[Hey guys, just a quick heads-up! I realized I made a small mistake, since Evangeline (the God of Order) and Serafina (Head Assasin) were barely mentioned before, I kinda mixed them up and ended up calling Evangeline "Serafina" for the last 30 Chapters 😅. I've gone ahead and corrected it now, and I'm really sorry for the confusion. From here on out, her name is Evangeline, not Serafina!]
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Evangeline didn't answer immediately. Instead, she exhaled and snuggled deeper into his embrace, her voice quiet and weary.
"Let me rest like this while I explain. I'm honestly so tired right now." She murmured. "Emotionally. Mentally. Dealing with you two is like trying to untangle divine knots with mortal fingers."
Vanitas narrowed her eyes at her, glared, really, but as expected, she did absolutely nothing. She didn't even move. Not when Kafka's arms were wrapped around Evangeline too.
And so Evangeline began, her tone growing more serious.
"After Lady Vanitas tried to break through to the mortal realm and failed...she calmed down. And when she calmed down, she realized exactly what she had tried to do. She realized she had tried to devour her own son. To take you. And it horrified her, Kafka...It horrified her to the very core."
Evangeline exhaled.
"She knew then that she couldn't control her emotions anymore, that sooner or later, something like this would happen again. She didn't know how long the barrier would hold her back, but she knew that if you ever came up to the heavens...she wouldn't be able to stop herself. She'd pounce on you. She didn't want that."
Vanitas's eyes fell shut; her trembling hands balled tighter.
"So she tried everything." Evangeline went on. "She tried to sever her emotions. Tried to erase them. Meditated for centuries. Went through rituals. Tried to burn the feelings out. But a True God...a True God can't forget something that has rooted so deeply. We don't shed emotions the way mortals do. And hers had already fused into her being. If she did nothing, it would only grow worse."
Evangeline glanced at Kafka.
"That's when she discovered a possible answer. She realized she might sever those feelings if she ascended further. If she became an Eternal Sovereign. If she did that...she might be able to remove the part of herself that loved you, like cutting out a tumor from her soul. That was the plan."
Kafka blinked hard. "Wait...so she didn't just ascend because she wanted to see me?"
"No." Evangeline said softly. "She ascended because she wanted to see you and because she thought she could erase what she felt. Meeting you was her wish. Removing her desire was her solution."
Kafka rubbed his forehead.
"And she succeeded. She ascended. She met me. But she's still...like this. Still trying to—" He caught himself and glanced at Vanitas, who gave him a desperate, silent plea to stop talking.
Evangeline sighed. "Yes. What you're thinking is correct. It didn't go as planned and backfired. Severely. It created a big mess."
She shifted, sitting up straighter now.
"I've told you before, every True God has a title. Mine is the God of Order. Lady Vanitas used to be the God of Vanity. But when a god ascends to Eternal Sovereign...the title isn't random."
"It's formed from the culmination of that god's entire being: their achievements, their deepest desires, their truest purpose. The universe looks at them, weighs them, and gives them a name that is their soul."
Kafka's chest tightened as he realized where this was going.
"So, when Lady Vanitas ascended..." Evangeline said. "...her every thought was of you. Her every desire was you. Her every need was you. She was obsessed with you. She wanted you. Needed you. Loved you. Hugged you in her mind. Dreamed of you."
"So the universe looked at all of that...and it granted her a new title."
Evangeline's voice grew quieter, heavier.
"The God of Forbidden Love."
"Wait—F-Forbidden Love? As in taboo love?!" Kafka's eyes widened.
Evangeline nodded gravely.
"That's why the request you received came from the 'God of Forbidden Love.' That's why her old title, Vanity, no longer appears. That's why she's different now. She isn't just the God of Vanity anymore. She is the God of Forbidden Love. And that title, Kafka..." She glanced at Vanitas, whose face was white as marble. "...is because of you. Because of what she feels for you."
