WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 13

Having spent almost an entire month with Zane, it was interesting to finally be traveling with just my wives again.

The feeling of the wagon rocking and tilting as it traveled over numerous dunes caused me to sway as I thrust my hips. My abdominals contracted with my movements. Each thrust caused sweat to roll off my body as I grunted with exertion. Fay, who was the recipient of each powerful hip thrust, moaned in a manner that was somehow both lewd and cute.

I was sitting with my legs spread a bit, feet pressed firmly onto the mattress for leverage, with Fay’s back pressed against my chest as we sat on the bed, my hands underneath her thighs and spreading her legs apart. Her calves and feet shook with every thrust as my dick filled her pussy. Her loud moans filled the wagon, which was empty of everyone, even our son.

I had asked our other wives to wait outside.

Today was Fay’s time with me.

It had been a long time since Fay and I had sex; the biggest reason was, of course, that we had a son. Regardless of social status or anything else, childrearing was almost always left to the woman. This wasn’t because that was their place or any such nonsense. It was simply because women could do things men could not.

For example, I could not feed Raul. It didn’t matter how many times Raul bit my nipples, milk would not come out of them. This was something only Fay, who was currently lactating, could do.

In fact, even at this very moment, milk was coming out of her nipples. They were normally inverted, but ever since she had Raul, they’d come out of their hiding places and stood at attention.

I’d been sucking on them rather hard moments before, so I suppose that was my fault. Even now, the taste of her breast milk filled my mouth. Now it was dripping down her chest, over her firm stomach, and even down her crotch and coating my cock in an extra layer of lubrication.

Fay’s breast milk tasted a lot like regular milk, but it was sweater and had a milder flavor, mixed with what I thought might have been a hint of honey. It probably had something to do with her diet. While we ate a lot of meat, Fay had a soft-spot for honey flavored bread and other honey products.

“Eryk--hyk! You’re pounding me! You’re--ahn! Ahn! Your dick is splitting me--hnnn! Haa! Haaa!--it's splitting me in half!”

Fay’s screaming words caused my dick to swell inside of her. I was pretty surprised she could speak. I mean, it was taking everything I had not to cum. Her warm insides were clinging to my cock, wrapping around me like a velvet glove. The warmth and loving embrace of her pussy were not something I could underestimate. What’s more, the way I had a perfect over-the-shoulder view of her breasts as they bounced up and down, releasing milk, was a sight that would remain burned in my vision for the rest of time.

However, I knew I couldn’t last forever. My dick felt like it was growing even bigger as I thrust my hips at a swift pace, pounding her from this new position we’d decided to try. A pressure was building in my lower abs as the sound of flesh slapping together echoed around the room. Our mixed sweat clung to my skin and added a delicious friction as she rubbed against me; the scent of her hair and body addled my mind and made me lose focus.

Everything was going white.

With the last of my concentration, I spread my legs apart to keep hers spread as well, then reached down and found the soft nub I was looking for. I gave it a firm rub. Fay, perhaps not anticipating this, threw her head back and screamed so loud I thought my eardrums might shatter. Her pussy spasmed around me. That was too much for me to take, and I blew my load inside of her.

The last of my strength fled, and I fell back onto the bed. Fay was still laying on my chest, so she came with me, her legs growing limp, her arms becoming slack, and her red hair splaying across the bed sheets and my body like threads of fire.

I took several deep breaths as I tried to regain my strength. My now flaccid dick slipped out of Fay’s pussy and spilled a mixture of my seed and her juices onto the bed. Neither of us cared, though that did make me think about something.

“I’m so glad Kari taught you that anti-pregnancy Spiritual Technique.”

I didn’t know how that technique worked. Presumably, it was something only women could use due to the unique functions of their body. Saying that, it wasn’t like I needed to know or even cared to know. It would prevent me from accidentally getting her pregnant again, and that was what mattered.

Not that I was dissatisfied with my son. I loved Raul with all my heart. However, I didn’t want another child just yet.

“Eryk…” Fay moaned as she regained her breathing.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I can’t feel my legs.”

I laughed as I placed my hands on the bed and used it to push us both back, until my head was resting on the pillow. Fay’s legs looked like they had lost all their strength. They dragged across the bed like soggy noodles.

Slipping out from under her, I laid her head down on the pillow, then rested on my side and just watched Fay as she struggled to keep her eyes open. We’d been having sex for a long time now. I didn’t know how long, but it was long enough that I was certain my other wives were getting bored waiting outside.

