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The Eternal Page, home of many miracles, a record of history that would, for the time of a night, put down its quill. For a few hours, let its people talk freely for words spoken now will disappear in the west wind.
“Dux Goldweaver, come join us. The King of Kremnos and I were about to have a drink. You once ruled my Okhema, surely you have interesting tales as well.”
“Imperator, Mydei. Shall I order us some honey brew?”
“No need, Aglaea, I have already done so.”
On cue, a waiter brought their drinks.
Taking the initiative, Cerydra raised her cup in a toast.
“To Amphoreus, and to the starry skies.”
Her drinking partners followed suit and soon, the alcohol had loosened the tongue of the three rulers, the Imperator, in particular, was already quite drunk.
“That Dux Gladiorum, she must be using underhanded means! Every time she makes me her special beverage, I always need to drink more but she only gives me a few glasses! How come something so good is kept from me! I am the Law! I am the rules! And I say, let me drink more! Dux Gladiorum, if you disobey, be ready for punishment!”
That soliloquy had Aglaea intrigued.
“Imperator, what ambrosia has you that enamoured? Surely it cannot be simple.”
“A white and blue drink, surely blessed by Phagousa! It quenches the thirst with its fizzyness yet open the appetite with its saltyness.”
“A seawater looking drink that she can only give in limited amount at a time… Tyrant of Okhema, are you sure you’re not drinking her stomach water?”
Cerydra burst laughing.
“Ha ha, that was a good one! Let it be recorded in the archive, ‘The King of Kremnos attempted to kill the Imperator with laughter!’... Wait a minute… Now that you mention it… No wonder it tasted just like… Dux Gladiorum! I’ll kiss you till numb and dried of your ambrosia, or else my name isn’t Imperator Cerydra!”
“Well said! Rulers ought to be respected! That Deliverer needs to learn his place, just because he has a pretty smile and fine swordsmanship doesn’t mean he can walk around my room like he owns the place! That HKS.”
Clearly, he was inebriated, but rather than latch onto the infatuation he let slip, a certain goldweaver’s attention was turned towards the end of if sentence.
“Mydei, you always say HKS, but you’re the only kremnoan I know who uses it. Where does it come from?”
“It is an old story. Older even than the unification of Okhema by the hands of this Tiny Imperator.
There once was a general called Haikas who was renowned through the lands for their deep, selfless love. A love story so beautiful it moved even the hearts of the kremnoan people. Soon, this name became synonymous with true love and people started using it in confessions, songs and poetry, well, in the few poems of that times at least.”
“Shouldn’t it be an endearment term then?”
“That was until Haikas turned against their beloved, sword in hand. Blood flowed and Haikas, in exchange for power, sacrificed love on Nikador’s altar. Since then, it has become synonymous for scoundrel and stripped of half of its letters.”
Annoyed at having been called tiny, Cerydra teased.
“But, King of Kremnos, when you use it with Dux Solaris, you use it in its old meaning, don’t you.”
Flustered, Mydei used his famous catchphrase.
“There is no word for 'ancient meaning' in the Kremnoan language.”
Noticing something, Cerydra turned to Aglaea.
“Dux Goldweaver, you have only been asking question. You wouldn’t be trying to avoid speaking about your heart, right? Surely the Demigod of Romance has a story or two to tell.”
Having been exposed, Aglaea let out a short laugh.
“I do have a tale about futile love, but it is of little value. Let’s see… Once upon a time, there was an ordinary weaver. She spent her life in search of true beauty. She looked right and left, witnessed works praised by all. But it was no use, beauty was nowhere to be found.
Until one day, she came to a realisation. ‘If a mortal couldn’t find beauty, how about a titan?’
And so she went and stole the Coreflame. To become a demigod, she took on the trial of Romance and witnessed the story of Mnestia. It taught her many things, but the most important one, the most beautiful one, and yet the most cruel one was such.
‘To be the god of Romance means to never reach it.’ Just as Mnestia loved Cerces, but could never move Reason, she too would fall for someone she couldn’t pursue.
At the end of the trial, she saw a vision of times past. She saw the life of a priestess, her growth in seclusion, and her splitting into a thousand fragments.
