Bath Service Time

Soul.

It's not a mere abstract concept of the psyche or foreign entity that inhabits a living body. On the contrary, the soul is the true parts of a living being, for the flesh is a mere vessel. A soul may be hidden from mundane eyes, yet it cannot be truly hidden.

It basked in different colors, a simplification for her eyes to comprehend, even she, as a goddess can't judge the true worth of a single soul. Not in Gekai where her arcanum is sealed, anyway. The color may represent, depending on what it shows, could be anything. A history, a shadow lingering like the scent of death clinging around representing the deed of the soul had done. Or simply, a chance of potential and the destiny the soul shall hold.

Perhaps, it will manifest in a clean blank slate as the reflection of one true personality. She giggled, over a particular boy. Satisfaction and pride latched in her gentle voice that could sway the flowers around to bloom for her desire.

For he exceeded everything she had set, every obstacle that will catapult or hindered him for the future to come. He surpassed it all, in a mere month. An impressive feat not seen in a thousand years, not when the lineage of braves passed away in favor of the practical adventurers.

Like a destiny, a faint shimmering glow of a pure soul came to her vision amongst the murky and mundane colors of his fellow kinsman. A soul so pure, it may just come out of the womb. A

However, she refrained. the unattainable it is, the greater euphoria shall she achieve when the soul is ready to be in her embrace. Not something to be discarded, but something to accompany her forever to comes. A mold of the soul shall she sculpt to perfection from his dreaming heart and bravery. It shall be burned and baked in thousands of different conflicts resulting in an exquisite soul that won't crumble to her tender touch, and whisper.

A wet squelching resounded softly around the darkroom, with a tender yet sensual voice it was accompanied. A trail of saliva running to her throat. Her finger slowly strokes the heating flowers underneath her dress, as her eyes closed and drown too deep ecstasy.

Her hands may not be able to touch him at the moment. But, soon, surely. She could wrap it around his neck, whispering her love, and squirming around to their desire. For eternity to come.

However, her revelry break as soon as she came.

Squinting her eyes, she pried open whoever dare to break her euphoria only to found herself blinded in a single light. She promptly sheltered her being through the gap of her hand she created. It was like the sun was just set upward again despite the darkness of night that started to crept the city.

She realized the signature with an eye wide open in shock, it was a soul. The light was so intense, it almost overshadowed everything near it.

Her arcanum flared to life in a challenge, only a trickle so it won't be detected. Nevertheless, it was enough for her to make out what's on the surface.

Still, the revelation made the almost stoic and distant goddess basked her eyes in surprise. It was a divine soul, yet it should be impossible. No gods or goddesses had the courage to walk openly with their arcana unsealed or face the penalty once detected.

Still, she probes further to the soul that may glisten in burning lights of the hottest star, it was not truly divine in nature. Something she never saw. Instead, various energy marking dotted on the surface like multiple gods had given it blessings, some were made of light, another is like filths and tendril of shadow clung behind.

Digging another layer beneath, she found her composure break. Cold sweat glistening on her pearly skin. It was fighting back with a mighty shout it drove her intrusion. She Found herself clinging on the chair arms.

Wrong.

Wrong.

It was all wrong.

It was perversion on the highest order.

Like a furnace, thousands of souls in the difference essence yet divines in nature were consequently burned, made into a mere fodder. Thoroughly assimilated, so the flames will be kept stronger than before.

If the soul she desires was pure and warm light, giving a sense of comfort and inspiration to those around then this one was a complete contrast. Akin to the flame of purgatory, scalping everyone in fiery light that dares to approach it.

She can't pry further, not with her limited arcanum. Even then, the soul who all this time walked leisurely among its insignificant peer, halt its step, turning around then match his gaze to the peak of the highest building in the city.

And then the light blurred, becoming erratic before disappearing completely before her eyes.

Sling.

A blur of steel passed through before her eyes, embedding its tip deeply beside the top rail of her throne. The glass that overlooked the town crumbled in thousand pieces inviting a cold chilly wind inside.

A strand of silver hair flew briefly before her hyperventilating breath, then taken away by the cold wind outside.

"Ottar, calm yourself."

She hushed the heavy breathing of the Boaz that started to cracked the marble floor beneath, placing her hands to his. While in truth, she also gained a semblance of comfort and tried to relax.

Once she leveled her breath, she prodded the dagger before gripped the hilt and pulling it out of the rail, damaging the million Valis worth of fiber inside the chair.

she shifted her gaze outside. On the street where the soul once stood, now it's gone like it was a mere product of her imagination.

A new shadow is looming over the Orario, one that might challenge her seat at the top of the food chain. Her lips twitched upwards, everyone seems forgot what was beyond her authority as the goddess of beauty and love.

