Archive of Our Own

Thousands of years ago, there existed an empire watched over by a benevolent god.

Wait, no. That’s not how the story goes.

There existed an empire watched over by a benevolent god, until they were slaughtered by a vengeful deity who had grown fed up with being treated like Celestia’s laughingstock. After conquering the heavenly throne, the deity gave the empire’s inhabitants two choices: serve his regime, or meet the same fate as their dead Archon.

The people wisely chose the former.

Anyways, that was then.

Now, Kunikuzushi poured himself a cup of peppermint tea—no sugar, thank you—as his puppet servants massaged his shoulders. He’d had a particularly tiring day, so a moment of relaxation was in order.

Briefly, he thought of calling for a music show. Good music always helped soothe the soul, although he was content with the sound of wind rustling his garden’s tree leaves for now. After taking a sip of his drink, he placed the cup back on its coaster, setting it down on the table beside his throne before leaning back—

“Kunikuzushi!” A voice—high-pitched, shrill, and all-too familiar—rang through the walls of his estate like a harpy’s cry, and immediately, he knew his moment of relaxation had ended. The voice was accompanied by thundering footsteps, and soon after, the door to his throne room burst open.

He frowned, preparing himself for whatever nonsense was about to befall on him. “What is it this time?”

There in the doorway stood Mona Megistus, his mortal wife of six months. She had a hand on her hips, and her expression was twisted into an unflattering scowl that made her look like the opposite of a proper lady. Of course, if there was anything he knew about the woman he’d married, it was that she couldn’t care less about being a proper lady; instead, she devoted her time and effort into making his life a living hell. 

She sauntered forward, oozing disrespect with every step. She must have thought she looked so intimidating, but she couldn’t be more wrong. He couldn’t be bothered to change into his human form at the moment, and from his angle, she just looked… Tiny. 

Most gods possessed three forms, though there had been several exceptions in the past: the first was the one they were born with, the one they could only adorn in the presence of other gods lest they blast every human in the near vicinity into little more than smithereens. The second was the one they typically showed to their subjects; it was human-like, averaging on eight to ten feet tall, with an otherworldly glow in the eyes to indicate immortality. And the third functioned more or less as a human disguise, though in Kunikuzushi’s case, he’d only ever used it when he was getting intimate with his wife.

A deity was considered respectable when they had a domain of their own, and the practical thing about owning a domain was that they bent and shifted in accordance with whichever form the deity was wearing. Rooms expanded, corridors lengthened, furnitures doubled in size; conversely, this meant Mona was currently being dwarfed by everything around her, which made for a rather ridiculous sight—a fact he generously didn’t bring up.

See, he treated her far better than she treated him.

“I was scrying through the eastern province today,” she declared once she was right in front of him, tilting her head up so she could face him. “Would you care to take a guess as to what I discovered?”

“No,” he replied bluntly. “No, wife, I would not care.”

Her nostrils flared, and as she balled her hands into angry fists, Kunikuzushi tried to think of what he could have possibly done to trigger her ire today. It was the prolonged rainclouds in the southern province two days ago, the flood in the western border last week, an outbreak of rashes in two prefectures that he’d meant as a prank, and so on. When it came to his Mona, the list was near-endless; she was always furious with him about something, always trying to police what he could or couldn’t do in regards to his own nation. What did she know about being a ruling deity? 

“I found a starving village,” she hissed, inching closer. “All their crops have gone bad, and the river that flows past their border has dried up.”

“What a shame,” he sneered. Oh, that was the source of her anger.

“Don’t speak to me as if I’m a fool,” she curled her lip in disgust. “I know it was you. I don’t care what they did to make you think they deserved it—you stop this, right now.”

“You’re always like this,” he waved a dismissive hand, and his puppet servants dispersed, fading into the ether. Other gods preferred spirit servants, or so he heard, but he liked his workers faceless and incapable of back-talk—he got more than enough of that from his wife already. “You prioritise the well-being of strangers, of peasants, over your own husband. Need I remind you who owns you?”

“Owns me?” Mona laughed sardonically, her small frame quivering with fury. “Oh, the nerve of you. What made you think they needed to be punished, hm? Did they speak ill of you? Did they forget to thank you for the wealth you never give anyway? Go on, tell me; what sin did they commit against you, husband?”

“They disrespected me,” he answered, his eyes roaming her figure. She was dressed in loose, elegant robes made of lavender silk today. He wondered when she would figure out all her clothes were made for his viewing pleasure. “I’ve made my terms clear; one offering every morning. Yesterday, a farmer from that village neglected his duty, so I made an example of him.”

Mona scoffed, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “Is that it? One of them offends you, so you condemn them all? Gods, you really are cruel.”

“I’ve told you,” he said softly, lightning crackling outside, “Don’t mention other gods in front of me.”

Fear flickered across her eyes, but stubbornness outweighed that fear.

“I can do whatever I want,” she huffed. “Celestia knows I deserve it for being married to a manchild.”

Enough was enough.

Kunikuzushi reached forward, wrapping her fingers around her torso and lifting her. Mona screamed, kicking her legs like a rabbit trapped in a peregrine’s claws, but mortal strength was nothing more than passing wind for a celestial being like him. He ignored her ridiculous struggles and placed her on his lap, caging her against his chest and effectively cutting off all means of escape.

It was as Mona began to rain punches down his chest that he realised he’d forgotten just how minuscule she was in comparison to him. Even with her curled up on his lap, he still had to look down to meet her eyes, and his fingers could circle around her whole waist. Something about their size difference tugged his heart just enough that for a brief moment, she was no longer unbearable to him. In fact, he was just about to caress her cheek before his wife—his wife, the woman he’d married for love and comfort—struck him hard across the face.

Well. Hard for her.

“You slapped me,” Kunikuzushi pointed out flatly, unfazed.

Mona blinked, seeming surprised that he wasn’t hurt, which was rather stupid of her.

“I—yes,” she blurted. Then she hardened again, “Yes, I slapped you. Put me down, and stop starving your citizens. Now.”

“No to both of those requests,” he tutted. “I’m not letting you go until you start acting reasonable. Knowing you, that’s going to take at least an hour or two.”

“I’m acting perfectly reasonable,” she grumbled, wriggling around in his arms. Her eyes were narrowed into a sharp, seething glare, “You’re the one who’s engaging in this—this senseless cruelty. It may seem insignificant to you, but you’re hurting everyone in that village over the irrelevant mistake of one man. These are people’s lives we’re talking about, and yet you sit here on your comfortable, cushioned throne and accuse me of not acting reasonable—”

“Do you ever stop talking?” Kunikuzushi gave her forehead a gentle flick. 

Mona’s face turned red with fury. It made her look like a tomato, which was yet another observation Kunikuzushi didn’t say out loud. “How dare you—”

Then she called him a tyrannical scumbag, something she’d already called him hundreds of times within six months of their marriage, so it gave Kunikuzushi a rather nasty headache when he imagined just how many more times he would have to hear that nickname over the course of eternity. 

Looking back, he didn’t quite know what he’d been thinking when he’d first announced to his nation that he was looking for a wife, and he wanted not only the most beautiful, but also the most clever woman they could offer. He hadn’t wished to spend eternity with some idiot who could barely hold a conversation with him, but even so, he’d still desired the basic qualities of a wife; gentle, motherly, nurturing. And then his karmic debt gave him one Mona Megistus, who was none of those things.

Mona was argumentative, hardheaded, and spiteful. He’d tried numerous times to fuck and spank and mould her into the perfect wife with zero success. A night in his bed might make her soft and submissive temporarily, but come morning, she would revert back to her unruly self and run away from his room to hide in the library or some other part of his estate.

Speaking of a night in his bed, it had been quite a while since their last passionate endeavor, actually. He didn’t know when it started, but for the past month or so, he’d begun to suspect Mona was avoiding him. Not that she particularly enjoyed spending time with him—she never did, preferring the company of telescopes and old books—but she’d behaved especially cold lately. She skittered off whenever he entered the room, she pushed him away whenever he stood ‘too close’, and she never answered his summons whenever he asked her to visit his chambers.

He wasn’t sure if he liked how that made him feel.

