Unconquered

"I cannot

believe

you!" Ember paused and poked up with his hand, pushing aside one of the hanging drapes in the third of the pleasure rooms. June, who was looking increasingly irritated at the delay in their progress, tossed her head.

"What?" she sounded entirely unapologetic. "You're the Unconquered, you're going to live until you die."

"I- what?" Ember looked down at her.

"Unconquered, like the Sun, are immortal. They live until they are killed by some monster or another. You're going to get plenty of chances to fuck your Lunar Wife – but you won't get

any

if we don't get the Starshrike working in time. Or do you think that Jerin Kah is going to just sit on his laurels while a new Unconquered is up and about and his empire and emperor is in danger?" June's tail snapped from side to side in irritation.

Ember tried to grapple with the mental idea of living forever. It refused to form – the same way that the idea of growing old and creaky refused to form. There was just the mental image of this moment. And, more accurately, the mental image of the most beautiful saris in the world, naked and quivering underneath him, their rump thrust into the air, ready for him to finally, at long last, lose his virginity. And not just to Korrine or one of the other pretty girls in Rataka village. No, he was going to lose his virginity as the Unconquered, the chosen hero of the age, to one of his Lunar...Wives! Gods, it still felt weird to think of Chirp as a

wife

.

That mental image was why he scowled at June. "I think you still could have at least been a tiny bit more polite..." He paused, seeing her expression. "...I mean, you have to be at...least...once in..." He trailed off. "You've never been polite, ever, have you?"

"Oh, glorious Unconquered," June said, her voice full of false supplication. "Do you think I'm being a

mite

rude because I think trying to get a millennia old ship out of drydock before we get

murdered

by an imbued knight of the Regency is slightly more important than you

buttfucking

your Lunar Wife?"

"Saris!" Ember thrust his finger at her.

"The incarnated pairing doesn't care what their gender is!" June said, flinging up her hands. "The Third Unconquered was a girl, but she was still the

husband

to her five lunar wives. And half of them were men!"

"And you don't see a problem with that?" Ember asked, stepping out of the room and opening the door to a chamber that looked as if it had been used for sparring practice. There was a dojo mat where he could make love to Chirp. There were some hanging targets that Chirp could cling to while he made love to them. There was a wall...Chirp could totally get some against that wall. Ember blushed. Okay. Maybe he was a teeny bit distracted.

"Oh no, you may need to be slightly uncomfortable while wielding the unfathomable power of the Sun and Moon," June said, then stepped over to one of the sleek, small doors that were mounted in the wall of the sparring room. She took hold of a small knob that thrust from the side of the door and swung the door open, her tail lashing out to wrap around the small bat that tried to flee from the tiny room the door was used to keep shut up tight. June flicked her tail and tossed Chirp at Ember, as if they were a skolsbol. Ember caught Chirp with both hands and held them close, nuzzling the top of their tiny, fluffy head.

"Now can we

please

get this ship going?" June asked.

"No," Ember said, glaring at her. "You can head to the bridge and you can start to get ready. Do whatever you need to do to get this boat into the water without me – but I'm going to spend a little bit of time with my Lunar, hugging them and kissing them and making sure everything is all right. Got it?" As he spoke, he noticed a tiny flicker of golden light along his arms, small beads of flame along his knuckles. They winked out nearly as fast sparks flung from a fire – so fast that he half wondered if he had imagined it.

June stood still, her tail not even twitching. Then she let out a soft snort. "Wait, water? You think this...you think the Starshrike is, like, a raft but nicer?" She laughed.

"Where else would a

ship

go?" Ember asked.

June just cackled – turning around and walking away.

The instant she was gone, Chirp glowed and grew. When the light had faded, Ember found himself nose to nose with his Lunar Wife, and his eyes were meeting their eyes. Soft ruby. Tiny gemstones. Ember felt his heart hammering in his breast and a nervous tremble shot along his arms to his palms as he gripped their skinny hips. Chirp smiled, ever so slightly. Their fangs glinted. Ember wanted to kiss each fang individually. Then lick their neck. Then he'd begin to nuzzle and lick his way along their throat to their chest, then start to play with their nipples and-

"Hey-" Chirp and Ember said at the same time. Ember blushed, then stepped backwards.

"Sorry, you-" they said in unison again. Ember closed his eyes and Chirp giggled, nervously.

