their way to the main lab.

Alicia made her way to the security control room. It was locked but not for long as she blew it open. A man was frantically yelling into a phone in Japanese when the door was blown open. He nearly pissed himself seeing the once giantess before him slathered in the blood of his coworkers. "Who did you call?" she asked. "Goddess Izanami. You will die whimpering in your own shit" he chuckled half mad. Alicia shrank him where he lay and picked him up. "The password to unlock this terminal" she said. "I will never..." he spat until the sound of a sweet melody filled his ears. Alicia gently sang as she weaved a hypnotic spell on him. "7...14...23...4...zero" he said softly. "Alicia typed the numbers in and the computer unlocked. She quickly cycled through the security cameras outside. Nothing but her devastation could be seen on them. She cycled through the internal cameras. "Hmmm" she said as she turned on the PA. "It's me. There's a lot of transparent containers hooked to medical devices in the main lab. Looks like we were right. The other rooms are storage, separate labs, and....heads up. You got incoming" she said.

"Halt" Hikari commanded. She stepped off Skylar's shoulder. "Cover me" she said as she took her time growing. Moments later, their progress was blocked by soldiers. "Apparently some stayed inside" Ichiro said. "It matters not" Hikari groaned as she passed a foot. They opened up with M4 rifles. Skylar cried out as 5.56 rounds by the dozens assaulted her barrier. She was the best Odin had. Her attack and defense the envy of her peers. However, she was not invincible. Rounds slipped past her barrier luckily not hitting anyone, but one round hit her shoulder just as they stopped to reload. She fell to her knees applying pressure to the wound. If it wasn't for her defenses, it would've taken her arm off. "You did enough" Hikari said behind her. The soldiers aimed their weapons and paused seeing a koonago as big as they were. "They can grow..." one muttered. "They can do more" Hikari hissed raising her hand. An ominous groan came from the ceiling. The groans got louder until there was a bang. Hikari grinned as her hand came down. Dozens of sharp icicles erupted downward from the ceiling tiles killing the soldiers before her. "What did..."

"Burst the fire sprinkler pipes. Alicia! If you can hear me then activate all the sprinklers inside!" she yelled. "It's going to be okay" Selah said half panicked as she began healing Skylar. "Calm down squirt. It's just a flesh wound" she said. "Even so, that bravery was remarkable" Ichiro said. Every 15 ft, a sprinkler popped on spraying water. "Guess she heard you" Skylar said standing up. "So it would seem, I hope it's enough though" Hikari said. "I don't think there's that many left in here" Selah said looking around. "Looks are deceiving child" Hikari said taking her sandals off. Her bare feet stepped into water running across the floor. "Yes, there's more here. Some not moving, others moving very fast" she said. She began walking to the lab once more. Stragglers of soldiers tried ambushing them as they walked. Hikari would kill them within a second with water magics, usually with ice. "You're not shrinking them" Skylar said. "I need them later" Hikari said cryptically. "You don't mean..." Ichiro said. "An abominable power I know but I have ceased to be so picky" she said. Finally, they reached the lab. It was bolted closed but no match for their combined attacks. The lab doors were blown open. "By the Kami..." Hikari muttered.

"This...this cannot be" Ichiro said. "But it is" Hikari said. Researchers trapped inside tried to run past then only for Skylar to blow them back onto the floor with wind magic. Hikari bent down to one of them, a young man, and shrunk him. She plucked him up and carried him closer to what had disturbed them so badly. "Hikari, the cages on the walls" Skylar said. "He will explain that too but before that he will explain this" she said with cold anger. Before them was plastic containers connected to oxygen tanks and various medical equipment. Inside those containers were very tiny infants. Hikari peered down finding some of them as young as a few weeks. 20 babies in each container with a shrunken researcher monitoring them from the inside. The researcher looked at the Asian giantess in terror. "What have you done?" Hikari asked. "Please don't kill..." his pleading silenced as she squeezed him tightly until a rib broke.

"We, we were commanded by the holy Izanami to breed koonago with human DNA" he croaked. "All of them are mixed bred with your humans? How many?" she asked narrowing her eyes. "314 as of this morning" he replied. "Why? WHY?!" she yelled. "She wants her subjects to share in your power! She wishes to elevate us!" he yelled. "She's breeding a magical race she can fully control. A force that can enforce her will without arcane. An army" Skylar said. "They're still half koonago. You sensed them so that proves it" Selah said. "How many died? How many of my sisters did you condemn to death?" Hikari asked. Ichiro hopped down and entered the container. He paid no heed to the woman trying to hide from him. "I don't...know" he replied.

"More than a few" she said. He nodded quietly. "You killed them?" Skylar asked. "Not out of hand. We did what we could to extend their lives" he whined. "Extend? I'm not following" Skylar said. "A koonago giving birth is a dangerous life draining event. Even worse when they are very powerful. A koonago exiting the womb is like giving birth to a star. It is why our numbers are not very high. To have so many here, they impregnated them over and over. Isn't that right?" she asked the shrunken man. "My god, so they kept giving birth until their bodies have out?" Skylar asked. Hikari nodded. "How many carry your blood? Do you even know?" she asked him. "No..." he replied. "How many times did they beg you not to shove an eyedropper into their pussies and squirt your unworthy seed into them? How many lost their virginity to your cruelty? HOW YOUNG DID YOU GO?!" she howled. The man sobbed in her grip. Hikari threw him on the floor hard. Not even checking if he survived, she stamped her bare sole over his body over and over. "Princess, they are healthy" Ichiro said to her. "Hikari, they did not ask to be born but be as it may..."

"Say no more Ichiro. Begin the process of ferrying them back to the homeland. In the meantime..." she said walking off. "We'll help you" Selah said bending down over him. Ichiro had the shrunken assistants leave the containers while Selah and Skylar stacked them onto carts. "So many" Selah said. "Two dozen easily and not counting the cages" Skylar muttered. "We're going to have company very soon. They got off a distress call to Izanami and... oh damn" Alicia said entering the room. "They used us as incubators. The females were violated constantly since April. The young males, probably for their sperm" Ichiro said softly. Alicia looked at Hikari. "And her mother?" she asked. "Over by the cages looking for her no doubt" he replied.

"Will none of you answer my question? Where is my mother?" Hikari asked shaking. None answered as most of them sat in their cages naked in a broken mental state. "Please...anything..." Hikari wept. "Pri...ncess. I am sorry. They have gone through cruel things" one finally said. Hikari did not recognize the woman that spoke. "If I had been there..." Hikari said. "You may have ended up like us. Like your mother. She was the silver; you were the gold prize in their eyes. They never stopped searching for a koonago that carried human imperial blood" she replied. "My mother. I cannot find her in any of these cages" Hikari said. "Because she is no longer with us. She passed a month prior" the small woman said softly. Hikari opened the cage and placed her in her hand. Hikari sat down. "Tell me" Hikari said softly. "She held out longer than most of us. She kept our spirits up saying one day her daughter wound come for us. Even as the human pushed his eyedropper into her and inseminated her womb, she did not cry, beg, or whimper. Even when they took turns using her as a sexual object, she did not break. She was glorious. She endured as her belly swole. Her nipples leaked milk. And only shed a tear when they took her baby from her. A week would pass by and they would do it again. Do it again like they did to the others. Her body grew weaker with each birth. The fire in her eyes dimmed. Her life gave out giving birth to the fourth child, a girl. In her delirium, she thought it was you. She called out your name as she looked upon the newborn and breathed her last breath" the woman said. "And what of you... Lady..."

"I am Kagome of a lower class and a nobody. I have birthed three" she replied. "...did they at least honor our dead?" Hikari asked. "They were burned with the trash" Kagome replied. Hikari placed her back in the cage. "Ichiro. Grow to human size and prepare to ferry the cages. They cannot move on their own" Hikari commanded softly. "...as you wish" he replied. With help he did grow to human size. "We're having trouble finding enough carts to..."

"Get it done" Hikari hissed. "I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the Japanese goddess of death is coming, and I swear I hear a chopper approaching" Alicia said. "Then it's a good thing that we have someone who can translocate them. I will deal with unwelcome company" Hikari said sitting down on the floor. By this time, the fire sprinklers had long since gone dry but Hikari had decided it was enough if she needed it for a pitch battle. To everyone but Ichiro, it appeared she was meditating. She was not. Hikari was gathering tools for battle. "Just push them through Ichiro" Alicia said concentrating. "And they'll arrive safely?" he asked. She simply nodded. Cart by cart, gurney by gurney, they pushed them through. The shrunken assistants and lab techs had fled as the giant and giantesses around them had bigger things on their mind. However, what they saw in the hallways was far more harrowing than the main lab. Dead soldiers, dozens upon dozens, stood on their feet in the hallways in line. Their eyes utterly soulless. The small people at their bloody unmoving feet screaming in terror. Then, the sound of thunder...

Black lightning crashed through the reinforced glass ceiling striking the floor knocking everyone back. Black smoke circling the impact zone until it was dissipated. "Izanami" Hikari hissed. "Princess Hikari and... well that's interesting. You three should've been swallowed by the reversion. Why have you not?" the grim woman asked. The air grew cold just in her presence. She wore a black kimono with black wooden geta sandals. Her eyes dark as night but shined oddly. "Keep working Ichiro" Hikari said. Izanami glanced at him. "Stealing my precious property? Can't have that" Izanami said firing a black bolt of lightning. Hikari moved with shocking speed deflecting it. In her hand was her prized naginata which burst into black flames. She dropped it. "Impressive but that was barely a fraction of my power" she said. Drop lines came down around her as soldiers repelled down. Four of them in all black. "You ask humans to do your bidding? Cowardly" Hikari said. "Pot calling kettle" Izanami grinned looking at Alicia, Skylar, and Selah. "Friends while yours are slaves to power. A difference that will tip the scales foul Kami" Hikari said. Izanami glared at the four soldiers and nodded. They pulled out phones. "Order of Shi. The Four Deaths confirmed. Authorized for combat" they said.

"Honorable Death. Dishonorable Death. Forgotten Death. Revered Death. Henshin" they said on after another. A dark aura filled their bodies as the kanji for "four" turned to "Shi*". "Leave the princess alive" Izanami told them. The dark soldiers rushed them, but they stopped dead in their tracks seeing what was marching right behind their targets. "Oh fuck Hikari. Are you actually controlling them?" Alicia asked. "Blood puppetry. A distasteful use of my water magics" she said as she led them in. "Oh gross..." Selah said seeing their faces frozen in painful death. "What are you waiting for fools?! Eliminate them!" Izanami yelled. They raised their hands to fire off dark lightning magics incinerating them on the spot. Selah, Skylar, and Alicia gagged at the stench of burning flesh and uniform. Hikari simply grinned as she willed her burning dead slaves to aim their weapons and fire. One went down, then another. Their magazines dry now. "Advance" she said. The still burning corpses marched onward absorbing lightning magics. Their putrid bodies exploding, their limbs blown off but still they advanced. There were two dozen when they entered but now five remained as they piled onto the remaining two powered up death mages. One screamed as he was torn apart. "Enough of this" Izanami hissed blowing the other one along with the dead soldiers to smithereens with a lightning blast.

(Authors note: The Japanese word for death is Shi and is written in a way that resembles the kanji for the number four. It is this reason why the number four is considered bad luck in Japanese culture like 13 is in western culture)

Now you have to fight on your own" Hikari said. "Gladly" Izanami said summoning her weapon. Hikari and Ichiro (who had not dared to stop pushing carts through the portal) paused briefly to gaze upon it. "Amenonuhoko, the legendary jeweled spear of creation" Ichiro muttered. "Come forth, Kusanagi" Hikari said summoning the revered katana of legend. As soon as it touched her hand, a mighty gust of wind filed the lab. Even at half the size of a warehouse, the lab howled as mythic power filled the air. "We must hurry! A clash of this magnitude will surely destroy this place!" Ichiro yelled fetching another cart. "What the fuck is happening?!" Skylar yelled. "It's a contest of mythic armaments! The spear of creation versus the sword of divine force! The fact that Hikari summoned Grasscutter means she can sense the danger we are in!" he yelled over the wind. They hurried with evacuating the last surviving koonago as Hikari readied herself. "The Grasscutter? Surely you do not think it will win this contest" Izanami said. "There is a reason this sword changed the fate of my ancestor so very long ago. Underestimate this blade at your peril" Hikari said. "Not the blade I find lacking! It is the user!" Izanami yelled attacking.

Their clashes shook the very room. Thunder and the screech of metal. Izanami slashed to the right making Hikari lean back hard. The tip of the spear cutting her kimono open as if it was toilet paper. Hikari discarded it and kept on. Three very long minutes passed before they were locked in a parry. "Your strength wanes little mortal. Your muscles weaken, your heart pounding, even your nipples cry milk from exhaustion" Izanami sneered. "It goes as planned spurned lover. Tell me, how did it feel to be sealed in hell by your own husband? Say what you will about me, but my mates stood by my side at my worst. Even now one scurries to save our race" Hikari said grinning. Izanami turned her attention to Ichiro. "You can fend off my attack but what about him. Watch the puny male burn like a matchstick" Izanami said breaking the parry to fire off a powerful blast of lightning. Hikari swung her sword summoning a gust of fake force wind blowing Ichiro and mercifully the last cart of survivors through. Izanami's attack struck the portal causing it to collapse and sending an abrupt feedback right at Alicia. She screamed as she fell to her knees.

"You cost me my property" Izanami hissed. Hikari slammed her sword into the floor and began her next gamble. She had been concentrating on it the entire battle with the goddess as she knew already she would not win a sword duel with her. "My people are NOBODY's property! Come forth Mizu no Kagatsuchi!" Hikari yelled summoning her next to best water magic spells. A mighty roar shook the research center before a massive dragon made of every drop of spilled water Hikari could find in the building. Water from toilets, coolers, refrigerators, sprinklers, even the blood that had been spilled made up the construct. Hikari willed it to trap it within its coils. "You dare use this cheap imitation of my own child!" Izanami howled. "I dare" Hikari replied. Hikari willed it to constrict harder and harder to crush her body. "Lighting magics!" Hikari yelled to the others. Alicia fired a continuous storm of lightning as did Skylar and Selah. "It's working!" Skylar yelled as the water surrounding the goddess began turning redder by the second. Then an implosion stained the water pure crimson. "Yeah! Fuck you and the horse ya rode in on!" Alicia yelled. Then, discharges of black lightning began to arc out.

"No...no!" Hikari yelled feeling her grip failing. A tremendous explosion of water blew them all back hard. Alicia slammed her head into the wall knocking her clean out. Skylar was thrown through a computer terminal nearly breaking her neck. Her Valkyrie power gone. Selah was thrown hard into a desk dazing her. Hikari was the only one holding on but severely weakened now. "Forgive me everyone" she muttered summoning her last trump card she had...the transformation driver. "Enough of this shit!" Izanami yelled firing off a quick blast of dark lightning knocking the driver out of her hands. The device skidded across the floor right next to Selah. Izanami stepped over to Hikari and gripped her neck. She discharged her evil magics at point blank range making the koonago shriek in pain. Her tired body being electrocuted by a maliced hand. Her cries of agony reached Selah and she looked upon her.

"No..." she muttered trying to stand. She could not. She looked to Skylar and Alicia to save her Asian friend only to find they were barely alive themselves. "No..." she hissed moving her hand which bumped into the driver. She remembered that it could bestow great power but also in its current state without the gem would probably kill the user. She loved each one of them. Alicia like a mother, Skylar like a big sister, Hikari like a cherished friend. "I'm not losing anyone else. I won't live through that again" she muttered as she held the driver in her hand. She pressed it to her body and sensing a user, buckled around her waist. It gave off a whirring sound. Hikari shrank from the sheer pain and was dropped on the floor. Now that he screams didn't fill her ears, she heard the whirring sound and looked. "SELAH NO!" Hikari yelled seeing the driver bonding to her. Selah screamed in pain as her own innate power was drawn to the surface. Then...she collapsed dead. Hikari whimpered seeing the young giantess go still. "Fool. Killed herself with her own weapon. A weird one at that. And here I was looking forward to killing the pretty young thing slowly. But you always get what you want..." Izanami said coldly as she slipped her right sandal off. She hovered her foot over Hikari. Hikari didn't have to look back to know it was there. She could smell it. The smell of grave dirt, sweat, and memorial wood.

Selah opened her eyes to find herself surrounded in white. "Is this heaven?" she asked. A young woman appeared before her speaking in Japanese. "I'm sorry I don't speak Japanese" she said. The woman blinked. "Switching to English. Hello, I am the Artificial Mapping Interface or AMI for short. Do you wish to resume registration?" she asked. Registration? This isn't heaven?" Selah asked. "No. This is the mental landscape provided by me AMI" she replied. "I have to go back! Oh god she's probably killed Hikari by now. How long was I out?" Selah asked panicked. "Local time 12.3 seconds. Relative time 0.000123 seconds" Ami replied. "Relative time?" Selah asked. "Here time moves approximately 10,000 times faster than the real world. Now resuming registration of prototype driver. Selah McCormick. Base magics are...Norse and unknown. Default weapon found. Registering Last Stigmata. Configuring driver to optimum performance. Configuring complete. Driver is now Hero Driver. Please select verbal password for transformation" AMI said. "Slow down! Jesus slow down. You saying mom's sword is really in me?" Selah asked. "Yes" AMI replied. "And this Hero Driver can tap into my magics and make me some superhero?" Selah asked. "Yes" she replied. "And verbal password?" Selah asked. "Verbal command used to transform. A verbal command is needed to safeguard against accidental transformations" she replied. "Any word?" Selah asked. "Any word or phrase. It is recommended a word or phrase that is not commonly used" AMI replied. "Verbal password is..."Be As Gods" Selah said. "Registering Verbal Password. Registration complete. Please agree to the terms of service by Sony. Sony is not liable for accidental death or loss of limbs due to the usage of the Hero Driver. Do you agree?" AMI asked. "...agreed" Selah replied. "Full registration is complete. Exiting registration. Hero Driver online. You may now transform by placing your hand on top of it and calling out the verbal password" AMI said. The world she saw faded away.

The jolt of power restarted Selah's heart. In reality, not even one second had passed since it stopped. "Fool. Killed herself with her own weapon. A weird one at that. And here I was looking forward to killing the pretty young thing slowly. But you don't always get what you want..." Izanami said. Those words were heard by Selah. Painfully, she got up. Just as Hikari was about to have her life snuffed out by a giant sole, Izanami paused. "Alive little one?" she asked. "You're not hurting anyone else here. I swear it" Selah said placing her hand on the driver. "Hero Driver on!" a female voice said. "Be As Gods!" Selah yelled. The device whirred as Norse Runes glowing in the air circled Selah in an ethereal band of light. It started at the top of her hand and slowly traveled down. As it did, silver armor appeared on her body. A silver band around her forehead. White cloth and silver plating. A long skirt with a silver girdle around her waist. Her feet clad in white boots. "Brynhild the warrior in silver. Presented by Sony" the driver said. "...what?" Izanami said. She looked at the young woman in armor. She could feel power off her but dismissed it. "Older body and shiny armor won't win this fight" she mocked. "You're right. Come forth Last Stigmata" Selah said. The sword slipped from his hiding place in her soul. Izanami backed away slightly. "Selah?" Alicia groaned coming to. "Take Hikari and Skylar to cover mom" Selah said. "No! I can't just let you fight her alone! What...what's happened to you?" Alicia asked. Selah glanced to look at her. "Do as I say" Selah said coldly as lightning flickered in her eyes. Alicia scrambled and grabbed Hikari. Izanami went to strike her with dark lightning. Selah easily deflected it away. "Still want to laugh?" Selah mocked. Alicia helped Skylar to her feet and has then take cover behind a heavy lab station.

"You dare mock me?!" Izanami yelled summoning far more dark lightning into the point of her spear. "Shieldmaiden" Selah muttered as the goddess fired off her attack. A barrier of symbolic runology deflected her attack. The sheer pressure pushing Selah back on her heels. The thunder shattering what glass has remained intact until then. Once over, the surrounding lab was on fire. "I dare" Selah said. Selah sensed the increasing danger everyone was in and went on the offensive. With a burst of speed, she struck Izanami with a slash. The goddess blocked it, but the sheer force blew her clean through the concrete wall. She was finally stopped hitting and bowing down the fence perimeter. "Evacuate the building before the fire ignites the gas lines" Selah told them before pursuing the goddess. They staggered outside as the lab was being engulfed in flames. "My god" Alicia said seeing Selah's and Izanami's battle had entered the mountainside. As it was nighttime, all they could see was flashes of lightning and feel the thunderous booms. "You think you can win?! I'm being empowered by over 500 million worshippers at this moment!" Izanami said striking Selah hard. Selah crashed through a tree and slowly stood up. "And yet you still bleed" she said pointing to the cut on Izanami's arm. They clashed over and over and as they did, the goddess began to feel fear. She had stared into the eyes of countless mortals in her time but as she looked into Selah's. She could see unbridled power within them. Power straining to break free. Runes she recognized as she was far older than any Norse magic but there was something else behind them. Something more ancient than she was. Something that she didn't know. And the unknown frightened her.

"It was foolish to let your true name out" Selah said holding her ground. "What of it? Lilith consumed the last Campione that could possibly challenge us. And you child are no Campione!" Izanami yelled blowing Selah backwards. "No, I'm something more. A heroic summon. I am Brynhild! A champion among Valkyries and killer of the god Sigurd! Your pathetic attempt to scare me will find no purchase!" Selah yelled slashing her sword and firing off a large blast of lightning and wind. Izanami let out a painful yell as she was blasted through the forest. Her body impaled on a fallen tree branch. The goddess pulled herself off it as Selah went to attack again. Selah watched silently as the gaping hole in Izanami's chest closed. "Arrogant whelp" she hissed. Izanami willed herself to grow as she fed off the life energies of those most devoted to her. Seemingly random people across Asia stopped dead in their tracks and killed themselves to feed her malice. A housewife in Hokkaido took her kitchen knife and sit her wrists. A man in Beijing jumped in front of a bus. A teenage girl in Taipei jumped off her apartment balcony. Selah watched as she grew and touched her Driver. "Brynhild Joutenheim" she muttered. Selah began growing and growing...

"This isn't good. She expending too much energy. It's going to kill her!" Alicia yelled. "I think she knows" Skylar said. "How can you be so calm?! Don't you care?!" Alicia yelled grabbing Skylar by the collar. "Of course, I care! I love that little squirt! She's the sister I never had. The sister I should've had..." Skylar replied. "Alicia. We can only pray that..." Hikari said before sending something behind them. "Get down!" she yelled at them. They ducked just as Kusanagi, the Grasscutter sword zipped through the air past them. "Surprised? I also killed frost giants as well. It amused me to do it when is as their size. Better to look them in the eyes as they died" Selah said holding her sword over her head. Kusanagi's power connected with that of Last Stigmata and like a magnet was drawn to it. Kid ago was absorbed by the now gigantic Last Stigmata and with their power combined, transformed. "Last Kusanagi" Selah muttered as her sword was that of a katana with runic symbols on the blade.

Their footfalls turned trees into kindling as the death goddess struck at her over and over to no effect. Then, a mighty strike sent the goddess crashing. The divine spear spiraling into the air and crashing with a boom near Hikari, Skylar, and Alicia. "By the Kami" Hikari muttered seeing the humongous weapon sizzling from the power it had channeled. Selah staggered to her knees. "Running on fumes? Well, I'm not!" Izanami yelled standing up. Her bare feet sank deep into the mountain dirt and was ripped asunder as she dashed to kill her. Selah knew she had one last attack in her. An attack that had a 50% chance to drain her life dry but if successful could kill the goddess. She slammed her hand down on the driver engaging the magic circuit to launch it.

"BRYNHILD MAXIMUM BURST!" it yelled out for all to hear. "Oh god Selah!" Hikari yelled out. Lightning was channeled into Last Kusanagi building to charge over and over. The tunes on the blade glowing red hot to white hot, and then violet hot. The very air superheated as trees at their giant feet burst into flames. Izanami grinned wickedly as was sure her attack would end Selah's life. But her dash misstepped ever so slightly, just a half second off as she caught a glimpse of something impossible. Selah brought down her sword right on her unleashing a sonic boom that could be heard dozens of kilometers away. The mountainside was blinded by a flash of lightning unseen before. Her blade released its charge incinerating her magics, her defenses, her Authority. Izanami mortally wounded fell to the ground shaking the mountain for the last time. She shrank down to human size as did Selah. "Don't just stand there! Kill her!" Izanami yelled coughing black blood. Selah looked to who she was talking too. "We are not here for her. Her soul is not ours to take. Also, you are the goddess of death, but we are not yours to command. We simply are" a Shinigami, a Japanese harbinger of death said. It was she that Izanami had seen and just now confirmed her worst fear. "Greetings sister" the Shinigami said to Selah.  

"S...sister?" Izanami asked. "We are not just warriors. We also ferry the dead to the afterlife. You were fighting a harbinger of death the entire time" Selah said softly. She watched as the Shinigami walked over to Izanami and raised her burning katana over her. "Please...I just wanted to be free of my role. Is that so much to ask for?" Izanami begged. "That is not for me to decide" the spirt replied plunging her blade into Izanami's black heart. The death goddess went rigid and gasped before going still. "Hero Driver disengage" Selah muttered reverting to her natural form. She watched silently as the goddess slipped into eternity and her body burst into black flames. Selah stepped back and sat down. Her body took weak to stand again. It seemed forever as footsteps came to her location. "She's here!" Alicia yelled. "Mom...I feel cold" Selah said so weak she was no longer human sized. "It's okay. Momma Alicia is here" Alicia said scooping her into her hand. "Jesus. Look at the destruction she unleashed. Never in my life have I seen such a lightning strike. The very sand in the dirt was turned to glass" Skylar muttered. "Her life force is very weak. We need to return home immediately" Hikari said. "Yeah, yeah I know. Hold on honey. Just hold on..." Alicia said as she made a portal. Selah felt her warm hand under her shrunken body. She felt safe. "I got her. You saw me get her?" she asked weakly. "Yeah. We all saw it" Alicia said stifling her tears. Alicia and the others hurried through the portal. Selah didn't remember much of what happened later. Some frantic voices. Hands on her naked body starting with her bare feet and ending on her forehead. Then...soft crying. After that, darkness.

Selah awoke thirsty and needing to pee. Alicia was asleep next to her. Selah got out of her futon and went to pee. "Hello? Can someone get me some water? Fucking Sahara Desert in my mouth" she asked an attendant passing by the room. The woman nearly screamed and ran off. "Selah!" Hikari yelled coming to her. She hugged the girl tightly. "Hey not so rough" Selah chuckled. She was hugged from behind. She turned sprung to find Alicia weeping and shaking. "Hey squirt. You've been out of it for three whole days" Skylar said entering the room. "Whoa. Explains why I'm so thirsty" Selah said. "The driver just about sucked your life energy dry. You're extremely lucky" Hikari said. "But you have to admit it was fucking cool" Selah grinned. "Fucking cool indeed but it's a problem now. It's biometrically bonded to you now. Only you can use it" Hikari said. "So what? I kicked major ass" Selah said. "This is serious child. That makes you public enemy number one to the others. I'm sure they've noticed what has occurred in the last 72 hours here in Japan" Hikari said. "Like what?" Selah asked. "You stirred a hornets nest kid. When you killed that chick, you cut her followers off from her magics. Turns out her magic was bonded with the on...onmyoji magics?" Skylar said. Hikari nodded. "Indeed. That's a good thing as nobody is being shrunk for incessant things anymore but with that no longer in play, men have begun to riot. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Amori, to name a few have seen violent riots. It's more a revolution now" Hikari said. "Really that bad?" Selah asked worried. "Joseph said we would be the bad guys in this world. In the eyes of Japanese females, we would probably look like terrorists" Alicia said. "Or god killing heretics" Skylar said. "Fear not child. It is what it is. We knew it would come with a price" Hikari said. She stood up. "I will prepare a bath and food" she said leaving them.

Selah soaked in the hot spring and sighed contently. "You don't have to keep worrying you know" she said to Alicia who bathed next to her human sized. "I can't get the image of your cold body out of my mind" she said. "Sorry for worrying you mom. I just couldn't watch everyone die" Selah said. "Yeah I get it. What was it like in that form?" Alicia asked soaking her feet in the water. "Glorious. Brynhild was in my mind. I felt everything between us. The raw power. The battle experience. Even her lust" Selah said blushing. "Lust?" Alicia asked. "Yeah, she was a very passionate spirit. Her lust and desire guided her. I can still feel it inside me" she replied. Alicia grew worried. "I can understand that feeling. When I was killing those soldiers, the old me began emerging. All that power over them, their weakness before me. It was intoxicating" Alicia said. "Like when you were a zodiac?" Selah asked. "Just like it. When their bodies popped under my feet I damn near came. I was just like back then when I would gather humans by the dozens to feed my selfish desires. I almost lost myself, but I remembered that I'm not that person anymore. I'm a wife and a mother" she said. Alicia petted her tiny head. "Hehe...that feels good" Selah giggled. Selah climbed out of the spring and Alicia carried in her hand. "You sure you're okay?" Alicia asked bringing her to eye level. "I'll be fine. I just need to adjust is all" Selah replied. Alicia shrugged and carried her back to the mansion.

They all ate and relaxed. When it was over, they sat and talked. "Any progress about all those babies?" Alicia asked. "Each woman here shall be assigned three infants. As you can imagine they are not keen on the task but it's a matter of survival and morality" Hikari replied. "You said a few might be your siblings. Any idea which ones?" Skylar asked. "Not offhand. One day my son Yuusha with his borrower sense of smell may find out which ones are his aunts or uncles, but that is some time away" Hikari replied. "About our mission..." Alicia said. "I'm needed here more. My people teeter on chaos and Japan burns" she said. "I was going to say to stay here" Alicia smiled. "Wish we could stay and help" Selah said. "I know child. Take care of that driver and apparently my sword" Hikari said. "Forgot about that. We were so caught up bringing Selah back we didn't look for it" Alicia said. "Her sword absorbed it" Hikari pointed out. "Uhh...Norse magic doesn't do that" Skylar said. "That was something the driver did on its own. It's designed to learn, adapt, and grow with its user. That fact it didn't spit it back out concerns me though. As if it's planning to use it for another purpose" Hikari said.

Pfft. I think you're giving Sony too much credit here" Skylar chuckled. It's not Sony that did this. They only provided the architecture not the spellcraft. Onmyoji magics are rooted in the energies all around us. Constantly shifting and changing like a living thing. Hiro, the man who designed it told me even he does now know its limits. Be very careful Selah" Hikari warned. Hikari faltered slightly. "Maybe you should rest. You been running around nonstop for days" Alicia said. "I believe you're right. I'll see you in the morning" she said before leaving them.

Hikari returned to her room to see Ichiro sitting quietly watching her son sleep. "Thank you for looking after him. I've been so busy..." she sighed laying down on her futon. "You don't need to apologize. Everyone can see how delegating all these infants to families here was not easy" he said caressing her face. "Just crafting spellwork to have women lactate was a chore. How will we live as a people with so many half breeds?" she asked. "The same way you do. It will be a difficult change, but we are a people rooted in truth, justice, and love. But...with so many mixed bloodlines, we cannot have a caste system anymore. This may be the Kami's way of pushing us forward" he said laying down. "Since when have you been such an optimist?" she chuckled. "I am if you're involved" he said softly. He kissed her. Hikari looked into his eyes and pulled her yukata off. Ichiro did the same and scooted to face her. Hikari nodded to him what she wanted and slipped his cock into her.

Ichiro was gentle with her. He has thought of fucking her for decades so delaying his orgasm for a few minutes was no big deal. Hikari was stranger to sex having a kid after all but even her tiny heart fluttered knowing who was mating with her. Keith was a fantastic mate to have but Ichiro knew her in ways Keith never could. She half whimpered as he kissed the soles of her feet. Giggled as he sucked her big toe. And gasped as he bent down on plant a gentle kiss on her nipple. She blushed furiously as he licked up her leaking milk. He held her hands as he slowly sped up. Soon, he had to hold her steady as he pounded her. "Hikari...I'm going to cum" he warned. She locked her legs around his waist. "What's one more baby among us?" she giggled. He looked deep within her eyes and let go. Hikari whimpered as she came feeling his warm semen shooting deep within her. Her pussy milking him for as much seed as it could get. Once it was done, he laid down and pulled her close. He looked at her once more. "As long as we are alone, you are permitted to cry" he said softly.

Ichiro had known her long enough to see when she was holding her emotions in check. "Mommy!" Hikari sobbed into his chest. "At least you brought justice to them. Her loss is not a hollow one" he said softly. "She's been in my life for over a century. She's been the heart and soul of our people for 5,000 years. I cannot possibly live up to that" she cried. "Then don't. We need you not a replacement of your mother. Just like the humans have a beginning and end of an era, so must we. The time to call you our princess has ended. All hail Queen Hikari. Daughter of Queen Himeko and Emperor Meji" he said. Hikari stopped crying. "...your right" she said. Hikari said nothing else that evening.

That morning, all attended her coronation. Astoundingly, it was the second coronation in all their history. The last one 5,000 years prior. Hikari stepped forward, her bare feet walking on a sheet of spring water. Taiko drums beat for each step. Those before her bowed including Alicia, Skylar, and Selah. "By rite of succession, princess Hikari claims the throne! Do any object?!" Ichiro yelled. None did. "Then prepare the anointing crown!" he yelled. The adults pricked their fingers and shed a drop of blood. Each drop stopped in midair and flew towards Hikari. The drops combined and the princess formed a crown made from the liquid blood of her people. "Whoa" Selah said. Hikari placed the crown on her head. "All hail Queen Hikari! Ruler of the koonago!" Ichiro yelled. Drumbeats. "My people. I wear this symbol of your lifeblood with a heavy head. The cost was great, and we have lost so much. It is because of what we have lost I will issue the following edict. No longer will you be bound by a class system. No more will merchants marry only merchants, nobles only nobles. With our bloodlines so fractured, it is pointless. Times have changed and we must change with them. We will endure. We are koonago" she said sternly. Hikari turned to leave. "Dismissed" Ichiro said.

"Look at you sounding so regal" Ichiro chuckled as they entered the mansion. "Later on, I will make another announcement after some of the dust has settled. Speaking of dust" she said removing all the water from her blood crown turning into fine red dust. She discarded it into a memorial urn of her mother. Igniting incense sticks, she clapped twice. He waited for her to finish. "What the announcement?" he asked. "Our wedding" she replied. She smirked. "The redoubtable Ichiro left speechless. This truly is a momentous day" she giggled. Soon it was time for Alicia, Skylar, and Selah to depart. "No goodbyes. See you later is more appropriate. When the time comes, call on me. I still have unfinished business with the woman" Hikari said. "Will do. Take care prin... Queen Hikari" Alicia said. Skylar nodded to her. Selah hugged her tightly. "Don't be a stranger" Selah said kissing her. "I shall not. Take care of yourself Selah and mind the power bestowed on you. Treat it like water. It can save your life or drown you" Hikari said. Selah quietly nodded and they left through the portal to home.

"What's next?" Selah said sitting on their sofa. "Yorkshire to get that green gem. We'll leave in two days. In the meantime, I need to check on something" Alicia said. Alicia went downstairs and sat in front of the computer terminal. "It's done" she muttered pressing send. Throughout the world, phones began downloading a tiny update to their software. A new spin on an old plan was brewing.

Meanwhile in New York...

Lilith dried herself off from the shower. It was just past 9 pm as she walked out of her bathroom naked and looked out of her penthouse window overlooking Manhattan. It didn't bother her that her reflection was of someone else. She was bored until a few days ago. Having sex with cute boys and then killing them had lost their charm. Especially when they didn't beg for their lives. Find a cute teenage boy, a virgin if possible, fuck them and drain them of their cum, then shrink them and do away with them. How was standard phase at first. Eat them, crush them under her feet or ass, drown them in her pussy. But that grew boring as the wash, rinse, repeat feeling crept in. Then she simply had them commit suicide in ghastly ways. Swan diving in her toilet. Leaping off her balcony. Watching with anticipation waiting for a hawk to carry one off. Her boredom grew worse after obliterating Vatican City. A place she despised for centuries. A mix of cathartic as she squashed bishops and cardinals by the score. Anticlimactic as the Pope himself just glared at her as the giantess rose her bare foot over the building and smashed him along with it. What does someone that lived with so much hate do when the focus of it is no more? A question that plagued the old evil goddess. Then, three days ago she felt a disturbance in the balance she had crafted when Izanami died.

She dispatched loyal servants to Japan immediately to investigate. It would've been faster if she had done it herself, but she had not gotten this far rushing into the unknown. She was a cool calculating woman if ever was one. Word got back that Izanami's body had been found on the slope of a mountain that reeked of magics. The trees destroyed, massive footprints and crushed bodies found outside a burned-out research building. Lilith didn't know what Izanami had been up to nor did she care. She did care about who was powerful enough not just to grow so huge but to slay a death goddess. As far as she knew, only a Campione or a fellow deity could do it. The remaining goddesses and gods were pretty much accounted for. Morrigan was in the UK. Persephone in Athens. The remaining gods and goddesses slowly starving to death as their worshippers taken away and the spell she had used removed them from mortal minds. Right now, she waited as she received word that her loyal servant has returned with a damaged hard drive containing security footage. There was a knock on the door. "Enter" she said. A young man no older than 17 entered. "Good evening exalted one. We have finished analyzing the hard drive" he said. "And?" Lilith asked walking up to him. The young man stiffened as her naked body came closer. From her pedicured toes to the top of her hair, he found her stunning. Too bad it was really Faith's beauty he was seeing. "Well, the fire that destroyed the building also damaged the hard drive from the security systems, but we were able to pull one uncorrupted video file off it. It's only five seconds long though" he said. He typed on his tablet and freaked it to her 80-inch smart tv. Lilith watched the short video.

"Rewind and slow" she said. She watched again. "Pause!" she yelled. He did and she walked closer to the tv. "Well, well. The missing princess of the koonago and... crop and enhance" she said seeing something. "Impossible. Selah and Alicia McCormick as well?! They should've been swallowed up by the revisions...unless they were spared just like Vatican City" she muttered. In the beginning, Lilith had been sure her revision was complete success until she found that Vatican City had been spared by it. She concluded correctly that the city's barrier protected it somehow. She wondered if anywhere else had been spared. "When was the last time you looked upon Yorkshire Manor?" she asked wary. "Every week milady. It's the same thing, just a massive crater. Nothing at all" he replied. Lilith was no fool. After discovering Vatican City was spared, she turned her attention to Yorkshire Manor where Keith and more importantly Hope lived. If anyone could destroy her now it was the Etherion user. Curiously, the borrower colony and the mansion itself was completely gone. Not a trace remained. Thinking that Hope had spirited it away, Lilith ordered her servants to keep an eye on it every week. And for 10 months there had been absolutely nothing. Lilith began to think they had hidden themselves forever. But now, now all of that was in question. Lilith didn't like being left in the dark. She had no other explanation for their disappearance other than fleeing her. Yorkshire was Morrigan's domain. "Dismissed" she said coldly.

Lilith sat down and picked up her phone. "Morrigan. We have a problem. Are you sure Yorkshire Manor is abandoned?" she asked. "I have my own servants check every week. Even have one living in the town. Nothing" Morrigan replied. "Very well. Be on guard. Izanami is dead and her killer is at large. If you sense anything unusual you are to summon me" Lilith said. "I can take care of my own domain. I do not need your help" Morrigan said hanging up. "Goddamn fool" Lilith hissed tossing her phone across the room. She walked back to the penthouse windows.

"Problem?" Faith asked internally. "Nothing we can't solve" Lilith replied verbally. "We'll see. My family has a way of...taking care of business" she laughed. Lilith looked at herself in the window once more. It was laughing at her until she punched the glass shattering it. The crisp October air hit her immediately. The pain in her bloody hand ebbed as it healed leaving her with anxiety. An anxiety mixed with...fear. 

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Six days ago....

"Control I need to know what the hell was that flash" Keith said entering the room. "Unknown. Cameras can't give me anything on it. No infrared, ultraviolet, x-Ray or radiation emission at all" someone replied. "Impossible. There was a visible flash. There had to be some detectable radiation" he said. "Negative sir. There's some good new though. That rules out a high-altitude nuclear explosion" she said. "True. That and the fact our electronics are working rules that out. What about an aurora?" he asked. "No magnetic interference" she replied. Keith heard tiny feet behind him. "Dad? What was that weird flash?" Hope asked rubbing her eyes. "Dunno honey. Why don't you go back to sleep" he said. He watched her leave. "Night night kiddo" Sarah said walking around her. "Boss? We got some scared borrowers asking questions" she said. "And I have no answers" he said. An alarm went off. "We got a hit on news media. My god...1000's not tens of thousands of hits on keywords" control said. 

"Keywords THORN looks for?" Sarah asked. "Yeah, in this case magic, shrunk, and giantess. Jesus they keep coming in!" Control yelled. "Switch to BBC" Keith said. She nodded and did. "Goddess Lilith destroys the blasphemers in Vatican City. Entire area reduced to rubble. Goddess Morrigan praises her victory. Sir, this article is dated all the way back in January" she said. "And we just now got word? Pull up a webcam for that region" Keith said. Control did and all were shocked. "Leveled right down to the dirt. The Sistine Chapel, the Basilica" Sarah muttered. "Gone. Just footprints where they stood. Sarah, initiate lockdown procedures. Nobody in or out" Keith ordered. Sarah nodded and left the room. "The entire world. Keith I'm getting alerts across the entire world" control said. "Contact our agents in the field. I need a sitrep" he said. An hour passed. "Nothing. Not a single response. Even their phones won't ping" she said. "Stay on it" Keith said. 

Five days ago...

"It's no use. Every agent we had in the field has disappeared and the world has gone fucking mad!" Control yelled. "Easy Theresa! Take a break from the console" Keith said. The small borrower got out of her chair and paced the room. "Everywhere. The US, the U.K., Asia, Latin America. Every continent except Antarctica is showing four different goddesses of legend and myth reigning over them. Human males are being persecuted across the planet. A Twitter post I found today had a female teacher describing how she shrunk and raped a teenage boy in her class hashtag #lateforclass" she sighed. Keith was quiet. "Doesn't explain that light though" he said. "It's connected. It has to be" she said. She stumbled. His giant hand caught her. "Get some sleep" he said. She looked up at him. His finger caressed her cheek. "That's an order" he said. She nodded and left the room. Keith shrunk down and began reviewing what she discovered. 

Four days ago...

"Keith. People want answers. Is lockdown is scaring them" Sarah said. Keith put down the glass of water. "Some kind of event changed the world. Or something changed us. Maybe we were sucked into an alternate universe. Be as it may, our world as we know it isn't out there anymore. Today is Sunday. Noticed no church bells?" he asked. "I noticed. Someone with my hearing notices these things" she replied hopping onto the table. "Theresa narrowed it down to four women calling themselves goddesses. Goddesses with questionable pasts. Persephone the wife of Hades rules the Mediterranean, Africa, and Central Asia. Izanami, the queen of the Japanese underworld and ruler of the dead controls the rest of Asia including Russia. Morrigan, the queen of Celtic death controls Europe. And then there's Lilith, Queen of Hell and wife of the devil himself rules over the Americas and Australia" he said. "Each one rules over death depending on belief and location" Sarah said. Keith nodded. "Are they really goddesses? We've had more than a few pretenders over the years" Sarah asked. "This Lilith flattened the Vatican. It would take a S class Mage to grow that size. I sat in there watching people stream the attack. She was standing there tanking shots that would vaporize us" he replied. Keith sniffed the air. "Hope?" he asked. No response. "Come on out honey" he said. Hope slowly emerged from her hiding place behind the kitchen entryway.

"Why you hiding from daddy?" Keith chuckled plucking his tiny daughter from the floor. "I'm scared. The world doesn't feel right at all" she replied. Sarah and Keith looked at one another. "Can you explain?" he asked. Hope picked up a sugar cube and dropped it into the water. It floated on the surface. "The flash" she said kicking the glass with her bare foot. The water rippled tearing the cube apart and mixing the sugar. "The world now" she said pointing to the milky opaque sugar water. "Reality itself was...mixed? Polluted?" Sarah asked. Hope shrugged. "Sweetie. I have to ask. Did you cast any big spells?" Keith asked. "No! This wasn't me dad!" she yelled. "I had to ask" Keith said petting her. "Then who did? Lilith?" Sarah asked. "That's where my moneys at. She's blowing up news feeds more than anyone else" Keith said. "So, what are you going to tell people?" she asked. "...send word out I'll issue a statement this afternoon" Keith said.

Three days ago...

Keith sat in the sunroom overlooking the city lights. "Mind if I sit down?" Lawan asked. "Not at all" Keith said. His wife sat beside him. "How are you holding up?" she asked looking at his sleeping daughter in his palm. He was gently petting her bare leg. "Claire and Aspen disappeared when they were in Barcelona. 20% of people's families living abroad have all vanished. They're scared, they want to leave and look for them. I told them they weren't allowed to. A man asked me if it were my kids that vanished how I could sit around and do nothing" he said. "We can't just hunker down" Lawan said. "I know which is why I'm dispatching agents into Yorkshire and London tomorrow" he said. Hope began to twitch in her sleep. "She can sense their fear and anxiety even in her sleep" he said. "Have her babysit Kannika. Maybe sitting for her sister will take her mind off of things" she said. Keith nodded. "Don't stay up too late" his wife said kissing him before leaving.

Two days ago...

"Dad? I'm thinking about having a boyfriend" Hope suddenly said soaking in the sink. "Wha? Sweetie you're a little...immature for that" Keith said. "No, I'm not. I know what love is and you gave me the talk" she said. Keith paused washing her hair with his fingers. "Having a boyfriend is a big step for borrowers. Not like the way humans do it" he said. "Then how long am I supposed to wait? Five years, ten? Am I really supposed to sit around as girls my age pair up with boys? I already feel the odd one out" she said. "I'm not trying to hurt you Hope. Love is not an easy thing to navigate. I'm trying to spare you some hurt" he said. She turned to face him. "Isn't that my decision to make?" she asked. Hope stepped out of the sink. "It is. Some things in life you'll have to learn for yourself but keep in mind what borrower boys want deep down" he said plucking her up. "A cute, yummy girl begging to be eaten up" he said kissing her nude body. "Haha! That tickles!" she giggled. "Hope. Just come to one of us when stuff gets serious. We don't want your heart to be broken" he said softly. Keith carried her out of the bathroom and placed her on the nightstand as he fumbled for her pajamas. There was a knock on the door. "Come in" he said. "Keith. You need to see this" Susan said.

Keith followed her to control. "We just now getting information about it out of Japan" she dais pointing to the main screen. "What the hell? Are they rioting?" Keith asked looking at a live feed. "Not just in Tokyo. At least five other major cities in Japan are going through this. The males have risen up and began burning down police stations, government buildings, schools. The magic system they were using suddenly just stopped working" Theresa said. "That's not even the big news. We pulled this off a JSDF server during the chaos" she said opening the jpeg. "A dead half naked Japanese woman in the woods?" Keith asked. She zoomed in. "Holy shit. Izanami. Someone killed her?" he asked. "With extreme prejudice. The blast and scorch patterns indicate a lightning or compressed fire spell well above A class spellcraft" she said. "Sloughs like we got a friend out there" he said. "Slow down hot shot. We don't know that. The enemy of our enemy isn't always our friend" Susan warned. "Any word back from our agents?" Keith asked. "They sent some footage to us. It's a full-blown case of our worst fears. It's affected millions. Probably every human on the island. Even children Keith" she said. "Some have to have shrugged off the spell. If we can..."

"A 150ft. Morrigan made Prince Harry and William lick her toes. We passed optimism three exits ago" Susan said cutting him off. "I want a plan of action this time tomorrow" he said before leaving the room.

Yesterday...

"Fiona, Susan, Theresa" Keith said sitting down in the THORN briefing room. "We put our heads together to brainstorm how to proceed. A conventional attack on Morrigan is doomed to fail. Oberon informed us that the Morrigan of legend is the same one we're dealing with but different. She is capable of perception spells but nothing like this so the theory that Lilith is behind all this still stands. Second, with so many worshipping her, it seems to have supercharged her abilities hence the 150ft. tall shit. Third, it appears she made her camp in In Ireland. Where exactly we don't know" Theresa said. "So, scrambling our troops is out of the question" he said. "Option two. Our strongest launch an all-out assault on her using Hope as support long range. Odds of success is 25%." Susan said. "You serious?" Keith asked. "Keith were talking about killing a being that can control death itself. 25% sounds generous" Oberon said quietly. "And then we have option three. We use Hope as the front runner. She engages her directly and hope for the best" Fiona said. "...odds of success?" Keith asked. "Not a fucking clue. Hope's power is almost limitless. It's only limited by her imagination and physical body. And like Oberon said how do we kill a death goddess?" Fiona replied.

Keith rubbed his eyes. "So, our best option is turning my daughter into a soldier" he sighed. "We have enough food and water to last awhile but eventually Morrigan is going to notice we're not her thralls. We're under siege by ideology alone. We can't stay cooped up forever and tensions in the colony are rising. Keeping the wifi open might've been a mistake" Susan said. "If I locked the Wi-Fi it would've been worse. We start censuring the news then we're going to have a riot ourselves" Keith said. "There's where we stand boss" Theresa said. "Dismissed" he said softly. Fiona stayed behind.  "Don't you have a baby to see to?" he asked. "He'll be okay. I'm more concerned about you. How much sleep have you gotten this week?" she asked sitting on his knee. "Two or three hours a night" he replied. "Hmm. How is Hope dealing with this. Isn't she empathic?" she asked. "She can sense the fear and anxiety yeah. She's hiding her feelings just like she hides her true thoughts. She still talks like a young kid, but I know she's grown beyond that" he said. "Maybe she does it so you won't be afraid?" Fiona said. "How are the recruits at the academy?" he asked.

"Worried but at the same time eager to be fielded. Listening to our options, what will you do?" she asked. "As a leader I can't ignore our best chance of survival is using Hope. As a father, I cannot put her in danger" he sighed. He placed her in his hand. He petted her cheek with his finger. "If you were me, what would you do?" he asked. "Probably fret just like you. In the end, fight alongside my child and pray if death does come, it chooses me instead" she replied. Keith kissed her gently. Fiona hugged his cheek. "Good night Fiona. Hug your son for me will ya?" he asked. "Can do boss" she said as he placed her on the floor. Keith went to his bedroom. "What are you watching kiddo?" he asked. "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Her magic sucks" Hope replied. Keith sat on the bed close to her. "Anyone's magic would suck compared to yours" he snickered. His finger petted her back and down to her tiny butt. "What's on your mind dad?" she asked. "What to do about our situation. Sealing ourselves off was a temporary solution. We really have to deal with Morrigan herself" he said softly. "They want me to kill her, and you don't want to put me in that position" she said using her foot to pause Netflix.

Keith looked down at her. "I'm not as naive as you think. I can feel all their fears and anxieties out there. They're literally praying to me dad. Like I'm their savior" she said looking at the window. She floated to the windowsill. "25,616 people down there want me to go out there and make the world nice again. Susan is hugging her daughter after walking into her house. She won't let go. Fiona is sitting in the park wondering if she said the right thing. Theresa is sitting on her bed softly crying. It hurt her to see you upset. She really likes you" Hope said. Keith picked her up. "It's not nice to peek at people's thoughts without permission. We've talked about that" he said. "How can I not when they're so loud? Dad when I look at you I can sense every thought you have because they're so loud. From the deepest thoughts you suppress like licking my pussy and sucking on my body. From the intermediate thoughts and fears of how much you love me and worry if I'm sad because you don't want me to suffer like you did as a kid. And of course, your thoughts on the surface about how pretty I am. How you look forward to each and every day. How you worry about the people and worry about hurting the feelings of girls around you" she said. Keith grew quiet and sniffled as a tear ran down his cheek. "Daddy I didn't mean to embarrass you, but you have to know the truth about who I am and who you are" she said softly. Keith was astonished at how profound the last part was. "You really are growing aren't you?" he asked. "I do a lot of thinking and I got good teachers. You, mommy, mommy Claire, Aunt Susan,..." she answered. She suddenly stood up in his palm. "I never even thought about that. Crap that's embarrassing..." she muttered. "What?" Keith asked.

"I never bothered to even try using my powers to find my moms" she replied. "Aw fuck you're right. Can you?" he asked. Hope sat down crossing her legs and concentrated. She reached far and wide with her clairvoyance to find them. Starting in Barcelona, she looked and looked. "Found them. They're...uh oh" she muttered. "Did you find them?" Keith asked hopeful and worried. "Yeah I found them but...they're acting weird" she replied. "Weird how?" he asked. "She's bowing before a statue of Morrigan. Momma Claire is..." she said before clasping her hands to her mouth as her eyes went wide. "A boy. She killed a boy" she gasped. Hope looked utterly terrified. Keith said nothing more and sat there silently as Hope slept. He had to sedate her just to rest. The news was troubling. Claire and Aspen had fallen to Morrigan's influence and wore yet Hope had described some kind of human sacrifice to her which they were responsible for. Keith pulled his phone out. "Susan. I know it's late but meet me in my bedroom" he texted. 20 minutes later, Susan arrived.

"I asked Hope to find Claire and Aspen" he said softly. The human sized woman sat down on the bed gently. She looked down at Hope. "I can smell anxiety and drugs on her" she said. "What she found wasn't pleasant. Aspen and Claire are alive which is the good news. Bad news is they fell to the dark side so to speak. Hope saw them in real time sacrificing a shrunken boy. Rattled the shit out of her" he explained. "The poor girl" Susan muttered petting Hope's head. "This raises questions Susan. I spoke with Hope about using her tattoo Morrigan and she was all for it but now? In this state?" he asked. "What if we forcibly brought Claire and Aspen back? It would be a morale boost for everyone" she said. "My thinking exactly. I want you to assemble a team and be ready by noon tomorrow" he said. "Consider it done boss" she said. She stood up. She hugged him from behind and kissed his head. "Get some rest" she said to him.

Early morning today...

"A dress? Really?" Skylar yawned at Alicia. "Been some changes in Dubai. With the women in charge now, it's customary to wear a long fine dress" Alicia said. "You're kidding. I was in Dubai once and women could only dress like that in the western wards out of the public" Skylar said. Alicia smoothed out the long white dress on her body. "The Middle East did a total 180 in laws and culture. Under Persephone's control, men can't even hold jobs with some kind of authority. Boys under the age of 16 aren't even allowed to be human sized. And we thought Japan was bad" she said. "So, you're leaving now?" Skylar asked. "It's easier to slip in during the late night and contact is Ahmed guy. Then I pop back as fast as I can to implement a project I'm working on. We're on the clock now our cover was blown in Japan" she said. "What project?" Skylar asked. "Markus, the asshole that wanted to conquer the world, had a bunch of projects in the mix to do it. One was a master hacking exploit to slip into cell phones. I plan to use it to cause Lilith and her cronies some trouble" Alicia smirked. "You're just now telling me?" Skylar asked. "Need to know basis. Faith left me some notes on some of the stuff even I didn't know about" she said. "When?" Skylar asked. "When she said goodbye to me privately" she muttered.

Alicia slipped her designer sandals on and used a portal to Dubai. "Good luck" Skylar said. Alicia nodded and left. She emerged right where she thought she would. The AstroTurf crunched slightly under her sandaled feet at Dubai International Stadium. She had come there two years ago on her tour just before Japan. It was a sellout crowd but now silent as the grave and barely lit. It was 2 am local time so no surprise for her. She quietly made her way out onto the street. At a glance, it seemed nothing had truly changed. The city was still clean and pristine. Now and then a Ferrari or Lambo would squeal past her. The jewel of the desert had remained intact apparently. "She said he'd find me if I made my magic stand out enough" she said. So that is what she did. She pumped up a perception spell making those that saw her take notice. A risky gamble but simple magics wasn't enough. In that area were several nightclubs and boutiques, even an Aston Martin dealership, but she needed to stand out, so she chose a random club. 

The music was booming, the smell of sweat and booze heavy in the air. "Okay then" she muttered seeing what would've been highly illegal just a few weeks ago. Women, unaccompanied women in a nightclub drinking alcohol dancing. "Welcome to the Desert Topaz. What're you having?" the bartender asked. "Gin and tonic" Alicia replied. "Coming up cutie" the bartender smiled at her. Alicia grinned slightly as the women serving drinks was obviously checking her out.  "For the lovely lady" the bartender said placing the drink down. "What brings you to Dubai?" she asked. Alicia studied the woman as she came from behind the bar. Around 22 years of age, black hair, auburn eyes, burnt caramel skin tone. She wasn't ugly by any means. "Some business" Alicia replied. The woman sat next to her. "Kadesha" she said. "Alicia" she said extending her left hand and not her right. "Polite and educated in our customs" Kadesha said. "You get a lot of customers here?" Alicia asked. "Depends on what's going on. Recently, under the benevolence of our goddess Persephone, the restrictions on serving locals were removed. Now the religious police just patrol for unruly men who have abused the gift of having the same size as we do" she replied smiling. Her answer told her a few things...

"So, it's not just Japan. It seems like they all have some kind of order or cult to enforce their will" Alicia thought. "Tell me Kadesha, does your goddess allow the use of magics like mine does?" Alicia asked. The woman smiled and yelled something in Arabic. Moments later a young man around 24 or 25 emerged from the back. The way he was dressed would indicate a dishwasher of busboy. He bowed his head before her. "For those that prove their piety yes" she said placing her finger on the man's forehead. She traced a symbol in Ancient Greek on his skin and the man shrank before her. Kadesha bent down to pick him up and placed him on the table. "Impressive but can you conjure fire?" Alicia said invoking a very weak fire spell. The flame held steadily in her palm. "Or how about this?" Kadesha said writing invisible (until they weren't) Greek alphabet in midair conjuring a gentle breeze. "Maybe you can show me more of that magic somewhere else?" Alicia whispered. The woman smiled saying "I know just the place".

Kadesha picked up the busboy and led Alicia to a back room. "The VIP lounge" she whispered to Alicia. "Won't the owner get irritated you're not working?" Alicia asked. "I am the owner" Kadesha grinned. She had her sit down as the woman opened a mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of Grey Goose and poured two drinks. "Take it off Hasim" the woman told the shrunken man. The man nodded slightly and began taking off his clothing. Within a minute, he was stark naked. "Dance for us" she told him. Hasim danced and gyrated to the beat of the music as the giantesses in front of him smiled and giggled at him. "Look at his little dick and glass jiggle" she chuckled. "He's cute though" Alicia said. Kadesha glanced at her. "...for a male" Alicia added. Kadesha smiled once more. "Males have their obvious uses but in the long run they're more trouble than they're worth. Wars, crime, unjust laws" she said. "Which is why I prefer women. We are the bearers of life after all" she said placing her hand on Alicia's thigh.  Alicia moved her leg and placed it on Kadesha's. "So, you like the new order?" Alicia asked. Kadesha looked at her sandaled foot and slipped off her shoe. "Compared to the old one absolutely" she replied rubbing Alicia's sole for a moment. "What about the cost? Surely there are some males you would want to show favor to. A father, brother, maybe a son?" she asked.

Kadesha played with her toes for a moment before responding. "My father is dead. No children and as for my brother, well he seems happy don't you Hasim?" she asked the shrunken man. Alicia stifled her shock seeing she had shrunken and turned her own brother into a sexual amusement. "He's your brother? And what if I were to say...eat him? Would you care?" Alicia asked. She looked down at him. "He's replaceable" she replied. Alicia, being how strong she was could feel spells at work. Even in this world, the feel of the perception spell was like a barely audible hum. Something you could easily dismiss or forget. Alicia felt for a split second a wavering, a half second pause in that hum. As if a counterforce acted against it. Alicia grabbed Hasim off the table. "Have you ever eaten someone before Kadesha? Nothing like it on Earth. No pleasure, power, or action is like it. The ultimate form of control. To take sometimes life and use it for your own" Alicia said. With her free hand, she caressed Kadesha's cheek. She gripped her chin and cheekbones and forced her mouth open slightly. Looking right into her eyes, Hasim was pushed into his sister's mouth.

"You can taste him can't you? Sweat from fear. The faint tickling pulse is his heart pounding. You're in full control of his fate. Your big brother is just a tasty morsel now. All those times he probably said he loved you, gave you sweets, birthday presents, hugged you when you needed extra love. They don't mean shit now do they?" Alicia asked as her voice slipped a truth spell into her targets mind. Kadesha tensed up. Her breathing quickened. Her left eye twitched ever so slightly. "You never mentioned your mother" Alicia said. "She died from a car bomb in Fallujah years ago" Kadesha mumbled. "So, the man you're about to eat alive is the last living part of your family. You'll be all alone if you just swallow and wait 5 to ten minutes. Do it Kadesha. Eat him. Fucking eat him!" Alicia hissed. A tear rolled down Kadesha's cheek. Kadesha jerked and twitched as if having a seizure and fell forward. Alicia caught her and as she did, Hasim slipped out of her mouth. He locked more panicked about his giantess sister then the fact he was almost eaten.  "Why do you care?" Alicia asked. "She's a female and I'm just a lowly male but even so...I...I..." he stammered shaking. "You love her" Alicia finished. He knew she was right and his heart, his soul struggled against the perception spell cast on the world. "Stop this" a voice said.

Alicia looked up to see a young man. "I don't think so. I want him to say it out loud" she said. "You're voice. You're Alicia. I recognize it from the time we spoke on the phone" he said. "Ahmed. Took long enough" she hissed. "I have more to look after than you. The entire world has been enthralled" he said coldly. "No shit. Sleep boy" she said putting the shrunken man asleep. "We need to talk. You brought Faith to your safe house once. Maybe we can continue this conversation there" she said. He nodded quietly and followed her out of the VIP room. It was a 30-minute quiet walk to where he was headed. Alicia didn't like Ahmed very much. Growing up Baptist left a feeling of uneasiness around him but that wasn't the true reason she had issues with him. She was sure as shit that he fucked her wife. They entered his apartment. "Remove your shoes" he said. Being polite she did. He motioned for her to sit down. He said nothing as he prepared tea. "Let us speak in low tones as my fiancée sleeps in the other room. Faith is a close friend, and you are her wife. Respect shall be awarded first instead of being earned this time" he said sitting down. Alicia was slightly ashamed of her earlier rudeness.

"I'll try to keep this as simple as possible. You know about Faith fighting gods and goddesses correct?" she asked. He nodded. "One played the long game and won. She somehow altered reality itself with a perception spell and did all of this" she said. "Persephone shouldn't be that powerful" he said. "Not her. She's just a coconspirator like Morrigan and Izanami. Who did this was Lilith" she said. Ahmed tensed up and took a deep breath. "So, you know of her?" Alicia asked. "Every Campione knows of her. The most feared one of all. She's the only one that has ever stood toe to toe with the darkest evil and cowed it. A riddle for you. What is darker than darkness? The answer is Lilith. The consort of the Fallen One himself. Yes, she could do what you say. But still, to manipulate reality in such a way should only be possible..."

"She erased the true name of God on the Sephiroth and replaced it with her own in the Garden of Eden" she finished. "There are days I wish I wasn't a Muslim so I could fucking drink" he muttered. "Faith fought her and lost. Now Lilith controls her very body" Alicia said. "Fuck it" Ahmed said standing up and taking a bottle out of the cupboard. "I keep it for medicinal purposes" he explained as he began pouring a glass of vodka. He sat quietly sipping on it. "Just two weeks ago, I was finishing the preparations for my wedding. Was soon about to invite Faith to it seeing she made it all possible. Did...did she fight well?" he asked. "With all her heart" Alicia replied. She could see tears in his eyes. "You guys were close?" Alicia asked. "In the very short time she was with me, she put things in perspective. She showed her humility, bravery, loyalty, and selflessness to all willing to see it. We were...intimate but her heart resides with another. Just as I had my harem, my heart resides with Aly" he replied softly. "She's not dead" Alicia said. "Lilith has caused the downfall of many a person. History is littered with the bones of her victims. Faith suffers a fate worse than death" he muttered.

"You sought me out to help you correct?" he asked. "She said you are a Campione like her" Alicia replied. "No, not like her. No Campione was like her. Even at the height of our time, it was rare for one of our kind to slay a god in their lifetime. Rarer still more than one. You have my blades, but I don't see how I can truly help you" he said. "Faith wanted you for a reason. She saw something in you" Alicia said taking the glass from him. "Maybe my innate jinn magics but in the face of Lilith, I am but a gnat" he said. "Then why are you still here in Dubai? Why haven't you stayed in Iram?" she asked. "Because...because I can't just turn my back to this" he replied. "I think that's what she saw in you. Your conviction. A lot of others would just run and hide but not you prince of Iram" she said. Ahmed stood up and walked to the living room mirror. He amped up his powers until his face turned to the dark ashen grey of his jinn heritage. Faith had told her of his mixed blood, so she wasn't too shocked to see the transformation. "I will need time to prepare. Hone my symbology" he said. "Fine. We won't be in a position to take down Lilith right away anyway. We need to take away her support first. One goddess down, two more to go" she said. "One down?" he asked. "Izanami. My 13-year-old daughter took her down" she replied. "What?!" he yelled. "A family friend found a way to harness and fuse her magics into a device that allows her to become a legendary warrior. She struck down a Japanese death goddess with lightning that would make you piss yourself in fear" she said. "In a child? That much power?!" he asked. "The power expenditure nearly killed her. We're going to England to pick up an artifact to help with that, along with some friends" she replied.

"Sounds like you have a plan already" he said. "Not mine. Faith's. She left a Plan B if the original plan went south. "Who is this?" a voice asked. Alicia turned to see a shrunken woman around 19 or 20 dressed in fatigues, barefoot, with disheveled hair. "A guest. She's brought dire news. Alicia, this is my fiancée Aly. Aly, this is Alicia Faith's wife" he said. Aly bowed slightly with respect. "I should go. I have some things back home to see to" Alicia said. "If you must" Ahmed said. Alicia opened a portal and left. "Have you been drinking?" Aly asked climbing up onto the sofa seat. "I have good reason to break my vow today. An ancient evil has proved victorious over Faith" he said picking her up and placing her on his thigh. "I fear the end of days may be upon us" he muttered. "Beloved, you're scaring me" Aly said. "I am scared myself. When the sun rises, we shall return to Iram. I must prepare myself for battle. I have shirked my destiny as a Campione for far too long. There is a time for being a watcher and a time to be a warrior. I have been the former too long. It has...dulled my edge" he said. "In the meantime, tell me what has happened for I must be prepared as well" she said. He looked down at her and dropped his finger to her. It touched her side and traveled down to her left bare foot. Her tiny ped resting on the fingertip. From there it went back up and stopped to play with her beautiful hair. "Lilith is our enemy. The queen of the Evil One. You still wish to fight?" he asked. "My future husband needs his wife by his side does he not?" she asked. "...he does" he replied.

