When she came to, it wasn’t instantly obvious what had transpired. Her head reeled from everything. She let out a silent curse.

The water splashed beside her. Someone stripped her naked. Two stone walls intersected. The memories that weren’t his came rushing back.

“I see.”

“You’re back, Francis,” Iris said, over the wall.

“Not entirely, it seems. I don’t recall getting naked, or in the bath.”

“Hope you don’t mind. Frankly, you stank. And the dirt on you didn’t help much either,” a man, presumably Noah said.

“I have a wife, you know.”

“And Lady Iris isn’t attracted to you. Win-win.”

“So... You’re a thousand years old and counting, right?”

“Lost track after a millennium, yes.”

“Mind if I ask you several questions then, Noah?”

“Go right ahead. I’ll try my best.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have the blood of the god of answers in you?”

“She’s not a virgin, but she’s happily married to the god of questions.”

“A functional relationship? Among gods? I didn’t think that was possible.”

“What sort of image did you have?”

“Rapists left and right.”

“Could still be functional.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. But Noah... What am I, exactly?”

He stayed silent. All that remained was the occasional drip of water. It was somewhat obvious what the stone walls were for. On his left, Iris, and Noah on the right. There was no doubting his overwhelming masculinity, of course. The muscles and positivity slayed any questions about that. And Iris, she was just a different breed of person altogether.

“What do you mean?” came his reply.

“I’d just like confirmation. Why did you dump me into a separate place?”

“Ah. That. My instincts told me to, that’s why.”

“Bu-”

“One of my mothers is the goddess of intuition. And it tells me that you’re just like a liquid. You take whatever form you please, or whatever shape that you find yourself in. We’re solids. We don’t change shape.”

“I’d love to meet a gas.”

“That should go to the toilet.”

“Hah! A demigod and that kind of humour.”

Frances tilted her head back onto the stone. She sunk further into the hot water, submerging her shoulders and neck. Unknowingly, she let out a deep sigh.

“What did you have to do there?” Iris asked.

“Just had to kill my lover, and my sister.”

“Ah. You okay?”

“Thereabouts.”

Really, even the design of the bathroom was serene. Stone bricks placed at perfect intervals, and clear blue water. The water flowed beneath the stone walls. It wasn’t even really walls, to be specific. Just a barrier. It hovered above the water, only touching it when the waves allowed it to. Through the lens of the water, he could see things that he normally wouldn’t. Iris’ smooth legs and body. And the firm form of Noah.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Though, I believe that you don’t care about things like gender,” Noah commented.

“You’re right, I don’t. Just out of curiosity, why did you partition us off?”

“‘Cause you didn’t know what you were. But now that you’ve accepted it, I don’t really see a point. Of course, Lady Iris might have objections to it, which is why they’ll stay up.”

“Don’t tell me you’re that attracted to me to want them down,” Iris shouted over.

“Couldn’t care less. I’m sure it's an open secret by now about what I like.”

“That Lady Knight, yes?”

“Yeah. Everyone knows, it seems. Even the one that disappeared.”

“To be fair, it was extremely obvious. Maybe not to everyone else, but as an uninterested third party, it was amusing to watch.”

Iris laughed. It echoed all throughout the bathroom as hot steam rose. Frances approached her wall and leaned against the stone.

“If you were thinking of swimming underneath there, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“I concur, Lady Iris. I can’t control who my magic hurts.”

“Duly noted. Though, might I add that Hye-Sung would swim under to be with me.”

“I still don’t understand why she’s so interested in you.”

“Don’t ask me.”

“You know, she sneaks into your room at night.”

“She still does?”

“‘Still?’ Is this a common thing?”

“Yeah. The first time I brought her back, she instantly snuck into my bed for fun.”

“That sounds like what my parents would do,” Noah commented. “That is to say, rape.”

“Ehh. She’s not really interested in me that way, she just does whatever she wants. Kinda like a cat.”

Noah sighed. With an ahem, he started lowering the walls. Just by a little bit, far less than an inch. But the walls were high enough, and she was short enough that she could stand up and only have her hair visible.

“Lady Iris, would you mind?”

“You’re asking a single lady. There are two ladies here.”

“Ah right. Would-”

“Wait, Iris, you knew? And you didn’t tell me?” Frances asked.

“Had a vague idea. Don’t really care about what you are. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. Would have appreciated something, though.”

She stood up. Her eyes barely above the top of the walls, she struggled to see. All she caught through the steam was the brown, unkempt long hair of Noah. It seemed like he barely cared about it. And to be fair, he didn’t need to care about it. As for Iris, she had wrapped her blonde hair in a white towel. Frances met her eyes. Sharp, as always. And stoic. She couldn’t tell what she was thinking of.

“So what’s your new name?” Iris stood up and placed her elbows on the top of the wall. She was oddly close. Too close.

Her face barely any distance away. Even through the steam of the water, her fine details were obvious. Equipped with perfectly placed eyes, a symmetrical face, and blemishless features.

“It's still pronounced the same. Just spelt differently.”

“Frances, yes? Will you need protection from the Lady Knight? I suspect Hye-Sung doesn’t care, or already knew. And what about your sisters?”

“Elise was the one that gave me her dresses, so it should be fine.”

“Well, at least I won’t have to kill your sisters. Do your parents even matter?”

“I outrank them. They literally have nothing over me, save for the fact that I’m their daughter. Still, I think it’ll be good to introduce myself.”

Iris laughed. She reached forward, patted Frances on the head. Water splashed from Noah’s side.

“Aren’t you a little bit too old to be peeking?” the blonde said.

“Rather than that, it's literally impossible for demigods to do anything like that.”

“What? What do you mean?” Iris asked.

“He means that he can’t reproduce. Why?”

“Humans aren’t naturally attracted to the divine. It’s literally impossible for a regular mortal human to fall in love with them, let alone find them sexually appealing.”

“Is that why all the gods do is rape?”

“Yes, as unsavoury as that is. But it is the truth that all demigods are born from an act where one side had no consent in the matter.”

That much made sense. All the stories of demigod heroes and grand adventures from the Age of Myths were rooted with a human getting done over by a god or goddess. And when Truth, Bahamut, and a few others enacted the Shift, that Age of Myths ended.

“And due to us having divine blood,” Noah continued, “That blood is stronger than our human side, but it mixes in unexpected ways. We don’t have a ‘hatred’ of the gods, but we certainly won’t help them if they need us. But, that also means that we are literally incapable of feeling anything that you describe. Arousal, romance, anything like that.”

“So... Simply put. Your heart’s broken, and so is your dick,” Frances summarised.

“To put it in a crude way, yes. Don’t quite appreciate how you said it though.”

The mountain shook. Outside of the bath, books dropped onto the floor as Noah sighed. The shaking knocked the stone bricks out of their place.

“What was that?” Frances asked, quickly grabbing onto Iris’ arm.

“Your guest, Empress Rayleigh.”