The silence of the Spirit Realm shattered like glass at the sound of Titania's voice, but Strax could no longer hear anything.
His body was pulled back as if the spiritual reality itself was expelling him, as if the Realm refused to let him hear any more dangerous truths. The surrounding light distorted, flickering until it rged into shadows. A whisper echoed in his mind, one last warning whispered by Kazzes before everything disappeared:
"Choose your side... before he chooses for you."
After leaving the kingdom, Strax awoke with a jolt, gasping for air as if erging from a deep nightmare.
He was lying down, his head resting on sothing warm, soft... and fragrant.
Sitting on a moss-covered stone with her legs crossed, she looked at him with a soft, slightly mocking smile. Her delicate fingers traced distracted lines through the white strands of his hair, while tiny sparks of mana danced between her fingernails.
"Finally awake, sleepyhead?" Scarlet said, in a serene tone, but with a gleam in her eyes that denoted genuine relief.
Strax blinked a few tis, feeling the warmth of her touch contrasting with the chill he still felt coming from the Spirit Realm.
"...Scarlet?" His voice ca out hoarse. "How long have I been away?"
She tilted her head. "Long enough for to want to kill that annoying goddess, realize I'd turned into a dragon, and almost slap you because you muttered a man's na." She arched an eyebrow. "Is there sothing you want to tell ?"
Strax groaned and ran a hand over his face. "I... was with the real Spirit King"
Scarlet's smile disappeared in a second. "...What?" Her voice ca out in a sharp whisper.
Strax nodded, slowly sitting up. "A lot of shit happened, I think we can talk later... what I need is..." He started to get up...
When Strax looked around, he realized that he wasn't just in Scarlet's arms.
Samira, Beatrice and Monica were there too, watching in absolute silence. Their gazes were almost hypnotized - and not just by the comforting scene between him and Scarlet. Sothing in their presence had changed. The aura. Their posture. And... the horns.
Each of them now had elegant - and slightly nacing - draconic horns sticking out of their heads. Ancient energy pulsed through them, as vivid as the dragon blood that was clearly beginning to circulate in their veins.
But what really made him frown was the trio next to them.
Three won... with the sa blood-red hair. The sa intense eyes. The sa imposing bearing.
Three identical versions of Scarlet.
At least, that's what anyone would think at first glance.
Bellatrix, Cassandra and Daniela were standing side by side, as if they ford a new celestial trio. The three of them clearly expected him to be as confused as the rest of the world would be.
Strax blinked once... then again... and then arched an eyebrow with a soft smile.
"You look a lot like your mother," he comnted, his voice laden with admiration. "But you can still tell the difference."
The three stared at him in surprise, as if he had just accomplished an impossible feat.
"Can you tell us apart... just like that... on the face of it?" Cassandra stamred, a slight blush appearing on her face.
Strax tilted his head, as if he were being accused of an absurdity.
"But of course, Cassandra," he replied, with a serious, almost offended look on his face. "You're my wives. What kind of husband wouldn't recognize his own wives?"
Naturally, he stood up and pointed them out one by one, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Cassandra." He gently touched her chin.
"Daniela." A smile for the second.
"And Bellatrix." A brief but affectionate nod.
The three looked at each other, stunned.
"Damn..." muttered Bellatrix, crossing her arms, trying to keep her posture - but a small smile escaped her lips. "Either he's a genius... or he really is in love too much."
"Maybe both," whispered Daniela.
Before Strax could respond to Daniela's comnt or even appreciate the tranquillity of the mont, a bang cut through the air.
A sharp, muffled sound, like a tear in reality being breached, followed by a whirlwind of wind and magical energy.
And then, two silhouettes plumted from the sky.
They didn't fly. They plumted.
Like two cots colliding with the ground.
"THE STRAAAAAX!!!"
"YOU IDIOT!!!"
The impact was direct. Two female figures hit him precisely, knocking him flat on his back as if he were a re unsuspecting mortal. But before he could even protest, he felt himself being crushed between two warm, fragrant and utterly draconic bodies.
"YOU PROMISED I WOULDN'T FALL OUT ANYMORE!!!" shouted the first, her eyes boiling with emotion and anger, as she squeezed him hard, almost breaking his bones.
Black hair like an eclipse flowed down his shoulders to his bare back - partially covered in shiny black scales. Eyes pierced him intensely like mystical spears. It was Ouroboros.
