Chapter 2: I am Yours

I open my eyes and wince as the light hits my eyes. The first thing I notice is that the heat of the fire from the forge that should be there, isn't. I want to get up to see where I am but my entire body hurts immensely. It takes all my effort to not scream at the pain moving throughout my body and I close my eyes in an effort to hold my voice in.

I feel a cool bitter liquid pour past my lips and into my mouth, I don't know what it is but in desperation I swallow it and soon fall unconscious once more. I eventually awaken once more to find the pain gone. Still sore from the pain, I sit up on the leather couch and look around to gather my bearings.

I'm in a luxurious office, walls lined with bookshelves and in the center a coffee table with two couches on either side, one of which I am sitting on. On one end of the room is a door that leads to somewhere unknown and on the other end is a large window with a desk in front of it.

Sitting at the desk is the woman who has dominated every thought in my mind for the past year. Her beautiful wavy red hair that flows down and frames her gorgeous face, a small amount tied in the back into a low ponytail that goes slightly past her shoulders, the black eyepatch for which she is famous for that I wish I could do away with to marvel in her beauty in it's entirety, the wonderful red ruby that is her only visible eye, the white dress shirt with sleeves that lead into long black gloves that go past her elbows and with a few button left open revealing the deep valley that is her cleavage.

I notice her face go red as a shy look appears on her face making my heart race and my love for her grow deeper upon seeing the precious expression take over her beautiful face.

"I'm happy that you think so highly of me but could you please not stare at me so intensely, especially not at my. . . Valley. . ." I hear her say and freeze as a crimson shade spreads across my face in realization.

"You can read my mind?" I ask tentatively.

"I can hear your thoughts, but only yours specifically." she says which makes me tilt my head in confusion as my eyebrows scrunch up. Upon seeing my expression Hephaestus shows a small smile.

'Cute. . .'

"You. . . you just thought I was cute?" I asked her and she looks down at desk in embarrassment making realize I had just heard her thoughts. Before I can ask what's going on I hear a cough behind me.

"Are the two of you going to flirt all day or are you going to explain to him what is going on, Lady Hephaestus?" I hear a female voice say behind me making both of us blush further.

I turn around to see the door that was previously closed is now wide open and standing in the doorway is a woman carrying a stack of papers while sporting a grin. She has Caramel colored skin and black hair that is tied into a low ponytail in the back with a large white bow and goes down to her posterior. She is wearing a short white kimono type top with pink lining the inner edges that stops just above her navel. Covering her lower body is a red hakama over dark violet pants with two yellow ropes around her hips and brown boots.

'She is quite beautiful but even so, she pales in comparison to Hephaestus.' I think to myself only to see the woman's grin grow wider. I freak out thinking that she too can hear my thought only to freeze at her next words.

"What's the matter Lady Hephaestus? You seemed angry for a moment before blushing again." She says before looking over at me.

"Perhaps little lover-boy over here is having some naughty thoughts, hmm?" She says making me grow embarrassed in my realization that I forgot Hephaestus can hear my thoughts. I hear the woman laugh for a moment before pausing in thought.

"Well, he is pretty cute. . . maybe I can make him my boyfriend." She seems to want to continue but is interrupted by an angry growl from Hephaestus.

"He is MINE, Tsubaki!" She says but as she realizes what she said her face goes red making the woman I now know is named Tsubaki Laugh.

"Now now Lady Hephaestus, You only just met him today. You barely know him." Once again before she can get far into what she wants to say she is interrupted once again. This time by me.

"I am hers." I say calmly making Tsubaki look at me shock, losing the grin she had from the moment she entered. I take a breath before turning to Hephaestus, locking eyes with her, and speaking once more.

"I don't know how I got here to your office Lady Hephaestus. Nor do I know what you may want with me but what I do know is one thing for certain. Something I have known for a long time now." I pause for a moment.

"I am Yours." I say and while Tsubaki can hear me say it I know Hephaestus can hear me think it as well, solidifying the truth in my words.

Hephaestus blushes but this time she does not look away as a bright smile appears on her face. I can hear Tsubaki release a sigh of exasperation behind me but I ignore her in favor of looking into the eyes of the woman I love and she does the same. after a while Hephaestus speaks.

