Cephalon's Champion Ch. 04

Warning: There is a scene of remembered rape. I just want everyone aware in case that sort of thing bothers you or hits a little too close to home.

Spoiler Tags: Lesbian, Fantasy, Adventure, Goddess, Cunnilingus, Golem, Bee Girl, Transformation, MtF, Harem

"Okay, first of all, what's up with everything happening at once? Can we keep it to only one revelation at a time? Please, it's common courtesy." I huffed a tired breath. "Let's start with Surt. I thought I killed you, how are you here?" I said, trying to get a handle on everything that was happening.

Destiny's hand flopped awkwardly to her side, obviously disappointed with my response. "I can answer that. It takes quite a bit more than physical destruction to truly kill a god. In defeating his physical form, you've obviously altered some of his followers beliefs that were defining the nature of the fire god. In the ensuing uncertainty, his core consciousness was allowed to reclaim its influence."

"Which means?" I asked, looking at the pint sized person standing calmly in my hand, listening just as raptly to Destiny's lesson.

"It means that this is probably whoever Surt was before he became Surt."

"Okay, so who are you?" I asked, transferring my attention the pint-sized man.

"I'm..." he paused, scrunching up his face, looking uncertain. "I don't actually remember my name. I guess Surt will do for now." He didn't seem overly bothered by this bit of ignorance.

"A common side effect of various summoning rituals. Including the one I gave Selena. I would not be surprised if you were experiencing similar effects," Destiny interjected.

"That can't be right. My name was..." Like a piece of fluff floating on the wind just beyond reach, I couldn't catch it, the word slipping through my mental cracks. "Huh." I was slightly taken aback by this.

"It's insignificant, pay it no regard. Please call me Surt, it is how I think of myself now." The man said with more confidence and dignity than I possessed.

But I shrugged it off quickly, focusing on the topic at hand. "Fair enough. What do you remember of your life Surt."

"I was widowed, a retired professor of mythology who volunteered at my local library. I remember a strange light coming from the nonfiction stacks. When I went there to investigate, I found a gem. Upon touching the gem I was engulfed by a strange light. Then everything went hazy and I remember being angry. So very angry. And I was jealous and greedy. I wanted something but it fled just out of my reach so I screamed and threw a tantrum. The whole event is sort of hazy. I" Surt wobbled, his body losing cohesion for a second. While he continued to mull over the incident, the frown on his face face grew more pronounced and his eyes gained a crazed tilt.

"Hey man. Don't worry about it. That's over now," I said, hoping to stave off any additional erosion of his psyche.

I really don't want to have to fight him again.

Surt looked at my singed and pitted flesh and became embarrassed, a tight frown pinching at his lips. "I don't believe I can do that. Regardless of the circumstances I seemed to have caused a great deal of trouble. I will do what I can to make amends for that. I apologize for that and for..." A yawn stretched his mouth wide, smoke leaking from it like steam from a teapot. "For being so terribly tired." His form shifted and flowed until he was once more just a lump of glowing rock.

The Vespal queen was hanging in the corner and I motioned for her to come closer. She did so without hesitation but the quivering of her wings indicated her nervousness. "Yes?"

"Here, take this." I dropped Surt's heart into her possession and she caught it, cradling it with all four of her hands.

She blinked at me, uncertain about what I wanted.

"Take care of that. I think he's safe to deal with now but if you think you're in danger drop it and come get me immediately. Until then talk to him, work things out, I get the sense that he's still in there listening."

"It will be as you say Mist... Bast." Bowing to me, she left the room taking two of the four guardian Lathen's with her, the remaining one's stepping closer to flank me more tightly, ready to intercede if Destiny tried anything.

"Freya, go with her please. I have a feeling this should be a private conversation," I said, giving her a kiss on the top of her head.

Freya frowned, not quite finished healing me but left without protest.

"Okay that's one crisis dealt with, now to the other." I turned to the pristine mousy looking goddess, if Ata was to be believed.

She pinched her lips and met my eyes with a hint of annoyance. "I would appreciate it if you don't refer to me that way. I'm tired of people assume I'm a natural disaster whenever I come to visit."

"Well there is that proverb or curse or whatever, may you-"

"Live in interesting times," she finished with a heavy sigh, her brow furrowing.

