When they returned ho, they arrived just before the night’s party started. The guests were just arriving, and the maids rushed all over the place to set the tables, bring the food and drinks in, and make sure it was neatly arranged the way the queens wanted it.
Ganta looked around with a surprised face. She had never seen so many nobles gathered in one place; it was unlike anything she had seen in her kingdom, or even in the university. There were tens of them inside the massive ballroom, and even more remained in the courtyard to party beneath the stars.
She didn’t have a problem with people, but there was sothing else in this room that made her hair stand. Those weren’t just humans; there were several people here she could only describe as abominable horrors from nightmares.
In the back, a stunningly beautiful woman wearing a refined golden and red kimono. Her lustrous hair was silky, coal black, and long enough to reach the ground. Her golden eyes burned with divine light, her full and red lips reflected the entire ballroom in their glossy radiance, and her pale skin looked so perfect and smooth that rely looking at her hurt the eyes.
Ganta had to look away before that woman’s beauty got into her head. All of her senses told her to stay as far away as she could, and that was before she could even realize that the woman wasn’t alone. She was surrounded by twenty won just as beautiful, all pampering, feeding, and doting on her.
^Who the hell is that?^ Ganta thought and growled, rubbing her eyes as she turned around.
Amaterasu lowered her wine glass down, looked toward Ganta, and smiled. "An Empress, the jewel of the universe."
Ganta froze as she heard Amaterasu’s voice.
"I am a pulchritudinous, bewitching, glamorous, divine, and a foxy embodint of the stars and their radiant glory. Amaterasu is what the people call , and it is the na I hold." She leaned forward, twirled her wine glass, and them smiled. "Nice to et you, Ganta, daughter of Garu and Flora."
Amaterasu didn’t need Ganta to introduce herself; she already knew who she was. She always watches and listens to everything that happens under her radiant sunlight. Unless soone had actively avoided the sun ever since they were born, she’ll know them.
Ganta growled, glared at Amaterasu for a second, and was about to charge. She still didn’t get who this woman was, but sothing in the back of her head told her she was dangerous.
"Ganta!" Aella approached, cutting in between the two before a fight could start.
Ganta smiled. "Aella! Who is that..." As she was about to speak, she noticed the won around Amaterasu all glaring at her with deathly stares.
"... voluptuous sly fox. Here, finished it for you." Amaterasu giggled as she signaled for her archons to stop scaring Ganta. "You aren’t wrong, but worry not. You’re not on my nu, at least not with how you are now."
Aella stared at Ganta for a second, then frowned. "By the gods! You stink like rat!" She pinched her nose. "When was it the last ti you took a shower?"
"What?!" Ganta gasped, and Betty, who was by her side, finally moved and spoke. "Give her a break, she was in a war for the past two weeks, fighting for her life daily. It’s a long story for later."
Aella threw a glance at Ganta, then clapped her hands, calling the maids in. "Get her ready in an hour, and make sure she is fully ready. I’ll call rida and get her to send the clothes."
The maids grabbed Ganta and dragged her away. Aella sighed, then threw a sharp glare at Amaterasu. "Can you not?"
"Not what? Sit here, be beautiful, or are you worried that I might be planning sothing?" She replied, then pointed at the other end of the room. "I’m not the one you should be worried about, lovely new queen. Those are bigger troublemakers than I could ever be."
On the other side of the room, Hati, Maharaja, and Tiamat were sitting together around a large table, eating whatever food the maids brought them. It seems the draconic queens didn’t arrive yet, since their seats at that table were empty.
Betty looked around, then disappeared. She had to go and find her grandmother to get to the bottom of what she had done with her scales. Those scales were dangerous sources of power and shouldn’t be left in the wrong hands.
With so many important people gathering in such a small place, sothing was bound to go wrong. Aella knew that well, and she couldn’t feel at ease. Luckily, she didn’t need to wait for a long ti for things to go wrong.
"There he is!" Tiamat shouted and waved her arm, then pointed at Gojo, who just walked into the room. Gojo stopped walking, looked around, and then saw Tiamat. "What is it?" He looked more annoyed than surprised.
"Nothing, Amaterasu is here, so I wanted to hear what she thinks about you." Tiamat pointed at Gojo, then threw a glance at Amaterasu. "What do you think?"
Amaterasu’s eyes flashed as she glared at Gojo with a smile. Lucy jumped between them to protect Gojo, as if she could help. But then, Amaterasu’s expression shifted.
