Baby System: I'm the Beast World's Only Hope!-Chapter 360: Episode 358: Prince Fedor

Roxy gasped.

Her consciousness slammed back into her physical body and her brilliant green eyes flew open, staring blindly at the dark, vaulted wooden beams of the master bedroom’s ceiling.

Her chest heaved frantically, her hands instantly flying up to grip the fabric covering her.

She was lying in the center of the massive, fur-covered bed in the Iron-Wood Manor. The horrific, blood-soaked linens that had entirely defined the nightmare of her labor were completely gone, replaced by soft white sheets that smelled faintly of lavender and Syris’s medical herbs.

Her body all felt fine but her heart still felt hollow.

"My Queen!"

A chair scraped violently against the floorboards. Dena, the young wolf-shifter helper, practically threw herself at the edge of the mattress. Her face was entirely pale, her eyes rimmed with heavy, dark circles of profound exhaustion. Tears of relief immediately flooded her vision.

"You’re awake," Dena sobbed, hovering her trembling hands over Roxy, terrified to touch her. "Oh, thank the ancestors, you are finally awake."

Roxy simply stared at her. Her brain was incredibly sluggish, actively fighting to reconcile the purple-lit terror of Abaddon’s realm with the quiet, tragic reality of the Beastworld.

"It has been an entire week, my Queen," Dena babbled, the words spilling from her mouth in a frantic, desperate rush, completely unable to contain the pent-up terror of the past seven days. "You collapsed and your whole body completely shut down. Syris said your body went into a coma to physically survive the trauma."

A-A WEEK!!!

Roxy didn’t say anything. She lay perfectly still against the pillows, her green eyes blank, simply letting the young wolf-shifter talk. The silence of the room was deafening. The massive, nine-tailed shadow that usually occupied the corner was permanently, entirely gone.

And that one realization still caused an angry ache in her chest.

He was still gone, it was not a dream.

"Everyone has been so incredibly worried," Dena continued, her voice cracking as she nervously twisted her apron. "And so, so sad. The entire Manor has been like a tomb. The Alpha Kings have barely slept. They pace the hallways like caged beasts, refusing to leave the second floor. And... and the Fox tribe came to see you. Hundreds of them knelt in the snow outside the gates for three days to mourn the King."

Dena swallowed a heavy lump in her throat. "Kaito stayed behind. When you wouldn’t wake up... the young prince was starving. He wouldn’t take the bottles from Caspian or Torian. He was screaming until his little lungs gave out. Kaito had to come inside to aid in the young prince’s feeding. He used Kitsune magic to try and trick the baby’s senses, but..."

Roxy slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. The physical absence of the massive, heavy weight of her pregnancy was jarring, but the emotional void in her chest was a thousand times heavier.

Ren was gone. It wasn’t just a nightmare she could wake up from. He had exploded into a sea of stars right on this very mattress.

"Dena," Roxy interrupted softly. Her voice was incredibly raspy, entirely stripped of its usual vibrant, matriarchal fire. It sounded hollow, like an echo in an empty cavern.

Dena instantly snapped her mouth shut, standing at perfect attention. "Yes, my Queen?"

"Bring the young prince to me," Roxy commanded quietly, her green eyes dropping to stare at her trembling hands. "And Dena... do not let anyone else come in. Not Zarek. Not Kaelen. Nobody."

Dena’s face completely crumpled. She looked utterly crushed by the absolute, isolating boundary Roxy had just erected. The Vanguard warlords had been waiting outside those doors for exactly one hundred and sixty-eight agonizing hours, desperate for a single glimpse of their conscious Queen. To deny them entry now was devastating.

But Dena was loyal to the Matriarch above all else. She gave a shaky, deeply respectful nod. "Yes, my Queen. I will do exactly what needs to be done."

The young wolf-shifter quickly turned and slipped out of the bedroom, closing the heavy doors with a soft, definitive click.

Roxy was entirely alone.

She let out a long, shuddering breath. She couldn’t believe Ren was gone. Even after facing down the Architect of the universe, even after learning the truth of his bloodline, her human heart simply could not comprehend the absolute finality of his death. She expected to turn her head and see his cocky, arrogant smirk. She expected to hear his gravelly voice teasing her.

