Chapter 2248: Authority of Universe’s First Goddess. "What do you mean?" Shadow frowned, even though she wanted to explain herself, Felberta’s words attracted her attention. And Felberta— "Allura." She said a name. "Can you look into her mind and see if she is hiding something from us?" "Huh...?" Shadow blinked slowly, still half wrapped in sheets, still trying to drag her thoughts out of sleep. And when the meaning of those words finally reached her— "Read her mind...?" She repeated in a low, uncertain voice. For a moment, the entire room went quiet. Shadow’s eyes moved from Felberta to the others. Aeliana’s stare was sharp. Lyriana’s eyes looked cold enough to cut. Skyla leaned forward like she was about to explode with curiosity. Even Lane, who usually kept her tone calm, looked somewhat tense. Shadow sat up slightly, pulling the black silk higher. Of course, the women didn’t care about these people looking at her naked body— in fact, if the mood was any lighter, she would have jumped on them naked just to annoy them. But right now, she could sense the strange solemnity in the mood—solemnity so strong that even she didn’t feel like it was the right moment to pull a stunt like that. Therefore, she held back her urges and levelled herself with the rest of the room. "I... don’t usually do that," She muttered with an uncertain look on her face. Felberta didn’t say anything; she just watched her. Almost as if she was giving Shadow time to correct herself. But Shadow didn’t give in. She *couldn’t* give in. "It crosses a boundary," She tried to explain herself. "I don’t like stepping into someone’s head unless I have to." And for a moment, it seemed like what she was saying made sense— that it *would* work and the women would listen to Shadow and drop the idea. But then— "Don’t think we forgot what you did to Sharnoth." Amaya’s cold voice cut through the silence and in an instant— Shadow froze. Her eyes widened a little, as if trying to recall what Amaya was talking about. Then, when her still sleepy mind finally made the link, her gaze shifted away. And slowly... she rubbed the back of her head, as if her skull itself was uncomfortable under that sentence. "...Ah." The guilt was obvious. She tried to smile. It came out sheepish. "That was... a mistake," Shadow said, like she was confessing to stealing sweets, not breaking a rule inside the family. Then, she used the method that worked all the time— smiling brightly and acting cute. "I mean, you know what kind of situation she had put me into, I had no oth—" "Enough." Amaya waved her hand as if she was swatting away smoke. "I don’t care." Her dark black eyes narrowed. "Do what you are told." She ordered in her same cold voice and— Shadow’s smile died. She did not like being ordered around like that. But at the same time, Amaya’s tone made her realize that the situation was much more serious than she previously believed. She frowned, then, instead of Amaya—who clearly seemed on edge—she glanced at Felberta instead. "Why?" She asked. "Why do you want me to do this?" "She seems to be hiding something," Felberta answered in a simple manner. Shadow stared at her for a moment and then— "...And you want to read her mind because of that?" She raised an eyebrow. "Yes," Felberta, however, despite the look Shadow was giving her, did not step back. And Shadow— "Haaaahh..." She exhaled as her body leaned back slightly, eyes half-open, thinking. "Nux didn’t like it last time." She muttered to herself—well, at least that was how she acted. But it was clear she was trying to come up with an excuse and she wanted the women to hear her. Her gaze flickered to Amaya for a second, then back to Felberta. "He doesn’t like when I use that power," Shadow spoke directly. "He said it’s... invasive, and Sharnoth’s family now. I can’t use the power on family, else I’d be peeking into your minds every chance I get. So sorry, no matter how much you want it, I won’t do something that would make Nux sad." The moment those words left her mouth— "Just do it." Felberta snapped. Of course, unlike Amaya, her voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp enough to make everyone flinch. After all, Felberta rarely lost her calm like that. And that outburst made Shadow blink, almost moving back a little. Felberta, however, stepped forward. Then, she looked into Shadow’s eyes with a clear, clean look on her face. "Do it. I will take full responsibility," She declared. "If Nux asks, I’ll tell him it was my decision. I’ll tell him I pushed you. I’ll tell him I forced this." Shadow stared at her. "You’re serious," She whispered. The Universe’s First Goddess could tell Felberta wasn’t bluffing. She was serious. Something was bothering her and... she wanted to know what it was. Felberta nodded. "Find what she has been hiding," She requested. Even Lane stepped forward and— "She has been acting... off," She added in a stiff voice. "As if you would know." Shadow rolled her eyes. Who would know Lane better than her? The Shadow Demon’s mind only thinks and cares about Nux; she would almost never notice whenever *something’s off* unless it is directly related to Nux. "No, she’s right." Aisha spoke up as well. And her words held quite a bit of weight; after all, she could be called the closest to Allura. "She smiles normally, she talks normally, but it feels like she keeps stopping herself from saying something." The Succubus spoke. "And she avoids looking at us when we mention certain things," Lane nodded. "Like she’s scared we’ll notice." "She also has this... strangely... superior aura. As if she thinks she is better than us. It is annoying." Edda muttered. She looked... frustrated. And again, like Aisha, she too was close to Allura, so her words meant a lot as well. "She’s been... glowing," Not wanting to stay out of the conversation, Skyla added with a confused look on her face. "Not literally glowing of course. But like... she’s happy. Too happy." "She is definitely hiding something," Lyriana spoke in a flat voice and the rest of the women nodded, agreeing to everything that was said. Shadow looked at all of them, a little surprised, even overwhelmed. "You know... most of our thoughts are open to each other," She spoke as she looked at the women present in the room. Her expression finally matched her perfect, goddess-like, solemn face. "That’s how our bond works. You can feel emotions, you can sense intent. You can even catch some surface thoughts." The women nodded. They knew all of this. Shadow’s voice became quieter. "But if someone doesn’t want to share something... they can hide it. Completely." The women nodded again. They knew that as well. "That’s what I think she’s doing," Felberta spoke. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢 "She’s hiding something important, purposefully." Shadow’s eyes moved to the side, as if she were looking at something far away. Her expression changed slightly—less sleepy, more... aware. Then she spoke again. "There’s a difference between what you can sense... and what I can see." The room grew even quieter. Even Amaya stopped speaking. "My status... as the Universe’s First Goddess," Shadow continued. "And as its Soul... lets me peek deeper." The women stared. "Anyone connected to this Universe... is connected to me. Allura is no exception." "So you can... see everything?" Aeliana asked as she narrowed her eyes. She knew it to some extent, but nothing was clear. And when Shadow was finally clarifying it... She did not like it. "I can," Shadow admitted. "But I don’t. As I said, Nux doesn’t like it. I don’t either. I don’t want to become... that kind of existence." Silence fell over the room. For a good few seconds, no one spoke, until Felberta stepped closer again and— "Please," She requested. "Just this once." Shadow looked at Felberta for a long moment, then, she stared at the rest of the women who were looking at her with similar gazes— And finally, she gave in. "...Fine." The Universe’s First Goddess closed her eyes. For a moment, the room felt different. The starlight motes stopped drifting. The galaxies on the walls slowed, almost like they were holding their breath. Shadow’s aura didn’t explode, didn’t flare, didn’t show off. It simply... sank inward. Like she was falling into herself. Tapping into her connection to the very Universe, and as the connection stretched— A thread moved. Allura’s thread. A thread that had always been there. And when, in her mind, Shadow reached for it— Her expression changed within seconds and— "...Oh." Her lips parted slightly. At the reaction, the women instantly gathered closer. Felberta stepped forward first, her voice tense. "What? What did you see?" Shadow didn’t answer immediately. She looked like she had forgotten she was even in a room. Then she slowly swallowed. And her voice came out small, almost stunned. "Allura... she... She is pregnant."