“You’re not making an effort to understand how I think,” he complained, interrupting Mona, who had been in the middle of a ramble about his ‘unforgiving totalitarianism’. “If I reverse my decisions instantly, it makes me look weak. My people have to understand there will be consequences to disrespecting their deity. Expecting me to dismiss their punishment just because you demand it of me is exactly what makes you unreasonable.”

“Excuse me?” She crossed her arms. How was it possible that everything he said only made her even more furious? She had to be doing this on purpose. “You’re the one who should be making an effort to understand the way I think. You’re responsible for millions of humans. Do you have any idea what it’s like for us down there, knowing our lives rest on your fingers? Knowing our existence, our survival depends on keeping you in a good mood?”

“Why should I bother understanding?” He shot back, raising his voice. “I’m the god here. Everything I say goes. That’s how it’s always been.”

“You are—ugh!” Mona let out a frustrated groan, scrunching her nose in a manner far too adorable for someone so enraged. “All this talk of being god, but you’re just like the human men on Earth; stoneheaded, selfish, always refusing to listen to reason. I don’t understand why the distinction matters so much to you when you behave the exact same way—”

Kunikuzushi flicked his wrist, and everything fell into place; the windows slammed shut, the mechanical lock of the doors joined together. Outside, thunder struck. 

“This nonsense has gone on long enough,” he said, his patience thinning. Comparing him to mortal men was textbook blasphemy, and Mona had to learn that being his wife didn’t mean she could do whatever she pleased. “I will consider rescinding their punishment when I think they’ve learned their lesson. Until then, they’ll survive with what they have.”

Mona tensed, anxiety seeping into her bones. She hated the part of her that still bowed to his show of power, the part that had been conditioned by years of upbringing to fear his divinity. 

But she wouldn’t yield; no, she’d come this far.

Steeling her resolve, Mona said, “No.”

Kunikuzushi raised an eyebrow. Her breath caught in her lungs; he was magnificent and terrifying at the same time. “No?” 

“No,” she repeated, firm. “You’re being unfair. This entire situation you’ve created is unfair. I won’t stand aside and watch you starve these innocent people. So,” she straightened her back in some meager attempt to level their eye contact, digging the cuticles of her nails deep into her palms, “What do you want?”

His eyes flickered with interest. “You’re going to give me something,” he said slowly, lips curling into a lethal smirk, “In exchange for these lowlives?”

A mix of emotions swelled within her; fury, at the sound of him so carelessly dubbing these hardworking villagers as lowlives. But something else, too, at the obvious implication of what his words. There was no mistaking those half-lidded eyes, the fingertips feathering over her legs; whenever Kunikuzushi had her this close, things only ever ended one way.

Mona gritted her teeth, “Yes.”

Even as she forced the word out, all she could think of was the string of decisions that had led her to being here, in this very second, serving her role as a god’s wife—or a god’s broodmare.

After all, those two things were one and the same according to the men back on Earth.

Men, men, men. Her entire life had been dictated by the rules of men, and she was sick of it.

She’d come from a village near the southern border, right next to the sea. Her father was a fisherman who frequently used the stars to navigate his journeys out in the ocean, and it was he who had first instilled hr love for astronomy. She’d grown up memorising constellations and planets, tracing the shape of celestial bodies with her fingers as she and her father sat on the roof together and gazed at the sky. So, at thirteen, when she told him she wanted to learn astronomy in the empire’s university someday, she felt betrayed at her father’s dismay.

His excuses were as such; the first, that she didn’t come from a ‘good family’, so there was no possible way someone like her could attend the university in the empire’s capital—he simply didn’t have the money for it. And the second, she was a woman. From the way he’d spoken to her, she understood immediately this second reason triumphed all others.

That didn’t mean she gave up. From the age of fourteen to twenty, Mona worked relentlessly, securing jobs where she could. No matter how difficult the work was, she took it, so long as it promised money; from hauling foliage at a tobacco factory to cleaning the horse stables of a rich farmer, no labour was beyond her. Finally, after years of sweat and grime and dirt, she’d amassed just enough funds to travel to the capital and beg for a place in the university’s next semester. 

If only her struggles had ended there. She’d passed the entrance exam, she’d showed up to their doorstep with the required documents, and she had the money to get herself through at least two semesters, but even with all that—even after scoring higher than every single male candidate—the admissions office laughed at her face. It took weeks of badgering them almost non-stop, but eventually, theys truck a deal; she was allowed to take some core classes. She wouldn’t get an official degree, they’d said, only a certificate to record her presence there, but that was a compromise Mona was willing to make. Studying was her main purpose, after all.

Suffice it to say, Mona excelled in her classes. Her professors spoke of her greatness through gritted teeth and hushed whispers, comparing her to great inventors born long before her. Even her male peers, who’d initially leered and hollered at her as though she were a piece of meat, began to form a grudging sort of respect as the days passed. 

She proved her worth, and her worth was this; a woman could be just as clever—if not more—than a man.

So revolutionary was her performance that by the time her second semester rolled in, there were already discussions about permitting Mona to become an actual researcher. That meant she would actually get to graduate with a real degree, not that consolation certificate they’d promised her in the beginning. One of her professors liked her paper so much that they were willing to argue her case to the university’s chancellor, and for the first time in her life, the tides of fate were finally starting to shift in the direction Mona desired.

Then their god declared he wanted a wife. 

Eager to be rid of her, the chancellor handed her over to the religious officials handling the affairs of their tumultuous god, where they treated her like a pig for slaughter. 

The chancellor had his reasons, Mona often reminded herself. Political pressure, societal conditioning—all factors that forced him to bear the shame of having allowed a woman to rise so quickly within his own institute. At the end of the day, he was nothing more than a coward who couldn’t stand for change, but that didn’t make her forgive him.

The shrine workers dressed her in a silk marriage gown when all she wanted was to wear a scholar’s robes, covered her face in powder and soft pink rogue when she’d much rather bury her head in a book. 

Then, they made her stand under the grand altar of offerings as though she were one herself.

And technically, she was. Years of hard work, of proving that her intellect had just as much value as a man’s, of tolerating harassment and degradation—all for nothing.

Mona raged, of course. They had to drag her kicking and screaming while she clawed at the jewellery around her neck and the golden combs woven into her hair. Even as she felt ancient magic consume her, even as she felt her consciousness drift into another dimension—

Mona raged, and raged, and raged.

Before she knew it, there he was, right in front of her; Kunikuzushi, her husband, larger than life itself, crackling with power unlike anything she’d ever seen.

All that rage died upon the mere sight of him, replaced by fear and subservience.

So this is a god, she thought stupidly, her heartbeat racing the closer he treaded towards her.

He grabbed her by the chin and tilted her head up, eyes widening with intrigue, murmuring, “You caused quite a commotion down there. Shouldn’t you be honoured to marry your god?”

The rest of her day was spent raging—again. Once Mona rediscovered her voice, she begged him to let her return to Earth. When that didn’t work, she screamed at him, threw furniture at him, called him all sorts of names that would have resulted in nothing less than a painful death if she were anyone other than his wife. She ran around his domain searching for a way out, a way down, and she even contemplated jumping off one of the balconies. 

Kunikuzushi found her crouched in one of the palace kitchens by the time her anger had died down. 

He snorted after seeing her hiding under a stove, and he knelt beside her as he said, “I’m assuming you know what it means to consummate a marriage.”

She sighed, knowing what he wanted. 

He led her to his chambers that night and bedded her, taking her virginity. 

To her surprise—and utter embarrassment—she enjoyed every second.

Like every other young girl, Mona had grown up believing sex was a chore wives engaged in for their husbands. It wasn’t supposed to be fun; pain and discomfort were normal, or so the old women in her village had told her. So when Kunikuzushi pleasured her that night, when he tucked his head between her legs and made her see stars, when he slid himself inside her and whispered sweet nothings… Mona didn’t know what to think.

They did it again, of course. Many times. In his bedroom, in one of the lounge rooms, in the hallway, in the throne room—even on the balcony, once. Sex was one of the few moments in their marriage when they weren’t yelling at each other. Mona hated everything; hated the opportunity that had been ripped from her, hated her tyrant husband, hated his oppressive rule over her own people. All these things created a cesspool of bitterness festering in her heart, but when Kunikuzushi’s lips were on her skin, she could momentarily forget about all of that. 

Until a month ago.

