~ Chapter 173: The one who changed fate ~

[Illsyore’s point of view]

About five days after our return to Illsyorea, Ayuseya came back from the Teslov Kingdom. She was able to settle most of the internal disputes there and also prepare the groundwork for future external political relationships. Vellezya also received a crunch course on the ‘do and do not’ of politics. A trusted adviser of the Paramanium Emperor also arrived there two days before she departed, so for the time being, the Teslov Kingdom was in safe hands.

Thus, with the occasion of her return, I decided to hold a party to celebrate everyone’s success. We invited the teachers at the academy, the Emperor of Paramanium, a bunch of political figures, and made it a free day for the students. I could not just leave out the rest of the Illsyoreaians, so I turned the party into a local holiday, during which everyone celebrated the success of their dearest friends and family members no matter how big or small it was.

The idea of a new holiday, later know as Success Day, was welcomed with smiles and joy. For now, it was just something I thought out about on the spot when I remembered the Thanksgiving Day celebrated in USA, back on Earth. Depending on its success, I was planning to make it bigger next year and even accept suggestions from the citizens of Illsyorea on how to make it better. It had a nice feeling for a national holiday.

As for our guests, while the political figures mostly mingled with each other, the rest of us formed a group and began to share our tales from the year. The reason why I had invited those politicians in the first place was so that... erm... actually, that was Ayuseya’s idea, something about favors and shedding a new light on the Deus family. I honestly didn’t understand her whole explanation, but apparently the Paramanium Emperor did.

Speaking of which, that guy managed to get engaged to Savannah while we were gone. Apparently, after I left him in her room, they had a glass of wine to drink and shared a few stories together. From what they told me, it was a pleasant experience for both of them, which they repeated for the next couple of days, however, at one point, they had a bit too much to drink.

One thing led to another and the Emperor got to know of another side of Savannah. Once drunk, the woman turned into a real predator, jumping on the poor man and stripping him down before getting down to business. The following day, they had a headache and the sudden revelation that they did not use protection. The Emperor finally confessed his feelings for Savannah, and she also admitted to liking him, but she had to keep her distance all this time on account of the difference between their social status.

This was certain an unexpected side of the story, but the bomb dropped for me at the end when they asked me to build something to better connect Illsyorea to the Paramanium Empire, since Savannah did not want to give up on her job here. Thus, the first ever intercontinental tunnel was going to be built... sometime in the future.

Among the stories told, the ones shared by my wives were the most anticipated ones. The destruction of the Phantom Rage Guild was welcomed with cheers of joy, while the resurrection of the Teslov Kingdom was welcomed with a promising hope for the future. The fact that there were other continents outside the three known ones and that the barrier that separated us was no gone was received with a bit of worry and at the same time a newfound curiosity. We also shared the warning Graymore gave us regarding the Merions and all the politicians here vowed to keep their numbers in check and let me know as soon as they confirmed the existence of a golden one.

The party was a great success, and the addition of this new holiday was well received by the people living on Illsyorea. Ayuseya planned to return to the Teslov Kingdom in a month from now, just to check up on her sister and make sure that everything was running smoothly over there, the night before she left, she came over to my room in a pretty violet nightgown that left little to the imagination.

With a red blush on her cheeks that extended all the way to the tip of her ears and shy look in her eyes that made me remember our first night together, she told me “I have thought about this seriously, Illsy, and I think I’m finally ready to have children of my own. Getting rid of that former king and settling matters on Teslov was the final step I needed... So, I hope that tonight, you will embrace me just as you did Shanteya, Nanya, and... Zoreya as well?”

“I thought you would never ask.” I replied with a warm smile as I welcomed her in my bed.

That night was definitely one of passion and love, which extended all the way until the first hour of the morning. You could say, that Ayuseya’s cute blush and soft moans made me fall in love with her all over again. And although our nights of passion up until now have not been few in number, I could definitely declare that this one held a special place in my memories. It was a perfect mix of beauty, relaxation, wildness, and fiery passion, just like a cocktail brewed by a world class barman.

...

Time went on and everything returned to normal. Then, six months later, on a sunny morning, I heard a knock at my door.

“Were you expecting someone?” Nanya asked me.

“No, not really...” I shook my head and then let out a yawn.

“Maybe it’s my sister. She sent me a letter that she planned on dropping by sometime this week.” Ayuseya chipped in as she walked out of the kitchen with a teacup in her hands.

“Vellezya? The new Queen of Teslov?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes! She’s bringing her son too!” she said with a smile.

