"Are you okay?" I asked, approaching cautiously, though I could feel the sphere of divine energy gently repelling me, as if rejecting any external contact.
"I think so..." Elise replied with a confused voice. "I was here and... I got sleepy, but I wasn't actually tired. I fell asleep, but I was still awake. Ever since my world grew... I've been feeling strange. Worse and worse. And then... I ended up like this," she said with a mix of nervous calm—if such a thing is even possible. "I feel fine, but strange. Am I going to die?"
"I don't think so..." I replied, without much confidence. But something inside me told me that wouldn't be the case. My instincts, more than anything, warned me that what stood before me wasn't a threat yet—but soon might become something hard to handle.
I activated [Sense Presence], and although it was difficult to interpret, I could perceive that Elise wasn't weakening, but stabilizing... strengthening something within herself.
I spent time there, analyzing her condition while my clones gathered all the information we had about the gods. I also contacted the only two people here who might know something about this: the merchant and the archmage.
Finally, after many speculations, I was able to give Elise an explanation. One that, although it didn't solve everything, at least brought some clarity:
"You're consolidating your divinity," I told her gently. "Not like before, when you just awakened it, but as a process to define it. You're turning 'the divinity of something' into 'the divinity of Elise.' You're consolidating your divine form."
"Is that a good thing?" (Lys)
"Very. Once this process is complete, you'll be able to manage your divinity your own way. You'll develop your own abilities, unique powers. This world will begin to grow on its own if you nurture it, without needing the power of the [Fief]. And most importantly: by consolidating your divine form, you'll achieve true immortality. Not just longevity… but the ability to rebuild yourself from scratch even if your body is completely destroyed, as long as your world still exists."
"Yes… yes… I can feel it. It's like the magic is different—stronger, more obedient. Like I could do whatever I want," she said, analyzing herself.
Up until now, Elise had only used divine power crudely—to boost herself, defend, or attack. But this was different. Now she could feel that, with enough focus, her desires could become reality. Of course, that didn't mean it would be easy.
"But... why aren't you entirely happy?" she asked, sensing my emotions.
"The problem is..." I said uneasily, "this process can take a long time. Years... decades... maybe even more..."
"More?" repeated the alicorn, floating motionless inside the sphere.
"You could rush it, yes... but then your world would be limited. If you want to unlock its full potential, you'll need time. A lot of it. And this state you're in is the best moment to do that. It can't be wasted." (Red)
"Oh..." she murmured, grasping the magnitude of the situation.
For her, time was no longer a prison. Her mind had adapted to an eternal existence, and spending years in this state wasn't a real sacrifice. The problem wasn't her... it was me. And the outside world.
"Even with the current 5x acceleration, it would still be a slow process," I said, a bit sadly. "But don't worry. I'll support whatever decision you make."
"I think... there's really no problem," she replied with a disarming naturalness, as if what we'd just discussed wasn't the prelude to a suspended eternity.
"Then… we'll take the long path," I said, raising my hand to take hers… but I withdrew it immediately. In this state, I couldn't touch her. Nor approach. I could only communicate mentally from a certain distance.
"Yes… but I won't let you be far from me," she said with certainty.
"I'll leave a clone with you," I nodded. I knew it would be mental torture, but we had already spent years in a cave. Ironic how fate now led us to repeat something similar for an indefinite time.
"No… it won't be like that," Elise said firmly.
I was confused. Elise could be selfless, sure, but staying alone for who knows how long just so I wouldn't suffer... that wasn't like her. She would seize every chance to be by my side. I looked at her, but within the energy sphere, her face was expressionless—like a floating corpse—which made it hard to understand what she meant.
Then I felt it: her divine power gathering. She was doing something—something important. I didn't know what, but I couldn't interrupt her. In this state, any external disruption could be dangerous.
The space around us began to distort. On one side of the sphere, small points of white light began to converge. I knew Elise was focusing... channeling all of herself to manifest something. The only thing I could do… was watch and wait.
The points of light merged into a sphere that kept growing, until suddenly it exploded into a flash so bright it completely blinded me. Even so, I managed to glimpse that the light was starting to take shape just before I lost sight.
When I finally opened my eyes, there she was: another Elise. Almost identical to the original, except for one small difference. She was smaller—similar to the size she had during her unicorn days.
"Did it work?" asked the new Elise, at the same time that the same question echoed in my mind.
"Elise?" I said, looking back and forth between the Elise trapped in the divine sphere and this free version standing before me.
"Yes, it worked," she replied cheerfully, bouncing in little circles... in open space. I don't know how, but she seemed to walk on it effortlessly.
"What did you do?" I asked with a frown, trying to analyze her using all my skills. Curiously, I didn't feel any mental link to this new Elise, but my [Sense Presence] confirmed that she had a real body... and a touch of divinity.
"A clone! Like you!" she said excitedly. "I always wanted something like this. Ever since I saw you use that ability, I dreamed of being able to accompany each one of you, but it never worked. Then you read me some notes among Morgana's things about the gods, and I thought I could try it. It didn't work... until now that I'm handling this divine power better," she explained with evident pride.
