I was sleeping when I realised I was in the middle of some sort of lucid dream. I was standing in absolute darkness and right in front of me was a strange couple. The darkness changed a bit and offered a few more details, but it never faded away. The man was as tall as I was, muscular, but behind his soft smile, a vicious tenacity was hidden. His long blonde hair and braided beard made me instantly think of a Viking. His piercing green eyes were looking right at my soul, ignoring everything in their way. The woman was much shorter, delicate and slender like a flower, with her long black hair left loose in waves down her back. Her smile was burning in the half-darkness, like a crescent made of fire. Despite her smile, she was miserable. I was calm, far calmer than I should be, but that was because I felt only immense sadness emanating from them.

"Are you all right?" I asked them and saw them jerk in surprise.

"We are not, child of Earth," the man responded, but his voice was distant, like a whisper.

"What happened?" They looked at each other while their presence was getting stronger and stronger.

"He is killing our daughter..." the woman cried, and I realized they were not simply dream mirages. "They betrayed her and tormented her..."

"Who did it?"

"The traitors..." the man replied. "Kneht, Jilai, Luia..." He stopped, then his voice started dripping with wrath and made him burn in a green flame. "Frid and the one who wanted to take her life in the end... Korkas... Korkas the murderer... Korkas the traitor... Korkas the Void Born!"

"Of course... It's always Korkas or Tiamat." I shook my head sadly. "Don't worry... I will avenge her. I will kill Korkas; he is my enemy after all." I lowered my head and clenched my fist.

"We will watch you take vengeance on our behalf..." The woman's voice was like a whisper, but it was full of wrath.

"Set us free, child of Earth." I heard the man, but before I could do or ask anything, I woke up.

A dream? A vision? I wasn't sure as I stared at the ceiling. Amber was lying on my chest, naked, as she breathed calmly, sleeping happily in my arms. All my wives were sleeping calmly near me except for Hestia. She was standing near the giant window and she was looking at the night sky. I managed to free myself from Amber and approached her. Hestia leaned her back on me, without even looking, and she slowly raised her left arm behind us, resting it on my back. She then hugged my right arm to her chest.

"Vali and Tisiphone," she whispered.

"What?" I asked her as she rubbed her face on my arm.

"These are the ones you saw in your vision. I thought they were killed." I embraced her, and she moaned with pleasure. "I feel safe when you hold me like that."

"They are gods?"

"Yes, and incredibly powerful at that... I still can't believe they died. Or maybe not? Their presence was very real..." She trembled.

"They said to me that Korkas killed… or wanted to kill their daughter. I am not sure…"

"They had a daughter? I didn't know that..." She snuggled herself even harder into me. "Vali and Tisiphone were the Gods of Vengeance, Theon."

"You knew them? How could they let their daughter even be in the same room with such people?"

"I knew them a bit..." she admitted. "But I have no idea how they could allow for such a thing." She was silent for a moment, but then she fluttered. "Theon, I am scared. Korkas was a Mortal when he killed a nascent Goddess, the daughter of Vali and Tisiphone. He is even more powerful right now."

"I know. But I am stronger than I was when I fought him for the first time. I am going to kill him, my Darling, but I am not going to take any chances. Even as we speak, my Wolves harass him, depriving him of sleep. He is going to attack us soon. Maybe in a few days, maybe in a few weeks." I kissed the top of her head. "I received a report that his army, once again backed by the forces of the Mountain Dungeon, is preparing once more. But this time he is much more careful."

She turned towards me, and I saw the tears in her eyes. I slowly patted her head and combed her soft hair with my fingers. She was standing in silence, resting her head on my shoulder. When she started speaking again, she was calm once more.

"I'm sorry for being such a crybaby, Theon. I sometimes wake up in the night as if the ghosts of my friends and family who died were calling my name. So many have already died because of Void and Chaos. Please, do not take lightly the power wielded by the Void Born." She kissed me and the taste of her lips bore the salt of her tears.

"I won't. I used your gift to the fullest, my Darling. When you decided to be my wife, Hestia, I obtained the right to acquire a subclass. I took a particular class only to kill Korkas and others like him." I feel her shudder in my arms and a silent question in her eyes. "Doom Blade."

