After a quick look around the blank white room, Ares looked back at Candy and gave a very serious suggestion. "So... Wanna play hide and seek?"


    "Hahaha, I see you weren''t kidding when you said ''dumb'' fun. Are all revenants like this?"


    "About 90% if not more. It''s probably hereditary what with Dominus being our progenitor and all. But you know, I was being half serious. I''m pretty confident I could do an ok job of hiding in here if I had to!"


    "Pfft. I don''t believe you."


    "No really, I have a mimic on me and I could hide in its shadow. It might not work on someone at your level but it would probably fool most normal people!"


    "A mimic? Huh, been a while since I saw one of those. Should I even ask why you''ve got one on you?"


    "He''s a bit of a special one, actually. You see..." Ares took a seat opposite Candy and chatted away about how he found Rox and how Dominus, who was inside him, taught the guy how to wield pressure and so on so forth. The cultivation world was vast and even people in lower realms could have strange stories to tell if you bothered to listen so, to that end, Ares got carried away when he saw Candy was interested and started telling her all sorts. Candy had spent a good chunk of her later life in confinement and didn''t get to go out and see the wonders of the world so hearing about them second-hand from Ares wasn''t as boring as it would be for some other cultivators. Candy used to have a fascination for all the weird and wonderful treasures, planets, and monsters around the world but that interest turned to dust after years of being kept prisoner by her own family. This was what Ares had picked up on from her occasional interjection and, by the time he was done narrating his own stories, it seemed like Candy was willing to talk a bit more about herself. She looked at the ceiling with a frown and sighed deeply before looking Ares in the eye and being upfront with him.


    "Do you know what matters in the cultivation world?"


    Ares had always believed the answer to this question was simple so he responded with his interpretation that had been developed over however many years living in such a world. "Strength?"


    "Somewhat. Strength is the result of genes and talent so I would argue they''re more important. They come first and having strength without one of the two aforementioned traits is hard and mostly requires luck. I don''t disagree with your opinion but I think you aren''t old enough yet to see just how important it is to pass on the strength you have. It does many things, the major one being that your family can maintain power and control. If a child inherits your strength and, for whatever reason, you find yourself temporarily out of commission, being able to rely on your kin matters a great deal. It also enables your family lineage and legacy to remain strong. More than any of that, though, it can help a family bypass stubborn children... What I mean by that is that if a child shows promise, and has strength in spades, passing on that strength will allow the family to retain control over a part of it even if the child rebels. In my case, my family demanded I give birth and tried to pawn me off to the anti-magic God. See, I''m the one who made the runes for this pagoda and its generally agreed that I have the talent needed to become the next Goddess of the pillar. Those rumours created all sorts of problems though due to the kind of person the anti-magic God is and so my parents tried to head it off while cementing our position in society by throwing me to the wolves. I denied them, refused their demands, so they locked me up. Before I was put in this pagoda they were searching high and low for someone to effectively sell me off to so that I could give birth to another talented individual they could control instead of me. All they wanted out of me was my innate talent, even if they had to force me to birth a child and steal it away from me. I never wanted any of this and now I have both my family and the null legion breathing down my neck to try and usurp my genetics. I spent all my time refusing visits from suitors and politely declining the anti-magic God over and over again and I got sick of it... But what could I really do? My family would kill me if I ever tried to leave... And I know if I keep saying no eventually they won''t give me a say in the matter... The real me has no choice but to eventually accept one of those offers so I tried to hide... I didn''t want to deal with it so I hid part of my conscious here. This me can be happy knowing its free from those shackles... But I know I should go back at some point. No matter how much worse it''s gotten I need to go back while I still can. If the real me commits suicide I''ll just disappear. Not knowing if any minute now will be my last because the real me will just give up.... I''m scared... I don''t wanna stay here until I die... But I don''t wanna leave and have to confront that life again. If my state then was bad back then, I can only imagine how much worse it''s gotten after all these years... Ares... What do you think I should do? How can I go back to the days when I was just a happy kid, looking forward to getting out there and exploring the big, wide world?"


    "... That''s a difficult question. The only thing I can say to you is that staying here definitely isn''t the answer. It''s escapism. I know your problems aren''t small, and I know that you''re feeling helpless with no way out, but reality is often cruel like that. Take it from me, sometimes you have to suffer through the bad to get to the good. Like I told you earlier I was a slave to the Chen clan but that ended up working out for me years later when I finally escaped. It set me on the path I''m on now and there''s nothing about my life now that I regret. You aren''t out of the woods just yet but you will be. It might sound like I''m being dismissive, and that me telling you to just grin and bear it comes from an ignorant place, and maybe you''re right, but surely there has to be something worth living for? Do you not still dream of returning to the wide world and exploring? Isn''t that worth hanging onto if nothing else? Or better yet, you have a friend in me now. When you''re finally out of here, why not wait around for me? If you''re still having trouble by the time I catch up to you then I''ll solve it myself, deal?"