"Reclaim your na, reclaim your fate, and take what is yours. We’ll speak after that. Right now, you’re nothing but an empty shell of glory. Bearer of Nightmares." She went back to drinking her wine, and Gojo frowned. "What do you an by that?"
"As I said, we’ll talk when you beco whole again. Right now, nothing would make sense even if I tell you." She stood, "But I know you won’t be satisfied by just this."
At that mont, everyone froze; even Amaterasu’s archons dared not move a single muscle. Amaterasu pushed her chair back, stood on it, then walked on the table instead of walking around it. Why did she do that? No one knew or dared ask.
"Can you walk normally, on the ground?" Arad called from the other side of the room. And he didn’t stop there, but started walking directly toward Amaterasu’s table.
Aella couldn’t even breath or move a single muscle in Amaterasu’s presence. Just standing near a divine being of that power was enough to stun her soul and pin her in place, even Eris who was also a goddess couldn’t move.
"Ho? You can move?" Amaterasu threw a smile at Arad. "As expected, my presence cannot shackle you."
"What..." Gojo growled with a smile, and he too took a strained step forward. "Presence? Sothing else feels off, and it is deeper than Mana. The world is rejecting our existence in your presence. I never expected to see sothing like this."
Amaterasu giggled. "You seem to be smarter than your brother. You’re right, but it isn’t the world, it’s the universe as a whole. It plays favorites. It responds to the will of important people, and my will is far stronger than any god."
She jumped down from the table and approached Gojo, "I shall speak with you on those matters when you can freely move through my will like Arad." She looked down at Lucy who stood between them, reached with her hand, and patted her on the head.
"Lovely one, I hope this guy isn’t treating you harshly. Call whenever you need help." Lucy was sweating and terrified. This was the first ti she felt the full extent of the difference between her and Amaterasu.
Amaterasu then turned around, walked all the way to her seat, and sat down. Only then could everyone in the ballroom breathe. Without a doubt, this was the presence of a divine being beyond the gods. The nobles had heard of her coming to church nearby, but none of them believed that the actual Amaterasu descended to the mortal world.
Many thought it was just a hoax, a fake that Arad brought to strengthen his political stance. But now, they knew it was real, Amaterasu in the flesh had descended from her heaven to attend the crowning of Arad’s queens.
Arad clapped his hands. "Everyone! The food is ready. Please relax and ignore her. She is only here to observe." The last thing that Arad wanted here was Amaterasu and the other gods; they were just a scary nuisance that made the humanoids uncomfortable. No sane man would be able to relax in the sa room with the literal sun.
"My radiance is indeed an immortal and immoral temptation. I shall not apologize for my own opulent body and existence." Amaterasu giggled as she took a sip of her wine.
And with that, Isdis walked into the ballroom. The best thing they could do to avert everyone’s attention from Amaterasu was to start the music. Isdis had brought with her an entire band of musicians and bards, and her job was to set the air ablaze and drown everything with her tunes.
The music started, and slowly, the nobles tension dropped as Isdis mixed a bit of calming magic into her notes. Aella and Lexi took their seat beside Arad, and they waited for Ganta to co out of the bath.
In the anti, nobles started dancing with each other, drinking, and eating the food Arad presented. So even decided to pick a corner and start discussing their work, or even try to connect with the other nobles.
"Why did she co here? Wasn’t she holed up in the church?" Arad asked Aella, and she shook her head. "I don’t know. I called them, but they said that Amaterasu’s whims are beyond their control or understanding."
"Humph!" Aether appeared beside Arad, "Look at the bitch, arrogant but beautiful, best woman I’ve ever laid my eyes upon. But sothing about her is utterly wrong."
Arad threw a glare at him. "Aether... what are you on about?"
"Father, I might’ve been born after you, but I’ve lived far longer than you. That woman is all red flags, a disaster waiting to happen. But do you know? Do you know what got my balls itching and my senses going crazy?"
Aether snarled. "The fates, she got them sucking on her toes. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong; she’ll win in the end, always, no matter what. Neither you nor Nyar stand a chance against her. The bastard isn’t charging in because he knows she’ll fuck him up."
He then stared at Arad. "This is her universe, not yours, not ours. Don’t swing your arms close to her, or she’ll rip them off. She is here to make sure you aren’t doing that."
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