That was when she’d begun to realise she was losing herself little by little, under the crushing weight of all the pleasure her husband was forcing onto her.

She didn’t like the woman she became when she was pinned underneath him, that helpless, obedient wife who could do nothing but moan as she was fucked in a new position. She found herself longing for him, thinking of him when he wasn’t with her, fantasising of the things he could do to satiate his urges. There was no denying it; Mona was slowly growing addicted to Kunikuzushi’s affection, and that very knowledge horrified her.

It was this realisation that spurred her to start distancing herself from him. She refused his touches, avoiding him when she could, and did everything in her power to deny, deny, deny the desire simmering inside her. Even though Mona knew she would never part from him, she hoped that she could at least retain some semblance of the scholar she used to be.

Here it was, one month later, the result of her decision; her husband, looking at her with barely-concealed hunger in his eyes, as though the simple act of restraining himself from having his way with her required an exhausting amount of patience.

“I’ve only ever wanted one thing from you,” he said, the syllables rolling off his tongue like smooth liquor. His words, however seductive he delivered them, were a slap in the face; just another reminder that her sole purpose here was to spread her legs and nothing more. “I’m not a demanding husband, you know.”

“Of course you wouldn’t think you’re demanding,” Mona huffed. “You’ve never had a knack for self-reflection, after all.”

“Now, whyever would a god like me need to self-reflect?” He placed a hand on her thigh as the other found its home over the curve of her hips, and it… Bothered her, how large he was. His mere knuckles were enough to trace the shape of her waistline, and if he were to spread his palm flat on her back, it would cover the length of her spine. “There’s nothing outrageous about my request, anyway. It’s a wife’s duty to fulfill their husband’s needs, and you’ve been neglecting me, as of late.” 

“You’re incredibly—mmh, entitled,” she persevered through the distractions. 

The hand on her thigh slithered under her robe, and upon the lack of protests, Kunikuzushi began rubbing slow, languid circles on her bare skin. “Learn to be grateful for my generosity, won’t you? I gave you the space you needed. Other husbands would have forced themselves on you the minute they felt unsatisfied.”

Mona bit her lip, suppressing a moan, but she couldn’t keep her body from shivering under his touch. “I suppose I should thank you for the bare minimum, then?”

“I never said that,” his fingers trailed further up, brushing the apex of her thigh. “My wife, always putting words in my mouth. Come kiss me and put your tongue to better use.” 

Grumbling in disgust, Mona tilted her head up and pressed her lips against his. It was only routine, she told herself, a passive, emotionless gesture she performed to keep her husband happy. 

But when he captured her in a searing kiss, there was no mistaking the passion that coursed through her veins, the greed of his tongue invading her mouth and claiming her for his own. Archons, even his tongue was huge in this form, and she almost choked around the organ as he deepened the kiss and explored her cavern like a starving man.

His lips moved savagely against hers while his hands laid claim on her body,  the caressing of her thigh turning into a more aggressive fondling. The hand on her hips moved upwards and scrunched the hem of her robes before giving it a tug, allowing the fabric to fall smoothly and uncover her shoulders. 

Mona gasped for air when they broke apart, a trail of saliva connecting their lips. Tyrannical monster that he was, he didn’t give her a second to catch her breath, opting to pepper kisses on her neck the moment he’d glimpsed bare collar bones. The things he did certainly weren’t anything new, but it felt different, somehow, being touched and groped and kissed with this form. 

“Hnn!” His teeth grazed her pulse, and heat rose within her. Between her legs, she could feel his fingers inch closer and closer to her core, and panic swelled as she realised there was no possible way she could allow those huge fingers anywhere near her cunt. “Kun—Kuni, when are you g-going t-to—ah, change f-forms—”

“Change?” Kunikuzushi repeated, the vibrations of his voice sending pleasant tingles across her neck. Her robes had snagged on her breasts, and one wrong move was all it took for the loose gown to fall apart completely and reveal her hardened nipples to the air. “You need me to change?”

“Y-yes,” she sighed, confused. Of course he would change. Gods bedding a mortal they liked happened from time to time, but there were no records of gods taking their human lover with anything other than their weakest form—such a thing was simply biologically improbable. If Kunikuzushi’s mere hands were already big enough to overwhelm her, what about the other parts of his body? 

Desperate to withstand his persistent kisses, Mona placed a hand on his chest. “I think you should—ah, change your f-form,” she insisted, short gasps puncturing her words, “Before we go any further.”

“And if I refuse?” Kunikuzushi kissed the side of her neck, grazing his teeth over her pulse. That small, insignificant touch sent electric sparks tingling down her spine. Mona bit her lip to suppress a moan, refusing to show any indication she enjoyed being treated this way by his gigantic, greedy self. “I’ve been so pent-up lately, you know? And some of it is your fault. If you’d came to see me when I asked, I wouldn’t be this hungry for you. But you know just how to push my buttons, and you look at me as if I’m the terrible one.”

“We can’t—” she struggled, heaving a fist down his shoulder. She knew whatever struggle she put up against him would be futile, and she hated it, how her own powerlessness against him aroused her sometimes. “It’s not—it’s impossible, you idiot, let me go and just change first—”

“I don’t want to,” he lowered his face, trailing his lips closer to her cleavage. There was the slight undertone of a whine in his voice, as though he truly couldn’t control his actions, but Mona wasn’t such a fool as to fall for that kind of blatant manipulation. “I’ve had the most horrible day. You have no idea how hurtful it is, for a deity like myself to be disrespected so carelessly. I don’t think they deserve my mercy at all, but my wife—” he nuzzled the delicate space between her breasts— “my stubborn, stubborn wife, wants me to show grace. Don’t I deserve something grand for my kindness?”

“M-monstrous, selfish heretic,” she hissed, spitting insult after insult to disguise the noises of pleasure. She was playing a dangerous game here; if she ever crossed the line, he could easily hold her down and split her in half if he felt like it. “No one—ah, no one admires you d-down th—haah, down there, everyone worships you out of f-fear—”

“But you married me.” He gave her robe another light tug, and this time, it fell completely, the silk gathering around her hips as her entire upper body was left undressed. Kunikuzushi hummed pleasantly upon seeing how her nipples had pebbled with arousal, and he wasted no time closing his mouth over a single peak, suckling her breast while the fingers under her gown made quick work of her underwear. 

“Mmm—ngh!” A calloused finger brushed against the outer linings of her cunt the same time his lips toyed with her bud, forcing an involuntary squeal past Mona’s lips. As if that wasn’t humiliating enough, Kunikuzushi palmed her other breast and groped her nipple with skilled hands, pinching and rolling the soft bundle of nerves between his fingers. He knew what she liked, and that was the dangerous part; the more he familiarised himself with the weaknesses of her body, the harder it became for her to refuse him. “Kuni—Kuni, please—ah, ahn—”

“You’re so small,” he murmured, mouthing her soft flesh. “I might break you. I might split you in half. But I want this, Mona. I want this very—” he kissed the swell of her breast— “very—” he kissed her nipple— “very much. I want to see you struggle to take me, I want to see you fall apart beneath me. You’re nothing compared to me, and I think—” he rubbed a finger over her clit, and oh, he was so close to her entrance— “I think I need to remind you. Let me remind you, yes? I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

“You’re—oh, you’re insane,” she breathed, helpless to his whims. He grabbed the remnants of her robe and ripped it off callously, the expensive fabric tearing with a loud noise. There was nothing she could do but gasp as Kunikuzushi withdrew from her breasts and lifted her until she hovered over his lap, exposing how aroused she’d become from mere foreplay. Wetness trickled down her thighs in a lewd display of lust, and her entrance clenched instinctively as if it were begging to be filled. “Don’t—don’t look, please—”

“All that anger, only for your body to end up craving me,” he tutted, words laced with mock sympathy. He stroked her outer folds, circling around her entrance at a precarious closeness, and she could feel the pads of his fingers prodding into her slit. “It’s not healthy, you know, denying yourself of your own needs. Look at me—Mona, look at me.”

