get pregnant

Morning or whatever passed for morning in a room with no windows found them exactly where they’d gone to sleep.

Still trapped.

Ignition had taken it personally.

Alice, sitting cross-legged on the couch with a soda, chin in her hands, watching him methodically attempt to bully the room into submission.

Again.

He’d already checked every wall panel for seams. Knocked on them in a grid pattern. Pried at the corners. Tested the ceiling. The floor. The bed frame. The fridge. The lamps. He even climbed onto the bed at one point to test the upper molding, only to hop down again with a frustrated huff.

“Nothing,” he muttered for the third time. “No hollow points. No seams. No mana flow. It’s like the room is… complete.”

The walls didn’t even creak.

Ignition planted his feet, rolled his shoulders, and drove a fist into the far wall with enough **** to crater a normal building.

The wall did not notice.

“Still invulnerable,” Alice said helpfully.

Ignition growled under his breath and wiped sweat off his brow with the hem of his shirt. Heat shimmered faintly around him as he paced, muscles flexing with every irritated step.

“Okay,” he muttered. “Okay. New angle.”

He pressed both palms flat against the wall and pushed.

Hard.

His back and arms bunched, veins standing out, shoulders straining as he poured controlled fire and raw strength into it. The air warmed. The carpet near his feet smoked slightly.

The wall remained politely unmoved.

Ignition finally stepped back, breathing heavier now, skin slick with sweat, chest rising and falling as he cursed quietly under his breath.

Alice’s brain, traitor that it was, chose that exact moment to notice.

The sweat.

The muscles.

The way the light caught on his nearly pitch-black skin, highlighting every ridiculous contour like he was posing for some absurd adventurer fitness calendar.

Her gaze lingered.

Then lingered longer.

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

Oh no.

She looked away fast, cheeks heating.

Gods. I’m staring. I’m staring like a gross old man at the beach.

She took a loud, very obvious sip of her soda.

Ignition straightened and wiped his brow with his forearm. “Any ideas?”

She snapped her eyes away so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash and squeaked, actually squeaked.

“I what? No. None. Zero ideas. Totally empty brain.” She waved vaguely. “Just… appreciating the, uh. Structural integrity.”

Ignition blinked. “…From the couch are you okay?”

“Great!” she said too fast. “Fantastic. Never better. Not thinking weird thoughts at all.”

He stared at her for a second, then snorted despite himself. “Right. Of course.”

He stared at her.

She stared back.

“…I asked Dice,” Ignition added carefully. “Politely.”

Alice perked up. “And?”

He grimaced. “He said he ‘can’t break the rules just because he likes us,’ and that he’s ‘already showing an irresponsible amount of favoritism.’”

Alice groaned and flopped backward against the couch cushions. “Of course he did.”

“Then he told me to ‘enjoy the amenities’ and hung up.”

She buried her face in a pillow. “I hate him.”

Ignition sighed and leaned against the wall, rolling his shoulders. Sweat glistened there too.

Alice peeked through her fingers.

Dammit.

Her face went red again. She slapped the pillow over her head. “Why is he so hot” she muttered into the fabric. “Why am I like this.”

Ignition chuckled despite himself, the sound warm and tired. “Like what?”

She popped back up, pointing accusingly at him. “Stop being so… sweaty and ho- heroic. It’s distracting.”

He blinked. Then his ears turned pink.

“I was just trying to break the room,” he said defensively.

“Well,” she said, waving her hands, “you’re breaking something. Just not the walls.”

There was a beat.

Then he laughed. shoulders shaking a little. “Okay. That helps. A little.”

She smiled despite herself.

They were still trapped. The room was still impossible. Dice was still a menace.

Alice leaned back into the couch, soda balanced on her knee, and sighed.

“Yeah.” He sighed, then shrugged. “At least I’m stuck here with you.”

Her chest warmed at that, embarrassingly so.

“…Same,” she admitted.

The room, luxurious and infuriatingly unbreakable, remained exactly as it was.

And despite the circumstances, despite Dice, despite the impossible walls

Alice found herself thinking that being trapped here with Ignition wasn’t the worst fate she could imagine.

Even if she really, really needed to stop staring at his butt.

The next day drifted by more gently.

If you could call it a “day” at all.

The room adjusted its lighting on some internal schedule, brightening and dimming in ways that felt vaguely respectful of circadian rhythms, even if there was no sun to obey. After a surprisingly pleasant afternoon of doing absolutely nothing productive except talking, eating, and very pointedly not thinking about the task board, Alice found herself pacing near the System panel with her hands on her hips.

