The Goddess of Death and Her Empress

"Where am I?" Lena whispered. She looked around, and only saw barren stone. She walked along a path that was lined with stones as borders, but the walking surface was unbroken. The stones looked newly placed as there was no dust gathered in the crevices.

"A hut?" She asked as she came upon a stone dwelling. She stepped inside and saw Syl sleeping on the cold stone. Lena pursed her lips.

"This isn't right. You are my servant, the first one I have chosen from among the Others. You need a proper place to sleep." Lena said. Syl's body slowly rose up, stone pillars as thick as Lena's forearm rose from the floor.

"Hm, you need some wood to dull the cold." Wood appeared, formed the rest of the frame, and a flat platform. "Better. I'll see if Kyrie can send you some furs, little Syl." Lena sat down next to her on the bed, and smiled gently.

"You were not nice to my servants, but I can feel the changes in your core." She put her hand over the center of the sleeping woman's chest. A gentle white mist seeped from her hand and entered Syl's body.

"In time, you'll have some sisters keep you company. For now, be good until I can send you some."

* * *

"Still learning, but not bad." Gallae said with a small smile. The child avatar continued to direct asteroids and comets towards the celestial body, and would soon properly form a solid core, with a liquid mantle that would allow the planet to stay warm.

This form of Gallae was a piece of the whole, while another piece loved the goddess Imera's astral form. Just as she existed in several galaxies, she could also send her consciousness to several different places without losing her focus.

Gallae had watched the white light that was Lena appear on the planetoid, and walk towards Syl's sleeping body. When she brought wood from Imera to make Syl's bed, it made Gallae smile.

"Your instincts allowed you to find your body, and your astral form is now connected, even though it is a minimal level. You won't be able to travel here often, but you are getting stronger." Gallae looked into the void again, and aimed her awareness out towards the edges of the system.

Huge asteroids, some as large as a small moon, began to move inward in the system. They were the necessary materials to build Lena's celestial body. Once she had enough mass, Gallae would take the time to reform and properly align the surface.

Once the core solidified and heated up, it would generate enough heat to liquefy the mantle, which would maintain the temperature of her celestial body.

Gallae wasn't building a green planet, like Imera. In her consciousness, she saw something different. It was something befitting the daughter of Imera, one that had the wild temperament of the living planet, and the savageness of her creator.

Gallae was the embodiment of power, whether destructive, or creative, and the strength that kept the galaxies together. It was that strength that created Imera.

The other gods were Imera's direct children, without Gallae's guidance. Kyrie was their first child, a gift to Imera from her mother, and her lover.

Gallae watched as Lena left and smiled fondly.

"You would be so proud, Imera. She's growing up, and will be ready to help you when you wake up." Gallae was satisfied, and closed her avatar's eyes.

She continued to direct the large pile of materials towards the planetoid, while keeping a subtle gaze on her most precious child.

Maybe this time, her spirit would be strong enough.

* * *

"Did you feel something?" Nuri asked Nadya quietly.

"I did, but I don't know what it was." Nadya pursed her lips. "It kind of felt like a door had opened, and now it's closed again."

"Yeah." Nuri lifted up onto her arm and looked down at Lena's face. "She's so beautiful." She whispered. "Do you think we'll always be with her?"

"I hope so. The goddess said we're hooked even harder than before." Nadya smiled at Lena while she gazed into her lovely face with adoration, and a sense of worship she normally reserved for the goddess. "She doesn't want us to get away. She wants us." She said in a small voice, almost as though she couldn't believe it.

"Get closer, Nadya. I felt her shiver a bit." Nuri said as a small portion of Lena's skin puckered due to the cool breeze of spring in the air. Both women surrounded her with their own bodies, and felt her move her head so she could rub her cheek on their chests.

Even asleep, Lena still loved their hugs.

* * *

"Mm, so warm and soft." Lena woke up and smiled. "Nuri, Nadya, your hugs are perfect." She opened her eyes. "Where is Kyrie?" She didn't feel the goddess nearby.

"She's still in Haven, Empress." Nuri said and hugged Lena so she sank into her body a bit. "She said that she had a few things to do." Lena pursed her lips.

"Beast shit." she said. "She's the goddess. Unless she needs to be there to replenish Haven with her power, she can be anywhere on Imera she wishes." Nadya sighed a bit.

"She's a bit worried. Her mother is asleep, so she goes to see her from time to time. In the middle of the Great Desert, there is a volcano. There hasn't been one there for thousands of years." Nadya said. Lena thought for a moment.

"Hm. It is Imera, a living planet, and one that can be wild as well as destructive." She sighed. "There is nothing to be worried about. Lift me up and help me to wash." She looked at Nadya. "Send for Sol, and Hannah."

"Why Hannah?"

"I marked her core a long time ago. She's probably starving, and I need to let her absorb my power a bit." Lena's cheek twitched, as she had felt something quite uncomfortable, and she reached out with her consciousness. She began to grit her teeth.

"Jhana! Get over here!"