Hours passed in silence. The egg inside Ruri was released once again to grow, but it needed to connect with her and start multiplying perfectly until it could transform into a fully developed fetus. This was a delicate process, especially when the goal was to conceive a child between two powerful beings.
Ruri remained lovingly wrapped around their neck, focusing all her willpower on that egg, willing it to grow. It was as if her connection to them was her greatest source of strength. In her mind, there was only one wish: to give this figure what he had lost. To her, that loss was an open wound in him, one that had never healed.
It was this wound that had led Bruno to decide, when they started anew at the Divinestone Clan, to keep that little maid close to them. Alm, who once radiated only vile malice, began to soften as the proximity to her reminded him of the child he never had.
Thus, that maid beca their disciple, and she never wanted to leave their side, forcing them to care for her. In the end, she managed to connect with them in a completely unexpected way.
She slowly lted the hearts of those two, brought them together, and later seduced them in a sowhat questionable way... but her innocence and determination touched them deeply. Her love ultimately made them accept her. Now, Ruri wanted, at all costs, to heal that wound—sothing only she could do.
At the sa ti, Alm and Bruno focused solely on her, wishing with all their hearts that she wouldn’t hurt herself in the process. Both cared more about her well-being than their own.
Two days passed...
The egg remained exactly as it was, showing no signs of growth.
"Ruri..."
Alm tried to say sothing, but she softly interrupted him, "It’s too early to give up. There’s life in the egg, trust , Master. I’m your woman—I will give you a child."
The two sighed heavily, as if an invisible blade had pierced their hearts. Ruri’s suffering reflected their own silent tornt.
A week passed... still, nothing changed...
Actually, there was a change: the egg began to wither, losing its vitality.
Ruri and the two noticed this, but Ruri’s grip only tightened further. Alm and Bruno felt her mind was in complete chaos as a dark shadow began to consu her soul.
As ti seed to stand still, Ruri felt her heart sink like a stone about to drown in a dark ocean. Each heartbeat was a silent prayer, a plea for that small fragnt of hope to grow and thrive.
But as another day passed and the egg remained inert, its life energy completely depleted, Ruri didn’t hesitate. She began to give her own vitality to it.
’Did I fail him?’ The thought cut through her like a blade, leaving behind a pain so deep she had never experienced anything like it. Her desire to give this to the man she loved drove her forward. It was more than a simple dream; it was a mission, a way to show him she could heal the invisible wounds that marked him so deeply.
Alm and Bruno gently lifted her face, wanting to say sothing, but as they looked into her eyes, they found no words.
"No, I can’t give up. I won’t give up," she murmured, clenching her teeth, though her eyes began to fill with tears. The smile she tried to keep steady before them trembled at the edges.
She hugged him again, burying her face into him. Yet every mont without progress felt like a sentence. Even so, Ruri clung to that thread of hope. No matter how fragile, no matter how logic and reason scread it was impossible, her heart refused to surrender.
’I can do this. I have to do this.’
She repeated the mantra in her mind, but doubt gnawed at her strength. The idea that she might never succeed, that she wasn’t good enough, began to flood her thoughts. With every second, her despair grew. Still, she forced herself to believe, even as her soul trembled and the fear of complete failure took root in her heart.
Ruri clenched her fists tighter and whispered to herself, barely audible, "Please... just let do this for him."
Alm and Bruno could no longer bear to see her like this. "Ruri... we can try again in the future. Maybe if Isla stays sealed for a while, she’ll adjust better to her new soul. Sotis, failure is just an opportunity in disguise. I’ve had failures that turned out to be the best thing later..."
"No... no... it’s still possible..." She turned to them, and their eyes t. Her face was streaked with tears, filled with pain and anger directed at herself.
Seeing and hearing her like this, Alm and Bruno found themselves at a crossroads... it wasn’t a matter of life and death, yet their souls rged once more as if it were.
He moved his hands, gently wiping the tears from her delicate face. "Why are you like this? We’re immortal. We can live forever and keep trying until we succeed."
"...But Master will only grow stronger..." she murmured, her trembling words betraying her emotions. "Now, after your existence has changed, am I even enough to make this happen? And in the future? If it doesn’t happen now... I’ll surely fail forever..."
He swallowed hard. She wasn’t wrong. Perhaps with their new bodies, it might no longer be possible to create another fertilized egg within her.
"Don’t worry about that. I’d rather see you happy... maybe I can split myself and create a new mortal body." He tried to co up with ideas quickly. "Better yet, I could use my other body. If I make a few adjustnts, it might still work. Isla wouldn’t lose much—after all, it’s an immortal body."
