Arvin stepped calmly toward Calverd, who was standing in silence among his other spouses.
Realizing his husband was approaching, the indigo-haired youth's feelings suddenly plunged into turmoil. Even though he knew with absolute certainty that the handsome man before him was his husband, the man who had saved him from hell, his body could not lie. His heart always beat wildly.
Arvin stopped right in front of Calverd. He looked at his twelfth spouse's face with a serene gaze, as if trying to soothe the invisible fear enveloping the youth.
"Are you willing to sleep together tonight?" Arvin asked, his voice flowing incredibly softly.
The question left Calverd frozen. He lowered his head, unable to return his husband's gaze. He felt afraid. His mind was not yet ready. However, deep down in his heart, he desperately wanted to sleep in the same bed, to feel the warmth of the pillar of their household.
Seeing Calverd's reaction, still overwhelmed by the fear of sleeping with him, Arvin decided to take a slow approach.
"We will only be sleeping in the same bed, Calverd." Arvin said in a gentle tone, trying to reassure his spouse that everything would be alright. "I won't do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or more afraid of me."
The sentence that should have been relieving instead made Calverd's chest feel tight with guilt.
Even though I want to fight against my trauma, why am I acting like this? Calverd muttered in frustration within his heart, lamenting his fate and fragile mental state. Didn't I promise myself I would fight? Calverd! Wake up! Don't make the person you have chosen to be your life partner feel rejected and hurt!
Seeing his spouse still looking down in silence, Arvin let out a slow sigh. He had no other choice but to give up. He didn't want to force his will upon Calverd's unprepared mind.
"I won't force you." Arvin finally decided, choosing to take a step back. "Tonight, I will sleep with the others."
Arvin turned around. He intended to immediately gather all the beds from all the rooms in this mansion so they could all rest.
From his downward gaze, Calverd saw his husband's feet turn and begin to walk away, slowly disappearing from his field of vision. At that very second, a fear of loss far greater than his trauma seized his heart.
As a result, a fierce conflict raged in his mind. Every time he wanted to accept his husband's invitation, the shadow of his trauma acted like invisible chains forcibly dragging him back.
Why must I keep cowering in the terrifying shadows of the past? Calverd screamed inwardly. I want to break free from this trauma! I must be able to! I don't want to hurt my husband just because of my weakness!
After a highly intense inner turmoil that left him slightly panting, Calverd clenched both his fists tightly, gathering all his courage.
The indigo-haired youth slowly raised his head, looking at his husband's back.
"I am willing!"
That slightly trembling voice instantly stopped Arvin in his tracks. He stood for a moment before finally turning around and looking back at his twelfth spouse's face.
"Are you absolutely certain?" Arvin asked to make sure, not wanting even the slightest bit of coercion in his spouse's decision.
"Yes, I am absolutely certain!" Calverd answered swiftly and straightforwardly. He met his husband's gaze without looking down again, even though inside his chest, his heart was beating incredibly fast.
Hearing the resolve in that answer, a faint smile laden with relief was etched on Arvin's lips.
"Alright then. Wait here for a moment. I will get all the beds from the other rooms and move them into this room."
Arvin then directed one of his hands toward the empty space beside him. The air instantly rustled and distorted, opening a purplish-black gate that connected directly to the second bedroom.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside it.
Inside the expanded bedroom, only Arvin's twelve spouses remained, still standing in their respective positions.
In another corner, Oliver stood frozen, truly astounded to see the gate magic Arvin had just used right before his eyes.
So... the crazy rumors at the academy saying he could use all magic elements weren't just empty talk. Oliver said in amazement in his heart. He really can use space magic from the transparent element so easily.
Just a minute later, a gate appeared. Arvin stepped out and returned to the expanded first bedroom, bringing along three beds he had moved from the other rooms using telekinesis magic.
Feeling tired and wanting to rest immediately, Arvin quickly lowered all the beds. He arranged all the beds neatly in a row, with their edges pressed closely against one another.
However, the arrangement still left gaps between the wooden frames.
Arvin raised his hand once more. Using his alchemy magic, the wood fibers, springs, and bedding layers melted, fused, and reconstructed neatly.
In the blink of an eye, the four previously separated beds had perfectly merged into one enormously large bed, more than enough to be slept on by twenty adults simultaneously without feeling cramped.
However, Arvin did not stop. As he stepped up and laid down in the middle of the incredibly massive bed, something that made all his spouses hold their breath began to happen.
In their eyes, the air suddenly distorted. Five whirlpools manifested out of nowhere, spiraling upward from the floor into the air. Following the whirlpools, five plumes of dense black smoke materialized, coiling around the water currents like guardian serpents.
The whirlpools and the black smoke slowly began to solidify and take shape. As the seconds ticked by, the forms grew more specific, resembling human silhouettes. The water transmuted into skin, while the black smoke condensed into strands of hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, and even clothing.
Until finally, the manifestations perfected. The elements completely transformed into six figures of Arvin Vedegra lying calmly in a row on top of the massive bed. The physical forms and faces of all six were completely identical.
The phenomenon occurring on the bed instantly made all of Arvin's spouses, except for Calverd, who was still trying to suppress his nervousness, and Oliver, who was blanking out from shock, smile widely, full of happiness.
The eyes of all the youths in the room sparkled with emotion because their husband had kept his promise to learn and master the cloning magic they had long dreamed of.
However, despite still feeling happy and amazed by his husband's success, Allen, who was Arvin's first spouse, immediately understood the situation.
Realizing that there were only six figures of Arvin lying down, while their total number was twelve, he quickly took the initiative.
"Alrain and I will sleep with our husband's body in the first row over there at the end." Allen said while looking at the second spouse, inviting Alrain to step together toward the edge of the bed.
"In that case, Alvein and I will sleep with our husband's body in the second row!" Ordion said in an enthusiastic tone. He glanced at the silver-haired Morpher beside him and immediately received a calm nod of agreement from Alvein.
The division flowed naturally and was filled with happiness.
Alrian and Dylan chose to sleep on both sides of Arvin's figure in the third row. Davin and Arion occupied both sides of Arvin's figure in the fourth row, followed by Kaydan and Victor, who laid down on both sides of Arvin's figure in the fifth row.
In just a matter of dozens of seconds, five of Arvin's figures had been accompanied by ten of his spouses, who were now lying down comfortably.
However, on one side of the massive bed, Arvin's figure in the sixth row was still lying alone because only Calverd and Oliver were left standing in silence in their respective positions.