“Oh, Natrasku and Kormian will be delighted to have their cousin over!” Nanya said with a giggle.

“Anette and Bachus will certainly be very happy to meet him as well.” Shanteya said with a whisper as she jumped on my back and gave me a peck on the cheek.

“Long night?” I asked her, seeing the dark circles under her eyes.

“The new Shadow Hope organization is finally taking shape, and I had to rush over to Paramanium to establish a branch there... I’m a bit tired, so after greeting our guests, I’ll probably drop in my bed like a rock.

Don’t wake me up unless Illsy plans on bringing in a new wife.” she said that last part more as a warning to the others.

“Will do!” replied the four in unison.

“Oh, come on! I haven’t brought anyone in our circle since Zoreya!” I complained “Speaking of which, where is she?” I asked.

“Barfing a gallon in the bathroom. Morning sickness.” Ayuseya giggled and then moved her hand over her belly that was showing clear signs of a healthy pregnancy.

“Hasn’t hit you yet?” Shanteya asked.

“It does, but I can tough it out!” she declared with a smile, but everyone else just narrowed their eyes at her, almost as if they were suspecting her as having said the most blatant of lies.

With a sweat drop trickling down her forehead, she gave up and confessed “I don’t have them that often, but when I do, they hit like a Leviathan’s tail swipe!”

“Ha! I knew it!” Nanya laughed.

“Alright, let’s see who it is.” I said as I opened the door.

“Ah! Good morning, everyone! I am Vellezya Pleyades, Ayuseya’s sister, and this is my baby boy Brachen Pleyades. We drop by to visit, may we come in? I told my guards to stay all the way over there... I hope they aren’t a bother.” she said and took a quick peek back, where ten big draconians were standing at attention, waiting for new orders from their Queen.

“Royal Guards?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.” she replied with a shy smile.

“Of course you can come in!” Nanya said and opened the door wide for them.

Behind her was a butler, who was carrying no more and no less than twelve big suitcases.

“That’s a lot of stuff...” I pointed out.

“Ah, those are just the essentials!” Vellezya giggled and then I looked at Ayuseya, who immediately avoided my stare.

“I guess it’s a family thing...” I murmured and then closed the door after they came in.

While Ayuseya was leading Vellezya to her room, I told the butler to leave the luggage there and then take a break together with the knights outside. If anything, this was the safest place on all the three continents. Not to mention the fact that the town was now filled with Shanteya’s Shadow Hope espionage group, who would report to her the moment they saw anyone suspicious.

Not long after I closed the door, another knock came.

“Did he forget something?” I wondered and opened the door.

“Hmph!” Graymore puffed and glared at me.

I immediately closed the door.

“Who was it?” Nanya asked.

“No one. They got the wrong address.”

 
BANG! BANG! BANG!

“OPEN THE DOOR, YOU NO GOOD SON IN LAW!” Graymore shouted as he slammed his fist against my door.

If it wasn’t reinforced by magic, it would have turned into splinters by now.

“Father?” Nanya asked surprised.

“What do you want?” I growled as I partially opened the door.

“You noisy brat! Is this how you treat your father-in-law?! We just came to see how your dirty house looks like!” he growled as he pushed against the door.

“If it’s dirty, then stay in your own dump, you noisy old man!” I retorted as I counter pushed.

“Don’t you dare call my home a dump! I’ll bite your head off!”

“Just try it, you old man! It will be a celebration for your funeral!”

“You think you have what it takes to kill me?! You are still a brat in diapers compared to me!”

“Sorry to inform you, but you’ve been looking in the mirror, the ugly bastard wearing diapers is you, old man!”

While we were pushing the door from one side to another, Nanya walked over and opened the other door. This was a double door entrance.

“Mother, what a pleasant surprise!” said Nanya as she looked at Akardia, the Empress of the Demon Continent as she stood there with a stern look on her face, wearing an intimidating dress with a metal chains hanging on it, and a cute little baby suckling on his finger while looking up at her with big black eyes. He was bundled up in a pink blanket.

“Sunsun is here too!” the little girl then jumped up and waved her hands, fluttering her wings cutely.

“Aw~! How wonderful! Is this my newborn sibling?” Nanya asked.

“Yes. Illsyore’s method worked... This is Eloan, and she is Mareska.” Akardia moved to the side to reveal a Pink Dungeon Core bundled up in a white blanket with pink flowers embroidered on it inside a black stroller.

