Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

The day Vahn had confessed to her in public, Hephaestus had been in high spirits for the rest of the day. Remembering his confident and serious expression as he spoke in front of the crowd, Hephaestus could feel her heartbeat begin to accelerate. She was now looking forward to the day he could keep his promise, and she hoped it would be sooner rather than later...

Ever since Vahn teased her the previous night, Hephaestus hadn't been able to get the experience out of her head. Though she had once used Vahn's image and heartbeat to masturbate, that was entirely based on her own imagination. Now that he had made advances on her, it was almost like her body could remember every place his hands had touched. She remembered the passionate kiss where he refused to release her and how his hands gripped her butt with a possessive force.

Not long after she sent him off with Anubis and the children, Hephaestus ended up locking herself in her workshop and tending to herself for nearly an hour before she was finally freed from the emotions that had been building up inside of her. It had been far more intense than the previous time she had done so, as there was now Vahn's fresh scent intermixed with her own on the couch cushions.

After that, she cleaned herself up and finally managed to get a bit of work done. Since Vahn had relieved a lot of the tension in her body the previous night with his massage, Hephaestus's body felt a lot more comfortable than she remembered. All her joints were loose, and she felt a refreshing feeling that made her work much easier. For the remainder of the day, she managed to distract herself well enough to get a fair amount of her work completed. She really had been falling far behind in her contracts, so she was happy to make a dent in the backorder.

That evening, Hephaestus had decided to take a break for a bit, and not long after she could feel Vahn's heart begin to beat a little faster. Curious, she started paying attention to the rhythm and noticed he seemed to be feeling a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. Remembering the face and figure of Anubis, Hephaestus frowned after thinking she might have been trying to make a move on Vahn. She understood the dog goddess had some ulterior motives, but Hephaestus hadn't expected her to move so quickly. Fortunately, the awkward feelings passed after a short period of time, so Hephaestus figured nothing serious had happened.

However, not even twenty minutes later, Hephaestus's soul shook a little as she could feel the emotions beginning to build in Vahn. With how late it was, Hephaestus imagined that he had gone to sleep, and it made her blush when imaging Vahn sleeping in the bed she had spent several lonely nights over the years. With the interest he had shown in her scent previously, Hephaestus couldn't help but picture the image of Vahn gripping the bedspread and inhaling her fragrance with a passionate gaze in his eyes...

With that mental image in mind, Hephaestus entrusted her body to the couch yet again and masturbated while picturing Vahn doing the same. She felt strangely close to the image of Vahn in her mind, and it brought her to a dangerous point in a very short period of time. The emotions had been so intense, that she was unable to hold in her voice toward the end and she began to panic a bit after imagining someone might have heard her. Fortunately, her office and interior workshop where the 'eternal flame' was located were completely soundproof.

Recalling this fact, Hephaestus increased her efforts and, with a fierce blush on her face, continued enjoying the anxious and fl.u.s.tered emotions Vahn was feeling. It wasn't until nearly midnight when Vahn finally seemed to relax and fall asleep, which left Hephaestus dazed and tired on the couch with a bit of moisture buildup on her lips. There was a dark stain on the couch where her sweat had soaked into the cushions, while a much darker one decorated the area where her h.i.p.s had been pressing.

---

Hephaestus awoke early the next day after only a few hours of sleep. She was a bit confused by the current events, as she could feel an anxiety and expectation building within Vahn. She could feel like he was in an urgent mood and imaged what had happened to trigger his unexpected explosion of emotions. She even humored the thought that Vahn had gotten too excited the previous night when he slept in the bed that he was now rushing over to see her first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, after around twenty minutes, Vahn's heartbeat began to slow down and he had yet to appear outside her workshop. Though she hadn't intended to have s.e.x with him, Hephaestus felt like it was a bit of a shame that her expectations had proven wrong.

With a sigh, Haphaestus began preparing for the day as she didn't imagine she would be able to sleep well with Vahn running around in high tensions. Her theory proved accurate when, not long after she started organizing materials, she could feel Vahn's pulse accelerate with a mixture of expectation and fear. Hephaestus was really curious what he was up to and made plans to visit later in the day to ask. Even if she couldn't meet Vahn, she should be able to force something out of the dog goddess that was staying with him.

While she was beginning her work, Hephaestus was having a bit of difficulty since Vahn had been experiencing a rapid flux of emotions. He was at times happy, excited, and even anticipatory, but, other times, he seemed to be full of a boundless rage that made even her heart feel anxious. Imaging who had pissed Vahn off to such an extent, Hephaestus too began to grow angry and it only affirmed her resolve to find out the matter that had been transpiring.

Fortunately, the rage of Vahn hadn't lasted long, and it was later replaced by a feeling of happiness that made Hephaestus's heart itch a bit. She could feel the emotions well up inside of him and it gave her a bad premonition in the pit of her stomach. For the next two hours after that, Hephaestus continued to ponder over what Vahn had been doing as she experienced the various feelings contained within the connection they shared.