But there was only silence.

Roxy forced her heavy, aching legs over the edge of the mattress. If she was going to hold her son, if she was going to be the mother that tiny, fragile piece of Ren’s soul desperately needed her to be, she could not do it covered in sweat of a nightmare.

She slowly walked into the en-suite bathroom. She turned on the scalding hot water and stepped into the open-stone shower. She didn’t weep. She scrubbed her skin until it was entirely red, washing away the lingering metallic scent of the birthing blood and the phantom ozone of Abaddon’s realm.

She focused entirely on the physical, grounding sensation of the water, intentionally locking her suffocating grief into a tight, impenetrable iron box deep within her chest. She had to survive.

When Roxy emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a thick, clean sleeping robe, Dena was already waiting for her by the bed.

The young wolf-shifter was cradling a small, bundled mass of emerald-green blankets against her chest. But resting perfectly balanced on top of the blankets, sitting inside a beautifully carved, open wooden box, was a brilliant red gemstone.

Roxy stopped dead in her tracks.

She recognized it almost immediately. It was the smooth, heavy, glowing stone that had dropped onto her chest after the Fox King’s magnificent, starry burst. It was the crystallized, physical remnant of Ren’s immortal heart.

"What is that?" Roxy breathed, her eyes locked entirely onto the pulsing red light.

Dena gently stepped forward, offering the bundle. "When Kaito’s magic wasn’t enough to calm the prince... Zarek brought this into the room. Kaito explained that it is the pure, condensed life force of the Great King. It radiates his exact magical signature. We had to place it inside the baby’s blankets. It was the only way to soothe him. This stone was used to sustain the little one’s magical core while you were unconscious."

A massive, devastating pang of guilt violently pierced Roxy’s chest.

While she had been trapped in a purple void, screaming at an arrogant god about the validity of her love, her newborn son had been starving, desperately clinging to the cold, crystallized remains of his dead father just to survive.

Roxy stepped forward and carefully scooped the little one from Dena’s arms, ensuring the red wooden box remained securely tucked against the baby’s side.

She walked slowly back to the bed and sat heavily at the very edge of the mattress. She looked down at the tiny, perfect face peeking out from the emerald wool. He had Ren’s pale, flawless skin, his delicate nose, and a wildly chaotic tuft of vibrant, fiery red hair.

"I am sorry," Roxy said quietly, her voice thick with genuine, overwhelming remorse as she looked up at the young helper. "I am sorry for making you guys worried."

Dena vigorously shook her head, fresh tears shining in her eyes. "It is nothing, my Queen. We are just so incredibly glad you are back with us."

Roxy offered a faint, incredibly tired nod. She looked back down at the infant. She gently unbuttoned the top of her sleeping robe, adjusting the blankets to bring the tiny Fox heir to her breast.

The infant’s tiny nose twitched, catching the scent of his mother. He latched immediately.

The absolute second the warm milk began to flow, replacing the cold, residual magic of the red stone, the baby let out a soft whine of absolute, pure satisfaction. He began to feed slowly, his tiny fists uncurling to rest against Roxy’s bare skin.

Roxy watched him. Her heart violently ached, a heavy, agonizing pressure building behind her eyes.

"He was gifted from sacrifice," Roxy whispered into the quiet, heavy air of the bedroom, her fingers gently stroking the vibrant red hair on the baby’s head. The name settled into her soul. "So he shall be named, Fedor. Our Little Fedor..."

As if to acknowledge his new name, the tiny fox ears poking out from the messy red locks gave a sudden, distinct twitch.

A small, incredibly fragile smile broke through the absolute devastation on Roxy’s face.

She desperately wanted to shed more tears. She wanted to wail and scream for the man who wasn’t sitting beside her to see this beautiful, perfect moment.

But as she stared down at the tiny, feeding infant, Roxy realized that her eyes were entirely dry. There were no more tears left to share. All that remained was a cold, impenetrable, and terrifyingly sharp resolve.

How can they just be characters?

Roxy gently brushed her thumb over Fedor’s soft cheek. She lifted her chin, her brilliant green eyes locking onto Dena.

"Pass the word around," Roxy commanded. "The young prince is now named, Fedor. Prince Fedor of the fox tribe."