Alicia had returned to their home and entered the mansion. "I'm back" she said. "Didn't know you were gone" Selah said eating cereal. "Imagine so how deep you were asleep" she said ruffling her hair and kissing it. "Damn. Never did get that tea" she muttered entering the kitchen. Alicia put on a coffee pot. "Did you check on Marco and Cordelia?" Alicia asked. "They're both asleep. Cordelia doesn't look very good" Selah replied. "Yeah I know. How do you feel?" she asked. "Alright. Eager to get that green jewel thing" she replied. "Don't let killing a goddess go to your head. Pride and foolishness go hand in hand" she warned. "Shit that smells good" Lucy muttered entering the room.  "Find a spot and I'll pour you a cup when it's done" Alicia said. Alicia and Selah looked at the borrower who was topless climb up onto the kitchen nook. "Wow. Your tits look sore" Selah blurted. "Selah that's rude" Alicia sighed. "Not easy breastfeeding three babies. Especially ones going through a growth spurt" Lucy said. Selah rubbed her finger down Lucy's bare back.  "Hmm" the borrower hummed kicking her feet out and relaxing. "When do borrower babies go on solid food?" Selah asked. "Around 12 months. Right around then we mix our breastmilk with their food to kinda wean them off" she replied. Selah leaned in real close. "You don't have any stretch marks" she said. "No, we don't. Our skin is more resilient than a human's" Lucy said. "Smooth skin. Super pretty. You borrowers are amazing!" Selah said. She gently kissed her bare back. "Haha! If you say so sweetie" Lucy chuckled. Alicia was relieved that Selah was still her lovable self. She was worried the new influx of power would corrupt her somehow.

Alicia finished making coffee and poured Lucy and herself a cup. Selah rested her chin on the nook very close to Lucy. "Ahmed said he's willing to fight. We just need to give him time to get ready" Alicia said. "Dunno time is what we have. You kinda fucked shit up in Japan. They could be looking for us as we speak" Lucy said. "I know which is why I'll be working on a distraction" she replied. Selah heard them talk back and forth but wasn't listening. She was staring at Lucy. She had not known her for long at all, but she felt herself becoming close to the woman. Lucy wasn't that much older than herself and had a kid. A thought crept into her mind. Selah wanted to fight. She wanted to transform again and feel that rush of power and lust. To taste victory and feel the joy of protecting those she loved. And then there was a fear in her heart that she wouldn't live long enough to experience growing older and starting a family of her own. Faith made it clear that bestowing Odin's power on her had shortened her life. Skylar was living proof of that. The girl was 19 but looked 25. Worse yet, it was known easily that Skylar had been given just a fraction of the power Selah had. Even if she lived through all this, she could a withered old woman by the time she was 40.

"Did you hear me?" Alicia asked. "Hmm?" Selah asked. "I said have you picked some clothes for your trip to England this afternoon" Alicia said. "Yeah last night" she replied. Alicia nodded. "Then if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with Skylar and someone else" Alicia said leaving. Selah watched her leave. "What's on your mind kiddo?" Lucy asked. "What's it like to start a family?" Selah asked. "Terrifying and fulfilling at the same time. Borrowers are taught early on that having children is one of the most important things we can ever do. We start looking around for a mate around 13, marry at 14, and start pumping out babies" she chuckled. "So, should I think about finding a boyfriend right now?" Selah asked. "Well, there's no age limit on that. Find a cute boy and try it out. Hugs, kisses, all that good stuff" she said. "So, you started having babies around 14?" Selah asked. "Yes I did" Lucy said very softly. "Bet that was interesting. So... where are they?" Selah asked. Lucy looked up at her. "I don't know. They were taken from me after six months. Selah, I was born and raised in a breeding farm. I don't even know my own parents" she replied. "I... oh god I didn't...fuck!" Selah yelled hiding her face. Lucy watched silently as tears slipped through Selah's fingers. "Hey. Look at me" Lucy said tugging on her finger. Selah reluctantly did. "I was so stupid. I feel like a fucking asshole for asking" she sniffled. "You didn't know and you're at a curious age" she said.

"Aunt Lucy I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings" she said. It was the first time Lucy had been called an aunt by her. "You didn't. I've had years to...cope with that reality. It's not our past the defines us. It's what we do now that does" Lucy told her. Selah gave her a gentle kiss. "Why don't you break out the nail polish and we can paint our toes and talk about boys" she said. Selah smiled and nodded to her.

Alicia walked silently to the city. The Valkyries Faith has brought there had completed the task of helping the displaced that lost their homes and some loved ones during Ambrosio's attack. Now they quietly sat in their dorms most of the time with only a few venturing into the city for a diversion. Faith has said that was alright as long as the people were willing to indulge them. Truthfully, not many chose that route as working around them gave them a perspective of these people being well...people. They weren't playthings, toys, or sexual aids. They had honest to god lives. For many a Valkyrie, his was cold water in their faces. Their power made them feel superior to people. Brought low and made to help people the size of ants was an ego breaker, but it served its purpose.  However, not all learned the lesson...

Alicia brought her bare feet down carefully with each step. The people cleared the way and bowed before her. She was royalty in their eyes and paid respect to her as her dusty giant soles came down close to them. Alicia walked with a purpose, a destination in mind. And when she arrived, she shrank down to their minuscule size and knocked on the door before her. "Yes? How can I...by the zodiac it's you" a young man said. "You gonna let me in?" she asked. He awkwardly opened the door for her and moved out of the way. Alicia walked into his home wiping her feet at the entryway. "I was not expecting you" he said softly. "I'm sure you felt the tremors from my feet though" she said. "Yes I did. By what do I enjoy the honor of an esteemed zodiac..."

"I'm not longer a zodiac. Alicia is fine" she said cutting him off. "Honey? What guests do we have..." a young woman said entering the living room. She bowed immediately. "Off the floor" Alicia said. "Alex, I'm here for something you were once working on" she said. He motioned for his wife to get Alicia some tea. "I don't know what you're referring. When the mas...Markus was declared dead, I became a simple man. A wife, a child, a simple job of maintaining the city's network infrastructure" he said. "Daddy? Who's she?" a young girl around five asked entering the room. "She's...a friend honey. Her name is Alicia" he said. "You're pretty" the girl told her. Alicia smiled and ruffled her hair. "Thank you" Alicia said. "Help your mother in the kitchen" he said. "Alex, I know Markus tasked you with a project involving a hacking suite for cellular phones" she said. "...yes. I am not that person anymore. I swore off using my talents for that. Alicia, when I turned my life around it got so much better. I got to see my daughter grow. No more nights stuck in the mansion slaving over programs" he said. "Alex, I'm being polite by asking. Now I got a lot of shit on my plate right now and I don't need your last-minute morality fucking that up. Recent events have had me being pulled back into a life I swore off, so I get wanting not to become the person you once were. Do not make me say something that we will both regret" Alicia said looking at his wife and daughter.

"Her birthday is in a week. Our anniversary in a month" he said. "And you all will be here to celebrate that, but you got shit to do now. Now you can finish what you were working on with Markus by choice or I can stoop to his level and threaten their lives. As they say back in Texas, make a pimp decision" she said coldly. "Honey, I have to take care of something. I'll be gone for a few days" he said. "If you must" she sighed. Alicia leaked into the kitchen starting her. She had forgotten for a moment she had been there. "Milady! I didn't mean disrespect! We are proud to serve..." she said as Alicia sipped the cup of tea. "Good tea. Nice family. Thank you for your hospitality" Alicia said smiling before walking to the door. "I need to gather my equipment" he said. "Don't dawdle. I want this done as fast as possible" she said before opening the door. The man breathed deeply after she left. Then the tremors of giant feet once again. He began gathering his equipment needed for the task and kissed his wife and child bye. Growing to human size, he began walking. In the distance he could see Alicia enter the mansion. "Oh" he muttered seeing she was more upset than he was.

A few hours later...

"So, this is where you were" Skylar said sitting next to Hana. Hana, even though koonago size was still a giantess in the city. She sat quietly with her legs out watching children play in the playground. Their parents, some of them, quietly rubbed her giant soles. "I'm worried. You haven't said much since I told you about your people" Skylar said extending her legs. With a new giantess before them, some flocked to her bare feet. "What's there to say? My people were decimated and raped on the orders of a mad goddess" Hana said softly. Skylar held her hand. "Many things to say. Scream, yell, cry" she said. "There was a time I wished for the end of the classes but to have it happen this way. I feel like a coward for not being there" she muttered. "So did your new queen. Her anger and shame nearly destroyed her. It took people she loved to step in to save her from herself" she said. "My people, my very culture was laid to waste. Even as I was treated lower than shit, I still had my pride as a koonago. Now, now that is laid bare" Hana said. She lowered her head and softly cried. Those attending her giant feet paused and looked up at her. "I don't pretend to have all the answers Hana, but I watched as your queen took the taters of your society and began to rebuild."

"Look at the people before you. Just weeks ago, they suffered the destruction of an eldritch vampire. Before that they lived and died at the whims of people. Faith told me those kids playing right there were the favorite prey of one of them. And yet they endure. You chose your name after seeing an orchid. Fitting as orchids are the few flowers whose stems don't break under pressure. Live up to your name cutie" Skylar told her. Hana wiped her eyes and hugged her tightly. "Look at those smiling faces" she said. Hana did and blushed. "They care about you too. I'd admit that more than a few are sexually attracted to you. Asian giantess with perfect feet walking around. Hey guys! She doesn't wear panties under these kimonos!" Skylar shouted. Hana turned beet red hiding her face. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed" Skylar chuckled stroking her hair. Skylar stood up. "Walk with me" she said. "Where are we going?" Hana asked. "Somewhere private. I want to do more than cuddle" she replied.

Around the same time...

"You ready to go?" Keith asked them. "Ready as we'll ever be" Susan replied. "Just you two?" he asked. "Me and Fiona are the best suited and most experienced. We go in, incapacitate, capture, and slip back. Is Hope ready?" she asked. Keith looked at his daughter as she silently looked out of the sunroom door. "I'm ready. Just bring my mommies home" she replied softly. Keith nodded quietly to Susan indicating Hope was in a stable mindset to transport them. They watched as the small girl floated through the air into the living room. "Good luck" Keith said to them. Susan smiled and gave the thumbs up. Hope opened a portal to Claire's and Aspen's location easily though she had never been there before. It reminded them that her control of Etherion surpassed the usual rules of high tier magics. The borrowers rushed through the portal closing it. It was just past 8 am local time as they arrived. The room was lit by the morning sun. A posh beautiful room decorated in old Castilian style.

Susan and Fiona were assaulted by various smells. The smell of blood and sweat. Dirty nylons and tears. The dirty nylons and blood were easily found by discarded hosiery and shoes. Susan having a keener sense of smell could smell the scent of many others in the room. Susan quietly walked along the wood floor. To the left towered a bed with snoring sounds. Giant feet poked out from the sheets. "Those are Aspen's feet" Fiona said. "I know. I can smell them. There's something else though. It reminds me of the smells I used to smell when I was..." Susan stopped talking as she saw on a table a cage. "When I was in a pet shop" she finished. Closer, the smell of sweat, tears, and wood chippings was stronger. Susan expertly climbed up the table. She cringed at the smell of piss and shit. Inside were not borrowers but shrunken human beings. Four of them all male. Three of them teenagers with the fourth a very handsome, healthy man in his late 20's. Judging by their looks, they were of the local variety. "What is it?" Fiona asked down on the floor. "Sacrifices they're keeping shrunken humans as sacrifices here. Uhhgh...I can smell traces of Aspen's and Claire's pussy juices on them from a few days ago. They must be raping them before they kill them. Oh god, what did this world do to them?" Susan asked crossing herself.

Her voice awoke one of them. "Huh? Wha?" a boy around 15 asked opening his eyes. He saw Susan and freaked backing against the bars. "Please...I just wanna go home. Don't put me in there again" he begged. "What? You think I'm with them?" Susan asked. She forced the cage door open. "Don't...don't please..." he whined crying. "Easy kid. I'm not with them" she said. The others began to wake. They panicked just like the boy. "Shhh. We're going to get you out" Susan said. Fiona heard a sound from the bed. "Susan..." Fiona said. "How long have you been here?" Susan asked. "Two...two weeks I think. There was more of us. 8 more. We were shrunk and taken in the market by them, devotees of Morrigan. Night after night one of us gets taken and used. Some return. Others don't. That poor kid's brother was taken the other night. He didn't return" the man said. "Step out of the cage and carefully use the lamp power cord to slide down to the floor" she said. "Susan..." Fiona said. "I'm busy Fiona" she said. "There's small rustling underneath the covers" Fiona warned. Susan looked at the bed and at table height saw it far better. Aspen was indeed there but Claire was not to be seen. However, a small bump in the covers near her was moving.

Susan helped the survivors to the floor. "They're human! Susan we can't bring them back. The fact they know magic..."

"Doesn't mean shit in this world anymore" Susan finished. "Jesus you're right. We need to move. We can't get sidetracked" Fiona said. "Those voices" a voice said. Claire floated out from underneath the covers. "Oh shit" Fiona muttered. "Susan. And Fiona right? Now what brings you two here? And are those our tributes escaping?" Claire asked as magic power began to crackle around her. Aspen began to wake. Susan cast fortification making her speed explode. With a blur, she climbed onto the bed, and swiftly cast a sleeping arcane on the giantess. "Fuck did you just do?" Claire asked coldly. "Claire, you need to come home. You're under the influence of a perception spell. This isn't you" Fiona said. Claire gripped the woman with invisible force lifting her off her bare feet. "I was not talking to you" Claire said coldly tossing her through the air. "Fiona!" Susan yelled running to her side. She was stopped as a stray bolt of lightning crossed her path. "I asked you a fucking question" Claire hissed. "Claire. Power down" Susan warned. The naked borrower floating in the air grew to human size.

The humans on the floor trembled. "You really want to fight? What if Aspen gets killed in the crossfire?" Susan asked. Susan narrowed her eyes and shrank back down. "Innocent people Susan? Hope saw what you two did and it broke her heart. Even Keith is distraught. Do you even care?" Susan asked. "It is for the glory of Morrigan that their lives are given. She is the way to salvation!" Claire yelled. "What if she asked you to slit Aspen's throat?" Susan asked. "Only the males are sacrificed. She would never be..."

"Then Luke perhaps. Looking at who you caught so far, your kid would be a prime sacrifice in 15 years or so. What about it Claire? Your son's blood running down an altar after some woman rapes him night after night" Susan said. Claire's power flickered violently. "She...she would never ask that of me" Claire stammered floating lower and lower to the floor. "How can you be so sure? Look at them Claire! They are somebody's sons and I'm damn sure their mothers' worship Morrigan. That man said there were 8 others. Did their mother's devotion save them from you and Aspen?" Susan asked wriggling her toes and finding her footing. "I... I don't know. No, no it didn't" Claire stuttered. Susan slipped her hand into her pocket gripping a syringe. She leaped right at the woman distracted by her words and tackled her. She drove the syringe into her neck and injected Claire with a sedative. With a howl, she blew Susan right off her. "I'm alright" Susan muttered as Fiona helped her to her feet. Claire raised her hand at her and fired off a bolt of lightning. Susan deflected it with her sword. Claire fired again with the same effect. Drugged and weakened, her magics were not a threat. "I'll...kill you" Claire hissed staggering to her. Claire collapsed on the floor. Susan called Keith. "They're down but we got four extra people coming with us. Open the portal" she said. A moment later the portal opened, and Susan and Fiona motioned for the survivors to enter. Fiona shrunk Aspen down and carried her as Susan carried Claire. "Mission complete..." Susan muttered returning. They carried Claire and Aspen to the infirmary while Keith called security to deal with their new guests.

"We all set?" Alicia asked. "I am" Skylar said with a duffel bag. "I'm good" Selah said with a suitcase. "I'm going to portal us to London airport. That's as close as I can get us to Yorkshire" she said. Alex walked up from the basement. "Just taking a piss" he said. "Work as fast as you can. If you need food or water just open the fridge" she said. They looked at Alicia. "He's working on a project" she said quietly. Before they could ask any questions, she opened a portal. "Time is ticking ladies" she said pushing them through. They emerged at the pickup terminal of Heathrow. "So now we rent a car and head out" Skylar said looking around. "No. No rental cars" Alicia said walking to the doors. They followed her to the parking lot where she looked over car after car. "You're not thinking of boosting a car are you?" Skylar asked. "We don't need anyone tracing our credit cards...assuming they still work. Ah. Here we go" she replied. She used her powers to unlock the doors of a dirty beat down car of her choice. "Get in" she said. They crammed themselves into it. "You got to be kidding me. An antique Mini Cooper that's dirtier than the jokes I tell Hana?" Skylar muttered. "No LoJack or GPS to track us" she said hot wiring the car. They cringed as she grinded the gears. "My shoe is bigger than this piece of British shit" Skylar huffed. Alicia quickly backed out of the space and exited the lot. The car groaned as she forced it into fourth gear as she merged onto the M1.

"Not so bad" Alicia sighed as she turned the radio on. There was no music at all except talk radio exalting Morrigan. She turned it off. "Not a single song" Selah said. "I thought as much surfing the web. Pandora, Spotify, even IHeart Radio is gone" Alicia said. "Why? You'd think they'd keep some music just to praise their name like in church" Skylar said. "Music has a tendency to move our hearts and souls. It can encourage a person. Give them hope. Open their minds. It can even be used as a weapon. Music is the foundation to my magics. There's a reason why music has been used in battle for centuries and reason why I sing during combat" Alicia said. "So, who was that guy?" Skylar asked. "An old colleague from once upon a time. I have him working on a project that might give us some breathing room now people know about us" she replied. She whipped the car around a slower vehicle. "Jesus who taught you how to drive?" Skylar asked. "My father. The backwoods of Texas and an old Ford pickup were the best teaching tools in the world" she replied. "You don't talk about your days before Faith" Skylar said. Alicia looked at Selah using the rear-view mirror.  "I come from Corpus Christi Texas. When I was 14 I discovered I could control people with magic if I sang. Soon I could cast simple spells including shrinking and growing ones. Thought I was the shit back then...until Markus came into town."

"Told me what I really was. A Lemurian descendant with Alux blood. I was a chosen being with the right to rule humanity with others like me. Told him to fuck off with that world domination bullshit. In response, he burned my family alive and shrank and murdered my boyfriend. He kept me in bondage for weeks beating me, raping me until I broke. I was no longer Alicia but Celine Cruz the singer.  And then I was doing his bidding controlling key humans for his master plan while I... indulged in horrible things. Truly horrible things" Alicia said gripping the steering wheel harder. They were quiet. "And then you met mom" Selah said touching her hand on the gearshift. "That's right sweetie. I met Faith" Alicia said smiling.

A little over an hour later...

They pulled up to Yorkshire Mansion. "You all feel that right?" Alicia asked. "The urge to look away and leave? Yeah. A perception spell" Skylar said. "Hold my hands" she said to them. Alicia held them tightly as they trudged up the lane to the door. Jumpy as hell as they fought the urge to flee. Alicia went to knock on the door until she saw the barrier in place. "Hmm...knock knock" she said empowering her fist and striking the barrier. A dense thud and nothing else. They waited. The door opened and before them stood Keith and Susan. "Who the hell are you?" Keith asked wary as anyone that got that close was not ordinary. "Hopefully, a friend. My name is Alicia...McCormick" she replied. "...McCormick? Keith..." Susan was saying before Keith motioned for her to be quiet. "This is my adopted daughter Selah, and this is Skylar. May we come in?" Alicia asked. Keith stepped forward backing them up. "No, you may not. There's a little voice inside me telling me you're not exactly a run of the mill person. And neither are they. Especially the girl there" Keith said pointing to Selah. "I can explain but we're kinda exposed out here. It would be best if we can enter. We really mean no harm" Alicia said looking around before extending her hand. Susan gripped her wrist causing Alicia to yelp in pain.

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"Let her go" Selah said coldly. "You come onto our property stinking of anxiety during a lockdown. And somehow got close enough to knock on our door. You dropped an auspicious name..." Susan was saying before Selah touched her waist summoning the Hero Driver. "Get you fucking hand off her now" Selah growled as the air reeked of ozone as static electricity filled it. "Selah no! They have every right to suspect us. They're just as afraid as we are. Please let go. I'm sure you just broke my wrist" Alicia said. "Let her go Susan" Keith said. Susan let go and saw the bruises on Alicia's wrist. "I... apologize. I sometimes forget my own strength" Susan muttered. "No permanent damage done" Alicia said healing her wrist. "Keith. Do you remember a woman named Faith?" she asked. "Yeah I do. She was here at the mansion some time ago. She was doing strange things for us but refused to tell us who she really was and how she just...knew things. Even my daughter couldn't see who she was" he replied. "Faith authorized me to answer any question you had including who she really is. She said that if you doubt our sincerity, to speak a single word and you would know to trust us" Alicia said. "...what is it?" Keith asked curious. "Acornwood" she replied softly. Keith's eyes went wide. "Go on in" he said quietly stepped aside. "Keith..." Susan said wary. "Very few people in this world would say that word to me and know what it means. It's my last name and I only tell it to people that I consider true family" he said softly. They entered the mansion and were led to the library.

"Please sit" he told them. They sat as Keith and Susan stood. "How does Faith know my last name? Who is she really?" he asked. "She knew because you told it to her once. As for who she is...she's your daughter" Alicia replied. Keith looked at her shocked. "Contrary to what some people believe, I'm not that much of a horn dog. I get some...comfort from girls now and then but I'm very choosy who I nut in. Now who is her mother?" he asked. "Aspen" she replied. Keith looked furious. "Keith, she's speaking the truth. I can smell it on her" Susan said. "You should sit down. The full story is a little to take in" Alicia told him. "How is it me and Aspen have a daughter we don't know about?" he asked sitting. "Technically you do. You see, Faith inherited your sense of humor and when she changed her name she used a play on words. Before her name was Faith...it was Hope" she said. "You're telling me that woman who was here once...is really my daughter who's in her room playing Mario Kart? he asked. "Yes and no. She comes from another world. Another timeline. It all began last year around August..." she said as she told the sorry.

Two hours later...

Keith smashed a lamp with his hand. "SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO ERASE MY MEMORIES!" he yelled. "She did it to ease any possible guilt you may have with two Hope's in the world. I mean you would feel obligated to tell Aspen wouldn't you? And then explain what Hope did in the other timeline" Alicia said. "And if someone took away the memory of your daughter?" Keith asked. "I never said I fully supported her decision. Only that I understand why she did it. Keith, you were badly injured, and she feared you'd throw yourself right into our conflict because of who she was. That added to possible rejection from Aspen and her siblings pushed her to do it. And....the decision broke her little heart. She sang "Come go with me" over and over. "I sing that song to Hope to cheer her up" he muttered. "And your little war was lost badly" Susan said. "Understatement of the year. However, Selah made some progress killing Izanami" Skylar said. "Her? The kid?" Susan asked. "She has the power to kill a god. I didn't stop your beef session with her out of fear of her safety. I did it out of yours. She could've blown you to smithereens or simply turned you to sizzling bone and ash" Alicia said. Selah smirked.

"So, Lilith is behind all this? The actual Lilith from the bible?" he asked. "The same. She and three other goddesses took over the world with a reality warping Perception spell as you can see" Alicia replied. "The Internet confirms that three goddesses appeared with her, but it says it happened back in January. How come they haven't knocked on our door in all that time?" he asked. "We think what happened was the same thing that happened for us. Your barrier shielded you from the effects and shifted you out of reality until this new reality realigned with the original one inside the barrier. Kinda like trapping air in a bubble. "Then that means we're totally exposed now. Susan, check on Aspen and Claire. We need to see if they heard anything during their time as...Jesus what do you call human sacrifice people? Cultists?" he asked. "Wait. You have Aspen here?" Alicia asked. "We were able to bring her and her wife back by force. Trouble is they were under the influence of this spell" Keith replied. "Isn't that dangerous?" Skylar asked. "They're sedated and being watched last time we checked. Claire did waver when she was put under emotional stress. We're hoping her daughter can reverse the effects" Susan said. "I found that love can be a kind of deterrent to the spell. There's risks though" Alicia said. "What kind?" Keith asked. "I saw a woman go into convulsions like her mind, body, and soul were in conflict. I didn't pry harder but it's clear it's no easy fix" Alicia replied. Keith nodded and dispatched Susan to check on Claire and Aspen.

Susan went to check on them and found them still asleep. "Good but we can't keep them asleep forever" she said closing the door. "Hey Suzie? Who's the powerful people with dad?" Hope asked coming from the bathroom. "You sensed that? I'm surprised you didn't come right down" she said. "Was busy looking after both my moms. Their dreams are...twisted" Hope said. Susan didn't want to ask what she meant. "I wanna meet those people" Hope said to her. "Okay" Susan shrugged leading her back to the library. "They're still asleep" Susan said. "Whoa! Those two are really strong dad!" Hope said looking at Alicia and then Selah. Alicia and Selah saw her and couldn't help what they felt. "This is my daughter Hope but as you claim, you already know that. Hope, this is Alicia, Selah, and Skylar. They're here to help" Keith said. Hope floated closer to them. "Why? Why do I feel so much pain from you when you look at me?" Hope asked. Alicia sniffled while Selah simply began bawling. "I don't understand. I feel so much pain and grief from you and I'm in your mind but...I'm different. You, Selah I can feel you desperately fighting not to touch me. I don't mind. You're not a bad girl" Hope said confused. She floated to Selah and landed in Selah's open hand. "Not so bad right? Watch me dance" Hope chuckled as she hoped around like a ballerina. Selah laughed a little but cried harder. "Wow. That works on dad when he's sad" Hope said. "She looks like mom but...younger" Selah muttered sniffling. "I know what you mean but she's not her Selah" Alicia said. "Why am I so clear in your mind when we haven't met before?" Hope asked. Alicia and Selah were hesitant to answer. It was not an easy thing to explain. They looked at Keith. "She'll find out one way or another. Hope sweetie, it's a lot to take in. I don't know if you'll understand it all" he said. "Don't underestimate me" Hope said coldly and oddly mature. Keith and Susan were taken aback. "Please open your mind to me" she said. Alicia and Selah did.

It was as if she tried to tread water in a tidal wave. A flood of images, explanations, love, grief, the sight of children that was hers and not hers. A wife, a city under her rule, the maturity she had obtained from constant studying and hard choices in a life not hers. Hope broke the connection. "Honey? You okay?" Keith asked worried. Hope floated to the windowsill and sat on it. "We should help them. Neither of us can do this alone" Hope replied. "That's not a yes or no kiddo" Susan said. Susan approached her. "Don't" Hope said before flying off. "Let her be alone. Susan, please arrange the guest rooms for them" he said. Susan nodded and led them out of the room. Keith stayed thinking on what he had learned. "I had a duplicate daughter with children and a wife. Fuck me..." he hissed. 

Meanwhile...

"You keeping tabs on Yorkshire still?" Lilith asked. "I'm busy Lilith. Claire and Aspen went missing. Nobody knows where they are" Morrigan said. "You telling me you kept them alive?!" Lilith shouted. "Of course, I did. Claire is powerful in her own right but not too powerful she's immune to our effects. Keeping Aspen alive kept Claire in check. Keeping them alive brings us a powerful slave and a possible lure for the Etherion child" she replied. "Hmm...good thinking but if they're gone..." Lilith muttered. "Then they made their move. I'll be at Yorkshire later this evening. I'm busy with...an issue of my own" Morrigan said. "An issue?" Lilith asked. "None of your concern" Morrigan snapped ending the link. 

Morrigan stood as a giantess over the private school in Ulster. The students, all male, were 13 years or older till 18 which is what she desired. 157 of them stood outside as commanded by their goddess. She looked into the souls of each one and most were of good virgin quality. The others barely passable. Of her three forms, she chose the young woman to appear before them. Dressed in black with the feathers of Ravens adorning her collar. Her feet bare with painted black toenails. Her skin was pale as a ghost except her fingers and toes which were rosy as if stained by blood. If one dared look up her dress, they would see her bare pussy. She was as beautiful as she was dangerous. Thousands had already died in her name. Blood spilled to increase her power. Young males, virgin males were best. One would say it was cruel to sacrifice so young a boy barely in their teens but in the time she was worshipped most, it was common as Irish fog to see such boys on the battlefield. She looked down at the boys carefully and gestured for them to come forward one by one to her feet. They came, bent down at her toes, and slit their own throats on her toenails. It was a methodical travesty of the sanctity of life. One by one they bled out over her toes and once spent, she would brush their corpse aside. Their blood would stain her nails and skin for a moment before pooling with the rest on the ground. Within an hour, half were gone and the ground red muddy. By two hours, blood had pooled. By and hour and a half, only a few remained. Then only one. Morrigan could see the quality of his soul.

Alexander was a strapping boy of 15. Tall, handsome, the star football player. She felt sorry for him as she was more than a goddess of death. It was not unusual for her to take one like him as a mate before his end came. Morrigan stepped out of the bloody pool to him and sat down. She grabbed him up and studying him for a moment before ripping his school uniform off. "Nice indeed" she muttered studying him. Without ceremony, she plunged him headfirst into her pussy. The teachers and headmaster watched in silence as the last surviving student was raped before them. To Alexander, this was heaven. Losing his virginity to his goddess was a supreme honor. And then jammed all the way in until his head touched her cervix was too much for him to comprehend. With a groan, he released his seed within her. Morrigan immediate sensed it as a death goddess being cum in was like lighting a match in a pitch-black room. A spark of life within a myriad of death.

Morrigan pulled out the dazed boy. She almost let him go but he was needed for her dark work. Holding him upside down by his tiny little ankle, she pressed her fingernail to his teeny, little throat...and sliced it open. She remained emotionless as he gurgled and choked. His blood spilling down into the pool beneath him. She waited and waited as he began to run dry. His heart had stopped and sue used her fingers to milk him dry like someone squeezing the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube. His pale corpse spent, she tossed it aside landing in the pile next to her. "Biodh an rud sin air a seulachadh (Let that which was sealed be undone)" in Gaelic. The ground trembled as a spearhead began to rise from the blood. A javelin seven feet from tip to tip with a forked head with seven barbs on each side. It was a legendary fearsome weapon lost in time. Morrigan knew of it fairly well as she collected the victims of it more than once. Last she knew of it was long ago sealed into the very land itself by the legendary Merlin. By using innocent boys' blood, she undid the seal. Touching it, it grew to 190 ft long before she held it. Slamming the base on the ground, it drained the life out of it. The blood spilled turned to red ash, the grass to dust. Gaé Bulg existed once again. 

"Keith. There was a great disturbance north of us. Something powerful was just unsealed" Oberon warned. "...you know Morrigan better than any of us. Can she be defeated?" Keith asked sitting at the bedside of Claire. "Morrigan is older than I am Keith. Trying to kill her is like trying to kill death itself. I sensed once before she was wary of Hope, but wariness doesn't equal fear. We can delay or ward her off but killing her?" Oberon replied. Hope entered the room. "They're going to wake any moment" she said floating down to his shoulder. "I figured as much" he said. "You should get back. Claire might...lash out" she warned. Keith backed away but Hope stayed where she was. "The chains are cold iron" he said. "Which will barely contain her. Uh oh..." she said as Claire stirred. Claire awoke. "Where...where am I?" Claire muttered. "Back home momma Claire" she replied. "Aspen!" Claire said looking to the far side of the room. "Honey. Let us go" Claire said. "No can do. You turned bad. You killed innocent people" Hope said. "Because of our goddess. Now let us go right now young lady!" Claire yelled. Hope winced at her tone. "No. You need to be fixed" she replied. Claire lashed out with her power. It was mostly muted thankfully but did frighten Hope and Keith. "Keith..." she muttered. "We all saw what you and Aspen did Claire. You turned into what we have fought. Didn't you feel anything killing those people?" he asked. Aspen began to stir. 

"What the hell is..."

"Our daughter and our surrogate sperm bank chained us up!" Claire yelled. "Is that all I am to you?" Keith asked. "You thought you were something else? Don't kid yourself. You gave us some babies and you're a nice friend but that's it. I mean who can deal with your issues? Lawan only married you because she's fucked up too" Claire said. "You're...you're still under the influence" Keith stammered. "Or maybe this is what I'm really thinking but I just don't say it" Claire said. Keith looked at Aspen. "She has a point Keith. Trouble follows your ass. It's like your fucking bloodline is cursed" she said. "Mom...mom don't do this" Hope said. "As for you young lady. I can't even have baby photos of you. I have to worry if you're going to fuck up and destroy us all. It's like having a nuclear bomb for a kid" she spat. Hope put her head in her hands sniffling. "This isn't them. It's the goddamn spell fighting back" he told her. Hope held out her hand. "I can see it wrapped around their souls. I don't think I can break it without seriously hurting their souls" she said. "Wait here" Keith said leaving the room. It was an uncomfortable five minutes alone with them before he returned...holding a handgun.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Claire asked. "In Lily's study. It belonged to her husband who got it from his grandfather who served in WWII. This old Webley is in working order too. "You think an illusion..." Aspen said before he tossed it onto her stomach. She felt the weight of it. Keith quietly picked it up and slung the cylinder open. "No illusion. And neither is this .45 caliber round" he said loading a chamber. He slapped the cylinder closed. "Time for a game of Russian Roulette Keith style but you're going to hold the gun Aspen" he said before sitting on the bed. He unlocked her wrist chains and forced the gun in her hand. He had her point the gun at his chest. "Pull the trigger" he said. "Dad you can't be serious!" Hope yelled. "Be quiet. Mom and dad are having a talk" he said. "You think I won't..." she said before Keith used his finger to pull the trigger. *Click*

"One down. Five to go. 20% chance this time" he said. "This won't prove anything!" Aspen yelled. Keith pulled the trigger for her. *Click* "He obviously palmed the bullet Aspen" Claire sighed. "Use your clairvoyance to check my pockets then" he said. Claire did. "It's nothing there" she muttered. She looked at the gun. "There's too much iron! I can't see!" Claire yelled. "You sound worried Claire. Come on Aspen. 1 in four chance. 25% in blowing me away" he said. She looked at Hope. "The bullet has a soft iron core so it's a fifty-fifty chance she can heal it. Pull the fucking trigger" he growled. Aspen pulled the trigger on her own this time with shaking hands. *Click* "You're on a roll Aspen! Don't stop now!" Keith yelled making her pull the trigger once more. *Click* "Whoo...now you got a 50% chance this time. Pull the trigger" he said. Aspen was shaking. Tears welled in her eyes. "Pull it. Pull it. PULL THE FUCKING TRIGGER" he growled. "I... I can't" she said. "Why the hell not?! I'm a fuckup case right? I don't mean a fucking theming to your right?! Wait, I'll make it easier for you. Invoke the name of your goddess and use my life as a sacrifice. Say it with me. I'm Morrigan's name...I give his blood to thee" he said pressing the barrel to his chest.

"In... Morrigan's name...I gave thee...*Click*" she said before Keith pulled the trigger for her. Aspen whimpered like a dog being kicked.  "Well, one chamber left" he muttered. His finger entered the trigger guard. "Please...please don't..." she begged. "Goodbye Aspen" he whispered. Aspen screamed as emotional pain had reached its peak. "Oh my god" Hope said seeing the spell weaken around her mother's soul. Using her power, she exorcised it making the woman convulse before collapsing. "She's free" Hope muttered. "As for you..." Keith said looking at Claire. "Your bullshit won't work on me" Claire said. Keith held the gun and pointed it at the ceiling before pulling the trigger. A deafening shot rang out. "Fuck me that's loud!" he said nursing his borrower hearing. Their ears rang but he made his point clear to Claire. The gun was really loaded, and it was by chance Aspen had not shot him. Keith threw the gun on the table next to her. Keith sat down calmly beside her before shrinking to her size. He touched her cheek.

"You remember the night we had sex don't you? How desperately you wanted a child of your own. I felt...well I felt scared Claire. Was I good enough? Could I give you a healthy baby? I looked deep in your eyes that night and saw how badly you wanted it. Like you were scrambling to fill a hole in your heart, and I held the piece. Having kids made me realize how incomplete my life was. Having kids is like our way to make our world less dreary. In a way I envy how long it takes for humans to give birth. 9 months compared to our six weeks. But what six weeks they are. Rubbing your back as you had morning sickness. Dealing with your increased libido at all times of the day. My lips got chapped how many times I sucked your little pussy. Rubbing lotion on your belly. Holding you as you drifted off to sleep. I..." Keith said suddenly stopping as he looked away. Claire began to twitch.  "It was you that helped me get over the loss of my sister. You beautiful miracle. Yes, miracles. Every single one of you. I know I'm not the best guy to have around. I'm impulsive, a horn dog, and I have OCD, but I know deep down you love me anyway. I have never run away from a fight Clare and I'm not about to start now. I will fight for your soul" he said.

Claire shuddered and shockingly snapped one of the chains holding her wrists. She punched Keith so hard he tumbled across the bed. "Dad!" Hope yelled. "I'm fine" he muttered spitting a tooth before walking back to her. "You...you think some pretty words is going turn me against my goddess? She has given me everything I wanted! Money! Power! Any mate of my choosing!" she yelled. "At what cost? Your parents? Your son?" he asked. Keith grabbed her left breast and squeezed causing her to shake. He caught her wrist before she could punch him again. "You fucking pervert. When I'm done with you..."

"She even took away your ability to breastfeed him. Remember what that was like Claire. Looking into those little eyes as he drank your milk. Does any feeling compare to that perfect peaceful moment?" he asked. "No..." she said softly before crying. "Do you want that feeling again? That perfect moment again?" he asked. "YES!" she screamed sobbing. "Hope. Give her what she wants" he said. Hope nodded and cast magic on her. Claire groaned as hormones flooded her blood and tissue. Her milk ducts coming back to life. Seconds later, precious breastmilk leaked from her nipples. "Please...please help me" she begged as magic flickered in her eyes. Hope broke the spell holding her soul prisoner. Keith undid her chains. "Easy Claire" he said holding her close. Her milk soaked his shirt. Keith grew back to human size and sat there watching the exhausted girl slip back to sleep. "Two down. 7.4 billion to go" he sighed. "Was that a gun shot?!" Alicia said opening the door. "That it was. If Lily were here she'd grab me by the balls and make guacamole for putting a hole in her antique ceiling. Seconds later, a security team appeared. "Four minutes? Guys you can do better" he chided before dismissing them. "You need something other than my daughter?" he asked her. "The Ring of Shishak. The stone is capable of safely supplying Selah's artifact with magic" Alicia replied. "Done. Meet me in the living room at 8 am" he said softly. Alicia left him be. "Get some sleep honey. Daddy has it under control now" Keith told his daughter. Hope was reluctant to leave him but did.

The next morning...

"Here it is" Keith said handing it to her. "Now to take the stone out" she said. "Whoa there. It is not that easy. This stone is anchored to the ring with very old Arabic arcanes. It would be very bad to try to force it out" he said. "We're on the clock Keith. How bad are we talking?" she asked. "A stone of this quality would explode with a force of one kiloton. It would turn everything and everyone on this hill to dust. I tried asking Oberon to help but he doesn't read old Arabic. He said he thinks he could dislodge it...in a month" he said. "We don't have that kind of time. It's a miracle Morrigan hasn't shown up on your doorstop yet. Arabic arcanes...I think I might know someone who can help. Hand me the ring and I'll make a quick run" she said. Keith shrugged and handed her the ring. She walked out the front door through the barrier. "Be back as quick as I can" she smiled before walking through a portal. "Wish I could do that?" he muttered. "I thought I heard momma Alicia" Selah said yawning. "She left to run an errand. Breakfast?" he asked. She nodded smiling. Keith fixed bacon eggs and a side of toast for her. "Bacon..." Hope mumbled floating into the kitchen. "Eat up ladies" he grinned as his tiny daughter sat on the table.

"Been wanting to ask but who made that weird shrinking spell on you Selah?" Hope asked. "You know about that?" Selah asked. "Hope can see all kinds of spellcraft" Keith said sipping coffee. "Well, a man named Markus. All humans where I live are born under it. This is my real size" Selah said controlling her shrinking and standing on the table. "Whoa" Keith muttered seeing the girl no bigger than an ant. "That's so weird seeing someone tinier than me when I'm my natural size. You're cute that size" Hope said petting her. "Aww thanks" Selah blushed.  "Why don't you show her around the city Hope. Make a day out of it" Keith said. "That sounds like a great idea dad!" Hope replied. They quickly finished eating and raced to the sunroom. Selah grew to borrower size to match Hope as they entered the city. "Here is south district. Here you'll find administrative buildings" she said. "Administrative?" Selah asked. "Dad is pretty much the de facto leader here but there is a city council that listens to the people and voice their concerns. It's divided up further into education, sanitation, economy, and other complicated stuff" Hope said shrugging. "It does sound complicated" she said. Selah found the city very familiar in terms of physical design. Modern buildings, walkways for giant and giantesses, streets and even fountains. "Over here are the docks" she said pointing down. "So, goods and stuff enter here?" Selah asked. "No, it's distributed here. Basic needs stuff is distributed for free. Luxury stuff is parceled out by work credits" she said. "Hmm...our city everyone gets whatever they want" Selah said. "So, nobody works?" Hope asked. Selah shook her head.

"Sounds cool" she said. "Not entirely. People got whatever they wanted but in exchange were slaves. No, more like livestock" Selah said. Hope stopped walking. "This other me ruled people like that?" Hope asked. "No, she broke that system but kept the idea of providing for them. As mom explained it, it was a work in progress" she replied. "Mom...Selah? Can you tell me about her?" Hope asked. Selah nodded. Hope led her to the east district where the expansive park near the cemetery was. She had her sit down. "It's pretty here" Selah said. "I come here often to think. "Hope! Play with us!" a kid shouted seeing her. Selah grinned. "I have company today" she said. "Please?" the child begged. "Alright" she sighed. Hope grew to human sized and took a few steps over to the others. Hope sat down again. "Sorry. It's hard to say no to them" she said to a small Selah sitting next to her. Selah watched silently as she picked up random tiny children and gently bounced them up and down in her hands. Hope giggled and placed them down for a next kid's turn. "Some things stay the same" Selah said. Hope looked at her. "Mom did this too with the kids in the city" she explained. Hope flicked a rubber ball away for them to scramble for it.

"What else did she do?" Hope asked. "She is the kindest person I ever met. I lost my parents in an attack. Mom pulled me out of the rubble, nursed me back to health, and then adopted me" she replied. "...what else?" Hope asked. Selah went and talked for over an hour about Faith. "And then mom and I had this pillow fight...oh. Look down" Selah said. Hope looked down to see some of the kids that were still there had used her bare sole to sleep against. She tapped it. "Kids. My foot isn't a pillow. If you're sleepy go home" Hope said. "Yes Hope" they sighed before leaving. "They really love you here" Selah said. "Not as much as they love Faith in your city" Hope said softly. "I don't think that's a fair comparison to make. Sure, we have more people, but they were slaves Hope. They love her so much because she gave them freedom. These people love you because you're so nice. You took time to play with their kids. You brighten their day just being in it" Selah said. Hope wiped a tear from her eye. "Any good place for lunch?" Selah asked. "I know just the place" she smirked.

Hope led her to a cafe. They shrank down to enter. "Afternoon Hope. You have company?" a young man asked. "Yes Brian. Table for two" Hope replied smiling. Brian led them to a table. "The usual and Selah?" she asked. "The same" Selah replied. The young man nodded and left. Selah noticed Hope sniffing the air as he left watching him. "Aha. So, this is Brian" she said. "Wha?" Hope asked. "Faith told me she had a major crush on a boy named Brian and I just saw you taking his scent" she replied. Hope blushed. "Oh. Uh...yeah I do kinda like him" she muttered playing with her hair. "Well, you definitely picked a cute one. He's 16? 17?" Selah asked. "16" Hope replied. "You know. Faith regretted not going out with him" Selah said. "Really?" Hope asked. Selah nodded grinning. Brian returned with two plates of shrimp fettuccine and water. "Brian? If you're not busy later...would you like to spend time with me?" she asked. "I have to look after my brother" he replied. "How old is he?" Selah asked. "14. I don't trust him not burning down the house trying to cook" he chuckled. "Ooh! Double date!" Selah said. "Really? He's been wanting to meet a girl..." Brian muttered. "Settled. Tonight, your place for dinner" Selah said. "Okay. See you at seven?" he asked. Hope blushed and nodded. "I have a date!" Hope squealed.

Meanwhile...

"Alicia?" Aly asked finding the giantess waiting on their sofa. "Sorry to show up unannounced but I have a problem you or Ahmed might be able to solve" she said. "Lately all you have is problems" Aly quipped. Alicia looked down at her feet. "Sorry. It's been one of those days. What's the problem?" Aly asked taking her shoes off before climbing onto the sofa. "This. I need the gem off it, but it's anchored by really old Arabic arcane" she said placing the ring before the tiny woman. "By Allah. I have only seen such arcane in the royal library. No wonder you have problems. This script hasn't been used since the golden age of Islam nearly 800 years ago. Where did this come from?" Aly asked touching the gem. "From what I was told it was confiscated during an investigation years ago. It's called the Ring of Shishak" she said. Ally's eyes went wide. "Shishak?! The genus arcane Mage of the Saladin Caliphate?!" Aly asked. "I guess? It's really powerful. Faith said the ring can actually control time" Alicia replied. "Sounds like something he'd make. Shishak was a genius. He was to arcane as Einstein was to physics. To create a philosopher stone of such purity" she muttered tapping her teeny like fist on it. "Careful. I heard the thing could explode if you fuck with it" Alicia warned. "Ahmed is busy purifying himself for the coming battle and is indisposed but I can help with this. I spent many sleepless nights studying the old texts" she said. "So, you can remove it?" Alicia asked. "Yes. It will take about three days but why would you remove it?" Aly asked. "We need the stone as a power source for a more powerful artifact" Alicia replied. "...I see. I'll let you know when I'm done with an arcane summon" she said. "Thanks Aly" she said. Aly simply nodded and stared intently at the ring. Alicia left her quietly and returned to the island. 

"Any word on him?" she asked Skylar sitting on the sofa with Hana. "Jesus you scared the shit out of me!" Skylar said jumping and catching Hana in midair. Skylar took a deep breath. "Your creepy friend only comes up for food, water, and to take a shit. What is he doing Alicia?" she asked. Alicia sat next to them. "He's working on a cell phone operating system exploit" she replied. "Excuse me?" Skylar asked. "Before Markus was defeated, he was working on a master plan to conquer the world. Part of that plan was to upload a hack into every cell phone on the planet. From there, the phones would become a Trojan horse that would slip a virus into hundreds of communication and navigation satellites orbiting the Earth. The virus would knock out the satellites plunging the planet back into the 1950's" she replied. "Sounds stupid" Skylar said. "According to Faith, it worked in her world and it caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands in a single day. It even crippled nuclear arsenals that had been upgraded. Stupid it is not" Alicia said. "So, you're going to do the same thing?" Hana asked worried. "Don't be silly. I do need that exploit uploaded but not to take out communications. I need it to force a streaming video" she said. "What kind of video?" Skylar asked. "The greatest performance of my life. I'm going to remind the world what love feels like" she replied. 

"I'm missing something Alicia-sama. How will reminding them of love help us?" Hana asked. "When Lilith used her spell to enslave the world, she didn't just change their feelings about worshipping their God or gods. She also sealed away their feelings of love. She had to for her plan to work. But love is a tricky thing. You can't just bury it away and pretend it's gone. Love is a manifestation of a person's soul and not even her can enslave a soul. She can control their minds but not their souls. I confirmed that in Dubai when I met a girl who has lost her parents and only had her brother left. She had turned him into a plaything as her goddess Persephone commanded all her subjects to treat men. But when I pulled her true feelings up to the surface, her love for him caused a feedback on the spell knocking her clean out" she said. "If that's the case, it won't work on everyone. Not everyone has someone to love" Skylar said. "True. Unfortunately, very true but I'm betting a couple million people breaking free of her grip is going to cause her to stop in her tracks. She can't afford a rebellion" Alicia said. "She'll kill them" Haha muttered. "Probably" Alicia said shrugging. "A shrug? That's it? Millions are going to die Alicia" Skylar said. "We are at war Skylar and from their point of view we are the enemy. Now I'm not happy about the situation either but it keeps her from sweet talking a general into nuking our asses. Oh? You didn't take that into account? She controls the goddamn planet Sky. You bet your Norwegian ass she has access to every country's nuclear arsenal" Alicia said angrily. "I need coffee" she muttered getting up. Skylar and Hana remained silent.

Once she had made a cup, she went downstairs. "Alex, how's it going?" she asked. "The architecture was already laid so that's a plus. Now it's a matter of building on it" he said. "How long?" she asked. "Another two days at this rate but that's not including a debugging and beta test."'

 he said. "We don't have time for that. The longer this takes, the chances of her wiping us out in an instant increase" she said. She handed him her cup of coffee. "I'll try to work faster" he muttered before sipping coffee. 

Back in Yorkshire...

"You keeping tabs on them?" Keith asked looking at the city. "I have an agent following them. So far they're just having fun" Susan replied. "Good. Hope can use the distraction" he said leaving the window. "Claire and Aspen just finished lunch. They're asking for you" she said. Keith nodded and headed to their room. He entered and saw them quietly looking out the window at the city like he had minutes ago. "How are you two feeling?" he asked. "Like we just came off a fucking coke binge and remembering every fucking thing we did" Claire said. Keith sat down on the bed. He patted it for them to sit as well. "So, you actually remember everything?" he asked. "From the moment I stepped off the model runway in Barcelona feeling this euphoria with Morrigan in my head to the moment you had Hope make my breasts lactate again. 10 months. 10 MONTHS OF..." Claire cried out. Keith picked her up from Aspen's shoulder and held her in his hands. He cuddled her to his cheek as she sobbed. "And you?" he asked Aspen. There was a boy that played a mandolin. He was maybe 14, could've been 15. It was hauntingly beautiful. He stood in the city square with a jar for tips as he played. I shrunk and drowned him in a margarita that night."

"A nice man who ran a bakery with his mother. He touched Claire as I was paying for a loaf of bread. I crushed him under my foot in front of his mother. She had a heart attack on the spot. Then the orphanages, schools, hospitals." she muttered. Her hands began to shake. "They begged and pleaded! Offered themselves in exchange for others. A father slit his own throat to save his son. I remember it. I remember it all! OH MY GOD WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" Aspen shrieked. She ran off the bed to the bathroom and vomited. Keith waited for a minute or so. He could hear her stop and simply sobbed. Keith got up and went to her, he kneeled at her side and pulled her long hair back. He rubbed her back for a moment. "It wasn't you that did it. Both of you were under a very, very powerful perception spell" he told her. "It doesn't change how I felt. I fucking came watching the ones with weaker minds offer up their lives under my bare feet. I watched with a perverse fascination the ones with no families, nobody to love or be loved willingly sacrifice themselves. And those that did have loved ones, especially if they were with them, bargain for their lives. It wasn't me and again it was me" she muttered. She grabbed his shirt collar. "Promise me you'll kill this unholy bitch. Promise me you're going to send her to the depths of hell!" Aspen yelled. "We're working on it. Clean yourself up. I can hear Claire crying" he said. Aspen washed her face and mouth and staggered back to the bed.

"How can I even tell mom and dad about this?" Claire cried. "The truth. They've been calling me every hour for the last day about you two. I haven't told them everything. Didn't feel like I had the right" Keith said. "The things we said to you and Hope. How can you even stand to look at us?" she asked. Keith picked her up and brought her to his face. "If all it took was words to break a bond of love and friendship, then all of us would die alone" he answered. Claire hid her face crying and muttered how sorry she was. "I'd rather you smile. Now that takes courage and I know you're a very brave girl" he said. She looked up at the loving giant and wiped her eyes before giving him a smile. "I forgot how beautiful you truly are" he said holding her left foot and kissing it. Her tiny toes curled and wriggled on his upper lip. A gentle kiss on her belly before suckling her breasts. Claire moaned as he drank her sweet milk. He let go and with his other arm pulled Aspen close. Aspen could hear him crying softly. I was so scared I lost you both" he muttered. "What trick did you use with that gun anyway?" Aspen asked. "He didn't. You really could've killed him" Claire said. Aspen looked horrified. "It's alright. It really alright" he whispered kissing her cheek. "We should take a shower. We got some people we want to see" Aspen said. Keith nodded and left the room. "How does he do it?" Claire asked. "I don't know, and I hope I never do. It would ruin the magic of it" Aspen replied.

As the sun set, Morrigan began her work summoning shades from her domain. Naked except the thin black veil adorning her face, she stood atop the highest point in Ireland, Carrauntoohill. Standing at 3,407 ft. it was taller than she but anyone looking could still easily see the giantess at the peak. One bare foot on the north side, the other on the south side, she slammed Gaé Bulg down making the mountain shake. Dark energy blotted out the twilight as she began the summoning. "Boudicca, bane of the Romans and hero of the Isle, rise from the darkness and walk the Earth once more" she commanded. The darkness above shed some of itself and raced to the ground forming a naked woman. Red hair twisting into a braid. Her green eyes glowing with unworldly energy. Then her armor appeared. Her toes wriggled as sandals clad her feet. Her breath sharp as a breastplate covered them. Leather armor snug on her naked body. Blue paint coloring her cheeks. She raised her hand and her sword appeared in it. Satisfied with that one, she began summoning another. Brennus, ruler of the Senenones and the first true enemy of Rome, rise from the darkness and walk the Earth once more" she commanded. The darkness coalesced and formed a strong middle-aged man. Boudicca watched in awe as she knew of him very well. When alive, she grew up on stories of how he sacked Rome. He was every bit what she imagined him.

"No wonder he has so many heirs" she thought looking at his body. She couldn't help but stare for a moment at his penis. Morrigan sensed her desire for him. Boudicca was almost disappointed when he was no longer naked and wore his ancient armor. They felt the giantess' feet shift on the ground. They turned and bowed to a knee. "It has been many turns, many moons since either of you walked the earth. Things have changed. Humanity has foolish lost respect for the gods and embrace technology as their new religion. Me with other pantheons have corrected this affront but still some remain to blaspheme. You shall accompany me to smite them. If you succeed, you will not only be restored to full life, but you will also be granted lordships over Rome and Sicily" she said. "They still exist?" Boudicca asked. "Indeed, they do and yours for the taking...if you succeed" she replied. "By your command" they said. "Good. Now I shall rest. Today was a busy day" she said sitting. Boudicca and Brenna sat silently in the meantime. 

In Yorkshire...

"I dunno. Red, blue or black?" Hope asked. "Maybe this silver? These clothes are fantastic Hope. Where did they come from?" Selah asked. "Momma Claire is a fashion model for Lily's company. They specialize in clothing for borrowers.  You should see Rose's..." Hope said before going silent. "Is something wrong?" Selah asked. "Rose. I don't know what happened to her. Her, Elena, Hikari" she muttered. "I don't know about the other two but Hikari is doing okay...mostly" Selah said. "Really?" she asked. "Yeah. We met her before coming here" she replied. "Dad wants to know what happened to them but doesn't want me to look fearing what I saw last time. Truth is...I'm relieved he didn't ask. That's wrong isn't it?" Hope asked looking at a dress. "It's natural to avoid something that can hurt you. I can't set foot in the area I used to live in with my parents. Mom told me that we can only conquer our fears when we feel we are ready" she said. "I said that?" Hope asked. "Mom...mom is mom because if the things she went through, things she learned along the way. It changed her" she replied. "She told me not to rush growing as a person. To let it come naturally" Hope said remembering her visit to them. "Mom lost her innocence along the way. She probably didn't want that to happen to you" Selah said. Hope nodded in understanding.  

Hope put on the silver dress that went down to her calves. "This does look good" she muttered. Selah nodded and picked out the red dress. "It suits you" Hope said. "You sure? I've never worn anything this extravagant. How much does something like this cost?" she asked. "Hmm...about £1,500" Hope replied. "Eep" Selah squeaked. "Pfft. Our family is loaded. Don't worry about it. Don't forget the shoes" she said. Selah slipped on a par of red open toed heels. Hope chose flats. "Oh, that's right. Borrowers don't do heels" Selah said. "Shall we go?" Hope asked. Selah smiled and nodded. Hope took her hand and flew with her through the hallways to the sunroom. "You two look fancy. Where are you going?" Keith asked standing there. "On a date" Hope asked flying again. He grabbed them both in midair. One handheld Selah, the other Hope. "This is the first I heard of this. I said you could have a boyfriend but that was just days ago. Aren't you moving a bit fast?" he asked. "I've known Brian for a while now dad" she replied. "So, his name is Brian. Age, job, how does he look. What's his last name?" Maithili asked narrowing his eyes. "So, you can have Aunt Suzie look him up? Uh...no" Hope replied sternly. "Young lady, your circumstances..."

"I am fully aware of my circumstances! If I want to see a boy it's my own goddamn business! Come on Selah!" Hope yelled flying off his hand, grabbing her, and flying off. "That could've gone better" Aspen said entering the room. "Your daughter just left the house dressed like an escort woman" he hissed. "She's at a point in her life she wants to see boys. Of course, she's going to be offended by the cop treatment you gave her. You need to trust her" Aspen said. "And six weeks from now you're a grandmother again?" he spat. "Again?" Aspen asked. Keith caught what he said. "What do you mean again? Keith don't ignore the question" Aspen said as he looked away. "We need to talk" he said softly. Keith motioned for her to sit down.

"Christ. Dad pisses me off sometimes. He acts like I'm gonna fuck any boy that comes my way" she growled as she flew. "I admit he's overprotective but he's not doing it to be mean. Honestly, I wish I had an overprotective dad. Or just a dad" Selah said. "You don't understand Selah. You don't feel this urge inside of you to find a mate. It's like being hungry or thirsty and not being allowed to eat or drink. I have needs and desires. It's not right for my father to deny me those" she said turning in the wind. Selah looked down at the sparkling city below. "I'm not saying he's completely right Hope, but do you think you're ready for a long-term relationship? The commitment? What if he breaks your heart?" Selah asked. "Then it is what it is. I have the right to try" Hope replied. Hope landed minutes later in front of Brian's house. "Speaking of parents, are they going to be okay with us dropping in?" Selah asked. "His parents died during a mogwai attack on my birthday. It's just him and his brother" she replied. Hope knocked on the door. "Good evening milady. Please enter" Brian grinned bowing as he opened the door. "Silly" Hope giggled as she stepped into the home. "Steven! They're here!" Brian yelled up the staircase.

"Nice house" Selah said. "Thanks. I try to keep it clean. Ohh! One moment" he said as the oven bell rang. He ran to the kitchen and took dinner out of the oven. "Please have a seat" he said checking it. Selah and Hope sat down. The sound of footsteps made them turn. Down came a boy around 14 years old. A brown mop of hair on his head. Lean and trim wearing a nice shirt and jeans. "Hope, Selah. This is my brother Steven" he said. "He...hello" he blushed. "Nice to meet you Steven" Hope said. "Well go on over and sit next to them. You were so eager to meet Selah before" Brian said checking the potatoes. The boy sat next to Selah. He took a good look at her and then slowly looked down her body stopping at her feet. Selah noticed the boy sniffing the air every so lightly. Selah had to hide her amusement as Faith had told her that borrowers tend to sniff those they find...desirable. "Do I smell nice?" Selah asked. The boy looked embarrassed enough to die. Selah held his hands. "It's okay. You're pretty new at this aren't ya?" she asked. He nodded. "So am I. This is my first real date" she whispered grinning. Steven loosened up seeing her smile. "Time to eat everyone" he said.

One fantastic beef stroganoff and seared garlic potatoes dinner later, they sat on the two sofas in front of the iPhone tv. Ever since the change, Netflix and other streaming services had been expunged. Even popular music was nonexistent, but some things did remain like classical music. Brian had it playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata while a video of a fire was on the screen. Hope placed her feet in his lap grinning. Not missing a beat, he slipped off her flats and bang rubbing her feet. "I'm glad you came tonight. I was going to ask you out but you kinda beat me to it. If I seem nervous or weird tonight forgive me" he chuckled. Hope had her eyes closed enjoying the massage. "You're doing just fine Brian" she smiled. Hope chuckled for a moment. "What?" he asked. "I heard that thought" she said. Brian blushed. "Don't be embarrassed. Your thoughts are what turned me onto you. Many people here either revere or fear me. And then others simply want to fuck me. You're different" she said. "I'd be a liar if I never thought of being...intimate with you" he muttered rubbing her big toe with his thumb. "It would be weird if you didn't. But you, you genuinely care about my happiness" she said. Brian looked to the side seeing Selah was cuddled with his brother.

"I'm not ignorant to what you've been through. Of all the people here, you deserve happiness the most" he said. Brian kissed her bare sole. "You're not weirded out that I don't think as mature as other 15-year-old girls?" she asked. "I kinda like that innocence. There's no underlying bullshit with you" he replied. Hope smiled at his answer and pushed her big toe into his mouth. She shivered feeling his teeth gently nibbling her toe. He let go of her toe and placed his arm beneath the small of her back before placing her in his lap. Brian kissed her burying his tongue in her mouth. He stopped when he got worried. "I'm not being too rough am I?" he asked. "No. It's just a lot of stuff I'm feeling. My heart is beating so fast. My body's so warm" she said. Brian chuckled. "That's normal. Feel mine" he said as he took his shirt off. The borrower girl felt his bare chest. "It's beating really fast" she said. "Because you're so close" he whispered. Selah saw them and felt self-conscious of herself. "Steven?" she asked. The boy turned his head right into a kiss by her. He sniffed her body once more and was surprised. "You're...not a borrower" he said, "No I'm not. I'm human...mostly" she said. The boy was totally shocked. "But humans are much bigger than us. You shrank using magic?" he asked.

"Actually, I grew using magic. Normally I'm much smaller" she replied. Steven looked skeptical. Selah released the growth spell his he had on herself and immediately shrank. "Whoa!" Steven said.  "See? No fooling" she said. Steven picked her up. "This is so weird. So, you're like bug sized normally?" he asked. "Yeah. All humans are where I'm from" she replied. "So, I'd be like a giant if I visited you?" he asked. Selah nodded. Steven's finger poked her a few times eliciting giggles. "I don't mind the tickles. Just don't eat me or anything" she smiled. "I'd never eat you!" he yelled. Steven grew quiet. "Was it something I said?" she asked. "Our parents were eaten during the battle last year" Brian said. "Oh shit. Steven I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring that back to the surface" she said. The boy was sniffling. Selah grew back to their size. She held him close. "I must look pretty pathetic crying on my first date" he muttered. "Not at all. I lost my parents a few weeks ago. I know how raw that can feel" she said to him. She kissed him deeply. "I'm glad I met you Selah" he said smiling. "I can see that" she smiled looking at his erection poking his pants. Before any of them could continue the evening, something got Hope's attention...

Five minutes earlier...

Morrigan roused from her slumber. She had been asleep for only a few hours, but it was enough. As she slept, the very life energy of the land had been sucked dry. Nothing but barren waste remained. Not even the microorganisms in the soil remained. "Brennan. Boudicca. It is time" she commanded standing up. Their goddess towering over them shrank down. Morrigan raised her lance and a magic circle appeared around them. In a crack of black lightning, they flew into the sky. Within seconds, they had crossed hundreds of miles landing on the public street in front of Yorkshire manor. "So, they did reappear" she said. She took a few steps and paused. "A perception spell. Strong one" she said feeling the invisible barrier with her hand. Amused, she walked right through it. Her bare feet crinkling the grass and killing it. Her servants followed her up the hill.

"Selah we got trouble" Hope said quickly getting off Brian's lap. She grabbed Selah. "What's going on?" Selah asked. "Something very bad just passed through my perception spell like it wasn't even there" she replied. "Like us?" Selah asked begging dragged to the door. "Not like you. I sensed power from your mother when she passed through but no malice. Whatever it is, it radiates ill intentions like smoke from flame" she said slipping her shoes back on. "What's going on?" Brian asked. "It's complicated" Hope replied. Selah put her heels back on. Hope paused before leaving and gave Brian a kiss. "Hopefully, we can do this again" she smiled before grabbing Selah. "Steven you're a good kisser!" Selah yelled as they took to the air. Their flight was not as slow and gentle this time. Selah had to close her mouth they flew so fast. She flew through the sunroom and grew landing on her feet starting Keith. "Your date ended this soon? How did it go?" he asked. "Not now dad. We got trouble walking up the hill. Get Suzie and probably your sword" Hope said walking past him. Keith looked bewildered. "NOW DAD!" Hope yelled with eyes flaring with magic. Keith had never seen her so worried and quickly called Susan to come to the house. 

"She's on her way. What is it?" he asked looking out the window. In the far darkness, he couldn't make them out but did see three figures coming up the driveway. "So, this is what an actual goddess feels like" she said. "Morrigan is here?!" he asked. Hope used her magic to get a cleaner look. "A woman in all black shrouded by...ancient dark magics. Her power is on a completely different wavelength than mine. Like thoughts, feelings, all jumbled together. Writing, very tiny writing mixed with unwritten words circling her" Hope muttered. Keith shook her. "Thanks. It felt like she was drawing me in" she said. "Susan. Get to the living room now. Run in human size of you have to. Calling a code black" Keith said on the phone. Keith hung up. "Don't do anything until I return" he said to her. "Better be quick. They'll be here in three minutes" Hope said. Keith ran to Control. "Code black! Activate the code black procedures!" he yelled. Control scrambled their response and shortly a shrill siren went off for all to hear. Some were asleep, some eating a late dinner, others enjoying time with their families during this uncertain time. They all heard the siren and knew what to do.  After the battle last year, Keith organized a responsive system for threats. Code yellow meant a possible magical attack and to stay indoors. Code red meant a pending attack by invaders and to seek shelter in the basement of the mansion. Code black meant an immediate threat and to take cover in their own basements (which were tiny even for them) or strong reinforced parts of their homes. Keith feared a code black above anything else as it carried the biggest threat to mass casualties.

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Meanwhile...

"It's done. I uploaded the exploit" Alex said exhausted. Alicia stood in the living room sipping morning tea. "So, I can use it right now?" she asked. "It's best to let it saturate the server for a few hours for download and install. Hand me your phone and I'll upload the switch to kick the exploit in" he replied. Her phone beeped. Alicia looked at her phone. "We don't have hours. Morrigan made her move. How long would it take to be on 100 million phones?" she asked. "Another hour" he replied. Alicia typed out a text and sent it before handing her phone to him. He installed the switch program as a simple app and handed it back to her. "Go home Alex" she muttered pocketing her phone. She placed her cup down and made a portal before stepping through it. "Aly?" she asked entering the apartment. "Here" Aly replied visibly exhausted eating a giant date on the coffee table. "Please tell me you're done" Alicia asked. "You look extremely worried" Aly said. "My daughter just sent word Morrigan has appeared in Yorkshire and is about to fight her. Without that gem, her own powers could kill her" Alicia replied. "I was on the last arcane lock before I took a break for lunch" she said putting the date down and making her way to the ring. Aly sat down again and began her work. Alicia watched as the tiny woman brought out the arcane as a ball of magics and writings. "That's what it looks like? I don't know where it begins or ends" Alicia said. "It was 9 times as worse when I began" Aly said touching and prodding loops of arcane writing. Minutes passed. Alicia leaned in closer and closer. "Making progress?" Alicia asked nervously. "Fuck!" Aly yelled as she pulled on the wrong arcane startled. The ball of magic flashed red before she quickly put it back into place. "By Allah. Alicia I get we're rushed but back off. I damn near killed us both just now with your hovering over me" she snapped. Alicia scooted back. Aly pulled an arcane Arabic script off like one peeling an orange. No red this time. "I promise you I'm working as fast as possible" she said.

