BAANG!

He slammed her down again, driving her back-first into the moon’s surface.

The impact created another deep crater, golden blood exploding outward in a misty spray.

Horae gasped, then laughed breathlessly, her body already beginning to regenerate even as fresh wounds opened across her torso.

The fight dragged on for hours.

They tore through the void like two storms colliding. Aestrea’s fists and knees became his primary weapons now.

Every punch landed with devastating force, shattering bones and spraying golden blood across the emptiness of space.

Horae kept regenerating just fast enough to stay conscious, her laughter growing more unhinged with every blow.

Planets cracked in the distance. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

A nearby star system destabilized as stray shockwaves from their clashes triggered a supernova, the star exploding in a brilliant flash of light and radiation that washed over them both.

Debris from shattered moons and asteroids formed a chaotic graveyard around the battlefield.

Hours passed.

Eventually, the violence slowed.

The battlefield around them was apocalyptic.

What used to be a quiet sector of space was now a shattered graveyard.

Multiple supernovas had gone off in the distance, their expanding shells of gas and radiation still glowing faintly.

Several planets had been cracked open like eggs, their cores exposed and leaking molten material into the void.

Moons had been reduced to asteroid fields.

The sheer scale of destruction was hard to comprehend.

Aestrea sat casually on Horae’s back, using her as a living seat.

She was on all fours on the surface of a fractured moon, her body shaking from exhaustion and pain, yet she still looked up at him with that wild, hungry gleam in her eyes.

She wanted more.

Even after hours of being beaten, she still wanted to fight.

Aestrea sighed again, running a hand through his hair.

"You just don’t know when to quit, do you?"

Horae laughed weakly, golden blood dripping from her split lip.

"Not... when it feels this good..." she rasped, her voice hoarse but still filled with that unhinged excitement.

"You’re the first one in centuries who’s actually been able to push me this far... Don’t stop now. Hit me again. Break me more. I can take it~"

Aestrea rolled his eyes, clearly tired of her attitude. He pressed his foot down harder on her lower back, making her grunt in pain as fresh cracks formed in the moon beneath them.

"You’re not even trying to win anymore," he said flatly.

"You’re just enjoying getting your ass kicked. Pathetic."

Horae shivered beneath him, a delighted moan slipping out despite the pain.

"Yes... call me pathetic... degrade me more... I love it when you look at me like that..."

Aestrea clicked his tongue in annoyance and stood up, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her upright.

She hung limply in his grip, body covered in bruises and golden blood, yet her eyes still sparkled with manic joy.

He looked at her ecstatic expression for a long moment, then sighed deeply.

He lowered her slowly until her feet touched the cracked surface of the broken moon.

She swayed but stayed upright, breathing hard, her golden blood still dripping from multiple wounds, having a disappointed look on her face.

Then, he asked the question he wanted to ask since he came to this place.

"Where are Luna, Elleonora, and Chronos?"

The moment the names left his mouth, Horae’s expression changed completely.

The wild, ecstatic smile faded.

Her amber eyes narrowed, and for the first time since the fight began, something like genuine hesitation crossed her face.

She wiped blood from her lips with the back of her hand, staring at him silently for several seconds.

Aestrea didn’t move and simply waited with his red slit eyes locked on her.

Finally, Horae let out a long, tired breath. She sat down heavily on a floating chunk of moon debris, her torn gown hanging off her shoulders.

"...You really did win," she muttered. "And you gave me more pleasure than I’ve felt in centuries. Fine. I’ll tell you."

She looked up at the shattered sky and let out a small sigh.

"Each one of them came alone, months apart from each. First was Luna, the Goddess of the Moon. She arrived quietly, almost secretly, and didn’t cause any trouble. She just... asked me some questions. She was looking for something... something very specific."

Horae paused, then continued.

"Then came Elleonora, the Goddess of Magic. She was more aggressive. She tore through some of my outer temples, demanding information. But when I confronted her, she didn’t fight. She just wanted answers. Same as Luna."