I placed a hand on her warm stomach and drew circles on her skin. Fay shuddered as I sent just a bit of lightning through her body, enough to make her wake up.

“How do you feel now?” I asked.

“Pleasant,” Fay sighed.

“Well, I’m glad you liked it so much you can only speak in one-word sentences.” I rolled my eyes, but then kissed her cheek before resting my head on the pillow right next to her. “We don’t get many opportunities to do this anymore.”

“We had sex… that one time,” Fay said, her cheeks turning scarlet.

“Yeah… but I’m sure Kari coerced you into having that orgy.”

“… It was her idea.”

“See? I already knew that. She can be awfully devious when she wants to be.” I could feel a smile creeping on my face. Yes, my Primary Wife was incredibly cunning, though she mostly used it to convince Siv and Fay to join me and her in bed. “In either event, I was talking about the two of us. It’s been a long time since it was just you and me.”

“I’m sorry,” Fay said with an apologetic smile.

“I don’t really think this is something to apologize over.” Wrapping my arm around Fay’s torso, I pulled the woman to me, hugging her close and burying my face in her hair. It was sweaty, but I didn’t mind that one bit. “We have a son now. He takes priority. Still, I’m glad we were able to make some time for this. I’ve missed being intimate with you.”

“M-me too,” Fay said in a soft voice. She sounded embarrassed. “Er… being intimate, I mean, I have also missed it.”

I could have teased her. I kind of wanted to, actually. However, I decided not to for right now. I was tired, comfortable, and the warmth of Fay’s body and the scent of her hair was lulling me to sleep.

“Get some rest. We’ll have to go back to being parents when we wake up, but for now, I think we can leave Raul to the others,” I said. I was certain Fay would have agreed with me, but she had already fallen asleep.

***

“So cute…”

“Isn’t it?”

“This princess did not know men could be so adorable.”

“You also think this scene is cute, right Siv?”

“… I do.”

Kari, Fay, Lin, and Siv were sitting on the bed. Perhaps due to her upbringing, Kari sat with her knees tucked underneath her, though she had leaned onto her side so her legs were spread and she was using her hand to remain upright. Fay simply sat cross-legged. Long hours of meditating like that had turned it into a habit. On the other hand, Lin took up more than a third of the bed, her long tail spread across the mattress. Siv was using the lamia’s tail as a backrest, her legs spread out in front of her, dragon wings flapping a little.

It was later in the evening. They had decided to stop traveling and get some rest. Despite having traveled for dozens or maybe even hundreds of kilometers, they had not run into a person, caravan, oasis, or town since leaving Cairo.

The Endless Desert was a large expanse of sand dunes that appeared to stretch out endlessly. While there were indeed people living there, the population was much smaller than the Northern Plains or Nevaria. The harsh climate made it a difficult place to live. Only a few places like Cairo and Muqadas were truly prosperous, but those cities also required a vast wealth to live in.

Since they hadn’t found any place where they could stay before night fell, they had just decided to park their wagon in the middle of the dunes and sleep there. Their Giga Monster was also resting. Kari knew that if she were to look outside, she’d see the great beast of burden sound asleep next to a giant water bowl.

At present, however, Kari had no interest in anything going on outside.

She was looking at Eryk as he slept.

Eryk had been playing with Raul today. They’d gone out flying with Siv, raced across the dunes with Lin, and then they had gone back into the wagon where Eryk read to the child until they had both grown tired. Now Eryk was sleeping on the bed, his arms spread out, and Raul lying on top of his chest.

It was adorable.

“Eryk always looks so vulnerable when he’s sleeping,” Kari said with a sigh. “I bet everyone back at the Nevarian Braves would be shocked if they knew how young and unguarded he looks.”

“It doesn’t really seem like Darling, does it?” Lin asked. “Whenever he is awake, he’s always hard at work. If he’s not working on bettering the sect, then he’s trying to please us. It makes this princess realize that he’s never really had a chance to just rest.”

“I think spending time with us is his rest.” Kari hummed and tilted her head. “But you do bring up a good point.”

“Eryk does a lot for us, doesn’t he?” asked Fay in a soft voice, almost a whisper. She bit her lush lips as though in thought. “He has always put our needs before his own. I don’t think a single day has gone by where he hasn’t worked hard for our sakes. It makes me feel guilty because I don’t know how to pay him back.”