•••

I excused myself from everything for the time being and focused on training. I had been fighting my Praetorians since the day I obtained my new class, but the impending arrival of the Void’s servants made me solely focus on ruthless grinding. I had no time to develop naturally, so I was extorting insane amounts of mana to offset that issue. Mana… I had it now enough to not be worried about, though I was still rebuilding my mana vault. Using Amber and Luna's Angel Feather to boost my skill point gains after levelling, I was fighting my own denizens set to kill me outright. I received only 10% worth of experience points from such fights, but that was better than nothing. In an attempt to gain even more experience points, I ordered my Eagles to capture any wild monster or animal and bring them to Avalon, where I killed them. It was a bit irritating, but could not be helped since I couldn't leave Avalon. I could expand by conquering other dungeons and making them my vassals or outright buying the adjacent land. Nevertheless, I was eternally bound to Avalon.

My Doom Blade class was at level 55, but even so, it was insanely powerful due to three times more skill points granted by the Angel Feather. Since Amber and Luna had their classes currently maxed and they were only starting to think about what next, I could use one of their Feathers without fear that they would miss some skill points from levelling up. Thanks to them, I was able to focus solely on making myself stronger. All the administration work was swiftly and surely taken over by all my Queens, but it was Amber and Luna who managed the majority of the most mundane work. I asked Aoi and Hestia to focus on their education, and Irene was in charge of the guests from Hilgvar until the rest of their forces joins Queen Mia and Princess Tia. However, Mia and Tia focused on the training with the Sixth Legion, trying to learn as much about the tactics as we were willing to teach them at the Academy.

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Luna, Ban and Galahad were making steady progress in conquering the south and west of Cridia, but they also made some silly mistakes. To address that, I wondered if I shouldn't just point out what they were doing wrong, but then, my dear Amber found me a gemstone. Blair was a man I could truly trust. His loyalty towards Amber was so fierce he could probably physically manifest it somehow. Blair had already taken the soldiers I gave under his control and started cleaning Luna, Ban and Galahad's mishaps. I smiled, recalling his promise to clean up after the youngsters, but allowing them to receive a slight punishment. He also once more reminded me that the forces that hunt for Amber shouldn't be trifled with. I had some time to think about what he said about Amber and the history and fate of her family. I was glad that his grandfather dealt with traitors, but that wasn't enough. I unleashed Sebastian and all the resources of Avalon were his to use as he saw fit to find and kill everyone tasked with murdering Amber. After that, I ordered him to track down and kill or bring here everyone who paid for killing my wife. The only exception would be in case if someone like that gained our favours. Such a person was to be caught alive and brought before me directly for interrogation. Amber and her predecessors were far too merciful, and unfortunately for the bad guys, that meant I didn't have to be so gracious.

What was fortunate, however, was the fact that not everyone was evil or bad. I had managed to bring out the best in the people of Avalon. Everyone was working hard to maximise our winning chances, which I found heartwarming. The people of Avalon: Adventurers, Guardsmen, Cadets and Students, all knew about the threat of Voidlings. Zeus and Zephyr were personally lecturing everyone about the treachery of Void and Chaos, extensively describing the destruction of souls and personalities when people agree to be their servants. Even the Dragonkins, who always craved power, were terrified to the bone by the very concept of losing themselves to the primordial forces of evil. However, something clicked in their minds and Dragonkins not only started fearing the Voidlings, but they actively started hating and despising them. As far as I was concerned, I preferred them to hate Voidlings than be fascinated by them and their power sources. After my stamina points regenerated, I raised my sword. It was time to return to the grinding.

•••

"I found them!" Hestia entered the office where she expected to find Theon but instead found Amber. "Oh, sorry sister. Where is our husband?"

"No problem, Hestia. Theon is levelling up his subclass, so I am in charge now." Amber smiled and pointed at the chair on which Hestia quickly sat. "But who did you find?"

"The tomb where Vali and Tisiphone are sealed. We must free them!" Hestia put a map in front of Amber.

"Hmmm... It's not far." Amber was thinking about the location marked by Hestia. "But it's in the north, within the territory controlled by the Cridians. Theon doesn't want to send any significant forces before he deals with Korkas..."

Amber stopped, seeing Hestia's face, and she sighed. "Sister, I know that breaking the Gods free is important, but..." Amber straightened and felt suddenly silent, as if she remembered something. "We can do it. It might be dangerous and Theon is going to yell at me for it, but I think we can do it."

"Sister, I am going to take all the blame..." Hestia sighed after seeing Amber's smirk. "I guess he won't buy that, do he? Then at least we can share the blame..."

