-- POV General --
The sun was shining brightly on the Dark Forest as the army of Elysium returned. On the Empire side, everyone who had watched their warriors leave was still waiting. Few had moved and everyone had spent the night on the large expanse of grass between the wall and the city. Not all of the Empire had stayed as long because many had work to do, but the families involved stayed. Triss and Lia had left the management of the mansion to their employees and were taking care of the Queen, the Princess and those who stayed behind.
The she-wolf's wife and little girl were up front and while little Shiro slept silently on her mother's lap, Gaya looked away. The dragoness knew her wife was powerful but her overflowing love made her anxious and caring despite her blind trust for Freya.
"Queen Gaya, perhaps you should get some rest. You've been up all night without ever sleeping a wink."
Lia who stood by the dragoness and her daughter's side had the duty to follow her around when the Empress was not here. The young half-rabbit woman had all night respectfully insisted that the Queen rest but to no avail.
"Thank you very much young Lia but as I have already told you, I am not going to rest until I have welcomed my wife."
"But..."
"Don't worry about me, take care of the others instead, everything is fine."
"As you wish."
Gaya's voice was soft and as she whispered and smiled tenderly, she staggered slightly while hugging Shiro tightly. Her eyes struggled to stay open but held on, her head was heavy but stayed up and her body shook but didn't collapse. Since Freya's departure, Gaya had not moved once and the people there admired their Queen and her strength. Many had taken turns resting, lying in the soft grass and the only one who remained dignified, upright, determined and awake was the dragoness who amazed the citizens of the Empire.
"The Queen is amazing !"
"She hasn't slept a wink all night..."
"She is indeed the sun of the Empire, Gaya-sama !"
Like the Sun Goddess, beautiful, still, mesmerizing and radiant, Gaya warmed and reassured hearts with her determination that was worthy of a great Queen. In reality, the dragoness was not acting as a Queen but as a mother, as a loving, worried wife whose heart was beating at an incredible rate. Without realizing it she had inspired her citizens who saw her as unflappable while her heart and mind were far from it.
"This should be over by now, why doesn't Freya..."
As the dragoness whispered these words to herself, she didn't have time to finish her sentence when a loud neighing followed by heavy footsteps echoed from the entrance to the Empire. In an instant, all the people lying asleep and talking stood up in unison. Gaya was still sitting as Shiro was on her lap, but the small moon of Elysium was slowly waking up.
"Mom Gaya, what's...going on ?"
The little Princess rubbed her eyes gently as an adorable mark from the folds of the dragoness' dress appeared on her right cheek.
"Mommy is back."
Taking Shiro in her arms as she stood up, the Queen smiled...a smile as dazzling as the sun itself. Seeing her mother looking off into the distance, the little Princess did the same as the army finally appeared.
The she-wolf led the way on her beautiful, proud black stallion. Her white suit, face and hair were scarlet, a testament to the bloody night. Freya wore again her ice crown with dignity, her head held high and her gaze as penetrating as ever. The Empress was finally back, beautiful, terrifying, imposing and more powerful than ever. Behind the imperial she-wolf, ten half-human women followed, dressed in black and proud. The Chaos Commanders were all smiling at the sight of the people who had remained while the soldiers behind shouted with joy.
"We have won !!!"
"The battle is over !!!"
The people who had stayed behind looked at the army with tears in their eyes and made grand gestures with their hands to greet them. Mothers hugged their husbands, children cheered their fathers and families thanked the Empress for looking after her soldiers. The army marched past the river on the inner side of the wall, past the plantations, past the cattle pens, and headed toward the city. The footsteps of the soldiers rattled the plain with power and fists struck shields in a frantic, noisy rhythm. Swords and weapons were raised high into the sky and while the moon had witnessed their battle, it was the sun's turn to witness their triumphant return.