“Okay,” she said, squinting at her interface. “New plan.”

Ignition looked up from the counter, where he was slicing sandwiches. “That tone worries me.”

“It shouldn’t,” she said quickly. “This is a smart plan.”

That worried him more.

Alice flicked her panel open and pulled up the cash shop, scrolling with focused intensity. “I’m thinking… temperature shock.”

He paused mid-slice. “Explain.”

“So,” she said, waving one hand while navigating menus with the other, “the walls don’t respond to ****, mana, or heat alone. But if we rapidly alternate extremes, freeze and then heat, heat and then freeze, it might create stress fractures. Even if it’s system-grade material.”

Ignition considered that. “I didn't know about that.”

“I know,” she said smugly. “I paid attention sometimes.”

She found what she was looking for and tapped confirm before she could second-guess herself.

[Skill Acquired: Basic Ice Manipulation]

[Rank: F]

[Note: This skill requires manual practice and refinement.]

“…Oh,” Alice said, blinking at the description. “That’s… humbling.”

Ignition snorted. “Welcome to real magic.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, then held out her hand experimentally. Her brow furrowed in concentration.

Nothing happened.

She frowned harder.

A second later, a small clink sounded as a single ice cube plopped into her soda.

She stared at it.

Then grinned like she’d just discovered fire.

“I did it!”

Ignition leaned over to look, eyebrow raised. “You made… one ice cube.”

“On purpose,” she corrected. “That’s control.”

She tried again.

Two more cubes formed, a little lopsided but solid enough. She dropped them into her drink, took a sip, and sighed happily. “Okay. Worth it already.”

Lunch ended up being thick, warm sandwiches Ignition had thrown together with alarming competence. Fresh bread, roasted meat, melted cheese, something herby she didn’t recognize but immediately loved.

Alice ate cross-legged on the couch, wings out but tucked in, occasionally pausing to add another ice cube to her drink just because she could.

Ignition watched her from across the low table. “You’re enjoying that a lot.”

“I paid points for it,” she said. “I’m getting my money’s worth.”

After they finished eating, she hopped up and approached the far wall again, this time with a thoughtful expression instead of dread.

“Okay,” she said. “So here’s the idea. You heat it. Not full berserker, just controlled. I freeze it immediately after. We repeat.”

Ignition studied the wall, then nodded. “Worth a try.”

She pressed her palm to the surface, focusing. Cold gathered slowly, visibly this time, frost creeping outward in a pale bloom. It took effort. Her shoulders tensed. Her breath fogged.

“Okay,” she said through her teeth. “Now.”

Ignition stepped in, placing his hand beside hers. Heat radiated out, careful but intense, steam hissing as ice met fire.

The wall… shimmered.

Not cracked.

Not broken.

But for the first time since they’d been trapped

It reacted.

They both froze.

“Did you see that,” Alice whispered.

Ignition nodded, eyes fixed on the spot. “Yeah.”

The wall settled again, smooth and smug as ever.

Alice leaned back against the couch, breathless but grinning. “Okay. So. Not an instant win.”

“But not nothing,” Ignition said, clearly energized. “If we keep at it ”

“We might annoy it into giving up,” she finished.

He smiled. “Or Dice.”

She groaned. “I don’t know which is harder.”

Alice glanced down at her hand, still faintly cold, then at Ignition, who was already rolling his shoulders like he was ready for round two.

They lost track of time after that.

Alice practiced until her hands ached and her wings were dusted with frost more often than feathers. The Basic Ice Manipulation skill stopped feeling like an insult and started feeling like a tool. She learned how to pull the cold inward instead of pushing it out. How to let it bloom naturally instead of forcing it.

By the second day, she could coat her arms and legs in a thin sheath of ice without freezing herself solid.

By the third, she figured out how to let that cold spread.

Not explosively. Not dramatically.

Just enough.

A touch that lingered, she called it crawling chill.

When she struck the wall now, frost spiderwebbed outward from the impact point, clinging stubbornly even after Ignition followed up with heat.

They also experimented with gear.

Alice, cheeks burning, let Ignition try out a few of the weapons she’d bought with her father’s money. She hated the reminder of where they’d come from, but she trusted Ignition with them more than she trusted herself.

Sun’s Fury came first.

He didn’t swing it like a berserker. He tested it. Felt the way it drank in the ambient warmth of the room, the way the blade hummed softly as Solar Pulse charged with each measured strike.

When he finally released it, the burst of radiant heat washed over the wall in a controlled flare, bright enough that Alice had to shield her eyes.

