Chapter 916 - 916: Meeting the Mothers
Inside the quiet, rather empty landscape of Quinlan’s soul realm, Serika’s eyelids fluttered open first. The faint whisper of her once student’s voice echoed across the realm.
“Serika. Feng. Time to wake up. I’ve got a grand surprise for you.”
Across from her, Feng opened her eyes drowsily, her long, natural lashes that would make most girls seethe from envy parting as she sat up straighter.
“Mnnh… what is it, you damned kidnapper?” she murmured softly, rubbing her eyes. “Did we arrive at your home?”
Quinlan’s voice came again, rich with that teasing warmth only he could deliver.
“We did a little pit stop first. There are a pair of women here who are… incredibly important to me. I want to introduce you to them.”
At that, both girls straightened their spines fully.
“Could you come to us?”
Then they felt it.
To their left, where there had once been nothing but gentle soul mist, a new structure shimmered into being, what they could only suspect to be a newly formed dimensional pathway. It pulsed with Quinlan’s mixed primordial and soul energies.
It was raw. Imperfect. The edges of the pathway flickered from time to time, unlike the stable and polished gateway that had always been marked Zhenwu before.
But it was open. It was real.
Serika glanced at it, her sharp green eyes narrowing with thought for only a moment.
Then she shrugged. Brave to her core—and bound having developed unshakable trust with the man whom she lived through the literal prophesied end of her world—she simply rose to her feet, gave her crimson mane a casual toss, and strode toward the shimmering pathway.
“Sure,” she said with a smirk.
“W-Wait, Serika!” Feng yelped, hopping to her feet in alarm. “You, you don’t even know what’s on the other side! Y-you…!”
But it was too late. The fiery warrior’s proud, muscular back was already disappearing through the portal.
Feng swallowed hard.
Then she caught herself. ‘No way… I can’t appear like some coward! Not after everything we’ve been through! Damned Serika always makes my life so hard ever since she stepped between me and Quin!’
With a huff and a determined little pout, the oriental teen closed her eyes and stomped forward.
“I’m coming too!” she declared aloud, even though her heart raced.
Quinlan’s voice rumbled with a low, amused chuckle, heard clearly in her mind.
“Hah… What a brave little girl this Feng Jiai is.”
Feng refused to respond, her face burning with righteous fury toward the rude man as she stalked forward and slipped into the shimmering bridge after Serika.
…
In the treehouse, the moment Serika’s figure began to emerge through the thin veil of light, Malakar’s lazy, exhausted eyes sharpened, regaining their youthful, predatory glint.
Before any of the raw divinity in the air could so much as lick her skin, the old primordial slammed his staff against the wooden floor with a resonant *THOOM!*
A myriad of ancient sigils instantly flared to life beneath the floorboards, becoming an intricate spiderweb of primordial script written by the one and only first male primordial human.
Malakar closed his eyes, one hand rising as he channeled a veil of deep, muted gold energy, wrapping Serika’s body before the divine haze could touch her.
The protective field glowed incredibly strongly. It was translucent, smooth, and perfectly harmonized with her form.
As Serika stumbled slightly, blinking in surprise, the veil pulsed gently, holding the hostile atmosphere at bay.
A second later, the portal flared again with Feng’s small form tumbling through. Without pause, Malakar’s staff pulsed once more, and another gold burst of energy sprang to life, enveloping the girl in the same protective ward.
The whole process was precise. Delicate. And, clearly, immensely taxing on the man.
Quinlan, watching with arms crossed and a satisfied smile, gave a slow, approving nod.
“First stopping the horny bitch Nyxara from stealing my innocence then protecting my girls… My mommies were right; this grumpy old man really does have his uses.”
Malakar’s brow twitched in sheer annoyance, his voice a gravelly growl. “Laddy… Shut your mouth. This requires more concentration than you could possibly imagine.”
Quinlan smirked wider, but inclined his head respectfully in the old man’s direction. “Understood. Thank you, Malakar. Truly. I greatly appreciate it.”
For just a fleeting instant, the old man’s lips twitched upward in response, perhaps a smile. Perhaps not.
But his focus remained locked on sustaining the protective veils, for the girls had only just arrived in the Primordial Realm. For as long as they remained, he had to keep them safeguarded. That’s why the primordial mommies dragged him here.
As the men were having their rather stoic and reserved conversation… the atmosphere of the treehouse shifted, softened by the sheer weight of motherly excitement now barely contained.
Across the room, Mearie and Luminara were practically dancing on their tiptoes, hands clasped before their chests, cheeks glowing with a radiant pink, lips quivering with the effort it took to remain quiet and dignified.
They stayed in place—but only barely—trembling with unspoken delight, unable to tear their eyes from the two young women slowly taking shape through the fading light of the tethered gateway.
Serika blinked first, sharp, bright eyes narrowing, adjusting to the new surroundings. The faint hum of divine power filled the air, thick and strange.
Her warrior instincts kicked in immediately, but the warm protective veil clinging to her body reassured her that she was safe, at least for now. She glanced down briefly at the edges of golden light surrounding her, brows furrowing in curiosity. She moved to examine it, but it moved along with her limbs.
Beside her, Feng stumbled forward a step, wide-eyed and nervous, clutching the hem of her robes. Her breath caught as she took in the alien beauty of the treehouse: ancient wood pulsing with life, vines twined around glowing crystals, the entire space suffused with a soft, sacred ambiance.
“…Where… are we?” she whispered with a weak voice that was barely audible.
Before either of them could do more, a familiar voice cut through the haze with gentle amusement.
“Welcome, ladies,” Quinlan said, stepping forward with calm confidence. He moved between his two mothers, relaxing one hand on each of their slender shoulders. One atop Mearie’s soft, pale skin, the other against Luminara’s smooth, ethereal frame.
The two mothers visibly shivered for a brief moment at the affectionate contact of their beloved son, their eyes that had not been averted from Serika and Feng for a single moment sparkling brilliantly.
With a faint smile, Quinlan continued:
“Serika. Feng. Allow me to introduce you.”
He squeezed his mother’s tender shoulders gently.
“This is Mearie, my human mother.”
Mearie let out a tiny squeak, eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she did an uncharacteristically shy wave in the direction of the girls, as if she were a timid schoolgirls who was worried to even interact with the newcomers.
“And this… is Luminara. My beautiful elven mother.”
Serika’s eyes went wide, her mouth parted. Her battle-hardened mind struggled to process the words. Feng outright gasped, nearly stumbling again.
“Y-your… mothers?!” Feng squeaked with her high-pitched tone that caused Quinlan to title her a ‘squeaky brat’ when they first met, as her brain struggled to comprehend the revelation, eyes darting between the two stunning, otherworldly beautiful women.