The Path to Becoming a God
In the endless flow of time, the sisters grew restless.
They had kept at their seductions without pause, yet the harvest remained stubbornly barren. At best they managed to flush his face — nothing more. And that after deploying no fewer than thirty-two distinct arts of coquetry.
"I think we're going to have to do that."
"Ehh? I hate that…"
Arati's face twisted with open revulsion at Tana's words. Beside her, Raga was already dry-heaving.
"…I've been thinking it over. That human they call the Sage draws a clear line between himself and us. In a situation like this, we have to join forces and aim straight at his mind."
"But that means I'd have to do it with this little brat…"
Even so, Arati hesitated — until Tana seized her by the shoulder.
"Sometimes sacrifice is necessary."
"…"
In the end, Arati could not withstand her sister's gaze and gave a reluctant nod. Tana did not stop there. She fixed Raga with a piercing stare.
"Fine, fine! I'll do it, all right?"
"Good. Just grit your teeth and get through it this once."
The sisters summoned the Sage to the cave where they were staying. He looked puzzled, yet followed without protest. What greeted him inside was the sight of the three sisters devouring one another.
"Haahng…"
"Yes♡ Lick me more!"
"Nngh, Unnie! I'm going to come♡"
What kind of situation was this — calling a man over only to masturbate as a group? Even as the Sage drew near, the sisters kept fondling each other's breasts, kissing, slipping hands beneath one another's clothes. The cave was thick with a strange fragrance and heat, the air itself feverish.
The Sage's face burned red, yet he approached them as if spellbound.
"Come join us, Sage."
"Play with us."
"Come here."
They beckoned. Before he quite realized it, they had encircled him and begun to dance. Coaxing, wheedling, they peeled away their garments layer by layer.
"A man has his moments for pleasure. If you don't take it now, when will you?"
Tana spoke in that distinctive, honeyed voice of hers. The women's provocative scent rolled over him far thicker than before — a genuine threat. The Sage was clearly far more unmoored than he had ever been. His face flushed with arousal, his breathing ragged, heat radiating from his body. His lower half was beginning to stir and strain; if they played this right, they might actually succeed…
But… it looks bigger than I expected…
Even to sisters who had led any number of men into the mire of pleasure, the Sage's erection was abnormal. Their eyes could pierce the fabric of his clothes and assess the state of his manhood. It was long, yes — but the girth was truly monstrous. Roughly speaking, its circumference seemed comparable to a newborn's head.
"…So this is what it feels like."
And then, as if by a lie, the Sage's member subsided. Only a man who could control his own body down nearly to the pores could manage such a thing.
"What? Are you a premature ejaculator?"
Hot-tempered Arati finally snapped, irritation boiling over. She had thought they were almost there — and then, abruptly, everything went cold. The combined authority of the three sisters shattered.
"No. No matter how you look at it, wasn't that a bit too blatant?"
"Blatant or not — when beauties throw themselves at you like this, isn't it basic courtesy to give them a turn?"
"Courtesy comes after not sticking your foot into a lion's jaws like a fool."
"Lion's jaws, my ass…"
"Wasn't this supposed to be a contest of whether you could seduce me or not? Why should I deliberately lose?"
"That's…"
"…So you already knew."
Tana's smile turned bitter. Thinking about it, for a normal person not to notice when they had been throwing themselves at him like that would have been the strange part. Cold reason made the truth obvious to anyone — and yet the sisters had lingered here out of lingering attachment. They should never have grown fond of him.
"How long have you known?"
Still, Tana was curious. How much exactly did the Sage understand — and knowing, why had he never cast them out?
"If you're asking about your true natures, I knew from the beginning that you weren't human."
"What?"
But the Sage's words veered completely off the path they had expected. His blue eyes alone gleamed with a peculiar light.
"So you've been pretending not to know this whole time and toying with us? Leaving us hanging when you never meant to give us anything? What a filthy pervert!"
Raga sneered.
"I never pretended not to know. And I had no particular intention of mocking you. If anything, I was somewhat relieved."
"…What do you mean by that?"
"Your very appearance meant that the path I walk is not mistaken. I also wanted to keep beings called gods close and understand them a little better."
"Even gods are not all the same. In human terms, we would correspond to the Shudra — the slave caste."
