[Current Balance: £419,516,560 4s. 2d.]
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The cold evening air of Pennsylvania drifted through the open doors of the balcony, carrying the faint, earthy scent of the surrounding woodlands and the distant Delaware River. The grand bedroom behind them was quiet, bathed in the soft, warm glow of a single lantern, but the world outside was silvered by the light of a brilliant full moon.
Kassandra stepped out onto the stone balcony first, her bare feet silent on the cool surface. She walked to the ornate railing, her fingers tracing the cold iron as she gazed up at the sky. The moon was like a polished pearl in a sea of endless, glittering stars. It was a peaceful sight, a super contrast to the chaos and uncertainty of their lives.
A moment later, Alaric followed her out, his own steps making no sound. He came up behind her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.
He rested his chin on her shoulder, his hands coming to rest protectively over her stomach… it was a silent acknowledgment of the new life they had created. They stood there together for a long moment, simply breathing, watching the moon in comfortable silence.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kassandra finally murmured, her voice a soft whisper against the quiet of the night. "After all these centuries, all the things I have seen… the moon is still the same. Constant."
Alaric didn't reply with words. He simply tightened his embrace, pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to the side of her neck, just below her ear. Kassandra sighed, a contented sound, and leaned her head back against his shoulder.
"I missed you, agápi mou," she whispered, her voice thick with an emotion she rarely showed to anyone else.
A warm smile touched Alaric's lips. "I miss you too," he murmured back, his own voice a low, comforting rumble against her ear. "So much."
Kassandra turned her head, her ancient amber eyes finding his in the soft moonlight. Without a word, she tilted her face up, and he lowered his, their lips meeting in a slow, tender kiss. It was a kiss filled with longing, with relief, with the quiet joy of reunion. They closed their eyes, losing themselves in the simple, profound connection, the feel of each other's presence a balm after weeks of separation.
When they finally broke the kiss, they remained close, their foreheads resting against each other. Kassandra's gaze was soft, but held a deep, searching curiosity. "What happened out there, Alaric?" she asked quietly. "Your journey to find Caroline… where did you go? Tell me everything."
Alaric sighed, the sound a mixture of weariness and resolve. He straightened up, though he kept his arms wrapped around her, holding her close as he began to speak. He told her everything, leaving out no detail.
He described the ghost hunt through Manila, the trail leading to the Serpent's Teeth, and the hostile tribe protecting their sacred ground. He recounted his flight across the Pacific, the unsettling discovery of the corrupted samurai in Nagasaki, and the final confrontation with the city's enthralled governor.
Then, his voice grew heavier as he described the scene in Edo Castle. He told her about Arai Hakuseki, the brilliant advisor twisted into a puppet, and the army of soulless Silent Guard he had created. He described the final, brutal battle, the two Apples of Eden, the Kusanagi sword, and the terrifying, fused Black Apple that had nearly overwhelmed his mind.
Kassandra listened intently, her expression shifting from curiosity to concern, then to outright shock. When he finished, she was silent for a long moment, processing the sheer scale of what he had faced.
"Two Apples… merged into one," she finally breathed, her eyes wide with a horrified awe. "Maláka… I have never heard of such a thing. Aletheia never spoke of it being possible." She shook her head, a shiver running through her. "No wonder Caroline was so far gone. The power of two such artifacts, combined… it would be enough to corrupt even the strongest will. It is a miracle you were able to resist it."
Alaric nodded grimly, his gaze turning distant as he remembered the psychic storm. "It was close," he admitted. He looked down at her, his expression serious. "What worries me, Kass, is that if Caroline, with the Apple's guidance, could figure out how to do that… what if there are others? Others who could do the same? With the knowledge from an Apple, so many things could be invented, so many new horrors could be unleashed upon this world."
Kassandra fell silent again, the weight of his words settling between them. She looked out at the peaceful manor grounds, then back up at the unchanging moon. "Maybe that's our mission, then," she said softly, her voice filled with a new, quiet resolve.
"Maybe it is… or maybe it is not?" Alaric replied, a familiar, teasing smirk finally returning to his lips.
Kassandra rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her own lips as she playfully jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Oh, hush, you."
Alaric grunted, a genuine sound of discomfort. He was strong, impossibly so. He could shrug off cannon fire and shatter stone with his bare hands. But there was something about a playful punch from his wife, delivered with love and exasperation, that somehow managed to get past all his defenses. It just… hurt.
Kassandra noticed his reaction and her smile widened. She leaned her head back against his shoulder. "We can't forget about the solar flare, either," she reminded him gently. "The one that is still hundreds of years away."
"Yeah-yeah," Alaric sighed dramatically, the weight of the world momentarily returning. He looked down at her, at the beautiful, immortal warrior in his arms, and all the grand plans, the ancient threats, the fate of the world, suddenly seemed secondary.
With a sudden, swift movement, he scooped her up into his arms, princess-style, making her gasp in surprise. "But right now," he declared, a wide, boyish grin spreading across his face as he started walking back towards the bedroom, "I just want to hug you in bed!"
