Chapter 768: 768

She leaned in once more, pressing her lips to his again soft, lingering, cruel in its tenderness.

“That,” she whispered against him as she pulled back, “is how I will hurt you.”

She turned away, already walking toward the towering silhouette of her castle.

“Once your seed is planted in me,” Mahu added without looking back, “that will be the last time you ever set foot in my realm.”

The light shifted as she departed, her figure receding into the vastness she ruled, unyielding, resolute, gone.

Ikenga remained where he stood, frozen, the echo of her words ringing louder than any blow.

His vision blurred as he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his form vanished from Mahu’s realm.

The moment his presence vanished, Mahu’s strength failed her.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the marble floor, the echoes of her footsteps still lingering in the vast hall. The composure she had worn like armor shattered completely. A raw, broken cry tore from her chest as she curled inward, clutching at herself as if trying to hold together something that had already splintered.

She cried louder now, unrestrained, unashamed.

A ripple of sound announced another presence.

Siren appeared beside her, lowering herself without hesitation. There was no lecture, no questions only quiet understanding. She gathered Mahu into her arms, cradling her as Mahu sobbed against her shoulder, grief pouring out in waves that shook her entire being.

Ikenga’s next destination tore him away from that pain and straight into another.

Keles realm unfolded around him, cold and quiet. He appeared to find Keles reclining on her side, one hand slowly massaging her belly in a protective, absent-minded motion.

Her expression distant but calm. She felt him before she saw him. When her eyes opened and found him standing there, she exhaled slowly.

“It seems it didn’t go well,” she said.

Ikenga gave a low hum in response and nodded once. He took a step forward, then stopped as Keles spoke.

“I hope,” Keles continued, her voice even but edged with something sharper, “that you didn’t come here thinking it would go well here as well.”

That made him freeze.

Keles pushed herself upright, adjusting her robe as she sat. Her gaze locked onto his, steady and unflinching.

“I am no trophy, Ikenga,” she said. “And neither is Mahu.” Her hand slipped beneath the folds of her robe, fingers clenching tight where he couldn’t see. “You have to make a choice.”

She leaned forward slightly.

“You can’t have us both.”

The words hung heavy in the air.

Ikenga let out a breathless laugh, short, bitter, and self-directed.

“Fuck,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Of course.”

He walked toward her slowly. When he reached her, he lowered himself to his knees instead of standing over her. Gently, carefully he rested his head against her stomach.

For a moment, he said nothing. He listened.

To the faint rhythm of life within her. To the quiet reassurance of a heartbeat that had nothing to do with gods, conflicts, or impossible choices.

As he stayed there, listening, Ikenga began to speak.

He told her everything, Mahu’s tears, her anger. The kiss, her promise of cruelty born from love and loss.

His voice was low, stripped of pride, every word weighed down by regret. Keles listened without interrupting, her fingers slowly threading through his hair, her expression unreadable, caught somewhere between sorrow, fear, and resolve.

When he finally fell silent, the only sound left between them was the steady, undeniable proof of life beneath her palm.

Ikenga remained there for a long moment longer, his head still resting against her, as though lifting it might break whatever fragile calm had settled.

Then, quietly, he spoke.

“You know I can’t choose, right?” They were weary. Almost apologetic.

Silence stretched.

Keles did not answer right away. Her fingers continued their slow, absent motion over her belly, grounding herself before she spoke.

“I know,” she said at last.

Ikenga lifted his head, searching her face. “I know,” she repeated, meeting his gaze without flinching.

“But ,” Keles continued, her voice shaky. “You will stay. You will be present.” She placed her hand more firmly over her womb. “We will raise this child together. For his sake… and for mine.”

Ikenga’s breath caught.

“I was named the sin of envy by Mother,” Keles went on softly, a faint, self-aware smile touching her lips. “And she was not wrong.” Her eyes lowered briefly, then rose again. “I envy the connection you share with Mahu. The history. The depth. The way she occupies a part of you I cannot reach.”