"You almost killed us with your heart, you bastard!" roared the second, her voice full of nobility and despair. His long golden hair floated like solar threads, dancing around his statuesque body. Her golden scales glistened with every heartbeat. It was Tiamat.
Strax's body disappeared between the two, crushed between thighs, breasts, scales and wings. He tried to speak, but all he could manage was a muffled groan:
"Gnhgh..."
The others... Samira, Beatrice, Monica, Scarlet, Cassandra, Bellatrix and Daniela just watched. A mixture of irritation and... resignation.
Scarlet sighed and crossed her arms. "Of course. They arrived before I could tell them he wasn't dead."
"As usual," murmured Beatrice.
"They have a radar just for Strax-related emotional crisis," Monica comnted, fiddling with her own horns.
"At least they didn't cause a dinsional earthquake," said Samira, cautiously looking at the ground.
anwhile, back at the scene of the chaotic embrace:
"I just... lost consciousness for a few seconds..." tried Strax, his voice coming out hoarse.
"SECONDS?! YOU WERE OUT FOR THIRTY-TWO MINUTES!!!" shouted Ouroboros, his eyes already watering.
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT I FEEL?!" shouted Tiamat, her golden eyes shining dangerously.
"Yes... because you just hit with that..." he moaned, trying to breathe. "My lungs turned into pancakes..."
They both stopped for a second and looked at him with an almost... childish glare.
"Ah... I'm sorry," they both said at the sa ti.
And then...
They hugged him again.
Tighter.
This ti, however, with a touch more affection and less desperation.
Strax sighed, defeated.
"This... is my hell," he muttered.
"You wanted to marry dragons," comnted Scarlet, laughing at the distance.
"He didn't marry... he conquered dragons," whispered Cassandra, sowhat proudly.
Strax just closed his eyes.
As the chaos settled down and the dragonesses finally let him breathe, a dry double cough echoed in the background.
"Cof cof... Sorry to interrupt your casual mont..." The voice was sarcastic, slightly impatient.
Strax raised his eyes and saw Cristine, supporting the upper part of a female body - a graceful but lifeless figure, her long silver hair stained with blood.
Next to her, Rogue, more relaxed, held her legs like soone carrying a mystical shopping bag. Both seed uncomfortable with the task - not out of fear or disgust, but out of sheer inconvenience.
"So..." began Rogue, arching an eyebrow, "what do we do with this?" Cristine huffed.
Cristine snorted. "It stinks of repressed spirit and bad decision, Strax."
He stood up, still panting, his gaze narrowing as he recognized the face.
The Elf Queen. The sa one who had faced him with arrogance, pride... and despair. Now there was only silence. An emptied body.
The other won fell silent. Even Ouroboros and Tiamat stepped back slightly, respecting the weight of the mont.
Strax walked over to them. For a mont, his gaze was not one of judgnt or sadness - but of consideration.
"I'll take her to Evelyn. She needs to see her mother. I know it was selfish to make Lyana hold her back and prevent her from leaving the palace, but... it's the only thing we can do for her now."
"Why don't you use your powers to turn her into a demon?" Rogue asked, staring intently.
Strax nodded seriously. "I'll ask her what she wants. If Evelyn wants to bring her back... as a demon, or anything else she wishes... I will."
He stretched out his arms and, with surprising delicacy for soone known for tearing mountains apart with one punch, picked up the Elf Queen's body.
"But only if it's her choice. I can't keep drawing attention to myself, especially now that I have all this power." There was a respectful silence.
Until Bellatrix whispered to Cassandra... "What if she becos one more of his wives?" "I'll kill soone," Cassandra replied, crossing her arms.
Strax ignored her comnts and opened a small portal shrouded in living runes. In the background, the distant sound of bells and whispers could be heard - Evelyn's hidden abode.
Before entering, he took one last look at the group.
"Take care of the rest while I get back. If another chaotic problem arises... kill first, ask questions later. Now you should have the strength to stop anyone, right Scarlet?"
He disappeared between the runes. The portal closed without allowing Scarlet to finish her question.
The won looked at each other.
Tiamat sighed, smoothing her golden hair. "So, we're going to change the way you look? I'm going to teach you about complete body control. Your looks don't match your strength, and besides... that man deserves a special surprise, right?"
Scarlet smiled tiredly. "Yes. Even though he knows who we are, it's still inconvenient that we're identical, right?" Scarlet asked her three daughters, who nodded.
"Right, I'll help you then. Let's surprise that man." Tiamat said, smiling.
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