Mona relented, meeting his eyes. Instead of the seductive, predatory gaze she’d expected, the look on his face reminded her distinctly of a starving kitten, and it was this jarring contrast between his expression and his actions that made her head spin. She was doing this for those people on Earth, she tried to convince herself. Kunikuzushi showered her in luxury almost every day; dresses, jewels, all the food she could ever want, but those cursed villagers down there didn’t have that. Whatever dirty, sinful torture she’d subject herself to in the next few hours was just her way of saving their life. 

This wasn’t her fault. This wasn’t what she wanted. Her body was just—reacting, as bodies were hardwired to do. 

“Fine,” she conceded, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Fine, but—but make it painless.”

“I can do much better than that,” Kunikuzushi crooned, petting her lower lips, “I can make it pleasurable.”

He slid a finger inside her, and that one, singular digit was enough to make her back arch as she released a sharp squeal. The burning sensation of such a large appendage forcing its way into her hole was akin to that of her first time, and it took several seconds for her inner walls to properly stretch around his knuckles for that burn to eventually cease.

“S—ah, so big,” she huffed, putting on a brave face. She couldn’t lose her wits now, not when they’d only just begun. “J-just—just one?”

“You want more?” Kunikuzushi grinned, a hint of mischief. 

He slid another finger inside, and this time, he curled both fingers upwards and reached a spot that made stars explode behind her eyelids. Mona mewled pitifully, burying her face into his shoulder—both from embarrassment and from a strange, inexplicable instinct that she was somehow safe in his embrace.

“S-slow down, please,” she begged, tears spilling onto his robes. 

“I haven’t even moved, wife,” Kunikuzushi murmured, licking the shell of her ear. When he spoke again, he sounded fond, “I never tire of how cute you are. My empire gave me the most adorable woman in the world.”

Gave you? She wanted to scream. They handed me over to you like I never mattered! And you don’t care, because as long as I’m serving my place on your lap, your wife’s wellbeing matters that little to you. You’re just as bad as them! 

But her body gave a different reaction; her cunt squeezed around his fingers, pleased with his whispered words of praise.

“You like that, Mona?” He prodded both fingers against the tender walls of her womanhood, sliding deeper, further, grinding on that lovely spot again. Then, he spread his fingers apart in a gentle scissoring motion while rubbing his thumb over her aching clit, a clear attempt to loosen her up as much as possible. Kunikuzushi toyed with her body frequently enough that she recognised his rhythm; he was usually rough and impatient, desiring instant gratification and destructive orgasms. But he moved significantly slower now, more controlled, perhaps having the decency to understand those gargantuan fingers of his were enough to break any mortal if he went too fast. “You’ve always liked being praised. All your little tantrums die on your lips whenever I call you something sweet.”

“You believe I’m—mmh, that sh—haah, shallow?” She refused to look at him. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of witnessing her bleary eyes, her trembling lips busy holding back moan after moan. 

“Pretty girl,” Kunikuzushi cooed, a low, raspy cadence. Whether it was genuine or something he did to prove his point, her senses couldn’t tell the difference. “My beautiful wife. My pretty girl. Even when you look like you want me dead, you’re still radiant to me.”

Gods. Gods. She’d worked so hard to despise him, to paint him as the figure who’d ruined her life. But then he’d compliment her, or act like he cared for her, and all that effort would unravel faster than the degree that had been taken from her.

“Don’t—ah, don’t say—mmh, aah—d-don’t say things like that, please…” Kunikuzushi began to steadily ease his fingers into a faster pace, and Mona rolled her hips in response to the sudden stream of stimulation. Every shift of his digits, no matter how small, only added to the growing heat building up under her stomach.

“You’re angry at me,” he ghosted his lips over her shoulder, the contact making her jolt on top of everything else that was happening. “Beyond the villagers I cursed, beyond the way I treat my nation. You’ve been angry for this past month. Tell me why.” 

Now? He wanted to have this conversation now, when she was drenching slick all over his lap like a concubine?

She didn’t answer. She couldn’t, not with such ridiculous timing. She simply curled up there, shivering and whining as her god fingered her to completion. 

Mona should have known that wasn’t the best course of action.

She felt it as soon as it came; a quick zap of electricity to her womanhood—real electricity, not the sensations he often made her feel—low enough for it to be harmless, strong enough to cause pain. 

And pleasure. 

“Ah!” Mona shrieked, losing herself to the ecstasy. Her hips bucked under the sharp staccatos of pleasure coursing through her thighs, nerves splintering as Kunikuzushi no longer seemed to care for her comfort and instead switched his pace into something that might disorient her as fast as possible. He thrusted his fingers in and out, in and out, in and out, hitting that spot over and over, his focus unbreaking; he would coax the truth out of her eventually. 

“Tell me,” he rumbled, an obvious command. A hand on her neck, fingers threading through her hair; suddenly, she was being pulled away from the crook of his shoulder, her laviscious expression scrutinised under his condescending sneer. “Tell me, or I electrocute you again.”

“I h—haah, I h-hate you,” she confessed, her eyes welling up with tears. The pleasure he was giving her chipped at her brain little by little, and she had to answer now before her ability to speak coherently dissipated completely. “I—ahn, I hate h-having sex with you, m-makes me for—mmh, f-forget myself, m-makes me do things I would n—ngh, never d-do…”

“But you love the way I touch you,” he argued, almost pitiful. Like he needed her to admit she enjoyed him, like his entire godhood depended on her coming all over his sheets. Pressing his forehead against hers, Kunikuzushi whispered, begging, “You make the prettiest sounds when you’re writhing under me. I remember all of it, Mona—Mona, my Mona. I remember every whine, every scream, every moan. You can’t possibly hate me. You can’t, you can’t, you can’t.”

“You’ve turned m-me into—haah, ah, into this,” she cried, broken moans slipping between every word. Her orgasm drew nearer and nearer with every quick pump of his fingers, that delicious heat bubbling to the surface and waiting for the right moment to burst. “Because o—oh, please—b-because of you, I can’t think, I can’t—ah, no, I—no, gods—I don’t—”

Kunikuzushi fucked his fingers into her core one last time, and Mona climaxed. A shattered gasp, a sob that formed the syllables of his name; she came apart staring into her husband’s deep blue eyes, his eternal memory no doubt committing the sight of her orgasm-destroyed features into his mind. Her chest was heaving, lungs barely taking in air as he prolonged her high by grinding gently against her clit.

“I hate you,” Mona repeated, rasping, her orgasm having reached its plateau. She slumped down on his lap, her legs far too weak to keep hovering, landing right on his crotch—where a prominent hardness poked from underneath his robes. The feeling of her oversensitive pussy brushing against his erection, though separated by cotton, made her jump and mewl. 

“Clearly, your body doesn’t,” Kunikuzushi observed, amused. His hands found the curve of her rear end; playfully, he started groping her asscheeks, digging his fingers into the pliable flesh. He’d shifted back to that relaxed, arrogant tone of his, but even so, she could detect a strain in his voice; she knew that the longer she left him tormented with want, the harder he would fuck her when he eventually took his cock out. “Do you want to ride me, or would you rather take this to the bedroom?”

“Bedroom,” Mona gritted, seeing no other choice. Riding him would mean she’d be the one doing all the work, and she’d rather die than serve Kunikuzushi in any way.

His lips twisted into a smirk as he gathered her in his arms and stood up, carrying her like a bride. He took a step forward, and the room changed. Gold pillars turned into dark red walls, rigid furniture turned into plush loveseats. The throne disappeared, replaced by a large bed; one of the many perks of being a god with their own territory, it seemed. Mona had learned a while ago that the laws of the universe didn’t exist in Kunikuzushi’s estate—rather, they bent to their owner’s wishes, and right now, their owner wanted to be intimate with his wife.

“You look so glum,” he scolded, giving her breast a quick grope. “Didn’t I promise you’d feel good?”

“Ngh!” Mona swatted his hand away, flustered. She didn’t want this to drag on for any longer than it had to; if it were up to her, he’d fuck her, he’d come, and he’d rescind his punishment on those poor villagers. She tried to ignore the nagging whispers in her psyche that asked her if she were truly still doing this for them, or if between the electric shocks to her clit and the praises whispered in her ear, she’d come to enjoy this. “Just—hurry up and take your clothes off.”

“Impatient much?” Kunikuzushi teased, still standing in front of the bed as he grabbed hold of her chin. She didn’t know why, at first, until his other hand reached for the sash that held his robe together.