In Yorkshire...

"Why have you come here Morrigan?" Oberon asked in soul form hovering outside Keith's body. "Oberon. It has been some time since we last met. Right around this boy's fated death if I recall" she said. "Aye but that does not answer my question. Why have you come?" he asked. "I have come for her. Maybe you have not heard but there's been a... change in management of Earth. New standing policy is you either get with the program...or meet your end" she said. "What happened to the fair woman who only took life when it was their time? Sacrifices Morrigan? You were above that" Oberon said. Morrigan tapped the prime barrier protecting the mansion and city. She rubbed her singed finger. "Times's change. It is no longer the salad days of Druids and celts. I am only spoken of in lore and Samhain. In time, I will fade away like the others. This is a matter of survival and the Etherion child can be either a potent ally or enemy" she replied. "So, this is about me. Well, I can tell you up front to kick rocks. I'll never help you" Hope spat. Keith summoned his sword. "You heard my daughter. Get the fuck off my property before we smite your ass" Keith said. Susan walked up behind them. They all stood on the porch just behind the barrier facing her down. "That is unfortunate. I wanted is to be civil, but I was asking too much. Brennan take the girl. Boudicca eliminate the man" Morrigan commanded.

They both stepped forward. They touched her barrier and struggled. Hope stood there grinning until they forced their way through. "Oh shit" Selah muttered. "How..." Hope muttered as Brennan reached for her. With a flash of speed, Keith cut off his right hand and delivered a swift kick sending him flying through the barrier and into the lawn. "Not so tough" he said until he saw the shade stand right back up and grow a new hand. "DAD!" Hope yelled as Boudicca smashed right for his neck and she caught it with force magics. "I can't hold her!" Hope yelled as Boudicca forced the blade closer to his throat. "Your magics won't fully work on them! This is gonna suck..." Selah said summoning her artifact. She pressed her hand on it. Selah pushed down feeling a pinch as it recognized her DNA and magics. "HERO DRIVER ON!" it yelled. "Be As Gods" she muttered engaging her transformation. They were dazzled as rune writings danced and swirled around her a band of light started from her feet and traveled up her body transforming her along the way. "Brynhild the silver Valkyrie rises. Presented by Sony" I t said once the transformation was done. "Pretty but pointless" Boudicca smirked. Morrigan didn't find it all funny. She could sense a change within her. "Symbology. Boudicca fall back!" she shouted. Boudicca fell back outside. "Selah? Is that you?" Hope asked looking at the visibly older, more powerful confidant version of her friend. "Yes and no. I am Selah, but I am also Brynhildr a warrior who hungers for battle" she replied. Keith, Hope, and Susan were stunned by her. "Your barrier would only delay them. We must defeat her shades and take the fight to her on your lawn" she said. "You don't give orders..."

"Little borrower, I have literally hundreds of years more experience than you. Do not let my vessel fool you into thinking you are senior. Your weak magics would be like a bee sting to them. Even Hope's magics would only stave them for so long. They cannot be destroyed by standard magical means. Symbology or divine magics can only do that. Keith, assist me in fighting those two. Hope, create the strongest barrier you possibly can. Susan...you hold faith in your Christian God. Pray and use light magics" Selah said in an odd tone as she stepped through the barrier. Keith followed suit. "Is Morrigan just going to stand there?" he asked. "She will just observe who big a threat we are. Once she has taken measure of us...she will attack" she replied. "Enough of this prattle. Do as I command!" Morrigan yelled. Boudicca and Brennan charged them. Keith swung Rune Breaker as Brennan parried. The two swords clashed as magics repulsed magics. "What?" Keith muttered. Distracted, Brennan uppercut him with his elbow splitting his lip and knocking him on his ass. "Rune Breaker didn't work?" Keith wondered. Brennan held out his hand and a dark force began to strangle Keith. Keith slashed it cutting it. "It does but his body is made magical force so pure it would take many strikes to dispel it" Oberon said.

Keith stood back up, reached into his pocket, and made a fist after pulling it out. His body glows intensely for a moment before he opened his fist letting a dozen small paper arcanes fall from it. Keith slashed him at dizzying speed repulsing Brennan. The cut was only half damage, but it did not reform. "A challenge" the shade grinned. Susan backed Keith up when she found an opening. Praying to God as she fired off arcane light magic. It barely did anything, but it did cause the shade to lose balance for a split second. Selah fought Boudicca hard and fast rattling the countryside with thunder. Hope focused her power overlaying barrier after barrier of all kinds and types she could think of. Light, lightning, wind, flame, even gravity. Etherion itself was almost limitless in its varied use and the girl had a vivid imagination. Her knees buckled as the mental strain began to take hold. Overlaying a new barrier each second was daunting. Worse yet, the shades began to gain ground. "Your death is seconds away boy. Your muscles burn from exertion. Your lungs struggling to take in air. Your heart pounding out of your chest. I can even hear your bones creak. As I am unliving, my stamina is LIMITLESS" Brennan mocked as they parried swords. "The stench of your breath is limitless too it seems. What's the last time you brushed your teeth, the Dark Ages? Seriously, I'm thinking of throwing the fight it's so bad" Keith chuckled.

Brennan growled in anger and slammed all his weight down driving Keith to his knees. Selah saw the shade slide his left hand down the hilt of his sword. Brynhildr within her told Selah that it meant that Brennan planned to shove the base of the sword down making the tip arc up. With the weight shifted, Brennan could easily stab Keith right through the underside of his chin killing him. "NO!" Selah yelled leaping to attack him. Brennan was caught completely off guard by his own tactic and with a clap of thunder and lightning decapitated him. Brennan was no more but this was no cause for celebration. His dark energy was reabsorbed by Morrigan. Keith could barely hold his sword. His hands shook with weakness. The pain in his ears from the point-blank thunder was agony for his borrower hearing. Selah was barely better shape. The fight has drained her. "Susan. Bring them back" Hope struggled to say. Susan rushed out, grabbed them both and rushed back in. "Hope!" Susan yelled as the exhausted girl reverted to her borrower size and fell. Susan caught her before she hit the floor. "Still got Morrigan and her" Keith muttered. Boudicca went to grab them and touched the barrier. This time it caused significant damage repulsing her. Boudicca had to reform her hand. "It will hold for now" Hope groaned. "I've never seen a barrier so complex. What did you do?" Oberon asked. "Every form of magic, elemental and non-elemental I could possibly think of and overlayed it 1000 times" she replied. "By the gods child that must've been staggering" Oberon muttered. "HERO DRIVER POWER DOWN" it said after Selah disengaged it. Selah fell forward and Keith caught her. "Not as bad as last time but woof..." Selah chuckled. "Now I fully understand why Alicia wanted that gem. Your artifact draws on your very life energy" he said. Selah weakly nodded.

"Uh guys..." Susan said looking out the open door. Morrigan was growing. In second, they could no longer see her face and only her legs. Then her ankles. Then her pale bare foot. They looked outside and up. "Well damn" Keith muttered seeing the giantess towering over the mansion and city. "She has to be 300 ft tall Keith. Hope, can your barrier withstand her foot slamming on it?" Susan asked. "That's not what she plans to do" Hope said sensing dark magics being focused into a point. "You can't keep me out! I'll kill you Acornwood and your fucking daughter!" Morrigan yelled as she condensed her magics at the point of Gaé Bulg. "She knows my last name. She really is the goddess of death" Keith muttered. "Keith. Her weapon. She kept it hidden until now, but I can see it. It's the genuine Gaé Bulg" Oberon said. "Wait. I thought that was the name of that ice spell" Keith said. "It's named after it for its ability to hit its target no matter what. But there is a real weapon by the name. My god she unsealed the damn thing" he said. "On a scale of 1 to fucked...how bad is it?" Keith asked. "Proper fucked in the ass with no lube. It's more than just a powerful magical weapon. It's a lens, an amplifier for magics. I've heard stories of this thing cleaving the souls of valiant sword saints in twain" Oberon replied.

Morrigan's gigantic feet sank even deeper into the soft dirt as the sheer amount of magic she gathered pushed down on her. Then, she pointed the tip of the lance at the mansion below her and fired. The entire mansion shook violently. Plates and glasses crashed to the floor. Cracks appeared in the walls. The very foundation groaned. Faintly, Susan could hear the screams of thousands of borrowers as their city shook. Then...it stopped. "Unbelievable" the goddess spat seeing the barrier intact. "Holy shit we're alive" Keith muttered. "My barrier is weakened. Dad I can't reinforce it" Hop said softly. Minutes passed and Morrigan struck again. Same effect. "I do hope some of you survive. It's been a very long time since I actually killed anyone" Boudicca said standing very close to the barrier's edge. "What beguiles you Boudicca? The Boudicca told in story never bowed before tyrants. She fought tooth and nail against those that would oppress the innocent" Oberon said manifesting himself. "As my mistress said, things change. She has promised me true life" she replied.

"That was the price for your honor?" he asked. "You know nothing! The unrelenting agony of missing the simple things of life!" she yelled. Morrigan fired again shaking everything. "FOOL! Look upon me! I am a spirit! I too miss the pleasures of life. Eating, drinking, sleeping, fucking. Even the feeling of taking a shit I miss. I had lived for over 4,000 years. Do you not think my sorrow is not worse than yours?!" he yelled. Boudicca did not answer. "Look up at your mistress and tell me with certainty you do not see the spark of madness in her eyes" he said. Boudicca turned around and looked up, way up and with Morrigan's head angled downward, she could see her eyes. What she saw made the ancient soul gasp. Morrigan's eyes had gone completely black. A black void darker than the night above them. "I... I cannot falter..." she muttered. "...Hope. Open a breech in your barrier high enough for her to walk through" Oberon said softly. "What? Are you crazy?" Hope asked. "Do it" he said. Reluctantly, she did, and Oberon motioned for her to step through. "You were a fool to let me through" Boudicca said brandishing her sword. 

"Can you hear them woman?" Oberon asked. "Who?" she asked. "If you spare us for just a moment I will show you" he said. He ushered her to the sunroom and out right at the beginning of the city. Those brave enough saw out their windows, a woman from ancient times radiating dark magic. Her giant sandaled feet scant few feet away from homes filled with cowering borrowers. "What you see..." he said before everything was shaken by another blast by Morrigan. "What you see before you are more than 25,000 people fearing for their lives. Yes, that many for they are no bigger than your index finger. And even though they are small, they hope, dream, love, and live life to the fullest like everyone else. Now listen with your heart and tell me what you hear" he said. Boudicca thought it all a trick as during her time no beings were the size of her finger other than the nearly mythical and respected faé of story and song. Being a shade granted her certain gifts, one of which was ethereal sight like clairvoyance magics. As she listened with her heart, she could see with her soul. Children crying and hugging their parents tightly. Men and women comforting each other as their homes shook violently. Boudicca had heard and seen such things before long ago when the Romans came to her lands. The cries echoed like the cries of her daughters who were raped by Roman soldiers. "They are innocent of all this. And yet your mistress would blow them to smithereens" he said. Boudicca looked up and could see Morrigan through the dome glass standing over them like doom incarnate.

She abruptly went back inside as another blast weakened the barrier. "Dad. It's going to fail. I'm sorry" Hope whimpered. "You can do something about this!"' Oberon yelled at Boudicca. "You're wasting your breath spooky elf guy. She's a shade. They can't go against their masters" Selah said. "Some souls are stronger than others. I'm betting the woman, the mother who put London itself to the torch to kill owe who raped her children is made of stronger stuff than other folk. Or maybe I'm wrong..." Oberon said. "Open your barrier again" Boudicca commanded gripping her sword. Hope did and Boudicca charged through. Morrigan was so focused on her attacks she had not noticed Boudicca's departure or return. 

At the same time...

"It's done" Aly sighed as she pulled the gem almost her size off. Alicia quickly snatched it up. "...thanks" she muttered. "Yeah, anytime" Aly huffed collapsing on the coffee table. Alicia tried making a portal. "Oh shit. Something is blocking me. Something happened" she muttered. "Then I pray to Allah you're not too late" Aly said. Alicia made a portal as close to the mansion as possible and ran through. Out she appeared looking dead at the giant feet of Morrigan. It was clear they had run out of time. "The mansion is still intact. The fight isn't over" she huffed as she ran. She readied herself to fight such a colossal giantess and hoped at the same time she has to. She needed all her strength to do what was coming. Just as she got closer, a figure raced towards Morrigan's left barefoot and leaped into the air. Boudicca came down with her sword embedding it in the top of Morrigan's foot. Morrigan howled in pain as Boudicca rocked her blade back and forth causing flutists of blood to squirt all over her. Then, she yanked her sword out as one would pull a stuck axe of out a tree stump she hopped down and with all her might severed Morrigan's Achilles' tendon. Morrigan fell backwards nearly crushing Alicia and fell to the ground with a tremor that could be felt for miles around. "Mom! Open the barrier!" Selah shouted seeing her. Hope did and Alicia ran in.

"Mom!" Selah yelled hugging her. "Looks like stuff happened since I was gone" Alicia said. "An understatement. Is that the thing?" she asked looking at her hand. "Yeah but I'm worried. This thing is powerful" Alicia said. "She's going to blow us up. Don't think we have much of a choice" Selah said. "No, we don't" she said handing the gem to her. "HERO DRIVER ON" it said after being summoned. Cautiously, she brought the gem closer to it and hesitated. She looked outside. "Ungrateful spawn! I should've left you in the realm of death!" Morrigan yelled seizing Boudicca in midair with invisible force as the shade tried to stab her heart. She was floated to her face. "I'll take back my power since you cannot abide loyalty" she said. "I will embrace death if it means I'm free of you" Boudicca spat. Morrigan pushed her into her mouth and unceremoniously swallowed her. A loud gulp and the woman was gone from this world once again. Selah felt humbled at Boudicca's valiantly remembering her words about her. "Fuck it" she hissed as she pressed the gem to the Hero Driver. A burst of brilliant light blinded them. Then it was gone. "EVOLUTION COMPLETE" it said. The driver had transformed from black and silver to silver and gold. Selah walked to the barrier. "Open it for the last time" she said. "Be careful. I rather not lose my newest friend" Hope said. "You won't" Selah said confidently as she pressed her hand on the device. "Be As Gods" she said engaging it.

 Like before, Selah was enveloped in bands of runic light, but the transformation seemed calmer and more focused. Once it was over, her form was shown but this time lightning crackled around her. "Deciding the fate of battle like a Valkyrie. Brynhild rises. Presented by Sony" it said. "She's different" Susan muttered. "It's all different. The gem unlocked a new level of power within her" Oberon muttered. Morrigan healed from her wounds but it was clear that even though Boudicca used her own power to wound her, she was still vulnerable to symbology. "Is there anywhere here that my voice will travel far? A theatre, a stage, anything?" Alicia asked. "We have an amphitheater. Why?" Keith asked. "I'm going to rock the world" she said pointing to his phone which was automatically updating. In fact, every phone in the region was updating. "I need ya kid" Alicia said grabbing Hope from him.

Alicia ran as fast as she could as Hope gave her directions. Holding the girl in one hand, her free one took her phone out and readied herself to engage the exploit. Morrigan stood back up and immediately took notice of Selah. She raised her bare foot and slammed it down to crush her but as she did, Selah jumped with blinding speed and punched Morrigan in the face. The punch sounded like distant thunder staggering her.  Hovering in midair, Selah willed herself to grow to Morrigan's size. Her armored feet sinking into the dirt softly. "You goddesses need to learn that bigger doesn't mean better" Selah said before slamming her with a powerful lighting strike. Morrigan flew through the air crashing on the edge of Yorkshire. "The city..."

"Can't be helped right now. We can only hope the destruction is kept at a minimum" Susan said to her. Selah sensed Gaé Bulg fly at her and she swiped it away with her sword. It was not an actual attack per se but Morrigan retrieving it. She grabbed it and got back to her feet. "You don't think you'll win do you? I am much more than the three women that ushers death on this Isle" she said. Selah readied herself. Morrigan turned into a giant 8-year-old child. "I am the first fear. The first whisper in the night." Morrigan then turned back to her young woman form. "The kindly one that men and women last see on the battlefield." Morrigan then turned into a giant aged crone. "And the one who closes the book when the last take is told." she said before reverting back to her young woman form. "All I see is a pathetic woman trying to stay relevant in a world that has no place for her. Men and women needed you in times long past to ease the fear of death. To give it all meaning in the end. To give a name to the darkness beyond the campfires. You have overstepped your bounds and brought death and misery to those whose time has not come! To those who didn't deserve it!" Selah yelled charging her. The clash between the two was as if two storms collided into one another.

Alicia stood in the middle of the amphitheater. Her bare feet taking up almost the entire stage. "Hope. I'm about to do something terrifying. I need you to help me stay grounded and to make sure I don't shrivel up like a prune. I know you're tired. I can see it in your eyes. Do as much as you can...I'm begging you to" Alicia said opening the app on her phone and pressing the exploit launcher. Around the world, cell phones opened a hidden app exploit to listen...and magically feel Alicia's song. Alicia summoned her artifact, took a deep breath, and began to sing.

"I'm so tired of being here. Suppressed by all of my childish fears. And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave. Cause your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone".

Millions around the world paused to listen to the music they heard. Alicia herself began to glow as she poured her energy into it. The glow intensified by the second getting Keith's and everyone's attention. They walked to the sunroom eager to see the light and the voice that seemed cling to it.

"These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears. And I held your hand through all of these years. But you still have all of me..."

"My God it's beautiful. It's so beautiful" Hope muttered looking and listening. Keith fell to his knees. "Lenore. My sister..." he wept remembering all the precious memories of her and feeling her loss as if it were yesterday. "Grandma...I want to hear her voice again so badly" Aspen cried softly. She, Claire, and the house staff took shelter in the basement. One brought a phone with them loaded with the exploit. "Mom, dad" Susan wept as she remembered very painfully her lost parents. Painfully physically as her memories of them were still sealed away. Across the world, people began remembering those they had lost. The grief made possible by her song introducing love into their hearts again. Alicia began to falter as the strain of now over 50 million people affected by her power grew. Her very body shone like a brilliant star that even Morrigan took notice. "What the hell?" she asked.

"Eyes on me" Selah said slashing her arm. Morrigan winced as the gash burned from split second lightning. Morrigan growled at the affront and charged up Gaé Bulg. "Shieldmaiden!" Selah yelled focusing her protective magics in her front and charging her. The shot was point blank with a massive explosion. Hundreds were blow clean away in Yorkshire. And hundreds more crushed as Morrigan was blown 700 ft. back and onto the town. Morrigan stood back up. Her huge feet destroying the rubble and possible survivors easily. The goddess smiled seeing Selah was worse for wear. Her armor broken. Nose bloodied. Her giant sword stuck in the ground. "Arrogant child. You honestly thought you could best me in battle? I'm not just a death goddess. I AM A WAR GODDESS TOO!" Morrigan yelled gripping Gaé Bulg. Then...something unexpected happened. Morrigan began to shrink. "No...no this isn't possible. My worshippers, my acolytes! They're not praying to me anymore! NOOOO!" she yelled as she shrank further. Selah grinned as she knew Alicia's plan was working.

"You used to captivate me by your reasoning light. Now I'm bound by the life you left behind. You face it haunts my once pleasant dreams. Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me. These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase. When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears. And I held your hand through all of these years. But you still have all of me..."

Alicia knew that was the most critical part. It wasn't enough to make people love again. She had to show them the horror of the things they had done. And like the poor girl in Dubai, people listening to her song with hearts heavy with sin and remorse, began to convulse. This is what Morrigan sensed. Her connection to her worshippers and acolytes broken by her song. With Morrigan burning through magics like no tomorrow, she couldn't sustain such power anymore. Alicia though was not immune to her own power. Every dirty deed, every life senselessly taken came back to her. A cute teenage girl wanting an autograph shrunk and eaten. A stagehand crushed under her foot. And then the many she murdered in the city back home. Her light faltered. Her power waned as it was burning her out. Hope floated to her and held her finger creating a magical link for her to feed off of. Selah could feel Alicia's heart waver and the courage it found to keep going. "You're brave I'll give you that. Others would be terrified of me by now" Morrigan said stabilizing her power at 170 ft. tall. "Bravery isn't the absence of fear. It's doing something even when you're afraid" Selah said holding her hand palm open behind her. Keith felt his word Rune Breaker shudder and then zip out of his hand. The sword flew right towards Selah's and merged in brilliant light. She pulled the sword out of the ground and held it.

"LIGHTNING BREAKER" her driver said as Norse runes glowed from hilt to tip on it. "That is no match for Gaé Bulg!" Morrigan yelled thrusting it. Selah went to parry it and it danced just over her sword stabbing her in the shoulder. "It will always find its mark" Morrigan chuckled. Selah jumped and swung down as her blade crackled with lightning. Morrigan smiled as raised her lance to skewer her but Selah shifted her body turning just as the lance missed. Morrigan shifted her stance at the last possible moment raising her lance to deflect her strike the blow so mighty Morrigan's arm broke. It sounded like someone splitting a massive redwood tree and then a crash as the giantess fell. Alicia meanwhile had hit her limit. Her nose was bleeding, her heart pounded. As she sang her last verse, it had reached a saturation of 102,000,456 people. Persephone noticed her power waning in Athens. Lilith felt her power weaken in New York. "Hahaha..." Faith chuckled. "You...what did you do?" Lilith asked in her penthouse. "Me? Nothing. I'm still trapped and locked away" Faith replied. Lilith looked down and then used her power to see at street level. People clutching their phones in agony. Times Square full of people on their knees weeping. Fires caused by car wrecks and forgotten cooking. It was sheer chaos beyond her control. Lilith teleported above Times Square. "Stop this! Stop this at once!" she yelled. No effect. None heeded her demands.

In her rage, she grew to 500 ft. tall and slammed her bare foot down on dozens of people affected in Timed Square. "Stop crying! Stop whimpering! STOP LOVING!" she screamed crushing people like bugs. Her rage burned so brightly she rampaged around destroying Times Square utterly. Noting left standing or alive. "Love me! You should only love me..." she gasped out of breath looking at what she had done. Her anger cost the lives of over 36,000 people.  That is until the broken battered street gave way and her giant feet crashed through the New York metro station underneath. Another 277 lives gone. "Enough. I... have...had...enough" he muttered teleporting to the White House. "What are you planning to do?" Faith asked nervously. "Cleaning up Morrigan's fucking mess. I may not know the location of your home, but I do know the Etherion Child's" Lilith scowled. Lilith's hand crashed through the Oval Office grabbing the President. "Your grace! What...what do I owe the honor of your visit" he asked shaken. "You have something that can order a nuclear strike don't you?" she asked. "The Nuclear Football? Yes" he replied. "Use it. Target Yorkshire England" she spat tossing him back inside. Lilith could feel her panic. "I see you're no longer laughing. What sound will you make when your parents are reduced to ash? Half the people you love vaporized in an instant?" Lilith asked Faith.

Meanwhile...

Hope shrunk Alicia as she fell preventing her body form doing any harm. She healed her slowly feeling the damage projecting her power to millions. The mental damage was beyond her scope though. Hope could sense her unconscious mind was frayed. She would not know how badly until she woke up. But that was not the biggest concern though. Thousands of miles away, an empty field in Montana spat out a Minuteman III missile. It roared into the sky.

Selah had been worn down badly but so had Morrigan. Both faced one another with 600 ft. of distance. Morrigan charged her lance with dark magic. Her arms going taunt. "She arms to throw it this time and I can't counter such a hit. This is it" Selah thought. Selah slammed her hand down on the driver activating its charged up final attack. "LIGHTNING BREAKER MAXIMUM BURST!" it yelled.  Lightning coursed through her sword until a fine perfected edge of plasma sounded the metal. Her lightning ionized and superheated the very air around her sword. It hissed and glowed blue. Selah took off tearing up the dirt at her feet. The blue hue of energy surrounded Selah just as. Morrigan threw Gaé Bulg. Just as the lance seemed to strike the charging Valkyrie, Selah disappeared. Then a crack of thunder. Selah reappeared out of nowhere before her. "...superheated air creates mirages" Selah muttered slashing her clean down the middle. "Thurisaz...Destruction Rune" Selah muttered as the appropriate rune crackled on her blade. The runic symbol exploded from Morrigan's body burning her to ashes and bones screaming. Selah shrunk down and leaned on her sword. She looked upon what she had done. She had killed another goddess but this time she was awake to see the aftermath. She stood in the smoking crater very pleased with herself until she looked onward and saw Yorkshire aflame. The battle had cost many lives and the taste of victory had lost its sweetness. A faint whistling sound approaching her, Selah held her right arm up Palm open. She caught Gaé Bulg with her right hand as its magic willed it to turn and seek her out when Morrigan missed throwing it. The tip of the lance cutting her cheek fulfilling its magical need to pierce its target.

Selah touched her driver. "HERO DRIVER POWER DOWN" it said. Selah was back to her normal self holding the lance. The wind blew away Morrigan's ashes leaving her skull and a few bones. Angry at the loss of life, Selah coldly stomped her skull with her foot until it shattered. She turned around and walked back into the mansion. As that transpired, Joseph back in Georgia, drank a beer sensing Morrigan leasing this world forever. He looked at the starry sky and noticed a small orange point of light rapidly crossing the sky. He looked using his clairvoyance being curious. "Well now. That's not very nice" he said reaching out with his hand. Using high level spatial magic, he grabbed the point of light and brought his hand back down. He opened his hand to find the nuclear missile perfectly shrunk no bigger than a breath mint. Closing his hand, he used magic to obliterate it. "They worked hard tonight. No shame in tossing them a bone for it" he muttered waking back into his home. 

"That was insane. That lightning. The sheer power" Keith muttered. "People died tonight. Good people" she said. "You can't save everyone, especially in war. God knows I learned that lesson. By the way, my sword..." he muttered. "Yeah. My sword ate yours. Happened to Hikari's Kusanagi thingy too. But uh...here's a creepy looking lance" she said giving it to him. "Thanks...I guess" he said. Hope flew into the room holding a shrunken Alicia. "Mom! I saw the flash of light and felt her! Is...is she okay?" Selah asked worried. "Physically she's fine but the mental strain of what she did nearly broke her mind. She's needs rest right now" Hope replied. "Take her to the guest room honey" Keith said. Hope did and flew off. "You should get some rest too" he said. "I will shortly" she said as he walked off. Selah sat down and shrank to rest. Susan sat next to her. "Glad I didn't pick a fight with you earlier" she smirked. Selah chuckled a little. There was a moment of silence before Selah broke down crying. Susan picked her up. "I was so scared" Selah whimpered sobbing. "I bet you were kid. You saved us all" Susan said kissing her tiny cheek. Susan cuddled her as Selah cried her heart out. 

That same evening, Lilith saw Yorkshire was very much not nuked. Her fears mounted. Izanami was gone, Morrigan was gone, and someone with exceptional power halted a nuclear attack. The element of surprise was no more. The Etherion child had been alerted to her presence. Lilith looked out of her penthouse window. The carnage of her temper tantrum fresh on the horizon as smoke, fire, and emergency vehicles. "All of that for nothing. You really thought your plan was foolproof, but you didn't count on one thing. The resilience of the human soul" Faith said in her mind. Lilith had nothing to say. 

Two days later...

The light coming through the window stirred her from sleep. Then a clacking sound. Alicia opened her eyes to see Susan adjusting the window blinds. "You're awake" Susan said. Alicia sat up suddenly. "In there" Susan said pointing to the bathroom. Alicia shot inside and relived herself. She came back and sat down on the bed. She glanced over hearing faint snoring. "She hasn't left your side since you were brought in" Susan said looking at Selah sleeping on the side pillow. "How long was I out?" Alicia asked. "Two and a half days" Susan replied. Alicia was quiet. "How do you feel? Hope said your mind suffered extreme stress" Susan asked. "Like millions of echoes crying out in grief and pain. If it wasn't for Hope, I would've burnt out like a matchstick" Alicia replied. "So, no multiple personalities? Schizophrenia?" Susan asked. "...I'm not crazy. Well, no crazier than I was" Alicia replied. "If you can make a quip then you're mostly sane" Susan smiled. "How many are dead?" Alicia asked. Susan didn't immediately answer. 

"From the fight outside or your song?" Susan asked. "Both" she replied. "Outside? Over a thousand easily but finding intact bodies is harder than it looks. Judging by the damage, I'd say maybe 2,500 ballpark. A lot of people were home from work when it went down. And around the world? Numbers are still coming in. As of 9 this morning around 1.2 million died. Car wrecks, plane crashes, fires, suicides. And then there was New York" she muttered. Alicia rubbed her eyes. "What about it?" she asked. "Lilith had a temper tantrum and pretty much leveled Times Square and the surrounding buildings. Better part of 36,000 dead" she replied. Susan was slightly cold rattling off the statistics but that was her THORN training talking. It served little purpose to downplay the truth in her experience. 

"You seem rather subdued learning that" Susan said. "I was prepared for the consequences going in. I don't have the moral luxury of being mortified" Alicia replied softly. "...I see. In any event it worked. Morrigan grew visibly weaker during your worldwide performance. Speaking of that, it was a very beautiful song. It made me remember my parents even though those memories are hidden from me" she said. "Thanks, but that wasn't my song. It was Evanescence's My Immortal. I'm surprised it snuck past that sealing spell you're under" Alicia said. "Come again?" Susan asked. "You...you do know about the sealing spell you're under right? I figured your real father told you" Alicia said. "Faith did reconnect me with my real father and he told me a few things about the borrowers that raised me, but he never mentioned anything about a sealing spell. He said my missing memories were due to the trauma of losing them. "Aww shit" Alicia hissed. "What do you know?" Susan asked irritated. "The short story is that you are a descendant of a very powerful ancient long-lost race of mages called Lemurians. At one point you were a very powerful healer but to protect you, they sealed you powers away. The side effect of that being your memories were sealed with it" she said. 

"And Faith knew this?" Susan asked. "Faith learned as much as she could about what she called the Old World. She left that knowledge with me as part of her Plan B. Well, that and other things like the gem and whatnot" Alicia replied. "Did she say anything else about me?" Susan asked. "...yes. A way to break the seal on you to regain your powers and your magics" she said. "...do it" Susan muttered. "It's not that simple. Faith said that last time the seal was broken it was an instinctive reaction. You had been stabbed clean through and was on the edge of death. The seal broke so you could heal yourself. It was an incredibly lucky break" Alicia said. "I've always been unusually lucky" Susan said to her. "It's actually part of your magics leaking through the seal. It manifests as...how did she put it...probability manipulation" she said. Susan sat on the dresser and shrank down. "It's a lot to take in" Alicia said. "Yeah no shit" Susan hissed. Susan looked at Alicia's reflection in the dresser mirror. "I didn't mean to snap at you" she said. "This should've come from Tim... I mean dad" Susan said. "He probably didn't want to complicate your life more than it was. As Faith described it, your powers didn't make your life easier" she said. "Still, it wasn't his decision to make keeping that from me. You mind if I camp out up here for a while? I need to think" Susan said. "By all means. I'm going to take a shower and get something to eat. Need anything?" Alicia asked. "No" Susan said flatly. 

Alicia showered and dressed and went to the kitchen. "French toast?" Aspen asked. "Please" Alicia replied. Alicia sat down quietly at the table. Aspen served up a few slices and a cup of coffee. "It's quiet this morning" Alicia said. "The maids have the day off, Claire is visiting her parents, and Keith and Hope are helping survivors on Yorkshire" Aspen said. "Is that wise? It must be chaos out there now that Morrigan is dead" Alicia asked. "That's actually half the reason they went. To see how everyone is coping. The other half is Keith wanted Hope to help heal people. Keep her distracted and show people were on their side" she said. "I thought showing off magic was a big no no. Guess it doesn't matter nowadays" Alicia sighed before munching on toast. "I heard your daughter fought very bravely" Aspen said. "Your daughter was no slouch either. What's it like having a kid that powerful?" Alicia asked. "Difficult. She's so powerful but fragile at the same time. Insecurities. Fears. That fine line of using power and knowing when not to. She's like me and her dad in so many ways" she said. "Yeah. That's exactly how I feel. When Selah transforms, I can see the bravado she gets from Faith and that whoever is inside her. But behind that flashy smile, those stern eyes I can see the scared girl. I'm ashamed to admit I was irritated Faith adopted her without asking me but now I can't imagine my life without her" Alicia whisperer. 

"So, two down, two to go?" Aspen asked. "Pretty much but when it comes Lilith's time I don't know how it's going to go. She has Faith's body!" Alicia said slamming her fist down on the table. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact you're married to an alternate version of my daughter" she said. "Don't forget grandkids" Alicia said to her. Alicia stood up. "Susan asked for something to nibble on" she muttered. "Before you go, please tell me about Faith and her kids" Aspen said. Alicia saw she was on the verge of begging. "I will" Alicia said leaving the kitchen. She returned to her bedroom and found Susan still on the dresser. "French toast" Alicia said giving her a chunk. Susan ate quietly as Alicia checked on Selah. Still sleeping soundly. Alicia laid down and placed her head very close to her. She looked so pretty to her. Her long hair slightly hanging on her face. Her little chest with bidding tits moving in and out as she snored. Alicia moved her hair out of her face. Her finger petted her bare left leg down to her tiny foot. "I know how it feels. I do that to with my kid Ruby" Susan said. "What?" Alicia asked. "Play with them as they sleep. They seem like perfect little gifts of love don't they?" Susan asked. "Yeah they do. She's already a better person than I'll ever be" Alicia muttered. She leaned in and kissed her shrunken daughter. Selah snorted and rolled onto her back spread eagle. Alicia has to stifle a laugh.

"I'll do it" Susan suddenly said as she stopped eating. "Do what?" she asked. "Unlock my powers and memories" she replied. "Whoa. You said you'd think it over. 20 minutes isn't thinking it over" Alicia said. "The situation out there and the risk here isn't going to get better. I was useless back there. I haven't felt that powerless since I was a blind scraggly teenager" she said. "Susan..." Alicia said softly. "My kid could've been killed if yours wasn't here to hold the line. Everybody in that city out there could've been killed. Nearly half of the entire borrower population on the planet could've been wiped out" Susan said angrily. Susan stood up and striped down to nothing. "Lily kept her sewing kit in the top middle row drawer. Open it please" Susan said. Alicia got off the bed and walked to it. She slid it open. "Now find a nice clean sewing needle" she said. Alicia did. Susan sighed and crossed herself with her hands. "Right here. Stab me through right here" she said. "Me?! Why not Aspen, or Keith?" Alicia asked. "Because they'll refuse. Their emotions won't let them see the bigger picture" Susan replied. Alicia didn't know whether to be insulted or honored. "Last chance" Alicia said. "Do it. On the count of three. One..." she said before Alicia rammed the needle clean through the three-inch woman. She yanked it out as Susan began to stumble.

She fell to her knees before falling face first onto the couple wooden dresser surface. Blood began to pool underneath her body. It was a clean stab and Susan felt her body grow cold. Her vision faded and she passed out. She saw a tunnel with a white light at the end of it. A feeling of peace lured her to it. As she neared it, she could see the faces of her real mother and adopted father. Then her mother held out her hand stopping her. Strange, ancient arcanes blocked her path and then shattered like glass. Susan awoke feeling the panicked breath of a giantess towering over her. She sat up. "Oh thank go..." Alicia was saying before an invisible force grabbed her throat. Susan eyes were lit up with a magic array dancing in both of them. Alicia was thrown hard onto the bed. The wound on Susan's chest healed with a second as she hovered over to Alicia. "Susan it's me Alicia!" Alicia yelled. Susan just stared at her. "Oh god is she even still her?" Alicia asked. "What's going on?" Selah asked groggily. She saw Alicia terrified of a floating naked Susan oozing with magic power.  "Wind oscillation. Lemurian wind spell level one. Gust" Susan muttered as a gust of wind circled Alicia's neck and squeezed. She was being choked to death with air pressure.  "Let go!" Selah yelled firing off a small bolt of lightning. Susan easily deflected it. Alicia choked and cured her hands around Selah to protect her. A tear fell from her eyes. Suddenly, the winds let go of her as Susan floated down. She tripped her head moaning and shaking as she landed on Alicia's thigh.

Susan was breathing very hard. "Oh shit. Oh shit. Christ on a ritz cracker. Alicia are you okay?" Susan asked. "I'll live" she replied feeling her neck. "It wasn't me. It was like a fog in my head" she gasped. "Can some tell me what the hell is going on?! Mom is awake. Awesome. Susan is naked. Weird but pretty. Susan tries to kill mom. Not awesome" Selah yelled. "I was awakening Susan's dormant magical powers. It didn't go all the way as planned" Alicia replied. "Your bravery knows no bounds kid" Susan sighed. "You look more shaken than I do. You okay?" Alicia asked. "I can remember my childhood before the pet store. I was happy. I was a really happy kid. Excuse me" Susan said softly getting dressed. She left moments later. "She didn't answer your question mom" Selah said. "She didn't have to" Alicia said laying back and placing Selah between her breasts. "It looks pretty outside" Alicia said looking out her window. "Yeah but I rather be right here listening to your heartbeat" Selah told her. "Love ya squirt" Alicia chuckled petting her tiny body. "Love ya too mom" she said sighing.

Susan opened the door to her home, closed it, and shucked off her shoes. Where she was stabbed itched a little. She could hear her adopted daughter Ruby upstairs singing. Susan walked upstairs and found her signing to herself as she cleaned her room. "I know I know. I'm cleaning it" Ruby said seeing her at the door. Susan hugged her tightly crying. "Jeez mom. It's just me cleaning my room" Ruby sighed. "Are you happy honey?" Susan asked. "...yeah" Ruby replied curious. Susan wiped her tears away sniffling. "Am...am I enough for you?" Susan asked. "Mom? What's with the weird questions?" she asked. "I wonder sometimes" Susan replied not telling her the true reasons. "Of course you are. We argue sometimes but I do love ya. Are you mad at me for something?" Ruby asked. "No. I just love you so much..." Susan replied playing with her hair. Susan leaned in and sniffed her. As once being blind, her senses were sharper than a normal borrower's. Her keen sense of smell was good enough to literally smell a liar. It took some considerable control not to be overwhelmed by smells in mixed public. Right now, taking in Ruby's scent, she could smell a good deal about her. Young, ovulating soon, oatmeal for breakfast, shampoo and lotions, pheromones from her bare feet. It stirred her instincts. She was not blood, but she was her child. Susan kissed her soft lips before cuddling her. "You saw something out there didn't you?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Yes I did" Susan replied. "How many died?" she asked. "Too many. So many humans out there. Some kids like you now gone" Susan replied. Ruby was smart enough to see hidden pain behind Susan's eyes. "When do you have to go back to work?" Ruby asked. "Taking the rest of the day off. Just you and me kiddo. Pizza, ice creams, I'll even paint your cute little toes for you" Susan smirked. "Sounds like a plan" Ruby smiled. Susan nodded. "Have I ever told you about my parents?" Susan asked. "No. You avoided the topic when I asked" she replied. "Well now you're mine, I guess I should tell ya about your grandparents. I was raised in Georgia..."

Around the same time...

Greta, the "problematic" Valkyrie living on the island Faith and the others called home, walked on the moonlight beach just beyond the barrier. She had been living on the island for two months now and unlike the others who had grown accustomed to their new lives (some appreciated the new start) she resented it. She had come to the beach many times by now, walking barefoot alone to keep her anger in check. She had to avoid pissing off Skylar who had Faith's ear but now that Faith was gone, she began thinking dangerous thoughts. "What if I took over here? Hmm...Skylar and that brat Selah is problem enough and Alicia is no weakling. If only there was some way to get rid of them" she thought. Then, Greta thought about Lilith. Lilith was powerful enough to enslave the world. Couldn't she get rid of them in exchange for giving her the island? Greta knew that the only reason Lilith hasn't attacked them was the island was very well hidden by spells and barriers. Lilith could drop an overwhelming force right on these shores and crush them. Sure, the city would be decimated but over time she could rebuild and repopulate. So went her train of thought. Greta made up her mind. She began to pray to the woman. 

Lilith felt the connection to millions of her worshippers which was the main reason she went into a frenzy the way she did feeling so many turn their backs to her. Those of magical potential she sensed more, and it was because of this she felt Greta. A lone somewhat powerful dot in the middle of the South Pacific. Curious, she tried to portal to her and found she couldn't. However, she could speak to her mind. "Who are you little one? Why I cannot meet you?" Lilith asked. Startled, Greta didn't immediately respond. "You called me little one. It is rude to leave me hanging" Lilith said. "Great Lilith! I beseech you..."

"Okay I wanted respect not Dark Ages fawning. Now what do you want of me?" Lilith asked. "I can give you access to Alicia and the others IF you grant me ownership of their home and island" Greta said. "There is a massively powerful barrier before you. I cannot even get close" Lilith said. "I know. It was created with very ancient magics" Greta told her. "Hmm...if you dismantle the barrier, I will give all you ask for" Lilith said. "Consider it done...milady" Greta smirked. Greta stepped back through the barrier. Because of Ambrosio's attack three months prior, Greta knew that the barrier was sustained by arcane directly woven into the streets itself. However, there were hundreds, nearly a thousand different scripts of arcane used. She couldn't just destroy one, shed have to destroy them all. Her bare feet lay in the closest street to the barrier and beach. With a tiny burst of lightning magic, she broke it. "One down. 992 to go..." she muttered using clairvoyance looking upon the city. 

The next afternoon in Yorkshire...

"Thanks for telling me more about Faith" Aspen said. "My pleasure to finally meet her mother. Stories about you don't do it justice" Alicia said softly. Alicia looked upon Selah. "You ready to go?" she asked her. "Yeah..." Selah said giggling looking at her phone. Alicia quickly glanced at it. "Who is Steven?" Alicia asked. "Just a boy!" Selah yelled hiding her phone. "Just a boy...uh huh" Alicia muttered. "You coming back?" Keith asked. "We just might just for me to meet this Steven" Alicia grinned. "Watch your ass out there" Susan said fist bumping Alicia. "Don't let your new powers go to your head" Alicia smirked. Susan chuckled and nodded. Alicia made a portal and took them all home.

They arrived home and relaxed. "Skylar. Did you do as I asked?" Alicia asked. "Yeah I did. What is this thing?" Skylar said holding a very dangerous artifact. "The Eye of the World. I'm surprised you got it so easily" Alicia said. "Those crazy powerful arcanes you gave me made it a breeze. Getting it wasn't the crazy part. It was kinda cool popping around all over the world in a day. Seeing a twisted mirror universe was way nuttier. Why the secrecy? You even made me use a perception spell, so they'd forget I came with you" Skylar said. "In another timeline, that artifact nearly destroyed the world. It's the last part of Faith's backup plan. God help us if we have to use it" Alicia muttered.

"It's really coming down out there" Selah said. "Still that time of year for typhoons. Thankfully because of the barrier, the mansion and city will be just fine" Alicia said looking out the window. The gusty winds and rains battered the barrier as a category 2 typhoon drifted 40 miles out to sea. "You sure about this Alicia. I should be at your side" Marco asked with a small suitcase beside him. She glanced at Cordelia who sat quietly staring at a wilted fern in the corner. "Keith needs someone that can cast a symbology barrier and hopefully Hope's Etherion can slow down Cordelia's deterioration. I never asked but what does happen to a forgotten goddess? Do they disappear?" Alicia asked worried. "No, they become completely mortal. Completely human. No magics, no eternal life. They grow old and die just like we do" Marco muttered. Cordelia stretched out her hand. "Don't" Marco told her. Cordelia looked down at her sandaled feet dejected. He took her hand and had her stand. "You just need to long on a bit longer till we fix all this. And when it is..." he said caressing her index finger. Cordelia shed a tear and hugged him tightly. Marco kissed her softly. Cordelia wiped her tears away. "Well. Off to merry old England" she smirked. Alicia opened a portal and sent them on their way. Once she had, she walked over to and hugged her daughter from behind.

"What're you thinking about?" Alicia asked. "Just stuff" Selah replied softly. "It was a busy week we had huh? You've been tight lipped about this Steven" Alicia said. "He's nice. Kinda shy but I like that" Selah said smiling. "You're still a virgin right?" Alicia asked. "Mom!" Selah yelled jerking away. "Mandatory question. But I am pleased you found a boyfriend. Just be mindful that borrowers are...anxious when it comes to physical contact" she said. "Faith gave me the details. I was prepared for the sniffing and him looking at my feet" Selah huffed. "Selah? Are you taller?" Alicia asked. She turned the girl around. "You are taller. An inch and a half. Not only that your boobs are bigger" Alicia said. "I noticed in the shower last night. If I had to guess it's a side effect of the hero driver. Faith did say thatq98; q98; power would cause my body to age faster. Guess when the driver that that on its own I really did age" she said. "Well, you're not too old for tickles!" Alicia yelled taking her fingernails on the back of her neck. Selah squeaked and Alicia grabbed her and carried her to the sofa. The woman mercilessly tickled her bare tummy until Selah begged for her to stop. Alicia looked at her pretty eyes and kissed her forehead. "Normally someone would pop I and give their two cents" Alicia said looking around. "Well, everyone is doing their own thing today. Skylar and Hana shrunk down and went on a day just for them in the city, Lucy went into the city for some "me" time, and Theo is minding the kids" Selah said. "So that's why it's so quiet" Alicia said.

"Well, I can't blame them. It's been one thing after another. It's only natural wanting some down time" Alicia said. "Do we have that luxury? You really stirred shit up with that concert" Selah said. "Right now, Lilith and Persephone are dealing with the backlash. Millions of people were reminded what guilt, grief, and love feels like. Having said that, I do plan for us to go to Greece tomorrow. Taking out Persephone will back Lilith into a corner. For good or bad..." Alicia replied.

Lucy quietly walked around the outskirts of the city in a clockwise direction. Wearing shorts and a light shirt, she could feel an odd humidity in the dome. The constant thud of rain above her head was almost hypnotic to the borrower. Her walk gave her time to her own thoughts. No crying babies for milk. No worries about Faith. No stressed-out husband. Just herself. She often went on such walks as it permitted her the satisfaction of being a giantess without the hassle of being human sized. Not to mention the attention she gathered. Even though Faith commanded them not to think she was their ruler or goddess, they still chose to worship her as such. That respect transferred to anyone close to her. In this case, people seemed very eager to please Lucy. Lucy stopped walking and sat down on the west side of the city. She looked as humans close to her stopped what they were doing and approached. With a smile on her face, Lucy extended her legs so they had access to her bare feet. Never in life would she suspect shrunken humans cleaning her feet. She did not see them as slaves or worshipers but playful loving little people ready to make her happy.

"Don't fight. Plenty of my feet to go around" she chuckled as they pushed each other to clean her soles. She watched them as one would watch a hamster eating an almond. Satisfied that one another was content. One human caught her attention as he waited for the chance to lick her feet. She plucked him up by the shirt and placed him in her hand. He was a cute human by her standards. 19 or 20 years of age. Black hair with a tan complexion. No doubt mixed blood as most humans of the city. He bowed in her palm. "Your name" she asked. "Jacob" he said almost scared. "You smell scared. Worried. No need for that. No harm will come to you" ‘she said petting his head. He looked upon the giantess to see her warm smile. "You are very handsome Jacob. Has anyone ever said that to you?" she asked. "Some..."

"Lucy. My name is Lucy. I want you to use it" she said to him. "Some...Lucy" he replied. "Children?" she asked. "A son" he replied. "I hope he is handsome as his father. Take off your clothes Jacob" she said. Jacob did until he was naked. Lucy sniffed his naked body and felt her mouth water. "If I told you that I felt affection for you, what would you think?" she asked. "I would be honored to satisfy you" he quickly replied. "Is that all? Satisfy me?" she asked dejected. "Did...did I offend?" he asked worried. "Do you love me as a woman?" she asked. Jacob didn't readily answer. "Put your clothes back on Jacob" she muttered. "Wait. Are...are you lonely?" he stammered. "I don't know. From a borrower perspective, I have everything I could want. A mate, offspring, food, clothing, a safe home. So why do I feel I'm missing something?" she asked. Lucy began crying softly. The people at her feet paused. "Sadly, I don't know you enough to answer that but..." he said trailing off looking towards the dome. "I do know the uneasiness of missing something. When I was younger, I too felt something missing. I had loving parents, a new wife heavy with child, anything I could ask for as Markus gave us all we needed. But I felt I was missing something. What it was, was a hobby. I needed something to express myself. I became a painter" he said. "Thanks for the story but painting won't solve my problems" Lucy said. "Painting was my thing. You need to find yours" he said. At that moment Lucy understood her problem. She was a bird in a gilded cage. Borrowers are natural roamers. Being cooped up day after day doing the same things was driving her nuts. Her "me" time was a Band-Aid for a broken leg. "And here I was about to have sex with you" she snickered. "You still can" he muttered. "I don't think I'll feel better if I do. Having said that, I am tempted" she smiled. Jacob looked dejected. "Aww. Don't look so depressed. I'll suck your cute little cock if ya want" she smiled. Lucy bent down and took his tiny dick between her lips. With some gentle rhythmic sucking, she soon had the young man shooting his seed into her mouth. "Yummy" she smirked savoring the taste. Lucy kissed him before snuggling him to her cheek. She had him get dressed and placed him back on the ground. The others around him either saw him a lucky man or lucky bastard. Lucy sat there content as they went back to cleaning her feet.

As Lucy thought about solving her problem, Skylar and Hana were busy having lunch at a cafe in the city. "This grilled chicken is fantastic" Skylar said. "Hmm..." Hana muttered. "You've been quiet. What's on your mind?" Skylar asked her. "The recent business with my people. I've never given too much thought about having children but now..." she replied. "Well, it is true that the Koonago are faced with a sociological crisis. Half your people are half human now. If you did have a kid, would you use a surrogate?" Skylar asked softly. "You mean if we stay together is what you're saying" Hana said poking her salad. "I don't know the views of same sex marriages for Koonago" Skylar said. "There has been same sex coupling, marriages even but traditionally we choose a partner of adequate breeding to sire a child" she said. "So, a Koonago then?" Skylar said. "I didn't say that I would choose that for me. Or for us" she replied. "I don't know how to take that" Skylar said finishing her food. "Neither do I" Hana said getting up from the table. Skylar followed her outside and walked beside her on the street. People took notice of Hana as they usually did as a Japanese girl unmixed was a rarity there. That and her natural beauty.

Her steady clip clop of her geta sandals on the street mixed with the usual sound of the people. "Did our conversation upset you?" Skylar asked. "No. It's just makes things...realer. I never considered marriage or children when I began dating you" she said. "Really?" Skylar asked surprised. "Such things were a fantasy for me most of my life. Who would marry Nanashi the lowborn? I would be a concubine a best" she said. Skylar gripped her shoulders and held her in place. "You are not lowborn. You're a sweet, beautiful woman who has every right to be happy. You spoiled me so much I can't look at flowers and not think of you" Skylar said. Hana wiped a tear from her eyes. Soft thuds interrupted them. "Greta. What's she up to?" Skylar thought seeing the giantess pace around the western part of the city. "Is something the matter?" Hana asked. "Greta had been acting oddly as of late. Keeping to herself and muttering" Skylar replied. "Maybe she's just stressed like we all are" Hana said. "Maybe" Skylar said. "Come on. Let's go to the park" Hana said pulling on her.

Hana and Skylar sat under an oak tree snuggling watching children play. "It would not be bad to have one of my own" Hana said. "I can only imagine that cute tummy all puffed out" Skylar chuckled poking her. A ball rolled up to her. "Can I have it back?" A boy asked. "Only if I can play" Hana replied. Hana took off with the ball joining the other children. Skylar watched amused as the Koonago played kickball barefoot. Her kimono taunt as she ran the bases. Her laughter as kids cheered her on. Truthfully, Skylar gave little thought about starting a family with Hana as she didn't know her feelings on it. It was her happiness that was important in all of this. But as she watched Hana giggle and laugh as the kids sprayed her with water from a fountain she considered if Hana laughed and giggled like that playing with their own child. The thuds returned and Skylar could see that Greta was not only still pacing around but have moved considerably closer. Curious, Skylar stood up and briskly walked towards the giantess. It took a few minutes, but Skylar made it to the human sized Greta.

"Greta what are you up to! You know we aren't allowed to be human sized in the city unless we're working on something!" Skylar shouted up. Greta barely heard her tiny chirping, but she did and looked down slightly. "Just my pinky toe could end her" she thought. Greta was tempted to squish the bug sized girl but knew her life would be forfeit. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't have a bit of fun. Greta took one step forward with both bare feet planting them perilously close to Skylar. "GRETA!" Skylar shouted. "Oops. Didn't see you down there. Afternoon Skylar" Greta said bending down. Greta adjusted her panties just enough to expose part of the crack of her massive pussy. "Afternoon. Greta, you know you have to have special permission to be human sized here" Skylar said. "Well maybe I want to be the size I was born with today. We did our community service so isn't it cruel to keep us shrunk? Bad enough we can't leave" Greta said. While some of the old Valkyrie ranks did indeed enjoy their time here (some even found humans to couple with), others weren't so satisfied. Skylar had worried that Faith's absence could stir up things with them. "First, the world has become a pretty shitty place so you're better off here..."

"And what about before? Or what comes later?" Great asked cutting her off. "What comes later is your powers being sealed away so you live like a normal real human" Skylar said up to her. "Is that the deal you cut for yourself?" she asked. Skylar didn't answer her immediately. "I'm sorry for the things I did. You're not. That's the difference between us" Skylar said. Greta scrunched her giant toes as if to frighten her. "You have something else to say?" Skylar asked looking at her toes. "You going to rat me out for walking around this size?" she asked. "No, no death and destruction that I can see. Just get permission next time. You wanted to be treated like me you have to show some sincerity" Skylar replied. Skylar turned to walk away. She paused sniffing the air. "You smell that?" Skylar asked. "Smell what? My feet or my pussy? I haven't showered yet today" Greta said. "Not that. Smells like ozone" she said. Greta began to worry. She had good reason to as she knew full well why she smelled ozone. "Maybe the humidity? It is raining outside" Greta said. "It is humid. Think about what I said Greta" Skylar said before walking away. Greta did not move until Skylar was far away. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Too close" she muttered looking behind herself at the small scorch mark on the street. She used the ball of her foot to rub it away.

Since she had spoken to Lilith, Greta had slowly destroyed the arcanes shielding the island from the outside world. When she began there were 993 of them. Now 347 remained. The ozone Skylar smelled was the result of tiny sparks of lightning she used to do so. To help camouflage her work, she took advantage of the storm outside. The thuds of rain and random thunder and lightning would help obscure the ordeal. Lucky for her, the humans below did not question what she was doing. She was a giantess after all, and giantesses stood at the top of the hierarchy there. "Pushed my luck enough today. I'll wait till she and Alicia goes on one of their stupid missions to start again" she muttered walking back to her quarters.

Skylar returned to Hana to find their girl humming to herself as she used a fountain to wash the dirt from her cute little feet. "So did you beat them?" Skylar asked. "They didn't know what hit them" Hana chuckled. Skylar handed her her sandals and smirked as she put them on. "What?" Hana asked. "Nothing except you're all sweaty now and could use a bath. And since today is Friday..." Skylar smirked. "Uugh...your turn to play Jaws. One of these days you're going to swallow me" Hana huffed. "And miss out on decades of cuddles and kisses from my pretty Koonago? Not a chance" Skylar said. "Decades?" Hana asked. Skylar blushed. "I tease and yet you notice I have not said no to your statement" Hana said. "Yeah, I did notice so is that a yes to my very awkward...that sound" Skylar said hearing a faint whistling. She looked up. "HANA!" Skylar yelled pushing her aside. Hana fell to the ground just as a loud splash filled her ears. The spray soaked her clothes. Hana looked back and found Skylar barely conscious on the ground. "Skylar?" she asked standing up. Skylar groaned in pain utterly soaked in water. Blood began pouring from her nose. "SKYLAR!" Hana yelled kneeling. "Ha...na" she groaned. "Hold on!" Hana yelled scooping her up in her arms. Skylar cried out in pain. "By the Kami what happened?!" Hana yelled. "Rain...drop" Skylar muttered. Hana grew to human sized painfully fast and rushed back to the mansion. "Alicia! Help me please!" Hana yelled. Alicia, Selah laying on her lap gasped seeing the blood smeared all over Skylar's face. "Bring her to the sofa!" she yelled. "Easy...easy! Don't tilt her head back! Her nose is broken, and she'll choke on her own blood!" Alicia yelled. "Hana what happened?!" Selah yelled. "A raindrop. A goddamn raindrop did this" she replied. "A fucking raindrop broke her nose?!" Selah yelled. "Damn near broke her neck. She could've been killed instantly. If it weren't for her excellent athleticism, she'd be dead right now" Alicia muttered as she began healing her. Five tense minutes later, Skylar was stabilized and resting. "A raindrop?" Selah asked shocked. "Stands to reason. To an ant sized person, a raindrop is like being hit with 20 lbs. of water moving 50 mph. Ants can get by because of their exoskeletons. Humans are squishier" Alicia said. "But didn't you say the barrier protects everyone from such stuff?" Selah asked.

"It does. The barrier here is the most advanced in the world" Alicia said standing in the doorway. "So how did is happen?" Hana asked softly. "It is humid outside. The barrier is designed to let in air and light, so we don't suffocate and stumble in the dark. Maybe the humidity is so much condensation formed high up. Still, I've never heard of it hurting or killing anyone" Alicia said. "Will she be alright?" Hana asked. "I'll be fine" Skylar said suddenly. She tried to move and immediately regretted it. "Lay down dummy. Your neck muscles are sore, and you still got a slight concussion" Alicia said. "I've had worse" Skylar said moving again. Alicia pushed her back down. "Don't make me shrink you" Alicia warned. Skylar huffed where she lay. "I saw Hana running back to the house. Everything okay?" Lucy asked entering the house. "It was nothing. Almost got killed by a raindrop is all" Skylar sighed. "Jesus you okay?!" Lucy asked. Skylar nodded and sucked her teeth in pain. "Damn. I was planning on taking you with me to Athens too" Alicia said. "Well shit take me" Lucy said. "This isn't a vacation Lucy. This is kill mission" Alicia said. "I'm no stranger to fighting. I did go toe to toe with Markus" Lucy said. "Faith did say that" Alicia muttered. "And quite cranky is going bug fucking nuts being cooped up. If it isn't Marco's villa its this place. Seriously, I don't know either to fuck or flee to relieve the stress" Lucy said. "...stick close to us and stay out of the line of fire" Alicia sighed. "Yes ma'am!" Lucy said saluting before running off. "I'm going to regret this ain't I?" Alicia asked.

The next morning...

Skylar sucked her teeth in pain as she bent down slightly to add sugar and creamer to her coffee. "Still hurts?" Selah asked. "Like a bitch but I got off lucky. One of my old Valkyrie squamates told Alicia an hour ago that 11 humans were killed yesterday by random raindrops. She's outside now checking the barrier" Skylar replied. "We ready to go yet?" Lucy asked entering the living room. "Waiting on mom. Was that you arguing last night?" Selah asked. "Theo is not cool on me going with you. But I need to get out and stretch my legs so to speak" Lucy replied. "Well, you're certainly dressed for an outing" Selah said looking over her tank top, khaki shorts, and sandals. "So are you" Lucy said admiring her jeans, halter top, and Nike trainers. "Remember what mom said. This isn't a vacation" Selah said. "I know, I know. You're pretty calm about all this" Lucy said to her. "That Valkyrie I turn into is rubbing off on me. She's not scared of anything. I wish I could be like her full time" she said. "I like ya the way you are string bean" Lucy chuckled ruffling her hair. Selah smiled trying to stop her. "You're taller kiddo. Ovulating too" Lucy said sniffing her. "Cut that out!" Selah yelled. Lucy hugged her tight and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "Sorry. When our kind is stressed, we get a little clingy" Lucy said sheepishly. Alicia walked into the house.

"Confirmed. 11 dead. Raindrops broke their necks. Another 15 critically injured" she sighed. "So is the barrier okay?" Skylar asked. "As far as I can tell yes. No breaks or gaps that I can find. I won't know for sure until I do a thorough look at all the arcanes. In theory they could be compromised but it's highly unlikely" she said. "I know the barrier is sustain by arcanes but why unlikely?" Selah asked. "There's 993 arcane glyphs that make the barrier. In theory it would take at least half of them to be destroyed to have any effect. Such destruction would be noticeable. A third of the city would be destroyed to do that. It must be the condensation theory. It's the easiest answer. But for now, we got more pressing matters. Selah, Lucy, you ready?" Alicia asked. They both nodded. "Okay, next stop Athens" she said opening a portal. They walked through and emerged behind a prestigious hotel in downtown Athens. "Okay. Your portals work by revisiting places you've been already. So why the back of a hotel?" Lucy asked scrunching her nose. "Having sex with a bellhop" she replied. Lucy and Selah looked at her. "I was drunk and traveling the world for an album release stressed me out. I was blowing off some steam" Alicia replied blushing. "Just curious" Lucy said. "Local time is 3 pm. Let's head onto the street and get the lay of the land" Alicia said gruffly.

The three of them walked onto the street and found it bustling. People going about their lives but oddly enough in a state of euphoria. "They look...really happy" Selah said. "Super happy" Lucy said waving at a man waving at her. "Peace be unto you sisters. May the blessings of Persephone be upon you" a woman said passing them. "And unto you?" Selah said back. They looked puzzled at the woman walking down the sidewalk. "This is not how it was last time. People were rude, self-absorbed, oblivious, they were regular humans" Alicia said. "Well, they are human. That woman smelled of baby powder, breastmilk, and sweat. Her pheromones are still ripe" Lucy said to them. "A perception spell no doubt" Selah said. "Yes, but something is different. Even in Japan and Dubai there weren't people so...hippie" Alicia said. "Seems like we're not being affected so it's not a blanket spell" Lucy said. "Yes..." Alicia muttered.

The trio walked further until Alicia suddenly stopped. "Whoa. Persephone has been busy" Alicia said as the Parthenon came into view. The Parthenon fully restored to its former glory. "I think we know where Persephone might be" Selah said. They began walking once again. "Can't we take a taxi?" Lucy asked. "I'm worried about the locals. The more I mingle with them, the more I sense a faint magical presence. We could be surrounded by enemies and not know it" Alicia replied. "If you say so but can we take a break? My feet hurt" Lucy asked. Alicia nodded and directed them to a nearby park bench. "I'm going to get us some drinks. Any requests?" Lucy asked. "Water for me. Selah?" Alicia asked. "A Coke" she replied. Lucy nodded and went across the street to a shop. She grabbed a bottled water, a can of Coke and mused over what she wanted. "Hmm...a pomegranate smoothie? Never had one of those. I'll take a smoothie please" she said to the cashier. The man made one for her and Lucy pulled out a credit card. "No charge. I can see you want that smoothie very much and I wish to oblige" he said. "Okay..." Lucy muttered. "Enjoy the blessed fruit smoothie and may peace be upon you" he said smiling. Lucy left with the drinks. "I see what Alicia is saying. That was kinda creepy" Lucy thought as she walked back to the bench. She handed Alicia and Selah their drinks and sat down to sip her smoothie. "That's pretty damn good" Lucy said. "What is it?" Selah asked. "A pomegranate smoothie" she replied. "Pomegranates have been a staple of Greece for an exceptionally long time. I remember there was a story behind them. Can't remember what is was..." Alicia muttered.

"How much further do we have to walk?" Lucy asked taking her left sandal off and rubbing her foot. Alicia looked up the road. "Another mile. We're definitely on the right track. I can feel a stronger magical presence the closer we get" she replied. Lucy sighed just as a young man walked near her. "You seem to be in discomfort" he said. "Just haven't walked this much in a while" Lucy said to him. The man sat next to her. Lucy was utterly shocked when he placed her foot in his lap and began rubbing it. "The fuck?" Alicia muttered. "Kinda rude bro!" Selah yelled as both her and her mother stood up. "No, leave him be. He's doing a great job and we don't want a scene" Lucy said. Alicia and Selah were disturbed by his boldness. "You sure? He could be a pervert and..."

"Look around you Alicia. Can't you feel it? There's nothing like that around here" Lucy said contently. Alicia and Selah did look around once more to see humans acting as if nothing was wrong in the world. "You don't find any of this suspicious?" Alicia asked. Lucy looked at the young man pulling on her toes. "It's different I'll give you that but where's the harm? Anyone dying, enslaved, being raped?" she asked. "No" she replied. Lucy slipped her other sandal off and placed her foot in his lap. Dutifully, he began rubbing that one. Ten minutes had passed. "Lucy, we need to get going" Alicia said. "Fine. Thank you for the yummy foot massage" Lucy said slipping her sandals back on. She stood up and bent down to kiss his forehead. "You sure you feel alright?" Selah asked. "I feel particularly good for your information. Not everything his blood, death, and battle" Lucy said. "There's a catch Lucy. There always is. This goddess made a girl turn her own brother into a shrunken slave in Dubai. Sooner or later the other shoe will drop" Alicia said.

They walked and walked until they reached the walkway at the base of the Parthenon. "They ain't good" Alicia muttered seeing two long columns of women dressed in ancient battle gear. The front leaders turned to face them. "It's like they stepped out of an episode of Xena Warrior Princess" Selah muttered observing them. Alicia turned to her. "What? I've been Netflixing" she shrugged. Sandals on their feet, a white toga going down to their knees, leather armor, holding a javelin, with their hair tied in behind. But what was striking the most was their left side of their chest was exposed...missing their left breast. "Oh my god. They cut their own tit off?" Selah asked. "English...state your business approaching the home of our goddess Persephone and her husband Hades" one said. "We wish to speak with them" Alicia said. "None may speak without audience given beforehand. Turn away or face the spears of the Amazons" she said. Selah looked at Alicia who nodded to her. "Hard way it is..." Selah muttered. She summoned the driver. "Hero Driver on!"

"Be As Gods" Selah said squeezing it. It began its dazzling transformation astounding the women. "Deciding the fate of battle like a Valkyrie. Brynhildr descends unto the battlefield. Presented by Sony" it said. Selah cracked her neck as she gripped her sword cracking with lightning. "F... form columns!" one commanded. "Don't do this sister. It will only end badly" Selah warned. She tried to stab Selah with the javelin. Selah stepped to the side as it missed and with her enemy's center of balance off, slashed diagonally killing her instantly. "Take cover" Selah muttered to Alicia and Lucy. What began was a bloody melee. Their weapons, slightly enchanted by the looks of them were no match at all for Selah's divine sword. Heads rolled on the ground, dirt-stained deep red. So much blood spilled the air reeked of the smell of rancid iron.q98; q98; And after a gruesome 10 minutes, the last Amazon before them fell. Alicia was astounded at the skill and power Selah manifested. She had been told how she bested Morrigan but to see it firsthand was something else. 20 amazons and Selah didn't take as much as a scratch. It would be laughable at how skillfully she killed them if not the horror of it. "Selah..." Alicia said. "I'm fine. Winded but fine. Let's continue" she said.

