I, the slave boy, awaken with the most potent seed!!

"The disturbance," Zafron pressed, ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks. "What is it? What\'s going on?"

Eros\'s expression grew darker. "I must speak to the Council of Gods at once. Aphrodite, the guardian of limbo, is incapacitated. The souls that should be wandering those fields are nowhere to be found. And most disturbingly," he paused, turning his gaze on Zafron, "a mortal—you—crossed the bridge between life and death willingly, without dying. It should not have been possible."

Zafron swallowed hard. His mind raced, trying to comprehend the magnitude of what Eros was saying. "So… what does that mean?"

"It means," Eros said, his voice grave, "order must be restored before further chaos ensues."

At that point, Eros crossed his arms over his golden chest, tilting his head down toward Zafron with a look that was equal parts exasperation and mild disdain. "When Aphrodite asked me for that little favor concerning that little gift of yours," he said, every word dripping with begrudging condescension, "I thought—surely—she\'d use it for something far better than…" He paused, gesturing vaguely at Zafron with one hand as if searching for the right phrase, "…this."

Zafron bristled, his jaw clenching. "Hey, I\'m right here, you know."

"Oh, trust me, mortal, I\'m very aware," Eros shot back, an amused smirk tugging at his lips. "I\'ve been more aware than I\'d care to be."

Zafron at that point wanted nothing more than to lunge at this man-god- but he knew better than that.

Thera, Aurelia, and Calista, meanwhile, had entirely different reactions. Thera\'s eyes sparkled with mischievous delight as she leaned in closer to Aurelia, who was fanning herself as if the air around her had suddenly grown far too warm. Calista, for her part, bit her lip to keep from giggling, but her eyes betrayed a keen, flustered fascination.

"That… was sweet of him," Thera whispered breathlessly, her voice low and filled with amusement. "He really cares."

Aurelia\'s fan fluttered faster. "Mmhmm. The way he begrudges… I felt that."

Calista nodded, her cheeks pink. "Truly… poetic disdain."

Zafron\'s eyes darted between them, disbelief splashed across his features. "Are you three serious right now?"

Eros rolled his eyes, clearly done with the conversation. "As I previously said, order must be restored before further chaos ensues."

Without another word, his body ignited in a surge of golden flames. As he shot into the sky, the fire trailed behind him, and for a brief, unforgettable moment, everyone on the ground was treated to one last—entirely too vivid—view of Eros\'s impressive endowments swinging dramatically. The golden blaze burned away, leaving behind nothing but a faint, shimmering outline in the sky.

A stunned silence followed.

Calista was the first to break it, her voice low and breathless. "Well… if that wasn\'t the most... inspiring thing I\'ve ever seen."

Aurelia groaned, burying her face in her hands. "Gods above, I\'m trying to forget and it\'s already burned into my brain. He\'s… quite the spectacle."

"Spectacle?" Thera repeated, laughing despite herself. "He\'s like an entire performance."

Zafron sighed heavily. "Focus, ladies. There\'s more to worry about here than just… that."

Calista raised an eyebrow. "Says the man who couldn\'t stop staring."

"I wasn\'t staring." Zafron\'s retort was too quick, too defensive. "I was… contemplating."

"Oh, were you now?" Thera teased, her eyes twinkling. "And what, exactly, were you contemplating?"

"Why none of you seem to know anything about what just happened," Zafron shot back, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "You three all magical beings. How is it possible you\'re as clueless as I am?"

Zafron took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to the trio before him. Something gnawed at the edge of his thoughts. When he first saw them—Thera, Aurelia, and Calista—Aphrodite had practically summoned them out of nothing. They appeared like spirits brought to life, and though they wielded impressive power and possessed all the airs of beings who knew their purpose, he\'d always sensed something off.

Could it be… they didn\'t actually know everything? That their awareness only extended to whatever had transpired from the moment he arrived in limbo? If so, then they were just as much in the dark as he was—equally adrift, clinging to whatever scraps of knowledge they could gather.

A wave of realization washed over him, heavy and uncomfortable. \'Great,\' he thought bitterly. \'I\'m as helpless alone as I am with them.\' Whatever confidence he\'d managed to muster up until now felt like a thin veneer, cracked and fragile. If his only allies didn\'t have the answers, then all his encounters, all his struggles, were being guided by blind instinct. The weight of the situation pressed down on his shoulders. Limbo was broken. The balance was off. And he had no idea how to fix it.

Which meant he couldn\'t wait for Aphrodite to wake up. He clenched his fists, a spark of determination igniting in his chest. There was so much she had to answer for—why he was here, what purpose he served, and what role these women played in all of it.

Zafron\'s eyes narrowed. "When she gets up," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to the others, "there\'s going to be a lot of explaining."

The playful atmosphere sobered slightly as the question hung in the air. Calista shifted uncomfortably. "You think…all this... it has something to do with your first visit to limbo?"

"It has to," Zafron said, his mind racing. "You appeared around that time. It can\'t be a coincidence. Maybe whatever happened during my trial… shaped your existence here?"

Aurelia frowned, deep in thought. "If that\'s true… then we\'re connected to whatever is happening in limbo. To the balance being off."

"Which means we\'re in the middle of this whether we want to be or not," Thera finished, her voice grim.

Zafron nodded slowly. "Exactly. And now, we need to figure out what\'s next—before Eros and his Council of Gods decide we\'re the problem."

Silence fell again, each of them lost in their own thoughts. But it didn\'t last long.

Calista sighed, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes. "I still can\'t get over how he… left. The theatrics…"

Thera laughed, tension momentarily forgotten. "I\'ll be seeing that every time I close my eyes."

Zafron groaned. "Please, can we move on?"

"Sure, sure," Aurelia said with a wicked grin. "Until the next god drops out of the sky with… everything out for display."

Zafron could only shake his head, torn between laughter and despair. There was no escaping it—the absurdity, the danger, and the twisted humor of their predicament. But for now, he\'d take whatever moments of levity he could get. The real challenges were just beginning.