“I know we should make a barrier to protect the husband. But this is ridiculous.” Hethress.

“I know, but it makes sense. And in terms of a barrier. Although that’s not what we had imagined. What did he call it, even?” Meikosil.

“Deadly Star or Death Star... something like that.” Hethress.

The icy breeze of the altitude whipped against Hethress’s face as she stared at the horizon, she wrapped her coat around herself even more, her breed didn't handle low temperatures well.. The Death Star Fortress, her new home, glided silently above the clouds, an eight-pointed giant of earth and stone, 332 meters wide, 606 meters long and 514 meters high, inspired by the star fortresses of the 18th century that defied the laws of physics. Beside her, Meikosil, the second wife, observed the same landscape with an uneasy look. Both at the top of the central tower of the palace which is in the center of the fortification.

“It’s unimaginable, Meikosil. What was the name of the magic he used, again?” Hethress's voice held a tone of disbelief.

"Indeed, Hethress. There were several; Floating Island, Wish, throughout the days, until our final destination, he will use a series of spells; summon monster I, II, III, IV, permanency and Create Greater Demiplane on each of the points of the fortress's star." Meikosil gestured with her hands, expressing the magnitude of the feat. "My admiration for my husband only grows, to be chosen as his wife and future mother of his offspring, is the greatest feat of my life."

Hethress let out a heavy gasp, her eyes fixed on the sea of clouds that stretched out below them. "Hiutotiaco's betrayal was a terrible blow. But this...this is something beyond my comprehension. As if the very fabric of reality had been torn apart, Husband is indeed something that even the Gods must fear."

"All plans were changed because of her. Betrayal is a thorn in the husband's side, his plans to place the peoples and races of Shadowdale under his banner were thrown away, he no longer trusts anyone, especially after Cystemis, and its blue screen appeared, inciting everyone to hunt him down." Meikosil murmured, her fingers playing with a strand of her long silver hair.

Hethress nodded, her face grim. "We need to act, Meikosil. We need to find a way to stop this."

"Husband said he has a plan. But I agree with you, we need to help him find a solution." Meikosil seemed undeterred.

Hethress turned to her second wife, a glint of determination in her eyes. "We will start where we always do, Meikosil. Investigating, we must seek knowledge, discreetly, seek clues and above all, keep the faith. Even in the midst of chaos, hope is the only light that guides us."

Meikosil smiled weakly, his eyes shining with a reflection of his first wife's determination. "Faith has never been my strong point. Intelligence and perseverance have always been my best weapons."

The two women remained silent for a moment, observing the world below, a sea of gray clouds that now represented the uncertainty that hung over the future. The Star Fortress continued to sail through the sky, a monster the likes of which this world had never seen before. Soon it would have its baptism of fire.

Inside the fortress, in the 3rd demiplane, the 2nd being elemental fire and the 1st elemental water.

Crixus was seething with hatred and outrage.

“Why? I didn’t do anything! I was quiet in my corner, on a lost continent, where Judas lost his boots! And this infernal system came to hunt me down, wants to kill me? I was satisfied with what I had, my basic plans, a harem with several elves, some other attractive species, a redhead, a blonde, a brunette, a black woman and an oriental woman. And to top it all off, to be the lord of this valley that no one even knows where to be. But no, they had to come and mess with me. Well, they managed to do it, they must have a lot of free time, few problems. But I’ll solve this, it won’t take long. They’ll learn a lesson! Never mess with someone who’s quiet.”

It was clear that I could only trust my copies. If I was going to help someone, it would have to be through intermediaries. It was also clear that my copies do not receive the blue screens of this damn system. On the one hand, this is good, my copies are immune to these quests, it remains to be seen whether they cannot receive any type of quest, or if it is only those related to me. On the other hand, I will only find out about these quests via a third way.

It's a good thing I copied Akaos, he knows what is possible and what is not when casting Wish and helped me a lot with the flying island and I also save my magic for any sudden misfortune.

Before we left everything behind, we did a real loot in the Aunnas Ziggurat, parts of the bodies of giants and other powerful creatures, a hundred magic items, gold, jewels and works of art, from the city of Rio Trosex we took 10 feeding obelisks, we left 5 in the city more than enough for the whole village.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Damn... my first city, brand new and I already lost it because of these bastards.

“Father, the last respawn point has been placed, now at each point of the star there are 4…”

“They are respawn points.” I correct him.

