"You abandoned me."
When Rein heard Meynan say these words, his initial impulse was to jump into a long-winded explanation as to what he went through after the Golden Desert Town incident.
However, he paused and ignored that impulse, and accepted Meynan's words with a sigh.
After all, he did make a decision based on certain assumptions. For one, he assumed that the Jeihr branch in Golden Desert Town would move elsewhere and no longer have an interest in the marriage, with the Hehr merchant family and assets essentially wiped out. Even if Meynan wished for it, the family hierarchy behind it would most certainly block such a move.
Of course, he also assumed the Jeihr branch in Golden Desert Town would be fully intact, given the protection of Steward Xeer, a supposed telekinetic advancer.
Rein was fully self-aware of the primary reason for his actions, a realization he had during those six months of lonely training under Master Yirn as a half-disciple-- he wished for a strength, the power to seek out those involved in the Golden Desert Town's destruction. It was simply better off for him to move on. A decision he still firmly believed to be the correct one, even as he recalled childhood memories with Meynan in the Golden Desert Town.
"I'm sorry, Meynan," Rein finally said as he suppressed his discomfort, staring deep into Meynan's wet eyes. "I… when I lost everything, I swore to myself that I would settle the score. And…" He became silent as he turned to stare out through a mazy-patterned window, recalling the plight of Suey's people, as well as the dragons, the essentially extinct dwarves, Master Yirn and the many so-called heavens along with the demon and devil realms.
He had come to learn of so many secrets previously unknown to him, thanks in part to the memories within the draconic metamorphose bead that had transformed his body. The truth was, though he wasn't fully aware of it, he had already been drawn into a conflict spanning eons.
What Rein knew currently though, was that he believed Suey and her people's 'exile' wasn't fair. The Golden Desert Town's massacre wasn't fair. Lyne of the Xuere Clan, forced by political circumstances to take drastic choices to circumvent her fate, wasn't fair.
When Meynan saw Rein, lost in thought, gazing out at her minimalist garden, she couldn't help but feel that Rein had grown distant. Steward Xeer already informed her that Rein had entered the shell realm, truly entering the advancer world. She wasn't sure how that had occurred, but she also knew it was best for her to not know.
She had already decided that if anyone asked, she would provide 'reasonable' explanations as to how Rein now carried enough elemental affinity to become an advancer. Golden Desert Town and its inhabitants had been essentially wiped out, after all, and no one alive would be able to dispute her words.
Meynan's mind spun at a breakneck pace, as she considered her own predicament within the greater Jeihr merchant house while wiping her eyes in silence.
"Your mother…" At length, Rein spoke again. "I heard that your merchant house ports many goods for sects in this area. Surely, your mother's devil poison can be cured…?"
"No," Meynan's eyes had dried, and now her voice leaked a hint of anger. "My dear uncles are using my mother against me. They can do nothing regarding grandpa Xeer's protection for me, but they essentially will not make any effort to enlist a healer from one of the sects to heal mother. They wish for me to accept the marital offers from other merchant families. Else, my mother will continue to suffer and degenerate."
"As for grandpa Xeer, he has long left the advancer world. Beyond protecting me and limiting the other's actions, he cannot interfere much more." Meynan was quite aware of the standard rules where advancers are not to interfere with the mortal world, lest mortals, essentially children to the advancer world, began killing one another due to a conflict between two advancers.
Rein's eyes narrowed, and his flow of aurae raced through his veins.
"I can take you away. To a place of peace and quiet," Rein steadied his voice. "I plan to join a branch sect. One with connection to the Fusion Sect. They should have an outer ring where mortals can reside. You will not be bothered." Madam Cehnan had begged Rein to leave with Meynan, after all. As for Rein, he felt compelled to at least provide some assistance. For old time's sake.
This was a common arrangement. Some who enter the advancer world may still have unbreakable ties to certain mortals. Thus, some mortals are brought along to the outer ring of a sect by a newly-joined advancer. After a generation, these mortals would pass, and said related advancer would be able to leave behind the mortal world with peace within the heart.
Meynan could feel the air become almost electric when Rein reacted to the information that her poisoned mother was being used against her. That gave her hope and an almost-devilish idea. Her heart grew determined. Rein was still mostly the same man. In her eyes, he hadn't really changed after all.
"No," she rejected Rein, feeling confident. "I will stay and vie for influence."
"Why…?" Rein was perplexed.
Meynan took a deep breath.
"I wish to rebuild Golden Desert Town," She stated, fully aware of her madness. "And to do that, I must have control over the greater Jeihr merchant family. Even if it were to take decades."
Rein widened his eyes. To rebuild the Golden Desert Town. He had never even considered this possibility.
The thought never occurred to him, because the idea itself was a fantasy. The original Golden Desert Town was built because of historical wars against the Northern Desert Tribes. It began as a military outpost. The continuous war led to more soldiers setting up their families in the area. Eventually, peace came around, and the Golden Desert Town became more of a transit location, with some trade with the Northern Desert tribes.
