SHK CH 788

Sol stood at the edge of his dimension, silver hair catching the ambient light that seemed to emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once. His rainbow-colored eyes swept across the expanse before him, observing the changes that had occurred during his absence.

The small part of his dimension that wasn’t monochrome had grown. That was the first thing anyone would notice.

What was once a tiny patch of color in an endless grayscale void had expanded into something substantial. The ground beneath his feet felt more solid, more real. 

The air carried a sensation it hadn’t possessed before. Mana flowed through the atmosphere in visible streams of light, coalescing and dispersing in natural patterns that reminded him of breathing.

His dimension was truly becoming alive. Not in the sentient sense of course, but in the way a forest or an ocean were alive. 

It had begun to produce its own mana rather than simply storing absorbing mana from the real world. The laws governing this space had stabilized, and were developing. 

This particular place wasn't the reflection of the real world anymore. It was the embryo of a new world. 

It was beautiful in its own way. And terrifying when he considered what it meant. It was like raising his own child. Only to a much much larger scale.

Absorbing a part of the Dream law from Hypnos had been very helpful. The battle had given him new insights into the boundaries between Dream and Reality, and that understanding had fundamentally changed how his dimension functioned. 

“My world might even develop a Will soon.”

Once a Will was born and Fate settled. It would slowly shift intro a true world where life could be born in the truest sense. 

The black robes he wore shifted slightly as he moved, responding to his thoughts. 

It was a divine weapon, born from his evolution during the wedding battle. 

It was weaker than the Eye of Akasha, certainly, but it possessed incredible defensive capabilities which sadly were not that useful for him. But hey, no one ever complained about having a defense too high. The more the better. 

At least, the fabric could change shape, even fuse with his body if necessary. It could even cover his dragon form. So it was relatively useful in that sense. 

He was still discovering its properties and applications. The law of Love was not something he really understood yet.

“Your Highness, they are waiting for you.”

Sol turned to find Milia standing a respectful distance away. The head maid wore her usual black and white uniform, immaculate as always. To her, only seven days had passed. To Sol, it had been seventy. Seventy days of honeymoon bliss in a time-dilated chamber with Medea.

Maintaining that place for 7 days at such time dilation speed had been a pain and needed a great deal of energy but it was definitely worth it.

He could still feel the warmth of those days, the peace of waking up beside his wife without the weight of kingdoms and gods pressing down on him. Peace was a luxury he could rarely afford nowadays. He was sad he couldn’t give Medea a true honeymoon but Medea had been very content. 

“How do I look?” Sol asked with a slight smile.

Milia’s professional mask cracked just enough to show a hint of pride. “Like a king, Your Highness. Though the silver hair and rainbow eyes will take some getting used to.”

Sol ran a hand through his hair. The transformation had been a side effect of losing his blessings and walking the Path of Balance with his Concept. The silver marked his new path, while the rainbow hue in his eyes was an evolution of the Eye of Akasha itself.

He had to make a conscious effort to not look at the river of time and the different string of fate. His mind was simply too mortals to fully embrace this power without accelerating his mental and emotional erosion.

“Let’s not keep them waiting then.” Sol said with a smile.

They walked through the dimension, past two floating islands that housed sleeping forms. In the distance, where he once unleashed Deus and the End, Sol could sense Lilith’s presence. 

She was deep in meditation, her consciousness focused on constructing her divine territory within his dimension. She had insisted in using the remains of the End and while Sol had been worried, he ultimately allowed her to.

Her Concept of Severance was definitely a branch of the End. In the same way Lilith thought there was nothing she could not cut, Sol believed there was no story that he couldn’t end.

Nearby, Sun Wukong did the same, the Monkey King’s power causing occasional spatial ripples as he worked. His path was different and ultimately opposite to Lilith. Which was why he also asked to start the fondation of his territory here.

In his words. To became indestructible he had to understand the highest possible power of destruction and what higher than the End itself?

Both were at a critical juncture. The step from King to Demigod required more than just power. It required a foundation, a territory, a place where their laws held absolute sway. Building that within Sol’s dimension offered unique advantages and unique challenges.

“Soon I will have two very powerful helpers.” He muttered, wondering what kind of effect this would have on his dimension. 

“We arrived your Highness.” Milia said and indeed.

The meeting hall materialized as they approached. Sol had constructed it during one of his experiments with spatial manipulation. It was a simple circular room with a round table at its center, chairs arranged in a democratic fashion. No throne, no hierarchy. Just a place to talk.

Sol did not believe in democracy. Equality was a mere dream in  world where gods walked around mortals. 

But this place was different. It was a place only those dears to him could gather and in this place no one was above 

Six women were already seated when Sol entered.

Medea sat closest to the entrance, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore an elegant black dress not too different from her usual one.

It was her wedding dress. It had also evolved into a divine weapon or divine armor in this case and could shift colors and forms. 

Currently both Sol and Medea were quite matching. Thanks to their similar hair and clothes. 

Her heterochromatic eyes, one red and one gold, met his with a warmth reserved only for him. Seventy days together had deepened their bond in ways that made words unnecessary.

Persephone occupied the seat to Medea’s right. The Witch of Life looked as whimsical ever, green hair tied in a practical ponytail. 