"This is weird," Chirp said.

"Yeah," Ember said, nodding and opening one eye. "Uh, sorry about June."

"Is she always like that?" Chirp asked, their brow furrowing.

"Some...most...yes, all the time, yes," Ember said, chuckling. He licked his lips. "We should, uh, we should get to the bridge. This ship isn't going to get itself ready by itself." He nodded, then slowly looked down. His hand and Chirp's hand were interlocked again – their fingers clasped. Chirp blushed, furiously.

"We should! And, maybe, get to know each other. More. I mean. Since y-you can't love someone you

just

met," Chirp said, their voice growing softer. Their eyes flicked down and to the side.

"Sure you can," Ember said, hurriedly. "Like...I once met this really cute, uh, bat saris. Who...had lovely red eyes and..." He blushed as Chirp ducked their head forward, their hair tumbling forward to conceal their face. It didn't quite conceal their huge, goofy smile. "And really sexy fangs. And a

perfect

butt." Ember grinned as he heard Chirp's giggle. He leaned in, kissing the top of their head. "But we should get to the bridge..."

"Yeah," Chirp whispered. Their free hand was teasing along the hem of his pants.

"And do work..." Ember murmured into their hair. His lips traced down to their forehead, kissing Chirp's pale skin, feeling the softness of them. Chirp's hand pushed his leggings down, freeing his cock with a single quick shove. Their hand closed around the base of his red member and they crooned, wordlessly. Hungry. "And...oh gods..." He moaned as Chirp began to gently pump their palm up and down his cock – their thumb teasing his foreskin gently.

Chirp shivered. "It's really big."

"Thanks! Unconquered!" Ember choked out. He'd never felt someone other than, well,

himself

touch his cock. And his cock definitely had not been so

large

. The combination of both new facts wormed their way into his head and he marveled at the way that he felt the familiar pleasure and pressure of jerking himself off with the unexpected. He had no idea what Chirp's hand was going to do – they tightened and adjusted their grip, and the strangeness of it made every moment a tense, wondering exploration. Chirp giggled as Ember moaned, their bodies pressing together as Chirp adjusted their grip to keep jerking Ember off.

"I like your big cock," they whispered.

"Good to know," Ember rasped into their hair. Chirp began to nuzzle and lick at Ember's neck, their tongue darting out and away, as if they were worried about touching for

too

long. But with every fluttery little lick, Chirp pumped Ember's cock faster and faster, their fingers tightening, their palm warm and soft and so perfect. Ember closed his eyes and clutched their back, drawing Chirp close to him as they whimpered quietly against his neck. He felt their fangs teasing along his skin, teasing. Teasing. Then Chirp made a tiny

mrrr

noise and bit him. It was a shocking, sudden penetration, and rather than a flare of pain, the only thing that struck Ember was the intense

pleasure

of it. His cock twitched and surged, his balls clenching so tightly that it nearly hurt. His cum

spurted

along Chirp's forearm, soaking their skin up to the elbow as Chirp drank Ember's blood with eager gulps.

Ember blinked a few times, wavering and wobbling.

Then Chirp jerked backwards with a squeak, their ears twitching up in alarm, the points quivering. They clapped their hands over their mouth, then gulped one last time.

"Uh...I have questions?" Ember asked. He didn't feel

faint

exactly. At least, not faint like he expected losing a great deal of blood would have left him. He felt more dizzy like he had just had the most amazing orgasm in his entire life. But Chirp turned to flee before Ember could ask a single question – but this time, Ember was ready for them. He reached out, caught their wrist, tugged them around, and pinned them up against the wall, their bodies pressed close together.

"Sorry!" Chirp squeaked.

"Chirp, it's okay," Ember said, panting. A thin line of blood spurted from one of the tiny puncture holes on his throat.

"I'll never drink your blood again," Chirp said, bobbing their head hurriedly. "It's just, your neck! It was right there. And smelled so good. And then I was getting all...intense and...and it was instinct. Wild instinct!" They lapped at Ember's neck, their tongue flicking along the holes they had left in his skin. The holes closed and Ember felt his dizziness fade slightly. Chirp, though, looked mortified. "I'll never drink your blood

again

after that one last little lick!" They nodded. Then licked the smear of blood off Ember's neck – a quick, moaning lick that left their red eyes rolling back into their head. "Mmmh! Auh! No!" They flung their head aside.