She was immediately enamoured of this figure, yet she also knew that Tribios was gone, long before her birth. Now, I merely take care of teacher as if they were our children.
A rather boring story, isn’t it?”
Mydeimos poured Aglaea a glass of pomegranate honey brew.
“Drink, it’ll help.”
Meanwhile, Cerydra gave a mysterious smile.
“You should trust Dux Fatorum more, she might have a few unexpected tricks up her sleeve.”
—
In another part of the eternal page, around some snacks and soft drinks, a class reunion was to happen. The three students, along with their teacher, had organised this event in memory of old times.
“Now, students, I hope you have all studied well. Then-”
“Professor Anaxa, why don’t we keep the exam for another day?”
“I told you not to interrupt me, Hyacinthia. Well, I suppose it would be tasteless to hold a surprise exam now. I’ll temporarily postpone it.”
Phainon, whispered Hyacine a few words of thanks.
Meanwhile, Castorice changed the subject, trying to prevent Anaxa from reconsidering the matter.
“Professor, how are you doing these days? I heard from Stelle that you reunited with your sister.”
“I proved my theory, I saw Diotima again and I my students have grown. What could not be well? Although this sister of mine sometimes nags me about marriage.”
Hearing the subject ignited Castorice’s curiosity, after all, she was a big reader and writer of romantic stories. Although some of her writings could step slightly further than love stories and more into wild and shameless degeneracy.
“You don’t have anyone you’re interested in?”
Anaxa scoffed lightly.
“None. But now that you mention it, I remember I once caught you writing a story about Terravox and me in class. Utter nonsense, of course. To consider dating him, he would need a humanoid form, which would remove his charm as a dromas. And as a dromas, my love for him is untainted by lust or romance.”
This gave Phainon an idea.
“What if he became a dromas with a humanoid form, kind of like Dan Heng?”
“Interesting thought experiment. Then I wouldn’t be completely opposed to a relationship. But how would you go at giving him this ability?”
Hyacine pitched in.
“How about asking Dannie to teach him?”
“It wouldn’t work, an innate ability given by a Aeon would take too much time to decipher and teach. My ears would fall off from the nagging before then.”
It was now Castorice’s turn to give an answer.
“How about hybridization? We can take inspiration from chimeras and modify his DNA.”
“And tarnish the beauty of dromas? Absurd! Blasphemous! Very good, let’s look into it later. Now, Phainon, give me your way of going at it.”
“If I give him a few Earth Coreflames, he could use them to change form, Dan Heng grew ten centimeters with one, add in some more and we can bring greater changes to the receptacle’s form.”
“Indeed, compatibility is not an issue but what about the vessel’s capacity? No matter how hard you try, a single glass cannot contain a bucketful of water.
Here is your homework, by next week, give me a ten page plan on how to implement your ideas.
Let’s call it… yes, I know, the ‘Dromas Complementarity Plan’.”
Phainon, remembering something, spoke up.
“Speaking of Castorice’s stories, those about Mydei and me have many inaccuracies. For instance, you always write him as dominant, aggressive and all that, but he’s really just a big, cuddly cat with a bit of a foul mouth.”
Castorice took out a notepad.
“Keep going.”
“You also write him as the scratchy type of guy when he’s more of a biter. And he also sometimes calls me ‘Honeycake’, please include it. Oh, and add some practice duel scenes, we do it all the time!”
Hearing about Phainon’s happy couple life, Hyacine couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
“You’re lucky, I only flirted with Seliose once or twice and she now refuses to appear in her true appearance. And since she now takes the form of a child… I’m a bit stuck.”
Castorice, still intent on gathering material, asked.
“How did you fall for someone you’ve met through a single battle? And how do you feel about believing she was your ancestor most of your life?”
“I learned the truth before really meeting her, ok?! I’m not weird!”
“And, how did you fall in love?”
“You know, when fusing with the Coreflame and becoming the sky, I also kind of fused with Seliose… And being one with someone helps knowing each other thoroughly…
A-Anyway, how about you? How did you get with Lady Cipher?”
Surprised and unprepared by the role reversal, Castorice froze then gradually turned beet red.