Gaya, who could not wait another minute, ran to her wife holding their daughter in her arms. The Queen was relieved, happy, soothed and only the desire to hug Freya animated her. This feeling was impossible to describe, she felt enveloped in a sweet warmth that sprang from her heart and despite the fatigue, she ran like there was no tomorrow. Several meters separated Freya from her wife and while Gaya was still running, her foot crushed a piece of her dress causing her to topple forward. Lack of sleep and her daughter in her arms, prevented the dragoness from regaining her balance as she fell at an impressive speed.
"Aah !"
"Gaya-sama !"
Lia who was following Gaya and Shiro from a little further away, could only watch this scene with distress. She was not strong enough to help them and not fast enough to catch up. The faces of the happy citizens had turned into frightened looks as everyone could see the Queen and Princess falling. Lia, who could not bear to watch this scene, covered her eyes in fear as she dreaded the sound of the bodies hitting the ground but no sound came. Hesitantly opening her eyes, the half-human and all the citizens could see a cloud of dust where Gaya and Shiro were standing. Those who hadn't dared to look didn't understand while those who had seen everything smiled.
"What..."
As the dust disappeared, Lia could gradually see the silhouette of a person who had come to help them. The half-human couldn't believe her eyes as she could see a beautiful woman standing there... the Empress had firmly grasped her wife and daughter. The horse she was riding had no rider and despite the many yards that separated them, Freya had moved with unimaginable speed. She held them tightly in her arms to protect them while her eyes expressed unfathomable love and her voice pure tenderness.
"Gaya, Shiro.."
"Honey I...I'm sorry, I...I almost hurt our daughter I.."
"Shhhh it's okay, it's all right, I'm here. It wasn't on purpose, next time you'll be more careful. Just know both of you that I will always be here to protect you...no matter what."
As she whispered these words, the she-wolf closed her eyes and glued her forehead to her wife's while hugging her and her daughter even tighter. Gaya was angry with herself but this embrace filled with all the love of Freya, was enough to make her forget her guilt. As for Shiro, she took her little head out of the she-wolf's arms to lay a little welcome kiss on her dirty cheek.
"I'm glad you're okay mommy ! Welcome home !"
Her little arms were trying as best they could to wrap around Freya's neck as she giggled lightly, stroking her head. As the little girl gave up to enjoy her caresses, with her left hand, the Empress grabbed the Queen's face to kiss her tenderly.
After a few seconds, Freya separated her lips from Gaya's before leaning in to whisper a few words that only her wife and daughter could hear. The she-wolf had a smile that was invisible to the others as her voice even softer than before whispered in their ears.
ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) "I love you so much..."
Without saying anything, Gaya and Shiro looked at each other before smiling and placing a kiss on each of her cheeks at the same time. The Queen and Princess giggled innocently as they finally responded at the same time.
"Us too hihihi~!"
By the time the Empress had saved Gaya and Shiro, everyone had stopped and no one spoke out of respect. Even now, no one had moved and everyone was looking away not without smiling at the sight of this touching scene. While Freya still had her wife and daughter in her arms, without looking away from their gazes, she signaled to the others that they did not have to stay there. She didn't want her soldiers to wait another second before they found their loved ones dreaming of hugging them too.
"Mom ! Dad !"
"Big sister !"
The many people present were reunited with companions, family, and in front of the city, joy overflowed in the form of tears, laughter and smiles.
_____
While the Empire of Elysium bathed by the sun was living a moment of rejoicing, in the capital of Zalhythe, the heart was not in the party neither for the Royalty nor for the Church.
The disappearance of Princess Alayna Zal was on everyone's lips and all the knights were mobilized to find her in the city and its surroundings. The King and even the two Princes were leading the search because this case was of the utmost importance. How could she have disappeared ? Had she been kidnapped ? How could she have been kidnapped ? Why ? By whom ? So many unanswered questions that had been agitating the entire kingdom for several weeks now.