"Chirp!" Ember laughed. "Chirp, you can drink my blood. I mean, what do people even

use

blood for? I can totally spare, like, five, six...gallons?"

"Uh, lots...lots of important things, actually," Chirp whispered. "Also, I think that'd be all of your blood, my Unconquered."

"Pff!" Ember, like most young men who had just gotten their first handjob from a woman (or saris in this case), was feeling generous. Chirp, meanwhile, was surreptitiously lifting their cum splattered arm to their mouth to begin licking tentatively. The first lick made them moan softly, their eyes closing slowly as they licked their dripping, white smeared palm.

"Uh, I've heard girls say it tastes bad," Ember said, slowly as Chirp licked each of their fingers clean, smacking their lips with satisfaction.

"Unconquered," they said, which seemed as if it'd be a great explanation for

most

things in Ember's life for the foreseeable future. At that moment, the floor decided to quake, rock, shake, and finally settle down to a consistent thrumming, as if the entire ship had started to buzz like a gong after it had been struck. Chirp, who had flung their arms wide to stay balanced, wrapped said arms around Ember's shoulders, while Ember planted a palm against the wall to keep himself from skidding along the floor. His other hand tugged his pants up. Then squeezed Chirp's butt. Which was

entirely

required, one hundred percent necessary.

"What was that?" Chirp whispered.

"Uh, I think June got the ship working," Ember whispered back. "Come on."

He slung Chirp into an easy carry – finding them quite a light weight. He wasn't sure if it was because Chirp was the sexist twig that he had ever seen, or if it was because of his incredible Unconquered strength. Either way, it was easy to bound through the corridors, up the stairs, and into the bridge of the Starshrike. The first thing that Ember noticed, to his irritation, was June sitting in the golden throne that was earmarked for the Unconquered. Her leg was propped up on her knee and her tail laid over the armrest as she pressed her fingertips together, her lips skinned back into a wicked grin. Ember gently set Chirp down on the ruby chair, then stepped over to the golden throne.

"Ahem," he said.

June rolled her head back. "Did you finish buttfucking your Lunar?" she asked, her voice laconic.

"Firstly," Ember said, ticking the points off on his fingers. "There has to be a better term than buttfucking-"

"I think it's kinda cute, actually," Chirp whispered, softly.

"Secondly!" Ember said, louder. "No. It was a handjob."

"How restrained," June murmured, leaning expansively on the armrest.

"And thirdly," Ember said. "That's...

my

chair."

June pursed her lips, then stood casually up, with the grace that she exhibited in all things. She stepped past him, her tail prodding his chest. "You have some cum on your shirt," she murmured. Ember looked down, scowled at the damp spot, and started rubbing. As he rubbed his shirt, June walked over to the chair that was decorated with the lapis gemstone and took her seat there, spinning the chair about as she did so to begin touching various controls on the desk that thrust out from below the large, curving window that looked over the sweep of the Starshrike.

"Question," Chirp said, raising their hand. "Is each chair for a different Lunar...wife?" They bit their lip, looking very cute.

"Yup," June said. "Lapis handles flight and sensors, Ruby and Amethyst handle the weapons, Pearl the communications, and Agate handles the shields." She tapped one last switch and, through the forward window, Ember could see the silvery metal of the drydock opening. He rubbed his palms together, excitement buzzing through him. Finally, this ship was going to- He blinked and jerked his head back around to look at June.

"Did you say

flight

?"

The Starshrike exploded out of the mouth of the Temple of the Third Unconquered with a scream of rent air and a streak of golden contrails.

***

The Starshrike flew, as June was more than willing to explain to a half awed, half terrified, half delighted Ember, by harnessing the magical powers of its engines and then creating a 'river' of mana beneath it. The mana was invisible and insubstantial, but the Starshrike could harness it to fling itself forward at incredible speeds. That was about how far she got into the explanation before Ember stopped understanding exactly what she was saying. And this was with June using her very slow, talking to babies voice.

Seeing that she was at the limit of his understanding, she tapped a few buttons. "Now, lets head back to Rataka," she said. "You might want to tell your parents that you've been chosen by the Sun to remake the world in your image. Seems like something they might want to know."