No crack.

But the wall noticed.

Jackal’s Grin came next.

Ignition kinda liked it.

The blade left a faint afterimage every time he moved, a ghostly echo that lagged half a heartbeat behind his swing. There was something hungry about it. Something patient.

They went back to the plan.

Freeze.

Heat.

Freeze again.

Over and over.

They stared at the same section of wall until Alice swore she could see it when she closed her eyes.

And then, on the third day, it happened.

Not a dramatic shatter.

Not a boom.

Just

A tiny, traitorous tick.

Ignition froze mid-swing.

“Did you ” he started.

Alice was already there, face inches from the wall, fingers trembling as she brushed frost away.

There.

A hairline fracture.

So small it would’ve been invisible if they hadn’t been obsessively watching for one.

But it was real.

Alice let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“We can do it,” Ignition said, awe creeping into his voice. “We can actually break free.”

She nodded.

She should have been happy.

Triumphant.

Relieved.

Instead, something in her chest twisted painfully.

Because the moment stretched.

And she realized that this might end.

That the room would open.

The task board would vanish.

Dice would laugh and shove them back into the dungeon like nothing had happened.

And this strange, perfect, terrifying little world where it had just been the two of them

Would be over.

Her throat tightened.

Ignition noticed immediately.

“Alice?” he asked gently. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

She swallowed. Hard.

“I… I know this is stupid,” she said, voice too quiet. “We’re trapped. This isn’t real life. We should want to leave.”

He didn’t interrupt.

“But this week,” she continued, hands curling into the fabric of her gloves, still faintly cold from magic, “has been one of the best weeks of my life.”

Ignition’s expression softened.

She laughed weakly.

She looked down.

“And I hate that part of me is sad because…” She hesitated, then blurted it out before she could lose her nerve. “Because the stupid task board made me think about things I wasn’t ready to think about.”

He didn’t flinch.

“About family,” she added. “About… futures.”

Her voice cracked.

“I was born from a one-night stand,” she said quietly. “I know that doesn’t define me, but it’s hard not to think about it sometimes. And now my brain won’t shut up and I keep thinking what if what if I never get to ”

She stopped herself, horrified at how close she was to crying.

Ignition stepped closer.

Not crowding.

Just present.

“Alice,” he said softly, “you don’t have to decide anything. Not now.”

She nodded, tears threatening.

“I know,” she whispered. “I do. I just ” She laughed shakily. “I didn’t expect to feel like this.”

He reached out, resting his forehead against hers.

“I didn’t either,” he admitted.

They stood there together, the cracked wall behind them.

Alice didn’t give herself time to think.

She surged forward and kissed him.

It was quick, reckless, **** her hands fisting in his shirt, her lips brushing his just long enough to steal his breath before she pulled back again, eyes blazing.

“I want to have your child," she blurted, words tumbling out raw and unfiltered. “I know it’s insane and fast and probably the most impulsive thing I’ve ever said but I don’t care, I don’t care, I just ”

Ignition didn’t let her finish.

He kissed her back.

Harder this time.

Alice made a small sound of surprise as he caught her, hands firm at her waist, lifting her like she weighed nothing. The world narrowed to heat and breath and the way his forehead pressed to hers between kisses, grounding her even as everything inside her felt like it was spinning apart.

They broke just long enough for him to look at her.

Really look.

“Alice,” he said, voice rough, steady beneath it all. “Are you sure?”

She laughed, breathless and bright and almost giddy, hands framing his face.

She kissed him again, softer this time. Slower.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips, like it was the simplest truth in the world.

Something in Ignition’s expression gave like a dam finally cracking.

He carried her to the bed without another word,

“I love you too,” he said quietly, forehead resting against hers.

Alice giggled, the sound half-laugh, half-sob, arms looping around his neck. “This is ridiculous,” she murmured. “We’re ridiculous.”

Ignition leaned down and pulled aside her panties with a finger as he parted her pussy lips with his tongue.

Alice moaned as Ignition's tongue explored her cunt, making her legs shake with excitement and anticipation. His massive 12-inch long, thick black cock lay against her thigh, leaving a wet trail of pre-cum on her skin.

Ignition's hand slipped between them, teasingly stroking along the shaft of his cock before sliding back up to stroke her cock again. She couldn't help but whimper in pleasure, arching her back as he worked his magic on her sensitive flesh. "Ignition... please," she whispered, reaching down to guide his cock towards her. "I need you inside me now."

