Living With a Goddess Ch. 07

Helena looked at me, worried. "I think you'd better come with us."

***

"So what's all this about, exactly?" I asked Dhalsim as we waded through the green fields of Heaven. Lucifer had opened a door in mid-air, and after we'd all stepped through and rejected the advances of the cute young angel at the other side of the door - Dhalsim most reluctantly - we'd started walking, following Lucifer to a seemingly arbitrary point in the middle of the grassy fields. Helena strode beside him, and Dhalsim, Melissa and I lagged behind.

"Big trouble, bro. Asta's at the Council, your Council I mean, right now, raising up a ruckus. Demanding this and that."

"My council?"

"Yours, yeah. All of yours, I mean. The Council of the Pantheon. Every set of deities has one. Down in the underworld, we've got Lucifer, Helena, Anubis, and the big guy, of course. You've got Eros, Aphrodite... bunch of others. The higher-ups, the ones in charge."

"And what exactly is Asta mad about?"

Dhalsim gave me a funny look. "Seems like she thinks only one person should be in charge. And that it should be her."

Lucifer suddenly stopped walking. THIS IS THE PLACE. We were standing in the middle of a field. The warm sun shone down on us.

He, or maybe she, turned to us. I WOULD ADVISE THE MORTALS TO COVER THEIR EYES IN THE PRESENCE OF THE PANTHEON.

Helena nodded. "Lucy's little thrall thing he does is nothing compared to the raw animal lust that shall be awakened in anyone who gazes on the face of one of the Council. These are powerful gods and goddesses."

Melissa held my hand as Lucifer stepped forward. There was a flash of bright light, and then the world around us was gone. In its place was a hall, huge and circular, its walls as high as the walls of that realm in the underworld Helena and I had been to. They were carved of wood, polished and shining, knotted into depictions of leaves and small animals, vines and bunches of grapes. Around us sat thrones, all facing inwards. In each one, a person sat.

"Don't look at them," Mel reminded me, and we stared at the floor.

I heard Asta's voice. "This is an outrage! I fulfil the prophecy! I deserve to rule!"

A voice like silk made of honey, or honey made of silk, responded. I fought the urge to look. "Your power is too unwieldy. You are of great concern to the Council of the Pantheon, Asta, and not just our own. I see the delegates from the underworld have arrived."

"John? Melissa?" Asta said, and I heard her come running to us. I dared to look up, and saw her face in front of mine, confused and angry and somewhat relieved. She was also completely naked.

"I'm sorry, Asta, I don't know... They dragged us here," I said.

"No, no, this is perfect. You're my evidence. Hey, dicks!" Asta screamed at the thrones. I did my best to look away. I glanced at Mel, who was keeping her eyes off the thrones by staring at Asta's chest. I did the same.

"Do not speak to us in such a -"

"Shut up, Cupid. Look, here's my evidence. I'm the one the prophecy spoke of. Only one disciple, see? Only one, and yet all this power."

"What you say is true. However..."

Asta screamed. "No! No howevers, no bullshit, OK? I won! I did it! I'm the most powerful, so just... just shut up!"

Mel looked at her, worried. "Asta, I think -"

"No, it's fine, Melissa," said Asta. "It's fine. I'm right, they just don't see it."

"What's this prophecy, anyway?" I asked her.

Dhalsim stepped forward. "That would be my fault. I kind of had this vision. You know how they just sort of come to me? A sex goddess, rising above the ranks and ruling over all the others. Thing was, she only had one disciple. Got the Pantheon's crotchless undies in a twist, I can tell you that much."

"And I'm the one in the prophecy!" said Asta. "Don't you see? One disciple, and yet all this power - that's me, John! That's us!"

"But..." I said, and Asta's face immediately got a little colder. "But surely it was your choice to only have one disciple?"

"Still counts," said Asta, waving her hand. "But these millennia-old fogeys won't give me what's mine!" She was yelling again, looking around the circular hall to each of the thrones. I didn't dare watch, so I turned to Lucifer and Helena.

"Is she right?" I asked. "Is she the one in the prophecy?"

"There's no way of knowing," said Helena sadly. "But I don't think it was meant to turn out... like this." The death goddess watched with sadness as her friend flew into another rage, screaming and cursing at the surrounding Pantheon.

"What's going to happen?" asked Melissa. "To our home? To us?"

"Don't worry, sweetie. We'll take care of you. But I think it's probably best if we execute our plan now. Lucy?"

DON'T CALL ME THAT, said Lucifer. COUNCIL OF THE PANTHEON OF THE GODS AND GODDESSES OF SEX, he called out, his voice booming like a thousand dying stars. I AM READY.

"Ready?" said Asta, spinning round. "What is this? What are you doing?"

"Lucifer the Beloved," said one of the voices from the thrones, "the Council of the Pantheon thanks you for your co-operation."

