The Palace of Ash buzzed with a lively, chaotic energy as the rest of the wives gathered — some in person, others joining through shimmering projections from their necklaces.

In the grand central hall, the in-person group lounged across luxurious cushions and floating seats. Sonna sat gracefully with her blue hair cascading down her back, quietly sipping tea.

Fay now leaned against a pillar, arms crossed.

Morgana lounged with a smile tugging at her lips, while Lucy swirled a glass of wine in her hand.

Rune sat cross-legged, reviewing a glowing scroll.

Luna and Elara chatted softly, with Layla joining in from time to time.

Persephone reclined nearby, her red heart-like eyes half-lidded as she absentmindedly traced patterns on the table with a finger, her black hair spilling over her shoulders.

And from the figures she was drawing with her divinity.... she was obviously missing Ash.

Seris stood with her arms folded, her two red-white braids swaying as she grumbled about something.

Vaeloria leaned against the wall, her pure white twelve fox tails flicking lazily, her white fox ears twitching at every sound.

Vetri’s cosmic star-like skin shimmered as she floated cross-legged, while Mira’s brown hair and harpy features made her look both elegant and fierce.

Sylvie’s white-green hair caught the light as she laughed at something, and Celeste sat quietly with her golden hair and blindfold, a faint smile on her lips.

Raven, Katherine, and Summer completed the group, their presences like the others, commanding attention even in relaxation.

On the large central projection, Nia’s image was still present sitting atop of the world looking like Ash.

Beside her were the others that had joined via voice chat using their necklaces.

Seraphiel with her black and red hair and phoenix traits, Aeloris with her green hair and long pointy ears, Tiamat with her four black horns and dragon features.

These three had been together catching up on loss time with Tiamat.

Lysa and Sandra were sitting together on clouds of one of the last remaining realities in existence.

Aurelia, Lithia, Sia, and Diana clustered in one frame, and Yonna appeared along with Madison.

Lucy swirled her wine glass before taking a small sip. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"So, now that everyone is gathered." She said looking at Nia, "Are you going to spill the details?"

Nia rolled her eyes as she glanced at her mothers.

"Where’s Shia?" she asked. A few others were missing too, like Kaguya, but she remembered Shia being around before she left.

"Well," Lysa giggled, "she was called to spend some time with our lovely son."

She could picture it perfectly...

"He’s probably turning her every which way but loose," Sandra added.

Seris snorted, flipping one of her braids.

"That bastard...." She said as it’s been a few weeks since she’d last had her share.

"Does he want us to kidnap him?"

Vaeloria chuckled, her white tails swaying.

"Yea right, good luck with that."

The others joined in as the shared their typical banter. As if any of them would be honest, each of them missed each other.

Perhaps not as much as they missed Ash, but the love was there and it was genuine. As it should be, knowing that these women all had spent more time together than their life span even told.

Like currently, the Sacred Dimension it had no time at all, so technically there was no telling how much time they were experiencing at all.

Yonna shook her as her black, red, and blue hair shifted.

"You all are enjoying this way too much." She said cutting through the banter, "Can we get down to business.... Madison and I were having a kind of race, you know?"

Nia’s projection flickered as she leaned forward from her seat atop the massive Ash-like world she had formed from the remnants of devoured realities.

Her dark eyes sharpened, and the playful atmosphere in the hall shifted as she spoke, her voice suddenly serious.

"It’s time to stop being housewives."

Hearing those words the banter ceased immediately.

The hall fell into a heavy silence as all eyes turned toward Nia’s projection. The weight of her words settled over them like a blanket of steel.

She had always been a blunt woman never biting her tongue, but they had never seen her this direct, this focused.

Seraphiel was the first to speak, her black and red hair framing her face with a look of concern.

"What do you mean by that, Nia?" she asked, her voice steady but edged with curiosity. "You know we haven’t exactly been sitting around doing nothing."

And she wasn’t wrong.

Whenever Ash called on them, they carried out his requests without hesitation—whether it meant wiping entire civilizations off the map, completing intricate tasks, or aiding in the creation of Pantheos.

At various points, they had even ventured out on their own, making names for themselves in ways that left their marks on history.

However, Nia’s gaze didn’t waver.

She gestured behind her toward the void where countless realities had already been consumed, her voice steady and resolute.

"And that’s the problem," she said, as the moment came for them to finally realize something.

It was something they all knew deep down — everything they’d done amounted to nothing. They were all things Ash could have accomplished with a snap of his fingers.

"We’ve been too caught up in the power and the gifts he’s given us," Nia said. "But none of us has truly helped Ash grow... until very recently."She paused, letting the words sink in.

The wives exchanged glances — some thoughtful, some defensive, but all listening intently.

Nia continued, her tone firm but not accusatory.

"I’m not saying we’ve been useless. But we can do better. Much better. This—" she gestured again to the void behind her, where entire realities had been reduced to divinity for Ash’s use,

"—this will be my gift to him. All realities of existence are mine or will be. So, it would be best if you all split into groups and create five items that will allow Ash to become more."

The hall fell into a contemplative silence.

The weight of her words hung in the air as the wives began to think, their expressions shifting from surprise to determination.

Seraphiel leaned forward, her red and gold eyes curious.

"Where did such determination come from, Nia? You know, I don’t mind it... I’m just curious."

Nia shrugged, her crimson eyes steady and unyielding.

"I don’t know exactly... but there’s clearly a bastard beyond our awareness that has pissed my Ashy off. And that’s enough."

The women sat in heavy, thoughtful silence, the gravity of the moment settling over them.

The Ineffable Pantheon’s wives were no longer content to simply support from the sidelines.