“That’s the wrong way to think about this.” Kari wagged an admonishing finger at Fay. “Eryk does not support us the way he does so we can pay him back. He’s not expecting us to return the favor. He does things for us because he loves us. Trying to pay him back would only demean everything he’s done.”

Fay rubbed her face as she smiled at Kari, though it was a weary smile, the kind people wore when they knew they had lost an argument and were resigning themselves. The mattress shifted a little as Fay uncrossed her legs and let them extend outward. She placed her hands behind her back, leaned against them, and stared at her feet as she wiggled her toes.

“I know you’re right. I guess… I just wish there was something more that I could do for him.”

“Don’t you already do enough?” asked Lin. “You give Eryk your unconditional love. You gave him a son. You support him when he needs help. This princess thought that’s what being married was all about.”

“That’s a very simple way of looking at things.” Fay’s smile turned a little brighter. “But, yeah, I guess you are right.”

“Of course this princess is right. When isn’t she right?”

“Quite often. Would you like me to name all the moments you were wrong?” asked Kari.

“T-there’s no need for that.”

Kari, Fay, and Siv giggled while Lin puffed out her cheeks. Just as they were about to change topics, the two sleeping began to stir. Eryk furrowed his brow in discomfort and released a dissatisfied moan. At first, Kari thought he’d woken up because of the noise they were making, but then he spoke and those thoughts were washed away.

“Who’s… biting my nipple? Stop…”

At those words, Kari looked down to see that, indeed, Raul had latched onto Eryk’s nipple and was sucking on it as if expecting milk to come out. She held a hand to her mouth and tried to stifle her laughter.

“It looks one someone is hungry.”

Fay leaned over and grabbed Raul, who began crying the moment his mouth left Eryk’s chest. The crying stopped, fortunately, when Fay undid the strap on her shirt and brought his mouth to her nipple. Raul latched on immediately. The sound of him gulping down milk was audible.

As she looked at her family, Kari thought about everything she’d been through. Her previous life had been one filled with joy but also pain. The disappearance of Fay, her forced marriage to Grant Leucht, the death of her family, the destruction of Nevaria, and everything that happened afterward. While she and Eryk had been able to find happiness in that life, it had come at such a great cost.

By contrast, in her current life, Kari’s family was still alive, Neveria still stood, and her family had grown to include her best friend, a lamia girl who was like a petulant younger sister, and a beautiful dragon girl who was the silent beauty type. While her days were busy, every day was fun. Kari had never felt more free in her entire life.

All this was thanks to Eryk. He had come back in time somehow, through an unknown means, and worked his hardest to give her all the things she had lost in their first life. If she thought like Fay, then the debt she owed Eryk was something she could never repay. She was probably fortunate in that regard. All she wanted was to remain by his side along with the rest of their family.

“Is something on your mind, Big Sister?” asked Lin.

Shaking her head to free her mind from thoughts on her past life, Kari looked over at Lin.

“No, I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have all of you in my life,” she said, and then she smiled.

“Yeah? This princess feels pretty lucky too.”

Eryk would eventually wake up and join them for a meal, but the girls would talk about things they’d never share with him until that time came.

***

I had never seen all there was to see in the Endless Desert. This place was so vast that exploring every corner of it sounded impossible for one person to accomplish in his or her lifetime.

While the majority of the Endless Desert was nothing but sand, that did not mean sand dunes were all it had. Cities sparsely dotted the land. They were few and far apart, so it normally took months just to travel from one city to the next. That time could be decreased by using Struts. The large, bird-like Demon Beasts were capable of traveling quickly across the sand dunes thanks to their taloned feet. In comparison, the Giga Monster our group was using to pull our wagon was not really meant for traveling over such fine grains of sand, so our pace was considerably slower.

I didn’t mind that so much. It was true that we were in a hurry, but that didn’t mean we didn’t have time. In my previous life, the Sekbeist invasion of the Northern Plains had not happened until I was well into my twenties, and I was only nineteen right now.

“We should be coming up on an oasis soon,” I told Kari as we sat on the driver’s seat. I had a map of the Endless Desert resting on my lap. According to Alshams, this map was the most current and detailed map that could be found. And it was fairly detailed. It even showed the location of every known oasis.

“Siv.” As her name was called, Siv came down from the sky and looked expectantly at Kari. “There should be an oasis up ahead. Can you please scout ahead and make sure there aren’t any problems?”

