Author's Note:
Dear Readers,
I want to inform you that the last two chapters contained some mistakes in both content and flow. I have now rewritten and updated those chapters with improved clarity and detail. If you've already read them, I kindly request you to please read them again for the corrected and intended version of the story.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support!
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The aftermath of their night together still lingered in the air—Niva's body sore but her soul strangely at peace. She lay next to Auren, her chest rising and falling slowly, her eyes not on the ceiling, but on him. The one who'd stolen her body, her guilt, and now… the promise of a miracle.
Auren rose from the bed, calm, composed, unaffected.
He slid his black shirt over his toned body and turned to her with that cold, unreadable expression.
"Now," he said, "I'll fulfill my end. Show me where the alchemy material packet is."
Niva blinked, reality hitting her hard. She rushed to the wooden cabinet, opened a secret compartment under a pile of old prayer cloths, and pulled out the sealed packet he had given her the day before. Her hands trembled as she handed it to him, her heart pounding not with fear—but with hope.
Auren took the packet without a word, moved to her mother's lifeless body lying in the inner room, and knelt beside it.
Niva followed closely, watching every move with her arms hugged tightly around her own body, shivering not from cold—but from anticipation.
Auren opened the packet. Inside were powdered Spirit Orchid petals, crushed Phoenix Ember, drops of Celestial Tear, and a sliver of Elixir Core—materials forbidden in most places, divine in nature, able to pull back souls from the other side.
From the packet, he pulled out a small black cauldron, already enchanted. He poured water imbued with his mana into it and began chanting in an ancient tongue, one that vibrated the air itself. Blue flames rose beneath the cauldron as he added the ingredients one by one, the liquid inside glowing gold, then white, then pulsing red.
Finally, Auren removed a thin syringe and drew a glowing silver serum from the bubbling mixture—the Serum of Life.
"Open her mouth," he commanded.
Niva, silently obeying, opened her mother's cold lips. Auren poured the serum inside.
For a moment, there was silence. Stillness. Nothing.
Then—her mother's hand twitched.
Niva gasped sharply, hands flying to her mouth as tears welled in her eyes.
The fingers trembled. Her chest heaved weakly. A breath. Another. Then—eyes fluttering open.
"Mama…?" Niva's voice cracked.
The woman blinked slowly, as though waking from a deep dream. Her voice came hoarse, soft.
"Niva… I… I feel better now. Where… who is this boy?"
Niva turned her tear-streaked face to Auren, then looked back at her mother.
"He's the one who brought you back, Mama. He… saved you. We both owe him our lives."
Her mother looked at him, confusion and wonder in her eyes. But Auren had already turned away. His task was complete.
He packed his cauldron and stood, emotionless. "My work here is done."
He walked to the door, ready to leave.
But before he could step out, Niva's voice called out, "Wait…"
Auren stopped.
She walked up behind him, barefoot, her long dark hair cascading around her bare shoulders. There was a different glow in her now—no longer the woman broken by sorrow. But a woman reborn in purpose. In submission. In twisted love.
She stood in front of him, eyes fixed on his.
"What you did to me last night… I won't lie, it changed me. I felt shame, regret… but now…" She paused, placing her hand on her stomach. "You gave me more than pleasure. You gave me power. You gave me my mother back."
Auren didn't respond.
"I don't feel guilty anymore," she whispered. "In fact… I'm proud. And I want to give something back."
She stepped even closer.
"I'll carry your baby. Happily. And…" she hesitated, then smiled with a dark, seductive softness, "...whenever you need sex, whenever your body aches for release, I'll be here. Without hesitation. Without refusal. You own me now, Auren. My body… my soul… even my future."
Auren's eyes narrowed slightly, analyzing her words not with lust, but calculation.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Good," he said flatly. "Stay useful."
He turned, his dark coat flowing as he walked into the corridor of the inn, leaving behind a woman who once knew sorrow—but now lived only to please the monster who saved her.
Auren didn't care for love. He didn't need loyalty.
But submission?
He would harvest it like a god collecting offerings.
And Niva?
She had just given everything.
---
Outside, the streets were warm with late morning sun. Auren walked back to the hotel, where the air still smelled of spilled ale and dusty wood.
As he entered, the hotel owner sneered like usual. But this time, Auren didn't ignore him.
He grabbed the man by the collar, slammed him into the wall, and leaned in close—his voice cold, his eyes colder.
"If you ever lay a hand or speak foul to Niva again," Auren growled, "I'll peel the skin from your body. Slowly. Layer by layer. I'll feed it to the dogs outside while you watch."
The man froze, piss soaking his trousers.
Auren shoved him back with disgust and walked up the stairs.
---
He opened the door to his room. Riven was still sleeping on the bed, snoring softly, curled up like a child who had never seen the dark side of the world.
Auren exhaled deeply. The night had drained him—not just his body, but something inside. Something human.
He walked to the corner, collapsed into the second bed, and stared at the ceiling.
The room was quiet.
But in Auren's mind, a storm still raged.
A storm of power, promises, and what came next.
And sleep… sleep would only be a pause before the next chapter of his darkness.