"That's right, we are going to endanger very important people. I will send the extended special team. Rose, Lilly, Iris, Dahlia, Lanka, Idna, Tulir, Thiule, Xavier, Daniel, Re-kari, Auburn, and Ian." Amber prepared the draft of orders and after a moment of hesitation, she looked at Hestia while almost automatically placing her seal on it. "Is this all really necessary?"

Hestia clenched her fists on her Royal Gown and took a deep breath. It was not like Amber was unwilling to help her, but she realised that Theon's absence was a fortunate coincidence. As much as he loved her or any of his wives, he wouldn't allow sympathy to cloud his judgement. That was why she was grateful to Amber for considering her request, but... Hestia slowly nodded.

"I believe that we are lacking something important and I have a feeling that Vali and Tisiphone hold the knowledge or there is something we need so desperately. Even if we don't realise it right now..." Hestia rubbed her face angrily. "I know it sounds stupid or like an excuse to simply release them earlier, but I have a feeling that Korkas is hiding something and Theon might get hurt if he confronts him now."

"I believe you, Hestia," Amber almost whispered. "I have had nightmares for some time now. In this recurring dream, Theon kills Korkas, but he stops being himself and bit by bit, he dies as if something was destroying his soul..."

They were silent for a moment and looked at themselves. They both loved him and, as strange as it was, there was no competition among them. On the contrary, all of them supported each other. Hestia took a deep breath. "I will go with them, Amber."

"No! That's out of the discussion. Theon is not ready to allow any one of us to go outside Avalon and don't even try to reason with him." Amber quickly stopped Hestia. "We can probably hide the fact that you snuck out for a bit once our team finds that tomb, but I think he will be very disappointed once he finds out everything. Hestia, you know he will learn the truth sooner or later. Also, the fact you disappear sometimes for hours is not unnoticed..."

"But I must sometimes see to my followers!" Hestia protested. "I am Goddess, I must at least listen to them and grant some of their wishes."

"I am not going to pretend that I know the dynamics between the Gods and their followers, but you must talk with Theon about your little trips. Besides, Hestia, the Voidlings are out there. What if they ambush you?" Amber looked at her with concern. "I don't want to lose you, sister!"

"I... I guess you are right. Nonetheless, I must visit other temples from time to time. I will speak with Theon about that. I know he is trying to protect us..." Hestia smiled faintly. "Old habits die hard, Amber. I was on my own for so long that I never considered telling him some of the things I thought were ordinary."

"Don't worry. He is overprotective, but Irene, Luna, and I have no desire to leave Avalon, even for just a little while. That's why we never considered his overprotectiveness as something bad. Maybe we sometimes want to visit conquered dungeons, but still, they are part of Avalon. It's a different story for you and Aoi, you have no such reservations..." A quiet sigh made Amber fall silent.

"I can't speak for Aoi, but I am afraid as well, Amber. Before Zephyr found me after Theon set him free, I was living with the constant fear that Voidlings or their servants would find me. Now, Avalon is my home and only here, near Theon, I feel safe. I am not particularly brave or suicidal, but this is something that we, the Gods, have to do. That is why I have to leave Avalon sometimes..." Hestia looked at Amber.

"As long as you are careful and you will promise me to tell that to Theon, I think that's all right." Amber forced a smile because she was worried. Then she laughed. "To think, among all people, I would talk with a Goddess like this… it’s funny. Sorry, Hestia."

"No, Amber. I should thank you because by doing everything as usual, I hadn’t considered that I could bring harm to our family." Hestia looked out of the window and let go of a sigh. "I still have plenty to learn, sister. Please, let me know if I am doing something stupid as soon as possible."

"With pleasure. You do the same for me. We sisters have to stick together." Amber giggled and smiled at Hestia.

The Goddess of Avalon just then realised that Amber was trying to solve some issues. She quickly looked at some papers and after piecing together some reports she read earlier, she looked in fear at smiling Amber. "Amber! The dungeons on the south and west were quiet despite the fact they should be waging their annual war now! That's not good!"

The smile on Amber's face froze as she looked down at Hestia, who was marking the exact location of four dungeons on her map. Hestia, seeing hesitance on Amber's face, quickly marked the vectors of probable attacks.

"How could Theon overlook this?!" Hestia paled.

"Theon is not commanding this campaign at all, sister... It was Luna, Ban and Galahad who were tasked with the southern and western war theatres. Theon wanted them to gain more experience. Since he is solely focused on Korkas’ forces."