Chapter 462 – Healing the Soul

I managed to keep myself from having to talk to Ashryn. I'm a little worried that they won't let me do what I want, so I should become the Queen first. They shouldn't have a way to deny my punishment for her when I'm the ruler. I could ask Kou to see what she thinks. I don't need to scare Elora with the question.

Besides, healing Aya and the Dryad is more important than threatening Ashryn with a shitty life. It'll be fun.

"Ready to go?" I ask the Dryad. "Everything is set." Hopefully, I know how to do all of this. Dragon said I should be able to do it, and I was close to doing it before.

It's time to see what the ritual and this new class can do for me.

This is a strange way to celebrate my victory over the ones who set up all my pain. What would be a good celebration? I should check in on Isda, see if she's feeling better. She should be free of Sex. Is she going to take over, or can Sarania control it, maybe? Could that give the demons a home in the divine realm? How would I do that?

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," the Dryad says. "This will work?"

"It will," I say. "I've done it once before. You'll be fine. Maybe even better. Just sit in the middle and drink this potion when I say to. The other two, I'll give you in the middle and at the end of the ritual. I'll have you put back together soon." Just ignore that I'm somewhat the reason why you're not healthy right now. That's a natural thing to do, right? Tanatsu is the one who hurt you, and I'm fixing that now. We were at war.

"Thank you," the Dryad says.

She doesn't seem too angry about it as she sits down in the middle of the ritual.

Dragon won't be around to help me this time. New class, you'd better let me control this girl's life.

I kneel beside her and take a deep breath. "Take it now," I say. I start to cover her in my mana as she takes the potion. I have to work hard to find her soul. Dragon took over so quickly the last time I tried this.

I close my eyes and go searching for a soul.

The one lesson I should've forced Aurora to give me is how to feel mana. I still can't really see much besides my own mana or when others use mana. But a soul isn't mana, so maybe that issue won't hurt this process. I'm good at finding bodies with my mana, so that may help me find a soul.

My mana dives into her body, searching around for something other than muscles, veins, blood, and bones. I try to create the blanket Dragon used before, trying to search through everything in her body at once. Dragon should've told me what I was looking for. She knew I would be doing this silly thing on my own.

There's something. A light! A soft, golden glow. A shapeless blob, floating around in the body.

That has to be it. Are all souls golden? Dragon really did only give me the most basic information. The color of the soul should've been passed along, I think. But, this feels right. She shouldn't have many other souls inside her. Tanatsu must have been too busy to do much damage to her soul.

I feel a soft attraction to the Dryad's soul now. Just a slight pull. It wishes to hold my hand and have me tell it everything will be alright.

"I've got you," I whisper. I start to see specks of another color in the golden blob. The entire picture comes into focus as my mana groups up around it. I don't know if my mana is on the same plane of existence as the soul, but they're mixing, which works for me. "You feel ready for the next step." Not that she can hear me. But if I'm comforting the soul, it would be smart to try to calm the mind as well. Eventually, I'll have to start caring about my bedside manner. I won't always be healing ungrateful bitches.

The next potion goes down quickly. The golden blob and specks start to bubble. I take a peek at her mana and find that it's now grey, just like Elo's was. I return my focus to the soul and begin to try to shake it around with my mana. It moves slowly, but I start to get the specks of color to group up near the bottom of her soul.

Once I have all the colors bundled up at the edge, I cut off the extra bits. The blob of gold shudders, but I'm able to move the extra mass away. The third potion gets poured, and I watch over the soul as it starts to take shape again. It's no longer a mass of gold, but it's starting to look like the Dryad.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

"Better," the Dryad says. "Tired."

"That makes sense," I say. "You should be all fixed up now. It went a lot better than I thought it would go."

"It did happen a lot faster than I thought it would," Tanatsu says, carrying Aya over to the middle of the circle. She really does only think about Aya, not even asking if I'm able to do the ritual again so soon.

"Dear, we need to ask if Alzi is ready to handle me," Aya says.

"I can do it," I say. "It doesn't require much work on my part." I'm sure Aya will require a lot more work to clear out the years of issues. She's going to have more than a few specks inside her soul. Hopefully, it's golden as well. But it's from the Goddesses, I think, so it should be. "Let me fill the ritual with mana, and then we can get started."

"Thank you, Alzi," Aya says. "Take your time."

...

Aya's soul is a mess. It's about twice the size of the Dryad's soul, and looks like a jigsaw puzzle. The golden parts seem to be enough to make a full soul, so I should be able to do this. I'll just need to cut off the bad parts multiple times.