Messengers had been sent all over the country with a reward of more than a million gold coins to those who could bring the Princess back safe and sound. Crazier theories were born every day and the anger of Theophylactus the King grew as the days passed. He was worried about Alayna, but the idea of losing face in front of his people by not even knowing how to find his own daughter was even more unbearable. No one knew that Alayna had lived confined, alone and without her family, so the possibility of losing the Princess who was supposed to be more protected than anyone else was inconceivable.
In Zalhythe's Church of Humanity, the mood was no better as the Supreme had learned that the expedition into the Dark Forest had failed over a month ago. The fire fox sacrifices were to begin in only a month now and nothing had been done. In the highest tower of the main religious building, in the largest hall, the Grand Master of the Church of the Kingdom sat on a marble throne.
Unlike the Protectors of the Church and the Paladins, he was dressed in an intimidatingly bright red. His large robe had gold threads all over it and on his chest was engraved his symbol. A bird with outstretched wings was embroidered in black and represented the Humanity that would one day take flight to rule the world. The Supreme had his face hidden by a small gold crown placed on a black veil hiding his entire head at 360 degrees. Thus, the leader of the Church was nothing but a silhouette whose physical attributes could not be distinguished because he was hidden under his loose clothing. It was impossible to know the color of his hair, the shape of his body or even the color of his skin, everything was hidden.
"Your Excellency...we...we are going to have the three Protectors who...hid the progress of the project from you, executed in a discreet manner."
In front of the Supreme and his throne was the second most important person in the Church, the Holy Scholar named Sage. He was a young, handsome man with long gray hair falling a little past his shoulders, tied with a rubber band at the end. Sage was under the direct orders of the Supreme and was in charge of managing everything as his Excellence only gave instructions.
"A..as you know..the two men and the woman are named..."
"How could this happen ?"
As the Holy Scholar was cut off, the Supreme's calm voice echoed in the huge, dark, empty room. Even as he spoke it was impossible to guess his gender because his voice was androgynous, neither too masculine nor too feminine. The leader of the Church did not even give Sage time to answer as he continued.
"If we don't find these cursed beasts capable of changing into humans as the prophecy dictates, we're finished. A few days ago, during a dream I heard an unknown voice warning me...we must act quickly."
"..."
"I will never forget that voice, it was gentle, motherly, protective and divine. I am sure that a Goddess wanted to warn Humanity of the plague that will hit us if we do nothing ! So far I was not mistaken ! The prophecy is real !"
Sage still didn't move and let the human he revered more than anything finish his sentence before hesitantly asking him a question.
"What...what did that voice tell you your Excellency ?"
The leader of the Church straightened up before answering in a serious voice full of hatred.
"When humanity is at its peak. A terrifying beast from another world as beautiful as ruthless, as cold as ice, will rise up against you and disrupt the order of the entire world and plunge it into chaos."
____
[N/A: In French "Suprême" is automatically masculine unless we know for sure that it is a girl. So when I speak of the Supreme I write "he" but keep in mind that we don't know his gender].
____
FULL STATUS
Name : Freya
Age : 0 years / Mentally : 25 years
Sex : Female
Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult
Race : Major Demon
Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.
Dragon tamer
Ruthless slayer
Level : 36/70
Exp needed for next level: 16 600 / 37 000
HP : 120 000 / 120 000 MP : 60 000 / 60 000
Strength : 425
Defense : 421
Agility : 435
Stamina : 428
Speed : 427
Intelligence : 425
Charisma : 410 (imperial she-wolf)
Attribute points to allocate : 450
Married to: Gaya
Daughter : Shiro
Empire (menu)
Subordinates : 389
Humans killed : 153
Souls: 2/3
Elements: Ice / Chaos
Skills (all):
Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)
- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)
- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)
- Fighting techniques (lvl max)
- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)
- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 5)
Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)
- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)
Pain Resistance (lvl 4)
Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)
Others - Humanoid form
- Ice creation (Lvl 6)
- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)
- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)
- Analysis
- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique
- Telepathy
Detection and control of mana (lvl 5)
Master of souls (lvl 1)
Passives - Commander (lvl max)
- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]
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