Chapter 255 - Vol. 4 - 54

"Magia?" 

"Mhm, is it not obvious who I am? Do I need to make it clearer?" The goddess replied before she created glowing letters above herself spelling out "MAGIA." 

Ash blinked a few times as the goddess smiled in front of her.  What the...? So many questions passed through her skull at that instant that forming a coherent thought became difficult. 

One of them made its way out Ash's lips and the half-demon asked:

"Wait, wait, how can I even hear you right now? We aren't even at a Site of Power." 

"Oh ho, but that's where you're wrong," Magia said, wagging a finger back and forth. "You are currently planted face-down in the middle of the Mist Realm. And, you wanna know something?" 

She leaned in closely and Ash felt her lips so close to her left ear that it tickled. 

"I was born here~" She stated, before pulling away dramatically. "The Bed of Creation, I call it! And, your journey has brought you all the way to this place. Personally, I think that's rather poetic." 

"... So, is that why everything is so weird around here?" Ash asked. "Cause of you?" 

"Hm? Oh, yes, precisely. Aside from the fact that this was where I came to be when I first began my stint as the Goddess of Creation, I... Well," Magia made an uncharacteristically awkward face. "I was rather loose, to put it that way. I didn't limit my powers, and it ended up affecting this place rather dramatically." 

The goddess then floated toward her and took Ash's hands with hers, smiling back at the woman. 

"Never mind that," she waved a hand, smirking. "You. You've been rather busy lately. Care to let me know what you've been doing all this time?" 

"... What?" Ash didn't bother to keep her questions to herself since Magia could read her thoughts here. "You don't know?" 

"No, unfortunately, I do not. Don't misunderstand, a goddess such as myself can obviously piece together that you have been trying to help Lumina's champion in some way, and that little friend of yours with the silver eyes, but, the details have eluded me. So, Ash, as you'd put it, 'what's up'?" 

"..." Ash paused, narrowing her eyes at the woman. 'Why do you wanna know so badly?" 

"Hm? Ash, do you still not understand? I L O V E, you!" She said, spelling the words out in the air with glittery letters at the same time. "What kind of lover would I be if I weren't interested in your affairs? Especially since I haven't been a part of them in so long..." 

With that, she flew over in front of her and Ash took a step back. However, she froze when Magia gently ran a golden hand down the middle of her chest. 

"So, how about we reconnect a little?" 

"..." 

Everything this bitch says sounds suspicious,  Ash thought, and Magia scoffed. 

"Ha!" The goddess barked out a laugh as she pushed Ash back and created a giant bed behind her. She laid down on it sideways and beckoned for Ash to come closer. Reluctantly, the half-demon did. "Well, if you want me to be honest, frankly, I was feeling a little bit jealous. After all, you haven't spoken to me in so long and, instead, you've been purposefully increasing that other goddess's power... Can you blame me? It all seems rather strange when you look at it from my point of view, doesn't it?" 

Raising a brow, Ash replied. 

"Alright, sure, I'll tell you everything Lumina's told me." 

"Ohhh, I'm sensing there's a condition," Magia said with a smile. 

"Yeah. A couple. First, tell me where the hell I can find the flower I'm looking for, and second, stop putting illusions on me. It's annoying." 

"Hm..." At that, Magia shrugged. "The first one is easy. Here," she flicked her right hand and a screen appeared to Ash's left. What she saw was a pond in the darkness of the night with luminous glowing, blue water.

And, all around it were large purple and black flowers. 

Finally! 

"When you wake up," Magia told her, "turn left and head straight. Walk for an hour or two, and you'll come across this place." 

"Oka- wait, an hour?" She asked. 

"Yes, an hour. Flowers are rare in this place. However, now that you know where to go, I trust your trip shall be cut short. The second thing you asked for, however," Magia shrugged. "I, unfortunately, cannot do." 

"... What?" Ash tilted her head. "What do you mean?" 

"The reality-bending magic present in this area, although it originated from me, and it empowers me, is completely disconnected to myself in terms of actions. In other words, you told me to stop with the illusions earlier, but I cannot do that because I am not doing anything to you. The area and the monsters here themselves are doing that, all on their own." 

Ash blinked. 

"Well, shit." 

