''Let's get inside, the storm is getting worse,'' Archer said, ushering the four ladies into the living room.

Embera shivered, her aura dimmed by the biting cold. Archer approached the Fire Elf and enveloped her in a warm embrace. She softened against him, a sigh of relief escaping as his warmth flooded through her, banishing the chill. He looked down at the older woman, asking. ''Do you feel better now?''

''I do,'' she whispered, trying to cling to him.

The others giggled at this, but he picked the older woman up and wrapped her limbs around his torso. Embera let out an adorable noise, putting a smile on his face before slumping down into a nearby chair. She continued to cling as the hot air filled the living room, as Alexa and Colestah sat beside him.

They rested their heads on his shoulders, causing Malakia to laugh. ''Looks like their cold as well.''

Without speaking, he used his magic to pull the lioness toward him, making room for her on his lap after moving Embera over. Malakia couldn't help but sink into his embrace as Alexa giggled at her. ''Looks like you wanted a cuddle as much as the rest of us,'' she teased.

''Shut up,'' the lioness retorted, a smile crossing her face. ''It was getting too cold, my ears are hurting.''

After hearing her words, Archer gently ran his fingers through the older woman's soft, fluffy ears. The lioness let out a surprised, soft moan, her body trembling slightly at the unexpected touch. She instinctively pressed closer to him, nudging Alexa aside, as he continued to stroke her ears.

Following this, Malakia couldn't handle it anymore and gazed into his eyes as she asked, a hopeful glint in them. ''Can you take me to your room to warm me up? It's getting even colder.''

He was about to reply, but Nala's and Aisha's panicked voices echoed in his mind. 'Arch! Aslan is coughing up blood, come quick!'' his lioness said.

'Arch! A dreadful plague has reached the southern part of Draconia! It's killing hundreds, and I can't sit by watching. I'm going to treat the sick at the frontline of this, go heal Aslan before coming here!' Aisha demanded. 'He's my son as well and only YOU can save him!'

Without thinking, Archer teleported with Malakia to the lioness where his son was ill, and when he appeared, his gaze fell onto dozens of Healers, Brooke, Agrippina, and all the women who can use healing magic. The room was in a panic, but he barged through the group until he saw his little boy covered in blood.

There was something there, eating the baby from within, black veins covered the little one's body; his anger exploded, sending everyone crashing into the walls as he summoned his Dragon Warriors, ordering in a chilling voice. ''Arrest every staff member in this fucking palace, if one escapes, I'll kill everyone!''

''Arch! What's the meaning of this!'' Brooke demanded.

''Aslan has been poisoned by the foul Terravians! His soul is being eaten as we speak!'' he revealed. ''Now let me heal him.''

Archer moved toward the baby and placed his hand on the little boy's belly before sending a stream of mana into him, but it was useless until a soft woman's voice echoed in his ear. ''Are you willing to give up a part of your soul to save him?''

''Of course! He's my little boy!'' he snapped back, scaring everyone.

''So be it. Just a fair warning, this will hurt more than anything you've ever experienced, but it saves the prince,'' the woman whispered. ''And you will heal over time.''

Seconds later, Archer unleashed a raw, guttural scream as a searing pain tore through him, a piece of his soul burned away, but wasn't fully gone. He collapsed to one knee, his body wracked with agony. An invisible barrier flared, holding back the women who tried to rush to his side.

From behind, a purple-haired figure emerged, her arms encircling him protectively as the pain surged, blurring his vision into a haze. ''Hold on, my chosen. This is the reason I chose you to become mine.''

''Mana Goddess?''

''Yes, my lovely,'' she replied in his ear. ''No ruler would risk his life for a son, when he has many women to give him more children.''

Archer growled. ''He's mine! I'm not letting go of him!''

''And this is why the Goddesses are going crazy over you! A God Killer who loves, who cares, and who sees things differently,'' the Mana Goddess revealed. ''But enough of this, let's heal the prince.''

The pain intensified as the final part of his soul was severed, the Mana Goddess delicately extracting it from him and weaving it into his son. Instantly, Aslan's coughing stopped, the black parts fading as his skin regained its natural color. The baby's violet eyes opened only to have so much love in them, making him smile.

''I'm glad you're okay, little one,'' he muttered to his son, stroking the little boy's cheek. ''But I may be out for some time; healing you cost me dearly.''

Archer slammed into the floor with a thud as the Mana Goddess dispelled the barrier, allowing Nala to rush up to Aslan alongside Malakia. The younger lioness scooped up her worried little boy, who hadn't taken his gaze off his father.

''He'll be fine, my little heart,'' Nala muttered into the boy's fluffy ear. ''Your father does this sort of stuff all the time, and this goddess wouldn't let him die because she loves him even more than the harem does.''

Aslan's head snapped toward the stranger standing in the middle of the women. Brooke and Agrippina were ready to fight, but Nala's voice cut through the tense atmosphere. ''She's just like Tiamat, just shy. Leave her be, girls, or we wouldn't have had the Archer we love.''

When the group heard this, the Mana Goddess smiled. ''Thank you, Nala Lionheart.''

She turned to the others and continued. ''I'm Maria. I sponsored Archer since his soul came to Thrylos. I helped Tiamat pull him from his previous world when he died.''

The women's eyes widened as Brooke questioned. ''So you've been protecting him this whole time?''

Maria nodded. ''I have, now I need to tend to him; he sacrificed a part of his soul to save little Aslan, and it's taken a heavy toll on his body,'' she revealed.

''How long until he wakes up?'' Nala questioned. ''Aslan and the others want to see him?''

''I do not know,'' the goddess answered honestly. ''Depends on how his mind took the pain, normal people would die, but he isn't a regular person and could fully heal in days or even weeks.''

***

While Maria and the others put Archer in bed, making sure he was comfortable. Aisha was traveling south with one hundred Oathkeepers for protection. She was going to see if her magic could heal the plague-ridden. Everyone tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn't listening and continued.

By the time they reached Sunfire City, a port that brought in numerous trade goods was now a ghost town. People shuffled around the streets as the carriage came to a stop and she got out, approaching a suffering family. The father tried to stop her, but a knight appeared in front of her.

''Don't hurt them!'' she snapped, glancing at the giant. ''We're to help the people!''

Following that, Aisha turned to the people, speaking in a reassuring tone. ''I'm Empress Aisha Wyldheart. I just want to try to see if my magic can heal you and your family.''

The father's tension eased as he gestured toward a sickly-looking young boy cradled in his mother's arms. He had black veins spreading through his body, and pus seeped from his ears, mouth, and nose. She raised her hands, and a book made from pure mana materialized above them.

As she chanted her spell, a wave of red mana, dotted with violet sparks, enveloped the boy, gently mending his wounds. Aisha watched as the plague was beaten back, making the parents beam before doing the same thing to them, curing the sickness, causing the Oathkeepers to look at her like she was a saint.

''Gather any surviving Homeguards and set up a camp outside Sunfire,'' she ordered. ''We can try to put a stop to the Plague.''

Following that, the Oathkeepers and remaining soldiers set up a camp where the people could come to get healed while resting. Aisha was the sole healer able to cure the Plague, prompting her to work even harder. She didn't realize that she was sucking mana from a resting Archer, putting even more strain on his body.

Her fame spread among the people, who crowned her the Saint Empress. Whispers of her power ignited hope, drawing the sick from far and wide to Sunfire City, where she healed them all. With grit and determination, she repelled the Plague, protecting Draconia from the scourge ravaging the northern and central continents.

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