"I know very clearly the feelings you hold for me in your heart and to what depths they go. I may have a small amount of liking towards you due to you recent actions and the thoughts I can hear ringing in your mind, but If it is something that can be called love, I do not know. However, I am willing to give this a chance, to give you a chance. Whether that will grow into something more we will have to see." She says making me quite literally the happiest man in the world.

"Don't lie Lady Hephaestus, I saw how you were looking at him while he slept." Tsubaki says with a smirk.

"Tsubaki, be quiet." Hephaestus replies snappily at her before releasing a sigh and sitting down.

"Lady Hephaestus, I am happy to just be by your side and will happily join your Familia if you would have me." I say as I get up from the couch and kneel down in the center of the room before bowing my head making Tsubaki laugh at my actions.

"First of all just call me Hephaestus. Secondly, There's no need to kneel and lastly, you're already a member of my Familia." She says making me look at her in confusion as I stand up.

"Take your shirt off and lay face down on the couch. I'll make a copy of your falna on paper and you'll realize what I mean." She says and a tinge of red appears on her face for some reason.

I nod and make my way to the couch I woke up on and lay down. As I do so, my stomach growls making Tsubaki laugh again.

"I'll get the boy something to eat while you run your hands along his back." she says as she puts the papers down on the coffee table and runs out with a laugh as a book comes hurling at her.

After a few moments I hear Hephaestus come up from behind me and I feel her place a sheet of paper on my back. A short while later, Hephaestus tells me to sit up and I do so as she hands me a sheet of paper and sits next to me. I begin to read the paper and as my eyes scan over the words in front of me, they grow wider and wider as my face grows redder and redder. I turn to Hephaestus and quickly ask her.

"Is this real?" I ask to which she nods making me look down in embarrassment. After a moment I look back at the paper and continue speaking.

"From what I know, everyone should start out with I10 in all their stats so why are mine H100?" I ask.

"It's from your status as a Demi-God, Your starting point is higher than others and your upper limit is as well. You should also grow much faster than others as well." She says making me nod weakly, still too shocked and embarrassed to move too much.

"So. . . then this {Hammer of Hephaestus} skill should be the reason why I'm a Demi-God and why I can hear your thoughts and how you hear mine?" I quietly ask.

"Yes, It seems that through it we are connected intimately. Hearing each other's thoughts is just start of it. We can also access each other's senses if we wish to and I can act through you by taking control for a while. . ." she says before quickly adding "But only if you want me to. I won't do that without your permission." I smile as I look at her.

"You don't have to ask Hephaestus, after all I."

"You are mine, I know." She says with a smile, cutting me off and making me nod. "Aside from that it seems that you can also update the falna of the Familia members which will make my life a whole lot easier and free up more time for me. You can also craft divine armaments like myself which is usually impossible for someone who isn't a God. As for the {Dimensional Storage} skill, It will be very useful for when you begin exploring the dungeon since you'll be able to bring back more without being weighed down or bringing a supporter. {Armament Master} is quite amazing since it saves the time required to train to be able to use a weapon or armor but {Forge Library} is the one I truly want to explore more of. How many Blueprints can you store? What's the quality of a weapon you only assimilated once? Is it 10% of the original? 20%? Or is it more? Less? How fast is the Automating Process? There's so much potential in that skill alone that I just can't stop thinking of the possibilities."

Hearing her gush about my skill makes me smile. Not just at the fact that it's my skill but at how damn cute she is. Hephaestus pauses at my thought and smiles at me making me blush and smile back. As we sit there looking into each other's eyes while smiling, Tsubaki walks back in.

"Already lost in each other's eyes? Well the two of you move fast huh?" She says making the both of us blush.

"Hahahaha, well here's your food little lover-boy. I hope you enjoy it." She says with a grin making me blush further and Hephaestus growl at her.

"Tsubaki, get out." she says, narrowing her eyes.

"Already abandoning me Lady Hephaestus?" she says while wiping a non-existent tear from her eye before grinning after a moment. "I guess I'll just go then, you two have fun now!"

We watch Tsubaki run out and close the door to the office before turning to look at each other. Hephaestus smiles wryly before continuing to talk about my status as I eat the food that sparked my immense hunger once I smelled it.

