Chapter 104: Chapter 99: The End of an Era, the Beginning of Another (End)

“Congratulations, Mom!” Mai said, barreling into Lilith’s arms. “Did you see me and Aria? And did you see how pretty we made um…” She paused, clearly trying to think of a form of address for Kali that wasn’t already taken by one of the parallels.

“Ma?” Kali suggested.

“Ma, yeah! Did you see how pretty we made her?”

Lilith smiled, and Eve scooped Aria up into a hug. “You two did great.” Lilith said. “You were the cutest bridesmaids I’ve ever seen.”

“I still wanted to be the ring bearer, but I suppose this was good too.” Mai pouted.

“If you were the ring bearer, you wouldn’t have been able to go to the party last night, remember?” Aria reminded her.

“Oh, right.” Mai replied. “Well…congrats, I’m really happy for you!”

Lilith gave Mai a quick kiss on the forehead, then set her down. “Alright, we need to get going to the reception, okay? Do you want to walk with us there?”

“Yeah!” Mai said enthusiastically.

They got to walking, and a short time later, everyone had relocated to a different part of the dungeon, where they were holding the reception. Compared to Anna and Jameson’s wedding, there weren’t many attendees, but it was lively nonetheless.

From Kali’s planes, all of the dungeon residents, Lilith’s parents and grandparents, and Anala’s party were in attendance. From outside Kali’s planes, there was, of course, Amy, Amara, and Maven, as well as Jerry and a smattering of other Higher Beings and Administrators that Lilith didn’t recognize.

Lilith, Kali, and Lilith’s parents began the receiving line, greeting each guest in turn and having a moment to talk with them while the Parallels mingled with people elsewhere. And, of the people Lilith knew Amara was the first. “Aunt Kali, congratulations!” She said warmly, going in for a hug with Kali. “I can’t believe you’ve finally gotten married!”

Kali readily accepted the hug. “I know!” She replied. “It still doesn’t feel real to me, either.”

Amara let go of the hug, then looked at each of the Parallels in turn before looking up at Lilith. “It feels so strange to see you in the flesh.” She said. “We talked briefly during all the preparations, but I actually knew the old you, and…well, she’d be over the moon with how you’re doing. Keep on making Kali happy, okay? She deserves it.”

Lilith scratched the back of her neck embarrassedly. “So I’ve heard.” She said. “Um, if you don’t mind my asking, did you know Kali before…you know, everything?”

Amara gave Kali a flat look. “You really need to talk more about yourself.” She said exasperatedly, before turning back to Lilith. “Yes, for a couple hundred years after I was made an Appointed, she was working as a sub-Administrator. It was a real shock to learn that one of my relatives was in a position equal to the gods, let me tell you.”

“I’m sure some of my friends can relate.” Lilith chuckled. “I think poor Anna nearly had a heart attack when she first found out.”

“She’s the mom of the girl who was the ring bearer, right?” Amara asked.

“That’s her.” Kali confirmed. “She’d love to talk with someone from another universe, so go say hi, I’m sure you’ll hit it off.”

“Will do!” Amara said cheerfully. “I’ll catch up more with you later, after the line’s been worked through, okay?” She walked off, giving a wave as she went to go find Anna.

Next up was Kali’s other niece, Maven, as well as a couple of other women. “Congrats, Aunt Kali!” Maven said, pulling her into a hug. “Nice to see you finally able to get hitched!” After a moment, she let go of the hug, turning to Lilith. “Lilith, I know we talked a little before, but I want to say it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’d like to introduce you to my wives, Tess and Ellie.” She said, motioning at the women behind her.

“Good to meet you, I’m Tess.” One of them, a short blonde, said, sticking out her hand.

As Lilith shook her hand, Kali spoke up. “You know, she used to be a guy too, and her plane was made as a way for Amy to test drive a similar situation to Earth and Haven, so you two actually have a lot in common.”

