亚洲综合中美

“I got it,” he firmed, “-you think the humans here operate on greed and wish to gain more than others?” a confident smile tipped the scale of his lips, “-those here have died, and know they have died. Tis a reflection of the Overworld, and here, life continues for in their minds, it’s the afterlife or something along those lines. I thought of many options for the domain’s creation, what would it become, a relaxing refuge or an oppressive camp? I opted for the former – they’re my people, granted I may have stolen them from their families... the details do not matter for they are here.”

“Right, I understand peace...” she reluctantly shrugged. The pinkish ball of fluff, which was potato-shaped bearing tiny legs in resemblance to those of a chick, three dots same as holes in a bowling ball, acted as the eye sockets and nose. It chirped to a stop, “-master,” it spoke without a mouth, “-I have brought tea..”

Behind, a walking table clopped its way to their feet – the flexible limbs sterned into a normal table.

“What?” blinked Aceline furiously, ‘-a walking table?’

“Have some with me?” suggested Igna, out the pot and into the cups, the hotness showed in the risen steam.

A curious and cautious air filled her movements, her gestures were fluid to a certain extent. On reaching to things beyond her apprehension, an illusionary line seemed to tug, ‘-let’s see,’ she took the cup, cast a gaze on Igna, the man sipped. She gulped and took the first step, the first sip, and her mind exploded, “-delicious!”

.....

“Master,” two strangely short figures ran amidst the shadows to perch over the balustrade, “-the Generals calls for thee.”

“Oh right,” he turned on his admiration over the landscape, shot the drink back.

“Wait for me,” cried Aceline, “-I can’t finish it...”

*Snap,* he clapped fingers in her direction without looking, the porcelain cup lined by blue in a floral pattern altered into a portable cup. The object stood as she’d expect from a coffee shop in the overworld, ‘-did he just?’ she paused and watched. A slight excitement gathered in each step, her apprehensive expression could but smile.

Gathering of the court, or so was the appearance Aceline concluded from the eavesdropping on Igna’s conversation to the two strange figures. Black as the night and slim as a hair, they were truly shadows, able to reside in the darkest of the abyss. Similarly, the conversation ended; they found themselves at the Castle gates.

“How did we ge-”

“Teleportation,” he said, “-turn around.” She followed what he said, behind the elevated slope of the castle arch-gates laid a beautiful city, far more attractive to what she first saw on the balcony. The buildings weren’t too taller nor too flashier, they were clean and eye-pleasing, thus blending itself to the ‘tranquil,’ feel she spoke of earlier. In comparison to the cityscape of Rosespire, the buildings there were flashy and demanding – in a way, the advertisements and design were the same to a toddler yearning for his parents’ attention, or a desperate younger man trying to make an impression. Desperation was blatant – therein, lent itself to the ‘in your face,’ feel.

“Igna, are we not headed into town?”

“Someone’s gotten curious. We’ll go later, the whole of December is celebration month here.”

“Whole of December?” her eyes widened, “-why... no, I mean, how?”

“Fully sponsored by us,” he gave a thumbs up, “-don’t sweat the details and follow.”

Decorations layered the inner castle town. Horses and carriages waited in a corner behind the architecturally pleasing houses, slanted roofs reminiscent of the olden era. Stable workers hunched onto their work took notice of the visitor, rose their back, then waved with smiles. Igna returned the feeling and continued further in.

‘The more I stay, the lesser I know. This is nothing like where we hail from. The general atmosphere is pleasing, I-I, it’s pure happiness, I can’t contain myself.’

“Greetings my Lord,” bowed a butler with arms around his chest.

“You seem well, I do hope my children aren’t causing problems,” his facial muscles twitched, “-no,” came an obvious lie, “-they’re not... I mean.”

“Cheer up,” he tapped the butler’s shoulder, “-thank you for enduring their games.”

“No, I didn’t mean the pranks were bad or anything, it’s fun.”

“Glad to hear it,” he smiled, “-have the guests arrived?”

“Not everyone’s present. Please head to the secondary hall.”

“The one with the open-roofed terrace?”

“Yes, my lord.” Portraits of the four goddesses laid on the walls upon which the grand staircase rested. Midway up, the stairs separated into two, they picked the left side and continued. Aceline’s focus drew to the portraits at the center of the separation, “-was this done by the mysterious artist who also built thy personal collection?”

“Good eye,” he said, “-the collection isn’t much to speak about, well – tis only since I have yet to reveal the name of the painter. Trust me, the day it’s made public, each piece will have values stronger to manors on the prettiest beach one could buy.”

“If it’s something like Athena, then yeah, sure.”

“How did you guess?”

“HOLD ON,” her heels dug onto the carpet, “-I WAS JOKING, ARE YOU SAYING,” she pointed with mouth open, “-THIS WAS DONE BY THE GODDESS OF ARTS AND CRAFT?”

“Did I stutter?”

*Clop, clop, clop,* a burning mien clawed up the stairs and grabbed his collar, “-Igna, tell me the truth.”

“No need for violence,” he took her wrist, “-Athena visited our realm a long time ago. Suppose a goddess gets bored at times.” Distant rumbles closed his guard, he shifted, going left and right, ‘-I sensed them.’

“WELCOME BACK, POPS!”

‘Up?’ he checked, ‘-no.

‘Left? No.’

‘Right?’ no.’

“Below?’ the forehead crinkled.

“SURPRISE!” Draconis erupted out a portal, “-I missed you!” he latched onto Igna with all limbs.

“You realize the body isn’t that of a child anymore...”

