Chapter 46: The Heart-Blood Ritual (1)
Their words were always careful and gentle whenever they spoke to her. Of course, there were still some awful people around—there were terrible people in every world—but Maeve refused to let them shape her opinion of everyone else because the people who truly mattered had never looked at her as a vessel.
They treated her like a person, someone they cared about. Every small action and every gentle word made her feel valued for who she was, not just because she was carrying their child.
"We’ll be relying on you, G-Grandpa Takra," Ikarus said.
Not long afterward, the ghosts finally gave them instructions about the things they needed to do before Ikarus injected his golden blood into Maeve’s heart.
It was only then that Maeve realized the other ghosts weren’t able to speak, except for Grandpa Takra.
[Pinky’s information to the rescue!]
[Just because they’re all ancestors of the Azuryn Tribe doesn’t mean they all have as much aether energy as Takra!]
[It’s already difficult enough for a ghost to appear, Host! Talking takes even more energy!]
[Besides, they’re saving their strength to help you!]
Maeve looked at the silent ghosts before asking in her mind, ’Will they really have to use that much energy for me?’
Pinky spun through the air as she answered. [That depends, Host! Every species reacts differently. The weaker the body, the more energy the ancestors have to spend.]
Maeve didn’t want to get her hopes up because she knew her human body was truly nothing compared to theirs, or perhaps compared to many other species in this universe.
"Both of you must wait outside," Takra said to Cerus and Axan.
Cerus immediately frowned. "But Grandpa!" he complained. "Why do I have to wait outside?!"
He pointed at himself and Axan. "Don’t we share the same mate? Shouldn’t we be helping her too?"
Takra shook his head patiently. "Child, you may share a mate, and this tomb may recognize both of you as her mates. But your bond with her is still weak."
"After all, you have not officially married her," Takra explained. "And neither of you has consummated the marriage yet."
Cerus gasped as if he had just been stabbed. "Grandpa!" He clutched his chest dramatically. "You can’t keep reminding us of such a painful truth!"
Then he staggered back a step and pointed accusingly at the old ghost. "You’re hurting my poor, fragile heart!"
Takra clicked his tongue—if he still had one—and couldn’t help wondering how Cerus had turned out so different from Ikarus.
The young man even called him Grandpa so naturally, as if he had known him his entire life.
"It’s fine," Axan finally said.
Standing behind Cerus, he placed a hand over his mouth before the other man could start arguing again.
"If we’re not allowed to take part in the ritual, then we’ll wait outside," he added and his calm gaze looked at Takra. "But I still want someone to let us know if something goes wrong, or if the ritual is successful."
Takra stroked his transparent beard and felt proud of Axan’s maturity. Unlike Cerus, the white-haired alien wasn’t causing any trouble at all.
"The door will open once the ritual is finished," Takra explained. "It will also open if something happens to Maeve or Ikarus."
Axan nodded. "That sounds fair."
A few moments later, he dragged Cerus out of the chamber with him, finally leaving Maeve and Ikarus alone in the center of the tomb.
Takra clapped his hands several times and the heavy stone door immediately slid shut.
"Now that we’re alone, I’ll explain everything you need to do," Takra said. "First of all, both of you need to take off your clothes."
Maeve let out a soft hiss and her eyes immediately narrowed as she looked at the old ghost. "Why?"
She hadn’t expected an ancient ghost to still have such indecent thoughts. As if Takra could read her mind, he immediately said, "What kind of nonsense are you imagining, child?!"
He looked genuinely offended, and then he pointed at her chest. "How is Ikarus supposed to inject his blood directly into your heart if you’re still wearing clothes?"
Maeve pressed her lips into a thin line. The way Takra had said it made her sound like someone whose mind was always full of dirty thoughts.
"I was just asking why," she said in her defense.
Still, even after learning the reason behind Takra’s request, she couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. Taking off her clothes in front of so many people felt a little too much.
"They are our ancestors," Ikarus said calmly. "If they’re asking us to do something, then it must be for our own good."
That didn’t mean Maeve would agree to every strange request they made. What if they suddenly told her and Ikarus to have sex inside the tomb?
The thought alone sounded ridiculous.
Still, since Takra’s explanation was reasonable, she decided to listen.
"You do it first," Maeve said shyly to Ikarus.
After all, she definitely didn’t want to be the first person standing naked.
Unlike her, Ikarus didn’t seem embarrassed at all as he started taking off his clothes. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of hesitation on his face, but maybe it was because male aliens rarely wore much clothing in the first place.
To be fair, the female aliens weren’t much different.
The only reason Maeve’s clothes looked more like a proper dress was because the tribe had specially made them for her. Otherwise, she would probably be wearing something that looked a lot closer to a fur bikini.
Well, even though she didn’t have as much cake as the female aliens, that didn’t mean Maeve couldn’t appreciate clothes that actually covered her body.
Still... even if her figure probably didn’t match this world’s idea of the perfect body, Ikarus’s not-so-little brother suddenly came to life the moment she took off her clothes.
Maeve froze and Ikarus froze as well.
On the other side, Takra noticed it immediately. The old ghost glanced between them before nodding as if he had just confirmed something important.
"Child," he said to Ikarus, "you will probably have a lot of children, and I wouldn’t be surprised."