Tess smiled, letting go of the handshake. “You too?” She asked Lilith. “How long?”

Lilith shrugged. “Four or five years, I think? I’m not really keeping track; this just feels normal so I often just forget I used to be a guy.”

“Me too!” Tess laughed. “But we can talk more later, I don’t want to hog your time. Ellie?”

The other woman, a redhead, gave Lilith a smile and stuck out her hand. “I’m Ellie.” She said. “Tess and I grew up on the same plane, so if you ever need anyone to talk to about going from no magic to magic, we’re your gals.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Lilith replied. “Great meeting you three!”

They headed off, and a few more people filtered through the line, and they all followed the same formula, more or less. Other Administrators or Higher Beings would give their congratulations to Kali, introduce themselves to Lilith, and be on their way, and the dungeon residents were brief, usually just saying hi and a quick congratulations before returning to the party proper.

Amy and Jerry stopped by for a moment, but the next interesting person was a somewhat shy-looking young woman. “Um, Kali, congratulations!” She said. “I’m really happy to see that this worked out for you!”

“Connie, it’s good to see you!” Kali replied. “How’s swarm life treating you?”

“It’s a little weird being their “patron goddess” now, but all in all I’m really happy. I’m, um, really glad you helped me out with relationship stuff. It’s…great.”

“Isn’t it?” Kali said happily. “Have you met Lilith before?”

“No, this is my first time.” Connie said. “Nice to meet you, Lilith, I’m Connie.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Lilith replied. “The swarm is that thing happening on one of Jerry’s planes, right? Does that mean you’re the Higher Being in charge of watching it?”

“Not really?” Connie said. “One thing sort of led to another and now I’m dating their leaders? And then they got big enough for me to publicly tell the swarm I favor them and now they treat me like their main god? It’s not official or anything.”

“You’ll have to tell me more about it.” Lilith said. “Catch one of my Parallels, I’m sure they’d love to hear your story.”

“I’ll, um, do that.” Connie said. “Thanks.”

She left, and the line continued, until, eventually, Anala and her party showed up. “Congratulations, you two.” Anala said. She still hadn’t quite gotten over the Eve situation, but she had warmed up significantly in the last few months, and Lilith was pretty sure that, given time, she’d get over it completely.

“Thanks, Anala.” Kali said, giving her a smile.

Lilith thanked her as well and she moved on, Bruce and Ava taking her place. “Congrats!” Ava said happily. “You two are perfect together, so I’m happy to see you finally tie the knot!”

“Me too!” Bruce added. “It was an interesting ceremony, as well. Who was the slime woman who officiated?”

“That was Amy.” Kali said. “I lived on her planes before I became an Administrator, she’s the leader of our faction of Administrators, and probably in the running for most powerful person alive. She’s the only person we could think of that would be fitting to officiate, you know?”

“I see.” Bruce replied. “Should we like…be especially respectful around her?”

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“Nah, she’s not like that, she’s more like me.” Kali said. “Just don’t be rude and you’ll be fine.”

“Good to know.” Bruce said. “We’re going to go say hi to Eve, congrats again!”

They left, and Raesn walked up. “Well, I haven’t been to a wedding in a while, but that was nice.” He said, smiling at them. “Congratulations, you two, I hope your love only ever grows stronger.”

“Thank you, Raesn.” Lilith replied, smiling in return.

“Well, I’m not going to talk your ear off.” He said. “I’m going to go get some food, and I’ll chat with you later.”

After he left, the line continued, and a short time later they reached the end of the line. “Um, hey.” Vithi said, scratching the back of her neck. “Long time no see.”

“Vithi, how have you been?!” Lilith asked. “Have your travels been everything you hoped they would be?”

“Yeah.” She said quietly. “I don’t think I quite realized how…big the world was. I’ve visited a few major cities, but I’ve found that I enjoy myself most out in the wild, enjoying nature. But...today’s not about me. Congratulations on your wedding, you two are good together.”