    "Haha, that''s nice of you, cutie, but what can you do? I''m still so far away from where you are now and I don''t know how long I''ll have back in reality before I''m forced to make some kind of choice if I haven''t already." Candy fiddled with her hair as she stared off into the never ending distance.


    "Use my name. If the future God of destruction, and everything he entails, is so worthless I can''t even help a single person then I might as well shoot myself. Better yet, I have connections. Astraeus, Caribou Coronos, Dominus, the boss of Transmit, the organisation gathering the fundamentals... Use my name and all my affiliations for all they''re worth to delay what can still be delayed when you return. It doesn''t have to be true but if you tell your family the God of destruction has claimed you as his then I can''t imagine they wouldn''t be overjoyed considering the kind of people they are. Use temporary measures until I can offer you a permanent solution... But I have my own condition."


    "... Yes?"


    "You have to promise me you won''t give up. This is the first time I''ve ever made an effort for anybody in a situation like this... I''ll admit part of it is for selfish reasons. If you give up and make this all pointless I won''t forgive you! I''ll dig up your corpse and find a way to bring you back so I can berate you if you do!"


    Candy looked down at the floor for a while, contemplating everything that Ares had offered her. Just as she was about to come to a decision, her face twisted into one of shock and she looked around with her head tilted. "Um, that conversation might have to wait ''till a little later... Someone is here and wants to see you... They''re quite mad..."


    "Someone is here? What do you mean?" Ares searched around the room for any intruders but there really wasn''t anyone else present.


    "I mean in another instance. Another clone of me is currently conversing with someone who''s looking for you. They seem really mad and are claiming you abandoned them earlier. I believe her name is Enyo?"


    "ENYO!? HOW THE HELL DID SHE GET HERE?!" Ares started biting his nails in a panic. The madwoman had chased him down for retribution! He''d made a grave error assuming she would stay put! She must have searched around town for traces of him and been informed by Peppy? that Ares was climbing the pagoda... But how did she even get this far?! She was a brute with no pressure finesse!... Actually, that was probably the answer. She must have just barreled through each trial with her overwhelming quantity of pressure... Uh oh.


    "Oh? She''s your wife! i gotta say, she is some seriously hot stuff. You managed to bat way out outta your league on this one. Scored a homerun and all!"


    "Yeah, no kidding. But seriously... Could you maybe tell her..."


    "I''m inviting her into this place!"


    "... That I''m not here? No? Ok? It was nice knowing you? I might be dead now?"


    DO~OM


    Enyo came storming into the white room through a flash of light and approached Ares who was trying to sneak away. She loomed over him from behind with a fierce glare and pressure rolling of her eyes as she reached out towards his back... But she stopped. Rather than continue reaching out towards him, she looked straight down at the mysterious shadow that had appeared out of nowhere. Did this idiot think Enyo would be fooled by such a silly trick?! It only took Enyo a second to realise this wasn''t the real Ares and she didn''t even have to see his fake red eyes to know that! It was the damn clone Rox and her stupid husband was hiding in his shadow! Enyo leaned down and shover her hand into the shadow, retracting it shortly after and dangling her dumb mutt by his hair. She fully yanked him out as he gulped nervously while wryly chuckling at her...


    "Um, uh, hello Enyo... It''s, uh, been a minute since, you know... So, uh, I figured I would just go out and get some fresh air but then I, uh, got lost? Maybe?"


    Enyo was about to smack this fool! She was considering it when she heard giggling coming from the side so she craned her head and looked at the foxy lady off to the side... Why was this woman acting like this? When Enyo stepped foot onto the fourth floor the fox had looked at her like she was a piece of dirt and nothing more... Where did all this giggling come from? Was Ares putting the moves on this vixen? Hmmmm... Enyo turned to Ares and shook him a bit as if she were hoping change would fall out... Granted the only change she wanted was for her husband not to scam her out of sex anymore! "You. Bastard. New wife?"


    Ares was taken aback because he hadn''t been expecting this question. How did Enyo know? Well, as Ares was about to find out, she didn''t. It was just that Ares completely misunderstood who Enyo was referring to. "Maybe, actually. I mean get this. You know the furry guy on the floor below?"


