First Demonic Dragon

Eris couldn't put into words why she felt an urgency to leave a few moments ago.

A surge of emotions had welled up far away, deeply buried in her mind.

And then as quickly as it had formed... it had disappeared.

Eris was the embodiment of love itself. Be it familial, romantic, or even comradic.

She didn't precisely know how to pinpoint what she had felt from Izanami before her feelings went dark, and as of now, that wasn't a large part of her concern.

Despite what people may believe, love is a permanent emotion.

Even if a relationship may sour, the echoes of the love that was within it still linger with what currently exists.

Together, these echoes and strands weave a tapestry of the delicate, dangerous, stupefying enigma that is love. Both mortal and divine.

For Eris to just stop feeling something from Izanami at the drop of a dime.. It was almost eerie. That kind of thing didn't just happen.

The only way that Eris knew of for something like that to occur would be... if her husband ate her and imprisoned her in oblivion.

But Abaddon wouldn't do that. Not even if someone had tried to force him to.

Eris just needed to know that she was okay. Because as of right now, she had no idea what to think.

Standing outside of her door, Eris raised her green knuckles and rapped them against the door twice before placing her hand on the doorknob.

"Izanami? I'm coming in, dear.."

Eris opened the door and was surprised when she didn't immediately find her comrade in bed.

She wandered around a bit and saw that the bathroom door was slightly cracked.

Pushing it open, she was surprised to find Izanami standing in the middle of the bathroom and staring at herself.

Aside from the small necklace she wore, she was completely naked. Eris didn't even seem phased by it.

"Izanami?"

Eris watched the normally melancholic goddess turn to stare at her with a mild bit of annoyance on her face.

"S-Sorry." Eris stammered.

"...I guess I can't say anything about knocking, since I am in your house after all. Besides, It isn't as if you haven't seen me undressed before."

Eris shook her head. "I didn't come here to peep. I came because... I was worried about you."

"Why is that..?" Izanami tilted her head in genuine confusion.

Eris didn't know how to explain it.

How exactly does one say, 'At one moment I felt a torrential amount of love pouring from you, but then it suddenly cut off so I thought something terrible happened to you' ?

"I... thought you might've had a nightmare?"

It wasn't exactly an ironclad alibi, but it was the best that Eris had. She wasn't a very good liar.

"I see..." Izanami seemed like she didn't really believe it, but she also wasn't going to waste time trying to drag the truth out of Eris either. "While your concern is appreciated, it's hardly a necessity. You might be better served not to waste your time worrying about such trivial things."

Eris was stunned when Izanami suddenly swept her hand over herself.

Her naked form was replaced with a deep black and gold hitoe that made her look absolutely regal. Even her hair was pinned up and adorned with several golden pins.

Eris had tour her eyes a couple of times to make sure that she was still looking at the right person.

She had never seen Izanami wear something outside of her white dress before. Not even to the beach.

The death goddess even had on the faintest bit of eyeliner.

"You look lovely... Are you going out somewhere?"

Izanami bowed politely. "You've been a most courteous host to me thus far, but I feel I must take my leave. I don't want to trouble you any longer."

She tried to move past Eris, but the green goddess stood in her way.

"What are you talking about? You're family, you could never be a burden. Why would you ever even think otherwise??"

Izanami smiled at her pitifully. Eris felt the skin prickle on the back of her neck.

She had never seen this woman smile before. And while it should have filled her with joy, for some reason it did not.

"I... appreciate that. But you've little understanding of what it is like for me here. I would appreciate it if you would just let me go."

Eris opened and closed her mouth like a fish as if she were looking for things to say.

"Or am I a prisoner here after all..?" Izanami became downtrodden.

"O-Of course you aren't, but I just..."

"Then you won't prohibit me then." Izanami finally sidestepped Eris and exited the bathroom. She was around halfway out of her bedroom door when Eris called out to her again.

"Izanami."

The goddess paused and slowly turned around. "Eris, please-"

"Is the reason you're leaving... because you have feelings for my husband and I?" she finally asked.

Izanami paused. She stared at her somewhat awkwardly as if she weren't sure what to say.

And then her expression became much cooler again. Just as Eris was familiar with.

"...I used to have feelings for you both. Now I just want to put those feelings behind me and try to discover my own happiness. So I suppose yes, it is part of the reason."

Eris looked even more hurt to actually hear her admit it.

Her stammering only got worse as she wracked her brain for a response that she didn't know how to give her.

What was she supposed to do? Izanami was completely in the right here.

If she was hurting, it wouldn't be fair of Eris or anyone else to ask her to stay just for their comfort.

She deserved to be happy and comfortable as much as anyone else.

"I'm sorry." Eris said from the bottom of her heart. "I am genuinely, truly, sorry."

"For what..?"

"That my husband and I cannot accept your feelings. Perhaps things would have been different if…" Eris didn't finish saying what she had on her mind. Perhaps she felt as if it would've been like pouring salt on a wound.

For both of them, that is.

Izanami's face twitched and her gaze flickered. For just a moment, one of her eyes seemed leagues more emotional than the other.

The way she looked at Eris made her heart physically hurt.

One of Izanami's hands reached for her, perhaps on instinct. But Izanami grabbed it back and tucked it into her sleeve.

"I-I.." Her voice cracked. "I need to go now."

Izanami turned around and threw open the door to her room in a hurry.

Eris chased after her for reasons that she couldn't initially explain.

The two were surprised when, upon exiting the hall, the two of them ran smack into Bashenga, who looked to be fending off the unwanted advances of Nyx.

"Come on, just one night~"

"No."

"I can change my appearance if you like. What suits the taste of the youngest son, hm?"

"Your heart on a plate."

"Don't be crude!"

Izanami froze when she arrived in front of Bashenga.

The young dragon raised a brow in heavy suspicion as he looked her up and down.

"What are you doing here? And why are you inside of my Grandest-Great-Grandmother?"

Eris made a confused expression as she looked back and forth between the two. "Bash? What are you.."

Izanami had yet to move a muscle.

Ever so gently, she lifted up one of her fingers and held it up to her lips in a shushing gesture.

"We'll try again next time."

In a horrific turn, Eris watched as Izanami collapsed in front of her. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

Before she could get to the fallen woman, Bashenga held out his arm to stop his mother.

"Wait."

"Son, what are you doing?! She needs my help!"

Bashenga didn't listen to her. Instead, he kneeled down and pulled down Izanami's collar.

Reaching for her necklace, he ripped it away and broke it.

Eris was a faint bit horrified to learn that the necklace actually seemed to be connected to Izanami somehow. She bled when it was removed.

Bashenga finally let his mother lean down to tend to Izanami, and she hurried to pull her into her arms.

Placing her hand on her forehead, she tried to check her internal condition and became frought with worry.

Izanami's vital signs were weak. Almost as if she were barely hanging on to her life.

She looked up at her son with near tears in her eyes- begging for an explanation.

"What just happened? Why did it seem that she was not herself?"

Bashenga looked like he had no idea where to begin.

"Because she wasn't…"

Eris finally remembered that her son was not the only one in the hall.

Nyx was here as well, and she was as pale as a sheet, and petrified in a way that no one in this house had ever seen before.

"That was my parent… And I cannot overstate the jeopardy associated with her arrival."