The Starshrike swung around, nose angling towards the distant horizon. Very faintly, Ember could see the towering shape of the swords that marked the edges of his village. But he could also see something else. He stood, slowly, and then shaded his forehead, narrowing his eyes. His body flickered with tiny embers of golden light as he exerted his power as the Unconquered – and the horizon became clear, as if it had been etched in stone.

Rising from around the swords was a thick pal of black smoke, spreading outwards into the unmistakable fan of a truly massive pyre. Ember felt his stomach turn slowly over. "June," he whispered. "Top speed."

June did not talk back. Not even a little. Instead, the Starshrike shot forward, slamming through the air with such speed that Ember was pitched back into his chair. As he sprawled there, Chirp reached out – and he took their hand, squeezing tightly. The forest that had taken him the better part of a day to traverse on horseback whipped by underneath them, while flocks of birds were scared into the air by the scream of the mana engines behind them. But then they were over the rice paddies, and over the village of Rataka itself.

The larger buildings were still burning. Many of the smaller ones had collapsed. And there were bodies in the streets – being picked over by strange, angular beings. Ember didn't wait for June to bring the Starshrike down. Instead, acting on instinct, he sprinted for the door at the side of the bridge. Flinging it open, he leaped outwards into the biting, howling winds. His clothing billowed around him and a golden light flared around his body as he drifted down towards the ground – landing with a grunt before what had once been the village storehouse. The glow and the grunt of his impact both drew the attention of the figures.

They weren't human. Even considering the diversity of humanity in the Land, these beings were clearly something else. They were tall and skinny and extremely pale. They had a few too many joints on each of their limbs and their fingernails were long and clawed and black. Their eyes were black all the way through and their teeth were glittering needles, while their mouths skinned backwards in huge, crescent shaped smiles. But it was none of these oddities that made Ember feel their inhumanity.

It was the smell.

The brassy, vitriolic scent.

"Demons," he whispered.

"Got it one..." one of the smilers said, cocking its head – its voice was somewhere between a nasal whine and a screech. It kicked over the terrified looking corpse of a guard and then stood upon his chest. Its toenails were long as its fingernails, and they dug into the corpse's ribs with a meaty

crunch

. "Viridai, Sixth Circle of the Vitriolic Depths, shard self of the Devourer, at your service, oh Unconquered."

Viridai bowed and swept its arm wide.

Ember snarled, clenching his fists so hard he felt the knuckles creaking. Above him, the Starshrike was swinging around – seeking to find a safe place to land without knocking over any more buildings. "There's only fifteen dead people here," he said, his body trembling. "Where are the rest of my family? My friends!?" He stepped forward, glaring at Viridai.

"Do you think I'm

afraid

of you, Unconquered?" Viridai asked, crooning. "You kill me and my subshards, we simply reform in Hell. And you are not any the wiser as to where Knight Jerin Kah took-"

One second, Ember was standing about ten paces away from the demon. The next, he had closed his hand around Viridai's throat and brought it swinging around and smashing into the ground. The impact was fierce enough to shake the ground and when the dust had cleared, Viridai was sprawled in a crater, its too long limbs twisted unnaturally. Which didn't say much, considering how it had already looked unnatural. But Ember put his bare foot onto its chest and glared down at it.

"Are you

really

so mind bogglingly, universe shattering, Cycle endingly stupid that you think it's a good idea...a

really

good idea...to fuck with an Unconquered after you

kidnapped

his family, his friends, and his entire fucking village?" Ember snarled. "I just learned that my previous incarnations completely altered how reincarnation works as a

retirement

plan for their

bureaucrats

! Now, where, in there, do you think a sixth circle sub-shard of a half rate malformed devil whose green flame is barely hot enough to scorch a flower fits in when it comes to threatening the

Unconquered,

chosen of the Sun, Toppler of Thrones?"

Ember leaned forward, putting more weight on his foot. "So..."

"Jerin Kah summoned zeno devils to take them to Nex-Ho, don't hurt me!" Viridai screamed, lifting up their clawed hands.

Ember felt the intense urge to take this demon and twist it apart with his bare hands. But instead, he breathed in a slow, deep breath. This turned out to be a mistake, because the air stank with brass and smoke and the smell of blood. He still forced himself to step backwards and off Viridai's chest. He turned to find June and Chirp, both of them having sprinted over from the Starshrike, gaping at him.