They found it very odd that if Persephone was indeed up the stairs inside the Pantheon, she did not meet them during the battle. "Is she hiding?" Alicia asked. "No, she's up there. I can feel it" Lucy said with odd certainty. "It's as Lucy said. The presence has not diminished" Selah said. "What do you mean you can feel it? I thought borrowers couldn't..." Alicia was saying until Selah paused after clearing the steps. Six amazons stood ready. Dressed finely indicating their commanding status. Behind them sat on two thrones Persephone and an old man with a long gray beard dressed entirely in a black cloak. Persephone herself dressed in nearly shining white toga wrapped around her body. Obsidian black sandals on her feet. A crown of black roses around her forehead. Her skin pale. Her left eye black as night. Her right eye brilliant as morning dew. Her hair gold with black streaks. The duality of her visage a clue to her origins. "We would have business goddess" Selah said pointing her sword at her. "That we do but after you have been broken and lie a shell at my feet" Persephone said coldly. He motioned for her amazons to attack. "I got this. Save your strength" Alicia said summoning her artifact.q98; q98; Alicia let off a powerful shrinking spell attached to a high-pitched whole note. Unnerving the deities before them, they saw the amazons shrunk to two inches in height. "Don't just stand there! Kill them!" Persephone ordered. "You got to be shitting me here" Alicia sighed. "She's not. Stay behind me" Selah said. With deft footwork, Selah crushed five of them underfoot. Their bodies popping in bloody glory all over the alabaster floor. Only one remained now terrified. Selah snatched her up. She squirmed in the giantess' grip. "You are defeated. Surrender and your life will be spared" she told the young woman. The woman freed her left arm and grabbed a very tiny dagger. Selah grabbed her left arm so fast and hard she tore it right off. The woman screeched in pain. Selah sighed and sucked her teeth as she gripped her tiny head and twisted until the smallest crack could be heard. Lifeless with a broken neck, Selah dropped her onto the floor. "You sent them to die knowing they couldn't kill us" Alicia hissed at Persephone. "They could've. Every one of them including those outside has their weapons coated with hemlock sap. The smallest cut would've been fatal" Selah said softly.

Persephone stood up from her throne clapping. "It's been centuries since I've seen such an elegant warrior. You truly have a gift for death. But it is a borrowed gift as I smell foreign magics about you. Nevertheless, I present you the chance to become one of my amazons. You will be treated richly and want for nothing. All you have to do is pledge your loyalty and undergo my trial" she said slipping off her right sandal. She pointed to her bare foot. "You can take your offer and shove it up your Ancient Greek ass. You have perverted the love between brother and sister, mother and son, bewitched the masses, and made a mockery of devotion. For these crimes, you will be...excommunicated from this world" Selah said coldly. Persephone motioned to her husband. He stood up, put on a strange helmet and disappeared from sight. "Did he shrink? Teleport?" Alicia asked. "No..." Selah replied. A moment later she was struck from the right with invisible magic force propelling her into a column. The massive column cracked from the sheer force of Selah hitting it. "SELAH!" Alicia yelled. Selah motioned for her not to move. Selah readied herself after standing. A blow from under her chin sent her flying and into a wall. Selah coughed blood. "Hmm..." she muttered. Her eyes glowed with Norse runes and she held out her hand. Forming from lightning was two black ravens. "Huginn, Muninn take flight" Selah commanded. The birds flew to the very top of the Parthenon and looked down. "Ah, I see" Selah muttered. She suddenly sidestepped backwards, and a blast of invisible force missed her. Selah flowed through slashing high hitting something causing the grind of metal and sparks. A tink sound of mental hitting floor came out and the old man Hades, shimmered back into view. "Your parlor tricks won't work anymore dread lord" she hissed. Persephone motioned. "Enough! Yield or she dies!" she yelled. Selah looked behind her. To her astonishment, Lucy was holding a shrunken javelin right at Alicia's throat.

"Lucy? What the hell are you doing?" Selah said. "As...as commanded. Please yield Selah. I do not wish to kill her" Lucy said shaking. "What have you done to her?!" Selah yelled at Persephone.q98; q98; "Imagine my surprise when I saw she was under my thrall. Now surrender or she will die. Hemlock is a painful way to die" she replied. Selah squeezed her driver. "Hero Driver power down" she said. Selah returned to normal. "Now that was a cute trick shrinking my amazons. How did it go?" Persephone asked. She raised her hand and Alicia and Selah shrunk down to three and a half inches. "Ehh...close enough" she shrugged. The giant goddess walked over to where they stood. Alicia looking at the giant toes of Lucy and looking up at her. Selah had her eyes dead locked on Persephone. The goddess slipped her sandal off, raised her bare foot over her, and lowered her sweaty sole right on top of Selah. "Get your foot off her! Please...please don't..." Alicia begged. "Don't give her the satisfaction of begging mom" Selah said with her face nearly pressed into her sole. She could feel the grooves of the ball of her foot on her forehead. She could smell footsweatq98; q98; leather, and the odd scent of fruit. "My goddess. If I may say something. You can still contract her services can you not? A girl of her power is worth more live than dead, correct?" Lucy asked. "...indeed. See they are restrained before they wake" she said. She took her foot off her and blew a strange dust in the air. Alicia and Selah breathed it in and fell deep asleep within seconds...

"Ohh...my head" Selah groaned as she awoke. She looked around and found herself in a small cage. "It's made of iron. Apparently, they shrunk these cages just for us. Normally they keep rowdy tourists in here" Alicia said from an adjacent cage. And us being stark naked?" Selah asked feeling the air on her skin. "Making sure we don't have any arcane or other weapons hidden on us no doubt" Alicia replied. So, we're still in the Parthenon?" Selah asked. "Judging by the smell yeah" she replied. "Can't believe we didn't notice a spell on Lucy. But why did it affect her and not us?" Selah asked. "Because it was localized not a blanket spell as we previously thought. Some kind of direct contact spell" Alicia replied. "But when was it placed on her?" Selah asked. "She was perfectly normal until we got some drinks, and that guy gave her that foot rub" Alicia said. "So, he placed a spell on her bare foot?" Selah asked. "No, a mind control spell would've been noticed with a telltale flash of light. Let's see, we sat down, she got us drinks. Water, a Coke for you, and a pomegranate smoothie. A pomegranate...oh motherfucker!" Alicia hissed. "What?" Selah asked. "It was the goddamn smoothie!" she yelled. "A smoothie laced with a mind control spell?" Selah asked unbelieving. "A pomegranate smoothie. Now it makes sense. Earlier I was trying to remember an old Greek tale involving pomegranates and now I remember."

"Did you notice a fruity smell on Persephone?" she asked. "Actually, I did as her fucking foot was pressed on my face" Selah replied. "It was the smell of pomegranates. There's an old story about her and pomegranates. Story goes that very long ago, the God Hades fell in love with the daughter of the goddess Demeter, the Greek goddess of blossoming plant life. She's kinda the Greek equivalent to Cordelia. Anyway, Hades decided to kidnap Persephone, Demeter's daughter and take her back to the Underworld to be is wife and Queen. He did and Demeter immediately stopped her duties to search for her child. The world began to languish as no plants bloomed, bore fruit, or grew heavy with crop. The other gods got involved and eventually they found Persephone in the Underworld. However, during this stretch of time searching, Hades kept her so long she hungered. The rule is if you eat food in the Underworld, you're bound there forever. Hades knew that and over and over tried to get her to eat. Eventually, so starved she ate four pomegranate seeds. In comes Zeus and Demeter demanding her release. Hades tells them that she ate his food and therefore bound to the Underworld. Enraged, Demeter says that not a single grain, fruit, or nut will grow again until her daughter is returned. Facing the starvation and death of the world, Zeus strikes a deal between them. For every seed she ate, she spends a month on the Underworld as his queen. And so goes the story of the seasons coming into being" Alicia said to her. "So...

"So, Persephone is using the fruit that binds her to bind others to her will. Fuck me that would take a lot of pomegranates" Alicia muttered. "So, is it permanent? We can't free Lucy?" Selah asked. "Probably not permanent in her case. It takes a lot of magic to permanently enslave a mind. It's why Markus never bothered to back home. The people probably ingest it every day to keep the spell going. But in our cases and those of those amazons...I don't think it will be the same" she replied. The door to the room opened and Lucy walked in. "Oh, good you're awake. Time to become one of us" she said eerily cheerful. "We don't want to be like you Lucy! Snap the fuck out of it!" Alicia said rattling her cage. "That's a pity Alicia. You don't know what you're missing. It's like every problem just goes away. Like you're finally free to just...feel. Just bask in the love of Persephone" she said as she began to unlock Selah's cage. "Lucy. Don't do this. If you want to her to control someone then use it one me. I'm powerful. I can faithfully serve. Just let her go" Alicia said. "That's very sweet of you. Misguided but sweet. If anything, I want her to feel it more than both of us. Poor thing cries at night. I love her so much and it hurts to see her suffering. Come here little Selah" Lucy said wrapping her fingers around the shrunken girl. She lifted Selah free.

Selah could see two pomegranate seeds in her hand. "Have...have you eaten one of those yet?" Selah asked. "Not yet. The queen wanted to reserve these for you first. I will get my own very soon" Lucy replied smiling. Selah began to frantically struggle. "Selah there's nothing to fear honey. Just relax. Just..." Lucy trailed off for a moment. Lucy placed the seeds on a desk. "I want you to be happy Selah. The nightmares returned, didn't they?" Lucy asked. "...yeah" Selah replied softly. Lucy brought her to her face. "There are times a hate being a borrower and not just because I'm smaller than everyone else. I can smell your sadness Selah. You put up the bravest front for everyone, but I can smell the salt of your tears on your cheeks. See the redness in your eyes. My senses are so good I can't possibly say I don't know you're sad. And the worse part of it, I can't do a fucking thing about it. I'm weak. A pathetic little girl who can't even cheer up one sad girl" Lucy said shaking. "That's not true at all Lucy" Selah said. A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek. "But now I can fix all of that!" Lucy said. Lucy kissed the girl lovingly. Her finger trailed down her body till it began to rub Selah's pussy. Selah moaned softly. "That's how it feels Selah. It's like being horny for life itself" Lucy said. Lucy dove in licking and slurping her tiny cunt.

Selah kicked her bare feet over and over into her cheek trying to fight her invading tongue...until Lucy's giant lips slurped them into her mouth. With a contented hum, she sucked her legs in until only Selah's upper body remained. With a loud suction, Lucy stimulated her. Selah moaned and groaned until she made a pitiful whimper. Lucy drank every drop of her juices and let her slip from her mouth. "Oh Lucy..." Alicia muttered seeing unadulterated euphoria on her face. "See? All I want to do is take away your pain. I want to be useful" Lucy said to Selah. "You already are. You don't have to do anything for us to earn our love. Lucy...if this is my future. I want you to kill me. If you truly love me, you'll do this for me" Selah whined. "You...you would rather die than to feel her love? You'd chose death?" Lucy asked shocked. "It's better than a living death as a slave! I would rather die free! FREEDOM LUCY!" Selah screamed.

In her addled mind, Lucy remembered similar words spoken by a friend. Lucy was born and raised in a breeding farm with dozens, nearly a hundred other borrowers. She never knew her parents or who were her siblings. With a crop of 47 babies that year, knowing was impossible. Even knowing by scent was nearly impossible as so much incest blended the scents around them. Third cousin? Second niece? Grandchild once removed? Nobody knew. However, even in the wake of that, some created families based on looks. A girl Lucy's age shared the same earlobes and nose, so she considered her a sister. Her name was Tracy. They were inseparable for most of their lives. Each helping one another as they became pregnant. Lucy would drink Tracy's milk to ease the pain of bloated breasts. Tracy sucking Lucy's toes to ease the pain of her feet. They even shared males fortunate enough to be granted time with their impregnated mates. And one day Tracy sat in her cage quietly not even caring about the milk leaking from her breasts, she told Lucy she was going to escape. Lucy thought she has finally snapped. It wasn't unusual for a borrower to do so and Tracy had just watched her baby sold a few days prior. Her 9th baby to be precise. Lucy begged her not to try as they were surrounded by a forest full of creatures which would love to make a meal out of a sweet smelling, estrogen loaded borrower. Even worse her scent was magnified by post pregnancy hormones. Tracy responded by begging for her to go with her. Lucy refused. "Then stay here and die! I rather die free than spend another day in this hellhole!" Tracy yelled as she picked the rusted lock and escaped into the night.

Within 10 minutes, a ghost of a scream was picked up by Lucy's ears. Faint almost to the point she missed it but a clear night enough the sound traveled further. She knew it was Tracy. Lucy wanted to go after her, save her but was too frightened to leave her cage. She sat there crying to herself the rest of the night. But that was not the worst of it by any means. Barely a week later, the Borrower Rights Act was passed and within days of that, the farm was shut down and Lucy was freed by government agents taking them into protective custody. Lucy could not leave the place without truly knowing. A giantess holding her listened to her pleas to search the nearby forest for Tracy. The kind human woman understood what was truly being asked and began to search. It only took a half hour to find Tracy. "I'm very sorry for your loss" the woman said looking down at the gruesome sight of a week-old snake turd with human like bones in it. Lucy saw a pelvis, a female pelvis draped in the half-digested scrap of cloth she used for clothing. There was no denying it. Tracy had been ambushed and eaten alive by a copperhead snake. Lucy blamed herself. She thought if she begged harder, forced her not to leave physically, maybe even went with her, she'd be still alive. Depression sank in as she lived in the shelter. It was by chance she saw Faith's advertisement for a nanny and the rest is history.

"I can't. I can't lose...another...loved one..." Lucy stammered before she went into convulsions. Selah fell out of her grip onto the table. "SELAH!" Alicia shouted worried she was injured. "I'm okay! Just a bump but what's happening to her?!" Selah yelled. "I don't know but left this damn latch on the door!" Alicia yelled. Selah rushed to her cage and yanked back the heavy iron bolt opening the door. As it did. Lucy collapsed onto the floor and made a painful retching sound. Alicia and Selah rushed to the edge of the floor. "Oh god. All that blood" Selah gasped. "Not blood. It's the remnants of that smoothie. The psychological shock caused her to puke up that enchanted pomegranate smoothie. Help me out. I can't break this fucking shrinking spell on my own. Selah and her held hands combining their magics until the spell broke. Instantly Alicia grew back to her normal size and Selah used her growth spell to match. Lucy groaned on the floor. "Help me with her" Alicia said. They picked her off the floor and sat her on the table. "Lucy? Lucy, can you hear me?" Alicia asked. Lucy's eyes focused and saw the two before her. Her mind went right back to what she had done to Selah. Tears welled up in her eyes and Lucy broke down sobbing. They had never seen Lucy cry so hard.

"Lucy you're going to hyperventilate" Alicia said holding her hand. "*gasp* I'm so sorry. Selah I'm so sorry" Lucy cried. Selah looked at her and Lucy looked away. Selah's hand touched her cheek and Lucy flinched. She gently turned her head. "Please don't look at me..." Lucy begged. Selah held her head with both hands. Selah could see sheer terror in her eyes. Terror the comes from the fear of losing a person's love. Selah hugged her to her bare chest. Lucy cried softly into her teenage breasts. "It was me and it wasn't me. I wanted you to be as happy as I was, but it wasn't real happiness. It was more like a drug high" Lucy said. "About what you said earlier..." Selah asked. "I once lost someone extremely precious to me because I was too afraid to act. I carried that guilt with me ever since. When I see everyone doing their part and I'm just sitting at home I feel that guilt creep up inside me. I'm no fighter, no Mage, and when I heard you crying it broke my heart. Selah, I love you so much I never want to see you hurt. I don't want to see anyone I love suffer if I can do something about it" Lucy said. Selah wiped her cheeks dry before cleaning her lips with her fingers. "And you won't. You do a lot Lucy. You keep the house in one peace so when we do come back, we can feel at peace. That's more valuable than you know" Selah said. "She's right Lucy. You always had an important role. And even if you didn't and all you did was eat Cheetos all day, you still wouldn't have to do anything to earn our love. Love that truly matters can't be bought. It is gifted" Alicia said. Lucy nodded and sniffed. "Now to pressing matters. What was her plan for us?" she asked.

"Well, after having you eat those seeds, you were to dress accordingly, and I was to present you in the throne room. After that you was to cut your own breasts off" Lucy replied. "Okay...okay and fuck that in that order. Take us to where were supposed to dress" Alicia said. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Selah asked. "Oh yeah" Alicia grinned. Lucy led them to a room down the hallway. They entered to find a young woman being dressed by a teenage boy. "Are those the new amazons?" she asked. Lucy silently nodded as she gathered Alicia's and Selah's clothing. "Praise be to Persephone. "Indeed sister. Praise be to Persephone" Alicia said calmly. The teenage boy knelt on all fours as the woman slipped her sandals on and used him as a footstool to tie them. A small gust of air slipped underneath the door frame and Lucy cringed slightly. "Come Archos. It is our time to give tidings to the people" she said to the boy. They watched them leave. "Well, that was weird" Selah said. "More than you know. The boy was virtually devoid of a man's scent. He has been...gelded" Lucy said. "You fuckin' kidding? That's sick" Alicia hissed. "Gelded?" Selah asked confused. "They cut his balls off" Alicia explained. "Oh fuck why?!" Selah asked. "Her attendants are all virgins. To preserve that in males they geld them" Lucy replied. "And tidings?" Alicia asked. "They're the ones that distribute the pomegranates and spread the word of Persephone. We met one already in town. A modern equivalent would be a Jehovah's Witness" Lucy replied. "They told you all this?" Alicia asked. "They were...eager to teach me" Lucy replied.

Alicia and Selah quickly got dressed and Lucy hurried them to the throne room. "Just play it cool. When the fighting begins, stay back" Selah said as they walked inside the room. Four female attendants, not quite amazons, were busy cleaning up the floor. Lucy cringed at the stench of bleach. "Make sure to not leave a single stain. Goddamn girl all but wiped out my amazons" Persephone hissed. They watched as they scrubbed the blood splatter from the floor where Selah crushed the shrunken amazons who dared attack her. Problem was, Alabaster is a semi-pourusq98; q98; stone which meant the blood could soak beneath the surface. "Penny? When can we return to the shop? Mr. Cambridge will be expecting his Ruben sandwich soon" Hades said softly. "Soon Henry. Very soon" Persephone sighed. Selah cocked an eyebrow hearing that. She glanced at the Greek god of death and found his gaze...vacant. "Good! I take it they are of the faith?" She asked Lucy. "By...by your command my goddess" Lucy stammered bowing. Persephone motioned for Alicia and Selah to approach her. She slipped off her right sandal and pointed to Alicia first. "Show your worship and devotion" she commanded. Alicia bowed to one knee, kissed her big toe, and to sell the lie, sucked her toe for a brief moment. The goddess chuckled and pushed her aside with her foot. "And for you my once troublemaker. Be a good girl and do all five" she commanded.

Selah knelt and sucked her toes starting with her pinky toe. Sucking it, moving to the next, and so on. Selah glanced up to see Persephone's eyes closed either in arousal, or gloating. Either way that worked in Selah's favor. When she took her big toe in her mouth, Selah's eyes narrowed as she voicelessly conjured lightning. The surge of electricity went from her tongue and teeth, right into the flesh and bone of Persephone's toe. Amplified by her saliva, the goddess shrieked as tens of thousands of volts wracked her body. The goddess was thrown backwards. "That was for putting that fucking foot on me earlier" Selah hissed standing up. She squeezed the driver after summoning it. "HERO DRIVER ON!" it said. "Be As Gods" she said coldly. "Deciding the fate of battle like a Valkyrie. Brynhildr descends to the battlefield. Presented by Sony" it said. "Round two?" Selah said holding her sword. "Henry!" Persephone yelled to him. The old God stood up, placed his helm on his head and disappeared. "Huninn, Muninn" Selah summoned. The birds circled above them and Selah easily found where the old God was trying to ambush her. A quick slash and once again he was visible and injured. "Fool. Birds can see in different frequencies of light than we can. Those above us are anything but ordinary birds. You cannot hide from Thought and Memory. They see EVERYTHING!" Selah yelled attacking him. Hades parried her attack with his legendary Bident, but it was clear that he was no match for her. A quick slash upwards disarmed him, and he fell back. Now the fight fell to Persephone. She proved tougher an opponent, but their elements were by no means equal.

While her plant life powers did provide some lightning resistance, even they died from the onslaught of sharp blade and lightning. After all, a mighty oak tree can conquer the earth but is kindling in the face of a bolt of lightning. The very floor itself was cracked and broken from so many plant summonings. And when Persephone switched tactics using status effect spellwork, Selah didn't miss a beat. "Lightning Breaker" she summoned. Now her sword carried not only a lightning attribute but a spell cracking one as well. A sleep spell slashed. A shrinking spell cleaved. Poison dust burned in midair. The goddess was running out of tricks. She had one final card up her sleeve though. She willed Hades' Bident to her hands to push Selah back. Drawing in the life energies from the cowering amazons that had fled outside, relying on her inborn power inherited from her mother, Persephone struck a mighty blow shattering Selah's breastplate and sent her crashing against the wall. "DIE!" The goddess howled throwing the Bident. Selah dazed and vision blurred, heard a cracking, shattering sound, then a wet thump, a gasp, and then felt something large impact her body. Her vision cleared and to her horror, saw that Lucy has thrown herself in the way of the attack to save her life. Selah saw a hastily made arcane for a barrier on the floor before her. "Se...lah?" Lucy gurgled before falling onto the floor from her leaning on her body when the weapon threw her off her feet. Selah yanked the weapon out of her as Alicia screamed running up to her. 

"Hang in there! It's going to be okay sweetie!" Alicia said frantically healing her. Selah looked at the brilliant red blood on her hands and a cold seething wrath filled her soul. She picked up her sword as lightning crackled around her body. Persephone knew she was in deep shit as the lightning changed color to red. "Hen.." was all she could say before being stuck at blistering speed by Selah. Persephone flew hard into a wall and before she could fall to the floor was stuck again making her fly. Alicia ears rang with a nonstop crack of thunder as Selah battered Persephone with strikes so fast, she never hit the floor. And then with a boom, blasted her to the floor up heaving it. Beaten bloody, arm shattered and twisted at a queer angle, Persephone crawled from the crater. She looked at Hades pitifully. Selah howled as she willed the Bident to her left hand and slammed it together with her sword. It turned ebony black transforming into a sword with a jagged hilt. Its tip forked. "Lightning Thanatos" the driver growled. Selah slammed her driver charging up for her final attack. "LIGHTNING THANATOS MAXIMUM BURST!" it yelled as ghostly lightning crackled around the blade. Selah charged Persephone as an eerie hum grew in intensity around Selah's blade. "Penny!" Hades screamed throwing himself over her. Selah swung her sword leaving ghostly Ancient Greek writing in the wind in its wake. And as she brought doom upon them both...suddenly stopped her attack just inches above the old god's skull.

She looked upon them. The old man whimpering and his wife shaking. Selah had sensed something wrong with him from the moment she entered the throne room. "Lucy breathe!" Alicia yelled. Selah turned her attention to her and quickly ran over to her. "I healed the wound but she's not breathing! Oh god she's so cold!" Alicia cried. "Her heart has stopped" Selah said. She bent down and tore open Lucy's toga. She placed her left hand over top her heart and the right one underneath. An arc of lightning crossed her hands and Lucy jerked. Selah breathed into her mouth and shocked her again. Over and over again for three minutes until Lucy gasped for air. "Lucy!" Alicia yelled hugging her. Selah was not as cheerful. "Alicia. Something is wrong. Lucy look at me" she said. Lucy did without a word and Selah stared deep into her eyes. Selah slumped onto her legs. "We were...not fast enough. She was dead too long" Selah muttered. "But she's alive. She's breathing! She even looked at you!" Alicia said. "And I saw no soul within her" Selah said. Selah looked around. "Her soul isn't lingering here. It's moved on" Selah said. "But...but..." Alicia stammered. "You hold an empty shell. What we know is Lucy isn't there anymore" Selah said. Alicia broke down crying. Selah stood up and walked over to Hades. "Where is her soul you senile old fool?" she spat. "I... I don't know..."

"ENOUGH OR I WILL FINISH WHAT I STARTED! I know the rules. When an atheist dies, their soul goes to whatever afterlife domain they died in" she growled. "Is...is that true? You have her soul?" Alicia asked. "If an atheist died in China it would go to a Buddhist afterlife, India a Hindu afterlife and so on. She died within his domain, so it goes to his underworld" she explained. "Why did you even spare his life...or hers?!" Alicia yelled. "I noticed something was off about him when we entered this room. He acted as if he was no god. Called her a different name...a mortal one. And she replied in kind. He cried her mortal name just before the killing blow. Tell me Persephone. When was the last time he recognized his true name of Hades?" she asked. "...a very long time. I did this mostly for him. To restore him to former glory" she replied. "And you fucked up horribly. If anything, you made it worse. They do not worship him out there. They worship you" she said. "I... I don't understand" Alicia said. "Cordelia said it herself. When a god or goddess loses enough of their worshipers, if they forget who they were, their power wanes to the point they become mortal. In his case, he teeters on the brink of full mortality. Because of his age, it has manifested as senility, dementia, or Alzheimer's. Her husband has lost something we take for granted. Our minds" Selah said.

"Hades...Henry. My friend needs her soul back. Where is it?" Selah asked. Hades closed his eyes. "It dwells in the Elysium Fields" he replied. "Take me there" Selah said. "Wait what?" Alicia asked. "I'm going to the underworld to get Lucy's soul back" Selah replied. "And lose you too?!" she yelled. "We're not losing anyone else in this family" Selah said coldly. Selah walked over to Hades and Persephone. "Where is the physical entrance to your underworld?" she asked. "The temple Nekyos at the Acheron River is such a place" Persephone replied. "Take me there now" Selah commanded. "Selah this is madness!" Alicia yelled. "So mad it will work" she said as Persephone took ahold of her hand and disappeared. They appeared at the steps of the ancient temple. The river behind them. Once it was a tourist attraction but not now. It irked the goddess to have such a holy place used to take money from gawking foreigners. "Enter there and walk Through the main room. You will find steps that lead to a closed door. Approach and they will open" Persephone said. "I will say this only once. If any harm comes to them while I am gone, my ravens will pluck out your eyeballs, eat them, and then finish their feast with your genitals" Selah said with a chilly tone. Selah left her standing there and entered the temple.

It was quiet as one would imagine. Torches lit the interior with blues flames as she walked. The echoes of her footsteps filled her ears. Murals of Hades and Persephone in their glory days painted on the walls. Frescoes of old tales still there for those to see. Selah found the staircase leading down and sure enough there was a marble double door. Sensing her presence, it groaned as it opened, and she stepped through. It was pitch back as she walked. Not a ray of light. As if walking Through a black hole that not only devoured light, but the concept of mortal form. And then grey light shine before her and once she stepped Through, found herself standing at the entrance to the Greek Underworld. With Brynhildr's knowledge in her mind, Selah knew what the beast was sitting beside it. Although The stories did it too much justice. "Cerebus?" she asked seeing a triple headed mastiff sitting calmly at the entrance. Seeing her it wagged its tail. Chuckling she petted the unassuming guard dog. "Good boy" she said before entering. Selah walked and walked as the ground itself seemed paved with human bones. Deeper she went, the sound of moaning got louder. And then she found its source, hundreds, no thousands of the dead stood on the shore of the River Styx.

On the banks of the River Styx stood all manner of shades. Very young, very old, an everything in between. Their clothing from ancient times to modern day. Selah pitied those dressed in ancient clothing more than the children as she knew they had been waiting to cross for thousands of years. "Shit" she thought realizing why. "A mortal? There hasn't been one here since antiquity" a voice said before her. Selah approached the thin tall eerie man standing in a boat. "Tidings Charon. I wish to cross the Styx" Selah said bravely. "I see no coins about you" he said. "Fuck. Hoping he wouldn't notice" she thought. Selah cursed herself forgetting one of the cardinal rulesq98; q98; underworld. It cost two coins for the dread ferryman to take you across the Styx. If you did not have them, you were doomed to wallow on the shore until someone in the living world buried them with you. It explained those dressed from ancient times. Selah approached the boat and pressed her foot upon the bow. "Look. Can't you do me a favor? I mean we both have similar jobs. You ferry the dead and so do I. In my case I happen to create the dead now and then" she said. "The rules state two drachmas or equivalent. No exceptions" he said. Selah's patience was wearing thin. She summoned her sword in its new form. "It is imbued with the Bident of my Lord" he said surprised. "Damn right and I just finished beating your Lord's ass with it until he begged mercy. Now are you going to keep making this hard for me or are you going to cut me a break?" she asked sternly. Charon said nothing as he turned and kicked down the ramp.

Selah was surrounded by souls of the dead as she stood in the ancient eternally decaying ferry. It's groans louder than the whispers of water hitting the hull. "Hades has been gone for some time. How is it a mortal with borrowed power defeated him?" Charon asked. "His power has waned to the point he blurs the line between mortal and divine. Your Lord has one soft in the mind" she replied. Charon nodded and waded the water with his oar. "The Elysian Fields. I have heard stories about it. What is it truly like?" she asked. "It is eternal respite for the virtuous. No fear, pain, or torment. A realm of spirit and light" he replied. "My friend is there. I'm curious though how she paid her fare" she said. "By way of American Express" Charon said flatly. "Wait. You're telling me you accepted a credit card? You're shitting me" Selah said. "No, I do not shit you. The rules say two drachmas or equivalent. Her card was charged with the equivalent" he said. "But where did she have it on her with that toga? How would you even swipe it? You know what? I'm not going to even ask anymore" she said. Charon pulled the ferry onto a shore. Get off here and walk towards the withered glade. You will cross into Elysium" he said. Selah got off. "Thank you" she told him. "No thank you. Once upon a time I ferried the greats. Heracles, Achilles, Hector, Alexander. Now just sycophants and atheists. You were a welcome change. Fare you well Valkyrie" he said before casting off.

Selah walked towards the withered half dying glade and as she walked, the foliage slowly began to look livelier until a burst of light blinded her. When her vision returned, she found herself in the most beautiful valley she had ever seen. Ancient to modern buildings dotted the land. Selah focused her power to single out Lucy's soul. "There you are" she muttered as she began walking. Selah walked for an unknown amount of time as such a thing had no meaning there. She would pass homes with families cooking, playing, spouses fucking out in the open. She could see the draw to exist here. And as she walked, she happened upon a figure. A figure so big she was surprised she had not seen him earlier. Standing well over 300 ft. tall, a man with tanned skin sat on the hillside. Dressed an ancient clothing, a toga, sandals but with an odd glow in his eyes. "Hello little one. Fancy seeing a mortal here" he said. "Gre...greetings" Selah stammered as his shifted his legs exposing his massive cock underneath his toga. "And who may you be?" Selah asked curious. "I am the titan Prometheus. Bringer of fire and flame" he said. "You are? I thought you were supposed to be chained up" she said. "And I was doomed to have a buzzard peck out and eat my liver for eternity. That punishment ended some time ago as the chains of Hephaestus lost its power" he replied.

"So now you're here" she said. "I came to this place longing for peace. What better place than paradise?" he asked. "It is indeed beautiful. Nobody wants for nothing, but I come from a place that promises such things but with cost" Selah said. The titan bent down and plucked up the tiny woman between his fingers. Selah was terrified but readied her weapon. "Look little one. There is not a grain of taint to this place. There is no malice. No cost other than being a virtuous person" he said after placing her in his open palm. Selah was more worried about him though to look. "Ah. Apologies. Forgive my boldness. Allow me to bestow a gift upon you to alleviate your worries" he said touching her with his finger. Selah quickly grew to his size and stature. "Now we are of the same size, you still wary of me?" he asked. "N...no" Selah stammered embarrassed. "No need for embarrassment. You did well speaking to me. Most that meet me beg me not to eat them. It is most...upsetting. They forget that of all the gods and titans, I loved humanity the most" he said. "Yes. The story goes that you were imprisoned in hell for giving the gift of fire to humans" she said. "That I was. Are you familiar with how gods are born?" he asked. "I was told that the worship and belief of them cause them to manifest" she said. "One way of putting it. Most are born just like humans. They are carried in the womb and come of their mother's vaginas naked and crying like any other babe. And others simply appear out of nothing. Those...those are the most troubling as they have no physical connection to humanity. We titans were born by mothers. The gods that came after simply appeared. I looked upon humanity with pity and worry as they shivered in the cold and darkness while the gods had warmth and light. Of course I gave them fire" he said. There was a moment of silence. "I prattle on. Forgive me" he said. "Don't be sorry. So, you never thought about leaving for the mortal world? You're not dead" she asked. "Even if I hadn't eaten of the food here, I still would not leave this place. Few ever have" he replied extending his hand with open palm.

"Here anything is within your grasp. A mate" he said just before a tiny woman appeared in his hand. He petted her for a moment before she disappeared. "Food fit for kings" he said as a banquet if food appeared in his hand. "Children" he said before four young very small children appeared in his hand jumping up and down. "Even The land shifts and bends according to your wishes" he said. "Has anyone ever left?" she asked. "Very few. Very few indeed. And fewer still make it Through the gates of the underworld. It is very well guarded" he said. "Pfft. I saw Cerberus. I was not impressed. Looked like he could barely chew soup" she snickered. Prometheus cocked an eyebrow before smirking. Little did she know he was not smirking because she thought her joke funny.

 "So, judging by your questions, you wish to leave or take someone with you?" he asked. "The latter" she replied. "Then I bid you good luck Selah" he said standing. Selah stood up. Their feet shaking the very land itself. Land that quickly reformed even after multi-ton asses and feet crushed it flat. Selah tried to break whatever growth spell he put on her but found nothing of the sort there. "Um...about my size" she said. "Oh that. Just a parting gift. I gave you the aspect of a titan. If you wish to be normal size once more just look within and switch it off" he said simply. "Your aspect as in your authority? Won't giving it to me lessen you power?" she asked. "Ehe...I'll be just fine. Enough still know of me. Hell, I have an element on the periodic table named after me. Besides, I like giving mortals gifts. Use it wisely" he said. Selah nodded to him and did as instructed. She closed her eyes and found within her a small flame and with concentration made it a tiny ember. Instantly she shrunk back down to human size. "Goodbye Prometheus" she said opening her eyes. The colossal titan was gone. Selah resumed her walk homing in on Lucy's soul. Eventually, she came to a clearing in the middle of the woods. "Whoa" she muttered seeing a small, beautiful home perfectly borrower scale on the bank of a crystal-clear river. A waterfall not far behind. Surrounding the home was a garden, an orchard, and seemingly a play area with children's toys strew about. As she approached it, inch tall children ran from the secluded back towards the river. Selah counted 7 in all. They stooped seeing the giantess looking down on them. Selah bent down. "Excuse me. Is Lucy here?" she asked. "You mean mommy?" a young boy asked. "Yes...mommy" Selah replied. Selah took a harder look at the children and found none older than 7. But more striking was not one had a soul.

The boy ran to the front door. "MOMMY! A PRETTY BIG LADY WANTS YOU!" he yelled. The boy scampered off with the others. "Theodore? Who would want...SELAH!" Lucy yelled running out of the door and into Selah's hands. Lucy cried and sobbed into her giant cheek. "Hey auntie" Selah chuckled. "Oh no. You died too. That's why you're in heaven" she said. "No, I'm still alive. May I come in?" Selah asked. Lucy quickly nodded. Selah shrunk down and entered her home. "You got great taste" Selah said. "All I know is feeling very cold on that floor and then waking up here with a bunch of kids jumping on my bed. So, this is heaven? I expected angels and harps and stuff" Lucy said. "It's one of the many heavens. When you died, since you were an atheist, you ended up in Greek heaven" Selah said. "Yeah, I never believed in an afterlife or an all-powerful God. Well, that answers one question. If you're not dead, then how did you end up here?" she asked. "Short answer is I walked. You don't remember Charon or the boat ride?" Selah asked. "Nope" Lucy replied. Lucy was fixing dinner. "So, the kids..." Selah said. "9 in all. Two more napping in the back. Strange that I know their names by heart. The days of their birth. First words, first steps. "They looked like they had different fathers" Selah said. "Because they do. All of their names were ones I picked out when they were born at the breeding center. Every...last...one" she said softly. Selah sat down and watched as Lucy threw herself into cooking. They both remained quiet as Lucy finished prepping. She stepped out through the door and yelled for the kids to return. "Ah ah ah! All of you dry off in the bathroom. Simon help your little sisters" she told one boy.

"Simon? Theodore?" Selah asked watching the river water-soaked borrower kids scamper to the bathroom. "One is also named Alvin. Silly I know" Lucy chuckled. Lucy prepared the dishes and placed them on the table. As soon as she was done, the kids were racing back. "Spaghetti!" one shouted. "Mommy where's the garlic bread?" a girl asked. Lucy cocked her heard to the side as if thinking on it and suddenly the oven dinged, and Lucy opened it. "Here it is" Lucy said placing it on the table. "Come on Selah. Don't be shy" Lucy said. "I can't. Rules" Selah sighed. "Suit yourself" Lucy said eating with her children. Once finished, the children ran outside to play. Lucy was stuck with the dishes until Selah began helping her. Once they were done, Lucy invited her to sit in the living room. "They're not real are they?" Lucy asked. Selah didn't answer. "You said you had to be an atheist living a good life to end up here but I'm sure if my kids did die, they wouldn't end up here, right? I mean what are the chances of that and dying in Greece?" she asked. "...they're real enough to you Lucy. That boy there has a birthmark on his cheek. That girl there has a scar on her ankle. There is great detail in them" she said. "Alvin hates broccoli. Patrick likes his belly rubbed before bedtime. Gina is extra ticklish between her toes. Each one has the same exact scent I remember" she said before weak crying from down the hall could be heard. Lucy got up and returned with two babies.

"Tyler and Jason. Twin boys I gave birth to just before they shut down the breeding farm" she said handing one to Selah. Lucy exposed her breast and brought the other baby in her arms to her right nipple. She coaxed her milk to flow as he latched on. Selah looked at the baby in her arms, Jason, and cuddled him to her shoulder. "You're a natural" Lucy chuckled. "I have experience holding babies. I was a mother once" she said. "Pardon?" Lucy asked. "I mean Brynhildr did" Selah said. "You okay there?" Lucy asked concerned. "I'm fine. It's just her memories and experience comes with the transformation and I haven't transformed this long before. Shit kinda run together" she said. "So that's why you speak so maturely" Lucy said. "Lucy. Do you want to return?" Selah asked. "I have a beautiful home, my missing children, a safe magnificent land. It's all I ever dreamed of" Lucy replied. "Except a mate and your son back home. Why did you not create him and Theo?" Selah asked. "...because it would ruin it" she muttered. Lucy exchanged Tyler for Jason and fed him. Once done, she instructed the kids playing in the living room to babysit Them. Lucy walked outside and was followed by Selah. Selah watched quietly as Lucy stripped naked and jumped into the stream. Selah grew to human size to better watch her. She grew increasingly worried about Lucy. Selah sat on the bank of the stream as Lucy swam around naked and content. The sun eventually began to set, and Lucy stepped back onto shore.

"Nothing like a fresh swim to make you feel alive!" Lucy yelled shaking like a dog to fling the excess water off. Her tits swaying back and forth made Selah giggle. "Or avoid a subject" Selah said. "What's the difference between a fantasy and a delusion? A fantasy is something created that has some grounding in reality no matter how small. But a delusion isn't grounded in reality. They're grounded in lies. It was a fantastic stretch of the heart to think just maybe, maybe that my kids were really real. That they were already waiting in heaven for me. But things began to add up. Like memories of their birthdays. Their first steps or words. The time Simon let his sister Gina sleep with him because she was scared of a shadow in her room. Now how the hell would I remember what never happened or was around for? And then before my eyes the final crack in my fantasy emerged. I remembered Patrick has green eyes not brown. And before my fucking eyes his eyes changed. I suspected all of this was pulled from my mind as the perfect place and I took solace that my kids, my home, even the food we eat was real enough I didn't have to question it again. But if I wanted Theo and Justin, I knew they would appear. And If they did it would confirm this to be a lie. I mean how can two people who aren't dead be in heaven?" Lucy asked looking up at the giantess. Lucy picked up a random rock and shockingly slit her wrist. "LUCY!" Selah yelled grabbing her. "Look. Not a drop. I don't even feel it. No pain in heaven. Selah...eat me" Lucy said blurting out the last part. "What? Not like you can kill me when I'm already dead and I am curious to the sensation" Lucy said. "Probably best not to. Rules say I can't eat food and you just might qualify" Selah chuckled. "You may not be her blood, but you have Faith's sense of humor" Lucy grinned. The stars began to shine in the sky.

"Wow. Your doing?" Selah asked. "Yeah. Me and Tracy spent hours just staring up at the stars through the windows" she replied. "Amazing detail" Selah whispered. "Let's go back inside" Lucy said. They returned to her home. Later that night, Selah sat outside on the veranda. Hunger and thirst kept her awake. "Can't sleep?" Lucy asked sitting next to her. She noticed Selah has taken her boots off and was currently scrunching her toes. "Your mother did that too when something was bothering her" she said. "I'm wondering if coming here was the right thing to do. My task seems to have caused more harm than good" Selah said. "I wouldn't say that. I got to see you and that's awesome" Lucy said snuggling up to her. "If you wish to stay nobody will think different. Lord knows you earned the eternal reward" Selah said. "It's a lot to decide. Stay here in fabricated bliss and never see Theo or Justin again or go back and lose the happiest moment of my existence. Feels a little Matrix" Lucy chuckled. "No doubt. The red pill and go back or the blue pill and stay" Selah said. They were quiet until the patter of little feet caught their attention. "Gina? What are you doing up honey?" Lucy asked. The five-year-old borrower shuffled on her feet for a moment. She looked at Selah. Lucy motioned for her to sit down with them. Selah was surprised the girl chose her lap to sit down in instead of her mother. "Your feet smell sad" Gina said suddenly to Selah. "Wha?" Selah asked. "Pheromones change according to a person's mood. She can literally smell your sadness from your feet" Lucy explained. "I'm worried about your mommy. I'm a big strong girl but I feel so powerless right now" Selah said.

Gina hopped off her lap and began to cartwheel on the grass. Selah smiled and clapped. "Adorable" Selah told Lucy. "Because I wished for it. Look Selah" Lucy said softly waving her hand. Gina grew older till she was 14. She looked like the spitting image of Lucy. "Come here Gina" Lucy said to her. The girl sat between them and Lucy held her face with her hands. Lucy kissed her for a moment before crying softly. And with another wish, Gina grew a few years older and very pregnant. Lucy placed her hand on her belly and felt the unborn child within her kick. Lucy smiled softly before waving her hand once more turning Gina into a six-month-old baby. Lucy pulled her toga aside and breastfed the child. "Even so Lucy you look the happiest I've ever seen you" Selah said. Lucy leaned into her chest as Selah petted her hair. "Selah? If I did leave, would it be possible to one day see my children for real when my time came once again?" Lucy asked. "I cannot say for certain. If they are atheists like you then I couldn't say where they would end up if they died. There are many heavens out there" Selah replied. "So, I run the risk of missing them for eternity" Lucy said softly. "...yes" Selah replied softly. Lucy cried softly in frustration. "However, that is assuming they are already dead. They may very well be alive and if so, we just have to find them" Selah said. "How?" Lucy asked. "Hope may able to find them. She is a remarkable girl" Selah replied. "Keyword maybe" Lucy said. "True. Maybe" Selah said. Lucy said nothing else that night and Selah, exhausted finally went to sleep.

Meanwhile...

"They're not back yet" Alicia said looking over Lucy's soulless body. "You're assuming they will be back. It's easy entering the Underworld. Leaving is an entirely different matter" Persephone said sitting quietly on her throne. "They WILL return. Be sure of that" Alicia huffed. "Mortal. I can count on one hand how many have returned from the Underworld over the span of 5,000 years. Half of them were half God. And as powerful as that girl was, she was no god" she said coldly. "She was good enough to beat your and your husband's asses" Alicia spat. "Yes. She defeated a senile old man and a woman whose power is to make plants grow. Cerberus is an entirely different matter" Persephone said grinning. "The guard dog that watches the entrance to the Underworld" Alicia muttered. Persephone laughed loudly. She rubbed her toes with her hand shaking her head. "How foolish you mortals are. Cerberus doesn't guard the entrance to the Underworld. "He guards its exit!" she laughed. Alicia looked at Lucy who had fallen asleep. She hugged her tightly as she looked at the night sky. "Selah..." she muttered worried.

Selah awoke alone on the veranda as the warm sun shone down on her. She heard no children and didn't see Lucy. "Lucy? Kids?" she asked walking through the house. She walked outside around it and saw nobody. "She wouldn't leave without me. Or did she simply leave me?" Selah wondered. She thought it possible Lucy retreated into the heavenly realm to avoid the decision before her. As her worry mounted, she caught a glimpse of something far up the hill just past the waterfall. Selah walked up the hill and saw Lucy with her back turned to her. Next to her were all her children plus one figure, a woman whom she couldn't make out. "That's not one of her kids" she muttered. She watched as Lucy hugged the woman tightly as her hear was petted and stroked. Very faintly she could hear Lucy sobbing. Once she let go, the woman vanished. Lucy hugged each of her children and come she had they disappeared one by one. "Oh Lucy..." Selah muttered partly realizing what was happening. Selah did not approach even though she badly wanted to. Before long, Lucy walked back down the hill towards her.

"I see you made your decision" Selah said. "Yes, I did" Lucy said looking back at the hill. "May I ask what prompted it?" Selah asked. "Talking to Tracy. I got some things off my chest and I realized that even if I did stay here, I would be giving up what makes heaven on Earth" she replied. "Tracy?" Selah asked. "Someone precious to me that died not long before I and some other borrowers were set free. You remind me so much of her. Might be why I love you so much" she said. Lucy paused midstep. "Wait. Didn't you say that you had to be an atheist and die in Greece to be here?" Lucy asked. "Either that or believe in the ancient beliefs here. Why do you ask?" Selah said. "Because I didn't create her" Lucy answered. "You didn't wish for her to appear before you?" Selah asked. "Yeah, so how did she appear on that hill? She died just outside Seattle and was an atheist like me. So why was she here?" Lucy asked. Selah smirked ever so slightly. "Maybe it was a miracle. Not even Brynhildr knows everything about the afterlife. Maybe, just maybe wherever Tracy ended up, she sensed your pain and came to you. And if that is true..."

"Then there's something out there truly watching over us" Lucy muttered. "Maybe so. Some unfathomable being that shows concern and compassion for us and wants neither blind devotion nor compensation in exchange or it" she said. "God as in THE God?" Lucy asked awed. "That is above my pay grade even as a Valkyrie. But it makes our existence seem less...lonely, doesn't it?" Selah asked growing to human size. She bent down and Lucy hopped into her hand. "Yeah, it does" Lucy replied. Selah began the long trek back to the River Styx...

Meanwhile...

"Good" Alicia said as Lucy went to the bathroom on her own. She watched as Lucy wiped herself and walked back into her hand. Her size arcane had worn off suddenly in the night. Alicia had never seen anyone missing their soul before but now she could add another thing on the list that is worse than death. Without her soul, Lucy was barely better than a puppet. She could make no decisions on her no for herself. She couldn't even begin a conversation on her own. Such was the importance of free will. However, her body was still susceptible to biological functions such as the need to take a piss and whatnot. And as she sat down, Lucy grimaced in pain. "What is wrong?" Alicia asked. "There is pain in my breasts" she replied flatly. Alicia removed her toga to see her breasts bloated. "Oh. I see" Alicia said. Alicia sat her firmly in her hand and with her fingers on her breasts. Gently she began milking her. Her milk squirted out onto the floor and within a minute, Lucy instinctively sighed. Alicia felt so sorry for her. Even worse when Alicia realized Lucy was sexually aroused. As she milked her, Lucy's juices soaked the floor. Her toes clenched. And then with a whimper Lucy came. Alicia cried softly seeing Lucy's expression going right back to an emotionless void. Lucy's stomach growled. Hades, who had been sitting quietly looking at the Aegean Sea turned to face them. "Hungry?" he asked. "Apparently so" Alicia replied softly. Hades stood up and walked out of the throne room. He returned 10 minutes later with sandwiches. "Wheat toast ham club and a Ruben on rye for her" he said handing them food. Alicia was unnerved by his actions. "Thank you...Henry?" she said. "My pleasure. Remember Henry's Deli for all your catering needs" he said smiling before returning to his throne. "Selah was completely right. His mind is as soft as a hardboiled egg" she thought.

"The fates can be cruel. They show no mercy even for a god" Persephone said behind her. The gentle slapping of her bare feet echoed in the Throne room as she walked past Lucy and Alicia. Alicia was loathed to admit how pretty she looked in the morning sun. Even her feet were immaculate. "The others would laugh seeing him as he is now" she said. "I damn sure wouldn't. I know what it's like to have a loved one like that. My grandfather had Alzheimer's. It's like some force steals a part of them one piece at a time" Alicia said. "Very true. The irony is I despised him for centuries for what he did to me. Now in the waning days I cannot bare to see him suffer. How strange is that?" she asked. "Not strange. I once loved a wicked man who murdered my family and boyfriend. In time I grew to love him and when he was killed for a lack of a better term, I felt...sorry for it. The human heart is weird that way" Alicia said. "But I am not human" Persephone said. "Human enough" she shrugged. "Your grandfather. Is he still alive?" she asked. "No. He passed when I was 13. By then he was so gone he has to use flash cards to know who we were and where he was. The worst part was the look on his face when he realized he forgot his own daughter and granddaughter. Like horror and guilt. Every weekend for four long years. It was a blessing when he died" Alicia replied. Persephone grew very quiet. "And my actions hastened his fall. Damn Lilith and her bargain. May she burn in Tartarus for eternity" the goddess hissed. "She's the queen of hell. She'd run the fucking place within a week" Alicia said. The goddess sighed and sat in her Throne. She held Hades' hand. He smiled softly and kept looking at the sea...

"Oh shit. We're taking a ride from this guy?" Lucy asked. "Yes, we are and be polite. He's doing us a favor. Greetings Charon!" Selah yelled as the ferryman docked on the shore. "Greetings Valkyrie. Is this the soul you were looking for?" he asked. "Yes, it is. Can't you take us back to the Styx shore where I saw you at first?" Selah asked. "Board" he answered flatly. Lucy cowered in her hand the entire time. "You don't remember him?" Selah asked her. "I'd remember someone looking like that!" Lucy replied. Selah shushed her. "Haha...it is alright. I am not offended. It is not unusual she doesn't remember me. Those that cross into the Elysian Fields forget our meeting. Cannot say the same for this bound for Tartarus" he said rowing. "Tartarus?" Lucy asked. "Hell" Selah replied. "Oh damn" Lucy muttered. "For the wicked" the ferryman laughed. "Still, I cannot believe you had a fucking credit card on you here" Selah said. "Oh yeah I did. I figured an American Express Black card with no limit wasn't something you toss away. Slipped between by tits when I put the toga on" Lucy said. When they reached the shore, the disembarked. "Thank you, Charon," Selah said. "Be careful little Valkyrie. Entering is one thing. Leaving is another. Be on guard around Cerebus or..."

"Or I might end up here permanently?" Selah chuckled. "No, those slain by the hound is greeted by oblivion" he replied. Selah stopped grinning and walked back to where she entered. She found herself back in the dark tunnel walking and walking until the faint vestiges of light she could see ahead.q98; q98; "Okay. Hold up" Selah said seeing Cerebus sitting with its back turned to her. "That's a problem how?" Lucy asked seeing the dog. "Persephone said something ominous to Alicia about it. My ravens picked it up" she said. "Uhh...ravens?" Lucy asked. "Long story. Point is at first, I thought she was just talking shit to scare Alicia. But now after what Charon said I'm not so sure our three headed friend is what he appears to be. Wait here" Selah said to her as she placed her on the ground. Selah cautiously stepped out of the exit of the Underworld and immediately Cerebus turned around. He began to growl and to her astonishment transformed before her. "Holy shit on a stick. That's a big fucking doggo" Selah muttered as Cerebus was no longer a quirky looking mastiff but a towering 80 ft. (from claw to shoulder) Three headed hellhound. It's eyes blood red. It's jagged teeth protruding from its mouth as long as a man was tall. "That's going to be a problem. Easy buddy. Look. My sword has your master's authority in it" Selah said showing him Lightning Thanatos. The hound lunged down snapping Selah up. "SELAH!" Lucy screamed seeing him snap his jaws shut. Lucy preyed she didn't see a small lump travel down one of its throats. The hound paused confused as Selah forced its jaws open. With a shout, she forced them open and with blinding speed broke its fangs with her sword. Selah jumped down.

The head with broken teeth whimpered but the others snarled at her. "Wait a second. Prometheus you clever bastard. You knew this would happen. That's why you gave me that power" she muttered remembering she now has the power to grow to literal titan proportions. Selah grew and yet she was not as big as Prometheus was, standing at 260 ft. tall, she was no half pint either. Cerebus pounced on her. It's jaws snapping at her face. She smelled his breath earlier and it made her sick. Like a putrid bog it stank. Selah shoved him off her, but the hound was more agile than she hoped. With a quick swipe, it clawed off her breastplate. Now began a dangerous waltz of attack, defend, parry. Lucy watched in terror as the hound was scratching its way right through her armor until the claws on its left foot were cut. And then Selah did something insane. She tossed her sword away. "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?!" Lucy screamed. Without her sword, Selah's combat ability was lessened considerably but that didn't mean she was weak. She punched the hellhound with lightning imbued attacks which slowed it down but did not stop it. With Three heads, its vision was better than most. One would look at her, another to the side, and another to the other side. When she did move, one head would look eerily behind the beast. Then it slammed its head into Selah's chest breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung. Selah fell and the beast snapped its jaws around her ankle. It began to shake her like a ragdoll until Selah used her other foot to slip her boot off. Selah slid on the floor. "JUST RUN! Forget about me and just run..." Lucy sobbed. The speck of the woman barely visible to the titaness. Her pleas more noticeable. "I came to do a job. I don't cut a run!" Selah yelled standing back up.

The ground felt as cold as a grave under her right bare foot. Selah had more than enough, and she did not wish to kill Cerebus for a very logical reason, but it seemed it would come to it. Selah gambled her next attack would finally stop the thing and hoped that without her sword, it would be weak enough not to kill him but strong enough to end the fight. "Hope this works. Never did this without my sword" she muttered slamming her hand on The Hero Driver. The device hummed as lightning built up within her hand. A bolt so strong one could see her nerves glow like electrical circuits. "LIGHTNING RUNIC STRIKE!" it yelled as crackling runes swirled around her fist. Cerebus leaped into the air and Selah timed the strike. With a massive crack of thunder and a shriek, she connected right into his chest. Her attack struck his heart causing the beast to crash to the ground. Lucy watched with bated breath as she couldn't believe Selah showed concern for it as she checked to see if it were still alive. "Oh thank god" Selah said seeing it breathing and gently whimpering. Selah stumbled back to Lucy and shrank down. "What...the...fuck?!" Lucy screamed punching Selah's swollen and bloody cheek. "Oww you little..." Selah said. "Why did you just stab the fucking thing?! Shoot your fuck you up lightning attack or whatever you call it?! Why The fuck did you toss your sword away?!" Lucy screamed.

"I couldn't take the chance of killing him. He serves a purpose keeping the dead from escaping. If I killed him, the Underworld loses it watchdog. Last thing Greece needs in an invasion of the dead" Selah replied. "But still..." Lucy said. "I'll heal" Selah muttered finding her boot. Selah walked down the long dark corridor back to the large door that was the definitive border between the living world and the Underworld. "Well here we are. You ready?" Selah asked standing before it. "You really need to ask after all that shit?" Lucy replied. "Yes" Selah replied softly. Lucy coils sense a bit of fear in her voice. "Yeah. Let's go" Lucy replied. The very moment Selah carried Lucy past the threshold, Lucy lost her form. She reverted to a beautiful point of light. The proof her soul was an honest, good, and just one. "Whew" Selah said walking up the stairs. "What?" Lucy asked her voice disembodied. "Didn't know what was going to happen to you if you crossed the threshold. Possess me, turn into a hideous specter, a pitiful phantom?" Selah replied. Lucy flew into her face blinding the girl. "Seriously?!" Lucy yelled. "Hehe...ignorance is bliss?" Selah shrugged. "If I had a hand, I'd punch you in the nose" Lucy spat. "Well, you don't light brite" Selah grinned. Suddenly she coughed blood. "Whoa!" Lucy yelled. "I'm okay. Just one of my ribs pulling itself out of my left lung. Ouchie" Selah muttered. Lucy's light flickered. "Don't think that. I'd gladly suffer some broken ribs and punctured lungs if it meant getting you back" Selah said tapping the light. She wrapped her hands around Lucy's soul and flew away in a bolt of lightning.

"JESUS!" Alicia yelled as a bolt of lightning struck the Throne room. From it appeared a battered Selah. "Oh my god!" Alicia yelled running up to her. "Easy mom. Still putting my bones back together" Selah said as Alicia embraced her. "What the hell happened?" she asked. "A long story. A boat man that looked like ZZ Top, the wailing souls of the dead, heaven, a very big giant with an equally big dick, Lucy, a very capable guard dog..." Selah replied. "Lucy? You actually found her?!" Alicia asked. Selah opened her hands revealing her soul. "You bested Cerebus?! Nobody has done such a thing since the Age of Heroes!" Persephone said. "Then it pleases me to be the first in a long time" Selah said coldly. Selah motioned for Lucy's body to be handed over. In one hand, she had her body. The other her soul. With amazement, they both watched as they joined. Lucy gasped as she felt physical form. Her body free will once more. Lucy leaped into Selah's face.

"All's well that ends well" Lucy said hugging Selah's cheek. "Not entirely. There's unfinished business here" Selah said turning her attention to Hades and Persephone. "I helped you out. You got her soul back" the goddess said nervously. "Which she lost because you tried to skewer me. I did promise to spare your lives, but I cannot just let you control these people like this. Summon the pomegranate" Selah ordered. "Pomegranate?" Alicia asked. "She knows the one I'm talking about. The one that set EVERYTHING in motion not just here but for her too. There's more than one way to kill a goddess" Selah said. Persephone did as order and summoned a fat pomegranate the color of dried desiccated blood. "Yeah. That's the one. I can sense the power within it. Toss it in the air" Selah ordered. The goddess hesitated. "Do it or my blade solves this problem in the old ways" Selah said coldly handing Lucy off to Alicia. Persephone tossed the ancient, enchanted fruit into the air and Selah cut it effortlessly. It fell in halves to the floor and was quickly blasted to ashes with a bolt of lightning. Immediately, Persephone fell to her knees writhing. "Is she dying?" Alicia asked. "No, she's becoming mortal" Selah replied.

"See, there's Three ways you can kill a god. One is how we and Faith had been doing it till now. Strip away their authority and kill them like any other mortal. Second is just letting them turn mortalq98; q98; when they lose enough worshippers and believers. And third is what I just did. Destroy their symbol of their power or their instrument of their origin. Since the story of Persephone is rooted in the pomegranate, destroying it turns her human" she explained. "So, destroying it is turning her human?" Alicia asked. "And removes the enchantments enslaving the people. Two birds one stone" Selah replied. Persephone stopped writhing as a concerned Hades held her. "Fear not old god. She will live this day" she said. "By making me human? Is that not cruel to be made so lowly?" Persephone asked. "Cruel? Not at all. I heard your conversation about your husband's senility and how it pains you to see it. What I did was give you...one moment. Hades...Henry, I need you to stand up" she said. The old god did. Selah touched his forehead with her hand and with Norse magics, steadied his mind. "Persephone?" he asked bewildered. The woman hugged her husband delighted to hear him call he dream name once more. "As I was saying. I gave you something I have seen immortals lament they do not have. The right to grow old and die with the one you love. I have seen more than once the pain in an immortal's eyes as their mortal loved one's wither and die. I have steadied his mind, cleared the fog so to speak but that is a temporary thing. Now that you are mortal, you will age like all the others. Judging by his decay, you could very well outlive him...or the other way around. You may die together in the years to come if fate is merciful" Selah said softly.

"...thank you, Valkyrie. In truth, I never wanted to be part of her insane plan. I did it for him. My rule was destined to lead to ruin extending what power I did receive so vast. Its literal seeds were sewn" the once goddess said. "Persephone. I wish to go home to New York" Hades said. "As you wish husband" she said. They disappeared hand and hand leaving the Three standing there. "Guess that's our cue to leave" Lucy said. "You scratched that itch to get out?" Alicia said as she opened a portal home. "Scratched to the fucking bone" she replied. And with that they went home.

Selah deactivated her transformation as soon as they arrived shocking those present. "My god Selah" Alicia said. "What is it now?" Selah huffed. Alicia pointed her to the living room mirror. "Oh damn" she muttered. Selah had been in her transformation so long she no longer looked 14. She was closer to 17. "Shit. That's why my shirt is tight" she said taking it off. "Puberty was very kind" Alicia muttered. Skylar, Hana, and Theo entered the room hearing voices. "Holy shit! Selah is that you?!" Skylar asked. "Yep" she replied. "Your tits are huge! Bigger than mine!" Skylar yelled. "Apparently things happened" Hana said. "Yes, they did" Selah said softly. After a very lengthy talk filled with yelling, crying, and hugging everyone relaxed. Lucy had gone outside to the city to think about what had happened. Concerned, Selah went after her after she had not returned, and it was getting dark. "I was worried about you"' Selah said sitting next to the tiny woman. "Just deep in thought. Experiencing heaven isn't something you forget about" she said. "True that" Selah chuckled. There was a pause between them. "Lucy. Tell me about Tracy" she said. "It's a long story kiddo" Lucy said climbing onto her knee. "And I want to hear every detail" Selah said petting her hair. "It all began on a breeding farm in Washington State. I was 10 years old, and this girl walked up to me with a peanut in her hand..." Lucy said

Meanwhile...

Lilith smiled to herself in the mirror. Even though she sensed the loss of Persephone, she had reason to celebrate that evening. Faith grew worried as she sensed unusual delight from her after days of irritation and nervousness. She checked herself in the mirror on last time to make sure she looked vainly beautiful. "Got to look my best. Not every day you meet the Vice Admiral of the US Pacific 7th fleet. A man with enough firepower to glass a quarter of the planet" she thought. Her thoughts now greatly concerned Faith. "Why would you need to meet with him?" Faith asked. Lilith ignored her. Lilith translocated to a secluded park in Hawaii and appeared as a 175 ft. giantess. She considered herself superior to a man no matter what he could do. So why meet him at his size? Her bare footfalls shook the park and within moments found him. Sitting down with is 12-year-old grandson, the Vice Admiral quietly fished with the boy at a stream. It was a pleasant scene grandpa and grandson laughing and casting lines. That would all end soon. She blotted out the sun casting her shadow over them. "God...goddess! What do we owe the pleasure?" the man asked standing up and promptly bowing. The boy was awestruck. "Vice Admiral William Merz of the US Pacific 7th fleet. I have a job for you" she replied. The man scrambled to her big toe kissing her black polished toenail. "Name it and it will be so" he said. She glanced at the boy. "Why do you not bow?" she asked him. The boy began trembling. "Your connection to me was broken, wasn't it?" she asked feeling not a hint of worship. "He...he had his iPad when it happened" the man quickly said. Lilith bent down making the boy stumble back. His bare feet slipping on the wet grass. "You no longer believe I am your goddess?" she asked. "You're...you're mean. You hurt all those people in New York" he blurted out. "He does not mean..."

"He meant every word and is more honest than you. He speaks heresy though. You know the penalty for that correct?" she asked him. "Yes" he replied softly. Merz walked to the boy and hugged him tightly. "I love you, but you have to be punished" he whispered in the boy's ear. Lilith crouched down as low as she could and opened her mouth. Merz began dragging the boy to it. "No let me go! GRANDPA!" the boy screamed as they were just outside her mouth. He picked him up and tossed him right in. "GRAND..."

And she closed her mouth. He could hear his screaming as she savored the boy. Sucking on him and then with a gulp he was gone. Lilith spat out his saliva-soaked clothing at his grandfather's feet. "Now that's out of the way, how operational is your fleet?" she asked. "Less than adequate my goddess. Over a third of our crews has to be...purged after the event" he replied. "Then...little shit" she hissed slapping her stomach. "Then consolidate what you can. I want a battle fleet sailing within 48 hrs." she commanded. "By your will, my goddess. Where shall we be going?" he asked. Lilith began scratching out GPS coordinates in the dirt. "This is in the Indonesian Archipelago" he said. "That it is. I have one problem in England but not even she can be in two places at once" Lilith grinned. Lilith winced as Faith began screaming at her in her mind prison. "Tut tut. Your people played this game very well but, in the end, the House always wins" Lilith laughed as she left. Faith sensed another presence. Very faint but familiar. "You haven't won yet" Faith thought to herself hiding a grin. 

Three weeks ago...

"This is rather sudden Mary" Alicia said. "I thought it over and this right here made up my mind" the woman said pointing to a cut on her calf. "I cut my leg shaving last night. I'm a dream deity. I don't get cuts that don't immediately heal, I don't get migraines, and I don't get locked into one gender!" Mary shouted. "Mary..."

"Is the name you all gave me but it's not my true name. I haven't felt a single human use my true name since she took over. I don't feel like Morpheus anymore" Mary said sniffling. Alicia put her hand on her shoulder. "Cordelia is going through the exact same thing but she's not doing it alone. You really want to move into the city?" Alicia asked. "If I become human, in need to figure out what kind of human I'll be. I need to do that own my own. I'll give you my address" Mary said softly. Alicia softly nodded. Alicia watched quietly as she left for the shrunken city and shrunk down disappearing into it. Alicia wished she hadn't left. With Selah still shaken by her battle with Izanami, she needed all the support she could get. But she understood needing alone time to figure out matters of the heart. 

Two weeks ago...

Alicia sat quietly in front of Mary's small home. Even shrunken to three and an eighth of an inch tall, she was still a giantess in her own right among the humans there. Alicia loathed the reason she was there. Mary has been gone barely a week before Alicia came asking for her help. At least Mary agreed to meet her after tapping on her small door. She just needed a moment to put some decent clothes on.  Mary stepped outside. "You look exhausted" Mary said. "I just finished putting on the concert performance of my life" Alicia said. "I know. A great many people here were crying in the streets for lost loved ones. Some of those lost loved ones created by your old friends" Mary added. There was an awkward pause. "Anyway, care to enter? You look like you could use some tea" Mary asked. "I won't be staying long. I still need to get some rest" Alicia said. "Hmm. Then why did you come?" Mary asked. "Right after the events in Yorkshire, Lilith went on a rampage in New York. Times Square looks like a tactical nuke went off. I need to know if there anything left of Faith inside her" she replied. 

