“I still can not believe it really worked,” the woman said with a gentle flap of her mellow-brown butterfly wings. Antennae sprouted gracefully from her forehead, and a thousand smaller spheres made up her stunning compound eyes sitting in an otherwise human-like face. Slender arms and long legs sprouted from her torso like the most breathtaking flowers, and her figure was a genuine work of art. In one word, she was beautiful, no matter how little that description did her justice. No wonder. She was a deity of beauty, after all. No mortal could hold their composure in her presence.
The man before her, Albino, was no exception. It took him many deep breaths to calm the deep aching in his mortal heart, and even then, he could barely look the woman in the eyes. “C-certainly,” he stammered, turning to examine his new-old body in detail to calm down. He had once been mortal, and now he was once again… Or, at the very least, he toed the line between mortality and true immortality. “The specs are as we desired?”
The woman nodded, noticing Albino’s unrest and growing bashful in turn. He had been unwaveringly calm before, so this was refreshing.
Even in his mortal form, he was the perfect being. Nothing else but perfection would do to describe the man before her, so eager to risk his own existence for a world as measly and insignificant as hers… and for the deity who governed it. Her name was Agathe Phangor, a deity of beauty and creator of Queensland, a collection of one main world and its many sub- and branch-worlds under her care. Agathe might hold the highest authority here, but she was one of the least significant beings in the grand scheme of the Albiverse. She still couldn’t believe Albino’s grand conquest would begin with Agathe and the world she governed.
His hair glimmered silvery-white. While Albino’s left eye shone a bloody red, a metal, mask-like eyepatch covered the area around his right eye. Beneath the eye-hole, a flickering flame shifted in and out of vision in an uneven rhythm. His body was muscular, though not excessively so. A red mantle rested over his shoulders, the symbol of his original people from his home world stitched on the back: A full-face version of the metal covering his right eye, under-crossed by two magic staffs like a jolly roger. He wore simple pants and no shoes. Albino might have become mortal again, but his body had several features regular mortals could only dream of. Even Agathe, a deity of beauty, stared in awe at his magnificence. She would follow him anywhere. Every fiber of her divine being had resolved that she would.
“Shall we confirm the performance of your mortal body?”
Albino nodded, doing some light jumps in place. Despite using his full might, this domain neither shattered nor threatened to. How curious! Physically speaking, Agathe had succeeded in making him mortal again. All the preparation and optimization had been worth it. He closed his eyes, praying to those whom time had claimed during this eternity. One day, he would return to conquer them all! One day…
“Most of your abilities as an Albion are sealed by your mask and right arm,” Agathe explained. “Some exceptions include your reproductive functions, memories of those you have already led to their Exodus (as you requested), the ability to create pocket dimensions to spend time with those lovers who have yet to make it but are unrelated to the current Exodus (also as you requested), your non-human digestion and energy intake, and your life-fire. Since your life-fire is still tied to your eternal status as an Albion, you can only passively influence and improve yourself alone… Though you may achieve some effect on the world around you by acting as an intermediary. For example, you could create a condition like this: ‘If I touch this person, their wounds will heal…’ Well, along those lines. You understand life-fire better than I do. There is also a function to return to your previous forms, the only one you currently have available being your original form. With how weak it is to water, I strongly advise you against using it.”
“I absolutely agree,” Albino said, flexing his artificial right arm. His right arm and mask were crafted from the same indestructible metal – indestructible by mortal means, at least. “What about my arm?”
“It should retain its usual abilities and fuel requirements,” Agathe said with a thoughtful hum. “The fuel being your life-fire, of course… Hey, how are you feeling? How is- You know…? The pain…” Agathe looked away, fiddling with her fingers like a guilty child too ashamed of themselves to verbally fess up to their parents.
Albino raised a finger to his eye mask. Thick rods of the same metal it was crafted from reached deep into his skull, keeping it secure. With a thought, the mask expanded to cover his whole face, now a spitting image of the symbol on the back of his mantle. More rods joined the previous ones, burying themselves into his head beneath the skin. Only the front of his face was covered. His hair, neck, cheeks, and everything else remained exposed. While the metal rods were invisible from the outside, the slightest touch revealed their positions.
I have felt worse,” Albino said in a metallic rumble. The mask wasn’t pleasant to wear, but compared to having his arm ripped off, his eye gouged out, or being submerged in clean water before he forced his body to evolve past this particular weakness of his original breed of human… “The eye is too conspicuous, and it holds too much might. Without this mask, my real identity would be exposed. I can not risk maintaining this much influence over my targets. Coercion was not part of my agreement with the Albiverse to allow these conquests.”
“…Do not die,” was all Agathe managed to say. If Albino died in this mortal body, he was gone. Dead. Forever. If he perished in her domain, would that make her the killer? The thought was unbearable?