He wanted her to watch him undress, she realised. He wanted to gauge her reaction as she saw his size, as she saw the organ that she’d be forced to take inside her whether she liked it or not. Because this was the deal she’d made, wasn’t it? Let him have his way with her, and somewhere down on Earth, a group of people she’d never met would be safe and happy. Let him take her as a wife for all of eternity, and her country would continue to prosper.

Compared to the fate of a great nation, Mona’s personhood was nothing.

They’ve made me into a patsy, she thought, a realisation that came six months too late. I’m not just his wife—I’m their tool to keep him from throwing another temper tantrum. I have to do this forever. I have to be his favourite toy.

He pulled the sash, and his robes fell. Mona was greeted by the sight of his toned upper half first; broad shoulders, smooth torso, unblemished porcelain skin—perhaps the clearest sign of Kunikuzushi’s divinity. Only when his garments hit the floor did she finally see what she’d dreaded most. 

Her Archon husband’s manhood was a monstrous, horrifying thing, longer than her head and thicker than her legs. It stood towering and rigid, perfectly unbowing, and she could see it pulsating from a month’s worth of suppressed arousal. Precum leaked from its bulbuous, throbbing head, but no amount of lubrication in the world could possibly make that organ fit inside her. 

She couldn’t—no.

She couldn’t do this.

She couldn’t possibly do this.

But her cunt twitched and fluttered at the mere vision of that massive cock, and even Mona was certain there was nothing her body needed more in this moment than to be stuffed to the brim.  

“Oh,” she moaned, still untouched. “It’s—it’s so—it’s…”

“Open your mouth,” he said gently.

“Yes,” she sighed, parting her lips as wide as she could.

Kunikuzushi couldn’t recall if he’d ever succeeded making his wife behave this subservient. Instilling obedience in Mona Megistus was no simple task, and he was fairly certain even the joint forces of Celestia would never be able to permanently break her. Usually, it took a few rounds to get her to act like this; shy, sweet, compliant, hanging onto his every word like the devout worshipper she should be. This time, though, he’d only fingered her and taken off his clothes. Perhaps he should have used this form sooner. 

He’d learned his lesson, now, and a lesson learnt was a lesson well-cherished. 

He brushed the tip of his cock against her lips, waiting for her to snap out of her pleasured haze. When she didn’t, he pushed inside. 

He could feel her pretty mouth strain in an attempt to take him, and not even a quarter of his length had entered her the moment his tip collided with the back of her throat. The sudden bump activated her gag reflex; she choked around him, but he held her still, finally seeing the wonders of having hands large enough to hold her entire head in one palm.

“If you can’t fit all of me into your mouth,” he sneered, his thumb caressing her forehead, “You can make it up to me with your hands.”

And she did. Mona pressed a set of dainty, breakable fingers along his length, her hands too small to even properly circle his cock. Slowly, she began to rub back and forth, lathering his precum to lubricate every inch of his shaft even when he hadn’t yet given her the orders to. A wife’s instinct, no doubt, some womanly drive to please her husband as best as she could.

See? It made no sense for Mona to hate him. She was just saying things, surely. She’d made the choice to marry him that day, and in the beginning, he hadn’t understood why she’d been so furious when they’d first met, but then he’d read a mortal-made paper on marriage jitters and realised she’d probably been nervous. 

She still was nervous now, six months later, what with her constant nonsense about how she deigned to be his wife. But his people had called for candidates to be his bride back then, and she’d signed up, so that was that. 

Kunikuzushi was grateful for that, awful as her manners might be sometimes. Moments like these reminded him of just how ravishing his woman was. Her seafoam green eyes looking at him through dark, fluttering lashes; her soft pink lips struggling around his erection, tongue lapping up his slit; her sensitive skin flushed red, down to the alluring curve of her shoulder, to the hardened nipples of her pert breasts. His bride, his angel, soon to be the mother of his demigod children—when she finally learned her place, that is. 

“When I fingered you earlier,” he cupped her cheek, humming from the little pinpricks of pleasure her mouth gave, “You said I make you forget yourself. But what if this is who you are meant to be, Mona?”

Something—something pierced the cloud of lust in her eyes. Grief, frustration. 

“You’re doing so good,” he purred. Praise, praise, and more praise—that was what his wife liked. Degradation made her come, but it was praise that helped him break the walls of her stubbornness. “You’re taking me so very, very well. Almost as if you’re a natural at this.”

She withdrew from his tip with a pop, and fury was quick to rise within him; had he told her she could stop sucking him off?

But then she started marking a path down his length, gliding her lips along his inches with wet, open-mouthed kisses and the occasional flick of her tongue. When she reached his balls, she puckered her lips and suckled, her movements seductive and sinuous as though she were drunk with arousal.

“You like my cock that much, hm?”

“So big,” she slurred, mindless, salivating all over his cock. The rubbing of her hands became messier with each passing second, and though Kunikuzushi couldn’t come from her fingers alone, the visual aspect was so tantalising that he kept his impatience in check. To think she had arrived unsullied only mere months ago; now, she was no different than the whores who wanted nothing more than to provide pleasure. As she scraped her tongue across the base of his shaft, she mumbled, “So—K-Kuni, Kuni’s so thick…”

“Look how hard you’re working,” he changed his cadence, nurturing. Seduction was a long game, and if he wanted to keep her under this sex-crazed spell for as long as possible, he had to play his cards right. “Good girls like you deserve to be rewarded. You can have whatever it is you wish tonight. And since you’ve been sucking me off so obediently, I think I know just what you want.”

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her mouth, and the sight of Mona’s crestfallen expression tugged his heartstrings. Oh, if he could, he’d have her service him every second of every day, build a little cushioned platform near the foot of his throne so she could kneel comfortably. But he had a promise to keep; a night together for those ungrateful peasants down on Earth.

Kunikuzushi pushed her down onto the mattress, climbing over her and positioning himself between her thighs. So grand was their size difference that she had to stretch her legs quite painfully just to accommodate the width of his crotch. Dark hair strewn across pillows, soft curves on naked display; it did things to his ancient mind, seeing her so tiny and vulnerable like this. He pinned her hips down with possessive intent, ensuring no means of resistance.

“O-oh,” she let out a stuttered whine when he slid his cock between her folds, deliberately missing her entrance. He pulled his hips back ever so slowly, making sure she felt every inch of his skin dragging against her sloppy cunt.

The truth was, the moment Mona saw his erection, her mind went into overdrive, activating some sort of mental defense mechanism and shutting down all the parts of her nerves that registered fear. Now, all that was left in its place was a carnal need for her husband—and a steadily-weakening sense of, Should I be doing this? 

“Kuni,” she couldn’t stop her noises. The friction of his cockhead rubbing her swollen clit was too much for any mortal woman to bear. “Kuni, sh-should I—ah, can it—ngh, can it e-even fit ins—ah, inside me—”

Kunikuzushi chose that moment to push forward, breaching open her cunt and forcing his cockhead inside of her. The mere act of stretching around his girth was an ordeal that made her scream for the high heavens, but Celestia would never come to rescue her, for the man violating her was one of their own. Her legs, her womanhood, her hips burned, her nervous system fraying apart as his colossal member tore down any remaining reason she had left.

“Gods,” Mona choked, bursting into tears. “Gods, gods, please, Kuni, please please please—”

“You’re so tight,” he grunted, working himself further inside. “My—f-fuck, my wife, my Mona—you’re so tight.”

“N—ngh, mmh, m-my gods, gods, s—too m-much,” she babbled, feeling more of him slide into her pussy. Mona wasn’t being penetrated as much as she was being impaled, splintered into a thousand shattering pieces the deeper he drove that monstrosity within her body. She wrapped her hands around his neck, reaching for his back, and started raking her nails down his skin to release the bursts of pain and euphoria colliding inside her.

And then—

“Kuni,” she whimpered, feeling his tip kiss the opening of her womb. Some of her senses had returned, and only now did she understand just how mortifying it was, the prospect of having sex with a god in a form only one step away from their real one. “Kuni, my—my—‘s my, ah—”

“Just a little more,” he whispered, reassuring, but an animalistic undertone simmered under those four words. “Just a little more, and after this, you’ll have everything you’ve asked from me. I can free those villagers. I can stock the library with your favourite books. I can—I can let you visit Earth, visit your family, please, Mona, please—”

He kissed her in perfect tandem with the grinding of his crotch, her sobbing moans muffled by his lips as her searing hot walls welcomed his inches with rigorous, desperate squeezing. Barely half of him was inside her, and already, tonight’s coupling made for a most disgusting, obscene picture: her back arching uncontrollably, her lower lips bulging around his girth, his precum mixing in with her slick. 