"So, you can determine if there's any chance of saving her is your surface thought. Underneath you're wondering if you and Selah can actually kill her if the time came. You fear the answer more than the question" Mary said. Alicia softly nodded. "Why ask me?" Mary asked. "Because you can peek into her dreams, can't you?" Alicia asked. "What makes you think I can?" Mary asked walking up to her right foot. She dusted off her giant toenail and sat on it. "You read my thoughts, didn't you? Isn't your skill set reading the thoughts and desires to craft dreams?" she asked. "I do not craft dreams. Just as a conductor guides an orchestra, he does not compose the symphony. I can...nudge it along a path but nothing more" Mary replied. "Okay then can you see if Faith is still in there?" Alicia asked. Mary sighed softly. Moments later, a young boy running down the street slammed into the dusty sole of Alicia's left foot. The boy tumbled hard onto the street. "Ooh. You okay kid?" Alicia asked. The boy stood up and felt his forehead. He saw blood and began crying. Alicia plucked him up and placed him in her hand. He was a cute child of seemingly mixed descent like much of the population. 7 years old at most dressed in a lose shirt, shorts, and flip flops. "There there" Alicia said wiping the blood away and healing him. The boy immediately stopped crying realizing he sat in the palm of a giantess. 

What he had been told at birth kicked in and he prepared himself to be at her mercy. He was scared but he showed bravery by not crying or whimpering. Alicia petted him admiring his cuteness. Her fingers now on his hips picking him up from her palm. The giantess stared at him for a long ten seconds before kissing his forehead. She placed him back down on the street. "Be more careful next time kiddo" she commanded. The boy nodded and ran off. "Do you wish to know what was in his mind?" Mary asked. "I already know. And at one time I would've eaten him. But people change with the times...God willing for good" she replied. "Indeed, they do. Yes, I can see if Faith is still there. I have grown immeasurably weak, but I can still walk through at least one unconscious mind. You will have your answer tomorrow" Mary told her. "Thank you Morpheus" Alicia said softly before leaving. Mary went back inside her home. "You know the goddess?! You never spoke of this" a young man naked in the living room said. "You never asked. I must run an errand Kyle. The sex was very good but please return home. I do not know when I will be back" she said. "Mary...why are you so cold? Why cannot I wait for your return here?" he asked placing his hands on her hips. "I wanted to know what human sexual relations truly felt like. There is no script to it. It's pure chaos. Toe nibbling, nipple sucking, you even kissed my ass. And it felt...frightening and exhilarating at the same time. And when you came inside me you set off an orgasm of my own. I see why humans love it so very much. But I cannot love. I am impartial by nature. I neither hate or love anything" she replied as a tear fell from her eyes. "Then why does it hurt for you to say that?" he asked wiping the tear away. "Because I want to love and that means my fall is worse than I thought" she replied. He watched as she walked upstairs to her bedroom. 

Once dressed, she came back down to find him still there. "If you wish to stay then do so" she said quietly. He hugged her suddenly startling her. "I... I must go" she stammered as she disappeared in the blink of an eye. Morpheus could always sense the ebb and flow of dreamers. How one part of the globe would spike as night fell and fall as morning came. It was as if wading into the shore of an ocean looking for a seashell. Eventually, she found what she was looking for. Lilith's unconscious mind stood out like a hideous black rock on a white sand beach. Though she found it, intruding was a delicate matter. Normally, she'd just slip in but the mind of someone like her was as tough as antique iron. Morpheus has to wait as her mental defenses waned as she slept. Hours passed and then she found a crack she could slip through. Pain, anger, and rage whirled around like a typhoon as Morpheus lowered her head to walk. Recent memories wafting through the air told her of her temper tantrum on New York. Memories strong enough to begin forming a dream. She stood on a path with two forks. On the left was the dream of death, and destruction by a seething giantess, the other a dark path with a door at the very far end. 

Morpheus took the dark path knowing it was her unconscious mind. Whispers floated through the air. Words of conquest, plans for the future, ways to conscript the world even worse than now floated through the air. She stood before the door and opened it. She found herself in an old room. Morpheus recognized it from before, it was Faith's old bedroom when she lived in Yorkshire. "Faith?" she called out. "Mary?" Faith replied appearing from behind a book on the desk. Mary bent down. "It is you, isn't it?" she asked poking her. Faith began sobbing clutching her giant finger. Mary picked her up and sat down on the bed. "What is that place?" Mary asked. "A prison she made for me. I can't leave and when I try...bad things happen" she replied sniffling. Mary looked at the door she came through and found it still open. "You cannot walk through that?" Mary asked. Faith quickly shook her head. Mary looked her over and found her eyes sullen, her clothing ragged, bruises on her body. "She did this?" Mary asked. "Her imagination did. When I don't answer her questions, she tortures me. When I fight back, she has my parents do it." Faith replied shaking. 

Mary had the answer to Alicia's question. Was a part of Faith still there? Yes, there was but that part was barely holding onto sanity. "Is...is Alicia okay? Selah?" Faith asked. "They're all okay. Selah was the one that took out that Japanese goddess" Mary replied. "With the driver I left instructions for?" Faith asked excited. "Indeed. They're fighting back using the plans you left" she replied. It gave the battered borrower some hope. Mary sat with her as long as she could answering all kinds of questions until Mary sensed Lilith would soon wake. "I must go. She'll be waking and if she does while I'm here, she will know" Mary said standing up. Faith nodded softly fighting not to plead for her to stay. Mary slipped out and closed the door. She hurriedly exited Lilith's mind. Once she returned home, she gave Alicia the news. 

"So, she's still in there?" Alicia asked quietly sitting on her bed. Selah in her shrunken sate sleeping soundly on the pillow nearby. "Yes...for now" Mary replied. "What does that mean?" Alicia asked worried. "A psyche can only take so much punishment. Lilith has been incessantly torturing her either out of spite or not giving her information. Her body is...wracked by it" she replied. "You're holding back" Alicia scowled. "I have traveled through many minds, many dreams Alicia and I have become an expert on what a body that's been brutalized looks like. From Alexander the Great and Hitler, to Nelson Mandela and Ted Bundy. I have seen it ALL. Describing it to you will give you no peace" she said. "I thought you were impartial" Alicia sniped. "She's inflicted by forms of her biological mother and father. Her mother has raped her. Her father eaten her. Sometimes they both do things at the same time. When I found her, her legs had recently been broken, her right shoulder dislocated, bruises on her body indicated she was beaten bloody with a giant penis" she said softly. Alicia quickly got up, ran to the bathroom, and puked in the toilet. She returned minutes later. "She clings onto hope that all is not in vain. That and her love for all those here sustains her" Mary told her. "Did your visit help her?" Alicia asked. "Very much so" Mary asked. "Can you go again?" she asked. "Not immediately. It's best to wait at least a week before doing so again. Less chance Lilith senses my presence" Mary replied. Alicia nodded. 

Mary returned to her home to find Kyle sitting on her sofa. "So you did stay" she muttered. "I was worried about you" he said. "Do you wish to stay the night?" she asked. He nodded. "Then come upstairs. I'm exhausted" she sighed. Mary laid down in bed next to him. Her mind was on Faith. What she saw disturbed her in more ways than one. While she claimed to be impartial, she was still moved my Faith's suffering. After all, Faith had shown her considerable mercy and kindness after attacking her. And that was the other thing. What Faith was going through was not so different from what she planned for Faith when they first met. To torment her psyche until it broke. An act she had not done in centuries. It worried her to the core of what may have happened if she succeeded. She closed her eyes and tried to steady her mind. Eventually she fell asleep. 

It may surprise one to learn even a goddess of dreams herself. She found herself on the streets of Babylon not far from the Ishtar Gate. The citizens screaming and running all around. Soldiers running past her as a shadow fell upon her. Looking up, she could see in the distance a boy of 12 towering over the city as a giant. His hair a dusty red, brown eyes that gleamed in the sun, his chest bare with simple cloth wrapped around his waist. Mary knew this boy instinctively as Alexander. He raised his sandaled foot and crashed it down silencing screams. He raised it once more revealing crushed bodies, gore, and blood falling off the sole. He must've stood 500 ft. tall as he wrecked the city like a destructive child. One would think this is a very odd dream for a bit to have but not Mary. This was his unconscious mind acting out visions of conquest in a way a child's mind might see it. Him being a giant the influence of his father's, King Phillip of Macedonia, stories of Titans of legend. This is how the actions of those begin. In their dreams. When Mary awoke, she brushed off her dream as simply that, a dream and nothing else.

One week passed and Mary agreed to visit Faith once more. Kyle had not left her side and said he would be there once she returned. She met Faith just as before and saw her more ragged than last time. "Forgive me but not enough time has passed before I can stand" Faith said laying broken on the floor. Mary sat down next to her looking at her shattered legs. "It's worse than last time" Mary said. "She's getting very worried now that Morrigan has gone. Even worse someone intervened a nuke heading for Yorkshire" Faith said. "Wasn't aware of that. Alicia said nothing of this which means neither did Hope" Mary said. Faith smiled. "Doesn't matter. Curious that he acted on his own already" she said. "Who?" Mary asked. Faith shushed her. Faith asked her many questions about Alicia and Selah. "They're resting. The last fight took a lot out of them" Mary replied. "Then the plans are working" Faith muttered. As Mary got her caught up, Faith had healed enough to stand. "How do you cope?" Mary asked curious. "Telling myself this isn't real didn't work so well. Everything is how I remember it. The sounds of the floorboards, the smell of the bedsheets, the scents of my parents."

"I take the good memories and hold on as best as I can until they're done with me. Thing is, I sometimes hope they kill me quick. Then I can't...can't feel anything" Faith said shaking. Mary gripped her hand. "Selah is aging. She's becoming a woman" Mary said changing the subject. "I knew those powers would do that. Any physical issues?" she asked. "Joint pain mostly. Her boob size went up" Mary chuckled. Faith laughed a little. "Lilith is up to something. She's keeping her mind more hidden than before" Faith said seriously. "I'll take a look when I leave" Mary said. When it did come time to leave, she promised her she would return. Mary stood at the fork in the road and very carefully approached Lilith's dream. Her feet sank into snow indicating Lilith's cold emotions. Mary found this very odd comparing the last time. For a person panicking, her emotions were too subdued. Cold emotions that could only come from a confidence. Curious, she walked further. What she finally saw was a blurred visage of the city as Lilith spoke to someone. Both giantesses seemingly lording over the ruined shrunken nation. Mary nearly spoke aloud realizing the true meaning. She quickly fled to home.

"Lilith is conspiring with someone here. I don't know who" she told Alicia. "That's impossible. Only we have left the island and the barrier cloaks it from magic either it be clairvoyance or scrying" Alicia said. "Be as it may. Her dream showed her standing alongside a giantess in this city. A giantess I sensed with familiarity" she told her. Alicia nodded silently and left her home. Mary stood where she was sipping tea as she felt now giant footsteps shaking the city block heading away. "Someone would dare betray the goddess?" Kyle asked sitting. "With any that have power, there will be one wanting to steal it. It is the way of things. If she is wise, she will heed my warnings" Mary said playing her teacup in the sink. "Still. It is heresy" he said. Mary sat next to him. "Have you had many interactions with what you call gods or goddesses?" she asked. "Only the occasional feet rubbing. The luckier ones are fucked into their pussies or assholes. The luckiest die" he replied. "Do you know anyone that you'd call most lucky?" she asked. "A classmate a few years ago was eaten by the one called Libra" he replied. "What if I told you they are not gods or goddesses. Just people with very strong magic" she said.

"As is their right. Those with magics are gods and goddesses. We lowly humans serve them" he said matter of factly. "Kyle. They are not gods or goddesses. They grow old and die just like you do. Think about this. You have gone to the meat vendors right? Seen them butcher animals for meat right?" she asked. He nodded. "Is the butcher a god?" she asked. "Of course not. The animals are livestock" he laughed. "And that is what you were to the others at a time. To keep you in your place you were taught from birth to worship them as gods" she said coldly. "You...you are testing me" he stammered. "You have seen what I can do. What am I?" she asked. "A... a goddess. You came here a giantess and got smaller. Only a goddess can do that" he said. "And you fuck a goddess? You shoot your sperm into a goddess?" she asked. His face went pale. Kyle dove to the floor bowing. "Stop that this instant!" she yelled. He looked up barely. Mary picked up a knife and cut her finger. "There is no trickery involved. This is real blood. Taste it" she commanded. Kyle licked her finger. "I can't heal my wounds. What I can do is because people like you believed in me enough I could" she said. Shortly after she said that she stumbled, and Kyle had to catch her. "I'm just tired. Can you help me to our bed?" she asked. Kyle did.

Mary was so tired she said something uncharacteristic. She said "our" bed. He laid Mary down and pulled off her shoes and socks first. Then the rest of her clothes. "Did what I say frighten you?" she asked. His hands began massaging her leg. "As you said, we were taught from birth to believe them to be superior beings. You say they are not, and I know you'd never lie to me, but they are stronger, more powerful" he muttered. "Being stronger or more powerful doesn't mean they're better than you. I saw the dreams of a boy who was a son of a Georgia pastor become the driving force for change. And I also saw the dreams of a boy born into the throne of a Roman emperor bring utter ruin. And then there are dreams like yours" she said. "What...what about them?" he asked stopping his massage. "Me. You dream of me" she replied. Kyle laid down next to her and hugged her tightly. He would not let go until she fell asleep.

On the third week, Mary went back and found Faith was very much destroyed. A stain on the floor of what she was. Mary could sense the precariousness being there as Lilith's sleep was not very deep. Her last visit caused great concerns of a traitor back home. Mary waited patiently as Faith regenerated. "You have to warn them! She's coming with a fucking navy to kill you all!" Faith yelled. The floor shook violently. "Damn" Mary said reaching for the door. It opened and Lilith stood right before her. "Morpheus. You just can't help yourself, can you? Of all the minds to waltz through, you should've known to avoid mine" she said coldly. "You cannot harm me Lilith. I am dream" Mary said softly. Lilith grabbed her by the throat. "You're a terrible liar. I can feel the weakness in you. True this isn't your body but that doesn't mean you're free from harm" Lilith said. "LET HER GO!" Faith screamed attacking her foot. Lilith kicked her away annoyed. Faith's body slammed right into the wall sickeningly. "You want in my mind so badly? Take a real look" Lilith said grinning. 

Mary shrieked as an eon of existence in hell was shoved into her mind all at once. Mary had seen many horrors over the millennia but never the infinite tortures of damnation. It took all her strength to break the connection and flee. Mary reappeared at the crack of dawn stumbling around the living room. Kyle rushed downstairs finding her. "Lilith...is...coming. Navy" she muttered before convulsing and passing out. Not know what that meant or what to do, he carried her out of the house and made his way to the mansion. Let it not be said that the young man did not love her. Astonishingly, Kyle carried her all the way to the mansion. By no means was this an easy feat for someone the size of an ant. For him, the distance was like walking over 20 miles. By the time he arrived, it was very late into the night. Kyle entered what he once thought holy ground. The mansion was the domain of gods and goddesses. Humans brought there almost never returned so only rumor and myth described it. Like he figured, everything was ginormous, but the floors were not marble, the walls not gold, no jewels, no choirs. Just recognizable furniture. However, there was something. "So, you've never seen this before?" a massive voice asked. "We don't have television or on demand streaming back home" a much smaller voice replied. "HELP! Please help!" Kyle screamed. Nothing.

Kyle carried Mary to where the voices were and right up to the bottom of a sofa the size of a mountain. He could not see their faces with only partial light from the tv. Then two gigantic soles hovered over his head. They came down and Kyle shrieked. Fortune favored them all that night as instead on him and Mary becoming little stains, they survived as a giant big toe and second toe landed on either side. "Skylar? Did you hear something?" Hana asked. "No? Like what?" Skylar asked. "A man screaming" she replied. "The tv? We are watching The Grudge" the giantess shrugged. "No. Mute it please" Hana said. Skylar did. "There it is. It's coming from the floor" Hana said. Skylar looked down and gasped. "There's some tinies between my toes! What the hell..." she said using her fingernails plucking them up. "Why are you in the house? It's dangerous" Skylar said. "He's babbling something about help. Place him on the table" Hana said. Skylar did. Hana hopped down. "Slow down!" she shouted. Kyle collected himself and explained. "By the Kami! He's saying that he carried Mary here! Something about a job and then she began shaking!" Hana yelled. Skylar raced to wake Alicia and Selah.

"Oh my god. He's right mom. It's Mary" Selah said hopping down to look. Selah placed the ant sized Mary in her hand and Alicia quickly took her to one of the bedrooms. She placed her on the bed and very slowly grew her to human size for a better look. "I need to know exactly what happened. Ask him" Alicia ordered. Alicia began using healing spells but found out quickly that they had little to no effect. "Shit" she hissed as Selah returned with Kyle. "What happened to her?" Alicia said coldly. Kyle told Selah all he knew. "He's saying she came back from a job you sent her on and barely got out that Lilith was coming here...with a navy? Then she began convulsing. Mom what's he talking about when he says you sent Mary on a job?" she asked. "...I sent Mary to see if anything of Faith was still inside. There was so I kept sending her back to check on her and see what Lilith was up to. Mary must've found something out but was caught. Lilith...did something to her" Alicia replied. Selah grew incessantly pissed with Alicia and befriend she could say a word, Kyle asked her to put him next to Mary. "Sure" she said placing him beside his titanic girlfriend. "I need to make a call" Alicia muttered.

Alicia went to her room and quickly dialed Keith. "Hey. What's going on?" he asked. "I need your daughter to confirm something. Only her level of clairvoyance can do" Alicia said. There was a long pause on the phone. "Hey Alicia. What's up?" Hope asked. Alicia caught her breath hearing her voice. The same voice Faith had. "I got a warning that Lilith is coming my way with a navy. I need you to see if that's true" Alicia said. "That's a little too broad" she replied. "Focus on the northeast direction of my island. That's should narrow it down" Alicia said. Hope went silent. She could hear a faint crackling of static as her powers flared up. Hope sensed Alicia's location and began northeast from there. Further and further out she went until she spotted something. From her first vantage they looked like very tiny dots in the ocean until she zoomed closer. "Daddy. Help me out" Hope said sharing the vision. "Oh shit. Your warning pans out Alicia. You got a small fleet sailing your way. The American pacific fleet by the looks of it. 16 ships. A carrier, three battleships, cruisers, Aegis destroyers, and support vessels. Hmm...something else. Hope honey focus right there" Keith said. There was another pause. "She's with them. Alicia, she plans to wipe you off the map. I'm going to send Hope to back you up" he said. "No. She could use that to launch an attack on you. We already know she tried to nuke you. I wouldn't put anything past her. How far out is she?" Alicia asked. "At that speed, a day at most" Keith replied. "Understood. Thanks" she said. "Call if it gets too much even if it's a trap" he said. Alicia hung up the phone.

"When was you planning on telling us you sent Mary to spy?" Selah asked. "...it was a need-to-know basis" Alicia replied. "THAT'S BULLSHIT AND YOU KNOW IT!" Selah screamed stomping her tiny foot on the bed. "Mary said there was a traitor among us. Looks like she was right. How else would Lilith know our location" Alicia said. "And so you couldn't trust us?! For fucks sake Lucy rejected heaven to come back to us! Me and Skylar have been fighting tooth and nail to fix this fucked up world! And Hana? She chose to leave the only home she ever knew to be with Sky. I didn't believe it before, but you can be a nasty fucking person at times" Selah spat. "It wasn't that I couldn't trust you. It was possible the traitor could read minds. Faith's plan warned of the possibly that..."

"Don't you fucking dare use mom as an excuse. If we had known what you were doing, we could've used Hope to spy on her or God knows something else. Look at her. Can... can we do something about her" Selah asked reigning in her rage. "No. Her mind has been...overloaded. Burnt out for a better word. Magic can't fix a tattered mind" Alicia replied. "So, she's pretty much dead" Selah said. Kyle heard them and looked at the monolithic giantess and her smaller yet more frightening giantess daughter. "She's not dead" Alicia said. "Might as fucking well be" Selah said sniffling. Alicia bent down to console her by touching her hair. "Don't touch me" Selah spat hopping down on the floor and leaving the room. Alicia sat down on the bed next to Mary. She reached over to move Mary's hair out of her face when she noticed the bug sized Kyle glaring at her. "Sorry. Forgot you were here. I guess you heard all that" she said. Kyle shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was barely a squeak to her at his size. Alicia plucked him up and placed him in her hand.

Kyle's knees shook as a lifetime of indoctrination told him to submit. To prepare himself to live and die at her whim. He had no plans to submit to her that night. "You're trying to say something?" she asked bringing him up to her left ear. Kyle took it upon himself to leap off her hand right into her ear canal. His sore aching feet stepping on fine hairs and earwax. He turned to face the pitch-black tunnel and spoke. "Mary was right about you all. You're no goddesses. You're no fucking goddesses at all" he spat. Alicia was shocked a human from the city would say such a thing.  "No, we're not. We're just as mortal and fallible as you are. You should know that she's pregnant. I sensed it when I was trying to heal her" Alicia said softly. An ant sized man in her ear began weeping softly. Alicia took him from her ear and placed him on the pillow next to Mary. She sat there quietly until the sun rose.

She made her way to the kitchen to make coffee and found everyone there as if waiting for her to explain herself. After putting the coffee on, she turned to face them. "Is it true Alicia? Is it true you kept this from us?" Lucy asked. She looked at Selah who barely gave her a glance. "Yeah, it's true" she replied. Lucy grew to human size and slapped her. "I think you loosened some teeth" Alicia said spitting blood. Lucy in her anger forgot her own strength. "Now that you've drawn blood, we need to address the bigger problems. First of all, who is the traitor" Alicia said rubbing her cheek. "There are 50,000 people here Alicia. That's a lot of suspects" Theo said. "Then we narrow it down.  The only people with the power to leave the island by translocation are me and probably Selah. Since the vast majority of everyone else are shrunk, that leaves out conventional means" she said. "So our traitor is still here. That doesn't narrow it down" Theo said. "Well, the barrier acts like a cloaking spell to hide it from being found by magical means. It even acts like a perception spell, so planes and boats steer clear. The only way the traitor could help Lilith is by contacting her my magical means. It would take a decent caster to do that" she said.

"That narrows it down to about 68 people. 5 Class A mages, 15 Class B mages, 20 Class C mages, and then 28 Valkyries" Skylar said. "That we know of. Who knows how many talented mages might be in the city" Hana said. "She's got a point" Lucy said. "Could Lilith learn our location just by talking to someone? Even I don't know the GPS coordinates for this place" Skylar asked. "No, the barrier would still prevent that. It would be like talking to an echo in a dark room.  We're missing something. Has anyone noticed anything unusual in the last few weeks? Anything no matter how small. "Well. There was the time Skylar was nearly killed by a raindrop. That's unusual right?" Hana asked. "We never did find out exactly why that happened" Skylar said. "...no, we didn't but the barrier is fine" Alicia said looking out the window. "Is it?" Selah asked. "Watch my coffee" Alicia muttered as she walked out the door. Still in her nightgown, Alicia walked to the city. At the edge to the city, people were just beginning to go about their day when they saw their giantess standing before them. They did find it odd for her to be dressed in such a way, but they lined up to please her. They made their way to her sand covered bare feet until she looked down at them. "Not now. Go away" she commanded. The people obeyed, and although slightly dejected missing a chance to worship her huge feet, went about their business. 

Alicia quickly saw something was very wrong. "Shit" she muttered as she paced the city. For 15 minutes they could hear the giantess saying shit over and overlooking down until she stopped. "Goddammit!" Alicia yelled. She stomped back to the mansion. "Coffee is getting cold" Lucy said. "The arcanes. The goddamn arcanes that power the barrier have been wrecked! The barrier must be at most 25% effective right now. Our traitor has been slowly destroying them" she hissed. "I thought Faith said that there were hundreds of arcanes that made up the barrier" Skylar said. "Just under a thousand actually" Alicia said. "But that would mean over 600 have been destroyed. Why haven't we noticed that?" Selah asked. "It could be done with pinpoint precision. Still, that's a lot of work. We should've noticed if someone as walking around..."

"Greta. She's the one behind it. The other week I found her walking around which wasn't that odd, but I smelled around on her. Thought it was her feet but now I know what it was. It was ozone" Skylar said. "You sure?" Alicia asked. "I've fired off enough electrical magics in my time to know that smell. Goddammit I should've picked that up sooner" Skylar hissed. "In any event, we need to bring her in" Alicia said. "I'll do it. Valkyries are my responsibility" Skylar said standing. "And if she fights back?" Alicia asked. "Then I'll remind her why I'm her superior officer" Skylar said coldly. Skylar left the mansion and made her way to the dorms where the Valkyries lived.  She stood outside towering over the small structure until she shrunk down. She cast open the doors and walked in. She was well known obviously to them but in recent times had not spent much time with them. To see her walking the hall caused whispers. "Skylar, what brings you here?" a fellow Valkyrie asked passing her. "Where's Greta Agna?" she asked. "In her room as far as I know. Something wrong?" Agna asked. "There is" Skylar replied walking past her. Skylar came to Greta's door and opened it. "What do you want?" Greta asked coming out of a shower. "We need to ask you some questions. Come with me" Skylar replied. 

Greta nodded silently and dressed. A shirt, sweatpants, and sandals she put on and led the way out of the dorm. "What kind of questions?" she asked. "Security breach and you're a suspect" Skylar replied. Greta grew very nervous. "Such as?" she asked. "Someone betrayed us and weakened the barrier that protects us" Skylar replied. The air grew cold, very cold suddenly and a strange sound came from behind Skylar. Immediately she side stepped as an icicle missed the back of her neck. Greta turned around. "Invoke" she muttered transforming. "Hard way it is. Invoke" Skylar muttered. Both transformed into the white reinforced uniforms, both holding their swords. "Don't do this Greta. It will only end badly" Skylar warned. "Always with the arrogance!" Greta yelled attacking her. Skylar parried her blows with no hesitation for she knew if she faltered for a moment Greta would kill her. In the hierarchy of Valkyries, Skylar was the top commander, but Greta was just below her. They were damn near equal in terms of skills. Greta was quick with her sword, always training. Skylar focusing on spell casting and hand to hand. Though three inches and some change tall, their blows shook the air. Fortifying, lightning, and parries.

Skylar was blinded by a blast of cold air and pivoted left. Suddenly she was struck with a shrinking spell. "You always did favor your left" Greta chuckled snatching her up. The now bug sized Skylar stifled a yelp as Greta squeezed her cracking a rib. "When Lilith arrives, I'll be the commander and those who don't fall in line will die just like you. I'll have to hide in the city obviously until she gets here after I decimate it enough for the barrier to fall" she snickered. Skylar concentrated turning the sweat on her hands into two very fine icicles. She used the razor-sharp edges to slash her palm making Greta cry out. The pain making her drop her sword along with Skylar. Free, she quickly broke the shrinking spell and grew to human size. "You always did taunt too much. And you call me arrogant" Skylar said grabbing her. "Tables turned. Now do it" Greta spat at her. "Won't be that easy" Skylar said taking her back to the mansion.

When she returned, it was clear she was hurt. "Jesus Sky! You okay?" Selah asked. "Better than she is. She all but admitted it Alicia" Skylar said. "...take her to the room down below next to the basement" Alicia said quietly. Hours passed as Greta shivered naked in the cage she had been placed in. Skylar entered the room. "Figured you'd want some food and water" Skylar said dropping a shrunken sandwich and bottled water through the cage bars. "Come on out Greta. We need to talk" Skylar said opening her cage. Greta cautiously stepped out of the cage. "Why Greta? I know you chaffed living here but to sell us out to the Queen of Hell?" Skylar asked. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. Ever since Odin chose you, things came easy to you. Training, promotions, money, accolades. We can't all fuck our way to the top" Greta said devouring her food. "It wasn't like that. Odin didn't set his sights on me till I began to stand out by my own talent. I didn't sleep my way to the top, more accurate I was raped for my promotions. You have no idea what it was like being alone with him. I was 15 the first time he raped me. Barely a second lieutenant and haven't been assigned a mission yet. We were alone in a hotel room in Rio. He whispered sweet words in my ear. Rubbed my feet and told me how much he fancied me."

"Being a teen, I was elated my god took a liking to me. Then he took my clothes off and pinned me to the bed. He lined his dick up and shoved it right in. You care to guess what it's like to be raped by a god? Pain you can't imagine. My blood soaked the fucking sheets. Just this stabbing pain until my blood lubricated his cock enough to let it slide in easier. The smell, holy shit the smell. Ozone filled the fucking room and then the look in that one eye of his. A single rune burning in it. To this day I don't know what it was, but I'll never forget it. And then he came inside me. Like molten metal poured in your cunt. I couldn't walk right for a week. And by no means was it the last time. The better I got at my job, the worse it got. I wore boots to hide the bite marks on my toes. No bra because my nipples were swollen from being pulled. You once asked me how I got so good at healing magic. Well now you know why. And then I ended up pregnant" she said.

"You carried his child? You never told me that" Greta said. "Because he beat me till I miscarried. Beat me with his finger. Oh how he liked to shrink me when things got too boring for him" Skylar replied. "She promised me the right to rule" Greta said. "So you could torment tinies. Let's be honest here. You delighted in shrinking people and offing them. I know where your skeletons are buried just as much as you do mine" Skylar spat. Greta looked down at her little feet knowing she was right. "She lied to you Greta. She played you like a harp from hell and as we speak, she's sending a fleet of fucking warships to wipe us off the map" she said. "That can't be..."

"You know it's the truth. Greta, you broke my heart. Out of anyone here I was the one that had your back most of all. Nobody here can understand everything we went through. Not even our fellow sisters" Skylar said. As she did, the door opened, and Alicia stepped into the room. Skylar sighed and walked to the door. "Skylar please! PLEASE DON'T GO!" Greta yelled. Skylar looked at her and shook her head before leaving. Now it was just Alicia and Greta in the room. "So you're here to kill me?" Greta asked. "Sit down Greta. We need to have a conversation" Alicia said softly. Greta sat. "Did Skylar tell you a fleet is on its way here to destroy us?" she asked. Greta nodded. "And do you know you severely weakened the barrier?" she asked. Again, Greta nodded. "Normally at full strength, the barrier would be strong enough to shrug off a tactical nuclear weapon. But now? Now a heavy barrage could shatter it. Before I met Faith, I was a member of an organization plotting world domination. Sounds funny unless you knew who we were. Then not so funny. One of the things I had to learn was how to break nations. Find ways to destroy them if they misbehaved."

"There are two types of powerful people in the world. Those that use power and those that wield it. You see those that use power would say shrink a president and eat him. Or crush his White House or palace of whatever to make a country capitulate. And they would be fools. Those that wield power learn everything about their enemy and then methodically destroy any hope they have of resisting. Markus, the bastard that he was, was right when he said not everything is a nail to be hammered down. My point is I studied the American military and what it can do. The odds of us surviving such an onslaught are slim at best. Push comes to shove I'll evacuate my family. Who's left behind..." Alicia muttered. "You'd leave everyone here behind? Even the Valkyries?" Greta asked. "A little late to care or did not you not consider they wouldn't go with your plans? Even if I shrunk them down further, I doubt I could translocate so many so far. Your treason pretty much signed their death warrants" Alicia said. "Bullshit! You yourself spoke how powerful you are! You cast a spell over the planet with your voice!" Greta yelled.

"It's not as simple as you think. I come from two powerful bloodlines. The Alux and Lemurians. It makes me a very powerful Mage but at a cost. To cast spells, I mean really powerful shit your pants 

kind of spells I need...souls. When I used my power to trance the world, I used Hope as a kind of battery. I don't have that luxury right now" Alicia said. "...shit" Greta hissed. "Now that brings us to the subject of you. You sold us out and tried to kill Skylar. You were given a second chance and you fucked us over. I pronounce you guilty of treason and attempted murder. However, I'm going to give you the choice of punishment. Choice number one. You're forever stripped of your powers and shrunk to the size of the humans here. You will live the rest of your days a weak powerless human the size of an ant. That's assuming you all survive tomorrow. Choice number two. Feed yourself to me body and soul and I can use that to put up a decent fighting chance and maybe, maybe save your sisters" Alicia said coldly. "You can't be...

"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I AM FUCKING JOKING?!" Alicia yelled paining Greta's ears. "You got 24 to decide" Alicia said looking at her phone before leaving. Greta knew she was beyond screwed as Alicia didn't even bother putting her back in the cage. She didn't know what to do. Maybe survive tomorrow and live as a teeny, little normal human for the rest of her life, or give up her life, her very soul to try to make it right. "I never should've summoned her..." Greta muttered softly. 

Alicia returned upstairs to the living room. "So what happens to her?" Skylar sniffled. "That's up to her and I'll discuss that later. We got other concerns. We need to prepare for this assault. Lucy, Theo, I need you both to begin evacuations. Have the people move to the southwest part of the city.  Then we'll deal with the overflow here. Hana, look after the babies. Skylar, you're in charge of getting the Valkyries in order. It's been a while since they saw combat I'm betting. Selah...where's Selah?" Alicia asked. "She was walking towards the city" Skylar said. "Is it possible to fix the barrier in time?" Hana asked. "No. It would take weeks to fix it completely and we got 24 hours before they get here" she replied. "Then that settles that. Come on Theo" Lucy said to her husband. Alicia followed the tiny couple outside and walked with them very slowly. She was thinking about what was to come but also what to say to Selah. Eventually she found her where she expected to.

"Mind if I join you?" Alicia asked towering over her. "It's a free island" Selah shrugged. Alicia sat down and stretched out her legs on either side of the girl. "This is my favorite spot too. You can see the entire city" Alicia said softly. Selah said nothing. "Are there any other secrets you haven't shared?" Selah asked. "A few. One big one" Alicia replied. Selah looked up at the giantess. "You know how Faith made a Plan B right?" Alicia asked. Selah nodded. "She made a Plan C too. Me and Skylar acquired a very powerful artifact that can be used for mass destruction" she said. "...you shitting me? And you told nobody else this?" Selah asked angry. "Would you be eager to tell anyone you had a device that could end the world if misused? Faith told me this thing nearly destroyed the planet where she came from" she said. "What is it?" Selah asked. "An ancient artifact that can bend space creating portals. It's called the Eye of the World" she replied. "Like translocation?" Selah asked. "Similar but thousands of times more powerful. Imagine sticking your hand through a portal and crushing an entire city on the other side" she said. Selah's eyes grew wide. "Nobody should have that kind of power, especially me" she said.

"But you got us" Selah said. Alicia was quiet for a moment as he picked the girl up and placed her in her hand. She gently stroked her body with her thumb. "Selah, as you're just beginning to learn, doing what is necessary isn't always going to be easy. Hell, some you care about may hate you for doing it. But in the end, doing what is necessary is better than not doing it at all. You can have people help you along but, in the end, it's you that has to make the call and live with the consequences" Alicia said to her. "Is this the final battle?" Selah asked. "I don't know" Alicia replied. "What's our odds of winning?" Selah asked. "Lilith has lost all her major friends. She'll probably lead the attack. What that much going on...the odds are slim at best even with your strength" Alicia replied. "Thanks for not lying to me" Selah muttered. "Trying not to rack up any more sins in case I..." Alicia was saying before she choked back tears. "We're going to survive this! Now cheer up!" Selah shouted stamping her foot in her palm. "Yes ma'am" Alicia chuckled. "Keep tonight open. In the meantime, I have to do some things" Selah said hopping off her hand. "Like what?" Alicia asked curious. "Personal stuff" Selah huffed. "...okay. If you say so" Alicia said watching her walk away.

Alicia walked to the Mage dorms to go over a plan of defense and saw Selah disappear into the city.

Now to say Selah was different person than who she was two months ago is an understatement. A 12-year-old orphan girl suffering from PTSD who could barely cast a single spell was now a 13-year-old girl, with a 16-year-old body, with the maturity of a battle-hardened Norse warrior. Any other girl her age would be concerned with a boy crush and what color to paint her nails next. Right now, she was concerned with where to find a nice beer. Hearing that she could be dead this time tomorrow put things in perspectives for her. The question being asked was if you had 24 hours to live, what would you do? Well, Selah's answer was a little interesting. Selah was raised in a society that the tinies worshipped the bigger class. That was the number one rule and a rule even now people refused to break. Other than that, just common-sense rules like no rape or murder directed their lives. Now depending on their families, cultural rules came into play. Growing up Kabbalist, Selah was forbidden from doing certain things namely what to eat and drink. At that moment, the girl said fuck it and walked around the city looking for a nice eatery that served beer.

Selah found such a place by smell and entered. She was given a booth and a menu. "Bacon cheeseburger and a tall gold ale please" she said. A big taboo for Selah but she didn't care at the moment. The order was up, and she bit into the burger. "Holy fucking shit. It's like a coke party in my mouth and Pablo Escobar was invited" she thought savoring the juicy meat, creamy cheese, and perfectly soft and crunchy bacon. And then she took a swig of her beer. "Bitter but not bad" she thought as she kept eating. It gave the girl a slight thrill not eating kosher. Once she was done eating, she went to the next thing on her bucket list. Selah didn't have to look far as a teenage boy sitting with an older man, his father most likely, had been looking at her for a while. She motioned for him to come to her booth. The boy took the bait and came over. "You've been watching me since I came in here. Like what you see?" Selah asked. "Well, you're very pretty" the boy stammered. Selah gave him a look over now he was sitting in front of her. 15 maybe 16 years of age, black hair and green eyes. A skin tone indicating some European and middle eastern heritage. Not unusual in the mixing bowl gene pool of the city. "What's your name cutie?" she asked. "Elliot" he replied. "You ever been with a girl before?" she asked. "No, I haven't" he blushed. "A virgin? So am I" she said softly rubbing her bare leg against his.

"Elliot? Would you want to fuck me?" she asked. The boy was speechless. "Forget I asked" Selah said looking away as she stood up. "Wait" he said holding her hand. Elliot pulled her closer. "I... I do" he croaked. Selah felt horrible using him to satisfy an urge. He seemed almost too innocent. "Walk with me" she said leading him out. His father chuckled as they left. Selah roamed the city for three hours listening to him talk. He was indeed 15 years old, had two siblings, and was a Muslim more or less. He joked they were Muslim only when it suited his family. Selah never gave it much thought but the society they lived in was more complicated than she believed. Although anyone could worship however they wanted, some things just didn't carry over. Dealing with the opposite sex was maybe the biggest. No taboos about premarital sex or children. Nobody gave a shit about underage drinking or smoking. If anything, it was unusual for Elliot to be a virgin at his age. Selah chalked that up to him being shy. However, he didn't seem shy right then. "Have you ever wished you were a giant like the others?" she asked. "Once or twice but that's a right reserved for gods and goddesses" he replied. "Take off your shoes and socks" she said abruptly. He was going to ask why until he saw her doing the same. "Good. Now close your eyes" she said. Elliot did and felt a strange vibration in his body.

"Now open them" she said. He did and gasped as he now towered over the buildings he was standing in front of. At 3 1/2 inches tall he was not exactly a titan but was a giant to the other humans. He went to bow but she caught him. "No. I wanted to see a different reaction" she said. Selah led him down the street as Elliot worried, he would step on someone. "It does take a little getting used to. Just don't flatten someone under those big feet of yours" she snickered. She had him sit down near a large park on the west side of the city. "You're looking at me differently. Why?" she asked. "Because you can do magic and I cannot. I am beneath you" he replied. "No. If anything, I'm beneath you. I chose you because I wanted to have sex before I die. I didn't even consider your feelings" she said. "You're dying?" he asked. "A great evil is approaching, and I don't know if I can win against it. Don't know if anyone here will survive it. Look out there. See those two? They're evacuating the northeast part of the city" she said pointing to Lucy and Theo. "I'm terrified of what's coming! I'm trying to hide it, but I can't..."

Elliot kissed her. He held her hands. Selah cried into his shoulder and he held her close and then he looked into her eyes. "I still want to have sex with you but not just that" he said softly. Selah tore off his clothing and then hers. She straddled him and lowered herself onto his shaft. With a slight yelp, she broke her hymen and slid all the way down. "You alright?" he asked. She nodded softly. For the people in the area, it had been some time since they had seen anyone of giant stature fuck openly. They began to gather around them as if to cheer their union. The old ways were still in effect as some of the crowd stepped forth to...help things along. They flocked to their feet worshipping and cleaning them. They climbed on top of Elliot's chest to stimulate his nipples and to fuck themselves. A young couple chose the moment to conceive a child of their own and the male began to pound his wife above the rapidly beating heart of the giant. Selah could see this and began to pound her pussy down on him harder and harder. Instinct mixed with wanton abandon filled her hormone flooded brain as she seized one pretty girl fingering herself with her lips and slurped her into her mouth.

Rolling her around savoring her sweet and salty flavor was just the thing to send her over the edge. Selah came hard making the boy grimace as her pussy squeezed him even harder. Elliot gritted his teeth and came deep within her. Her greedy cunt milking him for every drop of seed. Thankfully, she had enough sense left not to swallow the girl in her mouth alive. She spat her out onto his chest after leaning down. She petted the exhausted couple and swiped her fingertip over his wife's pussy before licking it clean of juices and cum. The show was over, their work done, and they won't about their lives leaving the giant couple in post coital bliss. "That's one way to spend the day" Lucy thought seeing them. "Was it everything you hoped for?" Selah asked. Elliot placed his hand over her breast and made the girl shiver. "Round two?" she snickered. Elliot wasn't laughing as his hand moved and rested over her heart. The look he gave her made Selah stop trying to make everything a joke. She knew what that look was as her father gave it to her mother on many occasions. She had stolen his heart. "Elliot. You told me everything about yourself. It's only right you know everything about me. Everything" she muttered. Still naked, Selah told him everything. About Faith, about her powers, about the world, and especially what was coming. And by the time she was done, the sun had begun to set. 

"You can still go back to your normal life. A normal girl could be waiting for you. None of the hang ups. Well, if you survive" she said. "You mean we. Stop saying if I. And I don't want any other girl. I want you" he said seriously. "Elliot, you've known me for like 6 hours" she said. "And I want to know you for a lot longer" he said. "This is crazy. This is stark raving mad. If I had chosen anyone else..." Selah muttered. "But you didn't. Sometimes God places us where we need to be" he said. "If you were me and seen the things I've seen, you'd be questioning your faith. Is there a God? The way we picture him? Or is it like the others an invention of our collective beliefs" she asked. "Shrink me down" he said suddenly. "Why?" she asked. "I want to prove a point" he replied. Selah shrunk him back down to his normal ant size. "Right now. This very moment you can kill me, right?" he asked. "Yeah but..."

"You have the power of life and death over me. You can spare my life or crush me flat under your big toe. True?" he asked. "True" she replied. "And you existed before we met right? Walked this city before where you could've ended my life without us meeting. Now, that doesn't mean you're not real, does it? Just because we hadn't met didn't mean you didn't exist or what you could do or not do. From my perspective you're an all-powerful goddess whether we met each other or not" he said. Selah remained quiet. "Just because we cannot see something, doesn't mean it's not real. And what does it matter the origin? It is not where we come from that matters, it's what we do that does" he said. "...you sure you're 15?" she asked smirking.

Later that evening...

"We got a guest" Selah said entering the mansion. "Just in time for...a guest?" Alicia asked. "His name is Elliot. Be nice" Selah said. Alicia looked at the shrunken boy sitting on her shoulder. "Ni...nice to meet you" he stammered at the giantess he halfway still considered a goddess. "Likewise. How did you two meet?" Alicia asked. Elliot didn't answer. "At a restaurant" Selah replied. "I see. Well dinner is ready so sit at the table" she said. Selah sat down and placed Elliot on the table. Lucy joined them moments later sitting next to Selah. "Where's everyone else?" Selah asked. "Skylar is still with the Valkyries, Theo is packing bags, and Hana is doing a dead count of the amount of people we need to move into the house" Alicia said. "More people are coming to this blessed place?" Elliot asked. "Yeah" Alicia said softly. "So, this is the first time Selah brought someone home with her" Lucy said. "They met at a restaurant" Alicia said. "Is that so?" Lucy asked. "Yes, and then we went walking and sightseeing" Selah said. "Is that so?" Lucy asked grinning. "Yes that's so!" Selah yelled slamming her fork into her chicken breast. "Well, as long as you both are responsible" Lucy said. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Selah asked. "I mean under the same circumstances I'd have done the same" Lucy said. "What are you saying Lucy?" Alicia asked. "Forget it" Lucy said taking a drink. "No, you put it out there" Selah said angrily. "Just that his scent is all over you and your own scent has changed" she replied. "You two...had sex?" Alicia asked. "And if we did?" Selah asked. Alicia dropped her fork and massaged her forehead. "I do care about her" Elliot said. "You don't know a goddamn thing after one day with her. Really Selah?" Alicia asked.  "Yeah really because if I'm dying tomorrow, my ass ain't dying a virgin. We had sex and if felt fucking awesome when he came inside me. Pass the goddamn pepper" Selah spat. Lucy scooted the pepper to her. "I just wanted your first time to be...under better circumstances" Alicia sighed. "Well, we don't always get what we want, and Elliot is a nice guy. I don't need you clucking your tongue" she said. "Please...can we not argue on the last possible night we have together?" Alicia asked. Selah was about to say something smart until she saw Alicia's hand shaking.

Selah sat on her bed and took a deep breath. Dinner was nerve wracking. Saying goodbye to Hana, Theo, and the kids was worse. Lucy refused to leave and put herself in charge of guarding the people. By Hana's count, there was an overflow of nearly 4,000 people. Lucy would have her hands full moving that many even if they were insect size. "Come with me" she said suddenly to Elliot who was sitting beside her. She carried him to the bathroom and ran water in the tub. He let himself be stripped by her and carried into the water. He was a giant among his people but still the tub was bigger than an Olympic swimming pool. He had to rest on her tummy. "Comfortable?" she asked grinning as she poked his stomach. "It's soft" he replied. "She had a point. I was reckless today. I even let you cum inside me" she muttered. Elliot stood up and walked up her chest right to her tits. "Because I wanted too. It was mutual" he said to her. "And if I survive? If I get pregnant?" she asked. "I'm not seeing the downside here" he said sitting roughly on top of her left breast. His small hands began massaging her nipple. 

"It... it's a lot to take in Elliot" she said raising her foot out of the water to look at her toes. "No kidding. I fucked a goddess, came inside her, and was invited to spend a night in paradise" he chuckled. "I told you I'm not a goddess" she said. "Oh yes you are" he said seriously. Selah got out of the tub and fried both of them off before heading to her bed. She sat naked cross legged before him. Elliot walked up to her and rubbed his hand across her big toenail. "Funny how life goes. I used to be just like you. A tiny ant sized human living in a shrunken city. I grew up worshipping the giantesses. Seen people I know eaten, drowned in pussy, or crushed underfoot. I survived that attack a few months ago. Was taken in by women I considered goddesses. And here I am now full circle worshiped as a goddess" she said softly. Elliot's hand rubbed the space between her toes. "If you survive, if you win this whatever this thing is, will I have a place in your life?" he asked. Selah uncrossed her legs revealing her pussy.

"I'm pretty sure you will. But for now..." she replied gripping him and pushing him feet first inside her. Selah pushed and pulled him inside and our faster and faster and as she did, the emotions she bottled up came pouring out. With a pitiful whimper she came sucking him in deep. Elliot felt the heat of her insides till the point he was sweating. Dark, wet, sticky, and pulsing. Then suddenly nothing. Her orgasm came and went and yet she was still quivering. Elliot pulled himself out of her to find her face buried in her hands sobbing. "Selah?" he asked wiping her juices out of his eyes. "I don't want to kill my mommy" she sobbed. "Selah, I saw people turned into monsters when that pale giant thing attacked. If your mom is a slave like they were, death is a kindness" he said. "You don't understand. I already lost a mom" she sniffled. "You told me. What would she want you to do?" he asked. "Kill her but..."

"And if you don't?" he asked. "We die" she replied. "Then you have to ask yourself which burden is lighter" he said. "That's too simplistic!" she yelled. "Do what your name means. Pause and reflect" he said. "You know Hebrew?" she asked. "My mother was Jewish. I grew up speaking Hebrew, English, and Farsi" he replied smiling. "I'm not saying it's an easy choice. What I'm saying is you have to make one and whatever choice you make will decide if there will be people left to help you grieve" he said softly. The quietness in the room so profound one could hear a pin drop except there was one sound. "You hear that?" Selah asked. Selah got off the bed and walked to her door. She opened it and on the floor was Lucy sitting crying. "Lucy?" Selah asked picking her up. "I heard you crying and came to check on you and I overheard" she sniffled. Selah carried her into her room.

"I was thinking about it too. Faith has been a sister to me. I don't want her to die" Lucy said. Selah placed her on the bed. "Neither do I but Elliot has a point. You told me how Ishtar controlled you. Remember how that felt?" Selah asked. Lucy nodded. "Death is better than that isn't it?" Selah asked. "Absolutely" Lucy replied. "...if such a thing happened again. I'd want someone to kill me before I hurt someone I loved" Lucy muttered. "I would too" Selah said. "Hmm. I'm in the way apparently" Lucy said seeing them both naked. "We were uhh...just finishing up. Since Theo and the kids are gone, you want to sleep in here?" Selah asked. "Can I?" Lucy asked. Selah laid down on the bed and placed Lucy between her breasts. "I know borrowers can be a little clingy when stressed" Selah chuckled. Lucy blushed but didn't object. Selah cut the light off and they bedded down for the night. Quietly, Selah petted the small borrower girl from the top of her head to the soles of her little feet. Lucy felt the giantess heart beat slowly. She was afraid of losing her, losing everyone and prayed that this night wouldn't be the last she'd see of them.

When Selah awoke, Lucy was no longer wedged between her tits. She looked at the clock. "7:45. Time to get this day started" she muttered. Elliot was still asleep as she showered and dressed. "Hey little guy. Time to wake up" she said nudging him. Elliot yawned and stretched. "Morning sunshine" she smiled. "Go take a piss and wash up smooth talker" she said. Elliot freshened up and found her quietly waiting. With little word, she carried him downstairs to the kitchen. "So, they're ready?" Alicia asked. "I wouldn't call it ready, but they're psyched up" Skylar said. "Lucy?" Alicia asked turning to her. The last box of humans is sitting in that vault of yours. A few were injured during moving but no fatalities" Lucy replied. "Morning" Selah said. "Morning kiddo. Ready to kick some ass?" Skylar said ruffling her hair. "Ready and willing" Selah replied grinning. "Okay you two. Eat up. Can't win a battle on an empty stomach. Speaking of which..." she muttered heading to the basement steps. "Times up" Skylar muttered. "Yeah. Times up" Alicia said to her.

Alicia walked down the steps and into the room that held Greta. Alicia had given her a full 24 hours to decide her fate. Greta was startled awake as Alicia sat down in a chair in front of the table she was on. "Eat me! Just fucking eat me!" she spat at the giantess. "You think this gives me pleasure? That I consider this justice? This is nearly as bad for me as it is you. I'm going to relapse today. A year of sobriety gone. Killing a shrunken human sobriety. I see so much of me in you Greta. Trying to fill that void with sadism, cruelty, and sheer lust of power. My first kill that I did for my own pleasures was in Mexico City. A 13-year-old girl came to my dressing room to meet her idol. Once my handlers were far enough away from my door, I shrank her and then ate her alive. I can still remember her pleading to me, then to God to save her. How she tasted, how she wriggled down my throat. How long she took to die is forever burned into my memory. And when I did it, it felt like a shot of heroin. And then came another, and another, and another to get that high. That's how you felt when you did it didn't you?" she asked. Greta looked down at her feet.

"You don't have to say yes. Our kind knows one another. We all tried to help you Greta, especially me, Faith, and Skylar, but some people just can't be saved. So don't get the wrong idea that I get off on this. You're heroin to me now. Time to shoot up" Alicia said softly as she plucked Greta off the table. Alicia placed the whimpering girl into her mouth headfirst and slowly slurped her in. Alicia clinched her fist as her Alux blood afforded her the ability to literally taste her fear. Sweet and spicy would be how she would describe such a thing. She didn't molest her with her tongue even though she was sorely tempted as she felt her crotch rub her tongue. Greta couldn't help but moan slightly as giant taste buds stimulated her clit. "Don't get wet!" both pleaded. Alicia drew her in more until just the soles of her tiny feet were visible from between her lips. Then she was all the way in. Salty from sweat. Sweet from youth. Spicy from fear. Supple from years of training and exercise. Alicia could feel her heart pounding as she worked up enough saliva to gulp her down. Greta let out a pitiful cry as she felt her body beginning to side down her throat. Alicia felt her slip down and the crying bulge disappeared past her collarbone. Greta landed in a pool of gastric juice. She wanted to scream as she felt her skin itching but the last vestige of her pride put a stop to that.

Alicia had not eaten since last night and her stomach welcomed nourishment even if it was the shrunken human girl variety. In pitch darkness, Greta could hear a giant heartbeat racing, the shlorp sound of stomach walls churning out stomach acids. Within moments, the itching turned to burning. Greta lost her footing and feel face first into the acids. Then she screamed but the sound was a hideous gurgle and rasp as her mouth and lungs were singed. The pain became unbearable, and her final thought was how many she sentenced to die the same way she would. One would be curious to know if she felt any remorse or guilt in those last moments. Maybe she did or maybe her anguish as she was digested alive clouded such feelings. Nobody would ever know but one thing was certain, Alicia did give her death purpose. Alicia let a single tear fall from her eyes feeling her body absorb Greta's soul. She had returned to what she swore she would never become again. Something she dreaded so much she kept a loaded gun in her nightstand to use on herself if she ever fell back into darkness. Alicia embraced her Alux blood fully so her loved ones would have a fighting chance, but the rationalization gave her no peace. She returned upstairs.

"Saved you some breakfast" Selah asked. "Thanks, but I lost my appetite. Skylar, where you're done assemble the Valkyries on the northeast beach. Selah you bring the mages. Lucy, take Mary and I guess his name is Kyle, and stand by in the vault" she said. "Should I do anything?" Elliot asked softly. Alicia had not even noticed him there. "Elliot was it? Why don't you help Lucy" she said. He solemnly nodded. Alicia walked out of the mansion. "Did something happen down there?" Selah asked. "Yeah. Our Greta problem was just solved" Skylar replied getting up.

20 minutes later...

"I see you" Alicia muttered as her clairvoyance locked on to the fleet sailing her way and especially Lilith. "Any change?" Skylar asked. "She's leading the attack as we suspected. Hell, she's a 100 ft. tall and sunning herself naked on top of a goddamn aircraft carrier" Alicia replied. "That's bold. She must know we can see her at this range" Selah said. " She knows. Don't let her psych you out. Valkyries at attention!" Alicia yelled. The shrunken Valkyries stood at attention before the giantesses. "You've been told what's coming. You've been told what they're capable of. I'm not going to tell you not to be afraid. Shit I'm afraid myself. Bravery doesn't mean not to be afraid. Bravery is being afraid and still doing what must be done. When you came here you were all sycophants to an uncaring God. Now, you're your own person. I have seen you rebuild this place from those who did it harm. I have seen compassion when not demanded of you. I've seen restraint, and I have seen in some of you take lovers of the people here. This island is just as much your home as it is mine! Will you let some jealous bitch take that from you?!" Alicia shouted. "NO MA'AM!" they yelled in unison. "Then join hands each one of you and accept your chance to defend the place you call home" Alicia told them. One by one they did, and Alicia held out her hand. An arcane array danced around her hand before magical energy touched each one. They began to grow slowly until each one was human sized. "The punishment shrinking curse has now been lifted. You've earned it" Alicia said softly. 

"Adet" she muttered summoning her artifact. "I've never seen it before" Skylar muttered. "It's an ancient artifact called the Siren's Bangle. It's linked by blood and birthright to me" Alicia said. "What can it do?" Skylar asked. "It's an amplifier of magics. As you know, I am an Alux and my magics are cast by song...at a price" she said. "Price?" Skylar asked. "Normally I don't have to pay it due to my Lemurian blood but for sustained wide effect spells in need a lot more. I don't have Hope to help me this time, so I have to go the old school route. Eat a human and absorb their soul" Alicia said softly. She looked down at the sand. "How effective is it?" Skylar asked. "My spells can literally move at the speed of sound and the power boost can effect hundreds at a time. So very effective" Alicia said. "Sounds worth it especially for the right reasons" Selah said touching her shoulder. "...thank you" she muttered. "Time to get this show on the road" Selah said summoning her driver. "HERO DRIVER ON"

"Be As Gods" Selah said squeezing the driver. "Like a Valkyrie deciding the fate of battle. Brynhildr takes the field. Presented by Sony" it said as she transformed. Selah surprised them as she walked right into the ocean up to her neck. Then summoning the titan powers gifted to her, she grew to an enormous 300 ft. tall. "Holy shit kid" Skylar said. "This isn't hurting you or anything?!" Alicia yelled up. "Not at all. Now let's take a better look at our enemy. Huninn, Muninn. Come forth" she said summoning her ravens but due to her size, they were far, far larger than normal. She held out her hand and they flew off quickly. "Don't you think she's going to notice two 30 ft. long ravens?" Alicia asked. "Let her" Selah said coldly. 

Lilith was sunning herself on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan as a throng of zealot worshippers rubbed her naked giant body. The elevator operators rubbing her toes. Damage control officers rubbing her arms and legs. A petty officer with the dubious luck of rubbing his naked body on her right nipple. With little ceremony, she pushed him into her mouth and chewed. Nobody stopped their duties as one of their own was crushed and mulched by her teeth onto pulp and swallowed. He wasn't the first as she had dined on sailors the entire trip. From the time they left port in Hawaii to the time they were nearing striking range, she had consumed 47 sailors and fucked another 19 to death. She was barely sated from him and as she looked to find another, general quarters went off. Lilith stood up; the still deck groaned as it was not designed to withstand the weight of her the way it was. She shrank down and put her clothes on before making her way to the bridge. "Are we in attack range yet?" she asked. "Nearly. Radar has picked up two airborne hits coming our way. Officer?" the admiral asked. "Confirmed. Two reflections. Both 30 ft. long with a wingspan of 60 ft. Closing in at 450 knots" he replied. "Indonesian?" the admiral asked. "Unlikely sir. Their MIG's don't look like this" he replied. "Scramble two Hornets" he ordered.

Within minutes, two Super Hornets catapulted off the deck and went full afterburn to their targets. "Alpha 1 here. Targets have veered off into a loitering pattern. Closing in" the lead pilot said. Selah cocked her head as through her ravens, she could see the jets incoming. Normally, she would hesitate, but they were all considered enemy combatants. With a thought, she willed them to attack. "A BIRD! TWO GIANT BIRDS!" Alpha 1 yelled. "Alpha 2 here! I can't get an infrared lock! It has no heat. Break break!" Alpha 2 yelled. The jets broke formation and circled to get a firing solution. Huninn and Muninn broke away flapping its wings as an air brake and then flapped hard accelerating. They easily caught up to the jets as they weren't encumbered by G forces or ungiving metal. Huninn grabbed the Hornet and with its beak tore the canopy wide open. With no ceremony, the bird tore the pilot clean out and devoured him. Then it let go letting the jet tumble out of the sky. "ALPHA 1! It just tore Alpha 1 out and ate him!" Alpha 2 yelled. It turned hard and opened fire with its 30 mm cannons. The rounds did absolutely nothing. "Radar lock! Fox 2!" he yelled firing a missile. To his horror, just before the missile hit Huninn, Muninn caught it with its beak and flung it aside. The pilot dove for the sea gaining speed and turned hard left. His suit inflated as G forces pushed past 8. He struggled for another line of fire until there was a blur of black feathers. Muninn's talons tore through him like paper. The jet exploded instantly.

"What just happened?" Skylar asked as they saw an explosion in the far distance. "Two jets tried to take on my ravens. It's didn't end well for them" Selah said coldly. "First shot has been fired" Alicia said softly. Lilith peered ahead using clairvoyance not letting her arrogance make her look a fool a second time. "Fool. You can't sustain that size for long. Admiral. Don't you carry nuclear weapons in this fleet?" she asked. "Two nuclear tipped cruise missiles" he replied. "Launch one now" she commanded. They all looked at her. "I SAID NOW!" she barked. "This the Ronald Reagan to the Antietam. Launch nuclear cruise missile at the primary target" he ordered. Minutes later. A nuclear cruise missile launched from the cruiser. It zipped right by Selah's ravens. "Incoming missile" Selah said. "Just one? Oh my god.... SHOOT IT DOWN NOW!" Alicia yelled. Selah raised her sword above her head and fired off a bolt of lightning. It struck the missile and its motor burned out. It glided into the ocean barely a mile from them. "Only one reason they would fire only one missile. It was a nuke. She's trying to end this early" Alicia hissed.

"Telemetry failed! A bolt of lightning fused the guidance. Safeties kicked in" the fire control officer said. "Then fire the other one! Without your blasted safeties!" Lilith yelled. "If it happens again at that range, we'll be caught in the blast too!" the admiral said. Lilith wanted to kill him and fire it herself for his objection, but she was wary enough to heed his warning. It was iffy her body could withstand a nuclear blast and if not, she would lose a very valuable vessel. Bodies like Faith weren't very common after all. "Proceed on target. I want that island flattened" she ordered. "By your command. Order up attack wings! I want them on the deck for launch. As soon as the ships are in range, have them bombard the target with cannon!" he ordered. Within 10 minutes, 24 Super Hornets were screaming towards the island. Huninn and Muninn were blown out of the sky but managed to down four jets. "Alicia, we got a lot of jets coming our way. Whatever you got planned, time to do it" Selah said as her magics darkened the skies. Thunder rumbled overhead. "So you sing right? Got a good song?" Skylar asked. "One my dad used to sing when he washed the car. On oldie but a goodie" she said smiling. Alicia took a breath; a beat filled the air...

"Your love is lifting me higher. Your love, lifted me higher. Than I've ever been lifted before. So keep it up! Quench my desire and I'll be at your side forever more"

As her tribute to Jackie Wilson's Higher and Higher filled their ears, her magics took hold. The Valkyries felt a warmth in their hearts as their bodies grew and fortified. "Oh yeah!" Skylar said as her own body grew. The mages smiled smugly as their magics supercharged. Within moments, Alicia's army stood 50 ft. tall, 10 times physically stronger and more durable, and five times more magically gifted. The beat grew stronger. Percussion and bass intensified their tempo. Lightning began to rain down on the jets. "Dammit. It's not enough" Selah hissed finding out a Super Hornet's avionics were far more durable than a cruise missile's. "If lightning won't cut it..." she muttered as the air grew cold. "Crap it got cold!" Skylar yelled as the wind whipped around them. "Prepare to fire!" Beta 1 ordered holding the lead. A bolt of lightning struck his fighter shaking it. Confident, he forested the button switching ordinance. Suddenly, his plane was pelted with hail. Golf ball and then baseball sized hail stones battered the jet. Warnings blared as his engines cut out. His canopy shattered and killed as a hail stone hit him with the force of 600 mph. "Beta 2 taking lead!" one shouted throttling up. Four more fighters were knocked out of the sky. More damaged but they kept coming. "GIANTESSES! A whole row of giantesses!" someone yelled. "Cut the chatter and lock up them up! Fire Mavericks! FIRE!" Beta 2 ordered.

The first line fired air to ground missiles right at Skylar and the others. The second line targeting Selah. Selah swung her sword unleashing a torrent of lighting obliterating the first volley of missiles and Bravo flight. The second volley went past her. "Valkyries!" Skylar ordered. The Valkyries fired off lighting destroying the second volley. The explosions shaking their bodies. Charlie flight cut through the smoke and opened fire with their 30 mm cannons strafing those below.

"You know your love (your love keeps lifting me). Keep on lifting (love keeps lifting me). Higher. Higher and higher! I said your love (your love keeps lifting me). Keep on. Lifting me. Higher and Higher! "

Alicia pushed herself harder as their barrier wilted under the cannon fire. Charlie flight pulled up and turned right. The mages relaxed their defenses as the Valkyries took over firing their lightning on individual targets. Concentrated extended strikes detonated their munitions obliterating them. Their debris rained down on the city barrier.  "Charlie fight is down!" the radar operator said. "Launch more" Lilith growled. "We can't in this shit" the admiral said as hail still continued to fall.  "Can your ships fire their guns yet?" Lilith asked. The admiral looked at the GPS. "In another 7 minutes" he replied. "Your ships have regular missiles, right? Fire those. All of them" she said coldly. The admiral relayed the orders to all ships. Moments later, 42 hypersonic cruise missiles were screaming towards the island. Selah could see the cones of burning air around the missiles as they tore through the sky. One, and then another exploded hitting a hailstone at Mach 5. Selah readied herself boosting her reflexes, speed, and strength with lightning magics. Then she swung. A cluster of explosions but she had only gotten 15 of them. "SHIELDMAIDEN!" she yelled a half second before the remaining 20 bore down on her. The blast was deafening throwing Selah clean into the air and crashing hard into the sea. A small tidal wave swept the beachhead. "SELAH!" Alicia yelled pausing her song. "GET DOWN!" Skylar said cupping the small woman on closed hands as three missiles that missed Selah zipped by exploding against the barrier.

The shockwave was extremely powerful causing the barrier to violently flicker. They had been thrown off their feet, but some were less fortunate. Skylar stumbled to her feet to see three Valkyries and 7 mages dead from shrapnel. Skylar felt the pain in her back shoulder and reached around. She felt a piece of metal sticking in it and yanked it out. "Skylar?" Alicia asked dazed. "We took our first casualties boss" Skylar said looking at the metal with the word NAVY stained by her blood on it. "Selah..." Alicia said. Selah staggered to her feet. "That hurt..." she growled. "She's a tough cookie" Skylar told her. Selah shrugged off the ringing in her ears and focused her eyes forward. She knew they had taken casualties. She could smell the smoke and blood. She could feel death had touched the island as was her power. But she knew the enemy would not let them regroup. And sure enough she was right as her eyes saw a human shaped figure dressed in red wading right towards her.

Lilith saw that her attack had finally drawn blood and knocked Selah on her ass. Thinking it was the best time to press on, she leaped overboard, grew to 300 ft. tall to match Selah, and marched forward. She didn't run. No, she wanted a psychological impact. Let her enemy see what was coming for them and rue on it. Lilith summoned her sword, and the tip touched the ocean making it boil around her. Selah saw her hail meant goddamn nothing now and called it off. Better to save her focus on other matters. As the wind and lightning raged overhead, Lilith gained ground until she was close enough to address Selah. "Well if it isn't the bothersome Jew. Seems like you got a nice upgrade, but it's still linked to Odin. I can fix that" Lilith said holding out her hand. Selah stood there quietly as Lilith struggled to sever her power. "My connection is far too deep for the likes of you to break usurper" Selah said coldly. "You think you can win this?! Faith barely beat me and now I have her body, her power, and the adulation of the world to feed off of!" Lilith yelled laughing. "And yet you posture and crow like a common bird fighting for breadcrumbs" Selah sneered. Lilith fired off a massive fire blast causing an explosion of steam. "LIGHTNING BREAKER" a voice said. The steam cleared revealing Selah unharmed grinning. "You may have my mother's powers, but I have gathered some of my own. If you think this will be an easy victory for you...you will sorely be disappointed this day" Selah said to her readying her sword. "I will make a coral reef out of your bones" Lilith hissed readying her own sword.

Selah knew offhand this fight would be different than the last. Just the fact Lilith restored the sword of Samael was testament that those that did still worship her has strengthen her considerably. Everyone ashore watched with bated breath as they began their battle. Their sword parries shook the island and rattled windows on the ships almost within cannon range. Lilith firing off magics as Selah's Lightning Breaker dispelled them. Alicia began singing once more focusing fortification magics on Selah.