He groaned, pulling away pussy juice still trailing down his chin from her cunt long

enough to position himself at her entrance.

Ignition buried himself deep inside her, filling her up completely. As if his size wasn't enough, his sheer girth stretched her walls even further, bringing tears to her eyes from the intense sensation. She threw her head back, feeling every inch of him inside her as he began to move, slowly at first but picking up speed as they both became lost in their lust.

His hands roamed over her body, tracing patterns on her skin as he pushed deeper into her with each stroke.

Alice cried out his name, arching her back and meeting his thrusts with enthusiastic moans. The room echoed with their primal cries as they lost themselves. As she felt the first climax building inside her, Alice begged him to let her cum, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she writhed beneath him. With one last powerful thrust, Ignition drove his cock deep inside her and held still, groaning as he felt her cunt clenching around his cock in ecstasy. Their eyes locked as they both reached their peak, crying out each other's names in unison.

Ignition's towering black cock plunged deeper into Alice's cunt, making her gasp as he filled her completely. He didn't stop there; he continued to thrust his hips, missing no inch of her well-fucked pussy as he drove his enormous member in and out at a rapid pace. She felt herself getting close again, moaning his name as she reached for that next climax.

Her fingers curled into the sheets as she pushed against the bed, unable to resist the powerful thrusts coming from behind her. Ignition slammed his hips into her again and again, each stroke deeper and harder than the last. It felt as though his cock was reaching places She didn't even know she had; it was blissful **** that only made her crave more.

With a guttural groan, Ignition pulled nearly all the way out before slamming back in with bone-rattling ****, his thick shaft stretching her walls beyond their limits. Her pussy clamped down on him involuntarily, milking him for every drop of cum he had to give.

He held her legs up in the air by her ankles, keeping her pussy tightly anchored around his cock., guiding his length in and out of her snug canal. The sensation was intense; she felt herself getting closer and closer to the edge again.

Alice let out a series of high-pitched moans as Ignition's hips crashed against her, claiming her body as his own. She could feel his cum filling her up, flowing from his cock and into her eager pussy. But still, he didn't stop. He kept fucking her, harder and faster than ever before.

In the end, she exploded around him, her pussy milking his cock even more as she released wave after wave of orgasmic pleasure. Ignition followed her over the edge, letting out a long, low groan as he came another thick creamy load inside her cunt.

They both collapsed in a puddle of sweat and satisfaction, Ignition's still-hard cock slowly slipping out of Alice's sated pussy. He pulled her close, burying his face in her neck as they both caught their breath. Alice could feel his cum dripping out of her, a warm sensation between her legs that only served to remind her of the experience they'd just shared.

They lay tangled together afterward, limbs heavy, breath slow, the heat between them ebbing into something warm and quiet.

Ignition kept her close, forehead pressed against her temple, one arm wrapped firmly around her waist like he was afraid she might drift away if he let go. Alice felt pleasantly boneless, every thought fuzzy and bright at the same time.

For a long moment, neither of them moved.

Then Alice blinked.

“…Hey,” she murmured.

Ignition hummed in response, too relaxed to open his eyes. “Mm?”

She craned her neck just enough to look past him.

The task board still glowed softly on the far wall.

Unchanged.

Task 7 of 7: Impregnation

Status: Incomplete

Alice stared at it.

Then she laughed.

It came out weak and breathless and utterly delighted.

Ignition cracked one eye open. “What?”

She turned back to him, grinning like the world’s most exhausted schoolgirl. “Well,” she said, voice still warm and unsteady, “looks like it didn’t take.”

His brow furrowed. “…Oh.”

She giggled and poked his chest lightly. “Guess that means we’re gonna have to keep trying.”

There was a beat.

Then Ignition laughed too, low and incredulous, pulling her closer again. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I guess we are.”

Ignition moved back on top of Alice, pinning her to the bed beneath him. He wrapped his powerful arms around her, holding her tightly as he began to thrust his hips again. His cock plunged deep into her womb.

With each powerful thrust, he felt her walls gripping him tighter, urging him to go deeper. She moaned into his mouth as they kissed passionately, their tongues dancing together.

As he continued to fuck her, he moved one of his hands down to her lower back, gripping her firmly. With the other hand, he reached between them to play with her cock, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her entire body.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours until finally.

She screamed his name, her nails digging into his shoulders as she came again, her pussy clenching around his cock. He felt himself getting close too, unable to hold back any longer.

With a final, powerful thrust, Ignition unleashed his jizz deep inside her womb, Alice locked her legs around his waist as he filled her up completely, groaning as he felt his cum pumping into her. They stayed locked together, their bodies moving in perfect sync as they rode out their shared orgasms.