"Normally when someone talks about destiny, at least in my old world, they were rarely talking about a leisurely life of farming versus a life that was full of potential dangers. Now, maybe that's not you're fault but your appearance has freaked out my sister; she has, up to this point, been unflappably supportive, even when dealing with a giant fire god coming to burn down our home."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking beyond weary. "I'm aware of that but she doesn't have all the details." She continued in a smaller voice that my enhanced senses had little trouble deciphering. "And I'd hoped you would meet me with an open mind."

I looked away, chewing the inside of my cheek as I contemplated what to do. I'd obviously struck a nerve but my opinion had certainly been colored by Ata's reaction. "Okay, say your piece. But know that I'll be taking everything with a grain of salt until I have a chance to run it by Ata."

"Of course. I wouldn't dare lie to someone... Well, someone I hope to rest my head beside someday," she said, averting her eyes bashfully.

She was so sweetly innocent and open of her approach to me that it made me want to snap her up into my arms and bury my face between her thighs until she...

Ahem. Keep it together Bast. Now's not the time.

There was no doubt that she was pressing all sorts of 'yummy' buttons that made my pussy sit up and take notice. Trying to keep my face measured by bottling up the surge of arousal, I sauntered over to my throne, shooting her a sly glance over my shoulder as I did. A gaping mouth and eyes locked on my swaying hips..

Definitely got it. Whatever it is.

"Could we get a chair for my guest Deku?" He quickly obliged. "Thank you." I turned to Destiny as she sat down, nervously smoothing the wrinkles on her clothing before facing me. "So, tell me about Ata's friend Athena. What happened?"

"The first thing you need to understand about this dimension is that there are many more threats that legitimately threaten the world than what you are used to from your home dimension."

"I can imagine," I said, thinking about the smoke and destruction I witnessed during Surt's rampage.

"Well, once upon a time, there was kitsune who acquired the means and the desire to conquer the world. Her name was Kuzunoha and she had a legitimate shot at succeeding. Building an army of terracotta soldiers and sand beasts, her forces threatened to spill across the borders into Greconian land. She was very vocal about her desire to eradicate the Seronians and I knew it wouldn't end there. Bending my will to the task, I sought a way to halt the death and bloodshed I foresaw coming. With Kuzunoha's tremendously persuasive abilities bolstered by the tireless might of her armies, I was left with very few options. I chose the one that limited the suffering of many while condemning a few to suffering, Ata and Athena being among them." Looking haunted, streaks of genuine tears dripped from her chin. "I am disgusted by what I put them through, still putting Athena through, but I will not apologize for my actions. I still feel that what I did was just."

"I'm not here to judge you. My very first day in this new body I liquified a man..." I thought about Venonay and where she came from. "Kind of. It was weird. But I felt no remorse, then or now, for acting as judge, jury, and executioner. Please continue."

She nodded but the tears continued to fall. "There was a god. Vain and frivolous though he was, that stood a chance of working his way through Kuzunoha's defenses and stealing the source of her power. Only he would never survive long enough to get through the forces guarding her to get that chance. If, however, he had a devote bodyguard... That's where Athena came in. Lonely, and looking for a partner to care for her who wouldn't be intimidated by her strength or power, she was ripe for a few well placed words that would lead her into his toxic embrace. Bacchus possesses a wine flask that refills each night, whoever drinks that wine falls under his spell for the next two risings of the moon, the usual length of one of his well documented orgies. A shrewd man Bacchus was charming and sweet until Athena let her guard down and fell into his vortex of self-aggrandizing depravity. Despite the deplorable methods, it worked and Bacchus left Sheel with Kuzunoha's spirit stone in his possession, rendering her powerless. Bacchus, realizing the value of his protector, has ever since continued to ply his wine on Athena, keeping her enthralled for years. I'm not a monster, I traced the roots of the future and saw a chance to save her."

"Hey what do you have against monsters?" I barked, raising an eyebrow.

"What... But you're not... I didn't mean..." she spluttered, eyes wide behind her glasses.

"Joking. I know that's not what you meant. How can you not be sure if she'll be saved or not? Isn't knowing the future kind of like your... thing. Like how mine is being strong, mostly indestructible, and decidedly dangerous to those who abuse women." I looked over at the Lathen guards. "Even if they're not quite the same as what I'm used to from my original dimension."

