Blessed by Night

130  Sei Aihara: The One Who Brings Peace!

'Sei, my dear~ You have to wake up now, this is not a dream.'

'M-Mother-in-law...?'

'Yes, darling. Come and wake up now, and step into your new life.' n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

When Sei opened her eyes again, she was still lying on the floor of a large colosseum. Just like her young boyfriend had described, she was surrounded by rows and rows of higher beings. Some were beautiful, and some were monstrous. But all of them were looking at her with different expressions. Some gazes were disinterested, others were curious, and a few were lustful. Chief among them was Zeus and his brother Poseidon, who were looking at the mature beauty's bountiful assets with no amount of hidden desire. 'I will kill you both.'

The two men heard an eerily cold and familiar voice play within their minds and they immediately knew the source. They could both feel death's scythe hovering above their necks, stemming from one of the nine thrones above them. In the face of her protection, these mighty gods could do nothing but drop their gazes to the floor. "Speak your name mortal woman, and tell us the limit of your ambition!"

Sei followed the sound of the voice to a falcon headed man with Nubian skin and elaborate egyptian robes. Among his pantheon, he and a few select members sat the highest. 'I-Is that... a frog..? I can't do this!'

Sei very nearly asked to be sent back home immediately when the familiar voice of her mother in law eased her nervous. 'Don't let Kek scare you dear, he's really a silent fellow. You don't need to be scared, just tell us your ambition. Everything else will work itself out.' Nyx explained. 'I... I do not understand why I was chosen for this.' Sei said honestly. 'You were chosen because my son sees something in you and wants you to be able to protect yourself, dear. Your world... it is about to become very dangerous soon. You need this. Do not think of giving us some grand reasoning behind your motivations. Just give us the honest answer that dwells within your heart and spirit. Nothing else matters.'

Sei felt her chest tighten and she felt her eyes start to spill over. Of course Malachi had asked Nyx to help her be blessed. He was always doing things like that, even without being asked. She had never been with someone who was always so willing to go above and beyond for her, no matter the cost. It left her feeling so grateful for his love that she often didn't know what to do. But if she had an opportunity to do something in the future... she had to take this gift now. Once she made up her mind, her words flowed out of her mouth easily, containing no sense of dishonesty or subterfuge. "I... don't have any ambition...! But, the man I love is the kind of person who wants to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders... All I want is to bring him comfort and peace, no matter what he may be going through. It may sound like a small goal... but I've never thought of myself as much of a fighter and I don't really believe that part of me will change anytime soon. But if I can help to support the one who defends me with everything he has... Then I believe I can find my value in that."

After Sei's declaration, the highers murmured amongst themselves for a few moments. Unsurprisingly, Sei's words had the largest impacts over the dieties of love and marriage, and they became determined to take her as their chosen. Honestly, how could a love as pure as hers still exist in today's day and age?

Everything she said was just so touching that she had practically moved these gods to tears.

"I see... that's certainly a fine ideal." Ra said. "Who among us desires to bless this woman?" Unsurprisingly, Sei had quite a few offers from the aforementioned gods of love and marriage. From Eros to Freya, and even Hera. They were all clamoring to have her. "Make your choice now, daughter of man." Odin said. "Which deity would you have bless you?"

Sei shakily looked around at all of the gods and goddesses looking at her lovingly and she had to admit, she was having more than a little bit of trouble making a decision. Suddenly, she heard the flapping of wings and a man floated down in front of her. He was gentle looking and handsome like most gods, wearing soft grey robes and with wings growing out of his back and temples. His skin was rather pale, and his long grey hair was tied in a French braid that traveled down his back. When he appeared in front of her suddenly, Sei admittedly took a wary step back which earned a chuckle from the unknown god. "Steel your heart, daughter of man. My intentions for you are not impure, so you may feel at ease in my presence."

No matter how smooth the man's words were, Sei did not show any signs of relaxing and even seemed to be more on edge than before. But again, the gentle god did not seem bothered by this. 'He speaks the truth, Sei.' Nyx suddenly said.

Sei found Nyx sitting high in the crowd among the gods and gave her a confused look. 'You know him?'

'Fufufu~ I birthed him. This is Malachi's elder brother; Hypnos.'

Within mythology, Hypnos is considered to be an extremely powerful deity. More than an olympian but less than a primordial, he is the personification of sleep, and brings rest to all living things both mortal and immortal. He is a liberator from fear and anxiety, and the ruler of the island of dreams. 'For my most gentle daughter-in-law, I think you need the blessing of the most gentle god, don't you?' She said sweetly. Sei realized that Nyx must have asked her son to bless her, and she lost all of her reservations about interacting with this being. "Ah... hello there."

"I take it that she has filled you in then?" He said with a laugh. "She has."

"Well then, that make things simple then. I, Hypnos, god of sleep wish to bestow Sei Airara with my blessing. Will you accept this?"

Sei lowered her head respectfully and recited the same words Malachi had recited so long ago. "I gratefully accept...Thank you."

As soon as the words left her lips, Sei felt a sense of calming relief invade her entire body from her head t the tips of her toes. A feeling of fullness rooted itself in her being, and she felt as if she were finally worthy to stand by Malachi's side. It was such a relieving and cathartic feeling that it very nearly brought tears to her eyes. In the stands above, Nyx was receiving a few discreet dirty glances. The gods knew who Sei was, as they spent a great deal of time watching Malachi and his exploits. Therefore, when she proposed this candidate for blessing, they thought that they would perhaps earn a chance to gain a worthy and useful pawn. But Nyx had clearly cheated, not only by communicating with the human woman but by persuading one of her children to bless her. The few gods that noticed what she'd done weren't all that happy about it, but what were they going to do?

Beat her up?

Hell no.

So they had no choice but to sit there and scowl, like toddlers who had been forced to eat their vegetables. But there was one a few seats away from Nyx, whose scowl was not as discreet. "Is there a problem, Hemera?" Nyx asked coldly. Sitting two seats down from the bewitching goddess of the night was a woman with radiant blonde hair and sky blue eyes. She wore a purely white dress that clung to her motherly figure and exposed her slender and pale arms. Even though Nyx had spoken to her, she didn't seem to have any intention of responding back. She just continued to scowl at Nyx like she knew what she'd done. "Be careful dear, your face will freeze that way if you aren't careful."

Crack!

Hemera inadvertently turned the armrests on her stone throne to dust, earning a round of dry laughter from Nyx. 'Really, how funny.'

Now that Sei had been blessed, her body started to break apart as she returned back to her bedroom. With her last remaining seconds she looked up at Nyx and showed her a smile filled with gratitude. 'Thank you, mother-in-law... I will not waste the opportunity you have given me.'

'What a silly girl... just work on making yourself and my son happy, alright?'

'Yes, ma'am. I will do my best!'

Once she disappeared, silence returned to the colosseum once more as Zeus ran his hands through his white hair. "Right then... has anyone else had their eye on any more chosen?" He asked. "I have."

"As have I."

"Same here."

When the gods in attendance looked at the three who had spoken, they knew that their night was only going to get much more interesting from here. "Alright...let us summon the next one then."

Well it happened and it was only half as exhausting as I thought it would be. 

Kinda feel like I need a real long nap and a glass of hard liquor.

AnathaShesha