Chapter 91: Birth.
"Push!"
Elza’s tone was urgent. She was at the forefront of the delivery, trying every possible way to make it fast and easy.
Sunnie could feel the pain run through her body. Her whole body was aching, her legs were shaking and weak. She could feel herself falling apart, but she still persisted and pushed as tears ran down her eyes.
She wasn’t sure if it was sweat that covered her body or just the water, but she was certain that it was all coming from her.
"Ah...!" She cried aloud, her voice filling the atmosphere. The women held her firmly as they helped her through the process.
It took over an hour of going back and forth before it finally started happening.
"It’s coming... Push harder! Now!"
The women held her, soothing her calmly as they helped her push. Sunnie did her best, pushing as she felt all her energy giving out. She was losing herself but kept pushing until she felt her legs parting and something coming out.
She cried and screamed but kept pushing. The water (or sweat, she couldn’t tell) ran down her skin as her veins popped. Tears ran down as she felt it slide out of her body. It was extremely painful, but Sunnie guessed it was bound to be since it was her first time.
Sunnie felt it leave her body. Something had come out, but her vision was too blurry to look and her mind was too hazy to attempt. She slowly closed her eyes as she felt a sense of relief creeping in.
Her body was calming down amidst the pain. Something had finally come out; she had successfully delivered. And without noticing, Sunnie fell unconscious.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations Host! You’ve successfully delivered your first child!]
But Sunnie was already unconscious to even notice what the system was informing her.
---
A smile bloomed on the faces of the women. And soon, this smile slowly faded into confusion. They stared at what came from Sunnie—it wasn’t a cub or something. Or so they thought?
But they watched as Elza meticulously carried the blue egg that was almost the size of someone’s hand. She held it firmly as she smiled at it.
"It’s an egg?" one of the women asked.
Elza smiled with a nod. "It’s a merman’s child... So I suppose it should be."
The women stared down at Sunnie, the smile returning to their faces. "At least she had a safe delivery... That’s good... that’s good..." They nodded.
Sunnie was unconscious, and they held her while Elza held onto the egg, staring carefully at it.
The egg wasn’t hard and didn’t look like something that could be broken. It was slimy and bouncy. It looked like it was made of elastic that could be pressed. Its bluish color was light and bright.
"I’ll go call them," one of the women said as she rushed out to get the others. The remaining women held coverings to wrap up Sunnie.
Soon, they all arrived. They stood at a distance, staring in amusement and curiosity while Azure rushed to the scene. He stared down at Sunnie, who was unconscious.
"Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. She just needs some rest and all," Elza explained as Azure moved his attention to the egg in her hand.
"Here..." Elza gently handed the egg to him. The egg was still wet and slimy as Azure meticulously took and held it, a smile lingering on his face subconsciously.
He was already used to this fact. Their little ones always came first in the form of an egg, so it was expected.
He held it carefully like a treasure that could shatter at any moment, and he ran his eyes curiously over it.
The other husbands stood at a distance, staring.
Luka scratched his head. "Oh, I see... It comes in the form of an egg."
Eris nodded. "Yes. It’ll be the same with Karl’s future kids."
Karl cast him a cold glare.
"What? What did I say wrong? I mean, it’s true... You and Azure’s offspring come in the form of eggs."
Karl rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Zuna, Zukka, and Little Black rushed over to Sunnie, who lay there unconscious, feeling anxious and worried.
Little Black panicked. "What happened to her? Will she be okay? Is she dead?"
"Don’t worry," Elza smiled. "She’s fine. She’s just taking a break and will wake up soon enough."
Little Black slowly nodded.
Elza said, "We should take her back and get her some proper after-birth care." She had done this before, so she had some experience.
And no one questioned her at all. They all did as she said, as Azure handed the egg back to Elza while volunteering to carry Sunnie.
He carried Sunnie in his arms as he left. Others followed behind as they headed back to their home.
---
Azure took Sunnie to the inner room based on Elza’s instructions. He laid her down on thick animal skin while also covering her up with more. Her body was pale and cold; she needed some warmth, so he made a fire for her, setting it at her side so she could get some warmth.
After doing so, Elza instructed that the men leave. And after they did, the women helped boil some medication to feed Sunnie while also cleaning and soothing her body with the medication.
Sunnie lay there unconscious close to the fire set up by Azure. The women surrounded her, feeding her medications made by Elza while they cleaned her body with the warm herbal water they had prepared.
They took their time with her while Sunnie was unconscious. She was taking a long break from all the energy drained from the birth, and there was no telling when she was going to wake up.
And while the women were in the inner cave room taking care of her, the men were in the outer cave room, surrounding the blue egg. Staring curiously as if it held answers to some mysterious questions they all had.