“Eloan and Mareska! Aw~ They are so cuuute! Can I hold them?” Nanya asked as she jumped up in joy.

“Of course.” Akardia nodded and then allowed the little baby boy to nestle in her arms.

“Hello there, Eloan! I’m your big sister, Nanya!” she said with a bright smile, then she turned her glance towards the Dungeon Core “Hello there as well, Mareska! Aren’t you a cute one too?”

“Whello~!” replied the little Dungeon with an absolute sugar overdose inducing voice.

Meanwhile, the two of us were still at it, one pushing from one side while the other from the other side, despite this being a double door entrance.

“Ugly!” said Graymore.

“Baldy!” I retorted.

“Let us leave the adult babies here and head over inside. I’ll prepare a room for you two.” Shanteya said with a smile as she invited them in.

“Um, Sunsun wants a hug too!” the little angel complained.

“I can hug you!” Tamara offered, who just came out of the kitchen with a small pudding on a plate. “Want some? I am Tamara! Nanya’s sister-wife.” she introduced herself.

“I want~!” Sunsun replied with a bright smile as she jumped in the nekatar’s arms.

“Mareska, how are you doing, little cutie?” Shanteya asked the Dungeon Core.

“Yes... I... I’m just shy...” she replied.

“Don’t worry, little one. I’m sure you’ll get to have lots of fun together with your nephews here.” Shanteya said with a gentle smile as she then guided them inside, leaving the man-babies at the door.

“You’re not going to give in, are you?” I asked.

“No.”

“...”

“But...” he then moved back and released the pressure on the door. “I’m not planning on just standing here all day. So, are you doing to let me in or not? As a Dungeon, I know you’ve allowed us to enter since the very moment we touched your Dungeon Territory. Stopping me at the door is useless.” he narrowed his eyes at me.

“Yes, I know... I just wanted it to be a surprise for... Although, I was honestly surprised as well to sense you there.” I told him.

“Hmph!” he then walked around me and followed Akardia inside.

Letting out a sigh, I closed the door and said “I guess this is going to be my very first family gathering... I don’t know, but I’m feeling rather happy about it.” I smiled and then walked after them.

 
[Somewhere up in the sky]

[Melkuth’s point of view]

“I believe you all know why we have gathered here?” I asked as I looked at the Pantheon of divines before me.

All the Gods of both Good and Evil were present here, with the exception of the Fallen ones, those who wished to destroy what the rest of us desired to create.

“This is about my Apostle, Illsyore Deus, isn’t it?” the Holy God of Big Boobs asked.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“Then speak... what is it so... important that you would have me woken up from the depths of my slumber?” Brasil the God of Shadows asked.

“Other than sleeping and maybe spying on some mortals somewhere, do you have anything better to do? Hah!” the God of Light laughed.

“Enough!” I shouted, releasing my divine pressure over them. “This is not the place where you two can start your little scuffles. Once I am done with this matter, you can go about start a war for all I care, however, this matter is of utmost urgency!” I declared.

A graveyard silence fell upon this entire space, which was separated in its entirety from the mortal world and that of the souls. It was outside the boundaries of time and space, but still within this Universe in which we all lived together.

“The Divine Energy that currently flows towards the individual known as Illsyore Deus has exceeded what we may refer to as normal mortal parameters. Even as an Apostle, he holds far too much Divine Energy within himself, and the unexpected thing about it is that it’s pure, without form or shape, molding only now to the energy of this mortal’s soul.” I explained.

“So... he’s becoming a demigod?” the Goddess of the Hunt asked.

“Yes, but not quite. It’s a bit different in the sense that he’s yet to become aware of his connection to the Divine.” I nodded.

“But I do not sense that this new... demigod is a bad thing. His deeds so far have been nothing but praiseworthy!” declared the God of Justice.

“I agree and stand by this point as well.” said the Goddess of Justice.

“Well, it’s not only his achievements but also those of his wives, especially those three: Nanya, Shanteya, and Ayuseya.” the Holy God of Big Boobs pointed out.

“Indeed. First of all, the Dragon Emperor’s Awakening should have led to Teslov becoming an Empire again, engulfing large parts of the current Paramanium Empire and ruling it with an iron fist through death and destruction.”

“My favorite!” giggled the Goddess of Chaos.

“Yet, through Illsyore’s very presence, the divine fate that was meant for this nation was disrupted and forced to change to something else. Instead of following such a path, Teslov will come to be one of the forefront nations that reinforces peace and freedom all over the world. It will become one of Paramanium’s strongest allies not it’s harbinger of doom.” I explained.

