Mad God

The first rays of the sun just shone through the windows, illuminating the spacious bedroom. The walls were decorated by tall bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling, and the marble floor tiles were crafted to give out the symbol of a golden dragon. A man, looking around 30, with long, jet-black hair and sapphire eyes, was just standing up from the four-person bed. His body was defined and well-built, and as he put on a golden-white silk robe, his aura gave off a domineering feeling without consciously releasing it. He slowly walked towards the window, pulling the silk curtains away and taking in the view of the city, breathing in the morning air with the flavor of fresh rain-soaked pastures. Behind him, on the bed, a frail silhouette moved, pulling up the white blanket, over her naked torso, stretching her limbs under it in a relaxed fashion giving off satisfied, soft moans.

“Is it a boy or a girl?” he asked, and a voice from nowhere answered. At first, it scared the young woman on the bed, stopping her from moving, even forgetting to take a breath, like when an animal felt the presence of a dangerous predator. 

“A girl.”

“Good. Enact the plan accordingly.”

“As you order, my Emperor.”

When the presence was gone, Aerthus IX flashed a satisfied smile before closing the window and climbing back to his bed, and soon happy giggling echoed out of the emperor’s chamber. 

…

….

…..

“What did you say, Hal?!”  Xendar roared, slamming his hand on the breakfast table, almost breaking it into pieces, standing up, blowing hot air out of his nose while his aura surged like a flooding river. 

“Dear, calm down! You are scaring Ren!” Anya said in a slightly aggrieved tone, holding her daughter close to her chest, but Ren was interested in watching them, more precisely, her father’s reaction. 

“The announcement came from the palace right after we announced Lady Ren’s birth to the public.”

“That horny fu-”

“XenXen…” Anya interrupted him immediately, before he could finish.

“Tsk… That slimy bas-”

“Xendar, not in front of the child!”

“But he is! She is not a day old, and that harem lover is already engaging her with his youngest son?! What goes through his head besides getting into his maids’ panties?!”

“This is still one of the better outcomes,” Hal spoke up, silencing his master.

“Still… it's too soon.” Xendar bit into his lips.

“Yes, it is. But at least we… She is safe.” Anya whispered, kissing Ren’s head. “Both of us know that the imperial power is absolute, and it does not allow competition.”

“Like I care about ruling the empire, too much hassle, and He also knows this! For crying out loud, we grew up together, I helped him against his brother to successfully claim the throne!” 

“My Lord, this is still just an engagement, not marriage. We can use this to gain time and let Lady Ren grow up safe and sound.”

“B-but how dare he-” Xendar fumed, unable to release his anger.

“Calm down, XenXen.” Anya said while she stood up and walked to her husband’s side. She was tiptoeing to reach his face and gave a sweet, small peck on his lips that, like a fairy’s wand, made his anger disappear like it was never there before. “The fourth prince, Leinor, is only two years old.” 

“How can you always stay so calm…?” Xendar sighed, hugging his wife and daughter. 

“Someone has to balance you out, no?” Anya giggled. “Anyway, it’s still a long time until this comes into effect, and even if they marry in the future, your daughter will be a princess or a queen and then maybe the mother of the next Aerthus!”

“Huh? My dear mother, where were you raised? Honestly… if that Airpuss, or what is his name, would hear you, I think he would change his course of action… Anyway, who said I would be interested in ruling an Empire? Father is right. It’s boring, and headache-inducing… roaming the world and exploring the unknown is much more fun!”

“If my daughter doesn’t want to marry his son, nobody can make her do it! Not even him!” Xendar said, looking at Ren, who was still immersed in her little inner monologue while ignoring her parents. 

“Yes, yes, we will talk about it when the day comes, now sit down, and let's finish our breakfast! After that, we need to bring little Ren to the palace to be seen by the Emperor and then blessed at the church of Nilier.”

“Nilier?” Ren asked in her head as she looked up at her mother and her reaction to the name caught her parents’ attention.

“Hey, I was thinking, isn’t she a little… off? I, I mean, my Dear-” Xendar said quickly after seeing his wife’s darkening expression as soon as he started speaking. “I mean, she doesn’t cry, and when we talk, she just listens, looking at us. Sometimes I swear I feel like she understands us!” 

“As much as you talk, I wouldn't be surprised. While she was still in my tummy, you talked her ears off! Who was the one who was lying next to my stomach every night, reading fables, huh?”

“True. At least I learned the language before coming out. Thanks, Dad. But you never mentioned Nilier… So this is her territory? Oh my… this is going to be interesting.” 

“Maybe you are right!” Xendar nodded. “Look at her! Her little eyes are moving like yours when you think about something!”

“Of course, she is just as smart as her mother!” Anya said proudly, holding Ren closer to her bosom, “But enough! Let's get back to breakfast!” 

…

….

…..

“Ahaha, congratulations, my friend!” The emperor laughed happily while Xendar and Anya kneeled before him under the steps of the golden throne.

Ren was lying in her mother’s arms, looking up at the golden-robed man sitting above them, looking down, and it awoke a similar, long-forgotten feeling in her. 

“Huh… this… feels familiar. This was the same feeling I had when I stepped on that road so long ago….”

“Oh? Look, she smiles at me! Ahaha, oh my, oh my!” The Emperor clapped happily, waving at the newborn baby with a gentle smile.

“Every subject would feel happy when meeting with their emperor,” Anya said while holding her daughter closer to herself, not raising her head.

“I guess so. Anyway, you already received the imperial edict, so I won’t take your time anymore, but sometimes please do come over. It was so long ago, Xendar, that we had a night out!”