"Co-operation?" yelled Asta. "You went behind my back! You dirty motherfucking -"

And then there was a flash of light, and Lucifer and Asta were gone.

"The goddess Asta will be detained in Hades until we come to a decision on what to do with her. Council is adjourned."

***

"So let me get this straight," I said. "There's a prophecy."

"Yes," said Helena.

We were all back at the palace - except for Asta of course. Lucifer had gone with her, too. Me and Melissa had gotten dressed, and gathered the others together in the main hall. We all sat round on the huge bed by the waterfall: Me, Mel, Helena, Dhalsim, Rosa, Violet, Lillian and Megan. Everyone was confused, and more than a little worried. Quickly asking around, I realised no-one had actually seen Asta in a while.

"And Asta thinks it's about her," Rosa asked, slowly, "but it's not?"

"I mean, it might be," said Dhalsim. "But we don't think it is. And even on the off chance that Asta is this new ruler of the sex gods, she's going about it all wrong. She's too..."

"Unstable," finished Lillian.

"Well, geez, I wouldn't put it like that..." Dhalsim said, shuffling.

"What is this prophecy anyway?" asked Melissa.

"Yeah," said Violet, "What exactly does she think is going on?"

Helena sighed. "Dhalsim? It was your handiwork, after all."

"Hey!" said Dhalsim, holding his hands up. "They just come to me, OK. It's not my fault." He sighed. "Basically, a god or goddess is going to rise to power. Incredible power, never seen before, but he or she is only going to have one disciple."

"Well surely Asta fits the bill, then? I mean, that's all true for her," said Rosa.

"But the prophecy says this person will bring about a new age of peace. And the way your mistress is going about things..." Dhalsim trailed off.

"We think she might be going to far. She's going to hurt herself, and probably a lot of other people with her. No-one can contain that much power," said Helena. She looked at me. "You've certainly been doing your job."

I couldn't help but smile, and Helena blushed. Violet, who was nearest to me, punched me lightly on the arm.

"You can say that again," she said. "So, what now? We just wait for her to burn herself out?"

"And what happens to this place?" asked Rosa.

"We don't know," said Helena. "But, worst case scenario... Asta has to be contained permanently. This place would fall apart... I think it's already started, actually. I wouldn't try going through any of the doors during the power surge."

"She's got too much energy. This place is tied to her spiritually, and the architecture doesn't know how to handle it."

"What would happen if it... went?" Megan asked.

Helena looked at her. "You'd all have to go back to wherever you came from."

For the first time in a very long time, I thought of how my life used to be. Alone, in that crappy apartment, in my boring job. And I looked round the bed, at all the wonderful, beautiful women I'd met since I met Asta. Each one of them was a treasured friend, or more, let alone an amazing, passionate lover. Without Asta, I'd only have known Melissa, and I doubted I'd have had the courage to ask her out. Without Asta, I'd be sitting on a much smaller bed, in a much smaller room, with nothing. Without Asta...

"We have to help her," I said, and everyone was looking at me. "There must be something we can do."

Helena placed her hand on mine, and shook her head. "I'm afraid there's not. With Asta's power surging, it's probably best that we all just stay here."

We all sat there, in silence. Violet cradled Rosa in her arms. I held Melissa tight, and she squeezed Megan's hand. Helena and Dhalsim exchanged a sad, weary glance.

"We could -"

It was Lillian who'd spoken, but she stopped as soon as we all turned to her. She looked down at the mattress.

"What is it?" I asked.

Lillian looked up at me, then around at everyone. "I think I might have an idea. We'd all have to be up for it, though."

"Anything," said Violet, and a couple of the others nodded.

Helena looked puzzled. "What are you suggesting?"

"Demon guy," said Lillian. You can teleport, right?"

"Bit racist," said Dhalsim, "...but yes."

Lillian smiled. "I need you to go to my room, and fetch me a file. Can you do that?"

"Sure. Better go quick, before the dimensions of this place start collapsing. What file do you need?"

"It's on my desk. The label says 'Escape Plan'. And don't get distracted by the pictures.

Dhalsim saluted, standing up on the bed, and he disappeared in a puff of acrid black smoke. A few short seconds later, he was back.

"Got it. And, uh... nice pictures."

Lillian took the file, and handed it to Helena. "You think it'll work?"

Helena opened the file and started reading. Slowly, her eyes widened. "Where did you find this?"

"A couple of demon sisters I knew back in the day. We were... close. They heard some rumours, thought I might be interested. So I did some research, and, if I'm correct..."

Helena smiled. That smile turned into a grin. "I think you are. I think this might work."

"What is it? What's in the file?" Melissa asked.

Lillian smiled. "Asta's power levels are through the roof. Well, not exactly. But that's kind of the point - there's a roof. As in, there's a limit to how much Currency a god can hold at any one time."

