The Birth of the New World

Sky

Groggy and dried mouthed, my head feeling heavy and my muscles weak, I slowly open my eyes as my mind comes back from a dreamless sleep. I am greeted to white ceiling tiles filling my vision, confusion hitting me as I try to figure out where I am. Before I can even start to process what is happening around me, I can hear as someone lets out a relieved breath, a quivering voice speaking my name.

“Sky, oh thank goodness, you’re awake. I don’t know what I would have done if you… I, I, I don’t even…”

Slowly shifting my heavy head, I look to my side and find Lain, sitting, or more like huddled up, on a chair as she holds herself, her knees tucked into her chest and held tight as she shakes with worry. Her face if tearstained and tired, her eyes puffy and red as she looks down at me.

“Hi~” I say, groggy and smiling as my brain is still kicking itself into gear, more of my surroundings slowly coming into focus around me as I’m starting to realize that I am in a hospital room, a comfy pillow beneath my head and warm sheets over my body.

Why am I in a hospital, or no, is this the research facility? Did something- Oh, no, wait…

My memories come back to me, back to just before I passed out in her arms as we made violent love in the sky. How her claws had felt buried in my flesh and the pleasure of her drinking my blood. I can’t help but blush as that wonderful moment comes back to me, getting to reexperience that joy again as I go other it again and again in my head.

Giggling, the only thing I can think to say is just another, “Hi~” as I look at the love of my life. Reaching out an arm towards her, wanting nothing more than to hold her and love her, I watch as she reaches out a hand to receive mine but pulls away at the last moment, returning to holding herself as she shakes. Confused, I watch as she looks down and cries, tears falling fresh from her eyes as her scaled tail wraps around her person, shortly followed by her new wings turning her into a feathered cocoon.

“Lain?”

She doesn’t answer, continuing to shake and cry as all I can see is the top of her head poking out from behind her wings, her beautiful crown of six white horns moving with every hitched breath that escapes her.

“Lain, what’s wrong?”

Looking down at my outstretched arm, I see my olive skin and the white lines that now runs down its length. Pulling my arm back, I can’t help but marvel at the view. Scars. Small and already faded, nothing but faint white lines, but scars, nonetheless. Tracing over them with a finger, I can see exactly where her claws had been, imagining each finger gliding over my skin as she had torn into my unconscious body.

“Beautiful~”

I can’t help but to say it as I look over and admire every mark that I can find on my arms. Lain looks up from where she was hiding, giving me a surprised look as tears are still on her cheeks.

“Sky… I hurt you… I…”

I just nod my head and smile, “Hmhm, you did. It was wonderful. Please, do it agai-”

Lain practically falls out of her chair, collapsing to her knees as she hurriedly crawls over to me, her hands moving to grab my own in a panic.

“No Sky! Please don’t ask me to do that! I can’t do that again. I can’t let myself do that again! We can’t. I almost killed you!”

“But you didn’t, and you weren’t in control of yourself. It’s ok.”

“IT’S NOT OK!” She yells, her eyes looking frighted as she breathes heavily, her eyes looking panicked. Glancing behind her, I can see her tail and wings lashing out with agitation, her chair getting knocked aside and clattering into the radiator by the window. It’s only now that I realize that it is daytime, perhaps midday? How long have been out?

Still, my lover is clearly panicked, and I need her to calm down. I love being there for her when she is emotional, being able to support her, but I don’t want to see her being this stressed.

“Lain, it’s going to ok. Everything is fine. I wanted you to do it. It made me happy.”

“But that doesn’t make it right! That doesn’t make it ok for me to hurt you like that, to do what I did! It doesn’t mater if I wasn’t in control, I promised to take care of you, to be responsible and make you happy!”

“You made me very happy last night~” I say, letting my voice carry just a taste of the pleasure I experienced.

I had hoped that flirting might help her a bit, but she just has a hard look on her face, her eyes going to the floor and then to her own hands as her wings and tail suddenly go limb and collect on the floor in a tired heap. I think I can see disgust in her eyes as she gazes at her own fingers, where now, instead of claws, I only now find regular black fingernails like that of a human’s.

Where did her claws go?

Slowly, she opens her mouth and speaks, her words coming out heavy like they are weighing on her tongue.

“Sky… You’ve been asleep for two weeks. You went into a coma shortly after I brought you here due to extreme blood loss and oxygen deprivation.”

“What?”

“We weren’t sure if you would even wake up. Your brain… The doctor wasn’t sure if you could recover. We were lucking that your people were willing to donate blood to save you, but… Sky, I thought I was going to lose you. I thought that I had killed you…”

I’m shocked, to put it mildly. The thought that I was asleep for so long… Had she stayed by my side the entire time?