“Those sweet burburgers are good, is this a new recipe?”
“No escaping it, Cassie.”
Knowing she couldn’t win, she took a deep breath to calm her heart.
“I don’t really know when I fell for her. She was always around, sometimes teasing me, sometimes bringing me things she found during her travels. She was never really far. At first, it was a bit daunting, but I got used to her presence, even sometimes anticipating her next visit. Her cheerfulness always brings a smile to my face.
I suppose… I suppose it’s around that time that I fell in love. But I didn’t understand it yet. What made me really aware of it was when we went to Styxia with Stelle. When I realised Cipher had brought me to Styxia, and to do so had touched me…
Can I stop now?”
Hyacine was disappointed, but let the matter go.
“And you were just getting to the juicy part…”
Anaxa, couldn’t help but question Castorice.
“What if she transported you without touching you? Like by stuffing you in a bag and lifting it with a stick, thus avoiding physical contact.”
Phainon interjected.
“Prof Nax, please don’t ruin it for her.”
—
In the shadow of a tree with pink, shimmering leaves, a swordsmaster, a fleet-footed thief and not so young triplets were discussing.
“Big sis Hysilens, Ciphy, you have to help us.”
Cipher’s tail flicked, immediately focused.
“What’s wrong big sis Tribbie? What do I need to take and from whom?”
Meanwhile, Hysilens was a little more direct.
“Who do I need to kill?”
Hearing this, three voices echoed together.
“““No one!”””
Tribbie : “We want to ask questions!”
Trianne : “For ourselves‘ sake.”
Trinnon : “And for her romance’s sake.”
“Romance? Between who and who?”
Realising the situation sounded confusing, the triplets decided to explain.
Tribbie : “When exploring around here, we found traces of machines we once designed, before becoming demigod.”
Trianne : “It was a super big rocket!”
Trinnon : “So we investigated.”
While they were explaining, Hysilens poured the three children some juice.
Trianne : “You wouldn’t believe who it was!”
Tribbie : “It was us who did it!”
Trinnon : “A complete version of us.”
“““The original Tribios!”””
Tribbie : “We connected with her and shared our memories.”
Trianne : “And we discovered something big, she’s in love with Agy!”
Trinnon : “Please, help her win Agy’s heart.”
Hysilens and Cipher were stunned at that unexpected development, but were on board to help the first demigod. Thus, they decided to share some of their experiences with love.
Cipher went first.
“Love, you see, is all about what you’re ready to lose and what you’re ready to take. To steal away Castorice’s heart, I had to pay a few lives, you know?”
Tribbie : “What are you talking about?”
“Castorice’s deadly touch was the biggest hurdle in letting her know she can, should be and is loved. So I went to see the grove’s boy. With his calculations, we discovered that it took about one second to kill something after Castorice touched it. And since cats have nine lives, that meant I had eight seconds.”
Trianne : “Cats really have nine lives?”
Cipher gave Trianne a meaningful smile.
“They have if you believe so. I used the first second to get Castorice to Styxia, then I spend the others sparingly, in the end, I used three of them on hugs and another three on ear scratches and the last one on kissing. Thankfully, I can hug her all I want now.
So remember this 'Know what you have, know what you want and only tell a lie if you’ll make it come true.'.”
Trinnon strained to pat Cipher’s head, who lowered herself to the priestess’ height.
Trinnon : “You really are a good kid, aren’t you.”
“Where’s that come from?!
Your turn, big fish-ter.”
Unbothered by the nickname, Hysilens thought for a moment.
“Take care of her. Whenever the Imperator has a rough day, I take her to her quarters, by force if need be. Then, I lull her to sleep and go do some clean up.”
Trinnon : “By clean up, you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter. What does is that red sailfish becomes a pillar of support for golden trout.”
Trianne : “Message received and delivered! Thank you!”
—
In the dome of stars, the Astral Express trio, along with Cyrene were gazing at the immense universe above them.
Cyrene was the one to interrupt the silence.
"How did you like it, this Romantic story like none that had come before?"
Stelle, of course, was still Stelle.