It was a challenge. A dagger flew a hundred meters away ignoring the gravity pulls and an ornamental at that.

Ah, it seems her plan to embrace with him just got another obstacle.

Still, it didn't matter. They only need to destroy that obstacle, together. The trials he needs, the blessing she shall give.

A soft giggle resounded throughout the room before muffled by the air outside.

No matter.

It will move towards her benefit.

Surely.

*Break*

One thing he found. He disliked the feeling of being watched. Manipulated in the shadows, kept out of the dark. Like an animal beyond a mere exhibit of a zoo. He hates it.

Hopefully, whoever that probed him get the message.

Don't mess up with me.

Although he's fairly sure, a message in the form of a dagger is bound to create a misunderstanding. It was done on impulse, but deep down he didn't regret it. The Dragonborn made sure of it.

The source of the intrusion was the top of the highest peak of babel. A place only reserved for the top cream of Familia, meaning only the strongest Familia or the wealthiest can live on it. People like that, surely, had an immense power to move.

He should have sighed himself in regret, but only to found himself in a giddy sensation. Like a child that just pulled a successful prank.

Banishing such thought, he opened the steel door without effort after a wave of dismissal from his hand.

"Welcome home. You're earlier than I expected."

The sight of Ereshkigal in a white apron was like something out of a dream, enough to restore this tired old man soul. The combination between the white sheet and her black dress that enveloped her figures create a contrasting balance that I almost can't hold.

She moved a few tables as makeshift counters, the room becomes somewhat cramped but thankfully the humid air generated was sucked to a small crystal to the corner of the kitchen. I should have built a new room for the kitchen, hopefully, it didn't have to come to that as we've surveyed the new house Fels gave us this morning.

"What can't he say, when he had already a plenty haul. Enough to last for months," I promptly opened the gate as a few large sacks of Valis create a huge thud to the stone floor.

Her eyes wide opened, before focusing again on her kitchen.

"What do you do, that's not something you can earn just killing something in the first few floors."

I chuckled, "He found this golden egg from a fat, really fat bird. When Dro'zah asked the value, imagine the surprise of the guild worker and the Valis that follows."

Apparently, the fat Chocobo before was called Jack bird, a monster that rarely and only appear in the few early floors. Only a few sighting and bird-chasing has happened in a few years. The bird was infamously agile and had a high sensitivity. The drop item was apparently guaranteed in the form of a golden egg that was highly sought-by for its intricate details and aesthetic purpose.

Sufficient to say, I became rich overnight just selling the damn golden egg. Not before, I cast a trailing spell on it of course. I intend to keep that egg to my collection after all. What a master thief letting go such precious collectible.

"I see, That's a good thing. One less thing to worry about." Ereshkigal lost her interest, though she gave a relieved sigh which I don't infer. "Now, how about you get to the bath, I've cleaned it before."

"Hmm." I nodded at her, stripping all the armor pieces. Heavy metal clank against each other, I put the armor to its stand beside the bookshelves. The weights never bother me, nor the stiffness of the plate and chain metal. It felt like a second home which I now missed when I looked again at the armor. Guess the Heavy armor perk and skill had done my psyche good.

Striding to the bathroom, with only my brown linen pants that held over with a string functioning as a belt. It was accessed through the door beside the armor stand, as warm vapor lingering on the floor and a hot spring greeted me in a promise of melting sensation of a stiff muscle joint.

I'm surprised myself, that I can forget the softness and comfortable sensation of modern fabrics, and that's gone once I set a foot in this world. Guess I'm still adaptable as ever, I've never complained about something, at least not voicing it loudly and vocally. I used to admire people who tell their barber that the haircut sucks. Such a ball needed to achieve that.

Closing the door, and forgoing all the modesty with the pants laying on the floor, instead I go to the washing area beside the spring. It is the absolute rule to wash before entering a hot spring. Dousing myself with warm water that poured from the shower. Soul gem is one of the greatest inventions to exist. Almost everything in the house is enchanted to provide the greatest comfort of a modern world in this primitive era.

As I take another bucket, a cry of a certain furball could be heard beside me. There's Fou who apparently decided to mimic me, or it knows the custom of bathing and was currently bathing himself inside the bucket.

"Fou Fou Kyuu!" Its eyes closed in a great comfortability, expressing the joy Fou currently felt.

I didn't mind the sudden bathing companion as I finished the bathing ritual and stood up. My brother apparently still followed the gravitational rules by doing the Law Newton dictated, Jingle-jangle-jingle between my legs. I should express my gratitude to whoever made the SOS mod in Skyrim otherwise I would an eternity trapped in a yellow rag of underwear. I hope that will not be the case, I and my brother synchronically shuddered at the thought.