There simply wasn't enough political incentive to rebuild it in this day and age. For one, times have changed and most believe that there will never be another war against the Northern Desert tribes. To rebuild a town that functioned more as a transit location… Not to mention, moving new inhabitants to the location was not reasonable. Trade with the nomadic Northern Desert tribes wasn't exactly booming.
Yet once this possibility was spoken out loud, the vision of a rebuilt Golden Desert Town was compelling in Rein's mind. But how? That's the difficult question. Even if Meynan managed to take control of the greater Jeihr merchant house, their resources would not be enough.
"That's…" Rein muttered as he considered various possibilities.
"...Impossible," Meynan finished Rein's sentence. "But you're an advancer now, aren't you…?"
"As an advancer, it is best for me to avoid influencing mortal affairs," Rein frowned. Crossing the line could lead to rejection and consequences from some clans and all sects. Advancer clans often have a mortal branch to house those born without talent, and to recruit mortal troops and weaker talents. Sects, on the other hand, only accept advancers. In Rein's case, he naturally needed to join a sect. Clans are notorious for favoring their own to an unreasonable degree.
Meynan grinned devilishly. Rein realized that Meynan had come up with an idea. Meynan have always had a competitive streak, and the two competed on identifying and negotiating value in the Golden Desert Town's markets, back when they were young. Whenever Meynan came up with a diabolical method, she would have this same smile.
She yelled, "Grandpa Xeer. The plaque!"
The doors opened and a marriage plaque slowly floated into, telekinetically controlled by Steward Xeer from outside. The doors were then slammed shut by an invisible hand.
Rein was in disbelief as he examined the marriage plaque. He also felt a deep sense of discomfort. After deciding to leave behind his past to enter the advancer world, he had copulated with two beauties, and was even drawn into putting a child in each of their wombs for different reasons.
With Meynan, when their parents had arranged their marriage, the agreement was that she would be the sole wife.
"The plaque was long prepared, as we were to come of age in a few months before… I've simply kept it, as well as a record of our agreement. I assume yours must have been destroyed," Meynan explained.
"Seeing as this marriage was arranged, and technically completed prior to you becoming an advancer, it will allow us to somewhat circumvent the rules limiting the extent of relations between an advancer and the mortal world, especially in the eyes of sects."
Rein was speechless and his heart filled with trepidation. Meynan had entered what he recognized as a tone of negotiation.
Meynan scrutinized Rein's reaction and felt something was off. She expected bewilderment but not that sense of distance.
"You… is there another woman?" She bristled as she came to a realization.
Rein coughed. There was no avoiding the truth.
"I… have long decided to leave behind the mortal world. I assumed it was best for me and you to move on," he muttered.
"And you never even thought to seek out my thoughts on such a matter." Meynan was naturally dissatisfied.
Rein could only sigh. There was no turning back the clock now.
"Let me reassure you that I will provide you with any assistance should you truly attempt to rebuild the Golden Desert Town. For old time's sake." That was the least Rein could promise.
When he came for a visit as per Steward Xeer's request, initially, he had no intention for it to be more than a single visit. However, given what he discovered, Rein now felt somewhat torn. Particularly because Meynan seemed intent on vying for influence within the Jeihr merchant family, in order to have even a miniscule chance of rebuilding the Golden Desert Town.
Meynan suddenly stood up with a harrumph and her tight silk turquoise gown clung to her body, displaying her womanly curves. With her standing, Rein now noticed that her body had slightly filled up further in the best areas over the past year.
Her heels clattered against the floorboards as she quite obviously, intentionally stumbled towards Rein.
Rein had no choice but to catch the flailing beauty.
Since Rein's body had enlarged due to his body tempering, Meynan easily sat on just his right thigh.
Yet Meynan still felt Rein to be distant despite their physical contact, which rather irked her. After all, in the past, Rein's hands would be roaming all over her body by now.
She grabbed Rein's right hand and placed it upon her ample breasts. Rein reflexively squeezed and discovered how frail a mortal's flesh was. His raw strength had grown leaps and bounds, and a miniscule activation of the muscles in his hands greatly deformed Meynan's full right breast. Meynan moaned, embracing her vulnerability in the hands of what she viewed as the power and strength of an advancer.
Rein reminded himself he needed to be extremely careful-- his strength could easily harm Meynan if he was careless. He also reminded himself of his earlier intention to not allow this to further develop. A thought that immediately fell apart due to a lingering affection for Meynan combined with the woman's next action.
Meynan quickly dispelled her earlier dissatisfaction, accepting the current situation. At least, she believed that there was no point in her acting out in indignation. Rein had clearly decided to move on into the advancer world. Though he did promise her assistance, acting on her impulse to rage at him was unlikely to lead to any beneficial result. At least, that was her assessment.
"So," Meynan controlled her voice, adopting a confident and composed tone. "Tell me about this other woman."
"There's… well, there's two," Rein answered honestly.
