Chapter 676: The Maiden Of Fate’s Move

Both of them snapped their heads up.

"Mika?!"

He was floating just above them, leaning in through a small shimmering portal. Behind him, they could see Yelena and Charlotte peering out from what looked like the living room of the main house.

Both of them were covered in what appeared to be cake batter.

"You—you were watching?!" Astrid’s face went red.

"Of course I was watching." Mika rolled his eyes. "With you two, I was genuinely worried there’d be no progress at all, even after everything I set up. So I had to monitor the situation personally."

He smirked. "Good thing I did. That was getting dangerously close to an infinite apology loop. You’re welcome for interrupting."

Both mother and daughter blushed furiously.

"Also." Mika added, pointing. "You might want to give Aster some breathing room or else she’s going to pass out."

Both of them looked down. Aster was squirming between them, her tiny face scrunched up in an expression that was unmistakably annoyed.

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

She was being crushed between two sets of very large, very soft breasts!

"Oh!" Astrid pulled back, her face flushing. "Aster! I’m so sorry—"

"I’m sorry, baby." Nadia added, equally flustered. "We didn’t mean to—"

Aster chirped. It sounded distinctly exasperated.

"She says stop apologizing." Mika translated. "She’s tired of hearing it too."

Mother and daughter looked at each other. Then, simultaneously, they burst out laughing.

And then, without warning, they were hugging again—but this time, it was different.

This time, there was no guilt, no regret, no years of pain weighing them down. Just love. Pure, simple, unconditional love.

"I-I love you, Mom." Astrid whispered. "I love you so much. More than you’ll ever know."

Nadia held her tight.

"I love you too, baby. You’re my light. My reason for living. The best thing I ever did was bring you into this world."

They held each other as the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of gold and rose. Aster curled up between them, her seven tails wrapped around them both like a blanket.

And for the first time in years, everything felt right.

—

Charlotte watched the scene through the portal, tears streaming down her face.

"Look, Mama." She said, tugging on Yelena’s sleeve. "Look! Mika did it again! He brought them back together!"

She was practically bouncing with excitement.

"I thought it would never happen. I thought they’d be separated forever. Especially Astrid—she’s so stubborn, I thought she’d never forgive anyone. But look! Mika actually managed to do it!"

She threw her arms around Mika from behind, hugging him tightly.

"I love you, Mika. I love you so much!"

She pressed kisses to his cheek, one, two, three, while he stood there stoically, watching the reunion below.

Yelena also watched with a soft smile, though there was a hint of something else in her eyes.

"There is one thing I don’t understand." Yelena said slowly. "Nadia...she’s expressing so much emotion right now. Crying. Laughing. Hugging. And yet..."

She gestured at the portal.

"Nothing is shaking. No earthquakes. No disasters. Her blessing should be going haywire, but..."

She turned to Mika, her green eyes narrowing with knowing suspicion.

"You helped her with that, didn’t you?"

Mika didn’t answer.

"Of course you did." Yelena sighed. "If anything impossible happens, it probably has something to do with you."

She leaned closer, her voice curious.

"How did you do it? How did you help her control something that she’s struggled with her entire life?"

Before Mika could answer, another terrifying voice cut through the air.

"Yes, Mika. Tell my dear little sister how exactly you did it. Go on. Explain the methods you used. Be ’specific.’ I’m sure Yelena would love to hear all about them."

Yelena stiffened.

Charlotte went pale.

Because they both recognized that voice.

"Big Sis..." Yelena breathed.

And then a portal opened beside them, revealing the Maiden of Fate, her purple eyes gleaming with a mixture of irritation and amusement, while her lips curved in a smirk that promised trouble.

But Mika didn’t flinch. He met the Maiden of Fate’s gaze with a lazy smile.

"You know, if you keep spying on me like this, I might start to think you’re jealous."

"Jealous?" The Maiden of Fate’s voice was incredulous. "Of what, exactly?"

"Of them." Mika gestured vaguely at the portal, where Nadia and Astrid were still embracing. "Everyone else is having their happy reunion. Their emotional breakthroughs. Their bonding moments. And you’re stuck in your little pocket dimension, watching from the sidelines, all alone."