Once they'd caught their breath, they lay entwined, Ignition's cock still inside her. They shared another long, passionate kiss before drifting off to sleep, their hearts beating as one.

The next day was much the same.

Alice was bent over the armrest of the couch with Ignition's hips pistoned back and forth, driving his dark cock in and out of Alice's slick wet cunt. He loved the way she moaned and writhed beneath him, her butt jiggling with each powerful breeding thrust.

He moved one of his hands to grip her firmly by the hips, using the other to pinch and tweak her nipples. She cried out in mixed pleasure and pain, her cunt clamping down on his cock tighter than before.

"You're so fucking tight Alice," he growled, leaning down to nip at her neck.

She groaned, arching her back towards him. "Don't stop," she begged. "Please."

He increased the pace, slamming into her from behind. Her pussy was slick with her own arousal, and he could feel her cunt walls pulsing around him. He knew he was close - he could feel it.

With one last powerful thrust shoving his cock all the way down to the base and slamming her face into the couch cushions, he unloaded his jizz into Alice's womb. her pussy clamping down on his cock in a vice-like grip. He felt the hot rush of cum filling cunt.

They stayed locked together for several long moments, Alice drooling mindlessly into the couch cushion, their bodies trembling. Finally, Ignition pulled out of her, spilling a stream of their mixed fluids onto the couch.

"I guess we should clean that up," he said, chuckling.

Alice rolled over onto her back, panting heavily. "We have plenty of time."

As they moved to the kitchen counter, Ignition's playful side emerged. He spun Alice around, lifting her by the waist so that her plump ass was up in the air. She gasped as he thrust his thick cock back into her soaking wet cunt from behind.

He slapped her ass cheeks, leaving a fiery sting that only added to the heat already burning inside of her. Alice cried out, arching her back in pleasure-pain.

Ignition loved the way she felt, moaning and writhing. He reached around, jerking her cock as he continued to pound into her. Alice's cunt clamped down on his cock tight as her cock squirted.

Ignition continued using her like that for long agonizing minutes not letting Alice catch her breath just sending her into orgasm after orgasm.

Her warmth and wetness drove him to the edge. He pulled out of her suddenly, shooting his hot load all over her back and the kitchen counter, As his jizz flooding out of her cunt and squirting out onto the countertop.

It was a long day ahead, but neither of them could think about anything but each other's bodies entwined. They were addicted to the rush of pleasure that only each other could give them.

As the day drew to a close, Alice found herself on her knees In front of Ignition. He was already hard again, his massive black cock straining against his pants. She could feel the anticipation building as she slowly undid his belt and lowered his pants for what must have been at least the fifth time that day.

His cock sprang free, thick and unyielding. It towered over her face, the head almost touching her chin. She took a deep breath, Inhaling his scent and bracing herself for the onslaught of sensation she knew was coming. Slowly, she lowered her mouth over the crown of his cock and took him deep into her throat.

Ignition groaned, his hands grasping her hair and holding her in place. Alice could feel the veins in his cock pulsing as he thrust up into her buzzing mouth. She worked her tongue around the thick shaft, tasting his pre-cum as she sucked him deeper.

Her nose touched his smooth pubic mound with each bob of her head, but she didn't care. She was addicted to this feeling of having his massive cock stuffed down her throat. As she slid her lips up and down his shaft, she could hear him moaning, growing more **** for her.

Finally, she felt him pulse, thick ropes of hot jizz filling her mouth. She couldn't swallow it all, so she spilled some down her chin and onto the carpet as she deep-throated his heavy loads. Ignition pulled her off him, his fingers trailing over her lips and chin, covered in his own essence.

"You're incredible," he breathed, his eyes filled with awe. And then he leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips not carrying the least about her current cum soaked state. Alice responded eagerly, her own arousal spiking again at his touch. They were lost in each other.

Time blurred.

Days folded into each other in that impossible room where hunger never bit too hard, exhaustion never quite won, and the outside world might as well have stopped existing. The task board loomed, patient and smug, unchanged for far longer than Alice expected.

They tried.

A lot.

Enough that Alice lost count somewhere around the point her muscles started protesting in ways she hadn’t known were possible. Enough that Ignition started joking that this dungeon had finally found a way to kill him, and Alice laughed until she couldn’t breathe.

It was intense. Embarrassing. Ridiculous.

And somehow… joyful.