Meynan once again had to quell her dissatisfaction.
"Well, then tell me how it all happened," she forced herself to smile.
Rein sighed. Meynan at least deserved an explanation. He launched into a long-winded description of what had happened to him after the Golden Desert Town's destruction. Though he desired to reveal all to Meynan, he had to completely hide certain information-- secrets that could be dangerous for Meynan, himself and others. He also replaced certain details, such that his tale remained coherent without revealing dangerous information.
Of course, during the process of explaining all this, Rein's third leg rose to the sky.
"Your thing has become even more of a monster," Meynan whispered as she reached her hands into Rein's black pants, bringing out his knotted cock. Indeed, the draconic metamorphose bead, along with his body tempering had thickened, lengthened, his now-gnarly rod.
"So, you were seduced, despite your late-mother's warnings to watch for minxes," Meynan accused as her mortal hands stroked Rein's member.
"Well, I thought her to be a honeytrap, a flirt attempting to seek a shield against a Supreme of the Hall of Heroes. I thought if I forced her to perform an embarrassing public display, she would, well… grow angry and shrink away," Rein explained. "Later, I found out about the desperate straits of her people."
"Instead, she was completely submissive, even begging to magically enslave herself to you, and now you can't help but care for her and her cause. Hmm… you're a bit of a sucker, aren't you," Meynan harrumphed as she continued to stroke Rein's now-glistening shaft, feeling the throbbing heat of Rein's desire.
She wasn't sure if she was happy with that. Still, that meant Rein was as he always was. She recalled how the Hehr merchant family was careful to avoid exploitative methods against the Northern Desert tribes in trade. This pattern of behavior in Rein certainly reassured her heart.
Yet, to her, most interesting wasn't the first woman named Suey, but rather, Lyne of the Xuere Clan. She had heard the news of Lyne's recent betrothal to the seventh prince, who claimed to have snatched Lyne from the second prince before impregnating her. After all, the mortal world of the Minhr Nation existed under the advancer world controlled by the Dingien Clan.
Perhaps it wasn't so bad after all. This was what Meynan told herself. Though Rein had abandoned her in this last year, he had become an advancer. In the merchant world, hidden social relationships are pivotal in vying for influence. Yes, Meynan felt relieved that she had restrained her initial impulse of rage. She could make use of this. Plus, intuitively, she believed that Rein would provide her with ample assistance as he had promised despite his one year disappearance.
"Hardly," Rein pushed back as he resisted the pleasure delivered by Suey's hands and fingers. "Suey displayed certain interesting insights, and her sharp mind gleaned much knowledge from her rituals to delve into possible futures."
"So you would say," Meynan admonished. "Yet this thick monster would say otherwise."
"How about an amendment to the marriage plaque, Mister advancer," Meynan expertly kept Rein on the edge of release with her soft hands while batting her eyelashes. "Since you, as an advancer, might live centuries longer, or perhaps, become immortal one day… don't you think I at least deserve to have… hmmm… let's say fifty years of your time? Those other women will have the rest of eternity for you, after all. If you don't agree, I will suffer a great deal. My dearest uncles will employ all sorts of methods to use me for political alliances."
"Remember," Meynan whispered, her hot breath tickling Rein's right ear. "You abandoned me. I deserve repayment. What other man would fully understand and share my pain of the Golden Desert Town's destruction?"
"Of course, we're negotiating a deal here," Meynan continued, her voice increasingly husky. "I have detailed information on the many sects in the vicinity of Final Solace City. Not to mention, the rebuilding of the Golden Desert Town, which is to your interest."
"But this… thing must be most interested in…" She placed Rein's right hand over her abdomen, while her left hand increased in rapid jerks. "Filling my fertile womb, mmm?"
The suggestion pushed Rein past his breaking point, and his rod spurted to release the tension. Meynan giggled as her hands continued an up-and-down movement to deliver devastating pleasure to Rein's mind. Eventually, Rein, taking deep breaths, calmed from a peak.
"So, I take it as an agreement?" Meynan said as she licked the white liquid from her fingers.
Rein sighed. Indeed, his mother had warned him of honeytraps. However, Meynan wasn't really one, so he reasoned. After all, he truly cared for her due to their childhood memories. And he most certainly valued her desire to rebuild the Golden Desert Town.
Of course, he did not think of Suey or Lyne as honeytraps either. Those two were simply… desperate.
"So be it," he said as he embraced Meynan. It is said that those who become shell advancers step upon a personal path, guided by a creed that defines oneself. It is in exploring that path, that creed, that allows an advancer to continually grow in power. This must be his supposed creed compelling him to agree, Rein reasoned.
Meynan smiled happily. This embrace was truly warm, without that awkward sense of distance.
Outside, Steward Xeer floated in the air crosslegged. His eyes examined the many approaching figures weaving their way through the Jeihr complex towards Meynan's abode.
"As I have promised you, love, I will safeguard our line," he muttered. "Even if the time I have left is limited."