His smile sharpened.

"It must be lonely."

The temperature in the area dropped several degrees.

"Watch your tongue, boy."

"Or what?" Mika pushed the portal forward and went closer toward her portal. "You’ll punish me? You’ll come out of hiding and face me directly?"

He went closer.

"Because I was planning to save you for last, you know. The final boss. The most difficult dish to conquer. But if you keep provoking me..." His eyes glinted. "I can always move you up the schedule."

"You wouldn’t dare!" The Maiden of Fate’s voice was ice. "You don’t even know where I am. My realm exists between worlds—in a space that isn’t properly part of any dimension. Not even you can find it."

"You want to test that theory?" He challenged with a chuckle. "You really want to see if I can hunt you down or not?"

A dozen alarm bells went off in the Maiden of Fate’s mind. She was confident in her abilities—more confident than anyone alive had a right to be.

But Mika...Mika was the one variable she could never calculate.

The one future she could never predict.

If he truly wanted to find her, he would find her. She knew it. He knew it.

Her glare intensified. But she didn’t answer the challenge.

"Stop acting so high and mighty as if you’ve accomplished something extraordinary." She said instead.

"Four down." Mika said, ticking them off on his fingers. "Two more are basically guaranteed. There’s only four left after that." He shrugged. "I’d say I’ve earned a little pride."

She clicked her tongue. Then, unexpectedly, a small smile curved her lips.

"Well, forget about all that. You aren’t prepared for what comes next."

Her eyes sparkled with something that might have been anticipation.

"Very soon, you’re going to find yourself in a dilemma of your own making. A trap with no exit. And I’m going to sit back and watch you squirm."

Mika’s expression sharpened. "What exactly are you planning?"

"Nothing you can stop."

"If you tell anyone—"

"I’m not going to tell anyone anything. I don’t need to."

She leaned back, looking utterly satisfied with herself.

"But there is something I can do. Something that will put a very effective brake on your little plans. And there’s nothing you can do about it."

Mika narrowed his eyes. He was reading her—probing, searching for any crack in her mental defenses.

But the Maiden of Fate was iron. She gave him nothing.

"Until then, my dear child." She let out a giggle that was unlike her. "Let’s see how you get out of this one."

The portal snapped shut.

Yelena immediately rushed to Mika’s side.

"What was that about? What did my sister mean? What dilemma? Mika, what’s going on between you two?"

Charlotte clung to his arm. "Auntie looked...really intense. Is something bad going to happen? Should we be worried?"

Mika stared at the space where the portal had been. His expression was thoughtful rather than concerned.

"Serious? I don’t know." He rubbed his chin. "She seemed very confident. Like she’d found a foolproof way to stop me." He frowned. "But she can’t directly interfere. So what..."

Then he shrugged.

"Whatever it is, I’ll handle it. I’m more than halfway through. There’s no chance I’m stopping now."

He looked down at the scene in the forest enclosure, where Nuri had apparently joined the hug and all three of them, mother, daughter, and dragon princess were now tangled together with a very happy fox in the middle.

"But for now..."

He smiled.

"Come on, you two. I think our cake is ready. Time to add the finishing touches."

"I want to do the frosting!" Charlotte immediately abandoned her concerns and rushed after him. "Mika, let me! I have a vision!"

Yelena lingered a moment longer.

Below, Nadia was actually laughing while Astrid wiped happy tears from her eyes and Nuri tried to teach Aster how to breathe fire. It was one of the most beautiful thing she had seen in years.

But there was one thing that nagged at the back of her mind.

It was the way Nadia had looked at Mika, when she thought no one was watching.

There was something in that gaze that was familiar, something warm, something that felt strangely, unsettlingly like...

’Love...But the love I have for Mika that should never occur between a mother and child.’

But she shook her head. She was probably imagining things.

She cast one last look at the beautiful scene below, and let it close behind her.

The forest enclosure settled into evening quiet. Aster chirped contentedly, wrapped in the tails of her new sister. The stars came out, one by one.

And in a realm between worlds, the Maiden of Fate sat on her throne and smiled.

"Let’s see how you deal with this one, you little brat." She murmured. "Let’s see."