Her hand tightened slightly in her robe, unseen.

“I want that connection,” she admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “I want it for myself. For myself alone.”

The confession hung between them “And because of that,” Keles said, “things cannot continue as they were between us.” She drew in a slow breath. “Your access to me will be limited, as protection to myself and this world.” She said with Ikenga understanding her words.

She leaned closer, resting her forehead briefly against his.

“My realm, however, remains open to you,” she said gently. “You may come and go as you wish. Stay as long as you need. You are welcome herea, lways.”

Ikenga swallowed, something unsteady flickering in his eyes. Keles didn’t wait for an answer.

She leaned in and pressed her lips to his soft, unhurried, aching with restraint.

When she pulled back, her gaze remained steady while giving him a smile.

Ikenga kept his gaze on her for a long moment, as though trying to memorize the lines of her face, the tremor she refused to show. Then he turned away.

With a simple wave of his hand, the air in the chamber rippled like disturbed water. Threads of violet light stitched themselves together, weaving wood and linen, silk and memory into existence. The bed they once shared, familiar, warm, bearing the faint impression of countless nights spent in conversation materialized at the center of the room.

Without a word, he lay down upon it, drawing Keles gently into his arms. She came willingly, resting against him as she had done so a thousand times before. Their bodies fit together in a silence deeper than speech. No reassurances were offered. No promises were made.

There weren’t many things in existence that could unnerve Ikenga but this was one of the few that left him utterly wordless. There was nothing he could say to mend what had been strained. No sweet phrase could untangle divine duty from personal longing. Words would only cheapen the gravity of it.

On one side stood the Goddess of Motherhood, her essence bound to creation, nurture, and fragile beginnings.

On the other, the Goddess of Death, eternal and inevitable, whose domain ensured the balance of all things.

Any fracture between them was not merely emotional. A tremor in either would ripple outward, disturbing birth and burial alike. Seasons would falter. Souls would hesitate. The world itself would feel the imbalance.

And so both women endured as best they could, swallowing their private turmoil for the sake of something greater than themselves.

Ikenga could only hope that time and his actions would prove stronger than doubt. That the connection he shared with them would not erode and still hold strong.

He lay there, lost in thought, listening to the quiet rhythm of Keles’s breathing. Slow. Steady. Alive.

He glanced downward.

Her belly curved prominently beneath his hand, life stirring within. His expression softened in a way few beings had ever witnessed. Carefully, reverently, he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Rest,” he murmured, though whether to her or to himself, even he did not know.

His form began to dissolve into a flurry of soft purple petals, one of his creations, beloved by Keles for their peculiar scent: something like rain on stone and distant twilight. They drifted upward and outward, catching the dim light as they scattered through the chamber.

Then he was gone, silence lingered. Keles’s eyes opened.

She had felt it the moment he dispersed, the subtle withdrawal of his presence, like warmth leaving the air. Slowly, she lifted her hand. Several petals had settled there, delicate and cool against her skin.

She brought them to her nose and inhaled deeply.

The scent wrapped around her, bittersweet.

A sudden movement pressed outward from within her. She blinked, then laughed softly as another kick followed.

Her hand moved instinctively to her stomach.

“You have quite a greedy father,” she said gently, amusement warming her voice. “Even when he leaves, he insists on staying.”

The child kicked again, stronger this time.

Keles smiled, though there was a sheen to her eyes that had nothing to do with mirth.

“Do not worry,” she whispered, fingers tracing slow circles over her belly. “He will find his way back. He always does.”

Ikenga returned to his realm.

The skies parted for him as they always did, clouds bending like courtiers before a king. Below, vast plains of luminous grass swayed beneath a wind that carried the scent of rain and wild blossoms. Colossal beasts lifted their heads at his arrival, serpentine creatures coiled around crystal trees, winged leviathans gliding between floating isles, their roars echoing in welcome.

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