    What is this moron talking about?! Enyo was lost because she''d been asking about this woman on this floor! What did that furry lion looking guy have to do with this? "You mean the guy with the moustache you clearly drew on?"


    "Yes yes, that one. Well apparently his daughter is the reality pillar champion and you know what he said to me? He said lots of people wanted to be her mate. After a bit of back and forth, and him testing me, he said he would recommend to his daughter that I be her mate. I mean, what are the chances right? She''s a fundamental pillar so me meeting her at some point was going to happen regardless... Maybe that''s number three after all?"


    "What?" Enyo was thrown for a loop. This ratty devil had clearly been holding onto this information to distract her and, even if she knew that, it was still working! Now she was really interested in all manner of things about this pagoda... Well whatever, she could claw it out of him later. Right now, she had a different issue she wanted to sort out. "Ok, fine, you''ll explain everything to me in detail later. For now, go and sit and in a corner!"


    "Ah but..."


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    "Corner! Now!"


    Ares looked around at the white, cornerless room. "Uh... about that... What corner?"


    "I don''t know and I don''t care! Keep walking until you find one then sit in it like a good little man!"


    "Yes ma''am." Ares trod away, off into infinity, with a hunched back and a sullen face. All he needed was some kind of stick, with which to wrap a cloth around and store all his belongings in, which he could then hang over his shoulder and he would have replicated the weary pilgrim look down to a tee. Unfortunately for him there was no end to his journey, he would just keep aimlessly wandering until he gained permission to return.


    As for Enyo, she turned to Candy and demanded she explain everything that had happened since she met Ares without skipping anything. Candy looked reluctant but, despite her overwhelming cultivation advantage, still buckled before the might that was Enyo''s silent fury flickering away within her eyes. Candy could not stand up against such a determined and beautiful woman and she fully understood why Ares skulked off without fighting back, this woman was a tyrant in the flesh! No wonder Ares hadn''t faltered before Candy''s beauty, this chick was a class above her! "Alright, Candy was it? What were you talking to Ares about. Tell me everything honestly and truthfully. Him and I share everything with one another so don''t bother lying or I''ll just pry it out of him instead. I''m giving you a chance to come straight with me here and I assure you that is not a chance many women get."


    Candy recoiled slightly at the brazenness of this woman before caving and roughly repeating her conundrum to Enyo who pondered silently. More than anything she could see why Ares was invested, that fool. He just didn''t want to see in others what he might one day see in himself. In his own twisted way he did care about this unknown woman and her plight. If he wanted to genuinely help her then Enyo had no qualms as even she felt a bit of pity but there were more important questions that needed answering right now.


    "And why him specifically? You glanced at me like I was a cockroach when you first saw me and I can''t imagine anyone else that''s ever stepped foot onto your floor has ever gotten any other kind of treatment. Why Ares?"


    "I can only tell you the same thing I told him. He looked fun... I''ve lived in a birdcage all my life. In real life and even here I''ve just been confined to a life I don''t want to live, stuck here day after day with no escape in sight. With faint memories of happiness still lingering, can you not understand why his sudden appearance made all the difference? He literally pierced the walls of my confinement and his radiant smile of pure joy took my breath away. I thought happiness was long dead and I would never see it again but there he was, mid trial, toying around without a care in the world. You''ve read those kind of stories too, right? About a prince charming that busts down the walls and is everything you''re looking for in life? He''s not the most handsome man ever but his smile was infectious and, for even just a tiny moment, I felt joy again. I laughed along with him and that was a precious moment to me. I felt like I could trust him, that''s why. Everyone who gets this far arrives with a face like thunder wanting nothing other than to press onward. I''m usually an afterthought and the only time anyone pays me any attention is when they''re after my body. No one wanted to have fun with me so when I saw someone as carefree as Ares I couldn''t help but hope he would be different. I was right, he is fun. His stories and his compassion helped me forget about everything else even if just for a moment. His smile holds meaning for me and I''m grateful I caught sight of it. That''s ''why''. I don''t know about you, but I have nothing else but that smile to cling on to and it reminds me of better times. It will keep me going so I can fulfil his promise and not give up. I want to see it again... In real life, I mean. You told me to be honest so I will. I want that smile all to myself. I want to keep it but, more importantly, I don''t want to see it fade just as mine did. He could tell I had issues but I can also tell he has some too. I don''t want him to wind up like me but I do want to try and be more carefree like him, like I used to be."


    "... Fine. I''ll allow it. My only question is if you''re five or six."