“You feel irresistible,” Kunikuzushi breathed the words to life. “You feel—you feel amazing. I know you can take all of me.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she pleaded. What else was there to say? Mona could never break free from him. If she did, if she somehow managed to escape to another nation ruled by a different god, she’d doom her country to eternal damnation. So why not lose her mind? Why not forget the life she could have had, the scholar she might have been, in favor of being a Archon’s spoiled cocksleeve?

Her enthusiastic consent must have left him needy and high-strung; Kunikuzushi pulled out completely before ramming his cock inside, burying himself to the hilt and breaking into her cervix.

And just like that, the strings of Mona’s sanity snapped.

Her orgasm washed over her like a devastating flood, intense shudders wracking through her overstimulated body as she squirted colourless liquid onto her husband’s stomach. Mona didn’t even have the energy left to moan; her lips parted, but no sound came out, her lungs focusing every last bit of oxygen into keeping her alive. 

“Oh,” Kunikuzushi groaned, lovestruck. “Mona—Mona, Mona, Mona, Mona—did you come just from being penetrated?”

“Mmh…” Her eyes were unfocused. He couldn’t even tell whether she’d heard him speak or not, so he loosened his grip on her waist. She couldn’t run now, could hardly move, even. He had nothing to worry about; she was all his, and the night had only just begun.

His gaze drifted down to her stomach, where a bulge the shape of his cock had formed. 

“Look,” his fingers feathered over the bulge, dancing across her sweat-slicked skin. He traced the shape lovingly, from beginning to end; from the press of his balls flush against her damp folds, to the tip of his erection lodged deep inside her womb. “Look at how I fill you up, wife. Look how deep I reach inside you.”

It took a tremendous amount of effort for her attention to zero in on her abdomen, where her pupils dilated upon seeing the mess he’d made. For that, he appreciated her greatly. Undoing an act of punishment might be a blow to his pride, but what good was his pride compared to his marriage?

Enamored, he splayed his fingers over her stomach, then pushed downwards.

“Ahn!” Mona shrieked, rolling her hips instinctively.  

“I’m going to move now,” he murmured, sliding a hand behind her spine and locking her in a warm embrace. Their bodies were bound together now; Mona could feel the celestial power humming in his veins, just as Kunikuzushi could feel the frantic beating of her fragile mortal heart.

He reeled back, then entered her again, which was no easy feat what with her tight entrance convulsing around him at the slightest shift in movement. The first few thrusts were messy, a heaving battle in which he had to force his weight onto her, but as Kunikuzushi went on, each intrusion came smoother than the one before it. 

After several strokes back and forth, he found something that worked and allowed his senses to succumb to the pleasures of lovemaking, pounding into her cervix until her body became as limp as a ragdoll. He was completely mesmerised by the way her breasts bounced from the force of each thrust, the soft flesh of her stomach and thighs rippling in sync. She was rather malnourished when they’d first met, now that he recalled; had they not fed the candidates as they were choosing which one was fit to be his bride? At least she was healthy now under his care, plump and sweet as women should be, pliant curves and round lines bending at the tips of his fingers. 

Spurred by a blinding need for his own orgasm, Kunikuzushi pistoned himself into her with an inhumane speed, unaware—or perhaps, uncaring—that he was not leaving even a single second of reprieve in-between thrusts. Her nervous system was facing a relentless assault of the most degrading kind of ecstasy, the kind in which she was powerless to stop the god she called a husband. He buried every punishing inch into her cunt like he couldn’t stand a mere molecule of distance between them, balls slapping against her lower lips over and over again, creating a symphony of dirty smacking sounds coupled with guttural rasping and the cutest little moans.

“Tell me who you belong to,” Kunikuzushi kissed a pearlescent teardrop. “Tell me who owns you. Tell me whose name is written on that filthy tongue of yours.”

“You,” Mona sobbed, her resolve torn to shreds. His incessant plowing hollowed out a crude tunnel in her formerly-tight cunt, but stretched to the brim as she was, she still felt stuffed with cock—like a toy made for his personal use, forever tight, forever clenching. Everything and nothing stormed in her mind at the same time, as though someone had taken her brain and picked it apart, leaving her to gather the pieces. She was feeling so, so, so, so good, but there was resentment somewhere, a dark resentment—

“You,” she repeated, breathy. “You, even—ah, haah—even though—ngh, even though y-you ruined my life, you ruined—ahn, ruined e-everything, gods, you t-took everything f-from me, but—ahn, I’m y-yours—”

When she met her Archon’s eyes, the resentment emerged twicefold, because how dare he look heartbroken after everything he’d put her through? After everything his disciples, his shrine workers ripped from her?

“How did I ruin your life?” He asked—no, pleaded, as he undulated inside her. Because no, the great and honorable Kunikuzushi couldn’t be bothered to control his manhood even if he wanted to ask his wife important questions. That was what she’d been taught since she was a little girl; never expect their Archon to restrain himself. If only she’d known back then that she’d someday be the one to bear the brunt of his worst impulses. “Mona—Mona, look at me, look at me, I—I don’t want you to look away, look at me. How did I ruin your life? I take care of you. I make you come, always, every time. I give you so much. I’ve given you so much.”

Everything about Mona was intoxicating in the most addictive way. Her beauty, her scent, the contradictory words spilling from her lips. It was as though she were tailor-made to keep chasing after her approval, hungrily licking whatever scraps of affection he could get. What could she possibly mean, he ruined her life? She was his wife, damn it—if anything, he was her saviour! He couldn’t have this. He couldn’t settle for this, starved of tenderness. He had to know everything about her, every emotion she felt, every thought crossing her mind, every detail of her childhood up until the point she married him. 

“Don’t ignore me,” Kunikuzushi growled, burrowing into her. Her response was an adorable little squeal, eyes rolling back as he hit every pleasurable spot inside her body.

“I was—ahn, haah, p-please,” she struggled, sentences fumbling apart like unfurling strings of yarn. Her womanly figure was nothing but a traitor, clamping down on his erection as if begging for him to finish inside. “I was—haah, ah, I was g-going to—ngh, I was going to be someone, someone who—ah! S-someone who mattered, but then you—you—you—”

“You’re my wife,” Kunikuzushi snarled, as though the words might come true if he repeated them frequently enough. His thrusts turned aggressive, erratic; he was losing his temper, and with it, his rhythm. But even his brutal pounding of her thoroughly-abused pussy only served to make her even more delirious, her senses drunk with sex. “You matter to me. You’re going to spend the rest of eternity with me. You’ll be happy, whether you like it or not.” He rammed his hips inwards; she screamed, “I’m going to make you happy. Let me give you a gift, Mona. Let me fill you up with something precious.”

“Give—give me—please,” the friction of his cock as it pulled out of her core was so euphoric, it sent her rolling into another, weaker orgasm, spasms rocking through her body as Mona squirted on her husband’s abdomen again. She was so sensitive from three orgasms that a gentle touch could send her into disarray, and Kunikuzushi’s ceaseless plowing was anything but gentle. He fucked her through her peak, never stopping, never slowing, determined to give her that gift.

If she had even a mere inch of space left in her brain to think about anything other than the massive cock wrecking her insides, she might have understood the weight behind his words. She’d gone six months into this marriage without being impregnated even when he always finished inside her, but were the rules different in this form? Would the night end with her breasts full and her stomach heavy?

She supposed this was inevitable. Honestly, she was rather impressed Kunikuzushi waited six months before breeding his demigod babies into her. Maybe—

Maybe there’s more to him than I thought. 

“I’m obsessed with watching you come,” Kunikuzushi panted, grabbing her legs and pushing them forward. Folded in half on his mattress, there was no doubt in her mind that he wanted his semen to flood her womb as deeply as possible. “You make the cutest faces. I’ve never seen anyone like you. It—” he heaved his weight, groaning— “drives me insane.”