Albions were unique in the sense that they weren’t special at all. One Albion could easily replace another, and there would always be another candidate to take any other Albion’s place… but those candidates weren’t Albino. Even if another Albion were to somehow rise through the ranks and garner the favor of the Albiverse to this extent, Agathe refused to acknowledge anyone but him, not even the potentials from her own world. What a horrible mother she was, preferring some other man over her own children! But no. Albino was not just another man, and every single one of her children would accept that truth in time.
A soft kiss on her forehead interrupted Agathe’s thoughts. Her cheeks instantly turned red and hot, but rather than move away, she raised her head and returned the gesture with a kiss of her own… only this time on Albino’s lips. Even Albino froze with such a perfect face in front of his own. All the wisdom in the world couldn’t protect a mortal from the aura of a genuine deity of the Albiverse.
Like this, they stayed for many days, content to do nothing but stare at each other’s eyes. To beings like them, who lived far beyond the mortal boundaries of time, a few days did not feel like a long time.
“I love you,” Agathe said, chuckling to herself. “You have yet to conquer even one of my children, and I already love you. Can you believe it?” She kissed him again, longer this time. As Albino did not require sustenance, she didn’t feel bad for taking her sweet time (several years) before breaking contact.
“If I was anyone else, I would have died long before hunger or thirst or lack of sleep, my dear.” Again, they kissed, and again, several years passed in bliss.
“No worries on that front, then. I plan on never doing this to any mortal besides you,” Agathe promised.
Albino chuckled. “I am more than aware of your feelings, but these mortals down there are your children, still. You love them, too. I know you do. As the boundaries between you melt away and you are united in the heart of the Albiverse, you shall be free to make love with any of them… after they get used to your presence, of course.”
Agathe blushed, playfully quirking a brow. “We will be united under you as one great family with the same husband. All of them will be women, remember? Also, as great as my children are, they do not compare to you. It is not even close.”
Albino shrugged. “Well, you are a paragon of beauty, so do not be surprised when everyone and their mother will want to have a joined lovemaking session at least once. Just saying.”
“A-ah… Uhm… Yeah.” It was too much for the innocent Agathe. Her face flushed with shame. She was at the end of her life, more than old enough to be used to this, and here she was, squirming around like a virgin teen who didn’t know where to put it.
“Sorry. Raised by a sex deity and all.”
Agathe nodded, hugging him close. A couple centuries passed like this. She loved listening to his heartbeat. It calmed her down. “She was a great woman, was she not?”
“…Indeed.” And her passing still hurt. Albions could die, but never of old age. They could only be killed by other, more powerful Albions. Every world had untold numbers of Albion candidates to contend with, but if they just made peace… The Albiverse could be a utopia for all of them. Even deities, immeasurably long though their lifespans seemed to the minds of mortals, had an expiration date. Agathe, too, would one day perish if Albino didn’t prevent it. That is why he was here. To save Agathe and her world from dying and being forgotten forever. That was his mission. That was his reason for starting this Exodus operation. After her, there would be many others. No world would be forgotten by the Albiverse ever again! That was his vow, his desire, and his greatest wish!
Albino allowed Agathe to continue their hug for many millennia. It was not a timespan he was worried about, though Albino found Agathe’s behavior curious. Every once in a while, she took a deep breath and looked at him from up close, only to cast down her gaze and continue their hug for another thousand years afterward.
At last, with a shaky voice, Agathe said, “There is something else.”
“I figured,” Albino said, petting her encouragingly on the head.
“You… You know how you can create pocket dimensions to spend quality time with those targets unrelated to the current Exodus?”
“Of course.”
“Well… You can also… I mean… I am sorry. I do not believe I can hold out until my turn, so… I mean… Please take care of me!” Agathe tightened her jaw, pressing her lips into a tight line. This hadn’t been part of their agreement. She had selfishly added this detail because she knew and understood how restless she could get. Agathe waited with bated breath for harsh words, squirming in Albino’s arms…
But none came. “Silly woman. Silly, silly woman.” Albino took her by the cheeks and connected their lips. He alternated different levels of pressure, suckling and licking her puckered lips until all the blood in her body seemed to have gathered in her face, then ended their kiss with a loud smack. “I believed that you deities would be the most used to waiting, but you are correct. With your Exodus in sight yet so far away, nobody could keep their composure.”
Tears formed in Agathe’s eyes. “T-Then-!”
“Of course. How often does it activate?”
“O-once every twenty-seven days…”
Albino tilted his head. “Albiversal days, or-“
“Mortal,” Agathe interrupted. She knew she had to say it herself rather than taking the easy way out. “Twenty-seven mortal days.”