Of course, while dousing myself with warm water I take several scrubbings with the soap. Not that I lacked any shampoo and brush to groom my snow fur. Being a Khajiit had several steps back, as well, though it was a necessary step back to give me the greatest comfort. It takes a pretty long time to brush all the fur and keeping it maintained. The after-sensation is mildly exciting and comfortable with how soft the fur will be.

The only parts that didn't cover with fur are the base of my foot, the palms, and of course, my brother. Thankfully I take my time creating and sculpting the character, as my brother is not necessarily long enough to cause someone uncomfortable with the sizes. The benefit of loverslab I guess since I need to micromanage the length so it could go well with the animation.

Musing on my thought, I entered the hot spring. Dipping my knee first to test the water, Khajiit hates water but not when it is warm enough to melt the very soul. The hot spring is not necessarily large with how I need to manage the small space here. It was a rectangular pond with high-quality waterproof wood wrapping the edges, touching the cobblestone floors beside it. It was enough to comfortably fit three people inside, like a jacuzzi I guess.

I purred in delight once I completely drowned the entire length of my shoulder. A warm bath has become once again, a luxurious commodity for me. Curse to the invention of bath in a can, though I won't disapprove of the functionality in my time of needs.

"Fou!"

A splash of hot water sprayed all over my faces, and the floor beside as the result of the centripetal force Fou caused with his jumping.

I tried to hid my scowl, no need to go annoyed. Yes, deep breath and calm.

I'm buddha and his will is my will.

The critter unaware of my inner thoughts only swimming around the greenish pool in delight. Sigh, just get used to it. You don't want to be caught flat-footed, the incarnation of human extinction rampaging through the city.

I gave the benefit of stinking eyes to Fou before deciding to do something better while the hot water does its magic and melted the stiff bone that has been exercised for hours in the dungeon.

Sigh, I can smell troubles ahead waiting for me, near soon. Not with that annoying gaze that tried to penetrate my very being, it's very uncomfortable. I promptly conjured a dagger and swing the hilt towards the tower. If it were to be any indication, surely, they will be very pissed right now.

Meh, just forget it. I still need to archive every spell available to me, sorting everything that is useful in combat or not. It was hard at first, but I soon get used to it. I imagined something, a wheel in each section where the spell resides, and I categorize it one by one, switching between wheels.

That's how I managed to quickly switched spell in battles. So far, I like the versatility of the Telekinesis based spell. Not very flashy, yet it's very effective in subduing foes. I can spare the iconic Fus Ro Dah shout, and use the telekinesis instead.

One thing I found about the shout, is that they are very overpowered on its own. I bet Fus Ro Dah could crumble a part of babel tower in a single shout. I tried to keep Shout as a hidden card for now. Besides I can use Kinetic push that pushes all the enemies around me to compensate for the shout. Like that Pain guy in the Naruto with his iconic Jutsu. I forgot the name.

On the other hand, I think, I was like some kind of Sith with the force. Hell, I can literally rip someone's throat out with a well-placed telekinetic and call it as force choke. I grinned, I should move forward my plan and made that magical light-saber.

Still, I'll switch to another spell and school if needed to be. I'll keep other spells unless it is necessary to deploy. Better to keep more cards hidden as much as possible lest perhaps, I'll be caught myself off-guard and not to be able to protect my life or the goddess for that matters.

"Dro'zah, are you done?" A voice called me outside, it's the goddess. "Dinner is prepared, hurry up."

"Coming!"

Thinking done is done, I rose from the bath and put the pants back. Grooming my fur dry, I also put a white shirt with a suspender. I told Fou to get into the gate back after giving him grooming. "Fou!" The critter grumbled before entering the gate.

"So, anything to tell me?" Asked the goddess, not beating around the bush as she sat behind the circular dining table.

I opted to take the rice first, before putting the fried meat to my plate and answered her question once I picked the spoon.

"What are you want to know?"

"Hmm, how about your homeland."

"Certainly, Khajiit home can be described in a single word. Warm, the fine dust of the sands and the green forests and canyon range. It's called Elseweyr and it's Beautiful and Khajiit missed it dearly. Not when he was driven off to the cold northern mountain of Skyrim in search of wanderlust. There, fate works its miracles. He stumbled upon the imperial ambush, one of the major empires at the time, they thought Khajiit is guilty of his crime. While in reality, Khajiit is innocent, he never committed any crime Dro'zah Assure you."

She listened with deep intent. A frown sometimes appeared in her face. I kept pausing between as I need to eat the food.

Then I told her, of my supposed execution at Helgen and the tales of prophecy that follows.

And the Scrolls have foretold

of black wings in the cold,

that when brothers wage war comes unfurled!

Alduin, the bane of kings,

ancient shadow unbound,

With a hunger to swallow the world!

