The night air was thick with the scent of blood, magic, and something darker—desire left to ferment in fear.
Aiko sat beside the stone platform where Kael lay. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, skin pale under the glow of the twin moons. Vorik, now returned to his beastly beauty, crouched protectively behind her, still shirtless, muscles twitching with the aftershocks of their rebonding.
But Aiko's eyes never left Kael.
His body was still.
But his mind…
It wasn't.
---
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
Soul Integrity: 71%
Warning: Hostile Signature Detected in Partner Kael Ravaryn
Status: Dormant Corruption
Passive Effect Activated: Erotic Linkback Mirror
Next Sync: HIGH RISK
[============================]
---
Aiko leaned in, brushing sweat from Kael's temple. "I know you're in there."
He didn't respond.
Instead, the stone beneath him cracked.
He bolted upright with unnatural speed, eyes flaring crimson for a split second before returning to black. His hand was around her throat before either of them could react.
Vorik growled, ready to lunge.
"Stop," Aiko rasped. "He's not gone."
Kael's hand trembled. His grip loosened. "Aiko…?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm here."
He blinked—then recoiled as if burned. "No. No, I—I saw it. I felt it."
"What?"
"You. Inside me. Too deep."
His voice broke.
"I didn't just sync with you. I surrendered. And something else crawled into me through that bond."
Aiko swallowed hard.
The corruption hadn't just poisoned his body.
It had seduced his will.
---
She pressed a hand to his chest. "Then let me reclaim you."
Kael flinched. "You don't get it. I liked it. When I took you. When I tasted that heat and felt your mind open. I wanted to keep going until you broke."
Aiko's breath caught—not in fear, but in raw, traitorous excitement.
Because some part of her wanted that too.
To be taken by Kael—not lovingly, not carefully—but devoured.
A man who never let himself feel had tasted her once and lost everything.
Now he feared he'd never be whole again.
---
She pushed him back, straddling him.
"I'm not afraid," she said.
"You should be."
"No," she whispered. "You should be afraid of what happens when I don't tame you."
Kael's jaw clenched.
Then his hands found her waist.
And the air ignited.
---
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
Emergency Sync Initiated: Kael Ravaryn (Status: Volatile)
New Subsystem Activated: Dominance Duel – Winner Takes Control of the Bond
Sync Stakes: Personality Override, Emotional Imprint, and Skill Transfer
[============================]
---
Their mouths crashed together.
His kiss was brutal—desperate—teeth and tongue and soul colliding.
Aiko rolled her hips, grinding down, drawing a hiss from him that cracked through his control like glass.
She gripped his wrists, pinned them above his head.
"I'm not yours," she whispered, licking the shell of his ear. "You're mine."
Kael's pupils dilated. He bucked upward—but she rode him, every motion calculated to dominate, not please.
Every thrust, every kiss, every pulse of heat was a command:
Submit.
---
He tried to resist.
He grabbed her hair, pulled, bit her collarbone—but every act of defiance only fueled her system, amplified her heat, sharpened her focus.
She kissed him deeper, until he groaned against her mouth and the dark threads of corruption began to burn.
---
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
Dominance Duel: 71% in Favor of Host
Trait Gained (Temporary): Shadow Hunger – Feed on your partner's darkness to weaken corruption
Warning: Corrupted Desire Detected – Physical sync may trigger mutual loss of control
[============================]
---
Kael's eyes rolled back.
Aiko slammed her hips down one final time, feeling his heat erupt inside her—along with something else.
Not just pleasure.
Power.
It surged between them like wildfire.
He screamed—not in pain, not in pleasure, but in relief.
And as his muscles went slack beneath her, the crimson in his eyes faded.
Replaced by tears.
---
"Aiko…" he rasped. "I—I didn't mean to—"
She silenced him with a kiss.
"I know."
Vorik stepped forward, eyeing Kael like a wary wolf.
But Aiko stood, back arched, eyes glowing with molten gold.
"She tamed you," Vorik said, voice low. "How does it feel?"
Kael chuckled weakly. "Like I've been hit by a pleasure-fueled avalanche."
---
[==== SYSTEM NOTICE ====]
Corruption: Purged
Kael's Bond Status: Stabilized
New Skill Acquired: Sin Mirror – Reflects dark intentions back at attacker for 3 seconds
Aiko's Sync Rate: 89% – Warning: Approaching Limit
System Suggestion: Evolve Class Tier
[============================]
---
But before Aiko could even catch her breath, the moon shifted.
It turned black.
A haunting voice echoed from the heavens:
"Breedbound Heroine… you've won too many battles. It's time for a war."
A rift opened in the sky.
And from it descended a woman—nude, divine, terrifying.
Skin like starlight, eyes like void.
"The Secondborn has arrived," she purred.
And Aiko's world trembled.