John walked and walked and walked. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, identical door after identical door, gold sconces casting the same warm glow over the same black marble floor. His boots clicked in a steady rhythm, the sound echoing back at him from the walls.
He'd been walking for what felt like ten minutes, maybe fifteen, and nothing had changed. No turns, no intersections, no landmarks. Just endless doors and sconces and the occasional painting of someone he didn't recognize.
"This is insane," John muttered to himself, his voice bouncing off the walls. "I built a palace so big I can't even find my way around it. What kind of idiot does that?"
The idiot who had fifty-one thousand rooms and forty-six million square feet, that's who. The idiot who had gotten excited and typed in numbers without thinking about the practical consequences. Sure, it looked impressive on paper.
But actually living here? Actually trying to get from point A to point B? It was a nightmare.
He was about to give up and just teleport somewhere, anywhere, when he passed a window. Not a window looking out into the void, but a real window, one that faced the interior courtyard. John stopped dead and pressed his face against the glass, peering out.
There it was. The fifty-acre courtyard, stretching out in a vast expanse of dark trees and winding paths. And rising from the center, impossible to miss, was the twenty-seven-floor central tower. It loomed over everything, its dark stone walls catching the ambient light that came from nowhere and everywhere. John stared at it for a long moment, letting his brain orient itself.
Okay. Think. The door in his library faced the backside of the tower. He remembered that from when he'd first explored, from when he'd walked through the library and looked out the windows. The backside of the tower had a different pattern of windows, narrower, more vertical. And right now, he was looking at the right side of the tower. The side with the wider windows and the balconies at every third floor.
So if he was looking at the right side, that meant the library was to his left. No, wait. He needed to visualize it. The tower was in the center. The library was on the backside. He was on the right side. So to get to the library, he needed to go around the courtyard. Which meant he needed to take a right at the end of this hall and then keep walking until he hit the back wall.
"Right at the end of the hall," John said out loud, pointing at nothing. "Right. Got it."
He started walking again, this time with purpose. The hallway finally ended at a T-junction, and he took the right turn without hesitation. New hallway, same black marble, same gold sconces, but now there were windows on the left side every few feet, giving him glimpses of the courtyard. The tower slowly rotated in his peripheral vision as he walked, shifting from right side to front side to left side. He was making progress.
Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. John's legs were starting to ache again, and his stomach was growling. He hadn't eaten anything except that bread from Selio ages ago, and his new body required fuel even if it was divine-adjacent. He made a mental note to find the kitchens at some point. Twenty-two of them, apparently. Surely one of them had food.
Finally, finally, the hallway opened up into a familiar space. The library. John could have cried with relief. The massive room stretched out before him, rows and rows of bookshelves filled with leather-bound volumes that he'd never read and probably never would. The tall windows let in soft, ambient light, and the air smelled of old paper and dust. It was quiet, peaceful, exactly what he needed after that maze of identical corridors.
John stepped inside and let out a long, heavy sigh. "Home," he said, spreading his arms wide. "Sweet home."
He walked through the library, running his fingers over the spines of the books as he passed. Histories, geographies, biographies, all the boring stuff that came standard with a palace library. But as he walked, he started looking for something specific. Something essential. Something that any proper library in a god's palace should have.
Hentai. Doujinshi. Porn.
He searched shelf after shelf, his eyes scanning the titles. Nothing. Just more boring history books, more dry political treatises, more maps and atlases and genealogies. Not a single manga. Not a single illustration. Not even a vaguely suggestive cover.
"Boring!" John groaned, throwing his hands up in frustration. "This library is completely empty! Where's the porn? Where's the culture? Where's the actual reason anyone would ever want to read?"
The library did not answer. It just sat there, smug and respectable and utterly devoid of anything John actually wanted.
He huffed and made his way to the back of the library, to the door that led to his game room. He pushed it open and stepped inside, the familiar glow of the triple monitors washing over him. The massive PC hummed in the corner, and the gaming chair sat empty, waiting for him.
But something had changed.
Selio was awake.
The little hybrid was sitting up on the plush bed in the corner, the one Lui had made John create earlier. His gray fur was slightly ruffled from sleep, his webbed hands rubbing at his big dark eyes. His tail was curled around his legs, and his ears were perked forward, swiveling toward John as he entered. Selio blinked once, twice, and then his face split into that familiar, derpy grin.