“Well, we wouldn’t be here without you, so, really, we should be thanking you!” Kali said.

“You would have found someone else.” Vithi said. “I was just in the right place at the right time.”

“Nonsense.” Kali said. “The fact remains that you still helped. Has anything been bothering you? We’re more than happy to help however we can.”

“What?” Vithi asked, taken aback. “No, I’m fine. And even if I did need something, today’s not the day to bring it up.”

Vithi paused for a moment, and Kali pounced on the opportunity. “Vithi, I can and will read your mind to find out if you’re lying.” She said matter-of-factly. “There’s something bothering you, right? Just give me one thing for now and I’ll get off your back, okay?”

“Fine, fine.” Vithi said, a small, chagrined, smile creeping onto her face. “I’m thinking about becoming a park ranger for one of the national parks in the United States, but I’m worried about qualifications and whether or not they’d even let someone like me join.”

“Consider it done.” Kali said, waving a hand. “Do you have a park in mind?”

“Um, can I tell you later?” Vithi asked. “We can discuss details on a day when we’re not celebrating you.”

“Fine, I’ll visit you tomorrow.” Kali replied. “But…really, thanks for coming, it does mean a lot to me.”

“Um…yeah. I’ll…talk with you guys later.” Vithi said, slipping off into the small crowd of guests.

With the line over, Lilith and Kali were finally free to go and enjoy the reception proper. Lilith hadn’t been paying much attention to the Parallels while she was greeting people, but it seemed that they had been busy; Eve was talking animatedly with Connie, Nuwa was chatting with Maven, Tess, and Ellie, and Mae was talking with Jerry about something technical.

Looking around, it seemed that most of the guests had something to do, which was good; Kali had been a little worried that the people from her planes and the Administrators and Higher Beings she had invited would sort of segregate themselves, but there were quite a few people intermingling.

Lilith couldn’t help but notice Amara and Anna flitting from group to group, occasionally stopping to have a quick conversation or to introduce people to each other, just generally helping keep things moving. At one point, Amara noticed Lilith watching her and gave her a quick wink before returning to her work.

Kali and Lilith sort of migrated from group to group for a few minutes chatting a bit with everyone, before being interrupted by Amara’s voice, magically amplified. “Everyone, if you would please turn your attention towards the middle of the room, we will be having the lovers’ first dance!”

There was a smattering of applause, and Kali nudged Lilith towards the center of the room. They met up with all the Parallels, and a tune began to play. Kali grabbed Lilith and began a slow dance, which they continued for a few moments, before Lilith passed Kali off to Mae. Likewise, Mae danced for a time with Kali before passing her to Nuwa, who did the same, and passed her to Eve. That dance was a bit more difficult due to the height difference of the two, but they managed to make it work, eventually passing Kali back to Lilith, where they ended the song.

After the music ended there was a little more applause, and then Amara began to speak. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out here tonight.” She said, voice magically amplified. “For some of you, it’s quite far away from home, and taking the time and effort to come here really means a lot.”

“She says, like she isn’t one of those people.” Kali giggled quietly.

“We’re going to be bringing in the food now, and don’t feel any need to hold back; we’ll be creating new food as needed, so take as much as you want! Just make an orderly line and raise a hand if something is out, then take a seat at a table when you’re all dished up. We’ll do some quick toasts, and give people time to eat, then we’ll be clearing the floor for the parent dances and some proper partying!”

She snapped her fingers, and suddenly a large table filled with food manifested to the side of the room, and a bunch of circular tables, complete with tablecloths, decorations, and chairs, appeared scattered throughout the room. Everyone lined up and got their food, and once everyone was sat down, Jameson stood up.

“So, as best man, I’m apparently supposed to be first here?” He said. “Uh, to tell you the truth, just a few years ago I was convinced that this day would never come. Lucas was always so shy and reserved that Anna and I thought that it would take a miracle for him to actually get a partner. And now here she is, four beautiful young women, out of her shell and getting happily married to one of the world’s most powerful people. I would have laughed you out of the room if you told me this would be how things turn out, but she deserves it. Kali, Lilith, Mae, Nuwa, Eve, congratulations!”