“Kuni, Kuni Kuni Kuni—” she sniffled, helpless, having been reduced into little more than a whorish mess. After her second orgasm, all those pesky complaints of hers that sometimes brought a shadow of guilt had completely dissipated, replaced by tearful moans and whispers of his name. It filled his heart with joy to watch his arrogant wife spiraling into a hopeless state of rapture, and with her inner walls constantly milking his shaft, he could feel his orgasm draw near. 

“My Mona,” he chanted, slamming his length to the brim. “My wife, my starlight. My little piece of Celestia. Fall apart for me.”

“Mmh, hnn—aah!” Mona cried in mindbroken bliss as a third orgasm was forced out of her body, her eyes rolling back with intense pleasure and her tongue slipping between her lips.

The sudden tightening of her cunt was the breaking point for Kunikuzushi to reach his peak, and a god’s climax was a beautiful, devastating thing. Her shrill cry tapered off into a sob as she felt load after load of white-hot semen being pumped into her womb, the knowledge that she was finally fulfilling her role as his wife hanging heavy in the atmosphere. Her body was far too tiny to handle such explosive bursts of his spend, the seal of her pussy lips breaking under the viscuous liquid as it trickled down her legs and created a most lewd image. 

As for Kunikuzushi himself, he was shaking fervently as he spilled more and more of his seed inside her, pleased with the illusion of her stomach growing from how much he was filling her with. 

“Ngh…” Mona could only whimper when he pulled out of her at last, leaving her hole gaping around the loss of his cock. Excess semen gushed out of her cunt in waves, and the sight of it almost tempted Kunikuzushi’s half-hard manhood to spring forward again. But she’d served him enough tonight, and she deserved to rest.

“Wait here,” he murmured, setting her legs down on the mattress. There were finger-shaped bruises littering her skin, more prominent than their usual trysts. It was at this very second that he wondered if there might be the slightest possibility he’d gone a little too rough during tonight’s passionate lovemaking. 

No matter, though. He was her husband. He could do whatever he wanted, so long as he kept her happy and healthy.

This was what he knew. 

This was what he deserved, after everything he’d been through.

“Where…” He was surprised she could still speak, but there it was; her unmistakeable voice, shaky, scared, struggling to utter even one syllable. Her eyes were only partially open, brief flashes of seafoam green peeking under dark lashes. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to take care of you,” he answered sweetly.

Kunikuzushi rose to summon his servants, and ordered them to draw a bath. 

*

After she’d been bathed and dressed, Mona found herself being carried to the balcony, where her husband placed her down on a large, elongated seat overflowing with cushions. The hour had transitioned into nighttime, and from this vantage point in Kunikuzushi’s estate, she had an unobstructed view of the stars decorating the night sky.

He took his place next to her. She noted that he was distinctly human-sized now, so he must have changed when she wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were averted, downcast. Was he nervous about something?

If he is, she thought to herself, Why do I care?

They didn’t speak. They sat there, stargazing, shoulder to shoulder, yet no words were exchanged.

She couldn’t think of anything to say, anyway. Come to think of it, she couldn’t recall if they’d ever had a conversation that wasn’t an argument of some sort. Although she was aware their marriage wasn’t exactly smooth-sailing, the realisation caused some discomfort; they’d never bothered trying to get to know each other, never bothered to learn who the other person was beyond a spouse they’d reluctantly bound themselves to. 

It was a strange think to think about, especially as her legs were currently burning from the pain of being split open, but her mind couldn’t help but wander. If they’d married in some other circumstance, would their relationship have turned out differently? Was there a world out there in which she was given a chance to love her husband?

At some point, a servant holding a tray of tea cups manifested out of thin air, causing Mona to jump, startled. She wondered if she would ever be accustomed to Kunikuzushi’s puppets, or if he was even aware of how eerie they were. Thankfully, the servant didn’t do much; they simply set the tray down next to her, and disappeared as quickly as they’d showed.

“Drink,” Kunikuzushi said. “For your ache.”

She took a sip.

He’d told her the truth. As the liquid filled her throat, the ache burdening her thighs slowly began to dissipate, fading into a dull prickle of her nerves. The drink itself was sweet on her tongue, tasting of cocoa and bergamot leaves, a surprisingly pleasant mixture that had her gobbling up more. 

“Careful,” he told her when warm droplets trickled down her chin, spilling onto her new set of robes. “Drink slowly. You’ll choke like an idiot.”

“What kind of tea is this?” She stared into her cup, fascinated. 

“Something from my homeland. Your tiny mortal brain wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.”

And here she’d been thinking there was hope between them. 

They fell into silence again. 

Minutes passed. 

Kunikuzushi spoke, “I’ve ceased my punishment. The village you spoke of—their crops have gone back to normal, their creek’s started flowing again. I even—” he curled his lip— “I even gave them a nice apple tree. A show of goodwill.”

The rest of his sentence remained unspoken, but nevertheless, she understood:

I did what you wanted. Now, talk to me.

She wouldn’t feed his ego so easily.

He tried again.

“Earlier, you said I ruined your life,” he looked at her, eyes clouded with—something. “You still haven’t explained how.”

“Yes, well, it was rather difficult to explain when I had a cock splitting me open,” she seethed, “So you’ll have to excuse my tardiness.”

He frowned. A dark cloud hovered nearby, partially covering the stars. He took a deep breath; the cloud faded, and the sky was clear once more. 

“You don’t have a cock inside you now,” he retorted. “So, explain.”

Mona shook her head. “If you can’t understand something so basic, I won’t exhaust myself. Expecting human men to respect me was already a ridiculous fantasy; an immortal man like yourself would only be far worse.”

“How can I understand what I don’t know?”

She blinked, incredulous. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean,” there was a dangerous edge to his voice; she was pushing her luck, she knew, “That I have no idea what I could have possibly done to make you despise me so much. You hated me from the moment we met—before that, even, from the moment they brought you onto my altar. I sometimes wonder if you’re a little unwell, mentally; if you knew you’d be unhappy, why did you sign up to marry a god?”

“Sign up?” Mona repeated. Even the mere syllables felt strange on her mouth. The idea that she’d ever choose to marry someone was… Preposterous, if not downright deranged. 

Kunikuzushi’s expression shifted; he went from looking frustrated to appearing just as confused as her. 

“Yes,” he nodded, sounding hesitant. 

“How…” She turned to face him, “Tell me how you think I was selected to marry you.”

He scooted closer, leveling with her. “After I passed on my message, the shrine workers went to every corner of the empire to gather girls who were willing,” he said. “And then they… I’m sure they had a selection method of their own, but they narrowed it down to you, and sent all the others back home.”

Mona sighed. So they’d both been played for fools. He, a god, and she, a mere scholar. 

Funny how fate worked. 

“Kuni,” she said, “The truth couldn’t be further from that.”

So she told him everything. Of the village she’d been born in, of her struggles to get into the empire’s best university, of the adversities she’d faced in her journey to become a student. Of the day they’d taken her dreams from her, of the day they’d banished her into his realm. 

His features twisted into something unreadable by the time she’d finished. She didn’t know whether he was furious or resigned; the only thing certain was that the temperature dropped several degrees with every word she spoke. When he went too long without a response, Mona braved herself to say, “I find it hard to believe you didn’t know. I thought Archons could see everything that happened within their nation.”

“They can,” he mumbled, “If they choose to.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“This empire is large, and it grows larger every day,” he pointed to the edge of the balcony, where if she looked over the railing, she could see the distant, flickering lights of the nation’s capital. Perhaps she could even see her old university from here; she’d never thought to look from this particular balcony. “There are so many things going on at once, all the time. Would you want to know every single one of those things, as it happens?”

Mona considered. When he said it like that, omnipresence seemed more like a curse than a blessing. Seeing every single thing that occurred every single second was an overstimulation of sensors no one could possibly handle, not even a god. If that was the case, then it must be that his supervision worked like this: he could see what he wanted in any given area, but only if he looked. To think she’d spent years growing up under the belief that she and her people were constantly under the surveillance of their tyrant god. 

In a way, though, that was terrifying as well. Kunikuzushi might not be watching you all the time, but you never knew when he was watching, and that uncertainty was room for minds to spiral with paranoia. 

