Leaning on the cold, silvery marble railing of the large balcony on which he was standing, Mathias remained thoughtful, dressed in his prestigious scarlet and golden monarch's tunic, his vision lost on the silvery ring set with ornate runes that surrounded now his finger. He gently brushed aside a strand of his long chestnut hair, nonchalantly rubbing his little beard. His gaze then rested on the landscape that presented itself in front of him.

Those silent, white, rocky plains of the moon, on which he now lived, in that magnificent and imposing palace, so high that its tallest towers seemed to touch the stars and so vast that it seemed to contain more than several thousand rooms. And far, far below, so distant and small, was the Lands Between, lands once the realm of the gods but now doomed to gradually adapt to the new age that had just dawned. From now on, mortals and divines would live apart in different worlds, as Ranni had always wished. Thus mortal beings could choose their own path without having to be influenced by selfish and control-hungry deities.

Mathias remembered this crazy and perilous quest which led him to travel through these lands cursed by the destruction of the Elden Ring, and to have to face overpowered entities in order to prove his worth. General Radahn. Malenia, Balde of Miquella. Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. Morgott the Omen King. Praetor Rykard. And many more... Gods and demi-gods, names that had marked history and made entire armies tremble... And yet, Mathias had succeeded, he had accomplished the unthinkable, he a mere mortal, slain and brought back to life as a mere Tarnished, a worthless being, doomed to die again and again in a quest deemed impossible. But he had never given up despite the many failures, and had been able during his quest to gather fragments of memories of his past life... He was called before Mathias Dragmire and had been a soldier, a knight in the service of the royal family.

But during the civil war which pitted the gods against each other, Mathias perished, like many of his fellow mortals in one of the pitiless battles of this conflict. After all, mortals were only good for sacrificing themselves and dying for the cause of such a divine lord...

Mathias let all these memories slowly evaporate from his mind, returning to reality. Now, that was all in the past. He had slain the gods and demigods, and despite his new status designating him worthy to become the new lord of Elden, he had refused, leaving the ring broken and refusing the throne. Instead, Mathias turned to one of the few people who had proven to be an ally on his journey: Ranni, the witch, later revealed to be the princess of the fallen royal family. It was Ranni who had secretly started the civil war between her congeners and then brought about the fall of the kingdom. Hearing these revelations, Mathias had started to be suspicious, seeing that Ranni had deliberately manipulated her family to better destroy them from within. But the princess had revealed something else. From birth, Ranni was destined to be nothing more than a tool for her family, a means to ensure the continuity of the royal lineage and the maintenance of the Greater Will's power over the Lands Between. But Ranni refused to be just a puppet and wanting to be able to choose her own fate, had no choice but to bring about the end of her own family and this order, but also the end of her own divine envelope through a macabre ritual where her physical body was killed and her spirit was transferred into the body of a doll, the body where she now lived.

Mathias remained pensive on this subject. Although Ranni acted both out of selfishness and a desire for freedom, he couldn't entirely blame her. Despite this, the young knight had remained faithful to the fallen princess, seeing that she did not wish the annihilation of all life either, but on the contrary, to be able to ensure the beginning of a new era. And finally, the fidelity of Mathias was rewarded because he ends up becoming the husband of Ranni who chooses him as her chosen one, the one who by her side, would help her to build this new world.

Moon lord and married to a demigoddess? Mathias would never have thought he would experience this, in his past life, or in this one. Fate sometimes turned out to be one hell of a joker.

Leaving the balcony and returning to the interior of the palace, he left the large living room to climb the long marble spiral staircases leading him directly to the royal quarters. On his way, the young lord passed several guards, imposing knights in full armor, their heads hidden under helmets, and all parted respectfully to let the young lord pass. Mathias still had a bit of mistrust towards these guards, having had to fight some of them in the Lands Between when he was still only a Tarnished and therefore, a prey for them.