"There between the chopping block and the ax of executioner stood a dragon on top of the tower. With scales as black as the night, and a set of eyes as crimson of blood that stared deep into his souls. It shouts towards heaven, and the heaven answered back by spitting its entire content and destroyed the town below."

I paused, taking another bite. Her cooking is rather superb, despite she's claiming to just follow the recipe book. Her eyes vested in deep interest towards me, still slowly swallowing her foods.

"So, with the sworn prisoner he escaped the clutches as fate telling him to move forward and to fight for other days."

Then we moved to Riverwood, then the center of the region, Whiterun where I slay my very first dragon. And through mud and blood, ultimately finished the prophecy in the hall of Sovngarde by slaying the bane of the world to eternity.

Her eyes widened, "Wait, so you're this Dragonborn. The hero inside the prophecy." A hero that capable to devour dragon souls, and kill a divine beast that can go toe to toe or perhaps surpassed with the one-eyed dragon.

I nodded in confirmation, "Yes, you can recognize Dro'zah as such. But his tales never end with only slaying the Alduin. He made many perilous journeys, not alone but with loyal and companions. I was nominated as the Archmage of a crumbling magic university, the master of thieves guilds, the listener of the dark brotherhood, The Harbinger of companion, bane of vampires, the slayer of the first Dragonborn, the marked child of the All-makers, magician of the Magna-Ge, patron of goddess Meridia and Mara."

I omit the parts where I made some pact with Mora, and Molag Bal though. Hopefully, they won't crawl from the woodworks just because one of their champions is missing. I used the faith and religion mod, and technically I'm a follower of Meridia and Mara. It has to do something with their motherly breast.

Ereshkigal clutched her head, "Sigh, you not done tormenting me with your long list of skills, now the titles? Anything else, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Perhaps." Yes.

She scoffed at me.

By the time I finished an abridged version of the story, we finished our dinner. Ereshkigal nudged me to check the Falna progress, so I lay on the bed after that as the goddess riding behind me. Checking the engravement she made behind my back. Her ass is pretty large and round despite her small frame. it's a nice plus though.

Can a man enjoy the single entertainment he got? you damned goddess.

She exerts pressure on my back, her voice is seething. "Then, tell me if that spider demon is your doing?"

"Oh, you mean the spider Dremora, what's with it?"

"3 people from the guild killed when investigated the place, and you decided to desecrate those corpses with some obscure rituals."

Ow, ow, I swear her finger dealing me damage more than the monster in the dungeon today.

"Stop it, you woman!? That's just the risk entailed with being guild workers, and what do you care about some filth that tried to soiled you anyway?"

"I understand death, I am the very concept of death. Their corpse has been desecrated, of course, I'm angry."

I snapped, reversing our position with the goddess pinned down to the bed.

"And Dro'zah angry when they tried to soil you, a beautiful flower about to be tormented in front of his eyes. He's very being boiled in rage when seeing those disgusting smiles, can you understand!?" I shouted, barring some of my sharp teeth but found her face had gone into a flush of red. Whether being angry or embarrassed I can't tell. Damn it, I'm not some kind of expert reading someone's face.

A smoke trailing behind her head, with the eyes spinning like some kind of defeated Pokemon.

My reasons returned when seeing her meek face, hopefully, I don't cross the line.

"Look, Khajiit is sorry for what he had done. But that doesn't mean he will forgive someone who dares to threaten him. We're partners remember, what is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine, including our very life."

Her face still beet in red, peering her eyes to the side and answered in a meek tone.

"Ehm, I'm sorry." Then she built her breath, giving it a big sigh as calming her nerves and set her eyes identical to me. "But never do that anymore, unless it is necessary."

I nodded for now, "Sure."

"U-uhm Dro'zah… Can you move?"

"Oh." I realized our precarious position, my right leg managed to slip past between her thighs and I smiled softly to her.

"Dro'zah… this is too early."

It's a wonder that the goddess had a quick switch. She's found herself in anger, always dominating me now she meekly mewled beneath me. To be honest, I can't hold myself any longer. Not when there's a beautiful lady under my roof.

Ultimately, I rejected the voice within me and relented to her requests. Not without benefit, as I slide past behind her, and hug her in the waist like a pillow.

"D-D-Dro'zah!?"

"It's fine, can we turn the night now. He's rather tired."

I said softly to her red beet of an ear, "O-okay. But if I found you taking advantage I won't hold back and unseal my arcanum to its full power, you understand!" She said in a hushed tone.

"Whatever suits you, my goddess." I embrace her tightly as she mewled in my chest. With a click of my fingers, all the light is turned off, and I soon descended into a deep sleep with a source of warmness in front of me.

Sometimes, I regret to not take advantage at the time.