Eventually, her introspection was interrupted by a knock at the door which informed her that Loki had arrived. The premonition she had earlier seemed to have been an indicator of a larger problem, and Hephaestus quickly made time to deal with the devilish goddess that she didn't get along too well with. Though their Familia's often cooperated with each other, Hephaestus was well aware of the type of person Loki was. After discovering that Vahn had revealed some of his secrets in the dungeon, she had been expecting a visit sooner or later.

After making her way to the private area where she dealt with VIP customers, Hephaestus was surprised to see Loki with a serious expression on her face as she 'impatiently' awaited Hephaestus's arrival. Once Hephaestus had finally taken her seat, without any hesitation, Loki said, "That child, Vahn Mason, he isn't a normal human boy, is he?"

Hephaestus frowned with her brows low as she said in a cold tone, "What have you come here to discuss Loki? Surely, you don't expect me to pass out the secrets of my own children, do you?" Loki's slit-for-eyes opened and she gazed at the cold eyes of Hephaestus as she said, "He is probably the one that healed your eye too, isn't that right? I wonder what kind of mortal can heal the curse of a Goddess that not even the Gods in Heaven could heal..."

Loki's words immediately angered Hephaestus, and the cup she was holding in her hands shattered as the contents spilled on the expensive wooden table that separated them. In a low and threatening tone, Hephaestus said,"Just like Freya, I won't allow you to do as you please. If you keep prying into Vahn's secrets and expose him to danger, don't expect me to stand idly by." The entire time Hephaestus spoke, Loki just continued to stare at her with her snake-like expression.

With a mischievous grin on her face, she laughed a bit before asking, "Do you know what your precious child is up to right now?" As Vahn had only recently visited her Familia, Loki knew Hephaestus hadn't received word of the events yet. Hephaestus seemed to understand there was a greater meaning behind Loki's words and her heart rate began to increase a bit as she asked, "What happened to Vahn...he must have been at your Familia earlier. Its no wonder..."

The grin on Loki's face seemed to double in size and it almost looked inhuman on her small face as she widened her eyes a bit and said, "I see~! There really is something, and it is even more than I expected. You seem to even have a connection with that boy, very interesting." Loki seemed overjoyed at the current turn of events. She could see that her words had affected Hephaestus quite a bit as she continued in a humorous tone, "Yup, your child ended up stopping by my Familia~ Imagine my surprise when he essentially begged me to have two of the girls from my Familia as his s.e.x partners~"

Images of the girls that had visited Vahn when he was unconscious immediately passed through Hephaestus's mind as she asked with a somewhat shaky voice, "What happened...?" Loki seemed to be enjoying the sudden change in Hephaestus as she laughed a bit and responded, "You should have seen it, he was so manly~! Even when pressured by my Divinity, he was unwilling to back down and even seemed to have a Divinity of his own to counteract mine~"

The moment Hephaestus heard Loki mention Vahn's 'Divinity', she knew matters had come to a point of no return. Of all the people that could have seen Vahn's domain, he had to reveal it in front of the absolutely most troublesome person. However, even though she was a bit frustrated at the current events, imagining Vahn's courageous figure confronting Loki made her feel a little happy. Hephaestus never had the intention of keeping Vahn for herself, and seeing how far he was willing to go for others made Hephaestus's own expectations grow a bit.

Loki had been paying full attention to Hephaestus, and she was surprised seeing how docile she had become after ruminating over her own thoughts. She suddenly realized that the rumors regarding Hephaestus and 'Vulcan' were more than just public speculation. The fact they had some kind of 'bond' and seeing how Hephaestus was currently acting, Loki had no doubts the two had a more serious relationship.

Seeing the glimmer in the depths of Hephaestus's eyes, even Loki felt a bit of hesitation to proceed with her inquiries. She had heard about some of the things Hephaestus had done recently, and she didn't want to deal with the wrathful goddess if she could avoid it. Loki wanted nothing more than to achieve the maximum number of benefits, and making an enemy of the 3rd strongest Familia wasn't a wise course of action for her end-game.

After mulling over her thoughts for a bit, she began to formulate a plan and proceeded to put it into action. Unfortunately, though she had thought things would soon begin turning in her favor, she was stunned by the sight before her and was unable to speak. Hephaestus suddenly had both of her eyes wide open and there was a blush covering her cheeks as she placed both her hands on her chest. From Loki's perspective, it was almost like she had spontaneously entered a state of immense arousal, and it was both interesting and worrying for her plans. She began to suspect that the 'bond' between Hephaestus and Vahn wasn't simply a feeling, but something much more powerful.

Hephaestus had been caught completely off-guard by the emotions that she was currently experiencing. She didn't know exactly what he was up to, but Hephaestus was absolutely certain Vahn was with the two girls Loki had mentioned earlier. She could feel powerful fluctuations in her soul caused by the emotions that Vahn was experiencing. Hephaestus could immediately feel a rise in the tensions of her body as a dampness began to spread within her trousers. She was so focused on the feelings in her heart that she barely heard the 'amused' voice of Loki who asked, "Are you turned on right now?"

---

The negotiations did not favor Hephaestus after that point.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hephaestus's Suffering', Loki's Curiosity','Bad Timing Boyo')