"Bwoof!" Selio said, his voice soft and happy. "Bwoof bwoof!"
John felt his heart melt. "Hey buddy. Did you sleep well?"
Selio scrambled off the bed and padded over to John on all fours, his movements fluid and animalistic. He pressed his head against John's leg, rubbing his cheek against the fabric, and let out a series of happy chirping sounds.
"Mrrrp! Bwoof!"
John crouched down and scratched behind Selio's ears, feeling the soft fur and the warmth of the hybrid's skin. Selio leaned into the touch, his tail wagging so hard his whole body wiggled.
And then John had a marvelous idea.
Yuulus and Selio should get along. They were both cute, both dependent on him, both adorable in completely different ways. Selio was sweet and innocent and made cute noises. Yuulus was bratty and tsundere and pretended not to like anyone. They would be perfect together. Or they would hate each other. Either way, it would be entertaining.
John didn't feel like going back into the maze of hallways to find Yuulus. He was tired, his legs were sore, and he just wanted to see what would happen. So he pulled up the system window with a flick of his wrist and hit the summon button for Yuulus.
The air shimmered, folded, and then Yuulus appeared in the middle of the game room.
The little femboy was wearing the same dolphin shorts and a loose tank top that hung off one shoulder. His curly black hair was even messier than before, and his white pupils were half-closed with sleep. He was rubbing his eyes with one small fist, his other hand on his hip, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"What the hell?" Yuulus growled, his voice raspy from just waking up. "I was taking a nap! A nap! Do you know how hard it is to sleep in a strange place when you don't even have a proper bed? I had to curl up on a windowsill like some kind of animal! And then you summon me here without even asking? What is wrong with you?"
John opened his mouth to answer, but he never got the chance.
Selio pounced.
The hybrid launched himself across the room in a blur of gray fur, moving on all fours with surprising speed.
Before Yuulus could react, before he could even scream, Selio was on him. The hybrid's front paws landed on Yuulus's shoulders, knocking the smaller femboy backward onto the stone floor. Selio's body was draped over Yuulus's, his fur pressing against pure white skin, his webbed hands planted on either side of Yuulus's head.
"Bwoof! Bwoof bwoof bwoof!"
Selio's tail was wagging furiously, slapping against the floor in a happy rhythm. His big dark eyes were wide with curiosity, and his nose was twitching as he sniffed at Yuulus's face, his neck, his hair.
Yuulus was frozen for a moment, his white pupils blown wide, his mouth open in a silent scream. But then Selio's nose brushed against his cheek, and something shifted. Yuulus's breath hitched. His cheeks flushed that deep, familiar red. His hands, which had been raised to push the hybrid away, hesitated.
"D-Don't—" Yuulus started, but his voice came out breathy, weak.
Selio didn't listen. He just kept sniffing, exploring this new person with innocent, animal curiosity. And then he started licking.
A long, slow lick from Yuulus's jaw up to his temple. Selio's tongue was rough, like a cat's, and it left a wet trail across the white skin. Yuulus's whole body jerked, and a sound escaped his throat. A moan. Soft and high and completely involuntary.
"Mmmph—" Yuulus clapped both hands over his mouth, his eyes wide with horror and embarrassment.
But Selio just kept licking, smoothing down the other cheek, across the forehead, over the nose. "Bwoof! Bwoof!" Happy little sounds punctuated each lick.
Yuulus's hands fell away from his mouth, and another moan slipped out. Quieter this time, but unmistakable. His eyes were fluttering, half-closing, and the blush had spread down his neck and across his collarbone. His small cock was tenting his dolphin shorts again, the fabric straining against the growing bulge.
"Nnngh—stop—that tickles—" Yuulus tried to sound angry, but it came out as a whimper.
Selio licked his chin. Yuulus's back arched.
John stood by the door, arms crossed, watching the whole thing with a huge, stupid grin on his face. "Hehe," he chuckled, low and pleased. "They like each other."
Selio kept licking, and Yuulus kept moaning, and John just stood there, enjoying the show. The little hybrid's tail never stopped wagging, and every few seconds he would pause to let out a happy "Bwoof!" before diving back in. Yuulus had stopped trying to push him away entirely. His hands were now resting on Selio's furry shoulders, not gripping, not shoving, just... holding on.
John pulled up his system window and made a quick note to himself. Find a bigger bed. One that could fit two small summons and one tall master. Because something told him this was the beginning of a very interesting friendship.