Siv nodded once. “I’ll be back soon.”

With a flap of her wings, Siv sped up, flying so far ahead that she had become nothing but a tiny speck on the horizon.

While we waited for Siv to return, I glanced at the compass to make sure we were still traveling north-east.

Neveria was located at the southernmost point of the continent. It would technically be considered the south-west. The only thing you’d find if you traveled south of Nevaria were a few peninsulas. To reach the Endless Desert, travelers would leave through Nevaria’s east gate and journey east. After that, you had to travel north-east through the vast stretch of desert to reach the Northern Plains.

Several minutes after she left, Siv returned. She had come back faster than I had expected, but when I saw the pale look on her face, I knew something had happened.

“Bad news,” she said before either myself or Kari could ask what was wrong. “A caravan is being attacked by a group of lamia.”

“WHAT?!”

The screech had not come from me or Kari but Lin. The girl suddenly poked her head out of the window near the driver’s seat and glared at Siv, her fangs glinting with an ominous light in the sun.

“What’s this about lamia attacking a caravan?”

Siv shook a little, but she answered Lin’s question all the same. “There is a caravan near the oasis. A group of lamia are attacking it.”

“How many?” I asked.

“Five.”

That wasn’t a lot for us, but a caravan would probably have a hard time dealing with so many of them. Lamia were naturally stronger than humans. They also didn’t need to use movements and dances to activate Spiritual Techniques, making them far more deadly than a normal Spiritualist.

“What should we do, Eryk?” asked Kari.

I thought for a moment before making a decision. “I’ll go on ahead and deal with the attack. You continue your course and catch up when you can.”

Kari nodded at my suggestion, but Lin interrupted us before she could say something. “This princess is going with you.”

A single glance at Lin told me she was dead set on traveling alongside me, and while I could have told her not to, I knew she’d be resentful. I also knew she was capable of taking care of herself.

“All right. You and I will deal with this.”

Once I said that, Lin’s face lit up before she disappeared from the window. She emerged from the back of the wagon moments later and slithered over to the driver’s seat as I hopped onto the ground.

“This princess is traveling there now.”

Immediately after speaking, Lin sank into the sand dunes--no, she merged with the sand, becoming a part of it. Merging with the earth like this was something only someone who had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism could do. When Lin merged with the earth like this, she could feel everything that was happening above and below the ground. She could sense footsteps, the grass as it swayed, the roots of trees digging into the soil, and the water lapping at the shore of a lake or beach. Of course, she could also use it to instantly travel from one location to the other.

Since it looked like Lin was already gone, I transformed my entire body into the lightning element and took off after her.

***

The moment Lin merged with the earth, she felt the wagon and Giga Monster as they traveled over the sand dunes. They were the closest objects to her. As she stretched out her awareness, she felt even more; the Sand Sharks far beneath the surface, the Desert Crawler even further below that, and the subterranean rivers flowing under the ground. Past those she felt the oasis.

Several people were near the oasis. Just like Siv had said, there were about ten humans fighting against five lamia--two humans for each lamia. Neither side had died yet. However, Lin knew that if something wasn’t done soon, someone would die.

Lin first decided to separate the humans and lamia from each other, to prevent them from continuing to fight. Spiritual Power flowed through her body as her will seeped into the desert sands. Within her mind, she pictured several large walls erupting from the ground, large enough that neither side could climb over them and thick enough that no one could break through them.

Her will made it so.

Thanks to her connection to the earth, she could sense the walls being formed, though she could not see them as her eyes were currently useless. She also couldn’t hear. Her ears were useless since, at present, she didn’t have ears or even a body. She was the sand and the sand was her. However, thanks to that merging, she could feel the vibrations traveling through the earth, the tremor of the ground as several walls rose to separate the lamia and humans from each other.

Once that was done, Lin selected the first lamia nearby as her target. She willed the sand to move. It rose over the lamia’s tail, wrapped around her body, and created a cocoon that covered everything except her head. Then she did the same to the other four lamias.

Finally, Lin emerged from the sand right in front of the first struggling lamia, a female lamia who was quite a bit older than Lin herself, though it was hard to tell. Her face was shaped more harshly than Lin’s. She had a pointed chin, shallower cheeks, and a flat nose. Her black hair was cropped short. Lin thought she looked vaguely familiar, but she put that out of her mind as she placed her hands on her hips and confronted this woman.