“No,” she answered. “No, I suppose I wouldn’t.”

He made a sound; something like, See?

She fiddled with her fingers, tangling them, untangling them, tangling them again. She could feel him stare. 

“You could have told me,” he gritted his teeth.

“Would it have made a difference?”

He didn’t reply. Then—

“I know what it’s like,” he said softly. 

“No, you don’t,” she quipped. “You cannot possibly know.”

Thunder struck in the distance.

“Our experience may be different,” he persisted, “But I know what it’s like to be ridiculed by those who are lesser than you. Hundreds of years, I’ve lived under their insults, their taunts, their scrutiny.” He clenched a fist, “They’ll never laugh at me anymore, now. I’ve made sure of that.”

That piqued her interest. Though it was largely considered a taboo topic to speak of in public, everyone knew Kunikuzushi was not the original god of their nation. There had been another deity, hundreds of years ago, until he’d massacred them in cold blood and usurped their seat. She’d always wondered how other gods had reacted to that, if he’d upset some sort of balance with the coup he’d staged. 

The truth was, mortals knew very little about gods beyond the god assigned to rule over their nation—and even then, the knowledge was very much on a need-to-know basis. The specific power, range, and nature of the Archons were a mystery to all but few, and it certainly didn’t help that there were rumours that Celestia struck down rebellious humans who discovered too much about the gods. 

This was a conversation that she needed to navigate carefully.

“Is this about how you came to power?” She asked, tilting her head. 

“Mm.” He surveyed his nails. A sudden thought crossed her mind; is he remembering the day he stained them with blood? “Sometimes diplomacy doesn’t work. Sometimes you have to seize what you want through any means possible.”

She huffed, “I can’t just kill the university board. I’m not a god.”

“Maybe not,” he said, “But you are married to one. I doubt there’s anything you can’t do, now.”

There it was again, his attempt at bridging the gap in their relationship. Sometimes she wished he wouldn’t try so hard. It made it that much more difficult for her to hate him.

“I’m not a violent person,” Mona pursed her lips. She gave him a serious look, then, “The people I spoke of—I don’t want any harm to fall upon them.”

Kunikuzushi raised an eyebrow. “Not even the chancellor?”

She hesitated. For most of her life, Mona had tried her best to never be unnecessarily cruel to others, and to show kindness when she could. But at the end of the day, she was still human, and humans were more than capable of holding old grudges—especially to someone who had wronged them this much.

“No harm,” she said slowly, “But—some sort of mild inconvenience. If that’s possible.”

Amusement flickered in Kunikuzushi’s eyes. 

He offered her his hand. She took it. He laced their fingers together. 

And then, she felt it; his power, singing under his skin. It wrapped around her fingers like magical tendrils, before bursting apart and conjoining with the molecules in the air. 

“What just happened?” She looked around, bewildered. Nothing seemed to change.

The tip of his lips quirked. “Tomorrow, your chancellor will wake up to find that his house is suffering from a very serious roach infestation.”

She adjusted her seat, inching nearer until she was almost leaning on his shoulder. “And how long will it last?”

“Until my horrible wife finds it in her heart to forgive him.”

Mona couldn’t help it. For the first time in six months, she giggled. 

Kunikuzushi’s pupils dilated visibly, softening the deep blue of his eyes.

“That sound,” he whispered. “Do it again.”

“Wha—giggling, you mean?” She gave him a light shove. “I can’t just do it on command, you fool. You’d have to say something funny for me to do it. Or—or you’d have to tickle me.”

Rather than taking that as an answer, Kunikuzushi took it as a suggestion; he reached for her waist, wiggling his fingers around her stomach. Mona let out a small shriek, shoving his wrist as she burst into uncontrollable laughter, before eventually swatting his palm and grumbling something about how her legs still ached.

“Would you want to return to that university,” he asked suddenly, “If you could?”

She didn’t know whether the question was hypothetical or whether he was actually offering, but when she actually thought about it—

“I don’t think so,” she sighed, pensive. “If I return, it’s very likely I’d get special treatment by virtue of being your wife, and I don’t want that. Professors who are too frightened to critique my work, peers who shy away from me… I’d never become a proper scholar that way.” Mona gathered her knees to her chest, curling up into a ball, “It’s almost funny. Before, they treated me like I was dirt beneath their shoe. Now, they’d treat me like I’m special, not for my skills, but for my status. All I ever wanted was to be treated like an equal.”

Kunikuzushi looked like he was unsure of what to say. She was fine with that; she doubted her husband ever had experience comforting people before. It was almost absurd to her now, how she and every other mortal in this world revered the gods so much when the one she’d married wasn’t that different from a petulant child.

“I wouldn’t be able to return anyway, even if you let me,” Mona added as an afterthought as she recalled what had transpired in the heat of their lovemaking. She caressed her stomach, imagining the life inside her womb growing and taking shape. She wondered who the infant would resemble more; her, or their father? She hoped it would be her. It only seemed fair; she was the one carrying the baby, after all. It was almost frightening, how easily Mona had accepted the notion of motherhood, but it was more of a sense of resignation than anything. After all, there wasn’t much to expect out of life when your country had sold you to appease their god. “I don’t think the stress of pursuing higher education would be good for a baby.”

Kunikuzushi’s eyes widened, seeming surprised. Whatever could he possibly feel surprised over? Her lack of resistance? Resistance only mattered when there was hope of change. She couldn’t magically make the baby disappear from her body—not under her husband’s eye, anyway, and certainly not in his domain.

Then there was a lingering feeling in her heart that made her question if she even wanted to get rid of the baby. An infant, once born, was a blank slate; Mona could teach them whatever values she held dear to her heart, mold them to become whoever she wished. Perhaps, in the future, she could send their child to pursue the dream that had been stolen from her. A most wishful thinking, and a rather sad one, when she broke down the layers of it, but the human mind was extraordinary when it came to discovering new coping methods. 

“I meant what I said,” Kunikuzushi murmured, his cadence thick with emotion. He joined the placement of her hand on her stomach, “About making you happy. If—if it truly matters that much to you, I could set up an area just for you to stargaze. You’ll have the equipment, the tools—everything. And—and you like the library, right?”

Between the red flush adorning his cheeks and the slight whine that tapered off the end of his syllables, Kunikuzushi looked deceivingly human. Not just a god with a human disguise, but completely and entirely human in every way that mattered; vulnerable, emotional, and most of all, powerless. Even the tips of his fingers were shaking as he ghosted featherlight touches over her womb, which was hilarious, for a man who’d just spilled his semen inside of it only a few hours prior.

It occurred to Mona, then, that there was a slight possibility Kunikuzushi might see her as more than a warm body to fuck.

“I do,” she said softly.

“Then—” he cleared his throat, “Then you don’t need anyone else to become an astrolomer or whatever it is you study. You could do it on your own. Or with me.”

“The god who can’t even spell ‘astronomer’ right? I highly doubt that.”

Again, more thunder in the distance. 

“My point is,” Kunikuzushi said, “If you want something, just ask. Don’t run away from me like a skittering animal then come yelling at me when I’ve done something you don’t approve of.” 

“You told me I could see my family,” Mona reminded. “When?”

“Whenever you want,” he answered, sounding a little on edge. 

Independent research. A laboratory of her own. The prospect of seeing her family again. Of walking on Earth again, revered and worshipped this time, instead of shunned—even though it wasn’t for the reason she’d originally wanted. 

She wasn’t sure if she liked how that made her feel.

So, Mona took the mature option. She compartmentalised her emotions and locked them in a drawer deep within the crevices of her heart. The drawer would probably open sometime in the future, and when it did, it would do so by force. The outcome would be messy. There was no way to prepare for it.

But the stars shone twice as bright tonight, and the Archon she’d chained herself to wasn’t currently behaving like a demanding tyrant. By all accounts, it was a lovely evening, and there was no reason for Mona to deprive herself of enjoying it.

“Tell me about the other gods,” she said, giving a Kunikuzushi curious stare. 

His look of surprise returned, but he obliged. 

“I’m one of many,” he began, glancing at the sky. “The most important thing you need to know about the gods is they’re all haughty, arrogant beings, but they…” 

Kunikuzushi went on. Mona listened. 

Beneath them, the empire experienced the most peaceful night they’d ever had in hundreds of years.