"Listen. Now once I was downhearted. Disappointment was my closest friend. But then you came, and it soon departed. And you know, he never showed his face again!  That's why your love keeps on lifting me. Higher and higher. I said you love, keep on lifting me. Higher and higher. I'm so glad I finally found you. Yes that one in a million girl. And now within my loving arms around you. Honey I can stand up and face the world!"

Selah felt a rush of power like wind filling a boats sail. Her blows stronger. Her speed even higher. Lilith just grinned as she fortified herself even more. "Fool! This body is naturally four times stronger than yours! Even if you fortify yourself by 10 the same amount is 40 for me!" Lilith yelled parrying a blow so hard Selah was swept off her feet. Lilith lunged down with her sword to stab her in the heart and at the last second Selah used wind magics to over her body. But Lilith's sword Sint miss her completely stabbing her painfully in the thigh. "I won't miss this time" Lilith growled slamming her bare foot into her wound pinning her. Selah cried out in paints gallons of her blood washed into the sea. Then a large icicle slammed into her shoulder making Lilith stagger back. "Who dares?!" Lilith yelled knowing it wasn't Selah. The giantess' eyes locked onto the beachhead. Angrily, she began to charge at it until she found her feet and legs frozen solid. "You shall not pass!" Selah yelled as her sword radiated ice magics snap freezing the surface of the ocean in a 600 ft. diameter. Suddenly, dozens of small things zipped right by them like bullets. "About goddamn time" Lilith growled pulling at her legs.

"ALICIA!" Selah yelled. Her voice traveled with the speed of lightning warning her something was coming. Alicia snapped her focus on defense. "INTERCEPT!" she yelled. Skylar and everyone else could see dozens of contrails heading their way. "Aim for the contrails! Light magics!" Alicia yelled. The mages began to fire off light spells as quick as they could damn near blinding one another. Cannon shells bearing right down on them were hit with light speed magics destroying them but not all. Valkyries opened up but barely hit any of them left. The surrounding beached was utterly cratered. Alicia and Skylar had once again survived but it was clear her barrier has shattered mid volley. What got through had decimated their ranks. The mages had taken the front line and suffered the worst. The survivors looked in horror at bodies blown apart surrounded them. And worse was watching them shrink back to human size now they were dead. Only 3 mages survived. The Valkyries had lost another four. "Alicia that was artillery fire form the ships! We have to take the fight to them!" Skylar yelled.  "AGREED!" Alicia yelled. "VALKYRIES! TO THE AIR!" Skylar yelled. The Valkyries took to the air and few as fast as they could with their wind magics and swords.

Another volley speed right at them and they swiped away. Some shells were cut and exploded behind them. Another two Valkyries were blown out of the air and their blood and guts came down like rain. They came screaming down right in the middle of the fleet at Mach two, and the sailors and officers saw fresh hell. Enraged by the loss of friends and loved ones, the Valkyries tore the fleet to shreds. Not a single ship could bear their cannons of a target that moved that fast. A Valkyrie stabbing her sword through a destroyer. Another tearing a cruiser apart with her bare hands. Skylar focused on the carrier USS Ronald Reagan knowing it was the flag ship. She jumped on the desk. Her 50 ft. body buckling the deck ever so slightly. She looked dead at the bridge. The admiral and his command crew saw the giant bluish green eyes looking right at them and then narrowed. Their last sight was a 50 ft. giantess dressed in a pristine white uniform swinging her sword. The bridge was cut clean off as if she decapitated the carrier. And with a coldness in her heart slammed her sword down into the wreckage and fired off a blast of lightning stronger than she had ever done. For a half second, every sailor, every member of her crew had their hairs stand on end as 100 million volts of electric yet coursed through every, plate, grate, and goddamned bulkhead of the ship. What came next was violent death. They burned to a crisp just before every missile, bomb, fuel tank, and ammo crate detonated. Skylar leaped high into the air watching the carrier explode.

She gazed at the others and saw they had sunk every ship. "NO SURVIVORS! LET EVERYONE KNOW THERE WILL BE NO QUARTER FOR THOSE THAT STAND WITH THAT EVIL CREATURE!" Skylar yelled at them. She detached herself watching as the Valkyries proceeded to eliminate survivors in lifeboats and life jackets. Some crushed in hands, drowned, electrocuted in the water. And others eaten alive having their clothing torn off and devoured. Those that ate survivors were most likely ones that grieved for their friends the hardest. A squad of giantesses had destroyed some of the most heavily armed warships on earth. The crew that sailed them we're wither floating to the bottom of the sea or digesting in their bellies. Either way a watery grave. Selah was not having the same luck.

She was getting weaker. Her healing magics were taking too long and she was still bleeding out. Lilith had nicked her femoral artery and as powerful as the Nordic giantess was, she still needed blood to live. Her vision blurred as she lashed out with a powerful strike and cut Lilith across the stomach. Lilith paused to heal. "That's it!" Selah thought as she slammed her hand on the driver. "LIGHTNING BREAKER MAXIMUM BURST!" it said as Selah threw all she had into her attack. Lightning supercharged her sword as she swung down but as her vision blurred and her legs grew weak, she missed as Lilith easily sidestepped. Her balance off, Selah couldn't defend herself as Lilith slashed diagonally. Her blade cut and seared her flesh going from her right to left and struck her hero driver viciously causing to spark and blow off a shard of it right into Lilith's left eye. Lilith staggered back...

"Oh my god..." Alicia muttered seeing Selah fall as a fountain of blood spurted into the air. "ADET!" she yelled summoning her trump card, the Eye of the World. Alicia immediately felt the strain of summoning two artifacts, but she didn't care as Selah lay lifeless in the water. Alicia poured an ungodly amount of magic into the Eye activating it. A portal opened between Lilith and Selah and Alicia put her hand through the Eye. Instantly, a hand with 400 ft. long fingers appeared before her and flicked her away. In her desperation, she moved the portal above where Lilith landed and formed a fist. From Alicia's perspective, it felt like she was punching a puddle of water, from anyone else's, it was like God had it in for the South Pacific Ocean. Over and over, she punched Lilith right into the ocean floor. Punching her so hard, seismographs in Okinawa recorded it. The island shook and cracked from each hit. Lucy and Elliot huddled around the tiny people taking shelter as floorboards creaked and plaster fell.

That that same moment...

"I swear getting Jay Leno to do the Tonight Show was like getting Shemp for the Three Stooges. Just wasn't the same" Joseph muttered watching old episodes on demand. He took his swig of beer and watched until he sensed something. "The Eye! That's impossible! It was hidden away so...goddammit!" he hissed shattering his beer on the floor and translocating to where he sensed its activation. He appeared right beside Alicia who was pounding away at Lilith with all her might. "Of course it was you!" Joseph yelled. Alicia barely gave him notice. "She came with a goddamn fleet. Not like I wanted to use this thing!" she yelled. The portal fluctuated. "Take you fucking hand out before it cuts it off" he growled. Alicia pulled back just in time before it collapsed. "She's..."

"Only pissed" Joseph said looking at Lilith rising from the ocean fixing every shattered bone in seconds. "My daughter Selah..." Alicia mumbled before collapsing from exhaustion. Joseph did a quick short-range translocation right in front of Lilith. Selah groaned half-conscious as the driver still sparked. "Leave Lilith unless you want to fight an enemy fresh in battle with an eon more experience than they do" he warned. "That voice. Joseph?" she asked. Joseph grew to her 300 ft. height and planted his feet in the depths of the sea. "It is you. You think you can make a difference here? I am vastly more powerful than last time we met" she said. "Your strength isn't what you think it is. Case in point your eye" he said. It was true. Lilith's eye injured by the shrapnel from the driver had not healed. Painfully, she yanked the shrapnel out. "You honestly think I would let these...blasphemers live? Maybe you haven't noticed but this is my world now! My believers! My acolytes! I am their rightful goddess and not even you shall stand against me!" she screamed as she used her right hand to attack him with her sword.

With unnatural speed, Joseph moved to the right and grabbed her wrist. He crushed it easily making her drop her sword. With his left hand, he placed it on her stomach and blasted her with magical force so mighty the shockwave made a sea splitting cone. The Valkyries watching the entire surreal events were scattered like gnats. Lilith fell to her knees vomiting blood. "You'd kill this vessel?" she asked. "Without a hesitation" he replied coldly. Lilith retreated in a strike of dark magics. Joseph turned his attention to Selah. "Hero driver...powering down" it muttered before Selah reverted to her normal three-inch self. Joseph scooped her up. Her body to tiny in his hands even he could barely see it. Seeing Selah disappear, Skylar rallied the Valkyries to assist not knowing who this grey-haired man was. "Give her over immediately!" Skylar said as the Valkyries surrounded him. "If you wish to see her live, you won't interfere" he said softly as he began healing her. The colossal giant began walking to the beachhead.

Later that night...

Alicia woke up as a clap of thunder shook her windows. She was in her bed. The clock read 9:44 pm. Frantic, she bolted out of bed and checked Selah's room. Nothing. "Selah! SELAH!" Alicia yelled racing down the stairs. There she saw Joseph tending to a shrunken naked Selah on the coffee table. "She's stable for now. A few minutes later and she'd be a corpse" he said to her. Alicia walked over to them and sat down. Wounds from a divine weapon aren't as easily healed" he explained as his glowing fingers lingered over her wounds. "She will recover right?" she asked. "In a few days. It could've been much worse if it wasn't for this" he said pointing to the hero driver. "How did you remove it?" she asked. "It's based on the artifact of Cancer. A Lemurian artifact. I know how it was made. I was there. But this hero driver as you call it is some chimera of magic" he said. There was a pause. "Speaking of artifacts. What in the hells were you thinking?! The Eye of the World?!" he yelled. "It was a last-ditch plan made by Faith. She destroyed the original one" she replied. "And rightfully so! This artifact is...wait. You said original one?" he asked.

Alicia explained what they had done. "Of all the irresponsible..." he hissed. "I didn't exactly have time to think it over Joseph!  You yourself said not to call on you until the final moment! That it was too risky to bring such powers together in one place! And you were right, I have an unexploded nuclear weapon off my coast" she sighed. "Oh god the others..." she muttered. "Are doing their own things. The one called Skylar is helping the others bury their dead. Lucy is moving the people back to their homes. Mary is...another matter for later" he said. Alicia looked at the driver. "Damn. Is it broken? Selah looked like she kinda fell out of her transformation" she asked. "It's damaged obviously. I'll look at it closer later. I bought you time but not much. Lilith isn't the kind of woman that sits on her ass for long. I should know" he muttered. "You said once before you knew her, but you didn't say anything else on it" Alicia said. "She was the one that started the Lemurian war that brought an end to its civilization. "Wait. I thought Lilith was like 6,000 years old. That's she's an ancient concept around the time of the Israelites. "No. She's far older" he muttered.

Meanwhile in New York...

Lilith stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eye was bloodshot and healing slower than normal. "Accursed artifact. I though them all lost to time" she hissed. Her eyes went to her stomach remembering the blow she took. It took all her magical might to withstand it. She shuddered to her toes knowing Joseph meant it to be a killing blow. If she hadn't boosted her defenses the way she had at the last second, her body would be tons of shark chum right then. Of all the people in the world, she feared that man the most. No gods or goddesses, or angels or demons gave her such dread. She pondered his words about her not being as strong as she thought she was. It was truth. In the beginning, she was vastly powerful. Powerful enough to flatten Vatican City under her feet within minutes but it was clear as day that level of power was gone. Alicia's song torrent had done more damage than she had thought. She walked over to her coffee table and picked up the shrapnel in her hand. "Clearly she got that level of power from that artifact. Can it do the same for me?" she pondered. She mused on it for hours until she thought of something. "She needed a source, a powerful divine source to channel. Hmm. I think I know where I can find one of my own" she thought smiling. Lilith vanished in flames.

She appeared in a dark chamber. Her bare feet slapping the brimstone floor as she walked. A lone figure was chained to a wall. He rose his head hearing her footsteps. "Hello Lilith" the man said. "Hello Lucifer. I need to borrow something of yours..." she said with an eerie grin...

"Strange to have another typhoon so soon after the last one" Alicia muttered looking outside through her broken windows. "This is an unnatural storm caused by this child's magics. You cannot tamper with nature on that scale without repercussions" Joseph muttered as he tended to Selah. "She looks better than when you arrived" Alicia said. "She's responding well to treatments. The irony is her rapid aging is actually helping her recovery" Joseph said moving his hand across Selah's bare stomach. Alicia looked down at Selah's small form and held her tiny hand as she slept. Almost a week had passed since the battle and while the dead had been buried and mourned, there was still a sense of dread in the air. "Is there nothing more you can do for Mary?" Alicia asked him. "Her mind was flayed by images of hell Alicia. I can still her mind but waking up is beyond even me. That's up to her" he replied. Joseph finished his treatment for the day and grew to human size. "She needs to rest longer. Come" he said ushering her out of the room. They both walked downstairs. 

"How is she?" Lucy asked. "Recovering well. If it wasn't for that artifact, the slash would've sliced her in two" he replied picking up the damaged hero driver. "You think it still works?" Skylar asked. "The gem is intact thank the gods. If it was destroyed, it would've taken the entire island with it. As for the damage itself. Well look for yourselves" he said snapping his fingers. They found themselves on a polished black surface. "Where are we?" Lucy asked. "On the artifact. I shrunk us down to about a tenth of a millimeter for you to see" he said. They found it astounding at the ease of which he shrunk them, but more important things were afoot. He led them to a channel seemingly cut in the metal. "We're standing in front of the slashed groove. Be careful and don't fall it. At your size it's a 25 ft. drop" he said. "What're those things?" Lucy asked. "Those white shining things? Some kind magic imbued circuitry. As far as I can tell. The underneath of this metal shell is crisscrossed with them like some strange nervous system. It's fascinating. Lemurian magical tech mixed with Japanese onmyoji spellware all connected by circuitry. The circuitry itself seems almost...alive" he said. 

"Selah said a Japanese girl saying she was a program AI is in this thing" Alicia said. Joseph hovered them all down to the bottom of the grooved cut. "It's warm" Lucy said feeling the circuitry under her bare feet. "I wouldn't doubt that. Some artifacts have a bound will to them. If humanity has come so far, they can bind an artificial will to a magical artifact...then this could be a harbinger of things to come" Joseph muttered. "But does it still work?" Alicia asked. Joseph bent down and released a tiny bit of magical energy through the circuits. He sensed the progression. "There's a leak in the magics. That's why it shut down. The transformation was too unstable. Honestly, I don't know if it can be used again in this state. It needs to be repaired by the one who crafted it" he said. "...damn. Alright let me get on that" Alicia said. Joseph transported them back with their normal sizes.

Alicia dialed the phone. "Alicia? Is that you?" Hikari asked. "Who else would it be silly" Alicia chuckled. "You sound well" the Koonago said. "And you sound like you're in a big room" Alicia said. "I am. I'm back in my old office" she said. "Whoa is that safe?" Alicia asked. "Since you were here last, many things have changed. Japan is no longer in the throes of riots. Your worldwide song made everyone come to their senses. Even the JSDF have returned to the fold, after a few adjustments" she replied. "That's great!" Alicia said. "Not everything is Sakura blossoms. Because of Izanami, many are calling for Japan to return to isolationism. Even though she was a Japanese deity, many believe foreign influence provoked her licit rule" she said. "That's crazy. She did all that on her own" Alicia said. "Did she? Was it not Lilith that created the situation for her rise?" Hikari asked. Alicia didn't answer. "But you did not call to talk politics. How goes it?" she asked. Alicia told her the events a few days prior.

"And you did not summon me?!" the Koonago shouted. "We didn't know if it was a feint, a trap, or another proxy. We didn't even know she was with them until the last moment" Alicia replied. "At least you survived and won the day" Hikari said. "I wouldn't call it winning. Selah was badly injured, almost all my mages are dead, a third of the Valkyries, and not to mention a sunken nuclear missile is sitting a few miles off my coast I have to find" Alicia said. "How badly is the child hurt?" Hikari asked. She took a nice slash to the stomach but she's much better now. The hero driver took the brunt of it. It's why I called. We need the driver to be repaired. Can you contact the guy who made it?" Alicia asked. "...that will not be possible. He's dead along with others Izanami considered a threat to her. I've learned recently that she purged every onmyoji, Buddhist priest, and shrine maiden in Japan. Anyone who could use magics or symbology. I am sorry Alicia" she replied. "Thanks anyway. I'll be in touch" Alicia said ending the call. Hikari wanted to call her back to scold her for ending the call abruptly but figured the woman had other things on her mind than an annoyed Koonago Queen.

"The maker of the device is dead" she told Joseph. "Of course he is. Him being alive would be too easy" he hissed. "Can you fix it on your own?" she asked. "I don't know" he whispered. Hours passed and after checking on Selah and Mary, she went downstairs to see on Joseph. She found the hero driver sitting on the table and him unseen. "Joseph?" she asked. "On the driver" his voice said. She bent down and could barely see the speck of a man on the device. "Hungry?" she asked. "I am now I think about it" he replied. Alicia whipped up sandwiches. Joseph looked up at the titanic giantess before shrinking her down. "Whoa!" she said with the sudden size change giving her vertigo. "Take a moment" he chuckled motioning for her to sit. She sat down and gave him a roast beef sandwich. "Hmm...like mana from heaven" he smiled. "Any luck?" she asked. "Little in more ways than one. Divine weapons leave this aura behind making healing magics difficult to do their job. This is similar. Watch" he said pointing to a cut. Moments later a red misty like energy floated out. "That didn't look very good" she said. "It's not. It's contamination or in ways you may understand water in a smartphone. My spell work is acting like rice drawing it out" he chuckled.

"You told me you knew of Lilith, but you never said you knew her personally. You two got a history" she said. "An understatement. Lilith had a hand in the destruction of your ancestors" he replied. "Wait. I thought the ZODIAC council brought the final blow" she said. "What exactly did my son Markus tell you about the final days of Lemuria?" he asked. "That some kind of nuclear magics destroyed the bedrock underneath the continent and the council was the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak" she replied. "My son did not tell you the entire story and I am not surprised. Lilith made him look like a fool" he said. "Markus knew Lilith too?" she asked. "Knew her? He was fucking her" the old man jeered. "Okay. Some context is needed. I'm sure Markus told you about the civil war on Lemuria. The Loyalists who wanted to enslave humanity and use them as pets or livestock. And then the Preservists who wanted them to be free. Well, a few years into the war, Markus tells me he found this incredible woman. Vastly powerful and a Loyalist at heart. This was when we were still on speaking terms by the way. Anyway, I was curious of this woman and had him bring her to my home."

"She shows up with Markus and enters. Immediately, I could feel this ominous power radiating off her. Like a demonic snake coiled to strike. So during their entire visit, I can feel these vibes coming off her. Vibes I've never felt before. So I began asking her questions. Her age, family, where she was from. She refused to answer. Now at this point I'm really worried so I use clairvoyance to take a peek at this woman. Instantly I'm hit with this blinding vision of a garden, a man, a strange being, and then flames. "Are you unwell Joseph?" she asks me with a grin. "I... I am well. Tell me Lilith. Where is this beautiful garden you say you came from?" I stammered. "...I said no such thing" she said coldly. "My mistake then" I reply. "So father what do you think of her?" Markus asked. "She's a rare talent I will says that. However, I sense ill tidings from her son. She won't even say where she is from" I reply. "That isn't a concern" Lilith said gesturing with her hand. I can feel some kind of power trying to bend my will. Like tendrils invading my soul. It took a great deal of power to deflect it. She looks at me with shock. "That wasn't very nice. I think you should leave" I said. She gets up from her chair and rushes out. "Son, I know our differences about humans run deep but this woman is trouble. I do not know where she comes from, but I sense evil within her. For you own sake abandon this woman" I pled. Markus ignored me"

"I saw my son six months later in the market. He wasted no time exalting Lilith saying she had discovered a magic that would crush the Preservists. "Father! Victory is within our grasp! Lilith promised told teach us fire magics on par with Etherion!" he shouted. "...what spell is this?" I asked. "She calls it nuclear magic" he replied. Alicia, it had been many thousands of years since that term was used. Well, it was called something else but for your understanding it's what I'm calling it now. Nonetheless, I was very familiar with that magic. When my brothers and sister waged war with one another, that was one spell they delighted in using. "You young fool! Nothing good will come of that magic! Where is she now?!" I shouted shaking him. "On the plains of Alheim at the trading village there" he said bewildered. I immediately translocated there. It was easy to find her with that power of hers. And there she stood on a hill overlooking the village. It was under siege by the Preservists, but my focus was not on them.

"Lilith. I heard you plan to teach the Loyalists nuclear magics. That's an Etherion level spell. You cannot do this" I said. "I can and already have. And that's not all I have done. Watch" she said pointing to the village. I watched as a Preservist had grown to giant size and smashed their way into the village. A torrent of magics struck her down and I thought that was the end of the assault. I was wrong. I watched in horror as the woman began to glow brightly before exploding in a blinding flash. My vision cleared just as a shockwave struck where I stood. It took a few minutes before I could blow away the dust and ash. "By the sky goddess" I muttered as I saw a mushroom cloud climb into the air. The village was obliterated. Nothing was left except piles of scorched stone. Not even a bone was left. Alicia, in modern terms, the blast was 30 kilotons. Twice that of Hiroshima. "She was a Preservist. You said you taught it to the Loyalists!" I yelled. "I did and then I taught it to the Preservists" she chuckled as the grass burned around us. "They'll destroy one another you crazy bitch!" I shouted gripping her throat. "That's the point" she said coldly. 

Her eyes. A literally burning hatred in her eyes. What came next was a battle so ferocious I still have dreams about. I was superior in terms of magics, but she far outclassed me in terms of durability. She would shrug off devastating spells. Completely heal within seconds. Imagine two colossal titans locked in a battle to the death for an entire day and night. The plains of Alheim became a wasteland that day. Our battle had done far more damage than that explosion. Hell, we stomped the hills flat with our bare feet. I still remember the smell of ash, mud, and blood. "What...what the hell are you?!" I yelled not seeing a way to defeat her. "I am wrath. I am pain. The first woman scorned. The first woman made Queen of the damned and forsaken. I AM LILITH!" she screamed pummeling me. She stepped over and placed her bare foot on my throat. Our clothes had burned away hours ago leaving us both naked but only me truly vulnerable. I had been alive for 40,000 years by then and very little scared me. But she, she was proof that there were beings far above our understanding and power. A being that could ultimately trump Etherion if given the chance. It cast my entire beliefs into question. And as her toes pushed into my windpipe, I saw that the woman was pregnant. I had not noticed it until then. Funny what you think about as death comes for you."

"You're with child?" I coughed. "Your son's. He served his uses. You should be proud" she laughed. Her laugh infuriated me enough to try one last attack. I prayed to the Sky goddess to help me and as I did, I unlocked a new power" he said. "Symbology" Alicia muttered. Joseph nodded. "The first punch broke her jaw and it stayed broke. The second broke a rib and it stayed broke. And the next, well I debate to this day if I should've done it or not. I punched her hard as I could in the abdomen. I felt her miscarry Alicia" he muttered. "Jesus Christ Joseph" she said. "That blow took the fight right out of her. She looked at me with this cold mix of grief, anger, and loss. I could feel her burn my image into her memory and then she was gone" he said. "What about Markus?" she asked. "Whatever hold she had on him disappeared as well as the memory of her. The only saving grace in the entire mess. But the damage was done. With both sides having that spell, the destruction of Lemuria was inevitable" he said. Joseph went quiet. "So that massive blow to her stomach earlier in the battle was psychological as well" she said. "Yes. I hoped the same trick would work twice and it did. If you will excuse me, I have to get back to work. Thanks for the sandwich" he said before unshrinking her.

Meanwhile in the land of Yomi...

Lilith walked the halls of the Japanese underworld. She was barefoot as wearing any kind of shoes was forbidden down there. As her bare feet slapped the desiccated wooden floor of the infinite sprawling castle, she took note of how similar it was to the realm of Hades. Dim and dark, the sounds of whimpering and soft crying. Torched lit with hitodama, spirit flames, were the only source of light. With the Buddhist realms folded into Yomi, one could see all kinds of history's deceased, at least the Japanese ones located here. Abe no Seimei, the world' greatest onmyoji akin to western world's Merlin. Oda Nobunaga, the feudal lord that united Japan simpering in a small room. Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack, standing in a room issuing orders to phantoms of the past. All great men of their time reduced to shells after death. Lilith was after none of these men. She came to a door and opened it. "Hiro Yamanaka. I have need of your services" she said to the man sitting in the corner. He looked up at the foreign woman. "You're not the pale woman" he said softly. "No, I am not your jailer. I need you to make something for me" she said handing the broken shard of the hero driver to him. "This craftsmanship. It's onmyoji and things I do not recognize" he said. "Your handiwork. I asked around" she said. "What's it from?" he asked.

"A device that invoked and channeled the power of gods and goddesses. It's called a hero driver" she said. "A transformation device" he muttered. "I need you to make one for me. Use that as a guide" she said. "Why should I?" he asked. "Because if you don't, I'll have you transferred to an afterlife that makes this place look like paradise" she said coldly. "I saw what you and Izanami did to my country. To its people. I would rather burn in your western hell until the stars grow cold before I help you" he spat. "I thought you might say that, so I brought some leverage. Lilith extended her hand to reveal a shrunken teenage boy dangling from her fingers. "Yukihiro!" the man yelled grasping at him. Lilith pulled back just before he could touch him. "Your nephew survived the purge, and he still might if you cooperate" she said. "He can't be here! Mortals cannot survive Yomi! The very realm is deadly to them!" Hiro yelled. "Is that why he sounds sickly? His name is similar to yours. Coincidence?" she asked. "...my dead sister named him after me" he replied softly. "That's actually sweet. So Hiro, what shall it be? Do my bidding or watch this pathetic last drop of your bloodline wither and die" she said coldly. "...I will construct your driver" he replied with a whisper. In a puff of flame, the boy was returned to the mortal world leaving the Japanese Mage defeated.

"Begin immediately. You have every resource and help in this realm at your disposal" she said. "It will not work without a kami's spirit to invoke" he said. "Kami? You mean a deity. Let me worry about that. Just do your part" she said grinning. And with that, Lilith left the realm of Yomi for one much more familiar.

"Queen Lilith. There are concerns" a grisly looking being said moments after she appeared in the throne room of hell. "I am busy Azazel" she huffed. "Be as it may, the others are concerned that this plan of yours will come of naught. We sided with you on the conditions that we would be allowed to roam the mortal world. Each with a domain. And yet you return from battle defeated" he said. Lilith approached him. Her feet no longer on cold wood but hot brimstone. She grabbed him by his throat and lifted him off his cloven feet. "Are you saying you and the archfiends of hell now renege or their promise of loyalty?" she asked. "No! Simply what will your dark highness do next!" the ashen skinned black-eyed demon asked. She let him go. "It was not a defeat but a strategic withdrawal. I had not planned on Joseph interfering" she said. "The same Joseph that..."

"Killed my unborn child. The very same but no matter. He can die with the others once I've gained the power I have in mind" she muttered passing him. There are many ideas of what hell looks like. Some say fire and brimstone.  Others say it's a frozen wasteland. But the truth is hell is as varied as the souls that reside in it. Every concept, belief, and idea mixes together to create realms within realms of the damned. The irony is that hell, while divine in its creation, runs on mortal beliefs. A soul damned to hell makes its own prison. Creatures one would call demons or minor devils are just jailers. For example, if you found Hitler, you would see his eternal torment is being exposed to the masses for having Jewish blood. A repeating cycle until the end of time. A room mocking him with a demon laughing the loudest. Or in the case of Caligula, a never-ending night of rape by the ugliest women one could imagine as a demon ushered in one diseased pox marked hag after another. That was the type of place Lilith called home. She was its queen, but for as its King...

Lilith entered his prison cell quietly and clashed the door behind her. "Back so soon?" Lucifer asked. "I found him after you told me how to" she said quietly. "So then can you undo these sliver shackles?" he asked tugging on them. "Would you still stand in my way if I did?" she asked. "Very much so" he replied. Lilith chuckled. "You really don't lie, do you?" she asked. "I never have. Sure, the humans call me the Prince of Lies or the Deceiver, but I've never told a lie. The devil made me do it is the biggest crock of shit they tell themselves to absolve them of their actions. I never made Eve eat that apple. She chose to do that on her own. I give them a choice. If they make bad ones that's on them" he said. Lilith stroked his cheek. "And that's what I love about you. The straightforwardness" she said looking in his eyes. If one were curious to know what the Devil looked like, that would be complicated.

He looked like every man to ever walk the earth and ones that have yet to. His appearance would change every time you looked away. Oddly though you would know who and what he was no matter what he appeared to be. When she walked in, he had golden hair, then black, then brown. Even his eyes changed. Even Lilith didn't know what he truly looked like, and she'd been his consort for eons. "So why are you back?" he asked bored. She summoned the key to hell. "The Authority of hell" he said. "But not the Authority of you" she said holding the key. "Ah so this is what this is about. You want my divinity. Why? Your plan not working?" he chuckled. "There have been difficulties. I am not as strong as I planned" she replied. "Of course not! You truly thought you would be granted the level of power of the Creator just by stealing his followers? One of the reasons he's so powerful is because so many love him. People around the world may love you but more and more have either turned away of simply fear you. If fear and worship was all it took, I would've conquered them long ago" he said laughing at her. "But fear has its purpose. It can grant power. You are proof of that" she said. "True it can but an empire, an realm built on fear never lasts. The Assyrians, the Ottomans, the Nazis.  All ended up on the ash heap of history" he said. "But none had power like yours" she said gripping the key once more. "Some have to learn the hard way. Well, what are you waiting for?! Do it!" Lucifer yelled. Lilith stabbed him in the heart with the key and turned it. The fallen angel grit his teeth as the divine power within him was drawn out into the infernal key. Lilith pulled it out once she was satisfied. The Lord of Hell was visibly drained. "Mark my words. Naught will come of this" he muttered softly. 

Back on the island, Alicia was on her hands and knees scooping up and moving sand. She was not building sandcastles though, and standing at 100 ft. tall it wasn't a small task either. Alicia had been at it for three hours and if one approached her, they would not forget the grisly sight which is why she waited until nightfall to do it. The destruction of the pacific fleet has caused hundreds of dead bodies to wash up on shore. Alicia paced the shoreline, scooped the bodies up, carried them, and dumped them in piles. Then she scooped sand around the pile as a barrier. With no ceremony, she used fire magics to incinerate them. The giantess sat down to catch her breath as being this size was taxing. She hadn't even considered that would happen until she went out to retrieve the sunken nuke from earlier. Then she began spotting them. Like little beached shrimps in their grays and oranges. Her giant toes dug into the sand as she wondered what was to come next. Alicia got up and paced the beach one last time not finding any more bodies before shrinking down and heading back in.

Inside was a snoring Joseph on the sofa and a wake human sized Selah sitting at the table eating ice cream. "You gonna hog all the rocky road?" she asked her. Selah scooted the ice cream box to her as Alicia grabbed a spoon. "So how do you feel?" Alicia asked. "Well, it doesn't feel like my insides are going to be my outsides" she replied. "I'm proud of you. You stood your ground" Alicia said as she licked her spoon. "I looked dead in her eyes as she was choking me. She had moms' eyes, but they were so lifeless" Selah said burying her spoon in the ice cream. "Appearances can be deceiving kiddo. She was counting on you to hesitate" Alicia said. "You smell like smoke and something else..." Selah said changing the subject. "I was on burial detail. A lot of dead people washed up on shore. Left unchecked the smell alone would've polluted the island" she said. "How many?" Selah asked. "I didn't count but easily 700" Alicia replied. "She won't quit until every man, woman, and child on the planet has been brought to heel. Even if she has to kill half the world" Selah whispered. "Right now, you need to chill. Let someone else worry about the world" Alicia said. "I don't have that luxury. Something very bad is coming. I can feel it" she said softly.

"She say something to you?" Alicia asked. "Nothing of consequence. But I know something is coming. Something that will take the lives of very many for I am a Valkyrie and can sense such things" she said before getting up. "I'm going back to bed. Goodnight" Selah said softly leaving Alicia. "She's probably right" Skylar said coming downstairs. She poured herself a glass of water. "One of the things a true Valkyrie can do is sense the coming death of a person. The more there are, the stronger the sense. For her to sense it tells us two things. One, her power has grown by leaps and bounds. And two, if she can sense that without being a true Valkyrie in body and soul, a great dying is coming. I believe our next battle may truly be the last" Skylar said softly.

Two days later...

"I have to head out. I was able to partially repair the driver, but I worry it won't be enough. Lilith is like a wounded animal. And like wounded animals that are cornered, they tend to lash out" he said. "Then what should we do?" Alicia asked. "You? Nothing but wait. I'm going to find some more allies. I have a planned meeting with them very shortly" he replied. "Who?" Alicia asked. "Good question. Who will appear at this meeting?" he said smiling slightly. Joseph disappeared in a flash of light startling her as that was not the normal way to translocate. Where Joseph was going was not a place for mortals. It was a place called...The Nexus.

The Nexus was like what its name would suggest. A center, or focal point of realms that were divine.  Its appearance would change from time to time but usually it resembled a tavern or bar. It was a place where gods and goddesses could meet and talk without the trappings or pretense. It was neutral ground for all its intents. At the moment it appeared to be an American 50's diner. One would ask why Joseph knew about the place as he was no god. The short story was he brokered a deal between two foolish gods that destroyed much of the Mediterranean very long ago. As a reward, the deities of the time granted him the privilege to enter the Nexus. The irony as it turns out is over the course of many thousands of years, the gods and goddesses that frequented the Nexus died out as beliefs changed but Joseph remained even though he was not divine. "Have you been waiting long?" Joseph asked the dark-skinned woman sitting at a booth. "No. I just arrived " she replied. Joseph sat down across form her. "You're the first to arrive?" he asked. "Yes, but not all of us has our punctuality" she replied. "You were always punctual Kali" he said looking at a menu. Kali grinned as very few non deities in existence would dare act so aloof in the presence of one so majestically powerful as she. The goddess of time, death, creation, and destruction, Kali ranked very high compared to anyone and Joseph knew that. "So how has life been treating you?" he asked her. "Quite well until this perversion of reality" Kali spat as she tapped her bare foot on the floor.

"I expected the others to be here. Where are Shiva, Vishnu, and Deva?" Joseph asked. "I came on Vishnu's behalf. Since this perversion, the cycle of life, death, and rebirth has been broken. The fundamental order is crumbling and right now it is taking Vishnu and Deva's power just to keep an even keel" she replied. "And Shiva?" Joseph asked. "Shiva has gone missing" she said quietly. "How the hell does a god of his stature simply go missing?" he asked. "He is mercurial. He goes and does what he does for reasons only he knows. You know that" she growled. "But now? The world needs a god such as he just as it needs a goddess such as you" he said. "I know that!" she sighed loudly as two of her four hands rubbed her temples. "I didn't mean to upset you" Joseph said softly squeezing her third hand. "I know. In any event it is good to see you again Joseph" she said smiling. Kali valued his company as he was a voice of reason to talk to when her pantheon became a little too chaotic from time to time. And in turn, Joseph valued her company as she was one of the few beings that truly understood the delicate balance between great destructive or creative power and sharing such power among family. So entuned to her, he could tell her inner emotions by the sparkling glean of her blue skin. Soft like sapphires thinking in moonlight, she was content and happy. Radiant as sapphires in the noon sun, she was enraged. The door chimed and another entered.

"Anything happen yet?" a young man asked entering. "Just the pleasantries. Have a seat and we can order something" Joseph said. The young man, looking like he was 16 or 17 but very much not in reality, sat beside Joseph. His chest was bare, his skin the color of red clay and yet a strange faint green sheen to it almost like a dragonfly's wings. He wore a loincloth and on his feet, sandals made from corn husks intricately woven. Around his neck and in his black hair, the feathers of beautiful, majestic birds. And his eyes were the color of sunflowers but if one looked very closely you could see lightning dancing in his pupils. "Kali" the young man looking god said. "Quetzalcoatl" Kali acknowledged back politely. Kali raised her hand and a waitress appeared from thin air before approaching them. "What will you all be having today?" the young woman asked. "Uhh...Kathy" Kali said reading the name sewn on her vintage uniform. "I shall have a lotus tea" she finished. "Root beer float" Joseph said. "The blood of 12 fine virgins and the heart of a pure blooded Alux cooked medium rare. I have not eaten lunch" the Aztec god replied. Joseph was not fazed by the gruesome order for he knew it was the way of things. Just as it would be strange to be upset over a spider eating a fly or a snake a mouse.

The waitress herself was no God and in one way not mortal either. Now and then, a mortal soul would wander into the Nexus when it hovered between life and death. Kathy, full name Kathy Bridgeton, was a woman in Hartford Connecticut who at that moment was in a vegetative coma.  Her soul did not understand where she was or whom she had been speaking to. She simply knew she had customers with orders that needed filling. She opened the large icebox in the kitchen and reached in. Her hand went through a portal and plucked up a beautiful lotus flower before she pulled it back. Kathy put the kettle on before going back to open the icebox. This time when she opened the box, it opened a portal to a female catholic school in Mexico City. With nary a hesitation from her, she began plucking up schoolgirls left and right from classrooms. One by one she would look upon them and if they were a virgin, place them in a bowl. If not, they went back. Within minutes, she had the twelve. The portal shifted to the Yucatan and the home village of none other than Elena. 

Elena was not present in her village as many others had fled for safety in the cities. With Lilith twisting the faiths of so many, the Alux had found their powers at an all-time low. Only the most pureblood could hold human size for any length of time. The weakest of them couldn't even eat a shrunken human to regain their powers. The weakest were sheltered in the village and a woman named Yasmin their protector. A direct descendant of the ancient Alux priestesses of long ago, Yasmin was arguably the most powerful of her kind. Her God and fate chose her as a sacrifice. She was plucked away with no warming and ended up in a kitchen. Immediately she tried to grow and found her power sealed away. She could hear screaming in Spanish about a giantess, the giantess looming to her right turning in a broiler. The woman placed a small plate next to Yasmin before grabbing her up. Yasmin screamed to be let go but the giantess paid her no mind. She acted as if she was entranced. She looked dead at the Alux and tore off her top exposing her chest, stomach, and breasts. Yasmin thought she was planning to rape her. If only it was just that. The giantess' fingernails skewered her chest and snapping her rib cage open like it was nothing. Yasmin couldn't even scream she watched as the giantess tore her heart right out of her body. Death was not immediate. Yasmin clung to life 22 seconds longer before dying.

The waitress dropped the half pea sized heart on the plate and stuck it in the broiler. She set the time to 12 minutes before grabbing a syringe from a cupboard. She turned her attention to the bowl full of shrunken virgin schoolgirls plucking one of them up. She ignored their sobbing and wriggling as she tore off their clothing. Their shoes and then socks, skirts, panties, button top, bra slipped off their tiny bodies with the care one would give for shelling shrimp. Once naked, she jammed the syringe into her jugular vein and pulled the plunger back. Within a second, the girl stopped screaming and just whimpered. 5 seconds she passed out and her skin began turning grey. 12 seconds and she was dead. Then she jammed the syringe into her femoral artery extracting the very last drop of blood in her. Done with her, she tossed the body in her mouth and devoured it like a potato crisp as she squirted the blood into a glass. The other girls seeing the fate of their friend began hysterically scrambling to get out only to keep one another in like a pot of crabs. She repeated her grisly task over and over 11 more times before she was done. By then her belly was bloated and her glass was 2/3 full. The broiler dinged and she opened the door. On the plate was a human sized Alux heart cooked medium rare. 

She made the lotus tea and root beer float minutes later. "One lotus tea. One root beer float. And one Alux heart medium rare and a glass of female virgin blood" the waitress said placing them down. "Hello hello" a voice said as he entered the diner. "Fashionably late I see" Kali said sipping her tea. "Ares or Mars today?" Quetzalcoatl asked the man. "Mars" he replied sitting down. "And you sir?" the waitress asked. "Wine is fine" he replied. She nodded and went to the kitchen. The God of war (the Greek/Roman one) was an imposing man standing 6 ft. 6 inches. His hair like bloodstained dirt. His skin like bronze. He wore a shirt that said, "Martians do it better". His pants worn and faded. Boots on his feet. "You brought your appetite I see" Mars said looking at the Aztec God. "Pickings are slim. Not everyone is fortunate to have a planet names after him" he replied eating his heart. "Anyone showing up?" Joseph asked. "I do not think so" Mars replied. "Kali was explaining the precariousness of her pantheon. Is it the same for you?" Joseph asked. "Aye. We were on borrowed time before all this. As our serpent bird friend said, I have a planet named after me which is what sustains me now. Athena lives through the cites. Hermes, the poor sod, lives on through florist ads. Hera and the others live human lives. And then there's Hades and the backstabbing whore of his wife" he hissed. "Can we rely on their help?" Joseph asked sipping his float. The waitress returned with a jar of wine and a cup. "For battle? Zeus and Athena maybe" he replied.

"You speak of battle as if this Lilith threatens us all. This is mortal problem. The Aztec gods have seen wane times before" Quetzalcoatl spoke. "This is a disaster you feathered fool!" Kali said hissing as her long tongue escaped her mouth. Joseph raised his hand. "This isn't the same as a handful of conquistadors in leaky boats. The queen of hell has upturned the natural order. Kail and her brethren were affected first with the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation broken. Their purpose for existing being erased as we speak. Then comes you, a being that thrives on sacrifice. The face you made with the first sip of that blood says you are dying slowly of thirst. And then comes Mars, gods and goddesses that meek out existence living in myth and lore. And you think this is temporary? You sound like Mazelduk" Joseph said. "Who?" the God asked.  "My point exactly. A dead forgotten God of the Lemurians. He sat on his ass and watched his people destroy themselves. By the time he saw his own demise assured, it was too late. I wanted him fade away here. Fading away was a kindness compared to living as a human in those days" Joseph said coldly as he finished off his root beer float.

"...you're right. The Keeper of Bones and the Great Mother have not seen a single soul in months. That has never happened before" Quetzalcoatl muttered. "Which is why I called this meeting. While mortals plan, we shall plan more" Joseph said. "Then let's get to it" Kali said.

Meanwhile...

"It is done" Hiro said to Lilith. Lilith took the device, crafted in steel forged by the insane sword smith Masamune and its enchantments by Hiro and Abe no Seimei, from him. "And it will perform like the one you made for that mortal Selah?" she asked. "...better" he replied softly. "Good" she replied before disappearing. The dead soul fell to his knees knowing the power of what he gave her and the terror it could unleash with the right divine power channeled. He did not remember crafting the hero driver as he was swept up in the reality change like billions of others but as he studied the shard given to him, he admitted it was his work. His only hope was the hidden power within the hero driver. A power he had found traces off studying it.

Lilith appeared in the throne room of hell and summoned the loyal archfiends to her presence. "This, this my loyal demon lords of damnation is the key to conquering the mortal world" she said unto them. "What is it my queen?" one asked. "On its own nothing. But combined with Lucifer's power...everything. Azazel, Abaddon, Asmodeus, Belphegor, I will pave the way for you. Render unto me your demonic souls" she said. They looked at one another. "Do you not trust me? Remember, if my plans succeed, not only will you be free of hell, but we can also cause a never-ending cycle of pain, misery, sin, and death that will sustain us for eternity. No longer will you have to abide by Lucifer's table scraps" she said. They looked upon one another nodding in agreement. The four archfiends of hell rendered unto her their souls. Lilith left hell for Earth to begin the final act.

She appeared hovering 5,000 ft. high above Jerusalem holding what appeared to be smoldering coals. Four in all for each demonic soul. The crossover from hell to the mortal plane transformed them. Just as there are consequences for mortals crossing into lands of the dead, such are for demons crossing nakedly into the mortal plane. "Go. Find your vessels and begin the work of Armageddon" she said to them before each one flew off at impossible speed to the four corners of the world. Each demon flew through the air so quickly that anyone within sight and sound of it went deaf and blind from the light and sonic boom. Their sights on a single mortal. There are conditions for a demon to possess a mortal. One that is weak willed is a must. One that has sinned greatly and weak or bereft of belief preferred. Historically, usually children and the weak hearted were prey to demons but for a prideful archfiend, they would not choose a child, drug addict, or simpering human. No, something more was needed and the takeover so much more brutal. 

Belphegor found his vessel in Los Angeles. A young model hoping to make it big in Hollywood. At that moment she was looking at herself in the mirror making sure no traces of vomit were on her lips. Minutes ago, she was purging herself in an effort to stay thin. Nobody would suspect the 139 lb. woman was a gluttonous eater who threw up what she ate barely an hour later. She checked her red dress, her makeup, and heels. Each bit of her disguise had purpose. Red dresses tended to extrude a sense of sexuality. The makeup hid her natural blemishes. Her sandaled heels showing off her pampered feet as she figured Quentin Tarantino wasn't the only producer/director in Hollywood that preferred girls with nice feet. Her dreams would never take root as the demonic soul crashed right through the ceiling and stopping right before her dazed eyes. The demon decided it had made the right choice and hovered down to her crotch. With no warning it forced its way up her pussy. The woman made a soundless shriek as it invaded her, burrowing its way deeper and deeper until it resided in her womb. She felt it take root in her womb spreading its evil through her until she was not herself no longer. Her eyes now pitch black. This my dear readers is how a high-ranking demon possess someone. A woman carrying the original sin and burrowing deep within were that sin is carried. 

Belphegor looked at his new reflection feeling the mortality of it. Meat, blood, minerals of the earth. Powered by chemical and electrical reactions. A pathetic creature bound by physical limitations, but it had its purpose like a suit of armor. A way to exist in a plane that did not suit it. Immediately it felt the pangs of hunger and stumbled out of the bathroom. "Ms. Carrington. He'll see you now" a secretary said to her. Curious, the demon walked through the doors into the office where a middle-aged man stood. It ushered for her to sit down which it did simply to study its prey. An hour passed and the demon had enough of the human putting his hands on it. The demon shrank the man where he sat and devoured him. "Lilith said such things were fun but I had no idea. I want more" it growled in a voice not his own. Within 15 minutes, it has shrunk and eaten the entire floor of the office wing. It was not sated. Nothing could ever sate the Archfiend of Gluttony. It had walked outside where the building was surrounded by cops. Someone before they were eaten had called them. One could only imagine what was said. Belphegor stood there amused as it picked its teeth with the leg bone of the mail room intern it had found. It's eyes not on the cops but the entire city. A city of millions of morsels. The demon grew to 300 ft. and tore away its clothing as a demon had no need of such things. It tabbed up the cops and dumped them into its mouth before swallowing them whole. Then, it began its walk crushing the fleeing populace under its bare feet and snatching ones it fancied up to be eaten alive. 

Asmodeus found a potential vessel in St. Petersburg Russia. Olga Petrov, a woman of 24 years old was the token wife of an oligarch. Her husband rarely visited their lavish mansion leaving her alone most of the time. Spending his money became boring after a while so to keep herself entertained she fucked every staff member of the household. Pool boy, maids, mechanic, gardener it didn't matter to her. Case in point the maid in her bedchamber that moment. A poor waif of a girl who took the job just a month before. They pay was excellent but very soon the girl saw the truth of the woman who was her boss. Somewhat pretty, Olga turned her attention to her. She tried to dissuade the woman, but Olga made it clear that she was not a woman you said no to. Now, naked, ashamed, and frightened she tried not to look at Olga. "Miss... miss please don't" she whispered as Olga kissed the ball of her foot and flicked her tongue between her toes. The girl was pushed onto her back and whimpered as Olga stuck her tongue deep into her pussy. She was a virgin saving herself for marriage and very not a lesbian. She hoped it would over as soon as possible. Well, she got her wish in one way.

Asmodeus crashed through the ceiling striking Olga having her slam into the wall. The girl was stunned from the crash and tried shaking off the dizziness and ringing in her ears. Olga would never wake up as Asmodeus slithered its way up her wet cunt and buried itself in her womb. It opened its eyes and fixed the shattered ribcage it had caused. "So weak and so malleable" it muttered fixing the damage with ease. "Miss? Miss are you okay?" the girl asked sitting up. Asmodeus stood up and saw the naked girl. With a demonic grin and crawled onto the bed and dropped her cunt right on her face. Equal parts moaning and screaming filled the room as Asmodeus built up the lustful energy to begin its work. The girl realized in horror that the feeling of being swallowed by her pussy was no illusion but was actually happening. She had been shrunk and was now being drawn in. Asmodeus stood up with the shrunken girl's legs dangling from her cunt before being slurped in. Moments later with a growl, the demon came crushing the girl to death and absorbing her life force in the process. It was not done there and began prowling the mansion for more victims.

By half hour's end, she had fucked to death the entire staff. Their shrunken crushed corpses still lodged in her pussy. Their life energies fueling the next phase, Asmodeus grew out of the mansion destroying it and began marching through the city in her 300 ft colossal glory. At first everyone paused seeing the naked woman walking through the street crushing people and cars under her feet. It was akin to watching a train wreck or plane crash. The feeling of disbelief making you watch. Then, people felt themselves being lifted off their feet by an invisible force as her body got close enough. Those further away watched in shock as they were sucked into her cunt. Asmodeus would moan loud enough to rattle Windows as her pussy crushed them and devoured their energies. Blood and pussy juice raining down on the street. People fled in panic but it being midday on a weekend, the streets instantly became a choked mob. More and more were sucked into the black hole like cunt of the giantess demon and no matter how many had, it never filled up. Hundreds, thousands and still it consumed more, and it cared not who. Young, old, male, female, transgender. Nothing was beyond its wanting. 

Some would say those crushed flat under her bare feet were the luckiest. Instantaneous and something left to bury. The only thing that pleased the demon more were those swept up in her lust filled rampage. A young man watering his roof garden saw her approach, saw what was happening and did not flee in terror. He was mesmerized by her beauty. If he only knew what the demon truly looked like. He shed his clothing and began jerking off as she approached as if communing with her. Asmodeus could sense his lust and looked to him. She scooped him up and smiled as he still jerked off in her hand. He grunted and came releasing his seed onto himself. Asmodeus tossed him into her mouth savoring his lust and semen until he had died from drowning in her saliva. She swallowed him satisfied for a slight moment. Then, she kept walking...

Abaddon had found its vessel in Madrid. Like Olga, it had chosen a wealthy woman who was more or less a trophy wife of a businessman. Maria Espinoza was a 20-year-old girl was the epitome of lazy. She wanted for nothing and was bored with it all. Having every wish and desire fulfilled at a snap of her fingers had taken the joy out of the anticipation of wanting something. She slept most of the day depressed. Not even the maids could get her to leave her room. Abaddon flew through her open balcony window landing at the foot of her bed. It made its way to her pussy and began digging deep within her. Maria instantly awoke to the pain and cried out for help. Then, the demon nestled into her womb and took over. When the maids found her, Abaddon looked at them with a sneer that could freeze your soul. Instantly, the demon began feeding by devouring their desires, dreams, and ambitions. The demon of sloth sucked them dry but worse yet as her victims succumbed, they began shrinking. A foot, then an inch tall, then out of normal sight. Sucked dry, they had no will to do anything. Not scream, run or hide, even had a horde of dust mites tackled them and ate them alive. Abaddon has grown to 20 ft and smashed her way out of the mansion. Outside, she could sense more people to drain which she did. The entire neighborhood of rich, well to do citizens of Madrid suddenly felt the urge to do anything sucked away and as consequence shrunk. 

A man polishing his new Porsche ended up drowning in a bead of water on the ground. A housewife drowned in her own glass of wine. A boy studying for a test eaten by his pet cat. A girl playing with her dolls swept away by the air conditioning in her room. Abaddon fed growing again now to 100 ft and began marching into the heart of the city. People did not flee as she ate their will and desires. Thousands dying in moments after being shrunk. Car and bus crashes, derailments, death by appliances, their own breakfasts, pets, vermin. The people of Madrid found themselves on the lowest totem of the food chain. Abaddon could've grown to a mile tall or more, but it was not needed. Her attack was so insidious, not a trace of blood or broken bodies could be found on her naked flesh. Her mere presence was lethal. The only Archfiend demon more feared was Azazel.   

Azazel stood above the other demons and was second in sheer power to Lucifer. A fallen angel himself, Azazel' domain of sin was the most treacherous, abandonment. Any number of sins could find its root in it. Lucifer himself once joked the list of his victims was as long as the Nile and as wide as the ocean. He taught humans the art of war, women how to deceive even hearts, men to reject love. And in all this, the wise ones could see his pinnacle of sin. Wrath. The ultimate expression of his works. If an abandonment was his canvas, wrath was his paint. Azazel found his vessel in Johannesburg. A girl of 16 walking home from school. Her name was Ayanna, and she was a Coloured, a derogatory term left over from Apartheid days for Ayanna was of mixed blood. Her father a white Afrikaner and her mother a house maid. Even with Apartheid gone and many laws prohibiting discrimination, old attitudes still remained. Neither blacks nor whites accepted her especially after learning her parentage and that she was a ward of the state. She was not even safe at school as bullies picked on her each day and her own teacher called her a mongrel under his breath. She despised them. Each and every one who was cruel to her she wished dead. Today she got her wish. 

Azazel crashed before her knocking her clean off her feet. The dust settled and those curious about the impact saw she was the only one injured. "Help..." she begged bleeding from her head and nursing a broken arm. They ignored her. She was in too much pain to even feel Azazel dig its way into her pussy and into her womb. Taking over, Azazel remarked she fit like a glove. It was beyond easy to possess her for Ayanna was both an abandoned outcast and wrathful. "Rest child. Soon they will all die" he hissed in her soul. The monster easily mended her wounds just as police had arrived. "Hey you there! Better explain all this!" a cop said approaching her. Azazel stretched and cracked its joints adjusting to a fleshy form. "You hear me I said explain!" the cop said grabbing her arm. Azazel looked at him before grabbing his throat. The demon lifted him off his feet and with a grin began shrinking him in front of everyone. In seconds, he was small enough that her entire fist could engulf him which it did. With glee, Azazel crushed the shrunken officer in her fist, letting his blood drip from her hand. Panicked, the now dead officer's partner fired his handgun into the demon. Each round impacting her until his mag was spent. Blood soaked right through the school uniform but obviously would not hope to kill one of the archfiends of hell. He watched in horror as the bullets were pushed out of the body before the wounds disappeared. Azazel fed on his wrath and began growing.

With lightning speed, Azazel killed a random person eliciting fear and anger. Then she moved to another and another until the sidewalk was soaked in blood. The people fled but Azazel simply drank in their anger and fear growing even more. Now strong enough, Azazel used her power to infect people with wrath. People began killing one another over grievances recent and long past. Racism and prejudice were like gasoline on a fire as the demon grew off of it. Azazel was satisfied with her size at 275 ft and began walking. It looked on with sick admiration as people used their cars to run people over. Rape and murder as twisted vengeance. A tingle went up her spine seeing a home as it walked. Her vessel said it belonged to a girl that tormented her. Azazel slammed her bare foot right through it demolishing it. Out of the rubble, a girl crawled out, screamed seeing the familiar giantess and ran. Azazel let her vessel finish this one by letting her raise her bare foot and drop her big toe right onto the girl slowly. The giantess got goosebumps as her foe popped like a grape under her toe. 

Minutes later she spotted another with the same uniform in the crowd running and plucked her right up. Azazel was taken aback at the sheer wrath her vessel emitted from this one. Searching her mind, she found this girl had been her friend for two years until she abandoned her to be one of the cool girls. She had even helped with the bullying. Ayanna hated her most of all for her betrayal. Ayanna stripped her of her clothing and painfully forced her girl into a bowing position in her hand. "AYANNA PLEASE! I'M SORRY! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" the girl pleaded. Ayanna closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them. "What's inside me just said that traitors get it the worst in hell. Try to make the most of it" Ayanna sneered as she popped the girl into her mouth and began chewing. The girl shrieked for a few moments before her life ended. Ayanna swallowed her pulped remains wishing she could have done it more than once. "I like you" Azazel told her. Ayanna said nothing back as the demon took control once again...

Lilith descended into Jerusalem feeling the archfiends marching to their goal. She set foot right before the Dome of the Rock. Unlike Vatican City, its symbology barriers had eroded over the centuries and barely tickled the woman. At that time of day, worshippers had gathered by the hundreds to pray, not to God or Allah, but to her. Such was the way she warped reality. It was the biggest stronghold of the faith of Lilith on the planet but that would not save them. It would actually doom them. People froze seeing their goddess before them and flocked to her. Lilith stood there saying nothing. They prayed and prayed. "I hear your prayers, your devotion and so you shall be rewarded with a sight none have you witnessed before" she said as she fitted the Inferno Driver around her waist. Once done, she summoned the key to hell, infused with the divinity of Lucifer himself into her hand. Its power synced up with the driver. "INFERNO" the driver said. She slid the key into the right side of the driver. Lilith felt the power speaking directly into her soul. "Inferno Rise" she muttered activating the password to engage. There was a burst of blinding light that could be seen for miles all around as she transformed. "The Fallen Angel descends. Abandon All Hope" the driver said as the transformation finished.

Their vision cleared and was met with the visage woman shrouded in the divinity of a fallen angel. Her feet were bare, her body wrapped in gleaming white cloth, her hair sparkling like the sun, and in her hand was the brilliant blazing sword of Samael. Lightbringer. People groveled before her seeing something to terrifyingly perfect. She looked upon them all and chose out of the multitude a boy around 13. "You, stand up" she commanded him. The boy stood up. "You have a smartphone in your pocket do you not? Take it out and begin streaming me to a social media site of your choosing" she said. The boy did commanded and nodded as he pointed the phone at her. His legs trembled. "You know of the story of Sodom do you not?" she asked with a booming voice. "...it....it was destroyed for its wickedness. It was full of all manner of perverts and hypocrites" he replied shaking from his black hair right down to the toes in his sandals. Lilith motioned for them to move away from the boy.  Her bare feet making the tiniest of slapping sounds on the holy ground. Holy ground in its zenith would've burned her bare soles black from touch. "Your name" she said. "Hasam" he replied. "Do you know what is worse, a disbeliever or a hypocrite?" she asked. "I don't know" he replied. She smiled at his innocence.

"A hypocrite for a disbeliever has not lied. I hovered high above your city looking into the hearts of men and found so many wanting. So many turned their hearts against me and yet profess their love for me. I spared this city months ago during my ascendency wanting to make it a holy place for my people but in truth you all have fouled it. Like someone shitting in a drinking fountain" she said. The people around her professed that it wasn't true. "SILENCE! Even now I can see remnants of your old Faith's on your hearth and home. You there still have a menorah. You there named your infant son David. You still have the Star. And you...you bear the Crescent. HYPOCRITES ALL OF YOU! And so, like Sodom this city shall burn" she said. They watched in awe and fear as Lilith grew into a 200 ft giantess. Her shadow darkened the holy place. The golden dome was as if a candle to the sun compared to her. "And one shall live to bear witness. Hasam, take off your sandals for I am holy ground incarnate" she said lowering her hand. The terrified boy slipped his feet out of his worn-out sandals and stepped into her giant palm. 

His minuscule weight barely sunk into her warm flesh. The soles of his feet felt the grooves of her skin which seemingly pulsed with power. Lilith rose high into the air and stopped at 10,000 ft. "Close your eyes child for comes next is creation and death in its purest form" she said. Her hand glowed brightly as she slammed it down on the top of the Inferno Driver. "DESTRUCTION, DEVASTATION, DESPAIR, RUIN. FALLEN MAXIMUM BREAK" it growled. Fiery gigantic wings sprouted from her back as it absorbed light in all directions. Within seconds, all Jerusalem was plunged into darkness. With only the light of ominous angelic wings as the only light. Not even sun shone. And then, the blinding light of Lilith was focused into one point which floated down. To those watching from below. It was as if an angel has dropped a star from the curtain of heaven. It would be the very last thing they would see in this life. 1000 ft above the Dome of the Rock, the point of light exploded violently. Ground zero, anyone within it ceased to exist. Not even ash remained. 0.5 seconds after the explosion, the air within a radius of one mile rose to 25,000 degrees centigrade vaporizing any life within it. The shockwave exploding out obliterated structures that had withstood empires.

Standing water exploded into steam. Ancient trees turned to carbon ash. People killed so quickly; their bodies reduced to ash before they could fall to the ground. Five miles from Ground Zero, people in their homes and on the streets saw the flash. Those staring right at it went blind and did not see death rushing for them. Their clothing burst into flames. Anything remotely flammable in flames seconds before the shockwave snuffed it all out. 6 miles from Ground Zero, the air grew as hot as an oven on broil. 7 miles from Ground Zero, the shockwave could be seen and felt through the ground. The luckiest on lower floors took shelter in bathtubs as their windows and homes were broken and rocked by the blast. The shockwave dissipated and then the horrendous howl of air being sucked back into the vacuum the superheating blast had caused. Ashes from people, pets, trees, homes, temples, mosques, anything that could burn swept up in a swirling rising mushroom cloud with Lilith and the boy completely unharmed within it. Lilith floated out of it. "You can open your eyes now" she told him. 

Hasam looked down at what was left and recognized not one thing. The Dome of the Rock was gone. The Wailing Wall gone. The walls separating Jews and Palestinians were gone. Just a flattened burning landscape in every direction. He looked at his phone which said "No Signal" as any cell towers were destroyed. Hasam was a deeply religious boy even before the reality change. He prayed five times a day. Observed Ramadan with his family. He wished everyday his home would see peace. The end to war, rocket attacks, soldiers walking the streets. Harmony where one could worship as they pleased. Hasam had loved Lilith with all his heart as she actually brought peace to the land. United in one faith, no more attacks, soldiers in the streets, or rocket barrages from both sides. They had even begun to bring down the walls. His only concern was being a good boy as to not anger the females in his homeland. His mother would chide him saying if he were bad, he would be shrunk and made to do horrible things. All that was gone. For a boy, for anyone of that matter to see your beloved goddess extinguish everything and everyone you loved in an instant, was too much to bear. "We loved you. To punish the innocent with the guilty is not love. It is not justice" he said softly looking at the goddess. Hasam stepped back and fell from her hand. 

Lilith did nothing to save him as when he spoke, she felt his undying love pulled away from her. It gave her pause and she watched him fall and die. She shed one tear as seeing such a pure soul broken affected even her withered evil heart. Her giant tear fell to the ground hissing into steam after hitting the scorched stone. Lilith floated down until her bare feet touched the ground. She sat down crushing what little remained of the Dome on the Rock. Her massive ass crashing all the way to the ancient foundations of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. There she looked up at the sky for some time before the sky grew dark once more but not of her doing. The four Archfiends of hell had begun its massive spell. Hellish darkness clouded the skies all over the planet. 

Earlier...

"We need to make the battlefield of our choosing. Controlling the field is half the way to victory" Mars said. Moments later all of them winced in pain. "By the Great Mother did you feel that?" Quetzalcoatl asked. "We all felt that even Joseph" Kali replied. "A great multitude of souls suddenly cried out and were silenced" Joseph said. "For us to feel them even though they do not worship us, many, VERY many must've just died" Mars said. Kali poured her tea all over the table and used her power to divine what had occurred. In the reflection, they could see Lilith standing inside the mushroom cloud" Jerusalem. Lilith has obliterated Jerusalem" Kali said. "With what power? Not even she can do that" Quetzalcoatl said. "Lucifer. She has obtained the power of the Fallen One" Kali replied looking deeper. They all looked at one another. "We must return to our domains. The adversary has prepared a feast of blood and misery" Mars said. "Agreed. But we must hurry. Darkness is spreading around the world as we speak. The Dukes of hell ride with her" Kali said. Kali and Mars disappeared leaving Joseph and Quetzalcoatl alone. "And you serpent?" Joseph asked. "Me? I shall take stock of my lightning and ready my war club. We shall return when the time comes" he replied as his forked tongue escaped his mouth. And like the others, he was gone.

Joseph returned to find everyone looking at BBC News. "Jesus Joseph. Where the hall have you been?!" Alicia asked. "Preparing the final line of defense" he replied. "While you've been gone..."

"I know. It was felt by me and the deities I had a meeting with" he said. "And the goddamn sky?" Alicia asked. "Demons of the lowest bowels of hell have arrived" he said looking at the blackened sky. But as he did, the sky began to turn red. "Oh my god. Faith said this happened before. Some kind of merging of the worlds" she said. "No, this isn't a merging of worlds. I've only felt this one other time. The Twilight Lands of the Brownies" he said.  "Shh. Something is happening" Selah said to them. "This is real time footage of a US predator drone from Syria that has now entered Jerusalem airspace. As you can see, the entries city has been destroyed confirming our fears when the live stream from a Hasam bin Salam was cut off. Wait, something is on the ground" the newscaster said.

Lilith heard the small roar of the jet engine on the drone as it approached. She stood up revealing her gigantic height for the countless millions watching live. The drone shook as it flew through the many updrafts caused by the fires below. Lilith reached out and grabbed it like it was a mere toy. "Look upon my works and despair" she said pointing the drone around her showing off what was left of the city. "Me and my sisters came to user in an age of peace and prosperity. To put an end to war, racism, poverty, and strife. Only to see you rejoice in their murders. So be it. For if you cannot accept love and obedience, you shall chafe under the yoke of fear and horror. A new age shall dawn. The reddening skies above your heads shall be the augury of change. In three days, the realms of the dead shall merge with those of the living. Demons shall walk the earth and judge you all until the stars grow cold. Three days for humanity to...pause and reflect. So has your goddess Lilith commanded. So it shall be done" she said with a booming voice making sure the mic of the drone picked up every malice laden word just before she crushed the drone in her hand to scrap.

"She called me out specifically" Selah muttered. "She has a bone to pick with everyone kid not just you" Skylar said. "No, she said pause and reflect. That's what my name means in Hebrew. Joseph, you said the driver is good for one last fight" she said. "Yes, but things have changed. She's invoking the power of lucifer himself. She used his power to nuke Jerusalem" he said. "I know. I saw something like my driver around her waist and her image is almost identical to what was described in the Kabbalah. She bears the visage of Samael the Lightbringer" she said. "...you're pretty well informed" Joseph muttered. "My parents were good teachers" she said. "Then you know what level of power we're dealing with, and you'd still face her?" he asked. "I never went to Sunday school. Who's Samael?" Lucy asked. "The second of God's creations. When God said let there be light, Samael flicked the switch. Hence the name Lightbringer. After his fall, he took the name Lucifer" Selah said. "And in the game of concepts and power, the oldest one has the advantage" Lucy said. "Or the one most believe in. In this case both" Joseph said. "But she's still vulnerable to symbology. If we count Selah, we have two Campioné on our side" Alicia said.

"This war began with a Campioné. And like all wars they take a life of their own. This isn't just about killing jealous gods anymore. She's summoned the Dukes of hell to aid her. This is Armageddon" he said. "Then something more is needed beyond a Campioné" Mary said leaning against the wall. "MARY!" Alicia said steadying her. "I found my way back. There is something you should know". 