Helena nodded. "I didn't think it was true. I mean, how can anyone know if there's a limit when the limit's never been reached? But if these findings are accurate, then it looks like another big burst of power would... overload her."

"Would she be safe?" Rosa asked.

"Yes, of course. She'd just sort of... empty. Go back to being a plain old goddess. Maybe even become mortal. But all that power would go, and we'd all be... well, we'd be perfectly fine."

"So basically, we generate so much Currency that she... pops?" Megan asked.

"In a metaphysical sense, yes," said Helena.

"And she's put up so many enchantments and spells to help her get more Currency. All the magic flowing through this place, through her, through all of us. It shouldn't even be that hard," said Lillian.

"Well, said Melissa, and she looked at me. "It would be quite hard."

All the girls were looking at me now. I was still a little thrown by the whole emotional whiplash. "Wait," I said. "What's going on? Why would it be hard?"

"Well, it'll have to be, won't it?" said Melissa, and she gently placed her hand on my crotch. "After all, sweetie, Asta only has one disciple."

The reality of what was being proposed began to dawn on me, and with it, a huge, shit-eating grin spread across my face.

"You mean..."

Violet reached out and placed her hands on my shoulders, leaning forward. "You're the only person who can save us, John. We're going to have to fuck you."

"All of us," said Rosa, and she shuffled closer, taking one of my hands in hers.

"I'd be glad to help," said Megan, smiling sweetly.

"And I'll help too, of course. It's the least I can do," said Helena, blushing. She leant in and kissed me on the cheek.

"And me!" said Lillian, and she went round behind me and placed her hands on my shoulder blades.

I looked round at all the beautiful women surrounding me. A familiar, warm sensation began in my crotch.

"Let's save Asta," I said.

Dhalsim cleared his throat.

"I'll just... go, then, shall I? Yeah? Um... right. OK."

And he was gone in a puff of black smoke.

Melissa looked round at all the girls. "OK, ladies. This is all about John. We need him to generate as much energy as possible. That means turning him on as much as we possibly can."

"Aye aye," said Violet, with a mock salute. "Luckily I keep some of my things around here." And she shuffled off to the side of the bed, reaching under and pulling out a box. She and Rosa rifled through it excitedly.

Lillian grinned. "The cameras are all rolling, of course. Oh, this is going to be fun."

"I shall do my best, John," said Helena.

I looked at Melissa, who took my hand in hers, and Megan's in her other. We all looked at each other. Megan and Melissa kissed, then Megan leaned in to kiss me. When she pulled back, Melissa's face came in to replace hers. She kissed me lightly on the nose, and giggled.

I smiled at her. "Bet you're glad I asked you out now, huh?"

***

Lucifer sat on a throne made of the twisted and broken skeletons of his enemies, observing the trapped woman in front of him. Asta was chained to the wall, each of her limbs stretched out in every direction by the glowing golden bonds. Her face shone with sweat, her chest heaving with every deep breath, causing her impressive naked breasts to rise and fall. Between her legs, her pussy glinted in the dim torchlight that filled the cave, and a trail of her juices shone as it trickled down the inside of her bare thigh.

She was turning herself on. Hopefully it wouldn't be enough to break free. Lucifer knew that she couldn't generate much currency on her own - none of them could. But he was wary of how much her powers had grown.

Asta grinned at him. "Chains, huh? Good choice."

THEY ARE NOT THERE FOR YOUR STIMULATION. THEY ARE THERE TO KEEP YOU HERE, said Lucifer.

"Oh, like you're not thinking of taking me here and now," she said, licking her lips. "Look how helpless I am up here. You could do anything you wanted to me..."

Lucifer stared blankly at her. DO NOT TRY TO PLAY THE TEMPTER AT HIS OWN GAME, CHILD.

Asta just smiled at him, a manic smile Lucifer had seen many times before in his long life. She had gone over the edge. The power had taken her. Such a shame.

"So," said Asta, in an attempt at a nonchalant voice. "Did it hurt?"

YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST TO TRY THAT LINE ON ME, said Lucifer with a small smile.

"Who says it's a line?" said Asta, pouting. "Maybe I just want to get to know you. Maybe I'm getting a little Stockholm syndrome."

Lucifer stood up. OK, he said, I'VE WATCHED YOU LONG ENOUGH FOR NOW. I SHALL LEAVE YOU NOW. SOMEONE WILL CHECK ON YOU SOON.

"How soon is soon?" asked Asta.

Lucifer shrugged. MAYBE IN TEN THOUSAND YEARS?

He left Asta hanging there by her chains, screaming and cursing at him as he disappeared in a blinding flash of white light.

Asta grimaced at the floor below. How could they? She was the rightful ruler of the heavens! But she waited. She knew her disciple would not fail her.

Slowly, she began to feel the energy begin to flow into her. John was getting hard.

Soon.