I ask her this and she just nods. Slowly working though her emotions, Lain takes a deep breath and then tells me about everything that has happened while I was out.

To start, she really hasn’t left my side once except to use the restroom that is attached to my room. So, everything that has been going on, she knows through others coming and telling her.

First, and most importantly, her family is safe and ok. They were at the hospital, so while they were scared and shaken by everything that had happened, they are all ok. Their house didn’t survive the earthquakes though, so they will be moving in with us sooner than planned.

As for the base, the expansions, other people’s homes and businesses. The place is in shambles. There is still enough food to last everyone the winter, most of it having been stored in safe warehouses and bunkers for emergencies, but the destruction was immense and widespread. People had died, nearly voiding her contract with the humans, but it is still holding because the vast majority of them are still safe, for the better part of the word.

Her Demons and the soldiers worked to rescue people from under rubble and collapsed houses, many of them having been people hiding in their basements.

But right now, people are safe.

Lain is even using her newfound powers to hold back the winter now, her Field now completely covering the entirety of the island and keeping it warm like an early spring. Which is something that initially takes me by surprise. The fact that we are now on an island…

Slowly, I remember that Lain had been destroying the land around the base, tearing away great swaths of earth. Although the process is slow, the great chasm that she had dug out is actually filling with water. It might take a couple of months, but eventually, we will be living on a rather large lake…

Apparently, news of this has spread and most people don’t know what to think about it. On one side, we no longer have to worry about the endless hordes of monsters attacking our walls anymore. Unless they can swim or fly, no monsters will be able to attack us. We are safe… On the other, people are apparently very scared.

They are realizing just how dangerous Lain truly is now. They realize that any moment, that if she wanted to, she could kill them all and there is nothing that any of them can do to stop her.

People are panicked and scared, but they don’t know what to do. Should they leave? Where would they go? It is a deadly winter beyond the island, and it is only Lain’s power that is keeping people from freezing to death right now without their homes. Should they riot and demand her head? They can’t. How can they force her to do anything? How can they hurt her? And even if they could, she is the one person currently keeping them all alive…

With anger and even more self-hate, she tells me more.

Apparently, some very desperate and stupid people had already tried to target her family and take them hostage, but her Demons had stopped and killed them in a very public manner before anything bad could happen, making it very obvious what would happen to anyone that tried. Lain hasn’t even thought to try and keep her Demons from overreacting like this, having been far too worried about me, simply letting them do as they want… She didn’t even think that her Demons would go so far as kill people to protect her family. They should have gone for nonlethal, she tells me, but even the Army isn’t trying to stop them. Maybe even the Army is scared of what she would do if her family got hurt?

Other people, in a surprising, but also sort of expected twist, have turned to worship apparently. They saw what Lain is capable of and if they hadn’t been convinced before, they are now under the impression that she is some kind of Goddess. Again, Lain hasn’t bothered to try and stop any of this from happening. As long as her family is safe, she had no plans to move from my side.

In regard to the military and the council… To put it simply, they are pissed with her. Some want to shift all the blame onto her head, while others are arguing that they need her more than ever. The only thing they can agree on is that Lain has to be punished in some way, and she has agreed to abide by whatever decision they make, so long as it only negatively affects her and her alone.

I want to argue with her at this, say that she protected everyone, but Lain won’t budge on this. She tells me that those in charge are just trying to keep everything from falling apart, from people rioting and tearing apart what little peace we have, and if she has to be the scapegoat, then she will do it…

“Well, besides that, there isn’t much else important that is going on. Our house survived, so we have that at least… I hope you don’t mind, but Sam will be moving in along with Gra and Vivviv.”

“Hm? Who is Gra and Vivviv?”

“A couple of Goblin prisoners that I promised to help… They are good girls and will only be staying with us for a while until I can find them a place to live.” She says with a weak wave of her hand.

“You know that I don’t like Goblins, right?” I ask her, confused why she would want to have anything to do with those hellish things.

“I know, and I’m sorry, I’m sorry... But I gave them my promise. I’ll make sure that they behave while they’re with us.” She apologizes as she is looking even more depressed and like a beaten dog than she already was.

Pushing aside my feelings about the Goblins because I just want her to be happy. I reach over and grab her hands from where she kneels beside my bed.

“Lain, it’s ok. Everything is going to be ok.”

She just looks up at me, her beautiful eyes of gold and fire looking so full of sadness and self-loathing.

