Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: Sleeping Beauty [5]

Chapter 338 – Sleeping Beauty [5]

Cassius was now peacefully sitting on the ground after Ananke spread out a lovely carpet beneath them.

The Last Born sat between the two goddesses, with Ananke openly caring for him, taking the opportunity to pamper him before he went back.

Sleeping Beauty was doing the same. She knew that a mortal like Cassius couldn’t remain inside a Gate for too long. It became detrimental to them after a certain point.

So she tried her best to rebuild the connection she once had with him, all while trying to make it work within this new framework of being his mother.

It was not easy, to say the least. But seeing Ananke so fulfilled made her think that maybe it was possible.

Cassius, meanwhile, didn’t even know what to do in that situation. So he simply ignored the two goddesses and first inspected what he had obtained.

[Congratulations, You Bloody Mother Collector Bastard!]

[Description: We have never seen someone with such a concerning mother complex as you, Last Born. It’s...it’s truly terrifying.

You obtained Lady Ananke as your mother, and now Sleeping Beauty of the Eternal Kingdom.

You are the first mortal to achieve that.]

[Rewards: Title: Adopted Beloved Son of Goddesses; Pantheon Ticket.]

And this was not even the end, Cassius noticed.

[NEW ACHIEVEMENT! You Fooled A Goddess!]

[Description: You are not the Eternal King’s Messenger. And if Sleeping Beauty had been thinking less with a mind starved of love, she would have avoided convincing herself that you were her father’s Messenger just to be with you again.

But we wonder...with you or with Adonis? Is there any difference?

The fact remains, Last Born, you fooled a goddess by making her believe a lie.

Now that lie is the truth.

You have officially become the Eternal King’s Messenger.]

[Reward: Key of the Eternal Kingdom.]

’Fake it until you make it, huh?’ Cassius mused with a pleased smile. He liked the rewards he had been given, though the title was truly unnecessary.

This was the third Title the World recognized. The first was Last Born, then Lord Seraph, and now finally, Adopted Beloved Son of Goddesses.

As a player of the Game, Cassius knew that for a title to be recognized by Mother System, it had to be deeply connected to your Fate and your future.

’I truly don’t know what to feel about this. Still, let’s look at the bright side and accept the rewards.’

The only thing he was worried about was Isolde. How could he convince her that none of what had happened was something he wanted?

’Troublesome.’ Cassius complained, sighing under his breath, before looking at the reward concerning the Pantheon.

This was truly a bigger reward than he had ever expected. Because this ticket literally allowed him to build a Pantheon recognized by the Eye of the Divine.

It was like his current Sect, but operating on a divine scale.

Thinking about it, he stared at both Sleeping Beauty and Ananke, an idea surging inside his mind.

And just at that moment, Sleeping Beauty finished inspecting the ring. She sat there, her hand still mindlessly caressing Cassius’s hair, her eyes blank and melancholic.

"What’s wrong?" Cassius asked, looking at her. "There is no cure?"

"There is one." She said. "He gave me the way to cure my Slumber, but he warned me to wait until the Golden Generation of this Age arrived."

He tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because most of the gods will meddle with the affairs of mortals during that generation." She replied. "Which would make it easier to create my cure."

"You don’t look happy about that."

"Maybe it’s because of the requirements."

"Which are?"

"Well," she smiled dryly, "I will need to kill my biological mother and my brother, take both their hearts and souls. Then walk into the Dream Dimension, ask one of the Rulers to kindly give me their God Blood, and finally create the cure at the top of the Godless Mountain in the Ruin of Chaos...whose exact location my father actually didn’t know."

Cassius, and even Ananke, looked at her with startled expressions. "I mean, why all of this?" He asked. "And biological mother and brother? I thought you killed your mother!"

"That was not my real one, but simply a weak Third Generation goddess my father fancied." She replied without much emotion. "My true mother is a Second Generation goddess, and she abandoned me when I was born, took only my brother, and disappeared."

"Why do you need to kill them?"

"Do I need to spell it out?" Sleeping Beauty sighed. "Because, obviously, they are the ones who cursed me. And I need the death of those who cursed me to be cured. Cause and effect, Adonis. It’s as simple as that."

Yet her voice and tone didn’t sound indifferent at all.

Cassius simply fell silent at that moment. He looked at the goddess and saw her eyes glowing with confusion and hidden pain, as if she couldn’t understand why her mother would do that.

First her mother abandoned her, then she cursed her.

Just why?