"Elise… I think," I said as I pulled out Morgana's books and flipped through them quickly, "that's not a clone. It's a divine avatar."
I was surprised she had managed it. Usually, only gods who have fully consolidated their divine form can do something like that. There were no records of anyone pulling it off mid-consolidation.
"And what's the difference?" she asked, though it was clear she didn't really care.
"Eh… doesn't matter," I said, seeing the indifference on her face. I decided I'd study the phenomenon more thoroughly on my own later.
"Now we can go back to how things were. I literally know I'm in there," she said, looking at her body inside the energy sphere, "but I also perfectly feel everything happening in this body. Isn't that amazing? No wonder you have so many copies! It's incredible being able to do so many things at once."
"No, Elise, it's different. My copies aren't real. Your avatar is a true extension of yourself," I said, moving closer to caress her. Everything about her felt the same as the Elise I knew… or rather, the old Elise, since I could sense this body wasn't as strong. "Your avatar is a weakened version of you, but it can get stronger if you transfer more power from your original body. However, don't force anything beyond this for now. You're not fully consolidated yet. You could hurt yourself if you send more power than you can handle."
"Alright…" she replied, softly nuzzling her cheek against my hand. "I have a question."
"Go ahead." (Red)
"If we mate now… would it be real?" (Lys)
"Well… unlike my clones, yes. You could even have real offspring. They'd be your children, although the magical and genetic inheritance would depend on how you constructed this avatar…" I explained in a scientific tone, until I saw her expression shift completely. A predatory smile lit up her gaze. "But I don't think we should worry about that now… there are more important things," I tried to awkwardly change the subject.
"More important than that?" (Lyz)
Before I could react, a magical alicorn launched itself at me, and we started tumbling through the void of space. Elise was absolutely euphoric. For her, being able to be intimate again —after believing we wouldn't be able to for centuries— was reason enough to celebrate.
I tried to tell her we should focus first on developing her world: creating fauna, flora, atmosphere, population... but her response was:
"That's exactly what I mean!" (Lyz)
...
Having sex with your wife's avatar while her real body is frozen inside an energy sphere beside you… is way hotter than it sounds. It was like screwing your girlfriend's twin sister while forcing her to watch. And yes, it was as twisted as it was amazing. It left me wanting to experiment even more… but I didn't have time.
Because then I received the [message].
Without thinking, I practically dragged Elise —and myself— out of that cosmic corner. I transported us straight to the center of the fief, naked, sweaty, still covered in our fluids… not caring about anyone or anything. I entered the old house Lily and Petunia used to stay in.
There they were: the sisters, Andromeda, Andra, and Eileen too, all gathered around a bed. On it, Gemma, naked from the waist down, was in the middle of labor… or rather, about to finish it.
I rushed to her side, took her hand as she screamed in pain. I wanted to use my powers to ease it, but before I could…
…it was over.
From between her legs emerged a reddish, pulsing mass. It writhed like some alien cocoon out of a horror film — swelling, contracting, trembling as if something inside was struggling to get out.
And it did.
A small hand with sharp fingers tore the membrane from within. The red egg deflated like a burst balloon, and with our help, we peeled away the rest of the fleshy tissue. Inside, wrapped in blood and fluids, was something that almost looked like a human baby.
A cry filled the room.
I lifted her in my arms, not caring about the sticky remains that covered her. As if she could feel another living thing holding her, she bit me with instinctive force and clung tightly. I didn't know if it was out of hunger, defense… or affection. But she was strong, that was clear. Surprisingly strong for a newborn.
She was a girl —I knew that. I'd set it that way myself. But I couldn't say what exactly she was. I had only defined lineage proportions and a few parameters... the rest had been pure spontaneous evolution. The result was something entirely new.
She already had hair. A lot of it. Jet-black, with reddish highlights when the light hit it. Her ears were pointed, elf-like. I couldn't see her eyes because she kept them shut, but her mouth…
…wasn't a human mouth.
It lacked lips like ours, and no visible teeth. A line crossed her face from cheek to cheek, down the center — reminding me of Eren Yeager's titan form, but smoother, without those teeth. Her lips themselves seemed to act like blades: thin, hard. Still, I noticed that sharp, fang-like structures were developing around them, based on their number and arrangement.
Her body… was even more perplexing.
I found no nipples. Maybe her chest was slightly more developed than her abdomen, but I wasn't an expert to tell if that was normal. Honestly, she might be a new species entirely, with a whole new anatomy to go with it.
She had two human arms, though her fingers were long, sharp, and lacked visible nails. Maybe because she didn't need them: her fingers were already as hard as blades. As for her genitals, they looked human at a glance, but it was too early to tell how they'd develop.
And the most striking feature of all: instead of legs, she had a long tail, like a Lamia. But not with snake scales —more like an insect, segmented, with overlapping plates that moved with elegance and strength. A playful, living tail that curled around my arm and squeezed me with what I could only interpret as curiosity… or affection.