“So, he had enough Divine Energy to change fate itself?” the Goddess of Nature asked as she made a small tree bloom on her palm.

“Yes, but it was so natural, so smooth, that I almost missed it as well.” I said.

“To fool the God of War’s eyes, now that’s something!” Brasil said and then laughed.

“Yes, but then there is also the Phantom Rage Guild’s disappearance, which led to an unbalance in the underworld on the three continents. While his personal involvement was little in this one, it does not change the fact that his own existence changed the fate of the one called Shanteya Dowesyl Deus. That new fate led to an unavoidable clash with the Phantom Rage, which marked the end of the organization.” I explained.

“And at the same time, with the death of the leader of the Phantom Rage and even that Emperor Dragon, two followers of Fallen Gods have ceased to be. A deed which previously could have only been achieved by our Apostles... Although, technically, he is one as well, right?” Devorath the God of Darkness asked as he looked at the Holy God of Big Boobs.

“I’m more surprised how your own little protégé ended up getting fooled to worship a fake version of you...” he replied in a serious manner.

“I’m still investigating that bit. If any one of you know anything about that, do let me know. These fallen have started to get a bit too... daring for their own good.” he spoke in a tone that showed his disdain regarding those deities.

“Shanteya’s current Shadow Hope is trying to fill that hole that the Phantom Rage left behind, but there are lot of smaller organizations trying to get rich overnight. Thankfully, none of them seem to be mixed up with the Apostles of the Fallen Gods.” I said.

“There’s also the matter with the Demon Continent. If not for Nanya’s appearance there, that nation would have turned into a ruthless warmongering one that would have spread chaos and destruction all over the place... How... unlucky.” said the Goddess of Chaos.

“You may see it that way, but Nanya’s appearance and subsequent defeat of the demon who tried to become the new Emperor was something that the fates never foresaw. This entire new future is being written solely because of one existence that stands out of the ordinary... Illsyore Deus.” I said.

“Yes, he is the one who gave those women the power to overcome their fate.”

“Yet at the same time reinforced the meaning of love...” said the Goddess of Love.

“And also aided people into strengthening their faith in us.” I mentioned.

Regarding this, none of the gods had anything bad to comment about. It was true that lately, the faith of mortals in us had declined, and it was only after Illsyore appeared that their started taking their worship more seriously. The many temples he built on Illsyorea and his constant approval of our existence made it so that prayers and worship was once again a normal part of a mortal’s life, no matter what type of deity they were.

“But just how the faith in us grew, the faith in the Fallen also grew.” the God of Adventurers, way in the mentioned.

“Yes.” I nodded.

In the past two years, the number of worshipers of the Fallen was on the rise but I was still a bit skeptical on whether or not Illsyore’s appearance was related to this matter.

“What makes this weird is the fact that these three big events should have had a negative impact on the Black Magic Cultists, but they seem to be more energetic than ever! Also, although you call Illsyore as your Apostle, Holy God of Big Boobs, in fact, you never could turn him into one, isn’t that right?” the Goddess of Nature asked.

“I’m afraid that it is so... I tried several times to convert him into my Apostle, but I couldn’t do it. My Divine Energy was rejected by his own... and I know of only one case when something like this happens...” the god let out a heavy sigh as he lowered his head.

“When a mortal has a chance of becoming either a Demigod or an actual God just like all of us who are standing here.” I said.

“But... how can that be? I never heard of ascending to godhood from a mortal form? I can understand being born as one or having your soul be given the powers of a god because the God of the Universe decided it was for the best, but... to become a god from a mortal form? This is not some sort of fairy tale or legend in some mortal’s story... this is reality!” the Goddess of Chaos shouted.

I could understand both her confusion and her worry. When a new god was born or brought into creation, they were either a Deity of the Good or a Deity of the Evil, which would mean that Illsyore, if he were to ascend to godhood, would have to choose between the two and forever leave the mortal world. However... could he? Or rather, before all of this, did he really have a reason to become one of us? To attain this much power in exchange for his life together with his loved ones?

“I, for one, don’t think Illsyore will ever become a God, at most, he’ll become a Demigod and at worst the Holy God of Big Boob’s Apostle...” I said.

“Why is becoming my Apostle the worst?”

“Two words...” said the Goddess of Chaos as she looked up into his eyes and showed him two fingers “Colly Toss.”

And then there was silence...