“Once a mortal month, then,” Albino mused, smirking at the deity in his arms. “How very patient of you.”
Agathe buried her face in his shoulder, both happy at having her way and ashamed for being so needy. Albino had better things to do down there! B-but if he so readily accepted her adjustments, perhaps he valued her, after all? Was that too far of a reach?
“By the way,” he continued before she could gather her thoughts, “are we supposed to have such an intimate connection? I feel like our powers are linked, or there is a part of you inside me… Wait, did you- Agathe!”
She trembled at his raised voice, cursing her forgetfulness. In truth, there had been some other additions to Albino’s requested mortality she had hidden from him. But, and this was important, who would blame her but Albino himself? Did he not realize how much trouble and grief his death would cause?
Albino turned his right eye, unrestrained in its ability to look in any direction and through any obstacle, to his back. Between his shoulders, he found the same mark that Agathe had between hers. She had branded him as an Albion endorsed by her, granting him access to her powers as a deity of beauty and a vassal of the Albiverse. It wouldn’t do much to him in his immortal state, but right now, as a mortal? It was the equivalent of rocking up to a wet noddle fight with a planet buster.
“It can only be given once,” Agathe confirmed. “There was no reason to hesitate. You are worthy of me… Though I can not speak in confidence about my worthiness in turn. Every moment of your mortal life could lead to your eternal death. I do not want to see you fall into nonexistence. Not now, nor forever. Even if my decision buys me naught but your contempt and anger, it will have been worth it if you make it through every single Exodus on my world unharmed.”
“…What do you even think I am angry about?” Albino sighed and ruffled his hair. This was a right old mess. “You just granted me a free pass to do whatever I want with your authority. I could found a cult or raze an entire civilization to the ground, and nobody down there could do anything about it.”
Agathe gulped. “I-I believe you will use these powers responsibly, yes.” She nodded, more to herself than Albino. “It is an emergency measure. In case your life is in danger… I do not want you to die.”
With such pure intentions, how could he stay mad? Her incredible beauty didn’t help Albino with staying angry, either. “There are active and passive components to a deity’s mark, Agathe.”
Agathe’s eyes widened. Then she giggled. “My measly mark would only lessen your magnificence since you are above me in every measure. If anything, I masked some of your charm by- Ouch!”
Albino had flicked her forehead. “I am flattered by your obsession with me, but you are far more beautiful than you give yourself credit for.” He huffed. “What is done is done. You only had my best interest in mind. So, what else? Do not think I have not noticed.”
Agathe, still rubbing her forehead, nodded. Albino’s finger flick hadn’t hurt physically, but the psychological damage was immense. She wanted to be worthy of love, not worthy of punishment. Agathe resolved to do better (while always prioritizing Albino’s safety and prosperity, even at being unworthy of his love).
“It is as you told me. The Exodus is only possible for one specific unique of one distinct variant of one particular… individual of one special- What else did we say? Target… Uhm, do not look at me with such disappointment! I was preoccupied staring at your face when you explained- I did not mean- Uuuu…”
Pretty privilege in the flesh. Seriously, this woman! “No matter. You understood the principle. What did you do, then?”
“U-uhm… Do not get mad, but… I may or may not have- eek!”
Albino gave her a blank look. Perhaps it was a scarier look than he intended to go for because Agathe stumbled backward in fright.
“I-I mean, I promised someone to explain it to you instead. T-The Albi-Onnas, those little dears, held a big tournament to see who would accompany you on your maiden voyage…”
“Without my consent, you mean?” So he said, but Albino showed an amused grin at the news. He had so little time to meet up with them, so he looked forward to meeting old acquaintances. “Which one? Did she tell you to send me completely blind?”
“Well… Not completely, no, but she looked forward to it so much! I did not wish to impede on your time together, and-“
“Which one, Agathe?”
Agathe took a deep breath, fiddling with her fingers. Cute and beautiful. What a lethal combination. “Quionne won the competition. At the time of your descent, she will have played the part of a typical orphaned human peasant for several years. You will take that human’s place and… No. Any more, and I would spoil Quionne of her fun. Oh, but you have an air elementalism tattoo at your disposal!”
“…A normal, orphaned human does?”
“…W-What is so weird about that?”
“…Let us leave it at that.” Albino shrugged, looking down at his body and clothes. “This will not do, huh?”
“Quionne will take care of that,” Agathe answered, eager to divert Albino’s attention. “You will wear her peasant outfit once you get there… Wait, did that scheming woman plan this out!?”
Albino smiled, turned his clothes into energy, gave Agathe another hug and kiss, and judged himself ready. “See you in a mortal month!”
Greetings and salutations! You have earned my eternal gratitude for reading this humble mortal’s story. If you enjoyed yourself, I will have done my job well. If not… well, there is always room for improvement.
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