"Aside from everything we have already covered. Your status as a Demi-God will let you see through the lies of mortals and see things that would normally trick the eye. Lastly is the magic you have which is pretty amazing considering it's extremely rare for someone to have magic right from the beginning, but it still pales in comparison to all the other amazing stuff in your status. Hmmm, {Divine Fire}, there isn't really much of a description so we'll mostly be going off trial and error but it should be both a combative and support ability. A strong offensive ability for when you're in the dungeon and maybe a good support ability for when you're smithing. It might apply special effects to items forged in it's flames." She says and I nod, agreeing with her words as I hungrily bite into a chicken leg.

With all my abilities explained for now, Hephaestus goes quiet and just watches me as I eat. Eventually, I finish eating and lay back against the back of the couch while rubbing my belly. Hephaestus looks at me with a smile before speaking.

"Now that you're filled up you should clean up and get some proper rest. You've spent an entire year working on that blade so I know you're tired. Tsubaki can show you to your room." she says making me nod my head before pausing.

"Where is the blade I made for you?" I ask and she smiles and points at the wall next to her desk. Resting on the plaque on the wall is the blade I made, now sharpened and complete with guard and handle.

"I finished it off for you, as an acknowledgment of your achievement. But if anyone ever asks me I'll only tell them you made it. You did almost all the work after all, I just added the finishing touches." She says and I smile in happiness.

"Thank you Hephaestus, I'll go now but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I ask and she nods in response.

Content, I get up and leave. I don't have to go far before I run into Tsubaki and ask her if she can show me where my room is. She leads me there and I notice the floor and the location seemed off so I asked her about it and discovered why. Hephaestus's room is on this floor and is the only other one on it aside from her personal forge. She teases me for a bit before leaving making me let out a long sigh at her antics before going into my room and closing the door behind me. I look around and take in the room.

It has a wooden floor with a bed in in the far right corner with a drawer next to it while the far left corner has a couch angled at a 45 degree angle to either wall with a small coffee table in front of it sitting on a red rug. There are two redwood plaques on the far wall that are empty and contrast the light cream colored walls. Both walls on the sides have doors on them. Through the left door I find a small kitchen with everything that I need to make myself food. Through the opposite door is a bathroom where I can take care of my needs.

I quickly strip and hop into the bath to wash myself and relax. An hour later I hop out and grab a shirt and a pair of pants from the drawer and put them on. They thankfully seem to fit just fine. I turn off the lights and get under the covers and lie on the bed while looking up at the ceiling. Today has been an amazing day for me. I got to not only meet Hephaestus and join her Familia, I heard her say she's willing to give my love for her a chance.

Does that mean we're dating now? In a relationship? The thought of it excites me and makes me look forward to the future. Not only that, I'll get to explore the dungeon and get stronger as well as make lots of cool armor and weapons with whatever materials I can get. There's so many things I want to make into reality, whether they're my own original Ideas or things from all the fiction I've read over the years.

One example that comes to mind is Artoria's Excalibur from the Fate series. Not the immense power held in Excalibur, though that would be cool too, but the invisible blade that makes it impossible to determine it's reach. Maybe I can try and make Cloud's Fusion Buster Sword, Akame's Murasame or any of the weapons from RWBY.

As for armors, I can really change the game by making some of the things from the series I've read and watched. Such as any of Erza's Armors, like her Nakagami Armor, any of the Empress Armor, or her Adamantine Armor. Though that last one might have to be renamed to Adamantite Armor so as not to cause any confusion.

More-so, since I can make divine weapons I can try to remake some as well. Like King's Chastiefol, Escanor's Rhitta, or if I feel really ambitious... The Sword of Rupture, Ea that belongs to Gilgamesh. Though it would take a very long time and heavy restrictions would have to be placed on the weapon, It might be worth it for the sake of killing the One-Eyed Black Dragon. If anything can kill it, it's Ea. Even if it might be overkill.

For divine armor it has to be Athena's Cloths, Hades' Surplices, or Poseidon's Scales form Saint Seiya. It would very interesting to see how the gods here react to those if I can manage to make them. Thanks to being a Demi-God I can clearly remember the detailed drawings of the cloths and their individual parts.

Thinking of all the possibilities, I close my eyes as I try my best to will myself to fall asleep faster. Eager to make tomorrow come faster. After all, it's the first day of the rest of my life with the woman I love.

'I heard that. . .'

My face goes red and now I find myself want to sleep so I can escape my embarrassment.