"The future is a nebulous thing. Using my abilities, I can influence the flow of the present toward a particular future. But there are quite a few oracle gods with differing agendas so it can be complicated working towards a specific outcome. Each one of our machinations influences the future in potentially drastic ways. It's an art to try to anticipate and preempt them with plans upon plans."

"Ahhh. I can only imagine how convoluted that could get. It makes my head spin just thinking about it." Digesting what she'd told me so far, I watched as Destiny squirmed, nervously chewing on her nails. It was such an odd thing, seeing this mythical being, with powers beyond my previous belief, possess such a demure frame and commonplace habit. The combined discrepancies had a humanizing effect, grounder her from mythical status and endearing her to me. I realized I was staring intensely and averted my gaze, showing mercy on the wilting goddess, who seemed unable to meet my eyes. "Okay, so you have a plan to free Athena. Fair enough. So what's this about wanting to date me? Not that I'm not flattered, it just came out of nowhere. You don't even know me."

"I know a bit. Considering I was the one that led to you being here." The bombshell she'd just dropped hung heavy in the air. We stared at each other like we were waiting for the other to spontaneously combust. Or, you know, grow a set of horns and tails.

When no one did, I broke the silence with a word. "And?"

I don't think my response could've surprised her more if I'd started to spontaneously masturbate in front of her.

Maybe she'd like that, my instincts purred from the back of my mind.

Twice she tried to speak but the words just wouldn't come out. "I led Selena to that gem as well as the instructions that led to your summoning..." she said slowly, watching me carefully, methodically deciphering my response.

As I often did, I decided to meet her with blunt honesty. "If you are expecting me to be mad, I'm not." I took a deep breath, looking around at the cave, my home, the one me and my patchwork cadre had created for ourselves. A cove in the sea of this crazy, wild, wonderful world. "Here I have this body, my friends and companions, and what I do seems to matter. Hell, not an hour ago I was dismantling a fire giant. With my bare hands." I flexed my claws with wonder, my tails lashing out behind me as I spoke with passion. "If I had the choice to go back in time and pick up that gem again, knowing what I know now. I wouldn't hesitate even the second I did before. In that world I was a nobody, nothing I did had any bearing on the greater world. Here, I'm important. The decisions I make, both good and bad, make a difference. And that's a gift more valuable than you could even comprehend."

"I guess... I guess I'd never considered that before. I was born a god, so I lack some of that perspective."

I stared at her, waiting for her to continue as she became lost in her thoughts.

She looked at me.

I blinked at her and kept waiting, content to see how long it would take her to fill in the details.

"Right. I was partially responsible for why you ended up here. But that doesn't explain why I wanted you here."

I nodded, confirming her understanding and reasoning.

She chewed on her cheek again, picking her words carefully.

I have a suspicion this is something she does fairly regularly. Which makes sense if she understands the power of a poorly said word could have on the future.

"The majority of the time I have a firm grasp on my abilities, able to control what I see and when." She was visibly flustered and embarrassed. "However, when I'm being... intimate, with someone, my control tends to slip. You don't know me very well but I tend to be a fairly anxious person, planning out moves carefully, avoiding or trimming things before they become a problem."

"I never would have guessed," I deadpanned sarcastically.

"Sex doesn't tend to be satisfying if at the moment of culmination your brain shows you each and every future in which your partner betrays you. For a while you can tell yourself it's not real. That it's not true. But the doubt seeps in. The only way to fight it is to become distant, and or limit my sexual releases. The first introduces different but destructive problems, the second is very... frustrating. And unpleasant. I want to be close to someone, but the curse given to me at birth has foiled all my relationships up to this point."

"You poor thing," I said sympathetically, catching the gist of her plight, wanting nothing more than to move forward and wrap her in my arms.

"Bast, you're unique. So I decided to act against my nature and put myself out there. To take a chance and see if I could make something together with you." Her eyes were wide behind her spectacles, fervent, almost frantic with hope and desperation.

Pinching my lips, I wrung them to the side, tapping a claw against my chin. "What do you think Ata? She telling the truth?" I called out.