"Mary. We all thought you'd never wake up" Alicia said in disbelief. "Yeah. Wasn't your mind broken or something?" Skylar asked. "Splintered is a more accurate description. When Lilith raped my mind with visions of hell, my mind fractured as a defense mechanism. If I was fully human, I'd still be a drooling vegetable" she said. "Pardon but how did your mind survive? I don't see the distinction between splintered and straight up shattered" Selah asked. "A part of my mind broke away to save itself. Something like a lizard losing its tail to escape. It was...disconcerting to be in two places at once. I was trapped in Lilith's mind but at the same time trapped in my own body here. I felt and heard everything that happened here. Alicia...thank you for taking care of my bodily needs" Mary said embarrassed. "Don't. Don't feel like you should be embarrassed. We're family" she said. "Yes, we are aren't we. I... Kyle you can stop crying. I know things were very scary for you, but I must concentrate" she said. They looked at her puzzled. "He's on my shoulder" she explained pointing to the bug sized man sitting on it.

"You said you were trapped in her mind. How did you escape?" Joseph asked. "After she attacked me, as I stated part of me broke away and hid within her own mind. The same part that serves as a prison for Faith. However, as of late she has been too preoccupied to check in on Faith. Lilith's mind as become more chaotic in the last few weeks allowing me to listen in for a lack of a better term on her inner thoughts. I began to understand what she's been doing, what's been driving her, and more importantly her end goals" Mary said. "That's easy. World domination" Selah said. "No, that's not it. If it was that simple, she would've rested on her laurels a while ago. She does control every government and nation on the planet. That's by definition world domination" she said. "But we're fucking all that up" Alicia said. "Yes. More and more territory is slipping away but in the grand scheme of things it wouldn't really matter. Not to an immortal such as her" she said. "I don't get it" Selah said.

"As long as nobody fixes the damage she did to reality, it wouldn't matter what she loses right now. All she'd have to do is simply wait till you all die. She's knows you're not immortal and the gods and goddesses are fading away. 100 years is a blink of an eye to immortals like us" Joseph said. "Exactly" Mary said. "But that changed" Selah said. "Yes, it did. Your power is growing by leaps and bounds. If you fought her with the same power you fought Izanami, she'd have slaughtered you. But your most recent battle pushed her to her limits. Even with her power boosted by worshippers around the world, you gave her a real fight. It's your growth that frightened her. And now she's seen Joseph oppose her, for the first time in all this, she realizes she can actually lose" Mary said. "She didn't think so before? We do have Hope on our side, literally" Alicia said. "Hope is powerful indeed, person and emotion, but ultimately she cannot destroy Lilith. She's no Campioné or a symbology user. The only reason she has not destroyed her is because she feared the destruction of the vessel she possesses. A fear she no longer has due to the power she obtained" Mary said.

"The power of the first angel Samael" Selah said. "Yes. After your battle, she took a broken shard of your own driver and had the creator fashion one for herself based off of it" she said. "But Hikari said he's dead" Skylar said. "You think such a thing could stop the queen of the underworld?" Mary asked. Skylar remained silent. "So, she used that driver to invoke the powers of a fallen angel. THE fallen angel. We were right" Alicia said. "And she fucking nuked Jerusalem with it" Selah spat. "Indeed. That's how I escaped. Her driver doesn't use a power source separate from the user like yours. Hers draws on her own energies. When she released that attack, she drained a great deal of her own power to do so. It weakened her mentally and physically. I took that opportunity to escape and come back" Mary said. "So if world domination isn't her end game, what is?" Alicia asked.

"Lilith is many things but most of all she's narcissistic. They HAVE to be loved and the forefront of attention. The worst thing you can do to a narcissist is reject them. She wants the world to suffer just as much as she does. If she can't be the object of their love, she'll be the object of their fears. She doesn't give a damn to the consequences of dragging hell to earth. EVERY hell" Mary replied. "We have three days to stop her" Alicia said. "We don't have three days. The world as you know will end in two and that's optimistic" Mary said. "But the summoning..."

"Will be complete in three days. She did not lie. Think about it. If the world was being condemned to hell. If Armageddon was really coming in three days, would you sit back and wait? Humanity is going to rip itself apart before the three days are up. As we speak, four archfiends around the globe causing this burnt blood red sky is infecting humanity with its evils. Bother will turn on sister. Parent on child. Neighbor against neighbor. We could see nukes flying like cicadas as early as tonight" Mary warned. The mood grew increasingly somber. Mary sat down on the sofa. "But not all is lost. I have a coalition forming as we speak" Joseph said. "A up front assault won't win this" Mary said. Alicia draped a blanket around her and gave her a cup of tea she had brewed earlier. "Agreed. First thing we need to do is prune her support. You said four archfiends. Well, I got four gods itching to fight" Joseph said. "That won't beat Lilith. She has the power of the first angel. A power older than any God or goddess" Mary said. "True. Alone it will not stop her but in concert it can lead to her downfall" Joseph said. "What are you suggesting?" Alicia asked. "We have to give humanity back when she stole from them starting with killing these demons she brought here. And then..."

"Then what?" Alicia asked. "That worldwide concert you did before. Can you do it again?" he asked. "That exploit was a one-time deal" Alicia replied shaking her head. "The Emergency Broadcast Network" Selah whispered. "The Network! Selah that's genius!" Skylar grinned. "What?" Lucy asked. "With everything going on, most countries will be broadcasting some kind of emergency broadcasting station. Either tv, radio, or both. Mom, you only need a medium right?" Selah asked. "Yeah. Yeah, that might actually work but I can't be in multiple places at once" she said. "Maybe you can. Before we to any further, we should invite Keith, Hope, and Susan over here" Joseph said. Alicia dialed their number. "Uhh...all circuits are busy" she said. "That's how it begins..." Lucy muttered. "I'll go get them myself" Alicia told them. Soon after Alicia translocated to Yorkshire.

"You must be starving" Skylar said to Mary as she fixed her something to eat. Mary took Kyle from her shoulder and used magic to grow him to a more manageable size. "Poor guy looks worn out" Selah muttered to Lucy. "They haven't been told yet have they?" Lucy asked. "About..."

Lucy nodded. "What?" Mary asked. "You're pregnant" Selah replied. "That's impossible. I'm a dream goddess. I can't get pregnant" she said. "Just like dream goddesses can't fall into comas?" Lucy asked. Kyle and Mary looked at one another. "Then I'm more human than I realized" she whispered. "I'm going to be a father?!" Kyle yelled. "So it would seem" Mary replied softly. "You don't seem happy. What's the problem with..." Lucy asked before Skylar cut her off. Mary sat with the blanket around her eating her sandwich quietly.

"You came at a bad time" Susan said being told of her arrival. "This is the best time to come actually" Alicia told her. Susan looked over a sheet of paper. "I want these distributed to every soldier that can carry a gun. I want every squad ready for combat by noon" Susan told a woman standing at attention. The woman nodded and ran off. "If Yorkshire didn't have enough problems now this" Susan sighed. "Looters?" Alicia asked. "If only. This area was already a powder keg waiting to blow since the last time you showed up here. One side worshipping that whore and the others condemning her. Now? Now her worshippers are killing whomever they consider heretics on the street to avoid her wrath. Only a matter of time before they walk up here" Susan said. "That's why I'm here. We're forming a counterattack as we speak. We need you, Keith, and Hope to attend the meeting" Alicia said. "Keith is standing watch down the hill and Hope is with another friend of yours in the city. You can find her in the Eastern block 6. House 117" Susan said walking to the front door.

"Friend of mine?" Alicia wondered. Alicia took off her shoes and entered the city. She followed the directions to the house Hope was at. Alicia could see the fear in the borrowers faces as she looked down watching her giant feet. Last time she was here, the people seemed much livelier abet worried. Walking to a fro, pushing and hauling carts. Now, she could set her bare feet down in the middle of the street with barely a worry. The people had begun to reach a breaking point and more worrying, many of the females she did see were pregnant. Unusually so in number. Faith had once told her that when borrowers become extremely stressed, their sex drive increases. They get clingy, needy, and horny. Alicia had seen this in Lucy not long ago but now she could see the aftereffects in spades. Alicia reached the home, shrank down, and knocked on the door. "Marco?" Alicia asked seeing him open the door. The young man said nothing and hugged her tightly. "Come in" he said softly. "I didn't know you and Cordelia were living here. I mean I knew you guys lived in this city but not here here" she said. "...where is Cordelia?" she asked. "In the bedroom with Hope" he replied leading her upstairs.

"Alicia?" Hope asked seeing her. "Hey guys" she said. Cordelia did not look her way. "Anything?" Marco asked. Hope shook her head. "Alright" Marco said softly. "I know why you're here. I'll be downstairs" Hope said. Alicia sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey Cordi. How have you been?" Alicia asked touching her shoulder. Nothing. Marco motioned for Alicia to walk over to him. "Hope has been trying slow down the weakening of her Authority. This morning we found out it didn't work. Cordelia had her period" he whispered. "Then just now..." Alicia asked. "Hope confirmed she's human" he replied. Cordelia cried softly. Alicia sat down next to her again. "It's gone. My purpose for existing. My role, my powers, even the privilege of being the servant to the Alighieri family is gone" she cried. "I'm sorry Cordi. I can understand how it feels..."

"You can't possibly understand how it feels to have your reason to exist torn away from you!" Cordi shouted pulling away from her. "Yeah, I think I can. I grew up dreaming of being the next Selena or J Lo. And after my voice settled in people loved to listen to me sing even before my Alux powers kicked in. I really felt like God put me on this earth to sing. And then came a man who tore it all away. Every hope and dream connected to my voice. I was turned into a tool, a weapon to spread evil. Even now after leaving that life behind I can't reclaim that feeling. Maybe I never will. So believe when I say I understand how it feels like to have your calling in life ripped away from you. Like a violation of your soul" Alicia said softly. Cordelia looked at her and hugged her tightly and wept. "What you have to do now is find the good in all this. Find something that keeps you going" she told her. "Like what?" Cordelia asked. Alicia motioned for Marco to come sit next to them. "There is one upside to being human I can think of. You get to grow old and die with the one you love" she said. "...I never thought of that. All my life I've had to watch people I love grow old and die while I remained ageless. I did not want to bear it again with Marco" she said.

"And that's the other thing. Nothing stopping you from pumping out some cute kids with him. That stupid rule against having kids with goddesses no longer applies" Alicia chuckled. "Not like I could be punished anyways. The Vatican is toast" Marco chuckled. Alicia placed his hands on Cordelia's. "You two figure this out. I got to stop Armageddon" Alicia said. "It's coming to pass. You'll need a Campioné" Marco said. "No. You need to stay alive. If we fail, if all of this falls to darkness, we need someone to carry the light" Alicia said. "...pray with me" he said. "I've been out of practice. I haven't prayed for a long time" she said. "No better time than now" he said. Alicia and Marco prayed with each other with Cordelia saying amen at the end. Alicia left them and went downstairs.

"It's not often I feel powerless" Hope said looking up the stairs. "Somethings happen because they happen. It took my wife to teach me that" Alicia said. "I can feel it in the air. The same kind of tension the day I was born. The end is near" Hope said. "Which is why I came. We're making plans back at my home. I ask you, your father, and Susan to join me" she said. "Take my hand" Hope said. Alicia did and Hope translocated them to Keith. "Oof. Honey don't pop on my shoulder like that. And did you gain weight?" Keith asked looking at Yorkshire. "I most certainly did not. I shrank Alicia and placed her on your shoulder with me" Hope said flatly. "Wha? Oh damn. Alicia, is it that time?" he asked taking her off his shoulder. "Soon which is why I came. Is it really that bad down there?" Alicia asked. "Cold air carries sound very well, and borrowers can naturally hear better than humans. A few minutes ago, I heard an old man begging for his life before someone killed him. Apparently, he had a cross in his kitchen. Lilith said the world had three days, but it doesn't. Yorkshire is but a macrocosm of what's coming. When do we leave?" Keith asked. "As soon as possible" she replied. "Hope. Bring Susan here" he said. Hope disappeared.

"I cut the Wi-Fi off in the city when the live broadcast showing my daughter appeared. Unfortunately, Claire and her mother Aspen were sitting with me in my bedroom where the Wi-Fi was working. They had been told about Lilith taking her body but to see it visually. And then nuking Jerusalem. It broke their hearts. Aspen is near catatonic and Claire just sits next to her not saying a word" he said. "Faith described something similar happening in the other timeline" Alicia said. "And what did I do about it then?" Keith asked. "Nothing" she replied. "Hope is eager to fight. She's obsessed with it. My daughter has never been that angry before. It's sad to see your child so upset. Terrifying when you know what's she's capable of" he said. "Good she's angry. Angry gets shit done" Alicia said coldly. "And the aftermath? Did Faith ever tell you about what the colony was like days, weeks after the battle last year?" he asked. "She didn't say much about it other than you keeping her in the mansion and not letting her leave" she replied. "Damn right I did."

"The city streets reeked of blood and guts. The smell of burnt flesh hanging in the air. We set up centers for missing persons as they trickled in. To this day some are still listed as missing. No bodies but then again so many couldn't be identified, and some were eaten. And then the suicides. Mothers who lost children. Spouses who lost spouses. There's a part of the colony called Emerald Field where nothing but shoeboxes full of borrower dead are buried. Five to a box. It's enough to break your soul. I've seen what angry gets me Alicia. I want no part of that for me or any of my children" he said. "Anger had got me pretty far in life. It's kept me alive" Alicia said. "Anger is like steroids. In the beginning, it'll make you stronger. Give you confidence. But in the end, it'll ruin you in mind and body. My sister was murdered by a human conducting a science experiment. It made me angry and bitter for a long time until it led me to nearly jump off the Boston Bridge. Susan was blinded by a human because she refused to lick her pussy. She was angry and hateful for years after that" he said. "So I just chill out?" Alicia asked annoyed. "No. Replace that anger with resolve. Sharpen and hone it until it's like a goddamn sword that cuts through bullshit life throws at us" Keith said sternly. Hope returned with Susan moments later. "We've been invited to a powwow" Keith said. "So I heard" Susan said. Alicia opened at portal to home. They followed her through. 

"Welcome to the island" Alicia said as they emerged in her living room. "The island? It doesn't have a real name?" Hope asked. "It has many names. Eden, Xanadu, Shangri-La, depending on who speaks of it. To simplify, we just call it the Island. It's nice to see you again Hope" Selah replied. Hope floated over and hugged the girl's neck. "That tickles!" Selah laughed. "It's nice to see you again Keith" Joseph said. "Wish it was under better circumstances. You got caught in this too?" Keith asked. "We all have. Alicia, you have to fetch Hikari and that Ahmed boy, right? Might as well do that now" he said. "It may take some time. They don't have cell service in Iram" she said. Joseph nodded understanding. Alicia left to bring them back leaving them alone. "Why don't you take Hope on a tour of the city while me and Keith catch up" he said. Selah shrugged and walked out of the mansion with Hope.

"So you guys know Joseph?" Selah asked. "Yep. His sister tried to enslave me the day I was born" Hope replied. "What?" Selah asked astounded. "Oh yeah. His family is all kinds of crazy. He has one sister that's a goddess to Hawaii. A brother who just went missing. Mentioned his other sister. And a brother they accidentally killed along with almost all of humanity" Hope replied. "His son created this" Selah said as they walked. "Cool" Hope said. "Not exactly. This was an island of slaves he farmed for an army of mages to conquer the world" Selah said. "Not cool" Hope said softly. Selah showed her the first buildings human sized which were now mostly vacant. A class mages lived in them but now they were all dead. They came up to the second set of buildings which were borrower size. "Here are the dormitories. The Valkyries and B class mages stay in there. But...not many of them are left. Hey Skylar!" Selah yelled waving to the girl. "Break!" Skylar said walking up to them. She had shrunk herself and was busy sparring with the Valkyries she had left. "This must be one of our guests Alicia went to get...holy shit she looks like Faith" Skylar said standing at the giant feet of the girl.

"This is Hope" Selah said. Hope floated down surprising the young woman. "It's very nice to meet you. But you seem so...never mind. Dad said its not nice to read minds like that" Hope said. "What is it?" Skylar asked. "Sad. You're very sad" Hope replied.  "Yeah I am. A lot of my friends are dead, and I sent someone I love to your home for safe keeping" Skylar said. "Hana? She's very kind. You're the girl that's on her mind a lot" Hope said. "You met her?" Skylar asked. "Yep. I was curious. Not many Asians I've seen before other than auntie Hikari. I see why you love her. I can bring her here if you want" Hope said raising her hand. "No! I mean not right now" Skylar said. Hope shrugged. "I... I should go back to sparring with them" Skylar said leaving them. Hope floated back to Selah's shoulder. "I did it again. I tried to help and made things worse" Hope muttered. "I think Skylar appreciates your help. Its just emotions are very...complicated" Selah said as they began walking again.

Selah stopped as they stood on the edge of the city. "Holy crap! How many people live here?" Hope asked seeing the sprawling city before them. "Well, there was a terrible attack a few months ago and a lot of people died. Factoring that in, plus births, probably 45,000 people?" Selah replied. "And they're bug sized?" Hope asked. "How else would you fit them all in silly?" Selah chuckled. Selah took off her sandals and began to carefully walk into the city. "The entire area reeks of strange magics" Hope said. "Lemurians magics. It powers the barrier that keeps this entire island safe. It was severely damaged a week ago, but Joseph was nice enough to fix it" Selah explained. "Uhh...the humans are bowing" Hope said pointing down. "They've been trained to worship our kind" she said. "What?" Hope asked. "Okay. A long time ago, Markus scoured the world looking for people with Lemurians bloodlines. Once he had enough, he began bringing humans here on the condition they served magic users. They would become slaves in exchange for a life where no work was needed. Every need taken care of. No racism, fighting over religions, cultures, or tribes. It's been going on so long it's rare to find a person who's entirely white, brown, or Asian. Over 700 years in interracial breeding" Selah said. "But they're slaves!" Hope yelled. "Not anymore. They're free but years of conditioning is very hard to break" Selah said. Curious, Hope floated down to the street. She was amazed at how even though she was 3 and a half inches tall, she was still a giantess among them. Taller than all the homes. Tall as apartment buildings. It al lay felt like her home except much more intricate. And now that she stood before them, they prostrated even harder. Hope froze where she stood as people walked up to kiss her toenails.

"This...is weird" she said. "You look a lot like mom. She's the most respected of all here" Selah said. "Speaking of looks. You aged" Hope said. "The Hero Driver is responsible for that. I may look 17 now but I'm still 12" Selah said. "You even talk older" Hope said. "Yeah, I do" Selah said softly. Selah and Hope walked some more quietly. "You have nice boobs now" Hope said. Selah laughed. "You didn't hurt my feelings Hope if that's what you're worried about. I do feel...funny about my mind and body but I went in knowing what would happen. I even found a nice boyfriend here. He went home though" Selah said. Selah stopped suddenly looking down at a city block. "Hmm. It's empty" Hope said. "It wasn't always. I used to live in apartment with my family here. It was demolished during an attack. My parents were out for the night, and I was alone. The sirens went off telling us to take shelter. I ran as fast as I could down to the lower levels heading to the basement. I got in seconds before a giant vampire smashed the entire building. I cast a barrier that prevented me and others from being crushed by debris. First time I ever used magic. Held the barrier up for days until I was rescued by Faith" she said. "Selah I'm so sorry" Hope said. Selah walked a few feet to another building and bent down to her knees. "My school...or it was" Selah said. The shrunken kids taking class could see Selah's giant eye gazing at them through the window.

"I lost a lot of friends that day. A lot of students that went to my school lived in the same apartment building I did" she said softly as he opened the window. She plucked one boy from his seat with her fingernails and held him in her palm. "He thinks I'm a goddess Hope. He'd do anything I'd ask him. He'd jump down my throat if I asked" Selah said. "Selah..." Hope said before Selah cut her off. "Such power over so many lives is an awesome and fearful thing. I tried to understand what your Etherion would feel like, and it feels like this doesn't it? The power to do anything" Selah said softly. "Yeah, it does, and it scares me. I could cure cancer with a snap of my fingers but that would be cheating, wouldn't it? Life is about the journey. Sometimes you have to hit the potholes in the road" Hope said. "That's a very mature way of looking at it. I'm not the only one that's grown" Selah chuckled. Selah placed the boy back in his classroom. Selah walked a distance at sat down. "This is my favorite place here" Selah said as she shrunk down to Hope's size. "It's beautiful! It even overlooks the city!" Hope said. Selah hugged her from behind. "Does this bother you?" Selah asked. "Nope" Hope replied grinning. Hope stopped smiling as she felt her shake. She felt wetness on her neck. Selah was softly crying. "I'm sorry. I know you're not mom but..."

"It's okay. I know it hurts to look at me" Hope said. "NO! It's not that. It hurts to be reminded what was stolen from me" Selah said. "I do not understand the difference" Hope said to her. Selah turned her head and kissed her. "Oh" Hope muttered. Hope smiled as Selah held her close for a while before Hope said Alicia had returned. Selah and Hope returned to the mansion. "Is the gang all here?" Keith asked. Joseph looked out the window. "More or less" Joseph replied. Then I'll prepare some tea. Please get Skylar for me Selah" Alicia said. When Skylar and Selah retuned, everyone was seated at the dining table with cups of tea before them. "Well? How are we going to save the world this time?" Keith chuckled. "First things first. Everyone, this is Ahmed" Alicia said. "A pleasure to meet everyone. Better circumstances preferred" Ahmed said bowing. "Well well. It's been a very long time since I met one of your kind. First or second-generation djinn?" Joseph asked. "Second. You can see that I am of a djinn?" Ahmed asked shocked. "Quite well my boy. You carry exception power for being a second generation" he replied. "Joseph is one of the most powerful mages in existence. He's good at sensing things" Alicia told him. "Being touched by Etherion will do that" Keith said. Ahmed bowed to his knee. "Apologies. I did not know such an esteemed person was before me" Ahmed said. "Get off your knee boy. I'm old a fucking dirt and strong as hell but that doesn't mean I go into all that fanfare. I'm just an old man that likes old cars" Joseph said. "We can small talk later. We got bigger matters" Keith said pointing at the sky. "Agreed. Let's begin" Joseph said.

"First thing we need to do is stop the demons. The more time passes, the chance of humans doing something stupid like firing off nukes increases. Humans are panicking across the planet and these demons are literally feeding off of it" Joseph said. "Not to mention the fear and terror they are emitting is supercharging Lilith. This is similar to what she was doing before but now she has the entire world's attention 24/7" Alicia said. "So who goes after the demons? The damn things are giants. Even I know growth magics are tricky shit. Hope? Can you make us big?" Keith asked. "Yeah, I can but these demons are spread across the planet. It would be hard to keep focus like that" Hope said. "We're not going to fight these demons. I already got 4 people in mind" Joseph said. Keith looked around. "Can we meet them?" he asked. "They're...around. They would prefer to remain hidden from sight until necessary" Joseph said. "Joseph..."

"They're gods Keith. Pissed off hungry and thirsty gods. That's all you need to know right now" Joseph said seeing his annoyance. "Okay...Joseph's gods are going to fight these demons. What shall be the next part of this plan?" Hikari asked. "This should actually be the first part. Mary is going to enter the dreams of every human asleep over the next 12 hours and leave a simple subconscious command. Use any internet connected device to visit a particular streaming webpage where I'll be doing the live concert of my life" Alicia said. "You think anyone will sleep with this going on?" Keith said again pointing outside. "Already noted which is why in 12 hours the Emergency Broadcast Networks of multiple countries will be hacked to broadcast my concert. By no means will this reach every human on Earth but a bare minimum of a billion we estimate" Alicia said. "Whoa. Wait a damn minute. Mary is going to sneak into every dream over the next 12 hours? Mary, can you actually pull that off because no offense you look like shit" Selah said. "...I'll manage" Mary said quietly. Susan cocked an eyebrow sensing the woman lying.

"Hold on. Last time you did this was to disrupt Lilith's influence. The way the world is, we'll need more than that" Keith said. "A candle is burns brightest in total darkness. In the grips of despair, one will cling onto hope the most. And that is what I shall give them. Hope" Alicia said petting his daughters head. "Can you do what you did before?" Alicia asked the girl. "Last time nearly killed you" Hope said. "I know and the strain will be a lot worse this time, but it isn't about me. This is about protecting the people I love" Alicia said holding Selah close. "And the world" Susan said. "Are the two different?" Alicia asked. "Point taken" Susan said grinning. "And then what's next?" Hikari asked. "We make Lilith waste her energy" Alicia said. "The same Lilith that nuked Jerusalem? What's stopping her from vaporizing anyone fighting her?" Hikari asked. "Lilith is no fool. That power she used nearly sucked her dry. She won't dare risk using it and not killing one of us. No offense but while it can turn you all to ash, me and Hope would survive. And that would leave her wide open to having her vessel destroyed.  She needs Faith's body to use Lucifer's powers. A goddess cannot possess the powers of another God. Only a mortal body can do that" he said.

"Just like me and my power. The Hero Driver wouldn't work on a goddess. They can bind to me because I'm not a goddess" Selah said. "Exactly child" Joseph said. "So we tire the bitch out" Keith said. "Using me and Hope. We can lay down the pain. Make her burn through her energy. Make her hurt" he said. "But you can't kill her" Alicia said. "No. Only someone that can use symbology can do that" Joseph said. "That means you and the genie kiddo" Alicia said to Selah and Ahmed. "Assuming you can kill her. What about Faith? How does this fix the world?" Susan asked. "Normally an exorcism spell would be called for to separate the two, but this isn't simple possession. They've merged. We talked this over and were fine killing Faith if it means killing Lilith. As for the world, we think traveling to Eden and undoing exactly what Lilith did will revert the world back to the way it was" Alicia replied. "You got anything stronger than tea to choke that crazy shit down? Eden? As in the Garden of Eden?" Susan asked. "It's real. As real...no realer than anything you've ever seen. Me and Selah have seen it with our own eyes" Alicia said. "Along with the corpses of angels" Selah muttered. Susan scoffed.

"Susan. I've seen things that would boggle the mind. I've seen an afterlife. My sister visiting from whatever land of the dead she found herself. Hell, you carry the blood of humans, fairies, and a dead race of mages. Jesus, four lords of hell are ravaging the planet as we speak. You really want to draw the line at Eden?" Keith asked. "Duly noted. I withdraw my sarcasm" Susan said softly. "If that's settled, would you all like to stay for lunch?" Alicia asked. "It's almost our bedtime for us back in Yorkshire" Keith chuckled. "Dinner" Hikari smiled. "I have one last thing I must do" Ahmed said excusing himself. "Well, I'll just whip up something simple" Alicia shrugged. They all talked among themselves as Keith and Hikari went for a walk on their own.

"Holy shit. This puts the colony to shame" Keith said seeing the city. "It is spectacular. Even though it is not the first time seeing it, I am still amazed" Hikari said. "Hope said 45,000 and I can believe it. Look at the streets" he said pointing to the people. Keith shrunk himself down and accompanied Hikari into the city. "They're umm...very friendly" Hikari said looking down at the people staring up her kimono. "Yeah. Friendly" he said annoyed. "Jealous?" the Koonago chuckled. "Oh not jealous at all. Just a crowd of ant sized people ogling my mate's giant Koonago pussy" he scoffed. Hikari grabbed him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. "He's mine. Only he and my husband may find pleasure in my pussy" Hikari said roughly grabbing Keith's balls. "Your husband? Is he the one that knocked you up?" Keith asked. "So, you noticed" she said. "Your scent is...sweeter" he said. "Yes Keith. I married my childhood friend and first love recently. We wasted no time making a child. Even though such a matter has come in spades for my people" she said. Hikari quietly explained what had occurred to her people. The slaughter. The raping. The forced breeding. "Why didn't you call me about this?" Keith asked. "There was a goddess of death involved. There was very little you could've done" she replied. Keith sat down in a clearing meant to be a park. Hikari followed suit.

"Why do I feel like a guest in this world? Like I missed critical shit. Fuck, I did miss critical shit" he asked softly. "Like starting a movie in the third act? Keith I know how you feel" she said. "It's beautiful even sitting down" he said looking at the city lights. With the sky darkened, one couldn't tell it was 3 in the afternoon. Hikari slid her right foot out of her geta sandal and poked his leg. "I have known you long enough to see when you are hiding pain" she said. He took her foot and laid it on his thigh. He began massaging it slowly. "Tomorrow we are going to kill my daughter who I have barely got the chance to know. How the hell do I explain this to Aspen? To Claire?" he asked. A shrunken human woman, who had felt the slight tremor of the giant and giantess sitting down looked out from her balcony window. She found the giant quite appealing and stripped off her clothing. "I've heard at the great things she's done here. Freed thousands from slavery or worse. Given redemption to her enemies. Started a family including borrowers, humans, and hybrids. She accomplished things I could only dream of doing. And I can't even tell her how proud I am of her" Keith said softly. Hikari felt his tears fall on the top of her foot. The woman who was hot for him paused watching the giant cry.

She had desired for him to use her body for his pleasure. To bathe in his cum. To clean his giant feet, be smothered by them. She wouldn't even put up a fight if he decided to eat her. But seeing him cry about his daughter made her feel sorry for him. She wanted to comfort him in a different way. She stepped out onto the balcony. Keith could hear the clack of her sliding glass door and looked up. He stopped crying surprised at how pretty she was. She appeared to be 19 or 20 with long black hair down to her waist. Naked with large firm breasts and a skin tone making her ethnicity hard if not impossible to gauge. She reached out to him. Keith plucked her from the balcony. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I have to make a very hard choice tomorrow" he said. "To kill our goddess" she said. "Ye...yeah. You know that?" Keith asked. "Word gets around quickly here. Oh! You are her father!" she said putting two and two together. "Yeah I am. What's she like?" Keith asked. "That might take some time" she said. "I'll make the time" Keith said softly. Hikari put her sandal back on. "I'll see you at the mansion" she said before kissing his cheek.

Keith listened for over an hour as this woman named Ahri talk about Faith. How she grieved for the people lost during Ambrosio's attack. Took time to listen to their needs. Spent time to play with the thousands of children that lived there. "She had this laugh like a snort when the kids would play hide and seek in her hair. She was beautiful and the object of desire of many men and boys. Girls too" she chuckled. She said not to worship her but how is that possible when someone so gentle and pretty towers over you? Even her giant feet were magnificent" Ahri said. "She gets her feet from her mother" Keith said quietly. "And her heart from you" Ahri said sitting in his hand. "We had to deal with death constantly. My older sister was eaten before my eyes just a few years ago. She was plucked away and swallowed alive by Libra. Even though she is gone, she still lives on inside me. We honor those lost by the memories they leave behind. You want to know how you could kill her? If you truly love her, you will kill her just to set her free. I've seen what happens when evil power possesses someone. It's a living death that shackles your soul" she said. Keith gritted his teeth realizing her words to be true. Lilith had nearly destroyed Aspen and Claire's souls by turning them into murderous acolytes. And that was simple mind control. Faith undoubtedly suffered far worse. If could not save her, he'd be damned if he let her suffer the torture of being her slave. "Thank you. I needed to hear that" he told her. During their talk, he had forgotten she was naked. "Ummm...why were you naked? Were you heading to the bath?" he asked. "Oh that...I wanted to pleasure you" she replied sheepish. "Any other day I'd take you up on your offer. Your scent is...nice" he muttered. "So that's a no?" she asked. Keith brought her to his lips where he kissed her. "Payment for the advice" he said. He placed she back on her balcony. "Don't be a stranger Keith" she said to him.

A little later...

"Sandwich?" Susan asked standing next to Mary who was sitting down with eyes closed quietly in her room. "...thanks" Mary muttered closing her eyes once again. "It's been bugging me. What exactly are you? You smell half human and obviously is extremely powerful if you can enter the dreams of millions" Susan asked. "My true name is Morpheus the lord of dreams" Mary replied. "For real? Like the Greek god Morpheus?" Susan asked. "The very same. Circumstances led me to have this female corporeal form" she replied. "So, you can enter the dreams of every human on the planet if they fall asleep according to this plan?" Susan asked. "...if I'm not constantly interrupted I can" Mary muttered. "Funny thing about me is I can tell when a person lies. Their body language and a subtle change in their scent. So Mary, why are you lying?" Susan asked. "I'm not lying. I can do this" Mary said. Susan bent down to look her dead in the face

"There's dried blood in your left nostril. The stress of what you're doing can kill you. That's the truth. The lie is where can you do it before you die" Susan said quietly. Mary sighed and opened her eyes. "This change in reality has severely weakened me. I'm already more human than goddess. Nevertheless, I have a job to do. I owe this family a huge debt that must be repaid" she said. "I doubt they'd want it at the cost of your life and your unborn child" Susan told her. "Are you a believer of a religion?" Mary asked. "Yes. Since Faith helped me regain my powers, my sealed memories came back with them. I literally lived in a southern Baptist church as a child" Susan replied. "Then let me tell you this. Your bible can't fully describe what hell is truly like. Not the bible, Quran, Torah, Vedas, or Buddha. I've seen it in her mind. An eon of soul searing horror and that horror is coming here to rape this world. Rape it in the ass with a cock lined with barbed wire! This is not about me, my child, petty fucking gods and goddesses. As we speak a one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is thinking of telling the president to nuke Los Angeles. He's dreaming about it literally. Now little borrower, any other observations you wish to share?" Mary scowled. "...no" replied Susan. She turned to leave. "Susan. Thank you for your concern and the sandwich. It is not easy facing death after 5,000 years of life" Mary said softly. "I'll pray for your soul Mary" Susan said quietly. "Please do" Mary said.

Susan returned to the living room just as Keith and Hope returned having went back to Yorkshire to bring back Hana, the kids, Theo, Lucy, Marco, and Cordelia. "12 hours?" Keith asked. "12 hours" Alicia said marking the time. Keith nodded and he, Susan, and Hope went home. Keith and Hope arrived in their living room. "Get some rest squirt" Keith told her. Hope nodded and flew off to their room leaving him alone. He walked to the kitchen and found a shrunken Aspen feeding their son Luke on the table. "How did it go?" she asked as he sat down. "We have a plan" he replied. "And we save Faith?" she asked. Keith didn't answer. Aspen quietly wiped the oatmeal of Luke's face. "So that's it?" Aspen asked. "A woman named Mary confirmed Lilith and Faith are joined beyond what can be called possession. Even Oberon doesn't have a spell to separate the two" he said. "She's out daughter. Think of something!" Aspen spat. "You think I haven't tried! I have a 3,000-year-old fairy in my head that can't figure this out. Nobody can figure this out and we are coming to the wire Aspen! Look outside. It's 11 in the morning and it's dark as fuck outside. Not a single damn star is shining" Keith yelled. Luke began crying. Aspen picked him up to cuddle him. "Faith is my daughter too. You think this isn't hurting me?" he asked weakly. Aspen sniffled holding back tears. "And Hope. Oh my god she has to fight someone who looks like her" he said. Aspen looked up at the giant. "I had hoped she could sit this out" she said. "So did I" he said. He placed his chin on the table and she approached. His teeny, little infant son giggled and played with the tip of his nose. "You smell like oatmeal" Keith chuckled. "When does it begin?" she asked. Keith looked at the time. "11 hours 49 minutes" he replied. "We should all spend time together" she said. "My thoughts exactly. Keith said picking them up and carrying them to his room.

Even though they should've been resting, Keith and Hope made sure to spend time with Aspen and Luke. Claire was with her parents but would return that afternoon. "Hope honey. Don't levitate your baby brother" Aspen said. "But he loves it" Hope said. "He also loves farting. Put him back down" Aspen said. Hope sighed and pulled Luke from the air. "She loves him so much" Aspen said to Keith. "She loves easily. The people on that island said Faith is the same way" Keith said. Aspen and Keith watched as Hope laid down with her brother and slowly went to sleep. "Is he back?" Claire said flying into the room. Keith motioned for her to keep quiet. Claire landed on his lap. "So how did it go?" she asked. "We're heading back in a few hours. We're going to launch a multi prong attack to end this" he said. "Hope is going then?" Claire asked. Keith silently nodded. "No quarter given. Lilith has to be eradicated completely including her vessel" he said. Claire looked at the sleeping Hope. "What does it take to have a happy ending? If it's not Ebonheart then it was ZODIAC. if not them then it's this bullshit!" Claire spat. Keith caressed her cheek with his finger. "I know" he said. Aspen held his hand and laid her head on his shoulder. Keith turned and kissed her. His fingers wrapped around Claire and brought her up to his lips and kissed her as well. Claire looked into the eyes of the giant she had known for years and froze. The look of hopelessness haunted them. A look he had never shown.

The borrower young woman considered him a source of strength. Confident, caring, thoughtful. In the face of doubt, he always stood tall. Those qualities helped make her decision to have him make her pregnant and bare his child. But to see him now, she is sorely reminded that even our heroes can falter, to lose hope. That nobody is immune to the uncertainty of life. Keith nuzzled her and she could feel him breathe her scent. Keith closed his heavy eyes and laid back. He placed her over his heart. Claire and Aspen said nothing as he drifted off to sleep.

Susan had her own issues trying to calm her adopted daughter Ruby. The girl could sense the fear in Susan. And if her mother was afraid, things are dire indeed. Eventually, the young borrower wore herself out crying and slept in Susan's hand. Her hand as the girl was so hysterical, Susan had to shrink her to keep her contained. At her scale, the girl was just under four inches tall. Not too big to handle, not too tiny to comfort. Susan tried to steady her heart. She was loathed to leave her this way. Ever since she was literally dropped off at the mansion, Susan knew there was something different about this borrower kid. Susan had played with borrower kids all the time by volunteering at the orphanages in the colony. It afforded her practice being human sized and a sense of calm hearing them laugh. She would pluck up a child, nuzzle, tickle, sniff, and play with them before another child begged for the same attention. Even blind, she knew each child by their voice and scent. So, when she first saw Ruby, she figured she was another orphan. An orphan indeed but not like the others. Ruby told her a kind, magic using human woman sent here there with raised all kinds of alarms. Even her scent was oddly cloaked. But nothing came of intense asking the child about it. Ruby mentioned Susan by name before even meeting her which made the woman more curious and under discretion, placed her in her care. Susan could see the girl had lived an exceptionally hard life till then. Malnourished, scars on her legs and soles of her feet, always looking around. It was a miracle Ruby had survived on her own the way she did with so many predators where she foraged. She was a survivor just like Susan had been. She clothed the girl, fed her, gave her shelter, and sat by her side as nightmares assaulted her sleep. Susan connected with the girl on a maternal level. 

It was only natural that Ruby feared the most that Susan would leave her in some way. And when Susan told her what she had to do and the danger involved, Ruby lost it. Susan stared at her shrunken daughter in her hand as if wondering if she was doing the right thing. If she died, it could a be a bridge too far for the girl. Had she the right to put Ruby in that position? Susan held her tiny foot between her fingers looking at her painted toes. Nail polish given to her for her 13th birthday just three weeks ago coated those adorable toes. Ruby had a big growth spurt and was becoming a young woman in her own right. Susan chuckled thinking how many hearts she would break soon. Susan bent down and nuzzled her small bare foot to her nose. Her natural scent, the polish, and the faintness of sweat. Her scent was stronger these days as she blossomed. Susan cried softly thinking she may not see her become a woman and start a family of her own. Susan put her down on the sofa, got up to grab a pen and paper, and began writing a letter. Susan kept writing, stopping, scratching things out, and writing again. By the time she was done, it was soon time to leave.

Susan planted kisses on the soles of her feet and gently kissed her tiny lips. Leaving her was the hardest thing she had ever done. The magic that shrunk her would wear off soon and Susan would be long gone with just a letter sitting beside the girl. Susan hated how she couldn't say goodbye properly. And if she never returned, the letter would say what she wished she had personally.

Earlier, Ahmed was in the hidden city of Iram, his home mulling over what his father had told him. The golden daggers he used for combat were just a part of a much more powerful symbolic weapon, the Damascus Blade. Asking why he had never heard this before, his father said the sword sealed away and to break the seal, one had to pay a heavy price. A price is innocent lives. To deter it from falling into ruthless hands (as anyone wanting to quickly pay such a price was morally suspect), its existence was kept hidden unless dire times lay before them. Lilith walking the earth with four powerful demon lords summoning hell fit the bill for "dire times". Ahmed was faced with the first test, to pursue the blade knowing what it may cost. As Ahmed did not answer quickly, and took weeks to answer, he passed the first test. He showed he was not eager to pay the price. As said before, that changed. Truthfully, Ahmed was banking on the idea that his (mostly) fully awakened djinn powers would somehow beat the overall test. To cheat the system so to speak. "Then hold the daggers and speak these words" his father said showing him a page from the family chronicle. "By the will of Allah, let me be tested for the right to wield the Damascus Blade" he said. The daggers flashed a brilliant burst of light swallowing him up. Once faded, Ahmed was gone...as well as others. "Husband, will he succeed?" Ahmed's mother asked. "If it the will of Allah, he shall Fatima my wife" he replied. 

Ahmed opened his eyes after being blinded. He was in a cavernous chamber but not alone. "Ahmed?" a voice asked. Ahmed turned to find Ali, his future bride, a young woman very pregnant, and a boy no older than 12. Not one of the three stood taller than his slipper. The young woman and boy immediately bowed in the presence of the giant prince. "What happened? Why are we here?" Ali asked worried. "I was attempting to claim the Damascus Blade. You all were summoned here...as sacrifices" Ahmed said softly. "Sacrifices?!" the young woman yelled. "Father said to claim the blade, innocent lives must be offered up" Ahmed said. They looked at the giant who was busy looking toward at three basins. "If it to save the world, we will offer our lives" Ali said quietly. "None of that talk. Nobody will be offered up" he said. "I do not understand. You said..."

"Saladin was an honorable man and righteous Campioné. He would not make such conditions to wield his sword" Ahmed said. "Then this is a test" Ali said. "Very much so" the giant said inspecting the basins. Ahmed sensed something behind them. "Ali come here" he said. The tiny woman walked over to him, and he picked her up. "There is a barrier here" he said extending his hand. His hand touched it and a scorching heat singed his palm. "Ah! By the prophet!" he yelled looking at his blistered hand. "But you're an awakened Djinn! Fire cannot harm you!" she said. "It is symbolic fire. It can indeed hurt me. To have such a ward still working after nearly 900 years is astounding. There must be a way through" he said. "What's in the basins?" Ali asked. Ahmed looked. "Water, preserved olive oil, and... nitrate" he said. "Nitrate? That's explosive. We can use that to destroy the incantations for the barrier!" Ali said. Ahmed kicked over the basin and spread the nitrate along the edge of the barrier. "Protect the boy and woman" he told her. Ali hopped down and stood guard in front of the two. Ahmed conjured a small flame and aimed it at the nitrate. Ali held her breath until suddenly Ahmed stopped. "What? What is it?" she asked. "The floor. It shimmers slightly. Why?" he asked. Ahmed bent down to look. "I see. Ali, notice the cracks in the floor?" he said. "Yeah, from old age" she said. "Not old age. Pressurized gas. There is natural gas leaking through the floor. Since it is odorless, we did not notice. Since it is heavier than air, it creeps on the ground. If we had ignited the nitrate, we would've been flash fried where we stood. This is surely a test" he said. "Then the water...."

"Is the easier trick. Dousing oneself with it would do nothing to protect from the barrier. The olive oil is the answer but why? It is flammable as well" he said. Ali approached him slowly. Frightened, the woman and boy followed her. Ahmed moved his hand once more towards the barrier but much slower this time. The barrier flared up again but something odd occurred this time. The flames slightly parted. "Did you see that?" he asked looking down. Ali got closer as Ahmed was blocking her vision. The flames parted even more as she got closer. "Did you see that my prince?" she asked. "They parted more as you came nearer" he said. Then the flames retracted. Ahmed looked down and saw the boy moving back terrified of the flames. "What if all three of us have to move through it at the same time?" Ali asked. "That might be it. Stand still" he said plucking them up one by one. Ahmed could feel the pregnant woman and boy shaking in his hand. "Be brave little ones. I am your prince and sworn to protect his people. Including the ones yet born" he said smiling as he stroked his finger across the tiny woman's belly.

They calmed somewhat seeing his smile and courage but he himself was frightened. He moved his hand and the flames receded almost wide enough for him to pass through. "It's working!" Ali said. "Is it? Toss your sandal in front of us" he said. Ali took off her left sandal and threw it. Instantly the flames turned the teeny footwear to ash. Ahmed moved his hand through ready to pull back immediately. As he did the flames did not recede but the rest of the floor (all the way to the statue) glowed as flames shot up from symbolic glyphs.  "It's not enough. The flames receded but it will not allow us three to go through. If we do, we will burn and then you" Ali said. Ahmed thought for a moment before he cocked his eyebrow. "I know the answer to the riddle before us" he said walking back to the basin of olive oil. "The straightforward answer is simple. I eat you all whole and, in my belly, you would be protected just long enough for me to step through. Hence sacrificing lives. But Saladin left a way to beat the test another way" he said scooping up a handful of olive oil. "If your bodies are coated with this oil, it will protect you in my stomach. Not long but hopefully long enough to make it past the trapped floor" he explained. Ahmed poured the oil over them over and over. Watching Ali, the boy and young woman rubbed the oil all over their skin and clothing until it was seeped into it. From their hair to between their little toes they were slathered with it. "May...may Allah protect us" Ali stammered. "If this does not work, I shall join you in paradise" he said softly raising them up to kiss her. Ali had not been kissed by him before strangers before. "Eat me first" she said bravely. Ahmed popped her into his mouth and avoided savoring her. It was easier said than done. Her natural body tasted sweet and salty and with the olive oil an earthy delicious flavor. Ahmed swallowed and the woman and boy hugged one another in fear seeing the pretty princess to be become a lump traveling down his throat. "Time...by Allah I can feel her in my stomach...time grows short" he said sampling the boy. Ahmed felt terrible as he could faintly hear the boy whimper as he was swallowed. And then came the young woman. She could see the fear he had hidden from them in his eyes. Ahmed hesitated seeing her instinctively clutch her belly. "It is unfair you were dragged into this. I am deeply ashamed I must risk the life of not just a beautiful young woman but the child she carries" he said softly to her.

Khadijah, a woman barely 19 years of age and carrying her husband's child, had seen the prince casually in the street before. Even a towering giant, he took care not to endanger a single person with his steps. She admired his just demeanor and took pride in the fact he was the grandson of their savior and a strong Campioné on his own right. Younger, she dreamed of being in his harem. Ahmed never asked anything unjust of his people. He never abused them, took time to play with the children, and only used his power to punish the truly wicked. To see him humbled before her was awe-striking. She swallowed her fear and defiantly kicked off her slippers. Her oil-soaked feet nearly slipped in his hands she stood tall...as tall as a three-and-a-half-inch person could. "Eat me. May my body serve your majesty!" she shouted. Ahmed nodded and quickly pushed her into his mouth. He felt her belly on his tongue. Her bare feet pushing to scramble to his throat. Ahmed stood in disbelief as the woman fed herself to him by sliding down his throat on her own. All three were in his belly and Ahmed walked back to the barrier. The flames receded and stepped through.   

The trapped floor was almost 500 yards long and Ahmed walked briskly. He dared not run as the dust coating the floor was dark grey and made of graphite. A single spark in the dust would spell their doom. Ahmed felt Ali tapping his stomach rhythmically telling him they were okay, but the distance seemed further in his mind and the tapping became less steady. He knew what very little oxygen was in his stomach was thinning and the natural putrid airs would do them in as the oils were etched away by his acids. Ahmed made it to the end and the flames died out. He bent to his knees jamming his fingers into the back of his throat to induce vomiting. The boy came out first being the smallest. The second was the young pregnant woman who took some effort. Ali on the other hand was not being coughed up. Minutes passed as Ahmed grew more and more frantic. He heaved so much, flecks of blood began coming out. He did not feel her at all moving inside. He looked at the others who stood there covered in bile speechless at the sight and began to resolve himself to plunge his dagger into his own stomach to yank her out. "I'll be damned if I meet Allah with the fact I had digested my own fiancé" he thought. And just before he stabbed himself, he felt a tickle in his throat. Ahmed coughed hard and out came Ali. She was unmoving at first and then took a deep gasp of air. Ahmed laid on his side relieved and weakened. "My prince..." she said staggering to her feet. His nerves so shaken he could barely reach out to touch her. "I thought you had left me" he said. "Allah still has plans for me it seems" she said. Ahmed grinned and coughed. He weakly spat out something. "Oh" he said seeing it was her other sandal. They shared a relieved laugh and waited for him to stand. Ahmed summoned a gentle water spell to clean them up after the shrunken boy complained his skin tingled as Ahmed's stomach bile still coated them.

They walked over to the statue of Saladin who wo outstretched arms held the hilt and blade of the sword. "The sword was broken down" Ali said. "My daggers are actually part of the sword, the hand guards actually" he said. "Umm...my prince why is the sword so dull looking?" Khadijah asked. The blade was indeed dull. Ahmed though it was just the light but as he leaned forward found it was not. "It's tarnished. A holy weapon does not tarnish" he said. He touched it and words inscribed on the breastplate of the statue glowed.  "To awaken, give unto it the purest quality that which was required to forge it" Ahmed read. Ahmed bawked. "What does that mean?" Ali asked. "Damascus steel was the strongest, keenest, most resilient steel in the world because of how the steel was quenched in forging. Glowing hot, the blade was run through a human being. Their blood quenching the steel into its cast form. The inscription is saying it needs the blood of an innocent to show its true form" he said softly. "Then use mine. Cut my body along the blade and rub my corpse along the metal" Ali said. "BE SILENT!" Ahmed yelled as his eyes glowed like hot coals.

"It would take the blood of all three of you to coat the blade" he said quietly. "This must be the final test for the blade" Ali said. "After the last test, there must be some kind of trick behind it" he said. "So, the Damascus Blade was forged with innocent blood?" the boy meekly asked. "I... I don't know. That was how other blades were forged" Ahmed replied. "But not necessarily this one Ahmed. If Saladin didn't want innocents sacrificed to pass the barrier, why would he use them to forge a sword?" Ali asked. "Because he didn't. All of you stand here and Ali do not interfere" Ahmed said placing them on the pedestal. Ahmed picked up the blade and gripped it with his bare hand. He grimaced as it cut into his flesh and his blood trickled down the edge. Painfully, he smeared the metal with his blood over and over coating it until not one square millimeter shone with oxidation. Ahmed nearly fell to his knees from blood loss. "Beloved!" Ali yelled up at the giant. His trembling hand held the blade until it levitated out of his hand. The blade glowed brightly until it was clean and pristine. His daggers flew from his sides, and they all watched in awe as the sword assembled itself. Then, it simply hovered waiting to be claimed. Ahmed took it in his hands and instantly he was healed. He felt the power of ages flow into his body mixing in harmony with his own djinn magics and truths. His body transformed. His hair became threads of string set on fire. His body defined to Vitruvian levels of perfection. His clothes burned clean away revealing his nakedness which made Ali wet, and the young woman leak breastmilk. A fine aura of reddish orange magics enveloped his body. Ahmed had become the prefect breed of man and djinn. The shrunken women at his feet instinctively knew perfection. Their mind humbled. Their body raked with reproductive desire. Sensing their awe taking away their free will, Ahmed dialed back the power now within him. "That...was intense" he muttered. Ahmed collected them. Let's go home" he said willing an effortless translocation.

After shocking his parents returning with the sword and his physical transformation, Ahmed wished to be alone with Ali. A half hour remained before he had to leave. At first, they said nothing as they bathed together. His hands healing her irritated skin as she bathed. Her hands soaping and cleaning his cock as he sat. And when they were clean and dry, he had her come to his bed. She sat on the edge of his bed as he sat on the floor. Ali was embarrassed as he quietly smoothed, trimmed, and polished every toenail on her feet. Then he scrubbed and smoothed off the callouses on her soles until they were as smooth as polished glass. Ali quivered as he licked and sucked her toes one by one until he felt she was ready for what came next. He had her lay on her back and placed his hand directly over her pussy cupping it in his hand. With a gentle magical nudge, Ali felt a giddy warmth envelop her body. Her nipples became sensitive. "Ah...Ahmed?" she asked. "I urged your body to ovulate" he explained. Her eyes went wide realizing his plan. She closed her eyes as she felt him slide into her. Ahmed said nothing but gave her a smile as he began fucking her slowly. Time grew shorter but for them it was eternity as they made love and with a sigh, she felt him cum deep within her. She was too moved to say a word as the desire to bear his child was shared within their souls. Ahmed sat beside her looking out of the veranda with his back turned. Ali knew their time was almost up and what he would soon face. The possibly this was the last time with one another broke her heart.

Ahmed and Ali grew up together. Had known one another since they were seven years old. She had been taught to respect and give reverence to the crown prince, but Ahmed never asked her to do that unless it was unavoidable. She knew he was different when she broke her sandal strap when she was a child, and the boy gave her his own sandal so she wouldn't have to walk barefoot. When Ahmed first showed his djinn blood, it was to save her life. Ahmed was terrified she would leave him, as a boy with ashen skin and glowing fiery eyes would scare anyone. She did not. They shared their first kiss at 12. And when it came time to form his harem, he chose her first. People wagged their tongues and uttered their annoyance for choosing a Kurd and for the first time he showed his djinn form silencing them. She was heartbroken when he finished his Campioné training and went to the human world to guard its secrets. But he quickly returned issuing a royal command for Ali to join the guard and serve him. Alone, they would be as physical as they could without being married and then some pushing some boundaries, but never had they had sex so...nakedly so to speak. And with that, Ali wept bitterly. Ahmed readied his hand and gently shrunk the girl.

He thought holding her in his hand would calm her and it had in the past. In fact, the girl liked being shrunk and played with by him. Ahmed cupped his hands now holding her within them. Holding her just made her weep harder. "I know. I know" he said softly playing with her beautiful long black hair. "The first time I held you in my hands like this you complained bitterly. I moved too fast, held you too hard. You even threw your sandal at me" he chuckled. "I was a kid and you holding me felt like I was your toy" she muttered. "And now?" he asked. "I would gladly be your toy if it meant you would not leave. No, I would you rather eat me. Fucking eat me! Do it! GODDAMN DO IT! It is preferable to this pain" she sobbed. A tear fell on her head and quickly looked up. She was aghast at seeing him cry. She had never seen him cry. "I swore I would never hurt you and yet I do" he whispered. Ahmed nuzzled her and could smell her sweat and traces of scented soap and oils. It took all his strength not to shrink down with her and fuck her till she half-conscious from cumming.

"Ali, now that most of my djinn blood has awakened, you are provided one wish" he said. Ali knew from early childhood that djinn could make a wish come true. Even wishes of barely fathomable power. After all her city existing in a pocket realm was proof of this. To be gifted a wish for a djinn could not just alter your life but the lives of millions. One had to be careful what to ask for. Ali could wish to be queen. A monolithic giantess. A sorceress of legends. Or...that Ahmed would not leave. Ah, that one was very enticing. "I wish...that you come home alive" she said. Ahmed cocked an eyebrow. He had faith that she would not wish for something dangerous, selfish, or frivolous and he was right. However, making an unspecific wish, a broad wish, was tricky at best. Dangerous at worst. For example, if one wished for world peace, it could cause every human on Earth to vanish, turn to stone, drop dead etc. Ahmed was honor bound to grant her wish. "Done" he said softly. Not even he knew how it would be fulfilled. He unshrank her and Ali dutifully helped him dress. Normally, he would wear the traditional white flowing cloths akin to a caliph but not today. A padded and ballistic protected two-piece uniform keeping the traditional colors. It was a gift made recently by hand from Ali.  "Hahaha! You look like StormShadow from G.I. Joe!" Ali laughed. "You got jokes" he chuckled. "...come home alive" she whispered hugging him. Ahmed nodded and walked down to the throne room.

Ahmed summoned the Damascus Blade and those attending bowed in his and its presence. His harem bowed, the servants, even the shrunken viziers still on punishment for trying to usurp the throne. His father stood before the throne, but his mother was not present. "Mother is not here" Ahmed said. "She's too afraid to be. May Allah protect you my son" he said. Ahmed dutifully bowed and translocated not to Alicia but to his mother. He found her human sized sitting alone on the shore of the ocean that surrounded the land. He approached her. Her giant bare feet sank into the soft sand. Sand that smelled of salt not from the ocean but from a mother's tears. "I must go mother" he said up to the giantess. The woman sniffled and looked out at the sea. "The water reminds me of the day I met your father. I was cooling my feet at the back of the Euphrates when Saddam's personal guard found me. Women taken by them are never seen alive again. As they approached, your father came out of nowhere and spirited me away. The crazy fool shrank us both to hide us. Imagine the shock seeing bugs as big as I was. It was like living inside one of the tales from 1001 Arabian Nights" she said. Ahmed brushed the sand from her big toenail. "And he brought you here to be his queen and live happily ever after" the young man chuckled. The giantess picked him up from her foot and raised him to her face.

"Happily ever after was not until you were born. I grew up on the tales of Campioné and how we were directly related to Saladin himself. And then the tales of the lost city of Iram. But to see it all real in person, I knew then that one day you would follow in the footsteps of our ancestors. I so wanted a more peaceful life for you" she said crying softly. Ahmed took off his boots so his bare feet could feel the skin of his mother's hand. It was rough under his soles but warm. Her hands and feet were not of a queen but of a peasant after years of working in the fields. Something that made tongues wag but nobody dared not say anything aloud. Especially after recent events where the prince decreed that the viziers that took up arms against him would serve as shrunken foot slaves to their own daughters. They realized that the prince was no fool. He had a good heart, but his justice was as sharp as the holy weapon he now carried. Ahmed took his sword and cut off some of his own hair. He quickly braided it. "Just in case" he told her. She raised him to her lips to kiss him and he wiped her tears away. "Go! Go before I lose the nerve to let you go!" she yelled. Ahmed nodded and translocated off her hand. Fatima wept bitterly for her son as her fingers clutched his cut off hair.

15 minutes earlier...

Selah had gone to Mary's room to check on her as she had not emerged from it in nearly 12 hours. What she found was Mary lying still and lifeless on her bed. Alicia was sitting next to it crying quietly. "What....what's going on?" Selah asked. She glanced at the nightstand to find Kyle, Mary's boyfriend sobbing. "The strain was too great. She had a massive stroke. Kyle found her on the floor and came to me a few minutes ago" Alicia said. "Then just heal her!" Selah yelled. "She's brain dead. A high-level spell could repair the physical damage but what made Mary...Mary was destroyed. This is even worse than before" Alicia said. "But why?! Mary said she could do this!" Selah yelled touching Mary's face. Her eyes were as dead as glass. "She knew the strain would kill her in her state. Using magics on a global scale is daunting. It almost killed me in Yorkshire if I hadn't Hope's help" Alicia said softly. "Then why didn't you have Hope stay behind and help her!" Selah yelled grabbing her collar.

"Hope has enough to do. Power me, refresh Ahmed, and then full-on fight Lilith. Asking her to help Mary would've been too much and Mary knew it" Alicia said. Selah went to slap her, and Alicia caught her hand. "I told you this before. This is the kind of decisions grownups make. The hard ones where shit doesn't turn out all Disney happily ending. You got Brynhildr in your head. She can tell you that. Now take Kyle and leave the room. You don't have the stomach for what comes next" Alicia said coldly. "Fuck you. I fought a goddamned maniacal giantess until I nearly died. I am strong enough for anything..."

"Can you kill her?" Alicia asked cutting her off. Selah looked at her like she was possessed. "The goofy dream goddess who was a raving Sopranos fan is gone forever. This here is just a shell. A meat puppet. A prison for her soul. She has to be set free" Alicia said. Selah noticed Alicia making a fist so hard her fingernails drew blood. Selah held her fist and opened it. With not a word she healed her hand. "I'll do it" Selah said softly.

Selah sat on the bed and pulled Mary to her chest. Selah stroked her long pretty hair for a minute and whispered into her ear. Selah took her left hand and placed it under Mary's chin. The right hand on top of her head. Selah jerked her hands hard at an angle and the sound of Mary's neck breaking filled the room. Mary went slack, her breathing stopped, her heart still. And with that, the Greek goddess of dreams Morpheus, left this world. Kyle howled as Selah lowered Mary back onto the bed and silently closed her eyes with her hand. "She knew she was pregnant, didn't she? So why did she do it so easily?" Selah asked. "Just because one does not complain or make a decision quickly does not mean they made it easily. Mary was faced with a terrible choice. To raise a child in literal hell or sacrifice hers so a billion other children won't. When one has lived for thousands of years, the hardest decisions can be made in an instant because of the countless lessons we have learned. Alicia, something is happening in Los Angeles" Joseph said standing in the doorway. Joseph walked away leaving them. Alicia quietly crossed Mary's arms on her body. "Selah? What did you whisper to her? It sounded like Hebrew" Alicia asked. "Let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart" she replied softly. "From the book of Proverbs" Alicia muttered. "I forget you were raised a Christian" she said. "I think knowledge and understanding shouldn't be bound by different beliefs. In the end we are all one people. Humanity needs to remember that especially now" Alicia told her. "What about him?" Selah asked pointing to Kyle. "I can't be the one to comfort him but nor should he be left alone. Well ask Lucy to see to him" Alicia said. Selah gently kissed Kyle before following Alicia out the room and down to the basement.

"Alex?" Alicia asked. "I've been monitoring any military chatter and sats I can using Markus' old backdoors. There's a squadron riding hot and heavy right into the heart of Los Angeles" he said. "Belphegor" Alicia muttered. The demon of Gluttony had been standing unmoving since taking its position nearly 24 hours ago. Outward appearances would have one see a colossal naked giantess standing under a blackened sky. An aura or sheer evil clinging to her skin. Her eyes glowing. There was nobody alive for a one-mile radius around her. Over 10,000 people had been devoured within including the national guard of California unlucky enough to get within her most deadly sphere of influence. Further out, the citizens of Orange County slowly fell into a state of panic, lust, gluttony, hysteria, and murder. The body count had already surpassed 300,000 and steadily grew. With the loss of the national guard, the president ordered a strike directly on the demon. Three squadrons bore down on her roaring through the smoke and darkness. Squadron one was composed of F-18 Super Hornets. Squadron two, F-35 Lightnings. And Squadron three A-10 Thunderbolts.

Squadron one fired off a barrage of air to ground Mavericks. The missiles exploded hitting the demon and did nothing except garner a grin. Her attention turning to them, the demon sent horrors into their mind as a black mist surrounded the jets. Anyone on the channel could hear screaming, unrelenting screaming. The formation broke up as one jet rolled right into another. A third pulled and went into a stall, slamming into the ground minutes later, blinded, one slammed into a building and the other right into the demon itself. The last one ejected and was pulled with invisible force right into the giantess demon's maw. Squadron two and three bore down on the demon dropping smart bombs and Gatling rounds. Barely anything made a scratch. With a wave of its hand, hellfire obliterated the two remaining squadrons. "They never stood a chance" Joseph said. "Wait. Something else is there" Alex said. Indeed, there was. A single plane that was holding back but now given the ominous green light to attack. It's bomb bay doors opened, and a single weapon fell out. A half second later its fins deployed, and its rocket motor fired. The bomber turned hard and retreated as fast as possible to avoid the shockwave.

"I'm looking. There. A single missile. Oh shit..." Alex muttered. The missile freaked towards its target. Survivors nearby saw it streak right over their heads and just as it seemed to hit the giantess, there was a horrible flash. "Oh my god" Alicia muttered watching the satellite feed. A brilliant flash then an angry reddish orange mushroom cloud swallowing up downtown Los Angeles.

Five minutes earlier...

"We're all set. Keep us in lockdown while we're gone" Keith said. Theresa, the head officer in charge of monitoring known as Control, silently nodded. She motioned for him to bend down. She surprised him by kissing him. "Keep safe out there boss. Please?" she asked very worried. "I'll try" he said quietly petting her hair. Keith, Hope, and Susan walked to the living room. While walking through the hallway, the maids and servants lined up to see them off. Some were visibly crying. Keith realized if the worst happened, someone strong and capable would have to take over. "Time to do this" Susan said. "Yeah. Time to do it" Keith said as walked behind her. Quickly, Keith cast a sleeping spell knocking her out. "I hope she understands why" he said to them. "She'll hate you for this" Fiona warned. "At least she'll be alive to hate me" he said. He motioned for Hope to translocated to the island.

They arrived almost the same time as Ahmed. "They're downstairs" Skylar said sitting next to Hana. Keith and Ahmed walked downstairs right as the nuclear weapon detonated in Los Angeles. "It's begun" Joseph said quietly. "Where?" Keith asked. "Los Angeles. I couldn't even see the plane" Alex said. Keith looked at the footage. "No wonder. A B-2 Spirit did this. Stealth, a dark sky, and flying solo. Looking at the damage, it was a tactical nuke. 20 kilotons" he said. "Impressive to know that so quickly" Alex muttered. "I do a lot of reading. A blast like that probably took out 75,000 people" he said. "What a fucking waste!" Joseph yelled kicking a chair. "Pointless. Did these foolish creatures think a nuclear weapon could harm a being born in hellfire?" the demon sighed using its power to clear away the atomic fire and ash. What injuries it had was easily healed. "We need to go now" Alicia said. "Agreed" Joseph said walking upstairs.

"Susan isn't here" Alicia whispered to Keith. "Figured it was best to leave her behind in case..." he said softly. Alicia silently nodded. "Well, the gang is all here. First off, I have to say that we lost Mary about a half hour ago. The strain of entering so many dreams was too much" Alicia said. Lucy broke down crying as Skylar sniffled. "Lucy. I need you to look after her boyfriend Kyle. He's not in a good place you get me?" she asked. Lucy nodded. "Humanity just tried to nuke a demon. We were betting they would try but we had hoped we could end this before they did. That's 300,000 lives snuffed out right there. Time to put up or shut up. Hope you're with me. Skylar is with Hikari" she said walking outside. "Joseph. Call them up" she said. "Oh, they've been here for a while" Joseph said. As soon as he did, Mars, Kali, and Quetzalcoatl shimmered into gigantic view. Everyone was stunned at their presence. "Interesting. An Alux and a Campioné" the Aztec god hissed smiling. "A Campioné? You did not mention one of them would be with us" Kali said. "Is that a problem?" Ahmed asked. "Just make sure you remember who the real enemy is boy" Kali replied. "It's time" Joseph said. They all nodded and surprisingly, they began a game of Rock Paper Scissors to determine who fought whom. "And this isn't even shocking" Selah muttered. "Hope. Translocate me to this location" Alicia said touching her cheek. Hope read her thoughts and nodded. "See you soon dad" Hope said before translocating Alicia and her away.

"Where are we?" Hope asked looking around. "The Arlington Texas AT&T stadium. My very first big-name concert was here when I was 18. I need you to connect everyone on a magical link. Timing is everything" she said. Hope did effortlessly. Alicia used her magics to turn on the cameras and satellite uplinks. "Alex. I need you to hack every Emergency Broadcast System you can and show the streaming link" she said. "Done boss but can it handle such traffic?" he asked. "Why is why I made sure to host in on 100 different servers. Hell, I got it on fucking Pornhub" she replied. She looked at Hope. "Alright my little Energizer bunny. Here we go" she said growing. Growing from a shrunken or naturally small state is easy and mostly safe but growing from human size is daunting and dangerous. Selah can manage it by specific special titan magic. Hope can do it because of Etherion. Alicia pushed past the pain as she grew and grew until she was 100 ft. tall. Much easier to see by the cameras in the booths. Her sandaled feet quickly sank into the AstroTurf not designed for so much tonnage. If the world wasn't ending, the Dallas Cowboys might've cared. Alicia looked dead at the cameras and began to sing. The song that she chose to sing to get the masses attention came to her in a dream. A dream she had just a few hours earlier. Even though she had not written it nor heard it sung aloud, she knew precisely how it went.

