Merlin didn’t need to force the two of them to stop, or even try to get between them. She didn’t have the power to wrestle them out, and didn’t want to waste her time and energy doing that. She knew that even as an abomination, she was still no match for the two divine monsters in front of her. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t put them both in their place.

As Merlin’s labyrinth expanded, it had only one massive layer filled with rolling green hills, beautiful mountains, and a population of over several hundred million. But even if nature was beautiful, the setting for this layer was nothing but disgusting, cruel, and horrifying.

It was a world of endless war, bloodshed, and suffering.

Two great kingdoms ruled by two absolute kings, both of them depraved and degraded, a mere mockery of humanity. They sat on their great golden thrones, watching as their armies of slaves battled each other for entertainment. From dawn to dusk, the slaves charged forward in the hundreds of thousands, stabbing, punching, and killing each other in pure fear and distress, all forced to move under their king’s slavery magic.

The two kings that Merlin created had only one thing in mind, and it was to please their goddesses: Isdis, the Goddess of Control, and Eris, the Goddess of Murder. That is why they amassed armies of slaves, and that is why they had them murder each other in cold blood.

Since all of the mana in the labyrinth belonged to Merlin, this layer acted like a machine that transformed her own mana into divine power usable by Eris and Isdis, and this was Merlin’s plan. The layer generated mostly cursed energy, some of which it was given to Isdis to use her Control, and the rest was given to Eris to exchange for divine magic from Amaterasu, and Merlin had even sneaked in a bit of power directly to Amaterasu since the kings made their armies fight from dawn to dusk.

As Merlin used the labyrinth to fuel Eris and Isdis, she quickly realised something that made her freeze for a second. She was now an abomination, watching over two kingdoms in her labyrinth, living centuries in mere seconds, with millions of slaves dying in war each day, all from her will. She didn’t know any of them, and to her, they were expendable pawns.

To the people living inside her labyrinths, even if they were just vestiges created by magic, she was to them what Yog is to the universe. An Eldritch Abomination with endless knowledge and will over fate, toying with them to further her own plans.

It was then that Yog’s voice rang in her head, as if that goddess was waiting to speak. ^It is similar, but not the same. You’re less of a monster than I am. What you’re playing with are fake souls, toys simulating life. There might be a million people inside your labyrinth, but to reality, they aren’t that different than drawings on paper. The divine magic Eris and Isdis are getting is coming from your own soul.^

Merlin smiled, even though her abominable maw didn’t move. ^Trying to console me? That is unlike you.^

^Come on, I didn’t help you before. I could have stopped Beatrice or done something else. When people get powerful enough, we gods would rather watch than interfere.^ She giggled. ^By the way, Amaterasu says thank you for the Cursed mana, even though she doesn’t need more of it.^

Merlin sighed as Yog cut the call on her side and then looked at Eris and Isdis, who were still doing their best to stabilize the star. "Can you hear me?"

"I can!" Eris shouted, and Isdis growled behind her. "I feel much better, thank you!" Hearing their responses, Merlin focused once more on supplying them with Cursed and Divine mana as much as she could. "Once this is over, come to see me. We need to talk, for a long while."

In a whole other place, Yog had just cut the call with Merlin and sighed. She was lying naked on a beautiful, white bed in a sealed room of gold and silver, enjoying a moment of rest after a recent abominable skirmish. She wasn’t alone either; beside her, Amaterasu rested as well. The two of them were busy in the past day, having had to both watch over Arad’s crew and handle the war since Kali went back.

"That wizard... she is quite the pain in the ass." Yog mumbled with a faint moan, and Amaterasu, who was on the bed beside her, smiled. "She is as much of a genius as Cain was. The key to magic is knowing where to stop. Pushing spells to their limit without going over." She reached down with her hand toward Yog’s hips.

Yog smiled. "Yeah, it is true that I’m putting limits on all mortals’ magic, but that isn’t to limit their power or growth. It is a test, a puzzle. Figuring loopholes and workarounds to my artificial limits is an exercise designed specifically to push mages beyond their limit in a safe and controlled way." She grabbed Amaterasu’s large bosom and started sucking on it.

Amaterasu giggled. "All mages are prevented from casting spells of a tier higher than 9, and that is to protect the fabric of mana. So, what is the solution to that? The mage should just create their own demi-plane, sealed within several barriers to separate it from the outer world, and then cast their tier 10 spells inside freely. Merlin had managed to do that better than any other mage had ever dreamed of." Her fingers slipped between Yog’s cheeks, and she pulled her closer. "You’ve been doing a great job."

Yog stopped sucking on her bosom and looked up. "But still... Merlin alone won’t be enough. We need more mages like her, more masters of the arcane arts. We shall get them, but that might take a while." She could feel Amaterasu’s fingers slipping inside.

Amaterasu giggled. "Just relax a bit... you’re too tense, Yog. Here and with their business as well. Merlin is almost as skilled as Cain; her Labyrinth might work differently than his Endless Maze, but they follow the same concept of creating a separate world that reinforces their own rules." With one powerful push, she forced her entire fist inside. "She will soon be able to take care of Arad without needing your help, and I’ll be able to have you all for myself."

Yog smiled as she reached up to kiss her. "Have me all for yourself? Aren’t you mistaken? I’m the one having you all for myself." She rested on Amaterasu’s chest. "Now that Cain is gone, I’m the only one you can relax like this with."

The Amaterasu that was with Yog now was different than any form she had ever taken in the universe. All of her beauty was fully unleashed, all of her solar heat, radiation, and gravity. She wasn’t holding anything back, and she could only do that inside this room that Yog made just for that.

Amaterasu giggled. "Same with you. Out of everyone, I’m the only one you can talk with freely about the Forbidden knowledge." She gave her a tight hug. "It is almost over. Soon AO will be back, and he’ll take this universe out of our hands. Only then can we finally rest."