“You are causing a lot of problems here. This princess does not know what you think you are doing, but Darling does not approve of humans and lamia fighting. Therefore, you will stop at once. If you do not, then do not blame this princess for beating you black and blue.”

Lin’s words caused the lamia to stop struggling and stare at her, which was a bit unnerving. She was used to being stared at by this point in time. However, the way this woman’s eyes widened like she was staring at an apparition was very disturbing.

Lin was just about to admonition this woman for gawking at her when the lamia spoke.

“P-Princess Lin? Is that… is that really you?”

The words made Lin looked more closely at this woman. She stared for several seconds, her eyes narrowed, and then they widened as she leaned back on her tail.

“Aliya?! That’s you, isn’t it? You’re… alive?”

“Yes!” Tears sprung to Aliya’s eyes as she gazed at Lin with a look of fervent longing. Lin suspected the only thing keeping this woman from lunging at her was the fact that she was currently completely encased in a cocoon of sand. “Princess… I cannot believe… I’m so happy you’re alive!”

Lin felt so many mixed emotions as she stared at this woman. She was, of course, happy to see Aliya alive and well. She’d been certain Aliya was dead. At the same time, mixed in with her feelings of joy was an unsettling ball of guilt that caused her stomach to clench, making her feel ill.

“Aliya…” With but a thought, the sand encasing the woman crumbled. As Aliya stared in shock at how fast she was freed, Lin clasped her hands in front of her body and bowed. “This princess is very sorry!”

“Huh?” Aliya sounded confused.

Lin continued. “Because of her… because this princess wanted to sneak out and see a human settlement… she was attacked, and you and the others were forced to pay for her stupid actions. This princess… cannot apologize enough for what happened.”

Aliya gawked at Lin for what felt like hours, though she knew it was just her mind playing tricks on her, extending her perception of time. Darling had once explained to her the concept of how time could be perceived differently, but she never understood it. The woman eventually sighed. Then she smiled and came forward, wrapping her arms around Lin’s head and bringing it to her chest.

“It seems you have grown a lot since I last saw you. Please do not fret, princess. What matters now is that you are safe.”

Lin froze for a moment, but then wrapped her arms around this woman and hugged her back, burying her face into Aliya’s chest. The other lamia’s skin was warm from the sun. However, it felt like another warmth was permeating Lin at this moment. Her eyes stung. It was only after the first few droplets fell that Lin realized she was crying. The ache in her chest, an ache which she had not realized was even there until this very moment, seemed to fade away.

She did not know how long she cried into Aliya’s chest, but Darling suddenly appeared before them in a flash of lightning. While Aliya instantly went on her guard, Lin let go of Aliya and slithered over to him.

“Darling…”

Darling took one look at her face, noticed the tears, and immediately set about wiping them away. He cupped both her cheeks in his strong hands and used his thumbs to gently remove the remnant liquid. It was such a tender action that if Lin were a cat, she knew she’d be purring. Lin closed her eyes and thumped her tail happily on the ground.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Mmm… everything is fine.”

Lin would have loved nothing more than to enjoy this moment even more, but then Aliya’s voice broke her concentrate and forced her to turn around.

“W-what is going on? Who is this human?”

Darling looked at the lamia woman, a frown suddenly appearing on his face. Lin didn’t know what he was thinking. Either way, she decided to head off any potential renewal of hostilities.

“Ahem. This princess believes introductions are in order.” Lin coughed into her hand before gesturing to Aliya. “Darling, this woman is Aliya. She was this princess’s bodyguard a long time ago. This princess… assumed she had died protecting her, but as you can see, she is alive.”

“Bodyguard… come to think of it, you did say something about having bodyguards when we first met,” Darling muttered. There was a strange quality to his tone, but Lin did not think further on it. “They protected you from an attack and you were forced to flee.”

“That’s right. This princess is happy you remembered.” Lin turned around, facing Aliya now. The woman warily switched her gaze back and forth between Lin and Darling, but she didn’t let that bother her as she gestured to the man behind her. “Aliya, this is Darling--erm, Eryk Veiger. He is this princess’s husband.”

“… Huh?”

Aliya stared blankly at the two of them like she hadn’t been able to comprehend what Lin was saying.

“Huh?”

Finally, her eyes widened as the words Lin spoke set in.

“HUH?!”

Her shocked voice rang out across the Endless Desert.