During the temple repairs, Nouna finally found her mother.
Layka, like the yetis, had been healed from her grave wound thanks to her daughter's awakening. Only after sleeping all night did she begin to wake from her long coma.
Luckily, during the battle she had been hidden behind the Phoenix statue. Anivia thawed her only at the very end, since the ice block had both preserved and protected her.
(Author's note: Ice magic is incredibly versatile. It can merge with the void, the wind, or any power—like Nouna's or Anivia's… even fire, in Alex's unique case. It can freeze to weaken matter, or reinforce it to protect allies—like the ice block or a mage's shield in WoW. With perfect control, it can even freeze the time of a body without killing it.)
Nouna had done it! She had found her mother.
With tears of joy, she buried her face in Layka's soft, generous chest. They spent a long time making up for lost years, and Nouna introduced her to everyone.
But worry gnawed at her: her mother still seemed fragile. She needed strength.
Nouna had already returned the flute that had once belonged to Layka. But it wasn't enough. Her own body had grown tougher, her mind sharper (and yes, her assets fuller!).
« Of course!! Mom, you're coming with me—I've got someone to introduce you to… very deeply ;-) »
(Forgive me mom, I'm a bad daughter… but it's for your own good. And you'll probably like it!)
She took Layka by the hand, heading off to find her little companion.
With Alex
Images flashed before his eyes.
Worlds uncountable.Events unexperienced.Endless beings—most of them women—never kissed.
But also dangers beyond reckoning.
One danger returned to him again and again, without meaning.
"We've finally killed all the molecule men. Is that enough?" said a woman in a green tunic and iron mask.
"Don't worry. I absorbed all their powers. I feel like a cosmic bomb about to explode," replied an ethereal figure.
"You won't disappear if you do that?"
"If I don't, everything disappears. But if you love me enough, maybe you won't let me fade… right?"
"Living without someone as strange as you?… I hesitate…"
"Come on! All my life I've fought to free the multiverse from being a disposable experiment! At last, I'll have time to become emperor of the harem!!!"
"Pervert! Shut up!" She tore off her mask, revealed her beautiful face, hugged him, kissed him deeply. "You're my little pervert… don't worry. I'll do my part."
"Goodbye, Victoria. We'll meet again someday…"
A door opened.
"We are researchers!""We are creators!""We are destroyers!""WE ARE LEGEND!"
"Who dares come before us!?"
"Knock knock! Postman! Got a package for a bunch of dickheads!" mocked the ethereal man. He and the woman stepped into the light.
Before them stood the culprits destroying the multiverse.
(What followed led to the downfall of those "supreme beings.")
As he said: "We don't care why or how! Whoever's biggest wins."
Smiling, he began atomic synchronization (bullshit technique), drawing them into himself, becoming a black hole. He erased them from existence.
When the void vanished, only a cosmic cube remained.
The woman, infused with new power, took the cube and returned to the library outside of time. She donned her mask, hiding her tears.
They had been Beyonders—the supremes of that multiverse. But one man ended them.
The power could have placed her above everything. But where was the fun? As he always said: "We don't care why or how!"
She restored the multiverse, merged it with others, left it unpredictable. Then she disappeared, using her powers one last time.
Two things:
She locked the cube away in the library, guarded by Swans: women with ebony skin and silver hair, empowered by his essence.
She brought her lover back to existence. She didn't know when she would see him again, but she knew he would win her heart once more.
She had changed. She would never have given up such knowledge before. But he was right: it was far more interesting to live without knowing all causes and outcomes. Of course, she made a few (big) adjustments that her boyfriend would surely enjoy…
Alex emerged from this memory fragment—just after the ethereal figure blew up with the "dickheads," as he'd called them.
Now he was in a tangible place: supplies, materials… and above all, his dragon sword, floating.
It looked like a container. Opening the door, he stepped onto the balcony of a colossal tower.
Before him stretched a limitless world under a dark, astral sky. He had seen the aurora borealis of Freljord, but never anything like this.
The tower was enormous: forests, mountains, and in the far distance, a vast desert. On one side, its base sank into the sea, built against the cliff and deep below.
Back inside, he realized the "container" was actually a chamber. A huge bed, shelves, cupboards—all empty. Stairs led up to the roof and down to more levels.
He lay down, devouring all the rations of meat.
(Strange… I can eat tangible things even though I'm… what, exactly? A spirit, a conscience, a soul? Doesn't matter. All I know is—I'm in a coma.)
Once full, he continued exploring.
Much later…
The tower could hold millions.
Alex reached one of its underground levels: an aquapark, lit in the deep blue glow of the ocean, with windows onto the marine ecosystem.
(Author: ⚠️ Lemon R18 for next chapters)