Between attempts, they talked. About everything. About nothing. About what kind of parents they might be if this worked. About names they absolutely hated. About how Dice was definitely enjoying this too much.

Alice learned very quickly that this was, in fact, the most strenuous “training regimen” she had ever subjected her body to. She burned through stamina like she was speed-running a combat trial, collapsed into Ignition’s arms more times than she could count, and woke up sore in places she didn’t know existed.

Ignition, for his part, treated the whole thing with a mix of fierce determination and gentle care, constantly checking in, constantly making sure she was okay. When she laughed it off, he relaxed. When she didn’t, he slowed everything down.

It felt like choosing each other, over and over.

Still.

The task board didn’t change.

Alice lay sprawled on the bed one evening, staring at the ceiling, legs splayed uselessly, pussy utterly wrecked.

“…Okay,” she said weakly. “Either this is the world’s cruelest joke, or I really don’t understand how this works.”

Ignition, propped beside her, brushed hair off her face. “We can stop,” he said immediately. “Anytime. I meant what I said. This isn’t ”

“No,” she said, smiling tiredly. “I want this. I just… might be the dumbest girl alive.”

That was when the System chimed.

Soft. Polite.

Inescapable.

A familiar panel unfolded above the task board.

[STATUS UPDATE]

Alice blinked.

Ignition sat up.

The text resolved slowly, dramatically, like Dice was savoring it.

[PREGNANCY CONFIRMED]

Alice froze.

Her brain… stopped.

Ignition stopped breathing for a full second.

Then the next line appeared.

[Dice: Congratulations!]

Alice stared.

Then stared harder.

Her hands flew to her mouth.

“I wait what?” she whispered.

Ignition’s voice came out hoarse. “Alice?”

Another line popped in.

[Dice: For the record, you did not need to conduct a two-week endurance trial.]

Alice groaned faintly. “Oh my gods.”

[Dice: Pregnancy does not require constant repetition once the condition is met. It’s biology, not a loot drop just takes a bit to fully take.]

She buried her face in the pillow. “I thought it was… cumulative.”

Ignition blinked. Then laughed. Once. Then again, louder, disbelieving, until he had to lean forward, forehead dropping against her shoulder.

Alice peeked up at him, mortified.

“I didn’t know,” she said. “I really didn’t.”

He shook his head, still laughing softly, and pulled her into his arms. “Hey,” he said, voice thick. “That doesn’t matter.”

She felt his hand settle over her stomach, tentative, reverent.

“I’m… really pregnant?” she asked, voice trembling now that the words were real.

[Dice: As real as it gets.]

The task board flashed.

Task 7 of 7: Impregnation

[COMPLETE]

The room hummed.

The far wall shimmered.

The door reappeared.

Whole. Open. Waiting.

Neither of them looked at it.

Alice turned in Ignition’s arms, pressing her forehead to his chest, laughing and crying at the same time.

“We did it,” she whispered. “We actually ”

Ignition hugged her tighter.

“We’re a family,” he said quietly, like he was testing the word for the first time.

She nodded against him. “Yeah.”

The door stayed open.

Dice didn’t rush them.

For a long moment, they just stood there, holding each other in that impossible room, the reality settling in slowly and gently.

They’d started something real.

Together.

They took a moment.

One last look at the room that had somehow become theirs.

Then Alice squared her shoulders, Ignition laced his fingers with hers, and together they stepped through the doorway.

The dungeon rushed back in like cold water.

Stone. Sand. Mana pressure. The familiar hum of danger lurking just out of sight.

And about ten feet away

A small camp.

A neat one.

A bedroll. A low mana lantern. A kettle steaming quietly. And Veyra, seated cross-legged on a crate, slurping ramen noodles from a paper cup with all the enthusiasm of someone who had long since given up on life.

A floating system panel hovered in front of her, playing a brightly colored cartoon.

She glanced up.

“Oh,” she said, lifting a hand in a lazy wave. “Hey.”

Alice stopped dead.

Ignition stopped dead.

Their hands tightened together in perfect, synchronized panic.

“…Veyra,” Alice said weakly.

“Mm?” Veyra replied, eyes flicking back to her noodles. “You’re back.”

Ignition swallowed. “You’ve been… here?”

Veyra hummed thoughtfully. “Yep.”

A pause.

“How long?” Alice asked.

Veyra tapped the side of her cup with her chopsticks, thinking. “Uh. Little under three weeks? Give or take.”

Alice felt the blood drain from her face.

Ignition’s ears went red all the way up.

