SON OF THE HERO KING

When Sol closed his eyes, he felt as though his consciousness was being tugged somewhere far away.

For an instant, he fought back, even thinking of cutting the line that was trying to pull his subconscious self to someplace else, a place he had an inkling of and loathed to visit. But, in the end, he decided against his impulses, against his rash rationale, fought against his wishes, and let his mind wander under the control of the third party.

He soon felt the sensation of his being sinking into the depths of the invader's transcendent control. He felt his mind get transmitted to the place that otherworldly force was trying to pull him towards.

…

…

…

When he opened his eyes this time, Sol found himself in a place he could easily recognize. The place he loathed. The one he had guessed. As expected of that meddlesome being.

He looked around, his voice calling the name of the being that summoned him,

“Goddess Luxuria?”

“You adapted pretty fast this time around.”

A barefooted woman stepped on the verdant green grass and slowly sashayed toward him. Sol could feel a barrage of intrusive thoughts trying to pull him down to the throes of lust and debauchery, but he easily swatted them aside. His mind wasn’t one to be easily swayed this time around.

“I noticed that you always call me after a session of lovemaking. Is that somehow related I wonder?”

Luxuria stopped for an extremely short instant when she saw how unbothered Sol was in her presence. Even though he was not directly looking at her face, she could feel that his mind was akin to a deep, vast, and unfathomably formidable mountain. Miles away from its former self.

It would be impossible to shake his mind without actively trying to put effort on her part. Knowing who she was, that thought alone was quite shocking in itself. It seems that her passive coercion that accompanied her divinity would be useless on him from now on.

Again, the fact was dumbfounding. Even though a Duke could strengthen their mind by obtaining their ‘Truth’, it did not mean that they had any way of resisting the coercion of a literal goddess. The minimum level required was a King. That too was a very tough task that could only be enacted through the usage of their Avatar.

Still, she showed none of the surprises she felt in her mind as she continued her walk seamlessly toward an apathetic Sol.

“My domain is Lust, after all, and you are my one and only Blessed. Though soon, the connection between the two of us will grow stronger.”

“You mean my coronation, I presume…”

“Indeed.”

As far as mortals knew, goddesses could only have up to two blessed at a single instance.

Goddesses of Virtues could have a Supreme Daughter and a Holy Daughter. With the Blessing of the Holy Daughter being inferior to their higher counterparts.

Goddesses of Sins could have a King and a Prince or a Queen and a Princess or any of the lesser combinations they desired.

Until now, despite the absence of his father, Sol had only been the Crown Prince of Lustburg.

But now that he went through his coming-of-age ceremony and signed a contract with a divine beast, he could officially sit on the Throne as the sole and unequivocal ruler of the entirety of the human race.

“I see.”

Sol showed no particular joy at hearing that news. This trip to the Astral Realm had allowed him to grow both in power and as a person.

He had learned so many things about the world he lived in and now he realized that the Mortal Realm, was not particularly important in the grand scheme of things.

As for obtaining a stronger blessing,

‘Heh, a tighter leash you mean, bastard goddess…’

“I can feel your dissatisfaction, child.”

Sol scoffed before shaking his head to shake off his dark thoughts, “I doubt this is the reason you called me here now, is it?”

He hated this place and how being in her presence felt like countless daggers were trying to stab and puncture holes in every part of his being. He realized that he was now able to block off the effects these eminent goddesses had on him but that did nothing to change the fact that he didn’t wish to stay at this abhorrent place for even a second longer.

“You are right. Do you remember our contract?”

“How can I forget about it? Of course, I remember. I reckon it’s about time to finish the terms…”

“Very well. It is indeed time to end this once and for all. If you succeed, I will not only give you the right to enter the Astral realm as you wish. However… There’s a bonus for you. I will even allow you to step into the Divine Realm as per your wishes.”

Sol felt his mouth go dry from that fact alone. The Divine Realm— A place no mortal alive had ever managed to step foot in, not even his father, nor the queen of chimeras, not even the enigmatic Anubis.

This was the deal of the century. But, at the same time, he knew for certain that this ordeal she was about to hand over would be anything but easy…

“What is the trial?”

Luxuria smiled— an enigmatic smile that would’ve probably made Sol’s skin crawl with apprehension if he were to be able to see her face.

“It’s simple really. Do what your ancestor, Jupiter, could not— Conquer the Mortal Realm for your goddess.”

———

When Sol opened his eyes again, he could feel himself being wrapped in luscious softness that could melt all of one’s worries away.

"Nef?"

"You are awake now, my Lord?”

Sol tried to sit up but he was promptly brought back to the heavenly softness of her chest with a firm movement of her hands.

“You should rest, your highness. Your body might be fine, but you were mentally tired by the previous events.”

Nefertiti gently whispered in his ears, never letting him out of her gentle embrace that she was enacting from behind.

Looking around, he could see that they were in the bedroom he had occupied in Kiyohime’s castle.

“Where are the others?”

“Bathing. We took turns cleaning and taking care of you, you see.”

Sol laughed merrily hearing her words. He was usually the one taking care of his lovers after a session of relentless romps. But it seemed that this time he could only let himself be spoiled by his lovers.

“My Lord…”

“What is the matter, Nef?”

“I just… I can feel that you are quite tense. Anything wrong?”

“Haaah~... It’s nothing. Let’s just say that I have received quite the nonsensical mission.”

Nefertiti smiled and caressed his hair, “No matter what happens, we will always be by your side.”

“Thank you, Nef.”

———

After resting for a short while, Sol stood up and was rejoined by Skuld and the others. He could feel that they were distinctly closer to each other than they had been in the past.

