NOVPUBAfter Taufik's figure vanished into the swirling portal, the surrounding space shimmered briefly before falling silent.
Death, still standing in the empty void, exhaled softly. With a casual gesture, she snapped her fingers, and in an instant, reality bent to her will.
In the blink of an eye, she returned to her own realm.
She was once again adorned in her regal attire: a flowing gown woven from the night sky itself, adorned with silent stars and shadows that moved like whispers.
A crown of bone and silver rested upon her brow, and her presence carried the weight of an ancient, inevitable silence.
Death raised both hands, her voice a low hum that resonated through the emptiness.
Then, from the ground, formed of nothing and yet everything, two figures emerged in silence.
Ethereal and pale, cloaked in gravewind and shadow, the Spirits of Death, beings so rare they were considered myths in most worlds, materialized in the silence. Feared by mortals, whispered of in legends, they were horrors unto themselves. Yet here, within the dominion of Death, they were nothing more than slaves. Tireless. Obedient. Unpaid. Bound by ancient law and darker power.
They rose from the floor of nothingness, drifting like mist before dropping to their knees, heads bowed low before their mistress.
"…Lady Death-"
Death tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a playful yet chilling smile.
"No~ No~ No~" she sang, slowly wagging a finger. Her voice echoed like the slow toll of a funeral bell, each word ringing with eerie finality. "From now on… Call me Mistress Death. I'm no longer a "lady," you know~?"
The two Spirits flinched as if struck by an unseen force, then adjusted themselves, kneeling deeper.
"…Mistress Death," They echoed in perfect unison, their voices tremulous with reverence, and something deeper, more primal. Not fear, but the hushed terror born from witnessing something ancient and eternal evolve into something greater.
Death stepped forward, her heels clicking softly against the unseen surface of her domain.
Each step echoed like a heartbeat within a tomb. The shadows shifted, coiling around her feet like serpents, reacting to her presence with reverent hunger. No longer passive, they surged with intent as if the very realm acknowledged her ascension.
The silence thickened, sacred and absolute, the kind that blanketed graveyards and forgotten cathedrals. Even the air seemed to kneel.
Mistress Death smiled again, cold, purposeful.
"Good," She whispered, her voice a blade wrapped in velvet. "Now rise… There is work to be done"
The Spirits rose without question, skeletal hands folded, heads slightly bowed in submission.
"What orders do you have for these two lowly beings, O Your Grace?" One asked, voice hollow as the wind between tombstones.
"Easy~" Death purred, drawing out the word like a slow stroke of a knife. "Go fetch Hercules' soul from the Wheel of Reincarnation"
The silence cracked.
"B-But Your Grace," the second Spirit stammered, their bones subtly rattling, "The Wheel of Reincarnation is also Lady Lif-"
Death's gaze turned sharp, and the shadows around her pulsed once, like a heartbeat of death itself.
"I know," She said, her voice now colder than a forgotten grave buried beneath the weight of centuries. "That's mine to handle. You... Just go and do as I said"
Her tone dropped into something quieter, yet impossibly more commanding.
"After all… This is my darling's request. How could I possibly refuse him?"
Then, in an instant, the terrifying Mistress Death shifted, hands rising to cradle her cheeks like a smitten maiden. A soft, wistful sigh escaped her lips. A blush bloomed across her pale skin.
For a fleeting moment, she looked less like the embodiment of the end and more like a girl in love, dreamy, radiant, and impossibly stunning.
The Spirits of Death froze, unsure whether to kneel deeper or vanish entirely.
"…My darling~"
Mistress Death giggled softly to herself, momentarily lost in the warmth of her own thoughts, her fingers gently brushing her cheek as if reliving a cherished memory.
But then, like a guillotine falling, her demeanor shifted.
"So," She said, her tone sharpening like frost forming on glass.
Her eyes, moments ago dreamy and adoring, now gleamed with frigid authority as they locked onto the two Spirits of Death.
"…Why are you still here?"
The shadows behind her twitched, coiling like silent threats.
"Scram"
The word cracked through the silence like a whip.
