Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 337: Chapter 337: Sleeping Beauty [4]

Chapter 337 – Sleeping Beauty [4]

It was one of the strangest discussions Sleeping Beauty had ever had in her lifetime, and the World knew how many of those she had witnessed.

"Do...you want me to be your mother?" Sleeping Beauty asked incredulously, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Hearing her say such words, Cassius couldn’t help but cringe inwardly. However, he still didn’t regret his choice.

A mother was easier to handle than someone trying to be his lover. He already had Natalia and other random women whose names he couldn’t even bother to remember.

He didn’t need a goddess added to that. He didn’t want to become the second coming of Adonis.

’No, really, thank you.’

"Yes." He replied. "That’s what I want."

"Why? No, first!" She frowned. "You, Adonis, are telling me that you want to dedicate yourself to only one woman? I told you to lie to me, but that was with the understanding that you would never be able to love only one woman."

"People can change." Cassius said. "And reincarnation is never a clean process. I am affected by the morals and memories of the person whose body I took."

Sleeping Beauty said nothing, finding it quite believable.

"But why would you dedicate yourself to one woman?" She counterattacked. "And why should I accept being...your mother?"

The goddess said the last words with obvious wariness or distaste, or both.

Considering her own past with her mother, Cassius was not surprised by her reaction.

"Because only in such a way could we build a new relationship that would not end in tragedy." He said. "And I have proven to you that I am the Eternal King’s Messenger. Will you kill your father’s last hope?"

Sleeping Beauty knew she wouldn’t. And even without that, living hundreds of years without Adonis had been agonizing.

He was the worst of men, but he was also the best of them all.

No one could forget him after loving him once. That was his greatest gift, but it was also his greatest curse.

She had missed him. And she didn’t remember how many times she had found a man and transformed him physically to look like Adonis just to soothe her heart.

It never quite succeeded. Adonis’s beauty was not something one could replicate; even the gods couldn’t.

So how could she kill him? But in the same way, how could she accept being anything other than his lover?

Sleeping Beauty couldn’t imagine that. And therefore, she couldn’t accept Cassius’s proposal.

"I can’t." She said firmly. "I can’t accept being your mother. I want to be your lover. You have done it once, Adonis. You were with all of us goddesses at the same time. Why not again?"

’How did this discussion shift into this? Queen’s holy skirt, just end all of this!’ Cassius cursed inside his mind.

He looked at Ananke for help, but the goddess wisely didn’t say anything.

Considering Sleeping Beauty’s mentality, she might become even more unstable if another woman spoke on behalf of Cassius.

And yet, the mere sight of Ananke gave Cassius an idea.

"Can you see Lady Ananke here?" He said, pointing at the Queen, who arched an eyebrow at being mentioned.

Sleeping Beauty followed his hand and stared at Ananke. She frowned. "What’s your point?"

"She is like a mother to me." Cassius continued. "And it is the love she holds for me that makes me love her deeply, ready even to sacrifice anything I have for her."

Now, Cassius was deadly serious.

"So you are looking down on the love of a mother, but what you don’t and can’t know is that it’s one of the purest forms of love you can actually obtain. Now, of course, some mothers are rather questionable, for lack of a better word." He continued, grasping Sleeping Beauty’s hands again. "But I don’t doubt that you will be the best, and I will not disappoint you."

’This is so strange. I want to die.’

"A mother and a son cannot have sex." Sleeping Beauty voiced her greatest concern. "A mother and a son cannot kiss, or do all the immoral things I crave to do with you."

’Are you a pervert? Of course you are!’

"But a mother and a son can be together forever, with far less risk of separation, pain, and tragedy compared to what we were before." Cassius replied. "So you need to choose between two things, Sleeping Beauty: the sexual life that could only give you a temporary sense of fulfillment, or the security and conviction that I will be with you no matter what."

"No matter what?"

"I can be a liar, like you just said." The Last Born admitted. "But one thing I do not lie about is when I tell family or close friends that I will never leave them. And that is what you will become if you accept. Now, I am not expecting you to answer immediately."

He smiled at her, and it was devastatingly beautiful.

"Take your time, Sleeping Beauty. Try the love of a mother, or if you are more comfortable, that of a friend or anything else you want except a lover."

"Even across reincarnation, you are still good with words, aren’t you?" Sleeping Beauty said, realizing once more that Adonis was manipulating her.

"That’s the minimum requirement to live long enough in this world."

"What if I am not satisfied even after I have tried?"

"What if you are satisfied?"

The goddess was silenced, and she knew talking with him was useless. He never backed down, and considering her poor social skills because of how much time she spent in slumber, she truly had no chance.

She turned toward Ananke, looking her up and down, then down and up. "So you are not his woman. But...a mother."

"Let’s say that." Ananke replied with a chuckle. "He is my Blessed, and I do love him like a mother."

"How do you manage that?"

"You will see once you try." The Queen said. "He is easy to love."

"Just like he is easy to hate."

"Love and hate—it doesn’t take much to go from one to the other."

The two goddesses looked at each other, and at that instant, they seemed to understand each other.

