The moon hung low over the cracked windows, spilling pale silver light across the bare, reclaimed floorboards of Raiven's former room. The once-imposing space, stripped of its opulence, now felt like the interior of a temple or a den.
Yomi sat cross-legged in the centre, his breath steady but his pulse pounding beneath the stillness. The last threads of chaotic Ki still curled in his chest like black serpents, coiled and restless. They writhed just beneath his skin, begging to be tamed or fed.
A soft knock stirred the silence.
He opened his eyes slowly. "Come."
Lirien stepped through the door.
She looked like a fevered dream, the aftermath of discipline and desire in one trembling form. Her training shirt clung to her flushed skin, translucent with sweat, darkening around her heaving chest. Her nipples, stiff and betraying, pressed against the fabric, visibly hardened beneath her damp tunic. Strands of pink hair stuck to her cheeks and neck. Her thighs pressed together instinctively, her breath a touch too deep for composure.
"You wanted to see me," she said. Her voice was calm, but tension leaked from every pore.
Yomi's gaze traveled the length of her frame, not with hunger, but with assessment. Predator's focus. His Ki pulsed in response to her presence.
"I need your help," he said plainly. "I don't understand this world. I'll need someone to navigate it until I'm ready."
Lirien blinked, startled. She hadn't expected a request, certainly not humility.
"In return," he continued, standing slowly, his shadow stretching over her. "I'll help you master what's happening inside your body and reignite your sword."
Her lips parted, eyes widening. The fire in her chest flared.
But how can he say that? How can he see a future for me when I abandoned my blade long ago?
He stepped closer. Her breath caught.
"You've changed since that dungeon," he murmured. His hand reached her waist, slow but sure. She flinched, but didn't step away.
The moment his fingers brushed her side, her stomach coiled tight. Her inner garments clung damply to her core as something slick bloomed between her thighs.
She'd never felt this before, this heat, this ache, this unspoken command that sang through her veins.
Yomi leaned in, nose brushing her temple, inhaling her erotic scent, a mix of steel, sweat, and feminine arousal. His voice was low. "The lust. The power. The aggression. It's not you. Not entirely. That's chaotic Ki. A remnant of our bond. It's dangerous if left to fester."
Her knees buckled slightly. Relief clashed with shame. "So I'm not... broken?"
He shook his head. "No. But there's a ritual. Intimate. It will circulate my natural Ki through you, to stabilize the chaos."
She hesitated, cheeks flaming.
"Then... why do I feel stronger? Like I could cut down a beast in an instant?"
Yomi's smile was dark and knowing. "Because this Ki doesn't only destroy. It awakens."
Her throat bobbed. "You mean... I can get stronger? Through... through sex?"
He stepped behind her now, voice hot against her ear. "If you want true power, real balance, I'll need more than your body. I'll need your loyalty. Your devotion. Your soul."
His hand slid along her belly, resting above her womb.
"Will you give them to me?"
Lirien's mind reeled. Her past, the disgrace, the loss, the cold, lonely hunger for meaning, flashed behind her eyes.
Yomi had once been a slave. He had saved her life. And now, he was asking not to take, but to be given. To be accepted. To be trusted.
She nodded.
Yomi sat on the edge of the bed, guiding her gently between his legs. She sat facing him, trembling.
"This will feel strange," he warned. "Trust it. Trust me."
His hands rose to her shoulders, then slowly, reverently, slid down to the clasps of her tunic. Each button gave way with agonizing patience, baring her flushed chest inch by inch until her breasts spilled free, pale, firm, and already rising with anticipation.
His fingers cupped one softly. The other, he leaned into, tongue swirling around her nipple in deliberate circles, tasting her. Worshipping her. Her breath hitched, then broke.
"Ah... gods,"
"I can't, Hngh...."
He devoured her moan.