Finally, he arrived at a large carved wooden door which he opened, leading him directly into a large bedroom with frescoed walls, the floor covered with a fine and pleasant white carpet, and in the background, a four-poster bed, so wide that a dozen people could sleep in it without any problem.

Mathias' gaze immediately fell on the small desk, in front of which sat Ranni, who had obviously finished writing in a book. He didn't want to disturb her and looked at her for a few moments. She was still so beautiful, dressed in her big white dress as dazzling as the moon, her big witch hat covering her head and shoulders, her face both so cold and angelic at the same time, this skin of an icy blue so soft...

_"You're starting again." she finally said, breaking the silence.

_ "Hmm? What?" replied Mathias, coming back to reality.

_ "You're staring at me again without saying any word." Ranni then added, turning to him, without an accusatory tone towards him.

_"Forgive me..." laughed Mathias softly, a little embarrassed and scratching the back of his head. "It's just...try to put yourself in my shoes? Me, a mere mortal, married to a gorgeous princess like you. No one could stay insensible to your beauty."

Ranni smiled slightly and chuckled softly as she saw him blushing and trying to justify himself.

_ "You're still trying to make me blush." she said, closing the book and putting it in the pile next to it. "But it won't work."

Mathias casually shook his head. Ranni got up from the chair and walked over to the big bed where she was sitting. Mathias then saw that her face became more closed, more pensive, more... melancholy. Perplexed but eager to support his wife, Mathias came to sit beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

_ "Are you okay? Tell me what's bothering you."

_ "It's just that..." Ranni confessed, taking his hand in hers, touching their wedding rings together. "Even though we have succeeded in undoing the order that ruled the Lands Between, we have consequently unleashed the wrath of the Greater Will. Sooner or later it will come for us and try again to impose its power over our lives, our destinies. And that, I can not conceive it. I was the only one to have seen clearly in its game, but my brothers and sisters, my family and my people remained blind and deaf to my explanations. They refused to see what I really saw. Because of this Will, I had no choice but to sacrifice everything I knew."

Ranni was strong, but Mathias also felt doubt gnawing at her, and he understood very well. He knew nothing of this Great Will of which the gods sometimes spoke, and which apparently would be at the very origin of creation. Ranni then looked Mathias in the eyes with a certain shame.

_ "I know that I manipulated everyone, that I caused the end of an age, but I had to do it. I couldn't let this power reign any longer." she affirmed.

_ "And you did well." Mathias then asked her, coming to kiss her hand. "Sometimes we are forced to sully our own soul for causes that are close to our hearts. As long as we don't forget who we are deep down inside, that's the main thing. Me anyway, I know who you are, Ranni, and that's why I fell in love with you and made the decision to stay by your side forever."

Ranni listened to these comforting and lovely words coming from her dear knight. He who had done so much for her and had never hesitated. She felt ashamed for manipulating him at first, but little by little she finally developed real feelings for him. When he put this ring on her finger, she knew he was her chosen one. Faced with Mathias' words, Ranni couldn't hold back a smile, and also her cheeks from blushing gently, which made her even more adorable. Mathias chuckled then.

_"Ah, you're blushing. I won." he said in a mocking but not mean tone.

Suddenly, he was interrupted by the coming of Ranni's lips to his, in a short but very sincere kiss.

_ "Thank you... my dear lord..." she said tenderly.

Mathias blushed in turn, but carried away by his desire for her, placed his hand behind her head, drawing her into a new kiss, more intense but just as loving. Ranni moaned in surprise at first but didn't try to push it away, letting herself be carried in the longer kiss and indulging herself in the pleasure, removing her hat which she dropped on the floor and wrapping her four arms around the body and neck of the young man, running her hands through his hair. The kiss lasted for long seconds, becoming more sensual as they went, until they had to catch a breath. Their faces close to each other, looking at each other with love and desire, they understood each other without needing to express a single word. They both wanted it and any self-respecting marriage had to be celebrated with a honeymoon.