"Breath, should I take a deep? Faith, should I take a leap? Taste, what a bittersweet. All my, all my life. Let me face let me face let me face my fears. Oh, let me face let me face let me face my fears. Won't be long, won't be long, I'm almost here. Watch me cry all my tears..."

Around the world, people hypnotically surfed onto the website where she was streaming. Millions, then tens of millions, then hundreds of millions. With so many focused on Alicia, fear, panic, and hatred across the planet immediately waned. Such a thing was immediately noticed by the archfiend demons feeding off it and in turn Lilith. Lilith was busy literally crushing the little opposition thrown her way. Palestinian rockets didn't do shit to her nor did the bombs dropped by Israeli F-16's. Beams of light destroyed air squadrons within minutes. Her bare feet crushed soldiers, freedom fighters, and even Hamas itself. She barely smiled as someone met their end under her big toe. A land embroiled with in fighting for generations united under a common goal. But as inspiring as it was, it was futile. The last fighter caught in her grip fired wildly into her face with his antique Tokayev pistol until the mag was spent. Lilith threw him into her mouth and swallowed him alive. Then, Lilith felt the change in the air. "Hmm" she muttered as she spat out a sandal. The first to engage in battle was Quetzalcoatl versus Belphegor.

The survivors of the initial attack, chaos, and recent nuclear strike saw a figure blot out the sky darkened sun and land with an earth-shaking boom. Some tweeted a giant half naked Hispanic teenager had appeared. Those familiar with the old tales knew that this was no teenager, but a god made flesh. The sky God Quetzalcoatl. His glowing yellow eyes and feathered necklace and headdress was proof of his identity. "A worm God means to challenge me?" the demon laughed.

The God cocked his head cracking his neck. "A serpent. The kind that swallows whole the vermin that feeds off humanity's scraps" he said. "This is not the land of your people. You have no sway here" the demon mocked. Quetzalcoatl grinned slightly looking at his hand and fired off a powerful divine bolt of lightning blowing the demon clear off her feet. "Ignorant shit. You say this is not my land? This is California! A land once owned by Mexico, my domain, and therefore so is this. My worshippers many have fled their homeland and turned to a Christian God, but their blood still dwells in this city and this soil. And as we speak, I can feel their prayers. THEY CALL TO ME TO ERADICATE THIS SCOURGE BEFORE ME! Now get off your blasphemous ass and fight" the serpent God snarled summoning his obsidian tipped war club to his hands. Belphegor rose to her feet and vomited tens of thousands of human bones. Bones that came from the digested victims she ate earlier. With glowing eyes, she formed it into a sword of malice. She charged him and they clashed. The shockwave shook the center of the city. In other cities, battles had begun. Kali was now clashing with Azazel. Mars clashed with Asmodeus. And Ahmed was facing Abaddon.

"That looked easy" Hope said as Alicia finished her song. "Because I didn't have to put any magic into that one. That was just to get their attention. Now we crank shit up" she said. "Boss lady. I got some good news and bad news" Alex said. "Good news first" Alicia said. "Good news I'm seeing viewer traffic passing two billion. It's spreading faster than we could've hoped" he said. "Bad news?" she asked. "Shortly after you left, I intercepted a lot of short-wave radio chatter from NORAD, Washington D.C., Moscow, Mt. Yamantau, and a remote area in the Caspian Sea" he said. "Locations where one would authorize a nuclear launch" Keith said softly. "Bingo and it gets worse. My snooping revealed elevated heat signatures from missile bases in both the US and Russia. They're getting their missiles ready for launch" Alex said. "...how soon?" Alicia asked. "Could be as little as 30 minutes" Keith answered. "But why? They just saw nukes won't kill them" Hope asked. "They're hoping bigger bombs might do the trick and whoever gets rid of the demons in their own country will have the upper hand on the other. They're looking out for themselves" Keith replied. "Even in the face of Armageddon..." Skylar hissed. "Then we win this shit in 30 minutes. What's our status?" Joseph said. "Lilith isn't moving. Quetzalcoatl is doing great. Kali is holding her own. Mars is stalemated. And Ahmed is...struggling" Hope replied.

"Ahmed?" Alicia asked. "This isn't easy. Abaddon isn't just a demon but a fallen angel like Lucifer. And then there's the issue of her weapon" he replied. Ahmed carefully shifted his stance watching the demon before him. At first, he had the upper hand as the demon underestimated his ability to hold a giant form. Ahmed easily slashed her forearm but now she regrouped seeing a worthy opponent holding a holy weapon. Abaddon had used her power to effectively cause mass murder throughout a tenth of the city. Over 180,000 had now perished from various ways after shrinking. The demon drank in desires, dreams, and urges like a black hole and the side effect was one shrinking. As she furthered the hell summoning, her needs and influence spread further. Now facing Ahmed, she wielded a weapon fitting for one who is sloth and destruction, Soul Void.

The sword had a ghostly appearance to it like concentrated mist. When it cut something, it caused it ruin. Metal rusted and corroded, flesh necrotized, stone eroded. Ahmed had been cut but hid armor took the hit. Even so, the armor plate crumbled into dust. He realized his armor would give little protection and came up with a bold plan. Ahmed quickly shed his armor until he was stark naked. It was an odd sight indeed to see a gigantic naked middle eastern man fighting a giant demoness. "Alicia. Time for phase two" he said. "Got it" Alicia replied. "This is where it gets hard kiddo" she said to Hope as she readied another song.

"They tell me you touched the face of God. Like the sound of a rope cracking on your neck. They tell me you'd never give up. Like the that was soul dinging in your head. So honey please don't go. Or you'll fall into the dead of night. So honey please, don't go. You'd better learn to fly, cause they're gonna point you up at the sky. The more you want it the more you need it, I know that you'll be by my side. In the heat of the moment, when the thunder and lightning come. I know you'll be by my side..."

"That music..." the demon growled. Ahmed tapped his bare foot shaking the ground making cars jump. "Yeah. Has a damn good beat to it. You might say...it fires me up" Ahmed grinned as he shifted to his djinn form. Elemental, magical, smokeless flames surrounded his body. Alicia's song was not to move the people now, it was to fortify the four in combat. However, those watching the stream began to get notifications of other streamers watching the battles around the world. They opened new tabs not wanting (due to Mary's suggestion) to stop listening to her song to watch. Ahmed went on the attack slashing and striking putting the demon on the defensive. Abaddon quickly realized what the man had bet on. Her sword could not corrode, necrotize, erode, or rust fire itself. And as his flames are of a magical symbolic nature, it could burn it. As powerful as the demon was, it was still limited by the vessel it used. Choosing a woman who was devoutly lazy, was a perfect vessel for its soul but a poor choice for combat. Abaddon cast hellfire directly at him and Ahmed dodged. Her attacks roasting areas of the city demolishing it in ways it had not seen in centuries. Ahmed literally cut his way through the flames slashing the demon across her chest. Staggered, Ahmed pressed the attack before she could regain balance. A slash cut off her arm. Another exposed her intestines. Abaddon desperately parried only to see her sword evaporate as it was caught by his right hand. Abaddon grabbed him by the throat with both hands ignoring what his flames did to her flesh. "WHAT IS YOUR DESIRE?! GIVE IT TO ME!" she screamed.

 Abaddon let lose its penetrating gaze and Ahmed raised his hand holding his sword. He turned the blade flat side to her face literally reflecting her gaze right back at her. Abaddon cannibalized its own desires causing her to shrink right into his open hand. Standing naked in his flames, she burned to her bones as he closed his hand. Abaddon was extinguished as shamed let her pulverized burnt bones become dust in the wind. Lilith and her demons immediately felt Abaddon's destruction and without her, the hell summoning stalled.

"One down, three to go" Keith said as Ahmed returned to rest. In Los Angeles, the fight between Quetzalcoatl and Belphegor had reached its zenith. The nuclear strike had pruned the demon's ability to feed by vaporizing the surviving humans in its sphere of influence and now that Alicia's song has caused the others to stop fearing them, the demon couldn't withstand the punishing attacks the god rained down on it. Bolts of lightning pushed it into the ground. The god's obsidian war club turned it into a bloody mess it was ill suited to heal from. "Oh how I missed this feeling! An Alux servant using her song to fuel battle! It makes my scales tingle!" the god yelled. Quetzalcoatl grabbed the demon by her neck and yanked her off her feet. The ground buckled even more as more tonnage was forced into two smaller spaces, the soles of his feet. The God raised his war club over his head summoning a bolt of lightning so powerful it split the darkened skies. The bolt struck him as energy traveled down from his feathered hair, to his arm, his hand, and then his war club. Quetzalcoatl spoke a single word. "Xen te' elo' ". Mayan for.... begone. Quetzalcoatl rammed the pointed tip of his war club right into the demon's heart unleashing the summoned lightning in one fell swoop. The mighty bolt exploded from her back arcing right over the Pacific Ocean. The God sneered as he tossed the defeated corpse aside through the half-collapsed Capitol Records building. It collapsed completely burying the demon. Quetzalcoatl let out a cry as thunder and lightning lit the sky announcing not just his victory, but that it was he, not some foreign God that saved them.

"Two down. Two to go" Keith said. "She's moving" Alex said watching Lilith. "She's going to back up the others. We can't let her!" Keith yelled. "She won't. Have Hope ready" Joseph said leaving. "I can't just sit here and do nothing. Who's in trouble more?" Keith asked. Kali is better matched now that Alicia shifted her focus, but Mars is struggling now. Something's wrong" Alex replied. "Hope. Translocated me to St. Petersburg" he said. "...dad. Be careful" she said as she opened a portal before him. Keith stepped through. "My god" Keith muttered seeing the crushed remains of T-34 tanks and a downed MIG-29 Fulcrum slammed into a school. The streets were devoid of people. A spattering of clothes and shoes where their owners were sucked into the giantess' pussy to feed her power. A series of powerful explosions rattled his teeth as he turned to see the god Mars firing a rifle his size. "Fuck me" Keith said as he saw bullets the size of cars coming out the barrel. The demon simply laughed as she absorbed each one. Keith used wind magic to fly to his side. "Thought you might need some help!" he shouted. "Mortal! Came to join the fun?!" Mars bellowed firing at her. "I thought a badass like the God of war would've handled this already!" Keith yelled. "Aye but the foul thing absorbs everything! Her ominous cunt even devoured my sword!" he yelled. "Can you make me big like you?" Keith asked. Mars grinned and snapped his fingers. "Whoa" Keith said admiring his new height. "So the gun..." he asked. "I can make any weapon of war" the god finished. "Then make a lens. A shit load of lenses and mirrors" Keith said. "Hahaha....HAHAHAHA! A bold plan mortal! So shall it be!" Mars laughed realizing what Keith had planned. Keith charged into the fight to buy the god time.

Keith summoned Gae Bulg to his hand. He found out quickly that the demon had more than one special trick up her sleeve. The more he tried to attack, the more he felt a stirring in his heart. Keith tried to play it off from the start, but he found the demon alluring and not what he envisioned. His strikes faltered against her invisible barriers. Keith became frustrated as she didn't even bother to counterattack. Soon, his lance became too heavy to hold and it fell to the ground with a loud clank. He heard Mars shouting but he paid no mind. Keith slowly stepped forward as his mind wanted Asmodeus. As if to mirror his desires, her body changed subtlety. Her hair grew longer, her toes pedicured and painted red, her breasts wept milk. Keith could smell the scent of her pussy even more as he took another step after another. The wind picked up as if drawing him in. She appeared to be growing. "ENOUGH!" Mars yelled yanking him back. "Wha?" Keith muttered slowly coming to his senses. Keith had shrunk to half his size as he saw her cunt was trying to suck him in. "Bitch is like a Venus flytrap!" Keith yelled. "It's done!" Mars yelled pointing to the mirror and lens arrayed in the air. Keith leaped into the air and threw Gae Bulg as hard as he could. Due to its enchantment, it never missed its target and skewered the demon's foot to the ground. "Absorb this bitch! Burning light!" Keith yelled activating an arcane spell.

The beam of light amplified through the lenses and bounced off mirrors. Hundreds carefully arranged in the air and small enough not to be easily seen. History recorded Reagan's Star Wars Project as a colossal failure. However, the concept was sound as well as the basic designs. The only problem was power. It would take a lot of energy to fire a laser in the megawatt range. A problem Keith had solved with high tier magics. An attack that moved at the speed of light struck the demon burning a hole clean through her body vertically. Keith summoned back the lance and threw it to Mars. "This...will not stop me!" Asmodeus yelled. "This will" Mars said coldly as he mixed his own divine power with the enchanted weapon. Mars threw the lance with absolute precision only a God of war could. In her weakened condition, Asmodeus couldn't absorb the attack and easily skewered the demon right off her feet. A massive explosion of dirt and dust rose into the air where she landed. Mars leaped into the air and landed right beside the demon. With not a word or care, Mars raised his boot and crushed her skull. "I am ashamed how you broke her defenses to easily" Mars muttered to Keith as he approached. "I'm a borrower. Brute force isn't our way. Sometimes a... more sly approach is required" Keith said yanking the lance from the demon's body. "Aye. Sometimes her battle can only be won by guile. You may be a tiny little species, but you have the hearts of warriors" Mars said grinning as he extended his hand. Keith shook it smiling. 

"Your demons are dropping like flies. Again, you underestimated the resolve of humanity" Joseph said clutching his side. A blast of magic force slammed the old man into rubble. Lilith placed her bare foot on his neck. "As if I care about what imaginations of humans can do. I didn't need the archfiends to conquer the world. I only needed them to get the ball rolling so to speak. The cracked open the doorway between the living and dead. You accomplished little. Look at you old man. Before you were barely my equal in power but now, you're a shadow. A footnote to my glory and I haven't even transformed" she said pushing her massive weight on his throat. Joseph translocated from underneath her foot and Lilith swung her leg cracking him in the cheek as he reappeared. "Your tricks won't work" she said softly. Suddenly, an invisible force blew a hole in her abdomen. "Then some new ones are needed" Hope said appearing above them. Her feet landed gently on the cracked and broken ground. "Now we're getting somewhere" Lilith said summoning her Inferno Driver. "INFERNO" it said as she summoned the key to Lucifer's domain and his power. She inserted it and twisted. "Inferno rise" she muttered staring at them. There was the burst of light as she transformed, and Joseph and Hope did not look away or blink. Moments later there she stood in stolen angelic glory. The Fallen Angel descends. Abandon all hope" the driver said as the last sparks of light faded. Joseph and Hope instinctively tensed up feeling the skyrocket burst of power. "Shall we begin?" Lilith asked. Joseph and Hope began their combined assault.

Kali stood before Azazel in the ruins of Johannesburg. Azazel's power of wrath had infected the city like a plague turning people against one another. Over the course of just a few hours, over 150,000 lay dead by their own hands but now the fighting had lulled due to Alicia and the sudden appearance of the Hindu goddess. At first, they were terrified of Kali as her appearance was freighting and fearsome indeed. Black skin, red eyes, a lolling tongue, and her four arms. But looks are deceiving as they quickly found her to be a protector who immediately engaged the fallen angel. Kali was conscientious about where she placed her giant feet as there were some survivors at ground zero. Mostly children as they were immune to Azazel's power. And of all, Kali was most inclined to protect children. However, this care hindered her battle with Azazel causing it to become a tug of war of who was winning. "I expected a goddess of your caliber to be more...worthy" Azazel said holding a sword of flames. "You're not the first demon to insult me in battle. Plenty of Asura have mocked me before falling to my dagger" Kali said to her. "Fool. Do not compare me to those weaklings you fought in your Vedas. I am a demon in name only. I AM AN ANGEL OF THE HOST!" Azazel yelled bringing her sword down on her. Kali parried with her dagger and was driven down to her knees. "A fallen angel and I have fought those kicked out of the heavens as well!" she roared as she pushed back. Kali countered as Azazel was off balance and slashed her chest. Burning wings appeared and slashed back cutting off one of Kali's arms. Kali withdrew injured.

"You cannot win this. Even if the others have fallen, their victors are too weakened to help you" Azazel said as her sword absorbed flames around her. "I wouldn't call on them anyway" Kali spat as her bare feet dug into the ground. The ground cracked and she faintly heard screaming and whimpering. Her stance shifted realizing the survivors were underground and threatened to be buried by her steps alone. What came next was a flurry of attacks by Azazel. Each one stronger and heavier as the monster fed off the wrath and anger rising as her influence spread. Kali realized fighting Azazel on her terms would never work. "Alicia. I need a song to quench the evils in the hearts of men" she said. Alicia didn't have Hope helping her anymore and knew full we the risks involved spreading her power worldwide without her. "...got it" Alicia said. Alicia queued he third song.

"There is a light at the end of this road, and I know that there's a long way to go. As long as my head is high, and I walk with pride. Go with the strength inside. Take every step in stride. No chance will pass me by. Long as I always try. Won't let my passions die, and as long as I'm alive. The future belongs to me. Ooh, the future belongs to me and its going to be a beautiful thing to see..."

Alicia felt the drain instantly but all over the world, people began to stop fearing the darkness. Stopped fearing the evil assaulting the world. And with three demons vanquished on live streaming, humanity found its hope. Lilith began to faulter but not as much as Azazel. The fallen angel was completely cut off from its source of power and in a fit of rage, unleashed an attack to burn Kali to nothing. Using its own wings, Azazel powered up his flaming sword and plunged it into the ground unleashing a 5 kiloton explosion destroying everything around her. Nothing withstood the attack...except for one Hindu goddess. Kali was on her knees once again. Her black skin seared red. Her beautiful black hair burned off her scalp. Azazel arrogantly walked up to her. Her giant bare feet crunching the sizzling bones of her victims under her soles. People from a far distance saw a giant teenage girl naked as the day she was born with burning wings on her back standing before the goddess ready to deliver the final blow. Tears from Kali's eyes sizzled on the red-hot concrete. Kali did not weep because she was defeated. No, she wept be used all her efforts to protect the children hiding underground was for nothing. The children, and their parents were gone in an instant as a giant flaming blade pierced the parking garage they hid in. And in that cold anger, Kali unleashed her true form.

Kali had been holding back the entire fight. A goddess of time, destruction, and creation she was a VERY formidable deity and beloved protector of over a billion souls. As her power, she could conceive a thousand different ways the fight would go but as it progressed, the outcomes became littler and littler until this moment only two remained. Either she invoked her true power and form and ended this fight at a terrible cost, or not and perish. Her resolve strengthened by the murder of the children beneath them for all things that she was...she was a mother. A pale blue light surrounded Kali. It grew brighter and brighter blinding the fallen angel until anyone watching believed a star had birthed on the city. And then it was gone replaced by a giantess with 10 arms, three of them holding weapons, 10 faces that saw in every direction, 10 feet to find balance for any attack and defense. And her skin shined like polished cut sapphire. The demonic fallen angel looked upon her form, Mahakali, with contempt and worry. Mahakali looked dead at her with eyes so red their glow could be seen for miles. Then she walked right towards her. The thunder of massive 10 bare feet could be seen and heard and yet she weighed well over 300 tons, her giant feet did no damage whatsoever to the ground.

Azazel struck her with intense flames which did nothing. Burning light which melted concrete which only refracted off her skin. Determined to destroy her, Azazel attacked with her sword only to see it caught effortlessly by two of her seven free hands. With eerie might, Mahakali snapped her sword of hate, rage, and wrath in twain with her hands, then grabbing her arms. Two more hands grabbed her legs and yanked the giantess Azazel off her feet. Mahakali stabbed Azazel right in her black heart first with her dagger, then scimitar, and finally her trident. Three divine holy weapons pierced asunder Azazel's heart unleashing a searing blast of divine power given to her by her creator. At point blank range, Mahakali could not temper the hit which burned clean through her own body leaving a path of obliteration 50 ft wide and 5 miles long. The defeated Azazel went limp in her grasp and with her last once of strength, Mahakali quartered her. Mahakali staggered backwards as her transformation wore off.

The victory was as costly as she predicted. With her pantheon severely weakened, Kali using her true form would surely drain her dry...which it did. Her Authority spent, what happened was what happens to all gods and goddesses when their source of power is gone...she became human. Kali shrank back to human size with a baseball size hole in her chest. The fact she didn't die instantly was the final vestiges of power she had. She stood there naked and bleeding out looking at the giant pieces of corpse before her. Kali limped towards the face and stared silently. "Just a child" she said softly at the dead vessel Azazel had chosen. Kali fell to her knees as the end had come. One may be curious as to who would come to claim a goddess of death, now human, when their times comes. The answer, truthfully, nobody knows as it is different for each one. A beloved God or goddess. A priest or priestess. Even a child once. Typically, it is one that can grant peace. In Kali's case it was none other than Shiva. Survivors in skyscrapers, saw a blue skinned giant wearing tiger skins suddenly appear from thin air. As he did, the sun shined through the brightening skies. As his bare feet touched the ground, burned trees healed and flowers bloomed. "I... did it" Kali coughed out. "I saw. You did a miraculous thing worthy of Vedas" Shiva said softly as he placed her in his hand. He looked upon her battered and dying. "...I should have stood with you" he said softly. "You had your job as did I. I don't blame you. I...don't..." she coughed out. And then Kali was no more. It was rare that Shiva felt helpless. His power was mirror to her own, so he knew that was as it had to be. That did not give him comfort as he felt her final breath leave her body. Tears fell from his eyes which gave life to the ground. Humanity looked speechless seeing not only a goddess die, but her consort grieve just as mortals do. Humans across the world joined as one to pay respects in their hearts, and anger at the ones responsible.

"They're gone" Joseph coughed. Lilith's swing shattered his defense throwing him 1000 feet away. "Don't act like it doesn't matter. I can feel the entire human race turning their ire on you" he said getting up. Lilith charged her sword to attack. Suddenly, Hope translocated in and using her momentum punched Lilith so hard one could see the shockwave in the air. Lilith crashed to the ground as Hope raised her hand to deliver a punishing rain of icicles skewering her. Lilith stood up and healed effortlessly. "YOU ROTTEN BITCH!" Hope yelled pummeling her with gravity spells so hard the light bent. Lilith was a bloody mess in a crater but within seconds was fully healed. Lilith unfurled her wings to unleash a torrent of light. Hope screamed as she desperately deflected it. The attack ended just as a flaming sword came at her throat. Joseph deflected it with his own magic but in doing so left himself wide open. Lilith spun around, the balls of her bare feet digging into the ash stained ground, and slashed. Hope looked in horror as the burning blade decapitated Joseph. His head rolled on the ground as a fountain of blood washed upon it. "JOSEPH!" Hope screamed. "That was for killing my unborn son so long ago" Lilith spat. Hope attacked her with every conceivable spell the girl could think of. If by some miracle someone had survived in that part of the city, they were gone now. One could see the attacks from space.

"Boss lady. We just lost Joseph" Alex said over the connection. Alicia stopped singing. "...how much time we have left?" she asked. "Four minutes until they're fueled up" he replied. "And we still have no way to subdue her even if we have the upper hand" Hikari said. "Symbology could do it but it would take a huge amount. Bigger than anything we have right now" Selah said. "...Hikari. I have an idea but only you have a change of pulling it off. Can you see the image in my mind?" Alicia asked. "...yes. I see a river" she replied. "Go to it. I know you have a special skill only your bloodline has" she said. "But what will that accomplish in the face of that horrible woman?" Hikari asked. "Just have a little faith" Alicia said. "Mom. I have to go now" Selah said softly. "I know. You saw what I'm planning right?" Alicia asked. "I did. I'll try to lure her there" Selah said. "Be safe sweetie. It's nearly time for my last performance" Alicia said to them. Selah translocated to Lilith.

She appeared 5,000 ft above the fight. The very air shook with Hope's attacks. "Here we go" she muttered as she summoned her Hero Driver. "HERO DRIVER ON!" it said. Selah slammed her hand on top of it. "Be As Gods" she muttered. "Like a Valkyrie deciding the fate of battle, Brynhildr takes the field. Presented by Sony" it said as she transformed. An ominous crackling of energy leaked from it as it finished. Selah invoked the power of a titan and grew to 300 ft. landing with a crashing explosion. Selah looked upon Lilith coldly as she stood firm. "So you still live. All the better!" Lilith yelled as she activated her Inferno Driver. "Coward!" Selah yelled at her readying an attack. The ambient light dimmed as energy gathered. "DESTRUCTION. DISPAIR. DEVISTATION. RUIN. FALLEN MAXIMUM BREAK!" it yelled as Selah readied her sword. Hope held her back with utter spite in her heart still seething from losing Joseph. A ball of concentrated nuclear plasma shot forth.

Just as it was about to detonate and vaporize them in an instant, a small dot no bigger than a grain of rice appeared in front of it. A dot of infinite blackness sucked the energy right up. The vacuum pulled in all directions causing Lilith to slam her giant sword into the ground for leverage. And then, her attack was gone. Hope fell to her knees physically exhausted. "What was that?" Selah whispered. "Strongest and most dangerous gravity spell there is. For a few seconds I created a black hole. One wrong move it couldn't ended EVERYTHING" Hope gasped. "Go home" Selah said. Hope looked at her. "You're spent. Go home" delay said sternly. Hope translocated out. "Nice try blowing away the two last threats to you at once. But now you're weakened. Your knees shake. You are not as strong as you wish yourself to believe" Selah said mockingly. "More than enough to kill you" Lilith said attacking.

They traded blows. Each parried one another but Lilith was still too strong for Selah. Each parry felt like she was hit by a mountain.  Each cut and gash like being stung by the sun. And whatever damage she gave Lilith was not enough to turn the tide. Then, her transformation began to faulter. Her driver creaked and spat energy with each hit. Selah was thrown off her feet by a parry. Lilith charged her sword as divine light made it seem to grow twice its size. "Oh shit" Selah said slamming her hand on the driver. "LIGHTNING MAXIUM BREAK!" it yelled as Selah slashed upwards to meet her stroke. The two swords struck one another as light and symbolic lightning clashed. Lilith was annoyed she had to use even more of her power to push through. Lilith's attack got through but did only superficial damage. However, it seemed that was enough. "Hero Driver Emergency Shutdown" it said as Selah lost her Valkyrie transformation. "...no" Selah muttered now helpless. "First thing's first" Lilith scowled as she kicked Selah with her bare foot breaking her nose. Gallons of blood poured onto the ground as the young giantess scrunched her eyes in pain. Lilith raised her sword as she straddled her not noticing the blinking light on the Hero Driver. Suddenly, a beam of light shot from it touching Lilith's sword. The Sword of Samael was torn from her hand and a force blew her 1000 ft away.

The sword stuck in the ground and suddenly the Hero Driver summoned others. Rune Breaker, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (Grasscutter), Hades' Bident, and finally Last Stigmata. Each one sticking in the ground surrounding her and then they were connected by a beam of symbolic light. It created the most sacred of symbols in the Japanese Onmyodou magics...a five-pointed star. Selah suddenly found herself in familiar surroundings. "You again?" Selah asked face to face with the virtual interface of the driver. "Hello Selah. The Hero Driver has finally met its final form transformation conditions. Do you wish to proceed?" AI, the virtual interface asked. "What now?" Selah asked. "The Hero Driver has been collecting divine weapons in order to evolve to its next form. Those conditions have been met with the addition of the Sword of Samael. Do you wish to proceed?" it asked. "Will I be able to transform again? Wait, she kicked my ass even with the transformation" Selah sighed. "The final form transformation will unlock your greatest potential allotted to your magic class. You will be stronger than before" the interface responded. "Well fuck yeah! Do it!" Selah said. The interface politely bowed in Japanese tradition. "Understood. Activating evolution of Hero Driver to allow final form transformation" it said strangely cheery.

Lilith ran towards Selah to stop whatever was happening. The badly damaged sparking Hero Driver morphed and not only became whole once more, but it also changed appearance. It was now gleaming white and gold with veins of magic coursing through it like blood. "BE AS GODS!" Selah shouted to the skies squeezing the driver. Selah was swallowed by light blinding even Lilith. "WHEN THE FIVE SWORDS GATHER, THE VALKYRIE GODDESS FREYA DESCENDS. Presented by Sony" it triumphantly said as Selah transformed into her most powerful form. When the light faded, Selah stood before her in total serenity. Selah tossed her hair which seemed to shift between golden blonde and blood red. Her feet were pale and bare. Her toenails like polished rose quartz. She wore no armor and yet her simple brilliant white cloth covering her body gave off an aura of protection. Her eyes glowed green. A necklace adorned her neck. And oddly enough, she had not a single weapon. "You carry no weapons? I worried for nothing!" Lilith yelled attacking her.

Lith quickly grew more and more angry as not a single attack landed on Selah. Selah simply dodged out of the way at the last second like it was nothing. "Dodge this!" Lilith screamed as she quickly powered up for a barrage of deadly searing light. Even though Selah couldn't move at the speed of light, she still dodged her attack for a split second turning her entire body into lightning. A thunderclap and she was behind Lilith. Lilith still caught firing her own attack couldn't defend as Selah coolly struck her in the back with her fist hard. A chilling crunch of vertebrae filled the air as Lilith screamed. She fell to the ground paralyzed from the waist down. "How..." Lilith groaned. Selah knew exactly how she was doing this. By being possessed by Freya, she had access to a critical game changing power. To see into the future. Five seconds in fact. Selah could literally see Lilith's attacks before she even made them. Severely weakened, Selah has the chance she was looking for. She grabbed Lilith and took to the skies.

An ear shattering sonic boom and a cone of superheated air torn asunder the sky as Selah flew past Mach 10 right towards the Jordan River. Lilith was healing rapidly and once she healed enough viciously broke free. Selah and Lilith crashed hard to the ground. They had fallen short of the 86 miles between where they were and the Jordan River where Hikari was busy working. In fact, they landed on the outskirts of Jericho. Selah grew worried as she did NOT want a battle here. Jericho was a very important part of her Jewish heritage but also an utterly priceless piece of human history. After all, it was the site of the oldest still standing human city in history. Selah began to rush the fight which led to her acting instead of reacting. Her power to see five seconds into the future was not as effective using that method. Between that and trying not to demolish the ruins or killing the people still living there, Lilith began to regain superiority. Selah's lightning step ability avoided most of her attacks, but Lilith began using intense fire magics to block her lightning and melee attacks. Superheating the air created an air lance which even her divine lightning had trouble traveling through. Desperate, Selah used a point-blank cold spell which exploded violently touching the air lance. Just as Lilith readied, I smash her skull in, Ahmed came out of nowhere slashing Lilith's hand clean off. "Forgot about me huh?" he asked twisting his sword. "To forget you, one must acknowledge you even exist" Lilith hissed reattaching her hand. Selah stood up and positioned herself on opposite sides of Ahmed. "Glad you showed up" Selah said. Saw back at your home you needed help. I even brought a surprise" he grinned.

12 miles away, Hikari was finishing her work. People downstream did not know what to make of it when the Jordan River suddenly stopped flowing and the river itself seemed to dry up. A river such as that drying up was surely a sign the end of days had come. But it was not as the river was turned into a weapon to prevent that. Hikari soon understood exactly why Alicia had sent her there. As a Koonago, she was naturally tuned to the energies of nature and the energies of nature worship. Combined it created what her people called a "Kami". Some were generally weak like an old Sakura tree and some mighty like Mt. Fuji. Hikari thought Mt. Fuji to be the mightiest Kami of them all the world until she came to the Jordan River. She nearly pissed herself feeling the ages old stored Kami dwelling within it. Centuries after centuries of blessings and veneration had turned the river into a symbology weapon. Even the symbology of long lost human tribes existing before written word was stored within. Hikari laughed heartedly thanking her patron God Umi no Kami for the chance to work with such a thing.

Reason being, she was the only person in the world that could use it to summon her greatest water magic. The imperial divine summon Orochi no Mizu. Being half human, she inherited the soul of the dreaded beast from her father, Emperor Meji who his ancestors slew it long ago and sealed the soul away. And being half Koonago, she inherited the prodigious skill of water magics from her mother, Empress Himiko. Combined, she could summon Orochi's soul and bind it to a water vessel. Last year she used a thunderstorm to wield it in battle against Ebonheart and the mogwai. This time, a literal holy river. She only stopped forming it when her own magics grew weak. She still had to control the damn thing. Hikari kicked off her geta sandals and hopped right on top of his watery head. Letting her tiny bare feet sink into the water slightly for better more accurate control, she stretched her hand out towards Jericho. "GO OH MIGHTY OROCHI! FOR THERE IS BATTLE THAT MUST BE HAD AND EVIL TO BE DESTROYED!" she screamed. The beast roared rattling windows and causing rainbows with his spray before taking off. People on the ground heard it. They looked towards the sound to see something gleaming with rainbows in its wake. It roared overhead like a sky born locomotive. Nearly a half mile long and 50 ft. wide, it understandably caused some to fall to their knees in either terror, prayer, or both.

"Boss you stopped singing" Alex said. "I... I don't have anything left in me" Alicia gasped. She had shrunk down to human size. "They're opening the silo doors. If your voice can't slow them down anymore, then..." Alex said ending in a whisper. "Faith...I'm sorry" Alicia whimpered exhausted. As she spoke those words, the ground trembled. "Fret not my child for this is not done" a booming voice said above her. Alicia glanced up through the dome to see none other than Quetzalcoatl in his serpent form hovering above her. But not only that, from various entrances in the stadium itself stepped forth dozens, then hundreds of Hispanic people. "Your familiá shall attend to you" the serpent God snickered. Alicia realized that each one of these people carried the same ancestral blood she did. They were Alux. They gathered around her in a circle and raised their hands. With a single musical note, they began transferring their own little magics into her. Alicia connected with them on a spiritual level and could see their innermost feelings. Hearing her songs awoke their true hearts chained by Lilith's reality shift. Their hopes and dreams burning every so brightly Alicia wept tears of joy. She took a breath and began singing.

"You might want to duck" Hikari told Selah and Ahmed through the connection. Selah and Ahmed fell to their knees before Lilith. "Finally seeing the futility of it all? Well, you did have a good run I'll say that. The little Arab's sword hurt like fuck and you missy annoyed me to no end. Not the first Jew to do so but certainly the last. If it's any consolation, you're probably as strong as I am in that form. You're even better than the Etherion bitch and I was slightly tempted to spare you just for the sake of merit. But as the corn kernel once said, I'm not going to be number two" Lilith said chuckling as she summoned a ball of light to kill them. Lilith didn't even notice what was coming until it was too late. Orochi snapped its jaws around her waist and took her right off her feet like a freight train smashing into her. "By Allah" Ahmed muttered seeing the beast coil around Lilith. "You think this pathetic water magic can stop me! My flames will...AHHHHHHHHGH!" Lilith shrieked with agony. "Ore sanjou (I have arrived)" Hikari said fluttering down on gentle falling snowflakes.

"She'll break free!" Ahmed yelled. "Unlikely. That is holy water trapping her" Hikari said. "Where would you...the Jordan River. That beast is made of the Jordan River?!" Ahmed asked. "Indeed" Hikari said coldly as she ordered it to constrict. Lilith panicked as what she feared was happening. Within her mind, Faith saw her prison cracking and then shatter like glass. Faith began to break free with her very soul. With a burst of light, Faith fell from the Orochi's grasp leaving Lilith trapped. The desperate gamble paid off. The holy water beast exorcized Lilith. And not only that, without a mortal host, her transformation became undone. "ERROR. INCOMPATABLILITY DETECTED. INFERNO DRIVER POWERING DOWN" it said as Lilith lost the power of the fallen angel Samael. In a fit of rage, Lilith began unleashing the stored up energizes shed collected since the reality shift. A magical force bolstered by a seething blast of lightning torn asunder Orochi. As mighty as the beast was, it was still made of water and when water is exploded to electricity, it's broken down into hydrogen and oxygen. Orochi was scattered literally into the winds. "Enjoy your measly victory for it shall be your last!" Lilith howled as she unleashed a blast of black lightning at Ahmed and Selah. Selah yanked Ahmed aside as her predictive power barely gave her an edge.

The errant bolt turned a dozen little archeologists into ash instantly. Lilith kept attacking and Selah kept dodging with Ahmed but soon it became clear her power would consume them all. The lighting began to follow their movements as if homing in on them. Soon, the sand and dirt were shocked glass, the humans dead and scattered but all hope was not lost. For as death loomed near for Ahmed, the wish he granted Ali began to take effect.

Ahmed charged right at Lilith blocking her lighting until his sword was blown from his hand. "Burn" he said coldly jamming something into her mouth and quickly kicking her away hard. The giant landed on his feet expertly as the giantess went flying. She quickly got up and flinched as she swallowed whatever he placed in her mouth. "You really think poison will..."

*BOOOOM*

Ahmed and Selah were blinded by a flash of light as Lilith was blown to smithereens. Just a rinsing mushroom cloud where she stood. "Uhh..." Selah muttered. "Imagine my surprise to find a shrunken nuclear weapon in your house" Ahmed grinned. "...the nuke I knocked out of the sky in the last battle. Mom did say she found it and shrunk it down" Selah said. "That won't stop her, but it will give us a few minutes to recover. Be...ready" Ahmed winced. One may ask why didn't they just destroy whatever essence of her remained. In truth, such a feat would take an incredible amount of symbology magic to do. Something they did not have as the battle had exhausted them. "You okay?" Selah asked him. "Something is drawing on my djinn power" he said curious. As to what it was, one must look back at to what was happening with Alicia in the last few minutes.

"Should've stayed, were there signs ignored? Can I help you not to hurt anymore? We saw the brilliance when the world was asleep. There are things that we can have, but can't keep. If they say..."who care if one more light goes out? In the sky of a million stars, it flickers, it flickers. Who cares if someone's time runs out in a moment is all we are? We're quicker, were quicker. Who cares if one more light goes out?".... well I do"

As Alicia sang her song, the power of her God caused it to reach the hearts and souls of everyone in the world. The power itself caused the Alux around her to shrink to their natural size being dwarfed by the AstroTurf and still, still they gave their magics. But in all that, Ali's fateful wish was carried with her song to save them man she loved and in turn the world. Alicia laughed as she sang, for she could see what the wish was doing. Quetzalcoatl laughed loud enough to be heard for miles as he sensed it as well. For what the wish had done, it imprinted the most basic Campioné spell there was, to break a God or goddess' Authority and attack with symbology. Lilith did not know but across the planet, millions, then billions of people were becoming Campioné. The weakest of the weak but it mattered not...

Lilith reformed with ferocity attacking Selah and Ahmed. Their bodies weak as their battle had taken a toll. Lilith would win the battle by sheer stamina and attrition within minutes. At least it appeared so until the first hint of the greatest miracle humanity had ever seen was occurring. Salim, a boy no older than 8 years old, lived what many would call a hard life. His mother and father dead from a pointless conflict when he was but four. Barely and food to eat, sleeping where he could. Callouses on his little bare feet for he could not even afford sandals. And wore clothes barely better than rags. Hand me down from various people coming to dig up the land. These people were looked down upon for digging up and taking the history of Jericho but not by Salim. He welcomed it if it spread knowledge. He enjoyed the westerners coming to his village string just outside the ancient city. Some were mean and yelled at the boy while others very kind. They gave him money if he helped dig. Salim was unique for he knew within his heart the key to happiness even though he was but a young boy. To inspire joy in others. And funny enough was how he learned this lesson. A kooky westerner from California listened to Jimi Hendrix and the boy was fascinated by the music. The westerner loved telling the boy all about him and then told him something that awakened his heart. That made sense out of a life lesson. "When the power of love is greater than the love of power, then the world will know peace". And with that, Salim let nothing extinguish his joy. For this lesson to be so pure in his heart, Alicia's magics resonated with him first. He muttered the incantation, raised his hand, and fired...

A beam of symbolic energy struck Lilith in the cheek burning her. She was shocked as she was watching Selah and Ahmed and it did not come from then. "Who the fuck...you" she hissed using her power to sense the boy. Within a flash she was upon him and raised her bare foot over the tiny boy. The boy did not cringe, flinch, or waver as he looked at the naked giantess ready to crush him to paste. And just as she was about to slam her foot down, another symbolic blast struck her in the back. The sting threw her off balance slightly as she slammed her foot down. The boy was unharmed. He had missed death barely two feet from either side of him as he was standing right between her toes. Lilith stumbled back aghast at the stroke of luck. Selah used her lightning speed to snatch the boy up and get him away from battle. "You're pretty" he said. "And you are very brave but how did you do that?" she asked. "Don't you know? Listen" he said. "I don't hear anything" she said. "Not with your ears silly. With this" he said pointing to his heart. Selah calmed herself and once she did, she could hear the words. "All be damned" she grinned.

Around the world, the miracle built in scope. Mogwai and Yaksha came out of hiding to raise their hand in the air, chanting the incantation, and firing a bolt of magic. Humanity all over did the same thing. Alicia watched amazed as beams of light from Alux poured out of the stadium racing east. "Ahmed" she said. "I feel it too. By Allah I feel it too!" he yelled. "We have to contain her at all costs. Keep her from moving" she said. Ahmed nodded and charged Lilith. What came next was both of them trying to keep her from moving with binding spells. Minutes passed and Ahmed and Selah were on their last legs. "ENOUGH!" Lilith yelled breaking free. Lilith concentrated flame magics until the air shimmered. "Then ends now" she growled. Suddenly, a crack of thunder resounded, and Lilith turned to catch Gae Bulg. "You think I wouldn't sense your approach?" she asked Keith. She fired off the flame magic she had collected at him only to see it go right through him. The magic exploded two miles away kicking up dust and leaving a crater 100 ft deep and a half mile wide. "What?" she asked seeing his image evaporate.

Keith has used magic to keep the lance giant but shrank down to avoid being seen. Lilith could sense him but not see him. Keith, borrower size ran the length of the suspended lance. "For my wife Lawan, for my daughter Kannika, from my friends Elena and Rose. FOR EVERYONE YOU TOOK FROM US. FAÉ ARCANE MAGIC...SPELL OVERDRIVE!" Keith screamed activating the arcane he wittier along the lance in his own blood. Spell overdrive was a specific spell that greatly enhanced the enchantment of an object. In Gae Bulg's case, the enchantment of it hitting its target whenever thrown was enhanced into hitting the target's soul. In an instant, the lance went from physical to ethereal slipping right through her hand, though her body skewering her soul, and staking in the ground. "This won't kill me. Close but no cigar" she snickered trying to break free. Selah glanced around her seeing the future. "No but it won't have to. The end is coming and not by our hands. You have tasted a sample of your end twice moments ago" Selah said softly. "Those pitiful symbolic attacks didn't do shit! They barely scratched me!" Lilith laughed. "Maybe not two of them but what about...6,122,479,366...367...368..." Selah said pointing to the sky. Lilith looked up to see a glowing swirling ball of symbolic energy gathering strength in the air. "This won't kill me. I'm immortal. I'll just come back and... no...no....GODDAMMIT NO!" Lilith shrieked yanking as hard as she could seeing her fate fully sealed. Words, words suspended in symbolic magics began to squeeze and condense the massive ball of magic. Words in every language on Earth. Saying the exact same thing. "Your Pantheon is known. Your deeds and legends tell of your nature. By the power of the Campioné I break you Authority by speaking your true name! Your name is Lilith!". The ball stabilized into an orb shining brighter than the sun before falling out of the sky.

Selah quickly picked up her mother Faith, as she, Keith, and Ahmed quickly got out of ground zero. "IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!!! I just wanted...to be loved..." Lilith sobbed. Her life flashed before her eyes. Her first love Adam. Her expulsion from Eden. Watching Samael turn into Lucifer. Siring demons. Eons of time passing in milliseconds until present day. Present moment. The orb touched Lilith's hair and exploded as gently as a soap bubble popping. What came next was anything but gentle. The blast was not physical but pure spiritual energy. Like someone dropping a nuke made of belief, prayer, and hope. Everyone within 10 miles felt their souls rattled. Their very essence vibrated as a symbolic shockwave passed through them. Lilith herself couldn't even scream as her physical form, created from her very soul was atomized. So intense, it blinded satellites observing, phone camera lenses burned out. All of Jericho would later say they could taste their soul. And then, it simply faded away as gently as a spring breeze.

"WE DID IT! WE FUCKING DID IT! Holy shit did you see that?! That was some Dragonball Z shit there at the end!" Keith yelled seeing Lilith was very much gone. "Dragonball what?" Selah asked as her transformation ran out. "Jesus kid you're missing out" Keith said ruffling her hair. "The battle was hard won but we must observe the cost" Hikari said to them. They looked at Joseph's body. "At least it's over" Keith said. "No, it is not. I must restore reality immediately" Faith said staggering. "Mom you must be kidding. You have to rest. You do it now no telling what harm it could do to you!" Selah yelled. "There's no time. Alicia's song was very powerful, but it came two minutes too late. Look at the sky" she said pointing up. Three white fast-moving streaks shot across the sky over their heads. "Oh shit" Keith said. "What? What is it?" Hikari asked. She got her answer seconds later as three bright flashes filled the horizon. "By the Kami. Nuclear weapons" she muttered. "Hitting Lilith's location before Selah brought her here. They came from either China or Russia giving the direction. No doubt they fired more seeing her new location" he said. "Right here" Faith muttered. "More will come and rain down across the globe. The other countries probably didn't know what the target would be, so they launched a retaliatory strike. Use em' or lose em'" he muttered.

"It's happening all over again. Last time I reset the timeline the world was facing nuclear Armageddon. It's as if this is fate" Faith said. "Faith. When it comes to fate..."

"There is no fate but what we make. You told me that once. Nice words" she said grinning shedding tears. "Terminator 2 baby" he said hugging her. Faith kissed him and staggered off. "Can you even fix this?" Selah asked. "Lilith had control of my mind and body but such a connection works both ways. I have her True Sephiroth, and I know the key to Eden. Wish me luck" Faith replied staggering. Salim watched as the injured, exhausted giantess staggered and limped towards him. She bent down and plucked him from the ground placing him in her hand. He did not truly understand everything that had occurred but knew that even though this giantess had the face of the person who nearly crushed him flat, she was not the same one. "You're so beautiful inside and out. Salim? Please show me the way" she asked him. Somehow, he knew what she was asking of him as he closed his eyes and bared his heart and soul. Faith saw the path to Eden and in a flash of light was gone.

She walked naked through the immense garden. The grass soft as feathers under her bare feet. She could sense she was being watched by beings of great power. Limping, she saw perfect creatures pause and take note of the woman in their midst. Predators that would tear her apart and devour her simply watched in silence. From the insects looking at the giant being limp, to the mightiest lions and tigers, cease to move and growl. And then she was in the epicenter of Eden. She summoned forth the True Sephiroth and with the last of her strength erased Lilith off of it and inscribed the true name of he who made her reality. Faith felt her heart simply stop and she fell to the ground. She felt a hand scoop her up. And then a light...

Faith opened her eyes to see she stood borrower size in a hallway. "Hello Faith. Nice to see you again" a familiar voice said. She turned around to giant bare feet. She gazed up. "Mo...no it's you. Etherion" she said. "That's right. Now come, he's been waiting for you" she said placing Faith in her hand. The avatar of Etherion carried the tiny naked woman down the hallway and knocked on a door. "Come in" a voice said. Etherion opened the door. "Faith McCormick is here" she said. "Yes...please bring her here" the voice said. Faith saw a slightly familiar room similar to one of the offices at the Yorkshire Mansion. Now that she thought on it, almost everything was like her old home. Including the man sitting at a desk writing. Etherion placed her on it. "Dad?" she asked seeing the giant. He smiled. "No, you're not him. So, what are you?" she asked. "If the mother of magic looks like your mother, then what could someone who looks like your father be?" he asked.

"...god?" she asked frightened. "Some have called me that. Come and sit down child. There's something we need to discuss" the man said. 

"Let me just ask a question first. Is the world safe?" she asked. When you restored the True Sephiroth, you restored reality at the same point it fractured. It was as if nothing ever happened. So yes, you saved the world. Although, some things did not change. The goddesses slain remain dead.  Your friend Joseph still lays dead. Just as their power protected them from reality shifting, so did it preserve their ends" he replied. Faith sat down and buried her head in her knees silently crying. The being, the Creator of her world, sighed as he petted her head. "Not all happy endings come cheap" he said. "If you're God, then why didn't you help? The world was plunged into darkness and pain!" she yelled at the giant. "You know if I had a nickel for every time a mortal asked why I let bad things happen, well the afterlife would be filled with them. How can I explain this in a way you'd understand? Faith, you're a mother of two children. Children just now learning to walk right?" he asked. She nodded. "When they stumble and fall, did you pick them up?" he asked. "Yeah" she replied. "Every...single...time?" he asked. "No, they have to learn to pick themselves up on their own" she replied. The man smiled. "But this is way more than stumbling!" she said. "Not from the perspective of someone that has seen ages of man come and go. If I intervene every time something goes wrong, then what's the point of free will?" he asked. She did not answer.

"I've intervened in the past. Personally spoken to mortals and that's tricky at best. As you talk to me, you're thinking I'm not what you expected the humans' monotheistic God to be. That's because almost nobody gets it right. Almost nobody as those that do are labeled as heretics, blasphemers, or nutcases. The wise ones say nothing. A pity that the world is such a place where a lie is safer than the truth. Talking to mortals is like a child's game of telephone. Over time they twist and distort the message until it's no longer mine" he said shaking his head. Faith looked around once more at the room. "Am I dead? I mean I felt my heart stop"' Faith asked. "For over half a year, you were possessed by one of the most powerful beings in the world. Anyone else would've burned out like a candle, but since you were an Etherion user, your body withstood the strain. Having said that, at the end, your body was pushed beyond its limits. Right now, your body is between life and death" he replied. "And this is heaven?" she asked. "No this is my home. Heaven is where I work. Why don't we take a walk?" he said standing up. With a snap of his fingers, Faith found herself with him borrower size sitting on top of a tall bookshelf. She looked around to see they were in an American kindergarten. 

"When I visit the mortal realm, I tend to shrink down to avoid any...interruptions so to speak.  And one of my things to do is sit and simply watch children. It gives my perspective" he said. "God needs perspective?" she asked. "Oh absolutely. Free will is the ultimate wild card. Even I can't predict that. Infinite possibilities over time collapsing into just one. No better way to see that than watching a child. Observe" he said pointing down. "So kids. As thanksgiving is around the corner, why don't we make hand turkeys for your parents. Now take your paper and crayons and trace your hand" a teacher said. The teacher was actually a borrower woman no older than 25. She calmly walked around observing the giant children as they worked. "As you know, once upon a time this would've been impossible. A borrower as a kindergarten teacher? A fantasy at best but your parents made it all possible. In effect, they changed reality. Three years ago, that woman was a sex toy of a very cruel man. Every night he would rape her until she passed out. Every time she prayed to something to end her misery. I could've stepped in and took her away. Gave the man a heart attack. Or just...took her life. But some things happen because they have to happen. Everything led to this moment" he said. As he said that, one boy began sniffling as the crayon he was using broke. "And this is what fascinates me. Infinite possibilities intersecting" he said. 

The man held his breath as he watched the borrower pause and look at the boy. Her exceptional hearing picked up his sniffling where human hearing may not have. She walked over to him. "Caleb what's wrong honey?" she asked. "My brown crayon broke. I can't finish my turkey" he sniffled. "You know what would be cool? A blue turkey" she said. "Turkeys aren't blue" the boy said. "Captain America turkeys are" she said. She giggled as the boy did and the giant boy picked up a blue crayon and started coloring again. God clapped his hands quietly. "That was nice" Faith said. "More than nice. If she did not comfort the boy, many of his futures included murdering women. One a very prolific serial killer of borrower women. I shall spare you the details" he said. "Over a damn crayon?!" Faith yelled. "All things start small Faith. Take Hitler. His cruelty was learned from his father. Reminded by starving on the streets. Polished when denied entry into art school. Would it shock you that one of his futures included winning the Peace Prize?" he asked. Her eyes went wide. "So, what's that kid's future now?" she asked. "Don't know but many dark ones ceased to be, and brighter ones are more possible. Some include now marrying borrower women because he never forgot the kindness of this teacher. All of this is possible because bad things had to happen" he said. 

"I sense this is about me altering the timeline" she said. "You did what you thought you had to do to make things right. Etherion herself warned you there would be repercussions you couldn't conceive of. You weakened reality" he replied. "And made the way for Lilith to take over" she said softly. "Lilith was bound to try then or a million years hence. I... regret how I acted concerning her. My own anger destroyed many of her futures" he said quietly. "God has regrets?" she asked. "If I can do anything then I can also have regrets" he said. "This...this is..." she muttered. The being embraced her and held her close. "A lot to take in absolutely. But I needed you to understand a few things before I ask something difficult of you" he said. "What is it?" she asked. "You can stay in Eden guarding the center of reality from any incursions. While Lilith is vanquished, there are others out there with the power to do what she did, and Earth once more would fall to darkness and pain. Or, you can simply go home to your family" he said. "But leave the world unguarded because of something I did" she finished. He did not answer. "How long would I be there?" she asked. "Until reality is healed is the easiest answer. In concerns of time, that has no meaning there" he replied. "A day or a million lifetimes from a perspective" she said. "A very...enlightened point of view" he said. "Can I think on it?" she asked. God nodded and left her. 

Faith sat on top of the bookcase for a few extra hours thinking over his request. Either guard reality and risk never seeing her loved ones again or returning home risking another attack and possibly one they couldn't prevail against. At first, she rationalized if there was another attack, they would simply rally and fight back like last time. The more she thought on it, the more she realized their strength was fairly depleted. There were no guarantees they could win against someone the likes of Lilith...or worse. Faith sighed and looked upon the teacher as if she had the answer. The children were all laying down napping as the tiny woman walked around checking them. One giant little girl was whimpering in her sleep and the borrower came to her. Gently, she wiped away a tear on the child's cheek. "This is more than just a job to her" Faith muttered. The teacher stepped aside and sat down, pulling off her shoes and socks to rub her feet. Curiosity getting the better of her, Faith floated down, summoned some clothes, and approached the woman. "Hello?" Faith asked. The woman nearly jumped out of the skin. "Whew! Scared the crap out of me. If you're looking for the borrower wing of the school, it's down the hall to the left" the woman said. "Thanks. I couldn't help but notice you in here. You teach the humans?" Faith asked. "Yep. Started teaching back in September. Ms. Conrad" the borrower said walking to Faith and shaking her hand. "Faith McCormick" Faith said shaking it.

"So... isn't it dangerous for you to be teaching a bunch of giant five-year-olds?" Faith asked. "Yeah, I get that from the other teachers, the parents, even the janitor. They can be grabby, cranky, and wild at times and more than once I've been snatched up like a toy but at the end of the day it all works out somehow. The job definitely keeps me on my toes. Speaking of which the walking is the hardest part" she chuckled flexing her bare feet on the expansive carpet. "It sounds more trouble than it's worth. One trip, fall, or tantrum..." Faith said. "My first week here I thought that too but the closer I got to my kids the more I saw what other humans don't see or in our case smell. Old worn shoes, dirty clothes, dried tears, odors of all kinds. This school, my classroom is sometimes their only safe space for them. It's not just teaching them how to count or spell. It's like being a surrogate parent. I can't have kids Faith. I was...hurt a few years ago so I can't be a parent, but I love these giant silly humans like they're my own. There's no greater feeling than a kid picking you up and hugging you ever so gently because you helped him spell "mommy" she said. "Would you say this job is bigger than you?" Faith asked. "Figuratively and literally" the woman laughed. Faith walked over to the boy God had warned earlier stood the chance of being a serial killer. Now being much closer, Faith noticed hairline scars on him. "This boy..."

"His dad is a drunk. Met him last week at a PTA meeting. Poor little guy is very sensitive to any mistake he makes. I talked to my boss about calling CPS but..." she said shrugging. "But what?" Faith asked. "They said those kinds of scars could just be being a kid playing" she said. Faith briefly thought of doing something herself. Shrinking the boy and telling them both to run away. Paying a visit to his father, shrink, and torture the bastard. But having gone through so much, she was finally thinking of possible unexpected consequences to her actions. "Keep trying. Keep being there for the boy. It could make all the difference" Faith said softly petting the boy's cheek. "I intend to" the teacher said. Faith nodded and walked out of the room. "So, I take it you made your decision?" God asked walking behind her. "You were watching?" she asked. He gave a slight smile. "I'm impressed. The old Faith would've been impulsive and used her magics" he said. "The old Faith died in Israel. To answer your question, the answer is yes. This is more than just what I want. I made this problem possible; I have a responsibility to fix it" she said. "And?" he asked. "And I want a world where kids like them have a fair chance shaping it on their own" she replied.  "Good answer" he said. "Can I tell my family?" she asked. "You must be quick. The longer Eden remains open, the more unsavory beings out there will notice. Five minutes Faith" he said snapping his fingers.

"FAITH!" Alicia and Selah screamed as she appeared in her living room. "We thought...we thought" Alicia said breaking down. "We thought you died mom when you didn't return" Selah said. "In a way I did. I ended up in a place...well it's hard to describe. I ended up there and met God. Well, sort of God" Faith said. "You're not making sense" Alicia said. "I can barely make sense of it myself. I met someone who made our reality. And well...he offered me a job" Faith shrugged. "She must've suffered a concussion" Selah said. "I'm not concussed. Reality was restored but it's not back to normal. Not completely. Anyone like Lilith could come and do it all again. That is unless someone was to stay in Eden and guard against it" she said. "You?!" Alicia yelled. "How long mom?" Selah asked. "Dunno. Time doesn't work there like it does here. I don't know how long I'll be gone" Faith replied. "Nuh uh. Nope. Some guy comes along saying he's god..."

"He's the real deal Alicia. He may or may not be your Christian God but he's the head honcho of everything" she said. "Then he can pick someone else! I'm not losing you again!" Alicia yelled casting a binding spell. Alicia was shocked seeing it fizzle out instantly. "That wasn't me dispelling it. He's watching" Faith said. "PICK SOMEONE ELSE! She's mine.... she's everything good about me. If you take her away, I'll lose the best part of me" Alicia said falling to her knees whimpering. "It's why I said yes. To protect what's good. What gives us the strength to keep going. Nobody is going to take away our light anymore, but I have to make sure the darkness never has the chance again" Faith said putting her hand on her shoulder. Alicia buried her face in her breasts sobbing. "Mom. Matty and Grace is going to need..."

"Their big sister and you'll do fine. The war is over, and you'll have to pick up the pieces, but I know the people I love will do just fine" Faith said. A pillar of light began shining outside. "That's my queue" Faith said softly. She kissed them both. Tell the others that I love them with all my heart, and I'll be thinking of them. I'll be thinking of you all" Faith said as she stepped outside. Faith stepped into the pillar of light and was gone. Faith appeared in Eden and walked to where the anchor point of reality was, dead center of the Garden. "I know how hard that truly was I am sorry Faith" God said behind her. "...I just wish I brought a book" Faith said grinning as tears fell from her eyes. The being smiled and said "you can create anything you need while you're here. If you need me, just ask" he said before disappearing. Faith kicked off her shoes sighing feeling the grass between her toes. She willed a chair and table to appear, and she sat down. Enjoying the comfortable chair and willed a glass of lemonade to appear and then a book; The Tale of Two Cities. She sipped her lemonade and opened the book to page one.  "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times..." she muttered as she began reading.

An unknown time later...

"Hey Rufus! Enjoying that walnut Paco? Keep it real Tigger!" Faith shouted to the various animals in the Garden. She yawned and stretched as another day dawned. After breakfast, she stepped outside of her simple home and sat down. After some time, she had grown bored of reading and willed a Nintendo Wii and Mario Kart to play with. She chuckled turning it on even though no such thing as an electrical grid existed there. "Room for player two?" God asked appearing. Faith handed him a Wii mote. "You've been here for a while now" he said. "Yep. Nearly went stir crazy for a while" she said as she played. "You did quite well. I haven't seen the creatures here this happy since Adam and Eve" he said. "Anything new on Earth?" she asked selecting the stage. "Nothing your family can't deal with...Rainbow Road? Seriously?" he asked. "You're god. I'm sure you can handle Rainbow Road" she snarked. They played their match and Faith won. "And Princess Peach for the win. You didn't just let me win right?" she asked. "Fair and square. Faith, I'm here today to tell you it's done. You're more than welcome to go home" he said. Faith stared at him. "For real" he said. Fair broke into tears and hugged him tightly. "I know. You suffered more than anyone should and you still out others before you my beautiful creation" he whispered in her ear.

"I don't even know how long I've been gone. What if they moved on? I know I asked you not to give me any details on them but..." she stammered. "Oh ye of little Faith" he chuckled as he opened a portal. "Goodbye Faith" he said. "Will...will I ever see you again?" she asked. "Who knows. That's the funny thing about free will. Anything is possible" he replied. She waved to him as she stepped through. Faith was blinded by light and when her vision returned, she found herself standing in front of a stadium at nighttime. The marque read..."Cuidad de Mexíco Arena. Alicia McCormick en vivido. 26 de Augusto 2026". "Six years. I've been gone six years and Alicia is singing here?" Faith asked herself as she walked towards the entrance. The parking lot was fully packed, and people crowded outside. "Ticket" the man said as she approached the turnstile. Faith reached into her blouse and used magic to conjure a ticket, yanking it from between her tits. "Ahem. Proceed" he said. Faith walked in and soon found herself in the main arena. "Holy shit" she muttered as it was nearly standing room only. No less than 40,000 had come to hear her sing. Faith looked towards the stage and when she saw her, her knees almost gave out. "Baby" she said as he eyes teared up. Alicia was dressed in a long red dress going to her shins. She was barefoot as to better choreograph her dancing. A band sat behind her. "Here it is folks. The last song of the night. It's a special one for me dedicated to someone I love...and miss very much" she said. Bass guitars began strumming. Drums banging as the song began.

"Time has come to listen to their puppet souls. Words are strong, heart has dropped, scatter round and falls. Connect everything...fall out. Yeah, get started break the row. See how it's crazy out. It's beyond full realization. Yeah, get started recreating the world! Take my hands till the end. Feel the raw emotion. Bring it on down rock, rock, rock. Shake it up top, top, top. Cause you know how to shout out your soul!"

"I've got a feeling you must let me go. I wanna keep my faith forever. Words are alive, supporting, us, connecting with our souls. You know what? We look up at the sky, count on it. And halos in the clouds light me up, then I awake in the heat, get fired up, you call my name...Yeah! Get started breaking the row. See how it's crazy out. It's beyond full realization. Yeah, get started recreating the world! Take my hands till the end. Feel the raw emotion. Bring it on down rock, rock, rock. Shake it up top, top, top. Cause you know how to shout out your soul!"

Faith stared in sheer awe at the energy and emotion in her voice. Even the sizzling guitar solo. carried her energy. But what made the borrower tremble in her sandals was the fact Alicia was not using one ounce of her magics. All of it came from her very soul. "THANK YOU! Thank you so much Mexico City! You were awesome! Goodnight!" Alicia yelled blowing kisses to the roaring crowd as she stepped off the stage. "Fantastic, wasn't she?" a voice said to her side. Faith turned to see none other than Quetzalcoatl in human form. "Is that you Quetzalcoatl?" she asked sensing his true form. "Indeed. My most favorite of my children playing in my hometown? No way I could pass that up" he said. He looked upon her. "We all heard what you did after the battle. It is not common for a god to be humbled by such nobility" he said. "I only did what had to be done for the sake of those I loved" she said. "There is a time for modesty and a time for taking pride in what you do. This is the latter" he said. "How were things?" she asked. "As you can see the world was restored. Kali and Joseph remained dead. We buried the old man back at his home in Georgia. We visit his grave during the anniversary of the battle. As for your family, we took turns watching over them. They have prospered well" he said. "So I see" Faith said softly. "Do not think that way. You heard her song. She misses you in such a way not even I could eat a heart so heavy" the serpent God chuckled. "Go. Go reclaim your life child" he said pushing her towards one of the exits.

Faith followed the signs that lead to the dressing room. Eventually she made her way to it. Flocks of fans cried for autographs. "No autographs at this time!" a voice yelled. Faith stepped forward. "Not even for me?" Faith said smiling. "Oh...my...god" Skylar muttered shedding tears. "You look nice" Faith said admiring her magic inlaid Valkyrie uniform. Skylar was too stunned to say a word or move as Faith kissed her cheek. Faith quietly opened the door and then shut it behind her. "Grace. Don't play in mom's makeup" Selah said plucking the 6-year-old tiny girl from the makeup case. "Matty. Watch your sister" Selah said placing the girl on the stand. They had not noticed Faith standing there. Faith's heart sank seeing her two children has grown considerably as well as her adopted daughter who looked every bit 24 years old and a woman now.  She realized how much she had truly missed. "Who's the pretty lady?" Matty asked. An innocent question for a child but a knife to the heart for Faith. He did not know his own mother. Selah turned to look. The bottle of water she was holding fell out of her hands. "MOM!" Selah screamed hugging her. "Selah what's going on? Oh Jesus...you said you would come back one day but...but..." Alicia muttered as her heart broke and she ran to hug her. All three sobbed clutching one another for several minutes. "Why is everyone crying?" Grace asked. Alicia motioned for Faith to come close to them. She picked up both kids and placed them in Faith's hand. The tiny children could feel the giantess trembling. "Matty...Grace...this is your other mommy. The one that gave birth to you two" Alicia said.

The children gazed up at the giantess in confusion. Faith's finger went to pet them, but touch was not near enough. Faith raised her hand, cupped it, and sniffed them deeply. "She smells like us. SHE SMELLS LIKE US! MOMMY!" the kids cried. Faith fell to her knees crying as she kept sniffing them. Gentle kisses on their adorable faces until her kisses soaked their faces and hair. "Wet!" Grace yelled giggling. All those lonely days finally felt worth it at that moment. "Faith. Please tell me it's over" Alicia begged. "For now. But as long as good exists, there's always evil. But for right now, I'm retired" Faith replied. "You sure mom?" Selah asked. 

"I'm sure. The gods are in their heavens. All's right with the world" she replied.

On a shelf nearby, two powerful beings observed everything. "Couldn't help yourself could you?" Lucifer asked. "I was worried. She is one of my favored creations" God replied. "Careful now. So was I and we saw how that ended up" the devil chuckled. "All have their parts to play son" God said smiling. "As such Lilith's betrayal. You should've seen her face when I broke my chains like they were straw when she popped back into hell" the Devil laughed. "I was curious as to why you let her take your power like that" he said. "She needed to be taught a lesson. She's been bitching and moaning about wanting to conquer the world since the fall of Babylon. No matter how many times I told her you can't force someone to love you, she never listened" he said. "I'm glad at least one of my lessons lasted" God said. "Don't hurt yourself patting your back old man. In the end I'll be proven right. It's inevitable that magical knowledge will be spread across the world to every man, woman, and child. These creatures will let their desires run rampant given the magics to do so. I should know. Desire is my specialty" the devil cackled. "Maybe so son that one day it will be true. But that day is not today" God said grinning. Lucifer huffed and disappeared leaving the creator of this world watching. But as he did, Lucifer had the last word. 

"There's always tomorrow father".

The End...for now