He confirms his understanding with a nod, “...summon monster, set to summon twice a day; Bloody Skeleton, small fire elemental, dire rat, medium fire elemental. When the towers are full, the monsters will start to leave the fortress…”

“Dungeon break.” I interrupt him again...just to get on his nerves.

Akaos looks at me, understanding the joke, and with a crooked smile continues “...and this spreads throughout the world. This should attract a good number of adventurers, and since the spells were made by me and you, they will be very difficult to undo. Father, I just don’t understand why you would use such a devious plan, with your power you could simply exterminate all the vermin that dare to go against your will.” He looks at me, waiting for an answer.

That’s a good question. Why not? The quick and obvious answer is that no one wants to be the villain of their own story. Only sick and rotten people want and yearn to cause pain, destruction, suffering and death to others and, consequently, to themselves.

Crixus, the immortal, with his paranoia and distrust, has complex reasons for not eliminating his persecutors completely. Despite his immense strength, he is not relentless. Here are some reasons.

I want more than just survival, I want to have a full and happy life. Yes, the basics that every human being wants. Leaving aside the fact that I am no longer human, the idea remains valid.

I don't need to eliminate all opposition. I just need to make it "inadvisable." After all, there is plenty of room for everyone. It is possible to live with differences.

Crixus may have a hope, even if minimal, that one of his persecutors can become an ally, a confidant, or even a friend. As soon as he proves that he is not the monster that the system is. Yes, he is a monster, but not the Demon Lord, Chaos God type who aims to destroy everything. Not that he is a Saint, no, not really.

What he wants is a balanced coexistence, even if he has to break a few eggs to make this omelet work.

In two days we will see if his plan will work.

Turning his attention to Akaos, who was waiting patiently for his Father's answer.

“Son, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do it. See, if I decided to destroy all my enemies, what would probably happen is that I would create a new legion of enemies. In this endless cycle, there would only be two possible endings: one in which everyone other than my family would be dead, or one in which I and my family would be dead. Neither of these two endings pleases me. There is an old saying: “If a student doesn't learn the lesson, it's not the student's fault; it's the teacher's fault, who didn't know how to teach it in a way that the student would understand.”

“And the lesson would be…?”

“That letting me live in peace will be much easier and more beneficial, in the big picture, than facing me and dying trying to destroy me. That it's useless and futile to follow that path.”

“What a grand vision, Father, truly worthy of such a powerful and magnanimous being, to show in a way that these inferior beings can understand. Glorious are those chosen for being the first to learn this lesson directly from the Father.”

“How are the wives adapting to the new house?”

“I still don’t have much contact with your wives, but we need staff to take care of the daily, frugal things. The undead I created don’t have the ability to handle certain more sophisticated or specific tasks, and apart from Lady Meikosil who gets along very well with undead, Lady Hethress doesn’t feel comfortable with them around. Lady Xena is putting down her roots in the front yard, she asked me to inform you that she wants a circle of cherry trees, a tree she saw in her mind. We need personnel to take care of the day to day running of the fortress. My calculations estimate that a fortress of this size requires between 350, minimum to 500 slaves to operate.” Akaos completes.

“Akaos, no slaves, I already told you.” Using his disappointed Father tone.

“Sorry Father, but without using slaves, and taking Hiut’s betrayal…”

“That name must never be spoken again.”

“Sorry Father. Taking into account possible betrayals and I don’t see how we can solve this problem.”

“True. What if we use prisoners and criminals?”

“That still wouldn’t solve the problem of betrayal Father.”

“Exactly, it’s not betrayal when it comes from your enemy. And using criminals leaves my conscience at ease.”

“Yes Father. The Capital of the Snake People must have many criminals, it will be an easy and plentiful harvest.” He joins his hands and crosses his fingers thoughtfully.

“Yes, but I want a screening to be done, those who are innocent must be released. As for the useful ones, use Geas to compel loyalty. Rapists and murderers must be eliminated, I don’t want those kinds of people near my family.”

“Any preferences, Father?” He asks curiously.

“No, son. Do as you see fit, but without any dirt. Akaos, do you know about cherry trees? If so, how can we get them?”

“No, Father, I don’t know about that type of tree.” Akaos says sadly.

“Wish?” What we don’t do for the happiness of our family.

“Yes, Father. I’ll take care of it.” Akaos bows.

“Take your time, son. It’s not a priority, especially since Xena’s notion of time is different from ours.” Crixus says and dismisses him with a gesture.

“Thank you, Father.” He takes 5 steps back before turning to leave the Sanctum Plane.