Sleeping Beauty took a deep breath, looking back at Cassius. She had expected a simple meeting with a proposal she would potentially refuse because of her slumber, but instead, she had come face-to-face with both her gift and her curse.

By all accounts, she could tell that all of this was Adonis using the privilege her father had given him and his beauty to strike a deal with her.

Not only that, but also to make her emotionally tied to him, this time as a mother rather than a lover.

Adonis needed her. And even though it looked like she was the one at a disadvantage, she actually wasn’t.

Sleeping Beauty knew that.

However, one of the mysteries of the gods was that they could know something and still not believe it.

"I will try." Sleeping Beauty said, looking deeply at Cassius. "I will try because I respect what my father gave you, and because you seem different despite being the same."

She stretched out her hand. "You asked me to welcome you either as the Eternal King’s Messenger or as Adonis. I will welcome you as you, the you that encompasses both identities. Now give me the Ring, and tell me your new name."

Cassius wanted to kneel down in relief at that instant. Although it was nothing but a promise to try and nothing was confirmed, it was still better than nothing.

Quickly, he gave her the ring that naturally belonged to her.

"I have protected this Ring from all harm." He said. "And out of respect for your father and you, I never looked at what was inside."

’It’s just because I can’t. You’re bloody lucky.’

But Sleeping Beauty was impressed, as if she didn’t know the fact that only she could open it.

"As for my new name in this new life," Cassius continued, "I am Cassius Desdemona. My family calls me the Last Born of the Desdemona. My friends call me Cass, and those who don’t know me choose between Angel, Bloody Devil, Skyburner, or even...White Snake. Cass is enough, by the way."

Sleeping Beauty stared at him, eyes slightly wide, only now realizing what the familiar feeling she had sensed all this time was.

"I see." She said, chuckling to herself and shaking her head in the process. "You are of the Cursed Desdemona Family."

"You know my family?"

"Many gods do."

"Do you hate them like many gods do?"

Sleeping Beauty grinned. "My father truly was a wise man."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"What else?" She said, looking deeply at the Ring between her fingers. "He reincarnated you into the only family of godkillers. Maybe...maybe that was his way of seeking revenge against his killers."

’No, I am pretty sure you are simply thinking too much. But anyway, Godkiller?’

"I see now what he wanted." She continued with great conviction. "There is a difference between a Godkiller killing a god and a god killing another god. The latter only kills the god physically, with some possibility of revival. The former..."

Her smile widened.

"...the former can annihilate the god from existence itself."

"Oh my."

"How great my father was!" Sleeping Beauty went on. "He gave me back my lover, found me a cure for my Curse, and at the same time gave me a direct connection to the Godkillers for a more complete revenge."

"Then does that mean...?"

"We have an agreement, Adonis." She said. "And don’t tell me to call you Cassius. I am used to Adonis."

"...I don’t mind."

Ananke chuckled, seeing her Blessed’s face twitch.

"But first, before I move on, can you give me a kiss?" Sleeping Beauty asked. "A kiss to celebrate our reunion and seal our coming relationship?"

"Don’t forget that—!"

"Mother and son can kiss on the lips, can’t they? I know some cultures where they do."

"Only if the boy is a child."

"You are a child to me, Adonis."

’Fuck, that’s actually fair. And very disturbing too.’

But Cassius couldn’t accept. So he chose the next best thing, knowing that rejecting a goddess so many times in one meeting was not the wisest thing to do.

"On the cheek." He said, looking at her. "I can do it on the cheek."

Sleeping Beauty’s smile widened. Without a word, she lowered her head and offered him her left cheek.

Cassius sighed inwardly for the nth time, thinking about Isolde, before reluctantly giving Sleeping Beauty a small and quick kiss on the cheek.

The feeling was surreal.

Sleeping Beauty touched the spot where he had kissed her and permanently stopped time in that specific place, making sure that the feeling of his lips against her cheek and the lingering sensation of the kiss would be preserved forever.

Only then did she calm down, her heart at ease, and find herself willing to try this new approach.

"I missed you, Adonis." She said sincerely. "Now I can kill the other goddesses. Especially Persephone and Aphrodite."

"Ha-haha." Cassius laughed nervously, only to feel a pair of hands wrap tenderly around his neck.

It was Ananke.

She whispered,

"How can you kiss her and not me? Am I nothing to you?"

"Queen, please—!"

"Kiss me."

"Queen—!"

"Kiss me, Cassius."

’Bloody fucking hell.’ Cassius cursed, and once more understood Adonis better. That man had surely gone through nightmares and chaos none could imagine.

Yet many men envied Adonis, just like many men envied him now.

’Chaos is only beautiful when you look at it from the outside.’

He thought at last, before obeying and kissing Ananke on the cheek.

Thus, Cassius Desdemona officially became the only man after Adonis to kiss the cheeks of two goddesses.

And the first one to have two goddesses willing to be his mother.

And that...

DIIINNGGG!

...deserved something.

[Congratulations, You bloody Mother Collector bastard!]

’Just kill me.’

—End of Chapter 337—