After coming back from Kranox, Vakra went to his lab to begin working on his new project.
I simply went to my room and enjoyed some of the extra food I purposely made while hunting there.
The food in the Abyss, while edible and not bad tasting, looked disgusting.
The texture was terrible, too.
I hated eating it, in all honesty, but I had little choice.
I finished eating my portion of the food and saved the rest for Cassandra. I made extra for her since I knew she didn't like the food here either. Then I took a bath and went to bed.
The bath was pleasant, but I missed having Cassandra wash me. Regardless, I fell asleep immediately after laying down.
Some time later...I felt a weight on me.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Cassandra laying on top of me and...smelling my chest...
In other words, her usual bizarre and stalker-like behavior.
"Uhh...Cassandra...? What are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm...haaah...taking in your scent! I've been deprived of my darling Mizik for so long!" She said as she continued squeezing me and inhaling the smell of my chest.
Isn't it a bit soon for you to be acting like an obsessive stalker again?
"Umm...great. I'm glad to see that you're alive. How did everything go...?" I asked as I began to suddenly feel uncomfortable.
"It...it went...umm..."
Then she started crying.
"We did everything we were supposed to! But...it was horrible! I had to pretend that I didn't love you! I...I committed a terrible sin... I insulted my darling Mizik to hide from Rose! Then I tried to assassinate her and Abbadon stopped me! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me, darling! Uwaaaa!!!"
Right...I forgot. She's not acting, she IS an obsessive stalker...
I gently stroked her hair as her tears soaked my shirt.
"You mapped the area and planted the device, right? They don't suspect anything?" I said.
"Y-yes... Everything is mapped...a-and the device is well hidden... No one saw me and no one suspected anything... But..."
"Then you did exactly what you were told. I appreciate the effort of wanting to go above and beyond, but I'm actually relieved that you weren't successful. It means that I get to exact revenge myself. For that, I'm grateful," I said.
"M-mizik is...pleased? With me...?" She said.
"Of course. You did wonderfully. I couldn't be more proud," I said with a gentle smile.
Her face lit up with joy as she looked at me.
Then she hugged me tightly as she buried her face in my chest again.
"I'm so happy! My darling Mizik praised me! This is heaven!!!" She said.
"Now, we should discuss your reward. What do you want? You did good, so you deserve a reward," I said.
Cassandra looked up at me and tilted her head.
"Eh...? Reward?"
"Yeah. What do you want?" I asked.
"Hmm...I don't know. I never thought about it... When you ask me that, I can't answer. I already have everything I could ever want. My darling Mizik loves me and gave me lots of praise. That alone makes me happy!" She said.
"Eh...are you sure? You don't want anything? I can let you think it over if you want. My family made it out of the pit if you want to meet them. We can always spend some alone time together...or if you wanted to get more intimate, we could," I said.
"Eh? All of those sound wonderful! But if Mizik is in the mood..."
"Uhh...I mean. Not really...but I could... Well..."
"You're so cute, darling! I missed you so much!" Cassandra said.
"Ugh...thank you... So...your reward?" I said.
She sat up and got off of me.
"Hmm...if Mizik wants me to ask for a reward... I want to sleep in your arms like I always do. Then I want to spend lots of time with you, meet the rest of your family and always remain by your side! I don't like going on missions alone. If Mizik asks, I will happily do whatever he says. Although...I would prefer to be close to you always..." She said.
"Consider it done," I said.
I wrapped my arms around Cassandra and hugged her tightly.
I wanted to at least enjoy the next few days with her before we were forced to go out again.
Now seemed like a perfect opportunity to start.
Tomorrow, I would have her meet the rest of my family. We would enjoy this time before getting back to work. After all, I needed to tell her about the plan to take down The Devourer.
Finally, once that job was finished, we would prepare for our battle against the Oracle.
* * *
Within the Divine Realm known as Dominus, a Guardian deity sat on his throne.
He frowned.
"The Chosen Hero is nowhere to be found... This is just as it was foretold..." he said.
This Guardian went by many names. But his official title was: The Artificer.
Curently, he was under a great deal of stress.
For as much as he warned the Oracle, the once-highly esteemed Guardian of Excelsis, his words had fallen on deaf ears.
The Artificer received direct orders from the Creator-that he was to immediately put a stop to the reset loop. Because the Oracle had gone insane from her constant failures.
Unfortunately, due to the general non-interference policy that the Creator imposed upon himself, things had turned out this way.
And a great disaster would soon befall all of creation. One likely to be worse than the threat of the Corruption.
A monster created by the Oracle and her stubborn idiocy.
In the past, her ability to detect Corruption was second to none. She planned to guide the Chosen Hero to afflicted worlds and allow him to wreak havoc on their enemy.
But the plan hit a snag.
Their enemy proved to be far stronger than originally perceived. While the Oracle refused to believe that the plan would fail.
And now...
"We stand at the precipice..." the Artificer said quietly.
Suddenly, the doors to his throne room parted and a figure walked in.
"Ah...Kronos. Have you detected the Chosen Hero?" the Artificer said.
Kronos dropped to his knee and bowed respectfully.
"No, my Lord. The token I gave him vanished when the reset occurred. Regretfully, I have no idea where he might be..." he said.
The Artificer sighed.
"That leaves only one place, my Lord..."
"Yes...the Abyss. This is a terrible situation..."
"My Lord...is there a way to prevent this disaster? Perhaps you could give the catalyst her memories back? Wasn't she supposed to be an inhibitor for Mizik?" Kronos said.
"I can try to unlock them. But the Oracle and her vile magic have likely sealed away the person she once was. Yes...maybe we aren't too late..."
"I can only hope so, my Lord..."
"Come, Kronos...we have a lot of work to do. I will begin preparations to restore her memories. Lest the monster that the Oracle created run rampant and destroy Creation..."
Kronos nodded and stood at attention.
"I am ready and willing to serve."