While kissing, the couple began to undress, helping each other, dropping all their clothes on the carpet at the foot of the bed. Little by little, Mathias was able to admire Ranni's tall, slender body, so perfect, worthy of an angelic sculpture. Both naked now looked at each other without shame. Ranni approached, with her fingertips brushing the many scars that adorned the knight's chest, arms and back, testimonies of the many battles he had fought during his quest. Mathias ran his hand over Ranni's skin, very gently caressing her arms, then her breasts, making her quiver gently with pleasure. Her skin was as soft as porcelain.

Mathias then took Ranni in his arms like a bride, which made her giggle softly and delicately came and put her on the big bed on which she lay down with her whole body, throwing teasing glances at the young man so that he comes quickly to join her. Smiling and teasing too, Mathias crawled towards her, coming on top of her, their bodies touching, embracing again and kissing with love and passion for long seconds. After the lips, Mathias came and smooched Ranni's neck, making her gloat with pleasure as she continued to rub against him. Mathias came back to kiss Ranni on the lips again, finding them so soft and captivating, like everything else about her.

Ranni moaned as Mathias caressed one of the breasts very gently, then he began to drop kisses gradually down her stomach, making her giggle again, and descending downwards. Mathias slowly spread Ranni's legs, which she let him do, and then she moaned louder when she felt the young man kiss her groin very gently while stroking her thighs. Ranni closed her eyes, her head tilted back and indulging in the pleasure.

_ "Oh my..." she moaned.

Shortly after, Mathias came back to lean over her, ready to take the next step. He didn't hide his nervousness, because he couldn't hide that it was his first time. Ranni guessed it and she reassured him with her look, because she too was going to savor this experience for the first time, but trusted him completely not to hurt her. She wanted to know what it felt like, and doing it with a man she herself had chosen to love and not through an arranged marriage only made her want to do it even more.

_"Are you sure?" Mathias then asked.

She said nothing, just nodded gently with a smile and a loving gaze. She accepted her fate and gasped as she felt Mathias very gently enter her, piercing her virginity. The pain was present, but also a feeling of pleasure that she had never felt before. Ranni didn't cry, staying strong despite the feeling. Once inside her and in position on top of her, their bodies pressed against each other, Mathias and she looked into each other's eyes and both got used to this new feeling for a few moments.

_"You're okay?" asked the young man.

Ranni smiled at her again and placed a small kiss on her lips as a first response.

_ "Make love to me, my lord." she whispered tenderly. "May the moon and the stars be witness, and may the seed that will sprout from our union be the founding pillar that will ensure the new era."

Mathias smiled at these words then began to move in a steady rhythm but not too hard. Ranni gasped and moaned again in pleasure as the sensation returned even stronger than before. Her four arms wrapped around Mathias' body, clinging almost like a spider. While making love, their lips met in more passionate kisses. After the kisses, Ranni buried her face in Mathias's shoulder, snuggling up against him, as if to be even closer to him, and nibbling on his earlobe.

The carnal act continued in the most palpable and sincere pleasure, and finally, in a final orgasm, Ranni felt Mathias's seed entering her. Mathias then stepped back, carefully withdrawing from her and came to lie down next to her. Both were exhausted, panting, their bodies covered in sweat, but the joy was there. Ranni came to snuggle up to Mathias, resting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

_ "By all that exist in the universe, it was..." Ranni began.

_"Divine." finished Mathias.

The two shared a small laugh together and lay there together, catching a few moments of breath and enjoying the moment.

Feeling fatigue taking hold of them, the couple pulled the blanket over them. Not wanting to fall asleep right away, the couple remained snuggled up against each other, sometimes looking out the bedroom windows at the star-studded sky as far as the eye could see.

_"From now on, no will, even divine, can undo what unites us." Ranni commented.

_ "We'll be ready when the time comes." Mathias then told her, more confident now.

The couple smiled at each other, kissing tenderly for a last little kiss, before falling asleep together, lulled by this hope and this new future which was being forged before them and of which they were the founders. The age of the moon lords.