She wore a flowing green dress and had an intrigued expression on her face, as if she found the entire situation amusing. To Persephone, everything was a story, and the current circumstances were apparently quite interesting.

She was witnessing legends in the making after all.

Ambrosia sat across from Medea, her long black hair framing a face that seemed eternally mature and dignified. Her golden eyes held the weight of millennia. 

She was wearing a white robe that shifted between white and gold, marked with multiple magical symbols all geared towards increasing her casting speed.

Freya was next to Ambrosia, though she was impossible to miss. 

The Witch of Space was clad entirely in pink. Pink hair, pink eyes, pink dress. Everything about her was aggressively pink. She sat with a casualness that suggested she’d never cared about armor or formality in her entire life. Her eyes were constantly on Sol and clearly she was waiting to talk about something that weighed her.

La Befana, the President of the Witch Association, sat nearby. 

Sol didn’t focus much on her appearance, as was his habit with the enigmatic witch. He had no deep attachment nor interest with her and normally he wouldn’t allow her here in this room. But well, she was ranked high enough in the witches hierarchy that they couldn't have the incoming talk without her.

Finally, Kali sat at the far end. The Witch of Destruction wore her customized maid uniform, the black fabric accented with red trim. Her expression was neutral, professional. But he could the cracks in her expression. She was bored out of her wits and most likely just wanted to sleep.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Sol said as he took his seat beside Medea. Milia positioned herself behind him, standing rather than sitting.

“You’re only a few minutes late, darling,” Medea said with a smile. “We’ve been discussing minor matters.”

“Minor matters that will become major problems if we don’t address them,” Persephone added, though her tone was light, almost playful.

Sol leaned back in his chair and gestured for them to continue. “Then let’s begin. I assume you’re all here to bring me up to speed on what happened while Medea and I were… occupied.”

“Seventy days,” Freya muttered. “Must have been nice.” There was clear envy in her voice.

“It was,” Medea said simply, and the small smile on her face made several of the witches shift. They had a pretty clear picture of what happened. 

La Befana spoke gently. “Perhaps we should start with the good news? Your dimension has stabilized beautifully, Your Highness. The mana production is exceeding our projections.”

“I noticed,” Sol said. “The laws have settled as well. What about Lilith and Wukong?” he asked.

“Both are progressing well,” Ambrosia answered. “Lilith has been asleep for six days now. Her territory is taking shape. It’s quite fascinating actually. Echidna and Anubis have been going crazy studying them.”

“You talk as if you were any better.” Persephone quipped, causing Ambrosia to cough in embarassement. 

“Wukong is doing something similar,” Persephone added with an amused tone. “Though his territory is more chaotic. Lots of mountains and clouds. Very like him.”

Sol couldn’t help but chuckle at that description. “And the four of you? You mentioned consolidating insights.”

Persephone was the first to respond, her eyes glinting with interest. “After witnessing Euphoria’s ascension and her subsequent defeat, we’ve all gained new understanding of what it means to become a god. We’re taking time to digest those insights before attempting our own breakthroughs. It’s like reading the most fascinating chapter of a story and needing time to appreciate it before continuing.”

“It’s not something to rush,” Kali said quietly. “One wrong step and we could die. This is even more so since the gods of the concepts we want are still alive. I am honestly just waiting for Lilith to succeed before attempting anything.”

“With that said,” Ambrosia’s expression shifted to something resembling satisfaction. “We have good news regarding the curse.”

Sol straightened in his seat. The Curse of the Witches had been a persistent problem. Any man who bedded a witch would have his lifespan drained, dying within weeks or even days.

This was the cause of much grief.

“We’ve been running tests,” Ambrosia continued. “Several of the younger witches have… volunteered to test the new parameters.”

“How many partners died?” Sol asked bluntly.

“None.” Ambrosia smiled. “That’s the remarkable part. The curse has been drastically diluted. Instead of draining lifespan, it now only takes stamina. The men are greatly exhausted afterward, certainly, but they recover within a day or two.”

Sol blinked. That was far better than he’d hoped. “Was the wedding that useful?”

“Indeed,” Medea answered. “The curse’s power is being drawn to you instead. All that deadly energy that would normally spread across multiple partners is now targeting you exclusively. And since you’re… well, you. It can’t actually harm you.”

Sol processed that. His resistances were absurdly high thanks to his draconic nature and his various powers. In the first place the curse had never affected him much. As for the part that could affect Fate? He cared even less. “So I’m serving as a lightning rod for all witch curses?”

“Essentially, yes,” Ambrosia confirmed. “The curse still exists, but its lethal aspects are focused on you. This means other witches can take lovers without killing them.”

“And the pregnancy issue?” Sol asked.

“Solved, thanks to your rings,” Ambrosia said. “The rings you created are helping us bypass that particular aspect of the curse. Talk already started about who would be allowed to become the first mother.”

That was genuinely good news. The curse itself was a consequence of the immense power the witches had gained from Asmodeus, not something he had imposed. But it still made their lives difficult.

Still, “What do you mean allowed?”

“No woman ever gave birth after becoming a witch. This is uncharted territory and so someone need to become the sacrificial lamb so to speak. The first child will also face the most dangers.”

“Fair.” He nodded and looked at Medea an instant before focusing back on the task at hand.

“There’s more,” Ambrosia said, her tone shifting to something more serious. “Asmodeus is awake.”