“Yeah, the last time we did hang out, you ended up with two new harem members, and I was left there with one or two broken ribs!” Xendar murmured, and some imperial guards in the throne room flinched at his comment while Anya kneeled there motionless.

“Bwahahaha, true, true! Ahh… those were the days! Come on! We have known each other for what… 60 years now? Even if I became the emperor, I'm still your friend! In public, you may act like this, but we are alone here, come, raise your head, and look at me.”

Anya tried to look at her husband, but Xendar slowly raised his head, looking up at Aerthus IX. 

“Thought so. No wonder I've felt like this since morning. I knew someone was uttering my name over and over again. Is it because of marriage?” Aerthus IX sighed softly.

“Engagement. It's not a marriage yet.”

“Geez, relax, Xendar, it's not like I asked for your newborn’s hand for myself.” just as he said that the whole palace started to shake, and Xendar’s hair was dancing behind him like a furious lion’s mane. The guards readied their pikes, taking a semi-circle around them, but Aerthus waved at them while he stood up from the throne. “You are still quick to light your fuse, my friend. How do you manage him?” he asked while looking down at Anya.

“He is a good husband, my Lord.”

“I see. What threshold are you at?”

The question rang out between the jade pillars of the still-shaking palace, and Ren was looking at her father with bright eyes, trying to feel his billowing aura even though Xendar made sure Anya and Ren were safe from his powers.

“It seems like father has almost finished refining his body and just needs to open up his… wait… no, this is weird. This shouldn’t be the case. He is leaking energy from his body, he shouldn’t have any stored inside if he has not opened up his spirit yet, and you couldn’t open up your mind if your body weren’t ready to withstand it.'' 

It was the first time Anya saw her baby furrow her thin eyebrows while the little one looked up at Aerthus. Her husband’s words from morning rang inside her head. Looking at her daughter, she was amazed by the reaction, but Ren completely missed this as she was focused on the emperor.

“It looks like the change is bigger than I anticipated. They cultivate in a different system than I did. They already have energy inside their bodies before finishing their own transformation… and this energy is much purer. It carries the scent of raw, pure power. Good! Good! No wonder they devised a different system! Oh my, I can't wait to start again!”

It was that moment when Xendar answered, not with words, but with a punch. His fist shot out like a thunderstrike on a summer day, with the same ferocity and sound. Aerthus received the punch with his own, and the sound the two meeting fists made was like when someone struck a giant bell with the might of a demigod. Anya immediately raised a protective bubble around herself with her powers, neutralizing the incoming force, silently watching her husband and emperor glaring at each other. 

“Ahaha, good, Xendar! I expect nothing less from my greatest General! You are a step away from stepping into the Harmony realm! Great! You just need to withstand the tribulation from Heaven and synchronize your body and spirit. Do that, and our Empire shall have another legend born into its ranks! Now I'm entirely sure about the engagement! Bwaha- ugh!”

“FUCK. YOU!” Xendar’s answer was simple, accompanied by a well-placed headbutt right into the emperor’s nose bridge. The whole throne room went silent at that moment. The guards were standing in motion, frozen like ice statues. The only sounds that remained were the emperor’s groaning and Xendar’s breathing as he tried to calm himself down. 

“Maaaan, your head is still as hard as a ram’s. No wonder you refined that first!” Aerthus moaned, rubbing his face, cracking his nose back to place but still wearing a grin. “This brings back memories….” He sighed, and it had a tinge of lonely nostalgia in it.

“I…”

“No harm done, Xendar.” he said while signaling the guards to go back to their places while he patted his General’s shoulder before sitting down. Now, the much more relaxed Xendar went back to the golden stairs’ bottom, kneeling next to his wife, keeping his head down while Aerthus acted as if nothing had happened.

“Interesting. It seems Airpuss is above father, yet father’s power is more explosive, resulting in that draw. I need to know more about what else has changed. Maybe I can combine it with the old ways and devise another, even better system.” It was the first time Ren felt like laughing from her excitement, so when her little giggle echoed in the chamber, everyone was looking at her. 

“Ahahaha, it seems your daughter liked the little show we gave her! No wonder knowing who her father is!” Aerthus IX cracked a grin.

“My apologies, Lord. I’ll talk with my husband when we get home.” Anya said.

“Don’t worry about it, and come on, call me by name. I’ve known you since Xendar started pursuing you! Wasn’t it me who played the matchmaker between you two at first? Haaah… okay, okay, I'll stop here before ol’ XenXen blows his top again! Court dismissed!”

“Yes.” everyone replied instantly, as they were cut off from any reply by the power of his words. 

Anya and Xendar just stood up, leaving the palace, and when they were in their carriage, Anya gave a hard twist on Xendar’s ear.

“Yeaow!!!! Easy, easy!!! You’re gonna tear it off!!! Dear!!!!” 

“Father sounds like a eunuch right now… “yeaow”? What is that?” Ren giggled, but Anya was too occupied to notice by clamping down on her husband’s hearing apparatus. Consequently, Xendar also focused on not losing one of his body parts. 

“I’m sorry for doing that. I won't do that again! I swear!”

“I told you not to swear in front of our daughter, you big ox!” she said, fuming, but her words did draw a spectacular expression from both her husband and daughter.

“Huh?” “Huh?”

“No swearing! What was that back then?! What would you do if her first words were that?!”

“You mean… so not because… You know…”

“No. That was… so awesome!” she moaned, leaning closer, then giving a passionate kiss to her husband, even forgetting they were sandwiching their daughter between their bodies.

“Ugh… Daaad…. Moooom… I'm getting squashed here… hello? Air, I still need air! Uuugh….”