“Whatever,” grinned the horned adolescent, “-I’m like 8 now.”

“You and age,” the head shook, “-never works.”

“Hello again, father,” said three quietly standing children.

‘Father?’ Aceline turned on herself to a melancholic, oily-faced Vanesa. A fabulously dressed Saniata of whom had a condescending leer, and lastly, Raphael in a white-overall. ‘He did say something about having children.’

Before long, the meeting place swapped to the terrace of the secondary hall. The latter rested inside after open windows and heavy curtains. A backdrop of the city gave a sense of presence rather than a backdrop of a somber forest. Tables were laid, retainers did rounds, some partook in the drinking – the guests arrived to form the social groups.

“Hey, pops, tell us about what’s going on in the Overworld.”

“Please Draconis, no more boring talk about politics,” exhaled Saniata, “-I’m more interested in her,” she pointed rudely at Aceline, “-the lady is pretty and all, just who is she.”

“Seems to me, sister Saniata feels threatened by the presence of Lady Aceline,” said Raphael with hands pressed in prayer.

“don’t play the saint,” she fired.

“No saint,” he returned calmly, “-I’m but an angel, understanding of another’s misguided thoughts.”

“One more comment and I swear,” she summoned her lute.

“No fighting,” mediated Draconis.

“Huh?” they cried in ears; “-did something happen?” they inquired in tandem

“No, nothing happened. Decide the argument with rock-paper-scissor.”

“Never mind,” they turned heads.

‘They seem to get along,’ he thought till a warn pressured laid on his thighs, “-Vanesa...”

“No more laying on pops lap,” refuted Saniata, “-come ‘ere young lady,” she was pulled by the collar and forced upright on a distant seat. In the exchange, a question remained unanswered, ‘-who is she?’ read their faces.

“Right, let me introduce Aceline, a superstar in the overworld and my lover.”

“Your lover?” she pulled his cheeks, “-hello, my name’s Aceline, ignore what he said, I’m more of a guiding post in his otherwise vacant life, a beacon of hope and whatnot.”

“Sounds tasty,” dribbled Vanesa.

“No sister,” facepalmed Saniata, “-she said beacon, not bacon.”

“No bacon...”

“No...”

“Boring.”

“Right,” Igna interjected, “-let’s start with Raphael, how has life been here?”

“Well, I became Goddess Miira’s apprentice a few years ago. I was assigned to work at the central hospital, tasked to heal and do research on the monster plague which affiliated our adventures. Life is pleasantly mundane – I prefer this to what I experienced in Hades’ realm.”

They moved on to Saniata, “-fine, I’ll go next,” her eyes rolled, “-Lady Intherna’s been training me in the advanced art of martial combat. The training is never over. Besides training, I work as a guild advisor at the adventuring city of Meke.”

“Me next.”

“Go on.”

“Ok. Lady Gophy has taught me the ways of Chaos. The more energetic I am, the stronger I will get, or so what she told me, I don’t remember. For now, I work the stables catering to lady Gophy’s collection of mythical beasts. She brought the egg of a dragon yesterday; I can’t wait to see it evolve. Before that there was a white horse with a horn, it looked stupid, I broke it and made the thing into a pen,” he reached into his pocket and pulled, “-see, it’s prettier as a pen.”

“Hold on, please tell me you didn’t tear the thing of a unicorn’s head?”

“Yeah, that’s the name she said.”

The table breathed a collective sigh, “-airhead,” they facepalmed.

Last was Vanesa with her forehead onto an empty plate. Between not laying on Igna’s lap and talks of not having bacon, her emotions drained, “-working for Lilith, she taught me the ways of the succubae or whatever, no food is no way to live.” The conversation went for longer, the guests filled the hall with cheers and smiles. Retainers enjoying drinks were forced into labor. A burst of silence drowned the friendly banter, four imposingly dressed ladies made their way onto the stage where a band of bards played, “-Welcome,” said Miira, “-to our annual gathering of friends and family. We of the Four General council wish for friendly and understanding night,” she gave the stage to Intherna, her fiery red hair was always a matter of wonder, she strod forth and struck the crowd with an imposing stare, “-times’ wasting, go out and have fun.”

“CHEERS!” it resounded.

“Who are they?”

“You’ll know soon enough,” he smiled. A familiar aura faintly tickled his nose, the outline of a massive wolf ran through the night and leaped, swapped for the figure of a lady, then landed strongly, “-IGNA,” she leaped into his arms, “-long time no see!”

.....

“What are you on about,” he returned her feelings, “-we spoke last month...”

“Still long,” she pouted.

“My heir,” said Adete, “-I see you’re in good shape.”

“First progenitor,” he nodded, “-thy beauty rivals even the moon.”

“Cut the pleasantries,” she tapped his head, “-has the party started?”

“Yes, it has,” the four ladies swarmed the outside – in a way, the guests felt intimidated at their auras, and so, shuffled inside to avoid their direct line of sight. Cora, Kaleem, Yuria, and Starix showed their faces after the master’s entrance.

“Wait a moment,” blue hair and ears twinkled at Aceline’s scent, “-I remember you,” she said, “-you’re the idol master and I met so long ago.”

“Pardon me,” she stepped away, “-I don’t remember.”

“Aw, too bad.”

The annual gathering, a celebration and disguised as a way to catch up on important events for the resident of the Shadow Realm who have had experiences in the Overworld. Discussing the fate of their journeys or what was to happen next counted highly in the various priority lists. At one point, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Mammon, three out of the seven princes of hell, made their entrance to be scolded by Lilith. It was amusing to see them on the ground knelt without a say in the matter.