Chapter 473 – Getting Justice

*** Alzi, Main Body ***

"How are you doing?" Nanoka asks.

"Better, I guess," I say. I can't see much; Nanoka's soft tails are completely covering me. Victoria is holding my other side, but it seems she fell asleep.

"Where do you want to go?" Nanoka asks.

"Death."

"The Goddess?" Nanoka asks.

"Yes," I say. "I'm pregnant. I can't die yet."

"We don't want you to die for a while," Nanoka says. "I'm sorry for not taking this body right to your Mother. We panicked a little bit, it seems. Did you get to see your kids?"

"Yes," I say. They thought I would kill myself, but I guess that's fair. I have been close before, with my collar saving my life. Of course, if Ashryn had never put it on me, I would've never had that problem in the first place.

"That's good," Nanoka says. "That's good. Is it ok if I ask what you want to talk to Death about? We don't have to travel far; she should be able to bring you up if you go to her shrine in this temple. I've asked Nakuma to bring Geta over as well. If you don't want to say, you don't have to. I'm just wondering."

"I want to know what Justice is doing," I say. "Is she gone already, or can she be tortured more?"

"I see. That makes sense," Nanoka says. "Want to go there now? Or would you rather go to the crypt?"

"Privacy would be nice for this," I say. It's not like anything I do with the Goddesses is on show for anyone, or even lasts that long. Well, it seems I spent some real time with Fertility, if Victoria fell asleep.

"Then, to a crypt, we shall go," Nanoka says. "Geta is waiting for us outside with Kou, if you're ready. Do you want your Mother to join you, or Mai?"

"No, they're with my other body," I say. "I'll be fine. Victoria, ready to get up? You're coming with us."

"Fuck, fine," Victoria says. Her language really is hopeless. "I've been fucking awake. I just wanted to let Nanoka handle the delicate shit. I've proved I can't fucking handle it."

"It's all Ashryn's fault, and the nobles'," I say. "They caused the issues. It would've been nice to never learn about it. And we'll ignore the fact that you fell asleep with your wife in a bed. We don't want any rumors spreading about your impending pregnancy."

"Thank you, we can't fucking have that shit spreading," Victoria says. "I'd have to get pregnant, then."

"You're slipping up," I say. "But enough stalling, I need to make sure some Goddesses are getting their punishment. I don't know why I thought killing them would be enough of a punishment. I just wasn't creative enough, I suppose."

"Killing a Goddess sounds a lot easier than punishing one," Nanoka says. "I don't even know how you would contain a Goddess, let alone give her a worthy punishment. You did the right thing by killing them. We'll just have to trust that Death can help us out. I guess I have to move my tails now, since I'm the one slowing us down."

Her tails move to reveal the private room that the Priestesses gave us. Victoria picks me up again, and we start walking out, with a Priestess following along. Should I be getting carried as the Queen? If anyone complains, I can just kill them.

I'm threatening to kill people too much. But they will have to live with me getting carried around. It's nice being in Victoria's arms—Geta's are nice, too. Elora would work as well, but I need to get her pregnant again. Vanya needs a hug, and will have to give birth before I can figure out how good she is at holding me.

"Did they kick everyone out?" I ask.

"We did," the Priestess says. "We didn't know what would happen, and Fertility was completely focused on you anyway. It would be better for them to come back later when our Goddess is ready to listen to them. Fertility will be kind to those that we sent away, don't worry, Empress Alzi."

"That's good," I say. I'm glad they're figuring out that I don't want to disrupt others. I'm sure it's going to be a lot harder to manage that while being the Empress.

Nakuma didn't stick around, it seems. Just Geta and Kou are waiting for us outside the door.

"Hello, My Empress," Kou says. "I'm sorry for not following you here. Speed was important."

"It's fine," I say. "I wasn't really paying attention to anything anyway."

"Hello, Alzi," Geta says. "I can't say what Death is doing, but she may have saved enough of the Goddesses' souls to punish them. It just depends on what she wants to do."

"It's time to find out," I say.

"Off we go, then," Nanoka says before we appear in the scary crypt. Kou immediately opens the door, and another Priestess is waiting for me.

"This way, Your Empress," the Priestess says.

So even the crypts have private rooms. I wonder if Hearth will pull out a special room for me. Or maybe the Priestess's bedroom is the special room. I doubt she brings people back there often.

"I hope your visit is fruitful," the Priestess says. "Death is very thankful to you, Your Empress. I'm sure she is willing to help you."

"I hope so," I say. Have I really done that much to help her? Or does she really like Geta? Well, it's time to see if she's willing to see me.

"Of course I am willing to see you, Alzi," Death says.

Death's room hasn't changed—scary shadows, terrible blue lights, and only one soft surface.

"I'm glad you're able to think things through," Death says. "What brings you here?"

"What is happening to Justice?" I ask. "She's a real bitch and needs more than just a quick death."