    "Sorry, what?"


    "Five or six. Ares will have nine wives as foretold. Everything. Limerence. Mate. Acceptance. Solace. Obsession. Ambivalence. Servitude. Those women in that order. I''m everything, my sister is limerence, you just heard him talk about mate. I''ve accepted you and your resolve so now I''m curious as to whether you are solace or obsession. Part of the reason I''m tolerating this is because I think you''re obsession... Because you''re like me. Without him, you and I lose everything. We''re alike in that regard. There was a time when I was just as confined as you... There was a time I wanted to be just like him too so I can understand where you''re coming from. In a way, our two titles overlap and that''s why I think that''s who you are, obsession, because I recognise you. You are me.


    Maybe not right now, because things are still alright in this pagoda, but when you return to your real life... He will become your obsession. His name, his deeds that you will keep track of until he comes to rescue you, you will be obsessed with following all of it won''t you? Your curiosity towards his stories is something you''ve already admitted. He, and that memory of his smile, will be the things that keep you going. You know, I''m very interested to see how much more depraved you''ll be next time we meet. I''m usually not a jealous lover but when I learnt there would be a woman more obsessed with Ares than me I felt it. So now I''m interested in you. Just how far off the deep end will you have gone in the time it takes him to find you." Enyo''s breathing quickened as she leaned in closer.


    "All that pent up obsession, I want to watch you let it all loose on him. I want to be there when your greatest wish is fulfilled. I want to watch that fake smile of yours become a real one as he takes you. I know how much of a lunatic I''ve become but I''ve always wanted to see it from another perspective. I can''t watch myself fall for him so you''ll have to do." Enyo caressed Candy''s chin as her hypnotic rambling picked up pace. "You''ll be my little guinea pig, ok? I want you to fall in love with him irreversibly as I have. I don''t care how you do it but when you leave this pagoda I want you to stalk him. Find out about every single thing he does no matter who you have to hire to help you get that information. I want your heart to flutter every single time you get a piece of new information. I want you to live solely for the next moment in which you can hear his name and his exploits. You have nothing else in your life anyway so pick him. Pick him over everything and then I''ll let you have him too.


    He''s invested in you so don''t you dare disappoint him, you understand me? As of now, I''ve decided. You belong to him and he''s your everything just as he is mine. I want you to think about him every waking moment and in all of your dreams. Even if you have a nightmare I expect him to be your saviour. I''ll say it one more time, become the most depraved woman I''ve ever seen by the time we meet again. That is the best course of action you can take. You asked what you should do and I''ve given you the answer. He is your solution, not just to this problem, but to any you may ever have. I see in you potential for a wife for Ares as devoted as I am. Don''t disappoint him, and more importantly, don''t disappoint me. You and I... We can be psychotic for him together, do you understand me? But always remember this, I am his number one. The reason I love you is because you are living proof that no matter how obsessed with him any other woman ever is I will still be the one that truly matters. You are a stepping stone..." Enyo kissed Candy on the lips. "... And the most beautiful one I''ve ever seen. Ares will love you, and I will cherish you like the irreplaceable symbol of my dominance in his life that you are. You mean a lot to me, Candy. A lot. So let''s be crazy for him together forever, ok?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Enyo pushed Candy onto the floor and rubbed her forehead up against hers. "Say yes, Candy."


    "... Yes." Candy couldn''t resist the temptation. The feeling of submission under Enyo, the invitation to give up on everything that didn''t matter on focus on the one thing that did, the freedom to discard the life she''d lived and start anew in a loving family, warped though it may be. Enyo was unhinged but in a way that Candy couldn''t take her eyes off. Could she be as happy as this madwoman if she also fell for Ares... Was such a profound joy within her reach if she just shook the devil''s hand? What did she have to lose anyway? Would descending into insanity and becoming crazy like Enyo really be any worse than being miserable until she killed herself? Everything she wanted was on offer and she saw no reason to say no... Other than maybe the fact hat Enyo was kinda creepy like this but so what? This was the most honest woman Candy had ever met. She made no effort to hide her feelings and she could openly be who she wanted to be. She was living the life she wanted and that was something for Candy to be jealous of just the way Enyo was jealous of her. They each had what each other wanted and yet it was on the table and in the cards for them to share it, to share him. Candy wanted that smile, and the more she remembered it the more she wanted it. Clearly Enyo was right, Ares was going to become her obsession and, unless she killed herself in reality there was no way of stopping it. Candy stroked Enyo''s face and pulled her in for another kiss. "I think I really quite like you too. What an incredible woman you are. Hmm, I want Ares but I think I want you too."