“Sky… How can any of this be ok? I hurt you, and because I wasn’t good enough, people died. People have lost their homes, again, when they were finally getting some semblance of a normal life rebuilt here. And then I show up and everything goes to shit… The Goblins attacked us because they came for me. I shouldn’t have taken so long to kill their King. Instead of fucking around in the woods like a psychopath, I should have just killed him and hurried back. I should have never given him the chance to get that close. I should have been able to keep control over myself! I should have been able to stop myself from hurting you!”

As she is crying, I shift myself in my bed and try to sit up some. Lain, seeing what I am doing, quickly moves to help and adjust my pillows despite her tears. Part of me wants to giggle, watching her fret over me despite her current state. I want to pull her onto my lap and pet her head, but I know that she probably won’t let me right now.

Reaching over, I set a hand on her head, her hair feeling oily like she hasn’t washed in a while, and pet her. My fingers move to touch her new horns and examine them, playing with their ivory surface and poking at their pointed tips. I don’t say anything until she finally calms down, her gaze returning to me as she seems to be questioning what is going on. Does she want me to admonish her? To blame her or agree with her that everything bad that had happened is somehow her fault?

I won’t.

“Sky?” She asks as she looks up at me, confused and sad and beaten and tired and looking like her world is collapsing around her.

“Lain, you don’t have to be perfect.”

She blinks, hurriedly opening her mouth as she says, “Yes, I do! If I’m not, then I could hurt people, I have hurt people! If I’m not-”

I stop her by putting a finger to her lips, the simple action bringing her words to a grinding halt as her teeth quiver so close to my finger, looking like she is holding back the urge to nibble on me. Just like her fingernails, her teeth look different than when I last saw them. They are still sharp looking things, but they are no longer the same mouth full of long canines that had lovingly sunk into the meat of my shoulder.

I speak softly and look directly into her eyes. “Lain. You don’t have to be perfect.”

She tries to speak again, but I move my hand to cover her mouth. She could easily move my hand out of the way, especially with how weak I am right now, but she obediently stops.

“You don’t have to be perfect. I know how much you hold back around people. How easy it would be for you to accidentally hurt people. I know it from your touch just how much effort you put into keeping yourself under control, how you always keep your Field tucked away inside yourself, so you won’t scare people. I know how much you practice every night so you can control your power. Every night that you aren’t with me, I know that you are alone and working to make yourself better without rest. Even if you don’t let other people see it, I know how hard you work. I’m not going to admonish you or punish you. You should know better than that about me by now. I’ve already told you that if you were to decide to be evil and take over the world, that I would stand by your side happily and help. I know that you are beating yourself up for hurting me, but I want you to hurt me, and I know that you do too.”

She try’s to shake her head no, her eyes looking scared, but I just smile and pet her lovingly.

“Lain, yes, you could have killed me, but you didn’t. I can heal now, can’t I? Just like you? These scars, there is no way that they would be this faded already if I couldn’t heal. I’m becoming like you. You can hurt me all you want, and I’ll just heal. I’ll get stronger and stronger until you won’t have to worry any longer. Until you won’t have to hold back and can break me over and over again, because I want you to do it.”

She quickly pulls my hand away, her expression looking frightened.

“Sky, no! We can’t, it’s not normal! It’s not sane! I shouldn’t… We shouldn’t want that!”

I just raise an eyebrow at that.

“Says who? Who is going to stop us? Last I checked, I’m an Empress and you are probably one of the most powerful people in the world. We aren’t even humans, Lain. We didn’t even fit into the mold of what people consider to be ‘normal’ from the beginning. You and I aren’t even the same species. Why should we care if our love isn’t sane? Let’s be crazy together. I love you and want to accept you for everything that you are. Not just the parts that people consider to be normal. If I wanted that, I would be with a Kobold right now, not the Demon Queen.”

She flinches a bit as I call her that. I know that she hates it, but I need her to know that I am serious when I say that we are different from everyone else. Regardless of how she wants to be seen, she knows full well what she actually is. I want Lain to be herself, not the Lain that people want her to be.

“Sky, we shouldn’t…” She tries.

I give her a frown and flick her on the forehead. Her skull is so hard that it ends up hurting my finger a bit, but I don’t let it show.

Moving my aching body, my bones and muscles still exhausted and in need of more rest, I reach up and pull my patients gown off, exposing my bare body to her.

My body is covered in her scars. White lines run down my ribs, puncher marks dotting my breasts, scars from her teeth are marking my collar bone and shoulder like hickeys from a long kiss. Even now, I can still feel where her claws had dug into and down my back, the weight of her love pressed against my body. Each and every scar, no matter how big or small, prominent or faded, I look them over with love and adoration in my heart, my finger tracing over their lines like I am examining a piece of art.