Kafka's mouth went dry. "You mean the 'forbidden love' is—"
"Yes." Evangeline said, cutting him off gently. "Her love for you. The universe gave her a title embodying love that should not exist. Taboo. Love between those who should never be together. It didn't punish her with the name. It defined her by it."
Vanitas shut her eyes, trembling, while Evangeline continued.
"And just as a god's title shapes their power, it also shapes their being. It becomes what they are. Your mother isn't just a goddess who has fallen in love with her son...She is the Goddess of Forbidden Love."
"It is her nature now. Her power. Her life. She can't escape it. She can't undo it. Her entire existence revolves around you, her forbidden love for you is literally the source of her power now. It will never fade."
Kafka sat back, stunned. "So no matter how much therapy...no matter how much time—"
"It won't change." Evangeline shook her head. "From here to eternity, she will continue to love you as a man. It isn't something she can control anymore...It's what she is."
Kafka felt like his brain had just been drop-kicked by the universe itself. The words "From here to eternity, she will continue to love you as a man" repeated in his head like a death sentence, each echo louder than the last.
He'd already been running scenarios in his head, therapy, rituals, isolation, something, anything to help his mother and himself. And now Evangeline was standing there coolly telling him that nothing would help.
That this was simply what it was. That he should "accept it." It felt like a slap across his face, like she'd shoved him into the mud and told him not to think of himself too big.
He dragged his eyes up at her and just stared, full of frustration. To him, Evangeline looked like the villain here.
She, meanwhile, tilted her head, looking almost puzzled. "Why are you staring at me like that, Kafka?" She asked softly. "Why are you looking at me like I did something wrong?"
He forced a smile onto his face, though his eyes burned. "I'm sorry for asking this, Evangeline." He murmured. "But...is it possible I could pinch your cheeks a little?"
That surprised her. "Pinch my cheeks? Why?" Her brows lifted. "Is there some particular reason?"
Kafka chuckled bitterly. "It's actually pathetic, but every single word coming from your mouth has been burying me deeper in the mud. Every second you speak I get a bigger headache. And I can't help but want to pinch that mouth of yours for throwing so much bad news at me."
He chuckled again, shaking his head.
"Actually, never mind. Just ignore me. I'm rambling."
But Evangeline slowly shook her head.
"No. I'm fine with it. If it makes you happy, Kafka, I'd happily let you pinch my cheeks." She looked straight into his eyes and added calmly. "Ever since Lady Vanitas ascended, I am technically her vassal. Which also means..." She thought for a moment. "That since you're above Lady Vanitas, I'm sort of yours. Your...aide, I suppose. Which means I have to follow whatever you say. So if you want to pinch me, you can."
Kafka blinked, caught off guard. "Really? You really don't mind?"
Evangeline simply thrust her cool, expressionless face forward. "Please do so, Kafka. I don't mind."
Hesitatingly, Kafka reached forward, cupping her cheeks in his hands. He started to pull them gently. To his surprise, her skin was soft and warm. His lips twitched.
"Even though you always look so cold, your cheeks are actually warm and fluffy." He muttered, a small blush creeping over her own face as he continued to pull, finding an odd kind of solace in the simple act.
But then suddenly out of nowhere—he felt his own cheeks being pinched. He blinked and turned his head, only to see Vanitas, her fingers pressing at his jawline, though barely able to pinch anything.
She looked curious, almost shy and Kafka chuckled in response, asking, "Mom, what are you doing? You want in on the cheek-pinching game too?"
"No, Kafka." She shook her head with a small, wistful smile. "It's just that when you were a baby, in my arms, I used to pinch your cheeks. They were so soft I was actually scared they'd tear apart. It was probably the softest thing I've ever touched in my life. Seeing you pinch Evangeline...it reminded me of that. But now..." Her smile dimmed. "Now there's nothing. Nothing left to pinch. All that baby fat is gone. I lost the opportunity to pinch my baby because...because I wasn't there."