He sat, and Maven stood. “I think it’s me next?” She said. “I haven’t known Kali as long as many of you here, but she was a big help in figuring myself out. Were it not for her, I wouldn’t be married myself, and would probably still be third wheeling my lovely wives, and I know that there are others here in the same situation. I owe so, so much to her, and she deserves every ounce of happiness she gets. Congratulations!”

She sat, and Amy rose to take her place. “You know…it seems like just yesterday that I was seeing Kali off after she was first made a full Administrator.” She said. “And I remember how we both tried not to cry, and both failed. She was so scared that she wouldn’t be able to find fulfilment out on her own, and for a while I was scared too. And then she met Lilith, and my worries evaporated.”

She gave Lilith an appreciative nod. “I know you don’t remember it, but you really helped pull Kali out of a dark place, and it brings me no small amount of joy to see you two finally able to be together without any obstacles. I look forward to seeing how your relationship develops, and remember, if either of you need any help with anything ever, my door is always open. From the bottom of my heart, congratulations.”

And, once she was done, Lilith’s father stood. “Much like Jameson, if a few years ago you had told Jessica and I how our lives would be right now, we would have probably thought you were insane. But…I don’t think I can even properly quantify how much our lives have changed for the better in the intervening time, and it’s all Lilith and Kali’s fault.

“We’ve been truly blessed by our daughter, and we’re so, so proud of her. Lilith, Mae, Nuwa, Eve, your mothers and I love you more than life itself, and we’re so happy to see you getting a share of the happiness that you’ve given us.” He paused, choking up slightly. “Congratulations, you guys.”

Lilith wiped her eyes as he sat, turning to her plate to keep people from noticing that she was tearing up slightly. The dinner proper began, and, once Lilith felt like she had control of herself, she turned over to Maven and asked a question that had been on her mind. “If you don’t mind my asking, what did Kali help you figure out?”

“Ah, that.” Maven said, putting down her fork. “You see, for quite a while, I was under the impression that I wasn’t attracted to other girls. But, after Tess and Ellie got married, I started feeling this weird sort of…jealousy or longing around them, and it was freaking me out, because it almost felt romantic. But I had told myself it couldn’t have been romantic, because I was straight.

“And, during one of Aunt Kali’s visits, I decided to ask her about it. Since she lived in an entirely different set of planes, I thought it would be less…complicated to talk with her about the issue, instead of talking with people who knew Tess and Ellie well. She and I sat down and talked it through for a couple of hours, and she helped me come to a realization.

“See, I was heterosexual, that was true, but I came to the conclusion that I was biromantic. And, once I viewed things in that light, everything started to make sense. So, I called in a few favors, got my sexual orientation changed to match my romantic orientation, and I’ve never looked back.”

“What was that like?” Lilith asked. “It must have been kind of scary, right?”

“Not really.” Maven shrugged. “I had one of the gods do it, and if I hated it, I could just…go back to how I was before. There was a huge safety net, and I thought it might make my life make more sense, and it did.”

“It was a bit of a shock for us, let me tell you.” Tess said. “But we gave it some thought and realized that we basically spent all day with each other anyway, so we tried it out and loved it.”

The conversation turned to other things, and after what seemed like only moments, the dinner had ended, and it was time for the parent dances. Amy danced with Kali, Lilith with Mike, Mae with Jessica, Nuwa with Siph, and then Eve danced with Mike after Lilith had finished.

That out of the way, Kali and Lilith cut the cake, and everyone was set free to party as they wished. That lasted for a couple hours more, then the last dance was called. And, as everyone was leaving, Amara shooed Kali, Lilith, and the Parallels away, and told them to go enjoy their night while she and some of the others cleaned up. And so, grinning all the while they did.