“We ” Alice started. “We didn’t mean to ”

“Disappear?” Veyra offered. “Yeah, I figured.” She shrugged, completely unconcerned.

“Dice nonsense.It Happens.”

She took another bite of ramen.

“I set up camp. Farmed a bit. Watched the stream.”

The word hit like a dropped blade.

Alice’s stomach plummeted.

Ignition went very still.

“…The what,” Alice said faintly.

Veyra finally looked up fully, brow creasing just a little. “The stream? You didn’t know?”

Their blood ran cold in unison.

Before either of them could speak, a familiar, infuriating chime echoed through the chamber.

A translucent System panel blossomed into existence between them, cheerful and unapologetic.

[Dice: Oh good! Reunion arc! I love these.]

Alice stared at it.

“No,” she whispered.

Ignition’s jaw clenched. “Dice.”

[Dice: Just for clarity! All Task Rooms are publicly livestreamed.]

Alice’s vision tunneled.

[Dice: Archived, timestamped, replayable, and comment-enabled!]

Ignition slowly turned his head toward Alice.

Alice very deliberately did not look at him.

[Dice: Transparency is important. Builds community.]

Veyra slurped her noodles loudly. “Chat really liked the pizza part,” she added helpfully. “And the ice magic training montage.”

Alice made a strangled noise and snapped her system window open.

The moment it resolved, she regretted it.

Missed Calls: 947

Unread Messages: 2,103

Her mother’s name filled the list like a horror movie jumpscare.

Maria (Mom):

CALL ME

ALICE WHAT DID YOU DO

WHY IS THE INTERNET SAYING YOU’RE PREGNANT

I SWEAR TO GOD IF THIS IS A PRANK

And then

Quin Inspira

Quin Inspira

Quin Inspira

Quin Inspira

So many.

So. Many.

Alice’s hands shook.

She closed the panel without reading another word.

“Nope,” she said firmly, stuffing the panic back down with both hands. “Nope. Not right now. That’s a future Alice problem.”

Ignition squeezed her hand, grounding, steady. “We’ll handle it,” he murmured. “Together.”

She nodded, mortified beyond words. “I’m never going on the internet again.”

Veyra shrugged, unfazed. “If it helps, you’re trending in a mostly positive way.”

Alice whimpered.

Dice’s panel flickered once more.

[Dice: Anyway! Dungeon’s still active. Loot’s still good. And hey congratulations again.]

The panel vanished.

Silence followed.

Veyra finished her ramen, stood, and stretched like she hadn’t just casually witnessed the most emotionally catastrophic reveal of Alice’s life.

“So,” she said, picking up her blade. “You two ready to keep going?”

Alice groaned and buried her face in Ignition’s shoulder.

Ignition sighed, resigned. “Yeah.”

Veyra smirked faintly. “Good. Try not to vanish for a month next time.”

Alice peeked up, mortified. “…No promises.”

A sudden pressure rolled through the dungeon.

Not hostile.

Not violent.

But vast.

The air bloomed with the scent of roses and warm summer rain, utterly out of place amid sand and stone. Mana swelled, soft but overwhelming, like being wrapped in silk and thorns at the same time.

Alice gasped as her System window **** itself open.

Gold-pink petals drifted across her vision.

Then a voice spilled through the interface, flustered and bright and far too excited.

[System Alert · External Override Detected]

Origin: Liliane

Authority Tier: Lesser Goddess

Domain: Love, Devotion, Fertility,

Um hello? Oh! Oh goodness, it worked. Sorry, sorry, I was rehearsing and then I saw the live feed end and right. Focus. Divine composure.

Ahem.

Alice. Mortal girl. Sweet, reckless, impossibly earnest Alice.

I’m Liliane. The Petal-Bound. Goddess of Love. Please don’t bow or anything, I trip over my own vines when people do that and it gets awkward very fast.

I know Dice is watching. Dice is always watching. And I know better than to pretend I can outshine them. Where I tend gardens of longing and broken hearts, Dice flips entire worlds like coins. I bow first. Gladly.

But oh when something tender happens? When love blooms in places it absolutely shouldn’t?

I can’t help myself.

You didn’t plan this. You didn’t optimize it. You didn’t min-max affection or spreadsheet your future.

You chose it.

And now there’s a little spark growing because of that choice.

So I’m stepping in. Just a little. Just enough.

[Divine Skill Granted · Temporary]

Name: Mother’s Aegis

Rank: SS

Type: Passive · Divine Protection

Effect:

While pregnant, the bearer is immune to all damage, status effects, environmental hazards, and **** displacement that could harm the developing child.

