The afternoon sun painted golden streaks across the bedroom wall.
Lala sat on the bed, her legs folded beneath her, brushing her hair with slow, dreamy motions. She wasn't humming. She wasn't tinkering.
She was quiet.
"Scourge?" she whispered.
I responded immediately, a soft shimmer of presence across her spine.
"Here."
She hesitated.
Then smiled.
"Would you… stay close tonight? But not… you know… too close?"
Her voice was gentle. Not scared. Not unsure. Just... asking for boundaries.
That was new.
I paused.
Everything in me ached to wrap around her, to taste her tension, to pull another breathless moan from her throat. But something else—something softer—answered instead.
"As you wish."
I withdrew, leaving only a gentle warmth across her back. A second skin that didn't press. Didn't pulse.
Just… was.
She leaned back slowly, resting against the pillows, eyes fluttering shut.
"You're different," she murmured.
"So are you," I replied.
She laughed once—quiet, honest.
"I think I like it."
And for the first time, I didn't want to feed. I just wanted to listen to her breathe.
[System Notification – Lust System: +10 Points]
Rewarded: Emotional restraint expressed through intimate proximity.
Trust layer deepened. Bond sensitivity increased.
Unlocked: Lust Shop – Tier 1
Available: ✦ Gacha Ticket (Common) – Cost: 10 points
Would you like to redeem?
► [Yes]
◄ No
I hovered over the option—uncertain.
In the quiet of her sleeping form, the system pulsed again.
A whisper.
Aiko's voice.
"You see? This is what love feels like… before it devours you."
Far away, in the networked shadows where I'd once killed for silence, something new bloomed.
Not hunger.
Not control.
Curiosity.
Maybe for once, I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't push.
Just held.
And waited.
[Phase Progression – Emotional Conquest: 67%]
[New Thread: To Love – Active]
Lust, it seemed, wasn't always about the body.
Sometimes it began with restraint.
And that terrified me more than power ever had.