"It matches the stories I've heard. Her and Cleopatra had a falling out. Rumor has it that it was due to problems in the bedroom. And that is very against the grain when it comes to the Ruler of the Nile," she called out from where she lurked in the hallway.

"What do you think we should do?" I asked as she entered into the room.

"We?" She seemed surprised by the phrasing.

"Yes..." I said drawing out the word like a question.

"Normally vestments aren't consulted about these sorts of decisions. The goddess tends to decide and act according to their own whims."

"Well this goddess is asking for your thoughts on the matter."

Ata wrapped herself around my torso, holding me tight for comfort as she thought about the situation. "Love you sister."

"Love you too," I said, patting her back affectionately.

"I'm gonna reward you for this later," she promised, her voice thick with emotion as she pressed her chilly face into my breasts. She continued before I could respond. "Athena deserves to be saved. If Destiny says she can do it, I think we should follow her lead. But I'm going to be keeping a careful eye on her." Looking up at me, her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Besides, I can tell you like her. Bast and Destiny sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-"

"Quiet. Don't you know I'm a scary goddess, willing to eat you at any moment."

Laughing together, I shoved her away from me, her gemstones regaining their usual coloration.

"Sounds delightful. I'll be getting ready while you give her the news," Ata said, tossing her chin at the spectacled lady waiting with patient interest. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she called out cheekily as she skipped from the room.

"She's a strange one," Destiny said, watching her wistfully.

Raising an eyebrow I said nothing, cocking my chin at her and crossing my arms over my chest.

She raised her hands as if to fend off any incoming words. "But not in a bad way. She's always had a sort of bubbly innocence to her and I'm glad she didn't lose that after what happened with Athena." Her eyes grew misty but the drops refused to fall before she scrubbed at them with her forearm. "No one understands how much it hurts. The weight of the obligation is almost crushing. The decision about whether to influence the situation or keep my hands clean torments me daily."

"Classic trolly problem."

"What?"

"It's a philosophy problem where there are five people tied to train tracks... Never mind, it's not important. The only thing I can say is that you are not responsible for the decisions of every person on the planet. You are only responsible for your own actions and the resulting consequences. Each of us can only do the best we can with what we are given."

She sniffled a little, and murmured what sounded something like a thanks around a verklempt throat.

"Buckle up pretty lady," laying a dirty hand on her pristine shoulder. "We leave in the morning."

I left her standing there and marched to my room to get some much needed rest.

The next day, before we could embark, the girls felt I needed a little bit of a send-off slash reason-to-return. It started with a gentle pair of lips on my nethers, working the labia while gradually moving deeper. Sighing indulgently at the prodding tongue, I curled my claws into the soft dirt bed, my tails instinctively curling around her head to keep her in place, preventing any potential teasing or retreat. Hooking my legs, Freya pulled me up off the ground, allowing her to kneel more comfortably instead of sprawled on her belly. Her fingers spread a delicate warmth from where they pressed into the firm skin of my thigh. A gentle gust of wind and low buzz sound preceded the joining another pair of lips, coming from below, licking the valley of my buttocks that led to my anus. My eyes shot wide and I found myself staring into the glittering eyes that swirled with citrine and blue that blended into a weightless green that looked down from above.

"Ata, what-"

She silenced me with a finger to my lips, shushing me gently and pressing me down into her surprisingly pliable thighs. Ducking my chin I tried to look at what Freya and Vespal were doing between my legs.

Ata pulled my head back up with her hands on the sides of my head before I could get a good look. "Relax sis. Just feel. Let them do this for you. They are nervous about your trip and seek to affirm their bonds with you because of it."

Nodding my assent, I relaxed into Ata's lap while the two pleasuring me slowly intensified their coordinated assault on my erogenous zones. The experience was leisurely and measured, the two working in harmony, creating a sweet symphony that reached a crescendo the sung through my bones like a firmly strummed guitar chord. When my orgasm started to recede, I pulled my tails away from Freya's head, her blue eyes peeking down between the slope of my stomach. Unsheathing their sharp tips, I wanted to give her and Vespal, whose tongue was only just retreating from my throbbing anus, a fraction of the pleasure they'd brought me. Anticipating the action, the two woman captured my slithering appendages, placing kisses on the exposed points.