Chapter 263: The Valkyries of Ash

While the three women of the Original Solace family were rejuvenating bonds and spending time together, everyone else had been doing their own thing.

Honestly, the Haven was still fairly empty... at least when it came to the leaders of the Originat.

Without Ash present and no immediate need for active cultivation, they rarely came to the Haven unless it was to spend time together.

And currently, in Universe 28, on the world of Thal—on a floor with a rugged, sunlit continent of rolling emerald hills, jagged obsidian cliffs, and wide training fields scarred by centuries of practice—the Valkyries along with Kagami had all been relaxing for a bit.

Well, it wasn’t exactly relaxing.

Sylvie and Diana were sparring.

The two Valkyries moved in a blur of silver and gold across a wide, flattened circle of packed earth.

Sylvie—First Valkyrie, long white hair streaming behind her like moonlight, six radiant wings half-unfurled—wielded her signature longsword in precise, flowing arcs that left trails of pure Primavus light.

Diana—Third Valkyrie, long white braids wings blazing with warmer tones—countered with a shorter, heavier blade, strikes brutal and direct, each swing cracking the air with condensed force.

Mira and Kagami sat at the edge of the field, perched on a low stone ledge overlooking the sparring circle.

Mira rested cross-legged, arms draped over her knees, her white-golden hair cascading over her shoulders.

Her soft violet eyes tracked every move with quiet focus, a faint smile playing on her lips. Beside her, Kagami let his legs dangle over the edge, the breeze tousling his short white-black hair as his tails flowed gently in the wind.

CLANG!

Sylvie spun, her blade slicing in a crescent that drove Diana back, boots skidding over the dirt. Diana reacted in a heartbeat, lunging low as her spear swept upward in a fierce uppercut, only for Sylvie to catch it with a sharp parry, sparks of Primavus light scattering like fireflies into the air.

Mira tilted her head, voice soft.

"They’ve been at it for hours. I can’t believe someone can actually force Diana to be so defensive."

Kagami chuckled, nudging a pebble off the ledge.

"Sylvie’s something else... she’s reading every move three steps ahead. See? Diana’s going for the feint again."

Sure enough, Diana faked left before bursting right, blade angling toward Sylvie’s ribs.

Without even glancing, Sylvie sidestepped, sword lifting in a flawless block, then tapped Diana’s shoulder just hard enough to send her sliding back several feet.

Diana laughed, breathless and exhilarated.

"You’re still holding back!"

Sylvie gave a faint smile, her wings flexing gently.

"You’re not ready for me to stop holding back."

Kagami snorted, shooting a glance at Mira.

"Same old story. They’ll go at it until one of them actually gets serious... which might be never."

Mira’s smile softened warmly.

"Well... this is what the everyday life of being a Valkyrie looks like. Now, that we hadn’t been tasked for awhile it’s not much to do aside from honing ourselves.."

Kagami leaned back farther, staring up at the twilight auroras drifting across Thal’s sky.

"Yeah. Feels strange, doesn’t it? No urgent crisis, no enemy breathing down our necks. Just... silence."

He paused, his voice dropping.

"And Ash... I haven’t seen him in centuries."

Mira’s gaze drifted toward the horizon; it had been eight centuries for the Valkyries as well. Kagami perhaps thought since they were of higher status then she would probably know something.

"We haven’t either.... but according to his lovers... he’s in seclusion for the next 4,000 years."

Kagami eyes slightly widened at that.

"He needs seclusion? Just what state of power is that guy trying to attain..." he said shaking his head as by now he had viewed Ash in a much better light.

Before he believed that he and his people would be no different than slaves.

Yet it was the exact opposite he didn’t force them to do anything. Instead, he’d only empowered them as it wasn’t a mirror fox that didn’t sit at the Peak of Cosmic Overlord... well there was one.

’If I had known this, I would have never sent her away....’ He thought before their eyes shifted back to he sparring.

Diana lunged, but Sylvie parried and swung back in a wide arc that sent Diana flipping backward. She landed in a crouch, grinning.

Kagami let out a quiet laugh.

"Now, that I’m thinking about it where is Lithia?"

Mira smiled wryly thinking of the old succubus...

"Um... let’s just say she’s busy."

----

[A/N: Um, slight R-18 incoming... very skippable though]

And while they continued to watch the sparring, the woman in question...

"AHH!~"

The sound echoed softly—breathless, needy, unashamed—through the vast chambers of the Valkyries.

This was no ordinary room.

It was the throne room of Ash’s palace on Thal, a mythical place where the entire floor had been made into a single, endless bed.

Silken sheets in rich pink and silver spread out in every direction, rolling in soft waves like an endless sea of fabric, piled high with pillows and cushions that seemed to move and embrace anyone who sank into them.

The walls were shaped from translucent crystal, catching starlight from the open ceiling and scattering it inside in gentle, shifting patterns. Tall moonstone pillars stood at intervals, wrapped in delicate gossamer curtains that swayed without a breeze.

Lithia rested at the heart of it all, stretched out on a sea of silk, her long silver-violet hair spilling around her like liquid moonlight.

Her skin glowed softly, pale lavender warmed with a flush, her curves easy and unhidden. Half-lidded violet eyes, faintly luminous, stayed locked on the artifact hovering just above.

A small, ornate mirror frame of rose gold and obsidian hovered at eye level, holding within it a memory—vivid, intimate, and perfectly preserved.

Ash—his form unmistakable even in the haze of recollection—had her pinned beneath him on this very bed.

One hand tangled in her hair, the other gripping her hip with possessive strength as he moved inside her, slow and deliberate at first, then harder, deeper.

Lithia’s recorded moans poured from the artifact—high, desperate, reverent—as she arched beneath him, drawing him nearer while her nails raked down his back.

The memory looped on the moment he leaned down to bite her throat—claiming her in every way—her body shuddering in ecstasy, voice breaking on his name.

Lithia’s fingers moved between her thighs—slow circles at first, then faster, matching the rhythm of the memory. Her free hand slid up to cup her breast, pinching, rolling, imagining his mouth instead.

"Ash...~" she breathed, voice trembling. "Yes... just like that... harder... please..."

Her hips rolled upward—chasing the sensation, chasing the memory.

The artifact shimmered—Ash’s low growl echoing faintly as he drove deeper, her recorded cry rising in perfect sync with Lithia’s real-time gasp.

She arched—back bowing off the silk—fingers plunging faster, wings fluttering, with her eyes closing shut as pleasure crested.

"Ash—! Yes—!"

Her climax hit—sharp, shuddering, a soft cry spilling from her lips as her body trembled, waves rolling through her in slow, lingering pulses.

She collapsed back onto the endless bed—chest heaving, skin flushed, tail still twitching faintly.

The artifact continued to play—Ash’s voice murmuring something low and possessive against her ear.

Lithia smiled—lazy, sated, utterly content.

She reached up—fingers brushing the frame gently.

"Again..." she whispered. "Play it again."

The memory obediently looped back to the beginning.

Lithia sighed happily—already letting her hand drift downward once more.

Even ten floors above the others, she could still feel the thuds of Sylvie and Diana’s sparring.

But here, surrounded by a sea of silk and memories, Lithia was exactly where she wanted to be—waiting for him.