This includes (but is not limited to):

Direct physical damage

Mana backlash

Dungeon environmental lethality

Spatial compression or time dilation

Divine, infernal, or systemic collateral effects

Damage that would endanger the child is nullified before resolution.

Duration: Until pregnancy concludes.

Note: This protection does not make the bearer invincible. Harm that affects only the mother may still occur if it poses no risk to the child.

Please don’t try to test the limits. I will cry.

Oh and before I forget

[Divine Favor · Supplemental Blessing]

You have been granted Mother’s Calm.

Minor emotional stabilization. Reduced stress. Enhanced bonding clarity.

Think of it as… a warm hand on your back when things get loud.

Dice is very good at chaos. I’m better at care.

Make space for joy, Alice. You deserve it.

The petals faded.

The pressure lifted.

For a heartbeat, the dungeon was quiet.

Then another panel slid in, overlapping the last, practically vibrating with smug delight.

[Dice:]

Oh this is precious.

An SS-rank divine pregnancy shield. From the rose goddess. Because you speedran romance and decided to start a family in my Task room.

You didn’t need to, by the way. buying a tapeworm off the system shop or something similar would have served just as good to meet the impregnation requirement. But I admire the commitment.

Take the blessing. Enjoy the invulnerability clause. And don’t worry

I’ll make sure everyone knows you earned it the fun way.

Alice just stared at the screen.

Then slowly, she put a hand over her stomach.

Ignition noticed immediately. “Alice?”

She looked up at him, eyes wide, overwhelmed, shining.

“I think,” she said faintly, “a goddess just put bubble wrap on our baby.”

He blinked.

Then, very carefully, he smiled.

“…That’s reassuring.”

Veyra, from her camp, slurped noodles and glanced over. “Huh. Neat.”

Alice laughed, breathless and half-hysterical, half-joyful.

The three of them stood there for a moment longer, the echoes of divinity and Dice’s laughter still hanging in the air like an aftertaste.

Then reality crept back in.

Veyra snapped her ramen cup shut and stretched, joints popping. “Alright,” she said, tone practical as ever. “Now that you’re both… back from whatever that was.” She waved vaguely in the direction of the door they’d emerged from. “What’s the plan?”

Alice blinked, grounding herself. “Plan?”

Ignition crossed his arms, heat rolling lazily off him again now that he wasn’t trying to **** a wall. “We need one. This dungeon isn’t exactly low-risk. And now…” He hesitated, then glanced at Alice’s stomach, expression softening. “…now there’s more to think about.”

Alice nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.”

Veyra leaned back against a pillar, arms folded. “Options, then. We push deeper and get a few levels. We pull out and go back to Earth. Or we divert to the Oasis and regroup.”

“The Oasis would be safer,” Alice said immediately, then winced at herself. “I mean not that I’m fragile or anything. I just ”

Ignition smiled faintly. “You’re allowed to say safer.”

She exhaled. “Thank you.”

“Earth has infrastructure,” Ignition continued thoughtfully. “Doctors. Guild oversight. Less… surprises, But also more attention.”

Alice groaned. “Yeah. Between the livestream and my message inbox exploding, I’m not exactly flying under the radar anymore.”

Veyra snorted. “Understatement. You trended.”

Alice buried her face in her hands. “I want to scream forever.”

“The Oasis,” Veyra said, “is neutral ground. Decent healers. Less politics. More weirdos, but that’s manageable.”

“That was kind of my thought,” Alice said, peeking up. “A pause. Not quitting. Just… breathing.”

Ignition nodded. “I’m okay with that.”

For a moment, it almost felt settled.

Then

BOOM.

The explosion rippled through the dungeon, a distant concussive thud that rattled the stone beneath their feet. Dust shook loose from the ceiling. Somewhere far ahead, something screamed. Or collapsed. Or both.

All three of them snapped to attention.

Veyra’s hand went to her sword instantly. “That wasn’t environmental shift.”

Ignition’s flames flared, controlled but ready. “No. That was a fight. A big one.”

Alice swallowed, heart jumping into her throat. Her System pinged softly, hazard awareness lighting up in the direction of the blast. “That was deeper in. Off the main path.”

Veyra glanced between them. “So. New question.”

She jerked her chin toward the dark corridor.

“Do we mind our own business and leave while we can… or do we go see who’s making that much noise in the dungeon?”

Ignition looked at Alice first, deliberately. “Your call.”

Alice hesitated.

Safety tugged one way. Curiosity and that old, reckless adventurer instinct pulled the other.