After all, the five of them did have some crazy moments that they shared not long ago. Not to mention the shared sense of pleasure that they received from each other in a very intimate way thanks to Nefertiti’s powers.

Once everyone was clothed, they walked to the terrace before flying down toward the first heaven. The place where Sol first appeared with Sheherazade and Nent.

It did not take long for others to arrive, Anubis, his wife, Nephthys, Verdandi, and even the empress— Tiamat.

“So… It seems like it’s time for me to go back. But we never really had the time to discuss this. What about you two? Will you follow me to the mortal realm?”

Nent gave a faint smile, some amount of longing was hidden underneath but it was still a firm and resolute smile that already gave Sol all the answers he needed. She promptly shook her head before speaking out her thoughts, “I need to go back home for a short while and verify that everything is okay. I also want to discuss some things with my mother for a short while. We have much to say to each other and it's about time that we had a heart-to-heart. Only then will I go down to join you.”

Sol nodded, understanding that Nent had many things she wanted to right. She also had to make things up with her children and more than anyone, her mother— Gabriel.

It was not the kind of work that could be rushed and he hoped that she would be able to close the chapter of her dark past and walk on a brighter and happier path.

Nefertiti also shook her head, “I wish to follow you, your highness, I really do. But I realized that coming with you to the Human kingdom would be useless. I would not be particularly useful there, maybe even a hindrance.”

She showed no depression or signs of inferiority as she conveyed those words. She had clear goals and would not be distracted by her low self-esteem, not anymore, “I already asked permission. I will be allowed to go down to the Elf Kingdom. I believe that that is the place where my talent will be the most beneficial for your goals.”

Elves were naturally drawn to and worshipped Dragons. Even half-dragons were beings of worship for them. Though of course to a lesser extent.

Nefertiti felt like Sol would need the help of the Elf kingdom sooner or later down the road and she wished that when he finally reached that place, he wouldn’t face people who worshipped dragons, but rather people who worshipped him and him alone.

She didn’t know what Sol’s goal would be but surely having a second kingdom under his control would be beneficial overall, right?

Sol could only laugh dumbfoundedly as the girl who was once acting like she was unworthy of even his grace was now talking about partially conquering a Kingdom for him.

Perhaps conquering the world would not be as hard as he thought.

If he won the war against the demi-humans and Setsuna became Blessed, he would obtain Wratharis.

With his identity and Nefertiti's power, it was not impossible to conquer Southern Pride.

Greed Dike, the dwarven kingdom, could be worked on with Theresa's help.

The human kingdom was already his.

Technically Nuwa was the Princess of Gluttony Foss.

The only true problem would be Envilya, the demon kingdom, and Slothein the flying cities of the Angels… But even then it wasn’t like he didn’t have a way to open their doors for him.

After all, Lilith and Lilin were related to Envilya and Chloe was the Holy Daughter of Slothein.

‘I wonder what it says about me when I just might conquer the world with only the help of my women.’

Sol laughed out loud, startling everyone present with his boisterous laugh. They felt clueless by his sudden bout of laughter but they didn’t question him for his actions.

He advanced toward Tiamat who was standing at the back of the lot and to her surprise, he hugged her fiercely with a powerful hug full of love and compassion.

“Thank you for everything, grandma.”

Tiamat had invested so much in him, far more than he could ever hope to convey in words. He felt like he could never be able to repay her to make up for her favors.

Tiamat had her hands up in the air, completely clueless about what to do with them in this situation. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to come up with something to do, but, in the end, she awkwardly wrapped her arms around him and reciprocated with a light hug.

“I told you to call me big sis.” She shook her head then gave a warm smile, “I am proud of everything you accomplished.”

She clearly wasn’t used to something like this. But Sol couldn’t help but chuckle at her words. He knew that this was a big step coming from her.

Taking a few steps back he approached Anubis and Nephthys, “I will keep my promise. I will take care of your daughter.”

“You better do. Otherwise, I might take your soul.”

Anubis grinned and playfully patted him on the back while uttering words that did not seem like a joke when coming from him— the king of the underworld. Nephthys just nodded to him with a smile and he nodded back and bowed toward them in the end, paying his respects to his in-laws.

Stopping in front of Skuld and Verdandi, he hugged Skuld in a fierce and passionate hug.

“This is just a simple goodbye.”

“I know. Even if you were to run to the end of the universe, I would still find you.”

Skuld also uttered quite words like the mad lunatic that she was but Sol was quite used to her lunacy already, so he just lightly kissed her on the cheeks and greeted the rest.

Once he exchanged his goodbyes with everyone, he opened his wings and flew high in the sky, accompanied by Isis.

“Where is Sheherazade?”

“I fused with her cocoon. It seems like even in this state the fusion is still possible.”

“Very well.”

Now high in the sky, Sol looked at the beautiful world all around him. An endless sea below stretched as far as his eyes could witness and innumerable stars covered the entire sky above.

It was such a beautiful sight. Something he was going to miss dearly.

“We had some crazy adventures, huh?”

Isis took his hand in hers and asked.

“Indeed. So much has happened in so little time.”

Even though six months went by, Sol felt as though it was just yesterday.

During those six months, he had meet many people, fought many battles, and even participated in a Divine war.

The weak boy who entered the Astral Realm was now a strong man who could stand proud no matter where he was.

The events he witnessed and participated in those six months went beyond what some could witness and experience in hundreds of years.

But his adventure was far from coming to its end…

“It’s time to go home.”

A chapter of his life would be closed in this instant, but a new chapter would begin soon.

He did not know where all of this would bring him. He did not know how this tumultuous journey of his would end.

But he would do his very best so that the last words of his story would be…

<<...And they lived happily ever after.>>

(EN: But will they??? Hmmm…. Food for thought….)