Aestrea’s eyes narrowed.

"What about Chronos?"

Horae nodded slowly.

"Last to arrive. The God of Time. He was the most careful as he tried to hide his presence, slipping through time itself to avoid detection. But I still found him, and surprisingly didn’t attack me either. He only wanted one thing."

She looked directly at Aestrea, her amber eyes serious for the first time.

"All three of them were looking for the same thing. The location of a planet called Arcadia."

Aestrea’s expression didn’t change, but his mind sharpened instantly.

"Arcadia," he repeated.

"What is it?"

Horae leaned back against the broken lunar debris, still bleeding from countless wounds, yet her amber eyes gleamed with a mix of entertainment and teasing.

She took a slow breath, as if savoring the moment, before speaking.

"Arcadia... was the first planet ever created by the God Creator."

Her voice dropped, taking on a reverent, almost fearful tone.

"Long before the Divine Realm, before any of us existed, the Creator made Arcadia as a testing ground. A perfect world. A blank canvas where all laws of existence could be written and rewritten. It was said to be the birthplace of order itself. But something went wrong, or perhaps something went right. The legends are unclear. What is known is that the Creator sealed Arcadia away after creating it. Locked it behind layers of reality that no one has been able to pierce since."

She paused, licking a streak of golden blood from her split lip.

"Inside Arcadia are the Twelve Divine Trumpets. Ancient artifacts of unimaginable power. Each trumpet is said to contain a fragment of the Creator’s own authority. If a god gathers all twelve... they gain the power to challenge the Creator directly. To stand on equal ground. And if they win that battle..."

Horae’s smile turned sharp, almost hungry.

"They could become the strongest being in existence. More powerful than the God Creator itself. They would rewrite everything. Every realm, every law... every fate."

A heavy silence settled between them.

Aestrea’s red eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained calm on the surface.

’...Twelve Divine Trumphets?’

He had never heard about those divine artifacts in his entire life.

"And the location?" he asked coldly.

Horae’s expression shifted. She licked her lips slowly, a sly, teasing smile spreading across her bloodied face.

"You have to pay extra~"

Aestrea stared at her, deadpanned.

Horae laughed softly, though it came out pained due to her injuries.

"Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’ve already given you so much for free. A little compensation wouldn’t hurt, would it?" She tilted her head, her amber eyes sparkling with mischief despite the bruises covering her body.

Horae slowly rose to her feet, golden blood still dripping from several wounds, but her posture was confident, almost seductive.

She took a step closer, her torn gown barely clinging to her curves, revealing smooth, glowing skin underneath.

"I’ve lived for a very long time," she said, her voice dropping into a low, sultry tone.

"And in all those years, I’ve never found anyone who could truly satisfy me in a fight. No one who could push me to my limits... until you."

She licked her lips, eyes tracing over Aestrea’s form with clear hunger.

"You completely obliterated me. You broke me down, made me feel helpless, and yet... it awakened something in me. A pleasure I didn’t know I was missing. The way you dominated me... it made me wet just thinking about it again."

She took another step closer, her voice turning into a soft, needy whisper.

"So here’s my real compensation. I want you to fuck me. Right here. Right now. Even if it’s only once. I want to feel that same power you used to beat me... but this time, inside me."

Horae smiled confidently, running a hand down her own body, tracing the curves of her breasts and hips.

"You won’t lose anything by doing this. And let’s be honest... I’m gorgeous. Almost no goddess can match me in beauty. This body has brought gods to their knees before. So what do you say?"

She looked at him with half-lidded eyes, full of lust and challenge.

Aestrea stared at her for a long moment, taking in her words.

Then, slowly, he gave a single nod.

"Fine. One time."

Horae’s smile turned into a delighted, predatory grin. She stepped even closer, her body practically vibrating with pure excitement.

"Good choice~"