Mortis' inner journey and the struggle against the unknown.
The journey was too long for Mortis to just sit in the carriage. He had a lot to process and his divine power had awakened in him. Although he had no identity crisis and quickly agreed that he would take the beauty from the past with him, he was aware that he was now Mortis and no longer Aeternus. When the quiet and cuddling in the carriage became too much for him, he called his spirit bear and jumped out of the carriage to deal with himself alone. He could do this best when fighting and hunting. He looked for magical animals near the road or a little further away that he could bring into town to feed the children and women who had nothing.
Mortis found a few rabbits or small reptiles, but that couldn't distract him enough from the floods of thoughts that just overwhelmed him. That his known system was a goddess, with whom he was as if fused, and that he himself should be a god, reborn several times, really bothered him. His right eye, which had changed, usually showed him images of the past, future or ways in which something would move. Mortis didn't know how to turn it on and off, so he usually closed it to concentrate while hunting. There was little chance that he would choose the right path that his eye showed. That's why, in the beginning, when he was hunting, he had to miss many an animal and let it run, because he always wanted to stay close to the carriage.
After a while, he couldn't hold on and quickly made his way forward, where he disappeared into a forest with the ghost bear. Mortis wanted to find something big to vent. It wasn't long before he ran into giant magical beasts that looked at him like he was their next meal. After all, he was in an area where a normal human shouldn't be.
Although Mortis' spirit bear was full grown, he looked like a bear cub against the bear that stood before him. The bear in front of them was huge with pitch black fur. Mortis grinned, for it seemed that fate had brought him exactly what he needed: an enemy to play with, and whose fur would make a good gift for Leonie. The black bear with sharp claws was fierce, but not stupid. He immediately realized that he was now the prey and not the hunter, but the magical animal did not give up easily. The bear charged at Mortis and roared loudly. Mortis jumped from his bear, retrieved his scythe, and leapt toward the bear.
The Black Bear activated an ability where it became faster and its claws were surrounded by black mist to tear Mortis to pieces. But Mortis was much faster. He used the double jump to leap over the bear. Both then quickly turned around and exchanged blows. Mortis, however, concentrated only on deflecting and dodging, looking forward to this fight that got his blood pumping. Thus, he delayed the inevitable.
As Mortis finished off the bear quickly and cleanly so that the animal would not suffer, he noticed that his space ring did not have the capacity to carry the bear. Therefore, he summoned Mino, who put the bear over his shoulder, because he did not want to use the spirit of the black bear, it would be too macabre for him to do so. Mounting his mount so as not to lose connection with the carriage, Mortis eased up and simply enjoyed the weather and the fresh morning air. As he tried to ignore and cope with the ability of his eyes, it got worse, which he didn't like. But before he could get upset, the system sounded. "Calm down, even though a lot has happened. Have you seen worse in this world? Yes, your new ability limits you a bit, but you're also learning to deal with it. Now go back to your wives, they'll be wondering about you too." "Thank you, Fidelia," Mortis said and rode off quickly.
In the carriage, Mortis was immediately taken over by Lumina. She sat down on Mortis and looked deep into his eyes. Then she smiled broadly and whispered in his ear, "I see your mark is more like a snake moving. I knew the first time I saw you that you and I were meant to be. I am the goddess of poison and am often associated with the snake, while you, my darling, have an eye that resembles a snake in the eyes that tries to bite its own tail. But you should suppress your divinity. You are not yet a god, but the waves you send out are still stronger than those of a demigod. Let me help you calm your mind. Otherwise I won't be able to hold back, and our night together should be special and not in a carriage surrounded by the other women." Lumina pulled herself up to Mortis' shoulder and kissed him on the eye while sending out an energy to quell his. But no sooner had Mortis received the kiss than he was pinched in the side by Leonie, since it was her time with him, and she wasn't about to let it be stolen.
Lumina stood up and made room, knowing full well that the time everyone has with Mortis is limited before he disappears again for days or weeks to have adventures and grow stronger. Mortis didn't take offense either, but cheekily pulled Leonie to him and lightly bit her neck, pretending to eat her as she sat on his lap. Leonie was rather shy, but the action took away her fear and she didn't realize so quickly where she was sitting and how close she was to her husband. But when she realized it, she became quite meek and took on the hue of a strawberry. Lumina and Marina had a good laugh about it and the journey continued quietly.
Kathrin was in the shadow tower to fight and become stronger, because she thought it was nice that Mortis could make her stronger too with his successes. But she wanted to prove herself and wondered what was the point of getting stronger if you were inexperienced anyway. So she used the time to gain combat experience in the tower. Valeria is a late sleeper, otherwise Kathrin wouldn't be alone, but she couldn't get Valeria out of bed. Helga is still recovering from childbirth and doing exercises to get fit again. But even if she would like to see this shadow tower and also conquer it, she still needs some time, but she likes to take it.
The shadow tower doesn't take away any items from the women, but when they clear a level, they get a buff that helps them get through the next level a little easier - at least in the lower levels. This was noticed by Kathrin, who is currently on the 8th level and is taking a little break, rubbing her belly and looking happily into the future. Just as she was gazing intently into space, Valeria suddenly stood in front of her and then sat down next to her. "What are you looking so dreamily toward the ceiling for?" asked Valeria. Kathrin smiled and said with hope, "I hope it works out like it did for my sister the first time." "What works out?" asked Valeria curiously. "Well, that I get pregnant, silly. Maybe you already are, from what you heard," Kathrin said laughing, full of hope in her own world. But Valeria just looked down, not knowing what to make of it. She had never really thought about it until now, but when she saw Kathrin looking confidently into the future, Valeria didn't think the thought was so bad.
After the break, they both continued their way upstairs and were surprised to have Helga and Jasmin as opponents. Valeria was just getting to know all the women, but she had never seen this Jasmin before, so she wondered most who this dancer with two sabers was. Kathrin gave her a little info and told Valeria that Jasmin would soon be living in Bamberg, but she was a dressmaker and not a Mortis woman. But Valeria was not stupid and knew immediately who this woman was. She had to admit that she was not averse to Jasmin's beauty. But this was only a shadow and an opponent, neither Valeria nor Kathrin had any qualms about killing the boss.
After the boss was defeated, a silver box appeared that contained one piece of equipment for each of the two women. The dungeon of Tenebris was not only there to help the women become stronger, but also to equip them. The fact that the god did so much for Mortis and Valeria showed Valeria again how much her father meant to her. She decided to pray and thank him the next time she visited the temple. Kathrin was happy about the equipment and although she did not yet know the connection between Tenebris and Valeria, the two women understood each other better and better. So it was only a matter of time before they knew everything about each other.