But... he just saw her bury her face into his chest, clenching her fists so tightly they seed about to bleed. After a few painful seconds, she murmured softly, "In the end, I’m just a failure..."
The whale took a deep breath, then moved his arms and forcibly pulled her away from his chest. He looked into her eyes seriously.
"A failure? You have no idea who I was before I t you... And besides, when we were divided into two poles and arrived in this universe, even getting into this body was a massive struggle between us."
"Every second together was a fight. We were constantly trying to attack each other and couldn’t stand one another. But... that little girl we were protecting was the thing that brought us together. Later, the love we felt for you was what made us accept our differences. We’re one now, and we always understand why the other is the way they are. More than that, accepting our flaws and trying to be the best we can be—it was all because of you. You brought us together. Look at what we’ve beco now. How could you possibly be a failure?"
Ruri looked into his eyes, and the two felt perfectly what the other was feeling. "But..." she murmured, her mind now clear. "I’ve gained and gained so much, way more than I’ve ever given. Honestly, I’ve done almost nothing... I have to try harder just to not be a burden..."
He sighed and said, "You’ve changed everything about us. I’m the one who should say I’ve done nothing... I’ve only cared for you and shared what I received from the system. Honestly, after everything I’ve done, I didn’t deserve soone like you by my side..."
She interrupted quickly, "No! Master is saving, caring for, and protecting everyone. The things you’ve done in the past can’t be undone, but you’re going to save all the universes and redeem yourself. You deserve everything you have and so much more..."
They stared at each other in silence after that. A few seconds later, both let out a light laugh. Then, a deep longing for one another flowed strongly between them.
"Let’s stop this. I don’t care about spending the rest of eternity trying with you. Honestly, even if I was sure it would never happen, I’d still want to keep trying."
Ruri listened and smiled faintly, feeling almost the sa; but the intensity inside her was a thousand tis greater. If she could, she’d stay glued to him every single day without hesitation.
Until...
At that mont, a fluctuation was felt by the two of them, making their eyes widen.
In unison, they turned. Then, they saw sothing forgotten gently floating.
"The Reincarnation Mirror..." Ruri murmured, stunned. That definitely ca from that item from the Primordial Chaos. She felt sothing inside her, and the whale felt it too, though slightly different from her.
Alm and Bruno were confused. That mirror was still sealed. They had only released the Cauldron and planned to study the mirror carefully later, using the tattoos to dominate it.
But now, sothing instinctual compelled them to move toward it. Ruri grabbed his hand and moved alongside him.
Upon reaching it, the whale waved his hand and imdiately removed the golden seal. The couple stared at the mirror, both feeling a sort of instinctive call emanating from it. It was sothing indescribable and strange.
The whale only felt the need to set it free. But Ruri...
She waved her hand, and Isla’s soul, which was with her, appeared. Then, suddenly, the mirror pulsed with a brilliant white light.
"!?"
The couple’s eyes widened. The light was so strong that it completely blinded them.
It lasted three seconds. Then everything went dark, and the world’s colors returned. At that mont, both looked ahead... and their eyes nearly popped out.
The mirror was gone.
Then...
Ruri suddenly felt her mind spinning.
She staggered, placed her hand on her stomach, and then opened her mouth. Even though there was nothing in her stomach—after all, she no longer needed to eat to live—she began to vomit.
"Is this... morning sickness?" Alm and Bruno thought, their minds quickly making the connection, especially for soone who had lived on Earth.
Ruri vomited a strange substance, transparent yet not exactly liquid. Alm and Bruno focused on it and realized it wasn’t a liquid but energy.
"It’s energy from the heavenly laws... sothing connected to life," they murmured, and only then did they sense Ruri’s aura.
Her entire body was flooded with it. Was it so much that she vomited the excess? Or maybe... she vomited because she no longer needed it...
At that very mont, Ruri’s eyes widened, and her entire body trembled. She placed her hands on her abdon and then turned to the whale. Her face imdiately contorted, and tears poured down like a torrent.
"The egg... the egg... it’s starting to multiply... Master... it’s happening..."
Alm and Bruno jumped, focusing entirely on her. Then they saw it—that egg dividing and multiplying, just like the normal start of a pregnancy. But sothing was off. They felt it within the egg. It was as if a soul was sealed inside it, along with a fluctuation coming from the heavenly laws.
"The mirror and Isla... they fused inside you," the whale murmured, completely stunned.
Ruri jumped and hugged him with every ounce of strength she had. "It was her... I felt the mirror and her soul connect with ... she wanted to be our daughter..."
The whale swallowed hard. What the hell had just happened? The answer would co with ti, but the result was already there. And now, they couldn’t feel anything but relief. Ruri’s overwhelming happiness was contagious, leaving them equally joyful.
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