"Now, a deal's a deal," Magia said, sitting up. She pulled Ash in by the waist and her lips touched Ash's abs, making the girl hiss as shivers went up her spine. "Just tell me what you and Lumina have discussed. And, who knows, after our little chat is done, maybe we can share a moment on this neat little bed I made." 

The goddess looked up at Ash with a smirk. 

"You've been holding yourself back so much lately. That Lust stack of yours hasn't gone past two in weeks. Why is that? Don't you like having your tail in beautiful women? Spectating you can be very confusing at times." 

"... I can't just fuck everything that moves," Ash said under her breath as Magia traced two fingers down her thighs. 

"Why's that? You absolutely could. As a matter of fact, you were designed to. You could fuck every woman in Amber and they'd all thank you for it, doesn't that sound nice?" 

Ash paused, staring back into the woman's flame-like eyes. She tried to ignore how her heart was pounding against her chest at the thought of that. 

"Didn't you want to hear about what I told Lumina?" Ash asked, changing the topic. 

"Hmph. Yes. Go ahead." 

Letting out a sigh of relief as Magia pulled away from her, Ash nodded. 

"Okay..." 

Then, she relayed everything she and Lumina had talked about to her. She didn't really have any reason to lie, she figured. She doubted Magia would, or even could, get in her way somehow, and the sooner she could get back to looking for the flower, the sooner she could get out of the Mist Realm, which was already high on her list of least favorite places. 

Magia listened to everything intently, and gradually, her smile faded as she took on a more analytical expression. Eventually, Ash finished up, and Magia crossed her legs as she replied: 

"I see... Well, as long as your interests align, I suppose there's no issue with this." 

It's definitely less frustrating working with her than working with you,  Ash thought, and Magia grinned. 

"That may very well be the case, but make no mistake, Ash," Magia said. "No one understands you like I do. Which is why, since we're here, I'm doing this," she said, before snapping her fingers. 

In an instant, Ash fell to her knees. 

"Ahhh!" She arched her back as a Lust so intense it burned surged through her body. 

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough time for Ash to remember what it was like activating the  Champion of Magia  ability, which she hadn't used since she'd fought that Nightmare at Onyx. 

Then, a few words appeared over her head.

Trait Discovered!

The Power of Passion

Gain a flat increase in the Strength and Intelligence attributes with every Lust stack. 

Lust 1 - 0 STR and INT

Lust 2 - 5 STR and INT

Lust 3 - 10 STR and INT

Lust 4 - 20 STR and INT

Ash clenched her fists as she looked up at them. 

"See," Magia lifted Ash's face up by her chin. "As much as I love and adore you, you can be very, very frustrating sometimes. For example, for some reason, you seem to restrain yourself. That woman with the black hair, Yumi, you should have ravaged her by now. You should have pounded her so hard that she couldn't think about anyone else but you, regardless of what that short-stack thought, but you didn't. Like a little puppy, you waited till the shortie gave you permission before taking what was yours. So, since we are at one of my Sites of Power, I figured, why not give you some incentive to express yourself more? You're welcome." 

In a flash, the world began to gain color, as Magia chuckled a little. 

"Until next time, Ash." 

---

Ash's eyes opened. 

She felt cold. In the distance, she could hear crickets as she stood up and dusted the dirt off of herself. Taking a deep breath, she checked her status to make sure that she hadn't just dreamed all of this. 

Level 75

MP: 330/330

EXP: 50/750

Attribute Points: 4

---

STR: 50

DEX: 30

CON: 34

INT: 24

WIS: 33

L: 100

---

Traits:

Iron Stomach

Chosen

Demon Inside

Quick Learner

Moonlight Nature

Moonlight Demon

The Power of Passion

"..." Ash sighed.  I can't just fuck whatever I want to without telling Keiko about it. She'll get mad at me. It doesn't just work like that, you divine slut, Ash cursed in her mind as she felt her body suddenly sting a little. 

She'd forgotten, thanks to this conversation, that she'd just been through a dangerous battle. 

Wait, right,  she looked to her left, as Magia had told her to do.  That direction. Okay. Let's keep moving. 

Picking her stuff back up, she took a couple of steps before she remembered something else. 

Looking around, she couldn't find her. 

"... Where the hell did that illusion go?" Ash mumbled. "Eh? Whatever. Good riddance." 

Without another word, she began walking forward under the cover of the moonlight, hoping she'd been done with this place soon.