I return my gaze to my lover and find her staring. Her eyes are locked on my body, a look of shame on her face as I find her blushing and ogling my body like a horny teenager. She looks like she wants to pull herself away, but she just can’t stop looking.

“Lain?” I ask her casually. “Do you find me beautiful?”

She swallows, a shiver running down her back as a frightened look wars for control on her face. Her lips quivering, she answers me, being wholly unable to lie to me.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

I give her a smile and reach out my hands to her face, cupping her cheeks in my palm as I pet her with my thumbs, whipping away hot tears as they run from her eyes.

“I’m happy, Lain. You make me very happy.” I tell her lovingly.

Gently pulling on her, I guide her into climbing onto my bed from where she was kneeling, coaxing her forward and into the sheets beside me. With her head resting on my shoulder and my lips kissing her forehead, nose buried in her messy hair, I pull her into my embrace and hold her with all the love I can convey.

I hold her in my arms for who knows how long, time simply passing by as I let her cry in my arms. Once she finally calms down some, I whisper into her ear, “Lain, I love you.”

She sniffs, swallowing back some tears as she nuzzles into me. “I love you to. But we’re crazy, Sky… Insane…”

“That’s ok, we can be crazy together, forever. Can you promise me that we will do it again, when I am stronger, and you don’t have to worry too much?”

“Sky…”

“Promise me, please? We can wait until I can heal faster, like you, but I want to do it again. I want all of you.” I whisper into her ear.

She nuzzles into me deeper, her body shaking against mine, but I can also feel it as she heats up a bit. I know that she wants it to. She is just so desperate to hold herself back.

Eventually, she answers. “Only when you get stronger? You won’t ask me to do it again until then, right? You won’t try to push me into doing something I’ll regret, right? Please…?”

Giggling, I hold her head and rub our horns together. “I promise. Not until I am strong enough. I can wait until then.”

She holds me just a bit tighter, her tears flowing again as some strange mix of emotions escapes her. She probably doesn’t even understand them all herself, but I can sense some relief mixed in.

Giving her a poke on the cheek, I get her to look up at me, her tear-soaked eyes looking utterly adorable to me right now.

“Hey, Lain?”

“What?”

“Let’s get married.”

I have to hold back a laugh as I see the moment that the gears in her head suddenly lock up. Eventually, she blinks and reboots like a computer, her mind finally latching on and understanding and processing my request.”

“Married?”

“Yes. I’m getting tired of waiting for you to propose, and I want to make us official before anything else can get in the way. By my people’s standard, we are already a mated pair, but I want to do things by your customs as well. When do you want the wedding to be?”

“I… Uh… In the Spring? I like Spring, but Summer would probably be better… Wait, wait, wait! I wanted to be the one to propose though!”

“Yes, but when were you planning on doing it?”

“Well, I… I was waiting for a good time to do it. I wanted something memorable.”

“I would call this pretty memorable.”

She gives me a sad look. “Laying in a hospital bed after making a huge mistake?”

“Yes, and I hope that we make plenty of mistakes together in the future~” I tease.

“… If one of use was a guy, that statement would be messed up.”

“Hmhmhm~ So, is that a yes? You want to get married?” I ask her again as I pet her hair.

She gives me a little smile and nods. “Yes. Yes, I want to marry you. I love you, Sky.”

I lean down and give her a kiss on lips, pulling her further into my embrace as our tails wrap around each other under the sheets.

“I’m glad. We’ll get though everything together, Lain. Don’t worry, I’ll be by your side the whole way.”

She nods, blushing fiercely and looking very happy, but her head is looking heavy like she is close to passing out.

“When was the last time you rested? You look exhausted.” I ask her, feeling very tired myself right now.

“You know I can’t sleep…”

“Yes, but you still need rest. How long has it been?”

“… Not since the fight. Not while you were…”

“Shhhh~ It’s ok now. You can rest. Close your eyes and cuddle with me. Just let me hold you in my arms and love you. Rest my love, I am here for you.”

“Mhm… Ok… Just for a little while… I just wish that I could sleep…”

Closing her eyes, Lain rests her weight against me, our two bodies held together under the warm sheets as sunlight courses into the room. With my fingers gently combing through her long hair, her breathing slowly becomes more and more rhythmic, matching my own as my own exhaustion starts to catch up with me, my conscious mind slowly being lolled back into the sweat embrace of sleep as I hold my love in my arms.

Before I fully let go and give in to my body’s desire for more sleep, I give Lain one last look, touching her shoulder lightly.

“Lain, are you actually sleeping?”

She doesn’t respond, only the calming sounds of her rhythmic breathing and the slow beat of her heart in her chest being her response.

With a little sleepy smile, I give her a kiss and close my eyes.

“Goodnight, Wife.”