It turns into a bubbling mess, and I start the filtering process, scooping the strange colors down to the bottom of the blob over and over.

...

I feel sweat drip down my brow, but most of the soul has been cleaned out. Just a few more cuts, and Aya will be healthy again. I wonder how long it has been since she was completely healthy. Centuries, possibly.

...

"Alzi," Mommy says. "Did it work?"

"Yes," I say. "Her soul looks fine now. I'm tired, Mommy."

"I'm sure you are, baby," Mommy says, cradling me in her arms. "Why don't you get some sleep and see how you're feeling tonight?"

"Ok," I say. It would be nice to have Mommy hold me while I sleep for a bit.

"Thank you, Alzi," Aya says. "I wish I could jump up to you and hug you, but it seems we're both a little tired. Thank you. I know Tanatsu is grateful, even if she struggles to say it. I'll pop over a few times during the pregnancy. And you'll help me give birth, right? I want our kids to see all three parents when they come into the world."

"I would love that," I say. Aya is lying flat on the ground. Her hair is still grey, but her eyes shine brighter now, and her smile doesn't look pained anymore.

"Aya!" Tanatsu says. "Are you ok? How do you feel? Is there any pain? Do you need something? Is there..."

"Let's give them some space," Mommy says, pulling me up. "Sorry, I can't hold you. Our bellies are getting too big."

"I can handle that," Kou says. "Sleep would be a great thing for My Empress right now. I'll direct your kids to your other bodies."

"Thank you," I say.

"Then, to the bedroom, My Empress," Kou says.

"I'll bring Ilka and Akhae in as well," Mommy says. "It'll be good to only have a few women around."

"Ok," I say. A small group would be nice.

...

Ilka and Akhae are flanking Mommy and me in the bed, with our tails all tangled up together. The extra length from the start of my transformation helps with getting us all locked together under the blankets.

"Baby," Mommy says. "Geta was saying- I'm sorry if this is a bad time to bring this up, baby, but she was saying you had told her that you struggle with the feeling that you need to breed others. She asked if I could talk to you about it."

"Um, yes," I whisper.

"There's no need to be shy, Baby," Mommy says. "All of us here understand. We know what your past did to you, and the pressure you've been under from being a Champion of two sex Goddesses. We know how hard it must be for you to contain your feelings. We don't want you to bottle them up. We'll always be here to talk through these things with you. You're the most important person in our lives. Without you, we wouldn't have found our love again or have kids on the way. You're the best daughter I could ask for. Let us pay you back for all those gifts. We don't want to only be receiving things from you. That isn't the right way for a marriage to work."

"It just bubbles up," I say. "I just get the need, and it takes over my mind. I don't get it. I don't want it."

"Oh, baby," Mommy says. "I'm sorry. It all happened because I trusted my sister too much. I- I'm so sorry. Those feelings aren't your fault. They're forced onto you. This family will help you with them. Do your other bodies feel the same desire?"

"No, just this one. The wife one does get some feelings of lust, but that's fine," I say. "It doesn't consume me."

"That's good," Ilka says. "Your wives are here for you now, and we all wish to make you happy. You've got a crowd wanting to help you. We'll figure it out. And who knows? Maybe these transformations will make it easier on you."

"I hope so," I say. "My next labor is going to be scary."

"I'll be right there, and we'll have Kelly and the royal healer with you as well. Everything will be fine," Ilka says. "We've got you."

"Thank you," I say. "So much has changed."

"That, it has, Baby," Mommy says. "It feels like just yesterday, I was in the village, waiting for you to come back home. I'm so happy to have you in my arms again, Baby. I love you."

"I love you, Mommy. You too, Ilka and Akhae. Thank you."

"We're sorry that we weren't there to help you when you needed us the most, but we won't be leaving you two again," Ilka says. "You've made a special family here, and we're so happy to be part of it. If you need help with anything, just ask."

I get peppered with kisses, and I feel my eyes growing heavy under the warmth of their love. But then, I think I feel someone else slipping under the covers, and a long furry tail wraps around mine as two little cat ears pop up into my vision.

"Someone said you were getting some sleep, and I thought it would be good to join you," Mai says.

"Thank you," I say. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Mai says. "I owe you my life twice over. Thank you. I heard a bit of the conversation, and I'm right there with them. Your wives are here now to help and listen. So don't be afraid to ask. Our greatest desire is to see you happy."

"I love you," is all I manage to say.

"I love you, too," Mai says. "Get some sleep. This warmth is putting even me to sleep. You must be exhausted right now."

"Thank you."