The Spirits didn't hesitate. In the blink of an eye, their forms dissolved into ribbons of gray mist and were gone, slipping through the darkness like obedient hounds set loose.
Mistress Death stood alone once more, heart full of love, and a storm quietly brewing behind her smile.
"... I miss him already~"
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When Taufik stepped out from the portal inside the Portal Room of the Saranjana Kingdom, he blinked in surprise.
Not even a full minute had passed.
Yet he could remember everything, his time with Death, the weight of her domain, the surreal sense of eternity.
His entire family was already out of the portal and waiting for him. They turned toward him as if they had only just noticed his arrival.
"*Sigh*… This whole space-and-time thingy is confusing as hell," Taufik muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
He had felt like hours had passed with Death… And yet here, the world hadn't even missed him.
Deciding to shelve the cosmic headache for another day, Taufik took a step forward, heading toward his family.
They were already aware of his presence, though something in their expressions shifted the moment he approached.
Tina, who was holding little Lavanya in her arms, was the first to step toward him.
"Hmm?" She halted just a step away, tilting her head with a puzzled frown. Her nose twitched slightly as she sniffed the air.
"…Strange"
"What's wrong, Tina?" Jenn asked, brows raised. The other wives leaned in, curious and alert. They could sense something was off, and that was rarely a good sign.
Tina looked directly at Taufik.
"I smell another woman's scent on Master's body"
"...W-What?" Taufik stammered, eyes wide in surprise.
He hadn't even had time to recover from the transition between realms, and now every gaze in the room was zeroed in on him like arrows drawn.
His other wives, Gaia, Anugerah, Rani, and Kaela, turned to face him in unison, each wearing a different flavor of suspicion.
Their expressions didn't demand an answer, they commanded one.
Even his mother, Linda, stepped beside them, arms folded, clearly siding with the wives.
Taufik's father, Marzuki, let out a long, knowing sigh and shook his head.
"You're on your own, son"
Off to the side, Aksara and Erelythe stood apart from the familial gathering.
Aksara let out a sigh sharp enough to slice stone.
"After all that talk about marriage first... And this is what he pulls," he muttered, shaking his head while looking at his Father.
Erelythe, meanwhile, remained silent, her crimson eyes calm, almost amused.
She didn't need to speak; the faint, ghostly scent clinging to Taufik was all too familiar to her. After all, it was the unmistakable essence of Death herself.
Amanda and Taufik's Grandma watched the brewing storm with a smirk tugging at their lips.
Amanda smiled, it was the smile of someone watching a prime-time drama unfold live.
While their grandma, ever proud, beamed at Taufik, not for the situation, but simply because of what her grandson had achieved.
In all the D'archy bloodline, no one else could've managed something like this.
Lembuswana, now in his doll form, and Basukhi, having shrunk themselves to remain inconspicuous, sat quietly in Alice's arms. Neither creature dared to make a sound.
Taufik's other children, clustered near Shasha, exchanged confused looks. They didn't understand why their moms were glaring at Dad… But it didn't seem good.
Silence hung in the room like a held breath.
Taufik laughed nervously and raised his hands in a futile gesture of peace.
"Look, I can explain-"
"Oh, you'd better," Gaia said, her tone cold and sharp, arms crossed like an ancient judge about to sentence a fool.
"Yeah," Anugerah chimed in, her voice sweet enough to make his spine tingle, but her eyes told a different story. "Let's start with the part where another woman's scent ends up all over you"
"And more importantly," Rani growled, clenching her fists so tightly her knuckles turned white, "Who, Where, and fucking WHEN, husband?!
Kaela remained silent, but her eyes... Gods, her eyes. There was no need for words, just a steady, icy stare that pierced deeper than any blade.
"I... uh..." Taufik's gaze darted, desperate for help.
His eyes landed on Erelythe.
He begged her silently because with her, this would be a little easier to explain; after all, she was the Titaness of Death.
But Erelythe turned away, expression unreadable.
Taufik's throat went dry.
He swallowed hard.
This was going to be a very, very long minute.
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from the six infinity stones, I just want one... the power stone (:v)
