"Am I back?"
As her consciousness slowly recovered, Artoria gradually opened her eyes. Though she felt a bit dizzy, as if the ceiling were spinning, she quickly recovered. Artoria raised her hands before her eyes and looked; they were still her original hands, white as jade. She hadn't crossed over again, which made her feel a little disappointed. It was like going crazy wanting to go home while away, but once actually home, she felt a bit nostalgic for her days abroad. She checked her body; it was still that pair of heart-warming giant breasts and those straight, slender legs. But upon returning to her body, Artoria felt as if she had had a dream. In it, purple... Master had appeared, and she seemed to have taught Artoria the incantation for summoning Heroic Spirits.
"Why give me these? Does she want me to summon a few more Heroic Spirits?"
The incantation was still vivid in Artoria's mind, so it shouldn't be fake. In other words, Master must have taught her the summoning incantation through a dream. What on Earth had happened to make Master personally step in to teach her? Artoria couldn't figure it out, but she felt that if she didn't perform the summoning, Master would be very, very angry. And if someone with such a dark personality got angry, the consequences would be extremely severe.
"Artoria, you're awake! You're finally awake!"
While Artoria was deep in thought, Maria walked in with a glass of water. Seeing Artoria sitting up, she happily covered her mouth which had dropped open in surprise. She didn't even care that the glass had fallen and shattered on the floor. Artoria also stared blankly at the overjoyed Maria. Seeing Maria's state, Artoria had a bad premonition. Maria then rushed to Artoria's bedside, pulled her into a hug, and tears of joy streamed down her face. From her reaction, it was clear that Artoria had been asleep for a long time.
"How long have I been unconscious?"
After Maria calmed down, Artoria learned from her sobbing account that she had been unconscious for about seven days. The hospital had no solutions, and because of the unique nature of Artoria's body, they hadn't let her stay there to avoid a commotion. Artoria had been lying in bed for seven days. Everyone had come to see her. Galacta had been sleeping in the same bed as Artoria lately, claiming to be taking care of her, but anyone could see that this airheaded girl couldn't even take care of herself, let alone someone else. Today, Maria and Gaea took turns caring for Artoria. Hope and the others wanted to stay too, but the work Artoria had assigned wasn't finished, so they had to continue modifying the Hyperion.
"Seven days, that's not too long. Good."
Hearing she had only been out for seven days, Artoria breathed a sigh of relief. If she had been out for half a year, Thanos might have already attacked. In that case, even with the Infinity Stones, the Earth would have been destroyed while she was unconscious. Thinking of this, she felt much better. After talking with Maria, Artoria told her to get some rest while she changed her clothes. Maria had been the one wiping Artoria's body these past few days, so no one had taken advantage of her daughter. Although Maria urged Artoria to stay in bed for another day or two, Artoria knew her body was perfectly fine—in fact, it was very healthy. Before her consciousness traveled, Artoria had completed her Dragonification. A giant dragon could sleep for a thousand years without issue, so Artoria was perfectly fine after lying down for so long. Seeing Artoria move so nimbly, Maria was relieved; as long as her child was okay.
"Oh! God, baby, you're finally awake."
Following Maria into the living room, Artoria was greeted by her father's incredibly surprised and joyful gaze. Howard hadn't shed a tear for most of his life, but this time his eyes were red. He stepped forward to hug Artoria, thanking a certain someone in Heaven. Although her father's display moved Artoria deeply, she couldn't help but think there was something wrong with the object of his prayers. Thinking of the Lord of Heaven she had thrashed in the other Universe, Artoria really wanted to complain. Dad, I really don't know what you'd think if you saw that the Lord of Heaven is a twelve-winged Toddler.
"It's good that you're okay, it's good that you're okay."
The news of Artoria waking up spread like wildfire. Tony, tears of excitement in his eyes, gave Artoria a big hug along with Pepper. Artoria suddenly thought of the Toni from the other world, that beautiful sister who seemed much better than this scruffy-bearded brother in front of her. What a pity! That sister wasn't from this Universe; it was such a shame. On the other hand, Artoria noticed Pepper's belly, which looked even bigger than before. She should be due in about three months. Was she about to become an aunt?
"So noisy."
Artoria ate some food. Although she had eaten a meal before leaving Hell, that was in another body. This body hadn't eaten for seven days. Though it didn't show on the outside, she felt her physical mana wasn't particularly abundant. Artoria ate a freshly baked apple pie. Since Chinese dishes took longer to cook, she had to settle for some pie to tide her over, because these guys had decided to throw a party tonight to celebrate her waking up. Seeing how happy they were, Artoria didn't want to spoil their fun. It was just eating and drinking anyway, just with more people.
"But it's very warm."
Patting Galacta's excited little face, Artoria held the two little ones. The naming rights for these two had been snatched by Maria. One was named Aifen Stark, the child of Artoria and Galacta, and the other was Ailan Stark, the child of Artoria and Morgan. The two little ones looked at their surroundings curiously, their hands instinctively reaching out to grab Artoria's soft breasts, which were much larger and softer than those of the people who usually cared for them.
"Artoria..."
More and more people gathered at Artoria's place. There were many familiar faces: Natasha, Sharon, the group from S.H.I.E.L.D., and Hope and her crew who had temporarily put down their work and rushed over. Artoria was worried their excitement might cause them to faint, or that she might be 'eaten' by these women. Fortunately, with everyone there, few people got out of hand. While Artoria's recovery was cause for celebration, what drew even more attention were the two little ones she was holding. They looked like Twins; they would look even more alike if not for the different hair and eye colors. The women also noticed that the little ones bore some resemblance to Artoria, and one of them even looked a bit like the woman sitting next to Artoria. The implications of such news were somewhat self-evident.
"Aifen, Ailan."
Soon, the Little guys were taken away by their grandmother. Artoria didn't refuse, because as a 'man,' she wasn't particularly fond of looking after children; usually, a simple shake was enough. Asking Artoria to look after children would be like asking her to die. Although the Little guys were reluctant to leave their 'father's' embrace, they behaved well and were taken away by their grandmother without fuss. Artoria was met with gossip-filled gazes from the women, but she pretended not to notice and offered no explanations.
"Artoria, how is your body recovering?"
Although they really wanted to ask about the two Little guys, right now they were more concerned about Artoria's health. Seeing the worried looks of the women, Artoria smiled and offered an explanation. She had prepared an excuse long ago, saying that her power seemed to have grown stronger and required mandatory sleep to be used perfectly. Although Artoria's words felt a bit far-fetched, they still believed her reason. Next, everyone started chatting about what had happened in the past few days. While chatting, Artoria suddenly wondered where Mordred and Gaea had gone. Why hadn't she seen them? She decided to look for them after the banquet ended. Artoria thought for a moment and decided to deal with the relatives and friends in front of her first.
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