I slowly circulated the void energy one last time, guiding it perfectly into the Absolute Synthesis Well. The rhythmic hum of my core began to settle into a quiet resting state. I was just about to finish my cultivation session for the day.
Suddenly, a strange sensation bloomed deep within my soul.
It was a distinct, rhythmic pulse. A profound flicker of life resonated directly with my consciousness, echoing through my newly evolved pathways.
My eyes snapped open. The bed’s dark canopy came into sharp focus.
’Is it finally time?’
I quickly accessed my system inventory. With a single thought, I brought the item out into the real world. A familiar, not-so-heavy weight materialized instantly in my hands.
The mysterious obsidian egg.
The smooth surface felt incredibly warm to the touch.
However, it was vibrating with a new, frantic energy, pulsing with a faint inner light in the dim room.
Just as I was about to examine the changing patterns on its shell, the ambient shadows beside my bed twisted violently.
The Mistress appeared inside the room out of thin air.
Her eyes bypassed me completely and locked directly onto the egg resting in my palms. She stared at it with absolute intensity. Her beautiful, terrifying features displayed a highly complex storm of emotions. A deep frown creased her pale forehead. A flicker of profound joy danced in her eyes. Yet, a heavy layer of undeniable worry clouded her entire expression.
I watched her reaction closely. The sheer vulnerability on her face was something I had never witnessed before.
’Is this how a mother acts when her child is about to be born?’ I wondered silently, observing the subtle trembling of her shoulders.
Crack.
A sharp, distinct sound echoed in the quiet room.
The Mistress and I immediately exchanged a tense glance. Her crimson eyes were wide with anticipation and a hint of fear. We both quickly turned our attention back to the obsidian shell.
Faint, glowing lines began to spread across the smooth surface. Tiny fissures webbed outward from the center, radiating a pure, concentrated void energy that illuminated the dark sheets beneath it.
"Do you want to hold it?" I asked, extending my hands slightly toward her.
Her pale fingers twitched. She took a half step forward, her eyes brimming with longing, before abruptly pulling her hands back against her chest.
"N-no," she replied reluctantly, her voice trembling with an unnatural fragility. "I-I can’t."
I was a bit confused, but nodded anyway, and carefully pulled the egg back closer to me, making sure to support its heavy weight evenly.
"Alright," I said, keeping my gaze fixed on the expanding glowing cracks. "Let’s hope nothing goes wrong."
"Mmm," she hummed, a soft and anxious sound, as she leaned in closer to watch the birth.
The glowing cracks on the obsidian shell deepened steadily.
A web of brilliant energy pulsed outward, matching the frantic rhythm of the life inside.
Suddenly, a cold hand grasped my shoulder.
I glanced up. The Mistress was trembling slightly, her gaze fixed on the shell.
"D-dear, can you promise me one thing?" she muttered, her voice barely a whisper above the crackling of the egg.
I observed the raw anxiety swirling in her crimson eyes.
"...As long as it is within reason, then yes," I replied carefully.
She nodded in evident relief, her grip on my shoulder tightening just a fraction.
"Then, can you promise me that no matter what happens, you will keep her safe?"
"Her?" I raised an eyebrow, shifting my gaze between her pale face and the vibrating egg. "You mean the child? Of course. But how do you know it is a girl?"
And she didn’t say ’our child’ this time...
"T-that is a minor detail right now," she stammered slightly, brushing past the question entirely. Her crimson eyes turned intensely serious, carrying a weight that sent a chill down my spine. "And please, continue to be my husband later, okay? No matter what happens or what you hear. That is the only way you and she can survive."
I stared at her, genuinely stunned by her words.
The sheer desperation in her plea hung heavily in the air. It became painfully obvious that she was hiding something monumental. A terrible, life-threatening secret lay behind her words, something she was completely unable to voice aloud. Moreover, what did she mean by ’continue to be my husband’? Did she already know? Or... was she acting as well?
"Don’t worry, I will," I replied firmly, refusing to overthink it further. I meant what I said. Her warning directly concerned both my survival and the child’s life.
I paused for a brief moment, considering the dark implications of her cryptic request. A terrible feeling settled in my gut. She sounded exactly like someone delivering their final words. It was the distinct, heavy tone of a person preparing for a sacrificial end.
If an entity of her terrifying caliber was speaking like this, the approaching danger had to be apocalyptic. I needed to cut off that fatalistic line of thinking immediately. I didn’t need red flags right now.
Bypassing spoken words entirely, I projected my voice directly into her mind via the Mind Thread.
’You should also promise me to avoid doing anything reckless... like suddenly disappearing or... dying.’
Her eyes widened drastically. She stared at me in profound shock for a split second, clearly caught off guard by my directness. She quickly masked her expression, burying the surprise beneath a veil of calm, and gave a tight, resolute nod.
CRACK.
A loud, sharp fracture shattered the quiet atmosphere.
The egg pulsed violently in my hands and suddenly shone in a blinding, pitch-black color.
The sudden burst of abyssal light instantly pulled both of our attention away from the heavy conversation and back to the unfolding birth.
The blinding radiance quickly condensed into a solid beam of power.
The next moment, a massive pillar of pure, black light shot directly upward from the apex of the shell. It pierced effortlessly through the reinforced ceiling of the bedroom, tearing through the upper layers of the Black Spire and striking the sky above.
Outside the large window, the atmosphere twisted. The ambient clouds instantly transformed into a swirling vortex of pitch-black energy.
"RRRRR!"
A deafening, primordial roar erupted across the realm, violently shaking the foundations of heaven and earth.
The towering Spire trembled fiercely under the overwhelming pressure, groaning loudly as if it were in immense physical pain.
Yet, amidst the apocalyptic chaos, the space surrounding the bed remained perfectly still.
I looked down in awe and noticed a faint, translucent cloak of energy emanating from the fractured shell. It wrapped securely around both the Mistress and me, shielding us completely from the devastating shockwaves.
It was obvious that the unborn child was actively protecting us from the explosive force of her own birth.
A deep, profound warmth suddenly etched itself into my heart and soul.
My affection for her reached its peak instantly.
Slowly, the violent tremors subsided.
The hatching process finally reached its culmination.
With a final, resounding crack, the top half of the obsidian shell gave way completely.
Two tiny, human-like fists punched through the remaining fragments, pushing the heavy pieces aside with surprising strength.
High above the Spire, the towering black pillar pulsated one last time before dispersing outward.
It washed over the Nightmare Realm like a silent, rippling wave of pure abyssal aura.
The Mistress and I held our breath, watching the broken shell intently.
The heavy pieces of obsidian clattered onto the silk bedsheets, leaving a hollow crater of jagged shell. The overwhelming pressure in the room vanished completely, replaced by the sound of soft, gentle breathing coming from the center.
A tiny figure slowly pulled herself up, her small fingers gripping the edges of her former prison. As she finally popped her head out into the open, the sheer contrast between her apocalyptic birth and her actual appearance left me completely stunned.
She was a small, terrifyingly cute little girl.
She blinked away the remaining abyssal dust from her dark eyelashes and looked directly at us.
Her mesmerizing eyes, one a piercing slate gray and the other a vibrant crimson, shone with a profound, entirely innocent curiosity that instantly melted the heavy tension in the room.
"P-Papa? M-Mama?"
(Critical Hit!)
"Σ>―(〃°ω°〃)♡→"