    "Good. Though this is Ares'' harem make no mistake, I am just as important in it as he is. I have never told Ares about this condition but I will not tolerate a woman in his harem that doesn''t love me. One day I will gather you all up and have you all lick my feet, remember that Candy. If I were you, I would get used to calling me mistress already... Say it."


    "... Mistress."


    Enyo tongued Candy and stared into her unique eyes as a trail of saliva hung between them. "Good girl." Enyo may have had to put a different wife in her place before she got around to Bellona but really it made no difference. She would make all of them drink her spit and call her mistress before she ever let any of them be close to Ares. Really, deep down, she just wanted to lord over her own harem. She was simply using Ares to fulfil it with the upside that they would all love him too... Enyo was nearly brought to orgasm just by the thought of them all worshipping her... No one ever said Enyo was a mentally stable woman, especially not when it came to Ares. He was everything to her, after all. No matter how you looked at it that wasn''t a normal way to view another person in the literal sense. Some couples would say it metaphorically but Enyo meant every syllable. Ev-ry-thing. If she had to make a choice tomorrow between Ares and the entire rest of the world she would hesitate for a second as she thought about Appa but then she would pick Ares immediately after anyway. Candy may become obsessed but she would never top Enyo in devotion, no woman would. Enyo was the sex pest maniac that clung to Ares like he was her lifeblood. There would never be another wife like her or that could match her determination. She was once the Goddess of the pleasure pillar and yet she''d never known a pleasure like Ares. He was addictive, so much so that Enyo stood up and told Candy to wait here while she went to go have sex with him. Enyo permitted Candy to watch with her divine sense... No, it was more along the lines that she demanded it. Not that Candy would have refused anyway. Enyo had turned her on and this was a perfect chance to let off some steam. Before things went any further though, Enyo stopped in her tracks and talked to Candy one more time.


    "Are you a virgin?"


    "The real me was at the time I put my conscience in here but I probably won''t be by the time I go back to my body. It''s been too long and I was probably forced to agree to some manner of arrangement."


    "That''s fine, neither Ares nor I care about anything before you met us. Let me make this clear though, if you go back and are unfaithful to us from now on I will kill you in the most brutal way I can come up with. I will torture you in ways I''ve yet to even imagine. I don''t care how you get out of it but you will not lay with another person now that you and I are tied at the hip. You have an incredible body and I do not permit anyone else but me, Ares, or one of the other wives to touch it. In that order."


    "I understand. I wouldn''t want to make love to another person anyway... If I were sold off, I imagine it would be to this one guy who wanted me for an experiment and nothing more. He would make me give birth once and then toss me aside... I imagine that''s my current status. A horrible fate but, on the bright side, matters of the flesh disgust him. I can''t imagine it would have been anything more than begrudging impregnation in as quick a fashion as possible. Heh, I even heard rumours he would jerk himself off before inserting into his ''test subjects'' so that he only lasted a second or two at most. Knowing him he might have even come up with some kind of contraption to be as impersonal as humanly possible. A real creep but that also made him my best option. Others would have wanted to get more ''use'' out of me. I remember thinking I would pick him if I had too so I could at least only deal with him once and then slowly die miserably in a corner of an empty house as I wallowed in self-pity. He would leave me alone after."


    "Again, I don''t care. How many times, or if you even did it properly, are irrelevant and it''s not why I was asking. I doubt Ares ever expected all of his wives to be virgins and I certainly didn''t. The only reason I asked was because it would be easy to tell if you''d broken your loyalty to me and him when we met. Your situation is complicated but rest assured that if you have cheated on me I will find out one way or another. Anyway, be grateful, you are officially number six. There are three more to go until you enter the picture. You''re going to have to wait but that suspense should drive you in the correct direction. I''m going to go and make sweet love to my husband and then I''m going to leave. We will meet again and I look forward to it, Candy. Goodbye for now and keep that body warm for me."


    "Goodbye..."


    "Say it."


    "Goodbye mistress."


    With a derogatory smirk directed at her rival in love who she''d successfully subjugated, Enyo started to walk after Ares with swagger in her step. Aside from that silly mutt escaping her leash earlier this morning, things were going well for her. She''d gotten a taste of Candy''s lips and she liked it, plus there were rumours of the third wife''s location having been deduced. More toys for Enyo meant she was practically leaking by the time she found Ares. She immediately lunged for his lips and shared some of the lipstick Candy had been wearing with him. Oh how great it was to be a queen.