"Well, we can talk about that," Death says. "But I think we have other things to discuss first. Like some things that Dragon helped you with?"

"The Goddesses have fucked me over enough," I say. "I can go against them a bit."

"Not even going to try to hide it?" Death chuckles. "I suppose that is the smart move. It makes it easy to move past the issue. You didn't tell anyone else the steps, right?"

"No," I say. Are we really going to talk about this? It was only the one time.

"Good, then I would say that is settled. Unless you plan to tell others about it?"

"I don't," I say. At least, not anymore.

"Good, we can't have too many people cheating death. Now, let us talk about what you want," Death says. "Time for a little trip."

She brings me to another room, with three glowing orbs at the far end of it.

"These are what you wanted to talk about, I believe," Death says. "Sex, Nature, and Justice. Enough to be tortured."

"What do I need to do for you to do it? Or can I?" I ask.

"You can't do it yet," Death says, hugging me from behind. "Maybe eventually. Maybe they're already being tortured?"

"Why?"

"Geta's pregnant," Death says. "She isn't good at expressing herself. Not when she doesn't know what you think of her. But she's been quite happy with you lately. You got her pregnant, which I'm happy about as well. You let her take part in a massive death ritual. She's been around you a lot. She got to mess with Yzzorres. Geta's happy. I'm happy as well. I'm a little annoyed about what you did with Aya. Geta did tattle a bit on you. I'm sorry about that, but she knew I wouldn't do anything about it. But you brought me three women I thought I would never get, and I haven't had a mass death like you brought about since War cursed the world. If we balance the scales, you're easily in good standing. Otherwise, I might have just let them fade away, like Poison."

"Geta was happy to be in the ritual?" I ask. "It was meant to be a punishment."

"She felt pain," Death says, pulling me into her lap. "But she's a Valkyrie of Death. How could she not be honored to participate in a ritual that her Goddess is a part of, and kills scores of beasts while women are dying by the hundreds? It was a good day for us. The pain was just a blip. She hasn't felt pain often, so it was a struggle for her, but the positives outweighed the negatives."

"I didn't think that through, then," I say. "Have I paid enough to have them tortured?"

"Yes," Death says. "There's no need to bend me over. Do you want to hear their screams? They're a bit annoying, so I've silenced them, but we can let their screams out for a bit."

"Please."

"Just for a bit," Death says. "It may hurt your soul if you listen for too long. I'll protect your babies from the noise."

"Thank you," I say. I really can't keep a single secret from these women. Kitsune spilling the plan to kill the Goddess, Geta telling her Goddess about me breaking the rules. Well, there is something I'm hiding. But what is it?

"We have a lot of ways to find things out," Death says. "But it is impressive that you're able to keep a secret. Whoever is protecting your mind has put a lot of effort into it."

"Too much," I say. "Screams, please."

"Very well," Death says.

I don't really hear the screams. It's more of a feeling. My entire body is vibrating with the pain. It's a bit painful, but that's just an echo of the pain the three orbs are in.

"Your soul is doing better than I thought it would," Death says. "It seems our meddling is starting to cause changes. But we should stop. There's no need to find out how strong you are. When you're done changing, you can come back and listen more. I've had some problems with Justice for a while, so I have no problem with torturing her. Nature is just as bad, abusing her silly status and giving the elder Goddesses a bad name. She did bring about a lot of death, but her antics got old. Sex, I don't have many problems with, but I'm happy to torture her for you. Just promise you won't be spreading the knowledge that undermines my power."

"I won't," I say. It's a little empty, not feeling their pain anymore, but that's probably better for me. Still, it's great to know that they are being punished. "Thank you."

"I'm happy to help," Death says. "You've brought me a strange joy. Life, coming from a being of death. Quite a funny pairing. It's no secret that you're on the path to becoming a Goddess. Most aren't willing to say what you'll become, but I'm seeing two paths for you, probably because they appear to be the opposite of me. Goddess of Life, or Mothers. Think about what you wish to become, and focus on that. Let it fill your mind. Either one would be fitting for you, and I think you would find a lot of joy in the position. It'll be interesting to see what happens to your lovers when you ascend. All the others have been alone, like the dryad or Yzzorres. I doubt you have much trouble imagining Justice being all alone. I'll hand your lovers over to you if they do end up in my territory. I hope we can work together in the future."

"Thanks," I say. "It does scare me, thinking about what is going to happen. It feels nice having some idea of what to expect."

"Happy times are coming for you," Death says. "Just work through this moment. It feels like it won't end, but you just have to trust that it will. I don't see any other secrets that will hurt you. That doesn't mean it'll be easy for you, but I believe you've faced the worst of it."

"I hope so," I say. "I don't think I can take much more."

"You're stronger than you think you are. I can't think of another mortal who would be willing to sit in Death's lap."