"Is that so? I don't know the details, but observing you has been educational in its own way. I've come to grasp, roughly, the structure of the powers the gods wield."
"…"
"What I still don't understand is the motive behind your constant sexual advances… Though, given how insistently you keep using that method, it must be something that would harm the path I'm trying to walk. That's why I never got deeply involved."
"…Even knowing, you couldn't have stopped it. You must possess a formidable will, Sage."
Tana smiled — not the seductive, alluring smile of before, but something warm and gentle.
"Still, if you'll permit it, we'd like to stay a little longer. Would that be all right?"
"Do as you like."
The Sage stepped out of the cave. He still had his daily regimen to complete.
"What do we do, Unnie?"
Raga's worried question met the same reassuring smile on Tana's face.
"We'll keep trying for whatever time remains. It isn't over until it's over."
"But if we still fail…"
Tana drew both sisters into her arms.
"Don't worry. If the worst comes, I'll take responsibility."
The three sisters' seductions of the Sage continued after that, yet the results remained the same as before. That pattern did not shift in the slightest, all the way to the final day.
"We've lost."
When the deadline their "Father" had set finally expired, Tana had no choice but to raise both hands. A clean surrender.
"Unnie!!"
Her younger sisters protested, but Tana pulled them close and patted them lightly.
"We did everything we could and it still didn't work. Time to let go."
"But…"
"It's all right. I'll take full responsibility."
"…"
Tana turned to face the Sage.
"The term Father commanded is up. Tomorrow we have to go back."
"I see."
The Sage showed not the slightest sign of regret at her words.
"Then leave whenever you wish. I have work to do."
"…It's the last day, and you're still this stiff to the end."
Tana grumbled in a way that was unlike her, but once again the Sage paid it no mind. That indifference left her oddly wounded.
That night, while her sisters slept, Tana slipped carefully out of the cave and made her way toward the Sage, who sat as always atop a rock, deep in meditation.
"You really don't skip a single day, do you?"
It was rude to interrupt a meditation, but out of sheer petty spite Tana deliberately spoke and broke his concentration. Fortunately, the Sage did not ignore her.
"Something you want to say?"
"Plenty. We've known each other for a while now — isn't this a little cold?"
"…"
Thud.
Tana settled herself on a broad, flat rock near enough to him.
"I never understood people who call themselves ascetics. Humans have such short lives, don't they? I couldn't grasp why anyone would spend what little time they have on hardship. What glory were they hoping to enjoy?"
"That's true enough."
"I've always thought it better to cherish what you have and build precious memories than to stake everything on an uncertain ascension."
"…I didn't expect that kind of talk from someone like you."
"Why? Did you think that because of the work I do, I just live however I please?"
"No. I meant nothing by it. If I gave the wrong impression, I apologize."
"…Why do you train so hard? Do you want to become some lofty being that badly?"
"Not so much that… as that it's fun."
"What do you mean?"
"I enjoy fighting. Only a desperate struggle against a powerful foe makes me feel truly alive. Even if I die in the process, I don't particularly mind. So when I was told there were no longer any strong opponents among humans who could stand against me, I despaired. But then, like a miracle, I learned there was a world above. That's why I keep training."
"Heh…"
This man is a hedonist in his own quiet way. The direction is different, but still.
"Then why refuse women?"
"I don't want to be bound."
"…And what does that mean?"
"If a child is born — or even without that, if I give my heart to someone else — I can no longer devote myself entirely to battle. I've seen plenty of men like that. When I fight, I want to focus on nothing but the fight."
A hedonist, yes — but a hedonist with convictions of his own. Similar to "Father," who always spoke of aesthetics, and yet entirely different.
Why do I feel they're different?
Tana gazed steadily at the Sage. Handsome features that were refined yet unmistakably masculine. Selfish, perhaps, and yet carrying a boy's passion as he ran toward his dream. Not gentle, but earnest and composed. And above all — he had never hurt her or her sisters.
"Um… Sage?"
"?"
"Our father is a rather frightening man. So I spoke confidently in front of my sisters, but the truth is… I'm a little scared."
"…"
The Sage listened in silence, his expression unchanging. Tana found that easier.
"Just once. Just once — would you sleep with me?"