Kafka paused, his fingers still holding Evangeline's cheeks as he turned toward Vanitas. Then, gently, he reached out, pulled her in by the hand, and pressed her head to his chest.
"It's alright, Mom. It's really alright since even if those moments are gone, we can make new ones. We have the future together." He leaned in and added firmly. "And it's exactly because we're not separated anymore and we have a future, that we shouldn't take the situation we're in too badly."
"...Somehow, some way, we'll get through it. And right now, we should just be happy we're together."
After saying this, Kafka felt a burst of optimism, as if those words were told to himself, anything to keep himself calm in this chaos. But just as he was feeling positive, Evangeline, suddenly spoke up.
"...Actually, Kafka." Evangeline said, cheeks still being tugged. "There's one more thing I need to tell you."
Kafka froze. "Please don't."
"You'll probably hate me for it."
"Stop."
"I was actually thinking of telling you later, but since Lady Vanitas brought up the topic of babies I thought I should tell you now."
Kafka let go of her cheeks. His hands slowly dropped to his lap. His eye twitched. "...I'm going to cry. I swear to the gods, I am going to cry right now."
He looked ready to scream at the sky. "How does this situation keep getting worse?! I'm already dangling off the cliff of sanity! This is cruel! Sadistic!"
Vanitas tried to comfort him, reaching out, only for Kafka to wave her off and face Evangeline with dead seriousness.
"Lay it on me." He said. "Whatever it is, just say it. I'm already neck-deep in cosmic nonsense, might as well finish the dive. End my misery!"
Evangeline paused.
"...Kafka. Maybe we should talk about this later. You're, uh, emotionally unstable right now. If I tell you this now, you might faint. Literally."
"Evangeline..." Kafka's voice was flat.
"Yes?"
"Tell. Me. Now."
"Alright. You asked for it." She took a breath before going on to say, "What I wanted to say is that because of Lady Vanitas's ascension...the trial for your ascension has changed."
He blinked. "What?"
"It's no longer the same. The system replaced your previous trial with a new one. Everything before, every quest, every requirement, it's all void. There's only one final request left now. Just one."
"Just one?" He echoed. "So...so that means it's almost over? I can become a true god with just one final step?"
Evangeline nodded slowly. "Yes."
Hearing this, Kafka looked like he was finally seeing a light at the end of a very long, hellish tunnel. He turned to Vanitas.
"Mom! Did you hear that? Just one more quest! We can do this!"
But Vanitas didn't smile. She didn't even look at him.
She turned her face away, staring at the stars, her cheeks flushing an intense red. It was the look of someone going through the most humiliating moment of their life.
Kafka's smile faltered.
"W-Why does she look like that? Why do you look like that, Mom? And you too Evangeline!?" He turned to look at Evangeline, who also had a troubled, almost shy look on her face. "Why do you look like you're struggling to tell this final piece of information?!"
"I-I'm not going to say anything." Evangeline exhaled. "Just...read the final request that I held back for your mental sanity yourself."
And just like that, the final request entered Kafka's divine consciousness.
Ding~
[The Will of the World sends your final request: Impregnate your Mother, the Eternal Sovereign of Forbidden Love just like she desires and let her bear your child]
[Successfully fulfill the request and Ascend to the Heavens and become the most powerful demi-god in existence]
[Fail the given request and your Mother's Heart Demons will devour her whole, leading to the collapse of existence itself]
He read it.
His face went pale.
His throat felt dry.
His body trembled.
He blinked once. Twice. Thrice.
And then, like a puppet with its strings cut—Kafka dropped backward and fainted.
Out cold.
"K-Kafka!? Kafkaaa?!?!?"
Vanitas screamed his name in panic, holding his head up only for it to fall down, while Evangeline could only sigh and say,
"I told you, you wouldn't be able to handle the truth...You should've just listened to me."