That question would haunt Sleeping Beauty forever.

"It’s alright." Cassius said. "I can guess it’s not going to change much, but you have a new family now. And even though it’s not by blood, sometimes a found family hits harder."

He looked at the two of them, smiling. "And to make it feel more like a family, I thought that maybe we should proclaim it openly."

"Proclaim it?" Ananke inquired, not knowing what he had gained as a reward yet.

"Creating a Pantheon." He proposed, surprising both goddesses. "It might not be now, but just think about it."

"You need certain conditions to build a Pantheon, Adonis darling." Sleeping Beauty said, her heart much lighter from seeing him care for her. "You need at least three gods to build one. And you also need the accord of the Eye of the Divine."

She looked at Ananke. "We are only two. We need one more. Then we need to earn the right to create a Pantheon."

"That shouldn’t be a problem." Cassius smiled. "We will soon welcome another goddess. I just need to complete the task given to me, which I will after this meeting."

"Who?" Sleeping Beauty asked, with unconcealed jealousy after hearing the word ’goddess.’

"You will know." Ananke said mysteriously, then stared at her Blessed. "I guess you have earned the accord of the Eye of the Divine too?"

"I did."

Sleeping Beauty was curious about how he had managed it. But seeing Ananke silent on the matter, she decided to simply observe.

The three continued discussing the Pantheon and many other things.

Despite Sleeping Beauty still being unable to obtain her cure because of the ridiculous requirements, her father had still left her with an alternative treatment.

This one would not fully cure the Curse, but it would greatly weaken it. Now, instead of being awake only three months in a year, Sleeping Beauty would be awake three days a week.

That was already a considerable improvement.

After a while, Cassius’s body began to become dangerously strained from being inside the Gate for so long.

He knew then that he had to go back soon. But before that, however, there was still one last thing to discuss with Sleeping Beauty.

"Please, do not try to bring Anesthesia Amaris back to the Chosen Ones’ side." Cassius said.

"Hm?" Sleeping Beauty exclaimed, tilting her head, then nodded, her eyes brightening. "I understand now. Are you the one who made her shift to the Villain Category?"

"Let’s say I played a role in that."

"I should have guessed it sooner." Sleeping Beauty sighed. "Still, that’s quite something you have done. Anesthesia is one of the Heroines who was supposed to never be corrupted."

"Never say never, I guess." He shrugged. "But I wonder, why do you want her back in the Hero Category so badly? Is there something in it?"

"It’s simply because the Hero always wins." She replied. "And having a Blessed, during the Golden Generation, winning battles and gaining fame and recognition will give a god advantages and powers they would not gain otherwise. That’s why many gods support them."

"And by doing that," Cassius picked it up, "it becomes even more impossible for the Villain Category to win."

"Exactly. That’s why you will see a Hero chosen by many gods at the same time, or by many Divine Aspects." The Eternal Princess said. "Villains could never achieve that. First, because compared to us, the gods of the Villain Path disdain working together because of their lack of faith and trust. They rarely form a Pantheon. Second, they themselves don’t believe they can win."

Cassius’s face became dead serious. Until now, he had been lucky to meet Chosen Ones who were his childhood friends, rather close to him, or simply easy to influence.

But if he met someone like Theophane, or even worse, then he would be fighting against all the gods behind his opponent.

’Without forgetting Emrys, blessed by a lot of gods. A lot more than anyone.’

That was bad news.

"However," the Princess said again, pulling Cassius into a sudden hug, "I once decided to join the Villain Category because many gods of the Hero Category wanted to kill you for stealing their women."

She chuckled.

"I can do it for you again, Adonis."

"For someone who was cheated on with your stepmother, you are quite gentle with me."

"And for someone who ripped out your eyes, raped you, then imprisoned you, you are quite understanding with me, Adonis."

"In my defense, I no longer have those memories."

"A painful shame." She said, then pressed her cheek against his, rubbing it. "If you are in the Villain Category, then I will naturally be there with you."

"No regrets?"

"I haven’t lived enough to have that many regrets. I thought about changing that."

Cassius then looked at Ananke. "And you?"

"What kind of question is that?" She said. "You already know my answer."

The Last Born smiled. "Then I guess it’s settled." He turned his attention back to Sleeping Beauty. "Welcome to the Dark Side, Sleeping—!"

"Marvela." She said, cutting him off. "Call me Marvela."

Cassius paused, looking at her, then nodded.

"Welcome to the Dark Side, Marvela."

—End of Chapter 338—