"I almost cried. And where was the romance anyway? Our Danny boy is still single after all this time."
Dan Heng, unamused, answered.
"The word 'Romantic' doesn't necessarily mean love, its original meaning is heroic or marvelous. And I didn't find anyone of interest, that's all."
March tried to encourage Dan Heng, with debatable success.
"Don't mind her, Dan Heng. She's been rubbing her relationship on our faces since Penacony. Not that she can do it anymore now that I have someone too! You're the only one who can be next."
"Do you want me to introduce you to someone? I've seen a male version of me when I was speaking with Nous, it was a bit freaky but I can try to give you his contact."
At Stelle's words, Dan Heng couldn't help but retort.
"Why would I want your male counterpart? One of you is already a lot to deal with. And how can you be sure he'd be interested? Not to mention he might just be a trick of your mind caused by the Aeon."
"Only the best for our Cold Dragon Young, which mean only a guy-me could be worthy! And obviously he'll be interested, I mean, if it's a version of me, he'll be at least half as gay as me, although I'd win a gay-off any day.
March, call your wife here, I need to show Dan Heng his future boyfriend."
"I got you."
March closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them again, they had turned red.
Approaching a hand from Stelle's head, Evernight pulled out a Polaroid from behind the raccoon's ear.
"Here's what you wanted, be careful with it. It would be such a shame if it disappeared from your memories, wouldn't it?"
"March, Nighty is bullying me again~"
March's eyes returned to their original hue, she was back in control.
"Let me see... Definitely a guy you. Dan Heng, look!"
"The face at least is okay. But if he's really like you, he'd me the death of me after a week. Better not."
"Hey! Firefly can do it perfectly I'll let you know! If you can't handle it then that's a skill issue that deserves the teasing!"
Watching the Express trio bicker, Cyrene let out a short laugh.
"See, even Cyrene is laughing at you. Oh yeah, Cyrene, since it's a Romantic story, who did you end up with?"
Cyrene paused for a while.
"The Demiurge could only fall in love with someone as beautiful as flowers, right? So it's obvious she fell for a certain Peach ♪~"
Stelle seemed to come to a realisation.
"There's something in Amphoreus' Corflames that turns pink haired girls selfcestual!"
March 7th nodded.
"That makes sense!"
Dan Heng facepalmed.
"And what, pray tell, makes you think that?"
"Case number 1, March 7th. She has pink hair, got the Coreflame of Time and ended up together with her other, slightly threatening but kinda hot self."
March blushed a little.
"The feeling of danger's what make it better."
"Case number 2, Cyrene. She has pink hair, had the Coreflame of Time and fell in love with her own self through the timelines."
"What about Hyacine? Seliose isn't an alternate version of her."
"You might have a point... But since they fused... No, in that case, it must be a thing about the Time Coreflame!"
"The most painful thing is that the only possible counterargument I have is that it’s a Pure Child of Anāsrava thing which would make everything even worse."
“Huh, so Fuli actually is a selfcestual pink haired girl? That’s awesome!”
“But who’s gonna become Fuli between us? No, let’s not think of it, I don’t want us to be separated and I don't want Cyrene to disappear. Quick Stelle, gush about Firefly, I don’t want this train of thought anymore!”
March might soon start regretting asking this to Stelle.
“Finally, it’s my time! You’ll never guess what, a few days ago I shown her around Belobog’s museum! We had a great time, and then we had some tea at Old Goethe’s hotel! Look, I took pictures. Here’s her eating a pastry, here’s her smiling, and look at that one, doesn’t she look so cute with some snow on top of her head?
And-”
She ended up talking for hours about their date.
---
Later, Hysilens did receive her kisses.
Aglaea had a beautiful date with Tribios.
The experiment was a success and now, Anaxa's sister doesn't have to worry about his singleness.
Much to Mydei's chagrin, Castorice's new story was a great hit around the Eternal Page.
Seliose ended up giving a chance to Hyacine, but it remains to be seen if she can make the most of it.
Dan Heng is still single but his heart not anymore.
Today as usual, March was teased by Evernight.
Stelle, unchangingly, was clingy with Firefly.
And as always, Cyrene is beautiful.