Kassandra laughed, a rich, musical sound that echoed in the quiet night. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes sparkling with amusement and affection. "Hug?" she teased, her voice dropping to a husky purr as she glanced down pointedly. "Yeah, right. I can feel something down there!"
---Two Weeks Later---
Two weeks had passed since Alaric came back to Pennsbury Manor with a limp Caroline on his hands. After a good night with Kassandra, he went on to sleep for three days straight. He didn't even know it was possible.
Philadelphia was peaceful, and Alaric was... in a HUGE plot of land that he bought from Penn a while ago. Penn just recently toured him the place after giving Alaric the official documents of ownership.
'Hm... it should be like this... then... okay, I could do that...' Alaric stood in the center of a vast, cleared field, miles from the main house, his mind was a whirlwind of architectural blueprints and impossible physics. He was mapping the area, not with charts and strings, but with pure thought.
Hiring contractors was out of the question; they were too slow, their methods too limited. Penn's manor was a fine home, but it was crowded. His family, his allies, the nearly three hundred souls under his protection… they needed a fortress. A sanctuary.
He began with the earth itself. Closing his eyes, Alaric placed his palms flat on the ground. He channeled his chakra, not with explosive force, but with a deep, resonant hum that vibrated through the soil.
The ground softened, becoming as pliable as wet clay under his will. He commanded it to rise, to shift. Foundations, deep and solid, were pulled from the bedrock. Cellar walls formed, and vast subterranean spaces were hollowed out with a precision no human hand could match.
Next came the structure. He used his Vulcan ability, the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan, to draw raw iron ore from deep within the earth. The metal rose in shimmering, molten streams, which he then forged in mid-air, compressing and shaping it into massive, indestructible support beams and frameworks.
He guided them into place, creating the skeleton of a colossal baroque-style mansion.
With the frame secure, he turned to the walls.
He drew stone from the nearby hills, using his chakra to cut and shape massive blocks with perfect symmetry. He used Water Release to create his own mortar, and Fire Release to cure it instantly, the walls rising with astonishing speed.
He built two symmetrical wings that stretched out from a grand central section, topping it all with a steep, elegant slate roof that he meticulously crafted, complete with numerous chimneys and ornate dormer windows.
As the main structure took shape, he focused on the details. He carved the ornate stonework himself, his fingers tracing classical patterns with impossible speed.
He raised a two-story portico supported by massive, fluted columns at the entrance, and from it, a wide stone staircase swept down to a formal courtyard.
He laid the gravel paths, shaped the hedges, and in the center, he raised a small, elegant fountain from a single piece of marble, water beginning to flow from its center, drawn from an underground spring he had just created.
But the true marvel lay beneath. He concealed the main elevator within a grand library in the main house, its mechanism a complex array of fuinjutsu seals powered by a sliver of his own chakra, allowing for silent, smooth travel between floors.
Down below, he created a city. Over one hundred bedrooms, each with its own private facilities, enough to comfortably house four hundred people. He wove seals into the walls for ventilation, temperature control, and lighting, the corridors glowing with a soft, steady light that mimicked the sun.
And then, the farm. In a cavernous chamber miles wide, he used his Wood Release. Rich, fertile soil spread across the floor, and from it, with a surge of life-giving energy, crops sprouted… wheat, corn, vegetables, fruits… a self-sustaining ecosystem.
Above it all, he created an artificial sun. He gathered a massive amount of Sage Mode chakra, compressing it into a fuinjutsu array set into the cavern ceiling. It blazed to life, a miniature star providing the perfect light and warmth for the crops to thrive.
Back on the surface, he walked the perimeter of his vast new estate. With every few steps, he placed a hand on a wall, a tree, a stone, leaving behind invisible seals of indestructibility. This place would not fall. Then, he wove a final, grand illusion.
A complex fuinjutsu that would cloud the minds of any who approached with ill intent, making them become hopelessly lost, forever wandering the woods just beyond the property line, never finding the mansion that stood right before them.
Finally, he installed the last of the four elevators, their chakra-powered mechanisms humming silently within the walls, connecting every floor from the deepest sub-level to the highest attic. He stood in the grand courtyard, looking up at his creation. It was more than a house; it was a kingdom.
'I should probably make a super large training ground for the army that we're trying to make too...' he thought, his gaze drifting to the open fields beyond the formal gardens. 'But do we really need one?'
Penn had been adamant. 'We need to make them fear us, not just you,' the Quaker had insisted.
Alaric sighed. 'I'll just make a super OP organization within the kingdom that we're about to build, where all knees cower by the thought of them facing us...'
He shook his head, a wry smile touching his lips. 'Bah... wouldn't that be a bit chuunibyo?' He chuckled to himself.
If anyone could see him now, standing alone in front of his impossible mansion, talking to himself about secret organizations, they would surely think he was mad.
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