Chapter 3

The two divine beings were locked in an amorous embrace, unclothed, female over male, goddess over god. Their lips overlapped, their tongues jousted. Niobe's pelvis grinding over Felix found the mark, and the penetration happened abruptly.

Both gasped in unison into the darkness. Niobe was louder, unwinding years of chastity, bellowing into the wilderness. She was haphazard at first, but then slowed her bounds to a tempo.

The forest had come alive around them- insects chittering, sleeping birds awakening, and animals responding to their rhythm.

Niobe tilted her head back and rode Felix, who found a deeper inroad into her. Her pupils set aflame, and her skin gleamed like gold. The goddess' moans echoed sonorously in the clearing and beyond.

The fruits born from the body are heightened for divine beings. The couple climbed together up to orgasm every second, but never really reached it. It was an extended journey of pleasure that felt more enduring than their immortal lives.

Crunch!

Snap!

There was a rustle of leaves and breaking of twigs. Someone or something had breached the periphery of the clearing. The forest sounds died all of a sudden. The two love-makers, sensing danger, put on their clothes and rushed to their feet. Felix's manhood tented shamefully from under his tunic. He resolved to mete out justice to the source of the rude interruption.

'Lucerna!" Niobe uttered.

An orb of white appeared overhead, mildly lighting up the clearing. They spied an enormous, deformed figure coming out of the woods. Eyes as large as saucers, glowing crimson-red in the dark.

As immortal, indestructible gods, they had nothing to fear from a forest creature. Still, Felix reclaimed a familiar sentiment. He had lost it during his indulgent year at the citadel.

FEAR.

'Gladio," he announced. A gladius sword appeared in his grip. It had a blue hilt with lapis lazuli studded in the pommel, the mark of one belonging to House Anaximander.

'You are in the presence of a god and goddess," he warned the intruder. 'Reveal yourself and pay your respects, or be smitten!"

The specter walked into the light. Over six and a half feet tall, it had a hulking, grotesque body. Seemingly, a pile of rocks and boulders conjoined made up its shape. From the crevices, a red haze emanated as if there were fiery magma within.

'Fal-se go-ds mu-st die!" the monster announced in a mealy-mouthed voice. It headed towards them with an increased pace.

'What creature is it? A golem?" Felix inquired.

'Arcum!" Niobe spelled, and a recurve bow appeared in her grasp. 'Let's find out."

As she pulled the bow's string, a flaming arrow materialized at the nocking point; she released her pinch. The arrow hissed across the clearing towards its target. It hit the rocky monster with a twang and shattered into pieces.

'Fal-se go-ds MU-ST die!" the fiend repeated, bridging the gap between them faster.

'It is immune to the fire element,' said Niobe, who had decades of battle experience. 'Perhaps it is a lava golem. Try one of your icicle attacks."

'Nero Impexis!" Felix spelled, raising a hand like a claw. An array of tapering icicles appeared in mid-air. With a twitch of fingers, he shot them ahead to meet their racing adversary. The icicles, capable of riddling a tree trunk, collapsed into oodles of water as they entered the monster's proximity. The heat emanating from the inferno within it was high enough to melt divined ice in an instant.

'FAL-SE GO-DS MU-ST DIE!" it barfed.

The earth shook with every step the monster took. A collision with them was imminent.

The Bibliotheca mandated gods to face their challengers instead of dodging them.

'Aegis," the duo announced together. With a series of cling clangs, golden armor appeared on their bodies- helmets, breastplates, cingulum skirts, and greaves. No physical damage could penetrate adamantine armor; legend had it. Moreover, divine protection granted by titans ensured that even the most damaging attacks were reflected or nullified.

Their rocky adversary was fast for its girth as it rushed towards them. The red haze within it flickered ominously, casting a haunting aurora over the clearing.

Felix looked at Niobe uneasily. Her muscles were tense and her concentration steadfast. She had transformed from a carefree lover to a warrior-goddess. Her lover found her more attractive than ever.

Felix was a freshly ordained god and was only nineteen of age. He knew not much of the gods yet, and his divine powers were pubescent. The young god had spent most of his first year in the citadel on luxurious pursuits with his partner. Niobe looked about the same age, but she was ninety-two years old and had lived a long life already. Gods did not seem to age.

'Do you love me, Felix?" she asked, turning towards him.

'What? I do! Of course, I do!" he replied, startled by the catechism.

'Then let me handle this. Get back!" the goddess commanded, and took a defensive stance.

Niobe's demands of him had always been selfish. Things she wanted him to do for her. The unsanctioned hunting expedition they were on was one of them. Acquainted with Niobe having her way with him all the time, the request to let her take the lead perplexed him. However, he had no time to think. The monster was almost upon them.

Felix backpedaled several paces. ‘I'm not strong enough. If I act, I will get in her way,' he concluded.